So-Easy Lemon Butter Cake

And super yummy too!

Now I must emphasize that I am no baker and I have never ever baked a cake, save for brownie-ready-mixes. And those rock-hard cookies that I've baked have mostly ended up in the bin, after the first one went into the mouth. *bleah*

So whether you are better or worse when it comes to baking, and you so happen to crave for a lemon butter cake, then try this recipe! It's not too sweet and is really both fluffy and moist when fresh from the oven. Here goes.

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Ingredients:
185g unsalted butter
240g castor sugar
35g corn flour
2 tsp lemon juice
180g self raising flour, sifted
60ml full cream milk
1/2 tsp grated lemon rind
4 eggs
1 tsp lemon essence


Method:
1. Put all ingredients (I'm not sure if the sequence matters but I put in all the dry ingredients first, before adding the wet ones) into a mixing bowl, and beat at low speed for 1 min until well combined.

2. Then beat at medium high speed (I used number 3 on my mixer where the highest is 5) for 3 minutes.

3. Pour batter into a lined baking tin (I didn't line mine though) and bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 40 mins or until cooked (toothpick comes out clean).

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That's it!

Well, my cake was a little too dark at the top for my liking, so I might adjust the baking time to about 30 mins the next time. Just watch the oven from 25 minutes on... cos different ovens do heat differently. .. I think... :P

Fresh and hot from the oven


















Eh, auntie, I think your cake is a little burnt on top.























Say ahhhh.....























Not bad not bad






















This cake keeps well in the fridge too. Just let it thaw a little before tucking in. :)

Have fun baking and do let me know how it turns out for you eh?

:)

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Oh My Aching Fingers...

Jeddy is into The Little Einsteins lately. It's all he ever watches. Try making him watch another cartoon and he will protest, "No [insert cartoon name] ! Watch Einsteins?" No amount of cajoling will work.

*narrow eyes*

I was then toying with the idea of getting some Little Einsteins toys for him. *pun unintended* But couldn't find anything decent. Erm, more like I couldn't find one that fits my budget. The rocket toy with two figurines costs a whopping $150 the last time I checked!

Well, in times like this, I do what I do best. Carve stamps! ;D

So there you have it. 10 hours of carving over 4 days. The entire cast of the Little Einsteins in rubber stamps!

I used a super tough material (PZ Kut) for these stamps so they could weather Jeddy boy's rough handling and my, were they super tough to carve as well! Glad my fingers and neck are still intact upon completion. Let's just say that Jeddy is not getting another set of rubber stamps for a while... :P






































































The things a mummy would do for her kids... *wistful sigh*

;)

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Looooong Time No See

In case you were all wondering what happened to us, nothing! Just got a little lazy with the blogging, that's all. ;P

Not sure if it's the same for you parents out there. The number of photos taken of the kid seems to be inversely proportionate to his/her age. I looked back at Jeddy's photo album when he was a couple of months old and there were more than a hundred shots in the 2 month old folder. Fast forward to today, he had less than 5 shots of him last month.

Whoops!

Anyway, here's how Jeddy looks like now, at a little more than 2.5 years old. He still has those crazy hair that defies gravity though. ;)























Yes, yes, it's the fish farm again, I know! *blush* But it's a really good place to go to, especially with the choking heat these days. It's nice to hear running water and feel the cool wind when it blows over the ponds.... but here are the pictures of Jeddy in his school uniform.














































And what a difference a few months make! Jeddy is able to feed the fish much better now, and without any help from me. He would go from pond to pond, drop a little food, watch the fish gobble them up, and then add some more. This is unlike in the past where he would dump the whole box of food into one pond in a mere second. Lucky for the fishies in that pond!























Now let's see when is the next time I update this blog again...... ;D

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Oh wait! I also crocheted my first pair of baby shoes! These will go onto the feet of a little girl called En Xuan, Peifen's number 3. :)


















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Lunching with Fishies

There's this lovely fish farm about ten minutes walk from my place. Jeddy and I would every so often pack our lunch boxes (and some fish food), and head over there for a nice, cooling and quiet lunch, far far away from the four walls and the TV set.

On a weekday, it's almost certain we'll have the whole place to ourselves. That's extra lovely.

