liv3-t0-th3-full3st

I need to think about me

2012-01-26T10:48:00.001+08:00

Is my new year’s resolution. Hope it’s not too late for any, though. Well, I’m reaching 30, urm, well, not that soon but I need to start thinking about me now. What I always love doing, my interest, n things around that, for a living perhaps.

I do enjoy my work. I love it. But doing engineering design all year round, dealing with plant improvements, constructions, meeting clients’ demands, cracking my heads with the detail calculations n deadlines are very extremely definitely tiring. I love it, I really do, but I’m just not that vigorous. Aah, maybe I’m getting old. Being in a career line is not really my cup of tea, eventhough, I enjoy it to bits. It’s not the pay that I’m running for, but to work in this line till I retire is something that I don’t think I’ll be doing. Being a professional engineer is not an option, I guess. (matila, ade org marah pasni)

I’m not that ambitious. I don’t want to be a career mom. But I love what I’m doing. I want to stay at home but not for long. Yes, I sounded very selfish. Maybe I am.

N so, that’s my this year’s resolution; to think about me n what I really2 want to be in life. I need to chart my career path. My career as in as a mother n as a human being, so that I’ll benefit othes as well. I’d charted my career path previously, n that has brought me to the situation where I switched from my not-so-fond-of-but-only-my-colleagues-that-keep-me-going job at that Fortune 500 Company, to this i-truly-enjoy job.

Nway, let’s re-chart my career path.

Uhuk2, it sounds very elaborative n too good to be true (oh, I’m so pessimist!) but I need to get it done.

Keyla, keyla. I’ll set another easier+achievable resolution. Main tipu sket, which is to rajin2kan tgn utk meninggalkan comments at my blogger frens entries. Frens, I’m seriously, not lying, to tell u that I’m dying to leave comments at ur exciting entries but I’m a very- extremely slow in typing at my phone. Lame, very lame, I know. I cant access blogger via my lappy, thus, I cant comment via my lappy. But hey, I do read ur entries from my phone. I really2 do.

Cut the crap, n so I’ll improve myself this year by leaving more comments to ur entries till u muntah ijau. ;p insyaAllah

Painting would be nice :)

P/S: for my 1st resolution, I hope I’m not going to be a jack of all trades, master at none. Hahaha!

Just wake me up once u r done with ur thinking k, Ibu. But not too long ya.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Kids always say the darndest things

2012-01-08T12:22:00.001+08:00

My kids can simply make me clueless. Yesterday Iman told me that once we get out from toilet, we need to recite the doa. N she started to tell story why we need to recite the doa because of the kakak syaitan n blablabla n I just enjoyed her story telling.

After that I asked, ‘kalo nak masuk toilet, kene bace ape?’

N she answered, ‘errr, Quran’

-^_____^-

Few days ago, she watched the news n she was curious what happened to the guy in the news n asked her MakSu,

Iman: MakSu, nape org tu?

MakSu: Org tu sakit.

Iman: Nape die sakit?

MakSu: Urm, sbb die sakitla.

Iman: Nape die sakit yg sakit?

MakSu: *speechless

Oh, she really focus when watching tv n asked sooo manye questions.

-^_____^-

Singing used to be Iman’s fav activity but now has shifted to Ilham… sometimes he wants to sing alone, sometimes he only wants me to sing for him, sometimes he wants all of us to sing together. It ranges from Maher Zain, any zikir up to his school nursery rhymes. Among his favorite is InsyaAllah n Papaku Pulang, which he calls it Pulang. Oh, he just luv that song.

There was one day Ilham asked for milk while I was feeding Iffah. N I told him, ‘kejap ye, sket lg Ibu buat, InsyaAllah’

N he said, ‘no, nak Pulangggg’

N he forgot about the milk n I started to sing the Pulang song for him.

-^_^-

Those r several conversations that I can remember so far. If I were to jot down every single conversation from them, I’ll be scripwriter by then! hahahah… - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Reminiscing my final year of being twenties…

2011-12-27T14:38:00.001+08:00

Thank you… thank you…

December 2011 is the most hecticbirthday month ever, for me. I was excited when we’re about to enter 1^stDecember, which I dunno exactly why. Perhaps becoz Papa had bought my birthdaygift in advance. Hahaha…

N a week b4 my bday, our maid left nthus, leave us with a relatively stress situation. So we decided to have ourbreak in KL n stay in any hotel that we want (note: since we got maid, if wewere to go to KL n tag her along, we opted to stay in service apartment ratherthan hotel) n do anything that we want n we kept on saying to ourselves that wecan survive. Yupps, we were pretty much in a state of denial. Hahahaha!

Counting the cars

She's trying to put bear to sleep just the way i put her to sleep

The tired abang

We went everywhere. We shopped, had good dine-out and had my pre-bday treat!!! Wink2~~

Pre-Bday treat :)

n the kids had their space to laze around :)

N another hectic birthday week afterthat as Wan, Mak Ngah n Pak Su came down to Kertih. But they ended up help meout with the chores. Hohohoo!!!!

N Papa recorded a birthday videoperformed by Iman n Ilham which had really flattered me!!! They stayed up till12 midnite for this vid, ok! N posted it in FB.

N next morning, Iman refused to go toschool coz she wants to get me a birthday cake. So, Pa
pa bought another cakefor the birthday girl. N the birthday girl got wishes-after-wishes from herSIL. Hahahaha…

Just nice for all of us. Whole cake will be too much.

N later that nite Iman cried again,dgn tersedu2 just becoz she wanted a birthday cake too. I said we shared thecake n she said, ‘No, Papa ckp tu kek Ibu’. Hahahahhaa… She still doesn’tunderstand what birthday actually is. Cute.

N we started to pack for our longvacations, going to north n south. North for a wedding n south for familyvacation. A day b4 the wedding, whilePapa spent his time pampering his car, me n the kids followed Atuk n Opah totheir orchard for some local fruits. It was great as Atuk took us up to thehill n see the almost half of Ipoh. :)

U can view half of Ipoh from Atuk's Orchard

Rambutan picking

But we just stayed in the car sbb byk nyamuk. Spoil kids!!! hahahaha

The nx day, my cousins got married n no caterings… yerp, home cooked food. Salute2~~

Busy catching up, with their own activities

My 1st smocking gown made by Opah :)

Br lps kene pujuk

We went straight to Seremban after the wedding for our South journey. To south, we went to JPO (wrong planning, we shudnt go on weekends), Wan Teh's n Spore nreturn home via Mersing.

Stop for breakfast @ Ayer Keroh

Mak Ngah being ambush by the kids for ice-creams

Queuing up for cable car ride

Stop at Mersing for lunch

A whole new adventure, new discovery for us. It was along stretch of journey but it was fun. The kids were happy n wish it didn’tend. But they also glad that they got the chance to meet their playroom again.:)

Another 2 days of school n off for my office's family day.

Boss tecik

N after the event we had our unplanned private birthday party for abang in the playroom. We did some last minute deco n it was splendid. The kids just enjoyed it very much.

I'm turning 2!!

He conquered his cake

N made his own facial scrub ;ppp

We shud be celebrating his bday this weekend in KL but had to cancel it due Papa's 3 weeks assignment. :((( Luckily MakSu is here to help me out. Otherwise, my life will be haywire!!

Other than that, I'm plain happy!!!

See u nx yr!!!

It’s a blessing in disguise

2011-12-17T04:31:00.001+08:00

Our maid left. After serving us for a year. She’s pregnantand then she ran away with her husband. Only Allah knows what I felt. Relief,anger, sympathy, sad, happy, u name it. I’ve been doing a lot of thinkinglately, for the past 1 week. A lot. N it appears in my dreams, one of thetimes. I just couldn’t figure out what we did wrong n where. Our relationshipwas smooth, we respect each other, help each other. If she made mistakes, sheapologized, if I made mistakes, I apologized too.

N after a week of disappearance, she sms-ed us saying howsorry she was for leaving us abruptly. N I guessed it’d cleared all the doubtthat I have. As what we’d thought, the husband is the culprit. I’m not gonnaspoil my mood or even my entry thinking bout it.

She’s such a nice person that I’ve known. She took good careof the house n the kids, when I requested too.

N now she’d left, I never regret for sending the kids to thenursery eventhough she was around to take care of them. I’m not having such a hardtime now. It’s just the house chores that I need to deal with, again. (Just feel like bragging to those who'd been saying that my maid just goyang kaki at home coz i send my kids to the nursery. I got my reasons for sending my kids to the nursery, listen to the experts once in a while, will u?)

N now she’d left, I never regret for having her for the past1 yr. She had done a very good job in making our home in place n now we justneed to maintain it.

N now she’d left, I never regret her presence that I’dlearnt a lot from her in terms of managing chores n tackling kids.

N now she’d left, I never regret that she’s pregnant. There aresome voices whom kinda blaming us for not forcing her to take any contraceptivemethod. She is so kind n she deserve to have her own kids. I’m happy that she’spregnant. I really do. At least I’m not carrying the dosa of stopping her tohave kids.

N now she’d left, we’d gained back our privacy life.

N now she’d left, we’d had a lot of matured discussion interms of managing our life, putting everything in place.

N now she’d left, we had more family time. We do chores together,we bathe the kids, co-eating with them, play with them more often thanwe used to.

Alhamdulillah.

The only thing that I regret is the way she left us. I alwaysdreamt of having such a nice farewell. But I don’t blame her. She’s just doingher job as a loyal wife. I blamed the culprit. Blueeeeekk!!

I know she’s not reading this, but I really thank her forwhat she had done to us. No hard feelings.

This is a nightmare but there are preventions

2011-11-13T14:25:00.001+08:00

Reading n hearing news can drive u crazeee... N leaves u with nightmares.

Its never easy to raise kids. It never will. But it will make u wiser everyday, if u see it in an opportunist point of view n try every single way to solve the problems.

"even adults are not always able to make decisions rationally, what more children, who cannot distinguish right from wrong?"

"before parents start blaming other parties, they must realise it is their responsibility to protect their children and teach them how to be safe. "

Life's getting more challenging everyday n I just hope that we'll make it through. :)

I created a tumblr account

2011-11-08T12:46:00.001+08:00

Coz I believe I can write anything anywhere in a short span. Shaz said I shud go for it if it means she can get frequent updates.

But I failed. It’s like having the latest gadgets which can help u in million ways but a gadget will remain a gadget if u don’t use it. So does my tumblr. N, I decided to stick to this blog n just keep on updating. Eventhough it’s only a sentence.

I managed to post several entries after that n I went silent for weeks. Call me Hangat2 tahi ayam.

Nway, I need to do what I got to do, what I want to do. To update bout what’s up n what’s down as I’m kinda forgetful nowadays, very forgetful at times n I don’t want to forget every single piece of my life.

Iman is super duper talkative n really behave but cheeky sometimes. I’m so proud of her for being such a lovely sister, giving gud example to the younger 2, especially Ilham as he likes to follow his sister’s action. She always gimme a hand whenever I ask for it. But she still wants to be cuddled, hugged, kissed n praised. Well, kids, who wouldn’t want that.

She took care of her soft toys; sheep, bears, camel, etc. but only one at a time. She fed her ‘babies’, bathe, put them to sleep.

Sheep is on high fever so she put a plaster on its forehead. Owh yes, sheep was eye-shadowed by her. :)

My boy, just like his sister, is cheeky too n witty in action. He loves to take my fon n start video-recording n laugh out loud. Clumsy as well!! Hahaahah… very adventurous, of course. But need to accept that he’s an accident-prone boy. U can find several swollen spot on his forehead, which I really regret most. I so wish that I can cover his head with rugby head gear. Serious. Owh, he loves to do haka n he carries his football everywhere, just like a rugby player.

Note his swollen forehead.

But his smile really melts my heart. N he says ‘nak’ to every single food the he sees. Hohohoh…

Ilham can almost talk n convey his messages now n can be relied on too. N sometimes I can see him converse with Iman n I was like ‘awwww, so sweet’. They can be the best buddies, share everything n play together but can also turn our home up side down in a minute.

Best buddies eating hardboiled eggs after finishing their halfboiled eggs.

Best buddies eating choc.

Iffah is 8 MO now. I think she grows very fast. Babbles when she’s happy or in gud mood. N she crawls. Clingy as I cant allow myself to pass in front of her if I’m in the midst of doing sth or else, she'll scream her lungs out. I hav to sneak in my own house!

The clingy boolat :)

Always wants to be cuddled but wants to be freed as well. She can be the victim of her elder 2, as Iman loves to pinch her cheeks while Ilham loves to sit on her just like how he loves to sit on Papa. Poor Iffah. She wants to taste and eat anything that I’m having. She’s still breastfeeding n my supply is reduced. So, she takes solid food more than twice a day.

Oh, things to talk about them are endless!!!

N I rest my case.....

2011-10-11T13:04:00.001+08:00

Papa is extremely excited with RWC2011. He'd been planning to go there since last yr but we had to cancel it as to welcome our lil' Iffah. (n i never regret that, my lil chubby darling)

But, I know he still wishes that he can go there n watch. Oh, its ok when he wore All Black jersey during the opening. But when he did the same to Ilham, i was like 'hmm, ok'. He took a day of on Sunday just to watch the match. (okla, n to do some document housekeeping). But he missed the quarter finals due to awaiting meetings at the office n I'm happy *big grin.

Okla, so i suggested

He was so excited n came home early that day. N start googling. I was excited too coz we can go jalan2. But, not for long.

He suggested that only boys go. Only boys go to NZ. Ilham n him plus his fren n son. Haish, haish. N pulling faces session starts. All the way. Haha.

It continued to the nx day while in the office. N my respond was.

I want that in return. LOL!!!!! Hahaha....

At home, he brought up the issue again. *pulling face n not interested.

But, but, but.....

The match clashes with his cousin's wedding!!!!! N i rest my case :)

Oh, i lap u Nasyrah. Weeeee~~~

P/s: Papa, we'll go nx time ye. InsyaAllah. Oh, ALL of us ye. Ngee....

Im_an_ibu

Their affections

2011-10-09T10:11:00.001+08:00

He can spot cats everywhere. N birds too. Owh, helis, planes. An observant just like Iman. N he prefers to get connected with cats, personally.

We do let kids touch animals. We even encouraged them. But I dont think having a pet is an option. Not at the moment. Sorry kids.

But we do welcome any sort of animals in our house. 'Animals' I mean. We hav bears, a dolphine, a cat, a garoo, butterflies, a sheep etc etc etc.

Iman especially, shows her affection towards 'em. She feeds Sheep sometimes. N she can be miserable if Sheep is not around.

N two mornings ago, when I came back from my groceries, she nicely placed Sheep in Iffah’s diaper change n told me ‘Sheep sleep’.

Im_an_ibu

Location:Home

Nanti semut datang

2011-10-08T19:19:00.001+08:00

While peeling limau madu, Papa mentioned that the smell of the skin can release stress. So, there n then we tore it into small pieces n scattered it on our beds as our aromatheraphy.

Later, I took Iman to the toilet n once done, I noticed that all of the pieces were no longer there. Every single pieces of it.

