Saturday, April 25, 2009

Contest at Fabulousmom..Prize?SKII..wow..

Hi folks, just stumble upon another great contest at Fabulousmom.com, one of the online baby and mommy stores(or more specific they called it "e-boutique for moms"...)  I used to stop by quite often(you can find the links to their online store on the right side ....). Bought many of my nursing wear and baby items there. ;)

Now when you purchase items from their stores, you get SKII products for free! Wow..

Interested? Check it out here.

Cheers! Have a good weekend!

Friday, April 24, 2009

I want to fly to Taipei because…

Guys …do you all know that AirAsia will be flying to Taipei this July 2009?

Do you wish to win tickets to Taipei?

If you do, do check out their blogging contest to win tickets for you and your loved ones…

Check it out here!

Good Luck!

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Earth Day…

Something was in my mind for sometime…something we have been encouraged to do for sometime now… USING recycled bags when we do our shopping…

But something which my DH often asked me “hey no more plastic bags for throwing rubbish?” ..yep my DH is often the one who helped to throw our daily rubbish….and yep we still use plastic bag to contain the dirty diapers, etc.

Of course we would like to heed the call to use recycle bags..in fact I have collected quite a few of them in different sizes(see picture below) and I used them as well especially when I go wet market and organic shops for shopping BUT sometimes at hypermarket I would turn back to using plastic bags …yea ..just sometimes..when I am buying too many stuffs….

 

 

One thing also bugs me…we still need to use plastic bags to contain our rubbish before throwing it..either we buy those black or blue ones or we used those from what we got when we purchased our goods…

So it does defeats or delay the cause of using recycled bags? I wonder how does other countries who promote recycle bags does with their Bandaraya or Refuse collection? How and What can we do if not throwing the items in plastic bags? I heard people reuse their rubbish and turned into useful washing detergens or something….I ponder on doing that too..but I fear my kids might play with it…eiks..

I really do hope to learn some alternatives people are using at rubbish management…how does our rubbish collection agency doing to help in reducing the plastic bags people are using?

I learnt that in Germany and some other countries they have specific days whereby they will collect glasses, papers and other dispose items…and people have to separate their rubbish properly…

I think I should also do this..separate them into different bins..but what about the plastic bags to contain them..anything else I can use?

What are you folks practicing? Care to share?

Hear from you all while I do some research on it :)

 

Cheers to our Earth!

 

 

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Vote for SuperMummy!



Well, I must admit I don’t really feel like a Supermom yet but I do feel that all moms needed to act like one or is acting like one….

Just look at the jobs that a mom does daily, I believe many would agree with me[hands-up] ;)

Why I think I should be voted (hehe):

  1. I am a mom of two adorable, active kids
  2. I am a full-time working and pumping cum breastfeeding mom
  3. I am working 24/7 (aren’t all of us do? :P), with no mc for mom position

So does this 3 points gather any votes for me  (hehe..) if yes, please just click [as many times] on the badge at the top right hand corner.

Thanks folks!

Have a super-duper mommy or daddy days!

 

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

My Love for Nursing Wear

My first encounter with a nursing wear is one month after delivering my first baby. After my confinement, DH and I got a 3 hrs off (my in-law offered to babysit for us) and we went shopping for some additional essential baby stuff at Kiddyplace located in Cheras Leisure Mall.

My first sight of nursing wear are two lovely black and turquoise green blouse (I bought two of the same design) and now they looked bit worn out as I’ve been using them for more than one year! They’ve been like my "uniform" everywhere for that whole one year of nursing life…everywhere I went with my daughter, shopping, dinner function, you named it!.

Another not-that-frequently-worn nursing wear I have is an office-like striped blouse. The striped blouse was not that easily accessible for breastfeeding (BF) with zip(which I don't quite fancy because it might hurt the baby if I am not careful), thus I only used it once and it’s been hanging in my closet ever since.

Then as I started to shopping online more often after having my baby (nope can't always leave baby with in-law as she's been taking another grandchild during the weekdays and Saturday as well...Sunday being her only Off day). As I researched and does my "ONLINE" window-shopping on nursing and baby stuff, along the way,  I bought another two nursing wear (haha..both as a "need" as well as a way to encourage myself in breastfeeding mission). 

One was a very comfortable shirt(am still using it for my second nursing journey simply because it is just so comfy) which was priced at RM12 during a warehouse sale and another one is a white spaghetti strap which was used extensively with my other non-nursing attire (this is a must have and a good buy because you can pair it up with normal attire and even use it later after your nursing journey ends..). 

And I also got another two nursing tube (black and cream white) which I used it along with my other attire as well…very very stylish and useful for BF. Easy to flip no strap or buckle or button to detach.


Then this year, I added to my collection another two sleeping bra(whoot), one orange collar shirt nursing wear(see picture on the left), another Chinese New Year like blouse (you may view it at the online shop which sells it here)…altogether how many attires I’ve got I think more than six! :P

I simply love the ease of wearing nice-looking and easy to nurse nursing wear. I am also crazy at scouting for affordable and stylish nursing wear designs.

Talking about my dream nursing wear, below are the sketches I made which is something I have in mind in terms of practical, useful, comfortable and wearable nursing attire for all occasion. 

