I Like Vegetables

  
 










Sometimes when I talked to other moms, they always complained about how their little ones just refused to eat vegetables.

So far, I've no problem with Eugene eating his vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower.

Usually for Eugene's afternoon snack, I will give him biscuits (very seldom), fruits or vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower.

For the broccoli and cauliflower, I will cut the floret into slighter smaller pieces and steam them.

I will then place them in the munchkin bowl and leave it on Eugene's play-bench. I'll then call out to Eugene to eat his veggies. That's it! He will come over to the bench to eat it or will carry the bowl walking around and eating it by hand.

I think the trick is not to make a big fuss out of it. Don't tell him that the veggies are very great tasting, it's good for you, you're a good kid if you finish it etc etc etc. If you do all this, the kid is gonna think 'wow, it must be bad if mom/dad is fussing over it' or 'oh, am I suppose to make a deal out of this, ok, I will make a deal of it'.

The first time, Eugene came to look at the bowl of veggies and feel it and then slowly put one into his month. Hmm..... ok, he didn't scrunch up his face. He just kept on eating. I figured that if he didn't want to eat it, I will somehow incorporate it into his food. But he seemed to have no problem eating it plain and steamed (so far, keeping my fingers crossed)

So the main point again : Don't make a fuss about it.

Baby Can Read

I had played 'Baby Can Read' dvd for Eugene to watch when he was much younger, but he doesn't seem to be interested.

Now that he's older, I had just started to play it for him again and this time, he loves it! He can watch it over and over again.

Eugene is good at learning new words vocally but he's not good at reading words.

I guess that's because when we are showing him picture books, we will just describe and make up our own stories instead of reading the words in the book. We had tried to read the words to him but he did not have the patience to look at the words. Maybe we should have been more insistent?

'Baby Can Read' will first flash the word, followed by the pronunciation and then the meaning (visually) of it and Eugene will always read it aloud too. Eugene can now say 'diaper' which I think is quite a difficult word to pronounce for a young kid.

I am only showing him volume 1 first as I feel that volume 2 and 3 are still too advance for him.

He can understand more than he can vocalise but I think he is slowly trying to say more words.

We were at a park yesterday and I had told Eugene to pose with some bronze figurine at the park. He said 'no, no' and then patted his chest and said 'scared, scared'. I had used the word 'scared' to him before but this was the first time he had actually said it and with the appropriate action too.

GQ Model ?

Eugene opened his cupboard and pulled out some of his clothing and was curious about the woollen hat and scarve.

I had bought the hat and scarve and some warm clothing for Eugene as we were thinking of taking a spring holiday but that did not materialise.

Anyway, I put it on Eugene to show him how to wear it and took some pics at the same time.

Ok, ready to pose ?

Smile Eugene!

Err..... maybe show a bit of attitude ?

Ok, better...... but show more attitude?

  
 Yeah, that's right! That's the attitude boy ! 
(doesn't he look like a model with that attitude pose and piercing look?)

Sembawang Shopping Centre - Splash Park & Astons

24 March 2010

Quite a number of mommies from a forum recommended 'Splash Park' at Sembawang Shopping Centre as a great place for the kids to get wet and have fun.

And so we thought we'll go and reccee it.

I didn't have any high expectation - how big and how nice could it be since it's in a shopping complex. But wow, I'm quite impressed!

The area is quite big and it's situated on the roof-top. 3rd level. There's the outdoor 'Splash Park' and for those who do not want to get wet, there's an indoor playground - both next to each other.

**Take note : The 'Splash Park' water play area is only activated as follows : 11am-2pm, 5pm-8pm

Er.... why hah? To save water? or just in case, it is so fun that the kids will refuse to leave - if no water, the kids will have to stop playing.

Aiyah, the children will just go and play at the indoor play-ground what.........


Eugene did not play in the 'Splash Park' as we didn't know what to expect. But will definitely bring him back next time for a splashing good time.



