Mothering Corner

I should have posted this earlier but I was very occupied for the past few days. Our guests have just left today, so we will have a more relaxing holiday until the new year. I’m not sure if hubby has any special plan on how to celebrate new year’s eve, but I would prefer a nice shopping trip. LOL!

But firstly, let me spend a day cleaning up my house first. The ceiling fans, tile flooring and bathrooms have not been cleaned for a week. That’s how BUSY we were.

On top of that, I would like to thank Ellena for the Christmas pressie, and Arlene for getting me some bento tools all the way from Japan.

Pressies from Ellena

One of the items bought by Arlene.

Thanks ladies! I really appreciate your kindness and help.

I hope that all of you will have a joyous holiday and looking forward to the new year.

Happy New Year!

Today’s bento is very simple, and my kids helped me with it. They were excited to see the confetti sprinkles I bought yesterday because they love sweets. What I did was cutting the pandan cake rolls into smaller pieces and arranging them as a Christmas tree. The tree truck is a piece of mini chicken wiener, and there is a little pressie (cut from striped cheese) placed under the tree. We slotted some strawberries and cherries to fill in the gap, but I guess they will move around, if the bentos are not being handled carefully. Oh well, it’s a kiddie bento (means that it’s done by kids), so as long as they love it, why kill their creativity?

So, here are the Christmas tree bentos:

My gal’s Christmas tree. She was so happy to spread lots of confetti sprinkles on it.

My boy decided to do something different with his star on the Christmas tree.

We managed to get the bentos done in 15 minutes, including the striped cheese. LOL! It’s a speedy Christmas bento that can be easily done by kids. Give it a try.

And BTW, I’m in holiday mood now, and I’m not sure if I will update this blog. With Christmas being 2 days away, I still have some shopping to do, an implant dentist Plano to visit with FIL, cleaning the house for our guests who’s coming for Christmas, and figuring out where to go for next week’s holiday. So, just in case I’m away from blogging…

MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone!!!

And a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

God bless.

Just as I thought that I can relax a bit this week, my boy was picked as the drum major for their school marching band. I thought that they won’t be having their sports day this year, since they already participated in an inter-kindy sports day a few months ago. But I was wrong, the school will still hold their own mini sports day in January, and the marching band has been practicing hard start from yesterday.

So, we have to drop him at school slightly earlier for the practice, and I can’t do much kyaraben in the morning, unless I wake up EARLIER than ever. LOL! Nonetheless, this is what I managed to do this morning, by repeating the same Santa Clause idea like I did previously but with different food ingredient. Santa’s head was done with a quail egg, topped with a cherry tomato. The beard was cut from kamaboko with a flower cutter, and the rest is almost the same as previous bento.

Hohoho! Santa’s playing peekaboo. LOL!

There are pasta Bolognese, mango, kiwi, guava and a rambutan in the bento. I packed another small bento with lots of fruits for him, just in case he feels like having more. Besides that, it’s getting chilly today, so hopefully he won’t catch a cold and need any prescription medication if he falls sick. Seeing those kids marching so hard on a windy day is simply impressive, but worrying.

On top of that, my boy might be very tired today because he has taewondo class after school. Yeap! Marching in the morning, then normal school lessons, and then taewondo, all in a day for a 5-year-old.

Hence, I packed some carbo and protein for him like a complete meal. If he sleeps through on the way home and can’t get up for dinner, at least he’s already taken a balance bento meal at our office.

My gal’s bento

I packed the same meal for my gal, but I doubt that she can finish it. I guess she will pass some of her food to her brother, and that’s what she does usually. LOL! Sharing food!!!

Sorry that I don’t have much bento to share lately because I’ve been pretty tied up. Firstly, my grandpa passed away (I didn’t go back but moaning here). I’m sad but relief that he’s no longer suffering from his cancer since he couldn’t take anymore Medicare supplement except morphine. He was too old to go through another surgery, and he was in pain for many months. But he was in great care by our family, and I’m glad that we managed to spend some time with him when we were back for the holiday previously.

