Babies N Kids

A jet designer!

2010-10-06T10:22:00.005+08:00

That is Naqib's answer to "what do you wanna be when you grow up" question :) Is there such designation? His answer is most probably inspired by his love for paper plane origami ... ha ha ha plus his high taste in cars ... he wants to buy Ferraris and Porsche and now Ironman's Audi ... and he now realizes that we can only buy him TOY MODELS :D

"Can I make lots of money if I build and sell a jet?" Such simplicity and innocence :) "Sure boy, you can but you really MUST study and work hard to be smart, listen to your teachers and do all your homework" Ha ha ha!

I played some youtube clips for him to watch and just put an end to one of his vision of him flying the jet. He watched it and commented on how dangerous the jet looked when in flight. Me think I am showing him the wrong clips :p I googled further and found this:

Kids: How do airplanes fly

Ok, Naqib boy. This is for you :)

All about iphones and elephants

2010-07-24T23:22:00.013+08:00

"iPhone, I like iPhone" got the daddy impressed with Nuha. Wow, at the age of 2 plus, she is into iPhones already??? So high-tech eh this child of mine?!!

Well, daddy dear, this is Nuha's iPhone ..

Ha ha ha ha.. not that advance after all ... iPhone = el-phant :D

I found THE song just for Nuha :)

And this is her on her el-phant:

Educational Online Games

2008-11-23T19:06:00.002+08:00

More online educational games to keep our kids occupied during the school holidays. Check out especially the online traffic game, it's good for sharpening your kids' logical thinking skills.

Beating Your Kids by Russell Peters

2008-11-23T19:04:00.003+08:00

Definitely something to ponder about: beating or no beating? I guess we shouldn't go for the two extreme ends, there must be a balance somewhere. I believe that beating with the intention of educating our kids to become a better person is OK. Beating because we are stressed out with work is NOT! Beating them when we are not in control of our anger is dangerous. But not beating them at all will teach them that they can get away with murder. So, as Russell Peters says, beat your kids.

Homemade Pancake Recipe

2008-10-16T11:22:00.008+08:00

Instead of Hungry Jacks, you can try this simple pancake recipe, which I got from my auntie.

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder (double action)
pinch of salt
2 large eggs
4 tbsp melted butter (cooled to room temperature)
1 1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 tbsp castor sugar

Method:
1. Sift all dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and salt) into a bowl.
2. Separate egg yolk from white. Add egg yolk to the dry ingredients. Add melted butter, milk, sugar and vanilla essence. Whisk until smooth.
3. In a dry clean bowl, whisk egg white till light and fluffy.
4. Fold both ingredients together. (Do not overfold or overbeat)
5. Rest 5 minutes before cooking. Cook on a non-stick pan. No oil needed.

This is Mimi's fav breakfast food. I was ranked third in terms of cooking skills by Mimi. After making the pancakes for her, I am now number one, beating my MIL and mom hahaha ... How easy it is to please Mimi :)

Tiramisu Recipe Revisited

2008-10-13T23:17:00.010+08:00

I finally tried out my friend's tiramisu recipe and it is incredibly easy and yummy :)

I'll put the recipe here together with where you can get the ingredient if you are staying in Bangi or Kuantan.

Ingredient:
1 packet of sponge finger (No tesco brand available in Bangi/Kajang but you'll be able to get the sponge fingers from a shop that sells baking stuff in Section 9, BBB, it's called Vanilla Pastries. It'll cost you around RM15. It's a large packet and you'll only be using half of it. In Kuantan, you can get the same sponge fingers from Pantai Selamat at a cheaper price , around RM10++)

300g soft cheese (I used mascapone cheese, also bought from Vanilla Pastries, which cost around RM18++ for 500g, this is really cheap, in Tesco Kajang, the Mascapone cheese is RM19++ for 250g. In Kuantan, we weren't able to find the mascapone cheese, so we used the philadelphian cream cheese instead. It turned out ok too.)

300ml whipped cream (Make sure you get double cream or you can also used non-dairy sweetened whipped cream for baking, otherwise you can't beat it still it's stiff)

250g sugar (optional or to taste - depending on the sweetness of the whipped cream and soft cheese. The first time we made it, it was too sweet. The second time, we tasted the cream mixture first before adding sugar, since it was already sweet from the sweetened whipped cream, we left out the sugar entirely)

2 tbsp nescafe/coffee
water

Cocoa powder
Grated chocolate

Method:
0. Prepare nescafe/coffee. Let it cool to room temperature.
1. In a chilled bowl, beat (from low speed to high speed) cold whipped cream until stiff.
2. Add cheese and sugar.
3. Prepare a 8x8 tin.
4. Dip sponge fingers quickly into room temperature nescafe/coffee.
5. Line them in the tin.
6. Pour in half of the cream cheese mixture. Even it out.
7. Add another layer of nescafe-dipped sponge fingers.
8. Pour remaining cream cheese. Even it out.
9. Sprinkle cocoa powder and grated chocolate all over.
10. Chill it in the fridge.

Ramadhan Mubarak

2008-08-31T12:34:00.005+08:00

Ramadhan month is here again, Ramadhan Mubarak to all muslims. May we always strive to be better muslims :)

Here is a cute clip, Upsy Daisy, from the 2nd "I Look, I See" album

and another clip which the kids like, Arabic Alphabet Nasheed

"Learning Fundamental" Book

2008-08-31T08:20:00.013+08:00

My sis bought this book titled "Learning Fundamental". It is a really cool book with lots of activites that focus on making the child a well rounded one. It has the usual activities for math, science & nature, reading, writing, music, etc. but what I find interesting are the activities for self-esteem, creativity, values, and thinking skills.

An example of a self-esteem activity:
All the thing she can do - a just a simple activity where we sit down occasionally and list all the things that she can already do. Children are faced daily with the things they can't yet do, so they need to realise the progress they are making. It will help your child to keep trying as well as have the effort to do more.

There are more interesting stuff. Will put in more when I have the time, hopefully.

And Aisya, if you are reading this post, here is a list of learning sites from the book for your create a toy homework :)
Craft ideas using materials found around the house from enchanted learning
Gustown
The Idea Box
Kids Space
Kaboose

Islamic kiddies songs

2008-08-11T16:15:00.006+08:00

I must thank my hubby's friend for this. An interesting post of his, "A little muslim kid at heart", reminded me of Islamic teachings through songs :)

Songs are important, especially in the car. We do spend a considerable amount of time in the car, the drive to school, Tesco, Atuk's house, the long journey back to Kuantan, etc. Instead of the usual lazytown songs and disney's cartoon soundtracks, these Islamic kiddies songs from Yusuf Islam's "I look, I see" album featuring the pupils of London's Islamia Primary School, are so much more meaningful.

There are 9 titles in the album.
1 I Look, I See
2 Al-Khaliq
3 Allahu Allahu
4 Bismillah (I Am a Muslim)
5 Months in Islam [Extended]
6 Sing Children of the World
7 Our Guide Is the Qur'an
8 Your Mother
9 Tala'a Al-Badru 'Alayna

I love all of the songs .. and so do the kids. It makes me smile to hear Mimi and Naqib singing the songs.

The lyrics of Mimi and Naqib's favorite ones.

Your Mother

Who should I give my love to
My respect and my honour to
Who should I pay good mind to
After Allah and Rasulullah
Comes your mother
Who next? Your mother
Who next? Your mother
And then your father

'Cos who used to hold you
And clean you and clothe you
Who used to feed you
And always be with you
When you were sick stay up all night
Holding you tight
That's right, no other
My mother

Who should I take good care of
Giving all my love
Who should I think the most of
After Allah and Rasulullah
Comes your mother
Who next? Your mother
Who next? Your mother
And then your father

'Cos who used to hear you
Before you could talk
Who used to hold you
Before you could walk
And when you fell who'd pick you up
Clean your cut
No one but your mother
My mother

Who should I stay right close to
Listen most to
Never say no to
After Allah and Rasulullah
Comes your mother
Who next? Your mother
Who next? Your mother
And then your father

'Cos who used to hug you
And buy you new clothes
Comb your hair and
Blow your nose
And when you cried who wiped your tears
Knows your fears
Who really cares
My mother

Say Alhamdulillah
Thank you Allah
Thank you Allah for my mother

Bismillah

(Teacher): “Now children, who knows what we should say before we start some new job or begin eating or go on a journey? Can anyone tell me?”

(Children): “Teacher! Teacher! Me! Me.... Bismillah!”

(Teacher): “Very good. Now what does it mean?” Bismillah.”

