Diary of a "Domestic Engineer"

2009-07-02T20:44:00.000-07:00

Migrating to http://lunchbox-thoughts.blogspot.com/

J's Monologue

2009-07-01T18:55:00.000-07:00

J decided to do a monologue when he found out that the webcam was running. Witness his funny antics.

Cough, cough

2009-06-28T16:00:00.000-07:00

J's been coughing for a week now. His asthma meds are not providing any relief, whether it's via the puffer or the nebulizer. His cough sounded wet but he claimed to have no phlegm. I cut an Asian pear in half, removed the core and put a tablespoon of honey in each piece then I steamed the fruits on medium high heat for about 45 minutes. It tasted a bit sourish sweet and the texture was between soft and hard. Not really yummy but I forced J to eat the first piece for breakfast this morning. To my surprise, his cough improved. I made him eat the other piece before we left the house for Walmart. He didn't cough much until he came home.

I made another batch just now. A pot with a piece of pork and goji berries are being boiled on the stove for dinner. I also bought some salted duck egg to be consumed with porridge tomorrow. Supposedly peas are also good for dry cough so I will try that another time.

Any wind aggravates his cough and he knows that. He tells me to turn off the fan whenever he gets 'wind' of it. hehehe.

Nary a Tear

2009-06-24T09:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was L's first treatment at Dr. Chen's. The good doctor, nurse and I were bracing ourselves for wails (as in J's case) but were pleasantly surprised by L's silence. He endured the treatment stoically. The tears did threaten as Dr. Chen moved to his scalp but again, he bravely sat through it. We were very impressed and at that moment, my heart flooded with gratitude - thankful that L was such a brave boy. I resolved to reward L for his courage and promised to try to get him "Star Wars Clone Walkers" lego set although I had banned all future purchases due to overflooding of the current lego toys.

L sat for about 10 minutes and after which, he decided to lie down on his belly. He stayed in this position till the end of the 45 minutes. I think there were about 8 needles along his spine and 2 in his scalp. After removing the needles, the doctor massaged L's back and scalp. I saw tiny pin holes on his back. I will try a small dose of ledum before we go in the future. I hope that will not interfere with Dr. Chen's treatments.

I asked L if it hurt. He said it did in the beginning but shook his head at the end. Perhaps J will try it again in the future, when he's older and possesses a thicker skin.

PS. We went to ToysRUs and bought the lego set for him. It was about $3 more than other places but I didn't care because L deserved it. He was so happy.

Crickets and Clay

2009-06-20T23:47:00.000-07:00

J pestered me for a pet. I tried to side-step him by saying that he does have pets - his soft toys. "I want a real pet," J clarified. I pointed out to him that he didn't help out with the cleaning of the pet cage when Hammy the hamster was alive. He promised that he would this time round. Again, I tried to distract him by telling him he has a pond of fishes outside. "I want it inside."

That afternoon, we went for a walk, looking for possible pet candidates. We could only find pillbugs and snails. Snails will have to do. Four snails holed up in a small clear plastic cage along with some leaves. They left a trail of slime and after an hour or two, Jin turned his nose up at the smell. The snails happily slunk away to freedom after that.

Next day, we dropped by at Petco to purchase a small container of "gut-load" crickets. $4.99 for 8 bugs?? What a rip-off. They ought to be grateful to escape from being lizard chow and instead be pets to a happy 5 year old. Let's hope the crickets survive the next few weeks to satiate his desire to be a pet-owner.

Bought a bucket of air-dry clay today. Three of us sat at the dining table concentrating on our creations. L came up with 2 crickety cups and some "beans." J created a bunch of er ... figurines. I made a small bowl and a human figurine that sits on an edge. A few hours into the drying, J's figurines started losing their arms. There was no instructions on the bucket so I searched online and found a video about the product. Turns out one has to wet the parts prior to attaching them. I wished they had put that on their label. Good thing I still have half of the clay left. We'll try more tomorrow. At the meantime, we'll have to use our trusty old glue to adhere the pieces together.

Hands, hands, hands and Feet

2009-06-20T19:12:00.000-07:00

A page out of my sketchbook. I wish I have a better hand model. My fingers are stubby and ugly.

Teaching Ahead of the Class

2009-04-02T08:40:00.001-07:00

L's teacher gives homework the Friday before the week. I would look through the homework and teach him over the weekend. I learned to give him many examples but also to leave the work on the white board so he can refer to it later on.

I cannot stress the importance of examples. He learns by seeing patterns and constant revision of the work. I write the examples on the white board but also in a notebook with blank instead of lined paper. Lined paper seems is a bit distracting, even for me.

I have also since made him work harder on inferring answers from the text. It was a real struggle at the beginning but he's slowly making progress. It pains me to see him having to work so hard with meager results but that's the only way I could think to stimulate his brain. He tries to delay his tasks by giving me excuses but I would not allow it.

Let's hope he can understand and answer questions in the STAR tests.

5 Ways Parents Can Handle Their Anger

2009-03-15T10:02:00.000-07:00

Found this article at http://www.askdrsears.com/html/6/t061800.asp

It is a real helpful article on anger management for parents and I've copied the whole article here in case the link gets changed.

5 WAYS PARENTS CAN HANDLE THEIR ANGER

1. Heal your angry past

Parenting can be therapeutic. It can show you where your problems are and motivate you to fix them. If your past is loaded with unresolved anger, take steps to heal yourself before you wind up harming your child. Studies have shown that children whose mothers often express anger are more likely to be difficult to discipline. Identify problems in your past that could contribute to present anger. Were you abused or harshly punished as a child? Do you have difficulty controlling your temper? Do you sense a lack of inner peace? Identify present situations that are making you angry, such as dissatisfaction with job, spouse, self, child. Remember, you mirror your emotions. If your child sees a chronically angry face and hears an angry voice, that's the person he is more likely to become.