Ibu: aik, mane sume kulit limau ibu?
Iman: Iman dah buang
Ibu: Huh? Nape Iman buang?
Iman: Nanti semut datang....
Ibu: (gulp)

I wasnt satisfied n asked Papa if he did ask her to do it. N no, he didnt.

N again she repeated 'nanti semut dtg jadi Iman buangla!'
I'd checked in the bin n yes, I found the masterpiece.
-^^_^^-

Papa said its leadership by example. Haha...

Ok, big sista! :)

Im_an_ibu

Location:Home

A mermaid or a whale?

2011-10-06T12:28:00.001+08:00

A fren of mine post an interesting story on her fb wall which i found really amazing.
-----------------------------------
A while back, at the entrance of a gym, there was a picture of a very thin and beautiful woman. The caption was "This summer, do you want to be a mermaid or a whale?"
The story goes, a woman (of clothing size unknown) answered the following way:
"Dear people, whales are always surrounded by friends (dolphins, seals, curious humans), they are sexually active and raise their children with great t...enderness.
They entertain like crazy with dolphins and eat lots of prawns. They swim all day and travel to fantastic places like Patagonia, the Barents Sea or the coral reefs of Polynesia.
They sing incredibly well and sometimes even are on cds. They are impressive and dearly loved animals, which everyone defend and admires.
Mermaids do not exist.
But if they existed, they would line up to see a psychologist because of a problem of split personality: woman or fish?
They would have no sex life and could not bear children.
Yes, they would be lovely, but lonely and sad.
And, who wants a girl that smells like fish by his side?

Without a doubt, I'd rather be a whale.

At a time when the media tells us that only thin is beautiful, I prefer to eat ice cream with my kids, to have dinner with my husband, to eat and drink and have fun with my friends.

We women, we gain weight because we accumulate so much wisdom and knowledge that there isn't enough space in our heads, and it spreads all over our bodies.

We are not fat, we are greatly cultivated.

Every time I see my curves in the mirror, I tell myself: "How amazing am I ?!
-----------------------------------

Somehow, it annoys me when shape becomes an issue.

U see, I heard guys complains about the changes in shape that the wives went thru after giving birth.
I heard ladies complains about how other people talk about their shapes.
N I’m simply sick of hearing all those.
Life is much more to enjoy and cherish than only your shape.
So, ladies & gentlemen, if disproportionate shape is a sore to ur eyes, I really pity u cos that’s the only thing that u can see in this world.

Im_an_ibu

Let’s kill 2 birds at a time, or 3 perhaps…

2011-09-26T12:13:00.001+08:00

I wanna blog bout these…

Our Labuan Trip

We went to Labuan again. Well, let’s just say it will be our annual balik-kampung event for the nx 3 yrs or so. N yes, it’s our 1st flight trip with Iffah. 2 adults to handle a pre-schooler, a toddler and an infant. 1st time will always be the toughest one, I guess. Moreover, all of us were not physically fit for travelling. Papa with eye infection, Iman with her cough, the feverish Ilham with running nose, Iffah with her flu n me with sore throat n cough. But we hav to proceed nway.

I’ve been aiming for soto manikar. Been craving for it for the past 3 yrs. Been craving for it during my last 2 pregnancies. N never stop craving it eversince. N I didn’t manage to get it as it was closed, throughout our entire stay. Frustrated as it is.

Well, that was not our main intention nway. N now that I’m training myself not to let anything to spoil my day, I’d pass with that. I was happy to see how my kids happily meet their grandparents, n sgtla mengada2 with them, I tell u.

Apart from meeting our family, Labuan is a place to reminisce our hard times living apart. I love Labuan, as much as I loathe it. That’s the fact. Now that the challenging time had passed, I don’t think it was so bad. N the friendship always remains. We got the opportunity to meet my ex-colleagues n it was so cool. I’d enjoyed that company. It was short but at least there was sth. Although our plan to eat soto manikar with Sue n Fitri n lil’ Izz was cancelled, we had our great chats at their home n by the beach. Although we met Za n Mastura for a short while, it was great. Although we had only an hr lunch with Emma, Kenny n Zul for, it was great. One of my concerns for resigning was, afraid that I lost my friends but Alhamdulillah, I was wrong. We had our good catch ups. I wish Shaz, Naja, Yati n Zid were there. I wish I had more! :P

Of course, I prefer not to share what I loathe about Labuan. But surprisingly, when the flight started to take off, I was so sad to leave Labuan. That was where my career starts. That was where I spent my bachelor life to the fullest. That was where I learnt to be independent and be on my feet. That was where I found the love of my life. N that was the beginning of my marriage life. Bliss.

Our Makan2…

I cooked for our small open house, for the 1st time. Nasi lemak, lontong, soto n kuah kacang. Alhamdulillah all went well. Sedap ke x, need to ask Papa as he’s the food tester n commentor. Most of the guests were quite shocked that I cooked by myself. But the credit shud go to Papa as well, for handling the kids and my maid for the preparation and kendara. The preparations really took ages, with the entire cleaning, chopping, slicing, decorating etc, not forgetting our last minute shopping for the cookwares. Hahahaha… Cooking is just easy peasy lemon squezzy, if u just follow the recipes. Owh, thanx to Mr Google for the lontong recipes!

N u bet about the kendara. The exhaustion is still around n now that Iffah was on high fever lastnite, plus her sleepless nite, I’m turning into a zombie now. But I’m happy with the turn ups. Oh, oh, forgot to ask Papa whether he was happy with the whole thing or not. Hahaha…

Our Big Sis’s Farewell

We had to bid farewell to our big sis, Kak Zan as she’ll be leaving for another better career opportunity. We are happy and sad at the same time. Now that she’s already left, but I can still feel that she’s at her workstation now.

The same goes to Mek Noor. Although she already left for over year, we can still feel her presence in our office.

Let’s just say friendship remains and never can end :)

P/S: owh, I’m so fail when it comes to photograph-ing. I didn’t snap any photo with my frens in Labuan. I didn’t snap any photo of my dishes. I didn’t snap any photo with Kak Zan. Why lar it is so hard for me to do all those???

Im_an_ibu

I just love Eid song…

2011-09-15T11:26:00.004+08:00

Only if it was on air b4 Eid. Now that I’m already back to work, listening those songs sgtla pull me down, recalling how fast the celebration ends, n recalling how fast Ramadhan ends too. Sedey. Huhuhu…

Our Eid was great, to my interpretation. Yes, we forgot to tag along our camera and several other things in our checklist. Brilliant. N I was like, ‘there goes my Eid’. But I was wrong. We just made do with what we have n it wasn’t so bad, nway.

I’m happy coz we managed to pay a visit to all of our grandparents’ relatives for the 1st time. Unlike previously, we’d surely missed a couple of ‘em. It was hectic, very hectic n we just need to allow that, once a year. Get-to-gather with our relatives was awesome, albeit Iffah was a bit cranky. I guess she was so shocked to suddenly meet lots of people whom hugged her, kissed her, holding her around, pinched her n making supposed-to-be-cute-faces at her but she was kinda confused on what-on-earth-are-these-people-trying-to-do n started to do her lungs’ exercise. Haha…

Hurm, we missed the trip to Linggi. I really wished that we’d joined. How I just love any trips to the kampong. Especially during Eid. Bota, Temoh, Linggi or Rembau. We’d just complete the 1st two. Hope can arrange for Linggi or Rembau trip nx yr.

What else?

We went to a studio for our Eid photoshoot!!!! Everything was just like being nicely arranged. Since Ramadhan, Papa had urged for studio photoshoots n I was like ‘ok2, will do it, will do it’. ;p

Been planning to do it with my family in Ipoh when everybody starts to gather b4 Eid but somehow, it didn’t happen as my sis was on her oncall. So, we made do with our internal photoshoots at Atuk’s n Opah’s home sweet home~~

Nhow, while in KL after getting jabs for Iffah, we planned to go for a photoshoots at any studio that’s willing to take our last minute request. After we left PCMC, we started googling n making phone calls. Called this studio in Shah Alam n they r willing to accommodate our request although the photographers were away. We were there for almost 1 hr, n most of the time chasing the kids n getting hard times to put ‘em together n making sure all of ‘em saying ‘cheese’ at the same time. But the photographer went on n on shooting out without fail. N voilaaaaa~~~~

I just love the masterpiece. Thanx LemonadeWorks Photography!!! Candid works better I guess.

Life is much better with technologies, 3G, wifi, etc. We can make appointments n arrangements in a blink of an eye. Owh, owh… now that everytime I wanna cook, I often google for recipes, I did that while in Ipoh too. We even bring our laptop in the kitchen n start googling for recipes. Guess what, Papa made his 1st bingka ubi n it was sedap. N Opah got influenced too n she wants to try daging dendeng. We googled for the recipes n Wan Chik cooked daging dendeng. Kewl. Segalanya hanya di hujung jari. N when there’s a will, there’s a way :)

Hurm, what’s up with that? Well, I’m just trying to relate how easy to get things done with internet. Geddit? Geddit? Mind my jumbledup-ness. Hihi…

Random Rambling in Ramadhan

2011-08-25T15:57:00.001+08:00

Got lots of things to scribble but time is my greatest enemy. Crap, that’s all that u can say. My work is so piling up, which is very rare to happen during Ramadhan. Since I join this company, Ramadhan usually became a slow month, but not this year. I started panicking since the 1st week as I have 4 ongoing projects n I definitely do not want them to ruin my Eid. Seriously NO. Well, I’d managed to get it done a portion of it, but another project came in n I was like ^&^$#%#%*(*.

Man, this year my Ramadhan had been the most challenging one, so far. I’d recalled that we used to be very relaxed previously. No submissions, no datelines. Heaven.

PAPA’S BDAY
Oh, this is very near. He’s been asking bout it. N there was 1 nite, he even altered the Siti Fairuz song to suit his request for bday prezzie. Stressful as it is.

One of my frens suggested to start collect RM1 per day till his bday (not knowing that his bday is within a month time). So, I’ll end up with less than RM30 for his bday prezzie. Well, at least there’s sth, rite Papa?. :PPP

I think I’d skipped giving him prezzie for 2 years in a row, as I was preggy back then. Gedit? No? The baby in my tummy is his bday prezzie. But that reason is so not valid for this year. Yeah…

SAYA NAK OVEN
I’ve been tiptoeing while bloghopping. That’s the only way for me to de-stress myself in a short span. Oh, I shud scratch that. Recite Quran is a much better remedy to de-stress, no?
Nway, my point is, having an oven will be a great added advantage. I can cook health food for the family. Just prepare the ingredients, mix it up n grill/bake or whatever. (sounds like catching up with the easy parts je rather than the health part) xkesahla, but I do want an oven. Hurm, what does that has to do with bloghopping? Sbb I bloghopped at cooking blogs n found recipes after recipes, (easy recipes I would say). N most of the recipes are either for grilling or baking. So, saya nak oven.

LIFE
One of my batch mate passed away. Yes, in this holy month. Another batch mate passed away in this holy month as well, about 7 yrs ago. Due to same illness, cancer. It’s sad. Very sad. But I’m happy for them. No more battle with the chemo thingy n they left in Ramadhan. Who wouldnt want that? Al-Fatihah.

EID
I wish I can join the excitement soon enuf. But I just cant focus rite now. At this moment of time, things that I want to jot down are endless. I want to rite all. But I’m in a rush. All things are packed in the car. Waiting for Papa to fetch the kids at 4 n fetch me at 4.30 n shoot to KL. Gosh, how I miss my parents so much. Just cant wait to see their expression seeing us driving into the porch.

I think I better stop. I wish to write bout my kids. I wish to write bout my Ramadhan. I wish to write about people around me. But my words are all jumbled up.

Selamat Hari Raya n Maaf Zahir Batin, peeps!!!!

Im_an_ibu

Sometimes, its good to unplan…

2011-08-01T10:26:00.001+08:00

Or, we may call it last minute plan.

But in any case like this, we shudn’t expect much. Just hoping everything goes smoothly and all of us are happy.

When Papa touched down, the idea of another weekend getaway popped up in his mind. N of course, I got panic coz we need to pack things up less than an hour! Huhuhu…

We didn’t go far. Very near to our home, indeed. We went to…

C-H-E-R-A-T-I-N-G

On that very late evening, we drove there, n searching for budget chalet just like backpackers. But unlike backpackers, our car is almost full with our stuffs. Teehee…

We had our simple but scrumptious late dinner… Oh, sgtla mouthwatering. (snap that off, puase2)

We went for raya shoppings, evening photoshoots, sunbathing, sandcastling n swimming.

Both of 'em got a watch. Sgtla bergaya, ok! :p

Ilham: did u follow the steps that i taught u, Papa?

The last day b4 we checked out was a blast!!!

We had to buy these again as we dunno where did we put the old ones. Huhuhu

I need to recharge b4 i start to splash. (note: we bought new mat as well)

This boy can just walk across the water like nobody's biz. Brave boy.

N this girl, who was not in gud terms with Mr Beach b4, had confessed that they r now BFFs. Hahaha...

Masinla, Ibu

Phewww… Never thought it was so much fun n we totally got carried away that the sun was exactly on our heads.

A lot of new discovery for the kids. Thanx Papa for the unplanned :))

One happy kid, smiling while her elder 2 were soundly asleep...

Note: as we had to re-buy several beach accesories, we'd improved our system. We packed the mat, sandcastle utensils, floats in 1 bag so that we r always ready for any unplanned in future. Just grab the bag n out we go!!!!

Im_an_ibu

Thoughtful Tuesday

2011-07-05T16:17:00.001+08:00

The weather is gloomy. But it doesn’t give sorrow.

The sky is cloudy. But it doesn’t give misery.

The leaves turn to gold. N start to fall.

The ambiance is just like autumn. N I love every piece of all.

This is nowhere abroad. This is where I am.

Im_an_ibu

Get Cleaned

2011-07-04T13:04:00.001+08:00

Who am I to elaborate? At times, I read normal newspapers. I know they bluffed n they provoked. Plenty of it. At times, I watched news. I know they bluffed n they provoked. Plenty of it, too. But seldomly, I read abnormal newspapers, blogs, bulletins etc. (I know u know what I meant by abnormal.) So, I’m not the right person to talk much, perhaps to argue or condemn much.

But things are getting really fishy nowadays. U can clearly n easily detect the fishyness. N people are being manipulated excessively, exceptionally. Owh, don’t mention bout tax or else the rage will be greater.

“Yeah, we are so peaceful now.” How did u qualify or quantify it? Hav u?

Why cant u just let these people voice out their concern n listen what they hav in mind. These people come from various backgrounds, various levels but they’ve done their part n researches n studies. They come in peace too!!

Please, at once, put ur personal agenda aside. Think n be rational. If u did not do anything wrong, why bother to jump?

p/s: at least, ‘LIKE’ the link n u’ll know their sincere attention. Don’t bother to talk about democracy if u do not know what it exactly means. N ALL THE BEST, peeps!!!

