Meal Planning: Save Time, Reduce Stress, Eat Healthy & Enjoy Your Family

Image via Wikipedia

The children are running around the kitchen. The dog is barking it at the door and dinner should have been on the table thirty minutes ago. It’s a common scenario in many households come dinner time.

The reason that most meal times don’t always go smoothly may because dinner the last thing on your mind and when it’s time to get food on the table, everything else goes haywire in your house.

We have all been there, but with a little bit of meal-planning, you can be serving up delicious meals the family will be glad to gather around the table for.

Meal planning can make it easy to get dinner on the table in no time on a busy night. Not only do you save time, but it’s economical too. You buy only what you need, avoid the drive-through line up and you can concentrate on using fresh ingredients – instead of prepackages items from the grocery store. Every mother should have a set way to plan all of their meals in advance for the week…it’s a true life-saver.

The first step to successful meal planning is to sit down before you head out to the grocery store for the week (or sign up for the affordable Dine Without Whine Menu Planning Service & they’ll make that plan for you) .

It is best to plan what food you will need to have on had before you head to the grocery store when planning the week’s meals. Meal planning will make good use of a well stocked pantry and will only need a regular amount of grocery shopping. By having your meals for the week planned out, you will be able to write a grocery list that you can stick to (Dine Without Whine actually puts your grocery list together for you too). This will help you to save money by keeping you from not buying extra food that you will not use.

As you plan your week’s meals, make sure that you think about ways you can cook once and make two meals out of it. It’s easy to do a lot of cooking on the weekends so that you can do minimum cooking on busy week days. You can grill up chicken breasts on Sunday and use them in pasta on one night and then in fajitas another night. There are many ways that you can reuse the cooking from one night to make the next meal that much easier.

Meal planning can also help to cut down on your prep time in the kitchen when you are cooking. By knowing the meals that you are going to cook in advance, you can wash and cut vegetables when you bring them home from the grocery store. The simple act of pre-measuring the vegetables that you would need for a meal will cut out a lot of additional cooking time.

To be successful with your meal planning, you will want to take into account a lot of factors when you plan your meals for the week. One of the most important things to keep in mind is your weekly schedule of evening activities. The nights when your family has many activities planned are not the evenings to make meals that take along time to prepare. It will be those nights that you will want to use the meals that use the food that you already prepared on the weekends.

Meal planning is a skill that will take some getting used to. The first couple of times that you attempt to plan out your meals for the week, you will have some missteps along the way. After awhile it will become second nature to plan all of your meals in advance and you will wonder why you did not start to do it sooner.

To make your meal planning a whole lot easier, sign up for you 1 ¢ no-risk trial at Dine Without Whine. You and your hungry family will be glad you did.

Battling Morning Sickness

I really don't need a home pregnancy test to tell me I'm pregnant. The nausea of morning sickness is a definite sign already. Past pregnancies tell me I have to endure this for 3 months. Can't wait for food to smell good again.

So, how do I combat this nauseousness?

• Don't let myself get hungry. Small meals and lots of snacking.
  
• Snacks usually comprise of crackers, fruits or toast bread. Because it's Chinese New Year, I have Chinese New Year goodies to keep me occupied too e.g. prawn crackers and "Matt Foong Tau" a.k.a Beehive a.k.a Bunga Ros.
• Bland food. No more nasi lemak or curry laksa.
  
• Lot's of burping. Hahahaha.
• Sour plums ("shin mui" or "semboi")
  

My energy level is almost rock bottom. I do feel grateful that I do not have to go to work to meet deadlines and please bosses. Kudos to working pregnant moms. So, if you see a little less activity from me these few weeks, just know that I'm probably sprawled out on the bed or hiding from nauseating smells.

Related post:
Things I Love When I Have Morning Sickness

UPDATE (6 Feb 2009)
I've heard that ginger is particular good in helping with morning sickness. After 3 pregnancies, I decided to finally give it a try. So, slicing up some ginger (about 4-5 slices), I put them in my mug and add some hot water and honey. I let it sit for awhile for the ginger to fuse into the water. Once I finish the mug, I just top up with more hot water and honey. Sipping it throughout the day seems to help. Well... I think that is what is helping me feel better. Make no mistake, I'm not CURED of morning sickness. The discomfort is still there but not so intense.
So, if you are pregnant and also battling morning sickness, maybe you can give this remedy a try.

What I Don't Want To Hear When I Tell You I'm Pregnant Again

I'm sure you know what the above picture means - Yes, no.4 is on the way. Before you make any comments or pass any judgement, read the rest of this post first.

It's been interesting to hear what people have said to me each time I announce that I'm pregnant (especially family members.) With the first baby, everyone is generally very happy. They'll say "Congratulations", "Great news", "I'm so happy to hear this" etc.... With the 2nd baby, the excitement is still there but not so much. The general reaction is like "Good, your first child will have a playmate" or "Yes, 2 children is a good balance". When I announced my 3rd pregnancy, it was like "Another one?" I felt like a brave soldier who was daring enough to have more children than I have hands. Now with this 4th pregnancy, the enthusiasm is definitely gone. My mom said "Up to you lah, since you're so fertile". Father-in-law had only 1 sentence: "ko chai pregnant?" That's hokkien for "pregnant again?" Not even a smile or a glimpse of happiness. Mother-in-law has yet to find out and we'll tell her when we go back for Chinese New Year this Sunday. Can't wait to hear what she says (yeah, right). I've also gotten questions such as "was this planned or was it an accident?" and "how many children are you planning to have?"

