The Spelling Necklace

When Tai Pi entered primary school two years ago, Pumpkin was eager to join her and often asked when it would be her turn. So when she finally started primary school this year, she was a happy little bird and everything seemed fine and well. But just a few weeks into the school term, I received a call from her teacher, telling me that Pumpkin was moody and had dozed off in class at times, and was writing bizarre words in her compositions. At the same time, I heard from Tai Pi as well as the teacher at the After School Care Centre that Pumpkin had been throwing tantrums when asked to learn spelling and she was also taking a much longer time to learn to spell a word compared to the other kids. I hadn't been checking Pumpkin's schoolwork so all this came as a surprise to me. What was most disturbing was the news about her temperament and behaviour; it seemed so out of character for Pumpkin.

Around that time, she also started showing signs of intermittent depression. Every morning when we dropped her off at school, she would be sulky and looking like she was headed for the slaughter house. It really broke my heart to see her sad little face. Everyday, she would say that she did not want to go to school, that the work at school was too hard for her, and like working adults with the Monday blues before the start of the work week, she would feel moody on Sunday evenings. It seemed the source of her unhappiness was mainly spelling. She had a fear of spelling that seemed almost irrational and I found it really odd that she did not seem as anxious about other tests and subjects even though she wasn't doing well in those either.

It was then that KK and I started helping Pumpkin to learn her weekly spelling words. The first time I sat down with her, I was in for a shock. It took like half an hour for her to learn to spell a short word and even then, it didn't seem to stick in her mind. It was then that I put all the pieces together and realised that Pumpkin could be dyslexic. Not that I knew much about dyslexia but I did know that dyslexics have a problem with reading and writing, and Pumpkin could not read and she was definitely having problems writing. She had also shown signs of mirror writing in the past but I had chosen to ignore it; perhaps I was in denial. I surfed the net for information on dyslexia and based on what I found out, I was pretty sure that Pumpkin was dyslexic. I felt distressed at first but that quickly gave way to relief because now we knew the root of the problem and could do something about it.

Having read that dyslexics learn better through a multi-sensory approach, I bought pipe cleaners with the intention of bending them to form letters to string into words to help Pumpkin with spelling. It was quite time consuming working with the pipe cleaners so I used a combination of letters made from the pipe cleaners, and magnetic letters, the 3D sort that toddlers stick onto the fridge. What I got Pumpkin to do was to arrange the letters to form words and run her finger on the letters so that she not only sees the words but "feels" them as well.

But the pipe cleaners would help Pumpkin in another most unexpected way....

Tai Pi, the aspiring jewelry designer, created a necklace with the pipe-cleaners and presented it to Pumpkin, declaring it to be a "spelling necklace", a kind of charm that would help Pumpkin with spelling. Pumpkin put it on and it seemed to work (or was it the multi-sensory method I was trying out). "Thank you Jie Jie for the necklace. It's making me better," Pumpkin said to Tai Pi.

The next day, the most dreaded day of the week for Pumpkin because of the weekly spelling tests, Pumpkin tried to put on her Spelling Necklace and hide it under her blouse but upon Tai Pi's advice attached it to her schoolbag instead where she could see it and it would work its magic. I don't remember if she did alright for that particular spelling test but I'm sure the necklace at least gave her some comfort.

These days, Pumpkin no longer dreads school because she has since made some good friends after the teacher switched her sitting position in class. Although she still says that she doesn't want to go to school and that she hates spelling, at least this only happens occasionally now. And the Spelling Necklace now lies somewhere on Pumpkin's bed together with her treasured stuff toys.

Just recently, we finally had her assessed by a psychologist at the Dyslexia Association of Singapore after a long wait for an appointment and confirmed that she has dyslexia. We will have to send her for therapy so she can learn to cope with the condition. I'm sure Pumpkin will be fine - she has the benefit of early intervention, the love and support of her family... and a magic Spelling Necklace.

Money money money

There were two articles in last Sunday's papers that caught my attention. The first was a feature on successful hawkers who run famous stalls. The article was written in the light of recent news that the tax man had come after some hawkers who evaded tax, one of whom earned $4 million in 6 years but declared only half the earnings.

