Perfect Gift From Above

Taman Botani Negara Shah Alam

2012-01-10T06:19:00.000-08:00

I believe many locals were familiar with the place since it has been here for ages. I went there once when I was small and at the turn of the year, we revisited the place again, for my brother-in-law’s birthday celebration.

We had a barbecue there; Sarah was so excited and she enjoys her first barbecue very much, apart from the birthday song session.

The highlight of the trip was the one-night stay at the traditional Malay kampong house, and it’s an eye opener for Sarah (before that we told her we are going to stay at “hotel”). The kids seem enjoyed running and jumping on the wooden floor.

The house is spacious, we felt cozy and windy although the place was not air-conditioned; and the chirping sound of crickets in the morning was so soothing and restful.

The following day activities were fun. Thank God Sarah has no complaint walking up and down the uneven terrain. Oh ya, she likes the rabbit-feeding a lot.

I must admitted the place is a great spot for outdoor activities and for nature-lover. Overall, it was a pleasurable outing for everyone; and for Sarah, she will always remember it was a day she “live” in the “jungle”.

(301211 & 311211)

Baking Mood

2012-01-06T08:03:00.000-08:00

I found myself in a baking mood recently. Yes, I’ve (gradually) overcome the fear in using oven to bake cake than steaming.

I am lucky and happy that I get to know this blogger, Maya, that willingly to share all her useful tips and guidelines to me; and the excellent recipes from her blog are the real motivation for me to keep the baking mood going.

The cupcakes are easy to make; it turned out good and delicious for my two attempts.

As for the Banana Cake , I just thought to give a try but never expected I was able to control the oven temperature satisfactorily. The cake is so moist and we all love it.

And lastly, I got another recipe from The Star. Now only I know the combination of cinnamon powder with apples can be so wonderful!

New Year, New Header

2012-01-02T05:49:00.000-08:00

It’s been more than 21 months since we last change our blog’s header. On one fine day I made my husband sit in front of the computer and “donated” his 60 minutes to do me a new one.

It was a rush job, but at least now the new header updated with Sarah’s latest photo, which more aptly reflected her current stage…

Previous header

Note: This posting is only applicable for Blogspot as my Multiply blog’s header remain unchanged.

My Special Day 2011

2011-12-26T07:12:00.000-08:00

It’s time of the year again, in December, not only Christmas but also my birthday (on 27th); and the annual eating-outing to celebrate that is the thing I wanted to do most every year with my family.

This year hubby has given me two birthday pressies, again. I never expected he had bought me a smart phone as my current one can still be used (but he said we cannot afford an iPhone, so I have to make do with this Android set).

The second gift is a sling bag; it will convenient for me to store my personal belonging when outing. Prior to this, I always “tumpang” hubby’s backpack.

But the real kicker is at the dinner in TGIF. While we were eating, I saw a lady holding a bouquet on her hands; I did not sense a thing until she walked towards our table and my husband nodded his head to signal that I am the one.

Oh dear, the flowers is for me! This is surreal and I was in total shocked. His very first bouquet to me… (He must have done something bad lately, uh?)

I am deeply touched by the effort that he has put in on all these. Yes, I know, I am lucky, and I always count my blessing.

(241211)

Spelling Development

2011-12-23T06:05:00.000-08:00

I’ve never guide Sarah in spelling. According to teachers, she will only learn Spelling, “Ejaan” and “Ting Xie” when she’s in year-five class. Therefore, I believe Sarah have zero idea about all these until she starts her school next term.

Few days ago, she surprised us by spelled out and writes the S-A-R-A-H all by herself; although she only remembered these five alphabets but it’s already enough to make us proud.

Bruises

2011-12-16T06:34:00.000-08:00

I would consider Sarah an active kid; she run, jump and of course fall down sometimes. Her legs always have bruises and if they are too small, we will just leave it as it is.

This time, I think the blue-black mark is little too many over both her legs therefore I’ve used some lotion to massage on them; according to old folks this will quicken the healing. See, its colour have changed so much after a day.

The funniest part is Sarah enjoy the rubbing a lot. She prefers “hard one” rather than just gentle massage.

Muachi, Sesame Sponge Cake & Salad

2011-12-07T06:47:00.000-08:00

Muachi
I love this dessert but hardly find it here in my area; that’s why I am just too happy to come across this muachi recipe from Ohbin.

It only involves few steps in making the glutinous rice and to have a flavourful muachi, the peanuts have to be pan-roasted. It took me 25 minutes but it worth the effort.

The peanuts indeed bring aroma to muachi. After few attempts this latest outcome was to my greatest satisfaction.

And here is the recipe in English:

Ingredients A:
250g glutinous rice flour
375ml water (I adjusted to 370ml)
3 tablespoons sugar

Ingredients B (mixed):
Pan-roasted peanuts and sesame seeds
Sugar

Instructions:
1. Mix well of ingredients A. (I find the mixture smoother if mixed using fingers).
2. Grease the steaming pan with some oil and steam the mixture for 45 minutes.
3. After 45 minutes, when it becomes a dough, stir it in the same direction until it become opaque. (I suggest using wooden chopstick for the stirring).
4. Leave to cool.
5. Cut the dough and rolled it in Ingredients B.

Steamed Sesame Sponge Cake
It’s easy to make and it just need very few ingredients. I like the sesame flavor in the cake. Give it a try, ladies, and hope you will like it, the “oil-free” cake.

Salad with Peanuts
My very first try serving salad with peanuts, and it taste superb! The shredded cucumber and carrots are so crunchy and the pan-roasted peanuts definitely add a kick to it.

Barney Space Adventure Live Musical 2011

2011-11-28T18:53:00.000-08:00

The last time Barney in Malaysia was 5-6 years ago; we were absolutely thrilled that he is back! Never mind Sarah’ interest towards Barney is on the wane we quickly grab the tickets nonetheless. We so want her to see the dinosaur “live” in front her very eyes before she completely outgrow them.

We were lucky; we have a very clear view from our seat. I could even hear the stomping sound from BJ’s feet, and Sarah was taken aback by our close proximity with the stage…

We can tell that she was enjoying the performance, and concentrated throughout the show. But there is only one problem – she forgotten to bring along her smile. Mommy was the one who sang out loud all the familiar songs instead.

Daddy double up as photographer, and here are ton of photos taken during the 90 minutes show.

On the whole, the show was just awesome. The stage, the lighting, the cast, all the songs and dance…what a stu-u-u-u-pendous extravaganza! Come to think of it, these people are just amazing, they go all around the world and bring joy to children’s face.

And I leave you all with a classic of them all…”I love you”.

(261111)

A Year in School

2011-11-22T06:05:00.000-08:00

Parents-Teachers Day
Twice-a-year Parents-Teachers Day went well just before the holiday started; Sarah was less tense this time around.

In fact, teachers are quite pleased with her behavior at class; teacher said that she is an obedient girl. She has showed improvement in colouring but needs to brush up her writing skill.

Sarah’s Mandarin teacher commented that she still lack confident in writing and communicating in Mandarin. Hopefully she will learnt better in Year-Five Class.

Looking back, we can really feel the changes in Sarah since she attended school. At times I wonder how she grows up so much right under my nose.

(131111)

Holiday Class
We were concerned about the school holiday, frankly; we do not wish Sarah spent the entire holiday with boredom at home.

We thought about those a la carte Holiday Programs but in the end we opt for the holiday class provided by her school. Familiarity is important for her at this stage.

Sarah went to school as usual but came home with a little moody face the first day. I guess she just disappointed that the baking activities (which told by the management when we sign up) was not conducted that day.

But at least I knew that she has better time with her friends at school than with me at home.

(211111 - 231211)

Must-Try Recipes

2011-11-15T07:04:00.000-08:00

For me, these recipes are definitely a keeper! I adjusted the recipes a little bit and it still turned out rightly; I would truly recommend you all to try them out.

Steamed Chocolate Cake
Source: Baking Wonderland (from Facebook)

Ingredients A:
Butter - 180g
Sugar - 120g
Fresh Milk - 200ml
Vanilla Essence - Few drops

Ingredient B:
Egg 2 (whisk)

Ingredient C:
Self-Raising flour - 160g
Cocoa Powder - 30g
Baking Chocolate - 20g
Soda Bicarbonate - ½ teaspoon

Note: Substitution of self-raising flour: for 1 cup, use 1 cup all-purpose flour plus 1.5 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/8 teaspoon of salt.

Instructions:
1) Double-boiled the ingredients A till it melted.
2) Remove from heat (and let it cool for few minutes) and mix it with ingredient B.
3) Add ingredient C. You may complete this step without using the electric mixer, but be sure the batter is well mixed until the smooth texture is formed.
4) Steamed at high heat for 30-45 minutes (for 6 x 6 inches square pan) or until the skewer came out cleanly.

Outcome:

The cake is so spongy to eat; I tried it on several occasions and it never failed me. It is such a moist chocolate cake, everyone agreed!

Dried Shrimps Eggplant
Source: CookingCrave.blogspot

Ingredients:
1 egg plant - medium size (cut into thin slices)
1 tbsp cooking oil
1 1/2 tbsp dried shrimps - rinse with water
3 cloves garlic - chopped
3-4 chili padi (sliced)
1/2 tbsp fish sauce
1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
1/2 tbsp light soy sauce (or to taste)
2-3 tbsp water
pinch of sugar (optional)

Instructions:
1) Heat up the non-stick pan without oil.
2) Place the sliced egg plant in the heated pan, cover with lid and cook for 2-3 minutes in low heat until its bottom part turn brown. Be careful not to burn the egg plant.
3) Flip the egg plant slices, it should be slightly soften now and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
When both side of the egg plant turn brown, remove from the pan and set aside.

