2nd puberty?

I wish I was a writer. actually not really :D the truth is I wish I can write and a drummer. What a strange combo! lol.

I got a lil bit confuse about my feeling right now as I can't decide wether it's puberty or being old. I had a wonderful group discussion with my friends from uni last night about stuff that we did when we were a teenager, and they brought back some sweet memories that made me want to jump back to those times for a second. Not that I was concern about my age, I never feel that I'm old anyway :p but recently I started to listen to Justin Bieber, watch Glee and read the cast bios, watch all the romantic comedy movies that I missed since Sept 2009 until recent, and bought a ticket to NKOTB concert. What happen to me? Is this some kind of stay-at-home mother disease?

I asked myself wether I'm happy with my life, without doubt I would say yes. Then what syndrome is that? My life right now is exactly as I planned and I want it to be.

It doesn't really bother me tough, I just curious.

'lil wonder guru

Being a parent has taught me so so many things, a truly wonderful experience. I have my most recent lesson and I think this is to good to be kept for myself, hence here is the story, a true story I mean.

Once upon a time... oooops.. :p I mean the other day I was very upset with my hubby, he did something wrong to me and my tired body added the anger feeling to the situation. One thing about my lovely husband is, he always apologies whenever he feels sorry for he's wrong doing, but I was not willing to forgive him (yet). Instead of solving the problem between us, I accidentally threw my disappointment to my 'lil angel when I saw her playing with her water, spilled it on the table.

All of sudden her happy face disappeared and I regretted my action as soon as I saw her, the way she looked at me that torn my heart into pieces, as if she was saying "why are you angry mama? why do you yell at me? i played like this before and you were always only telling me not to, but why this time you hate me for that, mama? i don't understand... i'm scared mama... your voice is so angry and loud. i'm sorry". She stood still and looked at me in the eyes for a minute or two until i grabbed her to tell her "oh Nicole, mama sorry ya... nicole jangan mainan air ya, mama sorry ya bentak bentak Nicole, maafin mama ya.." and she cried.

I cried too.

Then she stopped. Looked at me in the eye again.

Still silent...

Then, she hugged me, pated my back and gave me a love gesture (sayang, elus-elus kepala mama), and kissed me as if she was saying "i forgive you mama, shh shh stop crying, don't worry mama, i forgive you."

What a wonderful feeling... what a relief...

My little girl taught me how to forgive! She's only 19 months and barely can speak yet but her true heart is gold. Thank you Nicole, for giving me a good lesson in life. To forgive unconditionally. She let me experienced the most beautiful feeling of being forgiven.

I forgive Arie right away. I was ashamed, I suddenly remember the prayer that has been devoted everyday in my whole life... our Father, who art in heaven...

Hallowed be Thy Name.

Thy Kingdom come.

Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Amen.

Have you ever wonder, how would you feel if you are not being forgiven by someone you care so much one day? your spouse, your family member, your siblings, your dear friends and even worst, your children? I could not imagine how terrible that would be.

Just forgive, without any other expectations, that's love.

When We Spent Way Tooo Much Time GARDENING

I really can't decide what title should I put in for this posting, it's really one of the best experience after we (Arie and I) saw so many milestones of our baby daughter Nicole. The truth was, we are a proud parents, and the reason i decided not to put "I am a proud mom" as the title was only because it sounds cocky and too common title.

It happened couple days ago when we went shopping stuff for our garden and I was after a patio (window) pot. While we were looking at the display rack, our little one got busy by helself. She took 1 set contains of 3 small rounded pots from the middle rack and then moved it to the planting section where they sell small plants and filled the empty pots with those plats! I wonder how did she gets that idea from, Arie said she must have been saw us gardening ( a lot). People were watching this amazing little action as surprised as we were, she's only 18 months! Well, at the end she did 7 pots all together and we have had to stop her otherwise she could go on for the whole day.

Luckily I still got the chance to record the video, here it is... enjoy!

moo vs mii

I was always wondering why all the nurse, dietician, pediatrician recommended to give cow's milk instead of formula for toddler. As always I forgot to ask the reason whenever I saw them face-to-face. Maybe because I've always have bigger issues to be discussed with them. So I began my research on the internet, and oh yes - I love forum and blogs of parents. It feels soo real and the opinions are based on real experiences.

Here is my summary:

* Cow's milk has all the nutrition needed for 12-24 old and is cheaper (?) I need to compare their prices.

* Cow's milk is easier to get when you are out and about (you don't have to carry milk dispenser for the formula powder) - and even better if your toddler can drink from the cup or using straw, you don't need to carry any bottle too.

* Cow's milk is a good to be given after breastfed so you don't have to wean from formula to cow's milk later on - eventually they would have to give up formula and have the cow's milk.

* Formula is quite high on sugar so most nutritionist don't like them at all.

