Keeping up with..Simone! (16 months)

"Pay-gown!" Simone blurted out and pointed as we passed by the playground. I was surprised to hear her say it first as I will ALWAYS say playground whenever we are passing by. Walking to the bus stop, we reached the water drainage, and she said "Ah-tuh!" and pointed at the water. Hubby taught her that. "Buhd!" she saw a bird drinking from the water. HOMYGOSH, I can't keep up! She is the cutest little sponge!

We dined at Bedok Point and near our table were huge windows. "Car, car!" exclaimed the curious cat. Correct! All of these words were said for the first time. Whoah. She has started speaking more two syllable words.

The perks of a full-time mom: I get to witness all her milestones!

It's just so amusing to hear her blurt out those words, I talk to her everyday like a friend, and whatever I do, I explain to her. She might not say the words after me, but I'm she sure she understands them! She understands more than she speaks actually. She follows a lot of simple instructions like, "Go shower", she will go to the bathroom; "Go outside" (of the room), she will. I tried to ask her to get a diaper and she did! I usually ask her to get her stuffed toys, get this and that, put back toys. She also knows how to go on the slide by herself, and pat a dog! Usually she just places her hand at the dog in a spanking way and it scares them haha poor babies.

Teeny tiny problem with Simone is that she hates getting her hands/feet dirty, who doesn't right?  I mean if she feels that her hands or any part of her body will get "dirty" she won't go into it. It has to do with sensory motor skills. I'm letting her do some sensory play like finger painting to develop and  encourage her that it's not so bad and that it's okay to get dirty at times!

With Lola the Maltipoo! Her dad recently promised a puppy for her birthday! Yay! momma is happier.

She can already slide by herself. Momma still nervous!

Obsession du jour!

New hangout spot<3

"But daddy I still want to slide!"

To moms whose toddlers aren't talking yet, don't fret; One day they will just surprise you!

• Talking to them constantly is the most important (not baby talk). Explain them whatever you do that they see, what you see when you go out, just like telling a story. Do it over and over (and over) again like a broken record and wait until they will say it before you do. I didn't say it wasn't going to be easy! haha! Patience, patience, I know you have that. 
• I have always kept books visible around the house, she "reads" them, asks me or hubby to read at bedtime. Make reading a habit. Be in the character mode and change your voice. Nobody likes a boring story teller! Point objects in the book and say "ball", oh where's the ball? point again, "ball" everyday. 
• While watching shows/cartoons, you have to be in it and explain it to them too.
• Sing songs with actions! And dance! Now I'm teaching her "Head, shoulder, knees and toes" song. 
• Good manners and right conduct as well should always be practiced (like saying "Please", "Excuse me",  "I'm sorry" and "Thank you" so she will  be able to adapt them. They need to hear that often. 
• Food is important too! Give brain boosting foods to help your child's brain develop. As easy as sprinkling one tablespoon of ground flaxseeds and ground walnuts in their food daily are your best bet aside from vegetables and fish.

Soooooo... YOU STILL THINK I LIE IN BED AND DRINK COFFEE ALL DAY AT HOME? :) Someone told me that. Really.

At this age, their brains are like sponges, they will absorb everything they see, so better to teach and discipline them well. No pressure, just pure fun. So i think I have a new job position added to my resume-- a preschool teacher!


xx,
shiela

Best Cough Syrup For Everyone (without side effects!)

Last Friday, I heard Simone cough. Didn't sound serious, but the mucus is building up. The next day, heard it again and thought of bringing her to a doctor for prevention. But wait, should I? It's just starting. I was confused. The doctor might poke fun on me and call me paranoid. Am I? haha! Hmm what should I do to prevent it without going to the doctor? I really hate giving medicine because of the additional chemicals, coloring, and side effects in it. Researched again, natural remedies for cough..... Tan tan tan tan (drumroll please)!!!!! I found Onion syrup... wait what? It's the cough syrup in the olden days, back when there's no medicine.

All you need is a big red/yellow onion and honey/brown sugar (use organic brown sugar for infants) and airtight container.

Can you see the syrup?