Then, my gal got sick. Hubby is so busy lately so I lost my helper, and it’s quite tiring taking care of a feverish kid and “running errands” like supermom. Not to mention, all my blogs got hacked but I couldn’t do much about it. I “dumped” the job to my webmaster, and luckily, he’s a helpful person! LOL!

On top of that, yesterday was my boy’s birthday but we only had a mini party for him at school and a small celebration among ourselves. I still owe him a ranger bento because mommy couldn’t squeeze out some time to fix one for him. Sorry ya boy!

Did I mention that I’ve only started my Christmas shopping yesterday? And I haven’t wrapped the presents. O.o

I’m still catching my breathe now, and hopefully, I will have more time for bento next week ya?

Have a nice weekend everyone!

Today’s bentos are inspired by miho nao chin. I saw the sandwich cutter at Daiso some time ago, but never really thought of buying it until I saw how cute Mihochin’s bento is. Just take a peep and you will know why!

This sandwich cutter is quite big, but I managed to grab a loaf of white bread which fits it quite well. Only the crust was cut off, and I can easily cut the bread into 4 different shapes at a go. Besides decorating the sandwiches as Pikkachu, Hello Kitty and Rilakkuma, I created a tiger, a koala bear and a kitten too.

So, here are the bentos:

My boy’s bento with Pikkachu, koala bear and tiger.

My gal will have Rilakkuma, Hello Kitty and a kitten.

The koala bear and Rilakkuma were cut from brown eggsheet. I mixed some dark soysauce, a pinch of sugar and a table spoon of mirin into the egg mixture to create that color. As for tiger, it was cut from “egg yolk” sheet.  The other characters were cut from cheese and I topped all the characters on the sandwiches.

It’s another simple Christmas bento again. But today, I managed to snap some photos during the preparation and I shall share with you how I fixed the mini Rudolf with hotdog and the little snowman with quail eggs.

I cut the hotdog into smaller pieces. I only used the 2 ends.

Add a red nose for Rudolf.

Punch some nori and add the eyes and mouth.

Pin the quail eggs together with tiny spaghetti strip. Add a “scarf” for him.

Add the eyes, mouth and starry buttons for the snowman.

Pin 2 picks as Rudolf’s antlers and a small hat for the snowman.

Hence, here are the simple Christmas bentos:

My gal’s Christmas bento with Rudolf, snowman and some fruits.

This belongs to my boy.

I’m packing more fruits for the kids today as we will be having dinner at MIL’s place. She’s here for the holiday and she cooks for us mostly now. My kids won’t have to starve wait for the mommy to frantically prepare dinner after we get home in the evening, and hot meal will be served earlier by MIL. Thus, I’m packing lighter bento meals these days.

I stumbled upon this article when I was searching for family life insurance lead online. Since there are some mothers who are interested in packing bentos for their toddlers (or even if you don’t pack any), please check out this article on forbidden baby and toddler food from Parents.com.

Infants and young children have trouble chewing completely, so certain foods pose a choking hazard until they reach age 4. Check out our list of foods to avoid giving babies and toddlers — plus tips for worry-free, healthy eating.

 

Skip: Large Chunks of Meat, Cheese, or Fruit

Smart Solution: With a little more preparation time, meat, cheese, or fruit can be fine for children to munch on. Cut meat into pieces no larger than the length of your fingertips. Cheese can be sliced into the same size or shredded. For fruit, serve well-cooked apple or chunks of very ripe pear.

 

Stay Away From: Whole Grapes

Smart Solution: Babies can eat thinly sliced grapes (not just cut in half). Or take an extra precaution and puree fruits before mealtime.

 

Watch Out For: Hard, Gooey, or Sticky Candy

Smart Solution: Candy is too small and slippery for your little one, but KidsHealth.org recommends trying French toast without the egg white as a healthier sweet snack.

 

Pass Up: Globs of Peanut Butter

Smart Solution: Sticky peanut butter is especially dangerous for children younger than 2. The Mayo Clinic’s tip for satisfying a toddler’s sweet tooth is to give your child fat-free pudding instead.

