Happy New Year!

Few things worth updating

1. Ilham's first safari experience
2. Ilham's first picture with a badut and afraid of it
3. Ihsan's another set of new words- duck & frog. Now even Ilham is no longer Bang but Duck/ frog
4. My parents will be home from the Holy Land this Thursday!
5. Passports for the kids will be ready next week
6. Finished 2 out of 5 of my new books
8. Yantie's visit

Gambar Pasport Kami

Colours Of My Life

Colouring on a rainy Saturday morning..

My Little Riders

Ilham has mastered the skill of riding his new bike. And Ihsan doesn't miss the opportunity to make Ilham carry him around - he is the one insisting though I know Ilham keeps complaining as Ihsan is too belat for him to carry around!


I see 2 different personalities, in both of them. Ilham is afraid of everything, including the lawnmower, pest controller and garlic. Yes, garlic, you heard me right! But he is not afraid of darkness and ghost, as he said.

Ihsan is not afraid of all those insects, nevermind the lawnmower, he is only afraid of cats and rugs- anything furry.

Ilham is a 'follower', from my observation. And Ihsan is a leader in his own sense. He doesn't make way, he wants to win everytime they berebut something and Ilham is the one yang akan mengalah. It amazes me sometimes that 2 boys coming from the same womb is very different with each other :-)

It's gonna be tough week ahead. Me being a P.O. for the stupid D.I case, me having to stand up and defend the RM1.9M budget, me sticking to my gym schedule. Me having to juggle everything in between. Life is a bed of roses!

To School or NOT To School?

Last week I took Ilham for a short visit to his future school, as we plan to enroll him here. I just can't stand the fact that he watches all those ridiculous Indonesian dramas everyday with the bibik. So in order to stop him from speaking Indon with his baby brother (and us!) I think the best thing to do is to send him to school. But I'm still contemplating, yeah, silly me, whether I should enroll him now or wait until he's 5, as when I looked at the schedule, it's occupied with lessons from 8 am to 1 pm! I wish they have good playschools over here instead of kindy; which means serious learning~ takut nanti dah 6 yrs old bosan pulak pegi skolah..

He seems to like the idea of going to school + new friends + ride a van. But he told me "Tunggu Am besar sikit" which could actually translate to "Not now"~~ sigh.. we have not made any decision, yet. With me always going outstation and bringing the whole family everytime, I know it's not a good idea as Ilham will probably miss school!

Ihsan, on the other hand, will be bored at home of Ilham goes to school. He is now very attched to Am. At every chances possible, he will hug Ilham or sits on Am's lap- to which Ilham would say "Chan ni belat la"

belat=berat How-la to go to school, he can't pronounce R.. his R is being replaced with L everytime? :-)

Selamat Hari Raya & Happy Birthday Ihsan!

{The birthday boy having a jolly good time & Family Photo on 5th Raya ~ birthday boy refused to look at the camera!}

Ihsan's celebrating his birthday in 2 weeks time. How time flies! With achievements like- 4 gigi bawah, 1 gigi atas, walking properly, learned how to Hi-5, bye, no-no and salam cium tangan, he is growing up so fast!

Selamat Hari Raya & Maaf Zahir Batin to all my friends. That means to a handful of you who read my blog :-) Have a good time! As for me, I'm sure I'll have a great time as for raya last year I have just delivered Ihsan and didn't get the chance to savour all the delicacies! (walaupun ada yang curi-curi makan gak hehehe)

Take care, all!

5 years and counting...

of being married to each other.
And 10 years of being with each other.
2 beautiful babies. 10kg (extra!) on the scale :-)
1 life. 1 dream.

To eternity!

Happy Anniversary, papa!

of Small Planes & peanut allergy.. and anything in between..

I survived another Beech 1900D trip! Can't remember yesterday was my trip keberapa, but the main point is, I survived! Everytime I board the small plane, I told myself that I might not make it. I know, some exaggeration here but with all those turbulence (okay, exaggerate some more), who knows?

