Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Monday, December 20, 2010
X'mas Project I - Truffle Bouquets
This year is the first time since 2006 that we are spending x'mas in the comfort of our own home. We have been living overseas for the past 4 years and december is always the time we travel back to Perth to visit my husband's side of the family. But since we had to go back just 2 months ago for my brother-in-law's wedding, we decided that it would be too expensive to fly back twice in 2 months. So for this year, we get to enjoy a cold x'mas for a change and in our home in Japan. And although I feel a little sad not being able to spend time with my husband's family on this festive season, I am also happy that I get to finally embark on little x'mas projects with my 3 year old. Projects that I never got to work on since we were never in our own house at x'mas.
X'mas project I - The making of truffle bouquets.
I always like the idea of homemade truffles as x'mas gifts. I know mince pies are probably more traditional and classic but I was never a fan of them so there was no motivation in making my own.
My original plan with the truffles was to make them with my 3 year old and then put them in little truffle boxes and give them away as gifts. However, there isn't any decent stores here that sell baking accessories so I couldn't find any truffle boxes even after searching many stores. I saw from a regular food blog that I read where truffles were being made in cute little bouquets and I thought that would be a brillaint idea and a good subsitute to traditional boxes.
I embarked on this truffle project on Wednesday morning for Aiden was at school. I had wanted to do this with him but figured that it would be too hard as he is still a little too young to help in something like this. Besides, I wanted to do this fast as I have been so busy lately with everything and really can't afford to spend the whole day making truffles with a 3 year old.
The recipe was simple - about 200g of cream cheese to 1 packet of tim tam truffles. Yes you heard me right. I was making Tim Tam Truffles! I had to make about 50 truffles as I was planning to do 3 truffles in one bouquet and they were meant to be given to the kids at Aiden's school on their last day. The quantity I mentioned earlier made about 24 truffles so I doubled the quantity. I used 1 packet of the classic Tim Tams, and another packet of white chocolate Tim Tams. Put everything in the food processor to mix them up and then leave them in the fridge to firm up overnight.
The cheese and tim tam dough
Coating the truffles in caramel bits, almond, chocolate sprinkles and desicated coconut. I did the dark chocolate coating the last as those needed more work.
The finished product.
Making into a bouquet. This was the hardest part and I needed my husband's help.
X'mas project I - The making of truffle bouquets.
I always like the idea of homemade truffles as x'mas gifts. I know mince pies are probably more traditional and classic but I was never a fan of them so there was no motivation in making my own.
My original plan with the truffles was to make them with my 3 year old and then put them in little truffle boxes and give them away as gifts. However, there isn't any decent stores here that sell baking accessories so I couldn't find any truffle boxes even after searching many stores. I saw from a regular food blog that I read where truffles were being made in cute little bouquets and I thought that would be a brillaint idea and a good subsitute to traditional boxes.
I embarked on this truffle project on Wednesday morning for Aiden was at school. I had wanted to do this with him but figured that it would be too hard as he is still a little too young to help in something like this. Besides, I wanted to do this fast as I have been so busy lately with everything and really can't afford to spend the whole day making truffles with a 3 year old.
The recipe was simple - about 200g of cream cheese to 1 packet of tim tam truffles. Yes you heard me right. I was making Tim Tam Truffles! I had to make about 50 truffles as I was planning to do 3 truffles in one bouquet and they were meant to be given to the kids at Aiden's school on their last day. The quantity I mentioned earlier made about 24 truffles so I doubled the quantity. I used 1 packet of the classic Tim Tams, and another packet of white chocolate Tim Tams. Put everything in the food processor to mix them up and then leave them in the fridge to firm up overnight.
The cheese and tim tam dough
This is the easiest part. Rolling into truffle balls.
Coating the truffles in caramel bits, almond, chocolate sprinkles and desicated coconut. I did the dark chocolate coating the last as those needed more work.
The finished product.
Making into a bouquet. This was the hardest part and I needed my husband's help.
Off to school!
x
x
Friday, December 17, 2010
In life, some rain must fall
I cannot believe X'mas is only a week away. The past 2 months have been very busy for me and I feel that 7 days is not gonna be enough for me to get everything done before Santa knocks on the door. Wish there is a way I can buy time.
