Morib Beach and Tanjung Sepat (Part 1)

This is an outdated post dating back to 31st December 2010.

We spent our New Year Eve by going somewhere quite far away, more of a joyride trip. Initially, Papa wanted to explore some alternative route that connects Puchong to Dengkil, Paya Indah and Sepang areas, but eventually the road leads us towards Banting. That was how we ended up going to Morib Beach and then later to Tanjung Sepat for lunch.

It was low tide that time, so Papa went down to the muddy beach to explore while Juan Or and Mommy merely stroll at the concrete-laden part of the beach.

 

Morib Beach has changed face a lot since the last time Mommy went there as a kid. The beach now has a lot more facilities for both children and adults now.

There are tile-laden walkways now.

There's also an educational section for visitors - the gastropode arena that has giant-sized seashells and  brief descriptions of more specific subgroups of gastropodes.

There is also a large playground for children and as usual, Juan Or would surely ask to play there!

And then Juan Or saw a big moth on the slide. He wanted to hit it but dared not, so he asked Mommy to hit it for him, but Mommy also dared not (E-yeer!) and instead asked him to hit it himself. So in the end, Juan Or did not hit it at all! ^-^

Then Juan Or went on to play with other things like the chains, ........

....'mountain'-climbing, ......

...and the rocking horse (but in this case, rocking elephant!).

Then there's also this structure that seems to resemble some kind of super-mini stadium whereby you see concrete slabs in curvy rows and gadually going downhill. So Juan Or used it for his play (or exercise?) instead.

Well, we didn't spend a very long time at Morib Beach because the sun was already very hot. So bye, bye Morib! And off we go to Tanjung Sepat! (Hint: stay tuned for Part 2!)

Book Review on "Matter: Its Properties & Its Changes"

What this book is all about:

This is an elementary chemistry book written for 3rd to 6th grade of the American education system. In this book, chemistry is made alive by infusing it with activities and applied learning. This dynamic full-color book provides over 20 great ways to learn about bubbles, water, colors, salt, and the periodic table, all through interactive lessons that ground students in their faith in God. The interesting contents also help tap into the natural curiosity of younger learners with activities utilizing common household items, teaching them why and how things work, what things are made of, and where they came from. Some of the topics covered in this book:

The physical properties of chemical substances

Why adding heat causes most chemical changes to react faster

The scientist who organized a chart of the known elements

The difference between chemical changes and physical changes 

 For more information about this book, please click here.


Mommy's review of this book:
The moment Mommy receives this book, it is love at first sight! This elementary chemistry book is written in a very interactive and lively manner to keep the curiosity and interest of young learners. The book is full-coloured and has lots of questions, facts, activities, plus things for young learners to reflect upon their observations, surroundings and naturally-occuring things. Explanations on why things happen like this or like that are also explained in a very simple and easily understandable manner without being overloaded with too much scientific terms. Reading this book makes Mommy to want to go back to Mommy's primary schooldays. Overall, Mommy would give this book 4 stars out of 5.


Declaration:
Mommy receives this book free from New Leaf Publishing Group as part of book reviewers' programme. All opinions are purely Mommy's whereby the review need not necessarily be positive.

"Oh, Toodles!"

Remember seeing this icon in Mickey Mouse Clubhouse?

(courtesy of this website)

It's the Toodles! Toodles is Mickey Mouse's (and his Clubhouse gang's) friendly tool helper that pops out whenever they call "Oh, Toodles!" Toodles seems analogous to the 'guardian angel' that helps people in times of difficulty.

Actually this is Juan Or's story about money that somehow got linked to Toodles.


One day, after leaving the office late, Mommy went to pick up Juan Or from the babysitter's house, but turned out, his paternal Grandpa had already come to pick him up. So Mommy went to the in-laws' house to pick him up. When Juan Or went into Mommy's car, he was carrying a plastic jar full of coins. Mommy guessed those coins must have come from his grandparents' loose change stored in one old Bylcream container meant for petty uses. This was the conversation that transpired:

Mommy: Juan Or, you gasak (usurp) all the coins. So if Ah Gong got no money to use, how?
Juan Or: (cheeky smile)
Grandpa: Hahaha....never mind-lah. Let him hold the coins first. Later can bring back here to let him play again.
Grandpa: I asked Juan Or just now whose money is that. He said,"Juan Or's money!" woh!
(Everyone laughed).


