Bobos

Recapitulative of the major arm breaking or teeth shaking/losing accidents our brood have had thus far:

At the tender age of fifteen months Petit Suisse fell and face planted onto a shelf losing two teeth in the process. His teeth were put back in place at my aunt's dental clinic and he suffered as the only food intake he was allowed for a whole week was liquid : milk and variants of liquid dairy products via a straw. Shrek and I as a sign of solidarity had to sneakily eat our meals whilst Petit Suisse had his naps. Exactly one week later Petit Suisse whilst running around in circles tripped and fell on the wooden floorboard thereby shaking loose the two teeth that had been reimplanted previously that hadn't had a chance to regenerate itself.In a moment of panic he bawled his eyes out and swallowed both his teeth relinquishing it to the depths of his intestine. This time his teeth could not be retrieved or implanted, they were lost forever in the abyss of his intestinal digestive system.

Many days later I found the two self same darkened thus barely recognisable black teeth in his faeces and that was the end of those two frontal teeth for years. Eventually roots for his permanent teeth grew and now his set of teeth is complete.

Lil Miss N whilst playing in the playground one day during her second year as a kindergartener threw herself onto the sliding pole. She must have lost her grip, fell and as a natural defense put out her left arm to temper the fall. It was unclear as to whether anything in her arm was broken and she had it in a DIY splint (attelle). After several days the pain still did not go away so we went for a radiography and a tiny fracture was discovered au niveau de son coude à gauche. A proper splint with plaster/cast was fabricated and she wore it for several weeks...It healed.

Lil Miss Feisty fell on Tuesday 1st November in the afternoon whilst playing in the playground in the school yard where Petit Suisse and Lil Miss N were following their music course. She was playing mischievously on the slide when she decided to climb up against the slide (instead of the staircase designed for the purpose of climbing). She fell onto the ground and in a flurry of panic, precipitation and natural progression of things used her right arm to mitigate the plunge thereby breaking it. I quickly gathered the troops/my brood and sped towards the nearest hospital. Scans were taken and it was determined that she had a fratured palette humérale on her right arm. She was sent home with a temporary splint and transfered to the Children's Hospital. She had to fast for a minimum of 6 hours in order for the surgery to take place. The next morning after having suffered starvation for almost 12 hours tubes were inserted into her veins via needles. She was calm and co-operative during the shenanigans of tube insertion. She became more and more aghast and understandably so with all the tubes and gaz tied up to her. She was most uncomfortable and coupled with hunger wailed, screamed and was unconsolable. She just wanted a milk bottle but she was prohibited from this basic neccessity as we were strenuously waiting for the operation to transpire. She was finally taken to the operation block agitated, given general anasthesie and her fracture was reduced without the need for titan screws. Soulagement !!!!!!!!!!! She now has to wear a plaster splint for the next three weeks. Hopefully it will have healed and tests/scans come back innocuous: tout est en ordre after the three weeks have transpired. One of the biggest challenges we have to face whilst she still has the attelle in place is personal hygiene. Our concern involves the absolute need to avoid humidification of the plâtre which delineates/anticipates no showers or baths of any kind. As it is winter and one does not sweat or perspire nearly as much in this cold climate compared to summer it is a small consolation.

As Lil Miss Feisty's accident was the most recent dates are still fresh : on the 1st November 2011, she fell from a slide and broke her palette humérale and subsequently had to wear a plaster cast, on the 25th November 2011 she had the cast removed. All is well that ends well !

Sagesse

Petit Suisse annoyed because his toys and personal belongings have been tempered with once again by Baby Taz huffs and puffs whilst maintaining and insisting

'J'aimerais que Baby Taz grandisse plus vite, comme ça il sera puni quand il fait les bêtises. Il est embettant !!!!!!!!'

Petit Suisse this saying is for you

'Before one grows old and wise one must be young and stupid.'

I hope it serves to remind you that youth sometime has its drawbacks and other times youth is what humanity holds onto in order to perpetuate immortality which to this day has yet to be attained or achieved!

Maybe one day as nothing is impossible.

Rapporteur

Our Effacée in CH household is riddled with rapporteurs hence the competition is tight but the biggest and most prolific would be none other than Monsieur Petit Suisse.

