Farewell to the Headmaster

I came home today to 2 very sad kids.  Wei and Yuan were crying because today was the last working day for their school headmaster who is retiring at 58 years old.

Yuan said that she was sad because the Headmaster always told stories at the weekly assembly.  I asked her what sort of stories, and she said sometimes funny stories, sometimes moral stories.

I guess you can make a difference in whatever you do, even if you were a Headmaster who only ever interacted with your schoolchildren at arm's length.  I don't think my kids know him personally, but somehow, he has touched their hearts in the way that only a good Headmaster could.

Baby Xin - first "Mummy" & "Baby" words

This is Baby Xin today after a haircut and bath.
At 18 months old, she has been greeting me with "Mummy".  She learnt to greet "Papa" a few months earlier and  sometimes still calls me that too.
Today I asked her "Where's Baby?"
She put her palms on her heart and said: "Baby."

Baby Xin is Afraid of the Vacuum Cleaner

Baby Xin, for all her courage at swinging on monkey bars and climbing on chairs and stools, is afraid of the vacuum cleaner.  Today I vacuumed the sofa and Baby Xin started crying because of the noise.  First she ran away, then she found the dining table chair, climbed onto it and stood up, and while looking at the vacuum cleaner from her safe post, continued crying.
She stopped when I stopped the power, and when I resumed she resumed crying.  Her brother and sister were so amused.

Wei said that Baby Xin thought the vacuum cleaner was evil.
Yuan told the crying baby: " The vacuum cleaner is a non-living thing, so it cannot be evil. When you get to Standard 1, Baby Xin, you will learn about living things and non-living things."

Monkey Bar

Baby Xin can now hold on to a monkey bar, lift her little legs up and swing a little bit, and all the while sings a song that goes: "Nya nya nya nya nya..."    I'm wondering who taught her that?  Or she could have copied her brother or sister as she watched them swinging about.  But the song???

To Do List

Between my babies and work, there is hardly any time left to do anything else.  So I decided to take advantage of this early Friday to make the most of the balance of the day.
I know one of my blogger friends, Eun-yong complained that I have hardly updated my blog.  Ok, ok I admit it is my fault.  I have so many things to write about.  But the computer has been hogged by J most of the nights and it is very difficult to blog from the iPad.  Also, I have been so busy that home organization has gone down the drain, so many items have got misplaced.
So in order to accomplish most of the tasks this evening, here is my to do list:

I hope to accomplish most of it while the kids are playing around me ;-)  Though I seriously doubt it, because the Baby Xin, has now become a terror with the chairs and stools.