(Children): “In the name of Allah!”

I am a Muslim, the things I say
In everything I do everyday
We are Muslims, the things we say
In everything we do everyday

Oooh, Bismillah,
Oooh, Alhamdullillah (x2)

I am a Muslim and this I know
I need to eat so that I will grow
We are Muslims and this we know
We need to eat so that we will grow

When we eat we say Bismillah
When we’re full, we say Alhamdullillah (x2)

Water, juice and milk, these I think
Are so delicious for me to drink
Water, juice and milk, these we think
Are so delicious for us to drink

When we drink we say, Bismillah
When we’re done we say Alhamdullillah (x2)

Going out with my mum and dad
Coming home, oh what fun we had
Going out with our mum and dad
Coming home, oh what fun we had

Driving in the car, Bismillah
Coming safely home, Alhamdullillah (x2)

I go to sleep saying Allah’s name
And in the morning I do the same
We go to sleep saying Allah’s name
And in the morning we do the same

When we sleep we say Bismillah
When we rise we say Alhamdullillah (x2)

Repeat first verse

Tiramisu Recipe

2008-07-20T15:21:00.004+08:00

For my own future reference, and anyone else who's interested, THIS is the link to my friend's tiramisu recipe, but baked by her friend, complete with photos :D

Inspriring Values

2008-07-18T11:50:00.001+08:00

Children Learn What They Live

From: anny_b, 3 weeks ago

| View | Upload your own

Parenting to Inspire Values
Music:Nino Rota

SlideShare Link

New game for Mimi ... or for Hubby?

2008-06-26T15:28:00.004+08:00

My hubby got this brilliant idea of getting Mimi a dance mat! He said since Mimi loves computer games, why don't we get her a game where she could exercise at the same time. Cool, I was for it.

We surveyed game shops and found dance mats that can only connect to PS2. We don't have a PS2, and I am most certainly not going to have a PS2 in the house! Then we found a V-Tech version of a dance mat, which cost around RM100, but then we need to buy the console which we need to fork out another RM400++. Everything is just so expensive! My hubby said he was sure he read somewhere on the Internet that there is USB dance mat which can connect directly to the PC, so finally we found it in an online store. It just cost us RM50. Not too bad, eh?

When the mat arrived, I think the most excited person was hubby. Mimi didn't really understand what is a dance mat for. Hubbby downloaded the stepmania software, install the mat and we were ready to dance :)

My hubby tried the dance mat first. It was so funny watching him. He looked more like he was boxing, rather than dancing and how he stomped on the mat! Then, Mimi tried. Following her daddy's footsteps, she stomp all over the mat, with more missed steps than her daddy. When the song was over, Mimi had fun but she was disappointed that she missed almost all the steps. We told her it was ok and normal and the more she danced, she better she would get. Then, it was Naqib’s turn. He was as excited but he was too young too follow the steps. So, he just jumped around and danced in his own cute style. Lastly, I tried it out, hah! I wasn’t any better but definitely more gentle. My hubby suddenly realized he didn’t have to step so hard.

All in all, I must say it is a cool family activity. My hubby is getting another one so that 2 people can dance at a time!

A pic of Mimi and Inez dancing their hearts out.

Naqib's constipation problem has finally ended!

2008-06-21T12:47:00.004+08:00

Finally, at 3 years and 8 months, he can poop on his own without fear and pain. Thank God :)

Tried so many methods and remedies to ease his constipation - fruits, ribena, high fibre biscuits, wholemeal bread, yogurt, cereals, oat in yogurt, gripe water, jelly gamat (jelly gamat stopped the bleedings when passing motion, so this is strongly recommended - 1 teaspoon per day put in his milk), boiled water with the roots of a type of plant called "Ara Tanah" I think, Novalac special milk formula for constipation, laxative and enema (not recommended to be taken for long periods though), last advice from the pead was to give him pediasure and probiotics supplement (I would recommend this as well as I noticed he had more frequent bowel movement after taking probiotics. I put 1 sachet of probiotics into his milk per day) etc. I guess all these helped one way or another but overcoming his fear was the hardest of all.

At nearly 3, I noticed he had the urge to poop on a daily basis but he kept holding it back until he couldn't hold it in anymore, usually 3 days later, then only would he struggle to poop out a huge and hard poop. There were spells when he refused to eat. When asked why. He said, "If Naqib eat, then Naqib have to berak (poop), berak make Naqib sakit (painful)."

I told him he must not hold back the urge to poop. The longer he kept his poop longer, the harder it would get. And all the poop inside will hurt his tummy. I guess he was still too young to understand that. At first, I squirted enema up his bum bum when he had the urge. My mom cautioned me about using enema too often, said it is not good for him so finally I got a box of those thin surgical gloves and put lots of soap and helped him dig out his poop every time he had the urge ... and finally, since last week, he has been pushing his poop out all by himself. He is no longer afraid.

Breastmilk storage

2008-06-21T12:41:00.002+08:00

Here are some DETAILED tips for storing breastmilk from StorkNet. Wish I had found this website earlier!

Increasing breast milk supply

2008-01-03T22:49:00.000+08:00

I must say I am having a little problem with breastfeeding this time around. The first day, I had a little bit milk and then nothing ... Baby Nuha was so frustrated, plus she had some problems latching on. I drank lots and lots of Anmum milk .... thank god, the milk came. I continued drinking lots of Annum milk and water. The milk supply is enough for her but when I pump my milk, I only manage to get 2 ounces after nearly an hour. That is horribly little, not even enough for one feeding.

I mentioned this problem to a friend whom I have never met but we have the same name and so much in common. Luckily, we have different nicknames, Jaja meet Zaza, he he he ... otherwise, it'll be like calling myself.

Back to the breasfeeding problem, Zaza gave me a link to her friend's blog on ways to increase breastmilk supply. It is actually in the comment of the previous post but I think it deserves a post of its own.

Hope this will help other breastfeeding moms or working moms who need to pump milk for their babies.

Thanks a bunch Zaza!

An additional tip, Zaza also said not to worry or be stressed out. I tried expressing my milk very early in the morning, after a good night's rest and just before baby Nuha wakes for her next feed, I managed to get 4 ounces in 15 minutes, not bad eh compared to the measly 2 ounces?!

Mummy's Eyes and Daddy's Nose

2007-12-15T22:01:00.000+08:00

Once the baby is out, almost everyone asked "Who does the baby take after?" Some said "Mummy", some "Daddy", some "Mimi", some "Naqib" and some just said "I honestly don't know, she looks like herself I guess".

The last answer is mine actually, he he .. I am really bad at seeing the mummy or daddy or siblings features in a baby ... and my sister found this cool website for me. There's a look-alike meter in that website. All you need to do is upload at least a photo that has the faces of the mummy, daddy and child. It will detect all faces in the photo(s). Then you'll need to do is drag the mummy's face to the mother box, same goes for the dad and child. After a few seconds, the meter will tell you who the child resembles and how many percent as well. Cool!

Mimi looks more like her daddy by 18%
Naqib looks like both of us.
and Nuha looks more like me by 3%

There are other cool stuff there, so do check it out!

Latest addition

2007-11-07T20:19:00.000+08:00

Am back and lighter than before. Third child is out of my womb and literally stuck on me most of the time .. ha ha ha!

She was borned on the 28th September 2007, which was a week plus earlier than the expected due date of 7th October (She spoilt my record of having all October babies .. and all three years apart .. very well planned, eh? ;)).

Her name is Nuha Alesya. Here are pictures of her. Cute, eh?

2 months later ...

The long-awaited pics of the kids in Kuching

2007-03-08T00:21:00.000+08:00

After going through the photos from my sis-in-law camera, there weren't many photos of Mimi and Naqib. Guess they were too busy running everywhere, no time to pose for the camera!

Well, here are the precious few photos of them :)

Naqib nervously touching the cat statue.

Mimi hugging her long lost friend.

By the riverside.

Naqib reading the history of Kuching? Naaah, more likely it's "I think I can do what's Mimi's doing!"

Lost for words ...

2007-02-23T16:07:00.000+08:00

He he he ... it's been such a long while since my last post and honestly suddenly I don't know what to write... blogger's block? hmm ...

Back tracking to my last reason for not updating my blog.

A family trip!
I booked a trip to Kuching for the Thaipusam holidays since last year. The day finally arrived and we went to the airport ... Naqib loved the airport. He ran here and there, same goes for Mimi, who was busy running away from Naqib. I gave up screaming at them to behave and just prayed that nobody would bang their trolleys into these 2 unruly kids.

