make it BIG!!

First time Adam uttered this word, we couldn't really understand him.. He was asking his daddy to add more Dhal for his roti canai..
Adam: MakeA big daddy..
Daddy: Huh?
Adam: MakeA BIG! MakeA BIG! MakeA BIG!
Daddy: What?
Mommy: Can you say nicely Adam?
Adam: MakeA big please daddy.. do NOT makeA small...
Mommy & Daddy: oooo nak banyak... :)

After a few times he now knows to say it properly.. The other day, we were having dinner with my parents and brother. Adam asked his daddy to pour some more Tomato Sauce for his Cheese Wanton but he was pointing to the chilli sauce bottle..

Adam: Tomato please Daddy.. (while pointing to the chilli sauce bottle)
Daddy: No Adam, that's chilli.. this is tomato sauce (pointing at the tomato sauce bottle)
Adam: Noo!!!!! This ONE!!! THIS ONE!!!!

My Dad, brother, me, my mom, everybody tried to tell Adam the bottle he was referring to was chilli sauce.. But Adam being Adam, refused to listen and feels he is right. So, daddy poured the chilli sauce..

Adam: Make it bigger Daddy.. Make it BIGGER!
Daddy: this is enough..
Adam: Make it BIGGER! do not make it small...
Dadday: Whateva.. (and poured some more)

Adam happily dipped his wanton into the sauce and took a bite..
Adam: Air! Air! (Drink it then look at mommy)

Adam: Mommy, that's chilli pidas! (pointing to the chilli sauce bottle)
Mommy: Aku pulak kena sekolah ngan dia.. haishhhh...

mine and yours

I think Adam understands how to use the " 's, mine and yours"to show belonging. But the application is rather, weird. Funny weird :)

Scenario 1
While trying to pull his pillow from me..
Adam: That's Adam's pillow!
Me: still holding it tight..
Adam: It's mine!
Me: No! It's mine!
Adam: It's mine!

Ok this could go on and on but basically he knows how to apply it.. but let's look at this other scenario..

Scenario 2
I was holding my phone and he was trying to take it from me..
Me: It's my phone!
Adam: It's yours! (But still trying to snatch it)
Me: It's mine!
Adam: It's yours!
Me: It's mine!
Adam: It's yours! (Finally he managed to get it and I tried to get it back from him)
Me: It's mine! (Konon-konon wants to take it from him)
Adam: It's yours! (while looking for youtube icon and turned away so I cannot get the phone back)
Me: It's mine!
Adam: It's yours!

Ok, how do u explain that? :)

Cheeky Adam @ Pantai Batu Buruk - miss him so much!



Yang dicita-cita sudah tiba :)

Morphy Richards Electric Pressure Cooker

Been waiting for this for quite some time and finally received it last week.. Happy!!! Tapi.... gatal sangat beli eletric pressure cooker konon canggih sket la kann nak masak sup tulang tapiiiii x reti guna.. hampeh.. so anyone nak main masak-masak with me? jom kita buat eksperimen masak sup tulang then kita makan dengan homemade bread :)

Kumon

Hello! I can't remember if I have written about this before but I am so lazy to check my archive :)

Anyway, last few months I started sending Adam to Kumon. Before you start judging me and feel Kumon is too much for a 2y10m old boy, let me explain what makes me decided to send him to Kumon.

Adam on his first day of Kumon

1. Adam stays at home with Bibik the whole day while I am at work. He has no friends and not really that good in socializing with other kids because at home, he always get what he wants. So, the idea of sharing or playing together is alien to him. 
2. At 2++ Adam could barely make long sentences. I guess he had not much practice. Bibik speaks Indon to him, I speak English with him while his daddy speaks English and Malay with him. I am good with this arrangement though cause I believe language should be taught since young. When they start from young, the pronunciation and grammar will come naturally. 
3. Adam has no idea what school is and the whole idea of having a teacher, following their instructions and how to behave in class. 
4. I have no idea how to teach a child! Though Adam knows his ABC since he was 1+, that was by accident. Adam and me loves to play with the Animal ABC in the Fisher Price website. Initially we just imitate the animal sounds but one day, I realized he can recognize most of the alphabets :)
5. So, my intention was just to send him to some sort of play school that is on weekly basis where he could have some ideas on what is school all about and help him to converse more. Initially, we went to Cambridge English. They did a test on Adam and he passed! Unfortunately, the teacher felt Adam was too young for her class. Major disappointment :(
6. From Kumon website, I found out that they provide 1 to 1 coaching for Preschool Kids. So I called Sec 7 centre and talked to the headmistress, Pn Norlaila. She asked me to bring Adam to do some assessment. When we went there, I was attracted to the friendly and warm welcome we received from Pn Norlaila. 
7. My initial plan was to enrol Adam for English program, but according to Pn Norlaila, the program is not for conversation but more to reading which she felt is too early for Adam.She did the assessment and recommended for Adam to start with Maths. Based on the Assessment, Adam could already skip 1 level and start with Level 6A right away but I asked them to start Adam from Level 7A. Alhamdulillah now, after 3 months, Adam has already started Level 4A.
8. What I like about Kumon is that it follows your child's pace. And, they provide 1 to 1 coaching for pre-school kids. Where else can you get that for RM120 a month? :) The idea is to have the kids to discipline themselves for a 10-20 min work every day. This helps me so much because now I know what and how to teach Adam :)



