Maid Issues (3) - Check this out

I accidentally came upon this blogspot. If you are hiring maid, do check up the following blogspot whether or not your future or current maid's name is listed.

http://singaporemaidcomments.blogspot.com/

What are we teaching our kids ?

This is a funny, taken from a series of chain-forwarding email which I received from one of my friend:-

How do you expect kids to listen to their parents when Tarzan lives half naked, Cinderella comes home after midnight, Pinocchio lies all the time, Aladdin is the king of thieves, Batman drives at 200 mph, Sleeping Beauty is lazy, and Snow White lives with 7 guys. We shouldn't be surprised when kids misbehave, they get it from storybooks.

Dylan has his hair cut

People has difficulties to tell who is Kayley and who is Dylan. When I took the twins to visit my gynaecologist, all the stuff in the clinic asked me to cut Dylan's hair, so people will know he is a boy. Again, when I walked pass the committee meeting held at my condominium, some of the attendees said the same thing.

Can you tell who is who?

Dylan only has his front fringe trimmed since born. Both the twins have beautiful curly hair, so it is a bit 'sayang' (wasted) to have them trim. 

Do you think Dylan looks a girl??

After a long thoughts, I decided to let my boy look like a boy. So, I took him to our regular hair dresser. When I told them what I want to do, all the hairdressers said no, very 'sayang'. Then, I changed my mind and brought him home.

After a couple of weeks and after seeing a couple more people, who again commented about Dylan's hair, I was determined to have his hair cut on that Saturday.

Dylan, before his hair cut

The following was Dylan's during and after hair cut.

So, do you think he is 'boy' enough now?

Full moon Gift Pack

I have recently received a gift pack and this has made me recall those moment when I was trying to source for the practical full moon gift pack that suit my budget.

Full moon celebration is usually held after a baby has passed one month of age. As well as a celebration, it’s a formal proclamation to friends and relatives, of the newest member of the family.

Giving away the gift pack to friends and relatives is a way to announce the birth of your one month old baby and also a way to appreciate the gifts or well wishes received from them.

A very traditional gift pack will usually comprise the following:- 

• red eggs (hard-boiled eggs with their shells dyed red) symbolise new life. In Chinese culture, the colour red is associated with good luck
• nasi kunyit (yellow glutinous rice) represent a wish for the baby to always have a staple meal 
• chicken curry to symbolise that there’ll always be meat on the table – very important to Chinese people!
• ang koo kuih (literally “red turtle cake”) – the design of which represents the baby’s gender.

In the market, I think there are 4 main categories of gift packs offered :-

1. Nasi Kunyit, Curry Chicken, Red Eggs, Kuih, Ang Koo, Roasted Chicken (range from RM8.90 to RM65 per pack)

This is usually a popular choice if you not arranging for a separate party or catering session for the celebration. 

Here some of the suppliers for the above package:-

www.fooktseng.com/

http://hnhcatering.com/fullmoon.htm

www.nyonya-restaurant.com/full-moon.html

www.uniqfullmoon.com.my/fullmoon

www.delightsfullmoon.com

fullmoongiftpack.com.my

www.krr.com.my/ (kenny roger)

2. Cup cake (range from RM 19.50 to RM21.00 (per pack of 4-6) or more depends on the design and quantity)

I think this is very 'posh' and very 'in' thing now, very pretty but not practical and costly. I see people including my family member who will peel off the pretty icing bit, throw them away and eat the tiny content that is left.

Here are some of the very creative suppliers:-

www.myapplekitchen.blogspot.com

www.cupcakechic.com.my

jcakehomemade.blogspot.com/

www.uniqfullmoon.com.my/fullmoon

3. Cakes, Red Eggs, Ang Koo, Tarts (range from RM10.20 to RM 30.00 per pack)

This a 'modernised' traditional package. Instead of just having a marble/butter cake and red egg or ang Koo, now there are combinations of all these with some tarts and ang koo or cakes and red eggs.

Most of the supplier of item 1 will have this package too.

4. Customise/personalised gift box (RM10.80- RM32.00)

I consider this as very 'posh' thing too. You pay for the packaging. It usually comprises of customised card with the baby's photo and some of his/her information like date of birth, weight and etc. Some small gift like chocolate, candy, cookies with personalise wrap and maybe some soft toy.

My personal opinion, most of the stuff will go unappreciated. It is very pretty to look at. In actual fact, the wrap will go to the bin. OK, the personalised card, some may keep it, some may just go missing some how rather. The box may become some sort of storage and laying around in the house. The toy, goes without saying, how many cuddly toy everyone has in the house, so many! My children has dozens being given, they play almost none of them, so they are mainly lying around somewhere in the cupboard or being recycle as gift to others or being donated.

Eight Surprising Facts About Male Infertility

This is an article by Kristin Koch published in the STAR newspaper on 17 August 2011.

Tighty whities probably won't hurt a guy's sperm count - but his cell phone actually might. Here are some common rummors and myths that a man should know about infertility.

Age is a factor

According to President and CEO of The Fertility Centre of New England in United States, sperm production decreases in men after the age of 40, and certainly after 50. 

Bikes aren't bad

One small study from Austria found that male mountain bikers may experience more infertility from scrotal damage caused by jolting over rough terrain. The study's limited findings have been widely criticised in the medical community and there is no strong data to support the idea.

Boxers are the best

Boxer vs. briefs? It actually doesn't matter. There is no conclusive evidence to support the idea that tight underwear or pants could damaged by squishing a guys's main parts or increasing scrotal temperature.

Cell phones can cause interference

Lately, cell phone have gotten a bad rap. So what's the deal?

Some studies have shown  that it can lead to higher levels of free radicals in sperm samples, possibly decreases the quality of those swimmers.

Laptops can burn more than just the lap

Considering laptops can get hot enough to burn their legs, guys might want to keep them away from the crown jewels. There is evidence that, just like in hot tubs and saunas, the heat from a laptop can raise scrotal temperature and may interfere with sperm production.

Expanding waistlines wont't help you expand your family

Both of you should watch your weight if staring a  family is part of the plan. Adopting a healthy lifestyle will certainly boost your chances of conceiving. Obesity in men is associated with decreased sperm count and quality and excessive weight may also be associated with mishapen sperm, which can interfere with the sperm's ability to reach and penetrate the egg.

Saunas and hot tubs are trouble

Exposure to high temperatures in saunas and hot tubs can heat things up down there, and if the temperature of the testicles gets too high, it can kill sperm and interfere with sperm production, potentially resulting in low sperm count and motility. The damage is permanent.

Stress plays a major role in fertility

For guys, stress can lead to impotence, erectile dysfunction and even shut down the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis (glands that regulate reproductive system)- all of which can interfere with fertility.

It is important for both to work on managing stress. So, regularly do stress-reducing activities together like going for walks, exercising, meditating or just sharing some laughs.

Children's modelling Career (3)

Jack's Mamil Gold advertisement is out.

Congratulation!

My Dear Friend,

Congratulation on the birth of your twins, a boy and a girl; born on the 3rd August. 

So, you have a complete family that you are longing for now. Thank you for your call.  I can sensed the joy in your tone, like you said you are like me now with a pair of twins! 

Stop saying thank you, I would like to thank you for listening and taking my advice. This really make my day! THANK YOU!

May GOD bless your babies and family.

Maid Issues (2) - Problematic Maids

We have heard lots of story about the maids' behavior, some are good, some are really bad. My good friend has the worse of luck when come to maids. In just less than 2 years, she already had and lost 3 maids. She has an elderly mum with all sort illness and 3 children aged between 1-5 years old.

Here is her horror story:-

1st maid - Indonesian
Upon the expiry of her contract, she decided the maid is not to the expectation and decided to send her back. Now, thinking back, she was the one who give her the least problem.

2nd maid - Indonesian

Came for 2 weeks and ran away. This was the beginning of the hell of her life. She received a phone call from the embassy the next day informed her that the maid has ran to the embassy for help, claiming abuse by the Employer. She claimed that my friend's mum has physically abused her. My friend's mum is in her late 60's and is a dialysis patient and struggling with all sort of illness. When met up at the Embassy, my friend was shocked with the ironing wound and knife-cut wound all over her body. The maid said she is willing to settle the issue and go back home if my friend is to pay her 2 years of wages. At that time, my friend was furious, she denied and refused to pay her. We were the one, who advised her to pay up and treat this as nightmare as her mother would not be able to handle the backward and forward to the police station for investigation and worst case scenario, if it go to court. Her mum may stand a chance being locked up during investigation.

With my friend's refusal to pay, the maid went and lodged the police report the next day. As usual, police turned up for investigation and few trips to the police station.

The Embassy became suspicious when the maid told them she needed to go back urgently as her baby was sick but in actual fact, her status is single and at the same time, my friend received a sms from the maid's mum informed the maid that all are well at home. 