Finally, I managed to distract Mimi and Naqib to go and watch the aeroplanes land. Naqib especially was excited to see the planes landed. Mimi watched for a while and went off looking for her daddy to entertain her. Naqib went ooh and ahh and started screaming plane every time he saw one.

When it was time to board, I asked Naqib, "Do you want to sit on a plane?"
"Nooooo!" Why, that was unexpected, I would have thought he'd be excited since he loved watching the planes but I guess seeing those planes landed must have scared him. I had to carry him as he clung to me all the way up to the plane. He didn't relax his hold on me until it was half through the flight to Kuching he fell asleep. Huh, Naqib the fearless, was actually a scaredy-cat!

I spent most of the time at the waterfront, the kids had a good time running up and down, we crossed the river in a boat, climbed up to Fort Margueritta, which was under maintenance work, so we saw the outer parts of the fortress and climbed down again ... well, not much to see but we enjoyed the walk and the boat trip. Mimi said her favorite part of the trip was the boat ride, to her, it was her first time. But in reality, she had ridden a boat previously. She went to Kuching twice when she was just a year old. She knows she was there before but she said it was because I told her and not so much that she'd remembered it herself.

We window-shopped at the handicraft shops, my MIL loved those shops :) Mimi enjoyed shopping too so she followed her Tuk most of the time, but not Naqib! A typical male species :( He kept dragging me to go faster, I gave up shopping and went for walks with hubby and Naqib!

All in all, a relaxing trip and the best part was all of us were together :)

I will try to post some pictures of the kids soon :)

Spanking

2007-01-26T13:01:00.000+08:00

3 days ago, while getting Mimi ready for school, I lost it and spanked her a few times on her backside. Well, to justify myself, I was running late, she was whining on and on that she was sleepy. I took her to the toilet and she just sat there on the floor. I had to brush her teeth, soap her and wash her, dry her and carry her out of the toilet. When she was out, she continued whining and threw herself on the bed to continue sleeping. That was when I lost it and started spanking her. Quite hard, I think coz even my hand hurt after that. What made me really mad was that she chose to sleep late the night before, I specifically asked her to sleep early, yet she begged me to let her play another just one more game. She was rather quiet after the spanking and all the way to the school. I told my husband I spanked her just now, he just listened and later emailed a parenting article on spanking from that day's Sun newspaper. So uncanny that Sun published an article on spanking on the very day I spanked Mimi. It's a very good article, which I'll copy and paste to share with all parents.

Spanking bad idea
by Rachel Goodchild

THE idea that it’s a cultural right to hit children when they have been disobedient can sometimes cover up situations of inappropriate child treatment.

I admit that I have, on occasion, hit my children. I choose not to most of the time, but sometimes I
do it.

Once, I hit my daughter after she smacked the baby – it was an automatic, protective reaction that I didn’t think through and probably could not have prevented.

However, there have been several times in the last few years – when my children have borne the brunt of a hard day at work, when I was stuck in a house with tired complaining children, when one child has dared challenge me on something and everything has boiled over – that a child has been smacked.

I hate it. And it does not happen very often at all. I know that for me, releasing
myself from control, from staying calm when they are driving me (let’s be honest) completely nuts, could turn them into children who fear me.

Children can be affected by the sight of us losing control. Their trust in us is dependent on seeing us cope with even the hardest day – not with some sort of false
happiness but with a quiet determination to get through the tough times.

Moreover, taking it out on the children is a childish thing to do. I know we can all justify why we hit our children. Of course, they have been naughty. Of course, you do not want them to do it again.

But before you hit your child, ask yourself – is the rage you are feeling before you slap that cheek all a result of your child’s behaviour?

In several studies that looked into the effect of smacking as part of family life, most children said that they often got smacked after they had been unsure of what their mum or dad expected.

They felt it was a confusing punishment, and often felt it was an unfair one.
Parents often will smack their child for hitting someone else. Children find this
confusing (they can’t do it but their parents can?); not only can this cause them physical pain, but children can also lose trust in their parents as a result.

I know the reality is that some parents will always choose smacking as a form of punishment for their children. But I also think we do not often consider how our
children feel when we smack them.

The last time I hit one of my children, I vowed to them I would not do it again.
Last week, one of them was pushing my buttons and I felt the same old anger starting to build. I ran outside and told my daughter: “I am just going to stamp my feet because otherwise I will hit you.”

She looked at me as if I was going crazy, but my actions helped me calm down enough to sort out the problem without resorting to hitting.

As I looked back on the event, I know I had found the better way. The dispute was resolved, no one had been hurt, and my relationship with my children had been protected.

Is there a right age to start dating?

2007-01-18T10:34:00.000+08:00

This morning, I was listening to FlyFm's Big Ben's Breakfast Show and the DJs were saying that in their "Fix it" segment they received an email from a girl who said she wants a boyfriend, coz there's a boy in school whom she likes but the only thing that is stopping her from having a boyfriend is her mom and she hopes that Ben could called up her mom and fix the situation.

Ben called the mom, tried to persuade the mom but the mom said her daughter is too young, she is only 13. Ben asked the mom at what age she started dating, wrong move though, this mom never dated before, hers was an arranged marriage. So Ben asked her what age did she think was the right age and didn't she think that getting to know the husband-to-be before getting married is better? The mom agreed that it's better to get to know the future husband but dating is only after 21. Then Ben suggested supervised dating, even offered to supervised them himself. The mom said no way were they to date under the supervision of Ben, but the daughter could invite the boy over to have dinner or something. Ben asked if the the daughter is able to consider the boy as a special boyfriend. "Nope, they could just be friends", replied the mom. Ben proceed to tempt the mom with free holiday, etc but the mom stood firm. Hah! I must say, she is very sensible! It was really funny listening to their conversation.

My Mom used to tell us not to date until we've finished our studies. We took her advice to heart and both Ju and myself did not have a boyfriend until after we completed our Bachelors Degree. Funny part was our mom became worried that we'll not get married and admonished us for listening to her advice. That advice was revised, now it's "you could have a boyfriend when you are in the university and mature enough to handle both studies and a relationship"!

So mommies out there, what do you think is the right answer to the title question?

He's like you! Flat feet!

2007-01-12T19:38:00.000+08:00

"Huh, like me? and what's wrong with flat feet?!"

"No wonder Naqib's walks like a mabuk (drunken) boy, so unstable, he got flat feet like you."

Is this a proven scientific fact? I am not known to balance my body well, I don't know how to cycle, but that's might be because I was not allowed to learn how to ride a bicycle at a younger age. I tried to learn at the age of 20 but ended up with a factured ankle - an expensive and painful lesson indeed. So if I had learnt earlier, I might have had the accident earlier. Then, I tried to learn how to swim, after completing the basic course, I still have trouble coordinating my arms, legs and my breathing. I tried ice skating before, and I ended up with a bruised backside but on the bright side, I boosted the confidence of curious onlookers to enter the ice rink to give ice-skating a try, well, who could do worse than that girl, falling at every step? So, I must say, I am bad at balancing myself, is it really because I have flat feet? and poor Naqib takes after me. And Mimi, my husband pointed out, has arched feet, like him. Mimi has better balance compared to Naqib. She didn't walk so wobbly when she was a toddler and after a couple of months walking, her walk was quite stable, unlike Naqib, who is still falling all over places.

Naqib's foot

Mimi's foot

According to my husband, the Royal Military College rejects kids with flat feet, on the basis that the constant marching might injure a flat-foot kid. The arch in the normal feet is actually a protection for the nerves in the sole. So there goes the army career for Naqib!

Aces go places?

2006-12-29T12:24:00.000+08:00

A 1-sided overheard telephone conversation

"... she got six A's only ... such a pity. What subjects did she get B's? ... How many students got 8 A's? ..."

6 A's only??!!!!

Such a pity??!!!!

Are people's expectations getting higher or is it so much easier to score A's nowadays that everyone cannot accept anything less?

Kids night out

2006-12-28T10:58:00.000+08:00

It was a horrible outing, well, for me at least! Juju won me 4 tickets to the screening of The Wedding Date at Cathay Cineplex, Damansara. Off we went, me, hubby, my sis and sis-in-law, and of course, Mimi and Naqib. Just at the entrance of the theatre hall, there was this laser light that was projected to the floor. As we were entering the hall, I heard Naqib’s voice, “oohh … lights”, totally fascinated. Uh-oh! Even as we sat down, his head turned to the entrance every time somebody came in.

