Bird in Distress

The weather had warmed up, and the temperature had gone up to a high of 34C! We left all our windows open and since it was cooler in the living room, we were there most of the time.

It was almost 2.30pm when I heard continuous chirping coming from my bedroom. And so, I went up to the bedroom to check. To my surprise, I found a tiny bird perched on the ledge outside the window, chirping away. He didn't seem to be intimated by my presence. Birds usually do not land on window ledge, and when they do, they will fly away the moment they sense that there is someone approaching.

And so, I watched this little fellow for a while. He didn't seem to have the intention of flying away. In fact, he turned around to look at me, and started chirping away again, as if he was trying to tell me something. Are you injured? Are you lost? I would love to help, but I just couldn't figure out what was wrong with him. I also did not want to scare the bird. So I decided that I should just wait and see.

At 4.30pm, I noticed that the bird had moved from one side of my window to the other. Still chirping away, with no intention of flying away. His hard work of continuous chirping paid off, as after a while, I saw a similar bird flying by, and landed beside the stranded bird. I was watching them at a distance away, so the second bird didn't fly away. However, when I approached the window, trying to take a photograph of the two birds together, it flew away even before I reached the window.

Not wanting to frighten the second bird, as he might be able to help the stranded bird, I moved away from the window, watching them at a respectable distance. Sure enough, the bird flew back, cautiously, as it now perched on a tree branch instead of the window ledge. He was chirping away loudly, and so did the stranded bird.

The next thing I knew, there was four to five bigger birds that came, all perched on the higher branches, chirping away. It was like an orchestra! What a sight! I got really excited when I saw the robin and the red cardinal! I ran to the window with my camera, oops, and frightened the two bigger birds perched on the lower branches. I did, however, managed to take a picture of the robin and carinal, since they were perched high up in the tree.

Then I turned to the window ledge to check on the stranded bird.

It was gone! It was now hopping and chirping away on the ground, with the other bird! They flew away after a while.

I was really glad that it was just lost, and not injured. And he managed to be reunited with his friend. What an experience!

Kids' Drawing and Writing

Darling son KW brought home from school the above drawing. Asked him what it was, he said it was a page on his imagined computer game. From wanting to be Lego-Designer, he is now a computer game "designer".

Here's his Lego Design called Blizzards' Peak. I found it among his stack of drawings on the table while tidying up the room.

Here's another drawing of the Ben 10 aliens. The drawing on the aliens were done during the Ben10-craze sometime back. So many sheets of drawing ... if only I can sell them for some pocket money for them =p

Darling son YW brought home a piece of writing on Spring.

Here's what he wrote about Spring :

Spring is good because we can play with water guns.

Spring is good and fun because you can wear shorts.

Spring is sunny and there are birthdays in spring.

Spring is sometimes hot.

I'm amazed at the things he can write about spring! And that he is observant enough to notice that Spring, although cold and missing most of the time, can sometimes be HOT! Yes, there were a couple of days when it felt like summer instead of spring. I really enjoy reading his writing. Did you notice that the teacher do not correct him on the spelling? As such, the kids are encouraged and motivated to just write and write. And they can just write about anything! I love their creativity and their imagination!

Spring Flowers

The Spring momentum is on, and I'm doing more Spring related bentos! When I think of Spring, I think of Flowers! So here's another flower bento for the boys. Never mind that flowers are not exactly a boys' thing ... I love flowers, and they love cheese. So it's a win-win situation =)

I gave the boys more vegetables .. Broccoli and Baby Corn. There's also ovenbaked chicken fillet. I think I prefer the box with just the rice flowers.

A Flower To Brighten The Day!

It was starting to get cold again, and the sky was overcast. And I'm falling sick. Making a pretty flower for the boys' bento helped to brighten my day!

The rice is mixed with a little ketchup to give it some colour. Two cheese flowers were cut and overlapped, and pinned onto the rice with a jeweled food pick. Layering the cheese flowers felt like I was scrapbooking.

Don't you love those sparkling jeweled food picks?

In the bento, there's chicken karaage, broccoli, rice mixed with ketchup and top with cheese flowers, and two chocolate mushrooms!

I'm sure the boys will eat their mushrooms first!

For the time being, I'm happy with my flowers, real and edible, while patiently awaiting the arrival of Lady Spring =)

Bento Day!

I am very thankful for the lovely weather we have been having this autumn. Plenty of sunshine, blue sky, and cool! For the last two years, we had been getting quite a lot of the cloudy sky, rain, and not forgetting the chilly gusty winds. The ground was already covered with snow in October last year, but this year, the snow had yet to arrive.

The lovely weather is definitely having an effect on me, as I have been preparing bentos for the boys using the Lock&Lock box instead of the "Pour everything in" thermal box =) The boys are happier too, as they bring home an empty box whenever it's Bento Day!

