(2007/02) February

huskie,
Nope, no nap for me. When I was preggy with Ben I used to nap when Sarah napped. Like you, just a quick pick-me-up. But now with 3, no chance. When I was preggy with Gabriel, I still napped a little when the 2 napped. But these days, Sarah is done with her afternoon naps, and I don't like her to be idle, so no nap for me
sad.gif
. When my hb is home, like on Sats and Suns, I do nap. He will help me with the kids if necessary, and I don't do chores on Sat and Sun.
OK GTG. Ben's on the toilet now and I must do the lunch dishes and hang the laundry. Sarah's got gym later, my parents come over and pick Ben up to go to their place for his pm nap whilst Sarah, Gabe and I go to gym.
 


huskie,
Wah, you too huh? hae bee is lethal for me too.

Mine is also a cheapo ricecooker. Toyomi or something like that. I scoop all the rice out of the rice cooker. Don't keep it there Yes, that's why I use the timer, so the keep warm mode will not be on forever, even for lunch time. My rice will come on and go off after 45 mins. My keep warm mode tends to burn the bottom of the rice, and make it stick. . I put the rice into a microwaveable bowl and into the fridge to keep for dinner. No, it's as nice as fresh rice when microwaved leh.

Oh yes, the thermal pot is a great thing to have for soups and stews. No need to watch the pot. Save electricity and gas too. I do my chicken stock in there, or else on the gas stove. Can't be bothered with slow cookers unless really necessary. Too slow, and waste electricity. Use thermal pot instead.

OK. REALLY GTG. Hehehe!
 
Huskie,

when comes to weekend i got to cook + look after Lil J.. I try to cook 2 or more dishes at 1 time.

e.g. rice cooker + steamer = cook rice + steam tou fu & fish

Roast chick wings with potatoes & pumpkin

I think there are also multi steamer where u can boil soup a the bottom, steam rice in the middle then steam veg/ meat at the top layer..

like that saves time and effort..

Microwave cooking also helps..

Imptly i will plan to cook food that I can just prep the stuffs, then throw it in to cook.. then just wait to eat..

i think my most useful item in my fridge is the Garilc oil that i make weekly + oyster sauce which can cook/ manrinate many stuffs.. haha..
 
Huskie..She's amazing..but for her first kid she couldnt manage..house in a mess..but with the 2nd one..she got more confident..so its not that she's the really ideal perfect housewife like those hollywood movies..ordinary woman but extraordinary faith..hehe..I mean to have 8 n no help!

I usually do:
1) steam fish/chicken..or if no meat,
Egg omelette..Y loves egg! For veg, I'll quick boil cai xin or we eat lettuce or tomatoes..raw..wash thoroughly with veggie wash.
2) Sometimes fried rice..I bought frozen organic veg like spinach, corn, carrots from Cold Storage..so I just dump them into a soup or the frozen chopped spinach I'll fry with rice n egg. Rice either fresh or leftover from dinner.
3) Macaroni with hard-boiled egg..dash of sesame n soya sauce Y loves it! I dont though..haha.
4) Days that we wake up late n had a good big breakfast so have a late lunch..then I'll just steam chicken pau n cut some fruits..that's the best hehe for the slacker mum..but very occassionally only..chic pau not enough nutrients lah.

As for dinner..I cook when Y is asleep..sometimes wait for hubby to get back then I'll cook.

PVL..Seems that have big families also good..all learn to chip in to help!

Sunsweet..Roast chic with potatoes n pumpkin..sounds yummy! Share recipe pls?
U use oven to roast?
Thanks for sharing the website!
 
gd day to all...

gng to R&R till end mth... then prob gng to b bz till June.

Nx wk - Co org lunch for all the PAs :p *yummy*.

Smurfy - A was like tis to the maid initially, even to the extend of slapping her across her face or head or anywhere he can hit on. Then I scolded him.