To cut the story, he didn't want to watch the show, and not even popcorn could take his mind off the lights and soon he started screaming to go out. Took him out and he didn't want to go in again.

And in the car, all of us - myself, his 2 aunties lectured him, he just listened with his hand holding his chin. My husband took pity on him and asked everyone to stop scolding him, "beside, I don't think he's listening to you guys, he looks like he's dreaming .."

Mimi butted in, "Yeah, I think naqib is dreaming of people loving him and not scolding him!"

Mimi's effectively stopped our lecture and had everyone laughing :)

All's well that ends well - and the show wasn't that good either!

Gripe water is good for constipation

2006-12-19T20:36:00.000+08:00

Another tip I received from a friend last weekend when she heard Naqib has constipation. I knew it was for wind relief, but I never once thought it could help children with constipation. I went to the Guardian and got Naqib a bottle, and sure enough, Gripe water is for not only for wind relief, but it also relieves kids off digestive upsets (kurang hadam). One theory by my sis-in-law about Naqib's constant constipation is that his constipation is due to the way he ate. He eats very fast and likes to gulp down his food, maybe that's why his poop is so huge, that and also coz he holds his poop.

He's on it for 3 days now and pooped twice. That is improvement indeed! Pity, he doesn't like the taste of Gripe Water so I have to force it on him :(

Other good advices received from my family, friends and blogmates when they found out that Naqib has constipation problem. which I'd like to recap here.

1. Change the milk - some milk causes constipation in some children.

2. Increase fiber in diet. Lots of vege and fruits, oat, cereal, crackers, digestive biscuit.

3. Drink lots of water, juice, ribena, barley etc.

4. Bend and put up his legs against his tummy when he has the urge to poop. This will prevent him from holding in his poop.

5. My friend found this in a magazine. Make some asam jawa paste, rub it on his tummy and on his crown. Not really sure whether it works coz I did not do this to Naqib consistently.

More online kids' games

2006-12-15T08:44:00.000+08:00

Hatch & Match
A cute dinosaur memory game.

Memory Match Game
Another memory game though not as cute as the dinosaurs!

Save the Apples
Math game

Stardoll
Dress up game

Kid Science Camps at Pusat Sains Negara

2006-12-05T01:39:00.000+08:00

Last Saturday, Mimi and Aisya attended a science camp organized by Discovery Learning Labs at the Pusat Sains Negara (National Science Center) at Mont Kiara. It costed me about RM38.50 (after 30% discount for a Maybank credit card holder, if your kid has a Maybank yippie account, then he/she will be entitled to a 50% discount) for a half day camp.

It was totally worth it! Mimi and Aisya participated in the Water Mania Camp where they carried out experiments involving water. Mimi cried at first and wanted mummy. I guess she was spooked by the man-made jungle which was dark with a realistic mechanical tiger that roared at all passersby. But when she came out, she was happily telling me about how she made the water move across the bridge, how she made an egg float, and how the teacher did a magic show, etc. When asked whether she would like to attend another camp, she nodded vigorously :)

Only kids age 4 and above could enroll for the the camps, but the PSN itself is interesting and has lots of toys and fun stuff, even for babies. So while Mimi and Aisya were in the PSN halls in the first level, we, parents and Naqib and Aimi (Aisya's baby sister), had a fun time exploring PSN. One thing I love about PSN is that it has so many fun stuff for Naqib's age group. Naqib loved the huge brick-sized lego blocks, playhouse, tunnels, and ball pool. Another interesting area is the echo dome and huge mini stepable piano.

Definitely worth another visit, as Mimi didn't get the chance to explore PSN like Naqib.

Patient Parent

2006-11-14T10:33:00.000+08:00

Something worth reading :)

Be A Patient Parent to Enjoy Inner Peace and Calmness -
and That Helps to Nurture Happy Children too
- by Alvin Poh (http://www.learningchamp.com)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Every weekend, I have the opportunity to talk to parents at
our education workshop in MindChamps. Quite often, I hear
parents telling me how stressful their life is how they wish
they can create a more peaceful and loving self, so that they
can better help their children to develop their potential.

One important thing I have learned that can help us achieve
inner peace is to practise more patience in our daily life.

In general, the reason people feel stress about life is
because they insist and want life to be exactly as they would
like it to be. The more patient you are, the more accepting
you will be towards things and others.

Without patience, life is extremely frustrating. You are easily
annoyed, bothered and irritated. Patience adds a dimension
of ease and acceptance to your life.

Patience involves seeing the innocence in others, including
our children.

My wife and I have two young children Ethel and Ethan, aged
five and one respectively. As you know, I work mainly from
home running my own education and business consulting
businesses, publishing articles and developing web sites.

While I am working in my home office, Ethan would walk into
the room and interrupt my work. He is looking for his daddy
to play with him or to read to him.

What I learned to do is to see the innocence in his behavior
rather than to focus on the potential implications of his
interruption - such as "I won't get my work done. I'll lose my
flow of thought" and so forth.

I remind myself why he is coming to see me - simply because
he loves daddy, not because he wants to ruin my work.

When I remind myself to see the innocence in him, I
immediately bring forth a feeling of patience, and seize the
opportunity to enjoy the moment of his presence. Any
irritation that I feel earlier is eliminated and I am reminded
once again how fortunate I am to have such wonderful
children.

From some of the successful personal and business mentors
that I have that if we look deeply enough, we can almost
always see the innocence in other people as well as in
potentially frustrating situations.

When you do that, you will become a more patient and
peaceful person and in some strange way, you begin to
enjoy many of the moments that used to frustrate you.

And when you are a parent who enjoys more peace and
calmness, you will transfer this energy to your children when
you interact with them. This in turn will help them to become
happier, more loving and successful individuals. That is what
we want in them ultimately, isn't it?

Alvin
Founder of Learning Champ and
Parenting Network For The Achievement of Human Potential
http://www.learningchamp.com
http://www.alvinkh.per.sg/parentingnetwork

From Elmo's Keyboard-O-Rama to ...

2006-11-03T17:08:00.001+08:00

I opened the Elmo's Keyboard-O-Rama online game for Naqib. Was hoping he would learn his alphabets ... Mimi recognised most of the alphabets when she was 2 and Naqib .. still not even one. But Naqib, being Naqib, was not interested at all, he was more interested in arranging his cars. To Naqib all vehicles are cars. When he opens a book, he can only see pictures of cars, lorries, buses, trains and all other pictures do not interest him. He'll start calling the cars, car, the lorries, car, and buses, car. When I tell him that it's a lorry/bus/tractor/etc. He would scream "NOOOOOOO Mum-my, it's car!!!!!!" He really got a one track mind!

Okay back to the Keyboard-O-Rama game, well, Mimi got interested for a while. Then, she navigated herself through Sesame Street's website and found some interesting printable coloring pages and some interactive stories. We read 3 stories together - Elmo goes to the doctor, A spotty day on sesame street and the lemonade stand. Mimi's favorite is the lemonade stand coz she learnt how to make lemonades and she had to count out the correct amount of pennies to buy the lemonade. I think I am going to get her some lemons so that she could make the lemonade for real.

Rusty blogger

2006-11-02T12:32:00.000+08:00

It's been ages since my last post and I think me brain has gone to sleep. Am putting in more effort to write this post as compared to the previous posts :)

Well so many events occured ...

Oct 8 - Mimi turned 5.
Bought her a cake and had a really simple birthday celebration. Had also bought her another cake and packed her some goody bags for her to celebrate withe friends at school.

Oct ? (can't remeber the exact date) - Mimi's Bad Hair Day, thanks to daddy!
Daddy - the expert barber : What hairstyle do you want?
Mimi - the trusting soul : Can I have Barbie Hairstyle?
Daddy - with full confidence : Sure.
Snip, snip, snip ...
Daddy : Ok done.
Mimi - looking in the mirror : UWWAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! Mimi asked for Barbie hairstyle! This is not Barbie Hairstyle, this is hantu (ghost) hairstyle! UWWWAAAHHHH!!!!!
Naqib oblivious to all this was sporting an amateurish and uneven hairdo as well!

Also somewhere in October, during the fasting month - Mimi's first (and last) terawikh prayers - My MIL bought a set of telekung and kain for Mimi and she was really excited. She even voluntarily joined me in my daily prayers :) Then, she was sooo anxious to follow her atuk and acik to the mosque for terawikh prayer that she even cried when she found that her telekung was in my house not her atuk's house, so I told her she could go the next day, if she remebered to bring the telekung to atuk's house. She remembered, and the next night she followed her atuk and acik to the mosque. When she got home ...
Mimi : Do you know why atuk comes home soo late yesterday? They have to pray 8 times ... !
Mimi : Mimi prayed also .. but after that Mimi got tired and after Mimi bowed down, Mimi lay down like this .. (and she demostrated how she laid down :) ) .. Mimi's too tired to stand anymore. But Mimi is a good girl, Mimi never cry or make noise.
My baby is growing up :) I have yet to ask her to pray or fast ... but if she wanted to join me, I have never stopped her.