Pre-School Section in Kumon Sec 7

9. Though it's 1 to 1 session, Adam gets to mix with other children too. 

So far, Adam seems to enjoy his Kumon classes and asked to go to Kumon when we are out. As for his homewrok, he's OK with it though sometimes if the timing was not right, he refused to do his homework. I try not to force him to finish it and sometimes spread the session to suit his mood. 

So do I recommend it? Yes! But make sure you always remember the very reason why you want to send your kids there. Else, you'll end up like those competitive parents we always heard about.

Adam will be three!

My baby will be 3 in a couple of days and we will be hosting a partayyy!!!! As ususal, it will just be a small do at my parents' place in Terengganu! So if you are in KT on 3rd Raya, we'd be honoured if you could join us to celebrate Adam the Builder's 3rd Birthday.

Owh, we had a pre-celebration earlier. Actually it was not much of a celebration, just Adam blowing the candles. The cake was meant for Adam's favourite Uncle Bo's 30th birthday but Adam blew the candles too to mark Adam is 3 in Muslim Calendar. 

Anyway, party preparation is only 30% completed. Though I  started late this year, I am quite happy with what I managed to do thus far. I am always excited to plan for Adam's party. If only we have moooore money and I am moooore creative :) Too late to change Mom, Adam! So just be happy with me ok :)

Energize your Ramadhan!

Hello all! It's been a while I know but here I am again. Today marks the beginning of Ramadhan, how fast time flies eh?

Anyway, what have you done as a preparation for Ramadhan? I am always excited come Ramadhan. It's like I am given another chance to repent and improve myself to be a better muslim, daughter to my parents, mommy to my son, wife to my hubby n sister to my siblings. Last year, I remember tweeting and discussing on what to cook for breaking of fast with my friends. We rarely went to Pasar Ramadhan as I cooked most of the time last year and I intended to cook as much if not more this year.

Apart from stocking up your pantry and freezer with fresh food, have you prepared enough supplement to keep you going during Ramadhan? When I was 13, I could Sahur with fruits only and stayed active throughout the day and even played netball on most of the evenings. But at 30, I guess my body needs more help and the vitamins from the food we consumed might not be enough.

A couple of weeks ago, I was invited by my friend, Shikin, a Nutritionist with Liqua Health, for a product review at Marche, the Curve. I almost did not make it as it happened on the same day with Bersih gathering and most of the roads were closed. Boy am I glad I went anyway because it was the first time I get to try Spirulina in other form and lovin' it!

I am sure many of you has seen spirulina in tablet forms and might have even takes it as part of your daily supplement. Do you sometimes feels like it's a torture to swallow the little pills? I do especially when I was pregnant. The fishy smells does not help either. But I still take it as I know it is very beneficial in terms of giving you energy and all. I even make Adam eat them daily as the vitamins and minerals he gets from his meals might not be sufficient.

Liqua Health's spirulina is not like those we usually seen in the market. For a start, it is in liquid form and came in 3 yummilicious flavours, Berry, Lemon-Lime and Grape. During the session, Shikin showed us how easy it is to include this Spirulina as part of your daily supplement.

Lemon, Berry and Grape Spirulina

First, they gave us a glass of watermelon juice and we were asked to pick one of the flavour and I picked grape.

Watermelon Juice and the Spirulina. Yes! The one in the packet.

Just shake it up!

We were told to just shake it up and drink it. It was sooooo yummy! Tasted like grape with no after taste at all! It was a bit sweet though maybe because we mixed it with watermelon juice. But don't worry as the sweetness came from fructose from the fruits that gives flavour to the spirulina.

Next, we were asked to mix it with plain water. My friend, Rabby had the honour to mix it and she picked Berry. It tastes great! Not as sweet because we just mix it with plain water. It's perfect for breakfast! We cannot mix it with hot water though as it contains life enzyme that will help with your digesting system. Bye-bye constipation! :)

 

Berrylicious!

For many of us who always doesn't have much time to prepare for breakfast, this would be the perfect solution. Just arrange some sliced bananas on a slice of bread and top it with the spirulina instead of jam. Yummy! 

 Fila demonstrates how to spread the Spirulina

I am salivating!