I spent almost 4 hours with the japanese police yesterday afternoon, an experience I wish I didn't have to go thru. It was about the accident where my car collided with a motorbike at an intersection in my residential area 2 weeks ago. After the accident happened, the police had me described the entire incident and told me they would contact me again for a formal statement. And that was why I had an appointment with them yesterday in the afternoon. Although I kinda knew what to expect, I couldn't help but ended up feeling frustrated (with them) and downright pissed off. They told me that they were not taking sides, yet they insisted that they did not believe that the biker were going beyond the speed limit when he crashed into my car. It frustrated me that they jumped into the conclusion when they were not even there to witness the accident. The photos that they took at the scene showed very clearly that my entire car was already in the middle of the junction when the collision happened and until today, I still cannot figure how the biker could have not seen me! But the police insisted that it was my fault because I had not checked my right which wasn't true. I had already stopped at the stop line (before it all happened) and that was to check on the opposite mirror for vehicles coming from the right. And because the road was designed in such a way that there were many blindspots, I had to also check my left (apart from checking right) since I was crossing over to the left lane as I turned. I couldn't believe when they actually told me that I didn't have to check the left! And let any car crash into me as I turn into that lane? I wonder.
I knew dealing with the japanese would be hard but still, I was angry as they didn't seem to be taking in anything that I said. Even my japanese friend who accompanied me yesterday (and also acted as the translator) was on the verge of quarreling with them. The last straw was, they tried to make me sign a statement that indicated clearly "I caused the accident because...." and "I could have avoided the accident if I had...." . Doesn't that sound like I am saying that I should be held full responsibility for it? I'm not saying that I have no part to play but it was an accident and I believe I wasn't the only party involved in that. Fortunately, my friend managed to make them change the statement as she insisted that it was simply too unfair to me. Just when I thought this whole episode will be over, they told me that they were charging me with causing unintentional injury to the other party. Never mind the fact that there was a very hugh possibility that he was speeding. And that he was negligent or daydreaming to the extent that he could not see my big silver car a good distance infront of him. His crash tore off my number plate and damaged my bumper which had to be replaced. If he had not been speeding, the impact would not have been that great
When I finally got home last night, the exhaustion hit me and it was only then I realised how mentally drained I was. It will be 3 to 6 months before I receive the summon to see the proscecutor who will decide how much fine I will have to pay (and it really appears to me that they are trying to make money out of this). I am not worried as there's nothing I can do except to wait. The feeling sucks especially when I have never even gotten a parking fine in my 10 years of driving in Singapore and Australia.
Amidst all the frustration and stress, I am just so thankful that I have the help and care from people around me. My friend who stayed with me for the 4 hours yesterday and helped with the translation, standing up for me to the local police when I cannot speak the language. She and another friend also helped ferrying Aiden to school (without me asking) during the 2 weeks that my car was in the workshop having the bumper replaced. And most importantly, my husband who has not once blamed me for the accident but been giving tremendous emotional support and shouldering the stressful tasks of dealing with the insurance side and the car workshop so that I need not worry about the nitty gritty stuff.
For now, I just wanna put this behind. Well, at least until I receive the summon letter. It's gonna be X'mas and I'm determined to enjoy it.
I spent almost 4 hours with the japanese police yesterday afternoon, an experience I wish I didn't have to go thru. It was about the accident where my car collided with a motorbike at an intersection in my residential area 2 weeks ago. After the accident happened, the police had me described the entire incident and told me they would contact me again for a formal statement. And that was why I had an appointment with them yesterday in the afternoon. Although I kinda knew what to expect, I couldn't help but ended up feeling frustrated (with them) and downright pissed off. They told me that they were not taking sides, yet they insisted that they did not believe that the biker were going beyond the speed limit when he crashed into my car. It frustrated me that they jumped into the conclusion when they were not even there to witness the accident. The photos that they took at the scene showed very clearly that my entire car was already in the middle of the junction when the collision happened and until today, I still cannot figure how the biker could have not seen me! But the police insisted that it was my fault because I had not checked my right which wasn't true. I had already stopped at the stop line (before it all happened) and that was to check on the opposite mirror for vehicles coming from the right. And because the road was designed in such a way that there were many blindspots, I had to also check my left (apart from checking right) since I was crossing over to the left lane as I turned. I couldn't believe when they actually told me that I didn't have to check the left! And let any car crash into me as I turn into that lane? I wonder.
I knew dealing with the japanese would be hard but still, I was angry as they didn't seem to be taking in anything that I said. Even my japanese friend who accompanied me yesterday (and also acted as the translator) was on the verge of quarreling with them. The last straw was, they tried to make me sign a statement that indicated clearly "I caused the accident because...." and "I could have avoided the accident if I had...." . Doesn't that sound like I am saying that I should be held full responsibility for it? I'm not saying that I have no part to play but it was an accident and I believe I wasn't the only party involved in that. Fortunately, my friend managed to make them change the statement as she insisted that it was simply too unfair to me. Just when I thought this whole episode will be over, they told me that they were charging me with causing unintentional injury to the other party. Never mind the fact that there was a very hugh possibility that he was speeding. And that he was negligent or daydreaming to the extent that he could not see my big silver car a good distance infront of him. His crash tore off my number plate and damaged my bumper which had to be replaced. If he had not been speeding, the impact would not have been that great
When I finally got home last night, the exhaustion hit me and it was only then I realised how mentally drained I was. It will be 3 to 6 months before I receive the summon to see the proscecutor who will decide how much fine I will have to pay (and it really appears to me that they are trying to make money out of this). I am not worried as there's nothing I can do except to wait. The feeling sucks especially when I have never even gotten a parking fine in my 10 years of driving in Singapore and Australia.
Amidst all the frustration and stress, I am just so thankful that I have the help and care from people around me. My friend who stayed with me for the 4 hours yesterday and helped with the translation, standing up for me to the local police when I cannot speak the language. She and another friend also helped ferrying Aiden to school (without me asking) during the 2 weeks that my car was in the workshop having the bumper replaced. And most importantly, my husband who has not once blamed me for the accident but been giving tremendous emotional support and shouldering the stressful tasks of dealing with the insurance side and the car workshop so that I need not worry about the nitty gritty stuff.
For now, I just wanna put this behind. Well, at least until I receive the summon letter. It's gonna be X'mas and I'm determined to enjoy it.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
What's for dinner?
Chickpea curry.
I made this dinner in about 20 minutes. It was fast, and fuss-free. This is perfect for vegetarians with the main ingredient being chickpeas and the rest were just canned whole stewed tomatoes, zucchinis and baby spinach leaves. As for the curry base, I used Sharwood's mild curry paste. I always have homemade rempah (curry paste) prepared by my mum and I would bring them back from Singapore and keep them for ages in the freezer. But I only use this rempah when I make chinese or malaysian style curry as I just don't think they suit indian curries. So if I cook indian curries, I use my trusty Sharwood's that I can easily get from the local supermarkets.
Served on warm steamed rice. A perfect dish for winter.
x
x
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Have I mentioned how much I love Autumn?
This, is one of the many reasons why I love living in Japan.
x
x
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Purposeful Play - Board Games
From the time Aiden was about 2.5 years old (he is now 3 years and 3 months), I think I slowed down alot in creative playing with him. A part of me was starting to be tired from all the constant stimulating play I did with him since he was a baby.
My husband and I have always believed in early brain development and we wanted to fully make use of first 3 years of Aiden's life as this period of time is believed to be the most crucial period for a child's brain development. Hence, we often engaged in spontaneous and simple made-up games with Aiden at home. For example, I used to hiding familar toys in the different rooms in the house after showing Aiden where I had placed them initially and then told him to find all of them. This forces him to recollect information that he had been already given and thereby stimulating his ability to absorb and store information in his brain, and subsequently using them.
Creative play with a baby doesn't have to be complex. However, they do take up time. And may I remind you that I am a stay-at-home mother and full time housewife living in a foreign country with no help. By the time Aiden was 2.5 years old, I have to admit, I was getting a little exhausted with the constant playing. I was looking forward to the time he would be ready to do independent play by himself or at least be interested in board games, which are technically more fun for an adult like me.
