Sunday, March 20, 2011

Little bundle of Joys!



I don't know how both of my twins managed to get out of their cribs by themselves. It's supposed to be bedtime but they are quietly playing together in the floor. They emptied all the stuff in the closet and open all drawers. My heart skipped a second there. It is not safe for them anymore! I'm trying to figure out how they did it? specially Alex. They are 25 months old but he is quiet small in his age, how did he climb up? his legs are too short to reach the upper rail? and  his coordination are not that develop not until tonight :)
They are into climbing lately. Kayla loves to climb up any place elevated. She will get the stool, climbed up then jump. She knows how to open all doors except the one with safety lock. Alex can go down from his high chair if you forgot to fasten the belt and now he discovered to get out of his crib. The physio therapist wants us to encourage Alex to climb in the couch or going up and down the stairs to develop his coordination but I think he just passed that stage lol. 


Oh well, as long as they are safe, I don't mind them being handful as they are suppose to. They are entering the stage of exploring and discovering new things around them and there is no stopping. 
We love these babies, they are little bundle of joys in our family. They keep our smile and laughter everyday! They are become monkeys now but they are the sweetest foster kids we've had in 8 years :) Kayla sing songs for us all the time, she can sing 3 whole songs by herself, "Twinkle, twinkle", "jingle bells"( feels like christmas in our house everyday lol) and "Baa baa black ship". She's getting smarter each day too, talking non stop now and learning a lot of new words. But she's naughty too, she loves to tease Alex by hiding his toys and give it back later when Alex start to cry. She will put on her jacket and say "goodbye Alek" and that made Alex cry too because he thinks he's staying home.
Alex is my baby. I am his favorite person on earth. He learned his first proper and 3 syllable words "I wanna eat" that's all he can say :) he loves to eat so he practice it a lot.

Kayla, even her hair eats noodles :)


Alex, my baby! He's attach to me, always give me lots of kisses and huggies.


Kayla tease Alex a lot but they are partners in crime lol...


our little monkey :)


Jojo, Tyson, Alex and kayla

It is our joy to share our love and life to them even in a short time. I hope things will work out good with their mom. We want them to feel that there are someone like our family loves them dearly.

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Bento Lunches

We call it "baon" in our own dialect. Bento lunches are very common in asian countries specially in Japan, Korea and China. Bento means "meal serve in a box". I grew up in bento lunches. My mother usually prepare bento for our lunches at school. This includes rice, eggs, marinated sweet pork or dried fish or sometimes rice with longganisa (sausage like but taste like sweet pork) or some veggies and fruits like mango, pineapples or cantaloupes. Although some prepare their bento artistically, ours is just simple, usually placed in divided lunch boxes. Some preferred their bentos hot and warm for lunch so they have this kind of special layered container and wrap with fabric to keep it heated.
When my kids started school and up to this day, I usually prepared bentos for their lunches, not everyday but at least 2 to 3 times a week and when I don't, they kind of miss it they said :) I have many cute bento lunch boxes that I left in Hong Kong, I should had brought all of it here lol. I can't find anything like that in any store here. But when we were in California I found bento lunch boxes in one of Asian store there that I wanted. It has four detachable dividers and comes with chopsticks and small container for sauces. 
Since that my kids are sometimes getting tired of rice, I make a variety of healthy food they like to eat, like chicken wrap slices and fruits and added small amount of meat. If I have time, I make sushi and spring rolls and added it to their bentos. I seldom buy process foods for their lunches (make me feel guilty, although it's ok once in a while) or sometimes sandwiches, but I prefer freshly cooked meal. 
simple bento lunch I usually make. Josel and Jason's bento



This is Jessica's bento lunch box. It's two layered container

this is just like the one I have when we were in Hong Kong but yellow and beige bag. I usually bring it with me as we were always on the road and boat. It comes very handy specially when Josel got hungry. He's a year old at that time.


This is the one that I really wanted but can't find anywhere here in any store. I found this bento lunch boxes online and they are selling this kind of containers and I think I'm going to buy it :)


Elaborate and artistic bento. Jessica and I once made a rice face with hair made of black sea weeds, the one we wrap for sushi :)


Complete bento stuff.



This is not only for lunches but also good for picnics on summer time. It's fun to me and for my kids too :)
If you're interested in bento making, visit this site

Cute Bento Making
http://www.cookingcute.com/recipes.htm

Just Bento @   
http://www.justbento.com/recipes

Have a nice day!