First day of school

 dad send him off to the door.

i was rushing in and out of the house and was sweating profusely.

we were running late yet hubs commented that i can still take photos.

of course, my first born is going to school!

i was beaming!

all of us are excited!

mom called me at 10am to check on him.

 singing...

 with actions.

thank god my music player has a 'repeat' function.

he asked me "mummy, will the teacher give me toy?" a couple of times!

 dashed into the classroom and threw his bag on the floor and immersed himself.

 that is a toy plane in his hand.

 i have no idea what he is doing.

first day and he is like that.

doesn't need me at all.

im a wee sad:)

whilst another boy cried for mommy for the entire 2 hours i was there.

whereas this little barely 3 months old cutie pie,

sleeps throughout.

i greatly in love with him.

Let kids help out in the kitchen

practical life activity: helping out in the kitchen.

spinach

the remnants.

i tried to hold back my tongue.

look at my torn leaves!!

this was second trial.

from the looks of his face, he enjoys it, no?

he tried to pull the leaves but it was difficult.

so he says Mummy, it is so tight oh.

i beamed because he got the word correct, tight it is darling.

i showed him that he has to bend before pulling but he couldnt get it.

that is fine.

mummy, i help u to pluck vege? he chirps.

 like aunty O.

mummy, worms.

i had a shock.

I'm squeamish when it comes to worms yet i did not want to frighten him.

upon further checking, it was actually the nodes on the kangkung.

not worms kj.

yes. its worms!!!

ok. fullstop.

i kept quiet.

Aug 2013

Thermomix curry

i craved for spicy food when i had Matty.

i had a lot of eating problems.

very fussy and picky. appetite changes like a tornado.

so it was a little difficult cooking at home at times.

i'd request for a dish and once it is ready to be served, i'd change my mind by then.

sad right? :)

this was what hubs cooked for me.

who says thermomix only cooks for a small family?

this pot of curry could serve up to 8 people i think!

the chef insisted he cooks from scratch instead of cheating using curry paste.

What to do with Bone Broth

the consistency must be gel like when kept in fridge.

then it showed you have succeeded in preparing the BONE BROTH.

this pot is chicken bone stock as it looks whiter.

beef bones stock would look browner.

(Refer to beef bone stock pic)

there is another good post on How to make bone broth at Wellnessmama.

she also explains what is broth and why broth.

 Many societies around the world still consume broth regularly as it is a cheap and highly nutrient dense food.

Besides it’s amazing taste and culinary uses, broth is an excellent source of minerals and is known to boost the immune system (chicken soup when you are sick anyone?) and improve digestion. Its high calcium, magnesium and phosphorus content make it great for bone and tooth health. Bone broth also supports joints, hair, skin and nails due to its high collagen content. In fact, some even suggest that it helps eliminate cellulite as it supports smooth connective tissue.

It can be made from the bones of beef, bison, lamb, poultry or fish and vegetables and spices are often added.

Anyone who has read Gut and Psychology Syndrome knows the many benefits of bone broth and how it can improve digestion, allergies, immune health, brain health and much more.

What isn’t as well know is that broth can help reduce cellulite by improving connective tissue, increase hair growth/strength, improve digestive issues andremineralize teeth.

Broth is also helpful to have on hand when anyone in the family gets sick as it can be a soothing and immune boosting drink during illness, even if the person doesn’t feel like eating.

Broth is very high in the amino acids proline and glycine which are vital for healthy connective tissue (ligaments, joints, around organs, etc). The Paleo Mom has a great explanation of the importance of these two amino acids: Read more from Wellnessmama

beef broth, onions, carrots, potatoes, celery, 2-3 bay leaves, peppercorn, sea salt

kj's meal

i did not add in flour which most western recipes call for.

flour would thicken the gravy

beef ribs for the adults

recipe of this pasta soup is the same as listed above except for celery.

u can add in anything that u have in the kitchen.

that is a cup of tahini milk.

1 tsb tahini, 3 banana, 2 cups of water = blend.

main reason why i cook bone broth is this:

Dr Weston Price thinks teeth is a growing material. It can erode and it can grow back, hence the idea it can remineralize and close cavities if proper nutrition is given (going back to the olden day natural diet)

i shared in Facebook:

Shia Million thank u for sharing this soup recipe.

ive always boiled my soups in the slow cooker overnight because im a lazy person but some colleagues told me that slowcooker soups are not as tasty as stove soups. whopps.

guess i will go back to my slow cooker after reading this.

plus, ds was breastfed until 2 plus yrs old and his teeth started to decay at 1.5 y.o. i was a little disappointed initially because people say bf-children has very healthy teeth and bones but it was not the case for him.
dh blamed me for night-feeding, so i was suppose to ignore him at night and just give water. he wanted night feeding even at 2 yrs old. daddy says no other food or drinks besides water after he has brushed his teeth.

in addition, he doesn't junk at all. hence food is definitely not a culprit.

we started going to the dentist at 1.5 yrs old till now, 3 y.o.

thankgod we cancelled the anesthesia appointment once last sept.

