Getting ready ...

Lesenfants, originally uploaded by L'Aubergine Grillée.

I am going at full speed back to my project which I have been paused for a while. This will be when mon chou, Raffael at 5 months on 7 march 2011. At the moment, I am gathering some tools, finances, bits and pieces to put together.

The project of collection of children clothes and accesories design by me using good quality fabrics hand-picked by me. It is sewn delicately to suit the children.

MISFORTUNE EVENT ON THE CLOUDY WEEKEND

Oh Well,

Yesterday evening after Ludo called me as he is in KL for business meeting, he texted me to say that he lost the bag with all important documents. He recalled there was a guy sat next to him and apparently changed his bag to another black bag. The worse part is his passport and laptop were inside his bag. That guy hit the jackpot or maybe not....I don't know. Although it is a second hand laptop, but I am sure it contains lotsa important data.

It reminded me when i was in Paris. I was with 15 months old Noelia in the big mall in the suburbs, my mom in law dropped us off there so we can shop around and I was carrying about 500 euro in the bag. It was a big Longchamp bag I bought not long ago, it was gone forever including everything inside. Well, lucky there wasn't any passport but hey, I was really extremely sad about the money, Singapore and Indonesian ID cards, books, my quite brand new bag, and my handphone.

I was obliged to call Ludo in Singapore to get his mom to call me in the mall. I asked around the mall to people if I can borrow their phone to call Singapore and will pay them as soon as Sylvie (mom-in-law) pick me up. I was shivering and worried because Noelia was with me the whole tragedy, but she fell asleep. She woke up when Sylvie managed to pick me up. What a luck!
Hey, now we are even....they stole my bag and your bag, Ludo! But hope you can get your passport to return to Singapore!

Langkawi, December 2010

The parents-in-law arrived. And we were taking them to Langkawi, an island in Malaysia, an hour 30 minutes by AirAsia from Singapore. It is relatively small island where you can drive from coast to coast for 30-40 minutes.

To be honest, I wasn't really thrilled to go there but I found the island is not too bad. I have been there once for a wedding of our friend when I was 5 months pregnant of Noelia. The wedding venue was in Frangipani resort, it is a beautiful wedding facing the sea. The beach is within walk.

I will start with the positive note. The island is pleasant and relatively clean (living in Singapore, we can compare the cleanliness of a city now). The inhabitants are really friendly and simple.

The first few days, we stayed in The Andaman Hotel. We rented the car with reasonable price to drive around the island with the family. A 8 seater Avanza car we rented per day cost about S$40. It is pretty convenient if we really want to venture out rather than enjoying hotel facilities only. The Andaman is a huge hotel but we do not feel that way due to the tropical setting of the vegetation around the building. This hotel is pretty much good for family visitors with huge kids club and interesting shape of swimming pools for adults and children. Be careful not to open the windows of the room for too long because the monkeys will sneak-in to look for the foods in our bags. But having the monkeys roam around the resort added another excitement for the kids and adults. There are different types of monkey roam around the island.

Down below is the catamaran to catch the beautiful sunrise or sunset. You can request the reception if you prefer to ride this baby with family or people you love to enjoy the scenery with the glass of champagne.



The room is big and they can provide the baby cot. So, loving it! It is easy to travel with the facilities like that.





The second day, we drove to Langkawi Bird Park. It has pretty decent building and not only varieties of birds around the island but also some reptiles, and game animals. Of course, it is interesting for a toddler like Noe who is allowed to feed the animals from the special package foods we bought at the entrance. Even we found it amusing to be able to feed the flock of birds in the big cage, or the rabbits, and the baby goats who aggressively climbing up our t-shirt to reach the vegetables in our hands.

After a few days at The Andaman, we stayed in Bon Ton Resort. A small boutique resort belong to Australian lady. The highlight of this resort is the traditional Malay House who look like a stage house with its stylish and unique interior design. It's suprisingly family-friendly resort. We had a baby cot and additional bed for Noelia. We found this small resort is quite charming and the staffs are helpful. The only downside of the resort is the breakfast time, they will put our breakfast in the fridge of every room the night before. So we can wake up anytime and serve our own fruits, bread, cakes and coffee/teas. In every room, there are coffee makers, electric kettle and different teas/coffees. We must say the cakes are excellent! We love it.





