Sisters' Day Out

It had been soooo long since we had our Sisters' Day Out. My sister Baby and I used to have our Sisters' Day Out once every month. Yes, no doubt we see each other 2 or three times a week, usually at my parents' or at the office but we insist on a special day where we go to a nice restaurant/cafe/eating place for food and gossips. Other activities include going for manicure/pedicure, facials, shopping and other girly things that we enjoy. However, this time around there was a guy who tagged along. BabyAzan :) Off to The Curve we went, and had a grand time at The Apartment.

Ahhhhh.... kan best kalau BabyAzan tido je camni masa kitorang nak enjoy the day. But noooooo. I had to dukung him most of the time and he was not on his best behaviour. Actually, he was not feeling well. His badan a bit panas so he was rather restless half the time. But adeh, sakit pinggang den kena dukung dia. 10 kg tu, not lightweight ok.

Baby showing off a cutesy kitschy pendant in the shape of a bustier that her Mr. A gave her. Happy la tu. Elehhhh. He He.

The little pumpkin I love!

If u go to The Apartment, be sure to try this dessert. Sedap giler! Strawberry Peach Pavlova. Sinfully delish. Delicately baked sweet meringue, served with strawberry and peaches and cream. Dessert Nirvana it was indeed.

BabyAzan having a great time bullying Mummy and oooooffff, look at those horrid eyebags. Yecchhh. 

BabyAzan looking away, Ish Ish Ish.

BabyAzan and his Zsu-Zsu

Hmmnnnn..... where to for our next Sisters' Day Out? Any suggestions?

If Possible

I would like to have

• Smoked Salmon Pate
• Prawn Sandwich
• Strawberry Peach Pavlova
• Mocha Latte

Thank you.

The Pyramid

Our wireless router had gone wonky. Bahhhh! So last night we went off to Sunway Pyramid to get a new one. Bad timing as we arrived there after 8pm and BOY! Jam-packed lah that place. Early Christmas shopping plus it's the school hols and about the time of the month when people received their pay; no surprise then huh. As usual, once we were in there; the wireless router was forgotten. Too busy looking at other stuff. We brought along the two youngest boys of the Khairo clan.

A very very HAPPY Smiley Adam and........ BabyAzan looking flabbergasted at something. I wonder what was it that was so awesome to garner that look from him.

 

This picture was taken in the Baby Room while mummy was nursing Azan. The Baby Rooms in the new wing are equipped with hot/warm water dispenser which is good but what was annoying was the way the workers of the mall kept dropping in the room to get free distilled water. The room was off limits to males (for obvious reasons) but there you go..... grrrrr... tak paham bahasa!

Azan chilling in his Pumpkin Dazzle... kekenyangan susu :)

Akhirnya, router was forgotten. Went to Wendy's instead. Hmmnn... I loike the Shrimp Burger. Adam was too engrossed watching the Ice Hockey game being played at the rink that he was not at all interested in the food. But the poor dear started coughing due to some allergens that triggered his eczema, skin started getting itchy and he was starting to claw his face :( off we went to the pharmacy to get the antihistamine. Went home shortly after.

Eczema, Be Gone!!!

:((

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Sunway Pyramid Part 2

Went to Pyramid again today. We were informed last night that the sales starts today. Bought a few essentials. Worth it because of the sales. Things were going from 50% to 70% off in Jusco. Hmmnn... as we had fast food last night , today we chose some healthier options. 

Above, my scallops and mushroom soupy pasta. My only complain was that the portion was small. He He.

Ammar enjoying his butter corn pasta. With Choco Shake of course ;)

Mummy with BabyAzan who was extremely excited watching Daddy eating his aglio-olio! I should start introducing him to solids. Okay, that's Sunway Pyramid twice in a row. Cukuplah for this month. Nak pegi tempat lain pulak. Psssttt.... do you know I have not even once set foot in Pavilion KL? So frog under the coconut shell kan?

Dazzle

Been toying around with the idea of a new stroller for BabyAzan. Been using Ammar's 5 year old stroller for the past 6 months, time to put it to rest after 5 years of hard service. The front wheels have gone cranky so it is perfectly justifiable to get a new one. *cough cough*

After buying 3 strollers in the past (2 Combi and 1 MacLaren), I wanted to try a different brand. It has to be of good quality as it will be carrying 'precious cargo' plus it will be put to use for at least 4 years. It has to be light but sturdy, must be easily portable, needs to be easily opened and closed and also, pleasing to the eye and manouvres easily. Hmmmnnnnn.......

