Rubbing Vicks On Soles Of Feet - Part 3

Yesterday was the 5th straight day I applied Vicks on the soles of Alycia's feet and again, she slept soundly and peacefully through the night. Well, I am QUITE convinced now that Vicks did help to prevent the cough. Today, Alycia is feeling much better, her cough has lessened and the phelgm has also reduced. I must also give credit to Manuka Honey. Other factors which contributed to her speedy recovery include :

1) Sleeping in an air-condLESS room
2) Eating plain rice porridge with dishes that are mostly steamed
3) Avoiding heaty food like crackers, pan-fried food, sweet stuff and cold food.
4) Drinking lots of water and barley water
5) Getting enough sleep
6) Lots of praying

However, what works on a child may not work on another child as every child is different.

Tracing On Doodle

Alycia loves drawing and tracing on her Fisher Price doodle. Each morning as Alycia and Sherilyn eat their breakfast, they have a habit of either scribbling on their doodle or have me or my maid read to them or play jigsaw puzzle on the floor or dining table. Learning to scribble and doodle on the Doodle Pro has definitely helped improve Alycia's and Sherilyn's fine motor skills and that's one of the best toys I'd bought them. Best of all, the gals never seem to get bored with it.


Alycia tracing a picture and word from a flashcard on her FP Doodle Pro.


Alycia's 'artwork'.

My Latest Social Lifestyle

Often times, many of my friends and former colleagues ask me where I managed to find time to socialize after I'd ditched my so-called glamarous life as a PA to a big shot to be a stay-at-home-mom to 2 kids 1.5 years ago. Though my social life has reduced but it's not totally gone. I'm actively blogging and have made friends with so many wonderful blogging parents and am also actively involved in online parenting forums and online social network forums and the latest really cool and fabulous forum that I've joined is HerFabLife.

HerFabLife is the latest social lifestyle community for young and hip trend-setters women who are interested in the latest fashion styles, the newest restaurants, bars, spas, salons and retail store openings.

There is even a video that shows how a Japanese lady folding clothes neatly within seconds from HerFabLife website. Wow, amazing.... I will watch the video again to learn the skill from her.

Hey woman, if you'd like to be a part of HerFabLife, what are you waiting for? Go register for FREE now.

Sherilyn and Her Toy Ice-Cream

This is Sherilyn's latest craze and obsession : her toy vanilla flavour ice-cream. Not that it's a brand new toy, daddy bought the gals this toy about 2 months back but for the past few days, Sherilyn has been clutching on to her toy ice-cream everywhere she went, including sleeping with it. When she wasnt looking yesterday, I stealthily took the toy ice-cream away and washed it as it was laced with her saliva, only to have her screaming her lungs out when she couldn't find it the next minute and instead found her ice-cream all wet.

Home-cooked Food

Our dinner yesterday :

Braised chicken with canned green peas, bombay onions, pepper and Lea and Perrin sauce.

Stir-fried baby kailan with diced chicken breast, shredded ginger, organic soya sauce and rice wine.


Hmmm..... perhap I should consider starting a food blog one of these days since I am having so much fun experimenting with food, snapping pix of them and writing about them. Another food for thought.....

Blog Back-Up

Weeks ago, I had posted a query in my blog on how to back-up a blog. Yesterday, I found out from Ai Lian that I can now back-up my blog at www.blogbackuponline.com for FREE!! All you have to do is to create an account, register your blog and you get 50MB free back-up space. You can choose to schedule a daily auto back-up of your blog. My query is finally answered but once the 50MB free storage is utilized, I think the blogger would have to pay for the service.

Thanks Ai Lian once again for the community service!

200th Post

I cant believe that today marks the day I've written my 200th post since I started blogging 2+ months back. I can't believe that I've written so many posts and I'm still enjoying blogging very much. The best part about blogging is that I've made new friends with many wonderful blogging mummies & daddies, besides earning some pocket-money through writing reviews.

Aly and Sher In Church

Alycia and Sherilyn look forward to Sundays because they get to attend Sunday School. They love getting the attention from their sunday school teachers, story-telling, singing sessions and especially getting stickers at the end of the sessions from Jeff and Shir Lin, 2 young and dedicated sunday school teachers.
Jeff and Shir Lin will be tying the knot in 2 weeks' time. Last Sunday, the kids from sunday school did a rehearsal wedding march at the church.


