Thursday 28 June 2012

Snax Box # 057 Rabbit & Bear Cheese

I bought some 'kuih bahulu' from market last weekend and packed them for my lil prince snack box today.  It was a bit plain having only the 'kuih bahulu'.  Hence, I added a rabbit and a bear shaped cheese on top.  I also gave him some 'fish' biscuits and some cherry tomatoes and grapes.

I need to buy some strawberries soon.  Lil prince has been asking me to buy strawberries for him.  I normally buy my strawberries from the market as they are very sweet (imported from Korea) but lately seems like there's no season for strawberries.  No choice, need to get them from Jusco this weekend.

Happy Weekend!

Tuesday 26 June 2012

Father's Day

*Delayed Post*
I've read so many blog about Father's Day celebration.  Really enjoyed reading all the activities that you planned for your fathers and hubby.  I made my so called jelly cake for Father's Day for hubby.  This is my second attempt trying to make my jelly cake. I wanted to try using the coconut milk as they taste nicer.

Here is the outcome of my teddy bear jelly cake.  Slight 'accident' at the right side of the paw ^__^.  I wanted to make layered jelly with different colours but it was too time consuming.  Hence I was only able to make three layers.  But the ones with all the smiling faces was not daddy himself but my two lil ones!  Lil prince was so excited when he saw the teddy bear and asked me 'who's birthday is it'.

We had dinner at Tai Thong restaurant with my in laws and ordered some nice dishes.  Luckily we had RM100 discount voucher.  We ordered toufu, steamed fish, mix vegetables with scallops and fried meat.  Overall it was a nice but rather expensive chinese dinner. I guess any meal with fish will be expensive :P





Here's what lil prince made for his papa from school.  A simple Father's Day card :)

Thursday 21 June 2012

The Power of "Interactive" Play Parenting Workshop

Last Friday, I received a call from Parenthood Magazine informing me that I've won a pair of tickets to the Power of "Interactive" Play Parenting Workshop which I was looking forward to attend.  I remember I was just trying my luck to submit the contest form when I was reading the Parenthood Magazine (May Issue).  It was really a pleasant surprise as I thought I didn’t win.   

Although it was a bit rush, we managed to make some arrangements so that I can attend the talk.  On the same day, we had Parents Teachers Day meeting at lil prince kindy too.  We reached the Empire Hotel at 9.45am, just on time before the workshop starts.   We were seated in a table of 10 pax.

The were some booth around giving information regarding their products such as Fisher Price, Nestle, Jordan and Baby Love.

The speaker was Carrie Lupoli, an Educational Consultant.  The workshop started at 10.15am.  It was an interesting workshop as there were some activities in between of the talks.  There was also a break for refreshments at around 12.00pm.  Ms. Carrie shared with us why play is important for a child and the types of toys that is suitable according to the child’s development. 
She also embedded an activity that requires us to find the answers for 10 things every child needs.  Each tables had different number of answers and we were asked to go around to get the answers from the other tables.  It also give us a chance to mingle with other members in the workshop too.
 

10 Things Every Child Needs
1.  Encourage Interaction
2.  Offer physical affection
3.  Provide a stable relationship
4.  Maintain a safe, healthy home
5.  Develop strong self esteem
6.  Choose quality childcare
7.  Engage in conversation
8.  Promote play
9.  Make music
10. Make reading a priority

Refreshments were served at around 12.00pm and we continued the workshop till 2.00pm ++.
It was indeed a wonderful event as I get to learn why play is important for a child development and how a child learn thorough play. 

I like this phrase she included in her handouts by Fred Rogers.
“ Play is not trivial.  When children play, they’re doing important work”
Fred Roges – Emmy award winning creator and host of Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood

I often think that playing is a waste of time until I attended this talk.  When a child plays, he / she also learns through play.  I guess from today onwards, my kids will be very happy to have more and more playtime with mummy!!
 




We were also given a goodie bag for the workshop that consist of some toys, nestle cerelac, jordan tooth brush and etc.  There were also some free diapers for lil princess from Baby Love.

Thank you Parenthood and Fisher Price for this wonderful event!



Wednesday 20 June 2012

Snax Box # 056 Fruits & Vegetables

Today is fruits and vegetables day.  I steamed some baby carrots and corns for lil prince snack box.  Lately, he seems to have fallen in love with these baby carrots.  He kept asking me to buy more for him.  I know he also like the mayonnaise sauce that we bought from Jusco.  Each time I pack baby carrots for him, I need to include mayonnaise.  Sometimes I do wonder if he likes to eat the carrots more or he likes the mayonnaise sauce.

I also added some cherry tomatoes and few pieces of 'greens' in the other food cup and two pieces of grapes.  Not forgetting his ABC's biscuits and some dried cranberries.