* Formula is good to be given for baby (above 12 mos) as some has problem to digest cow's milk. Or baby with allergic history.

I will add up if I find more facts about this, in the meantime, here is a very good article about cow's milk and formula:

(retrieved from http://www.mumzone.com.au/breastfeeding/which-milk-for-toddlers-toddler-formula-vs-cows-milk/ on monday 28 February 2011, 1:06am)

Which Milk for Toddlers? Toddler Formula vs Cows Milk

By Lorraine Cuadro

Recently I have done a fair bit of research into which milk is best for toddlers as many mums seem to be concerned about whether their little ones should be drinking cows milk, low fat milk or toddler formula beyond their first birthday.

The World Health Organisation recommends exclusive breastfeeding for a baby’s first 6 months and for breastfeeding to continue until at least 2 years of age. So I guess if you’re breastfeeding your toddler then the formula verses cow’s milk issue isn’t relevant to you, that’s one less thing to worry about, YAY!

The Australian manufacturers and importers of infant formula have entered into a voluntary agreement that adheres to the principles of the World Health Organisation’s International Code of Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes. Basically the code and the agreement prevent formula for babies 12 months and under to be advertised in Australia. The reason for this agreement and its advertising restrictions is to protect breastfeeding.

However, these restrictions do not apply to toddler and follow on formulas. So by labelling toddler formulas as "gold" or "formula", marketing companies are able to advertise baby formula simply by association. This may be one of the reasons for such heavy advertising of toddler formulas.

Bellinda Kontominas a Medical Reporter for the Sydney Morning Herald (06/09/07) quotes a Sydney paediatrician Dr Patricia McVeagh as she said "Unfortunately the advertising preys on parents’ vulnerability… Nutritionally there is no need for toddler milk in healthy kids, and it’s much better to have 600 millilitres of cow’s milk or a cow’s milk product like cheese or yoghurt."

And while many nutritionists will tell you that formula is the equivalent of junk food, I guess to be fair it does have its place. It can supplement the diet of fussy eaters and children that could be missing out on iron and calcium due to their restricted diets. And while there are other ways to combat fussiness there are times when real life takes over and the demands of work, other children, partners etc can make toddler formulas convenient.

The president of the Australian Lactation Consultants Association, Gwen Moody, said food should replace milk as the main source of energy during a child’s second year. "Mothers buy the formula and they also give their child cow’s milk… so either the child doesn’t eat because they’re not hungry, or they do eat, which can lead to weight gain." This is another point to keep in mind if you find that your child is not eating.

During my research I was surprised to find that it has been recommended in the National Dietary Guidelines for Children and Adolescents that all children in Australia over the age of 2 years consume reduced-fat milk. This is because the saturated fats in full fat milk accumulate in the arteries over time increasing the risk of heart disease, and that the reduced-fat milk varieties generally contain more calcium than the full fat milks.

Toddlers between the ages of 12 - 24 months however do need the full fat milks and while soy milk shouldn’t be offered to babies under 12 months, toddlers over 2 years with a lactose intolerance can be offered soy milk that contains added calcium.

So the end of the day keeping things simple is usually the best way to go. Cows milk is great for toddlers, it contains everything they need to grow healthy and strong. It’s cheaper than formula, easily available if you’re out, it’s great on cereal and it’s something you wont have to wean your toddler off as they get older. So why complicate things by using toddler formula if you don’t have to?

Benjol

Suatu pagi yang dingin di musim panas, rasanya beraaat sekali untuk membuka mata ini. Sementara Nicole kecil sudah sibuk berkeliaran kemana-mana dengan mata terbuka lebar. Karena kasihan dan juga 'dimarahin' Nicole karena gue tidur terus, gue bawa dia ke ruang mainnya, nyalain tv dengan acara anak-anak dan gue kembali ke sofa...

..... gue duduk di sofa, ngeliatin Nicole main sendiri......

....pagi amat sih ni anak bangun hari ini, masih jam 6 pagi nih, berarti gue baru tidur 4 jam karena semalem gue nonton dvd sama arie sampe larut....

DUK!!!!!

Tiba-tiba kepala gue cenut-cenut... gue buka mata gue... disisi gue ada makhluk kecil yang sedang tersenyum maniiiis sekali sambil memegang palu mainannya!

Yah ampuuun ternyata dia yang memukul kepala gue!!! dan dia pikir itu sesuatu yang lucu...

Gue bilang "no Nicole, ga boleh pukul mama!" dia masih nyengir

akhirnya gue pura-pura nangis... lalu dia mulai menunjukkan ekspresi prihatin, dan keluarlah air mata buayanya soalnya dia cuma ikutan nagis kurang dari semenit trus kabur main lagi sama mainannya.... yah elaaah...

Totally Amazing Talent!

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