I like the Silver Cross Dazzle. But which colour?

PUMPKIN maybe?

I'm loving the Dazzle! Go t0 Silver Cross for info on it's great products.

Lovely Lazy Sunday

I had a really lovely Sunday yesterday. Been awhile since I had that kind of Sunday. All thanks to Bibik Adah, who now takes over the nitty gritty part of housekeeping from me. It's a huge weight off my shoulders, and at long last I can begin to relax again (a bit). 

Prepared brunch for Mr. AKO and myself, toasted pitta bread with a fusion concoction of corned beef and baked beans ala chilli con carne. Chocolate muffin as a side dish. Hmmmm..... it was fulfilling and wholesome. 

Had a late lunch with the kids, too lazy to cook. A&W was a hit with the boys. Spent the day just chilling with the boys, drove around just for a little sightseeing. Later at night, after the boys went to sleep, Mr. AKO and I 'cozy-cozy' watched Mamma Mia. He He. Had a wee snack of raisin scones, Reese's peanut butter cups and Earl Grey. Ahhhh... this is the life-lah.

Oh. Mr. AKO lovingly cooked me something sangat sedap. Here. Gourmet Maggi Mee :-D
What a lovely lovely Sunday. I swear I went off to sleep smiling :-D

6 Months Old

BabyAzan @ 6 months. He has managed to 'meniarap' all by himself 2 days ago! Finally! Hip Hip Hooray to Azan :-D 

BabyAzan's first lepak session @ Starbucks with Mummy. Alas, he was sleeping the whole duration we were there. Check out his hair. He He. Uneven length throughout. I have been advised to have it cropped. Nahhhh.... I love the virgin baby hair. So soft and silky and smells so nice.

Mummy's Rocky Road indulgence. Yummmm.

Mummy's Ice-blended Toffee Nut Latte. Sedap. Mr. AKO's Mocha Latte. Of course with cream!

*All piccies taken using Mr. AKO's iphone.

Ammar's Concert 2008

Ammar's Annual Concert cum Sports Day (Annual Family Day) was two weeks ago. It was held at the school compound itself (will suggest to the teachers for a different venue next year). It was a real fun event although I had to leave early, I missed the Sports part as I had to dash home for BabyAzan. Mr.AKO swapped with me. I took the first half and him the second half of the event (masa tu xde bibik lagi, sbb tu gilir2) ;-D

Ammar before he was off to the school, posing habis. Ikut sapa la agaknya?

Ammar and Mummy

Ammar and friends before the event starts and before costume change.

Ammar introducing himself in Mandarin, he was speaking it with confidence. Bravo Ammar!.

Syafiq, Ammar, Harith and Dhiya singing songs in Mandarin.

Singing.... Dancing....

and Jiving......... (with partner Anis)

Love the girls' costume...comel :)

Break time!

After the event, off for roti canai with Daddy!

Board (Bored?!) Games

Hiya readers :)

Thanks for visiting. I really appreciate it.

It's only the very beginning of the looooong end of year school hols but I have already played THREE rounds of Snake & Ladder (and that's today only). Haiyoh, how? Q , being Q will always insist to be the first to throw the dice, no chance for all the rest to be first. Ammar doesn't take losing lightly, he will put on his angry face and sulk.  Adam reeeaally slows the game down because his 'teddy bear' will be throwing the dice for him (this involved the process of him putting the dice between the teddy's hands, him rolling around in excitement seeing that the teddy is 'holding' the dice and everyone peering here there and everywhere for the dice as he, or rather 'teddy' had thrown it too far). Once it was under the tv cabinet, way at the very baaaaccck of the tv cabinet. Another time, it rolled down the stairs. And yet another time, it was flung into the laundry basket and I had to take out all the folded clothes to search  for the dice. Mind you, this is the miniature Snake & Ladder game set (bought it for RM2.99) so you can imagine how small the dice is.

The rest of the time, they occupy themselves playing PS2 and Nintendo DS (did I mention Mr. AKO bought 2 new DSs from Hk, so now there's 3! Agak melampau juga-lah), and watched TV. Last year's end of year hols I have drawn up a timetable for them to follow; whereby the first half of the day we engaged in Arts & Crafts, Story Time and doing various worksheets. The later part of the day I would bring them out to the playground, bring them to the shops or simply play mega blocks together. It was nice. 

