October 2011 – HEALTH FREAK MOMMY

Happy Halloween Peeps!

Halloween is celebrated on a low scale in our country. But I think we are slowly catching up. We don’t celebrate Halloween and my kids have never attended any Halloween party. Today we spent our evening at Bangsar Village to feel the air of Halloween. Bangsar Village being one of the in places for expats was abuzz with Halloween in the air, with many shoppers all dressed up to the nines in their costumes, and kids holding on to their bright orange smiley pumpkin containers.

This stall outside the supermarket sells an assortment of Halloween costumes and decor… the hubs was so tempted to get some Halloween paraphernalia for the girls but I stopped him, knowing that after today, those expensive props and costumes will be hidden somewhere inside one of the closets and I would have most likely forgotten about them in a year’s time.

The highlight of this year’s Halloween happened just a moment ago. At about 9:45pm, we heard ding dong on the door bell. Thinking that it was daddy, Sherilyn wanted to open the door but I told her to ask who it was first. When we heard a group of voices outside the door, I quickly took a peep at the door hole and lo and behold, we saw a group of kids and adults in Halloween costume, shouting “trick or treat?“!! It was a group of kids and their parents from the next block.

My social butterfly (who was in her jammies) was very excited and quickly fished out some junk food from the fridge and put it into the smiley orange pumpkin container of her friend and flashed a sweet smile for the camera… while Alycia, my camera-shy-low-profile girl preferred to be out of the picture.
What a shame Baby could not join in the excitement and fun as she had konked out, a result of skipping her afternoon nap. I am very sure she would have been very happy to see her friends in Halloween costumes.

How did you spend your Halloween?

No. of times viewed = 231

Baby and Alycia

They must have been twins or lovers in their previous lives, if there is really such a thing as previous life. She misses her baby sister very much every day when she’s away in school. Each morning before she leaves the house, she will give her baby sister a hug and pinch her cheeks. I did not know about this until she told me recently. A few mornings ago, my mum who was with us was peeping at what Alycia was doing over the bedroom door that was left ajar a little. My mum saw her putting a blanket over her baby sister’s body. Then she touched her baby sister’s forehead and neck, to check if she’s hot. Sensing that she’s hot, she then removed the blanket and turned on the ceiling fan. Then she pinched her baby’s sister cheeks before leaving the bedroom. Last night, she told me that after she had pinched her baby sister’s cheeks in the morning, Baby woke up and said “bye bye che che” and went back to sleep. Thank God for these 2 precious angels. Thank God for rascal #2 too, though she makes my blood boil all the time. My 3 rascals are my everything.

No. of times viewed = 242

Behind The Pretty Face….

She may look girlish, is soft-spoken, speaks politely to her teachers and to the elders, demure and very pretty but this girl likes nothing girlish – no Hello Kitty or Princess, no pink, no frills, no sexy frocks, no pretty sandals, NO! She is the exact opposite of Sherilyn. What she likes are toys for boys, sigh! Her latest craze, besides Bey Blade is Animal Kaiser cards, where each card has a picture of an ugly creature or animal. And each creature is given a rating. The higher the rating, the more powerful the creature / card is. And she is besotted with these cards, which she can buy from those small kiosks at shopping malls and from indoor theme parks. Daddy the ever yes-man and indulgent daddy bought them for her. She also likes playing the game ‘Plants vs. Zombies’ on the laptop *double sigh*!! My blogger friend recently told me that her 8yo boy likes girl’s stuff and asked for pink tees and a Barbie birthday cake! Is this normal for kids of this age to be ‘neither here nor there’?? I hope she will get over this tomboy phase soon!

