When Bad Things Become Good

Cover of It Could Have Been Worse

I was reading about the Dragon Boat tragedy in the papers the other day and one of the victim's father made a comment that got me pondering. He mentioned how he would scold his son for spending too much time playing computer games and that prompted the son to sign up for the dragon boat activity. He said he wished he had left his son to play computer games. That way, his son would still be alive.

I guess it struck me because I am one of those parents who dislike the idea of my children gazing hypnotically at the computer screen for hours on end. I don't mind them playing for about 1 hour. However, I would also encourage them to do other "better" things like reading books, activities that require some imagination and creativity, help me clean up the house (their least favorite thing to do of course) and physical activities.

Well, this father's comment got me thinking that maybe, playing computer games is not too bad afterall:

• You know where they are. Having them at home is better than not knowing where they are or having them engage in dangerous or inappropriate activities.
• They can't get injured playing computer games. Their eye sight may deteriorate a little and they may suffer from carpal tunnel later on, but nothing that will have them end up in the hospital.
• Some computer games can aid their spacial abilities and hand-eye coordination (I think).

My heart goes out to the families that lost their children in this tragedy. I cannot fathom what it is like to lose a child. I hope I never know. As parents, we try to bring up our children the best we can. We try to guide them in the right way. It's just that we cannot see the future and therefore cannot predict when bad things may actually be good things (and vice versa).

It reminds me of a children's book I once read. It's called It Could Have Been Worse. The story is about a little mouse who experiences a whole bunch of mishaps like falling into a hole, tripping etc.... But all those "bad" things that happened to him were actually "good" things coz' they saved him from being eaten by predators.

Anyway, my point is, we never know when the "bad" things could turn out to be "good" things. I think I shall take it as a lesson to be less harsh on my kids.

p.s. For those of you who don't know, the Dragon Boat tragedy refers to the recent death of 5 students and 1 teacher as their dragon boat capsized while they were training for the Penang International Dragon Boat Race.

Photobook Your Memories

Last Sunday as I was updating my family journal, I told my daughter that I should get it bound into a book, especially the photos and scrapbooks. Rather than keep everything on my harddisk, I was thinking a Photobook would be appropriate. I'd have to save money and target to do that at the end of the year.

Photobooks seem to be the trend these days. Some people create Photobooks as their wedding album . Definitely more appealing than those bulky and heavy traditional wedding albums. They are also great for other special occasions such as anniversaries, barmitzvah, christening, holidays etc....

There are many photobook services online. For example, if you are in UK, Photo Productions designs and prints Premium Photobooks. They are not like the many design-it-yourself photobooks services that give you cheap prints. They have a team that will professionally design your book using your uploaded photos. Their quality is also exceptional. After you approve of the design, the book goes through a 23 stage digital printing and hand-binding process. In other words, not only are the images vibrant but the book is durable as well.

The service they provide is usually available through a photographer. However, that makes it more expensive. They are the first UK based company to offer such services to the general public. Their website is user friendly. You'll find it no hassle at all. You also get full online proofing of the Photobook designs when they are done. They will ship to anywhere but if you are in UK, shipping is free.

If you are a professional photographer, you can apply for a trade discount. This means more savings for you. Their tagline is 'Premium Photobooks, Not Premium Prices'.

*Disclaimer: I'm getting some pocket-money from this post.

Teriyaki Noodles

Decided to do some cooking experimenting the other day and it came out quite alright. The dish: TERIYAKI MACARONI and TERIYAKI SPAGHETTI.

This was lunch. Tried a recipe I found on the internet and it turned out too sweet. The recipe called for 3 tbsp of brown sugar to 2 cups of water. That's really toooo sweet. Threw in some chicken nuggets and black pepper sausages that were lying in my freezer. I believe most people would use chicken breasts for this type of dish. I guess you can use whatever suits your fancy. Me, I was just trying to finish up whatever food I had in the fridge :)

My Teriyaki Macaroni creation.

Modified the teriyaki sauce for dinner. Used spaghetti this time round. DH gave this a thumbs up. Much better and less sweet. No more chicken nuggets and sausages, so fried up some luncheon meat. Garnished with spring onions.

