Category Archives: Caleb the heir

Absence makes the heart grow..

Posted on 15 February, 2011 | Leave a comment

Yes this Daddee is away from home.

Back in the days when I was away from home during overseas studies, we would rely solely on this almost A4-sized paper that was folded 3 times over and licked to seal.

Then when I was at uni, I was astonished that this thing called electronic mail that lecturers used to share notes, was able to go beyond the campus’ gateway and into my sister’s work inbox in Singapore.

Of course in between there was phone calls to chat, usually kept very short because of the costs of the call.

Texting was only available after my graduation and returning to Malaysia, and ICQ much later after that.

These days, we have this thing called Skype and Yahoo messenger where not only could we chat over voice, we could also see each other; and if this Daddee has his way (soon?), maybe this thing called Facetime as well ;)

So anyway, Daddee is away from home. Caitlin knew full well days before my departure what the implications are; something I will come back to another time. But after almost a week away and video-chatting nearly everyday, I sincerely hope the kids are coping with my absence. They are staying with their grandparents who, with all due respect, are not as energetic as I am insofar as bringing them out to the parks, goofing around with them outside or on the floor, role playing with their toys, taking them for a swim.

In the video-chats Caitlin does save her comments for the day to share them with me. She would, albeit only very short and unfocused, share with me some thoughts or activities, or questions from something from her day- which I thought is nice. But she would naturally also ask when we’d be together again… In all, I still think that this is better than nothing at all, or at least what it used to be with me. Then again this is a 6 year old who can’t write well yet to correspond any other way.

Caleb would come on too sometimes, but most times he is more fascinated with seeing himself on the monitor and make faces just to see what it looked like on screen. He knows I am there, and we exchange greetings too, but that is really all we- I, can do for him at this stage.

So, I think they are coping okay for now; I wouldn’t say they are coping “well”.

At least from my perspective…

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Posted in A father's POV, A toddler's POV, Caitlin the heiress, Caleb the heir, Short post

Caleb turns 3!

Posted on 8 January, 2011
cal3rdbday

This gallery contains 1 photos.

You are starting to show your traits: You are compassionate. If you accidentally knock someone you immediately apologise without prompting from anyone. If jie-jie is hurt, you go to her asking if she is okay. And if she asks if … Continue reading →

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On why I picked up Bikram yoga

Posted on 16 December, 2010 | 1 Comment

I had once been asked to contribute to this site about how Real Men Do Yoga but had somehow lost the link to this site. Got a reminder recently, and had gladly done so.

Hope you enjoy this bit of a rant. It is to do with my well-being, especially in the context of having (enough?) energy as a father chasing around demanding 6- and 3-year olds :)

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I’m into social media and twitter, and I was whining about my bad knee, and how I was putting on the pounds with the lack of (conventional) exercise. This is my left knee, which I damaged years ago when I went back to the gym after some time off and went straight for the same weight I used before, for squatting. Dumbass. I should have, and do know better. That’s how I had stayed injury free, till then.

Either that or it was the time when I curled my leg to pull myself closer to the office desk on the wheeled-chair, and my knee popped.

Either way, it hurts like hell now at the point of the common angle of climbing up a stair- 45 degrees from straight; which means I can’t play tennis anymore (since one has to be bent-kneed to be ready to pounce towards where the ball is going).

So, a mutual friend on twitter read the whine. She happens to be a qualified trainer, just returning from Vegas then. “Why not come give Bikram yoga a try?”

My mum used to teach yoga to her friends at home, in the early 80′s. She had started practising at home in the late 70′s when my older brother bought her a book titled “Yoga for health”. Me being the youngest and already starting high school, she had more time and thought to teach it. I think she was proud of how many had commented how young she looks for her age; she’s always attributed it to yoga. Whenever she was teaching upstairs I’d be downstairs watching either The A-team, Airwolf or MacGyver, to give you an idea when this was.

Whenever she was practising, I’d use to join her. Not for all the poses, only what I thought was challenging for someone my age then. The Bat was one I would always try- where one sits on the floor with legs straight and wide open, and chin to the floor, finger grabbing the toes. If I recall, the advanced version would involve proceeding to a complete side-split, stomach on the floor and roll forward and end up on the stomach with legs behind and flat on the floor.

Years after that whilst growing up, I’d still do that for fun- on the floor while watching TV, or reading the newspapers. I always felt better after a stretch. It also helped with the karate and kung-fu classes I would take short years after that. Boarding school bullies who try to challenge me would think twice when I “show off” warming up for the “duel”. Okay- news about giving the karate instructor a bloody nose during sparring also helped.

