Archive for November, 2007

Date.

Friday, November 30th, 2007

Robin and I went out on a date tonight. It was so good. We have not gone out together alone for a very long time, especially now that we have Athan. Thanks to Robin’s mum who agreed to be our babysitter for the night. We were really grateful.

We had a nice meal at our favourite restaurant and we even had time to walk around at the city centre afterwards. It was so different when we were by ourselves and out of the house. We did not have to watch out for the boys all the time and we did not have to feel stressful and we did not have to carry our big backpack. It was all so relaxing and … free!

Even though we were out only for several hours, it was good enough. We really needed the time together. We should do it again.

Family Time.

Monday, November 26th, 2007

Here are my boys. Aren’t I blessed?

Anyway. Robin suggested we had a family picnic dinner at the foreshore this evening. I welcomed the idea as I know the boys would love to be outdoors on such a nice warm day. We packed a simple dinner and some essentials and off we went.

We could see the happy faces on the boys the moment we arrived at the foreshore. They were so excited. Calvin kept running and screaming with joy while Athan kicked his little legs and flapped his little arms non-stop. And, us? Our hands were full and at the same time we were trying to keep up with Calvin. But, we were happy too. πŸ™‚

Calvin had a great time. He had a walk with his dad and they had a good time kicking ball too.

At some point, this boy wanted to go into the water — which we told him “No”. He was disappointed at first and was insistent, but he was easily appeased when I told him he could have a fruit jelly with his dad after he his dinner. *sigh* He can be quite easily *bribed* by food, this boy.

A couple of ducks came over to look for food while we were eating and guess what? The father took some biscuit and *taught* the boy how to feed the ducks! He loved it when the ducks came close to him. I am sure the ducks *loved* him too!

The seagulls came over too, but for some reason, Calvin only wanted to feed the ducks. At this point, you have to imagine us being surrounded by seagulls and the ducks. Athan was very fascinated with what was going on and was looking quietly at every action. This boy has become very aware of his surrounding and he observes quietly. Interesting.

When he is outdoors, his crankiness disappears. He can even stay up beyond his normal bedtime without kicking a fuss. Well, not all the time, but today was a good example.

He had his dinner with us and we could see that he was happily watching his surrounding while eating his meal. He ate really well, I must say.

He was happily pulling up the grass by the handful — just like his big brother at this age, and put it straight into his mouth. Yikes! I had to watch him all the time in case he ate something bad. He protested real loud when I removed the grass and soil from his hands. *sigh*

It was good to be out with the family and it was a nice change from our normal routine. I had an enjoyable time. Everyone was still in a good mood when we left for home.

Teething And Cranky.

Saturday, November 24th, 2007

Athan has been very cranky for the past few days. Nothing seems to appease him. He is drooling profusely and chewing on everything he can find. He is teething. We can see a little bit of his lower tooth cutting through. Poor baby. It must be quite uncomfortable for him. Poor me too, because I have to deal with his crankiness and at the same time I have to care for Calvin. This is the time I need to be patient and it is the most difficult.

On the brighter side of things, despite Athan’s crankiness, he is still eating well and sleeping well at night. I hope tomorrow will be a better day for my baby and for me too. πŸ™‚

Life After Three.

Tuesday, November 20th, 2007

Ever since Calvin turned 3, we have noticed some significant changes in him. Some good and some not so.

He has become quite sensitive to his baby brother’s needs. For example, he will go fetch a toy for Athan at playtime when he realises that the baby is not able to play with his toys, he comforts his brother by stroking his head gently or he’ll call out for me when Athan keeps crying despite all his efforts. That’s a really beautiful relationship, I say. Of course, Calvin can be rough at times, snatching his brother’s toys and screaming for attention when I really need him to be patient. He still has a lot to learn as a big brother.

Calvin is also quite sensitive towards me. I am a hayfever sufferer, and at every spring I sneeze continuously and my eyes are always teary. Whenever Calvin see me blow my nose, he would come up to me and say “it’s OK ma ma, don’t cry”! πŸ™‚

I might not have mentioned this before, but Calvin is now toilet trained during the day. He is off nappies except at nap time and bedtime. HOWEVER. He is quite reluctant to go to public toilets for reasons I am not quite sure. Perhaps there’s no stool for him to stand on or perhaps he is not used to it or ….. Well, I think practice makes perfect, and practice is what he needs. He still can have an accident now and then especially when he is having a ball with his playmates, but I have to say he has been quite good so far. Big savings on nappies for us! πŸ™‚

He basically talks non-stop throughout the day when he is awake. He says whatever he sees. And, he asks a lot of questions. He loves to ask “ni zai zhuo shen me?” (what are you doing?) and “na shi shen me shen yin?” (what’s that sound?) and “zhe shi shen me?” (what’s this?) He can go on and on until you give him an answer.

