My Husband ate Scorpions | Part 1 Chuck Beijing Travel Series 2012

Posted on 15 May 2013 Comments

Before we embark on our next holiday destination, this series of travel posts from our previous holiday in Beijing needs to be put up first! Here's Part 1 of our Winter holiday in Beijing 2012, memorable moments of munching scorpions at Wangfujing snack street.

There is a dazzling array of snack in this street, too dazzling for my heart and stomach. You have to know that these street snacks do not represent the chinese way of life, nor the usual chinese fare. This is made for tourists, come on in and have some fun!

This is a very short stretch of street in Wangfujing. If I were to give any advice to people who are not really that adventurous, the best way to walk through this is hold your nose, keep moving, bob and weave and look straight ahead. If you look to either side, even for a second, you'll risk seeing something gross.

Like this. Incredible little creatures on sticks. Seahorses and starfishes.

Toasted starfish, anyone?

Daddy Chuck decided to be adventurous (so unlike of him!) on this day and is bent to try out some of the more exotic food. Picture below shows him checking out a potential stall.

Closer look: Fried scorpions, fried insects, fried grasshoppers and some innards (on the left)?

Shock value: 10/10. This is fear factor live.

CENTIPEDE! Ewww...

Ready for some action!

You just saw a series of photos of my husband chewing up some scorpions. I watched in horror as the creepy crawlies crackled up and dissolved in his mouth. How do they taste like?

Much to my delight of my eyes, they do have some saner food down the street.

Steamy hot Tianjin buns 天津狗不理包子

Cubes of granola-like nuts with honey. Packed a few back for mom.

My happy husband. Can you see the 3 scorpions wriggling in his tummy?

Stay tuned for the rest of Chuck Beijing Travel Series 2012.

The ABCs of Praise

Posted on 14 May 2013 Comments

This post is not about stacking bottles or containers but how my baby thrives on praise. Little Chuck loves to be praised, especially after attempting challenging tasks, like after stacking up his stuff. It has also become a habit for me to praise and clap for him after a job is well done. If we are not fast enough, he will then turn to us for further validation.

The question here is, how much praise is enough to a toddler? And, am I overdoing it?

Video #1: Little Chuck is stacking Yakult bottles and got frustrated halfway after several failed attempts. Finally he succeeded after some encouragement from me, but I could sense a wee bit of pressure to perform because all eyes are on him.

Video #2: Little Chuck is excited with his stack of containers, while Grandma Chuck is in the background with praises of "Smart Boy!" and "Clever Boy!"

Funny thing about praise is, I want to praise my kid all the time because I think that praise is going to make him better—more motivated, more confident, more inclined to tackle challenges. But does it really work that way? Well, yes in a way. Praise can be a powerful form of encouragement. For instance, moms who praise their preschoolers for their good manners have kids with better social skills. But in some cases, praise can actually undermine your child’s motivation.

These are 3 things I learnt about the ABCs of praises.

#1 Be specific
In my first video, I used "Good job!" and in fact I use a lot of this for almost everything he does well. If I were to do it again, I will tell him why he's doing a good job and praise his efforts, like "You can balance the bottles so well!", and if I could add - "Can you stack one more?" Descriptive praise may be generally more helpful in providing feedback or attaining reasonable standards.

#2 Be genuine
I think it's ok to praise kids for what they do well. When it seems like the kid must be praised every time, he expects to be praised for his behaviour which may in turn reduce his motivation. I'm a bit more careful in dishing out my praises (quality and not quantity!). I want to only praise my kid when it is spontaneous and when I am really sincere about it!

#3 Don't praise the obvious
While this is more difficult to attain for parents and grandparents, praises like "You're so smart", "You're so handsome", "You're so clever". shouldn't be overdone. Once they are used to hearing a lot of these, it's going to sound empty and have no meaning. Focus on the process, and not the outcome :)

#parenting #learning #journey

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Mom, you were right..

Posted on 11 May 2013 Comments

I never knew how tough it is to be a mom until I became a mom. On this Mother's Day, I want to give thanks to my mom who tries her best to be a good mom in me and my brother's growing up years, and bring us up to what we are today. Without her, there will not be me.

I came across this quote and find it so apt as it reflects back on my own relationship with my mom.

Needless to say, I was a rebellious teenager who is always talking back at her, finding her a nag and making her embarrassed for having me as a daughter. There were countless time I broke her heart by saying things I shouldn't. There were the relationships I blindly got into, that made us quarrel and I left home. There were times when I want to tell her "Mom, you were right... how could I not know?"

Now that I am a mom myself, I finally understand what she means when she says "You will understand when you are a mom of your own kids one day." I shudder at the thought of my teenage children treating me the same way I did to my mum. I hope it is not too late to say "Mom, forgive me?"

At age 57, my mom is now a proud grandma of one. She adores Little Chuck to bits and I want to thank her for all that she has done to be his main caregiver. I did up a simple video of her, trying to read an English book to my son even though she can't read well. He is simply overjoyed!