Note: Make sure the egg plants are soft before proceed to the next steps of the recipe.

4) Now the egg plants are ready to stir fried with other ingredients
5) Heat the pan with a tablespoon of cooking oil and brown the garlic in medium heat.
6) Add in dried shrimp and chili padi, stir and cook for 1 minute.
7) Add in fish sauce, oyster sauce and soy sauce. Immediately stir in the eggplant slices, cook for about 30-45 second.
8) Add in water and stir until water dries up.
9) Serve warm with rice.

Outcome:

The eggplant is cooked with less oil and is healthier. The aroma and its flavors will make you crave for more rice than you usually do.

Arcade

2011-11-02T07:09:00.000-07:00

Arcade games and kid rides has become a favorite pass-time for Sarah to do. During weekends, after groceries shopping at the neighborhood hypermarket she will never missed the chance to visit her “haunt”.

Basically, Sarah loves her drum game the most! That’s the game she learnt when first visited arcade. Of course, she also attracted with other stuffs but we only allowed her to spend a buck or two each time; therefore, she had to make do with only taken some photos with them.

Confuse with…

2011-10-25T07:42:00.000-07:00

Animals
I don’t know about your kids but Sarah is easily confused between these two animals - lion and tiger.

Daddy has hard time telling her the obvious difference, one has stripes and the other doesn’t; yet she still says “Tiger” when she saw a lion or vice versa.

I think she got it from me. It was funny to know even her mommy also has the similar confusion. But after some “re-education” by hubby, now I no longer mixed up the tiger with female lion.

Numbers
13, 14, 16, 17… That’s how Sarah recites her numbers. She started good from one up to 14, but later she will skip 15.

When told to read out the 15, she was puzzled; she will then said 13, 14, 15, 17…

I think her mind has way to play tricks with her somehow.

Steamed Sponge Cake

2011-10-11T07:47:00.000-07:00

My dread feeling strike every time when I failed to control the oven temperature; it is such a disappointing moment seeing the cake turned dark that deterred me from frequent baking.

Therefore, I now prefer the simpler method - steaming. My two attempts with the recipe turned out quite satisfactorily…but maybe because I did not use cake flour, the texture was not that spongy. I would say it is like “Ma Lai Gao”.

Me and my family love it, and thank my friend Chui Lee for the recipe.

Fourth Birthday

2011-09-28T08:04:00.000-07:00

Sarah just passed her 4th birthday and we’re not having any “grand plan” for that; we just keep it very simple with immediate family members by having a gathering at our house. I served spaghetti, KFC, red eggs, salad, birthday cake and a DIY chocolate fondue - It was the main attraction of the day.

Sarah laughed, played and spent time with the people who truly adore her.

On the exact birthday just happened we drove pass SJMC, as always Sarah point to the building and says “I born here-one-loh”.

Yes, dear, exactly four years ago, on that blessed day, something beautiful is happening.

(180911)

Toy Stories

2011-09-05T08:32:00.000-07:00

Microphone
Sarah always recalled she has good time sang song in the bus during her school trip; and it is fun to watch every time she belt out her favourite rhymes at home.

Therefore, we’ve bought a Toy Microphone for Sarah. It is so happened that Toys "R" Us was on sale so we just grab one without the guilt.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, let the show begin…

Monopoly
For nostalgic reason, I like to share with Sarah about the childhood games and toys of my generation.
Recently I’ve bought a set of Monopoly (or “Millionaire”, in Hong Kong version, during our time). Sarah is definitely too young to understand this “toy”; she lost her patience fast, and she was more interested in “looting” the bank when she found out she has lesser cash.

Sarah has started to get bored with the new toys now, but I just can’t forget the laughter and the joy it bring when we all playing together.

Introducing…Bus, and Train

2011-08-18T07:28:00.000-07:00

Boat Riding was a new experience for Sarah; but she did not enjoy that as much as these two.

First School Excursion
The destination was Ostrich Wonderland at Semenyih; and the main and most important reason that attracted her was the one-hour bus riding.

Sarah insisted daddy and mommy not to join the trip (anyway, her school does not allow so). We believe she would enjoy the excursion much better without our presence; she was quite independent when comes to her school activities.

On that morning, we just dropped her off with teachers and then we left. We even did not stayed for a glimpse when she boarding the bus.

Anyway, is always nice to know that Sarah has grown up so much from the trip. She told us that she enjoyed singing in the bus (as a reward, the bus driver gave her little pressie). She also joined activities like poney riding, rabbit feeding and etc at the farm.

Too bad we don’t have Sarah’s excursion pictures, as all the pictures were “exclusively” owned by the school. We were told we can only purchase them at the end of the year.

(170711)

Train Ride
It is always in our “list” to bring Sarah to ride the train. It was a joy ride on LRT.

Sarah seldom been so energetic in the morning. She walked a lot at the KLCC shopping centre without complaining of tiredness; she loves spending time in the toy shops.

We guess Sarah was in a good mood. She played photographer and even took a photo of us!

It was a great exposure for her and we all went home with a smile on our face.

(060811)

I met with Syida

2011-08-10T07:54:00.000-07:00

Two weeks after the posting about Syida, finally I was able to pay her a visit last Sunday together with another ex-colleague.

We go with a heavy heart. Our first impression seeing Syida after seven long years was, she doesn't look like she's in pain; she greeted us with warm and great smile. Syida is such a fighter!

From our two-hour conversation, we got to know her current condition is not so favourable. She can sense the tumor is growing, because it started to affects her writing ability; if without persistent self-help exercising, the complication towards her daily life will be much greater.

So far, the fund accumulated is still way too low to achieve her wish to perform the surgery in US…

Sometimes we are at a loss as to what part we might play in our friend life when they are sick, especially when the sickness goes on for a longer period of time than just the flu.

I only hope my tiny efforts and few simple words of encouragement do help her to get past the bad time.

After hearing so much of her stories, it makes me realized how lucky and blessed I am.

P/S: If you wish to help Syida in any ways, please click here; my heartfelt appreciation for the kindness you have shown Syida.

(070811)

Most Beautiful Song

2011-07-30T08:31:00.000-07:00

I have kept the video of Sarah singing “A-Z Song” for some time now; she knew the song but just can't recite the alphabet accurately. I was giggling when recording her singing.

After half a year of practice at kindergarten, here is the result…

Improving?

And recently, she's learnt a heart-melting Mandarin song from her teacher. This is Sarah very first Mandarin solo in the blog.

To be honest, I can't really phrase out the lyrics but it is the sweetest song I've ever heard.

Introducing…boat

2011-07-26T07:13:00.000-07:00

There was one thing we promised Sarah on holiday but couldn’t make it – boat cruising; and I’ve seen from Kathy’s blog about such activity at Putrajaya, therefore, we brought her there to enjoy the boating experience for the first time.

The weather was rather sunny (still late-evening), so we thought it is better to go for the air-conditioned cruise boat. Too bad, the next ride will be 90 minutes away…don’t wanting to wait, we settle for the Dondang Sayang Perahu.

It is not a bad option either. The Perahu has lesser passenger capacity, and it is just nice for a small family like us. We got a friendly boatman to explain the surrounding landmark while we cruise.

Actually we saw not much enjoyment from Sarah’s face. She was a bit blur yet maybe it’s the heat; at times, we were hit direct by the sunset’s light.

The happiest thing for her was the moment we all reached the shore; she just can’t wait to get her hand on a Dora toy which she spots earlier from the nearby stall.

(020711)

She is my friend, her name is Syahidah Ishak

2011-07-14T09:26:00.000-07:00

Dear all, allow me to tell you a story about my friend, her name is Syahidah Ishak.

She is my ex-colleague, we fondly called her Syida. To me, I will always be thankful to her for the guidance in teaching me when I’m still a rookie in the company. She is such a kind soul.

Syida was diagnosed with Acoustic Neuroma last year, a rare brain tumor. Although the tumor is non-cancerous but with the delaying of the surgery it has started causing all sorts of major obstacles and consequences in her daily life.

She lost the hearing in her right ear and was in semi facial paralysis. The tumor effects her balancing and she’s experiencing swallowing difficulty; food and water will get stuck in her throat, hence causing breathing problem.

She was in constant tinnitus and now she has difficulty in closing her right eye and has to cover it with a patch. Knowing her conditions just pains me.

Syida underwent a not-so-successful surgery at HUKM once, and it drains her. Then Syida met a fellow patient Yvonne Foong (an author of “I’m not sick, just a bit unwell”, Yvonne’s story was well-published in the media in the past); and Yvonne has recommends her Dr. Rick Friedman, an American surgeon.

Syida is at her wit end, her aging parent are both pensioners and couldn’t do much. She tried to hide from them initially but they found out nevertheless.

So she’s now tried to raise fund by selling some items online like magnet, T-shirt and umbrella. Judging from the amount she need to raise, she has a mountain to climb; but she’s a fighter, just like Yvonne, she hope to give her life a second chance by having a successful operation by Dr. Friedman in the U.S. by September/October.

