Acute vs chronic

It was a normal school morning, winter in Oz. Driving to school, we both yawned at the same time.

“We are chronically tired,” I said. “What is that?” Nicole asked.

Well, I switched into teaching mode - explaining what chronic is as opposed to acute; how to use them in sentences, etc. She is year 8, after all.

“So, someone can be havinh an acute asthma attack right there and then. Or, if you know somebody who has asthma, you can say they have chronic asthma. Got it?” To which she was nodding her head.

“You can use it in a different context, too. For example ‘I am acutely aware of the situation’ which means ....” there I went again explaining.

After some time listening, she said, “I am ... acute... girl..” with a grin on her face.

Well, some things don’t change...

House on fire

In year 7, Nicole has a lot of homework and assignment to do.

One of them is to write a poem about something that means a lot to her. So, when the teacher asked the class:

"If your house were on fire and you could only grab one thing, what would it be?"

Her answer?

"Fire extinguisher?"

😂

I was so clever...

Now Nicole is already 12 years old. A really big girl, 165 cm, 56 kg. Taller than mummy, (not) heavier than mummy... 😊

Sometimes we reminisce the things that she did when she was much younger and just had a good laugh out of them.

One of them is when Nicole was around year 2 or year 3 Primary. We always ask her to brush her teeth after waking up and before going to bed. Minimum twice a day. Two minutes every time.

Sometimes she was a little bit 'tired' to brush her teeth for that long. Such hard work for a little girl!

At times, I asked her, "Nicole, have you brushed your teeth?" For a fraction of a second, her eyes darted to think, then she nodded. "Are you sure?" I asked again. "Yes, mummy," she answered seriously.

"Okay, can I see? Open your mouth, please." Another pause. "Come on, open your mouth," to which she would, but stretched both lips to cover her teeth... 😄 oh, bless her cotton socks!

That time, I would just say, "Open a bit more, a bit more".... until finally I could see her teeth. Then, a gentle push to take another trip to the bathroom to brush her teeth.

When I reminded her about this recently, she said, "I remember doing that! I thought I was so clever and you wouldn't know!" and we just burst out laughing.

Success in comfort

Nicole is very talented. She plays piano very well and has won a few piano Eistedfodd competition. This year, when we were waiting for the adjudication result, she whispered to me that she needed to go to the loo. When coming back, she handed me a bundle of pink stuff.

Baffled, I took it from her and realised it was her pyjama shorts. I gave her a confused look and she said casually, "Oh, I didn't realise I was still wearing it under my dress.."

I heard a few soft chuckles from the mums sitting around us.

Well, she got first prize for the piano piece that day. Must have been the comfort of her pj shorts...

Olden days

Nicole is almost a grown up now. She is...er... 8 years old. Well, nine in 25 days this year.

She is learning cursive writing (or running writing, as she calls it) now at school. When practising at home, I noticed that she wrote one of the letters not in the way I thought it was supposed to be in cursive writing. I brought her attention to that and she said, "Oh, this is how I am taught at school. My teacher also told me she was taught that way (my way) when she was at school. It was in the olden days. It is different now".....

Oh,...good olden days!...

Cookies

It's snack time and Nicole is jumping up and down trying to get the cookie jar from the top of the pantry shelf. I smiled and helped her take her favourite digestive biscuit. She's going to have it with her favourite tea (decaf) and milk.

"Hmm, okay, you're going to have a biscuit, mummy," she said.
"No, thank you Nicole, you take it, I'm fine."
"Oh come on, mummy, you must have one."
"I'm fine, baby, honestly. You have one."
"But there's only one left!", she said.
"It's okay, it's for you, babe," I said.

Then it occurred to me and I said, "So... there was only one biscuit left and you actually offered it to me?"
"Yes," she said.
"Awww.... that's so sweet of you, baby, thank you," I had a lump in my throat.
She was silent for a second and then...
"Well,... actually I already took three and there was one left," she said.

I raised my eyebrows and she had this big grin on her face.
Love her to bits!!

Chat

We now live in Oz - in Bunbury, WA; and Nicole's best friend Keisha, just moved to Esperance, south of WA. They have been keeping in contact by phone, chatting. Here's one excerpt of the one-sided phone conversation that I heard:

N: No, I just woke up.... no, nothing really, just at home, watching Justice Crew videos..
K: ....
N: So, what did you have for breakfast today? ..oh, okay... I'm having toast, egg, salmon and avocado... yeah, healthy stuff ( :-) )
K:...
N:.. Me and my mum are going to phone some halls to arrange for my birthday party.... mm, I don't know yet when...
K:...
N:...I don't know, it's Wednesday here today... ( :-) )
K:....
N:...oh yes, I have Claudine... oh, you mean Claudine's sister? The one who wants to be a writer?
K:....
N: Oh, did you know that MacKenzie cancelled her talent show audition? Really!.... (for those who are not familiar with the names, they are discussing about the Monster High characters, their favorite dolls... :-) )
K:....
N:... yeah, I really should finish my breakfast now (looking at mummy's raised eyebrows... she's been a long time on the phone)
K:...
N: okay,... bye....

