Brought her out in the morning today cos I needed to go to post office to post something. Hubby brought her to Macdonalds for yet another doraemon toy while I was at the post office. We bought more star stickers and smiley stickers for her potty training chart.
In the evening, we brought her out again to go to my cousin's BD gathering at Bakerzin at Tampine1. Glad to see that she can eat most kids menu stuff (she had brawurst sandwich with corn and yakult) and enjoying eating our food as well (I had macaroni in tomato broth and a caramel tart).
She surprised us cos even though we put on diaper for her when we went out from 1030-130pm and 6pm - 830pm, her diaper pants was dry so we could recycle it. Looks like there is some progress in our toilet training after all. :) The poo job she still cannot master though cos she pooed twice today into her panties and training pants again. Hiaz.... :P
The BRAND NEW Piggy Family
The cartoon is by Piggy Daddy who is a full time educator and freelance illustrator. Anyone who needs freelance illustrations, please contact us! :)
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Laksa and 鱼香茄子
Tried cooking laksa using instant laksa paste on Fri, but still need to get a lot of ingredients eg. thick bee hoon, bean sprouts, tau pok, cockles, prawns, laksa leaves, fish cake and coconut milk. Hum is my favourite but didn't know they are so sandy, I rinsed 3-4 times still got so much sand. Had to handle them very carefully cos don't want anyone to end up with diarrhoea. hee.
Prima brand's paste would have been better in a way cos at least no need to get laksa leave and chop it up (the maid doesn't know how to chop finely :P), hee. RaeAnne can't take spicy stuff yet so she gets the plain ikan bilis bee hoon soup but the ingredients are similar, she doesn't like tau pok though. She spat out the chopped tau pok and called it 'bone'. Poor tau pok, what an insult! :P Hubby liked the laksa but said it could be spicier. Not sure if he changed his mind though cos after a while he said the laksa got hotter and hotter. hee.
I also cooked '鱼香茄子' today, did it from scratch on my own cos I wanted to try it out before teaching the maid. I followed the recipe book I got from NTUC. For once, didn't get the recipe online so no url to post. But I had to get a bottle of hua diao jiu just for this recipe. :P This time, the maid seems to enjoy it better than hubby. I put 'spicy bean paste' and RaeAnne refuse to try it even though it's not very hot. I added half a teaspoon of sugar to temper the spiciness. Maybe should have added more. :P
Friday, May 21, 2010
Raelynn
Raelynn has been biting down and pulling on my nipple since last Sunday. Ouch, ouch! Today, she did it again and I have been nursing my blocked left side for a few days so I scolded her. She turned away from me on the nursing pillow and pursed her lips, making her upper lip protrude and lower lip and chin tucked in. She looked like an angry old woman with no teeth, haha, so funny.
Both Ah ma and Nai Nai came to visit today. So, they got to see her tunneling and crawling actions that is getting better and better. I'm still puzzled why she is not learning to sit before learning to crawl. I thought as the old saying goes, it should be "7th month - sit, 8th - crawl, 9th month - sprout teeth"?
Both Ah ma and Nai Nai came to visit today. So, they got to see her tunneling and crawling actions that is getting better and better. I'm still puzzled why she is not learning to sit before learning to crawl. I thought as the old saying goes, it should be "7th month - sit, 8th - crawl, 9th month - sprout teeth"?
Diamond ring...
I was singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to RaeAnne n when I sang 'like a diamond in the sky'. She has been trying to sing Hush Little Baby song recently. And she remembers 'If that mocking bird don't sing, Papa's going to buy you a diamond ring'.
R: Mummy diamond, pointing at my finger excitedly.
M: Yup, Mummy's diamond ring
R: Me wu (teochew for have) diamong ring ma?
M: Wu, when Mummy die, Mummy give you my diamond ring okie?
R: puzzled look
M: Remember the uncle who drive the car too fast and die (Tell Laura I love her). When uncle die then no more uncle liao. When Mummy die, no more Mummy liao.
R: Me no want Mummy die... Me no want Mummy die
M: Ok, then Mummy must work hard and make $ so that Mummy can buy a diamond ring for you. Then Mummy got diamond ring, RaeAnne also has diamond ring. :)
R: Mummy diamond, pointing at my finger excitedly.
M: Yup, Mummy's diamond ring
R: Me wu (teochew for have) diamong ring ma?
M: Wu, when Mummy die, Mummy give you my diamond ring okie?
R: puzzled look
M: Remember the uncle who drive the car too fast and die (Tell Laura I love her). When uncle die then no more uncle liao. When Mummy die, no more Mummy liao.
R: Me no want Mummy die... Me no want Mummy die
M: Ok, then Mummy must work hard and make $ so that Mummy can buy a diamond ring for you. Then Mummy got diamond ring, RaeAnne also has diamond ring. :)
Toilet training - part 5
Been so busy bringing RaeAnne to toilet and potty that got no time to post. Takes even longer to put her to nap and sleep nowadays cos got to give some allowance after milk feed to coax her to shh shh one more time before sleeping. Anyway, asked her tonight if she wants to put on diaper after her milk feed and last pee job and she said yes. I'm half relieved too cos I figure it is too difficult to let her go without diapers now for the following reasons:
1) She either doesn't wake up but wets her panties and shirts a few times a night so me and the maid got to keep checking and changing her while she continues to sleep. Record was 3 times.
2) She wakes up a few times but refuses to go to potty or toilet bowl cos she is still sleepy therefore grouchy. Then she will pee on my floor or on her room floor. Then, she throws another tantrum when we try to change her.
3) She likes to drink a lot of water. Usually after drinking 120-200ml of FM, she will still drink some water after she lies in bed for another half hour or so.
4) Because of no. 3, she has a lot of pee. She can pee 3 times in 1 hour and each time at least half a cup. That's why it is also difficult for her to hold her pee for long. :P
5) She wants me to sleep with her on her cot bed each time she wakes up from her sleep and I really don't relish sleeping with her with the urine stench. Cos the maid can only wash her hello kitty water pad and the waterproof protector sheet thoroughly in the morning. In the middle of the night, it's usually just a quick wipe cos she needs to go back to sleep.
