Mom.Dad.Chat

If a man says to his wife, let’s swap positions tonight, what comes to your mind? Are you thinking what I’m thinking? But well, consider the wife’s response to this question:

“Darling” says a husband coyly to his wife: “let’s swap positions tonight”. “What a good idea” she replies, “you stand in front of the ironing board, and I’ll sit in front of the TV and fart”.

Funny? Let’s try another one:

Two guys and a girl were sitting at a bar talking about their lives.
The one guy said, “I’m a YUPPIE. You know, Young Urban Professional.”
The second guy responded, “I’m a DINK. You know, Double Income No Kids.”
They then asked the woman, “What are you?”
She replied: “I’m a WIFE. You know, Wash, Iron, Fuck, Etc.”

OK, now we all know what WIFE means. From the jokes, it seems that women are still the ones who end up with all the chores. But they still provide a laugh!

The other day I went to a house-warming party and was given a tour of the house by the owner. When we went outdoors, I noticed that the owner and his wife have really taken the time and effort to do up the garden and patio that it looks really cozy and inviting.

They have put in some nice patio furniture, including a dining set and comfortable chairs that you wouldn’t mind spending more time outdoors than indoors. Sometimes, it can really be a good thing to have comfortable furniture outdoors to enable you to take a breather when it gets too stuffy indoors during the hot months.

Moreover, patio and outdoor furniture are not necessarily very expensive that they are beyond our reach. I too expected that the owner would have invested quite a big chunk of money on all his outdoor furniture but surprisingly, it wasn’t so. Such furniture can be affordable if you know just where to shop.

When I was in school, art and craft was one of my most hated subjects. I guess I’m just not an art person who can draw and be creative with my hands. Most of the time, I barely pass my art and craft exams. This went on until I was in upper secondary school when I had the option to drop the subject altogether. It was certainly no love lost then!

Now, it is back to art and craft work for me simply because my son who is in kindy now will occasionally be requested to do some art and craft work as part of “family time” and as a way to encourage him to be creative. Of course, the kindy’s intention is well and good but imagine requesting a 3+ kid to hand in an Easter egg as part of this art and craft project?

So, who have to do it but this mummy who hates art and craft work of any kind?!? Anyway, my son was certainly curious about the whole process of coming up with an Easter egg but you can’t really rely on a 3 year old to know how to do such stuff. So, most or should I say all, of the work is actually done by me and I’m just not too sure my enthusiasm shined through to teach him anything about art and creativity.

OK, how many of you out there actually need to help out with your kid’s art work? Do you give it your best effort or do you do just enough so that your kid has something to hand in as homework?

Nowadays, kids have so many toys available to them to play with, from blocks to board games to action figures. My own kid has tons of toys at home that I have just donated three bags of toys that he has outgrown to various people.

So, now I try to be more selective over what toys to buy for my son. I also reduce the occasions that he can receive a new toy so that he would be more appreciative over what he has rather than having boxes of toys all over the home.

However, I do believe that certain age-appropriate toys can be beneficial for kids. After all, kids learn through play and different toys can help them learn different things to enhance their development. It is up to us to select the right toys for our kids and if we do it with care, toys can be both educational and fun at the same time.

The other day I was searching for some kids’ beds to post on my other blog and discovered that some of them are really imaginative and creative in design that would surely appeal to any youngster. Which brings me to this question of how much or how little do you actually decorate your kid’s bedroom.

For instance, I see beds with slide, beds with tent, car beds and canopy beds. Even the kids’ loft beds can be in the shape of a dollhouse or castle. But as a parent, do you give in to such temptations and decorate your kid’s room to match a certain theme or do you just go with practicality?

Currently, my son sleeps on a twin bed which has no fancy design. His room only has a simple cupboard for all his clothes and one or two simple items. But the other day, I happened to visit a friend and when I dropped by her daughter’s room, I was truly amazed. As her girl is still a toddler, her bedroom is full of cute toddler furniture, all in matching pink and white.

I guess some parents do put in a lot of time and effort to do up their kid’s bedroom. But when I told my husband about my friend’s daughter’s room, he laughed and said that 2 years from now when her girl has outgrown all those stuff and everything has become too kiddy, she will probably go crazy being stuck in a pink fairy tale-like room every night.

OK, I suppose different people would see things differently. Some like my husband will never understand what cuteness means while others like my friend would like everything nice and sweet for a kid. So, do you make an effort to decorate your kid’s room too or is everything simple and practical instead?

Whenever I passed by a housing estate, I like to take a look at other people’s homes and how they decorate their gardens. Some people really make an effort to make their houses look nice, even from the outside.

One thing I notice is that a fence can also change the look of a house. Some fence designs make a house seems welcoming and cosy while others have a “keep out” feeling that make the house looks cold and uninviting.

So, before you do your fence installation, do consider a little about the design and how it would make your house looks like from the outside. You may need a fence for security and other practical reasons, but you should also consider how the fence would impact on the look of your house once it is installed. A nice fence design can help to beautify your garden and house so, do give it a little more thought before installing one.

Ever heard of the term neosexual? No? Well, neither have I until I read this short article about the new breed of men that women are supposedly attracted to nowadays. It is a result of a research commissioned by a deodorant company which found that slightly over 80% of women prefer a man who is sensitive and yet is still seen as masculine.

A neosexual apparently doesn’t have the feminity of the metrosexual which was once the type of males that women wanted. A man who is sensitive and in touch with his feminine side. But with the findings of this research, women have apparently ditched this for more manliness instead.

Bu what caught my eye is this quote at the end of the article: “They want the manliness of a James Bond, the looks of Hugh Jackman, the humour of Jim Carrey and the youth of Zac Efron.”

OK, tell me where on earth can you find a man like that? Or do you think such a man actually exists in the first place?