Plain Sourdough Bread

Still experimenting with sourdough bread using this recipe.

Blogging from a smart phone

I must say that I am so happy knowing that Blogger has an app and I can now upload photos and blog from my phone easily! I used to have to upload pictures from my camera or phone into the laptop. Edit there before I can blog. And with two young kids then, it seemed impossible to keep up posting which was the main reason why blogging, as much as I enjoyed it, had taken a backseat. As I mainly use just my phone for photos nowadays, I can just edit them here too and then upload using the Blogger app and post from there! Well I can't do much else like changing the layouts or size of the photos but as of now, this is good enough. So maybe, just maybe, there'll be more posts in this blog from me again!

Sticky Glutinous Rice with Chinese Sausage

Hah. .. its been ages since I last posted here. Have not even updated the arrival of Baby Lee no.3! Well will leave that for another time as the main purpose for this post is to pen down the recipe for what I cooked for lunch today ie. Sticky Glutinous Rice with Chinese Sausage before I forget so that I can refer to it again next time when I need to cook it again.

Sticky rice is CheChe O's favourite. Have been wanting to try it out and finally got a chance to do so today. The kids had seconds and thirds! Sent the picture to dear hubby at work and he replied, PLS MAKE SURE TO LEAVE SOME FOR ME. *Giggle* So without delay, here goes...

INGREDIENTS
3 cups Glutinous Rice
1 whole chicken breasts
4 Chinese sausages
6 Chinese mushrooms
10 small red onions
1 handful dried shrimps
Water
5 spoonfuls oil  (I used light tasting olive oil)
4 spoonfuls soy sauce
2 spoonfuls dark soya sauce
1 spoonful Chinese rice wine
1/2 teaspoon salt
White pepper
2 eggs
1 handful chopped spring onions

METHOD
1. Soak rice for at least 2 hours. Then wash and drain water.
2. Soak mushrooms for about 30 minutes. Wash and drain. Cut into strips.
3. Soak dried shrimps for about 10 minutes.  Wash and drain. Roughly chop them up.
4. Boil some water in a pan and place while Chinese sausages for about 5 minutes. Remove from water. Remove skin and slice lengthwise about a quarter of an inch.
5. Cut chicken breasts into strips and marinate with a spoonful of soy sauce.
6. Remove skin from onions and slice thinly. Heat oil and brown onions on low fire about 10 minutes. Remove onions to use as garnishing later.
7. Stir fry Chinese sausages and dried shrimp for about 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and fry for another 2 minutes. Add chicken breasts and fry for another 2 minutes.
8. Add remaining soy sauce, dark sauce, Chinese rice wine, salt and a few dashes of white pepper and mix well for about 2 minutes.
9. Reduce heat and stir in rice. Mix rice in evenly. Then cover rice with water. Put heat back on to boil water before reducing again to simmer for about 15 minutes.
10. Place rice into a heatproof dish and steam for another 15 minutes.
11. Meanwhile,  beat the eggs. Add 1 tablespoon of oil into a pan and swirl it around to coat pan. Once heated, pour eggs in to cover pan thinly. Flip once. Remove from pan and set aside and continue frying remaining beaten eggs.
Roll eggs up and cut thinly.
12. When rice is ready, remove from steam and let it rest for 10 minutes. Garnish with eggs, fried onions and spring onions.

Square One

Three hours later from my previous post, I'm pretty much still where I was. Haha. Nope, I didn't get the dishes done. I did hang up the batch of clothings. Figured out that was pretty urgent as people were running out of underwears! Che-Che O came back not too long after and I spent some time with her cleaning up all the books she read and never placed back on the shelf and the stash of puzzle she did not get to complete before reading a bedtime story together and got her ready for bed. By then, it was already eleven. Papa got me my very well deserved signature hot choc with soy milk from Starbucks and I have just been sitting down indulging it with some oats. Aaaah.... Guilty? Well, kinda but I'm too sleepy now to be bothered. Tomorrow is another day. Goodnight world! - writing while lying down on a bed with a stash of laundry. Yes, I will be sleeping here tonight.