Oct 24 - Raya :)
Hope is not too late to wish all Muslims out there Happy Eid Mubarak or Selamat Hari Raya and Maaf Zahir Batin :)
Mimi was dressed in her new kebaya .. and I was able to dressed Naqib up in his baju melayu from last year. Last year Naqib totally rejected the baju melayu. Well, both of them looked sooo adorable!

Oct 28 - Naqib turned 2.
His birthday was also simply celebrated with a cake sponsored by my dad and brother :) Ha .. ha .. can't say that I am an unfair mother.

Nov 2 - My husband just noticed that Mimi's 2 front bottom permanent teeth have grown ... this calls for a trip to the dentist ... or should I just pull her baby teeth out with a thread as what my mom to me and my other siblings long ago?

Banana Muffins .. Nice? Not nice?

2006-10-02T14:24:00.001+08:00

Yesterday, I decided to bake banana muffins (recipe taken from flowerinthedesert's blog) for buka puasa (breaking fast). My family would be nicely surprised especially my dad coz I rarely "decide to bake/cook". My dad has long given up on my culinary skills (can't blame him, out of his 5 children, I'm the only one who can't cook and is not too fond of cooking either). Mimi wanted to help me with the baking but just before I started baking she went to sleep and if I woke her up I dun think she'll thank me. She is one grumpy girl if disturned from her sleep.

In her blog, flowerinthedesert said it was easy and looking at the recipes, it did appear straightforward. It is also absolutely suitable for my kids who are not a great fan of fruits.

Naqib who was awake and in a clingy mood, helped me mixed the ingredients. He went "ooh" and "aah" especially when I was sifting the flour. Had to carry him with me whenever I need to get something from the kitchen. He's usually not this clingy but lately, if I am at home, he just can't bear to have me out of his sight. God knows why, it's like there's some invisible creatures spooking him ... haha ..

I diligently followed the recipe - word for word. Even melted the butter in a bowl immersed in a pot of boiling water. (Flowerin, do correct me if I did it wrongly, am I just supposed to let the butter soften in room temperature?).

Finally, I had put the mixture into the cupcakes and into the oven. After 20 minutes, the muffins were ready. Since it's the fasting month, Naqib was the only available tester. I broke of a piece of the muffin and popped it into his mouth ... and ...

"mmm ... sed-dapnyeee .."

phewww .. hopefully he understood what he was saying... and he continued to finish the muffin. well, it must be nice then :)

Then, Mimi woke up. A hah .. my second tester! Again I broke of a piece of the muffin to give to Mimi ... and ..

Mimi: "eeeyu ... mummy, it's not nice!"
Me: "Why? Is it too hard? tasteless? ... ?"
Mimi: "It's not sweet enough ... "
Me: "Is it really that bad Mimi?"
Mimi: "Wait, Mimi will taste it again ..."
Me: "Is it good enough to take to atuk's house or should we just hide it?"
Mimi: "It's okay Mummy. You can take it to Atuk's house. A little not sweet but still ok"

Mimi .. Mimi .. always the diplomatic one. I can never tell whether she telling the truth or just saying things that I want to hear.

Well, to end this very very long baking story. I guess god must be aware of my baking anxiety. 20 minutes before Marghrib, my period came ... uwaaaahhhhh! Wasted is my day of fasting! But maybe, God is giving me the chance to taste the muffins before taking them to my in-laws' house. (ha.. ha.. ha..).

I took a muffin and ate it. It is really nice and soft! Unbelieveable!

Well, a great thanks to Flowerinthedesert for sharing the recipe :)

For easy reference, I'll put the recipe here but do visit flowerinthedesert's blog for more quick and easy recipes.

Banana Muffins
----------------

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups Flour, all purpose
1 tsp Baking powder
1 tsp Baking soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1 Egg
3/4 cups Sugar, granulated
1/3 cups Butter; melted
1 1/2 cups Bananas; mashed; 3 or 4 (depending on the size, I used 11 pisang emas)

Directions:

1- Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a mixing bowl
2- Thoroughly beat together egg, sugar, butter and mashed bananas.
3- Add to dry ingredients.
4- Stir just until moistened.
5- Filled greased muffin cups three quarters full.
6- Bake in a preheated 375F oven 20 to 25 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched.

MAKES: 12 muffins

Constipation: a vicious cycle

2006-10-02T12:57:00.000+08:00

*Sigh*

Just when I thought that Naqib was getting better and I was about to introduce milk into his daily diet again. It started all over again.

He didn't want to poop even though I took him to the toilet. And after 2-3 days, when he couldn't hold it anymore, he would be crying like crazy until a really huge and hard poop comes out followed by lotsa blood dripping from his backside. It's happening all over again.

My MIL and I increased his water intake, reduced the amount of rice and increased the vegetables, gave him quaker oat, forced feed him the bottled heinz food if I could not get him to eat fresh fruits, gave him barley drink, ribena, etc. Chocolate was definitely a no-no for him .. but he still has constipation :(

Finally, I took him to the paed. Gave him Naqib's history. The doctor was against Naqib not drinking milk and just drinking soy bean though. Said I should try giving him Novalac's formula for constipated baby. I informed the paed that I've tried Novalac and it was still the same. The doctor said to give it time, 1-2 months is not enough. That day, the doctor put that pump thingy up his backside to simulate his bowel. Said it was to get rid of whatever old stool inside his body. Then , I was to start giving laxative until his stool is soft, said the laxative is safe to take up till 3 months. I was to continue taking him to the toilet after meals but not to force him to poop and to take him out after 5 minutes.

Naqib has been drinking Novalac and on the laxative for about 2 weeks now. His poop is still huge though but I notice his urge to poop is more apparent. It is also obvious that he is trying to hold back his urges. I guess it must really hurt to poop. So when he gets his urges, I will hold him in a squating position so that it is easier for him to push the poop out. Poor poor Naqib!

Swiper the Fox Vs the Tattletale

2006-09-26T11:58:00.000+08:00

Yesterday, Mimi related an incident in school:

Mimi: Mummy, today Betty and Camelia were very naughty, they ate teacher's chocolate without asking permission. I said to them you are like Swiper the Fox.
Me: And then what happened?
Mimi: Teacher scolded Camelia and Betty and asked them to stand in front.
Me: How did the teacher know that Camelia and Betty were the ones who ate the chocolate?
Mimi: Mimi told teacher ...
Me: Weren't your friends angry with you for telling teacher?
Mimi: No ... Betty and Camelia don't know that Mimi told teacher ..

I don't think I handled it well coz I was saying to her that telling on people is not nice either ... well not unless the teacher asked her and then she'll have to tell the truth. Words, which I think, went right over her head.

I don't think she understands what I am trying to say. How do we tell our children that telling tales is not nice and at the same time maintain that taking things without permission is not nice and they should not condone it.

Mimi's preschool updates

2006-09-20T14:11:00.000+08:00

After the sending Mimi to Ana Montessori for the 1 week trial. We, Aisya's mommy and I decided to send them to another preschool. Reasons for doing so are mainly based on the kids reaction and feedback (details are in the comment of my previous post). But I couldn't say outright that the preschool is a bad preschool. As I dun know how much of what the kids are saying is true. Maybe the kids just didn't fit in. Maybe they are making it up so that they dun have to go to school... I guess I'll just have to keep on guessing.

Me and Aisya's mommy visited Smart Reader again. The cost is RM250 per month. They have morning and afternoon sessions. Each session is nearly 3 hours. This visit, we found out that the afternoon session only have 6 kids. Hence, my previous concern about the place being too crowded will not be applicable to the afternoon session and the thought of not having to drag Mimi out of bed is wonderful. And they will be adding Fardhu Ain into the Syllabus as well starting next year. They dun allow one week trial. We need to enroll for at least one month. So we signed them up.

Mimi was estatic to hear that she's going to another preschool though she was more clingy as compared to the first day of the previous preschool. She wanted me to stay with her.

