Automatic Dustbin

He is so fascinated with the automatic dustbin outside the school!

Linking up with Sakura's Wordless Wednesday.

Snake, Paper plate stingray

Brekkie No. 3

 

Chinese New Year is a big thing in our family.  Every year, we will travel back to Malaysia for about two weeks for the celebrations.  During the festive season, we will have the typical Chinese steamboat reunion dinner, red packet ("Angbos"), mahjong/cards games, abundance of homemade cookies and firecrakers.  My boy was introduced to firecracker when he was only 2 years old ;P  The type you throw it on the floor that create small spark under our close supervision, of course!  That was his first encounter with firecrackers.  Last year, he was daring enough to try something 'bigger'. He held the firecracker stick together with Papa which lighted up, shot into the sky continuously with a sharp 'bang'.  Apparently, they have very creative names for all sort of firecrackers in Malaysia.  But, erm.., I could not remember any.  Needless to say, my son is looking forward to playing firecrackers again this year. 

Back at home, I did very little decorations in our home since we will be far away.  I pasted a pair of golden snake poster on our door to symbolise the year of snake this year.  Speaking of which, I had the urge to make something relating to the Lunar New Year.  So, I created this big fat snake using multi-grain loaf from Four Leaves for our breakfast this morning.  Spread with emmental cheese, tuna mayo, tomatoes and Japanese cucumbers.  It's a bit short for a snake but my boy commented that it looked like an anaconda ;))

Yesterday, together we made a paper plate stingray.  Materials you need are simply:-

• A round paper plate
• Crayon or watercolours to paint
• Wiggling eyes
• A straw

Pumpkin rice, Almost a red panda

Bento No.  284

Yesterday, I made his favourite pumpkin rice together with some cherries.  However, my boy complained I packed too little :P   It was one of those creations of mine that caused some confusion.  My son said it looked like a cat.  Paused for a second, he changed his mind and told me "It's a dog!".  Then, he shook his head and commented "No, no, it's a red panda! Yes, it's a red panda!!".  What do you think?  ;P

 

It was raining heavily over the last weekend.  The only place that came to our mind was Changi Airport where we could eat and shop comfortably, sheltered away from the rain and gusty wind. And there were plenty of things to do and play for the little one.  He went for the tallest slide for many rounds and watched 'Smrftastic' musical live show.  He even ate rainbow colours popcorns and bluish candy floss!

 



 

 

 

 

Linking up with A Happy Mumy's Creativity 521:-

 

Land and Sea Brekkie

Brekkie No. 2

My boy was so happy that I made a Mickey mouse breakfast for him and he requested for more...  "A car egg" in his own words.  It is basically placing hard boiled egg into the car shape egg mould.  He would not eat the egg yolk if it was just another boring egg.  By making breakfast fun, he finished the whole egg in seconds!  I also made a sailboat using cheese and a mini garlic bread which I bought from Four Leaves Bakery.  To hold the sail upright, I put a toothpick in the middle of triangle shape cheese and folded it before inserting onto the bread.  Then, I garnishd with some strawberries and blueberries. 






Mickey Mouse Brekkie

Brekkie No. 1



I am going to start a new series of brekkie since my son has his lunch provided by the kindergarten. Another reason is that I really could not stop bento-ing!!  Here is a mickey mouse shape black seasame bread using different sizes of round cookie cutter.  Cut-out seaweed for his facial expressions and ears. On the side, he has Korea strawberries.

 

We hit the basketball court this morning but he did not enjoy it. We wanted him to pick up a ball game.   Hence, we tried soccer last year and it did not work out for him.  He is too soft according to the coach and he did confess that he is afraid of the 'ball'..  Wish he can be tougher!!  









Handprint paper plate duck

Quack Quack!

Drawing on his messy table (Still in his Pyjamas!)

I spent more time with my boy since he began his new kindergarten this year.  First, it is just 5 minutes drive from home.  Second, he only spent 3 hours there.  Third, I don't prepare his lunchbox (except Monday) because the school provides meal.

This is what we did in the morning before leaving for school.

• Art & Craft, Handprint paper plate duck
• Draw and write his name
• Sing Along, "Six Little Ducks"

Linking up with Sakura's Wordless Wednesday.

