Soup for the soul

Recently, I decided to make some sort of soup for Spud for the sakes of variety and versatility.

It turned out to be quite delish and for the first time of making baby food, this is certainly something I would not mind eating myself.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 2 small shallots chopped finely
• 1 garlic (pressed)
• 1 carrot (diced)
• 1 potato (diced)
• Some cabbages (roughly sliced)
• 2 teaspoon coriander powder
• half a teaspoon of cumin (more if you prefer a stronger taste)
• Mung bean vermicelli (soaked till soft in water)
• chicken stock (I use non-MSG stock-cube)
• 3-4 cups of water
• 1 tablespoon parsley
• Salt to taste 
• Olive oil

Method:

1. Fry the  shallots and garlic in 2 tablespoon of olive oil
2. When they turn a little brown, add the potato and carrots and stir fry for about 5 minutes
3. Add in the coriander powder and cumin
4. Add in chicken stock and water
5. Bring it to boil
6. Turn down the heat a little and add parsley and salt to taste
7. Add the softened mung bean vermicelli
8. Stir well and simmer for another 10 -15minutes before serving or putting portions of it in an ice-cube tray

That really is soup for the soul.

My little teapot

My proud new-find: a Vietnamese tea set!

In the context of teapots, this was such a rare find; makes me feel all proud and dainty for being able to acquire such delicate looking teapot and tea set!

Believe it or not, delicate is never a criteria I look for in a teapot. But, we did we spent months and months and months trying to find us a decent and an average nice-looking teapot for our own use.

Funnily enough, the kind of decent looking teapots we have in mind are pretty hard to find, and when we locked our eyes on the very few teapots which we saw at the departmental stores here, they cost as much as 5000 baht (about 200 SGD!), which, in my books, is absolutely insane! Who pays that kind of money for a bloody conventional teapot?

So, for months, we made-do with a not-so-exciting-neeehhh-looking teapot which we bought for its functional purposes for, of course, serving tea.

Who would have thought that teapots are so very hard to find in this country! And, guess where I find that ? At a shop that's in my office building!

You know what too, though: now that I have found one, I'm sure that we would suddenly be seeing a dozen of other fabulous-looking teapots everywhere we go!

Anyway, here's another shot of that pretty-looking thing from a different angle. I don;t exactly know what it is, but there is something about it that I find really appealing as it looks pleasing to the eyes.

Toilet Shop

Right in the heart of Amsterdam's shopping street, Kalverstraat, there stood a shop - Restroom Shop called 2theloo.

Yes, you read that right. A restroom shop.

Not just a restroom, but a shop. I repeat - A Restroom Shop. A shop which has public toilets in it.

And we happened to stumble upon it on our date-day out in Amsterdam.

In the entrance area, it has a little gift shop selling toilet-related product, a coffee bar, as well as a friendly store personnel who greets you, helps you out if you are confused as to what sort of place it actually is,  and makes you your coffee if you'd care to buy it.

It will cost you 1 Euro to use the restroom, but in my opinion, I would not mind paying for such novelty. There were several cubicles and so, I did not even have to wait for my turn to use one. Besides, the toilets are kept very clean.  The toilet cubicles were pretty well-decorated  and it feels cosy to be there; cosy enough to take a long dump and away from the cold.

Although I thought it was kind of strange initially when we first saw it, I totally think that it probably is the most practical thing to have in a busy shopping street where a public toilet is not always so easily available!

A really cool concept that should be replicated anywhere in the world in every busy street!

My pampering machine

When the going gets tough, the tough seeks...

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some comfort from the almost-ultimate Pampering Machine!

Although nothing beats the real human touch when it comes to getting a foot or back massage, I have to say that my birthday gift courtesy of Silver Bullet has eased my trouble from having to go out of the house just to get a comforting foot-rub whenever I feel the inclination to.

They seemed so decadent to be used at home; but don't be fooled - Silver Bullet apparently bought these at a steal as just buying the U-Foot, they packaged it up such that the costs for both is significantly cheaper than just buying 1 separately. How they calculate that no one knows, but at the end of it, he practically got the back massager for free!

The only issue I have is that I have to keep dragging them in and out of the room when I want to use them to prevent the cats or Spud from meddling with them. But I guess that's a small price to pay for such comfort.

Did I ever mentioned that I love my husband very much?

[Actually, I am not the only one using it. I'm also now under the suspicion that Silver Bullet bought this for him too! :p]

18 months update

I am almost truly convinced that whilst it is still a good six months away from Spud's 2nd birthday, that dreaded Terrible Two stage has arrived with a big, fat hello. 

