A Refreshing Blend

It’s been really busy and tired lately ……… Angel is having high fever, runny nose, cough and rashes all over her body since Saturday due to her MMR vaccine. She is whining and fussy all day long and sometimes her body temperature get very high which worries me so much and checking on her every 4 hours during mid-night (so sleepy now). Her appetite dropped drastically (she even refuses her favourite baby biscuits) and what she wants is only her formula milk. So on Sunday, I went to buy some fruits to do her something sweet and gentle on her tummy hoping that she would be tempted to eat more fruits. So this time, I have bought her some seedless red grapes which is a very good source of Vitamin C and also some apples.

I gave the skin of the grapes a good scrub (I wanted to retain the skin coz it’s loaded with all the vitamins), put them into the new small blender (which my mom is so nice to got for Angel few days back) and blend those grapes together with some apples and a bit of water so that they will not taste too sweet. The fruit blend turn out to be very nice looking and very refreshing, and not too sweet. Angel tries on them and she actually likes the cooling effects from the blended fruits. She did ask for more :) So today, I decided to do it again but this time, I am mixing them into her Multigrain plain rice cereal together with some bananas chunk just for extra texture and I am glad that Angel could finish her portion pretty quickly.

I noticed that after having her meal, she is more energetic and more active compare to the night before (maybe because of the high sugary content in those fruits). I am glad that this morning, her fever starting to subside and I am more relief. I think the vitamin C in the grapes does helps in her runny nose too. I have also noticed that her bowel movement has been really good after taking the fruit blends maybe of its high fiber content as compare to sole fruit juice. With a new smaller blender at home now, I think it is easier for me to make small quantity of refreshing blend fruits for Angel to try out once in while. I will try to mix and match with all kinds of her favourite fruits and also few pieces of cucumber / beetroot if possible :) I think the blended fruit does taste refreshing and looks more appetizing especially when Angel is reluctant to have her normal porridge or with no appetite to chew on those chunky fruits at times when she is not feeling well. But I hope that with a good meal which does not burden her tummy will help Angel regain back her strength and energy soon. I am glad to see her smiling and running again today, all the sleepless nights seems really worth it :)

18 months old

Wow …. Angel is 1 ½ years old today, time really flies. At 18 months old, she is 2cm taller (79cm) then last month (25-50 percentile of height) and also a hefty 11.4 kg (50-75 percentile of weight) toddler still. I have been controlling her milk and solid intake recently since I do not what to overfed her. She is having 10 oz of milk still per feeding 3 times a day and also 2 - 3 times solid food. Apart from that, as I had started introducing the boil sweet soup and other ‘Chinese style’ boiled fruit juices to her, she has began to accept the very diluted and unsweetened fresh fruit juices and would drink them on a daily basis which I am very please of. She used to reject water totally which caused me a real headache but looking at her progress at the moment, I hope I am able to coax her to drink those plain water soon :)

She still taking 1 nap in the day but at night, she does not want to go to bed until at least 10pm -11pm and still wakes up very early in the morning. She does not afraid of strangers anymore and would hug or kiss anyone if asked. She loves kids and babies a lot. She will approach them if she sees one and even hug and kiss them until the other baby cries LoL. She still loves hugging daddy and mommy everyday and basically, I have turned into her ‘mattress’ before she goes to sleep at night where she would lie down on my chest and move her head, her legs and arms, smiling at me, kicking around, etc until she dozed off.

Barney is still her favourite cartoon character and also, her favourite song is Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars and would cry If I sing other songs to her. She just wants to hear this particular song from mommy :( :( She starts learning to pronounce some words recently but still, not very accurately but I am glad that at least, she tired. Still, she refused to call Papa and will call her Daddy “mama” whenever she was asked LoL, Her potty training has stopped totally now and she refuses to sit on her potty lately. So I think I will stopped her for the moment being and retrain her again when she is more ready. She has got her MMR and JE injections and will have another 2 shots next month. She has 8 teeth still but I think 1 more is on its way. Angel also has grown closer and more attached to her Daddy lately because she gets to see her Daddy more often now. Although she is still as naughty as ever but I am glad that she is growing up happy and well :)

Well, tonight I really ought to think of something special to do with Hubby and Angel since it’s Angel’s 1 ½ years old special day and also a Friday night, YIPPIE!!! Have a great weekend everyone :) :)

I Found A China-Made!!

Today I am taking some time off to do some ‘checking’ on Angel’s formula, cereals, biscuits, etc just to make sure none of her food is coming from China! I am really concern about the quality of food products and goods with the mark MADE IN CH*NA after the case where toxic industrial chemical Melamine was found not in one but as many as 22 types of milk products in China so far and still adding to the numbers. According to yesterday’s China Press, even furniture MADE IN CH*NA exported to the UK was also found causing 2000 buyers suffers from serious skin problems after contact with the furniture and hospitalized for treatments. I still remember last year there was a huge recalls of FP products due to the toxic paints used in those China-made baby’s toys. I really cannot believe myself now they are actually adding Melamine into babies formulas!!!! What was actually in their mind …. Gosh!!!