Please don't answer back..

These days Nicole will have an answer to almost everything. When it's time for her revision, I ask her to read from a book (first readers) then she will say, "mummy, I'm too tired," although she was not tired three seconds ago when she was watching her DVD. Then I would say, "Come on, Nicole, reading is the most important thing to learn. If you can't read, you can't do anything. I didn't have TV or DVD when I was your age." To which she says (innocently, without any malice), "Well, you should have bought one."
I ask her not answer back. I said, "When mummy asks you to do something, I don't want to repeat twice, three times, Nicole. Just please do what mummy says. I love you and I always want the best for you. Please don't answer back." Then after telling her that, one time I asked her, "Nicole, what do you want for breakfast?" Silence. "Nicole? Did you hear me?" Then she looked at me with a genuine confusion "But you told me not to answer back?" oh, bless her cotton socks....
"Mummy, I have this funny feeling.... I think I'm bored" that's one of her favourite phrases now. And I would say, "No, Nicole, you're tired. It's past your bedtime now, go to bed. Nite-nite."

A Big Girl

I have to keep on reminding myself that Nicole is a big girl. I am so used to calling her "baby", "babe". At times she will say, "I AM NOT A BABY". So from now on, it has to be "big girl". However, sometimes I hug her tight and say, "You will always be my baby, won't you, Nicole?" She says, "When I grow older like you, will you become a baby like me, mummy?"
No, kiddo, I'll still be older than you.....

Omelette

Deciding to live in a different country is not easy. Coming from the family-oriented community in the East to the more individual-oriented life in the West must be a shock to many. Having accustomed to living a good life with all its perks, i.e., family, siblings, maid servants, driver and then switch to 'do-everything-yourself' kind of life is tough.
Imagine that I never had any idea of what working in the kitchen entails. Did not have a clue of any single herb or spices. I probably could boil an egg, but that was about it. The thought of how different kinds of food could be served on the dining table was a far-flung mystery to me. I mean, how on earth could you mix spices to get different flavours? Must be magic....
But ten years of living abroad has taught me the one thing that I used to consider as an enigma. I am by no means a competent cook. I look up recipes from books, internet, friends, etc. But I have the satisfaction now that whatever I cook, at least if not too spicy, both my darling daughter and husband will just devour it.
So it was this morning, I prepared a beautiful, fluffy omelette, filled with smoked salmon and served with roasted cherry tomatoes-on-the-vine and a slice of brown toast. Not so much of a haute cuisine, but it was delicious and healthy. But most of all, there is the satisfaction that I know what I am feeding my lovely family as I made it myself.

Imagination

Nicole is full of imagination. She likes to 'invent' things. She invents songs, dances, sentences, phrases, etc.

Now the routine is mummy reads her a new story at bedtime and the next night, she will be the one reading it back to mummy (obviously by looking at the pictures). So the story one night was 'Good Knight, Sleep Tight'. On one page, the king was desperate as the baby princess did not stop crying, so he said, "Give that pillow to the child or I'll go BANANAS!!..." Nicole seemed to be so amused by the expression of 'go bananas'. She knew now that it meant to go crazy.
Come the next night, she read the story back to mummy. She was very good and spot on with the story. On that particular page, she said, "Give that pillow to the child or I'll go CARROTS!!.. (??!!@@??)"
Obviously she remembered it had something to do with a fruit, so smilingly I said, "No baby, it's not carrots, it is bananas.." We both had a good laugh..

Her latest song now always starts with, 'If you want to sing like me.....' of course with body swaying left and right, hand gestures and expressions like a pop star.
So the song goes..'If you want to sing like me...you have to practice a lot... (she noticed a glass of water on the table)... you have to drink a lot .... (remembering what mummy asked her to do after a bath) you must wipe yourself dry after taking a bath...(remembering mummy said try to think of nice things before going to bed to get nice dreams).... you mustn't get bad dreams... if you want to sing with me.....'
'If you want to sing like me... you must practice with your heart... (eyes closed and face tilted upwards expressively and hand on heart)... you must sing nicely.... or people will say Boo....Boo...Boo... (this obviously remembering a disappointed audience on a TV programme)..'
and the song goes on and on and on.... mentioning whatever is in her sight and whatever she remembers at that time.