This is heartbreaking. I can’t explain why bad things do happen to good people, and I’ve never made a public appeal before. Then again, I’ve never had a friend in such dire need like her.

Her story was published on Malay Mail recently. I really feel sorry for her. I do contribute little monetary wise and feel that I should do more. I will try my level best to get help and support for her, in any form.

So if you have time, do drop Syida a well wishes at her Facebook or Blog. If you want to support her with buying some items, you are most welcomed. If you want to make some contribution, that will be wonderful (no amount is too small). And if you know any other way to help to raise greater fund, please let Syida know.

She is my friend. Her name is Syahidah Ishak.

My New Trying

2011-07-10T09:05:00.000-07:00

Roti Canai
I stumble upon this frozen “Roti Canai” while groceries shopping recently; it tastes almost the same like what we have from the “mamak” stall. I like it as it’s convenient, inexpensive yet only require tiny bit of oil to pan-fried the dough.

I just had two pieces of it for my breakfast and it match right with sugar.

Seafood Pumpkin Soup and Chicken with Pumpkin in Ketchup
This is first time I incorporate pumpkin into my cooking…and the foods turned out satisfactorily. I think it is also a great way to encourage Sarah to eat more pumpkin by adding them into daily dishes.

Picture courtesy of The Lifestyle Cuisine Magazine and Cookbooks

Barley with Pumpkin and Sago dessert
I must give credit to myself on this one (ahem). I have no cook book but just try to imitate what I’ve ordered from a nearby restaurant; the outcome is fabulous! Everyone gave thumbs up for it.

This is a very simple and yummy dessert; you may as well give a try.

Red Bean Soup
I had my first attempt in cooking this simple folk’s dessert; it turned out just nice for my liking. And I should have do it more often as it said to has the benefit of lower the water-retention in our body.

Migration 2

2011-06-29T08:00:00.000-07:00

Anmum
Sarah’s “migrating” her formula again, this time from Sustagen to Anmum.

It first started when Sarah got a free Anmum gift pack from school one day, she was then fond with the brand name ever since; subsequently she has a chance to try the free sample from testing booth at supermarket…and she claimed she likes it.

For us, it is not a bad idea in switching also as we always wanted her to consume less chocolate-flavour product; hopefully she shall stay long with her new formula.

Kawai Kanyu Drop
Oh-ya, we “migrated” her vitamin too. After searching high and low for the right multi-vitamin, I decided to give a try on Kawai Kanyu Drop.

When I read through the label, it stated that this supplement is packed with Vitamin A, D and C (exactly what I am looking for) and best of all, it is made by Cod Liver Oil. It doesn’t taste fishy or yucky at all; Sarah loves it (so am I)!

By the way, can anyone tell me the right pronunciation of “Kawai”? I am not too sure; could it be Ka-Wai or Ka-Wa-I (E)?

Second Term School Holiday

2011-06-15T08:46:00.000-07:00

The two-week school holiday’s finally over and I think time being well-spent by Sarah. On the first week, she had the usual suspect to stay-over with her; and for the other week, we’ve arranged some family outing for bonding time.

Eat, Play, and Run
When Sarah and her cousin “join force”, these are the things they will do…

(290511 - 040611)

Picnic
It was an impromptu act. On one sunny morning I proposed a picnic for Sarah and my nephew. That was our first time and although the weather was quite hot, the kids really having fun in the open space.

It was truly memorable!

(310511 & 040611)

Sand Castle
Sarah likes beach, not for swimming but simply indulging in making sand castle. We brought her to Bagan Lalang and she could spend hours just to play with sand.

Too bad we are late and the sky is getting dark, so we have to cut short her fun.

(050611)

Highland Fun
We brought Sarah to Genting Highland to let her enjoy the unlimited kid’s rides. But once there, she was more attracted towards the touch-screen arcade available inside the indoor Theme Park (sigh).

She did try all the rides but she doesn’t look thrilled; anyway, we still praise her being patience while waiting at the long queue.

(100611 - 110611)

At the end of holidays, we worried about Sarah will get cranky for the school re-opening, but amazingly, she was more than excited to going around the house with her backpack, and tell us that she’s happy back to meet her friends and teachers.

Parents-Teachers Day

2011-06-06T07:58:00.000-07:00

We have our first Parents-Teachers Day at Sarah’s kindy a week before school holiday. We’ve explained to her in advance but she’s still quite anxious about the event.

At one stage she even asked daddy not to come to her school (strange); and she looked worried when we were in the class with her…I guess she just feel odd that the whole thing is differ from her daily routine.

Anyway, we manage to have a frank discussion with Sarah’s class teacher. Our main concern all this while is about her social and interaction skill; we was told that she has no problem in dealing with other kids and teachers (a huge relief for us) and to our surprise, teacher even commented that Sarah is a helpful girl at class.

The meeting last about 25 minutes and overall we were quite satisfied with what Sarah has achieved so far in the class; but one thing we really feel she needs to improve is “academic” (in writing and colouring).

Comments from class teacher

Development checklist

Some of her works which needs improvement

(220511)

Manuka Honey – She like it now

2011-05-26T19:40:00.000-07:00

There is a saying that when kids start kindergarten, they will fall sick easily until their immune system gets boosted up.

Knowing this, I am not too bother by those general ailing usually until Sarah got a quite severe cough, twice, in the gap of a week; it tends to get worse through the night, thus disturbing her sleep.

Soon after she recovered from cough, we decided to try her on Manuka Honey (again) besides her daily Vitamin-C intake. We do hope that it help to “nourishing” her lung after recent difficult spell.

Unlike 17 months ago, she like it so much this time; she will licked the spoon clean every time she had it. This is totally unexpected.

These are the words she will say whenever she’s enjoying the honey.

Mother’s Day 2011

2011-05-23T07:52:00.000-07:00

As for this year Mother’s Day celebration, our plan is pretty simple and straightforward.

Mom’s condition means that she has to follow strict diet. Recommended by a food lover, we were en route to a place serving organic veggies dishes called Chef Low Organic Kitchen.

We were all vastly satisfied with the meal, and Sarah just loves their juice; even a fussy eater and a “carnivore” like my father also agreed that the foods are scrumptious.

After dinner it’s gift time. We gave mom an Osim Foot Massager this year, as she still complained about the numbness on her leg from time to time…

It was a great eating out all in all, and we all really hope that this celebration will put a smile back on mom’s face.

(080511)

Lotus Bamboo

2011-05-20T07:29:00.001-07:00

I always keen to have a nice garden but I hate the “maintenance” part; therefore, most of my plants are mainly leafy foliage…easier to taking care of, unlike flowers (they dry up easily).

Four years ago, my mom has given me a Lotus Bamboo (观音竹) when I first moved in here. It grows from three feet tall to about seven currently, and the most amazing part is that the bamboo plant has now bear flower!

I have never see anything like that before, not in my garden; even mom also agreed that it is quite “unconventional”. For that reason, I decided to snap a picture of it and share with you all.

The Flower Bulb

Blossoming

But it wither fast, and this is all that’s left

New Bento Box

2011-05-14T08:42:00.000-07:00

I’ve bought another lunch box for Sarah; the previous one is too small to squeeze all the dry and wet foods together with fruit into just one compartment.

She used to come back home with uneaten fruits; when asked, she told us that it had “mixed up” with other food... “Not nice already”, so she said.

I guess she felt nausea about it.

Now with this two-tier Barney lunch box, the problem solved; furthermore, Sarah boasted happily that no one in the class has the same lunch box as her. Silly girl!

Easy Outing

2011-05-06T07:57:00.000-07:00

We hardly have casual family outing for the past few weeks or so; we were “force” to be “home bound” too ever since my mom was diagnosed with Bone Spur and recuperating at our house.

Now that mom’s condition is improving, we kept our promise by bringing Sarah to shopping centre during the holiday and let her enjoy the kid’s rides.

We can tell that she was so looking forward to it, and we take pleasure in watching her sitting on her own on most of the rides (except ferries wheel).

Too bad, we did not take many photos but at least daddy managed to capture these before we leave the place.

Growing Pains

2011-04-25T07:26:00.000-07:00

According to Wiki, “Growing pains are pain symptoms relatively common in children. Typically, they are located in the muscles, rather than the joints, of the leg and less commonly the arm…”

I’m not sure about you but the term used to be nothing more than an adjectives to me, until Sarah had her first growing pain a fortnight ago, literally.

She started by limping in the afternoon and feeling the discomfort on her right knee; the pain intensified and effecting her walking later. Back then, hubby just massaged with some ointment on the knee before sent her to sleep…she was alright the subsequent day. It was just one of those random things, so we thought.

And then the pain strike once again, on last Wednesday.

Although it is gone on the next day too but we decided to hear it from the doctor this time; after checking the doctor has explained the exact same information which I found from internet. We were told if the pain is really unbearable then only some pain killer can come into play.

We are so relieved that this thing is harmless, and it is not an illness, thanks God.

(140411 & 200411)

Healthy Diet

2011-04-17T08:33:00.000-07:00

As mentioned on previous post, my mom has been suffered from Bone Spurs and thanks for all of you who concerns and sent regards. Her condition has improved since discharged from hospital, and now she’s resting at my house.

Mom has diabetes too, so her diet needs to be taken care of. I have tried some recipes (which I search from internet) and it does taste good; yet the best of all, my mom likes it.