Currently Malaysia government has also banned all diaries from China ( but I am not sure whether it’s a recall or just ban for future imports?) What about those products which ware already in the market such as biscuits, ice cream, chocolate, etc which contain milk from China? Luckily after scanning through Angel’s food, I found most of them is from Australia (Heinz) and Indonesia and luckily none of them is China-made (but I am not so sure about those chinese herbs like red dates, etc coz I bought it from the chinese medical shop without proper packaing and labeling). However when I go through my fridge, I found 2 packs of my favourite Wal*s Mini Popper Ice Cream I bought 1 months back were actually Made In China and also contain chinese milk ….. I guess that might contain melamine as well and so sad it has to go into the bin. I just don't want to risk it over some ice cream. I wonders we have been taken so many packs of those mini poppers, will it done bad to our organ already? From now on, I will be selective against what we used and eat which is produced by China coz I really don’t know is there any quality control at all over China made products. How can kilos of Melamine being added into our baby’s formulas for so many years but yet, no one is doing the checking for compliances to food safety regulations until one day, someone dies from food poisoning? Of course I am not saying all China-made food are poisonous but I am really worried and have doubts about their product quality control check for compliances to food safety regulation :( :(

So I really hope all mommies can take some time to scan through all of your bb’s and your family’s food product to avoid consuming those toxic chemicals which was used to make plastics. This is fatal to our human body especially to our young kids so please be more aware and be more selective against food which comes from the Mainland. After these cases, I will think twice before making purchase of any China-made products :(

A Quick Meal

Angel was very cranky today and I don’t have much time to prepare her meal in the slow cooker this morning. So when she is watching her Barney show, I quickly search through my fridge and I found few items which I am looking for, Sweet Potatoes, Green Vege (Pak Choi) and a small piece of Chicken Breast. I just chopped everything up, add the Rice, Water, the Sweet Potatoes and the Chicken Breast into the wok, let it cooked for 20 minutes, then add in the green vege and simmer for another 10-15 minutes, the meal is done! As all the ingredient for today’s meal is very fast to cooked, so in just ½ an hour’s time, Angel's meal is ready. Angel doesn’t really fancy the vege’s taste very much but I think the sweet potatoes does some wonders in covering up some of the vege’s taste. She loves her meal and asked for more after her normal portion. She even pointed to the pretty colours of the vege in her porridge and smile at me :) I think She loves the colour. Green vege is certainly a healthy food for young toddler especially the fibers do help in her bowel movements. Tomorrow I will replace the sweet potatoes with some corn nibbles blended finely. I will try to look for some other vege options to introduce to her soon too since vege is not a highly allergenic food.

Double Oouuuuch!!!

Yesterday brought Angel for her allergy follow-up in the clinic again. Her paediatrician told us that due to the weather for the past month, a lot of kids are having rashes problems as Angel (Hmmm ….. something new to learn coz I did noticed that 3 of my other friends’ kids are also having rashes for the pass week). Her paediatrician told us that it is actually a good sign that her red rashes is under control and no more oral antihistamine was necessary, instead, she has changed for another stronger cream namely Topicort to apply to Angel’s skin sparingly and as necessary. As usual, I have goggled from the internet and come to know that the medicine is a detoximetasone topical which is a topical steroid cream. When using this cream, do not cover the area with a bandage or coverings and should stop if the sign such as insomnia, rashes on mouth, etc occurred. I also looks for the side effects of such medication, long terms effect on small children, correct way of applications (rather then just put them on) and also some other useful info which normally the nurses or the doctor will left out because of their ‘busy schedules’ :P

The out of expected event is that Angel is also having her vaccines on that day! Due to some allergy concerns over the MMR vaccines and also some other unforeseen circumstances, Angel has been putting on hold of her vaccines injections until today. Lately, the escalation cases of kids catching the measles (even those who has been vaccinated) worries us. So finally, we came to an agreement that this is a perfect timing to get her vaccines. So there goes the crying, kicking, arching and shouting again (oh, even without the injections she still does that once she sees a doctor or coming into a confinement place such as a clinic!). She is having 2 injections which is the MMR and also her JE. Her doctor told us that she will developed some fever and red rashes all over her body in 7-14 days time and a prescription of some children’s paracetamol and calamine lotion should comes in handy. We had also scheduled her for another 2 vaccines next month. Poor girl, she will be horrified if she even knows that this will not be her last shots :)

I did noticed that each time after her vaccinations, she will behave crankier and needs more attention. Yesterday our normal Mr. Nice and Cool (Hubby) can’t even take her never ending crying and whining and start giving her a good ‘lesson’!! Poor girl …. So I start telling stories to hubby (said he was my baby boy lo) about how bad he will feels if some sort of virus microorganisms (vaccines) were injected into his body to stimulate those antibodies (a war is happening inside her tiny body) but yet, Angel couldn’t convey her discomfort to us, hubby starts to feel sorry and guilty over his act and start to hug and kiss his poor little girl. Hahaha ….. it does feel amusing to see hubby so angry in the first minute and behave the opposite the next minutes kissing and hugging Angel saying sorry to her :) Anyway, hopes that the vaccine works fine for Angel and also she will recover entirely from her allergy soon :) Oh boy …… I am so tired now, you guys should see my panda eyes! But hey, at least hubby gets to see a rare panda for free without heading all the way to China LoL

