Big n Littl' Stuff

Came across this gem and posted it. Touched when eldest Arrow came on and said not to worry and that I had done a good job. Awwwwwwwww  

Living From a Distance

What do you do when someone you care for falls ill and you are physically apart?

Does the sense of helplessness overwhelm?

Does the desire to step in and take action rise up?

Does the maternal instinct take over?

Does the paternal instinct rear up?

In my books, the hardest thing to bear is having to watch someone you love suffer and be totally unable to alleviate the suffering.

At that time, a decision has to be made. A stance has to be taken. A belief will be lived out.

But first, the question "Is God in control?" needs to be answered.

Then only can the rest take place.

Wisdom

For more such goodies visit EADotCom for the link.

Examples

We often talk about setting examples for our children. As we talk about this, we often think about anger issues, being hardworking or just being good people.

However, have we ever thought about fear issues?

For instance, when a mother is squeamish about spiders, often the children grow up with intense dislike and similar fears. If an adult influential in the life of a child screams at the sight of a cockroach, you can be sure that the child will pick up that fear and imbibe that.

"Fear not", the Lord said. 366 times I am told. We are meant to only have fear of the Lord, and even that, is then the beginning of wisdom....

Cigar Eating FIsh

You thought I was joking, right?

What do you think he has in his mouth?
Some cool guy - a cigar even as he fries.

Even James Bond couldn't beat that.

Smoking and Health

In a mood for video.
Saw this one and thought you might find it interesting...
Maybe even use it to deter your children from smoking....

Hahahaha!
That sort of humour....?

Overheard Conversation

Following my last post, I overheard a telephone conversation between Arrow #2 and a friend.

Arrow#2 was giving advice to his friend on the other end of the line. I could hear him encouraging his friend to put an ice pack on.

What? No ice pack? No problem. "Get a bag of mixed vegetables instead", says the online consultant, to Big Momma's delight!

I guess he did learn something from all my past nagging!

Anticipating Tears

Memo #1 to self:
If approached repeatedly concerning a problem do not take it lightly.

Memo #2 to self:
If approached repeatedly concerning a problem with signs and sounds of distress, do NOT take it lightly.

Memo #3 to self:
If approached a penultimate time concerning a problem at an early hour of the morning (when one should be having a lie-in), do not be flippant despite being desperately groggy and half awake.

Memo #4 to self:
When all the above presents itself, make a beeline to the distressed person concerned and offer comfort immediately.

Memo #5 to self:
When offering comfort, company is more important than comfort food.

Memo #6 to self:
When applying all the above, pray unceasingly.

The End

Away from Home and Ill

Right now I am nursing a bad sore throat. Perhaps it will turn worse, perhaps I will be fine by tomorrow. There's a low grade fever too.

It makes me wonder. How will my children fare if they leave home and fall ill?

I remember the first time I was away from home and unwell. Since I normally enjoyed good health, I went into a pity-me mode for a while. My friends didn't know what to do with me, and I didn't let my relatives know because they were staying the other end of London and I didn't want to bother them.

I survived of course.

Later, my brother had pneumonia and he did the same thing - didn't tell anyone. It was his then girlfriend who told me about it and I forced him to stay with me while he got over the worst bit. He "discharged" himself from my nursing care before he was totally well. Yes, he survived too.

So I guess I need to learn to teach my children survival tactics before I get too worried about them falling ill while away from home.

Must start listing them down now, before they do leave home!

Further Studies

Both my foster son and my second son have done well.

Now to guide them for further studies.

For the one, it would be to encourage him to get his applications going - and soon.

For the other, it would be to fine tune whether or not to accept the offer given, or to seek other places.

In some ways, good results make it easier .... and harder. Choices are more, and therefore seeking God is all the more important.

Which is what I told him. Now to pray.

Having Cold Feet

Suddenly as the big moment looms, it is easy to have cold feet.

Major decisions ahead. Big steps to take.

Long term commitments. Financial commitments.

What does a parent do when a child suddenly wonders if he/she has chosen right?

First of all, the child needs to know the assurance of the parents. Whatever decision made is not a reflection on who the child is. What the child does is not a measure of who the child is.

Then assist the child in thinking through the steps that led to that moment. Teach the child to discover for himself/herself. It will be a lesson more powerfully learned if it was self-revelation.

