Getting out of trouble

Gooly has a knack of talking out of trouble, I noticed.

The other day, i asked how was his ejaan. In one breath he said, "oh mom, dont worry! I got one wrong..and it was a careless mistake. Tsk tsk tsk! I should have been more careful! Next time i will be more careful! I did my correction already. Now i know how to spell it. Dont worry, mom! All problem solved!"

My mouth slightly agape, i searched my mind on what else to err...add on. It seems like he has pretty much covered everything. So i said, "okeh!"

*facepalm*

what if he says the same things next time when he gets ALL wrong??!

"dont worry mom! I got everything covered! Now i know why i got them wrong! I wont get them wrong again for the finals!"

Deng!

Lucky day

"They say it's my lucky day today..but its not true," gooly lamented in the car when i picked him up from school. He meant the horoscope.

But how would he even be so sure, i challenged, as the day hasnt ended just yet.

i then made a swift swerve right in front of the ice cream motorcycle and announced, "Ice cream?" He beamed so much, shrieking Thank You Mama, it IS my lucky day today!

I love making my boy lucky. Bah to those lousy horoscope! :p

the waffle story part UNO

Last week, gooly lamented that he was getting bored of eating vanilla bun for recess. Cant blame him, it has been what..10 months? He's beginning to look like a nun.. I mean bun. Time to change the menu!

So I bought him a gardenia waffle instead.

On the very day, as soon as he came home, I asked how was the waffle (note that it was as though I prepared him a Grade A bento set? Actually it was kinda bento-ish cos I put the waffle into a square container shaped like a slice of bread *proud*)

And he proceeded tell me the story about the waffle.

"Lam Mee Yoke took it. She just grabbed it. Actually she asked first. Then it dropped on the floor. It was Kwok Fu Shing's fault."

Wooooah..hold it hold it. That's a whole lot of info there. Who is Lam Mee Yoke? Why did she take your waffle? Is she your friend? And right at the corner of my heart - Are you being bullied? Bee boo bee boo~~ red alert red alert!!

Of course I didn't say what I was thinking. I wanted to know how he felt before planting any unfounded fear into his head.

As it turns out, Lam Mee Yoke is a good friend, and she didn't have any food with her, and she would really really like to eat a waffle that day. And so Gooly gave his to her.

Now if you knew Gooly well, you will know that he loves his food.Eating is a biggie to him. He lives to eat( like his mom). So again, I wondered if he was 'pressured' into giving his waffle.

Thus I tried digging for more details without using words like "bullied, forced, etc."

And I found out that he wanted to be generous, but not really but in the end, decided to be. A typical 6 year old's frame of indecisive mind. Haha! So everything is fine..it was just a simple case "should I give, should I not - I think I should." No bullies, momma! Geesh! The imagination of a lactating mom!

And then we came to the second part of the story, where Mr. Kwok fooled around and caused the waffle to drop.

"Were you mad?"

"Just a bit. But I must control my temper."

Ah...the last bit just made me wanna buy him a dozen waffles.

Anyways, the waffle story made me wondered - what constitutes bullying? Many times I have heard parents saying that their kids are bullied. While there are genuine cases whereby one feels ostracized or threatened by bullies, there are just some cases of overtly concerned parents. Say for example, Gooly's waffle story. It did cross my mind that he may be bullied, but I gave it a better thought. First, he's as happy as a lark. Does well academically (wooh...been dying to say this! Should I cap and bold it?? :p). So what's the problem?

We both agreed - Gooly and I, that Ms. Lam's approach is uncouth. Well, there are many kids who can't verbalise their requests politely. My nephew, for one, says "I like to eat now." Mind you, it's not like as in "i would like to eat now." He is meaning, I like, gimme gimme gimme. now now now!

So, the lack of manners, resulting in snatching or asking as though demanding.. have all caused some parents to think they are bullies. And the natural approach would be teaching their own kid some self defense skills i.e say no to your friends, tell teacher if he takes your eraser again..etc.

I dunno - lah! I suppose because parents love their kids mucho..thus this fierce protection shield.

But I kinda like less hostile scenarios. Give kids the benefit of doubt. Pasang radar betul betul. Detect the real bullies, and not just label those who are rude or (fill in own adjectives) as $/&:;$*^#% bullies.

So Ms Lam, today my son gave you waffle, tomorrow you give him nasi lemak 2.0 lah*...

Shatu mereishia ma.. (simply hentam!)