Oven-Baked Ikan Bilis

Sarah and my mom just love this one. Although it tastes not as flavourful compared to using deep fry method, but they simply love its crunchiness and of little saltiness when added to the plain porridge.

Ginger Fried Rice

My mom’s keen on dishes with ginger usually, so Ginger Fried Rice suits her taste bud well. The fried rice was mild in gingery and spicy, with a nice fragrant from the sesame oil; I also added some Oven-Baked Ikan Bilis to gives extra texture to the dish.

Cucumber, Green Apple and Lemon Juice

This is a must-try juicer recipe! If you hate the taste of raw cucumber, I bet you will change your mind after having the juice, trust me.

School Holiday

2011-04-07T07:13:00.001-07:00

This post’s about how Sarah doing during her first school holiday. No homework yet and basically, she spent the whole week with her cousin, “Lik Hwang Kor Kor”.

Both of them had so much great time together; as for me, it gave me some valuable space to busy on my mom’s condition as Sarah was less bothered with me but kept playing with her cousin.

One funny thing is they are quite tolerated with each other at the beginning, but as days goes by, they started to quarrel over small matter towards the end of the week. Sarah would complaint about her cousin for not behaved well and vise-versa.

Nevertheless, I can tell that they enjoyed each other’s company and Sarah’s already asking when “Kor Kor” will come again as soon as the holidays end.

(130311-190311)

Sarah’s first cut

2011-03-31T07:33:00.000-07:00

You have no idea how happy and proud I was…Sarah was so brave during her first ever hair cut at a saloon yesterday!

Actually all this while it was me who doubled as a barber; she always has this imaginative fear about saloon every time I mention it.

And then I think it’s about time; I told her I really have to send her for the hair cut yesterday.

I tricked her by saying that if we don’t cut our hair, it will be bitten by bug and we can get bald. I also explained to her the whole process (for the 500th times) and comforted her that she will be sitting on my lap during the hair cut.

Guess what, when the moment the hairstylist asked if she likes to sit on the booster chair by herself, she agreed! And there it goes…cut-cut-cut, trim-trim-trim…ta-da!

I never expect it could be so easy, and I really think that she deserved a reward for her good behaviour. It cost me 20 bucks for this refillable helium balloon, but I think it worth every pennies.

(300311)

Tiring March

2011-03-17T08:12:00.000-07:00

I know, my blog has been idle for few weeks and I’ve hardly visit any others blog during this period of time…I have a tiring fortnight, to speak the truth.

My mom was admitted to hospital on the first day of March and stayed there for several days; she was having “Bone Spurs”. Although she is now discharged she was homebound for the time being, and still suffers pain while walking.

She’s on medication, and might also need some physiology treatment soon…we just have to see how’s thing develop, and pray hard.

Also partly due to that, my nephew came over to stay with us during this school holiday (because mum stay at my sister’s house currently). Nonetheless, Sarah was having great time together with his cousin; it makes me feel worthwhile of the tiredness seeing their happy face.

Therefore, dear all my fellow blogging friends, do bear with me and I will be visiting your blog once I get back to my normal routine.

Meeting “Multiply” Friends

2011-02-27T06:11:00.001-08:00

Since I began blogging in Multiply three years ago, I’ve never meet anyone of them before until the recent Chinese New Year.

Thanks to an invitation from Ai Peng to her Chinese New Year open house, for the very first time, I met up with my Multiply Blogging friends.

She and her husband is a friendly nice host; we felt so comfortable being their guest. During the dinner started, I met Maggie and Leann too. It’s remarkable how quickly we all ease into a natural and easy rhythm of conversation, like we see each other before.

It was a nice gathering but too bad being chicken-hearted, Sarah was frightened over the loud bang from the firecrackers being played outside the house, so we have to head home earlier.

It is always my pleasure to meet blogger friends, and hope to meet you all soon, my friend.

(120211)

Bug Bite

2011-02-20T07:00:00.000-08:00

“Oh My Goodness” were the words I uttered when I first saw Sarah as I picked her up from school. Her right eye was swollen! Further checking with her condition, it seems like she did not feel itchy or I should say, she does not even aware her upper eyelid has started swelling.

So the next stop, clinic.

Sarah’s condition getting worse on next day (the medicine and cream has slow effect); she can barely open her eyes widely and I can tell that she had some tough time seeing things.

Again, another visit to doctor and anti-inflammation medicine was prescribed this time.

As for today, we are so relieved that the swelling has almost gone and hopefully she can go back to school on Monday.

Bento Fun

2011-02-17T07:18:00.000-08:00

I fall in love in doing simple bento for Sarah; trying to create different colours and taste with food then arranged it nicely in the meal box satisfied me. I am also glad that Sarah has given me a lot of ideas of what food to bring to school by peeking at her classmate’s lunch.

Clever girl.

CNY 2011

2011-02-07T07:22:00.000-08:00

Gong Xi Fa Cai, and wishing all of you a prosperous and blissful Chinese New Year.

“Bai Nian”

Simple decoration at our house

Sarah’s school work also a CNY theme

P/S: Thanks KC for your lovely pinkish shirt; it fits well on Sarah, and it suits well for the festival.

Schooling Progress Update – Part 2

2011-01-31T06:55:00.000-08:00

What a difference a month makes.

After few weeks of off-and-on crying episodes in the class, finally Sarah told me “I did not cried-woh”, “I listened to teacher-woh”!

I was totally shocked but I just cannot hide my happiness inside when she uttered those words; well done Sarah, mommy and daddy are so proud of you.

At the mean time, I’ve developed a habit of checking on Sarah’s school bag every time she came home…either to see if she has finished the food I prepared, to check on the message book or any school works she brought back.

And here are some of her works which I have photographed:

Collage and Sand Arts

2011-01-24T07:24:00.000-08:00

Collage
I guess most children like doing collage; cutting papers into pieces and glued over a picture.

I’ve introduced this simple but enjoyable craft work to Sarah over the weekend; we used basic materials such as scissor, glue, some wrapping paper and colour note pad.

During the process, I noticed Sarah more enjoy in cutting and pasting the paper than using glue…she told me it is “sticky”. At the end we have so much fun and this is the outcome of our combined effort.

Sand Arts
Another favourite activities we both enjoyed doing is Sand Arts. We never missed the chance to have fun whenever we are at the neighborhood bookstores, although Sarah already has her own set at home.

And we have found an idea place at home to display our “collection”.

Schooling Progress Update

2011-01-17T06:45:00.001-08:00

After two weeks of schooling, here is some write-up about Sarah’s progress in the school.

Up until now she’s still tense about her school life; lately she had mood swing whenever she came back from school (no kidding).

Sarah looked de-motivated and less active, and she became more impatient and bad manner. Initially we thought that might coincident with the medicine effect due to her slight cough, but she does looks fine during weekend.

But I think she started to realize that she has to go to school, daily, regardless (except I told her otherwise on the off-day). And thank God, I still able to handle the situation well in the morning (preparing lunch box, waking her up and dropping her off).

As I mentioned before she did cry in her class (she “confess” to me daily). We do check with her teacher about it via message book and the reply goes like this…

In order to motivate and cheer her up, we’ve bought a small gift for her as an encouragement, although we know this is not a viable long-term solution.

Sarah’s First Week of School

2011-01-07T07:10:00.000-08:00

Well, it’s finally here; this new school season sees Sarah entering into a new chapter of her life - she has gone to kindergarten for a week now.

Actually she had attended the week-long orientation session in December; and to sum up her performance at school so far I can only use one word: anxiety.

She admitted that she did cry inside her class, but at least she didn’t make a fuss when I dropped her off at school; she still wave goodbye, although without smile, then she obediently follow her teacher to the class (heartbreaking moment for us mommy, huh?)

I prepare Sarah’s daily meal for school every day. In order to give her extra “incentive” for schooling, I try to make the “bento” set as creative as possible each day by adding one healthy snack. I guess she likes it so far because she can finish most of the food.

Sleep time is a “confession” time. I enjoyed listening to her about things happened at kindergarten on the day (I have to ask cleverly, though); so I am now have a clearer picture and understanding about her daily activities at school.

This thing takes time, I know; but I’m still proud of Sarah’s achievement. I guess at this moment she’s still very anxious about school, but I am sure sooner she will overcome the fear one day.

Of Mulberry, Pucuk Manis and Yao Char Kway

2011-01-03T07:31:00.000-08:00

We know that silk worms only eat mulberry leaves and nothing else; but not all of us knew what a mulberry was and only a few of us had tasted them before. The leaves and the fruits are said to be an antioxidant and it’s good for our eyes.

I am lucky that my mom has given me the seed months ago and now the trees are bear with fruits. The ripe mulberries are delicious, sweet and juicy; Sarah likes it at first until she tasted the unripe one.

I better take good care of this plant as I have this natural source of herbal remedy right in front of my house.

This is the first time I saw the fruit of Sweet Leaves Bush (aka “Pucuk Manis”). I never know they did bear fruit!

I still remembered I love using their flowers as “earing” when I was a little girl…hmm…maybe I should let Sarah wear one and snap a photo someday.

Sarah and I fall in love with Chinese cruller (Youtiao/Yao Char Kway) lately. The other day we’ve bought some new flavour of the fried bun; we have chosen yam paste and chocolate filling.

It definitely gives a new twist of it over the traditional flavour.

By the way, this would be my first post of the year, Happy New Year to all of you.

