You Me Ours

Idle is not good

2011-06-22T09:03:00.000+08:00

Some changes in the workplace has now resulted me being in a sort of limbo position.. I am transferring almost all my coverage to another colleague whilst not having anything new given to me in replacement. As a result, most of the time, I am quite idle. Quite idle being the word because I do get involved with some projects and also attended some courses.. But most of the time, I am quite idle..

Some people would say that I should cherish these moments.. It is definitely not my doing that I am being put into this position. Hence, rest and relax.. But after a while... I don't think I can take it anymore.. It is definitely a waste of braincells, time and money for the corporation. Plus, what will be in my KRA for my year end review?

After few weeks of being idle, I decided that enough is enough.. I should atleast do some stuff to fill in my time.. and guess what? the brain does not want to function at maximum capacity at the moment. I guess it is true that after some time of less activity, brains do get rusty.. So i now know how difficult it is for people who pursued studying after years leaving university.

So today I am going to oil my brain again.. I hope it will reach it's normal operating level soon enough. Tired of being useless!

Back from the Holy Land

2011-06-15T16:28:00.001+08:00

Alhamdulillah, my family and I are back from our 8 day trip to perform Umrah at Mecca and Medina. There were 10 of us, 6 adults and 4 children, including my little ones - Ammar and Ameer. We were contemplating to bring the two boys initially but considering that we've been given this chance to bring both of them, and also the fact that we have some extra pair of hands to help during the trip, we gave it a go..

Masya Allah.. it was such a good experience. My last trip to the holy land was when I was 12.. Coming back at 30, it is truly a different experience. Especially with two kids in tow..

We did brought the kids for prayer a few times, more frequent at Masjid Nabawi in Medina as it is air conditioned. They did tawaf twice.. I managed to perform tawaf at night which I so wanted to do.. Although I didn't get a lot of chance to do qiam in the mosque, I am still very thankful for the opportunity to go there. I hope that it also leaves something to the children.. the Arabs even brought along their tiny baby (from the look, perhaps only 3 months old!!)

The weather was hot with 42 - 44 degrees celcius.. but everybody didnt mind walking in the hot sun to perform ibadah in masjidil haram.. night time is slightly colder but about the same temperature as Malaysia at noon. :-)

All in all, we had a great time. I pray that we get to go again soon.. and maybe this time for hajj.. Amin..

Ammar's Parent Day

2011-05-23T11:33:00.000+08:00

We attended Ammar's first Parent Day yesterday. As we have elsewhere to go, we were among the first to arrive at the school..

We met Teacher Yuni, Ammar's class teacher. He only has six classmates.. and sits next to the teacher. I love small environment.. He has teacher's full attention..

There is a reason why Ammar sits next to the teacher.. cause he lacks focus.. !! .. aiyoo.. He writes but sometimes he doesnt know what he is writing.. ?? So he needs more guidance at home..

I saw all his work.. his painting.. his counting.. his jawi writing.. And of course I am a very proud mother.. :-) He is a very adventurous kid, likes to try ANYTHING.. and the teacher also says.. Class is quiet without Ammar around.. tee hee hee.. so Ammar, I guess you are building rapport as the class entertainer??

I know that some of his classmates are already learning reading and writing.. But for the time being, I am not fretting too much.. He's not even 4!! As long as he's happy going to school, he practices writing (on his on will) and colouring at home, I am a happy mommy.. I want to inculcate a love of learning.. so that he will have joy learning.. stressing him will only slow him down..

But I also need to incorporate some learning moments at home.. And I am absolutely switching the TV off.. even though the TV exposure is minimum comparatively, I still think it is way too much for toddlers..

Now, off to research on teaching tactile kids!!

Btw the teacher kind of agreed to take Ameer in for baby class next year! yeay.. That is very good news for domestic-helper-less mommy like me!

Blogging

2011-05-20T12:27:00.000+08:00

I have been blogging for +- 8 years!!!

I have been reading my old blogs.. And it made me realize a few things:

1) Blogging is an awesome way to retain memories
2) I am still the same person I was like 5 years ago.. even with two kids!
3) Even though I love my life now, I miss my old life also.. especially my London chapter which was full of colourful characters
4) I must contact all these old friends cause I sure have been neglecting them for some time..:-(

Anyway, really must find varieties to what I write. I used to have so many other things to write about.. Muse oh muse, where are you?

ps: Thanks Ms L for introducing me to blogging world.. I so remember the day.. in that small apartment we all shared! :-)

The power of Zikr

2011-05-18T08:49:00.000+08:00

I read somewhere that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) taught his daughter, Fatima, to perform zikr as the following before sleep:

Subhanallah (33x) Alhamdulillah (33x) Allahu Akbar (33x)

This is to reduce the tiredness that Fatima faced from house chores..

I tried that Monday night and Masya Allah, I was so efficient the next day and managed to even chill at night after all is done:

During the day I managed to:

1) Go to Low Yat to buy some stuff that we need for the house
2) Cooked lunch of mee hailam for everyone.. (Both kiddos love it so much.. must do this more)
3) Rearranged the kids' room which involved dusting, mopping and moving furniture here and there
4) Ironed my clothes which had been left untouched since the weekend
5) Cooked dinner of sweet sour fish and sawi
6) Did some groceries, ordered new pair of glasses and filled up petrol in the car

Not bad for a day off, right? I even had time to do the bedtime ritual of reading book to the kids and play house with Ammar before bed.
So from now on, I hope to remember to perform the zikr every night before sleep. It really works! :-)

Wish I am on leave

2011-05-16T12:26:00.001+08:00

I want longer weekends!! 2 days is definitely not enough especially including mundane tasks like laundry, going to the market, cooking and tidying up.. Add to that a few events.. POOF.. gone all the hours! I need more time to decorate the house, read books, watch movies or TV series and invite people over for food and fun time! So after a very jam packed weekend, I dragged myself to work today.. And of course, a lot of people are on holiday!

I am still in the not so busy period so I am left idle.. Browsing internet for holiday ideas is not good for financial health. So does looking at product pages.. Hence I am left with nothing.. NOTHING!!! is it possible to be too efficient? I got some work from last Wednesday but was done with it on Friday.. submitted today.. although they were expecting it much later.. Perhaps this is what people mean by 'job satisfaction'???

On another note, interviewed a maid last weekend.. and she's off my list.. she expects me to pay additional salary for childcare and taking care of the house.. what?? r u kidding me? our neighbour government is now asking for RM700! which is so ridiculous. I am so opening a nursery! I can ramble about maids and child care issues forever, man!

And these home managers which Felda trained is now catered to high end of the society which is NOT facing domestic problems in the first place! I guess working people are just screwed.. and bonded working people like me is doubly screwed!!

Ok.. enough ranting now, shall we?

Quality time

2011-05-10T11:00:00.000+08:00

Spending quality time with children is the most challenging thing for working mommys. More over when there is no other form of domestic help at home. In my case, with no helper around, I am in charge with the laundry, the cooking, the cleaning and the tidying up. And unfortunately, I like to get things done immediately, perhaps at the expense of quality time with my lovely kids.

My children have been trained to go to sleep early. We will be in bed at about 8pm, because I am a firm believer that children need to get enough night time sleep as it is during that time that they will further progress in the development milestones. 10 hours is what I want them to have.. Hence they need to be in bed by 8 pm ishh...

Nowadays however, I concentrate on getting laundry done and kitchen tidied during this precious time. Hence, my children did not receive my full attention during this minimum time I have with them.. Even though I am a good housekeeper now, I have neglected my most important role, a mom..

Therefore, starting tonite, or by Saturday if not, (DH is not around the whole week), I aim to spend 30 mins cooling down time with lights dimmed, stories read, and soft musics.. (if possible) ..lots of hugs, kisses and cuddles.. another 15 mins will be trying to get them to sleep.. which I dont know is long enough or not! This 45 minutes may seem too little out of 24 hours that we have in a day, but I have to make do with what I have. And I believe that quality is more important that quantity. I hope they know that even though I am out the whole day, they will have a piece of me.. a 100% me, in this 45 minutes..

2011-05-06T09:41:00.000+08:00

This week seems to pass by quite fast, surprisingly... With weekend coming, I already have many invitations.. 3 events so far : Aqiqah, Bday party and Gathering.. Hopefully I can also do a bit of tidying up. The kids' room looks a lot like a war zone.. What with Ammar nowadays who likes to climb up the cabinets.. So I have to make sure that the things he want are within reach.. Jatuh jantung ok!

Yesterday was the first time I did the Executive Screening.. It was well overdue for 2 years! Will be getting the results next week and praying that everything is fine.. Thanks to the company who bears the cost! If not, I have to fork out about RM1300 for yesterday's service which was the comprehensive package for women. It includes the usual doctor's exam, urine and blood test, chest x ray, ultrasound on pelvic, abdomen and breast, ECG and stress test.. Took about 6 hours to get all done!

Next week DH will be away on training for a week! :-( I am sure that I will face slight difficulties handling the kids.. Dah la Ameer is not feeling well today.. Runny rose and coughing.. poor him.. and poor mommy too.. both of us didnt get much rest lately.. I am guessing it's from teething because suddenly he's got 3-4 teeth budding out.. ouch.. must be painful!

alritey.. I am off to making a list of simple meals to do since I am cooking almost full time now! As if I dont have enough chores on my plate!

13 going 30..

2011-04-29T11:03:00.000+08:00

You know they say 'Life begins at 40?' Well, I don't know what 40 will bring us but I think that at 30, many ppl are making big changes in their lives. Some also say that during 30s we will face some of the hardest period in our lives. Decisions, challenges, hardships maybe.. who knows.. but maybe what we face in our 30s will make or break our lives.

Last night I met up a group of friends over dinner, trying to catch up the going ons of everyone.. And I am amazed at how far we have become since uni years.. of since post SPM to be precise.. At 30,

One friend is getting his first book published

One friend is going to Riyadh for career change

One friend is operating a business and is doing quite well

One friend is pursuing Masters degree

One friend is getting married

One friend just got promoted

One friend has lost 4 kgs.. for the past 2 months

Three friends have conquered Mount KK

the list goes on and on and on..

I am amazed.. and i thank God for what he has given all of us so far..I am so very proud of each and everybody's achievements.. and I pray for more to come.. :-)

I love hanging out with my A-levels mate.. Knowing them for more than 10 years now, I am so comfortable being around them. Perhaps those years of 'growing up' together allows us to know almost inside and outside of each other.. But due to demands of our everyday life, it is quite difficult to have a get together.

To Mr D who'll be flying off soon, Take Care!!! Have a great time working there and hope you'll be surrounded with happiness always.. Thanx for the treat yesterday...:-)

Which mommy are u?

2011-04-22T14:43:00.000+08:00

When it comes to raising children, there are so many methods, so many readings and so many opinions out there. Are you the attachment parenting type? the homeschooling mommy? or the tiger mom? After I gave birth to the children, the family section of any book store becomes my favourite isle, replacing my chick flick romance genre that i oh-so-love! the RM1k allocation for tax rebate each year? So far I have always exceeded it.. But I love to read all these different opinions.. it provides a better understanding behind each method..

Practicing it however, is a different matter altogether. I do a rojak method that mixes everything, depending on the time and situation. I believe that I have to adapt to the surrounding, the behaviour and also the acceptance of the child. For instance, I did the sleep training method with Ammar, which was 70% successful, but with Ameer, I never tried doing it cause he just can't take it.. I think Ameer probably got more of the attachment parenting compared to Ammar. Mainly because he likes to bang his head when things don't go his way! Scary!!!

I believe that mothers have their own unique way of parenting.. and this will come from the heart. Maybe people from the outside can't get it.. but I trust mother's instinct.. I do believe they know what's best for their child. And I strongly believe that one should respect what another mother's doing.. (unless of course it is to the point of abuse..) Be it breastfeeding or homeschooling or babywearing or asian parenting.. Each has our own opinion and it really is up to us which one to use..

No, I am not saying that people have been condemning me for my parenting style.. But mainly to say that I believe mommies have special bond with children which allows them to understand what kind of parenting they need to use. And each child is special and unique in its own way.. and we mothers have to have faith in our inner feeling and let our hearts do the choosing but our heads do the thinking.. :-)

Can't wait to go back and kiss kiss kiss my little ones!!

Zerona Treatment

2011-04-21T16:13:00.000+08:00

Today is my 3rd session doing Zerona treatment.. Halfway to go!! :-)

What is Zerona? It is a cold laser machine that helps your fat cell to open up, resulting in (hopefully for me) lost inches at target area. My sis has the machine for a few weeks and I am definitely taking advantage. During the treatment, we just have to lie down and relax and let the machine does the work.. 20 mins front and 20 mins back.. On top of that, there is a supplement to be taken twice a day, drink plenty of water and exercise after the treatment. For me, it is the Tabata workout.. The treatment has to be done in 6 sessions, with no more than 72 hours in between. After today, I have another three sessions and then we can know the result! :-)

I love it that my sis and BIL decided to pursue anti-ageing and aesthetic field. They have many laser machines, microdermabrasion machine and also radio frequency machine.. So many treatments and skin care products available, including mineral make up. I seldom go to make up counters or those beauty counters nowadays cause I just make a call to her for my supplies! :-)

Here's to inchesssss lost over the next few sessions!

Gym oh gym..

2011-04-20T14:03:00.000+08:00

The downside of putting the kids to bed by accompanying them until they fall asleep is that me myself dozed into the la la land.. Although I welcome the rest, the guilt feeling that comes with it is enormous. Because there are so many to do than just sleep.. So what's a mom got to do? Upon waking up at 10 pm, i extended my waking hour to 1 am.. Luckily today I feel just as energized.. :-)

I will be canceling my gym membership this week. This refers to the very near to office and very serene gym that I registered last year. It was on 'sign up for 6 months and get 3 months free' offer as it was just opened at that time. During my successful days, I managed to go twice or even three times a week! but right after i am maidless, I rarely go there again. Boo!! Luckily it was during the free period that I didn't go..

Reasons to cancel
1. I do not foresee us getting a helper that soon. Hence, the non-going will continue for a some time
2. I am more disciplined doing exercise at home nowadays, so I may be able to do so on my own.. without the help of the gym
3. Remember that I have taken up a new hobby which is gardening? Well, that's supposed to help! hehe..
4. I am not going to waste RM100++ if I do not go and would rather spend that money somewhere more beneficial
5. I still have the club membership near home that has a gym although not as posh as the one here.. So I will not miss going to gym..

Hmm.. guess there are enough reasons to cancel it now. Must not procrastinate.

What a change

2011-04-18T09:10:00.000+08:00

It is so weird.. because I woke up this morning and do not dread going to work. Amazing! That is after so many weeks of dragging myself and asking.. WHY? I even had an idea on a report while driving to the LRT today.. (executing it of course is another story altogether). But what changed?? Looked back at my weekends, I realized that this time it is more relaxed and less hectic..

1. We actually spent a day at home after breakfast on Saturday, lazying around. It was raining the whole day so it was cooling..
2. We only spent tiny time at the mall and that was because we absolutely have things to buy, rather than hanging out, wandering about
3. I managed to cook two meals out of 4 during the weekend..(don't count breakfast cause we so love our breakfast outings) which was an improvement from the past couple of weeks.
4. I did not do any gardening.. :-( blame it on the rain..
5. I did not do much reorganizing cause I was too occupied doing rerun of Charmed.. :-)

Truly a good weekend spent.

Friday is back!

2011-04-15T12:12:00.000+08:00

Yippee.. it's Friday already!! and i have NO plans for the weekend.. so am open to many many things.. On top of my head:
1) Gardening again...
2) Probably barbecue at home?
3) Must cook food..

The best part is, the father and mother are coming back from their 2 week holiday.. I am already jumping up and down, knowing that there are many many goodies in the bag!! Although one of the goodies is costing me a bomb!! But no regrets..

This weekend, I have ran out of rooms to actually get my hands really dirty. I have realized that I am a little bit mental in the 'rearranging' department. I love to take out everything and put them back together with the objective of tidying it. I used to sort my kids' toys accordingly every night!! Different boxes for their blocks, their cars and trucks, their thomas and many many more. Crazy, isn't it?

We did the store room last week, the laundry room the week before, and the kitchen 3 weeks before, so my next attack may be our study room or kids' room or guest room. Even though they are actually liveable.. Cause I think i did them not long ago.. But I just NEED to do it.. if not, I'll ask DH to take us to shopping malls which will result in more credit card damage! haha..

