6 January 2016

1. Farah started primary school life just two days ago. So far, no issues and we hope that it remains that way!

 

2. I am glad that we did not go into a buying frenzy prior to her starting school. We have a lot of things lying around the house. So she used things that we already have instead of buying brand new stuff. Other than her socks and schoolbooks, everything else has been used by others before her. I hope the kids will always be as practical as this.

 

3. This reminded me of an exchange I had with Huda sometime last year. There was a sale of stuff by a Science vendor in her school. I am Mother Scrooge and I am always fearful of accidentally raising spendthrifts so I discouraged her from buying anything from there because it is either not practical or Amazon sells it cheaper. She eventually settled on something that costs 50 cents and she bought two of them. On the way home, she talked about what she bought and demonstrated it. She wasn't too happy with how simplistic the toy was and commented, Ï wasted my 50 cents on this."

Music to my ears. She could come up with the conclusion that it was a waste of money.

 

4. Let's go back to Farah and her first day of school stories. I didn't accompany Huda to school on her very first day because I also had my own first day of school. So, this was my first experience in being one of those anxious parents. Only thing is, I wasn't anxious. Farah could hold her own. Stories that Huda had shared prepared her for school. I was a little bit worried that she would eat too slowly during recess but she managed to finish her food in about 10 minutes. At home, she often takes so long because she is the chattiest and has so many stories to tell.

 

5. Farah was assigned a P4 buddy. During the P1 Orientation in November, Huda was shocked to find out that P1 buddies would come from P4 instead of P2. She prayed hard to be assigned anyone except her own sister. Both of them were pretty sure they would be hauled to the office if they were buddies. They painted a lot of scenarios of possible fights that could take place. Thankfully, they were not partnered together.

 

6. This afternoon, when I fetched them from school, Farah excitedly shared the news that she was appointed group leader for the month of January. Hooray for her!

 

7. Ihsan is now 17 months old! He is feeling very lonely when his sisters are in school. He becomes extremely clingy and does not allow me to leave him for even a moment. Just this morning, while I was answering nature's call in the toilet, he banged at the door and wailed at the top of his lungs. He banged te door so hard that part of the lock flew out. Thankfully, it could be fixed.

 

8. He is at a rather mischievous state now. All he wants to do are things he should not do. Like, climb the computer table and fling things about. The house now looks like we are preparing for a kenduri. All the chairs which used to surround the dining table are pushed against the wall, far , far away from the table.

 

9. While he is walking, he is not too steady on his feet. He still looks like a drunkard when he walks - swaying this way and that and eventually stumbling.

 

10. Eating is a nightmare. A complete, absolute nightmare. But that will be contined later because he's awake now.