* See see she really say, "Lat sei niamah"

Confession of a driver

One of my favorite things to do, can you freaking believe, is going to school. Gooly's. The near distance probably makes the task less undesirable. I know some moms who literally have to walk across a football field or brave the horrendous traffic to ferry those lucky children. Thus the cussing of this ferrying chore for them.

Yes, I admit, to start the mechanical engine of my butt to get out of the house is often difficult (with silent malediction). But once I reach the school, my heart is quite fluffy with sunshiny feeling. I remember having to park the car, hold his hand, say goodbye a million times at the start of the school year. Then gradually, his independence grow. He would just get down on his own, very often looking a little bit clammy, back his shoulder to make sure I am still there giving him a last wave.

Now, he gets off, sometimes forgetting to say goodbye (till I have to honk to get a wave), and often being greeted by loud chorus of his name made by his friends. They drag the bags along side by side, always laughing, probably at some silly jokes like, "Your mom is so fat that I..."

I love watching him walking into school, all gown up..and most importantly, happy. I keep smiling and waving even though it is a little bit of bereavement that we will be separated 6 hours a day, unlike those days when we were joined at the hip 24/7.

I have my smile fixed too during after school pick ups. When the bell rings, the students always give a big shout, feeling jubilant, running away free from the "prison". Many times, I see the clumsy ones fall only to pick themselves up with a grin. I see happy faces. I see dirty ones (often belonging to boys). I see pretty girls with ponytails (and I imagine what it would be like for lolly).

I see Mandeel, the only non Chinese girl in Goolys class. She always greets me, either with a smile or a shy, "hello, auntie." Oh hi, dear child... I hope you are coping well. It's difficult to learn a whole new language, eh? Hang in there. It gets easier - I say these words but only with my own smile.

And then I see him.

Beaming, always happy to see me. In his hand, there is always something that he'd like to show me - stickers from friends, little notes, or a star from the teacher.

"How was school?" - the preamble to our after school conversation.

"Fine!" and we walk, hand in hand, sometimes crossing over to the ice cream man for a cone.

Along the way, there is always someone calling out his name (strangely that they are mainly girls) to say good bye.

I have a feeling my son is quite popular in school*.

;-)

* he probably tells the best "your momma so fat" jokes.

Sports day

Gooly's school was having its annual sports day event today. For weeks gooly contemplated on going or not. He was not chosen for any events. But he'd still like to go to watch. Initially he thought it was compulsory to go, but when I said it wasn't , he kinda fleet towards "stay home to play with his cuz" agenda.

On my part, there was a lot of "uhm....errr...are you sure you want to go?" because waking up early is not exactly my favorite thing to do. Of course, staying under the hot sun is not favorable as well. But the final card was still in his hands.

Finally he decided on going. So I dropped him off at school so early that i surprised my neighbour (cos they never see me until after noon. Bwahahaha). For making it on time and safely despite with eyes half shut, I do deserve a pat on my back, don't I? That aside, gooly was a bit apprehensive as he wasn't sure where to gather or assemble. But he just braved himself and climbed down the car.

Not long later, I received a call from a parent. According to her, gooly seemed kinda worried. Reason being, very little of his classmates showed up. Only a handful of those participating in events were present. In fact, I do think he was the ONLY non-participating member from his class. I asked if he wanna come home, he said, "no."

That parent was nice enough to accompany him (I keep meeting awesome people that I should really thank god!) So all was well.

I was thinking - NONE of the classmates were there. Sad ain't it? That parents don't care about non -academic activities. Or it could be children these days are all made of candles; they melt under the sun. So nonono...they ain't no going for a stupid sports event. (I didn't like the sun either, but lathered him with SPF 30- problem solved.)

And most importantly.......(read on)

Despite not knowing what to anticipate, and then finding out that NONE of his usual gang was there, gooly was adamant on being on location. I just had to ask why.

"I just wanted to support my friends who are running.."

Now that's what I call good spirits!! That's what's missing from many parents' values.

Yeah..so to those who went to the mall or slept in late or simply discouraged your child from going to school today, guess he/ she never got to learn about semangat muhibbah today eh? Then again, it was Gooly who taught me this valuable lesson today.

And what's more, watching those athletes run, hop, jump encouraged Gooly to fair better in sports. He would like to go again next year, as a participant.

Gooly, I will be there to support you then! 100% :)

I can be a president..

