Hello World!!

I’m SO excited to share this news with you!

After wanting to change my blog look for the longest time, it’s finally UP!

*YAY!*

And and.

My online video channel is finally ready as well!

*WOOHOO!* =)

I’ve decided to call it ‘Our Channel’, since I think ‘Our Everyday Things Channel’ is a little too mouthful for everyone =)

(On Youtube, the URL is http://www.youtube.com/watchourchannel, … come, come, … click and subscribe yeah! =)

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Gee, I’ve got so much to share. Okay, here they are one by one =)

- I’ve uploaded my first video series! Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3, … yes, there are THREE short video clips where I talk about a parenting topic : Changing Behaviour versus Changing the Heart, in Bahasa Indonesia!

You can access all my videos from the ‘VIDEO’ link at the top too!

- I’ve included English subtitles!

(Now I know, doing subtitles is hard work! I plan to still insert English subtitles in my future videos so English-only viewers can understand the content too, but the subtitles may not be so … ‘detailed’? Hmm. We’ll see, I guess)

- These past few weeks have been a whole new learning journey for me, because I learned how to do the shoot and proper editing, doing everything all on my own! Totally had NO idea how to do all this before! So, you can only imagine how super happy I felt when I managed to get my first 3 videos done and rendered! It was like, … FINALLY!! I actually DID IT! YAY!! =)

- I will still be blogging in English as usual, and I plan to have one video (be it a single clip or a video series) uploaded once a week! (So, do SUBSCRIBE to OUR CHANNEL yeah for updates whenever there are new videos! I know, I know, I’m repeating this often in this post, hehe =)

- Video topics will range from parenting thoughts and values, places to visit for the family, craft ideas for kids, health and women, reviews to interviews!

(You’re most welcome to share your comments and thoughts on the videos too. If you have ideas on topics that you’d like me to cover, do share with me those ideas too yeah!)

- After watching the clips, you’d notice that I’ve chosen to go with ‘Mom Leonny’ as my nick name.

You see, my kids are getting bigger, and so although they’ll still be on this blog, I’m gradually moving away from talking about them (especially ‘the older ones’). But, I’m still and always be a ‘Mom’, and sharing about family-related topics will always be something that’s close to my heart. So yes, I’ll continue to share family-related topics through my blog and video channel. And, I feel the nick name ‘Mom Leonny’ helps to identify me as someone who’s associated with parenting, family and children.

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Ah, anyway. I feel SO blessed to have been able to regularly blog for the past 7 years! It’s really amazing to have known so many new friends, online and offline, through blogging. And, to know that my blog has somewhat inspired others, the  joy is beyond words!

And now, I’m SO excited and happy too to be able to launch OUR CHANNEL!

I really hope these videos can be a blessing to many!

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Anyway.

Please, please do share my blog and OUR CHANNEL video links with others, … on Facebook, Twitter, etc =)

And, I know I’ve said this before but I’ll say it again … Come over and SUBSCRIBE to OUR CHANNEL yeah! =)

If you’re new Our Everyday Things, … welcome! *big wave* =)

Here’s where I share more photos and other updates, and how we can stay in touch too:

- Add me on Facebook

- Join Our Everyday Things Facebook Page

- Follow me on Twitter (English, @oureverydaythgs)

- Follow me on Twitter (Indonesian, @MomLeonny)

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Hope to have your support, everyone!

Big warm thanks from us, to you all! =)

Cheers!

The Thankfulness Song (featured on the Veggie Tales)

I thank God for this day,
For the sun in the sky,
For my mom and my dad,
For my piece of apple pie!

For our home on the ground,
For His love that’s all around,
That’s why I say thanks every day!

Because a thankful heart is a happy heart!
I’m glad for what I have,
Thats an easy way to start!

For the love that He shares,
‘Cause He listens to my prayers,
That’s why I say thanks every day!

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This guy sang the song nicely, I thought =)

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How wonderful it is when thankfulness for life’s blessings (big and small) can naturally spring out from our heart and from our children’s hearts ALL THE TIME.

To be thankful for Mom and Dad.

To be thankful for our home and family.

To be thankful for our health and for our friends.

And most importantly, to be thankful for our God who’s so patient towards us, although we often forget to be thankful and faithful to Him.

If only we could ALWAYS remember to be thankful for life’s many blessings.

The reality however is, we SO need a constant reminder to be thankful, to be grateful.

We SO easily take our blessings for granted.

We SO easily forget to appreciate what we’ve always had.

