Harapeko Aomushi

I guess some of you recognized The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, it is called Harapeko Aomushi here in Japan and the books are quite famous among japanese children including to my Wakaba and Haruka. They watched the story at youtube ( of course in japanese) and they love to talk about foods and or count the foods that the hungry caterpillar ate lol! Last month, I bought a Harapeko Aomushi Memory Game for us to play at home and to help them exercise their minds. My kids loves the game and it passes the time quickly.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Memory Game



Kids are like caterpillars, they will eventually grow up and when it's time to let them go, we have to let them fly and be grateful with their time with us ^_^

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Late Bloomer

Haven't I told you that I have dream? I haven't finished school and yes, I sometimes regret of not finishing school and was not able to receive a diploma. Life has been cruel to my family that finishing school was not the main anymore and when I was looking for a job, I usually get frustrated because companies wanted applicants with a degree required which I don't have and usually land to a job with a low salary. Nope, not that I'm complaining but having a good job with high paying salary is best advantage, right?

Finishing with a degree is my dream and online degrees could make it all now possible coz it would fit my schedule. Tending to my kids and husband while studying online degree programs in business on my own time, on my own pace is not a bad idea! I would be the happiest to complete a degree as an advantage.

Going back to school is a challege and http://studentaid2.ed.gov/gotocollege/collegefinder/advanced_find.asp helps me to get off a great start ^_^

Hello Kitty Onigiri Case

Every Monday is Haruka's onigiri ( rice ball ) day and the kids at school will only have just one onigiri during lunch time. It is because that the school wanted to let the kids think that there are people who has eaten less for the day and they let the kids at school experience their sufferings. Every Monday the kids at school offer money as a donation to give to the poor.



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Strawberry Mousse Cake For Wakaba

Made this Strawberry Mousse Cake during Wakaba's 8th Birthday last week and since the party was a yakiniku party, I decided to go for a refreshing dessert which I made earlier before the party starts. I was worried coz I thought there will be no more room for dessert for them but Wakaba says she wants her birthday cake as soon we came home from the yakiniku restaurant ^_^

Well, anywho I wanna share the recipe to all of you coz it's really easy to make and the how-to's step by step. Enjoy!

Strawberry Mousse Cake: ( 18 cm cake round pan )

Ingredients:

18 cm sponge cake, sliced

your favorite strawberry/raspberry sauce or jam
Fresh strawberries- 30 g, cut in dices

For the mousse:

Fresh Strawberries - 200 g
Gelatin - 10 g
Water - 50 g
Sugar - 70 g
Whipping cream, cold - 160 g

Directions:

1: Soften the gelatin with water, stir until the gelatin is dissolved

2: Whip cream until thick but not stiff, set aside
3: Puree strawberries by a food processor or mixer
4: Put the pureed strawberries on a bowl and add sugar then mix
5: Heat the dissoved gelatin for seconds at the oven range and stir while it's still hot then pour it to the strawberry mixture and mix
6: Fold the whipped cream into the strawberry and gelatin mixture
7: Cover the bottom of the cake round pan with a plastic wrap and secure with rubber band around it then prepare your 18 cm sponge cake like of the photo above ( you'll only need the half of the sponge cake, please cut your sponge cake smaller than the size of the cake round pan ).

8: Pour the half mixture unto the sponge then add some diced strawberry then cover with the other half of the mixture. Chill in the refrigarator for 2 to 3 hours
9: Option: Spread in your favorite strawberry/raspberry sauce and then chill for another hour
10: Transfer Strawberry Mousse Cake to service plate then release the cake/unmold the cake with the help of a hot towel to soften the mousse. Decorate with fresh strawberries.
Sharing with you my daughter Wakaba's birthday cake ^_^

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Daddy Moments

Dear Daddy,

We love you so much and appreciate all that you do. You're the best father to us and we are so lucky to have you. We want to thank you for giving us everything we need to be taken care of. Nevertheless, we want to thank you for taking us on lots of walks, playing with us and having lots of fun with us all the time! We love you, Dad!

Happy Father's Day!

We're lucky you're our Daddy,

Clarence Claire
Wakaba chan
Haruka chan

"I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father's protection."

~ Sigmund Freud ~

" Once, God gave me the greatest gift ever. I call that gift: DAD."

~ Kurt Avish ~
"Any man can be a father. It takes someone special to be a Dad. "
~ Anne Geddes ~

"Other things may change us, but we start and end with family."

~ Anthony Brandt ~

"A truly rich man is one whose children run into his arms when his hands are empty."
~ Unknown ~


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Their Laughs Is My Joy

I love to listen to my kids when they get laughing at something or just goofing around. Just hearing them laugh is wonderful!^_^



Isn't it so much fun to go back and just yank them all out and just sit there and reminisce? ^_^

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Wakaba's Happy 8th Birthday

Wakaba celebrated her birthday last Tuesday with a blast! Wakaba's Grannies granted her wish to celebrate her birthday with us and not only that, her Grannies stayed for the whole week at the apartment. They brought along some japanese futon coz we don't have extra for them at home lol! Wakaba was excited coz her Grandpa dropped Haruka to school in the morning and picked Wakaba after her class in the afternoon and that was almost everyday^_^

Her Grannies shopped some clothes for Wakaba as a birthday gift ( and Haruka, too ) on her big day then we decided to have a yakiniku party like we always did when having special occassions but our favorite Za-Za Yakiniku Restaurant is now closed because the said restaurant is 8 km away from the nuclear plant in Fukushima and I'm afraid we will not be able to lavish their high quality meats anymore... We went to Gyu-Kaku instead which was just a minute walk away from the apartment and enjoyed the foods while having some good laughs and drinks. We handled her our gifts at home and ate the birthday cake ( which I made earlier ) for dessert.

A Grandpa's love
Gyu-Kaku Yakiniku Restaurant
Us with the birthday girl
Birthday gift from us~ Tamagotchi id L, latest model ( released last March 19,2011 ) featuring 32 virtual Tamatomo characters.
Another new Eco-friendly Water Bottle for her to use at school
Hello Kitty Pencil Case
Happy Birthday, Wakaba chan! We love you!

Kids In Doodles: Where Kids 'n Fun Collide is a Monday weekly meme hosted by Mommy Willa. Join us by clicking the linky badge^_^