My Thriving Backyard Kebun!

In this post, I dreamt about having my own herb garden.

Well, my backyard is no longer a herb garden... it is actually a full blown kebun! My family and neighbours have been constantly contributing to the patch, hence we now have quite a diverse variety of plants. Before I delve into the various plants, let me explain how my backyard kebun looks like.

Here's a super old post about my love-hate relationship with the pencawang elektrik, affectionately known as the PE. My house was meant to be a corner semi-d, but I guess the PE 'bungalow' ruined the whole idea. So instead of being the last house on the street, the PE beat us to it. However, we decided to look at the bright side of things - technically the land behind the PE (beside our house) becomes ours, lah kan?

So here's how our adopted land currently looks like:

We lined every wall/fence available with plants.

Even the walkway wasn't spared - we planted pokok buah on this patch. Also we divided our pokok buluh (from before we revamped our garden) into small shrubs and planted them all along the walkway to provide shade to the house.

From left to right - petai, nanas, kelapa, pucuk ubi, daun kunyit, serai, limau kasturi, belimbing buluh, daun limat purut, kari, cili, daun kaduk. As for the fence on the right (not seen in picture) - daun kesum, kuchai, pegaga, daun ketumbar, daun pandan and pisang.

Let's start with my pride and joy, courtesy of my aunt's garden. When I first planted this pucuk ubi (with red stems), it was just an inch tall.

Look at how it is thriving... even taller than Ian now! Endless supply for my favourite tempoyak daun kayu! The daun kunyit looks good too!

Another key ingredient for tempoyak daun kayu- daun kaduk! On the left was when we first started. On the right was about a month ago.

Now's it's starting to spread out!

When we first bought the bendi plant, it was small and then attacked by bugs. But surprisingly, we've managed to reap three rounds of bendi so far! Usually they end up in my curry dishes. Picture on the right is the latest picture, check out that cute baby bendi hiding beside the fully grown one!

On the left, freshly planted pokok cili. On the right - we now have at least 10 biji cili, just waiting to be picked.

A close up - here's a stupid question. How do you know if it's pokok cili merah or hijau??

On the left, leftover kepala nanas from the sweetest pineapples I have ever tasted, courtesy of my in-laws. On the right, look at how big they have grown. In the right corner of the picture, is my petite pokok petai. Berapa tahun lagi la nak dapat hasil tuh...

Limau kasturi. On the right, fresh new leaves have began to emerge. By its side, more pucuk ubi... but this one has white stems (instead of the earlier red stems). Anyone knows the difference?

Pokok belimbing buluh, my daun limau purut that keeps being attacked by belalang, and my legendary pokok kari.

See how much our daun kesum and pegaga have grown? I actually had to plant the daun pegaga in the flower bed to prevent it from taking over the ground. However, the daun ketumbar had to be moved into the garden shade cos it was too hot outside.

Pretty kuchai flowers. But these things are taking ages to grow!

Daun pandan and pokok pisang, from before we revamped our garden.

Our fruit trees - ciku and mangga.

Anyway, I am still looking for bunga kantan, ulam raja and pucuk pegaga (the one that can be eaten... the one I currently have is for making juice). Anyone knows where I can get these?

My barefoot mini gardener, who loves to accompany me while I tend to my kebun.

A Soccer Mom's Dream Car?

Soooo... After the big breakfast at The Red Beanbag, we looked at the watch and decided that it was too early to head home. So hubby made the executive decision to drive to BMW... To stay 'up to date', katanya! Heh... If it was up to me, I would gladly go home and take a nap. You know, the type of nap that you only get when your tummy is full and the weather is too hot to do anything else? Yessss that kind of nap! *ppfftt*

There really wasn't any particular reason to head to BMW. I mean, Hubby just bought his baby, and I'm completely contented with the hand-me-down Mini Cooper. Totally easy to cilok and also navigate through my tight office parking space. Of course, I wanted a bigger car and all that. (Pssttt... don't tell my Mini, but I actually detest two door cars!) However, until baby #3 comes along (eh ade #3 ke???), Aiden and Ian will just have to make do with what we have.

