Time has gone so quickly, we have been in Adelaide for about 2 months now and we are loving it! We have not visited many tourist places yet just enjoying time together as family when Dane has the time off work. God is good all the time!

Jono and his pet 'scruff' enjoying their breakfast.

Esther all dressed up ready to embrace another cold day.

Jono is making a banana sandwich. He is a good helper in the kitchen.

Esther loves playing with Lego Duplo.

Jono making his favourite egg sandwich

Esther and Jono having fun at Koorong bookstore in the city. We love their full size playcentre!

Jono is growing up so fast. He enjoys learning about everything and loves reading information/fact books. He asks lots of why and how questions. He's indeed a keen learner and I enjoy teaching him and sharing what I know with him. As a parent and a teacher, I personally think parents are their children's best teacher. You can send your child to the best school in town but you never spend anytime with them nor teach them anything, then you are wasting your money. Many children in top schools might achieve really well academically, but failed as a person. We can see some of them do drugs and some of them steal and what not. I have seen many parents thought the school is responsible to teach their kids since they send them there. Not so, we as teacher can only do so much in the class.

Every now and then when people praised Jono and how good he was, I felt a sense of pride because I was the one who taught him to have good manners, to share and to be nice to others. I make sure I spend the most time with him not his kindy teacher. Imagine one day when there's a conflict between what you teach your children and what their teacher shows them, and who would they listen to? Do you want them to listen to you or their teacher?

So, parents, spend as much time with your kids and show them the way of lives. We as Christians should be faithful parents to our children. Nannies, childcare, schools, even grandparents can only do so much for them, the responsibility rests on you - Mum and Dad!

It all started from the night before. We went to the in-laws place for dinner. The dinner was nice and we had a great with the family. However that also means the kids did not get to bed at home until roughly 9pm. They usually in bed by 7-7:30pm and will sleep for 12 hours straight. Albeit, they both went to bed last night with no problem and we all woke up at about 7am this morning. Indeed we got woken up by a very very cranky and whinging 3 year old. Jono just would not stop whinging.

Everything/anything seems to frustrate him. He would cry every 2 seconds (very exaggerating I know). Even though we kinda of expected that because he did not get a full 12 hours sleep, BUT it is still very hard to deal with when you still have a 5 month old baby to look after. I really lost it today--- I screamed at Jono and ask him to stop whinging about everything. Yes, one thing I said I would not do --- screaming at my child, I did it. I think many parents would understand how I feel, it is so upsetting when you truly love your child but you can't stop being harsh to them. I know it was not all his fault it was the result of his lack of sleep. I felt so guilty and would love to erase it from my memory if I can. However, we all know what's done is done. Jono is having his afternoon nap now and I'm trying to calm myself down. I asked God to help me to mend this well with Jono.

On a similar note, sleep deprivation is detrimental. That's why we feel cranky when we do not have enough sleep. With not enough sleep, we can face things like loss of concentration, less tolerant towards people/thing, depression, lack of energy and many other harmful consequences. So having enough sleep is really important. Well, I think it's time for me to have a power nap now while both kids are having theirs. I pray for a better afternoon with two happy kids and a relax mum.

Wish I can sleep like Garfield!

It's more than a week since my last blog. I had been busy as usual just doing everyday stuffs, being with my children, cooking, cleaning and going out occasionally. Overall, I think I had a fairly good week. I did feel a bit down for a few days where I was easily anxious and got frustrated. I suspect it's my hormone playing up again. Yup blame the hormone, but I'm OK now. Philippians 4:6&7 says "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." We need to learn to trust God and let Him take control of our lives. I often fall into the trap where I wanted to be in control and then got disappointed when things didn't turn out as I planned. Pray that I will not make the same mistakes again.

