If you are looking, look for 3.14

Have you read this book - "The Life of Pi"?

He has a way of writing such that the complacent eye connects to the brain, straight down to the heart.

Such that all your senses come alive to the meaning of it.

And all this in one sentence of two.

Have you read this book - "The Life of Pi"?

You may start seeing a zoo differently.
You could even see religion differently, if you haven't yet.
And you definitely will look at the sea in a 4 dimensional way!

Have you read this book - "The Life of Pi"?

If you haven't. Read it. It could change your habits forever.

How great, yet how little

Came across this song in InfanT's blog - Come to the Father.



I had to literally pop up another screen so that I did not see the video, only hear the song...

Yet I cried.....

***
Hillsong United - So You Would Come

Before the world began, you were on His mind
And every tear you cry is precious in His eyes
Because of His great love, He gave His only Son
Everything was done so you would come

Nothing you can do could make Him love you more
And nothing that you've done could make Him close the door
Because of His great love, He gave His only Son
Everything was done so you would come

Come to the Father
Though your gift is small
Broken hearts, broken lives
He will take them all
The power of the Word
The power of His blood
Everything was done
So you would come

***
He gave and asks for nothing in return.
Let me just live a life of glory to His name.

Batik Online

Did you know you can buy batik online? I think my international friends will be thrilled about this!

Something old, yet new

Something old?
A, B, Cs....etc.
Peter and Jane
Nurseries
Whole Word Approach
Phonetics
Flash cards
Learning Charts

Something new?

The whole thing about this learning process is that it takes so much effort. So much more for me becuase that little rascal of mine can never sit still for more than 2 minutes!

Christopher learns very quickly through action becuase action is what he likes to do.

He next easiest method of learning (and for me teaching) is through pictorial. They are bright and colourful and come with sounds emitting from mummy (if they are animals), touch and feel of a real thing (if they are food/objects and mummy can find them) or enthusiastic "mum-mum" sounds and taste (if they are fruit/food).

So, the 4-5 charts on our kitchen wall is Christopher and my favourite place where he will pull me down and ask me to "sit" (on the floor) where I will go "Where is the biscuit?" and he will show me, "Where is the giraffe?" and he will show me....all this while with a 'smart-ass' "THERE!!!". And if I am lucky, he will show me some numbers too!

But he hasn't really mastered or learnt the 'word'...or in fact his ABCs.

Upon realisation, I decided to make him some flashcards. Reading the Glenn Doman book, it was suggested that we start with words like Mummy and Daddy. Words that he can associate with the object.

So, I did. And that didn't fare too well becuase he literally REFUSES to say the word. Although if I ask him, where is the word Daddy, he can actually bring the card to me. Sigh.....

And all this while, I have also let him watch Starfall as and when I can. His attention span lasts maybe 2-3 alphabets before he starts wandering around. His current favourtie is the letter "T" especially when they start counting to ten.

I am glad he seems to quite like numbers.

So....why have I brought this all up?

Christopher is starting nursery (will blog more about this later) in June.
A ltitle early I know......but it is the start of a new semester and a new class in the nursery we found.
And there will not be anymore toddlers at the Baby Centre to keep him company. So, we decided better early than next year....

(He is going backwards now I feel....as in crawling and all that....you know the age of imitation....and who else to imitate but the many many babies he sees everyday there!)

And the principal has told me that the first thing they will need to learn is their ABC. Only once they know their ABC will they go on to reading.....
Of course they will also introduce phonetics from the start.
Sigh.....I can very well leave it to them to teach him.....but as a mum, I know I shouldn't waste one precious day of learning for Christopher.

Have created some colourful ABC charts and ABC flashcards (again).
Going to keep up with the Starfall every night for 15-20 minutes.
The principal also recommeded a book and CD - Ants on the Apple. RM29.90 from MPH. Bangsar Village just ordered some 43 books in April. THe other PJ MPHs are out of stock!

So, to all mommies out there who are still teaching their kids, keep it up! I know despite anything, I will also have to keep it up and walk around with Christopher teaching him whenever I can, however I can, in whatever form or way.

By the way, he loved the Ants on the Apple book and the catchy tune!

Sweet health takes two

These days boyboy requires a little sweetness in his weekly doses of barley.