Petit Suisse could really qualify for le metier 'espion'. He would be the perfetct candicate as he is constantly reporting on everyone in our household. Frequently throughout the day Petit Suisse can be overheard telling on Baby Taz, Lil Miss N, Shrek or moi and to a lesser (much lesser) extent Lil Miss Feisty. Lil Miss Feisty is his little ray of sunshine.

He would reveal to me what Shrek did in my absence and vice versa which gives me reason to doubt where his loyalty lies. Shrek normally is the master spoiler as he will be way more permissive than me so it's no news when Petit Suisse now and then exposes his dad's foibles and laisser faire attitude. I on the other hand tend to be more severe and heavy handed. I do believe though that without discipline kids and adults will go astray. The trick/delicate nature lies in the handling of the discipline and avoid veering into the extreme prohibitive spectrum which will inspire rebellion.

Petit Suisse is nonetheless A loveable and adorable spy !

Obsessions

According to Petit Suisse

Shrek is obsédé par du travail albeit work. He would be the hardest working man on Earth.

Princess Fiona aka Effacée in CH : moi is obsédée par l'ordinateur and la cuisine because as luck would have it I am busy looking and researching recipes online and then churning out delish food (and sometime disastrious experiments) for the ever hungry pack of wolves : les faims des loups. Petit Suisse by far is becoming more and more ravaged by hunger or he is in that exponential growing phrase which dictates that the input no matter the quantity will be digested as soon as he has finished eating. I feel like I am forever putting food on the table, clearing the table and loading the dish-washer, emptying the dishwasher, cleaning the kitchen and so on and so forth...

Petit Suisse is obsédé by la television and a whole host of other jeux which includes Beyblade Metal Fusion toupies, now folding and flying paper airplanes to be replaced by a new obsession soon enough. Obsessions at Petit Suisse's age are fickle and easily replaceable. The older one gets the more ingrained the obsessions become until it is a well worn habit that is hard to kick.

Happy 8th birthday !

We have the continuum of birthdays as 2nd April 2003 was the day my first born came into the world and it marked my first time being a mum and maternity forever changed my life. Since then I have had three more pregnancies and births bringing my total count to four children.

Petit Suisse's birth was marred by my inexperience and I learnt a lot along the way but it is a learning curve which never ends because parenthood and mummyhood in particular are individually adapted to each being hence its uniqueness is amplified by the peculiar relationships one shares with ones child or parent.

I rented a room provided by the quartier for its residents. I then set up the tables, chairs and decorated with Petit Suisse's, Lil Miss N's and enfin Baby Taz's help (who did more damage than help but no matter). I had borrowed games from the toy library and all was set. Shrek came with a pounding and explosive headache which was just swell. Luckily I had one other parent who was able to stay and she aided me with some game organisation. I could have done it all singularly but with another adult it was more manageable.

They played egg-spoon race, Monsieur-Madame : a game of observation and rapidity which had some fun challenges, Devine-Têtes...

All went well except the number of attendants which was slightly lacking according to Petit Suisse, this was a minor detail and ultimately does not determine the success of a party. It's better to have quality rather than quantity of guests. They really enjoyed themselves and I learned a thing or two which would help me improve next time I organise a birthday party or kids party.

Shrek was of no help in the lead up to and organisation of Petit Suisse's 8ème anniversaire but he did redeem himself with the post-party clean-up and aftermath.

We had a little celebration at home on the actual day : today with 'bun xa`o thap cam' and 'kirsch cake' (store bought).

All in all Petit Suisse almost always has a slight advantage when it comes to his birthday as he has the most birthdays celebrated compared to other members of the family.

Tiramisu revolution

Petit Suisse was in raptures when he tried my spin on tiramisu and dubbed it cleverly with the title of 'Tiramisu revolution' pronounced with the French accent and emphasis re-vo-lu-si-on

I am utterly proud of this creation of mine as it was certainly a unanimous winner and crowd pleaser and cannot wait to recreate it again and again as it is quite simple and involves no baking and best of all the kids who love to be my lil kitchen helpers can fulfil most of the steps in this heavenly dessert if I do say so myself.

I garde la recette pour moi-même and will pass it onto my children ;)
I might post the recipe if and when I do decide to blog exclusively about food.