Well, I just want to point out that:

1. I'm happy to be pregnant again. Having a child is a good thing - it doesn't matter what number the child is. Each pregnancy is a cause to be celebrated. So what if the baby was planned or an accident? It doesn't make the baby less precious. Each deserves some enthusiasm and excitement, not dread and skepticism.
   
2. I've been taught that each child is a gift from God. I truly believe this. I feel honored that Heavenly Father trusts me enough to send that spirit to my home. Can I handle 4 kids? With His help I can. He won't give me something I can't handle. I know if I have faith, put my trust in Him and counsel with Him in all that I do, He will bless me with the skills and knowledge needed to care for this family. Successful parenting is not a one-person job. It involves 3 people: mother, father and God.
3. My children is my wealth. Yes, definitely our expenses will go up but I believe the Lord will provide. We try our best and do what is right and He will do the rest. We may not live in luxury but that won't scar my children. On the contrary, they will learn to overcome problems and hardships. Plus, what they really need is parental love, support, and guidance. When we come to the end of this life, family is the only thing that matters. I believe that families are forever. Not our house, car, money and possessions.
   

So, when I tell you that I'm pregnant, even if it's for the 10th time, be happy and give me an enthusiastic "CONGRATULATIONS!" I'm excited and that's why I'm sharing the news with you. To me, it's wonderful news. So don't rain on my parade. What I need is for you to be happy too. I need your support, not your judgement.

Okay, that's all I want to say. You can go ahead and make your comments now :)

The Way Kids Think

Tonight, my son read a book titled "Grizzwold". It's about a very huge bear that had to leave his forest because the trees were being cut down to be made into paper. So, he had to find another place to live. His travels took him to the mountains, prairie, desert, the city, zoo and the circus. Anyway, to cut the story short, he finally finds the perfect home at a national park. But he encounters hunters. Luckily there was a ranger there to tell them hunting wasn't allowed. He told the bear "You will be safe here. People cannot shoot animals here. They can only shoot pictures."

KokoD: Mommy, what does it mean "shoot pictures?"
Me: It means to use a camera and take photos.
KokoD: Oh, I thought they hang the pictures on the trees and shoot them.

Hahahaha. Imagine what picture he would have in his mind if I told him a lot of aunties here like to "shoot pictures" as a hobby?

Nasi Ambang

I mentioned on Facebook the other day that I was looking forward to eating Nasi Ambang. A friend of mine commented "what is Nasi Ambang?" I promise to load a picture of it and so here it is.

I believe this dish is from Johor but originate in Jawa. Don't know quite how to describe it -- it's got salted fish, chicken, coconut (I think), mixed vegetable with noodle. It's a little spicy. However, looking around the internet, I realized that the nasi ambang tends to look different. Anyone can shed some light on this? Is this like a "chap fan" (chinese mixed rice) concept?

Anyway, I just discovered this dish a few months back. It was being sold by this little van by the side of the road that leads to my house. DH said we should try it one day and we did. I liked it. Then I realized that actually, the pasar malam also have like 2 stalls selling nasi ambang, but like I mentioned earlier, looks a little different from the van seller's (I like the one from the van). And what I didn't realize was the pasar malam one, the packet was big enough to feed 3 people. One packet = RM5.00

Well, if you've never tried it before, go to your next pasar malam and see if you can find it. If not, my little van seller caters her nasi ambang and I have her phone number. If you're not in Malaysia, well... too bad. Guess you'll just have to make a trip here :)

Have A Good Day

Every day when I drop off KokoD at his kindy, I tell him to "Have a good day!" And I really want him to because his first few days at kindy was shaky. When I pick him up I will ask "was it a good day?" Thankfully it has been a good day for the last few days.

Anyway, I dropped off K at school today. And as she got down from the car I said "Have a good day!" KokoD was in the car with me and this is what he said:

KokoD: Mommy, why must you say that? Just say good-bye and that's it.
Me: Because I want her to have a good day. I want her to be happy. I want her to have a good experience at school and hope everything goes well for her.
KokoD: Mommy, I'm used to my class already. So, you don't have to say that to me ok.
Me: So you're okay with your school now?
KokoD: Yes and don't ask me anymore ok!

My reaction:
Happy - Glad that he has adapted to the school.
Sad - Coz' I still want to know how his day went. Now I can't ask.
Amused - Didn't know that a simple wish of "have a good day" can create stress. Hahahaha.

Blogging Made Easy with This Free Download

There are 2 kinds of bloggers: leisure bloggers who don't intend to use their blog to earn money and income bloggers who are always looking for ways to create more content, traffic and income opportunities for your blog. If you are the latter (or intend to be one) - this free report is going to come in handy.