Since those years ago, I took up the usual sports like tennis and gym, etc. Never at all giving “real” complete yoga classes any thought. I was in all ways, a typical bloke.

So I accepted this invitation to give Bikram class a try this past April. I was not happy with my weight and, truthfully, my image, my puffy face. I could only wear my 2 largest pants in my wardrobe. I had also just done a medical and my cholesterol levels were frightening.

At the first class, I could do most of the stretch-related poses, but no way till today could I keep my endurance up for all the pose-holding. In May there was a 3 week work-related travel away from home. Being the first time in the US I tried mostly all of the foods presented to the delegation and also US-sized fast food. Upon returning I was even more motivated.

I have been trying to go 3 times a week since then. Most times when I couldn’t was due to my daughter’s whining- due to my fulltime job I could only go after work, which means no time for her/them and our trips to the playground, dinners together, or simply just hanging out. During periods of lull in the office, I have gone for the early morning classes to improvise. I have been lucky with this arrangement this year.

Around July or August during a family dinner my older sister, whom I don’t see regularly, commented that I have lost weight “and look better this way”. Her teenage daughters and other nieces, being something of activity-junkies themselves, were asking which studio I attend. I had even brought one of them along once for her to try. And as expected, it is too slow for her. Though she could do everything and had enjoyed it, she is back to her usual bouldering and cheer-leading activities; “for now”, this late-teenager added.

So, I’m still attending as regularly as I can. I do feel more energetic, noticeably able to keep up with the kids. I am getting back some definition, an image which I wasn’t so conscious anymore at our recent family trip to a water park. I am sure the wife has also had some secret thoughts though she hasn’t shared much (!) but I do know she is happy for me too.

These days I can chomp down the nieces-made cheesecakes and rebut the wife when she warns that I would put on weight. “Don’t worry, I now know the formula!”

Thanks to Bikram instructor Mei Ng, http://twitter.com/MeiNg, for the invitation :)

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Posted in A father's POV, Adventures, Caitlin the heiress, Caleb the heir, Ergonomics

New school for Caleb

Posted on 23 November, 2010 | 1 Comment

Well, kinda.

For “all his life” Caleb has been used to coming along to the ride for dropping off Caitlin at her school every schoolday morning (Caleb is 3, and Caitlin has been at preschool for the last 3 years).

He is used to the route (yes he recognises the roads), the scenery on the way and of the front of the school, the teachers who help/walk the kids into the school, and the whole routine of Daddee then taking his time dropping him off at Grandma’s and then only to work.

Now that she is done with preschool, and with Daddee trying still to figure out the optimum way to ferry them around, he will have to stop calling her preschool “my school too”. For strange funny reasons, he does call her preschool his.

Quite adamantly. And for that, I for one have been using that to teach him to stop peeing in his pants. “PEE IN YOUR PANTS AGAIN? You can’t go to school yet then! Children who pee in their pants cannot go to school”, which of course isn’t true from what Caitlin tells me about her classmates!

Anyway, now that we are told to not walk the kids into the school, this may be my answer: Drop off jie-jie first, watch/ensure she does get in safely, then only drive off and drop Caleb at Grandma’s.

This may also allow the kids to sleep even-if-it’s-only 10 minutes longer, seeing as the new route/routine has to cater to longer commute time and traffic challenges.

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Posted in A father's POV, A toddler's POV, Caleb the heir, Ergonomics, Parenting musing

Objective is to bump the car!

Posted on 12 October, 2010 | Leave a comment

So last weekend the kids’ uncle was participating in an event / launch that was conducted in Times Square’s theme park.

I had not been inside before despite it being opened for years now, boasting the world’s largest indoor roller coaster. So what better opportune to bring the kids along.

We got there, saw and greeted kau-foo, got the free passes, and disappeared! How rude!

One of the rides that Caitlin had eagerly wanted to try was the bumper car. She had tried this once before when we went to Genting Highlands; where she froze upon the cars starting and other riders started to bump into her (read it here).

This time however, I guess she knew the objective of the ride, and wasn’t too miffed about being bumped into as much. However, whilst driving she was actually avoiding everyone as much as she could! I guess this was her first driving lesson, and not a bad one at that- I was watching her and she was avoiding “cars” quite well :)

Little brother Caleb however, I guess was going through what his jie-jie was going through on her first time. He wasn’t sure what to make of this. I could see he was hanging on (but not for dear life, probably cos he doesn’t know what to worry!) and looking everywhere. Perhaps he was getting motion sickness in that he wasn’t in control of the direction, and also the jerking whiplash stop-starting of the car.