After cooking pasta, cauliflower and cheese for her dinner, I put her plate on the table for it to cool down. She gingerly stuck her finger and tasted it, "Mmm, yummy, mummy. You made it yesterday and again and again..." (??) "I haven't made this for ages, babe.."
"I love it mummy."
"Thank you, Nicole," I said graciously.
"I love you too..." awww, isn't she sweet?
"I love you more, Nicole.."
"I know.." by this time her attention was already grasped by Scooby Doo.
Oh, okay then.

"Mummy, you forgot to bring my milk!"
"Oh yes," I reached for the glass of milk on the kitchen counter.
"Err.. what about my orange?" she pointed to the bowl of fruit that was to be her snack with the milk.
"Oh, dearie me..., mummy is so forgetful, Nicole," I said.
"Yes..." she gave a chuckle.
"That's what happens when you get old, Nicole, you become forgetful."
"Well, I am not old," she said. "I am new." (???)
"No, baby, you are young," I corrected.
"I am young AND new," she insisted.
"Okay," by this time I was wise enough not to argue.

She will pretend painting faces by scrutinizing mummy's face and making strokes on the wall - like an artist making a real life painting. When asked, 'Who showed you how to do that, Nicole?' She will give an 'exasperated' sigh (oh mummy, must you ask?? kind of sigh) 'It is from my imagination, mummy...'

Funny girl

Nicole loves to sing. If not the songs that she knows already, she will 'invent' a new song. With all the festivity up to Christmas, it was Christmas songs everywhere. On TV, in the supermarket, on the radio, everywhere.
One night as she was ready to go to bed, eyes half closed, feeling sleepy, she still managed to sing. But it went like this, "We wish you a sleepy Christmas, we wish you a sleepy Christmas, and a Happy New Year.. oh yeaahhh..."
I couldn't stop myself from laughing. She started smiling and then laughed with me. She sang it again and again.
And I was back to square one trying to wind her down before bedtime. Again.

"Ayo, Nicole mandi dulu..." I tried to speak Indonesian to Nicole as much as possible.
"Mummy, why are you speaking Spanish?" she asked (Daddy speaks Spanish).
"No, baby, I'm talking Indonesian to you, that's my language".
"Okay,... mummy,.. asppaher kdeehoo donk abulfa adkielm...."
And I burst out laughing at her ingenuity.
"Mummy, don't laugh when I am speaking Spanish.." she was still trying to be serious, but soon both of us were laughing our heads off.

We are now introducing the rewards chart to Nicole. So if she does what she's asked to do and does it nicely, she gets a star. If she eats in the dining room instead of in the living room watching TV, she'll get a star.
The first day we introduced this system, we asked if she understood and my husband said, "Well, since you have been nice, I'll give you a star now to start."
She was so excited to see the red star on the board.
Then she turned to me, smiled and said very sweetly, "Mummy, I always like to play seesaw with you.."
I tried to see where her thoughts led, "Of course, sweetheart, I like that too, but the playground is frozen now. Next time, ok?"
"It's only a pretend seesaw, mummy.."
"Oh, okay then, let's pretend"
Then she ran to her daddy and said, "Daddy, I spoke nicely to mummy."
My husband said, "Well done, okay... another star."
Now she had two stars on the board.
Then (again), she turned to me, smiled and said sweetly, "Mummy,.. I really like to play hide and seek with you..."
By this time both my husband and I were roaring with laughter. Apparently she understood the reward system too well.

So.. how old are you?

Ok, I know that every mum will brag about their child being the most beautiful, the most clever, creative, innovative, etc, etc. But honestly, she just is!!
Being a three year old and having a conversation like an adult is a day-to-day routine for Nicole.
Christmas is coming and she received a lot of Christmas cards from her friends in the nursery. One card was signed, Archie.
She said, "Oh, Archie is my best friend.."
??
As far as I know her best friend is always Sophie.
So in an engaging tone I asked her some questions (as usual!!), " Is he a nice boy, Nicole?"
"Yes, he is"
"Do you play with him a lot?"
"Yes, I do"
Then, searching my brain for more appropriate questions and vocabulary for her age, I asked, "Is he bigger or smaller than you?"
What I did not expect was her answer, "He is the same height as me, mummy"
'The same height??' Not 'He is as tall as me' or 'bigger or smaller than me'
Well done, baby... excellent use of comparisons.
Other expressions that she uses now:
"Hmm,... I wonder what's inside this box.."
Or
"I wish I could be as tall as you, mummy"
Or
I would ask her something like, "Do you think it is going to be a sunny day today, Nicole?"
And she would answer, "Mmm, I think so...."
So... how old are you again, Nicole? I feel like talking to an adult sometimes, bless you...

Moments....

Picking Nicole up from a friend's house yesterday after she had a fun morning baking some cookies, here's an excerpt of the moment.

