Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Very Sick!

I've been sick since Christmas Eve, in fact I was not feeling well since BB Rae's birthday since I'd stayed up through the night to complete her birthday.

On Christmas Eve morning, I rushed to Phoon Huat to get the baking stuff for the Christmas Oreo cheesecake and caught a cold there due to the blasting aircon.

My body temperature spike to 38.8'c on Friday and developed terrible sored throat.
I refused to go to doctor since I know I'd never take the antibiotic, so I endured the terrible body ache and sore throat till now.

My throat is still inflamed but is better then what it was 2 days ago and still have fever around 38'c.
I hope to get well by tomorrow to receive the new year!

It is my worst nightmare to fall ill with no help and still have to look after bb, do housework, cooks and clean etc.......
I get very depressed whenever I am ill........

Fear of a SAHM (with no help) is to fall sick!


Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Merry Christmas 2013

Bb Rae loves cake, just like mommy.
To make her a happy girl this Christmas, I've made her a Oreo cheesecake.





Sunday, December 22, 2013

Home Bake Birthday Cake

This is my 1st attempt in making a cake with frosting and decor.
It is a chocolate cake with chocolate icing and fresh strawberry filling.












Saturday, December 21, 2013

My Precious Bb Turns 2 Today!

Today, 21 December 2013, marks another milestone for my bb and me.
Yes, she turns 2 years old today and am a mum for 2 years and still counting on .........

I've set the timeline to give her strict home cooked food till she turns 2 and from now onwards, I'll be slightly lax in introducing outside hawker/ restaurant food.
So it means, I'd not need to cook porridge early in the morning for her lwhen we are going out for  lunch or dinner.

She has almost all her teeth in place except for the last 4 molars, so she now has powerful jaw to chew on almost anything.

To celebrate her 2nd birthday, I've baked a chocolate strawberry cake her.
This cake took me almost whole of last night to complete as it's my first time baking a 2 layered cake with frosting and decor.
I've baked the cake yesterday afternoon while bb was having her afternoon nap and only make the icing, frosting and decor at 11pm after putting her to bed.

I gotta complete the tedious baking and frosting by this morning as we need be in school for bb's annual Parent Teacher Conference and follow by lunch for our small family celebration at a Japanese restaurant.

I've done 90% of the cake decor and left with the last bit of decor to be assembled at my mum's place later.
Yah, we are celebrating her birthday at my mum's place tonight.

I can only take the cake pic when I put up everything together at my mum's place.

My darling girl, Happy Birthday!
Mommy loves you always!


Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Banana Blueberry Muffins

We've some over ripen banana and some blueberries so I've decided to use them for baking.

Banana blueberry muffins recipe
Ingredients: 
Dry
250 g all purpose flour 
1 tsp baking powder 
1 tsp baking soda
 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt

Wet
60 g unsalted butter (melted, at room temperature n mix into the wet ingredient but I prefer using cold butter doing rubbing in method to the flour
 60 g fresh milk 
2 eggs (lightly beaten) – I used medium 60g eggs 
2 tsp vanilla essence 
80 g  sugar 
 3 big over-ripe bananas (mashed) – about 80g each
I mashed 2 and lightly mashed 1 to be used as fillings insert in the middle of the mixture of the muffin cup
80g blueberry (leave some to sprinkle on top)

Method
1 Mix dry ingredient - flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg powder and salt in a bowl
Add in cold butter using rubbing in method.
2 marshes 2 banana till liquid like and likely mash the last one and leave aside.
3 Mix wet ingredient - egg, vanilla essence, milk and sugar then add in the marshy banana
4 preheat oven to 200'c and grease the muffin tray 
5 pour dry ingredient slowly to wet ingredient scope by scope and mix, then add in blueberry
Note: lightly mix and limit the mixing stroke to achieve fluffy muffin texture
The batter must be "spoonable" and not too wet.
6 Scope into the muffin cups till 90% full and sprinkle some blueberry on top
7 Bake in 200'c oven for 5 mins then turn to 180'c for about 15 mins or golden brown

Yield 12 muffins



Thursday, December 12, 2013

My love still gives me flower

Yes, RY gave me 2 dozens of pink roses for my birthday!
I'm very happy that he still gives me flower.

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Happy Birthday 2013

Today is my 2nd birthday I celebrated with my bb Rae!
RY took a day off and we went to view a new school in the morning after sending bb to school (we are contemplating to switch her to another school as I'm not happy with the food menu in her current school which consist of hotdog, crab stick and fishball etc).

We fetched bb from school at about 12 noon after her lunch in school and went to Itacho for sushi/ sashimi lunch.
Bb only had steam egg since raw fish is a big No No for her.

After lunch, we proceeded to Swensen for ice cream.

