I must confess this parental failing I have: I chase after my toddler at meal times . Yes. I am one of those parents that run after their child at meal times, spoon in hand, attempting to shovel food into my son’s mouth as he plays, watches TV or runs around. Innocent beginnings The whole thing started innocently enough when we were trying to encourage him to be more independent at meal times to sit at his own child-sized table and chair to eat his food. However at less than two years old, his attention span barely lasted more than a minute before he became bored. So I started bringing in different things to distract him… having another set of utensils to play with, other toys, TV… Pushing boundaries Before long he started to test and push boundaries , wandering off to grab another a book or toy, then wandering off further and further away until I had to run after him to bring him back. By then I realised that we had ended up in a very compromising situation where I was being suc...

Our photo moment of the week We’ve had a wonderful week with both my parents here. Nathan is totally basking and revelling in all the grandparently love. The weather bureau has promised a beautiful sunny weekend, so we’re planning to milk it to the max with a trip to a couple of wineries in Swan Valley on Saturday and maybe a leisurely brunch in Fremantle or Coogee Beach on Sunday. And as always… Some linky treasures for your weekend It’s about time I treat my Dyson vacuum to this People with beautiful thoughts can never be ugly Changing my world 15 minutes at a time And if Dr Seuss wrote Star Wars ~~~ Have a wonderful weekend!

I’m not really much of a gardener. I leave almost all the planting, weeding, pruning and watering to my man. But the one section I do love most in our garden is our lavender plot. There is just something so therapeutic and soothing about the scent of lavender. Sometimes when I need a quick pick-me-up, I head out and pluck a couple of stalks, rub them in my palm and breathe in the scent. Another lovely way I use my lavender is to make my own  Lavender Tea After harvesting the lavender, I wash the flowers in water and lay them out on a clean towel to dry (usually 2-3 days in good warm weather) Once they are completely dried, I pick the flowers off the stems and strip the tiny blossoms off Then I mix them together with some good quality black loose-leaf tea leaves – approximate 1:1 ratio. If you don’t want to add the black tea, you can also enjoy the lavender tea just plain as it is To enjoy, simply scoop a couple of teaspoons into a tea ball or an infuser, pour in some hot ...

One of the most amazing things I find about children is their innate ability to play . They don’t necessarily need a lot of sophisticated toys. Children can turn pretty much anything into a toy or create a whole play scenario from just one or two simple items. So this month, I observed and collected some evidence of play scenarios created by me and my little man with just a couple of basic household items . Simple Water Play With just a few plastic containers filled with some water, my little one was fully engrossed in scooping, pouring and watching the water stream and trickle out from one container to another Magic Cubby House An ordinary picnic blanket draped over some furniture can magically transform ordinary items into an instant cubby house for little people to crawl under and be in their own little world Pretend Cooking An old pot and a basic utensil can transform any kid into an instant chef – Lego blocks and little knick-knacks become yummy stews, casseroles and a ...

My mother and her sister catching up with an old friend “One of the greatest titles we can have is ‘old friend’. We never appreciate how important old friends are until we are older. The problem is we need to start our old friendships when we are young. We then have to nurture and grow those friendships over our middle age when a busy life and changing geographies can cause us to neglect those friends. Today is the day to invest in those people we hope will call us 'old friend’ in the years to come.” – Grant Fairley ~~~ Linking up to

It was this story that touched my heart and moved me to tears… “I’ve never gotten a gift like this before,” said six year old Pov. “I like the stuffed animal the most,” she added, pulling the stuffed gorilla tightly into a hug. With an unstoppable grin on her face, Pov carefully looked through the contents of her shoe box stopping to inspect a pencil case filled with pencils and erasers and pens. “I will use this for school,” she said. “I like it so much!” So this year our family decided to get in on the action and pack a shoe box present to bless an underprivileged child through Operation Christmas Child , an initiative by Samaritan’s Purse . Here’s what we did… I found an empty shoe box Covered it in wrapping paper And start filling it with presents! Apart from toys, gift suggestions also include clothes, personal hygiene items like a toothbrush or comb, and pencils, erasers, exercise books and stationery items for school. Nathan also offered his favourite football s...

Our photo moment of the week Photo Caption On the menu for dinner… Stewed pork belly by Chef Mummy & Lego casserole by Sous-Chef Nathan   Linky treasures for your weekend How to make restaurant style steak at home This crusty bread recipe sounds like a must-try Interesting infographic on what your web design says about you And don’t throw away those food scraps !   Have a super weekend

A bout of cold-flu-bug has been hovering over our household lately. Nathan had suffered from a very bad cough and runny nose and my mum has been battling a case of the sniffles. As for me, I’ve been plagued with a couple of extremely painful and persistent mouth ulcers. I was taught that all these type of symptoms are associated with a traditional Chinese concept known as ‘ heatiness ’. Pretty much every type of illness and health issue in the entire traditional Chinese world is supposedly linked to the balance of ‘heaty’ and ‘cooling’ elements in the body. To counteract the symptoms of heatiness and avoid any resulting illness associated with this condition, we are told to avoid ‘heaty’ foods and to drink ‘cooling’ herbal drinks. One of the most popular ‘cooling’ herbal remedy is Loh Han Kor tea. Loh han kor or Buddha’s fruit can be found in the dried herbal section at  any oriental store. The fruit consists of a solid outer shell, with a soft furry texture inside. Althou...

