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Guess who cooked during the long extended Raya break? Long weekends always make me want to cook for some reason :) Maybe coz I know the husband will not be pleased by spending $ and eating outside for too long! I unleashed my inner-Martha (if there’s ever such a thing, heh) and decided to cook AND bake and the satisfaction I got was truly errr satisfying

Also helps that the husband went out to get me a new Tefal frying pan! And interesting story about our new pan – he had gone to Tesco to buy groceries (yes I’m lucky thank you) and saw this pan going for RM69 or so it says on the price tag. During checkout, the cashier pointed out that there’s a mistake to the price and it should be RM149 instead! Minutes later after talking to the manager, he decided to honour the price shown on the price tag and wala, brand new pan for only RM69, wooots

But of course, within a day I scratched it a little by accidently using a metal spoon

Anyways to quickly divert my stupidity –  it’s been ages since I baked. After loading up on baking supplies during our trip to PD (where I found this shop selling baking pans for dirt cheap), there was no excuse not to bake. So I went for something simple and a crowd favorite: BANANA CAKE!

I got the recipe from here.  I didn’t have a weighing scale so I had to convert everything using per cup measurement so I was nervous as hell. Afterall, which idiot bakes without having a weighing scale right? Story of my life.

But what do you know – 45 nerve wrecking minutes later, my cake came out beautifully moist, soft and flavorful! Which sort of makes me awesome in a way coz hey, I did it without having a weight scale around – SCORE. It had a tinge of lemon-y taste to it too thanks to the lemon rind and it balanced off the banana flavor nicely.

Mmm mmm hot out of the oven.

Sairah kept coming to the kitchen and asked ‘what mommy doing’ and I told her I was baking a Banana Cake. There on she kept popping by the kitchen every 5 minutes to see if the cake was ready

All happy after her slice of mommy’s home-made banana cake. She eats whatever mommy cooks and bakes and in many ways it inspires me to find more new recipes :)

After I was done with my cake, the hubby was all set on making his pizzas because BabySis and the cousins were coming over for dinner. While I was busy seeing to the cake in the oven, he got to play chef by preparing the necessary.

Yes the kitchen is messy thanks to him!

And one thing I’ve realized, I have immense respect for my mom now for cooking dishes after dishes every gathering/parties they have because let me tell you, it’s no easy task. It’s super tiring and there’s just so much to do! I was only in charge of the spaghetti and ‘murtabak maggi’ that night (and let’s not forget the cake!) and I was already super stressed out by thinking which to make first. Coz I always like to serve my food hot and fresh!

One great way of course is to cut everything up way before, cling wrap it and leave it in the fridge. Oh and of course I did stick to easy to cook recipes….

I just love the colors in here.

I made my spaghetti chicken bolognese Always a classic favorite and easy to make too. I attempted to this Murtabak Maggi  and somehow I couldnt flip the maggi with the egg (it’s an impossible task, I wonder how the chef did that?) so I scrambled everything the last minute and we ended up having plain old maggi goreng – the recipe was pretty decent nevertheless.

My spaghetti was literally gone within 3 minutes!! I looked at the husband and went, damn we spent 4 hours slogging in the kitchen, I cannot believe it’s all gone in a flash but hey that’s a good thing I’m sure

Maam maam time!

The hubby’s yummy pizza – only remembered to take a photo half way through and by then only 3 slices were left coz it was that good. But not as popular as my spaghetti, but of course

Cousins brought some nuggets and fries from MCDs, lol there’s always alot of food when we meet up. Always.

And one of those nights, I decided to go for something simple and easy so I made soup! Not just any soup – cauliflower soup. You’d think this would send a child running the opposite direction, but no, it was pretty good, rich and creamy that even my 23 month  old (who usually doesn’t adore vegs) gulped it all down not knowing she was having her vegs! In blended form.

Honestly I think this is a perfect recipes for kiddies.

Here’s the recipe incase one is keen.

