Learn, Live and Hope

In light of what is happening lately, we must remember to learn from yesterday, live for today, and continue to hope for a better tomorrow.

I pray that the Lord will comfort the hearts and bring peace upon the families and those who are affected by this tragic event in Sydney.

First Day of December

For once, our Christmas tree is up on the first day of December. All it needs now is a nice tree topper, a tree skirt and lots of presents beneath the tree! Ho Ho Ho!! Have you all put up your tree yet? Do you have any Christmas tradition?

This year I've been quite organised compared to the previous years as I've almost completed my Christmas shopping!!! Just a few more presents to buy and I'm done!!! I'm actually quite proud of myself this time around as I'd normally leave it till quite last minute and then it's panic mode!!!

However, with a toddler now, I do find it hard to leave things to the very last minute. Planning ahead and being organised do make things a lot easier, and I have to find that out the hard way.

Speaking of some home-made presents, I've been searching the internet for some nice recipes that will make small Christmas gifts. Do you have any go-to and fail-safe recipes to share?

My Latest Kitchen Gadget: Thermomix TM5

Yes, I've jumped on the Thermomix bandwagon and I'm really glad I did. I've been wanting one since I attended a demo quite awhile ago when they were still selling the old model. My dearest Mum decided to give me her Thermomix since she hardly uses it and I used that opportunity to trade it with a brand new model TM5.

I placed my order in the beginning of October and it was an agonising 6.5 weeks wait for it to arrive!!! Boy am I glad when it did arrived and guess what I cooked as our first meal a few days later?

I knew what I wanted to cook as my first meal after I attended my second Thermomix demo as I was completely blown away. It was the Salmon Velouté Meal. I love that dish so much because you're actually cooking 3 dishes at the very same time!! You get a really nice potato and leek soup, a side of vegetables, and the beautiful Salmon, served with a lovely sauce. Even Sabina loves this dish!! She kept asking for more!!

Since I had my Mum and Sister with us at the same time, I decided to cook the Chilli Mussels with Thyme and Tomatoes, and also prepare the Lemonade drink. It was a total hit among my family.

I can't wait to try out more recipes with my new gadget. What's your favourite Thermomix recipe?

Princess Sabina's 2nd Birthday

Happy 2nd Birthday to my beautiful Princess Sabina!! I can't believe you're now 2 years old and that you're no longer a little baby but growing up to be a cute little girl!!! Time has certainly flown pass by way too quickly the last 2 years. I still remember clearly when I was planning your first birthday party!! In fact, I still remember clearly the day you were born!!!

For her 2nd Birthday, we decided to have it outdoor in a park. The weather was lovely and nice, apart from being a little bit too windy!!! Hence the hair in my face photo below LOL (and it was the only family photo of us DUH).

My Mum flew over to visit us and of course, was able to join us in this wonderful celebration. Sabina has been spoilt quite a bit since my Mum has arrived but I guess that's what grandparents always do!!

Now, the highlight of birthday parties are always the cake and this year, it's a Peppa Pig cake!!! Those of you who knows my daughter well enough, will know that she loves Peppa Pig and is a huge Peppa Pig fan. This cake is made by the talented lady, Kerry and if you ever need a cake, you contact her at Rainbow Designs. Not only does her cakes look amazing, they are actually really yummy and delicious too!!

Sabina has been very blessed by all our friends and family. Look at all her presents!! Thank you all so much for coming to her party and showering her with gifts. I hope everyone of you had a wonderful time :)

It's a Girl!

As mentioned on my previous post, I went for my 19th week scan yesterday. I didn't really sleep well the night before. Maybe that's because I was too excited and couldn't fall asleep!! Anyway, hubs is really really happy with the news because that's what he wished for. Every single day, hubs would tell me, "I really want another girl". Thank you Lord for blessing us with another beautiful daughter into our family.

Pregnant and Being Sick

Being pregnant and coping with morning sickness was bad enough. Furthermore, my morning sickness this time was a lot worst. However, nothing prepared me when I was down with glandular fever and suspected bronchitis at the same time. 

It had been quite a horrible past few months with me being quite sick. Firstly, I had been trying to get rid of a chest infection since June but it was so stubborn, it won't go away. Then I had glandular fever middle of September. I've never felt so sick in my life before and it is definitely one of the worst feeling ever. One moment, I'll be freezing cold and the next minute, I'm boiling hot as if I'm on fire. I was down with high fever continuously for a few days and after numerous blood tests, urine tests, etc., I was finally diagnosed with glandular fever. Prior to that, I've never even heard of this sickness before!!! It is awful. I had no energy and constantly feeling exhausted. My hubs had to take time off from work just to look after both Sabina and myself. There were times I feel so hopeless because I was unable to do anything at all. Most of the time, I'll be either sitting on the sofa or just lying in bed. It took me more than a month to recover and feel ok again!! I do not want to get this glandular fever ever again. Had it once is definitely more than enough. It is definitely an experience I do not wish to go through again. 

On a positive note, here's my first bump shot when I was at 17 weeks pregnant. It was still a tiny little bump last week. Thank God morning sickness is over now and I've got my appetite back. Hopefully I'm beginning to put on some weight now as I've lost quite a bit of weight when I was sick.

I'll be having an ultrasound scan this coming Friday and will be able to find out whether I'm having a little girl or a little boy. Stay tuned if you want to find out :)

MIA and an Annoucement

Firstly, so sorry for the lack of posts and the unannounced 5 months hiatus and missing in action (MIA). A lot has happened in the short 5 months and there will be too much to update in just one post. My daily live has sort of taken over and zapped out all my energy and being sick for a month was not fun at all either, but I'll update you all on that some other time.

The most important announcement for this post is this:

Yes, I'm having another baby!!! We are all very excited and I can't wait for the next scan end of this month, where we will be able to find out whether I'm having another girl or a boy. DH wants another girl badly and he's been telling me that every single day. However, Sabina's already a "Daddy's little girl" so I myself am hoping to have a "Mummy's little boy". However, having said that, I'll be happy with either a boy or girl, as they are greatest gift and blessing from God.

This is my favourite ultrasound scan for now. Love its little feet!!!