I really should try loving cooking a bit more, no?

Ok.. sorry for the random post.. Thoughts are all over the place!!!

Insurance revisit

2011-04-14T16:18:00.000+08:00

I am back to planning for my family's insurance plan and OMG there are so many things to consider.. Term plan, whole life, cash value, annual guaranteed renewable term, etc etc etc... Choosing between them are also difficult because you have to decide what you want, which is always EVERYTHING. But of course, being constraint by budget, I have to make the absolute right decision.

Also realized that when I did my insurance policy last time round, it was not entirely comprehensive and sufficient. That was done after I did some research. But now, after doing more reading, I think I kind of get the hang of it.

Anyway, drawing up insurance is always something difficult because it involves many 'what if' conversations which are depressing. Of course this is all just precautions but you just can't help thinking 'what if' this happens.. I pray to the Al-Mighty that both DH and I have the opportunity to see our children grow up, have kids and live a wonderful life.

Some tips that I learn from all my reading for insurance:

Insure yourself even though you are a housewife and not the breadwinner because if anything happens to you, somebody will have to replace your role of taking care of the children, be it the nanny or the child care. Hence, the payout is sufficient for them to use to fund the expenses
Try to maximize coverage so that the annual expenses to be used will come from income of the investment of the coverage.
Financial planner will also advise for term insurance as it is cheaper but with high coverage

I hope to finalize everything soon as it will give me peace of mind when we are actually done.

Greening the fingers

2011-04-13T09:40:00.000+08:00

Successfully, I did gardening two weekends in a row.. :-) Although it is challenging when the two little ones really really want to help! Ammar was of course busy helping DH choosing the unused tiles to throw away.. (gosh, we have huge tile collection!) Ameer on the other hand, was so resourceful! He would take the gardening tool, rake, and anything that looks like can be done for gardening.. It was only during their nap time that we manage to do most things..

I have the utmost respect for farmers now.. Trying to clear my 'vege' patch was one big task! vege here refers to lemon grass, pandan, tumeric.. I only managed to finish up 50% of the area.. Hopefully will do the rest this coming weekend.

The gardening work left me sweating like crazy.. even more than my gym workout.. :-) and the day after, my arm hurts like nobody's business! the aftermath of mencangkul like crazy!

One woman's junk is another person's treasure..

2011-04-12T15:17:00.000+08:00

The Store Room project is completed!
Time taken: One week..
Actual day spent: 2

I am very happy. Now, the store room is completely organized and I know what is where. :-)
DH being the super DIY person built some shelves for me to arrange the items.. We have huge collection of extra tiles for just in case moments but we decided to just keep a few.. A waste of space if we keep hanging on to it..

There are also some wedding gifts and housewarming gifts that we never use and will probably not use.. What did i do? I brought them all to cash converter. It was my first time. Arrived bright and early just to make sure what we are in.. What did I bring?
3 sets of jug and glasses
1 frame
1 new iron

They accepted all and gave me RM50!! Yippee... Something that if not, we would just leave by the donation box or recycle area or worse, in the dumpster, got us RM50!! I know that the value is probably more.. After all, these are unused items.. but RM50 is pretty good deal already.. Next time I do decluttering, I will definitely bring them to cash converter!

The Store Room project

2011-04-04T11:52:00.000+08:00

I finally managed to do a little bit of gardening over the weekend.. :-)
Just a bit for a start...
Hopefully I will grow to like it and do even more..

We are in the midst of organizing the store room.
We threw away a boot full of junks
We have a pile of things to sell at cash converter..
DH is building the shelves..Hopefully we can get everything organized by this weekend.

Trying to do housework with one kiddo and one toddler is challenging
Luckily they kinda took turn sleeping
Ameer loves to sweep sweep sweep...
So convincing him to hand me over the penyapu resulted in him throwing himself to the floor while yelling and crying..
Ammar on the other hand absolutely love DIY work
Hence me taking the measuring tape and hammer from him resulted with him throwing his slipper at me! jeezzz

But Ammar was also helpful with gardening work
He went back and forth to bring me buckets of water.. well.. a small bucketful lah...
I think my plants were overwatered yesterday...
:-)

The upside is .. Ammar went so sleep super easy last night
But Ameer gave me a hard time.. He only slept at 10.30 pm..
2 hours beyond his normal sleep time!
Maybe I should buy him a new sweeper and encourage him to sweep the house!
Since Ammar is already keen to help DH, it's only fair that Ameer will love helping me!

A boxful of durian

2011-04-01T16:40:00.000+08:00

Woke up this morning to the smell of durian...
DH had work near the hometown yesterday so he came back with a box load of durians..
Now what shall I do with it?
Technically, it should be evenly distributed to all his siblings.. but I dont think it will be enough.. eventhough we have a box full of it..

Ammar since waking up had been saying.'Mommy, ammar nak makan doyiannn'
Very Perak me tell you
Sorry sweetie.. we'll have durian after work ok.. Morning is too early..

If I am good at cooking, I would have made kuah durian.. and we can invite all to eat that with pulut..
But I am not.. sigh

Adds another one in my list:
1)Must cook more frequently so that I become at least half as skillful as my mom
That is of course on top of
GARDENING!
Something that I have been meaning to do but of course.. DIDNT!

Lucky weekend is here. Lets see what I will achieve this week.

The new dawn... :-)

2011-03-31T08:38:00.000+08:00

Alhamdulillah.. after waiting for 2 weeks, I got my tax refund yesterday... Yippee!!! Bravo to LHDN for its efficiency.. The beauty of submitting your filing early.. Come on peeps.. get moving!! the longer you wait to submit, the longer it takes for you to get the claim back..

Happy as I am to receive it, it will not be long in my bank account though.. :-(

I have already lined up all payments that I had to make from this refund.. No tax refund shopping day for me!

Anyway, I have been doing some thinking and discussions with friends, of the need to do something more. All my life, most of the things that I did, seems like it's predetermined..

I got the offer to study at TKC - I went and met with wonderful set of friends

I got scholarship offer to KMYS - I went and fell head over heels in love

I got accepted into LSE - I had an amazing life living in one of the great cities of the world

I got extended scholarship for ACCA - I did all I could to get the cert

Then I came back to serve the company.. as what I am supposed to ...

It's like everything's been set.. Even though I am the leading cast, the storyline is pretty determined.. It is straight forward with no risks and stable..

But at 30, perhaps I should chart my own destination.. Maybe I should try doing more things that are our of the norm..

To be clear, it will not be running, diving, or anything related to extreme sports.. but something that are meaningful to me..

At 30, I am thinking and rethinking and I know that I will do many different things.

Some that maybe I like.. and will continue

Some that maybe I wont .. and will not further progress with it

Some that maybe I will revisit .. to further digest whether I like it or not..

The time is now.. Just Do IT!

Social Network

2011-03-30T08:28:00.000+08:00

It is truly challenging to raise children in this modern time, no?

I love my FB account. It allows me to instantly connect with almost everyone that's in my life.

Most importantly, it keeps me connected to my family. My two sisters who are not in the country. I know that by tagging them in a post or writing on their wall, I can almost instantly get to them. It definitely reduces our phone bills.

But how about when my children grow up? Will I want them to have a FB account? Can I stop them from having a FB account?

As of now, I still have plenty of requests from my nephews and nieces to add them to my FB. I have remained silent for the past few months.. This is probably my way of saying : I do not approve kids having FB accounts. But is it better for me to actually have them on my account? At least I can help to monitor their activities.

These are huge dilemmas facing parents today. And it shouldn't be treated lightly. I believe kids below the age of 15ish should not be given access to FB. Especially since the privacy setting keeps changing. Are they mature enough not to accept strangers as their friends?

I could still remember those early days of IRC and ICQ. There are just so many weird people online. Even then many were tricked into going out with strangers etc. Too dangerous i think.

I really hope that I will have better ideas when my young ones are at the internet age. I know that internet is really beneficial, so long as it is not misused. But how good are we at actually monitoring this?

2 months on..

2011-03-29T10:26:00.000+08:00

My sis came over last week and said, 'waa.. lagi tak de maid lagi kemas rumah u'
Grin...

True, when we have maid staying full time at our place, my house is so much more untidy.
1) I do not do anything because I pay her to do the cleaning
2) Maids are usually less efficient. They can only focus to do one thing at a time

Now, I tidy up the house as I go. I pick up rubbish on the way to the toilet. I tidy up the kids' toys while waiting for the kids finishing their milk.

I do laundry every night. I fold laundered clothes while watching TV at night, usually the Guiliana & Rancic show. I iron my clothes almost every other night.

But of course these helps:
DH irons his own clothes because he is fussy at it. :-)
DH does not mind taking care of the kids in the morning.. when I leave for work earlier than he does.
We have a fortnight cleaning lady who is superb.. She even wipes all the frames!!!
Sometimes Ammar cleans up after himself. He knows that keeping toys after playing is a good thing..

Chores are a lot of work.
But Truly I am Happy.

MC anyone?

2011-03-28T10:41:00.000+08:00

It is monday morning.. Yet again..

Everyone including DH are down with fever, flu and cough. Nightmare. We started the kids on antibiotics yesterday as they have been having all the above for more than a week already. Really really hope my antibodi wont give in seeing that i have to provide for ameer and myself!

Now, there is train delay plak. Stopping 5 mins at each stop. High chance of being late to work nih...

Weekend was so so. DH worked the whole day saturday, leaving me with the kids alone. Stayed home mainly cause i had to do some chores pon but poor kids.. I think they were bored towards ptg. Dapat la jln kejap ptg tu to my sis in law's shop in shah alam..

Oh well.. Looking forward to the coming weekend??

Green pasture

2011-03-24T08:40:00.000+08:00

A close colleague of mine and is also now my blog partner, just finished her last day of work in our organization yesterday. She's super excited to start work at her new place.. or as we like to term it, her greener pasture. :-) I am definitely awed at her determination and courage to go for what she wants in life and pursue it.. even though the journey is such a pain in the 'you-know-what'. Well, what she did got me thinking..

Perhaps I am at such a comfortable state that I pushed away all the things that I wanna do.. I like working here.. It keeps me in the economic loop, it uses about 60-70% of my qualifications, it helps to enhance my critical thinking and much more.. It also allows me to work among people I already know. It certainly helps working with friends..

But I love to do so many other things.. Things that get me excited while just thinking about it.. Things that are not similar with what I am currently doing.. things that give me the rush or the high feeling..

I keep telling myself that working here limits what I can do in my life. I already have a 10 hour job. I have two kids and a husband. I have a household to take care of. So I should just wait till I reach the end of my contract to do anything to begin with..

But after seeing how fulfilling it is to actually doing something that you love, rather than like, I start ed thinking.. maybe the green pasture is not 5 years away.. but 5 months away? :-) after all, women are good at multitasking, no?

To Ms D,

Good luck and all the best at your new work place. Will definitely miss your cheerful and chirpy self at the office but I know we'll be in contact all the time! :-) At least, every sunday night! hehe..

I am sure you'll do many great things in life.. Keep up your positivity and the eagerness to learn..

It is so amazing how close we've become after only knowing each other for one year.. Thank you for taking the first step by asking me how to go by your earnings model! You are such a warm person, that it is easy to get close to you..

Have fun working just across the park.. hehe.. Take care and may you find great joy everyday..

XOX

Unifi rocks

2011-03-23T14:30:00.000+08:00

Finally we have Unifi now.. woot woot..

Hubby dl some file with size of 7G.. in half a night! crazy fast ok.. But I have no desire plak nak download anything. All the series I am watching is already up to date. so no chance to try yet. In terms of surfing, I think it is pretty similar to my previous streamyx, but who knows.. maybe i am just not that sensitive to the speed.

We had a power outage last night. Even though hubby is the S.O to the 2nd in command of our national utility company, we still had to wait for an hour before we got the supply back. Alhamdulillah last night was kinda cold, after one day of rain.. So it wasn't too difficult to put both kids to bed.

Btw, I wanna say thank you thank you thank you to DH for being so understanding and supportive of my need to socialize with friends.. Being parents to two kids with no nanny around, the biggest challenge is that we have no one that we can ask to babysit the kids if we want to go out.. Well, we can put both of them at my parent's but we already do that every day of the week. Hence, we try to limit that as much as possible. So when I told DH about a friend's bday and baby shower, he agreed to take care of both of them.. He even offered to drive me there cause it was held in KL. But it will be a bit complicated when he has to fetch me so better not..

Anyway, he did a good job looking after both kids.. allowing me peace of mind during the whole dinner. :-) Trust me, it is not easy to put them both to sleep.. i do that almost every other day but i have my 'asset' that sometimes help to calm at least one of them.. and he doesn't.. heheh.. so bravo!!!

The dinner was lovely.. I met up with my high school friends, all with their stories.. it was also hilarious as we share stories of being wifey and mommy.. ahhh.. so different now and then! it definitely made my weekend! :-)

My 2nd time at Matta Fair

2011-03-15T11:12:00.000+08:00

After weeks of no blogging, I finally plucked up the courage today. Work is the main reason I am off the net.. i have been here and there constantly, even going back late from office for a couple of days.. poor my babies.. :-(

Anybody went to Matta Fair last weekend? I did.. I took a day off just to go for the fair and later on to shop.. We did poorly at Matta fair. We only managed to buy 2 nights stay at Holiday Villa Cherating. I was looking to book a vacation with Berjaya but hubby wants to take the plane rather than drive.. And i have no budget for flight ticket.. so there goes.. Another option was to go Singapore but the promo was not that cheap.. I think i can find other deals elsewhere.. so yup, a measly purchase of cherating trip, which we can hopefully utilize soon.

One thing I learn: good hotels don't do promotions at matta fair.. they don't have to.. ppl are willing to buy them at expensive prices.. :-( oh well, i'll just have to continue saving up my traveling fund and when that is enough, we'll definitely go somewhere nice.. :-)

But what I didn't buy at Matta. I bought at OU.. haha.. I went shopping crazy for 1.5 hours. I stopped when my marginal utility derived from additional purchase start to decrease.. Gladly now I know to detect that feeling.. So i stop before buying unnecessary items.. And I am extremely happy with all my purchases.. thanks hubby for being patient.. well, he did not follow me from one shop to another. He offered though, but I decline cause I do not want to be pressured into making decisions.. :-) so he had a nice time chilling at toast box, having coffee and later buy me iced chocolate from starbucks.. Shopping does make you famished! all in all, it was a good start to the weekend..

junior masterchef

2011-02-03T16:56:00.000+08:00

this is definitely not my ideal template.. but i will make do with it for now.. insufficient sleep results in me with headache, hence am not in the mood to find THE template.. but as I still want to update, this is the best i can do.. :-p

Was watching junior masterchef australia.. all i can say.. WOW! these kids are so talented!! they cook super sophisticated dishes and they look really yummy! I am more than 3 times their age and I cant cook half of that! it's a fun show, more because since they are kids, they are super excited and look like they are having lots of fun despite the pressure.. now, can i train either one of my kids to become a masterchef?? then i can have good food most of the time! hihihi

today is not so fully utilized.. we just stayed home, do laundry, mopped and chill.. LO#2 is being super cranky, i dont know why! and he's now just next to me, trying to get my attention.. oh well.. better attend to him.. ciao

before zzz

2011-02-01T22:59:00.000+08:00

Exhausted! is what I am now.. it was a full day.. it was fun.. :-)

DH and I had our 'date' day today.. and we went to Gardens.. looking for something for yours truly.. but found nothing.. It was my first full tour of Gardens.. and the best part about the place is that: there's not many people! unlike its sister mall which is jam packed all the time!

Had lunch at Alexis.. seafood pasta.. yummmyyyyy... it was absolutely delishhh.. with the huge prawn, calamari and mussels.. seriously, try it! i wanted pavlova for dessert but they were out of it.. pfftt..

fetched LO#2 from my mom's place before heading home.. trying to spend time with just him, without the elder one.. then fetched LO#1 at 5.. poor him.. apparently all the other kids went home early cause their parents were off from work.. errkk.. guilty! but he had fun making robots out of newspaper.. ??? so i guess it was good fun for him.. :-)

all in all.. a perfect day.. even though i didnt find myself anything.. it was time well spent..

now.. looking forward for a long weekend..