Instead of letting him have rock sugar in his barley like the rest of us, I decided to put in honey instead. And when giving him honey, I thought might as well give him one with added benefits as well - Manuka Honey!

But the ones with the UMF factor is really really expensive. In the end, decided to get Manuka without the UMF instead.....

Came to realise that not all Manuka honey have the additional benefits of anti-bacterial that I had intended on....even though the label might have said so.

But anyway, sigh.....something in between first to see if boyboy can accept the taste of honey. If he can drink it every other weekend until this bottle finishes, I will consider getting him the UMF+ Manuka Honey.

Coz mummy will never drink honey - unless mixed with a heavy dose of ginger or lemon! Pure honey to me is medicine...since when I was young I couldn't for the life of me swallow tablets and my daddy had to cruch them and mix them with honey....ewwwwww....totally yucky!

Bitter health takes one

For lack of no nice green vegetables to buy in Tesco one day, I decided to get some bitter gourd. Was actually intending to cook bitter gourd chicken with black diced beans....but lack of vegetables....

So, I added wolfberries and egg and made in a semi vege dish! Surprise surprise, boyboy ate up ONE strip of bitter gourd. He puuuuhhhhed out the 2nd though.

Note :
I did do the 'salt' treatment but it was not entirely everything not bitter. Frankly I do like it a little bit bitter.

Also, becuase boyboy was naughty and took the bitter gourd himself with his hands, we told him he had to finish it which he did. I tried my luck passing him a second one which since he didn't take, he knew he need not 'really' finish!

HEART ATTACK !!!

I had a minor heart attack this morning !

I got stopped by the police!

And they didn't just do the routine torch light over and within my car and let me go. They actually STOPPED me and asked me to wind down!

And S*** my window doens't work you know!
So, I had to open my door. (so dangerous!)

THey looked at my road tax. Then they asked me if my driver's license was "still laku". I remember very clearly it was. But I was already a bit anxious.

I opened my wallet and S*** my renewed license wasn't there! Only the original one with my photo on it!!!

(For your info, the original license is the only one with photo. When we renew our license, we don't need to provide another photo. So, the new one will contain the latest updated dates. And we still have to keep the old one for the sake of the photo.)

I guessed I must have taken it out when I went to pick up boyboy that day. S*** where did I put it then?

By now, there were 2 cars behind me and the policemen requested I park at the side.

S***....why must this happen to me! I watched the other 2 cars move on without any problems.

S*** ! Why did I come out of the house so early.....S***

I practically threw everything out from my bag....hoping that perhaps I had just threw my license into the bag (and not put it back properly in my wallet)! S***....what to do? what to do?

Wanted to call hubby to come rescue me! It was 6.03 am!

I looked back at the policemen watching me.

"Sudah renew encik. Tapi says ambil keluar hari itu masa saya nak ambil anak. Lupa letak balik. Sudah renew encik...sampai tahum 2011."

He gave me a 'scan-over'. Thank God the baby car seat was in the car. Made my story more believable (even though it is true!).

He let me go....with a STERN warning!

S***...I was trembling so much I had to think which to do first....release the brake or put to gear! (Must so get an auto car!)

And the whole journey I was thinking and thinking where in the world could my license be? Don't remember it lying around anywhere in all the usual places in the house. S***, S***, S*** !!!

Hmm....maybe I put in boyboy's bag when I went to pick him up. Yes....must be there.

I reached office.

I took out my wallet again and pulled out the license with the photo!
S*** (in capital letters!), the end date was 2011 !!!

Oh yeah.....the last time someone snatched my wallet, I had to make a new license. And thus the new license with my photo was the only one I had.

So silly huh! All the cold sweat for nothing!

And then I also realised one thing. The police men that stopped me were dressed in dark blue!

Spoon-FULL-s

How many kind of spoons are there?

A Tablespoon is actually a large spoon used for serving. The tablespoon used as cutlery is supposedly slightly smaller.

A tablespoonful is approximately 3 teaspoonful. In US it is half a fl. oz. or 1 and 1 sixth of a cup. In Australia is it about 20 ml or two thirds of a fl.oz.

It is never really ever indicated if a spoonful should be a level or rounded. Because you know a rounded spoonful is about 2 times a level spoonful.

