All about the eggs

One thing I miss about living in Malaysia is the many public holidays we get there – anywhere from Chinese New Year to Hari Raya (Eid) and even Deepavali! Here in Australia, holidays are far and few, but Easter is one of them and is especially  meaningful to us.

We go to church on Saturdays and I am involved in something I’m passionate about – children’s ministry! I never used to be – in fact, I used to think I would be awful with kids and just felt awkward when little kids would talk to me and ask me to act in roleplay games or sing silly kids songs. And then I had a child, and I discovered the child in me!

Now that I have kids, I really enjoy trying to teach my children in creative ways (even though I am not exactly artsy and am nowhere near “Pinterest mum” standards). I’m also a bit frugal with my art i.e. I can’t justify spending a lot on supplies. Hence resulting in an art project like this – Jacob painting with homemade flour/salt/food colouring paint on the back of a nappy box! No art smocks in this house!

Anyway, for Easter, I wanted to do something simple for the kids so I made a little Easter activity pack for them so they could have something to do during the sermon. I found a little Jelly Bean Prayer/poem that can help kids remember the significance of the event through colours. The word search was more for the primary aged kids, a colouring sheet and stickers, which are always well received. I also made a threading cross our of card and gave the kid some yarn to build their motor skills – sadly Jacob was more interested in tying it around his head and pretending it was a crown (still on topic I suppose, Jacob).

I found a really cute video about the significance of Easter, which I don’t think Jacob really understands yet, but I do hope that in time he’ll be able to grasp it and also take it seriously. Sometimes I worry about his lack of empathy, or the fact that he finds it funny that Goliath got hit in the head and that Jonah got eaten by a fish. Hmm… another post about empathy for another day perhaps.

We also listened to the Easter sermon about eggs – I mean resurrection eggs! You can buy them from Koorong or any Christian bookstore, and they’re fun for toddlers. The kids were called up to the front to open up the eggs. Here’s what the kids found in the eggs:
A little donkey, silver coins, chalice, praying hands, whip, rooster, crown of thorns, nails in the shape of a cross, spear, linen cloth, stone and the last one was empty.
Do you know the significance of these symbols in the Easter story?

And finally, while I know that it is more commercialism than anything else, but why not get in on the whole chocolate egg business? We had an egg hunt at church and also at my brother-in-law’s place – here are our munchkins feasting on their spoils (which we eventually removed from them before they ate their own weight in chocolate)!

I hope all of you have had a blessed Easter and may we remember the true meaning of the season.

But He was pierced for our transgressions;
He was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on Him,
and by His wounds we are healed.
Isaiah 53:5

4am

Written sometime between 4am and 5am in the comfort of my bedroom, typed on my phone as I rocked Jared to sleep. He’s 1 month old today, by the way!

Dimmed orange lights

Shadows awash on the wall.

A chill moves through the air

It’s 4am in the fall.

Gentle music of old

Singing you to sleep

Arms tired, hands numb

But rocking I will keep.

Gentle brown eyes

Unfaltering and strong

Persisting to stay up

How long, how long

The drawing of breaths

The whiff of milk

The warmth of hugs

Soft skin of silk

My dreams are tired

Thoughts, some not sane

But love wins the race

We will be here again

There is a tale

From not so long ago

A promise I made

Before you became so

Of love, joy and hope

Of sacrifice and strife

Because you end my world

Yet you are also my life

As I lay you down

Hours become days

It doesn’t seem to end

All turns into a daze

Then one day, light’s off

Silence down the hall

Save the breathing

Of someone not so small

Gentle music still plays

Yet now a different song

Give me courage

The will to be strong

Time once stood still

It also ran me off my feet

There is now a place

We will no longer meet

So guard your heart

Allow yourself a fond farewell

A moment never seen again

A story only time can tell.

One becomes two.

I’ve probably picked the worst time ever to start a blog.

I can hear the sound of white noise playing in my toddler Jacob’s room, while I am rocking my almost-4 week old Jared to the tunes of Ludovico Einaudi’s amazing piano and string arrangements, which always seems to send him into peaceful slumber.

I can still taste the chocolate in my mouth that I convinced myself that I needed in order to stay awake, and I can smell the yoghurty hint of milk stains on my top. Hubby and I wanted to watch TV tonight, but the baby was fussing and frankly we’re too tired to start up a new series. In fact, tired has become part of my personality.

