When I woke up this morning, I knew I had to bake. There was a huge urge in me that I needed to bake. So I pulled out my prized recipe book and made a raspberry muffin cake.
I got the recipe off the Vancouver Sun seven years ago. I followed the recipe to the letter and made the muffin cake. Mom and worked together to tweak the recipe a bit to make it a better muffin (less sweet) muffin cake.
Blueberry Muffin Cake
makes 12 servings
topping
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3 tbsp butter, at room temperature
cake
2 tbsp medium dry breadcrumbs
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
2 large eggs
1/3 cup orange juice
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
1 cup low-fat sour cream
1 tbsp grated orange zest
Topping: in a small bowl, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, mix well. with pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Cake: Grease a 9 inch square pan. Sprinkle bottom and sides of pan with breadcrumbs.
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Mix well. Stir in blueberries.
In a medium bowl, beat eggs. Beat in orange juice, sour cream, melted butter, orange zest. Add t flour mixture, stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle with topping.
Bake at 375 c for 40-45 mins.
Cool for 10 mins.
* I used raspberries instead of blueberries!
Can't wait for Joe to come out and try this muffin cake.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Bethany is three months old!
There is a saying " Time flies when you are having fun!" and this is so TRUE!
Bethany is three months old today!
Yes.. Three months old! I can't believe she is already three months old... it felt like yesterday that she was born!
As a mom, and having the luxury to spend a lot of time with her, I have noticed that Bethany has grown a lot in the last three months:
Birth weight: 6 lb 15 oz
Last week's weight: 12.2 lb
(Her weight and length is at the 50th percentile and the doctor said Bethany is on track on her growth rate!)
Her hair has definitely grown... her forehead is no longer as "bare" as before. For the longest time, I was worried that Bethany has a receding hairline like her daddy.
She is alert and awake longer during the day, and she has been sleeping through the night since she was two months old. Her last feeding is usually 10:30pm and she sleeps through the night till 6:30am the next day!
She has been sleeping in her crib since she was about a month old. We put her in a bassinet for the first few weeks and she HATED it so much that she cried bloody murder every time we put her there. We had no choice but to put her in her crib (as Joe and I do not believe in co-sleeping. There are more risks than benefits in co-sleeping!) and amazingly, she loves her crib!
She coos a lot! Seriously... a lot! During the day, when she is awake, she coos! Oh, almost forgot to mention that she smiles a lot too! Her smile is p.r.i.c.e.l.e.s.s. and it truly melts my heart!
She hates tummy time! Absolutely hates it! She cries non-stop every time she is on her tummy until I "give in" and pick her up! Although she hates tum-tum time, I make sure she spends at least 5 mins a day on her tummy to build the strength of her neck!
Her fingers are getting stronger. She has started grabbing things or pulling things close to her mouth. Two nights ago, I "caught" her pulling her blanket close to her mouth and a min later, the tip of the blanket was in her mouth and she was sucking the blanket.
Yesterday, Bethany had Sophie the Giraffe in her hand when she was down for her afternoon nap. When she woke up, one of Sophie's ears was in her mouth!
Bethany hates the soother! When she was younger, she would simply spit out the soother. Now that her fingers are getting stronger, she would grab the soother with both of her hands from her mouth, and then yanked it off the floor!
Bethany is three months old today!
Yes.. Three months old! I can't believe she is already three months old... it felt like yesterday that she was born!
As a mom, and having the luxury to spend a lot of time with her, I have noticed that Bethany has grown a lot in the last three months:
Birth weight: 6 lb 15 oz
Last week's weight: 12.2 lb
(Her weight and length is at the 50th percentile and the doctor said Bethany is on track on her growth rate!)
Her hair has definitely grown... her forehead is no longer as "bare" as before. For the longest time, I was worried that Bethany has a receding hairline like her daddy.
She is alert and awake longer during the day, and she has been sleeping through the night since she was two months old. Her last feeding is usually 10:30pm and she sleeps through the night till 6:30am the next day!
She has been sleeping in her crib since she was about a month old. We put her in a bassinet for the first few weeks and she HATED it so much that she cried bloody murder every time we put her there. We had no choice but to put her in her crib (as Joe and I do not believe in co-sleeping. There are more risks than benefits in co-sleeping!) and amazingly, she loves her crib!
