Get Reviewed

I was blog hopping the other day and came across Dani's blog called "lonely day in Lonely Hurts". Just by leaving 3 comments and answering 4 questions, you get a FREE review and a chance to win a brand new iPod shuffle.
He has already done the review on Mamasbagoftricks, so I'm on my way to getting that iPod.

Of course, I'm NOT asking you to join in his little offer. My goodness, why would I want more competition to win that iPod? So remember, don't join okay, DON'T JOIN!

p.s. : You wouldn't happen to know anything about reverse psychology would you?)

Tips for a Clean Table

Have a messy table?

Here is a quick solution: Put a 5-6 month old baby on your lap as you sit at the table. Within 5 minutes, everything within his reach will be polished with saliva before being swept right off the table. Ta-dah... a clean table!

Unfortunately now you have to clean the floor. Sigh!

p.s. Have you heard of the "elevator" game? Baby drops/throws stuff on the floor, you pick up, they drop/throw again, you pick up again... WARNING: Side effects of this game are backaches, dizziness and irritation. Best to not play at all. Stay alert and don't let yourself be pulled into this game.

Baby Milestones: 5 months+

I just get a kick out of watching baby doing his 'stunts'. And I love his expressions too.
Well, what is baby up to these days?

• Grabs everything and puts in his mouth. It's amazing how fast he can grab stuff off the table. Now eating with him on my lap is impossible. Well... it's possible but my plate has got to be like almost on the other side of the table.
  
• Stares intently at people and what they are doing. Watching his sister and brother, he has probably learned that running around and screaming is normal.
• As you can see from the scrap above, I tried to see how well he could sit on his own. We're almost there.
• Baby also had his first taste of solid food about 2 weeks ago -- mashed potatoes. I know we are suppose to wait till he is 6 months old before introducing him to solids... but he seems so ready. He gets so excited when we sit around the table to eat. And you know what? He hasn't really spit out any of the food we give him... except when he doesn't want any more.

Mama's tip for babies of similar age:

• Always have lots of handkerchiefs around to wipe all that saliva.
• Milestones are great but each baby develops at different rates. Go with what you know is best for you baby. For example, I KNOW this baby is ready to eat. He doesn't have the extrusion reflex and is eager to grab the food of my plate.
• Give plenty of opportunities to play with his hands e.g. toys with buttons to push, dangle something in front for him to grab. Of course, everything will end up in the mouth, so no teddy bears yet okay. Best is to have those teether toys.
  
• Play peek-a-boo.
  
• Always show him your smiling face.
• Nursery rhymes and lots of knee bouncing to the rhythm.
  
• AND lots and lots of HUGS and KISSES.
  

To Tell or Not To Tell

When I had my second child, naturally I employed my eldest daughter to help me keep an eye on the younger. She had no problem playing the role of "Tai Kar Che" (big sister). However, sometimes it gets out of hand. In a way, I've led her to become "Miss Bossy". She constantly breathes down her brother's neck, barking out what he should and should not do. Sometimes I have to remind her that I am the mother around here, and not her. Hahaha. Then there is the habit of reporting everything the brother does. Everyday I hear:

"Mommy, do you know what D did?"
"Mommy, D blah blah blah..."

It's like her brother has become her obsession.
Now, here is my dilemma. I would like to know if the little one is getting into trouble, but I don't want my girl growing up to be a tell-tale. And I don't want the little one to grow up despising the sister.
It's good for me to know some things but I don't need to know everything. So how do I tell her where to draw the line?

Here are some tips on tattling:

• Don't do it because you want to put the other person down and make yourself look good instead (e.g. Mommy, D made a mess in the room. I already cleaned up my mess)
  
• Don't tell me if the problem can be solved among yourselves (e.g. Mommy, D took all the pillows and won't give me one or Mommy, D spilled his drink)
• Don't do it just so you can get the other person in trouble -- revenge purposes (e.g. Mommy, D ate your last chocolate)
  
• Tell me only if he is going to get hurt or in danger (e.g. Mommy, D fell off his bicycle and is bleeding)
  
• Tell me if something is damaged (e.g. Mommy, D sat on the baby gym and broke it)

I guess the underlying principle to know when to tell and when NOT to tell is: Am I helping or hurting? And have I tried to solve the problem?

