I look at my Chloe everyday .. and hope that I’m doing the right thing with her .. and by her. What do i mean..?? when i see some of the kids around us .. i sometimes wonder what went wrong..?? One day, you see this sweet lil’ kid walk into your store.. and years later.. this kid comes in and sell you some stuff you are quite sure was stolen. His parent is a good woman.. hardworking .. and good. I don’t really know them well, but I know she had been a real trooper.. and gave him everything he needs. So what went wrong..??

Everybody makes mistakes.. and as a parent.. you can also expect your child NOT to be perfect.. but one can only hope not to raise a child to make STUPID mistakes. My heart becomes extremely heavy .. each time i come across a kid .. who smokes.. do weed.. or steal from their parents.. and try and sell them at our store. Worst are those parents who calls you up . . years later.. about their kid who stole from your store.. with no apology and demand that you take her kid’s picture off your website .. because he was caught on video stealing from you.

Chloe asked me the other day.. “mama, it’s not easy raising a kid eh?” i was shocked.. ! where did that come from..?? but yes.. i told her raising a kid is not difficult .. but raising a kid with good morals, honest, integrity .. and not make STUPID mistakes.. that’s the hard part. I watched my daughter everyday.. and enjoy all her funny faces.. quotes.. and many awesome moments.. and i tell myself.. “please God.. help me raise my kid right! help me raise a kid.. who doesn’t lie like there was no tomorrow. help me raise a kid who doesn’t get knock up at 16 or even 18. help me raise a kid .. who takes pride in every action she takes and most importantly help me become a friend to my kid and help me to listen .. when my kid has something to say .. every time and anytime.” Do you know what your kids are up to..?? Are you spending enough time with your kid.. so that he or she doesn’t act up and do things.. that you, yourself cannot believe it .. when seen with your own eyes. I don’t hope this day to come for anyone.. so i caution myself everyday and hope that i have the wisdom when the time comes, i’m gonna have to take some lessons from Aunt Sandra and Chloe’s kai mah eh..?

Halloween 2009 was certainly different.. and *slap forehead* .. why i didn’t think of doing Halloween with my daughter.. i don’t even understand it. Every year since Chloe had been doing Halloween, it was her daddy who would drive them around.. and her babysitter would bring her trick a’ treating. But you see .. when we brought her for her rounds this year.. i wouldn’t wanna missed it ever again. The glee.. the smile.. and the joy in her face was priceless. Making money is important.. but spending special moments like these are more important.. because she isn’t gonna be 5.5 for very long.. it only comes once. So even though we were trying to buy a walk in bath by making a few extra bucks online - this is a lot more important.

She now runs up the door .. while PB and I stand back .. and watch her go .. “trick a treat!! ” and then she would say.. ” thank you !” “Happy Halloween!” Too cute to watch.. and so proud of her.

Another door and another house - i don’t think she was really interested in the candies.. i think she had so much fun .. just knocking on doors.. and saying .. “trick a treat!” .. hahahha!!

We went by to Uncle Jerry’s .. and then to Tubby’s .. and Dominic’s but he wasn’t home.. so we went across to Sarah’s .. and had fun there for a bit.

Some of the houses were decorated really good.. and the people were friendly .. and welcome the kids with open arms. You can see that not all that went trick a treating.. were kids.. some were adults as well.

House with huge eyeballs were the one that was the best dressed. And the nice lady - the owner of the house was very nice and welcoming.

Oh.. and we had to go out and buy another halloween costume for her.. because the one grammie sent back .. still smelled of smoke.. the day before Halloween. Poor Chloe.. was devastated and inconsolable till we went out to buy her a new costume.

And what did PB do.. during Halloween..?? stealing someone’s kid.. muahahhahah!!! Pinky is her nickname and she is tubby’s kid.

I’ve been spending a lot of time with Chloe of late and it’s really quite fun to see her doing stuff that are not only creative.. but each day, i see changes in her .. and it seems that everyday, she comes home learning something new. She told us about the new stone sink that they had in school.. and also many new steps she learned in her dancing school. But most importantly.. i am able to drop everything .. and be with her .. after school.. and during the weekends.