Directions

Boil about half chopped potatoes until soft. Set aside. Heat a soup pot and melt 2 tablespoons of butter in it. Stir-fry half chopped onions and 6 clove garlic for about 5 mins over medium heat. Add chicken broth (you could use one cube of chicken stock and add in 2 cups of water), add in your one medium size Cauliflower florets (do chop off the stems) and let it simmer for 10 mins or until soft. Add in the already soft potatoes at the end for a while.  Once done, pour the mixture and puree or blend it until you’re happy with the consistency. Add in some water if you prefer it less thick. Add the contents back into the soup pot, boil for another 2 minutes, add in some salt and pepper with 50ml of whipped cream and wala – you have officially tricked a toddler into having her vegs Seriously – this recipe is a keeper and I”m going to make her Brocolli soup this weekend!

I also made Egg and Potato Fritata to accompany the soup.

Fluffy soft potatoes covered in cheese and egg, yummeh!

All that food cooked thanks to my new Tefal pan of course. I”m trying hard to avoid thinking how I’m responsible for the scratch on my new pan.

So yes am gonna divert those thoughts into these photos!

The last of my super long locks until I got 2.5 inches chopped off last week before the trip.

We want cake! We want cake! Weeee

Yup there’s Daddy coming out of Merienda De Eva with a chocolate moist cake which we had for dessert with the cousins.

OMG cakeeeee, I wonder if I”ll get a slice later. Must.Be.On.Bestest.Best.Behavior.

Unfortunately for her, she didn’t get a slice of that choc cake. Only mommy’s banana cake. Why? Coz it was freaking baked with love, that’s why! And a healthier option for her of course

And now with another long weekend around, you bet I”ll be cooking even more

I so hate to see this blog empty so here’s a short update.

My little one turns the big TWO in two weeks time. It’s hard to believe she will be all of 24 months soon. Short of being 2, she’s fast becoming a very cheeky little girl.  Her vocab seems to increase day by day so it’s fun listening to what she has to say sometimes, coz as they say, kids do say the darnest things! She’s still a lil shy around new faces and takes time to adjust, but those who know the real Sairah will know how that girl loves attention and goes all out to get it if you don’t pay her any attention, lol, yea it can get tiring :D  Currently, she absolutely enjoys music and coloring/scribbling – a trait she has taken after her mommy AND daddy.

Anyway, 2 months ago I had started the process of buying her gifts! Pretty advanced I know but hey that’s just me when it comes to baby girl.  We do not intend on having a party for her this year so I hope these gifts will make up for it. It should I think

This is just part of her presents. I’ve yet to even open up that box! And true to my online addiction, suffice to say all gifts were bought online We intend to wrap each gift individually in the next few days and I certainly am looking forward to seeing her rip em open one by one when the time comes.

And the best part is, little Miss is already demanding and knows what she wants for her b’day, check out the short video here taken during our recent trip.

That’s Mickey Cake, Pororo Stuff and Mickey Cake. I like her emphasis on the Mickey cake

And speaking of our short trip, here are some green photos – it was a first trip without tv and basically just being back to basics. To be honest, it was a refreshing change though I am happy it only lasted for 2 nights Guess some people are meant to be city folks, lol, the little one included.  More on that once the lazy bug goes away!

Any guesses where this is? It’s one of my favorite country to be in! Heck, I think I’m gonna get the husband to make a pact for us to move to this country as our retirement home once Sairah is done and over with University!

Here’s another video of baby girl showing her grandparents who came to pick us from the airport what she had learnt to say many times from her trip, do check out the video here

If I were still without a child, I really wouldn’t give play centers a rat’s ass. But now, I actually do get thrills just trying to figure out which new play centres to take Sairah. There’s pretty much one centre in every mall. Which equals to more mall trips for mommy too

A while ago, Living Social was running a deal for Jungle Gym in Bangsar Shopping Complex. I obviously bought it (but was later told kids below 2 are FREE anyway, damnit!) and we took Sairah on a Sunday. Big mistake. Because some kid was having a birthday party and kids were running around everywhere!