The first day at Smart Reader. Mimi held my hand and didn't want me to leave. Aisya was the same with her grandma. The teacher came and ask them what did they want to do? color, play computer, etc. She chose computer and after a while she was absorbed with the game. Aisya chose to color as Mimi was conquering the computer. Then I told Mimi, I was going to leave. Her face looked like she wanted to cry. Aisya cried when she heard her grandma wanted to leave. The teacher was good at calming them down though. And since, there were only 6 other kids with 3 teachers and 1 bibik, Mimi and Aisya had special attention from the teacher. The Principal said usually on the first day, they are free to do what they want. Later on they'll join the class.

Well, it's their 2nd week now and they seem happy with their school and teachers. Aisya is no longer crying. And Mimi has made 2 friends, Betty and Havas.

So far so good :)

Mimi's First Week in Preschool

2006-09-07T13:59:00.000+08:00

I have finally done it.

I have sent mimi to a pre-school.

For now, it is on a one week trial basis. Her first day was rather easy, which was a real surprise. Most probably because she's with her friend, Aisya. Me and Aisya's mama have both planned that they start school together to lessen their fear. So last wednesday, they started their first day.

Day 1
--------
The teacher took them in and gave them breakfast. Both of them looked shy and held each other hands. They didn't cry when I and Aisya's grandmama left them. At 12.45pm sharp I arrived to pick her up. I saw her ran out waving and shouting "Bye bye, friends!". Wow, that's one happy kid. As for Aisya, she didn't look happy and had just finished crying.

Me: So how was school?
Mimi: School? Best! There's lots of friends!
Me: Do you want to go to school again?
Mimi: Yeah!
Me: What did you learn in school?
Mimi: We sing Malaysia Song and learn about flags ..
Me: and ..
Mimi: Mimi can't remember already .. (what short term memory!)

Great! Wonderful .. no problem at all. That was easy, wasn't it?

Then, it was merdeka and we had to go to Johor. So Mimi missed school on Friday and Monday. Monday night, I asked her whether she wanted to go school the next day and again positive answer. When Tuesday morning came, it was a different story.

Day 2
--------
I woke her up at 7.30am. "Mimi's sleeeeeepy!"

At 7.45am - "Uwaahh ... tired, mummy!"
At 8.00am - No reaction
At 8.15am - I carried her to the bathroom

She took her bath, dress up and went to school. Wowwee, it sure was difficult waking her up.

Day 3
--------
Learnt my lesson and shook her and carried to the bathroom directly.

When her Atuk Wan (Grandpapa) picked her up, she looked like she had just stopped crying. Something had happened. When she arrived home, she told atuk (her grandmama) that she was very hungry.

When I got home from work, she was asleep and she looked so sad in her sleep. Hmm, what went wrong, and when I questioned her later.

Me: Mimi, why did you cry?
Mimi: Coz mimi is hungry.
Me: The teacher didn't give you food?
Mimi: No, mimi didn't want to eat.
Me: But you said you were hungry ..
Mimi: They serve mee ... mimi want mee soup.

Hah .. I guess they serve mee goreng (fried mee/noodle). The teacher also said she cried when they were learning how to pray. Is it just her being choosy or is there something else?

Day 5
--------
"Mimi don't want to go to school!"
She kept repeating this from the moment she woke up until we arrived at the school. It got louder and turned into a cry when I wanted to get her out of the car.

Aisya's mummy finally managed to coerce her out of the car and the teacher took her in. Aisya seeing Mimi cry, started to cry as well. Now, the teacher had 2 crying kids :) When both had calm down, we started to leave and I heard Mimi starting to cry all over again.

When I picked her up and ask her how was school, it was all okay again.

When I asked her whether she wanted to go back to the school or whether she preferred another school. She readily answered that she wanted to go to another school.

I am totally confused!

Whining

2006-08-28T15:54:00.000+08:00

Argghh ... it really annoys me when Mimi whines and she`s really good at it lately. Extra good when her atuk (i.e. grandma) is around. It tests my patience and I try really hard not to spank her. I honestly don`t believe in spanking to discipline a child. I usually walk away and ignore Mimi`s whining but sometimes I really couldn`t help it but spank her on the face or butt. I feel really bad about it and I would later explain to her that whining is annoying and it`s not going to get what you want. I apologize as well for spanking her. Being a not-so-experienced mom, I sometimes wonder whether I am doing the right thing.

Hope anyone out there could share your experience :)

I did some googling as well on dealing with whiny child. I found some interesting articles to share.

In an article by Valerie Kasrich O`Berry, she says:

"All kids whine and it is not a reflection on your parenting skills."

This is a comforting statement, coz sometimes I do indeed wonder whether I did something wrong or am I being too rigid, etc.

The article says that in dealing with whiny child, to begin with, we need to understand why the child is whining.

In the case of Mimi, I think she starts whining when:
1. She`s tired, usually in the evenings when she forgoes her afternoon nap.
2. My attention is on Naqib, my second child.
3. She wants something to which I say no and her grandma is around.

By identifying the cause of the whining, we could try to avoid those situations that can start my Mimi whining. I really dun want her to start coz when she starts she couldn`t stop!

Then, to combat whining, we should:
1. Acknowledge your child`s problem, show him/her that you understand how he/she feels.
2. Stand firm, do not give in to his/her demands.
3. Do not whine back (e.g. Parents will often say, "Come ooooon, I toooold you to pick up your toooys," not realizing that they too are whining). However, if the child is old enough, you could do strategic whining, deliberately whining back to show the child how bad it sounds.
4. Use the "I can`t hear you" approach. When your child whines, pretend that you can't hear him. If your child persists in whining, you may have to say something like, "I hear a squeaking noise but I don`t understand it. Maybe it`s a bug or something." If the child continues to whine, keep playing the whining game by saying, "I can`t hear you." This strategy often gets little kids talking "big" in no time at all.

In another article from NYU Study Center website, it gives 3 steps to take in the middle of a meltdown:
1. Stay cool. Acknowledge the child's emotions (frustrated, bored, tired) without a long discussion and say something like "Tell me in your own words what's bothering you, and let`s try to work it out" or "I know you`re frustrated and want to leave, but I would like for you to wait a few more minutes." This sounds overly simple, but it`s important to let the child know you're willing to work this out reasonably, what your expectation is, and you want them to do. For young kids, always have some form of distraction available to get them off the tantrum track. If the child calms down when you request it, provide the child a treat that may be a surprise, like a toy in your pocket or purse that he didn`t know you brought along.
2. Step two is hard, but don't reward the tantrum with a lot of attention beyond the matter-of-fact approach in step one. Obviously, you don`t want the child to learn that this is a good way to impress you. Scolding or shouting back simply won`t work, although you may feel like having a tantrum yourself. Remember, parents are models of appropriate behavior.
3. Third, sometimes you simply have to leave. If the mayhem started because she wants something in a store and you`ve said "no", ignore the tantrum completely. Prepare to be embarrassed; it`s worth it—giving in validates the behavior. Realize that you can`t always persevere, and that's OK.

Basically, both articles are giving the same steps to combat whining and tantrums. I guess, I am not handling Mimi`s whining entirely right. I did the right thing by not giving in and ignoring her but I did not acknowledge her problem and sometimes I did not stay cool and ended up spanking her. I will try to stay cool and be matter-of-fact in the future. Being human, we are not perfect, I guess, as my mom always says, always show your children that you love them by hugging them and explaining to them why they are being punished, they will surely understand.

Well, to sum up, here's a list of Whining DO's and DON'Ts taken from the first article:

Whining Do's and Don'ts

::Don't ridicule your child for whining.
::Do keep encouraging him to use words to express his feelings.
::Don't banish your child to another room.
::Do communicate your understanding of your child's feelings. Say, "I understand that you want a cookie and you're disappointed you can't have one, but it's almost time for dinner."
::Don't cave. Don't give your child what he wants to stop the whining.
::Do ask him to repeat himself in a "regular" voice.
:Do remember that whining is a normal part of growing up. If your child whines, you're still a good parent.

Young at heart

2006-08-21T16:39:00.000+08:00

You Are 25 Years Old

Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe.

13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world.

20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences.

30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more!

40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

What Age Do You Act?

He .. he .. he .. it's no wonder I always forget that I'm already 30. Click on the above link to find out what age do you act. Got this from Halwafy's blog, cool!

Mummy, can I have a pet?

2006-08-16T11:32:00.000+08:00

My heart skipped a beat when mimi posed me this question. Then she went on and on about a Stanley and the pets he had. God knows who is Stanley but my guess is that he's a cartoon character either on NickJr or Disney channel.

Personally, I am not too fond of animals. Cute and nice to play with but too much trouble to care for. And when kids want pets, it almost always ends up where the moms have to step in and take care of the pets.