The journalists staked out the stalls and did a plate count and going by the count, woohoo, some of these hawkers pulled in more than $100,000 a month!!! Not bad, not bad at all!!!! But it's so hard being a successful hawker you know, not easy you know.... Just listen to what these hawkers had to say - "I don't even have time for my meals", "As a hawker, no day off, no weekends and you have to stand in front of the hot wok the whole time. You tell me, is that easy?" BUT YOU ARE YOUR OWN BOSS RIGHT?!!! YOU MEAN YOU CAN"T CLOSE YOUR STALL AND GO ON HOLIDAY MEH?!!! IT"S YOUR CHOICE TO WORK THESE MANY HOURS AND EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR, SO WHO"S THE SLAVE DRIVER HERE?!!! Pity the less succcessful hawkers. They are the ones who have to work long hours and every single day to make a decent living and feed their families. And lest you think the grass is greener on the other side, instead of standing in front of a wok all day, try sitting for hours in front of a computer, dealing with crazy deadlines and endless problems.

The second article was about puting aside funds for your child's university education. It said that in 15 years' time, the cost of a local university education would be $81,000 and the cost of getting a degree in Australia, including living expenses, would be $341,000. No problem here for some hawkers, but for the rest of us, it's going to take some serious financial planning. I can't imagine how I would be able to fork out that much money and times three. When I pointed out the article to KK, he had the perfect solution - the girls can just be hawkers lah!!!!

Sai Pi at the Salon

Of all the 3 girls, Sai Pi has the least hair.. very thin and fine and taking forever to grow to a decent length. I've been reluctant to cut her hair, but now that her hair is past shoulder length, I thought it would be good to give it a proper trim. I had wanted to cut it to chin length but at the last minute, decided on a wishy-washy, neither-here-not-there shoulder length. Given that Sai Pi has so little hair, I probably could have cut it myself but instead I brought her to the salon where Tai Pi and Pumpkin have their haircuts. Her sisters have experienced salon treatment and now it is Sai Pi's turn. She looked so full of bliss when having her hair washed, you'd think she was at the spa.

Ah, shiok...

Snip, snip...

So pretty...

Kids at Work

As any working mother can testify, it is not easy balancing work and kids. It gets worse when the kids learn to use the telephone and call you ever so often at the office. The calls get heavier in the evening on days when I work late and do not stop even when I'm on my way home.

The calls typically go like this:
Pumpkin: "Where are you?! When are you coming home?!"
Me: "Daddy just picked me up. We're on the way home but we'll take some time because Mummy's office is far from home."
Pumpkin: "OK, bye."
One minute later...
Pumpkin: "Where are you?! How come you're not home yet?!"

So when the office organised a bring-your-kids-to-work day, I jumped at the chance to show the girls what it means when Mummy is at work. They were brought around the office and introduced to various office equipment, went on a plant tour where they saw chocolate milk being manufactured, and Tai Pi also sent an email to Kong Kong from my laptop. In between, they had ice cream, did some drawing in the meeting room and played hide-and-seek among the cubicles.

I have not asked the girls what they learnt about Mummy's work (maybe nothing at all) but at the very least, Pumpkin now knows how far from home my office is and why it takes Mummy so long to get home. And I learnt there's one thing more distracting than having your kids call you every 5 minutes... having them right there in the office with you!!!


Look, Mummy's office is so fun.... there's ice cream to eat and white board to draw on... wah, work is so fun!!

Big girl now

“I’m a big girl now.” That’s one of Sai Pi’s favourite lines of late. She thinks that being in the second year of Nursery and having her classroom on the second floor makes her a big girl. And now that she has turned four, she’s feeling all the more grown up. Happy Birthday Sai Pi!

Birthday card from big sister:

Happy New Year of the Pig!!!

Each Chinese New Year, we have fewer and fewer people to visit and this year, we hit a record low of only one visit on the first day of Chinese New Year, leaving us with plenty of time on our hands. So we went to the Asian Civilisation Museum. Unfortunately the girls didn't appreciate the museum very much, which was not surprising since it was not quite child-oriented so we didn't stay as long as I would have liked. The best part of the museum visit for the girls was sitting on the entrance steps of the museum and enjoying $1 ice cream bought from the street hawker - very good value I think, only $1 and they enjoy it maybe as much as those premium ice cream we treat ourselves to at the malls.