Blame it on the prohibitively cold weather, or the unfamiliarity of the surrounding when we were in Holland, and while the trip started out okay in the first few days despite her ultra crankiness, her temperament had actually gotten progressively worse as each day passes by.

I guess, to a certain extend, it also did not help that Spud got really, really sick for the very first time in her life whilst we were there. She got sick proper with fever up to 39 degrees for a good few days - not having the energy or drive to do anything but sleep.  Before she came down with the dreaded fever, she has unsuspectingly projectile vomitted her dinner ON ME for two straight evenings in a row.

But the night she came down with a fever, she pretty much cried every half an hour, keeping us awake the entire night. While she has had bouts of cold here and there, this really was the first time she fell sick properly - puking, not eating very much and very inactive.

She was so out of it that she spent her day clinging to either Silver Bullet or me like a koala bear, sleeping all day. Come to think of it though, despite Spud being sick, not a bad day for us at all as she was mostly quiet - something which we have never experienced before!

Yes. Spud was QUIET.

Quiet.for.the.entire.day.

Not much fuss and spent her days just sleeping.

For us, that was a novelty - and easily one of the easiest days we have had ever. We  had the sorriest looking little Spud ever. So sad that it was heart-breaking to watch her being so sick like that.

It was suspected that with every other kid in Holland falling sick, we speculated that she may have had what they called the 5th Disease - a mild illness which causes a reddish rash on the child's face. We never did find out if that was so, but she certainly had those rashes on her cheeks for almost a week!

Funnily enough though, for reasons beyond my or anyone's understanding, Spud has since been more clingy to her Papa and rejecting me for most, if not all of the time, especially after her fever was gone. While I observe that this reject Mama phase has been going on for a while now, Spud decided that she would unleash her undeniable show of rejection to me in the most hostile and violent way.

By hostile I mean, not wanting me to touch her or even be near her. The moment I reached out to her, she smacked my hands off as quickly followed by piercing wails as if she has been tortured by the evil witches. If she saw me coming her way, she diverted her way from me just as quickly, ignoring me completely, refusing any eye contact and gravitate towards Silver Bullet when he is around. Once as we almost accidentally bumped into each other (I got in her way apparently), she started throwing a fit right in front of my feet that I had to walk away.

By violent I mean she not only struggled really hard in trying to get off my arms the moment I carried her or when Silver Bullet passed her to me, but she then would also throw herself on the floor while I tried to firmly hold onto her so as to prevent her from falling hard to the floor and hit her head.  She then continues kicking me, screaming and arches her back all the way backwards in her bid to get away from me.

When we went out without her, she clung on to her grandparents so dearly and refused to let me take her when she saw me coming; turning her head away and almost got herself into a major fit when I tried to touch her.

I am not exaggerating in any way here.

The show of rejection was spectacular. It was more dramatic than the sound and light show at the Pyramids!

There was nothing, and I mean ABSOLUTELY NOTHING I could do to win her, for only Silver Bullet could calm her down. It did not seem to matter that I was not there. Even when she was really sick, she actually did not really want me. She did struggle a tad, but was probably too sick to fight me. When she got a little better, the more I tried, the more she acted up, and the more violent she became towards me.

I was beyond words. My heart bled as if it was slashed by a serrated blade. For many a times, over several days, I could only watch her cling on to Silver Bullet while I was being completely dismissed. My child did not want her mother. It made it worse for the fact that she has been sick. I mean, what child rejects her mother when she is sick?

It was like I am the evil step-mother. I was broken.

Perhaps I could even use me being a stay-home mom as an excuse if I was one. But I wasn't. So, technically,  shouldn't she be happy to be able to spend more time with me?

What made it all more ironic was that since we arrived in Holland, I had not lose my temper with her despite her ultra crankiness. Not even a bit. 

If I had lost my temper or shouted my head off at her, I can use that an an excuse for her to hate me. But for a while now, I have managed ot keep my cool (*pat myself on the back) . Even when she misbehaved and pushed her boundaries with me, I was calm and collected. She was difficult but not unmanageable.I was stern but I did not lose my head. 

 However, the moment she smells Silver Bullet, she turned into this little evil monster.

Suddenly, I am her worse enemy. While I heard that rejection is common for tots at this stage and is only "just a phase",  I still cannot figure out as to why this stage has lasted so long (>9 months!), and to have her rejected me so violently like that was just too much to bear.

Being rejected is one thing, and like I have said before, I am comforted by the fact that she has a bond with Silver Bullet - but being rejected in the most violent and resentful ways is another thing altogether.

