WFMW - Neat Toys Rack

I used to have about 2 big plastic trays of toys in my living room. Of course there were more toys in my then only child’s (now I’ve 2) room. But generally I kept some in the living room so he could play there too. Well as parents you probably know that toys grow. Um hmm… almost as quickly as kids do! The room filled up and soon more trays were needed in the living room. It created more mess and it was such a bother when we needed to clean the floor what with all the filled trays lying around.Then one day when I visited one of my “mommy” friends I noticed she had bought a new plastic 4 tier trolley and kept her kids’ toys neatly in her living room. It was brilliant.

So I shopped around and bought one myself. It’s really neat. It takes up less floor space. It’s easy access to the toys for the kids. Best of all, it has wheels on them - yes! It’s mobile. You can push it around when cleaning the floor without having to bend too much. It can be be pushed to anywhere you want the kids to play (mine stays in the living room as there’s not much “other” places besides the kids’ room where they can play!).

Every now and then I rotate the toys. You know, store some into the cupboards and bring out others. Keeps the children interested… well… at least it does sometimes!

For more ideas visit Works For Me Wednesdays (WFMW).

He Gave His Only Son

A number of Sundays ago, I stood in church silently as everyone around me was singing worship songs. I was silent because my heart was stricken with fear. No one else knew, no one but God. My unspoken fears sought the Lord on my behalf.

It was the Sunday of the week I was told my son had to be sedated for a CT Scan. It was the Sunday, a day before the scheduled CT Scan thingy. It wasn’t a risky procedure. But somehow the night before (Saturday night) I remembered stories of people not waking up from anesthesia and suddenly I was gripped with fear. The thought that there was even a remote possibility I might lose my son (at least on earth) really, really scared me.

I told hubby Saturday night itself. He said, “Just trust God.” So I prayed. Still I went to church on Sunday with a quiet heavy burden.

So there I stood silent in church. Then while everyone was singing God spoke to my heart. HE said ”I know how it feels to lose a son, I lost Mine.”

That was all He said and that was all I needed to hear. That simple sentence reminded me that He knows what it’s like to be a parent and He experienced the pain of losing His only son even if it was for just a short while. He KNEW what its like to see His son suffer. He knows my heart as a mother. More than that He loved me and I am His child and so is my son. I can trust our heavenly Father.

My fears dissolved as I drew silent tears. How could I have forgotten that God is a Father? How could I have not realized He understood? And at the same time I was SO grateful. Grateful that He didn’t think my fears were too silly for Him. He took the trouble and made His way to minister to my heart.

Isn’t my God just marvelous? How could I but trust such a God?

I may never know what this life will bring but I know I can always trust the One who gave His only Son for me.

John 3:16
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Fitting In?

Well there you have it, Hubby-jr proves he can fit in!

“Un”fond Childhood Memory

I loved my childhood. I have many, many, MANY fond memories. But I have some not so fond ones too and this is one of them.

Childcare center!

My mom was a working mom, not by choice I must add. When I was born we had a full-time domestic helper at home to take care of me and my older brother. However the year I was to start primary school she left us (don’t know if mom let her go or she asked to go) and my mom had no choice but to put me at a childcare center after school.

It was HORRIBLE!

Till today (even with my failing memory) I remember some of my limited experience there vividly. The most traumatic was how they bathed us. They’d strip us and line us up naked in the bathroom. To make things easier for them, they’d line us up closely together (very closely). Then they’ll quickly splash water over us (from head down), soap and shampoo us and splash us with water again. Done. Mind you, I was 7 then, I showered myself at home. I felt so embarassed and awful. The food was also yucky and I had to drink milk (which I disliked profusely). In the afternoons all of us had to take a nap whether we needed one or not. I was 7! I didn’t need my nap. I just laid down together with a mass of kids and just stared into space and waited till nap time was up.

After a week, my misery broke my mom’s heart and she desperately looked for an alternative. We were so grateful she found a babysitter near our house. She immediately pulled me out of the childcare center at the price of losing the month’s fees she had already paid even though money was tight for us then. So from then on, I went to the babysitter’s house after school.

I was much, MUCH happier at the babysitter’s simply because it was a home environment. I had homecooked food and I had the privacy to bathe myself. The babysitter would talk to me and I remember watching and helping her cook everyday. She treated me just like her daughter. 

That was what made a huge difference. At the childcare center, I was just another kid. One of MANY kids.

So yup till today I’m anti-childcare centers! But that’s just me.

WFMW - Indoor Fun with Beans

The weather has been rather unpredictable of late, sudden showers has taken on an added dimension. They’re no longer just sudden, they’re erratic too! Sunny one second, pouring the next, sunny again and who knows? It may pour again! The eccentric weather plus living in an apartment with two young and active kids made me desperate for ideas to keep them entertained indoors.

Thankfully I remembered reading about this wonderful indoor activity at Pilgrim Parent sometime ago. I couldn’t try it out then as Little Missy was too young to handle beans (but not young enough to just lie down and stare at mobiles!). But now at 19 months…

Anyway, here’s what I did. I lined the floor with a quilt cover (any flat sheet will do. The bigger the better!) I opened a bag of raw soya beans I had and poured them into a plastic container and put it in the middle of the quilt cover. I added some toy plastic kitchenware like cups, spoons, plates, funnel and also beach stuff like buckets and spades. Then I revealed the set up to the kids! It wasn’t much beans but it was enough to keep my kids occupied for quite a while (I’m sure it’d be more fun if I add some more) and on more than one occasion! It’s a great substitute for sand or waterplay. When they were done, I removed all the plasticware, lift the quilt cover from the corners and gathered all the beans and poured them back into a container. I can always reuse them either for more beans play or to cook!