Im_an_ibu

Please

2011-07-03T11:43:00.001+08:00

I LOVE TO SHOP

Ladies, u’ll be a god-d*mn liar if u say u don’t. Who doesn’t?

The truth is
It is a therapy for me. It really does.
I only shop annually.
I never shop unnecessarily.
I always have a rough figure at the back of my mind on the amount to spend.
I hav a list of things to grab, in which more than 90% of the items are not belong to me, in which I do not really shop for myself.
I only splurge on my kids’ stuff n that’s it. N that’s fine.
Once I meet my base KPIs, I’ll stop. No, I do not go for stretch or yield KPIs.

Therefore,
I can’t compromise n simply annoyed if somebody or something mess up my therapy session n my therapy mood.
Afterall, it’s my annual event, not bi-annually, not quarterly, not monthly n not even weekly. So, please, just don’t kill my mood. Thank you

Im_an_ibu

Thoughtful Tuesday

2011-06-28T23:52:00.001+08:00

Having the time to do what i've been wishing for whilst knowing that the kids are well taken care of n join the bliss is sth that i truly need to be grateful for. Albeit we are far from families, we are also far from hectic life. Well at least, i'm cherishing our life 'ere b4 it comes to an end. No more whining, perhaps! Haha..

Im_an_ibu

Our Weekend Getaway

2011-06-25T22:21:00.017+08:00

Its a long story. Making it short, right after the announcement, i've been googling high n low for the perfect place for our weekend getaway, somewhere in the east coast as we just want to spend time with the kids n celebrate our anni. (I'd even told eeja, that we might goin to KB n plan to pay her a visit n i'd been daydreaming bout the getaway like seriously, i tell u)

But l8r that very evening, we'd ended up booking.......

N we'd stayed 'ere....

which has its own....

N i'm plain happy, ibu!

She's one happy fella yg kept on asking us bile nakgi hotel. We travelled very early in the morning so that we can maximize our time there.

We stopped at R&R Dengkil for our early lunch

N the minute we arrived, the elder 2 jumped into the pool till they raised their hands up. No, until we dragged them out off the pool. Hohoho....

Filling up their tummies

Private pool had really made us hooked up in the room. In fact, we dined in!

This is kewl, Ibu!

N we shud come 'ere again, rite abang?

Next morning, we made an effort to go to the beach although not much time left.

Ilham lazying around but not for long

as he needs to give way for Lil' Iffah...

Owh, on our way back, we found...

Newly hatched baby turtle for the 1st time ever. N Papa came to the rescue n saved baby turtle from being eaten by the crows. Clapclapclap...

Soon, we rushed back to this moment again....

N another moment of dragging the elder 2 off the pool.

Aaaahhh.... 1 nite is not enuf. We just wished the rooms were not fully booked... :(

Thoughtful Tuesday, anyone?

2011-06-14T23:40:00.001+08:00

Papa fwded this cutting earlier this morning. Sounds familiar? Teehee... I've yet to read the content as i cant find the article online.

Speaking of it, we, as in Tganu peeps, are granted with extra public holiday this coming Sunday. N thus, we, as in 5 of us, shall be going for a weekend getaway. InsyaAllah... N thats the thought of living life to the fullest. Hihihi

P/s: thanx for the public holiday tp nape 1 day je? We won FA Cup n Sukma, what? Pfttt

Im_an_ibu

It’s a love story n baby please say……

2011-06-08T16:17:00.004+08:00

YESSSS…… Haha… Just so u know, we celebrated our anni right after Papa arrived. Okla, tipu. Not exactly after Papa touched down. We need to let him pass his jetlags or else, we’ll be celebrating with a zombie. Huhuhu…

My plan? A night stay in Kuantan so that we can spend our precious time with the kids after being separated for weeks. Yerp, I sounded exaggerating but kasi canla, it has been a very tough one n I need to reward all of us in the family. Eceh.

But superpeak season envied us to the extent that all rooms are fully booked. Thus, we ended up with a day trip to Kuantan and on our way back, we stopped at Awana for our anni dinner. Oh, not many options available in Kertih for a fine dining. Heck, not so much of a fine dininng for us pon but a proper dine out with the kids will do. N this place has witness our annual event kot since there’s no other proper place to be n the western food had never turned us down. Steamboat n Asian cuisines are kinda so-so, though. But Kak Iman still opt for her kuey teow. She kept on asking for it while we were in the car. She is a mirror of Papa, u bet.

So, ape yg love storynye? Xdela ape. But the fact that seeing Iman with her talkativ-ity plus her dearly neverending ‘kenapa?’, Ilham showing his cutey-cheeky-witty action, running here n there exploring places n trying to get our attention while Iffah who’d been sleeping most of the time but all of us felt very geram seeing her asleep, very cuddly n chubby, I’m blessed. N the fact we’d spent our time together with so much love n laughter n happiness. Those are priceless.

The girls

The boys

Nway, Papa, Happy 4th Anniversary!

Luv u so much n looking forward for our great days ahead.

Empat tahun lah~~

2011-05-28T14:11:00.017+08:00

but i'm not in the mood to get mushy2 this yr. i'm happy coz alhamdulillah we've reached our 4th graceful year. it has always been sth that i've been waiting for when it comes to new year. every year. but i'll be happier if we weren't kilometres apart. the fact that i had to let Papa go for his 2 weeks business trip n hence, had to leave elder 2 in ipoh with Atuk n Opah, left me with the toughest situation. if i were to explain, i'll break down n cry , i swear. whether we've made the right step or not, let's just let Allah decide. n i just pray for the best for us.

Of course, i have Iffah with me n of course, it is a lot easier to take care of Iffah alone. but i already got used to the kids' noises, me shrieking at Iman not to hit Ilham (n shriek to Ilham too, not to hit Iman), telling them to behave, having a chat with Iman, getting updates of her school, excitedly call Ilham everytime we hear the sound of heli passes by, Ilham playing with his noisy toys n not forgetting hearing them crying after they had their fight n how they make my life up side down. hahaha.. Sume2 lah.. Yes, noise pollution exist in my house. but i just luv it. n without it makes me feel miserable n blank n miserable n blank again. Silence in the house is absolutely weird. n me not talking is even weirder!

let's just say, i shud beware of what i wish for. No, i didnt wish them to be away. i never did. but i just wish i had the time to finish up my unfinished businesses, as i'd mentioned in my last post. n now i hav all the time in the world to complete it. but still, i just dont hav the urge to do so. the only thing that i managed to do is to finish up my nursing cover projects. that's it.

oh, i feel so empty. Iffah does cheer me up while she's awake. n there r times where i disturbed her while she was sound asleep coz i was just too bored. Sorry, dear!

i wish time flies very fast. cant wait to meet the elder 2 on monday. cant wait to meet Papa on friday. n then i'll get mushy2, ok?!... hahahaha... n perhaps arrange sth for to celebrate our meet up day!!! family outing? picnic? head for kopok lekor, satar n air kelapa will be nice :)

yes, i'll drag u Papa, despite ur jetlags... hohoho

on a different note, my brother just got married last week. woho... me still adapting myself with the new changes. new edition, new phase as i can clearly feel that i'm aging. serious. i mean, he used to be a very young boy, who indulged himself with his bicycle (wearing my uncle's helmet n using Abah's sock as his gloves), lacy, ps1, tom clancy n now is someone's husband.? i looked at his wedding piccas (tagged by the photographer in fb) n i just cant believe that's him n his wife. gosh, i am old!

Thanx Mel for comin'!!! She was about to leave n we totally forgotten to snap our picca n sanggup patah balik n had our shots :)

owh! we finally celebrated Iman's 3rd Bday! clapclapclap...
it was 1 month belated but we managed to make it happened. alhamdulillah. frankly, i was not really satisfied with how McD organized the event, which i dont think i want to recall what it was. but what will remain in my heart is how happy Iman was. she has been asking about her bday cake everyday n when the time comes she was very excited. she agreed on what to wear (oh, she's 1 fussy fella when it comes to clothing). she followed every instruction. when we arrived, she was amazed with the balloons n she was very well cooperative. when we sang her the bday song, she smiled all the way n couldnt actually believe that people actually sing her a bday song!. yg lg syahdunye, she was very happy throughout the party n smilingly told kak nab 'byk org dtg bday iman'. oh, i'm flattered :) yes, kids are very innocent, arent they?

Cheerful Kakak with her best buddy

there u go. so many events happened in 2 weeks. hey, i shud be talking bout my anni but i guess i've been squezzing all the updates in 1 post. maybe i shud name it random rambling instead.

me signing off while counting the days. cheers~

What’s up with the confinement thingy?

2011-04-18T11:39:00.005+08:00

We are already back in Kertih. Just so you know, we didn’t stay in Ipoh for long. For reasons. Only around 3 weeks. N a week in PCMC b4 that n now we are in Kertih. My confinement is progressing well. Alhamdulillah. Perhaps, after having 2 kids, now I learnt how to manage myself n know what is expected to happen during the confinement. N that helps me to control my stress as well. Not 100% controlled but somehow I learnt to control better. :)

Weeks b4 the delivery, I’ve been counting the days to go back to Ipoh n stay there for long. Well at least for 6 weeks, another 2 weeks are left for me n the kids to settle down, gearing up their momentum in getting back to school. But the plan had changed. For reasons which some of us may think, those are just very lame. So, what’s up with the confinement thingy?

Of Iman’s n Ilham’s

Eversince we went to the labor room, we had to leave the kids with my MIL n my maid, Kak Nab. N so, everything about them was handled by Kak Nab. On a more serious note, the elder two started to spend more of their time with Kak Nab. Especially Ilham as he was superclingy right after that. He wants to be carried most of the time (until now) n of course I couldn’t carry him, so he turned to Kak Nab. I no longer bathe them n rarely play with them as I need to attend Iffah n rest. Luckily, they still turn to me when its bedtime. Well, there are times that Ilham can sleep with Kak Nab, if he’s too sleepy but Iman definitely wants me to put her to sleep.

But the fact that Iman often turned to Kak Nab everytime she wants to play, had resulted sth.

‘Kak Nab, jom main playroom’

‘Kak Nab, Iman nak shi shi’

‘Kak Nab, Iman nak wash hand’ n all other wishes…

I felt left out. N I’m plain jealous!! pffttt…

Seeing Ilham being carried by Kak Nab most of the time, while he was previously refused to be carried by her, breaks my heart too. But I was not given any choice. The only way in making sure that they spend lesser time with her is by sending them to the nursery. N fetch them at 5 n spend time with them after that. So, here we are in Kertih n the elder 2 had started their school routine eversince. Besides, they were only exempted from paying the monthly fees for a month, so we need to pay the fees for the 2nd month. N thus, might as well we send them off, rather than paying for nothing. N now I’m jealous-free!! Clapclapclap~~~ n I feel the kids are back with me again.

Of Iffah

N having the kids in the nursery allows me to have my time with Iffah. Cuddled her at times, feeding her, training her to be independent while she’s awake n playing with the hanging toys… Sometimes, I noticed that she was like smiling n talking to the toys (goose bumps!!)

I succeeded in bottlefeeding her, at first. I learnt my lesson well when I had difficulties in giving bottles to Iman. I introduced bottle to Iman quite late as we don’t want any nipple confusion. N I introduced bottles to Ilham n Iffah soon enuf n had no problem at all. But not for long for Iffah. She started to reject bottles once we’re in Kertih. Probably as I didn’t consistently bottlefed her. Note: when laziness strikes. So, I need to retrain her n changed the bottle from tommee tippee to 1st year.

Oh, she’s just one lil’ chubby fella. With cute lil’ face. Who just loves having people around, or at least a sound of people’s presence. Reached 4.8kg when she was 25 days n I just can’t wait to weigh her at her 2 month’s check up. :)

zzzz~~~

Of milk supply

Just like Ilham’s, my supply was not really encouraging. Only after the 5th days, my b**bies start producing enough milk. That was after a series of direct feeding n pumping, days n nites. I even scheduled pumping sessions, hourly, so that my brain train my b**bies to produce.

Stressful, it is. Moreover, Iffah needed to be on ultralight due to jaundice n so, she required more supply due to dehydration. As my supply didn’t help much earlier, we opt for topping up FM to Iffah when the needs came. Not for long as Papa suggested to get some help from Mak Yong, n she gave us bottles of her milk supply. Bottles, ok! Tekejut I... Alhamdulillah!!! Mmg rezeki Iffah. Thank you sooo much Mak Yong! N now Iffah is anak susuan Mak Yong n adik beradik susuan dgn Fateh n Fahim :))))

N b**bies started to co-operate n produced more than required. N I’m stocking up. Wee~~

Of my mission

In getting back my shape. I’m still struggling. I didn’t wear bengkung at all during Iman’s as I was on c-sect (sakit nak pki) n only wear several times during Ilham’s as I was lazy. Hehehe… Hey, I kinda got back my shape after Iman’s, thanx to breastfeeding. So, I didn’t believe in wearing bengkung will ever work, but breastfeed does. N I was wrong! I didn’t really get my shape after Ilham’s eventhough I breastfed exclusively.

So, now I religiously wearing the bengkung eventhough I passed the 40 days. N breastfeed. N some Kegel exercise, of course. Me on diet is absolutely a no-no as I think my appetite is simply unstoppable.

Onward, I’m dying to start playing squasy as for my exercise. Not only in getting back my shape but I just want to stay fit. I was breathless, tired n lazy during my pregnancy, just so u know. N if I were to get pregnant again in future, (which I’m hoping so), I’m sure I wont be as strong as b4. N I’m dying to start squasy-ing because I want to have a ME-time, doing things that I enjoy n releasing my stress. (psst, hitting the ball to the wall is a hell good method in letting go ur stress esp if u feel like punching somebody’s head. Hahaha…) Well, I enjoy having a TT session with frenz after work but it kinda leaves me with a series of guilty-ness for leaving my kids at the nursery for that long while I berjimba ngan kwn2 (n consistently looking at my watch) n not forgetting paying extra for the teachers’ OTs. It feels sgt xbest! Hohoho… at least, squasy-ing wont leave me with that feelings, well, I can bring the kids along n watch me squasy-ing. That will be a great idea :)

Of my unfinished businesses

I completed my 1st masterpiece, in which, I made a quilt set for Iman n Ilham, each. Iman loves it n often say that the quilt is hers n I shudnt use it. Hahaha… Ilham still very young to show his expression, so just assume he loves it too. Aci x?

So, my nx project is making nursing covers for my close ones. (once u get it, u’ll know that u r among my close ones… winkwink)

N that’s another reason why I need to be home soon enough. I’m just half way in making sure that I’d settled down n just re-started my project. Doakan saya sempat siap b4 I start working!!

Another project of mine is to scrutinize thousands of my photos n select those that need to be printed. N to re-organize our documents n have a proper documentation i.e. insurance, monthly bills, house records, car records etc. N to sort out n discard Iman’s n Ilham clothes yg dah xmuat. N to publish all scarves n shawls n cottons in the blog n fb n start selling again. N to post the backdated stories that I’ve yet to post. N to let go my 3rd wisdom tooth. N the list just go on n on...

N now u tell me where can I find the time to do all that!?

