Pregnancy At Week 19 - Detailed Ultrasound Scan

Today we went to see the fetal specialist to do a detailed ultrasound scan and to evaluate the dilated kidney. This was the longest ultrasound scan I have ever done for my 3 pregnancies as it lasted almost 1 hour. My lil’ one did not cooperate as she kept facing down. When she finally flipped over, she played peek-a-boo by covering her face with her hands. She was also having a hiccup. After the first round of scan which lasted almost half an hour, we got out of the scanning room into the dr’s office and he explained the diagnosis and the prognosis. About 15 minutes later, we did another round of scan in the hope of capturing the face and thankfully, we managed to catch a glimpse of the face during a brief peek-a-boo moment. The dr quickly saved that moment and transformed it into a 3D scan.

The gynae who was super patient did a thorough scan of the heart, the brain, the stomach, the hands and legs, the face and finally the kidney. He explained that the dilation is a mild one and looking at other factors like the water and tissues surrounding the kidney, there is good chance that the dilation will resolve by itself either in utero or after birth. Having said that, I am still worried of all the ‘what ifs’ and worst case scenario.

Throughout the scan, Alycia sat quietly and watched the scan intently while Sherilyn asked tons of questions, jumped and hopped about and investigated every nook and corner of the room. She also made everyone at the clinic from the doctor to the nurses and patients laugh with her antics and the things she said.

Early Christmas Pressies

Since there were no pressies under our Christmas, daddy surprised the gals with a pressie each under the tree last Saturday. When they woke up in the morning, my 2 observant gals had already noticed the pressies, something which I did not even notice! I told the gals that they are not supposed to open their pressies now and they have to wait until Christmas but kids being kids, they were shaking the pressies and trying to tear the present paper the whole day. Finally when I went upstairs to have my shower in the afternoon, my maid as usual allowed them to open the pressies (really pissed me off) . So now, there are no more pressies to open on Christmas Eve but I am pretty sure daddy will buy them another pressie each.



Alycia and Sherilyn each got a lunch box. This Pooh Bear one is Sherilyn's.



And the Princess lunch box is Alycia's.

The gals are so in love with their new lunch boxes and they have been carrying it around the house as if it were their suitcase the whole day.

Shell Pasta With Sweet and Sour Minced Chicken

That's Alycia and Sherilyn's lunch today, shell pasta with minced chicken meat cooked in blended tomatoes and onions. This meal only takes 12 minutes to prepare - 10 minutes to boil the pasta till soft and another 2 minutes to reheat the frozen meat sauce in the microwave. I normally make a big batch of meat sauce and store them in tiny Tupperware containers for deep freezing. When I need to fix lunch in a jiffy for the girls, just pop the meat sauce into the microwave and kau tim. Can also eat with spaghetti or make pizza with the meat sauce.

Double Boiled Pear With Snow Fungus

That's my weekly pregnancy 'poa pun' or nourishing stuff - double boiled pears with snow fungus and honey dates. I think this concoction tastes very good - it's naturally sweet, fragrant and soothing for the throat but too bad Alycia and Sherilyn don't like the smell of it. I had this last week and today, I have asked my maid to cook another pot, this time using China Ya pears which are more fragrant and cheaper than the huge brown pear (expensive too) that I used last week.

Pregnancy Problems

My 2 previous pregnancies were not smooth sailing and so is this pregnancy. Apart from the terrible varicose veins sprouting out on my legs which Sherilyn calls them "monster legs", I have itchy, dry and peeling skin. Now, I have gums that bleed easily. When I was pregnant with Alycia, my sensitive and bleeding gums were so bad that I had developed a big lump on my gum called 'pregnancy tumour'. Yes I know it sounds serious, like it's something malignant, but it's just a medical term for it. After delivering Alycia, the lump miraculously subsided. Now, another lump is slowly forming and I have to be really careful and gentle when I brush my teeth, else my gums would bleed easily.

Apart from sensitve gums, I also have nose that bleeds easily during each of my pregnancy. Now, picture how I look and do you not think I really look like a monster? Sherilyn is so right. Mummy indeed looks like a monster - legs with ugly protruding purple veins, a face with zits (oh how I miss my porcelain smooth flawless skin), skin that's dry and peeling, a pregnancy tumour in my gums and a huge belly that Alycia calls "balloon tummy".

I just can't wait for April 08 to arrive. I can't wait to see and cuddle my baby and I just can't wait to get rid of all these pregnancy problems that's plaguing me now. Most of all, I just can't wait to start jogging and exercising on my fitball again. How I miss working out and sweating it out every morning.

Alycia Is Reading!

Alycia can finally read, hooray!! Here's a video of Alycia reading taken today. You know what motivates her to read? It's the TV. Yes, it's the idiot box coz I told her that if she wants to watch TV, she has to read and so whenever she wants to watch TV, she will come to me with a book first and read out loud to me or get me read the book to her.

Going Nuts Over Nuts

Before my parents left for China for a holiday, I told them not to buy the gals and I anything from China. After reading all the controversial reports on China produce and goods, I just have no more confidence in China made things anymore. So when my parents came back from China, they bought no souvenirs for us apart from a big bag of walnuts, peanuts and sunflower seeds!

