Mums' Day 2009

Sunday 10th May - I woke up early to thaw the cake from the fridge for my mil. the carrot will be alittle rock hard if its not thawed! but gx spoils everything! he woke up late and he decide to send his dad to work and then go wash car. so i put the cake back into the fridge. then it started raining very heavily! so he decide not to wash the car... so i took the cake out again! but he didnt come home! after a few phone calls, finally got him and he was washing his car! put the cake back in the fridge again!

finally mil got to cut the cake and glad they like it! then took some time to blog as over the weekend i took alot of photos! then rushed to prep to go to mum's. could hear mum's happy that i was gog back! she called to tell me she cooked our share of lunch! when we got home, i purposely showed my mum the cake box when i wished her Happy mum's day! KNEW her reaction would be "CAKE AGAIN!" haha. she is so easy to read!

so i got her to open the box to check... gx told her i baked it myself. after looking at it then she was alittle calmer cos its smaller and not as big as she imagine! while gx, sis, bro, cam and i were eating the yummy oyster porridge, my mum took out the dessert she prepared! i was thrilled to see a bowl of green mush! yummy! mum made creamy avocado dessert! i even teased mum that she looked so green with her polo and dessert!

the avocado dessert was heavens! it was creamy and yummy! loved it and it took mum almost 8 avocado to make 12cups! i had one-&-a half serving and it was satisfying! then we cut the carrot cake and mum liked the texture and taste of the cake! she has always prefered "solid" cakes to creamy cakes.

then we sat down to watch the video uncle K made as i was too busy to settle down the nite before to appreciate. i know mum miss grandma... it had a few pics of her and grandma during a thailand trip. then when it came to my mum's 21st bdae, we paused. uncle k said that her elder daughter resembles his look... but we made more discovery! Ly looks like uncle M and nesa looks like my aunt K! wonder who our little gal will resemble more!

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then gx and i head down to victoria street to get my fil his spices and my mum requested for coarse salt. mum wants the salt to prepare Salt-baked chicken for my confinement! i am so looking forward to eat my mum's confinement vinegar trotters and salt-baked chicken! then after that we head to illuma, we have not been around and there are so many changes everywhere! the building is still rather empty but we loved the cool air-conditioning!

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we head to pray at GY temple and we head to OG and i found Ly her bdae gift. i bought both the gals their presents oredi! i was afraid that i mit be in confinement when they celebrate their bdae so i did my shopping early! then we walked to get my popiah and we head back to tpy to do our weekend grocery shopping. home to relax and we watched Slumdog Millionaire on dvd. it was not too bad. i quite like the story. thats our simple mothers' day! next year i would have a little one on my lap! told gx that its not very fair that he would get to hold his daughter for fathers' day this year! also in my immediate family, i will be the last to hold my daughter for bdae! after fathers' day, my sil bdae, my dad, my mum, then gx and my mil, in 2010, my bro, my sis, my fil and finally ME! then mothers day then my little one would turn 1!

Mothers' Day Party 2009!

Saturday 9th May - Vesak Day. So gx didnt have to work and he slept on till almost 11am before getting up cos he only went to bed at 5am! while gx was sleeping, i was busy packing up the things to bring to mum's house for the party! i got 8 mangoes, salad stuff, scallops and more stuff to bring over! then gx sent me to get my kampong chicken rice then dropped me off at mums and he went to meet up with his fren P. so after eating the pathetic amount of chicken with my packet of rice, i started with the mangoes!
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i sat there to dice and scape 8 mangoes and got bro to buy more mangoes as i just feel that the more mango the better! so he has joint effort with my dish. as he is studying, his gf helped me to peel and seprate the pomelo. was glad cousin A came earlier to help me out with the cooking too!in total we used 10 mangoes at first, then much later, bro did his part by adding 2 more mangoes into the HUGE (my mum's 2nd biggest pot!) pot of mango sago pomelo dessert!

the dinner was settled by the children... all of us either cook or buy the dishes. Sis and Bil got the chicken wings and satay from chompchomp. we added more cucumber to the given cucumber, onion and rice to make it the other simple salad thats goes with satay sauce. i cooked the spanish tapas prawns with chorizo sausage. mum loves this dish! its my second time cooking this and she simply praise me that i cooked this well! mum's comments are very important so i can improve and when she likes it, i am over the moon! instead of making the topshell, i decided to finish using the scallops. but instead of wrapping it up with expensive parma ham... i did it with bacon.

