Sunday, August 31, 2008

Bento #5

We were invited to a BBQ yesterday afternoon, so I packed 2 lunch boxes for the boys. 

For Marcus


Organic teddy bear pasta cooked in stock, with corn and carrots. Half boiled egg, one chicken nugget and half avocado. 3 organic cheese Mouse shaped biscuits on some cashew nuts and a mashmallow.

For Nicholas


Nicholas had the same food except the nugget and avocado was cut up for easy feeding and no sweet, nuts and biscuits. 

The bento created a big commotion at the BBQ as the ladies gathered to woo and ahh over the food presentation which embarrassed Marcus slightly. Haha! 

Wallace & Gromit



This is M's current favourite which he called the Cartoon Dog. He was given "The curse of the were-rabbit" as a present from Aunt Heidi recently and has been asking to watch it everyday. Personally, I find the animation annoying sometimes though there are some funny moments. But he likes it so much and I don't know why. E bought him the Wallace & Gromit Annual 2009 book last weekend and he has been reading it on his own in bed. I reasoned there is a certain amount of value in watching this animation since it sparks an interest in more reading of different topics, other than those related to vehicles.

We don't subscribe to the Disney Playhouse channel on purpose and he doesn't know about the other cartoon or kids programmes channels on TV either. So whenever M wants to watch TV, he only asks to watch the programmes which we bought on DVD. That way, we have control over what he watches (most times anyway) though he does watch some movies with us. We do introduce the kids to the National Geographic, Animal Planet, Discovery or Travel & Living programmes at times since they can be very educational and interesting, but usually they don't sustain the boys' attention for long. 

M decided that he is too old for Hi5 now, so he rather not watch it. He likes Tom & Jerry cartoon too much though and will gladly sacrifice play time for that. Again, this isn't my choice of educational TV though it is great recreation for him, so we relent at times when he asks very politely. 

Well, E and I watched plenty of TV when we were growing up and like E said, he thinks he is a very smart person. As long as we ensure he is watching appropriate programmes and there are other avenues of learning, the kids will grow up fine. 

Bento #3 and #4

I couldn't resist making more carrot flowers after Marcus' warm reception, so I made a whole bunch of them. Took a few more minutes but the aesthetic appeal is worth it. Chipsy got all excited seeing them though he still won't eat more than a piece, but nevertheless, a good start.

Bento #3: For lunch at school this week. 

Main dish was braised groundnuts with tofu, accompanied with brown rice to achieve complete vegetarian protein combo. Steamed carrot flowers with french beans and baby corn placed on top of main dish. Heart shaped Peckham pears, mashmallow and some wheel biscuits. 


 

First attempt at the "garden look". :D 
He loves the main dish, especially the groundnuts. Left behind a piece of pear as he was full up. 


Bento #4: Weekday dinner



First attempt to make a bunny. Didn't have any other suitable ingredients for the face, so made do with edamame and asparagus. 

White bunny made with sushi rice, on a bed of stir-fried chicken, cabbage, asparagus and corn. Half avocado and sticks of edamame for sides. An Oreo as sweets.

This bento made all my 3 boys laugh. Marcus resisted eating the rice at first as he thought it odd to eat a "bunny face" but later ate it all up anyway and asked for milk to dip his Oreo in. 

Shall try again soon to make a better bunny face.   

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Bento craze!

I have gone completely nuts over bento art! I can't stop surfing to look at all the incredible bento creations on the Internet. Almost all my free time is now spent browsing at food that are too pretty or cute to eat. :)  Even Marcus laughs at many of them, which to me, is the whole point. Yeah, I am the kind of mother who will spend the time and effort to make cute and pretty bento just to get a laugh out of my kids. So already I have mentally noted a few designs that I intend to try out and I am so looking forward to seeing the boys squealing with excitement as they open their lunch boxes and see the cuties peeping at them.  

Few days ago, we bought a new lunch box which has a separate compartment for accompanying cutlery and also a new car-shaped Bob the Builder plate for Marcus. I served his lunch on the new plate the following day and he laughed when he saw the food and insisted on eating his lunch immediately. The effect was amazing! 



