Bumbie's birthday celebration

Dear Diary,

Bumbie turned 4 on the 22nd November 2015! I arranged 2 days worth of celebrations for her. It was a busy weekend preparing her stuffs and pray real hard that it doesn't rain.

On the eve of her birthday, I brought her to Tanjong Beach to have some fun! she loves the sand and the sea. i thought of celebrating her birthday outdoors as she is happier outdoors. Bumbie and Clover hate being in cafes. Not sure why, maybe they don't like to be confined. Anyway, here are the pictures!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO BUMBIE!

The setting

All her friends who came

+ one more friend. haha!

Happily chasing and playing with each other.

Woops... 

The sisters are trying to swim on their own!

Keep rolling rolling rolling~

Chasing the sun!!

See how happy she is. She really loves the outdoors and the sun! I am considering to buy the Sentosa Islander pass so that i can bring them here often!

On the actual day, we celebrated at Changi Beach Park. I wanted to bring her to see aeroplanes on her birthday. It was an interesting place. There are many families having BBQ and all kinds of activities there. here are the photos!

Look at the aeroplane!

Happy bb!

Happy clover!

Here comes minnie and mikey!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BB!

These are their friends!

Wish my bb girl, good health and be happy and sweet always. You are my life and hope we can grow old together. 

Thank you for being in my life.

love,

Bumver mummy

Bumbie's 4th birthday, The Preparations

Dear Diary,

Its BB's 4th Birthday!

I spent lots of time preparing for this occasion. There were a few hiccups along the way as i couldn't find the correct cake pan size for the cake. My imaginary cake is ruined. However, I tried to make do with what I already have. I also tried to look for a cake stand to serve the cake, but I also couldn't find the perfect cake stand. When I did, it was out of stock. What luck... I had to find alternatives to make sure that things still goes according to how I planned. I wanted the best presentation so that BB will look good in the photos. In the end I went to Diaso and got some stuffs and DIY-ed my own.

Now, the cake. The cake pan that I have was too small. I decided to make it a layered cake. BB loves lamb and so the cake is lamb based. I added so many BB's favorite ingredients. I added Carrot, Spinach and rosemary. I had to bake 2 cakes as we are having 2 days worth of celebration. It was a lot of effort and time consuming. But I felt satisfied, mission accomplished. I had to start preparing 2 days before the celebration. This is how my cakes look like!

Cake #1

Cake #2

inside the cake:

Next, the goodie bags.
I wanted everything to be natural and home baked. So i tried my best to use all my home appliances.
I baked Peanut Butter Cinnamon cookies! Peanut butter never goes wrong. But have to be wary on the amount given as it is high in fats. Well, once in a while pampering is good!
Then, i made my dehydrator work! I dehydrated Salmon and lean pork. I had to do a lot of research on that as I never dehydrate salmon and pork before. I on-ed my dehydrated to it's maximum temperature and let it dehydrate for at least 12 hours as pork needs to be real dried. Pork is a very sensitive meat to bacteria. So best to ensure that it is very dry and good.
Look at how crispy!

Lean Pork

Salmon

Overall, it was a success and all the other furkids enjoyed the food that I prepared.
Early August, I also prepared Clover's birthday cake. during that time, I wasn't really good at baking the cake. But the cake still manage to look presentable. Well, I will get better and better at this every year. I will bake for every of their birthdays!

I'm a happy and satisfied mama!

Love,
Mummy Bumver

Vaccine Tiler Test @ Amber Vet

Dear Diary,

Today, I brought Clover for a vaccine test. I read a lot of bad things about over vaccinating our furkids and therefore became paranoid. There were reports that mentioned, over vaccine will cause allergic reactions and may even cause death.

What triggered me to have more checks about vaccination? Well, earlier this year, BB had her annual vaccination as usual. She had a very bad reaction this time. She suffered from breathlessness for at least 2 days which was very unusual. Usually when she had her annual vaccination, she will only have fever for a day. I called the vet and the doctor said it was normal. But she was back to her usual self again on the third day. I m a very paranoid fur parent. I have a friend, her furkid had an allergic reaction, same as BB, heavy breathing. But she almost lost her life and now she has permanent breathing issue due the the allergic reaction of the vaccination. I was afraid this might happen to any one of my girls.