Latest obsession of DH

2011-01-31T11:50:00.000+08:00

Ever since we were maid less, we have been finding things or ways to make life or specifically, housechores, easier and faster. Prior to sending the last helper back to the agent, I bought my self a new washing machine.. only because the one we had was already towards the end of its life.. and we already have future plans for it! hihi.. But I absolutely LOVE my 7kg front load electrolux washing machine.. proof? I use it every single day! :-)

Told ya I am a freak for clean laundry nowadays!

Anyway, hubby fell in love with this: MAGIC MOP 360! (only ours were blue and orange! this one however is so nice.. purple and white!)

Magic Mop 360 - pics from google

Yes, while other ppl's DHs are probably excited with their purchases of Mac, cameras, cars, and other tech gadgets, my wonderful DH is head over heels with small things that means a lot to others.. How excited he is? at 9.30 pm, when both kids were asleep last night, he went and demonstrate the mop to me by mopping our kitchen! so now how many husbands go to this extra mile, eh? hehehe.. lets just hope the awe he has for the mop goes for so many months for him to clean the whole house! kidding!!

apparently, even my colleagues have seen it around town.. some even used it at home.. where were we during this era? i tried for a while and yes.. it makes mopping a less daunting chore! it has a mechanical function which results in a drier mop, hence easier task. Thanks DH for making my future housework slightly easier.. XOX.. i am sure it is a 99 ringgit worth spent.. here's to a future of clean floors all week!

Love the weather

2011-01-31T08:34:00.000+08:00

Tomorrow is public holiday for KLites.. yippee!! and since LO#1 will go to school, we think that we should finally have our anniversary cum early bday celebration for me! :-) I have yet to decide what we'll do but spending alone time together is now a precious commodity that doing anything will be FUN! On top of my head : movies, lunch at alexis, browsing our nose at Times bookstore.. and maybe a quick trip to IKEA? ok.. that is stretching it.. i guess we'll see how it goes..

Weekend was hardwork but fun.. Managed to clean the house AND clean the maid's room.. It was definitely a work out vacuuming, mopping and changing linens.. cant imagine later when we have to wash the curtains! but the house is now spic and span.. After those laborious hours, DH treated all of us at Tony Romas! yummyyy... I had wagyu rib eye.. delishhh!! and we spent some time after dinner strolling Pavvy, while LO#2 practiced his toddling skills.. I think that was the longest we spent for a night outing.. arrived home at about 10.30 with almost both kids asleep.. LO#1 needed a cuddle before dozing off..

Outings like that also left us wondering.. what will our kids turn out to be like when they grow up.. Pavvy's main street was filled with teenagers and yuppies, chilling with friends into late night.. I am not against those chillaxing moments with friends but I pray that my kids know the line between good and bad, acceptable and not.. I honestly hope that we will be able to teach them between right and wrong.. I really hope and pray that we do not screw up as parents!

Btw, dont you just love the weather last weekend? To some it may be gloomy and doomy.. but I love it!! it's not the usual hot and we didnt even have to switch on the aircond! Yes, it made me re look at the possibility of purchasing a dryer.. but so far i can live with it.. and to take a nap at noon with soft rain outside.. heaven!

2011-01-27T22:53:00.001+08:00

So Google opened their office here in Malaysia.. There are 17 mil internet users in the country and broadband penetration is still growing, rendering Malaysia to be worthwhile for Google to invest in.. I told Ms L that she should submit her application.. must be cool to work in Google, eh.. I wonder if they set up their international offices as the one they set up in the States.. :-)

This week work has driven me crazy.. I have started to wonder whether my knowledge is strong enough to weather what I am doing now.. I am doing back-to-back digging deeper into my model, making it comprehensive enough to cover EVERYTHING.. My plan is to make sure that my model is complete enough for 3 of the companies that I cover before i start to compare them apple to apple.. heavy stuff.. brain nearly explode.. what with all the meetings and discussions in between.. today is thursday, and i have finished only 1 company.. one!!! i guess since i am working next week, more hard work!!

Work life to me is always a cycle.. peak period.. then very quite period.. then another peak period.. peak is of course the worst! making sure to get the T+1 deadline.. but sometimes the quite period is also killing me.. especially when I have no project in mind! brain remaining idle is a hazard sometimes..

alrightey, i have to log off.. need sufficient rest to make sure tomorrow is one efficient Friday.. really need to clear my to do list before the weekend so that i can enjoy weekend to the max! :-p

when we love what we do..

2011-01-26T22:49:00.000+08:00

It is 10.30pm and tonight is actually one night that I feel i had less things to do.. and that is after I have

put one load in the laundry and hang them all up for drying
folded all lined laundry from yesterday and put them away in respective wardrobes
ironed my clothes
packed LO#1's bag for school tomorrow including his bottle, milk, clothes and uniform
do the dishes
vacuumed the floor upstairs
tidy up the living room

all that and i still managed to get 45 minute reading done. woww.. feels good to take care of everything AND have some leftover ME time.. and this was all done after putting LO#2 to bed at 8 pm.. and he's still asleep till now..

truth is.. I am a happy mommy nowadays.. eventhough I am so tired after work and LO#2 insists on me carrying him around... I feel a sense of calm.. the only thing is that perhaps i do feel a bit guilty cause i will be doing housework while the kids want my attention.. I try so very hard to remember to put the kids first and housework second.. lucky for us that the kids go to bed quite early.. so i do have time after to finish up everything..

next week will be a very short work week and long holiday.. i have no plan to go anywhere. cause i bet everywhere will be jam packed with people..and they charge extra during peak period. DH didnt mention any intention of going back to his hometown.. so perhaps we'll just chill at home and find fun things to do.. on top of my head .. maybe a trip to the petting zoo.. or a dip in the pool..

lately i came across a few articles on islamic parenting and I find them amazing! I am still learning and hope that I will have something to share in my post but one thing I read and i treasure is that.. Muslim mommies view that everything they do for their family is an ibadah to serve Allah. Doing laundry, feeding the children, tidying up the house, everything is done to ensure that the amanah given by Allah in the form of the children grow up and live comfortably. Hence when everything we do is to ensure that we take greatest care of God's amanah in order to serve Him, everything that we do become effortless.. We just need to plant the sincerity in our heart and hope that we have done the best we can to satisfy God. After taking this point of view, I enjoy doing most of the things.. true, I still do not put the garbage out.. but I take pride in doing small little things that may not matter much but a nuisance if it is not done..

Masya Allah.. the beauty in Islamic teaching..

IT world

2011-01-25T20:52:00.001+08:00

The downside of not having a maid is when we got to do quick errands like buying milk, the whole clan has to follow. Yes, actually i can stay at home with the kids.. But hey, grocery is fun!

Anyway, LO#1 now knows how to play angry bird on my phone! Haiyooo.. Why la did i dl it? He's so hooked that he brawled when we took it away. I think 15 mins is enuff for games, right? So now he associates my phone with that game instead of all the flashcards i've been showing him! Grrrr... DH says to hide it in a folder. i say, he's a smart guy. If he could find it in the first place, then he could find it again!

Watched the social network last night after it won best movie at the globes. Awesome!! Now i think ivy league is so cool! Still got time to prep the kids! Hihihi...

- Posted from my iPhone

Weekend update

2011-01-24T09:08:00.001+08:00

LO#1 now knows how to open and close the fridge door and hence has access to yoghurt, chocolate and juice. I can no longer control his intake cause he DIY himself.. and apparently when both of us (hubby and I) were napping at our family room, this cheeky boy went and took two handful of chocs and dividing them with his brother! oh boy!!! thank God the hubby wasn't fully asleep and took control of the event.. if not, we will definitely have two sugar high kids around the house!

weekend was not as hectic as usual.. we only had one aqiqah to attend on saturday which we thought that we wanna go at 12.. (to be on time, for once!) but all of us went to the dentist.. LO#1 for filling his teeth and both hubby and me for scaling.. LO#2 only has 6 teeth... :-)

Nowadays weekend is filled with laundry and cleaning.. bravo to hubby for cleaning our bathroom. but you've still got the whole house to mop, dear! :-) We have yet to hire part time maid. for now, i think we are okay on our own.. perhaps until we are too tired to do things.. if it were up to me, i'd have called the regular part time maid already! but hubby says to wait.. and I have learned to live with things not squeaky clean..

Btw, am so proud of LO#1.. he now tells me when he wants to go potty.. even when he's sleeping! bravo lil one! he's still not fully trained yet.. still not that brave to take him out without his diapers on! :-p

house-sitting

2011-01-21T23:05:00.000+08:00

we are lepaking at my parent's tonight.. house-sitting or specifically bibik-sitting.. parents are outstation so as usual we take turns sleeping at their place.. anyway i seriously was so hungry that i succumbed to mcD delivery.. oh my... so many caloriesssss...

anyway, plan to take LO#1 to the dentist tomorrow.. he has to get his tooth filled but i think i will get some huge resistance from him! please God make it easy for all of us tomorrow...

and then there's an aqiqah to attend in the afternoon. so that's lunch sorted out.. hihi... after that, still have no plans yet. but most likely to stay at home and more mengemas! true enough, me without maid turns out to be me that is a freak for everything clean.. seriously, i cannot stop cleaning or doing something related to it.. laundry, ironing, rearranging things in the cabinet! weirdd..

anyway, have a good weekend!

Outstation

2011-01-19T18:26:00.001+08:00

Lately i have been going to more visits than usual. Visits meaning site visits which involve a lot of walking rather than meeting. I think atleast once every month i had to go to the airport. It is fun, most definitely but flying out of klia on early morning flight is definitely a challenge!

Today, i went to johor to visit all the projects by this one developer.. Waaahhh now johor property also very pricey u know. 1 bedroom apt with size of 900sqft is already fetching 300k ++. This healthy G2G relationship between mal-sing is really benefiting johor!

But me buying property there? No lahhhh... Too far meh to monitor.. Plus, rental mkt is quite limited down south. Better find good property in klang valley. :-)

Nway, tomorrow is public holiday!! What to do? Laundry n cleaning and kemas! After talking to several ppl, apparently being homey is not so bad. I guess i am gonna try be slightly homier.. (got such word aa?) we shall see, ok?

Have a good holiday y'all! Anybody going to batu cave for fun tomorrow? Good luck with the traffic!

- Posted from my iPhone

Here we go again..

2011-01-18T17:55:00.001+08:00

As some have known, i am now without a helper again! My 'top of the list helper' didnt pass her medical check up. I however have known this, the beauty of doing the checkup at my sister's clinic, so i have prepared mentally and somewhat physically.

LO#1 has now joined full day kindy since 1 week prior to the helper's departure. Just have to make sure that he's climatised. Alhamdulillah he's doing fine now. LO#2 is now taken care of by my mom's helper eventhough the plan was to send him to the nursery that LO#1 went last time. I am still weighing the decision..

So far, we r managing okay. Both hubby n i were not well but suprisingly things have been rather smooth. Eventhough i really like the last helper, i am somewhat happy to be taking care the whole family on my own, albeit with support from my close family ofcourse.

I am waiting for a replacement but am not too positive cause the agent's not that promising. I guess once they have gotten our money, they just leave us in the dark!

Anyway, hopefully everything will turn out for the best. Helper or no helper, life goes on, right? There must be hikmah behind all these...

- Posted from my iPhone

losing it..

2011-01-12T22:10:00.000+08:00

it is heartbreaking seeing how guiliana and bill rancic trying so hard to get a baby.. and after they got pregnant, losing it at 9 weeks.. i know.. this is old news.. but i keep on watching the same series on channel E!.. All i can say is.. Alhamdulillah for my two little boys.. and may everyone trying to get pregnant will be successful.. :-)

As for me, i still have the excess weight leftovers.. i dont go to the gym anymore.. i dont think i have time to do so! :-( sad sad sad.... i really want to .. but nowadays taking care of the two boys are exhausting that I only wake up at 6 am.. not enough time for morning workout! And Ammar now goes to school until 6 pm.. so i have to rush home every day to fetch him at 6. How la to reduce my weight??

On a different note, I try to come up with resolution for 2011 but why is laziness dominating me? why??? it seems like my brain is switched off for no reason at all! seriously, i need help!

kids say the cutest thing?

2011-01-07T10:46:00.000+08:00

Talking to Ammar is fun nowadays... he still has a lot of the 'pelat'ness...

Like.. 'ammar nak makan bubattt'.. which is nak makan ubat.. so i gave him the scott emulsion..

and when he wants to eat rice with kicap.. "ammar nak tosss..."

He still calls me "memeh" by the way.. only on rare occassions will he call me mommy..

ada time tu geram jugak.. like, he was hyper on the bed.. kicked me hard.. and i said 'owwww ammar...'
his reply would be.. "takit ke?? takpe.. sikit jer..." *&^%$#$%^ sikit???

ahh the joy of motherhood... no??

a good purchase indeed!

2011-01-06T22:06:00.000+08:00

OMG! this is sooo lame.. apakah gunanya ada blog kalau tak diupdate? kalau buat bisnes mcm nih, mmg dah tutup kedai lahh...

Was i too busy??? hmm... adalah sikit time nak buat Ameer's bday bash.. what with the cutting and the pasting.. terasa mcm buat houseparty masa zaman kat TKC plak.. but after that, i was preoccupied.. with thinking stuff.. with another round of decision making... but im not about to blog about it now.. later perhaps...

BTW, me got myself iphone 4 already!! woot woot.. keinginan utk ada iphone mungkin since iphone belom masuk msian market lagi.. tapi i dont want to buy overseas' iphone without warranty... just in case anything happens.. susah nanti.. but about 2 weeks after i bought the nokia e71.. or rather my hubby bought e71 for moi, barulah maxis announced iphone coming in.. sheeshhh... so dgn penuh kesabaran saya menunggu dr iphone 3G ke 3GS dan akhirnya dapat jugak satu time iphone 4.. the journey of getting one is not easy...

boleh jadi easy if i have bought it during opening weekend cause i've already reserved it !! (dushhh...) ini tunggu 2-3 weeks, baru lah kena ke maxis klcc 3 minggu berturut2.. padan mukerr.. tapi rezeki ammar n ameer kot.. dapat jugak beli walaupon dtg slightly later and tak payah q dr awal pagi!

nway..i love using the phone!! senang nak tgk movie, nak buat budget, nak baca buku, nak chat free dgn everyone.. so many things!!!

tapi tak sangka la iphone 4 ni menjadi kegilaan sampai 2 adik2 dlm LRT pon tegur.. tanya pasal phone tuh.. ayat tak sangka...

"tapi hot nya kak, pakai iphone 4"

ehemm... kakak ni yg hot ker??? iphone tu yg hot??? kakak dah anak 2 ni dik... kui kui kui...

but tak kisah la org kata byk problem ke, takde signal ke, battery kena charge selalu ker.. i love my handphone!! and i know my hubby loves it too... ada kekesalan la tu beli ~~blackberry~~! peace!!!

countdown

2010-11-22T09:06:00.000+08:00

countdown: 24 days to Ameer's 1st birthday!

i have mapped out things to do, budgets, guests lists etc for his party... but have got no time to actually get my hands dirty! :-D

i know that ppl say 'buat apa nak buat party for a 1 year old'... bukannya they all ingat pon..

but to me there is a lot of things that this celebration is for

of course the main celebration is that ameer was born into the world.. and became another pride and joy for us..
but this day also marks the one year we became a family of four...
the one year that ammar became a big brother.
and to us parents: the one year that we have been blessed with double joyness..

so it's a celebration of many many things.. not just for ameer, but also for all of us! :-)

plus, we do not do makan2 session that many times..
might as well make it into one..
cant wait!!

Long Weekend

2010-11-06T07:18:00.000+08:00

3 days to spend with the kids?? heaven!!! we started off friday by roaming low yat.. and it was totally a fruitful outing.. now we have all we need for a more high tech lifestyle.. hehehe... unfortunately had to leave ameer behind because we cant handle two kids while surveying and asking questions.. but we were back after lunch.. so it's not too bad...

the rest of the day was filled with visits from relatives and a birthday party of my nephew on hubby's side.. sangat last minute that i went to buy present on the way! tak patut betul... sebab nak cepat sangat, spent 3 ringgit on a wrapping paper!! for an 8 year old kid.. gosh.. so pricey!!

today, we have no plans yet except for the kids' TW class and a wedding tonite.. so many things could be done! :-D

now ammar is watching TV and ameer is crawling here n there.. we'll wait for hubby to wake up fully before deciding on the day.. meanwhile, im happy surfing the net!