 

Cut Out: Popcorn

Smart Solution: For a dry food that isn’t as tough for babies and toddlers to chew, KidsHealth.org suggests a 1/2 cup of low-sugar breakfast cereal as an easy alternative.

 

Steer Clear Of: Raw Vegetables

Smart Solution: While babies are learning to chew or gum their food, skip crunchy raw vegetables and give them soft-cooked peas, beans, and carrots.

Forgo: Whole Hot Dogs

Smart Solution: The University of Michigan Health System suggests buying safer nitrite- and nitrate-free hot dogs and cutting them into noodle-like strips.
Copyright © 2008 Meredith Corporation.

All content on this Web site, including medical opinion and any other health-related information, is for informational purposes only and should not be considered to be a specific diagnosis or treatment plan for any individual situation. Use of this site and the information contained herein does not create a doctor-patient relationship. Always seek the direct advice of your own doctor in connection with any questions or issues you may have regarding your own health or the health of others.

 I still remembered those days when I had to peel off the skin of the grapes and cut them into tiny pieces, so that my toddlers could eat well. The carrots sticks must be blanched to soften them before serving. Not to mention, I went out with a pair of small scissors in my handbag which I used to cut the food, especially veggies and noodles. Gosh… LOL!

BTW, like most mothers, I do have concern about wieners, ham and other processed food. But if possible, get safer nitrite- and nitrate-free hot dogs (if you can find) like suggested above. For me, I try to get from “reputable” food manufacturing company which strict compliance rules, and control the serving portion.

Our kids had a mini concert in celebrating of the King’s birthday and Father’s Day in Thailand today. Father’s Day is celebrated on 5th December, but not on the 3rd Sunday of June.

MIL is here for a few weeks, so she joined us to school to watch their performance. No photos can be shared yet and I don’t have the time to upload them from the Logo usb drive. We woke up very early today, and I’m so tired the whole day, even if I’m not performing. LOL!

Anyway, I just want to wish all the fathers in Thailand a very happy Father’s Day, and Long Live The King.

P/S: FYI, I’m not Thai, but a Malaysian expatriate who stays in Bangkok. *wink*

Hubby bought some buns last night, and I packed 2 in the kids’ bentos. Since the buns looked rather “boring”, I thought of decorating them as Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer by adding a cherry tomato and 2 mini chicken wieners on each of them. It’s something speedy and simple, and the reindeer were ready in less than 5 minutes (excluding the time used for boiling the wiener). LOL!

Rudolf, before he was allowed to join in any reindeer game.

And the happy Rudolf after he’s gone down in history. LOL!

Very simple huh? Their fruits were packed in the lower tier of these basket bentos and are not shown in this post.

My kids have been listening to Christmas songs these days, so I thought it would be nice to fix them some bentos based on their favorite Christmas songs. Frosty the Snowman is one of their favorites, and thus today’s bento is all about snowmen.

I prepared a slice of boiled kamaboko, a small piece of ham, an artificial crab meat and some blanched baby carrots last night. I cut 2 mittens for the snowman, as shown below:

Slice the top pink layer of kamaboko.

Cut an oval kamaboko.

Use a star cutter to cut off a small triangle. Alternately, you may use a knife.

There you have it, a pair of mittens!

I saw this mitten somewhere, but tutorial was not given. So, that’s how I cut my mittens. I wanted to snap the photos while preparing the snowman sandwiches and quail eggs this morning, but my kids were bugging me. So, no photos shall be shared today, but I guess you can figure out how I fixed the snowmen.

Anyway, there are the bentos:

My boy’s Frosty the Snowman bento, with some corn and fruits and a little snowman quail eggs.

Here’s a closer shot of his little snowman.

And here is my gal’s snowman bento:

My gal’s Frosty.

And her little snowman.

I accidentally broke my gal’s quail egg while pinning the carrot nose. But never mind la…she still said that it’s cute. LOL!