Anger management 101

In the gloomy days of the demanding journey called Parenting, I am sometimes despaired that I am never a good enough mom for my children. Try as hard as I like, sometimes temper still flares, sometimes I still instinctively (intuitively?) fall back to the old parenting methods I vow never to use with my own offspring. Regrets soon follow..

But I'm pleased to announce that today is not the day.

My almost-4-year-old son, Z, had a major meltdown today. It was sparked by a seemingly small incident. Our maid washed his bowl instead of refilling it due to a miscommunication. He was so angry that he screamed, wailed and wanted to "sell off Aunty", "cut her into pieces and flush her away", "punish her", "let her sit on a chair in a corner" (his play school practiced time out) @.@

I made a mistake of trying to cool him down and explaining on the maid's behalf even though I should have empathised with him. He wouldn't yield of course. The tantrum went on for 20 minutes until husband came home for lunch. He too tried to calm him down but Z was blinded by his rage. He was wronged! How could Aunty commit such atrocity!

Husband took him to a quiet corner (we call it The Manners Room), helped him to identify his emotion and release his anger.

Husband drew the angry face for him. Z was told that he could draw similar pictures when he is angry next time. They sat together for a while and then Z came to look for me.

"I am angry, Mama."

"You are angry." I echoed emphatically. I held him and sat him on my lap. Slowly, his sob subsided.

He showed the picture to the maid and they reconciled. Z was back to his normal self after that.

I'm proud that we handled it well despite some hiccups in the beginning. Instead of suppressing his emotions ("Don't cry. Stop it! There's nothing to cry about." or "Cry some more and I will throw you out!") like how we as children were often treated, we tried our best to accept his emotions. It is not easy as I still get impatient at times. Then, he is helped to identify the emotions and taught ways to handle the emotions. Hopefully, he'll turn out to have better EQ than me!

Cardboard oven

As much as I do not want to admit, it is difficult to live without a maid.

Our trusted and loyal maid completed her contract and went home. We were thus thrust into chaos. With two young children (where one is near constantly attached to the hip), I tried to keep up to the demands of a family life with two children under 4 years old. But alas, I fell sick soon, and infected the kids. We were sick for almost a week. My son, Z, had fever for about 5 days. We were worried as he was never this sick before.

But things are looking up again! We beat the sick bugs. The kids are singing, jumping, shouting and bullying each other again. Life is good.

We managed to do a simple craft a few days ago. Instead of buying one for hundreds of ringgit, this oven can be made with under 10 ringgit, in under 30 minutes. All I used was: cardboard, UHU glue, black paper, bottle and jar caps.

From another angle:

There are four burners and an oven beneath. The little chef can cook his favorite noodles while roasting chicken.

Mmm, let me adjust the fire. Let's not burn the noodles.

Seems like the chicken is ready too. Dinner's ready, everyone!

Z had a lot of fun playing with the cardboard oven and it didn't cost me a lot of money (a few cents maybe?). He is now requesting me to make him a refrigerator to store his food. Fridge coming soon!

Your hands in mine

Oh give me patience when wee hands
Tug at me with their small demands.
And give me gentle and smiling eyes.
Keep my lips from hasty replies.
And let not weariness, confusion, or noise
Obscure my vision of life's fleeting joys.
So when, in years to come
my house is still -
No bitter memories its room may fill.

~ Author unknown

Sun, sea and sand

My mother, sister and the two nephews flew here to spend a few days with us in conjunction with the little princess R's birthday. It was the first time for us to meet the youngest nephew, who is two months older than R. We were all looking forward to the visit.

On the other hand, I was quite anxious with THREE little boys in the house. I fear that the boys would bicker among themselves, worse still, I fear Z would cause them serious injury if either of them touched his toys! That, and also because my two nephews live in a place without natural beach, we planned a getaway at our local beach resort, to get away from the city and well, also the fighting over toys.


On a more serious note, I thought gifting an experience is even more valuable than a material gift, thus the beach came to my mind. I hope the trip was a good memory for the children.

