Hatched @ Evans Lodge: An Eggy Affair

I am really glad we got down to buying a camera finally! Yes, in anticipation of Baby J’s arrival, we bought the much recommended Canon S90. Got it at a good price of $610 compared to Canon’s discounted price of $699. We’ve heard that the S95 is coming out soon… but so is Baby J! So, we decided not to wait.

Here in this blog post, I present you the photos taken with our new baby (I meant the camera). Let’s hope good camera + 0 photo-taking skills = not bad photos!

First up, SOT 2010 graduation.

A big CONGRATULATIONS to our very own Richard and Leny for running the race and fighting the good fight these 6 months! We are so proud of you!

Later in the afternoon, we met up with our good ol’ pals for tea! :) Always enjoyed the catching up especially since life is ever so busy with our increasing commitments.

Em chose a cafe called Hatched, situated at Evans Lodge near Botanical Gardens.

It’s just beside Julia Gabriel’s…

…and in this building below. (Can you spot our very busy Director Tan… on the phone AGAIN?)

Here it is! HATCHED

It’s a rather arty farty place as you can see…

I must say this small cafe had quite a crowd for a normal Sunday afternoon, considering it’s quite out of the way. Thank God we made reservations.

I think 90% of the menu offerings are made of EGGS of course!

They serve all-day breakfast food. They have salad with eggs, breads with eggs, scrambled eggs cooked with all sorts of stuffs, eggs done up in different different ways. So if you love eating eggs, you know where to head for.

Now, I tried playing with the color accent camera mode on one of the pages in the menu. You could select which color in your photo to keep and have the rest in black and white. I LOVE this mode!

I tried it on Minghui too! She still looks good and VERY slim at 10+++ weeks of her pregnancy doesn’t she?

And since some of us were early, we took our photos using another one of my favorite mode – the Nostalgic mode!

My hubby thinks Director Tan ALREADY looks nostalgic on his own. HAHAHA! But it’s a really artistic, dreamy mode don’t you think? Sweet photo!

Now, our turn! I upped the level of nostalgic-ness for our photo…

Director Tan kindly advised us that these kind of photos would look nicer if we look away from the camera. But if you know the ‘rebel’ in my hubby….

Here comes the food.

Now, here’s what I ordered. Needed to satisfy my sweet tooth but this was one of the very few sweet offerings they had – fluffy pancakes with caramelized apples or grilled bananas.

I know what you’re thinking. “Where’s the apples OR the bananas?” Yea. the cafe ran out of them and offered me FIVE blueberries in their stead. :( Very normal pancakes… yes, very fluffy… so fluffy I was already full from eating just one piece of thick carbo. No wonder they said this was for two (They only offer this for two or a trio).

Anyway, what’s most important is the good fellowship we had!

It was fun catching up! And this also marked the end of another week.

Till we meet again…!

King Koil Warehouse Sale & Takashimaya Baby Fair etc

Since Baby J is due anytime these 2 weeks, Jared has been busy shopping for all the baby necessities & packing while I was busy working on the aesthetics for our baby room + doing up a scrapbook for Baby J!

A few weeks ago, he chanced upon an advert for King Koil warehouse sale at the far far far FAR away Sungei Kadut Industrial Estate. So with our trusty Holux GPS, we found our way to the warehouse sale at 6pm together with Jared’s parents and sister.

   

We soon discovered that the once in a year sale is REALLY WORTH the time for newly-weds who are shopping for their lovenest or for those of us like us looking to shop for a guestroom/baby room. This King Koil sale retails more than just beds and bedlinen. They actually sell furniture like sofa beds, coffee tables, shoe cabinets and even wardrobes etc. As Jared’s parents are renovating their place, his amazing sister bought a trundle bed, a shoe cabinet and a TV console within an hour. That’s mainly because they were going for about 30% to 50% off and the sale was closing for the day in an hour’s time.

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Above you can see Jared sniffing our good deals for the trundle bed to be placed in baby J’s room for my MIL who is helping out with my confinement. And yes, they even sell LINGERIE in this sale!

Below are some good deals we found for bedlinen.

  

A whooping 800-threadcount hotel-quality King-size bedlinen setgoing for just $30! We bought a 350 threadcount one from Robinsons for over $200+ previously! :”(

Another 300 threadcount king-size bedlinen set we bought at $$70

 

 

300 threadcount super-single bedlinen set we bought at $$35 for our baby room!

Other sale items we saw…………………..

 

Baa Baa WHITE sheep kids’ bed linen. So colorful!

