Godmothers

Because of the incredible amount of stuff in our home ("They're enough to support a dozen people," said our domestic helper), I always say that we have a lot of EVERYTHING in the world. The only thing we don't have is money.

And the same goes for Daryl. He has no money yet (What? You think he has a million-dollar bank account? He will if any of you give him, or us, one.), but has a lot of clothing, toys and other stuffs.

And no, he doesn't have one godmother. He has TWO in fact.

These two crazy girls are two of my very best friends. They are my high-school classmates, and they love children a lot, and one of them has been other kids' godmothers before.

How crazy are they? They once said that we can simply concentrate on supporting Daryl's study and buying his food, and they will take care of all his clothing. Then during the very hot summer days, they told us that they have already bought a super-warm quilt gown for him. And when scorching summer finally ended and the weather became cold, they decided to tell us that they have bought some swimming wears (notice the "s") for him.

And a quick check into Daryl's wardrobes confirms our belief: We, as his parents, have only bought him the cheapest of clothes from the cheapest of places. Meanwhile, almost all of his "designer" clothing are bought by his godmothers.

But their "donation" is strictly "in kind". When we suggested them make stock or fund investment for Daryl, they flatly said no, as "stocks and funds won't make Daryl prettier!"

Sometimes they are evil. They would sneak into our home when we were away at work and visit Daryl. As they have already won over the trust of our domestic helper, we are really worried that one day they will kidnap Daryl and ask for a huge ransom.

And they are also the main reason why we have to move. They always threatened us that if we don't move to a bigger place, there will not be enough room to store the things they have bought for Daryl. We, as kind and friendly as always, have no choice but to accommodate their request.

But at the rate they're buying things for Daryl, we'll soon have to acquire the flats (notice the dreaded "s" again) next to us, just to have enough room for us go to the toilet without tripping over.

Nevertheless, Daryl is a lucky boy. We always thank God that everyone loves him a lot, and it's really a blessing for him to have two such caring and loving godmothers.

Nanny Dandy

When both parents have to work, it's a must to find someone to take care of the baby at home. And when there are no family members or relatives to do it for you, you have to find a domestic helper to carry out the duty, in addition to the household chores.

As my wife and I are both very busy with our work, we decided to employ a domestic helper to help take care of Daryl. As it turned out, our helper not only does the household chores well, she also takes very good care of Daryl.

But that has led to an unexpected twist.

The helper was on leave the other day, and I soon found out that we were in deep trouble, as Daryl simply refused to eat. Each time I tried with a bottle of freshly made milk, he would only drink an ounce of it and then stopped. From 6:30 in the morning to around 8:30 in the evening, he had only taken four ounces of milk, and the only thing he wanted to suck was his pacifier. We were extremely worried. When the helper came home, we told her what happened, and then she immediately tried a new bottle.

And Daryl promptly started drinking, and finished the bottle in no time at all.

Daryl has got so used to helper's feeding that he would not eat unless it's her feeding him. And does it mean that he will only listen to the helper in the future?

We surely hope not.