Ppl said we are very blessed to be able to bring our kid to work… and before i used to lament.. that my online work.. takes up some of my time.. therefore, i needed help. But truth be told, the kid loves spending time with us. I remember the many nites when she had to go home with her babysitter.. and we had to bribe her sometimes. Or she would say.. “mummy .. i’m gonna miss you!”. We are of course, thankful for the babysitter’s help.. but i guess .. Chloe is getting a lot older now.. and i need to help her with her reading too.. every nite. Not just reading to her.. but teach her how to read. Nowadays.. she recite her numbers.. from 1 - 100 with no problem.. and read 3 books on her own - as of today. I have the luxury to be with my daughter.. everyday.. and i have to be thankful. Thankful for help when i needed.. thankful.. to PB for being so hands on. Thankful that PB is willing to share 50/50 of all my responsibility.

PS: One of the main reason i feel a need to be with Chloe is because there were too many things going on around us in this town. And like any responsible parent.. you and I know.. that we have put your child’s interest on first priority, to protect our kid, nurture them ourselves and make sure that she grows up the right way, so what better but to teach her yourself right? As a mother, you cannot fault me for wanting to spend more time with my kid.. and less time online right? I also noticed that i’m able to write once again - meaningful and thoughtful scripts about my life.. and those of chloe’s. A fair trade..?? very.

Chloe’s grandparents used to say that the apple donch fall far from the tree and i’m sometimes taken aback when Chloe shows so much understanding and compassion towards certain things. And I take no credit for that.. because I don’t have much compassion nor understanding.. hahhaha!!! Of course, the kid can be really naughty at times.. but when she is with us.. she can be whiny but never evil nor do we encourage that she does stuff like spitting or hitting. We make a big deal outta it .. when she does hit her babysitter.. or pretend to wanna hit her (by not letting the babysitter come).

We also encouraged that she tells the truth.. and no fibbing - my mother used to say, that you have to teach them young.. that way .. they will know from right and wrong. Plus, I’ve always believed that reprimanding is not the way to go.. but listen .. and explaining to them .. the right from wrong is the only way to go. There are also battles that are worth picking and some that, we as parents have to learn to skip. But first, as parents.. we have to learn to be honest and even though you think they won’t understand it - you will be surprised.. what they can actually comprehend.

Take for example, a week ago, someone came into our store.. and asked my Chloe .. how she was feeling..?? she replied.. “what did you say..?” and the customer repeated himself.. and Chloe looked at him strange and replied that … she was fine. And the customer said.. “oh i thought you were sick..? and you got someone sick as well.” In which - my chloe was devastated … and said.. “nooooo..! i was never sick..” and looked very sad after which. So as a helicopter mom.. i quickly tried to protect her.. and said.. ” oh.. he was only joking!” .. in which she replied.. “that wasn’t being very nice, mama! how could i have gotten someone sick when I haven’t been sick at all” *slap forehead*. And then she said.. “is he fibbing me?”

It’s easy for an adult to forget and ignore stuff like that.. but for a kid.. it means a lot to her. If i were to teach my daughter.. thoughtfulness and truthfulness, do i have to address every lie that comes my way?? or when i choose to ignore a lie.. or something bad, am i teaching my daughter.. it is alright.. to move along and it’s just not worth our time..?? Telling a white lie is fine.. but when you use my daughter’s name.. and tell a lie.. that’s not alright. Honesty begins with us as parents - it begins with the people she is around with most times, good habits starts from us - so if your kid is lying to you .. i’m sure you don’t want that right? You also don’t want them to be anywheres near ppl who lies and are evil right..?? so as parents.. i have to make sure.. that I am not lying nor being evil. What about you ..?? what is your thoughts about bringing up your kid to be a thoughtful and useful person..?? I think .. if Chloe starts lying or telling stories to me.. that would be the saddest thing in my life, that would only mean that i haven’t given her enough attention for her to lie and want the attention. What do you think..??