It's called: "Fire Up Your Blog with PLR Content"

...and it explains 6 attractive benefits to using PLR (private label rights) content with your blogging, 12 creative ideas for using PLR and more. It's a quick 3 page report with plenty of ideas you can use right away.

Click here to download yours

*This is a PDF document and you will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader software to view it. If you don't have this software, you can get it here.

5 Tips to Make Your Home-Based Service Business Work

So you’ve been thinking of starting a business from home. You’ve got some skills, don’t have a lot of space for inventory, so you figure it might be a good idea to start a service business. In fact, it’s a GREAT idea – you just have to be prepared to get your business off the ground and balance all the work/life responsibilities that are on your plate.

This article is going to provide you with easy-to-follow tips to do just that, but first, if you still don’t know what type of service business to start, here are a few popular suggestions:

• Ghostwriting for the Internet: Write articles, reports and other information for online business owners.
• Transcription Business: Create written records of audio recordings, meetings and more.
• Virtual Assistant Business: Provide administrative support, secretarial services and more for other companies.

It doesn’t matter what type of service business you start, there will be some challenges along the way. Here are some tips help you as you go along:

1. First and foremost, set your working hours and ensure everyone in your household is aware of them and respects them. If you happen to be a mother or have other interruptions during the day, there’s nothing wrong with setting aside smaller chunks of time where you’ll be working. This isn’t the “real world” work setting anymore – it’s better. You work at home and you can decide when you work.

2. As a service business, you have two very important roles. One of those roles is to provide service for your clients. The other is to FIND those clients and the time involved in this is something many service-providers don’t take into account. Ensure you have enough time for providing services and the marketing tasks for your business – or hire some help to make the most efficient use of your time.

3. Charge a fair and rewarding rate. Even if you charge your clients for each hour you work for them, there are many tasks (administrative, marketing, etc.) that you don’t get paid for. To set a rate that is worthwhile to you, you need to decide what type of overall income you desire and figure out how many hours total (all business activities) you want to be working. If you find you can’t charge a rate that is worthwhile, consider another business idea or target a specific type clientele that is willing to pay the rates you charge.

4. Be choosy about your clients. It can be tempting to simply take on any clients because you may need the cash. Unfortunately, bad clients can drain your time, suck up your energy and end up being more work than they’re worth. Resist the temptation to just take any clients because your business will be more fruitful in the long run if you work with easy-to-manage, low-maintenance clients.

5. Don’t bite off more than you can chew. If you find yourself taking on more clients than you can handle to earn more money, revisit tip #3 above. You may be concerned about giving your clients a good deal, but they actually suffer when you can’t provide the quality service they deserve. Instead aim for fewer clients, charge more and give them stellar service.

If you keep these things in mind, your transition to a work-at-home service provider will go much more smoothly. It’s not always easy and when you’re first starting out, it can be tough to find that balance and a schedule that you can work with. But stick with it and keep refining your process and you’ll find yourself owning a very rewarding business that you absolutely love.

Recommended
To get more at home business ideas, be sure to visit Just Add Sweat - they’re your source for step-by-step guides for starting your very own home-based business. You’ll guidance you need to get your business off the ground, find real-life success stories from women just like you and more.

Click here to go to Just Add Sweat

My Baby's TWO !!?

My baby turned TWO last Saturday. Amazing how fast they grow up. Memories of changing his diapers in the middle of the night is still fresh in my mind. Now, he is running around without diapers during the day and is working on being potty trained.

Anyway, we didn't have a big celebration. I cooked a special western lunch -- french fries, fried chicken, sausages (hot dogs to my American friends) and coleslaw. The kids eat rice or noodles everyday so this is my treat to them.


Of course I made jelly cake again. The kids like it and it's cheap. Cake was gone before the night was over. The peaches in the jello was a good call. The kids could not get enough of that. I also sprinkled some hundreds and thousands for a more colourful look. I found a cute #2 candle and also candles with stars at the top. BabyD was really happy to hear us sing the birthday song. He was especially excited to blow out the candles. He wanted us to light it again so he could blow it again. Then he grabbed the extra candles and wanted to put them all on the cake. Hahahah. Sorry, you only get that many candles when you're as old as err... daddy. (Mommy still young mah). Hahahaha.


Guess what we got him for a present? PRUNES. You must think that is a weird present to get for a little boy. Hahahah. But you know what, that is what he wanted. My mom gave us a bottle of prunes before and nobody else ate it but him. Yup, he finished the whole thing. And lately, the Sunsweet prunes advertisement on tv whet his appetite for them again. When we told him we didn't have any at home, he said "car" -- as in go and buy me some. So you see, you don't always have to buy toys for your kids to be happy :)

Actually, my mom did buy him a toy helicopter -- one that needs batteries, has blinking lights and makes lotsa noise. *whisper* The kind that drives parents nuts *whisper*. But guess who played with it the most? KokoD. AND it didn't even last one day before something broke.

Okay, I haven't been doing that great marking down his milestones lately. Let's see if I can play catchup.