The restaurant serves good food and apparently it is famous around the island for bohemian chic tourists. The rooms are in 8 Malay timber houses which each of them has its own cat. The owner of the resort is an animal lover. She also set-up Animal Protection shelter for dogs and cats, but some of them left roaming around the resort.



They provide some pool toys for the young ones. Most of the guests are the savvy travellers from different countries who stay more than a 4 days.



The second day we stayed in Bon Ton we were ready to venture out in the villages near by. We walked more than 2 hours passing by paddy fields, houses, and water buffalos. Four adults, a toddler and a baby were on adventures on a hot morning until 1 pm. After collecting the wild flowers for a bouquet, Noe was too tired to walk so we need Grandpere's shoulder to carry her on his back. She fell asleep soon after. Raffael was really patient though he cried of his fatigue at the beginning, he too surrendered to his tired body.



After the nap for the little ones, we headed for lunch and swimming.



Have you seen the stylish bathtub?



Voila! Our stay in Bon Ton resort, Langkawi is pretty good. I love the stylish colour of every corners and details. And most of all, it is family friendly resort where the kids can also have fun watching videos (they have tremendous collection of DVD movies), read the books, swimming or playing with cats around.





The parents-in-law, Ludo and Noelia went for another adventure the next day to visit 3-4 islands by boat. One of them is The Pregnant Maiden's island. The tour guy picked them up at around 11 am and they were back at 3 pm. Me and Raffael were staying at the resort because we are advised not to go in the boat as it is too windy for a small baby. According to Ludo, the driver of the boat went too fast and Noe was a little bit worried. They advised the driver not to go too fast but he ignored them because he used to it with the tempo and there hasn't been any problem with it. Well, apparently they are not really impressed with the islands crowded with local tourists at its beach as it was school holiday period.



We checked out early morning at 8 am as Air Asia for Singapore departs at 8.55 am. Unfortunately, no one was there to help us with the baggages. The staffs are usually come after 9 am. That is another downside of this resort. We have paid the bills the night before but no service in the morning to help us load our baggages in the car, nor saying goodbye or greets from them. I think we pretty much expecting them saying personally 'hope the stay has been enjoyable for you' as we regard this resort like a guest house.

But we packed all GOOD breakfasts (Bonne Maman's jam, organic orange juices, good breads and chocolate cakes) in a bag and hopped into the car with the luggages to the airport.


USEFUL INFO

CAR RENTAL:
The most convenient to rent a car is to book it a head of the time and have it waiting for you. That has the advantage that you can ask them to give you a full tank and that you will return the car with a full tank. Otherwise, you can fill up a tank easily in any petrol station around the island.

Why rent a car in Langkawi?
1. Drive down to Tanjong Rhu, a scenic beach, for a quiet time picking seashells.
2. Visit the 'roaming' night market (check with your hotel for location).
3. Make your way to restaurants.
4. Save on taxi fares.
5. Drive along the coastal areas.
6. Drive to the cable car base station.

The List of car rental:

1. Kasina Car Rental
Main Office
Tel: 04-644-1842
Email: rental@kasina.com.my

2. Envomarine Car Rental
Main Office
Suite 1, Atrium Block, Langkasuka Beach Resort
07100 Langkawi, Kedah
Tel: 04-9554068, 04-9553842, 04-9552988
Fax: 04-9556127
Email: envomarine@yahoo.com

3. Any Car Rental agent at the airport. Bargain with them the price. Mark all the scratches and fuel level.

ACTIVITIES

Off course, the obvious activities are beach, swimming and sea sport activities. The children can easily do most of these in the hotel. I would say that Langkawi is not an interesting place to discover much. It's a small island and the inhabitants speak mostly Malay with a little bit of English. Langkawi can only offer the best natural sites for its visitors.
Although the local government has made a major effort to promote Langkawi’s many colourful legends associated with natural sites, which add dimension to the island. But I found it is not enough as to compare to Bali or Jogjakarta (Even I am Indonesian, it is interesting to discover my own country).

Check out down below which I think it is pretty okay for the family to visit:

1. Crocodile Farm
There are over 1,000 species of alligators and crocodiles on site, kids can have a safe but intimate experience with these
ancient and deadly creatures. The exhibition centre provides detailed displays of every aspect of a crocodile's life.

