how do you oreo?

When I was young, I remember eating Oreo or any other cream filled biscuits in a very strange way: I’d lick all the cream filling first and then gobble the biscuit. Yeah, in that exact order.

Yesterday our neighbor came by our house and brought Oreos for Pristine and you know what she did with them? Exactly the same way as I did when I was small! Is this typical behavior or she just inherited that habit from me?

(It was my first time seeing her eating Oreos like that - we hardly buy biscuits or sweets for her.)

I asked her though, why she does that and she just smiled and gave me the black biscuits short of any filling. Now that I am trying to lose weight, I feel less guilty eating Oreos without the cream. She eats the calorie-laden white stuff, I get the boring black biscuits. I have no complaints!

How do you eat your Oreos?

something fishy when it’s quiet

If there’s one thing that gives me a sudden chill, it’s when my daughter stops talking because it’s only either she is sleepy or she is not feeling well. Seriously, that two reasons only!

Yesterday afternoon we went to a museum. Contrary to what we expected that a museum is not for kids and Pristine will just be bored, she actually liked it and asked so many questions. On the way home, she was so happy she sangs songs and recited a couple of poems and proudly beamed when we applauded her. Suddenly, she fell silent and clung to me. I thought she was sleepy, she was half closing her eyes but that was not all, she was warmer than usual!

Where did that fever come from!? She was really silent as the fever increased.

My mother would sometimes say my girl will not stop talking until the adults around her gets exhausted. But I’d say I would never tire of her shrilly voice and hear songs being repeated over and over than her being silent and sick! 

Aloha Friday #18

What would you do if you have another extra hour per day or an extra day per week?

I would do at least these:

1. Play in the park with my daughter as she loves to play outside
2. Read a book
3. Cook something new or bake a cake
4. Talk to my mother more
5. SLEEP!

Aloha Friday is a weekly posting all in the spirit of fun and relaxation. No heavy, brain-stormed posts, just ask a simple question for readers to answer in the comments. Visit the Aloha Friday HQ @ An Island Life.

another Hollywood union ends

Nineteen long years. In Hollywood marriage, that is equivalent to 50 years marriage of people away from the limelight but actor Robin Williams and his wife have decided to end their union citing the ever resonant reason of “irreconcilable differences”.

I woke up this morning to this news and gave the topic much thought that necessary. Why? Because I am a believer of marriage, in “till death do us part”, in the old wive’s tale that everything will be better if you survive the 7 year itch. I guess that is all wrong.

I am saddened by Mrs. William’s decision to file for divorce from her husband of 19 years but since I don’t live with them and don’t know anything about their private life, I would never assume anything. I can accept the “irreconcilable differences” reason but still, I feel sad that a long marriage had to end.  

a penny for your thoughts

talking in her sleep

Up until our resident toddler turned three,  all three of us were sleeping in the same room, in the same bed. There had been no problem about co-sleeping for us at all, until she became too squirmy most nights it’s either I get a kick in my ribs or my husband gets punched in the face.

We got her a toddler bed, right beside our bed when she turned three. I was surprised at how it perfectly turned out well. There were no crying or clinging to mommy, no discomforts at all except that one part of my body had to be accessible to her. I sleep facing her bed, with my arm extended and hands holding hers until she sleeps.

These past weeks, Pristine had been sleeping in another room, in my mother’s bedroom. Sleeping in grandma’s room had been like a sleepover at a friend’s house. Grandma have lots of stories to tell and Pristine is hooked.

One problem with sleeping with grandma in the same bed is that Pristine sleep talks alot! I say A WHOLE LOT because sometimes she even screams (must be night terrors) and I can hear her from across the room. Must be imagining all grandma’s stories all the way to dreamland?

some Disney movies are bad influences!

At the dining table when we were having fish for dinner:

Me: Ok, let’s eat now. Try this fish, it’s really yummy!
Pristine: (Looks closely at the whole fish in the plate)
But mom, “fish are friends, not food!”

Me: Huh?

Pristine: In Finding Nemo mom, “Fish are friends, not food!”

… and in a Bruce the shark kind of tone, she goes on to repeat that line over and over and over again!

stop wasting food!

Have you ever stopped and thought  how many thousands of kilos of food are being wasted and thrown to the garbage every single day? That statistics show that one in every four hamburgers end up in the bin? And on the contrary,  how many people dying of hunger?

People gripe about the prices of food in restaurants constantly rising but fail to notice that food waste accounts for a significant part of that cost. I am not talking about a half piece of bacon, or a quarter slice of a bread left - I have seen people leaving platefuls of food enough to feed one human being. I worked in a restaurant when I was a student and I was incharge of throwing food left on tables.

It’s heart breaking and disgusting! 

Don’t even start by saying the customer might be on a diet! Smart dieters put food within their diet limits on their trays.

I grew up being told food is a blessing and should not be wasted as there are many others who are not as fortunate as I am, living in extreme poverty and starving. I just don’t get people ordering food and leaving thinking it is ok to waste because they paid for it. As parents, what kind of example are we giving to children?

Let us stop wasting and order wisely, order less and if afterwards should we still feel hungry, we can always order again. Is that too difficult to do?

This writing exercise is fueled by the writing prompt “Things I don’t get” at Sunday Scribblings.

so much for Good Friday

I have not been a good example of a great Christian mom on Good Friday. When tradition calls for silence, reflection and even fasting, I was far from being quiet and reflective yesterday. I was even eating more often than usual!

In the spirit of eating only light meals throughout the course of the day, Pristine and I ended up eating more than 5 times because we were constantly hungry. Hungry because we spent so much energy playing and laughing. Ah, couldn’t really help it as it was a holiday for me as well last Thursday and I needed the break to spend some time with her and I don’t know if anyone could ever be quiet around an energetic toddler like mine.

It was great just spending two days at home, nothing special, just lazying around with the kiddo. Longer sleeping times, pillow fights, movies and story telling sessions. For me, this is the good life!

Aloha Friday #17

Today is Good Friday. If you are observing it, what do you do on this day? If not, can you share your Easter fun?

I am born and raised Catholic (though not much of a church goer). When I was living with my parents, we’d observe Good Friday by watching movies adapted from the Bible and just be silent inside the house. No laughing, loud music or lavish food. Older children in the family fast on this day, not completely though, drinking only water and eating light snacks all throughout the day. 

Aloha Friday is a weekly posting all in the spirit of fun and relaxation. No heavy, brain-stormed posts, just ask a simple question for readers to answer in the comments. Visit the Aloha Friday HQ @ An Island Life.