Bt nw, he doesn't do that anymore & instead will hug her & pull her to play w/ him. Yest I tried to play w/ him, he pushed me away - ask me go & bathe & eat. I was v upset, bt I cant do anything also wat.... Haiz...

hb is now trying to separate the time for family-alone w/o the maid in the pic. Shall c hw it goes.

I know, indirectly it's a gd thing he's nt so attached to me. bt the thing is, I've bn stuck w/ this for the past 2yrs leh, suddenly ask me to b detached also seems funny. I dun want the maid to b the first person he goes to when he needs something. Yest hb asked A "b, u want daddy mummy or auntie?" he told hb "auntie". When we rephrased the qn to hv auntie in betwn us, he did not want to ans us.
 
ah-ger
it takes time.. u dun rush over things... maybe u can tell the maid to go to the room or do housework in the kitchen when u are playing with a. last time my high class maid quite good in all these.. can disappear discretly one.. though QY still looks for her then.. but as he grew older, he seems to realises she's just a maid, tending to his basic needs, nothing more (though we do suspects she beats QY before)
 
smurfy - the thing is - when I go & bathe, she also go to bathe. Hb will b the only person tending him. When I m done, maid & I eat first w/ A while hb goes to bathe.

By the time it's time for hb to eat, maid & I already done & will b sitting outside w/ A. After hb finishes his dinner, maid will wash the dishes & clean up the stove. Latest all these will b done by 8+pm, then she will b free le.

I can't b asking the maid to go to her rm for no reasons right? Afterall, las time we used to tell her, if she has nothing to do, she can sit tare & watch TV w/ us....
 
sunsweet,
I too cook like you. Cook rice, steam on top. Bake everything at once. I have a pot that can cook soup at the bottom and steam on top too. I don't use the microwave to cook. Don't really trust it. Not so nice to eat IMHO. Wah, you make garlic oil weekly. I just peel and grind my garlic and put into a container in the fridge. No oil
happy.gif
. Just raw ground garlic. I do it around once in 3-4 weeks. Can last that long. In fact, the garlic I'm currently using was made before Gabriel was born. Just running out.
Thanks for the link, but their meals are not so simple.
 
Sunsweet,
Thanks for the link.
Thing is, I was the one who was tired of eating one pot meals with my thermal cooker and crockpot.
But hmm... the garlic oil is a good idea. It can be stored in fridge and will not solidify?
Do you separate the crispy fried garlic from the oil?

The multi-steamer is a good idea. I currently steam a lot of stuff, but make do with my double boiler.
Last week I was so frustrated with maid I actually went to Best Denki to check out any "do-away-with-maid" appliances. Saw that a basic microwave (I only intend to use for defrosting) costs only $139, and a basic multi-steamer $79. not that expensive
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Actually I find that cooking is not that difficult... it's the preparation of veges and meat that takes more time. maybe cos I am really slow at plucking veges... my maid can do it real fast! I'm thinking maybe I can pre-pluck but do not wash the veges the night before when SOph is asleep, then next day just need to soak and wash veges.

Charis,
Fried rice sounds good. So far I have not done much fried rice cos SOph picks out her fav peas and corns and just refused to eat the rice. Maybe it's time I try again.
The raw veges also sounds healthy!

Yesterday Soph asked Aunty to "find her boy", a toy she lost at Thomson Plaza sometime back, even before our helper came.
How in the world did she get the idea that if she cannot find something, she can ask aunty to do it for her?!
I am now sooooooo scared she'll grow up to be dependent on maids!
 
huskie
seems like u have more time to log in with the maid's help.. hey, seriously gonna do without the maid? u r getting heavier n more clumspy with each day.. a maid to do the "unimportant" things will let u have more rest and more quality time with sop... for ur case, just gotta be strict with her on the rules in the house. and u r at home to supervise her, so not that bad. just gotta get use to a new person in the house.. until sop and the new bb is older (easier to manage them then).

oh i am gonna order the DISH DROP and LOC multi purpose cleaner.will get it next tues.. thanks for the recommendations.

