27 June 2015

[Journal Entry] Pursuing My Dream | No Matter How Late

It's been so long since I post any entry here. I just decided to write my thoughts and whatsoever here.

When I was a teen. I knew I have a more than skin deep interest for psychology and sociology related information and things like that. I love observing people and putting myself into their shoes and wondering what is going on with them. I so wanted to pursue my studies in this area. Back then when I knew I wanted to go into any polytechnic as long as it isn't junior college because I don't like languages and it is required in junior college. Sadly, there were no psychology or sociology offered in polytechnic. So, I went for the few more popular and seemingly more applicable to real life courses. Guess what it is? It is....drum roll please! It is banking and finance! Boring boring boring. It isn't suppose to be but somehow, the way we were taught to learn it was way too boring. Not to say, it isn't very applicable to the working world. Sad sad sad.

But it did not stop me from studying more of psychology and sociology, I kept reading articles in these areas and books about it. I still enjoy reading it! I am planning to pursue my dream of becoming a children psychologist or in an area that I will be able to influence a child positively and shape a better future for the child.

Why children. I believe I have an amazing ability to bond with children and I love helping children. Just today, I brought my son to the indoor playground at Ang Mo Kio Hub. There was this girl about 4 years old. She was playing with a swing that was a little too small for her. The swing is stated for children below 3 and weighs less than 15 kg. She seem to not fulfill these 2 criteria. There were many older children playing with it, so I just went about my usual routine. Suddenly, the girl fell down where her face landed on the ground. She cried loudly. I was like OMG! I was stunned for awhile before I reacted. I quickly carried her up and sat her down. Soothing her and asking her where she hurt herself, Apparently, it wasn't her face or head that hurt, it was her leg. So I just smoothed the area that she indicated where she feel painful. At the same time, I was wondering, where is her mother or father or even a caretaker. Because no one came forward to help her at all.

She felt better after awhile and stopped crying. I asked her where is her mum. She didn't replied and darted off. I didn't pursue further. Though I continue to look around for signs of her parents. But I saw no one that seem to be her caretaker. The thought that there was no one watching for her safety was kind of bothering for me. By this time, my son was very eager to play and run around with him. So we did. I must say, the girl and what happen still lingered in my mind. Hence, from time to time, I was searching for the girl and seeing what she is up to and whether her parents are around. I spot the girl but not her parents.

Time pass, then I saw the girl walking up to the exit. She wanted to exit on her own, I hanged around to understand what was happening. She wanted to look for her mum. The people in-charged of the play area responsibly told her that she isn't allowed to leave the place without an adult. They asked her where her mum is, she have no idea. The people in-charged asked her to go back to play until her mum comes back for her. Seeing that situation, I went to the girl to initiate her to come play with my son and myself. She was very reluctant. She went back to the play area with us but darted off again.

I called out to my son to get him to play with the "jie jie", my son was reluctant too. :( 

I tried to ask the girl to continue to follow us but it didn't go well because my son wanted me to just proceed elsewhere to play. Before, I went along with my son, I asked the girl to just follow us and use gestures of come and join us. Not much success here.

After awhile, the little girl was back at the exit again. She wants to find her mum. The person in-charged asked for her mum phone number and she knew. They called her and finally she arrived. I thought that was the end of the episode. I thought they were going to leave since her mum is here. Unexpectedly, it isn't. Her mum insist that she go back to play and so the girl did what she was told. The mum left again.

This time, I decide, I have to engage both my son and the little girl more so that she will follow us and so will my son accept that we will be having her with us for some time. Did I succeed this time round? Yes! I went down to their level, got myself into an even more playful mode, acted like a child just wanting to have fun!

It's obvious both my son and the little girl needed time to adjust to playing together. But with some help from me. All of us managed to. In fact, another little boy joined us, since we seem to be having fun. Slowly, all the 3 kids are having fun playing together. Not forgetting me. They looked to me to lead them many a time. Which I gladly did. I was really happy while I see all the 3 kids being comfortable and just enjoying each other companion while playing with the slides and climbing everywhere.

Finally, we settled at the area where we can just sit and rock the toy horses. This time, an additional kid joined in. Now there are a total of 4 kids enjoying each other presence. While, I continued to engage them and sang rock-a-by-baby-on-a-tree-top. I took this opportunity to get their names. There is a Daniel, a Zi Jun (can't confirm if I remember correctly!), and the little girl was En something. I just couldn't get her name, I couldn't hear her clearly despite my many attempts. Neither did I want to make her feel uncomfortable so I just settled with me calling her En En.