We rushed home by 3pm for bb to take her afternoon nap.
While she napped, I started to prepare dinner.
Yep, just like Cinderella, I transformed from a happy n glam mommy (dolled up in dress) to a typical auntie doing the washing, cutting, cooking and cleaning etc........

This is my cheeky girl who will turn 2 years old in a weeks time!

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Pandan Chiffon Cake

I've always wanted to bake chiffon cake but was told how tricky and difficult it can be as any mistake made during the preparation or baking processs, the whole cake will be a disaster.

With my new KA mixer, I feel that it's time for me to venture into "Chiffon" baking.

I'm not too receptive in using artificial flavoring so I bought a bunch of fresh pandan leaves to extract the juice with the help of my muscle man - my hubby, RY, since I've don't have the juicer equipment so I need him to do manual squeezing using the bare hand.

Pandan Chiffon Recipe

Pandan Juice Extraction
A bunch of pandan leaves (about 20 to 30 leaves)
Trim away the tip and discard old and dried leaves
Wash and soak leaves till water is clear
Blend with minimum water
Squeeze the juice out
Leave in fridge for over night to get the dark green substance settles.
Use 25g of Pandan juice extracts

Coconut milk 70g (preferably fresh but pasteurized packet from the cold refrigerator section in supermarket is ok)

Mix coconut milk and pandan juice to get 95g total volume of mixture and set aside at room temp

Egg White
180 g egg whites (I used 5 egg whites as my eggs are smaller)
½ tsp cream of tartar
50 g sugar

Egg Yolk
60 g egg yolks (I used4 yolks)
50 g sugar
60 g vegetable oil
¼ tsp salt
100 g cake flour, sifted with baking powder 
1 tsp baking powder

Method (preheat oven 180'c and ensure the lowest rack in the oven is used for the baking, wash and dry a 21cm chiffon tin - ungreased and clean dry tin)

Egg Yolk
1 Mix yolk and sugar in mixer and whip till pale yellow, thick & creamy and ribbon like
2 Add in green coconut mixture mix till evenly incorporated 
3 Add in oil and mix till evenly incorporated
Set aside mixture

Egg White
1 beat egg white till foam like using mixer
2 add in cream of tar tar
3 add in sugar in 3 portion to beat till stiff peak

Cake mixture 
1 add in cake flour sifted with baking powder into the egg yolk mixture and mix till well incorporated with no traces of flour
2 fold in egg white into the egg yolk mixture in 3 batches
3 lift up bowl and hit few times to release air bubbles
4 gradually pour the mixture into the chiffon in
5 use a chopstick to run around the edge of the tin to release more air bubbles
6 even out the surface

Baking
1 place chiffon tin I the oven bake for 15 mins
2 use a baking tray cover the top part of the oven to prevent upper heat to brown the cake surface fast and bake for 22 mins
3 remove the cover and continue to bake for another 10 mins
4 remove from oven and invert the whole chiffon ton upside down to cool the whole tin (cake inside the tin) for min 1 hour
5 when cake is completely cook, run a sharp knife around the tin edge to remove the cake



Sunday, December 1, 2013

Fresh Apricot Muffins

Last week we bought a box of fresh apricot for my baking use.
I like the unique scent of the fruits and if fully ripen, the fruit will be really sweet.
I've left the fruit in the room temperature for 4 days hoping that it will be ripen.
This afternoon I used it to bake a tray of apricot muffins.
But I was disappointed that the fruit was really sour eventhough it had turned soft.
I've to use more sugar in this recipe which I'd normally not.
I'm glad that the muffins turn out really good, not too sweet or sour.

Recipe

Muffins

Ingredient A
Plain flour 250g
Baking powder 1tsp
Baking soda 1tsp
Salt 1/4 tsp
Cinnamon powder 1/4 tsp
Nutmeg powder 1/4 tsp
Cold butter 80g (can be melted n add to Ingredient B)

Ingredient B
Egg 2 (60g each)
Milk 60ml
Sugar 120g (if the fruit is sweet, use 90g)
Vanilla essence 1tsp
Fresh apricot 250g and remove skin and stone to purée which yield 160g (coarsly blend to have some bits n pieces)

Method (preheat oven 210'c and line 12 muffin cups in tray7
1 mix ingredient A and B separately in different bowl
2 add in cold butter in A using rubbing in method
3 mix B into A gradually with minimum stroke, fold till no traces of flour till mixture is lumpy and spoonable but not dry
4 scope into muffin cups till 90% 
5 bake 1st 5min at 210'c and next 15 min at 190'c

Yield 12 muffins



Banana Orange Muffins

I'm exploring diff flavor of muffins and this time I mic orange with banana and the taste is fantastic!

I've used the banana muffins recipe done previously and substitute 30ml juice and reduce milk to 30ml.
I also use 2 orange zest.