2. Keep your perspective

Every person has an anger button. Some parents are so anger prone that when they explode the family dog hides. Try this exercise. First, divide your children's "misbehaviors" into smallies (nuisances and annoyances) which are not worth the wear and tear of getting angry about, and biggies (hurting self, others, and property) which demand a response, for your own sake and your child's.

Next, condition yourself so that you don't let the smallies bother you. Here are some "tapes" to play in your mind the next time you or your child spills something:

"I'm angry, but I can control myself."

"Accidents happen."

"I'm the adult here."

"I'm mad at the mess, not the child."

"I'll keep calm, and we'll all learn something."

Rehearse this exercise over and over by play acting. Add in some lines for you to deliver:

"oops! I made a mess."

"I'll grab a towel."

"It's ok! I'll help you clean it up." You may notice a big contrast between this and what you heard as a child. You may also notice it won't be as easy as it sounds.

When a real-life smallie occurs, you're more conditioned to control yourself. You can take a deep breath, walk away, keep cool, plan your strategy and return to the scene. For example, a child smears paint on the wall. You have conditioned yourself not to explode You're naturally angry and it's helpful for your child to see your displeasure. You go through your brief "no" lecture firmly, but without yelling. Then you call for a time-out. Once you have calmed down, insist the child (if old enough) help you clean up the mess. Being in control of your anger gives your child the message, "Mommy's angry, and she has a right to be this way. She doesn't like what I did, but she still likes me and thinks I'm capable enough to help clean up after myself."

We find going into a rage is often harder on us than the child. It leaves us feeling drained. Oftentimes, it's our after-anger feeling that bothers us more than the shoe thrown into the toilet. Once we realized that we could control our feelings more easily than our children can control their behavior, we were able to endure these annoying stages of childhood, and life with our kids became much easier. And when we do get mad at a child, we don't let the anger escalate until we become furious at ourselves for losing control.

Mad at child
Mad at self
More mad at child for causing you to get mad at yourself
Mad at being mad

You can break this cycle at any point to protect yourself and your child.

3. Make anger your ally

Emotions serve a purpose. Healthy anger compels you to fix the problem, first because you're not going to let your child's behavior go uncorrected, and second because you don't like how the child's misbehavior bothers you. This is helpful anger. I have always had a low tolerance for babies' screams. At around age fifteen months our eighth child, Lauren, developed an ear-piercing shriek that sent my blood pressure skyrocketing. Either my tolerance was decreasing or my ears were getting more tender with age, but Lauren's cry pushed my anger button. I didn't like her for it. I didn't like myself for not liking her. It might have been easier to deal with the problem if I had not been feeling angry. But because I was angry and realized it affected my attitude toward Lauren, I was impelled to do something about her cry, which I believed was an unbecoming behavior that didn't fit into this otherwise delightful little person. So instead of focusing on how much I hated those sounds, I focused on what situations triggered the shrieks. I tried to anticipate those triggers. I discovered that when Lauren was bored, tired, hungry, or ignored, she shrieked. She is a little person who needs a quick response and the shriek got it for her. My anger motivated me to learn creative shriek-stoppers. I've become a wiser parent. Lauren has become nicer to be around. That's helpful anger.

Anger becomes harmful when you don't regard it as a signal to fix the cause. You let it fester until you dislike your feelings, yourself, and the person who caused you to feel this way. You spend your life in a tiff over smallies that you could have ignored or biggies that you could have fixed. That's harmful anger.

4. Quit beating yourself up

Often anger flares inwardly, as well as outwardly, over something that you don't like; but upon reflection, after a lot of energy is spent emoting, you actually realize that the situation as it stands now is actually better for everyone concerned. This "hindsight" keeps us humble and helps us diffuse future flare-ups. Our motto concerning irritating mistakes has become: "Nobody's perfect. Human nature strikes again."

5. Beware of high-risk situations that trigger anger
Are you in a life situation that makes you angry? If so, you are at risk for venting your anger on your child. Losing a job or experiencing a similar self-esteem-breaking event can make you justifiably angry. But realize that this makes it easier for otherwise tolerable childish behaviors (smallies) to push you over the edge. When you're already angry, smallies easily become biggies. If you are suddenly the victim of an anger-producing situation, it helps to prepare your family: "I want you all to understand that daddy may be upset from to time during the next couple of months. I've just lost my job and I feel very anxious about it. I will find another job, and we'll all be okay, but if I have a short fuse and get angry at you sometimes, it's not because I don't love you, it's because I'm having trouble liking myself..." If you do blow your top, it's wise to apologize to your children (and expect similar apologies from them when they lose their tempers): "Pardon me, but I'm angry, and if I don't appear rational or appreciative, it's because I'm struggling—it's not your fault. I'm not mad at you." It also helps to be honest with yourself, recognize your vulnerability and keep your guard up until the anger-causing problem is resolved. There will always be problems in your life that you cannot control. As you become a more experienced parent—and person—you will come to realize that the only thing in your life that you can control are your own actions. How you handle anger can work for you or against you—and your child.

Video of the boys

2009-02-24T16:07:00.000-08:00

Halloween '08 around the corner. Instead of buying plastic masks, I made batman masks for both the boys. Topped it off with a black cape I made awhile back, you get a pretty good batman outfit.

J loves Mr. Freeze character from Batman. We cut up some cardboard boxes, hot-glued some paper rings (from paper towels) and sprayed the whole thing silver. V made a cool freeze ray gun.

Here is a video of L being cartoonish:

"I don't have any friends"

2009-02-06T10:54:00.000-08:00

"I don't have any friends." He said it this time but with tears. My heart just dropped. Poor L. It came after a fight with J. J knew that L had been sad in the past about not having friends and yet he brought it up. I could smack J then.

I reminded myself that L might be hyperlexic. This might be a forecast of L's social life. How do I deal with it?

