August 2008 – Page 3 – HEALTH FREAK MOMMY

Breast Is The Best

It’s been 2 weeks since Sherilyn’s chicken pox attack and Baby C hasn’t been bitten by the CP virus yet and I think I can safely say that she has passed the contagious period and will be spared from getting CP, well at least for now, for as long as she’s drinking my milkie.

That’s one of the multitude benefits of exclusively breastfeeding your baby. Your baby gets auto immunity from you for 50 over diseases! As I have had CP before, Baby C therefore got the natural CP immunity from me too.

So to all you nursing mothers and mothers-to-be, go for breastfeeding and don’t wean your baby off your boops just yet. I strongly advocate exclusively breastfeeding your baby for at least 6 months of her/his life. The longer the better. The benefits are just too many to list down.

Check out this awesome tube bra for nursing mums which I bought at my other blog.

No. of times viewed = 215

Blog Statistics Breaches 1000 Visitors Per Day

I have not been checking the site statistics for both my blogs for quite some time and when I checked today, I was really astounded and ecstatic to find that my Blogspot blog has finally breached the 1,000-a-day visitor mark! Woot, that’s really great. Here’s an excerpt of the statistics from my Google Adsense account :

Friday, August 1, 2008        – 254
Saturday, August 2, 2008   – 452
Sunday, August 3, 2008       – 601
Monday, August 4, 2008      – 1,210
Tuesday, August 5, 2008     – 876
Wednesday, August 6, 2008 – 871
Thursday, August 7, 2008    – 836
Friday, August 8, 2008         – 589
Saturday, August 9, 2008     – 408
Sunday, August 10, 2008     – 322

Traffic is normally lower towards the weekend.

My statistics for my dot com blog isn’t too bad too and I have between 400-500+ visitors a day.

High traffic/visitors equals good Real Ranking and no wonder I got a USD100 opp (for only 50 words) from 3P today. To all my readers out there, thanks very much for visiting my blogs!

No. of times viewed = 439

Cassandra Turned 4 Months Old

on 9 August 2008. How time flies. My 2.75kg (at birth) little baby has grown so much and is now 6kg+ and she’s my living dumb bell for she wants to be carried all the time. I can hardly have a peaceful meal these days as I will be carrying her with one hand and holding my spoon with the other hand. This little rascal can never sit still and loves to kick her legs and arch her back (with her hard head hitting my boops) even when she’s seated on my lap.

Baby C now loves to flip over and whenever she’s placed on a flat surface on her back, she will attempt to flip over. She even flips over in the middle of the night when she’s awake. It’s as though she wants to keep practising her new found feat. She also loves to blow bubbles with her own saliva and loves to suck on her fists and thumb.

Baby C can hardly fit into her S size diapers now and since I still have half a packet more, I am racing to finish off the diapers and thus she’s on the disposable diapers most of the time. I’ll still put her on cloth diapers a few times a day, after she has done her poopie business.

Baby C loves to interact with family members and will smile and coo when she’s being talked to. She will laugh loudly when I bury my face into her neck and give her loud smooches. She’s really very very adorable and everyone just can’t get enough of her.

Alycia can’t keep her hands off her baby sister and was beeming when my mum let her carry Baby C.

Alycia looks like a pro baby sitter here, with one hand carrying her baby sister and the other hand entertaining her with a rattle.

Obviously Baby C felt uncomfortable and cried for mummy to rescue her! Look how dejected Alycia looked here.

No. of times viewed = 279

Homemade Jam And Bread Spread

My mum made some homemade jam and bread spread before she came to visit us last week. She made peanut butter, pandan kaya (a bread spread made of coconut milk, sugar, eggs and screwpine leaves juice), strawberry jam, green bean or mung bean paste and red bean paste – all with reduced sugar as I don’t like them too sweet.

From left : 2 bottles of red bean paste, green bean paste and pandan kaya (my mum used the juice from 40 blades of pandan or screwpine leaves to make 2 bottles of kaya).

I loved the paste so much that I ate them on its own and they tasted just like ice-cream when they are chilled. The paste went very well with bread, toast and crackers.

The pandan kaya was cooked in a pot under low heat (stirred continuously for an hour) whilst the green bean and red bean paste were made partially in her Kenwood breadmaker. Before throwing the beans into the breadmaker, she soaked the beans overnight. After the beans were soaked, she boiled them in a pot of water for about half an hour or until the beans were soft. Once soft, she blended the beans into very fine paste before throwing them into the breadmaker together with a little sugar.

I told my mum that she can even open a store to sell her homemade jam and bread spread. Maybe I can even set up an online store to sell her jam…. another food for thought….

No. of times viewed = 450

Psyllium Husk

I have been taking Psyllium husk for more than 2 years but stopped consuming it when I was pregnant with Baby C. I used to suffer from constipation (though I drink water like a camel and eat lots of fruits) quite often and had to take meds to help me with my bowel movement. Ever since I consumed Psyllium husk, I have no problems with my bowel movements and my piles even dissapeared. Throughout my pregnancy with Baby C, I had painful piles. Recently, I started consuming Psyllium husk again and have not had painful piles ever since. Psyllium husks are merely fibre and are not toxic.

