March is Reading Month

March is 'Reading Month' at Kindergarten and this year's theme is all about the ecosystems. Sydney's class theme is "Rainforests" and we helped decorate the hallways and classroom in that theme. I have to say that it was so much fun that it makes me want to go back to Kindergarten. One of my ideas for the class was to create a rainforest tree in the middle of the room and that be the reading corner:

I found some carpet rolls in our basement that we were able to make use in the class. We used a large carpet roll to form the trunk of a tree (with brown butcher paper crinkled up and covering it) and there was a large green carpet that was used for the base, where the kids can sit and read their books. Kids brought in various stuffed animals (monkeys, snakes, birds, frogs, etc) and put them around the tree and some dangling from the tree branches.

As soon as Sydney learned about the rainforest theme, she immediately said "Well, I've seen a rain forest in Malaysia". And she's right. She has had the wonderful experience of throwing bananas to the wild monkeys near my parents home and she has seen what the thick rain forests look like. I thought it was cute that she also thought my mom's backyard was a type of rainforest. There are a lot of banana trees and other trees that are foreign to her in that backyard.

Another lesson on "life's not fair". Sydney sometimes tells me of projects that the other kids in her class got to do while we were in Malaysia, and that sometimes she feels sad that she didn't get to do those projects. Once again, life's not fair, but not every kid gets to ride on an airplane and visit a foreign country and see a rainforest!

All because of Ginger cookies...

One day, Sydney whined about not wanting to go to school. She thinks that she's missing out on fun things while she's at school. I suppose, at times, Caleb has shared something FUN that he did while she was at school and that makes her feel left out. Well, this week, she used the words "not fair" because Caleb got to help me bake cookies for her school event. It doesn't matter whether she gets to eat just as many cookies as Caleb because she's still upset that Caleb got to make the cookies with me. And, oh......, it still didn't matter when I told her that Caleb only helped for 10 minutes and then took a 2 hour nap right before she got home from school.

Here's something I hope my kids learn.... and the sooner the better. Life isn't fair, and I have to say that over and over again. I'm sure glad my parents never treated us kids the same ALL the time.

A lesson on "Life isn't fair".........all because of ginger cookies. (and Mommy rolls her eyes)

Scientist of the Week

A few weeks ago, Sydney was the "Scientist of the Week" in her class. This means, she has to choose a simple science experiment from a book, practice it at home and then present it to the class. The other kids will observe and are encouraged to ask "I wonder why...." type questions. I think this a very fun and exciting project for kids.

When she was 3 years old, we did an experiment in our apartment that shows which items float and sink in water. Sydney remembered that and she immediately decided she wanted to present that same experiment to her class. We tweaked it a little by adding two other components to it:

1. She had a bowl of water and an orange. She asked the class whether they thought the orange would float or sink. Then she used a peeled orange and asked the same question. She learned the concept of "density" and how an orange skin peel contains a lot of air bubbles that causes an orange to float. However, a peeled orange is a lot denser than water and thus it sinks.

2. She poured soda water into a jar and then put some raisins into the jar. The raisins first sank, but after a few seconds, a few raisins floated up. The teacher asked her why the raisins came back up and she confidently answered "because the air bubbles from the drink attached itself to the raisins and that's what makes it float".

Sydney learns a lot from various Science experiments in the class and now she often asks questions by saying "I wonder why?"

The Circle of Life

As quickly as I typed the last blog entry, there was a sudden change in life's plan for our family. Little did I know that a single phone call later that night (Friday December 18th) would change my life. A very shocking and unexpected phone call came from home saying that my Dad had a stroke and was in the hospital with severe brain injury. It seemed like seconds after hearing those words on the phone, my world became a blurry mess.

We made flight bookings, packed our bags, got to Chicago to file Sophia's passport and flew out to Malaysia. The entire journey from beginning to end felt like one big nightmare and it came with so many roadblocks and challenges of its own. Somehow, by God's grace, we arrived in Malaysia on Christmas eve.