Hubby has done up a star reward chart to encourage her to pee and poo in the potty/toilet seat so I hope she can keep up the good work. She has been peeing in her potty more as well as using the Cushie traveller potty seat that I bought. I think we will let her go diaperless at night once we find that her diaper is relatively dry in the mornings. :P
1) She either doesn't wake up but wets her panties and shirts a few times a night so me and the maid got to keep checking and changing her while she continues to sleep. Record was 3 times.
2) She wakes up a few times but refuses to go to potty or toilet bowl cos she is still sleepy therefore grouchy. Then she will pee on my floor or on her room floor. Then, she throws another tantrum when we try to change her.
3) She likes to drink a lot of water. Usually after drinking 120-200ml of FM, she will still drink some water after she lies in bed for another half hour or so.
4) Because of no. 3, she has a lot of pee. She can pee 3 times in 1 hour and each time at least half a cup. That's why it is also difficult for her to hold her pee for long. :P
5) She wants me to sleep with her on her cot bed each time she wakes up from her sleep and I really don't relish sleeping with her with the urine stench. Cos the maid can only wash her hello kitty water pad and the waterproof protector sheet thoroughly in the morning. In the middle of the night, it's usually just a quick wipe cos she needs to go back to sleep.
Hubby has done up a star reward chart to encourage her to pee and poo in the potty/toilet seat so I hope she can keep up the good work. She has been peeing in her potty more as well as using the Cushie traveller potty seat that I bought. I think we will let her go diaperless at night once we find that her diaper is relatively dry in the mornings. :P
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Hives... :(
Last night, Raeanne had hives, dun know triggered by what. Never gave her new med nor Bring her outside so no contact with grass etc. We suspect either the new t shirt that Nai Nai bought for her, had a strong kerosene smell though it has been washed or because she has been in contact with urine a lot recently and somehow she is allergic to it? Anyway, no point trying to solve the mystery when the more important thing is to stop her from scratching. The hives have already appeared on her arms, legs, neck and face by the time we came back from Giant.
Luckily we have leftover chlormine syrup (not sure of dosage but we gave 1.8ml) from Mei Mei so gave her some then apply calamine lotion n switch on air con for her. luckily we got new air con in March when the old air con conked out. Thankfully, this morning, the hives have subsided. :)
When I brought her back from PG, RaeAnne peed on the floor of my toilet today. She managed to hold her pee just a bit longer each time so I hope she can control her pee and poo and do it in the toilet bowl each time instead of in her training pants. :P
Collected my Cushie traveller from the BP seller at Punggol tonight, luckily she have a few pieces of ready stock. Used it immediately at the common toilet and RaeAnne peed a bit there. Later at night, she even went to take the cushie traveller when I asked her to shh shh in my toilet. A good beginning, hope she will persist. :)
Luckily we have leftover chlormine syrup (not sure of dosage but we gave 1.8ml) from Mei Mei so gave her some then apply calamine lotion n switch on air con for her. luckily we got new air con in March when the old air con conked out. Thankfully, this morning, the hives have subsided. :)
When I brought her back from PG, RaeAnne peed on the floor of my toilet today. She managed to hold her pee just a bit longer each time so I hope she can control her pee and poo and do it in the toilet bowl each time instead of in her training pants. :P
Collected my Cushie traveller from the BP seller at Punggol tonight, luckily she have a few pieces of ready stock. Used it immediately at the common toilet and RaeAnne peed a bit there. Later at night, she even went to take the cushie traveller when I asked her to shh shh in my toilet. A good beginning, hope she will persist. :)
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Toilet training - part 4
RaeAnne woke up crying at 1am this morning, coaxed her to go toilet to shh shh but she was crying no. Luckily, when I carried her to the toilet and put her on the toilet seat, she did pee. I only slept at 3+am cos of the iced lemon tea that came with my Macdonalds mcwings meal and cos I kept going over to check on her pants, afraid that she will wet her pants again. Then Filamie brought Mei Mei over at 430am, so I really slept less than 4 hrs last night.
This morning, she woke up at 730am and I brought her to toilet immediately and she peed again. Ok, at least she was dry and didn't wet her pants last night. I KO until 9am when I had to BF Mei Mei again.
But at 11am, we went to Tampines interchange to meet our insurance agent, RaeAnne didn't wear her diapers but refused to pee at either Century Sq toilet and Tampines Mall toilet (even the kiddy toilet on Level 4) :/ Didn't want to risk her wetting her pants in public cos it will be super messy so no choice but to put on her diaper pants after that.
I know that will confuse her cos we went crazy at the BHG sale and bought lots of stuff so she had a very late afternoon nap, KO in the car at 3pm without her usual afternoon shower so after her evening shower, her maid put on diaper for her again. After that, she told me she wants to go to toilet but she has already peed in the diapers. Still brought her to toilet but nothing came out liao.
Changed to her training pants as requested but she wet the pants again about half an hour later. :P Bite the bullet and change to new training pants again, and RaeAnne was playing with the Potty book and hubby asked her if she wants to go toilet and she said yes. She managed to pee in the toilet this time.
We fed her milk at 930pm and this time, I deliberately kept her awake so that I can bring her to toilet at 1030pm. She didn't want to go but she decided to follow after I told her mummy need to shh shh before sleeping too. It was 11pm by the time she slept. Told hubby next time we got to feed milk at 9pm cos need to factor for wee wee time. Let's see what happens tonight. :P
This morning, she woke up at 730am and I brought her to toilet immediately and she peed again. Ok, at least she was dry and didn't wet her pants last night. I KO until 9am when I had to BF Mei Mei again.
But at 11am, we went to Tampines interchange to meet our insurance agent, RaeAnne didn't wear her diapers but refused to pee at either Century Sq toilet and Tampines Mall toilet (even the kiddy toilet on Level 4) :/ Didn't want to risk her wetting her pants in public cos it will be super messy so no choice but to put on her diaper pants after that.
I know that will confuse her cos we went crazy at the BHG sale and bought lots of stuff so she had a very late afternoon nap, KO in the car at 3pm without her usual afternoon shower so after her evening shower, her maid put on diaper for her again. After that, she told me she wants to go to toilet but she has already peed in the diapers. Still brought her to toilet but nothing came out liao.
Changed to her training pants as requested but she wet the pants again about half an hour later. :P Bite the bullet and change to new training pants again, and RaeAnne was playing with the Potty book and hubby asked her if she wants to go toilet and she said yes. She managed to pee in the toilet this time.