I sat L down next to me on the bed and hugged him. With our arms linked, I explained to him that sometimes it's hard to find a friend. If not this year, maybe next. At the meantime, he has friends in his family - Dad, J and me.

Poor L. I wish I could protect him but I know I can't. He has to go through the pains of not having any friend so that he'll appreciate it when he gets a friend. He'll make a loyal friend, I believe. I look forward to seeing him grow.

Anatomically correct drawing by Lil' J

2009-01-28T20:33:00.000-08:00

J drew a pic of mommy today. I was shocked to see it. I asked him where my eyes were and he pointed to the head ... which leaves the other two er... circles to be other parts of the body. Oh dear ... and he's only 5.

This afternoon, I was intensely following origami instructions when J suddenly stuck his fingers under my nose. Something funky wafted into my nostrils and I jerked away. Apparently lil' J decided to scratch his other end and share his 'booty' with me. I made him wash his hands with soap and banned all bottom nudity no matter how itchy or hot he is in the nether regions.

Highlighters are a good thing

2009-01-22T07:15:00.000-08:00

L always missed some part of the instructions in his exercises / tests. This has been going on for a few years. There were times that it drove me up the wall because points were deducted for incomplete work.

I decided to highlight the instructions and keywords in his books a few weeks ago. Boy, what a difference. Right now, I only hope that he'll get it in his head to consciously look for instructions in his tests.

Hyper-what?

2009-01-18T22:17:00.000-08:00

For the first few weeks of school, L struggled with his schoolwork. I found him asking basic questions like, "What is sum?" Or, not knowing how to answer "When" and "How" questions ... questions that require abstract thinking. I tried to teach him like any other normal kid but he was not grasping it. Something was not right. I read a book, "Overcoming dyslexia: a new and complete science-based program for reading problems at any level" by Shaywitz, Sally E. L's symptoms did not fully match a dyslexic. However, a paragraph on hyperlexics caught my attention. http://www.hyperlexia.org provided more information.

Hyperlexia is the opposite of dyslexia. Hyperlexics can read but have difficulty understanding the passages. L fits most of the symptoms. He has poor auditory memory (can't remember long instructions) and difficulty understanding abstract concepts. Difficulty answering "wh" questions esp. the "why" and "how". I find L echoing sentences without understanding the words. Eg. "You are not the boss of me!" He doesn't know "boss" can also mean "leader."

I started modifying my teaching method drastically. I no longer assume that he comprehends anything he reads. The book: Reading Too Soon: How to Understand and Help the Hyperlexic Child by Susan M. Miller (Paperback - Sep 1, 1993) really helped. Every reading material for L has to be pared down to simple explanations. I will write about the different methods in future blogs.

His teacher is also very very helpful. I can't say how grateful I am that she gives me the reading material early in the week so that I can work with L. The next few weeks, we saw L's marks improve. He is now averaging in the 90% in his LA tests. He is also getting better at word math problems.

I had an IEP meeting with his speech therapist and regular classroom teacher before Christmas. I requested L to be evaluated for "Resource Support." That means, he gets pulled out to a resource room where a teacher will help him with his homework. These classes are for children who are struggling with their schoolwork, usually children with learning disorders. I also requested his ST to include social skills lessons into her curriculum with L which she complied easily.

Early January, the ST requested an extended IEP mtg with the school psychiatrist and resource teacher. Because of L's good progress, they felt that he didn't need to be evaluated for disorders but did suggest that our pediatrician look for the possibility of ADHD. He also didn't qualify for the resource support. I had a feeling that this was going to happen. I wasn't that bummed out about their decision. I am just glad that I found something that worked at home with L and I can tailor the lessons to fit him.

Home-made Sewing Table!

2008-10-06T08:59:00.000-07:00

The first year of my request, he went out to buy cherry wood for the top and the lift mechanism. I had wanted something that's small but can be opened up to large space and he promised me that he would make it. By the end of the second year, the table had yet to be seen. He told me to just buy one but I held back. Then, I started doing lots of sewing -- quilts, altering pants, making pants and had hijacked the desk and later on, the dining table. There was no place to eat dinner together and I was getting tired of that so I told him that I would buy one. I had it all picked out. I wanted the sylvia 810Q that looks like the picture here.

It costs quite a bit but I was desperate. I really wanted something that can hide the sewing table. After DH saw the price tag, he said he would make it himself and to asked me to give him a few weekends. I scoffed. However, what can I do now but to give him ANOTHER chance? "Wait, I had to," said my yoda voice.

A few weekends later, he produced this:

None of the nice cherry wood. It's all ply woods or MDFs. Heavy as heck. Very sturdy. If the roof were to collapse on the house, this hunk of furniture would still be in one piece. That's how sturdy it is. He and his friend will move it into the house later. I can't wait to try it out. I just hope they don't drop it on their toes.

L's Crazy Log Cabin Quilt

2008-10-06T08:45:00.000-07:00

L wanted me to make him a quilt since he saw the quilts I made for J and myself. So, I decided to make a 2-toned Crazy Log Cabin Quilt.

Bought 2 different pattern fabric for this quilt. It has a white muslin backing. There are 48 blocks. I miscalculated and made 72 blocks so I have enough blocks for another quilt. It took a long time because each pair was cut individually. I rushed through the quilting process and as a result, some parts were bunched up and didn't look that clean. From afar, it looked nice though. It had turned out better than I expected. Perhaps next summer, I will make a quilt for DH.

I was running out of large scraps so I had to join some fabric together for the borders. Not bad although I would've preferred to have a uniform border rather than scrappy ones. All in all, not a bad project.

Frozen Pie: Claim Jumper's Restaurant Banana Cream Pie from frozen section

2008-10-03T17:33:00.000-07:00

I wanted to get DH a cake to celebrate his 36th birthday but didn't have the time to go to the bakery later on in the day. Instead, I made a blueberry pancake, stuck a candle in it and woke the kids up to sing "Happy Birthday" to him. He wasn't grinning from ear to ear. Bah!