I read online, that vaccination for smaller dogs are usually not necessary every year as the vaccine will usually stay in their bodies for more than a year. Most vets will not dare to commit that the furkid doesn't need vaccination for that year as they do not want to be responsible for any backlash. Many people believe that vaccination is not good, whereas others also feels that vaccination annually is a must. There are indefinite answers from vets and different opinion from fur-parents.

Sometime back, there was a vet who told me about this vaccine test. She mentioned that she is not sure which vet does this service but if i wanted to, i can go and find out for more information. And this vet also believes that vaccination for small dogs is not really necessary every year but she doesn't want to commit and mentioned that it was my choice. I  went to do research on the test and I saw my friend did the test on their Chihuahuas at Amber vet. I wanted to try my luck to check on other vets if they provide this service. I called a few other vets and they do not know any of this service. So i assume that only Amber Vet has this service in Singapore.

I made an appointment with Amber Vets for this vaccine test. They will draw a small amount of blood for the test and will have to wait for about half an hour for the results.

The doctor there was really friendly and i can see her passion for every furkid. Dr Jessica was really gentle. The environment was not as stressful as compared to other vets.

BB happily strolling around the place

BB can even doze off while waiting for the test results!

Clover was anxiously waiting for her turn.

The staff there was also very lovable and the environment was really nice. Clover is much more relaxed as well. 

The results came out and it seems that Clover does not need to vaccine for this year! I was so glad that I made this choice to come for this test. If not, Clover will be over vaccinated if i chose to just go ahead with her yearly vaccination. I rather spend this extra cost for assurance and not risk to get any allergic reaction due to over vaccination. 

This is the result. Dr Jessica said Clover is good till next November!

Vaccination has been a headache to some owners who believe that it might be bad in some way or another. For a peace of mind, you may choose to bring your furkids for this Vaccine Titer Test. It will cost about 50 plus bucks excluding consultation. I am glad that i made this choice and i am going to follow this path for the good years to come for my furkids. 

Amber Vet
Address: 50 Burnfoot Terrace, 459837

There are no parking space there. But you can park at the Siglap Centre just right beside only.

Disclaimer: It's up to you to decide if you want to follow your vet's advice. 

Have a great Sunday!

Love,
Mummy Bumver

Lower Seletar Reservoir

Dear Diary,

Today, i had a solo date with the girls. We conquered Lower Seletar Reservoir on our Saturday morning. We woke up at about 8.30am to start our day early as i was afraid that it might rain in the afternoon. Every weekend is quality time with my furkids. its important to bring my girls out every weekend to ensure they enjoy as well.

We reached there at about 10am and surprisingly, the car park was full! Lucky, there was still 1 parking lot left for me. *lucky~* I took my camera and get prepared for some good shots. The park is quite small, but refreshing. The smell of the reservoir and the morning breeze. There are quite a handful of families also started their Saturday early in the park.

We walked on and on and we greeted some people with smiles. What a great way to start my weekend! We also saw school students having their canoeing lessons there. 

i name this picture: Colours of the Reservoir

haha! that was just some random shot and some random name i came up with.

There are 2 jetties in the park. The newer jetty is very beautiful and i heard most people choose there as their wedding photo shoot destination.

this is the new jetty.

We walked all the way till the other end of the park and saw the older jetty where some people do their fishing there. Not sure if they are allowed to fish there though. 

On the old jetty

It seems that this corner of the park have lesser people around so i gave my girls the opportunity to run around off leash. I was keeping a very close watch to make sure no one pass by. if i see someone approaching, i will hold them up first. i m very particular of being a responsible owner. :) 

if you realise that in all these pictures, Clover is always looking at BB.That's because i always remind Clover to follow her sister and i train them to always stick together as 1. 

As we carry on walking, it time to make our way back home. We passed by this mini Water Park where most children will dress in their swimming costume and play. We passed by there to take a few pictures.

watching the kids play and not paying attention to my camera. haha!

Overall it was a very enjoyable walk and we will come back again. The afternoon sun was coming up and we had to make our way home to cool off from the sun.

Lower Seletar Reservoir

Address: Bounded by Yishun Ave 1 and Lentor Avenue Singapore 769130

Carpark: Free!! *i think, i don't see any sign boards and no one pluck coupons so i guess its free?*

You can check the Nparks website for the exact location. :)

Thank you for reading!

