Loh Mai Kai

Made Loh Mai Kai day before yesterday and it was a hit. I didn't have Char Siu so I just made it with chicken, chinese mushroom and the little bit of "lap cheong" (whatever I had in the fridge). Instead of using individual small bowls, I just used a round baking tin.

Okay, so this is how I made it:

THE CHICKEN:

Debone the chicken and cut into bite size.

Marinate with soy sauce, dark soy sauce (or thick soy sauce), oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, ginger juice, little bit of sugar.

Soak the chinese mushroom in hot water until soft. Then put together with the chicken marinate.

Cut the "lap cheong" (chinese sausages) into slices.

After a few hours (2-3 hours), cook the chicken, mushroom and "lap cheong" in the wok and add a little bit of cornflour to thicken whatever little bit of sauce there is.

Put chicken aside.

THE RICE:

Soak the glutinous rice overnight.

Steam the glutinous rice for about 30 minutes.

Make seasoning for the rice - soy sauce, dark soy sauce, lard (pig's oil), sugar, pepper, dash of salt, and little bit of 5 spice powder.

Fry garlic and shallots (plenty to make the rice fragrant) until golden brown and then add in the glutinous rice.

Add the rice seasoning and stir until all parts are covered with the sauce.

PUT TOGETHER:

Lay out the chicken, mushroom and "lap cheong" at the bottom of the pan / bowl / dish (whatever you are using lah).

Put the rice on top and kinda squish it down with a spoon until compact.

Add little bit of water (not too much, just moisten it a bit) and steam for another 30 minutes or so.

Daily Discoveries of a Toddler

This is what babyD discovered yesterday - a magic button. When pressed... music plays.

Now, hopefully 6 years down the road, that device called a radio alarm clock still brings joy. But I doubt it. It's still music but when it blairs in your ears at 6am in the morning, screaming for you to wake up for school or work, it's difficult to feel that same kind of excitement. Hahahahah.

Mamas Bag of Tricks

1. It's true that you are your child's greatest teacher, but you still have to give them room for self discoveries.

Home Cooked Meals

Been wanting to share some of the things I cook at home. I know it is quite stressful thinking what to cook everyday. So I thought it would be a good idea to share some of the dishes I cook. Maybe it may help inspire your weekly menu too.

I may or may not share recipe. This is because I don't follow exact measurements (unless it's baking). I will probably share what ingredients I use but how much to use is up to your discretion. Some people don't like so sweet, or prefer less salty or more spicy etc.... So, best way is to "agak-agak" (estimate) and do a lot of tasting till you find your preference.

Okay, so here was my curry chicken dish. Besides chicken, there were tomatoes, long beans, onions, serai (citronella) and ladies finger (okra).
I used my FIL's chili recipe (will share that another time), and added a bit of assam water. Walla! There's a bit of curry powder in there too.

For the kids that cannot take spicy, I cooked Ginger Chicken. Marinated the chicken with oyster sauce, soy sauce and ginger juice. Later added button mushroom when cooking.

Then of course must have vegetable dish. Most all of my vegetables are fried with garlic and oyster sauce. Oh, and maggi seasoning too.

Care to share what you cook?

Baby Milestones: 14 Months

Baby D is just like a sponge soaking up everything. You can see him observing the people around him and before you know it, he is imitating what they do. Just the other night, he observed how his siblings would give us a kiss to say good-night. After they had run upstairs to bed, BabyD jumped off my lap and went over to give his daddy a kiss too. After which he immediately went over to the mattress nearby and laid his little head down. Seeing how delighted we were with what he did, he continued to give his father kiss after kiss after kiss. Even his grandfather had a share of kisses. Just goes to show how cheeky he is.
Here he is being cheeky again, walking in slippers too big for his feet (and poor mommy so worried that he might trip and fall).

Many times as I am busy in the kitchen, he will come in and I will ask either grandpa or daddy to take him out. When he hears them coming, he will run and hide between my legs, grabbing on as tight as he can as he dodge their extended arms.