After dropping both kids off at school, I headed to the grocery store to get fruits and vegies. As I wandered around the frozen section, a big box of Banana Cream Pie caught my attention. Furthermore, it was on-sale. All the pie baking competitions I watched on Food Network Challenge for the past 3 days have stimulated my cravings for pies. I've never had any pie besides apple and pumpkin pies. I bought the banana cream pie. When I came home, I took a good look at the box. It said "Claim Jumper's Restaurant Banana Cream Pie: Made with REAL bananas." Cool! Should be healthy, right? Wrong! I found some recipes on-line and they all said the same main ingredients: cream, eggs, BUTTER, sugar ... where are the bananas? The bananas were sliced unto the crust or on top of the filling. So ... it should be "Cream Pie with a few slices of bananas."

Anyway, I digressed. That night we took the first bite excitedly. I don't know if it's bananas or vanilla. The box clearly stated bananas. I guess it did taste good especially if you've not had any sort of unhealthy desserts for a while. Bananas - when frozen or cooked do not look yellow. I don't know what kind of bananas they used to maintain it's bright yellow color or how they cooked it ... or if it's bananas or real banana extract / flavoring.

I vow to try a REAL banana cream pie from a real pie store. I know there's a Baker's Square a few miles away. After I'm sure that I've burnt away the calories from this pie, I'm going to fly there and get myself a REAL pie.

By the way, I've never had a fresh pie before. Thus far, all the pies I've eaten came from the frozen section at the grocery's. They've not made any favorable impressions on me. I should just stick to ice-cream only.

Bra Fitting Experience

2008-09-30T21:03:00.000-07:00

To the tune of Baa Baa Black Sheep: "Bra Bra Bad Fit" ...

I've been wearing 34D after having J. A few weeks after putting on the new bras, I started getting shoulder and backaches. I re-adjusted the band to the tightest but it continued to ride up my back. The straps would hurt my shoulders because I shortened them to support my breasts. I started to question if the size was correct.

A few years ago, I went to JC Penney's because they advertised about their bra fitting specialist being on-site all the time. The woman gingerly measured me and pronounced me a 32C. I told her C was too tight but she wouldn't believe me and insisted that I was clearly a C. I ignored her and bought 34D. She obviously didn't know her under-wares. hehehe ...

Three weeks ago, I went to Macy's because of the same reason I went to JC Penney's the first place. This time, I had a totally different experience. The woman measured my ribcage SNUGLY, right under my breasts. With that, she said 32. Then she measured around my breasts lightly. Like a chinese old man, she muttered to herself and pronounced me a 32DD. She explained that a DD of one band size is the D of the next band size so depending on the style of the bras, I should try 32DDs and 34Ds. She interviewed me about my preferred styling and handed me a bunch of bras. Of all the bras I tried, wacoal Feather Embroidery Full Figure bra was the only one that provided the best support and lift. My shoulders didn't feel the ache and the band stayed on me. I was overjoyed and certainly very very grateful to her expertise and patience.

She further explained that one bra maker might use a different sizing - slightly smaller or bigger than the actual cup size. That's when experience comes in. She knew which brand runs small or large. Wacoal apparently is true to size in her experience although there were some styles that actually ran small when I was trying them on. She also mentioned that certain bras 'lift' your boobs up HIGH and they are nicknamed 'pillow bras' because the boobs look like they are resting on pillows. I tried one on and ooh ... they were perky! They would prevent food from spilling on the floor should it drip from my mouth.

There are two ways to measure the bra: the under bust or above the bust:

Under: http://www.herroom.com/bra-fitting-advice,901,30.html
Above: http://www.barenecessities.com/fit_sizing.asp

I've always bought bras that cost around $30 but this time, I paid double. We will find out if you get what you paid for. I also bought another bra : Wacoal Bodysuede Full Figure Seamless bra.

It's amazing how different you look with good supportive bras. Your girls are held up higher thus people can see your waist and it gives the illusion that you're skinnier than you should be. We all want that, don't we?

Gluten Free Blueberry Pancake

2008-09-29T17:37:00.000-07:00

So.

J loves pancake and blueberries so I decided to get frozen blueberries to make blueberry pancake. You figure that since he loved both by themselves, he'd like them combined. Nope. L, on the other hand, loved the blueberry pancake.

Oh, and I think I made a mistake with the pancake recipe. I must have accidentally omitted the milk so the batter was thicker and the pancake came out heartier. It certainly tasted good. Since I don't remember the mistake, I will have to test it out again.

I have about 2 C of frozen blueberries left. I've made banana blueberry smoothies, blueberry pancakes and blueberry muffins. I'm still wondering what I else I can do with the rest of the blueberries.

I also started learning to pack lunch bento style. I bought some smaller lock-lock containers and silicone cupcake holder. I try to make the food visually appealing by combining colorful fruits and separating the rice and other food items. Happily, L and J have wolfed them all down. I should take some pictures. They're plain but much better (look and taste) than last school term's lunch.

L is also reacting to the air in the classroom. He needs his inhalers twice daily. It is really unfortunate because he was doing so well during the last month of the summer holidays. As for J - his eczema is still bothering him. We've tried a few different homeopathic remedies but I've suspended any 'treatments' until the schedule and my energy level out. Right now things are too hectic. Although it's been about a month already, I've yet to find time for myself. Three hours is not enough.

By the way, I'm volunteering two days at school. J's classroom, L's library and L's mathlab. Social life is still nil but at least I have the chance to get out and talk to other human beings.

As I sit here and update my blog, I see the mess of toys around the room and the worst offending sight - a pile of unaltered new pants sitting on top of the dining table. I need to get to those soon. Boys don't want me making pants for them anymore so I bought a bunch of new ones but they need altering.

Phew ... gotta hit the kitchen now. Stir-fry pork with crimini mushroom and ong choy. Yum to the last one.

