October 2007 – Page 3 – HEALTH FREAK MOMMY

New Pumpkin Patch Skirt and School Bag

Today, daddy bought a funky skirt for Alycia from Pumpkin Patch @ Gardens, Mid Valley City. Alycia has expanded quite a bit over the last few months and she could not squeeze into most of her pants and skirts anymore. She has begged daddy to buy her a pair of jeans but all the jeans for her size at Pumpkin Patch were too long and too tight at the waist – my fatty bom bom’s tummy was bulging out after the jeans was buckled up.

She looked really gorgeous in the funky skirt with a big pink belt but my tomboy Alycia doesn’t like skirts, she only wants to wear jeans! Daddy had to persuade her at the shop to say yes to the skirt before he paid for it! And guess how much the skirt cost? Well, it cost more than what I had bought myself today. I bought myself a sleeveless top, a 3/4 pants and a pair of shorts. I can’t believe kids these days are so pampered. I can’t remember having such luxury to choose my own clothes when I was young. My mum would only buy us clothes that were on discount.

After paying for the expensive skirt (and my heart was so ‘sum thoong’), we walked all the way from Gardens to Jaya Jusco at Mid Valley Megamall. Whilst I shopped for my clothes and a school bag for Alycia, daddy brought the girls to the indoor theme park again.

Later, we walked back to Gardens and shopped for our groceries at Cold Storage. Daddy bought some beef steak and we’re going to have steak for dinner tomorrow.

No. of times viewed = 214

Substituting Dark Thick Sauce With Bovril

My 2 gals love to eat ‘kon loa’ noodles (or noodles with dark thick sauce) from the hawkers stall. I don’t like my gals to be eating too much dark thick sauce as it’s an unhealthy condiment – the sauce is loaded with sugar that’s cooked till it becomes thick caramel. Any carbohydrate that is overcooked and burnt produce cancerous chemical.

Since they are starting to get bored with eating fried noodles and noodles with soup, I made them my own ‘kon loa’ noodles today, with Bovril. What I did was stir fried some onions, shallots and fish paste (can also use minced chicken or pork meat) with sesame seed oil and add some Bovril to it. The sauce is then added to the boiled meehoon and they tasted like the ones sold by hawkers, really tasty.

I shall be cooking this dish again soon and this time, I’ll snap a pic of it and post it in my blog.

No. of times viewed = 189

Loans For My Wish-List Items

There are a few items that are on my wish-list now. First, I really need a good vacation before my 3rd baby pops out. Next I need to get myself a car as we now only have one car to rely on. When hubby goes to work in his car, I am practically stuck at home without a car and can you imagine how bored to death I am at times?

What I need now to help me realize my dreams is to get some Cheap Loans or unsecured loans from a good lender. If only we had a financial comparison website here like NationsFinance.co.uk, I don’t have to go through the hassle of spending hours on the telephone calling banks and lenders for information.

At NationsFinance.co.uk, you can easily search and compare all types of loans ranging from homeowner loans, personal loans, car loans and business loans at the comforts of your home or office. It’s hassle-free and you get the best deals after comparison with major financial institutions.

This post is brought to you by NationsFinance.co.uk.

No. of times viewed = 151

What A Morning

Last night around midnight, I had reserved an offer from TigaPi. This morning, when I tried to reserve the offer again, the dreaded red words appeared! This has happened far too many times albeit the 6 hours is not even up yet. Never mind, there were still a few offers shaded in green and I happily reserved another one. After cracking my foggy brain and typing for around half an hour, I wanted to publish the post and clicked on the reserve tab again. Holy shit, the dreaded red words appeared again!! Lighting does strick twice at the same spot! I just can’t believe the jinx. But God is kind, I managed to reserve 2 more offers and had successfully submitted the posts to TigaPi. Now I can only pray that these 2 posts will be approved by TigaPi. What a great start to a Saturday morning!

No. of times viewed = 163

Should I Follow My Parents To Spain?

