A Pampered Existence

My housemaid takes off every other weekend. What I have found out is that we have all become spoilt.. the children and me. Just two weeks ago my boys were complaining away when I asked them to make their own bed. This week it's become a bit more manageable.

My children helped me out with laundry just now.. and my eldest now washes his own plate. As for me, I do not dread weekends as much. Now I'm actually enjoying washing the dishes and doing the laundry. But I have yet to start cooking anything substantial for lunch. I would do it if hubby supports me a little bit more. Cooking is rather a chore without a helper in the kitchen. And I can't stand having to wash & clean the pots and pans.

Let me just ease into it, one weekend at a time.

The Malaysian Connection

Just the other day it was published in the news that the runner up for Ms America has a Malaysian link. Her dad is a local. Will we ever stop? Ms Pang herself finds it amusing that Malaysians have taken an interest in her life.

I'm sure that we can take interest in what's actually happening in the country, without having to claim a connection to anyone or anything that is remotely Malaysian. Didn't our local researchers discover some new animal/ insect species in our forests? Don't we have environmental issues to raise? Are we doing enough to overcome traffic congestion?

Remember the fiasco with the child genius in UK who has a Malaysian mother? She took off from Oxford, where she was sent to study using Malaysian government money, never to be heard off again. And Sarah Marbeck.. aren't we proud to have a Malaysian who has been in bed with David Beckham? And can we really claim that Tash Aw was purely Malaysian? But then again, is there such a thig as a 'pure Malaysian'?

Maybe it's an escapism thing.. any person who came close to winning Ms America is indeed more enticing than our local researchers and politicians. In the meantime, let's see what Ms Pang has to say..

Ms. Popularity

4 colleagues officiated their marriages this year and last. There were 2 weddings in December and 2 earlier this month. And I was not invited for either one. Am I smelling bad or something? I'd like to take it positively however. I was not close to either one of them. And I am not normally a person whom someone considers (or remembers) for events like that.

It has always been like that somehow. I was never a popular person in school and I was on my own most of the time. I thought I was 'close enough' to one of the girls to get invited. Maybe she overruled me as a guest due to the remarks I made about her uncle. And come to think of it, I was never once considered her 'clique'. Rather, she was not in mine. In some ways it has made it uncomfortable. Do I congratulate her/them? Maybe I should. But then I should not. It's like I know of the wedding but I don't.. geddit?

Why is there a need for me to belong? Does it really matter? Not really. They do nothing for me. Having them in my life (or out of it) would not have made a difference. So why bother? Why get bitter when it doesn't matter? From this moment on, I will consider these issues as water under the bridge. It's forgiven and forgotten. I have enough things on my mind already without having to wonder at every turn whether I am popular enough to get invited to somebody's wedding. All is fine in my books and life's great for me. What's there to complain about?

Chicken Pox & Fever Weekend

2 of my children are unwell. The youngest is down with chicken pox while her elder brother is having a fever. The house has gone quiet since yesterday since the 'chief instigator' (i.e. No. 2) is out of commission. The eldest (i.e. No. 1) will be sent for his maths class this morning while I stay home to take care of the two.

We had a Monopoly(TM) competition yesterday in college. I'm thinking of getting a board for the house. And maybe a chess board as well. Hopefully these would steer the children away from their computer games a little :-)

Propensity for Drama

I have decided that I have whined my last whine this year. I will no longer look for a cause to pin a blame on hubby. He's doing a great job, and he will not hear a whiff of complaint from me this year. Hmm.. did I just make a resolution?

I have decided that 2006 will be a great year. No ifs and buts about it. I am on the right track and things will work out for the best. Look out world, here I come ;-)

Protective Parenting

I'm home for a while, after sending off my 2 children to school this morning. I managed to get a couple of errands done & had finally managed to send the car for washing. I'll have to pick them up later at 1. Then, off to work & facilitate a class at 1.45 p.m. Steep timing, I would agree.

As expected, there were a lot more parents this year. We were everywhere.. outside the classrooms, waiting in line at the bookshop and in the canteen. I would say that primary school teachers are a patient lot. It is one thing to manage a class of 7-year olds 45-strong in numbers; it is another thing to teach with parents peering through the windows.

It is easy to distinguish the parents of firstborns. They tend to fuss over their children a lot. I don't blame them. I went through the same cycle when I had to send my firstborn to school. I must have reminded my neighbour's child (who's a year older) a zillion times to wait for my son before boarding the bus after school. Now I trust my eldest son to look after his kid brother. They grow up so fast... :-(