Have a great weekend!

Love, 

Bumver Mummy

Sweet Potato Cookie Recipie

Dear Diary,

I baked sweet potato cookies today! Clover had a very bad diarrhea the other day and i thought of preparing some fibre food. I added sweet potato or pumpkin in her meals. I thought adding in some fun! Cookies are the best treat and it is healthy too!

I took more pictures this time for the ingredients. Have fun collecting the recipe for this awesome cookie!

I use 2 Sweet potatoes for these cookies.
Steam the sweet potatoes for at least 30 min till soft. i steamed it with the skin so that peeling off is easier after cooked. Make sure to wash the potatoes clean.

2 fresh sweet purple potatoes!

Next, wait for it to cool, then peel off the skin. Mash the cooked potatoes in a big big mixing bowl. *im just exaggerating on the "big big bowl" lol* 

Mash mash mash!

Then add in 1/2 cup of brown rice flour~

I only use brown rice flour for my girls as it is the healthiest choice. 

Add in 1 large egg~

drizzle of honey~

Handful of shredded cheese~ *optional*

Drizzle of water. not too much as u want it to be a dough.

Healthy serving of chia seeds *optional*

Mix mix mix~! if the texture feels that its a little too wet, add in more flour to stiffen up the dough.

Perfect dough!

Put the dough into a bowl and wrap it. Leave it in the fridge for 1/2 hour.

Choose your favourite cookie cutter!

Once the dough is ready, take the dough out from the fridge. feel the texture of the dough. if it is still moist, add in more flour. Don't worry, just add in more till perfect, non sticky dough.

Roll out the dough. i usually rollout till 5mm thickness? its just an estimation. 

Lay them out! aren't they cute?! :)

Introducing, my toaster oven. I love it and it definitely cooked and baked good food for me.

As you can see from the picture, i set it at 200 degrees and an estimated timing. once they are golden brown, they are ready to be out from the oven! so keep a close look at your cookies and make sure they don't get burnt!

And Voila~ the final product~ Yummy Sweet potato cookies!

The girls definitely enjoyed the cookies and that's satisfaction for me! I really enjoy watching them enjoying the food i prepared. Made me feel so appreciated. 

Hope you enjoy my recipe and happy baking!

Love,

Bumver Mummy

Cheese Carrot Cookies Recipe!

Dear Diary,

I am going to share the recipe for the Cheese cookies i baked for the girls! Cheese cookies are very yummy and fun to bake. ingredients are easy to get as well.

Here are the ingredients:

1 cup of brown rice flour
1 cup of shredded cheese
1 large egg
1 Handful of finely chopped carrots
1/4 cup of water

Brown rice flour may be a slight challenge to find, but mostly at the organic section in the supermarket. If unable to find brown rice flour, other flour of your choice is still ok. Brown rice flour is much more healthy and if your dog has allergies, brown rice flour is the safest as i understand some dogs are allergic to wheat.

The amount of water is just an estimation. We have to add in the water to the mixture gradually until enough to make the Dough. Not all1/4 cup is needed.

What do you need:

1 Big mixing bowl
1 Roller
1 Oven
1 large piece of aluminum foil, big enough to cover the top of your large bowl.
Cookie cutters of your choice

How to make it:

1. Add the brown rice flour, shredded cheese, carrots and egg in the big mixing bowl.
2. mix the ingredients and add the water gradually until perfect dough. 
3. Leave the dough in the bowl, use the aluminum foil to cover the top of your bowl. Leave it in your fridge for 1/2 hour.
4. Now, your dough is ready! if it is too moist, add in a little more flour.
5. Use the roller to roll out the dough, about 5mm thick (rough estimation). 
6. Use your cookie cutter to cut out any shapes you like!
7. Lay them nicely on the oven tray and put them in the oven to bake till golden brown. Set the temperature at about 200 degrees. 

I repeat: I didn't use all the 1/4 cup of water. The water was added gradually until enough. :)

This time, i used Hello Kitty cookie cutters! I bought them from Bangkok, Thailand at one of their supermarket. I love baking cookies for them! I will explore more ingredients and share with everyone! For now, enjoy the cheese cookies!

Who took the cookies from the cookie jar~

 

During my free time, I will bake, cook or do simple photography for my girls. I hope to do more and share more!

Love,

Bumver mummy.