These Spirulinas are also perfect for fruit salads.

Lemon-Lime Spirulina is a perfect match to these oranges

Great for fruit salad too

So what's in a Spirulina you asked? Well, here is what I gathered from the leaflet given:

• 6-8% Fat
• 3x more Protein than meat
• 6x more Protein than egg
• 10x more Calcium than milk
• 65x more Iron than spinach
• 5x more Beta-Cerotene than carrot
• 4x more Fiber than flour

Spirulinas are great for everybody at all age. It's great for those trying to conceive, for the expecting and nursing mommies and for those having menopause as well. It can also be used as your head-to-toe spa at home, for healthier and shinier hair, for medi to pedi and most important, it will help keep your appetite under control and slim away!

Your kids are too small? Shikin shared her personal experience giving spirulina to her son, Qael from Day 1. Just give the baby a quarter teaspoon a day and helps them to have a stronger immune system. The cool food is also packed with glycogen that will give your kids the instant energy boost and keep them alert during classes. Wish I know about spirulina when I was in high school. Spirulina also has up to 60% vegetable protein to promote healthy muscles build for them to grow tall and strong.

For the elders? Among others, Spirulina helps with vision care, promotes normal blood pressure, maintain body sugar level, hair care, prevent heart disease and stroke, improve rheumarhritis and has antiepressant effects.

During the session, we also get to try new products that will be launched soon. They will be packed in ready to drink bottles prefect for those who are always on the go. Adam gave it a try and love them to bit. He even asked for more :)

 

Some of the soon to be launched products

Adam too participate as the product tester

 Pretty Shikin in action

Thank you Shikin for the opportunity given and of course all the goodies that came in the goodie bag. I am now prepped up for Ramadhan. I am giving myself a Spirulina challenge and will take the Spirulina daily during sahur this Ramadhan. I am crossing my finger with hope to shed some kilos in time for raya. Will update you on the results. Have a blessed Ramadhan all!

Nasi Tanam Ayam

Hellooooooo!!!! This is just a short entry to share a recipe that has been requested by friends in FB. Started with Nette who tweeted about making Nasi Daging Berempah for dinner. Then she shared the recipe at her blog. Masa tu dah salivate dah tapi my hubby tak makan daging but bila tanya Nette, dia kata tukar dengan ayam pun boleh.

Suddenly a few days after that, Umi Faryhah, my junior from STF days shared a picture of Nasi Tanam Ayam in FB. Looks yummy! When she gave me the recipe, it looks almost similar to Nette's Nasi Daging Berempah, the process at least, and Nasi Tomato I learned from my mother-in-law last Sunday. Finally last night I managed to try it. Here is the recipe I got from Umi. The one in (blue) was how I made mine.

Bwg merah(5),putih(3) n halia (lupa letak) dihiris
Bunga lawang(1),cengkih(2),kayu manis(1 pendek) n buah keras pelaga (2).
Tumiskan semua ni dgn butter(3 heap tbsp planta)+minyak zaitun (x guna) smpi kekuningan..
Masukkan serbuk kari daging/ayam (3tbsp) tu.ni ikut suka kalo nk nasi pedas sikit,letak lebih..
Tuang air secawan (x letak air pun sbb planta over ;p)..then tnggu smpi pecah minyak.
Masukkan ayam (2 whole legs cut into 8 pcs) yg dipotong smpi half cooked.
Then masukkan beras basmathi yg di tos (3 cups).
(masukkan 1 biji bawang besar yang dihiris bulat)
Masukkan susu ideal 1tin,air(ikut sukatan pot or ikut tahap lembut nasi yg nak) (letak susu aje pun dah sampai kat tanda 4.. sepatutnye sampai aras 3 je)
Gaul rata semua,masukkan dlm rice cooker n cook..
Garam masukkan jugak sedikit (3/4 tsp). 

It was not bad for first try yang main agak-agak je ;p Tapi rasanya kurang garam. Macam kurang lemak tapi when I told my mom, dia kata kalau garam kurang mmg kurang lemak rasa. Tak pedas pun jugak. So, next time, I would definitely increase the amount of salt and curry powder. I overdid the Planta so masa nak masak tu sampai 3 kali tekan kat rice cooker still basah tapi mentah. So, I steamed the rice for almost an hour. 3 pots ni of course sangat banyak just for me and hubby so there was plenty for hubby's breakfast and my lunch today. Selamat mencuba!

Caramel Cake

I first saw this lovely cake at my cousin Nana's blog. Her housemates baked it for her birthday. So, I asked for the recipe and tried it last Friday. It was one of my colleague's last working days so I thought it would be nice to bring something for her. When I was about to bake it, I just realized we were out of eggs. We had, but it was not enough. Managed to persuade hubby to drive us to Tesco. We were home by midnight. So I looked at the recipe and saw the baking time is only an hour and the recipe seems easy.