The cousins had fun at the beach - digging holes and burying beach toys, not so much on building sand castle. We also blew bubbles and flew kite. I'm happy that Z, who loathed the sand in a previous visit, was not afraid to get his hands dirty this time.

R really got down and dirty.. in the playroom. She asked for "bear bear" repeatedly and went through almost all of the toys. The playroom was small but quite clean. We were the only ones there and the children were not afraid to claim their territory and make their presence known. Loud and clear.

Even the young-at-heart hubby had fun. Behold, the Spiderman!

We also played in the pool. All of us, except hubby, not able to swim, we foraged in the kids' pool. Despite fearful of water at first, Z and my oldest nephew took to it gradually and were ducks to water later.

We hope that the cousins will get to spend another vacation together soon. We already have it in mind to fly to the Lion City to visit them. This time, instead of going to the natural beach, let's go to man-made animal habitat - the zoo!

Flying a kite

I've never flown a kite before. There you have it.

I believe many city or suburban kids are like me. We are locked inside the house for fear of child kidnappers and many vice. To keep us occupied, our busy moms let the TV babysit us.

I watched way too much TV when I was a kid. It's funny that I hardly watch any TV now, considering it a complete waste of time. I also discourage my children from spending time before the idiot box. Instead, we make sure that they are surrounded by books, educational toys, art and craft materials, and many other healthy entertainment. Like kite.

I am adamant that my kids should learn to fly a kite. And play with sand. And blow bubbles. And learn swimming. Talking about projecting our childhood desires on our offspring. Sheesh.

So we bought a kite and flew it on a fine Sunday evening. I think I was more excited than anyone.

 After a few breathless dash around our housing estate, the kite was finally up.

I'm not sure if any of my children will remember this experience but I believe that they'll remember the feelings this experience created - fun, camaraderie, companionship. 

Toilet learning

Toilet training, toilet learning, potty training, potty learning.. and throw in elimination communication, we can safely say that children urination and defecation is a source of major stress for their parents. For the unmarried or children-less, I can understand your disgust for bird poo on your windscreen (especially the loose, diarrhea-y type), lizard poo on your dining table or dog poo in your back yard. I was just like you. I went to Niah Cave years ago and literally tiptoed the whole way because of layer upon layer upon layer of swiflet poos.

Now with two kids, let's just say that I walk sure-footed on bird poo (not dog poo yet though).

Ok, let the confession begins. My 3 years 8 months son is not yet fully toilet trained, or toilet learnt, if you like. He still wears diapers during bedtime. He just recently go without diapers in his afternoon naps but accidents still happen from time to time. And the most frustrating thing is, he only poops in diapers. He complies if we ask him to use the toilet for the big biz but "Cannot, nothing comes out", he cries.

I hardened my heart and refused to put diapers for him when he wanted to poo, hoping that the urge would make him defecate in the toilet. No luck,  he would just hold and be constipated until "explosion" (in diaper, at night, sigh) happened a few days later.

I'm at my wit's end. I don't know how other kids do it. Their parents must have some superpower or something. You guys are really awesome! Can you train my son?

(Photo credit: a fellow mom who has a fully-toilet-trained 2 year-old daughter. You rock!)

My feisty girl

I can hardly recall how Z was like when he was one year old. From the photos, at this age, he was walking, downing his favorite Ribena, smiling, shaking his derriere with music. I don't remember him being aggressive with other people. Or is it because it there was no other people around?

R at one is saying at least 10 single words. She responds by pointing to my questions, eg "Where is the owl?". She draws my attention to her objects of interest, "ball ball" (which includes ball and balloon), "bear bear", "dog" (while signing furiously lol).

Recently, she understands more of her brother's behaviour. When Z wants to share her book, she protests loudly, pulls the book away, pushes Z with her head and, to my horror, bites him! When big bro wants a hug from mommy, she will climb to my lap and pulls his hair while vocalising loudly. She will not stop until she reclaims what is hers.

I can imagine the sibling war that is fast approaching. And I totally tip my hat to my mom and other mothers of her generation who had four or more children back to back. I can understand your constant exhaustion and annoyance now.

Sun catcher

Butterflies frolicking in my garden on a fine, sunny afternoon.

