Prego prego

Met Jane for lunch today, to catch up after her Japan trip and we wound up at Prego, utilizing my FAR card. We shared calamari, eggplant parmagiana and a spinach ricotta ravioli but we struggled to finish.

 

Prego’s calamari portion has got to be one of the most generous out there! And when it’s half price at $13 after the discount, it’s soooo worth it.

 

The funny thing about lunch is that a group of people of walked in shortly after we ordered and sat next to us, separated by the glass partition. I could have sworn Aunty Yvonne from London was in the group but I wasn’t so sure so I showed Jane a picture since she was facing her.

Jane confirmed it looked like the person in my picture and when our calamari arrived, I managed to catch her attention when she turned, and it was Aunty Yvonne with her kids Jessica and Joseph! Small world!

She usually only comes in August for her birthday so I wasn’t expecting to see her and what are the odds of us ending up in the same restaurant? She had come to holiday in Lombok with her siblings and was heading back in a few days. Showed her the bump and told her Swana was also preggers.

I bought a new toy last night at the PC Show….a Canon EOS 650D DLSR camera. I figured with No.3 on the way, it was time to invest in one, never mind that I am not trained in using a DSLR, I just want mainly portraits of the kids and the photo studios are getting really expensive…one shoot with photos returned is the equivalent cost of 1 camera, so I might as well start learning to take my own!

Oh, by the way, Nat’s fever came back and the latest update is that she has HFMD…but I think hers is mainly herpangina because she’s got not visible sores, only on her throat.

Get well soon my bubba

Nat is down with a high fever, we spent several hours at KKH last night when she couldn’t hold down anything, even her paracetamol when the fever exceeded 39 deg celcius. 

Poor girl was slightly dehydrated according to the doc and instead of the electrolyte solution being given over 1 hr, we had to complete 2 hours before we could go home.

She had seemed fine during the day so the fever was quite sudden. We had taken a bus to town while Nick brought Sasha for a developmental check at the polyclinic. Lunch was at Wheelock’s NYDC and she even posed for photos near the fountain. 

After that she followed me to the Baby Fair at Expo, she was thrilled to take the train but in the late afternoon she felt tired and looked a little blah, and by the time we got home, she opted to nap instead of having her dinner and then she started puking.

Her fever has been pretty high throughout today but no other symptoms so far…Nick is paranoid about dengue and I had a slight scare just now when her fever spiked to 40 degs along with blotchy arms, racing heart, cold hands and feet etc making me a little paranoid about meningitis.

But the ibuprofen has finally kicked in and I can breathe easy for now because at one point she woke up, smiled at me and mouthed L-O-V-E. Aww, my sweet little munchkin.

So far Sasha hasn’t caught anything and I hope it stays that way. She’s so eager to learn this one! Mummy has been teaching them to count in Malay and she can go up to almost 20. She can spell a few words like cat, dog, pig, cow, egg and whatever Nat is learning, she wants in too, so in a way it’s good, I kill 2 birds with one stone.

She really likes to draw fairies and princesses, she holds the pen awkwardly but it gets done in the end. She can draw her shapes from circle, square, triangle and write some letters and draw a flower too, so I would say she’s got fine motor skills.

At her developmental check yesterday, she’s apparently tall for her age and her weight is about 15.5kg. She’s starting to go to the toilet on her own, as she can now hoist herself up on the toilet bowl but she still asks for help to fold/tuck her dress so she doesn’t soil it.

I still need to do something about her temper. Anytime she feels someone is laughing at her or just raises their voice a bit, she storms off. She’s aware of her colouring allergies and now sticks to chocolate on her own free will unless I tell her something is safe.

She’s very attached to her small koala stuffed toy when she sleeps for some reason, it’s a new development and she’ll even wake up in the middle of the night looking for Koala if she can’t feel it within reach!