So, screw you if you think I am just being overtly sensitive. As level headed as I would like to think I am, I would be lying if I say that the violent rejections for days on end did not hurt at all.  It was, to a certain extent, hard to not take it personally, and believe you, me, Silver Bullet gets equally frustrated because he cannot get a breather and his wife is a miserable little fuck because she cannot do jack-all to diffuse the situation as the little tot is likely to throw her biggest world-class temper tantrum.

I wish I could read a child's mind. Truly, whatever happened to make her change her tune towards me is something I guess I will never know.

What we did discover, though, was that after a few days of Spud's violence and hostility, we realised Spud just needed to be put in her place.

And that is a rather interesting piece of story to tell for another time.

Home sweet home

We are back in the madness of Bangkok traffic, back to the noise and filthy air pollution, back to work and  back in the grind; all of us very severely jet-lagged.

After being away for more than 2 weeks, it is a relief to finally be back in our own crib. Amidst the chaotic city we live in, there is truly nothing like your own home. Even if it is a rented apartment.

Truth be told, the last few weeks had been tough. Really gruelingly rough. While Spud did behave better in the plane as opposed to all the previous flights we had ever had (both to and fro and much to our surprise, she slept for most of the time - antihistamine-free!), she unleashed all that stored energy in the form of not-so-very- appealing temperament.

Our annual vacation to Europe came a little earlier this year as we thought it would be a good idea to double-up with Silver Bullet's work trip as he had to be there for business for a week. Under the circumstances, not only do we get to save a chunk of change on flight, it would also be a great opportunity for a working mother like me to spend a much needed quality time with Spud; while at the same time, get Spud re-acquainted with her paternal grandparents. It was supposed to be a win-win-win situation for all of us.

I hate to say this, but it probably was one of the worst "vacation" I could ever have in my entire life. It was not the kind of break I had in mind. In fact, for me, it was no vacation at all ; it was stressful, it was heart-wrenching, it was exhaustively tiring - both physically and emotionally. (more on that in a separate post).

While it started out semi-okay in the first few days, the entire trip went awry right to the very end as Spud (and even us!) fell sick. No prizes for guessing that the the entire trip revolved around Spud of course. Above all, it certainly was nothing more than a classic case of Murphy's Law; saved by a day and a half of being Spud-free as we roamed our asses to Amsterdam for our little date-day and an evening or two with friends.

The icing on the cake to wrap up Murphy with a big bang was when our flight back to Bangkok was delayed for almost, if not more than 4 hours because of the bad weather. In fact, because of the weather causing transportation challenges, we almost were not able to make it to the airport!

So yes! It is not that I am not liking my parents-in-law (far from it!), but under the circumstances we have been thrown in,  indeed, I could not be happier to be back in the familiarity of our own home. It is bad when I was actually and genuinely looking forward to go back to office, knowing how insane it can get.

So yes! I am a sad nut. I don't know how other mothers do it, and my respect for all stay-home moms,especially those who dare to do air-travel on their own little kids in tow, went up a few notches higher. To them, I bow my head down, I'll take my hats off and I salute you for doing such an honourable, yet really trying job.

And with this trip came 2 definitive realisation for me:

1. I am not qualified to be a stay-home mom and can never be a full-time housewife. Never. Over.my.not-so-dead.body. 
2. We will not be travelling by plane to anywhere in the world with a little child in tow in the next 2-3 years. No. We.are.not.travelling.

And oh! Having the cats around have been so therapeutic. They seemed to miss us, but I think we miss them more - especially Spud who cannot get enough of them.

Raining snow

Before we got here more than 10 days ago, we kinda wished that it would snow; more for the novelty of Spud experiencing snow for the first time than anything else.

It had not snowed since my last post a few days ago, and today, right towards the very end of our trip, it kept on snowing for a good 4 hours (at least!). It was snowing so hard that we could not get out of the house - the kind of weather which my mother-in-law says she hates. The scenery surrounding this neighborhood now is so different from a few days ago - everywhere is white! Even the canal right behind my parents-in-law place has now gone frozen solid; all ready for skaters to start skating on natural ice!

 It is currently freezing outside at -4 °C , and so far, we have not had the chance to take Spud out in the snow just yet. I'm still hoping we could, provided it stopped snowing soon.

Although I generally hate the cold, cold weather, it is also  not every day that we get to experience such beauty like this. Just the sight of the snow falling on the trees and to the ground gives me such a warm, cosy feeling.  Top that up with such a serene sight of Spud sleeping on her father's chest in the middle of the day - the image is priceless.

The sight kind of makes me forget what a terrible little monster she has been in the last few days.