charis
i dunno got frozen organic peas n carrots.. kekeke must have missed them out.. gonna check it out.. cannot make it to the trial.. timing all messed up again with the new maid.

ah-ger
how abt u and hb eat together with A? in the past maid eats with us on the same table.. now we let new maid eats in the kitchen.. the feeling is very differnt... very good
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pvl
i'm not gonna reply on u on meals preparations... coz it seemsssss soooo way impossible with a active girl... a terrible 2 boy and a newborn..:x
 
Charis,

the roast chick was my mum recipe

She'll usually manrinate with some butter + salt and pepper + roasmary. can lace on some bacon just before u pop the chick in the oven.

then just lay potatoes 1/4ed and pumpkin chunks and even sweet potatoes if u fancy, then sprinkle some rosemary and some salt (if preferred) Place chick on top of the roots and lace bacon on.

You can seperate also the chick and roots by using a wire rack.. but i'm lazy so cook everythign together.

the unhealthy part comes, the roots are suppose are cook/ bake with the chick and bacon fats.. its really yummy tasting.. but kinda sinful.

for the whole chicken (baking whole bird) u can use up 60- 90 mins to bake.. if just chick wings i think 30 mins will do.. but if you are doing the wings i think the roots have to be pre-cooked, as 30mins is not sufficient to bake-cook potatoes unless maybe u cut it up to much smaller pcs.

another lazy recipe i use is Salmon in a bag.. see recipe --> http://littlegastronomy.blogspot.com/2008/07/salmon-in-bag.html
 
PVL..I want to get a pressure cooker..can cook soup below and steam rice on top! I use rice cooker to do my soups/stews..but I always have to cook the rice first or end up cooking rice on the stove.

Huskie..Raw veg like lettuce..I'll cut finely n mix into the fried rice.

Smurfy..Its ok..keep u informed of next trial.
Cold Storage sells quite a good range of frozen veg, even corn cobs, asparagus..organic and from New Zealand of cos more pricey than other brands u find in NTUC.
 
Sunsweet..Thanks for recipe. Sounds very yummy..I'll minus the bacon though..go for olive oil n butter..quite sinful already haha.
 
Huskie,

Nope the oil will not freeze,

usualy i'll just chop the garlic, put it in a bowl and add oil to it.. then microwave it for like 3 mins on high.. stir and another 2 mins med power.. till nicely golden brown..

Usually I'll keep the garlic in oil. in a glass bottle or just in the bowl with cover.

you can do the same with Ginger and shallots too
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try not to keep longer than 2 weeks.
 
Charis,

usually i like to bake the whole chicken, cos the breast meat can be use for chicken sandwhich the next day
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Another of my infamous lazy dish is to buy roasted chick from supermarket.. just go home cook into stew (add carrots, celery, potatoes, onions and flavour with oyster sauce) done within say 30mins.. haha lazy me..

Pressure cooker to cook rice?

I tot its good for soups and braised meat only keke

what brand of pressure cooker you are refering to?
 
sunsweet
it;s nice if u like the olden methods of cooking, lots of oils kekeke.. i like the fried beehoon and chicken egg mee there (damn oily)... and of coz the vinegar pig trotters.
 
Charis,
Yeah, I've been tempted to get a pressure cooker too. Cooks faster. Dunno about steaming rice on top though. But til today. I still can't justify getting one
happy.gif
. Now with the thermal pot, I use the slow cooking method rather than the quick broil.
 
ah smurfy,

vinger pig trotters..

will have taht soon after we have delievered..

actually i only like the sauce + hard boil eggs and ginger rather than the pork...

haha can we eat that b4 we deliver? tot of cooking it once of these weekends :p
 
Smurfy,
Hee, you have noticed I have more time to log in hor?
I must say quality of life is better with a maid... like yesterday evening, hubby went for a run, and soph wanted to follow, so I could bring her along while maid washed the dishes and mop the floor. This would never be possible without a maid!

