Sweet Spring Days

The Spring is finally here! Sunny but with cool breeze! This is the best time to enjoy ! Because summer in Shanghai is too hot ( hotter than S.E Asia , could reach 40 Celsius! yup!!). Just to share a great way to spend time with kids  , without buying any new toys and without going to the mall with minimum budget needed!

Here are what we are doing lately , Indy move her " class room" to the field in our compound , at the back of our block. We even packed our lunch boxes! A bit of fresh air is always good for every one!

They even had an al fresco dining in the evening! They pretend to be the restaurant owner and staffs and of course I am the VIP customer! :)

The weekend is here, and I took them to the biggest park in town ( just opposite from where we live) , so again taking advantage of our location and situation ! :) The girls had a blast!

We probably living in the concrete jungle, but it is not impossible to still find a close to  nature activities! And this is definitely a great refresher than just going to mall after mall! Trust me.. in Shanghai the list of the mall are endless!

And since Indy's subjects are about birds lately, so this is another way to reinforce the subject with fun !

And voila! This is their favorite transport method ! Very green ! LOL the bike is rechargeable ! It is not always available though! Only certain time and mostly during weekend. We do not necessary need to hire this transport to go to the park, but it is just for FUN! It cost me MYR 2.5 /RMB 5 for a ride back to my place! :)

Well...Modern city could be so tempting, Mall could be alluring, Sky scrapper could be fascinating , but hey Spring is very intriguing , so let's go outdoor and do simple activities instead!

Happy Sunday, whenever you are! Remember to do simple things with your loved ones!

XOXO
SR

Be discreet

As modern " moms" we need to be updated in new technologies, being in track with the community  , and be fashionable and frugal at the same time, while we need to take care of our family and house.
As those who know me , personally, I am very much like to enjoy the technologies has to offer in this century. But I will not be a technology's victim or slave. I am still the boss :)

I just want to remind fellow bloggers and other social networking sites to be aware of " internet safety" , be considerate of what to share and what not to share. Be discreet ! Some taboo stuffs to share are :
Address, Personal details, School's name or birthday details!

Read here for more details :
http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/109538/7-things-to-stop-doing-now-on-facebook

Mother's day 2010

Wow.. I looked back at my own post for Mother's day and this is my 3rd year of posting MD !!
Amazing how time passed and how different I celebrate it each year.

My dh can't participate much this year , he is not even able to take his weekly off for the whole month if May due to his job. And though it is not easy for him , and not so much fun for me and the kids, we can't complaint much. Better to support him to work hard in his job rather than become jobless  ( touch wood)

This Mother's day is bitter sweet one for me . Sweet coz my girls surprised me with flowers ( Indy went to buy with my aunty )and chocolate ( but most of it Maya ate it!aahaha)
And my dh surprised me with an email of slide show of my girls since they were young and mostly are taken in KK, Sabah. So that brings back many memories!
Bitter coz I heard a not so good news about my father's health, his cancer is progressing and he is in some pain now. But he is still very optimistic and that is great.


 Have a great week!!
xoxooxo
SR

It is not for the faint hearted

As many people know, China is known for the strong economic growth and as one of the most populates country in the world. But it is also know for the bad image as the "fake" or "low quality" items. As the phrase : Made in China  , doesn't seem to  reflect any good image in general.

But as many know ( and also some doesn't ) China also offer the vast luxurious life style. Specially in big cities, and of the most fast growing and expanding city is the one we are living right now Shanghai.
And it is now the host of World Expo 2010. Shanghai has been undergoing many "plastic surgery" and it is at her prime and most beautiful time right now and the transportation system as been improved a lot too.

But it is not for the faint hearted people at all. You need to brace your self and you will need to choose a balance life style and keep your feet on the ground. If you have the cash, the sky is the limit! And thankfully , we do not have the cash , so we have a lot of limit here!The activities are endless so we must be very selective, and with the $$ you can basically have everything you want. And before you know it, you will be pulled down and drown in your own life.
But we came back to China, with open mind and open heart. We didn't come with our of our skeptical thought about China or the people, we 've decided to embrace it the good and the bad. Except that we are living in different city, our family are always the same, we still have the same value, we are still the same people.

The urge to have the branded clothing, bags, and all, to eat in the high end restaurant, joining a elite club or gym, to send the kids to an elite private school, to have a regular saloon visit from head to toes, to hire unlimited help fro chauffeur, personal maid and nanny or even to have a private masseuse  to come to your home.

As with the children it is the same, to keep them on the ground, with friends that going to certain restaurant, shop in certain shop and going with a luxurious car , it can be intimidating for them and the social pressure is big.

But , for us, we are what we are  , and we try to put that in our children's life that we don't have to have or do what others do. So it is important to keep things simple and yet we still be able to have fun. Because some people are funny, they spend the money they don't have, to buy thing they don't even need, to impress people they don't even like.
To live like that it is very exhausting , don't you  agree??