After couple of months, the matter was still unresolved and my friend stand firm on not paying the money. I guess the maid became impatient and instead demanded RM500 to go back and my friend still refused. At the end, the agency paid her RM100 and send her back. 

Imagine this, they are willing to hurt themselves to gain the 2 years wages and go back home and do that again to their next employer. I guess to them, this is quite an easy money with short term pain.

As a result of that, my friend has suffered great deal of loss of time for work, loss of payment to agency and suffered mental stress. 

After the experience, my friend decided not to take on Indonesian maid and change to Cambodian. 

3rd Maid - Cambodian

Came to work for 4 months and undergone 1-2 session of consultations with the agency. Basically, communication problem, not able to handle simple task even like cleaning the floor, hang clothes after wash, clean/storage of stuff brought from market, preparation of food to cook and etc.

Again, the maid was sent back to the agency and she suffered loss of all fees to the agency, time loss and all sort of inconvenient.

4th maid - Cambodian (name :Horn Mun  passport :N0813691)

Highly recommended by the agency. She worked in Malaysia before and able to speak Mandarin, B. Malaysia and some English. Her work was acceptable but bad attitude towards the mum. She worked for about a year. My friend's confrontation of her attitude towards the mum set up the problem. She ran away yesterday leaving behind the little daughter with the mum (she was asleep), her passport (just renewed) and some cash.

Again, my friend is not able to turn up at work, mum is quite ill and little daughter is only less than 2 years. I sympathised with her situation but I can't really help much.

The reason of writing this, was hoping others could share their experience and list out those problematic maid's details like name and passport number and country of origin, so others would not re-employ them.

I will try to get the maid's details from my friend. She is very traumatised now and need time to organise/re-arrange her life.

Children's modelling Career (2)

In my previous post, I have mentioned that Jack has landed himself a modelling for print ad job. As the client is very happy with him, they have further offered him another print ad for the launching of their product.

When we showed him the paper, he had a 2nd look and said 'it's me'. That is quite funny.

When Children Should Start Swimming Lesson

I am leaving in a condominium with a big pool and a children's pool. Children's safety is my concern. Children's activities are always revolving around the pool.

There are a few of swimming instructors teaching the children to swim at our condo. I have checked with them and they told me children should only start to learn swimming at the age of 4 when they are able to receive instruction and also to prevent their ears and lung infection.

I read the view of SK Lee of Life Saving Society, Perak from the Star paper, he/she suggested that children should start swimming lessons at age of four.

The following is the abstract of SK Lee's view:-

Contrary to popular belief, an early childhood swimming programme has no technical advantage to children under two years of age as their neuro muscular coordination and physical structure are still not fully developed.

Bad habits instead will develop as the child will use unrelated power generated elsewhere to aid under strength parts of the anatomy for propulsion.

Unknown to many, phobia of water develops as a child struggles each time during training. Choking, swallowing water and gasping for air is a horrifying experience.

Similarly, a child will eventually develop phobia at bathing time if one is not careful. Never let water run over his nose and mouth continuously. A child cannot breath under such a situation as the child may have yet to learn how to breath through his mouth. 

It is true that there are a few exceptional cases where a child can go under water or even turn and float on his back. Even after a child has learnt to dog paddle or float on his back, being accidentally thrown into open water will not guarantee his survival.

Open water conditions are entirely different from indoor still water. Having the notion that a child can swim and survive will only create a false sense of security, resulting in negligence like leaving a child alone in the water. Accidents can happen.

In a neighbouring country, the early childhood swimming programme is more of a recreation or therapy session. The element of play makes up 80% of the course and the programme is not done in a swimming pool, where chlorinated water swallowed may get into the lungs which can trigger off excessive fluid, resulting in a condition called secondary drowning.

A collar float is used to keep the head above water, leaving the hands and legs free for movement. Floating toys are added to stimulate movement.

To conclude, there is no distinct advantage for a child under two years old to start a swimming programme. It is better to let your child enjoy his bath under your watchful eyes at home, with plenty of floaties around him to develop a liking for water-he will associate water with fun.

The best age to begin an early childhood swimming programme is still 4 years and above.

Jack, who is 3 now has asked me about 2 months ago that he wanted to learn swimming as he wanted to swim like the big boys without the arm bands. He was very determine in his decision. Last Saturday, he finally managed to start his first 'trial' lesson. The instructor has agreed to take him in.