Friday, November 29, 2013

Kitchen Aid

This is my new Kitchen Aid mixer which I hand carried back from Mayer warehouse sales.
The sales told me the weight is about 5kg, so I thought I should be able to manage taking it via bus service.
After much toil and sweat, I mananged to bring it back via bus service as I'm very thrifty and didn't  want take taxi.
The equipment was really heavy and I didn't think it weighed just 5kg.
When I got home, I checked the specification and realised that the actual weight with box packaging was about 12kg!
No wonder I was so drained out and exhausted when I got home!



Banana walnut cake


I just got a Kitchen Aid mixer KSM150 yesterday and today I used it to whip up this simple banana walnut cake.


RECIPE FOR BANANA WALNUT CAKE

Baking tin: 1 unit of 8" x 3.5" x 3" (height)

Ingredients:
60g unsalted butter
80g castor sugar
1 egg (medium) – at room temperature, lightly beaten
130g plain flour (can use cake flour)
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
80g plain yogurt 
2 or 3 fully ripen bananas (120g)
30g walnuts

Preparation:

  1. Cut butter into 7-8mm thickness and leave it at room temperature until it turns soft (it is ready to be used if you can press it lightly with your finger tips). Or grate the frozen butter into the mixer bowl and let it soften while preparing other ingredient.
  2. Combine flour, baking soda and baking powder in a mixing bowl and sieve twice.
  3. Put walnuts on a baking tray and roast them in a preheat oven at 120°c for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let it cool down completely before breaking up into smaller pieces.
  4. Lightly grease the baking tin and line with grease-proof paper.
  5. Preheat oven to 180°C (at least 15 minutes)

Methods:

  1. Cream butter, sugar with an electric mixer and beat till mixture is well combine and look creamy.
  2. Add in vanilla essence. Make sure it is well combined in mixer.
  3. Add in lightly beaten egg little by little, beat until creamy using mixer.
  4. Add in salt and mix well in mixer, then remove from mixer to check texture is creamy before commencing step 5 onwards.
  5. Mash bananas with a fork. Add into the mixture and mix well using a spatula.
  6. Add in 1/3 flour mixture through a sieve and mix well by folding in gradually.
  7. Add in yogurt and mix well.
  8. Add in the remaining flour mixture through a sieve. Use a spatula to fold into the mixture until no traces of flour. Do not over-stir the batter!
  9. Add in chopped walnut and mix well. But leave some to sprinkle.
  10. Pour the mixture into the greased lined baking tin. Shake it lightly to distribute the cake mixture evenly.
  11. Bake in a pre-heat oven at 180°C for 50 minutes or until golden brown and fully cooked. If a toothpick comes out clean, it is done.
  12. Remove it from the oven and leave the cake in the tin to cool on the wire rack for another 5 minutes. Best to serve it warm.

Note:

  1. If the cake turns brown before end of the cooking time, cover it loosely with a piece of aluminum foil.



Thursday, November 21, 2013

Banana Walnut Muffins

This morning I baked this banana walnut muffins.
The recipe is same as the previous banana muffins except that I added 100g of walnuts which I've pre-roasted at 180'c for 12mins.


Sunday, November 17, 2013

Blueberry Muffins with Crumb Topping

RY bought a box of blueberry and I used it to bake some blueberry muffins but to add a twist to it, I've added crump topping.

Recipe

Muffins

Ingredient A
Plain flour 220g
Baking powder 1tsp
Baking soda 1tsp
Salt 1/2 tsp
Cold butter 80g

Ingredient B
Egg 1
Milk 100ml
Sugar 80g
Vanilla essence 1tsp

Blueberry 120g (leave some to sprinkle)
Raisin a handful (optional)

Method
1 mix ingredient A and B separately in different bowl
2 add in cold butter in A using rubbing in method
3 mix B into A gradually with minimum stroke, then fold in blueberry and raisin till mixture is lumpy and thick which is spoonable
4 scope into muffin cups till 90% full then coat the crumb topping and sprinkle the blueberry 

Yield 10 muffins

Crumb Topping Ingredient 
1 tsp flour
2 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp butter
1/4 cinnamon powder
1/4 nutmeg powder
Mix the above and leave aside (if want more crump topping, can increase the ingredient portion)

Update : to make 18 muffins
Dry ingredient 
Plain flour 300g
Baking soda 1 tsp
Baking powder 1 & 1/3 tsp
Salt 1/4 tsp
Blueberry 180g (leave some to sprinkle)

Wet ingredient 
Butter 110g
Eggs 2
Milk 140ml
Sugar 110g
Vanilla extracts 2 tsp

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Cranberry Cheese Muffin

This morning I saw a packet of cranberry sitting inside the cabinet with the expiry date Jan 2014.
I think if I don't do something about it, I'll forget about it and risk binning it.
So I decided to make cranberry cheese muffins.

