Organic Products- TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE?

Research has continously revealed that organic produce contain more vitamins and minerals compared to non-organic ones,free from pesticides,artifical fertilizers,no additional preservatives,protect the evironment and of course,hopefully reduced incidences of asthma,cancer and allergies....Being a protective mum,it does seem worth the effort to give it a try...and give a good headstart to nutrition....hehe...

It also helps that organic products are widely available and I can also order online ...so convenient..hehe...Though a little more costly,I still feel the benefits outweigh the cost...Of course to comprise for it,something has to go so that I can afford more products...hehe..As a result,I decide to forsake taking cab
rides,opting for public transport instead using a carrier for clover...Will eating more organic produce be beneficial for clover?Only time can tell....hehe...

Who do you see in the mirror?

Years ago,in my NT form class,I openly praised two students for returning five dollars to the general office which they found in the canteen...Very soon after,I have more and more students approaching the office with found dollars notes.....haha...No doubt the kids love to be praised for being honest..haha..Whenever exams are approaching,I will encourage the kids to write short encouraging notes to their classmates sitting next to him/her,as I believe that we all need that extra moral boost every now and then..In addition,I also wrote one for each student.After which the students will paste the notes proudly on the table...Does it help?Well,I found out that even when I swap the seats,the kids will insist on swapping their tables too,with the notes attached...haha...When I was hospitalised,the kids created a huge card for me to show how much they care,such is the impact of kind words....haha...Lead by example and hopefully,they will reciprocate..and all these from a bunch of NT kids,who are commonly perceived as rowdy,slow achievers,troublemakers etc...no doubt they are,nature cannot be change,but surely,they deserve kindness too?

As much as I like to shield clover from being bullied or being exposed to bad influences,ultimately,there will come a time for her to be put to the test....Kids are sponges,readily soaking up whatever they seen or heard,and growing up in an IT-savy world,TV,internet are readily there to exert influence on them...it takes all kind of people to make up this world,definitely with the good,we have the bad at any corner anywhere...haha..With clover,I feel like I am under constant scrutiny...at 7 mths old,now,she can imitate most of our actions such as making funny faces,clucking her tongue,when faced with strangers,she will look in my direction,smiling and relaxing if I do so...clamp up if I do not...haha...


I hope to be more observant ,to create opportunity to mould clover's character..to mind her Ps and Qs..geez....who does clover see in the mirror?May time reveal all...haha...I can only do my best and accept how she will turn out to be,for I have many shortcomings too..Nobody is perfect after all,besides,time,environment,her temperament all plays a role too...


By the way,SE,I am not qualify to dispatch advice....haha...just care and share...hehe...Do enjoy your motherhood too....To anonymous,I dare not comment anything,as it is really purely a choice of preference...Being mummies,we have the best intentions for our kids,so whichever path you choose to embark,I am sure that will be the best decision for your child and family,do take care,hope to know your decision too...hehe

Do Not Disturb-"Sleepyheads at WORK"

Woa...we must have taken more than a thousand shots of clover by now,guess that is natural ,for shes our first born...haha..My aunt told me that the number of photos will get depleted based on number of children,in her case,firstborn had many photos too,but not so for the 2nd and 3rd child...haha...
In this photo,I remembered that after washing dishes and leaving the father and child to play,I was amused to find the both of them dozed off on the sofa...It was a sight which would make a good memory keepsake ,or so I thought...haha...HEnce,this snapshot...haha...

Uncle,thank you

It pays nothing to be kind,a small gesture goes a long way....Even if I knew that most likely,the person I mentioned will not get to view this post,still I would like to offer my humble thanks and how his kindness brightened up my day...I was at the traffic junction,waiting for the light to turn green,clover was fast asleep in her pram..before the light turned green,clover woke up and started crying,perhaps was startled by the noisy environment...I picked up her up,pushing the pram with the other hand,just as I was about to reach the other side,there was a step...in order to get up the step,I would have to pick up the pram with both hands,but how am I going to do that with clover?besides,the green light was blinking,just then a pair of hands lifted up my pram without me saying anything,a gruffy,unkempt old man helped me...With a slight nod,he left hurriedly on his way....