The liquid had doubled. I didn't put enough honey, because I was still testing this batch. The whole onion should be soaked.

Slice the onion, put the base of the onion in the container, add honey or brown sugar, put another slice, and basically just layer it. (I only covered the onion with little honey as I intend to use it for 2 days, and make a new one with more honey) Let it sit for 8-12 hours, then you can put it in the fridge. You will see the syrup, I swear! It's good for 2 days, I use 1-2 tablespoons three times a day on Simone.

Ohhhh the inner scientist wannabe in me mixed in a squeeze of lemon, and garlic. That was my first attempt. I chopped everything. Too powerful-- but great result, I didn't hear Simone cough for like 5 hours after giving her 2 tablespoons! But the smell and taste was too strong for her... I pity her! haha. You can also use garlic, but onion is milder. So I stuck to the onion and honey remedy. Did it consistently for 3 days, GONE. Actually 2 days there was none already, but just gave her a last shot just because. I also avoided mucus causing foods. Here's a chart.

So there, once you hear a mild cough, don't wait any longer. Get your onions ready!

A little info about onions from The Earth Clinic :

The onion, like all members of the allium family, is rich in sulfur. That sulfur content can lend the onion antibiotic and antiseptic qualities that are often put to good use by the naturopath or home remedy practitioner for both internal and external use. For centuries, onions have been touted as the one thing that might be able to kill a flu infection, and many families have passed that remedy through the generations!

Natural Cures: In particular, onions are recommended for respiratory conditions, including coughs and colds. Taken raw it can be a good expectorant. Onion juice mixed equally with honey is a popular cough syrup. Their flavonoids and sulfur compounds make onions beneficial for the heart, cholesterol levels, diabetes, arthritis, and generally as an antioxidant.

Honey is a powerful anti-bacterial too. Use raw or Manuka for maximum results.

You can check this link for a full article--> Benefits of Honey love this site!

Disclaimer: I'm no doctor, so follow your mama instinct if you feel that you need to bring your child to a doctor. Or yourself.

xx,

shiela

Food Wars

I never thought this would happen to me! *Snorts* Food wars, as parents call it. Simone has a pretty good appetite. She ate well all throughout her 1st birthday, and later as she learns to walk and discover other new things, eating was slowly abandoned. "What's wrong?", I asked myself. She started the throwing phase, refused to eat and throw. I made her a snack tray with all sorts of pica-pica. She flipped it. Cookies and other sweet stuff were also rejected (I was desperate) What a tough cookie. Teething? partly. But teething will take up till their 2nd birthday to complete the set! How?  It wasn't the food, my cooking is edible, or rather good (praises thy self LOL), even restaurant food, she won't even taste it and straightaway rejects it! Imagine my frustration when I take time and effort to cook for her and in split seconds, the food is now on the floor. I just laugh about it now. Unfortunately, I don't own a dog anymore, so no one will clean the messy floor but ME. I don't like feeding and chasing after her when she is playing and I want her to learn to feed herself the whole meal (only eats halfway then I feed her) and that eating is at the dining table, not anywhere she wants. Discipline please. So maybe she gets bored in a highchair? Either I cut the food into bits or give it whole, she will drop it like a hot potato. She will explore the food, play, and drop it on the floor using her spoon, and then dropping the spoon. Is it the utensils? At restaurants, sometimes she is very restless after she eats for a while and whines because she wants to get out and walk.

Having some kefir with fruits while watching, of course.

I've researched this issue and found out that it is COMPLETELY NORMAL for toddlers to do this as they are busy exploring the world. I'm glad I'm not alone. I have read worst stories, and I felt a little bit better.

The best advice I read is that, "If your child doesn't want to eat, you have to be patient and find a way to put something inside their tummies without forcing them." Tough huh? It is ironic to this common advice-- "Let them be, don't force them to eat as they will eat when they are hungry, toddlers are smarter than what we give them credit for." Makes sense too. But... I feel guilty if I don't do anything.

Bestest advice from me: Relax, it's just food. Make mealtimes a happy one. You can try again later. There are bigger problems in the world. Follow your heart mama!!! (As if it's so easy to do!)