This is the mayonnaise sauce that I often use for my snack box and also for making salad.  Kewpie brand from Jusco.

Healthy snack box for lil prince!

Sunday 17 June 2012

Go Green With Leo

We just registered the kids for the Leo Club two months ago.  I received an email from Leo Club that they were having some activities during the school holidays.  One of the event was Go Green and we signed up for the event on 9 June.  Even our lil princess participated in this event.

We reached Sunway Pyramid at 10.15am on that day and registered ourselves.  The event was held at the LG1 Concourse.  Upon registration, each of them were given a button badge and a sticker with their names on it.  All the kids were ushered to be seated in front of the stage while the MC introduced herself and started the event by explaining about the importance of recycle.  We learnt about the big 3Rs --> Reduce, Reuse and Recycle! It was a very educational talk as the MC taught the kids about the importance of recycle and how to save our environment.  They also taught the kids how to use the three different kinds of recycle bins that they have in their malls.  The brown ones are for plastics and cans, the blues ones for paper and the last one is for cans.

After the talk, all the kids were ushered outside (at the other end of the entrance) for gardening activity. They also provided a pair of gloves for the kids.  Each kid was given a plant and they were required to put it in the pot provided. 

Lil prince had two plants because daddy was missing with lil princess.  Both of them went ronda-ronda in between the event.  Anyway, lil prince enjoyed this activity as he get to put the plants in the pot, water it and add on some soil and also a tag at the end of the activity.  He loves this gardening activity as this was his first time touching the soil, I guess :).  The next day, he asked me to bring him to Sunway Pyramid again!

After the gardening session, we went back to the center stage and there was some Q & A for the kids followed by the certificate giving ceremony for each kids.  We were also given a goodie bag together with the certificate.  I only took lil princess to collect her certificate as lil prince didn't want to go on stage.  There was also a photography session at the end before we proceed for our lunch.

Lunch was also FOC for the kids.  The lunch was provided by Wendy's.  Each of them had a burger, fries and a soft drink.

This was indeed a wonderful event for the kids. They get to learn a lot!

Here are the things from the goodie bags.  There were key chains, baskin robbins voucher, facial wash, recycle pens and pencils and sweets.  Guess what the kids like the most from the goodie bags?......Chocolates!  The Cocoa Tree shop was very generous in sponsoring the chocolates in the goodies bag.  We had two bags.

You may visit  Leo Club for more information on their privileges.  Registration is FOC.








Friday 15 June 2012

Snax Box # 055 Lucky Stars

I saw this lucky stars fish ball from the market last week and I bought it immediately!  They are so cute.  I thought that it would be a good idea to pack for lil prince snack box as I'm running out of ideas to pack food for him.  Besides, they are also good to use if we are cooking soup or porridge.



Today I packed lil stars for him.  I made some star shaped from the left over cheese bread and boiled three of the fish ball 'stars'.  Assembled them together in the box.  I realized I didn't have space to put his biscuits, hence I just put in a few in between.  Only managed to put in two food cups to cater for the fruits and vegetables.  I gave him some cherry tomatoes, peaches and grapes.


 This weekend is Father's Day.  Wishing all fathers, daddy, papa ---> Happy Father's Day.  Hope all of you will have a good time celebrating father's day with your dad and your hubby :)   Enjoy your weekend!
Picture credit : glitter-graphics.com

Wednesday 13 June 2012

First Visit To Petrosains


We started off our school holidays by going to Petrosains.  I wanted to use the complimentary voucher that we received previously as it was expiring on 31 May.  We thought it would be nice to bring the kids to Petrosains since we are not planning to go anywhere during the school holidays.  I guess as working parents, our kids holidays are whenever we get to take off from work, instead of following their school holidays.

Anyway, we got to go Petrosains FOC this time as the ticket covers two adults and two kids.  It was lil prince and lil princess first time going to Petrosains and my second time there.  Due to school holidays, this place was also packed with school kids.  However, the kids did get a chance to play on most of the exhibits there although some of them were not functioning.  The lighting inside was a bit dark, hence the photo that I took didn't turn out well.  I was only using my camera phone as I forgot to bring my camera!

I was happy to see that the Petronas Streetsmart exhibition was still there and of course both my kids jumped on to the racing car!

Lil princess also get to play at the Tot Spot area.  This was new as the other time when I was there, I don't recall seeing this area for kids.

Among so many items there, I like the 3D show the most!  We watched the Sea Dragoon show for 10 minutes.  I was surprise that there were so many things to see at Petrosains.  I'm definately going to go there again when the kids are older.  We went in at 1.30pm and came out at 5.00pm!  Imagine spending 3.5 hours inside.