Sushi, Panda, Globe Puzzle

Bento No. 283



I am glad to know that my boy is adjusting very well in his new kindergarten.  I found out that he has a buddy, Hiroshi, attached to him and, got to know two other new friends; Randell and Gillian.  He is happy there and likeable by his teachers. Yesterday afternoon, when I was at the school to pick him up, I saw him, from a distance, sitting quietly all by himself with other children waiting to go home.  I waved attempting to catch his attention. His face lighted up when he saw me and called for his former teacher, Fu Laoshi, who is also his Chinese language teacher.  On the way to meet me at the gate, he gave another K2 teacher a hug and the latter, was smiling and laughing away. My little charmer actually praised that K2 teacher - "Pretty Maria!".  Fu Laoshi also told me he is such a 温心的孩子 (means warm personality).  I knew we had made the right choice for him.

 

I missed preparing lunchbox for him on a daily basis. Yesterday, I made his favourite sushi since he has a good variety of food at school on these days:- 

 

Tuesday - Porridge (Diced chicken/vegetables

Wednesday - Dry Noodles with vegetables

Thursday - Macaroni with soup (vegetables)

Friday - Bread (Margarine/Plain)

 

But still cannot beat Mommy's bento in terms of a balanced and nutritions meal!

 

Good news from Grandma in Malaysia too!  She is doing  physiotherapy at the hospital after a surgery to fix her broken hip bones from a fall earlier and shall be discharged soon.  My son has also recovered 90% from his asthmatic cough.  :))

 

He did his first Globe Puzzle (a free gift from his milk powder).  He assembled the pieces and I help him to place the galaxy stickers on the puzzle.  To make it easy for my boy to handle without exerting too much pressure on the unfinished globe, I put some tapes inside the globe. :P

 

 



A message for Ah Ma

Although we visited Ah Ma only during the Chinese New Year in Malaysia, my son has never forgotten about her.  At age 89 years old, mobility is still a challenge for her.  However, she is alert and able to play many rounds of mahjong.  Lately, she is hospitalised for broken bones and hips due to a terrible fall and had surgery on Tuesday.  Here is a video-clip message for our strong and fiesty Ah Ma.  She watched, she laughed and said "K can speak cantonese!".

Linking up with Wordful Wednesday from Dominique's Desk.

Baked salmon sushi, Healthy eats

Bento No. 282

It is the first day of the week which also means I could prepare my son's lunchbox :)  Yay!!  Simple baked salmon sushi with cucumber, tamagoyaki, edamame and strawberries.   Since it is the first bento to be brought to his kindergarten.  I used minimum foodpicks.  Just a panda and a handmade flag.

My son has been diagnosed with asthmatic cough recently.  It all began Nov 2012 last year.  He has taken countless of Western and Chinese medicine, which of no help.  What is asthmatic cough?  According to our family doctor, the child tends to cough at night for a prolong period of time.  To worsen his condition, he has sinus which made him sneezed every morning when he wakes up. As a result, he has puffy/watery eyes and constantly a running nose like a tap.  He even magically got double eyelid when he is not well.  For the record, he has single eyelid. 

Our family doctor advised that he is not allowed to consume chocolates, cold drinks, ice-cream, grapes, banana and orange. And to keep the room clean and dust free.  The latter is impossible especially there is currently ongoing construction outside our apartment.  An air-purifier is hence placed inside his bedroom.  Mommy has also dutifully dry wiped the floor first thing in the morning and mopped the floor in the afternoon when he is back from school.  Our doggie, Nitro is not allowed to enter our rooms except there were few incidents when it sneaked into our rooms.  I also changed my son's pyjamas when he sweats during his sleep. I wish he could be well enough to enjoy his Chinese New Year.  Apart from his nasty cough, my son is still an active, lively and chatty boy with lots of 'why' this and that. 

In his school uniform

Health has been an issue for us since.  I hope for good health for everyone particularly for my boy and a healthy bento to start off the week.   Linking up with Susan of A Juggling Mum - Motiviational Mondays - Health and Fitness.