Some kids will just drink milk to fill up their empty stomachs, and pediatricians recommend to reduce the milk or completely take it away so they will have room for food. Ugh that's another problem. For my lil monster, most of the time she needs entertainment (good one or else she won't eat) and she will open her mouth. Silly girl. But the thing is, I can't let her watch cartoons all the time. I want her to concentrate and enjoy her food just like the French do, (oh and I needed to buy that book called French Kids Eat Everything by Karen Le Billon) 

From the book "French Kids Eat Everything".

Do you agree with #7? I do give snacks:)

Think, think,think. I bought her new utensils where she might be interested in: Elmo spoon and fork in metal, since she likes using what adults use, I almost bought a new plate too, but no. Removed cartoon watching at lunch (the replacement is ME, singing and clapping and praising her whenever she is able to feed herself--talk about performance level!), and only using it during dinner. Lastly, I started eating with her. We eat together now so she will see me eating and copy what I'm doing. Sometimes I don't eat with her just because I'm not hungry yet or eat later, but I figured that eating together is the most important part. So far, I think she is enjoying her utensils, and says "Mmm!" when she eats. Relieved. One rule I imposed is when she starts to throw food, I give her a warning and explain that food is not for throwing but eating. Second time around she does it, meal is over. When she refuses food, I give one more try and if nothing happens, it's done-zo!

Who wouldn't resist Elmo?

And NO, being a Stay-at-home mom is NEVER an easy life! Tougher than my first job where I had the worst boss. It is the toughest job in the world! I always lose to a lil monster. haha.

xx,
shiela

Maximize The Energy

I felt like I accomplished a lot today! I was able to feed Simone on the table without any entertainment involved (except me singing songs and some clapping). She has to be "busy" in order for her to eat. Since she was six months, I would put an ipad/laptop in front of her so she can watch while eating, not unless if everyone is eating because my family will entertain her of course. Here in Singapore, we're only 2 on the table (bummer, and Kevin's family doesn't eat together on the table. I don't know why) and she gets bored and whine, so I did that. She can eat by herself, but will stop midway because, she is watching! Yep, so I had to remove the lappy. I'm so glad she finished lunch without it. Dinner, she watched because she saw my lappy. I have to hide it starting tomorrow.

She didn't nap, had her snack, played music, danced and jumped a lot and wanted to watch more, and rather than watch, I figured we should go to the playground instead before it rains. Thank God it didn't. She had a longer play time which was good because for the past days, it would always rain on late afternoon. We would always go down everyday and play for at least an hour. Physical activities are so important! I'm planning art activities for us soon. Yay I'm so excited.

Just learned how to step in and out of this circle. But I always had to go in first so she will follow me.Yup I was exhausted. 

Care for a pose?

Always blurred on toddlers.

I only got to appreciate this playground downstairs. Cute huh.

I can't believe you're growing up before my very eyes!

I wanted to make mushroom soup from scratch for the longest time, because hubby would order whenever we eat out and Simone loves it. Duh, I don't want to give her Campbell's (even if I grew up eating it), Now that I'm more aware of food ingredients in processed food, I rarely buy canned goods (just guilty of spicy tuna in can). I haven't really experimented on mushrooms, and I don't know how to clean fresh mushrooms. Oh yeah, there's always Google--cleaning wasn't hard at all. . Whatever, I bought fresh shiitake 'shrooms, sauteed it with coconut oil, rosemary and basil. delish! I freezed half because we can't finish the whole pack. Then I proceeded to make the soup but then decided to make creamy garlic mushroom pasta without the guilt! No heavy cream, just used soy milk and blended it, came out a creamy thick sauce.  Well, I didn't get to take a photo of it because I gobbled it haha! Simone liked it too, I guess, she finished a huge serving. It just fees so good to create endless dishes in the kitchen you thought you can only eat in a restaurant! It's gonna be a staple in the kitchen soon! We'll try to have mushroom every week or everyday, as Dr. Fuhrman says! tootles!

xx,

shiela

Happy Easter!

