Friday, February 28, 2014

Luxurious Breastmilk Bath

Breastmilk Bath - 22 February 2014

That was what my kids had last Saturday - a really luxurious breastmilk bath.

I had about 30 bottles or so expired frozen breastmilk, which initially I wanted to make them into soap. But then I didn't have the time to learn how to make breastmilk soap, so I decided to just make breastmilk bath for my kiddos.

I know many of you will just go 'eewwwwww' at the sight of bathing with breastmilk, but well, if you know the nutritional value of bathing in breastmilk, maybe you will think twice before uttering 'eewwwwwww'.

A bath of warm water mixed with lots of breastmilk may treat diaper rash or even yeast infection. The milk is soothing to the skin and will help to kill the infection. Milk baths will also soften your skin.

So what I did was to pour the frozen bottles of EBM onto a tub of water to thaw.
 

After about half an hour or so, it was almost ready. 
Shern and Khye was waiting impatiently nearby, can't wait to jump into their tubs.

After the last few blocks of frozen ebm was thawed, I added in warm water and filled 2 tubs, one for each kid. Both were happy to be in their special milk bath!
 


They were busy and happily soaking in their milk bath tub while playing with their toys and props. They were in there for almost 45 minutes.


Look at their happy faces! :)
 


It was well worth it for their 45 minutes soak!

After that, Shern kept on talking about his special milk bath. And the very next day when it was time to shower, Shern requested for milk bath again!
Hohoho, well, he needs to wait for a very long time for this special concoction of this precious bath!

So mummies out there, don't throw away your expired breastmilk. Turn them into soap or make a milk bath just like what I did! They are nourishingly good! :)

Friday, February 21, 2014

Conversation with Shern @ 4 Years 8 Months


Conversation with Shern just get better and better.....here's some recent conversation I had with him.

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Shern has been talking about Jesus / God a lot recently. This is one of the conversation we had.

Shern: Why is Jesus inside my heart?
Me: So that whenever you think of Him, He is so near to you, just in your heart. 
Shern: So you don't make me sad ok?
Me: Why do you say that?
Shern: Because when I am heartbroken, then Jesus will be broken because he lives inside my heart!
Me: "_"


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Shern: Is Jesus more magical, or Santa Claus?
Me: Jesus is the most magical of all.
Shern: But Santa Claus can make reindeer fly, can Jesus makes things fly?
(I was at a loss of what to reply because I can't just say that Jesus can make things fly).
Me: Jesus don't make reindeer fly but he can do other magical things like healing people and etc.
Shern: Oh, now I know. Jesus is like a magician, just that he cannot make reindeer fly! 
Me: "_"
(Somehow he got that right too! lol)



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Shern was playing with Daddy catch.
Shern: Dad, this time I want to be the bad guy and catch you.
Daddy: Ok.
Shern: Wait first. Let me pray first.
Dear God, I am just pretending to be a bad guy. I am not the real bad guy. Please don't punish me ok. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.

(hohoho. He wanted to make sure God had the facts right!)






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Shern & I were playing arm wrestling.
Before we started, Shern said a prayer.....

Shern: Dear God, please make my arms strong. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.
And so we started to arm wrestle. When I was about to win, Shern said..
Shern: Dear God, faster. You need to make me strong now.
Me: lol

And then I proceeded to tell Shern that he needs to work hard first in order for God to help him and make him strong.

I need to make him understand what I believe in "God helps those who help themselves!" 



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Shern: Mummy, can I pls have some fire water pls?
Me: What fire water? Why do you call it fire water?
Shern: Because there is a fire sign there where you refill the water.
Me: "_"

(There is a little fire sign at the hot water tap at Sakae Sushi to indicate to people that the water is boiling hot!)


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Wednesday, February 19, 2014

V-Day Hi-Tea At Home

Happy V-Day 2014

For Valentine's Day this year, we initially planned to go for a simple meal at one of our favourite Japanese restaurant with the kids. Japanese because the whole family loves Japanese food. Shern loves his sushi and Khye likes the Agadeshi Tofu, while hubby & I have my raw salmon fix. V-Day is just an excuse for us to eat out. Haha.

But then we suddenly remembered it fell on a Friday, which Shern has music class. We are not going to skip music class just for a V-Day dinner. So our dinner plan was cancelled.

But then I still wanted to make something special on V-Day, but had no idea what. So when I received a message from one of my friends wish a pic of a hi-tea set, I got the idea to make my own Valentine Hi-Tea set at home. :)

I bought some cakes from one of my favourite bakery, and I took out my 3-tier cake stand.
After heating up some of the stuff, and in 15 minutes, I have assembled my own V-Day Hi-Tea Set, complete with a pot of tea!



Our hi-tea spread.
 


So what's on it?
Some chocolate and green tea cakes on the first tier.
A piece of butter scone and an earl grey scone, with some butter and raspberry jam on the second tier.
And on the third tier, some marbled cakes, a vege quiche, some chocolate heart cookies, and M&Ms.
  
  

It was simply lovely to just turned on the air-conditioner (it was a really hot day!) and to enjoy the sweets and bites with a pot of hot Rooibos tea, and having a chat.
Khye was happy with the butter cakes and some bites of the quiche. And Shern was absolutely delighted to see his favourite M&Ms! 


Our family photos.
 


 With Ah-Yee and Shu-Min.