We fed her milk at 930pm and this time, I deliberately kept her awake so that I can bring her to toilet at 1030pm. She didn't want to go but she decided to follow after I told her mummy need to shh shh before sleeping too. It was 11pm by the time she slept. Told hubby next time we got to feed milk at 9pm cos need to factor for wee wee time. Let's see what happens tonight. :P
Raelynn learning to crawl
Raelynn has been trying to crawl since 2 days ago. Hubby caught her in action today. Still not really crawling but the movement is really similar. Will post the video when I feel up to it. The thought of having to edit and wait at least 1 hr for the video to upload to blog is too daunting for now. Besides, I have to sleep early and be prepared to wake up and change RaeAnne since she is not wearing diapers. :P
P.S. Finally uploaded the video to youtube this time, thanks to Kam's tips. Definitely much faster than directly to blogger. :)
P.S. Finally uploaded the video to youtube this time, thanks to Kam's tips. Definitely much faster than directly to blogger. :)
Toilet training - part 3
RaeAnne went cold turkey again ie. refuse to put on her diapers to go to PG. I left her be, teacher said she never wee wee again. I tried to make her shh shh at the PG toilet bowl before we left the school but alas she refused. Partly because there is no toilet roll (her fav toy in the toilet) and the toilet does not have a kiddy seat. Maybe she also 认马桶.
Duh, anyway told her if she don't want to shh shh there, must wait until we reach mummy's toilet but she wet her pants on way home from pg again. This time she managed to reach our door before she 'ren wu ke ren'. She shh shh in my toilet bowl a few times today, quite cooperative. She refuse to put on diaper again after I brought her to shh shh at 9+pm after milk feed though. Keep repeating that ‘家欢姐姐阿嫲say cannot wear 尿布 already.' Even I reminded her that the ah mah already said today that 睡觉时才可以包尿布, she was not convinced. :P
I think it's good that she recognise that she should not be wearing diapers but sigh, I know she will wake up and look for me with wet pants/shirt again. If I succeed to toilet train her, 家欢姐姐阿嫲功劳最大。Strange that no matter how we persuade, she refused to be toilet train in the last few months. But a neighbour/classmate's ah mah can be so powerful. Maybe she 爱面子吧。
Anyway, I just ordered a traveller kiddy potty seat, potty seat with step up ladder and disposable absorbent pads from BP. Need to wean her off the reliance on my MBR toilet bowl. :P
Duh, anyway told her if she don't want to shh shh there, must wait until we reach mummy's toilet but she wet her pants on way home from pg again. This time she managed to reach our door before she 'ren wu ke ren'. She shh shh in my toilet bowl a few times today, quite cooperative. She refuse to put on diaper again after I brought her to shh shh at 9+pm after milk feed though. Keep repeating that ‘家欢姐姐阿嫲say cannot wear 尿布 already.' Even I reminded her that the ah mah already said today that 睡觉时才可以包尿布, she was not convinced. :P
I think it's good that she recognise that she should not be wearing diapers but sigh, I know she will wake up and look for me with wet pants/shirt again. If I succeed to toilet train her, 家欢姐姐阿嫲功劳最大。Strange that no matter how we persuade, she refused to be toilet train in the last few months. But a neighbour/classmate's ah mah can be so powerful. Maybe she 爱面子吧。
Anyway, I just ordered a traveller kiddy potty seat, potty seat with step up ladder and disposable absorbent pads from BP. Need to wean her off the reliance on my MBR toilet bowl. :P
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Self initated Toilet training - part 2
Woke up at 2+am shocked to find a head beside me. RaeAnne had come into my room and tried to lie down beside me. Was debating whether to put her to sleep with me or bring her back to her room when I touched her bottom and her pants are all wet. Immediately 'woke up' cos remembered she is not wearing diapers. So bo bian brought her back to her room, changed out training pants and put on MP diapers cos I'm too tired to wake up again because of her wet pants. Tried to go back to sleep with her on her cot bed but she kept scratching her thighs. Wiped her thighs with wet wipes but she still kept scratching.
Finally roused myself to investigate what is wrong then realised that part of her shirt is also wet with urine. So switched on the night light again to change her shirt. But she pulled off the velcro tabs of her diapers as well indicating that she wants me to change. Was surprised when I realised that her diaper was already quite heavy though I just changed it. Poor gal must have been holding her urine and done another big pee job after I put on diaper for her. After all that, she finally slept again at 3am. Filamie had carried Mei Mei out of the room as she had woken up. She told me Mei Mei is hungry but I'm not convinced cos normally she doesn't wake up so early for feed. Plus I was too tired to BF Mei Mei then so asked her to feed bottle and she did feed 50ml. Sorry, Mei Mei. :P She came into my room again at 6am but this time I got hubby to feed her milk while I BF Raelynn at 630am.
Went out for lunch with my friend Bobby and went shopping for a photo printer. Bobby highly recommends Sony printer so we went to the Sony gallery at Tampines 1 to try out the printer. Had the memory card with me so printed a few samples of the Bambini photoshoot. The photo quality is really quite good so more or less decided on this digital photo frame cum printer http://www.sony.com.sg/product/dpp-f700 But it's retailing at $299 with free cartridge/paper so debating whether we should trade in our Sony handycam or any digi camera (get $300 off off) and pay $1999 for a new full HDR-CX350E handycam and get the photo printer and 16gb memory stick FREE. http://www.sony.com.sg/product/hdr-cx350e What I like about the new model of Full HD handycam is that it is much slimmer and lighter than the one we have and it can take still photos of 7.1mega pixels. :)
After my 'break', decided to bring RaeAnne swimming since the rain had stopped. She had enjoyed herself at the Changi village swimming pool so I wanted to bring her again before she forgets and starts to be scared of the water and the arm swimming floats again. She enjoyed herself very much though we only spent 40mins in the water from 520-6pm including a dip in the 1metre pool. The Konfidence swimming vest and arms swimming floats worked so well so that she could climb out of the pool herself without needing any help from me. hee. But I didn't want to spend too long cos ILs are looking after Mei Mei while me and Filamie brought RaeAnne swimming. We had dinner at ILs place tonight, it's been a long time since we ate there. :)
Finally roused myself to investigate what is wrong then realised that part of her shirt is also wet with urine. So switched on the night light again to change her shirt. But she pulled off the velcro tabs of her diapers as well indicating that she wants me to change. Was surprised when I realised that her diaper was already quite heavy though I just changed it. Poor gal must have been holding her urine and done another big pee job after I put on diaper for her. After all that, she finally slept again at 3am. Filamie had carried Mei Mei out of the room as she had woken up. She told me Mei Mei is hungry but I'm not convinced cos normally she doesn't wake up so early for feed. Plus I was too tired to BF Mei Mei then so asked her to feed bottle and she did feed 50ml. Sorry, Mei Mei. :P She came into my room again at 6am but this time I got hubby to feed her milk while I BF Raelynn at 630am.
