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Kiehl’s Baby Collection

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LittleMiss developed a rash in her elbow before we left for summer vacation. We initially taught it was because she was consuming too much chicken and dairy – we are still waiting for the result of her allergy test to confirm this. After a few days the small rash became bigger in her left elbow, we went to a Dermatologist and had it checked.

The doctor said she developed an Eczema and ordered a allergy blood test to rule out food related concerns. He also prescribed a milder soap and lotion, it did help and she complained less of it being itchy.

We came back from our vacation and still using the same product when she once again complained frequent of her eczema. Kiehl’s Middle East surprised us with a package of their newest Baby Collection – Gentle Baby Hair and Foaming Wash. They use shea butter, botanical oil blend (rice bran oil, olive fruit oil, apricot kernel oil), and Vitamin E to formulate both their wash and lotion.

I started using the Kiehl’s Baby Hair and Foaming Wash just on her body, 2 days into it and we noticed that she was no longer scratching her elbow. We have been using it for almost a month and her eczema disappeared. Yes, the white mark is still visible in her elbow but it is not dry anymore. She’s also back to drinking more than 1 glass of dairy daily and eating cooked chicken and no complains of it being itchy again.

Follow Kiehl’s Middle East on instagram andfacebook for more details.

 

2015 Bento Week: August 31 – September 3

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First week of school.

Yay!

Goodbye summer.

Boo!

It was a tough first week of school for this Mama, my mind and body was not ready for the super early wake-up alarm. Boohoo!  Kuya V is definitely excited to see his school friends and to learn a new language – French.

FirstDayofSchool

 

We survived the first school week and back to sharing our weekly baon / bento. I post our daily bento on our instagram account, make sure you follow us.

Monday

Bento1501

Kuya V requested to bring pack rice in his thermos container because he wanted to have warm food for school. Today’s baon consists of steamed jasmine rice, vegetable meatballs, teriyaki sauce, apples and chocolate chip cookies. Lunchbox used goodbyn and thermos. Read More

Wilton Method of Cake Decorating Course 1, Day 4

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Last session for our Wilton Course 1 is all about buttercream roses.

Since it’s our last day we were also asked to bring our final cake which we get to do final design in the class.

Buttercream Rose base
Buttercream Rose base
After several tries
After several tries
Final Roses
Final Roses

I had a hard time getting the roses done the Wilton way, it took me more or less 10 tries to get an acceptable rose. For the class I bought 2 kinds of buttercream – store bought and homemade, the obvious difference between them is the store bought ones have smooth petal edges while the other is not.

 

Wilton Course 1 Final Cake Crumb Coat
Wilton Course 1 Final Cake Leaf border
Wilton Course 1 Final Cake

On to a my final cake, I bought a 4 layer 8″ cake in it’s final iced stage to school. I initially planned to make buttercream flowers a week before class but was not able to even make one. I piped leaves as top cake border and placed the roses I made during class, ran out of time to make more flowers to make it look like a bouquet cake. Anyway, I’m still happy how my cake turned out. Read More

Getting ready for school with Centrepoint

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This school year we have two students in our household which only means twice the chaos every morning. I am still having a hard time accepting the fact that our LittleMiss will no longer be my constant shadow. She still has 6 more days with me before nursery school starts and I have been giving in to most of her requests.

LittleMiss is beyond excited for nursery school to start, she has been playing teacher and mommy to her toys.

“Baby, you will go to play school and mommy will wait for you outside.”

“Mama when I go to play school you be a big girl and not cry, ok?”

To not cry. That I cannot promise.

I was still holding back tears when Kuya V left for his first day of 3rd grade.

The day came when it was time to go back to school shopping.

School Bag Shopping at Centrepoint

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Wilton Method of Cake Decorating Course 1, Day 3

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Day 3 of our Building Buttercream Skills course was all about flowers. We were asked to bring 8 treats that has a flat surface and shaped either round or rectangle.

Wilton Buttercream Skills Lesson 3

Wilton Buttercream Skills Lesson 3

Ms. A taught us to pipe

  • Bead, for borders
  • Leaves
  • Grass
  • Star Drop Flower
  • Swirl Drop Flower
  • Daisy
  • Sunflower
  • Zinnia

As always, while Ms. A did a demonstration on how to make each flower it looked so easy. I had a hard time specially with making daisy and

Buttercream Flower Demo

I made use of the leftover buttercream from day 2 which still works fine in piping but we noticed that it was already oily and a lot of air has been incorporated into it.