We usually don't celebrate V-Day on those restaurants in which they hiked up their prices on V-Day or force us to take their V-Day set meals.
But is V-Day worth celebrating?
I think so. Simply because LOVE is worth celebrating.

You can do it any way you like it, just celebrate and embrace LOVE in your home.


FAMILY - WHERE LIFE BEGINS AND LOVE NEVER ENDS!



p/s- Shern came back with a Valentine craft he made in school, and asked me to be his Valentine, because he says I'm the bestest mummy in town! :)

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Review: OXO Tot's Twist Top Water Bottle

3 February 2014 - Khye @ 16 mths

Another good quality product from OXO Tot brand.
This time is the OXO Tot's Twist Top Water Bottle.



PACKAGING AND FIRST IMPRESSIONS

The packaging of this water bottle is different from the rest of the OXO Tot's products I'd received.
  

There were no hard plastic that surrounds the water bottle. Instead it was wrapped by a loose sheet of cardboard paper with the brand name and some details. And also there was a strip of plastic which overhands the water bottle, for easy carry.
So this simple and easy packaging enable me to just peel away the cardboard paper, and cut away the strip of plastic to remove the packaging.

The water bottle feels sturdy and chunky. It is made of very good rubber and thick quality plastic. So this made the bottle very durable.

Upon reading and examining it, I learned that it has a twist top lid. Meaning, twisting the top of the bottle anti-clockwise will spring out the straw. And in order to hide the straw, you twist it again clockwise.
 



FEATURES

Love this twist top feature as this is hygienic as this keeps the straw clean. A twist of the non-slip lid reveals a soft straw that is comfortable to drink from

I also like that the straw goes all the way to the base of the bottle, and is tilted to one side, which means that you get to reach all the water in the bottle. 
 

And this bottle is wide-necked, meaning there is a large opening for filling and adding ice, if they were to serve the toddler some cold drinks.
But the best thing about a large opening to me, is that it is way more easy to clean! This is important to me as I clean and scrub my kids' water bottle daily, so ease of cleaning is important!

I like that the cup is transparent, so me as a mum could see the amount of liquid Khye drinks.
To give an even more better gauge, there are measurement in both OZ and ML .
This bottle is of a good sized at 300ml / 12 oz capacity. 
 


I also like the soft, carrying loop, as I could hook through the stroller belt or a toy strap, making sure it doesn't get dropped or lost when we take it out. 
 

Its sized and dimensions are 3" x 4.5" x 5.5", and weighs 5.35 oz, which is actually the perfect sized for a toddler's hands.
Look at how well the size it is as it sits in Khye's hands.
  

There is actually a dent in the middle of the bottle, making the middle part slimmer, easier for little hands to grip on. 

Khye actually just learned how to suck from a straw not too long ago, so the minute he knew how to, I happily took out this water bottle and then Khye sucks from it like a pro! Haha.
 

A few days ago, Khye was having a mild food poisoning, in which he vomitted several times and also had a bout of diarrhoea. During that time, he seemed very thirsty, and he kept on drinking water every few minutes from this water bottle. He even walks with it and kept sucking and sucking non-stop. In a span of 3 hours, I'd refilled the water bottle twice. 

Thank goodness for this water bottle, so that it makes drinking water easy, and thus he was kept hydrated the entire time, so I was not so worried.
 
 


And then Khye brings the water bottle with him and he plopped himself into his Bumbo Seat, and then continued sucking the straw and drinking from the bottle. 

 
 

And I think the most important thing for a toddler's water bottle is that it must be leak-proof. This means I could just pop this water bottle into any bag and have a peace of mind that it won't flood the bag and wet the contents inside the bag.
So I am glad that this one's leak-proof. And this cheeky 'lil fellow, being a 15 mths old toddler, sometimes like to drop the bottle in purpose, just for the fun of it, like these two photos below.
It also helps that it is a sturdy, chunky bottle.
 

And this Twist Top Water Bottle is also great for on-the-go. It fits nicely into the side insulated bottle holder pockets of my Storksak diaper bag. That's because the size of this bottle is perfect - not too big, and yet not too small.


When on-the-go, proof to be invaluable as well, and as I bring it with us during outings, my little cutie pie has water all the time and stay hydrated througout.
 

Those people who is lucky enough to own a dishwasher will be glad to know that this is dishwasher safe. And also good to note that it is BPA-free, Phthalate-free, and also PVC-free.
So definitely peace of mind for us parents that this is a safe bottle for our kids.


The only bad thing for us now is that Khye is now a 'lil too young to be able to twist the lid all by himself. He hasn't got the strength, nor the motor skills to master this yet.
Anyway, this bottle is actually recommended for age 2+, and Khye's only 16 mths now.

But still, Khye and I super love this product, and I'll totally recommend this to any mothers looking for a good quality water bottle for their toddler!

I think I've fallen in love with OXO Tot's products.
They always amaze me with their top quality products!

p/s - I'd reviewed OXO Tot's Flippy Snack Cup, Sippy Cup Set, and Divided Feeding Dish. Have a click and read them all!



TO PURCHASE 

Please visit Bloom & Grow Asia for their list of retailers.
You can also visit their Facebook page for more info. 



* Disclosure: I received an OXO Tot's Twist Top Water Bottle  for review purpose, but no monetary incentive was received. All text and opinions are of my own and represents my honest opinion of the product(s).

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