Here is the recipe for the sauce:

HOW TO COOK

• 1 clove garlic and 1-2 inches ginger. Crush or mince it.
• Stir fry the garlic and ginger in oil until fragrant.
• Pour in 2 tbsp sesame oil and stir fry a little more.
  
• Add 3 cups of water
• Add 6 tbsp of soy sauce
• Add 3 tbsp of BBQ sauce
• Add 1 tbsp of hoisin sauce
• Add 4 tbsp of teriyaki sauce
• Add 1 1/2 tbsp of brown sugar
• Optional: Add 1 tbsp of honey
• Taste to see if it is savory enough for your taste. If not, add some salt.
• To thicken the sauce, add 3 tbsp of cornstarch.

If you cook 1 packet of spaghetti, this recipe will be enough. You may even have more than you need. Enjoy!

p.s. If you need help planning what to cook each week, click on my affiliate link below:
Dine Without Whine - A Weekly Menu Plan & Grocery List Delivered To Your E-mail Box

Baby is 4 Months Old

*This scrap was done with Polaroid My Memories Suite. If you want an easy way to digital scrapbook, click here to learn more about this software: Software For Scrapbooking

BabyK now weighs 6.7kg. She's my first baby who likes to suck her thumb. If she's not sucking her thumb, she's sucking our fingers, arm, shoulders etc.... She has started to laugh out loud. But not everyone can make her do that. So far, only 3 people have succeeded: Daddy, jie-jie Merille and Sis. Lhudy. I guess it depends on her mood too. Jie-jieK is trying very hard everyday to make baby laugh. Unfortunately no success.

She's not sleeping as much as we want her to during the daytime. Sometimes she only naps for 15 minutes. Imagine trying to put her to sleep for 1 hour and then she only sleeps for 15 minutes. She sleeps longer if I sleep with her. So you can imagine how productive I've been. Yes, I guess I should be grateful that I can nap every afternoon :) Unfortunately that means a bit of neglect for my other 2 sons.

Well babyK, mommy is impatiently waiting for you to be able to sit up. This way you can sit on the trolley when we go shopping and I don't have to carry you for 2 hours (or more).

More TV, Good or Bad?

When I was young, there were only 3 channels on TV; RTM1, RTM2 and TV3. When TV3 was first introduced, my house could not receive its transmission. I remember being so bummed out because they had great shows like Smurfs. Yea, back then I felt very deprived because I felt like the only one in school who couldn't watch Smurfs.

These days our children have the luxury of cable and satellite TV. Is that a good thing? Well, in my home we don't subscribe to any extra channels. Even then, the TV is on almost the whole day. Don't be alarmed; it's not the kids watching but their grandfather.

I cannot imagine what would happen if I subscribe to Astro (satellite TV here in Malaysia). It'll be so difficult not to be glued to the TV. I know I will have to be more vigilant in making the kids adhere to TV rules. In spite of that I can think of one good thing it'll do for me... no more never-ending Taiwanese shows. My FIL watches them everyday and boy, the series seems to go on forever. I guess in a way it's our fault; he doesn't have much choice on TV.

So, in your home, do you (or would you) opt for satellite TV? What rules (if any) have you made for your kids and yourself regarding watching TV?

Car Games For Kids

Are your children good travelers? My kids are not too bad. Leaving the house for us is like going on a road trip. It takes us about 40 minutes to get to PJ. And because it's not economical for us to be driving into town so often, we try to do as much as we can when we're out. So, driving here, driving there, doing this and doing that usually takes a few hours.

Sometimes the kids will sleep. But when they're awake, they need something to keep them occupied or else World War III will break out. You'll hear stuff like:

• "why are you taking up so much space?"
• "don't cross this line, ok?"
• "Mommy, he stepped on my feet again."
• "Why you always get to sit in the middle?"
• "Can you stop singing, or I'll ask Mommy to turn off the radio."
• "Mommy, he punched me so hard."