I've created thus recipe base on what is available in my fridge.

Recipe
Ingredient A
Self raising flour 220g, salt a pinch, baking powder 1/2 tsp, baking soda 1/2 tsp, cranberry 50g n raisin 30g, cheese slices cut into quarters (I used Kraft, but can use cream cheese as desired)

Ingredient B
Sugar 90g (if prefer sweeter can add more), unsalted butter 80g, egg 1, vanilla essence 1 tsp, milk 120ml

Method 
1 Mix ingredient A & B separately in 2 separate bowl (leave cheese aside as it's to be used as fillings inserts in between the scooping of batter into the muffin cups)
2 Mix B gradually into A till mixture is thick and lumpy 
3 Scoope into muffin cup and put in quarter of cheese in the middle
4 Bake 1st 5 min 220'c and then 15 min 190'c

I yield 9 muffins.

Monday, November 11, 2013

Serious Chocolate Muffins


I've baked these chocolate muffins this afternoon and it's really yummy!
I've named thus recipe Serious Chocolate Muffin.
I'm very happy because this recipe is my own creation since I can't find any for me to follow exactly.

RecIpe

Ingredient A 


Self raising flour 250g, baking powder 1 tsp, baking soda 1/2 tsp, salt 1/4 tsp, cocoa powder 70g, Choco chips 100g and a handful of raisin (optional but I like bit of diff texture n taste n not just coco taste)

Cold unsalted butter 100g

Ingredient B 

Egg 2, sugar 100g, vanilla essence 1 tsp, chocolate milk 125ml, milk 100ml (I added 80ml first and the bal I add in when I feel the texture too dry, as it depends how big your eggs are) 

Total milk added was 225ml

Note can add in more sugar if want sweeter or not using chocolate milk. I use Choco milk cos I want finish it n not let BB Rae drink since I find it too sweet.

Method (preheat oven 220'c and grease baking tin and line the muffin cups)

1 Mix all dry ingredient in big bowl, then add in cold butter via rubbing in method.

2 Add in raisin and Choco chips

3 in another bowl, mix all ingredient B 

4 Gradually fold in B into A bit by bit till mixture is lumpy and thick but not dry (must be spoonable and not pourable)

5 scope into muffin cup 90% full and sprinkle some Choco chips

I bake first 5 mins 220'c and subsequent 15 mind 190'c.


I yield 14 muffins.

Update: to make 18 muffins
Dry ingredient
Plain flour 300g
Baking soda 1+1/3 tsp
Baking powder 1 tsp
Salt 1/4 tsp
Cocoa powder 80g
Raisin a handful
Choco chips 110g (leave some to sprinkle)

Wet ingredient
Butter 120g
Eggs 3
Sugar 110g
Choco Milk 250g
Vanilla extracts 2 tsp

Sunday, November 10, 2013

Pancake recipe

This morning I prepared pancake for breakfast.

Pancake recipe:
Ingredient 
150g self raising flour (can use plain flour but need more baking powder)
1 tsp baking powder (if use plain flour then need 2 tsp)
1 tsp white sugar (if want it sweeter can add 1 tbsp)
A pinch of salt 
30g cold butter (can be melted as oil and added into the mixture but I prefer cold butter rubbing in method)
1 egg beaten
Half tsp of vanilla essence
200ml milk

Method
1 Mix all dry ingredients into a bowl
2 Add in butter using rubbing in method
3 make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and pour in egg, vanilla essence and mix, then slowly mix in milk portion by portion
4 Heat up the pan and put bits of oil (I use Happycall non stick pan so doesn't need much oil) and place a round shape mould in it, then scope a tbsp of the bater mixture into it.  Remove the mould once the round shape is formed.
When bubbles form on the top side of the bater, turn to the other side
Note: I yield 20 small round pancake and deep freeze extras




Saturday, November 9, 2013

Play Date

Last Wed, Rae's friends came over for a play date and I've prepared some snacks.
I've prepared egg mayo sandwich, mushroom cheese sandwich and banana muffins.