By the time we reached home, both of them were already in their dreamland...z.z.z.z.z.z.z


Tuesday 12 June 2012

Snax Box #054 Simple Flowery Cheese

Today, I just packed something simple for my lil prince as I was not well.  I only had 3 hours of sleep because of my green tea!  Can't imagine the effect is so strong.  I've learnt my lesson, no more drinking tea at night!  Hence, it was really a tiring day for me plus with the Monday blues...the head felt so heavy.

My colleagues bought some cherry tomato from Cameron Highlands and I used it to pack for my lil prince snack box.  There were some yellow and red tomatoes.  I added some left over cheese cake that I have from yesterday.  Not forgetting his favourite ABC biscuits and peaches.

Kleenex® Hand Sanitizing Moist Wipes

I remembered when I first had my son, whenever we go out with him, we will always carry a packet of baby wipes with us.  We will always wipe on the things that he used such as baby chair, supermarket trolley and etc.  We were so concern about hygiene!  Hence, having a packet of baby wipes in our bags is always a MUST have whenever we step out of our house.

I received the package recently from In.Deed Communication that consist of Kleenex® Hand Sanitizing Moist Wipes and a cool children activity book.  Together with the package was some information that I would like to share with you.

It is very important for us to keep our hands clean all the time as germs are invisible to human eye but they exist everywhere.  We do not know where they hide so we need to defend our selves!

How?.......with Kleenex® Hand Sanitizing Moist Wipes!
This year, in conjunction with World Hand Hygiene Day which falls on 5 May,  Kleenex® will remind Malaysian families  the importance of keeping our hands clean via educational, hands-on activities and they have also introduced a new Disney-themed Kleenex® Hand Sanitizing Moist Wipes Multipacks. 

“At Kleenex®, we support the importance of a good hand washing routine but we also have a motto we live by when we find ourselves in situations where water is not readily available – when in doubt, wipe,” says Mr Sumeet Parab, Marketing Manager of Kimberly-Clark Malaysia. “We want to encourage people to live their lives to the fullest without being afraid of dirt or germs. This is especially important for young children who are naturally curious, and for whom exposure to nature and to outside surroundings is an important part of their developmental process. By keeping a pack of Kleenex® Wipes in your bag and in your car, you can easily keep your hands – and your children’s hands – clean while on-the-go.”

You won’t be surprise that germs can be found everywhere.  Here are some of the common places that they are found :

Germs can be found in these places too:
  • TV Remotes: These are crawling with germs, especially if you tend to snack in front of the television or change channels when you have the flu.  Remember to clean the remotes and your hands when you watch your favourite show on TV.
  • Telephones: These are ideal places where germs are easily transferred from your mouth to your hands and vice versa.  So, remember to disinfect your phones and hand phones regularly.
  • Buttons: We touch many buttons daily, be it in the lifts, vending/ATM/autopay machines, gaming arcades…and these harbour germs and bacteria.  Keep a pack of Kleenex® wipes on hand – it kills 99.9% of bacteria.
  • Shopping Trolleys: Here, germs easily travel between the hands, food and face.  Keep yourselves safe by wiping away the germs with Kleenex® wipes.
  • Escalators: The hand railings are constantly touched by people who come into contact with harmful germs and bacteria. Defend yourself effectively with Kleenex® wipes.
  • Computer keyboards: Between dirty hands and morsels of food falling in between the keys, your keyboard is a hotbed of germs.
  • Money: Our currency notes and coins have been through all sorts of dirty places before coming into contact with our hands.  Wipe our hands clean (after handling money), especially before snacking with our fingers or before touching any part of our face.

That is why it is important to keep a pack of Kleenex® wipes wherever you go.  Having a convenient, ready-to-use solution within reach is the key to keeping the hands clean, whether at school, at work, spending family time outdoors, running errands or on vacation – Kleenex® Hand Sanitizing Moist Wipes come in small, portable packs that the whole family can use and appreciate.  Stash them in bags, glove compartments and office drawers so it’s easy to remember that we should clean our hands before eating and drinking, after playing or touching pets, in-between errands, after coughing or sneezing, and in many other situations in and outside of the home.

Here are the benefits of Kleenex® Hand Sanitizing Moist Wipes.
  • Effective in fighting off 99.9% of germs
  • Gentle for your skin
  • Alcohol-free
  • Enriched with Shea Butter, Natural Aloe Vera and Vitamin E,
  • Dermatologist-tested as safe for use on babies and children
  • No dry feeling, no sticky or sudsy residue
  • No animal derivatives

Kleenex® Hand Sanitizing Moist Wipes is also uniquely textured and cottony soft surface helps to ensure that the skin is cleansed gently but thoroughly. 