And earlier in the day, we enjoyed a ride in Uncle P's new Opel Combo. Such a very cute vehicle!!! Here's a photo of the girls in the comfortable sofa backseat. Happy Chinese New Year Everyone!!!

"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up." - Picasso

"I already know how to draw" was Tai Pi's answer to me when I asked if she would like to go for art lessons. Pumpkin, who aspires to be an artist, had asked to be enrolled for art classes and I thought it would be a good idea for all three girls to go since they all love to draw and paint.

With art school on my mind, I walked about a neighbourhood mall which has many enrichment centres for kids, and I came across a new art studio "where children's voice find a place in art", a studio that respects children's unique ways of looking at things. The studio is run by a lady who believes that every child is an artist but that children often have their in-born artistic talent killed by art teachers who dictate what a beautiful piece of art should look like. I hadn't thought about this before but it made a lot of sense to me. Would Salvador Dali have produced the sort of surrealistic art he did if his art teacher told him it looked odd and wasn't beautiful? Each great artist has his own style and that's what I feel is important - for the girls to develop their own unique artistic style and produce art pieces that are truly original.

And now I realise why the art pieces you see at children's art competitions are always so alike. But of course... those kids go to art school where they are taught - here's how you draw a girl, here's how you draw a horse, etc. Take a look at these two drawings of an ox by two different kids attending the same art school. Don't they look suspiciously similar? I suppose that's what teacher says an ox looks like and should be drawn. I must say the drawings are competent in the sense of being aesthetically pleasing but they are not original and are not a true expression of the children's perception of the world.



The girls have gone for three lessons so far, where they are taught techniques and introduced to different media but are not told what to draw or how they should draw or what media they should use. I'm really glad to have found this art studio that nurtures the artist in the child. And yes Tai Pi, you are right - you do already know how to draw!

Goodbye 2006 Hello 2007

It's been quite a while since my last post. We have been busy with what must be the event of the year for us - the big move to our new home! We've been living here for a few weeks now and we absolutely love it - no more taking the elevator, yummy food at our doorstep, schools and shops nearby. I just have to keep my fingers crossed that this place doesn't fall victim to the enbloc craze.

Other recent happenings:

Tai Pi took part in her first Taekwondo tournament. She didn't win a single match but got a silver anyway. She had a walkover in the first round and with that she made it to the finals where she was up against a girl three years older and one head taller. Now she was supposed to compete against other 7-8 year old green/blue belts (Tai Pi is actually a green tip but entered the tournament as a green belt) but somehow ended up facing an 11 year old. Despite that, Tai Pi was full of courage and stood her ground and tried her best to execute some kicks. But because of the big height (and leg length) difference, her opponent easily kicked her over and over and with such force that Tai Pi literally flew up with each kick. Still, Tai Pi managed to maintain her balance and didn't fall to the ground nor did she retreat. Half a minute into the match, Tai Pi's coach stopped the match to keep Tai Pi from being kicked to a pulp. After that, Tai Pi cried in pain for about 10 minutes. I thought she was just psychologically traumatised but she was in real physical pain having had the wind knocked out of her. But she was fine after a while and was very pleased to receive the silver trophy which I think she fully deserved for her bravery. In fact. the overaged girl should have been disqualified and the gold given to Tai Pi!!!

We hosted our first sleepover. We had the usual gang over for Christmas and the kids stayed the night and walked to Taekwondo class the next morning. The girls received all the Christmas gifts they wanted and the fun continued till New Year's Day when they went bowling with their friends. I think it is really clever how bowling alleys now have bumpers so that when kids (or adults!) bowl, the ball doesn't go into the gutter. But even that doesn't always help. Watch the video of Pumpkin and see how she doesn't let the bumpers get in her way.





After the year end festivities, it was back to school for the girls. While some other kids might have been dreading it, Tai Pi and Pumpkin were really excited. For Pumpkin, this was especially so since she was entering primary one. I think I'm the one dreading the new school term, what with having to keep an eye on their school work, and now not just one but two of them! argh!!! Other than that, I think it's going to be a very good 2007 as we settle into our new home and enjoy this lovely neighbourhood. Happy New Year 2007 everybody!!!