No. of times viewed = 211

iZest For Better Posture

Did you ever notice that people who have perfect posture not only look confident but also have a nice physique without a flab on the front? I have been observing and noticing this lately. I have several friends who are not slim, yet they do not have a jelly belly. That’s because they have very good posture. They never slouch but carry themselves with great aura when they walk – back straight, shoulders back and tummy in, just like a model would. On the other hand, I have skinny friends who slouch and coincidentally they have a protruding ‘pouch’ in front. So I can only deduce that if you have good posture and tuck your tummy in all the time, naturally you will have a flat tummy even if you are not exactly slim.

One of my daughters has a slight slouch and I have been correcting her posture whenever she slouches unknowingly. I am even thinking of getting her an iZest Posture Vest to correct her posture after reading an advertisement on iZest Posture Vest in The Star’s Fit4Life – HEALTH AT LARGE (Sunday 23 October 2011). The cost for the iZest Posture Vest ain’t very costly. There are vests for kids as well as adults. The video on iZest Posture Vest on You Tube is pretty convincing too. You can have a watch too if you are contemplating getting one for yourself or for your child.

You Tube link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRiYwQfU9GA

FOR COMPLETE OUTLET LIST AND INFO ON IZEST, PLEASE VISIT WWW.ALLIANCEMEDIC.COM.MY – CLICK ON IZEST ICON

Ad in The Star’s Fit4Life, Health At Large, Sunday, 23 Oct 2011

No. of times viewed = 803

Tom, Dick & Harry @ The Scott Garden, KL

Tom, Dick & Harry has finally found its way to Old Klang Road as they had recently opened a branch at The Scott Garden, KL, where TESCO is housed. The main Tom, Dick & Harry is located at Jalan Tun Dr Ismail, KL. Like the moniker suggests, this pub-style like eatery is the place for any Tom, Dick and Harry! From the facade, one would think that this is only a pub but the food they serve is darn good!

This salad with grilled chicken and bacon is very filling. If you order this alone, it is alone to fill you up sufficiently. The grilled chicken strips are darn good!

Beef pie…

Chicken chop, which is also very delish.

This ultra crispy and crackling pork knuckle dish is by far the best I have ever tasted! The skin is mega crispy and tasty and not overly salty. I could have easily chomped down half of this darn delish porky if I did not bother about my waist line and arteries tee hee hee…

Notice how long the porky bone is? This porky dish is simply bone licking good!

Address
Unit S-G-03A The Scott Garden Kompleks Rimbun Scott 289, Jalan Kelang Lama, Old Klang Road , 58100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel : 03 7710 2122
Tel (Mobile) : 012 299 7598

No. of times viewed = 390

Video Skyping With Granny

My parents spoil the girls rotten. My girls know it and they take advantage of goong goong and granny’s indulgence by badgering them for things all the time. Now, they do it through Skype video call! Their latest craze is Smurfs and the ever indulgent granny bought the girls each a very cute Smurfs t-shirt.

Granny showing the girls the Smurfs tees that she had bought for them…

Goong goong bought Alycia, my mechanical pencil craze girl one whole box of mechanical pencils. My jaw dropped when I saw the box of mechanical pencils! I had to keep those pencils under lock and key, lest this girl distributes them to her friends like an early Santarina. She has a tendency to give away things to her friends without my permission.

And my mum tempting me with the bottles of pandan kaya that she had made for us.

My parents have been here with us for a week now and very soon we have to say good-bye to them as they will be returning to Ipoh 🙁

Happy Sunday everyone peeps! It’s going to be long day for us as we will all be attending Sherilyn’s pre school concert and graduation today.

No. of times viewed = 346

You Look Like An Owl Che Che!

Alycia has been bugging me to trim her hair but busy mummy kept forgetting. Chinese schools are pretty strict with discipline and physical tidiness. If you want long hair – bun it up neatly. If not, make sure the back of your hair does not touch the collar. Duh, what a rule! Anyway, thank God my mum is here, what a great help she and my dad have been to me as I have been really busy with my online store and this whole week is Alycia’s final exam. So yesterday, my mum trimmed Alycia’s hair. After the trimming, Baby commented that her che che looks like an OWL! LOL! My mum and I burst out in a loud guffaw upon hearing the hilarious comment from this very expressive 3.5YO toddler.

