I'm a full-time mummy

7 Links Challenge!

~ Posted on Saturday, July 17, 2010 at 1:33 PM ~

Oh yipee! I'm so excited! I'm taking the "7 Link Challenge" which is hosted on Problogger. The idea is to publish a post that is a list of 7 links to posts that you and others have written that respond to the following 7 categories. The links are as follow:

* Your first post: Home Sweet Home! is my first post in my own blog domain. It is kinda nostalgic cos after almost 13 months of blogging on Blogger, I decided to make the decision to leave it and go for my own blog domain and designed my own blog from scratch. Although the migration process is tiring and draining (I could only tinkle with the blog images and design when Ben is asleep and I'm not a web programmer or designer so everything is DIY and trial along the way) but at the end of the day, when everything is completed, it feels good-kinda like giving birth to another baby! Hahaha...

* A post you enjoyed writing the most: That would be one of my latest post "How To Exercise Your Toddler's Brain?".

As a SAHM, I am very fortunate to be able to take lots of pictures of my mischievious and ever curious toddler, so some of those pictures are real cute and I decided to write up a funny post based on some of Benjamin's latest silly antics. I hope you guys will enjoy this post as much as I do!

* A post which had a great discussion: That'd be a post entitled "After Two Years..." which was written when I had my menses back. Sorry if this is TMI for you to handle, but after two years (hence the title), the day I dreaded finally arrives... It's really been a bliss during those menses-free phase but I guess I shouldn't complain much as I am still able to breastfeed my toddler (16.5 months old now) without any problems at all!

* A post on someone else’s blog that you wish you’d written: I saw this article about "What Makes a Good Friend?" in a Christian website and decided to share it with my blog readers through my blog meme "Today's Awesome Discovery". I did add on my comments after the article as that is what I normally do (rather than just plain copy and paste other people's posts for sharing, I think there's a nicer touch if I add in my own notes and comments following the article shared)

* Your most helpful post: During my phase of migrating over from Blogger to my own self-hosted website, I learned a lot of things. So, as and when I have the spare time to blog about it, I do try to share out what I learned through my own blog meme again "Today's Awesome Discovery". So far, I had only written a tutorial post called "What is Gravatar?".

* A post with a title that you are proud of: Oh wow... when I have the time to think clearly, I can come up with a lot of funny post titles but I guess for now, that'll have to be "Ben Gogh in the Making??" Yes, you read that right, Ben Gogh.. not Van Gogh.. click on the link to read more on why I am proud of this title... Heheh...

* A post that you wish more people had read: Hmmm... I'd love it if everyone read ALL of my posts hahahaha... but if I am to choose one, well, I guess it'll have to be "What Makes a Good Friend?". I feel that it is a very inspiring article and wished more people could read this..

So there you have it... I've taken and survived the 7 Link Challenge! Woohoo!

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Category Personal Tag Awesome Discovery, Children, Christian, Memories, Milestones

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How To Exercise Your Toddler's Brain?

~ Posted on Saturday, July 17, 2010 at 10:05 AM ~

Just because I have a very active toddler who is constantly running around doing mischievious things, it doesn't mean he's getting enough exercises. Especially exercises to his brain. Yeap... I'm talking about the human brain.

So ladies and gentlemen, today, I present to you a step-by-step visual guide performed voluntarily by my now 16.5 months old toddler on How to Exercise Your Toddler's Brain™ (*I wonder whether I can trademark this hehehe...) :

VISUAL GUIDE	INSTRUCTIONS & REMARKS
	Step 1: Start by slowly lowering down your upper body. Try to slowly make your body bow down to a 90 degree position - kinda like you are bowing down to somebody. Ensure your legs are straight and your hands should be slowly lowered down and touching the floors as you bow forward and downward. For a first-timer, you can use a small stool or anything that you can sit on temporarily while you slowly adjust your body to the right position.
	Step 2: No cheating by bending your legs! Your legs must be STRAIGHT! (Or at least almost straight!) Get up & try again until you got it right!! Look at the picture of Ben on the left trying to cheat his way out of this. Now, his hands positions are correct but the legs like I mentioned MUST be at least almost straight.
	Step 3: Once you achieved the right position, stay still and hang on as long as possible. Look at the hands and feet now both touching the floor, while the head is gently resting on the floor as well. Now back to this, what we're trying to achieve is to get the bloods to go down to the brain. According to this website, "Although the brain represents only about 2% of the body's weight, it utilizes about 20% of the body's oxygen. Normally, oxygen is carried throughout the body via the bloodstream. When the flow of blood is reduced or blocked, cells which depend on that bloodflow are deprived of oxygen (and other nutrients)" Which is why this position is so ideal to get the blood to go to the brain! More blood = more oxygen!
	Step 4: Why not throw in a face exercise too?! While you are still holding up from step 3, why not throw in a face exercise as well? Just smile or laugh while you are trying to hold still to your position for as long as you can. According to this website: "Laughter generally increases activity within the immune system. It also decreases stress hormones that constrict blood vessels and suppress immune activity."
	Step 5: Rest Just like in yoga they have a resting pose, we too need to have a resting pose after exercising the brain! So, just do what is shown on the left by Ben. Rest all you want! You deserve it after such a hard workout to the brain!

(**Note: Parents should always be around at all times to supervise your toddler regardless what stunts he's trying to perform... and yes, this post is just to poke fun of the silly antics by Benjamin, please don't take it seriously, OK?!)

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Category Parenthood Tag Children, Memories, Tutorials, Parenting, Milestones

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Ben Gogh in the Making??

~ Posted on Tuesday, July 13, 2010 at 1:05 AM ~

I know I'm bad. I called my son names...

One moment he is Ben, the Ben-pire.

Then he is Ben, the Ben-blebee...

And now, ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to introduce you to:

Ben, the Ben Gogh!

Hmmm... ever since Ben picked up some color pencils and started scribbling around during one of our recent family outing to our close friend's house (their daughter is 2 months older than Ben), I decided to take out the Sketch and Etch toy given by my brother during Ben's 1st birthday. I still kept the shape magnets as I think they are still a bit too small for Ben to handle for now.

So, during our usual balcony time, instead of playing with water, I decided to let Ben sketch or scribbles whatever he wanted on the Sketch and Etch toy. At 16 months old, Ben is still not very good in holding the stylus but nevertheless, it's better than the first time I let him tried it. He just stuffed the stylus into his mouth (which is why I kept it until now). I took a closer look at what he came up with... not bad, not bad... at least there's something! Everyone's gotta start somewhere right?!

And I noticed he loves sliding the magnet eraser left and right. And he only does that after he scribbled on it. Clever!

Ben pausing for a while... looking for inspiration??

Picture below of Ben taken from the top where I stood over him heheheh... (Btw, unlike the superstitious Chinese customs which is to shave a baby's head bald when they turned 1 month old, we did not shaved Ben's hair at all since he was born. And yet, Ben had a headful of hair, smooth and soft, just the way we love it!)

Ben starting his weird antics... am not sure whether he's looking for more inspiration for his sketches or he needs that rush of blood to his head or something...

Ben got distracted by our dog barking at the people walking past our house. And yeah, him standing on the sketch board... sigh... will try again next time...