The kids will usually bring stuff to do like books, doodling paper or a mini white board. But that doesn't guarantee peace in the car. They'll end up fighting too e.g. "But I want to use it", "It's my turn, you've used it for so long already" or "Mommy, he snatched it from me."

Car games is a good way to keep them in good spirits. Here are some ideas:

• How many diggers can you find? This one works for my little one coz' he looooves diggers. Plus, there's plenty of construction going on in this little part of the world to supply him with diggers to spot.
• Guessing game. You think of an object or animal and then give clues for others to guess what it is. This is really good for their language skills. It'll help them learn how to use adjectives.
• What word starts with the letter... To make this game more interesting, we ask the children to give words that are related to the gospel. For example, words that begin with the letter "A" could be atonement, Aaron, Almighty or apostle.
• Rhyming game. Give a word and find what other words rhyme with it. If you can, make up a silly poem with the words given.
• Road trip Bingo. Make up a bingo card like the one below. Use items that your children will see along the road. If they spot an item, give them a sticker to place on their card. The winner would be the first person to complete a row either horizontal, vertical or across. This is more fun then the usual Eye Spy game.

Chinese New Year is coming up. That means "balik kampung" (traveling back to hometown). I better get ready my list of car activities if I want a pleasant journey. So, what sort of car games do you play on your road trips?

Early Reading Lessons

One of my New Year resolutions this year is to be more diligent in teaching my children. BabyD is no more a baby. He is turning 3 years old in a few days. His status has been upgraded to become KokoD2. Just in case you didn't know, "koko" means "big brother" in chinese.

Anyway, I've been feeling a bit bad coz' he learns really quickly and my slack means he can't progress as quickly. At this young age, he already knows the sounds of all the alphabets. He can also identify all the letters - small and capital. His counting is excellent. He loves numbers. He will sometimes count beyond 20. His pencil control is also quite good. He colors very well for his age -- tries to keep it inside the lines. He can write the numbers 1-4. Don't get me wrong, I'm not telling you this to show that he is a genius or anything. Just to demonstrate that with proper guidance, really young children can learn quickly.

Well, I've decided to start him reading. I'm starting him on recognizing whole words. I'll still continue with phonics such as identifying initial sounds. But at this age, he can't blend sounds yet. So, we'll do memorizing whole words first. I've written down on cards two very simple and common words: "the" and "is". I've put them on the wall where he can see them. I print out text from his favorite books and nursery rhymes that contain those words and have him search for those words. When he finds those words on the paper, I have him color them. Also when we read books, I have him point out those words.

He gets so excited when he finds those words he can read. Take a look at the video below.



Mama's Parenting Tip

• Read to your children often.
  
• Starfall.com is a wonderful website for early reading.
• Learning to read with phonics is one method. Reading using whole words is another. I like to use both.
• Do a lot of pre-reading activities and games with your children.
• Click here for more reading and literacy tips.
  

I Have To Cut My What?

KokoD just started Std.1 this year. First day of school was no problem. Afterall, he has been attending preschool there. So, he is familiar with the environment and no problem with the language too. BUT there are still Bahasa Malaysia words that he doesn't know. Here is an account of a hilarious misunderstanding:

KokoD: Mommy, my friends at school say they have to cut their "kuku".
Mommy: (Thinking he was referring to circumcision because at home, we call the thing between boys legs "kuku". My children also know it's called a penis but we are used to using the hokkien term for it). Ya, the Malays do that.
KokoD: My teacher say if your "kuku" is too long, she will cut it.
Mommy: (Huh? What in the world? After some thinking... finally dawned on me that she was talking about fingernails. Bahasa Malaysia "kuku" = fingernails) OooOooh, "kuku" means your fingernails dear.

I believed I saw a sigh of relief from KokoD.

Another kid starting school. 2 down, 2 to go.

Kids Photos

When there's a new baby in the house, the camera seems to gravitate that way. I realize I haven't given much "blog attention" to the other kids.So, here's some picture updates on the kids.

One day KokoD1 went to hold babyK and said "Mommy, take my picture with baby". Here he is, giving me his sweet smile. One thing you have to know about KokoD1, it is difficult to get him to smile nicely when taking pictures. He will usually make funny faces or has his eyes shut. But here he willingly looks "normal" for me.