The indoor play area.

Had dinner at 'Astons' which is also on the same level as 'Splash Park'.

 ASTONS have both indoor and outdoor dining.
We had our dinner outdoor. This below is the indoor area.
Tasty western food and prices are pretty reasonable.
Think the Wagyu beef burger is their specialty but it was already sold out when hubby wanted to order it.

ASTONS Specialities

Sembawang Shopping Centre

#03-14

Tel : 67536302

Tasty Thai Hut

Saw the food programme "Real Deal For A Good Deal" reviewing this thai eatery called "Tasty Thai Hut".


Manned by a Thai lady. Self-service hor.
We were there on a weekend, to be expected, long queue.

Yummy Phad-Thai. A lot of places that serve Thai food here in Singapore couldn't do a good Phad-Thai but this is like what we had eaten in Bangkok. Great!

My favourite Tom-Yum soup. The soup looked clear and bland but boy, it was spicy and sourish, absolutely shiok.

The Mango salad - sedap!

Yes, it was worth the wait.

 Hubby wanted to order the Green Curry Chicken but sold out. That's all we ordered as I wasn't very hungry.

All dishes are at $4.00.

 Ambience ? Aiyoh, it's a hawker centre, whaddaya expect?

But we have nice music!

 

Tasty Thai Hut

Bukit Timah Market & Food Centre

 

Bottle Weaning

I think it was 2 months ago that I had tried to wean Eugene from the baby bottle but it was not successful. 

I had poured his milk into an Avent sippy cup, he took a sip and rejected it. Hmm.... maybe a little difficult for him to drink as he would have to lie back and tilt the sippy cup up (got no straw lah).

So I let him try drinking from another drinking bottle with a straw. He again refused.

So how?

I've read that it can be rather difficutl to wean a child off his baby bottle and it might take months!

Anyway, I thought I'll start trying to wean Eugene again.

I remembered that hubby's brother had bought for Eugene a Munchkin water bottle. It has pics of SpongeBob SquarePants and is bright and cheery. Will this work? The earlier sippy cup/water bottle was rather dull.

I intend to start weaning Eugene from the baby bottle only once a day during his lunch feed.

I showed Eugene the bottle and he was very excited. So I added his milk into SpongeBob bottle. He took a sip, stopped, look at me and gave me a funny look - he must be thinking 'why's my milky in this bottle?' - and promptly put it down ***sigh*** how now?

I put his milky in the fridge and we went to TP Central for my lunch. When we came home, I took his milky out from the fridge and told him "nice, cold cold". He immediately took it and drank, and drank and drank........... he finished his milk! Hooray ! I was so happy.

I tried again the next day and the next, and he seems to be ok with it now.

I think I'll still just give it once a day for a month before I try it twice a day.
 

So cute and bright and cheery!

SELF-FEED All The Way

Eugene, at 20 months, is finally able to self-feed from start to finish.

From previous attempts, he will spoon only a few spoonfuls and then lose concentration.

But for the past few days, he had been feeding himself from start to finish! He was able to concentrate and he didn't leave much of a mess.

I was already mentally prepared to wipe the floor, the high-chair, wipe Eugene but he did not create much mess. I guess when he was spooning the food into his mouth, his mouth was above the bowl and any food just drip back into the bowl.

So today, as usual I passed him his bowl of porridge for his lunch. He enthusiastically quickly climbed up his high-chair, slid his legs through the seat-belt and buckle himself (yes! he knows how to buckle up!).

He took one look at the porridge and he just starts to swirl his spoon in it.

Me : Eugene, eat your lunch

Eugene took a spoonful of it.

Me : Eugene, take more

Eugene took another spoonful and started to swirl his spoon in the bowl again.

He looked up at me : buk, buk (book, book)

Me. You want to look at some books?

Eugene : yeh (yes)

Me : so mommy will feed you ?

Eugene nodded his head.


