Hazel Ceej

                                                         Click on photo for a larger view                                                                             A friend of a friend recommends the chicken dishes at Piri Piri . Several times I pass by the restaurant in Siam Paragon but refrain from getting in because I read "flaming hot" a...

Shoes? He shuns them. Sunglasses? He doesn't like them either. I am sadly accepting the obvious: my fur son does not share my fashion sense. The one shot of him grudgingly wearing a dark pair once was not even to shield his eyes from harmful rays during walks. He agreed to have them on his head, sitting on the coffee table. Yes, like a crown. I thought only cats were aristocratic by nature. Sometimes I wonder if he needs corrective glasses instead after his right eye was injured by an irate neighbor, which is another story. Mozart should watch Arlo .

How wonderful it would be if that's the case for everyone all time! But as we live in an imperfect world we can only take life one day at a time. If CEOs are people trying to hold their sanity for obvious reasons, moms are no different. Whether they are working outside the home, homeschooling, moms are usually in the center of many important things. This Gabby Moms October product is about staying sane and centered in a sea of mothering responsibilities. Gratitude is crucial. You have to learn it. As if it's not enough that you have managed to stay centered and sane, you have to be grateful as well. That's right grateful. I heard that too. Vividly.  When author Lorrie Flem started talking about gratitude I wondered what version of the virtue could I have exercised in the aftermath of divorce; in the face of a harrowing diagnosis - coordinating with specialists and therapists, not to mention dragging the son between two countries thrice before he could even say 'airplan...

  A child's feet grow rapidly. It's a fact known to many parents or those in child care. So it is safe to assume that your child's shoe size is not the same as the last time you went on a shoe-shopping trip. The American Podiatric Medical Association suggests measuring your child's feet before every new shoe purchase. I fall short of this. And even if I did measure, I still would not have known we were to measure 'no matter how recently the feet were last measured.' I don't remember my kiddo regularly wearing typical socks while trying on shoes. And I don't remember myself inspecting his feet for signs of irritation after trying on shoes.  You may join me in making a note to self: socks and signs (of irritation) If you don't mind secondhand shoes, the advice is to avoid them as they 'could cause fungal infection.'  I remember a colleague proudly telling me how she bought her daughter's shoes for 25 cents at a garage sale. And I remember w...

Fortunately Arlo's story is one of love, concern and creativity, unlike Missy's . Animal lovers would nod on Arlo needs glasses by Barney Saltzberg . Families with dogs might be interested too. It's not just the story I am interested in.  Arlo Needs Glasses is an interactive picture book. What children do not like names on pages that appear in equivalent of lights with letters that are outlined in different hues? They get to pull a tab and be part of the activities in the story. An eye chart in the doctor's office is shown on this book. Letters blur with the pull of a tab giving readers the idea of what the lead character might be seeing. It would even be more interesting to be able to detect words, which reviews of this book, suggest are hidden in the eye chart. Saltzberg spells out "phoropter," he uses the Broadway-marquee lettering, as if children are picking up a party favor when they look through the accordion-style fancy-dancy binoculars. At the very b...

Meet Leo, the baby leopard. For 100 baht (about 3.40 USD) he's yours to cuddle and feed. The milk in his bottle is very little, just enough to be consumed in 2 minutes or less. Leo lives in Kanchanaburi. ABC Wednesday

In a fairytale world, she's the damsel in distress and he's the gallant knight in shining armor who comes to rescue her from the tower of the evil witch. Enter reality - CJ in a golden steed green bike and Pinky gallop to the sunset head to the lift of a six-storey apartment building. They speak different languages. They also have different personalities. He is an introvert; she is obedient. And sweet. When asked to kiss him she obliged. Click!  goes the knight's little professor's very first kiss from a girl besides his mom. ABC Wednesday