Jeff and Shir Lin giving all the attention to Alycia and Sherilyn



Jeff showing Alycia and Sherilyn how to march to the altar.



The kids in single file, waiting to march to the altar.



Instead of marching in slowly, the kids ran helter-skelter. Definitely not an easy task to teach a bunch of under 5s!

Home-cooked Fried Glass Noodles

On the suggestion of Chin Nee, I stir fried glass noodles for lunch a couple of days ago, minus the suggested preserved vege. I added chicken breast, puffed tofu, cabbage, shredded carrots, 2 eggs, pepper and organic soya sauce. Tasted really good and everyone loved it, especially the gals. Will definitely cook this dish again. Thanks Chin Nee for the suggestion.

Spam E-mail

Lately I've been getting a number of spam e-mails notifying me that i've struck the Lotto, Lottery and Big Sweep.

So if you were to receive such e-mails, would you believe them, a teeny weeny bit?

This is the latest email informing that I've won US$1million, received this morning :


"sapromotions2010@aim.com" to undisclosed-re.
show details Jun 24 (14 hours ago)

AWARD DEPARTMENT
SOUTH AFRICAN LOTTERY UNION INTERNATIONAL PROMOTIONS IN
CONJUCTION WITH COCA COLA COMPANY

2010 WORLD CUP LOTTERY
AWARD DEPARTMENT.
JOHANNESBURG

SOUTH AFRICA.


Ref: PBL/CN/6654/CP.
Coupon No.PBL2348974321

THE 2010 WORLD CUP OFFICIAL PRIZE NOTIFICATION


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You hereby have been approved to claim the sum of $1,000,000.00 (ONE MILLION UNITED STATE DOLLARS) file Ref: FER/8309/1209/26 from the total cash prize of 3,000,000.00 shared amongst three lucky winners based on their category.

All participants "email address" were selected through an internet balloting system drawn from Nine hundred thousand names from Canada,Australia,United States,Asia, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Oceanic as part of our international promotions program which is conducted to Promote first ever world cup in Africa.

This Lottery was promoted and sponsored by some multinational companies and some other EU governmental personalities as part of their social responsibility to promote South Africa 2010 world cup award.

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CLAIMS/PROCESSING MANAGER
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For security reasons, we advice all winners to keep this information confidential from the public until your claim is processed and your prize released to you. This is part of our security protocol to avoid dual claiming and unwarranted advantage of this program by non-participant or unofficial personnel.



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Rubbing Vicks On The Soles Of Feet (Part 2)

Well, i did it again last night. This time, I applied the Vicks just before Alycia went to bed, even before she started to cough and I rubbed small blobs on her back, chest, under her nostrils and of course big blobs of Vicks on the soles of her feet . It was miraculous!!! Alycia fell sound asleep within minutes and soundlessly too all through the night without a sound of cough. I had to wake her up at 9am this morning for her milk and after finishing off her milk, went back to sleep and only woke up at 10.

Well, I'm still still not 100% convinced that Vicks really did the trick. I think it was more of a combined effect of the extra strength Manuka Honey UMF20+ (twice a day) and also sleeping without the air-cond.



This picture was taken this morning with Alycia still in her Vicks covered socks.

Alycia Loves Her Kids' Bible

Alycia loves this kids' bible that sil#2 bought her weeks ago. She is so in love with the book that she begs me to read to her every night.

A couple of nights ago, as I was busy reading to Sherilyn her favourite book, Alycia 'read' the bible to herself. I quickly took out my camera and took a pot-shot of Alycia, so deeply engrossed in the book (more of the pictures actually) that she was frowning as she was reading away. I just hope Alycia will have a life-long love for books.

Homecooked Food

Our dinner yesterday (from top to bottom) :

Pan-fried tempeh, the gals and my favourite. Tempeh is a type of fermented soya bean cake. My maid slices the tempeh into thin squares and pan fries them. A cheap, healthy and crunchy dish packed with protein and calcium. One pack costs only RM1-00.

Stir-fried chinese cabbage with diced chicken breast in soya sauce.

Steamed egg (again) with minced chicken meat, sweet corn kernels, sesame seed oil and spring onions

Steamed pomfret fish. Sauce for the fish consists of soya sauce, ginger and rice wine, sprinkled with spring onions and chinese celery.

