Our Blog Has Moved

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Our new home is at http://ourlittlesmarties.com/. Come and visit us!
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A Very Active Toddler

Little Edison is becoming increasingly active and adventurous nowadays. His natural curiosity opens up a wide array of play experiences for him; especially when he can move around easily without needing to seek help.

Everyday, he will go up and down the stairs using different strategies. It is amazing to see how well he can coordinate his hands and feet in his movements. This has been a good exercise for him.

We allow him to roam freely and venture around the house. I strongly believe that too many restrictions can hinder his physical development. Therefore, we don’t confine him in playpen or play yard. We make him aware of safety by constantly reminding him to watch out what he does and warn him whenever necessary.

Little Edison has always been a brave boy. Occasional tumble is unavoidable these days due to his activeness. But this does not upset him at all. We give him plenty of encouragement and this helps to boast his self confidence.

He loves to show off his new talents to me. Sometime back, he demonstrated to me that he is able to walk backwards. I smiled at him and praised him. He was so proud of his newly acquired skills.

I’m so delighted with his amazing development and growing independence.

The Game Has Begun

Two days ago, I mentioned about my plan to start blogging with Wordpress on a self-hosted site. This is what I’ve done so far:

1. I’ve bought the domain name for my new blog. It’s a dot com! I’ll hold on to the announcement of this new site until all the works are done. So, please bear with me for a little longer. Okie?

2. I’ve chosen a web hosting company for my new blog. Bryan from IXIY Hosting has registered my domain and set-up my new blog in Wordpress.

3. I’ve chosen a Wordpress theme. This is more tedious that I’ve expected. Wordpress has too many free themes to choose from. Thus, finding one theme that meets all my requirement isn’t so simple. At a start, I’ve decided to go for a free theme. Depending on the progress of my blog, I may get a professionally designed theme in future.

Bryan helped me to install my new theme yesterday. I was so pleased to see the results! It was such a breeze having an expert to do all the techie works for me. I don’t have to bury myself with the ‘Wordpress for Dummies’ handbook.

I’ve spent 2 hours reading the Wordpress tutorials last night. It seems to me that Wordpress is much more complicated than Blogger. Or maybe it’s just a matter of getting used to it. I'll have a lot more to learn.

Now, my biggest headache is to plan for the layout of my new blog. I don’t intend to copy this Blogger blog over to Wordpress. I want to create a totally new refreshing look. Thus, I will need a little longer time to achieve what I want.

Last but not least, I’ll need to install the plugins into my new blog before I can start writing. Let’s hope that the subsequent works are going to be fuss-free for me.

Second Anniversary

7 Jan 09 – Today is the second anniversary of a very important date in my life. Two years ago, on this day, I was given the most precious gift in my life. It was my first time; I was so thrilled and excited with this big surprise. Although some of the mothers may have forgotten this date, but I can still remember it vividly.

So, what exactly is the date that I’m talking about? On this day, I found out that I was pregnant. It came so sudden and unexpected. My husband and I were so excited and happy. We quickly announced our pregnancy to our parents.

Coincidentally, this date is also my husband’s birthday! So, it was a ‘double happiness’ for us. On 7 Jan 07, we went for a nice dinner to celebrate my husband’s 31st birthday. After the dinner, we went for shopping. I happened to walk pass Watson’s and so I thought of buying a home pregnancy test kit. I had this feeling that I’ve missed my period for a while.

I really didn’t expect myself to be pregnant. Reason – my menstruation cycle can be quite irregular at times due to stress or lack of sleep. So, I thought that perhaps it’s just another stress factor.

When I saw the two pink lines for the first time, I squeaked with delight. “Dear, I’m pregnant!” Both of us were so happy with our new 'discovery' that night. Our smart little Edison has chosen a good date to inform Daddy & Mummy on his arrival.

As mentioned earlier, today is my husband’s birthday. I’ll be taking half day off this afternoon to celebrate this special day with him.

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To My Wonderful Husband,
Happy Birthday to You! My love for you grows and grows with each passing year. Wish you a great year ahead with lots and lots of luck.--

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Buying My Own Domain

It’s official. I’m going to buy my own domain today. I’ve been toying with this idea for several weeks now, and I’ve decided to go ahead and do it with courage!

Due to the limitations in Blogger, I’ve decided to set-up my new blog in Wordpress. I’m thinking of a new theme for my blog now. I’m not an expert in domain registration and web hosting. So, I engaged professional help with a very reasonable charge.

