As all mums can relate, one of the things we try to minimise as much as possible with children is: MESS. We put on bibs, we place mats or sheets under highchairs at meal times, we try to contain play time to a specified area, and phrases like “ be careful ” and “ please hold it properly ” are constantly on repeat mode like a broken record. But sometimes, we should give free reign to allow some messiness to happen. Why? Because it’s educational, it’s stimulating and just plain fun… well for the little ones anyway. And chances are, if you don’t allow them a messy outlet, it will explode out in some other way. If you’re up for it, here is something pretty cool Nathan and I played with recently... It’s called Oobleck (also seen in Dr Seuss’s book) and it’s pretty funny stuff. Here is the recipe: 1 cup corn starch 1/2 cup water 1-2 drops food colouring (optional) Mix everything in a big bowl or pot until it comes together in one big gloopy mess. You can scale the amounts up o...

Just an update on my earlier post on sleep, or the lack of it. Thankfully baby girl had a couple of good nights here and there this past week. I managed to get up to five hours for a night or two. Not quite the six hours I was aiming for, but I’m happy with that for now. I was feeling pretty good about my five hours until I read this . Turns out without sleep, our brains basically turn into one big toxic wasteland. All of a sudden I could actually feel those evil toxins literally building up and choking my brain. The hubby was very sweet and voluntarily offered to take the graveyard hour shift on a weeknight (even though he was working the next day) to help resettle her if she woke and try to get her to stretch a little bit more so mummy can shut her eyes a tad bit longer (“ Thanks, hon ”). Some precious photos of the little sleepyhead... When she sleeps, she really can sleep! I was snapping away for a good five minutes and she didn’t even stir. I finally had to gently nudge ...

Everyday I am always blown away at how so much both wildness and sweetness can be encapsulated in such a little person. Two to be exact. One moment, superman is zooming all around the house. The next moment, I feel little limbs clambering up on my lap, two hands clasping my face and a cheeky whispered “ I love you, mummy! ” in my ear. One moment, the tiniest person in the house is screaming the place down, so loud I am sure the house two doors down can hear (all because she is getting her hair washed). The next moment she is all coos and gurgles and heart-melting smiles. One moment, I am bent over sweeping up a million crumbs and spills and messes (and it’s only breakfast time). The next moment comes completely unprompted sweetness in a “ Thank you for cooking the pancakes for me, mummy ” In the midst of all the wildness, these are the moments I live for. Ah, my giggly, wiggly, chocolate-covered, wide-awake little wilds I am your parent,       ...

Kicking off the morning with a visit from a couple of little superheroes. No biggie. Just another ordinary Wednesday for us here... Any other mums to mini-superheroes out there? Are you a superwoman-wannabe? Don’t be . You already are a superhero in the eyes of your family. Reading about stopping the pursuit of the illusive superwoman . You absolutely have to try this simple to-die-for peanut butter frosting with some crazy cake . And what baby monitors, disposable diapers and car seats used to look like …     [I am an avid collector and curator of all sorts of linky treasures , I aim to share one or two little treasures here every month]   Linking up to Sakura Haruka and My Little Drummer Boys

At this present season of my life, sleep is a precious commodity which is in tremendously short supply for me. I am currently (just barely) surviving on a sleep deficit one day at a time. How I long for just one night of respite to have at least six hours of continuous unbroken sleep. I am begging for one night, please. Just ONE night would make all the difference, I’m sure. I came across this article on the myth on the eight-hour sleep ... “...Historian Roger Ekirch of Virginia Tech published a seminal paper, drawn from 16 years of research, revealing a wealth of historical evidence that humans used to sleep in two distinct chunks ... a first sleep which began about two hours after dusk, followed by waking period of one or two hours and then a second sleep. During this waking period people were quite active. They often got up, went to the toilet or smoked tobacco and some even visited neighbours. Most people stayed in bed, read, wrote and often prayed...” I for one think that ‘t...

I love cheese. One of my favourite grocery indulgences is picking up package of fresh cheese from the deli counter… ricotta, mozzarella, feta, haloumi, I love them all! I have always wanted to learn to make my own fresh cheese from scratch at home. However at the moment, I am lacking quite a few of the essential equipment and ingredients needed to do so. But then I came across this amazing and easy recipe for homemade cream cheese. I’ve tried it out for myself a few times and I assure you it is totally doable. And you will be pretty blown away by the results. What you need: 1 kg of natural unsweetened Greek yoghurt Half a teaspoon of salt A cheesecloth or muslin bag A fine sieve or colander A large bowl Mix the salt with yoghurt. Then pour the yoghurt into the cheesecloth and place it into the colander. Stand the colander over the bowl and leave in the fridge overnight. The next morning, the whey would have completely drained from the yoghurt, leaving behind a thick a...

When Nathan started showing interest in what I was doing the kitchen, I started trying to think of ways I could include him in my cooking activities. Hubby does not cook, so I handle ALL the cooking in the household alone. So it would be nice to train up a little helper to accompany me in the kitchen.   Initially I didn’t think there was much he could do. But at a moment of inspiration, I thought of letting him begin with helping to prepare his own simple snacks for morning/afternoon tea.   Helping to peel bananas for afternoon tea   I sliced up some bananas with the skin on. Then I let Nathan peel the skins off by himself and place them into a bowl. It’s such a simple little activity, but he absolutely enjoyed it.   The bananas must have tasted extra yummy that morning simply because he helped to prepare them.   It’s never too early to start learning to help out in the kitchen.     Linking up to June’s Little Lessons

My baby girl officially turned 3 months old last week. She is growing so fast!   She’s just emerged from a really stormy wonder week … unsettledness in sleeping, poor appetite and rounding off with an extremely painful episode of blocked milk ducts at my end * ouchie * (due to the poor feeding). But hopefully we can now be rewarded with a period of some sunny weeks for now.   There are very few things in the world that can't be cured with a smile!   Little Grace’s personality is starting to shine through beautifully. She is definitely turning out to be very different from her big brother. Here are some of her unique traits and quirks… She loves sitting upright – this girl absolutely hates lying down on her back or even her tummy for extended periods. She insists on being held upright to see all the action happening around her. Our Jumperoo has been especially handy for this. She spends most of her wake-time sitting up in it watching what everybody is up t...

