A New And Wondrous Year Ahead, I Hope.

I'm becoming more auntie-like now.

I can't help but browse through every single advert in the papers, hoping to find that cheap bargain. And I'm not talking about apparel or shoes or bag sales. I found myself looking at pots and pans, groceries, diapers, sewing machines, mixers and whatnot. Sigh.

I think about a lot of things. Like, is it necessary to buy expensive clothes for your babies and/or toddlers? Who is the one looking good, you or your child? I remembered I almost wanted to buy a romper from GAP costing almost 50 SGD when I was still carrying DD in my tummy. There was only one reason for wanting to buy - the romper had many tiny whale prints all over it. Back then, Hubby had allowed me to buy it. I stood in front of the rack, deliberating over which size to get. 0-3mths is too small and impractical because babies can grow very fast. 3-6 mths did not seem big enough, I was afraid DD was going to be a big baby(which she still is) and not fit into it. 6-12mths is too ... It was a struggle. We were standing there for a good 5 minutes before deciding to look around, hoping to find other cute clothes for DD. All were expensive, for a baby. Soon, that tiny percentage of practicality in me said, "Look elsewhere." And we left, never to go back again.

I love buying clothes for DD. I think women just like to spend money. Any type of spending is retail therapy for me. And since I no longer want to buy clothes for myself, I buy for DD. And I only get those clothes I like. Not you, not them, but me. So to answer my second question, if your child looks good, the parents look good and to look good, you have to buy expensive clothes, which answers the first one. I figured that is what most parents might have thought. But I can't have myself thinking this way. I can't teach my kid to be brand-conscious. I want to tell her that, while we are not able to give her branded clothings, we are giving her our time and love. I hope she understands that in the future.

Happy New Year.

Boxing Day Lunch

Mushroom and ham pasta in cream sauce

Celery soup

Cooking is addictive, at least to me. But the celery soup wasn't quite what I expected. I should have strained the soup. That will make it smooth and creamy. 

My Christmas Dinner, Not Quite as Planned.

We all had a scrumptious Christmas dinner. Every dish was healthy and low in sodium. But the pasta, which I was most confident of, turned out too bad. It was dry and the pasta was slightly overcooked. The rest were good with my favourite being the mushroom soup. I think my parents were quite impressed with me, tee hee.

 Roast whole chicken with veggies

 Mashed potatoes with gravy

 Cream of mushroom soup

 Simple pasta in tomato sauce

Serves four

Christmas log cake

Ok so I did not prepare the chocolate souffle because Hubby had bought a log cake. Next year, I will be doing one for Christmas. I hope.

Christmas Menu...

Main Course
Roast Chicken with veggies.

2nd Course
Simple pasta in Tomato sauce.

On the side
Mashed potatoes with gravy.

Soup
Cream of Mushroom.

Dessert
Chocolate Souffle.

I pray that everything will turn out ok, because I am inviting my parents to join us for a little Christmas dinner tomorrow evening.

I guess this is one of my ways to thank them for the help they had rendered(still rendering) during my confinement days. Of course, it's hard for me to tell them that tomorrow's dinner is a "Thank You" dinner. I just ask my mum, "Want to join us for dinner this Saturday? I roast chicken for you?" My parents must've thought that this is one of those rare occasions I'm cooking for them. Will be keeping my dishes healthy and low in sodium. So, crossing my fingers.

Ok, I'm Convinced. No TV for You!

And I meant my baby daughter.

But many parents still let their children under the age of 2 watch TV programmes. My brother was the first to tell me about the negative aspects of TV-watching for babies. And truth be told, I had thought it was total bullshit. I was thinking to myself, a little TV won't kill. Sure, it won't kill your baby of course. But then, article after article published in the newspapers and online news site had me rethinking. I then told Hubby about it and he is now a hardcore supporter of "no TV for DD". He does not even allow DD to turn her head towards the TV. Also, another reason why I'm convinced is because my mum's neighbour's granddaughter is behaving strangely.

At 2 years of age, she has been watching TV since she was a baby, according to the grandmother. She would be glued to the TV, ignoring everyone else as if in a world of her own. Physically, she couldn't walk until she was closed to 2 years old. And she couldn't talk. No, I think she wouldn't talk. She didn't call her parents until 2 years old, and even now, she seldom speaks. When she wants something she will just mumble. No words. And when her grandmother switches on the TV, she is happy and will sit down in front of the TV, watching away quietly. She doesn't talk when in childcare neither. Basically her social skills now is close to zero.

And when I googled up this issue a while ago, some parents also reported similar behaviours in their relatives' or acquaintances' kids. While I wouldn't say that TV will ruin a kid's life, it is wise however, to err on the safe side. Oh, don't even count on educational programmes. One parent pointed out that, which I concur, these so-called educational programme-makers want to make money out of you, they care naught about the well-being of your child. It's all about marketing. After all, who doesn't want their kids to be geniuses?

Anyway, it's your call, your take. Just wait till your baby is 2, shouldn't be that difficult, right? Now, where's that remote control.

Never Judge a Muffin by the Way It Looks

Blueberry muffin. They sure look ugly but they taste great~♥　No kidding.

Rooted

There are some upgrading works around my neighbourhood and I am glad that the trees in the playground area were not uprooted to give way to construction. They have been there for as long as I can remember. To me, they are such old trees now, spreading their branches like spider webs across the sky. It is a beautiful sight, at least to me.

And next time when DD grows up, I can tell her that mummy grew up with these trees.