Tele-obey

A conversation between Petit Suisse and I went something like this

Me : Petit Suisse please explain to me why you think that is that you are a renowned and model student at school with decorum and examplary behaviour according to your teacher and yet you display such abominable conduct and disobedience at home ?

Petit Suisse : J'ose pas de dire
which translates to 'I don't dare say it'

Me : Please tell me so I can begin to understand the workings of this strange phenomenon

Petit Suisse : Mais je n'ose pas de dire
visibly he is not too keen on disclosing the real reason which got me a bit upset and worried but I kept my cool and insisted some more

Me : C'mon you can tell me anything. All I am trying to do is to get an insight so that I could change if need be.

Petit Suisse : Television



According to Petit Suisse the reason as to why he is a well behaving, obedient model student with decorum at school and a not so angelic rugrat at home is due to the fact that there is no television at school.


Amen to that... The television is evil !!!

Digging a hole

Overheard on a chock-a-block, plein-à-croquer tram was the voice of a little boy

'J'ai vu des poux qui bouges sur ta tête' in reference to his sister's head.

As he wanted to ensure that the whole tram could hear this revelation, he repeated with zeal and I wanted to dig myself a hole and crawl into it to hide from embarrassment. I looked around and smiled meekly and weakly at my fellow passengers.

That boy with a big mouth was none other than Petit Suisse and he sure knows how to bring on total humiliation.

Good one boy !

I recounted this story to Shrek and he laughed uncontrollably...admittedly so did I.

Papercrafts

River of Babylon,

Ehhh ehhh

There was a river of tears as Lil Miss N and Petit Suisse discovered that I had thrown out some bent paper airplanes and an Indian headwrap that they had fabricated.

Petit Suisse has a knack for folding paper planes...tens of them. I told him that we don't really need so man planes lying around but he was adamant that I had to safeguard them and not trash them.
Lil Miss N was also mightily upset and threatened to tell her teacher on me. The Indian headgear decorated with a paper feather was a crafts project she did in class. I was shaking in my boots.

Shrek is supposedly more discreet when it comes to throwing out waste.

I am taking out a page from Shrek's book.

At their impressionable age they do not get it that we can fabricate and fold paper planes or any other paper based craft time and again over and over... it does not matter really because to them each one is a chefs d'oevre d'Art. They are budding artists and I am not all that sensitive as my sensibilities have been dulled by reality.

I will attempt to be more mindful of such reactions in the future.

I felt like a villain tonight. :(

BricoNöel

Petit Suisse and Lil Miss N fabricated and crafted Christmas ornaments avec soin. They were for the most part decorative candle holders (bougeoirs) and an apéritif centrepiece crafted out of pâte à sel aka salt dough. There was a guirlande punctuated with a dried orange slice, felt heart-shaped jingle bell as well as a felt Xmas tree ornament which doubles as a perfumed wardrobe/closet scenter and finally a pretty pot of pine cones. Little baby Taz did contribute one candle holder which he decorated haphazardly with pebbles and stones.

There is no greater way to show my appreciation for their efforts than by proudly displaying their handiworks.

I am a very proud mummy and what better time than the festive season to display their triumphant crafts(wo)manship.

Career prospects

List of possible careers that Petit Suisse envisages include :

1. footballer
2. policeman
3. pharmacist
4. basketballer

I am sure this list will evolve and become more elaborate or complex the older he gets. I cannot wait to compare this list with one in a couple of years time. It is interesting to see if any of the above remains after the age of reason has kicked in.

Superhero dream

Petit Suisse is a dreamy fellow. He has said more than once

"Je ne peux pas m'arrêter de penser et rêver que je suis un superhero"

Dream on child...dreams are what keep us from drab reality.

Read update

Petit Suisse is well on his way to reading. He is reading rather impressively considering a week or thereabouts ago he was barely making out words.

I am so very proud of him having achieved this milestone.

Next step is for him to read on his own...maybe that is putting my hopes up and raising the bar too high.

The teacher in me rejoices !!!

R-e-a-d

Petit Suisse's reading prowess is progressing at a slow tortoise pace of an hour per page. It is a patience tester but I do see the progress however small or insignificant it might seem to outsiders. He is actually reading words with some prompting. So I persist and hope to see a breakthrough performance. My eyes light up in anticipation of such a milestone whenever that takes place.


