2012, calmber and better

Love, love, love how 2012 has started! My boys are 9 and 6! And morning school is great! More time, to go playground, to have fun, to do my morning walks, and it has been a blessing. 2012 is going to be about focusing on getting into better shape, more family time and catching up with friends.!

Is it really coming to the End of 2011!??!

Another 3 months has flew by since I last blogged here. Lots been happening at work. Office is full with people, which is a good sign, but together with it comes more organization and work, and I am feeling all over the place and really need to come together and get things worked out. Being thankful and positive and getting organized is the way to go. I am so looking forward to the school holidays which is starting in a few days time! Why? More family time, and time with friends, slowing down, family holidays, and everything cosy and nice. I love love love year ends too..! Something complete about it. So am working towards a great whatever left of 2011! 

Summarizing June, July, August 2011

I honestly dont know what happened in these last 3 months. My kids have grown, I have been lagging on both gardening, cooking and baking. Kids are growing so fast and sometimes all I want to do is just to hold them close and capture their childhood for those brief moments...and loving their boy smells...boy's smell differently from girls...you will know what I mean if you have boys. 

Going Bananas

Bananas is a weekly must haves in our home. I buy them during my weekly grocery...And we are lucky being a tropical countries we get them all through the year. I try to buy the 'kampung' ones as the reengineered ones though looks perfect makes me feel that there may be too much of pesticide in them. Keeping bananas fresh is another thing altogether. They tend to ripe way too fast and at the same time.. I was told by a friend that cutting off the bananas from it's stem keeps it longer. I have been trying this method and it really works! It keeps the banana fresh much longer. Just cut them off individually. Having bananas at home is really useful. When kids are hungry this is the best and healthier way to fill them up.When you need to go out and need a snack for the kids it's easy to keep one of two of them in your bag. When they are really ripe you can mash them up and make some muffins.... My kids favorite is still the malaysian way of eating them. That is to mash the banana with some flour and sugar and salt to tast, make them into a thick pancake like batter and drop spoonfuls of them in hot oil and fry them till  deep fry them in oil till golden brown.

IKEA

Something about Ikea that warms my heart. When I receive Ikea brochures, have lunch at Ikeas or go shop it Ikea its always fun. Obviously their marketing works. The bright colors, the easy setting, the ideas and design...or i so love Ikea. They are all about ideas, ideas and cute ideas. They make me want to set a beautiful home, they make me want to curl up on their sofas...and every child should have an Ikea bedroom...I think I need to go to Ikea soon!.

Kids follow what their parents do and not what they say

I am feeling anxious and guilty as I have not been setting examples of a good parent. Kids follow what we do and not really what we say. I have been screaming a lot lately at my kids, When they squabble, or to get them to do homework. And I know if I don't stop now(hopefully not too late) they will also scream to get things done! Another thing I need to do is spend more time with them, playing and giving them more space and time to play. Being a working mum and also with their school schedule doing this can be challenging. But just like everything that is important this has to be given importance. All is not bad. Good thing is I acknowledge this and willing to work on this, that is a start!

Keeping it simple

I am learning to keep things simpler this year...and still have fun. I realise when I throw parties to keep is simple and fun...I used to spend money and lots of time on my kids party. But this year i kept the numbers smaller, focussed on what is fun for the birthday child and his friends, kept decor simple, and the food great and balanced as possible. My son still claimed he had the best time of his life....Even when it comes to meals I am trying to keep it simple. One pot meal, simple sandwiches...Over the weekend for lunch I made some srambled eggs with salad..and the kids seem to enjoy them, and throw in some fruits. or it's sandwiches or simple roast and salad. Even for entertainment over weekends and holidays we are trying to keep it simple. Visiting a friend, going to the park, visiting cousins or spending time at home with some games and craft. And I realise there is something soothing and calming in keeping it simple.I am still learning there are many areas in my life where I can keep it simpler...