fish or fishes

it took me a moment to ponder over whether to describe this as "5 fish" or "5 fishes" for a simple reason. too complicated to explain the grammar rules of when to use "fish" & when to use "fishes". in fact. i used to think it was "many fishES" till i read in a grammar text that we use "many fish" if they were of the same type. =)

then came the dilemma of having to explain to the boys why i write "2 elephants" & "3 turtles" on their other craft & yet only "5 fish" for this. i decided to write "fish" in the end as they ARE the same type.

anyway, just for the record, they didn't even notice. =) Jr just mentions that it's "F for fish". oh well, i'll save the grammar lesson for another time.

C for caterpillar

we were stuck at C is for cow, cat & carrot for a while. till i chanced upon this on the Net.

it was the 1st time they were to paste on circles i traced on paper. previously, they always paste stuff wherever they fancy. i did a small exercise of arranging bottle caps & the circle cut-outs on the paper before letting them paste the cut-outs with glue. still a teacher huh? must let pupils practise a new skill 1st. =)

to my surprise, even Jl could do it.

so they learnt a new one that day. C is for caterpillar.

latest craze - painting

watercolor painting
TP roll printing
sweet potato printing

i love using different mediums for painting & recently found a recipe on another website for homemade watercolor. the boys love the fizz from the chemical reaction so i'll use it again!

http://chasingcheerios.blogspot.com/2008/08/homemade-water-color-paint.html

a simpler "cheat" one i use is just flour, water & food dye. easy, safe, cheap & can make tons without feeling the pinch.

shining like a silver spoon

somehow i still like the traditional lanterns
M says part of the excitement is seeing it burst into flames. =)

it was super cold & windy - the wind snuffed out the flames every min but we still decided to take a brisk walk around our block. if we don't, we would have 2 disappointed faces this year. ted & marie sent us some this yr to "warm our hearts". so sweet of them. =)

last year, Jr was so excited when FY & my sis sent some in the mail. unfortunately, it was raining last year. but we did take a short walk from our apartment's back door to front door last year. :)

a korean family was so excited to see us walking by they stopped their dinner & rushed to the window. *blush* i later learnt from a friend that koreans also have a similar lantern festival.

so this yr we had lantern carrying, durian mooncake & piggies. yum! thanks, sis. =) sure perks up our day. too bad our double yolk mooncake was "destroyed" at US customs. still, we are thankful our durian mooncake made it.

mr ha ha part 2

it amuses me that the boys have come up with new jokes. lame but, remember they are only 2 & 3.5, so laugh!

Jr

Q: Why did the kangeroo take the remote control?

A : Because he wants to watch tv!

Q: Why did the racoon take a bath?

A : Because he wants to sleep!

*we go by a bedtime sort of routine - bath, bedtime stories & sleep*


Jl came up with his own version, adapted from his bro's.

Q: why did the rabbit take the remote control?

A: Because he wants to watch Animal Planet!

*now, you know what kind of tv programs they watch on cable here. :)*


note that all their jokes always end with "Is this joke funny?"

hidden gem

watermelon! & a cabbage i don't know how to cook so no point picking it


picking roma tomatoes & a tractor ride!


our first mini harvest

chilli! for the chinese in us! think of ut chilli with dark soy sauce with our bak tuk teh. yum!

eggplants cost SG3 per 500g here!

we ate our fill of grape tomatoes there so we didn't pick anymore. burp! excuse me :)

being more observant, J was curious when he saw a neighbor in our community walking around with a cucumber & 2 tomatoes one day. my guess is "sweet & sour pork" hahahah. the following day, we saw him with a cucumber & tomato. he also noticed some other neighbors making their way to the back of a factory.

being the scout he is, we went to take a look one day. to our surprise, there was a garden there with all the vegetables you can pick! yum! FREE!

there were lots of other stuff that we didn't recognise either. i bet our parents would! so much for the "urban-ness" in us. sad...

mr ha ha

jerome tries his hand at juggling hoops. :)

they have been fascinated with clowns since their 1st experience with one at the circus. to them all clowns are called Roger, make people laugh, fall off chairs, juggle hoops & tell jokes *Jr surprised us with being able to repeat a joke from Disney's Monsters Inc.*.

so there! their own clown masks with funny hair, red noses & huge smiles. enjoy!

*learnt from Disney's Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor*

Jr : Why did the chicken cross the road?

Jr : To get to the other side!

Jr : Is this a funny joke?

M : hahaha. Yes, it sure is! *with as much enthusiasm as possible* =)

mr garang turns 2

"i need the disney book." i just adore the way he balances the huge book with feet - with only the toes peeking out.

making his mark on our table. sigh...

what big shoes you've got? all the better to walk with. :)

now he can put candles on his cake, blow them & cut his cake. sweet!

when he 1st came to US, he was only 11 mth! this is the 2nd time he celebrated his BD here.

i tried to upload a video of him singing happy birthday to himself but it didn't get through so... sorry. till i figure how to do it. any advice?

here is where he met all the milestones of his life - 1st step, 1st word, 1st song, 1st everything. folks back home always marvel at how much he has grown. he is like a typical american kid, this being the only culture he knows. he doesn't know anything about SG.

we brought over a SG songbook with names of local fruits & vegetables like durian, jackfruit & rambutans. the boys are totally clueless what these are. the only version of durian they've seen & eaten are the air dry vacuum packed chips my sis bought from thailand. :)

chomp! chomp!

with J back to school last wk - practicum as a counselor & evening classes at U, it's life of "the boys & i" again. just that he's away for the whole day now.

we've been going to the playgrounds in a desperate sort of attempt to make full use of the last bits of Fall. once the 1st snow falls, they won't be able to play like this anymore.

my cooking problems have escalated from "what to cook" to "what to cook for the boys". it's really hard to cook stuff for 2 tots. honestly, if not for them, i'll probably make do with sandwiches & instant noodles. with them i've to think of a staple, meat & veg.

what a luxurious summer break we've had. now it's back to homeschooling. ta-da! our 1st craft for the season. i figured tying the hippos to the door would keep them "alive" for a longer time.

kung fu panda

jerald's birthday gift from his godparents arrived in the mail with tees of the lastest kids' craze - kung fu panda.

see our kung fu stunts!

my 3 Bobs fixing the Lego bulldozer. actually only 1 doing the real stuff.

mr not-so-perfect mailbox

since Jr saw a mailbox in lorraine's blog, he has been asking me to make one. J found the perfect sized box. gd thing Jr never did notice his mum doesn't have aunt L's "Bob the Builder" skills. :)



decorating the mailbox & himself in the process. *as usual*


sorting out the mail

mailbox completed at 11 AM before lunch.



mailbox destroyed by 6 PM before dinner. it had become a rocket, car & boat before settling in this sorry state.

how are you doing today?

someone once described children as sponges. they absorb everything.

Jr now uses phrases like,"how are you doing today?", "isn't that cool?" & the latest,"I have a boo boo."

Jl would say,"bye, see you later." & "i'm done."

these are just some of the really typical american phrases.

the one that took me the longest to get used to is probably, "i'm done.". back in SG, we would have to say, "i have finished ...*whatever task you were doing*. over here, "done" means "everything". it's really much easier for the kids, so, oh well...

J & i think they picked these up from church, be it teachers or friends. it's quite fun to see note how they pick up the culture here. :) better take in as much as they can now, before they return to speaking singlish...