But amidst the daze of sleep deprivation, I feel a burning sense of inspiration. I’m embarking on a new journey going from one kid to two, and like it or not, I have to keep on paddling to keep this ship afloat.

~~~

I always knew I wanted to have at least two children. I’m an only child and while I did grow up with plenty to keep me occupied, there was always this longing for a sibling – in particular, a big brother. Someone who would rough up this self-proclaimed tomboy and to have someone to fight with for all the right reasons, but ultimately one who watched out for me in a love-hate fashion.

The day before Jared was born, I had the ultimate blues with regards to Jacob. He was my baby – my one and only, my pride and joy. He was the one who built me up but also broke me down. And he knew he held first place in my eyes, but now he was about to be dethroned.

We had tried our best to prepare Jacob for D-day – we read some amazing books about babies, talked about baby names and picked baby clothes together. He would talk to my tummy and tell the baby “I love you” in the sweetest way he could.

My waters broke the night before I had Jared, hence Jacob was whisked away in the morning to spend the day with his cousins. My last kiss I gave him tasted bittersweet – the next time I would see him, I would be introducing him to his new brother.

I spent a bit of that day cooking and cleaning, and the rest of it crying my eyes out. What if I hadn’t prepared him enough and it left him feeling sad and lonely? What if I couldn’t cope with the demands of both kids and I wasn’t able to give Jacob the love he deserved? Was my heart big enough for two?

And then, they met.

My little boy was overjoyed to meet the “baby in mummy’s tummy” – the expression on his fact just says it all, doesn’t it?

So far, it’s obviously not been all fun and games, but every day has a hint of joy in it. I look forward to many new adventures as a family of four (or five, if you want to count our dastardly dog), and look forward to sharing them here as well.

Mummy of Dragons

Hello to all my loyal followers (to whom I have not delivered of late)

Firstly, I wanted to announce that as of the 23rd of February, I have become a mum of two, not one! My new little boy, Jared, was born at 11.00pm weighing 3.47kg and was 52cm long.

Since then, he has absolutely smashed his brother’s records and has been putting on abut 50g a day. Here is my little chubba at just 3 weeks old:

But I also want to announce that I will be shifting my blog to a new space. This is my new blog, aptly named Mummy of Dragons:
https://mummyofdragons.wordpress.com/

If you would like to stay in touch and hear the tales I have to tell, please follow me on the other side!

Thank you once again for reading my blog – I hope you enjoyed my escapades as much as I enjoyed writing about them!

Over and out. xoxo

Mummy of Dragons

Hear ye, hear ye! The mummy of dragons has risen. From bed. At about 4.30am. With a whinging baby and a toddler who wants to do colouring at this time of day.

And this, my friends, is essentially what this blog is about.

I am a mother of two boys, hence the blog title. Though, based on the Chinese zodiac, one is a snake and the other is a monkey (and courtesy of my mum, we have numerous stuffed toy snakes and monkeys all over the house). But I digress.

My first dragon’s name is Jacob – he has a mighty roar (particularly if someone takes something he wants) and has a fiery yet loving personality. He is 2.5 years old, loves anything that has wheels or propellers and his mouth does not stop moving (except when offered food – then it clamps shut).

My second dragon’s name is Jared – so far, not much is known of his personality as he is only 3 weeks old! But I can see him being the sunnier of the two – he even smiles in his sleep (and also just before he chucks up).

I don’t want this blog to simply be a generic mummy blog where I post milestones of my children (Who cares about that, right?). I certainly will maintain a parenting sentiment, but also aim to touch on things that I’m passionate about like music, superhero movies/series’ and writing.

I also hope to get a chance to address a myriad of parenting interest issues, all the way from breastfeeding and babywearing to working parents and sleep training (or in my case, not sleep training). And of course, if I find an awesome playground, toddler craft or healthy meal that my toddler will actually eat, I definitely will share it as well!

I might also mention that I used to blog sometime ago (before life got WAY too busy) so if you do want to have a peek at my archives, have a look here:
https://ligurl27.wordpress.com/

So, just a quick thank you for reading and I really hope I can live up to my name as the mummy of dragons!