Gluten-free Pancake with Strawberries

2008-05-13T10:54:00.000-07:00

I made gluten-free pancakes for the boys after school yesterday. They spread some maple syrup and ate with strawberries. It was a big hit. They loved it and J even went as far as making a grab for the biggest pancake to be saved for later. He's like a squirrel, that one.

Here's the recipe for the pancake:

Gluten-free Pancake
---------------------
2/3 C Rice Flour (Either brown or white rice flour will do. Brown gives it a bit more bite.)
1/3 C Sweet Rice Flour (You can get this at the asian grocery stores or in the asian aisle food section in your regular store.)
1 T Sugar (I find it helps the pancake brown a little besides adding slight sweetness to it.)
1/8 t Salt (I added a little bit because I like some slight saltiness.)
1 C Rice Milk (Water can be used instead too. Milk just gives it a little richness to it.)
2 T Oil (I used olive but any oil will do.)
1 Egg (I tried pancakes without eggs but they ended up being too dry.)
1 T Baking powder (Rumford brand makes aluminum-free baking powder.)

Mix egg and sugar until the sugar dissolves. Mix the rest of the ingredients in till the whole batter becomes smooth. Make sure there are no lumps. Put a little oil on your pan and pour about one small ladle or 1 T of pancake batter on it. Cook in medium heat. I don't know how many will turn out because sometimes I get lazy and make big pancakes and sometimes small ones. Make sure you mix the batter before scooping.

To eat : put some maple syrup on it and wrap a strawberry in it. Stuff the whole thing in your mouth.

Freezing Fruits for Smoothies

2008-05-12T12:56:00.001-07:00

We bought a package of strawberries from Costco ($5.88 for 4 lbs, I think) and they were overly ripe so after picking the good ones and cleaning them, I froze them. I put them into small containers so when I can pop them whole thing out when I need them.

I made strawberry banana smoothie the other day.

Banana Strawberry Smoothie
------------------------------
1 C Frozen strawberries
1 banana (with brown spots on the skin)
1 T flaxseed meal (store in freezer for longer shelf life)
1 C cold water

Blend them nice and smooth. I have a K-tec blender. I can't tell you how much I LOVE it. It made a nice smooth smoothie very quickly.

Kept me full for a little while and gave me a boost in energy. The downside? It was brrrr ... cold! BUT, I like it!

Mah Own Quilt

2007-11-28T18:23:00.000-08:00

I finally continued my unfinished quilt for myself. I hope to finish it before Christmas. My Christmas present to myself. It's really bright. The colors will help cheer up my mood on dreary winter season when the days are short altho' I am not sure if it will be thick enough to keep me warm.

Joann had a big after thanksgiving sale so I bought 6 yards of 100% cotton batting or so I thought. 100% cotton batting with scrim. Scrim? Looked it up and it turns out that scrim is polyester. It's used to hold the cotton batting together. Bummers. I hope it is not going to be too warm for summer and too cold for winter.

3 of my friends are having babies in 2008. One of them is a close friend whom I've known since kindy. Since she's muslim, I decided to stick to flowery patterns. No living creature patterns like cute bugs or cats. She admitted liking pastels so I'll do that. I already found a nice simple pattern that will go well with white sashing (bought 50% off at Joann's sale).

http://www.originalquilts.com/quilt_patterns.htm

The quilt is Sashing Twin Quilt. I think I will try smaller patches instead of 5" since the quilt is for a baby.

OK .. have to continue another time. J is fussing and I have to shower them.

2007-10-23T22:55:00.000-07:00

testfile

This is a test -- google calendar

2007-10-18T14:19:00.000-07:00

calendar events --

One of those days ...

2007-10-05T09:18:00.000-07:00

Ever had one of those days when the moment you wake up, your ears are assailed by wails and whines from the children? Today's one of them. L's been acting like a baby ever since I pampered him during his ear infection. Not willing to talk and expecting me to do simple things for him. I scolded him all day yesterday for his unwillingness to talk and today, I felt bad so I tried to make things up by being nice again. Once he knew that I was nice again, he reverted to his baby ways and that drove me up the wall. Again, he got some scolding before school. Said he didn't want to go to school b/c his ear hurt. I felt bad b/c I forgot to give him the antibiotics yesterday. Told him that if he wants to stay home, he will have to sleep and rest. No computers or video games. He decided that school was a funner choice. Perhaps that reason or just to be away from my nagging lips.

My heart felt guilty after I dropped him off school so I decided that I would make some muffins for him. Went to Raley's with J. Started off good with all the halloween decorations getting his attention. Then he saw raspberries and got it in his brain to have it or nothing. Now, I don't think they are cheap. One small packet probably cost $3.99. So, I said no. He started wailing there and then. I bought a few items and knew that I forgot something b/c I couldn't think through all his racket. Came home and realised that I forgot to get eggs. Got me really upset then. I can't make muffin now.

J continued to cry crocodile tears. Waaaa ... no tears. I sent him to his room and turned on the TV.

This is a battle of the thoughts. One thought tells me to be upset because I have the right to. Another thought says, "What's the point? You are already upset. Try to get out of it. Think good thoughts and you will feel better." I tried to be happy but it is so hard. I tried to smile but all came out was a grim line which didn't look happy at all.

Sometimes I feel bad for just wanting to put my kids in school so I have time to myself. I guess that's just normal esp. when I don't have much adult interactions.

Singulair

2007-09-20T15:36:00.001-07:00

Had a talk with L's doctor. She said that she only prescribed singulair for seasonal allergies and if flovent & albuterol do not work. In L's case - it's different. He can remain on his inhalers without singulair since he has so much environmental allergies. So, with that, I've decided to stick with flovent and albuterol.

She also said that children generally catch up with their growing when they are off flovent. I'll try my best to keep him off it on the weekends and on holidays. I hope I'm doing the right thing.