Lunch: Jacket potato with avocado and prawns, carrots, baby corn, half egg, grapes and heart-shaped Peckham pear. He loves the heart shapes!

Nicholas' food was served in the new lunch box and the novelty worked superbly too. The tot ran towards me and kept shouting "Eat this! Eat this now!"



Today, I was really rushed at lunch, so I just served the kids' lunches on a regular plate. Both boys looked at the food and complained loudly! Marcus grumbled that he didn't like the plate, he wanted a lunch box and where are his snacks and all the pretty things! So I fixed Marcus a mini snack after lunch to appease him. The splash of colours and novelty worked fabulously as he munched happily on the nuts, crackers and cheese.



Nicholas couldn't complain the same way with the lack of language skills, so he protested by pointing to the kitchen while repeating "Box! Not this! Box!".  He did eat his lunch in the end and forgot about a fancy box by the time he was done. 

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

"Single" Parenthood

Today is like a practice day for the coming week of being a "single" parent. E left early this morning for quick trip overseas and will only be back tomorrow evening. This is nothing compared to the coming week when he will be gone for 8 days, for 2 back-to-back trips. 

All the frequent trips before were easier to manage as I either had only 1 kid or already had a maid by the time I have Nicholas. This coming long trip will be the first time I will have to handle the household and both kids all on my own. I can't even count on mum this time since she has her hands tied looking after my niece. A day or two, without any support or relief of any form is manageable. But this long duration will be really tiring. Already I can think of the pockets of time in some days of the week when there will be added stress and some challenges. 

I definitely need to do some massive shopping and cooking to stock up the freezer of the goodies which I can easily defrost. Meals is an area which I would hate to compromise. After a hard day, nothing calms and cheers me up more than a good dinner. Serving up nutritious and delicious meals for the kids make me feel good about my work too, so no compromise on quality there. 

I don't intend to use TV as a substitute nanny either unless I really have no other choices, so I must find some ways to entertain the kids while I cook and do the necessary chores. Neither do I want to cut back on the kids' outings to do fun things. Oh well, it will be harder but definitely manageable, as long as I find ways to improve the routines further and in the process make my days less tiring. 

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Too much TV



Yes, I hate to admit this but in my opinion, they are watching way TOO much TV nowadays. 

Nicholas wails almost every morning the moment he wakes that he wants to watch Cat, referring to the Tom & Jerry cartoon we have on VCD. I try not to give in usually, but it is a tough one. Between E and I, we have been rather inconsistent in this area.

Whenever the boys get super cranky, they almost always ask to watch TV, and the rectangular box really works as a soother too. So we do relent at times and often, too easily. 

Hmm.. gotta improve that.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Beach in the afternoon

Instead of a lazy Friday, I brought the boys to the East Coast Park for picnic and sand play, straight after picking M up from school. Chip was so excited about taking a taxi that he squealed half the way there. 

Of course I took that opportunity to pack a bento for M and a fruit box for myself. I fed N before we left home and took along an avocado and some rice cakes for him. Forgot to take picture of the bento, but it consisted of delicious Virginia ham and cheddar cheese sandwich, some grapes, apples, cashew nuts and a mashmallow for the sweet tooth. 

The weather was fabulous. A little too hot and sunny but yet with a sea breeze constantly, we didn't perspire at all. We chose a spot and laid down the mat by the beach to snack on our lunch before the boys began their sand play. I just relaxed on the mat, enjoyed the beach and breeze and smiled the whole time. 




Chipsy exclaiming as he spotted an airplane.


My boys pushed the stroller and barang barang the whole way back to the taxi stand. I just strolled next to them swinging my arms. :)

Marcus' art

Here is a selection of Marcus' drawings for the past months. On average, he draws about 3-6 trucks a day, so this is really a tiny percentage of our collection, and not necessarily the best either as I only went through a small pile few nights ago to take these photos. All writings on the drawings are his.


A Dump Truck. 

A Methodist Truck. Not sure what this is, but he borrowed the word Methodist from a church's name. I vaguely recall he said this is a truck used at the Methodist church only.

A Dump Truck with cute wheels! Look how round the wheels are.


