Women Quarreling In Forums

Before blogs, Facebook and Twitter came along, there were forums. Forums are still around but many people now use Facebook and Facebook groups like their own personal forum.

Being one who in real life prefer to listen rather than talk, I also "listened" in forums. Wow! I was surprised at what I "heard".

Forums and other new social media now can turn to be pretty ugly places at times. I didn't know that one can actually argue and quarrel without meeting. I watched friendships form and disintegrate. The online world is just like the real world sometimes.

I try to stick away from negativity though I must admit that once, just once in my almost 10 years of blogging, I got heated up with a commenter and I had an online argument back and forth in my comments page for the world to see. It is most unbecoming. In fact, negativity of any form makes you ugly. See how ugly those women in my cartoon are? Well, those engaging in gossiping, nagging, complaining, arguing, quarreling usually look ugly when they do it. What do you think?

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To Do List

I'm On A To Do Strike. Overwhelmed = Too Many ToDos Make Me Feel Like Not Doing Anything At All. 

I've been feeling this way for some time now. I know the only cure is to do things as they come, to not procrastinate. Procrastinating leads to too many ToDos and when you have a lot of ToDos, procrastinating can pile things up pretty fast. Then in no time at all, you feel overwhelmed. 

What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? For me, I tune off and then as if rebelling, I stop doing the very things I am supposed to do. I am feeling that way now.......

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I Wish I Was A Supermom

The boy vomits in his sleep. Supermom with her super ears hears the gurgling that signals vomiting and gets up automatically to push him to a sitting position. Nothing comes out, only bile since he has emptied his stomach from all the vomiting he did earlier on in the day. He gets up periodically, every half to one hour 4 to 5 times to vomit more bile and Supermom gets up too. The next day Supermom has to wash vomit soaked pyjamas.

The young daughter is having her period. She leaves behind period soaked clothing for Supermom to wash too. The bile soaked pyjamas and period soaked clothing leaves behind an interesting yellow and red colour in the blue and pink pails, thinks sleepy Supermom.

Its her 12th day wedding anniversary and Superdad, that smart fellow says "Happy Anniversary, dear" and goes off to work. No present or anything else for Supermom because the smart fellow said the necklace he gave Supermom on their 10th wedding anniversary (which Supermom reminded him was a significant year to celebrate) was supposed to last several years. So no present last year and none this year for Supermom. Supermom doesn't get Superdad anything either and  he reminded her that she didn't get anything for his birthday this year too. 

For her wedding anniversary dinner, Supermom cooks porridge for the whole family. In fact, the whole family has been dining on this fine cuisine, plain white porridge cooked up by Supermom for the past 4 meals in a row since the boy is sick and Superdad has a stomach virus. Hopefully this porridge diet will take a few pounds off Supermom, she thinks. 

Oh, yes, there is one more thing that Supermom thinks......

Somedays I wish that being a supermom was as simple as donning a superhero costume. 

Yes, I wish that right now. 

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Happy Wesak Day 2013

Happy Wesak Day to those who celebrate it. For those who don't, enjoy your long weekend. Wesak Day 2013 this year falls on Friday 24, May 2013.

See what people are saying about #WesakDay on Twitter.

Tweets about "#wesakday"

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Love And Memories

My mom passed away almost 40 years ago. I was still very young then. However, some memories of her remain fresh in my mind. Of course our black and white photos of her carrying me in her arms and looking at me with love helps too.

My Quote For The Day is Love Leaves Trails Of Memories. (I love Quotes and I love making them up in the spur of a moment or when inspired by my own drawings or other things. If you like Quotes too, check out my other blog just for Quotes. It is called Quotes Station).

Love Leaves Trails of Good Memories, yes.... but don't forget that Bad Feelings Leaves Trails Of Memories too.

As a mother and wife, I think I should always stop myself and ask "Will this leave a good or bad memory?" before I act or speak rashly. That guiding principal can't go very wrong. Have you left any trails today? Were they good or bad?

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Life Is Sweet

My husband says I always complain. My kids say I am always either frowning or angry. My girl constantly asks me "Are you happy with me mom? Not angry?"

I of all people should really learn that "Life Is Sweet, Savour It:", a quote I came up with on a whim. Besides the tasting of food, one other definition of "savour" is "to derive or receive pleasure from; to get enjoyment from; to take pleasure in".

Do you take pleasure and try to get enjoyment from life or are you like me, frowning all the time while you rush through life?

I know one thing that I derive pleasure in a lot. It is my writings and my drawings, which is my newly discovered old love. Both of these makes me happy. What makes you happy?

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Beauty Comes From Within

My little girl is turning 11 soon. I can't believe how fast time has flown.

She is smart, an intellectual kid who is very inquisitive.

I know she admires some of her classmates especially those who are more loud and aggressive, more pretty or more this or that. She wants to be like them too. She wants to keep her hair like them. She wants to this or that .... like them.

I think as a mother to a daughter, one very important life lesson to teach her is to let her know that beauty comes from within.

This year on her birthday I will remind her that she is special and she does not have to be like anyone to be special. She just has to be herself.

Confidence is beautiful. It makes you glow.

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Announcing The Winner Of The Passionate Mom Giveaway

The following giveaway has ended.

Mother's Day Giveaway 2013 - The Passionate Mom A Book By Susan Merrill

And the winner is........ drumroll.......

Entry No. 32  

Sherease Lauren Mac

Congratulations to Sherease and a big Thank You to everyone else who took part in this giveaway.

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Children Using iPads

I think iPads are wonderful for children but I disagree with parents using the iPad as a convenient babysitter for the kids.

There are many excellent educational and learning apps available for children. They are interactive, fun and kids can really learn a thing or two from them very quickly.