I Love Your Blog Award

I have received a meaningful award from the lovely Mummy Gwen and Yen Ping. Thanks for the award and it was glad to know that someone out there actually love my blog. *blush*

Rules:

1. The winner puts logo on her/his blog.

2. Link the person you received your award from.

3. Nominate 7 other blogs.

4. Put links of those blogs on yours.

5. Leave a message on the blogs of those you’ve chosen.

I would like to pass this lovely award to these fellow blogger friends of mine who I enjoy reading their blogs very much :)

1)Joanne

2)Serene

3)PeiWun

4)Doreen

5)Irene

6)HN

7)Esmeralda

My Baby Boy’s is having Fish!!

Since I can’t feed Angel with fish for the moment being due to her allergy problem, what should I do with the Cod filet that I had bought for her? Finally, I have decided to cook the cod for my baby boy instead (yes, my baby boy which Angel calls Papa :P ). I baked those cod filet with some soy sauce, dark soy sauce and honey in the oven, and side with some mash potatoes and fresh vegetables plus a quick pumpkin soup, done!! I do not know the exact measurement for this recipe because I just adding them along the way, guess that’s how an unprofessional cook i.e. me cook our meals :) Also, I will always try to avoid Chinese cooking (hubby’s favourite) because honestly, I think Chinese food is a very hard dish to master and also, I have no idea how to make a Chinese dish out of the Cod filet *blush*

Hubby actually likes the dish and asked me to cook it again some other time. hohoho …… I wonder will I be able to recoup my memory on how to cook this dish again?? Anyway, I am glad that hubby enjoys the meal that I cook for his dinner :) At least, I have 2 ‘kids’ (hubby + Angel) at home who loves mommy’s home-cooking :) :)

Allergies (Part 2)

I brought Angel to her paediatrician few days back and her doctor told us that those red rashes were an allergy reaction from Angel's body, most likely from the things she touched but also could be from the food she takes. I remember last time when Angel was diagnosed for cow milk intolerance, it was 3 months after she consumed those cow milk formula that she had an allergenic reactions. So I have stopped feeding her any new type of food for the moment being and also started to ‘double’ vacuum and mop each and every inch of our house with more Dettol, clean all her toys and washed all her blankets, sheets (and ours too) in 60c hot water plus more Dettol!! Can you imagine that I have used up a big bottle of Dettol solution in just 2 days? I do not know what else I can do but clean, clean, clean and clean. I have been so busy being a 'cleaner' these few days and after all the cleaning ups, the entire house does smell like a hospital :) I also don’t know whether this will help but I really do not want to see my little girl suffers from this nasty allergy problem again. It might not be coming from our house but I just do not want to risk it. As for when she goes out ….. I think I need to be extra careful of all the things that she touches and plays with. Sometimes, I will wipe the handle and seats of the shopping trolley’s before I let Angel sits in it which I did get some strange looks from other shoppers …… they must be thinking that this mommy is a ridiculous clean-freak!

After taking the prescribed medicines, her allergy seems to be under controlled but unfortunately, not any better …… me and Angel have not been sleeping well too for the past few days because obviously, Angel’s tiny hands and feet are very itchy which makes her wakes up very often in the middle of the night crying for me. As in the day, she is very cranky and always wants my attention all the time, poor girl. Luckily her medicine does make her napping longer so that I could do some cleanings plus ready her meals. If she is not getting better by the day after tomorrow, I will bring her to the doctor again. It’s sad to see my little Angel not feeling well but I am not overly worried …… at least I know that she is in good hands. So I guess my decisions of letting go of a fabulous job is not that bad after all :)

Blog Love Award !!

I am so happy to receive this award from 2 nice blogger friends, Doreen, Joanne and later on the 18th September from Yen Ping! Thanks for spreading the love to me :)

Credits: Elements/Paper by Dani Mogstad/ Layout by JennyL Rules (Pls. don’t remove):
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2. Please link back to the person who tagged you and pass this tag to many of your friends
3. If you have more than one blog, please post this to all of your blogs so your other blogs can be listed to the master list too.
4. Remember to come back here at A SLICE OF LIFE (pls. don’t change this link and leave the exact post url so I can add you to the master list to help increase our rankings and improve our Technorati Authority.
6. Spread the BLOG LOVE FEVER!!