If the food is great, I guess a rounded spoonful is due for. And if it is sugar, the health would put in a level spoonful!

Then we have the teaspoon. This is a small spoon used to drink tea (whatelse you know!) and coffee. Coz heaven forbid a coffee spoon is just too small to spoon that heavenly beverage in your mouth when it is steaming hot!

The coffee spoon is really a smaller version of the teaspoon, no joke!

And one teaspoon is supposed (not supposedly) to be 5 ml! Quick mummies, check if you are using the right spoon with the right dosage when spooning medicine for your kids!

And did you know, in recipies, when they call for a teaspoon, they usually mean a level spoonful! And a dash is like a quarter of a teaspoon!

Now we know ya!

So, what about ice cream? Do you eat ice cream with a teaspoon or (truth be told) a tablespoon?

Heavens! No no no!

You either use an iced tea spoon (a tea spoon with a longer handle) or the glorious dessert spoon!

Did you know a dessert spoon is one utencil specifically designed to spoon that yummy goodness in our mouths? It is also used to spoon cereal....and that should be yummy too right?

And...a desert spoon is said to be 2 times a teaspoon or 10 ml.

And then there is the soup spoon.

There are actually TWO kinds of soup spoons. The Western soup spoon is somewhat like the dessert spoon. And then we also have the distinct Chinese ceramic soup spoon. And it seems logically designed considering the richness and the liquidity of these two soups!

Of course there are other spoons - the orange spoon (not becuase it is orange in colour), the bar spoon (5ml spoon for those alcoholic **ness), egg spoon, salt spoon, sugar spoon etc. and the most common of all plastic spoon! :)

So, do you recognise your spoons? Try naming these from left to right!

Answers found in the Comments section!

WEekeNd MaDneSs

Well...the minute of madness is gone. It was just a minute, never in my mind for long.

But there were some madness over the weekend (the weekend is also mad with an 19 mth old toddler)!

***

In a moment of extravagance, hubby and I decided to bring boyboy to 1U's Kids Sports Gym. Entrance fee of RM10 - RM 0.01 per kid.

If ever you want to go there, please note everyone needs to wear socks! And they have food sold there too....so can play a while, rest and then play again.

There were 3 sections - 2 for younger children and 1 for bigger monkeys! I confined boyboy to the 2 sections coz God knows, I will not be climbing up the bigger gym with him!!!!


Boyboy had fun. He played and ran around non stop for 1 and a half hours. It seemed like 2-3 hours to tired ol' me!

***

Saturday morning's experiment - French Toast - was a success.

• Made the sweet version - eggs and icing sugar - which both my sis and hubby proclaimed was the bestest of the 3 versions!
• The salty version had salt and pepper - I guess this tasted like omellete!!
• Christopher's version was egg with his Mamil milk! I made a few in the shape of a star and this was what got him happily munching!

Lesson learnt - For 3 eggs, I should have cut up 3 quarts of the loaf. I only prepared half a loaf with each new bread cut up first into the star. So the rest had pretty odd shapes! Because I had so much egg left, the last remaining few looked more like omellete than french toast!

Madness continuing - I think I want to get some cookie cutters now!

***

I had a few friends over on Saturday. They wanted to see my new place. So, as always when it comes to what-to-prepare for them, I turned to hubby!

This was his excellent suggestion!

Really nice cool, refreshing, healthy detox drink. Not much sugar required. In fact I didn't put in any. There were 8 adults and we finished the jug - with only 2 grimacing! hahaha.....
My Shimono Multi-Function Food Processor is pretty amazing in extracting the juice. See the last pic (bottom, right)! That was all that was left of the 5 cucumbers I started with!
I also cut up some fruits.
And one of them bought me this !
It has cake baking funtionality, which got me really excited! I am looking forward to trying it out! Yummy....

A minute of madness

Which nursery should I send boyboy to?
Have to go and visit the 2 near office.
Hmm....how is dearie going to manage?
How to send 2 to 2 different areas?
If we choose the nearer to office one, have to drop off the 2nd first.
Sigh....don't be so presumptious you will have 2nd.
So when drop off 2nd, boyboy stay in the car?
If I manage to get that aunty in Section 17, dearie will kill me I think.
Have to detour so much.
Can dearie handle dropping off 2?
If I don't go to work so early and help him....
Sigh...don't want to over use leniency.
Maybe I can send one.
But how to get a kid up by 6 am?
Can I wash them up in office?
Hai...maybe don't want #2 already lah!
Don't think, don't think....
God will take care of things when the time comes.
Go to sleep....
11.30 already. Tommorrow have to wake up early still.