Banana muffins recipe
Ingredients: 
250 g self raising flour 
1 tsp baking powder 
1/2 tsp baking soda
 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
Pinch of salt
60 g unsalted butter (melted, at room temperature n mix into the wet ingredient but I prefer using cold butter doing rubbing in method)
 60 g fresh milk 
2 eggs (lightly beaten) – I used large eggs 
2 tsp vanilla essence 
80 g  sugar 
 5 medium over-ripe bananas (mashed) – about 6 inches long - 
I mashed 4 and lightly mashed 1 to be used as fillings insert in the middle of the mixture of the muffin cup

Method
1 Mix dry ingredient - flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg powder and salt in a bowl
Add in cold butter using rubbing in method.
2 marshes 4 banana till liquid like and likely mash the last one and leave aside.
3 Mix wet ingredient - egg, vanilla essence, milk and sugar then add in the marshy banana
4 preheat oven to 220'c and grease the muffin tray.
5 pour dry ingredient slowly to wet ingredient scope by scope and mix 
Note: lightly mix and limit the mixing stroke to achieve fluffy muffin texture
The batter must be "spoonable" and not too wet.
6 Scope into the muffin cups 90% full
7 Bake in 220'c oven for 5 mins then turn to 190'c for about 15 mins or golden brown




Thursday, October 31, 2013

Orange Scones with Raisin


Today RY will not be back for dinner so I decided to do some baking since I don't have to cook dinner except porridge for baby.

I was wondering what to bake then suddenly recalled that RY bought a lot of oranges which are not sweet to my liking, so instead of throwing them away, I decided to test out this orange scones recipe.

I've done some modification in the recipe.

Ingredient:
All purpose flour 240g (but later I increased to 280g  as I've added too much milk)
Sugar 30g (I don't like too sweet but can add more if want it sweeter)
1 egg lightly beaten (keep little yolk to mix with milk as the egg wash on the scones surface)
Butter 40g
Baking Powder 1 tablespoon but later I added half teaspoon more due to flour increase
Raisin - a cup
1 orange, extract juice and also grate the skin for the zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
Milk moderation (recipe stated 125ml for 350g flour and for 240g flour should be about 85ml but I added 30ml already find it too watery)

Method:
Grease the baking tray to get ready.
Pre heat the oven 190'c
Mix flour, baking powder, salt, sugar in a bowl, then add in butter using the rubbing in method till it resemble breadcrumbs.
Add raisin and orange zest to the mixture.

In another bowl, beat egg and add into the mixture.
Add orange juice
Add milk in moderation (think I added about 30ml then I realised the mixture was to sticky so I added more flour and baking powder.
Mix all well and make the mixture into a dough.
Roll the dough into 2cm thick on a flat surface (flour dust the surface)
Use cookie cutter to cut the shape.
Use the egg yolk with bit of milk as egg wash on the scones surface

Baking:
Bake 190'c for about 16 to 18 mins or till golden brown.

Sunday, October 27, 2013

New hobby - Baking

I've a new found hobby which is possible to do now as bb goes to school, I've some free time to read up on the recipes, do baking essentials shopping etc.

I started with the basic Rock Buns to build up some confidence before I progress to more difficult recipes. 
Then I moved on to making scones and this morning I baked chocolate chips muffins.
I'm very happy with my baking adventures since all have been a success, both Bb Rae and RY like them very much.

Next in line will be cake baking which I hope would be a success too .........

Rock Buns
Recipe http://smallsmallbaker.blogspot.sg/2007/11/chocolate-chips-rock-buns.html


Scones
Recipe http://rasamalaysia.com/recipe-raisin-scones/2/
I replaced with Chocolate Chips.

Chocolate Chips Muffins (Recipes http://www.thelittleteochew.com/2013/05/chocolate-chip-muffins.html. But I replaced with butter and further reduced sugar)

Saturday, October 5, 2013

Baby Rae 1st Handicraft

Baby Rae came home on Thursday 3 October her 1st art work.
It's a doll made from recycled material.
I need to blog about this before it's gone into the bin.

Happy Children's Day 2013

Yesterday was Baby Rae's first Children's Day party in school.

All schools (primary and under) were closed on 4 October 2013 Friday so there was no school for her but her school had organized a party with fun filled activity like balloon sculpture, face painting, manicure! kids gym demonstration, positive focus talk for parents and kids, bouncing castle, ball pits etc.
I brought her to the party yesterday.

To let baby experienced the joy of giving, I packed small gift packs for the whole school to let her distribute to every kids in school on Thursday 3 October on pre Children's Day as not all will attend the party next day.
I sent her to school and informed the teacher to bring her around to do the distribution.
She came home after school a very happy baby!

The gift pack consists of healthy organic treats which has no artificial addictives, which I hope all the kids can consume and a parents would also feel safe to let their bb eat in peace.





See my happy baby at the school Children's Day party.
It never appeared to me that she'd be so ill 2 hours later .......




Misadventure

A mother gotta do what a mother has to do!

If u were in Takashimaya shopping mall yesterday afternoon, you'd ve seen a crazy women shouting for help and asking for trained medical profession to come forward to help her bb who was in fits and unconscious.
Her call was answered and her bb was attended by a trained nurse who happened to be shopping and the Taka staff rendered kind assistance.
They were sent to hospital via ambulance for treatment and her bb is well n playing now!