So the flu shots are supposedly to be here soon .. and with the HN1N thing going around, we too wonder if we should take the needle, for those in the US, i think they are covered by short term health insurance NC. But of course, there are so many speculation and theory .. and so much to read online, you’ve gotta wonder right ..?? to take or not to take. With the babysitter having mono and stuff going around, it’s a good thing - the brat didn’t catch mono from her. Luckily, I had also curb and forbid Chloe to kiss the babysitter for the longest time.. actually since she started school. But she knows better not to kiss anyone on the lips.. yes - she sometimes does try with the babysitter.. moreso, to defy us.. and to irritate her. So we thank our lucky star - that she didn’t catch mono from the babysitter - when we heard 3 weeks ago, she caught it.

Which brings us back to - should we take the flu needle or the HN1N needle..?? so a call to the public nurse told us that she didn’t have as much info as she wants to yet - since the vaccine has not arrived. She feels that even if we did get HN1N .. she didn’t think that it would render life - threatening to be admitted to the hospital. But since PB has asthma, he will be eligible for it.. and so will the entire family. She wants us to check back in a week about the vaccine. As for the babysitter having mono, we don’t know where she might have caught it .. and even though she is out of the contagious stage, a check with our family doctor - he had said that she was gonna be quite tired for now, therefore, we had told the babysitter not to come in .. till later, in order not to stress her out or to strain her immune system - because chloe can be quite handful too at times. For those who have taken the flu shots or the HN1N vaccine, please let me know how it went.

We were invited by the Zhu’s for their son’s one month celebration tonite. We left at 7.30pm from the store.. and already there were a few ppl there. The Zhu’s are very popular ppl eh.. and we are indeed blessed to have them as friends. Jasmine on the far left.. is another friend’s daughter - she is definitely getting prettier each time i see her. It’s too bad we don’t see her as often. And Jessica - of course is so sweet.

I was so excited .. i forgot all about taking pictures of the food and my diet pill reviews .. hahahha!! to engross talking with everyone.. and watching the 3 gals play.

There is Mrs Zhu - Yen - and a friend/customer.. and Mrs Zhu looking very radiant. I salute this woman.. because she worked in the restaurant till the day .. she had her baby .. and all thru’ her labour.. she didn’t make a noise. Very tough lady!

Regular customer - Mike and his wife turned friends were also in the party of course. This couple is very sporting.. and very, very kind.

We had a feast..! got lobsters too..!!!! and roasted pork ribs.. and vegies with mushrooms.. noodles.. rice.. chicken, duck .. and other things too. It was pretty good.. but i already had dinner.. so i took a lil’ of everything. The dinner ended at 10pm.. but chloe was very happy .. running around with the other children.. and thankful for good friends, good food .. and good company.

For those who are not aware of this, I get a lot of questions about migrating to Canada - because of my expat blogger status. And truth be told, I wished they had this .. or i had found this forum.. before migrating to Canada - because I had a lot of questions too. Plus migrating and uprooting is not like doing your garage flooring, it’s a huge decision .. and you want to make this life altering plan right?

For those who are planning to migrate to Canada, please note that Canada’s winter is wicked. Love may conquer a lot of things but the weather is really, really something you have to think about. Your health issues and which part of Canada will you be residing. If you think that Canada has a job just waiting for you - then you are in for a shock because for Asians like myself, you are fighting with the rest of Canada to get the job they want to. Now if you speak french - that is a different thing altogether of course.

And for those planning on visiting your girlfriend or boyfriend this holiday season and you are traveling alone, make sure you have prove that you have enough money for your trip.. and also your name cards from your office. Why..?? because if custom deemed that you might overstay or cannot afford your stay in Canada.. they might turn you away and send you home on the next plane. Good luck..!

