Just Some Updates

Guess what? Today marks my 1^st month of stay in Doha, Qatar. YEAH!!

I know I have been neglecting this blog for a while.  But I will try to blog more now since my two kids are attending their Summer Camp School, and I have more time to kill. LOL!

Everything has been great so far except the weather. It’s getting warm here and CT told me, the temperature will continue to rise till August to as high as 48 degree! I know it sounds insane but I guess my family will be able to survive the heat – just stay in-door and switch on air conditioning (that’s what we have been doing for past 1 month). Also I miss showering in COLD water too, now that it's summer, even cold water has becoming tepid water and sometimes can be as hot as boiling water - you could even boil an egg! (I'm just kidding!).  Solution? A bucket of warm water to be left overnight.

Apart the heat, the weather is very very dry, I've been suffering lip cracks, scaly and itchy skins (I have eczema) on my feet and face and worse of all my blackheads are coming back.  Gosh... my pores are always congested with blackheads and whiteheads nowadays no matter what I did – scrubbing, masking and even my current Holy Grail B.liv off those heads is not doing their jobs. I’m actually seeking for alternative products to combat those heads. Do you guys have any recommendation?

Wait a minute! Actually this entry is to update about my boys 1^st day of school!

There lot adjustments need to be done prior their fist day to school such as:

Their new school, it's a Canadian School.
We are still searching for British Curriculum School

1)   Waking Time

My kids are not morning risers! They usually rises around 8.30 AM but for the last 2 weeks before start of the school start, my helper and I slowly wake them up earlier – 2 weeks before was around 7.30 AM and on last week was around 7.00 AM. In their new school, Calgary 

             International Pre-School (Doha) the activities start as early as

 7.30 am. My kids need to wake up as early as 6.30 AM to have breakfast at home and watch some cartoons before we set off to school. And also we need to drive them to school; it takes about 5-7 minutes to reach the school. However in Brayden's previous school, Agape Little University (Singapore) the lessons start around 9.00 AM. We usually send him to school around 8.00 AM so they woke up around 7.45 AM. The nursery is only 5 minutes walking distant from our home. So no traffic!

2)  Sleeping Time

They usually went to bed around 9.30 PM – 10.00 PM. It's quite late, but now we're gradually adjusting their bedtime hours to 8.30 PM – 9.00 PM.

It’s not the ideal time yet! Young children need to have a good 10 hours sleep. So hopefully, they could rest early after hard day at school today! 

Here is our ideal time tables:

            Morning: 6.30 AM

                  Breakfast: 7.00 AM

                  School: 7.30 AM - 1.30 PM

                  Afternoon Nap: 2.00 PM - 4.00 PM

                  Play Time/ TV session: 4.30 PM - 5.30 PM

                  Dinner: 6.00 PM

                  Study Time: 6.30 PM- 7.30 PM

                  Shower and Sleep Time: 8.00 PM

3)  Neither breakfast nor lunch provided

In Brayden’s previous school, they provide every meal – breakfast, tea-break, lunch and snacks. Here in the school they provide nothing so basically we need to prepare the food the night before and warm up the next morning to pack to their lunch boxes. So I need to think different types of bento lunch for them. (Bento is a single-portion takeout or home-packed meal common in Japanese cuisine.  

A traditional bento holds rice, fish or meat, with pickled or cooked vegetables, usually in a box-shaped container. Usually Japanese 

homemakers often spend time and energy on a carefully prepare lunch for their spouse, child, or themselves.) 

Actually now I miss the Singapore  Childcare, it’s so convenient.

                             

4)   School Hours

In Singapore, most childcares operate from 7.00 AM – 7.00 PM. But here the school only operate from 7.00 AM – 1.30 PM, so I need to home-school them and that's the reason why I decided not to find a job here. I don't my kids to slack at home, i.e. watch cartoons, play Wii Nintendo/ iPad, play toys, etc. I'm not so sure about the curriculum over here, so being a typical 'kiasu' Singaporean mommy, I will prefer to coach them extra lessons (I bought lots of assignments book for my eldest boy, he's going to kindergarten next year . Just in case if we decided to pack our luggage back to our hometown, our kids able 

How my boys coping their first day?

