Suzette's Parenting and Breastfeeding Blog

I signed up this membership in Jul, wanted to do yoga and self defense.  I give up now.

In the last 2+ months, due to pressure to balance work & family, I’ve been to the centre twice only.  Before I got back to work, I was so gung-ho, went there 3 times a week.

I actually like the ‘Practical Self Defense’ class.  I love the lessons so much, but I really cannot fit in the schedule.  Furthermore, recent decision to change our daily schedule to allow children sleep ealier, is even making me almost impossible to attend the classes.

I’ve finally decided today, to cancel my 12-month membership.  I called up the centre, they kept persuading me to stay on, wanted me to go in to discuss – as I demand a refund.

They have packages of: 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and 12+1 months.  I paid RM1,200 for 13 months.  Now 4 months have gone.  To be fair, I have to pay for the 6 months package, which is RM800.  I am asking for refund of the balance of RM400.  Even so, it is still depressing - paying RM800 for (effectively) 2 months benefits?! 

I really hope they’ll refund it, otherwise I am prepared to take it to the consumer forum.  Let’s see how it goes this Saturday.

As for my self defense lessons, if I don’t practice it frequently, it won’t be useful – it should be practiced to form part of my reflects actions.  Even when you use pepper spray, tear gas, or any other self defense or martial arts equipment, you need to practice otherwise may be too panic when under attack.

Maybe I should follow MIL, who practice her Taiji Sword every morning at home.  She also failed to attend her classes in the evening, since taking care of my children.

Until now, Ian still cannot pronounce any words that start with S and combined with something else.  He’ll not read the ‘s’, only the rest is pronounced.

For example:

School becomes Kool (or sometime 死 (sih)-kool)
Sleep becomes Leap
Scooby becomes Sih(死)-Kooby
Small becomes Mall
Stair becomes Tare
Star becomes Tar-tar
Stuck becomes Tuck
Stomach become Tamak
Stop becomes Top
and etc.

Sometimes for people who do not know this weakness of his, they may find it hard to understand him.    For example, when he says “I don’t want kool!  Ian tamak pain!” Actually means he doesn’t want to go to school, and he is using stomach ache as excuse.

I guess this is a stage that all children will go through.  I still remember my cousin used to have difficulties pronouncing anything that starts with ‘S’, all ended up with ‘G’.  For example, water in Mandarin is shui, and he always read ad gui.  So, 喝水 is always pronounced like 喝鬼. 

In my mom’s house, there is this small trolley toy that Ian likes to push around.  One day, I saw my mom played with him, pretending that Ian is the guy selling veggies in trucks (卖菜车).

My mom: 给我萝卜
Ian: 哪! 萝卜给你!

My mom: 多少钱?
Ian: 两钱

My mom: 不是两钱, 两块钱.
(He keeps saying 两钱, despite corrected a few times)

Then, after a while, my mom left the house for a while.  Ian pushed the ‘cart’ to me, wanted to ‘sell’ me his veggies.

Ian: Nah!  Mama, this is carrot for you.
Suz: Okay, how much?

Ian: Two much!

Suz: Ahahahahaa!  No!  Not two much!

Ian: Okay, then three much!

ROTFLOL

I start to like this Pay Per Post (PPP) thingy now.  Well, actually I am a new member.  I haven’t taken up any opportunities yet though I originally planned to, when I wrote about the disclosure policy.  (it originally said it ends on 1 Dec, but I can’t find the opportunities now I cannot be paid! * geram *)

Anyway, back to the point.  Since I haven’t written anything that got me paid yet, why do I still like it?

I like it because it provides me with ideas to blog, apart from writing about my kids.  Sometimes I got stuck with nothing to write, all just mundane things.

I don’t have to change my blogging style, I don’t have to force myself to write things that I don’t agree with or don’t like.  There are so many ‘opportunities’, i.e. titles or ideas, for me to choose.  If I don’t like, I don’t have to write any of them.

Well, I don’t really aim to make a lot of money from thes PPP.  My blog is for myself and for my children.  But if writing something that happen to be in PPP’s opportunities, why not getting it paid?  That’s what I think right now. 

I have recently created a new disclosure policy with the help of this online toolkit.

Previously I tried creating my own disclaimer.  I found it so difficult to draft from scratch.  I liked the one from MamaBok, almost love at first sight.  But cannot post the same, afraid the tone is too strong.

I created something quite childish, not happy with it, but lived with it for quite a while.

Then, I discovered this website to help you create your own disclosure policy.  It is very simple.  Just answer 6 simple questions, and the program will generate a disclosure policy for you.  As easy as ABC!

Now, my DP looks a lot more professional! 

Disclosure policy is important, especially if your blog receives any form of gratitudes.  We have the freedom to write anything we like, but being responsible bloggers, it is important to disclose, if you do, receive any payments or gifts etc.