But not wanting to be horrible mom, I asked "What kind of pet do you want?"
mimi: "hmmmm .... aaahhh .... can I have a rabbit?"
me: "WHHHHHHAAAATTTT! no rabbits!" (that was in my head, ok)
me: "Are sure you want to keep rabbits? Their poop stinks you know and when you keep pets you have to feed and clean them. I'll take you to the pet store and you go smell the rabbit's poop, if you think you can handle it then I'll get the rabbit for you."
mimi: "okay"
me: "There are other pets you know, fish, tortoise and ... fish ... and tortoise .. or birds" (these are the only pets I could handle, no hamsters or rabbits, or cat please!)
mimi: "hmm .. if the rabbit's poop is too smelly, I think I'll have fish then"

phewww ...

Do your kids have pets? And what are the easiest pets to care for? All suggestions are welcome on what pet to get for my daughter :)

Constipation

2006-08-02T10:52:00.000+08:00

Recently, I was going through MyMomBest Forum, and there was a post about constipation in a child. This was of interest to me as my second baby had the same problem. The paediatrician said, he was allergic to cow's milk. Logic, as his constipation started when I stopped breastfeeding him and started him on formula milk. But I was surprised coz what I knew was usually milk allergy causes diarrhea, rashes, etc. I search the Internet, and I came across an article by Dr Greene, he said that sometime constipation could be the only symptom caused by milk intolerent. The child could be intorent to either of the two substances in milk, which are milk sugar (lactose) and milk protein.

If the child is intolerent to the milk lactose, you can change to a lactose free milk or soy-base milk. However, if the child if intolerent to the milk protein, then a lactose-free milk is not the solution. Dr Greene suggested switching to Soymilk or Soy-based products. If the child is soy protein intolerent, then try giving Alimentum or Nutramigen (protein hydrolysate infant formulas) as the milk. I have yet to find these milk in Malaysia though.

Well, if interested, you could read on my personal experience with child constipation (posted in MyMomsBest forum as well)

My second child had constipation when I stopped breastfeeding him completely, At that time he was just 9-month-old baby. He stool was hard and he could go without passing motion for 3-4 days. When he did, he would be crying really hard as if in pain.

I gave him papaya daily, prune/apple/peach juice and force him to drink lots of water (at that time, he was the type who didn't like to drink water), gave him high fibre crackers, etc. I did give him banana too until I read another of Dr Greene's article in the internet that banana can cause firmer stool.

I changed the milk as well. Thought it might be that brand of milk that was causing the constipation but it was still the same. He still cried when passing motion. It got worse and he had blood on his stool. Took him the pediatrician, and the doctor prescribed a special formula for constipated baby and laxative. But it was still the same. After a month, he was totally dependant on the laxative. Only with the laxative, would he stool be softer.

Took him to another pediatrician, and this time, the doctor said to stop milk totally, not even the special formula constipation or soy base formula, he said my baby's intestine lining were thin and less elastic. The doctor said to give him homemade soy milk, give him laxative and to take him to the toilet daily at the same time, I was to use the pump (I can't remember the name but you could get it at the pharmacy) if needed.

I followed instruction, and he was on the laxative for more than a month, the dosage was reduced gradually. He was taken to the toilet to poop daily. It was struggle in the beginning, I think he was too scared of pooping. He was like in labour, poor boy. His stool had blood in the beginning. But as time passed, he stool got thinner and softer, now he can poop quite easily but I still need to take him to the toilet daily, otherwise he would just keep his stool inside of him. He is still on homemade soy milk. I guess I am just going to monitor his stool for the next couple of months. If he continues without constipation, then I'll gradually introduce back milk into his diet.

Stroller, stroller, stroller

2006-07-27T13:48:00.000+08:00

If you ask me what stroller to buy, my answer would definitely be COMBI. Get the lightweight, umbrella type. It is soooo easy to maneuver and when the baby doesn`t want to sit in it, just fold it up and carry it over your shoulder. You can get a Combi at an affordable price. The con is that this type of stroller is not suitable for babies below 6 months.

Experience with breast pumps

2006-07-27T13:46:00.000+08:00

Recently I was reading a forum where moms and mom-to-be were talking about breast pump. Here’s my two cents worth.

The first breast pump I used was of Pigeon brand, it cost me less than RM100. However, I had difficulties expressing my milk using that pump. The milk came out rather slow and the entire process was painful. Luckily for me and my daughter, I was able to put her in my office nursery. Hence, there was no need to pump milk anymore, I just frequented the nursery at all available time to breastfeed her.

With my second child, I did not put him at the nursery as my sister-in-law volunteered to look after him during her period of unemployment. The thought of pumping milk again is distressing. My friend suggested Medela electrical pump, said it was really good. However, it was too pricey. Another of my friends suggested Avent Isis manual breast pump. The pump alone is priced at nearly RM200, still expensive but still much cheaper than Medela but then again, Medela shouldn’t be compared as it is an electrical pump.

So I bought Avent Isis manual breast pump + the entire on the go set, cost me nearly RM400 but I never regretted it. I managed to pump 10 to 15 oz of milk under 20-30 minutes and quite painless. Choosing the right pump is pretty important. We sometimes need to invest more on a good pump otherwise, we will just get turned off breastfeeding and deprive our child of our milk.

Hyperactive Baby

2006-07-24T18:23:00.000+08:00

How do we deal with hyperactive baby? I had it easy with my first child, Mimi. Mimi was and still is a very manageable child. If I gave her lots of toys to play with, I could steal some time to do my household chores, take my bath, etc. She would ask permission before doing something. She loves to draw and color and loves books too - all very restful activities :) She is also the careful type and learns from past mistakes.

As for Naqib, he is totally different. It is not that he could not play independently, but he is most dangerous. Most babies learn to crawl , then progress to walking, then running. This Naqib of mine, from crawling to near running. He whizzes by and can sometimes just stumbles or bangs into the wall. He climbs on chairs, sofas, and whatever climable just to jump off it. He likes to open drawers, empty cupboards, and scratch my CDs on the floor. He is interested in all the household items but not his toys. He likes to carry stuff, dragging them if they are too heavy, from end to end.

He is also most impatient. If you say " Let's go for a walk.", there and then he expects you to go out. No dilly-dallying, otherwise, he would throw his body onto the floor screaming and kicking. I've learnt this and only say "let's go out" or "let's take bath" when all is ready.

Eating out is definitely a no-no. I could not get him to sit still at the table without throwing a tantrum coz he wants his freedom to move about. Regardless, he is so adorable, especially when he charges towards me screaming "Muuuummm-my".

Despite his hyperactivity, there is one thing that could hold his attention, it's NickJr's "Dora the Explorer".

It is truly amazing to him sit still for 1/2 an hour or sometimes even longer! Maybe other moms with hyperactive child could try get their child to watch this program. I would totally recommend this program coz it teaches you English, some spanish, counting, manners and good attitude, etc.

Naqib has been a fan of Dora since he was 1 year old. Thank god he still is :)

In search of a kindy

2006-07-19T09:23:00.000+08:00

Searching for the right kindy is a tough job. Didn't know it could be so hard. I went with my friend and we manage to visit 3 places in Bandar Baru Bangi. We both brought our kids for them to give their opinions. Little help there though.

The first stop is Q-dees in section 8. Unluckily for us, the supervisor was not in and one of the teacher just shouted out that info to us through the sliding door and there we stood, 2 adults and 3 kids, under the hot sun outside the gate. We shouted back that we just wanted to know the curriculum and the fees. After a while, the teacher came out with the brochure and asked to come back another time to meet the supervisor. Oh well, with that welcoming attitude, there'll difinitely be no coming back.

Next, we visited Ana Montessori in Section 2. Again, the supervisor was not in. She had just left. Hmm, the time (it was about half past 3) we picked to visit the kindies were definitely wrong. Next time, we should do our visits in the morning. The teacher, however invited us inside the garden and gave us some information on the curriculum. Half way through, the supervisor arrived and we had a more lengthy explaination. Meanwhile, the kids were having a ball with the swings, slides, and monkey bars in the garden. This kindy has a large garden indeed!