Yummy! Char Siew and Siu Yoke

The results of my pork baking experiments:


The Char Siew was relatively easy. You just need enough strength to open the vacuumm tight LKK Char Siew sauce, a clean spoon to scoup out the heavy mass and enough patience to coat the entire block of meat with the sauce.


The piece of meat that I had was quite small, so I didn't bother to make any incisions etc etc.


Marinate for 2 hours and into my bread toaster for 20 minutes. Hubby finished it with a smack of the lips.....

***

And of course my next experiment was the Chinese Roasted Pork/"siu yoke".

The original recipie I got from Mummy Moon site. It is the usual 4D3N recipie. When I went to buy the ingredients, I saw there are 3 kinds of white rice vinegar - the synthetic kind, the kind mentioning the use of rice and the last one using glutinous rice. I bought the last kind since it was the one used in the recipie.



In my original entry, you would note that some comments mentioned it didn't work out as well as expected. Also others commented that she didn't use vinegar at all.



Curiousity got the better of me.

I found the reasons for some of the actions:
1) You put the meat in the fridge for so long partly to dry out the skin.
2) Vinegar normally 'cooks' the meat. And so I reckon putting the vinegar on the meat for 3 nights would actually mean the skin is partially 'cooked'. Thus you can imagine when it goes into the oven, the partially cooked skin would 'burn' faster which I guess is what we want.



I made some changes to Mummy Moon's recipie after reading Happy Homemaker 88 and Yienjee.



So, this was my block of 'not-so-nicely-arranged' pork. You see the skin didn't cover the entire block of meat so there were parts of the meat that would be exposed to the high heat in the final part. I decided to experiment and put the meat on a aluminium paper and use the aluminium paper to cover the exposed ends at the final part.....


HOWEVER, no part of the skin can touch the base becuase the base will have alot of liquid from the fat and the juice of the pork. So, if it is wet, it cannot crisp!


I started on Monday with salt and five-spice powder all over the meat.
Poured some vinegar in a bowl and used my hands to rub the vinegar into the skin.



Tuesday.....re-read the recipie....oppss....forgot to poke holds. Hai, the meat was too cold and quite hard to poke holds. I put the meat in the 'Chiller' section of the fridge since this was a closed area. Scared the meat smell filled up my fridge you see.


Put more vinegar on the skin.



Wednesday...took out the meat to let it thaw for a while. Took a knife and poked like mad on the skin. Poked and poked and poked....
Rubbed some vinegar again.
Also put salt on the skin, in clumps!!! Loads of it. And all the time thinking this can't be healthy!!! This was the derivation I made from the original.

I decided to roast it that evening - only 2 nights of vinegar rubbing.



Put it in the middle section of the bread toaster, set the setting to top and bottom roast roasted for 15 minutes.
Then put it on the top section of the toaster and set it to only top roast for another 15 minutes.



Result ?

The bubbly parts of the skin are the crispy parts. It was the salt that made the difference I reckon. And of course I brushed off the extra salt!!!

A nice plate of siu yoke. Not bad for my first time. Hubby declares now no need to buy siu yoke already!

Lessons to consider:
Lesson 1 - my salt was not really that fine, so to me the meat was not salty enough. And I think I put too much five spice in some areas of the meat. You see I poured the five spice from the packet onto my fingers on top of the meat....so some 'clumps' landed directly on the meat!
Lesson 2 - next time I will put a little bit of pepper on the meat as well.
Lesson 3 - buy a proper piece of meat! :)



And to end it all off, a picture of Christopher wanting to look at the pictures he saw me taking of the food!

Updates on some decisions

Updates on the car:


Hubby found a potential buyer for my car. According to him, buyers would usually offer a higher price than if I were to trade in. Hubby also found me an agent to take care of the Myvi purchase. Some perks and savings thrown in! Expected monthly repayment of RM500/month for 5 years @ 3.65%!