This is definitely a load off my shoulders. I can concentrate on other things now and on fixing nutritious food for L & J.

Expiration dates of bottled pills

2007-09-16T11:34:00.000-07:00

Cleared my pantry cupboard today. Got rid of old noodles, expired canned foods and chinese herbs. If I don't remember the purchase date then I would toss them away. I even found a package of some chinese candy I bought awhile back and was aghast to find 'aspartame' listed in the ingredients. Have I been ingesting that?? Ugh.

I filled up 1 big garbage plastic bag. I felt bad about contributing the the earth's waste with that one big bag.

Next, I moved on to my shelf of many, MANY vitamin and mineral pills. I thought to myself that surely they all will need to be thrown away since I got them a long long time ago. To my surprise, some of them haven't expired yet. Some will expire in 2008, some 2009. Most expire this year though. It got me thinking -- isn't it a bit unnatural to have such stuff hanging around for a few years in a bottle? It's almost like ... plastic. The garbage bag smelled of chemical when it was slowly loaded up with the pills. The smell is similar to the hospital hallway. Have you ever done that -- inhale a bottle of pill? Smells yucky. I can tolerate the smell of chinese herbs much better than the pills.

Oh, and a bit of update about my boys. I have been making spinach and apple juice for J. 40% spinach juice, and 60% apple juice. Fresh ones, mind you. None of that store bought pasteurized ones. He has to drink it if he wants his snack and that's the first thing he drinks in the morning upon waking up. Spinach juice is more platable than wheatgrass.

J has bad eczema on his butt -- near the opening of the anus. It gets really inflamed and itchy and would interrupt his sleep because of the intense itching. He would scratch till it became bloody raw. He also can't wear underwear because the slightest chafing of the skin would itch him like crazy.

Within 2 weeks of drinking the green juice, I see a difference on the skin. The itch and inflammation went down and the skin smoothed out a little. We'll see how it is after a few more weeks of drinking this apple and spinach juice. I am hopeful that his skin will improve.

As for L ... sad to report that he's 'reacting' to fruits. Not sure if he's developing new senstivities to fruits or the body is throwing off toxins stirred by the fruits. I am not sure. He could also be reacting to airborne allergens at school. I started making green juice for him in the morning. Sometimes wheatgrass (home-grown) and other times, whatever green leaf vegie I find in the fridge. He hates it but I explain (and threaten) that he has asthma and he needs to drink them. I drank bitter herbs while growing up ... he has to do so as well. Suffer the poor children. hehe. Anyway, he's recovering a lot faster with the green juice so I have to keep it up. I thought I could get away with it by giving him green smoothies once a day but nope, I can't. It's so much work but at least it's better than taking singulair. With the green juice and inhalers, he finally stop wheezing after 2 weeks. Keeping my fingers crossed for tomorrow.

I was skeptical about fresh green juice but it does work. The chlorophyll is the key. Lots of work and money ... but instead of putting the money in pills, I just divert them to plants. We'll see. I've read about spirulina. I'm going to try that next. Oh, and raw cocoa powder too. Hehe.

Update on almost raw, school and home

2007-08-28T13:37:00.001-07:00

Almost raw ...

Summer break is ending soon. L's asthma has improved a lot. He is able to enter grandma's house w/o reacting but not the garage where the dog is sleeping.

I've done some reading but because of the constant interruption, I don't think I retained much. However, one thing I learned is that animal fat is toxic. Why?

Liver cleans out the toxin from our food. What are the toxins? They are the additives, food colorings, white sugar, preservatives, all the by-products of cooked foods etc. The liver's job is to extract all these toxins and make them water-soluble. The cooked and processed foods contain so much toxins that it overwhelms the liver so the liver has to store all this toxins in the fat before it can clean them up.

Liver produces bile that digests fat. Vegies and fruits improve the production of bile. The bile gets sent to the intestines where it waits to be eliminated. If it stays too long in the gut, the bile will get reabsorbed into the system. We don't want that to happen and fiber rich foods will help us with that.

There's so much more that I don't know ...

I also learned that it's easier to wash pesticides off produce than to get the toxins out of meat.

I put the theory to test by reducing L's meat consumption. His nightly cough improved. I was shocked. I've increased his fruits and vegie intake by making him drink green smoothies and eat fruits in-between mealtimes. He still gets to eat his 'junk food' (usually dried fruits) as long as he keeps up with a high-intake of fresh fiber-rich food. He needs all that fiber to pull the gunk out of his system.

I tell L that soft stool (minus stomach cramps) is good so he proudly announces to me whenever he gets a good output.

I also learned that meat is bad for asthma. Starchy foods is bad for eczema. I am trying to cut down starchy foods for J b/c the eczema on his legs can get quite bad. Unfortunately, he is very resistant towards the change. I can only handle one kid at a time and so I will have to postpone my effort on J until later. However, he has renege on his previous stand against green smoothies. He drinks 4oz of green smoothies in the morning along with his brother. Just that 4oz makes a difference on his good skin. His upper body is smoother and less prone to blotches / hives.

Schooling...

The kids have been doing some lessons during the summer. We had 'school' a few days out of the week. J is beginning to like it too. He didn't mind sitting there learning his alphabets and numbers. It was fun. He is such a curious and creative fella. When he gets bored coloring with a single color, he would use several crayons instead.

We took him to a preschool near L's school. He liked the place. Ran around it happily until he saw a teacher yelling at a student. After that he said he didn't want to go there. I asked him why when we got home and he said he didn't like the teacher. I agreed with him. The woman's action scared me too. So, I decided to homeschool him instead. He is a joy to teach because he likes to interact.

A few months ago, he attended an enrichment class 2x a week but it made him shy around strangers after that. I pulled him out of school and it took several weeks for him to come out of his shell. BTW, the reason he didn't like school was because a bigger kid was pushing him around.

As for L, I hope there will be some more headway with his speech therapy. Currently he only achieved 50-60% of the goals in the IEP.