Since then, we have been eating these nuts everyday. As I could not find my nutcracker, I used a pestle to crack open the walnuts and the gals have so much fun eating the walnuts. And by the way, do you know that walnuts and almonds are the superstars of nuts?

Walnuts contain no cholestrol and they are rich in Vitamin E, antioxidants, high in fibre and even a small serving of walnuts contain more protein than an egg. Have you ever noticed that a walnut looks exactly like our brain? Walnuts are also touted as a brain and heart nourishing food as they are rich in Omega-3 fatty acids. If you're on a high protein low carb diet, do choose walnuts and almonds (raw and unroasted ones. If you buy roasted ones, these nuts would have lost their essential oils during the roasting process). Walnuts and almonds fill you up easily and they're not fattening if you eat them in moderate amounts. When I was on a diet years ago to shed some weight gained as a result of PCOS, I ate loads of almonds, walnuts, seeds and plain sugar-free yoghurt. I successfully shed 5kg on a low carb high protein diet. And oh yes, no diet would work if you don't exercise!

I Just Can't Resist Buying Cute Baby Clothes

Though I still have bags and bags of old baby clothes previously worn by Alycia and Sherilyn, I know I will surely not be able to resist buying cute baby clothes for my upcoming baby girl. Each time I see cute baby clothes on display when I go shopping, I am really tempted to buy them. Though it’s a tad too soon to shop for my baby clothes now as I have 19 more weeks to go before the big day, but I have nonetheless started to window shop for cute and pink (that’s my favorite color) baby clothes for my baby. I’ve seen some funky onesies and cool toddler tees at uncommonlycute.com, an online store that specializes in a huge selection of funky baby clothes. Now with online baby stores like this, I will surely end up buying a cupboard filled with cute baby clothes.

A Good Mover Makes All The Difference

I was at my friend’s house with the kids yesterday morning. She has just returned from the United States a couple of days ago. She had worked in the U.S. for almost 6 years as a chef and she has now decided that she wants to return for good as she has earned and saved enough money to last her a lifetime even if she doesn’t need to work now. That’s the benefit of working in a country where the currency rate is higher than ours.

My friend has brought back all her belongings, including a computer, her TV and many fragile items. She was very pleased with the moving services provided by a New York Moving Company, which is New York’s best residential and commercial movers. All her belongings were intact and she did not loose anything. That is why engaging a reliable and professional mover is so important. A good mover really helps to remove all our moving woes and sleepless nights.

Pregnancy Crave

During the initial weeks of my pregnancy, I had a strong craving for fried vegetarian vermicelli. I could not stomach any other food for breakfast except for this and for 3 months, I had been eating this dish every morning. Most days, I will add a fried egg and some days, I will add some chicken curry or fried fish cake. Now that my appetite has declined substantially, I no longer crave for this dish. I just don't feel like eating anything in the morning except for my all-time favorite banana flavored fresh milk from Marigold HL. But I still force myself to eat a slice of toast with sugar-free peanut butter jam and sugar-free strawberry jam.

It's No Fun That She Only Loves Buns

It's every parent's nightmare when their child does not like to eat their proper meals and wholesome meals and I'm facing this nightmare now. Sherilyn's eating habits is regressing and she does not seem to have interest in her meals whether homecooked or outside food. She does not eat any meat, except for fish balls or fish with soft textured meat and now, she does not even eat her vege. She used to love eating greens but now, she's only interested in plain noodles, fish balls, cheese and BUNS. She can eat nothing but just sweet buns and cheese and it's really no fun to see her eat such food for lunch or dinner. Luckily she still loves her hard boiled eggs and she's eating one a day and that's where she gets all her protein from.



Sherilyn relishing her polor pau (pineapple custard bun) for dinner.

Potato Patties

Here's a dish that most kids will love - potato patties with minced chicken meat. It's actually a Malay dish which I have modified.

Ingredients :

1) 3 medium sized potatoes
2) Chicken breast
3) 1 or 2 eggs
4) Salt
5) Pepper
6) Chopped spring onions
7) A dash of mixed herbs (optional)


Method :
1) Steam potatoes until soft and mash them.
2) Blend the chicken meat.
3) Put the mashed potatoes and meat in a large mixing bowl and add in the beaten egg, pepper, salt and chopped spring onions. Mix well.
4) Pan fry under medium fire in olive oil in a non-stick skillet.

Alycia and Sherilyn love these patties. Even Miss Spitty Spat Sherilyn ate them. There are still 2 more frozen batches in my freezer and I can re-toast the patties for the girls to eat them with Mac & Cheese or spaghetti this week.

Another wholesome dish from Health Freak Mommy.

How We Spent Our Sunday

After church today, we had Japanese buffet lunch at PJ Hilton. We had wanted to go to KL for lunch but hubby said to be on the safe side, we had better stay put around PJ area since there's an anticipated road block and protest in KL.

