First Time Baking

I have baked with the first two kiddos a couple of times before but Jaide has never been allowed to participate because of her penchant for disregarding instructions and tendency to make a mess. I am grateful that her school conducted a parent-child baking session so that I wouldn't have to worry about the teaching, preparation and cleaning up part of the experience. Yay!

Eager to get started

Since she was such a menace in the kitchen (getting in the way, being dangerously close to the stove, pulling down my pants while I cook etc) she has also been banned from helping out in meal preparations too. And so, this is her very first time cracking open an egg. As you watch the clip below, notice how she didn't quite follow my instructions. Sigh...

 

Hard at work

Jaide liked the way I made the leaves so much that she insisted that I remake her handiwork to look like mine! LOL The moulding of the fondant was definitely my favourite part and I think Jaide did pretty well making the flowers.

The icing dough decorations

All done

Tada! Flower pot cupcakes completed!

Jaide was in a terrific mood the whole time and I enjoyed the time spent even though I was actually not feeling well. I'm so glad to have created beautiful memories with her, just the two of us. 

Mother's Day 2017

I have been hearing many good reviews regarding the buffet at Himawari Japanese Restaurant. However, I had not the opportunity to try it till this year for Mother's Day. I tasted the freshly grated wasabi for the first time and found the flavour more full-bodied and less pungent to the nose. What a heavenly combination with succulent slices of raw salmon, tuna and sweet prawns! We also ordered the beef shabu-shabu and our deep-fried favourites. Their fried salmon skin was especially crispy and delicious. I love their lotus root chips too.

My older three children decided to each buy an ornamental gift for me out of their own pocket money. Although I truly appreciated their lovely thoughts, I had to let them know that I far prefer gifts with practical uses for future references. Can you guess which present was given by which child? I was told by the giver that the four dolphins were supposed to represent my four kids. LOL

P/S: I especially look forward to receiving cards from my elder girl because she always writes the most thoughtful things. She even composed a poem for me a few weeks ago!

I had a list of prayers last Mother's Day and I would like to review them now:

1) Kid no. 1 will learn the value of diligence

He had finally agreed on his own accord to attend the Chinese remedial classes, which he refused to previously. A small step in the right direction.

2) Kid no. 2 will be totally healed of her eczema

She has yet to be healed but we have discovered that she is gluten and dairy intolerant and has thus made adjustments to her diet. May the day of complete recovery be close at hand!

3) Jaide will mature exponentially

I must say that she has grown indeed. I really think that transferring her to a more suitable school helped. Praise God for that! Still much room for improvement though.

4) Joram will be toilet trained and drop his afternoon nap

He has done so! Hallelujah!!! May he be diaper-free at night too next year and I can finally say goodbye to diapers for good. 

5) Most importantly, for the older three to have deep personal encounters with God and for Joram to finally accept Jesus as his Lord and Saviour.

Joram is not ready yet because his understanding is not mature enough. I'm still asking God to tell me when it is the right time. As for the older three, there's no discernible change in their spiritual walk. I shall continue praying and rest in the Lord while I trust that He is working beneath the surface.

The Strider's Last Lap

Jaide has been doing very well on the strider for quite a while and thus I figured that she's ready to try cycling for real. That is why our trusty old strider is at long last inherited by our fourth kid, making it such a great investment. Look at Joram's wide grin riding it!

Check out Joram riding 

the strider for the first time!

I tried to teach Jaide to cycle using her older sister's bike but it was a little too heavy and wide for her petite stature to manoeuvre. I ended up buying a new one which is more suitable for her, in the hope that it'll help her learn. She sure needs all the help she can get. Strangely, for a girl as daring as she is, Jaide is quite timid when it comes to riding as compared to her older siblings. Plus, she has a pronounced problem with back-peddling halfway suddenly. 

Well, I can only pray that it'll not be long before I can write a post about her learning how to ride a bicycle successfully. *grin*

Teaching my no. 3

So happy with her new bike
that she kept asking me to
take a picture for her!

 

Train Eraser

I had meant to blog about this train eraser which I got for Joram when I bought it but it must have slipped my mind.

The three older kids were pretty difficult to handle at mealtimes outside of the home environment as toddlers because they had very short attention spans and required a lot of improvising and quick thinking to keep them sufficiently entertained so as not to disturb the other patrons with their cries. Since we do not EVER resort to using gadgets to shut them up, we have developed a whole arsenal of tricks up our sleeves: drawing, colouring, fiddling with the discount cards in my wallet, counting sugar sachets and playing quiet games such as "I spy". As the kids got older, reading became the norm.

So imagine my surprise when one day, I suddenly realised that Joram has been automatically, very silently, taking one piece of cutlery, most likely a spoon, and moving it around like a vehicle while my attention is occupied by food-ordering. It is simply so easy to overlook him because he hardly makes any noise apart from soft humming sounds as he mimics the engine's vibrations.

This was not a new trend. He had been able to keep himself occupied this way ever since he was one and a half years old, albeit for a much shorter period of time. It was also not as noticeable back then because we always had such a difficult time getting him to drink his water before his meal. With the water issue resolved and him being able to eat independently now, I finally have the presence of mind to be aware of how well Joram can self-entertain.

Joram could pretend

that the wet wipe was a phone

or move it around like a vehicle

while waiting for food to arrive

even as a young toddler

However, I don't really think it is hygienic to let him play with an eating utensil with the possibility of him dropping it onto the floor. I thought of bringing one of his toy vehicles around with me but the squeaky wheels rolling on the hard surface of the table can be pretty loud and annoying. To solve this problem, I bought him a 60-cent train eraser in his favourite colour instead. The rubber material makes absolutely no noise at all. He was delighted with it! Thank God for the inspiration! It is now permanently in my purse so that I can have it handy whenever we have meals outside of home.