This was taken during a wedding dinner. Baby was looking happy and cute and so I took out my camera. KokoD1 quickly jumped in. He loves babyK a lot. He really is a good koko to her. When I'm busy, he will happily try to entertain her. Sometimes I put her in the car seat cum rocking chair (see my post on Online Shop Malaysia) and he will rock her to sleep while I cook. He will then announce to me his "success" with pride and satisfaction in his voice.

These two are like cats and dogs. They provide the "fireworks" at home. But I must say that JiejieK is very helpful at home (when she wants to be or when she sees me super angry). She un-grudgingly helps me get the vegetables ready for cooking. She also cooks the rice these days. Yeap, upgraded from washing rice to actually cooking it. These two kids also sweep and mop the upstairs once a week. One will sweep and the other mops. Good kids but still have plenty of bad habits to weed out. Guess that's why I still have a job as a "mommy". Hahahahah.

This little fella is still very lovable. Unfortunately he is picking up some bad habits from his siblings like disturbing/annoying them on purpose. This, of course, leads to fights with his siblings. His speech is getting a little better but there are still times I don't know what he is saying. He seems to have problems pronouncing certain sounds properly. The /ai/ sounds are either pronounced as /ah/ or /ayer/. So, "I want to eat rice" becomes "I want to eat wah". He loves numbers and alphabets. He can even count beyond 20. He can write the numbers 1-3. I didn't really teach him that. He did that on his own. Today I taught him to spell his name. I used the B-I-N-G-O song. He learned quickly and now he can spell his name. He also loves music. On the piano, he knows where is "do" and will play and sing "do-re-me-fa-so-la-ti-do". He will try to sing backwards too but gets it all wrong. Hahahah. You won't believe what one of his favorite song is... Love Story by Taylor Swift. Influenced by JiejieK nonetheless. Everytime I turn on my computer, he will ask me to play that song over and over and over and over....

So here they all are. My 1-2-3-4 kids.

Baby K is Going To Be 4 Months Old

Thanks to Shabby Princess for the free digital scrapbook kit.

BabyK's hair is getting longer and standing up higher. Her daytime naps are getting shorter and that just means more busy time for us. Her gums have been really itchy lately. She keeps wanting to bite and suck. The teething process has probably started but I know we won't be seeing any teeth for a few months. We have teething rings for her but she's more interested in our fingers. She'll also suck her own hand. We say she's "eating her drumstick". She likes to hold our hand. We like her to hold our hand so she has plenty of willing hands to hold :) Besides holding our hand, she has also started to grab things like hair (her own and also other people's) and her shirt.

She gets very cranky just before she sleeps. I don't remember the others crying so much. Maybe my memory is compromised. Oh, I know my memory is bad. In some ways I count that as a blessing. Anyway, she's really good at night. But she sometimes tends to wait for me to sleep along with her, and that can be quite late. She's really good when we go out. She sleeps when we're out and stays awake when we're home.

Her last weigh in was a few weeks ago and she was at 6.3kg. Next check-up is next Monday. Wonder if she is up another kg. Carrying her around is not doing any wonders for our back.
Parenting Tip: That's why you musn't wait until you're too old to have a baby. You need youth and vibrancy to raise these young ones. Also, important not to neglect fitness. You need to stay strong and have endurance. Also good to get a good baby sling.

She likes to be carried upright, either over the shoulder or sitting facing forward. She doesn't like to be carried in a lying down position. Looks like I have another active one on hand. When they don't like to lie down, that's a sign! It's like she's already complaining "Mommy, stop asking me to go to sleep!"

I heard her laugh for the first time the other day. I was niggling her neck and she gave the cutest laugh. Haven't been able to make her laugh again since then. Baby's laughs are the cutest. No one can imitate a baby's laugh. I need to get that on video.

Ok, that's all the baby news we have for now.