I remember the cake was quite thick so I decided to use my springform tray as it is thicker than my other baking trays. I started with caramelizing the sugar. Easy peasy. Pour it in the springform and it hardened quite fast. So, I proceeded to make the pudding mix. Very easy as well. Then I poured into the springform. Oh no!!!! the pudding mix came out from the bottom of the pan! My springform leaked! Dang! Panic attack! So I quickly poured the mix back into the mixing bowl. It was already 12.30am and I was cursing debating with myself whether should I continue or just call it a night. But there were 7 eggs in the pudding mix and it would be a waste! So I decided to divide the mix into 2 and use 2 baking trays.

So again, by 1.15am I was done caramelizing the sugars and poured them into 2 baking trays. I continued to prepare the cake mix and then divide both pudding and cake mix into 2 and pour into the trays. As my oven can only fit in 1 tray at a time, both cakes were only ready at 3 am! Put the first tray into the fridge and the other one I just let it cool down in the oven and brought both to the office in the morning.

The caramel cakes were thin but nice! Glad my friend loved it. She has been a good friend and she deserves the lovely cake for her farewell :)

Decided to bake another one after that. I bought a new cake tin and glad it turned out well. Just the right thickness though I think it could have been better if I have a new oven. As I mentioned before, my oven's heat is not balance. Enough with the ramblings, here is the recipe for the yummy caramel cake. Seriously easy. Give it a try!

Caramel Cake
1.Puding
7 biji Telur 
1 cawan Susu fullcream
1cawan penuh gula
3/4 cawan air
Sikit vanila essense

2.Caramel
10sudu besar gula

3.cake
1 cawan tepung gandum
3 biji telur
250g butter
3/4 cawan gula
1/2 cawan air
Vanilla essense
1 sudu kecil soda bikarbonat 

1.(Untuk caramel) panas 10sudu besar gula dalam baking tray,api slow and gaul. Bila dah perang, angkat tray.

2.(Puding) gaul semua bahan sampai sebati. Tuang dalam baking tray tadi.

3. (Cake) pukul butter and gula sampai kembang.letak bahan lain. Bila sebati, letak jugak dalam baking tray.adunan cake akan terapung,so masukkan slowly dlm baking tray.

4.Letak baking tray dalam tray yg diisi air sebelum bakar. Bakar dlm api 180deg sampai masak (about 1 hour)..:) 




P/s: I found out that springform is not suitable for pudding mix hence the mess. So, I don't have to throw my springform :)

Birthday

Baca entry Am on Hadi's birthday (yang sangat happening dari gambarnya), terus teringat birthday Adam. Tahun ni, birthday Adam falls on 2nd Syawal. Rasanya tahun ni paling lambat Mommy Adam bersedia. Selalunya dalam 6 months before dah tau dah nak buat tema apa. Tapi tahun ni apa pun belum fikir.

Hmm.. tahun ni giliran beraya di Melaka. So pastinya second day tu baru sampai dari Melaka. Sempat ke nak prepare tiup-tiup belon like previous years? Bibik pun tak ada nanti dia balik cuti sebulan. Macam mana ni ye?

Any ideas kawan-kawan?

Kids and politeness

I noticed that Adam ni sangat garang dengan maid. Kalau main yelah, dia suka-suka and gelak-gelak. Tapi kalau nak mintak something, dia akan panggil dengan suara yang boleh dengar the authority in it. Macam contoh kalau with me, dia nak mintak susu, he will say "Mommy, milk please" in his sweetest voice. Tapi, kalau dengan maid, "Chitah! Milk!" on top of his voice. Sounded very rude to me. Even if I asked him to say it nicer, he would only lower it a bit but still not nice enough.

Initially, I thought it was me. I don't think I sound like that when I call the maid but people say kids emulate your behaviour. When we went back to my hometown the other day, I noticed Adam used the same voice when he called out my mom's maid. So it must not be me! I did not talk much with my mom's maid and never raised my voice when I speak to her. Adam spoke politely to all other people except the maid.

What should I do now? Whenever I catch him talking to the maid in that voice of course I will get him to talk nicer but what if I am not around and later it became a habit. I don't want to be the mother who raise a rude son. Sigh~

A Doctor in the House

I have been reading this book for quite sometime but has yet to finish it :( I think I have read 3 other books in between. Don't get me wrong, I love the book. How can I not love Tun M's style of writing, straight forward, simple words, backed with facts and he cracked some jokes here and there. Feels like I was listening to him.

I think the book is too bulky and too heavy to carry around. It would ruin my handbag if I were to carry it with me all the time. I wish I can pull out chapter by chapter coz I really want to read them all. Have you read the book? Page by page?Tell me how you did it. Please...