• Still not speaking much. He's okay with vowel sounds but not consonants. So, the word "want" sounds like "aah", and "orange" sounds like "o-ee". He has trouble with words that are more than one syllable. His first 2 syllable word was "cicak". He can also say his name quite well. His first 3 syllable word is "papa--ah" - I hoped you guessed "papaya". This was a conversation he had with my mom the other day:
  
  Grandma: Baby, why your hair so wet?
  Baby: Miao
  Grandma: Huh?
  Baby: Miao
  Grandma: What is it?
  Baby: Miao
  Grandma: Ooooh, smell! You want me to smell you hair.
  (Because grandpa always smells his hair after a bath. My mom laughed so hard because she was wondering why he was "miao-ing" at her).
  
  
• If left to feed himself, he will pick all the "goodies" and leave the rice behind. We usually let him feed himself but eventually have to feed him so he will finish everything on his plate. Lately, the only person that can feed him successfully is his brother. Thank goodness for big brothers.
• He'll also sometimes "manja" with his big sister. She also sometimes like to "mother" him.
  
• Still breastfeeding. But am trying to get him to stop now. Good luck to me!
  
• Truly a "water-boy". He just loves water. Lately he's been taking off his own shirt and pants and go bath himself. He's okay bathing with cold water.
  
• Really keen observer. He remembers how things are done and what people need to get it done.
  
• Very helpful -- sometimes overly helpful.
  
• Loves us to apply medicine on him e.g. for mosquito bites, little scratches and whatever tiny mark he can find on his body.
  
• Loves us to clean his ears and belly button.
  
• Still takes his afternoon naps. Ah, what a lovely child.
  
• Loves to have his hair cut.

There are so many things that make this little boy unique. Mommy wishes babyD many happy years ahead and don't grow up too fast.

Who Wants To Lose Weight?

Many resolutions are made during the New Year. I bet one that is on many people's list is "losing weight". If you're gunning for a svelter look this year, let me help you get on to a good start. I have a 1-month supply of Sensa to give away. Who wants it? Who wants it?

Well, maybe it would help if you knew what Sensa was in the first place. It's a system of Tastants that are sprinkled on your food to help you feel full faster, stay satisfied longer and lose weight. It uses your senses of smell and taste to control appetite. Although many people think the feeling of hunger or fullness comes from your stomach – it is actually governed by the satiety center in your brain. When Sensa Tastants are sprinkled on food, it triggers this satiety center, so you feel satisfied with less food.

In a nutshell, you just sprinkle this stuff on the food to lose weight. Very simple. No need to diet and it doesn't involve stimulants, drugs or diuretics.

You may be saying, "Sure or not?" Okay, here's a video that explains the science behind it and also the result of the research they did on it.





If you have anymore questions, you can visit http://trysensa.com. They have an FAQ.

Okay, so if you want a free 1-month trial, just be the 1st to comment and tell me why you haven't been able to lose weight thus far. Easy. Just be the first! You'll also need to email me your address (limailian at gmail dot com) so I can send it to you.

NOTE: OFFER ONLY FOR US RESIDENTS.
Sorry, this is due to logistics.

If you decide to buy this at www.trysensa.com, enter PROMOTIONAL CODE: ROCKETXL upon checkout and you will get 15% off your order and FREE ground shipping.

There's also a contest where you can win an additional 6 month supply of Sensa. To be a participant, you need to post on your website a before/after photo of yourself. They say you can cover your face if you want to. But I'm sure you'll be looking fantastic after the weight loss so I think you won't care to show your glowing face right? Okay, so post those photos up between February 2-6 and email the link to your post to Amanda@rocketxl.com

How To Get Your Kids To Sleep

It was crazy during the school holidays coz' my kids decided they could sleep late and that's what they did. Even if I did get them to stay in their rooms, they would play, talk, fight etc... until about midnight. Of course it drove me and DH up the wall. After a full day of noisy children, we crave for some peace and quiet at night.

Some of our unsuccessful attempts at teaching them discipline:

• Taking them outside and have them run to get all that energy out of their system. Baby thought it was fun and he ran along his siblings. Sigh! Even after running, they still wouldn't sleep.
  
• Confiscating their bed. Thought I could teach them about "choices" and "consequences". I told them if they quit their playing and go right to sleep, they get to sleep in a nice comfy bed. If they choose to be disobedient, they will sleep outside the room on the floor. Drastic? A little but I thought a little extremity will end the problem once and for all. You know, the "I hope you never forget this" lesson would work. That didn't work either. When I had them sit outside the room, they continued to play until very tired. Then they would start their "I'm sorry mommy. Give us one more chance. Wah, wah, wah." I didn't give in which made me feel like a bad parent. Furthermore, I was sabotaged by the grandfather who allowed them into his bedroom after I had gone to sleep. Grrrr....

Well, guess what? I've found the secret to getting my kids to sleep according to their bedtime. Want to know how? RELAXATION TECHNIQUES! Hah, I finally found a good use for my psychology degree. Hehehe. This is how my routine goes:

• Put on my George Winston music CD. You can use any kind of meditation music, even Enya and Gregorian chants. Baroque meditation music at 60 beats per minute is what most people would use to calm down and relax. It gets your brain waves down to the alpha level. By the way, it'll also help your children study better. Have you heard of Pachelbel's Cannon? That would be a great song to use. Have a listen here. Look for the title "Cannon in E".
  