I will never forget the emotions I felt when I stepped into the hospital and never forget the sight of my Dad just laying there on the hospital bed - unconscious and on a breathing tube. I've never seen him so thin, unshaved for days, and just laying still. Words could not come out of me. Only tears. He had spent a beautiful 5 weeks with our family and now, only a week after returning home, this had happened. Unbelievable. Speechless.

Tired and fatigued, everything seemed like a fog to me. Long story short....5 hours after seeing him, he passed away on Christmas morning, slightly after midnight. I cannot even describe the emptiness I felt for days since that day. Christmas will never be the same for me. Christmas will always remind me of my Dad. Christmas day will be a reminder to so many people, of who my Dad was and all the wonderful memories we have of him.

People say that I just need to take one day at a time and let myself grieve and be patient. I feel that I can only take one step at a time. There are places in my home that are hard for me to go to, particularly the basement where my Dad slept and played with the kids a lot. Sometimes I smile to myself, thinking of how precious the time my Dad spent with us. Sometimes, I cannot help but feel sorrow and gloomy - where I don't even feel like talking to anyone. It's just strange. Never thought I would even be like this. The circle of life is interesting. We know that people are born into this world....people come and go from our lives. You anticipate that it's going to happen at some point, but when it does, you're never really prepared for it.

Life is precious. One minute we're here and the next minute, we're gone. We're like the grass of the field. I suppose, life has to go on. So much to be thankful for. So many memories to hold on to. So many lessons to be learned.

I hope my next blog article isn't too deep. I must keep blogging about the family as this will help us to move on. Thank you for all your prayers and support during the past month. The amount of cards and phone calls have been overwhelming and yet so filled with love. Thank you.

Family update

It's hard to believe but Sophia is already 7 weeks. She is such a good baby. She's already sleeping about 8 hours a night and some good naps in the day time. We've had the pleasure of receiving some cute smiles and cooing when we talk to her. She often feels uncomfortable in her stomach in the late evenings so we've had to give her some Mylicon to give relief. Sydney and Caleb continue to adore her and have enjoyed feeding her with a bottle.

This is Sydney's last week of school before the 2 week winter break. Today, she learned how to tie shoe laces for the first time and she's pretty proud of herself too. She got some new tennis shoes this week from Stride Rite and she wore them to school to show her friends. I'm so proud of her too because it took me awhile (I think I was in 2nd or 3rd grade) before I wore shoes with laces to school. It seems like she picked it up so quickly and she was eager to learn.

Caleb turns 3 on Saturday (19th). Hard to believe that my little boy is not a baby anymore. He's got a lot of energy these days. His attention span is pretty short, but he enjoys playing with his trains in the basement. He's also been potty training and improving each day. Last week (I think), he told me that he wanted to wear his Buzz Light underpants and said he did not want to pee in those. He kept his word at it too, which tells me he can now hold a few minutes before making it to the potty.

This is also John's last week of school. He has been grading the finals and is looking forward to the semester being done. He's had a full load of classes, and looks forward to having a small break. He doesn't have to teach in the Spring but will be very busy catching up on his research writing.

And for me.... well....what can I say. I'm a happy mom, but a tired mommy too. It seems like the minute I wake up, there's always something to do. It amazes me that there are always dishes to clean or put away, or laundry to fold and sorting through the mountain of papers and mail on my desk. Now that Sydney is in school, she comes home with paper and information that just sits on my desk until I have time to read it and sort through. I like to take a few minutes each day to look at Facebook or catch up on email - it's ME time, to relax a little.

Christmas is next week and the kids are more than excited to see what Santa will bring them. We are teaching the kids more about the meaning of Christmas this year, and that is helping us stay grateful as well. So much to be thankful for this year and so much to look forward to next year.

Sophia Ruth is finally here

Sophia Ruth Macdonald joined our family on October 29th at 2:18 p.m. weighing in at 6 lbs 13.6 oz. She has a head full of hair (like her other two siblings) and makes the cutest gurgles and squeaks. She comes with her own set of cute birthmarks that include a couple of stork marks on her nose. It makes me want to call her our little red-nose reindeer. "Sophia" means wisdom, and it was a name that Sydney first suggested several months ago. "Ruth" means Companion or Friend, and we chose it because it's John's Grandma's middle name as well as a biblical name. The pregnancy journey seemed short and long at different times, and it's hard to believe, but that journey has come to an end. Now we begin a new journey with her here in our arms. I only hope we can treasure each moment as it comes.