(Art project by Z and Z's Mommy. Please click here for more inspiration.)

Baby R - 1 year update

My baby girl will be 1 soon! It's simply unbelievable that she was a wiggly and chubby ball of cuteness mere months ago! Even though she is till the epitome of everything nice, she has grown so much. Sigh, my girl is so big now.

The most prominent feature of baby R must be her desire to communicate with the world around her. I still remember she vocalized and cooed to my (very impressed) mum at 5 weeks old. She would smile and coo to anybody who talked to her then. She started to babble "mum mum" when she turned 6 months old and actually meaning it when she was around 9 months old. It was "mum mum" whenever she saw we eating or drinking. And she really EATS!

I am much much more relaxed with the second baby. So, contrary to the big brother who first tasted adult food with all its yummy seasonings at 1 year old, she started eating rice and our table food at around 10 months old. She would happily sit on her high chair with pieces of vegetables, fruits, meat and bread, and indulge in messy fun.

I also am less prone to guide and teach her everything. Instead, she is encouraged to explore. She could climb three flights of stair at our home not long after she could cross crawl (around 9 months?). She cruises and stands with support now. I believe she will walk very soon.

Comparing with her brother, I seldom sit down and read through books after books, and sing songs after songs with her. We still read and sing, but it's very relaxed and less structured. With Z, I took my role as his first teacher very seriously!

It's a surprise that she still meets her milestones with so much more relaxed parenting on my side. She is able to speak 7 single words now (11 months 3 weeks old) - mama, papa, bao bao (carry), ball ball (ball), diao (fall down), deng (lamp), bear bear (teddy bear). Similar with Z, I also teach her sign language. So she is able to sign telephone, music, dog, lamp, teddy bear and fan.

She likes butterflies a lot. She would specifically look for butterflies in books and excitedly draw my attention to them. She would also ask me to flip the book to find "dog" through signing.

She may not be very verbal yet but she definitely understands more than she can express. She will understand instructions like "Come here", "Go ahead and play" (as she looks at me for permission before playing with her brother's toys lol!), "Mama carry you", "Let's go downstairs", "Papa is home" (she will turn to the door).

R is a sociable baby. She takes to new environment and new faces relatively easily. She still sleeps with me, breastfeeding a few times through the night. During the day, she grazes throughout her waking hours and breastfeeds at least 4 times.

Like any siblings, Z and R fight over toys a lot, sigh. There are also a lot of pushing and shoving, not only from the big brother but the little sister also stands up for herself a lot by pulling Z's hair and headbutting him. Tired from refereeing aside, I can imagine her growing up to be a strong and independent woman. Double cheers from the mom!

My darling R, my answered prayer, may God bless you in your coming years. May you continue to be healthy and lovable. May you grow up to be a blessing to the world. Mommy love you lots!

Update on Z's play school

Children are more resilient than we thought.

I started to leave my son at school alone last week. Starting from slightly less than an hour to 1.5 hours, he has surpassed my expectation.

We talked about him playing at school alone over a few days then when the day finally came, he panicked. I spent about an hour with him and said goodbye, promising to buy his favourite food. I closed the school gate hurriedly, fearing that he would see my tears. He struggled in the teacher's arms and screamed, "Open the gate! Open the gate! Faster!!" I was heartbroken. I doubted if I did the right thing. I couldn't stop my tears when I walked to my car. That was the longest one hour in my life.

When I returned, he was playing puzzles with a teacher. Even though he was quiet, he was not distraught. In fact, he was so proud that he stayed at school alone (though only for a little under 1 hour), he talked about his 'bravery' again and again :P

Separation on the following day was still difficult but again, he looked calm and happy when I returned. Teachers commented that he followed instructions really well and was very cooperative.

On the third session, he followed the teacher willingly and waved goodbye to me after we hugged. No drama and no tears. I was so proud of him!

We are pleasantly surprised to say the least! Z has been very clingy since young. Even until now, he insists on staying in a same room with me ALL THE TIME. We didn't expect him to make this giant leap so soon.

