parenting methods

Although my little one is still very young, I often wonder what it will be like when she learns to express her own opinion and will. What will she say to me? What happens when she doesn't want to obey? What kind of response will I give her?

My hope is that it will be one of love, but also full of wisdom for what will help her to grow. And I'm sure that sometimes, probably most of the time, it will be a hard process. So I like to take methods and advice I've heard and file it away in my own personal parenting memory bank. You know, for future usage.

Recently, a friend told me that her sister purchased a Nintendo DSi for her kids, but let them know that it was her DSi and that they are only allowed to earn play time on it. So it does not belong to either of them, but instead it is something they must work for the privilege of using. They are not allowed to fight for it and do not become glued to it because it belongs to Mom and Dad. Genius! They do chores and help out around the house in exchange for DSi minutes - then once they start playing, they must set an egg timer with the allotted minutes. Once the timer goes off, they must turn off the device themselves. Consistency with this method is key, but I love that the kids are the ones that must have self-control and the parents are there to offer accountability. There are so many lessons to learn in this!

Another similar method that I've read about is Mom Bucks (you could probably make this Mom and Dad Bucks). I remember a teacher in elementary school that used this with our class, and it was great for incentives and offered positive reinforcement. It's very simple - the kids earn bucks by contributing around the house, helping put away groceries, cleaning their rooms, and the like. Parents give them paper money in $1 or $5 increments. As a reward, they can turn their bucks in for fun events like a trip to Jamba Juice or the movies. Or they can turn in their bucks for real cold, hard cash (3 Mom Bucks = whatever cash exchange rate you like!). This seems like an effective tool - much better than the sticker charts or regular allowance - it seems to have more staying power.

Well, we'll see how it all goes, my prayer above all is that as a family we will communicate openly, clearly and lovingly to one another with patience and understanding ... Until then, one step at a time. My child has barely begun to crawl yet! How the time flies.

Extra note: a list of interesting random mom tips I found from Parenting here.
Image from here

easter reflections

Hope you had a lovely Easter weekend, friends! We had a great time at two weddings (hubby and daughter went to one, I went to the other) on Saturday and then took off for a night and a day at the beach house! Some sweet family friends offered it, so we took them up on the generous gift. Though it was very very windy at the coast, it was still beautiful.

So beautiful that I got up to take it all in! If you know me, I'm a woman who loves her sleep ... but even so I found myself wanting to sit by the waves even in the early morning hours. So while everyone else was asleep, I snuck out to the beach and sat on a driftwood log to enjoy the waves and gulls in the foggy gray. It was a perfect way to think on and reflect on the true meaning behind Easter. Not all the eggs and bunnies, but of Christ's love for us. As a new mom, I feel like I have a better understanding of the sacrificial and pure love that God has for us, at least in a small way. Each night before I put Norah to bed, I look down at her in my arms and I am overcome by love. It's nothing like I've ever known. All my life I've chosen to love others -- my husband, my friends, even my family. It is a conscious decision to love them. But when I look at her, something just stirs within me when I see the child that I've carried inside and given birth to. She is someone that I immediately loved and had no choice about loving. The love I have for her just IS. It is full and deep and hits me right at the core of my heart. When they placed her on my chest after she took her first breath, I was moved straight to tears. I could not hold them back, and from that moment on, she was the most precious thing to me.

So I can't even wrap my mind around how much God loves us! Or that He would give His Son! It is overwhelming. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you.

pray for japan

I have a confession. I've been remiss in watching the news lately, though I've heard of and know the severity of the quake and tsunami, I couldn't bring myself to see the devastation for fear of becoming paranoid about a pending disaster here. But yesterday I really wanted to sit down and watch the videos and see the faces of the people I am praying for, so I pulled up the videos and just took it all in.

Sadness overwhelmed me, and I thought of all those who are looking for their loved ones in anticipation. I would never want that for anyone ... and I pray that in this time of sorrow and loss, that the Japanese people would find hope. Hope in God's great love and grace! May He hold them in His arms and give them strength to keep pressing on.