As for Nat, school holidays have started and a few days ago we had a parent-teacher meeting at her school with her teachers Mrs Koh and Lu-laoshi. She's diligent and well-behaved but they also notice her shyness and self-consciousness and sensitiveness when told not to do something. She refrains from answering questions even if she might know the answer and never volunteers to present in front of her classmates. 

They said she didn't like PE for a spell, but now she enjoys it...she gets upset when coaches change. Her handwriting is neat and they say she is good in her drawing, which we concur. She and Gigi are separated in class otherwise they would be chatting away. 

A couple of weeks ago Nat asked me if boys could kiss girls, apparently she had a Filipino classmate named Gian who had a crush on her and was very affectionate. I asked the teachers about the situation and they say he has moved on, LOL. But they had told the boy not to disturb her. 

Her Chinese is slightly better than Gigi's so they think she is doing alright. They are not too concerned that she doesn't read proper sentences yet, as they have yet to introduce 'blending' so I don't need to be kiasu and push her just yet. My target is end of the year.

Post op Pops

Pops had his operation 2 days ago and so far, so good. According to the doc it went well and he was in ICU for a couple of days having lost a fair bit of blood but today he was deemed ok to transfer to the high dependency ward.

He looks and feels like he got hit by a bus, kinda regrets proceeding with the op because he has to deal with the pain and inconvenience now of not being able to move about.

He was quite the grumps when I visited today, quite poor thing too lah. Lots of tubes connected, including a blood transfusion one. He should be in hospital for a week or so more until he’s a bit more mobile, then he’ll probably head to Membina to recuperate further.

A decade of marriage

Finally we have reached a decade of marriage and what a way to usher it in! Sasha started vomiting last night and as usual Nick didn’t hesitate to bring her to KKH. We were at the hospital till 4am plus, going through the usual drill of stomach flu monitoring i.e. anti-vomiting medicines, liquids at 15min intervals till she stops puking.

There were plans to have dinner at Mikuni and a brief staycation at Swissotel but all that got cancelled because we wanted to make sure Sasha was alright. She started having diarrhoea so everything is on hold.

I posted a picture of our wedding invite on FB, along with the following words:

10 years ago, this Hot Pink Chick walked down the aisle with her Mee Pok Man and they are still living happily ever after…well, most of the time anyway! Marriage is not without its challenges, especially when kids come along but as long 2 people remain committed and faithful to the vows they took, then the rest will work itself out.

To my Mee Pok Man, thank you for a decade of bliss, two beautiful girls and for providing for us. I know I drive you up the wall sometimes, as you do to me but I will always love you, come what may. Thank you for the new bling, you rock! Some of you might ask what I got him in return…nothing much actually. A son is his present! :-)

The Pumpkin just has a month to go before she turns 3 and for a 2 year old, I am impressed with her drawing. I can actually make out the shapes she draws, she favours a princess with a long gown and she can draw a smiley face. 

 

Just a couple of nights ago, Nat helped to set the dinner table, after being encouraged by Geraldine…I should make her do it everyday!

The kids are so into Disney princesses now, I don’t know when the phase will end! But at least Nat has forgotten about her bridal stuff.

They are always fighting, I have to constantly nag for them to clean up their room…they like to colour and draw while sitting on the floor and will leave scraps of paper everywhere! Nat is so into her scooter and she’s good at it too, she’ll zoom up and down the hallways throughout the day.

I try to make sure Nat has at least 10-11hrs of sleep a day. The ideal would be for her to sleep by 9.30pm and wake up 8.30am but it’s usually 10pm – 8am for her and Sasha, but at least Sasha gets to nap in the afternoons.

We’ve pinned down a bedtime routine i.e milk, story, brush teeth then sleep. They take turns choosing their bedtime story, sometimes when they don’t clean their mess, I withhold the story.

But they are good girls generally, very different personalities and it will be interesting to watch as they grow up. Not that I’m in a hurry for them to grow!