Cape Town of 23rd Sept 2010

2011-04-11T13:13:00.004+08:00

is the day that we need to wake up from our sweetest dream... We had to leave for the airport latest by 7.30 or else we gonna miss the flight. N we had Uncle Homer who was very kind to send our bags to the airport via his bakkie. (owh, he picked us up when we arrived too)

There, Imam Rashad n his wife, Auntie Aisha were already waiting for us. Mak Su's close fren n her husband were there too!

Atuk, Imam, Opah, Mak Yong n Auntie Aisha

Boarding time~~

N we r up in the sky!!

At this time, we're just counting the hours to touch down.... Sakit bunt*t dok lame2... Hihihi

See... 11 hrs 56 mins to go!! Gagaga~~~

Catch me asleep~

The boys were having their conversation ;p

This lil' fella yg mmg sgt cheeky

After the crankiness cum tiredness cum sleepyness cum restlessness, we had safely touch down KLIA. N it was DAMN HOT!!!! I just wish we r in Cape Town again... Wink2~~

N we wrapped up our dream with our M'sian Breakfast!!! Teehee~~~

THE END

Cape Town - Visiting Families

2011-04-10T15:34:00.005+08:00

Other than touring, cruising, strolling all over Cape Town, we had our meet-ups with our extended family. Splendid, as we got the chance to gather again n I SIMPLY LOVE CAPE MALAYS FOOD!! hihihihi.... Upon arrival, we had our lunch at Uncle Homer's daughter's.

That's us filling up our tanks~~

n family photo is a must!

We reserved some of the nites hanging out with other families. One of them was dining out at Vangate Mall, a treat by Uncle Haniff - Atuk's ex-colleague. Uncle Ighsaan n wife as well as Imam Rashad n wife were there too!!!

The hungry Mak Su

The cranky Ilham

Smile!!

N one of the nites, we gathered at Uncle Homer's daughter's again but this time with bigger crowds.

Atuk n Uncle Homer

The friendly Alya

Pak Yeop n Papa had a chat with Uncle Homer

N of course, our family photo

We also received a lunch invitation from Uncle Ighsaan - Atuk's ex-colleague.

Patiently waiting for the food :)

Fateh, Atuk n Uncle Ighsaan

Mak Su siap2 book tpt yg senang capai sume

Tgk Mak Su tuh... :p

The ladies

n the whole family

N later, we dropped by at Uncle Solomon's. He was Atuk's ex-boss

At the Noon Gun area

See, Mak Su tgh mkn lg... ;pp

Cape Town city view from his house

A photo b4 our gudbyes

N on our 2nd last nite, we grabbed our chance to visit Imam Rashad's family. I was on high fever that nite n cant really had a good chat with the aunties.

Atuk n Imam Rashad

Our final family photo. Note that Atuk was on the fon... Teehee~~~

Those are the families that Atuk n Opah met while they were in Cape Town n we still keep in touch until now n became part of our family. Thank you so much for your hospitality throughout our stay. I just felt like dreaming when meeting them again....

Cape Town of 22nd Sept 2010

2011-04-07T13:51:00.010+08:00

is reserved for a tour to Robben Island. I've been there b4 n it was splendid!

This time, only Papa, Mak Yong n Pak Yeop went since, they've never been there b4. I decided to stay with the kids as Ilham was cranky, previously during the boat cruise. Owh, Robben Island is Alcatraz of South Africa, prison on an island, where Nelson Mandela was one of the prisoners.

See, how meaningful the logo is :)

I still can recall the explanation given by the tour guide n how bad the prisoners were treated. :(

The tour guide was one of the prisoners, who'd been fighting for their rights during the Apartheid.

Table Mountain from afar~~

While they went to Robben Island, we were lepaking at the V&A Waterfront, again. Yes, again. This place is simply nice n endless... hihihi...

Right after lunch, we went to Uncle Dave for our last diamond grab while Pak Yeop did his own tour all over the CBD. N I personally very shocked looking at his piccas! He went to the places that we've never been b4, places that I'm not aware of!! Jelesnyeeeee~~~

The original designer, Charles Freeman, miscalculated the foundations and was replaced by Henry Greaves, who oversaw the building until completion in 1885

South African National Gallery houses some of the most beautiful collections of South African, African, British, French, Dutch and Flemish art in South Africa

African curios now predominate - there is still an exciting buzz as well as evidence of the city’s most colourful and eccentric characters

N we wrapped up our tour later that evening n reserved the night for our packings~~

Cape Town of 21st Sept 2010 - Shall I continue? Shall I not?

2011-04-06T15:46:00.004+08:00

I better do so. B4 all the memories fade away~~

N so we went around town again. This time to the Iziko Museum and did a lil' bit of shopping at V&A Waterfront. Such a big museum which made me n Papa skipped some places (sbb xlarat nak jalan). Really salute Pak Yeop sbb mmg tawaf abis the whole museum...

Sgt bertuah sbb there were lots n lots of preserved animals. Hey, we didnt go to any safaris, so berbaloila dpt tgk those animals dkt2. :) Among them are

Mr Ello

Mr Zebra

Deers n we were caught by the whale

U can view everything there. The life of the tribes, marine life, the big 5, wildlife, precious stones etc. etc. etc....

This is the time when Iman got cranky. Lie down on the floor n lembik2kan badan when we want to carry her. Berat!!! Later, we shop again kat V&A Waterfront

n tour at that area...

After lunch, we went to Kirstenbosch for another shopping. But me n Papa didnt buy a thing sbb geram ngan pekerja curio shop yg sgt rude. N we left early to bring the kids to the clinic as Ilham became chesty while Iman's cough got worst. N owh, we missed the trip to Hout Bay, tpt yg I've been dreaming to go.. huhuhu

Hout Bay

Jeles! Jeles!!

That's the end of the day. 1 day left for us to cherish our time in Cape Town!!!

Our 3rd has safely arrived

2011-03-16T15:57:00.003+08:00

We went for my final check up around 11.30 on 4/3/11. As of last week, the baby is fully engaged n the size almost reached 3.5 kg. Gagaga... So by this final check up, Papa n I decided to get going, via induction as my previous experience, it will definitely go beyond the dates. Well, yes, people will definitely question once u decided for induction. Why we dont opt for normal delivery. Let's put it this way. Every pregnancy is very unique n the same goes to delivery. A fren of mine once told me that her gynae adviced it is better to get going if the baby is ready. Rather than waiting for the show or strong contraction or whatsoever, which apparently didnt really happen to all mothers. N referring to current situation, we hav the technology, so use it. :) Another concern that made us decided to get going is due to the size of the baby. N since my kids are all the jendul2 type, this will require more effort to deliver. Teehee...

Nway, we went to see Dr Seri n got the latest update bout the baby n shared our decision with her. So, we were admitted later that nite.

11.20pm 4/3/11

We were supposed to be admitted at 10.30pm. We left MIL's at 8.30 pm, went to Alamanda for the baby's last minute shopping (n grab mothercare's sale) n lost at the highway on our way to PCMC. N only reached there at 11.20pm. Once settled with the admission, the midwife came to check the opening n it was already 4cm, n the ctg showed mild contractions every 10-15 mins. So, no induction for that nite n we moved to normal ward.

6.30am 5/3/11

I was moved to labor room, n they set for ctg. Midwife wanted to put me on epidural, but I requested for doc's opinion.

8.30am 5/3/11

Doc came in n we discussed. I was pretty indecisive but in my opinion, since it is progressing well, I dont think epi is necessary. So, doc helped me to decide, induction without epi. 9.30pm 5/3/11 Already 5cm dilated n servix is ready. Alhamdulillah. Doc pecahkan ketuban n the battles started. Battles as the contraction kept on coming, eventhough it was not very vigorous n Papa kept on pressing me to go for epi. (well, kitorg kalo xgaduh kat labor room mmg xsah. Hahaha!!!)

11++ am

Papa won. (I dah xlarat nak gaduh, so kasi jela menang. Hehe.) So, we requested for epidural. Midwife came n checked, still 5cm. So she arranged for anas.

12.20 noon

The pain got stronger n I really2 need to go to the loo. The midwife came n checked again n it was already 7cm dilated. So, the epi was cancelled epi. N get going. (n so I won!!! Tee hee)

1.04 pm

Iffah was born!! Alhamdulillah. Well, her shoulder stucked actually. So, we took extra time to take her out. N she was in the nicu after the delivery. But alhamdulillah she was ok after half an hour. :) Welcome to the world, my dear Nur Iffah Sumayyah binti Mohd Alham ;)

Thanx papa for the lovely flowers!!!

P/s: owh, this time Papa xjd org yg paling byk kene marah. Ngee~~ Perhaps coz it was not such a long labor (unlike Ilham's) n my SPD was not that bad. Alhamdulillah...

P/s #2: Thanx to all who came n visit us! Thank you sooo much. :)

Im_an_ibu

Was impatiently waiting

2011-03-05T01:15:00.001+08:00

But it's about to happen at anytime soon!!!

Guess i need to put my Cape Town story on hold. Another 3 days to go. But thats not all as i owe an entry (to myself) about our oz vacay. Haishhhh...

When i'm gonna update bout it? I truly hav no idea...

But why i had to put it on hold?

Coz my battle is gonna start anytime soon! Just waiting for the progress now n cant wait to see u, dear! I'm sure Papa, ur Kak Iman n Abg Ilham feel the same.

Do pray for us. :)

Im_an_ibu

Cape Town of 20th Sept 2010

2011-02-21T09:12:00.007+08:00

(Note:Not in writing mode) So, mari layan gambar n brief explaination from Mr Google~~~ Masih pusing2 at the city centre, searching for spots that we've missed.

1) Castle of Good Hope - Built between 1666 and 1679 by the Dutch East India Company (VOC) as a maritime replenishment station, the Castle of Good Hope is the oldest surviving colonial building in South Africa. From 1678 it was the centre of civilian, administrative and military life at the Cape, until the settlement grew and some functions and activities moved away from the Castle. Today the Castle is the seat of the military in the Cape, and houses the Castle Military Museum and Iziko Museums of Cape Town (William Fehr Collection). Psstt~~ i got from 'ere

Walking down the aisle to the entrance
Pls click to enlarge

It was very windy n coldy.

At the entrance

They hav a cannon ceremony at 10 am every day

In front of curio shop. I didnt buy anything sbb xcantik. Teehee~~

At the quarters

At the yard yg ade byk bunge cantik. Name lg spring, kan?

The freezing boy. Dah mcm Joey in the pocket dah... ;p

2) District Six Museum - was named the Sixth Municipal District of Cape Town in 1867. Originally established as a mixed community of freed slaves, merchants, artisans, labourers and immigrants, District Six was a vibrant centre with close links to the city and the port. By the beginning of the twentieth century, however, the history of removals and marginalisation had begun. The first to be 'resettled' were black South Africans, forcibly displaced from the District in 1901. As the more prosperous moved away to the suburbs, the area became the neglected ward of Cape Town.
In 1966, it was declared a white area under the Group areas Act of 1950, and by 1982, the life of the community was over. 60 000 people were forcibly removed to barren outlying areas aptly known as the Cape Flats, and their houses in District Six were flattened by bulldozers.
The District Six Museum, established in December 1994, works with the memories of these experiences and with the history of forced removals more generally. Credit

In short, the colored n the blacks that stayed at District Six was forced to be removed from that area so that the whites can move in there. Jahat, kan?

At the entrance

That guy in the kopiah showed his house at that area b4 his family was kicked out by the whites.

See, they weren't even allowed to use the benches for the whites.

3) Uncle Dave - a place where we can get affordable diamonds

Pilih, jgn xpilih

I personally happy with the warm welcome of the owner, Uncle Dave n his assistance, Esther. Evnthough Iman was very active while we were there, Esther was very kind. N she didnt even panicked when Iman accidently lost one of the diamonds. Calmly, she helped us searched the diamond until we found it. Fuhh~~ Dahla 5 ct punye diamond yg tercicir tuh. Gagagaga. Xbalik M'sia la kalo xjumpe... huhuhuh....

4) We walked around the Central Business District, nearby Atuk's former's office. N grabbed some vuvuzela~~ Do u know that b4 WC2010, vuvuzela only cost R6, which equivalent to RM3? N it spiked up to R60 during WC2010. But it reduced to R30. But still!!! Mahal gile utk brg yg sgt simple... huhuhuh... Effect of WC.. Hmmm

5) Boo-kap Museum - situated in the historic area that became home to many Muslims and freed slaves after the abolition of slavery, showcases local Islamic culture and heritage. The Bo-Kaap itself is well worth a visit. Colourful houses, steep cobbled streets, the muezzin’s calls to prayer, and children traditionally dressed for Madrassa, add to this unique Cape experience. The Museum was established in 1978 as a satellite of the SA Cultural History Museum. It was furnished as a house that depicts the lifestyle of a nineteenth-century Muslim family. Today, the museum is in a transformation stage. Credit

At the entrance (lagi ;p)

6) Sea Point - one of Cape Town's most affluent and densely populated suburbs, situated between Signal Hill and the Atlantic Ocean a few kilometres to the west of Cape Town's CBD

Papa n I xkuar sbb tgh struggling pakse Iman minum susu. She refused to eat since morning!! Grrr~~

7) Green Point Stadium - for World Cup 2010

Papa tried to blow vuvuzela

Me n the kids stayed in the car coz Iman was asleep

N then, we went home~~~

P/s: erk, mcm byk plak tulis this time, unlike previous post... Peace~~

Cape Town of 19th Sept 2010

2011-02-20T08:06:00.006+08:00

It was Sunday n we didn't go far. To the city centre again as we had an invitation by one of Atuk's close friends. We toured around town n planned for ferris wheel...

But it was closed.

So, we toured around the waterfront n harbour, by foot. Nice

Pak Yeop highlighted about Two Ocean Aquarium n we went there. But. we managed to go for a light shopping at nearby craft market.

Owh, Iman was under Atuk's supervision. N as usual, she umpan Atuk to grant her wish, which is...

Ship ride

Whale ride

Submarine ride n more~~ Teehee

The rest were scattered n waiting for our turns to get into the aquarium...

I assumed the aquarium is more or less similar to Aquaria, but I was wrong. It shares about Atlantic and Indian Oceans marine life.

Kewl!!

N also about frogs n penguins

Br blaja nak duduk

N we're done with the marine life n time for us to take a look at the curio shop...

N next up for boat cruising

Waiting for Atuk

Happily playing while waiting for the cruise

All on board~~

Cruising while munching~~

We took a tour to see the whole area of Waterfront. The tour guide explained about every single tourist spot. It’s supposed to be a 1 hr ride (kot), but we shortened it coz it rained heavily n Ilham was supercranky during the ride. Coldness is the reason.

End of half day n we geared up for our meet up with Uncle Ighsaan's family.

Cape Town of 18th Sept 2010

2011-02-19T09:34:00.010+08:00

We bought birthday cake for September's babies on 17th Sept but we didnt celebrate it right away. So, the event was postponed to the next day, as our breakfast together with the pastries. Owh, we had to celebrate it in the morning coz AyahChik need to be travelled back to M'sia in the evening.