Okay, don't think I'm a smarty pants and came up with this solution on my own. Just so happen I still have 1 copy of the Joy Berry book on Tattling. If you want it, you can get it at my bookshop whilst it's still available. Only RM10.

Well, it's definitely a lesson I will have to repeat often. My daughter's "reporting" habit is quite deeply ingrained. Hope I am able to teach her to make good judgement when it comes to making the decision on whether to tell or not to tell.

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This policy is valid from 22 June 2007

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I say again and again...

They say children learn through repetition. And so, this is what you hear almost everyday at my house (usually in the screaming mode):

• OI! I'm talking to the wall ah? (Even the kids have learned to use this phrase)
• No playing with water. You have 5 minutes to bath... (after a while)... are you putting soap yet?
• Don't play so rough, someone is going to get hurt... (usually followed by) See, when I say you don't want to listen. Now you get hurt, you come running to me.
  
• Oooooi... too noisy, too noisy.
  
• Aiyoh, look at this mess. Clean up, clean up. You guys like living in a rubbish dump ah?
• You have eyes to see right? (referring to papers and what not left on the floor)
• Oklah, I guess this is going to the time-out box. (Things that are not kept in their proper place will be put in the time-out box. The kids can't take them out until they do something good to redeem the items).
  
• It's late, calm down already. Stop running around. Go do something quiet, like reading.
• Don't wake up your baby brother ah.
• D, stop moving so much. You're like a 'cacing' (worm) you know.
• K, can you please turn on the bathroom light for your brother.
• Finish your food pleeeeaaaase. How to grow? Junk food you can eat so much. Good food don't eat so much.
  
• Yes lah, yes lah, 'loyar buruk'. Usually directed at Koko-D coz' he have answer to everything. (loyar buruk = lousy/crooked lawyer, usually used for smart mouths).
  
• Yes Boss. Usually directed at Jie-jie K coz' she likes to tell everyone what to do, including her parents.
• Keep your hands and legs to yourself (to control the fighting).
• Enough both of you (also to stop the squabbling).
• Nooooo, don't put that in your mouth (directed at baby).

Even with all that repetitive screaming, the best repetition comes at night.
"Good night, I love you".

Backup Your Blog

You've invested time, effort and brainpower into building your blog. It would count as a catastrophe to suddenly lose it all due to a technological glitch or human error. That's why backups are important. If you have a blogger account like me, you already know that there is no backup feature. So here is a solution I stumbled upon -- BlogBackupOnline.

It is really easy. All you have to do is create an account (50MB free) and then register your blog(s). Then you can make a full backup. You can also schedule automatic daily backups. With the backup, you can download it to your hdd in the form of RSS 2.0 format. Not just your blog entries are backed up but also your comments and embedded images. This feature is also useful if you want to move your blog somewhere else.

At the moment, BlogBackupOnline supports the following platforms:
Blogger, WordPress, TypePad, Friendster, LiveJournal, Serendipity, Windows Live Space, Movable Type, Terapad, Vox, and Multiply.

Okay, this is my good deed for today. This is NOT a sponsored post but a community message from Mamas Bag of Tricks. Hahahaha.

Father's Day Tribute

It's Father's Day and so, like many others, I'm dedicating this blog entry to my dad. I did some scraps for my dad last year. I'll share them here this year. The scraps were not just to honor my father, but also a way for my children to know a little bit about their grandfather.

Here he is during his college days at Pakistan Veterinary College. He still remembers the food, the bed and the boring subject of domestic animal's anatomy. I also remember his stories of how he and his friends would sleep on the roof under the cool night sky.

Sports run in my dad's blood. At college it was athletics and badminton.

Later on, it was bowling.

Oh, and I'm sure you're not surprised... golf.

My dad is the greatest contributor to my golfing success.
Never pushy, ever patient, always encouraging, amazingly patient.

Here I am at the airport with my family. They were sending me off to further my studies in U.S. Look how we all don't have tummies yet. Hahaha. As we gained our tummies, dad lost his.
Anyway, it was my dad's vision that made all of this possible. Thanks Dad!

