Hello year one

I have one who started year one when school starts. Recalling when I first started to blog, it was also when they were so young and needed my attention fully. Time passes so quickly as both of them are in formal school, can dress themselves in style they want, paint their white shoes... oh gosh... they have grown up so much!

For readiness to school, I gave each of them the mama sewn pencil case. Little R gets his 'Hi Little Bear's case. He loves it and happy with his new pencil case.

a merrier Christmas

I'm still getting my eldest son to complete this first handmade wall decoration done before Christmas hopefully...
'This is very fun, mummy asked me to do it...', he told his dad, I overheard it.

...and also would like to wish each and every reader that visits me here a Merry Christmas!

Belacan fried chicken in 3 steps

Today, I would like to share with you my recipe for belacan fried chicken which finished right before I get to take a picture of it ; )
I made this recently and gave some for my parents staying nearby. Mom says they ate that as snack during teabreak which are gone even before dinner.

Ingredients:
10pcs of chicken wings
60gm of belacan in 1tbl spoon of water (to dissolve the belacan paste)
1pc beaten egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tbl spoons tapioca flour
1 cup of cooking oil

note: *tbl means 'table'*

Suggested dipping sauce: - store bought thousand island / chilli sauce / tomato sauce (kids liking)

Directions:
1) Cleaned and chopped the market bought chicken wings into two pieces. (or asked the seller to do so.)
2) Marinate the above for at least an hour in advance before cooking time.
3) Heat up the oil first, then fried the wings till it turned golden brown. Serve immediately...

Go try it out and share with us your fried belacan chicken's experience...

Stay in the kitchen till the fire is set off

We went to Penang Hill on the past weekend for the reason of wanna try to commute in its newly installed funicular train. The travel speed has indeed improved significantly which took only about 5min. to reach to top. The kids were very excited to travel in it and that's also their first time to be at the hill. I love this season as there are so many outdoor activities that can plan out.

I burned my crock pot literally... the other day, I wanted to re-heat the soup just when before I go to bed at around 12.30 in the middle of the night. After I set the fire on the stove, I quickly went to brush teeth while waiting for the soup to heat up and also thinking of want to be efficient. Right after I brushed my teeth, I had totally forgot of the fire in the kitchen. As kids were rushing me to accompany them to bed, I just 'tok...' switched off the light in the kitchen and straight away leave the place and went upstairs.

In the wee hour in the morning around 5.30, while still asleep I suddenly think of the soup that I was re-heating and immediately run downstairs to check on it, by the time I opened the bedroom door, I could smell some strong burnt smell. But that wasn't me that turned off the fire, it was my husband that wake up by around half past four to run to toilet and get some water for himself. In another words, in the middle of the night, I set the fire the stove on unattended for a continuous of 4 hours!

When I recalled the whole scenario, it will be very frightening if thing does not to be this lucky. So lesson learned: forgetful person should stay in the kitchen till the fire is set off !!!
Don't repeat my mistake...

Some sewing projects

A few projects I can called it completed after so many hours of drawing, snipping, sewing, ripping and sewing again in finishing it. phew...
This blouse is my size of M/L. and again the fabric is a Japanese print cotton.


I ran to the shop for the wrap button service...


These are my younger son's knee length pants made of Japanese quality linen. His size is around 4-5 yo old one.


I chose and lined it with some matching colour fabric and it stand up surprisingly.


My husband called the pocket design a stylo-dymalo one! He loves it and asked me to make a pair for him as well ^_^

These pants pattern is deemed as one of the best that I've created so far. It fit excellent yet coupled with quality fabric being used, that should called it a perfect wear for the kids.

Baked fish

If you're following my blog you will know that I'm a fish person that can't live without fish^_^
There are also many of fish dishes I can cook out be it deep fried, clear steam or cook with other spices and marinates.


Yesterday, I bought a ready made chilli paste and added with extra onion, curry flower and some sugar then baked this local mackerel in the oven. It's extremely delicious to eat with rice. Yum. Yum..


In another note, there's a mega bookfair held at Popular Bookstore and we managed to get a few titles, one of it is a short stories book that suits my little readers and being translated to "A little walkable house" originated from P.R.C. I hope they will read and stay put, because one already get an injured knee and the other with a wounded thumb. They keep play falling off from their bicycles that caused them easily get cut from corners and angles. I'm planning out more activities to keep them entertained in this long holiday.

A new pencil case

Year end school holiday is started. My younger son will be in junior elementary when school reopen by beginning of next year. I was overly concerned I guess for all the necessary preparation for his new schooling. These few days I've been started to plan what are the things I need to make to him and what he might need on his stationery, school uniform, school bag and so on... and without second thought , I had the urge to make a pencil case for him and within a few hours this is the thing I come out with... a metal zipper pencil case.
The end product is quite satisfying and look lovely to me, my kids love it. It is made of heavy fabric and lined with super cute Japanese print cotton. I believed this pencil case would last for some time and being user-friendly for even young kids.

Functioning woven bag

Sometimes when my home is full of this woven bags, I don't know what to do with it especially when it is printed with some specific name of the event. It's kind of embarrassing if you carry it along right? So, my kids and I thought of this potato print project to transform this whole bag into a new functional yet artful shopping bag.


We measured the size of the printed logo on the woven bag, then cut a piece of plain fabric that will be used to cover the whole printing area. Then, we started to work on the fabric by geting the kids to paint some arcylic paint onto their cut potato or apple, then stamp it over the right side of the fabric that will also be used as the front pocket of the bag.




After the paint dried, I overedge sewn the fabric and hand stitched with arty saturday wording before actually machine sewn it onto the bag. Now, I would happily let my kids carry along this newly converted shopping bag whenever we go to shop ; )

Old and new

I've got a new overedge sewing machine. Hubby says by running to craft shop for the overedge sewing service each time I needed is way too time consuming. He bought for me one : P and thus, I could sew more things and hopefully can sell at an online store.

Kids grow and grow, the pajama pants that my sons are wearing mostly are way too short for their height. While I still need to improve further on my sewing skills, the simple and loose pajama pants are the most practical stuff I can sew for them. And the most rewarding return is they like to wear mummy sewn clothes most. I involved Russell in the making of his pants, he decides on which fabric to put on for the pocket and how many pockets he needs.
Besides, the brown knee length pants are for my mother, who never ask me to sew anything for her. I choose my favourite colour - that's brown. But but... these pants are a little too tight for her and it end up to be mine :( May need another few days to get her new pants done.
What have you made or done for your love ones, you may share that with us... looking forward hearing from you...

Hopeless in the scene of today's education

It is a saddening scene in our country's education. Literally it drives us nowhere. nowhere.
I'm saying this as a parent's point of view. Don't you remember that I have two school going kids who just started their Year One in SK (C) and the other one will be enrolling into it soon?.

From the changes of the education policy, we could know that we're not moving forward but backward. I'm not hopeful but crying hopelessly...
What about those kids that just started using Mandarin or Bahasa Malaysia in Year 1? What they will be when they are not exposed to English as much as others did during the school years? What's the use of studying Mathematics and Science either in Chinese language or Bahasa, what's the use of it, the use of it? and

Yes, yes, those rich and the policy maker's children all not in our school studying in homeland by using Chinese or Bahasa in those subjects. They are rich, they have been sent abroad to get a much much better education than our kids do. Who cares in what languages our school is teaching in, who cares... after all, it doesn't affect them at all...

It's a sad sad learning that I could see...