One day, I got him a set of board games from Orchard Toys. It is called "Bus Stop" and is an educational and fun adding and subtracting game where all the players start off with a bus each. You throw the dice and will have to move the bus in the number of steps that is indicated on the dice. Where the bus land, there will be either a "+" or a "-" sign. That means you will have to either add, or subtract passengers from your bus. Then you throw the dice again to see how many passengers you have to add or subtract. The person with the most number of passengers on their bus when they reach the destination stop will win the game.
My husband and I have always believed in early brain development and we wanted to fully make use of first 3 years of Aiden's life as this period of time is believed to be the most crucial period for a child's brain development. Hence, we often engaged in spontaneous and simple made-up games with Aiden at home. For example, I used to hiding familar toys in the different rooms in the house after showing Aiden where I had placed them initially and then told him to find all of them. This forces him to recollect information that he had been already given and thereby stimulating his ability to absorb and store information in his brain, and subsequently using them.
Creative play with a baby doesn't have to be complex. However, they do take up time. And may I remind you that I am a stay-at-home mother and full time housewife living in a foreign country with no help. By the time Aiden was 2.5 years old, I have to admit, I was getting a little exhausted with the constant playing. I was looking forward to the time he would be ready to do independent play by himself or at least be interested in board games, which are technically more fun for an adult like me.
One day, I got him a set of board games from Orchard Toys. It is called "Bus Stop" and is an educational and fun adding and subtracting game where all the players start off with a bus each. You throw the dice and will have to move the bus in the number of steps that is indicated on the dice. Where the bus land, there will be either a "+" or a "-" sign. That means you will have to either add, or subtract passengers from your bus. Then you throw the dice again to see how many passengers you have to add or subtract. The person with the most number of passengers on their bus when they reach the destination stop will win the game.
I have always been a fan of "Orchard Toys". The toys and board games that they produce are always fun, creative and educational. Aiden is now 3 and at the right age for simple and interactive board games. He can understand the rules and knows how to follow them (previously he will probably throw the dice at ME instead of throwing them on the board). Besides, he has always been good with numbers and I thought this bus game could make him understand the fundamentals of addition and subtraction.
So yeah, I finally get to do board games with my boy. But if we were to have another child, I will have to do all those creative, simple but boring (to me) homemade games with the baby ALL OVER AGAIN. Dammit!
x
x
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
What's for dinner?
Comfort food again - chicken porridge this time. It was meant to be the classic lean pork porridge with century egg but I preferred chicken instead and I had no century eggs at home. So I made the chicken porridge and served salted eggs (which I love by the way) on the side. It was a bliss eating this on a cold, winter night.
x
Saturday, November 27, 2010
It's Christmas!
I love december. It is the month of christmas, my favourite holiday in the year. But one month is simply too short to celebrate this occasion in my opinion so I always celebrate christmas for 2 months. Hence, decorations were put up immediately after halloween!
Sitting on top of the fire place
Festive mood
My favourite corner
Sitting on top of the fire place
Stockings and reindeer
Snowmen!
The only thing left to be done is a gingerbread house, which I intend to do it with Aiden as our christmas project one week before the actual day. It is my first attempt at a gingerbread house and I'm so excited about it! I have a good template in mind and have also bought back some edible candy decorations from Australia when I went back recently. Stay tuned!
Thursday, November 25, 2010
The powerful mind
I was thinking about depression this morning. Not that I'm depressed or what, although I do know a few people who are dealing with different levels of depression personally.
A friend posted this as her status on facebook recently: depression is not a sign of weakness, it is a sign that you have been trying to be strong for too long. Do you agree with this? I used to think that depression will only hit the weak-minded people but now I'm not so sure anymore. Especially after going thru Aiden's first year where he totally brought out the most vulnerable side of me and threw me off my line. I was the last person I thought would ever get depressed. Even my mum used to joke about how I would only make people around me depressed (thanks mum). Now, I am convinced that depression can hit anybody and there can be many reasons why it happens. But even though it may not be a sign of weakness, I don't believe it happens just because you have been trying to be too strong either.
