My son is now 8 and argues about everything! If i say, "brush your teeth" then he'll argue about how he has to brush his teeth twice a day. If he wants to play a card game and I say "wait 5 minutes and i'll play with you' then he will just tell me that "he has to wait all the time and he will never get to play the game etc" He seems to be getting this habit of arguing which also works like a half whinge. I told a mum recently about this thing of his and she said, "thats good. It's healthy." Can someone please explain why this is healthy? I know its a form of expression but surely, this constant arguing would test the most patient of saints (ie, not me) and reinforces some belief in the child that he is "hard done by"??

My brain has really tuned out these holidays. I am in singapore with the kids and staying with aunty - who is such a willing nanny and babysitter. I find myself twiddling my thumbs at night... hope that I don't get used to this! Shopping is great and so is the food. My little sister turned 21 last week and I looked after her when she was a baby. Now if that doesn't make me feel old, then nothing does. Now where is that brochure on botox....

I had a second opinion on my son's condition, and am much relieved that I did. The new doctor agreed that Sam falls into the "maybe" category - maybe he requires surgery, or maybe he will just grow out of it. I hope the latter because I worry about the surgery. He will undergo a sleep test in a month to determine whether he really needs surgery. He does not have learning or behavioural problems which seem to indicate that he may not require surgery. The doctor gave us a form to fill out, one section was for food and ice-cream during the stay at hospital. I explained to Sam that it's like room service in a hotel, so now he is REALLY looking to the sleep test! Good idea to get second opinion...especially when you suspect that some doctors are quite knife happy...

Sam had his swimming carnival today and came first in 2 events - freestyle and breast-stroke! WOOHOO!!!

I have just returned from a trip to Melbourne with my little 4 yo. My son had to stay behind. He was a little peeved - and showed it by being quite quiet and withdrawn. He was not overly expressive but he did ask why he was being left behind.

There were many reasons of course, one of which was that he has school. And I really did not want him to miss school.  And the other one that I didn't tell him was that I could not manage 2 on my own. He is very active and demands a lot of physical activity. I wanted a calm, easy holiday to go shopping and strolling. My little girl allows me to do that. However, I am aware that Sam feels isolated and I feel very bad about that.

Sam has just been diagnosed with SLEEP APNEA, and needs an operation in March.  Holy Crap.

She was sooo looking forward to her first ballet class. She has been waiting all week for it! I don't think that the class disappointed her! We walked in (we were the first ones there) and there was the gorgeous Miss Alyx with her beautiful purple leotard. Elo's eyes lit up but she turned all shy.  Afterwards, she twirled around all day and showed me all the moves that she learnt.

She kept asking for her ballet outfit. Why does everything cost so much these days? The ballet leotard thingey would set me back $50 and the shoes another $90. I hope this lasts longer than the martial arts thing... it costs more, that's for sure!

Dare I say it... I was rather dreading the day that my little girl would ask to swap her Tae Kwon Do uniform for tutus. We borrowed Barbie's The 12 Dancing Princesses on DVD and she has watched it no less than 12 times. She now puts on her plastic tiara and twirls around all day. She asked me very diplomatically the other day, "mummy, can I do 2? Tae kwon do and ballet?" But she told her dad this morning, "I don't want to fight anymore". I had a long discussion with her dad about the pros and cons of martial arts vs dancing. I was pro martial arts on account of the discipline and self-defence thing. And secretly, I was hoping that she would be more MULAN than a DANCING PRINCESS. Her dad, however, was in favour of ballet on account of the "it's-more-feminine-let's-not-raise-a-tomboy" argument. The argument was settled - we need to let her explore what she wants to do. But I will keep her TKD uniform and her little dragons green belt ready for when she is ready to resume kicking butt again!

Someone sent me this today - interesting that both my kids' names made the top names! (Obviously not a very creative name giver)

Sam won the second prize at his Tae Kwon Do competition on Saturday. Look at the boy go! All of those years of him jumping on my couch paid off!! We are sooo proud