• Have them lie down on their back, eyes closed, legs straight and arms by their side. Sort of like a dead person on an autopsy table. I know, gross visual but you get what I mean right?
• Get them to relax from head to toe. In a gentle voice guide them to clench their teeth for a few seconds, and then relax. Have them frown as hard as the can, then relax. Make a fist with their hands and feel like they are grabbing something hard, then let go. Tighten the legs muscles, then relax.
  
• Try to slow down their breathing. Have them visualize they are a balloon. When they breath in, the balloon expands. When they breath out, feel like a balloon deflating, going soft. For adults, we usually count to 10 as we breath in and then hold for about 5 and then breath out another 10 counts. With children you might want to cut that down to 5-3-5.
  
• Then I get them to visualize a staircase. They are right at the top, on the 100th floor. And there's a beautiful garden / beach / waterfall etc... at the bottom. Have them slowly walk down those stairs. As they do, you count down from 100 - zero. I believe the reason for this is to bring down their consciousness.
  
• If they are not asleep yet when you reach the bottom, describe the "beautiful" place e.g. the smell, the warmth, the breeze, the colours etc.... Try to bring in all the senses. Describe how happy they are there. And then let them stay there until they fall asleep :)

In the beginning, it may take awhile for them to fall asleep. The first time I did this with my kids, the whole process took me about 50 minutes. As days past, it took less and less time for them to settle down. Today, my son was asleep in 15 minutes. I only started this 5 days ago.

So, this is my secret to getting my children to sleep. My 5 year old, who can't stay still for 5 minutes, is able to calm down with this relaxation technique.

Mama's Parenting Tip:
I learned a few things the past few days. It's not things that I didn't know, but sometimes it's difficult to put into practice what you know.

1. When you don't get the desired results with your children, don't always think that it's them that need to change. More often than not, it's you that needs to change. Isn't there a saying that goes something like "insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results"? So, don't be stuck on one parenting technique. If it doesn't work, try something else. If the hard way is not working, try the soft way.
   
2. Different children need different parenting styles. I've realized I cannot go hard on my son because he will just be harder and challenge me. When I said "I'll send you to live with your grandma", he said "Pack my bags, I want to go." My daughter on the other hand would cry and whine and say how much she would rather stay. But when I told my son how sad I was about what he had done and how it affected me, he broke down and I could see that he truly felt sorry. That's how I need to work with him.

Well, I hope you do try the relaxation technique with your children. Let me know how it goes.

Kindergarten Blues

Unlike our American friends, the beginning of the year also marks the beginning of the school year in Malaysia. So the past few days, we've had many scared children going to school for the first time and many parents going through the "is my kid going to be okay in school?" phase. I'm one of them.

This year I have one kid that's starting kindergarten for the first time. He starts formal school (Standard 1) next year and so I thought I'd have him experience 1 year of kindergarten. Hopefully easing into the school system next year would be smoother . Unlike most parents forking out RM700-RM900 for kindy registration and RM200-RM250 monthly fees, I have only to pay RM220 for the entire year. You see, I opted to send my son to a government kindy rather than a commercial one. The kindy is in the primary school that he will be attending next year.

Small little building tucked in the back corner of the primary school.

The cheaper fees is definitely a plus. My only concern is that all the other kindergarten kids are Muslim and speak Bahasa Malaysia. I'm not so bothered about the racial inbalance (because we are all "anak Malaysia" right?) but rather the language barrier. I've tried to teach KokoD some Bahasa the last one year but his motivation to learn was not so great. Therefore, his fluency in the language is extremely limited. He was excited to go to school the first day but quickly became withdrawn when he realized he couldn't communicate with the other children.

See his very UN-enthusiastic look.

The teacher spoke to me yesterday and requested that we speak Bahasa to him at home so he can pick up the language faster. Yesterday he came home very angry. He found school to be boring and wanted to come home earlier. Of course the teacher had to keep him there until it was time to go home. So I had to deal with a very angry little boy yesterday. DH found the way to cheer him up - gave him time to play computer games :) Of course there was pep talk at night too. I asked him what were some things he wanted to say but didn't know how. In the end we settled on these 3 simple phrases:

- Siapa nama kamu? (What is your name?)
- Boleh saya jadi kawan kamu? (Can I be your friend?)
- Boley saya main sama? (Can I play with you?)

When I dropped him off this morning, he still wanted to stay clutched to my leg. I kept shooing him to the playground where the other kids were. He pretty much stayed away from all the other kids. I feel a little sad that he has to go through this tough time of trying to adapt. BUT when I picked him up after school, I was happy to hear that today was a better day for him. YAY!

One good thing I have to say about my boy is that even though he dislikes going to kindy at the moment and says he doesn't want to go anymore, he's not kicked up a fuss about it. When it's time to wake up, he does so. When it's time to go to school, he gets in the car. When school starts, he obediently goes to the class.