When jie-jie wanted to go on it again, he opted out :) So we went on the train ride again :)

I think in all she went like 4 times :)

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Posted in A father's POV, A toddler's POV, Adventures, Caitlin the heiress, Caleb the heir, Parenting musing, Simple pleasures

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A boy first, or a girl first?

Posted on 3 September, 2010 | Leave a comment

So we had Caitlin first before we had Caleb. It’s a 3 year 2 months gap between them.

Boys mature slower than girls. This is quite evident; individual personalities and characters aside.

When Hot Mummee was pregnant the first time, I had quietly wished that our first one would a boy. This isn’t a tightly-held preference, just thought it’d be good to have a big brother to the rest of the brood. Of course when Caitlin was born, I love her just the same.

And as she grew, we’ve been enjoying her growing years and all the usual toddler antics that you know comes with children. A lot of fun and treasured memories there :)

Now that we have Caleb with us too, and with the 3 year gap, I find myself quite often comparing the kids. Not in bad ways of why-cant’-you-be-like-Caitlin complaints, just the wonders-of-human and how everyone is different types of observations.

Most recent of these are how when Caitlin was Caleb’s age now, she was already very independent. I had modified her cot so that she was already getting in and out of her “bed” by herself- how I enjoyed watching her little cute toddler body climb limb over one another in her mini pyjamas with the bed. She was also toilet trained very early. I remember giving her praises in the mornings when I changed her to find her diapers dry. These days I am still reprimanding Caleb when he pees in his pants. I do sing praises too when he urgently tells me he needs to pee, and, while on the toilet seat he would exclaim “No piak-piak right dad?” (No spanking right dad?)

So with Caitlin- girls, generally growing faster, I find myself noting that even with the 3 year gap that it is beyond that “measure” in terms of the gap between these 2 monkeys: That they are more than 3 years apart in terms of intellect, skills, maturity, etc. Though I correct myself in that Caleb is a lot more advanced even for his own age with his motor skills in the sports department. He’s still a happy-go-lucky kid while his jie-jie has already entered the age of moodiness. She is also starting to enjoy older things, sometimes citing “so booriiing” statements typical of older kids on younger ones.

So then I started wondering what things would be like if indeed we had a boy first, and then a girl. Would the “gap” be smaller than 3 years, in terms of their maturity? Would they actually get along better than present differences, because they are possibly closer in maturity levels?

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Posted in A father's POV, Caitlin the heiress, Caleb the heir, The future

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Led by poor example

Posted on 16 August, 2010 | 2 Comments

So sometimes Caitlin would ask to buy a strip of candy, like Mentos or Sugus. She tells me that she shares them with her school friends- I believe her. No doubt she may keep one or two more for herself but I think the fact that they generally finish so quickly is some kind of proof for this daddee that she does share them ;)

Last night on a quick visit for some fresh milk I thought that a pack of Ribena sweets was okay for her. It was in a shiny packaging anyway; she didn’t miss it either. If the packaging is to be trusted it does contain vitamin C after all (or am I a marketers sucker-dream come true?)

So this morning on the way out to school and grandma’s respectively I was helping make sure that she does bring it along to school. Since the pack of 20 itself is rather large and didn’t quite fit into Caitlin’s uniform pocket, she passed it to me to carry in my shirt pocket.

Caleb saw.

That jie-jie was carrying something must be something I’d want too.

That she insisted Daddee carry it must be something I’d want too.

That is was also shiny must be something I’d want too…

“I WAAANT!”

This is where Hot Mummee’s complaints about my being biased may be justified. I didn’t want him to have one now because he’d just woken up. He hadn’t had anything to drink yet (water) let alone his morning milk- to have candy as “breakfast” or at least the first thing to eat isn’t quite an activity or habit I’d like to instil in the kids.

So what did Daddee say to discourage him?

Infront of Caitlin, I said to Caleb: “It’s medicine..”

Yikes.

She’d never questioned me at all or smirked at me. But I think I had done a bad thing. I could have said he could have one after his milk and insisted jie-jie shared one with him. But I didn’t. I could have simply said “Later” too, but I didn’t.

So now, Caitlin has learned a “skill” that I didn’t want her to know yet. She may well start applying this to other areas to fool us too, with the topic or severity growing as she does.

Oops.

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Posted in A father's POV, A toddler's POV, Caitlin the heiress, Caleb the heir, Education, life skills

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