Movie Time!

I received a surprise call from Ann (Chloe's mother) last Friday that they are inviting us for a movie on Friday night! Of course it's GO and I was hoping that Pat would join us too (he usually has business dinner on Friday nights). Then Pat said OK! Yippee!!!

We took Charlotte for her first movie at the cinema back in Nov last year. Last Friday, we watched...

photo credit

She absolutely loved it! She loved the movie, loved the company, and guess what? We met a lot more friends there at the cinema! I think kids movie makes good money, 1 person wants to watch but have to buy at least 2 or 3 tickets... :D

Anyway, thanks Chloe for a nice movie treat! Next round will be our treat :)

New Experience With Cheese Cake!

What is your experience with cheesecake? What come to your mind when someone mentioned about cheesecake? It is cheesy, rich, heavy, and you cannot eat much as the guilt builds up as you bite? Well, at least I feel that way every time I have cheese cake...but not any more!!

It is a whole new experience with the cheddar cheese cake! The ingredients are very light, the texture is soft and spongy, the cake melts in your mouth almost instantly! It does not taste as cheesy (surprisingly) and heavy as the ordinarty cheese cake. It is so soft and fine that you will want to eat another piece!

A friend of mine gave 4 pieces to me last week and I told her that I am not much a cake person. I like to bake but I don't like to eat. But I thank her anyway and put the 4 pieces untouched. Until that late evening, I was so hungry and I thought let's just settle the hunger with those cakes instead of have to run out and get something to eat or to cook. I took one, and another one, and another one, without knowing it I finished them all! I sms my friend and asked what that was and she said that's the cheddar cheese cake that she mentioned to me earlier.

I baked it myself and share it with with my in laws and friends, they all loved it!

Thanks Ann!

Thanks For Sharing

I started blogging in year 2006 when I met a group of dedicated mothers at work and we decided to start a play group for our little ones as they are all about the same age. Most of them have started blog for their child and I learnt from them how to start one, and here I am! I am thankful to the people I met as I learn directly or indirectly from all of you and I am even more thankful to the blogging world that the sharing of experiences, knowledge and encounters seem never end. Of course, one will have to be able to differentiate and choose what is right from wrong as there are also many junks out in the worldwide web (www).

Recently I picked up baking again, and it seems therapeutic although I am already multi-tasking to a great extend! Thanks to Angie sharing this very interesting cookies recipe and lead me to another new site that I will never missed it again!

This was my 2nd time baking it. I did the first time a week before and both Charlotte and I were all excited. She helped me making the doggie dough and surprisingly she helped through the entire portion! She even sat in front of the oven waiting for it to be ready! Got too excited and I forgot to snap a picture. Last week, we did it again. Charlotte’s 姐姐 gave her a card last Friday and she held it so dearly to her. I asked her what did she wants to give to her 姐姐 and she said the “doggie cookies”! So here we did it again!

I put them in 2 small airtight containers, one for her 姐姐 and another for her 哥哥. I put a princess sticker on her 姐姐’s container and Charlotte chose a tigger sticker for her哥哥. Off she went to school with one container on each hand. I can see and even feel her excitement that day!

Charlotte dear, you are such a darling! Thanks for sharing!

Priceless!

If you have a picky eater at home like me you will know how I feel and what I'm going to say is true. It is priceless to hear the picky eater ask for food, or seeing he/she eats! Eating, may seem like a normal and natural way of life but it is not the case for the picky eater of mine.

Having said that, Charlotte has been showing good eating habit lately. In fact, her eating habit improves significantly when she started school this year. She asked for cake as desert for 4 consecutive nights last week. If you must know, she had never eat any cake for more than 2 bites, even her very beautiful and yummy birthday cake that she requested last year. I was very skeptical when she asked for cake. Then again, I never reject her food demand since she is such a picky eater and whenever she asks for it I will be more than happy to give.

