I'm back!
12 years ago
One day, when I got home late evening from work and I heard my maid, Jasmin, who is having a conversation with my 14-month old boy. 
Jasmin : Boy, how old are you?
Sammy : One! *in his baby-accent*
Jasmin : How many teeth do you have?
Sammy : E-ight! *big smile on his face and clapping his hand*
Another occasion, when I was sitting in the living room with my little boy, going through the small flash cards (a friend gave him as a present on his first birthday), in his baby-accent again, he started… ‘banana’, ‘horse’, ‘pig’, ‘rabbit’, ‘bird’, ‘star’, ‘leg’, ‘clock’, ‘snake’, ‘ant’ and often coupled with action, like ‘clap his hand together’ when he sees mosquito in the flash card... we really just casually read/speak to him, didn’t we realise that he is absorbing and remembering those words… *I thought he is too young to be able to utter any of those words*
Wow, I was so impressed!
The statement about the first six years of a baby/toddler is crucial development years… it rumbles in my ears… it is an never ending internal struggle…
I have a conversation with my daughter this afternoon during lunch. We go thru this every day before I drop her off to school and I will then go to work. Today, our topic of discussion is “What do you want to be?”
Erica : Mommy, did you say you want me to be a doctor?
Mommy : Girl, if you want to be a doctor… but you did say you want to be a vet, didn’t you? In order to be a doctor, you will need to study hard and that’s why, mommy always ask you to read and to do revision.
Erica : ya, if I do not study hard, I can only be a housemaid… but I wanna be a “home maid”?
Mommy : huh? You like to do what Jasmin (our maid) does every day?
Erica : No, I don’t want to be a maid! But I want to be like Godma…
Mommy : *looking puzzle* What do you mean, girl?
Erica : I want to be like Godma, she stays home to take care of her children. I want to stay home and take care of my children.
At this point, I can’t help but to sms my friends, Poh Koon (Erica’s Godma) and Cheng Yi, telling them the profound aspiration of my first born. Poh Koon later sms reply and say “I would tell otherwise… I think I need to have a one to one with Erica ”.Then the conversation continues…
Erica : Do you know I miss the time that you stayed home and don’t work for one month… when can you do that again?
Mommy : When did I not work for one month? *Scratching my head* and how can mommy not work for a month? *defensive*
Erica : You did! When Sammy boy is born, you were at home with us… *a great smile on her face*
Mommy : ohhhh… that’s two months la, girl!
Erica : Oh, that’s two month ah? But you know, I like that… you send me to school, you pick me up and you are at home with me!! So, I want to be like Godma, she takes care of Abby, Hannah, Sara at home… so nice and so good!
Mommy : *silent into deep thought*
It impresses me that the little brain can see things in a such total different perspective from us adult. I must learn from her, my little girl!
Why did I name this blog “Two Smiles for the Price of One”? Maybe I should explain …
As a hobby, I make cards, handmade and designed by myself. I make my own cards for Christmas, wedding invitations, birthdays, etc. It is a passion that I have, I love to design and make them. Once, I even designed and made 400 wedding invitation cards for my sister in law, and it was very well received by many *or at least I want to think so :)* … of course, I haven’t made any for sale.
I am not sure about you, but I can’t help but to notice that greeting cards today are no longer cheap. People spend around RM 10-20 for a greeting card, which we simply sign it off, and send it to the intended recipient. Most of the time, our objective is to bring some type of well wishes to the recipient, or maybe to invite the person for an important function. Whatever the reason maybe, we certainly wish that our card will bring a smile to the recipient. That’s one smile.
So, where’s the 2nd smile?
Many times, I reflect back on the blessings that I have been showered with and I thank God for it, but then there are many others around the world that are not as blessed as us. These are people that need our help, support, and usually, financially. How often do we come across a charity that is asking for monetary support? This is where the 2nd smile comes from, these foundations and charities.
Once, I made Christmas cards to raise funds for a non profitable organization which is very close to our (my husband and I) hearts, and all profits went to helping support pre-school education for under-privilege kids… These “second” smiles warmed my heart!
Do you want to feel that warmth?
Just request a personalized handmade greeting cards/bookmark/gift cards from me, provide the necessary details (i.e. occasion). I’ll personalize the card for you (or I can even sign it off and send it to your recipient)… All profits simply go to that specific charity which the card is designed for… it’s as simple as that.
But then, I know what everyone else is thinking, what happens if this is all a big lie, that the charity gets nothing from my purchase. Well, this certainly is an act of faith, because we’re certainly not going to have a big 5 audit firm come check my books. However, the worst case scenario is that your love one gets a personalized card for RM 20, and he or she smiles… and I pocket the rest of the profit. Or ok, there’s another worst case scenario, say for the very first time, you pay me and no one receives anything, you lose RM 20, write something nasty on my blog, and there goes my entire effort.
However, if I’m doing this for real, you buy TWO SMILES FOR THE PRICE OF ONE!
As a hobby, I make cards, handmade and designed by myself. I make my own cards for Christmas, wedding invitations, birthdays, etc. It is a passion that I have, I love to design and make them. Once, I even designed and made 400 wedding invitation cards for my sister in law, and it was very well received by many *or at least I want to think so :)* … of course, I haven’t made any for sale.
I am not sure about you, but I can’t help but to notice that greeting cards today are no longer cheap. People spend around RM 10-20 for a greeting card, which we simply sign it off, and send it to the intended recipient. Most of the time, our objective is to bring some type of well wishes to the recipient, or maybe to invite the person for an important function. Whatever the reason maybe, we certainly wish that our card will bring a smile to the recipient. That’s one smile.
So, where’s the 2nd smile?
Many times, I reflect back on the blessings that I have been showered with and I thank God for it, but then there are many others around the world that are not as blessed as us. These are people that need our help, support, and usually, financially. How often do we come across a charity that is asking for monetary support? This is where the 2nd smile comes from, these foundations and charities.
Once, I made Christmas cards to raise funds for a non profitable organization which is very close to our (my husband and I) hearts, and all profits went to helping support pre-school education for under-privilege kids… These “second” smiles warmed my heart!
Do you want to feel that warmth?
Just request a personalized handmade greeting cards/bookmark/gift cards from me, provide the necessary details (i.e. occasion). I’ll personalize the card for you (or I can even sign it off and send it to your recipient)… All profits simply go to that specific charity which the card is designed for… it’s as simple as that.
But then, I know what everyone else is thinking, what happens if this is all a big lie, that the charity gets nothing from my purchase. Well, this certainly is an act of faith, because we’re certainly not going to have a big 5 audit firm come check my books. However, the worst case scenario is that your love one gets a personalized card for RM 20, and he or she smiles… and I pocket the rest of the profit. Or ok, there’s another worst case scenario, say for the very first time, you pay me and no one receives anything, you lose RM 20, write something nasty on my blog, and there goes my entire effort.
However, if I’m doing this for real, you buy TWO SMILES FOR THE PRICE OF ONE!
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