Ta dah...may I present "My Dream Nursing Wear" design of the year 2009!

Theme - practical, stylish, wearable, baby-friendly(made from cotton) and long lasting for all-occcasion!(haha..just for fun of it!)

This is a nursing spaghetti strap which can be used along with a blouse with such zig-zag flapped design which can easily flip over to access the inner side which is the nursing spaghetti strap.


Note: Most of the nursing wear I mentioned can be found from one of those online shops which sells nursing wear listed under in my blog(see under USEFUL MOTHER & BABY ONLINE STORES).  

Monday, April 20, 2009

Reducing Grocery bills...

One of the ways recommended to reduce our grocery bills is to use the house brand, i.e., for example if you frequently shop at Tesco, Carrefour or Giant hypermarket, you’ll find a lot of items under their house (Tesco/Carrefour/Giant) and its quality are not bad at all!

Previously I been trying out Tesco brand toilet rolls which has the more sheets per roll like “C**ie” brand, and it’s quite ok too.

And lately, I’ve been trying out another must have or staple on my grocery list besides rice, sugar and oil, that is the all-time favorite Bee Hoon (or vermicelli). We used to buy the H***oni brand which cost around RM2.89 (during sales it can go down to RM2.39) which according to my dad taste better and easier to cook. But to buy that too often does add up to my grocery bill quite a bit. So I am experimenting cooking with house brand and tried Tesco and Giant ones..so far the verdict is wow…not too big difference in terms of taste..I think it’s more of the cook! Hehe…not to say I am a good cook but I did picked up some Bee Hoon frying skills by watching some aunties with superb Bee Hoon taming skills..haha…so in this way we can have more fried bee hoon in a month that we were to buy the branded ones…

Give and take we can still enjoy yummy Bee Hoon and other stuff at a more affordable price with the current economy situation….we have to make a stringent and best decision. In other words, “Be a smart & innovative consumer”!

So what other experiments you guys have taken or plan to take/heard of as ways to reduce your monthly bills/expenditure? Care to share?

Hear from you folks!

 

Happy experimenting!  =)

Homeschooling in Malaysia

Today an article link from a blog I used to subscribed and read, LittleKittie.com brings my attention to homeschooling.

Homeschooling, a topic/subject I used to ponder upon, researched, read about during my college time (yep, even before I was married with kids), as I have a cousin who faced difficulties coping the rigid education system in Malaysia. Having changed schools but still couldn’t cope and can see he really becoming withdrawn because of this made my aunt quit her job to stay and coach him for a more than a year.

Homeschooling is indeed a vital choice for some parents for the welfare of their children. At that point of time it was not even legal in Malaysia, and now although it was a bit looser legal side but see this fact (excerpt from the homeschooling article in TheStar ):

The official view

The Education (Amendment) Act 2002 states that homeschooling can only be considered under the following circumstances:

·The child must be exceptionally gifted or intellectually or physically disabled and the schools cannot meet this need;

·Family members travel abroad frequently; (wow..in other words must be rich? :P.. I wonder why this clause was included? So that the parents are considered globe-trotters and well-read?..hmm…)

·If homeschoolers are to be exempted, parents must ensure that they follow the national syllabus.

 ----------

Whatever it is, at least it is no longer considered ILLEGAL or a CRIME to make the homeschooling choice for our kids now which is an improvement but hopefully the support and legistration for homeschooling as well as the revamp and continuous improvement on our current education system can improve hand-in-hand for the future our young leaders and generation.

 

As I am pondering about homeschooling and writing this article, my aunt(who sort of applied some homeschooling method on her son) has migrated to Down Under for the sake of her children, for better education and better support. It is a sad case for Malaysia system (not in time to support the needs of many parents) but a happy one for my auntie. I wished her all the best and salute her to give up her job, and things here for the sake of her kids…it’s not an easy decision to make. But she did and I am glad for her and my cousins too!

But hopefully we in Malaysia can catch up soon....a better education and society...what can we all do(every small effort counts) to make this happens for our kids?

Cheers and ponder for the day!

 

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Secret Recipes for Better Milk Supply and Rosy Glowing Looks

Well, maybe the title is slightly exaggerated, BUT, this is a recipe or special concoction shared by one of my friend who seems to be blessed with blushed rosy cheeks (minus the make-up..yep…natural rosy glow)

And her secret is…diligent daily dose of the following ever since her pregnancy, 9 month breastfeeding and till now (I think)

Tong Sum Codonopsis Pilosulae (dang shen) 黨參 – 2 long stalks

Red dates – 20 seeded/pitted= seedless (add more for sweetness and if only you are not heaty)

Black dates – 5-6 (optional)

Black Beans – two big tbsp pre-socked (3-6hrs), discard the soaking water before cooking

Gei ji  (枸子)/Chinese wolberries – 1 tbsp

Water – 1.5-2 litres

Put in slow cooker for 4-6hrs (low). Drink it hot/warm.

Note: For confinement period, they would add ginger to this concoction. ;) 


Enjoy.........lovely pinky lady and lovely drink to boost up our milk supply!

Cheers!