The deboned chicken thigh fillet was put into the oven to bake while I went about preparing breakfast for the boys. It was fairly easy to assemble the lunch box .... Scoop rice into the flower rice mold, unmold into the lunch box and sprinkle some furikake on top. Cut the baked chicken thigh into stripes and place them into a paper holder, and into the box. Arrange the blanched broccoli and some cherry/grape tomatoes around the rice. Done!

Spring Break - DASHing Around!

Darling son KW had been taking rollerblading lessons for P.E in school during the last few weeks of the term. When asked if he would like a pair to practice during the Spring Break, he eagerly said "YES!".

Since I do not wish to invest in an expensive pair of blades, I opted for the cheaper ones. I thought it would be easy for me to buy these blades, but NO! There was no sale, and yet, at the stores, there was no stock available. The boy was very disappointed when we went shopping that day. Luckily, hubby dear's sharp eyes caught sight of a sign that read "Sale, 30% off Rollerblades" at a sports store on our way home. Phew! It was a little more than what we would like to pay for, but the discount given definitely made a significant difference. It was a deal!

What do I like about these skates, even though it was more than what I would like to pay? Well, it would get many, many years of use, as there are 4 adjustable sizes! YES!

Size 1 - 4! Both darling sons can use for the next two to three years. Kids grow fast, and so do their feet! No point getting a pair of skates when they can only use it for one summer? And these skates are really cool!

The boy was really happy that day, and he went round and round the apartment compound!

Spring Break - Learn to Bike!

For two weeks, darling son YW had been biking to school, as the weather had turned warmer. He had four wheels, not two. However, the two little training wheels were raised, and as a result, he was leaning onto either training wheels for support while biking. It was strange seeing him "tilt" to one side.

During the last week of the school term, which was the second week since he started biking to school, we noticed that he was, for quite a distance, balancing and cycling on two wheels! He was no longer tilting to one side. We told him we would remove the training wheels, and he could practice during the Spring Break ... which he did! Just one day, and he was biking on two wheels! Yeah!

He sure had practiced hard during the Spring Break!

When school starts next week, he will be biking to school, along side with his GorGor, on two wheels, not four! I will have to walk fast, really fast, to catch up with them!

Spring Break - Play Time!

The one week Spring Break had finally arrived!
Lovely weather .... beautiful blue sky, and sunny!

We walked to the school playground, to spend the afternoon there.

"Monkey" Time!

"Monkey" up the bars, instead of sliding down.

Ending the climb with a "Monkey" face =p

"Monkey" swing across the bars! WOW!

"Monkey" dance ... whose the "Monkey" and whose the "Tree"?

What's with that unhappy "Monkey" face? Thumbs down indeed =(

Hungry monkeys are angry monkeys ... Ok, Snack Time!

Two happy smiley faces after snacking =)

Time for some soccer!

Taking turns to be the goal keeper!

I guess this is what school holiday is about ... to be out of the house and to run about, having loads of fun, and free from school work!

Members of Our Little Garden

Introducing to you, the members in our little garden =)

Marigold

This plant was brought back by darling son from school, for Mother's Day.

We were pleasantly surprised to see two big orange flowers greeting us when we came back from our vacation! We were glad we had the marigold, as it attracted bees, to help pollinate our other plants. 

Cilantro

Chinese parsley, or coriander.

We cut a handful of fresh leaves from the garden whenever we eat our noodles. But after a while, the stem turned woody, and little white flowers started growing. The fresh leaves stopped growing by then. We threw the plant away after a while.

Big Sweet Tomato Plant

We planted the big sweet tomato plant at the end of spring. We didn't think it would survive, but it did! We are now waiting patiently for the green tomatoes to turn red =)

Cherry Tomato Plant

We planted the cherry tomato plant, thinking that our big tomato plant may not survive. We were then told by our neighbour, that it was too late for planting tomatoes. It might flower but there might not be any fruits. We were a hopeful lot =) 

We thought we could just try, since the seeds had already germinated! I'm glad we didn't give up!

Pepper Plant

Planted the pepper plant together with the big tomato plant. It was doing well, till we caught bugs eating the leaves. After a while, we thought it might just stop growing, since there were just too many leaves with holes on them. We were excited when we saw the first flower, then awaiting patiently for the plant to fruit. 

Cucumber Plant

We planted this very late, since at that time, the temperature was appropriate for growing cucumbers. We were informed that we would need a structure for the plant to 'creep' up.

Only, since there was only a few leaves, we thought just a few short sticks would do the trick. When we came back from our vacation, we were surprised to see leaves 'overflowing' from the pot! It was really messy, as the plant had no structure to 'climb'. It was also interesting to study how the cucumber grow from the flower =) At this time, the biggest cucumber measures 5 inches, and is expected to grow up to 10 inches! 