I feel broke already!


Updates on the sauces:

Bought the LKK char siew sauce. Bought some pork with some fat. Will most probably try making char siew this week. And will remember to take some pics of it IF it turns out well! :)

Also started on my "siu yoke" (roasted pork) yesterday! They never did mention how much 5 spice to use....so I am wondering if I did it right now. AND....sigh....the piece of pork my MIL bought for me was not as nice as expected (as in the skin and the meat were 'detached' in most places). So, it was VERY hard to get the vinegar on JUST the skin! Any tips for me? What if the meat gets the vinegar too?


Updates on some Saturday morning experiments:

1) Pancakes

• Some with mashed banana - boyboy loved!
• Some with mashed strawberries - not too nice! I think I put in too much strawberries and they were quite sour. Should have added some icing sugar.
• Some plain - nothing like these with maple syrup!
  

2) My steamed raisin cake - puuhhhed out by boyboy. Baked version no pic!

3) Fried spaghetti - this one boyboy loved! He loves salty food, he loves noodles!

This coming Sat?

4) French toast......IF I remember to get the bread! :)

Updates on Investment:

Did any of you invest in the new scheme by BNM? 5% for 3 years, min 1 K. If you haven't and want to, be quick! First come, first serve!

Some weekend outings

I love to cook.
But I also love my escape of eating out when the weekend comes!

Hubby and I are quite conscious when it comes to eating out. The $ that we pay must somewhat = the nutritional value = the full feeling = satisfaction level.

We have been to this place before. It is a place in Kota Damansara, nest to H&H, facing The Strand. If fact this place is one place that hubby and I will go to when we want a more wholesome meal!

Why?
Because they claim "Guarantee NO MSG" !
The more discerning in taste has to go and let me know if this statement is really true.

A meal like this set us back about RM32 but we were totally satisfied with the meal. Somewhat like a home cooked meal in simplicity and that full satisfying feeling.

We paid a similar amount one day when we went ate Western. But really, Western cooking in Malaysia amounts to ....standard tastes (BBQ or black pepper or mushroom), oozing oil (if fish and chips or chicken chop stands alone) and a feeling of fullness because of. Please I stand corrected if you have any place to recommend that is $ tolerable.

***
Kota Damansara also has Giant.

And recently, in a bout of wanting to use up all the energy boyboy was having from all the rice he ate at the previous establishment, I allowed him some playtime.

OK, truth be told, it was THAT empty and that was the only reason I allowed him in! I am always afraid the endless drool from his pork laden mouth will yield me a telling-off one day (as you can see, the majority of folks that visit this area!).
And I was surprised to know that the rides were all free! Sponsored by Giant so that dads can sit while mums shop?

So we indulged boyboy in a few. He was not too interested in the first ride...as you can see from the pic on the left top. Why?

He was more interested in the steering wheel in whatever creature it was on the left of him! Steering wheels = power = vrrooomm vrrooommm! More sound effect from daddy and mummy to accompany him!

And another thing for the weekend is I am now "Mama" and milkmilk is "nan nan". 2 words I was trying to avoid him using! But well....different words are better than no words at all!

Car falling apart

My 1997 Aeroback Wira is falling apart.

• 2 car locks have broken
  My auto-window no longer works
• My alarm is kaput (gone case!) and now
• My back window slips down at every bump I go through.
• All 4 car tyres (including my spare) require changing soon and
• My car is up for servicing soon.

Engine wise, gear wise, brake wise and all other important stuff though are in good condition.

I have been putting on hold my decision to buy a new car.

• Sentimental reasons (this car was given to me by daddy for graduation)
• Financial reasons (my job contract is due....)
• Fear (never driven a new car before)
• Stubborn (don't want to loose my ability to drive a manual)
• Administrative reasons (just renewed my road tax in Nov)
  

I have been told the last reason is a very silly reason not to change car! :)But anyway.....given the rain and the window issue, I have decided that action has to be taken sooner.

So.....this is the car and the colour I am intending to get. A car is a car is a car for me.....

Cooking with Sauces gone mad!

Since I moved in, I have rekindled my passion for cooking.

In fact rekindled would be a mild word to use!

I am dying to try new recipies (easy ones lah!)

and new sauces to spice up hubby's meals!