I couldn't eat much and still have some slight nauseas feeling after every meal. Ms Spitty Spat Sherilyn only ate a cup of Chawan Mushi (minus all the meat and mushrooms inside). Her eating habit is regressing and now, she does not eat any type of meat, except for fish with smooth and soft flesh like white pomfret or cod fish. She has also lost most of her baby fat and everyone has commented that she is so skinny! Since she does not want to eat anything, I have no choice but to feed her with her favorite cereal again. We had stopped cereal for about 1 month when she was feeding well on meat, vege and other food.









Throughout lunch, Aly and Sher kept asking when the clown will arrive. When the clown finally arrived, they jumped off their chairs. Sher said "hello clown, you're here. Good to see you" when the clown arrived. Aly who was once terrified of clowns has now overcome her fear and was the first to shake hands with the clown and answered all the clowns' questions before getting her aeroplane shaped sculptured balloon.

Kampar Fish Balls

Yesterday, I had craving for Kampar fishballs, foo pei and stuffed tofu, so I went to a coffee shop near by house to get some for lunch. Also bought some vegetarian food - tofu and tofu skin. I then cooked some Soba noodles with white radish and green radish soup and added the fishballs in. After eating these fishballs, I felt terribly thristy for the rest of the day. That's the price to pay for eating hawkers food that's laden with MSG and salt.

Online Search For Cheap Life Insurances

Hubby and I are really dissatisfied with the service we are getting from our insurance agent. We had purchased medical insurances for ourselves and education insurances for our kids from this agent but she is not giving us the kind of service that we deserve. Most times she does not answer our calls and it takes forever for her to attend to our queries and needs. We are really cheesed off with her lackadaisical attitude.

Now that hubby and I are planning to buy a term life insurance, we will definitely get our term life insurance quote from other companies. It would be good if we can compare the term life insurance policies online from a few companies all from just one screen instantly to enable us to make a quick decision. WholesaleLifeInsurance.net provides such a service and it’s free, plus people get free advice from their customer representatives. If only we have such a service here, we don’t have to spend hours on the phone calling insurance companies for quotes to compare.

Choosing The Right Real Estate Is Important

Whether you are looking to buy or sell a property in the Phoenix and Scottsdale area, be sure to check out a Phoenix real estate from Sonoran Properties GMAC. Their realtors have the requisite expertise, education, experience, interpersonal and negotiation skills to help you make the wisest decision on the sale or purchase of your property. They are able to assist you through each step in the sale or purchase of your home with dedicated service and advice to make your transaction stress-free and a breeze.

Burst Pipe Again

Damn it, the water pipes at our neighborhood burst again and water supply has been cut out. As hubby has to work today, he can't bring us out for lunch so we all walked under the scorching hot sun to the coffee shop nearby our house for lunch. But the girls love it whenever the water supply is cut out coz they all get to eat out and they can take their baths at our backyard with cold water.

Today, I've also learnt how to avoid murky water from flowing out of our taps after a water supply cut. One of my readers advised me in one of my earlier posts that during a water cut, turn off the main switch to the water supply, i.e. the one at the water meter. I did just that and when the water supply came back, the water was not murky at all. Thanks to this mum and sorry I can't remember who you are.

Delicious Sweet Dim Sum

We were at Din Tai Fung at Gardens, Mid Valley for lunch on Monday as my parents were in KL. They had just returned from their vacation in China. After a very satisfying lunch of Shanghainese food at Din Tai Fung (this is a franchise restaurant with outlets worldwide and serves very good Shanghainese delicacy), hubby went to his favorite Mr Cook's store, which is just across Din Tai Fung to take-away some sweet dim sum for dessert. His favorites are the 'chan pau' (meat filled sweet roasted bun) and egg tarts. As there were free sampling of the Mini Volcano pau, I took a bite and it tasted really good. The bun was filled with salted egg yolk custard and was very tasty.

We took away a pack of chan pau, a pack of Mini Volcano pau, a 'hor yeep fan' ( lotus leave glutinous rice) and a pack of very yummy 'Por lor pau' (pineapple filled buns).

Mini Volcano buns with salted egg yolk custard 'erupting' as you bite into the pau.



Top : Pork meat filled sweet roasted buns
Bottom : Pineapple filled buns



The pineapple custard with chunks of fresh pineapple bits oozing out from the Por lor buns as I sank my teeth into the soft bun. Very yummy! Will definitely buy this again.

Creative Minds

Whenever I bring the gals along to my gynae's office, they would get all excited looking at KLCC and the Twin Towers as my gynae's office is located very near the Twin Towers. When they got home from my gynae's office last week, they started constructing their very own Twin Towers with Lego blocks. Notice the blue block at the very top? It's supposed to be the sky bridge connecting to 2 towers!

Quick Fix Lunch

I had almost forgotten that Alycia has to attend her Mandarin enrichment class today at 12:15pm. This is a replacement class. We were still having breakfast at 10:30am when I went to look at the stick-on notes I'd put on the wall and saw the notice from her pre-school on the Mandarin class. Since we don't have much time to prepare lunch and she has to eat her lunch by 11:30am, I decided to fix her toast with peanut butter and strawberry jam. Though it was a very simple and light lunch, Alycia nevertheless enjoyed her lunch. I better remember that she has another replacement Mandarin class tomorrow at 12:15pm.