It’s My Birthday

2010-12-29T06:55:00.000-08:00

I’ve just celebrated my birthday last Sunday; as the actual day falls on weekday, we decided to have a steamboat feast over the weekend in my house.

The event was simple, fun but memorable. The gathering, the food, and the atmosphere put a smile on everyone’s face, especially me.

Just like every other years, I have received wonderful gifts from hubby and also siblings. Besides, the well wishes and messages which I got from SMS and Facebook really warm my heart. Thanks everyone.

Gifts from hubby

Gift from sisters

Happy 30th years “young” to me!

(261210)

Joy to the World

2010-12-22T07:19:00.000-08:00

It’s that time of the year again…Christmas! And this is the second year we put up Christmas tree in our living hall.

We are quite pleased with the outcome as it gives us a “snowy” feeling with the white/silver twirling ornaments. Personally, I love almost everything about Christmas, the decoration at the malls, eating-out and those jolly Christmas songs.

Speaks of Christmas song, I would like to conclude this post with Sarah’s debut title, “Jingle Bells”.

Have a wonderful and blessed Christmas, everyone.

Two Kids

2010-12-12T06:22:00.000-08:00

I’ve been busy babysitting my nephew for the past two weeks; Sarah’s “Lik Hwang Kor Kor” (and my mom) was here for a 10-day stay as my sister’s on vacation. It’s really kind of experience to handle two kids with close age gap for me.

My nephew likes to come to my house to see Sarah, and they love playing together but luckily they seldom fought for toys. Maybe the “Kor Kor” is two years older, he never seems hesitated to share toys with her.

As for Sarah, she’s started to “imitate” his cousin; she loves saying “me too”, “I want too” whenever she saw him eats, plays, or even wearing something…it’s the “peer pressure”, I guess. At the end, they both caught slight flu with cough and had the same medicine.

I was always on tight schedule when I have two kids in hand. Now I understand why the old folks use to say “when you have only one kid, it is a treasure; when you have more than one, you just grow them up like you rear the cattle”. Laugh out loud.

(301110 - 091210)

Diaper-Free…sort of

2010-11-23T06:42:00.000-08:00

I’ve long been eager to wean off Sarah from diaper completely; before I know it, this thing has come to pass recently…

When I was about to change Sarah on diaper for her nap, she told me that she doesn’t want it! She said she has the “sticky” feeling when she is wearing diaper; so I know that will be the indicator she’s ready for “diaper-less”.

Of course, there will be times she still pees on the bed (only two times, to be exact), but I strongly believe this is only a transition period. We shall hang in there.

Counting Down to the schooling day…

2010-11-12T06:43:00.000-08:00

Finally, more than a year of contemplating, we’ve found Sarah a kindergarten and will start her by next year (I know, for some parent, we are already late).

After “hunting” around for some time, we are quite pleased with the chosen one. This kindergarten has the right (and clean) environment, big compound and the best of all, tight security.

Schooling will be a huge milestone for Sarah, therefore, I’ve started “mentally” prepare her months ago. In fact, we have brought her touring the kindie twice and hopefully it helps.

Next stop, she will have a three-day orientation session on December and we shall keep our fingers cross…

Vespa Scooter

2010-11-04T08:20:00.001-07:00

Ta-da! This is another “transport” in the house.

The previous passed-down motorbike has broken therefore we bought this cute little scooter for Sarah. I truly enjoyed watching her riding on the bike; she looked so feminine and ladylike.

The weather is hot!

2010-10-29T11:43:00.001-07:00

…And nothing bring smiles to kid's faces faster than ice-cream.

Blessed Gifts

2010-10-26T09:22:00.000-07:00

Sarah’s such a lucky girl; one month after her third birthday yet she is still receiving birthday pressies.

She loves the gifts so much and I really appreciate the kind thoughts of KC and Nicole.

A Nice Meet up

2010-10-19T08:43:00.000-07:00

We felt privilege being invited by Julie to her son Jonathan’s birthday party last week. Besides Julie, I am also happy to meet up with Yugene, MayChing and Merryn.

I met MayChing and Merryn for the first time. For me, MayChing is a very nice and gentle mommy, she talked soft and politely. As for Merryn, I would say she looked really sweet with her appearance; too bad she was not feeling well then, or else we could have little more chit-chat.

Anyway, it was a great outing for all of us and Sarah would like to say “thank you” for the lovely gift from Auntie Julie and Yugene.

(101010)

Bicycle

2010-10-13T09:03:00.000-07:00

Lately Sarah enjoys riding on her bicycle, as it’s a birthday gift from daddy. Although it is a bit pricey compared to others but we agreed that it has good quality; it feel solid.

At first, I was worried that Sarah would not able to maneuver the bike due to its size, but in actual she could cycle pretty fast and quite steadily (even on the first day itself).

But for now, she’s not willing to ride it to the park just yet; or maybe she know that we won’t let the keep the bike inside the house anymore once she cycle outdoor.

Third Birthday and PD trip

2010-10-04T09:43:00.001-07:00

This year Sarah’s birthday was coincidence with a family trip to Port Dickson. We threw a simple party for her at the apartment; it was really a wonderful trip and happy celebration (apart from the Sand Flea’s bite).

Pressies
(From left: Gift from Daddy, Gong Gong, Gu Gu, Serene, Priscilla and Chui Lee)

Birthday Party

Ostrich Farm

Beachside

Others

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Chocolate “Cupcakes”

2010-09-30T08:21:00.000-07:00

First of all, I have to confess that I’ve made a “fatal” mistake in buying a muffin tray, when what I really want to do is bake a cupcake!

I know, it doesn’t looked “tall” enough to be a cupcake, but the texture and taste is just right for me…although hubby and sisters commented that the cakes are lack of sweetness.

Anyhow, this is my first try, and I’m actually satisfied with the result.

Mid-Autumn Festival 2010

2010-09-28T09:14:00.000-07:00

Like any other years, we celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival with joyous mood at my parent’s house.

Sarah’s now getting familiar with the place; and it pleased me watching her enjoyed the time so much.

(220910)

Sarah’s on TV!

2010-09-20T07:50:00.000-07:00

And this is how it happened.

The program is about birthday kids on a particular month. The idea came from a blogger friend and without second thought, we sent in the photo to try our luck.

It is no big deal, but it’s still made us happy (although Sarah looked a bit stunted when she saw herself appeared on TV).

P/S: Pardon for the low-tech recording as we don’t have the Astro B.yond PVR; and also pardon for my screaming at the background, as I was overjoyed.

(200910)

Vitamin C

2010-09-19T08:55:00.000-07:00

Sarah has shown less interest in the orange-flavor cod liver oil. Wanting to further boost up her immune system, we’ve bought her this Vitamin C tablet for the first time.

Of course, we do not solely rely on these supplements as we still encourage Sarah to eat balance diet.

Anyway, Sarah loves the vitamin so much; she will read out loud the alphabet engraved on the tablet…such a fun way to reinforce her A-B-C.

A Time of Bonding

2010-09-16T08:54:00.000-07:00

During the school holidays, Sarah’s “Popo”, “Gu Gu” and her cousins (from mine and hubby’s family) came over for a one-week stays. I would say this time she had the most bonding moment with them.

Maybe she’s now grown up a little bit, she loves to talk, play and mingles with her cousins; and I can feel that she also enjoyed being pampered by her “Kor Kor”. They share their toys, treats, hugs and kisses.

Of course, the good time end when the schools re-open, but I am glad that Sarah’s now enjoying mixing with them.

Sarah with "Popo" and Lik Hwang Kor Kor.

Sarah with "Gu Gu", Jeremy and Justin Kor Kor.

(050910 - 120910)

Egg-Coated Bread

2010-09-09T08:49:00.001-07:00

I am sure most of you know the recipe very well. This was my modified version of Egg-Coated Bread; instead of eating it plain, I advice Sarah to dip a little strawberry jam and “Kaya”.

Overall, it was a nice try, Sarah and I love it…especially with “Kaya”. But one thing is Sarah need to be careful with the texture of the bread, as it is quite dry and sometimes she almost gets chocked.

Funfair Rides & Kiddy Rides

2010-09-05T09:43:00.000-07:00

Finally, Sarah had overcome her fears and now has so much courage in trying out (some of) the funfair rides. We brought her to Sunway Pyramid last week and she told us that she wanted to try; indeed, she rides on the carousel, ferries wheel and the Animal Train.

Besides, she’s now able (and willingly) to sit on a “moving” kiddies ride. Looking back, whenever we asked if she want a ride in the past, she will definitely say “Don’t put money yeah”; now, she just falls in love with it, she can kept going on and on…

It took her a while, but she had made it through; we feel so happy and proud of her.

(290810)

Time Together in the Kitchen

2010-08-30T06:20:00.001-07:00

When Sarah is well behaved enough, I do not mind getting her involved in the kitchen sometimes (as long as she obeys my instruction).

I teach her how to use her plastic knife to “cut” veggies and the other day I’ve taught her to use flour and water to make different type of “food”.

(Sarah asked me to take photo of the “food” that she made)

She was very happy when she’s able to “bake a cake”; she even sang it out…

(A fast-forward version of “Pat A Cake, Pat A Cake”)

Tofu Soup

2010-08-19T09:07:00.000-07:00

This is the soup I enjoyed cooking lately, it’s simple yet flavorsome.

