Tag Archives: raising a boy

An attempt at #mincibento

Posted in Food and Drinks, Mini Project, Parenting, Family and Relationships by

I am a fan of anything or anyone close to Kawaii (cuteness). That I have to constantly remind myself ,

“Minci..for gods sake. You are 31. Not 3”

I tried to tone down in allowing myself to be carried away with Kawaii-ness. I used a proper black Faber Castell Ball Pen 1423 1.0 although I am dying to use a ballpen with cute little trolls sitting at the edge when clerking my patients. I recently purchased 2 pairs of court shoes on sale (buy 2 for MYR80) despite wanting to parade around the whole Casualty Unit with striking heels heavily adorned with flowers and buttons. I wear proper professional clothing fit for the budaya koprat thingy as opposed to a gothic- lolita like dress with purple lipstick in the Red Zone.

An account on Instagram for the past few months however, shone an alternative way to channel these Kawaii-ness tendencies in a healthy, adult-y manner. I mean look at those adorable planners with stickers, the mind-blowing arrangement of books, the intricate designs of colourful cakes and pastries .. and my recent obsession; Bento Meals!

Bento Meals which not only looked cute but presumably healthy at the same time. I have to admit, it does require a hint of talent and creativity to produce such masterpiece! And it made me wonder and actually tried to korek that bit of bakat which I hoped is there. I know its there somewhere. Please.. I want to make my own bento..

Since I am on leave today. I decided to give it a go with the little tools I have and ones I manage to find from Daiso. Imagine this was Japan, I could get euphoric from the many available kits they sell there!

Recipe : Beef Rice with Beef Kurma Kismis

Inspired from Chef Hanieliza’s 1 hari 1 Resepi book ..

tweaked to suit the palate of a Sarawakian and her toddler.

20141218_121115

A child version VS an adult version. ironic how the kids set looks bigger.. and heftier.

Recently Updated12

Followed by dessert : Corn and Raspberry Ice Cream served in a halved-cone with sprinkles.

Recently Updated13

Looking forward to making more #mincibento. Hehe..

Hazeeq morphing into a Terrible 3

Posted in Parenting, Family and Relationships by

In toddler-ship, there’s the Tantrum Two and a Terrible Three. At 3, these little humans are more than capable to express their feelings and ideas although really, kids say the darndest things! Almost every gritty ritual per diem becomes more magnanimous, opulent and of paparazzi material. The right leg needs to step in the pants holes first before the left. The coloured pencils must be arranged with always the green one first in line. He demands a picture taken for everything – while eating, pooh-ing even. And most importantly, always seeking recognition for their efforts, acknowledgements for their actions and words.

“mummy tengok eh ” (mummy.. look at me)

“bukan monyetlah.. haiwan” (no mummy, its not a monkey.. its an animal)

Bday EE

Last night I was tucking my son into bed for the umpteenth time. Mr Husband has given up and was already snoring in his corner of the bed. All was cozy and ‘complete’ for bedtime.It was just after 9PM. Hazeeq was in his choice of pyjamas – a 2013 white baju melayu, wrapped in his favourite blanket – a KFC free gift blue Doraemon blanket and surrounded by his toys – an army of 5 mini Ultraman figurines together with one Ultraman half his size.

Then His Royal Highness wanted his bedtime milk. This time not in a bottle. He wanted it served in a cup. Just like Upin Ipin.

“Ee dah besar.. Ee minum cawan” (im a big boy, I want to drink in a cup)

Fine then, so be it. I handed him the mug, he gulped down a precise 3 gulps and then gave me back the mug.

“EE dah kenyang. Simpan” (I am full, keep it)

Disappointed that he didn’t finish his milk, I still obliged to his request and kept the remaining milk in the fridge. Few minutes later, he became all upset and hissy.

“Kenapa mummy simpan dlm peti ais.. simpan atas meja.. Ee haus.”

(why did you keep it in the fridge, put it on the table. Im thirsty)

So I took out the milk from the fridge – still lukewarm – placed the cup slowly in his hands and he drank it till half empty. And boy, he has the most adorable milk moustache ever! I was careful this time to put the cup on the dressing table. He was content and this time managed to get his sleep. I finished off the rest of the milk after adding in a bit of cocoa powder.

Kids at 3, hard to please!

Hazeeq is 3

Posted in Everyday Life, Food and Drinks, Good Things, Parenting, Family and Relationships by

I am an enthusiastic mother when it comes to birthdays but I have long accepted that I have no talent in baking my own 3-D cake with fondants and all. Nor am I gifted in making those pretty party decorations and goody bags. Hazeeq doesn’t even have friends outside the family and as of my proper friends.. well, we are too far away and most of them would be oncall or doing something with their family. Ha ha ha. Lumrah berkawan with doktores… 

So it was a weekend birthday without the mat salleh thrills and frills. No clowns unless you count my silly jokes – the one that make cheeky kids go ‘HAr Har Har’ weakly.  We finally managed to set our foot at IKEA and the new mall in town – IOI City Putrajaya.