After transitioning Z to school, it's R's turn soon. We plan to send R to half day play school when she turns two as she seems more independent. Then, I shall continue the second leg of my working life. Eek, it's so novel and exciting, I can hardly wait!

Car track painting

Like any male Homo Sapiens, my son is crazy about wheeled vehicles. Car. Fire engine. Bus. Digger. Bulldozer. You name it. So he was delighted when I introduced car track painting to him!

Prepare some paint and toy cars. Dip the wheels in the paint and you are good to go.

Here comes garbage truck and its colourful wheels.

16-wheel trailer coming through!

Fire engine to the rescue.

 

It is amazing to see him immerse in his world of art and wheels. He spent a long time creating his work, asking for paper again and again. This mommy is glad that he had a vrooming good time!

First time to school

3.5 year-old Z finally went to school a month ago.

As he stayed at home with me for the past 3+ years, we thought that it would be good to acclimatize him to a school gradually. Hopefully, he will be ready for kindergarten next year.

So, he has been going to a play school half day, 3 times a week for the past one month. The faithful mom, our maid and the baby sister kept him company.

Why the crowd, you might ask. Because we don't have any family members around to accompany him and he simply rejects going to school with the maid. I only want Mommy, says the little boss. Since the baby sister and the Mommy are in a symbiotic (read: breastfeeding) relationship, she has to come too. The maid? She carries the baby when Mommy is busy and soothes the wailing baby in her car seat.

The play school is very fun! It is play based which is something I want, with tonnes of toys scattered around its perimeter, a sandpit, pool, playground equipment, various art and craft resources. Aside from circle time, bible story and pre-reading classes, the children just play, play and play!

So far, Z loves the school. He especially loves the teacher "with yellow hair" (the supervisor has blond hair). He has also made progress in the last few weeks at school from showing a poker face and ignoring everyone else to playing with the children there (for 10 minutes ha!) and waving bye bye to the teachers without prompting. Nothing much to brag about maybe but a big deal for Z if you know him.

Zhe has been a very clingy and cautious child since babyhood. He takes to new things and new people veeery slowly. Routines are important to him. To give you an example, he HAS to go to ToysRus after church and have lunch in a particular shopping mall EVERY Sunday. To disrupt his routine would result in protests and long negotiation.

After spending a month at the play school, this mommy is fatigued with all the cheery songs, baby wailing (my own, due to no nap in the morning), 'unproductiveness' and a subtle sense of overstaying my welcome. Friends and teachers have been urging me to start leaving Z at school slowly, starting with an hour. Ooh, to think about the glorious mornings at home with only one child - no fighting for toys, no pushing and shoving - I am tempted. And of course, our goal is to leaving him at school for formal education ultimately. So we should probably start from somewhere.

I talked to Z many times about playing at school alone and he gave me mixed responses. Normally, he would cheerfully agree then quickly change his mind on the way to school.

No matter, I will try again tomorrow. I foresee tears and a long argument after. Bumpy road ahead, hold on tight!

Coffee scented play dough

Yum?

This is not a muffin. 

This is coffee scented play dough and it is super easy to make. I followed the instructions here. Compared to the play dough I made last time, this one turned out better. The difference this time is, I added a spoonful of coffee powder into the dough. The end product was so fragrant!

Next time, I plan to add in cinnamon, vanilla and glitter to make it much more fun!

Treasure basket - musical instruments

Just like any parents, we sometimes over indulge our kids with toys. Even then, there are some principles that I hold fast when buying toys. Firstly, toy guns/weapons and toys which promote violence will never enter my home. Secondly, the toys should preferably do as little as possible. Let me give you an example, toy trains that blink and woot and move on its track is not a good toy for me (but we have at least 5 train sets at home. Talking about ideals vs reality). The toys that I would happily dig deep into my pocket are those simple toys that promote creativity and imagination like building blocks, play dough, paint etc. If the toy is gender neutral, so much the better!

So the picture above is one of my "Mommy-approved" toys. Musical instruments.

The vibrant colours make me so happy! My baby took them out one by one, shook them, banged them on the floor, tasted them and listened to the different sounds they made. We sang songs accompanied with different instruments and had a great time!