If you like shark fin soup, this recipe will taste something-like-that (according to hubby) but of course, it requires less expensive ingredients - see here for recipe.

I like my soup to be less thick, so I did not put too much corn starch in it; besides, I’ve added some brown mushroom this time. It gave extra flavour to the soup.

P/S: I omit vinegar from the menu but I have always added a little Shaoxing Wine. It tastes superb!

(I chose to serve in claypot but it is really up to you.)

Partying

2010-08-08T11:00:00.000-07:00

The last fortnight was sure the “partying time” for all of us, especially Sarah; started with Nicole’s daughter birthday party, then my cousin sister’s wedding and Peggy’s son birthday party.

We have so much fun in all the mentioned events; great hosts, good food and best of all, Sarah showed much improvement in social skills when meeting with my relatives and friends.

It used to be so much crying and the stress we had whenever we brought her for social outing. I believe now that as she grows, she had gradually outgrown that phase and gaining confidence to overcome her fears. I love this transformation!

Actually I have so many things to say about the events, but I think I will let the pictures do the talking.

Jacelyn’s Birthday

Cousin’s Wedding

Bill’s Birthday

P/S: It was nice gathering with all of you ladies and thank you Nicole, Peggy, Yugene and Jennifer for the party pack and lovely gift.

(010810 & 080810)

Computer

2010-08-03T08:52:00.001-07:00

I don’t know… some may think it’s little too early for kids to “play” with computer, but I am still glad with the way Sarah handle my laptop.

I can’t recall when her first-contact with computer was, I just remember Sarah always like to “disturbed” when daddy is busy on his PC.

She’s now like to click around on YouTube for nursery songs, and browsing the pictures all by herself.

Maybe I am still playing with sticks when I’m her age…times change, so do things.

Parent’s Worried Sick

2010-07-23T07:20:00.000-07:00

That’s how I feel right now…Sarah falls sick since last week; here are the sick diaries:

Sunday:
Started with minor fever and slept through the night with fever patch and fever medicine.

Monday:
Sarah was so lethargic in the morning, therefore we brought her to see pediatrician. The pediatrician told us that her throat is turning red as well.

Tuesday:
Fever come and goes, but the temperature was under controlled.

Wednesday:
Sarah’s fever has subsided, but now she has some phlegm.

Thursday:
Sarah started to cough too, and the phlegm’s quite thick and turned yellow-green; when she breathes, I can clearly hear the wheezing sound. Again, we brought her to see doctor.

Today (Friday):
Little improvement on the cough and phlegm, but she has turned into one cranky super-glue. I am praying hard that she will have a better sleep tonight and get well by tomorrow.

One thing is she was doing fine during the consultation with doctors, compared to last time; maybe she started to understand that “doctor is a friends of mine” (as Barney said).

Of Playing & Eating

2010-07-18T08:31:00.000-07:00

Third Puzzle
Puzzle, it is really a worthy toy. Sarah’s definitely learn so much from playing with her first and second puzzle; she’s now able to complete them, no problem at all.

So I decided to buy the third set, but this one is far more difficult. It has more irregular edges, but I am glad that she is progressing quite well so far as she’s able to solve two pieces already.

By the way, it’s also an opportunity to teach Sarah some Chinese characters from the puzzles. I just enjoyed listening to her Chinese pronunciation (but she definitely needs more practice in speaking Mandarin.)

Barney Tableware Set
I used to feed Sarah’s dinner in “one-bowl meal” (mixing the rice with veggie, meat, and soup all in one bowl). I am not sure whether it is a good practice but so far Sarah’s okay with it, so it leaves me no problem too.

Recently, I noticed that she has less appetite with her “one-bowl meal”; I suspect she’s bored with the way she dines. She loves to observe how we scooped our rice and dishes separately and sometimes will ask for some of our dishes…

Therefore, I have bought this one, the Barney Tableware Set.

Sarah has now showed so much interest in her new way of dining, but strangely, she’s only concentrating in eating the plain rice than other dishes.

Art & Development

2010-07-10T08:49:00.000-07:00

Hand Printing
All these while, I was hesitated to start hand printing with Sarah because I know it will be a great mess when we both paint our hands with Watercolor. Then again, I do not want her to miss the fun; therefore I’ve decided to let her have a go.

Sarah was so glad with the idea. She told me that Barney and friends also done the hand prints before (yes, she’s still a loyal Barney fans).

Name Spelling
I first started writing Sarah’s name on a piece of paper and showed to her; we go through the same patterns from time to time to let her familiarize with it. After few practices, she was now able to point out her name when I wrote it together with daddy’s name and mine. Well done.

She also makes us proud by spelled out “S-A-R-A-H” all by herself.

Versatile Blogger Award

2010-07-06T11:04:00.000-07:00

It was very thoughtful and sweet of Merryn, Ummi and Adrine for consider me as a Versatile Blogger. Thank you so much.

To accept this award I must:
1. List 7 random things about yourself
2. Share the award with up to 15 other bloggers
3. Link to each of the recipients and let them know they've won via comments on their blogs
4. Thank and bring the love back to the person you won the award from by linking back to them.

Now, I have to share seven things about myself.
1. I have gone for a major operation (intestinal obstruction) in year 2001. I was hospitalized for 10 days and at that point of time, I recorded my thinnest weight ever (as an adult).

2. I got my driving license in year 1998 but I only ‘officially’ started driving in year 2005. I was so hesitated to drive then because I was phobia and hate to drive manual car. My husband was the one who encouraged and teaching me. Of course, for now I am driving an auto car.

3. I love to peek on my husband favourite TV programme (EPL football and CSI), although I am not a big fan of it; and the funny thing is, I am able to name those football stars and I also knew who Horatio Cane was. Not bad huh?

4. I (once) have a pet; I name it I-Sh. It is a lovely rabbit. It has brown and white fur with a pair of big brown eyes. I love I-Sh very much, but it dies about four years ago.

5. I was working as an Administrative Assistant in four different companies.

6. I love to collect stickers. Maybe this sounds childish, but I just can’t stop myself from buying it if I saw those cute and funny stickers. If Sarah also likes stickers when she’s grow up, I will sure pass all my collections to her. Lucky her….

7. I was a class monitor for 6 years (remove to Form Five) in secondary school.

Who would I like to hear from? Let’s see…
1) Yugene
2) Caroline
3) Olive
4) Kristie
5) Serene
6) Mommy Gwen
7) CH Voon
8) Shenny’s Mommy
9) Slavemom
10) Kathy
11) Claire
12) Jenny
13) HweiLi
14) Kylie
15) Pei Mun

F1 Update

2010-06-30T09:27:00.000-07:00

Still remember the race between a bored housewife and her child?

There was a time Sarah’s keen to sit on the motorbike but still too afraid, so she will hitch a ride on me; she hold my waist tight (I mean, real tight) while I was riding the bike, just like dating couple.

And now, she has finally overcome her fear and started to try out on her own. Bravo Sarah!

P/S: Due to the warning sound (causing by overweight, I guess), I’ve now cease to ride on the motorbike, but I do miss the moments which Sarah be my pillion.

Homemade Happy Meals

2010-06-27T08:38:00.000-07:00

Corn with Orange Juice
Actually I’ve prepared the similar meal before but I was using frozen corns and bottled orange juice then. Nevertheless, Sarah loved the combination so much.

This time I’ve got some organic corn and the freshly-squeeze orange juice, so I think it would be good to re-introduce the foods to her again.

Sarah loves holding the corn and biting the corn kernels; she finished it all by herself. I also enjoy preparing the meal for her because of its (simple yet) healthy eating.

Milo with “Honey Stars”
This is Sarah’s very first time eating “Honey Stars” served with Milo. Ideally, I guess cereals suit better with milk; but Sarah dislike white milk, therefore, I have chosen Milo.

She was extremely delighted the moment I told her that she can have “biscuits” (aka Honey Stars) as her breakfast.

She just kept smiling whenever she put the cereal into Milo…She was like “playing” and eating at the same time.

It is fun watching her enjoyed the breakfast so much.

W-Sitting

2010-06-20T08:37:00.000-07:00

This is Sarah’s favourite sitting position.

She will move through the position during play. All these while, I never bothered until a friend advice me better to discourage Sarah’s in this sitting posture.

My friend says that her daughter is a W-sitter too and it caused her walk with knee and feet turned inwards and keeps falling over. After some internet search, it’s verified that what I was told is true concerning to the sitting posture and its consequences.

According to the orthopedic expert, children choose W-sit because this position requiring less muscular involvement, having a wider base of support thus allowing them to have closer access to toys; but most kids will out-grow their W-sit day as they grow older (hopefully for Sarah too).

So the other day when I try to get Sarah sit with other postures, it only last few seconds and later she goes back to her old way again.

I am not dead set against W-sitting. But I will try to correct her positioning in the way without drawing her attention and encourage a more body-friendly posture whenever I sit near to her.

4013

2010-06-15T08:30:00.000-07:00

This is just a piece of follow-up about Sarah’s orange juice.

I suspected the orange juice might be a little too acidic for her because sometimes she’s complaining having stomach ache after drinking it (but the pain will go away within minute). When I asked if she wanted to pass motion, she just says “no”.

It might be the oranges that upset her stomach; but all these while I have no idea on how to choose a sweet orange until HweiLi given me the tip – buy those oranges which labeled 4013.

