What does it mean to be a good citizen?

I was surprised that Clarissa (4 yrs) could sing the late Sudirman's Merdeka hit and already knew how to correctly name the PM of Malaysia. She was taught in the Montessori that we need to be a good citizen and love our country. She now has 2 national flags of her own. Christa (2 yrs) just follows everything that Clarissa does. I believe if Sudirman was still alive, they would be his number 1 fan.

As we sing the national anthem and wave the "Jalur Gemilang", I thank God that we have a peaceful and prosperous country. (The onlookers think we are 'nuts' as they probably had forgotten how to enjoy themselves in the spirit of celeration) I just wish that they would in turn turn out to be responsible citizens of this country so that they could pass on the tradition of doing things the way it should be done.

Congratulations Malaysia on your 50th birthday!

50th Independence Day for Malaysia!

This is a shot taken in my office just yesterday. May we not forget the many sufferings our predecessors underwent during the formation of this nation and may we not forget to treasure the nation and her people irrespective of race, religion or colour.

May our children and our children's children see a better Malaysia in the years to come.

Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka!

A politician in the making

Every weekday Mommy or me sends Clarissa to her Montessori just 5 minutes away from our condominium. After work, we take turns to pick her up from 'school' so that she could get home and have an early shower. I asked Clarissa, "Who would you like to pick you up from school? Daddy or Mommy?". "Daddy!", she answered. When Mommy asked her the same question, she answered, "Mommy!". A grin would usually follow and she would get a hug from us. When she sees her grandparents, she would go, "I love Yeh-yeh! I love mah-mah!". She would also give them a hug.

She still holds the record as the only person at home who can continue talking on a particular topic non-stop until we give in to her demands. She is still the darling of the house as compared to her little sister.

The Manhattan Fishmarket Restaurant

Sunday afternoon was a superb time for a casual lunch with the children and I to ease off the busy week we've all had. We were presented with an offer we could not miss. Great seafood and Kids eat for free! (The offer was until 21st August 2007)



I knew what I wanted. Loiusiana Shrimps and Rocky Mountain Oysters. Clarissa looked at the menu and pointed directly at the fries. She could just live by eating french fries. Mommy just wanted Fish and Chips.


To their delight, the children were allowed to scribble on the table top decoration and were given a crab promo handout to play with. They ordered a set of Fish and Chips and Calamari and Chips. Their orders came swiftly served in a stainless steel 'wok'. Clarissa enjoyed every bit of the Dory fish and calamari. Christa was too busy slurping up the complimentary Orange juice and chomping on the french fries.















Mommy and I ordered the Manhattan Seafood set (meant to share for 2). The waiter came by the side of the table and grilled the shrimp, fish, oysters, calamari, garlic rice and fries with blue flame for about 30 seconds.

The shrimp dressed with shrimp sauce and the fried oysters even drew some praise from Mommy (usually ignores such dishes). Both items went well with the garlic rice.
The total bill only came up to RM49. Can't wait for the Merdeka Day promotions i.e. for RM100 spent, you will get a discount voucher for RM31. The next time around, we will go for lobsters!!!


Find out more at these links:-
The Manhattan Fishmarket Restaurants

Now,... big sister takes over!

Clarissa has assumed her position as 'discipline-master' now that we don't spank her anymore. She seem to think that she has the right to comment on everything that we do. I can now understand why her little sister is not at all pleased!

"Mommy, you must eat the bread brust. You must not waste food!". "Daddy, you should hold the basket properly. If not, my water bottle will fall out!". "Christa! You sit down! If not, you will fall down!".

Now we really have to watch what we do so as to provide the right message. Now, how would it be 20 years down the road?

KLCC Aquaria & Adopt a Turtle

Hmmm... I'm thinking of bringing Clarissa and Christa to KLCC Aquaria this weekend. This would be a time of a lifetime since my children love fish and anything which moves in water! I wish we could all go in for a dive with the sharks!

Some of their highlights are:-
The Aquaria Double Birthday Bash!
From now till 31st August, those born within the month of August will enjoy tickets to Aquaria at half price! Those born on Merdeka Day itself will enjoy free admission.

FREE GIFT for every child (valid 1st - 18th August)
Events happening throughout the month
1) Free face painting for Kids!
2) Daily treasure hunts!
3) Weekly colouring contests!
4) Mingling clowns and balloon giveaways!
This is definitely something that would keep my children happy for a week!

Adopt-a-Turtle
Instead of keeping Terrapins in my aquarium, I should think 'adopting a turtle' would be more environmentally friendly. At least, the Terrapins do not climb out of the aquarium and jump out of my apartment!

# Help save turtles by adopting one. For only RM 150.00, not only will you become the proud parent of a turtle but you will also receive the following : Turtle adoption certificate
# Information about the turtle
# A specially designed Ma' Daerah Turtle Sanctuary T'shirt.

If you adopt 5 or more turtles, you will receive a beautiful brass turtle carved by a renowned Terengganu craftsman.

Find out more from the links here:-
KLCC Aquaria Merdeka Promotions
Feeding Times
Adopt-a-Turtle
Scubazoo

I am a big girl already.....

Mommy and I were "trained" by parents who had easy access to the tiny rattan cane (0.3cm) diameter in case the children were found to be an absolute nuisance. My sister and I were lucky as we did not have it tough like my elder brother. All we did most of the time was run and hide, and at times we left my brother to deal with the discpline session with my parents. We got away quite a few times and only we knew.

Now that I have my own children, I thought it would be similar. The older child, Clarissa (4 yrs) has had a bigger share of scolding, spanking and caning (if it get's out of hand). My parents look at us in disbelief when we discipline our children. It seemed to have worked out well eventually.

Mommy had a chat with Clarissa last week and struck a deal with her. She would not be caned or spanked if she would behave herself. Clarissa gestured to the cane and said, "I am a big girl already and I don't want the cane". I suppose it was a deal that we could not reject ourselves as she promised to be good. I knew that there would be times that she would stretch our patience a wee bit more than she should but we needed to be better at dealing with them.

Now that Clarissa behaves much better she has taken our role to discipline her little sister, Christa. I suppose she just imitates what she sees. Mommy and I need to revamp our strategy with our children. I could hear them say,"...Mommy, Daddy, reason with me ... and we will do what is best for everyone".

As children, they would always have fun. Sometimes to the extent that we do not understand. But it's all part of growing up and learning to live with the adults like Mommy and I.

Durian, Daddy,... Durian!

After 2 visits to a famous fruit stall in SS2 called www.DurianSS2.com, Christa started jumping in excitement everytime we passed by the stall in our car. "Durian, Daddy,... Durian!".

Eating the King of Fruits or durians happen to be a very interesting highlight of the evening. We seem to get the children at their best behaviour once they are told that we would be going for durians.

Both Christa and Clarissa would sit quietly as the durian seller skillfully plants his cutting device into the fruit and splits it open with little effort. The sweet aroma (pungent, to some) stirs up our salivary glands even before placing the white or bright yellow flesh in our mouths. Mommy and I only allow the girls to bite off the flesh off the seed that we hold(this would prevent accidental swallowing of the seed!). Each of them could only finish a maximum of 3-4 seeds.

Depending on the variety of durians, an outing with the family could cost us anything from RM10 - RM50. My wife likes the bitter and sweet durians. I like them just plain sweet and orange flesh. The children would take both variants. At the stall, we could have mineral water and a wash of our hands after feasting on the fruits.

Just watch for the after effects of the fruit. "Burp......!" And the pungent aroma fills the whole room.