Home ...

DH has rented a space to put his tools and exercising equipment. Previously an entire room is taken up by his exercising equipment. Once it's cleared up, I plan to convert it to a toy room. We hope that the new plan will contain the toys to that area. The boys do have too many toys. Problem is that they play with nearly everything. Even simple packing material makes good play.

V has also taken out some books from the book room. Unfortunately they are too old for donation altho' they are all in good condition. We'll have to throw them away. I called Fremont Waste and they said it will cost us $32 per 'haul'. We are going to accumulate a big pile before we head over there.

Guess that's about it. Phew ... what a long post. I am a little sleepy after eating a packet of instant noodles. I feel bad every time I eat 'junk food' so I usually drink 2 C of green smoothies to balance the bad food.

Oh, and I've also installed Debian on my old laptop. I will need to read up on some UNIX sys admin book and I should be able to get around it with a little more ease. Currently, I don't remember anything. It's scary. What if I need to work suddenly?? So, my goal for the next 3 months (once L starts school) is to improve on my UNIX skills by getting the laptop to run various servers.

Deterioration of L's Eczcema

2007-03-05T10:48:00.000-08:00

So, it's not the laundry detergent. Today, the eczema spread to his hands, neck and part of his cheeks. I'm really really worried. I applied hydrocortisone b/c he was itching like crazy.

I fervently hope that this is indeed a healing direction and not a signal of something gone awry. His WORST condition at 6 months old - weeping eczema from head to toe, literally on his entire skin including the palms of his hands and soles of his feet. I am not joking. He has NEVER looked SO BAD since then and he's returning to it now.

I have not done anything so different besides what I've been doing for the past month. Took about a month of an increase in vegies and fruits to bring about the positive changes in his respiratory system so perhaps it'll take about the same one month to improve his skin condition? I don't want to put HC but how else can I relieve his itch so he can carry on with daily activities?

L was on chinese herbs for 1 month before his skin improved dramatically. During that one month, his body was detoxing via lots of bowel movements. And miraculously, his skin looked much better after that. Pray that this time is no different. I would love to be able to have my son's skin smoother than mine.

Chocolate Cravings

2007-02-12T17:35:00.000-08:00

I have been mostly raw for 1 month and towards the end of the month, my temper improved. I seldom yelled and my husband even admitted that. Then, one Saturday, I ate a BIG meal of cooked foods at MIL's. The next day, I lost my temper. It was really weird. My emotions flew out of the window and I couldn't control them. So, I resolve to stay with raw diet as much as possible. Being calm and collected towards my children will be my motivation. And of course, I SO hope to fit into my pre-preggo pants ... hehe ...

Every time I shop at the grocery store, my feet always slowed down at the chocolate section. My hands would reach out to caress the attractive coloured packaging ... w/o me knowing, I would salivate and dream of eating them. When I got home from the yesterday's grocery trip, I vowed to look for raw deserts so I wouldn't be tempted again.

I found a nice little recipe:
Carob Fudge -- http://www.fromsadtoraw.com/Recipes/CarobFudge.htm

2 cups raw almonds (soaked for a minimum of 6 hours. Rinse them after that.)
1/2 cup raw carob powder (Carob powder is very expensive so I used regular cocoa since I already have that on-hand. Best to use organic, as usual.)
1/2 cup raw honey
3 Tablespoons raw almond butter (Bought this at the store TJs, since I could never get that smooth consistency.)
6 pitted dates (I had medjool dates on hand.)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon nama shoyu (Couldn't find it. Used soy sauce.)
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
shredded organic coconut, unpasteurized and unsulfured (Couldn't find one unsulphured so I used cocoa powder and turned it into "truffles.")

Put the almonds, carob powder, honey, almond butter, dates, cinnamon, vanilla, shoyu and nutmeg in a food processor and thoroughly process until creamy.
Form the mixture into small balls. Roll each in coconut and place the finished candies in paper candy cups. Serve either chilled or at room temperature.
Makes about 20 pieces
- from Chef Suzanne Alex Ferrara’s, "The Raw Food Primer"

I froze them and just tasted some, it was so yummy. To me, anyway. My cooked-food friend didn't like it. She preferred the good ol' regular chocolate truffles.

I'm dehydrating fruit leather. I hope they'll turn out so the kids have something to snack on.

L's first Pinkeye / Conjunctivitis

2007-02-07T09:08:00.000-08:00

After L got back from school yesterday, I noticed a yellowish discharge from his right eye. It was yellowish sticky and thick. His eye became pink as the night progressed. I called the advice nurse and she confirmed that it was pink eye / conjunctivitis and proceeded to prescribe antibiotic eyedrops which I need to pick up from the pharmacist today.

Pinkeye could be caused by irritants like fumes, smoke, dust etc. In this situation, you should wash the eye frequently throughout the day with regular eyedrops or saline solution (the ones you use to wash contact lens), both obtainable at the drugstore. Discharge is usually watery.

For bacterial infections, the discharge is usually yellow-greenish. That's when they prescribe antibiotic eyedrops. You should wash your eye with the same things above.

For viral, it is usually accompanied with cold symptoms and nothing can be done in this instance.

Usually itch accompanies pinkeye and you should try not to rub from one eye to another b/c you might transmit the germs over. Warm compress to relieve the inflammation and cool compress to relieve the discomfort.

Last night, I looked through my homeopathic book and it was a toss up btwn hepar sulp and puls. Hepar sulph is called when the patient is oversensitive and irritable. Puls when the patient is whiny and discharge is thick and yellowish / greenish. Since L wasn't irritable, I gave him puls 200c right before he fell asleep. Next morning, the discharge was gone but he had a cough so most likely it was a viral infection courtesy of his friends at school. I gave him another dose of puls 30c b/c his eye was still slighty pink and puffy.