Questions For Mama

My son is sure making my job as a mother very tough. He loves to ask questions that I cannot answer. Here are some of his latest questions:

• How come the top of the fridge (freezer) is colder than the bottom?
• How come when I feel the outside of the fridge it is hot but the inside is cold?
  
• Who is the one who gave things their names? (Meaning, who said this is called a tree, table, car, house, sun etc....)
• Who made God?

What are some tough questions you've had from your children?

Fried Udon

My MIL gave us some udon a few weeks back. I've never cooked udon before so didn't really know what to do with it. But it seemed like a good idea to take it out of the fridge today for some easy cooking. I need a break from Christmas food. Decided to fry it and it turned out pretty tasty.

INGREDIENTS

• Udon noodles
• Prawns
• Fishball - quartered (or halved)
  
• Vege - sawi
• Crabstick - cut to bite size
  
• Garlic - minced
  
• Teriyaki sauce
• Soy sauce
• Black soy sauce

HOW TO COOK
Fry garlic until slightly golden, then throw in the prawns, fishball, crabstick and vege. Stir fry for a while. Add the udon noodles, then put in the sauces - teriyaki, soy sauce and black soy sauce.

Christmas Gift For Busy Moms To Make

It's been a while since I made Honey Snaps. My daughter has been pestering me to make them, so I thought why not make them as Christmas gifts this year too. But instead of putting them in plastic bags, I bought plastic containers. That way, the recipients can use the containers after they finish eating the gift.

If you're looking for a baking project that you can do with your children, this would be it. It's easy and won't take that much of your time (unless you're doing lots and lots of it). Click here for the recipe: Honey Snaps

Simple Box Pinata

Once again I made a pinata for my Church Christmas party. However, it has been raining and so making a paper mache pinata was out of the question. My clothes has been taking days to dry, what more paper mache. I remember reading how someone made a box pinata. So I decided to give that a try. It seemed fairly easy and less of a hassle than the paper mache one. So, here it is:

This is my Santa Claus pinata

Made another one for the Single Adults Christmas party. Just used crepe paper on this one.

Making this pinata was really easy. Just recycle a cereal box and decorate it however you like. For the Santa pinata, I first wrapped the box with some black paper I had handy. Then I took a piece of white paper and drew some eyes. I wanted a 3D effect so I wrapped some cotton with paper to make the nose. Then glued on some cotton to make the moustache. Cut out circles to make Santa's beard. Used some more cotton and red paper for his hat. Poked 2 holes on the sides and inserted a string so the pinata could hang. Children may find it difficult to break open this kind of pinata. So, here is a tip:

• When you make the pinata, turn the cereal box upside down. That means the top of the cereal box is at the bottom. Don't cover it with paper. Don't put too much celophane tape either. You want it sealed enough to hold the candy but not so strong that the children can't whack it open.
  

This is my daughter having a good whack at the Santa pinata.

I didn't do much with my box pinata. I was looking for something easy and fast. You can always be creative and make the pinata look like a horse, star, castle or something interesting. It's a fun project to do with children and they'll love it during a party.

Note: Click here to see how I made a Snowman paper mache pinata.
Lazy to make one, you can click on these affiliate links to buy one.

Black Dragon Shaped 22in x 10 1/2in Pinata

Rainbow Shaped Donkey 16 1/2in x 10in Pinata

T-Rex Shaped 22in x 7 1/2in Pinata

SpongeBob Buddies Pinata (String Pull Style)

Pinata Fillers Party Supplies

Christmas Ornaments

My Christmas tree is so boring. The ornaments are so "common". The Christmas ornaments in the shops are also so "blah". Not much choice and nothing interesting. I like the idea of having a collection of personalized Christmas ornaments. For example, wouldn't it be special to get something like this to commemorate baby's first Christmas?

Baby's First Christmas Ornament Pink Bootie

The Christmas tree then becomes more than just a decoration but a treasure trove of memories. Talking about Christmas trees, I think I'll try to get a nice fiber optic one in the next few years. I don't like to deal with strings of Christmas lights that don't last long. Plus, my children are asking why our Christmas tree is so small. This is what my son said "Last time the tree looked big to me. Now that I'm taller, the tree looks small."