A cargo truck for mama. He read about wheel arch, cargo carriage, cab and cargo box from his books on trucks which he borrowed from library. He remembers the terms and wrote them on his drawing.

A beautiful dump truck. See the proportion of the tipper body vs the rest of the truck. He was very careful about drawing it proportionately and discarded a few drawings prior to this which he deemed not good enough. (As I type this, I realise I forgot the name of that part of the truck which dumps and had to ask Marcus who is now lying on my bed watching TV. It is funny to see him paused from his TV programme and relaxingly tells me the answer. I feel a little silly that I am asking him for the answer.) 

A SBS Transit bus. See what he notices about the doors and windows of buses and check out the trapezium shapes at the top. I am amazed by his observation. The vertical lines at the top are supposed to depict rain falling. 

He accidently tore the paper later and asked E for tape. He then taped the paper back all by himself which amused us so much. 

A Brush Truck. Supposed to be like a road sweeper.

A dog catcher truck. He saw it on the Tom & Jerry cartoon and has been talking about it for days. And one day he drew it when I was taking a nap next to him. Notice the loop on the top right. That is for catching dogs. 


A Big Rig. Notice how round the wheels are and how rectangular the windows are.

A police truck for papa. The cab in front and police box at the back. He read about the cabs of big trucks, so decided to call the front of this truck a cab too.

A JCB tow truck. Notice the hook for towing and the pretty shape for the cab. 

A JCB concrete mixer. He meant JCB but was confusingly wrote JBC instead. Look at the beautiful concrete drum and the turquoise stripes which are similar to a particular one we often see around our place.



A gorgeous vehicle transporter for papa which carries a small car. Check out the tyres and special look of the wheels. He often pays attention to the differences in the wheels of vehicles when he walks past them. Sometimes he comments on the prettiness/ugliness of the wheels and he reflects them on his drawings. He colored the tyres of the vehicle carrier but decided upon finishing that he was not happy with the tyre of the back wheel. So he got discouraged and gave up colouring. 
For a long time, he wasn't happy with the roundness (or lack of it) of the wheels he drew and was often sulking after he finished his drawings. So one day, E solved his problem by teaching him how to use a stencil. Ever since, he uses the stencil almost all the time to draw the perfect circle.



He can be such a perfectionist sometimes. :)

Friday, August 22, 2008

12,000 calories

The first thought I had when I read about Michael Phelps few weeks ago was the swelling pride his mum must have felt to raise a son like him. I watched several of his races in the Olympics out of curiosity after all the hype about his predicted wins. He is a real shocker in the pool!

I just learnt from the news that he was worth US$4 million before the Olympics. Today, he is estimated to be worth US$100 million and still counting, with new sponsors calling everyday, wanting a piece of him. Gosh! That guy is only 23! Of course behind all the success is his sacrifice, pain and dedication for years. But hey, it gotta be worth it! 

What is totally amusing is his winning diet! Quoted from the papers..

Breakfast: Three fried-egg sandwiches, two cups of coffee, a five-egg omelet, a bowl of grits, three pieces of French toast and three chocolate chip pancakes.
Lunch: Two large ham and cheese sandwiches, half kg of pasta and an energy drink.
Dinner: A large pizza, half kg of pasta and an energy drink.

He deserves another gold medal just for being able to keep those 12,000 calories down in his body and still swim those incredible records in the Olympics.  

It is very sweet though to read that the first thing he wants to do when he gets back to the States is to spend more time with his mother. Aww.. 

Thursday, August 21, 2008

When he does something wrong...

and he gets scolded, Marcus will respond (usually in a soft voice) with one of these: 

"But I am still young!...  or
"But I am only a child!...   or
"But I am only 4 y.o.!...   or

... so I don't know how/that it's wrong/what to do/can't control myself!"

He must have learnt it from us. Sometimes we explain to him that Nicholas is still small, and he doesn't know that certain actions are wrong/not nice and we have to be patient to teach him. 

Sometimes when E scolds him for his tantrums or bad behaviour, I may whisper to E that he is only small, so he can't control himself. When I lost my temper with him, sometimes E will also defend him in a whisper, more like a reminder to me that he is only 4. So he must have overheard us.