But eh, yesterday whole day my maid was OK, then at night when hubby came back, he said he saw the maid limping! Asked her what happened and she said she jumped from a chair when cleaning wardrobes... why on earth would she jump when she can come down slowly? Sigh! So hubby went out IMMED and bought her Counterpain muscle rub!

Sunsweet,
Wow, your mum's roast chicken and root veges sounds yummy! I never thought of lacing bacon on top, but yes, it must taste so much better with bacon.

Thanks for the oil recipes too! Will try it once I decide on maid issue.

Charis,
What kind of pressure cooker are you thinking of getting? Stovetop or electric one?
Hee, this gadget queen here has an electric Samsung one. The Koreans use pressure cooker to cook rice, that's why their rice is so soft and spongey... apparently they say more nutritious too. I use mine to cook beef or rib stew... or just potatoes that become real soft in 10min then can mash.

But the top brand in Korea is actually Cuckoo brand... unfortunately they do not sell this brand in SG, and words cum messages are all in Korean.
 
huskie
see see, quality of life improved right? just make sure she "auto-disppear" when not required :p.. mine's dramatic.... hb said yesterday she cried on the way to my mum's place and say that she felt useless, afraid she cannot take care of QY... told us to send her back if QY still dun wanna her in 1 mth's time...dot dot dot.. me taking one day at a time lar... we told her to concentrate on doing housework instead of trying to change diaper/bath/feed QY now. anyway me in foul mood these days.. she kena scolding soo many times frm me..think she very scared of me... :p..i tell my mum my eyes and ears very sharp these days... to spot check on what she's doing and her quality of work...she's really timid lor.. that day scold her then during dinner time ask her scoop her portion of food for dinner... she did not take anything, onli some fried vegetables and rice.. make me more angry.. told her if she dun eat anything.. where got energy to work hb see the way i treat her oso scared.. decided not to go to malaysia for Qingming/1st yr death anniversary hahaha..

BUT SHE REALLY CANNOT MAKE IT.. u know she put QY's magmag cup by her face to feel whether it's hot...scolded her right in the face.. ask her whether her face oily after working one whole day.. still dare to put the cup by her face!!!! and ask her how she know QY's fish in the porridge is cooked.. she said she will take a small piece and test the meat by rubbing against her finger!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

high class, greedy n lazy maid vs toopid maid <-dunno which is worse
 
sunsweet
i dun follow pregnancy diet one lar. i everyday drink cold water.. so of coz i can eat vinegar trotters.. yah i like the sauce alot more than the meat oso kekke..
 
hi gals,

like pvl, my maid will put zz in kitchen, maybe plucking some veg or he can just sit in the kitchen looking at her cooking. zz doesn't touch anything so it safe... but i told maid better dun put G near stove cos G tends to touch anything in sight unlike zz. however nowadays i seldom see him stuck in kitchen cos he got new play mate liao mah ;) tat a good thing lor.

ah ger, i normally eat w my hb 1. so maid will tend to both kids n feed them. once i finish eating, I will go to play w my kids while she wash dishes n bath. she eat rather late 1...

act for me, I try to spend time w hb too cos must balance my time... cannot be always with the kids n nelecting the older kid mah... haha
 
smurfy,
Your maid is hilarious! How come put magmag cup to face? Hee, she she ex-Kuwait one right? How come still this kind of standard?

Think you better watch over her carefully.... little bit cry... wait kenna depression! My mum had a previous maid who kept crying for no reason... aiyoh, my mum was so scared, quickly sent her back!