What a Sunday for me! From getting up super early (well, 8-ish is considered early for me!), hurrying to church, catching the bus, and the massive crowd of people at the church! After that, we straightaway went to Sentosa. I hadn't eaten anything when we left and I just had a major mental disorder (LOL). I told my sister that we should take this train on platform A(?) unconsciously, to which I'm used to, whenever I'm at Bedok MRT,  but we were at Tampines MRT! So we ended up in Pasir Ris wahahaha! My sister even asked me twice and I said there's a way so she believed me!

The Egg Fiesta was held in Emerald Pavilion at Siloso Beach Station. The set-up was cute! First we did the egg design, it was fun seeing Simone curiously watching what we were doing. Good. More exposure please.  I prefer an artsy-fartsy daughter than a brain child! hihi. While designing, A band of 3  (dad,s on and daughter) were singing on stage, plus a Hen mascot telling stories which was bleh.

I didn't make an Easter basket for her, because she won't get to appreciate it yet:) Next year promise!

We're doing the art while she's on the phone!

Kid at heart!

*sighs*

wahahaha! Don't judge!

After that we proceeded to the Egg hunt which was totally ridiculous! They made us balance on the eggs planted in the soil and walk, and if you crush the eggs, well, you don't get to go egg hunting. I crushed a lot! hahah! But I didn't want any of those, I just want a photo taken at the "garden" which they didn't allow. UGH. Seriously you guys. It's supposed to be fun, We queued so long and we didn't get anything. Plus it took extra long because they have to replace the crushed eggs all the time.  What about the other kids who didn't make it? Reject and try again means you will have to queue again. The lady crew told me to wash my feet and pointed the way, and when I was going to the area ,  a guy crew thought we were going to the garden and suddenly stopped us and said, "Ooh, you're wearing shoes you cannot go in." In a hissy way. The eff we are not going in your precious garden it's all yours!!! wahaha! BOO. MOVING ON.

We went to Port Of Lost Wonder again this time with my sister. We wore green swimsuits!

My chubby yumyum

<3

She kept dragging my sister here. HAHAHA.

Chillin' like a villain.

I wished we had gone to the Quayside Isle!!!! I totally forgot about it...... it was just so busy. Even if I live here, I want to explore the newest or places I haven't been to! Yes, Quayside Isle is in my bucket list of this year. And the Grandstand. :) 

Oh, and here's a cute knocked-out vid of Simone! wahaha

Enjoy:)

xx,

shiela

Toddlers' Day Out

How I wish we were in a short getaway or a staycation somewhere for Holy Week! Everyone's just in a vacay:( Hubby's in reservist. Nevertheless I'm glad I'm with my lil fambam. Anyway, I suddenly felt an impulse to bring Simone to a small water park nearby (Tampines Mall). I was hesitant to let her play at the water park, because when we got there, the skies turned gray, there's no shade in the center and we were at the rooftop of a mall!!! I'm scared of getting hit by lightning and the thunder sound! hehe. I let her play in the slide and see-saw first and observed for a while (no lightning and thunder though). There were 2 kids playing in the water. Whatever, I changed her to her swimsuit and led her to the side with the shade. Suddenly, people are coming with their kids! Yay Simone has playmates.

Testing the waters

The fun starts!

Surprisingly, she prefers this over a huge water park, which is kind of intimidating.

She's the only one wearing a swimsuit; Everyone's in diapers! One lil guy came later in a rash guard.

Hi baby girl! so busy?

They're like holding hands haha. 

Those chunky legs are <3

What's up baby girl? He's wondering.

That baby wearing a rash guard. Want to buy for Simone too! 

I love that mini slide! Toddler size.

Familiar feeling? LOL

Thank God it didn't rain! Knocked-out after this as usual. Went grocery shopping because tomorrow is Good Friday, no meat day. I'm kind of obsessed with Sesame Noodles with tofu and anything fried garlic tofu! I fry it with coconut oil and it's damn delicious! yumyum.... gonna share it soon. My kitchen has been replenished!! MIL brought kiwis and strawberries AND pasta noodles too yay! 

Looking forward to Easter..Advanced Ya'll <3

xx,

Shiela