He is also an expert at climbing – that little monkey. Even using tools such as the kiddy stool to aid in his quest. Just the other day he took a chair, put it right next to the door, took the house key and tried to unlock the door. He also likes to climb to the kitchen sink. If he can wash my dishes, I wouldn't mind :)

He learns things really fast and understands many instructions. He will put things back when asked to. He will also get the things we ask him to get for us. He puts his dirty clothes into the laundry basket and likes to put his clean cloth diapers into the drawer.

He will dance to the songs of the tv cantonese dramas. It's really funny. He will swing his hands left and right until he lose his balance. Mind you, he only dances to these songs and not other songs. Go figure!

You can see he is one who simplifies things. Instead of calling us by our different names (e.g. mama, papa, koko, jie-jie), he just calls everyone kaka. If you ask him “who is this?” he will say “kaka”. If you ask, “who are you?” he will also say “kaka”. Simple yes?

Although only 14 months, BabyD acts like he is older. He is also one tough little baby who doesn't cry at cuts and bumps. He is also a strong little hercules.

You are a handful BabyD, but also a joy. You stress us out sometimes, but you also make us smile when we need one.

Life Without My Camera

I've just come back from a nice little trip to Taiping, travelling with my mom and kids. This morning I got a call from my mom and she said "you've left you camera in my car". AAARRRRGGGHHHHHH!

Now, I don't expect my mom to drive up all the way from Seremban just to return my camera and it's really not economical for me to go down either. So what to do, what to do? Just have to wait for my mom's next visit. She may be coming this way next week but that is tentative.

Why I'm all torn up?

• I was hoping to post some shots I took up in Taiping, especially the ones of the charcoal kiln I took at Sg. Kerang.
• Also wanted to quickly label the pictures of the kids grand aunties/uncles while the information is still fresh in my mind.
• Planning to digiscrap some of the pictures from the trip.
• Took a picture of a document that tells me who is my great-great-grandfather. But it's written in Chinese and I don't know how to read Chinese. Hoping to get a friend to translate.
• If my children do anything cute these few days, I won't be able to snap it.
• I can't take pictures of the books I want to sell at my children's bookshop.

Sigh! Didn't realize how much that camera is a part of my life. Feel a bit handicapped without it. It is so much easier to document our lives with pictures. Like they say, a picture says a thousand words. Talking about cameras, I guess I should add my parenting tip to this post.

Mamas Bag of Tricks

• If you have a digital camera, it pays to read the manual.
• Invest some time to learn how to use a software to touch up your photos and also learn to resize and optimize the pictures for web publication. A lot of people use Photoshop. But there are also some free photo editing software. Just do a google search on "free photo editing software".
• Many children are drawn to the idea of snapping pictures. Give them a chance to snap away. If you are afraid they might ruin your camera, get them a cheaper one they can call their own.
• Think now what is the best way for you to organize your digital photos. I organize mine by year and month. Don't just dump them all into one folder.
• Do housekeeping once in a while. Get rid of blurred photos and other irrelevant photos.
• Learn how to digiscrap. It is fun and soooooo rewarding when you are done.

Get Involve In Your Children's School Work

Last week was K's first time sitting for school exam. No sweat! No worries! No stress! It was just like any other day for her. Guess she doesn't quite know what "exam" is yet. In a way, that's good. But in some ways, it is also bad.

• Good - Doesn't have the "kiasu" attitude whereby she stresses herself out to get all 'A's. She's studying not for the sole purpose of passing exams but to gain knowledge. An exam is just an indicator of how much you've understood what you've been learning.
• Bad - Didn't bother to review past lessons.

I also didn't want to pressure her but did encourage her to go through her books with me. Actually, I go through her work quite regularly. First, I don't want her to think that studying is just for exams. Second, teachers do make mistakes you know.

For example, the first few days of school, K was asked to copy the "Rukun Negara" (Pledge of Allegiance). One of the principles is "Kedaulatan undang-undang" (The Rule of Law). Instead she wrote "Kedaulatan udang-udang" (The Rule of Prawns). The teacher gave her a check mark and a star too.