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The children song above has very simple lyrics, simple enough to be memorised and sung by little ones. Simple enough for us adults to remember too.

On this Mother’s Day, let’s be thankful, not just for the mommies and for their love and sacrifice all these years, but also for life’s blessings we receive every single day.

God is good. All the time.

Let’s be thankful.

Happy Mother’s Day! And may you all have a wonderful week ahead too!

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Decades ago they’d answer you with a No, I think.

Because the common value many people believed in at the time was: Cooking and the kitchen were more for the girls.

Well, what’s YOUR view?

Do you think boys should pick up a thing or two about kitchen-related activities?

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[Preparing a special dinner for the family - blogged in August 2010]

Thanks to the years my hubby spent away from his family (during his student days in Perth, Australia), I now have a hubby who can cook! (ie. He needed to cook his own meals, he earned some cash working part-time as a ‘kitchen hand’ in hotels and Italian restaurants, etc).

No, he’s not a GREAT cook who can prepare complicated dishes, but he can prepare simple pasta dishes for all of us (and quite a few other dishes too)  *Good enough for me*

And, you know what.

I personally think it’s awesome that he doesn’t mind being in the kitchen every now and then (read: washing the dishes, etc), especially at times when I’m really exhausted, not well, or simply need to attend to the kids, etc.

I appreciate the fact that my ‘load’ can sometimes be shared.

I appreciate the fact that my man can cook!

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Personally I feel it’s my duty as a parent to let my son see and learn that boys and girls CAN be in the kitchen, and that helping out in the kitchen is something that BOTH boys and girls can do.

Well, I don’t expect my kids to be ‘in love’ with cooking or baking (it’s fine if they have the passion, of course!).

I do hope though that they all know how to prepare a few simple dishes, enjoy helping out in the kitchen and being useful ‘contributors’ and members of the family (while learning more about ‘kitchen safety’ since young too).

After all, when it comes to men, women generally love husbands who can cook … no? =)

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PS: Do you involve your son in kitchen-related activities?

Oh my.

The baby in the family is turning ONE real soon! *yikes!*

Didn’t I just post newborn photos of her on my Facebook taken at the hospital?

Sigh. Too fast.

Okay, before she grows any faster (and my memory gets too rusty!), here’re some updates on our little girl:

- She cruises along well, holding onto furniture.

- She can let go and stand on her own quite well now. She took one wobbly step the other day!

- She has 6 teeth in total. Two at the top, four at the bottom.

- She likes to babble a lot as if she’s chatting away with us.

- She can wave ‘good bye’, and would move her body to the left and right when she listens to music or when we ask her to ‘dance’ =)

- She’s quite a fierce little girl who doesn’t let go off what she has in her hands. She’d grunt and shake her hands to keep the thing in her hands. And IF we manage to take it away, she’d scream and cry loudly, and often she’d approach us to try and see if she can still get it back.

- She has no stranger anxiety so far. She welcomes everyone who carries her, and she can fall asleep in the hands of someone else too.

- She can fall asleep on her own.

- She’s still breastfed and still rejects the idea of drinking formula from a bottle. Plan to introduce her to formula milk when she turns one. Perhaps she needs to be spoonfed. Or I may try to let her drink some from a straw cup (which she’s already using when she drinks water).

- She lost some weights when she had her first bouts of diarrhea and vomiting here in Jakarta last week, for a good 7 days (plan to blog about it separately).

- She started to have double eyelids somehow when she was unwell! =) And I thought she looked so different with two bigger eyes, hehe. Now that she’s back to her healthy self, the double eyelids have gone out the window too somehow =)

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I can hardly believe that our baby Brie is turning one so soon!

I feel truly blessed to have been able to raise her day in and day out throughout her first growing up year though.

We love her so much and we hope when she’s all grown up, she’d look at this blog and see how she has a loving family, and how she’s wonderfully showered by God’s grace and love too. Every day.

Love you Brie!

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PS: I plan to bake her first birthday cake. With utensils still in our boxes somewhere, err, wish me luck!

When you have more than one child, it’s interesting how you get to see the difference in their characters. Since birth.

One hardly cried as a baby, and was a really easy sleeper (who could sleep through thunderstorms).

And the other, errr, as a baby he’d scream and fuss when we’re out and about, and would completely REFUSE to fall asleep UNLESS breastfed and/or carried in my sling.

One is more independent. The other, more clingy, and would ask for hugs every now and then.