Our Little Garden

I don't have green fingers. Neither am I an experienced gardener.

I don't like ants and insects crawling in and out of the plant pots. 

Hubby dear was the one who did all the work =)

He sowed the seeds. He digged his fingers into the potting mix.

He transplanted the plants when the pots were too small. 

He caught the bugs, who were eating the leaves. 

See how the garden has grown from little plants in many pots in Spring, to tall and bushy plants in Summer? 

Although I occasionally helped out in watering the plants, and the boys too, I must admit that seeing the plants flowered and fruit, brought joy and happiness! Each morning, we will count the number of cherry tomatoes we have, the number of cucumbers, and not forgetting the big tomatoes that are about to ripen. I am looking forward to eating them! And for me, it is a very educational lesson, learning about shoots, shapes of leaves, colours of flowers, pollution, and how temperature affects the growth of plants. 

And yes, growing some plants when we are back at our tiny island, called the little red dot,  would be nice =)

Our Plants

These are the pots of plants we have outside our apartment.

Do you see the long pot, at the far end, with just the potting mix?

We put in the cucumber seeds recently. Wonder if the seeds will germinate.

So what other plants do we have?

Clockwise from the top left :

• Cilantro! Sprinkle a bunch over noodles and they were delicious!
  
• Peppers : When will they fruit? They look like they are growing well.
  
• Cherry Tomatoes : Planted these late. No sure if they will fruit. 
  
• Big and Sweet Tomatoes : Notice the hairy stems and chopsticks?

From left to right:

This is the marigold plant darling son brought home from school.

They learnt about seeds and plants in May. 

This is my present ... for Mother's Day.

The tiny plant had since grown from two leaves (shoots) to a healthy plant! 

Wonder when the flowers will bloom?

Recognise the leaves? Nice oval-shaped leaves.

That's the pepper plant again. We transplanted it into a yogurt container as we did not have enough pots. We didn't expect it to grow to so tall and big. Looks like we have to transplant it again into another bigger pot .... 

We will going away for three weeks, and I hope that they will continue to grow well during our absence ... 

Looking through the lens ... a little boy's view.

How do you like the photographs?

What will you take if you are the photographer?

Kids can be very observant. 

They look at things from a different angle. 

The above photographs are taken by darling son KW. 

The camera which he uses is a birthday gift from us, for his 5th birthday. 

I like the photographs ... I think he has an eye for details =)

Note : The above photographs were taken on a weekend when we went walking, from our apartment through the woods, and to the boathouse. Darling son went there for a field trip and was eager to bring us there. 

 

Wanted!

It was another sunny afternoon. Birds were chirping happily on the tree branches. It was time to go and pick darling son up from school. It was just another school day for him, or so I thought ....

The dismissal bell came.

An announcement came shortly ... 

"All students, please go home immediately after school. Do not stay in school. Go home immediately"

Why? Hmmm  .... It definitely didn't sound good to me. 

Maybe the police was looking for some criminal?

Maybe someone hurt some kids in the neighbourhood, and so the kids were asked to go home?

There were so many possibilities .... I did let the kids play outside our apartment, since our neighbours' kids were out too. I informed their parents about the announcement made by the school even though I did not know the reason for it. I warned the kids not to be out of sight and to keep a lookout for strangers. 

So what exactly happened?

In today's news .... from the website Channel 3000 WISCTV.com .... 

The man was armed. He shot his ex-wife and fled the murder scene. No wonder the school asked the kids to go home immediately. Although the park which the man was found was a 15-minute drive to the school area, it was a safety precaution well taken. I was so relieved after reading the article this morning, knowing that the man was found.

One mom from the school told me that there was a case where another wanted man hid in the community garden next to the lake. Yet another case of a man hiding in the basement where the laundry room is located. Cases of strange man exposing themselves to kids at the playground, strange man standing and laughing hysterically on the swing where the kids play .... 

It was all to much for me to stomach. I had no appetite for lunch today. 

I stood outside the whole time while the kids were playing .. under the hot sun, dealing with not only my two boys, but another two boys and a girl from two other neighbours ... no wonder my body ached so badly now .... 

If wishes come true ....

Quack, Quack!

Each season in the woods, we see something special ...

Summer ... Fireflies! 

Tiny little flashlight in the dark =)

Fall ... Chipmunks and squirrels. 

These little fellows were busy collecting food and getting ready for winter.

Winter ... A family of three turkeys.

They went walking around the neighbourhood when the sun was out, leaving their "claw-prints" in the snow.

Spring ... Two ducks!

They were "sun-bathing" in the warm morning sun.

