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December 26, 2013

Celebrations Wiwiwi

Tak sah la kalo dah meningkat usia di hari jadi, takda celebration kan? Being celebrated, no matter how small, is enough to make a person happy. i am no exception.

On Tuesday, 24.12.13 (my birthday) i went to work like usual. Takda maknanya aku nak amek cuti semata-mata kerana birthday. Hubby plak keje syif malam the night before, apa lah maknanya aku cuti kalo dia melepek tido je nanti.

Cam bese lah, orang wish birthday kat Facebook and Whatsapp. Tersengih-sengih aku baca. 

At around 11am, aku kuar dari toilet, tetiba As ajak gi pantry. Aku dah macam "Huh?" Tak suspect langsung seprais ke hape sebab pompuan ni tak sentimental langsung orangnya. Rupanya ada a bunch of my friends nyanyi happy birthday siap dengan cupcakes 6 ketul dan lilin. Terkejut aku siap cakap "korangggg! Benci tauuu!". Malu sebenarnya. Aaaa terharu. Makan-makan potong kek sampai kenyang. Thanks Zarith, As, Yu He, Maz, and Dalilah! First time jugak aku jumpa orang same birthday ngan aku iaitu Nadia (officemate jugak tp tak brapa rapat sebab dia baru transfer masuk setahun yg lepas)


Pastu Chuna plak ajak lunch. Sempena birthday katanya. Awww.. Aku kenyang lagi makan cupcake tadi, maka kitorang melantak kat Wafflemeister je. Thanks babe!

Our waffles with dark chocolate drizzle and chocolate peanut ice cream (Chuna's) and hazelnut ice cream (mine)

Both Capricorners. Both are mothers, coffee and chocolate  lovers.

After lunch aku rasa sebu and muak gila makan cupcake and waffle dari pagi. Gila engko semua manis. Kol 3 camtu lapa nasik dan lapa benda masin. Linda plak ajak birthday treat. Weehuhu. Dia ajak makan Japanese kat Yuzu. This is HUGE for me because before this, ko jangan harap lah Linda makan Japanese.  Geli katanya. Ntah apahal dah berubah dia suka plak. Tepat kol 5pm, kitorang turun.

Fusion Sushi, Seafood Hot Platter something and Crispy Soft Shell Crab. Miso sup dan nasik tiada dalam gambar. Boleh plak aku lupa bergambar dengan Linda.

Thanks babe. i love you so much!

Petang tu balik umah cam bese lah. Aku dah call Mr. Chenta mintak amek anak kol 6pm sebab aku lambat tapi bila smpai je LRT (kakak amek aku), dia kata laki aku tak amek anak lagi. Time tu kol 7.15pm dah. Sabar je la. Maka aku pon amek Afif.

Birthday girl kan, good mood, idok ler aku sentap ngan laki aku. Balik tu makan cam bese pastu main ngan Afif. Tetiba pintu umah terbukak pastu Kakak, Faizal and Redha datang bawak kek ada banyak lilin nyanyi Happy Birthday. Sumpah terkejut weh. Awwwww sangat. Potong kek gitu-gitu je lah. Rupanya Mr. Chenta suh diorang gi beli kek. Muahaha sejak bler ntah pandai surprise-surprise ni.



Typo. Sebenarnya 2nd anniversary hokayyy! 

Time ni la kek tu hancur sebab Afif geram. Kasi chance dia potong kek sebab birthday dia aritu tak potong kek ponnn..


The next day tu Christmas day. Public holiday. Memang allocate hari ni untuk dating ngan Hubby Baby. Kol 1pm camtu bila Afif tengah afternoon nap dia, kitorang keluar. Nak gi Pavi sebab aku dah lama gila tak menjejakkan kaki ke sana. Wrong move coz the traffic was so bad hamagaddd. Sejam baru smpai Pavi from Wangsa Maju.

Sampai-sampai memang lapa gila weh. Cadangnya nak tengok The Hobbit tapi full house la. Terus serbu Tony Roma's. Tried their lamb ribs sedap hamagaddd! Hubby Baby order pasta tapi so-so je lah.

Lamb ribs, onion loaf and chicken alfredo pasta.

Tengah jalan pon jadi lah.

A while back Hubby Baby tanya aku nak birthday present apa. Aku cakap takmo pape. Simpan duit coz we need to save up. Tapi pastu aku tarik balik kenyataan itu dan kata aku nak jewelry. Wiwiwiwi.. Maka after lunch aritu kami ke Pandora. Pilih yang basic je tak sampai hati ketuk berlebihan kang next year dia takmo kasi hadiah pulak. Baahaha.

