Red and delicious.

I just made apple puree to add into Edric's cereal this morning. When I look at the ripe, red fruit, I told myself that I did not give this fruit the appreciation it deserved. Other than being used as the name for one of the largest American multinational corporation, I didn't really know the benefits and the nutritions of it.

Why does the proverb say an apple a day keeps the doctor away? Research suggested that apples may reduce the risk of colon, prostate and lung cancers. It contains antioxidant and helps regulate bowel movement, though it relatively contains less vitamin C than the other fruits.

All that I know is this fruit is 'safe' for pregnant ladies and a sick child with flu and cough. Safe means it's not 'cold or too cooling' (for the chineselah).
It's great as a titbit when you are in a rush, a ready-to-go kinda fruit. It's yummy for a soup, tastes great in salads (green ones), scrumptious in pies and cakes, good for a baby, refreshing when juiced and makes a fine vinegar.

The apple tree comes from the same family as the rose. Do you know that the apple seeds are poisonous? Found out about it in Wikipedia. The seeds are only mildly toxic and not enough to be dangerous to human but the birds do stay away from them.

In Christianity, the apple tree has been labelled as the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The whole of my life, that's what I thought. When I read further into the article, found out that, apple is the generic term for all foreign fruit in Greek and also means ' fruit ' in Old English.

The forbidden fruit in the Book of Genesis is not identified, yet the word apple has been used several times in it. The Renaissance painters also helped etched this fruit as the forbidden one in our minds as they added the elements of Greek mythology into the biblical scenes.

I love apple-picking season. Used to go to the apple farms with my housemates to pick the nice, juicy ones. Miss the sight, miss the smell, miss the feeling of total bliss when I saw the fruit-laden trees. Most of all I miss the friends I had fun with. :)

Don't really eat fruits everyday, which is bad. I don't really drink lots of water as recommended, which is even worse. I drink caffeine everyday, which is the worst. Sigh..I think I have to make a food resolution soon or my skin gonna go from bad to worst.

Anyhow, I just found a nice site out of sheer curiosity. Been searching for games that feature apples and I bumped into The Apple Season game by Orisinal. It's a straightforward game but addictive coz I just can't stop catching the falling apples!!!

http://www.ferryhalim.com/orisinal/g2/applegame.htm

Orisinal has a lot more online games to play. The toons are cute too; lovable creatures (ha!)... Have a go at it if you want to kill time once in a while... (By the way, I love the Bugs game. I'm just like the kid popping bubbles so I can see the ladybirds fly. Weeeee....feel like I'm 10 years old again playing this game.)
http://www.ferryhalim.com/orisinal/

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Are girls really like apples? Hmm..some of them should not wait when the right guy passes by. She just have to fall from the tree and give the guy a knock on the head as the first hello...

Mensa Fun Test

Hubby asked me to take an intelligence test last night. I was relunctant to do it especially when he was sitting next to me and grinning like a buffoon. I really felt dumb at that time. Took me quite a while before the questions I read began to sink in. Nevertheless, it was fun and I scored rather fairly. Just sort of relieved that my brain cells are not dead yet.
The quiz was made by Mensa International, a high IQ society with the aim to identify and foster human intelligence. Mensa accepts individuals who score at or above the 98th percentile on certain standardized IQ tests. (Ha! I definitely would not qualify...)

Try it. It's interesting. This is not an IQ test but rather for entertainment only.
http://www.mensa.org/workout2.php

There was another great brain teaser he asked me to do. It is also taken out from the Mensa workout.
http://intelligence-test.net/part1/

Have fun!

Milk price controlled?

The Star reported in yesterday's paper that the government is considering whether to include powdered milk for children (above 2 years old) into the list of price controlled items. The fast increasing price trend for milk formula has been going on for more than a couple of years now. I am not so sure what is there to consider.

True enough that all mothers should be encouraged to breastfeed their babies but there are many factors that affect decisions on breastfeeding. Working mothers may find it hard to put their babies on total breastfeeding and may resort to mix-feed. Fair enough if the government doesn't subsidize infant formula but I do hope that the milk formula for children above 1 years old will be price-controlled soon. Each family with young children will definitely need to fork out a few hundred ringgit just for milk. Unless we too, start to give them diluted condensed milk.