 This year, I couldn't carry those activities out as I am so occupied with BabyAzan (who is still fully BFed), and furthermore now I'm only left with one maid. And it's only her second day pulak tu today so I am also busy showing her the ropes. Sorry boys. I feel a bit guilty for letting the electronic gadgets 'babysit' them. I am trying to convince myself that it's okay, there are some educational elements involved while playing Mario Kart, Kung Fu Panda and Super Mario :-s

Haihhh.... not easy being a mother. Always thinking

Am I doing the right thing?

Am I doing the wrong thing?

Should it be this way?

Should it be that way?

Should I be more strict?

Should I be more lenient?

How to divide my time between the four of them?

Should I punish, should I reward?

Would it be better if I do it like this or maybe like that?

and on and on and on.

The sure fire question which always popped into my mind, "Am I being a good mother?" is alwaaaaays haunting me.

High-strung kah saya ni?

Harapnya tidak. If not I will have to take the likes of the Dopamine pills again. TAK MAO!

(But if I have to play Snake & Ladder again for 3 times tomorrow, I will pop the pills myself willingly, heh heh). Joooooking Mr. AKO, relaaaax.

Dia Datang

The long awaited Suadah is finally here. As far as first days go, hers went quite allright (to me-lah). This is her first time in Malaysia and working as a domestic helper. She have lots to learn. I, on the other hand, must maintain my calm and not let my tempestuous self do any irreparable damage. Must remember everything is new to her. A whole different country, strange surroundings, unfamiliar faces, lain loghat bahasa. I must be patient. Ingat. Ingat. Dia biasa masak dapur kayu. Pakai lampu minyak tanah. Ingat tu. Give her time. 

I hope she will get along with the kids well. That's the most important thing to me. If not, everything will spiral downwards from there. She has a daughter herself. So far, I can see that she likes children. Setakat ini, Alhamdulillah. Doakan untuk saya ye?

At least, for now, my days of cleaning the toilets are over :D

The Faridah

WHHHOOAAAA!!!!!

Faridah is my little sis and I love her to pieces (I love you too Meme). I love patent leather. I love glossy things. I love bags. And what do you know, here is a bag by MbMJ called The Faridah Shoulder Bag in high gloss patent leather! It has a single shoulder strap that is very practical, and silver hardware. It goes without saying, "I have got to have it!" 

And red is a universal color. Easy to match. It's roomy, perfect for outings to the malls. Yikes, available tak kat Marc store KL?

Soft as a Baby's Bottom

I was introduced to some really fabulous baby products e-store by my friend recently. I have never used cloth diapers for any of my babes before but these modern-day ones got me really excited!  They come in various attractive colors and designs. Cloth diapers are soft against baby's skin and make less of a footprint in our planet, real environmental friendly. You know how disposables though real easy to use made our baby's bottoms more prone to nappy rash. And they come with real absorbent inserts so it's guaranteed to be leak free. Although they are a bit pricey, but in the long run if you do the math, it really is economical.

Look, so cute! Of course I will not buy this pink one for BabyAzan. I just couldn't resist putting this pink one up because it's so pretty!

And here is the one with Dalmation design.

And more more more..

Huh! Got you interested too no? Hee Hee. Go to Lil Danzell, Mia Bambina and Tiny Tapir.

Peekaboo!

Babywearing

Recently there was an article in one of the national newspaper about babywearing. There were huge pictures of trendy moms and dads carrying their babes in even trendier baby slings/pouches. Now babywearing is the latest trend. It's HOT, it's IN. Moms and Dads who use the babyslings are seen cool and hip people. Kiranya bukan saja cool tapi smart kerana tahu kebaikkan babywearing ini. 

Sebenarnya, kaedah ini telah lama dipraktikkan oleh orang kita. Cumanya dulu ia banyak dipopularkan oleh bibik2 kita, yang menggendong anak-anak kita menggunakan kain batik lepas. As I remembered, 8 years ago when I had my first son, ramai orang kita yang tidak mahu anaknya digendong dengan cara ini. Macam kuno-lah. Macam malu-lah. Macam tak happening-lah. Admittedly,I was one of those people ;-D

When I had my second son, my maid at that time started to 'gendong' my babe. Though I was skeptical at first, I eventually relented seeing how the baby looked very contented and slept so soundly being 'gendong-ed'. My maid gendong my babe many times while accompanying me to hypermarkets and running errands. Banyaklah mata-mata yang memandang dengan pandangan sinis. I pun masa tu terasa macam had to prove a point pulak, weiii I'm not kuno okay! What was funny was how I made sure I wore branded items *cringe* and spoke accented English to show to people that I did not come from the boondocks of Malaysia. God, was I paranoid! And shamefully kind of shallow jugak kan? But I'm sure many of you out there sometimes act silly too. Then termalu sendirilah.

When I had my third baby, baby slings began to have it's own followers. At that time finally we have a variety of attractive baby slings from My Gendong (still exist ke tak?), Little Haven , Baby Loft and a few other online stores from Singapore. I remembered buying mine from Rita Rahayu of Mom's Little Ones. I began to learn how to wear my baby. It was so very very awkward at first. Coudn't get the position right after so many tries, started to feel kind of dumb also (aikkk, the bibik senang aje boleh buat, haku tak dapek jugak?). I managed to get it in the end. But most of the time, bibik would be the one to gendong the babe. 

If you have been following my blog, you would know that I currently do not have a bibik and have been maidless for two months now. Apart from taking care of my baby, there are my three other heroes as well AND the husband. My hands are full. So, I now declare the baby sling as one of the most genius creation in baby world. It keeps my hands free so that I can do other things while carrying Baby Azan. It comforts and soothes the baby. It helps the baby go to sleep. Now, I am an expert in the arts of babywearing. The only position I have not tried is the back carry as the baby needs to be a little bit older for that.

But................. my new bibik will be arriving next week. Maybe I shouldn't have to learn the back carry after all :-P

Babywearing/menggendong is the bomb peeps! Try it. Don't be disheartened if u fail at first. Try again and again till u get the groove right. Okay?

 

Above, pics of me menggendong BabyAzan with my 3 year old baby sling. Time to order a new one. Hmmnnn... ok then peeps. I have to shop for a new one now! Excited ni!

Giant Tart ?!

My Mr. AKO is a die-hard fan of pineapple tarts. Every Raya I will make sure there's enough pineapple tarts to last him the whole Syawal month. He will be munching 'em while watching ESPN, he will be munching 'em while reading the newspapers, he will be munching 'em while doing nothing and he will be munching 'em the most when he is talking to me (or rather listening to me yakking) maybe because the munching action might make him appear more interested in what I was saying? Or it stops him from yawning away? Hmmnnn.... this is it then after 9 years of marriage eh? The tarts become the subject of desire. Ha Ha. *ehem mr ako, u better deny this tau, or else tido kat sofa he he*

Anyway, my bro drove me to the neighbourhood shops earlier and I asked him to go to the bakery to get my pastry fix. The shop's name is Chocolate Nice, they do sell tasty cakes. Then I saw these bigger than usual sized pineapple tarts, 6 in a box and priced RM4 per box. I just had to buy 'em and taste 'em and post the photo in my blog so that Mr. AKO who is currently in HK will drool and be miserable... ha ha ha.... wicked wife I am.

The tarts taste real sedap, it melts in the mouth. The filling mmmmmm....delicious. I already ngap ngap ngap 2 of 'em and plans to ngap ngap ngap later right before I go to bed.

Right, now let's look at my apple crumble. He is much better today, the coughing not so bad anymore. Today, he had been hard at work, trying to turn himself over. Just a tiny bit more and he will be able to roll on his stomach all on his own. Keep up the good work Azan! If I put him on his stomach, he is able to turn on his back with ease, this he mastered last week already.
I tried numerous times today to capture his motion while he was trying to rollover but to no avail. The minute he sensed the camera's presence, he would turn on his back again while looking at me imploringly as if saying "Oh mum, please let me be. I am working here".
Oh well, budak-budak zaman sekarang. More updates on his rolling over efforts in coming posts ok peeps. 

Today is Wednesday, Mr. AKO will only be back on Sunday. Lamanya lagi. Sigh.

Wassup Y'all?

Hello All! How are u guys doing? Feeling Good?

This is me @ 5 months.

Here is my bro, Adam. He's an Oakley Ambassador ;-)

Doesn't he look cool?