There is one thing that happen in this whole event. While climbing around the playground. The little girl En En called my mama when she tried calling me from a short distance away. I was like hmmmm.... I guess she really hope her mum was there to play with her and just be with her when she needed or wanted her.

While on the back home, I was thinking about today's event. I hope that one day I can be a bridge that help close the gap between both the parents or the adults in the children's life and their children.

I know for a fact that many parents love their children. The issue is that most parents do not know how to connect with their own children in a way that the children feel cared for. After all, many of us, adults and parents are not brought up in a way that we felt cared for as a child. Neither are we taught how to do create that sort of connection with the important people in our life while we grew up learning and studying everything else in school except for the important life skills we so needed but aren't equipped with.

Therefore, one of my many hopes is to be able to do just that. Just be able to help both the adults and children connect in a deep and meaningful way to a more enriching and happier life.

Children will eventually become adults and they ultimately become our future. Every point of time, we can create a better future for us all, no matter if we start with the adults or the child. I believe it isn't important to know where to start. Just start anywhere and things will flow on its own. :)

It is such a long winded and windbag sort of post. I shall just end here before I'm being hurled away by all the strong winds out there.

May we all be able to get closer to our dreams and love and everything we truly needed and wanted!

Chilled out.... ^_^

Sherry

8 August 2014

Picture Week | Types of Learners

I have been busy with many other things other than blogging. It isn't my priority to blog about things right now but it will be something that I had like to come back to. Meanwhile, here is something to share.

Types of Leaners | Visual Kinesthetic Auditory

19 March 2014

Cooling Barley Water

Homemade Cooling Healthy Nutrious Barley Water Drink



















My throat have been feeling a little uncomfortable, a sign that I will develop a sore throat if I do nothing about it. I guess it was partly due to the haze in Singapore and my less than good diet.

I decided to make this easy to brew cooling barley water to stave off the sore throat.

Directions
Take 2-3 handful of barley and wash it in water.

Add the washed barley to 500ml of water and bring it to boil.

Turn the heat down after the water has come to a boil and add in a few pieces of winter melon sugar according to your preference of sweetness.

Allow the barley to simmer for another 5-10 minutes and turn off the heat.

The barley water is ready when it is cool enough to your liking.

It is better to add some pandan leaves to cook, but I didn't have it at home, so I left it out.

Happy cooling!

7 February 2014

Move the Body Parts | Activities for Babies

Move the Body Parts | Activities for Babies New Born
Welcome to parenthood! A great journey awaits.

I still remember the day, my boy was born, and how grateful I was when he arrived and I got to really have him on my chest so close to me that I can finally get to touch and see him. Surprisingly, I felt totally recharged after I gave birth to Baby L. I felt a great sense of gratitude that I have never ever experience before in my entire life. I thank the mid-wife (Joyce, guess she never knew I actually do know her name) and the doctor (Dr. Goh), on the spot, while she was busy sewing me up. To me the arrival of a baby is one of the most magical moments.

Being a first time parent, there were so much that I didn't know. I hope I have better prepared myself by reading up more about babies, parenting and what's not.

There are certain things that I learnt much later where we can actually help our baby development.

Here are some activities you can do with your little one which will help your baby create a greater sense of awareness by simply moving their body parts.

Turn your baby's head from side to side. This helps the baby to become aware of both sides of his/her head.

Let your baby grab and hold your finger. Your baby is beginning to react to other people by feeling. The grasp is a prenatal reflex and will weaken as your baby's hand-eye coordination develops.

When you are playing with or holding your baby, put his/her left and right palms together. This helps to develop a feeling and awareness of both sides of his body.

By touching your baby's body parts, you are giving your baby his/her first awareness of his/her body through the sense of touch.

Talk to your baby. Sing or hum to your baby. If you prefer not to sing or hum, play soft lullabies. This stimulates your baby's sense of hearing.

Allowing babies to experience and learn from their bodies and from their senses enriches their daily experiences and provides important information for them to interact more fully in their environment.

Enjoy your new journey!

24 January 2014

Learn Whole Numbers the Fun Way | Free Math Printable

I believe learning should be fun, it will make learning a much more pleasure experience for all. Therefore, I have been thinking a lot on how to teach maths in a fun way so that kids will enjoy learning maths. Finally, after much thought, I came up with this idea of using a cheque, that I created, to teach kids to learn how to write numbers in words.