One could ride a 2-wheel-bike when she’s 6.5yo. The other, at the age of 3.5yo.

One likes to write, the other would only write if we tell (repeatedly) him to.

I guess that what makes each child unique.

If God created NO two fingerprints the same, not even the stripes on two zebras, then how can we really expect our children to be like the other?

Or worse, like another child from ANOTHER family?

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So one thing I tell myself again and again is to avoid ever using sentences like,

‘Urgh! Why can’t you be like ____ ?’

‘Look! ______ can do it, why CAN’T YOU do it?’

Often though, as parents we are faced with situations when we really feel like uttering such words to the kids. When we’re frustrated or simple fed-up with what the kids have done. I know I do get into such situations quite a bit.

Anyway.

To end the post, I’d like to share with you what I shared on the Our Everyday Things Facebook Page sometime back:

‘Before we utter those words out of our impatience towards our children, let’s stop & take a deep breath, because may be, those words are better left unsaid’.

A reminder to self, and hopefully to everyone.

Happy parenting, everyone.

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[Top photo]
Here’s our 5.5yo Vai and his drawing. He may not draw as ‘fine’ as his sister, and it’s totally alright. Btw, this is the story behind his drawing according to him:
On the left side is all the people fishing along a jetty. An electric eel and a snake on the bottom left. And of course, people surfing away out in the ocean =)

I agree and realise that we all are selfish beings. We are sinners and we are all born selfish (yes, from the moment a baby cries ‘Waaaahhh’, he does not know just yet the concept of putting other people’s needs ahead of his own).

I know that little babies need time to develop, grow up and learn what it means to not be ‘selfish’.

I know we cannot ‘expect‘ children them to live out a life that’s un-selfish at a young age, and this is regardless of how consistent we parents are in teaching them this value.

I know it’s part of growing up.

Thing is, knowing all that does not mean I always understand my kids’ selfishness though.

I admit, lately I often feel irritated easily whenever I see displays of selfishness at home. I tell the older ones off and I am just less patient with them. I somehow feel, tired. It’s like ‘Really, … haven’t I been teaching you this, ALL THESE YEARS?’

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After I reflected on what’s been happening, I think the main issue is actually … me and my expectations.

I’m guilty of this.

I mean, I really should learn to be more understanding and not feel upset easily when my older kids display selfishness very often. They’re after all learning to apply what they’ve been taught, and we all know it doesn’t happen ‘overnight’. Plus, it’s not that I myself am THAT selfless.

Anyway.

I’ve been reading up quite a bit on this topic, and I’d like to share with you some excerpts from Dr Kevin Leman’s book (‘Have a New Kid by Friday’).

- Kids, by their nature, are selfish, having little ‘social interest’ in anyone else. All they care about is themselves. Life is truly ‘all about me’.

- Every parent has a responsibility to guide their child towards selfless behaviour and thinking of others. In my seminars, I ask parents, ‘Why do we stop at stop-lights?’

‘Because it’s the law, and you don’t want to get a ticket,’ they usually say.

‘The best answer’, I say, “is that we stop so we don’t hurt someone else.’

Note the difference between the two answers – and the fact that the unselfish answer is NOT the first one that came up. All of us are selfish. We live in a self-driven society.

- When you teach a child not to be selfish, you’re actually teaching him to be anti-societal, to be UNLIKE everyone else. But why do you want your child to be like everyone else anyway?

- Modeling giving as a family and as an individual to those who are less fortunate than you is very important.

- Children model what they’ve experienced at home. If you create an environment where children feel loved and accepted for who they are, and they are a part of giving back to your family, then when they leave your home and go out on their own, guess what happens? They do what they’ve been doing in their own home!

- Teach your child selflessness. Then she’ll emerge into society as a giver, not a taker.

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I thought about this a lot lately, and I tell myself that I need to continually learn the art of ‘instilling values’ and ‘guiding’ my kids consistently, lovingly and firmly WITHOUT expecting a ‘quick result’.

Again, there is NO shortcut. Instilling values WILL take years and decades.

And, I need God’s mercy and grace to change my heart and my children’s hearts (a sinful heart that focuses on self all the time, etc).

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Yes, it IS possible to still encourage selflessness in today’s self-driven society. Let’s start with us and our family.

I shared this news over on my Facebook sometime back, and I thought I should share it here too!

Earlier this month, I was told that I was a ‘Blogger With a Cause’ winner!!