First Pandora evah!

That's the story of my 28th birthday. Though small and far from glamorous, these celebrations made me realized that i'm surrounded by good people, the ones that i love who love me back. Thanks korang!

To my Hubby Baby, happy second anniversary. You made me the luckiest girl alive when you made me your wife. i pray that our love strengthen with every passing day, through thick and thin till Jannah. In shaa Allah. Amin.

28

24.12.2013

i turned 28.

Tiba-tiba dah 28 tahun. Rasa macam minggu lepas tunggu bas kat bus stop UMS lepas kelas. Macam semalam baru report duty nak masuk keje. Haih.

When i was younger, i was afraid of growing up. Afraid to lose my playfulness, my freedom and my youth. Afraid of being an adult.

Fast forward to now. Yes, responsibility and commitment replace playfulness. Being a wife and a mother replace being reckless and being free. My once-youthful face now has fine lines.

But guess what?

i have also learnt that none of that matters.

i'm still playful especially when i'm around kids and my husband.
The responsibility and commitment that i was so scared of? They give me stable income, a house, a car and what i need to live comfortably.
Being a wife and mother made me realize the happiness that shopping, traveling, and going out till late give you is nothing compared to the happiness of waking up to your husband and baby next to you. And those stolen kisses and toothy grins.
i have accepted that my face and body will sag and get wrinkly but we always have SKII, all those magic portions and cardio workouts to help us stay young and healthy.

Alhamdulillah.

i am in a happy place. Life is not perfect but i am content with what i have.

Syukran ya Allah.



December 12, 2013

Demam Lagi

Afif has been having flu and runny nose ever since we got back from Bangkok. Memula selsema and runny nose je. Kesian btol budak bila idong sumbat. Makan and minom pon payah..

Last two days dia mula batuk. Babysitter Whatsapp kata dia nanges all day, muntah kahak dan takmo makan. Malam tu payah tido. Muntah. Pagi bangon, suara dia serak dah.

Semalam ingat nak bawak dia gi paed kitorang slalu gi iaitu Dr. Shanaliza. Tapi tutup plak. Oh, semalam jugak adalah Afif's second speech therapy session. Aku memang amek halfday la semalam sebab nk bawak dia gi klinik dan terapi.

Malam tadi dia demam suhu yang panas. Muntah dua kali. Merengek. Lepas bagi ubat demam, baru tido. Tapi itu pon clingy gila stok peluk aku, kalo aku gerak sket dia terus terjaga.

Pagi ni still teruk jugak batuk. Aku bawak dia gi klinik Dr. Nadir nak sedut kahak. Aku panggil klinik tu "Baby's Torture Chamber" sebab segala budak yang gi situ konfem nanges bila kene nebulizer dan sedut kahak/hingus tu. Selalunya husband yang pegang Afif masa neb tp dia kerja harini. Jadi, aku la tukang pegang. Sedih tengok dia miserable. Kali ni dia tak menangis meraung, dia just nanges perlahan macam sedih kenapa lah mama aku buat aku camni. Sorry, sayang. Mama wants you to get better.

Pastu dia termenung je. Ni dah tido. Pheww..

Dr. Nadir kata baby kalo banyak travel and naik flight/dok hotel memang senang sakit. Sebabnye centralizd airconds kat dlm airplane and hotel rooms circulate all kinds of virus/bacteria from all kinds of people. Memang salah aku la jugak.  The past few weeks memang banyak travel. Perth, Bangkok, Kota Bharu.. Ni weekend ni nak fly ke Langkawi pulak. Haih.. Sorry Afif. Starting next year kte tak ke mana-mana dah.

Sejak Afif dah besar ni, banyak kali selsema n demam. Sedih la. Bila jadi camni sebolehnya i wanna be there with him, jaga dia. It means i have to take time off work. i feel so torn between work and my baby. Lebihkan family makes me look like an incompetent staff. Being a working mom makes me a bad mom. How lah..

Sayang, get well soon please. Mama is so worried.

December 2, 2013

Bad Sunday

My Sunday was terrible. 

Woke up at 7am becoz Afif demanded to play. I'm having flu and terrible headache at the same time. My husband has to work all day. Takpe lah cam tak biasa plak jaga anak sensorang kan.. *muncung*

Pastu all day Afif cranky. Itu tak kena, ini tak kena. Memula okay pakai hearing aid tapi lelama even the sight of it made him cry. Kene rasuah dengan Barney di iPad everytime nak pakaikan HA baru dia tak nanges which pissed me off because iPad is the last thing i want him to use. Aku kan paranoid sket pasal side effect gadget ni. Sigh.