Birthday deco yg sgt koboi, still in the box n yet sume serbu!!

N the pastries

Since it was the last day for AyahChik, we went to the must-go places. Must-go in our definition is the places that we used to go to few years back. Among them is

Rhodes Memorial. Gud place for hiking but we never did. Nih pon jenuh climbing the stairs. Huhuh...

Ilham yg takut2 but excited

Here, the forest is still preserved. Same goes to the animals~~

Enuf of camwhoring, we drove along the Lion's Head n stopped at Signal Hills, where u can view the whole Cape Town city, even the Robben Island...

See, Table Mountain at the back

Iman n Ilham kene panas terik!

Time clicked so fast n the only place that we can go b4 lunch is Victoria & Alfred Waterfront yg sgt cantik.

Inside the mall

Outside the mall, near the harbour

Our final family photo b4 AyahChik's departure

N us with sleeping Iman

Then we searched for lunch spot, that serve halaal steak. But no such place there.

So, we straight away went to VanGate Mall yg mmg confirm ade Spur yg halal. N another plus point is kat situ ade surau..

Choices of salad

Taking orders

Enjoying the meals. Me n Papa kene minum teh je coz the kids were coughing. If we were to take cold drinks, definitely kak iman will join the bliss n u know how it's gonna end.

Kami yg kelaparan

Along the way, we took turns for our prayers coz time was running out.

Whilst Iman grab the opportunity for the rides. N Atuk jadi mangsa yg kene sponsor the coins.

Once we were done with lunch, we planned to go for picking while Atuk n Opah sent AyahChik to the airport. After saying bye-bye to AyahChik, to Polkadraai we go~~~

We went there again but this time truly for strawberry picking!!!! I actually reserved that for Iman as she’s soooo into strawberries. She joined us initially, but ended up playing with the stones n came to me just for the strawberries. Guess she just loves eating strawberries but not picking strawberries.

The strawberries' lady

(Note: Itu adalah hasil tangkapan Pak Yeop. I hanye posing ;p)

Busy collecting the stones

It was very hot that day n all of us kepenatan

Our crops plus others

N we were done with Day 5

Cape Town of 17th Sept 2010

2011-02-18T13:22:00.007+08:00

Is the day where we shud be cruising along the Strand up to Hermanus n nothing else. How far, how long the journey will take, honestly I couldnt recall. Not even a bit. (Itulah padahnya when u procrastinate ye).

Nway, we started off the day with a family photoshoot at our rented house. Gud thing about it, all kids were in a good mood especially our kak iman.. Ngee~~

Smile!! (see, xla byk mane my family members nih... huhuhu)

We initially took the wrong route, siap termasuk kat area gangster lg. Huhuhu... But managed to get to the beautiful Strand, with the help of GPS, of course. (GPS really did such good job throughout our vacation)

The reason why we want to cruise along the Strand is due to the beautiful scenery. N untung sabut, we might get the chance to see whales or dolphines!

N guess what, the dolphines were being nice to us n appeared!!

Can u spot the fins?

A group of them :)

N we stopped at one of the sight-seeing points for piccas~~

Bergaya x kak iman?

Later, we continueud our journey n stopped at Stony Point Penguin Colony. Very stony indeed!! N it was a penguin spot. Since the wind was not very kind to us, only Papa, Pak Yeop n Pak Ngah went to see the penguins n the rest stayed in the car. Heehuu~~

Papa n Pak Yeop. Pak Ngah as the photographer

Penguins on the rocks~

Perhaps we stopped there for an hour or so n proceed with our journey to Hermanus. Time clicking n same goes to our tummy. So, we had our picnic lunch immediately once we reached Hermanus.

I dont think it is a picnic spot tp kitorg belasah je.. ;p

N lepas kenyang perut, we went for a walk n grab some photoshots.

Actually, to really reach the famous spot of Hermanus was not that far, with only 15 minutes walk. But, with 3 preggy ladies on board, walking was not our preference. It would be nice if we could stroll along the beach up to the spot n enjoy the view but we decided not to.

So, we cruised to the spot.

Only here u can find the whale crier. His job is to blow the kuduzela, which sounds like the whales to attract the whales to come nearer. Of course, we need to pay him for a series of blow.

That's the whale crier

Several tourists paid him, I guess as we heard him blowed the kuduzela, few times. N resulted to this!

The whale fin

It was quite far from us but we are fortunate that we got the chance to witness it. Fortunate to witness a wild whale!

Another mission to go to Hermanus is to go to its craft market but unfortunately, it was closed. N only open on weekends... Sigh... N so, we're done with Hermanus n searched for masjid for our prayers n found this

A newly built mosque

N we drove back home. Since it was still early, we went to Wembley's where u can find all the Halaal stuff there.

Sib baik Pak Yeop ade amik gamba Wembley's... hihihih...

Note that cheeky boy!! Sempat lg die pose while we were choosing a cake for the September boys n girls n some yummy pastries too!!

Done with the shopping n we were safely home. :)

Cape Town of 16th Sept 2010

2011-01-17T09:50:00.009+08:00

We went to Franschoek via Paarl, which is known with beautiful sceneries.

N we straight away went to Heugenots Museum. It’s a historical museum that explained all the relevant history about the French families n their utensils, from irons, cooking tools up to candle maker. They also highlighted their ancestors, among them is Charlize Theron!

But we spent most of our time for photoshoots.

For the whole family

Us, getting ready

for this~~

N for the kids

Arranging the young ones dulu

Then only Kak Iman joined

For a shot

N she started to move n stand up

N trying to leave while the babies still posing

Where's Kak Iman, Ibu?

Fateh: She already left, Ilham

N request for her shot, alone~~

Enuf of posing, we went for a tour around Franschoek Town. This small town was developed by French during the war, which I cant recall which war, haha. Most of the buildings were built back then n they still preserved the old design. N there were lots of monuments n memorial building. Very historic.

Another historic building behind us

N also there are few nice craft n souvenir shops which we cant resist.. :)

After a half day of touring, we searched for a picnic spot for our lunch. N we found this irresistable spot eventhough it was very windy.

Unpacking our lunch bags

Kids straight away went to the playground. The parents were filling their tummy n Atuk n Opah took care of the kids... Weehihihi...

N met the KPI for the day.

Since it was still early n since we didnt manage to go for strawberry picking a day b4, we found a strawberry farm.

Unfortunately, the farm is not open for picking. So, we just grabbed some for us.

N hey, let's go home~~~

Cape Town of 15th Sept 2010

2011-01-13T11:31:00.008+08:00

We headed to N2 n reached Stellenbosch. Dr Anis told us bout a place where we can see all the animals, since we didnt go to any safaris. (Ape kes gi Africa tp xmenjejakkan kaki ke safari?)

So, we landed in Eagle Encounter. Iman loved this, encountered n imitated the birds. They conserved the endangered birds such as eagles, owls n vultures. N some of the birds are being adopted by some couples who wants to preserve them. But the weather was not as friendly as before. It started to drizzle.

We were greated by owls

N this is our tour guide ;p

Me n Papa went in quite late sbb Ilham yak2. So, Iman followed Atuk n Opah

Owls

Eagle

Once we came in, Iman started to tell about the birds n imitate 'em. Cute!

But not brave enuf 2 touch the birds

Then we offed to Cheetah Outreach Centre. Similar to Eagle Encounter, this place is aimed to preserved the cheetahs n some other wildlife. Not all went in, just Pak Yeop, Fateh, Ayah Chik, Papa, Iman, Ilham n me. The rest just stayed in the car. A lot of things gained. :)

Posing kejap dlm kesejukan

I cant recall it's name but it's job is to kill the haiwan ternakan, for fun!

They can kill more than 3 animals per nite!

Among the animals that they preserved. (Xigt name gak)

(Xigt name gak gak..)

Sheep - Haiwan ternakan

n of course, cheetah. I like its shape, sgt curvy~~

n we walked back to our cars

N headed to

Lion's Park!!

Atok didn’t join as he was not well. Perhaps because of the dengue attack. All of us went in n the scenery was undescribable. The lions were caged n we were the only tourists. Albeit, they were in secured cage but we just need to be careful (read: all ‘what if’ suddenly popped out gagaga)

As mentioned, the weather was not friendly to us, it rained heavily right after we finished touring. The route was muddy n not stroller friendly, but we still had to run for shelter. The kids getting cranky as it was too cold. Blamed us for improper planning. The place was great but perhaps it was not the right time, I guess.

Owh, on the lion note, I only knew that a 3 year old lion is considered as a grown up. They r no longer cubs. N the male lion started to have mane as early as 3 yr old. Wah!!!

This is the 3 YO lion

Ilham's asleep

Pusing2 n stop for piccas b4 we rushingly ran for shelter

Done~~

We left n stopped at the entrance path. Ade byk wild animals kat situ. Zebra, springbok n urm, urm... xigt.. huhuhu

Is horse wild animals?

Since we were in Stellenbosch, we took the chance for strawberry picking.

But it was closed due to the weather n only open on the weekends.

So we shopped for Rooibos Tea n others. Rooibos Tea kat sini murah. n kat sini ade byk yummeh dried fruits!! Later we headed home as Atuk need to rest... Shiannn Atuk~~

Cape Town of 14th Sept 2010

2010-12-28T12:40:00.008+08:00

To Simon’s Town we go!!!

It’s a must go spot for us previously, where we used to buy stones. After 7 years, that shop remained the same. We went there before n after returning from Cape Point.

Early in the morning we stopped for stones shopping n we stopped there again on our back for prayers, peguin watching n city tour. Simon’s Town is just a small town, also a naval base n harbor but personally, I love the ambiance. Owh, we saw submarine in action when travelling along the shore. Nice~~

Sth that the ladies cant resist~~

We can see the processes on the spot

I just wish we hav extra $$ n extra excess on luggage so that we can buy a gemtree as big as this

But we ended up with this big... hahaha!!

We really berkampung at that shop, siap bukak port utk lepak lg.

Then we proceed to Cape Point

Several other historical events had happened here n I didn’t bother to read. Hohoho!!! There, we climbed up the hills to see the view n the most important thing is to see where Atlantic Ocean n Indian Ocean meets. But of course we didn’t hike, but we took the train. It was cold when we arrived n had our picnic at the car park. We had to bring our own food when travel outside the city as halal food is not easily available. Later, we started ‘climbing’ the hils n enjoy the view. Further up, there is a lighthouse with clearer view of Atlantic n Indian Ocean (as what I’ve been told). This time, hiking is the only option. The team went up except, Atok, Mak Yong, Ilham n me. Mak Yong didn’t climb coz Atok advice not to as it is a bit risky. Me didn’t go as Ilham didn’t seem to enjoy it (read: getting restless) n I’ve been there before. Luckily I didn’t go as it was dreadfully cold n windy. Iman n Papa had a great time there (read: Iman just love cold places n Ilham is totally the opposite)

We stopped for picnic lunchie

While Ilham was sound asleep~~ Cute

Perut kenyang n ready to climb up!

The group that managed to climb up to the lighthouse

N the group that decided to stay after the train ride

Iman just lurve the strong winds n coldness

Lil' boy yg sgt cranky due to the strong winds.

Nx, we headed to Cape of Good Hope a.k.a Tanjung Harapan. It was in our History syllabus, about Vasco de Gama n Bartholamew Diaz. They somehow stopped here before continue with their journey, I guess. Note: I’m more interested in Geography rather than History ;p)

Previously in 2000, the signboard did mention the word ‘Tanjung Harapan’. Now they’ve removed the Malay word. Sobsobsob… nway, we just stopped for photo sessions as we couldn’t fight the strong winds.

Nak posing pon cepat2 jek..

Then, we started to climb down from Cape Point n headed to nearest mosque at Simon's Town

Stepping down after our prayers

N 4 of us went for piccas while the rest went for another craft-shopping

Once done, we went to see penguins but the park is already closed. But we managed to see them near the jogging spot.

Fateh nampak penguin, Mak Teh!!!

Iman pon nampak penguin, Ibu!!!

N we walked back to our cars n headed home

Phew, it was fun!!!

Cape Town of 13th Sept 2010

2010-12-22T16:51:00.009+08:00

This is supposed to be the continuation of all the 'Tadaa'...

I've drafted this long ago.. (of course, the vacation was sooo 3 months ago)

But the picca sorting is the toughest.. n that's the main reason of the delay...

So, below are the places that we went to on our 1st day...

1st destination? --->Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden in Kirstenbosch

Its a must go botanical garden, located behind Table Mountain. It’s such a beautiful garden, especially during spring. N that’s one of the reasons why we came to Cape Town during spring, despite the very cold weather. We were fortunate as it was such a sunny bright day. Owh, this garden was Atuk, Opah, Ayah Chik n Maksu’s playground when they stayed there coz it was very nearby n Atuk had joined the membership. We didn’t really tour the whole garden first, because it was very tiring especially with 3 mak buyungs n 2ndly, strollers n steps just cant get along very well. But, it was great! We walked n we rested anytime we wanted to n the curio shop is very irresistible.

Let's layan the scenery... Very peaceful, indeed...

N we stopped here n there for piccas... Candids n formals...

Atuk with the ladies of the family

Whole family at the entrance... Gosh, during planning time, I was so worried of the big crowd that we need to handle. But after looking at this picca, i cant stop saying 'laaa, byk nih je org nye'?? Huhuhu....

Ilham practicing to walk~~

But he was just started crawling.

The garden is soo fresh n clean n made us stop n sit everywhere~~

We went there again on the 2nd last day, for souvenir shopping but somehow Papa n I were kinda pissed off with the promoter as she was very rude reminding us to take care of the kids, just because there were lots of breakable stuff. So, we left empty handed eventhough there were some items in our basket. Besides, we need to go to the clinic as Ilham’s n Iman cough got worst.

Then we stopped for lunch n search for Saddle. Unfortunately, halaal Saddle is already closed. So, we just grabbed anything halaal at Kenilworth Centre~~

Later, we went to Table Mountain at City of Cape Town

This mountain is very flat, like a table. Another must go spot n a trademark of Cape Town. U can see it in any souvenirs. U can get there via cable car or by hiking. Of course, we took the cable car. We went there rushingly as it was nearly 6 pm (it closed at 6 pm). Of course, at that hour, it was breezingly cold and windy. The whole city view can be seen n I guess, if we bring our bino, we could view Cape Point. Famous animal up there is dassie. Up there, we need help from Mr Horse for Iman as it was extremely high n I don’t want to imagine what if she …… (well, we need to use Mr Horse in most cases as Iman was extremely excited n keep on running here n there. People did give a kinda look, but I couldn’t bother as her safety is far more important).

There's a vote goin' on to nominate Table Mountain as 1 of the new 7 wonders

Waiting for our turn for cable car ride..

See, just a small crowd, kan?

Us in the cable car

Up there!!

Uncountable nice views n we just wish that we can snap at every inch of the mountain

Ilham is busy sucking his finger

We went to 2 places only as its getting dark. We stopped at Boo-Kaap Mosque for Asar n headed home to rest.