I always love music. And I thank my parents for sending me to piano classes. Even though I'm not a musician (faaaaaaar from it), I learn to express myself through this creative means. Likewise for my children, I hope that surrounding them with music and making musical instruments available will encourage them to appreciate this art form.

Busy bags

Busy bags are simply children friendly activities fitted in a ziploc bag. As its name denotes, these activities are used to keep a child busy, while you gobble up the lukewarm meal. There are so many busy bags ideas online and I have so little time! How I wish that there are mothers who will swap busy bags with me.

I spent some time browsing through the internet for ideas, and below is a few that I tried or am planning to do:

a) I Spy

This game will keep a child busy for a long time. For my son, he keeps going back to the train on the upper right corner. Did I mention how chugger crazy he is?

You may download the I Spy game here, its original website. The author has also uploaded numerous other ideas and projects to be used with children. The best thing is, they are FREE. Check it out now - JustSomethingIMade.com.

b) Cupcake busy bag

(Photo from http://moneysavingmom.com)

My boy is very interested in baking. This activity requires him to create cupcakes from the liners, frostings and toppings I will cut out from colour papers. It is perfect for him. You can read about the how-to and download free cupcake busy bag template here. 

c) Flashcards

(Picture from the internet)

There are many free downloadable flashcards online. Here is one that I especially like. A friend (Hi, Roland!) also recommended a professional print shop to print these flash cards.Oh, I'm so excited and will definitely visit the store soon!

If you are interested to have more busy bag ideas, Tried & true is a good site to visit. It links you to many other sites that offer SO many beautiful crafts and ideas!

Just go to sleep!

A mom is the happiest when her children are asleep. Do I hear any "Amen"?

At my home, sleep is a constant battle. After feeding, changing, playing, singing, reading, bargaining, negotiating the umpteenth time with them, finally nap/bed time arrives. Ahh, just thinking about what I can accomplish in that short time gives me an adrenalin high.

Read some books. Complete my church assignment. Blogging. Re-arranging the play room. Organizing the toys. Tidying the kitchen cabinet.

Oh, the wonderful possibilities. I'm giddy with excitement.

Nap time came. Baby milk drunk and asleep. One down, another one to go. Boy still up playing with his tablet. Boy said he wanted to poo. Ok, no problem. Mommy will wait for you. He made a week's worth of poo (that explained the time he took). I cleaned him up and shooed him to bed. He tossed and turned, said he was hungry. Gave a piece of biscuit and ordered him to sleep. Mommy started to get resentful. Go to sleep! I watched the clock ticking. There goes my precious personal time. The boy sang and kicked and sucked his toes. I constantly shushed him fearing he would wake up the baby. Murphy's Law is true. Baby woke up. Played with both kids until baby decided to take another short nap. Boy didn't nap at all. Boy cranky. Mommy snappy (and guilty for being a bad mom). Daddy came home to a house full of lunatics. Daddy got stressed up. Nobody's happy.


How often does it happen to you?

Please, kids, do your poor mom a favour and go to sleep!

(Source: Picture from the internet)

The little photographer

My son is learning the joy of photo taking lately. He would point his camera phone (my old phone, he claimed it's his after I have a new one) at anything of interest to him and look through the photos later of the day.

In this photo he is snapping a photo of soil. He said the fresh soil was "beautiful". Yes, it is, my son.

I like him to be free to explore and create since young. I want to encourage him to discover and think about the beauty in things around us. But most of all, I wish him to fill his mind with things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely and admirable.

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." (Philippians 4:8)

Mirror play

Children simply love mirrors.

Baby wakes up when you are doing craft with the big brother? No problem, mirror will save the day.

Cultivating the love of reading

I constantly strive to encourage my children to read. As a child, I always enjoyed reading. I still remember the sweet hours I spent immersing in books my mother lovingly prepared. During holidays, I would forgo meals, lay in my bed and read the days away. I want my children to discover the joy of reading too.

A few days ago, I received an email informing me of a used books fair. The used books sold at a fraction of what they would cost at retail shops. Having no library in the place we live, cheap used books are the next best thing. I packed my two kids in the car and rode there the next day. Carrying R in my trusty Ergo and holding my son's hand, we browsed through many different titles.