Sometime last month gooly had some loose change in his pocket, to be precise - 2 twenty cents coins. He came back from school and announced that a boy, hardly classified as a friend, had asked twenty cents from him because he was too poor, and because he really wanted it.

Gooly not knowing about hard earned money and lies and schemes but kindness and being helpful, departed with his money albeit reluctantly.

Apparently it's normal/ common for little children to loan, take, con, snatch, steal money from one another, all because 'I want it.'

This comes as a surprise to me because isn't it a basic rule that we teach our kids:
-do not steal or take things from others
-do not lie

...alongside with many other 'basics'? (I.e do not push gramma into river)

I know there are many life long lessons and some parents take the lessons light and easy. There are too many issues. Thus, They will only touch on the matter when the need arises. Say, when and after the son has stolen. And in later years, perhaps after the child dabble with drugs and is dancing with Lucy in the sky with diamonds?

It makes me wonder what do they talk to their children about, if not about how to be a good person? Is it always about getting the homework done?
I think lessons on building characters are not something we can impart with just one lecture. Like your child steals, you whack and kaotim, he won't do it ever again. It is through many conversations, examples and reiterations. There are hidden lessons everywhere as you observe how your child behaves and talks.

I remember correcting gooly when he started his requests with, ' I want...' or 'I like...'. Because when a child's demand is met because he likes it or he wants it, we are implanting the thoughts that he can have everything just because he wants it, and he likes it.

I said, it doesn't mean you can have it just because you want it...or like it. And this somehow is linked to the topic of stealing.

Also, since a baby, I never allowed him take home anything that doesn't belong to him, let it be a tattered toy or a minuscule train. Friends are always nice, they say...take..never mind, my son doesn't play with it anymore. But no..that's where they get the idea of taking home things that are not theirs.

I'm citing this example because I have seen little buggers taking toys from others though sheer crying or whining. Parents say will return it but they never do because..c'mon it's a bloody small train with a missing wheel.

But that's not the crux of the matter, is it?

That's what make little children steal...

Sounds like I can be the president of a country because I know why crimes happen. Teehee! Can I choose Finland?

My friend at school

It all started one day when Gooly was kungfu fighting with his cousin at the school compound.. a girl with two pony tails said sternly, "Don't fight....!"

"Oh, it's ok, girl.. they are just playing," I explained. And a friendly conversation ensued. I found out her name, and that she is in the same class as Gooly.

The next day, I waved at Gooly from the gate (that separates prison and world.) She waved back at me enthusiastically. Oh so cute.

The third day, she ran up to the gate and said, "Hello, lenglui auntie." From then onwards, it was always a smile, a wave or a hello from her. In return, I always pat her head or sayang her face.

I came to realise that she is fiercely independent, wisely mature and awfully street smart- something that Gooly can learn.

Yesterday, as the bell rang..I saw her coming out from the class room, one hand pulling her bag, the other holding a piece of paper and a pencil. She looked like she was looking for someone - her auntie van I pressumed. Then she caught my eyes..and quickly ran towards me. She handed me her gnawed pencil.. and asked politely for my autograph telephone number.

I have no idea why she would want that. Perhaps, she told her parents about me, and they asked for it, just to check out the lenglui, psycho auntie whom their daughter spoke about so often.

But the look on her face told me that she has been thinking of me.. otherwise, she wouldn't have bothered to remember to hold a (gnawed - it was so badly chewed! Lol!) pencil and paper. You know, it's like right before the school bell rings, some kids mind went to "Buy ice cream buy ice cream" mode..and hers, must have been like, "Get auntie's number...Get auntie's number.."

I felt wanted by this kid. I think she likes me. I like her too. Me is surrounded by little angels. Me is happies..

Do you pay attention to other kids in school? Hey, it's not just your kid in this world you know....Open your eyes and ears... you may see little wings, sweet voices.. (or tails and horns..your luck!)

Up yours, Remy!

"Remy said my colouring is ugly.."

Knnccb Doremi!

That was my first thought. Oooh...I remember that Doremi....be spectacled...cocky... Hmmph!

I told Gooly a few stuff... that who the hell is Doremi to judge no one should judge something as abstract and subjective as art.

...and also who cares if he can't paint or colour like Picasso? I love him just the way he is.

... and there are loads of other stuff that he is good at.. such as making friends..and reading.. and loving me and Lolly.

And then in a hush hush voice, I told him that I am pretty bad in art.

