Feeding my Babies

I've often been asked what grub I feed my children. It's kinda well-known that my babies don't eat rice. Instead, they are on a staple of oats until 6 years of age. 

This is their usual breakfast... plain oats with one scoop of herbalife F1.

Lunch and dinner are savoury oats. This is one example: I boil some ikan bilis and then strain the soup. Thereafter I add in potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic and chicken breast to boil. When it is quite cooked, I add in the spinach and turn off the flame so that the green does not overcook.

 I do this early in the morning before the kids wake up. While it is boiling, I do other stuff like get Joy ready for school (tying her hair takes time!!!)

quick-cooking oats in a pot

After the babies finish their breakfast, I have some time before Isaac needs to nap. This is when I cook their lunch. I use the soup to cook the oats on small fire.

 While that is boiling, I put the vegetables and chicken in my blender...

 ...and blend it!

This is added to the oats in the pot...

Give it a quick stir and I have enough to feed 3 kids for 3 meals. It takes me about 15 minutes to do this.

There's no oil, no salt, no sugar, no msg. It's nutritious and balanced. Joy is still eating this at almost 7 years of age. It's not that I force her to eat this but this is her preferred food. Which makes my life easier so I've no complains. 

Some days I just put the veges in a steamer. Or salmon in the oven. They eat a variety of vegetables....pumpkin, sweet potatoes, french bean etc.

I think this is far easier than using a slow-cooker which I find cumbersome because it is so fragile and heavy, takes a long time and leaves a crust of wasted food at the bottom (which is a pain to clean!)

On a staple of oats, they have never had any constipation problems. Isaac is probably almost 12kg while Isabel (although tiny when younger) is almost 15kg at 3 years old. Joy and Joe are just impossible to carry anymore. They are all of good height and fairly healthy.   

November celebrations

November started with celebrating Daaling's birthday on 1st November.

We had a very simple dinner at Bofe in SS2. 

I secretly made a Ribena marble cheesecake and sent it to the restaurant a day before so Daaling was pleasantly surprised when the cake was brought out after we ordered our food.

Food was good and prices decent. Location is very convenient and parking is so easy. We parked right outside the cafe.

soft shell crab with salted egg yolk sauce pasta
(this is not on the menu and you have to ask for it)

something aglio olio

 Joseph totally loved this Chicken Katsu dish and said it tastes better than KFC!

Chicken Katsu

The next day being our 12th Wedding Anniversary, Daaling and I went for a one-night staycation at Shangri-La Putrajaya. We took Isaac along since he's still breastfeeding and I need him more than he needs me. We left the older 3 with a church friend.

This was our second visit to Shangri-La Putrajaya this year alone. I must say we really like the place. It's very VERY quiet and there's an expanse of greenery. We arrived at about 12.30pm and were promptly checked-in. Our room was ready and they had already set-up a cot for Isaac plus provided baby toiletries.

We made our way to Palm Hill Cafe first for lunch.

complimentary warm bread rolls with butter

 Daaling had the beef burger...

 ...while I opted for the herb crusted seabass with herb butter.

For dessert we had the warm chocolate cake...

...and tiramisu. This wasn't very good. I've had way better ones.

We had a 50% discount off total bill with Daaling's Maybank Amex card and the bill came to about RM68. Pretty decent considering the ambience. 

Our park-view deluxe room was clean and comfy as expected. Isaac thoroughly enjoyed jumping on the bed.

Our room booking did not come with breakfast. It was a 15% discount off the best available rate with Daaling's credit card. But the very nice guy at check-in noticed that it was Daaling's birthday the day before and very kindly gave us breakfast. How nice!

porridge with a side of smoked salmon and fish fingers

I love figs and rarely see them offered at buffets

 A few days later, we celebrated Isabel's birthday on 5th November. My princess is 3 years old!

 I was there when she woke up in the morning and I started singing "Happy Birthday" to her. She then asked me, "Three candles?"

Yes my dear....you get three candles on your cake.

Two, Three or More? - my last baby is ONE!

We celebrated Isaac's ONEderful year of growing with a party! It was only fair since we also had first birthday parties for our three older children. 

A first birthday is significant. It marks a fantastic year of growing - from a tiny bundle that I could easily carry in one hand to this toddler who is now capable of single handedly turning my house upside down!

I catered the Western dishes (Shepherd's Pie, Lasagna, Lamb Meatballs, Turkey Ham Quiche, English Trifle) from Luscious Treats and the Briyani Rice, Chicken Rendang, Mutton Curry from another Malay lady. Ah Mah made siew pau (all habis!!!) and bought very good yong tau foo and chee cheong fun from Seremban. I made the jelly and coleslaw. 

The past year has certainly been our most challenging thus far. We get plenty of stares when we're out with 4 children. We could be having dinner out at some mall...just the 6 of us as always... and people just look like we're some rare species.

Thankfully the children are well-behaved most of the time. They do drive Daaling and I up the wall very often but they are also a great joy and blessing.

A wise man once told me "It takes a village to raise a child".

Our village consists of our parents, our families, our cell and church friends. On Saturdays, Daaling takes all 4 to church on his own while I'm at work (the kind where I get paid). I thank God for the many willing youth and ladies who help to babysit Isaac when Daaling is on worship leading duty. 

Having young children need not be an excuse or hindrance to ministry. After a break of 8 months from Little Lambs Ministry, I resumed in July when another lady when on maternity leave. I'm also very thankful for a very understanding and considerate boss. 

So we celebrated and gave thanks to God for all his goodness, providence and blessings overflowing.

Tan parents

Chan parents

our complete family

hee hee....this is all mine!!!

I'm sooooooo happy!!!

We were blessed with some buffet lunch vouchers at Wild Rice Restaurant @ Boulevard Hotel so a few days after Isaac's actual birthday, we had another round of makan.

three candles - one each for Isaac, Daaling and Isabel

In my books, the first year is the most difficult. So theoretically, we've passed the most difficult hurdle. Hopefully Isaac will sleep through the night soon and we will all be less sleep deprived. He is much easier to care for already as he eats well and very quickly too. 

As they grow, there will be different challenges. Joseph is almost a pre-teen and the teenage years will dawn soon enough. My prayer is that they will all grow in His ways to  know Him, love Him, serve Him and walk with Him faithfully all the days of their lives.