It was around midday on a dank, damp and clammy Tuesday in Essex. In other words, the famously horrible British weather. My three-year-old daughter's voice from the back seat:
"Am I going to my nursery now?.."
"No, baby. We have to go home first. You have lunch, then.. .you go to the nursery."
"Is it Sophie's nursery?" (Sophie is her best friend in the nursery)
"Yes, it is..."
"Yippeee..."
"The cars are driving too slow, mummy.."
"Well, it has been raining, babe. People have to be careful when they drive because the road is slippery so they won't have any accidents."
"Oh, we don't want that....," (in a very serious tone)
"No, of course not, Nicole."
"So you cannot pass?... The car is too slow?.."
"No,. baby .. this is a single traffic road. Mummy cannot overtake the car in front."
"That's a blue car..."
"Yes, there's a blue car in front of us. And in front of the blue car, there is a white car."
"I can't see.... I can't see....!!"
"It's in front of the blue car. It is difficult to see, isn't it?"
Red light at traffic.
"Oh,.. we are trapped..."
"No, we are not trapped, babe,.. we stop because the red light is on, see?.... what colour of light can we go?..."
"Green!!!...."
"Clever girl..."
Whilst waiting for the green light.
"One...two...three... mummy,... three red cars!!"
"Yes,... there are a lot of red cars, aren't there?.. You are very good at counting.. can you count to twenty?.."
"One..two..three..four..five..six...seven...eight...nine..ten...eleven...twelve..firteen... (substitute 'f' to 'th')...fourteen...fifteen... nineteen... sixteen... eighteen!!..."
"Well done, baby... well done..."
A drizzle just started.
"Hm...mm..mm...mmm.. pitter patter raindrops, pitter patter raindrops... I'm wet through... so are you, so are you... So are you, mummy!!"
"Yes, babe... so am I..."
"Are we almost home now?.."
"Yup... just another corner now...."

It was a dank, damp and clammy beginning of October. But on hindsight... it was not too cold. There was a gentle fresh breeze pushing its way through a slightly rolled down window. And listening to my daughter's excited voice chattering away as well the smooth tune of 'Somewhere out There' from the radio, somehow... it was not too bad.
In fact, life is beautiful...if only we can capture all the beautiful moments...

New vocab today

It never ceased to amaze me how fast Nicole grows up. Everyday there's always something new. Just turned three less than 2 months ago, she is already as tall as a four-year old or even taller.

Today we went to Festival Leisure Park in Basildon, Essex. There was Angelina Ballerina, face-painting activities for children. She wanted to be a butterfly.
So her face was painted as a pink butterfly with sparkles... of course.. some things that Nicole loves the most are the colour pink and anything that glitters. Well, at the moment, the glitters are limited to shiny paper, beads, sequins and sparkly things. No jewellery or expensive items (yet...)
Anyway, on the way home.. satisfied with her butterfly face and a floaty balloon of Angelina Ballerina, she sat back on her car seat and suddenly said,.. "Mummy,.. I am soooo attractive"
Slightly taken aback, I answered, "Yes, darling, I think so too... I think you are the most beautiful girl in the world" (which of course, she is by the way..)
Then she had the sun in her eyes and protested, "Mummy.. the sun's in my eyes!..."
"Just close your eyes, now"
"Can I open my eyes now?"
"Yes, you can"
"Where's the sun, mummy?"
"It's behind those trees, baby"
"So the trees are protecting us?"
"Yes, sweetheart, they are...."
Was that a conversation between a forty-something and a three-year old?.. well, it was.

Why?..

Some studies suggest that a child can focus on something for as many minutes as is double to their age.

Nicole is going to be three years old next month. However, her speech ability and vocabulary is more like a mini adult. My husband and I always try to speak to her normally like to another adult; obviously with a much slower pace. We believe that the more you speak to her as we would to another adult, she will be able to communicate better. She does. And so much more.

Driving home from the nursery today, she asked, "Where's daddy, mummy?"
"Daddy's at work, babe"
"Why?"
"Because Daddy has to work"
"Why?"
"Because Daddy has to earn some money for us"
"Why?"
"To buy your milk? And chicken? And pasta?"
"Why?"
"So that we can eat"
"Why?"
"Well, ... (hmmm, think!..) if we don't eat, we'll get hungry, sweetheart"
"Why?"

???
Half a minute...

"You don't like to be hungry, do you Nicole?"

A glance through the rear view mirror showed that she was mesmerized by a huge pigeon perching on the electricity cable.

"Mummy.... a bird.. a bird..!"
"Yes, darling, it's a big bird, isn't it?"

The question and answer lasted about 5 minutes. Almost the end of her attention span. And I was still thinking of the answer to her last question.