Jeddy usually heads for the ducks and tortoises first. That's my favourite too. I enjoy the part where I try to sneak pellets to the tortoises without the ducks noticing. Not an easy task for sure! Jeddy is in charge of distracting the ducks with chubby fistfuls of pellets while Mummy drops the food right into the tortoises' mouth... All I can say is the ducks are awfully sharp, but I'm sure the tortoises managed to get a pellet or two at the end of it all. It's a competitive world out there, even in a pond eh?

After that, we move on to the much less chaotic feeding of the fishes. There's still a lot of jostling around for food, but definitely no snapping at heads like over at the ducks' pond.

Here fishy fishy fishy...















































At the end of the 'aisle', there's also a poultry farm of sorts with a variety of birds to gawk at. We are not allowed to enter, but it's still fun to feed them with the fish food pellets.

















After making our rounds and stuffing the stomachs of all things fishy, birdy, and shelly, it's time to stuff ours.

Relaxing playtime after lunch
















Nothing beats sitting on this swing after a good meal, with the sound of gentle running water in the background. Even when the roosters raise a racket, it's still one word. Peaceful.











































Well, although not mentioned here, there are a host of activities offered on this farm, from longkang fishing to getting a foot spa featuring tiny fishes that nibbles. *eeks*

Let me know if you ever intend to pop by with your tots. Jeddy and I will walk right over.

;)

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Random Jeddy

Random #1:

We recently converted Jeddy's cot into a toddler's bed. Little bugger was actually able to climb out of his cot by grabbing on to the barrier and swinging his legs over like a pro (or more like a monkey!). Hubs and I had a fright when Jeddy appeared at the door of our study room one night. He had climbed out of his cot, opened the bedroom door, walked through the dark hall and then opened our door!

Needless to say, we feared for his safety. One wrong move and he could fall headfirst. We are talking about falling from a height of more than 1 metre here!

Ok, so here is Jeddy's 'new' bed (loving this 2-in-1 cot-bed), and he's obviously very pleased with it. ;)

















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Random #2:

Having some random fun with Jeddy's blankie and a clip!

Man, never knew Jeddy could look so much like a girl. ;D






















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Guido Stamp Completed!

This stamp is waaaay better than the Lightning McQueen stamp, in my opinion, that is. ;) Well, Jeddy Boy is lovin' it. He's got it on his tees, and he gets to play stamp with it too! I sure hope this Guido stamp is hardy enough for Jeddy's rough handling!


















A crazy thought just flashed. I could carve stamps out of the entire cast of Cars!!! In mini sizes though, just for Jeddy to play stamp-stamp with. ;D Keep y'all updated!

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Kitty Encounters

Jeddy Boy loves cats. I think he likes cats more than dogs. I've seen him take off whenever he spots a cat, following it into the bushes if he has to... But I've never seen him cast a third glance at a dog.

This is Jeddy's favourite cat in the neighbourhood. It helps that she's also the friendliest. There are about 3 cats in the neighbourhood park. A skinny black one that always manage to outrun Jeddy, a white obese cat that hacks and hurls its stomach contents onto the playground (Euks!), and this little ginger cutie.

Yo! It's me again!


















Want a massage?


















Ok, just relaaaak.....


















Oh, by the way, I love cats too. Waaaaaay better than dogs. ;P
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Jeddy Wears...

(1) A DIY-stamped shirt.

Most of you wouldn't know, since I have never blogged about it... that Jeddy LOVES Cars. As in the Pixar film. Not a day goes by without him dragging me by the finger to the study and saying 'Cars?' repeatedly... *sigh* This boy would gladly sit through the entire show if we let him. He could even remember parts of the script!

Thank goodness he's still too young to follow the entire plot. We would mostly play his favourite scenes and then skip right to the ending song, where a satisfied Jeddy Boy would then do a nerdy dance routine to it.

Anyway.

Since I carve stamps for a living (sorta), I figured a Lightning McQueen stamp would be great for Jeddy Boy. Plus he has a couple of home-wear white tees that I can stamp on.

So here is Jeddy Boy and his new old tee! ;)











































Hearing Jeddy Boy go "Lightning!" when he sees the shirt makes the 2 hours of carving worth it. :)

(Side note: A day after carving this stamp, I realized that Jeddy's favourite character on the show is Guido. *faint* Well, looks like Jeddy's getting another rubber stamp soon!)


(2) Glasses!

Plucked out the lenses from a pair of old glasses the other day to try them on the little one. Boy, did we have fun! :)






















The makings of a grouchy Ah Pek.






