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Flowery sofa bed at under $300 and these cute little “arm-chair” for kids” at $19 per piece

 

Look at how comfortable the pretty little gal is in her seat… We were so TEMPTED to buy for one for Baby J… Can imagine him sitting there watching TV…Opps… better not or else he becomes a couch potato!

And of course, the kiasu parents in me and Jared were hunting around various fairs like the bi-annual Takashimaya baby fair and Robinsons Expo sales to stock up on baby necessities. Inadvertently, we ended up with a packed-to-the rafters kind of storeroom…. So packed that Jared had to repack the entire storeroom. 

So here is the neatest room in our home which currently resembles a war-zone……….. Our STOREROOM :-P

Just look at the top rack… entirely taken up by baby necessities + my confinement bathing herbs etc…. And yes… I know it looks like a PIGEON showcase too!

Coming up soon (ie unless I pop!) … blog posts on our Home Improvement! :)

I promise…

… my hubby and myself I’d eat healthier after yesterday’s junk food day of

Chocolate covered raisins.

They sell alot of them @ Carrefoure and they must have purposely placed them right next to the cashiers’….

And the ultimate…

Magnum – Golden hazelnut.

*Heart melts*

What a happy day yesterday! But today onwards -

HEALTHIER EATING

37 weeks and counting down

Baby J at 2.774 kg

• Cordlife package – checked
• Work – Still trying to complete
• Hospital bag – More or less checked
• Last minute things-to-bring list (hopefully it wun be a frantic, got-to-go-straight to hospital kind of delivery!) – checked

What else? What else? What else?

Questions fill my mind as I prepare for motherhood… especially since I am about to pop like ANY TIME?

Today I had my appointment with Dr Tan. Boy, I actually prepared a list of questions to ask/’bombard’ him! Though I have already been googling the answers but you know, I just want to get re-re-re-assurance right out from the horse’s mouth. I need to know the answers are for ME.

The most important question for today in my opinion (and I am sure for all first time mommies) is

“What are the signs and symptoms for me to check into hospital?”

Dr Tan replied that there are 3 signs (or rather he counter asked me and I replied him correctly… LOL!)

1. Real contractions

Not the Braxton Hicks/fake ones. How would I know what’s the real thing is like? When there’s pain associated with the contractions and the pain doesn’t go away. Dr Tan advised me that one hour is a good gauge. If the pain doesn’t go away in an hour, GO TO THE HOSPITAL.

2. Breaking of water bag

This is easy.

3. Release of mucous plug

Gross right?

This is the plug which forms on the cervix during pregnancy and it’s purpose is to prevent any bacteria from getting into the uterus. It’s cloudy and could be bloody and when it’s discharged, it means that labour will happen any time from a few days to hours!

So, please keep praying for me to have a smooth, uncomplicated, FAST delivery and that Baby J will come out healthy and strong!

Gmask

I have never gmasked any of my stuffs before. Ever since I bought my white-berry, I have not gotten any ‘clothes’ for it. Then Jiahui showed me her gmasked bb and that triggered me to get a ‘skin’ for mine too!

Reasons I convinced myself to get a gmask (> than $10) vs getting a BB cover (starting from $10)

1. I haven’t gotten a screen protector yet,

2. If I got a cover for my berry instead, it would have ‘hidden’ the white color of the phone- the main reason why I bought a WHITE bb,

3. I would then still be able to use the magnetic cover provided. I heard the cover preserves the battery life of the phone.

4. I could get a pretty design for my phone at the same time protecting it. You could actually change your gmask designs easily at these gmask shops.

Well, so I went to Tampines Mall to do my gmask. Quite excited to choose a nice design for my phone. :)

And here is the end result!

I did a transparent masking over the entire front – screen, buttons and all. I must say it was quite well done with no visible little bubbles!

I chose this design with a transparent background so that the WHITE part of my berry can be seen. And I chose to gmask the back only once, that’s why you can still see the BB symbol as well as the leathery texture of the battery cover. Thought of saving some $$ ($39 for single wrap vs $50 for double wrap).

Wanted to add Swarovski crystals ($1 a piece) but my friend asked me to get the crystals and paste them myself… probably cheaper!

So, I walked away a satisfied customer. Pretty don’t you think? :)

Humpty Dumpty

One night, as my hubby and I sat in the living room watching boring TV, we happened to come across this channel playing children’s nursery rhymes. And it happened to be Humpty Dumpty.

