September 29, 2008

Melamine on Formula Milk and Food Products

On these days we’re all here shocked by the news from BPOM (Indonesian Food & Drugs Administration) about possibility of melamine in some baby’s formula milk and food products from China. Yesterday they announced many brands of milk and food products that were contaminated by melamine. You know, some of them are famous brands and kids’ favorite foods.
Maybe some of you had already known by the news that last week 13.000 babies in China were seriously ill, having suffered acute kidney failure, with several fatalities, among those given formula milk contaminated with the industrial chemical melamine.

What’s melamine then? Is it the same with the plastic equipments we had at our kitchen? After reading at papers and browsing at the internet, I’ll try to inform you about it.

Melamine I meant here is an organic compound (C3H6N6) which contained 60% nitrogen and usually used for making plastic, glue and fertilizer. The plastic from melamine –because of its heating persistence- used widely in many kitchen equipments. So… melamine we complained here is different from melamine plastic equipments we had at our kitchen.

Based on the WHO’s site, the mixing of melamine in milk started from shuffle pure milk with water at the milk supplier place to get more and more milk. The effect of this dilution would lower the protein content in milk. Because of the milk based factory usually check the protein levels by determining its nitrogen content, so before the supplier send the ‘dilution milk’ to those factories, they add melamine to make its nitrogen content get higher, artificially inflate the reading of protein levels.

The very dangerous thing here is… since melamine is not an element that needs to add on food and drug then the BPOM or FDA never has a standard for checking melamine content on foods/drugs. Isn’t that scary ?? On animals melamine has a carcinogen characteristic then can you imagine what the effect with babies and kids?

So, be careful when you buy snacks or formula milks for your kids, especially those brands from China.. I think now it’s better and healthier to make homemade snack or food for our kids. It’s time to back to basic, back to our traditional homemade recipes....

September 25, 2008

Ian Got Bell’s Palsy Disease

In the beginning of this week my daughter Natalie told me that she saw something wrong on Ian’s face, especially when he was smiling.
She was right, we saw his smiling was not proportional, I mean not in a straight line but get aslant to the left. My hubby instantly told Ian to do some movement with his face muscles, like blinking both of his eyes, pretend to blow hard, etc….then yes he found something wrong with Ian’s face muscles. My hubby worried if Ian got Bell’s Palsy.

Then we took him to the hospital to see a Pediatrician. After he took several test then positively Ian diagnosed get Bell’s palsy diseases. We both very sad at that moment. I worried if that condition would stay forever like that.

Here I’ve got from Wikipedia if you want to know more about this disease.
Bell's Palsy is a paralysis of the facial nerve resulting in inability to control facial muscles on the affected side. However, if no specific cause can be identified, the condition is known as Bell's Palsy. Named after Scottish anatomist Charles Bell, who first described it, Bell's palsy is the most common acute mononeuropathy (disease involving only one nerve), and is the most common cause of acute facial nerve paralysis.
Some viruses are thought to establish a persistent (or latent) infection without symptoms, e.g. the Zoster virus of the face and Epstein-Barr viruses, both of the herpes family. Reactivation of an existing (dormant) viral infection has been suggested as cause behind the acute Bell's palsy. Studies suggest that this new activation could be preceded by trauma, environmental factors, and metabolic or emotional disorders, thus suggesting that stress - emotional stress, environmental stress (e.g. cold), physical stress (e.g. trauma) - in short, a host of different conditions, may trigger reactivation.

In Ian case the doctor said he propably got this desease because of the environmental stress (cold from the wind). Everyday Ian go to school with my hubby by motorcycle (we had covered him with thick jacket, a mask for his nose and mouth, safety helmet, always wear trousers, but maybe our fault.. doesn't covered his neck with shawl!) and I pick him up at noon by car. We just think the practicality in this case. So I think there would be no motorcycle again for him :(

Ian should take some medicine and go through a physiotherapy treatment everyday for 6days in a row. Today is the third day. The paramedics would give his left face an infra red light for couple of minutes and followed by gentle massage on his face muscle. So far we see the progress on his condition. We really hope he would be healthy again and give us his lovely smile. We love you Ian….

September 21, 2008

Something He Had Learned...

Last weekend our house was a little bit different because one boy was ‘missing’. No quarreling between the big boy and the little one for 2 days :) With his big sis, Ian played and behaved more ‘calmly’.