Perfect Burger Patty - Trial #1

Hola! I am back! Labour Day weekend was spent in my hometown. Did not even switch on my laptop there. Being with your own family is the greatest isn't it? I can just sleep and laze around and feel so happy and content when I am back at my parents. Last weekend pulak we went back to hubby's hometown in Malacca. Explain panjang-panjang ni konon nak bagi alasan kenapa lama tak tulis lah :)

Anyway, just wanna share that a dear friend ShiQin bought me this amazing Progressive Perfect Burger Press during her trip to US recently.

So now, I am in the quest to find the perfect homemade hamburger patty. The first recipe I tried was given by my Mat Salleh Grandma ;p I chose this first because the recipe made it sound so simple. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients
450g minced meat
1 onion, grated (I chopped)
2-4 garlic cloves, crushed (I chopped)
2 teaspoon wholegrain mustard
pepper
2 tablespoon olive oil

Directions

1. Place the minced meat, grated onion, garlic, mustard and pepper in a large bowl and mix together. Shape into 4-6 equal-sized burgers, then cover and leave to chill for 30 minutes. (Of course I use the burger press instead)
2. Wipe the frying pan clean, then heat until hot. When hot, add the burgers and cook for 3-5 minutes on each side until cooked to personal preference. 2-3 minutes before it is done, place a slice of cheddar cheese on top of it. Done!

Verdict
Made 3 thick and juicy burgers. Each patty weighs around 170g. I love its simplicity! As the oil is the only ingredients used to stick the meat together, the meat crumbled in our mouth as you eat. Nyummm~ I will rate this 8/10 (just in case others tastes better) Definitely a keeper!

Happeeeeeeyyyyy :)

Yesterday was the height of my cooking and baking experience and I was really happy about it I can't stop grinning to my hubby when he came home last night. 

First, one of my best friends (who cooks better than me) baked a bread from scratch! And she said she was inspired by me when I started baking. She (my friend who cooks better than me, I told you right?), was inspired by me! Wow! Never had I thought I would inspire someone like her. Thanks dear. You made my day.

Knowing that my hubby will be home late, I decided to bake 3 types of cookies. One was a new recipe I wanted to try called Blueberry Thumbprint Cookies (but I used wild berries). I also baked Giant M&M Bites for my dear friend and last but not least I baked Dutch Shortcakes for my brother as a present for his birthday tomorrow and for him to munch while preparing for his final. 

On top of that, three of my friends reported that they tried the recipes I shared in this blog and they loved it. Well one of them actually innovated a new recipe based on my Chicken Masorma but it's still counted :) Me, sharing a recipe? If someone told me 5 years ago that I would one day be able to cook and bake (at least for the family) I would never believe it. 

Growing up, I detest cooking. I love to eat all kinds of food and enjoy travelling around just to feed my craving  but kitchen had never been my favourite place. I had never imagine that some day I will be able to cook, even the day-to-day dishes. We were lucky to have maid to help my mom in the kitchen when were growing up and even when we were in between maids, the most my mom would ask for my help was to clean the prawns or cook the rice. To me cooking was just not my thing. Something I am not good at so why bother spending time learning it.

After I got married, I started to learn how to cook. It started with Brahims of course and all those instant Maggi packets like black pepper and sambal tumis. Only end of last year, when my mom gave me the breadmaker, I found myself beginning to enjoy baking and cooking. I started to look for new recipes to try and some of the dishes actually turned out, not so bad. I guess it's never too late for one to learn how to cook or bake. What you need is just passion for your new hobby. Err, did I say cooking is my new hobby? :)

Pre-pregnancy Supplement

As you might have noticed, I have been talking alot about pregnancy lately. Well, that's because Project Baby #2 has started! Initially, I felt maybe I should share when I am already pregnant, you know, just not to jinx it. But when I started my little research, I realized there were so many things that were new to me though I've been pregnant before. So why not share them with you, in case you don't know it already :)

In my first pregnancy, I started to take Folic Acid after I stopped the pill. I was told that mothers should take folic acid even before they are pregnant. I did not know that we should also take vitamins before we are pregnant. After consulting my aunt who is a pharmacist, she recommended Pramilet. You can read more about Pramilet here.

It's only RM19.50 at Vitacare for a bottle with 30 tablets (1 month).

Wordless Wednesday #3

Dutch Shortcakes

This recipe is quite simple and loved most by Adam and his dad. I used a cheap piping bag and when I was about to pipe the dough, it tore! So I had to pipe the dough using just the nozzle. Surprisingly, it did not stress me out but made me laugh instead :) So, if you wanna make this shortcakes, make sure you have a good and strong piping bag. Or you can just make a ball and flatten it :)

Ingredients
2 tablespoon custard powder (or cornflour)
180g plain flour
150g butter
80g caster sugar
1 egg yolk

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Sift the custard powder and flour together.
2. Cream the butter and sugar together and beat in the egg yolk. Mix in the flour well.
3. Put the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle and pipe three flat zig zag lines about 5x25 cm on a non stick baking sheet. (I made smaller lines maybe about 3x15cm each)
4. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until pale golden brown. While still warm, cut each piece into six and cool on a wire rack.