She coos a lot! Seriously... a lot! During the day, when she is awake, she coos! Oh, almost forgot to mention that she smiles a lot too! Her smile is p.r.i.c.e.l.e.s.s. and it truly melts my heart!
She hates tummy time! Absolutely hates it! She cries non-stop every time she is on her tummy until I "give in" and pick her up! Although she hates tum-tum time, I make sure she spends at least 5 mins a day on her tummy to build the strength of her neck!
Her fingers are getting stronger. She has started grabbing things or pulling things close to her mouth. Two nights ago, I "caught" her pulling her blanket close to her mouth and a min later, the tip of the blanket was in her mouth and she was sucking the blanket.
Yesterday, Bethany had Sophie the Giraffe in her hand when she was down for her afternoon nap. When she woke up, one of Sophie's ears was in her mouth!
Bethany hates the soother! When she was younger, she would simply spit out the soother. Now that her fingers are getting stronger, she would grab the soother with both of her hands from her mouth, and then yanked it off the floor!
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Poppa Barry & Nana Annette
For the longest time, I could not seem to figure out how Bethany should address her god-parents Barry and Annette. Joe suggested Uncle Barry and Auntie Annette. It is ok but it sounds weird to me... and there is no closeness when addressing Barry and Annette as uncle and auntie as they have "adopted" us into their family here in Ottawa. With no family in Ottawa, this means a lot to Joe and me.
So, starting today, Bethany has:
In Ottawa:
Barry as Poppa and Annette as Nana.
In Vancouver:
My mom as Pau Pau and my dad as Gong Gong
In Saint John:
Joe's mom as Nana, Joe's dad as Gogee(?), a word that Joe's niece Kaytlin made up when she was young, and my mother-in law as Grandma.
All in all, Bethany is a very fortunate baby who is well-loved by her grandparents and god-parents!
So, starting today, Bethany has:
In Ottawa:
Barry as Poppa and Annette as Nana.
In Vancouver:
My mom as Pau Pau and my dad as Gong Gong
In Saint John:
Joe's mom as Nana, Joe's dad as Gogee(?), a word that Joe's niece Kaytlin made up when she was young, and my mother-in law as Grandma.
All in all, Bethany is a very fortunate baby who is well-loved by her grandparents and god-parents!
Monday, November 9, 2009
My Typical Day as a Stay Home Mom...
Ever wonder what my day is like as a stay home mom? Before I got pregnant, I would have never imagined my day can be any more structured than what I am having now.
6:25am -- I wake up without the help of an alarm clock (isn't that amazing? That's one of the privileges of being a mom. It almost feels like there is a clock inside my body and I just know when to get up... or when Bethany is about to wake up... even before she makes the very first tiny noise in her crib!) Do I need a baby monitor? NO! It is simply a waste of money! On the other hand, Joe manages to sleep through a storm even though the monitor is on and is sitting on his bedside table!
6:35am -- Change Bethany, feed Bethany, burp Bethany, put Bethany back to her crib.
7:15am -- Pumping Session
7:45am -- Check up on Bethany to make sure she is sound alseep... and then hop into the shower
8:15am -- Breakfast (coffee and toast 7 days a week!)
8:30am - 10:00am -- Free time for me... surfing the internet, chatting with other wb'ers on weddingbells.ca, checking e-mails
10:00am -- fold and iron Bethany's clean laundry and getting ready for Bethany's bath items
10:30am -- wake up Bethany and give her a bath
10:45am -- Bethany's feeding time, and then put her down for a nap
11:15am -- Pumping Session
11:30am -- Hand-wash Bethany's clothes
11:45am -- Do a load of laundry or house-hold chores (e.g. sweeping, mopping, scrubbing the tubs and toilet)
12:25pm -- Lunch and chat with mom
12:35pm -- Bethany wakes up from her nap (She used to sleep till 2pm but lately, she has been waking up at 12:30pm... I guess as she becomes older, she stays awake longer during the day!)
12:35pm - 2:20pm -- Play time with Bethany... she plays on her playmat while listening to classical music (yes Bethany is a classical music baby...well at least I am gearing her towards that direction!)
