Possible to have it all?

Notice the flawless makeup,fashionable smart outfits,amazing figures,colgate-advertisments wide smiles which most women magazines would like to believe that it is possible for us ,the superb multi-taskers to strike a balance in both family-raising and cliniching that promotion you have been eyeing on?It can be done ,no doubt if we have strong family support,doting grandparents who is willing to share the burden or a dedicated,hardworking maid who can mind the kids,cook nutritious meals,keep the house spick and span....hmm..what happen if I have none of these?Juggling a job,baby is simply so exhausted,sigh,at times I feel so lost....Finding a suitable caregiver tops my worry for now,a stressful job trigger a range of health problems from stomach flu,bad gastritis,kidney infections,I was advised to rest more often...Can I?sigh....Yet,in times of problems plauging,I know one day I will learn to cope and take it all in my stride...

I really must learn to draw my inspiration from the mummies around me,one teacher I know has 3 young kids below 5,and is expecting her fourth child,look after her kids entirely on her own each night,her husband is a night shift taxi-driver...My buddy,Rachel has two active toddlers,work as late as 9pm sometimes,has to single-handlely cater to her kids whims and cries,my neighbour has 3 young children,yet in the midst of caring for them is able to run a hairdressing salon from home,despite the fact that she has to limit the number of customers due to fetching kids,prepapring lunch etc...To these mummies,I salute you wholeheartedly,this entry is a reminder of why I should complain less and appreciate clover more when shes still young and enjoy the milestones she achieve...hehe...

In the meantime,I just keep my fingers crossed,things will turn out fine in the end...haha...Oh,and brew more health-nourishing soups...haha...I brew this soup for its sweetness,as brown onion helps to boost immunity,red apple helps to lower cholesterol,sweetcorn is supposely good in preventing diabetes..

Sweetcorn,carrot,tofu and Apple soup
2 sweetcorn
3 carrots,chop roughly
1 egg tofu,cut into chunks
1 red apple quartered
1 brown onion,peeled and quartered
200g lean pork,sliced

1.Remove the outer stem of the sweetcorn,break it into half.
2.If desired,blanch the lean pork into boiling water briefly to remove blood and stench of raw meat.
3.In pot,add in all the vegetables and meat,boil and then brew using small flame for about 1 and a half hours.

Happy Birthday,my lucky,happy baby

After months of imaging that special day when clover turned one,it was not how I thought it will turn out to be....poor clover fell sick,thank goodness she managed to recover slightly in time to celebrate her birthday bash,and she again as usual happily lap up all the attention...haha..After three days of being in infantcare,she was down with severe throat infection and high fever,for days she lost her voice,it was frustrating to see her in such pitiful state,trying to vocalised,coughing due to phlegem lodged stubbornly in her throat...urgh...Though it was a time for her to build her immunity,but to be sick and down with high fever(39.5 degree celcius) for three days in a row,it was heart-wrenching for any parent to watch helplessly,all the most I could do was to sponge her regularly,administer medications and place the Koolfever pad,sigh....It makes us feel guilty for even considering infantcare in the first place,seeing her suffer in such a manner,now according to the doctor,it will take about two weeks for her to recover completely,thank goodness,she has been active despite having low appetite....

The turnout of the guests for that night was pretty low,hmm...an issue of bad timing?Nevertheless,I like to thank all the attending guests once again,will feature more photos of clover playing with her new toys...hehe...

However,I was very pleased with her birthday cake,to me,no birthday is complete without a birthday cake,haha....Perhaps next year or so,I shall bake her own birthday cake and get her to decorate it...haha....

Instant Promotion-one that takes getting used to...

It seem not too long ago,that I am still being addressed as "jie jie" by young kids,now with clover,instantly,I have been promoted to "auntie"...haha...Went chinese new year visiting at my lao gong 's nanny place,I was greeted with chorus of "happy new year,auntie" by a bunch of active teenagers,haha....ouch,reality bites,haha...days of being young and carefree appear a fading memory now,haha...when I mentioned I miss clubbing days to my friend,he looked at me with eyes wide open and blurted out "hey,u are now a mother leh,mothers and aunties don't go pubs leh"
Undeterred by his words,I still managed to squeeze time to go St James once,gosh,the feeling was exhilarating,it was like back to the old days...Being young and soaking in the freedom,haha...Seem like I have manage to find a balance in life,hehe...

Hey,HP,so sorry for missing out the crucial details,I will amend the recipe again,thanks for your interest in trying out the recipe,do look forward to hearing the outcome..:)

Award winning dish

So grateful to my friend,to share his mum winning formula....My friend,Danny entered a cooking competition and won the 2nd prize,hehe...this goes to show how tasty this dish is,huh?I like it for its tangy,spicy flavour that goes down well with rice,it contains herbs and spice ,hence not much soya sauce is being used,definitely the healthier choice in cooking chicken,haha.....