Pre-prenatal Checkup

I only started to read on prenatal after I was pregnant with Adam. This time around, I hope to be more prepared hence the little research I did on the size of the pelvic bone and all.

So, after much consideration and reading hundreds of reviews, last Saturday I went to see Dr Shahbahiah Mohd Zain, Obstetrician & Gynecologist at Selangor Medical Centre. Unfortunately she had to perform an emergency C-Sect and by the time I was called to her room, it was already 1.10pm. I told her a bit on my history and the reason I went to see her. She agreed that by doing an X-ray we could determine if there is any chance at all for me to have a vaginal delivery but it was too late to do that day so she asked me to come again on Monday. She was nice enough to just cancel the consultation and I did not have to pay anything. 

When I went to see her again on Monday, she told me she just called the Radiology department and was told they do not have the ruler but the radiologist will look around for any other hospital. Since I was already there, she did the pap smear. I was soooooo scared after hearing so many unpleasant stories. Surprisingly, it was not that bad. It was a bit uncomfortable but there was no pain, at all! She also did an ultrasound and Alhamdulillah everything looks good. I like this doctor. :)

Dr Shahbahiah also asked me about my previous pregnancy, trying to understand what happened before. She also answered all my questions and cleared some doubts I had earlier. She was soft and nice. I like her :)

After paying for the consultancy and the pap smear, I went to see the nurse again to ask for MC as there is a possibility that I have to do the X-ray in the afternoon but the doctor went to see her patients so I went to have breakfast. While having breakfast, I called Poliklinik Al-Hikmah to ask if they can do the procedure. Unfortunately the don't but they referred me to NR Screening Cerntre. Uncle Boy the X-Ray Man (I swear that was how he introduced himself) told me they don't have the ruler for Lateral Pelvimetry Screening but Daya Screening Centre (or was it clinic) in Jalan Raja Laut has it because he worked there before. As I was writing down the clinic's phone number, Kak Aida, Dr Shahbahiah's nurse came to me in the canteen and handed me a blue slip. Apparently they could do the screening there!

I went to the Radiology Centre right after that. Had to wait for a bit as there were quite a number of patients. Then they called me in and I had to do 2 X-Rays. One standing up and another one lying down. Then I had to wait again for them to print it. But then, they called me in again to do another 2 X-Rays lying down. I was told that the doctor wanted to see a few angles. And again, I had to wait for them to print it.

Once they gave me the X-ray, I brought them to Dr Shahbahiah and she assessed the X-Rays. And she told me what I was waiting to hear, by looking at the size of my pelvic bones I might be able to have a vaginal delivery. Yes! But of course it will depends on the size of the baby and it's position later on. But at least I could try for normal delivery and save the $$ to buy a nice beautiful cot :) Anyway, she told me that usually baby will engaged by the 38th week. Only 1 of 20 will only engage right before delivery. So, that could be a possibility as well.

That sums up my visit to Dr Shahbahiah. Oh, one more good news, I only had to pay RM140.85 for the whole visit. X-Ray was RM40. Pap Smear was RM50.85 and consultancy was only RM50! This is good. Good service and good value :)

Asam Pedas Melaka

Actually recipe ni dapat from my sister in law, anak jati Terengganu. Tapi dia dapat from her sister yg pernah kerja kat Melaka bertahun-tahun and sekarang ada kedai Asam Pedas Melaka somewhere in Cheras. And bila guna resipi ni jugakla first time my hubby (org Melaka) cakap jadi! Kalau tak mesti ada je x cukup masamla x cukup pedasla walaupun pada tekak orang Terengganu ni dah rasa hebat giler..  Ok so here is the recipe..

Bahan-bahan
1 biji bawang besar, ditumbuk
3 ulas bawang putih, ditumbuk
6 sudu besar cili boh (saya guna cili kering yang dah direbus n blend)
1 cm kunyit hidup, ditumbuk (saya guna 1 sudu kecil serbuk kunyit)
1 cawan air asam jawa (asam jawa lebih kurang besar bola ping pong)
2 keping daun limau purut, dikoyak
Bendi
Garam
Ikan Tenggiri/merah

Cara-cara

1. Tumis bawang besar dan bawang putih
2.  Tambah cili boh, kunyit hidup dan belacan. Teruskan tumis sehingga naik bau.
3.  Tambah daun limau purut.
4. Selepas naik bau dan pecah minyak, tambah air asam jawa.
5. Biar lama sikit dan rasa dulu baru masukkan ikan.
6.  Tambah terung atau bendi.
7.  Tambah garam secukup rasa.
8.  Kalau perlu tambah air, tambah dengan sedikit asam jawa.
9.  Biar sehingga kuah pekat dan ikan masak

Adik ipar saya cakap, trick dia, jangan tambah air banyak sebab asam pedas melaka selalunya pekat so air asam jawa tu dah cukup. Lagi satu, cili tu kena tumis lama, biar betul-betul masak macam nak buat sambal. Ok selamat mencuba!