I have officially become a yard sale junkie.. hahahahah!! before coming to Canada.. i would imagine myself to buy things from a yard sale.. not that there is anything wrong with it.. but you know us Chinese right..?? so many superstition .. and feng shui reasons. But our latest purchase of a mini fridge.. because our 3 months old mini fridge broke down a few months ago.. and we refused to pay for the same brand and get stuck with it because the warranty insist that we mail it back to them. For the postage, I might as well get a new one eh.

We also managed to buy a scooter for a friend of the store .. his son is so cute.. we just adore him. So when we found out he loved chloe’s scooter so much..i just had to get him one. And guess what..?? one came up in the yard sale online.. and we got it for him.. muahahah!!

We also bought the bed frame from the yard sale.. but of course.. the mattress is new lah. But had we bought something new like that.. it would have cost us a good $300 .. and we paid really cheap for this one. But course, we did our fengshui cleansing with sea salt .. and holy water.. and only had good thoughts while cleaning it. Plus we bought another coffee table on the yard sale.. a round one.. because the one we had .. has sharp corners. So yes.. ! i admit.. i’m officially a yard sale junkie .. muahahha!!!

A few weeks ago, I read online from another blogging mummy’s blog that her daughter was fibbing about something that happened in school. Of course, in an adult eyes - it was a really small matter and one cannot understand why she wouldn’t tell the truth. That actually set me thinking for a bit - but when i found a play toy in chloe’s water bag on a Saturday afternoon - after she came back from bowling - i too jumped into conclusion that my chloe might have liked the toy so much, she had forgotten to give it back to her friend at the bowling alley.

So she had just gotten back to the store.. and washing her hands to get ready for a snack, when i quickly asked her where she had gotten the mirror an comb from..?? She replied “Macdonalds” .. and I asked “Reallly..?? ” She replied ” Yes, REally..!” .. and then PB turned around and said yes.. it came with her happy meal she had. So anyways.. i said ok.. and thought nothing of it.

But come Sunday… outta the blue and nowhere - Chloe sat on my lap and asked me about the mirror again. She asked me “mummy, did you think i took the mirror and come from someone?” - I stopped for a second .. and carefully answered her - afterall, I didn’t wanna let on that I thought my daughter did something like that right..?? or that I thought badly of her. So i replied that i didn’t think she took it from someone but i didn’t want anyone lil’ girl to be missing them.. and become sad. In which she replied : “mummy, i would NEVER do something like that ! i would NEVER take someone else’s thing.” My head hanging really low .. and my heart went out to my daughter.. and at that moment.. i promised her - that i would never think something of her that way. So parents.. as much as we wanna teach honesty to our kids.. and bring them up well - remember.. be very careful how you bring across your questions. I now know when my mom asked me “ridiculous” and “belittling” questions - she was trying to bring me up proper - but it sure didn’t sit well on me either. Be careful how I bring across my message or questions to my kid.. else she is gonna not wanna tell me anything .. or share anything with me .. when she is older.

My mom used to say.. that raising a kid is like doing acne treatment often - they are a pain but I do not agree with my mom. Afterall, kids are gifts from God no..?? I was in the hospital keeping Mrs Zhu company during her delivery.. and the gal in the next room who was 17 and her boyfriend was 18 and without a job - now this is what scares me a lot about this town. I don’t want my kid to have a kid at 17 or even 18 - hell, she ain’t gonna have any kids till she is 30 .. if i have any say in it. But as you can see, even the best family and the best parents in this town do encounter this kind of problem.

You would think that at this time and age, no one should have an unwanted pregnancy .. and bring a baby into this world with such ill prepared intentions.. albeit not an evil one. But really..???!!!!?? How does one raise a great kid..?? I wanna know it too.. if you know how. Is it the parents..?? the upbringing..?? the friends.. ?? the peers..??? or the education system..?? or the water ..?? You tell me.. if you know the answer.. because this is not the first time.. i’m seeing teenager pregnancy here.. and it’s not gonna be the last.