Aaaanywaysss.. Ihsan survived a bintik2 outbreak. We were confident that the culprit was the sebijik peanut that I gave him on our way back to TM. At first I thought it was chicken pox. So, another item to be added in Chan's Cannot Eat List- peanuts. First it was cow milk, then egg, now, peanuts. Lepas ni tak tau la apa lagi...

Highlight of last week: Fazie's Family Visit. TQ Nash and Gegurl for visiting Am & Chan! Lepas ni datang lagi yea...

In a nutshell, life has been good. I've learned very important lessons in the past month. Be thankful for what you have, and be patient. Allah knows best.

Selamat berpuasa, friends. Have fun shopping for raya! :-)

A Walk To Remember

Ihsan officially took his first step on 31st July 2008 and has not stopped eversince! HE is now all over the house trying to sharpen his new skill.

Haven't been updating the blog for almost 2 months now. Been soooooo busy with work (who doesn't?), traveling with the kids- for work (again!) , work, work and more work I feel so exhausted I promised myself to sleep the whole weekend, but of course I couldn't :-) . Do I sound THAT busy? Blame it on my boss :-p

I hope things will be slowing down during fasting month. Fat chance! I feel tensed just by thinking about the endless events for the whole Ramadhan + Syawal. Demmit!

One thing I really look forward to- visit from Gegurl & family end of August! Yeaahaa!

Okay now I'm outta here, gonna spend the extra long weekend with my new books. Bliss!

Ilham Is 3!

My little boy turned three last Friday, got a bicycle from Nenek and few Thomas stuff from us, bought early this month when we were in KL. I am soooo damn proud of myself for two reasons; looking at how grown up Ilham is, and for the first time in my life, I've successfully baked a carrot cake! So now I am proud to say that I know how to bake cakes! (the other ONLY one cake I'm good at baking is cheese cake) but that's another story, as it doesn't have flour as the main ingredient. I am a hopeless when it comes to flour, seriously. I once made choc chip cookies only to have it turned flat as saucers, I once tried to make Rocky Road and managed to throw away the whole batch and once attempted to make brownies and I forgot how it turned out to be!

The cake was successfully baked with team effort! I outsourced the drawing of Thomas to my brother, and my dad helped to susun the M&Ms. My mom helped to regularly check the cake, as after 1 hour, we couldn't smell anything, until my mom increased the temp! Samada resipi salah atau memang aku yang tak betul :p

But Ilham loved the cake (I think) and he blew off the candles thrice. He didn't get even a bite of the cake though, he already warned me "Am nak lilin saje. Kek mama je makan" Oh well. For his birthday, my wish is for him to EAT.

Uzey has left for his 'camp' and won't be back until July 5th. And Ilham woke up with a temperature today. Too much sun and surf, I presume. As we checked in at Aw@na on Friday. He had such a great time with the uncles and grandparents.

I'm at home enjoying cuti free as the whole office + plant is cut off electricity since Friday.

Don't know when I will be back blogging, dah takde topik menarik. Don't even have visitors except one. Ha! ha!

Take care all. Doakan Ilham panjang umur, sihat, murah rezeki dan membesar menjadi anak yang soleh.
:-)

Ihsan- Updated!

For an 8 month baby, I observe than Ihsan is very advance….

(excerpt from babycenter)
8 month old, four week

How your baby's growing
Your baby's likely to be mobile soon if he isn't already (he already is very mobile) so it's vital that your home is toddler-proof. (except for the fridge-lock, we haven’t installed anything yet esp the drawers, I’ve seen him men’sepitkan’ his fingers twice already!) You'll also notice he's becoming more assertive (yes, very true) and beginning to express his likes (bath time, and nothing new- gigit remote control, handphone, paper, tissues) and dislikes (mealtime when he is sleepy). Take a toy away from him (he cries like there’s no tomorrow) and he'll probably object loudly. He's also likely to protest if you leave his too long, thanks to the onset of separation anxiety. (when he wakes up and no one is around, he will make an alarming cry) This is the time when your baby starts showing extreme attachment to you and his regular carers and an intense dislike for everyone else (as of now, only me, uzey and the bibik are his faves, even nenek is a ‘stranger’)

9 month old, first week
How your baby's growing
Has your baby pulled himself upright yet? Yes? (yes, he has even started to cruise with only one hand holding on the chair) Then watch out -- it's a prelude to walking. Many babies are quite happy to stay grounded at this stage though. (not Chan) If he is, you'll probably find he's sitting more confidently now and he may well start creeping, crawling, or bottom-shuffling.