Mr Husband insisted that I try the famous Ikea Meatballs. He said it was a 7/10.

meatball.. satu seringgit

I had to ask,

“So which meatball gets a 10”

“Yours..”

Of course, I have always known the meatballs I make are wonderful to his palate. It’s like the one and only gift God decided to give me over any other meals. Why can’t it be lasagna!! Huahuahua. Any culinary challenged person like myself could easily make one though. Mince meat + holland onions (lots) with loads of black pepper. Nyum nyum. 

On the other hand.. at IOI City Mall, we tried to window shop each floor but it was just too massive. I gave up after Daiso and Parkson. I was itching to buy a pair of court shoes but none of them were screaming a confident ‘BUY ME!!” to my face. So few dollars saved there but I splashed it on the birthday lunch – at JOhnny’s steamboat restaurant. I am pretty convinced that if my mother was there (she had another social function to attend to), she could replicate the recipe with a mere lick of the sauce. She is that talented!

Bday EE2

It wouldn’t have been a perfect birthday weekend if it wasn’t because of the cake. My younger sister bought it from her trusted bakery Berry’s – a Japanese chocolate cheese cake and oh em gee.. it was the best cheese choc cake ever. Kalah Secret Recipe. The 2 hyperthyroid Doraemon as cake toppers was a good touch but turns out too creepy to eat. I mean.. look at the eyes. It looks like its gonna pop out anytime!

Bday EE3

Well son, you may not remember this once you reach 7 but I hope you know how much we love you judging from the adorable pictures we took of you. Mummy hope that you will learn a lot of good things as you grow up, to be gracious to others and be content with what you have. To always strive for greatness but never to forget remain rooted to the ground, as we all come from the same humble beginnings.

Mummy love you very much and will try to get you a new adik to play with. *grin*

He ask, I answer

Posted in Everyday Life by

Kids are plain confusing. I just can’t decide how I feel about them at times. There are moments when you love them to bits and just want to play with them for the whole day. And there are rare but definitive hours when you feel like asking them to shut up. And leave me alone. And stop peeking at me while I shower.

Hazeeq is at an age where he loves to ask questions. I sometimes wonder is it because he is that smart and inquisitive or he’s just being plain annoying. He likes to ask ” why this and that “. And if I don’t respond appropriately, he’d complain and say “mummy cakaplah betul2”. Like.. omg.. how am I going to top that.

Recently, he is really into this Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride movie. He calls it cerita kakak biru. Since it’s fiction, obviously things are unreal thus not compatible to real life situations. It gets more difficult in trying to explain things like;

“kenapa kakak mati”

“kenapa mata kakak cabut masa nangis”

Sometimes a question is asked repetitively despite the answer given. I almost felt like I’m a contestant on Super Spontan playing that bell game. Ya know.. where the players have to give a different response to the same scenario when the bell rings.

It gets more challenging on weekends when you have more hours to spare for a movie marathon. That’s when I have to be creative in submitting my answers to My Curious One. Ha ha. As of now, I shall collect my thoughts and organize my information while doing a bit of laundry as I wait for my boy to rise from his slumber..

eecomot

Subjective pain

Posted in Everyday Life, Parenting, Family and Relationships by

I got home to a crying Hazeeq post-call. He was sobbing and clinging on to Mr Husband like a koala. I asked what was the problem. Mr Husband responded cheekily,

“He fell. Got an abrasion wound on his left knee but is wailing like he’s got an open fracture”

HA HA HA. My drama king son!

EE merajuk

He walked like a cripple the whole day – saying he can’t walk. And we kept reassuring this boy that there is nothing wrong with his leg. He of course does not agree. He forgot about the leg for a while after watching his favourite cartoon. He wanted to run to the fridge to get his Vitagen until that ‘pain on knee extension’ kicks in and there he goes – crying again. He merajuk. He doesn’t want a cute plaster even! He chose to be sulky.

I was more worried that he wouldn’t want to take his shower – but this brave young man said to me,

“Mummy, jom mandi. buang itam”
(mom.. lets go shower. Clean the black thing)

.. this is referring to his wound of course.

He kind of showered himself with special attention to the wound. He drizzled so much water on it, probably hoping that that it will peel off his skin. After a lather of soap and more water, we pat the wound dry and dressed him in his pajamas. I put on his long pants thus concealing the wound and all of a sudden, he can walk almost straight to the kitchen! Still on tiptoes and bent knees but more upright and at a faster pace.

That was when I realized that to him,  Pain will only manifest when it is something he can see. Once I covered up the wound, his pain dissipated and almost went away.

And the next morning, he was already jumping on the bed!