Adam and Eve

Caleb was working on a project in our art room and he was supposed to do a piece of coloring for Uncle Adam and Aunt Anne (John's sister). When I asked him if he was going to finish his art work, he said

"Yes, I want to make this for Uncle Adam and Eve."

Too funny. I guess it's just easy for Eve's name to follow right after Adam's.

My Birthday

I just cannot believe that this is October and my birthday has come and gone. It used to be that when I was 10, I couldn't wait to be that magical 12. Then when I turned 12, it seemed like sweet 16 was the next age to look forward too. Then not to mention turning 21 - seemed like ages ago. Now I'm 33 and who's counting anyway. I had to actually think about the year I was born and count my way up.

John bought me a vase full of white and purple Daisies, the weekend before my birthday and they have just made the kitchen area so pretty and lively. Those flowers still look so fresh and bright that I feel like everyday must be my birthday. ** smiles **

John took the kids and I out for a birthday meal to a new restaurant called Clara's. It's on the way to downtown Lansing and next to the train tracks. The restaurant is a converted train depot with amazing features like a cathedral ceiling, bronze and crystal chandeliers, fireplace mantel and of course the amazing view of trains going by. The food choices were an excellent assortment and everything tasted great. The kids loved running up to the window when a train came rolling by and before we left the restaurant, they both received some colored mints and balloons - which made the experience so worthwhile.

Then we came home to have some cake and open presents. It's always fun to see the kids eyes light up when they see candles on a cake and they are so ready to blow them out too. Caleb couldn't wait for the Happy Birthday song to begin and started digging into the cake with his fingers. It was a wonderful Birthday week, and thank you everyone for the cards, gifts and kind wishes.

Homework

This past Friday, Sydney brought home homework from school for the first time. I didn't think Kindergarten had homework for 5 year olds but they do. On Sunday evening, Sydney asked to play Chess again. I told her she had to finish her homework first. Then it occurred to me that this is just the beginning. She didn't mind sitting at the table to finish some math/counting worksheets. Caleb quickly joined us at the table and asked if he could do homework too. Poor guy, he just doesn't know what he's asking for.

I guess Sydney isn't the only one with homework. Parents do homework too. I'm supposed to make a "Me Book" for Sydney that allows the other kids to read and get to know Sydney better. It's like a mini scrapbook with simple statements of "I like my family" or "I like PB & J sandwiches"...on and on. I'm still working on getting pictures for her book and need to get it laminated. I want to get it done before this baby comes because I won't be doing any scrap booking for a LONG time. I just find this a little strange / funny because my parents certainly didn't do homework with me at this age. Times have changed! Apparently, she will soon be bringing books home to practice reading and to complete comprehension sheets as well. Yikes.

My Indian Boy

Teaching two different cultures to the kids can be very confusing at times. Take eating for instance. The food choices between Asian and Western meals are as different as the east is from the west. I teach my kids how to use forks and spoons from the time they are about 18 months old. Fingers are fun for only some foods, but a no-no for things like spaghetti. Tonight, I served Indian food - typical rice, curry, sambar and a spinach dish (that is Sydney's absolute favorite). John and the kids were happy to eat using a spoon and I was happy to eat with my fingers - as we traditionally do back in Malaysia.

I could see it coming and sure enough, Caleb politely told me that it's not nice to eat with my fingers and that I should use a spoon instead. Sigh. How to explain this to an almost 3 year old, whom I often remind to eat with his spoon? (like his cereal, for instance) So, I tried to say that this is a special meal that tastes better with fingers. After looking at me (several times) with confusion written all over his cute little face, he put his spoon down and joined me by eating with his fingers - even using the correct hand, and only the right hand. John says he's definitely my little Indian boy. Sydney ate her meal with much joy but didn't join in the fun of using her fingers. She didn't care to get them dirty like that. It was so nice to see the whole family enjoy the meal and even ask for seconds!