And here are the books we bought. 7 books for only about RM50!

Z read his books from cover to cover many times. He insisted to sleep with Thomas the Tank Engine that night. (Did I mention that he's crazy about trains now?)

This is what they did today morning. Now, isn't that a beautiful sight?

Treasure basket

When I went kindergarten shopping for my son, I was attracted by a Montessori school. It was beautiful and calm. The students took turn studying and working on a mat, each having undivided, individual attention of the class teacher. It was very different from the kindergarten I attended. My kindergarten was just like my primary and secondary schools - 30-40 students in a class, sitting obediently at the desks, facing the blackboard. 

I got very interested about Montessori and visited two more schools. I also looked up and read more about it. In the process, I came across some fervent Montessorians who implement this philosophy at their homes. This activity is inspired by one of such parents. You can read about the activity here.

I prepared a discovery basket from the kitchen for my girl. These things are laying around the house and I'm so glad that they could serve a different purpose. In the basket, there were measuring cup, measuring spoons, whisk, spatula, lid, sieve, brush and more.

 

True to what the parent said, the basket occupied my girl for a long long time, almost an hour. Light years for babies. 

 

She spent a lot of time looking, touching and exploring the objects in her mouth. Sometimes, banging the objects to listen to the different sounds they made. 

 

Big brother also joined in the fun. He was serving a bowl of soup to his teddy in this photo. All in all, a good fun to keep both kids busy. Busy kids = more free time for Mama = happy Mama!

 

Spot the odd one

I was clearing the unsightly pile of waste paper in my house one day and came across some really nice catalogs, brochures and pamphlets. Such a waste to throw all these into the rubbish bin! Why not give them another life?

 

I cut some pictures from the catalogs/brochures/pamphlets and introduced them to Z. We categorised the pictures eg food, kitchen equipment, presents etc. Then I randomly put some pictures and asked him to spot the odd one out. Above, he pointed to the middle picture as the answer (from left to right - pancake, hamper, chocolate cake). What say you?

 

The activity was way below his skill level it seemed. He answered correctly for all of them and quickly got bored. So, he turned all those pictures into parking coupons! In the above picture, he was scanning the parking coupon after receiving payment from his customer. Still, a good use on all the material!

Robot

Z and I normally spend some one-on-one time during the baby's morning nap (~30 minutes). The activity depends what I have prepared or what Z likes to do. Sometimes it can be as simple as colouring, completing mazes or revising his Sunday School work sheets (at his request!). On that day, we made a robot.

Once again, we used all recycled materials like tissue box, toilet roll, paper cups, red packet (ang pow) etc. I prepared some materials a day before. We cut and assembled the robot the next day, during R's nap time.

I was very excited of the project because Z never had a robot before. Besides that, it offered a chance for him to revise different shapes - triangular nose, semicircular ears, heart-shaped heart, rectangular body etc.

Well, he was quite pleased with the robot. He sang song and roughhoused with it over the next few days.

Even the baby sister enjoyed it!

Furnishing the playroom

Grooming Teddy at the playroom

Z and R like to spend their mornings in the playroom. With glass louvers facing the garden and glass doors at the other two ends, it is breezy and the view is beautiful.

Lately, I've been thinking to improve the room further. There is no cupboard or shelf there. You can see the toys laying on the floor in the photo above. The walls are also quite bare.

I'm planning to buy a low, open cabinet for my children. It has to be sturdy for obvious reasons. It also has to be low enough for Z and R. I like them to access the books and toys freely, and learn to put them back after use. It fosters independence and sense of responsibility. Besides that, I also like to search for suitable pictures and hang them low enough for the kids to enjoy.

I would prefer the furniture to be able to blend into our current ones after the kids outgrow them. In other words, it should preferably be less 'cheerful'. Do you know of any retailers who sell child-friendly furniture and pictures? Or do you have any other ideas? I'd like to hear from you. Feel free to text or whatsapp me, thank you very much!