So kene berusaha lebih sket supaya dia tak ngadap bende alah tu. Aku main kejar-kejar lah, nyorok2 lah, tatih segenap pelosok rumah.. Bawak dia walk around the block 2 sessions. All the while with pounding head, runny nose and sweaty armpits. A glamorous mom, i am.

Dia bila cranky gini memang nak kat aku sorang lah. Bila orang lain amek, nanges lagi kuat. Seriously satu house work pon aku tak sempat nak buat sbb mengadap Afif and his crankiness. I guess sebab gigi atas dia tumbuh 4 (tapi macam 6) batang skali gus.

Malam plak kuar gi makan celebrate hub's 28tg birthday with the whole family. Tak enjoy langsung makan sebab Afif cranky takmo dok dalam baby chair. Nak berdukung ja hamagaddd..

Malam tu tanak tido plak walaupon dia ngantok. Lawan mata. Nanges je even though aku berkali-kali offer nenen. Masukkan dalam buai terus lelap. Aku masuk balik bilik sebab ngantok and penat sangat seharian tak rehat. Around 2am, SIL bawak dia masuk bilik aku. Memula breastfeed ok. Pastu dia terjaga dan nanges lagi macam kene dera. Badan dia panas sket. Aku bukak baju and lap badan dia ngan kain basah. Pastu baru dia tido smpai pagi.

Pagi tadi episod meraung kat umah babysitter dan peluk aku kuat-kuat. Dia tak pernah camni. Sigh.

Now i'm at work, still dealing with my pounding head, empty stomach and sleepy eyes. Dah la masuk lambat sebab settlekan Afif punya pasal. Haih.

i don't know how stay at home moms do it. i felt like locking myself in the room and cry cry cry and even thought about going out and leave Afif at home with Wan because i got so stressed. i feel bad for even feeling this way. But alhamdulillah boleh lagi la kawal emosi tak jerit, tengking or cubit/pukul dia.

i love my son but sometimes i just can't stand motherhood.

Sigh.

OK lah tu je entry emo aku. Please tell me i'm not the only one feeling like a bad mom. Hopeless.






Ini semua gambar on Saturday, when he's his normal gigly can't-do-nothing-wrong self. 
Mama loves you baby, in good or bad times. She just wishes she can deal with her emotions better.

November 27, 2013

The Heirs

As a university student, i used to watch Korean drama all the time but since i started working, i don't have time for that. Maka memang ketinggalan la bab-bab Korean drama ni. i don't mind missing out coz i actually hate the K-pop culture (what's up with men who looks like, or even more prettier than girls?).

Tapi ada sorang pelakon ni yang memang menjadi kegilaan aku. Camne busy pon, everytime drama dia keluar aku akan tengok.

LEE MIN HO.

*melts*

i currently am watching The Heirs. Kat Korea pon tak abes tayang lagi, maka seksanya tunggu setiap Rabu dan Khamis for the new episode to be available online. 

The Heirs revolves around a group of rich, heirs-of-giant-companies teenagers. One of them, Kim Tan, who were studying in the US met a Korean girl (Cha Eun Sang) and fell in love with her. She was in the US in search for her sister but later go back to Korea. Kim Tan return to Korea and later discovered that Cha Eun Sang is actually his housemaid's daughter. The drama and conflicts continues with Kim Tan's ex-bestfriend-now-arch-enemy, Young Do, Kim Tan's unwanted fiance (Rachel) and family conflicts.



Ahhh can't wait for tonight to watch episode 15!



November 25, 2013

A Post from Bangkok

Sawadikap!

I'm currently in Bangkok berjalan jalan bersama in-laws. Haih banyak btol halangan sebelom datang sini. Plan nya nak gi on Friday tapi Mr. Chenta tak sihat tahap masuk PCMC's ER on that day. Alhamdulillah, masuk IV drip and inject pain killer, tak kene warded. Sabtu tu trus gerak jumpa in-laws yg dah smpai Bangkok. Nasib baik kitorang tak beli tiket lagi for Friday tu pheww.

Coming home tomorrow. Best tapi penat weh. 

See you in KL!


November 18, 2013

Four Letter Word

Afif demam since malam tadi. Penangan kene MMRV jab haritu kot.

Golek-golek ngan dia atas katil. Penat dah layan dia tatih. Merengek la dia tak sedap badan campur nak ajak main.