My 2nd kid, Adit went to Jakarta with his friend and teacher to take a National Robotic Competition. He didn’t win this time, but I think he did learn something important there, the spirit and passion to make something new from his own imagination. He was happy to see others big kids create many robotic daily useful tools, like can opener, water pump, tool for cleaning the window, etc.

After all.. I was happy for him, although he didn’t win.

September 18, 2008

Preparing Her First Period

My 13th years old daughter is now as big as me, even much taller. I had started to introduce simple skin care cosmetic for her skin since couple of months ago (when I saw her first acne); such like face scrub and body lotion. So far she only interested to use face scrub wash. I also introduced her about how to wear sanitary napkins in preparing her first period and had told her better to have one at her school bag. I had already given her a pack of regular panty liners every month to used everyday, since I found slightly ‘brown stained’ at her panties nowadays. But it appears very difficult… to make her accustomed in wearing panty liners. Sometimes I get a little angry too at her when I found her panty liners still had not used.

For those wonderful moms out there who had teenage daughters, how would you overcome this kind of situation with your girls? I even put her panty liners in front of the mirror at the bathroom so whenever she took at a look at the mirror she would remember to wear it, but most of the times that idea still not work. The latest idea : she has to wash her own panties by herself so I hope she would knew it’s a little difficult to make her panties clean and free of “brown stained’. Well, I think it’s better than the first idea for couple of days and for the rest still the same. Forgot, forgot, forgot….

I know from her that most of her friends had already have periods (she hasn’t had yet). It took my memory to the years when I was at the same aged as her. I remembered my mom didn’t take seriously to tell me about first period, maybe at that time it was still “difficult” for most moms to discuss sex education with their own daughter. Even at school I didn’t get sex education session.
That’s why I was shocked when I got my first period at school. I didn’t have a sanitary napkin at that moment and very ashamed to see the ‘red stained’ at my skirt. Thanks God, it happened just before the bell rang so I could get out of the class quickly and busy covered up my skirt with the school bag.

It’s very different now. Almost every junior high school had already got that lesson including talk shows for all of their first year students. My husband had helped me a lot to tell and introduce sex education for our kids. I think in fact he take a big part in it since he has pictures to show from his Med’s school books.
Our rule…no laughing when we’re in the middle of discussing about sex.

September 13, 2008

"I Really Want You"


Last weekend –on Saturday night- was really fun.
The merriment was taking place at my bedroom. It begins when I played a CD of James Blunt “All the Lost Soul” while I was lying in my bed and reading my never-ending-novel (I have been reading it for 3 weeks). Then after a while my daughter came, sit next to me started to sing one of James’s song she heard, “I Really Want You”. The beat of the song’s swinging at first then become fast and cheerful at the refrain. I tempted to join her sing the refrain, too. It was fun for both of us in trying to imitate the speed of how James’ sing the lyrics. After a couple of minutes came my little boy joining us. He was listening at first then starting to sing together. I saw he tried to act as a vocalist on the stage, actually on my bed :) with his ‘stick’ made of Lego to be his mike. Then came my first boy merrier the ambience with not only singing, he bring 2 little maracas I had just bought the day before and once a while shouting here and there. After all it was fun and we all enjoy it.

I often amazed that sometimes the joy and merriment in family just pop up (usually from simple things) without we’re planning before and vice versa when we really hard plan on it, the joy wouldn’t come.


Had it ever happened to your family?

September 09, 2008

Ian's First Word Puzzle

This is Ian’s first crossword puzzle. He got it as a homework assignment from his teacher. Since his teacher didn’t tell him to color it with color pencils, so when I suggest him to do that Ian insisted to use crayons. Then..crayons made the letters blurred. The little boy got upset and cried. Then I should make a note for his teacher, ask for another crossword puzzle.
I guessed he upset not only because he couldn’t see the letters, but he also found difficulty to find the words.




















This morning before going to school he made his new crossword puzzle, this time with color pencils. I suggested him a trick for ‘scanning’ the beginning letter of a word he’d already chose from the list, I mean scan from row to row start from the top to the bottom. When he had finally found the beginning letter then he should check to read to the right or down to get the right word.




















His works seems better this time, but still I do help him a lot. He still forgot to check for example to the down after his first checking to the right. I don’t know the easier trick to do this. Do you have any suggestion for me?