I used to follow a very popular blog that documents her daily life as a mother of 3. Her blog is very inviting and full of positive energy. At one point, it even made me wonder if it was really true that her life is only flooded with sunshine and rainbows. I stopped reading not because I was jealous or being a sour grape. I just felt that everything she wrote appeared to be too try hard, staged, and well, simply unreal. But recently, I went into her site just to check (and I had nothing else to read on the internet) and read a post where she came clean about how she actually has been suffering from depression (varying degrees at different times) for the past 5 years! Was I surprised? Not really. but I do give her credit for confessing. What I am now wondering is, all the great, beautiful, positive stuff that she has been writing about on her blog, are they written as a cover for the negative feelings she has inside her? Is she doing this as a form of self-therapy? Did she feel the need to write about only the good stuff so that she could remind herself that life is beautiful?
Don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to determine if she is right or wrong. There isn't even one in the first place. Everyone deals with their problems differently. But what I do know is, our mind is a very powerful tool. Whenever I feel down, I go in search of the resilient heart inside me. When I find it, I calm down to re-focus. I follow a path and seek my way out. If you are in some kind of depression, you lose your way. That was what happened to me in that first year of motherhood. I was lost for the very first time in my life. When you are lost, you fear. When you fear, you frantic. When you frantic, you start to spin. And that is when all negative emotions set in. If you keep holding on to the bad feelings and unpleasant experiences, you will never get out of the maze. In the more serious cases, people sink.
Yesterday, I was reading a blog that I came across recently. She is an american with 2 young children, of which one is suffering from down syndrome. She only found out about this when the child was born. It was of course devastating but it seems like she came to terms very quickly. She accepted the fact and now writes this blog where she focuses about enjoying the small things in life. She did admit the fact that she sometimes cries when things happen, she uses her mind to overcome it. In her own words, she wrote "Every time I begin to sink, I remind myself that I am a rockstar. And rockstars know that life is beautiful. Life has challenges. Life teaches you things. And life is all how you look at it."
Will she ever breakdown one day? Has she really accepted and come to terms with the unfortunate situation? Not denying is one thing, but totally accepting and feeling okay about it is another. Is she saying the above becasue she needs to hear it herself? That she has to constantly remind herself that this is how she should look at life. She is not a friend but I do wish her all the best.
I don't what had called for this post. Perhaps it was because I had an accident where my car collided with a bike this morning and felt shitty about it. I'm physically ok but the man on the bike had to be sent to the hospital. Not unconscious or anything. He was hurt on the arm and leg and so couldn't walk. So after I came home, I felt so lousy about the whole incident. I didn't like the fact that this had happened after I have been driving with no bad records for more than 10 years in Singapore and Australia. I wondered if the man is fine. I kept replaying the whole accident in my brain and tried to find an answer to whether or not I was entirely at fault. I kept wondering if I could have been more careful.
And all of a sudden, something reminded me to search for that heart again. The mind is indeed a very powerful thing. I calmed down and let go. Let go of the thoughts and let go for the negative feelings. My heart is no longer heavy and my mind is clearing up. Re-focus. That's what we always have to do in life. Imperfections are what make life beautiful. And most importantly, learn to love yourself.
x
x
A friend posted this as her status on facebook recently: depression is not a sign of weakness, it is a sign that you have been trying to be strong for too long. Do you agree with this? I used to think that depression will only hit the weak-minded people but now I'm not so sure anymore. Especially after going thru Aiden's first year where he totally brought out the most vulnerable side of me and threw me off my line. I was the last person I thought would ever get depressed. Even my mum used to joke about how I would only make people around me depressed (thanks mum). Now, I am convinced that depression can hit anybody and there can be many reasons why it happens. But even though it may not be a sign of weakness, I don't believe it happens just because you have been trying to be too strong either.
I used to follow a very popular blog that documents her daily life as a mother of 3. Her blog is very inviting and full of positive energy. At one point, it even made me wonder if it was really true that her life is only flooded with sunshine and rainbows. I stopped reading not because I was jealous or being a sour grape. I just felt that everything she wrote appeared to be too try hard, staged, and well, simply unreal. But recently, I went into her site just to check (and I had nothing else to read on the internet) and read a post where she came clean about how she actually has been suffering from depression (varying degrees at different times) for the past 5 years! Was I surprised? Not really. but I do give her credit for confessing. What I am now wondering is, all the great, beautiful, positive stuff that she has been writing about on her blog, are they written as a cover for the negative feelings she has inside her? Is she doing this as a form of self-therapy? Did she feel the need to write about only the good stuff so that she could remind herself that life is beautiful?