Any resemblance in Alycia’s hair and that of an owl??? Muahahahahahaha!!!

No. of times viewed = 248

Sherilyn And Her Math

So much for all the hair-pulling, stroke-inducing Math drilling sessions with Sherilyn, she came home from pre-school last week and happily told me that her Math teacher praised her for getting all correct for the Math sums. She proudly told me that her teacher informed the principal that she was the fastest in class to complete these Math sums with a 10/10 and said that Sherilyn is ‘very geng’! LOL!

I think anyone can be good in Math IF she/he keeps doing them. Math is all about practice. The more you do, the better you get.

Sherilyn at 6years 8 months

No. of times viewed = 247

Why Mummy?

Yesterday, Baby asked me a question which stumped me and had me lost for an answer.

Baby – mummy, which is it when people do boxing, they put something white white like bread in the mouth?

For a moment, my brain could not process what my 3.5yo toddler was trying to ask me but after another round of rephrasing her question, aha, I finally got what she meant!

Me – oh!! The white white thing is not bread. It’s something like a sponge to protect the boxer’s mouth, so that when he is boxed, he will not bite his own lips and tongue.

Baby – why mummy, why must put the white white thing in the mouth? If he swallows it, he will choke and vomit every where, then how? All the people in the boxing there (she meant the spectators) will run away!

Her answer was reasonable. It got me thinking whether the boxer will swallow the mouth protection piece when he gets boxed hard on the face. I had no answer for my baby girl and could only say “oh yea, why don’t you ask daddy and koong koong ok?” And then I was thinking why would my 3.5YO girl ask me such a question…. and what movie she had watched which stoked her curiosity.

Baby at 3.5YO and Sherilyn at 6 years 8 months, taken on 16 Oct 2011. Alycia was not in the picture as my camera-shy soon-to-be 8yo girl just hates taking pictures, unlike her 2 vain sisters.

No. of times viewed = 9072

Finally, After 8 Long Years

For over 8 years, this couple have not had a one-to-one night outing. That’s ever since their 3 precious angels came along. They had sacrificed many couple time together for the sake of their 3 most precious assets. But the day finally came when they could go out again, just the both of them for her alma mater’s reunion, a reunion 21 years later since she had left school. She felt so care-free that night. No big bulky bags filled to the zipper with diapers, extra clothing, wet tissues, tissues, tumblers and all that jazz. The dinner sling bag on her shoulder felt so very light for the first time in 8 years. They could finally hold hands and not the hands of their 3 princesses. She finally had the chance to paint her toe nails again. Finally, there is light at the end of the tunnel LOL!

No. of times viewed = 373

Happy Weekend Peeps!

Here is yet another Bento set for this week for the girls…

Sushi bread. I replaced the vinegar Japanese rice with wholemeal walnut bread. Fillings are the same – ultra thin crispy fried eggs, Japanese cucumber and a spread of mayo. Starter was organic papaya and dessert – organic purple and yellow corn tortilla chips, washed down with a bottle of less-sugar Vitagen.

Happy weekend peeps! My hubs and I will be attending a reunion of my alma mater mates, the first ever after having left school 21 years ago (I had to use the calculator to count how long I had left school LOL!). It’s going to be a big event, held at a restaurant at the roof top of Lot 10. I’m pretty excited to meet all my old classmates and school mates of MGS Ipoh, many of whom I have not crossed path with for 21 years!

No. of times viewed = 180

Bento Set For A Princess Wannabe

Simple meals can be made to look really appetizing and enticing if you do some ‘touch up’ or ‘make up’ to it, like placing the food in nice bowls, plates and decorating the food. My princess wannabe is one such aesthetic fella. She likes food decorated tastefully and presented to her, like it was fit for a princess. Since I don’t have the time to do tedious deco on the food like some bento enthusiasts who would spend hours decorating their kids’ meals elaborately, the least I could do is to arrange her meals in a bento set since she is one Japanese foodie. Each day, there is a different bento set for her. This is just one of the sets:

Home-cooked Jar Jiang Mien (Udon used) with carrot-orange-apple-celery juice (home-blended) and a free-range chicken egg. The egg was later mashed and added with some mayo and pepper.

