长大

♥Zara♥
Finally, 6 years and 3 months old, she had a shakey tooth (lower central incissor).

As she has 2 new teeth sprouting (her 1st permanant molar), and caused the gums to be pushed back and bleed (she spat out blood when she was brushing her teeth this morning! Gave me a shock!), I brought her to the dentist to have a look.

Since we were there, I got her shakey tooth extracted.


As for the bleeding and pushed back gums, it's common when the permanant molar sprouts. And to think all the teething problem is over!

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♥Zaria♥

Just the other day, I called her mei-mei, and she told me "Don't call me mei-mei. I'm not small any more. I'm 5 years old." o.O"

This girl has grown up. Yup. Since she was able, she has been sleeping with 1 finger in my belly button.



Daddy has been reminding her that she's older and has stronger fingers now, and she shouldn't be poking my belly button any more, or she might actually puncture my belly button and blood will start gushing out like a fountain.

That did deter her a bit, and slowly, when she's concious, she'll retract her finger, and then, just leave her hand on my belly when she goes to sleep.

Cheese Sticks

I made these for Chinese New Year, and my eldest absolutely loved it. She told me these are like home made Cheezles, very healthy. Ha.

We all know using best ingredients is key to baking, but sometimes, we just thought.. what if??

That's what I did this round. The first batch I baked, I used parmessan cheese in a block. It cost about RM30 for a 200g block, very expensive. Then the 2nd time, I thought, what if I used powdered parmessan, which is RM20 for 500g. More than half the savings!

Anyway, here is the recipe. If you could, use the good parmessan, that way, you can really taste the fragrant of the cheese.

♥Recipe for Cheese Sticks♥
Adapted from 在家亲手烤饼干by中村佳瑞子
Make 30 pieces
You'll Need 100g unsalted butter(soft to the touch)
20g castor sugar
1 egg (room temparature)
60g parmessan cheese (use the ones in a block and grate yourself if you can)
160g low protein flour sifted


Method
1. Preheat oven to 180C.
2. Beat butter until soft and fluffy (I used a hand whisk).
3. Add it sugar and further beat until well mixed and mixture becomes pale.
4. Add in the egg, and beat until well corporated
5. Using a spatula, mix in the parmessan cheese, and then stir in the flour.
6. Wrap the dough in cling wrap, and leave in the fridge for 30minutes.
7. Cut or roll the out the dough into desired strips. Place strips on a baking sheet.
8. Bake for 15 to 18mins.

Connected Tots

In this post, I mentioned about how brain cells need to connect for learning to happen.

Here is a video that shows you a connected tot in action. It is an interactive video, watch it, and you can choose the different ‘answers’ at the end to see what the little girl did to help her mom.



The girl in the video has learnt about magnet, and she had made a connection between magnet and metal, and apply that learning to help her mom. This is a connected moment.

If you want to read more about connected tots, and brain connection, do go here to understand more.

My girls, are extremely good in applying what they have learnt or heard from us in our daily conversation.
Here is one example. Zara (6yrs 2 months) has seen me frying frankfurters for her. I’d always asked her to stand far away, because the oil may splatter while the frankfurters are sizzling. See what connects me with the frankfurters?



What a connection.

Sisterly Love

At times the girls get along beautifully, at times, they fight like they are the worst enemies. I guess this is the same in most housewhole.



We notice that Zara sometimes can be a big bully. When she wants something Zaria is holding, she'll snatch from her, without asking. She doesn't do that to her friends, this 'rudeness' is only reserved for her sister.

Zaria on the other hand, blames Zara for everything!
When she fell once in the living room, immediately she said, "Jiejie make me fall."
I went o.O" because I saw the whole thing. I asked her how could have Zara caused her to fall as Zara was siting on the sofa far from her.
She replied, "Just because jiejie moved the sofa, so I don't know where to step." (Zara repositioned the sofa earlier on, but the sofa was far from where Zaria tripped and fell on her own). o.O

Another time, Zara accidentally stepped on Zaria's feet. Immediately, the accusation began, "Jiejie stepped on me." Then she checked her toes. "Jiejie stepped on me now my toes cannot straighten already." o.O"
(actually, she's born with a toe slightly crooked, but she now blamed Zara for that)

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When one of the girls are naughty, and we want to punish them, the other would quickly search for the cane, bring it right to us.

When Zaria is the naughty one, Zara happily fetch the cane for us to punish Zaria. However, she won't allow us to carry out certain punishment on Zaria.
Once Zaria was really naughty, i.e. she smacked Daddy when Daddy scolded her, when Daddy smacked her, she kicked Daddy repeatedly, and then she wailed loudly non-stop.
I wanted to put her outside the house (within the compound), and Zara blocked my way, claiming, "Even when Zaria is naughty, you cannot put her outside of the house. What if bad people catch her?"
I pushed past her and got Zaria to stand outside.
Zara was standing at the door, watching and guarding over Zaria, and kept turning to glare at us. She got so upset and angry, she didn't want to talk to us for a while after that.