Another example is from her Moral class workbook. They were learning about the different religions and had to match the religions to the place of worship. She wrote "Kristians" go to "tokong" (temple) and buddhist go to "gereja" (church) and teacher marked it right. When I corrected my daughter, she was skeptical and hesitated to make the correction. Understandable because little kids always think teachers are smarter than their own parents.

And then there is another incident where she was correct and the teacher marked her wrong.

Anyway, the point is for parents to actively involve themselves in their child's learning. Don't just leave it to teachers or tuition teachers. No matter what, YOU ARE STILL THEIR FIRST AND MOST IMPORTANT TEACHER.

That's my tip for today.

Need Links and Traffic to Your Site?

Many of you out there have monetized your blog right? But how much money are you really making? To boost the value of your site and rake in more money, what you need are links and traffic.

Well, Qassia is a new and exciting way to do this. It is still in beta, so it's F-R-E-E for now. Better hop on it before it's too late. Actually, Qassia is currently in closed beta. Meaning, to join, you need someone who is already a member to refer you. And that's what I'm doing now. THIS IS YOUR INVITATION.

What to do at Qassia?

• Add your website for free. No need to add reciprocal backlinks.
• Write titbits of information called "intel".

The Benefits of Contributing "Intel".

• You get one backlink for every piece of intel you add. Every intel will carry a direct backlink to one of your sites. So the more intel you add, the more backlinks you get.
• When you add intel, you also get credit, in the form of Qassia dollars. The more credits you have, the better your sites will rank.
• When your intel is displayed, you get 100% of the advertising revenue generated by that page.

What kind of "intel" can you write?

• Intel can be about a person, a company, a place, a thing, or just about anything that you know about. The people and places do not have to be famous, and the intelligence does not have to be earth-shattering.
• Examples:
  You can write about the company that you work for - why you love/hate it.
  The best place to eat Curry Mee in Seremban.
  Your grandfather and what he did to survive World War II.
  Your favourite Wan Tan Mee recipe.
  What you did to get your kid ready for Chinese School.
  Which is the best kindy in your area.

Well, they say this might be the next big thing. Looking to get traffic to your web site or affiliate link? Get involved NOW at Qassia.At the VERY LEAST, get registered before they start charging. If you wanna try, sign up here.

Happy Moments

First off, this entry is for the Happy Moments contest. If you like this post, please vote for me!!!! It would sure make another happy moment if you do.



My List of 12 Happy Moments

1. Holding a sleeping baby in my arms and gazing into it's cutie pie face.


2. When the kids play together without squabbling. Bonus when they actually help one another.

3. Hearing my kids say "I love your cookies Mommy" while gobbling down my burnt cookies.

4. I'm sure you will agree that sitting down to a scrumptious meal, especially with family or good friends makes the list of Happy Moments. It definitely makes mine. So below is my Chinese New Year happy moment. Yummy, yum, yum! Moms cookings is always best.

5. When my DH says "dear, take the day off at the spa and I will take care of the kids." Wait a minute. That hasn't happened before. Guess it was just a dream. But it would make a nice Happy Moment.

6. Digital scrapbooking is a hobby of mine. It's a Happy Moment when the scrap is all completed and it looks fantastic.

7. When my son wishes me "Good night biggest nen-nen mommy in the whole world." Eat your heart out Dolly Parton.

8. When I make a sale at my Children's Bookshop, or make money through affiliate marketing or through my blog. However the money comes, as long as it comes, it's a Happy Moment.

9. When a few of my friends commented "Hey, looks like you've lost weight." Thank you breastfeeding. You've given me a happy moment. But I gotta stop eating like a cow or else....

10. An empty laundry basket. This moment doesn't last long though.

11. Rain at night after a hot day.

12. When the kids are finally asleep and I get my precious time on the computer, blogging, checking mails and connecting with my online SAHP buddies :)

P.S. Don't forget to vote for me ya? Give me a good ranking here (5 would be nice).

Lime Butterfly Again!