On another note of training I think I am abandoning toilet training Baby Taz for now. I will try again this springtime when the weather is warmer and I am less house confined thus inciting me to attempt feats that I just do not have the energy for right now.

Petit homme

Petit Suisse is easily embarrassed. He blushes profusely everytime I tell him that he is handsome or he appears like a little man.


He is such a sensitive soul and an impossibly adorable cutie but is prone to sulking and turning into a deplorable cry baby.

Award scheme

I have devised a new system at home. Petit Suisse and Lil Miss N are to receive 2 stickers of their choice after one week of good behaviour, good marks/achievements and concerted efforts toward their schoolwork and or tyding up and helping out at home.

This is an effective tool because the rolls of 1000 stickers I just bought will come in handy. They can each have a log book and will be able to stick their stickers in one of the three columns 'Behaviour', 'Achievements' and 'Efforts'. It will give them a sense of responsibility . It encourages hopefully cooperation and instils a sense of pride in themselves.

There will be follow up reports of how that goes.

Progress

It has been a number of years since my teaching days but I have recently discovered that I have not lost my touch. It is my greatest pride when I triumph over difficult students to instil in them a thirst for knowledge and inspire them to attain their personal best (whatever this may be, it differs from one person to the next).

I have been struggling for some time yet when it came to Petit Suisse learning to read Alphabet letter by letter, sound by sound and eventually words, phrases, sentences, chapters and a whole book. It is heartening to report the progress I have been privy to. It might not seem like much when he is able to read such gems as 'la, le, pi, po etc etc' but he is on his way to reading by himself. I can feel that and it perks me up to no end. I really am easily stoked but witnessing slow and steady progress is a process I love.

Way to go... reluctant mum but kick ass teacher. (my own perceived titles)

Sulky baby

I am not quite sure where he got it from but Petit Suisse is distinctly a lil sulky baby and will cry at the tiniest things.

He bawled his eyes out tonight over an insignificant incident. Shrek had prepared the kids for sleep and readied himself for his monthly Pfaff ironing session when Petit Suisse beseeched Shrek to let him help. Shrek refused the kind offer because Petit Suisse will only slow him down and get in the way and it was already way past PS's bedtime.

Petit Suisse then proceeded to have a tearful sulk...he whined and sulked about the fact his offer of help had been rebutted and rejected. He was a dejected mess.

I told him that he could help me out if he stopped moping and sleep like he should. He eventually calmed down.

It should be noted that when I ask for help PS usually does not oblige or is he inclined to assist me but he offers help at the most unexpected moment and when I least expect him to.
Goes to show how unpredictable PS is .

He is such a sensitive soul my darling Petit Suisse.

Sulk

Petit Suisse can be a bit of sulk and prone to bouts of melancholy over mega trivial things. He was really looking forward to having what he believed was going to be a buzz cut so that he could gel his hair and look cool or 'genial'. Alas Shrek shattered this dream by giving him a 12mm close shave. A close shave is one that leaves a regular length of hair all over, it's essentially a bald head that has been mown to a preset hair length no longer than 12mm... but can be as short as 4mm.

Petit sulked and cried his eyes out for a good half hour. He is convinced that mummy does a better job at cutting his hair because at least after he still has hair left. Shrek does go overboard and overkill with the hairclipper aka tondeuse.

AVS

Shrek told me many times that one of the motivations of having a big family was that we could look forward to being assured that we will be taken care of in old age by at least one of our offsprings/spawns. Hélas I just had a wake up call that warrants this theory of Shrek to be suspect and iffy at best and needs immediate revision.

I am the usual human garbage disposal because I will consume left-overs from my kids. 'Waste not, want not.' We as a family except Ben for she's too young and perhaps to a lesser extent Shrek are strawberry fiends. We can eat kilos of these in one seating, the taste is dissapointing when not yet in season because they tend to be overly acidic and sour. I did not expect to hear Petit Suisse nonchalantly telling Lil Miss N and I that he thinks it a good idea that 'all the rotten strawberries should be passed onto mummy.' So Petit Suisse reserves the worst aka rotten and foul tasting for mummy. I am forlorn about future prospects and maybe should have remained fallow.

What do you have to say to that Shrek?