What I do is I put a tablespoon of psyllium husk to a glass of water and add in 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and 1 teaspoon of Manuka honey each morning. Sometimes, I add the psyllium husk to my soya bean milk. Psyllium husk is best eaten on an empty stomach.

There are 2 types of psyllium husk – one is in powdered form and the other type is the dry ‘flakes’ type. I prefer the flakes type as the texture is just like Nestum and the feeling is not as ‘geli’ (awful, yucky, gross) as the psyllium husk powder.

The packet on the right is the powdered psyllium husk.

My daily morning regimen – 1 tablespoon of psyllium husk with 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and 1 tsp Manuka honey and gulp all these down with 2 glasses of water. I drink this yucky stuff before going for my daily morning jog. When I’m back, I head straight to the loo!

It’s quite difficult to gulp this stuff down your throat in the morning but I’ve now acquired the taste.

No. of times viewed = 7277

Activities During The Long School Break

I can’t believe there are only 3 more months before the long school break which starts in mid November. It’s going to be really tough on me if my 2 older girls are at home with me the whole day. I will surely go bonkers with 2 restless, attention-seeking toddlers and a clingy baby. I may send Alycia and Sherilyn to the school holidays program organized by their pre-school to occupy them with some fun activities for at least half a day. I really need some quiet time and me time in the morning. Alycia and Sherilyn will surely be restless and bored if they are cooped up at home for 1.5 months. Right now, I am dreaming of getting some discount Disney World tickets for a family vacation in Disney World, Orlando. I hope the hubs will be able to work out a vacation for us during the long school break. Have you already planned a vacation for the long school break?

No. of times viewed = 222

Precious Grand Daughters

My mum has not seen her 3 precious grand daughters for almost 3 months and ever since she arrived on Sunday last week, she has been snapping pictures of her grand daughters non stop.

I had cold sweat dripping down my forehead when my mum put Baby C on the couch without any pillow to support her. This little rascal of mine now likes to lean forward and arch her back with full force and I was so worried that she would fall off the couch. My mum also let Alycia carry Baby C like a doll without any support when Alycia was seated on the floor. Boy, Alycia was smiling from cheek to cheek carrying a life dolly. I wanted to snap a pic of them but I was so scared that Alycia would drop her life dolly on the floor and quickly grabbed Baby C back LOL!

Say cheeze……… check out Sherilyn’s pouting lips as she said “cheeze” …. LOL!

On another note, I am so happy today because Alycia can read the entire Peter and Jane book! Check out the story here.

No. of times viewed = 214

Halloween Costumes

Halloween is an annual celebration celebrated on the night of October 31st. Halloween activities include trick-or-treating, ghost tours, bonfires, Halloween Costumes party, visiting haunted houses and carving Jack-o’-lanterns (a carved pumpkin with a candle lit inside). Halloween is celebrated in several countries of the Western world, most commonly in Ireland, the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and occasionally in parts of Australia.

So how did Halloween Day originate? One story says that on Halloween Day, the disembodied spirits of all those who had died throughout the preceding year would come back in search of living bodies to possess for the following year. It was believed to be their only hope for the afterlife. Naturally, the still-living did not want to be possessed. So on the night of October 31, villagers would extinguish the fires in their homes, to make them cold and undesirable. They would then dress up in all manner of ghoulish costumes and noisily paraded around the neighborhood, being as destructive as possible in order to scare away spirits looking for bodies to possess.

Halloween costumes were worn to frighten away spirits in ancient Ireland but today, I think the living would be scared out of their wits to see someone donned on scary ghoulish halloween costumes.

In our country, not much emphasis is placed on Halloween and it is only celebrated on a light scale. I have never attended a Halloween party in my country before but my 2 girls seem to show great interest in this celebration (they had read stories on Halloween from books) due to the fascinating and colorful costumes that are worn during Halloween. Halloween costumes are not very commonly sold in our country and if ever we are invited to attend a Halloween party, I would purchase our Halloween costumes from this online store that carries a wide range of costumes called costumecauldron.com. I would choose to don on a fairy costume or some princess costumes as I’ve always wanted to dress myself up like a fairy or a princess since I was a little girl. If you are looking for pretty Halloween costumes for your kids or for yourself, do check out this store.

No. of times viewed = 268

Fun Activities With Granny

Granny has not seen the gals for almost 3 months and missed them terribly. When she came last week, the gals were very delighted to see her and of course granny was happy beyond words to see her only 3 grand children.

Let the pictures here tell the story :

Granny teaching the gals origami and they made balls, birds and much more.

No. of times viewed = 352

Homemade Soya Bean Milk

My mum gave me her Cosway soya bean milk maker when she came last week. With this maker, I can make my own soya bean milk every other day. Not only is homemade soya bean milk healthier, tastier and thicker, it is also way cheaper than the ones sold outside or packet ones.

All I need are 2 cups (cup that comes with the machine) of soya beans and 1.3 litre or 1.5 litre of water and within 20 minutes, the soya bean milk is ready!