Besides just occupying their time, I also realised it’s a great platform for refining their motor skills (more for 19month old Little Missy) and for them to learn. I could use it to teach concepts such “empty”, “full” and “half full”, “shallow” and “deep”. It can also be used to reinforce “in”, “on” and “under”. Simply great as a speech therapy activity for Hubby-jr! (And at the sametime Little Missy learns too!)

I never would have thought a bag of cheap beans could be so useful! Thanks Pilgrim Parent for sharing the idea. It works marvellously for me. For more stuff that works go here.

Jacob Ballas Children’s Garden

Seizing the excellent weather on Saturday, we ventured to the Jacob Ballas Children’s Garden - a new garden designed and dedicated to children! It’s a really great place for kids. The garden has a suspension bridge, a tree house, a mini waterfall, a maze, a sandy playground, a waterplay area, and a few other stuff.

Entrance is free but adults must be accompanied by children below 12 years of age (I think that rule rocks!). Another thing to note, they close at 7pm.

Did my kids enjoy themselves? Take a peek at the photos.

Suspension bridge (it really sways!)

Pumping water @waterplay area

Playing with a watering can @waterplay area

Mini fountain @waterplay area

Okay, I’m sorry we didn’t get to take any photos of the tree house and other stuff. It was crowded with kids and we were too busy watching out for ours. Yes, the outing to the garden was exhausting for hubby and I. If you’re looking for a place for the kids to run and play while you relax, this is not IT! Well… unless you have older kids.

The verdict…

“GREEEAT FUN!!! I LOVED IT!!!”

“It was okay and by the way…” Little Missy babbling some ”constructive” feedback.

See! Freaky.

Here’s a photo of Hubby-jr on the day of his CT Scan (I didn’t realise hubby took a photo with his mobile phone till now!). If you haven’t read about the “drama” yet, click here.

See his hand. That’s for the IV thingy. They had to bandage it in such a way to secure it because he struggled so hard and they were afraid he’d detach it.

Now you see why I freaked out? (Shudder…)

More Speech Development Links

I had a little trouble falling asleep two nights ago. This time it was not due to the usual suspect… anxiety. This time it was because I was excited! I was surfing the net just before bed and like a kid stumbling into a free flow candy store, I discovered some wonderful speech development websites! Check them out.

General Speech Development Stuff 

• First stop, Speech Delay.com - I like this site because it’s comprehensive and very easy to understand. There’s a page on the degree of hearing loss which gave me a clearer picture of Hubby-jr’s situation (the chart helped a lot). If you’re interested to know, Hubby-jr has about 40-50dB HL only in the low frequencies and only in his right ear.
• Speech-Pathology.org - Okay the only reason I’m listing this site here is because I like their one particular page which charts normal speech sound development in kids. It’s a useful gauge.
• Speech Language Pathology Websites - A very comprehensive list of sites. This is where I found (in the Children category) the other sites l’ve mentioned here but if you need other related information, this is a good place to start.

Websites with Ideas/Activites to Encourage Speech Development

• Speech Therapy Activities (Speechtx.com) - I LOVE this site. It’s just filled with free ideas.
• Communication Connects (Parents Page) - They have a list of home activity ideas.

That’s it for now. I hope you find them useful.

By the way I struggled through the next day due to my lack of sleep. Hmm… I think I better stop surfing the internet too near bedtime lest I stumble on something that’s gonna overstimulate my mind!

“Yes honey, I’m coming to bed soon… as soon as I’m done at the computer…”

WFMW - Frugal And Eco-Friendly Way To Cook

I can’t rave enough about this magic thermal cooker. My mom told me about it years ago but since I was single and wasn’t cooking much (okay, more like NOT cooking at all) it fell on deaf ears. Besides it was such a hefty “investment”.

Well since I became a stay at home mom, things have changed drastically (to say the least!). Cooking has increased exponentially in my life! And I just love easy, hassle free cooking. That’s how I remembered this thermal thingy that mom talked about a long time ago. I window shopped for months before I took the plunge but I am SO glad I did. I think it’s the most ingenius and wonderful cooking invention since the microwave!

Anything you can cook in a slow cooker you can cook in this magic cooker. Just put all the ingredients in the inner pot and bring it to boil over the stove. Then remove it and place the inner pot into the thermal cooker and close the lid. Hours later your dish will be cooked. Voila! Yes that’s it. The food will cook just from the heat retained in the pot. Yes, without electricity or gas! Save some money and no worries about forgetting to turn off the gas stove. Wonderful huh?

So far I’ve cooked chicken stew, bak kut teh (local pork ribs herbal thingy), braised pork and even brewed chrysanthemum ginseng tea with it. It works! (Even for western stuff, click on the picture and read the Amazon review) It.Truly.Does.Work! It’s magic!

For other magical tips click here.

P/S: I finally bought a cheaper version (as I still had doubts about it and didn’t want to end up regretting an expansive buy) but it still worked. Now I’m saving for the branded one like in the picture!

Sex Education - Too Early?

A few days ago, Hubby-jr saw me changing his sister from a nasty poo (eww) and the conversation went like this.

Hubby-jr: Gross, mei-mei(little sister)’s penis has sai-sai(poo).

Me: No, mei-mei doesn’t have a penis. She’s a girl, she has a vagina. You have a penis because you’re a boy.

Hubby-jr: Mei-mei doesn’t have a penis. Mei-mei has a vagina. Boy-boy (refering to himself) has a penis.

Me: Yes, that’s right.

Today.

Hubby-jr: Mommy, this teddy bear has a vagina. Teddy bear does not have a penis.

Boy, I caaan’t wait till I’ve to explain the birds and the bees. I’m sure it’ll be easy peasy! (You know I’m being sarcastic right?) Geez and I always thought the teddy bear was male.