We have never spanked him or even hit his hand as a form of discipline when he does something wrong. Besides time-out, we do send him to his room or take away the objects that are the centre of conflict (usually toys which he fights over with Nicholas). And I believe it is because we have never spanked him, that he doesn't even need spanking to know that he is being disciplined. 

Sometimes after he has done something naughty, like kicking Nicholas or snatching his toys, E or I just need to walk over and use a harsher tone to tell him that what he did is wrong and he would start crying. We do recognise that some episodes of crying were just drama he put up to gain some sympathy points but other times, they were genuine tears of remorse and even embarrassment of his own behaviour. We then react accordingly. But over time, I do think that he has learnt what is acceptable behaviour in many ways and what are strictly no-no, even though he will continue to challenge the boundaries. I see that as a positive development and it can only be wonderful as he learns more about himself, his feelings and how to deal with people around him. 

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

My boss

Marcus had a chat with me recently about adults going to work. 

He understands that I left my job when he was born to look after him and now I look after Chip too. Someone has to work to bring home the bacon, so that responsibility falls on papa. After learning that papa's boss is in the office, he asked if I am now working for him and Chipsy. That made me laugh! 

It is technically true that my sons are my bosses. He calls himself the small boss and E is my big boss. Then he paused for a second and added that the smallest boss is Chipsy! 

And the conclusion is "Mama has 3 bosses!"

Extended school days & Bento #1 and #2

I am definitely more excited than M about his first extended school day. 

I have been very excited about the prospects of making him his first bento to enjoy with his friends and teachers and all the new stuff he is going to learn in Chinese. It is embarrassing to admit but I found myself so excited that I couldn't drift off to sleep last night till past midnight! Haha!

For the past 2 months, I have been trying to explain to the boy the concept of staying in school after his morning class and have lunch at school, before proceeding to a different classroom with Chinese teachers for some very fun activities. He starts his 3 hours BDB (Bian Dan Ban) today, but I am not sure if he really comprehends what to expect. 

I briefed him several times that I will send his lunchbox in to his teachers when he finishes his school today, and showed him the very cool School Bus bag I got a Japanese neighbour to shop for in Tokyo and his lunchbox, so he would recognise them. 

He has never eaten from a lunchbox before, so I decided to let him try that yesterday in the comfort of home. He was so amused when I showed him the lunchbox which I prepared specially for him and he smiled sweetly at me and even asked if Chipsy will get his own lunchbox too. 

Bento #1 : For lunch yesterday.



Forbidden rice with steamed cod and courgette. Almonds. Apple and mini chocolate wafers.
The apple was cut into bite size and I included a green elephant pick which he made him smile. He ate up every edible bit in the box and concluded that it was a good lunch. :) 

Bento #2: For lunch today. 




Potato gratin. Savoury sweet corn pudding (his favourite and it's not dessert). Seedless grapes. Almonds and Multigrain cereal. A pack of Smoo milk.



I made both the gratin (picture above) and sweet corn pudding according to recipes in Nigella Bites. They are so simple to make and yet so heavenly delicious that I must have made them over 40 times!

Already, I have got zillions of ideas of the cute bento I am going to make for him in the weeks to come. I can't wait to pick him up from school later and chat about his day and his lunch. 

Hmm... now I am wondering if I should persuade E to let me make him a bento to take to work. I'll bet he says no unless it consists a large portion of curry chicken or black pepper crab. Haha! 

Edited to add: According to the teacher, M ate everything in his lunchbox very slowly and was the last to finish. He said he liked the food, but he didn't eat the gratin because he was full up. He resisted participating in many of the activities in the new BDB, but I am sure he will get round to loving them in the next few lessons. 

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

My Train




He plays with his train set everyday for the last 3 months. I paid $40 for it after 50% discount at the ELC store. With some coaxing, Marcus will set it up for his lil brother to play and with even more coaxing, he may even clean up after! 

They do fight very often as both want to have a go at the same time, usually for longer than the other would allow. For that discounted price, I deem it a good buy. 

To go with the theme and passion for train, we have been reading Nicholas a Byron Barton book which really captures his interest.