Note: The picture is an affiliate link. Click on it for more details.
You'll find more of such ornaments at this affiliate link:

russellrhodes.com special Christmas ornaments,gifts and plates

Online Shop Malaysia For Babies And Children

Do you do much online shopping? I know some of you are still apprehensive about it. I too think many times before I decide to purchase something online. However, with 4 kids it is the better option for me. It can be madness and highly stressful trying to shop with that many kids in tow. I found it especially helpful when I was in confinement and wanted to get a car seat for baby. Thank goodness Little Whiz was having a car seat sale at that time. Even then, I was in 2 minds about it: "Buy? Don't buy?" I was afraid I would not choose a good one because I couldn't physically inspect it. I spent some time doing a little research, scouting the net to hear what people were recommending. Then I also had to think about my budget restraints. Also wanted to know if it really was a good deal or not.

In the end, I decided to go ahead and made the purchase. Was really glad to know that shipping was free. Item arrived not many days after in good condition. Baby loves the car seat, thank goodness. It acts as a rocker too. I just wish it could be reclined.

This is 2 week old baby in the car seat. It's a Halford. It wasn't inclined enough so I put a lampin behind her neck for more support.

This is 2 month old baby. She's grown into the seat, so it fits her better now. She sleeps longer in the car seat then if I were to put her lying down on a mattress.

Little Whiz is a good place to shop if you're looking for baby and children stuff. They've got lots of stuff like baby furniture and bedding, baby slings, books, cds, dvds, toys, strollers, car seats, breast pumps, nursing accessories, toilet training and diapering stuff, skin care for baby and home safety products. They've also got stuff for pregnant mothers. Check them out to see their vast collection.

I notice they've got regular promotions. Their prices are not too bad. If you need to get baby stuff or want to get a gift for someone's children, do give this retailer a try. Click on the banner below and rate them yourself.

Note: The links on this post are affiliate links.

Christmas Gifts For Kids

Image by minifig via Flickr

Getting Christmas gifts for my kids is always a breeze. They make sure I know what they want. Of course they don't always get everything they ask for. Their first choice is usually off our budget. For example, kokoD wants a Transformer toy. A good one is quite costly. There's always the cheaper ones but they look really cheapo and probably won't last very long.

There's really not much surprise when it comes to my kids Christmas gifts. When I go shopping, they are usually there with me pointing out what they want. They see what I put in the cart. This year, my daughter wrapped the presents, including her own. So much for surprise. Hahah. She chose a train set, KokoD1 selected a Ninja set and KokoD2 got a car garage set. To them these are cool kids toys. We don't buy a lot of toys for them throughout the year. So we don't mind giving them a "treat" during Christmas. However, we normally don't go over RM50 per toy.

Even though my kids already know what their Christmas gifts are, they are still enthusiastic about it. The big problem now is they can't wait to play with them.

I still like the idea of giving them a surprise, so I find opportunities to get little gifts they don't know about. These are less expensive stuff but things they enjoy and like nonetheless, such as wallets, pencil cases, girly accessories, pocket games etc....

The last few years we've bought candy for their Christmas stockings. This year we are staying clear of candy. They've been having a bit too much these days. Even if we don't buy for them, they will get it from aunties, grandma and grandpa. So, NO CANDIES this year. Instead we are putting stationary like colored pens, erasers, rulers etc....

2 Month Old Baby On The Move

She's only 2 months old and she is already moving around herself. When I'm on the computer, I will put her down on a mattress next to me. I was so surprised the other day when my younger son yelled "mommy, baby on the floor". I looked and there she was, off the mattress. I put her back on and she started kicking herself off again. By the time I got the camera, she was already half way off the mattress.

Even at night when we sleep, I will wake up to find that she's moved from vertical to horizontal position. I guess this is a sign of what I can expect from this baby. Another one to keep me on my toes.

MAMAS PARENTING TIP
Never underestimate what babies can do.

Baby is 2 Months Old

 

This baby is getting big too fast. She's no longer the tiny baby I brought home from the hospital 2 1/2 months ago. I remember when I had my first baby, time seemed to pass by so slowly.  But with this baby, time seems to be flying by like a jet plane.