I wanna thank all who has assisted in anyway, help or just standing by watching the free live drama.

No, I'm not ashamed of what I've done!

The ambulance medics said baby was in fits and the KKH doc diagnosed that the fits was caused by fever, till now I am still wondering what have I missed or done wrong.

Baby attended her school Children's Day party yesterday morning, she was playing happily and eating fine, she fell asleep on our way to Taka and awoke when I was choosing shoes, she helped me picked the colour, then I made payment and asked her if she wants some milk, she said no and she said she wanted cake, so I proceeded to B2 to q up for the cake.
While in Q, I maintained conversation with her, then suddenly I saw her not responding and her eyes rolled backward as her whole body became stiff. 
I quickly jumped out from the q, carried her, held the stroller and went up to B1 while my mind ran thru all the possible solutions and at the same time kept calling her name.
I realised I am not moving fast enough with bb, stroller, diaper bag in the crowd and definitely can't make it to taxi stand fast to rush her to hospital, I was thinking of calling her dad to come but it'd take him sometime to arrive from work, I also think she needed medical help immediately, so I made the instant decision to seek immediate attention to get help, which started the big calling for "help" scene.

No word can described my fear, my fear of losing my precious baby..........

I'm glad I did the right thing as I know I can't handle the situation alone with a sick baby, stroller, diaper bag and a very worried mum who may not be in her right mind in a crowded shopping mall.

She still has fever and is sleeping now.
I hope she can recover ASAP!

Note to self, must attend First Aid course to learn some life saving skills.

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Midnight demand

Baby is recovering from the common cold and she has lots of phlegm in her throat, so she feels the discomfort and would drink more water.

Usually baby Rae would cry and whine in the middle of the night and I'd need to guess what she wants as I've no clue. I'd either pat her to sleep or make her milk. 
Each time I'd tell her she needs to tell mummy what she wants so that I can attend to her needs swiftly.

Early this morning, she woke up in the middle of her sleep and said "I want water"!
I gave her some water and she went back to sleep.

I was very happy as she is able to communicate her needs to me in the middle of the night which makes it easier for everybody.
I hope she'll continue to do so.

Actually, at 19 months old, baby Rae had begun to talk in sentences, like "I like", "Give me phone", "Bye see you" "where is it" etc.

Everyday is a "Discovery Day" for me as I get amazed and impressed by my baby's development!
This is the good part of being a SAHM!
I'm around to witness her little achievements as she grows ...........

Saturday, September 14, 2013

The best suction tool!

After buying various kind of sucking tool for removing the mucus from bb's nose, I realized that the best tool is none other then ME!
Yah, it's gross but I think the best way to clear bb's congested nasal is by the use of my own mouth to suck out the mucus!
Only a Mother would dare to do this out of LOVE!

I've asked RY to do it but he shake his head vigorously and refused to do it for his bb!

Yes, my darling girl is down with common cold and is now having bad congested nasal.
She is still active and playful despite being ill.

She started sneezing 3 days ago and yesterday she had mild fever, but this morning, her fever went up to above 38.6'c.
So we went to TMC PD clinic and the doctor prescribed some cough and cold medication as well as Ibrufen which is to be used when she has high temperature above 38.5'c to bring the high temp down.

She "merlioned" her dinner due to the congested nose as she can't swallow her food.
So I gotta use my mouth to suck out the mucus to relive her uncomfortableness.
After resting for an hour, I fed her some milk and checked her temp which was 39'c and quickly did a wipe down then gave her the Ibrufen.

Before she slept, I checked that her temp had gone down slightly to 38.6'c and hopefully she will feel better after a good night of sleep.

A Mother's simple wish is to wish that her bb get well soon!

Thursday, September 12, 2013

HFMD in Rae's School

Last Tuesday afternoon, Bb Rae's teacher called that there is a confirmed HFMD case in her school.
A boy was rejected entry on Monday due to fever and the following day a visit to the doc confirmed that he has HFMD.
The teacher informed that upon knowing about the HFMD case, they have disinfected the school facility and all toys, but advised parents to decide if they would like to keep their child away from school for sometime as the incubation period of the virus could be up to 10 days.

After discussion with RY, we've decided to abstain bb from school this week as not sure if there maybe new case.

Lucky I am a SAHM, so I'm able to make swift decision to stop bb from school as I can look after her myself.
So in time of such emergency, being a SAHM is good!

Happy Wedding Anniversary 2013

RY came home with a bunch of flowers last Monday!
I am happy that my hub remembers and still gives me flower ..........

Saturday, September 7, 2013

Happy Teachers Day 2013

Last Thursday was Teachers Day celebration day in BB Rae's school and the following day was a day off for all the teachers in SG, so no school for bb (not sure if it applies to just preschool and primary schools).
I only realized on Wednesday about the celebration and was wondering if I had sufficient time to prepare the gifts for the teachers.

