Fruity Dessert

Yesterday I made konnyaku jelly coz it's expiring soon. Bought a can of longans on the way to fetch XY from kindy. Kakak and I started our 'project' after lunch. After cutting the strawberries, grapes and kiwi into small slices, I arranged them and the longans in a tray and 5 small cups. I used less water than instructed on the packet as I've added the longan syrup. It was sweet enough (also taking into consideration the fruits) so I didn't have to add any sugar at all.

~ konnyaku jelly with fruits ~

This was their dessert after dinner. I gave hubby a mouthful and he asked for a piece. I was surprised (and very happy, of coz) as he's not a dessert person (especially those that I make :p). But when he had his piece, he complained that it was sour. hahaha That was why I gave him a bite with only grapes earlier. I knew he doesn't like the sourness of strawberry and kiwi.

Needless to say, it was a big hit with the kids. CE didn't really like longans though (hmmm... funny coz he loved it when I made longan jelly). XY, as usual, kept asking for more. But they only got to eat their second serving this afternoon after lunch. Now all finished, no more for tonight. Anyway, I've got another packet of powder, will be making jelly again very soon. ;-)

3 Years 1 Month Old

Today CE is 37 months old. I don't think I'll continue to do the monthly updates for him. Blame it on my laziness, forgetfulness and there aren't many new things to update every month. :p But since I skipped his update last month, I'll do a brief one here.

Naptime Experiment
This experiment, which started about 2 months ago, has failed. He's now back to wearing diapers for naptime. Although he was doing quite well at the beginning, I have to stop the training as he was sick and on medication (too drowsy to be aware of the need to urinate while sleeping). Then after that, his 'performance' wasn't consistent. Some days he's okay, some days I've to change him and the bedsheet halfway through his nap. You see, he disliked the rubber mat or towel to be put under him. So when accidents happen, he wets the bed as well. Moreover, he doesn't realise it that he's wet the bed. He doesn't wake up immediately. I take that as a sign that he's not really ready yet. Anyway, on the days that he doesn't wet his diaper, I'll use it again at night. I guess I'll wait till he's really ready.

Milk & Fruits
His milk intake has been reduced to 2 times a day (skipped the afternoon one) since I started to let him nap without diapers.
Have introduced rambutan and lychee to him. He loves them. He's tried durians when he was smaller, didn't reject them. He's not too choosy when it comes to fruits. His current favourites are banana, grape, mango and dragon fruit.

Behaviour
He's become a big cry baby. The start of the Terrifying 3 stage? When he doesn't get what he wants :
(1) he jumps on the spot like a rabbit and/or
(2) cry out loud and/or
(3) keep repeating what he wants.
If he doesn't do ALL 3, then it's any combination of the 2. :D

Others
When he speaks, he likes to end with "... ah", especially his questions. "Mie, can we play games ah?" Aisay, speaking like a cina ah pek.
Makes request to go for movie. To him, movie = popcorn. Obviously, he's only interested in the popcorn. hehehe
Not so obedient anymore. Will sometimes protest when I ask him to brush his teeth or bathe. I guess as they grow older, they have their own preference and won't follow our orders willingly all the time.

Movie Outing

SIL and I brought the kids for a movie last Wednesday. We watched "Monsters vs. Aliens". The kids really enjoyed the popcorn. Can't say the same about the movie though. I think CE doesn't know how to appreciate the movie. When he was done eating his popcorn, he wanted to get out of the cinema. :-| Luckily he didn't insist nor made a big fuss. Overall, it was a very pleasant experience as the kids didn't create any scene. :-)

This is the first time we tried the couple seat. For that particular cinema, the couple seats are at the last 2 rows. Although the seats are in a row (no spaces in between, just the arm rest), the space is slightly bigger as the arm rest between 2 seats is removable. For 6 of us (3 adults and 3 kids), we bought tickets for 2 couple seats (4 seats altogether) and we sat very comfortably.

Before the movie, we 'wasted' some money at Jusco's playland.

~ CE particularly like those with steering wheels ~

~ even the "big" kid wants to play in the moving vehicle ~

No Card Nor Gift

... just a Dark Chocolate Moist Cake.

After the failed attempt to bake the Nestum cake 5 months ago, I tried to bake a chocolate cake on Saturday for hubby's birthday (yesterday). But the cake is more for the kids than for him coz he doesn't really like chocolate cake. hahaha

A few weeks ago, I went to the bakery supplies shop to get some muffin mix and I asked the shop attendant to recommend an "easy" cake. She gave me the chocolate cake mix. Well, it's easy to make, just mix all the ingredients (pre-mix flour, eggs, oil and water) together. But the baking-in-the-oven session was a little tricky as I've got a slightly cracked and burnt top. After getting great tips from my previous attempt (thanks friends!), I lowered the temperature gradually and covered the top with foil paper when the top started to crack. So the cake came out (looking) okay.

~ the ingredients, I used milk instead of water ~

~ the not-so-pretty birthday cake ~

After dinner, we had a very simple cake-cutting ceremony. So simple that there was no candles to blow. :-) The cake tasted alright, not too sweet. But very rich, so can't eat too much at one go. The kids kept asking for more (as usual) - chocolate cake mah. :D

~ not too sweet but very rich ~

The Itchy-No-More Addict

Thank you for your concern and suggestions on CE's rashes. His condition's much better now. Went to see the doctor again on Tuesday as the cream (now I know the name of the other medicine - Gentamycin) has finished. Also to let him check on the rashes. Just to make sure everything's normal and nothing new has cropped up. The doctor said they're "dying" (or did he say drying? hahaha). I asked if they'll leave marks on his body. He said they won't, will slowly fade off, unless he scratched them till they bleed. We still don't know how he got the virus as the doctor said it could be through contact or air-borne. Lucky thing jie jie's not affected.

Now the rashes have turned brownish and I think they're not itchy anymore. Have stopped giving him Piriton (for itchiness) on Wednesday. I've also stopped applying the cream today. Hopefully there'll be no surprises till he's fully recovered.

I'm happy he's no longer bothered by the rashes but he's giving me a new problem - he's become a computer game addict! The other day I wrote that he's only interested to press the remote control for the Wii games. Then I made the biggest mistake of introducing him to computer games. Actually I switched it on for jie jie, he was just the spectator. He wanted to play too so I let jie jie guide him. And there was no stopping him since then. :-(

It's the Windows Vista game called Purble Place. There are 3 games altogether :
1. Memory game ~ open 2 cards with the same design to clear all the cards.
2. Cake-making ~ match the cake order by selecting the correct mould, cake flavour, cream and topping. He's very good at this one.
3. Detective game ~ guess the puppet's features - hairstyle, eyes, nose and mouth. He calls this the 'Monster game'.

~ in full concentration ~

~ playing his 'Monster game' ~

He wants to play ALL the time. The minute we go downstairs, he'll say "I want to play games." Yes, this is STILL his favourite sentence. I don't even dare to use my laptop as he'll come bug me once he sees it's on. It's really difficult to get him to stop when he's playing. When it's meal time, he'll tell me "I don't want to eat" or "I don't want to be hungry". :-| Have to threaten him with "No more playing tomorrow" if he refused to budge. Of course, accompanied by some crying episode most of the time. And I find it difficult to set a time or condition for play as he doesn't seem to understand. I have to trick him if I want him to stop or when I want to delay switching it on for him. He's still playing with his toys (building blocks, musical instruments, etc) but I think he gets bored with them easily and then he'll come to me and say "I want to play games." *pengsan*