This is the second time we have successfully done the caterpillar-butterfly life cycle. Another science project that turned out well. There's another chrysalis in the jar. Probably will have another butterfly tomorrow. Actually, there is a third chrysalis but it turned brown. I think it's dead. I wonder why it died?
Now kokoD thinks we should keep on putting our caterpillars in the jar. He just loves it when the butterfly suddenly emerges. Hopefully tomorrow, we are able to catch the exact moment when the butterfly pushes itself out of the cocoon.

Stand Up For Your Children

Two weeks back, K came home from school and related how a boy in her school van was trying to peek under her skirt. She told him "jangan" (no) but that didn't stop him. My solution was for her to wear shorts under her skirt (like I did when I went to school). Her father had a better solution, he waited for the school van the next day and warned the boy to NOT "kacau" (disturb) her. Well, I haven't heard anymore stories of that boy trying to have a "free show".

I see how my children really appreciate a parent that stands up for them. The playground can sometimes turn into a bully-ground too. I've seen how older kids dominate the swings, not letting anyone else have a turn even though they've been asked politely. KokoD came crying home one day when the other kids had told him to get off the swing. Once again, the kids looked to us to stand up for them, protect them, and to seek justice. Their father accompanied them the next few days and it was funny how when it was time to leave, kokoD insisted they wait for "everyone" to be at the playground first. Sort of like, "my father is here, see if they dare to disturb me."

As for me, I need to learn to be a bit more aggressive. Sometimes, I'm too "chicken" to fight for them. I'm more of the "let's walk away" type. But once in a while, I think our children need to see that their parents will fight for them, that you can be their shield. Especially when others have wronged them. I'm glad my DH has stepped up to that role.

What is a Mother?

I asked my children to write down what they think a mother is or does. So, on top of the paper is written "A mother is..." and they proceeded to make a list of things.

K writes:
1. kind and nice
2. cook food and take care
3. loving me and my family
4. moping the floor and swiping (sweeping) the floor.
5. reading the story book to me and my brother.
6. get me ready for school.
7. sayang me, kissing me and hug me.
8. open the door when I back from school.
9. knows how to teach well.

KokoD writes:
1. numb (meaning number 1)
2. cook Bule (barley) for me
3. and read to Me
4. and hug

As you can see, the girl has more needs than the boy. Hahahah. No, she probably can write better that's why. Anyway, it's an interesting activity that serves two purposes:
1. Encourage them to write and to give them writing practice.
2. Helps me to understand what's important to them so I can be better mother.

Interesting to note they did not mention any materialistic thing. There is no mention of mommy buying things for them or sending them to countless enrichment activities. More important are the physical touch, caring and quality time spent together.

This reminds me of a blog post I read recently titled "By Small and Simple Things". She encouraged some children in her church to share with the congregation something about their mother. Similar to my children, they remember the small things like playing together, reading together, personal time together and working around the house together.

Mamas Bag of Tricks.
1. Everyday we try to give the best to our children. Take some time to think if your interpretation of "what is best" is the same as your children's interpretation of "what is important".
2. Don't get too busy that you eliminate or overlook the small but important things.
3. Have you pondered lately what it means to be a mother and do you fulfill that criteria?
4. Are you trying to do too many things? Don't exhaust yourself with other things that you have no more energy left for your children.
5. Take pride in motherhood. It's NOT a 2nd grade job.

Like Chocolate on My Cranium, I too would like to share the following excerpt:

"Mothers who know do less. They permit less of what will not bear good fruit eternally. They allow less media in their homes, less distraction, less activity that draws their children away from their home. Mothers who know are willing to live on less and consume less of the world’s goods in order to spend more time with their children—more time eating together, more time working together, more time reading together, more time talking, laughing, singing, and exemplifying. These mothers choose carefully and do not try to choose it all." (Julie B. Beck, “Mothers Who Know,” Ensign, Nov 2007, 76–78)

(Clipart courtesy of Kids' Turn Central)

Caterpillars Again

KokoD wanted to do it again. The last time I only took picture of the butterfly. This time, I thought I'd take it at the caterpillar stage. Can you find it???
Actually, there are 3 of them in the jar. When I took this picture, don't know where the other 2 hiding. Now they are all hanging on the sides of the glass jar. They didn't finish the lime leaves I had put in so I'm guessing they will be turning into chrysalis soon.