My Specialty

After Tai Pi was born, my mother-in-law moved in with us and I have not cooked much since then; not that I cooked very much before that either. So it is nice to see that my culinary skills are not lost and that someone appreciates my specialty - instant noodles! Tai Pi says I cook better instant noodles than her grandma, tastier she says. Take a look at the birthday card that Tai Pi made for her grandma:

********

Dear Mama,
I love you alot! You are the best grandma ever! You cook the food very nice ecept intase noodles. Mummy can teach you how to cook it.
Love Tai Pi.

Hello Auntie

A few days back, Pumpkin told me that her girlfriends at school were exchanging their Mummies' handphone numbers but she wasn't able to give them my number because she didn't know it. So the next day, I wrote my number on some scraps of paper for her to give to her friends. That evening, one of her friends, Zee, promptly called me.

Zee: Hello. Can I speak to Pumpkin?

Me: She's not with me. I'm still at the office. I think she's at home. Who's that on the line?

Zee: I'm Zee. My birthday is 1st Dec. This Saturday and after that another Saturday and then it's my birthday. I'm having a BBQ on my birthday. Pumpkin said that she will have a BBQ at her place on my birthday.

Me: Er.. it's your birthday, don't you think you should have a BBQ at YOUR place?

Zee: Pumpkin said that there is a table downstairs.

Me: Actually, we'll be moving house soon so we will be very busy; I don't think we can have a BBQ. And our new place has no BBQ pit.

Zee: Which floor are you on? I can drive to your place.

At that point, the conversation was getting too bizarre so I gave Zee our home number and asked her to call Pumpkin at that number. I don't know what possessed me to give my handphone number to a bunch of six-year-olds but I must remember never to do that again!

Tai Pi ends the school year on a high note

Yesterday was the last day of school for Tai Pi. She rang me while I was at a function, to tell me that she had exciting news. She was named "Pupil of the Month" for October! Every month, one student in the class gets named "Pupil of the Month" (I think it might have something to do with good behaviour) and receives a laminated "Pupil of the Month" certificate. Tai Pi was absolutely thrilled! The next piece of exciting news - she is being put into the "sports class" next year! At Tai Pi's school, children identified to have sporting talent are put in the same class. I remember the School Principal mentioning this before but I'm not sure how it works. Tai Pi says that the class gets to play different sports and they get to have PE everyday. I think Tai Pi will have a lot of fun and more importantly, this as well as being named "Pupil of the Month" makes Tai Pi feel really special and can only be good for her self-esteem.

Oh and her exam results are out - Band 2 for English, Band 3 for Chinese and Math. We'll just have to try harder next year.

Five minutes' peace

As any mother knows, it is a luxury to be left alone by the kids even for a few minutes. I can't read the papers, blog, take a shower or even use the toilet without the girls yelling for me or coming to talk to me. So when I saw this book, Five Minutes' Peace, which tells of a Mummy Elephant whose three little ones would not give her even five minutes' peace, I knew I had to get the book. I wanted the girls to understand how it feels for me to be constantly hounded by them and how much I, like the Mummy Elephant, would appreciate just five minutes' peace.

Last evening, I read the book to Pumpkin and Sai Pi (Tai Pi had read it by herself earlier), and as I read the story, I could see that Pumpkin recognised herself in the book and there was a look of guilt on her face. Sai Pi just thought it was a funny book. This morning, as the girls went Mummy this and Mummy that, I reminded them of the story and asked them if they would ever give me five minutes' peace.

Tai Pi had this to say:
"We'll give you two minutes' peace. Do you know why we don't give you five minutes' peace? Because we like you so much [Tai Pi hugs me at this point] and we want to spend a lot of time with you."
Aww... now how am I to argue against this?