BLOGGERS1.Jenny Said So2.Simply Jen3.This and That4.Bargain.Sales.Deals.5.A Slice of Life6.Aussie Talks7. When Mom Talks8. Me and Mine<9. Creative in Me10. For the LOVE of Food11. Little Peanut12. Pea in a Pod13. It’s Where the HEART Is14. Around the World15.SugarMagnolias16.kathycot17. buhay misis 18. when mom speaks19. walk on red20. kathycot cooks21.quicker822. Eds Mommy Life23. My Precious Niche24. Just Me.. Eds25. Can of Thoughts26. Designs By Vhiel27. Vhiel’s Corner28. Anything and Everything in Between29. Good things in life…30. Precious Moments..31.Beachlover 32.CookingMomster 33. AnythingLah! 34.A Kiss of and Angel

I would like to spread the blog love to whoever think this award is awesome :) After all, this blog love award is meant to be share with all, isn't it :P

Mid-Autumn Celebrations

This year’s Mid Autumn Celebration is really a memorable one. Angel does enjoy herself playing with her lantern too. When I first hand her the lantern with the candle lit inside and off all the lights, she seems a bit afraid seeing a lantern ‘floating’ in the middle of the air LOL Her lantern does look nice in the dark :) :) The first thing she does is to have a good look inside the lantern and then reached for the candles!! Luckily me and hubby were ‘ever ready’ to stop her from her act and 2 minutes later, …… Angel's lantern has ended it’s life in dignity as you can see :) :)

When Angel saw that her lantern is burned, she didn’t even cry but giggle instead for no particular reason. I think she must be really enjoy burning the lantern just like her father was (Again, it’s in the genes I think :) ). We did manage to put up a few more lanterns and Angel is having a great time tailing hubby around the house leaving me with the tiring job which is to hold Angel’s hand with the lantern while she was running here and there :) :) I hope that everyone does have a great Mid Autumn Celebrations this year :) :)

Awesome Site Award

I am really thrilled to get this award from a lovely blogger friend, Mummy Gwen. Thanks a lot for the award, I really appreciate your kindness and you have a brilliant blog which makes me drools whenever I see your yummy posts :)

**15th September 2008 - I just got to know that Joanne and PeiWun has also awarded this lovely award to me, I am really over the moon!! Thank you so much and I really appreciate each and every of award that you both have given to me. Both of you have such an awesome blogs and that's why I won't missed even a single post in your blog :) Thank you my dearest friend :)

I will keep the award to myself for the moment being since most of the blogs I visited have gotten this award from Mummy Gwen :P :P So for the mean time, Happy eating mooncakes and playing lanterns tonight everyone and hope it doesn’t rain too :)

Allergies

I think Angel is having some allergy reactions again where I can see some red bumpy rashes at the back of her hands and feet. I do not know was it the fish that she ate previously? Or was it from the biscuits which she has been eaten all these while? Or did I miss some spots where she normally plays in which need a good scrub and with more Dettols? Yes, She likes to climb under the table lately :( :(. Or have the sofas been breeding dust mites lately which caused a allergenic reactions from her? Or has she come in contact with some allergens during our day out?

Oh … I just don’t know what the cause is again! I do keep a good record on everything she eats and does as her paediatrician’s advice but it seems like in vain! For example, she was doing great for all those 4-days-wait period on her new food trial but when I started to feed her with her normal food again, out of the blues, she starts having these allergy symptoms again. Her rashes will normally appears during the least expected day I must say, sigh!

I will bring her to her paediatrician for a good check up first thing in the morning before it developed into a serious case like last time. I am worried but I am hoping that she won’t require any oral form of medications again this time …… oh, my poor little Angel :( :(

At last, Hubby Got A Lantern ….. ?

I have delegated an important task to hubby since last month …. That is to look for a lantern for our Angel! It is very important because this is Angel’s first lantern since she was still a baby when we celebrated Mid-Autumn Festival last year. It’s only few days away from the Festivals but I yet to see any lantern from hubby yet but hubby assured me, he will “gao-tim” (settle things)!!! So yesterday night, hubby came home happily and shows me a plastic bag.

Hub: TA DAAA!!!! ….. See? I said I will “gau tim” la, I have found the Lantern!!!
Me: Really?? Well done dear …… Quick! Let me see!!
Hub: I have skipped my lunch just to search for this, so hungry now ….. (making the pitiful face ...)
Me: You poor man …. But dear, the lantern you bought ……
Hub: Nice or not? The red one is for Angel …… and I got some extras too just in case :)
Me: But I thought you'll will buy something similar to this (while showing Joanne Mommy’s lantern for Sarah in her blog as pic below) Hub: Ooo ….. but I didn’t see any of that wor. That is niceeeeeeeee ……… (Admiring Sarah’s lantern)
Me: ……....... (don’t know what to say)
Hub: But ….. the one I bought also very nice ….. very traditional ‘feel’ leh, just like the one we used to play (or burn to be more accurate??) when we were still kids. I didn’t know that they make such nice lanterns nowadays :(
Me: Ooo .... don’t worry, I think Angel will definitely love the lantern la since it’s her beloved daddy who skipped lunch to buy for her. I think I will secure it with a chopsticks la :)

Sigh, hubby is still hubby! But ……… I am glad that he has ‘tried his very best’ (in his terms) in getting an appropriate ‘lantern’ for his little girl at least :) That lantern will surely be very meaningful to Angel (and very memorable to me) because it’s the first lantern given by her Daddy. I think Hubby also first time buying these kind of stuffs la, he is still a baby, see??? :P :P Most importantly, we can spend this meaningful festival as a family of 3 together and also, with a 'less then expected’ lantern to brighten up our Mid-Autumn night :) :) Happy Mid-Autumn everyone!!!!