Went out for lunch with my friend Bobby and went shopping for a photo printer. Bobby highly recommends Sony printer so we went to the Sony gallery at Tampines 1 to try out the printer. Had the memory card with me so printed a few samples of the Bambini photoshoot. The photo quality is really quite good so more or less decided on this digital photo frame cum printer http://www.sony.com.sg/product/dpp-f700 But it's retailing at $299 with free cartridge/paper so debating whether we should trade in our Sony handycam or any digi camera (get $300 off off) and pay $1999 for a new full HDR-CX350E handycam and get the photo printer and 16gb memory stick FREE. http://www.sony.com.sg/product/hdr-cx350e What I like about the new model of Full HD handycam is that it is much slimmer and lighter than the one we have and it can take still photos of 7.1mega pixels. :)
After my 'break', decided to bring RaeAnne swimming since the rain had stopped. She had enjoyed herself at the Changi village swimming pool so I wanted to bring her again before she forgets and starts to be scared of the water and the arm swimming floats again. She enjoyed herself very much though we only spent 40mins in the water from 520-6pm including a dip in the 1metre pool. The Konfidence swimming vest and arms swimming floats worked so well so that she could climb out of the pool herself without needing any help from me. hee. But I didn't want to spend too long cos ILs are looking after Mei Mei while me and Filamie brought RaeAnne swimming. We had dinner at ILs place tonight, it's been a long time since we ate there. :)
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Self initiated Toilet training and Salmon Miso soup
I've given up trying to toilet train RaeAnne, thought it's better for hubby to do it during June holidays so that we can be more consistent. But, if RaeAnne doesn't want to wear diapers, I won't force her cos I don't want her to think that not wearing diapers is bad.
So this morning, when she said she wants to wear Pooh bear (her training pants) and not diapers. She said 'Jia Huan jie jie ah ma said cannot wear diapers.' I let her be cos didn't want to confuse her but told the maid to tell the teachers that she is not wearing diapers and for them to bring her to toilet if she wants to shh shh.
When I picked her up at PG later, I asked Teacher Chris and she said RaeAnne refused to shh shh when they brought her to toilet. She stamped her feet and was very angry so the teachers left her be. So, I expected that she probably wet her uniform then. But Teacher Chris said she did which means she has been holding her urine from 9.00-11.10am. Not a bad attempt so I praised her and told her Mummy bring her go shh shh when we go home.
Alas, when we were in the lift going home, she told me 'shh shh already, shh shh already'. True enough I could see trickles of urine down her legs. Not a sudden rush thanks to the training pants which helped to hold her urine. Opened the door and shouted for Filamie to hold her and bring her to toilet cos she wee wee and the maid grabbed her by the bottom. Sigh, wrong thing to do cos now the urine will gush out through the 'opening'. End up I have to wash RaeAnne's bottom in the toilet while I quickly ask Filamie to mop the floor. Didn't want RaeAnne to walk around on the wet floor and slip on her urine. Luckily mei mei was asleep at that time or we would have been shorthanded.
Tried to feed her her macaroni soup after that and she surprised us by urinating again, this time into a pair of loose training pants so all the urine flowed to the floor. No choice, wipe the floor and mop again. Reminded RaeAnne that she must tell me 'I want to go shh shh' so that the floor will not be wet. Reminded her that Ethan gor gor shh shh on the floor when he came the last time cos he never tell his mummy that he wants to go toilet but Jia Huan cheh cheh did not even though she doesn't wear diapers. She seemed to understand. But after shower, told the maid to wear her diapers for her if she did not protest. Didn't want any more accidents.
While trying to put her to sleep, I tried twice to ask her to go toilet (even though she was wearing diapers) but she didn't want. I asked her why she didn't want to shh shh in the school toilet when teacher asked her and she said got no toilet bowl. Was surprised cos I remember there were 2 toilet cubicles in the PG toilet. But maybe it was wet. Anyway, told her it is ok to squat and urine cos she does that at Nai Nai house when she showers. But she said I want Mummy's toilet bowl.
Okie, far enough, she probably associates my toilet with shh shh cos I only use my own toilet ever since the maid came. After dinner, she wanted to wear her training pants again. Hubby asked her whether she wants to wear diapers, she replied him sagely that 'Cannot wear diapers already'. LOL.
I tried to bring her to my toilet twice and she shh shh both times. Good gal! Once before milk and one more time after her milk feed. At bedtime, she proudly told me 'Me no need diapers already'. So, tonight, she is not wearing diapers. Hope she can control her pee or call us to bring her to go toilet. Put a waterproof crib sheet over her bed just in case. Will keep fingers crossed. :P
P.S. Cooked salmon miso soup today. Here is the recipe I followed. I even got the maid to fry the salmon bones we bought from NTUC. But I don't have dashi powder and tofu this time. :P
Ingredients:
•1 salmon bone skeleton, about 700g
•4 to 5 liters water
•2 Tbsp miso paste (soybean paste)
•1 tsp instant dashi powder, optional
•2 pieces tofu, cut into 1 to 1.5cm dices
•Wakame (seaweed), to preference
•1 green onion (shallot), finely chopped for garnish
Method:
1.Bring 4 to 5 liters of water to a boil.
2.Soak wakame according to the instructions on packet until softened. Rinse and drain well.
3.Rinse and cut salmon bones into chunks. Whenever I cook fish soup, I use to briefly fry fish bones in batches over medium heat. I learned this trick from my mum to remove or reduce any unpleasant smell of fish. But if you can get very fresh fish, you can skip this step though. When frying salmon, I don’t need to add any oil because salmon has got lots of oil already.
4.Put salmon bones into boiling water and cook for 2 hours, until reduced to 4 to 5 cups of fish soup.