(Another side note: Jeddy the fashionista paraded around the house with the glasses perched on his head like he was donning a pair of Gucci shades. *tsk tsk*)

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Of Sewing and Jigsaw Puzzles

I should have done this a long time ago... but I finally sewed a pair of pyjama pants for the little bugger. He's been wearing the old ones since he was 1 and they are now up to the middle of his calves! Whenever he has them on, he keeps bugging me pull them down to cover his ankles. After 5 times in a mere span of 5 minutes, I knew I had to drag that sewing machine out.

It was my first attempt at sewing a piece of clothing... and I must say it was really fun! Plus the fact that they actually fit is a real bonus!

And now that I have this prototype, I'm gonna make a bunch of pants for him! Good thing I have a roll of light cotton fabric from Children's Ikea. He's gonna love the bright colours.

By the way, Hubs is also eyeing a pair of adult-sized pyjama pants for himself. Can't wait to make matching pants for father and son. :)

So here's the the little bugger in his little blue pair of pants covering his little chubby ankles.










































Lately, Jeddy boy is into jigsaw puzzles. He now has 4 boxes of them, with four 3-piece to 6-piece puzzles in each. Every morning, before his breakfast, he'll bring a box to me and say, "Mummy, kai1!". And when I open it for him, he'll go "xie4 xie4", before proceeding to fix them. Awwww...... *pinch his cheeeeeeks*

He needed a little guiding when we started out with the first box. Now he's an expert on all the puzzles except for the 6-piece variety, where a little hint here and there is still appreciated.

It's fun watching him do puzzles. When he discovers that he has taken a wrong piece, he'll wag his little index finger at it and says "neooo" with a rising tone at the end in exactly the same way I say no to him when he's up to his mischiefs. Cracks me up no end.







































Oh, another Jeddy-style-obsessive-compulsive behaviour that comes with playing puzzles. As mentioned earlier, one box contains 4 puzzles right? Jeddy boy will complete all four of them, and then in one puff mess them all up. The key is he has to complete ALL the 4 puzzles before they can be messed up. Clueless mummy once tried to join in the fun and messed up the puzzles when he's only completed two. Little bugger threw a fit! I have since learned not to mess with Mr Jeddy when he's playing with his puzzles. *wipes brow*

Mess 'em up, mess 'em all up!






















While we're still not far from the topic of sewing, here is something else I made from a lovely piece of linen that I got on my last trip to Japan. A tissue-paper packet holder with a pocket for my ezlink card! Come to think of it, I can also put in loose change, since the button secures the holder quite well!

I'm lovin' it!
































Fancy one for yourself? ;)

Marina Barrage

We finally got off our butt again and went to the Marina Barrage on a scorching Saturday mid-morning. I'm nursing a burnt nose even as I write this....

Look, if you are a parent of an active toddler, this IS the place to bring your kid!

Jeddy boy ran, and he ran, and he ran, till he could run no more and laid wasted on the car seat all the way home. Ha!

We made a mental note to go back again in the near future, and this time, we'll definitely pack a picnic basket and bring along a kite!

Cool Jeddy at the start of the journey





















Checking out the big ships along the lookout pad. (Note: Totally child-safe with the high railings and narrow gaps. Let 'em loose and enjoy the scenery!)























In the gallery. Lots of bright and colourful lights to keep one entertained, not to mention informative and well-designed.

Jeddy getting a tad insecure with the see-through floor.





















He walked along the black frames for the longest time before taking light and tiny steps on the clear panels. Great way to encourage your kiddos to be adventurous and brave.























And here's a whole stretch of wall made up entirely of plastic bottles! Jeddy boy discovered he could unscrew them off and we had to whisk him away before he took the whole wall down!

Now how do I get this out? *unscrew unscrew*























Eh?























Bottle? What bottle?























The place with the best view, lots of picnic space, and great wind for kite flying!



















Take a picture with mummy please......!! No!


















Pleeeeeease.........! No!


















Don't want don't want lor... I take with Papa!


















Run Jeddy run!





















And we all know that he knocked out in the car after this. ;)

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Additional Infor:
1. There is also a lovely water play area for the kids. For some strange reason, Jeddy doesn't like it, but I'm sure your kids will enjoy splashing among the gurgling water fountains and water cascades.

2. There are two places to have your meal (i think). The gallery cafe and a popular chinese restaurant. The gallery cafe doesn't come equipped with high-chairs, just to let you know.

3. Lather on sunblock if you come anytime before 4pm!

ENJOY!

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