I drove her to a nearby bakery and she picked a Germany Chocolate cake. I kept telling her that she must not waste the food, and the money of course as that piece cost me RM5.50! She said "yes" without any hesitation. That night, she finished almost 3 quarter of the cake! I was really really happy to see that of course. She asked for it again the next day, the day after next and another day. She did not finish the entire cake for all the 4 nights, but it was all with about 1/4 left and that was way exceeded my expectation.

It is priceless (to me) to see her enjoy her food...

She Cares

I am very pleased to see my little girl is growing up as a kind and generous person. Although she has her temper tantrum once in awhile but overall she is behaving rather well. She is willing to share her toys and belongings with others, she thinks of others and she is showing her sensitivity toward other's feeling lately. Like when I told her that Simba (our golden retriever) was sad because he is always staying home while she gets to play outside, she "talked" to Simba a lot lately. She told Simba to be good and she will bring him out to the beach again, she greets him everyday after school and etc. I'm glad to see that she takes our pet so dearly.

Last week, she told me her good friend Chloe had a cut on her finger at school. She told me that she wants to give her the "princess plaster". I said ok and told her to remember to bring along to school tomorrow. That evening, Chloe came knocking at my door. She returned the stamp that Charlotte lend her earlier and then she said "Auntie, Charlotte said want to give me princess plaster!". Oh, I didn't know that Charlotte made a promise to Chloe! Charlotte then looked at me and said "Yes, mommy I told you! Come let's go get the princess plaster" and we rushed to our room and she picked a "Sleeping Beauty" plaster for Chloe! She was very happy and kept on shouting out to Chloe "Chloe, wait ah!", "Chloe, I'm coming!". They both very happy, with one giving out "love" and another receiving what was promised :)

A few days ago I had a small cut on my thumb and when she noticed it she kept asking "Mommy, pain or not?", "Mommy, I sayang you ya, don't cry". She held my hand all day long, making sure that that cut will not get any more hurt.

Every time we have the opportunity to bake or cook something special she would think of sharing it with her friends in school, grandparents or her cousins...

I am pleased to see that Charlotte has developed her sense of empathy and caring for others as I think it is important to live "humanly". Another lesson that she learns indirectly is to keep her promise! Actually, both Charlotte and I made a lot of promises to each other everyday. Small deal like do her homework before TV time, eat her fruits/meal before she gets to play, clean-up after play and etc. She always keep her promise when she made one and I am so proud of her!

Gratefulness

There are many fundamental yet important values in life that people likely to forget or simply take for granted these days. These values do not required high education background to understand it nor to be wealthy enough to own it. They are the simplest thoughts, most fundamental attitudes that even a child has it but it is easy to be forgotten as they grow, as the external influence gets stronger in their life.

As much as possible, I'd like to remind Charlotte and myself to be grateful, especially to people who helped us, guided us, advised us, coached us in one way or another. We thank God every night that we are so blessed in every way and help us not taking things or people for granted but learn to be grateful.

It was Mother's Day last week, every school and teacher put in their best and biggest effort to educate and teach our child to be grateful to their mother (parents). A friend of mine reminded me that it is Teacher's Day this week and we both planned something for the school/teachers as a token of appreciation.

A simple card is what I prepared, I explained to Charlotte the reason and the meaning of giving this card to her teachers and I asked Charlotte to write the word "I Love You" by herself. We do it because we want to remember and be grateful for what we have received from the school/teachers, not because we are hoping for more or better/special attention for Charlotte.

Happy Teachers Day!

Homemade Sugar Donut

I have this donut recipe sitting in my book shelf for a long long time. Recently I got into mood for baking again and the book is now on the kitchen table. As Charlotte flipped through the book one day she pointed at the donuts and asked me to make for her.

I gathered the ingredients a few days before and was just waiting for the right timing to do it. It requires a lot of "waiting" time as for the dough to rise and such I couldn't afford to multi-tasks, as I tend to forget about it.

So here it is...you see 2 different colors? Well, the darker ones were the first batch and the oil was too hot! Then I turned down the fire and the rest of the donuts came out well.