I also love pig trotter vinegar! if I'm too lazy to cook, Red Star sells quite a nice version.

garfield,
I think zz good lah, doesn't really touch anything. Soph will touch anything and everything! Burnt her finger also never cry, jialat! Just asked for a plaster and showed everyone her "war medal"!
 
huskie, i think zz is v kiasi 1... hahhaa he will wan to touch but when finger really v near, he still dun dare 1.... hahhahaha but good la. safer lor. but G is like yr sophie lor... so i really worried for her. keep reminding maid to be careful w her.
 
huskie
ur lil sop toughie lar... QY crybaby...everylittle thing oso scared type...same like zz..

my conclusion is that her previous employment house too bigg... very easy to hide.. and even if u do a small little wrong thing, no one will be able to spot.. whereas sg house, too small for her to hide. she hor, always look out at the window when she has nothing to do... like a jailed bird in a cage like that... see oredi oso scared... scared one of these days she jump down (anyway, my previous high classy oso has the habit of looking at window).. those crying maids r just trying to get empathy lor.. :p
 
Mummies

ask u one qn. I m in the midst of deciding whether to send A to N1 in those churches, or to let him go to PG first then proceed to N2.

Wat are your thoughts?

Things to consider:
1) PG - costs like $300+ $400 per term, while churches costs like $5 - 600 per term.
2) we hv a PG dwnstairs, hence we dun hv to spend on tpt. Bt the church needs tpt service &amp; costs like $80.

My gf said - teaching wise will b diff, while going to church or those proper N1/2 is really like schooling type. She believed the syllabus &amp; method of teaching is also diff.

Bt everything is $$.... Haiz...

I dun wanna put A in normal PCF cos I've heard tat the things they teach r v lagging. I've once heard ppl commenting, those who're in pte N1/2, they learn 1 - 30, while the child in PCF at N2 is still learning 1 - 10.

I would like A to hv a strong foundation, so that when he enters P1, he can absorb easily &amp; better. Instead of having to struggle the nx time. Bt I dun expect A to go into branded schs lah.. just neighbourhood schs will do..
 
smurfy, looks scary... u better watch out for her... scare she sucidal type ley

ah ger, i not sure abt church but my nephew is in one n my mum say it really good lor. for me, i will put zz to playgrp first pref... ya I also believe tat having a good basic fountation helps. cos he wun feel lost in pri school later on lor.

serious abt pcf N2 learning 1-10 nia?? zz school now teaching him to count up to 30 liao in this new term.
 
garfield, tats wat I heard leh.... bt I dunno hw true... Oops, paiseh - it's K2.

U know PCF also hv those w/ enrichment programs one? Nt all PCF hv.. bt the sch fees r big diff.

Say a normal N costs abt $50+ 60+ bt those w/ enrichment progs cost 3x more. When they enter K1 &amp; K2, normal ones costs $80+ 90, bt those w/ enrichment prog cos $240+ $250.

so garfield, will u let let N1 b replaced by PG? After tat proceed to N2?
 
Ah ger,
I am no expert in kid's education, but I remember reading that some PCFs are different. Some even have tie-ups with speech and drama classes by Julia Gabriel once a week.
 
gals, i need to book my maid air tickets. do i need any requirement to book them? paiseh if i ask silly qn... hehe cos first time.

cos now her work permit expire nxt mth n i yet to renew. but i booking tickets for her in June... how any advise? smurfy??
 
garfield
to book air ticket... go to cebu pacific..cheapest of them all... the earlier u book, the cheaper it it.. but hor, please be reminded that luagge is onli 15kg and handcarry is onli 7kg.. my toopid high classy has 30++ kg worth of stuffs during check in.. eyes red when told us that it would incurr $200+ charges. in the end hb offered to ship back the items for her.. she gave us $20 only, claiming it's a small box.. in the end.. it ended up $75 .. these maids... really take us for a ride!!!! extension of work permit i dunno hor..

ah-ger
church kinders do input good moral values.. which i think is good.. if u r a free thinker or christians..
 
smurfy, she be back n she told me she wun bring so much things lo. cos also no storage space at her new place.

thanks i will check it out. think i book... have any idea if she must bring along work permit for travel? or i can keep??
 
garfield
u have to go to mom webbie or do goggle search to check leh. cannot remember oredi.. there r some home leave documents if i am not wrong..

wkend class oso must do work.. sch told us.. they r learning "G" and it's pinic at the sch garden.. told us bring some snacks.. what snacks??? biscuits?? strawberries? dun ask me make anything hor..
 