"When I draw a coconut, it looks like a durian.." I smacked my forehead.

His smile widened.

Then he said, "It's ok, Mom. I will help you draw a coconut next time.."

And then he let out a laugh..."But it will also look like a durian!"

Haha.. How we both laughed ourselves silly!

Gooly, I really don't care if you can't draw or paint or color as well as others. I bet Doremi doesn't have your sense of humour.

Now that's a shame!

School thus far

I have never liked school..now I hate it even more.

Gooly is all smiles when he wakes. He dons on his uniform happily. He goes into the car willingly. He reaches school still smiling.

Only when he sees the maddening crowd at the hall...all 1,000 plus of them...that his lips quiver a bit.

It's daunting, I assure you. A puny 6 year old in a gargantuan hall with what seems like a thousand refugees.

On the first day, I told him that Lolly was hungry..he asked me to go with a very sad face.

I hated leaving him.

On the second day, it poured like mad with flashes of lightning and 'kabooms' of thunder. I was worried sick. "Is he alright?" My heart pounded.

I hated not being there for him.

On the third day, he said, "I forced myself not to think of you. I didn't want to look for you. I just looked the other side."

I was sad that he was forced to grow up.

He asked me not to bid goodbye - that I should leave steathily and sneakily because it pained him to see me walk away.

Oh, it pains me too, Gooly. A thousand times more.

I wonder if I should have kept him in Kindie..with me for another year.

I miss him. I feel like the bitch school has robbed 6 hours of his daily life with me. *psycho music*

I wonder - what's the hurry... what's the hurry...what's the hurry, man?

Primary 1 - The prequel

Tick tock..tick tock.. I can't sleep.

Thinking about tomorrow, I wanna weep.

Gooly is going to school, primary one.

Why does he grow up so fast wan?

Beware! Beware!

There are sharks and tigers everywhere.

But have no fear...

I'm sure you will do well, my dear.

You will meet grimy boys

And some pig-tailed ahmois

There will be lots of homework, no more toys.

Never mind, they say learning is a joy.

Aiyoh, I want to go and sleep -loh..

Tomorrow I will try not to be loh-soh.

I know as a brave kor-kor,

You will not behave like a baby anymore.

Gooly, Berilmu untuk berjasa! (My secondary school's motto.Kakakka!)

Gooly's school

One of the things that I am really grateful for this year is sending Gooly to the right school. By that I mean I am really happy with what they are teaching there. (Disclaimer: My expectations and opinions on academia are some-what cacat, according to some people.)

First off, it would be his vast improvement in the Mandarin Language. I would not let the school take full credit of that because he has home tuition as well. Nonetheless the school has provided a conducive learning place.

I love love love the mandarin songs he sings. The current hit, which he will be belting out this coming Sunday's mini presentation is a happy tune about mothers' love.

"Green green grass, and the sky is blue
There are my beautiful moments
Whether I am big or small, you bring me everywhere
I am mama's baobei (precious)"

-Loosely translated by QTK (me -lah!)

The other day, as I walked into his classroom, he surprised me by popping out from a life-sized cardboard house. Yes, they have used a washing machine box to make a play-house. Gooly proudly showed me the part he painted.

And another day he brought home a recycled toy - something they made in the classroom using a cut up plastic bottle attached to a string with a balled up paper stuffed into a balloon at the end. You toss the balloon (with paper) up and then try to catch it into the halved bottle. It was really quite fun.

He has come to realise that he doesn't really need electronic toys. He has been asking for paper boxes which he made into airplanes which he played for hours. Sometimes I see him sitting on the cardbox, muttering and pressing on some imaginary buttons. I see his drawings which resemble some ancient runes, but they are engine parts of course. Boundless imagination when you play with self-made toys. Gotta love it!

Some parents worry that the school is not teaching enough. Hmmm.. I dunno. But these are what make childhood memories great.. Between learning how to multiply and learning how to be happy, I choose the latter.

So when you see Gooly, don't ask him what's 3 x 3 (heck, don't even attempt 3 +2!), but do ask him about recycling and taking care of Mother Earth. He is so good with the topic, he can be an ambassador, really. :)

Arithmetic can wait, saving our planet is more important for now, imho.

Kay.. you can sing CAPTAIN PLANET, HE'S THE HERO now to end this TGIF post.

Gooly's classmates

I know how Gooly likes it when I walk him to his class. So I try to do it as much as I can, simply because he likes it.