5.Add wakame and bring to a boil again. Gently add diced tofu. Slower heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat. Ladle out 2 tablespoons of soup to dissolve the miso paste. Gradually stir in until completely dissolved. Make sure to taste along the way you stir in the miso paste. Don’t add too much, otherwise the soup would be too salty. You can also add some instant dashi powder to add more flavour if desired. Sprinkle chopped green onions for garnish. Done.
Read more: http://en.christinesrecipes.com/2009/09/salmon-miso-soup.html#ixzz0njYNOl6P
Hubby still finds it too salty though I thought it was ok, different taste buds bah. But at least it was nutritious, think of all the omega3 the whole family is getting especially RaeAnne. Hope we all get brainier esp the maid. haha. :)
So this morning, when she said she wants to wear Pooh bear (her training pants) and not diapers. She said 'Jia Huan jie jie ah ma said cannot wear diapers.' I let her be cos didn't want to confuse her but told the maid to tell the teachers that she is not wearing diapers and for them to bring her to toilet if she wants to shh shh.
When I picked her up at PG later, I asked Teacher Chris and she said RaeAnne refused to shh shh when they brought her to toilet. She stamped her feet and was very angry so the teachers left her be. So, I expected that she probably wet her uniform then. But Teacher Chris said she did which means she has been holding her urine from 9.00-11.10am. Not a bad attempt so I praised her and told her Mummy bring her go shh shh when we go home.
Alas, when we were in the lift going home, she told me 'shh shh already, shh shh already'. True enough I could see trickles of urine down her legs. Not a sudden rush thanks to the training pants which helped to hold her urine. Opened the door and shouted for Filamie to hold her and bring her to toilet cos she wee wee and the maid grabbed her by the bottom. Sigh, wrong thing to do cos now the urine will gush out through the 'opening'. End up I have to wash RaeAnne's bottom in the toilet while I quickly ask Filamie to mop the floor. Didn't want RaeAnne to walk around on the wet floor and slip on her urine. Luckily mei mei was asleep at that time or we would have been shorthanded.
Tried to feed her her macaroni soup after that and she surprised us by urinating again, this time into a pair of loose training pants so all the urine flowed to the floor. No choice, wipe the floor and mop again. Reminded RaeAnne that she must tell me 'I want to go shh shh' so that the floor will not be wet. Reminded her that Ethan gor gor shh shh on the floor when he came the last time cos he never tell his mummy that he wants to go toilet but Jia Huan cheh cheh did not even though she doesn't wear diapers. She seemed to understand. But after shower, told the maid to wear her diapers for her if she did not protest. Didn't want any more accidents.
While trying to put her to sleep, I tried twice to ask her to go toilet (even though she was wearing diapers) but she didn't want. I asked her why she didn't want to shh shh in the school toilet when teacher asked her and she said got no toilet bowl. Was surprised cos I remember there were 2 toilet cubicles in the PG toilet. But maybe it was wet. Anyway, told her it is ok to squat and urine cos she does that at Nai Nai house when she showers. But she said I want Mummy's toilet bowl.
Okie, far enough, she probably associates my toilet with shh shh cos I only use my own toilet ever since the maid came. After dinner, she wanted to wear her training pants again. Hubby asked her whether she wants to wear diapers, she replied him sagely that 'Cannot wear diapers already'. LOL.
I tried to bring her to my toilet twice and she shh shh both times. Good gal! Once before milk and one more time after her milk feed. At bedtime, she proudly told me 'Me no need diapers already'. So, tonight, she is not wearing diapers. Hope she can control her pee or call us to bring her to go toilet. Put a waterproof crib sheet over her bed just in case. Will keep fingers crossed. :P
P.S. Cooked salmon miso soup today. Here is the recipe I followed. I even got the maid to fry the salmon bones we bought from NTUC. But I don't have dashi powder and tofu this time. :P
Ingredients:
•1 salmon bone skeleton, about 700g
•4 to 5 liters water
•2 Tbsp miso paste (soybean paste)
•1 tsp instant dashi powder, optional
•2 pieces tofu, cut into 1 to 1.5cm dices
•Wakame (seaweed), to preference
•1 green onion (shallot), finely chopped for garnish
Method:
1.Bring 4 to 5 liters of water to a boil.
2.Soak wakame according to the instructions on packet until softened. Rinse and drain well.
3.Rinse and cut salmon bones into chunks. Whenever I cook fish soup, I use to briefly fry fish bones in batches over medium heat. I learned this trick from my mum to remove or reduce any unpleasant smell of fish. But if you can get very fresh fish, you can skip this step though. When frying salmon, I don’t need to add any oil because salmon has got lots of oil already.
4.Put salmon bones into boiling water and cook for 2 hours, until reduced to 4 to 5 cups of fish soup.
5.Add wakame and bring to a boil again. Gently add diced tofu. Slower heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat. Ladle out 2 tablespoons of soup to dissolve the miso paste. Gradually stir in until completely dissolved. Make sure to taste along the way you stir in the miso paste. Don’t add too much, otherwise the soup would be too salty. You can also add some instant dashi powder to add more flavour if desired. Sprinkle chopped green onions for garnish. Done.
Read more: http://en.christinesrecipes.com/2009/09/salmon-miso-soup.html#ixzz0njYNOl6P
Hubby still finds it too salty though I thought it was ok, different taste buds bah. But at least it was nutritious, think of all the omega3 the whole family is getting especially RaeAnne. Hope we all get brainier esp the maid. haha. :)
The story about thunder and lightning
There is a thunderstorm tonight when I am putting RaeAnne to sleep. Whenever there is a thunderstorm, I worry cos RaeAnne will cry and get scared when she hears the boom boom sound of thunder. So, I came up with a story to pacify her and make her not so scared of thunder. Never knew I got to be so creative with my story that just grew and grew though. :p
(LOUD BOOM of Thunder)
RaeAnne - What's that?
Mummy - Thunder
RaeAnne - What's that?
Mummy - Thunder talking to Lightning
RaeAnne - Why?
Mummy - Because Thunder is Lightning's friend. Thunder wants to talk to his friend
RaeAnne - Why?
(Flash of lightning)
Mummy - See the lightning? Later, you will hear thunder cos thunder wants to talk to lightning
(SOFT RUMBLE of thunder)
RaeAnne - Thunder talk to lightning.... a bit...