If you are wondering why I want to buy my own domain when free sites are easily available, let me explain to you. Free site is like a rented house. It doesn’t belong to us. We are restricted by the rental rules and regulations. Own domain is like our own house. We can decorate it as much as we like. It’s something that truly belongs to us.

Secondly, having a dot com or a dot net is much more professional. Compare www.prince-edison.com and prince-edison.blogspot.com. You will know what I mean. I’ve been blogging for a year now. I have a strong passion in it, and I want to bring this interest to a higher level.

Thirdly, it’s so affordable to own a domain. Forgo buying one dress and we can have our own website for ONE YEAR. We are assured of the security of our own website, as compared to those erratic free services. Furthermore, it’s ad-free!

Lastly, we deserve it. We put in so much effort in our blogs with beautifully written posts and fantastic pictures, we definitely want to preserve and secure them.

I’m looking forward to launch my new blog next month. That ‘auspicious date’ is however not confirmed yet. You will definitely be invited to my house-warming party!

My 2009 New Year's Resolutions

This comes in later this year as I was too occupied for the past few days. Today is my first working day in 2009, I feel so refreshed and energized after a two-week break. I spent half an hour after lunch to think about my resolutions for this year.

My resolutions are yet very simple. Honestly, I’m not a naturally disciplined person. Thus, I’m keeping them simple so that I don’t lost focus.

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For myself
Eat well. Live well. Try to exercise. Plan some personal time for myself every month. Take care of my skin and hair (very important!). Drink more water and reduce the coffee.

For my husband
Love my husband. Spend more time with him. Understand and support him. Take care of his health.

For my son
Take great care of Edison. Coach him, teach him and guide him. Create enjoyable learning experiences for him. Organize more outdoor activities for him. Take care of his diet and health.

My blog
Improve my blog and writing. Buy myself a domain. I’ve been toying with this idea for a while. I think I should just do it. I truly want to have a website of my own.

My career
Deliver the best that I can. It’s not the right time for ‘job hop’.

New addition to the family
Probably, I can start thinking about it. (I mean ‘thinking’, not ‘planning’ yet!). I need to build up the courage. It’s really not easy going through the 9 months of pregnancy again.

My wishlist
I want to own a Rolex watch. My husband has agreed to get one for me this year. (Thanks so much, dear!)

2008 has been a remarkable year for me. I’m so happy now. I’m definitely looking forward to an exciting 2009!

Hello 2009!

Wow, this is my first post in year 2009. I’ve been occupied with family visit this week; this explains the lack of posting in my blog.

What’s my resolution for 2009? I’ve been too lazy to think about it now. Perhaps, I should spend sometime to review the events that happened in 2008 and think of something more productive and meaningful for 2009.

Hmm. I wonder what 2009 has in store for me. I know that this year is going to be tough. So, the ‘key’ to survival is to save money and spend within my limit. With confidence, discipline and determination, I’m sure that we can ride out the recession with minimal damage.

2008 has been a really special year for me. I’m thankful for everyone who has played a part in my life – my parents, my parents-in-law, my siblings, my brother-in-law, my colleagues and my friends.

I'm most thankful for being blessed with a wonderful family. I’m thankful for my husband, Venneth, who loves me on my good days and bad days. I’m thankful for my son, Edison, who brings happiness into my life and makes it so complete.

Trip to Mount Faber

For the past two weeks, shopping malls have been crazily over-packed with people due to the festive seasons. Thus, we are not going to any of these sardine packed malls for the time being. We decided to get a little closer to nature and get away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

Anyway, we are not attending our lesson at Shichida today due to the term break. We headed to Mount Faber after our lunch. This is also Edison’s first visit to Mount Faber.

We enjoyed the serenity of the natural environment as well as the breathtaking sceneries. It was a sweet weekend getaway. Here are some pictures to share:

My favourite picture is this:

"Yo! What's that over there?!"

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This Christmas vs Last Christmas

Christmas 2007 @ Vivo City

Christmas 2008 @ Paragon

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A year passed us by in a glimpse of an eye. Our little Edison has blossomed into a 1.5 year old toddler; who is so intelligent, loving, active and adventurous.

Learning to Talk is FUN!

Edison has achieved his biggest milestone in walking when he was around 12 months old. Nowadays, he is simply unstoppable – walking, climbing, running and dancing (yes! my boy can dance!). All these activities keep him busy throughout the day.

The next milestone that we are anticipating is talking. So far, he can pronounce these words clearly – mama, papa, bird, star and flower. We are delighted whenever a new word creeps into his vocabulary. This is a positive sign towards his language development.

There are a few words that are 'super sensitive' to little Edison. Whenever he hears them, he will react immediately.