XOXO

S.R

What you do counts, mommies! EARTH DAY.

While blog hopping , my eyes stumbled upon a post that caught my eyes. And I think this is a great way to spread the awareness about Green Living   ( see my previous post about my pledge).

What I do , does count! And you can do it too!!

How I "REDUCE"
I reduce the using of shopping plastic bag by using Re-usable Shopping bags. I got mine years ago, and I bring at least 2 of it in my bag. I also got big one from Carrefour, IKEA, and Metro to store big bulky things. To remind my self better, I put all of these near my door , so I can just grab it when I'm heading out.

And I also reduce my carbon footprints by walking to do my groceries. And I invested on this "pretty in pink" shopping trolley. It is very helpful to carry heavy items like rice, cooking oil, milk, juices. And I am really glad that I do this. It's not just helping to care of the environment but It's also the easiest exercise I can do . I don't have much free time between homeschooling, take care of the house, do groceries, and taking care of kids n husband. I only have part time help 3 times per week. So it is hard for me to find time to go to gym . So this walk really help me to burn some calories .

As mentioned in my earlier post, to make another step further to make a greener living, I choose to use soapnuts. I still have some leftover detergent, but I am using soapnuts to wash my laundry , wash dishes, bath my kids and shampoo for them. As multi use cleanser. I m still doing it partially as I still got the other left over cleansing agents, but I can't wait to use nothing but my soapnuts! Right now I' am washing my laundry just using soapnuts :)

As we do not have private car, I certainly love to take bus and subway here in Shanghai. And rarely take taxi. And I think more people should do car pool . And even my husband ditch the taxi for now  ( unless the weather is not friendly) and he is investing on the re-chargeable electric bike instead. ( Photo will be upload later  , sorry :) ).

REUSE and RECYCLE :

We keep our magazines and newspaper aside to be recycle. And re-use the boxes for other purpose ( at this time for art n crafts for my girls' need) I also keep the glass jars for storage.

Beside that,  I also use cloth pads, cloth napkins, and washable training pants for my girls. I also do my laundry every 2 days if possible , to make the washing machine only run when it is fully load. And I will not use dryer when the weather is better . ( though in winter time it is hard for not using dryer )

What I will do next is :

To remember to bring my own tupperware wherever I go, In case I need to bring back any left over food in the restaurant. Here in Shanghai, the portion is huge, so I often take away the left over food.

And I will support the Roots and Shoots China program by buying trees in their Billion Tree Project.To help to replanting trees in Inner Mongolia.
And I will let my girls involvement in collection the money to buy the trees. (I am thinking to let Indy makes a small arts craft that she could sell for small money to our friends in order to raise the fund of buying more trees. I 'd like the idea of direct involvement for children and this will be a great opportunity for her to practice her public speaking and socializing and also to improve her skill to explain something). Will keep you all update on this one!

I think that is all I can think of right now.
So What you do to help the mother nature? No matter how small it is .... IT DOES COUNT!


XOXO
S.R

Earth Day!!

Another  Earth Day comes by ! We need to create more awareness to our direct community and friends to leave lesser carbon foot print . As small as it seems, it does count! Let's make a list of the think that could be done in our daily life :
1. Breastfeed your babies ! Yup! It will help to reduce the consumerism of formula ( and it tin, and plastic cover), No need plastic bottles etc.
2.Cloth Diapering - need me to repeat more?
3.Use re usable shopping bag and bring it with you EVERY WHERE!!!! Don't just buy and be fashionable with your trendy and update IN bag, but you will need to bring it to the market too!
4. Mama pads, use cloth napkins, wipes.
5.Using environment friendly detergent ( soapnuts is just a simple example) and wash your laundry when it is fully load!
6. Buy something locally produces.
7.Walk more, or take bike, or take public transport.  You don't need to ride on car to go to a neighborhood shops. Walk that lazy bum, and climb the stairs instead! ( I am starting to climb up stairs to my 11th floor apartment when I don't bring heavy stuffs, It helps to toned up my lower body, save $$ and time, instead of going to the gym)
8.Use BPA free water bottle, take your own container if buying food outside.
9.Change your light bulbs to the energy saving one
10. Keep your old newspaper and magazine and recycle it ( sell it or donate it)
11.If you kids like to make arts n crafts or any school project , try to use  the old coffee box , cereal box, tissue rolls, etc , Don't buy new cardboards!

Indy 's science project about finger printing , we use old cereal box for cardboard instead from buying new cardboard.

 Indy's homeschool Earth Day project  : She made a photo frame with used Popsicle sticks and decorate it with cut off foams.