Don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to determine if she is right or wrong. There isn't even one in the first place. Everyone deals with their problems differently. But what I do know is, our mind is a very powerful tool. Whenever I feel down, I go in search of the resilient heart inside me. When I find it, I calm down to re-focus. I follow a path and seek my way out. If you are in some kind of depression, you lose your way. That was what happened to me in that first year of motherhood. I was lost for the very first time in my life. When you are lost, you fear. When you fear, you frantic. When you frantic, you start to spin. And that is when all negative emotions set in. If you keep holding on to the bad feelings and unpleasant experiences, you will never get out of the maze. In the more serious cases, people sink.
Yesterday, I was reading a blog that I came across recently. She is an american with 2 young children, of which one is suffering from down syndrome. She only found out about this when the child was born. It was of course devastating but it seems like she came to terms very quickly. She accepted the fact and now writes this blog where she focuses about enjoying the small things in life. She did admit the fact that she sometimes cries when things happen, she uses her mind to overcome it. In her own words, she wrote "Every time I begin to sink, I remind myself that I am a rockstar. And rockstars know that life is beautiful. Life has challenges. Life teaches you things. And life is all how you look at it."
Will she ever breakdown one day? Has she really accepted and come to terms with the unfortunate situation? Not denying is one thing, but totally accepting and feeling okay about it is another. Is she saying the above becasue she needs to hear it herself? That she has to constantly remind herself that this is how she should look at life. She is not a friend but I do wish her all the best.
I don't what had called for this post. Perhaps it was because I had an accident where my car collided with a bike this morning and felt shitty about it. I'm physically ok but the man on the bike had to be sent to the hospital. Not unconscious or anything. He was hurt on the arm and leg and so couldn't walk. So after I came home, I felt so lousy about the whole incident. I didn't like the fact that this had happened after I have been driving with no bad records for more than 10 years in Singapore and Australia. I wondered if the man is fine. I kept replaying the whole accident in my brain and tried to find an answer to whether or not I was entirely at fault. I kept wondering if I could have been more careful.
And all of a sudden, something reminded me to search for that heart again. The mind is indeed a very powerful thing. I calmed down and let go. Let go of the thoughts and let go for the negative feelings. My heart is no longer heavy and my mind is clearing up. Re-focus. That's what we always have to do in life. Imperfections are what make life beautiful. And most importantly, learn to love yourself.
x
x
Monday, November 22, 2010
Beautiful colours of Fall
In case anyone is wondering, I'm not dead yet. Just been busy preparing for x'mas and getting back into routine after my husband's grandparents left a week ago. And I have another group of guests coming in a week's time which means I have to get the guestroom ready again.
Will update soon. But before I go, here are some recent photos. It's Fall, my favourite season of the year in Japan!
Red maple leaves
Yamashita Road, Yokohama
Will update soon. But before I go, here are some recent photos. It's Fall, my favourite season of the year in Japan!
Inner garden, Meiji Jingu Shrine, Tokyo
View from Tokyo Tower
Imperial Palace, Tokyo
Fallen leaves, Imperial Palace, Tokyo
Red maple leaves
Yamashita Road, Yokohama
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
A moment to remember
My little 3 year old boy did something that touched my heart and brought a tear to my eyes tonight. And I have to pen it down in this journal so that I will always remember this special moment.
Aiden has been toilet trained for about 6 months but he is still on nappies at night. I have read and heard from many experienced mothers that boys generally take longer than girls to be fully toilet trained - day and night. In fact, many boys still incur "accidents" in bed right up to the age of 10 (omg)! Hence with Aiden, I really haven't been too fussed about training him at night. I figure that he will just do away with night nappies when he is ready, whenever that may be.
Now, the problem started a couple of nights ago. I don't know what the reason is, but his pee has been leaking out of his nappy and wet the bed in the middle of the night. For 3 nights in a row. And it drove me crazy. We do not have a protector for his matteress as we haven't been able to find one in Japan so imagine the work I have to do when he wets his bed at night. The standard operating procedure for wet bed situation is this:
So my husband and I decided to tell Aiden that he can no longer pee in his nappy by explaining to him that he is growing up so fast that his nappy can no longer hold the increased quantity of pee. He took it well and was even guilty of the fact that he wet his bed and made a mess.