Word: flash cards
Action: He will walk to our room, open the cabinet and pull out the flash cards.

Word: shower
Action: He will walk to the bathroom, take his shower gel and shampoo, and place them onto the floor.

Word: music
Action: He will pull his high hair to our dining table and look out for my lappie. We always sing together with the musical flash card slideshows in my lappie.

Learning to talk has been fun for little Edison too. Here’s my conversation with him this morning:

Me: “Edison, call mama.”
Edison: “Mama!”

Me: “Edison, say Jagung.” (maize in Malay)
Edison: “Ah-Ung.”

Me: “Edison, say Jambu.”
Edison: “Bu-Bu.”

Look at this picture. He seems to be talking @#$% language too! Cute! He talks with gestures too.

Merry Christmas!

HAVE A BLESSED CHRISTMAS AND AN EVEN BETTER NEW YEAR!

DIY Flash Card #4: Occupations

In my earlier post, I mentioned about sharing my DIY flash card files. A few mothers e-mailed me to express their interests in sharing the flash cards. I’m so delighted. Thanks all for your e-mails.

I’ve uploaded all the flash cards in Microsoft PowerPoint in Ripway. The download links have been added to my previous DIY Flash Card posts. The short-cuts have also been created at the right sidebar of this blog. If there is any broken links, please notify me via comments or e-mails.

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If you are using A4 size blank flash cards, you can print one slide per page. For me, I'm using A5 blank flash cards. So, I print in handouts with two slides per page. Two slides will be printed on one A4 paper. Then I cut them into two and paste them onto A5 blank flash cards.

This is set #4 for occupations.

Title: Occupations
Contents:
1. Doctor
2. Dentist
3. Police
4. Teacher
5. Scientist
6. Pilot
7. Singer
8. Pediatrician
9. Nurse
10. Soldier
11. Sailor
12. Barber

Download URL: http://h1.ripway.com/newbb77/Occupations1.ppt

Oatmeal: An Alternative to Porridge

Edison has been a little fussy with food recently. He doesn’t want to eat porridge, no matter how hard we try. As a result, we have been cooking oatmeal for his lunch and dinner. He seems to enjoy eating oatmeal. Much to my surprise, he can finish one full bowl of oatmeal as compared to half bowl of porridge that he usually eats.

If you are having problem feeding your toddler with porridge, oatmeal is a good alternative for you. Oats are an excellent source of soluble fiber, protein, vitamin B, iron and calcium. It's a good idea to get our toddlers to enjoy oats from an early age, as they play a very important role in good health throughout adulthood too. Regular consumption of oats can reduce the symptoms of asthma, lowers cholesterol, aids in the prevention of heart disease and boosts the body's immune system.

Due to the high fiber content, oatmeal does not cause constipation. In fact, little Edison has bowel movement almost everyday. I would say 98% of the time; he has smooth bowel movement everyday.

Apart from all these nutritional benefits, oatmeal is actually quite easy to prepare. I’m using Quaker Instant Oatmeal. I mix one serving of meat/fish and one serving of veggie/egg in cooking oatmeal for little Edison. Here’s a simple recipe for oatmeal with fish and veggie combo.

Oatmeal with Threadfin and Broccoli

3 tbsp of instant oats (for one bowl of oatmeal)
Broccoli
Threadfin
Bovril (optional)

1. Cook broccoli with boiling water to soften. Finely chopped, then put aside.
2. Cut threadfin into thin slices and remove all the bones.
3. Boil two cups of water in a pot. Cook the threadfin once the water is boiled. Once it is cooked, scoop the threadfin into a bowl and mash it.
4. Don’t pour away the water that we used to cook the threadfin in step #3. Leave it in the pot to cool down for about 5-10 mins.
5. When the water is cooled down, add the instant oats into the pot and cook over small fire. Keep stirring to prevent sticking and clumping. Add the mashed threadfin and chopped broccoli with the oats.
6. Continue to stir and cook until we reach a smooth texture. I normally cook for about 10 mins and the oatmeal will turn smooth and creamy.
7. Finally, add Bovril or Marmite if you want. Turn off the fire and let the oatmeal to cool down for a while before serving.

This is Edison’s lunch of the day. Complete the meal with two teaspoon of cod liver oil.

A yummy lunch to meet his growing appetite!

A Toast to My Last Working Day in 2008

Yippee! Today is my last working day for this year. I’ll be officially off from tomorrow till 4 Jan 09. The next two weeks are going to be a well-deserved break for me. My company is shutting down to reduce cost due to the terrible downturn. Nonetheless, I still need to follow-up on some urgent builds and pilot runs. I can't shutdown my mind completely.

