Salmon Teriyaki With Noodles 9 November 2009

Salmon Teriyaki With Noodles

 

Marinade

2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

2 tbsp dark brown sugar

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp Asian sesame oil

10 oz salmon, cut into small cubes

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/4 tsp gingerroot, grated

4 small scallions, thinly sliced

1 cup beam sprouts

1 cup sugar snap peas

1 tbsp cornstarch

1/4 cup fish stock or water

6 oz thin egg noodles

Mix together the ingredients for the marinade and marite the salmon for about 30 minutes.  Remove the slamon with a slotted spoon and reserve the marinade.  Heat the vetable oil in a pan and stir-fry the salmon with the garlic and gingerroot until opaque on the outside (about 1 minute).  Remove with a slotted spoon.  Stir-fry the scallions, bean sprouts, and sugar snap peas for 1 minute.

Mix the conrstarch into 1 tbsp of the reserved marinade and add to the pan together with the remaining maride and the stock or water.  Bring the mixture to a boin and simmer until thickened (about 1 minute).  Cook the noodle according to the package instructions and drain.  Add the noodles and salmon to the vegetables in the pan and heat through for about 1 minute.

Anticipating 12 May 2009

Currently in my week 38/39, I’m so anxious on giving birth already. My EDD is on the 20th, 8 days away from today. On the last pregnancy that I had, i gave birth 8 days before my EDD, and was admitted to the hospital 9 days before because of a leaking bag of waters. Most mothers and doctors say that in second and subsequent pregnancies, delivery is earlier and easier, though, we still have to consider that every pregnancy is different. But now, I’m 8 days away from EDD and I still mild irregular contractions, as the way I feel it. oh well… Anticipating the delivery since the 1st week of May. d=)

Latent Labor Phase 11 May 2009

Seen the doctor this morning, had an IE and found out that my cervix is now dilated to 2cm. So, this confirms that I am currently in the latent or early phase of labor.

Stages of Labor 11 May 2009

STAGES OF LABOR

The stages of labor are often thought to be a mystery. In all honesty it is a mystery in many ways. Each woman will have a different labor and yet many parts are the same. Below you will find a crash course in the stages of labor, what each does, the parameters, and some average events of that stage. Remember, however, that very few women will follow this to the letter, there will be some variation.

First Stage

First stage of labor is usually the longest part of labor. This is where you are having contractions and your cervix is dilating. This stage is broken down into three phases:

Early Phase

“Yippy! I’m in labor!”

The early phase of labor may be spent wondering “Is this really labor?” The contractions are usually very light and may be 20 minutes or more apart in the beginning, gradually becoming closer, possibly up to five minutes apart. The key to this stage is to go about your normal schedule or if it’s the middle of the night go back to bed! Most women will be very comfortable during this stage and with a few exceptions those having a hospital birth will not be in the hospital at this point.

Active Phase

“This is hard work.”

The active phase of labor is where many women are getting serious and withdrawing to do the hard work of labor. Contractions generally are four or five minutes apart and may last up to 60 seconds long. Remember this still gives you a big break in between. Use this break to relax, go to the bathroom, and drink something. For woman who desire medications in labor they will usually go to the hospital in this stage of labor, while those desiring little or no medications will go towards the end of this stage or the beginning of transition, again, with a few exceptions. Mobility and relaxation are the key to getting through active labor. Remember to use the skills you learned in childbirth class and call your doula if you haven’t yet.

Transition Phase

“Okay, I’ll go home and come back tomorrow!”

This is one of the shortest parts of labor, but definitely one of the hardest. Your contractions may be two or three minutes apart, lasting up to a minute and a half. Some women will shake and may vomit during this stage. This is normal. Remember that this stage usually doesn’t last more than an hour or two. Partners, your support is crucial here. Remind her how well she is doing, and help her find a comfortable position, use cold rags for her face, and give her sips of water or ice in between contractions. This is hard work. When this phase is done you will be completely dilated! Some women will have a small break of no contractions after becoming fully dilated, and yet not feeling the need to push yet. Sheila Kitzinger calls this the “rest and be thankful” phase.

Second Stage

“I can push?”

Pushing usually feels better for most women. They have spent the first stage of labor relaxing and letting their body do all the work, now they can actually do something to help. This stage can last three or more hours, but for many women will not. The length of this stage is dependent upon the positioning of the mother (upright = faster), the positioning of the baby, whether medications have been used, etc. The contractions will usually space out a bit, going back to about four minutes apart. This stage ends with the birth of your baby!

Third stage

“I forgot the placenta!”

After you are holding your beautiful baby, you may be asked to push again after some point, and you might be puzzled. Oh yes, the placenta! Don’t worry this one has no bones and is much easier to push out. Nursing your baby after he or she is born will help the uterus to contract and expel the placenta, but most come within an hour after birth, usually within a few minutes. Don’t worry about it, spend the time bonding with your new little one.

