Sunday Morning Snapshot – Sunday Brunch
Rare Sunday brunch photo. Awful food though. So there’s no food photo. ?
Do they look identical??
Cooking with 宝贝 – Butter Cookies
I’ve been keeping this simple recipe so that I can bake this with 宝贝. I can’t remember where I copied it from though. I usually copy and paste interesting recipes into my phone notes.
She’s been clamoring to bake cookies ever since she did it at school and at Totts. She even went shopping for baking stuff with me. We bought a couple of cool gingerbread boy and girl cookie cutters which have been idling in the drawer for months.
We needed to bring food for her school’s pattern party and the same day was also Teacher’s Day so I thought, why not?? We made one for everyone in class, including her 3 teachers. We even made 2 more for her “bus” friends. We even had a lot of dough leftover for our own consumption.
The butter cookies were of the right texture – not moist and with the right crumbly taste. Pretty yummy actually and neither were they overly sweet. Definitely a recipe for keeps.
I set her to the task of measuring out the ingredients. It trained her motor skills and it helped her with recognizing numbers in the hundreds. She diligently measured out the ingredients and set them aside. I only measured out the butter which was too difficult for her to cut up.
I kneaded all the ingredients into a big chunk of dough. Then it’s over to her again. She took the dough out bit by bit, flattened them and cut the shapes out with cookie cutters. I helped her lay them neatly on the paper lined baking trays as they were too soft to be handled by her. See all the misshapen ones out there!
We were mighty proud of the end results. :)
Check out the little gingerbread boys and girls, pigs, rabbits and birds.
320g Butter (I used unsalted butter)
600g Self Raising Flour
150g Icing Sugar (I used normal sugar as I didn’t have icing sugar at home)
1 egg (lightly whisked)
Simple right? Just 4 ingredients. You can add crushed nuts and dried fruits to it. Or you can decorate the cookies with frosting after they are baked.
1. Mix the flour and sugar in a large bowl. My largest bowl was too small. I resorted to using my steel soup pot. :p
2. Add softener butter into the flour sugar mixture. Add the egg in.
3. Knead until the dough is formed.
4. Roll the dough. Flatten it. Cut out the dough with cookie cutters.
5. Bake them for 13-15 mins in a preheated oven for 180°C. If you are using an air fryer, bake the dough for 10 mins at 180°C in the baking tray. I used both because I was trying to finish the baking as soon as I could.
6. Once they are baked, leave them on the cooling rack. Store them in an air tight container when they are cooled. Or eat them all up! Very addictive. :)
Easy peasy. If 宝贝 and I can bake them, anyone can!
Food Diary Day 88 – white cabbage purée
I’ve been slacking in updating my food diary BUT I’m still diligently introducing low allergenic food to 小小宝贝 every 3 days. I’ll try to update it as often as I can.
Today is white cabbage day!
I love to eat white cabbage! You just need to lightly stir fry it to bring the sweetness out of it. It’s vastly versatile and can be paired off with most food. Best of all, it’s one of the low allergenic foods. Not only that, cabbage is a good source of beta-carotene, vitamin C and fiber.
Wash the leaves thoroughly. Cut them up into strips and steam them for 10 minutes.
All my cabbages stuffed into the steamer blender up to it’s brim.
Then blend!
I hope he will love it tomorrow.
Goings
I have received many letters of resignations, heck, I have even sent out termination letters. But none has stirred such mixed feelings like the one that I have just received today. I had known that it would come eventually, for a long while ago actually. But when it finally appeared, despite being prepared for it, it had the aura of finality.
In my line of work (sales), people come and go, we have got used to the high turnover rate. But what made this person so special, was because I have been studying, playing, working with him practically almost all my life. He was the 2nd person I recruited into the organisation after I was promoted to the rank of a manager. He was someone I had highly depended upon during the course of work. When I had no one to eat lunch with, he was my lunch companion. He’s someone who was always around whenever help was needed.
Morale has been low since the restructuring and the departure of some influential bosses. Some people put it behind and moved on. Some don’t. The organisation evolved. Not good, not bad, just very very different.
I’m going to be lonely once he’s gone. Work will be all the more… work, now. But life goes on.
Still, I’m very happy for him that he has finally found the courage to step out and pursue life outside this place. It’s no mean feat, having been here for the last 9 years, to step out of his comfort zone. I hope that he will be able to pursue his dreams and passion henceforth.
No more lunch kaki anymore, no more soundboard to bitch to, but at least he will be a happier person out there.
Sail forth, my friend, show the world what you can do!!!
A Heartwrenching Blog
I seldom cry. But when I started reading this blog, I just couldn’t help myself. A friend shared this on her Facebook, I knew it was going to be sad, but I didn’t expect it to be so heart wrenching. My tears just started flowing…..
My heart went out to the brave little baby who had to battle EB ( junctional epidermolysis bullosa) from birth. Any form of abrasion causes blisters and sores on the skin. The pain and sufferings that he had to go through was something that I could never have imagined. And his selfless mother who gave up everything to take care of him. For a mother whose life revolved around him, the loss was devastating.
In between reading and tearing, i had the impulse to drop everything, rush home to give my 2 little ones the biggest hugs possible. When I read stories like this on the net, all the more I feel grateful that I’ve been blessed with 2 healthy and adorable children.
My simplest wish is for them to grow up happy and healthy, create value for society. Not everyone can be a Mozart, a Picasso or an Einstein. As long as they are happy and bring joy to the people around them, that’s good enough.