Charlotte ate one that night and she asked to bring 2 to school the next morning. She wanted to share with her good friend, Chloe. I was hesitant because it really wasn't that good and by the way, Chloe's mother is a pro in baking. Then I thought, doesn't matter, it was Charlotte's good thought about her friend. I shouldn't discourage her, so I let her bring anyway.

It looked like donut, tasted like donut but only not soft enough. I wonder what could have been wrong or what is it there to improvise? Any expert want to help out here?

Happy Mother's Day!

Like every other schools, Charlotte's school made some special arrangements last Friday for the kids and mothers were asked to pick up their child personally on that day if possible. The children were asked to bring along one adult t-shirt on Friday as there were activities for the kids to pretend as pregnant women.

They children were asked to carry their school bag in front just like how pregnant women carry their big tummy. It was for the whole of Friday, they wore like that during the class lessons, meal time, nap time, and activity time. The teachers then asked them what did they realize, or how it felt like carrying a big tummy around. Some said it was difficult, couldn't reach when they want to eat, couldn't reach when they need to brush their teeth, couldn't sleep properly, heavy, couldn't run and etc. Then the lesson of appreciation was explained and taught to the children.

There were chairs arranged at the front porch during the pick up time, each parent (mother) was asked to sit down while the teacher will bring out the child, with a cupcake (the school helped the children in baking it) and handmade carnation flower and a card in hand. Charlotte said "Happy Mother's Day mommy! I love you!" when she was brought to me. It was such a warm feeling hearing that. I was trying very hard holding back those happy tears *silly me*

The card was also for daddy as they were not only celebrating Mother's Day but more of "Parents' Day".

I also got a very BIG present from Pat this year. No, not a diamond jewelry although I did get one from my mom. I've always wanted to have a treadmill at home, save me a lot of time traveling to a gym and make no more excuses to fitness. A home use Kettler treadmill is what I got from Pat *grin*

It's not a matter of what or how expensive the gifts are, it's the thought that count! These are all surprises for me this year! Thanks darling, thanks Charlotte and thanks mommy!

We then met with my parents on Sunday evening for a simple Mother's Day dinner (we had an earlier round last week with MIL). My mom actually thought of skipping it as she thought it was not necessary to beat the crowd that day. My eldest brother insisted it and we had no regret with that dinner! All of us had a very good laugh talking about nonsense all night long, children were happy to see each other and the food...what you see in this picture was just half of what we ordered *oops*! (Luckily treadmill is on the way)

Happy Mother's Day to all mothers, and especially to my mom! May the good Lord bless you always!

Buddy System

Charlotte's school started the "buddy system" about one month back, they call it "小天使家族" where the elder student will be the younger student's buddy.

This is the picture of Charlotte's buddy. I'm not sure about the boy in the picture, but the big 姐姐 in the picture is someone Charlotte mentioned frequently ever since the buddy system started. Sometimes she told me her 姐姐 feed her lunch, sometimes she told me her 姐姐 helped her with the afternoon wash-up and stuff like that.

Several occasions recently, I found this 姐姐 really takes good care of Charlotte. Once I was waiting at the front porch waiting to pick up Charlotte. I saw Charlotte walking out from her class and when she saw her 姐姐 they both stopped and chat a little. Her 姐姐 also gave her a big hug after that. It happened so naturally, and I could tell they bond so well. The school has done a good job in teaching them to love one another, and I'm sure the girl's family had taught her well too.

That day I found this drawing in Charlotte's school bag...

I asked her who gave her this and she said "my cheh cheh (姐姐) la!". Charlotte also ask me to make a quick bento fix for her 姐姐 and I promised her that I will do that in the coming Monday.

I took this picture during the 2nd Field Trip they had last week. The 6year old had different program and agenda then the 4year old, they first met during lunch. I saw her 姐姐 running towards Charlotte when she saw her and gave her a big hug, then they talked a little bit before they were sitted at different table. This picture was taken during another agenda and they bumped to each other again and again the 姐姐 quickly came towards Charlotte when she saw her and guided her to sit down. They were with another 4years old girl which was about to broke into tears. When Charlotte saw her 姐姐 comforting the little girl, she (her back facing camera)also "kei poh" (busy body) and do the same. I had a warm feeling seeing it and I quickly took out my camera, that's why the picture was taken from a bad angle.

