Stir Fried Spinach and Mushroom

The ingredients are the same as the Stir-Fried Snow Peas. The only difference is I replaced snow peas with spinach.

Slice the mushroom {use whatever you have. Portabella is my favorite}

Sewing: Ottoman Cover

We love this lovely Tidny fabric from Ikea. Supposedly, you can color it with fabric markers. We bought some for the Playhouse and still have about one yard left over so I thought I can use it to make an ottoman cover:

Cooking Omelette with Stainless Steel Pan

After so many years cooking omelettes, I just recently discovered how to cook omelette without it sticking to the pan. The secret is by heating your pan first. That's it then you do the rest of the cooking as you usually do.


I am in the process of moving all my recipes posts to our food site: Asian Family Recipes. Directions for Cooking Omelette with Stainless Steel Pan can be found here

Tour to my kitchen and dining room { before renovation}

I love seeing other people' space especially their kitchen or sewing space on the internet then I realized I never shared pictures of our kitchen and dining room where we cook and eat our food so come on in! 

We love the fact that our kitchen get lots of light from the windows. On the left is our refrigerator. A little over a year ago, our old refrigerator broke. We called Annie & Acel to ask for their recommendation for refrigerator to buy because they just upgrade their kitchen. They kindly offered their old refrigerator for us since they no longer use it. We are blessed with great friends indeed and so very grateful.

The print outs on our refrigerator are: my humble Menu Plan, The Door Posts' Blessing chart, Max's Subject Lessons Plan.

12 Life Verses

A few months ago a guest pastor at our church shared that he chose 12 life verses that he memorized and recites daily as encouragement and reminder. I thought it's a great idea so I chose my 12 life verses:

Psalm 118:24

This is the day the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it

Psalm 121:1-2

I lift up my eyes to the mountains-where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth

Philippians 1:21

To live is Christ, and to die is gain.

John 3:30

He must increase, but I must decrease.

Teaching kids to do things themselves

One big lesson I learned from The Montessori's Way is to encourage independence by teaching kids to do things themselves. 

Maria Montessori wrote, "Don't do for your child what he can do himself. We habitually serve children; and this is not only an act of service toward them, but it is dangerous, since it tends to suffocate their useful, spontaneous activity. It requires much more time and patience to teach a child how to eat, wash, and clothe himself than it does to feed, bathe, and clothe him."

I learned that I need to take the time to show and teach them on how to do certain tasks and organize their stuffs {clothes, toy, learning materials, and eating utensils} in places where they can reach them without our help.  Below are some things that we encourage our kids {age 4 and almost 2} to do on their own:

Pick up their toys. Great article from Money Saving Mom: Instead of yelling, try helping.

Eat on their own. Starting when they are able to pick up food with their fingers then moving on to using spoon or fork. It's messy in the beginning {even 'till now} but I have no regret on letting them eat on their own as early as possible:

Grab their eating utensils and drink. I placed their eating utensils, glass, and water container at the lower drawer or shelf, where they can reach on their own.

 

Wash their hands. Good safety tip from our pediatrician: turn down the water temperature on the water tank that way when the kids accidentally turn on hot water their hand won't get burn.

Throw trash in the garbage bin:

Put on their clothes without our help

Play on their own. 

It's true that we need to sing, read, snuggle, and give them our undivided attention but I don't think we need to entertain them all the time.  Kids are wired with creativity and curiosity and are able to entertain themselves with almost anything. Safety note: make sure to baby proof the room and keep sharp and dangerous things away from their reach. When in doubt, keep them away from the kid - lesson I learned the hard way

Clean up: vacuum dirt {with a lightweight hand vacuum}

 mop the floor,or wipe the furniture

Be involved and "help" us:

Peel daicon or carrot

Help unloading the dishwasher:

and the grocery
 

Do the number No. 2 on the potty once they can sit unsupported. I shared on how we do it in detail here

Help with simple chores such as watering the plants:

Put their clean clothes in the dresser

or taking the garbage bin out:

What other thing that you encourage your kids to do it themselves?

Soothing drinks for cold

I recently moved all my food related posts to our food blogs: AsianFamilyRecipes.com

The post: "Soothing drinks for cold" can be found here. 

Great Read: Unglued

If you notice, my book reviews either titled great read or good read because the truth is I never finish books that I don't like so I don't feel right to give a bad review to book that I don't read 'till the end. Last year I read great reviews about Lysa Terkeurst book Unglued and was captivated when I listened to her video podcast here so I knew I have to put this in my reading list. 

It's indeed a great book especially if you struggle with your raw emotions like me. Below is my notes from the book. Just for your information Lysa wrote a lot of stories and lessons; my notes barely scratch the surface of what she shared in the book:

Unglued by Lysa Terkeurst

Making wise choices in the midst of raw emotions

If we don't get a handle on our emotion, we will destroy the relationship we value the most and weave into our life permanent threads of short-temperedness, shame, fear, and frustration. God gave us emotions so I could experience life, not destroy it. 

Other Good Packing Tips

I love finding ways to make my life easier. Planning always makes everything easier especially when it comes to traveling. So thankful I found these useful posts on packing & traveling:

• Essential Travel Gear by Simple Mom
• How to Pack Light by Travelista
• Packing Tips from Professional Travel Pros
• Before The Trip Checklist
• Organized Trip Packing for Kids
• Tips for Traveling with Small Children

Toddler Apron

When I was pregnant with Wes, my little sisters, Nana and Fonda made the diaper cake below for me. They gave it during the baby shower and I gave birth that night. I went to the hospital right after the guests arrived and prayed for me. :)

One of the gift items was a lovely fabric to be sewn together into baby bibs and burping cloths: