I'm a full-time mummy

I was really tired yesterday entertaining my cheeky boy the whole day and by the time it was 5.30pm, Ben was still wide awake and refused to take his afternoon nap (normally he naps around 2-3pm for 2-3 hours).

At one point, he mischievously managed to pull out this leather tie string from our window railings (which originated from a handbag given by my SIL) that I used as a curtain tie.

So what does a really tired 8 months+ preggy mum gotta do?

She used the curtain tie to teach her toddler a lesson...

Now, now, before you go on thinking I used the curtain tie to punish him, please clear that thought off your mind. I may be tired (VERY!) and stressed out (mild) but I will not resort to things like this. What I meant by teaching him a lesson is...

You see, there are 8 little cute flower petals strung on the tie and since Ben refused to let me put it back onto our window railings, I decided to use it to teach him things like:

* Counting from 1 to 8 - as I pulled each petal across the curtain tie, I repeated the numbers 1 to 8, making sure he follows  and repeat my counting

* The concept of up and down - I pulled each petal up and down and repeated the directions up and down to him, and he followed what I showed him

* The concept of left and right - I pulled each petal across both ends and repeated the directions left and right to him, and he followed what I showed him

Ben concentrating as he pulled the petal downwards...

And saying the word 'Two' as he pulled the 2nd petal...

Who would've thought such a simple thing like a curtain tie could be educational as well huh? (and the extent to how weird a very tired preggy mum could come up with this idea! Hahahaha...)

And not to forget, it kept him busy and entertained for quite a while! Wooohoooo!

What other things have you used to teach your child a lesson?

Been eating this yummylicious stuff quite frequent lately...

I was replying to Uncle Lee, one of my regular blog reader's comment on my iPad app review post about Ben's toys which he had quite a lot, but mostly those are hand-me-downs from our brother and sister in laws and presents from relatives and friends during his birthdays. We do buy him some toys but only on memorable occasions.

And it prompted me to post up pictures (quite recent) taken of Ben recently, playing with one of his newest 'toy'... the SHOE BOX! I think kids imagination is a powerful thing, even with a simple shoe box, Ben could be playing with it for sometime!

I'm amazed at how a simple shoe box can keep him occupied and entertained for some time.  He used the shoe box to store  (park) his toy cars and later on pretended it was a garage where he opens and closes the 'door' cover and park his toy cars in it.

Goes to show the great wonders of a child's curiosity and imagination! With that in mind, I leave you with these few inspiring quotes to ponder on:

* I think, at a child's birth, if a mother could ask a fairy godmother to endow it with the most useful gift, that gift should be curiosity. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

* When you're curious, you find lots of interesting things to do.  ~ Walt Disney

* Seize the moment of excited curiosity on any subject to solve your doubts; for if you let it pass, the desire may never return, and you may remain in ignorance. ~ William Wirt