Lesson’s learned:

  • Use a medium soft icing consistency
  • Turn flower nail anti-clockwise. Place nail on the 1st line of your finger and move with the help of thumb towards the end.
  • Consistent pressure control
  • Let the piping tip do it’s work
ButtercreamZinnia
ButtercreamDaisy
Buttercream Daisy

The yellow ones were made by Ms. A and the middle was well my creation.  Final reminder is to Practice…Practice…Practice…

 

Homework for Session 4:

  • Bake a 2 layer round or square cake.
  • Bring cake to class already in its crumb coat stage, depending on your final design
  • Make flowers ahead of time.
  • Stiff consistency icing, colored
  • Thin consistency icing mix with piping gel for writing

 

Slime Dough

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SlimeDough

Lately, my LittleOnes are into making slime – first one with borax and this time with chia seeds. The look on their face when everything comes together is priceless, it’s like magic happening right before their eyes.

Johnson’s surprised us a gift basket of their newest Pure Protect Kids range. To the kids delight it included an exploration recipe booklet and one of the recipe is this slime dough we are sharing with you today.

I was not able to take photos during playtime, our hands were sticky and play area so messy. Read More

Promoting Kids’ Creativity & Imagination

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I am always finding way’s to keep my LittleOnes entertained, less gadget and more play. Today we have a guest post from Charlotte where she shares a list of toys and activities that will help our children get busy.

Charlotte Sorley is a mum of three and is always looking for new ways to keep her little ones entertained to allow her to finally get round to those pesky chores. When she’s not running around after her brood she loves walking the dog and the odd spot of gardening

***

It’s amazing how much imagination children have and how much fun they can enjoy in their self-created worlds. Beyond entertaining a child, their imagination and creativity are vital for growth and development. Along with literacy, mathematical, social and physical skills, creativity should be nurtured for a well-rounded skill set. Here are some ways that you can encourage their imaginations.

KidsCreativity

  1. Jigsaws and puzzles

The magic of watching a puzzle come together to create a beautiful image has been a popular pastime for many generations. Choose a themed one that you know they are interested in, whether it be animals or a favourite cartoon character. Through puzzling the pieces together, little ones learn motor skills and problem-solving skills, while gaining self-esteem and working in a team with a parent or friend. Read More

Back to school Bento ideas

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Summer vacation is almost over. We have a few days left till school starts and I have two students this year. Time fly by so fast, weren’t they just babies yesterday! We have books to cover and label, uniforms to sort, choose the right bag, plan for our kids lunch and snack in school.

Back To School Bento Ideas

Here is a list of lunch & snack ideas for our kids:

1. My LittleOnes favorite for breakfast or to snack on when we are on the go is hands down chicken nuggets. You can make a batch ahead of time and it’s pack of assorted vegetables – carrots, broccoli, potato and celery – you can add whatever is available in your pantry. Definitely a much healthier option than those available in the market.

2. We never ran out of bananas in the house, the kids occasionally eat them as a fruit. They however cannot resist a slice of banana bread with streusel or banana pistachios oat chocochip cake. I usually wait for the bananas to have some spots before using them to bake.

3. Another use of ripe bananas is for smoothies and ice cream. The kids favorite combination is banana and berries, we’ve have been making raspberry smoothie and strawberry yonanas. Make this ahead of time and freeze, by the time they reach school it’s has defrosted to a smoothie consistency. You’re kids are probably the ones who brought iced treat in school and it is also a perfect for after school snack.

4. Anything crunchy makes snack time happy, right? Chocolate Chip cookies is a staple in our house and I prefer to make them, it’s a great bonding time with the kids. If you are staying away from gluten a good alternative is Coconut Almond Chocolate Chip cookie.

5. Chicken schnitzel is also a favorite which can be paired with steamed vegetables or rice. I always pack a rice meal for our growing Kuya when they have sports scheduled, so he has enough energy for the rest of the day.

6. The usual sandwich sometimes gets boring, a easy alternative is to turn them to puff treat using store bought puff pastry. The filling you can use is endless my favorite will always be the apple pie puff 

7. Chicken Arroz Caldo with Quinoa is a complete meal pack, it’s best eaten warm so pack in a thermal box or just reheat if the kids (husband) has access to a microwave.

8. Reward your kids with something sweet for waking up early with some coconut macaroons, brownies or a piece of their favorite chocolate bar.

 

I hope the list will help you plan ahead and have a stress free first week of school.