Baby's last weigh in was at 5.3kg. She's put on 1kg every month. She's not a ferocious eater, unlike her brother kokoD2. Still has a bit of reflux but I believe the condition is improving. She doesn't throw up milk as often. But she does get  painful attacks once in a while. She would be calm as a summer breeze one minute and then suddenly break out into frightening screams. Her face will turn red and she cries until her breath runs out. Thank goodness it doesn't go on for hours. To calm her down I have to carry her upright. I still have the Sleepy Wrap and it's been very helpful. It makes carrying her upright less strenuous and she falls asleep fairly quick when I use it. Sucking on the breast doesn't help when she's feeling uncomfortable. You'd think that "nen-nen" was the answer to everything. Not with this baby. Sometimes I give her the breast, thinking it would help calm her down. What I get is "scolding" from the baby. Yes, this 2 month old baby knows how to "scold". And if I still insist, she bites me. Ouch!

We're still doing our "fart exercises". She enjoys it when we move her legs up to her stomach and down. I  laugh every time she farts coz' she'll give a smile of satisfaction. It's like she's saying "Aaaaah, all is well now."

Even after 3 kids, it's still amazing to me how babies learn. I can see conditioning taking place. For example, when I place her on the changing mat before her bath, she calms down. It's like she knows we are getting ready to bathe, so she just waits there. Also, one night she was a bit fidgety. I tried carrying her to put her to sleep but it wasn't really working. I put her on the mattress next to my computer. She was still fidgety. I then took her to the bedroom and put her on the bed. She fell asleep by herself. She's learned that that particular bed means sleep time. 

Her hair is getting longer and standing up more. Her full head of black hair grabs people's attention wherever we go: restaurants, hawker stalls, the market, shops. The standard comment we get is "wah, she got a lot of hair ah?"

At 2 months, she's started to coo. She likes people to talk to her and now, she kinda talks balk. She's got lots of expression now, unlike last month. No more expression-less face. Her smile brightens everyone's day and can melt away her father's bad mood.

MAMA'S PARENTING TIP:

Babywearing is awesome. To me, investing in a good sling is better than getting a stroller. Most of the time, I see parents pushing the stroller while carrying the baby. The baby stroller ends up like a cart to store bags and stuff. A sling takes up less place. A stroller takes up almost the whole car boot (trunk). Plus, I think when baby keeps sitting in a stroller, they become lazy to walk. I don't know, that is just my opinion.

Chance To Win A Baby Massage Book

Everybody loves a good massage, even baby. Baby massage can soothe a restless baby. It can help baby sleep better. It can be helpful for colicky babies too. There are a lot of benefits to baby massage. Babies strive on human touch.

I found a website that shares some baby massage tips. You have a chance to win a free baby massage book too. Click here (ends 29 Nov 2009)

Here is a brief video on baby massage.



For a list of things you can do to help a colicky baby, click here: How To Stop Baby Crying

Fried Rice Alternative

Got this recipe idea from a friend. It is something like fried rice but you don't have to fry the rice. It has become my DH's special dish. I have him cook it on Sunday for us to take to church. It is a very versatile dish as you can add in different ingredients each time you cook; it's up to your taste buds or whatever you have available in the fridge. My kids love it. They don't like to eat fried rice but they will eat this.

INGREDIENTS:

• Cooked rice
• Chicken nuggets
• Sausages (Americans call it hot dogs)
• Crab sticks
• Mixed vegetables (peas, carrots and corn that you normally find in the frozen section of the supermarkets).  Sometimes instead of using mixed vegetables, I use long beans. You can substitute with other vegetables of your choice.

HOW TO COOK:

• Fry chicken nuggets. Then cut into strips. Put aside.
  
• Cook the sausages. Cut into slices. (Or you can cut them first before frying). Put aside.
  
• Boil the crab sticks until cooked. Cut into smaller bites. Put aside.
• Saute the mixed vegetables with garlic. Add some soy sauce, sugar and chicken stock. Put aside. 
• Now mix all the cooked ingredients above with your cooked rice. Mix it up nice and good. Add more soy sauce and salt to taste.