Initially my eldest boy, Brayden, is a kind of looking forward to go to school. The night before or to be accurate a week before the school start, I kept explaining to him about his new school, new teacher and new friends. He said “Ok mommy, no more teacher Lali (his favourite teacher), no more Yu Tong (his girl-friend), Xiang Wei and Jin Yang (his buddy).” He told me that he misses going to school but on the actual day, he got nervous and anxious. Probably, he saw many unfamiliar faces in the schools. So he nearly broke down and wanted to go home with me. But after coaxing him for awhile (giving him some toys to play with), he finally settled-in. I decided not to stay longer in school (my initial plan to hang around for at least 2 hours), I worried if he sees me, he would cry and want to follow me home.

As for my youngest son, Bazyl, he’s the bravest ones. He didn’t shed a single tears at all despite it’s his first time going to school and first time separated from us when we left him behind with teacher. In fact he easily warms up with everyone. Well done, Bazyl!

Well, now that both of them at school, the home feel empty without them.

Love, Shantz

Greetings from Doha, Qatar!

As-salam alaykum (السلام عليكم)!

It’s an Arabic greeting often used locals to greet people; it nearly translates to "peace be upon you", but is often considered the equivalent to "hello" or "good day" in English.

 It’s been a while since I’ve updated my blog. Well, I have been busy packing; it has been a hectic and chaotic last month.

I’m in the midst of settling down in my new home, new city and new country – Beverly Hills Garden 3, Doha, Qatar. It’s not easy especially for the kids – food, weather, time zone etc.

My eldest boy misses his school, teachers and of course his ‘girlfriend’ already.

Anyway I’ll update my blog soon so stay tuned!

Our new home for now!

Weather is pretty scary here! It's HOT and DRY!!

Most importantly Our Family finally together again! :)

Love, Shantz

My Blog has a NEW name!

I have decided to re-name my blog:

 “3C's: Cookies, Curvy and a Chronicle”

(I started my with “snippets of my journey” then to “daily dose of my diary”)

Why “3Cs: cookies,curvy and a chronicle”?

Personally I feel that a child is like a COOKIE; tough on the outside and yet soft in the inside, cookie can be addictive (you could never ever get bored when you’re with your child), the baking process may be easy, but to bake a perfect cookie may takes time and few round of experiments (teaching a child may seem an easy task but getting him/her to sit for just a good 5-minutes could be a challenge OR to get him/her interested in what we’re going to teach could be a headache too), the softness of the cookies may depend on how long it is baked (to build character in a child, one must start educating him/her the difference between right and wrong from a young age).

To me “CURVY” just means A WOMAN in general. All women have curves even if they’re thin with small boobs and small butts. We’re just so much different than a man; they don’t have a shape as far as women have the curves. That’s what makes us a woman. Women are beautiful whether they are "curvy" or not, fat or thin.  Most important, you need to learn LOVE YOUSELF. Only then, you will be able to live your life to the fullest!

And keeping A JOURNAL is like keeping a catalog of my memories. Over time, our memories become an irreplaceable treasure that can be looked at years from now, by me, or, maybe by my children. By journaling I will capture not only my life, but also the lives of all the people that surround me. I’m also creating a record, and with that record in hand it is easier to see patterns, changes, and shifts in my life.

I choose “A CHRONICLE” rather than “a journal” because I want the name of my blog begins with letter “C”. ^^

To summarize on 3Cs: Cookies, Curvy and a Chronicle:

The blog will be about me keeping a record of series of events/memories, mostly about my kids, my motherhood journey and my new chapter of life - from a young girl to a woman, a mother and a wife. It'll be interesting to read back this blog 10 years later from today, to see how much my life has changed and how differently I see the world before and now. I also hope to share my experiences or knowledge and most importantly to meet you guys, mommies, ladies, around the world.

Till next time! XOXO

Love, Shantz