But... (Oh come on, you must have guessed that there was a but somewhere!!)... Have you seen the new BMW 2 Series Active Tourer??? No, I'm not talking about the not-yet-launched 7-seater which is also called the BMW 2 Series Gran Tourer (itu tunggu anak 5 lah *grin*).

Ian checking out the car specifications and price.  

The BMW 2 Series Active Tourer is totally a soccer mum's dream car. *drool* No, I won't bore you with the car specs and all that but let me highlight the more interesting features. It has a really spacious backseat area with plenty of legroom (even more spacious than my dream car - the X4!) You can put two car seats in, and the maid can still fit in the middle. The rear back seats can also slide back/front so you can also trade legroom for more boot space. Wide doors too so kids can easily slide in or exit, plus you won't have any trouble lugging the car seat in/out too!

Who says a soccer mom car can't be sexy?

Other than that, I love love love that it is a practical family car. Imagine going grocery shopping and your hands are full. You just need to wave your foot under the rear bumper and tadaaaa the boot opens automatically. You can also unlock the car by just holding the door handle. No need to rummage through your handbag for the keys... ever!!! And semi auto parking function!! (I suck at side parking so this is a much needed feature.)

Spacious back seats.

As for the interior design and dashboard layout, I love the fact that it's not boring (if you know what I mean). There are plenty of buttons (including the iDrive system) with classy finishing to make your car look way more sophisticated and complicated than it really is. 

Complicated console... I like!

What about the ride and handling? Naaaahhhh I'll pass that to dear Hubby to describe. Not interesting for this blog! Can't wait for the new X1 to be launched at the end of the year too. Maybe I'll sway that way instead? 

Last but not least... NOOO... We're still not getting a new car. But it's always nice to dream, kan?? *grin*

BeeBop Circus: From Somersaults to Self-Confidence... and a Giveaway too!

Sticky post for 48 hours... scroll down for new blog entries!

Beebop Circus

Hi everyone!

I have been dying to share this review for the longest time... but decided to wait for the end of Ian's 12 week enrollment stint before blogging about it, so that I could give it a real solid appraisal that it deserves.

Beebop Circus is an enrichment center focused on development of children ages 1 to 7, adopting an integrated play-based thematic approach designed to develop children holistically, with a special focus on active bodies, soft skills, creative thinking, as well as morals and values. 

The first question that was on my mind (and I bet on yours too!) was... what is the difference between Beebop Circus and all the other kids' gyms that are mushrooming around the Klang Valley? Well for starters, Beebop Circus explores more than just movement; they also introduce rhythm sticks, maracas and other instruments, as well as stories and songs, all centered around a bi-weekly theme. Also, instead of just play, they are also more gymnastics oriented as they have specialized gymnastics equipment such as suspended rings, balance beam and even a zip line! 

Other than that, they also have a dedicated studio space for various dance classes such as creative dance, ballet and even hip hop to allow our living room leapers and bedroom ballerinas to express themselves through creative movement.

Come on in!

Cheerful, bright colours that can simply excite any child.

Testimonials from parents. Loveeee the bee corkboard tacks.

They also have a hugeeeee chalkboard near the entrance, for kids to doodle! This week is Occupation Day.

The very spacious class area. 

Ian had his first class at the end of April. During that first class, wow... he was such a handful. He got so fascinated with the colourful foam blocks, ball pit and play mats, that he kept running and tumbling all over the place without trepidation, refusing to follow the structured instructions from the teachers. By the end of the class, I was absolutely floored (minimal pun intended), just from chasing that cutie rascal!

I was really quite nervous about bringing Ian for his subsequent classes. However, the teachers were very supportive about allowing Ian to develop at his own pace. Unlike Aiden, Ian had no qualms about climbing foam blocks or crawling through tunnels. He did though, have a slight fear of balancing on a suspended 'bridge' and rocking forwards on the gym ball. Progressively, I was able to coax him into trying it out and building his self-confidence. With patience, the teachers also managed to persuade him to listen to instructions, such as sitting on the tumble mat to sing songs (instead of running off to explore the room!) and caring for toys by returning musical instruments into a basket. As each success builds off from the last, I was able to see noticeable improvements in his agility, core strength and self-confidence just after a few classes!

Anyway, here are pictures from his most recent class. It was Camping Day!

(Since I wanted to take photos to feature in this blogpost and I do not like publicizing photos of Ian's peers without their parents' permission, I requested for this session to be a private class. Usually, a class would consist of 4-5 children, which also helps Ian's social skills as he develops relationship with his peers.) 

Classes usually start with a circle time, which is a warm up session on the tumble mats. Buzzy Bee - Beebop Circus' mascot usually makes an appearance too!

Giving Buzzy Bee a hug!

Free play - dancing to the upbeat music. This is sensory learning through music and stimulating movements.

Next up, supervised play. Ian aces this climbing bit, no problem.

But he usually stalls when going down. After a lot of encouragement and help, he would gingerly sit and slide himself down.

Walking on the 'suspended bridge'! He usually needs help with this. This activity allows Ian to face his fears of heights and shaky structures.

Whooooosh... sliding down on a carpet! Sometimes, some gymnastic tumbling is introduced such as an assisted forward roll.

Ian loves going on the balance beam.

He's so confident, he's walking without even looking in front!

Crawling through a tunnel. This activity helps kids build confidence and independence in enclosed spaces.

His teacher trying to show Aiden how to hold a tambourine. But Ian being Ian, he insisted on holding it his way!

Cultivating courage of being in small spaces by coaxing Ian to climb into a 'tent' and then picking up foam letters.

Ian listening to instructions. Match the foam letters to make up the words "Fun Camp"! 

This activity exposes Ian to alphabets, colour recognition and block matching using his fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.

Teacher showing Ian how to place his feet in between the rungs (instead of on the bar)!

Anddddd... this is Ian's favourite activity. Hanging off the high bar! This activity improves his arm, core strength and grip. Can you believe he has started replicating this at home using our kitchen table??!! *chuckles*

Bubble time! This activity improves focus and concentration. It also improves his hand-eye coordination and gross motor skills, as he tries to 'pop' the bubbles.

Parachute time. This addresses the very common fear of the dark and allows little ones to grow comfortable in a somewhat darker area through play. As you can see, Ian really enjoyed our singing session in the dark!

Musical play with the maracas. 

At the end of each class, Ian will get a bee chop as a reward. He loves showing off his chop too, constantly looking and pointing to it!

Try It For Yourself!

Here's an opportunity for you to try it out for yourself. BeeBop Circus has graciously offered all (I repeat ALL!) readers of Lizzieasamummy, one free trial class at their gym in The School, Jaya One. If you decide to sign up after the trial, your child will also receive a complimentary reward chart with a full set of shiny star stickers! (Just don't forget to mention that you were referred by Lizzieasamummy!)

Since Beebop Circus truly understands that every child is different and there's a different need for each child and family; they will work with your child's individual comfort level and interests to ensure that they are enrolled in a class they enjoy with just the right amount of challenge to help them grow. Contact them to find out which class suits your precious one best.

By the way, Beebop Circus has been awarded as Best Active Curriculum by BabyTalk magazine, in the latest August issue! Congratulations!

Oh... and I saved the best for last. BeeBop Circus is also offering ONE lucky reader, a one-month enrollment (worth RM320) in their parent-child programme (suitable for children ages 1 to 3). As usual, just leave a comment below, and one winner will be chosen at random.

Do you need a piece of chalk to write your comments? *grin*

Beebop Circus

Unit 019 & 021, Upper First Floor,

The School, Jaya One,

No.72A Jalan University, 47800 Petaling Jaya, Selangor

T: +603 7492 4567

E: play@beebopcircus.com
F: https://www.facebook.com/BeebopCircus

W: http://www.beebopcircus.com/

Disclosure: I received a free product for review purposes. I did not receive any monetary compensation. The opinions are my own, based on my personal experience with the product. This giveaway is sponsored by BeeBop Circus. Lizzieasamummy is not responsible for prize shipment or fulfillment.