Mummy - When lightning and thunder are near, we can hear them talking very loudly. If lightning and thunder are far, they talk very soft. Do you like thunder and lightning to be near or far?
RaeAnne - I want thunder to be far, far away
Mummy - Do you know why you always see lightning before you hear thunder?
RaeAnne - (ponders quietly for a few seconds)
Mummy - Because Lightning run very fast but thunder runs very slow so we see lightning first then we hear thunder. Thunder run to catch up with lightning so that he can talk to lightning.
RaeAnne - Thunder follow lightning. Me cover ears. Mummy must cover ears. :)
*The above conversation is just a creative interpretation of the facts so please don't fault me. Poor mummy is lousy at physics, my most hated subject at A levels. But darling, in case you are ever reading this when you grow up, here are the facts of how thunder and lightning are created. http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/Atmosphere/tstorm/tstorm_lightning.html*
(LOUD BOOM of Thunder)
RaeAnne - What's that?
Mummy - Thunder
RaeAnne - What's that?
Mummy - Thunder talking to Lightning
RaeAnne - Why?
Mummy - Because Thunder is Lightning's friend. Thunder wants to talk to his friend
RaeAnne - Why?
(Flash of lightning)
Mummy - See the lightning? Later, you will hear thunder cos thunder wants to talk to lightning
(SOFT RUMBLE of thunder)
RaeAnne - Thunder talk to lightning.... a bit...
Mummy - When lightning and thunder are near, we can hear them talking very loudly. If lightning and thunder are far, they talk very soft. Do you like thunder and lightning to be near or far?
RaeAnne - I want thunder to be far, far away
Mummy - Do you know why you always see lightning before you hear thunder?
RaeAnne - (ponders quietly for a few seconds)
Mummy - Because Lightning run very fast but thunder runs very slow so we see lightning first then we hear thunder. Thunder run to catch up with lightning so that he can talk to lightning.
RaeAnne - Thunder follow lightning. Me cover ears. Mummy must cover ears. :)
*The above conversation is just a creative interpretation of the facts so please don't fault me. Poor mummy is lousy at physics, my most hated subject at A levels. But darling, in case you are ever reading this when you grow up, here are the facts of how thunder and lightning are created. http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/Atmosphere/tstorm/tstorm_lightning.html*
Raelynn
Wanted to film a video of Raelynn who was smiling and laughing at her bouncer while Filamie was preparing ingredients for lunch and entertaining her from the kitchen. Didn't succeed cos when I whipped out the video cam, Filamie had moved to the other side of the kitchen. When I tried to entertain RaeLynn and make her laugh, the video cam was in the way so I couldn't really engage her. Hope it's not because she prefers the maid to me though. Hiaz...
Cute conversation with RaeAnne - 11 May 2010
1) I was having a quick shower when I overheard the conversation between the maid and RaeAnne (they were in the service balcony 1 wall away). Filamie was hanging clothes and RaeAnne was 'kaypohing' as usual.
Filamie - No, no, no, don't touch the water. Dirty!
RaeAnne - Me wash, me wash.
Filamie - No, no, no
RaeAnne - Wet, wet
Filamie - You see lar, I told you don't touch. Wet already. You lar!!!
RaeAnne - You Lar.
Filamie - *Laughs*
RaeAnne - Why Aunty laugh?
2) RaeAnne to mummy (while I was lying sideways on her toddler bed trying to make her sleep)
RaeAnne - Bogi mus ome down
Mummy - Huh?
RaeAnne - Bogi mus ome down (using her hands to turn me downwards)
Mummy - Oh, Body must come down ah?
RaeAnne - Yes, body must come down
Mummy - Should be 'Mummy must lie down' lar
RaeAnne - (Thinks for a few seconds) Bogi must lie down.
Filamie - No, no, no, don't touch the water. Dirty!
RaeAnne - Me wash, me wash.
Filamie - No, no, no
RaeAnne - Wet, wet
Filamie - You see lar, I told you don't touch. Wet already. You lar!!!
RaeAnne - You Lar.
Filamie - *Laughs*
RaeAnne - Why Aunty laugh?
2) RaeAnne to mummy (while I was lying sideways on her toddler bed trying to make her sleep)
RaeAnne - Bogi mus ome down
Mummy - Huh?
RaeAnne - Bogi mus ome down (using her hands to turn me downwards)
Mummy - Oh, Body must come down ah?
RaeAnne - Yes, body must come down
Mummy - Should be 'Mummy must lie down' lar
RaeAnne - (Thinks for a few seconds) Bogi must lie down.
Part 3
On mother's day, I bought flowers for my mum, couldn't resist and bought a small bouquet of pink carnations for myself. Then when we were in the car on our way to MIL's house to pick up Raelynn to go to my mum's place, I was teasing hubby so lamented to RaeAnne in a sad voice that nobody bought flowers for me for Mother's Day.
RaeAnne listened to my 'sulking' and didn't say anything. When we were at MIL place, after I BF Mei Mei and came out to the living room, she came to me and passed me a piece of what I thought was 'rubbish' cos it was a piece of dried up orchid from FIL's orchid potted plants in the balcony. But she repeated twice, me buy for you one, me buy for you one. Then I realised that she had remembered what I said in the car and 'bought' me the orchid to make me happy. Felt so touched and hugged her tight. There's no guessing which one I like better. ;)
RaeAnne listened to my 'sulking' and didn't say anything. When we were at MIL place, after I BF Mei Mei and came out to the living room, she came to me and passed me a piece of what I thought was 'rubbish' cos it was a piece of dried up orchid from FIL's orchid potted plants in the balcony. But she repeated twice, me buy for you one, me buy for you one. Then I realised that she had remembered what I said in the car and 'bought' me the orchid to make me happy. Felt so touched and hugged her tight. There's no guessing which one I like better. ;)
Part 2
Tried cooking miso baked cod last night. It was nice and I got the recipe from the current issue of Food & Travel. Had to modify the recipe cos I don't have 450g of cod though, just 280g, more than enough for my family of 3 adults and 1 toddler.
450g of cod fillet
200g yellow miso
100g sugar
1 cup mirin
1 cup sake
1 clove garlic (grated)
1 thumb sized ginger (grated)
1. Mix miso, sugar, mirin, sake, garlic and ginger in a bowl. Rub paste over the cod fillets and leave to marinate overnight in the fridge.