Pumpkin graduates

I remember when Tai Pi graduated from kindergarten, KK and I were feeling a little teary-eyed at her graduation as it seemed the end of the most carefree years of her childhood. We were not quite looking forward to the next phase of her life where she would be faced with homework, exams and big class sizes where she would not get the kind of care and attention from the teachers as she did in pre-school. But it hasn't turned out to be as bad as I imagined - Tai Pi doesn't get much homework and her school doesn't give the children much pressure or make them feel their self-worth is tied to their academic performance, so she's still the happy child that she was in pre-school which is a relief to me.

And now it is Pumpkin's turn to graduate from kindergarten. Although I still feel a tinge of sadness, I have much less anxiety about her entering primary school. Last Sunday, we watched with pride as she walked up the stage in her graduation gown. Some 500 graduating children from the various branches of the school performed at the concert. Pumpkin was a coconut dancer performing in an item based on a traditional Thai folklore. She looked so cute in the costume and danced really well.

So now it's two down and one more to go. I think I will feel more than a little sad when it is Sai Pi's turn to graduate from pre-school; they are growing up so quickly.....

Tai Pi the street hawker

A week ago, Tai Pi announced to me that she was going to sell origami creations "downstairs" i.e. our condo grounds. In the past, she had sold her drawings to me and KK and to the next door neighbour, and she had also sold hair accessories to her friends, so this show of entrepreneurship from Tai Pi was not new.... but origami, er... When she presented me with her idea, she had already prepared a display table, which was a big box she covered with colour paper, on top of which sat a few pieces of origami. She had to explain her creations as otherwise it would have been quite impossible for anyone to figure it out. She had priced her wares at "1 for $1, 3 for $5". Clearly Tai Pi is not numerically inclined but math aside, I didn't think anyone "downstairs" or anywhere else would be interested in her origami creations. I didn't know how to tell her this without hurting her feelings....so I roped in Pumpkin.

I asked Pumpkin, "Would you buy this for a dollar?"
Pumpkin who either does not know the value of a dollar, or really likes origami creations very much, or both, says "Yes."

OK, let's move on to Plan B. I suggest to Tai Pi that if she wants to sell something, why not sell some old toys they don't play with anymore. We would be moving soon so it would be the perfect time to get rid of those.

We didn't discuss it any further and as the days passed, I thought Tai Pi had forgotten about the whole thing. Then nearing the weekend, she said to me, "I'm opening my shop on Saturday." I didn't take her seriously as I thought she would get distracted by TV and computer games come the weekend and forget about her origami venture.

But I was wrong. Yesterday, she presented me with her display table now covered with origami creations. Incidentally, all this took place during exam week so now I know what she was busy with while kids everywhere else in Singapore were studying hard for their exams. Now I had to be blunt and I told her I really don't think anyone "downstairs" would buy origami, not even at 10 cents (she had lowered her price). And I quickly picked some stuffed toys they didn't play with anymore and placed them in a tub for her to sell "downstairs" and instructed her to sell them at 1 for $1, 3 for $2.

The girls and I then went down and while Sai Pi and I sat at a bench and played with bubbles, Tai Pi and Pumpkin whom she had recruited as her sales assistant went about to peddle their goods. Tai Pi was a bit shy but did approach a couple of people but they weren't interested ("I have no children," said one of them). They then stationed themselves at the drop-off point near the entrance of the estate. They took the toys out of the tub and displayed them on a bench. Tai Pi instructed her assistant to play with a toy monkey, swinging its arms and legs about wildly to attract attention and create a buzz. It seemed to work as it caught the attention of a group of children who called out to their parents that someone was selling toys, but nothing came of that.

Tai Pi became discouraged and we went home soon after as it was getting dark. I told Tai Pi it didn't matter that she didn't sell a single toy. The important thing was that she didn't give up so easily; "that's perseverence and it's a good thing," I said to her.


Origami anyone?

What have we been up to?

A friend of mine learnt from a child psychologist that it is not a good idea to leave a child studying in the room while the rest of the family does something more fun, like watch TV. It seems obvious but yet I realise that this is exactly what we have been subjecting Tai Pi to - telling her to do her work while her sisters play computer games or watch cartoon. So it appears that not only does misery love company, it NEEDS company. And now as Tai Pi's final exams loom near, I will have to see that she prepares for them, and I have to somehow get the other two to engage in activities where they do not look like they are having too much fun. We'll see how that turns out.

