audi tt – Mother, Inc

stuff best described as not safe for parents

Awesomeness in a book

September 7, 2009

sneak peek of the awesomebook

So over the weekend, Kirsten got the coolest present ever. It was a scrapbook from her aunt (plus her BFF and a bunch of other folks). Yeah, I know what you’re thinking. “A scrapbook? What are you, like 3?” Which was kinda what I thought at first because I was actually into scrapbooking when I was in fact, 3. Except that the S got lost and it was more like a crapbook with gaudy cutout pictures and huge blobs (which I drew).

Till this day, I still draw like a 3-year-old and not in the that’s-so-cute-and-childlike sorta way, but the get-that-thing-out-of-my-face kinda way. And before you get all judgey, I’ll have you know that I make up for my lack of artistic talent in other ways. Some guys can draw, others can shoot foam out of their ass (baby girl, I’m looking at you), and me, I can hoola-hoop for a *really* long time while standing on one leg and with both hands tied behind my back. Impressive, I know.

Right, so when I saw the scrapbook, my jaw totally fell and hit the floor because it was awesomeness in a book. It should be called an awesomebook and trust me, when you see it, you’ll be wishing you got one just like it so you can show off to all your friends that you’ve got an awesomebook and they’d be all like, “I wish I had one too”.

Even though it technically wasn’t for me because the title says a hundred rules for kirsten kao, I still teared a little when I got home and read it. It was filled with pictures that they drew/shot themselves, which were totally gaudy awesome. And apparently, she had to pull a thousand favors and make a complete fool of herself by wearing her PJs (without the pants) out to a fancypants cafe. I would have paid a lot of money just to witness that alone.

With this brilliant move, yi-yi’s (that’s what we call teenage grandaunts here) stocks have risen exponentially. When Kirsten turns 18 and she gets asked what’s the best present she’s ever received, it’s not going to be the Audi TT that mama bought, but the awesomebook that took a thousand hours to make.

PS If you want a sneak peek at the making of it, you can check out this site.

by Daphne

kids inc

Boys and Twucks

June 10, 2009

I just brought Tru to Toys R’ Us the other day to pick out a new toy just for fun (I can’t help it, I’m gonna spoil my kids rotten). The look of delight on his face every time he goes to a toy store is too much of a high for me. It’s like how I felt when I first stepped into Disneyland (the Anaheim one) during Christmastime. The feeling of awe doesn’t go away and till this day, stepping into Disneyland is still a special experience.

Notice the grimace on the husband's face

Which explains why I dragged the husband by the hair running around like maniacs in Disneyland for 3 days during our honeymoon. When the kids start to walk, I’m going to make it an annual pilgrimage to spend a week in the happiest place in the world. And I’ll be like the coolest mom ever.

So back to the toy store. We were making our rounds trying to find a toy he liked. It’s called the toy test.

1. I’ll hold up a whole bunch of toys and see which one he grabs.

2. He’ll hold it closer to inspect it for a while.

3. If he likes it, he’ll clap his hands.

4. If not, it gets flung away.

I’ve tried various methods to influence his decision, like shake it while making funny sounds, or shoving it closer so he’ll want to grab it, but I’m telling you, this boy is too smart for his own good. At 12 months, he seems to know exactly what he wants.

The difference is, as rational, informed adults, we choose stuff based on the functions, design, price, branding and reliability. Kids, on the other hand, have no basis for their selection of stuff and they can be drawn to seemingly lame and useless toys just because it’s in their favorite color, or because it belts out irritating rhymes. Bizarre, I know.

As a parent, I’m resisting the urge to tell him the tacky, pink, giant rubber ball that costs $12.99 is stupid, and that he should pick an Optimus Prime robot that can transform into a cool trailer truck.

Anyway, after discarding like a whole trolley-full of toys, Tru finally settles on a Playskool dump truck with a giant meat ball that wobbles. I was still trying to hard-sell the Transformers toy but he was intent on getting his twuck and he grabbed on to it for dear life. Optimus Prime got smashed to the floor in the process but I have a feeling he’ll do just fine.

*Autobots, transform and roll out*

Dumb twuck

Now that Tru is in his cars and trucks phase, I’m amassing enough vehicles at home to start an automobile shop. I’m just waiting for the day he starts pestering us for an Audi TT. That’ll be fun.

by Daphne