Milk Loves You

Didn't know that there is a World Milk Day. It started in 1 June 2001. Malaysia started celebrating this since 2005. I read the paper yesterday and discovered that they have Feed-A-Child programme. Each time you click on a feed-a-child icon, 1 pack of UHT milk will go to a needy child.

I have fun surfing the site coz there are a lot of information to be gathered. There are contests to be won, printables for fun and lots more.

The companies that are involved in the free milk and awareness programs include Dutch Lady, F@N, Fonterra (the Anmum brand and lots more), Nestle, Cotra Ent., and Tetra Pak. These companies are giving away 100,000 packs of milk. (In my opinion, give more!!!)

Please lend a hand if you could, by visiting http://www.milklovesyou.com/

The milk pledge meter is still very low.

What irked me is that I don't see other milk product conglomerates are involved.

With the rising milk prices especially in infant and toddlers formula, all of us, parents, feel the pinch. I'm thankful that I'm still able to give my kids milk to drink.

Last month, when I brought Edric for his vaccination at the klinik desa, I saw a lady with 2 kids and a baby. After she left, I couldn't help but overheard the nurses conversation about her. She couldn't afford to give milk to her baby. The little girl is only about 7 or 8 months old. The mom is actually out of work and she has to put her 2 older kids in school too. I cried silently for the baby.

In another story, a friend of mine once told me that there is a young couple who gave tea for their baby coz they couldn't afford the milk formula. Just imagine, pure tea and sugar.

I wish more could be done to help the poor. The government and the milk product companies should be able to help out by distributing free milk formula at the klinik desa. The free milk formula doesn't have to have the high DHA or the fancy stuff that they claimed to put into the milk nowadays. Just the basic formula to ensure good growth of babies and toddlers.

I saw that the klinik desa is giving away formula but it seems limited in source.

How can our younger generations aspire to be angkasawan when some of them don't even have milk to drink? The irony of it.

Well, talking about the school milk programme, some of it has been put on hold due to food-poisoning cases. Are the distributed milk stale or somehow during transportation, the milk was not kept in cool condition?

I remember in my kindi and school days, the milk trucks will come bearing metal cases of packet milk which were kept cold in ice. I always loved the milk coz they were fresh. Never had stomach ache or diarrhoea. Those were the days. I wondered what ever happened nowadays...

Like Father, Like Son

Alden and his dad need their haircuts badly. So the father and son went to the barber last Saturday. Both of them came home sporting crew cut. Well, Alden usually gets his head shaved coz it looks much better on him. This time his hairstyle looks like grass growing on uneven earthbed.
I couldn't help but laughed (quietly this time coz Alden might take it by heart if I say his hairstyle doesn't look nice. Mau cantik ja ni budak ni.). When I look at both father and son, I'm seeing double. Since a baby, everybody tells me that Alden looks like his dad. It's not something new but their looks that day amazed me. An exact mould. When Hoe scolded Alden in one occasion that night, I just told him that he looked silly coz it was like he was scolding himself.

Posing maut...

The cheeky one...

Like father, like son....

Just another day...

Goodbye 20s hello 30s. Yeah..another year older and stepping into this age is not something I'm eager to celebrate. Didn't want a party, didn't have a cake but the calls and wishes I get this year were enough to satiate me to year end.

I'm not celebrating my years of being on earth but rather celebrating the friendships that stood the test of time. All of us are busy building and rebuilding our lives. Eventhough we lost touch for a while, I'm thankful I'm able to be in contact with some of them. Am glad that I have some golden ones for keeps especially my childhood friends. (I think we should call ourselves the nerdy 4. Ha,ha..we did not stand out to be glamorous type of students but I guess we did good eh.)

The artist : One of them is a very soft-spoken type of gal but very talented in art. She managed
to learn to write Chinese on her own; of course with minimal guidance from her
mom. I salute her for that. Nowadays, she drives like an F1 driver. When she just started driving and we became her beloved passengers, our knees went weak, our hearts dropped off in the middle of the road and we couldn't speak. So, you can imagine how it was like..

The cutesy : She loves to buy stuff; just about anything that fascinates her. She really surprised
me when she became a nurse. Though small in stature, she's the toughest of us 4.
(I mean not physically onlylah...ha,ha,ha..don't kill me for this.)

