Fun with cooking

Frankly I have never dreamt that I will be cooking for my family. Since young, I have developed a phobia in cooking as I was afraid of cooking oil splattering onto me. Whenever my mum was frying fish or deep-frying dishes, I will always stay away from the kitchen (for fear that the oil may splatter onto me). Sounds silly huh? But that was my mentality then.

I have never prepare soups or dishes in my life. I used to think that cooking is a complicated process. The most i could whip up were spaghetti (which I have learnt when I was staying in hostel in Perth), maggie mee and sushi. Simple and no oil required. And I've learnt to prepare porridge only when I become a mummy.

But eversince I decided to stay at home and be a full time mummy, I figured that I have to learn how to cook for the family (well, eating out is expensive and we are surviving on a single income now). For a start, I will usually prepare dishes that are simple and require less effort. Most of the times, we have steamed dishes (thanks to a multi-steamer that we have bought sometime back).

A few months back, we decided to get the much-raved Happycall Pan and with the recipes that I have found online, mainly from Munch Ministry and Cuisine Paradise, it makes me feel more confident about cooking. After the first use, I am convinced that with HCP, cooking is faster and healthier with lesser oil required (less oil = lesser risk of oil splattering on me). And that made me more hardworking in searching for more recipes and trying out new recipes. Of course, I will prefer easy-to-prepare food. Nothing too complicated or I will find it a chore. Guess I am still not that adventurous when it comes to cooking.

What motivated me to cook more often is the joy of seeing my kids and hubs enjoying the healthier food and asking for more servings. And I have managed to convince my firstborn to take more food variety like egg and tofu (she just get more picky about food as she get older), which is a BIG bonus on why I should cook.

Cooking is one of the greatest achievements for me as a SAHM. I would have never thought that I can cook or will cook if I did not make that decision to quit my job and stay at home to devote my time for the family. Now I am a believer that it is fun and motivating to cook for our loved ones. I welcome anyone who is willing to share their recipes with me.

Being a soup lover, I love to prepare soups for my family. This is one of their favourites.

Cooking made easier with this Tefal multi-steamer

One of the first few dishes from HCP

Bumps and bruises

On average, Jayven has been getting bumps & bruises on his head at least once a week. And I really wonder if this is due to poor balance or just simply because his head could be too big. Frankly I have never felt that his head is big as it don't look out of proportion from his body. But recently I realized that his head is as big as his sister so it could be that his head is big for his age.

Anyway it has become pretty funny to see him earning those bumps at times eg he knocked his head yesterday when he lost his balance from squatting. Perhaps his centre of gravity is really bad? Of course my heart will ache when he get those knocks but either it has become a pretty common scene now (I am getting a lil immune to it) or I have become a much chill-lax mum (before I drive myself insane). I know those knocks are painful as the bruise will appear soon after the redness goes off.

Nonetheless, I hope he will grow out of the bumping and knocking phase soon. And I really hope that those knocks & bumps will not affect his brain development.

Another knock from yesterday. And there was another bruise recovering on the right side.

One of the shots captured months ago when he had his those first few bumps

Sleepover

My niece came over to stay last Saturday and she spent her Sunday & Monday noon with us. Janelle was very excited and happy to spend the weekend with her beloved cousin, Megan. She is 4 months apart from Janelle and they get along very well just like sisters.

I'm really glad that Janelle has Megan who can grow up with her, play with her, share with her, fight with her (well, even siblings or couples will fight), learn with her and gossip with her (as they grow older). This reminds me of me & my sister. We shared our childhood memories together, we played, we laughed, we cried, we fought, we get spanked together, we shared about our crushes, we worked together & we knew each each other's secrets.  It's great to have a sister who can grow up together & shared all the girly stuff that boys/guys will never understand.

Janelle was delighted to have Megan's company over the weekend and she even asked me when will Megan come to stay in our house again.  

Worried that she may not adapt to our place, I'm glad to see her sleeping soundly on Janelle's bed 

Just like sisters, they wanted to wear the same design

Fun @ T3

Megan's school was closed on Monday and she was most happy to fetch Janelle from her school.

If only they were willing to take their naps. the 2 monkeys ended up cuddling and playing on the bed

Playtime (and Jayven joined in)

They loved to have their meals side by side (and ended up talking or watching the tv)

Lil Ms Chatterbox

Lately, I realised that Janelle loves to talk and she can rattle on non-stop. From the moment she is fully awake till bedtime, she will continue to yak and yak. If we are not giving her the attention that she requires, she will force-turn our heads with her hands to face her and she will continue to talk.

It is a good thing that she is out-spoken, likes to talk and interact. Afterall, her parents are not exactly the quiet nor soft-spoken people. Maybe she will grow up to be a good presenter haha. But there are times that she will just get so noisy and I really wish for some quietness.

Sometimes, the things that she talked simply amazed us and make us cracked. Well, this is my precious princess and I'm glad that she is growing up just fine (though I secretly hope the yakking stage will pass soon).