Fourth Stage

“I asked for this?”

No real contractions to speak of, but postpartum is generally accepted as the fourth stage of labor. Your body is going through many changes now that the baby has been born. Not to mention the large changes your family is going through adding a new person to your family. Be sure to ask for help. Your body will slowly change and become more like your prepregnancy self, but not exactly. Hang in there, babies grow way to fast. I’ve often said that we need to save postpartum for when our children are about three years old so that we can enjoy the tiny newborns.

Enjoy your labor, believe it or not it’s the hardest work you’ll do, but it yields the most rewards.

JAM SISTERS’ Current Craving : Cheese Fondue 12 October 2008

JAM SISTERS wants to share with you their currect cravings! CHEESE FONDUE that is!

 

This fondue (”melted” in French) is the classic Swiss appetizer of melted cheese and wine, into which you dip pieces of crusty bread. Use whatever wine you plan to drink with the cheese fondue, as long as it’s a white wine. This cheese fondue recipe serves 6 to 8 people. 

Things You’ll Need:

·         2 c. dry white wine

·         1 tsp. cornstarch

·         2 garlic cloves

·         1/2 tsp. or so white pepper

·         2/3 lb. Gruyere cheese

·         1/3 lb. or so Cheddar cheese

·         1 loaf French bread, cubed

·         1 firm apple, sliced

·         1 bunch grapes

Step1

Mix half the wine with the cornstarch in a heavy nonreactive pan and stir together until the cornstarch dissolves.

Step2

Bring wine mixture to a simmer over low heat and add the cheese.

Step3

Slice the garlic cloves in half and add them to the mixture along with the pepper.

Step4

Stir slowly as the cheese melts, always keeping the heat low enough so the mixture remains just below simmering.

Step5

When the cheese is completely melted and smooth, thin with the remaining wine as necessary. The cheese should be thick enough to coat the bread and fruit.

Step6

Transfer to a fondue pot or serve in the cooking pot. Fish out and discard the four garlic halves.

Step7

Place the fondue pot on a large platter.

Step8

Arrange the cubed bread, sliced apples and grapes around the fondue pot on the platter. Spear the bread cubes and fruit with forks or fondue spears and dip them in the fondue.

 

Note :

Cheese Fondue cost around 60 dhs (that includes 2 servings of stale bread)

You can find nice Fondue Set at the malls or check out STROKE store at DFC.

Fondue Set can cost about 119 AED.

You can now have your Cheese Fondue at home anytime!

JAM SISTERS’ Current Craving : Cheese Fondue

New Nanny… More Idle Time 9 October 2008

we were recently blessed with a new nanny. a competent one. let’s call her yaya.B. yaya.B is in her 30’s. she’s good with my little girl. she was able to feed her her meals, let her drink her milk, gave her vitamins on her 2nd day on the job. she was able to bathe the baby on her 3rd day. on top of that, she’s good with diapering, very much aware of cleanliness and health, and totally no resistance in wearing scrubs while at work. she seems perfect for a nanny. parang… too good to be true.

she’s also a mother, by the way. a mother to 3 children. that maybe contributed to her being good with child care. she said she was also a hands on mother with her children, but due to financial constraints, she has to leave her children to her sister and parents to work.

of all the 10 yayas that i had, yaya.B is the only one who has been doing what a nanny should be doing. she’s commited to her work. overwhelming. sana talaga totoo sya.

having a yaya this good, i have time to do other stuff. but….. this is the time that i need to lay low and breath, because i am nurturing a new member of the family.

The Nanny Diaries (Part II) 6 October 2008

13 months, 10 yayas


yaya no. 9. age: 19yo-22yo (age unknown, yaya somehow was inconsistent when asked about her age); civil status: single; hometown: pangasinan; length of stay: 13days; reason for leaving: boredom, and uninterested to learn; employer’s rating: 3/10

yaya no. 10. age: 32yo; civil status: married; hometown: samar; <<< current yaya


i’d like to comment on my former nannies. nothing violent, i hope… sabi nila, in hiring a nanny, get someone who is both WILLING and ABLE to care for your children. never compromise on this. with my former nannies, some are willing to care for my child, but not able, in a sense that they lack experience; some are both willing and able, but due to personal circumstances, has to leave and go home; some are willing to try and definitely are unable. we know that trying is good, but we don’t really need someone to treat our children as their guinea pigs, do we? some of the “some who are willing to try”, are first-timers in manila, they are more after the adventure, the travel, the vacation from their usual provincial lives. the other some say they are willing to try, but their actions say otherwise.

