I'm a full-time mummy

Hubby's aunt from Sydney came back for a week holiday and few days ago, we went out with her to have brunch at the banana leaf rice restaurant near our house. Ben had his oatmeal breakfast already, so was pretty much just sitting there watching us eat (of course, he entertained himself by oogling at some stray cats around the restaurant).

Some of the Indian waiters can't resist and went ahead to play with Ben. One of them even gave Ben a smaller size of banana leave for him to use with. And when Ben realised he's suddenly treated like an adult (cos the rest of us were eating our rice on the banana leaves), we went along and placed some smaller chunks of food  (like fish, cucumber and the lentil crackers) and rice for Ben to nibble with.

Ben: "You sure I could eat on this leaf?!!"

Ben flashing more cutesy looks to the waiters nearby, probably trying to get more goodies? Hehehehe...

Ben: "Yumyumyum... gobble gobble gobble..."

It was a nice and filling meal and we enjoyed the brunch outing as well. I'm just so proud that Ben's so well behaved with his first experience with banana leaf rice!

Yes, I totally meant water! Over a week ago, the pipes which rely on the main water tanks just dried up. Not a drop of water out of the pipes and thank God, our bathroom's shower are connected directly to the main water pipe located downstair and we could still shower and use some water in our room.

The ones that got affected are connected to the water storage tank which are the sinks, balcony and hubby's office room. Hence, we have not been spending time at the balcony since there's no water until hubby managed to borrow a super long ladder and climbed up through our bathroom to the main water tank outlet and fixed the problem.

So when we finally have the water back, I waited a day for the pressure and air to clear before venturing back to our balcony and let Ben play in his water pool again.

So, yes, dearest water, WELCOME BACK!!

I had the good fortune of reviewing a newly released book by David Erik Nelson called: "Snip, Burn, Solder, Shred: Seriously Geeky Stuff to Make with Your Kids"

Title: Snip, Burn, Solder, Shred: Seriously Geeky Stuff to Make with Your Kids
Author: David Erik Nelson
Publisher:  No Starch Press
ISBN: 9781593272593
Paperback: 360 pages
Dimension: 9.2 x 7 x 1 inches

David Erik Nelson is a freelance writer and former high school teacher. His fiction has been nominated for a Nebula award and has appeared in Asimov's, The Best of Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet, and the forthcoming Steampunk Reloaded anthology. He developed the projects in this book at an alternative school, with plenty of feedback from his students. He is a contributor to the "Ask the Giant Squid" advice column at Poor Mojo's Almanac(k), a weekly online literary journal. You can also check out the author at his personal blog at: http://www.davideriknelson.com/sbsb/

The cover is a bit geeky for me but its title sounds excitingly dangerous and fun! Step-by-step books with illustrations, instructions and a book that comes with 24 quirky DIY projects that we can try on have always caught my fancy.

The book divides itself into 3 parts: Kid Stuff wherein the skills taught include basic sewing, carpentry, and electronics: Electro-Skiffe Band, which is an all music projects and requires slightly more advanced carpentry and soldering skills and The Locomotivated which is dedicated to flying and projectile toys.

Some of the projects, however, are too advanced for me, especially those under the Electro-Skiffe Band part. For example, the “x-Ray Talking Drum” project requires tools and supplies which are much more difficult for me to obtain, such as a large X–ray and a miter box.

I do love the fact that the projects in this book are designed to cost $10 or less and include kid-friendly crafts such as my favorites which are “The Sock Squid”, “Cardboard Boomerangs” and “FedEx Kites”, all of which are made of products which can be found in our home and does not costs much at all!

This book is a good choice for parents or teachers who would like to try their hands on craft-works which do not costs much and at the same time wants to learn useful skills in sewing, carpentry, electronics, and soldering.

You can get this book from Amazon, o'Reilly and even from the publisher website itself, which is No Starch Press.

I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with a copy of the book by the publisher (No Starch Press) via my association with BookPleasures in order to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Please do your own research when purchasing products, as your opinions may differ from mine.

And if you'd like to read my previous book reviews, you can do so by reading this post of mine called "My Book Reviews"