Jungle Gym was literally like a Jungle (pun!) and the person manning the centre was running around like a headless chicken telling kids to behave coz as usual, some parents left the kids with their maids and the maids were having a great time gathering at a corner to GOSSIP! And doing a less of a great job looking after the children.

Kids were throwing the balls on each other, wrestling around, screaming and shouting – we stayed a total of 10 mins only. Coz the hubby was getting nauseated at the prospect of seeing one too many monkeys kids around. Sairah was of course not too happy because she fell in love with their super long slide and wanted to stay longer.

So what’s a Daddy to do? We obviously came back another day and Daddy rented the entire place so his princess could play all by herself!

The lighting here is kinda off hence these photos will have to suffice.

The things Daddy does for me!

Like go on the super long slide 5-6 times just because it’s my fav.

And that includes climbing on this steep thing just to get to the slide. (P.s: also helps tire out the baby, she slept like a log that night)

Still got time to stop and carry a ball, lol

HAH I see Mommy!

Some shoot-out ball place, whatever you call it.

Daddy going Indiana Jones on his alligator baby.

I can karate chop that smirk off his face, haaaiaaak!

Bliss. Happiness is lying down on the bottom of a slide knowing no brat is gonna come sliding on you

Yup can even climb on the opposite direction coz hey no one else is gonna stop us!

Har har mom, I’m enjoying this wayyy too much. Best.Day.EVER!

Btw, I’m kidding. Her daddy did not rent the entire place. I wish we had that kinda money and power,  next birth perhaps! We just went on a weekday evening and found out that’s the BEST time to go coz we had the ENTIRE place to ourselves. Bliss

If you’re keen and co-incidently Groupon is running a deal on this place too, you can check it out here and remember, kids under 2 are absolutely FREE! Too bad for me I only have one month left to enjoy such privilege

Actually no, I SO am looking forward to her turning TWO

Like I”ve always said, there are many first in a child’s life. And on Monday, Sairah experienced her FIRST trip to the cinema! I don’t remember at what age I got to go because mom always said, even for trips, it was a hectic moment for her trying to look after 2 brats so what more a movie! 

I”ve been toying with the movie idea for quite some time now. Sairah is a huge fan of Disney Junior, it’s amazing to see how she has memorised some of cartoon theme songs and how she remembers some dialogues too. So I thought hey, it’s time! From what I gather from other mommy blogs that I read, some moms do ponder on this question too. Because let’s face it, nobody likes to waste tickets if the child doesn’t sit through a movie. In this case we’re talking about two adult tickets.

The night before, we told her we were gonna go to the movies to watch a cartoon. I don’t think it sunk it well with her. Nevertheless, she was up early by 8.45 a.m (oh joy!) and we were out of the house by 10.15 a.m to catch our 11 a.m Sammy 2 cartoon

Now, one of the other factor to consider is the timing of the movie. It’s very important to chose a suitable timing that will suit your CHILD. Personally I would go with a morning movie since baby is more cheerful and fresh.

Like so:

Yup all set for the movies, whatever that is. Made sure she would be warm enough by throwing on this yellow tunic top, bought from Perth and black leggings, also from Perth.

Right, the what’s going on look, lol. Wasn’t too sure how the queue would be so I bought the tickets online to minimize waiting time. I gave her the tickets to hold and I got that look in return, poor baby is lost!

Okay do I just flash em around like that?!

Hmm, I”ve been to Mid Valley many times yet this floor seems so alien to me.

And she’s rather right you know, would you believe we’ve not stepped onto their last floor since Sairah arrived? For starters there was no reason to visit the cinema floor coz heck, we hardly go watch movies now. Didn’t know they have a Barbie store on that floor, the joy on Sairah’s face was priceless.