Cousin A made the rocket leaves with smoked salmon salad. the rocket leaves had basamic vinegar dressing infused with lemon and herbs. then capers were added to the smoked salmon! the 3 boys bought sarpino pizzas. 1-for-1 and is $70 for 4 large pizza! the estimation of food was good as we didnt have much leftovers!

my first try at making the mango sago pomelo dessert. think i should have puree more of the mango with the milk! it was a little milky. also i yield too much from the dessert that i needed my mum's 2nd BIGGEST pot in the house to hold this dessert! so had to put pot into pot which is filled with ice and cold water to keep the dessert cool! but still i think the dessert was not too bad for a first try! some had 2 bowls of the mango dessert, so its still acceptable but i need to improve on it!

got this secret recipe cake with 20% off and its the same white choc macadamia cake as gx's bdae. the staff decorated the cake esp for mum's day. i only told them to pipe the wordings and was afraid that it come not decorated and i actually picked the same colourful hearts topping from my baking pantry for nesa to decor the cake! but we didnt have to which she is kinda disappointed! finally get to join in for the mothers' day picture! aunt o was not at the party as L boy is down with chicken pox. uncle K was so sweet, he made a video esp dedicated to the mums! he is so good at choosing the songs to go with the picture slide! he is really very thoughtful!

my aunt K is so sweet, she surprised me with a bouquet of little pink carnation flowers! only i got a whole bunch cos i am gog to be mum for the 1st time! i was very touched! she got bigger darker pink carnations and gave the rest of the mums and ladies in the house a stalk each! Aunt A also thoughtfully packed little packs of M&Ms parcels for the kids to give to mums! nesa and gx nicely arranged the little parcels into a heartshape. she said M&M = Mum & Me. Sweet aunts and uncle i have! I guess its in the blood cos soon you will find out! very thickskinned but i do have these nice traits in me! it runs in the family!

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to end my busy day, mum packed chicken soup that she brewed for me. thou i was filled, when i got home, i poured it out and drank the whole big bowl of soup, even thou the weather is so hot!

Our Very FIRST Carrot Cake Especially for Our Mummies!

A very busy start to my 35th weekend! Friday woke up and started to go thru the ingredients and recipe to make a new list of things that is still missing for the baking session in the afternoon! then after mil left the house, i started with roast the pecans while i set the dining table up with the baking utensils and ingredients. then after measuring the dry ingredients, i started chopping the cooled pecans! my gal was definitely not comfortable with me sitting up for so long! took me quite a while to finish chopping the nuts finely!
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then after i was done, i was feeling so hot! jump into shower and then went out to get the rest of the baking stuff! then went up to aunt's place to deposit some stuff for cousin A to pick up cos i couldn't carry them all by myself! glad that my aunt just stay so near me! took a cab to meet tab at biy store. i bot my 12muffin tin that i didnt get the last time round! then i picked up a pack of icing carrots and some other cool baking stuff! i spent a bomb but it was worth it!
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once home, A and Tab started shredding while i started measuring out the liquid ingredients and started baking our first carrot cake! we made cream cheese topping for our cake. we followed and modified the recipe from martha stewart! we did 2 batches and it all turn out beautifully! we tried the cake and we all loved it! it was very nice! i personally think the texture is right and firm and not too wet. love the pecans and the cinnamon taste!

we did a clearup before embarking to decorate the cakes we made! the flower mould belongs to my cousin A. these were so cute! thou it turn out uneven, we decided it looked cute that way, so we didnt trim away to make it even! so i took 3 to decorate for my mum. as we are having a big secret recipe cake on Saturday, these small little flowers would be the perfect size for my mum.

for these flowers, i pipped the cream cheese on and simply decorated it with little icing flowers that my cousin bought. simply and pretty! it looked very cute! also to me the 3 flowers represent me, sis and bro! so this is my gift to my mum, flowers and cake!