2. When ready to cook, scrape off excess marinade from the fillet and place the fillets on a baking tray lined with grease proof paper. Bake for 12 to 15 mins in an oven preheated at 200deg until the cod is cooked through and meat falls apart easily.
3. Enjoy with steamed rice or mashed potato flavoured with a hint of wasabi, if you like.
Hubby said it was nice, sweet but a bit salty. I only marinated the cod for 3 hrs though. Oh yes, I omitted the sake, maybe that would have helped to temper the sweetness? :P But he likes the radish pork rib soup better. :)
450g of cod fillet
200g yellow miso
100g sugar
1 cup mirin
1 cup sake
1 clove garlic (grated)
1 thumb sized ginger (grated)
1. Mix miso, sugar, mirin, sake, garlic and ginger in a bowl. Rub paste over the cod fillets and leave to marinate overnight in the fridge.
2. When ready to cook, scrape off excess marinade from the fillet and place the fillets on a baking tray lined with grease proof paper. Bake for 12 to 15 mins in an oven preheated at 200deg until the cod is cooked through and meat falls apart easily.
3. Enjoy with steamed rice or mashed potato flavoured with a hint of wasabi, if you like.
Hubby said it was nice, sweet but a bit salty. I only marinated the cod for 3 hrs though. Oh yes, I omitted the sake, maybe that would have helped to temper the sweetness? :P But he likes the radish pork rib soup better. :)
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Catch up on posts - Part 1
10 May 10
Didn't manage to post last night cos my 8Gb memory card got corrupted. I risked losing all my files cos the camera nor the laptop could read the files. I don't know what happened but it happened after RaeAnne pulled out and pushed back the memory card in the day and after hubby helped to transfer all the Bambini photo shoot high res pics into the sd card at night.
I have the bambini photos on laptop but some old plus recent photos r in the camera not backed up. Luckily I have a blog so most of the best photos r there but the rest no lor.., Eg Raelynn 5 months old photos we took about 8 photos but only uploaded 2 to the blog. My DVD rw drive spoilt by Raeanne months ago n I thought of sending for repair only when we go to Penang. :P
Luckily, I posted my problem on facebook and several of my friends chipped in to offer advice. I was really touched that my two ex neighbours from Prince Philip Ave days commented as well. One of them, Samuel, told me about data recovery software and gave me a link. I tried out 3 softwares and finally the third one (ZAR freeware) helped me recover 639 files from my totally corrupted memory card. But some are cropped halfway and all of them are mixed up, not by earliest date and time. Think it will take me weeks to plough through and reorganise cos I don't remember which came first. Faint! :P Morale of the story always back up, back up and back up! Time to copy the files into my portable HDD. :P
Didn't manage to post last night cos my 8Gb memory card got corrupted. I risked losing all my files cos the camera nor the laptop could read the files. I don't know what happened but it happened after RaeAnne pulled out and pushed back the memory card in the day and after hubby helped to transfer all the Bambini photo shoot high res pics into the sd card at night.
I have the bambini photos on laptop but some old plus recent photos r in the camera not backed up. Luckily I have a blog so most of the best photos r there but the rest no lor.., Eg Raelynn 5 months old photos we took about 8 photos but only uploaded 2 to the blog. My DVD rw drive spoilt by Raeanne months ago n I thought of sending for repair only when we go to Penang. :P
Luckily, I posted my problem on facebook and several of my friends chipped in to offer advice. I was really touched that my two ex neighbours from Prince Philip Ave days commented as well. One of them, Samuel, told me about data recovery software and gave me a link. I tried out 3 softwares and finally the third one (ZAR freeware) helped me recover 639 files from my totally corrupted memory card. But some are cropped halfway and all of them are mixed up, not by earliest date and time. Think it will take me weeks to plough through and reorganise cos I don't remember which came first. Faint! :P Morale of the story always back up, back up and back up! Time to copy the files into my portable HDD. :P
Monday, May 10, 2010
Bambini Photoshoot Slideshow - by popular demand! ;)
Got a few forum mummies asking me for more photos from the photoshoot. 4 pics too stingy lar, they complained. So, I've finally uploaded the photos on SLIDE. Not all the pics though but all the nice ones are in. Even these 38 photos took me 1 hr to upload cos they are all high res photos. Faint! :P Mouse over each pic for the captions please. :)
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Happy Mommy's Day!!
Today is Mommy's Day! RaeAnne and Daddy got gifts for Mommy and gave her yesterday night. RaeAnne got for Mommy a cute little lamb in a heart-shaped tin container. Daddy got a nice looking apron for Mommy so that she can whip out more delectable and nutritious dishes for the family. :)
Today, after 'parking' the two princesses at Nai Nai's place, we went to Momoya for Buffet lunch. A sumptuous meal as we ordered numerous dishes. Mommy liked the sashimi whereas Daddy wolfed down 2 plates of fried beef. NICE!!
After that we went to pick up our 2 princesses and had a Mommy's cake that Daddy had bought for Nai Nai. RaeAnne also sang a Happy Birthday song to Nai Nai, thinking it's her birthday. haha... She really liked the Fruit Paradize cake and enjoyed the fruits while Mei Mei RaeLynn was looking hungrily at the cake.. poor thing.. next time ok??
Here's wishing a Happy Mommy's Day to Mommy!!
