no more a pre-schooler

I find her so adorable in her spanking new uniform. Suddenly she looked so grown up. She did not like it very much because the belt sat a little tightly around her tummy. I told her to just bear with it, and that I'll get the hook adjusted later today (or have her diet adjusted).

Starting today, the used-to-be preschoolers attend a 3-week foundation class, to get them prepared for Year 1 in the new year. This class is optional, but since we are not going anywhere these three weeks, and there's nothing for her to do at home apart from watching tv and lazying around, I signed her up for it. Though it's optional, 90% of students enrolled in Year 1 have signed up for it.

So, this has been an unofficial first day at school for the little girl, and I think she's fitting in quite well, cos' when I picked her up, I saw her smiling and waving to a few girls. Have I told you? Unlike her shy sister, Shell is bold and a social butterfly! Everybody is her friend.

result day

Results for the UPSR (Primary School Leaving Examination) were released today, and we are very pleased with Dan's results. In fact, I was not at all surprised. I've actually expected that he would get at least three A's, even though he was confident that he would get A's for all subjects. If he had gotten 5 A's, I would have been really surprised, because I kinda know his "ability" where Bahasa Malaysia is concerned.

I feel sorry for him though, to be dragged down because of Bahasa Malaysia, and to make matters worse, the subject is broken up into two components - comprehension and composition, and these two components are graded separately, as if they are two different subjects! Tell me, do you ever see that happening with English?!!

Alas, he's enrolled in a national school, so it is only expected of him to be good in not just English, but the national language. It is just such a pity that his overall aggregrate would probably always be lowered because of this, unless we do something drastic, like start conversing with him in Bahasa Malaysia at home. :/

So, he's slightly disappointed, I could tell. Not for the fact that he did not get his 5 A's, but because he will not be getting his Playstation. LOL! That's basically how I get them to motivate themselves - by luring them with incentives. How much effort they put into their studies will greatly depend on how badly they want these goodies. Fair?

I took him to Toys R' Us and he chose a big box of Lego... so I think he's feeling better now.

don't do it for me

Today's the prize-giving ceremony in Kell's school, for all the top three students from each class. I didn't want to attend, but after witnessing some big tears of disappointment flowing down the girl's cheek, I obliged, and I was really glad that I did.

While I was there, I was observing a Primary one student, and the student's mother. The reason why I did that was because I have heard so much about her and her elder brother. Kell goes to the same tuition centre as them, and the boy, who's in Kell's tuition class, told her that his mum buys him and the younger sister Primary 5 and 6 books. And that whenever he gets results below 90%, she would cane him.

The younger sister was one of the trophy recipients today. What I witnessed was a little disturbing to say the least. When the little girl walked down the stage, with her trophy in hand, there was no smile on her face. She did not look excited or happy, or anything! It appeared as if that was the most natural thing. That to win a trophy was a no-big-deal. She walked towards her mother, who was recording everything with a handheld camcorder, and stretched out her hand with the trophy towards her. As if to say, "Yours!"

You know, I could be wrong. She could be one of those 7-year-olds who have a calm personality. And I probably would not have read too much into this had I not known what I've learnt from Kell. And I wasn't sure if I should write this down. But at the risk of sounding judgemental, I had to for my own sake. In fact, I must do this more often, to remind myself. To remind myself that ultimately, my children should be achieving and accomplishing for themselves. It's for them. Not for us! And certainly not for others!

I WANT to see that sense of pride and satisfaction on their own faces too, and for them to realise that whatever they are working hard for, is worth it!

how to assemble a chair on a chair

pecan pie

If you recalled how excited I was at my successful attempt in apple-pie baking, you'd be able to imagine how thrilled I am today, at FINALLY, baking my own pecan pie, which coincidentally, is my all-time favourite!

The last time I sunk my teeth into a slice of pecan heaven was in Glasgow, 1995. No kidding! It was that long ago, so you know, I got all emotional inside when I took a first bite into this pie. I LOVE! The presentation can be improved on for sure, but this is attempt number one.. gotta give myself allowance for some imperfection. The taste is really great though - that is all that matters. *grin*

weird thing that happened

I was at the Times bookstore this afternoon to pick up this hardcover copy of James Peterson's Baking. With a Times membership card, I would be entitled to a 20% discount, which works out to a saving of RM30+. But I don't have a Times membership card.

So I walked the aisles, summed up my courage, and approached a man to ask if he has a membership card. He shook his head. I strolled on and asked another man, and he said no. I then went to the children's section, and approached a young mother, and she said yes, she has it. So, I waited for a good couple of minutes while she browsed through her two pouches of cards, which was fine, but my goodness, she did have ALOT of cards, all sorts of cards! I thanked her and told her that I'll be right back.

At the till, the cashier flipped the card to scan the barcode on the back of the card, and that's when I almost flipped. We share the same first name! My name is not unique per se, but it's not exactly a common name either, you know. As I returned the card to her, I thanked the kind lady once again, "Thank you J..., my name is J... too!"

The husband thinks I should go buy the lottery! :D

Ribs by Vintry

We are huge HUGE fans of the Barbarian Ribs at Ribs by Vintry. One portion of this, which comprises of a 5-rib rack, mash potato and coleslaw, is enough to satisfy us both. The ribs are succulent, and well-marinated in its barbeque sauce. The slightly charred bits at the sides and citrus zest on the ribs lends it its wonderful aroma and flavour.

We usually complete the meal with either garlic bread or creamy mushroom soup served with warm toasted bread, and a garden salad served with the most wonderful tangy balsamic dressing. All these below RM100 - very reasonable indeed.

And one more thing, you've got to be prepared to eat like a man - a barbaric man, to be exact!

We don't cook pork at home, out of respect for the domestic helper and her beliefs, so we really enjoy the chance to eat out in the weekends, where we get to satisfy our cravings for anything porky. :)