His language skills are developing rapidly too. He's listening intently (he likes to watch TV and he seems to enjoy it very much) and taking in everything he hears -- he may even begin to understand simple words and phrases (he understands NO, CHAN!) . Encourage him by talking to him simply, but as you would to any other person. His personality is also emerging and you'll be able to tell if he'll be Mr Life and Soul of the Party or Mr Shy and Retiring by the way he responds to others. (very ‘reserved’ baby when it comes to strangers)

Ihsan- Updated!

For an 8 month baby, I observe than Ihsan is very advance….
8 month old, four week

How your baby's growing
Your baby's likely to be mobile soon if he isn't already (he already is very mobile) so it's vital that your home is toddler-proof. (except for the fridge-lock, we haven’t installed anything yet esp the drawers, I’ve seen him men’sepitkan’ his fingers twice already!) You'll also notice he's becoming more assertive (yes, very true) and beginning to express his likes (bath time, and nothing new- gigit remote control, handphone, paper, tissues) and dislikes (mealtime when he is sleepy). Take a toy away from him (he cries like there’s no tomorrow) and he'll probably object loudly. He's also likely to protest if you leave his too long, thanks to the onset of separation anxiety. (when he wakes up and no one is around, he will make an alarming cry) This is the time when your baby starts showing extreme attachment to you and his regular carers and an intense dislike for everyone else (as of now, only me, uzey and the bibik are his faves, even nenek is a ‘stranger’)

9 month old, first week
How your baby's growing
Has your baby pulled himself upright yet? Yes? (yes, he has even started to cruise with only one hand holding on the chair) Then watch out -- it's a prelude to walking. Many babies are quite happy to stay grounded at this stage though. (not Chan) If he is, you'll probably find he's sitting more confidently now and he may well start creeping, crawling, or bottom-shuffling.

His language skills are developing rapidly too. He's listening intently (he likes to watch TV and he seems to enjoy it very much) and taking in everything he hears -- he may even begin to understand simple words and phrases (he understands NO, CHAN!) . Encourage him by talking to him simply, but as you would to any other person. His personality is also emerging and you'll be able to tell if he'll be Mr Life and Soul of the Party or Mr Shy and Retiring by the way he responds to others. (very ‘reserved’ baby when it comes to strangers)

Ilham With...

his creation of "rumah yang paaaaaling cantik" and "robot Am"

I think Ilham has some creative streaks in him. Definitely not from me. Maybe it runs in the family, like this fella.

Ihsan Is 8 months

of Measles and everything else

Ichan on his new rides. Notice the bintik-bintik merah on his face? There's a lot more on his tummy. Thanks to the virus, Chan dah kena demam campak.

Siapa campak Chan, Mama? I'm still struggling to answer this question by Ilham. My oh my... Kenapa Chan kena campak, Mama? I'm sure in his mind he imagines Chan being thrown away by someone or thrown at something i.e the wall?

The last 8 days have been superb, as I was on leave except for Tuesday when I attended training at S.Alam. And the boys spent time in Wetworld while waiting for me. Trip to Petrosain5 on Sunday was even better, with 13 of us joining the 'rombongan sekolah'. Even my parents enjoyed the educational trip! It has also converted Ilham to a helicopter lover.

I've gotta stop blabbering now. I leave you with a pic of astronaut in year 2033.
Ciao!

The Ups dan Downs of Life

Today is one of my down days. I feel like going home and never come back so I don't have to face the harsh reality. I even googled Rezeki, in search of something to keep my spirit up, and I found this.

"Sesuatu yang telah dijamin oleh Allah kepada seorang hamba adalah rezeki. Sesuatu yang dimintakan pertanggungjawaban oleh Allah adalah rezeki juga"

I guess it's not my time, yet.

Downtime aside, I'm sooo looking forward to this weekend! With 2 birthdays; Uzey's and Yantie's.. (happy birthday in advance darlings!), Ilham's first Petr0sains trip, an advance M0m's day feast (there goes my penat-penat daily run on the treadmill), shopping and more shopping!! Won't be in until 7th. Too bad I've gotta give my weekly yoga a miss next week.

Life is not so bad, after all. Penatlah nak pikir benda-benda yang takde faedah ni.. draining my energy..

Selamat Hari Buruh, buruh-buruh sekalian!!!

The 100 Whys..

That is Ilham. I guess he has reached his Inquiring Phase, "mama, kenapa ....(insert soalan)" followed by "kenapa.. (insert my answer)..." then "kenapa..(insert my next anwer)"... and then.. "kenapa..(insert my next, next answer)" and the conversation goes on and on and on until his attention is diverted to something else.

Oh, the joy of talking.

And Ihsan, he is such an eater! Bagi nasi + pumpkin, okay. Nasi + sweet potato, okay. Nasi + carrot, okay, nasi + brocolli, pun okay. My oh my, give him another month and I'm sure he will be heavier than Ilham!

Oh, the joy of eating.

Work-wise, things have not been slowing down. Even after the big event. Nak tengok gambar artis? Go here. If Siti Nurhaliza can ambik gambar with Celine Dion, Ilham pun bleh amik gambar ngan artis gak :-p

But I survived emceeing in front of 1500 ppl! Tak kisahla orang cakap suara cam guru besar pun. What de heck. As long as I got my job done.

I'm off to the Spa now.
Bliss!!!

Our New Baby

Congrats Enn & Kord for their newborn Akif.

Welcome to the family!!!

** Credits to Puan Photographer sebab curi gambar ni from her flickr..hehehe...

Playing Maid

Weekend felt like a vacation! Went to the beach 2 days in a row to play kite with Ilham and took him swimming at Awan@ on Saturday.

Had my first taste of being a maid last Sunday.
Maybe with some exceptions; the maid didn’t finish Shopaholic and Baby in one sitting, and maid does dirty dishes and laundry , I did not.

But I’m now able to understand my kids better ; Ilham is a full-time clown, providing free entertainment to Ihsan. He jumps, he dances and sings and Ihsan looks so amazed with Am’s skills (or lack of it) and his round eyes were fixed on Am, in a way macam nak cakap “nyanyilah lagi Am”. And with 4 soiled nappies, well, I never knew siblings poo one after another. They take turn, they really do.

The last time I had my hands full with both of them was during my end of 3 month break, and at that time Chan was still an immobile baby, able only to wave his hands. Now he’s everywhere! I can’t put him in the playpen coz the space is too limited and he will protest. When put him on the ‘toto’ in front of the TV , he keeps licking the seam of the toto. If I put him on the tilam he will try to reach for the floor. If I put him in his chair he will squeeze himself out of it. If I put him on my lap while net surfing he will wrestle with me. Last nite he pulled out my Page Down key and benda tu tercabut.

When Uzey finally reached home, I looked like a desperate starving housewife. Kebulur coz I only managed to gulp down a mug of cold Milo and 1 piece of bread cicah sup. Luckily I had some left over soup from the weekend.

Kepada semua bibik2 di luar sana (fazie, in case bibik kau layan blog haha), teruskan kerja anda yang mulia itu (provided you are really into it) dan jagalah anak-anak majikan anda dengan sepenuh hati. Me? Given any day I will never be a stay at home mom (kalau anak satu, maybe… kalau 2… I’ll think about it) tee..hee…

Updates on Ichan:

Started solid last week. Blended rice porridge works fine with him and tak trigger his eczema. Rice + brocolli is his fav, though he had rashes first time trying the new menu a.k.a. nasik ijau as Am calls it.

Have a good weekend people!!!!!