My boy who doesn't nap came home and crashed after the first day of school. Sigh! Must have been a stressful morning. Unfortunately the napping trend did not continue the following days. Darn!

His sister on the other hand was very excited to go back to school. Why? Because now she's a prefect mah. Yeah, get to dorn the special blue shirt.

Ready for duty sir!

Mamas Parenting Tips:

• How children react to their first school experience depends a lot on their natural disposition. Some children are natural social butterflies. Some are more quiet and take longer to warm up to the situation. A great book to read is Personality Plus for Parents: Understanding What Makes Your Child Tick
  
  It's important that you do NOT compare your children to others. Don't say "See how happy that child is? Can't you be like her?" or "Your siblings didn't have a problem, why are you acting this way?" What they need is for us to understand their feelings. Don't brush away their fear like "Aiyah, there is nothing to be scared about." But rather help them to cope by identifying with them e.g. "Mommy was scared too the first time I mommy went to school." See if you can figure out together how to make the experience better. Of course, hopefully the teacher is also helpful and compassionate.
  

Free Download Especially For Stay- At- Home-Moms

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

It's the start of a new year and I'm sure everyone is grateful for a new beginning. Here's wishing everyone plenty of love and luck. How about a New Year gift? Here's one especially for Stay-At-Home-Moms (don't worry, soon there'll be one for Working Moms too).

Being at home mom comes with all kinds of challenges. There's always plenty to do and everyone seems to expect even more from you because - after all - you're at home. But there is only so much one individual can do.

If you're feeling a little frazzled by all you have on your plate and it seems there is no time left for you to relax - or even breathe, download this quick guide. It has 15 ideas you can use right away to help reduce your stress and put a little fun back into things.

Click here to download your freebie:
SANITY AND SATISFACTION FOR THE AT HOME MOM.


This guide is generously provided by Journey to Joy, your guide to a more fulfilling life as a mom and Dine without Whine - every mom's meal planning lifesaver.

*You will need Adobe Acrobat Viewer to read this file. You can download it for free here.

Trying To Regain My Youthful Look

When it comes to my DH and me, there are no surprises opening Christmas gifts. I know he would rather some techy gadget and I'm no good in buying those stuff. So he selects what he wants and I wrap it. This year, his Christmas gift was a wireless mouse. Likewise, I tell him what I want so we don't waste money on "unwanted" stuff. I usually don't indulge on beauty products but a once-a-year-purchase is okay. So, this year we got me a "Cellular Youth Creator". Let's see in a few weeks time if I am looking more youthful. Hahahah.

You know, when I was playing golf, I never did bother much about skin care. Of course, that was a big mistake. If you have children, I hope you make an effort to teach them about proper skin care e.g. applying sunblock, how to wash properly, foods that nourish the skin etc.... Especially during the teenage years when they are prone to pimples and acne. Don't be like me, wait until I get closer to the "wrinkly age" and then try to "regenerate" my youth :)

Mamas Skincare Tip:

• When out shopping for a cream, make sure you read what ingredients are being used. Don't just get caught up by hyped-up advertising. Do a little research on skin care product reviews. This product I bought has Hyaluronic acid which is a needed ingredient to fight sagging and wrinkles. Other ingredients to look out for are Acetyl Hexapeptide-3 (Argireline), Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-3 (Matrixyl) and Retinol.

So, mind to share some of your beauty secrets?

Unlock Your Potential To Earn Money With Just $1

Only $1 - A New Product to Sell + Marketing Materials

The holidays will soon be over. It's time to get back to work and cover all those holiday bills. :-( To help you out, Mom PLR Ebooks is offering a $1 trial membership which gives you full access to:

• One completely customizable ebook targeted to the mom market. You can edit the ebook as much as you'd like or just PDF it and sell it, use it as a promotion, a bonus - whatever you'd like. This is an original ebook created for the Mom PLR Ebooks members ONLY.
• Not a copywriter? No problem - your membership includes a professionally written sales letter.
• Ready-made graphics AND a 5-day e-course for your promotions.

There's a bunch of other stuff too. Not sure what you can do with PLR, go on over to: 5 Ways to Use Private Label Rights Articles and Content

Mom PLR Ebooks is a great resource if you want to sell E-books to moms.

To get your first month for $1 (you can cancel anytime, but when you see all the great stuff in there, I'm pretty sure you're going to want to stick around), simply enter the following coupon code on sign up:

Coupon Code: happynewyear
Expiry Date: January 9, 2009

And PSSSST....if you sign up now, you not only get access to December's content with your dollar - you get a new full package on January 1st too! December's topic is "Family Routines to Make Your Household Run Smoothly" and in a few days, "Craft Happy Kids - Craft Projects & Ideas for the Entire Year" will be loaded into your account. Can't beat that.

But hurry, the offer isn't going to last long...just until next Friday, January 9 (or even earlier if the membership fills up). Kick things into high gear for 2009 right here: Mom PLR ebooks

Hurry before the offer ends.