Mess!

It's now a quarter past nine at night. All is quiet. Che-che O and Papa has gone out and Master J is sound asleep. I have the whole house to myself and have the radio tuned into the usual Sunday night Jazz on Lite FM.

Sounds like the perfect time to chill with a glass of red.... but...
1. I've been down with a tummy bug. Started on Thursday night after dinner. I ended up with no dinner after dinner as they all came back out. Have been having body aches and a mild temperature till today. My tummy still feels raw and I certainly don't dare to stimulate it any further with foods that will make it churn. So I'm left sort of hungry. I will try to get two mouthfuls of plain oats in later as suggested by a friend. Ya, plain oats in water. Hmm.. yay. yum. Guess I gotta still feed old tum-tum.

2. Dear hubby cooked dinner and left the kitchen looking like probably what's in my stomach right now. A mess!

3. I see things everywhere! Table mats under the TV cabinet, building blocks on the lounge chair, puzzles strewn on the floor, a sock under the kiddo's exersaucer, a train toy on the sofa (now removed as I wanted that space), all these and more on top of a big bag of things to put away...

4. The washing machine just beeped signaling another load of wash waiting for me to hang dry. Meanwhile, there are three loads waiting for me to put away.

5. Project Organise Thy Study Room has been completely abandoned. I thought it would probably take me a whole month. I thought wrong. Perhaps a whole year???

I am honestly short of a scream away. It is times like these that I truly, truly, truly wish I have someone here as a domestic helper. Either that or the ability to wave a wand and utter iggety-ziggety-zaggety and zoom! the mess away! It's just impossible to cope at times. I seriously wonder how do those mommies with beautiful blogs do it? When will I have the time to get a sensory bin or a I-spy bottle done for Master J? Okay, rant aside. Breathe in, breathe out. Repeat. Tune up the radio and now get me those washing gloves...... before the fever acts up again......

The Very Hungry Little Reader - an online bookstore for your little readers

Some time last year, amidst the busyness of life, I got together with a friend and started an online bookstore for kids. So instead of going to bed right now (@1.30am), I have decided that I should write a little about our bookstore.

My friend and I both have children and want them to cultivate the love of reading. We both love books and have emptied our savings on books for our kiddos many a time. Good reads in Malaysia are not only rare at times but also pricey. Thoroughly missing the time in UK where libraries are EVERYWHERE! And the children section is packed with books suitable for all ages from birth! Also missing the great deals for new books with offers like buy one get one free. I loved grabbing bargains from charity shops too! Got some books still in good condition for 50p! Don't forget the nearly new sale!!!

Well, we are not in UK anymore are we? But we still want to continue to encourage Che-che O and Master J (and their friends) to love books. So we got our acts together and started The Very Hungry Little Reader - an online bookstore for your little readers.  It is currently found only on Facebook as we have not managed to set up a blog unfortunately. My friend did mention before that most Malaysian parents would be more willing to spend on expensive toys and clothes than books which I have sadly realised to be true! Therefore, the idea of this children bookstore is for us to source for good, quality, popular reads and sell them here in Malaysia at a price lower than our local bookstores. It is our hopes that this will encourage parents to invest more in books which will open up a whole new horizon of imagination for their little ones, stimulate their senses, improve their language comprehension and a whole load of other things!

There is still tonnes to work on. We have more things planned and more new books to upload but we will take one step at a time. Meanwhile, if you and your little reader are feeling a little hungry for some good reads, why not pop into The Very Hungry Little Reader? ;-) See you there!

Time to get organised!

This house comes with a little 'office'. I have sort of claimed it as my studio. Currently, it is in complete chaos! Due to space limit, I have many times stuff things in there and pile stacks of this and that up waiting for that one day when I am free to put them away. That one day is still no where to be found while I am left with a store instead of studio. I need to get organised. We have initially treated this beautiful house as a temporary shelter. Till we manage to find our own little abode. Looking at how the property prices go ridiculously crazily high here, moving into our own home looks dim. So we might as well start treating this house as home.