Yesterday, I made bread Sushi, presented to her in a bento set meal too and this fella was grinning from ear to ear when she saw her set. Pix of the next bento set coming up soon…

No. of times viewed = 308

She Talks

This morning after her shower, she stepped onto a strand of long hair on the bathroom floor. As she struggled to pull away the the hair that was entwined on her toes, she said “mummy, the hair likes me a lot” and then said “hair is rambut, right mummy?”. My baby girl, she is still very much a baby in my eyes. She still looks for my boops for comfort once in a while. Can’t blame her as the boobies were her comfort tools and her source of satisfaction whenever hunger struck, for 3 long years. But when she talks, she talks like a big girl.

Cassandra at 3.5 years old.

No. of times viewed = 174

Lunch Box For My Princess Wannabe

My princess wannabe was in a mega good mood when I let her bring this Hello Kitty lunch box which comes with a matching lunch bag to school. Inside the lunch box was fried rice, home cooked. When she came home, she told me that she walloped every grain of rice there was in the lunch box!

But if I were to put this set into Alycia’s school bag, I can be rest assured to hear a roaring “eeeyerrrr mummy, I DON’T WANT this!!”…. followed by never ending whines and complains until the lunch bag is removed from her bag, away from her sight! Sisters they are, but they have polar opposites characters, attitude, likes and dislikes.

No. of times viewed = 272

Exam Season

It’s that time of the year again, when I am stressed up again over Alycia and Sherilyn’s final exams. With so much to do with my online store and so little time left to get my beauty sleep, I have to squeeze out some time now to spend with them to do revision. Alycia does not have much problems, except for being really careless and not checking her work, though I have been reminding her umpteen times to check check check her work! With Sherilyn, I can be really suicidal each time I set Math questions for her and see the output from her. I get so pissed with teaching her that my zits have popped out. Eeeeyerrrr, this morning I saw some big ‘stress-produced zits’ appearing on my face! Just don’t understand this girl. I have been teaching her the same thing over a zillion times for over a year yet she can still get her concepts all mixed up!! Maybe I should send her to some Math classes like Kumon or Enopi. Which one is fun and not boring can someone tell me? This girl needs something that is fun and colorful and not the boring classroom type of lessons.

Anyway to give due fairness to Sherilyn, I do think that the Math questions for 6-year olds from her pre-school is a tad difficult. It has the same level of difficulty for Year 2 pupils. In fact, Alycia is doing these sums in school now.

Do you think this is too difficult for 6-year olds? Teaching Sherilyn these sums are taking years of my life away from me prematurely!

No. of times viewed = 552

Fitball To Counter Backache

I started to develop backache after the birth of Alycia. I think the spinal anesthetic given to me during the C-section is the main contributor to the pain. The backache was unbearable during my confinement. It was so pain that I could barely lie on my back. Fourteen months after the first spinal anesthetic, I was given yet another dose during the birth of Sherilyn in a C-section. And three years later, yet another painful spinal anesthetic in yet another C-section. In a span of 4 years, I had a total of 3 powerful and painful spinal anesthetic. I still have lower backache up until today. One of the ways to relief the back pain is to arch my back on a fitball everyday. I dutifully arched my back on the fitball for many years until recently, when I can no longer find the time to do so. The sinister back pain has reared its ugly head again and I have to force myself to exercise on my fitball again. The results cannot be better. I just have to sacrifice 10 minutes of my time everyday for the sake of my aching back.

That’s moi on the fitball, after a workout session at the gym. Pic taken by rascal #2.

No. of times viewed = 14357