Tab and i loves carrot cake made by one of the sas teachers and finally we got to make our very own carrot cake! is her first try at decorating a whole cake! she got these lovely colourful icing flowers and she was having definitely having fun doing it! it turned out so pretty! also she got the purpish pearly beads to highlight the cake! the cake looked so lovely and i think she did well decorating the cake for her 1st try!

for my mil, i made her a 8"cake. as my mil is not into cheese, i only top the cake with icing and didnt do the sides. my looked like a pie when i was done icing the cake! simply placed the little orangy icing carrots and later on i topped it with tab's pearls!

as my cousin's bake was second round and it was still warm she didnt do her decor with us. she baked her cakes in 2 heart-shaped containers and she took the cream home to pipe it before giving her mum and to her bf's mum. tab stayed on further to finish decorating her 4 cupcakes-sized carrot cakes. its really cute!

overall, thou we started late, with 3 pairs of hands, it made the baking session fun and less tiring as everyone spread out and did a part to assemble this carrot cake! its quite a bit of work to do it on your own! shredding carrots, chopping pecans all by oneself was the chore if you have no help at all! i was thankful the gals helped me out with the washing as now with the late stage of my pregnancy, it makes bending forward difficult!

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gx was very sweet to give me a massage as he knew i was very tired after the whole baking session and i slept well. but i suffered very bad leg cramps that nite at 3+am! glad gx was still awake playing his computer game! he told me he was shocked by my sudden shout and hurried over to hold me feet. he could tell i was in alot of pain compared to other days when i had leg cramp!

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then when he put my right leg down, my left leg immediately started to cramp and it was 3x worst! he could tell as i was very loud shouting pain! he calm me down with his loud voice and kept pushing my feet flat and i hurt so much!!! it took him alot of strength and for a long time before my leg finally relax but once he let go, it came back again and he held on for awhile more and he applied clarins leg cream for me and it felt better.

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i slept on fine but at 5+am, i woke up in shock! the lightning looks as thou it was striking into our room! it was so bright and the thunder didnt roar, it just hit so loudly as thou the sky was falling apart! baby got shocked and i comforted her as i was shocked many times myself with the loud non-stop thundering and the rain hitting our window panes! what a night!!!

M-Th of 35th Week!

"updated entry with pics that i took (i forgot i did take some pics...) and i actually forgot that i did go back to mum's place on tuesday! pregnancy=forgetfulness? also check out Serena's blog on the gathering we had at swiss cafe! love the title the entry! http://starrfire7.blogspot.com/2009/05/lunch-before-they-pop-p.html"

this week was a lazy start... started heartburn problem since the last thurs... didnt tell gx that i did something naughty last week... i ate 3 little pulps of durian at mum's place... i had it for afternoon tea when i was there... monday morning was quiet, after turning off the com, i packed my delivery bag, putting in items that are missing and also packed a handbag with the documetns i need to admit into hospital. then after lunch, rested then went out to bring my mil and fil to sengkang to find what they need to see. then head to PS to order mothers' cake but in the end i got to go novena to order instead cos thats where i want to pick up the cake. then gx came home with dinner from adam's rd hawker. thats about it for monday...
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Tuesday was a lazy day again... didnt pack much and then meet cousin a to go to BIY to get me baking stuff... i spent $100 in the shop! gosh! cousin a oso got some baking stuff! then my sweet dear suggested bringing me home to see my mum who return from Shanghai on Sunday. My sis shared with me the good things she ate and saw. Envy cos she ate so much good food! also she got to make the cute little cheongsam like my aunt m's. then hearing her shopping at H&M.... she sure did enjoy herself! but my poor mum was not in a very good condition due to her leg and back pain... and my mum looked extremely tired as she had lots of work piling on her office table...

my dear sis was so kind to get me something from h&m! love the top! then my mum helped me get another stretch mark cream for after birth use. she was so kind that she got me a DOM for after birth. i am a very lucky gal to have my mum. she is always so giving....
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then i was home to search the internet for a recipe as Tab is coming over on friday to bake for mothers' day! then i planned to do learn from tab how to do a strawberry cake but this need time to set so we change it to something we can keep till Sunday! so i search net for the recipe we need then i chanced upon the receipe i have been wanting to learn! OMG! i found it finally! so it pays off when u dun give up! then i am so amazed with the blog i was on! this lady bakes everyday! yes! EVERYDAY!
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after i played the story vcd for my baby to listen to, (i have misplaced my $300 worth of storybook collection... still yet to find it... brought it to mum's place but its not there... so i took out my story vcd to let baby listen to story before bedtime!) i shut down the computer as i was feeling tired and gx needed to sleep but i was so excited with my find! i was so excited that i wish i can try out the recipe asap! the thing that brought me down was i slept with difficulty! i was suffering from terrible heartburn!
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wednesday 6th May - after gx went to work i was at the com! i was gog thru the recipes found on this super lady's blog! i am amazed with her creation! beautiful cakes she makes! i spent the whole day suffering from TERRIBLE heartburn and going on off to the laptop to scoll thru 4 years of her work! i even had problem swallowing water cos my chest would hurt... i rest for about 2hrs+ on the sofa and thank goodness i felt alittle better but late afternoon! the doctor called me back and told me if i dun feel good go get med from him. i didnt want to go hospital and was glad i did feel better!