End of day 1 :)

My mumbles

2010-12-13T16:51:00.004+08:00

Life is always not as u wish to be. Being rational is not as easy as it sounds. Especially when it comes to getting consensus. Often, those with power will get to win n u will remain as a tiny creature that obviously has no say, at all.

Perhaps, if we just accept anything that comes, some said we may soon find that it is all right, not as bad as it sounds. But there is always a possibility that it will eat u slowly n pull u down. N from what I see, either way, u just have to deal with it n say nothing. As another word may ended up with another big dissapointment. A huge one.

I’ve been tagged!!!

2010-11-22T12:49:00.001+08:00

By myself. Hahaha… When Along tagged me after having Iman, I feel that there’s a need to hav a record of each pregnancy. Sgt cherishable n I must must must remember what had happened. N I promised myself to hav this session for Ilham after he was born. Mari mulakan!!!

1. WAS YOUR SECOND PREGNANCY PLANNED?
Yess!! I planned to get pregnant when I suddenly miss the pregnancy moments. We used the Ovulation Calendar to track my cycle. N Alhamdulillah, our prayers and efforts were answered.

2. WHAT WAS YOUR SECOND CHOICE NAME FOR YOUR OPPOSITE GENDER NAME?
We planned in such that our baby will be a boy. I followed the advice on what need to be done in getting a boy. N Alhamdulillah, it is a boy. I believe it was our effort and our doa. Nevertheless, we called him adik at the early stage since we didn’t know his gender. But we call him Ilham straight away after knowing that he’s a boy. I already hav that name in mind n the name suits for both genders. Like Iman, there was no 2nd choice.

3. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS?
Me: Mixed feelings as well.
1. Very delighted, of course, this is what we hav been waiting for. 2. I was worried because Iman was still small n fully breastfeed n hate bottles. She was too dependant with breastfeeding n refuse to bottlefeed even with her nanny. Just imagine, her nanny had to spoonfeed her for every meal.

Papa: The most happiest man on earth, again. He grinned all the way. Especially after knowing that it’s a boy.

4. HOW OLD WERE YOU?
26 years old.

5. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT?
We were on our way to KL n I started feeling nausea, head aches n those related symptoms.

6. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST?
I smsed my sister n called my mom.

7. DID YOU WANT TO FIND OUT THE SEX?
Yerp, for shopping n name purposes.

8. DUE DATE?
25th December 2009

9. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS?
Yesss n tiring coz need to take care of Iman at the same time.

10. WHAT DID YOU CRAVE?
Cant really recall. Hohohoh… nothing in particular

11. WHO/WHAT IRRITATED YOU THE MOST?
There was one period that I must hate a least one of my officemates. Dunno why but these peeps really irritate me for the entire week. Like on the 1st week, I hate guy A, then 2nd week, I hate guy B, later week, I hate guy C. I mean hate as in really2 hate, annoyed to the extend I start making facing when hearing their voices. Hohohoho…

12. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CHILD’S SEX?
Girl.

13. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX ?
Yes, but I don’t mind at all if it’s still a girl.

14. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY?
10 kg or so, I guess. I don’t bother. :P

15. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER?
Nope. What for? I think my reason is similar to my previous tag.

16. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY?
1. I had a lung infection while the H1N1 disease became the IN thing. Alhamdulillah it was not H1N1. I think I got that when Papa got back from his business trip. He was unwell when he returned but he got better. Guess, the virus had jumped to me. I was hospitalized for a day n was on 1 week MC.
2. I was diagnosed with SPD. That resulted to several cramps on the lower part which I thought it was contractions. N I was hospitalized n were given 2 weeks MC. The baby liquid also reduced n Dr suspected that I was stress with my daily routine. It got better after the long MC. I had to wear support belt n rest a lot, not doing any house chores. N that’s when the argument of having a maid took place. Huhuhuh…

17. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH?
Prince Court Medical Centre, Jalan Tun Razak, KL

18. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR?
Urm, I was admitted on the nite of 24th Dec, for induction but it didn’t work until the next day. So, I had another induction on 25th n the opening had progressed slowly.

19. WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL?
Papa of course. We were admitted together.

20. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH?
Papa, my gynae, n several nurses.

21. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION?
Natural

22. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN?
Pethiden, Epidural, Entonox

23. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH?
3.5 kg.

24. WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN ?
One day ofter his EDD, 26th December 2009. He was chubby n Papa was very happy.

25. WHAT DID YOU NAME HIM/HER?
Muhammad Ilham

26. HOW OLD IS YOUR SECOND BORN TODAY?
Adorably 11 months.

27. WOULD YOU DO IT AGAIN?
DEFINITELY!!! I am now… wink2~~~~

I think it’s still not too late to welcome my cute-cheeky-adventourous lil’ boy. Welcome to the world, boy!!! Ibu loves u no matter what…

I'm gonna be clingy now, Ibu.

n u just need to get used to it, ok! ;p

Tadaa part 2

2010-10-28T16:10:00.000+08:00

I’m more than happy!!!! Sampai termimpi2~~~ (hey it rhymes)

Yerp, my vacation has ended but I’m happy. Firstly, that was the 1st time for me, Papa n kids travel oversea together for holiday. 2ndly, because my parents wish termakbul. Alhamdulillah. My mom did mentioned that she wants to bring the whole family to Cape Town together doesn’t matter how big the family has become.

N so, we went to Cape Town. The planning stage was very head-aching n lengthy. We planned since March or April or so! Naik juling mate googling around to find the place to stay, places to visit, car rental n so on. Nak prepare budget lg. Nak communicate lg ngan org sane.

But hey, it all paid off as all went as planned. Several hiccups here n there, adatla~~~

N now I’m running out of idea what to write n what I shud write. If I were to explain about the chronology, I think its kinda lame. But, if I don’t, how am I goin’ to remember each event?

Perhaps I just jot down the places that we went to, xikut chronology. Just based on what crossed my mind. ;p

Our daily routine throughout the vacation was woke up at 6 – mandi - siap2 - do the laundry - prepare breakfast n lunch – left the house at or b4 9 – start touring – get back home by Maghrib or earlier – rest at home or visiting our family frenz.

A hectic schedule, indeed.

TBC lg. Haha

Tadaa~~~

2010-10-08T07:10:00.003+08:00

I just don’t know how n where to start. Such a long and hectic but tremendously great holiday, u bet. We left our home since 8^th September n just arrived home on 25^th September at 10 pm. Glad to be home especially after leaving the house in a very good condition, clean n tidy.

I’m just not a fan of writing a lengthy entry but I bet it might end up with an extensive one. But I’m not a fan of writing in point forms, either. Perhaps I just cut it into few entries so that I don’t miss a thing. Let’s just see how it goes.

8^th September 2010

Depart to KL for Eid. Our car was exceedingly full with our stuff. Arrived Gombak quite early n managed to join bukak puasa with Gombak family.

I'm all geared up for Eid n vacation!! Wohoho~~

9^th September 2010

Left early for last minute shopping & check up. Had another buka puasa in Gombak. Left for Klang around 10 pm.

n I'm just a fan of satay!!

10^th September 2010

EID!!!!!

We didn’t eat much unlike last year. Guess we were pretty occupied this year with two kids plus Ilham was really-really-definitely clingy n refused to be carried by anybody except me n Papa. We spent half a day giving duit raya and photo shoots, as planned.

Where's my duit raya, Papa?

This is the best shot that we can give. Adatla kalo shaky lil' bit. ;p

The big family of Klang

People started to disperse around Solat Jumaat, leaving only 4 of us in Klang plus Atok, Nenek, Mak Uda n Mak Chu. So, we slept for the next half day. Hahaha… It was rainy n the kids were asleep as well, n all of us mcm kene tembak peluru kapur. Hohohoh… We woke up as it about Asar n getting ready to leave for Gombak.

N then another session of giving duit raya in Gombak. Actually we already distributed the duit on the Eid eve before we left for Klang. So that nite, we just distributed for those who missed the 1^st batch.

11^th September 2010

2^nd day of Eid, we just had our family lunch at Chakri Palace. We dressed up as if nak gi beraye but instead of going to family or frenz house, we went to visit KLCC. Ape kes? Well, that’s the only things that we managed to do as we need to rush for our flight later that night.

Packing n packing n rushingly search for cabs that willing to send us to KLIA. KALUTS!!! Alhamdulillah ade gak cab agent yg willing to accept our last minute request.

N Alhamdulillah all the check-ins went through smoothly. N then br grab some food for ourselves.

12^th September 2010

At exactly 12 midnite, we are ready to go to the other side n it was………

PAPA’s Birthday!!!!! Happy birthday dear!!! All of us wished Papa while pulling the bags to pass the immigration. hehehe…

The kids were all wide awake n getting excited to get on the train n the plane of course. Sgtla full of zip sampai kitorg pon xlarat mengejar. N the flight delayed from 1.20 am to 2 am. Plain great.

I ain't gonna sleep, ok!!

When we were about to board, received a breaking news about 4 charred bodies were found in Banting n we totally had no idea about the details once we were on the plane until 25^th September. Huhuhu…

We stopped at Johannesburg around 6 am n it was 9 deg and reached Cape Town at 9 am (local time). Breezingly cold for the newcomers! Papa n Atuk went to get our cars n Uncle Homer, Aunty Diddy, Dr Anis n Nazri came to fetch us (our bags to be exact). :p

At Johannesburg Airport, while these two kids tgh kamceng!! ;p

1^st day was our resting n groceries day plus waiting for another group from Dubai.

TBC lah~~~

In debt

2010-10-01T15:30:00.000+08:00

This is not supposed to be an entry that I would like write. But can't help it coz I'm terribly in debt now.

Yess, berhutang. Dgn teruknye...
Saya berhutang masa dgn brg2 yg saya beli semasa bercuti. Up till now, they r still in the bags. I don't think now is the right time to look at those items as my to do list shows many other commitments.

Saya berhutang janji dgn brg2 dapur. The stocks are not depleting. But they r totally gone since we left for holiday. I promised to beef up my kitchen this weekend but I don't feel like doin' so. Too tired of the same ol' routine.

Saya berhutang masa dgn kain2 yg saya beli b4 I delivered Ilham. N dgn sewing machine yg br Papa belikan that day. I want to sew a blanket for the kids sbb tu I bought the materials. N now I just hav almost everything to materialize it but I just can't find the time.

Saya berhutang masa utk redesign our home in kl.

Saya berhutang masa dgn byk benda to the extent that I can't do anything as it will menjeleskan outstanding items yg lain. Haish....

N now I'm still whining n whining n yet the work is still piling up. POOR TIME MANAGEMENT!!!

All good things come to an end

2010-09-26T17:23:00.001+08:00

After months of planning & preparations, our vacation had come into reality.

And....

It had come to an end. Our Eid & vacation were such a long & tiring ones, once u r back to office. But it was a hell of fun (during that time) especially when we were totally disconnected with the emails n facebook n any daily routine. Wish I hav Dorothy's shoes now n click it so that I don't need to unpack my stuff, n think about daily routine.But come to think again, it's still good to be home. :)

P/s: Wah, this is my 100th entry!!!!

My lil' cheeky

2010-08-17T06:37:00.004+08:00

Papa is asleep. Wouldn't it be nice if.....

SAYA KACAU PAPA. AHA!!!

My 1st attempt

Aiseh, it failed

My 2nd attempt

Thumb's up, Papa squeeked a bit!

My 3rd attempt

Papa squeeked louder!!!

But only for a while.....

Sigh. Susahnye nak kejutkan Papa nih... :p

Sickening sick

2010-08-08T15:11:00.000+08:00

I feel sick reading emails, in which, the content is to request for donations.

It's not that I refuse to donate but when the sender personally wrote 'dermalah, RM10 pon xpe' or even worst, 'RM1 pon xpe, sian diorg nih', that really annoys me. WTH. Suke atila aku nak kasi bape. Why do u need 2 put suggestions on the amount? Rase nak je jwb, saya donate RM50 je, xmainla seploh hengget nih... Annoying tul..

Ok2, that may come from my unstable emotion which currently, fully annoyed with that statement. But to think again, what if those who read the emails comes from financially-not-so-ok group but willing to donate. Mesti that particular person terkedu looking at that amount n rase xmampu nak donate. Whereas, niat die nak contribute is very pure.

Me

2010-08-03T02:10:00.000+08:00

Blogging via BB.Hope this entry managed to get published! I've been trying eversince to log in but failed. N silly me, the reason why it failed is just because I didn't upgrade the software or whatever crap it is. Hoho, I'm just plain ignorant. :p

Nway, it's already passed midnite n I'm wide awake. Not only me, Papa n Iman join too!! Just because the grown ups tried to put the lil' pies to bed very early, @8 to be precise n the grown ups accidently joined the crowd. Hahaha... Later after the grown up woke up n started to do the remaining work, lil' pies started to crack their tears n request to fill their tummy. N the eldest lil' pie refused to get back to sleep n joined the grown ups.Alhamdulillah the younger lil' pie just enjoyed his beauty sleep. Hmm, life just gets more challenging when kids are getting bigger. Fun to see her mumbling all the way like mak nenek but sometimes just feel that she's too clever, especially when she refused to follow our request n said Iman dah beshar! Haiya...

What am I mumbling about 'ere. Guess anybody can tell where Iman gets that, huh? Nite2...

Our plan to reminisce didn't turned out as planned~~

2010-07-27T23:56:00.006+08:00

Well, it shouldn't be our plan in the 1st place. We went there just because Papa had to organize a golf tournament. But, since we are going there, there's no harm to reminisce our honeymoon time, kan...? :p

Papa was quite bz. Well, very bz actually. N three of us spend most of our time in the suite. N yes, we got a suite. Since there are 2 rooms in the suite, another family joined us n Iman met her new frenz, in which, made her fully occupied and less attracted to attack Ilham... Hohohoho...

Even though it didn't turn out the way we wanted, (tipu, the way i wanted), i'm happy. Ilham was caught with very high fever. I was not happy with that, of course, but i'm happy due to that we get the opportunity to spend our time together. Our as in me n Ilham.

I must admit that Iman's jealousy never subside. Not even a bit. But, alhamdulillah, with the presence of her new frenz in the suite, we had our time. Me taking care of Ilham in making sure his temperature will always be within the acceptable range. It was not that tough as he spent most of his time sleeping but i had to follow his sleeping time. It felt exactly during my confinement of Iman. (Note: I didn't get a good rest during my confinement of Ilham as i need to attend Iman as well)

Nway, Iman was very bz during the stay too, just like Papa... :P Playing, goofing, coloring, reading n just name any activities that across the kids mind.

Another reason of being happy is Papa did his best to spend time with us, despite of his tight schedule. N we managed to had a brief tour, a short and sweet tour. Thanx Papa!!

We went to the rabbit park

Iman just lurve playground

N we went to some of our honeymoon photo spots

not all but i'm fine with it.

N Papa, we definitely need a tripod to capture 4 of us together.. :)

P/S: Ouh, we went to Bukit Tinggi. Yes, we were there for our honeymoon.