Finally, pray with him/her. Big and small decisions in life should go through Him! Such examples will enable the child to develop his/her own relationship with the Lord - surely invaluable during the hard times ahead, when away from home.....

The Pelvic Floor Muscles

In Metamor4sis, I posted about a condition called LAI - light adult incontinence. A condition that plagues many women, one way to improve is to do pelvic floor muscles exercises.

"What are the pelvic floor muscles?" I hear you ask. These are the sling-like muscles which support our pelvic organs (read bladder, uterus and bowel). If they are weakened, we can have bladder and bowel incontinence. They also play an important part pregnancy and childbirth (support during pregnancy and later guide the baby's head out during labour), and in sexual function (but more of that later.....)

So how do we strengthen our pelvic floor muscles? Well, not only have I taught about this during my life as a midwife, I have past personal experience having had three children myself.

First thing you need to do is to know where your pelvic floor is and recognise when you are "pulling" or "tightening" them. (I still remember telling pregnant ladies and their partners at the ante-natal classes in my usual cheeky way ... many years ago, I hasten to add!)

The second best way is to sit on the toilet... with your knees apart. Then pee! You have to do it with your knees apart otherwise you would use other, external muscles ie the thigh and buttocks. Don't hold your breath too much!

After a while, you will recognise them. And once you do, wherever you are, three times a day at least, you can imagine that you are trying to stop yourself passing urine and at the same time trying to stop yourself passing wind. Your muscles should feel as though they 'lift and squeeze' at the same time.

It is recommended that you squeeze ten long squeezes followed by ten short squeezes. A long squeeze means you need to hold it for several seconds and then relax it for the same length of time. You can actually feel your muscles getting a little tired. A short squeeze is a minute and then relax. Again, you do it until you feel your muscles are tired.

It can take three to five months before you notice an improvement.

Oh yes, I said "second best way" earlier. You are possibly wondering what the best way is.

(Did I mention I was cheeky?) The best is during intercourse. Squeeze them and see if you get a reaction. If he blinks or gawks or goes wow, well done!

Money Wise

I was only little. Less than 10 years old. Dad had some money from his work. So he gave my brother and I some of it - one ringgit for every month of our life. It seemed like a fortune then. He got the money in 50 sen coins and we delighted in putting the coins into our metal moneybox. Since I was older buy a year and a half, I had more coins. What joy to feel the weight and hear the money jingle.

As I grew a little older, still under 10, I found myself spending more than the pocket money I was given. Instead of approaching my parents, I decided to dig the moneyboxes.

I can still remember lying on my parents' bed, pulling away with a hair pin from my Mom's box of curlers. The coins would drop around my ears, sometimes hitting my mouth. Initially I would take only a ringgit. But later the thrill of having money to spend made me take more.

I didn't just take from mine of course. I needed to make sure that my box weighed more than my brother's. So I took from his too.

Then one day, I came home from school to see my parents looking strange. They confronted me with the theft.

I burst into tears and confessed.

In their love for me, their firstborn, they increased my pocket money.

No reprimand. No advice that I recall. Just a quick discussion amongst themselves and then telling me they were sorry that I didn't have enough and that I had to steal. Perhaps they felt they were inexperienced parents.

The end result of that, however, was that I didn't learn to budget. I often spent all I had. That is, until much later in life when I met my accountant husband.

So I resolved to teach with my children to handle money.

From the time they could count, we gave them daily pocket money till they went to secondary school. Then from Junior one to three, we gave them weekly pocket money. When in the upper secondary classes, we gave them monthly allowances. Constantly monitoring what they spent on, teaching them to budget. "Set aside for God first," we'd tell them. From time to time, without their asking, we would increase their allowances.

Recently I just gave my eldest one his own bank pass book. We feel confident they can manage the older ones can manager their money. Certainly more so than I did~

Pimples

Most of the time, we have good skin. Most of the time, you have good skin too.

So how come you suddenly sprouted so many on your face? They look pretty angry on such fair skin!

Hmmmmm

Increase your Vitamin C intake.

Increase your fluid intake?

Sleep better. Cut down those late nights.

Go get some exercise and fresh air.

In the meantime, don't pick on them. They will scar otherwise.....