He has quite an interesting imagination. I can see it through his pretend play as well as his fears. Yup, my boy has some fears. He is afraid of darkness and being alone in an empty room. We have to keep his door ajar and keep a small light on for him at the hallway outside his room at night else he would scream his head off if all he sees is darkness when he awakes briefly during at midnight or at dawn. He is also beginning to imagine that there are *things* outside the window. He is especially fearful if he sees a shadow of an object (happens when neighbour’s sensor light comes on) casts on the roman blinds of the window. He is also worried if he hears some unusual sounds outside his window. We have been reassuring him that there’s NOTHING scary outside his window and that God is with him and we are very near him and that his papa will get rid of whatever *monster* there is. *sigh*

He has been fighting his tiredness so as to stay awake just for a bit longer. The minute we have tucked him in bed and left the room, he calls for my attention. He used to scream real loud and I thought he was in some sort of trouble until I realised that he was just procrastinating to fall asleep. He has a hundred and one reasons why he should be awake — he hears something or sees something outside his window or he wants to pee or he wants a drink of water etc. The more I go in to check on him, the more he calls for me. These days I simply tell him he is to close his eyes and go to sleep and NOT to call for my attention because I will not go in, and if he comes out, I’ll lock his door. Of course he challenges me and I just carry out what I have said. He seems to have learnt the lesson well — for now.

He has been having separation anxiety again when we dropped him off at childcare for the past few weeks. He screams his head off and is inconsolable for a good 20-30 minutes before he begins to calm down. I have no idea why he is behaving this way because he was enjoying childcare a lot before he turned 3. It is probably a phase he is going through. I have spoken to his carers and we have decided to persevere on and hopefully he will get over it soon.

He loves cars. He has been asking us to play the “Cars” DVD for him everyday. He doesn’t finish the whole film, he only likes to watch the racing parts. He has so many toy cars at home now — most of them are presents. He likes to run the cars along the wall, along the table and on the floor, he likes to push the cars really hard and watch them crash into each other. Is this a boy thing?

His favourite colour is white — for now. He only wants to wear white t-shirt even if the shirt is too small for him. He even wants to wear white shorts if there’s any. Such behaviour is a first for me because he has never protested what clothes I have chosen for him. The only other shirt that I might manage to get him wear is if it has a picture of a car on it. This is possibly another phase he is going through. *sigh*

Robin always tell me “don’t worry too much, just enjoy him as he is.” I really should because he is reaching school age soon and all these *cuteness* will be gone.

Of The Boys. Photo Post.

Saturday, November 17th, 2007

Growing Up Too Fast.

Tuesday, November 13th, 2007

Athan has been sitting up by himself at playtime a lot more this week. It is a good progress for him, developmental wise, but when I see him sitting there playing happily by himself, I *suddenly* realise that my baby is growing up. And, he is growing up too fast!

About Athan.

Saturday, November 10th, 2007

This is Athan having a little play time with his papa. Athan loves playing with his dad and vice versa. I love to watch them play. It’s good to see Robin putting in effort to spend one to one time with Athan and to get to know him. I think that’s very good for both of them.

Athan is growing up very quickly. He is already 8 months old! And, I have not been blogging about him for a *long* time. (Robin made this comment just a few days ago) Well, he is right. Time is my excuse. πŸ™‚

Some updates. Athan can finally roll to his side! It has taken him quite a while to show interest in doing so. Right now, when we put him down on his back, he will roll to his side and then roll back again — yup, he is rolling everywhere! I can’t stop him. πŸ™‚ He can sit alone by himself for a short while too. His first tooth has finally cut through and the next one is coming out soon. He is eating solids well and he loves his food — at least for now. His bedtime is between 7 – 7.30pm and he still wakes up for a feed at around midnight. I hope he will sleep through till the morning soon.

Athan’s eczema is much more manageable now. The rash seems to appear mainly on his back, and in the fold of his skin. We moisturize him throughout the day to prevent his skin from dryness. I am also very careful with what he eats (and what I eat) as I have been told that certain foods can cause eczema to flare up. At this stage, I have not found any food in particular that makes his eczema worse.

Overall, I have to say that Athan is a very happy and healthy baby. Thank God for that. He smiles a lot and he is very interactive and sociable. He has settled into a basic routine which makes it easier for me to plan the day, especially when I have Calvin to consider too. The thing that I have not train him well is to sleep in his pram when we are out. Athan has difficulty falling asleep in the pram and if he does, he will only sleep for half an hour at most. This makes it hard for us to take him out for long trips. Well, at least he sleeps well at home in his cot! πŸ™‚

Yakisoba.