Today being Thursday, the first period is P.E. So I lingered a while to see pig-tailed girls and snotty boys lining up choo-choo train style to the designated area for some hullabaloo actions.

Sure enough, their laughter and chatters came before their presence.

The first girl said, "Owen mother.. Owen mother...!" I felt like correcting her grammar, but a smile crept in instead.

The others thronged in smiling and waving at me.

And then Edison, more popularly known as Accident, flew me kisses with very very loud MUACK MUACK MUACK sounds. If it wasn't for his cute sense of fashion (very high-waisted pants, with shirt tucked in), I would have charged him for that. *chuckle*

And then I saw my own son.. smiling so happily with a loud MOM! And waving madly and smiling some more.

And we all heard, "Owen! I kissed your mom!" which drew laughter from everyone.

This Accident is crag, I tell you..

That would have sound so wrong if they were 16.. but coming from someone who is nearly 6, it gotta make you laugh.

Not wanting to lose out, Gooly of course ran back, and gave me a peck on the cheek.

Ah.. kids.. They are cute, aren't they? Especially when you don't have to spend 24/7 with them.

Wo

While we can't escape the suffixes lah, mah, lor etc. in our daily conversation, I do try to limit their existence in Gooly's speech.. well, that is until he is able to switch comfortably from using them at mamak stalls to total wipe-out during formal presentations.



Today he convieniently inserted the dreaded suffix in his "I can't erase it" making it "I can't erase it wo~~"



So I casually corrected him, and said, "It's alright when you are speaking Chinese." I immediately regretted as soon as those were said so I back-pedalled quickly. "Nah.. even those words don't exist in Chinese. Do they? Wo.. what is wo? Can you think how to write wo?" I challenged.



I was of course being non-sensical. How is a 5 year old gonna write WO in chinese when I seriously and confidently thought the word doesn't exist. Actually I doubt he can actually combine W and O to make the WO (morpheme? Bah! Goodbye forever Semantics 404!) sound even. Ha!



BUT!



He took a pen. Confidently.



And I went, "Woooooaaaat? Is he really going to crack his head over this?"



And he presented this...

Ha! (Thats wo meaning I, me, myself). Pretty ingenious.

And he proceeded with the presentation of the hanyu pinyin of 'wo' with its four tonal sounds. And because this character is pronounced using the 3rd tone (I think!), he suggested that we replace the usual hiao-hiao sing song 'wo~' to a sterner, more serious tone and more adjusted to the 3rd tone of the proper word 'wo'.

Are we all confused yet??

I think so wo~~...I mean wo! (3rd tone).

Gooly-the problem solver

It has been awhile that Gooly complained about his ride home. He didn't like to be the last to hop off the van.

I can't really ask the van lady to change her route. So I kinda told him to grin and bear it.

Every Wednesday, his face was glum when he realised he was taking the van home. Every Monday and Tuesday, he yahoo-ed that I was coming to pick him up.

And he would announce, "I'm the last one home again.." with a pitiful face. Something like, "I didn't get picked at baseball again.."

I don't think the van lady makes a good company.

I did feel sorry, and wondered if I should tell the lady to bring him home first, only ended up telling him, "It won't be long before you change school and don't have to ride in that van anymore.." and also, "Sometimes things don't go your way.."

Two days ago, he plucked up his courage and put in his request to the van lady. And whadya know... she sent him home before the other 3 students!

"MOM! I was not the last..there are 3 more in the van!"

*chuckle*

Ah.. I guess sometimes you have to ask to receive. ;-)

KL-chi -chi

"I dunno why Mom is more excited than me."

Today Gooly went on his 2nd school field trip. The first one was to some Milk Candy theater show which he didn't quite enjoy.

"But I think I will enjoy myself this time . Hooyah!"

This afternoon was to KL city to ronda ronda sempena Hari Merdeka, I think. The itinerary was to National Library, National Mosque and then finally KLCC park. They were gonna just view the first two buildings from the bus window (pathetic!) and then down into the park for a sketching activity.

As usual, I was excited about his school activites. Felt all giggly when he asked for a cap and a sunglasses. Che...!Next time must remember SPF30. I sent him off to class and waited a good 20 minutes at the compound for the entourage to start climbing up the bus.

Err.. why you didn't partner a girl jek?

