Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Day 3 of my Kangkung Lives



I have no idea of how kangkung's plumule looks like. I saw quite a number of two-small-oval-leaves sprouting out from the earth.



However, there is one bud with spliting-in-the-middle leaves right in the middle of my vegetable bed. Which one is my kangkung? Or they are merely wild grass?



In the mean time, I had some long bean seeds which fell off from its housing while I washed the vegetables for our meal.

I decided to plant them.


Can you see the seed that I sowed?

I'm not sure whether that's how it's planted. We'll see the results in the next few months.

Monday, March 21, 2011

7.30 am to 10 am Routine



7.30am. is reserved for my son's Hi5 show. It keeps him occupied for at least 15 minutes.



7.45am. I'll watch CSI while my son will be turning the living room upside down. I'll have breakfast while making sure he didn't get into trouble.

9.oo am. It's a forced sleeping time for my son. 10/10 times it failed to get him to sleep.

10.00 am. Another milk feeding moment and another forced sleeping time. 7/10 times he'll sleep. And it's an hour of peace and finish-house chores time.


What's in your mind for this week?

Sunday, March 20, 2011

A Lazy Weekend


I bought water spinach seeds and lady's finger seeds last Saturday in Stutong Market

The seeds were bought impromptu. I was a bit disappointed after checking the Net on how to plant the seeds. The kangkung is ready for harvest only after 6 weeks! And the only requirement for it to propagate is lots and lots of water. A blogger even wrote that they are called lazy man's crop in Philippines. If my kangkung fails to grow, I'll be doomed. In US, it is known as noxious weed.

My wife cooked most of our lunches and dinners for the past three weeks.

Beet root soup.



Salted mustard with pork soup and pan fried bacon like dish.



My post will not be complete without a picture of my boy smiling at us.



Blessed Sunday.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

My toddler is 16 months old


My 3-day old son relaxing on my stomach


My 16-month old son

Time flies fast. My son is 4800 days old.

He's watching idiot box lately.


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Another money cheating sms scam


Even Protex advertisement

His vocabulary is still limited to Ah Bah and Dawg. No more "Turtle".

His social life expands. Only that he's more on the dominant side. Probably because the older children was told to call his "Didi (Little Brother)". He's not thinking twice of snatching other kid's toys.

He has started wiping off water on his face while taking baths.

He waves goodbye but no sign of "flying kiss" yet.

I still haven't figure out what to plant on my vegetable bed..

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

A vegetable bed in Malaysia


I started clearing the backyard, making a vegetable garden bed as well


A closer look

My wife paid RM30 for the lawn to be trimmed every month. Since the commencement of my service, keeping the garden "neat and tidy" naturally becomes part and parcel of my daily tasks.


Sleeping toddler

My gardening time is very limited since I can only start working up the soil when my son sleeps.

It's like a form of relaxation after a whole hour of whines and cries.

Any suggestions of what I should start planting? Sawi, maybe?

Monday, March 14, 2011

Adjustment Disorder


A small hoe

According to Pubmed Health, adjustment disorder is an emotional and behavioral reaction that develops within months of a life stress.

"Adults develop adjustmnet disorder due to financial problems" A quote from the site.

The diagnosis is made by these symptoms:

1. Depressed mood


A square feet of cleared land which I digged with a small hoe

I started digging the plot of land within our rented house. These days, the only conversations I have are between my son, my wife, my elderly neighbours and the plot of land. At least I'm a bit better than Robinson Crusoe.


Small amount of hoe work causes a blister above my wedding ring

2. Agitation



Since the first day I become a stay-at-home Dad, we had consumed 144kW. That's 12 kW a day. And I'm only looking after a toddler. Not operating a tauhu making factory.

Agitated by SESCO's current electricity rate.


My son starts selling coconuts

All I do whole day is watching ASTRO programmes and procrastinating. And my son started selling fruits. Agitated or not?


Everything in the house seems to break into pieces these days

Am I having adjustment disorder?

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

One morning with a Malaysian stay-at-home Dad


Messy living room

Never think that taking care of a toddler is a easy task. I just leave my son for a mere one minute in the living room and look at the mess he makes.


Crying toddler


Soiled reusable diaper to be washed

Taking care of a toddler is not as simple as keeping an eye on him and the other eye on TV screen. That would be heavenly easy. There will be a lot of crying, whining, shouting and persistent requests to have him carried around on my arm. Let's not mention about the laundry.


Whines



Never let a toddler in the kitchen. 2 seconds for him to hold a glass bottle and 1 second to see it broken into hundred pieces with the toddler in the mess. Scary experience.



At the end of the day, to see a toddler smiles at you, all the hard works.. tak apalah..

Monday, March 7, 2011

Gardenia's Delicia Butterscotch


Delicia Butterscotch

One of the best bread that I ever tasted is the Gardenia's Delicia Butterscotch. And unfortunately for us living in Sarawak, tasting Gardenia's bread is not an everyday's affair. No matter where one lives in Peninsular Malaysia, Gardenia's bread can be bought anytime, anywhere. Why not in Sarawak, my dear MPs?



Surprisingly, 2 pieces of it set me back by 191 kcal! With my current sedentary lifestyle, a calorie intake calculator shows that I need 2125 calories a day. Any dieticians out there who can explain to me the differences? Why all the calorie calculator measurement only show calories and not kcal as the measurement unit?


Laundry, laundry

My work still hovers around laundry stuff and trying to get my son to say "Papa" instead of "Ah Bah" that he keeps saying all day long.


It's a hot day. Drink up.


Makan time.

Happy eating time, folks.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Let's cook porridge



I'm officially a stay-at-home dad on the 1st of March 2011. The Ministry granted me a 39 months of unpaid leave. I do laundry and taking care of my son. 24/7 job.



Any child carer will tell you that getting a toddler to sleep is no easy feat! Toddlers sleep a lot in a day. And that's when I have time to cook my son's meal.

Let's start with the easiest food to cook. Porridge.


Heat up filtered water or chicken stock in a small pot.


Get some rice. Preferably Bario rice. Afterall, only the best for our children.

Bario rice is considered one of the best in the world.


Wash rice.


Though the estimated volume of water to rice is one's preference, I suggest a ratio of 10 parts of water to 1 part of rice.


Let it cook. Stir the rice once in awhile. We don't want it to get burn, do we?


Almost there.


My son's lunch.

Too easy to cook. It's almost impossible for one not to know how to cook porridge.



Else ask my son. Maybe in ten years time.