All simple to cook, healthy and tasty dishes.

Sugar-free and additives-free Popsicles

The weather here in KL has been sweltering during the day of late. So I fished out the gals' old water-filled teething rings that have been lying in the freezer for almost 1 year+ and let them have fun with them.

They call their frozen teething rings 'ice-cream' and they've been licking and playing with them for 5 straight days without any signs of getting bored with it. Good. At least the old toys are not put to waste.

Rubbing Vicks On The Soles Of Feet

I'm sure most of you would have already read and heard that applying Vicks on the soles of a toddler's feet would help stop a toddler from coughing. I didn't believe it because it didn't sound convincing and logical to me and it's not scientifically proven that it works.

Alycia was coughing, huffing and puffing away directly on my face for a good 1.5 hours last night when finally I told myself that if this continues, neither of us would get to sleep at all. I then remembered reading from a parenting forum and also Big Pumpkin's recent post in her blog that applying Vicks to the soles of the feet can stop a toddler from coughing. So I jumped out from my bed at around 12ish am, turned off the air-cond as the cold air was making Alycia's throat dry and itchy, got my bottle of Vicks and rubbed them on the soles of Alycia's feet, put on socks for her and rubbed a small amount of Vicks on her chest and back as well. Believe it or not, within 15 minutes, she dozed off to lalaland and slept soundly till 8:30 this morning. Well, i'm still not 100% convinced that the Vicks did the trick, i think it was more of a fluke and psychological effect on Alycia's mind. I shall try it again tonight if Alycia continues to cough and if the Vicks still works in stopping her cough, then I shall be convinced.

Please come back for more updates.....

Home-cooked food

Yesterday we had deep fried caterpillars for dinner and they tasted so good. We loved them so much that we licked the platter clean. Look at the pic above, don't they look appetizing?

Gob-smacked, shocked? What on earth is Health Freak Mommy feeding her kids with? Has you gone crazy from an overdoze of blogging? Gotcha... I was just kidding! Don't they look like fried caterpillars or some exotic bugs that you see on Fear Factor?

Those are pan-fried fish roe. I love them but my gals don't really fancy them but still eats them. Normally my maid and I would feast on them. Good source of protein and just one of the perfect food for an Atkin's follower.

Tag : My 7 Vanity Sense Facts

You Are 52% Vain

You're a little vain, but more than anything you have a healthy amount of confidence. Thinking the world of yourself is great. Just don't think less of those who aren't as pretty as you!

How Vain Are You?

HipnCoolMomma passed this tag to me. To do this tag, I am supposed to take a test comprising a short questionnaire on my vanity and boy... I am surprised that I am ONLY 52% vain. I'd thought that I'd be 70% and above vain. Those who know me well enough knows that I am indeed a vain-pot, since my primary school days. Theimperfectmom can testify to that.

Here are my 7 vanity / fashion sense facts :

1) I am very particular about my face/complexion. I can tolerate no zits or blackheads or any flaws on my face and thus, I try to eat and drink healthily, sometimes I become fanatic about what I eat and drink. I drink approximately 12 glasses of PLAIN water a day and that excludes 2 cups of green tea, 1 cup of skim milk and 2 bowls of home-cooked soup a day.

2) I am very particular about my hair coz they are very fine and flimsy, like babies' hair, so they are hard to style and always get out of place. Because of this, I tend to brush my hair very frequently but oh, since my 2 gals came along, I'd ditched my big brush from my totebag and have since replaced it with wet wipes and Dettol wipes (for wiping public toilet seats for Alycia to use in public). Theimperfectmom can also testify to this. She used to be my chief hairstylist back in school and man she is good, just like her koo mah.

3) I am super weight-conscious and I think I had mentioned this before, I weigh myself on the scale at LEAST twice a day and sometimes more. If ever the red needle on my scale moves slightly to the right, boy, that's a red flag for me and i know it's time for me to jog an extra 10 minutes the following day.

4) I like to wear sleeveless tops, mainly spaghetti straps or tube tops (but now my tubes are temporarily shelved BUT will be BACK in use when I no longer have to carry Sherilyn my lil' brat who sometimes demands to be carried). No, not that I am deliberately inviting wolves to gawk at me but I am one person who cannot stand the hot sweltering Malaysian weather, so that's the reason why I love wearing as thin a layer of clothes as I am permitted to so that I feel cool and comfortable. My man is quite possessive and jealous wan and dont like his wifey to be whistled and slobbered at by sake long.