***

So, ransacked my inlaws sauce cabinet that day. They had :

1) Fish sauce (imported from Thailand)

2) Shaoxing wine

3) Black rice vinegar (of course!)

4) Dark and light soya sauce

5) LKK Hoisin sauce

6) Oyster sauce

We are talking sauces here, not other spices or any other preserved stuff...coz goodness, there are LOADS of jars and bottles in my inlaws kitchen!!

***

I only have dark and light soya sauce (a brand made and sold only in Ipoh), some 'tau cheong' (preserved bean paste also imported from Ipoh) and LKK black bean garlic sauce.

My dad has long banned us from buying/eating oyster sauce.

He is a chemist and has seen some poisoned 'se ham' (cockles)

used in the making of oyster sauce!

***

My 'nam yue' (red fermented beancurd) is all gone

and long since not replaced!

I love braised 'nam yue' pork and also 'nam yue' fried pork!

Have to get some and cook it again.

Though I am wondering if hubby will like it too,

considering its strong taste! :)

***

I am thinking now that I should have opened my inlaws fridge as well.

I reckon they should have 'fu yue' (fermented beancurd)

since I have eaten it before at their place.

***

For the curious, this 'nam yue' (left) and 'fu yue' (right) is also called pickeld tofu (by Wikipedia!).

To produce this delicacy, cubes of dried tofu are allowed to fully air-dry under hay and slowly ferment from aerial bacteria and fungal spores.
The dry fermented tofu is then soaked in brine, typically enhanced with Chinese rice wine, vinegar, chili peppers or sesame oil, or a paste made of rice and soybeans. In the case of red pickled tofu ("nam yue"), red yeast rice(cultivated with Monascus purpureus) is added for color.

So, now we know. Still want to eat ah? :)

Actually Chinese sauces are mainly preserved and fermented stuff!!!

***

So, in my quest for sauces,

I took a special trip to the best Coldstorage in town!

(Hai, Tesco tadah (no) stock to cuci mata (feast my eyes) !)

***

There were many brands but the array of LKK caught my attention.

Wah....salivating! But not cheap...

Each bottle depending costing a minimum of RM 6+.

Now I am thinking which to buy (first) and try.

Wanted to get the char siu sauce, since we all love our char siu.

But hai, try the siu yoke first lah!!!

Don't be too ambitious and burn the toaster!

Also, thinking I should get a sauce that is more versatile!

Then I saw the Spicy Bean sauce!

Wah....can cook my favourtie Mar Pou tofu!!!

Going crazy over sauces, crazy or not?

How many LKK sauces do you have? Or what brand of sauces do you use? What sauce do you use frequently?

Cooking Lessons 1

I baked a cake over the weekend - it was a steamed vanilla cake with loads of raisins! Verdict?

My sis was kind enough to say that is was yummy. I didn't put any other flavour because my primary eater was supposed to be an 18 mth old! For the adult portion, I put the steamed cake in the oven for a while to 'brown' the surface and get that baked taste!

When the little one woke up, I gave him some of the steamed version. He tasted it and one bite was more than enough. I tried to give him the baked version but he ppuuuuhhhh-ed it out.

He doesn't like cakes all that much actually, especially the plain kind like chiffon or butter cakes. But he did eat the blueberry yogurt cake that was nicely decorated and covered with cream (although we never gave him the cream)!

Sigh...so the rest of my plain raisin cake is now in a little tupperware in the fridge! I gave the rest away to my sister's friends!

I think I will wisely stick to my 'salty' baking next time.

Or bake biscuits, which at least I would love! I think my baked cakes are too usual for me to waste calories on!

So, what is my next experiment?

Who doesn't love "siu yoke" or roasted pork? But hubby will love me to bits if this experiment is successful, easy and done often!
I came upon the recipie that was easy peasy enough. But as usual my mind got the better of me and I started to get curious about this chinese wine...and also chinese vinegar.

Chinese wine is of course made from rice or millet. Also known as yellow wine or Shao Hsing/Shao Xing (given that since ancient times, the best and most famous rice wines have come from Shaoxing in the Zheijang province). It is made by a fermentation process involving yeast that transforms the sugars from glutinous rice into alcohol.

