I had been thinking to get rid/sell some of the toys we have. Especially those toys that the kids have grown out of. Just then I put Esther's fisher price activity table on ebay, and was going to put another leap frog toy on there as well. BUT I changed my mind about that one. Mainly because it was one of the few that I bought for Jonathan since he's a baby and it would be really good for other babies who come to our place. So I am keeping it a bit longer. :D

Anyway, we actually hardly buy our kids toys! Yes, hard to believe when people come to our house and they see the amount of toys we got and must be thinking 'wow, the kids are really spoilt!' The fact is only 20% of the toys are purchased by us, 60% are presents from family and friends, another 20% are hand me down toys given by other generous parents. Dane's family have a habit of buying the kids toys in every occasion - Easter,  birthdays, Christmas and anytime in between. At Esther's 1st birthday, she received at least 5 big items from her auntie and another 3/4 things from Dane's mum. Then other things from family and friends. Maybe I should let them know to give 'money' instead and we can put it in the kids bank account! Just like the Chinese tradition of giving Ang Pow. However I do understand their point of views, it's their way of showing their love and they think it's their jobs to spoil the kids. They think giving money is rude and insincere so all I can say is "THANK YOU" and I hope the children will appreciate them.

I personally prefer to make fun using what we already have (such as boxes, bottles, and other bits and pieces of materials). It encourages the kids to use their imagination and creativity. We also buy lots of books for our kids. Being a teacher myself and understand the value of books and what they can offer, we make sure our children love books and read them. Esther can sit for at least 30 minutes by herself just looking through her favourite books. Jonathan loves listening to stories and he loves making up his own stories too. He also likes books on facts and often ask many questions. Nevertheless, we thank God that our children are learning to look after their toys and sharing them.

The Activity Table I put on ebay

 

The Playroom

We made our own book 'My visit to the Adelaide Zoo'.

Some of our collection of children books

This is so funny and yet so true. Have seen this long time ago but felt I needed it this morning. Every day is hectic around the house here and sometimes we just need to be reminded we're not alone in this. And to be a MUM is really not an easy task. I can so hear myself with the constant nagging even though my children are only 3.5 and 1 year old. LOL. However I think other than 'nagging' at our children constant praying for them is also needed for all Christian mum. God has them safely in His hands. Anyway, all the mums out there please remember you are not alone! God knows every things/sacrifices we do for our children/family. :D

This morning I took Jono, Esther and my mum to visit one of our local parks. Jono likes to go to the park and play in the playground. While we were there I met another mum. She is from Hong Kong and has two beautiful children aged 5 and 4. The older one is a boy and the younger one is a girl. Immediately, I saw a picture of what Jono and Esther would be when they're older. Yes, they will play together. Wow, I couldn't wait really. Since I missed out in my childhood to grow up with my siblings, I really love to see that my children would have a different experience. My brothers are much older than me and they left home pretty early for study and work. I kind of grew up playing with my neighbour's kids. It would be a great joy to see my children grow up together and enjoy each other as a family.