i was then back to surf thru the amazing baking blog. when i took a break at 6pm, a very bright and fiery red light caught my eyes. the sun was setting and the building glass looked so heated up with the rays! and i saw it reflected on my door??? amazing!

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i was back at surfing it till 8pm and after shower, i went to get dinner as my baby has endured with me sitting for very long surfing! but i was determined to finish all the entries that after dinner after a short rest, i was at it again but i surfed on the bed, playing the story vcd for my baby and lying down to look thru the remaining pages! then when gx was back from his one-day upgrading class, i was done! baby is prob unhappy... she didnt move much... bet i made her very uncomfortable!
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Thursday 7th - made gx porkfloss bread for breakfast and then i was back at the com again to view other bakers' blogs. i am so amazed!!! unbelievable people! i do wana be like them but with the baby's arrival in the coming weeks? will i be able to do it? i want to, i hope i can... after this i am gog to laze for baby's sake, compensate her the time i sat up for so long, making her uncomfortable! but i didnt lie down long as i was busy calculating the amount of ingredients i need to get for the party and baking. as i was gog thru some recipes, my little baby was so cutez! when i lay a thin recipe mag on the top of my tummy... aiyo my little one kicked the mag several times! i am not kidding! the other time she tried to kick the cushion away! amazed by the movements of my little darling!

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met my cousin A at novena in the afternoon and we head to donut factory to grab a quick bite. she was gog to have early dinner while i just wanted to nibble alit off from her plate and grab a sinful donut. she ordered a grilled beef burger (not beef patty!) and it came with coleslaw and fries as side. for the combo she got, she get to choose another side and she got macaroni cheese and this was a bigger portion served separately. for this set, i cost $7 only! then for another $0.80 she got herself a almond donut. the heart-shaped lemon cream filled donut was not bad but wish there was more cream!

then we walked into the hello kitty shop that just reopen after renovation and there was a storewide 20%. my damage here was about $50+! my first grab was this big pink kitty! its a bread cutter! i got 2 of this as i got one for myself and one for nesa! i bet she is gog to love it! my cousin A also got one for herself! we are thinking if this cuts thru cakes like a brownie! then next i saw these lovely veg cutters and i had to have it! its so cute! i want to make my child eat more veg and i think this makes a lovely tool!wonder if i can use them on cookies to make the shape and details! i sure want to try!

then i saw these lovey ziplock bags.... i couldnt resist! i remember one of my jap gal last year who have her snacks in these HK ziplock! they are expensive but when i divide the cost with the quantity and rating it as HK bags... it was still worth it cos less than a dollar for one and i am gog to use it for my baby stuff! then we head to get the party stuff and i am excited as i am gog to try out new 2 new recipes! then head back home with our bags! after a short rest, head to the baking shop in tpy to get more stuff! after a short discussion with tab, will meet her at b-i-y shop and i want to get some stuff that i didnt get during the last trip! i am so broke! SHOW ME THE MONEY!

34th Week - what a looooong weekend!

A very busy week... thus 34th week since monday, i was just blogging every morning, packing very little thru the piles i made from friday's packing, reading up on breastfeeding, and i slept again for the whole of tuesday! after lunch till evening and when everyone's home, i slept in a split second!
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On Wednesday 29th april, before i went to gynae, i went to novena to get lunch. i was still thinking of the yummy mushroom sandwich i had at the clarins talk! so i head to tcc to order a cheesy mushroom sandwich but the gal gave me pesto chicken with mushroom sw instead.... didnt like it so i ate half, lost appetitate and did a take away with 2 slices of cake. ate my rest of my lunch at mum's place and i made bad choices for dessert oso cos when we had the sesame too sweet and the pumpkin cheesecake for breakfast the next morning, both were not to my liking!