Netball tournament

2010-11-01T15:39:00.000+08:00

After about 4 years of no netball, I joined the company's tournament yesterday. Why? because i dont know how to get out of it.. and also, maybe i kinda missed the game a little bit..

I mentioned that I would willingly go and play RESERVE..
And what did i get? I played for all freaking games!

The verdict: today sakit satu badan wokeh.. ribcage, tulang segala, my b*tt!!! urghh.. i walk FUNNY! dah la ada meeting outside plak tuh.. haiyoohh

Alhamdulillah, we got second place. not bad la kan? I played GS for 1.5 game, and GA for another 1.5 game.. gila hape.. I am so lazy to lari.. and I had to play GA! goshhh...

And when im tired, i dont score! time kmys lain citer la.. everyday shoot 100 times! tutup mata pon boleh masuk.. hahaha.. ini, dengan tak practise nya.. sayang je tak masuk bola tuh. thank God my team mate terror2 belaka.. boleh cover my as*! hehehe

Bila main netball ni, teringat zaman netball dekat LSE dulu.. gila semangat main dlm winter! siap naik bas to zone 2 for weekly training! those were the days.. and it was FUN!

Nowadays, i am soooo not fit! am so impressed with kakak2 beranak 3 yang have stamina banyak gile.. she's like all over the court. maybe my two sons will soon train me to have high stamina! eheheh..

After a tiring day, DH la yang kena memicit2 yours truly.. and he said, 'tak berbaloi dapat RM70..' hehehe...

Changed habit

2010-10-27T08:53:00.000+08:00

Believe it or not, after many weeks of abstaining myself from impromptu shopping and credit tightening.. I find that going for a stroll in the shopping centre is no more that appealing!

Habits do change!

We were bored, doing nothing last weekend (partly because I was down with flu), and hubby asked if I wanna go walk around, window shopping.. and I couldnt find a single cell in my body yearning to do just that.. This is sooooo different from before when my idea of spending good quality time is window shopping..

Of course, there is a downside.. I no longer survey things like crazy.. trying to save every dollar.. i just buy things whenever and wherever convenient.

This is so new and liberating,, hehe..

Tawakkal

2010-10-26T09:27:00.000+08:00

Congratulations to my friends, Juju and Hizam, and Nicky and Rani, for the birth of their newborns yesterday.. Births are such magical moments.. and the smell of newborns.. WONDERFUL! I hope i'll have time to visit them in these coming days.

I was having a rough two weeks.. With the disappearance of our nanny right under our nose (air cond room is excellent soundproof!) .. results in a slight chaos in my small family unit. As a result of that, Ammar started to attend playschool with his cousin. Thanks to my so nice BIL who willingly fetch Ammar to and fro.. He had so much fun that it was not difficult to ask him to go to school.

We found a replacement nanny not long after, thanks to my mom's excellent networks.. After she interviewed the nanny, I did a follow up.. We chose her because she looks eager to learn.. she's also nice to Ameer when i brought him for trial run.. and also because I believe in the concept of rezeki. Maybe Allah has written that we are to take this nanny to replace the old one.

When I first found out of my loss, I was in shock and depressed. I have no idea why she would do something like this. If I am an employee, I would have loved this working condition. she's so free to do a lot of things.. My mistake is probably I am too lenient.. But after a few days of moving in automated life, making sure all basics are covered.. I started to be better.. although because of such stress, i caught a bad case of flu!

I am still teaching the new nanny tasks, dos and donts. It is tiring.. but someone's got to do it.. She's willing to learn.. I have no qualms about that.. Ammar and Ameer have been doing great. They do not whine over the lost nanny.. They seem to be doing fine. And Ameer is more independent nowadays.. he can play on his own... that's why i always say that babies are geniuses! they know what's happening around them and they adapt!

I was mad at the runaway nanny.. But now I am grateful. Grateful that she left when I was there.. Grateful that she helped raised Ameer from an infant to an almost toddler now. Grateful that she left before she cause any harm to my children. Perhaps she's no longer my rezeki. I will leave it to Allah to do what's just. What's important now is that we are moving forward. I hope the new nanny will stay till the end. I hope she'll be great with the kids. I have done and will try to do my best for my family, and I will tawakkal to Allah. May He gives me kindness..

under the weather

2010-10-23T22:12:00.000+08:00

I am ill.. :-(
Probably caught it from DH...
or.. maybe because i was under too much stress
being ill and breastfeeding is hard
cant take just any meds
okay.. im gonna stop..
and rest now..
have a good weekend y'all

Early Education Part 2

2010-10-15T14:50:00.000+08:00

With Ammar starting pre-school next year, I will have to strategize on the financials. At the moment, both my kids are with tweedle wink. So i already have 2 kids' quarterly cash outflow. Starting Jan 2011, it will be 3.. one for Ammar's preschool and another 2 for Tweedlewink.. As much as I like to continue both of them with the right brain class, I have to let one go.. :-(

We have yet to decide on whose continuing TW.. but I think it will most likely be Ameer because he does not go to any school yet. So TW will be his activity.. but I need to consult with the teachers first.

My plan is to start doing the right brain lessons at home myself. After more than 6 months going into the class, I have been exposed to their methods. So I think we can do it ourselves. The only thing is that, we do not have sufficient teaching tools. The DVDs are available for sale.. but the cards, the maps, and many more.. we dont have those. I'm now thinking of ways to improvise.. cause after each lesson, we are given a card to show the kids at home what they learned. In those cards, they do give sites and references that we could go to increase child's exposure. so i guess that is what i am gonna do after this.

The only problem is: TIME.

I leave home at 6.40 am, sometimes 6 am.. And I reach home at 6 pm.. that is my parent's place. We'll only go back to our place at about 7.15pm and after we are done with prayers etc, it will already be sleep time for the kids at 8 - 8.30 pm. When am I going to do the right brain thingy???

But all talk and complain will not get me anywhere.. So, I am now devising HOW TO MAKE IT ALL HAPPEN.. I might be a working mommy.. but that does not mean that I can't be around.. especially now when my babies at their peak age for right brain input : 0 to 6 years old.. I shall and I will.. :-D

Early Education Part 1

2010-10-14T11:58:00.000+08:00

My research these days have expanded beyond expectation.

During my pre-wedding days, it was finding the perfect colour for the wedding day, the nice bouquet to complement the dress, the ribbon for hantaran..

When I was pregnant, it was looking for the best baby name, the perfect stroller, the cures to nausea and tricks to easy labour..

During breastfeeding period, the topic moved on to how to increase milk supply, is the baby fully fed, looking for nursing tops..

And now when the first born is already pre-school age, it is researching all the available kindys, reviews on different teaching method and personally checking on the schools to look at the actual place...

Mommy's work will never end! But I love doing it.. :-D

So now i am on my kindergarten hunt.

Turning 4 next year, DH and I both believe that Ammar is now ready to start schooling life.. so the questions are:
1) Should it be a montessori or education based?
2) How far should we consider?
3) Do we want the place to have a complete play area, with swimming pool?
4) Are the teachers good enough? Qualification? Dedication? Patience?
and the list goes on and on and on.. and the more i google it, the more i am confused..

I am very much inclined to choose montessori based schools but there are so many schools who advertised themselves as being montessori but in actual fact, is not practising them 100%. How do i know? They separate the classes by age (in which you shouldnt, if based on maria montessori), they call the teachers as teachers, when it should have been directress, and many more differences that shows that they are in fact not really a montessori.

True montessoris are there, of course.. but not in our area..And since I am not the one doing the school run, I feel that I should not let LO#1 enrol at a school too far from our place.

After circling our neighbourhood, I found out that all the franchises have kindys in the area. Smart Reader, REAL, Q-dees, Genius Aulad.. and there are some that are owner operates like Salsabilla, Cempaka Suria, Al-Husna, Aladdin..

With so many to choose from, I have to call up most of them, visit the schools, read up on all the programs, especially those on franchise. (MIQ vs FlipTech vs Smart).. It is so confusing that I think choosing a university is not as difficult as this!

However, after the tiring round last Saturday, I think I kinda finally made up my mind.. The only thing to do is take a day off, buy some food and park the car nearby the school for an hour or so, just to see the operations.. hehehe.. mcm PI la pulak kan?

The most important thing is for my darling Ammar to have fun in school, learn to socialize and love learning. I really dont want to put pressure on him because lets face it, he'll have a lot of that later in primary and secondary years, uni years, working years!!.. I really hope that he will not be introduced into the competitive world yet.. i dont want him to burn out too early in life. Mothers.. so protective, arent we?

Standing up

2010-10-05T09:51:00.000+08:00

the plus point of going to the gym before work is.. more energetic for work and am done with exercise by 8 am.. the downside however is, not having enough time to prepare my breakfast which results in me buying the super priced breakfast nearby. nasi goreng sikit and telur and teh ais = RM4. And the egg is super oily! haiyoo.. i guess i have to resort to cereal and milk for brekkie every gym day cause do not have time to prepare any at home!

Alhamdulillah, I can now fit into 85% of my clothes.. but as I took out the old clothes.. it suddenly looked very old.. maybe because I have seen them for the past 4 years of my working life. maybe i've grown tired of them.. hehe.. but am not having a makeover.. too time consuming and of course, pricey.

Ameer can now stand on his own for a few seconds.. I am very proud, of course but he is more so.. he'd been showing off his ability to stand during class while smiling so broadly.. it made everybody laugh! my cheeky little boy! and his third teeth is also coming out.. now, i am not pureeing so much of his food. just the fruits to be eaten with cereal.. his porridge is no longer smooth cause i wanna encourage him to practice munching.. :-D

alrightey.. we are having dept raya lunch this afternoon.. more eating session!

Headache attack!

2010-10-04T14:47:00.000+08:00

It is monday and I started the day fine.. but due to lack of sleep (ameer wakes up almost every hour? and ammar insisted to sleep next to me..) i am now having a headache! arghhh.. Luckily we have a clinic just a lift ride away.. so I have telan the painkiller.. and now waiting for it to work!

Weekend was super hectic.. open houses here and there. from setapak garden all the way to ipoh.. but since it is the best time to meet family members near and far, we made the effort to go to all the invitations. alhamdulillah.. even though we did turn up late at one of it.. It is also good for Ammar especially if we go to houses where there are many kids.. he gets to socialize.. after being deprived of peer socializing during the week! hehe..

I foresee this weekend to be even more tiring.. A dear fren's wedding in KB.. but it will exciting with the plane ride.. we've been telling Ammar he'll be going on an airplane ever since 2 weeks ago.. and i know he cant wait! it will be ameer's first experience and hopefully everything will go well!

alrightey... have to continue my work.. i was actually enjoying writing up the report.. until this headache attack! blerghh

Carssss...

2010-10-01T15:23:00.000+08:00

I am not a CAR person. DH is a car person. Therefore, his passion is enough to cover for my lack of interest in cars. I don't really appreciate a car's beauty.. But maybe that is because I don't have enough cash to buy a car. If i have to buy one now, I'll probably just get the Sag*, cause that is what I can afford. or a second hand Japanese car.. which is known to be fuel efficient and less maintenance need.

But i need to update my dad's car. Like really really have to.. The radio's frequency is only up to 90.0.. like what channel is worth listening to below the 90? and it is not tinted at all... AT ALL! so it is super hot when I get into after work. and the colour has fade.. poor car..

Hence, 3 things I have to put on my list:

1) Change radio

2) Tint the car

3) Paint it new..

*scratch head* too pricey... I'll live with the old radio, the heat and the grubby look for now.. atleast until end of the year.. :-)

told ya i'm not a car person! :-p

Our night ritual

2010-09-30T20:55:00.000+08:00

DH had to work a little bit late so i was on duty to unwind the kids and put them to bed.

For Ameer, I just nurse him after maghrib and he's in la la land after 15 mins.. kenyang!!

Then i had time to do colouring with Ammar.. Tonight i taught him colours.. and the concept of family.. The 20 mins spent colouring with him tonight.. is priceless... A chance for us to bond.. to get to know each other.. Until daddy comes home..

And now it's 8.45.. DH is putting him to bed.. so that they have their bonding time.

and later, it will be DH and me bonding time.. pappa rich for supper. cause i so teringin their char kuey teow. :-)

Wonderful, isnt it?

Grocery store - which one do u prefer?

2010-09-30T11:23:00.002+08:00

This weekend :

- 2 open houses
- 1 wedding
- Ammar and Ameer going to their class.. (Ameer's first time! excited!!!)

Planning to slot in

- laser treatment for my stretchmark.. (hope can find time)
- keeping old baby gears for future use (not necessarily mine!)
- reorganize kitchen items
- a wee bit of gardening?

must not spend time in shopping malls.. except to buy groceries..(my credit tightening mantra)

BTW, i have now found a good grocery store in my area.. Carrefou* tropica*a mall! me likey.. went there last saturday morning.. and why do i like it?

- less crowded compared to our neighbourhood GI**t
- veges are super fresh with huge selection of organic veges, almost similar to Col* Storag*
- not too small that they have less variety, but not too big that you spend most of the time finding things
- many workers on duty - easy to ask something
- not as pricey as my favourite store, the C. S.
- they have quite a selection of international food.. :-)

the downside are:

- fish are less fresh than C.S but better than G
- have to pay for parking!

I think we may go there more frequent now.. :-) oh i LOVE groceries.. destressing!!!

who stole my vava voom?

2010-09-29T14:40:00.000+08:00

fasting is so not my forte. Salute to those who fast every monday and thursday.. i wish i have more kesabaran..

It is day 4 of my puasa 6. 2 more days! I think I have to do it this week.. habiskan in one go.. tapi boleh ke? erkk.. apa2 pon malam ni teringin nak makan float, or cake.. :-)

i need to find my work mojo.. or work va va voom.. i have zero drive nowadays.. i think it is because i am fasting.. i need to munch while working.. (ok, not all the time, but sometimes.. when i need the surge of energy to produce the idea).. but i was not too bad during the fasting month..

maybe because it's been too long.. maybe i need something new.. but there's always something new to do here.. new perspective.. new events..

maybe because my peers have moved on.. but i love the ppl i work with.. fresh ppl.. fresh ideas..

maybe because i want to do different thing in life?? maybe i dont want this constricted 8-5 work anymore?

sigh... i do love research.. i am just stuck in a hole.. a dark, bad hole.. must find ways to climb out of it! MUST!

'bad vibes bad vibes go away go away.. good vibes good vibes here to stay here to stay..'

what do u do while doing 'mommy time'?

2010-09-28T15:51:00.000+08:00

Day 3 of Puasa 6 : Not bad, actually.. hopefully i can habiskan all six.. :-)

Countdown for pumping at work : another 51 days! before i reach my 1 year mark..

Yes, i know that BF benefits the baby.. I will insya Allah continue direct feeding at home.. but at work, I am trying my very best to pump until he's 1 year. meaning - no FM before LO#2 turns 1.. amin..

Pumping is not something I enjoy.. but I do it because I have to work.. and my baby needs the milk.. to kill time, these are the things I do while pumping:

- Read a book

- Surf on the internet via hp

- Chit chatting with fellow pumping moms.. (now there's only two of us!)

- Read the newspaper

- Watch tv series !!! (me likey!!)

Thanks to Ira my darling sis, now I have her IPOD.. and loving every minute of using it.. :-)

I used to have an MP4 player which is cheap but serves its purpose.. after one and a half year, it is now resting on my book shelf.. insufficient battery to keep it alive.

With Ipod, it is sooo best! clear picture, excellent sound.. the only downside: have to convert all my series into MP4 before I can use it on the ipod.. leceh! but am doing it at work while doing work, so tak la time consuming.

So now i have almost all series in Greys Anatomy season 6 for viewing...

Pumping is no longer a boring chore!

It is not goodbye, it is 'see you soon'

2010-09-27T15:43:00.000+08:00

Day 2 of my puasa 6.. Dont know if I will manage to do six or not this year but am not pressuring myself.. Most years I did manage to.. but with BF and pumping.. feeling slightly difficult.. but we'll see.. I've got about 2 weeks to get it done!

Am feeling OK at work and was actually quite upbeat to finish my report.. but...connection pulak tak betul.. so i cant DL the data and get everything done.. haiyoo.. sucks betul.. bukan selalu i am all perky like this during fasting!