I have a few ideas here and there including getting a small kitchen island to increase workspace area as well as more shelves or even getting some cabinets installed. But first things first would probably be to sort out the studio. Needing some ideas on how to arrange and get some of the things organised in the most efficient manner. So Google, here I come!

2013

Can you believe how time can really fly!???! I knew blogging would be one of the last thing to do in my list since the the arrival of Baby (now Che-che) O's partner in crime, Master J, over a year ago. But I thought I could at least manage a few posts! There were so many places we visited, so many milestones achieved, so many new books read, so many new activities and events that I wanted to blog about but none made it here. Even to put up this post took me maybe 600 attempts? So yeah, a belated Blessed Christmas 2012 and a Happy New Year 2013! This new year, it is my hope that This Mama will be able to revive this blog now that Che-che O has started preschool and Master J is officially a toddler! (Yes, I now have a preschooler and a toddler!) I do miss this little therapy of mine, chit-chatting in the virtual world. After all, the main reason why I started this blog is so that I have a getaway from baby talk!

Cheers to a blessed year ahead!

We did it!

Hello! Long time no blog. Don't think I need to tell you how crazy life has been nowadays. Blogging ultimately has taken a back ride although there were times that my fingers were itching to tap on the keyboard. Guess today is one of those days! Can't contain the excitement as it has been over a year since our intention to potty train che-che O. I can now declare that she is officially nappy free!! Yay!!!!

Well, we had been really good with the pee-pee. Not even wearing nappies during naps and at night. She would wake up in the morning and go to the toilet herself. Not 100% accident free. Like last night, we were out and she had announced that she needed the loo but fell asleep on the way home. We completely forgot about waking her up to empty her bladder first. Aiyaiyai... messy... just when I needed my sleep... Anyway, still very proud of her.

Then came the poo-poo bit. She just for some reason would refuse to poo in the toilet or potty. Maybe it's the sight? The smell? On and off I would throw her the question of poo-ing in the toilet or nappy again and it had always been nappy. Then a few weeks back, we had two last nappies and I had prompted her and asked her what is she going to do after the last nappy has been used up. She replied to poo in the toilet. This scenario is actually not new. It happened before and she just ended up not wanting to poo at all or throw a fuss and cry for nappies! This time round, D-(poo)-day arrived and I asked her where would she want to do it and she again replied at the toilet. So I calmly brought her to the toilet and stayed with her holding her hands (and my breathe) till she did it! I couldn't believe it at first! She actually did it! I just kept praising her and reminded her how clean it is to poo in the toilet and not get your bum all smeared in poo. She was of course feeling chuffed herself. And we of course had to call Papa to tell him about the business. And I of course had to reward her with lots of stickers. Low and behold, she went about the poo business that same night again! *Doing a little dance*

I guess this potty training thing can't be rushed and when the little one is ready, it will just happen one day. I'm just glad that day came before her 21st birthday! ;-D

Welcome Baby J!

Baby J was finally delivered safely and naturally on 30 November 2011 weighing a whopping 3.75kg! (I blame it on the Penang food!!) He was still feeling all warm and fuzzy in there and had to be induced out 6 days post due date. It was a relief when all that weight was taken away and then whizz! boom! bang! and he is already two months old! Time flies when you have a baby to care for, and even faster when you have a toddler as well!

Baby O is officially now Jie-jie O who loves her Di-di to bits! She has been such a little gem of a sister. She had her share of temper throwing and attention grabbing antics but generally, she has been such an understanding little girl. She would play on her own knowing that I have to tend to the baby and is ever ready to grab me a piece of muslin cloth or nappy when needed. Amazing coming from a two and a half year old.