However, I think that kids should only be allowed to use the iPad with supervision (at first), next they should also be old enough to understand the benefits and disadvantages and these pros and cons of using the iPad should be explained to them.

Ground rules should be set and in-app purchases should be restricted or disabled. Remember the Smurfberry case where an 8 year old innocently racked up $1,400 in in-app purchases on her mom's iPad?

It is easy to confuse between real money purchases and pretend buying on the iPad game. Do you teach your children the difference?

I found these Top 10 Ground Rules For Child iPad Usage by Kevin D. Jones a very good read and an excellent suggestion. I like rule No. 1 "Work Before Play" and Rule No. 4 "Mandatory iPad Break". I would also like to add rule No. 11. "No playing with the iPad during mealtimes, at home or worse still at the restaurant when you are dining out." Go to the link to read the full article. Kevin also shares How To Disable in-app Purchases On Your iPad.

My kids were first introduced to the iPad at age 8 and 10. They are not allowed to make any in-app purchases. Work always comes before play and play is for short spurts of time only. When mom says "it is time to stop playing" they have to stop or else they will not be allowed to play with it again the next time. The iPad belongs to mom and not the kids. They get to borrow it for short periods of time when they are free.

We use the iPad not only for play but for studies frequently so that they understand that iPad is not only for games alone. We use a lot of google image search when they are studying, we watch videos from YouTube to support their studies, we use the dictionary, the calculator, the Train Chinese app for learning Chinese and many other non-game related use.

We do not take the ipad out of the house and no playing at the dining table is allowed. I absolutely abhor the sight of kids playing with the iPad at restaurants and worse still babies in prams with the iPad locked on by some sort of clip thingy so they can lie down and stare at the screen.

What sort of ground rules do you set for your kids for playing the iPad?

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The First Crush

My girl at 11 is having her first crush. She can't stop talking about the boy who is a prefect at her school and who was her classmate last  year. Thankfully, he dropped out of the class. She doesn't need the distraction! She can't stop talking about him. I get an earful each day about how he......blah, blah, blah. His younger brother is in my son's class, so he gets and earful too.

These first crushes are getting younger and younger. The kids grow up so fast these days with all the influences from the media even though I block most of them for now. She does not own a handphone, does not have a facebook account, we don't watch a lot of tv so she doesn't get to watch unsuitable programs unsupervised.

Still, she managed to get her first crush at age 10. When she blabbers away about him, I usually smile and listen to her talk without making too many comments if I can help it. Why? I want to keep the doors of communication between us open for later when I really need it.

For now, she tells me "Mum, this year he only said two things to me....." They are.... SIT DOWN AND EAT YOUR MEAL! at the canteen during recess while he was doing his prefect "checks" and "EEEYEEA" at something else she was doing. :P

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Mother's Day Images

Ever since my dear friend, Kopi Soh encouraged me to draw, I haven't been able to stop! It is amazing what one can draw with an index finger and an ipad! I love it! Kopi Soh showcases her art on a facebook page called Stick It To Me which I absolutely adore! I love her drawings.

Since Mother's Day is just round the corner, I drew a few Mother's Day Images just for fun. Here are my Mother's Day images.

 This Mother's Day Image is a silhouette image of a mother carrying her daughter who is giving her a kiss on the cheek. They are connected by a big heart.

 This Mother's Day Image is a simple lines mother and daughter hugging picture.

And this Mother's day image is a cartoon of me and my kids. Actually, they are much older than this now but I have a boy and a girl so here we are. Happy Mother's Day to everyone.

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Mother's Day Giveaway 2013 - The Passionate Mom A Book By Susan Merrill

My husband once said to me that if you were to find just ONE idea or thought that will help you from a book, then that book will be worth buying. In The Passionate Mom by Susan Merrill, I found not just one but many ideas and thoughts that will help me in my mothering journey as I read Susan's honest view on Parenting.

As a mother, I love to read books by other mothers to gain insight into their parenting views. Susan Merrill, director of iMOM.com is a mother of 5, 2 of whom were adopted in their preteens. Her children are now between the ages of 17 to 22. In The Passionate Mom, she shares the story of the Old Testament Book of Nehemiah and how to use the very same approach to become a passionate mom in today's world.

The Passionate Mom is an excellent guide for moms all over, whether your child is a toddler, teenager or  on the brink of adulthood. You will find the values and wisdom in this book useful. Susan shares the 10 Ps a mom must have in order to parent in today's world. They are perception, pondering, passion, prayer, patience, preparation, purpose, planning, problem solving and perseverance. Each of these are discussed in detail in separate chapters.

I find that I lack the process of perception, pondering and planning the most of all. I do not think enough about what my child needs through perception and pondering and I do not have an overall parenting plan. Susan points out that these are very important processes in order to become the passionate mom that you want to be. Many of us live from day to day and get so caught up in the whirlwind of our lives and the urgency of our list of todos that we sometimes forget them. Thank you, Susan for reminding me of this through your book The Passionate Mom.

Now, I have a special surprise for readers of this blog. You too can read Susan's insights on Parenting. I have one copy of The Passionate Mom to giveaway for this Mother's Day to one lucky mother.

How To Enter This Giveaway:

1. 1. This Giveaway is open internationally.  Void where prohibited.
2. 2. One winner will receive 1 copy of The Passionate Mom by Susan Merrill
3. 3. Complete the Rafflecopter form below and follow the instructions on the form to submit your entries. You may submit as many entries as you like to increase your chances of winning.
4. 4. Please provide a valid email address so you can be contacted if you win
5. 5. You will need to reply to the winning email within 48 hours or another winner will be selected
6. 6. This giveaway ends on Friday, 17th May 2013.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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