Bebel.

"Mmmm.. Hmmm.. Abummm..  Mama!"

*i stopped breathing*

OMG HE SAID MAMA! 

MAMA!

Loud and clear. 

The four-letter word i've been longing to hear him say.

MAMA!

You have no idea how excited i was.  Danced and laughed and baaahahaha. And i asked him to say it again. 

"Mama. Afif, say mama.."

He just looked at me, smiling.

"Mama.. Afif, mama.."

Sengih je dia.

Oh well. Maybe he said that unintentionally but he said it. I'm sure with more practice and constant wear of hearing aid, he'll get a hold of it.

Good job Afif! Mama and daddy are so proud of you.

November 16, 2013

Because Afif is Special

i've been wanting to blog about this for a while. But i couldn't find the mood to. Or i simply wasn't ready. So here goes..

The Beginning..

When Afif was 3 days young, he had a Newborn Hearing Test. This test is compulsory for babies born in Prince Court Medical Centre (PCMC). The result showed that he has mild hearing loss in both ears. The audiologist told us not to worry coz some babies have that kind of result. Especially babies like Afif who were born borderline premature, kinda low birth weight and through c-section. Maybe some fluids are still in his system, so that's why the hearing results were like that. i was so glad. So we didn't think too much about it.

About a month after that, we had the same test. Still negative. A few trips to the PCMC audiologist after that gave the same results. The audiologist said he can hear loud noises and high frequency sounds. But normal, conversational voice, dia dengar sayup-sayup, tenggelam timbul. He'll have problem to speak because he can't hear voices clearly.

i, of course was shocked, sad and worried. What confused us is that he laughs, responds and talks back when we talk to him or when he's watching tv. When we call him, he responds. What is that?

My husband and grandma was all "Don't think about it too much. He's still little. His ears are okay and he'll hear fine.." We're basically in denial.

Acceptance

One day, it was raining outside with loud thunders. A few times, i jumped out of my skin coz of the loud noise. But my baby, went on playing and slept soundly as if it was normal. Like he did not hear all the noise. Another day, he was watching the tv and i came from behind him. Calling his name aloud. A few times. No response. He just watched the tv. Like he couldn't hear me call.

These are the two turning points. The events that snap me out of denial. Though hard, i accepted that my son has a hearing problem.

We went to get him further tested. This time we went to Kuching General Hospital for second opinion. Why Kuching? Because my parents in law live there and my father in law works in that hospital. The test gave same result; my son has mild to moderate hearing loss in both ears.

The Cause

To all the doctors and audiologists we asked the same questions; why Afif has this hearing loss when we, his parents, have normal hearing? We don't even have family members with hearing loss. 

They say in 1000 births, 1-2 babies are born with hearing loss. Afif is one of those babies.

Digging back into my medical history, they all have the same answer; they expect the fever that i had when i was 2 month pregnant was the cause. If you read this post that i wrote, i had a viral fever (which i thought was dengue) when i was 2 month pregnant. My temperature was 40degree Celcius that time with rashes all over my body. That time, the doctor even said i could lose my baby. But i was thankful my baby was ok and i gave birth 7 months later. i never thought he would have this kind of problem.

A fever or illness at early stage of pregnancy puts the baby at risk because at this stage, all major organs are developing. i guess Afif's hearing organs were developing when i had that fever. Maybe the development somehow were stopped.

The audiologist said that Afif's eardrum, cochlear, middle ear most of the ear anatomy are functioning okay. The problem is the nerves did not develop normally. The nerve can not transfer sounds from the ear to the brain. i don't really understand that. Will need to ask more.

i'm just thankful it's just his hearing. At least his heart and brain are functioning okay.

Moving On..

The audiologists said we're lucky that we detected his hearing loss early. This way, he could wear the hearing aids early in life and he could hear and learn to talk like normal babies. In most cases, hearing loss is detected when the child is 3-4 years old because the parents noticed that he/she couldn't speak. By that time, it's too late and it'll take more effort to teach the child about sound and to get the child to speak properly.

We bought his hearing aids (HA) when he was about 9 months old. So far he hates it. You know how babies hate to wear hats, hairclips, glasses, etc on their body. Same goes with hearing aids. He yanks them out all the time. When he wears them, we have to keep his hands busy or get him distracted so that he forgets about the hearing aids. 