I do feel sorry for Jie-jie O sometimes as she would often say 'Papa, can you play with me?' when he gets back from work (like right now!) as I have not been able to spend the time doing things with her like I used to the last two years! To begin with, I was super huge this pregnancy so even before Baby J's arrival, I had pretty much stopped most activities. I couldn't sit at the play area with her so she was left to play on her own most of the time. Cooking a meal felt like I was moving a whole house so she was left to our trusted and never failing babysitter, the television a lot too. Sigh... So I have tried to work around that and try to play and read together with Baby J now or do something with her while he naps since he has a more predictable routine now. On the other hand, I feel like I wish I can spend more time nurturing Baby J as he is growing up so fast!

Well, this is what life is now with two! Absolutely no time for myself washing the never ending pile of laundry and all, but at the same time enjoying double the smiles, double the hugs and double the love... ;-)

MOMMade: Magnetic Funny Faces

Made this for Baby O sometime earlier this year but never got a chance to post it up. It is pretty simple. All you need is:

An empty square/rectangular biscuit tin
Paper
Magnetic paper
Markers
Scissors
Magnetic tape

First draw a couple of 'faces' on pieces of paper cut to fit the size of the tin you will be using. Mine is half A4. I cut four pieces of magnetic tape for each corner of the paper so they stay on the tin.

Next, draw different types of features on magnetic paper and colour them in - hair, eyebrows, eyes, ears, noses, lips, mouths, beard, moustaches, etc. You can include some accessories like sunglasses and bows. Whatever you fancy really... Cut them out.

Finally, get creative! Place a piece of paper with an empty face on the tin and add features on! Here are some of ours. The possibilities are endless!

This craft can keep a toddler busy for some time. Not recommended for less than two I suppose due to the small bits which may be a choking hazard. Irregardless, I would still advice supervision. Plus playing together is fun!

This Mama Loves... I'm A New Big Sister

As mentioned in my previous post, there were not many choices of books available in our local bookstore to help prepare our little toddler in becoming a big che-che. I am really thankful that the only two available were great finds.

'I'm A New Big Sister' by Nora Gaydos is recommended for toddlers two years onwards. Perfect for Baby O. Illustrations are simple and cute and gives the reader an idea of what to expect when the new baby arrives. Firstly, it tells the reader that things will be a little different now. Then it explains things like the new baby won't be able to play with the big sister yet, or she has to pick up her toys so no one gets hurt, helping around during nappy change and holding baby gently, and to expect crying when baby needs something and lots of cuddling the baby. At the end, the book emphasises that the reader will still be able to spend a lot of time with mommy and daddy when baby is asleep to remind the child that she is still special. There is also a note to parents with some ideas of how to help your toddler adjust to her new role as big sister and a note to the big sister too telling her to lookout for all the many exciting baby milestones together.

Baby O seems to love the idea of being a big che-che from this book as she thinks she gets to read books to her di-di, sing lullabies and feed him. She somehow loves the page where baby does a poo and laughs every time we get to that page. (???!)

The 'I'm A New Big Brother' version is also available.

Read the review of 'What's Inside Your Tummy, Mommy?' by Abby Cocovini here.

This Mama Loves... What's Inside Your Tummy, Mommy?

Some time in my eventful first trimester, I managed to gather enough energy to look for relevant books that will help prepare Baby O to be a big che-che (elder sister). Not surprisingly, there weren't many. Thankfully, there were two (and only two) great books available! The first would be 'What's Inside Your Tummy, Mommy?' by Abby Cocovini. Unfortunately there was only one tatty and torn copy left and Borders reluctantly offered me a 20% discount off and I reluctantly bought it. (Thought they could do better than that. ;-P)



The book gives a simple explanation of how baby is growing month by month with some simple illustrations.

What I like about this large size paperback is that it is designed to be placed on Mommy's belly to give the toddler a visual of what is inside the growing tummy.

Baby O loves this book and reads it almost every night! She can even tell us the 'story' now - "Month number five, baby is like (a box of) milk. He can blow the trumpet with his thumb - pa, pa, pa, paaa." Well, this is the only page that she kinda made up the story and diverted a little.. haha....

