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Nino @ Cease Cows, Life is Short posted this & i just had to re-post it here (she kindly gave her permission to do so – Thanks Nino!)

For those of you with kids – which of these have you used on your kids?
For those without kids – which of these did your parents use on u?

i have use some of these – some with intended results, others not – haven’t used the whole list – of cos, my little guy is only 3.5 – so there’s still time to get to them all – hehhehhehe 😉

But on a serious note, i was reminded some time last week that we can’t be too much of a mean mum – we need to be nice mum too – find the balance? Hmmm… easier said than done!! Anyhow, we try our best – right?

1. The Analyst – “Is that REALLY how you want to be?” Other variations include but are not limited to, “Is that really necessary?” and “Must you continue that [insert offending behavior here]?”

2. The Martyr – “I was not put on this earth to endure your ABUSE!”

3. The Delegator – “JUST YOU WAIT UNTIL YOUR FATHER COMES HOME!”

4. The Hugger – “Awww, you’re upset aren’t you, pigeon? Come tell Mommy what’s wrong.”

(Note: This one really works but it requires saint-like patience and an enormous amount of self-restraint)

5. The Ass-Whooper – Also known as the giver of THE LOOK, she doesn’t really have to inflict physical pain so much as imply the threat of it to make you re-think your foolish antics. My Mom was an absolute pro at this one.

(Note: very effective when combined with the toss of a lightweight shoe in the general direction of the offending child or children, purely for dramatic effect.)

6. The Comedian – She will mercilessly mock and mimic your antics until you can’t help but laugh and see the error of your dumbassed ways.

(Note: See #4’s note.)

7. The Sergeant – With classics such as, “GO TO YOUR ROOM,” “BECAUSE I SAID SO” and “END OF DISCUSSION,” she can immediately shut you down with military precision.

(Note: If you’re good, you won’t need a whistle or bullhorn, your expert projection alone will strike the fear of God in ’em.)

8. The Cryer – :::sobs with head in hands::: “You kids are out to DESTROY me, aren’t you? Please, I beg of you… :::trails off into even louder sobs:::

9. The Stonewaller – She’ll silent-treat you into submission.

10. The Patronizer – Known for such classics as “Think of all the starving children in Africa!” and “There are plenty of disadvantaged children who would LOVE to have your ‘problems’!”

Care to add any others to the list?

syc

So way back in September 2007 (yep, that’s last year – i said i would post some photos from our trip to Scotland.

Now we went for my cousin’s wedding so rightly here’s a picture of the happy couple:

& of cos Tobias made a wonderful little friend – Roo, here they are jumping on the trampolin:

& u know the story of the Bagpiper – the mice & children all followed him – well, we followed one to the wedding 😉

This is Scotland’s National Flower – Thistle:

& of cos we went to the famous Loch Ness:

But if u ask me, there are more beautiful things in Scotland.

Here’s what they think Nessie looks like:

We found out all the myths behind Nessie at the Visitor’s Centre – very interesting stuff & well presented too.

Here’s Tobias asleep in the car (he did amazingly well considering there was a lot of time spent driving around!

& i leave you with a poor representation of the wonderful & mysterious Scottish Highland (u really have to go there & see it for yourself!):

Well, while thots are on travel – we are off to Singapore in 14 days!
So to our friends in Singapore – we’ll see u soon.
syc

PS: Mood has to do with the fact that LiveJournal has changed the way we upload photos & now we have to upload to external site & then copy the link, & then still have to re-size each image – sigh!

So what happened to the Yoongz? No news for 2x whole months!!!

Well, lots – Oct saw the run-up to the Christmas Rush – it was rush rush this time – there were Book Sales to do, Church Christmas Play to organise & rehearse for, Women’s Day Away to work on, plus all the family stuff to get going for Christmas as well …

Here’s our Christmas letter for Christmas 2007 (which i had intended to post, of cos, on 25th Dec 2007):

After 5 years in Switzerland, we decided this Christmas to start writing a Christmas letter to fill you, our dear family & friends, in with the happenings in our lives. This is our very 1st so please pardon any ‘mistakes’.

