Wake Up and Smell the Cake

We met a young boy at one of the houses we visited few days ago, and ohmy GOD how drama mama is that boy! I tell you if his mum wasn't there I'd go up to him and give a good pinch on his arm or thigh or whatever. A slap would be appropriate too. So this is what happened. My little boy is still learning to play with others, at 1 year 2 months he's not much of a social butterfly. But my in-laws do train him by playing with his five month old cousin, so far it's been good. Kids that age don't share toys or even worse, get jealous and do evil stuff but Junior can pat his cousin's head when we told him to "sayang-sayang adik". Sometimes it gets violent too like a slap hahahaha but he's a boy. Anyway! So at that particular house, there were other toddlers as well, but Junior was very quiet. Takes after his mama you see, not a social butterfly. He liked this toy school bus and took it so he could spin the tyres. But at this particular instance, J

Raya's coming! And the Raya Grinch is back! Seriously. I can't remember the last time I was sooo looking forward to Hari Raya. I look forward only to food and yummy cakes and kuih which I will eat at one corner sitting quietly by myself hurhur. But this time round I'll have an 11.7kg toddler to handle. I do hope he won't be so cranky. Anyway! Here's what I've been up to lately. Took Friday off so that I could have the four day long holiday dedicated for baking. Thursday was pineapple tarts at my mum's cos there is no way I'm gonna do tarts on my own with a baby to handle. We managed to make two batches for my mum's household and mine. Friday and Saturday was spent on Almond London, for three households. This, I did on my own and I literally spent the entire day on them cos every half an hour or so Junior wants my attention. I managed to get him to sit quietly for a bit, but as expected no one activity lasts more than 10 minutes, so he was off aga

Weekend was filled with cooking! Okay I cheated on Sunday cos we went my mum's house to cook haha, but Saturday itself was tiring enough! Invited in-laws ++ over for Husband's famous chicken rice and I made sago gula melaka. MIL made sweet sour fish too which was yummy! We wanted to make stir fry vege but at the last minute our stove's spark wasn't working!! Like wth! Oh wells. Luckily the chicken is all cooked! Maybe I'll make the stir fry today for sahur. So after 2 pots of rice, two kilos of chicken fried, three times of boiling sago, 5 big bottles of bandung, we ended up with one messy kitchen but it was all worth it! I am so fortunate to have a husband that cooks well :) Then we went to Geylang after that. Ha. The mandatory, not-my-fave-place-to-visit bazaar. And time flew while we were there! We didn't realise it was almost midnight! Poor Junior fell asleep in his pram :( I wasn't in any shopping mood at all because I was worried about Junior. Any

Yup made these again yesterday morning while Husband was asleep and Junior clinging to my leg (yes, clinging -_-), banana chocolate chip muffins. If I make them again, I must remember to make these few changes: use 1 tsp instead of 1 1/2 tsp of bicarbonate soda add more bananas! Or not. Maybe if I reduce the soda the banana taste would be better. This time round I remembered to add the chocolate chips in, and I sprinkled more on top too! HEEHEE. I ran out of milk too, so I used the leftover whipped cream I had. Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins 1 1/2 cups flour 1 1/2 tsp bicarbonate soda 3/4 cup sugar 4 medium bananas, mashed 1/4 cup cream 2 eggs 1/2 cup canola oil pinch of cinnamon Mix all dry ingredients in a big bowl. In a separate bowl, mix mashed bananas, eggs, cream and oil together. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until incorporated. Lastly, add in chocolate chips. Transfer to muffin cups and bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 25 minutes. M

How time flies! I can't believe we have Junior for a year already. This time last year, I was induced awaiting for the birth canal to open up, just the start of a very long labour . This was the monitoring device for my contractions. Not much contractions huh. Hence, 44 hours. Haha. My labour was pretty easy, just that it took a looooong time. Thank God we didn't have to go through any assisted delivery or caesarian. Junior was happily snuggled in my womb not wanting to come out, he was happily kicking still. Pushing itself took almost an hour. But at last, at 11.02pm, 30 June, he popped out. My 4.056kg charmer. We love you very very much little sweetheart! The energy you drained from us, almost every night of disturbed sleep, extra fats, stretchmarks all worth it for you have brought endless joy, countless smiles, much love that we all need in this world. Aww Mama's about to tear.

I am so so sleepy. Junior woke me up at 4 plus this morning and he didn't want to sleep. He only slept back at 6, which was already too late for me to go back to bed!! Here's some photos from the last few days. This is my mum's cabinet door that Junior dislodged. Don't ask me how. We're still puzzled. If he were an Avenger, I think he's The Incredible Hulk.  We had a wonderful family time weekend, just like how weekends are supposed to be like. We could tell Junior was enjoying his weekend too. This was at John Little Expo. Junior loves to sit at the empty racks cos he can crawl round and be free to move. He didn't want us to carry him away either! And I managed to find work clothes that are cheap (read: $15.90 only!!) and breastfeeding friendly!! The only downside is the dresses are long. Like below the knee long. Reminds me of my very kental days in secondary school where my uniforms were always oversized thanks to dad. Haha. And this foll