I hate farewells.. and within the span of four days, there's two goodbyes and trips to KLIA. Eldest sis left after 3 week of holiday here and youngest will be going back to uni tonite.. Then there'll be just the two of us.. sigh.. it will be another 9 mths before the youngest comes back for holiday and dont know la how many months for the eldest.. sucks to be separated like this.. but thank GOD for facebook! we are almost always connected and up to date with each other's lives..

This time around, am very glad cause I manage to spend quality time with them.. the trip to Pangkor was excellent! we got enough pics of the 4 of us to last us another year..2 at the most! i took many days off and i am not complaining cause i got to spend time with them.. hopefully it will be a yearly event.. May Allah grant us enough rezeki to allow us to see each other more often. :-)

Next gath was supposed to be London in 2 years.. but seems like we might just detour and do an Asian outing.. for that, I will again put on my travel agent hat and do a lot of searching and enquiring... things that i LOVE to do! :-)

Pigmentation? NOOOO!!!

2010-09-23T08:47:00.000+08:00

attended my sister's Anti Aging party at Timeless last night. It was my lawyer sister's but I was there to eat.. hehe.. my doctor sister asked his laser guy and facial analysis guy to be there so i took the opportunity to do a face analysis using this super canggih machine that takes 3 pics of ur face and give out results. The verdict: Yours truly have pores and spots problem, with some pigmentation.. Luckily there is no acne problem and sun damage.. so, this will be the area im targeting next! and hopefully another laser treatment for my stretchmarks.. it really works! amazing.. :-)

I am so glad that my doctor sis decided to go into this aesthetic thingy. I am not that rajin to spend hours at the facials.. read: drive there, park, go for appointment, drive back.. it will take me three hours usually to complete this ritual.. and since i have babies, time is so precious that i need fast treatment. so i LOVE the treatments at my sis'. it is fast and efficient and clinically proven.. :-)

i am still delaying my trip to the gym.. haih.. i think i will only start in october. today is my first day of puasa 6.. so i still have 5 to go.. nampaknya mmg la lambat nak start ke gym nih.. but hopefully once dah pergi, akan selalu pergi? and hopefully our aerobics plan on sunday morning with my high school friends akan menjadi la.. fun and healthy ways to spend time with friends! tee hee hee..

am ending this with: start your anti aging treatment early peeps! cause you'd rather preserve your 20s face, right? :-p

flu flu go away!

2010-09-19T22:16:00.000+08:00

only have about half an hour (atmost) before i doze off... just swallowed 1000 mg of vit c and one tablet of polaramine to fight the flu.. i so prefer clarinase cause it's non drowsy but BF moms cant simply take any medication.. :-( so had to make do with polaramine yg confirm mengantuk!

yesterday was my parent's open house but we invited some frens n family over as well. i have a quota of 50 but i didnt exactly fill up those.. perhaps about 30? it was quite a last minute invite from me cause i was too busy beraya at kg.. hehe.. but thanks so much to those who came.. hope you guys enjoy the food ! it was hotel midah, of course! :-)

this morning we had adik beradik breakfast at Raj*. my parents didnt come cause they were was was about the halal ness of the restaurant. can someone please make it easier for us in malaysia to know whether or not an eatery is halal or not? cant they make it a rule that maybe the halal sign can only be obtained from the authority and not bought at some hardware shop ke? malaysia pon banyak tpt tak halal.. susah betul!

anyway, we then went to butterfly park and the kids really enjoyed it. nasib tak besar park tu. kalau tak, berpeluh nak kejar!

even though we did drop by the curve for lunch, i managed not to shop except for some groceries.. credit tightening seems to be going pretty well.. hehe.. i enjoy being at home more and dah berjaya mengemas bilik bilik dekat rumah ni.. next plan is to cook more to the extent boleh menjemput sedara mara dtg kat rumah over the weekend.. ambitious tak?

Ameer insya Allah will be joining his brother for the weekly class. they are trying to schedule both of them together so i only have to go once during the weekend. nothing's confirmed but i do hope they could find a solution.. :-)

early education

2010-09-17T15:47:00.000+08:00

i seriously need to send ammar to playschool next year.

we were contemplating to send him this year but we didnt because
1. he's not potty trained yet (now in the process but with little success)
2. if we start him too young, afraid that he'll be bored with school and burn out faster. (logic ke?)
3. we want him to bond with ameer for a year (as in, lepak at home together)
4. we feel that he's still a tad too young to start going
5. i really want him to have fun chilling at home, exploring the world by creating his own play, etc etc.. like enjoy childhood. cause you know how schools are like nowadays.. even kindys have homework!!!

i see that playschool is now a must.. ok la.. he'll still be going next year but i think he really needs it because
1. he needs to socialize with kids his age..
2. he has to learn the word :SHARE. (nowadays, he seems to be doing quite well)
3. staying with the maid all the time during the day is not good for him. he doesnt learn much, they feed him too much TV and they are of course less creative
4. he has to have a structured routine

i am so sad that we the working class have to resort to
1) sub par nursery
2) full time maid from in*o* who does not have qualifications to train our kids.

you are extremely lucky if you have nursery facilities at ur workplace or good nurseries within your area that suits your need. unfortunately for most of us, it is almost always the maid! the fact that we have to leave them with someone who didnt even finish school is utterly outrageous. i am so thankful that i live near my parents who can at least keep an eye on the kids. itu pon not all the time. ada je time2 they are left alone.. scary!

hiring a well qualified nanny is something that is quite out of the world. in developed countries, the nannies went to nanny school, fluent in 3 languages, know how to play the piano and guitar, cook gourmet food, have first aid course! i know some says that we grew up ok despite being left with maids too.. but most of my maid were local.. and some even passed SPM with grade 1.. that is definitely commendable for maids, rite?

alhamdulillah so far the person working for us is ok.. i mean, she knows some english, some mandarin, some numbers.. but of course she's not running a daycare and thus i feel that ammar is left out in terms of good routine and exposure. also, i think they watch too much tv.. even after i tell them no! :-(

so for now, most of ammar's exposure is during the weekend.. and i really hope they are enough.. when i feel painful to pay a gazillion for his weekly classes, i think back and realize that at least he learns a lot during that one hour compared to staying home during the week. hopefully ammar will enjoy his playschool next year and lessen my worries!

EID 1431H

2010-09-17T08:54:00.000+08:00

It was definitely an eid to remember! first time as a family of four and all of us the minhat gurls gathered for raya. It was havoc, delicious, fun and memorable.

kicked start with last day of ramadan where we break fast at my parent's. and then to main bunga api for the 5 boys.. (man, they play like crazy!) and still they have the energy to go for takbir. then it was takbir at my parent's which ended at about 10.40 pm.

raya morning.. photo session.. salam salam.. duit raya session.. and makan!.. so havoc.. with one baby crying, and another kid who doesnt want to be in the picture? hmm... finally we got the pic with all of us.. one drinking milk, another showing his dinosaur and one sleeping.. OK lah tu... what do u expect kan? kids...:-)

we pushed off to DH kg after friday prayers.. road was ok.. no traffic jams.. :-) and we spent quiet raya for 2 days.. just hanging about the house.

then it's our superb pangkor laut holiday which was awesome and please go for everyone looking for a destination to go to.. this is another blog entry altogether..

after another 1 day at DH kampung, we spent Malaysia Day at home.. relaxing... and back to work on friday.. :-)

to all, Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri and Maaf Zahir Batin.. mana tau.. tertulis, terkata or terbuat something yang inappropriate.. Hope your eid was as wonderful as ours. :-)

2010-09-08T16:14:00.000+08:00

Today is my last day of work before Eid holiday. But had tonnes to do.. Non core stocks valuation and also meeting with one of the developers.. out of all day, kan? but the good thing is, was done with valuation before the meeting and the meeting was at Pavillion.. apa laga.. boleh la mencuci mata lepas sibuk bekerja kan? :-)

I bought Ammar his bday present already.. so dah settle.. only have to order his cake that has to travel all the way to pangkor.. hehehe.. am going to letak the present deep in the suitcase.. takut karang dia nampak plak.. terus tak suprised! :-p

As usual, raya mode dah on walaupon raya lagi 2 hari.. am still contemplating whether or not to cook for this raya. we are going back to hubby's place about noon so we'll be celebrating 1st raya at both places. fair la kan? :-) if i were to cook, then have to head to pasar tani early morning tomorrow.. but the menu will be sama je with my mom's yg only 5 mins away.. decisions decisions...

petang ni is another dating event with DH. :-) berbuka puasa di luar.. yeay.. anak2 duduk rumah tido yer, mak bapak nak makan thai food. mula2 ingat nak makan dekat pavillion tapi berapa kali saya nak tawaf pavvy tu kan.. makanya ke klcc la we all today.. jgn jeles yer.. dalam bulan puasa ni baru 2 kali i dating2 dgn hubby. yang lain semua sambil pegang ameer lah.. kejar ammar lah.. hadoii.. makan pon x senang duduk.. kasik la 2 mlm mommy daddy nak romantic2 kan.. :-p

alritey. ini dah tahap merepek.. selamat berbuka puasa y'all!

The excel and I

2010-09-07T09:03:00.000+08:00

ever since i became an analyst, my everyday 'best friend' is the excel program. During Uni, i rarely use excel.. i am more familiar with power point or words.. but never excel. so i had to learn everything in 2006. i can now say that i am probably an intermediate excel user. i know the basics of vlookup and macros, but dont use it often.. but i love everything else about excel.. it is an excellent tool to manage my life!

i have excels for almost everything now..

my monthly budget
holiday budget
holiday plans which includes annual leaves remaining
ammar's schedules
retirement savings plan
groceries expenses
maid's expenses

and the list goes on and on...

why i like excel? they are colourful and formula embedded.. so easy to use!!

now, i am consolidating all my personal excel files into one master thumbdrive! :-) and this makes my day! (weird, huh?)

P.T for Ammar begins

2010-09-06T08:30:00.000+08:00

With no bonus raya for us this year, I am officially announcing credit tightening for us... :-(

it all started last saturday when we stayed home for the whole day.. this is sooo new... what did we do? just sit around the house! it is absolutely crucial to avoid any shopping centres during this painful period.. and so we concentrated to another task in hand : potty training the DS#1.

With no reading done before, we just went for it.. and kesiannya ammar.. he absolutely had no clue of what to do.. and in total, we had probably about 5 accidents which resulted in him getting no access to playdoh.. yup, that what his reward.. PLAYDOH.. sitting on top of the toilet cover.. IF he manages to do either no 1 or no 2.. and kesiannya anak mommy.. cause by the end of it, both of us were so stressed that poor ammar pon kena marah.. :-(

this resulted in him not doing no 2 for the whole day!

but sunday was a much better day.. he did no 1 in the morning.. and no 2 at tweedlew**k's.. so i had to pull him out from the class for a while.. (he missed the maths section).. and me cheering him in the toilet! haiyooo...first time ever i am cheering for poo! after all that, we all said 'berjaya!!!' to ammar!!! hahaha...

but i am not going cold turkey lah.. i think we are taking it slow. very difficult when it is the helper training him rather than us.. but i hope she'd put him on the potty every 1 to 2 hours.. just to familiarize himself with the environment..

the fact that he knew what to do after 1 day pon dah tersangat amazing.. :-)

alritey. enough poo poo and wee wee talk huh? ;-p

raya sakan

2010-09-01T21:49:00.000+08:00

semalam buat muka raya...
hari ni buat rambut raya pulak..
wah wah.. sakan nya nak sambut raya... seriously.. tak pernah dlm sejarah hidup..
tahun ni dah la baju raya ada 2, hubby pon ada 2.. ammar n ameer toksah citer la..
berlambak2 beli kat US hari tuh...
ini teringin nak buat inai raya boleh? hehehe...

mungkin sebab dah lama x raya ramai2...
ye la.. bukan selalu anak sedara separuh omputih tu nak balik msia sambut raya.
lepas tu, dah 2 anak plak kan...
kena lah semangat on their behalf...
baru depa pon tau nikmat hari raya.. (alasan....)
apa2 pon bunga api dah ada 200 batang.. (courtesy of kakak dan adik)
pop pop tu banyak giler...
tapi mcm kena tambah je bunga api... 6 hero nak main!

ingat nak buat tangkap gambar family portrait a week after raya
ada cadangan tak???
ini tak nak la buat pakai baju raya sume..
nak buat style santai...
ramai ni nak bergambar... 15 org!!!
di mana n by siapa??
siapa yg sanggup keja pagi ahad 19 sept???

ok itu saja bebelan hari ni...
jangan lupa.. menu sahur malam kang:
sambal tumis ikan bilis
timun potong
telur goreng
kicap!

esok hari keja.. kejapnya 5 hari cuti!!!

flu flu go away

2010-08-31T22:43:00.000+08:00

Not feeling well.. :-(

still lots to do for the holiday:

take ammar to his class
do my hair
get a few books from MPH Sale
start to pack for our weeklong raya celebration which includes beach holiday...

but this flu had been on and off.. same to the kids.. kesian depa... thank god for nasal drop and nasal aspirator. but since im BF, no meds for me... urghhh..

take care you peeps... jgn demam time raya.. tak best!!!

free holiday!

2010-08-28T05:58:00.000+08:00

my enrich points have accumulated that i can use it to redeem :

1) to and from hong kong or
2) one way to brisbane or
3) one way to London...

aahhh.. i love reward points... but have yet to decide on out next family trip...

apparently, based on some reports, gen y loves to spend on

1) techie gadgets
2) cars
3) holidays

so true, rite? compared to generations before us, they buy houses.. which is much more sensible cause houses appreciate in value... and they wait until they retire or enter 40 plus before splurging on holidays..

i am so guilty of loving to go on holiday... after looking at my holiday schedule, almost every other month we'll go somewhere... mostly locals..but still, they do costs money.. :-p im not so into tech stuff.. that is purely the realm of DH.. and cars too... but im a sucker for holiday.. even to just stay at a hotel! so lame!

next trip for us: Kelantan for a wedding... booked three of us the tickets already, and the hotel, and the car rental. the big question: should ameer tag along? he should but can we handle a baby, a toddler and bags?? and remain sane?

TGIF!!!

2010-08-27T22:44:00.000+08:00

yipppeeee... so many to celebrate!!

1. I am done with results season today! (minus some cos that i am co-covering at the mo)
2. I took two days off so it will be 5 days of weekend!

best best.. to celebrate, i cooked curry ayam and kangkung belacan for sahur tomorrow.. to be eaten alongside sambal belacan and ikan masin rangup.. yummmm.....

after a few months only i realized that ameer is a reverse cycler! what la mommy kan.. forgot to notice... post solid, ameer's only take 2 bottles a day.. so sikit rite? ammar took 4 bottles a day until he's 1! my production also dipped to about 2 to 2.5 bottles a day... amazing... mcm mana my body tahu?? ameer's at home and im at work.. and i didnt reduce my pumping time (initially).. such a miracle this bonding between mommy and child!

and ameer wakes up like every 1 or 2 hours at nite to nurse... sure, it disrupted my sleep, his sleep... but since i am co-sleeping, it's not that big a deal lah.. tapi dulu he already went to sleep 9-5! sob sob... takpe la.. i guess he prefers to drink straight from the source! the freshest! hehe.. so yeah... bfeeding is a different experience each and everytime.. as long as baby's happy, mommy's okay, apa2 pon jalan lahh... so now i know what it's like to have a reverse cycling baby... :-)

another development of my baby boy: he's already had the confidence to let go while cruising!! wah wah.. not yet 9 months already want to walk ka??? must be tak sabar kan because ur big bro and ur two cousins are all running around you here and there... motivation!!!

during lunch today i went to pavvy to finish off vouchers for ameer.. got him one more baju raya.. :-) but most important is, i kinda know now my way around pavvy. i used to hate pavvy cause really confusing.. but after being given tutorial by miss hu**a, i think i shall give pavvy another try for family outing after raya.... :-)

alritey.. wanna kemas baju cause we're going off tomorrow.. bertemu sanak sedara.. :-)

angan angan...

