Tiger Mother

The new book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother has created a lot of controversy.  I haven't read the book but I've read a few of the reviews against it.  I came across a Christian perspective today and it resonated with me.  Here's the link.

God has entrusted our kids to us and they are not our own.  I have to let go of defining success as excelling at multiple extra-curricular activities including music, sports, and a second/third language; getting good grades at school and ultimately completing university; getting a good job; getting married and having children.  I need to constantly remind myself that I just need to be a good role model and teach and encourage my kids to follow God's will for their lives.  Success is when God says, "Well done, good and faithful servant."

We eat from the chair!

I was teaching my 3yo son about Adam and Eve and how they sinned because they ate the apple from the tree.  Then I told him that everybody sins except for Jesus.  Then he said, "No, we didn't eat from the tree.  We eat from the chair!"

Swimming lessons

I started taking my 3yo son to swimming lessons again.  Today was his 4th class and he started to swim by himself while holding the pool noodle.  He can climb out of the pool by himself and he even started to jump into the pool without holding onto my hand.  His progress is amazing.  At the beginning of each class, the instructor, Paul, gets them to do an airplane (front float), star fish (back float), and rocket (front glide).  Today, while my son was doing 'star fish', he says to me with a frown, "Mommy, my ears are not working.  They are turning on and off."  Kids say the funniest things.

My Fitness Coach

I really like this Wii game called My Fitness Coach.  I'm trying to lose my baby weight (I gained 40lbs!) I've been using it since mid-Dec and I've lost about 10lbs so far despite my tendency to overeat during the holiday season.  I like My Fitness Coach because it really gives me a good workout and I can do it at home whenever I want.  I don't have to travel to the gym or arrange for someone to take care of my kids to workout.  I just turn the TV on and I can work out for however long I want (I'm usually doing 45 minutes now).  I can choose the focus area (I usually go with Maya's recommendation but it rotates among Upper body, Core body, Lower body, and Flexibility).  And I can choose my music, workout environment, and intensity.  The workout is different everyday so I am not bored and I'm constantly unlocking new workout moves.  It even tracks my progress so I can feel good about losing weight and inches.  My Fitness Coach is great - I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to lose weight or who wants to start working out.

I found an honest mechanic

Click here for my review of Toho Automotive.

Groupon and other similar sites

Use these links to sign up for these sites and I'll get $10 off when you make your first purchase!

Groupon

Wagjag

Deal of the day

Slept through the night

My daughter slept through the night last night from 6pm to 6am without a dream feed. She is only 3 months and 1 week old! My son didn't sleep through the night until he was 4 months old and he didn't consistenly sleep through the night until he was 7 months old.  Keep it up!

The Best Baked Honey Garlic Wings

These are the best chicken wings I have ever made.
2 lb chicken wings
1 cup flour

Sauce:
2 tbsp minced garlic
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup dark soy sauce
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp ketchup
4 slices of ginger
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 350 F. Wash the chicken wings and drip dry. Lightly coat each wing with flour. Shake off excess flour. Bake for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a sauce pan, mix all the ingredients for the sauce. As soon as the sauce boils, turn the heat down to simmer until wings have baked for 20 minutes. Take the wings out and dip each wing into the sauce to coat the entire wing. Return wings to oven for 5 minutes. Take the wings out and dip each wing into the sauce again to coat the entire wing. Return wings to oven for another 5 minutes. Baste wings with the remainder of the sauce and serve!

Thumb sucker

Yesterday, I found my daughter sucking her thumb for the first time.  My son never sucked his thumb but my daughter liked to suck since she was born.  It just took her 3 months to finally find her thumb.

An update on the sleep situation... she went down at 7pm last night, did a dream feed at 11pm, woke up at 4am and 6am.  9 hours of sleep is not bad except that I didn't sleep at 7pm.

Sleep Training Tips

I had to remove this post because I got a nasty comment.  I will no longer be recommending this person's sleep training workshop again.  

California/Las Vegas!

I booked our flights to California/Las Vegas today.  Yay!  Now I just need to book hotels and plan our trip.  So excited!

Frutti di Bosco Tart Recipe

We usually buy this dessert, called Frutti di Bosco, from Longos. We really like it because the filling is very light because it's mainly berries, and it's not too sweet.  But over the years, Longos has increased the price of this dessert to ~$30 for a large tart so I decided to make it myself. I served it to our cell group at our New Year's Eve party - it was a hit!   Here's the recipe that I adapted from another site:

Crust:
9 tablespoons (4.5 oz) of butter
1/2 cup icing sugar
pinch of salt
2 cups flour
2 large egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tablespoon of cold milk or water

Cream together butter, sugar and salt. Then work in the flour, eggs, vanilla, lemon juice until it looks like course bread crumbs. Add the cold milk or water and gently work the mixture together until you have a ball of dough. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 1 hour.

Grease a 9" tart pan with a removable bottom. Remove dough from the fridge and roll it out to line your tart pan. Poke holes in the bottom with a fork. Cover with plastic wrap again and put it back in the fridge for at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350F and bake the pastry for 12 minutes or until lightly golden. Cool crust.

Filling:
250 grams marscapone cheese
1 tbsp white sugar
1 tsp vanilla
splash of marsala or brandy
1/4 cup of cream (or half and half)

Cream together marscapone, sugar, vanilla, and marsala or brandy. Add cream and wisk until light and fluffy. Pour filling into cooled crust and place in the fridge for at least 1 hour.

Berry topping:
4 cups of fresh blackberrys, blueberries, and/or raspberries
1 tbsp icing sugar

Wash and dry berries completely. If the berries are not completely dry, the icing sugar will melt. Just before serving, gently pile fruit on top of the cream filling. Sift icing sugar all over the top of the tart. Enjoy!

Things to do in 2011

Here are some things that I have planned for 2011:

• Lose all my baby weight!
• Visit Jeremy's Aunt and Uncle in San Diego and go to Disneyland
• My sister's family will visit us for a month in the summer
• Keith will start Junior Kindergarten in Sept
• Go back to work in Nov

2011 is gonna be great.  Happy New Year!