Science's project : making arm bones model , using Nescafe box

How about to pick of 5 actions you can commit and stick to it? I did! Click here

To help protect the environment, I pledge to:

1. Use only the water you need, and reuse when possible.
2. Plant a tree. Or plant many trees!
3. Use pesticides safely! Reduce or eliminate where possible.
4. Reuse. Upcycle! Take something that is disposable and transform it into something of greater use and value.
5. Raise Awareness! Talk to others about the state of the environment, locally or globally.

Pledged Thursday, April 22, 2010.

As promised : Soapnuts Review and usage

So finally I got it and used it.
Just from a few times, I can tell I love it.
This is my personal reviews for family and friends just to create the awareness of soapnuts as an alternative to commercial soaps/detergents, I am not associated with any seller at the moment. If you got any questions please refer to any seller's website or browse on the net to gather more info. Thanks!!!
 
Here just to review what is soapnuts again:
Soap nuts or Soapberry, also sometimes referred to as Washing Nuts or Ritha / Reetha (in Hindi), contain ‘Saponins’, which have the ability to clean and wash. When in contact with water, it creates a mild suds, which is similar to soap.

For hundreds of years, people in India and Nepal have been doing their laundry and cleaning with Soapnuts The nut is the dried fruit of the Ritha tree and the saponin released is a 100% substitute to normal detergents..

Soap nuts can be used for cleaning basically anything, from washing clothes, as a liquid soap, cleaning and shining ornaments, household cleaner etc.

Soapnuts are highly-effective and gentle at the same time. It will leave your laundry fresh and clean and compared to other detergents, its mildness will keep colours bright, maintaining fabric structure of your clothes for longer periods. It can be used on all fabrics and at all temperatures.

Soap nuts are allergy-free and hence are good for your skin especially good for babies, eczema and sensitive skin. This chemical free product is excellent for washing children’s clothing.

Soap nuts are both Ecological and Economical when compared to other forms of detergents.
A brief on the Benefits of using soapnuts:

• Clearly cheaper than normal detergents.
• Environment friendly as soapnuts are 100% natural, they do not pollute our environment. Furthermore, soapnuts are considered renewable primary products. The soapnut trees absorb carbon dioxide and produce oxygen.
• Perfect for allergic persons, people with sensitive skin and people who suffer from neurodermatitis.
• Effective and gentle as Soapnuts clean dirty laundry very effectively and at the same time preserve the colour of your laundry better than chemical detergents. In Nepal, people wash even the finest silks using soapnuts.
• 100% biodegradable. Simply add the used soapnuts directly to your compost heap.

MY REVIEW IN MY OWN WORDS

How to do :
to Wash in hot water washing machine, just put4-5 soapnuts in muslin bag or old sock. Wash as usual. Dry the soapnuts between wash, and it can be use for 5 times.

For cold water washing machine and other use ( bath, shampoo, laundry, etc)
You can make a soapnut tea , by soaking 4-5 soapnuts in 1 litre of hot water about 3 minutes. You can also put the bagged soapnuts into the load.

I am thinking to use it as " bubble bath" just put the soapnuts in the bag, then run the hot water and soak it to make soapnut tea in the bath tub. Add my favorite aromatherapy oil ( calming , rejuvenating, energizing , and romantic scents) Voila!! Healthy and natural bath! I even bath my lil monsters with the " tea" .

Or to make the soapnuts liquid ( serve as multipurpose cleaner):
since saponin can only be extracted from the nuts when the water is heated, a decoction or liquid is necessary for a cold wash. Boil 3 to 4 handfuls of nuts in one liter of water for 4 minutes or longer to make thicker concentrate . Remove the shells and allow to cool. One spoonful is enough for a load. You can use this for bath, shampoo , hand wash, vegetable wash etc.
Or you can boiled and shimmered it longer ( 20 minutes) until the soapnuts almost finish.

You can add tea tree oil, lavender oil , orange oil to add the scents.
And you can use white vinegar as softener.


So far I have use soapnuts to :
Wash my dishes in dishwasher( just put 3-4 soapnuts in the cutlery compartment) the dishes came out clean and smell nice.
To wash my laundry ( I added vinegar and lavender oil)
To wash my kids
To clean my stove top as multi purpose cleaner, and I can tell it works wonder!



As I am not an idealist perfectionist individual, I try to reach something more accessible to my life . I am not trying to make my whole family life 100% green.( wish I could ) . I try to use more earth friendly products, and buy organic veggie when I need ( like for salad or fruits) . And  recycle all of my old newspaper and paper products in my household.
Like in this case, to live in more " greener" way and since I can buy soapnut over here so I do it. Since I am a believer that Action speaks louder than Words.

One step at a time. I am not aiming to change the world or be a environmentalist , this is just my personal choice.


Back to nature.. healthier living, better earth!

XOXO
S.R

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