In case you can't read the poem in the last scrap:

What Makes A Dad
God took the strength of a mountain, The majesty of a tree,
The warmth of a summer sun, The calm of a quiet sea,
The generous soul of nature, The comforting arm of night,
The wisdom of the ages, The power of the eagle's flight,
The joy of the morning in spring, The faith of a mustard seed,
The patience of eternity, The depth of a family need,
Then God combined these qualities, When there was nothing more to add,
He knew his masterpiece was complete,
And so, he called it... DAD

~author unknown~

Math Exercises

I remember wayyy back in school, my teacher use to give us this mini math quiz called 'congak'. She would quickly rattle off 10 multiplication questions and we had to quickly write down the answer. Although it was a source of stress for my young soul, I admit it quickly embossed the multiplication tables into my brain.

Well, I want to give my children that kind of strong foundation in math. I don't want to be satisfied with their finger counting ways. I want them to look at a sum and immediately know the answer. At this point, I'm not talking about multiplication sums but simple addition. So, I've been giving K one page of sums to practice everyday. I'd write the time she start and the time she ends so we can monitor if she is getting faster.

Anyway, she was working next to me one night while I was busy click-clacking on the computer. After a while I paused as I heard this tap-tapping sound next to me. Whaddaya know... this little girl is quietly working away on her sums WITH A CALCULATOR.

Look at her cheeky laugh when I told her that that was not allowed. Although I reprimanded her for not using her brains to the sums, deep down I applauded her because:
1. She is ingenious enough to find something to make her work easier
2. She knows how to make technology work to her advantage

Sigh! This is one of those times you want to discourage but also encourage. So how? So do both lah:
"Hey, cannot cheat. You are doing this to train your brain. But clever-ah, you know how to take the calculator to help you. BUT cannot okay?"
Talk about a confused parent (shaking head).

Travelling Europe

Here is another blog entry about travelling. Many people I know love to travel around Europe. I remember uni friends who would save up money to backpack Europe during summer vacations or after graduation. My golf travels only took me to Europe once. I was priviledged to visit Belgium. It was a really good experience for me and I realized why some people are drawn to that part of the world (including my father). The buildings, the landscape (I got to visit a castle), the streets, the culture... just the whole feel of the place is so rich.

Anyway, if you are planning to visit Europe, you can go to Easytobook.com to make hotel reservations. Actually, do that only if you are visiting Amsterdam, Barcelona or Rome. They've listed 298 Amsterdam hotels, 580 Barcelona hotels and 752 Rome hotels. They offer hotel discounts up to 75% and NO booking fee.

Well, here's hoping I get to resume my travelling one day.

Malaysian List of Bloggers

Okay, here is the latest list of Malaysian Bloggers.

Once Upon A Time Money Making Blog Bubba Stuff Little Raymond's quaint melody Seraph Chronicles Route Brumeuse Coder's Talk Reggae And SKA Art Of ApOgEE THE VEGEMASTER LIFE Boonage Coretan Pengalaman Mat Silverhorsegunnysack BLUEAPPLE scribbles Diet & Detoxification Karma Kameleon Hsien's Dirty Little Secret The Rojak Blog keeyit My Life Online Fun Stuffs Donny's Bits Nicholas Chan's Blog dream of's DESIGN strike freedom 115 Truly Malaysia It's another new day Lisan's Scribbles Ramblings of a 22 years old The Towering Joe Life's a Breeze Life's Roller Coaster AceOne118 In His Time in His time The New Sanctuary a life full of surprises Sketches of Life Shannon's Old Space Pikey Dude SEO & Online Marketing Blog ShowMeMoneyBiz.com Snapshots kahpengBlog I am Who I am yung . silent whisper Simple Life One blog.One girl.One story The World Through My Eyes Why Malaysia? Etcetera~Etcetera Giddy Tigers Make Money Online: Exploring The Dark Side of Blogging Xilly's Blog Malaika Xiao Yu My Home Recipe SQKIKI’s Simple Tech Nukilan Jejari Azhad ITCHY HANDseng Just My Lil' Organic Life Oooh La La... Weird World of MerapuMan Fibre Art The World at My Fingertips Organic Income Organic Parade Shopping Flavor Daily postings of a chung ling student Something about LAI KennyP’s Technology Blog Women Mumbles KuKuJian.com Lyon & Wien Under The SUN Crumbs In Life SotongZai's Flow In the Ocean allthingspurple Christene's Kitchen toxicle.org [ Wood ] [ Earth ] [ Cheap ] [ Flight ] COMtech Ah Ling's blog Memoirs.:*CRoSs mY hE@Rt ~WoOLaLA~ vivivava Design My Mothering Corner Shoppingmum’s Home Office My Filling Station Shopping Mum All about Beauty Shoppingmum and Kids datotalrandommessy.grey Notes from my heart Joy Montessori wahlau's online hut Cedric’s Asylum mott’s mutterings Just My Thoughts delephant Incoherent Ramblings HOT STUFF Make Money Online with Malaysia Love AGLOCO MONTESSORIMUM.COM Funky Cookies Earn Money Online PabloPabla's Whatever Make Money with Blogging Paris Beaverbanks Free Links Giveaway Free Blogger Templates Blogsreview.Net Making a Living 5xmom How to be a Better Blogger My Women Stuff Hochiak! Delicious Asian Food Best Recipes Champagne Tastes on a Beer Budget Daryl's Discovery Journey The fluff must go somewhere