Remember I introduced this social initiative where I encouraged people to share their appreciation, positivity and love towards something through the photos they post online? (I called the project as ‘30 Days of Love, in Pictures‘).

YES, it’s that project!

And, I was awarded a cool new Nikon D5100!!

*Aarrhh SO grateful!! Thank you SO much for those who supported this social initiative! And big thanks to itsmyturn for awarding this to me!*

I have received the camera and here it is!!

Finally, I have my very own DSLR!

*WOOHOO*

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Okay. Now that I have this camera in my hands, I’d like to do something more.

Something that I haven’t done before. Something that I hope can inspire and be of positive impact to many others.

And this something is:

I’ll be producing online videos, a web TV Channel, where I’ll cover topics related to parenting, families and kids!

There’ll be interviews, as well as clips where I talk about family-related topics, etc.

And yes, I’ll be using this camera!

*So excited!*

(Since I’ll keep on blogging in English, the online videos will mainly be in Bahasa Indonesia, as I really hope to reach out to the many families and parents-to-be here in Indonesia as well)

Oh also, I hope to launch the online video Channel next month together with my blog’s newly revamped layout!!

*Double excitement!*

Yes, definitely LOTS of homework for me to do, but I’m really REALLY excited to do this! To reach out to more with a pro-family message has always been my hope and prayer, and I’m so grateful to be able to start this project!

So. That’s one of my latest updates, everyone!

Hope I can continually have your support!

Thank youuu =)

We have lived in Jakarta for a little over 6 weeks now.

I’ve been enjoying heaps of good things, like the variety of yummy food, nice family get-togethers, and the generally very friendly people (read: Customer service people here are most likely very helpful and polite).

But, I’ve also had my share of moments and personal encounters where I felt things weren’t carried out ‘the way they should’ve been’.

Like, traffic jams caused by badly managed road works (eg. Piles of soil left unattended ‘on the road’ for days), slow bank services, frequently slow internet connection, etc.

Just like any other cities around the world, Jakarta offers good and not-so-good experiences everyday.

Well, naturally.

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I took the photo above the other day.

Because I was amazed at how I could actually see a mountain view far FAR away!

I mean, I NEVER knew that I could even see a mountain, FROM Jakarta!

(And I wonder how many out of the millions living in this busy city realises it too)

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What a contrast captured in a single shot, I thought.

In the foreground, we see a view of packed buildings and houses, kinda covered in smoke/pollution. In the background, we see … a beautiful sunset, with a glimpse of a far away mountain.

As I stood and saw it all, I thought to myself, how we see something really depends on our own perspective, doesn’t it?

We can focus on the polluted city view in the foreground. Or, we can enjoy the beautiful orange sky in the background.

And really, it’s not about ‘ignoring’ the existence of the foreground. It’s more about ‘looking beyond’ the foreground, and focusing on the ‘better’ view.

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I then think to myself, how we see life, Jakarta and how we live our day to day here is similar in many ways.

We can choose to enjoy the good aspects of the city, and ‘close one eye’ on the bad stuff we encounter everyday.

It doesn’t mean we can therefore ‘ignore’ (read: be immuned from) the not-so-good experiences.

But, it’s more about looking beyond, and not putting too much energy in feeling unhappy about the bad stuff?

Ah anyway.

Personally I’d like to learn to appreciate our days here in Jakarta and not dwell too much on the ‘hiccups’.

I prefer to learn the art of looking at my glass as ‘Half Full’.

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Hope your days are ‘half full’ too, everyone! =)

I think parents of more than 1 child would agree when I say that however much two siblings love each other, there are moments when they bicker, irritate, disagree and get on each other’s nerves.

Yes, they may play nicely with each other, but there are times too when negative words about each other are uttered. Times when they dislike each other’s presence and behaviour.

To me, although they are still little, they are just like me, a sinner, and so it’s not a surprise if they have a strong tendency to occasionally be negative than to be positive, to dislike than to like, to be rude than to say kind words.

To do what they most likely already know as wrong than to do what’s right.

To me, it’s part and parcel of growing up, understanding their sinful selves and learning to change for the better, with God’s help, everyday.

Anyway.

In my daily effort to help nurture positive relationships between the two siblings (who have a 2.5 year age gap), I implement a few approaches since they’re little.

Here are some of the principles I always emphasise to them:

1. I always tell them both something along this line,

“God gives you a brother so you can learn to share and to care. To give and receive and to be cared by another family member other than Mommy and Daddy.”