Prior to putting the beans into the maker, it’s best to soak the soya beans for at least 8 hours or overnight.

The hot and thick soya bean milk, fresh from the maker. Really wholesome and healthy!

This maker can also make almond tong sui, black sesame tong sui, peanuts tong sui and much more. The soya bean residue can even be made into many types of finger food from soya bean fritters to soya bean pancakes and much more. A recipe book comes together with the maker. We will make the soya bean fritters for dinner today. Let me see how it taste and I’ll write a post on it if the soya bean fritters turn out well.

The soya bean milk maker cost no more than RM400. It’s really a good investment if you are a soya bean milk lover or tong sui lover.

No. of times viewed = 1887

Young Achiever

The owner of the hair salon that I go to drives a Porsche Carrera. I have no idea how this young chap in his early thirties manages to own a hair salon and an expensive car. During a chat with him 2 days ago when I went for my hair cut, he told me that he never scored good grades during his school days. Shortly after his SPM exam, he worked as a trainee hair stylist for several years before he saved enough money to go to some Beauty Schools in the U.S. to get a professional certificate in hair styling. He spent a good 5 years working as a hair stylist in the U.S. before returning home to open his salon. This young chap is a quintessential of someone who can be successful even without a university degree.

No. of times viewed = 194

Cassandra Can Finally Flip Over Like A Pro

I better put this on record before I forget. Since yesterday, Baby C can flip over like a pro within seconds whenever she’s placed on her back. She now doesn’t like to be placed on her back anymore. Today, Baby C is 4 days shy of turning 4 months old.

Baby C also gets distracted very easily. When she’s drinking my milkie and her 2 older sisters are watching TV, she will stop sucking and turn her head towards the TV and then refuse to suckle. Once, I turned her head back towards my boops and put my teat back into her mouth but she turned her head towards the TV with full force and let out a shriek, as if telling me not to bother her! She also doesn’t like it that I talk to her 2 older sisters when when I’m nursing her. She would get ‘angry’ and kick up a fuss when I talk to her sisters when nursing her. She’s getting more and more cheeky by the days. Apart from a kidney reflux, Baby C is otherwise a healthy and happy baby.

No. of times viewed = 346

Loving Mah Mah

Mah Mah left for HK on Saturday last week and thereafter for Japan the following day. Before she left, she went to the market to buy fruits, vegetables, fish, meat and some dried food stuff for us. She’s always like this. Before she goes back to HK or NZ each time, she will fill the fridge with a week’s supply of food stuff so that I don’t have to do marketing.

Raw chicken meat, pork ribs and fish.

Vegetables and fruits.

Dried food stuff.

She also went to Jaya Jusco and bought her 2 beloved grand daughters their favorite snack – different types of cheese!

Alycia and Sherilyn are now looking forward for all the gifts from mah mah from Japan and HK.

No. of times viewed = 236

Mandarin For 3 Year Olds

That’s Sherilyn’s Mandarin homework. Yes, you read me right. It’s my 3 yo’s Mandarin homework from pre-school and being a yellow banana, I have no idea how to guide her in Mandarin. Don’t you think this is just too tough for a 3 yo?

I am fortunate that my mil was around for the past 3.5 months to guide my 2 gals in their Mandarin homework. My mil has now gone to Japan for a vacation and will only be back in a few weeks’ time. During her absence, I guess I will have to buy a Mandarin (han yi pin yi) – English dictionary to teach my gals. My mil will most likely be going back to HK in a couple of months’ time and that’s when my actual worry will start. If I can’t guide my 2 gals in their Mandarin homework, I may have to send them for tuition classes. It’s better this way rather than teaching them blindly.

No. of times viewed = 766

Alycia And Baby C

I had prohibited Alycia from getting near or touching Baby C for more than a week as she had a runny nose and a bad throat. She got better 2 days ago and the ‘restriction order’ was lifted. She was so glad and could not help touching her baby sister. When I wasn’t looking, she even kissed her baby sister all over!

No. of times viewed = 264

If Only Our Government Hospitals Could Provide Better Customer Service And Facilities

One of the reasons why I delivered all my babies at this particular hospital is that I am truly satisfied with the ambience and cleanliness of the hospital plus the customer service rendered by this hospital. Within a short span of 5 years, (I delivered my first child in the year 2003 and my 3rd child in the year 2008) the hospital has improved exponentially in its customer service and facilities. The latest facility that this hospital has offered to their patients is free buggy service to ferry patients to and fro the car park and hospital premises. Even the facilities and equipment at the OT have improved to make patients feel more comfortable. Customer service officers are also assigned to talk to patients everyday where the patients will be asked if they are satisfied with their stay in the hospital and what improvements they expect to see from the hospital and doctors.

Patients are also given a customer service survey form to fill out just before they are discharged from the hospital. This hospital has an excellent customer service department and I wonder if they are using the professional service of serviceintelligence.com. It would be really great if only our government hospitals could provide such services and facilities to patients who cannot afford to go to private hospitals.

No. of times viewed = 199