So far, we're doing a bad job. He wears the HA mostly at home on weekends for 2-5 hours. On weekdays, he only puts it on for maximum of 1.5 hours coz he spends the day at the babysitter's. Itu pon kadang-kadang je bukan hari-hari sebab kadang malam dia ngantok la ape la.. At first we're not advised to let him wear the HA at the babysitter's coz of loud noise (banyak budak kat situ). In the last 6 weeks we have let him wear the HA at the babysitter's. They said he still yanks the HA out all the time. Sigh.

We have been seeing the audiologist at Pusat Audiology HUKM for follow up. The problem now is Afif hates the HA. We (husband, the audiologists and i) don't know if he hates it because it's not comfortable or is it because the tune and sound of the HA is too loud for him. Dah dua session kitorang buat test just to get the most accurate result tapi tak dapat, sebab Afif takleh duk diam. Ye lah budak tengah lasak, tatih la main la cranky lah dia.

i expect him to have delay in speech. Lambat la kot baru bercakap. Sekarang ajar dia sebut basic things like ball, mama, nak, daddy.. Dia dengar je tapi tak sebut pon.

i hate myself for not trying hard enough to help Afif. He really has to wear the HA full time when he's awake but so far when he's with me, he only wears it 3 hours maximum because he hates it. Kat rumah babysitter lagi lah kejap dia pakai agaknya. i really hate myself for not doing good enough.

That's Afif's story. Maybe there'll be a different blog on his hearing journey to share our experience and to help parents out there who has similar experience. i'm telling you, people in Malaysia are not exposed to this. It's hard for us to find a support group or people with similar experience so we feel so alone.

Please pray that my son will live a normal life. My biggest fear is for him to be treated differently by people, for him bullied at school/work or for him to grow up with low self esteem. If i could, i'd gladly donate my ears to him so that he could be normal. But there's no such thing. Sigh.

i still am in a bit of a haze with all this hearing issues. Some days i refuse to acknowledge it. Some days i cry. It is not easy.

Playtime! 

 Penat la, mama..

Out and about.

Whatever it is, we'll keep on fighting with him. For him.

November 13, 2013

One Year Checkup

Last Saturday we went for Afif's one year check up. 

Appointment kol 11am, tapi sampai kat PCMC kol 11.10am. We waited in the waiting room tapi biasa lah Afif tak reti dok diam. Sebok nak bertatih sana sini. While waiting there's a cranky little boy about 2 years old. Mak bapak dia puas la entertain. Bagi makan, bagi phone, bagi iPad. Afif yang sibok cruising siap stop and stared at the crying boy with the look that says "Dude, seriously crying is not cool".

Ramai gak bebudak jumpa paed pada hari Sabtu. Kol 12pm baru dapat masuk. Macam biasa, Afif suka betol jumpa Dr. Anthony. Siap gelak-gelak. Dia tatau nasib dia satgi nak kene cucuk.


You see the technique they use in this painting, daddy? Flawless.

Doctor examined Afif, cam bese lah kan keje doctor. At almost 13 months he weighs 8.3kg, with height of 72cm. Doc tak tanya aku banyak soklan mainly sebab dia tengok Afif dah melambai-lambai, tatih, duduk, borak, senyum nampak gigi.. Cuma tanya dia merangkak tak and bagi makan apa. Dia proceed check kaki dan raba-raba perut Afif. 

i asked him about MMR jab; about its side effect, link to autism, etc. He gave an elaborated explanation and eased my worries about the risks. Selalunya paling teruk pon demam je after a week of taking the jab, other risks are very rare, he said. Aku tanya jugak pasal autism in general, and please check if Afif has the symptom. At this, he laughed and say "You tengok Afif ni. Very social, siap borak-borak dengan i. So far dia memang tak autis. Don't worry.." Well, i had to ask. Hehe.

He suggested to take MMRV jab and we agreed to that. Alhamdulillah Afif nanges kejap je. Aku ingatkan kene cucuk dua kali, so terkejut gak sekali je. Rupanya MMRV ni 4 in one. Hehe. Kali ni sempat amek video dia kene injek.

Bersedia nak kene cucuk.

Walaupon gi paed appoinment je, kami laki bini kepenatan. Penat menunggu dan penat bawak Afif tatih. Memula plan nak gi Pavillion lepas appointment tapi nampaknye tak jadi ler. Afif pon dah nguap-nguap. Gi makan kat Nasi Padang Puti Bungsu, pastu balik. Anak branak terbungkang tido dari kol 3pm sampai kol 5pm. Sodap tido hujan.




November 11, 2013

Question: Should i Let Him Fall?

This might sound stupid but i have a serious question for mothers out there..

