Bra-ing all

I went bra shopping today.....why do I feel the need to write about it? Many reasons....

First of, the reason why I had to go bra shopping. Why is it that when we lose weight, the fat from where it matters most will go first? So for ladies, we will be left with a smaller torso and a humongous bottom? That's my suffering. I know that the thunder thighs, jelly belly, buffoon butt and bye-bye arms (upper arm fats which shake when you wave bye bye) will not go away without exercise.....but that's so unfair! It's a bit like work. The people who are the better performers get more work.

The next thing that came to mind was the unending variety of maximizers available. Almost every bra available was padded. And only the bras which come with half-cups (meaning you can wear them without the straps) come with removable pads. Is this a sign of advancing technology or increasing insecurity? Ok, so a padded bra makes for a better sight when you wear a lower cut top. But isn't that unethical marketing?

I mean, when you remove the bra, you will probably end up with half the goods.....to be honest, it was quite funny. I asked the sales lady why was it that this same model that I bought before (in cup C) came without pads but the cup B one which I saw today came with pads. Her answer was honestly hilarious. She said, only cup C and above do not come with pads for this model. Does it mean that the manufacturer feels that all smaller endowed ladies have a need for a bigger look? So what if I'm a cup B now? It doesn't mean I must look like the cup C I was before.

I wonder what the guys feel about all these padded bras. Maybe it might look good one the ladies who are for viewing only but when it comes to someone who is more than just for looking, it might be a different story altogether.

I also wonder whether the are padded briefs for sale nowadays. There might be, just I am too backward to know. If there are, I wonder what the ladies would feel. Maybe the padded briefs would look good on Chippendale guys. But on husbands or boyfriends? I haven't given it a serious thought....but if I do, I'll let you know how I honestly feel.

He is in......

Xavier has successfully been enrolled into Endeavour Primary School. That was after a very nervous wait and an even more nerve-wrecking ballot. Apparently about 185 kids applied to enroll in the school which has about 148 seats. Hubby went to witness the balloting, as I was overseas, and he almost suffered a heart attack. Xavier's name was called at only the 121/122 slot.....that was a terrible wait and very scary. I can only imagine.

But I'm glad and relieved. This is obviously a school with high potential, within the neighbourhood anyway. The principal of this relatively new school apparently has high aspirations for this new school so a lot of parents are hoping to have their kids benefit from the drive. The good thing is that Xavier would not need to wake up very early to suffer a long bus ride to school. This will allow him to have more time for rest and more time to relax, which I am sure he will appreciate.

Next year will be an exciting year for all of us....I'm looking forward to it.

Updates.....

Xavier will be going to Primary school next year. After much deliberation, we decided to register him at a school near our home. We will be doing this on Monday.

There was much talk about trying to register him at an elite school so that he might have a better head start. But the distance changed our minds. The nearest elite school is at least 20 minutes drive away and probably 30 minutes during peak traffic. If he were to take the school bus, he'd have to wake up very early as the bus will usually pick up the child staying furthest away from the school first. So we decided to enrol him in a school near our home to save him the trouble of commuting.

During recent months, we can observe each of the kids developing an interest of their own. Xavier is very artistic and has shown an interest in going to art school. This is something which I will develop him in. Keane has shown some interest in music but we feel he is more suited for something for physical. We will give him a couple of years before he lets us know where his interest resides. Ryan is just very into everything.....

Keane went for his 4th music lesson today. The first was pretty acceptable but the second terrible. I decided to withdraw him from the class after the 2nd lesson but since we had to give one month's notice, I got his dad to go with him for the 3rd one. Surprisingly, things turned out pretty well. Today I braved myself to bring him for his 4th lesson and I was pleasantly surprised, even proud of him. He was able to follow at least 80% of the class and lasted the full hour! We might let him stay on instead of pulling him out. But I'm wondering whether I should let him try his hand at gymnastics or something similar. We'll play it by ear.

Ryan has shown signs of being very selfish. It is probably natural for the youngest but it is getting a little out of hand. He doesn't like to share and has a tendency to want everything that other kids have. So whenever he sees Xavier or Keane doing something like reading or playing with a toy, he'd try to snatch the book or toy from them. If he is eating and you ask him to give you a bite of whatever he is eating, he'll stuff everything into his mouth. I don't know whether to laugh or to cry.....

Keane still has some behavioural issues in school and we received an email from his teacher today. He still has some difficulty understanding what adults are saying to him. He cannot comprehend or distinguish a statement from a question. So when you ask him if he has washed his hands, he would say "Yes" and proceeds to wash his hands. I think it's an issue with comprehension. I decided to talk to him more often. Although he has shown much progress, he is still not showing signs of being able to cope with kindergarten next year. But I guess we have to accept his pace and just try to expose him to more interactive activities to help him.

Xavier has never had any issues in school until recently when he was put on time out for making a ruckus during class and disturbing his classmates. That is definitely a rare occurrence. His teacher is very impressed with how he can manage to change the date of the calendar in the classroom correctly everyday without fail. Whenever he is on medical leave, the calendar doesn't get updated correctly. This is something that we are very proud of. But personally, I'm a bit worried because he seems to be an easy target for school bullies. He is extremely shy, has high potential to be teacher's pet, intelligent, can be a bit proud sometimes (he likes to say school work is chicken feed when he knows how to do them). To me, these are signs of being a target for bullying. I'm a bit worried.

I'll just handle things the way I always do - let things work themselves out naturally.

Recently I've been facing pressure at work. From what I hear from a close friend/colleague, I'm putting unnecessary pressure on myself to perform. I don't know if it is a good thing or a bad thing. I am behind in my work and I'm not sure if it is because I'm not doing a good job or if there is just too much to do. It's tough to find yourself with new responsibilities which include some historical issues which have not been solved by your predecessor. I dedicate myself to my work but that eats away at family time. I try to tell myself not to feel guilty but it doesn't work all the time. I wonder if it's the same for all working moms or if I am just one of those who doesn't know how to prioritize?

I feel guilty whenever my colleagues say they are amazed at how I come with being a mother of 3 and having what many call a successful career. I give them a standard answer - I have a lot of help at home from a very supportive husband and a domestic helper. I don't contribute much to the day to day management of the household chores or kids daily activities. Does that make me a bad mom? Am I claiming too much credit for myself?

Whatever it is, I know that whenever I see my kids' faces light up when they see me, my day is complete. I don't think about anything else except that they love me so much that they are very happy to see me. That's all that matters really, isn't it?