E bought it when Marcus was about 25 months, together with the author's other equally fantastic book on Boat. Within a week after purchase, Marcus could read both books fluently. 

Sometimes, I encourage Marcus to read books to his brother. It amuses Nicholas so much when Marcus reads to him, not that Marcus isn't reading properly, but I think he finds the change in reader fascinating. It is great reading practice for Marcus and also an excellent bonding tool for the boys. 

It is indeed "a stone kills two birds" move. And I can just sit back and relax with a cup of coffee. Simply perfect!  

Still passionate about Lego









Though the sets are expensive, costing between $30 and $120 each, they are really good value since Marcus plays with them everyday. We just can't underestimate or undervalue the educational and recreational value they offer. Nicholas is likely to play with them more too, so we are obliging Marcus' requests for new sets. Already, he has placed his sights on a few of the larger and more expensive sets, like the currently out-of-stock Mobile Crane. Doting papa has even searched all over Singapore and hunted down the only set available (at least that is the only set we can find) and rushed to pick it up. It is now discreetly sitting in the study, all wrapped up, as one of the surprises for Marcus when he turns 4. 

Monday, August 18, 2008

Birthday plans

We finally decided to do it differently this year for Marcus' birthday celebration. 

After 3 years of celebrating at the condo's function room, we are going to have a small party in his school instead. I just think that at his age, he will enjoy celebrating with the little friends and teachers who mean something to him, so initially we have wanted to throw a party at Go Go Bambini, My Gym or similar places and let him choose the friends to invite. 

However, after weeks of prompting, his guest list consists only of Bryan and Tarun from school whom he deems are his best friends of all times, and Kana and Nelson. We decided to change plans and bring a cake, party bags and snacks to school so the kids can sing him the birthday song. When I told him our plans and ask him if he would like it, he smiled shyly and said "But I might hide under the table when they sing me the song, because it is so funny." I think he meant he would be embarrassed. 

To digress a little.. Marcus has been saying the "I might .... if ... " recently. Like the other day at Sentosa when he said "If we can't go up on the wheel today, then I might want to pick a flower" Huh?? I don't see the connection there, but he did pick a flower for himself immediately after. And this morning before school, he was grumpy from being tired and as he fussed, he said "If I go to school, I might not want to do any work. I might just play all the time." 

Back to birthday plans... We probably will get him to choose 2 cakes, one for school and another for private celebration with close friends only. Got to plan for party food and goodie bags too. 

In October, we shall do a big bash for Nicholas as he turns 2. 

Up Close and Personal






Sunday, August 17, 2008

Weekend Fun

We decided not to laze and brought the boys to Sentosa yesterday. It was great fun. We went with Marcus' choice of transport into the island via cable car and being my maiden trip, I enjoyed it as much as my babies. It was really quite amazing and Chipsy was in awe too from that height. More sand and water play at Palawan beach before taking the cable car back. 





After dinner, the kids bonded with my mum who sweetly came over to babysit so E and I could go on a dinner and movie date. A rather romantic way to unwind. 

Sunday morning was spent taking the kids for a swim after my lazy coffee and morning chit chat with my mum who stayed overnight. As I mature, I must admit I really enjoy seeing my mum more often and especially cherish spending time chatting about mundane stuff. The afternoon was spent in the company of the Browns and Wincklers and some lovely cakes, macaroons and meringues at Robertson Walk, followed by beer and dinner at Clarke Quay. 

And Marcus has had his largest indulgence of sweets ever in a single week, after tucking in to a fair portion of chocolate cake, meringue, muffin and ice cream. He recently informed me that he really likes chocolate, which comes as a bit of surprise really, since he had previously decided that it was so yucky.



It has been a rather hectic and eventful week for the kids. E was off work for 9 days (weekends included) and the boys had been to the Explorer Kids, swimming, sand play, Sentosa and Animal Resort, in addition to the precious time spent with their Aunt Heidi and Uncle Ewen who were over from Bangkok for quick visit and granduncle Michael from Hawaii. So all in all, the kids have had good fun and we adults can't complain either, given our plentiful opportunities for feasting and cakes. Maybe only about our waistlines.


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