“I Really Want You”


Last weekend –on Saturday night- was really fun.
The merriment was taking place at my bedroom. It begins when I played a CD of James Blunt “All the Lost Soul” while I was lying in my bed and reading my never-ending-novel (I have been reading it for 3 weeks). Then after a while my daughter came, sit next to me started to sing one of James’s song she heard, “I Really Want You”. The beat of the song’s swinging at first then become fast and cheerful at the refrain. I tempted to join her sing the refrain, too. It was fun for both of us in trying to imitate the speed of how James’ sing the lyrics. After a couple of minutes came my little boy joining us. He was listening at first then starting to sing together. I saw he tried to act as a vocalist on the stage, actually on my bed :) with his ‘stick’ made of Lego to be his mike. Then came my first boy merrier the ambience with not only singing, he bring 2 little maracas I had just bought the day before and once a while shouting here and there. After all it was fun and we all enjoy it.

I often amazed that sometimes the joy and merriment in family just pop up (usually from simple things) without we’re planning before and vice versa when we really hard plan on it, the joy wouldn’t come.


Had it ever happened to your family?

September 05, 2008

Violin Practicing Trick

My daughter wants to take her grade 2 exam in violin class next month. Her teacher, -a Balinese lady- had told me that my daughter should practice her lessons more often at home. Since the examiner would come from the head office of ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music) London so she should be serious this time.

We both know that Natalie is typically a so-relaxed-girl. She usually ‘runs’ (if she thinks she need to) at the last minutes. She do love violin but for practicing she doesn’t have a routine schedule. It’s a little bit dangerous I think, because I believe the routines in practicing and discipline are more important than talented in improving somebody’s skill.

So last month her teacher and I got a trick for her. I should sign in a practicing card every time she had got her practice at home. Her teacher said to her (like other kids, she would listen to her teacher MORE than to me) she should practice everyday for 30 minutes and she has to bring the card every time she take the violin class. The trick has already set for 3 weeks now and so far it works well. Natalie does her practice voluntary and she did good progress. It means our trick is succeeded.

Last night to add spirit for her in doing this practice, I told her if she could play one of her song good without too much mistaken then I would give her some money as a present. She could buy anything she wants. Actually it’s not much, about 1,2 U$ but she was happy. Finally she did it and got her present. You know what she’s doing with her money?? She went this afternoon with her brother to a nearby public internet booth to play Gaia Online for an hour. Well, I had promised before…

Have you ever made such kind of trick for your kids? I would be glad if you want to share…

September 02, 2008

Having a Helper Around

Since I had a kid there always a helper/maid at home to help me to do house works. Some of you (especially that not come from Asian countries) maybe would wrinkle your forehead or maybe it sounds ‘weird’ having a helper at home.

Here at most of big cities at Asian countries, almost every married couple with kids usually have a stay-at-home helper or a stay-at-home babysitter. Yes, we’re Asian people were spoiled by this kind of situation.
I’ve never used a babysitter’s service but I really need a helper to help me do our laundry, cleaning the house and especially cleaning the rooms at the preschool next to my house. Living without a helper for working moms with kids -in this tropical weather- is almost impossible at this time. Unless there is a daycare facility for kids, but we don’t have it here.

I had ever visited my mom’s friends in the Netherlands and California for almost a month and staying at their home. I was amazed to know all the daily house works were handled by the mother. And they all have a routines schedule for doing something like do laundry every Monday (because we don’t need to changed the clothes everyday) , cleaning and vacuum the carpet every Thursday , ironing clothes every Friday, etc.

I think the weather where we lived take a big role in our daily behavior.
Here we have very humid and hot weather. We have to changed our clothes twice a day –we used to be very sweaty-, take a bath also twice a day –sometimes more if the weather really hot-, wipes all the furniture with damp cloth everyday, sweeps the floor at least twice a day unless everything full of dust.
So I have to do my entire mom’s friend -a week- routines schedule everyday!

Well, I think I had babbled too much.
I really want to know about your routine schedules in cleaning and take a good care of the housewife’s works because I always admire on how those moms in US or Europe manage their daily routines house works without a stay-at-home helper and still have time for blogging. Lol!

I’ve been living without a helper for 4 days now and so far everything turns good. The kids learn more than before (when we have a helper) about helping each other at home, take care ’more’ about their own rooms, helping me in the kitchen, even learning how to cut the broccoli with the right way, such little things like that. I’m starting to think we don’t really need a helper if everybody at home helped each other. But my husband said “Better to have a helper so if one of the kid sick when I’m not here (he got scholarship to study for 1 year at the Netherlands-start this Oct) there’s someone helps you. This situation is going well when everybody in healthy condition, what about if you’re also sick? ”. Well, he’s right too.
Now, get confused, confused…..