Tuesday, November 6th, 2007

Robin has this Brazilian friend whom he befriended *online* from his animation course. They often chat via the internet and for some reason, this Brazilian friend and his wife kept asking him for a yakisoba recipe. Guess what? Robin asked me to write them a recipe instead. I have never cooked yakisoba (Japanese style fried noodles) and so I was hesitant. But after reading up on my very reliable Japanese cook book, and doing a search on the internet, we came up with the following recipe, and this is what it looks like:

 Ingredients
1. dried shiitake mushrooms (about 4-6)
2. beef fillet or pork fillet or chicken fillet (your preference) about 300g – 400g, thinly sliced
3. garlic, about 3 cloves, finely chopped
4. fresh ginger, finely chopped, about 3 teaspoons
5. yakisoba noodles (thin egg noodles can be used if yakisoba noodles not available), 500g
6. (optional) 3- 4 slices of ham (or bacon rashers), cut into small squares
7. vegetable oil (2 tablespoons)
8. sesame seed oil (1 teaspoon)
9. spring onions (6 sprigs, cut into 3cm lengths)
10. 1 carrot, peeled, thinly sliced
11. (optional) 1 small green capsicum (green pepper) cut into thin strips
12. chinese cabbage, thinly sliced (250g)
13. 1 tablespoon thinly sliced pickled ginger

sauce
1. 60ml Japanese soy sauce
2. 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
3. 1-2 tablespoons Japanese rice vinegar
4. 1 tablespoon sake
5. 1 tablespoon mirin
6. 1 tablespoon tomato sauce (ketchup)
7. 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
8. 2 teaspoons soft brown sugar

Condiments
pickled ginger

Method
1. Soak shiitake mushsrooms in hot water for about 30 minutes. Drain, but reserve 2 tablespoons of the soaking liquid. Discard mushroom stems and thinly sliced the caps.

2. Put meat in bowl with half the garlic and fresh ginger and mix well.

3. Put noodles in bowl and pour boiling water over them. Drain and separate noodles well.

4. To make sauce: combine all sauce ingredients in a bowl together with the reserved mushroom soaking liquid and the remaining garlic and ginger.

5. Heat wok to medium-high heat, add ham and stir-fry for about 3 minutes or until turn brown. Remove and set aside in a large bowl.
Combine the oils (vegetable and sesame seed) in a bowl. Heat wok to high and add a little of the combined oil mixture, then stir-fry meat for 1 minute or until the colour of meat changes. Remove meat and add it to the ham. Add a little more oil to the wok, then stir-fry mushrooms, spring onion, carrot, capsicum and cabbage for 1-2 minutes or until vegetables are just cooked but still crisp. Remove and add vegetables to the meat and ham. Add remaining oil to wok and stir-fry noodles for 1 minute. Return meat, ham and vegetables to the wok, add sauce and pickled ginger and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes or until all combined and heated through. Serve immediately, garnished with pickled ginger.

Don’t be scared off by the long ingredient list — you can actually omit some. I did. I have to say that the prep work takes quite a long time as there’s a lot of ingredients that require cutting and chopping. But, once you have prepared all the ingredients, the cooking part is very easy and quick. The effort is worth it — the noodles is delicious — that’s what Robin says! πŸ™‚

Wedding.

Monday, November 5th, 2007

Our good friends from church got married on Saturday at the beautiful Araluen Botanic Park. Everything was simply beautiful. Thank God.

This is the happy couple. We have known them for quite a number of years. In fact, the bride was my prayer partner and exercise partner for a few years — before I had Calvin. We used to meet once a week to pray for each other or we meet early in the morning, 6.30am to go for a walk before going to work. Those were the days. I can’t do the early morning walk now, but we do meet up for a meal once in a while and we chat on the phone quite regularly. And so, it was an absolute joy for me to see my good friend get married. I am very happy for her. May God’s richest blessings be with them always.

 


Robin and I initially wanted to bring both the boys to the wedding. In the end, we only brought Athan because he couldn’t run away from us just yet! Well, it was easier to bring just one, we reckoned. Athan was pretty much quite well behaved during the ceremony (he had a nap in the car on our way). He became cranky as his nap time drew close. We left early, missing out on the speeches and cake cutting. However, I have enjoyed the wedding despite the short stay. Robin took care of Athan most of time, giving me the opportunity to catch up with friends whom I have not seen for ages. I could even enjoy the food and drinks! That was so good.

Athan was so tired and he fell asleep in the car immediately when we put him in his seat. I think he had fun — so many new things to see and so many people wanted to carry him. πŸ™‚