It’s funny how as parents.. we think that by getting our kids to take the same kind of activities as their friends.. or the neighbour’s kid is the right thing to do. I for one am trying very hard not to be that “kaisu” mum - in fact, we only put chloe into dancing class, just because we know she loves dancing a lot .. and since winter is round the corner.. it would be something that would keep her active.. during the indoor months.

I had also wanted her to go for swimming lessons like her good friend, Dominic .. but since she said.. she was not ready yet.. that’s alright with me. But she still wants to go for her weekly swim.. at the YMCA .. and that’s fine with me. I know that back home.. my kid would have to be in all sorts of extra-cirracular classes to be at par with her peers.. but this is Canada.. and learning should be fun.. and since we can do this here in Canada.. i ain’t pushing it either. What about you ..?? and your kids..?? what kind of classes does your kid attends..??

I’ve had a busy week, from Chloe being sick.. and recovering.. and then getting sick again.. and afterwhich, I had to help with a friend’s delivery. So welcome.. Baby X - because his parents haven’t named him yet. Baby was delivered on the 17th Sept 2009 @ 1951hrs. I was all the way with his parents.. when he was being delivered. So there is gonna be another classroom furniture for him.. when he is older.. just like his sister.

Seeing his mother go into labour.. for more than 24hrs.. and then had to have a C- section.. after trying so hard.. reminded me of my own birth story.. but mine wasn’t as traumatic as his mother. His mother, Yen was truly a super - trooper .. and didn’t make one sound.. all thru’ those contractions. But baby was delivered healthy.. and he is such a handsome looking boy. Baby and mom was discharged today.. and i had to do some pharmacy run for them.. and finally they are home. Thank God..!! for a safe delivery.

Chloe had gotten sick again .. this morning.. so we kept her home. I was torn in between going to be with Yen .. in the hospital.. to help her with her new born baby .. or to stay with Chloe. I stayed with Chloe most time.. till Kate came.. and then went to the hospital to visit Yen.

Guess who we found in the hospital with poor Yen ?? Jessica..!!!! oh boy..!!! she was left in the hospital .. with Yen.. and she just had her C- Section. So we brought Jessica back to the store with us.. and babysat her for a bit.. with Kate’s help of course.. and then Kate went over to the chinese restaurant .. and babysat Jessica there.. while i went home with Chloe. Poor Jessica.. and poor PB ..!! having to run up and down.. helping me .. with Chloe.. and Yen. But Jessica was a doll..!

She slept good last nite.. and woke up good.. and we even snuggled a bit on my bed.. before we got up to go to Macdonalds for breakfast.. but half way thru’ her pancakes.. she came down with a fever. Strange and worrisome - yes.. PB was sick since Tuesday.. but he is pretty much over it.. but hacking a lot.. and he stayed away from Chloe as much as possible. So this sudden outbreak of high fever.. really .. have me all worried now.

So we headed up to the emergency .. since the family doctor isn’t working today.. and the kid didn’t wanna go onto the exam table at the emergency room. We cajoled .. we teased.. we did everything.. to help her onto the exam table. Finally, we managed to persuade her onto the table.. and the doc took a quite look at her.. and send us home with some tylenol. Would be nice if they made some specially for kids .. the exam table I mean .. with toys and gadgets on the sides eh.. Maybe, some day someone would .. one can always hope.

So the school year started today, and here we go all over again. For those who are not aware of this.. Chloe is starting Grade Primary in another school this year. Last year, the teachers in her old school felt that she wasn’t ready at all. But as a mother, I felt that her teacher was new to her job .. and since she didn’t have any children or dealing with them.. she panic when Chloe didn’t seems to know as much as the other kids.. who were slightly older .. and had gone to pre-school. So last year during the December break, we pulled her out.. and put her in pre-school - with a teacher who had 28 yrs of experience… and told us on the first day of school that she was confused that Chloe’s old school didn’t think she was ready. Why..?? because she could fully understand chloe.. and chloe could print her name.. and finished all her work.. before the other kids in her pre-school class.