2010-08-25T22:50:00.000+08:00

menu sahur malam ni (cheating sikit yer..)
tandoori chicken
roti naan cheese
cik puan mlm ni tak masak.. malaihhhh.... :-)

while blogging, i am drinking teh ais mamak.. yummm.. nikmat nyaaa... bulan pose ni tak merasa teh ais lagi.. except for my hubby's special teh 'rondeh' during iftar last saturday.. wahh itu pon layannn... masa preggy ameer, rasanya almost every other night kot hubby buatkan teh ais for me.. hehe..

during lunch today i went to klcc with colleagues.. my intention: to buy ameer some clothes using parkson voucher that I got from our Kelab Sukan.. dapat la beli jeans and onesies pumpkin patch.. i still have 50 ringgit left so i guess another baju boleh kot.. but maybe later laa..

and then, went to mothercare.. ive got this 15% off vouchers for mothercare products and 30% off for ELC products sebab bday ammar.. but mothercare KLCC has limited range lah. I am looking for toys for both kids for our car ride back to kampung this weekend.. how lah to make sure ameer ok in car seat? last time he is sooo bagus.. now ni, always nangis nak keluar :-( so must keep the lil one entertained! ammar pulak needs more craft project things.. if not, asyik menghadap tv tengok citer ind*n.. ??? hopefully we have time to go BSC on friday...

btw am proud of how recognized DH is at his work place.. but recognized pon, compensation not that attractive.. hehe.. he'll be ending his contract soon.. and he's making a lot of tough decisions at the mo.. my criteria: high income, more time at home.. hahaha... sungguh x logic kan? but i am supporting his decisions... after all, it is his career path.. so i guess he should be making most of the decision... samalah like me.. ppl have been saying that i should leave.. make good use of my CFA and earn 5 figures somewhere.. it is sooo tempting, yes.. especially since CFA ni selalu pulak la buat job posting kan.. mcm2 kerja menarik ada... but at this point in my life... i want a relatively less stressful working environment so that i can focus on what matters the most at the mo.. the kiddos! so, terima aje lah smaller pay.. itu lah sebabnya im still using the olde car yang sthing had gone wrong with the brake light just now that DH had to do a DIY to betulkan tgh2 mlm buta nih... THANKS dear! syoknya income 5 figure kan.. boleh pakai toyota estima ker... nissan presage ke.. bmw x5 ke? haha.. dream on!

so to DH... gutlak in making your decisions.. apa2 pon, please keep my dream alive... (bangun pagi, buat breakfast, hantar anak gi sekolah, gi gym, breakfast while reading newspaper in a small cafe, lunch with ladies who lunch, ambik anak, tutor their hwork, prepare dinner)... hehe.. penat aje belajar tinggi2... tapi nak lepak2 pulak kan? apa2 pon, we'll be supporting ya!

Sahur oh sahur

2010-08-24T22:19:00.000+08:00

Menu for sahur tomorrow:
Burung puyuh goreng
Sup bayam, cendawan and carrot
Sambal belacan

DH is still amazed that after 2 weeks of fasting, I have yet to rotate our sahur menu. well, except for the blunder this morning of course. The one where i want to do kari daging but had to resort to sup daging.. I still have a few menu up my sleeve! :-) This is sooooooo completely different from last year. Last year, my ex-helper Imah was going back after a few days of puasa and we didnt get our replacement well until after raya.. I was about 7 months pregnant so I really dont have the energy to be creative, let alone cook!

So what did i do? Two days before Imah left, we cooked kari ayam and ayam cili like for the whole army and freeze them. Sampai ada contractor yg tgh buat kerja at the house told DH.. 'Abg nak pergi niaga pasar ramadan ke?' hehehe... So we had kari ayam, ayam cili almost every other day that one day i vomited everything i ate during sahur! punya la muak... well, ada la sardin or simple things in between but kari ayam and ayam cili were our main theme! haha.. so, this year's bulan puasa is a big deal, having graduated from that last year.. :-p

We bukak puasa at Hotel Midah again tonite.. Ada ketam lemak cili, ikan steam halia, gulai kawah, siput sedut, asam laksa, kambing bakar, spaghetti, ABC, cendol and many many more.. I know this sounds biased but they really do serve good masakan melayu! for 42 nett, i think it's very worth it! :-) promotion selingan.. but seriously, las vac*s yang buat barbecue dlm kedai daging tu pon charge 60 ringgit for buka puasa ok.. Midah is among the 22 hotels in KL that have sijil halal.. so boleh makan tanpa was was!

So we are halfway to raya.. Items for raya dah banyak checked.. Baju raya, kasut raya, duit raya (erk).. hadiah raya utk mertua.. my FIL will be getting a hp raya from DH.. I'm giving MIL tudung raya Ariani.. :-) the only thing yg belom - kuih raya! haiyoo... have to buy la kot? takkan dah anak 2 takde kuih raya.. mengharapkan yg bro*er kasik? hehehe... xpe.. ada byk masa lagi. man mannnn....

I am currently planning my cuti raya. Considering that we r celebrating it in PJ first, (hopefully for every raya.. hehe), am seriously thinking to work till the end.. ie not take the day off before raya.. sebab bukannya nak masak ketupat rendang bagai.. itu bakal ditapau saja dr rumah bonda yg hanyalah 5 minit jaraknya.. atleast can save one cuti and use it later2.. no? after all thn ni mmg raya sakan.. siap jalan2 cari makan lagi... best!

2010-08-24T10:42:00.000+08:00

there was once in my life that i really wanna go and live elsewhere and not in Msia.. i can still remember it clearly, me saying to someone in the car: i am definitely going to work overseas.. hah.. such a naive thinking by a 17 yr old?

i was reading a blog of someone who moved to work in the land down under.. it sounds fun... it looks fun... but will i do it? hmm.. that is a whole different story..

DH and I did have this conversation before. Should we move elsewhere? here are our points at that time:

thanks to me, we still have to stay grounded in KL as I am still bonded for another.. 6 years? we can bail the contract in 3.5 years time and i only have to pay for the ACCA portion but have to find 100k or so?
we are too family centric and feel strongly that our kids will gain more by growing up amongst cousins and close family
my target is to become a full time housewife or working part time while the kids are growing up, hence making DH the sole bread winner. To live elsewhere with single income is extremely risky
From our travel overseas, we feel that being in Malaysia is a luxury.. halal food, muslim community..
having worked in London as a part timer before, it could be difficult to find an office environment that is understanding towards your need to pray, etc
i dont know whether we alone have the capacity to lead by example to the kids, whether our way of life is sufficient for the boys to understand the Islamic way of life..

But of course, by saying this, it really shows that we are definitely no risk taker and very conservative! hehe... i know, if everyone else could do it. why cant we? i guess that's choice and at this moment, we are satisfied with ours. who knows.. maybe one day? :-)

no curry tonite! :-(

2010-08-23T21:59:00.000+08:00

arghhh... dah cun cun dah planning menu sahur malam ni:

kari daging

ulam left over dgn sambal belacan

ikan masin nipis2 digoreng rangup...

sekali tu habis rempah kari? haiyooo hangin jer... terpaksa la diganti dengan sup daging. tak kawww sangat laa.. kata ada darah2 penang. kari memang tetap pujaan hati.. :-) tapi x koser la nak ke kedai mamak malam2 nih... lain hari la naaa......

ammar and ameer both are already asleep... fuuhhh... once their sleeping pattern lari, very difficult! so saturday was out lahh with ammar so happily entertaining everybody until 10ishh... last night was very difficult for him.. he did wanna sleep early but his body clock says not yet.. so he was tossing n turning until about 10.30... so late!!! mommy pon cannot do anything cause he needs either one of us to be in bed with him.. ameer? lets just say he's in a phase where he wants to cuddle to sleep and will easily wake up if disturbed... sigh.. unbroken sleep is very rare for the past one year?

but alhamdulillah tonight ameer was asleep at 8.25 pm.. and i managed to isyak with DH before he put Ammar to bed and I got to do terawih tonite.. so now at 9.45 pm, im done cooking, solat and now blogging.. :-) after this, siapkan baju n barang for tomorrow and kemas2 sikit.. and zzzzzzzzz..... need energy to face results season... lots of work and low sugar is NOT good combo!

2nd Puasa Weekend

2010-08-23T13:54:00.000+08:00

Last weekend was .. HECTIC! and my body forgot to cherish days off.. pelik tapi benar! Co-hosting the annual buka puasa event amongst my close friends which were awesome.. Got to meet everyone BUT since I am the homeowner, punya lah sibuk keluarkan pinggan mangkuk utk letak all the food yg dibawa oleh everyone (it's a pot luck event), keluarkan periuk belanga utk tini masak sayur and nogha rebus jantung pisang, menunjukkan tempat simpan garam, minyak, sos tiram, etc utk yang memasak, menjemput org masuk, sediakan praying area, bungkus2 makanan lebih make sure orang boleh bawak balik.. dan macam macam lagi.. but it's all worth it. plus, kalau nak tunggu i buat open house... hmmm.. lama lagi kot! :-)

Ada lots of pics.. but i have yet to learn the art of watermarking.. so later2 lah will upload.. my chalet mate whose preggy at the mo, fina, came by.. nama dah 7 bulan tapi sungguh kecik.. tak payah pakai baju maternity kot? heheh.. lucky you dear,, nanti tak payah susah payah nak kuruskan bdn like you know who lah kan.. hehe...

Ammar as usual very energetic. but luckily tak gaduh2 or rampas barang from aqil. fuuuhh lega! cuma ada one incident die mengetuk kepala aqil.. nasib tak kuat.. if not, confirm juju n hizem tak mai dah! ammar or ammar...

Thanks everyone for coming with all the food variety,, i still have KFC and choc banana in the fridge,, yumm... tak sabor nak makan nihhh...

Earlier during the day, we went to pasar tani.. sebab kan saya dah rajin memasak sekarang.. :-) and then later to parenthood expo mencari barang2 terkini di pasaran.. so ameer got a pair of kasut raya, two new CDs brand rumparooz, mommy got one new nursing top, and both kids got lots of bekalan makanan heinz.. so so sad tak dapat beli beg allerhand kaler pink.. was selling at 270 from original price 440.. boleh tak ada satu je tinggal?? 7th parenthood expo nanti confirm ambik cuti! DH was sporting to temankan me.. and he also asked me to buy some techie gadgets for babies.. such as.. feeding spoon yg picit2 je kuar food.. hehe.. ada one flat bath yg nampak awesome tetapi cukup2 la tuh kan.. banyak dah membeli!

Ammar's sunday class was ok.. I like this class.. sangat spirit 1 Malaysia.. cause there's Ammar the malay boy, one Chinese boy names Laxen, and a pair of Indian twins Kanna and Kitty ( boy and gurl) .. so cute... and the parents are so supportive,, cheering on everyone without caring about the race.. I love it! That's part of the reason why I want to continue with tweedle*ink.. tapi... Ameer should enrol soon.. but gila la kan fees double.. hmmphhh... mampu ke mommy nak mengactivate kan right brain both kids nih?? balik pon lambat.. :-(

opps.. lunch break is almost over! and now is results season.. so i am extra BUSY!

Changed my layout!

2010-08-20T13:03:00.000+08:00

wah wah wah ... syoknya!!!! sudah bermuka baru.. hehehe.. believe it or not, i tried to do my previous layout from scratch! haha.. gile ke apa kan? punya la ada gazillion template.. i must have tried to be creative! but stopped halfway.. hehehe...i will cherish my new template before i change to another one.. :-p

Weekend is here finally!

2010-08-20T10:22:00.001+08:00

Weekend is finally here!!! weee..... and it is a full weekend too! What's the schedule like for this weekend.. hmm..
   Saturday: Parenthood Expo to grab all the bargains
                    Iftar with friends at my casa
   Sunday : Ammar's weekly class
But most importantly, to spend more time with the kids.. Sangat kesian OK tengok muka Ameer when I have to leave for work. like he's saying.. 'work again?' Ammar lagi la.. from the moment he opened his eyes in the morning, 'mommy, nak ikut.. daddy nak ikut..'
Ok.. I do feel guilty cause I had been working for three weeks non stop with only one day break last Monday.. I am thinking of taking more off days but work will be hectic next week. and the week after.. oh dear... hope we'll have a relaxed Raya and fantastic vacation right after that..

Ammar had a cut on his forehead yesterday.. it was too small to jahit so my BIL stick this tape that's supposed to join them back together. It has to be worn for 5 days! greatt... so my frens will all get to see ammar with his big plaster on the head.. the trials of having little boys!!! ok.. rephrase.. the trials of having little Ammar.. whose a tactile child with endless energy level and willing to try everything and anything.. but he's a loving son.. never fail to scream at the top of his lung whenever i arrive home from work.. "mommmy!!!!' and give me lots and lots of hugs.. tee hee hee...

WHY????

2010-08-19T22:18:00.000+08:00

It is so sad reading news about babies being dumped everywhere... How can these people do that? Are we now the same as masyarakat jahiliyah, or are we worse?

Babies have been designed to capture everyone's heart.. the round face, cute nose, small mouth, big eyes, and oh the sweet sweet smell of a newborn.. The face that eliminates all the pain from childbirth.. and yet these people.. their own parents!!! have the heart to throw them away.. In a dumpster!!! letting them die from being bitten by ants!!! astaghfirullah... where is our humanity?

After giving birth to both my sons, I cant stop kissing them... Their smell.. so lovely.. and after all the pain's gone and I have slightly more energy, I just dont want to put them down.. Holding a newborn is a precious moment.. I really really dont understand how these kids could do such horrible thing! Putting their own flesh and blood amongst the rubbish... Dont these people have feelings???

After all, it was not the baby's fault that they were conceived.. But why must they be punished for the stupidity of their parents? There are so many people waiting to adopt babies.. Give them the babies if you dont want to!

I pray that there will be no more such cases happening in future.. I pray that these babies are now happy in heaven with the Almighty.. I pray that they do not know and do not remember what's been done to them... Cause truly they are all special.. if only they are allowed to live..

Surirumah to be?

2010-08-18T22:22:00.000+08:00

Lauk sahur untuk esok :

Ikan bawal masak sweet sour
Sup sayur bayam dan cendawan
Telur masin

Semua yang penting dah settle.. The helper will just have to goreng ikan, masukkan dalam kuah yang dah siap tuh.. and rebus telur.. yummy...

I'm starting to get the hang of it.. cooking for the family to eat! tee hee hee.. yes yes.. we eat at my mom's like 70% of the time.. but who can blame us? It is like 5 minutes away je!!!

Why dont I just let the helper to cook? She does know how.. but DH prefers to eat what I cook.. although he mentioned lah yang he doesnt mind.. but i know that deep down he does mind! ha! so, i will try my very best to do myself.. but semalam teringin makan tom yam campur and daging merah jemari .. so hubby bought that after terawih... YUMMY!!!! panas je perut lepas sahur.. :-p

There's supposed to be a buka puasa with the broker tomorrow but im skipping that. If i go, i'll definitely arrive home at about 9.30.. if it was like 3 or 4 years ago, then ok lah... but now, i have two lil ones to put to bed.. no cant do socializing for now!

putting two kids under three to bed is definitely not an easy task.. imagine one wants to BF sampai lelap.. another one... 'nak polokkkk nak polokkk' lama2 rasa mcm paul the octopus.. seriously, i have to like senget bengetkan my body to cater both kids... haiyoo... sometimes DH is around to polok the big boy... so that is much relief!

alritey... have to siapkan things for tomorrow.. and want to check up on the kids... nite nite

*blogging is soooo destressing!

btw i have disabled my comment box for now.. it's been spamed! :-(

2010-08-18T11:53:00.000+08:00

My decision to stop blogging is now NULL and VOID! Why did i stop in the first place? I have NO time to update. But this is the only place i have to record things, however dull they may be.. There might be some things that I wanna look back and remember.. old records, etc.. so with that in mind, I will continue to blog.

Ramadan has been OK so far. Terawih at masjid is definitely no no for me cause i have to put the kids to bed. Some days, i get to do it at home.. Some days I had to miss it.. Milk supply is pretty bad.. Luckily so far it is enough for Ameer. We do most of our Iftar at my parent's cause it is easier since the kids are already there during the day. But I still have to cook for sahur. I prefer to do it at night, after terawih.. and in the morning, our helper will just reheat and serve.

Ameer turned 8 month last Sunday. He's now very very active.. Loves to eat and quite clingy. He also has jealousy issues and love to play with Ammar. tapi sangat kesian sebab Ammar kadang2 suka buli! haih... Ameer started to crawl at 7 months and now likes to stand and cruise.. tak sabar nak jalan and lari anak mommy nih..

Ammar talks like there's no tomorrow.. NON STOP! sometimes it's hilarious.. sometimes it's too loud! his vocab is sooo much now that it's funny soemtimes.. he has this pretty cute pelat of his own that ppl find it difficult to understand.. So mommy has to translate most of the time! :-)

alritey.. will continue once i have more time..

a summary

2010-06-01T22:12:00.000+08:00

I am seriously considering to stop blogging because of the lack of time... but that thought is still under consideration. Much has happened for the past few weeks.. and as much as i'd love to jot everything.. I still have to be realistic and pick and choose.. so in a jiffy...

Hubby and I went to the Stat*s, me for work.. him for holiday.. it was our second proper honeymoon (yes, after 4 years!) and we left the kids behind with my family for about 10 days!
I managed to stock up 162 packets of milk, through ULTIMATE hard work and constant diligence... just in case anything happened and my stay had to be extended..
Ameer drank only about 7 packets per day, so in the end only used up about 80 packets.. leaving me with another 80 in the freezer
The US* was excellent for shopping.. we spent 6 hours at the factory outlet and it was not enough!
we bought a new luggage.. and still, it cannot contain ALL our shopping stuff.. threw away all items that are not that important just to make room for our shopping spree
i had to throw away ALL milk pumped during the trip cause it weighs about 5kg ++... since we still have plenty at home, i was not too bogged down about it. but yeah, throwing the liquid gold is never easy!
i have officially pumped everywhere! in the airport, at my seat on the plane, next to the WTC site, next to Bank of America building, u name it, i got it!
NEW YORK was FUN FUN FUN! 3 nights was not enough but we managed to cover what i really want to..
i went on SATC tour and loved it.. hubby was so patient to teman me to find the 'facade' of carrie's house.. it is definitey not 245 east 73rd street!
i managed to do much damage to my credit card.. and in some way, helped the USA out of their recession.. but i have prepared for this mentally and emotionally..

All in all, it was a memorable two weeks.. and we came home to a jumping up and down 2.5 yr old kiddo whose so thrilled that their parents are finally back from office! ameer was fine.. no fever (thank GOD!) and he continued nursing as usual.. milk supply was not too badly affected but I pumped so much, that I now have a pumping strike...

figure 8

2010-05-01T22:12:00.000+08:00

It is 10 pm and i have about 15 mins before my night pumping session.. Tomorrow is one hectic day!

10 am: Nephew's bday party - gift checked!
12 noon: Ammar's class
2 pm: Friend's daughter's aqiqah - gift checked!
Clothes for tomorrow for the kids - checked! already laid out on the bed for the nanny to pakaikan tomorrow

seems like i'll not have time to go BSC for the Times book sale this weekend! :-( oh well, i still have 8 months to spend the remaining of 1,000 for books for 2010 tax.. it shouldnt be difficult to SPEND!

Finally i had time to go through all the kids' toys and separate them. I now have one box for their education purpose. so happy! now all are organized.. next thing to do.. borrow sis' colour printer to do more flashcards.

anyway, i was watching this right brain dvd yesterday and the speaker stressed so much on the importance of spending time with our kids. eventhough we are all working parents, we must must must find time to bond.. whenever we are there to attend to our kids' needs, figure 8 communication takes place and that is how mothers gain intuitive instincts and kids learn to respect mommies. therefore, eventhough we all have nannies and working full time, some times with out station trips some more, please take some time each day that's possible to attend to our kids and involve ourselves in their daily activities. You'll never regret this!

spending time with the younglings

2010-04-29T20:50:00.000+08:00

wow.. it has been almost 2 weeks with no update! how time flies!!! what happened to us? work, play, live, learn! :-)

Hubby and I had our H1N1 shots at the local klinik kesihatan. suprisingly waiting time was quite okay, maybe because we came towards the end of the day. We brought ammar along, just in case he is allowed for the shot. apparently, only those age above 18 are allowed. so he was just there to cause some chaos. and pitying us while we get our shot.. yup.. he's like.. 'sakit?? mommy? sakit?'

the past few weeks have been focused on the kids. and i amhappy with this development. hence less blogging time! nevertheless, as i am quoting someone, parenting is the most important job in the world. (for those with kids lah) so i feel a sense of calm and purpose when i am doing exactly that. of course, we do have our date night and stuff like that.. but lately, i am less selfish and more concentrated on the kids' needs.. foregoing shopping trips just to spend the day at home playing and flashing cards? this is so not me last time! hehehe..

cant spend too much time on the computer tonight.. maybe i'll get the chance to update again tomorrow.. i do have something specific to blog about.. rather than random updates like this! :-p

Saturday well spent!

2010-04-17T23:58:00.000+08:00

For someone whose not fit at all, today is super duper memenatkan! started off with early morning walk with hubby and ammar which ended up at the nearby playground! i did some rounds at the playground.. and then after a quick shower, to village park for breakfast.

At home later, I entertained the kids for a few hours.. playing pretend with Ammar while peek a booing Ameer.. all these so that Ammar does not interrupt the Ir at work.. or rather, bob the builder! hehe..

Then, off we went to gym.. i did the cross trainer.. and the abs machine. wahh.. im so in love with the cross trainer.. can i have that one at home? for sure it is 5k plus plus.. gilosss... and then, to ensure maximum entertainment for Ammar, we headed for Sunway Pyramid at 6 pm! stopped by Digi roadshow.. aahhh.. Iphone!! my phone idaman since last year!!!

After we had our dinner at louisiana popeye fast food, went home.. put the kids to bed,, (Ameer meragam x nak tido! after comfort sucking .. baru nak zzzz).. and off we went to kedai mamak for iced milo and maggi kari...

now, i am totally tired.. but perut too penuh to sleep..

Weekend Update

2010-04-13T09:27:00.000+08:00

Last weekend was solely and entirely spent for the family.. i took friday off to settle my stuff so i can concentrate on being with the kids on weekend and it worked awesomely well..

Smart Kids Fair at PWTC was ok.. As usual, I was being chased by Gr*lie* reps.. they were so adamant, i tell ya! My mission was to buy flashcards and I got all that I want. so yeay! it was a really efficient trip.. surveyed.. made up my mind.. purchased.. out the door! no dilly dally..

Then after feding Ameer at home, I went for shopping trip with the sista! It was quite a success also.. Bought a few tops that are size L.. gulp.. have to admit I am L now.. huhu.. Initially i dont wanna shop cause I am still hoping to lose some pounds off.. and then only to shop.. but I cant afford to be in ugly clothes most of the time for the next few months! so there goes some RM for fat clothes! :-(

Other than that, weekend was about Ammar's class, playground trip, Gym, rearranging furniture..ohh.. and date night! very very well spent..

I tried flashcards on Ameer and he loves it! He looks at the cards intently but the instruction is to stop before the baby gets bored.. so I only do about 2-3 mins per session.. Of course, I can ask the nanny to do this while im at work.. but perhaps mommy should have some bonding time too.. so all the cards are for mommy's use only! plus, must have correct pronunciation. hehehe..

What are other things that I have for feeding my kids' right brain? I have brain baby VCD that shows flashcards at super fast rate! I dont use that often cause I wanna reduce tv exposure.. then i also have 4 cds of classical musics that are suitable at various time of the day - while sleeping, playing, awakening and relaxing! have yet to teach the nanny which one to put on!

If I am a full time house wife, I know now the activities that I will line up for the kids so they wont get bored! oh well.. must make do with what I have. After all, work gives me money.. with money I can provide more to the kids.. of course, money doesnt buy love.. so it is very important that mommy put kids to sleep at night after work before doing other things. hence, less blogging.. sigh.. something's gotta give, no?

My first born!!!

Low carb diet not for me YET!

2010-04-07T10:22:00.000+08:00

wah..been quite some time since i last posted here.. been here and there trying to do everything. hopefully things will start to calm down a bit..

Ammar started his weekly class last week. I was with him 3/4 of the way, until I was really exhausted trying to get him to do things.. so hubby and I swapped places. He was quite distracted with the excavator opposite the building.. and keep on trying to peek out the window! But other than that, I kinda like seeing what he can do.. like matching cards, following some instructions.. :-) the class is full of alpha wave that he will stop doing what he's doing and kissed me spontaneously.. me likey...

But hubby being hubby.. still has to go work related after class. I would rather stay home and play with the kids rather than being in a bowling place that is super noisy with probably screaming kids! But overall, I was quite satisfied with what we did last weekend..

I was supposed to start my low carb diet last Sunday.. but that failed miserably when hubby wanted Raju roti canai for brekkie.. but I was back on track for lunch and dinner. Monday was also no carb day.. BUT i realized that I cant really do zero carb.. what with breastfeeding and all.. so I am switching to very low carb.. it may not be as fast to lose fat, but hopefully i am on the path!

Other than that, things have been quite boring.. I am pumping round the clock.. so it seems like my life revolves a lot around pumps! I have another 25 extra packets to go to ensure Ameer is well stocked for our upcoming trip.. Takes a lot of effort.. Only pumping mom will know! especially those who yield so ciput like me! but Alhamdulillah for the rezeki so far.. Not complaining!!

Alone again!

2010-03-26T20:48:00.000+08:00

It is friday night, and I am home with the kids and the nannies.. They are downstairs watching TV... The kids are asleep.. but hubby is still at work. It is so unfair that hubby works like a dog but paid peanuts! It is the same problem with most GLCs! That's why people leave the organization once the contract ends..i am pissed cause almost every week hubby will be out till late for about two nights. It is not that I dont want to put the kids to bed.. but sometimes it really does test one's patience.. especially Ammar yang very mobile.. PENAT!!!

I have been planning for this major trip for hubby and me soon. Pening pening pening.. cause we still have to be frugal eventhough we are treating this as our second honeymoon.. no overflow of moolah, that's why. and the schedule, the accommodation.. they are driving me CRAZY!!! especially since there is time difference.. so making phone call pon is a bit of a hassle.. i really hope it wont be a stressful trip!

in the meantime, must bank in dozens and dozens of EBM.. am praying really really hard that they will be enough for Ameer.. so, i guess, starting next week.. back to pumping 4 times a day at the office!! moooooo..............

finally we have got Ammar's schedule for his weekly class.. yippee!!! and it is close to our preferred time.. before Ammar's naptime. cant wait for the class to begin. :-)

2010-03-21T21:01:00.000+08:00

So parenthood expo was a major letdown. SMALL, cramped as usual and not many participants.. i didnt manage to buy ANY on my list.. only bought Ammar a toddler latex pillow. his pillow is a tad too small for him now..so that will be passed on to Ameer when he is a little bit older. Had to go to FAbulous Mom in TTDI to get the things that i wanted.. with no discount! oh well..

This weekend was less hectic. Thank God. managed to catch an afternoon nap just now.. but woke up with headache. Haiyo.. hopefully I will be 100% well by tomorrow cause i have tonnes to do at work! need the stamina and focus.. Sadly, no gym trip or swimming trip at all. hmmphh...

This morning we registered Ammar for his weekly lesson at the new centre in Dsara. Hopefully it will be good. We dont know what time yet.. but hopefully we'll get 9 am on Saturday. I like the teachers.. I like the environment. I like Ammar's reactions towards the class. So I hope it will work out well.. :-)

Alrightey.. have to get my gears ready for work.. Toodaloos

Blerrgh week

2010-03-18T14:57:00.001+08:00

I am ILL again!!! blerghh... I think my body has had enough to fight virus emanating from my mom at home, and 2 of my colleagues at work. The fact that I have managed to withstand the very HOT weather pon agak menakjubkan. So i was on MC yesterday.. spent almost the whole day SLEEPING! I know i need the rest to recuperate. This morning, I know I am not 100% well, but I hope I can atleast do some work.. but it's getting worse by the hour!!!

On another sad note, I think my milk is decreasing!! oh no!!! and i know why.. Ameer's been sleeping through the night. while i am happy about this.. (6-hour of uninterrupted sleep!!!) I know that I should wake up and PUMP! but of course I didnt! So, I pledge that after I have fully recovered.. I will do just that!

Also, I have been restricting my food intake A LOT! compared to when I had Ammar, I am probably eating half of what I ate then. Not good. not good.. so, I am taking it slow.. yes, I do have my target of losing x kg by y date.. but fully BF baby is far more important in my list. So lucky those people who cant seem to put on weight! Jealousy jealousy jealousy! oppss.. negativity.. not good.. oh well.. i'll just do the slow and HARD way.. exercise exercise exercise.. (if i write and say that 1000 times, can it become reality??)

This weekend - Parenthood Expo!! yippeee... am i going? OF COURSE! I already have the list of things to buy.. :-) have already blocked hubby's schedule to teman me. please please please let me recover by then!

Child Sense - recommended!

2010-03-16T11:33:00.000+08:00

I am beyond exhausted.. Weekend was filled with - unsuccessful ice cream trip to pavilion, visited Ira's new crib, visited the in-laws until almost midnight, unsuccessful attempt to swim cause the swimming pool was closed, 3/4 successful power walk due to my old sports shoes was too old to oblige me, trial class with Ammar at tweedle wink, dinner at chillis.. I am not well rested at all! :-p But it was a weekend filled with activities with the family. That is the most important thing.

I have recently just finished reading 'Child Sense' by Priscilla Dunstan. It was one of the books with the stamp, 'As seen on Oprah'. I have heard about Dunstan from Baby Talk thingy. She discovered that babies do have their own language to tell us that they are hungry, sleepy, want to be changed, etc etc. Although I was interested to know more when I gave birth to Ammar, I had more pressing thing to do - study for the CFA. enough books to read!!!

So while on a book shopping spree during my bday week, (thank you Times for the 20% discount!), I decided to try this book. Read it last week It was amazing!!!!! Now I know the root cause of my problem with Ammar. We both express our need differently.

Based on my reading, Ammar is a 'tactile' person. He expresses and learn about the world through active means. That explains why he will play quite aggressively compared to other kids. He also needs to be cuddled a lot.. Cannot sleep alone! (if only i knew.. save me those trouble sleep training him!) and need to have time to let off his steam. They also crave for touches.. which very much explains the period of Ammar cannot be put down at all!

Ameer on the other hand, i think is a 'visual' baby. He's so small, I Don't know if i can figure it out yet. Visual babies are usually termed as easy babies because their needs are always met. We always make eye contact with babies, so they tend to make less fuss.

I think this is not something totally new. Malays do know this stuff. Something like, baby ni tak boleh letak.. nanti nangis.. or..baby ni kena duduk dekat dgn mak dia.. nampak mak dia baru dia senyap.. It is just that we do not have something compiled in one book.. complete with thousands of research..

I tried tending to Ammar accordingly during the weekend. And it worked 60% of the time!!! Amazing huh..

And why is Mizan always the favourite parent? Because he is a tactile parent too.. so they kind of meet each other's need. :-) and what am i? I am taste/smell.. I am more emotion based.. Which is why I cant stand Ammar's roughness and his preference for his daddy over me.. If only I knew!

BOOKS FOR SALE!!

2010-03-12T22:30:00.000+08:00

Sticky post! Scroll down for latest update

I love to read.. and because there is no good library nearby my place, I buy a lot of books. As a result, our billy bookcase is now jampacked with books.. and it really doesn't help when hubby is also a book junkie. In order to clear out my bookcase for more new books, I am letting go all the titles below at unbelievably 'make no money' price.

1. Mummy said the F-word by Fiona Gibson. Price RM25. (Original price: RM69.90)

2. Elegance by Kathleen Tessaro. Price RM10. (Original price: RM23)

3. Everything and the moon by Julia Quinn. Price RM15. (Original price: RM32.90)

4. Beauty Confidential by Nadine Haobsh. Price RM5. (Original price: RM10)

5. Me and Mr Darcy by Alexandra Potter. Price RM16. (Original price: RM35.90)

6. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. Price RM15. (Original price: RM35.50)

7. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer. Price RM15. (Original price: RM39.50)

8. The Host by Stephenie Meyer. Price RM15. (Original price: RM34.90)

9. One Fifth Avenue by Candace Bushnell. Price RM15. (Original price: RM34.00)

10. The Brass Bed by Jennifer Stevenson. Price RM12. (Original price: RM29.70)

11. The Bride Hunter by Amy Appleton. Price RM15. (Original price: RM35.90)

12. The Secret by Julie Garwood. Price RM10. (Original price: RM23.00)

13. Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella. Price RM15. (Original price: RM34.90)

14. Romancing Mr Bridgerton by Julia Quinn. Price RM15. (Original price: RM34.90)

15. Little lady Big Apple by Hester Browne. Price RM13. (Original price: RM32.90)

16. I heart New York by Lindsey Kelk. Price RM15. (Original price: RM35.90)

17. Something Blue by Emily Griffin. Price RM25. (Original price: RM45.90)

18. Girls of Riyadh by Rajaa Alsanea. Price RM13. (Original price: RM33.95)

19. Aku terima nikahnya by Hasrizal Abd Jalil. Price RM10. (Original price: RM20.90)

Almost all books are in good condition as I have only read most of them once. However, I will definitely tell you if the book has more signs of usage than normal.

I would recommend that you search for the book at Amazon to read the synopsis and reviews before purchasing. :-)

Postage will be RM4 for the first book, and add RM2 for 2 books. Purchase 3 and above, it is flat rate of RM7.

Kindly email me at liniazly@gmail.com if interested. :-)

Blah blah blah

2010-03-11T20:06:00.000+08:00

It's 8 pm.. and here i am, waiting for Jon & Kate Plus 8.. It is sad that now they are separated.. The kids are just so cute! I love watching the show cause they always have cool things to do. Maybe give me some idea on our family outing? And also the fact that there are 8... 8 kids in the house!! Looking at how the parents handle 8 tiny people is also very amazing.. and yes, I am also a fan of the 18 kids and counting! :-)

Ameer is still asleep.. since i got home.. so i havent had time to BF him or play with him. Ammar is now having his last milk feed.. before hubby brushed his teeth, change his clothes and put him to bed.. OMG why am i yakking yakking yakking??? I truly have nothing interesting to blog about tonite..

I am still under the weather because I wanna get rid of these stupid excess weight! I wanna wear my old clothes! grrrrrrrrrr......

Right Brain Education

2010-03-10T12:29:00.000+08:00

We are done with Ameer's passport! weehooo.. so if we ever want to travel, it is just a matter of packing, baby! the process was quite swift, despite the fact that we both woke up late! original plan : arrive at the immigration office at 7.30. Actual fact: departed from the house at 7.45! haiyooo.. luckily Shah Alam office is not as packed as Damansara. AND since Ameer the applicant is a cute baby, they process ours in an hour! sgt efficient me tell you. :-) kudos to the immigration office shah alam..

Hubby had to work half of the day.. so i am left with nothing to do. I was hoping to catch a movie at OU.. but Alice in Wonderland was not showing due to technical error (WHAT???) and Valentine's day viewing time is not suitable.. so.... off i went to Damansara Perdana to check on the Tweedle Wink program.

I have heard of Tweedle Wink even before Ameer was born, but they were not open yet in Malaysia at that time. I received an email from them soon after they open their first centre but was not able to attend the open day because i was in confinement. So finally yesterday i went and was amazed with the program. Basically it uses flashcards, songs, dvd, etc etc to present massive of information to the kids. Kids between 0-6 years uses much of their right brain and these information are all stored in their right brain subconsciously. The method has be quick so that the kids are not bored. Apparently children's minds are like camera, snapping pictures all the time and their view are 180 degrees compared to us adults. The benefit of the program is for them to be able to have familiarity to massive of information when they are older. It makes learning in the future much easier, therefore reduces the need for intensive study. It is also beneficial in the sense that it is easier for them to learn music, foreign language, reading and so on.

The course is of course expensive.. But can you put a value on your child's education? I am still looking around and inquiring about a lot of things. What I like about Tweedle Wink is that they encourage learning through play and really emphasize bonding with children to promote a loving environment. When a child is happy and loved, they are easier to absorb vast amount of information.

I am not a kiasu mom.. but i do feel that my kids need a stimulative environment. They are left in the care of the nanny for 12 hours but she may not have the ability to provide enough attention to their education needs.Some may say that 'but we survived okay'.. I agree to that but perhaps the future is a different environment? I want my kids to excel.. but I don't want them to forgo their playtime. Hopefully in the future they are able to excel in the education but at the same time living life fully.

The question is, can I commit one hour a week? Sounds easy.. but add going back to kampung, or family gathering, and many other things!!!

Dealing with Tantrum

2010-03-08T21:53:00.000+08:00

Toddler tantrum is something that is very difficult for me to handle. To be specific, Ammar tantrum.. I know that I should be more patient, more reasonable and more mature.. but sometimes he'll pull some act that is absolutely a mind-blowing trigger. It doesnt help that sometime, when I am calmer than some days, and I try to make peace with him.. with 110% effort.. he'll just refuse it point blank.. and lo and behold, here comes daddy.. and he willingly goes to him! i hate being the bad cop! despise it soooo much it bleeds!

I wish that Ammar can better understand what we are saying to him. Communication is definitely difficult for 2-year old. It is a very trying phase.. and I am hoping that I have all the patience in the world to deal with this.. :-(

Will be on leave tomorrow.. have to go and collect Ameer's My Kid and also apply for his passport. Taking his picture was quite hilarious just now. He had this 'shock' face each time the camera clicks! and it doesnt really help that he's drooling all over.. and his head keeps on being senget.. (what do u expect, he's three months!!).. plus the blanket i was using to cover hubby's hand holding him was smelly.. urghh... it was the longest passport photo taking session ever!

Better go and check on the kids.. After a series of tantrums just now, I am just anticipating Ammar's cry of nightmare!!

Gym Day 1

2010-03-06T21:47:00.000+08:00

Alhamdulilllah, I have initiated my gym visit today. :-) Both hubby and I spent about an hour at the gym, me doing cross training, him the treadmill. Suffice to say, it was a shock to my body who have been on a very long vacation from gym workout. I was working out like an old lady. Seriously, this makcik next to me was even faster than i was.. But who cares? at least I have started.. My aim is to go to the gym twice weekly now.. and another session of exercise would either be squash or swimming. Lets see if that will become a reality.

It is not that I am too lazy to go.. I am just reluctant to go after work because I dont wanna lose my time with the kids. If I go, it means that I will only be home at 7. And I still have to shower and eat and pray. Ameer goes to sleep at 8 while Ammar's bedtime is 8.30.. so i only have one hour a day with them? haiyooo.. sedih laa... But i guess I should do this workout thing now rather than later.. Lagi lambat lagi susah nak turun pulak nanti. I am longing to wear all the work clothes yang smaller size.. !!

Tomorrow the plan is to take the Ammar to Kidsports so that he can have his 'hyper' time. hehe.. While hubby supervises him, mommy will do what mommy likes best.. Window shop!!!

Btw, as we were walking to the gym this morning, we spotted a group of very cheerful men getting ready to play golf. I told hubby, 'maybe to men golf is something like shopping to women'. All the adrenaline rush! :-)

Toothache

2010-03-01T18:00:00.003+08:00

My poor baby (or toddler) has toothache.. Or is it gum ache? I think he has one budding tooth and his gum is now swollen.. :-(

Cant wait to hug him well!

Medela Freestyle

2010-02-27T18:31:00.000+08:00

Medela FS came out when i was at the end of my pumping days with Ammar. After pumping religiously for one year, I know what kind of pump that will be most suitable for my need. Hence, i made the decision to sell off my pumps to purchase FS for the next baby. And I did just that. And I am so glad I did..

I started using FS just days after giving birth to Ameer. Assembling the kit is not difficult. Yes, they are a bit different from PISA, but they do have the same basic idea. The seller told me that the battery MUST be inserted correctly cause many problems of FS users were due to the battery. So I asked hubby to do that. As well as boiling all the pump parts for 10 minutes prior to first use. This is also recommended by Medela. Then we have to charge the battery for 12 hours, I think..

The first time I use it, I did not use the hands free kit. I tried learning about the hands free assembling a few days later but it was too messy.. so for the rest of maternity leave, I shied away from hands free. However, after i start work last week, i tried to use the kit, and it is not TOO difficult. Sure, it will add about 1 minute of assembling time.. but the benefit of having two hands to do compression that yields more milk is definitely worth it.

In terms of suction, I think that FS is better than PISA. It has 9 levels i think but the maximum that i have ever used is 5. The memory function is not that useful for me yet cause i have different pumping pattern according to time of day. What is most useful? The timer and backlight. My night and early morning pumping is much more easier and it is so useful knowing for how long i have pumped accurately.

I absolutely LOVE the ability to be mobile and not stuck to the wall cause i need the power supply. I can move around, check on the kids while pumping. And the pump itself is soooo light, it is not a hassle to bring it anywhere!

All in all, I am a very much satisfied customer of Medela. Thank God for this invention. Cause everyone knows that motherhood is challenging enough.. so every little help matters! and to be able to extract the liquid gold is such a precious thing!

My advise for new mothers, or mothers looking for a quality breastpump..Save your money and just go splurge on FS. It is worth it! I know the price is a bit hefty.. from RM1.6 k to RM2.2k, depending on where you purchase it, it is much better to have one good pump than several average ones. And you can definitely get it cheaper if you purchase in the UK or the US, but of course, it will be a bit risky with the warranty..

My tip is to buy an additional pair of flanges and pump kit. It makes it so much easier cause you will not be in a hurry to wash one pair and wait for it to dry in between pumping. :-) I have the office kit and the home kit. So by the time i have to pump at 9 pm, I already have one ready to use!

Tax 101

2010-02-25T22:22:00.000+08:00

Attended the tax planning course yesterday despite the report season.. It was educational and very informative. It made me wanna be a financial planner ASAP!! so anyway, the most basic thing that I have learned during the course is that if both you and hubby are working, you should file you assessment separately. I know that it is the right thing to do.. but I have never tried to find out why.. Basically it is because you can claim RM18,000 worth of personal relief (RM9,000) each, instead of RM12,000 only if filing it together.. cause the spouse will only get RM3,000 deduction. But the most important is for both of you to be able to shift your income to lower tax bracket.

As we are living in a country whose practicing a progressive tax rate, those with higher income will be taxed higher. So if you file in together, aggregate income is bigger, therefore putting you in the high tax bracket. Filing separately however, will result in both parties utilizing the lowest tax bracket. :-)

Nway, while i'm writing this, Runway Mom is showing on 733.. These models are gorgeous!!! even when they are pregnant! No single ounce of fat at all!! No swollen nothing! ENVY!!!!

Weight issue

2010-02-24T21:15:00.001+08:00

I should be thankful that I have lost most of the weight gained during pregnancy. Before pregnant, I was about 51 kg.. and right before labour, I weighed about 66 kg.. 15 kg increase, which is pretty normal according to the gynae. 2 weeks post delivery, I weighed at 59 kg.. 8 weeks later, i was 55 kg.. my target is to go to 50 kg.. this will be the hardest 5 kg!

Last time, i went to the gym twice a week, played squash, swimming, skipping, and lots more. Nowadays, i dont have time for ANY of that... i know.. i know.. i HAVE to make time.. but how? diet control is doable.. but i dont think it can work without the other.. I guess weekend must be used for exercise purposes.. Maximize it..

Juggling motherhood AND keeping fit is very very difficult for working mother. Add pumping 5 x round the day to that.. it is just pure madness. but what's a girl to do? Must still find them and stop complaining. We really should be given award and mother's day should be every month! Who else can bring home the bacon (figure of speech), still able to give liquid gold to the baby, make sure everyone has food on their plate, maintain order in the household and ensure all bills are paid!

At the end of the day, i am just glad that i spent some quality time with the kids and have some time to myself through blogging. Maybe should reduce blogging minutes.. and do the treadmill instead??

choo choo

2010-02-22T21:41:00.000+08:00

I am terrified looking at my credit card statements.. haiyooo..i dont think i have made too many purchases.. but i have made few payments that need reimbursement from the company.. trip to the dentist, annual payment for CFA, and also the PD trip that we made for hubby's work.. now i have to withheld ACCA annual payment. kalau tak, bertambah2 la the balance. hopefully the finance dept processes my claim ASAP..

starting from last weekend, i have vowed to reduce trips to unnecessary places ie malls, yang boleh menyebabkan more expenditure. busying myself by lining up things to do at home such as alter more curtains, read books, cook, and kemas kemas kemas.. i also have a few online projects tapi semua tak mula lagi. such procastinator!

by the way, today after work, first time on the 4-coach LRT! woot woot.. syioookkkkk... spacious and cool... so i will try to catch the 5.30 pm train home, and 6.58 am train to work. congrats rapidkl.. hopefully they'll replace ALL coaches with these ones.. barulah more efficient.

ok.. enough rambling.. i am using hubby's laptop.. and my 10 pm pumping session is nearing.. ciao

sehingga menjilat jari..

2010-02-21T19:33:00.000+08:00

Yeay.. i now have mobile internet.. yoohooo... signed up with Maxis for 500 Mb quota only.. cukup ke? dont know yet.. baru trial.. if still not enough, later can upgrade. It is RM58 for 500 Mb.. hmm.. kat rumah tak pakai cause we have streamyx. so, it will be for use outside the house jer.. hopefully coverage is good.

Weekend is coming to an end.. nowadays, my weekend is spend domesticating myself.. hubby complained that if not, i will probaby lose my cooking skills. Apakah?? tak patut betul... so i cooked a super excellent roast chicken + steamed vege + mashed potato + garlic bread + mushroom soup + gravy.. haa.. terduduk makan.. siap boleh buat menu kalau ada org nak dtg rumah lagi.. hello, i bukan tatau masak tapi i refuse to masak jer... kasik can la.. how many months yang i have slaved away kemas rumah + iron baju + laundry + keeping things in order so that everyone in the house remains sane time maid takde + maid lari + dapat maid yg agak kureng???? patut record kecemerlangan masa itu.. huhuhu...

Susu GAJAH?

2010-02-20T18:47:00.000+08:00

Lo and behold .. Ameer's weight at 2 months' check up : 6.5 kg!!! 300g shy from doubling his birthweight which is the target of most babies at ermm... 6 months??? Upon entering the paed's clinic, she said... 'whoooaaa... ini minum susu apa nih??? susu gajah ke??' hehehe.... but of course, after hearing that Ameer strives solely on breastmilk.. then she says it's ok.. as BM has the unique criteria of changing its composition according to the baby's development. Eventhough he takes only 12 oz during daytime, it is possibly because the quality of the breastmilk is better. Alhamdulillah. Must remember to take vitamins every single day!!

Ameer can also turn right and left 90 degrees now, loves sucking his fingers and can smile smile smile!! :-) I guess he is impressed with his own fingers.. tee hee hee.. such cutie. We went for his injection today, leaving Ammar whose still sleeping at home. And then, after all our errands are done, we swapped kids.. left Ameer at home and took Ammar to Sunway Pyramid for some quality time. I rode the ferris wheel with him. haiyyooo.. i am still afraid of heights! i think 5 ringgit per person is pricey for about 4-5 rounds but since it is not often, okay lahhh kot.

When we reached home, i was super tired.. slept for 2 freaking hours!! what a waste! but after starting work, i feel exhausted all the time. so it's good that I have recharged.. :-) as a result, our dinner is sambal tumis ikan bilis, sayur cendawan and tempe goreng.. yummm... ala2 masak kampung jer rasanya.. tapi sebab asalnya ialah.. we have yet to do groceries shopping! so not much in stock.. :-(

Alrighty, time to eat!!!

juggling everything

2010-02-18T21:38:00.000+08:00

As a FTWM with two kids, i am beyond exhaustion.. at night, i only have about an hour to myself after taking the laundry downstairs, preparing bottles for pumping session for the night and tomorrow at work, determine which EBM to thaw, putting them to sleep, another pumping session and prepare the bags and clothes for tomorrow.. No wonder i failed CFA level 3 the first time around when Ammar was still an infant.. imagine having to study after doing all that? MADNESS..

Alhamdulillah, now i learn to spend their waking moments WITH them after work.. which is sangat la kejap.. between 6 pm and 8.30 pm. and terasa lebih sikit cause we have dinner at ss3 every single day.. probably later when Ameer is slightly bigger and i am more confident of the nanny, i would just leave them at home.. so that i dont have to bawak these kids here and there.. we'll see..

Btw, Ameer's intake of EBM is less than Ammar. During the day, he'll only take 3 bottles out of the 4 i left for him, which is only 12 oz. Ammar took 15-16 oz straightaway from 2 months.. hmmm... i would have thought that since both are boys, they would be feeding the same amount.. but i guess, different babies, different intake! will continue to monitor until a few weeks cause if he is only taking that amount, there is a possibility of reducing my pumping session. yeay!!!

Ok.. blogging time is up.. nak buat other things pulak.. toodles