Afif is at the stage where he is constantly cruising along furnitures, practicing getting down from sofa/bed, trying to walk and bertatih. Whenever he does this i am always there behind him, ye lah standby takot dia jatuh menjunam or terlentang. Aku sebenarnya fobia kalo kepala dia terhantok. So far sepanjang dia hidup ni tak pernah lagi terjatuh katil or sofa. Terjatuh pon dari posisi duduk dan ada la dua kali jatuh gedegang masa bertatih.

Lately i've been questioning myself. Betol ke ape aku buat ni? Sebab aku selalu ada, dia tak merasa jatuh terlentang walopon skill turun katil belom mantap - sebab mama sambut everytime jatuh. Maka setiap kali pon gelak je everytime aku sambut bila terlentang. Gelak sebab rasa macam terbang agaknya.

Adakah aku patot biarkan dia jatuh just so that he'll learn from that and be more careful? Will head bump harm him? Aku teringin biar dia jatuh dan belajar bahawasannya jatuh itu sakit and mama can't always be there to protect him. Should i do that?

Mothers, please advice..
November 8, 2013

Random on Friday

1) Aku rasa aku dah gemok. Maka aku stress.

2) Pas bersalin aritu happy sebab i was only 2 kgs heavier than pre-pregnancy weight. Alasan nak sedapkan hati adalah larger boobs coz i'm breastfeeding. Skang dah tambah lagi 2kgs. Takde alasan dah. i'm at my heaviest point right now. Pregnant aritu tak kira lah. Aaaaa stress!

3) Aku tak boleh diet seperti tak makan nasik/makan salad everyday cam aku buat dulu-dulu sebab aku breastfeed. Tak makan nasi konfem production merudum. Nak gi gym memang susah la weh nanti sape nak amek anak?

4) Milk production tak lebat cam dedolu. Tapi aku pasrah dah sebab sejak Afif start makan ni, dia kurang menyusu. Around 9oz je sehari. Boleh kejar lagi lah walopon pam harini memang untuk esok. Nan hado stok.

5) Anak babysitter aku yg bernama Anum dah abes blaja. So dia duk umah tolong jaga bebudak and she's Afif's favorite. Petang masa amek dia, mesti tengah berkepit. Pernah aku datang, dia tido kat bilik Anum dengan Anum skali tido. Kalo hantar, nampak je Anum dia squeal with delight. Jealous la jugak sebab dia slalu squeal gitu kalo nampak aku je but at the same time i'm glad coz it means they're treating him right.

6) Skang memang penat lah layan dia. Dok umah asyik nak bertatih. Anum pon cakap "Afif ni asyik nak tatih jeee" Feveret dia adalah bertatih gi toilet pastu nak masuk bathtub. Hamboi kemain!

7) Dok atas katil, dah pandai nak turun sendiri. Bila turun tu aku kene lah jaga blakang, takot terlentang. Stakat ni 30% berjaya turun perfect tak jatuh. Selalunya memang jatuh. Cuba lagi!

8) Aku rasa cam hampeh je dressing aku skang. Lelagi jeans, skinny jeans, tops. My precious maxi dresses lama dah tak pakai sebab susah nak bf/mengepam. i need a wardrobe upgrade and buy colorful stuff. Maxi skirts..

9) The in-laws ajak gi Bangkok in two weeks. Family vacay oh yeah! And also SHOPPING!!

10) Semalam adalah hari aku meroyan sebab Google pasal vaccination and vaginal birth after ceasarean (VBAC). Selama ni aku ignorant pasal vaccination and thought of course we need it. Orang yang kononnya hipster je takmo vaccinate anak. Bila baca the risks of it, aku paranoidddd! Paranoid bila baca article ini. Pastu paranoid gak kalo aku takleh beranak normal pasni or tetiba kene uterus rupture. Paranoidddd!

11) Esok gi Afif punya 1-year checkup. Sebulan lambat but it's okay. Aku berdebor pasal MMR jab tu. i need to talk to some doctors before we go tomorrow.

12) Remember i told you about taking Depo Provera shot in early May? That's the only shot i took sebab decided tanak continue dah sebab takot susah nak pregnant balik. Lepas amek tu period aku datang 2 kali dengan heavy-nya. Pastu sampai skang tak period. Dah 5 bulan.  i'm not pregnant yet tapi aku stress sebab tak period. Occasionally sakit perot cam mild senggugut tapi tak period gak. Nyesal amek shot tu aritu.

13) Ikthiar makan evening primrose oil to help improve my menstrual cycle. Baru seminggu. Will let you know if it works.