Well, it seems like the holiday mode has been turned ON today. I’m seeing lesser people in the canteen and office. I’ve started to receive Christmas presents and chocolates from my colleagues. Now, I’m going to do some clearance & cleaning, throw away unwanted papers, polish my white board, change the calendar and set my out of office notice.

2008 has been a super busy year for me especially the first 4 months where Edison was attending infant care. Back then, I didn’t have a maid. I thought that infant care will be a better option than maid or babysitter. I was totally wrong. The infant care turned out to be a disaster! We made the right choice by withdrawing him from infant care in end April.

We employed a maid to take care of little Edison. People always say that finding a good maid is like striking a lottery. I’ve never strike any lottery before, but I think I’m really lucky to find such a good maid. Niti has been with me for 8 months now and I’m very satisfied with her work performance.

One of the main reasons is because I have a superb mother-in-law. She is the supervisor and trainer for my maid. She provides guidance and help to my maid whenever she need. She treats my maid like part of our family and I can see that my maid respect her a lot too. My father-in-law is a very kind man and he is always there to help us. I’m so grateful to both of them.

On the other hand, I’m grateful to my boss too. When Edison was sick, I took urgent leave to take care of him. My boss has been very understanding and she never rejects my leave application. I have a bunch of helpful colleagues who always help me during my absence. We all work like a team!

2008 has been a tough year, and we managed to overcome all the difficulties and obstacles. Now, come toast with me! Sayonara to 2008 and Welcome 2009!

More about Flash Cards

Today, I’m going to blog about this boring subject again – Flash Cards. If you are a regular reader of this blog, you’ll notice that I talk a lot on flash cards. In fact, if you are with Shichida Method (SM), you know that we can’t escape from flash cards. I believe that it works somehow, and that’s why I’m putting so much effort in it.

Purposes of Flash Cards
If you are wondering what the purpose of practicing flash cards is, let me give you a good introduction about it. Flashing the cards in a high speed activates our child’s right brain and empowers their memory ability. When we flash the picture cards, we read out the words at the same time. While the pictures are processed by the right brain, the left brain picks up the language. Both sides of the brain are connected during the process. In addition, flash cards can also increase our child’s vocabulary.

Topics for Flash Cards
I focus on the basic concepts; i.e. colours, shapes, sizes, numbers, orders, time etc. Understanding these basic concepts is the most important milestone for a one year-old. In addition, I also make picture cards with the same theme or topics, i.e. types of flowers, occupations, food, fruits, things you’ll see in town, Disney characters etc.

Pointers
I want to share with you four important pointers when we are practicing flash cards with our child. [taken from Shichida Method Parent Education Course Manual]
1. Do not repeat the same set of cards at a time.
2. Start with 100 cards in the first month, then to an average of 250, and then slowly move forward to 1000.
3. Have a title for each set of cards.
4. Set the cards higher than the child’s eye level.

DIY Flash Cards
I’ve made lots of them. In fact, it’s very easy, not to mention the cost savings if we make the cards ourselves. We can customize the pictures, themes and topics the way we want.

Sharing of Flash Cards
Yes! E-mail me! I’m open to sharing of flash cards and resources. Oh, I’m thinking of sharing my flash cards in Power Point format with you. I need a web hosting site for me to upload these files. Let me think of how to do this.

Read:
DIY Flash Card #3: Sesame Street Characters
DIY Flash Cards – It is so easy!

Okay, after a long post, let’s relax your eyes with pictures of cute Edison...

--Yippee! Christmas coming! Can you see the snow? =)

Thoughts on Parenting: Avoid Raising a Spoiled Child

1. Is your child’s unreasonable needs constantly met?

2. Is your child’s annoying whiny behavior often tolerated?

3. Is your child’s minor wants are always met at great cost even if they cause severe inconvenience to others?

Any ‘yes’ to the above questions means that we are potentially spoiling our kids. I read these questions over and over again, think and think. Honestly, I don’t think I have a ‘yes’ for any of them.

Children of this generation are becoming more spoiled. They have power over their parents. We have seen many of them at shopping malls, MacDonald’s and at schools. They throw tantrums to get what they want; complete with screaming, whining and crying. We should not let this happen to our children.

Spoiled children are caused by permissive parenting; parents who don’t set the limits and constantly give in to their children whenever they throw tantrums or cry. Spoiled children often find it hard to share, wait for their turn, appreciate what they have and accept what they don’t have. Negative behaviors such as selfishness, bossy, rude and bad tempered are often associated with spoiled children.