When Zara is the naughty one, Zaria would somehow behaved really well, and then tell us something like jiejie is so naughty, but she's so good girl. o.O"
When we punished Zara, and Zara started crying, Zaria will be fetching tissues to wipe Zara's tears, and then will be hugging Zara.

This is the way they show their sisterly love.

Brain Connections

If you are my Facebook friend, you have read about Zaria being our new English police.
In a carpool journey home from Zaria’s school, I overheard this conversation between Aidan, who’s my neighbour’s son, and Zaria.
Aidan : No lar. (forgot what prompted him to say that)
Zaria : There's no la in English.
Aidan : What are you saying lar?
Zaria : Hello Aidan, speak Harry Potter English please. There's no lar wor meh in English.
o.O”

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On a different occasion, Zaria was being naughty, and I was scolding her; the more I scolded her the more funny stunts she carried out, and the more I scolded her. Zara gave me the solution. ”Mum, just stop scolding her.”
I replied, “But she’s naughty.”
Zara told me, “But if you keep scolding her, she’ll be naughtier, and you’ll get more stressed. If you stop scolding, she will also stop being naughty.”
There, my new parenting guru.
o.O”


I recently read somewhere that all humans are born with 100 billions brain cell. And for learning to happen, brain cells need to connect. In other words, if I want your children to be smarter, they have to have more brain cells connections. Next time if you want to scold someone chi-sin (痴线), think twice, it might actually be a compliment. :P

Children’s brains are like a sponge, they are hungry for information and knowledge, given the right exposure or stimulus, more brain cells will be connected, and they will be connected tots.

I’m happy to know that breast feeding has a part to play in assisting with this as well. Breast milk is found to have gangliosides, which help brain cells to connect for smarter learning. The girls being both breastfed for 18months, would have been taken lots of gangliosides.

I won’t say my two girls are smart, but I think they are very good in applying what they have learnt (consciously or unconsciously).This in fact indicates, their brain cells are connected, see how they can teach others what they have learnt from their daily lives?

Girls' Chitter Chatter Jan 2011

One day, on our way home from school, Zara was exceptionally quiet while her car pool friends were shouting chatting away.
I asked her if everything was alright or if anything happened in school.
She sighed a big sigh, "I'm so bored in being me."
I asked her why did she say that? Why is she feeling bored.
She replied, "Just because every day I have to repeat everything I do."
o.O"
I have to explain to her life is full of routines, just like us, we have to wake up daily to work, pick the children up from school, etc.
She continued to keep quiet. Then after a few moments she told me, "But.. I'm best at being me. So, I'll continue to be me." And the smiles and chatter box returned. o.O"

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Zaria was dancing ballet in the house. I had to warn her that she cannot try to walk with her toe pointed (Zara used to do that when she 'danced' the ballet).
Zaria replied, "Ya, only in cartoon you can do that right? Because in cartoon you can do anything."
o.O" Well said.

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Zara attended a friend's birthday party, and she wanted to wear her nicest dress, with lace, ribbons and sewn on sequins.
When she was there, she was playing and doing all kinds of funny stunts. She didn't ruin the dress, but she was drenched in sweat at the end of the party. I told her in the car she shouldn't have worn the beautiful dress, because she was playing like a troll crazy in the party.
She replied, "In a party, you are supposed to have fun and play right? Not sit around and do nothing!"
o.O"

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I was writing this blog post, and reading aloud the content.
Zaria asked, "Are you telling your invisible friend about me?"
o.O"
Indeed, my blog readers are my invisible friends.

December Bakes

It's almost end of January now, life is getting slightly busier because my eldest has started Standard 1, and there are more activities and classes that both the children have to attend (and I have to chauffer them to class, and accompanied them in some of their classes).
These were orders that I took in December last year, I was supposed to post these earlier, but....
Anyway, this is just for the record.
Ping Yee who reads my blog, asked if I could bake her daughter's 4th birthday cupcakes and biscuits as party favours.
The Theme of the party is flower, and she wanted something simple.
These decorated flower biscuits are for the party favours. And this is Xin Ning's flower theme birthday cupcakes. Then there's Ju, the very first person who ordered cupcake for me, asked for simple cupcakes topped with M&Ms. The Principal from the children's kindergarten, likes the taste of their birthday cupcakes; so she ordered 50 simple ones (just butter cream with sprinkles) from me for the teachers on last day of school, as a token of appreciation for the hard work the teachers have put in for the school concert. And for the neighbours, I baked more Christmas tree cookies to be distributed on Christmas eve, while the children happily exchanged presents.