Pulled out my white hankie from my bosoms and started waving as the bus vrroom-ed out from the school compound while shouting, "Enjoy! Be careful! Don't get lost! Drink lots of water! Have fun!" to Gooly who probably thought I said,"Drink Guiness Stout later!" or something equally brainless. {It must be embarrassing to have a mummy like me.}

As I clambered on my own car, I realised that he was happily sitting on the aisle side, while his partner was seated on the window seat. I found that a bit peculiar cos I thought he would have kicked a fuss over the seat. So I asked him just now, "How come you sat on the aisle seat? Were you afraid you would want to go to the toilet too frequent? Didn't you want to look out the window?"

And he said, "We took turns. When coming back, I asked Darren, "Can I sit near the window now because just now you did." I used a nice tone. And Darren let me sit."

Ooooh.. I like that. Very much.

And so this is the Twin Tower which he sketched at the park. Good that he enjoyed himself this time. Yipeeee!

(Dulu my rombongan sambil belajar was to Joo Negara and Miujium Negara when I was in Standard Six. At the Joo, I makan KFC - sum hak dik yan jiong)

Gooly's mandarin

When looking for a kindie for Gooly, I asked my good friend, "Eh, where is good?" And I went to the one she recommended. Had a shufti and registered him.

And then it was time to prep him for his Chinese education. So I asked my SIL, "Eh, who is good?" And I hired the tuition teacher she recommended.

Geminis are painstakingly cincai like that.

Thank goodness Gooly is the sort to make lemonade when given onions. I must say I am impressed with his improvement in learning the new language. Of course I must thank my father who is anal about chinese grammar. He speaks amicable Mandarin with Gooly - "liao" is forbidden. ("liao" is akin to our manglish "lah"). But naturally Gooly switches to ma and la when speaking to nainai, which I find adorably cute cos they come with an accent.

This morning was the first time I eavesdropped his conversation with his tuition teacher. He was telling her everything under the sky in Mandarin. And he seriously enjoys speaking that language.

Of course I was grinning from ear to ear, listening to his silly banters.

Wo yeh yeh chu jio kong ying wei yau juen chien... (My grandpa goes to work to earn money.)

Bu ger yi lang fei _______. Lang fei bu hao.. (Do not waste food. Wasting is no good. There is a blank cos I had forgotten the word 'food' in mandarin. Tee hee!)

At the rate he is going, I should consider enrolling him in Icelandic classes, which apparently is the most difficult language to learn.

Saje.........

Proud Me

Today was the first day Gooly went back to school after two weeks hospital get-a-way and home recovery.

It seems that he misses school and his friends.

When I went to pick him up, the 'laozhi' told me that the class had learned an extensive list of words, which Gooly of course doesn't know yet. Thus, he appears to be at lost during lessons.

Oh yes, I have anticipated this.

And then the teacher continued, "Usually he is the first to read out the chinese words, but today he looked worried that he doesn't know them.. I told him not to worry, he will catch up soon."

Oh.... I didn't know that - that he always tells out the answers. I always thought that he was doing OK in school.. But hearing this means he is doing much better than I thought. If I dug more, there should be more smart alec tales.Contohnya he spelt supercalifragilisticexpialidocious by himself during pee break.

*dream on*

Ah.. me is proud yo.

Tadika Idol 2

So today was the day he went up on stage and recited 7 verses of Shakespear's poem.

*pbbbbbbth blow into white hanky* I was so proud. *dab dab tears* My boy was meant/born to be an IDOL!!!

Kidding... not so drama, ok?

To tell the truth, I was rather panicky cos during rehearsal sessions with me, he was always goofing around, mumbling, reciting at bullet-train speed, scratching his butt and coughing a lot.

{Oh wait..before that. I forgot to mention that he didn't read a story after all cos I realized he could actually memorise a poem. But to be sure that 'blur and blank' moment doesn't happen, I made little clues for him on a paper just so he knew the verses in order. }

I brought an extra shirt for him to change but he didn't want to even though Iris was in a hippie dress, Angeline was in a princess gown, Ben was in a cowboy suit and another boy in a duck suit. Yes.. you heard me rite.. A bright yellow duck costume [though his performance has got nothing to do with poultry of any sort. Hmm...very peculiar indeed.]

So he wasn't vain (like me) after all.

We were all very anxious - me, papah and nanai . Yes! The whole house went as cheerleaders. I kept looking at him, and he kept giving me the 'thumbs-up' sign. He was pretty 'smooth' for his inaugural solo performance, I must say.