Happy Friday!
*taken at lunch time. Can you believe this is my first ootd photo ever?*

November 6, 2013

Tips for Babies to Love Reading

i was browsing Yahoo! Shine while having breakfast at my cubicle when i saw this interesting article on how to get your child to love reading. The tips are easy to follow so i thought i'd share with you here..

How I'm Teaching My Baby to Love Reading... At 11 Months!


I feel like there is no end to the instructions to read to your child from the moment they are born (or even BEFORE they are born), but that can seem overwhelming when you're confronted with a baby who squirms in your lap or tries to rip or eat the pages.
Here are 13 ways I try to make reading a pleasant and positive experience with my 11-month-old (and that I used with my now-3-year-old) to help her develop a love of reading:
1) Lay on the floor
When my babies are really little and aren't stable enough to sit on my lap while I hold a book, I like to lay next to them on the floor. Both of my girls have been entranced with the pages above them (this also lets me know that my arms are very weak because I can only read about three books before they are killing me).
2) Don't worry about finishing the book
If my daughter loses interest in a book, I'm more than happy to just give it up. We try again with a new, better book. I care more about them enjoying reading than finishing a specific book.
3) Let them turn the pages
It's hard for me to let go and allow my girls to turn the pages (especially when they flip the pages before I'm done reading), but they love to be involved.
4) Read aloud while they crawl around
If my girls are too restless to sit on my lap, I like to read aloud to them while they crawl or wander around (or even color!). Listening to books is a great skill to help them develop.
5) Read a combination of beloved books and new books
My children, like I think most children, love reading their favorites over and over again. I reread those books often and also check out lots of new books at the library to switch things up and help them learn to love even more books.
6) Try audiobooks
I check out audiobooks from the library or download them onto my phone and play them in the car while we run errands.
7) Read when they are happy and content
When my children are grumpy and frustrated, I find that trying to read to them just makes things worse when they are very small. Wait until everyone is in a pleasant mood.
8) Make books accessible
I keep all our library books in a basket on the floor so that my girls can pull them out at will (if your baby is a page-ripper, you might want to keep the board books accessible and put the paper ones higher up until they are a bit older).
9) Visit the library (and attend storytime)
Seeing other kids of all ages enjoying books and listening to someone else read (especially someone who knows a lot about children and reading) can be hugely influential. My girls LOVE storytime.
10) Model reading for them
I like to let my child see, from the very beginning, that reading is an enjoyable part of my life. I try to spend at least ten minutes reading on the couch while they play nearby each day.
11) Let them pick their own books
Since I read a ton of book reviews, it's hard for me to want to read books just randomly pulled from the shelves, but my girls love picking their own books and occasionally we stumble on a gem.
12) Take your books somewhere new
Sometimes, my children aren't interested in reading inside, but if we go to the park and take some books along or read during a meal, it's suddenly new and exciting again.
13) Make it fun
I try never to make reading stressful or feel forced. If a day or two goes by without reading books, that's just fine with me. My goal is to keep it pleasant, light, and enjoyable.
- By Janssen Bradshaw
Link to the article is here


Lepas baca article ni terus berkobar nak cari buku best best lagi untuk Afif. Wiwiwi..
i love reading and it is something that i've been doing since i was a kid. Naturally, i hope my children would love reading too. i understand that not every children is the same, not all of them would make reading their hobby. Aku suka buku, hubby anti-buku. But a mom's gotta try right? :D

November 4, 2013

Perth Trip: Places We Went To

We chose to go to Perth because it is a laid-back city. Initially we thought of Gold Coast or Hong Kong but leceh la bawak Afif. Dia bukan ingat pon and camne nak naik rollercoaster? Maka Perth je la lelepak relax. As we were there for a short vacay ( short 4 days!) we have to be really picky with where we go. We decided to go to must-go places with close proximity to the city. Here's the list:

- City Center
- Caversham Wildlife Park
- Margaret River Chocolate Factory
- King's Park and Botanical Garden
- Fremantle
- Harbour Town Factory Outlet


Perth City Center

Perth City is a small but very well planned city. i must say we did not explore much of the city; no museum nor gallery visits. We explored mainly around 1x0.5km of the city (mainly on Hay, Murray, Milligan and Wellington Streets) center but it seems enough to us.