**sigh**  does this mean he's no longer interested in feeding himself? Actually, I think he's bored with the porridge.

I do change the ingredients that goes into the porridge but I guess it is so boring having porridge most days and also unappetising looking at the gooey mush - I would be too.

So for dinner, he had minced beef with button mushroom spaghettis (made by hubby) and yes, he happily finished it up. He took such big spoonfuls that I had to stop him (scared he might choke) and told him to take smaller spoonfuls.

Steady, here I go !

Think I got something stuck in my teeth

Almost finish!

My MIL bought for Eugene a set of curved fork and spoon which is supposed to help a child eat easier. I did not give Eugene the curved fork to try because Eugene is pretty good with his fork already.

And yes, Eugene do find this curved spoon easier to manage than the tea-spoon that I usually give him to eat with.

So now, I have to crack my brain and come up with some new tasty and visually pleasing to the eye dishes - aiyoh, so headache.......

Anybody got some recipes which are fast and easy to cook up for a toddler?



*

Broken Spectacle

Aaarrgh....... Eugene just broke the handle of my spectacle.


I needed to go to the toilet urgently and had left my glasses in the middle of the dining table.

When I came out, Eugene was sitting outside the toilet and holding my spectacle on one hand and the broken handle on the other *****faint*****

He had apparently climbed up on the dining chair and obviously climbed onto the table to reach my spectacle.

Aiyoh, heart pain leh. Will bring my spectacle to my optometrist and see if it can be salvage, otherwise have to get a new pair of frames.

Which Potty?

I know that some mothers start to potty-training their young ones when they are only a few months old. Usually it meant bringing the kid every 20, 30 mins or 1 hour to the toilet in the hope of catching the timing of their pees and poos.

I know of one mom who had started her kid since he was a few months old using this method. The kid is now about 1 year plus and the mom is still potty training him.

Wah, I really salute her. I don't think I'll have the patience and energy to be doing this method.

I guess, I'm a pretty laid back mom. I don't want to stress myself as well as Eugene.

Eugene is now 20 months old and he's beginning to be aware of his pees and poos and I think it's time to start his potty-training (yes, yes, I know it's rather late compared to others).

I got him this potty. Thought it will be easier for him as it's low and easier for him to sit on it.

I got him to sit on it with his diaper still on to let him have a feel. 

He kept shaking his head and going 'no, no, no' (yes, he's very good at saying 'NO' now) and kept saying 'daddy, daddy'. I got Eugene to try a few time again but to no avail.

Then, it hit me. He wants to be like daddy - that is, sitting on the toilet bowl.

Obviously the toilet bowl is too big for him and so I got him this small potty seat to be placed over the toilet bowl.

And yes, he pee-ed! Yay!

Lips Vacuuming

13 March 2010

Hubby was vacuuming the carpets and let Eugene played with the vacuum cleaner.

Eugene, vacuum the carpet cos it's dirty.

Think I'll vacuum my lips too since mommy always say that my mouth and lips are dirty.

I have the video of him vacuuming his lips and the lips getting sucked out and thought of posting it but on second thoughts, better not, it is a bit gross.

Natural Calcium

Eugene did not start his first teething till way beyond the teething period. I guess his biological mother did not take enough calcium while she was pregnant as baby teeth buds start to form during pregnancy.

The pediatrician of course prescribe calcium, to be given twice a day.

I would rather Eugene have his calcium naturally from his food and so I just give the prescribed calcium once a day and supplement it with natural calcium made of Ikan Bilis or Anchovies.


There are many types of ikan bilis and this aunty at the market recommended the ones below.

Not rinsed yet.

Rinse the ikan bilis to rid it of any sand and grit and leave it to dry.

I fry the ikan bilis in a non-stick pan without any oil, over a very low fire. Fry it till crisp and brown but not burnt.

Then grind it. I grind mine till very powdery.

Sprinkle and mix into the food.