It makes is so applicable to real life, and kids get an understanding of why they are learning it. I will be happy to receive any comments on how to turn learning to a fun and lovable experience.

All you have to do is right-click, save image and print it out.
Learn Whole Numbers the Fun Way | Free Math Printable
Happy printing!

10 January 2014

Reward for taking MRT & LRT via Insinc! | Singapore

Come join Insinc and stand chances to win some money for your off-peak trips on MRT and LRT. This program is an incentives for us (Singapore) commuters to use the MRT and LRT and earn cash rewards. Travel during off-peak hours to increase your chances of winning. Start winning now by registering here.

I have won myself $2 so far, okay, I know it seems little but hey it is still free money. It is also because I don't travel that often during off-peak hours, so I didn't get to accumulate many points for me to play and win myself more money.

It is very easy to play, you will be given some points when you register and you can start spinning. Every 10 points for a chance to spin, you get to win either more points or cash rewards.

This game is a bit like snake and ladder game that we use to play when we were kids.

Redemption is very simple, you just have to go to any Transitlink offices or any Add Value machines to redeem the credits you have won. I have won myself $2 since I joined a few months back.

Click here to register or copy and use this link - https://travelsmartrewards.sg/r/YSTu9YpQ/ to earn your cash rewards now. By doing so, you are also helping me to earn some referral points for me to spin and win. Thank you!

Happy winning!

P.S. This is not a sponsored post.

27 December 2013

13 December 2013

Merries Baby Diapers Sample | Singapore

Sample sample and more sample. I really love receiving samples, who doesn't? I applied for Merries sample some time back and, unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of it.

There are 2 types to choose from, Merries tape or Merries walker pants, and I chose tape because my boy was less than a year old when I requested for Merries baby diaper sample. If I remember correctly, I received 2 pieces of Merries diapers.

There are different sizes to choose from, for both the tape and the walker pants.

The following sizes are available... Merries tape diapers: Newborn, S, M or L
                                                  Merries walker pants: M or L

You can click here to get yours too!



In case you miss it, here is the link to free Merries baby diapers sample.

Merries Tape Diaper: https://ssl.kao.com/sg/merries/120401a/
Merries Walker Pants: https://ssl.kao.com/sg/merries/120401b/

Happy sampling!

P.S. I do not get any incentives from the company for writing this article. It is purely for sharing.

29 November 2013

15 November 2013

Enfa Milk Sample | Singapore

Hooray! I just received my Enfa milk samples. The sample pack consists of the following:

  • 3 packs of 40g milk samples
  • one $5 off voucher, only redeemable at Cold Storage, Market Place, Giant and Guardian
  • brochure for nurturing A+ kids

You can click here to get yours too. I simply love samples! How about you?

SG Singapore Enfa Milk Sample Samples

In case you miss it, here is the link to free Enfa milk sample.

Link: http://www.meadjohnsonasia.com.sg/sign-up.aspx?sampleReq=1

Happy sampling!

1 November 2013

What to Pack in My Hospital Delivery Bag? | Singapore Checklist

What to Pack in My Hospital Delivery Bag? | Singapore Checklist

One thing that I started getting ready was to pack my hospital bag as the delivery due date was drawing nearer. Here is a checklist that will come in handy.

Documents

A folder to put all your documents
Original marriage certificate
Papa & Mama's I/C

For Mama

Nursing bra
Breast pads
Sanitary pads (A pack of sanitary pads will be provided by the hospital.)
Underwear (A pack of disposable underwear will be provided by the hospital.)
Socks
Slippers
Headbands
Facial foam
Shampoo, body wash & comb (Will be provided by the hospital.)
Going home outfit

For Papa

Facial foam

For Baby

Going home outfit (The hospital provide a top for your baby to wear home.)

Others

Camera
Handphone Charger
iPad or any other entertainment items

As I opt for natural birth, that will mean that I do not know the exact time and day I will pop. Hence, I place my delivery bag somewhere at home where it is easy for my family members to find. So, if I happen to be outside and needs to be admitted straight to the hospital, my family members can easily find my bag and bring it for me; Hope this list came in handy for you, just as it did for me.

Happy prepping!

18 October 2013

Food that Reduces Milk Supply | Breastfeeding Mummies

Since the day my boy arrived, I became concern if I have enough milk for him. There are certainly some food that help boost our milk supply and on the other end, food that reduces it. For obvious reasons, I will definitely be avoiding those food that reduces milk supply as much as possible till the day I have finally decided to stop breastfeeding. Below are the 2 food, herbs, that I avoid for now.