“God gives you a brother who may not always agree with you, who may annoy you, so that you can learn to be patient, to control your emotions and the words you say, even though you’re not happy about something. It’s a constant training that God gives to you, just like how God wants me to learn and be a more patient Mom as I deal with you and your misbehaviour too.’

“God gives you a sister and a brother so that you can learn to love and care. If we can’t love and care for our own family, how can we love and care for others out there?”

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2. We always remind them to NOT say bad comments or use discouraging words when talking to and about each other.

Comments like: ”Oh, you’re so useless!” or ”Stupid boy!”, for example, will never go ‘unnoticed’ in our eyes as their parents.

They both know this ‘rule’ and they know they need to apologise to each other if they happen to not be in control of their words.

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3. When they argue and are not nice towards each other (and continue to behave like that towards each other after I’ve asked them to stop), I’d ask them to go to a room to sort things out amongst themselves, to settle their differences/conflict on their own. They can only come out if they’ve come to an agreement.

And here are the possible scenarios:

- They both settle their differences soon after I’ve asked if they need to go to a room to settle the conflict elsewhere on their own (ie. They don’t end up going to a room)

- They do (often unwillingly) go to a room, and in a few minutes (usually less than 5 mins), they’ll both say “We’ve agreed, Mommy”. They’d then come out and while they stand in front of me, I’ll ask them what it is that they’ve agreed on.

They’ll then need to do 2 things :
- Apologise to each other
- Give each other a hug

I implement this ‘apologise and hug’ approach since they’re little, as I’d like them to always be in good terms again soon after they’ve badly argued and treated each other unnicely.

Note:
- If they apologise / hug each other insincerely (eg. Bumping each other’s body or hugging each other quickly with an unhappy face), I’d ask them to repeat and hug again until they do mean it, and can smile to each other. And in the end, they’d usually giggle and smile, realising how they’ve been acting silly to each other to begin with =)

- No, I don’t separate them into 2 different rooms because when they’re in conflict, they’ll be happy to be alone and not deal with each other. For siblings who prefer to play and be each other but are in conflict / big arguments with each other, putting them in separate rooms will work better, I guess.

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So, having done all of the above (and a few more other approaches), does it mean Anya and Vai are always loving towards each other?

Errr … no, of course not =) Because after all, they ARE siblings, and they ARE sinners.

But yes, I know they are constantly learning.

I think siblings (whose age gaps are relatively close to each other) naturally have this kind of relationship. They love, but they also annoy each other at times. They argue, but they also hug each other silly.

And I strongly feel as parents, we do play a strong role in encouraging / nurturing positive relationships between siblings in the family.

What we say and how we respond to situations at home affect how they treat / view / love / respect each other.

May God give us all the needed patience, consistency and wisdom in raising siblings in our family.

Have a great week ahead, everyone!

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PS: Any other practical tips to share when it comes to encouraging love and positive relationship between siblings? Do share yeah =)

We’ve always had ‘arts and crafts’ session at home back in Singapore.

We made stuff. We drew and scribble. We used our recyclables to make things =)

We kinda stopped having such sessions when I got busy with our mad ‘relocation busy-ness’ though. I just couldn’t manage to find the time.

By now, we’ve been here in Jakarta for 5 weeks, and I’m just glad that the kids and I managed to start spending some ‘arts and crafts’ time *again* today!

And I must say, it was nice seeing them both drawing, choosing which crayon colours to use, and focusing their attention on what they’re creating.

To me, it’s definitely way much better than seeing them sitting quietly watching TV!

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Note:

In today’s drawing activity, here’s what we did:
– I encouraged the kids to draw something in the middle of the drawing paper
- We then drew wavy lines ‘outwards’ and used a marker to darken all lines
- The kids used vibrant crayon colours and filled everything with colour
- They then outlined all lines with black crayons.

I love the vibrant colours. And as they coloured their drawings, they did feel the same way too.

You see, sometimes the kids feel ‘too lazy’ to colour their sketches. ‘It takes too long to colour everything’ is the usual excuse.

I’m okay with them not colouring their drawings, BUT if they ‘always’ avoid colouring their drawings because they’re ‘lazy’, then I feel that’s just not right.

And so as they saw how nice their colourful drawings gradually turned out, I casually shared with them how God splashed so much wonderful colours in His creations. Under the sea, on land, beautiful sunset, everything. Imagine a black&white underwater world, I said … Errr, that’ll be boring and dull, they said.

I think they got the message =)