The supervisor showed us the curriculum. It includes the English, Math, BM, Fardhu Ain, Hafazan, Story-telling, Arts and crafts, and there're also slots which they labelled as Montessori Work and Cultural Circle. Montessori work covers what they called as practical life where the teachers/guides will teach the kids how to do simple, everyday tasks on their own such dressing up, tying shoelaces, talking and treating elder people, etc. The Cultural Circle is where the teacher will expose the kids to nature stuff such as animals and their eating habits, their habitats, etc. There is also a slot where the kids go up front to talk about anything they want, hmm .. am not sure whether this is part of the story telling slot. The class size is about 12 kids per teacher and lessons begin from 9am to 1pm. Interesting, but I was hoping that the curriculum includes role-play or drama.

The final stop was at Smart Reader at Section 4. Not surprising, the supervisor has already left. The teacher in charge furnished us with most of the details. At Smart Reader, the kids will study about the same thing as at Ana Montessori minus the fardhu Ain, I think, and their curriculum has additional baking and computer lessons. Basically, the kids have to do lots of worksheets. The place is nicely decorated, very colorful and vibrant. There are 15 kids per class, all of them are of the same age group (unlike Ana Montessori, where the group of kids will consist of kids between 3-5 years). The negative point is that the place is small. Smart Reader is situated in the first floor of an office block. I don't think the kids could run in there. They'd probably have to line up to go from class to class. I personally do not like worksheets, I think all-in-all I am just looking for a pre-school where Mimi will be happy. Having fun and learning at the same time.

I asked Mimi, which kindy did she like. One minute, she said she likes the kindy with the big garden and the next it was, "I like the colorful kindy, mummy" *sigh*

My friend and I decided to choose Ana Montessori. However, we discovered we did not ask enough questions. We do not know whether they are registered under the Ministry of Education, we did not see the inside of the kindy, we did not ask about the teachers there. So, we definitely have to go back to ask more questions. I found some articles on questions to ask when choosing a pre-school for your kids on the net.

10 questions to ask the school and 4 to ask ourselves

How do I choose the best preschool for my child?

Last but not least is the monthly fee. The monthly fee for Q-dees is roughly about RM275, Ana Montessori - RM225 and Smart Reader - RM250.

PBS Kids Stories is just cool!

2006-07-12T17:03:00.001+08:00

Finally had the time to sit down with Mimi and read some of the stories from the links given in the previous posts. She just loves PBS Kids Stories! They have a long list of stories and the stories were very book-like. Each story is about 8 pages long and each page has an illustration. Certain words are highlighted, I managed to get her to spell and remember some of the words. At the end, there'll be a game. Not all the games interest her but she really enjoyed the game at the end of the story titled "Zoop Zoop", the game is called "Word Play", well I won't explain the game in detail, do try it out with your kids and tell me if they like the game.

I tried to read to her some stories from Children's Classics from ByGosh.com and she didn't like them though, "Where's the pictures, Mommy?". I pointed out the sketches they had but her response was, "Is that it? Can we have another story?" So I guess the stories are better suited for older kids.

Stories for Babies & Kids

2006-06-21T15:23:00.001+08:00

I don't know about you guys but my kids, nieces and nephew are always asking me to tell them a story. We told them the usual Fairy Tales, Aesops Fables, etc. and sometimes we made up our own stories. My sis, who is good in writing, finally decided to write some of her own stories and put to paper (or computer) some of the interesting stories made up my youngest sis.

Here is the first kid story written for all parents who have story-loving kids:
The Bears and the Strange Bed

Other cool resources for kid's stories:
Children's Storybook Online
Here, you will find a large collection of illustrated stories for kids of all ages

PBS Kids Stories
The collection of children stories here come with pictures and you could even click on certain words for its meaning/definition. The best part is at the end of each story is a game. Cool! I recommend reading Dance in Smarty Pants, The Good Seed, and Zoop Zoop.

Kids' Corner
Featuring Stories of Beatrix Potter and there are some stories in Real Audio format as well.

Candlelight Stories
A long list of stories readable in HTML format. No illustrations for most of the stories, therefore faster downloads, suitable for modem connections.

Children's Classics from ByGosh.com
Collection of illustrated classics for kids of all ages.

Fun Activities for Home Teaching & Learning

2006-06-21T15:00:00.001+08:00

Here are some activities I tried out on my 4-year-old (going on 5) daughter. She loves the activities and sometimes she even create her own activities.

Word Drill
Need at least 2 kids to make it more interesting. Show them simple words. E.g. BOY, GIRL, BABY, CAT, HAT, etc. Group similar sounding words together. Make the sound of each letter to the kids. To recap, do a guessing contest, whoever guess the fastest gets a star. Get them to count the stars they obtained themsleves.
Skills learnt: phonics, spelling and counting

Guess and Draw
Divide a page into several columns. In each columns, write a word. Get your kid to guess the word. Then ask her/him to draw the picture of the word and let them colour their own drawing.
Skills learnt: spelling, drawing and coloring

Learn Arabic Alphabet
Teach your kid the Arabic Alphabet through singing the Arabic Alphabet Song. Make sure your speaker is turned on :-)

Humming
Hum a tune and get your kid to guess. Exchange role by getting your kid to hum a tune and you do the guessing.

Riddles
Take turns giving each other riddles.

Watercolor time
Write a word (be sure to choose a colorful subject/object). Get your kid to guess the word. Show him/her the primary colors (red, blue & yellow) and let them mix the colors to get secondary colors and tertiary colors.

Send your kid to Funschool
This is one school your kid wouldn't want to miss! It has games and activities for kids ranging from pre-school to the 6th Grade. My daughter is trying out the Rhyme Time. And there are the Animal Games, be sure to play with that. Your kids will learn the animal names and characteristics, their development, and lots more. Excellent website!

Let Mother Goose Caboose take care of your kids.
Learn the nursery rhymes, alphabets, puzzles, number, etc. Make flash cards, bookmarks, masks, jigsaw puzzle, maze, etc.
Recommendable website for kids!

Click on your fav cartoon character/show for online games & activities, downloadable worksheets, etc:
Dora the Explorer
Lazy Town
Elmo
Blue's Clues
Madeline
Little Einsteins
Barney
Barney Again

Simple & Healthy Kiddy Recipes

2006-06-20T13:01:00.001+08:00

Soya Bean Drink
My son suffered from cronic constipation after I stopped breastfeeding him. I gave him fruits and juice and tried all kinds of milk, one doctor finally suggested I stop milk altogether and give him homemade soy bean milk instead. And he is getting better, thank god!

Ingredients:
1 bowl of soy bean, soaked for about 4 hours
Water
Rock sugar

Method:
1. Put 2-3 handful of soaked soy bean into the blender.
2. Fill the blender with water till it's 3/4 full. If your blender is not that powerful, then fill it up until the beans are covered with water, blend and then add more water till 3/4 full then blend it again.
3. Blend it.
4. Sift/strain it with cloth sifter/strainer into the pot.
5. Repeat 1-4 until all beans are blended.
6. Boil the soy bean milk on medium to low fire.
7. When boiling, add in the rock sugar to taste.

Macaroni Cheese (source: pasta.allrecipes.com)
My kids just love this. Even my niece who is an extremely picky eater loves Macaroni Cheese. We sometimes buy the boxed macaroni Cheese from Kraft, and when I found this recipe and tried it out, it is as good!

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon salt
1 pound elbow, shell or other bite-size shaped pasta
2 (12 fluid ounce) cans evaporated milk
1 cup chicken broth
3 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup flour
1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese

Method:
1. Bring 2 quarts of water to boil in large soup kettle. Add salt and pasta. Using package directions as a guide, cook until al dente. Drain. To prevent sticking, drain and immediately pour onto a large lipped baking sheet and let cool while preparing sauce.
2. Meanwhile, microwave the milk and chicken broth in a 4-cup Pyrex measuring cup or bowl until hot and steamy (not boiling). Melt butter in the empty pasta pot; whisk in flour, then hot milk mixture. Continue to whisk until thick and bubbly, 3 to 4 minutes. Whisk in mustard, Parmesan and pepper. Turn off heat, stir in cheddar until melted.
3. Add drained pasta (and optional flavoring ingredients, see notes) to sauce, and stir until everything is well combined over low heat. Stir to heat through, and thin with a little water if the sauce is too thick. Serve hot (10 Servings).

Fishball Soup
Ingredients:
2 packets fishballs, any type will do
2 16-oz. cans of chicken broth
Sesame oil

Method:
1. Bring the chicken broth to the boil.
2. Add fishballs, return to boil.
3. Turn heat down to low, add 6 drops of sesame oil, black pepper to taste, and simmer for 3-5 minutes.

Served as is or with finely chopped scallions for garnish. I usually serve as is coz my kids don't like the scallions.

Will be adding the following recipes and more soon.
Steamed cake
Fried eggs with shredded carrot