Pregnancy and Delivery

Adam's EDD was 30 Aug 2008. Even after walking every inch of IKEA, Curve and KLCC on 31st Aug, there was still no sign of labour. As I have mentioned in my last post before the delivery, Dr Aziz asked me to come for induction on the night of 1st Sept should nothing happen in between. Based on his last scan, the baby was already quite big and if we wait further, the baby might grown to 4kg and that might cause problem.

So there I was in the Labour Room on midnight of 1st Sep. The nurse helped to induce me and was asked to sleep. I couldn't really sleep. The contraction was not that bad but as my husband bunked in with me it was not that comfortable. Morning came and the contraction was still bearable. Dr Aziz came and checked but he said there was no opening yet. By noon, the contraction was a little stronger but it was still bearable. I would say I have experienced something more painful than that. When Dr Aziz came in again at noon, there was still no progress so he recommended for emergency cesarean. He said we could still wait if I want to but he said there is a possibility the baby's heart rate will drop by the evening. So his advise was to have it in the afternoon when both the baby's and my heart rate were still okay.

I agreed to it and by 3.00pm I was pushed to the OT. My hubby was not allowed to go in as it was not a scheduled cesarean. The anesthetist performed local anesthetic and was kind enough to hold my hand throughout the procedure. He was like a narrator telling me what my gynea was doing. At 3.38pm I heard Adam cried for the first time. After the nurses cleaned him, I hold him for the first time. Frankly, I couldn't describe how I felt at that time. There was this 3.74kg baby in my hands with his eyes roaming around the room. I just stared at him not knowing how to react.

When Dr Aziz came to see me later, he told me that Adam's head was still floating and not engaged yet. He said for the my next pregnancy, we will have to check the pelvic opening to know if it is big enough or not. I could not really digest what he said then.

Recently when hubby said he is ready for another child, Dr Aziz's words lingered back. Here are the questions I had and the answers I get when I did my little research to understand the situation.

Q: Why was I induced after only 2 days late? I heard others waited for as long as 2 weeks prior to being induced.
I put on a lot of weight during my pregnancy. It was beyond the normal average. Though Dr Aziz did scan to gauge the size of the baby, it might not be accurate. By scanning, he could only estimate the weight of the baby. As we are aware, baby grows exponentially in the final few weeks of pregnancy. If we were to wait for a week, Adam could have grown to 4kg and huge baby not only makes it hard to deliver normally, there are many risks associated with post term pregnancy.

Q: So why was there no progress when I have been induced?
There are 2 possibilities. First is Adam is not ready yet as it was only 2 days after EDD. Only 5% babies are delivered on EDD. 95% are delivered 2 weeks before or 2 weeks after the EDD. Secondly, there is a possibility that my pelvic opening is not big enough for Adam to pass through. The size of the opening has nothing to do with one's body frame.

Q: So why didn't my Doctor checked the size of my pelvic opening before he induce me?
I was told that doctors are taught to check the size of the opening using their bare hands. That sounds scary right? Other than that, they could either X-Ray the pelvic bone or do an MRI if you are already pregnant. MRI is expensive! I was told by my sister that in a government hospital in Indonesia, it already costs RM800 what more in a private hospital in Malaysia. The cheaper option is X-Ray but of course it has to be done prior to your pregnancy.

So now, before I am pregnant again, I have to see a gyne to x-ray my pelvic bone. If it is found that the opening is small, I could opt for elective cesarean that would be much cheaper than the emergency cesarean I had before. If it is found the opening is big enough, should the next child(ren) decided to stay longer in the womb, we could wait until they are really ready and have normal delivery.

The reason I had to do the research and all is because we decided to go to a nearer gynea and hospital this time around. As much as I love Dr Aziz and his team, it's not an option as they are too far. It was okay before as there were only hubby and me and I stayed at my father's condo in my last few months of pregnancy. With Adam around, and he might be in school by the time we will have our second child, we have to make a realistic choice and find a good gynea in Shah Alam instead.