Overall, no regrets getting the copy even in its shabby condition. Definitely a keeper!
Next: Review on the other book 'I'm A New Big Sister' by Nora Gaydos here.

Preparing for a new sibling

Got this from one of those baby sites that I subscribe to and thought I would share it with all those expecting another bundle of joy as it is pretty applicable to our family as D-Day draws nearer:

Be aware that your daughter will need plenty of attention to assure her that she is not being replaced by a newer model.

1. Plan on giving her plenty of one-on-one time with Daddy. Though it is not inevitable, close spacing (less than three years) can create friction between siblings because both will have high needs for parental attention.

2. Read books about babies. You will still have undivided attention to give to her, which will help her adjust to a new situation. Begin reading books to her about babies coming into the family and talk with her about the baby in utero. Though she will not completely understand, she will be primed for the baby's arrival.

3. Stagger the timing of changes. If a new bedroom or bed is required, make this change at least four to six weeks before she becomes a big sister. Your daughter will be less likely to associate her new room or bed with displacement. Any changes that you believe necessary should not coincide with the new baby's arrival.

4. Encourage her regular contact with babies. Teach her the concept "gentle" in touching babies, as well as other living things such as cats and dogs. This will help her get some practice in before she becomes a big sister.

5. Allow her to still be a baby. Despite the fact that she will become a big sister, do not rob her of her own baby-toddlerhood. Don't assume that she must sleep in a bed instead of a crib, especially if she still enjoys and feels comforted by the crib she is now using. Continue to diaper her and offer her the bottle or breast, if you're breastfeeding. She is still very much a baby herself! Expect her to want to be held and even play "baby" by being cuddled and cooed in your arms.

6. Expect moodiness. Don't be alarmed if she seems more clingy or crabby than usual. She will need to express herself and see that her place in the family is still secure. With time and your consideration, she will adapt and gain a sense of mastery (rather than jealousy) about her new role in the family.

7. Remind her that she was a baby too. Show her pictures of herself, the attention she got and the gifts that she received when she was a new baby.

8. Buy a few special toys. It may also help to buy a few gifts that are just for her, so that when you are receiving gifts for the baby and attention is being showered on the newborn there is something for her.

9. Encourage her to help once the baby is born. This will give her a sense of competence. She can bring a diaper to Mommy, take an adult by the hand to show the new baby or giving the baby a toy.

10. Show her the benefits of being a big girl. Involve her in activities she can do which separate her from the new baby and give her the message that she can do certain things because she is not a newborn. Sitting on your lap and pointing to pictures as you read, putting a simple puzzle together or other activities appropriate to her development will continue her excitement in her own growth and the things she can do now that she could not do as a baby.

Whether a new child is being born or a teenager is leaving for college, transitions in families require profound physical and psychological adjustments. Family researchers have identified changes in daily family household membership to be the most stressful. It's natural for your toddler to regress during this time.

Potty Re-training Day ??

I just realised that we have been travelling and having visitors non-stop since the beginning of August till about an hour ago. What brilliant timing This Mama has to start potty training. Nappies were more on than off during this period of time. However, since we came back home from breakfast this morning, I was surprised by the request of wearing panties instead of a nappy as well as pee-ing and poo-ing in the potty without being asked at all!!!! I was really chuffed that Baby O actually told me that she wanted to pang-sai in the potty and willingly sat for a good 10 or so minutes before poo-ing in the potty! If you know her, she usually hides and does her 'business' and tells you that she has done it later if she has her nappy on. She has also been so used to doing it standing up (Yes, I know!) that it was previously difficult to convince her to sit and do it in the potty. So I think this is a real achievement! She was also so proud of herself that she wanted to call her Po-po (grandma) and Gung-gung (grandpa) what she did! Lol.

Certainly hope that we will be nappy-free really soon! Although I must admit that I do miss the convenience of the nappy sometimes! ;-P Especially now that I am carrying a huge bump along everywhere I go!

Potty Re-training Day 9-11

Have still been putting on the nappy for Baby O at night. She still wakes up with a wet nappy so have not dared try to go nappy-less yet.