Today’s post is a special one for my father’s birthday coming up this week. How does y ou r father show his love to you? Compared to mothers, most fathers are generally not seen to be as demonstrative of their love and affection. When we talk about the traditional role of fathers, most people would associate words like ‘Provider’,  ‘Leader’ or ‘Head of the household’. I now realise how tremendously blessed I am to have a father who decided to break out of the traditional mould of fathers in showing his love to his children. So when I reflect on my own relationship with my father and how my dad showed his love to me as his daughter, two things immediately come to my mind… Love letter from dad My father has a very distinct handwriting – strong and bold, every word written at a firm 30 degree angle. Over the years, his handwriting has become a familiar sight on documents, addresses and birthday cards. But the full preciousness of his handwriting came through during the time wh...

Thanks again for all the lovely comments on your favourite thing about babywearing . As promised here is the announcement of the winner of the ERGObaby Doll Carrier Congratulations to Pam ! Your comment about how babywearing enabled you to go “ off track ” was really insightful: My favourite thing about babywearing is that we can off track, to places we can't go with the buggy… e.g. walk back to the car via the beach or walk right over the headland with our toddler and have the ergo with us just in case she can't quite manage the whole route – no need to drag a buggy along for the ride (Babes In Arms should be in touch soon to organise the delivery of the doll carrier) I wish there were more prizes to give away as each of the comments had something that resonated with me in some way. More than that, it was nice to connect personally with some of you and to discover some great new blogs to add to my reader. To keep the love going, I’m planning another giveaway of my...

Our photo moment of the week Sorry for the slight delay in this week’s photo moment and linky treasures post. There was just so much going on since yesterday gearing up for a super busy weekend. We were at a wedding this morning, so it was only fitting that this week’s photo moment happened there. And thanks everyone for all the lovely comments and anecdotes on your favourite babywearing memories giveaway. I’ll be looking them all over again to select a winner and announce it by tomorrow. So stay tuned! And as always… Here is this week’s instalment of linky treasures If I were to get married again I would love to wear this and carry this A simple and clever way to cook and serve up flower eggs A cute and whimsical peanut-butter-jelly-sandwich game And this simple craft would be just lovely for Christmas ~~~ Have a great weekend!

With my mum around, I haven’t been doing much cooking at all this past couple of weeks. My mum would definitely have some great recipes to share, so I will aim to do a special one featuring a really nice dish made by her in the coming weeks. In the meantime, I thought to do a roundup of some of my favourite super-easy recipes I’ve shared in the past – all requiring only a handful ingredients and fool-proof cooking processes… Homemade microwave kaya (coconut jam) Made with only four ingredients and whipped up using a microwave oven. Tastes awesome too when it’s freshly made! One-minute chocolate mug-cake Only needs three ingredients and also just zapped in the microwave in a minute. An instant chocolate cake fix anytime you need it. One ingredient ice cream Made with just ONE ingredient with the aid of a food processor No garbage in it – this is the only ‘ice cream’ my son has tasted and he loves it These recipes are too simple to mess up that you absolutely have to try them. Do...

Why is it the worst flare ups always happen at the worst timings ? Like late at night or before bed. Worst still, having an early start or an important meeting the next morning. It’s exhausting, mind-numbing, frustrating, stupid, inconvenient and just plain unfair. I hate it. Yet I cannot let go. I’m one of those folks that would rather plant my flag on that hill and die there. Kamikaze style. So… Question : Is it OK to go to bed angry? I’ve read various conflicting views on this and both sides appear equally convincing… I know sometimes we need to call a truce or ceasefire , but at the same time I don’t want to die from a heart-attack or stroke in the middle of the night (due to going to bed still hopping mad) “ There was something peculiarly gratifying about shouting in a blind rage until your words ran out. Of course, the aftermath was less pleasant. Once you'd told everyone you hated them and not to come after you, where exactly did you go?” ― Cassandra Clare , Clock...

A friend recently shared this article on Facebook which talked about how cultures who practice some form of ‘ confinement period ’ after childbirth appeared to have a lower incidence of post-partum depression. I can personally testify to the truth of this article. Fending for ourselves… After Nathan was born when I arrived home from the hospital, there was a short interval of one week when we pretty much had to fend for ourselves . My mother who was coming to look after me was not able to come earlier due to some logistical issues. I had pre-cooked and frozen some meals in preparation for this and my darling hubby did the best he could to help out around the house. A very trying time… Despite all my preparations, that interval was still a very trying time for me. I was sleep-deprived , learning how to handle a new baby , I was in pain due to my stitches , my brain was all frazzled and I had little patience to give specific instructions to my hubby for every little task he was help...

Our photo moment of the week So things have been pretty peachy now that my mum is here to visit. She’s been helping with the cooking, cleaning, gardening and looking after Nathan. She’s even attempting to get Nathan trained up on doing some housework. If everything goes to plan, I should be able to put up my feet more even after she leaves. Here is this week’s round of linky treasures… Loving these homemade bows from this awesome kids archery party This DIY collapsible cardboard playhouse looks totally doable Planning to make this for my little man for an upcoming wedding DIY fort kits for kids – what a great idea! ~~~ Have a lovely weekend.