Education does not make a man,his character does,values such as integrity,kindess seem forgotten or perhaps,we are so caught up in the rat race trying to outbeat each other,such values are always cast aside....Academic lessons can be taught,yet values are so difficult...how can I teach clover to look beyond the surface and see the goodness in everyone,to be thoughtful in a biased society?People say it depends on how you teach the kids,yet as times goes by,parents get so wrapped up in working,such values are often left to the teachers who seem to be all-rounder...Ironic,isnt it?

Flashback

Was given queer looks and not-so-encouraing remarks when I announced that I want to be a stay-at-home mum...."Are you sure?","Its boring,ya know,and not enough sleep","Can you handle without help,besides you cant even sit still,and you want to settle to stay at home?""what about your dept,and your classes?,who's going to manage them?"One male colleague even shared with me how his wife shattered all the plates at home,lashed out at him after being a stay at home mum,and being bored,frustrated,exhausted was unable to take it anymore...Even my mum and my gynae were skeptical that I can make it too...haha...for in their opinion,I cherish my freedom too much...hmm...despite their comments,I was determined to stick to my guns...after all,clover will only be an infant for a year or two before she starts to irks me with her endless questions of why what and how....haha...Career,i feel,can take a backseat for now,but clover will grow up too soon too fast,and I want to create memories...hence,the starting of this blog too to document my thoughts and her growth,hehe....

Of course,needless to say,there were moments of boredom,facing a baby 24 hours of the day,7 days a week can really wears me out..perhaps,engaging the service of a part-time bbsitter is not a bad
idea after all,then I can pamper myself and be a hdb taitai....haha....Armed myself with nursery rhymes dvd,er...theres a limit to the nursery rhymes I know,unfortunately,haha...I will play and dance in front of clover,keeping her amused and sometimes,she chuckles while I find it a great way to battle those post-pregnancy pounds...haha...no excuse for not exercising...haha...Understanding friends of mine now knows that I comes in a 1+1 package whenever they meet up with me over tea or dinner on a weekday to avoid the crowds
(air-borne infections transmit easily in such places)...cooking/baking is also a therapuetic way for me to destress too..hehe...In a nutshell,taking care of her is not as bad as I thought,for having established a good bedtime routine without patting her to sleep,I was able to keep my sanity during the days,interrupted routine only started when she started weaning,which I figure oatmeal cereal does the trick..hehe..good,old,trustworthy oatmeal..

Clover weighs 8.4 kg,stands at 68cm at 5 mths old,which makes her a big bb at 97 percentile,a large baby,no doubt,thanks to her daddy's tall genes,she need not cut down on her feeds,which I give to her on demands,not schedule...Se,I am not sure about your bb's weight,it will be best to check with the doctor,for nurses have told me that some babies need to cut back on their feeds as they are heavy but height is of a low percentile..Geez,need to get new clothings for clover again,haha...time for another shopping trip...yeah...

Pesky Flu bug

Lack of sufficient sleep has finally taken a toll on me,I caught the flu bug...Running a high temperature,coughing and sneezing makes caring for clover even more difficult especially in the middle of night,when all I want is to snooze......but of course,I cannot leave clover bawling with all her might...Gosh,I could really need some help around here..Exposed to a sick mummy makes clover susceptible to the flu virus as well...inevitably we both got sick....now it makes things even worse,as clover keeps crying due to discomfort...parents were unable to help out much as mum works 12 hours a day,it is unfair to add on to her load...sigh..Having flu does hinder with the tastebuds,doesn't it?Now,everything taste like cardboard,haha...Hence,I simply skipped the seasoning,and just place everything on the grill,puree some overripe mangoes to pour over the salmon...though it is a bit too late to hope that vit C can speed up the recovery process and chase the "bug"away,haha....

