flour, fun thinker, quinoa

backdated post: 33 months old. currently 38 months


FLOUR PLAY
























he insisted buying the turtles tortoises in Pick & Pay (a mini express mart).

we do not just fall into our child's whims easily, or so i thought. he asked if can buy once. twice. thrice. since he remembers the turtle whenever we made a stop there, we finally decided to buy. hoping it would not be just an infatuation.

im not a very creative person, sadly. so while trying to hunt up and down our junk to see what can be included in this fun play, i chose these green tortoises?

threw in some flour and some rice!























i gave him a siever but he didn't understand the concept. he just scooped and pour. not sieving at all. treated the siever as a spoon.















now this is a Fun Thinker from Grolier.

i've read about some bad reviews on this company and i cant help it, i am attracted to their Fun Thinker and Logicco Set so we made our purchase and guess what! my nightmare came true. they did not deliver as promised, which was other mommies had shared.

i've got to call and call their headquarters and it took 7-8 months for things to be settled.

the father was tempted with their ranges of books and he thinks the price they offered was a steal. u have to really bargain though. dont show your eager face the first time they propose the quotation!




the little boy enjoys playing with it. he can only do the first few easy ones.

either they are too easy for him, or too difficult.




he knows his alphabets very well (many thanks to Leapfrog DVDs) that sometimes he can just be cheeky and simply place the tiles. or he just wants to test us.

if u proceed to more advanced activities, he'll say "mommy how?" or "daddy how?"

we gather that this child is a lazy-thinker.  on many occasions he'll ask those questions, which i loathe!!!!

he wouldnt want to try on his own.

like today, his friend Rou-rou (few months younger than him, tiger baby) wore her own shirt and i was there to witness the whole task! of her pulling down the shirt over her head, and pops up her hand through the sleeves. *jaw drops*

i sing praises for her (must exaggerate i thought) and gave her a hug for the feat! and guess what my little boy responded? he said "mommy i dont know how" . speechless.
























kiasu mom i am. bought all these Kumon worksheets from Singapore back in 2011. when the boy was just a wee child at 1 year plus. well, just in case, u know, if u cant find these in malaysia. ;)

havent even used any of these to date. *sheepish*

i did try! dont say i didn't! i do bring them out from time to time to see if he is ready for any of these.

he doesnt like to color. nor fancy folding.

ive only exposed him to random cutting of papers, using the the paper scissors.

























who can tell what is this?

it is quinoa. pronounced as keen-wah.

i bought one packet since he started on solids and i still have that same packet till now. grin.

cooked it from time to time because he is growing up to be a fussy eater.

just last month, i have learned that we need to soak other grains too besides oats, such as brown rice, beans, millets, quinoa.

yes, so now i soak my brown rice with a little apple cider vinegar for a night, try not to exceed 24 hours because they will ferment and it smells really rotten. i continued to cook but the husband intervened half way through and discard the rice.

quinoa can be soaked the same way too. it is better to presoak so that the saponins will be removed and therefore won't taste bitter. Opps, ive been feeding my son bitter quinoa for the last 2 years! my bad darling.

u can get more info here on why we should soak our grains.
Link 1
Link 2

i told KJ that he will be having a special rice with soup! obviously, he does not enjoy his special rice meal. he prefers to eat the fish only! or the carrots only! without the special rice = quinoa.

i try to avoid introducing new vocabulary to him, for fear that he will not want to try the quinoa. he's a child with characteristic!
 -______-

in my mind, special rice makes it sound SPECIAL! and interesting! dont u think so?

anyway, he finished up that whole batch of quinoa. he ate them as rice replacement on saturday and sunday.

more of these fancy pansy food coming up! im eager to get the brown/red quinoa and other beans to spice up our menu! i have always been a healthy person *wink*

i need more week-ends

KJ 38 months old


2 weeks ago we brought KJ to Zen Q Dessert in Lintas on friday, after his music class.

and a week after that, after his music class, he remembers the place and he shrieked "Go There!! i wanna eat dessert!"

wow, i was amazed! and it was at night mind you.

never underestimate a child.

then, when he saw daddy's ipad, he asked "can i play with ipad ma?" A curt reply from me "no".

"why cannot? i very long didnt play already"

O.O

when there is a first time, there will always be a second. *smirk*

just 2 days ago, he whined for Leapfrog, means he wants to watch the DVD. i try to reduce, reduce, reduce screening time at home since he already watches TV half of the day in babysitter's house.

(i allowed screenings during his potty ritual before this but not anymore now because he hardly needs to sit on the potty to poo. whenever he wants to poo, he'll ask for the potty. to urinate, he will go to the loo on his own - pulls down his pants and shoots into the toilet bowl and leave. yes, without flushing. we are to be blame for this because both our toilet bowls' flushing system is not exactly working)
i want my own house!!!! :(

so anyway, again as expected my answer was a simple No. did i actually replied no to the kid? we should actually reply creatively, instead of N.O. n-o! perhaps say something like "can u read books instead of watching leapfrog?" distract the child. "do u want to read your dinosaur book?"

okok, back to kj. after i declined him, he fought back with " but i never watch very long already "

O.O

i am truly flabbergasted. i swear, i did not expect that to come from him.














this is printed off from Homeschoolshare but i couldnt find the link.



This is from 1+1+1=1.



Got this from 2 Teaching Mommies.


Printed this Dinosaur Clip Cards from 2 Teaching Mommies as well.



whereas this photographic memory game is from Our Little Smarties.























Hor Fun

usually the dad will cook 'exotic', well not exotic but at least this chef-wannabe will explore and cook something different from our boring weekdays menu during the weekend. therefore im usually off cooking on weekends. but i still do need to prepare and plan ahead for the little kid. adults are more flexible anyhow, with diversified palate.

Huai Shan Soup for the family

recipe for huai shan (chinese wild yam) soup


i used chicken to boil this soup. this is the second time i'm cooking it. i think both times i used chicken instead of pork.

we cook more chicken than pork, because i cant quite tell their parts and i dont know which part suits which cooking.
and i hate it, no, we both hate it when the pork smells!


well, people reckoned that huai shan has some beneficial properties so all the more i will purchase whenever i see it available in the market.

i love to go to the wet market. yes, im aunty just like that! :p although i do not look like an aunty at all! *hah*


this is how the huai shan looks like~
vacuum packed , from china


i only use this much for a pot, catering for a the 3 of us. dad,mom,toddler


u need to handle it like a lightning. it is slimy hence it is advisable to slice swiftly and wash and cut.



these are what i put into the soup.

huai shan + carrot + dried wolfberries + dried yu zhu (Solomon seal rhizome)

did not add red dates because the father shudders when he sees red dates in soups. ? whatever




chicken carcass. 2 whole-chicken-backbone. this is my usual USUAL chicken broth.

never really tried chicken feet or wings or anything else.

unless my mom buys me kampung chicken (i will make sure it is throughly cleaned before accepting it), we will then deskin the chicken and cook herbal soup in the slow cooker.

these are my sources :
1. annelicious food
2. food4tots
3.noobcook
4. mywoklife