Kitchen Experiments Elliottwave Signal Internet-Crazy Blog Newopps Blog Make Money Online Review Center Little Penang iFlicks Healing tips and home remedies Ornamental Fish Grasp! Seize! Get hold of it! Life Snapshot Mental Freedom, Por Favor Eat. Live. Be Merry! Funny Junk Addicting Flash Games Pictures Video Clips mott’s island Clinke Bidding Directory Blog Easy Home Cooking FrenzRSS.com Pink Poison Store Show Me Health Biz The Undeniable Beauty - Revamped An Anonymous Journal Cyberpartygal Blank Canvas She Rambles On charcamayne Money Online | Adsense Money | Tips For Adsense Belajar Cara Membuat Blog Wordpress Usahawan Internet Peluang Perniagaaan Internet iNicholas Made In Penang Syaf The Geek snapshots of life with Cheng Leng iCalvyn.com Blogging Through Depression & Life Trying to Save Money novatech personal playground Little World Of Thoughts Sumber Dekorasi & Laman Anda Menarik.com INSIDE MY MIND Sleepy As Usual blogs">thoughts ---> blogs Share Everything In Life Value Bookshop’s Reading Notes Tips and Tricks to Happy Parenting BERSAMA MEMBINA KEJAYAAN THE BITCH CLUB datotalrandommessy.grey Artmaker BlogWawasan.com life is beautiful Adino Online Penang Homes Physical-e A Mom's Diary Health Freak Mommy mrdefinite.com - It’s hot Tracking Movies SquareCookies MonkeyWong Voice of a Glass Doll Online Article Directory Bambang Wise Life Advice Kaklong Online Portal Down Memory Lanes Sleeping Princess Online Bisnes Forex Marketing Blog project010 ProTechWang.Com Bleargh Pigeon Card Pianologist KCLau’s Money Tips The Great Swifty Speaketh Mr & Mrs. Imran If fate allow our destinies to meet From chopstix to steak knives Where's My Noose? Duke Amiene Rev Mum & Kids In Wonderland Yum-Yum Cuisine Software, Web Development and Technology just another ordinary story Mummy In Vain's Little World How To Solve Your Question FáLLiÑg LéÃVéS add this to my life Free Encyclopedia High Paying Keywords try-test arshad's photojourney EvelynHolic RajaBLog.info Lovelymummy's Bay My Yummy Cruise Home Sweet Home Lovely Mummy OnlineBisnes Malay Blog Purest of e2wen MyAnimes MySpace Blog Badruzamani.Org Parenting Life Forum Newbie Bisnes Internet & Blogger Mohd Sufian A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words hcfoo's blog Amazing Grace The Sanctuary Welcome To cHrIstInA_YY's Pink World Defying Destiny Dead Boredom Seeking Freedom Travelogue An amazing & adventurous journey Erin Nurjenna [B][E][A][U][T][I][F][U][L] Fluffy's Day Off My Fairy-Tale

Playmates

I had something to do and so I asked the kids to look after their baby brother for a sec. When I walked into the room a few minutes later, I saw this little face peeking from in between his bro-sis. They were all sitting on a bolster playing motorcycle :) And the little bum squashed between his siblings looked like he was having fun too. They all looked so cute like DO-RE-MI. Hahaha.
Thank you 'jiejie' and 'koko' for being such good babysitters. Hope you guys are always this close and have more good times together.

Funny Faces

I'm usually taking pictures of the children smiling, trying to look cute or something. Well, decided to do something different this time. Told them to give me a silly face.