My parents who have retired are having the time of their lives now. They have been traveling and touring places ever since they retired a few years ago. They will be visiting China in 2 weeks and they have even listed down where they would like to visit next. Since my dad has never been to a European country, they will most likely travel to some countries in Europe. My brother who had recently returned from Spain gave his thumbs up on Madrid and my parents are now getting all excited about visiting this European city.

My parents have asked me to help them organize this trip since I have previous experience handling my former boss’ travel arrangements in Spain. Well, this is not much of a problem for me, in fact I love making travel arrangements. I just need to read up on the hotel news that I have bookmarked on my computer to book their Madrid accommodation and my brother told us that finding hotels in Madrid is never a problem. My parents have asked me to join them in this trip and I’d love to follow too but then again, who is going to look after my new baby? Bring the baby along together with my 2 gals? I think that would be a little troublesome but oh well, if my parents are willing to pay for our travel expenses, why not? Something worth considering!

No. of times viewed = 178

Me Appearing on TV?

Last night, I was invited by a blogging mom to appear on TV3. TV3 would like to interview mothers who blog for money and she was invited by someone from TV3 who is a reader of her blog. I was like “what, me appearing on tv? No way, my pregnancy hormones have made me look awful now. I don’t look appealing and I have zits on my face. Aiyoh…. no way” Anyway, Alycia will still be in school at that time, unless she skips school for one day, which I don’t really fancy the idea. So, I’ve let another opportunity for me to be the star of the moment slip by me again!

Thanks anyway for thinking of me, you know who you are 🙂

No. of times viewed = 137

Dilated Kidney and Ultrasound Scan

I consulted Dr Patrick of Fetal Medicine and Gynaecology Centre today upon recommendation by my gynae to consult a fetal specialist. After a thorough ultrasound scan and some calculations, I was told that my chances of having a ‘Down’ baby is low, i.e. risk is about 1 in 300. Apart from the dilated kidney, everything else looked normal. The baby has a nasal bone and the back of the neck wasn’t thick. Heart and brain looked normal. It was such a relief to hear that.

Dr Patrick said that in most cases, the dilated kidney would resolve by itself either in utero or after delivery. Close monitoring of the baby’s kidney is important throughout the pregnancy. The worst case scenario would be the baby having kidney reflux and only in rare cases would the kidney be damaged. So he had left the option of doing an Amnio test to hubby and I. We have decided to go for the test to get some peace of mind which is scheduled for in around 2 weeks’ time, i.e. at 16 weeks of gestation. A normal waiting period for the results to be out is 2 weeks and costs RM1,800, of which the amniotic fluid would be sent to Singapore. An express one would be done locally in KL and costs RM2,300, of which we have opted for.

Alycia and Sherilyn were very expensive babies and looks like this baby too would be very expensive. Well, as long as the baby’s fine and healthy, money is secondary and I shall continue to pray that this baby will be absolutely healthy and perfect.

And oh yes, my first gynae has told me the gender of the baby and I’ve seen it too on Tuesday. Today Dr Patrick told me that it is still not clearly visible yet. Well, to me girl or boy is not a concern anymore. It never was a concern to me. It is already a big gift from God if the baby is born healthy without any defects.

No. of times viewed = 254

Hope For Bad Credit Consumers

Everyone should be given a second chance in life. If you’re currently being listed as a bad credit consumer, well, fret not coz help is finally at hand at BadCreditOffers.com, a free consumer portal that will help people like you with not-so-perfect credit rating find the best credit offer to fit your needs and lifestyle. From credit cards to mortgages, personal loans, home loans, auto loans, credit report and credit repair, you will surely get back the much needed finances and start your life anew.

This post is brought to you by BadCreditOffers.com.

No. of times viewed = 225

A Day Out At Bangsar Village

After lunch at Banquet Restaurant, Bangsar Village on Sunday, daddy brought the gals window shopping. He wanted to buy the gals toys again and as usual, I stopped him. Most of the toys that he had recently bought the gals are now sitting in our storeroom and if he continues to buy more toys, we will soon run out of space to store the toys. When he dragged the gals into Toys R Us, I dragged them out within 5 minutes. If we continue to stay longer in there, I bet the gals will surely get what they want from daddy.