Chicken in Mushroom Sauce Recipe

Christmas eve dinner was simple but yummy. We are not big fans of turkey, so chicken it is. (Save a bit of money too coz' Turkey is so very, very expensive here). In my household, the drumstick is the most valuable and most sort after part of the chicken. It usually ends up on my daughters plate (an example of a parent's sacrifice). Since Christmas dinner is about having a good treat, everyone gets a drumstick. Even better, a whole leg!

This "Chicken in Mushroom Sauce" recipe is by my friend Joyce. Had some at her home one day and my whole family loved it. Actually, I don't really know what the dish is called, so I just made the name up. Hehehe. But basically, that's what it is -- Chicken in mushroom sauce. We ate it with rice but I bet it would be great with mash potatoes too.

Okay, here is the recipe:

Ingredients

• Chicken whole leg
• Light soy sauce
• Pepper
• 1 can Campbell Mushroom soup
• 1/2 can evaporated milk
• 2 tbsp mayonnaise
  

How to cook it?

• Marinate the whole leg in soy sauce and pepper
• Later, brown it on a pan (like the picture above)
• In a pot, make your sauce. Pour out the contents of your mushroom soup and add 1 can of water (as instructed on the Campbell soup can). Stir until all is nicely dissolved and no lumps. Add in 1/2 can evaporated milk and 2 tbsp of mayonnaise.
• In a baking dish, put your browned chicken whole leg and pour the sauce on top.
• Pop it into the oven to bake. I baked mine at 200 degrees celcius for about 30 minutes. My oven is small, so stuff usually cooks faster. But I would say 30 - 45 minutes is a good time. Afterall, your chicken will be half cooked already because you browned it first.
  
• If you have lots of chicken and need more gravy, just double up on the sauce ingredients.
  

Of course we had to have vegetables too to balance out the meal. So I made a mix of brocolli, cauliflower, carrots and prawns stir fry.

How I cooked it?

• Saute garlic in butter
• Add in the prawns. When prawns are cooked, remove them. You don't want to overcook them with the veges.
• Again saute garlic in butter.
• Add in the brocolli, cauliflower and carrots. Stir fry a bit.
• Pour in a little water. Close the wok with a lid and let the vegetables steam.
  
• As the vegetables are pretty much cooked, add in a little chicken stock powder (if not just salt to taste).
  
• Put in your cooked prawns and stir fry it around a bit.
• Dish out and enjoy.
  

Merry Christmas Everyone

I haven't been doing much scraps lately. So, here's one for Christmas. You won't believe how many times I had to snap and still couldn't get a picture that I was pleased with. First one wouldn't smile, then another smiled funny, then one would look somewhere else, then the other one looked somewhere else, one couldn't keep still, then they would block their face with their hands etc.... Seeing that it was a Christmas picture, I had to TRY to keep a happy spirit.

Anyway, I'm thankful for digital cameras coz' I can just snap and delete as I like. Hehehehe. Merry Christmas everyone! I know, the greeting comes a bit late but then, there's 12 days of Christmas right?

Mamas' Christmas Tip

• Sing Christmas hymns and Christmas songs with your children to invite the spirit of Christmas to your home.
• Here's a simple Christmas game. It's like "pin the nose on the donkey" except it's "stick the balls on the Christmas tree." (Refer to the picture below). You draw several circles on the Christmas tree, so there's not just one target. You can designate different prize or candy for each circle. I used blue-tack to stick the circles onto the paper. Remember to blind fold the players. Simple even for little children to play.
  

Simple Christmas Cookie Recipes

I made Christmas cookies this year. The last time I made cookies was in 1995. I still have my post about that titled: Rookies at Christmas Cookies. Anyway, my daughter said she wanted to make some this year. KokoD also said he wanted to do, and so I said okay. I warned my two kids that they mustn't run off half way and leave mommy to finish everything. Well, they didn't run off half-way. They ran off 1/4 way. Barbie and the 12 Dancing Princesses came on tv and I guess that was more interesting.

Anyway, if you want to try your hand at making Christmas cookies, here are 2 recipes for you. Before you start, here are a few baking tips:

1. When you roll out the dough to cut into the different shapes, make sure it is not too thick. I would say about 2mm thick is okay. The thinner it is, the crunchier. Plus. it'll cook faster too.
2. Don't have to mix the ingredients too long. I remember the baking workshop I went to, they said over-mixing will allow gluten to form (like bread dough). You don't want chewy cookies.
3. Don't have to wait until the cookies are brown before taking them out of the oven. You may have to experiment in the beginning how long your cookies take to cook in your oven. Mine is a small one and I had to take the cookies out after 5 minutes. But I believe the normal practice is 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees.
   
4. Refrigerate your dough for 2 hours or more before you start working on them. You could also make them today, and bake tomorrow.
5. Put your cookies on a baking sheet when you bake. If not they will stick to your tray. I used aluminum foil. That works too.
6. Before you start to cut your dough into shapes, get ready a bowl of flour. You'll need to sprinkle some on your cutting board and dust your roller. You'll also need to dust your hands too so the dough don't stick.
7. You can use frosting to decorate the cookies. But I find it easier to just decorate it with different sprinkles before popping it into the oven.
   