P/s: My apologies if I mixed up the jargons and medical term. I am not a medical professional and this entry is explained by what I understand of the situation. Your feedback is most welcome :)

Christian the lion

Have you seen this video? I don't know why I kept thinking about the lion as I drove to work this morning. The first time I saw it, I cried. But now, whenever I watch this video, I'll smile instead. It makes me feel happy. It's really amazing to see the bond between Christian the lion and the two men who raised him. It makes me feel that there's still hope for world peace :) Even a lion could appreciate the kindness he received from the two men so why can't we human care and appreciate others more? Read here for the full story.

Weight and Pregnancy

Was browsing trough the internet and found this interesting article. Here is a snippet of the article:

How much weight should a woman gain during pregnancy?

It is considered normal to gain 10 to 12kg (22 to 26lb).
For practical reasons the pregnancy is divided into three periods:

• the first period runs from week 0 to 12 where it is normal to gain 1 to 2kg (2 to 4lb).

• the second period runs from weeks 12 to 28 in which it is normal to gain 300 to 400g (10 to 14oz) a week.

• the third period runs from weeks 28 to 40 and it is normal to gain 1 to 3kg (2 to 6lb) a month.

It is not necessary to be obsessive about your weight during pregnancy. Many obstetricians have stopped weighing women other than at their first visit because the information is of little use in detecting problems with the mother or her baby.
However, excess weight gain is probably best avoided since most women will want to return to the same dress size within a few months of delivery.

Where do the extra kilos come from?

• A total weight increase of about 11.2kg (24lb) is normal.

• A baby weighs approximately 3.5kg (7lb 11oz) before birth.

• The uterus grows to approximately 900g (1lb 14oz).

• The placenta weighs approximately 650g (1lb 6oz).

• The amniotic fluid weighs approximately 800g (1lb 12oz).

• The woman's breasts grow by approximately 400g (14oz).

• The weight of the extra blood is approximately 1.25kg (2lb 12oz).

• Water retained in the body tissues weighs approximately 2kg (4lb 6oz).

• The layer of fat beneath the skin weighs approximately 1.7kg (3lb 11oz).

So mommies out there, the next time someone made fun of you saying that the baby is only 3kg but you gained 10kg, shove them the list :)

P/s: No, I am not pregnant. Not yet ;p

Heartwarming

I've watched so many videos of babies in the womb. Each and every one of them never failed to remind me how my heart fluttered and the wonderful feelings I had when I hold my newborn for the first time. Thanks Fatih for posting this video in your blog. Just like you, I was holding back my tears :) Wonderful.

Mini Mushroom Pizza

Hubby is more of "tekak melayu" so given the choice, he would prefer to eat lauk pauk with rice. Whenever I have craving for pizza and we decided to order a delivery, he would opt for spaghetti and I am down with limited choice because I can only order personal pizza with one type of topping :(

I am in a mission to make sure our child(ren) loves pizza as much as I do :) So when I saw this box at MPH the other day, I bought it without thinking twice. At RM39.90, it was a good buy.

For a lot less than the price of a pizza stone itself, you can find easy step-bystep instructions for everyday dinners and gourmet delights. This kit includes: " a 48-page recipe book full of tasty pizza ideas " 9-inch pizza stone for the perfect crispy base " Wire rack for serving " Metal pizza cutter for perfect slices every time - MPH Book Store- 

The first pizza I tried to bake from the recipe book was Famous Mushroom Pizza. I made only 1/3 of the original recipe and added some frankfurters as well. Here is how I made the pizza for Adam, adapted from the recipe book. It yielded 2 mini pizza for my lil' boy.

Base
1/2 teaspoon dry yeast
1/3 cup warm water
1/3 teaspoon sugar
1 cup plain flour
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt

Toppping
1/3 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup tomato paste
1 onion, sliced
shiitake mushroom, sliced
2 chicken frankfurter, sliced
a little more olive oil to drizzle over pizza
Cheddar cheese, grated (make sure it's not fresh from the fridge like mine. It did not melt but became crunchy instead ;p)
salt and pepper to taste
sprinkle of dried pizza mixed herbs (original recipe asks for rosemary but I happen to have the pizza mixed herbs in hand)

Directions
1. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water with the sugar. let stand until it foams. (if it did not foam after 6 minutes, throw the yeast. The water might not be at the right temperature or the yeast is old. I threw my first batch of yeast as it did not foam but the second batch did not foam as well but I still use it and turned out OK. So, don't worry too much)
2.Sift the flour into a bowl and add the yeast mixture, olive oil and salt. Mix to combine and set aside until doubled in size.
3. Turn out onto floured board and knead to form a soft dough.
4. Press a piece of the dough, about the size of a ping pong ball onto a pizza tray.
5. Brush the pizza base with the olive oil, soread liberally with tomato paste, then add the onion, mushrooms and frankfurters. Drizzle with more olive oil and cover liberally with the cheese, salt and pepper. Sprinkle with the dried herbs.
6. Place in a preheated oven at 220C for 15 - 20 minutes.