Saturday, May 8, 2010
A shining red medal... ;)
Yesterday, I saw a 'medal' in RaeAnne's weekly folder from PG and asked her who is it for. She said 'for mummy'. When I prompted her what must you say, she said 'I love you mummy'. But when I told her no, you are supposed to say Happy Mother's Day. She said 'Happy Mummy's Day'. It is her first present to me although it was made by the teachers. But I will definitely keep it. In fact, I think I should find a big box and keep all the Mother's Day cards that my kids give me so that I can see how much they have grown over the years. :) hehe, so sentimental hor but then i have a box for all the cards that hubby gave me over the years too. So, that's me. I guess I am worried that if I lose my memory when I am old, I still have the cards to remind me of the happy memories we have. ;)Made potato salad last night and chilled it overnight for breakfast cos I know we don't have time to go for breakfast today cos I have post natal massage at Rustic Nirvana at 10am. I modified from this recipe http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Summer-Potato-Salad/Detail.aspx but added raisins and toasted bacon bits (omitted onions and pepper) Hubby found it the dressing sour though. Duh... not sure if I should bother to make it again but if I do, will probably just put mayo and salt. Easier and better appreciated. :P
Finally it's my 5th treatment at the spa. Just left with 1 last session on 30 May. Supposed to finish it before Raelynn is 6 months old for best effect. How time flies, my sweet Raelynn is coming to 6 months old. Everytime I talk to her and call her name when she is on the bouncer or exersaucer, she will give me a radiant smile and laugh. To her, I always feel guilty cos I can't spend as much time as compared to when we had RaeAnne. But she always brightens my day with her smiles and goo goo gaa gaa. I realise she has daddy genes though, whenever I switch on the tv while trying to BF her, she will turn her head towards the tv and ignore me. Even if I mute the tv, it's useless. Got no choice but to switch off the tv and concentrate on BF her. Duh, never had the same problem with RaeAnne leh.... ;P
Brought RaeAnne to Marche at 313 Somerset after that and they have a very nice children play area with 3 rocking horses and even a children size wooden playhouse. I had my favourite pork knuckle while RaeAnne and hubby shared a strawberry cake. They did not eat much cos RaeAnne had a mcnuggets happy meal while hubby had a cheeseburger. RaeAnne got another Doraemon happymeal toy to add to her collection. Now, she had Doraemon space astroanut, Dorami astronaut and Doraemon submarine. How time flies, I went to watch the old youtube video of RaeAnne feeding herself hot cakes in Mar 09 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=st5JZCX3k3k and felt so wistful that she is now so big and independent. No wonder Dr Wong said some parents have a 3rd one after the first 2 kids grow up cos they feel lost without a baby to love. haha.
RaeAnne KO on the car ride home and slept for 1 hr until 4pm. Hubby bought a very nice Doctor playset for RaeAnne at OG Orchard point. The stethoscope had the sound of a heartbeat and they have a handheld dentist mirror with light. Impressive. Needless to say, RaeAnne spent the whole afternoon after her nap playing doctor. I got to nap in peace from 3+pm - 5+pm too. Nice! :)
Oh yes, RaeAnne was singing a new song today. I knew the tune but not the lyrics nor the title. But she asked me to sing it for her. All I caught was two little boys which she kept repeating. Hummed the tune to hubby to try and solve the mystery, and it turned out to be the 'Mockingbird' song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySFmgEBC-tg&feature=fvw "Hush little baby, don't you cry, papa is going to buy you a mockingbird" Duh, basically she replaced all the toys (mockingbird, horse and cart etc) with 'two little boys'. Duh, where did that come from? Must go and ask her PG teachers. ;)
Friday, May 7, 2010
妈咪肚子好了吗？
Been having stomach upset last few days. Not sure if it's due to the half cooked cockles that I ate at Changi Village or due to my mum's curry vegetables. Told RaeAnne that I am sick and she has been very sweet and allowing me to nap even though she is not sleeping. Yesterday and today, she asked me when I was lying down with her on the bed 妈咪肚子好了吗？：）
"Daddy you want to go out or not?" We decided to go to NTUC today cos there is Friso3 promotion, only $44.25 even cheaper than the price we paid at Pasir Ris West Plaza. Hubby was a bit reluctant to go to TM cos it was already 8+pm by the time I had dinner and showered. So, he asked RaeAnne if she wanted to go out. RaeAnne did not say yes nor no. She just kept asking hubby the question above. But when hubby answered 'No', she kept asking again and again until hubby surrendered and said 'yes'. Guess our gal cannot take no for an answer after all.
P.S. one of her classmates from PG, Claire (Jia Huan cheh cheh), came to visit us today after class (they stay on the 10th floor). RaeAnne was happy to share her toys and even allowed Claire to use her bowl and cup and stool to eat fried rice. I guess she likes Claire more than Ethan then. The other boy from her PG came to our house last week cos the teachers accidentally put his hankerchief into RaeAnne's pocket. :P
"Daddy you want to go out or not?" We decided to go to NTUC today cos there is Friso3 promotion, only $44.25 even cheaper than the price we paid at Pasir Ris West Plaza. Hubby was a bit reluctant to go to TM cos it was already 8+pm by the time I had dinner and showered. So, he asked RaeAnne if she wanted to go out. RaeAnne did not say yes nor no. She just kept asking hubby the question above. But when hubby answered 'No', she kept asking again and again until hubby surrendered and said 'yes'. Guess our gal cannot take no for an answer after all.
P.S. one of her classmates from PG, Claire (Jia Huan cheh cheh), came to visit us today after class (they stay on the 10th floor). RaeAnne was happy to share her toys and even allowed Claire to use her bowl and cup and stool to eat fried rice. I guess she likes Claire more than Ethan then. The other boy from her PG came to our house last week cos the teachers accidentally put his hankerchief into RaeAnne's pocket. :P
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Raelynn is 5 months old. :)
Smiling up at Daddy :) 
Fooling around with Cheh Cheh's barney sunglasses :)
Raelynn is 5 months old. Got no time to weigh n measure raelynn's height yet cos we had a stayacation at changi village hotel from fri to Sunday. Raelynn is very smiley n starting to recognize faces n laugh with us. The hotel stay was a last minute decision since mummy needed a break n the hotel had a very not to be missed stay 1 night get 1 night free promotion. I also arranged a photo shoot with bambini photography to make use of the hotel n changi beach board walk for outdoor location shoot as well. Raeanne was her cool self again so I really hope the photo turn out well.
P.S. Update on 4 May, poor Mei Mei is only 6.3 kg when we weighed her today. Must have lost weight due to her cough. :(
Fooling around with Cheh Cheh's barney sunglasses :)
Raelynn is 5 months old. Got no time to weigh n measure raelynn's height yet cos we had a stayacation at changi village hotel from fri to Sunday. Raelynn is very smiley n starting to recognize faces n laugh with us. The hotel stay was a last minute decision since mummy needed a break n the hotel had a very not to be missed stay 1 night get 1 night free promotion. I also arranged a photo shoot with bambini photography to make use of the hotel n changi beach board walk for outdoor location shoot as well. Raeanne was her cool self again so I really hope the photo turn out well.
P.S. Update on 4 May, poor Mei Mei is only 6.3 kg when we weighed her today. Must have lost weight due to her cough. :(
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