The year started with an almost snow-less winter. We still managed a couple of ski trips but they weren’t great. Tobias was on skis for the 1st time this past season – He loved it!! He was on the skis for an actual 20mins or so – 5mins on skis, then lots of playing in the snow & then more time on skis. He is very excited this coming season to ski so we got him a better pair of skis. Looking forward to snow! At the moment, lots of rain – we had an early snowfall early November but none at our level since.

February & March saw us in Singapore for our traditional Chinese New Year visit. Tobias & Sandra were there for almost 5x weeks, Walter could only take 2x weeks off work so he had a shorter time there. It was a good time catching up with family & friends. Tobias enjoyed it more this time, being more aware of the fact that it is a different place & that he gets loads of attention & ‘spoiling’ from grandparents. He is now excited to go back the coming CNY. 

Upon coming back, Sandra started her home business – Usborne Books – you would have heard or read about it at some time before this. It was a slow start but has steadily built up. Christmas sales have been good. Tobias loves having so many books around – he is always asking to read a new one & he loves going to do Book Sales with Sandra too. Walter is wonderful about the business, looking after Tobias when he can, he even made 2x very nice wooden book stands for Sandra – from scratch! 

Then along came a very rainy Summer. We managed a couple of nice days & some good time picking fruit at our neighbours’. We waited constantly for Summer to arrive properly but it never did. It even hailed one evening!

My brother spent a month, in August, with us – this was his holiday before joining the Army – doing his National Service. We had fun seeing lots of Switzerland & Tobias had a blast with his beloved Uncle around. & of cos, we got a free babysitter – hahahhahaa ;).

In September it was off to Scotland for Sandra’s cousin’s wedding, in a lovely little Scottish castle. We made a little holiday of it. The Scottish Highlands are indeed as beautiful as they are said to be – breath-taking. We saw Loch Ness – so now we can say, “Seen it, Done that!”. Tobias did very well on this – his 2nd driving holiday, considering he had no companion this time round. Last year, we drove to France & Germany with friends & their little guy.

We came back from Scotland to a very busy time. Sandra in her 2nd year as Sunday School coordinator & Walter more involved in music/worship. As well as the new business & Walter’s work & travels. He is travelling a little less now but still has quite a few trips to be made. One interesting place he went to was Chad (North Africa) – but he got to see only the airport, hotel & office as he was advised not to go out on his own – still a rather dangerous place.

Tobias has been enjoying 2x mornings at a Daycare since last October & this October he started with 1x morning & 1x full day so that Sandra could have more time for the business. He loves it – always looking forward to it & picking him up always takes time as he really wants to stay there. He was very tired during the 1st few times he was there for a full day – but it’s getting better.

We (Sandra & Tobias) are into our 2nd year at BSF – Bible Study Fellowship – we are enjoying it & learning lots – Tobias loves his classes there. Sandra also got to see what the classes in Singapore are like in February when we went back.

Another new thing for us is our new car – new 2nd hand car. We traded our Ford Focus 5-door Hatchback for a Ford Kombi (station wagen). We did so cos our old car was getting old & we needed more space to carry all those books for Sandra’s book sales. It drives very nicely & has great boot space.

November marked Sandra’s involvement in a women’s ministry – Day Away. It is a morning for women to come & listen to sessions about issues of life from a biblical perspective – it was always held in Zurich or Basel which takes more than an hour to get to by train & now it has come to Bern which is only a 25min drive from us – yippee!

Of cos, now we are into December! Wow! Where did the year go??

The Christmas play for Sunday School has been taking up our time as have Christmas Books sales. This year the kids are doing a play called ‘Chicken, TV, Present or Jesus?’, highlights the real reason for Christmas.

Well, as you can see it has been a busy year for us – we wonder how did your year go? Do drop us a line, by email or phone or skype or whatever other means there are on the internet these days. You can always catch up on our happenings throughout the year on our blog – yoongz.livejournal.com – Sandra tries her best to update it as often as she can.

So what are our hopes for the new year? … as the Lord leads …

Have a most blessed Christmas & a fulfilling New Year!

Lots of love

Yoongz

(walter, Sandra & tobias)

 

So that’s our Christmas Letter & New Year greetings!

Will try & keep up with more posts soon!
syc