I used to think that every person would have known their Humpty Dumpty and Jack and Jill. But I was apparently very wrong. The man sitting next to me that night, had either missed out on his childhood OR he had some form of amnesia and forgotten a LARGE part of his nursery rhymes.

Now, for those of you who MIGHT not already know, here’s Humpty Dumpty for you:

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall

All the king’s horses and all the king’s men

Couldn’t put Humpty together again.

End of a tragic story.

Now, as an adult, you would probably ask some sensible questions like why would all the king’s men bother to save Humpty Dumpty right? Well, my hubby also asked me a question after watching this. His question was…

“You mean Humpty Dumpty is an egg?!”

*Silence*

I really think my hubby needs some re-education before Baby J comes along. Any offers for volunteer pre-school tuition teachers?

What to eat @ Tampines? Try Hong Kong Kim Gary Restaurant at Tampines One.

A few reasons why:

1. Variety

Its offerings are similar to those of the Hongkong cafes that have sprouted all around our little island. But really, don’t you just enjoy the variety of foods that these cafes provide? Baked rice, spaghettis, those oh so sinful toasts, soup noodles, snacks like mini drumlets and fries and not forgetting those ‘high’ and mighty desserts.

2. One for one promotion after 9:30 pm!

This reason is good enough! That fateful Saturday, Jared and I saw the promo after we entered the restaurant and we did THAT Singaporean thing. Order desserts first THEN when our watches striked NINE THIRTY, we raised our hands to order the mains. HAHA!

3. Good food

With the generous amounts of cheese on alot of their foods, what can really go wrong?

I forgot to take a picture of this side dish - the assorted mushrooms. But it comes with 3-4 types of mushrooms baked in like 1-2 CHEESES. Ooh, if you are a cheese fan, you will absolutely LURVE this dish! We had it on our tables for only 7 mins max.

Here are our mains… one-for-one!

My spicy noodle with fried chicken wings. Choose it only if you can take the spice as well as ALOT… i mean ALOT ALOT of fried garlic.

We ordered 2 baked rice- one with pork chop, the other with chicken chop, topped with Swiss cheese. Again, what could go wrong if you are a cheese fan?

And my MIL ordered some HK fried rice with pork chop. Savory!

Each dish costs about $8-$10 BEFORE the promo. So it was really worth our $$$!

Do try Kim Gary at Tampines One basement one (#B1-07) if you are hanging around the area later in the night.

Swelling time

I wished I had a swelling good time. These days, in fact every single day since the end of last week, I had been going through a literally SWELLING not-so-good time. :(

In the morning,

By evening,

:( Hubby encouraged me by reminding me… 9 months had passed, just ONE more month to go! Further thank God I only have swelling in my legs and not my face or arms or anywhere else… So,

忍!!!

Sakae Sushi Dinner + Delicious Cupcakes!

2 Saturdays ago, after visiting Esther and Baby C, me and my siblings met up at Changi Airport’s Sakae Sushi for dinner. That was the 34857th time we have been eating there together!

  

 

Beautiful gift from Trena… Wonderfully and lovingly handbaked GORGEOUS cupcakes with our faces and names on it!

And here’s me and my pretty ‘Jerb’ cupcake!

And last of all me at 35 weeks! 5 more weeks max to go….!

Went to see the gynae a few days ago and Baby J was weighing 2.3 kg! Baby, you are really getting heavier!

These weeks, I have been craving for junk food. BUT, I am starting to not like eating meat again (just like during my 1st trimester) and am preferring to eat my veges and carbo. Strange…. Maybe it’s because my mother-in-law reminded me that I will be eating 1.5 months of confinement, home-cooked food!

This is the week that I will be packing my Hospital Bag cos I might pop ANYTIME.

Here is a list of things to bring taken from the Huggies website:

A comfortable, loose fitting nightie or T-shirt that you can wear through labour and give birth in. You should expect that this may get covered in the fluids from delivery.

A water bottle/sweets/glucose tablets.

Any snacks or drinks you would like to have on hand.

Your birthplan

Lip balm

Warm socks (your feet may get very cold during labour). You should be prepared to throw these away after the delivery.

Massage equipment - oils, creams.

Heat pack

Camera and video camera (ask before you start taking video footage)

CD's to play during the birth of your baby.

Your birth announcements

Phone cards and coins for making calls. (I think we can just bring our mobile phones:))

Make-up and hair brush for immediately after the birth if you would like to touch up for the initial photos. – IMPORTANT!

 

And before I go, I wanna wish my dear Country Singapore a very HAPPY 45th BIRTHDAY!!!