Perkara Wajib

2010-07-02T20:51:00.006+08:00

1. that i often do when Ilham gets up for bf during nite time is...

menggomol2 die sampai die ngamuk sakan!!! hahahaha.... sgt chumils to the extend that i can't resist to kaco die. n even worst, looking at his effort menggagau mencari the source of milk is very cutie!!! hhaha, tu blum lg during daytime, mmg abis digomol sampai die mengekek2...

2. that i often do when iman is asleep is kiss2 her... but when she's awake, i'll carry her lame2 sampai she requested to let go n said, 'nak tulun' n i said xboleh. sampai die pon dah paham what will happen everytime i carry her n even make a joke out of it...

hahahaha.... ok2, ibu notty, babab ibu... sorry dear, u guys r too cute to resist!!!

n the fact that Papa recently make a joke about another baby is not funny ok!! i want to cherish these peeps dulu. ok Papa?? deal! fullstop. ;p

Love's Enduring Promise

2010-06-22T12:30:00.000+08:00

Finally, there was one fine evening that allowed me to have a television therapy after a long battle with my daily chores. Having my own family really make myself occupied with those activities on top of my 8 to 5 job. As if everything had been planned accordingly, Hallmarks’ Love’s Enduring Promise had really caught my eyes. A story about how a hard-working woman named Missie met the love of her life. Irrespective of the love story, her relationship with his father magnetized me, reminisced my relationship with my own dad, Abah.

Abah has always been there as far as I remembered. How my sisters and I raced to the gate n clung on his legs once he arrived, step on his leather shoes n he walked with me on his shoes when I was 5. How he fetched three of us from school, with the left hand holding three heavy school bags and the right hand coping with our hands. I was pretty amazed back then with his strength. Never seem to be tired with his work; he happily waited for us in front of the school gate.

We never had daddy-daughter talk; perhaps I was very small during that time. But that was all right as I can simply ask him about anything, from my childhood activities to illegal immigrant issues in the newspaper.

An offer to work at another state was not something that he’d able to turn down. There and then, he became a weekend husband. Mom took care of all of us on weekdays and we only got the chance to meet him on weekends. By the end of the week, he already left for his work. We were prepared for the situation as Abah had explained earlier. I couldn’t care less as the only thing on my mind was ‘It will be fun as we will discover Abah’s new place’. We got the chance to visit his place during school holidays, which was a place that we had never reached before. Without realizing that such situation has bitten us apart. Hey, he rang us everyday!!! Yes, the telephone helped, I supposed.

After almost 10 years, he had another chance to pursue his career oversea. This time Mom and my younger siblings followed him, leaving my sisters and me, pursuing our higher education in Malaysia. I have to admit, being separated for more than 10 years had affected our relationship. It’s not that we had ever fought before but the situation had stopped us from finding what we have in common. I shared almost everything to my mom but to him, only the most important matters, mostly with regards to my future; which university to go to, what course to take, my career path.

But when it comes to marriage, I didn’t personally share my intention with him. Instead, my future husband went up and met him and shared with him on our intention. And I just assumed that everything was settled. I never had a serious chat with him on that matter. I was too shy, too awkward, perhaps.

My wedding preparation went on as planned until the wedding day and most of it was prepared by Mom, my sisters and me. From the dais, costume, wedding theme, catering and doorgift. Abah just focused on the major thing, the paper works, meeting the Imam et cetera, n owh, endorsed the budget ;p.

On my wedding day, Abah had arrived early to do some final preparation for the ‘akad nikah’ and to greet my future husband’s family. The event started once I arrived and that was the second time Abah went through that process being the first time was during my sister’s wedding. Unlike before, he jittered while reading the ‘akad’. He voice had stuck, not once but three times. I felt the melancholy and the feeling had submerged me.

After the event, I went up to Abah and gave him a long hug and I cried, intensely. Just like when Missie hugged her father when she was about to leave, to follow her husband. A moment that I will never forget, ever. And, I realized that physically, he might not be there all these while but in reality, he’s always there and I know, my love to him will never fade.

Happy Father's Day, Abah!!

Woot woot~~

2010-06-13T23:48:00.003+08:00

For the past few weeks, we were packed with our weekends activities. Family days, balik kg, attend a gud fren of mine's wedding etc, etc, etc..

But, above all the updates, i would like to launch my sales blog dulu~~~ Lalala...

Introducing (drum rollllll)

From The Treasure Box!!!

Silalah berkunjung ya~~~ woot2 (sambil membunyikan vuvuzela horn, bingit kan?)

Turning 3....

2010-05-26T06:55:00.006+08:00

today.... weeeeee~~~

We've been together facing the ups & downs
We've been together, laughing & crying ....
We've been together when sickness strikes...
We've been together when enjoying the wealth & facing the big hole in the pocket...
We've been together all these 3 years!!!
N I wish nothing more than like these in years ahead...

Happy 3rd anniversary, Papa!!~~~ I lap u so strong!!! n strongerrrr.... hehehehe....
U r my hubby, BF, BFF, my prince, my king, my angel n so many lah!!
Luv u muchie2 n thank you soooo much for everything... Now, listen to this ya!!!

Di kala ku kehilangan di dalam kegelapan, Kau suluhkan sinar petunjuk, Di kala ku kesedihan, kau ukirkan senyuman, Dengan penuh sabar memujuk, Engkau menyambut tiap kali aku terjatuh. Andai hari esok langit akan runtuh, Tabahlah menjunjung bersamaku, Andai hari esok dunia gelora, Takkan ku gemuruh selagi ku ada kamu. Di kala aku tak pasti, Kau tampil dengan berani, Membimbing agar lebih yakin, Dan bila hidup penuh soalan, Kau berikan jawapan, Melengkap semua kekurangan... Engkau menyambut tiap kali aku terjatuh, Andai hari esok langit akan runtuh, Tabahlah menjunjung bersamaku, Andai hari esok dunia gelora, Takkan ku gemuruh selagi ku ada kamu. Tidak mungkin diri ini mampu, Hidup tanpa doronganmu, Andai hari esok langit akan runtuh, Tabahlah menjunjung bersamaku, Andai hari esok dunia gelora, Takkan ku gemuruh selagi ku ada kamu.

p/s: ape kes jiwang pepagi bute nih? hahahaha

What's up n what's down?

2010-05-13T09:51:00.001+08:00

Many things had happened subsequent to this.

While Iman was not fully recovered, we were interjected by Ilham’s health. He had a cough, flu, fever. Brought him to see our family doc but the disease refused to shooh-shoohh… It prolonged for a week till we decided to bring him for suction since we heard that his chest was pretty congested. The phlegm were no longer in his throat but had ruled his cutie lungs. It’s devastating 2 see ur kids sick, serious. Seeing them coughing with running nose, not forgetting annoying interruptions when they are soundly asleep that turned ourselves into a zombie during day time. Stress, yerp2, which had affected my milk supply.

Started off with a couple of nebu, we put Ilham on fasting mode for 3 hrs before the suction took place. He hated nebu, (perhaps because of the sound) but he was rather co-operative during the suction, i.e helped to cough out which had made it easier for the nurses to suck the phlegm. Good boy… :))

Large amount of phlegm after the 1st suction requires 2nd suction. Alhamdulillah, he showed some improvement. Some says suction is not good for the kids but I believe it is the best option rather than living their lungs with phlegm which may lead to pneumonia, asthma or other respiratory problem. Just don’t do it frequently.

Iman as usual, cried every time we sent her off to school. N she was not recovering either. She did show some improvement after the discharge but it recurred few days letter. Dosage after dosage didn’t help much. As what had been said by our Paed, her sickness was perhaps due to inhygenic school.

Had enough of those, I took a week off, isolating the kids from their school which is a good idea as Papa had to attend a week training in KL. My promise is to make sure that they are fully recovered. N the whole family had to adhere to a strict diet. Reduce dine out (so we chose staying at service apartments), no cold n icy stuff, no swimming in the pool eventhough Iman was always pointing at the pool. N Alhamdulillah, they recovered.

By the end of the week, we had a Paed follow up for both of them. This time, the discsussion is no longer about curing the kids but how to prevent or slow down the recurrence. I’m happy as I hate giving them meds, albeit Iman often gets excited everytime we say ‘jom makan ubat’. Hihihi…

Our Paed wonder what’s wrong with Iman that leads to the prolonged sickness n we shared about her days in her school. Hygiene is not an issue but the environment. She just hated the school, cried every single morning while sending her off, prefers to play alone, refuses to mix around n sometimes a lil’ bit negative (if u know what I mean). She’s just not happy n that leads to her prolonged sickness. She was psychologically disturbed, I guess.

So, we planned to scout for another school for both of them. We already paid the fees, hence we need to bear with Iman’s sadness n sickness for the next 1 month. Huhuhu… We still sent them to the school after the long break. Both my cutie pies had regained but it lasted only for a week. Unexpectedly, both of them were sick again.

Quite different than usual as I saw some fear in Iman’s eyes while sending n fetching them. N uneased me when at home, Iman started shouting at her brother. She cried at night, she showed me some sign that she was either slapped or pinched at her cheek. As she’s not a good a storyteller yet, but I can feel there’s sth not right is happening. There were several incidents that I saw while sending or fetching her that I can file as evident. Papa n I loathe it which had made us made up our mind to stop sending them there, at once. Yeah, we’d paid the fees but we are not going to tolerate our kids’ health n happiness over wealth.

N yesterday, Iman n Ilham went to their new school. As expected, Iman will cry. But Alhamdulillah she showed good response. Well, it’s still too early to judge but I’m delighted to see her changes. She smiled when I came 2 fetch her. Finally the stress on her unhappiness is fading away.

Ilham on the other hand, showed good response too. He drank a lot!!! Normal supply is insuffiecient now. Luckily I called the school during lunch time n they told me that he is drinking his last EBM. Hohoho!!! Previously his ex-teachers often said that he didn’t drink that much. Now I’m freaking out as my daily EBM is less than 12 oz while he need around 20 oz at school. N that left me with another stress!!! Waaaaa~~~

N yesterday I just managed 2 pump 8 oz. N that increased my level of worries!!! Hohohoho… but come 2 think again, my worries will make the situation worst. So, I’ll just express or feed him when he needs. If not enough I’ll go for FM. Abis citer!!! Heehuu… But of course, that would be our last, last, last, superlast resort.

Let’s just pray very hard that both of them will recover soon n be happy in their school. I can’t bear looking at Iman with some kind of fear in her eyes, which leaves me with an unbearable guilt. Aminkan doa saye~~

N I’m all stressed up!!!!!

2010-05-09T09:39:00.001+08:00

I’m coming to my limit. I’ve reached my limit actually…
Problems were unsolved n new issues coming in.
Yeah, just put the blame on me for not able to voicing out my thoughts accurately or it’s just plain difficult. I've tried but it didn't work.

I just wish there’s no rich people in the world or everybody use the same thing, same car, same clothes so that enviousity dont exist n try to be like rich people eventhough ur pockets don’t allow u to do so…

But it just didn’t happen that way. It just don’t!!

I wish it will not be our annual event…

2010-04-14T15:24:00.003+08:00

Iman was hospitalized. Again. Several doses of syrup n antibiotics had passed her throat. A series of check ups n follow ups we had attended. But her cough remained. She even went for an x-ray to check on her lungs n there was a minor lung infection. After been coughing for almost 2 months n last Friday was the peak. She vomited after every meal due to cough which I guess leads to high fever.

I guess we heard enough of cough n had enough of doubts; we drove back to KL just to ensure that she got better treatment. N there u go, another nites in PCMC. She was warded for 3 nites n we had to make a call that the girls stay while the boys head off to Kertih. Tough journey ahead but that was the best option in ensuring both kids are well taken care off.

Iman on day two... getting better..

Our smiley face, less than 24 hrs to meet the boys. (note Iman's smiley when taking picca)

Me, missing Ilham like crazy n wished that I can just wind the time.

N I’ve met him today!!! N he looks different. He looks like a boy. Not a baby boy. N lil’ bit chubby. 3 days had changed him a lot… what can I say, Papa had been feeding him more than usual n left me with a shock once returned home, looking @ my EBM stock!!!! Heehuu…

Nway, just glad to be home. Dear Iman, Ibu hope that this will not be our annual event or even ur birthday syndrome. Please, please, please… get well soon dear~~~

p/s: staying in hospital suite is never a better preference when u see ur loved ones fall sick… :( it’s just ur luck.

Latest Family Portrait

2010-04-08T12:45:00.005+08:00

It's very informal, I know. But to really dress up n smile for a picca is not worth a try, even grabbing Papa's D90. Iman's mood was ok (as she was cooperative to lend her smile). Ilham was wide awake. Papa just got back from his business. Weather was great. N I had my BB with me.

So, there u go~~

Our latest family portrait

The quality is not satisfactory, I know, but the captured moment is splendid! Lurve u ols muchie2!!!

The call

2010-04-05T12:12:00.003+08:00

This morning, while scooping a*mum into my mug, my tele-conversation with a*mum people suddenly popped out… Funny though, how on earth I still remember that annoy-look-a-like conversation.

a*mum : selamat ptg, saya buat panggilan dr a*mum utk satu survey. (& she started asking about my previous pregnancy, my kids n blablabla).
Me : (answering her question)
a*mum : adakah puan mengambil a*mum utk keperluan harian anda?
Me : yerp
a*mum : berapa kali sehari ye puan?
Me : once a day
a*mum : owh, tp puan itu tidak mencukupi ye puan. Puan perlu ambil sekurang2 nya 2 kali sehari utk menampung keperluan kalsium puan blablablabla (for almost 1 minute n sambung) puan bancuh berape scoop sekali ye puan?
Me : 2
a*mum : owh, itu pon xmencukupi ye puan. Puan kene ambil 4 scoop per serving ye puan (n she went nagging blablabla, which I don’t ever bother hehehe)
Me : hurm, awak call nih utk ape ye?
a*mum : utk survey puan.
Me : (I started wondering is it a survey or free consultation?)
a*mum : saya teruskan ye puan
me : lame lagi ke?
a*mum : kenape puan? Puan busy ke?
Me : yes, saya tgh drive nih n need to fetch my kids n I’m late
a*mum : owh, kalo camtuh, xpela puan. Terima kasih…

It’s not that I refuse to entertain those kind of calls tp if u want to survey, act like 1 n make it fast. No need 2 preach me. Just like a call from ma*bank, surveying about their service so far. Very precise n straight to the point. That shud be the way.

Dulu, if I receive a call about previllage card whatsoever, I often tell ‘em that I’m currently having financial problem. Somehow that excuse is not jalan anymore n they tried every single way 2 push us 2 say yes. But now, I’ve found my way out!!! The fastest!!!

Caller : assalamualaikum puan *^*%&%%*
Me : wsalam, ye saya
Caller : saya buat panggilan dr *^^$%$ utk tawaran privilege card. Tahniah sbb puan telah terpilih antara 40 pengguna bertuah. puan ada menggunakan kad kredit visa atau mastercard x?
Me : ade (wah, bertuahnye rase, yadyayyadyay ;p)
Caller : dari bank mane ye puan?
Me : awak xde record ke?
Caller : owh, ada puan tp kami hanya nak pastikan. Puan slalu x menggunakan kad kredit utk membeli belah?
Me : x, jarang guna (padahal slalu je guna)
Caller : owh, kalau gitu xpela, terima kasih ye puan
Me : (wah, pantasan!!)