And I am lucky that I was able to find them at Carrefour the other day and without hesitation, I bought two dozen home (for myself as well).

After trying it, I can concluded that 4013 is really sweeter than those I’ve bought before and also it has more juice. I was able to squeeze 150ml of juice (by using three oranges) compared to only 75ml previously.

Thanks to HweiLi, I’m now has no worries in feeding Sarah oranges anymore.

Birthday (whenever she feels like it)

2010-06-09T08:43:00.001-07:00

Kids love birthday. For Sarah, she just had an “extremely advance” birthday celebration last Saturday.

Her actual day is falls on September but when she saw us buying a birthday cake for my mom, she immediately asked for hers; and she claimed that it is “Popo and Sarah’s birthday”.

We don’t have the heart to spoil her mood, therefore, Sarah gets to choose her mini “birthday cake” and later we had the “celebration” at home.

It’s just wonderful seeing her sing the birthday song loud and happily. I remembered last year she was trying hard to blow the candles but now she’s able to do so all by herself. How time fly.

Orange Juice

2010-06-01T08:57:00.000-07:00

Among the fruits Sarah eaten before, I’ve left out orange so far because it said to be acidic. Now that she’s almost three, I think it’s about time.

I do not have juice extractor at home, so it always gives me an excuse for not making fresh orange juice; but after talking to my neighbour, Jean, I was told that juice squeezer was actually quite convenient and it is not expensive either…so why not give it a try, right?

This is the first time Sarah drink fresh-squeezed orange juice; she loves it so much. Guess what, after having her first taste of the juice, she’s now goes for the orange itself!

Of Rekito, Cynthia & Nicole

2010-05-23T09:21:00.000-07:00

Hey mommies, as promised, this are the follow-up about the effectiveness of Rekito.

Sarah (and I) started using it last week whenever we go to park. Yes, I would say it is as effective as the Johnson Mozzie Lotion. For me, it smell slightly stronger compared to Johnson brand but it disappear soon after applying, so it is not bothersome; and it would not leave an unpleasant sticky feeling as well.

In a nutshell, it’s a great product.

Speaking of Johnson Mozzie Lotion, I owe a big “thank you” to Cynthia for bring me one all the way from Singapore (through her friend). She got to know I facing difficulty in getting the lotion from my blog, hence this nice lady offered her help…such an invaluable friendship gift from her.

Speaking of friendship gift, I would like to thanks my friend Nicole as well. She surprised me with a pair of black earrings. It’s a simple yet beautiful gift.

She also attached some stickers for Sarah; as usual, Sarah just can’t wait to use it the moment she saw it.

I always feel grateful and blessed knowing a lot of nice and helpful friends always keep me at their thought. Thank you again Cynthia and Nicole.

Mother’s Day 2010

2010-05-18T08:33:00.000-07:00

This Mother’s Day was the most “noisiest” one we ever had - we celebrated at the Karaoke. Mom and dad loves singing, thus my sister suggested it will be a great place for them.

To be honest, it was a little stress for me while I was there with Sarah; it was her first time to Karaoke and I have to try my level best to keep her entertained throughout the night.

It is like a rollercoaster of emotions for her. She’s already taken a back when she steps into the room…sometimes I saw her smile when playing with her cousin, sometimes grimaced, when she (reluctantly) speak to my siblings and parents.

At one point she really felt like crying when she was bombarded with the blazing sound system that I have to bring her to the lobby to catch her breath.

But there was a moment Sarah enjoyed the most; she sang out loud the birthday song to my father (coincidently it’s also his birthday). Oh yeah, she enjoyed the buffet too, she ate a lot! At the end, she preferred running and chasing with her cousin around the lobby.

All in all, I think at this moment Karaoke still not a best place for Sarah and us to enjoy; nevertheless it was definitely a good exposure for her.

(080510)

Drawing and Colouring

2010-05-14T08:35:00.001-07:00

Colouring has always been one of Sarah’s favourite past-time; with Colour Pencil and Magic Colour, she could sit down with us for a good 20 minutes. She loves to observe how we draw pictures and how we coloured it.

These are what she’s learned from us recently:

She drew the balloons in her own cute way.
Are you able to see the “rain” in the picture, LOL!

She started to learn how to colour within the lines

By the way, I noticed Sarah’s able to hold her pen more firmly nowadays; I believe colouring do help a lot in proper gripping…so keep up the good work, Sarah!

Chicken Feet and Me

2010-05-10T10:27:00.000-07:00

If I were to know it was so “painful” and hassle with the preparation works for this menu, I would rather give it a miss.

I had pat dried the chicken feet (alas, I should have dry it under the hot sun for three days!) and with that, I thought I would get only minimum oil splatter.

How wrong could I be? When I open the lid to check on the chicken feet, I was splashed straight away!

Till now, I still feel the pain when I press the oil-burn although it is recovering.

Anyway, this is the outcome; it taste not bad but I guess I’ve over-fried the chicken feet. It has a dry texture and it is not easy to suck the skin out of the bone.

The (Failed Attempt of) Moist Chocolate Cake

2010-05-07T09:19:00.000-07:00

I guess my title had clearly indicated that I’ve baked a “horrible” cake.

Yes, it’s a disaster. I was enthusiastic to try my hand on this Moist Chocolate Cake at first; followed the recipe well and I was so happy that I am able to control the temperature right this time without over-baked the top of the cake.

Everything seemed fine until I tasted the final outcome. It has a weird taste or as my husband put it – “taste artificial” a.k.a “plastic taste”. Of course, the cake ended up in the dustbin.

I still do not know what went wrong but I think I will not give a second trial on it (not until I “recovered” from this fatal blow).

I-City Shah Alam

2010-05-04T08:10:00.000-07:00

I’ve seen many blogger friends commented about the beautiful view of “Lights Wonderland” at I-City; feeling curious enough, we’ve also make a trip there recently.

It was a stuffy Sunday evening…Sarah was amazed when she noticed the dozens of digital maple and pine light-trees on a hill leading to the place. But as we get closer and closer, she got a little scared.

She was hesitated to take pictures with the beautiful background at first; luckily a packet of her favourite snacks will always do wonders. After a while, she finally starts to enjoy the outing.

Well, if I were to add comments, the lighting is awesome, but the traffic is a chaos, and the noisy Pasar Malam had totally turned me off.

Here are some of the pictures taken during the visit there.

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Sand Art and Blocks

2010-04-30T09:00:00.000-07:00

Sand Art
I never thought of a stack of sand could turned into art.

Sarah got this Sand Art set as a gift last time, and it had sit on the bottom of my closet long enough, as we think she’s not ready just yet.

And I guess now it’s about time. Sarah was so happy when I told her we are going to let her play; she enjoys squeezing out the sand from tubes and uses the finger to pinch the sand then put it on the paper.

She is so curious yet she likes to feel the smooth texture of the sand.

But as usual, Sarah started to get bored after a while, and I have to take over and finish the job.

Blocks
I know there’s much educational value in building blocks, but all these while we seldom had block-stacking at home simply because Sarah showed no interest towards it.

Recently, she surprised us with a simple “tower” which stacked all by herself.

Maybe Sarah is way behind the “block-stacking milestone”, but we are still proud of her achievement.

Rekito

2010-04-26T08:48:00.000-07:00

Mosquitoes repellent are so essential to me and Sarah because the mosquitoes just love us so much. We have been using the Johnson anti-mosquito lotion for the past nine months and we really find it handy; it is so effective yet it has a pleasant fragrant.

Now that we need to restock it but unfortunately it’s not available in Malaysia; and the cost to courier from Singapore is just too high. Therefore, we’d have to settle for this new product from Pureen and hopefully it is as effective as the Johnson brand.

Gift from Angel

2010-04-22T08:38:00.000-07:00

Angel sending me gifts again as she had told me earlier in the MSN; but I wasn’t expect “a” thing will turned out to be something like goodie bag!

Sarah loves the Princess colouring-and-sticker book so much, she just can’t wait to start colouring even before I take a picture of it.

As for me, Angel has got me a popular Japanese Good-Luck Charm; it is now an accessory for my bag. Love it.

I like the “I Love Mum” top most and with the pink pant, I guess Sarah will look sporty on them.

I know Angel always keeping me and Sarah in her thought. One day, if we ever meet, I would like to say “thank you” to her personally.

Revisiting the Zoo

2010-04-16T08:36:00.000-07:00

Recently when Sarah flips through the old photo about our trip to Zoo Negara, she showed great interest toward all kinds of animal.

We guess she were too young then to have any memory about it; therefore, we brought her to visiting the same place again last Sunday.

Well, there’s nothing much about the Zoo from a year ago…same old, same old.

We though Sarah will be exciting but alas, she’s less than enthusiastic when she actually saw the animals; she only kept rushing us to bring her to see the next one (sigh).

Maybe she was frustrated by the weather, or the mosquitoes bite, or the lack of sleep. But at least she had a great time at the Sea Lion Show and she was fond with the cute little Orangutan.

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Tasty Marinates

2010-04-11T08:35:00.001-07:00

Fish with Miso
Since Sarah likes miso soup so much, therefore I’ve tried a new idea which using miso paste to marinate fish.

I added a slice of ginger, a dash of light soy sauce and also sesame oil to the fish.

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Outcome:
I was surprised with the outcome; the dish does not looked appealing, but guess what, it does taste good.

