recess time

To Cavan, empowerment comes in a form of a school recess time.

Till primary one, he's never had money in his hands, with the freedom to buy anything he loves, without Mommy hovering over him, saying 'no' to this and that.

For his first week at school, I didn't know what to expect, so I gave him $1.50 on top of packing ham sandwiches for him.

On the first day, I watched him from a distance at the school canteen. He ate his sandwiches and drank from his water bottle. Then he got up from his seat and walked around, in fact two rounds, the school canteen. Then he queued up at the drinks stall.

He returned to his seat with one siew mai.

When he was done, he threw the waste away and disappeared into another part of the canteen, hidden from where I was standing. He didn't appear for quite some time, and I was getting restless.

Then he emerged with a bowl of noodles.

I looked at my watch and panicked. There were 5 more minutes before recess time was over.

I caught his eyes and signalled him to hurry up. By then, the teacher was making announcements and students started streaming into the school hall. I was relieved when he managed to finish his bowl of noodles just as the bell rang.

That evening, I asked whether he was hungry. Why did he buy so much food and kept walking around the canteen?

His reply, "I haven't tried all the food yet!"

I was very amused by his reply. I told him that recess time is not buffet time. It's not for him to try out all the stalls.

* * * * * * * * * *

That week, he kept having noodles for recess. I was getting concerned that he was overeating. Just one week into school he was gaining.

So I told him no more noodles.

One day, he proudly told me after school that he didn't buy noodles. I was pleased until he said,

"I bought rice."

Faint.

* * * * * * * * * *

He lost his scissors at school. So I decided to punish him to teach him about being responsible for his own belongings. The punishment had to correspond to the nature of the deed, so I told him that he would not get pocket money for 2 days and the money will be used to buy a new pair of scissors.

It was a heavy sentence. To him.

He broke down and cried and said how sorry he was and he would never lose his things again. I felt sorry for him but punishment had to be meted out. He had to learn consequences.

So I consoled him that we would still pack food for him to eat. He would not go hungry.

Later he found his scissors and was very very glad.

Still, I decided to take away his pocket money and discussed with him.

My explanation was that he went to school after lunch and he would have dinner after school. He won't starve. We'd pack him stuff to eat in school.

He agreed. I was relieved.

At least a step to check that weight gain.

Maybe he was not ready for that 'empowerment'. Well, perhaps gradually. He still got pocket money when he had CCA and he could eat whatever he liked.

I was ok with this. Afterall, it was only once a week.

Appetites

Inconsistency at the dining table. I had to ask one to eat slowly and the other to eat quickly.

Cavan has no problems. He gobbles up food quickly. And eats adult portion. Maybe more than adult portion. You ask him what's his favourite food and he ends up naming every edible thing.

He's always hungry. After his meal, he awaits his sister's leftovers. When Clem and I have our dinner, he requests for a bite here and there.

I told Cavan that he eats too fast, so the brain hasn't registered that he's eaten so he doesn't feel full yet. But he does say he is hungry and asks to eat something 30 - 40 min later.

Clem and I always think we got bang for our buck whenever we bring him for buffets. Especially when kids eat for free. We always snigger to ourselves that Cavan eats more than some adults and he doesn't have to pay. Cheapskate parents.

Then Verity. When she was younger, she was experimental with food. But her interest waned as she grows. She loves veg and fruits, and hates meat. (Now where did all that chubby cheeks come from?) It has become an ordeal making her eat her meals.

She plays around her bowl. Picks a grain or two. Nibble. Picks some veg. Nibble. I have to ask her to perform every step: Pick up spoon. Scoop. Feed. Chew. Swallow. 2- 3 rounds till I get really fed up and start yelling at her, threaten her or sometimes using reward to motivate. Carrot and stick, I've tried them all. But we just can't spend our time cajoling or coercing her right? Sometimes, Cavan tries to help his little sister by feeding and coaxing her. Other times, he simply hands me the ruler.

Inconsistency. I attempt to reward Verity with a cookie or chocolate if she eats fast. Then Cavan asks, how about me. I eat fast.

I told him: for you, you have to eat slower. And less.

The last thing I want is to give him more food. But how can one ever say no to a kid who wants more food?



Sushi Making for Kids

I stumbled upon a sushi making tool during Toys Fair at Taka. I was totally sold by the demo video and told Clem to buy it. He gave the box a look of disbelief and asked if it was a toy. No, I replied adamantly. It can help to make sushi beautifully. Watch the video! The usual sucker-me dragged him to see the evidence.

Yeah! Clem bought the thingy for me since it was not very ex. So no heart pain even if it doesn't work. He said he thought he only needed to buy toys for 2 kids. Now got extra kid. Hey, it's not a toy ok! I retorted.

The kids and I were so excited, we decided to make sushi for breakfast the next day.

Simple ingredients: our usual Calrose rice (just like short-grain Jap rice, except that it's not ex), canned tuna, denbu (the sweet, pink powdered codfish), sushi vinegar and seaweed.

First spread rice, tuna and denbu

Then, roll seaweed in and turn knobs

Yummy sushi done! Hassle-free! Mess-free! No more rice sticking on your hands!

You make, I eat

It was really fun and easy. Cavan had loads of fun rolling the sushi. We ended up eating so much carbo for brekkie! Even for dinner later that day, we brought the thing to our inlaws' as Cavan wanted to eat his dinner rolled up. He rolled his rice, eggs and meat in seaweed and ate.

Whatever. As long as he eats his meals.

Little Munchkin

Verity sure likes her food. She started semi solid at 5.5 months. While other babies started their 1st feed experimenting with several small spoons and bits, Verity decided to start with a big bang.

Her first feed was a bowl of porridge. Yes a bowl. Instead of displaying grimaces due to experiencing different textures in her mouth and coming to terms with foreign gooey stuff, she adapted with great (and quick) stride.

She yelled at my mom to quicken the feed. While my mom hurried to scoop the next mouthful, Verity was already yelling for more. So my mom had to feed very fast.

Verity was interested in every single thing we put in our mouth. Now, 1 month into eating, she has tried rice, bananas, pears, ice cream, beancurd, buns, bread, and durians. If we refuse to feed her anything we're eating, she would grimace, pout, shake her fists and stamp her feet.

We are breeding an eating machine.

Guess this can't be helped, since both Clement and I are the buffet-eater type.

Now that foods are more interesting, Verity shows less interest being breastfed. She would get so distracted by her surrounding that it become pointless to breastfeed. Suck suck, turn around, look around. Turn back and suck suck, turn around, look around. I'll keep pushing her face back but the same cycle would occur, as if internally programmed. I figure I should stop battling with breastfeeding and not get too emotional. I come to terms with the fact that I breastfeed as her snack, no longer a staple food.

Eat well, babe!