Ya, it's called a chrysalis. I grew up learning they turned into a cocoon. But it's actually called a chrysalis.

I also did a little experiment this time round. I put in a Mulberry leave to see if they would eat it. As far as I can see, they only want to eat the lime leaves. Which reminds me, I found out the butterfly is called the Lime Butterfly. How appropriate.

p.s. I still absolutely hate caterpillars. If my children take the caterpillar out to play, I think I will 'pengsan' (faint).

The Secret to Making Beehive Biscuit (Mutt Foong Tau)

Beehive biscuit, aka kuih rose, aka mutt foong tau doesn't come cheap. I bought 1 container (about 10 inches high) and it cost me RM16. I love to eat it but paying RM16 and having it gone in 1 day did not sit too well with my DH. Afterall, the ingredients don't even cost that much... flour, eggs, santan, sugar. So, I decided I would try to make it myself.

When I went back to MIL place for Chinese New Year, I asked her for the recipe. She makes wonderful ones (unfortunately she didn't make anything this year). Thought maybe she could demonstrate to me how to make it but her answer was "chinia che kang chai oh" (hokkien for "it's a lot of work you know!"). And so, ignorant me took the recipe home, thinking "hey, how hard can this be?"

THE RECIPE:

MIL's (I used this)

500gm rice flour

2 eggs

150gm caster sugar

700ml concentrated coconut milk

1/2tsp salt.

Friend's (Will try another day)

300gm flour

250gm rice flour

8 large eggs

1 rice bowl of coconut milk

2 cups sugar

So, after sieving it, here is my batter. With mould in hand, I'm ready to tackle the task. I reviewed the instructions to heat up the mould in the oil, make sure dip it only about 3/4 into the batter, put into oil and shake it off. Remove when slightly brown. Okay, all set!

And then... jeng, jeng, jeng.......... BURNT, BURNT, BURNT!
The first few ones I put into the hot oil, I couldn't even shake it off. It wasn't brown when I took it out, it was black and still sticking to the mould. Okay, scrap it off and tried again. Same thing. In the end, I turned off the gas, called MIL but not at home. Called friend but she couldn't tell me why. So think, think, think... (Actually, the burnt ones were worse then the photo below).


Nevermind, try again. Maybe oil was too hot. Now, I turn it on low right from the beginning, instead of big fire then turn down low later. Heat up the mould again. Dipped it into the batter but this time dip it many, many times (like 10-12 times) to get a thicker coating. Put it into the oil and YAY, managed to shake it off this time. But still little bit burnt as I waited until they were too brown before getting them out.

After much practice and experimenting, WHALLA! Okaylah hor? Not too bad ya? Still not as nice as the "professionals". But hey, after like 4 hours later, these look pretty darn perfect to me (would have finished faster if I didn't take a break in between).

THINGS THEY DON'T TELL YOU WHEN MAKING MUTT FOONG TAU

1. After heating up the mould, you have to shake some of the oil off. If not, when you dip into the batter, the batter slides off.
2. If you have too thin a batter on the mould, you can't shake it off when cooking it in the oil.
3. How long do you start shaking after you dip the batter into the oil??? Only a few seconds. In the end, I was counting up to 4 and then shaking it. But I guess it would also depend on how hot is your oil.
4. The sides will peel away from the mould first. The middle part is sometimes hard to shake off. I would lift the mould very slightly above the oil and try to shake it off.
5. I kept a pair of chopsticks handy. When any part wouldn't shake off, I would cheat and use the chopsticks to separate the biscuit from the mould.
6. After each dipping into the oil, I would shake, shake, shake the oil off the mould. Sometimes placing it on some tissue paper to get rid of excess oil. Like I said, too much oil and the batter slides of the mould.
7. "Brown" is a deceiving word. Don't wait until it's brown. By the time you get it out, it will be dark brown. Get it out when it's like golden-yellow. Bit-bit white also okay. I think so lah.