Because of her old school and her teachers there, Chloe had been quite traumatized and even though this year the french teacher was different.. she refuses to step into her old school - therefore we had to register her into another school near our home. But as usual.. in the morning.. she was quite worried and shed a few drops of tears.

We were allowed to go in with her.. since it was the first day.. and daddy had to help her to change her schools because she was already quite stress about leaving us. She had told us in the morning.. that she didn’t wanna go to school because she was gonna miss us.. and whine and whine of course.

So after much hugging .. and kisses.. she sat in class looking sad and all. But i’m pleased to announce that it wasn’t like last year November.. she was good.. and when we visited her.. during break time at 10.30am.. she was happy and playing. .and didn’t fuss at all. She didn’t even fuss and let us leave for work. Thank God..!!! She came home.. and said she had an overall good day - and in the evening… she told me that her new school didn’t do what her old school teachers did to her. You see .. she is definitely traumatized! We are keeping our fingers cross that this year will be a better year.

Kids are not big into sharing…. and my chloe.. is not any different. She loves to have other kids visit.. but she is just not sporting at all - but having said all that.. can i expect any different..?? nope.. ! truth be told. .. which kid like to share right..?? And the funny part is.. we as parents are the embarrassing ones… but we shouldn’t be.. because anyone who is a parent.. would understand. But having said that.. you wanna teach your kid how to share.. and that it’s nice to share.. and all the good things right..?? so how do you instill that in them. Me..?? i donch force it.. i just talk to her nicely and calmly.. and try to remind her.. that if you want someone to play and come back.. you just have to learn how to share.

You’ve gotta give your kid more credit than you think they deserve .. because Chloe understands it perfectly.. and needs to be reminded constantly.. about sharing. And as parents.. we need not be share about the reminding part. Teach them young.. and they will always, always grow up good - well that’s what my grandmother used to say. What about you ..?? how do you teach your kids to share..?? are you embarrassed when your child shows traits of selfishness..??

Kate our babysitter came back from PEI .. and of course she brought presents for Chloe. This is one of the presents she brought back .. and there were seashells.. that we had asked her to bring back.. and some udon. That silly gal.. brought udon.. when we can get udon here.. hahahhaha!!!

So Chloe was on a mission and started putting her pictures together for her Auntie Kai Mah, Lina. But she has many more to go.. so Auntie Kai Mah gotta be patient eh..

Yes..! as much as we love our brat, she has to clean up too and we never say no if she wanted to sweep, dust or wash up after she is done messing up. What about you ..?? are you the do it all for them mom..?? or are you the try to cultivate good habits in your child. My mom was the type of mom who does everything for the boys - afterall, they are the ones carrying the family name to their grave right..?? hahahhaha!!! and what did my brothers become..?? well, lets just say .. one had a hard time getting a g/f - he learned it the hard way that his g/f ain’t his mom. So while we are using our own ellipticals, the princess of mind needed to clean after herself .. for drawing on the glass cabinets. Like a wise old woman used to tell me, teach them young and they will grow up right.

The special bonding we had with Chloe this week because we were without a babysitter was a wonderful experience. We also celebrated our 10 anniversary in business with a big sale in the store for a week, obviously the store was busy. But we also made sure.. that we had time for Chloe - we went to the park, we took walks.. we did her numbers.. we drew.. and we had play dates. It was a good week - and in fact, i’m enjoying it so much.. i even bathed her for the entire two weeks, it was a very good feeling.

In some ways, we miss having a babysitter.. but i also realised that i didn’t wanna miss doing certain things with my daughter.. and watching her grow, play and saying all sorts of things… funny stuff. We also read a lot .. and we ate a lot of home cooked meals even on the weekends. Gary our friend played with her almost everyday .. till lunch.. so that was a great help to me.. since i needed to finish my work online. Overall, I know we did good .. even when our babysitter was on vacation for 2 weeks - i think Chloe loves having both of us with her - oh.. and she also created a special bond with our neighbour’s son.. that is so cool.