THIS is their silly face. Aiyoh, so kayu. They didn't know how to make a silly face. One just open the mouth and play with her tongue. The other one just open mouth and laugh and laugh and laugh. I think we need to work on our 'drama' skills a bit. Next time maybe I'll ask them to give me a scary face, see what they come up with.

How about you, what silly faces can your children come up with?

Costume Fun

A few years back, we had a children's Halloween party at church. We thought it would be fun to let the kids dress up in funny costumes. We don't get much chance of doing that around here in Malaysia. Anyway, I made a cape for my girl and she became Little Red Riding Hood. That cape is still around, though heavily abused. It's been used for all sorts of things according to their imagination -- blanket, superhero cape, carpet etc....
My boy was lucky to be loaned a tiger suit. He didn't like to wear the head-part of the suit. But he looked real stripey cute.

Anyway, my point is children like to dress up. It fuels their imagination. Some people have a whole chest of old clothes to play dress up. And if you don't want to end up like me, sewing disasters instead of wearable costumes, you could look out for costume sales.

Apart from Halloween, when would you wear funny Halloween costumes? How about having a costumed theme birthday party? Ooooh, I'm sure all the little girls would want to dress up as a princess or an angel. And the boys can be a fire fighter or a Harry Potter. If you need more ideas on children's costumes, you can refer to HalloweenAndCostumes.com
They also have costumes for adults. Hehehe. Imagine dad in a spiderman's costume. You don't have to buy the costumes, you can rent them for such special occasions.

Well, next time you're thinking of a party, consider having a costume party.

Fathers Day Idea Kit

I hear many parents with young children ask, "eh, what activities can I do with my child ah?" Well, Father's Day is coming up and I've put together a Father's Day Idea Kit.

What's in it?

• There is a very simple, inexpensive gift idea
• 4 easy recipes you could help your child prepare to treat daddy
• Lyrics to some cute Father's Day songs
• Ready to print Father's Day book
• Ready to print blank Father's Day coupons

The gift and Father's Day book will require some craft or art work. How much and how difficult depends on you. Of course, with young children it is best to stick with basic cut and paste. I've posted some photos of what I did with K at my Value Bookshop Reading Notes blog.

Meanwhile, download the Father's Day Idea Kit and let me know if it was beneficial to you. If you think it's a good tool, pass it on to your friends.

Baby Can Grab

Itchy hands, itchy mouth... aiyoh! Baby now likes to grab everything to put in his mouth. No, he is not teething. But it's quite entertaining to see him trying to reach out for things: The focus, trying to zero in on the object and moving his uncoordinated little hands and fingers.
The best part is when he grabs and hangs on to your fingers. Aaaaah, feel so loved.

Food Around The World Tag

I was tagged by Health Freak Mommy to do this food tag. Finally am able to do it as my mom came to visit and I got her to "tapau" this favourite food of mine all the way from Seremban. Now I have a photo to go with the tag.

So, what is it? HAKKA MEE


There are two shops in Seremban that makes this. The owners are related, brothers I believe. One shop is on the upper floor of the market, whereas the other is opposite the post office in front of the market.

The noodles are homemade and so far, I have yet to find it anywhere else. Sorry, it's not halal. The noodles are mixed with a slightly thick sauce with minced pork. It's really yummilicious. I usually order the medium bowl. If really hungry, the large sized bowl.

The shop outside the market cooks the noodles longer. It's still chewy, but not that chewy. Unfortunately, you have to wait longer for your order.

Now, I tag:
1. Min (again, I know you have an eye for good food)
2. Lion City Girl
3. Lyanne
4. Sandra (care to share some fantastic East Malaysian cuisine?)
5. Marsha

Instructions.

**Start Copy**

Proposition: What is your favorite food in your state or country?

Requirements: Find some info about the food and show delicious pictures of it?

Quantity: FIVE PEOPLE.

Tag Mode: You leave their blog and post link and add to the list below.

Mybabybay loves Asam Laksa from Penang, Malaysia
JustMyThoughts loves Penang Char Koay Teow
My Lil Venture loves Laksa Sarawak
Montessorimum loves Teluk Intan Chee Cheong Fun
Health Freak Mommy loves Dim Sum from KL, Malaysia
Mama's Bag of Tricks loves Hakka Mee from Seremban, Malaysia