Foodie Fridays - 10mins breakfast: Pancakes & Eggs!

Having survived the first two weeks of breakfast prep challenge, I am pleased to say that I am slowly getting the hang of preparing breakfast in the morning. My body seems to have been accustomed to getting up at the said time. :p

The focus is still very much on creating easy, quick and yummy breakfast snack boxes and I usually alternate between Asian / Western and between savoury and sweet items.

Here's 2 quick ideas to share!

1) Scrambled eggs with ham sandwiches

The mini sandwiches are moulded into flower shapes with flower moulds and stamped thereafter with the stamps below. I bought them from this Facebook shop. 

2) Star shaped pancakes!

The star mould for the pancakes are from Daiso :)

What have you been packing for your children this week? I hope that you have as much fun as I did! 

Homelearning Group Outing - Mums and Tots Bento Workshop!

After  a few 'misses' trying to plan for some field trips / activities for the Homelearning Group, we finally managed to go ahead with a simple Bento workshop!

As shared here, one of the challenges I have for myself for this year is to prepare breakfast for Dumpling daily. I have been interested in Bentos for a long time because they look so pretty and so cute! (Well, definitely better than my Bah Chor Mee in terms of presentation no?)

It took a bit of to and fro and finally, we managed to secure a location and a instructor! :) With 10 other pairs of moms and kiddos, we had an enjoyable Sat afternoon. I was expecting it to be hard but it turned out to be quite simple. Dumpling did half of the work and when it became tough (such as punching out the seaweeds), I'd take over. I also took the lead in experimenting how to "fill up" the bento box and Dumpling followed suit.

And while the instructor was setting up and we were waiting for some more participants to arrive, what else would a blogger mum do except to get the kids to pose and take pics? :p

The kiddos were busy entertaining themselves too... :p

After a short wait, we finally started! Here, Teacher Jo introduced the various tools...

And Dumpling was listening on intently...

And off to work they went! Dumpling was all serious and had her first go at the rice mould

Her Hello Kitty started to take shape (puncher on the right can be purchased from Daiso) as she added the eyes and ribbon

Whiskers and other items such as the greens, cheese, etc. 

Other kiddos were also busy with their creations

Tada! Dumpling and my Hello Kitty Bento Box!

What we learnt from the session? 3 key things:

1. Tools and more tools!

2. Greens add a dash of colour

3. You need fillers to fill up the gaps! (Crab sticks, greens / tomatoes, fruits 'adorned' with cute animal picks)

Below, proud mamas with their kiddos! 

Looking for more Bento ideas? Here's the creations by the kids! LOVE LOVE LOVE the colours, the various shapes and ideas!!!

And finally, Lulu with Mama Sue!

The session was fun and it was nice to have some kiddo and bonding time. I had a great time chatting with some of the mummies too. And guess what? Lulu even asked me for a Bento workshop for her BD party! LOL

Parenting with Love: Super Mama I am not, Just Plain 'Ole Mama Sue

Fellow mummy blogger June's post set me thinking last week when I first read it. Being a homeschooler and a working mum, it is truly enough to get me totally occupied. My day ends only when Dumpling retires for the night and by then, I would be totally 'shattered' and it would be around 11pm. That sorta set me thinking when fellow colleagues and friends jokingly said that I am a Super Mama.

This cannot be further from the truth. I learn to just cope and pace myself. Reflecting on how it has been for the past 4odd years, I think I can safely say these are my survival 'tips' and what keeps me 'centered'.

The right battle
I learnt to pick my battles to fight. There are certain obligations / socials which we sometimes have to fulfill but we do not attend all of them because of nap time routines, etc. With a kid at home, our apartment also looks more like a kindy with books and craft materials all over so I learnt to not be anal about such matters. There are days where Dumpling picks at her food and the greens and yes, I learnt to let that go too. If it has been an hour, we'd just clear the dining table though by then, I will usually be curbing my temper and doing a Lamaze breathing exercise in an attempt to not to lose my cool.

Ask for help
When I first thought of sending Dumpling for Chinese classes, I discussed this in depth with my in laws and my parents. Only after we got the A-OK and commitment from all sides, that's where we proceeded with our plans. On days when I teach, my in laws would kindly come by and meet Dumpling for breakfast. My mum also helps out in the afternoon after Dumpling finishes school and I have a helper who has been with us for a while so that helps as we have some common understanding of what her role and main duties and what our expectations are.

Stay grounded
Truth is, I do not aim to excel in motherhood or peg myself in comparison to anyone. If I'd do that (and with my Type A personality), I would have been stressed out to the max! I simply cope with the best possible way that I can. I try not to go down the comparison route and just enjoy the ride. I try to stay focused on providing a good homeschool environment and education for Dumpling and continue to also focus on inculcating the right values. I also 'open myself up' to learning from the mums and members in my Homelearning group. As one blogger mum shared before, the focus is not on developing (for the lack of a better term) my child to be better than others but such that she is better today than yesterday; where we try and learn and attempt something new daily.