Rice vinegar on the other hand takes the fermentation process one step further, adding bacteria to turn the alcohol into an acid. There are 3 kinds of rice vinegar - black, red and white. And my interest in rice vinegar ends in that only the black is usually used in "chu keok cho" or black vinegar pig's trotter. I say my interest ends here becuase I do not intend to cook this dish as long as my inlaws are able to cook! :) I am that blessed!

But I will buy a bottle of white chinese vinegar and the best Chinese Rice Wine and start the experiment of roasted pork and then more.....Drunken Chicken etc.

YUMMY.....

Near and Fore Sights

If only I had a camera to capture the moments....but it is caught only in my mind and now into words!

Near Sight 1
We went to Chili's for dinner Saturday night. Something of an extravagance, but hubby was stressed out and nothing like good food to cheer the soul!
So, we ordered boyboy's free meal - decided to go for the chicken nuggets and fries...yes, I am guilty of letting my 18mth old eat fries.
The minute he saw me push the meal to him, he grabbed the basket with two hands, and 2 little fists grabbed at the fries.....
It was a long time since hubby and I had an uninterrupted meal without having to bother much about boyboy except to tell him to slow down and give him sips of water in between!
He ate it all up but a few more pieces of chicken that I had de-battered and cut up into bite-size pieces.
He can really really eat....and he wants more flavourful food now! Sigh...

Near Sight 2
Hubby had classes the weekend so I spent a good time with boyboy alone. I have the habit of counting everytime I go up and down the stairs with him now. Over the weekend, he counted with me - 2 times - but starting from six, seven, eight, nine and TEN!
The 10 little indian boys and tickling at 10 games sure came into handy!

Near Sight 3
On Sunday afternoon, after doing almost everything that needs to be done, including getting boyboy down and up with his afternoon nap, I started to feel a bit droopy eyed.
So, I told Christopher that mummy is very tired and would like to take a nap. He allowed me to take him upstairs again and allowed me to lie down.
I think I slept coz the next time I opened my eyes, I saw him quietly lying there AWAKE and playing with his teddie. The minute he saw my eyes open, he smiled at me. When I closed my eyes again, he looked at me and waited...coz when I opened my eyes next, he was looking intently at me.
This time he sat up straight away and took hold of my hand indicating he wants to go out. That's all the sleeping time I get!
When I went down, I realised I had slept a good 30 minutes! How considerate of him! :)

Foresight 1
At 1 U on Saturday, Chicco had set up a small playland. of course hubby wanted to let boyboy play and of course I wanted to move on. But of course boyboy steered in that direction and of course I wearing sandals and not rubbershoes had to go in with him. I saw first hand how boyboy would react when playing with other kids. He is not that aggresive. In fact he would watch how they play and attempt the same when they leave.

There was a semi circle playhouse which he thought cute coz kids could go in and sit down and look out the window. When the bigger kids left the abode, he attempted to open the door to go in. His cautious nature made him peer inside first deciding if he should go in. As he moved in, a bigger girl closed the door. At once, like a bolt of lightning, he looked at her and 'scolded' her for closing the door...quickly opening it to come out! He must have thought it scary being inside alone.

Another time, he was playing and a bigger girl knocked him down. He fell with a bump on his head. The older girl came over wanting to say sorry and sayang him back. But he was crying so I told the girl to continue playing, he is ok. But later she tried again to say sorry to him when he was alone.
Gosh....my son scolded her and tried to hit her! Talk about bearing grudges!

There were some funny, sweet, frowning moments....will this be how it is at nursery?

Near Sight requiring Foresight 1
Sometimes Christopher does silly anitcs and somtimes he babbles nonsensical sounds. Aunties and some uncles laugh at him sometimes. Sometimes I catch him laughing with them, especially with the antics. But when the laugh at his babbling, sometimes I catch him looking at them wodnering why they are laughing at what he is saying. Serious business you know, he appears to be proclaiming. My instincts started ringing warning signals. Now I am wondering if I should take it seriously....

Near Sight requiring Foresight 2
Christopher is talking ALOT lately...baby language, you know. Funnily he seems to be more exercising his tongue the way he moves it around and in and out when he babbles. Did your kids do that? I am thinking how do I move him on from baby language to proper words?