I've told Tai Pi that she is to revise her work for the exams starting tomorrow so today was her last study-free day. After Taekwondo, we went to view The Art of Cartier exhibition at the museum. Cartier classics such as the Panther Brooch and Tutti Frutti Necklace were on display. They were really breath-taking and the girls went "wow" at all the pieces. I told Tai Pi, the aspiring jewelry designer, that she should create exquisite and expensive jewelry instead of the cheap mass market types. She doesn't seem to get it, still prefering to create items that are affordable; it may be that I have turned the word "expensive" into something bad - "Mummy, can you buy that for me?" "It's too expensive!" "Mummy, I got this for $1." "So expensive!".


The weekends before this, the girls have been having enough fun I believe to last them till Tai Pi's exams are over. Just last week, to celebrate Ron's birthday, the kids went to Snow City. They had wanted to go to Snow City for the longest time. I was curious about the place too, imagining a winter wonderland. But it turned out to be just an oversized freezer compartment with a faulty defrost function. And just getting ready was so draining - getting the girls (and myself) into the jackets, boots, gloves, arrgh!!! But it was pretty fun I must say, sliding down the slope although we got our butts wet and Pumpkin got so cold towards the end that she declared that she would not come to Snow City again. After Snow City, we went to Palawan Beach at Sentosa. As much as I dislike the artificiality of Sentosa, I do like it that I feel like a tourist whenever I go there.



Last Friday was Tai Pi's Sports Day which for the lower primary levels is more of a telematch. Tai Pi took part in two events with some classmates and won a bronze in one of the events. She was so happy, she has been sleeping with her trophy since. Great job Tai Pi!

Fear Factor Birthday Party

After weeks of planning, the big day was finally here - Tai Pi's Fear Factor Birthday Party! Tai Pi has always been quite adventurous and game for most things, and she likes watching Fear Factor, so I thought it would be fun for her to have a Fear Factor party for her 8th birthday. I didn't want to make the games too scary as most of the kids were pre-schoolers. Ok, so the Fear Factor Happy Meal was a bit too much for some of the kids to stomach. One of the little girls gagged on the hamster brain and spat it out but the older ones happily lapped up the eyeballs (lychee stuffed with chocolate buttons), the dog poo (marshmellow coated with chocolate), hamster brains (marshmellow coated with cordial), dirty worms (gummy worms covered in crushed Oreos) and drank up the pig's blood (cordial).



The other games were not so gross. There was pin-the-spider-on-the-web where they had to pin a spider as close to the centre of the web as possible (Pumpkin hit the bull's eye!). There was burst-the-balloons and a game involving sticking their arms into icy cold water to scoop out marbles from the bottom of a container.


But the best game of all was the final challenge, also the scariest, or so I thought. The kids had to stick their hands into a tank to retrieve some rubber frogs. The catch was that there were some thirty crickets crawling about in the tank. There was much apprehension and for a while I thought no one would take on the dare till finally Brain, in a grand show of courage, stuck his hand into the tank and pulled out nine rubber frogs in the given time. After that, more and more of the kids found the courage to do the same. Tai Pi cried at first but I said to her "it's all in your mind" and she overcame her fear and pulled out ten frogs and emerged the winner of the game. Before long, even the little ones like Sai Pi were reaching into the cricket tank. If nothing else, the party will be remembered for taking away any cricket phobia the kids had!



Later, the kids had a whack at a monster pinata and cake after that. It was definitely the best birthday party ever for Tai Pi and I had fun putting it together too. Happy Birthday Tai Pi!!!

Why you should never leave a shaver in the shower

You would think that as an experienced mother of three, I'd know better than to leave a shaver in the shower. Well, technically speaking, it was not ME who left it there. KK has a habit of shaving in the shower so he leaves his shaver there and that has never been a problem until yesterday.

I was having dinner with the girls when suddenly I noticed that Pumpkin's right eyebrow looked odd. At first I thought it was just the light bouncing off her brow bone but when I had a closer look, OMG her eyebrow was gone!!! There was still some part of it left, but quite a chunk of it was missing. When I told her that her eyebrow was gone, she started crying and pulling at her fringe to cover her brows. I tried to find out how she lost her brow but she refused to tell me. I suspected that she shaved it while she was showering just before dinnertime but she would not admit it, claiming that her brow dropped off by itself.