Charlotte told me after coming back from the field trip that she slept in the bus on the way back to school. She said she slept on her 姐姐's shoulder! Isn't that sweet?

Conincidentally, 靖雅姐姐's mother was my buddy when I started my first job :)

I Think I Did It Alright!

I took 2 extra days off from work last week just right before May 1st holiday just so I could have a loooong weekend. No, no where to go, no planned trip, no special agenda…so what was I up to?

I had been waiting for the off days since I got this recipe from Jessie a couple of weeks back and I couldn't’t wait to get my hands dirty! I had been planning (in my head) of what to do, how to do and a very silly habit that I have is I never make note to the list of things that I need to buy. So, I will surely forget one or two every time but I never learn :p So, I took 3 days (3 trips) to buy the complete ingredients needed for fondant.

I followed the instruction carefully and prepare the fondant a night before an invitation that we received to celebrate a 12-day-after-birth gathering from a coupled friends of ours. I already had the idea of what to design when we received this invitation but being a first timer I was less adventures. I choose a simple creation, with only 2 different color fondants, and the result…

It was to celebrate their first new born baby girl, Isabel. So, I made the fondant cutouts with her name and little cute hello kitty. Unfortunately, the baby was admitted to the hospital a day before the celebration due to jaundice.

I prepared just enough for the number of guests. The gang finished the cupcakes in a zippy (there was only 1 cupcake to each guest anyway). I didn't think that they will eat the fondant, because it was really sweet and I was mentally prepared that they fondants were going to be left untouched since the guests were all adults (ya, no children that day. Charlotte was not there with us too because she was sick). But to my surprise everything was gone! They didn't think the fondant was too sweet but rather it went well together with the cupcake (the usual cranberry orange cupcake that I made, I was trying to use up my dried cranberries before they got expired actually) and the feedback was good! *ahem*

Thanks Jessie for the advise and sharing, I think I did it alright as a first timer ya :)

A Visit To 静思堂

Charlotte's school organized another field trip last Wednesday. It was to visit to a place called 静思堂. Not really a temple, well maybe part of it. The intention was to introduce the history of this building, how it was build and the meaning of each structures of the building, appreciations, and some the history of Master Cheng Yen and etc.

At first I didn't think I want to participate even though I was off from work that day but then a friend of mine (also our neighbor), her daughter is in the same class as Charlotte mentioned that she will be joining the trip but only for the first half as she needed to be back at work after lunch. So I changed my mind and joined her instead.

It was a great morning and everybody gotten ready speedily however, it started to rain when we were just about 1km away from the destination. It was a heavy down pour but luckily there were quite many volunteers (mostly parents) participating that event, all taking umbrellas and helping the children to get off from the bus without getting wet. For once, I felt like I was back at the youth fellowship at the church again. That kind of sharing and volunteering without self interest and distinguishing each other was always warm and nice.

The children then settled down and gathered at the hall before the first introduction started.

They were then separated in different groups, according to the individual class and the trip agenda began. Charlotte' s class was first introduced to the hand washed pebbles that are found one section's floor and wall. The children were told to trace the pebbles onto the set of activity worksheet the form teacher had prepared.

I managed to take the class picture while they were listening to the teacher's instruction. See, the stairs, the pillars are all build with those pebbles?

Then they explored the tiles, the recycling station before they were called for lunch. I left soon after lunch so I do not have further update what happened after that.

I do not deny that there was quite a lot of Buddhism elements during the trip. Of course, they were visiting to a temple (sort of) right? I was a little disturbed to see Charlotte did all those praying gestures although I knew she learn that from school as she did show some of those actions to me sometimes. I told Pat that night, he wasn't really concern about it because he said as long as we don't practise all those she will forget about it eventually (when she graduated from this school eventually).

Oh, did I forget to mention that the school is not moving anymore? Well, at least for another year. So, yes Auntie Angie, Charlotte's prayer is answered!