Easy and good to eat. A Bon Appetit!
For more help in planning family meals, click my affiliate links below.

Dine Without Whine - Your #1 Source For Family Friendly Meal Planning

How To Make Meal Planning Easier This Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving my fellow American friends! I'm sure you are all looking forward to the lovely dinner and family gathering. Lots of effort is required to make the event an enjoyable one.

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Have a Happy Thanksgiving!


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Teaching Wrong English

Last week was the prize giving event at my children's school. At the end of the school year, they will reward those who:

• achieve top 3 in the class
• achieve top 10 in the whole standard
• top 2 in a certain subject

Anyway, the picture above is a sign written above the school hall: THANKS YOUR TEACHER IF YOU CAN READ THIS.

I was thinking to myself, "Thanks for what? For teaching bad english?" Guess I have to be more diligent in teaching my children at home.

Image by Lance McCord via Flickr

NICE CLOTH DIAPER IS HAVING A CHRISTMAS MEGA SALES!

Purchase up to RM 100 : 10% discount
Purchase up to RM 200 : 15 % discount
Purchase more than RM 300 : 20 % discount

This is good news if you want to purchase some cloth diapers for baby. Other stuff they have available at their site are cloth diaper accessories, cotton menstrual pad, environmental friendly laundry ball, educational flash cards, baby sling and mattress protector.Check it out. Click on my affiliate link now:Nice Cloth Diaper 

Paula Deen's Free Holiday Guide

Image via Wikipedia

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and Christmas is not too far away either. I found this free guide by Paula Deen and she shares recipes, tips and things to do for the upcoming holidays. Check out her guide:
Paula Deen’s Holiday Hosting Guide. It's in PDF format.

And how is the Christmas shopping coming along? Click here to get Christmas gifts ideas.

Have You Started Thinking About Christmas?

When do you start getting ready for Christmas? Yes, November is already here and it's time to start thinking about Christmas. If you wait till December, you will stress yourself out rushing to prepare. The 3 things you should start doing now are:

• Get your Christmas list ready - Who do you need to get gifts for? What is your budget? Start brainstorming for Christmas gifts ideas.
  
• Christmas shopping - Start looking around for good deals and offers. If you are going to shop online, you have to start early to allow for delivery time. Also, shop early to avoid disappointment. Certain hot items may sell out fast. 
• Christmas greetings - This is a good time to reconnect with old friends and family. Send them Christmas photo greeting cards. We don't do that here in Malaysia but I wish we did. Maybe I should start the trend. I used to get these unique holiday photo cards from my American friends and thought they were simply beautiful. The family photos made the card personal and special. Definitely better than those generic Christmas cards. So, start snapping pictures of you and your family. Select your best ones and make a Christmas photo greeting card. Easiest way to do this is use an online service like Tiny Prints. Click my affiliate link below to see the many hip card designs at Tiny Prints:
  Tiny Prints 2009 Holiday Cards
  

Jingle Bells everyone!

Free Recipe Booklet For Raisin Fans

I love raisins. And if you do too, you will love this free recipe booklet by Sun-Maid and Gooseberry Patch. Some of the recipes include Raisin Crumb Bars, Oat, Apple & Raisin Muffins, Raisin-Walnut Bars, Fruity Coleslaw and Confetti Snack Mix. Now with the holidays coming, maybe you can try out some of these recipes.

CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR BOOKLET

Hope you like this discovery of mine today.

p.s. :  If you want to learn more about how to get your kids to eat healthy, click this link to check out my review of Yummy Healthy Tummy.

Elevator or Stairs?

As parents, we are always trying to change our kids behavior for the better. This website called The Fun Theory, believes the easiest way to change people's behavior is to make it fun. This video shows how they use the concept of "fun" to get people to use the staircase more than the elevator. Really cute idea. I would definitely take the stairs!

MAMA'S PARENTING TIP
If your child doesn't like to do homework, study, clean up, eat vegetables or whatever, maybe "fun" is the answer.