The sporty : She's the athletic one. Very lanky kinda girl. Her competitive streak and out-going
character are the things that make her attractive.

Well, childhood friends or not, to all my friends out there, you are brighter than the sunshine.

Slow Dance

Just a little something I found written on my fading bookmark.


Have you ever watched kids on a merry-go-round, or listened to rain slapping the ground?
Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight, or gazed at the sun fading into the night?
You better slow down, don't dance so fast, time is short, the music won't last.
Do you run through each day on the fly, when you ask "How are you?", do hear the reply?
When the day is done, do you lie in your bed, with the next hundred chores running through your head?
You better slow down, don't dance so fast, time is short, the music won't last.
Ever told your child, we'll do it tomorrow, and in your haste, not see his sorrow?
Ever lost touch, let a good friendship die, 'cause you never had time to call and say "hi"?
You better slow down, don't dance so fast, time is short, the music won't last.
When you run so fast to get somewhere, you miss half the fun of getting there.
When you worry and hurry through your day, it's like an unopened gift thrown away.
Life is not a race, so take it slower, hear the music before your song is over.

Sigh of relief

I can sigh for relief now. The review checkup brought good news. Both Alden and Edric's lungs are clear. No more chesty cough, no more phlegm and the boys can sleep soundly at night too.

I know there will be more episodes to deal with in the future; virus or bacterial infections, fever and chills, cuts and bruises, all that is included in the growing up package. Guess I just have to brace myself and to take the extra precautions. I remember last time, us kids, can play with reckless abandonment; come rain or shine, in mud or sand. Now, each time I see Alden plays with the soil and grass around our home or even petting the dog, I just coiled up and ready to hiss orders to ask him not to dirty his hands. Am I over-reacting? I'm just phobic. He seems to be allergic to environmental allergens coz he gets stuffy nose and blow-up eyes a little too frequently.

As any mother will wish, I hope both of my boys will grow up healthily.

Off to the clinic....

Had a good chat with a few of my old chums on FB. Though short in time, I'm still happy I got to talk to them. Just like old times... I missed highschool and college years the most. Bittersweet memories still stuck to my head and all of them feel just like yesterday. Hmmm....I'm just being mushy.

Have to bring both of my pups back to the paeds for review today. Fingers crossed. Hope everything will be okay and new x-ray pics will bring good news.

Oh, by the way, Edric made the attempt of doing 'bye-bye' action with his hands two days ago. Babies start with imitation huh.

Old friends that I miss...

It's 4:40 a.m and I'm wide awake. Thanks a lot to a certain Mr Mosquito that managed to give me a few bites before hubby ended his feeding spree. When I woke up, I was quite surprised to see him sleeping on the floor. Well, hubby caught a flu and was asking me where should he sleep coz he doesn't want to be near the kids. I just told him "sleep with the seahorselah". He really did and I almost want to laugh out loud in the middle of the bloody night.

Rupa-rupanya dia pun kena gigit nyamuk and set himself on a revenge hunt for the bothersome insect. After the fruitful hunt he went back to sleep on the bed. (aikkk...hmmm..thought he'll stick to the crib on the floor for awhile..penipu dia ni.)

The leftover crib..kesian tu seahorse kan?

Anyway, talking about old friends. I was doing my things in the noontime and the thought of Sharon and Grace just came to my mind. They were the ones I looked up as big sisters when I was still studying in college. Decided to give them a tinker. I called Sharon first and had a pleasant chat with her. I always love her voice and laughter. Soothing to my ears. (Chewah...kembanglah telinga dia ni.)

Phoned Grace afterwards but no pick-up. Luckily she called me back eventhough she has no idea who called her. She actually remembers my voice. It took her like 5 seconds to know who I am..indak sioklah macam ni....no suspense....ha,ha...
After the tete-a-tete, I just realized I really miss them both and was sorry for not keeping in touch for so long. Well, better late then never right?

Fowler anyone?

Alden finally was able to say the word flower correctly yesterday. Ha,ha...I know I know..what's the big deal you say?

Since he started to talk, there were a few words he could not pronounce correctly. When he was 2 years old, he had difficulty saying a couple of words that started with the letter ' S '.

Spider will be pronounced as ' Paisder ' and snake will turn to ' Nakes '. Boy, it made me worried in the first place. However, he was able to say superman, star and other ' S ' words correctly (not including the S**t ah. Never taught him that.) So, I let the worries go. As he grows older, he managed to correct the flaws.