We can prevent this from happening by setting the limits and maintain healthy boundaries for our children. Be firm and do not give in to their screaming or crying, let it falls on deaf ears. It takes a strong willpower to say ‘no’ to them. When we say ‘no’, we really mean it. Always be consistent.

I would like to share with you a very beautiful write-up about ways to prevent our children from being spoiled. Click HERE to read.

In short, we should spend more quality time with our children. Do not replace time, love and affection with money and material objects. We should provide them with the attention that they need, always set limits and maintain the healthy boundaries.

Currently Watching 'The Gem of Life'

I crashed into bed at 10pm last night and had my 9 hours of beauty sleep. Phew! It feels so good and refreshing when I woke up this morning. I was so exhausted yesterday due to the lack of sleep for the past few nights. I’m on another drama marathon. My brain malfunctioned yesterday, and I realized that I should get my hands off those DVDs and get some sleep.

I’m currently watching The Gem of Life (珠光寶氣), a Hong Kong TVB mega drama with 82 episodes. The Gem of Life is said to be the most expensive TVB production to-date and it took one year to complete the filming. Be dazzled with the glamorous life styles of the rich and famous, elegant wardrobes, diamonds and expensive sets. Be exposed to the ugly sides of socialites. This drama has them all. Full of trills.

The drama revolves around three sisters played by Maggie Siu, Gigi Lai and Ada Choi. I’ve watched 8 episodes to-date. I would say that the first 8 episodes give a very good introduction to the many characters in the drama. The three sisters have their own marital problems that lead to their divorce at the beginning of the drama.

This drama has three celebrities that I adore – Gigi Lai, Moses Chan and Bowie Lam. They did an excellent job in the previous TVB hit War and Beauty. I’m a bit disappointed that Charmaine Sheh is not in this drama though. Another piece of sad news is that Gigi Lai is retiring from showbiz. This will be her last series, sobz…

I’ll be off for two weeks starting next Monday, so this drama really comes at the right time for me. Yippee!

I want that Dotty Top!

I was surfing Shinnpark’s website this morning and a lovely dotty top caught my attention. I clicked on it and I was so pleased with what I saw. Risolene Dotty Top - a spaghetti strap white cotton top with print on black and polka dots. It is so pretty and cute. Perfect for that Sunday outing!

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This is one of the items under the Perfectly Wrapped Collection which was launched last Wednesday. If you are looking for a dress for your Christmas party, then you should take a look at Shinnpark. The dresses are awesome, plus the prices are so affordable!

Within an hour, I made my order and received my order confirmation. This Risolene Dotty Top will be posted to me tomorrow. Eeek! I’m so excited!

Snow Effect Widget

Christmas is around the corner. Want to add some "X-masy" feel to your blog? How about some snowflakes that trickle down the page?

You can add a simple snow effect widget to your blog with just a few clicks. Very easy, no need to crack your head with those XML codes. It works wonders on dark background. If you are interested, check it out here:

Add Snow Effect

I've added the widget too. But due to the light background in my blog, it is not obvious.

Drama Marathon is Back!

Hey, I guess I am back! … Back to those days where I watch dramas in a marathon way! It has been 1.5 years since my last drama marathon. And now, I’m officially hooked again!

It all started last Monday when I watched the debut of this Taiwanese romance comedy called 不良笑花 (Miss No Good). It is now showing on Channel U from Monday – Friday 7pm.

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Initially I thought that it’s just one of the too many teen idol dramas from the Taiwan entertainment industry. However, after watching the first episode, I found that it’s actually quite refreshing and funny. Rainie Yang and Wilber Pan pair up for the first time in this drama. There is lots of chemistry between them.

The story is about Jiang Xiao Hua (played by Rainie Yang), a jewelry store owner with a screwed fashion sense and a head of bouncy curls. Prince Charming Jia Si Le (played by Dean Fujioka) came back from Japan with the intention of dating Xiao Hua. Xiao Hua engaged Tang Men (Wilber Pan), a famous fashion guru whom she met by chance to transform her into an upper-class lady worthy of Si Le. Along the way, she fell in love with Tang Men.

I’m really excited to see Wilber Pan as an actor and I’m not disappointed at all. He is a very natural actor. I’m impressed by his performance in this drama.

For the past three nights, as soon as little Edison dozed off to Lala Land, I immediately hopped into the study room, switched on the computer and glued my eyes on the monitor to watch this drama on YouTube. Guess what? I’ve completed watching the drama last night. 13 episodes in 3 nights. Not a bad record huh?

Another TVB drama marathon is coming up soon for me. Hehehe… I’ll tell ya later.