Before we left, we did some grocery shopping at Village Grocer and Alycia who has been pestering daddy to buy her the Ritz bitz mini cheese sandwiches finally got her wish – daddy bought her 3 packs! On our way home, the gals dozed off in the car and once we reached home, the gals woke up and didn’t want to get back to sleep. I didn’t manage to do much blogging on Sunday as we were out almost the whole day and when the gals don’t want to sleep, I won’t have much time to spend sitting in front of the computer.

See the 2 mini scooters Alycia and Sherilyn were sitting on here? Daddy wanted to buy the gals one of these battery operated scooters from this kids’ boutique named Kids Junk something and again, I managed to stop him. It ain’t cheap and costs a few hundred Ringgit. If he bought the scooter, I bet the scooter will turn into junk in no time, knowing very well my 2 gals.

No. of times viewed = 230

It’s Not The Toothbrush, She Wants Attention!

One morning last week, as usual Alycia refused to brush her teeth before going to school. Daddy didn’t like the idea of Alycia going to school with a stinky mouth and insisted that she brushed her teeth. So he brushed Alycia’s teeth and Alycia was grinning from cheek to cheek and didn’t puke. It was indeed a rare occasion that daddy brushed her teeth and she was obviously very happy. Now I know that maybe it wasn’t the toothbrush after all that made her puke every morning. Maybe all she wanted was just some attention!

No. of times viewed = 265

Don’t You Think She’s Too Spoilt?

When daddy picked Alycia up from school one day last week, he asked her what she’d like to have for lunch. Of course, Alycia gladly said chicken rice, which was her favorite food and off daddy went to the nearby coffee shop to buy her chicken rice, knowing that there’s lunch prepared at home. Just then, I called daddy and reminded him that I had cooked fried glass noodles for the gals. Daddy then had to tell Alycia that she can’t have chicken rice as mummy had cooked fried noodles. When daddy brought Alycia home, she refused to alight from the car and started bawling. My maid had to drag her out from the car. When Alycia came into the house, she was scolding me, as if blaming me for thwarting daddy’s plan with her. She was crying and screaming for a good 15 minutes until daddy brought her out to the chicken rice shop and bought her a packet of chicken rice!

When daddy’s back, I told him that he is spoiling Alycia rotten this way. Whilst daddy is always the good guy who always accedes to the gals’ wimps and fancies, I am always seen as the bad guy and the disciplinarian. I reckon that this is one of the reasons why Alycia has been behaving so negatively towards me lately. Well, I think the incident yesterday had sort of ‘woken’ up daddy and made him realize that he just can’t continue spoiling Alycia, else she can really turn into a wayward child in no time. I can’t imagine what Alycia will turn into if I were still working and she’s left in the care of a babysitter or a childcare centre.

Alycia enjoying every spoonfull of her chicken rice.

The glass noodles that were not touched…. what a waste!

No. of times viewed = 226

Vacation In Madrid

Ever thought of visiting Madrid, capital of Spain? The long holidays are just around the corner and if you are planning for a vacation, you might want to visit Madrid, one of the most breathtaking cities in Europe and a city with many grand, ornate buildings, churches and museums. Madrid is often favored by tourists as it is an energetic city with intense cultural activities, happening nightlife, delectable food, festivals, shopping and plenty of parks as well as leisure attractions from theme parks to historical landmarks, zoos, gardens, lakes and much more.

My brother and his wife who visited Madrid recently told me that finding hotels in Madrid is never a problem as there are plenty of accommodations to choose from. When they were at Madrid, they stayed at a 3-star hotel which cost them less than EUR100 per night. My brother and his wife who are seasoned travelers normally book their accommodation online after they have done some reading on hotel news and they often get great deals on hotels and air tickets. So if you are thinking of traveling soon, I think it is really a good idea to do some homework by surfing the internet to pore over information on the country that you will be visiting and check out any great deals that are available for your accommodation.