However, the biggest challenge is to get him say 'flower' right. Each time we corrected him, he will still say out loud ' fowler ' !!! (Ayamak...smacked my own forehead.)

Yesterday, his kindi teacher gave him an assignment which is to colour a drawing of hibiscus.

I just asked him "What is this?" As usual, "Fowler". I let it passed and asked him to complete the drawing. Relunctantly, he did. Then, came the pronounciation exercise. Asked him to say 'fla' and 'wer' separately and repeatedly till I became thirsty myself. Told him to combine the two words and miracle did not happened. Sighh....try again....repeat and repeat until he got tired.

I guess the fairy was smilling at him coz he just said "Mommy, Fla! Wer!" Wah...just imaginelah this mommy, I got so happy, I hit the roof. Guess he was just as happy as mommy, minta hi-five pula. Well, it was a small feat but a commendable one coz my boy didn't give up yesterday.

I taught him to say hibiscus and he answered back "biscuit?", "ping kan?"

Sigh...let it flow...let it flow.....

He switched on the TV afterwards to watch his favourite Marsupilami and heard the music.

"Mommy! Where's my tagi?" Odoi...hit another boulder...I've totally forgotten about this one.

(He was actually asking for his guitar.) Shrug...

Under the Weather

Alden has been sufferring bouts of flu and cough for almost 5 months now. It started before CNY. We thought it was just a normal virus that he caught when he started attending kindergarten.

The sickness will subside after a round of medication but rebound back after only a couple of weeks. The paeds told me that he might have environmental allergies ie to dust or mold spores or fur.

Since we are staying near the railway track and our room windows are facing the tracks, there are bound to be dust flying in even though I made a habit to wipe them off almost everyday. The doc also told me to keep all the stuffed animals away from him, which I did. Packed up his Winnie the Pooh and Santa and baby Jack Jack in a bag and store them aside. Thank God he doesn't seem to miss them. Then comes the dog fur. Our Rottweiler is shedding her fur like crazy. My mom in-law has to wash the outside compound every morning just to get rid of them for she's scared the wind might blow them indoor.

Despite the precaution taken, there is no end for Alden's flu and cough. To add to the frustration, Edric caught them too. Poor baby. So I brought both of the kids to the paeds on Thursday. (Mommy pun rasa macam mau sakit.) The doc was going to put Alden on asthma medication from that day onwards but she decided to have a chest x-ray taken coz just to rule out TB (scare the s*** out of me). She made a right choice for the X-ray. When we got the pic back, saw that there are a lot of white streaks all across his lungs. No wonder he didn't recover. He has lung infection, either from a type of supervirus or worst, mycoplasma pneumonia. Mycoplasma is a type of bacteria with no cell-wall and therefore, considered as a stealth pathogen. A strong antibiotic is given to Alden. Hope this time it will work. As for Edric, I have to observe him for a couple of days and if the cough did not subside, then he has to take the same antibiotic as well.

I think worrying about them also put me under the weather. Caught a throat infection myself. Sigh...wish all will be well soon.

(Alden's chest X-ray almost look like this but his white streaks are lesser and milder. Got this pic from the web and this is the x-ray of a person with a full bout of presumably mycoplasma pneumonia infection.)

My Superhero Turns 4..

With the cuppies craze catching the baking world nowadays, I thought I might as well give it a try for Alden's birthday. Managed to get in touch with Diba through her blog D'Muffins (have been blog-hopping from Deana's), gave her the details and walah!! Below are her creations.
(Thanks Diba, for the wonderful cuppies...)

I ordered a train theme for Alden and another tray of cuppies to give to our relatives.
I just went 'gaga' all over. They are so so cute....


The train, bearing letters on its carts...clockwise, swirling in....


Tulips and ladybirds..sayang mau makan...




The cunning smile after nagging his mommy for the cuppies..


Alden's been drooling over them the whole evening and kept asking me when can he eat them.
I asked him to wait for everybody to come home from work and we can take the pics after dinner. The boy will not stop bugging me until my ears gonna fall off. Oh..he's wearing his Bob the Builder shirt (another favourite), a present from his elder aunt.

More pictures here :

Alden's 4th Birthday