Pray
I pray for Grace and give thanks. Daily. When it gets a tad trying and overwhelming at times (especially when she is sick and I have had less than 10 hours of sleep in a total of 3 days and where I am still heading to work daily), it helps that I am able to release all these to a higher being. To my maker and creator. To someone who loves me despite my weaknesses and yet is willing to gift me a child. Not just any child but my child. A child whom He thinks is the best fit for me, who stretches me, tests me yet loves me unconditionally. A child who adds a different dimension to my being, a child who loves me despite the fact that I am not a Super Mama. Just plain 'ole Mama Sue.

And in her eyes and in her words, she is "very thankful to God for giving her Mama and Papa and for loving me." I cope by looking into her eyes and being at peace with myself as I see the bright love that shines in them. I cope by gathering strength in knowing that whatever that I do, Dumpling is secure in my love for her and feels that Mama Sue is the best mama for her. 

Parenting with Love: Child Readiness???

 

Source: unknown

I am a believer of child-readiness and the sensitive periods for children's learning be it for reading / writing or for any other activities. In one of Dumpling's weekend classes, when we first started, some of her other classmates 'left' that class which I later found out that they were at a 'new' class that Dumpling joined a month later. 

A few weeks ago, I overheard and participated shortly in a conversation when one of the mums shared her decision to withdraw her child out of the class. In her words, she felt that the class was progressing too quickly for her daughter and she has decided to go into private lessons route where she feels that it would be more suited for her child's pace.

It was from the same conversation that I realised that her child, EV, and another student JG were transferred to this new class not because they were 'ready' (this is a higher level class) but more so because they did not like the earlier class as it was getting full. After highlighting their displeasure to the school, the school decided to have both kids at this new class.

Both kids are younger than Dumpling and are possibly amongst the youngest in the class. Based on my understanding, the class is supposed to be for kids who are 4 or at least nearing 4. There is a big difference in that 6 months to a year gap because of the motor skills that's needed. The oldest child in the class is 5 and she is progressing along very nicely because at that age, she has the maturity / focus and the motor skills to do the tasks.

Now, for EV, I do empathize with her. Based on the lessons that I have seen, she does look a tad 'lost'. While the rest are on midway on Task A, she is still playing 'catch up' and there were a few times I saw her sighing and looking a tad sad. I do wonder if such a decision has affected her confidence and self esteem. So for that, I applaud the mum for knowing when to pull the brakes.

Having said that, I also wonder if the child would have been prepped better if she had stayed in the earlier class where her foundation is laid properly before she is "advanced" to this class which does not seem suited for her. Frankly, I am surprised that the school made such arrangements because in this case, it clearly backfired where both child and parent are clearly not ready. Or maybe the school did prep the parent but perhaps the parent decided to plow on?

I certainly understand that all parents want the best for our children. In this Kiasu society, it is hard not to worry where sometimes we, as parents get blinded with all these "comparisons" that we forget who we are doing it for - us or for our kids. It is hard to steer away from such comparisons but as a family, we are doing our best as we often remind ourselves to take a step back and ask if Dumpling is truly ready. By readiness there are a few factors - not just academically but the maturity, emotional aspects, etc.

Now, back to JG. JG's dad commented that he does get JG to practise daily while he (the dad) watches TV. OK, I have to admit that I do struggle with this bit. To me, as a parent, we have to also show interest and 'support' in what the child is doing. If the child is struggling and the parent is not involved - be it to guide to simply be present for that emotional support, then it would certainly be unfair to expect the school or any organisation to be able to do much. After all, the classes happen merely once a week, how much do we expect the child to be able to remember from that one class if there is no home support? When it comes to such incidents, I do wonder if I am the weird parent here. :p

Foodie Fridays! 10 mins Breakfast Challenge - Wrap and Roll!

As shared in an earlier post, my personal challenge for this year (and I am gonna take it one step at a time on a month-on-month basis 'cos long term commitment scares me!) is to prepare breakfast for Dumpling daily. Not just that but because time is usually tight for me in the morning, my intention is to prepare bentos / breakfast pack which takes 10 - 15mins max!

Ever since we visited the Zoo to see the Pandas recently, Dumpling has been talking about Kai Kai & Jia Jia. :) Since I am such a noob at this whole Bento business, I decided to just add some small touches of the Giant Pandas instead of doing a Panda bento featuring panda moulded rice which is not suitable for brekkie too.

What's in the bento:
1) Cherry Tomatoes with Laughing Cow cheese cubes (Fibre and Calcium)
2) Tuna flakes in sunflower oil (with a dash of pepper and light mozzarella cheese) Wrap (Protein, Calcium, Carbs)
3) Panda butter cookie

This was done within 10 mins as all that I needed to do was to spread the wrap with mozzarella cheese and tuna flakes. Do drain away excess oil from the Tuna so that it does not make the wrap soggy.