P/s: Thank you Joanne, for letting me used the picture of your Sarah's lantern over here ya. Hope you don't mind about the extra 'blink blink' I've added :) Thanks a lot Joanne!! *hugs* :)

Oh Barney!!

This is another FP toy which I bought during my last shopping spree. I’ve decided to take this out to distract Angel’s attention from those blocks for a change :) :) I seldom bought soft toys for Angel because she has a sensitive nose against dust and also, she is afraid of the soft wiggly toys too. But this one is an exceptional since she loves watching Barney so much these days! When I handed her the Barney today, she was so happy and keep hugging and kissing her Barney! This is the 2nd time which I saw her actually hugging and kissing a soft toy which normally she would just scream and crying begging me to take that away from her. (What is so scary about a soft toy anyway?) She used to kiss and hug her Baby Tad too (a Leap Frog Hug and Learn toy) but I think she has gone bored with it. Now watching her hugging her new found beloved toy and smiling happily, I think every penny spend is really worth it!! (But to be frankly, I really do not understand how come kids all over the world were so in love with this ‘purple looking creature’ who has a funny voice, can you? I too just come to know that actually, Barney was a Tyranosaurus Rex!!)

So she has not been stacking her blocks tonight but busy pressing the buttons on the Barney’s tummy now. So today, I am hearing this “I love you, you love me, we are happy family ~~~~” Barney’s song from her cuddly Barney for like 50 times minimum already. Sigh …… I should have bought her the one which doesn’t sing actually …… but I think the batteries hubby just replaced in the Barney’s tummy are marked Energiz*r “MAX”? I wonder how long does it take for those batteries to go flat now ………

I Love My Blocks!

Have you ever played a game that makes you shiver and cold sweats starts rolling down your forehead? Neh ….. stacking blocks does not have so much ‘fun’ and ‘excitement’ unfortunately but it does happen to me when I see these ‘beautiful’ blocks! Since I have got this set of block for Angel from my shopping spree, she has been so interested in stacking her blocks day and night (this is her first set of wooden blocks). Nope …… mommy doesn’t finally have a good rest while my Angel is fully occupied with something that she loves to do at the end ..... if that is what's in your mind right now :) :) Instead, she wants me to stack those blocks together with her or watched her stacking them one by one. She would cry if she found that my eyes is not looking at her or not clapping my hands whenever she’d successfully stack another block on top!!! Sometimes she would pushed the blocks and make it fall apart and want mommy to pick them up for her, sometimes she would kick them like a football everywhere in the house and wants mummy to reach out for the blocks, sometimes she would knock the blocks together making this noisy sounds and wants mommy to give her a round of applause for the music that she has created. If hubby is around, she would want both of us to clap with her for the 'high tower' she'd made and she will be smiling like an angel! She refused me to leave her sight when she is playing, she refused me to put her blocks away at anytime and she would go and find her blocks first thing in the morning when she enters the living room!!! Every minutes and every moment in a day, it’s her blocks that she wants and nothing else!! If she couldn’t get her blocks or didn’t see mommy watching and sitting with her while she plays, another crying episode (or when her tactic doesn’t work, she will be using the soft tactic which is kissing mommy on the cheek, pulling my hand gently while looking me in the eyes with this looks where you get to see in the movie “The Shrek” where the cat (Puss in Boots) put on these pitiful big round eyes staring at you, pleading for you …. ) until I give in. Oh my …….

So after 1 week of never ending blocks stacking and blocks watching I think I began to have the shivers when I see those blocks!! Cold sweats started rolling down my forehead when I see my Angel smiling and coming my way trying to pull my hands wanted me to sit with her for another session of block stacking ……. Oh my, tell me this was fun!!! Maybe for a toddler, this activity will be fun and entertaining but for a mommy who has pass this block stacking age centuries ago and having so much undone house chores …….. but instead, I have sit down with her and do this everyday and every minute of it, it really was a torturing process!! Maybe I was a little exaggerating the situations here but believe me, it was close enough. I must say that I do enjoy and treasure every moment that I spend with my little Angel and watching her playing so happily (actually she manages to stack 12-13 blocks now, not bad huh?), but I certainly do not enjoying myself with these piles of blocks!! Urrrgghhh .......