Praying for Japan like crazy.

image above from elderweiss

poppies for norah

Before Norah was born, I used some poppies from this post to make a headband for her. It was on one of those sleepless nights that I stayed up preparing our hospital bag. I took some elastic that I had in my sewing kit and carefully attached the bright red poppies to create it. I also sewed one bloom onto a side-snap onesie. My nesting instinct was in full gear with this project! She didn't end up wearing them at the hospital, but wore them one month later.

I love making things for my little girl - it reminds me of when my mom used to make clothing and ornate Halloween costumes for my sister and I. She is great at sewing, and I hope that I can have skills like that one day. Until then, my hand sewing will have to suffice!

more wonder than I imagined ...

Well, I've been missing from the blog for a long while, but for good reason! On October 14, 2010 I gave birth to a little girl ... Norah! She is the most amazing little person and I am in awe that she is ours. Motherhood is truly something, and I am reminded of a post I read from an Australian blogger mom that said this about it, "Six billion people on the planet have been born like this, but it still seems like magic to me." And that is so true!

Even in the middle of the night, when she is crying out - I am in awe of how she came into our lives and how it feels to hold her after waiting for 9 months in anticipation of her arrival. I love how at 7 weeks old now, she fits perfectly into my arms. I kiss her little cheeks and smell that soft, sweet baby scent and feel her warmth against me ... she is beautiful. A little more wonder in my life, perhaps? Or maybe a little more wonderful.

image courtesy of mjt photography

babies, dating and dinner parties

Can you believe it? Only 4 more weeks to go before our baby girl arrives! 4 and a little bit ... it's very exciting and unnerving at the same time. Very soon our lives will be changed forever.

I've been reading a book called On Becoming Babywise that a few friends recommended, and it has been interesting to hear that though life will be different, life should still maintain a balance. The author emphasizes bringing the baby into the family unit instead of making the child the center of our universe. This includes remembering that though I will be a mother, I am also still a sister, daughter, friend and wife. He also points out that we should continue to date our spouses and show them gestures of love (like my friend lists here), including spending 15 minutes a day on the couch going over the day's events. Sounds like a given, right? I'm sure I'll have to be very intentional about this once she enters the world!

One other point the author made that surprised me was to purposefully invite friends over for food and fellowship! In essence, have a dinner party with baby! Is it possible? I sure hope so! I will be ever so grateful to have friends over if we can manage it. A few friends have had us over in the first 6 months of their children's lives, and I've been so impressed! Both couples have made dinner for us - one new dad was even able to make homemade cinnamon rolls from scratch! We can only hope and pray that our team work and love helps us to care for this child and for one another. Here we go ...

place setting above: crate and barrel place mat, plates, and dansk flatware, appetite home napkins

loving me some mint!

I am on the lookout for mint these days, I just am loving the color, at this point it is definitely going into the nursery. Here are a few things that are full of minty goodness that I've been eyeing.

a little soundtrack: to my sweet pea

Here is a sweet cover done by Gabe Bondoc of "Sweet Pea" by Amos Lee - you may have heard it on a popular tv commercial for AT&T. This is for my little one, who the hubba affectionately nicknamed Blueberry because that is the size that our child was at 6 weeks! So maybe this is for Sweet Little Blue, instead of Sweet Pea. Can't wait to meet you LB, can't wait.

a new development

I haven't yet announced it on this blog yet -- but it's now official! The hubba and I are expecting our first child in October. And I'm cooking up lots of plans for the nursery and a few other fun projects, so hopefully I'll be able to keep up the blogging a bit more. I'll try not to make this totally a baby blog, but all this handmade baby stuff is just too cute for words! We'll see if I can resist it all! We're so excited that our first child is coming -- and soon we'll find out if it is a boy or a girl.

adorable bibs via downhomeamy

live what you love

My dear sister-in-law gave me a teal letterpress print of the poster above, but here's a new edition in a lovely soft gray with a heart. Very inspirational, and reminds me of what really matters in life. Don't we want to incorporate our loves and passions into our daily lives?