2. Underwater World Langkawi
Underwater World is the island's most popular attraction for the families. There are 100 tanks on site, including an amazing
walkthrough Plexiglas tunnel where visitors are surrounded by sharks, sea turtles and manta rays.

3. Langkawi Bird Paradise
Open daily : 9 am - 9.30 pm
Its worth to visit with the children and don't forget to buy the foods at the entrance.

4. Monkey
Everywhere along the road and some at the resorts

5. Waterfall
Temurun Waterfall is within walking distance.

6. Spa
Not my favourite activities in Malaysia because it is not as good as in Indonesia or Thailand. The pressure is much softer and it is not my style. But try the one in ALUN-ALUN SPA.

7. Shopping
Kuah Town area. Check out the NIGHT MARKET too, they are worth to visit.

Apple Pastry Tarts

IMG_0004_13, originally uploaded by L'Aubergine Grillée.

A few days after the delivery, I craved for something sweets and fresh. I realized that I became hungry so fast. This could be due to breastfeeding Raffael.

So, I found some old apples in the fridge and the ready-made pastry dough I bought in Carrefour (Life is getting easier with this product). We can find almost in any supermarket this puff pastry, so I can use it on the lazy day that I want dessert or when the guests are visiting with short notice. But if I plan to make one I usually do pastry 2 hours in advance.

Down below is the recipe for long version, the short version is using the ready-made pastry.

Inggredients:

1/2 pound puff pastry or 1 sheet ready-made pastry
5 gala apples
1 tbs butter
2 tbs superfine sugar, I use brown sugar or raw sugar
ground nutmeg
creme fraiche or whipped cream (optional, I prefer vanilla ice cream)
1 egg white

Quick Puff Pastry (I trust the ready-made pastry bought in the store cos it is the easiest) :
250g strong plain flour
1 tsp fine sea salt
250g butter , at room temperature, but not soft
about 150ml cold water

Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl. Roughly break the butter in small chunks, add them to the bowl and rub them in loosely. You need to see bits of butter.

Make a well in the bowl and pour in about two-thirds of the cold water, mixing until you have a firm rough dough adding extra water if needed. Cover with cling film and leave to rest for 20 mins in the fridge.

Turn out onto a lightly floured board, knead gently and form into a smooth rectangle. Roll the dough in one direction only, until 3 times the width, about 20 x 50cm. Keep edges straight and even. Don't overwork the butter streaks; you should have a marbled effect.

Fold the top third down to the centre, then the bottom third up and over that. Give the dough a quarter turn (to the left or right) and roll out again to three times the length. Fold as before, cover with cling film and chill for at least 20 mins before rolling to use.

Making Apple Pastry Tarts:

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the puff pastry to a rectangle, and cut into smaller rectangles.

Transfer to the baking sheet. Chill for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 180 deg C.

Cut the apples in half and quarters and remove the pits, then slice the fruit thinly. Arrange the apples slices from the top to down of each rectangle dough. Brush the whole rectangle with white egg and sprinkle the fruit with the brown sugar and a little ground nutmeg.

Bake for 12-15 minutes until the edges of the pastry are puffed and the fruit is tender.

You may serve them with the whipped cream or by itself, if you like. We prefer with Vanilla Ice cream.

Turning 3 last November

She is entering amazing 3 year-old's World! Lotsa great things waiting to be discovered....and the parents need to have the eyes opened wide.

January 2011, back to work!

Yes, I am ordering more delightful designer fabrics to kick-start my project in the summer. It means I will be traveling again. It means I have to tag Raffael along everywhere. It means I need some ideas. It means lots of excitement!

Breast Feeding Benefits Boys' Brains

It tickled me to post this after my friend, Sona gave me the articles from TODAY newspaper regarding the benefit of breastfeeding the baby boy. But then again, it is the research study done on mothers and babies in Australia. It may not be relevant to the different demographic and social background. I respect the findings because it is based on research and not merely experiences or advises given by mothers.

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Breast Feeding Benefits Boys' Brains

Breast feeding for at least six months has been associated with enhanced immunity and other benefits for children -- but a prospective study from Australia suggests breast feeding may also yield academic benefits later in a child's life, at least for boys.

The study, which followed almost 3,000 children from birth onward, found those who were predominantly breast fed for six months or longer had significantly higher scores on standardized tests of reading, math, and spelling at age 10 compared with kids breast fed for shorter periods, according to Wendy Oddy, PhD, of Telethon Institute for Child Health Research in Perth in Western Australia, and colleagues.