Later that night, I interrogated her again.

Me: What happened to your eyebrow? Can you tell me the truth?

Pumpkin: I haven't decided whether I want to tell you the truth. When will my eyebrow grow back?

Me: When you tell the truth!!!

Today in school, her teacher noticed her missing brow and asked her about it but she simply changed the subject. We did finally have our suspicion confirmed in the evening when she decided to come clean and admitted that she played with KK's shaver, using it to brush her face and shaved off her eyebrow without realising it.

So if you're wondering where to leave your shaver, whatever you do, don't leave it alone in the shower with a six-year-old!!!

We are Pretty Cure!

We are having Pretty Cure live performances in our home earlier than expected because KK said to me that it holding back Tai Pi's birthday present may not be such a good idea. Afterall, we expect her to take good care of her school socks and shoes not just till her birthday but after that as well so why keep the girls waiting for Tai Pi's Cure White costume. So I got Tai Pi the costume and a Card Commune (now I realise the handphone thing is known as a Card Commune) thinking that the girls could share Tai Pi's Card Commune and Pumpkin's Rainbow Bracelet. But Pumpkin now whines incessantly about not having her own Card Commune, apparently the accessory they need to unleash their power (why didn't you say so earlier Pumpkin?!!). So I've told her to get herself a Card Commune with her own savings. And now she wants the Card Commune holder as well. This Pretty Cure craze is going to bleed us dry!!!

Don't mess with Sai Pi

I remember when Tai Pi was in kindergarten, she got into a catfight with a classmate over a sweet and ended up with a long scratch on her face. Pumpkin, on the other hand, has survived more than 3 years of pre-school without injury and is not known to have caused bodily harm to any of her classmates. And then there is Sai Pi....

Two days back, I was on my way to a company function in the evening when I got a call from KK telling me that Sai Pi had punched one of her classmates earlier in the day. The boy ended up with a swollen eye that had to be treated with ice. Apparently the boy tried to snatch a block from Sai Pi and she gave him the block....in the eye. When I got home, I spoke to Sai Pi and tried to find out if she really did hit her classmate.

Me: Did you hit Justin with a block?

Sai Pi: No.

Me: [whew]

Sai Pi: I use my hand [demonstrates a punching action].

Well, he did try to snatch the block from her....

Black thunder!!!

Every generation of kids has its own favourite superheros, some with more staying power than others. The only kids' targeted superhero I remember from my time is Ultraman. Strangely, there were more superhero shows targeted at adults at that time, such as Six Million Dollar Man, Bionic Woman, Wonder Woman and Green Hornet. Over time, there has gotten to be more and more TV programmes for children and with that, more and more character merchandise. I've told Tai Pi that this is all a ploy that manufacturers use to make money from consumers, creating cartoon characters in order to sell merchandise. And now I am a victim myself.

After weeks of eyeing the Pretty Cure merchandise at the store, Pumpkin has now got an early birthday present from me - a Pretty Cure costume and a Pretty Cure Rainbow Bracelet. Pumpkin is Cure Black, one half of Pretty Cure, who yells "Black thunder" when she unleashes her power. The other member of Pretty Cure is Cure White who yells "White thunder" (what else?) and is played by Tai Pi (at least in our home).

The merchandise is not cheap. Those two items cost me $100. And there's lots more Pretty Cure accessories they "need" - handphone, handphone pouch, card commune, etc. I'll be another $100 poorer next month when I get Tai Pi her Cure White costume and Rainbow Bracelet for her birthday. But this is only if she doesn't lose any more of her school socks and shoes. She had to dig into her savings to buy some school socks and shoes a while back to replace the ones she lost. I've warned her that if she loses any more of them, I'm getting her socks and shoes for her birthday. She's worried and so is Pumpkin. If Tai Pi doesn't get the Cure White costume, Cure Black will be without her partner. Pumpkin reminds Tai Pi everyday to take care of her socks and shoes. Will Cure White join Cure Black in the fight against the evil forces? Stay tuned to find out.