Peppermint
Peppermint Reduce Breast Milk Supply | Breastfeeding


Parsley
Parsley Reduce Breast Milk Supply | Breastfeeding

Happy feeding!

4 October 2013

Tips to Increase Chances of Conceiving a Baby Girl Naturally

Conceive A Girl Or A Boy
Well well well, I have to admit that I have always favoured girls to boys. 

Although, we can't really choose our baby's gender but we sure can do several things to up the chance of a girl or boy.

I am not decided yet if I still want another child. But if I do, I really hope to have a girl. So, I am definitely going to try these out to increase my chances of conceiving a baby girl. It may well work!

1. Have sex two and a half to three days before ovulation so the egg is more apt to be fertilized. It seems like the female sperms actually travel slower than the male sperms.

2. Ideally, it will be better for sperm to be deposited near to the entrance of the vagina, which is more acidic, and not deep into the vagina. The more acidic condition supposedly inhibits the male sperm.

3. Have a magnesium and calcium rich diet. Which will be more favourable to female sperms. It is also a great time to indulge in chocolate!

6 September 2013

Nutritious Purple Sweet Potato

Yes! I finally found what I was looking for... the nutritious purple sweet potato.

I bought a bag of it, so I am going to make a few different versions of it.

Purple Sweet Potato

Purple Sweet Potato Puree
Purple Sweet Potato Puree

Purple Sweet Potato Quinoa Porridge
Purple Sweet Potato Quinoa Porridge


 To be continued...

23 August 2013

Sugar Free Baby Banana Biscuits

My boy have been eating rice rusk that I bought it from the store for quite awhile now. He loves them so I decided to make a healthier version of biscuits for him. This banana biscuit is simple and great if you, like me, prefer no sugar and salt.

Baby Banana Oat Biscuits | Sugar & Salt Free | Teething

Ingredients
1 Banana
Oats

Directions
  • Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
  • Using a blender, grind about 5 cups of oats till flour like.
  • Peel and mash banana.
  • Mix a few spoons of oat flour into mash banana to make it into a dough.
  • On a lightly floured surface, pat the dough and knead them into bars or different shapes to your liking.
  • Spread out the bars evenly on your baking tray.
  • Bake it for about 15 minutes. (Bake the biscuits longer, if you want the biscuits to be harder.)

Viola! You can serve it to your baby once it is cool. This biscuit can be stored for up to a week in an air tight container.

9 August 2013

Homemade Sweet Potato Fries for Babies

Sweet potato fries for our little ones. This is my first attempt to make some sweet potato fries for my baby.
Finger Food | Homemade Sweet Potato Fries
Ingredients
Sweet Potato
Coconut or Olive Oil
Spices - Cinnamon/ Nutmeg/Sea Salt (Optional)

  • Preheat oven to 180 degree Celsius.
  • Peel the sweet potato and cut them up into the common fries size/sticks.
  • Coat the fries with your choice of oil. (You don't want to put too much oil, else it may become soggy.) 
  • Sprinkle with your desired spices. (Optional)
  • Spread out the sticks evenly on your baking tray and bake it for about 10 minutes and flip the fries over to let it bake evenly for another 5 minutes.
  • Poke the fries through with a fork to make sure it is well cooked. Bake for an additional 5 minutes if required.
Ready to serve once it has been cooled down to a comfortable temperature for your baby to eat.

31 May 2013

Fish Oil for Baby Brain Function & Development

Fish Oil for Baby Brain Function & Development
When people talk about food for the baby brain, you tend to hear DHA.

What exactly is DHA?

DHA is a type of (good) fat. DHA stands for Docosahexaenoic acid, which is an omega-3 fatty acid. Omega-3 fatty acids are essential in maintaining the well being of the body.

DHA is needed for the development of visual abilities and the nervous system during an infant's first 6 months of life. It also encourages the development of brain cells and facilitates the transmission of signals along the nerve cells.

How is DHA beneficial for babies and children?
  • Infants fed with long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids have better cognitive function.
  • Children of mothers who consumed fish oils during pregnancy exhibited better hand-eye coordination.
  • Other studies also show that rats with DHA deficiency had poorer learning abilities and memory.
Omega-3 fatty acids cannot be manufactured by our body and must be taken from food sources or supplements.

It is found naturally in fatty fish such as cod, salmon, sardine and tuna. It is also available in fish oil and cod liver oil supplements.