I am really glad that homeopathy worked in pink eye situations. There was another time when J's eye was really pink but hadn't developed pus yet. I gave him Ferum Phos 200c since it was an early onset. The pinkishness went away the next day. Yay!

At least L gets to stay home on minimum flex day and coincidently, the weather sucks today.

Green smoothie

2007-01-31T20:36:00.000-08:00

Forced L to drink green smoothie for the past 3 days. Cut out flovent but continued with albuterol prior to school and gym. He didn't cough when I picked him up nor did he cough at night after the albuterol wore off. I am trying not to be excited b/c chances are the flovent is still circulating in the body. But, I am really hopeful b/c this is the first time it's ever happened. I am keeping my fingers and toes crossed.

Here is the recipe for the smoothie:
1/2 banana
1 C grapes
1 bunch of greens
Water till it covers the blade. Then liquify the suckers!

It didn't taste that yummy but I made him finish it all up. J's a tougher challenge since he's only 3 and would rebel strongly.

Then, this evening, I made another smoothie for myself:
1 really ripe pear (they become creamy at that stage)
3 ripe strawberries
A bunch of lettuce leaves
Water covers the blade. Liquefy 'em again.

This one - surprisingly tastes much better. Liem liked it and took a drink out of my cup.

One thing about smoothies is that they go through your system rather quick. I find myself getting hungry again after an hour.

Oh, I also tried this combi:
1 avocado
1 orange (peeled)
some grapes
water

It was a bit thick. But J seemed to like it. Perhaps it's the novelty of it. Thus far, he's been refusing to drink the other ones.

Scrapbooking

2007-01-22T20:07:00.000-08:00

I started scrapbooking last year and made a gift to my MIL. I discovered that I really enjoyed donig it and regretted giving the book away. So, as a tradition, I decided to scrapbook every year. I collect photos over the year and organize them in monthly albums on an online photo webpage. The online photo services allow you to input descriptions and tags. So, I did just that. It is a good system because once I'm ready, I can send all the pictures for printing and they will arrive in the mail. I prefer matte to glossy type of paper.

I did buy some tools and experimented with them but I find that embossing or pattern punches are too restrictive. I get more uses out of styluses, patterned scissors and glue. I also happen to love ribbons and would buy them at sales. Finally I found a way to use them. I also love beads. All these really add to the dimension of the scrapbook.

Now, I wonder to myself ... why don't I save money and just do digital scrapbooking. Nah ... I think I like the feeling of working with my hands and being able to turn unattractive looking scraps of papers into something interesting.

Scrapbooking also opened my eyes to nature's beauty. Trees in silhoutte gives me inspiration to create a page with shadows. Large leaves with yellow spots inspire me to cut the ugly bright yellow paper into simple shapes but compiled into a pretty pattern. Flowers will never be the same. I think of ways to draw them or to use whatever scraps of papers I have to resemble them.

I like scrapbooking. Heh.

Blogger debut

2007-01-19T10:51:00.000-08:00

I'm sitting here feeding J. Both kids are entranced by Transformers (1996) on TV. Once they are done, we have to send L to K. J & I have "Small World" class - something like a mommy and me class. Gosh, I sure hope J will get over this separation anxiety from me so I can stick him in a school.

These past few weeks:

1. A friend told me abt raw diet. So, I have decided to try it out but due to tight schedules, I can only eat raw salads for lunch and dinner. Anything in btwn will have to be quick and easy. The salads that I ate in the past were mostly "american" type - cheeses and creamy dressings over bland vegies which I didn't like. However, I've since discovered the world of fresh herbs and other flavorings that do not involve the cow. Oh, and avocado seems to taste a lot better now than before. Perhaps I'm getting old. Here is a recipe of the salad:

Organic herbal mix from Earth Bound
1 avocado
dates or nuts
mint
basil
cucumber
Need to try to add: grape tomatoes, shallots, pine nuts...

Dressing: squeeze some lemon over the avocados, drizzle of honey & olive oil, soy sauce. Sometimes I would add slivers of seaweed & sesame seeds

This could just be a phase or it could be permanent. Whatever it is, I know I feel more alert consuming pure vegetables than my regular diet of rice, meat and vegie combi.

2. Juicing
Supposedly carrot & spinach combi is good for asthma & eczema. I've yet to see any improvements. Book recommended by a friend:

Fresh Vegetable and Fruit Juices: What's Missing in Your Body? (Paperback)
by N. W. Walker, Dr. Norman W. Walker

I was desperate to try juicing b/c nothing is working for L. He's still dependent on his inhalers. I know alot of modern thinking parents who believe that you can control asthma through asthma meds. I agree you can do that but my goal is to be free of them. I cannot imagine life being tied to these medications esp. when they produce side-effects of long term usage.

His dr. wants him to go on Singulair. Found these websites abt the side effects.

http://www.medications.com/go/se/Singulair

http://www.askapatient.com/viewrating.asp?drug=20829&name=SINGULAIR

Since L cannot tell me if he experiences these symptoms, I'm not too inclined towards this product. I will stick to flovent and albuterol for now. And just pray that we find some alternative method of managing the dang asthma.

He's already staying away from his food allergens but it's the environmental triggers that are uncontrollable. Perhaps I ought to make him wear a breathing mask ...

So, I'll keep juicing until I get tired or my hands crack from constant washing.

3. Crocheting. Thanks to a close friend's gift of knitted scarf, she has revived my crocheting hobby. I made 5 scarfs thus far and given them to a few friends. Surprisingly scarves really help keep you warm. I go around the house in a single long sleeve t-shirt and a scarf. W/o the scarf, I'd need a sweater. Also discovered crocheting with thick yarns and big hooks really fun and well, quick. heh ...

4. Ants ... they always manage to find the teeniest of cracks to crawl through. Spray the openings with RAID or any insecticide and then spray soap water (or any cleaning solution) on the ants to kill them. Or, you can just stomp on them. Good therapeutic exercise.