Trying times

Ever since we came back, Izzy has taken to muttering her disgruntlement to me in Malaysian tones. She keeps trying to introduce the '-ah' to her expressions and sounds extremely amusingly like a mat salleh trying to do the '-lah'. For example, today, on pleading for more TV:

'Just ONE show, AH.'

'No.'

'(tsk) YOU. AH.'

At other times she mutters something incomprehensible but with a Malaysian rhythm to it. I try not to laugh so that she will at least keep listening to her cousins and trying to speak like them. Am hoping that even if she doesn't pick up any of their languages in a comprehensible way, she will eventually be able to pass for a Malaysian and speak our lousy patois.

One other thing she was doing was hitting or pinching me when I said something not to her liking. (See conversation above.) Was speaking to Felix's mom the other day and was immensely relieved to hear she's not the only one going through this phase.

I've always told her off for doing anything like this - and she doesn't dare hit hard nor is she very openly defiant - but she didn't really start paying any attention until I started making her sit on the carpet for a few minutes whenever she did. After the last three times she seems to have stopped. For now anyway.

Roz is also going through a slightly bananas phase in that she can't seem to bear it if I move out of her sight. Each time I go to the bathroom to wash my hands after changing the nappy I hear her wail of despair. And each time I reappear in her line of sight, it magically stops, even though there are tears already pooling in her eyes.

When I picked up Izzy today, one of my colleagues, Suniti, carried her in, and she was perfectly happy until Suniti turned one way to speak to the nursery girls. After about half a minute, Roz let out a heart-rending howl and burst into sobs that didn't subside for another minute, even though I then took her and patted her back reassuringly.

God grant me the patience to live with three drama queens in the house.

The end of summer beckons

Am counting down to the end of August with dread. Felix will stop going to the nursery then, and his little brother will only stay until the end of October. They're both going to be going to the local nursery which feeds their primary school as well. So it makes sense for them to move. Izzy kind of knows that Felix is going to 'big school' and as all her older friends have done this too, thank god she hasn't kicked up a fuss about it.

But I'm absolutely heart-broken they won't be seeing each other so much any more. The two of them have grown apart a bit but once upon a not so long ago, they were inseparable at nursery. I have been recounting Izzy's sighing for 'Lik-Lik' in the car on the way to work to anyone who'll listen. She won't even admit that she used to call him Lik-Lik now, 'It's Felix!'

Then this weekend I suddenly realised that the 'year and a half' it was going to take for one of our remaining London gang to complete some exams and take off for Singapore would suddenly be the end of this year. Which means bye-bye baby - not really a baby anymore either - Arif too (see the cool dude below).

Gods. I thought Arif's mom and I had only just arranged to meet up more now that she works part-time (though is now busy cramming for the exam on her days off) and I was on maternity leave. And this visit was the first time Izzy and Arif kind of played together rather than alongside each other. Well at least he let her lead him by hand around Carluccio's where we had lunch and they both looked happy about it.

Then today arrgh I found out that little Tara will be taking a year off to Delhi with her folks. Beginning in October! Argh! I've seen it before - the kids kind of miss their friends a bit but their places get taken by other children they're in contact with. But what about us, eh? I know it's pathetically sad but I miss the kids too!