I sure do. I want to live out my faith, my creativity, and so much more.

wonder foodie: cooking with grandma

During the past few weeks I've been making many calls to my grandmother to enlist her help in making some of the dishes of my childhood. It's great to have her instruction on how to properly steam yook beng (meat cake) or how much water is needed make lan fan jook (a thick rice porridge).

It's the feeling of passing on a legacy, and being reminded of all the great dishes you ate and loved while growing up.

My favorite feature on Chow is the Cooking with Grandma segments. Each one highlights a grandmother cooking with her grandchild -- and even though the measurements are not exact, the love and history in the recipes are overflowing. Love it! This most recent feature is one of my favorites - Cooking gnocchi in a tomato-porcini sauce with Grandma Paola! Mmmm, I think I'll try this one soon.

missing in paradise

I've been missing here on the blog for the past few weeks since I was preparing to leave work for a while - mostly in part to a fabulously relaxing vacation in Hawaii that we had! It ended with a surprising Tsunami warning, so we were rudely awakened on Saturday at the crack of dawn by an ear-piercing siren that continued for a good minute and a half. Safety first, even in paradise!

Luckily, no one was hurt and the vacation itself was absolutely lovely. Lots of sunning, swimming, and eating delicious tropical delights. A girl really couldn't ask for much more. Shave ice, homemade mochi, banana mac nut pancakes, and some Fighting Eel shopping. Aloha!

image taken at lani kai beach, on the island of oahu

spuds not duds

Lately I've been into brainstorming food-themed parties -- cake decorating parties, dumpling parties, noodle parties and etc. So since it had been so cold, I wanted to have a baked potato party. Nothing's better than tons of warm and delicious carbs to keep you toasty on a chilly night, right? So what did I do? I kid you not, I googled "perfect baked potato" and came up with this recipe.

A few nights later, we had a lovely Christmas with our families, and I made homemade corn nuts with my sister. I took some home, and began to plan for an upcoming Spuds night. I set out to have lots of toppings - cheddar and pepperjack cheeses, green onions, olives, homemade chili, sour cream, and butter. No time to make the broccoli, but I will save it for next time. The potatoes were delicious, with crispy perfect skins and silky and snowy on the inside - not dry and chalky like some potatoes can be. And the prep was so easy! Serve it with a salad, and you're set. Here are a few photos, courtesy of my lovely guests. Next party? How about a won ton party? Can't wait.

my day of birth

I had a simple and lovely birthday, I can't believe that another year has passed. This year consisted of many little moments, with lots of sweets in between.

It started off with dinner the night before with the hubba at a Japanese tapas place - we had an assortment of dishes, including a delicious ochazuke finished off with green tea creme brulee for dessert. On my actual birthday, my co-workers took me to my favorite local creperie and I had a strawberry and nutella crepe with fresh whipped cream. Then my dear mom and sister surprised me and came to work with chocolate filled cupcakes and a singular balloon. And after youth group, we celebrated with two of our good buddies over homemade strawberry shortcake. And to finish off the weekend, one of my youth kids surprised me with some freshly baked white chocolate macadamia cookies while others made handmade cards. Not to mention several amazing friends who left messages and calls for me. How sweet it is to be loved! Twenty-eight, you're off to a great start.

birthday card by simplesong

good good friends

Me and two of my favorite traveling buddies are taking a trip very very soon ... and I can't wait! Fun adventures await us - sure to be full of food, laughter, and sweet sights.

wonder foodie: making mallows

Ohhh yes, we did it! Last weekend, my sister and I took a day to tackle the delicious task of making the drool-worthy Neapolitan marshmallows that I blogged about earlier. And the result? Amazing bites of soft, fluffy and light-as-air marshmallows with three different layers of flavor.