This morning, my husband woke up and discovered that the toilet door was ajar and the lights were on. Aiden was still asleep in his room so my husband asked if I used the toilet in the middle of the night, which I didn't. So Aiden was the one who used it! We asked his later in the day and he admitted waking up to use the toilet as he needed to pee. We were so proud of him as we really didn't expect a 3 year old to remember waking up from his sleep to use the toilet just becasue we told him to.
But the special moment was tonight. After reading to him and turning off the lights, I asked if he needed to use the toilet. He said he didn't need to and I reminded him to try not to pee in his nappy when he sleep. Then I left him to go downstairs. Our bedrooms are all on 2nd level and Aiden knows his dad and I are still downstairs watching tv while he is alone upstairs trying to sleep. 1/2 hour later, I heard some noise from the child monitor so I went closer to the stairways and heard him opening the door of the toilet, and subsequent flushing followed by some rustling sound which I presume was him pulling up his nappy and pyjamas bottoms. Then he went straight to bed again! When I checked on him just then, he was sleeping soundly and even had himself tucked under the quilt!
Allow me to enjoy this special moment and bask in pride. If you are not a parent, this may not mean anything special to you. But for me, this is a very special milestone. My baby is growing up. And he is really developing into a mature and independent child. And may I remind you that he only turned 3 less than three months ago!
Toddlers are capable of pushing your buttons and can be very defiant. They also tend to develop fears out of nowhere - fear of monsters, fear of the dark, fear of being alone etc. So for what Aiden did yesterday and tonight, I am truly very proud of him. He is a good boy. And I just have to keep reminding myself not to expect too much from him all the time. Afterall, he is only 3.
x
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Aiden has been toilet trained for about 6 months but he is still on nappies at night. I have read and heard from many experienced mothers that boys generally take longer than girls to be fully toilet trained - day and night. In fact, many boys still incur "accidents" in bed right up to the age of 10 (omg)! Hence with Aiden, I really haven't been too fussed about training him at night. I figure that he will just do away with night nappies when he is ready, whenever that may be.
Now, the problem started a couple of nights ago. I don't know what the reason is, but his pee has been leaking out of his nappy and wet the bed in the middle of the night. For 3 nights in a row. And it drove me crazy. We do not have a protector for his matteress as we haven't been able to find one in Japan so imagine the work I have to do when he wets his bed at night. The standard operating procedure for wet bed situation is this:
- All his soft toys have to be cleared from his bed
- the sheets have to be off and washed
- the quilt cover has to be pulled off and washed
- the quilt has to be cleaned and left on the balcony to dry and air
- the dirty patch on the matteress has to be cleaned (a damn hard chore by the way)
- his pyjamas has to be soaked before they can be washed with other laundry
- clean new sheets to be put on again at night before he goes to bed
So my husband and I decided to tell Aiden that he can no longer pee in his nappy by explaining to him that he is growing up so fast that his nappy can no longer hold the increased quantity of pee. He took it well and was even guilty of the fact that he wet his bed and made a mess.
This morning, my husband woke up and discovered that the toilet door was ajar and the lights were on. Aiden was still asleep in his room so my husband asked if I used the toilet in the middle of the night, which I didn't. So Aiden was the one who used it! We asked his later in the day and he admitted waking up to use the toilet as he needed to pee. We were so proud of him as we really didn't expect a 3 year old to remember waking up from his sleep to use the toilet just becasue we told him to.
But the special moment was tonight. After reading to him and turning off the lights, I asked if he needed to use the toilet. He said he didn't need to and I reminded him to try not to pee in his nappy when he sleep. Then I left him to go downstairs. Our bedrooms are all on 2nd level and Aiden knows his dad and I are still downstairs watching tv while he is alone upstairs trying to sleep. 1/2 hour later, I heard some noise from the child monitor so I went closer to the stairways and heard him opening the door of the toilet, and subsequent flushing followed by some rustling sound which I presume was him pulling up his nappy and pyjamas bottoms. Then he went straight to bed again! When I checked on him just then, he was sleeping soundly and even had himself tucked under the quilt!