Later in the car, Mommy asked Juan Or the same question again and same thing, he replied,"Huan Or's money!" (Juan Or pronounces his name like a South American - 'h' sound for 'j' spelling. Fine, never mind.

Later we reached home and Mommy ate dinner at the dining table while Juan Or poured out the coins all over the tea table to play with and putting them into the coin box and toy sink as well.

Then Mommy heard Juan Or kept on calling "Toodles!" but Mommy never bother to turn over to see what he was up to. Mommy merely assumed that he was in the mood for watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and therefore was indirectly asking Mommy to play a Clubhouse DVD for him. But he kept on calling "Toodles" so Mommy decided to go over to where he was.





Apparently this was what he was up to!

Say "Oh, Toodles!"


And Juan Or went on to make many, many more Toodles from the coins! ^-^

Vanilla Ice-cream for RM1.50 only at Theobroma Chocolate Lounge (The Curve)

Yesterday, Mommy decided to ask Papa to bring us to The Curve to see Chinese New Year decoration.

Here we were at The Curve. See the background of our photos.....nothing outstanding about the deco, right? Probably most shopping complexes have already exhausted most of their deco funds during last year's Christmas so much so when it comes to Chinese New Year this year, there is nothing to really shout about now.

Later on, we walked to Ikano Power Centre as well since it's just within the vicinity. At Ikano, there is no Chinese New Year deco at all. Pretty boring, right? As usual, Juan Or wouldn't want to miss riding on kiddy rides.

Then we went on to stroll along The Curve's F&B tenants' area near the morning flea market and we saw this shop - Theobroma Chocolate Lounge - advertising their vanilla ice-cream for only RM1.50 including tax! Wow, that's considered cheap for a shop like this!

Here's the ice-cream! It comes with some chocolatey sprinkle topping as well. The ice-cream is delicious - more delicious than MacDonald's. The amount of ice-cream given is also more than MacDonald's RM1 ice-cream. Hehehe....the chocolatey sprinkle could have been given more....

An extra note......

Juan Or has always been an ice-cream enthusiast. Whenever he passes by the MacDonald's or Yogi ice-cream kiosks, he will surely pester his Papa to buy one for him. Funnily though, with this Theobroma Chocolate Lounge's ice-cream, he blatantly refused to even give a try! At first Mommy thought perhaps he likes ice-cream to be as simply presented as possible, that is, minus the chocolatey sprinkle. So Mommy gobbled up all the chocolate before offering it to him, but turned out, he refused totally. Funny boy! Perhaps he only likes ice-creams without any 'designer touch'! ^_^

Crab-eating Skill Being Put at Test!

Hello! Mommy's back and sort of 'free' from the hustle and bustle of day-to-day office work and the MQA accreditation renewal of the programme that Mommy is responsible for. These things had been keeping Mommy busy and stressed up since last month till yesterday. So now Mommy can blog (and bloghop) again with a clear mind. ^-^

This is an outdated post dating back to 2nd January 2011. It was Sunday and as usual was our family outing day. We went to Telok Gong for lunch and this time, Papa decided to give a try at crab dish in Juan Or's presence. All the while, we almost never go for crab dishes when eating out because Juan Or easily becomes restless and fretful if he waits for too long.

Of course Papa ordered other dishes as well, but the crab one came last because crab is not meant to be eaten together with rice...hahaha! The story goes that along the way while eating crab, Juan Or insisted on sitting on Mommy's lap. Mommy was hesitant at first to allow that, but finally decided to give in just in case he becomes fretful. So he sat on Mommy's lap, and soon after that, he became very quiet. Well, that's his first sign of sleepiness. Then soon enough he fell asleep......in Mommy's left arm, but still in sitting position! And Mommy's hands were still busy handling the crab.....like this!

A closer look now.....

Now, what does the crab-eating skill involve? It involves one hand or arm supporting the baby and holding the crab while the other hand does the whatever cracking or twisting or pulling or tearing needed to get the meat from the shell with minimal impact or vibration!