Food for my Baby Boy

So after much complains from my elder baby boy (he is not that 'baby' anymore actually ......) that only Angel gets all the special treats from mommy, I think it’s not good for playing favourite for my little Angel only, isn’t it? I must admit that I do not enjoy cooking that much and let alone having any talent. Usually before making my babies meal (yup, babies that is!), I really have to crack my head opened and struggle really hard to think of what to cook coz basically, I don’t have much theoretical part about the variety of foods that we can make especially Chinese style cooking. I always full of admiration for those mommies who can really cook and would make so much variety just at a snap of a finger :) They are really creative, dedicated and enjoy cooking so much and I wonder do they even have a menu on the table everyday for their family members to order because they seems to know every single dish in the restaurant, you name it! (The husband must be thrill having such a nice wife at home and the kids must be very happy for having so much nice meal from mommy). For me, I always stares at the bunch of vege and goes blank in my head!!! Hhmmmm …. I wonder why …… ???

Enough of me always grumble so much before cooking ;P and so …… since my elder boy is having all his teeth fully grown by now (Thank God! I can't manage 2 teething babies at the same time!!) and 'not necessarily' to eat porridge any longer, I have decided to make my baby boy a special meal ……. Homemade Roasted Chicken - despite all the dramas after the Baked Fish with Mashed Potatoes incident which I cooked for Angel yesterday :P. I do hope the dish is not too heaty for my baby boy though and with the hope that he could accept his new food well enough while Angel also could have a tiny share on the meal too.

I got this recipe from a very well cook Wokking Mom from here and she is a fabulous cook and an amazing mother too, and so does other moms who cook for their family. To accomplish the dish, I am adding in the usual vege Angel used to take such as carrots and potatoes. So after all the marinade is done and placing the chicken in the oven for 2 hours, I made some vegetable and fruit salad to go with it (good for my baby boy’s poo), a dipping sauce as well as some vege meatball soup (not in the picture) so that my boy will not get choked on dry roasted food. Well, Although the dish is not perfect with some burn on top of the chicken (oppssy ...) but everything seems to be done finally after a busy x 1000 day at home. By now, the kitchen sure was in a mess!! (Ohhh … I hate this part!!) A lot of cleaning up should be done I guess!!

Well ….. I think I should be off the computer for now after posting all up and started to do some cleaning up ...... while waiting for my baby boy to get back from his office lo …. Bye for now :)

P/S: Don't worry, I will just give Angel a taste of some chicken breast with some cereals which she absolutely loves instead of the entire meal :)

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Baked Fish ….. and not?

This is really an embarrassing story …… Remember I said that I want to try Baked Fish with Mashed potatoes for Angel lunch here? I did ……. But I guess not 100% done!! Well ….. I did get some Cod and I did baked the fish filet as planned, with some fresh rosemary + some garlic and side with some potatoes and carrots …… and it was in the oven (as you can see from the picture) for 20 minutes, etc all as planned, but when I took the fish out, oh my, it’s not even half cooked yet and Angel was tailing behind me crying for her ‘Muum muum’ (which I wasn’t planned at all!) Yeah …. I panicked!! My baby is hungry, crying and pulling my pants and with the fish not even half done in the oven for 20 minutes already, who knows how long more it will take so with a crying baby in the kitchen, finally I’ve decided to place the whole thing into the steamer!!! That’s it …… no more baking!!! Obviously my oven is not meant to do express meal, sigh! So there goes the fish (sitting on the ‘baking’ foil LoL) into the steamer for around 15 minutes, after it was finally done (phew!), I have a taste on the fish. Hhhmmm …… I do not know whether is the Cod fish or the seasoning doesn’t matched, the entire dish just taste so bland and also taste a bit ‘weird’ to my taste to be franckly, LoL Maybe a little bit of butter is what’s lacking in the entire dish but too bad my Angel couldn’t take any milk based product due to her intolerance against lactose. Sigh ……

Angel is still crying for her “muum muum” (while hold on to a biscuit :P) so I just quickly mashed everything up, mashed the fish, mashed the carrots and mashed the potatoes and also topped with some lettuce, Angel’s lunch for today is done finally! While I am still worried whether she would like her first “Western Cuisine” from mommy, she seems to attracted to the look of her meal because it is not the normal pale looks of her porridge. On her first taste, she peeked into her feeding bowl to have a good look on her new food and wanted a second attempt then another peek into her bowl ….. Ok …. Ok …. She is doing fine, and third and fourth feeding ……. And she actually finished the whole meal and seems to want for somemore. Well, I am happy that she actually like the taste despite I personally do not think they taste nice for an adult’s taste buds but I guess that’s what different between babies and grown ups. For babies, they wanted a new taste and wouldn’t mind to explore more on the food if they see the food was nicely presented with all different colours. No wonders even a sliced of bread or a simple hard boiled egg, some really expert mommies really put in so much effort in making them look cute and nice to eat in those fancy Winnie the pooh shapes or Hello Kitty Shapes, etc …….. even they tasted the same in the end. I have seen some even decorated their kids rice into something we normally don’t see even in a restaurant. I think I’ve learn some useful lesson today, 1st Mommy has to be more innovative in toddlers food, 2nd The looks might win some points back if the taste is not perfect and vice versa :) :) 3rd and the most important lesson, never to try new recipes when your baby is hungry! LOL

Studio Photo Trial Session

Oh ….. my heart has been itching for this for ages and this is something that I wanted to do with Angel long x 1000 time ago. However, situation doesn’t permit us any earlier coz first of all, Angel doesn’t dare to be alone and always wants to cling to me when she is in a strange place and secondly, she is so cranky all the time and me and hubby find it impossible to handle her in a studio and lastly, she hates having her pictures taken and would turn away from the camera as she sees one!!! So after much anticipation, we coincidentally came across a photo studio who also does baby photos yesterday. I quickly ‘drag’ hubby (who is not so knee about the whole idea since the beginning) to have a trial session for Angel, no colourful costume or fancy stuffs etc, just a normal photo session to try out.