*

How Soon Does The Navel Heal ?

Illustrated BabyWatching 
by Desmond Morris

***** Click on pic to see full view to read *****

A very NICE blog

I had come across this very interesting food blog.

An old lady by the name of NICE (yes, that's her real name) had left behind her hand-written recipes which her grand-daughter has shared so generously in this blog :

http://nicerecipes.wordpress.com/



And there're such great nostalgic photos in her blog too.

Vittles Cafe

07 March 2010

Hubby had a sudden craving for burgers.

I had read some good reviews about Vittles and decided to head on there to try.

LOOKS delicious .....

 

 LOOKS scrumptious .............

 

 TASTED FLAT !

I ordered the Mushroom Pizza with Cheese.

When I bit into it, it was bland - let me try to explain.

I know that there were mushrooms, I know that there were cheese and other condiments on it but when I took a bite of it, I only tasted the pizza dough.

If I were to be blind folded and taste it, I would have thought that it was just plain dough.

No taste of mushrooms, cheese etc.

I thought maybe it's just me, something wrong with my taste-buds?. So I asked hubby to take a bite and yep, tasteless.

Same thing with the minced beef burger. Hubby said the burger was flavourless (I didn't taste the beef cos I don't take beef).

Oh dear, what happened?

Was the ingredients being kept too long in the freezer? Cos meat/ingredients will taste flat if kept too long in the freezer.

I remembered that my mom had given me a whole raw chicken and it was in my freezer for at least a month or more.
I finally roasted the chicken and when we tasted it, it was tasteless!
I had done my usual rosemary roast chicken which I'm proud to say is always very tasty but this time, zilt, nothing, absolutely unflavourful and I attribute it to the chicken being kept in the freezer for too long.

The best dish was ..........................

 the popcorn!

 

It was the free-flow popcorn given to the customers. 

They had a pop-corn machine where it's freshly made.

Once again, what happened? I had read such good reviews about this place. Hmm.... think I should see when the reviews were made.

I will be sending them an email about this - not to complain that I had a raw deal. My intention is to support our local entrepreneur. 

I hope to do my part by giving them my feedback. You know how S'poreans are, they will not give feedback, they just do not patronise the place again and I would really hate to see this place not making it.

Jia You!

Vittles

369 Sembawang Road
#01-05 Sembawang Cottage
Singapore 758382
(near Khatib camp, where Mcdonald's drive thru' is)
Tel: 6756 1138

Chair Posture 2

My boy has graduated from sitting on the arm-rest of the sofa (see here) to this........

Yep, between the sofa and the foot-stool.

I call this, his 'Kung Fu' moves. Hmmm..... wonder where he learnt this from - 'Kung Fu Panda?',  'The Matrix?'

 

And yes, for those of you who noticed the Ikea lamp behind - it started with Eugene making a hole in it, then more holes and finally, walah!, he shredded half of it.

My Melting Pot

01 March 2010

I had cooked my Teochew chinese cabbage soup with fishballs and fish-maw and had saved the left-overs for another day.

And today is the day that I'm craving for my cabbage soup.

The frozen soup was in a microwave container (actually a microwave pot to cook rice). I would usually set the microwave dial to 're-heat' but this time, I used the 'auto-menu' and set it to 'casserole' and left it at that.

I was feeding Eugene and so did not go and check it.

When I heard the 'ting' sound - I went to take a look.

OMG!!!!!!

WHAT HAPPENED??????!!!!!!

 

MY POT LITERALLY MELTED !!!!!!

This has never happened before. 

This was my first time using the auto-menu function under 'casserole' and maybe the heat was too high?  But then, this was suppose to be a microwave pot - isn't it suppose to take the microwave heat? 

I didn't dare to open the microwave oven to take out the pot. Waited for hubby to come back from work to do it. 

Hubby tried to pry open the lid but it was fused.

Oh gosh, I'm so apprehensive to use the microwave now.