Day 4 of 29. I hope I can complete all 29! Shouldn't have procrastinated. Urgh. I have to fast like every weekday hopefully I can make it. And I hope it won't affect my supply too much. I think this fasting thing is making me more of a baking monster. Not being able to eat amplifies my need to look at these yummy cakes and frosting. Speaking of which, I wonder how my extra cream cheese frosting is doing in my freezer. Maybe I should have a look later. I feel like doing the red velvet cupcakes again! I love cream cheese frosting! I have been thinking of what cake I should make for my birthday. FFL says I shouldn't be making my own cake, but I like it and I can have whatever flavour and sinful goodies all packed into the cake, so why not! Right now I'm thinking chocolate. Lotsa lotsa chocolate. Haha. And a few days before that I think I will be making carrot cake with cream cheese frosting for Junior's birthday. His first birthday! Time flies. As I was bre

Yesterday was one tiring day. Practically an entire day of attending to Junior. And he's at this clingy stage where he doesn't really want anyone else except dearest Mama. An almost 11 kilo baby will definitely tire out your arms no matter how much muscle you have! And I don't have any, hurhur. I always fail/just pass my chin ups for fitness tests in school. We went to a wedding, and surprisingly Junior fell asleep in my arms without nursing! He must be really sleepy. Husband had a meeting after that, so we spent our time at the mosque nearby while waiting for two and a half hours. It was a great place to just hang around, cos it was kinda empty and open, perfect for Junior to practise crawling! Which he did, of course :) And he was friendly to the other ladies at the mosque too! Haha Junior happily playing with his teething toy before he started crawling. And off he goes!! I used his teething toy and the water bottle as bait. Crawl crawl crawl. Stopp

Lots of things happened with Junior last weekend! Saturday we spent almost the whole day at home. Glad we did, cos we witnessed Junior's first crawl! Yay! He was reaching out to get my handphone hahaha. It's the cutest thing ever :) And he didn't want to just crawl, he wanted to stand too. So the entire morning we played in his room, he used the shelves to help him stand, and we did some reading and learning of alphabets too! He now knows not to bite the books and cards when I tell him not to. Yay! Achievement for me! Yesterday Junior and I sent off Other Half to Jakarta for a work trip. I wanted to try and get him used to the car seat, but guess what. The whole journey home he was crying and crying! Only stopping for a while to catch his breath. I was speeding all the way and singing and trying my best to entertain him with weird noises but nothing worked! Poor boy :( Then we went to my mum's and he was much happier then. What's not to like, everyone

Just came back to office today after 3 days of MC. The usual throat infection fever cough running nose combo. Still have cough though. It has been an unproductive 3 days. The pile of work waiting for me at office and at home too. Only did laundry once and I spent most of my time at my mum's cos I was too lazy to go back home after sending Junior in the morning. Plus there's free food at my mum's hurhur. I was itching to bake, and when I finally decided to (same day as laundry), something last minute cropped up and my equipment went back into the cupboard. Bummer. I wanted to try out my expensive cocoa powder! Anyway. The blessing in disguise was getting to spend more time with Junior. Doing the usual, playing with pots and pans and the laundry basket. He loves household items very much. Watching us hang the laundry to dry fascinates him all the time. And something new he did: check what's under the ottoman! He is one inquisitive boy. He loves to practise sta

I can't seem to get my entire house clean every weekend, and I am seriously considering this as part of my house cleaning regime: I don't know where to get one, but I can always make one. I saw those yellow cloth thingy at sold at CK store and I'll just fix it to Junior's unwanted rompers. And off he goes mopping the floor with me. Mopping the floor is a must now, especially with lift upgrading going on, the floor is quite dusty. And whenever I hint to Husband to help me mop, he offers to get those weekend helpers instead -_-" Not exactly the answer I was looking for!! Okay. This shall be the project in the coming week! FYI this is not child abuse, this is called getting baby accustomed to housework.

My little road runner ♥

I have always loved babies. I wanted one since I was in university. Back then I didn't even have a potential husband but I still wanted a baby don't ask me how I'll get one. Hahaha. Now I have Junior. I love my Junior. There's always something about him that makes us smile. Honestly speaking he's not what I expected, he's much much more active than I thought babies could be, and a clever cheeky boy too. Having said that, there are things we all go through as parents, the downside of parenting that we all aren't told of in baby bonus campaigns. Let's list down what they are: Babies cost a lot. And I do mean A LOT. Diapers, wipes, milk, education, childcare just to name a few. Tax benefits and cash baby bonus are great, but it can't cover the whole expenses of course. Babies make you lose sleep. Lots of interrupted sleep. Three hours is luxury, and rest is not in your dictionary.  Babies are time consuming. Having a relaxing bath is almost impo