2:30pm -- Bethany's feeding time... and then put her down for a nap (this nap usually last till 5:30 or 6pm)
3:15pm -- Pumping Session
3:30pm - 4:30pm -- Prepare dinner (Joe's dinner is easy... I cooked up a storm and then froze everything before I gave birth... so I have been feeding Joe on those freezer meals) My dinner is usually different from Joe's as I prefer a healthier and well-balanced diet in order to keep up with my milk supply and lose weight at the same time.
Once dinner is done... I will then finish off what is left of the household chores. Depends on the day of week, I would run another load of laundry or scrub the the tub... the point is there is always plenty to do around the house!
5:30pm -- Joe comes home and walks Bee Bee. Up till last friday, my work shift of taking care of Bethany ended when Joe came home. Joe would then take over till 10:30pm when Bethany has her last feeding. Last night, Joe said that ever since he took over the 5:30pm till 10:30pm shift, he had no time to do personal things (e.g. checking e-mails, working on the KOC's Rosarium, attending to Scout's issues and spending time with his obsession: either downloading stuff from the internet, organizing his on-line song album or renaming all the images he saved in his computer... hahaha... welcome to the world of parent-hood... being a parent = time loss on doing your own things... and it is called S.A.C.R.I.F.I.C.E. and I guess Joe is not too keen on this idea!) So he suggested last night that I would extend my shift till 8:30pm and then he would look after Bethany for 2 hours, change her, feed her and then put her to sleep!
6:30pm -- Bethany's feeding (Joe used to do this feeding, but starting today, I will be doing this as well)
7:15pm -- Pumping Session
8:30pm (beginning today) Off duty... take a shower, brew a cup of herbal tea, iron Bethany's clothes, watch TV and take a nap.
11:15pm -- Pumping Session
11:30pm -- Check up on Bethany to make sure she is sound asleep... check to see if the temperature of the room is at 20.5c.
11:45pm -- I go to sleep! * I also need to keep my ears open just in case Bethany wakes up in the middle of the night and wants a bottle!*
3:15am -- Pumping Session
3:30am -- Check up on Bethany before going back to sleep
(but I do not usually fall back to sleep until 4:30am)
6:30am -- repeat the previous day schedule
Who says being a stay home mom is an easy task? Before I was pregnant, I worked 9 hours a day at Costco, and when I got home, I relaxed, took a long shower, watched TV, spent time on line etc... Being a stay home mom, my priority is to look after our daughter, and it is a 24/7 job. Although it is hard, and sometimes it is very exhausting and frustrating, especially knowing that Joe can sleep in on the weekends and I can't. It is a job offers great rewards... my heart melts when Bethany smiles at me and all my frustrations and disappointments towards Joe seem to fade away for now... and I am sure that Bethany's first words will be mom-mom and that will definitely send me to the moon when that day comes!
6:25am -- I wake up without the help of an alarm clock (isn't that amazing? That's one of the privileges of being a mom. It almost feels like there is a clock inside my body and I just know when to get up... or when Bethany is about to wake up... even before she makes the very first tiny noise in her crib!) Do I need a baby monitor? NO! It is simply a waste of money! On the other hand, Joe manages to sleep through a storm even though the monitor is on and is sitting on his bedside table!
6:35am -- Change Bethany, feed Bethany, burp Bethany, put Bethany back to her crib.
7:15am -- Pumping Session
7:45am -- Check up on Bethany to make sure she is sound alseep... and then hop into the shower
8:15am -- Breakfast (coffee and toast 7 days a week!)
8:30am - 10:00am -- Free time for me... surfing the internet, chatting with other wb'ers on weddingbells.ca, checking e-mails
10:00am -- fold and iron Bethany's clean laundry and getting ready for Bethany's bath items
10:30am -- wake up Bethany and give her a bath
10:45am -- Bethany's feeding time, and then put her down for a nap
11:15am -- Pumping Session
11:30am -- Hand-wash Bethany's clothes
11:45am -- Do a load of laundry or house-hold chores (e.g. sweeping, mopping, scrubbing the tubs and toilet)
12:25pm -- Lunch and chat with mom
12:35pm -- Bethany wakes up from her nap (She used to sleep till 2pm but lately, she has been waking up at 12:30pm... I guess as she becomes older, she stays awake longer during the day!)