Mini photoshoot

The elder girls had a mini photoshoot at Membina today, thanks to papa’s tenant’s friend Salamat. He’s a professional photographer and Pops had put him up at 110 for a few days while he visited the tenant so as a gesture of appreciation he offered to take some photos of the grandkids.

Pops also had an ulterior motive to set him up with a single friend but she was not available, lol.

Anyway, they came over the Membina in the evening and it took a while to persuade Nat and Gigi to loosen up for the camera. Sasha missed out because Nick brought her to the doctor to check on her cough.  

But Gigi and Nat were cam-whoring in no time and I can’t wait to see the finished results.

After Pops and Salamat left, and Nick came back with Sasha, we had a little belated cake-cutting for Ma. Of course, she didn’t get to blow out her own candles with the ‘vultures’ waiting! 

And my poor Sasha has bronchitis apparently and doctor recommended a nebulizer for a few days. She’s a trooper, thinks it’s fun! 

Sasha Scare

Just got back from KKH…Sasha gave us such a scare this evening while we were hanging at Membina. One minute she was in the living room, the next minute we heard a loud thud from Swana’s room.

We all rushed and Nick found her lying on the platform motionless. Apparently she had been jumping on the bed and fell, landing on her chest. He carried her and called out a few times, “Sasha wake up, Sasha wake up” but she was limp in his arms and motionless.

It was only a few seconds that she was blacked out but felt like an eternity…I was asking Swana to call an ambulance and Nick was saying her arm looked awkward when she started to wail. Phew, crying was a good sign!

We rushed to KK nonetheless to get her checked out, Nick was like a headless chicken, never seen him so panicked before. She was quiet on the way to the hospital but once there, she starting walking about. Had to wait about 20-30 mins to get to the triage, but thereafter our consultation was expedited because of her loss of consciousness.

We were in and out in about 2 hours, during which time she took a chest x-ray. So brave, she cooperated in taking off her shirt and standing still with her arms outstretched and then once it was over, she asked me to take my top off for my turn!

The x-ray turned out clear but the doctor advised to keep her overnight for observation which we decided against since she was back to her normal active self and we felt we could observe from home. I think she should be ok. I think.

Earlier in the day, I was in a culinary mood and prepared lunch while Nick took Nat out to mass and Vivo.

I’d been meaning to recreate the mustard soup we tried in Holland and today was THE day. Followed the recipe but didn’t have leeks and substituted them with onions.

Didn’t quite taste the same as what we had, the soup was thick and I think leeks would have been better. The end result was quite salty because instead of being patient and letting the bacon impart its salt, I had added some extra chicken stock cube at the end just after adding the bacon because I felt it was tasteless. Duh!

Had some frozen puff pastry and was inspired to make an open tart after watching Barefoot Contessa a few days ago and also since I had some cheese expiring soon.

I rolled out the pastry and topped it like a pizza with sliced tomatoes, zucchinis and bacon and added lots of bacon and grated cheddar. Baked it at 180°C for 45 mins

 

 

I think it was have been better to cook the zucchinis and tomatoes beforehand and strain them before assembling to prevent a soggy base, since these veggies release water when cooked. But overall, quite pleased with the result, but again, quite salty from the bacon…think next time cannot buy bacon from NTUC, even when desperate! The pastry on its own was also very oily, must experiment with other brands.

In the afternoon, Swana came over with Gigi, and Nat and Gigi helped me to make chocolate chip and macadamia cookies and some with mini M&Ms. Followed a recipe I found online on Quest for Delish, except I added the nuts/M&Ms.

And instead of 1 large egg, I used 2 medium ones…which I think I should have used 1.5 instead as my dough was a little runny. Also I think can afford to reduce the sugar a little, the chocolate chips already add sweetness. And note to self – M&Ms will melt!

 

I didn’t have the patience to chill my dough for 24 hours, and made some immediately, and another batch with an hour of chilling. The chilled result is definitely better!

Aside from being a tad too sweet, these cookies were great, taste a lot like Famous Amos ones. I’m hooked!