just last month, we tried to fix his teeth. we have been using Toothmousse and the tooth was arrested, which was a good sign. then we can now proceed to 'restoration'? it is like glueing a cap on the rotten tooth. but he was all cheeky and wiggly inthe clinic so the cap slid off the moment we reached home. well the dentist has warned us about it.
sigh. we have been a regular at the dentist, started since young so that he can get himself familiar with the dental process and etc. we told them that aesthetic is not as important.
the choice that she gave was, to use the toothmousse and arrest the decay and wait till he is old enough to sit through the whole dental process, or to go though NS and get a beautiful set of teeth.
parents who wants their children to have beautiful smiles will then need to go through the NS to get the procedure done, for such young children.

i am now going to boil more bone soups and pass them to the babysitter so that he can drink more, instead of having the privilege to drink only on weekends when he is with us 
May 2013

How i prepare beef broth

 beef broth

chuck in whatever leftover vegetables that u have.

after boiling in the crockpot for a night, i found white radish the next morning so i dumped it in as well.

gives a very aromatic stock!

i always cook a whole pot of crockpot and keep the remaining soup in the fridge.

how to use the broth?

see this plate of vege, throw them into the broth and let it simmer.

best if u have ceramic pots like these.

i've bought but they havent reached my hands.

why do we need to prepare bone broth for more than 24 hours?

Read : why is bone broth beautiful?

beef bones differ from the other bones in that u have to roast the bones before putting them into the crockpot.

u can use other bones such as pork or chicken.

best if u can get the bones with lots of marrow and u can throw in some chicken feet for the gelatin.

do not remove the skin.

do not discard the layer of oil formed on top of the soup.

they are healthy oil if u use genuine kampung chicken or grass-fed cow.

i try to be consistent in preparing bone soup for KJ and now i need them too for we both need to increase our calcium intake.

KJ : to remineralize his decayed teeth

Me: im breastfeeding

the power ingredient is APPLE CIDER VINEGAR.

the acv leeches out the minerals from the bones into the water.

i prepared my bone soup from Nourished Kitchen recipe and the Nourishing Cook.

it’s a lost art.  

As the bones cook in water – especially if that water has been made slightly acidic by the inclusion of cider vinegar – minerals and other nutrients leach from the bones into the water.   Homemade broth is rich in calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and other trace minerals.   The minerals in broth are easily absorbed by the body.   Bone broth even contains glucosamine and chondroiton – which are thought to help mitigate the deletorious effects of arthritis and joint pain.     Rather than shelling out big bucks for glucosamine-chondroitin and mineral supplements, just make bone broth and other nutritive foods a part of your regular diet.

Further, homemade bone broths are often rich in gelatin.   Gelatin is an inexpensive source of supplementary protein.   Gelatin also shows promise in the fight against degenerative joint disease.   It helps to support the connective tissue in your body and also helps the fingernails and hair to grow well and strong.

Read more: http://nourishedkitchen.com/the-benefits-of-bone-broth/#ixzz2di5ualim

NICU food

my babies are all NICU babies.

NICU = neonatal ICU

when they were there, this was their food.

by Wyeth

there have 2 types.

one for preterm babies.

another one for term babies.

this bottle in the photo above is for premature babies.

BAYI KURANG BERAT BADAN KETIKA LAHIR

SEDIA DIMINUM

the nurses will warm the milk before consuming

i was worried about what my baby was drinking when they were in ward.

when my first child was in NICU, i interrogated them.

i was alarmed! how could they feed formula?

anxiously i questioned hubs.

how come they did not ask me for ebm (expressed breast milk).

i went to NICU myself and all they told me was:

susu yang sudah dibancuh. bukan susu tepung.

tidak dapat beli susu ini di luar.

ok, so it is not formula milk.

i was in peace.

calmly i went home and diligently pumped milk and hubs busy transporting.

petrol bills are high i tell you.

this time when i was in NNJ (neonatal jaundice) unit, i watched the nurses fed the babies.

last time i was too busy watching my own child.

:D

this boy likes the milk, chilled.

it tastes pretty good! :D

not like our cow's milk.

its a little malty.

the nurse asked if i want to buy the milk.

she approached the wrong person man!

even though it is THIS much!

no matter.

just pump!

i used Medela Harmony manual single pump.

Holiday with grans

Nexus Karambunai 2013

Garden Deluxe Room

we booked 2 rooms and they must be CONNECTED!

initially they gave us 2 separate rooms.

heck.

i made a fuss so in the end they sort of upgraded us a bit to connecting rooms.

how did i know about the connecting rooms?

because we stayed there in 2010 when in-law came.

now after 3 years, they are back! =D

verandah from our room.

the bedrooms need major refurbishment!

they are old and paints are chipping and the towels stinks!

i was disappointed and since hubs lost his glasses (swept away by the waves) so we drove home one night and i quickly grabbed one towel from home.

we ended up snatching for the towel the next day in the hotel.

i thought he didnt mind the smell :p

they have 3 pools!

gangnam style in the pool!

he went surfing.

looks like he is quite serious about it.

darn.

korean dad supervising his children.

moms are not visible.

new found friend :)

playing along

yep. thats our bike.

we bought from home.

imagine the truckload of things that we fetch.

hehe.

we seriously need to upgrade our car.

:p

March 2013

home made burger

the chef wants to make burger, all from scratch!

pork

wholemeal buns

patties

pan fry

almost done

cant do it medium  :p

done!

oh too plain

must add some mustard sauce

and chilli

all done!

:)