Every now and then, mamas  crave for something sinful and sweet… preferably with a touch of chocolate. Running after a toddler and breastfeeding a baby is really hungry work. I’m not really the sort of person who has their fridge and pantry stocked up with junk food and sweets. But I usually have all the basic ingredients on hand to whip up an indulgent treat when the craving hits. One evening I found myself longing for a bite of some chocolate cake… however being the end of the week, I was out of some core ingredients. Butter. Eggs. Milk. All necessary elements required to make a decent cake. Or so I thought. Then I found this impossible recipe. A cake with no butter, eggs and milk. They’re calling it Crazy Cake. Because you have to be crazy NOT to try it. It’s soooo easy to make, no creaming butter and sugar or electric mixers required. Apparently it can even be mixed together straight in the baking pan, no bowls necessary.   Crazy Cake Ingredients 1 1/2 cups plain f...

On one morning this week, I heard the pitter patter of little feet coming down the hallway to our bedroom. I knew who it was. It was my almost 3-year old boy coming to make me start my day. It couldn’t be morning already. I glanced at the time… 6.15AM!!! An hour early before our supposedly official start to the day. So I shut my eyes tight and laid there as still as I could. Hopefully my son would get the hint and creep back to his own room. After a moment, I heard his tiny footsteps next to my bed. I felt a soft nuzzle against my face and a little kiss planted on my cheek. Then the pitter-pattering little feet tiptoed out again. That was all he simply came in to do. I laid there completely stunned and swept off my feet. That day I learnt that the sweetest kisses are the most unexpected ones. No special occasion or reason or agenda required. There were four in the bed and the little one said, "roll over, roll over!" #family A post shared by Serenely (@livingse...

Today I’m linking up to a couple of parties to show you a brief glimpse at my kitchen… Apparently what we put on our fridge says a lot about us… here’s a look at mine As you can see it’s very minimalist. We’re not big on magnets. All mostly very practical stuff. Just a couple of special photo moments, a recipe I’ve jotted down to try, some forms and bills to settle, emergency phone numbers and of course some lovely artwork on display… The photos are one of me and hubby during our pre-wedding photo shoot and the other one is taken with my family during a visit back to see them in Malaysia The handprint art is a Father’s Day card Nathan had made for his daddy at daycare. The little lobster is a souvenir gift from my ex-colleague from Seattle The yellow paper is my mum’s recipe for Mee Tomato which I am still trying to perfect The purple form is Grace’s passport application for an upcoming trip back to Malaysia What’s on yours? ~~~ Linking up to Ai Sakura’s Wordless Wed...

So just before my due date , I had gone for a final hair trim… I had my bangs tidied up and some soft layers added in my long locks. It had taken me over four years to grow my hair to this length. However since the arrival of baby , my long hair was mostly tied back or bundled up out of the way. My long, silky locks had turned limp, tangled and frazzled with the lack of care and attention. After a couple of months of my hair just being there but not really being there, I decided to take the plunge and go for it… Behold, this is me going for the big chop! When I told the hairdresser what I wanted, her immediate response was “ Wha-- are you sure? It must have taken you years to grow your hair this long! ”. She was quite apprehensive and repeatedly asked me if I was absolutely sure I wanted to crop it all off. I was just all cool and nonchalant and told her to dive in. Throughout the session, she kept checking and asking to make sure she wasn’t cutting it too short. “ You are so ...

So operation toilet training has been going really well at our household. The whole process has been pretty labour-intensive but also interspersed with plenty of light-hearted and funny moments which has helped ease things along. Here’s one recent funny episode: Hubs was sneaking in a quick snack of cake before dinner. He was promptly caught by our little man who has a very sensitive radar for these sorts of treats. Here is the conversation that followed… [ I should mention that whenever Nathan initiates doing a pee or poo by himself without any prompting, he can claim a little treat in the form of a small chocolate chip ] Nathan : Daddy! Daddy! Can I have some cake? Daddy : Erm… no, you already had a chocolate chip just now. [Nathan then runs over to his potty and squeezes out a few drops of precious pee]   Nathan : I did a pee! I can have some chocolate, yes? * innocent face * [Hubby and me burst out laughing at this point. I start mov...

After my first initial foray into toilet training, it's been a slow and winding journey. We've had several false starts and countless accidents along the way.   But recently in just the space of the last couple of weeks, we've finally found our groove. Nathan is now semi-officially nappy-free (except for naps and night time).   When my mum was recently here to visit, she took the opportunity to give Nathan an intensive toilet training boot camp. She excitedly talked up the potty experience, meticulously guided and prompted him to take toilet breaks at frequent intervals and patiently cleaned up numerous accidents.   However, progress was still slow. He didn't seem at all bothered about the wetness and mess and had to be constantly reminded and dragged to the potty to make a deposit every single time... and he would rather let an accident happen and continue playing than stop to answer the call of nature.   But a few weeks ago, I noticed a great improvement i...