with the swine flu breakout, the hospital was setting up, taking measures to take everyone's temperature. but i went in before everything was set up. my weight gain over 2 weeks was 800g. when the doctor scan, baby was 2,9kg. baby and i each put on 400g! doc say she's big and if i want to have natural birth, i need to control. pretty slack about watching since started eating on the week of my bdae! but i guess i really have to! everything else was good except our food intake.
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head to mum's to have dinner as mum, sis and uncle k was leaving that nite to Shanghai! they left to the airport, not allowing me to follow so i stayed at mums to wait for gx who was in a long office meeting! sadly my patience wear out when i was still at mum at 11pm! once home, knowing that mum was gog to get on plane soon, i slept. i was exhausted as i was worried for them and prayed hard for them to have a safe trip.
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Thursday 30th april - last day of april! early morning received mgs from shanghai, that they arrived safely. i was just lazing and packing alit here and there and organising mothers day potluck party. i ordered mac for lunch and dinner as gx told me he will be working late but then late afternoon, bro and the boys wanted to bbq. so waited for gx to finish work, they didnt work as late as the nite before and we head home for bbq. i was very hungry so no photos! after eating and chatting, gx and i head home and i slept early. somehow once i hit the bed, my body feels so heavy and i just drift into sleep mode!
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Friday May 1st - woke up early. gx and i went to get breakfast and after breakfast, i went into the room to continue reading on my babyguide books. somehow when i finally opened my eyes and look at the clock... it was 3pm! i slept from 9+am and was dead asleep for 5hours+! i stumbled out of bed to scream for gx! he was on the couch napping! he said he checked on me twice and i was so sound asleep. he sent mil to work, checked mail, watched tv and just got to nap and i wake up to make so much noise! so i started feeding my baby! no wonder baby kept kicking!!! i missed lunch!
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then he sent me back to mums and he went on to play tennis with his frens. i started working on my project in the humid living room! i managed to finish about 40. i was happy i did it! then when gx came back, we took a short walk to the shophouses at the opp street but the coffeeshop was closed... so m had to cook noodles with meatballs, veg and prawns for dinner. we watched tv, gx took a short nap while i showered and we head home for more sleep! he was exhausted from his game.
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Saturday May 2nd - after fetching mil to work, we head down to fairmont hotel to join serena and sis, hy, tj and hubby for lunch at cafe swiss. didnt take any photos as serena did! i was feeling kinda lazy that day! the food spread was not as fantastic as i tot it mit be and the main courses was ok except for gx's fish which was just like home-fried small slices of fish! it was $38++ and with citibank card, we got 50% off.
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then we were off to robinson to walk about while waiting for our 2nd coffee session to start. yv was on her way to meet us. i got a powdering container and a cupcake icing machine for one of my cousin's bdae. haven decided who i should give the toy to. but it had 30% off so it was a good buy! had minty lychee tea freeze at tcc. its was good! wonder why i can't feel any cool air that day! i was feeling very warm and tired! had a long talk with the gals and we head home with golden straw mushrooms for tomyam steamboat!
bro decided the menu and we had a really hot dinner! then right after dinner, they started to set up the MJ table. i was the only loser! gosh! then i was making noise about supper, so we ordered mac. good thing gx packed stayover clothes for me. i was glad i chose to stay home for supper cos with the time, i was able to shower, supper arrived and the thing was it stormed! the rain poured so fast and heavy! after the meal, i went to bed and baby was definitely not in a good mood with me sitting for so long during the mj session! gx and the rest carried on till almost 5am then he came to bed!
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Sunday May 3rd- i woke up early and went to cook up breakfast. i prep french toast and while i got gx to wake up, m fried some pork chipolata. gx liked the french toast i made! he ate almost 4 slices! then after breakfast, we head home. i couldnt sleep and i was just fidgeting alot while watching tv. then gx told me to prep to follow him down to town. while he was at spa, i was shopping. i bot him 4 ties and nursing bra for myself. we got some grocery, i bot alot of cookies and got my dose of soyabean milk! while he decided to cook himself more instant noodles, i head to subway but lazy to wait, i got myself LJ... sadly fastfood again! have to cut my fastfood intake totally! with a whole cup of fizzling sprite, that shall be my last intake for weeks to come! after we ate dinner, we watched x-men iii. after a hot shower to kill the backache, i was head to bed and slept!
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think i slept alot during my 34th week! somehow, maybe i am storing sleep while i can before the baby is dued! also somehow, the things waiting for me to clear seems to tire me out even before i get started! am i ready? i wonder and no one has the answers for me except the answer - rest while you can!