Meet Tripp here.
Courtney writes beautifully from her heart. Before you start reading, you may want to find yourself a quiet corner. It will not be a good idea to read it while having your make up on…
Korean Craze – 宝贝
The first time she did this, I attempted to correct her.
“No no! 1 plus 1 is 2! What the heck is kiyomi?! 2 plus 2 is 4!!”
“Noooo… (In a distressed wail) it’s KIYOMI!!”
“What kind of word is that?!”
“Mama it’s CUTE!!!”
Huh?!
After some consultation with younger friends on whatsapp, I realised that it’s another one of those Korean pop craze thingy. That reminds me of the last time she came home from school galloping like a pony and called her brother “sexy baby”. ?
For a little girl with no contact with the tv and smart phones, she’s surprisingly well informed….
For the clueless parents like me, I’ve done a google and compiled a gwiyomi (or kiyomi) survival kit. So that you don’t attempt to tell your child that she shouldn’t be sucking her fingers when she chants 6 plus 6.
Gwiyomi wiki for the studious parents.
For the visual parents, check out the following image. Do practise a few times before you perform it with your child.
If you want to bond with your child over smart phone and “buddy” with them, there’s a message version of it.
Check out my 宝贝’s version. ?
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4vkgUnjxoE&w=560&h=315]
Move over “kawaii”! Here comes “kiyomi!!
Sweet Baby Breath
Joy is to have one arm tucked around 小小宝贝 while he sleeps. One arm and one leg sprawled over me; his baby face just 5 cm from mine; eyes closed with long sooty eyelashes over his cheeks; rosebud mouth slightly opened; gently breathing while he sleeps.
I can smell his sweet baby fragrant breath, so near to my face.
I’m going to have a crick in my neck, from lying in this unnatural position. Not too long though because my little man will grow up all too quickly.
Sunday Morning Snapshot – Hey There!
I love Sundays! (Saturdays too!) Because I finally get to see Daddy the whole day!
Field Trip – Hort Park
“Mommy… All my friends’ Mommies and Daddies are always there, during the field trips, except mine…” Big eyes teary, little mouth quivering. (She’s honing her guilt trip skills.)
“Ok ok! I promise that I’ll be there for your next field trip!” Sigh…
So there I was. A parent volunteer for her Hort Park field trip. It’s only when I was there and I talked to a few mommies that I realised I’ve been taken for a ride by a 4 year old. Only a few Moms were there. ?
As a parent volunteer, I was basically assigned 4 children and I just needed to keep them in line, help them with toileting etc. Easy Peasy.
The kiddos were armed with their hats, water bottles and well slathered with sunblock and insect repellant. That’s 宝贝 right in front, beaming under her Japanese soldier cap because “her Mommy was there”, she proudly proclaimed to all her friends. Taking the day off was worth it, since it made her so happy. They were lining up, ready to make their way out of the school to board the bus.
Swinging her arm with her partner-of-the-day, Siya, at the entrance of Hort Park.
All looking very serious for a very important part of the trip…..
The picnic! Before the walk even started… ? Tucking into their buns and apple juices.
With the children well-fed, the educational walk began.
Edible plant section – Okra! My favourite!
Brinjal, pretty in purple!
Hello, Mr Scarecrow!
This was where we tried to take a class photo. Mission impossible!!
Taking off her cap and fanning herself with it. Now I know why it’s called Hort Park… It was bloody HOT. Ok. Bad pun over there. But before long, I was drenched in perspiration as well…
The kiddos were getting restless from an overdose of plants and sun.
All were ordered by teacher Yvonne to put on their caps.
Soon, the complaints starting pouring in. They sure can complain, considering that they are only 3-4 yr olds.
“I can’t walk anymore. I’m soooo tired”
“Where’s the bus? When are we boarding it??” (Bus = air con)
“Where’s the air con??”
We, parents, were commenting, “all these pampered kids!!! Terrible!” I couldn’t really blame them. I was yearning for air con myself. ?
Cheer up! Sunflower!!
Playground!! The highlight of Hort Park wasn’t the plants but this!! Suddenly, every one of them was no longer hunched while walking, no more complaints. They tapped into the secret source of energy within themselves to sprint to the playground.
Her gleeful grin at the top of the slide.
Snoozing in the bus?? Nah! She’s just pretending.
Is it a trend to stick plasters on themselves? Look at their legs…
A moment later, chatting with Siya in some Russian coded English. I couldn’t figure out what’s so funny that they kept giggling during the entire conversation. It takes a 4 yr old to understand another 4 yr old. I’m overaged…
Back home, totally fatigued from the hot sun and long walking. The bed was beckoning, but I had to drag myself up to change and go for work. Work eventually ended at 10pm that night. I was ready to faint from fatigue….
Food Diary Day 19 – Sweet Pea Purée
This is the first store bought purée (well, minus the Heinz apple one which was unintentional) for 小小宝贝.
We had prepared sweet pea purée for 宝贝 a few years back. After our first attempt, we vowed not to do it again. It simply wasn’t worth the hassle.
In case, you are interested in the preparation procedure…
Buy a bag of frozen green peas from any supermarket.
Steam them for 10 mins.
Blend them.
Press the purée against a sieve to get rid of the hard skin.
It was the last step that “killed” us.
After sieving one big serving of green pea (the sieving took at least 15 minutes), we ended up with just 1/3 of it. Pathetic. After all that hard work….
So, while I shun off the shelf purée, the Healthy Times sweet pea purée is good enough for me.