Like the family of turkeys, these two ducks didn't move an inch when I tried moving nearer to them to take a photograph of them. The brown one just gave me a lazy stare.

I Love Spring!

I'm in love with Spring ... 

Look at the leaves sprouting from the branches of trees!

Red maple leaves, green maple leaves, pine-cones ... the trees look "alive" now, with a mop of light green swaying gently as the wind blows ... 

Look at these lovely colourful flowers! 

I see many trees as I walk darling son to school every morning. 

After a long "white" winter, I really can't recall the colours of the different flowers growing on the trees and in the ground! Like what dear hubby said  ... you appreciate Spring more, after Winter! 

I really enjoy watching the leaves and flowers grow, as I walk past them every morning! Although the yellow flowers above are considered weeds, they brighten up the grass area outside my apartment! It is a sea of green, yellow and purple. It brings on a smile each time I look out of the window, especially on a sunny, cloudless day! But weeds are weeds ... the lawn mower came yesterday, and they were 'wiped out' ... sadly. But hey, these are strong-willed flowers! After two days, they are back! The grass area is again, covered by a sea of yellow and purple dots! Lovely! 

Teacher Appreciation Week

It is Teacher Appreciation Week, May 4-8.

Unlike back home, where we celebrate Teachers' Day for only a day in September, it's a whole week for the students to thank their teachers. The school management makes arrangements for appreciation lunch and tea for their staff. Parent representative from each class coordinate the appreciation gifts for the class teachers.

Some suggestions for KW's class ... a card from each student, showing how the student enjoyed the teacher's class, students to bake cookies/cakes/pastries, a scrapebook (each student to submit to parent representative a page with their picture on it, and framing their picture with drawings, or cut out objects, quotes, etc).

KW's home class teacher, Mrs M, takes him for social studies and science. The "Thank You" card for Mrs M shows KW and Mrs M at the park near the school. We also bake some pineapple tarts for Mrs M. Darling sons help out in baking the pineapple tarts.

The above card is for Mrs L, who takes KW for Math and English. She is a part time teacher with the school, with no home class. So I bake a yogurt cake for her. It was so sweet of her to give us a "Thank you" card in return ... for the lovely cake and card.

An Evening Walk - In Spring!

I have been admiring, from my kitchen window, these 'pink-top' trees growing in the little open grass area across my apartment. They stand out brightly and boldly, in the lushly green neighbourhood. I have wanted to go check out the trees each time I make my way to pick darling son up from school. Somehow, I never manage to make that 'detour'. 

After dinner this evening, I brought dear hubby to the kitchen window and showed him the "pink-top" trees. 

"Why not walk there to check it out now, since we finished dinner early!"  said my hubby.

The boys were excited! They wanted to bike there instead of walking, even though it was just across the carpark. Ok, they cycled, we walked.

And guess what they found when we reached the tree?

A toy sports car! 

The "pink-top" tree is pink, as it has many pretty, fragrant pink flowers! 

While hubby and I admired the flowers, the two boys were busy 'driving' the sports car!

We could hear the buzzing of many bees when we stood under the tree. 

The bees were huge! We stayed for a short while only, as it was getting colder. The many busy bees seemed to be telling us "go home" with their loud humming. 

I enjoyed the walk, and I enjoyed looking at the flowers with hubby dear. The boys enjoyed their rides, as well as their discovery - the toy sports car! They couldn't get enough of it, and the next day after school, they requested going for a sports-car ride!

Tree Cutting

Some men were outside the apartment this morning. 

They were cutting the tree near our neighbour's apartment. 

They started work around eleven, and by 1pm, the tree was cut, the place was cleaned up. Neat and swift. 

Here's a video of the machine they use to 'shred' the branches ... You don't need a big truck to hold the many messy branches. Cool!

Reminds me of sugar-cane juice machine back home .... 

A Day of Biking and Playing

Darling son YW had a new bike! 

We saw this bike at the second-hand bike shop, when we went to fix KW's flat bike tyre. The bike worked well, even though it was a second-hand bike. The training wheels were larger, making the bike more steady. 

Hubby dear had a dental appointment in the late morning, and he was home just slightly after lunch. YW was happy, as with daddy at home, he was able to go out and play the whole afternoon. He was eager to try out his new bike, and ended up playing at the playground next to the community garden.

And we met our little neighbour at the playground!

His daddy was at the community garden, loosening the soil and planting. The boy was happy to see YW. 

When it was time to pick KW up from school, YW actually cycled all the way to his brother's school. Ok, his bike had four wheels instead of two. But being able to cycle such a long distance made him feel like a big boy! And round two of play for YW since KW was home from school! This time, off they went to another playground! Playground hopping seemed to be their favorite in the woods! 

They had so much fun, they slept almost immediately when they hit the bed, and were gently snoring away!