At first when the photographer asked me to place her in the chair, he asked politely, “Can she sit without support?” So I put Angel standing in the platform and said, “ She can walk!” and the photographer give me a ‘Wah’ …… looks LOL It is so funny. Maybe Angel still looks like a baby to a lot of people. I always get people in the mall coming up to me asking me how many months Angel is and when I told them she is almost 1 years ½, they just give me the unbelievable looks! Some even find it surprised to see her running in the mall! I head some of them even pointing to her and tell their friend, “Wah …. The bb so small can walk already?” Apparently they thought that she is still a baby below 1 :)

So after I put her down, she does make some fuss but when the photographer’s assistance handle her some balls, she has forgotten all about mommy and daddy and start playing with the colourful balls. @`@ She doesn’t smile much and not looking at the camera too. When the photographer’s assistance trying to place a doll beside her for the scene (oh no ….. not that!!), she cries out loud (yup, she is afraid of most soft toys.) so they quickly took it away. They tried to place a hat and a flower band on her head and oh boy, she keeps crying and pulling the thing off! (I was so worried that she will cry non stop!) Then they try to let her hold on to some dried flowers for the effect and again, she cries out loud and threw the flowers in the floor (bad girl! Really bad girl!!!). Finally, nothing else can be done so the photographer asked the assistant to blow some bubbles just for the photo ‘effect’ and guess what, she scream out loud and actually trying to ran away and fall down from the chair!!! She must be really frightening despite I do play blowing bubbles with her at home and she hates them!!) The assistance does try to make her smile but I think her trick does not work at all. Even myself doesn’t think she looks funny :P :P (I think she is not really experience in handling with kids). So finally, I tell hubby it’s time for him to start making funny acts because obviously, Angel is not smiling at all. It works!! She is smiling and looking at Daddy while hubby and me are shouting and calling her name like crazy people at the back of the photographer. Everybody is gathering around the photo session and praised that she is so cute and star asking me her name and how old is she, etc coz Angel is following whatever hubby does, LoL ….. Obviously they were not here when she just started!! Anyhow, Hubby and Angel look so funny and happy!! Finally, the pictures turn out to be more then fine and the photographer actually praised my girl for being so ‘lively’ at the scene and so does the other ‘spectators’ who go to touch her and pinch her when we were not ‘aware’. She is offering her playing balls to everyone who came near her too and starts playing with them, she is in a good mood that morning :)

So at the end, we got few better shoots out of the bunch and frame that up as a table top. I told hubby I wish to get a proper studio photo session for Angel and hubby actually do not object this time as he was so concentrate in admiring those pictures of her little Angel from the computer screen :) :) (For those mommies who’s hubby is not so sure about the idea of a photo sessions for you bb while the mummy must have one! This tricks should do the wonders! :P :P ) Hubby is so nice (and also too excited maybe :P) to even offer to get the Platinum Package for Angel (which cost almost like an adult wedding package, gosh .... these photo studios really know how to sqeeze $$ out of mommies and daddies!) which I told hubby that is not necessarily. I just want a normal package so that I could keep for remembrance, nothing fancy and nothing huge, as I will have a headache looking for places to store them later. So finally we booked her a normal package with an album. This is definitely an unforgettable experience for all of us and I am glad that I could have my Angel’s picture taken by a professional finally :) Hurray!!!!

Double Lucky Win!

The story begins from Angel’s grandma asking for a photo of Angel to put it in our family tree last month. Lazy me went to a photo shop nearby our house to developed them and when I got the pictures, I nearly fainted! Apparently the shop is using low quality paper and printing colours so the photos turn out to be really bad. They look almost like all the pictures were taken in a mist! So I went to another so call ‘branded’ photo shop to have them printed again and wondering how come that shop can survive their business until today. Ok …. So now I have my new nice print but what I am going to do with the previous one? Heard from some mommies that we are not allow to throw away our photos (you can call me superstitious :P :P) since I do not want to keep those lousy printed photos, I was thinking why not I ‘sent’ them away instead? Hhhmmm … good idea isn’t it? So I flip through some of the baby magazines, got their address, attached Angel’s ‘low quality’ photos, sealed those envelopes and sent them out the very next day so that I don’t have to look at those lousy prints. Wa laaaa …… problem solved!

