Happy Holidays

May your days be abundantly blessed for the new year. Cheers to a wonderful 2014 and a prosperous 2015!

Love,

The Malings

(MomandaBusyBee)

Family Medical Practice

Gianna had to be admitted in the hospital for 2 nights due to high fever and vomiting. I was really concerned when her temperature won't stabilise despite the medicines she was taking. The initial diagnosis was just viral infection when i took her after 3 days of being sick. But when her temperature spiked to 40.2 one  night and vomiting got worse we had to rush her to Family Medical Practice for a follow up. She had her urine and flu tests done but all came out negative. I insisted to have her admitted as we were getting paranoid looking after her feeling sick all day and night. 

Her doctor advised us to have a blood test and chest xray to check for anything that was causing her temperature to surge. That was very hard to witness when Gianna had to be laid on the bed, wrapped in blanket to make sure she didn't make unnecessary movements when they inserted the needle. She cried endlessly asking me to help her. My poor little girl had to go through the whole ordeal. The lab result came out quickly and the doctor immediately ordered usnto be admitted when she saw that her 'wbc' level was high. She diagnosed her with   bacterial infection so she needs to be on anyibiotic unfortunately it needed to be given through IV.

It was a difficult 3 days and 2 nights of being confined in a hospital but all went really well because we knew we were talen cared of. 

Thank you to all the medical staff of FMP especially to Dr Agnes who looked after Gianna the whole time we were there.

December!!!!

It was quite a busy start for the month of December for me and the little busy bee. I am really occupied with work stuff until the 17th as we are preparing for our Christmas Show☺️ Despite the busy schedule, we still managed to do some fun things together. As of writing, Paolo's away for a much needed relaxation with his colleagues in his new company. 

This photo was taken right after our achool's Family Morning. The city is becoming more bright each day as Christmas is almost here. 

That even Starbucks is offering Christmas goodies like what Gianna had the other day!

We both went to the BISzaar yesterday and boy oh boy! Gianna went crazy when she saw Father Christmas!

In 2 weeks, school will be closed for the Christmas holiday. And we are excited to fly to Dalat for a few days! Yey! This will be her first time to experience a cooler weather and I can't wait!

Til next time!🎄 

Gianna's Monster Inc 3rd Birthday Party

Every year for her birthday we try as much to give her a themed party. For her first birthday, we threw her a little busy bee party. Whilst she was in Mickey Mouse heaven on her second birthday. For the last 2 birthdays she had, it was her choice to go for the themes. She was really obsessed with anything Mickey Mouse last year and this year it is the Monster Inc that makes her go crazy!

She was lucky indeed to have been able to celebrate her birthday twice. One was at school on the actual day of her birthday and the other one was here at home with a few of our beloved friends. 

In the morning of her birthday, whilst she was in the bathroom, i hurriedly hanged the buntings on the wall. She squealed in delight when she saw the colourful buntings greeting her!

The look on her face was priceless after her classmates sang her a song. She could not stop giving me and her dad kisses,thank you's and i love you's after we cut the cake. It was so beautiful to see her being so excited and jolly for this birthday as she is showing more awareness of it.

She got lots of presents from our families back home and from us here in Vietnam. Her heart is full joy seeing that lots of people remembered her. 

It was indeed a happy birthday for my little busy bee as she turned another year older. We love you forever!

Monster in Gianna's eyes

I was very proud to see Gianna's mark making skill this morning on my desk. She just started drawing without me guiding her. When i saw what she was doing, I just asked her what she had made and she specifically pointed on every bit of her drawing and ascribed meaning to it. I was very proud after that and I could not believe that she was able to make a beautiful drawing of her current favourite : 'Monster'

Well done my Little Busy Bee!

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween from Mommy and A Busy Bee! 

Carbonara for dinner

I tried cooking carbonara many years ago and it didn't turn out the way i wanted it to be. So that was it! That's the end of my carbonara experience (so i thought). But today Paolo asked if we could have it for dinner. He is a massive fan of white-sauce based pasta (i am not) and so the cooking saga begins. Lucky me, i have a friend/chef who gladly taught me via chat how to cook this in an instant so i am sharing it with you.

There are different ways on how to make the sauce. Some use egg in their sauce but this recipe does not call for one. When i cook, i don't rely on exact measurements, i just follow my instincts.☺️ However, i do a lot of tasting whilst i stir to make sure i get the right taste. 

Here it goes!

Ingredients 

For the Roux (sauce thickener)

2 1/2 tbs butter

2 1/2 tbs flour

For the White Sauce

2 packages cooking cream

Shredded cheese of your choice

Salt and pepper to taste

Parsley

* Sautee onion, garlic, ham and bacon

Steps:

1. You have to make the 'roux' first. This helps thicken the sauce you are making. Melt the butter over low heat then add the flour. Fold it consistently until it turns light yellow.

2. Gradually add the cream and continue stirring. You may also add fresh milk.

3. When it starts to thicken, start adding your cheese. I added half cup of shredded cheese but you can add more if you want.

4. Keep stirring until you get your desired consistency. Make sure you have low hear to avoid lumps in your sauce.

5. Add the sauteed onion and garlic and the rest of the ingredients. Season according to taste then serve!

Happy cooking!👍🍴🍝

Saigon Zoo

Gianna loves animals! We make it a point to take her to the zoo wherever we are and whenever we can. We are lucky that Saigon Zoo is easily accessible from where we live so off we went the other day!

We have been here 4x since she was born! And we still love going back! And every time we go i always get amazed at what she is able to say and what learning she gets from the visit.

Her trip to Saigon Zoo with her Granma. Gianna was  extremely interested in elephants at that time that she wanted to get pass through the fence!

A Valentine's date with her dad! She could not help but talk about 'Daddy Bear' and 'Baby Bear'.

I have been reading her a book entitled 'Saffy' so she demanded to see the giraffes first of all! When she finally see them, she exclaimed "Mommy, Saffy and her mum eating!"

Saigon Zoo is a great place to visit. When we came there the other day, weather cooperated and it was a bit cooler. Lots of trees and lush garden welcome visitor so walking around is a good option. There is a tram available for those who opt to ride around the massive place but we have decided to go around on our feet and Gianna was kind enough to actually walk and run at the same time. We forgot to bring her buggy so imagine the pleading i had with her about walking and not asking to be carried! 

If you are visiting Saigon with a kid, head down to Saigon Zoo for a great activity. Tickets are 20,000vnd($1) for adults and 15,000vnd (.80cents) for kids.

And we're back

II have been on hiatus for so long but i'm extremely excited to be back and share what i and the little busy bee are up to!

It has been 2 long years and i couldn't believe how much have changed during these times. 

The last post i have written here was Gianna when she was still 3 months old and in a month she will be turning 3! Yes, you read it right, i now have a toddler!☺️ 

I also changed the blog name to Mom and a BusyBee because i want this blog to be more about my daughter, the things we do together and the things we enjoy as a family. So join us as we share with you our life as a mother and daughter cruising along our adventures!