 The multipack Disney-themed Kleenex® Hand Sanitizing Moist Wipes (in bundles of three single packs) are priced at RM6.90, and for a limited time, Kleenex® is also giving away cool children’s activity books and water bottles with every purchase.





To get instant updates and learn more about the product and about keeping our hands clean, participate in interesting discussions and activities and be a fan of the Kleenex Malaysia sharing movement at http://www.facebook.com/Kleenex.Malaysia, or call Kimberly-Clark Consumer Care-line at 1-800-82-1188 (toll-free) on weekdays from 9am to 5pm.

Remember to keep a pack of  Kleenex® Hand Sanitizing Moist Wipes where every you go to protect your family!

Thank you Sophia and Kleenex for sharing this with me.

Monday 11 June 2012

Snax Box # 053 Happy Hearts

School starts again.....

Hope all of you had a good time during the school holidays.  We didn't go anywhere during the school holidays except for bringing the kids to the mall.  However, we had the opportunity to participate in the Leo Club event (will blog about it soon) and we visited the Petrosains at KLCC.  Hopefully, after papa's finished his exam this week, then we can plan a short getaway! 
I called my snack box Happy Hearts today :P.  I cut the cheese bread into heart shape and added the seaweed as facial expression.  Put two tiny heart-shape sprinkles on the cheek.  Other items in the snack box are peaches, biscuits and cheerios + two marshmallows.

Wishing you a Happy Monday!

Friday 8 June 2012

Breakfast for Kids

After I failed creating my 'so-called' crab sausages, I tried once more with my fish sausage cutter.  This time I used another type of sausages (the mini sausages with cheese filing inside).  Surprisingly, it turn out okay.  At least I can see some 'fish' shape.

I wanted to make some simple breakfast for the kids last weekend.  I took this opportunity to use my bear-shaped egg silicon and fried my egg.  Outcome....not really good, can't see my bear shape.  It looks boring, so I added the eyes and smiley face with tomato sauce.

I made two sets, one for lil prince and one for lil princes.  The other set, I fried a 'train' egg.  Lil prince being the elder one get to make his choice.  He picked the 'egg train'.  I also fried few pieces of chicken ham and boiled some fish cake.  I bought the fish cake from market.  I think we can get them in a packet from Jusco (if I remember correctly, saw this before in Jusco).

Here are my simple creation for my two lil ones!
Bon Apetit!

Enjoy your weekend !

Tuesday 5 June 2012

Mickey Mouse @ Midvalley















We went to Midvalley last weekend and since it was a school holidays, we went there early to secure a parking.  During school holidays, this shopping center is packed with lots of shoppers.  We went there at 10.00am and managed to rent the stroller for my lil princess too.

The other reason we went there was to see the giant mickey mouse!  Lil princess kept on saying 'mimi mouse' (she still can't pronounce it correctly yet ^__^).  It was kind of hard to take photos too as there were lots of people there as expected since it was weekend plus it's school holidays.

There were so many different kinds of mickey mouse.  I only managed to snap a few mickey mouse.

We had lunch at TGIF as we need to utilize our food voucher that we redeem from our credit cards last year.  It was going to expired.  We ordered the tennessee chicken and shrimp for ourselves and the kids get to share the fish and chips.  We also ordered the stuffed mushroom.  At TGIF, you get a free kids meal when you ordered a main course.  Luckily we only ordered one main course as we had to finish the kids meal too.

We only visited the Tupperware party which was at the exhibition hall and Toys R Us in Midvalley on that day.  We decided to call it a day as there were too many people.  I guess it is due to the school holidays that everyone take the opportunity to do some shopping and to bring the kids around.

 Among all the mickey mouse there, this one is my favourite!



Sunday 3 June 2012

Fish Porridge with Carrot Stars

School holidays has started.  How was your holidays?  I love school holidays as I don't need to rush in the morning to send my lil prince to school and also I get two weeks off from packing his snack box.  Time for mummy to rest my mind ^__^.

Since I don't need to fetch him to school, I had time to go to market to buy my favourite fish!  Last weekend, I cooked the 'sang yu' porridge with carrots.

When I was  young, my parents always tell me that eating fish is good.  It will help you in your maths.  I wonder if this is a myth or is it a fact?  Anyway, I love to eat this 'sang yu' coz it's boneless!  I don't have to worry about picking the bones out for my lil ones.  Once the porridge is almost done, just pour in the fish and let it cooked for another 5 -  8 mins.

I also added some carrots in the porridge and once it's scoop up in a bowl, I topped up with some decorations.  Here's my fish porridge with lil stars! 





One bowl for lil prince.




This one is for lil princess.