On Thursday morning, I quickly sent bb to school then came home to do house cleaning and left home at 10.30am to the shopping mall nearby to shop for gifts.
After walking around, I decided to get the teachers a gift pack consists of a Hand cream and a Face mask.
I bought the items from SASA and the sales assistants were very kind to help me removed the price tags and helped me packed them into individual packs.
Next, I went to a kiddy shop to get a Hello Kitty (HK) post it note to write the message.
Then I found a quiet corner to repack and sealed the gifts and attached a HK note each.
I checked the time, it was about noon and I had not finished packing.
Lucky RY called me and informed that he was nearby and offered to fetched bb home.
I got him to fetch me from the mall to go to the school together.

We reached baby's school at about 12.30pm and I told bb to distribute the gift to the individual teacher personally, there were 13 of them.
The teachers were very happy and my bb enjoyed giving too!

I am glad that I managed to get the teachers' gifts in time (in a mad rush of course).
Hopefully next year I can be more prepared!

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Baby in School

Yesterday was bb 1st day in school!

I woke her up at 7.50am to fed her milk and shower her.

We reached school at 8.20am to q up to let the teacher check her temperature and examine her hand, foot and mouth before letting her inside the school.

It was breakfast time and bb Rae sat down at the dining area to eat with her new friends.
Breakfast was cornflakes with milk but bb preferred hers without milk.

After breakfast, it was story time before the children went into their individual class.
There were 2 other new kids in her playgroup and the teacher let them play at the big play area.

I left the school at about 9.30am as I felt that I should let bb get used to not having me around when she is in school.
The teacher informed that should bb cry uncontrollably or any emergency, she will call me.
I went back with a heavy heart.

I came home to do house cleaning and prepare the ingredients for dinner.
I also checked on my phone continuously for fear that I might missed the school's call.

RY fetched me for lunch at 12 noon and then fetched bb home.

The teacher informed that Bb behaved very well and was able to sit through the class.
She was also able to follow instructions and didn't look for me.
She managed to eat half a bowl of porridge with teacher's assistance.

But bb had a bruise on her left upper eyelid on the first day of school.
Before I left in the morning, she was ok.
The teacher was very apologetic and explained that she didn't cry and nobody knew what happened.

RY and myself were "heart pain" but nothing can be done except to apply some ointment on her when we got home.

On the way home, bb told me that she is very happy and likes school very much.
I gave her some apple and milk.
She napped for 2.5 hours.

Today is her 2nd day in school.
I woke her up at 8am to prepare her and reached school at 8.40am for breakfast, she ate cheese sandwich.
I left at 9.30am and fetched her home at about 12.15pm.
The teacher feedback that she was good except that she doesn't like to share toys with friends.
She also finished a bowl of rice with tou foo, fishball and veg soup.

My precious bb had a fragrant pear and milk.
she just slept at 2pm and I shall wake her up at 4pm.

I hope my bb can adapt well in school fast and pick up good habits like toy sharing, self feeding and good social skill.

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Mummy was sick

Last Friday, I woke up with a heavy head and aching body.
I thought I'll be ok to perform the daily task, so I cooked for bb, did some house cleaning, woke bb up and fed her milk then bathed her.

But towards lunch time, I was feeling really tired and lousy and quickly text RY to come home for lunch to feed bb as I was really sick to do anything.
I was lying on the sofa while bb played in the living room and she would come to me and asked me to play with her.  Being really weak and sick, I just stared at her and didnt do anything.
My bb was frustrated as she couldn't get mummy to play with her, so she walked up n down and threw her toys all over to seek my attention.

My good husband came home at 12.30pm to feed bb Rae and also bought me mee hoon soup for lunch.
After feeding bb, he rushed back to work.

I was so sick that I slept in the afternoon together with bb and I woke up in time to cook bb's porridge for dinner.
RY came back early to cook dinner for us.

He took care of bb while I turned in early for the night.

The next morning, I woke up with painful throat and then realized that I was having tonsillitis.
I drank plenty of water and recovered by Sunday.

The last time I was so sick was last year June when I was down with rota virus infection.

I always took great care of myself as I fear to fall sick since I am the sole care giver of bb Rae.
Fortunately RY was in town so he was able to help out.
I can't imagine what will happen if he is on biz trip ..........

Note to self, must really take good care of my own health for the sake of my bb and hub!
 

Friday, August 23, 2013

Ok, we'll go to School!

We've finally decided to send baby Rae to school and she'll start on 2 Sept for half day class.

The school allows a 2 weeks trial period and in the event that baby doesn't like it, we can withdraw her.

During the registration, I've raised few concerns to the Principal and she assure me that my worries are trivial and can be easily resolved.