Most of them sang ( the 'duck' too), some recited poems, one played the keyboard and a few danced.. and soon it was Gooly's turn to go stage. [Say, I didn't know I could actually hold my breath for so long! ]

He took confident strides on the stage. Grabbed the mike and started his recitatation in clear crsip voice. He stood tall, head held high, arms at his sides (no butt scratching, thank god!). At one point, he forgot the next verse. I mouthed the word 'hawk' (the keyword for that particular verse) and he went on smoothly again.

Actually that was what I enjoyed most. Seeing the connection between moms and kids. We were there to give confidence. Just like Iris, whose mother went on stage to hold her hand to kick start her poem reading. And me, mouthing 'hawk' (and flapping arms) to help Gooly. I don't know about you, but I would definitely take leave from work (if i had a job) so not to miss moments as such.

At the sound of XIE XIE from Gooly and the thunderous claps from the audience, I heaved a breath of relief!

It's all over!! And it was my turn to give him two 'thumbs up'. Great job, Gooly!

I think it's cute and endearing how kids just go on stage and do their stuff. They were all having a gala time, not an ounce of fear or shyness was detected. I don't know how we adults end up as nervous wrecks! We should be just like them - having fun no matter what.

So, good job everyone! You kids totally rocked the stage today :)

(There are some pictures, anyone want to see them? The 'duck'..? Anyone? )

Tadika Idol Part One here.

Ponteng

Every once a while, I allow Gooly to ponteng school (play truant).

.......................................

Yes, you may pick up your dropped jaw.

Obviously there isn't a verse in our agreement which says, "Unless you fall sick until you can't haul your ass off the bed, YOU ARE GOING TO SCHOOL."

So yeah.. yesterday he didn't feel like going to school because he felt oh-so-down because he didn't get to see his papah long enough because... (long story and not important!)

His mood perked up immediately when I said, "You want to stay home and watch Ultraman?" Seriously, this kind of mom (pointing at my chest) is a GEM!

Aiya.. I think no biggie-lah if he were to miss/skip classes. He won't get to do it when he joins the work force. He can't say, "I have no mood, I'm not going to work."

Plus, we all ponteng-ed while we were in school, didn't we? And I'd rather he tells me next time that he wants to ponteng rather than lying to me, and ends up at Tea Party at Picadilly Discotheque (which I went only when I was 16 years old.)

But still.....

I was rather embarrassed when the teacher asked, "Why were you not in school yesterday?" and he nonchalantly, cool-ly said, "No mood..."

Gah! I avoided eye contact with the teacher and stealthily sauntered out the classroom.

Would it have been better if he told a white lie - something like, "I shat in my pants on the way here..."

I know. I am contracting myself. As usual.

Tadika Idol

Gooly came back from school yesterday, flashing a participation form at my face:

TADIKA IDOL 2010.

For a moment, my mind was filled with these words:" ocrap-ocrap-ocrap-ocrap-ocrap"

And then I scouted the words: PARENTS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR COACHING.

Again, the mantra of ocrap was repeated.

Why-o? You see, I do not exactly have a talent of any sort, except for maybe doing a darn impressive downward dog yoga pose. Oh, maybe nagging can be included in my resume.

And Gooly has not attended any skill-ed classes. Let's see what he can do:

a. breakdance - but I reckon his moves are for You Think You Can Dance, not suited for kindie level

b. BMX stunts and sword swallowing - AXN materials, not for under 5 to watch.

c. singing - do we want the teachers and fellow students to go deaf with his rawk voice?

Ocrap!

And I know kids are going for all sorts of classes now. They will impress the judges with their belly dancing, ballet moves, soprano voices and recitation of the Tang Dynasty poems!

Ocrap!

"So what are you going to perform?" I asked meekly.

"I haven't quite decided yet.." he answered, totally oblivious of the ________ he will be facing.

It's all in the name of fun - I hear you saying?

Yeah yeah... I know.

I wrecked my brain and reckoned that his reading skill is pretty ok. So maybe he will READ-A-STORY.

And I will COACH him - To stand straight, full of confident, speak in a crisp clear voice, smile a charming smile, have eye contact with the audience (and throw in a wink for the judge) - a winning formula for a story-ready competition, you think?

Gah! Wish us luck!!

Note: He doesn't do skills a, b, c that well as I boasted.

Note 2: I suppose he can do magic too. But he likes revealing the secrets and this may endanger our lives.