Baby R3 will be making her debut in about six months time. We have been sorting out the boys old stuff to see if they can be re-used for the baby. Unfortunately most of their stuff have to be trashed as they have yellowed with age or are simply not working anymore.

Here is a list of items which will have to be purchased ( hopefully gifted by friends/relatives)

1. Steam Sterliser

The steam sterliser which I used to have was the Pigeon Rapid Sterliser.   It really helped to keep the milk bottles and breast pumps sterlised and ready for use when needed.

2.  BPA free Milk bottles

New milk bottles will need to be purchased. ( Min 2 x 125ml 4 x 250ml)

3. Disposable Breast Pads

I have tried both reusable and disposable and the Pigeon Disposable Breast Pads are one of the best in the market. Will need to stock up boxes of them.

4. Crib Sheets and a new mattress

New sheets, waterproof mattress protector and crib sheets will have to bought to fit the existing baby crib.

Is there anything else I should add to the list?

http://www.metacafe.com/fplayer/4026132/the_book_of_eli_go_back_inside.swf
THE BOOK OF ELI: Go Back Inside – Funny bloopers are a click away

Last weekend  Hubby and I went to watch “The Book of Eli starring Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman. The show was rather thought provoking for me. It got me thinking more about my relationship with GOD and how I would like to enrich my religious life.

Photo by Flickr

The holy bible is such a wonderful gift which many overlook. I personally haven’t been really reading through that thousand page book. So far I can only manage reading through the children’s bible with the kids periodically.

Many books and stories inside do have some good moral teachings and make us reflect on the way we wish to live our lives here on earth. However I do admit that it can be hard explaining certain concepts being potrayed in the bible to a six year old when I personally am not able to comprehend it fully.

Even though the movie is rather gory with lots of killings and people behaving immorally. It depicits how our world can degenerate if we do not have GOD within us.

The children do go to regular Sunday school but regular reinforcement of the teaching of GOD is necessary to bring them on a closer path with GOD.

Hubs and I have decided to take a passage out of the bible every forthnightly and focus on its teachings. If possible we will come up with activites for the kids to do based on the reading. This will give everyone a better understanding of the scriptures.

How do you go about reading the bible with your children?

Many a time we are simply too busy or do not put in effort to understand the feelings of the people around us.  We assume that we understand our family and friend when we hardly know how they actually feel.

This term we are teaching the topic on Feelings for English and it made me think how important it is to be in sync with our own feelings and the feelings of people around us.

Why it is important to understand our own feelings.

In order to be able to understand our kids better it is important to firstly understand why you have certain reactions towards certain behaviour and situations.

Sometimes a slight movement or feeling out of control of the situation can make one go from happy mode to despair and even depression.

Many a times your childhood experiences and life experiences shape the way you feel or react in certain situations.

If you had a very negative experience when you are young the feelings of hopelessness and despair may come back to haunt you when you are facing a similar situation.

It doesn’t mean that you are more prepared now to face the same situation and emotions which you thought that you have buried deep inside you suddenly resurface.

Nevertheless because of our experiences we are more able to keep our feelings in check and become a better person.

How can we talk about feelings with our children?

I personally feel that we should start from when our child is a toddler. The younger the child is the less inhibited he is to express his feelings.

For younger kids

You can have simple faces pasted on flashcards showing – Happy, Sad , Amused, Curious and let your child point to the face which they think represents them the best at the current moment.

You would have to model how you feel to your child first so that he can learn how to express himself.

This activity could be further expanded by teaching them similes and other expressions when they are older.

Eg: ” I am as cross as a hot cross bun” , ” As happy as a bird chirping in the tree” .

This could help them expand their vocabulary and make it more colourful.  It also makes your child more sensitive to their own feelings and understand how they feel.

For older kids

In our class last week we did a short pair work activity.

Partner A had to list down how she was feeling today on half a piece of paper. On the other half of the paper she/he had to write down how she though her partner was feeling. After she had finished the writing exercise she had to check in with Partner B to check if what she thought was correct.

It was interesting to know that only half the kids really understood what their partner was feeling for the day. It only show that they shouldn’t assume but actually ask to find out how a person is actually feeling if they are unable to read the visual cues.

After the activity the students reflected that they learned more about their partner through the activity and had a better understanding of the other person.

This makes a good bonding time activity in class and helps to build up class unity.

How do you talk about feelings?