Latest updates

People asked me where do I find time to blog. Being the primary carer of a 3 year old and a 9-month-old, I rarely have personal time. I blog at night after my children are asleep. My girl is a light sleeper and is often awaken by the slightest noise. My boy, many a times, sleeps after both my husband and I succumbed to the sleep bug. So I don't blog often.

I normally prepare a few posts (that can last for 2 weeks at least) and schedule them to be uploaded later. Wednesdays and Saturdays work for me right now. So the activities that you see here are not the latest ones. They most probably happened a week or two ago.

The latest happenings (as in NOW) in our life are:

• My girl just mastered her pincer grasp
• Baby R is taking finger food and much prefers feeding herself than me feeding her
• She is babbling "baba", "mama", "mum mum", "wa wa"
• We have decided which school to send my son to after much kindergarten shopping
• My son is crazy/obsessed/madly in love with trains now. Lightning McQueen? Out. Chuggington is his favourite show!
• I am still breastfeeding R. I intend to breastfeed her until she's 1 year old, ideally, until she self weans. I struggled for the first 6 months of the bf journey - pain, thrush, very frequent clogs (read: once every other day) - and survived. For me, it will be such a waste to stop at 1 year old.

I will most probably share more about them here in a few weeks. In the mean time, take care and have a good week!

Oatmeal muffin

Is it a surprise that I love muffins? They are not as fattening as cupcakes and very easy to make. Besides that, I'm still breastfeeding and have extra quota to splurge, yippee!

I found this recipe one day and decided to give it a try. Oatmeal and only 1/4 cup of brown sugar, not bad at all! This muffin is not very sweet even with 3/4 cup of raisins. I'll try adding 1 cup of raisins instead in the next try. That, and also some cocoa powder and stars to decorate the muffins to make them more attractive for my son.

My son refused to taste the muffin, I personally love the end product. They are delish! I prefer to have them warm (by nuking them for 15 seconds on medium high) and feel the melted chocolate oozing into my mouth. Go make yours today!


Ingredients:
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup oat (not quick cook oat)
1 large egg, room temperature
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 cup + 2 tablespoons of flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup raisins (will use 1 cup next time)
1/2 cup dark chocolate chunks/chips (I used dark eating chocolate and cut them up in chunks)

Steps:
1. Soak oat in buttermilk for at least an hour.

2. Preheat oven to 175C. Grease or line muffin pans.

3. Crack one egg into the oat + buttermilk mixture. Stir in brown sugar, then butter.

4. Sift remaining ingredients into the bowl. Do not overmix.

5. Add in raisins and chocolate chunks and combine gently.

6. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Enjoy your fruit of labour!

Cutting & pasting activity

Z has been very interested with scissors lately. Following his lead, we did a simple cutting exercise today.

 

Here he is, cutting a used envelope which is in lovely red. The idea of the activity was to cut the envelope and paste them on the paper, preferably inside the circle. As he was still learning this new skill, there was a lot of two-hand cutting. He also didn't know how to cut the whole way through. After cutting, he tore along the line.

It was his first attempt at pasting. He wasn't sure how to use a glue and was slightly hesitant to touch it at first.

Apply glue, checked.

Paste it on paper, checked.

We also cut up some other used envelopes. Z pasted them all. He was very happy with the result and I'm glad that he learnt something new.

Learning and bonding need not be an expensive and elaborated thing. This project cost nothing at all. Just some time and patience :)

(For those who are worried that he might hurt himself, I was watching him like a hawk the whole time. It is good that he learns to use real tools since young.)

The alphabets hunt

My husband played this game with Z a while back. I think it is a very fun and educational activity. Z gets to revise his alphabets while searches for the hidden alphabets on his tricycle. A perfect game for my tricycle-crazy boy!

 

Hide the alphabets away and ask your preschooler to count from 1 to 10. A good game to practice both his alphabets and numbers!

Let the search begin! Here is Z with the alphabets he found. He put them on his tricycle and carry them to the play room.

He put the alphabets to the correct slots, and gave the alphabets a hearty stomp while naming them. A good use of the big muscles while he exercised those brain cells :)

 

Yay, mission accomplished!