Today we went to a friends house with pull-up pants on but she still did her shee-shee in the toilet. Yay!! After her afternoon nap, my in-laws arrived and the next few days was again back on a mixture of panties at home and nappies outside (which was most of the time).

Next week is a long holiday and we will be back in our hometown. Expecting on and off nappy days again. Hmm... guess going completely nappy-less will take a little longer as I have cleverly chosen these few weeks with the maximum disruption to our routine to start potty training off! Nevertheless, I am still really proud of the progress we have made even with all these disruptions in the way! Way to go, girl!

Potty Re-training Day 8

Hmm.. Baby O managed to shee-shee in the potty today but... she poo-ed in her pants as she did not want to poo in the potty. Then she had a loooong nap. More than three hours to be precised and I found her all wet in her pee.... Other than that, I guess she still did very well overall!

Potty Re-training Day 7

Today is actually the day we tried to put on training pants again after Baby O's grandparents left. Surprisingly Baby O was willing to do so. Again I had to remind her to tell me if she needs a wee so that she will not wet her 'trains' (on the pants). The morning was slow until after some water intake in the late morning. She actually told me that she wanted to shee-shee in the potty and she did! In fact, she did all her pee in the potty as well as the toilet when we were upstairs without the potty! So proud of her. I even left her in her training pants during nap time this time.

We were out post-nap so the pull-up pants went back on again. Overall, still chuffed that we had a zero accident first half of the day.

Potty Re-training Day 2-6

Baby O's grandparents arrived yesterday. I know we are supposed to potty train when there are not much changes to baby/toddler's routine but there is just not much time left with! With all the going outs, and just one day of training, I did not take the risk and got her back on pull-up pants (and nappies) from the time her grandparents arrived till yesterday when they left. Even when at home when we asked if she wants to shee-shee in the potty, she just went 'No'. Hrmph....

Potty Re-training Day 1

There's so much to prepare before the arrival of our little prince! One would have thought that having a second one would be much easier but...

Anyway, one of the 'projects' we have to embark on is Mission Potty Train! We have tried to potty train Baby O before with well, no success and I am determined to get it out of the way before little di-di arrives (and to achieve my Act of Green pledge from last year!). A friend who knows that I am trying to train Baby O has very generously loaned me tonnes of these re-usable training pants. (She has four boys. That explains the colours and the trains...) Since we were running out of nappies, I used it as an excuse to start training her. I told her that we had no more nappies but I got her some 'new panties' and they have trains on them! That kinda got her excited to wear them. 

So she had on 'panties' and I reminded her what felt like every five minutes or so that she had to shee-shee (slang for pee) in the potty so that she doesn't wet the trains on her panties. We had about four accidents in maybe two hours. Baby O must have forgotten that she was without nappies. 

I left the potty in the living room for easier access and during one of those times when she wanted to sit and wee, I gave her a little book and read together and waited and then... she did it! You should have seen her beaming face. I praised her and we gave each other high-fives. We were both so proud.

She even did a poo while I was cooking lunch! She told me she wanted to shee-shee again so we got her 'panty' off. While sitting there, she said she was gonna pang-sai (slang for poo) instead! She got a little panicky but I told her to sit there and wait for me and she finished before I could get to her. I again showered her with praises and high-fives and made a big fuss of what she had done while she kept asking me to quickly wash the potty. Haha...

Anyway, I didn't dare to attempt to let her continue to be nappy-less during nap time so I dug out some pull-up pants for her before nap time. When she saw them, she went 'Yay!!! Nappy!!!'. That was hilarious. I didn't want her to think that we still have nappies so I pretended to take out a pack of swim nappies and told her that those were swim nappies. Then I quickly hid the pull-up nappy pants together with the pile of training pants. When I changed her into the pull-up pants, she then said that she wanted to go swimming as she thought that I was wearing a swim nappy for her. Hmm... Mental note: Can't lie to toddler anymore.

These all happened before Baby O's grandparents arrived for the week..... Now, what next?