No. of times viewed = 202

Birds’ Nest

That’s a bowl of birds’ nest double boiled with ‘pau sum’ (a type of ginseng) and rock sugar. I love birds’ nest and the only time I get to savour this expensive and exotic delicacy is when I’m pregnant. For both my pregnancies, I ate a lot of birds’ nest. Whenever my mil was around, she would soak the nests and then painstakingly spend 2 days cleaning the birds’ nest by using a tweezer to pick up dirt and feathers that are stuck to nests. Then, she would double boil the nests to perfection. However, when she’s overseas, hubby would buy the instant ones from Lo Hong Ka, which I don’t really fancy as they are tasteless when compared to the good quality ones that have been selected, cleaned and double boiled.

Last week, hubby bought 6 pieces of orangy colored wild birds’ nest from Eu Yang Sang and got the owner of the shop to double boil the birds’ nest. I’ve eaten 3 times and I have another 3 more rounds to go. They smell really good, like the aroma of cooked eggs. I was told that good quality birds’ nest would emit the smell of cooked eggs when they are boiled. I was really touched by hubby’s concern, well, I think he’s more concerned of the baby! When I asked how much the birds’ nest cost, my jaw almost dropped. The 6 tiny pieces of birds’ nest cost a whopping RM600!!

No. of times viewed = 447

Our Monday

Despite a rough start for Alycia and us this morning, the rest of the day was nevertheless quite fruitful. After her major temper tantrum in the morning followed by a real good lesson from daddy and mummy, Alycia turned out rather angelic for the rest of today. She did lots of coloring and letter tracing today and was very obedient. Sherilyn also did some letter tracing and she has made some really good improvements in her pencil grip and today, she wrote the letter ‘J’ really well – straight and got the order of the strokes correct. Just a moment ago, she traced the number ’15’. After guiding her hand to write the number, she could remember the order of the strokes and traced the number perfectly well. I’m so proud of her progress.

The gals also had a swell time at a new playground near our house in the evening. The play equipment were new and the slides were almost 1.5-storey high. My 2 samseng gals even had the guts to climb up the iron ladder bars to the top (together with daddy) and went down the winding slides. Every step that they took as they climbed up sent cold shivers down my spine and whilst they had a great time with daddy, I watched nervously on the ground, with my heart pounding away as they climbed each step up the iron bars to the 1.5-storey high slides.

For dinner, we had a piece of pan-fried sirloion steak, a slice of pan-fried fish, stir-fried spinach and lotus root soup. It was just another regular weekday for us but we had accomplished quite a bit.

No. of times viewed = 273

Appetizing Dish To Serve With Porridge

Here’s an appetizing dish that goes very well when eaten with porridge. It’s called ‘tau kok lup’ in Cantonese which literally means ‘diced long beans’ in English. All the ingredients in this dish are diced and toddlers will find this dish interesting and appetizing too. Be careful of choking hazard with the peanuts if you’re feeding your toddler.

Ingredients :

Long beans, diced
Carrots, diced
Dried flower mushrooms, diced
Fresh prawns, diced
Dried preserved chinese radish, diced
Chicken breast, diced
Peanuts, roasted in the oven or fried (without using oil) in the wok and skin removed
A dash of sugar, salt and pepper
Some oyster sauce
Chopped shallots

Method :
Pan fry the shallots till fragrant.
Add in all the ingredients (except the roasted peanuts)
Add sugar, salt and pepper and a little oyster sauce
Fry all the ingredients till fragrant and soft (about 10-15 mins)
Store the peanuts separately in an air-tight container and sprinkle the peanuts on top of the dish just before serving.

No. of times viewed = 200

Homemade Fish Cakes

This is my all-time favorite dish – pan-fried fish paste / fish cake (‘yue peng’). My hubby usually asks his cook to make the fish paste from ‘kau yue’ or mackeral fish or if she’s busy, he’ll buy them from the pasar malam. I normally use the fish paste to make fish balls to go with noodles or pan-fry them into fish cakes. I normally ask my maid to pan-fry a big batch and I will store them in batches in tiny air-tight containers in the freezer. When we’re too busy to cook, my maid will defrost the fish cakes, make some anchovies soup and we will all eat meehoon with the fish cakes. My gals prefer this kind of simple meal than rice with dishes.

No. of times viewed = 266