Purple roses with apple flowers herbal tea (紫玫瑰苹果花茶)

My mother-in-law bought some purple roses (France) and apple flowers from a medical hall in Chinatown and she brought some for us today.

After reading up on these flowers, here's what I have gathered:

Health benefits of consuming purple rose tea:

• the roses are rich in vitamin A, B, C, E, K and tannic acid
• calms and relieves stress
• eliminates fatigue
• promotes blood circulation
• aids in detox
• it's great for the skin (anti-wrinkle!)
• leads to general good health

Regular consumption of purple rose tea will regulate menstruation and lead to rosy, radiant skin.

Apple flowers with purple roses make a great combination and they have great health benefits as well:

• prevents hypertension
• nourishes the blood (补血)
• relieves neuralgia (舒解神经痛)
• detox
• whitens skin
• alleviates depression

Regular consumption of apple flower tea can solve acne problems and alleviate menstrual cramps.

And so, here's the tea, in my spanking new glass:

Such a nourishing drink for the body yet so easy to make!:

Purple roses with apple flowers herbal tea (紫玫瑰苹果花茶)

Ingredients:

• 1 handful of purple roses and apple flowers (mixed)
• 1.5L water

Method:

1. Rinse the flowers with room temperature water.
2. Bring the water to a boil in a pot.
3. Turn off the heat and place the flowers into the water.
4. Let it steep for about 10min or longer before consuming.

Eating cheerios

Alicia and I have Cheerios with milk for breakfast most of the time since we started on it. I realise that breakfast is the only meal in which she can sit quietly and obediently in her chair for the whole meal. Recently she's been getting her soft toys to sit with her in her chair while she takes her breakfast - and they must share the chair with her.

Anyway, this is how we usually eat our Cheerios: Cheerios in a bowl and milk in another bowl. I think she finds it very fun to pick some Cheerios and drop them into the bowl of milk then eat them. She usually uses her spoon to eat the wet Cheerios but I dunno why she kept using her fingers today... messy gal...

yum yum... see how big my mouth is? :D

Mummy, will you stop taking photos of me when I'm eating?

I'm not gonna pose for you!

It's finger-licking good!

Do you want some, baby bear?

Let me check how much is left...

Not much left, baby bear... I'm finishing it all!

Bear with it... :D

The messy little kitten...

Playing with her baby bear

Alicia just chanced upon this Avent soft toy bear last night and it has since become her 'baby'. This soft toy was given in one of the goodie bags when I delivered or attended some talk - can't remember! :P The toy was still in the packaging and it finally greeted its rightful owner last night.

This video shows Alicia playing with her bear this morning...

She keeps undressing her bear... and she even tried to wear its shirt (not captured on video). She's very tickled every time I make the bear sneeze (coz it's cold without its shirt on)... hehe. Anyway, she calls this bear "my baby" - I think it's the first time I've heard her use the possessive pronoun so far!

Stretching it out with daddy

Hubby was doing some calf stretches at night the other day and Alicia kept imitating him. I just had to film it down though this time I think she was aware that I was trying to film her so she didn't do a proper stretch... Nevertheless, we think she's super adorable!