Holiday Fun 2012 - Legoland Malaysia and The Art of the Brick @ Art Science Museum

Legoland! We finally made a trip to the much talk about theme park in Johor Bahru (JB) Malaysia together with our relatives from Penang.  We set off at 7am early in the morning driving from the East to Tuas checkpoint on Friday, 21st December 2012 hoping to escape from the weekend crazy crowd over the school holidays.  Traffic jam about an hour at Tuas checkpoint and a breeze, however, through JB custom instead.  Reached at approximately 9.30am, snake-like queues had already formed at the ticketing booth.  Our strategy - we splited into two groups.  Kids and myself queue infront of the entrance whilst Papa and 三 姑 went to buy tickets for three adults.  The kids entered free because of the cut-out coupon 三 姑 brought from Malaysia.  We were lucky we were right infront of the entrance with only a few people ahead of us.  Nearer to the opening hour i.e. 10 am, the entrance was jam-packed with crowds and people began to push and shove.  We sighted a family cut into the queue showing no qualms about it even though I looked and stared into their eyes.  Some squeezed in leaving their children behind screaming at the gate.  It was an unpleasant experience that we did not expect.  Nonetheless, the children and adults likewise has a blast and a ball of time there amidst raining at around 4pm in the afternoon.  Here are some highlights of my son's favourites and misses :-

Legoland Kingdom - The Dragon Roller Coaster
Papa cleverly planned that we should go right to the end of the park and explore first.  We were the first who took the Dragon roller coaster that morning.  And Mommy thought it was a kiddy ride and turned out to be heart-pumping and ultimate thrilling ride that she has not done for many years.  And our little man loves the adrenaline rush and requested for more.  We chicken out coaxing him to try others :P  Kudos to our sporting 三 姑 who is in her 60s still enjoyed the ride!



Legoland Kingdom - The Dragon is my son top favourite

Lego Technic - Aquazone Wave Racer
The last ride before we left and of course, his next favourite.  Spinning, swinging around and crashing into the waves - we had lots of fun! I was worried about getting drenched but we could control the steering wheel to avoid the splash!


Lego Technic - Aquazone Wave racer

Land of Adventure - The Lost Kingdom 
My son did not meet the minimum height requirement except his cousin, William who claimed it was his best ride.  Disappointed though but we would be back when my boy is taller.


Land of Adventure - Lost Kingdom Adventure

Lego Technic - Project X

Looking at the 18 meters plunge, we decided to give it a miss.  No guts to take the ride but my boy repeatedly said "I want to try.  I want to try this.  I am not scared".  Perhaps next time, I am not sure if I will be brave enough then. 



Lego Technic - Project X

The rain did not dampen our spirits. We patiently waited for it to stop and continue a few rides at the driving school, boating and wave racer till the night at around 7pm.  We were all famished and had our dinner at Medina mall before heading home.  It was indeed a fantastic place for families with young children. And my guests, all beaming with approval.  Papa is contemplating whether to buy the annual pass.


The happy trio

The Art of the Brick @ Art Science Museum
Wanted to get some real and artistic lego fix, we visited the The Art of the Brick showcase the infamous Nathan Sawayan, previously a lawyer.  I was in awe at his incredible sculptures. The little one might not appreciate it much.  Nevertheless, it was a good exposure.  A must-see exhibit!!




The Art of the Brick

My favourite - Yellow

Friends

Bento No. 281

Hello 2013!  I am back blogging about lunches but would be less frequent since my son new kindergarten provides meals from Tuesday to Friday except Monday, the only day where kids are allowed to bring their packed lunch to the school.  My son started K1 this year with his new kindergarten, a decision we made last year, in consideration of our finance and proximity to our home.  We had enagaged long talk with him for the last two days about his new school, what to expect in order to prepare him socially and emotionally to adapt well to the new environment.  Why is that so? Reason being, his previous preschool is located in town with lower kid-teacher ratio.  Children were given undivided attention. (I have written a thank you note earlier here in honour of the teachers there.) A huge difference from the new kindergarten with a class size of 20 children.  This transition we believe would allow him to have a feel of larger group/community playing and learning together and knowing his neighbourdhoods.  The curriculum between the two kindergarten are entirely different but still has the 'play-based' and project work elements in it.   What excited him would be the Gymnastic programme - I can imagine him bouncing off like a fiery ball!  Whatever the programmes the two kindergartens offer, as a parent myself, I would like him to have a good foundation in terms of social, emotional and basic knowledge prior to entering into Primary school.

He has mee sua ikan bilis soup with blanched broccoli/carrots, seaweed and, fishballs at home (meal not provided on the first day of school).  I decorated the fishballs with facial expression using nori and caps/hats each to resemble his new friends.  He was totally upbeat about going to the new kindergarten (to my surprise) and kept asking "Can we go to the school now, now, now?". A good start of the year!! :))



Put on his white socks and shoe on his own