5) I used to put on eye shadow, mascara and perfume when I go out but now, I just can't squeeze in enought time to do that. My must-haves before I leave my house is simple.... baby powder on my face, my blusher, liner for my faint coloured eyebrows and a thin layer of lipbalm or lipstick.

6) I use a good toner and moisturizer for my face and I use Lancome.

7) I squeeze a tiny amount of lemon juice on my face as astringent every week to tighthen and detox my face. I read somewhere that lemon juice is a great 'food' for the skin. I also apply cool cucumber slices on my eyes whenever I slice up some for my gals to snack on.

8) One more bonus fact for my readers. I brush my teeth after almost every meal. I used to keep a bottle of Listerine and a pack of dental floss at my office drawer when I was still working and whenever I didn't have time to brush my teeth, Listerine and dental floss came in handy. I absolutely abhor bad breath and body odour.

Now let me see who will be my next target to pass this tag to.

Big Pumpkin... you look good. I am curious to know your vanity secrets. Don't run away from this tag ah.
LZ Mommy
Baby Shern... again. How can I leave you out. Dont be angry ah?
Malaika's mum
Mommibee... you look gorgeous. I want to know your beauty tips too.

Pasta

Yesterday, I cooked penne pasta with blended tomatoes, bombay onions and minced chicken meat for the gals' lunch.

Even Ms Pukey Spitty Spat Sherilyn loved it and finished her small bowl of pasta, though she spat out some of the chicken meat.

For instant quick and easy to cook spaghetti sauce, can also try Prego Tomato and Basil spaghetti sauce. Taste better than my homemade blended tomato sauce but packed with additives.

Alycia Is Learning To Speak Intelligibly

Scenario 1
Yesterday evening as I was combing Alycia's hair after her bath, she said this to me :

Alycia : Mum, today is so precious...... (and gives me a lovely smile)

Me : Why do you say so?

Alycia : Because today is so lovely.

Me : Lovely.... why do you say today is lovely?

Alycia : Because God made today so lovely and it's so windy and din rain.

I had brought the gals to the park yesterday evening as the weather was fine and they had a swell time playing there. So, I guess she's had a very enjoyable and happy time and therefore concluded that the day was so precious and lovely.


Scenario 2
Yesterday morning as I was all wrapped up working on my computer, Alycia asked me to open up her toy school bus which was folded. This was our conversation :

Alycia : Mum, can you please open up my bus for me?

Me : Ok.... give me 1 minute k.

Alycia : No, i want now.

Me : Later k.

She then ran to the kitchen and asked kakak to open up the bus for her . My maid who was outside at the wet kitchen cooking said "later" to her. Alycia then ran back to the hall.

Alycia : Kakak said she's busy.

Me : Uh huh.....

Alycia : (grunting out her frustration) WHY is everyone busy? Kakak said she's busy, you are busy, why is everyone always busy (and almost in tears)?

When she said that, man I tell you I was gob-smacked and guilt stricken. How could I have ignored my poor baby when she's just asking me to get her her toy? I then sprung up from my computer chair and opened up the toy for her. Alycia sure knows how to make me feel damn guilty and bad. My baby is growing up fast.

I Am A Grown-Up

One of Alycia's favourite sentences is "mummy, I am a grown-up now". She loves doing things that we grown-ups do and takes every opportunity to help out in the kitchen from washing the dishes, cleaning the sink, wiping the counter and the most recent one, shelling an egg. Most times she messed things up... instead of helping to wash the dishes, she wets her clothes and almost floods the kitchen floor and she would squash up the bar soap and gets chunks of soap stuck in her fingernails or pumps out ounces of detergent just to wash 1 cup or 1 teaspoon.

But I have to say, Alycia does a good job shelling hard-boiled eggs for herself every morning and to her, shelling her own egg is no mean feat. She even knows how to rinse off the remnance of the shell from the egg after she's done with the shelling and pick up the pieces of shell from the sink to throw into the dustbin. That saves me a lot of work and she has so much fun with it.

Maybe I should consider boiling a pot of eggs for her & Sherilyn to shell when I need to get some work done. That can keep them occupied for at least half an hour and then we can all have hard-boiled eggs for lunch and dinner. Hmmm... another food for thought :)