Just had to squeeze in a photo of the cinema in the background while the lil one begs her father to carry her.

Oops caught pestering dad to carry me. Must act cool…..walk away Sairah…walk away.

So what happened during the movie you ask? I think these after photos speaks volume

YES I made it to my first movie and survived to tell the story!!!

That’s right, we made it rightttt till the end and I’m so proud of my baby girl. When we first got in, the place was already dark so baby girl got a bit afraid. She kept asking what’s going on, and like a broken record we kept telling her we’re there to watch a cartoon. Then of course, bloody GSC played advertisements for god know’s how long so she became a lil restless. We packed a bottle of juice for her so that calmed her down a lil and killed stupid ad time.  On top of my head, I kept telling myself maybe this was a mistake, it’s gonna be horrible if we had to leave the cinema in less than 10 mins of arrival! Like there goes RM29 out of the door.

Then the movie started and wala, instantly she became quiet and finally knew what was going on. Coz hey, who doesn’t want to watch cartoons on a BIG screen! She kept asking us what’s going on at certain scenes, she would laugh at the funny scenes, and sometimes we had to narrate to her to keep it more interesting and by luck we sat through it until the end, which in her books deserve  a BIG star okie. Coz I saw how some other toddlers were restless during the movie and I was just glad Sairah was sitting on my lap quietly and not trying to wiggle herself away. At the end of it all, she kept saying I like movies, I like movies

Trip to the movie – accomplished! RM29 well spent

So what’s the next thing a parent should do? Why of course, reward em with Moo Cow

That’s right babies, you sit through one lousy movie and you’ll get the goodies when it’s done and over so BEHAVE at the movies yo

Now I wonder if she’ll sit through a non-cartoony movie, hmm, wishful thinking eh? Never mind, one baby step at a time I say

That’s it, when I strike it big on Magnum, imma gonna hire me a personal makeup artist, who will be at my mercy service 24/7 so I will look decent all the time. I wouldn’t have to wake up and use my own energy into doing my own makeup and hair coz my hands do get tired after a while. And I’m crap at it.

Nah – a professionally done face. He opted for a natural look though quite frankly I would have gone for a smokey eye look, just because.

Sorry, fat face is still fat. He’s a makeup artist and not a magician so….

But yea, I do like how my eyelashes are more visible and longer (I know I know still cannot rival the husband’s and Sairah’s but please oh please let me have my moment!).

Imma shy bride with thicker eyebrows yo, lol

And visible lashes again….I hope at this point you’re not getting annoyed, yet. I don’t have an eyelash curler with me but yes I will accept that as an early birthday gift from anyone

Lips were kept neutral. I”ve always been fond of Bobbi Brown lipstick and glosses. I used to buy em before the brat arrived but no I would rather spend that money on her than expensive makeup. All together now…awww!

Under natural lighting and yes cam-whoring in the car. I swear I rarely do this.

Again with the eyes down coz I just wanna show how my eye makeup looks when my lids are actually visible

And this was 8 hours later, starting to look like my old shit self.

With Sairah.

And this was right before I took a shower. Was seriously and I mean seriously contemplating sleeping with my makeup on for that night, coz it was the first time I felt pretty after a longggg time. Wanted the husband for the first time to be happy with what he sees in the morning, lol. But no, I did take it off with a heavy heart eventually. Which I why I really wanna hire my own makeup artist one day.

I really do think every mommy should head out to a makeup counter and demand for a make-over!

Make up by: Jay Jamaludin (Senior Makeup Artist)

He can be found at Bobbi Brown – KLCC 03-2382 0177

Oh and I would strongly suggest you pick up a copy of Her World Magazine come October (which also happens to be my birthday month!).

Meanwhile, wishing all my Muslim readers a blessed Raya! Regular blogging (if I can even call it that) will resume after Raya Peace!

P.s: I did feel sorry for the MUA for seeing my shit bareface but what can I say, all in a day’s work eh?