Yes it is! Husband tasted it after coming home from a prior engagement late last night. And yes he likes it! He loves plain simple cakes like this. He approves of the lemon flavour too! I guess it kills the eggy taste and makes the cake less muak or jelak. Which is a bad thing though cos that would mean I can't stop eating it hahaha. Junior has been extra clingy and needy. Like yesterday he lovingly rested his head on Husband's chest and just stayed there. And last night! Omg Juniorrrrr why must you be so fussy! Mama doesn't know what you want! He woke us up at 1+ and I finally got him to sleep 2 painful hours later. And then he did it again at 5! But that lasted 1 hour. Not too bad. For a moment he didn't want direct feeding! I panicked okay! I didn't want that incident at Langkawi to happen again! But thankfully that's over. Phew. Family day today! That is, after Husband finishes his work. Make it family half-a-day today. I have work to do too but a little

I know I still have yet to blog about Langkawi, maybe sometime over the weekend. Here's a simple post for today, what I did over the weekend. LOTS of cleaning but still lots more to go, and a bit of shopping ;) My baking splurge for Sunday! Baking chocolate, my cook's measure (finally!), pandan paste, gelatine (got the halal nod from Husband hurhur), roti kirai mould and kuih bakar mould. Contemplated on getting vanilla pods but I resisted. Kuih bakar mould, heavy and rough material. Bought this upon Husband's request. He loved his grandma's kuih bakar which she cooked over the stove with something like this, so I'm on a mission to replicate it! :) There's a heavier mould, made of brass and is $55 but I think I'll try this out first. Fishing out the clothes that Junior can't fit anymore. The drawer was getting too messy. Junior's old shoes. Who says guys can't have many shoes as well?? Hahahaha. And here's my little angel with

Gonna be on half day tomorrow cos I'll be expecting a delivery. And we all know what happens when I take half day! I become a superwoman housewife ! Haha! I have planned to, in those few hours: Do laundry (hopefully the sun shines brightly so my clothes can be dry) Make pineapple tarts for Husband Change bedsheets (and wash them too if possible, but highly unlikely) Pineapple tarts are gonna take me quite some time. It's been almost a year since I've made them! Hope I haven't lost touch. Husband's really looking forward to his favourite cookies. It is almost impossible to make them with Junior around. Speaking of Junior, he has been waking us up at 3am for the past two nights, and refusing to sleep back! Yesterday he was awake for one and a half hours, the night before was three whole hours!! Faints. But I am quite amazed that I'm actually not that sleepy in the day. Weird. But that doesn't mean you can do it every night, young man!!

So yesterday night I got bakin'! I really really wanted to try my new mini loaf pan . It is perfect! I buttered the sides of the pan, and the cakes could be removed very easily! Love it! I didn't realise it was so pricey, when I was washing the pan then I saw the price tag - $28. T_T I know I know, I bought without checking the price haha. It was a good bake yesterday. I finished my cake flour, finished my sugar, and there are points for improvement. While I was preparing the ingredients, I realised I was short of sugar. The horror !! The recipe called for 1 and 3/4 cups of sugar but I only had half a cup! So I added in half cup condensed milk. And then I realised something, whenever I use condensed milk, I shouldn't have added vanilla essence. Happened before with the Condensed Milk Cheesecake . Gives an overpowering taste. I think if the vanilla was reduced, it would be perfect. Another thing I noticed,I didn't really taste the cheese! Haha! Maybe it's suppos

Day two, insyaAllah. This time I planned my sahur earlier and with more food and water! Muahaha. On the day I decide to fast, there's free good food. Like epok-epok my colleague brought. And new tidbits from another colleague. And sandwich and suji from the wife of yet another colleague! Drools. But I get to eat the suji at least! She brought these cookies for me yay! Hmm does that mean I have to bring something in return? Such a nice lady, I have yet to meet her! :) My eyes are dry, from the lack of sleep. Woke up at 5am and didn't sleep back. And at night Junior didn't really want to sleep. He kept waking up after like 10 minutes of sleep between midnight and 1+am, finally slept after singing to him. He's getting VERY active too! Cannot sit still! So adorable, such a handful! Husband says he's not a handful, he's two hands full. Hahahaha ♥

Since the end of last week Junior has been playing with his mouth a lot. It's like he found out he can pout and puff and make bubbles. Cos that's what he has been doing :) And he looks like he enjoys it a lot! Spurting out bubbles (large ones too!) of saliva to anyone and everyone with an amazing trajectory. Reminds me of that pokemon Squirtle. Boooshh saliva!! Hahaha   I don't have a picture of him in the act but this is the closest. Taken this morning, on the way to fetch my in-laws and send them to the polyclinic. This was when he was about to start squirting. Junior was very well-behaved in the car! Kept smiling at me and kept himself busy when Mama had to concentrate on driving. The cheeky boy wanted to play peek-a-boo while Mama was driving hahaha. Monday blues !! I miss him. This weekend will be LAME. The Husband will be busy on Saturday and Sunday both of us will be at a work event. We'll make it up to you sweetie, Tuesday when you have your injection,

Dear son, Yesterday was the PSLE results. In twelve years' time, it'll be your turn. This year's top student is the daughter of a bank director and a lawyer. The second top student is the son of a lawyer and an accountant. Since you're the son of a LLM-but-no-LLB-lawyer and an accountant, we'd expect the same. Nope we're not trying to stress you out. Just a point to note. Lotsa love, Mama