Parenting and school exams

It is the season for school mid-year exams here in Malaysia. Some schools have started their exams one to two weeks ago especially Chinese schools that have more papers to cover, while others will probably hold theirs next or the following week, which is the week before school is out for a two-week break. C's school is having their exam next week from Monday to Friday, with Tuesday a public holiday.

As usual, C is not afraid of exams and does not like to do any revision. We've tried many ways to get her to at least prepare a little but no way, Miss "What, Me Worry?" will leave it to the very last minute before she starts taking out her books. She's only four days away from Monday's exam but is still more interested in reading her storybooks or doing other fun stuff. As I'm typing here right now, she is creating a comic of her own, drawing the pictures in boxes and writing in speech balloons.... Her definition of 'last minute' is very precise i.e. study only the night before or morning of the day of the exam, if she studies at all.....sigh.....It sure sounds like mummy is the one getting exam fever.

As the Cantonese say, "mo ngan thai" or "no eyes to see" if translated literally. That's what comes to mind when I feel my blood pressure rising, my chest tightening with a dull ache, followed by strains of "Que Sera Sera" playing in my head.....

And people tell me I have it so easy because I have only one child. They fail to realise that parenting only one child may be much more difficult than parenting multiple children.

Cakes and baking

Baking and decorating cakes and cookies for sale has become a popular home-based business for many women here in Malaysia of late. Specially decorated and personalised cakes of all shapes and sizes are in great demand these days for all occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, and festivals. And during festive seasons like Chinese New Year, Hari Raya, Deepavali or Christmas, you can earn quite a bit by making the various festive cookies and delights for sale.

The cost of making a cake from scratch at home is way lower than from buying a ready-made one from the shop. So if you're good at baking, it's cheaper and healthier to make your own cakes. And if you turn around to sell the low-cost but delicious and beautiful cake to others, you can make quite some money. It is, however, a time-consuming activity, especially the decorating part.

And usually, if you want your cakes to look 'professional', you need to learn the finer points of decorating from the experts and enrol for some classes, and practise, practise, practise.

If you are interested in food, cooking and baking, taking up baking and cake decorating classes could be a fun and rewarding hobby. It gets bored housewives out of the house and gives them some 'me' time to be away from the daily routine of household chores and demanding toddlers and kids.

But in order to do so, some planning is required. You need to have the means to pay for such classes and manage your time well to squeeze it into your busy schedule. You'll need support from your spouse or family members to 'hold the fort' and keep an eye on those active kids while you are away for those few hours.

Once you're comfortable and confident with your ability to churn out your creations for an audience outside of your family, it's time to consider marketing your skills and products. Many do it by word-of-mouth and set up websites with photos of their cakes and even provide online order service.

Kudos to those mothers who have managed to do so!

Cakes that my sis-in-law made for her daughter's birthdays.

Royal Wedding

Thirty years ago in 1981, Prince Charles married Lady Diana. Today, their son Prince William will marry Kate Middleton.

In 1981, I remember Malaysian tv broadcasting the royal wedding live. I was at my piano teacher's house for my weekly lesson. The teacher halted the lesson midway so that she could watch the wedding. I was 13 then and wondered what the hype was all about. Such events seemed so distant from my own little world in a small and relatively 'backward' town. The only 'overseas' country I had travelled to then was Singapore; unlike jetsetting kids and babies these days whose (rich) parents take them on overseas holidays every school holiday. To me at that time, it was more like 'so what if some famous prince is getting married'?

As Lady Diana walked down the aisle, my teacher told me that the music playing was the Trumpet Voluntary. That was the first time I heard it and it was the one thing I learnt and remembered of that particular day.

Now thanks to YouTube, I can watch the wedding again.


However, it's sad to note that such a grand and joyous event slowly evolved into one stormy saga which ended tragically.

May Prince William and Kate Middleton's marriage have a fairytale ending.

Teacher allergy -- yeah, right.

This week, C's been having some phlegm which I believe is from her sensitivity or allergy to certain elements in the environment.

Upon returning from school today, she said, "I keep coughing when teacher speaks. I think I'm allergic to the teacher."

And added, "I think I should stay at home, and be homeschooled."

Me: *cough, cough* *roll eyes*

Four years of blogging

This blog was created on 20 March 2007, my first baby in the blogosphere. It sure looks like I'm about one month late in commemorating my fourth year of blogging here. I had set up a few other blogs along the way, but I have been most active with this one.

Blogging has become part and parcel of my life and I quite enjoy it, especially when I have the time to ramble about anything that comes to mind.

Happy 4th Birthday, Stories of ACE!