some of you might ask, “how am i as an employer?” well, i am… thorough, mataray and masungit, OC (sometimes, really OC-OC), but i am also generous and kind to them, and i try to understand their situation any possible way i can. i am willing to teach them how i want things done in my house, and most especially my preferred child care. everything starts with asking nicely. they were never treated them as slaves. we always treat them as our partners in caring for my child, at least we try to treat them as such. we point out mistakes and let go the 1st, 2nd, 3rd times, sometimes more. if you can just imagine how nerve-wrecking this is, if they’ve been with you for more than a month, doing the same things everyday, and still forget how to properly wash the baby bottles, which is by the way a basic chore as a nanny. some of them can really get stupid (please excuse my choice of words), they we still manage to let it go of their mistakes and be very understanding of the situation. but for how long shall we keep doing this? maybe… for as long as nothing bad happens to my child, but do we need to wait for an accident, that we know could have been prevented, to happen before we take action on our Willing and Unable, or Unwilling and Unable nanny? i think a line needs to be drawn somewhere. i do draw the line somewhere, somewhere wherein i was really pissed off, can no longer ignore the stupidity. this is where the dragon in me rages out of the dungeon. (strong words ba? perfect way maybe to describe myself when angry. hehehe…)

lessons learned.

hire someone BOTH WILLING AND ABLE.

always be patient and give them a chance. train and nurture them.

treat them as partners in caring for your child.

lend them an ear.

if they make a mistake that can not be ignored, tell them in a diplomatic manner. should this is the last straw after everything you did to teach them how to do it properly, let them go. never release hurtful statements.

The Nanny Diaries 18 September 2008

13 months, 9 yayas.


yaya no. 1. age: 18yo; civil status: single; hometown: isabela; length of stay: 2mos; reason for leaving: preggy; employer’s rating: 7/10

yaya no. 2. age: 43yo; civil status: single; hometown, iloilo; length of stay, 2mos; reason for leaving: incapable on coping with the demands of being a yaya; employer’s rating: 5/10; remark/s: better housekeeping and cook than yaya

yaya no. 3. age: 28yo; civil status: single; hometown, la union; length of stay, 3mos; reason for leaving: giving birth soon; employer’s rating: 8/10;

yaya no. 4. age: 20yo; civil status: single; hometown, ???; length of stay, 4days; reason for leaving: poor personal hygiene; employer’s rating: 3/10; remark/s: was being trained by yaya no. 3 but we decided not to keep her because of incapacity and poor personal hygiene.

yaya no. 5. age: 18yo; civil status: single; hometown, la union; length of stay, 2mos; reason for leaving: incapable on coping with the demands of being a yaya; employer’s rating: 6/10; remark/s: not up for the job, expecting a different work environment.

yaya no. 6. age: 30yo; civil status: married; hometown, bicol; length of stay, 2wks; reason for leaving: marital problems; employer’s rating: 5/10; remark/s: not up for the job, expecting a different work environment.

yaya no. 7. age: 19yo; civil status: married; hometown, bohol; length of stay, 2mos; reason for leaving: marital problems; employer’s rating: 7/10; remark/s: 2mos stay with 3-4 cash advances, salary almost on prepaid basis.

yaya no. 8. age: 16yo; civil status: single; hometown, pangasinan; length of stay, 3wks; reason for leaving: homesickness; employer’s rating: 6/10; remark/s: not up for the job, expecting a different work environment, BIG LIAR.

yaya no. 9. age: 21yo; civil status: single; hometown, pangasinan; present yaya

The Party 11 September 2008

She’s Now 1 2 September 2008

September 1st of 2007, around noon I was admitted at WCMC because my water broke. Since then I was the the labor room until 12 hours later.

September 1st of 2007, around 11:30pm or so, epidural was administered as per my birth plan. This was personally requested because i prefer to be awake and aware all throughout the birthing procedure.

September 2nd of 2007, around 12:15 or so, I was transferred to the delivery room. my ob/gyn, Tita Ime changed to her scrubs, and so did Arnold and my cousin, Jayson, as both boys are accompanying me in the delivery room to witness and share with me this wonderful and magical event (while Ninang Armi stayed in the room). for around an hour, i was coached to push and push and push and push… but the baby keeps going back in. and so, i pushed harder, with some help from the male midwife or nurse (ewan ko kung ano sya, basta all the know, i can still recall all the faces of the people with me in the delivery room) who pushed my tummy.

September 2nd of 2007, 1:22am, Izzie finally came out! she was facing up, that’s why she keeps peeking, as if playing peekaboo. hehehe… babies normally are delivered facing down. if Izzie was a lil bigger, i would have had a c-section.

here are some photos of our baby girl a couple of minutes from delivery.









































here is a photo of Daddy and Tito Jayson in scrubs: