Award From Pink Mama

I received a Cutest Blogger Award from Pink Mama last week. Thanks a bunch Pink Mama :)

Okay. The recipient of this award is required to:

1. Copy the Award badge (above) to be pasted in your blog. 

2. Link the person who gave you the award. 

3. State 10 facts about yourself that you wish to share with your readers. 

Here we go.... Errrr...

1. I have always loved girly and feminine things. Florals, pastels, glitter, sparkles, make-up         yada yada yada. To balance this obsession, therefore I am granted 4 boys and no girls! 

2. Pretended to be a bit of a tomboy in my primary school years, in Year 5/6. Hey, I was good at being one.

3. Am not into sports. To balance that, I am blessed with a life partner who is obsessed with all kinds of sports and is still actively playing in tournaments  - roller/ice hockey, no less! 

4. Have always been a homebody. Enjoys solitude. Allergic to nightlife as I sleep early. No to overcrowded noisy places and detest places where I am expected to mingle when I don't want to. But, crowded malls coz of sale season takpe he he.

5. Sangat suka makan-makan! Likes to experiment with all kinds/type of food (as long as its Halal)

6. Loyal to boot! Be it to a particular product or brand. Find one I love, I'll stay loyal to it!

7. Still remember the comments from ex-teachers/relatives who were shocked when I pursued a teaching degree despite my SPM results, which enabled me to take many other so called 'professional' courses. Sigh! Why? Teaching is lowly ke? Please, we are proud to be educators and we DID NOT choose teaching as a 'last resort' as many people like to believe.

8. Cannot go for facials. Kalau nak muka bengkak 2 hari 2 malam pegilah. Ya ampuns, muka gue sensitive sangat. Benci!

9. Am addicted to UK highstreet labels, and English things. Eventho I am fully aware that we were once colonized by them. My obsession worsened after my undergrad years in the UK. Earl Gray, scones, clotted cream, crumpets, Fish & Chips, crisps, Boots, Body Shop, Debenhams, Waterstones, M & S, Sainsbury, New Look, H&M, Mothercare etc etc... aiyoo...

 HOW?

10. Ulat Buku.

Yeayyyy...... Habis....

4. Now, I'm supposed to choose 10 recipients for this award.

Echopunya

CikYah

Feena

NanaHawt

Miss S

All Around Ina

LittleMuffins

Nurhayati

Liyana

YOU!

Ok gals, if u have time.... buatlah ye :)

Adam 4 Tahun-lah!

It was Adam Nasiruddin's fourth birthday celebration on the 26th of January, last Monday! Dah besar anak Mummy. Sayang dia!

American Chocolate cake, perennial favourite of many. Adam Momel is what my sister calls him.

Yes, that's the way to do it Adam. It's your birthday so demand banyak2 from your Zsu-zsu okay. After the celebration, you tell her to wash the dishes and scrub the floor okay Adam? Good boy! In reality........ my sister scrub the floor? I wish!!! he he he. Birthday food prepared by my darling Mother. Thanks Mom ;-) And thanks for hosting it also, love ya...

Here's my Mom holding BabyAzan, who wears red too that day to match with his Nena! 

Who's birthday coming up next? In February? Hmmnnn......

Festive Fun-Tasy @ NZX

My three Superheroes were photographed with Mickey Mouse :D 

Sorry for the poor picture quality, photos taken with my camera phone 2.0 megapixel

These photos are snapshots of the actual photo taken by the nice young photographer on duty that night at the Festive Fun-Tasy @ Nzx Complex. 

A closer look at the three musketeers.

Ciao!

Happy 34th Best Friend

My best friend of 18 years celebrated his 34th birthday yesterday. 

The children wanted me to bake a cake for Daddy, but...... I bought one instead ;-D

A cosy little birthday 'tea' party held at our casa

From Azfar Naqiuddin

From Ammar Najmuddin

From Adam Nasiruddin

Semoga Panjang Umur dan Dipelihara Allah swt hendaknya. Aamiin.

Breakfast Like A King

Gawwwddd!! My tummy rumbles like crazy in the morning usually around 8 o'clock. More than rumbles, I swear it grooaannsss too wanting to be fed. Serious lapar gila waktu pagi , because of the breastfeeding sessions that took place at night/early morning. As a result, HARUS breakfast yang mengenyangkan. I simply cannot skip breakfast, as opposed to my dear Mr. AKO. His idea of breakfast is a cup of coffee/milo, if at all. His first meal of the day starts at lunchtime.

During the weekends, if we go to our local breakfast joint, I will be ordering ghee tosai with all the works and the most he will have is telur separuh masak and toast (!?). And when there's nasi lemak on the breakfast table, he will only eat it around 11-ish. I mean, where is the nikmat in devouring nasi lemak at 11am? Makan pepagi la my dear, with steaming hot teh tarik, kopi o atau teh o. Baru real. Kan? Makan lontong SS14 PJ pepagi pun manyak syiiiookkk ok. Lempeng ngan sambal ikan bilis ke? Uuiiiiii, nyam-nyam! Jemput2 udang and tauge plus kuchai pun best. 

Ish Ish... Eventhough I have known you since I was sixteen, I swear sometimes I cannot pahamlah u, Mr. AKO. Tak suka makan breakfast. *geleng kepala*

;-D

X-Factor

First feel-good factor of the day, my friend LittleMuffins has started blogging again. Yeayyy!!

Second feel-good factor of the day, Azfar & Ammar went into the study room by themselves promptly at 4 pm wanting to start doing some work. I know, hard to believe but there you go...

Third feel-good factor of the day, my pomfret fish curry tastes good today.

See, it's not difficult to make me happy kan? 

Less TV, Less DS

I am somewhat relieved that since school commenced, my sons are occupied with a lot of other activities so there's less time for TV and Nintendo DS. They understand Mummy's rules, school days very limited TV time and NO DS! Weekends only. I am glad for the past 2 weeks, my rules were obeyed. 

For Azfar, his school ends at 2 pm and on certain days 3 pm. He reached home at around 3 pm or 4 pm. Once he got back, change clothes then it's makan time. He will relax, usually by playing snake & ladder (he he) or playing with his keyboard. At 5 pm to 6 pm, it's tutorial time with Mummy. We will do some worksheets either Maths, BM, English or Science or just Art. At 6 pm he will play outside with his brothers for half an hour. At 6.30 pm, mandi time. Maghrib time, solat together and baca Quran. By 8 pm, have dinner (usually very light meal, sometimes only a glass of milk) . By 9 pm, bedtime.

For Ammar & Adam, kindy starts at 8.30 am and they will reach home at 12 noon, certain days at 2 pm if they have Iqra' lessons. Once home, change and makan. They watch a little bit of TV and play together or kacau Mummy in the kitchen/study. Ammar joins Azfar at 5 pm to 6 pm for tutorial time with Mummy. He will do some writing work, some fun Maths, English and BM, individual reading or Art. Adam usually plays with BabyAzan and Bibik during this hour, sometimes he will demand to enter the study room so I will give him some coloring to do or play with puzzles/lego 'quietly' or else out he goes.

They seem comfortable with this routine. And so am I. Weekends they are allowed to play with their NDS or PS2. They look forward for the weekend family outing too. I, on the other hand, look forward to a day of not having to cook he he. Sample other people's cooking la pulak kan. 

Oh yes, come February Ammar's Taekwondo training will resume. Saturday mornings from 9 - 10 am. Azfar is taking silat this year hehe. He looks really good in the all black uniform. I puji my children too much. Oh well, typical of a mom I guess. 

Ahhh, but u don't want to hear my leterens to them kan, who wants to blog about that? 

;-D 

You Can Help, Yes You Can

Copy & Paste from Spread The Jam

******************************************

The hottest current issue right now seems to be the Palestinian-Israeli issue, even though it is not really a new issue, in fact it's an issue that is older than most of us. It only becomes a renewed and hot issue (to the masses) when there is military action going on.
I know it makes some of you feel helpless and angry, and some of you are wondering "Why are there no one doing something?". Well, here I am to tell you to stop wondering and stop feeling helpless, because you CAN do something.

1. You can contact your local red cross/crescent society or Mercy malaysia or malaysians for peace and see if they are organising an aid mission, and find out how you can help out. Sometimes all they need are people who can help man the phones, or make phone calls, or type up reports, or fill up forms, or pack boxes. Help out with anything you can. No job is too small or too menial.

2. If you can afford it, donate some money so that they can fund their mission. No amount is too small.

3. For the same amount of time it takes to finish a Sudoku Challenge game, you can type up a short email directing your friends to the above websites and encourage them to help out in any way they can. For once, use spam for the good of mankind.

4. You can donate your saliva and tell your friends about the above things while you're chatting at the water cooler, coffee corner, kopitiam, waiting for your nasi ayam/goreng pisang at the roadstall.

5. Now, this last point might be a little a difficult for some of you, especially now that money is a little tight. But if you're willing to sacrifice a portion of your salary on this, instead of buying that new blackberry/iPhone or that LV handbag or that set of blueray discs or forgo that trip to that exotic location or new sports rims for your car, I assure it will be extremely rewarding, not just in this life, but even in the afterlife, InsyaAllah.
For as little as RM1640 (or (RM2210 if you want to include some duit raya), you can sponsor a palestinian orphan who is a refugee in Lebanon. 
Your money (less than RM200 per month), will allow the child to go to school and get an education so that he/she can better the lives of his/her family. Your money (which you will receive a receipt for and can be deducted from your tax) will help ease the burden of the mother who has lost her husband and now has to support her children with her measly salary as a house cleaner. 
You can even make your niat as zakat if you want, thus fulfilling your obligation as a muslim.
Your letters (because you will treat the child like your own child and write him/her letters) will give him/her hope that his/her lives did not end when his/her home was forcefully taken away. It will show them that someone out there, still remembers them, and still cares for them. In return, the child will write to you, and to have a child call you 'mother' or 'father' even though he/she has never met you, is an indescribable feeling.
Your efforts will not be just for palestinians now, but will be for palestinians of the future.
To do this, you can contact the Malaysian Sociological Research Institute, at msri.sponsorship@gmail.com or call (6)03- 4257 8649 .
You can even tell them you heard it from me, if you want. I dont mind at all.
If you think you can't afford to sponsor a child, do number 3. Forward this email to someone who you think can. Or do number 4, tell people that this program exists.

May God reward you justly for your efforts.

**********************************

Taken From Spread The Jam

Asam Garam

Been awhile since my last food post. What's cooking?

Stir-fry whatever vege I had in the crisper.

Asam Pedas Ikan whatever I had in the freezer.

Dah Makan?

If belum, jom teman I :)

Splendid Saturday

Note:

Azfar Q is on MC again today. Tonsilitis, buggeroo kan. He's on Augmentin and Nurofen. Hopefully he will recover asap.

Last Saturday we went to the new Jusco Setiawangsa. Just wanted to check the place out as it's new and all. And guess what? There's a Tsuya Tsuya booth there, remember the mascara set that I mentioned in my post before? Yeah, if u want to check their range of products, u can go there.

Jusco Setiawangsa is a family friendly place I must say. It's spacious and the kids can roam about. Also, there are quite a number of family friendly restaurants. There's a food court there as well but I was not impressed with the food there (just the ones which we ordered that day, can't say about the others we did not order). Apart from that, there are many mid-range well known restaurants to cater to different tastes. Ample parking space. Theres even a small park for the kiddies to have a bit of fresh (err?) air and sunshine.

Splendid Cafe @ Jusco Setiawangsa

We checked-out a cafe named 'Splendid' which is a little bit too similar with another name brand restaurant which sells different kind of cakes (also starts with S). Here's Splendid's Iced Chocolate with whipped cream and Splendid's latte.

Fish & Chips, Splendid's version.

My yummy Passionfruit Chilled Cheesecake.

My favourite dessert a thousand times over. He he.

So we had a nice splendid Saturday. Spent time with my splendid Mr. AKO and splendid superheroes... ok ok... I better splendidly stop now before anybody get splendidly bored. Ta Ta For Now!!

My Q for always

My eldest son Azfar Naqiuddin looked really handsome in his white Baju Melayu, songkok and sampin this morning. His school requires Muslim boys to wear this uniform every Friday. I'm glad. As I look at him, I know that he will grow into a strapping lad in his teens. 

He put on his black canvas school shoes, strapped his school bag and scrambled to daddy's waiting car. I waved at him and called out 'I Love You'. Seated on the passenger side of the car, he mouthed 'I Love You' back to me. My gaze settled on his face, again I am struck by how innocent his face looks. Unstained. Unsullied.

My bright, intelligent firstborn son Azfar Q is more oft than not, misunderstood. Unique, impulsive, highly distractable but also smart, loving, honest and full of wit. He has emerged in more ways than I ever hoped he could. Sometimes I forget the obstacles he faced, and took for granted his eminent progress. How he, despite his language delay could structure his own system as to how he cope and manage, and finally grasp what needs to be learnt. How he must be clutching at straws, to understand what was expected of him. But that was years past.

My Azfar Q, in a normal mainstream classroom in a private school setting last year, had scored above average overall percentage for all his exams. A feat not to be overlooked, for a child who only began talking at age 4, who had been diagnosed as a 'slow learner', who is 'branded' as ADHD.

But he was suggested 'medication', by the school management as he sometimes 'misbehaves' and 'disrupts' ongoing lessons. "WHAT WOULD OTHER PARENTS SAY, THEY PAY MONEY TOO" was that hurtful unforgettable biased remark thrown at my face by the then Principal of the school.

Oh yeah, and my money then is not of any value? Or of a lesser value although in the same amount? My child will not be given the opportunity that he deserves to be integrated in the school system? My child is denied what should be rightfully his no question? 

Apparently, awareness is not there. And the lack of the initiative to care makes it worse. Well, biarkan si luncai terjun dengan labu-labunya. Ignorance is bliss? I think not. 

I am not spiteful. Far from it. I am yes a tad frustrated by the inadequate education system or the lack thereof. But I know my Q will survive. That is just his nature. He is capable. He will enhance his potential and he will exist as an independent member of society, with his quirkiness and his brilliance. It will not be so simple a task, but he will make it. And I will be with him along the way. For he is my Q, for always.

School Stories Still

Continuing with school stories la okay. Yesterday Azfar was on MC as he was having the flu. He woke up on the dot at 6.30 am. I saw his eyes opened but he did not immediately get up like usual. Then Mr. AKO informed me that Azfar is feverish and thus I called up his school teacher and told her he will not be able to attend school. By midday, he was all better and playing the DS with gutso. Alrightey then! Off he went to school this morning. He was eager to go, good boy.

Ammar and Adam went to Kindy with no fuss too. When Teacher Nadia arrived to pick them up at 8 o'clock, they were already sitting at the garden bench waiting for her. Good boys. That explains why I am feeling so good and lighthearted as I am typing this. No dahi kerut-kerut, he he. Oh both of them have Iqra' lessons at the kindy today. That means they will come home at 2 pm today. Azfar school ends at 3 pm and on certain days at 2 pm.

That leaves me, BabyAzan and Bibik at home. The house quieter than usual. A little peace for half of the day is a great energizing booster for me. There's only cooking to do. I could read the newspaper in peace and also a little daytime blogging. Bagus kan?

PS: It's only the first week of school but already there will be a birthday celebration at the Kindy tomorrow. Mr. AKO and I after being harrassed by Ammar, have bought the birthday present last night (sambil tunggu my turn to see Dr. Delaila at her clinic last night).

Ammar: Mummy, on Friday is Haziq's birthday party. The invite is in my bag.

Mummy: Oh ya ka? Ok. (nonchalant)

Ammar: Mummy. U go see la the card in my bag. And Mummy. Pls buy a present ok, from me and Adam to Haziq.

Mummy: Ok. (halfhearted)

Ammar: (Solemn) Mummy, don't forget. U always forget to buy last year. I so ashamed la Mummy my friends got presents to give and I have none. Nanti when it's my turn, nobody will buy me presents. Because u always forgot, even after I told u.

Mummy: (*wanted to defend myself by quoting the many many reasons why I couldn't get the prezzies last year. No maids to help out. New Baby. No maids. New Baby. No time. Etc.*) Okay Ammar. I'm sorry. I understand how u feel. I will make sure there will be presents for your friends. I will remember, just like the other mommies okay.

Ammar : *Smile*

Just like the other mommies, I will remember. I must remember. After all, the other mommies are also as busy as I am. They remember. So will I.

Find Alternatives

to these brands, if u care...

We are not an UMMAH, unless we are UNITED.