Allow me to enjoy this special moment and bask in pride. If you are not a parent, this may not mean anything special to you. But for me, this is a very special milestone. My baby is growing up. And he is really developing into a mature and independent child. And may I remind you that he only turned 3 less than three months ago!
Toddlers are capable of pushing your buttons and can be very defiant. They also tend to develop fears out of nowhere - fear of monsters, fear of the dark, fear of being alone etc. So for what Aiden did yesterday and tonight, I am truly very proud of him. He is a good boy. And I just have to keep reminding myself not to expect too much from him all the time. Afterall, he is only 3.
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Saturday, November 13, 2010
What's for dinner?
I know I just did a What's for Dinner post recently but I can't not share this (actually....I just wanna boast about this so indulge me OK).
I have always been intrigued by french style of cooking and have heard of the famous classic boeuf borguignon before but there was never a motivation to challenge this. So after watching this movie, I was all inspired and raring to give it a go. My sweet hubby then bought me 2 of Julia Child's cookbook - Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 1 and 2! Boeuf borguignon HAS to be the very first dish that I try. My husband's grandparents are visiting us from Perth and staying at our place at the moment so I made this a couple of nights ago.
Boef borguignon accompanied by 2 side dishes - sauteed onions and mushrooms, and buttered peas. I also prepared some plain rice to go with it as the stew itself is a very intense flavoured dish. And buttered peas are recommended as a preferred side dish.
The truth is, I have never eaten the dish cooked by Julia Child of course and I don't really know how an authentic boeuf borguignon should be like. I followed the recipe and this just tasted like a really good beef stew. And the flavour is very very intense and unlike any other beef stews that I had made in the past. In fact, I have to say it was the best stew I have ever eaten! But the recipe is not so straightforward and cooking time is long. I doubt I will be making this dish again like an everyday dish.
So like I mentioned in my latest update, I attempted my very first Bouef Bourguignon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beef_bourguignon), Julia Child's version. For those who cannot be bothered clicking on my link to wikipedia on a detailed information, this is basically a beef stewed in red wine in a french way. It is one of the most well known and classic french dish. I love stews, especially in cold winters and I have made my own versions of beef stews many times, occasionally with red wine, and other times just in stock and herbs. But a good friend of mine sent me a dvd of the movie "Julie and Julia" earlier this year as a surprise gift (thanks babe!) and I was so inspired after watching it. Julia Child was an american lady who lived in France in the 1950s as her husband was based there as a diplomat. She was trained at the famous Le Cordon Bleu cooking school and became an expert in french cooking.
I have always been intrigued by french style of cooking and have heard of the famous classic boeuf borguignon before but there was never a motivation to challenge this. So after watching this movie, I was all inspired and raring to give it a go. My sweet hubby then bought me 2 of Julia Child's cookbook - Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 1 and 2! Boeuf borguignon HAS to be the very first dish that I try. My husband's grandparents are visiting us from Perth and staying at our place at the moment so I made this a couple of nights ago.
Boef borguignon accompanied by 2 side dishes - sauteed onions and mushrooms, and buttered peas. I also prepared some plain rice to go with it as the stew itself is a very intense flavoured dish. And buttered peas are recommended as a preferred side dish.
The star of the dinner. My boeuf borguignon!
The truth is, I have never eaten the dish cooked by Julia Child of course and I don't really know how an authentic boeuf borguignon should be like. I followed the recipe and this just tasted like a really good beef stew. And the flavour is very very intense and unlike any other beef stews that I had made in the past. In fact, I have to say it was the best stew I have ever eaten! But the recipe is not so straightforward and cooking time is long. I doubt I will be making this dish again like an everyday dish.
And the dessert after dinner!
I made this berry tart because I saw gorgeous punnets of black berries, raspberries and blueberries at costco the other day. Straightaway the bulb in my head lit up - berry tart! I will not be putting up any recipes today as I doubt anyone is interested anyway.
So the dinner went well. Everyone seemed to love it. Either that or they are just entertaining me by boosting my ego. I'll take any compliments that come my way. I don't care!
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