These are my concerns:
1 Baby Rae is still unable to self feed
Principal : the teacher will feed her till she is able to self feed and usually with peer learning, she'll pick up the skill fast.

2 Baby Rae prefers soft diet and chew her food thoroughly so she eats really slow
Principal : she is an active toddler and requires lots if energy to be active, should encourage her to eat more solid diet and the teacher will be patient in her feeding.

3 Baby Rae is very active and can't sit still, so may not be able to blend well with the school system
Principal : it's normal for kid like her to run around and many kids started this way and gradually get used to the school routine

4 Baby Rae is very expressive so she may make loud noises if things r not to her liking.
Principal : it's normal for young toddler to make nose as they have not master the right communication skill. They'll learn through teaching and playing.

5 Baby Rae is tall and strong to her age and may exert too much force on other kids, like pushing or patting hard.
Principal : the teachers will observe and ensure the safety of the kids and do corrective action should they spotted any pushing or beating incidents.  Teacher will feedback the incident in class to parents but will not reveal the "culprit" identity so as not to victimized the child.

6 If due to emergency we're not able to pick baby up by 1pm, what should we do?
Principal : Arrangement can be made for the parents to fetch the child later if due to emergency, but not on frequent basis.

We're pretty satisfied with the Principal's replies and went ahead with the enrollment instantly.

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

A day out in RWS

I've won free tickets to SEA aquarium in RWS from CIMB bank and need to collect the tix by this Wednesday. The tickets are valid for 180 days.
So yesterday, I brought BB Rae to RWS by MRT and bus (I hardly take taxi as I think it's pretty costly to me, moreover we lives in town so public transport is pretty accessible).

I brought a stroller with me since I think it's useful to stroll her around the big RWS compound.

We took a MRT to Harbourfront station and changed to RWS bus transfer,
It was pretty tough to handle a baby, a pram, diaper bag and her lunch bag (brought porridge to feed as I'm limiting her in take of outside preservative, MSG and other additives laden food). 
Boarding the bus is always a real challenge as the entrance of SG buses are pretty narrow with a railing divider.

We collected the SEA Aquarium tickets and then went to lunch in McDonald.
We walk around the big compound before we head home.

We took the RWS bus transfer out of Sentosa then took a direct bus back home.

Baby was really tired from the running around and had a good nap when we reached home.

It isn't easy to bring a child out alone and I do hope people will be more compassionate to lend a helping hand if they ever see a struggling mum in need ......... A simple gesture of opening the door or pressing the lift "Open" button would definitely help!

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

School or No School

My baby is 19 months old and next week, she will be 20 months.

I am in a dilemma whether to send her to preschool.
In SG, 18 months old toddler can attend preschool or child care for either half a day or full day.

I've found an ideal school for BB Rae and is able to enroll her anytime but am still pondering which is best, should I send her to school now or defer her till she turns 30 months or older?

I feel that baby is not learning much when she stays at home and I certainly doesn't want to make her a TV addict.
I am always tired as I gotta wake up in the middle of the night to comfort her as she tends to wake up in her dream.  During daytime, I will do housework, cooking and laundry and can't do much teaching as I am burnt out.

I feel sorry for my baby that she has to follow me around at home watching me cook or I will turn on the TV to keep her occupied.
If she goes to school, she has playmates and get to learn while I get some rest.........

But sending her to school may mean that she will get sick easily.
I'm also afraid she may not be able to adapt well in the school environment as she has me around most of the time.

Am in a dilemma ..........

What should I do?

Teething Bleeding

Bb Rae is considered slow when it comes to teething.
She had her 1st tooth when she was 8 months old and when she was 1year old, she only had 2 upper and 2 lower front teeth.
Then when she was 14 months old she had 4 upper and 4 lower front teeth.
Her molars only came out few days ago (last Monday) while we were in Ipoh for the long weekend vacation.
Her 1st upper right molar erupted on Monday then 2 days later the other 2 appeared at the same time, now awaiting for the left lower molar to come out.

Last Friday (we were still in Ipoh) while cleaning her teeth after milk, I saw blood stains on the handkerchief.
I was shocked as this has never happened when she had her front teeth.
The bleeding lasted for about 3 days and it finally cleared yesterday.

I checked up the Internet that this is teething bleeding as the big molar pushes its way up and out on the surface.
A check with my other mummy friends confirmed that this is normal.

According to the dentist, baby will experience most discomfort when the canies teeth erupted.
I hope that Baby Rae will be spared from any teething agony (a simple wish of a mummy)!

Update on 18 Sept:
Bb's left lower molar came up when she turned 20 months old and few days ago, her left upper canie tooth eruptef, so now left with three canies and the last 4 molars which should appear when she is about 2 and 2.5 years old respectively.