Okay, that is my experience. I don't claim to have gotten it right. I probably am still doing something wrong. I'm open to free lessons. So, come on ladies, what's the secret to making beautiful Mutt Foong Tau???????

p.s. Okayyyyyy.... now I know why it cost RM16. The time, expertise and the backache. Nothing to do with the ingredients.

Password Software Manager

If you've ever felt like the woman in the picture, trying to remember what password you used, then I've got the perfect solution for you. Password Saver is a password software manager that allows you to keep track of all your usernames and passwords. Goodness knows I need it. That's why I bought it.

I do so many things with the computer or online and most of them require usernames and passwords. For example: online banking, groups and forums, affiliate programs, email, online tax, children's online programs, accounting software, my online children's bookshop (connecting to cpanel and ftp), membership sites, online biz, paypal....

The easy way is to stick to one password but that is soooooooo NOT safe. There are crazy hackers out there. One of them managed to hack the password to one of my DH's website. The first thing he did after that was change the password to our online banking.

To tell you the truth, I hate coming up with passwords. Actually, not really hate but more of fear. Fear that I will FORGET what it is. You know how sometimes you keep something valuable in a safe place. You think to yourself "Oh, no one will find it here." And then later, even you forget where it is???? Yeah, it's happened to me. So, that's what I fear about my passwords too. Try to create one that is not easy to hack. And then worry that I will forget what it is.

Anyway, that's why I bought this password software. USD7 is okay-lah. Reasonable price to pay in exchange for some piece of mind. I know some of you are saying, why so stupid to pay when you can do it for free by just recording everything down in an excel sheet or something. But this also comes with a password generator. PLUS, can resell it and make more money!

AHA! Yes. You also looking for some pocket money right? That's why I recommend you also get this Password Saver. It's practical, quite essential in our day and age, AND can help put a little money in your pocket.

So, don't wait anymore. Save your brain cells, protect your information and get Password Saver today.

p.s. Haiya, don't have to be sooo stingy with that little hill you've accumulated in paypal. Invest a little so you can get more back mah!

Science In a Jar

We had a surprise today... our caterpillar finally turned into a BUTTERFLY!
This is another successful homeschool science project. The other one was the tadpoles-frogs we did in 2006. (Interested in the froggies, read:We Have Tadpoles, Froggy Update)

Anyway, the reason for this science project was the many caterpillars that kept popping up to treat themselves to my little baby lime trees. Everyday I have to go check to see if those pesky things are chomping the leaves up. Well, decided to make something good out of something bad, so I popped some of them into a jar and turned them into a science lesson. I dated the jar 19 January 2008. So, it's been almost a month.

KokoD was amazed how those little buggers ate and ate and grew and grew. He would tell me "Mommy, see how big and fat this one is." And mommy would answer "Ewww, get them away from me." I hate caterpillars and worms with all the energy of my soul.

Anyway, I had about 3-4 caterpillars inside the jar. Only 1 made it all the way to become a beautiful butterfly. 1 died and turned black. Another became a chrysalis but I think it died too. Besides learning about their life cycle, the kids also learned what caterpillar poo-poo looks like. It was also exciting to see what kind of butterfly the caterpillar turned out to be. I think KokoD wants to have another go at this science project. He wants to see if he gets a different kind of butterfly. Unfortunately I only have the kind that eats my lime trees. AAARRGGH! Oh well, I guess we will have another go at it because it will be another lesson to show that the same kind of caterpillars turn out to be the same kind of butterflies. Goodness know I seem to have a constant flow of supply.

Oh, I also learned a lesson... Now I know which butterfly is the culprit!

KokoD waiting for the butterfly to fly out.

Happy on my papaya tree. Yeah, you better keep your babies away from my lime trees.

Mamas Bag of Tricks

• Life science lessons are much more fun than just reading facts from a book.
• Need a caterpillar, call me.
• Keep a garden. It holds many science lessons.

Candy Bouquet Business: Make an Unforgettable Valentines Gift

Valentines Day is fast approaching. Some of you are scrambling to find the perfect Valentines gift. Is it going to be flowers? Is it going to be chocolates? Sigh! Sounds so boring eh.