12:35pm - 2:20pm -- Play time with Bethany... she plays on her playmat while listening to classical music (yes Bethany is a classical music baby...well at least I am gearing her towards that direction!)
2:30pm -- Bethany's feeding time... and then put her down for a nap (this nap usually last till 5:30 or 6pm)
3:15pm -- Pumping Session
3:30pm - 4:30pm -- Prepare dinner (Joe's dinner is easy... I cooked up a storm and then froze everything before I gave birth... so I have been feeding Joe on those freezer meals) My dinner is usually different from Joe's as I prefer a healthier and well-balanced diet in order to keep up with my milk supply and lose weight at the same time.
Once dinner is done... I will then finish off what is left of the household chores. Depends on the day of week, I would run another load of laundry or scrub the the tub... the point is there is always plenty to do around the house!
5:30pm -- Joe comes home and walks Bee Bee. Up till last friday, my work shift of taking care of Bethany ended when Joe came home. Joe would then take over till 10:30pm when Bethany has her last feeding. Last night, Joe said that ever since he took over the 5:30pm till 10:30pm shift, he had no time to do personal things (e.g. checking e-mails, working on the KOC's Rosarium, attending to Scout's issues and spending time with his obsession: either downloading stuff from the internet, organizing his on-line song album or renaming all the images he saved in his computer... hahaha... welcome to the world of parent-hood... being a parent = time loss on doing your own things... and it is called S.A.C.R.I.F.I.C.E. and I guess Joe is not too keen on this idea!) So he suggested last night that I would extend my shift till 8:30pm and then he would look after Bethany for 2 hours, change her, feed her and then put her to sleep!
6:30pm -- Bethany's feeding (Joe used to do this feeding, but starting today, I will be doing this as well)
7:15pm -- Pumping Session
8:30pm (beginning today) Off duty... take a shower, brew a cup of herbal tea, iron Bethany's clothes, watch TV and take a nap.
11:15pm -- Pumping Session
11:30pm -- Check up on Bethany to make sure she is sound asleep... check to see if the temperature of the room is at 20.5c.
11:45pm -- I go to sleep! * I also need to keep my ears open just in case Bethany wakes up in the middle of the night and wants a bottle!*
3:15am -- Pumping Session
3:30am -- Check up on Bethany before going back to sleep
(but I do not usually fall back to sleep until 4:30am)
6:30am -- repeat the previous day schedule
Who says being a stay home mom is an easy task? Before I was pregnant, I worked 9 hours a day at Costco, and when I got home, I relaxed, took a long shower, watched TV, spent time on line etc... Being a stay home mom, my priority is to look after our daughter, and it is a 24/7 job. Although it is hard, and sometimes it is very exhausting and frustrating, especially knowing that Joe can sleep in on the weekends and I can't. It is a job offers great rewards... my heart melts when Bethany smiles at me and all my frustrations and disappointments towards Joe seem to fade away for now... and I am sure that Bethany's first words will be mom-mom and that will definitely send me to the moon when that day comes!
Friday, November 6, 2009
Bethany's Wardrobe
Ok... I am getting a bit bored of dressing Bethany in sleepers day after day. So yesterday, after her bath, I decided to dress her in a hippo top and a matching bottom. Once she was dressed, I then realized that her bare feet became visible. Therefore, I went through those 100 pairs of socks in her sock drawer and got her a pair that went well with her outfit.
Yesterday was another normal day. She had her bath in the morning, following by her feeding time. After the feeding, I put her down for a nap. Here is a picture of her when she woke up from her nap:
Then I went to get a face cloth and a bowl of warm water for diaper change... I was only gone for two minutes... and when I came back, this is what I saw:
How is this even possible? There must be a reason why babies are normally dressed in sleepers!
Yesterday was another normal day. She had her bath in the morning, following by her feeding time. After the feeding, I put her down for a nap. Here is a picture of her when she woke up from her nap:
Then I went to get a face cloth and a bowl of warm water for diaper change... I was only gone for two minutes... and when I came back, this is what I saw:
How is this even possible? There must be a reason why babies are normally dressed in sleepers!
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