Dhamma School

I'm really very happy that the kids are enjoying Dhamma School. It certainly makes having to wake up early on Sunday mornings worthwhile. Last Sunday was their second lesson and they are already learning something good. As soon as class was over, H asked me if I knew how many precepts a monk has and he proudly told me that a monk has 227 precepts to keep (I think that was what he told me. It's only Monday and already I've forgotten) while we only need to keep 5.

That same night we were hanging out in the courtyard. The kids were playing while I was cutting out foam army tanks and helicopters for H's upcoming birthday party. A pesky mosquito was flying around. It didn't really bother me and I was shooing it away but as soon as it landed on H's thigh, I reached out to hit it. I normally wouldn't but with so many cases of dengue these days I wouldn't want to risk it. Immediately H reacted, "mommy, why did you kill the mosquito? You're not supposed to kill!" Oh my, my boy has so quickly internalised the first precept - i.e. refrain from killing. Oops... "Oh yah you're right, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to kill the mosquito, I accidentally hit it too hard." Double oops... not only did I break the first precept, I broke the fourth one too - i.e. refrain from lying.

I'm back

After 4 months of hiatus, I'm finally back at writing :-)

Baby R is now 4 months+ and just as he's getting cuter by the day and more interactive, I've now gone back to work. July 1st marked my first day of work after a long maternity break. Thank god it's been pretty relaxing so I can still head off by 6pm. There is so much to do in the evenings - making sure that H finishes his homework (I've since outsourced this to my mom), expressing milk for baby R, rushing the kids to finish their dinner (else it can take a whole hour) and getting them ready for bed (i.e. changing, reading and chatting). Bedtime is 8:30pm for the kids so all these need to happen in the short 2 hours I have with them. Whew!!! Very rushed indeed!!!

H's birthday is also coming up so after the kids are all in bed, it's time to get the party stuff done. This year's theme is 'Army'. He's been waiting for his birthday since forever. We're doing it slightly different this year. Instead of receiving birthday presents, H has very generously agreed to have his friends bring stuff to be donated to a children shelter. So proud of him. He didn't even hesitate when I suggested that we do something meaningful since he's already got so many toys/games and doesn't need any more. L is also very excited about her birthday although it's only in September. Whenever we talk about H's upcoming party, she also wants to talk about hers. I guess she doesn't want to feel left out. Unlike previous years when she was happy celebrating just with family members, this year she is already planning to invite her school friends. We now need to convince daddy that we also need to have a birthday party for L. Daddy's policy has been "only one party a year" so we nee to change that... hahaha.

Unlike H, L wasn't too receptive when I suggested to her that instead of receiving presents we give to the needy. Although she did not out-rightly disagree, my cunning little girl said,"mommy, my friends insisted that they want to give me presents for my birthday!". Well, I guess she's still little and not yet ready to give so we won't force it :-)

There is just so much to update this post is becoming a mumble jumble of stuff... hahaha. Here are some highlight:

1. Hubs and I finally completed the Buddhist course so we can now be members of BUBS and our kids can now attend the Sunday Dharma School. 
2. Kids started Dharma School last Sunday. I must say it is very well organised. I like that aside from doing puja, they also do metta meditation before the lesson starts. It will be good for the kids to learn the Dharma teachings, ask questions and hopefully put them in practice. A couple of weeks back, L actually asked me this, "How can the Buddha protect you when he's just a statue?". This came about when I taught her how to chant "Om Mani Padme Hum" when she's scared as she's been refusing to go to bed on her own saying she's afraid. Kids really do ask the toughest questions... haha... and I had to scratch my head to give her a proper yet simple enough answer for her to understand. *sweat* 
3. My maid is going back to Indonesia for a 2-week break. Let's hope she returns else we will have another headache.
4. H is having a school play tomorrow so I've taken the day off. Yah I know, after 3 days of work and I'm already taking leave... hahaha
5. L has been asking for play dates with her friends from school. They do start young these days. At 4, they're already planning play dates. So far we've had 2 play dates. Now that I've returned to work I don't think we can have anymore anytime soon. When I told L that she said, "Why do some mommies not have to work? SS's mommy doesn't have to work!". Hmmm good question, go ask your daddy... haha :-p