Okay, now for the recipes:

BUTTER COOKIES (SUGAR COOKIES)

• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup butter (soften)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt (if you want to reduce this a bit also can)

Cream sugar and butter together until fluffy. Add in the eggs and vanilla.
Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt together. Then add this dry ingredients into the mixture. Put dough into the fridge before cutting it.

SPICE COOKIES

• 3/4 cup butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 cups flour
• 4 tsp ginger powder
• 4 tsp cinnamon powder
  
• 2 tsp nutmeg powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder

In one bowl, premix the dry ingredients (ginger powder, cinnamon powder, nutmeg powder, salt, baking powder, flour). Use an electric mixer to mix the butter and sugar. Add in the egg. Then pour in the pre-mix of dry ingredients. Refrigerate the dough.

And so, after collapsing from exhaustion (it took me almost 4 hours to finish 2 batches of cookie dough -- I need a bigger oven!), they are ready to be given away as Christmas gifts. Of course I left some for the kids to eat. Every time I burnt some cookies they were happy coz' they get to eat those. Hahaha. Anyway, my packaging not so fancy. Just a plain plastic bag with a green ribbon. I think I'll improve on that next year.

Well, if you have the energy, make some Christmas cookies to giveaway. It's a great Christmas activity to do with the kids, BUT just expect to do most of the work :)

Christmas Gift Ideas:

• 


• 


• 

Homemade Christmas Wreath

Want to make your own Christmas wreath? I know how! I learned how to make this Christmas wreath last week at my church's Relief Society's Home, Family and Personal Enrichment meeting. Unfortunately I didn't bring my camera or I would have taken a step-by-step process.

What you need and how to do it:

• Flower paper - Well, they told me that's what it's called. It makes the red, white and green circle part. You first have to un-twine it and open it up. Looks like crepe paper but tougher and thicker. Maybe one day I'll get a picture for you. Anyway, you should have 3 different strips of this flower paper (one red, one white, one green). Leave about 2 inches at the top, and start to braid it (you know like braiding someone's hair). You might need someone to hold it for you. Leave about 2 inches at the bottom too. Shape the "braid" into a circle and cross (X) the ends. Use a twisty tie thingy to tie the two ends together.
  
• Beaded string. We used a silver and gold beaded string. With a glue gun, hot glue one end to the bottom of the wreath and just twist it round and round the wreath. Hot glue again when you're done.
• Cut 5 pine needle branches (I'm sorry if I'm using all the wrong terms here. Hehe). Of course here we are using artificial pine branches. The length would depend on how big your wreath is. Use your better judgement. Hot glue one branch on top of the other. Make it so the 5 branches look like a fan.
• Hot glue 3 ornament balls.
• Then hot glue the ribbon to the bottom of the wreath.

My directions may not be the best in the world :P Hopefully you are able to see the picture above and figure out what I'm talking about. Anyway, next time we have another class like this, it's better you come and learn with me, okay?

Merry Christmas!

How To Have Stress-Free Christmas Shopping With Kids

Image by Getty Images via DaylifeIdeally, parents would like to leave children at home when they go shopping. First of all, you can get things done faster without your children distracting you. Second, shopping is worry free. You don't have to worry about them running off or breaking something. Thirdly, you don't have whiny, cranky kids telling you they want to go home or are tired. I'm sure you parents all know what I'm talking about.

Unfortunately, there are times when you have no choice but to bring along the kids to do shopping. So, how do you make your Christmas shopping with kids effective, efficient and fun. Definitely, you need to plan in advance. So, here are some tips for you to think about to ensure your Christmas shopping is pleasant.

1. Time management
We know how children can be when they haven't had enough rest or are tired. So, schedule your shopping excursions around their nap time. This will ensure the child has had sufficient rest and will not run out of energy or become cranky during the shopping trip as a result of exhaustion.

2. Break Time
Take breaks in between your shopping. You can stop for a small snack, grab lunch or rest a little at a play area in the mall or shopping center. Do not expect children to shop for hours on end without short diversions. You already know they have short attention spans. When you take these breaks, you help break the monotony of shopping.

3. Something In It For Them
Plan on doing something that they can look forward to. For example, pencil a trip to the toy store or the park. Maybe even promise to buy a small toy or a favorite treat as a reward for good behavior during the trip. This would be most effective if you schedule this trip for the later part of your shopping trip. This will help to ensure the child behaves for the majority of the trip.

4. Be Prepared
Anticipate what might happen and prepare yourself for a variety of situations. Always bring along some spare clothing for your child in case of spills. If you children is still in diapers, pack along enough supply of diapers. Distraction is parent's best weapon. So, it pays to bring along a few small toys and snacks. They will proof helpful especially if you get stuck in a long line.

5. Give Them A Heads-up
Let your children know what is going to happen on the trip out; Let them know where you are going, what you are going to do, how long it will take and what you expect from them. Mentally psych them up. Make it more fun by writing up an itinerary or a to-do list that they can help keep track of.

If you have to bring your children Christmas shopping, do what you can to make it a happy trip out. If you are prepared, Christmas shopping can be an enjoyable activity with kids. Alternatively, you can do your shopping online.

Get help with Christmas gift ideas, check out my Happy Christmas Gifts blog.