Jono and Esther are growing up by the minute. They surprise me everyday. Jono has started counting accurately, able to explain things back to me and has a very good transferable knowledge. The problem is he is a bossy kid, he wants everyone to do it his way and he dares to tell you too. He often says "mum, do this, and don't do this...etc" and he also cracks me up big time when he tries to say some Chinese words every now and then. Last Saturday, we went to a private Christian school open day because we are planning to enrol Jono into their pre-prep program next year when he is 3.5 yrs old. Since the visit, Jono keeps saying he wants to go to school and I really can't wait to see him in a school uniform.

Meanwhile, Esther is growing into a cute little girl . She loves talking and makes lot of cooing sounds. Her smile is so heartwarming it often melts my heart. She has started to play with some soft toys and has increasing interest in everything around her. I sometimes have strangers telling to me how Esther was smiling at them and they thought how cute she is and the like when I take her go out to the shops. Admittedly she is really cute and I am enjoying the attention she attracts.

Other than my beloved children, my dear hubby has been very good too. He has lost some kilos and is still going strong. Dane is doing lots of regular exercise and wanting to keep fit. I am happy for him and is more than happy to have a healthy hubby. We have made some adjustments to life with two kids. We set aside at least 15-30 minutes each night to have a interruption free conversation time. We put our kids to bed and get a few things done around the house then we will lie in bed and just talk. There is one rule which is no talking about kids--- just about us and us alone. I am enjoying this as I know my days are full of kids stuffs and we need to have a break from it to focus on other important things. People says having kids can turn your life upside down and I could not agree more. There are so many things to think about when you have children and you just can't go out and do things as you please. It could take your attention away from your partner and you are easily to neglect the relationship. So it's very important to still maintain the relationship with your partner after having children. We are grateful for Dane's parents and sister who are able to babysit the children to give us a break and go out for dates. Having said that, we are absolutely enjoying our life with kids and could not imagine our lives without them. As to us they are not only a gift from God but an evidence of our love for each other! There is no way children are a burden to our marriage but they are one of the sources of our joy and happiness.

Our first photo as a couple 7 years ago

It's Wednesday today, Jono, Esther and I went to the Playgroup at Village Avenue Community Church. It only took about 5 mins drive to get there. I was a bit nervous as it's our first visit there today. However, I was able to recognise a familiar face - Mrs Skinner. We met a few times at various places. Dane knew her family. Well, starting from there I gradually got to know most of the mothers there and we chatted away. On the other hand, Jono was a bit overwhelmed at first as there were at least 20 little kids around. If you know Jono you would be surprised to know that he was shy (he is normally a very outgoing child)! But it did not take long for him to warm up and after some encouragement he went and play with the toys with confidence.

Sarah who is in charge of the playgroup held a cancer foundation fundraising morning tea. As a result, We got to enjoy some nice cakes and muffins while the kids were playing. Esther was a very good girl as she slept most of the time. We were there from 9:30am to 11:20am. We had lunch at home and after that both kids went down for their naps. I managed to do some vaccuming and tidying up in the kitchen. I made chicken rissoles for dinner and now I'm writing my blog. This pretty much sums up my day. I really enjoying being with my kids and being able to look after them myself. It was hard at the beginning as I was bored at home and really not used being at home full time. However, after I followed through my weekly plan, I have started to enjoy my days more.

Dinner tonight--- chicken rissoles, mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables

Being there for my kids really brings me lots of joy. I am able to teach them and guide them every step of the way as they grow up. What better person to look after them and to teach them way of life other than their mum? I carried them for 9 months, gave birth to them and it only makes sense for me their mother to raise them with my own hands. There's no need for babysitter or grandparents to raise my kids. Having said that, I did send Jono to childcare for 2 days a week and 1 day a week with Dane's parents when he was 1.5 yrs old while I was working. However, I make sure Dane and I are still the people who teach him and guide him. We want to be his parents and that's our job! Thank you Lord that I'm able to stay at home for this entire year to be with my kids.

Looking forward to our trip to the library tomorrow! By the way, Jono is doing great with his toilet training. He went to toilet himself twice today without any reminders. Woohoo, we are getting there!