However, the effects on those test scores appeared to be much stronger for boys than for girls, Oddy and co-authors reported online in Pediatrics.Action Points
Explain that breast feeding for at least six months may also yield academic benefits later in a child's life.


Note that the effects on standardized tests of reading, math, and spelling appeared to be much stronger for boys than for girls.
"Our study adds to growing evidence that breast feeding for at least six months has beneficial effects on optimal child development," they wrote.

While breast feeding is promoted as beneficial to both the mother and newborn -- and exclusive breast feeding for at least six months is widely recommended -- the benefits of breast feeding on cognitive development have not been clear, according to background provided by the authors.

For example, the researchers asked, would benefits of breast feeding reflect nutritional or socioeconomic advantages? Some studies have shown no benefits in terms of academic achievement after adjusting for socioeconomic status, environment, and maternal verbal ability, while benefits are apparent in others.

To examine the relationship between duration of breast feeding and educational outcomes, the researchers assessed data from the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort, which included 2,900 women who were enrolled at 18 weeks gestation. A total of 2,868 infants were then followed prospectively.

The researchers matched these data with standardized test scores in mathematics, reading, writing, and spelling for 1,038 of these children.

Overall, the researchers found that children who were breast fed for at least six months had higher academic scores than those who weren't breast fed that long.

Children of mothers who were merely continuing to breast feed at six months had significantly better scores, which increased with each additional month of breast feeding for math (P=0.01), reading (P<0.001), writing (P=0.004), and spelling (P=0.005).

But these results were attenuated when adjusted for confounding factors including maternal and demographic factors. With each additional month of breast feeding, the scores still increased, but did not reach significance, the researchers said.

However, children of mothers who were predominantly breast fed at six months had significantly improved academic scores in multivariable models for reading, math, and spelling. Those findings approached significance for writing, the researchers said.

The relationship may be explained by the fact that nutrients in breast milk -- especially long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids -- are essential for optimum brain growth, including cell membranes and neurons.

When looking at other factors, the researchers found that lower maternal education and family income were significantly associated with decreased child academic achievement.

Conversely, reading and looking at books with the child between ages 3 and 5 were associated with improved mean scores for reading and writing, particularly for girls.

This gender difference also held true for the big picture. When analyzing the cohort by gender, predominant breast feeding at six months was significantly associated with increased mathematics, reading, writing, and spelling scores for boys -- but there was no effect on educational attainment for girls in any subject.

The researchers said this could be due to the fact that male children are known to be more vulnerable to adversity during critical periods, which may be related to the neuroprotective effect of estradiols. These are typically at higher concentrations in female children.

Thus, any neuroprotective role of breast milk would have greater benefits for male children, they explained.

Another possibility is that breast feeding has a positive effect on the mother-child relationship, facilitating bonding, interaction, and, indirectly, cognitive growth. Studies have shown that male infants are more reliant than females on maternal attention, so the positive effects of this bond may be stronger in males.

One limitation of the study was that it could not control for maternal intelligence. There was also a lack of information on children who attended non-government schools, and no data on academic achievement at other time points.

The study was also conducted only among mothers and children in Australia, which may limit its generalizability to other locations.

Source: http://www.medpagetoday.com/Pediatrics/GeneralPediatrics/23982

Raffaël

Voila! The waiting time is over. It's been 2.5 months, and he's growing really well I must say. He was out Thursday morning on the 7th Oct at 7.43 am after I experienced intense labour pain from 6 am at home on the 41 weeks. We thought his weight was about 3.2 kg but it turned out to be bigger than we estimates. Everything was normal, Dr. Paul Tseng was a good coach during the labour. And I think I benefitted also from regular yoga exercises for breathing techniques. He told me to breath the baby out to prevent tearness of the tissue, and I did obeyed.

At the beginning I was worry he may not have enough nutrition, but the nature take care of itself. I think, when I trust our body to work in a natural way, it does work. No matter what other people say about it. Generally, he sleeps well and I am beginning to train him to sleep on his own without too much rocking and swinging.

Really looking forward for him to run around in the house!

P.S: It is the Birth Announcement and Thank You card I made to be sent to our friends. The background of the photo is the blanket I made for the project