If I know this trick, dr dulu I’d tell them off… huhuhuhu
Xpayahla pening pale cari lame excuses. Buzz

Pabila Ooh n Aah datang

2010-03-29T09:55:00.005+08:00

dan memakan all sort of food available in the house (including the meds) n leave all their trademarks 'ere n there, what would u do?

Papa n I went

BLANK

totally....

Papa went blank sampai xtau nak buat ape. So, I asked him to stay in the room n take care of the kids. Tp I was blank too sampai xtau where to start. Huhuhu…

Because of that, mulela keje celam celum, kejap sini, kejap sane. Few minutes later br dpt ilham on what should I do 1st. Ilham2…

It was a total mess. After Papa’d cooled down, he came out from the bedroom, place Iman on her stroller n buckled her up di tgh2 umah. Luckily she behaved well enough sambil tgh PHDC, didn’t request to jalan2 or unbuckled. Adela skali skale mintak biskut die yg telah dijamah oleh monyet2 tersebut. Bleh tak???

Tgh sibuk2 ngemas tuh, kuar sekor lg monyet which had been hiding under our serving table. Pergh, I was very near that creature b4 that coz that area was the grubbiest place on earth. (Alamak, I’m starting 2 recall the situation, dgn mknan n bahan buangan diorg yg bersepah2, n all sort of unbearable smell… euwww!!)

There n then, Papa struggle 2 chase the monkey out, siap panggil neighbor n polis lg… huhuhu… Around 7.45 pm br berjaya dihalau…

Gedebak gedebuk, our house is as good as new @ 1.30 am… Whoaaaa, penat!!! Mmg major turnaround n mane2 yg bleh out source, such as laundry, we gonna send them to the laundry termasukla carpet2 di rumah…

p/s: kan best kalo monyet2 tuh betul2 Ooh n Aah… Iman mesti suke~~

Yeay!! Tender sudah siap!!!

2010-03-28T10:55:00.003+08:00

After weeks of struggles...

Sungguh besh rasenye sbb no longer need 2 stayback or stay up late @ home (for the time beaing)...

It feels like.........

HEAVEN!!!!!! (Mcm penah pegi heaven je... I'm sure it is far far much better than my feelings rite now)

Ok, dah2, mari memasak n mengemas umah semula~~~

Life is a maze, love is a riddle

2010-03-10T09:19:00.005+08:00

I had a dream, a nightmare.

Everything seems so real n SOOO unthinkable, SOOOO not acceptable n xbley blah!!!

Throughout the dream I was shocked, pissed off, speechless n went totally blank sampaikan xbleh nak nangis dah.

N made me woke up very early n started to do my chores, like a robot... (kunun2 trying to divert my thinking)

N now I'm like a zombie goin' to work!!!

But come to think again, it will be a real nightmare if it ever happens.

A BIG ONE, babe!!!!

Ooohh, I cant go any further than this

2010-03-08T08:31:00.003+08:00

I'm happy

Why? Uncountable reasons. Adela. I'm blessed. Alhamdulillah :)

N made me missin' missin' ...

Nur Iman Humayra yg suke berbedak!!!

Muhammad Ilham's smiles

P/S: Saya tidak ke mana2. No outstation or anything. In fact, I br je sent 'em to school just now. Hihihi~~

Just enjoy the show

2010-03-02T10:02:00.002+08:00

Saya sudah masuk ofis semlm. After 2 months of confinement and 2 weeks of MC prior to my confinement.

How it feels?

Excited - to meet my frenz.
Anxious - in coping up with the workload n housechores.
Eager – to finish up my manual. Kuikuikui
Sad – to send my kiddies to the nursery

What I really felt?
Shock n sad – knowing some of my frenz will be leaving soon
Tired – as soon as I left for home, I was very sleepy n start doin the chores like a zombie
N I feel so kepoh sbb listening to the updates from my frenz. Hihihi…

How was my kiddies?
Ilham was ok as usual, spent most of his time sleeping, which made me worry, though. But, think again, he’s only 2 MO. It’s incomparable with Iman’s sbb I started working when Iman was 4 MO.

Iman still refused to eat but drink milk n plain water. A good improvement. Start crying when we fetched her. Once at home, keep asking about her kawan at school. Owh, we noticed sth new. She sang a song lastnite psl idung, mulut, pipi, telinga, mata. We bet that was what being taught in school. Rase mcm nak nangis sbb she’s such a big girl now. Rasenye, kalo Iman masuk sekolah betul, mau banjir sekolah die nanti.

Papepon, i nak ikut ckp Lenka la. Just enjoy the show!!

@ 1 month old

2010-01-25T17:13:00.004+08:00

Of Ilham N 1 month old of Iman as a big sister…

Life’s getting more challenging, of course, with 2 kids to handle but I managed, alhamdulillah. Certainly, with the help from my parents especially. Without ‘em, I bet I’ll be driving nuts!!!

With 2 kids around, I learnt to manage ‘em at the same time. Tough but manageable n need lotsa patience. Come to think about it, feels like as 1st-timer mom is far more difficult than now. Since I have zero knowledge on parenting back then. (as if skang nih dah expert je… ;p)

But, it’s true. Now, it’s manageable eventhough there were some hiccups ‘ere n there. A friend told me about her experience that she found that raising her eldest son is more difficult than raising the rest of her children. Whoa~~

Nway, watsup with my kiddies now?

Alhamdulillah, Ilham is not so much of a fussy kid. Baik je. He really behaves and can dozz off by himself (xyah cuddle2 or dodoi2 like Iman). But, like any babies, he loves to be cuddled. So, once in a while, there will be a cuddling session. If he’s awake n full, he can play around in his playpen until he’s asleep.

A big no-no to him is he’s tummy. He only gets cranky when there’s sth wrong with his tummy. Several burps didn’t really help, sometimes. So, need to figure out a right method to deal with it. N he looks quite tembam now.

Tembamkan pipi die~~

As for Iman, she’s unthinkable!!! Hahaha…

She can be the most lovable sister in the world; try to put Ilham to sleep, kiss him tenderly n all the nicest things that a sister will do
But she can be an unpl.easant sister too!! i.e hit Ilham when she feels so geram or jealous.
She’d learnt so many things in a blink.
She imitates our words n action, perfectly. She took my breastpad n put inside her shirt. She took my breastpump n try to pump. She can sing Lailahailallah Muhammad rasulullah. Dulu asyik sebut la-la jek.
She sometimes looks very kepoh to join our conversation.
She’s a kaki bodek. Aritu went Opah carried her from the car to the supermarket, she said ‘sayang, Opah’. N she hugs Atuk n later ask Atuk to take her for a jalan2… really wonder from where she got that.
She’s a photogenic, showing off her teeth when we want to snap her piccas. N sometimes she just took my BB or digicam n start to pose n say smile to herself!! (Gedix x?)
She can do 1001 things in a day.

When think about it, she’s like Dennis the Menace, with her itchy hands, trying every single way in seeking our attention, kacau Ilham, play with her toys, u name it.

But she’s still adorable n witty lil’ girl.

This is her favorite pose~~

As for me, after 1 month of delivery, left another month before I can go to work. Can’t wait, can’t wait!!! I’ve stocked EBM for Ilham n now I’ve to figure out where to place those stocks. Heehuu…

Fully recovered? Perhaps, tp I’m trying best not to actively do all the chores. Sket2 blehla. Looking forward to meet Dr Seri for my post natal check up.

What about Papa? He's still working offshore. Counting the days for him to return safely. Iman really misses him. She kisses his piccas n said Papa for every single things that belongs or used by Papa. She even cried when she heard Papa's voice over the fon. Sedih, kan.... ? (Sila menangis sekarang!!! Huhuhu)

P/S: Did I ever mention that Papa managed to record our moments in the labor room? Yerp, but unfortunately, not till the end sbb CD abis :p. Xpela, @ least there’s sth. Thanx Papa for ur effort n thanx Pak Ngah for lending us ur video cam.

Into the labor room

2010-01-19T17:21:00.005+08:00

24th Dec 2009 - pm

We left Mak Ngah’s after Iman fell asleep, around 10.30 pm.

I was pretty excited. N anxious too. Excited to meet Ilham n feel the labor experience. Anxious about the whole journey, how it would turn out to be. Papa n I continue praying and hoping that everything went smoothly n Iman will be ok with Atuk, Opah, Pak Ngah, Mak Ngah n Alya.

I was induced once admitted.

But nothing happened after the induction. I was induced during Iman’s n the pain only came a couple of hours later. But this time, I felt the contraction but it never sustained, just like before. N I can still bear the pain. There was no show, no progress on opening (maintained @ 1 cm), nothing.

To make things worst, some nurses just didn’t support me for normal delivery after knowing my experience during Iman’s. Demoralizing!! I only held on Papa’s support for normal delivery n just ignored what they said.

25th Dec 2009 – am

Dr Seri came to check on my progress as well as Ilham’s n we firmly told her that we want normal delivery. We had our agreement with Dr Seri to stay relax n steady with the delivery as long as Ilham is ok. As I didn’t show any progress, she gave 2nd induction.

The real journey begins. It started with the Pethidine injection.

In which, was influenced by the nurse to take the shot. I personally would rather prefer natural birth. But, since I was in a pain plus the nurse said “amikla injection nih, bleh ilang sakit. Jgn samekan ngan org dolu2. Kalau dolu2 pon ade pain relief nih, mesti diorg pakai gak”, so I’d agreed. Hehehe… Well, in some point, she IS right. But I determined that I will only take this shot. No other methods. Full stop.

Personally, it’s nothing much in reducing the pain. Instead, it helped me to dozz off so that I can forget the pain n get lots of rest. Pretty A LOT, I would say. Nice~~

25th Dec 2009 – pm

Alhamdulillah, later that evening, I started to feel a series of severe pain, there’s some show n the opening had increased to 3 cm. N Papa set up the video cam, lappy n books straight away!!! Tee hee~~~

I’d progress very well, so did Ilham’s heartbeat. I was offered epidural for another pain relief. Papa suggested that I should take the epidural as his concern is more on my SPD while my concern is more towards natural birth n worry for not experiencing the pain, hence, I’m not able to push.

After contemplating, (more of arguing :p) with Papa, I took the shot. Yerp, the full stop had changed to a comma, instead!

The anesthesiologist came over for the epidural n Papa was about to faint after looking at the needles goin’ into my spine. Hohoho… n I started to wonder, will Papa able to stay beside me throughout the journey. Hehehehe…

N I had lots of rest, again. It was a relief as I was not in pain, especially when the nurses came to check the opening, which I hate most without the pain relief. ;p

26th Dec 2009 – am

Good progress. CTG showed vigorous contractions while Ilham’s heartbeat still maintained within the range, not too high n not too low. The opening had increased every hour n epidural helped me as I can continue to rest with lesser pain.

Epidural worked on me only until 10 am as the pain was getting stronger from there onwards, which, in a way, it’s good for me. Unbearable n indescribable muscle pain. Papa’d helped massaging n making sure that I’m in comfort, always (not forgetting, he just bear with my annoyance, hohoho).

I just hoped for the time to past, fast.

Us in our blue theme...

(The only time yg Papa paling byk kene marah... Sorry dear :(( didnt mean too!)

26th Dec 2009 – noon

Already 9cm dilated. Suspected to be delivered by 2 pm or so. The nurses getting prepared with the gear while Dr Seri observed my progress from her office via the satellite.

By 2 pm, everything n everyone was in place. The pushing took over with all the encouragement from the crowds, especially Papa. Wink2~~

N phew, a 3.5 kg baby boy, Muhammad Ilham bin Mohd Alham was born @ 2.30 pm. Alhamdulillah, everything went well.

Waitla, I'm not ready for any photoshoot.. ;p

Haa, this is much better.

Salam, I am Muhammad Ilham bin Mohd Alham

Owh, I was in pain while Dr Seri ‘fixing’ things up. Thus, I was given Entonox. Heehuu… I’d used almost all of the pain relief, huh?

Relishing my moment gracefully

2010-01-16T17:05:00.012+08:00

After this entry, I'd spent 3 happy-working days with my officemates. Getting some updates from them n chit chatting throughout lunch time (totally awesome!!!) n struggling finishing up my manual which, it ended up as unfinished business. Teehee~~ (Boss, I promise to finish it up once I'm in the office ya) It was my 37th week back then. Then, we went for my check up n I started my MC @ 38th week, which had made Iman more clingy than usual. She was just not used in not having me by her side. Even nakgi toilet pon need to ask for her permission. Owh, we stayed @ Mak Ngah’s until the delivery. Papa had left for Kerteh awal2 lg sbb ade event. Huhuhuh… After the 39th week check up, Dr Seri said Ilham is ready to come out. She would recommend for induction as baby already full term. N she suggested that I go for a walk, a long walk I would say to make things easier or faster. So, we chose the latter.

As Papa was back in KL n already on leave, we had our family outing for 3 days. From discovering the zoo and shopping @ Ikea on the 1st day,

Say cheese, Mr Ello!!

Mr Ello receiving special meal from Papa n Iman

To Sunway Piramid, celebrate my bday @ Tarbush n watched dolphin n sea lion on the 2nd day...

@ Tarbush
Happy Belated Birthday, Ibu!!

Us watching dolphins n sea lions. Look how amaze Iman was.

N up to Seremban for Todd’s wedding on the 3rd day.

Congrats to Todd n Awiz. Psst, really envy ur dress lah Awiz. Cantik bangat!!

A few other things in between, which I can’t really recall. Huhuhu…

But, a whole stretch of walking didn’t really work on me, though. Yerp, I felt some contraction in between but it never sustained. There was not even a single sign of delivery. Sumenye false alarm jek… huhuhuh… N we learnt to accept that the time has yet to come n we had to continue waiting for the right time n enjoy!!! On the other hand, we had our fun. Tiring days yet entertaining. Iman was really happy coz both of us had spent most of the time with her. We went for shopping, catching up with the food that I may not eat during confinement, n we even baked yummylicious cupcakes!!!

Susun2

Don't disturb pls, I ade byk order nih...

Iman really helped Mak Ngah n Ibu with the cupcakes mixture

Our masterpieces!!!

Prior the 40th week check up, I decided to go for induction if there’s still no sign of delivery. Ilham is getting bigger n I really would want to go for normal delivery. Papa had no objection. Once meeting Dr Seri, I highlighted my intention n she’d prepared for my admission.

On 24th Dec, we had our last outing that day, went to MidValley after the check up n LCCT to greet those who are back from Melbourne.

It was a bliss!!

N that nite, I was admitted n induced, accompanied by Papa. While Iman was left @ Mak Ngah’s, taken care by Atuk n Opah.

N that's how we end my 2nd pregnancy... :)

Sekian