One Day I will Fly Away...

One Day I will Fly Away sung by Nicole Kidman from the musical "Moulin Rouge"

From as far as I can remember, my mom would tell me 1001 things to relate things I did with life's real examples. So that I can understand and I can learn. She did all that in the ability she knew to make me behave. As a child, I listened to her all the time. Occasionally, I misbehaved and she never fails to spare the rod.

For years I wonder if you could spare the rod and yet not spoil the child? Because it was taught from the earliest of time that if you spare the rod, you spoil the child.

When I became a mother, suddenly all these came back to me. But God has been very good to me and blessed me with an easy kid to care for. Natasha was my first born. And she was a good little kid. And never gave us any trouble. She was easy to train and educate and the easiest kid to feed too. She would eat anything we put in her mouth. At a young tender age, she was found to be lactose intolerant so she went on a soy-based milk formula till she turned 2 years old. By then, she was gamed to try anything.

My mom often talked to Auntie Katherine who lives in CA, USA and ask for tips on what baby food to cook for Natasha. Auntie Katherine raised 2 fussy eaters on her own and shares her tips eagerly.

Natasha had a mix of western and chinese meals in her diet. By noon she had double boil plain porridge served with diced carrots and fish fillets. By dinner, she had pot roast and potaotes all mashed up into baby food. By the time she was old enough to sit at the dinning table with us, she started to have a taste of all kinds of food and a mix of flavours and taste.

She was in many ways my role model...who would have thought that a young child be a role model? I would. She was my role model because I would use her as an example on how you should train your kid and how to feed your child. As I was also serving in our church's Children's Ministry, I shared this with the young parents too.

By the time she was 4 years old, she had her first taste of Spicy Laksa and loved it. Minus the fresh cockles as we do not know how it would react in her. When she was 5 years old, we took her to USA and fed her all kinds of food and drinks. By then she was gamed for anything and everything.

When Melody was born, I use the same method of education on her. It worked..! Although Melody was more of a handful to care for, it did show that the role model's way was still intact.

That you should start them young..before they start tasting how the world is like and be 'pressured' to think that kids are with junk food, adults eat boring stuff.

Food is never boring at home. With Melody, I got her into the kitchen and getting her hands into whipping up dishes the way she likes it. That way she appreciates it and looks forward to meals at home.

But its a different thing when we dine out. Although they will eat anything, they are often looking for new things to try. Its a rule in the family that when our girls are old enough (that's when they are like 4 years old and above) we do not dictate what they should or can eat while we dine out.

However, at home, Benny decides the menu for the week and we just gladly eat what he wants. The whole idea was more for us to dine together as a family. From young, I do not allow my girls to have 'buffet' like meals. Means they pick up their plates, picks and choose the food and dash off to the living room for a TV movie. Meals at home are often a sit-down affair. Its here that we talk about the days' events, share our love across the table and in between that, the family dog gets a nibble of table scraps.


This is an old photo of Melody savouring every last bite from the chicken. This was taken in 2003.

When my shop was opened, I spent less time at home cooking. So if there are days I could be home to cook for the family, its like having Reunion Dinner every time. The family misses these special moments. And now we all treasured these dinner meals at home more often than ever.

May you have a blessed Valentine's Day ahead..!