Hi,HP,apart from a trustworthy wooden spoon and handwhisk,I too do not have much fanciful equipments for baking.Generally for creaming method,I wait till the butter has softened,then cream vigorously with the sugar for about 8 minutes till it resemble custard and turn slightly white,add in egg one by one,then beat till there is no visible trace of egg seen,hope this helps,oh,use eggs at room temperature as too cold egg will result in curdling.all the best and may you enjoy the cake too.

Clover ,clover

Sigh,seem to be sighing alot more these days,even with clover at infantcare,my mind is not at ease...The mere sight of infants with muscus trickling down their noses,coughing,having fever,some with dazed look in their eyes having taken a long nap after consuming medication makes me very worried for clover,she is going to be the next victim soon...oops.Was told by the teacher at infantcare that clover arrived with red eyes and a sad look each morning,after her dad went off to work,she started to whimper softly,gosh,this is indeed a tough transition period....Every evening when she come home,she will be so famished that she will gulped down two bottles of milk in one sitting,equivalent to almost 350ml...Wow,never had I seen her so hungry before,poor clover...Showertime is the worst,it seem to be a torture for her....Oh,well,guess the begining will always be the toughest,as time goes by,it should be easier....keeping my fingers crossed.....

No best Solution............Is there???

Guilt is gripping me like a tightrope coiling around my heart,tighting it everytime I looked at clover...Once more,I am going to forsake her,thrust her into the unknown....Sigh,another cargiver throwing in the towel,the fact that clover do not sleep for long make it tough for anyone looking after her,it is certainly not easy handling an active baby...Was torn between infantcare and maid,though both has its pros and cons,seriously,having an extra pair of hands make lightwork,especially when it comes to household chores,hmm...who ever like to come home to pigsty,isnt it?But the thought of leaving the maid as the sole care-giver more than 12 hours a day with clover alone somehow puts me off,especially with the recent bad press,what with all the mounting abuse cases,sigh,eventually,it all boils down to luck,yet my lao gong and I feel that we cannot afford to take the risk...


Went to infantcare,prepped myself to be ready to see kids down with colds and flus,but more than half of them were suffering from colds and flus,some with fever too,oops,would not be surprised that clover may be next,hmm..I am trying my best to convince myself that clover is building her immunity,it is a good opportunity for her to interact with other kids,she has to learn to wait for her turn to be fed,shower and change...no longer the baby who rule the house anymore...it is only a matter of time anyway,for her to mingle with other kids,still the overprotective side of me warns me that in such a "rowdy" environment,I have to ensure clover receive optional vaccinations as well,true,it may not be 100% guarantee risk-free,it is costly,but it buy us a peace of mind,a small price to pay,I feel for clover's well-being,and hopefully,avoiding the daunting medical bills,should "touchwood" clover gets infected....hehe...

If anything,being a mum make me more in tune in showing empathy towards other parents,now I can truly understand why even though the child is a 13 year old teenager,the mum still frets over her meals,insisting to come over to school every day for two weeks,ensuring that her child is adjusting well,making friends,why at 14 years old,the mum willingly carry her son's heavy schoolbag ,fetch him to and fro school,never allowing him to be home alone for fear that he will not be able to take care of himself,abit extreme,but well,these are some of the cases I came across being a form teacher,while last time I may scoff off at the idea of overbearing parents,now I say I understand...but sometimes,we must draw a line,kids must learn to be independent,after all,it is a world of the fittest who survive,the ability to adapt is one of the crucial life skills,I,too must learn to let go.....

Er...ahem,we can never have too many clothes

Auspicious colour to welcome the lunar new year



Whos a tough cookie?


My lucky leaf drapped in bright red flowery dress

While still unmarried,my mum used to sneak a glance at my shopping bags laden with new clothes and sighed softly,"Why do you need so many clothes?"Geez,I do not know how to answer her,I mean honestly,how many of you ladies ever feel that you have enough to wear?For me,everytime I buy clothes,regardless of tops,skirts,I will be thinking of suitable footwear,accesssory to go along with it,if I feel that I do not have,that call for another shopping trip again,not surprisingly,when I do shop,I will splurge,haha....
Now that I have clover,naturally,my shopping trip extends to her too,never mind that she will be just as delighted being bundled up in a haysack,it is more for me for her to dress in those oh-so sweet cutie tops and skirts...haha...This CNY calls for a intensive shopping trip,luckily,she hasnt start wearing shoes,else I think my shopping list will definitely be longer...haha...My mum who used to disapprove of me buying so many clothes,cannot resist the temptation too,haha...With pasar malam selling these lovely clothes,it sure give kiddypalace a run for its money,don't you think so?haha....