last week the dog SPOT got birthday party.. sch tell us to dress our kids in costumes if we have.. one thing i dun like is the peer pressure for the kids and homework for the parents.. :/.. though it definitely makes the 1.5hrs class more interesting.
 
mummies,

Lil J is soon outgrowning her XL Pet pet diapers..

what other brand is bigger than pet pet but not too pricy. She's on diaper mainly when she is out or sleeping only.. most of the time at home she is using the potty.
 
smurfy, i have called up embassy. they say need endorsement of my add before she fly. anyway i book jetstar... cheapest liao... cebu dun fly to indone?
 
ah ger

i also dunno what kind of "school"is better. but for PCF centres, the cirriculum varies for diff centres. I heard good comments on the centre near my place.

Likewise, for church kindy or any other kindy, they may offer different kind of cirriculum. Just to share from my friends and relatives who are teachers in pri sch, they find that kids from PCF can adapt better in P1.
 
Sunsweet,Huskie, PVL..Apparently, yes can cook rice with pressure cooker..of cos need a separate small pot to put above the soup..if doing simultaneous cooking..the rice will be nice n soft like huskie mentioned..
My MIL has been cooking rice with the pressure cooker for years..but recently she got herself a rice cooker, cos my fussy BIL n SIL doesnt like soft rice..wants airy etc..whatever lah haha..they just so fussy.
Think Taiyo pressure cooker selling well..esp the recent electric ones..my MIL had 2 over stove pressure cookers..she said years ago she bought for almost $500..now $200 can get an electric one.

Garfield..ZZ PG class learning 1-30?!..wah..a bit too much leh..more important is counting in concept..teaching a kid to count (one-to-correspondence) is more crucial than just rote counting-counting by memory.

Stella, Ah ger, Garfield, Huskie..

It seems that PCF kids can adapt better, more so bcos of the classroom setting,..but in terms of curriculum, think its really based on what kind of emphasis..studies have shown that children who have a good foundation in concrete learning methods, good example is Montessori method do better in Primary school..bcos the method teaches the child to think, n think out of box..higher learning (upper primary) will need much more of this kind of thinking.
But if your child is doing well and has a good foundation, consider sending to Kumon (in P1 or later)..which works on the speed and accuracy of solving math problems..for english, I'm not sure what they teach.
 
chocbabe, you can try
http://www.cupcake-momma.net/
http://www.cupcakedivinity.blogspot.com/
http://perfectfrosting.multiply.com/ - I ordered from her before 'cos the other 2 were full house, not bad
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Personally I would not consider PCF - their premises seem cramped to me and I do not like their rote learning tendencies. but that's just me.. plus I prefer a christian curriculum lah.

Pressure cooker - me chicken, v scared when it starts whizzing away.. like macham gonna explode. I'll stick to my trusty thermal pot
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garfield, believe Cebu pacific only flies to Phillipines. Think you got a good deal for Jetstar. Why not call your maid agency to double check with them? They should be able to guide you for the paperwork yah? Cos I think there's some documents for home leave that the maid must carry along.

smurfy, eh that kind of homework not real homework lah.. wait until primary school
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catz, ya i also think so tat i got a good deal... ticket cost only $128... but now seem i might have diff getting my long leave in june...
sad.gif
it my job lor... so praying hard. I can't check w any agency cos my maid is a transfer maid so everything t do myself rather than thru them. I never trust them anyway after tat incident of work permit. this time i also renewing on my own. ask the embassy is rather safe liao.

charis, previously they counting 1-20 and they often have games for eg, wear "shoes" for caterpillar n then they will count up or backwards. they also do flash cards that show the actual numbers. this term they learning up to 30. of cos they have also other simulating games like differiating bet narrow and wide, big vs small, tall vs short, more vs less. n they pick up skills like using scissors, pen and tongs... ya they also learning sequence like wat comes after the panda...
 
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