Crispy korrokes

Ben had mentioned he was making Japanese curry for the family dinner so I offered to bring dessert and korroke/Japanese croquettes to accompany his dish.

In the morning, while Nick brought Sasha to the doctor (he was concerned about her new bout of the sniffles) I made a yellow jelly using golden kiwis we had in the fridge and an instant mix.

Before heading to AMK, I started work on the korroke. They are so easy!

Boil and mash some potatoes, season with salt and pepper and set aside. Stir fry some minced beef and chopped onions, season with salt and pepper and cook till beef is brown. Mix the two together and form into patties.

 

Coat in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs before frying till brown, and voila, a croquette nicer than those sold at Taka’s Food Hall or MOS! 

Sicko

I don’t know what bug the kids are harbouring, but it seems to be back-to-back viruses. First it was Nat who had fever for a day on 18 Aug, then Sasha’s turn the next day before they both developed cold symptoms lasting a week, though Sasha had a worse cough.

Just when I thought they were recovering, I picked up the bug, Nick went away to Vienna and they had new fevers the following weekend. I brought Sasha to a doc on 25th, and consulted for myself too. Though her chest sounded really congested, her lungs were clear and her fever disappeared within the day.

Then the next day on the 26th, Nat suddenly developed a fever and puked her dinner several times. Nick was still in Vienna and knowing how he gets, I brought Nat to KK immediately and dragged Sasha along.

The doctor concluded stomach flu for Nat and prescribed lots of medications for the two of them, including antibiotics to help stop the coughs but I wasn’t convinced on the diagnosis. Count the bottles!


I didn’t give them the antibiotics in the end and am just waiting for Sasha’s cough to go away on its own. But today she broke out in a rash in the afternoon and it spread all over her body, probably an allergic reaction to something because it disappeared after a while. But I don’t know what she was allergic to, possibly the frozen halibut she had for lunch because that was the only new thing she tried.



Today was also the first time Nat went to school in 2 weeks, but it was the last day before term break. They’d better get well soon, am so tired from all the interrupted sleep and holding the fort while the boy was away.

Happy birthday Swana!

It’s the big sis’ birthday and last night, Kavi, Manju, John and I surprised her at Membina, hiding in her kitchen when she came home from dinner with Kevin…classic shocked expression!



We took the day off today to utilize the birthday presents we ‘bought’ each other…massages on Groupon! She borrowed our car since Nick’s away and we headed to Goodwood to redeem the vouchers we bought at Spa Rael.



We each had a 90 min session comprising a scrub and massage. I don’t have an appreciation for spas and massages, they do not relax me, and the last massage I did was probably 2 years ago.

The experience today didn’t change my mind, I found it painful more than anything. The scrub was alright but the painful pressure made me tense up which the masseuse mistook as knots in my shoulder which led her to press harder and me to tense up further!

At last the ‘ordeal’ was over and they tried to hard sell us some packages which we politely declined and scooted out of there!


We had a late lunch at Arteastique at Mandarin Gallery, love the blue floral wallpaper. Ordered their tea for 2 set and had ourselves a relaxing afternoon sitting by the window and eavesdropping on the brainless conversation next door between a pretty girl and her groupie best friend. Basically she was torn between 2 men!



H&M was next, Sham was off and came to meet us. I bought a few things including terry cloth robes for the girls. Then we headed to Wilkie to pick up cousin Jean from Malacca and her 2 munchkins Matthew and Megan. Her husband was in town for NATAS and she decided to tag along and surprise Ma and Aunty Sarda.

And boy were they pleasantly surprised when we showed up with Jean!





Sasha was anti-social towards her Malaccan cousins but Nat and Gigi played and ate with Megan and Matthew. The kids whacked the macaroons that topped Swana’s Centre Ps cake.



I’m well on the way to being sick, been trying to fend off a sorethroat and cold since Thursday afternoon but with the kids sneezing and coughing into my face, it was only a matter of time…