If you haven't heard, there is a new exciting concept called Candy Bouquet. What you do is combine both flowers and candy. Or if you want to do away with the flowers, make it a candy and only candy bouquet. It's still called a bouquet because you turn the candies into flower looking things.

A perfect example is using 2 hershey kisses, putting both the flat ends together and wrapping them up in red cellophane paper to make a hershey's rose bud.
Lollipops can also be transformed into flowers. Use colored or patterned paper and cut out 4 love shapes. These become the petals and your lollipop becomes the middle of the flower. Click here for picture and instructions to make a lollipop flower.

These candy bouquets also make very fun craft activities to do with children. Whether or not you will be able to keep the candy out of their mouths is another story :)

Candy Bouquets make very special gifts. They won't wilt and die like flowers. Plus. it's a gift that will please the taste buds. Valentines gifts don't have to be just between two love birds. Children can make a candy bouquet for teachers, grandparents and even DAD. Talking about that, I've forgotten to put lollipops on my shopping list. Aiyah!

For all SAHM looking for a profitable business, why not start a Candy Bouquet Business. Don't have to crack your head and think of how to start or how to do. Lana Glass, Founder of the Site "Incredible Edible Crafts" shares her secrets in a 177 page step-by-step eGuide

“How to Make Candy Bouquets for Fun and Profit”.

It reveals everything you need to know to create amazing gifts for your friends and family for any occasion. Click on for more information on how to start a Candy Bouquet Business.

Baby Milestone: 13 Months

Kong Hei Fatt Choy everybody! I'm sure everyone has had a good time chowing down New Year goodies. Well, this is the first time baby "balik kampung" (travelling back to the grandparent's place) coz' last year, he was just a tiny-teeny baby, so travelling was out of the question.

Baby was relatively good travelling 4 hours up north and then 5 hours back. Phew!

Well, it's amazing how babies develop something new each month. Now at 13 months, he...

• has acquired the habit of throwing himself on the ground, throwing a tantrum when he doesn't get what he wants and doesn't get his way. Didn't think the terrible twos started so early eh?


• pats you on the hand or shoulder and then points to what he wants.


• can hold a pencil and make scratchings on paper.


• says "la la la" as if he is singing.


• takes his dirty clothes and puts them in the laundry basket.


• takes the door key and tries to open the door.


• fights with his siblings for things he wants. Screams at them too.


• is getting more and more sticky to me.


• goes down the slide by himself.


• climbs up and down the stairs by himself.


• knows how to give a flying kiss.


• presses the buttons to turn off the t.v. and change the channels.

My baby is getting so big. Hope you enjoy his cheeky smiles. Here he is saying that he is No.1!

Teach Your Child Effectively: How to Develop Your Child's Genius

When it comes to developing our children's genius, we parents are all game for it. But how to do it? Well, Esther Andrews, a mother of 2 gifted children, is willing to share her secret.

Now, you may say that your child is not a born genius but just a normal child, and so this information does not apply to you. Esther will outright disagree with you. Her philosophy is:

Every child is born a genius! What you do with the child, is what determines how much of his potential he will achieve!

I totally agree that we parents play a very, very important role in developing our child's intelligence. Our home environment, the way we interact with our children and the way we choose to enrich their days are all vital elements in their mental development.

I'm sure you wish you had answers to the following questions:

• When should I start teaching my child, so that he will learn fastest and develop his brain to achieve his maximum ability?
• What should I teach my child, so that he'll be ahead of all other kids?
• How to teach my child to read, so that he will read as early as 2 or even before?
• How to help my child read faster, comprehend more, and remember easily and effortlessly, so that he'll be a brilliant student?
• How can I teach my child math so that he will love math and have fun learning it?
• How can I develop my child's creativity and problem solving skills, so that he will be able to invent new concepts and solve problems easily and effortlessly?
• How to train my child to be a leader?
• How to develop and improve my child's visual and auditory memory to the maximum?
• How to develop my child's coordination, so that he will excel and enjoy all kinds of sports?
• Left and right brain hemispheres, their functions, how to make sure my child develops his whole brain, and how to improve brain hemisphere connectivity?
• Children and money - how to train my child for financial success?
• How to help my child in school?
• How to motivate my child to apply himself and achieve the best results possible?
• How to strengthen my child's self confidence?
• When and why should I test my child's IQ?
• Up to date whole brain education that develops lightening speed calculations as well as visual memory and creativity?