First of Many

Well, the first school day of the new school year went quite well I must say. Pheeewww!!! Ammar and Adam cried a little when they had to leave their warm blanket for the morning shower. Azfar did not have any problem waking up and going straight to the shower, yeahhh he is awesome like that! Thanks to Bibik, their toast and Milo were ready, waiting for them when they descended to the kitchen. 

Sent Ammar and Adam to kindy. Although it was Adam's first day, he had no reservations at all. Buat cam sekolah tu dia yang punya je. I think he feels at ease there as I sometimes let him tag along for his brothers taekwondo sessions on Saturdays. He even forgot to bid Mummy bye-bye...  :D 

Now, all four kiddos are asleep. I am having a little relax and chat session with Mr. AKO. I will go to sleep soon. No more late weekday nights for me. Early to bed, early to rise. And err.. early birds get best worms... 

Anyway, nite nite, sleep tight.

Hail the New King

King Azan Nazruddin Ibni Al-Ahmad Al-Khairo. Mana mata putih dia? Anyways, this pic was taken on new year's eve. It was about half past ten, we were at Burger King SS15 SJ having burgers and fries and onion rings. As many youngsters and the masses were mostly at 'happening' places masa tu (dataran merdeka, dataran pahlawan, and many other datarans to usher in the new year), places like Burger King SS15 was deserted. Best giler. There were only us, and another couple dining in. Macam itu tempat ana yang punya-lah *in fake malay-arab P.Ramlee style accent*

On the 1st of January 2009 itself, Mr. AKO decided to bring us to Pavillion KL. It was my very first time there. Hmmnn... dunno-lah, feels like just another mall to me. Didn't get me much excited. The same boo-ha I guess. Oh no, jaded kah?

Had a late lunch at the food court, named the Food Republic. Ha... kat sini ada rasa excited sikit. He he. Picture above: Mr. AKO's duck rice. All in all no complains, sedap. But should the duck be crispier, it would be perfect. 

 
I had the beef noodle soup with mango salad/som tam. Nothing to rave about. The beef noodle soup was kind of bland. Not enough noodles, too much beansprouts. The mango salad? Very biasa, like not enough ingredients. Suddenly teringat the som tam at Tesco Mergong, Alor Setar. Perrgghh, power-lah. Berapi!

Sekian laporan. Selamat malam.

Knowledge Is Key

Three... no no... two more days before the new school term starts. I will have three schoolgoing children starting Monday the 5th of January 2009. How does it feel? Exhilarating, a little scary too I admit. My first son will be in Primary 2, my second and third ones in pre-school (Ammar in K2 and Adam in the Montessori group of 4 year olds).

The three of them are excited to start school after nearly two months of holidays. They are eager to see their friends again and for Adam, to make new friends. They even miss their teachers, and worksheets! Ammar is also talking about school food and explaining to Adam about the menu on each day. He he. No doubt they will incorporate new dishes. The kindy principal told me this morning that they have omitted meehoon goreng from the menu. Simply because Ammar developed a sudden dislike for it last year, and even vomitted after he tried to swallow the fried vermicelli. So, no meehoon this year! Yeah, they are that prihatin. That's why I pledge my eternal loyalty to them and never will I send my sons to other pre-schools. From 2004 till now 2009, Tadika Montessori Senyum Comel Bestari adalah pilihan kami *goyang tangan ala rosyam & mawi in the Alicafe tv advert*

Have bought all the necessities for the kiddies to start school. Mostly Ben-10 merchandiselah apa lagi kan. And the total that we had to fork out for their school fees this time around? Huh, no need to say lah. Boleh beli beberapa ketul beg Coach kat Pavillion tuh. Takpe lah, redha. There's no compromise when it comes to education kan? We will not or will not be able to afford to provide them riches, but education we will ensure they get. InsyaAllah, with Allah's will.

Here's to my three schoolgoing kiddos, all the best for 2009. May our mornings be frazzle-free, with smiling angelic faces looking up at me from the breakfast table. Amiinn.

It's 2009!

Happy New Year!

We are celebrating it in the best way possible.

Doing what we like best at 12 midnight.

Me, stalking...

Mr. AKO watching telly..

Kiddos fast asleep...

Blissful.

The house quiet..

EErr, xcept for the sound of fireworks di luar sana.

Have a great year ahead, my friends.