I had to adopt the old school method of getting her to place her finger on her lip to get her to stop talking.
And it only works for 5 minutes or less.

Jayven at 15 months

My lil charmer has turned 15 months 2 days back. Yet the poor boy was sick (again) with fever & runny nose. We realized that he has been falling sick at least once a month (on average). I really hope that his immunity will get stronger and the virus will stop attacking him.

He usually has a good appetite (he eats anything & everything) & is a greedy boy. He will put on his sweetest smile & say "mum mum" if he see us with food in our hands. This mischievous boy loves to play. If he is feeling playful (ie most of the times), he will prompt us to play with him. His favourite game is hide & seek. He loves to go gai gai and is also aware that he has to put on his shoes before he can go out. He will wait for us at the shoe cabinet to take his shoes, put them on for him and he will stand guard at the door.

It is becoming more challenging to feed him in the house as he starts to reject the high chair & he can never sit still during his meals. He is always busy walking around the house, take the toys, place them elsewhere randomly or just throw them on the floor, or busy dancing away to the tune of the tv program. His favourite toys are the steering wheels & balls (and we have all sizes at home as my parents keep buying balls for him).

He is an expressive & affectionate toddler. When he is happy, he will smile, laugh or giggles. Cry out loud or scream when he is sad. Pretend to cry or whine if he want attention. Throw tantrums when he is angry. Kiss us when he feel like it or when we ask him to. And he loves cuddles & hugs. He enjoys having company & cannot stand being alone. No matter how we try to distract him with toys or his favourite show, he will follow us the moment we walk away from him.

He is also a very cheeky boy. He will try to catch our attention & make funny sounds or giggles to make us laugh. Today I played his favourite Barney DVD & I wanted to go to kitchen to prepare his porridge, but he looked at me and beckoned me to sit beside him to watch the show together. Usually when his show ended, he will search for the remote controller and pass to anyone of us indicating to play the show again. Being a friendly boy, he will usually flash his widest & charming smile even to strangers.

His favourite playmate is his sister. If Janelle is at home, he will always follow her wherever she goes. They loves to do things together such as playing, drinking milk, bathing & they even like to wear same design or matching outfit. He also enjoyed fetching his sister from school & he loves playing at the playground with her if weather permits.

My lil boy has grown so much. He is such an adorable boy (cuteness to the max!), a joy to be with &  he has the ability to drive me and my hubs nuts. I love you my baby!

Jayven at 15 months (loving his smile)

He has this habit of holding on to a DVD regardless what he is doing

He loves to mess with his jiejie's stuff

Ball games are still his favourite

He will only hold his own bottle when he sees his jiejie doing so

Imaginative play with jiejie (so cute!)

Sibling love

In the games arcade at such a young age, he likes the steering wheel

He likes ball games too

He loves shopping especially in toys section

They have the same tees! And they were excited to wear it together

Birthday celebrations

Yes, I am one year older (again). Well, my wish is to age gracefully so that at least I do not look older than what I am supposed to be. I shall have the mindset that with each passing year, I will be celebrating my aging gracefully (looking youthful!) instead of getting older. Hehehe!

I felt really happy and blessed that my friends and loved ones remembered and celebrated my birthday.

What surprised me most is that my ex-colleagues remembered and made an effort to  celebrate with me. And a bigger surprise when they gotten me a cake and the restaurant turned up the volume for birthday song when they presented the cake to me (awkward moment!). The sweetest part was when the staff took out their polaroid camera and took a group picture for us, inserted the polaroid into a birthday card with all the well-wishes from their staff. It is definitely a good place to bring your loved ones for celebrations and sweet surprise.

Sweet gesture from Pu Tien in nex

More amused by my boy's reaction when I was making a wish

Me and my boy
(yes, the candles on the cake reflected my actual age)

I had the second celebration with my family and close friends last Saturday They are my loved ones and friends for more than a decade. Great company matters a lot and I was glad that all of them could make it to celebrate with me.

Family shot

Receiving my pressie from my lovely niece

Me and my lil charmer

Me and my lovely princess

 

A group photo taken of the kiddos after the dinner.
A pity we have forgotten to take a group photo for the adults

I have been craving for my favourite Japanese cuisine hence my hubs brought me to celebrate the special day at Sushi Tei at Paragon.

Same outfit! My girl decided that we have to wear the same on my birthday

Good food, great company and sweet surprises! It has been a great week of celebrations.
Happy Birthday to myself! Cheers to my objective of aging gracefully and looking youthful as I get older :p

A date with the Monsters

We brought Janelle to watch Monsters University on Monday. I'm proud that she is able to sit still & watched the entire show. No fidgeting, no talking (I told her no loud talking in the cinema) & no toilet breaks (not that I do not allow her to go toilet but she was not interested in the last movie & she kept asking to go toilet every 15 - 30 mins).

Though she do not really understand the show, she enjoyed watching the characters & she said she liked the movie.

It was a great evening spent with the firstborn.

Failed attempt to take her photo in the theatre (it's too dark)