Being non-vegetarian,as I love seafood and poultry,I do not intend to raise clover as a vegetarian...Apart from the choice of food,there are also nutritional issues,such as vit B12 deficiency,iron and folate to be taken into consideration as these are vital for building of essential red blood cells,prevention of anemia...Besides,food combination is important too in the case of vegetarian,I have to ensure that pulses are eaten with vit c foods at the same meal to ensure absorption of iron...Aaah...Lazy me ,I prefer to whip food the VMB way,haha...Eating a variety of foods,everything in moderation(hence,no food is either good or bad),and balance the energy input vs the energy output...Oh gosh,occupational hazard again?haha...I used to have this knack of rattling of the nutritional value of foods till my friend,Michelle,told me to shut up and simply learn to enjoy the food...haha....

Fruits swimming in oaty soya papaya milk

Woke up with a scratchy throat,oh dear,and wanting to soothe that "fire"in the throat,I had ice cold soya milk(unsweetended) blended with 1/3 ripe papaya,and 2 tbsp of oats...Mmm...sweet,not too thick,just the way I like it...but its not sufficient enough to make me full,no worries,ever since clover started weaning,I have been introducing lots of fruits and vegetables to her,hence,there will always be fruits somewhere....hehe...Added in apple for a crunch,blueberries,dried wolfberries(unfortunately,it sank to the bottom) and sprinkle pomegrate seeds....Will I make this again?Yup,thats for sure,a quick breakfast that satisfy my sweet tooth....whats more,it lower cholesterol,faciliates bowel movement and most importantly,helps to boost my immunity.....

Now that I am home alone with clover 24 hrs of the day since my lao gong left,I cannot afford to fall sick,for there will be nobody to handle clover...Besides,if I do,most likely,clover will be infected too,which means hello to sleeplessness nites and tiring days...As it is,after 6 months,babies do not sleep much,however,to my dismay,clover sleeps only 7-9 hours at the most,even then she will wake up at regular intervals in the nite,making me feel like a walking zombie sometimes...the times she spent sleeping will be when I take a quick shower,prepare my meals,clean the house etc...Of course,there have been times when I wanna dump her at infantcare,feel like throwing in the towel...but then the paranoid side of me took over,knowning the risk of virus that kids are exposed to ,plus lacking of personal care and attention,after all,with so many babies,it is not fair to demand so much from the caregivers,isnt it?They are only after all humans...Hopefully,time pass quickly and when my lao gong comes back,at least I can have some rest again...hehe...

GOOD Health begins young

Healthy eating is not extended to solely humans ,as one can guage from the photo,well,that is if you can figure out what my brother's dog,whiskey is chomping on...haha...Pardon for the poor photography skills,I admit I do need lots of fine-tuning in this aspect...one of my ex-colleague even remarked that my photos looked like a scene from ghost movie,either the faces were disfigured or the background is a distant blur...haha...As for this photo,my brother commented that his dog resembled a lion with his fangs bearing for all to see...haha....


Enough of my not worth mentioning "talent",lets me reveal something interesting about Whiskey...Hes a vegetarian doggie,no kidding,strictly no meat and no fish since hes a yelping pup...hehe...Its been 4 yrs now and he has grown into a strong,noisy,active young doggie with a loud bark...Fresh,crunchy carrots which are shown in the photo is in his personal list of favourite foods,which also include raisins fluffy bread roll,apples,durians,boiled broccoli,cheese snacks(meant for dogs only) and hot boiled mashed eggs...As a result,his health status is tip-top with the all-clear from the vet when brought there for his yearly visit,no dental problem,no foul breath which plague some dogs,a shiny coat and wats amazing is that he only suffer from flu once in his four years,which was his once and only time when he was sick...

Hmm..I guess I can learn from this as well,which again goes to prove that fresh fruits and vegetables does strengthen one's immunity,animals included...haha..So far,clover seem to like her broocoli and spinach too...hope that will make her strong like "popeye the sailor man"?...haha...