The fish tastes sweet and the sauce goes well with rice. Yummy, Sarah loves it!

Salmon with honey-soy sauce
I love watching Astro AFC (Asian Food Channel) and this is one recipe I learned from the programme “Martin Yan’s Hidden”.

I always think of way to get rid of the (overly) strong taste of salmon, and now I’ve found it.

Methods:
1) Marinate the fish with lemon juice, lemon zest, honey, light soy sauce and preserved soybeans.
2) Pan-seared the fish and bake it in oven.

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Outcome:
The usage of lemon juice and lemon zest helped a lot in getting rid of the fishy taste; and all the other ingredients have added so much flavour to the fish.

Sarah almost finished the meal, without knowing it’s actually a salmon.

“Cannot like that”

2010-04-06T09:44:00.000-07:00

What Sarah amused us is that nowadays she will get “jealous” with daddy over mommy; she will push daddy away gently whenever he give me a peck or put his hand on my shoulder.

But what happened last Saturday really makes us laugh…

While we were having dinner in the Delifrance cafe, Sarah happily picked up a small booklet from the book rack and flipping through it; the next thing, she kept shaking her head and repeating “Cannot like that, cannot like that”!

She was visibly annoyed and even sound upset in her voice. We were puzzled at first but later we knew the reason.

I guess now we can confirm that she doesn’t like to “share” her mommy with daddy .

A lot of hot air, no balloon

2010-04-04T09:15:00.000-07:00

Just like some of you, we went to Putrajaya for the well-published Hot Air Balloon show last month (on the last day of the event). It was our first time there and we’re looking forward to see the giant balloon flying in the sky, especially for Sarah, as she’d learned the word and see it from TV before.

We arrived at the location about an hour earlier before the show time; the sun was scorching hot but luckily we found a shady place near the lake. There are also other activities going on like Water Ball riding and Zord Ball; Sarah enjoyed watching these big balls where people kept rolling and rolling inside it.

Then here comes the disappointment part, just when it was about time for the balloon to launch, the sky turned cloudy; then as the crews started pumping the hot air, it rain cats and dogs! So people have to run for their cars (including us).

Basically the balloons never got the chance to lift up to the sky, but at least Sarah could have a glance of it from far. Nevertheless, I am still managed to take some photos, and hope we have a better luck next year.

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Facelift 2

2010-03-30T08:31:00.000-07:00

Sarah has grown up so much that the picture shown on our blog header is no longer “applicable”, so says my husband.

He then managed to take a photo of her, and make the effort to replace the “old” face with new one.

And now it’s done; we both agreed that Sarah looked sweet (or less-boyish) in her smile.

Previous Header

Manhattan Fish Market Restaurant

2010-03-25T08:33:00.000-07:00

After reading Dora’s blog about Manhattan Fish Market, we went there for the first time for hubby’s birthday dinner last week. At the entrance, Sarah was deeply amazed by the underwater slide show that projected on the floor.

Having browsing through the menu, we’ve finally settle for a Fishermen’s Giant Fried Platter; we waited anxiously for the food as we were all hungry.

When the food was served we were shocked! I mean…just look at the oversize portion of fried prawns, fish, calamari, mushroom and chips on a bed of garlic rice. The dish truly lives up to its name - giant!

Nevertheless, Sarah enjoyed eating the garlic rice; she just loves scooping out the rice from the metal bowl. Besides, she also likes to eat the batter of the fried food, it’s crunchy and no wonder Sarah kept asking for more.

But for me, the platter has nothing much to shout about actually (apart from the XXL portion); If happen we were to visit the restaurant again, for sure I will try out their other dishes instead.

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Yummylicious

2010-03-22T08:45:00.000-07:00

Crispy Tofu Cubes

Ingredients:
Box Tofu
Flour
Egg
Bread Crumb

Instructions:
1) Cut the tofu into cubes.
2) Dust the tofu with flour, followed by egg and later bread crumb.
3) Deep fried the tofu until it turned golden brown.

Tofu can be quite bland, but it taste superb in deep fried. It is crispy yet soft inside.

Sarah likes the recipe so much. She enjoyed dipping it with ketchup and this is how we trick her to eat tofu.

Steamed Fish with Dried Prawns and Preserved Vegetables (Dong Choy)

Compared to normal steam fish, I like this menu better as the sauce adds extra flavour to the dish. It tastes best when served with rice (according to hubby).

P/S: Do let me know if you need the English translation as the original recipe is written in Chinese.

The Sunshine Award

2010-03-19T10:55:00.001-07:00

Today must be a good day because I received a sunshine blog award from Cynthia, thank you!

To honor the spirit of the award, I will follow its guidelines which are as follows
1) Put the logo on your blog above or below your post.
2) Pass the award to 12 blogger.
3) Link the nominees within your post.
4) Let the nominees know they have received the award by commenting on their blogs.
5) Share the love and link to the person from whom you received this award.

So I started thinking about bloggers that brighten my day, and here they are:
1) Doreen
2) Merryn
3) Claire
4) Shirley
5) Kristie
6) BoeyJoey
7) Mommy Gwen
8) Nicole
9) Caroline
10) Li Teng

Stamp Art

2010-03-15T08:33:00.000-07:00

I have to thanks Doreen for letting me know about this Stamp Art set; now it became the latest item added to Sarah’s drawing kit.

Sarah was so excited about it and she just can’t wait to have some fun. The “masterpiece” below was her debut stamping.

I love to observe how she paints the foam stamp with colours and later affix it on the paper…she is so concentrate and do it with earnest. Good job Sarah.

Oh-My-God

2010-03-11T10:26:00.000-08:00

Well, there’s bound to be some “OMG moments” during the course of parenting, but I have no idea I was in for this kind of shock…

Yesterday morning, when Sarah told me she has the urge to “mmm mmm”, I just left her sat on the potty while I was busy in the kitchen. After a while when I came back to check on her, I saw she was digging her nose and her hand was full of brownish poo! Yike!

At that time, situation was so “critical” that I have to clean her up fast, and forgo the “opportunity” to take photo.

Luckily Sarah did not touch her mouth and the sofa; we suspect she was wondering how poo-poo actually “feel” like, and this time the curiosity finally got the better of her.

Monkey See, Monkey Do

2010-03-07T07:42:00.000-08:00

That’s how normally I described Sarah when she tries to imitate me; see this and you’ll get what I meant…

I know I looked ugly, but I need to get myself in most comfortable “attire” while I was cleaning the floor. Anyway, when I was putting on the shower cap, Sarah also wanted to wear the same thing on her head…

It was a funny moment in an ordinary day; and it’s already enough to put a smile on our face.

I know Colours… (Almost)

2010-03-03T10:41:00.001-08:00

It’s been six months since I bought Sarah the colour-flash card; at that time, she’s not interested but she knew “Yellow” the best. So I decided not to force her too much in learning colours and let her develop at her own pace.

Sometime last month, she surprised us by recognizing most of the colours while she was colouring. The funny thing is, now Sarah seems to mistaken Yellow as Red.

Anyway, it is still a very good effort from her and we are definitely proud of it.

“Gong Xi Fa Cai”

2010-02-20T07:32:00.000-08:00

The first time daddy teach Sarah about the CNY greeting “Gong Xi Fa Cai”, she was kind of confuse and even show refusal; she has no idea about the words.

To make her feel more comfortable and easier to remember, I explained about the “usefulness” of this greeting phrase to her.

I told her that whenever she greets people with “Gong Xi Fa Cai”, she will get an Ang Pao; and I also showed her what’s inside the Ang Pao. She’s aware that she could use the money to buy things she likes…

The tricks worked! Now, she fall in love with the phrase so much and she like to say it loud and clear!

Laughing Cow

2010-02-11T07:23:00.001-08:00

I always think kid’s taste preference changed constantly. Just like Sarah, she used to love cheese very much when she was 11 months old; she can finish the whole piece within minutes. But thing changed once she turned toddler…she totally dislikes dairy product until recently she met “The Laughing Cow”.

I have to thanks my neighbour, Jean, for introduced us the cheese. Sarah just adores it. I have a bite of it too and I think it’s not as cheesy as other brands (maybe that’s the reason why Sarah likes it), it tastes something like…margarine.

As long as Sarah likes it and she could obtain all the goodness for her growing body, we will be the “laughing parent”.

Gross Motor Development

2010-02-04T10:14:00.000-08:00

I can pedal
Finally Sarah knows how to pedal her tricycle.

For the past 11 months, her legs were not strong enough or coordinated well to actually pedal it; therefore, she only use her feet to scoot around.

But now, she could pedal the trike forward and backward and she has quite a skill in maneuver the steering. Way to go, Sarah!

I can hop
One of thing most kids like to do is “jumping”, Sarah enjoys doing it all the time. And recently she has learnt how to hop (one-leg hop).

CNY Gift

2010-01-31T08:05:00.001-08:00

Sarah and I got a surprise from my forum-cum-blogger friend, Yen Ping. I reckon it’s a Chinese New Year gift because Yen Ping has given me ang pao packets and the decoration item too; she’s definitely bringing some festive joy to me.

Besides, Yen Ping also attached a cute keychain; what a useful gift.

As for Sarah, she has received a Tom & Jerry Colouring book. She showed interest to the gift because she never seen the cartoon character before.

I sincerely feel warm and touched by Yen Ping’s thoughtful gestures. Thank you so much, dear friend.