HERE IS A HANDBOOK WITH ALL THE ANSWERS!

"The Manual Your Child Should Have Come With:
How to Develop Your Child's Genius"

Esther Andrews, who went from being an inexperienced mother to became the principal of the "School for Gifted Education" in San Jose, California tells you how she did it.

Want to know her secret?
CLICK HERE AND GET HER BOOK TODAY!

Valentine's Day Craft Projects

Found this hub of Homemade Valentine Cards. I especially like the lollipop one that is made to look like a flower. Basically you take colored paper and cut out 4 hearts. The lollipop is the middle of the flower and the heart shaped papers are the petals. Thinking of trying it out and making it into a candy bouquet. I know a picture would be most appropriate to show you what it is. Wait-ah... let me go get some lollipops first.

Related post:
Candy Bouquet Business
Want to start a candy bouquet business from home? Click here!

How To Make A Pinata

I did this snowman pinata last Christmas. Thought I'd better post it before I forget. Pinatas are a wonderful activity to add to any children's party. Don't have to buy expensive ones at a party shop. You can make your own with just a balloon, paper mache and some decorations.

Just in case you are wondering what in the world is a pinata, its a "container" filled with candy and/or small toys. It hangs in the air as children, blindfolded, try to hit it with a stick to break it.
As the candy and toys fall, everyone rushes to grab it. Very fun.

I've taken pictures so you can see how I made it. A word of caution -- it can be a bit messy. Be ready to get your hands sticky.

1. I blew up two balloons and stuck them together. One balloon for the snowman's head and the other for the body. Find a container like a pail or pot to hold the balloon while you work.
2. Tear strips of newspaper about 1-2 inches wide. Don't have to use scissors or blade to cut the paper. Tearing them with your hands is good and better (I read that somewhere).
3. For glue, I just used corn starch and water. You could also use normal flour. Start with 2 cups flour, 1 cup lukewarm water. I used an old ice cream tub to hold the glue.
4. One strip at a time, dip into the glue and then layer it on the balloon. You could use a paint brush I guess, if you don't want to get your hands dirty.

5. Do one layer horizontal, and the other layer vertical. Overlap the strips until you cover the whole balloon.
6. After 2 layers, let it dry.

7. The last layer I used white paper because then it is easier to decorate it. You could use white mahjong paper or normal white paper.
8. Don't put too many layers coz' then it will be difficult to break the pinata. About 3 layers is good.

9. After everything dries, use a pin and pop the balloon inside.
10. Cut an opening near the top with a blade and put whatever candy you want inside. I don't recommend wafers, biscuits or whatever that can be beaten to crumbs. Remember, children (and adults) will be whacking at this thing. You don't want crumbs to be falling out. Any hard or wrapped candy is good.
11. Just seal back the opening with clear tape.
12. Poke two holes at the top about 3 inches apart. I used a drill but you could use anything to make a hole e.g. crochet needle, screwdriver. Put a string through it so you can hang the pinata. Make sure the string is strong enough and will not break. After you put candy into a pinata, it can be quite heavy.
13. Decorate the pinata according to your creativity.

You want something really simple, just use one big balloon. Use crepe paper to make it colorful.
Hope I've covered enough for you to try making your own. If you do have a go at it, I would so love to see what you did. So don't forget to show me yours okay?

SOME TIPS:

• Don't really have to blindfold the children. Some of them have trouble as it is trying to crack the pinata with their eyes wide open :)
• If you can't hang it from a beam in the ceiling, hang it at the end of a long stick. Have the person holding the stick stand on a chair or something. Make sure the stick is long enough so the poor guy holding the pinata don't get accidently whacked. Also, make sure you find someone with strong arms.
• Baseball bats are good for hitting a pinata.