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.