One month later, I received 2 letters in my mail box and when I opened them ….. Gosh!!!!! Angel’s photos won in the contest!! Her so call ‘low quality’ photos were feature inside this month’s (September issue) MomBaby (妈妈宝宝) and also Mami Baby (妈咪贝B). One of her photo is among the 6 winning pictures (2nd roll in the middle .... Yup!! That's her!!) and the other one even win her the 1st prize!!! This is the very first time that I sent her photos for such contests and she has not only win 1 but 2 prizes! Tell me if that wasn’t lucky or what!!! I must say that they do published her photos really quick coz I heard from some mommies that normally we need to wait for months for the photos to be selected. I must say that I am thrill and I am really proud of my little Angel! (Not bad hor ........ able to ‘utilise’ the ‘unwanted’ pictures into good use. LOL) Oh ya ..... and also a big thank you to that photo shop too, I guess he did that purposely :P :P

妈妈宝宝 - September 2008 ..............................................妈咪贝B - September 2008

1+1 = 2 Coconut Trees

Angel’s hair is getting longer now and I can start ‘planting’ the 2 Coconut Trees instead of the lonely 1 Coconut Tree like before :) :) It is so much fun seeing my little girl jumping and running around with that funny hair of hers ……. It’s so good to be young coz you will look great in any hairstyle basically. If I were to tie ‘this’ hair when I go out, I think someone might get a heart attack along the street although it’s not a crime for ‘expressing’ yourself and ‘decorating’ your own hair as you like nowadays, isn’t it? No la …. I am not going to do that for sure, don’t worry :P :P After I am done with the hair, I let Angel have a look at her new hairstyle that mommy has just tied for her and I think she doesn’t recognised herself in the mirror and actually smiling to herself thinking that another ‘beebee’ (that’s how she address another baby) is standing in front of her :) Of course the coconut tree has a short life as usual before she pulls them down but I am not going to give up that easily. I hope someday I’ll be able to bring her out shopping with those cute Coconut Trees so that I won’t get another compliment of “Wah ….. Handsome Boy oh” despite she is already wearing as pink as a baby girl could @~@

Angel’s Shopping Spree 310808

Oh boy, what a weekend!! I have done so much (way too much) shopping for my Angel last weekend which means mommy and daddy are officially broke!!! Can you imagine blisters were formed on both me and hubby’s hand today due to the over loaded shopping bags which we carried (apart from those in the trolley)? But I must say that “we” are having a great weekend, isn’t it Dear? (Hhmmm ….. how come hubby didn’t answer me??). Hubby seems to be overly exhausted after the shopping marathon and sleep very early yesterday, poor hubby. What do I get?? Well ….. I managed to get 5 Fishe* Price Toys for Angel. Anyhow, this is my favourite - Fish*r Price Learning Home. (Unfortunately the Learning Table is out of stocks, sigh!) I have been longing to get one of this FP range for Angel since she was born and when I saw it was on promotion for RM 399.90 plus a free toy, hubby happily grabs it.

I also got her some decent quality wooden Stacking Blocks (one of them which produce sound inside the block) and a bag of Play House Bubble Balls which I am planning to put into my her play tent which I got from the Huggies fair last month. Besides that, I am also manage to get 3 sets of very useful Brain* Baby Flash cards for Angel for around RM100++. I think it was time to start flashing those cards for my Angel and learn some new words. Most mummies have long started their little one with those cards but guess I am a lazy mom :) I hope she will pay attention to these cards as they are more colourful and with bigger pictures and wordings compare to her previous one.

Besides that, I also manage to got her a baby chair for her to sit on while watching her DVDs, also got some educational DVDs and her Barney VCDs, some additional hard cover books and loads of new shirts and bodysuit (I think at least 20 sets/pairs which I’ve totally lost count.) I got some of baby Gap and baby Carter’s Bodysuit for her for less then RM50 per piece which I think it’s worth it coz they looks so comfy. And I also got Angel’s first pair of Jeans for RM85 and another pair of Carter’s pink jeans for RM89.90 and also a baby Elle Blouse 20% off for RM69.90 ….. Quite a bargain and I think they will be very comfortable to wear too. I even manage to find a Thomas and Friend T-shirt for her, that’s her favourite cartoon character apart from Barney. Here are a few of Angel’s new clothes I bought during the weekend ….. (hhhmmm, wonder why I always went for the Red and White, didn’t realise it when I do the shopping, must keep that in mind.)

More Avent bottles and also a Lincon bottle, nipples, sippy cups and some feeding utensils, I can’t really remembered what else I have bought coz when we were home, the house was actually so loaded like a messy warehouse and I have just finished dumping all of them into the closet ….. (Oppsss …. Sorry, corrections!) I have just finished “unpacked” all of them nicely in the closet and I am so so tired now. I guess no more shopping for Angel’s stuff for a while from now on and Mommy and Daddy also need to have a good rest :) But I guess when you've become a mom like me, you'll never get tired of shoping for your little one's stuffs for long. Soon, your feet will be marching straight into the babies' deparment again automatically, won't you??