This wasn't my first encounter with the homemade confection, but definitely results in a huge batch of sweets. I made marshmallows two Christmases ago from this Design*Sponge article, and those marshmallows were very small, much like mini marshmallows that you'd find at the grocery store. This recipe from Brownie Points blog made such a generous serving, I'll probably halve the recipe next time around. I highly recommend this recipe, and suggest investing in a candy thermometer and a Kitchenaid mixer.

Marshmallows are a deceptively simple sweet to make, and I think it's waiting for the sugar to get to the right temperature that's the hard part! We really enjoyed this process and enjoyed giving them out to people afterward since the three full batches made so much. Great for a party favor or little Christmas treats with packets of hot cocoa. Note to self: next time add a bit of pink food coloring to the strawberry to give it that true Neapolitan look. I love that we really did this ourselves and I didn't have to purchase them on Etsy. Yay!

been a while

It's been a bit of time since I last posted, and for good reason. In the last two weeks our family had to pull together to support my mom at the hospital while she's been receiving chemo treatments and a bone marrow transplant. It has been a taxing journey and I haven't really been in the blogging state of mind, but I am thankful that we got through it.

The whole time we were at the hospital, we had lots of art projects to do, all thanks to the great Art for Health program there. We were able to create fun signs to encourage my mom and ourselves. She's at home now recovering, so that's something to be thankful for.

weekend delights

This weekend was fun. We attended a friend's wedding, visited my parents and fiddled with my dad's vintage camera collection (film! love!), spent Sunday afternoon with friends, and then made a simple dinner of cold soba noodles to enjoy. I love the simple moments in a busy weekend. Here are a few photos:

The soba noodles were on sale at the Korean market and they were organic (asian organic, get out of here) - and the packaging was just so appealing to me. You can't see it in the small version (click to see it larger), but they were the most beautiful colors and had this metallic star pattern printed on the package. It's the little things that keep me inspired. What little things inspire you?

toys with imagination round up

Here's the post that I've been waiting to do forever! So as I was looking at those fun felt letters on Etsy, I was reminded of how much I enjoyed my fabric and wooden toys as a child. I'd love that for my children as well - natural fibers and natural elements to spur on the imagination, no need for bells, whistles, and crazy toys that play songs and make noise.

Nothing is wrong with those toys of course, but I just remember those times when my sister and I would make up games with the simplest toys. We stayed at my grandparents house after school for 4 days out of the week, and all we had to play with were old Berkeley Farms milk crates and a few stuffed animals. It remains one of the outstanding memories of my childhood. Here are some natural and wooden toys that I really like:

From top: Wooden Car from Stillpoint Woodworks, Safari Set and Hippo Teether from Little Alouette, Muji New York City in a Bag from the MoMA Store, Carrie Kitchenette from ImagineThat Wood Shop.

wonder foodie: a little clammy

Back in May, my sister, her boyfriend, and my husband and I prepared an early Mother's Day dinner for my mom. She was going to go into a long slew of medical treatments the week following, so we weren't sure if she'd be up for a celebration on the actual Mother's Day.

So we quickly got together an impromptu menu and made a four course meal for her, picking from different cuisines and putting our own twist on certain dishes. Here's what we had:

Steamed Manila Clams with Garlic Crostini
Green Chopped Salad with Balsamic dressing
Grandma's Steaks (she made this on the spot, so we had one more course!)
Kimberly's Special Chicken Tikka Masala
Banana Tarte Tatin with homemade Mango Ice Cream

The steamed clams were my favorite dish to make - I had this recipe bookmarked for 4 years ever since we had the clams at the Lahaina Grill in Maui. Finally came an occasion to have it! The recipe is fairly simple, but going into it I had no idea how much clam juice costs! Yikes! I paid $6 for two 8 oz. bottles at my local grocery store. Next time I'll shop around first. That said, it was completely delicious and fed 7 people that enjoyed it. Everything else was delicious and yum, time to do it again!