Hay Street and Murray Street are bursting with life. Endless shops, restaurants and cafes are on these two streets. There's a portion of the streets are not accessible by cars and other vehicle - there are strictly for shoppers and people who just wanna have a nice walk. Street musician playing beautiful music, delicious smell of coffees and shoppers wandering with glee are the usual scene. i personally like to sit on one of the benches and watch people do their thing. Among shops on these streets are Target, David Jones department store, Bras & Things, Guardian pharmacy, Valley Girl, Apple store (which i went to every single day while we were there in hope to get the new iPhone 5S), and so much more.

Baru sampai. Sejuk!

 Behind us is the Wesley Church

 Beli stokin sebelom kaki melecet. Baahaha.


Street Doctor.
StreetDoctor adalah klinik bergerak dan rakyat bayar minimum amount of fee (ke free eh?). i think this is a good initiatve by the Australian government.

Perth at nigh from inside our car.


If you're looking for cars for rent, most of the companies can be found on Milligan Street. We rented from Hertz.

Caversham Wildlife Parks

What is a trip to Down Under without visiting the kangaroos and koalas? On the second day, we rented a car and headed northeast to Caversham Wildlife Park. The trip took about 40 minutes from city center (campur sesat dan berhenti tanya arah). If you are not familiar with Australia , we recommend you to bring/rent a GPS. We rented Hertz's Never Lost GPS but we still got lost as the exact Caversham Wildlife Park is not listed in the GPS. It turned out that we need to key in Whiteman Park as Caversham Wildlife Park is located in the Whiteman Park.

The vehicle entrance.

Jakun gila bila nampak road signs ni. 

Us.

Caversham Wildlife Park is like a mini zoo. They have many species of birds, koalas, wombats, kangaroo, and also farm animals like sheep, ponies, rabbits and even guinea pigs.We started off at the birds section. Some of the birds are in small cages, some in big cages where we are in the cage with them. Afif memang amazed and jakun gila tengok segala burung dan binatang. Ye lah selama ni binatang yang dia tengok pon kucing dan ayam kat umah nenek aku je. 

Afif takot-tapi-mahu-pegang tengok burung. Ada sekali ni dia dok nak pegang muka burung tu. Nasib baik aku sempat capai tangan dia. Kalo tak, dah kene patuk.

Koala. 
Koala di tempatkan di rumah khas. Masa kitorang sampai, ada 7 koalas, 6 tengah tido. Aku sebenarnya excited nak dukung. Sekali pegi, banyak koala tengah tido dan tak boleh dikacau. Taik dia bersepah dan busuk pulak tu. idok ler dukung. Maka idok ler bergambar sakan. Usap-usap gitu je ler.  

Feeding the kangaroo. Kat kangaroo sections, memang ada a few bucket filled with their food pallettes. Visitor can feed the kangaroos freely.

Afif begging the kangaroos to play.
Kangaroos roam freely and mingle with visitors. But there's a fenced section where the kangaroos rest and sleep and visitor cannot disturb them there.

A proud peacock showing off its beauty..

..and then chased by these kids!

Pony in the barn.

Guinea pigs! They remind me of my guinea pig, Danny. i had him for 6 years and then he died. Sobs.

Margaret River Chocolate Factory

Located 5 minutes away from Caversham Park, Margaret River Chocolate Factory produces yummy chocolate. My friends who studied in Perth recommended this place, the chocolate bar is cheap they say. Only one dollar they say. i went there with the plan to buy as much chocolate bars as possible as souvenir. Tapi hampa. Chocolate bar adalah $4 se-bar. Yang lelain takyah cakap lah. Chocolate pastille yang lazat around $5 sebungkus. Maka beli sikit gourmet chocolate untuk makan sendiri. Idok ler jadi souvenir. We bought macadamia, almond and cashew cluster coated with dark chocolate sedap gilaaaa! As i'm typing this i wonder "why the hell didn't i buy extra?"


 Free chocolate pastilles!

King's Park and Botanical Garden

All the people i talked to about Perth say that King's Park is a beautiful place, a must go place. i so wanted to spend time there picnicking. After our Caversham trip, late lunch, and grocery shopping, we went to King's Park. It was beautiful with ample of parking space.At one area, a beautiful view of Perth City and at the other area, the view of the Swan River. Sadly it was getting dark, and mosquitoes were feasting on us. We only spent around 30 minutes there.

Sunset

Perth City

 Father & Son
 Taking a stroll

Pose lompat adalah wajib. 
Kali ini macam kangaroo dengan anak skali lompat.

 Dia nak merasa jugak berjalan atas rumput. Kalo tak basah dan sejuk, memang aku ajar dia bergolek situ.

Afif <3 daddy="" p="">

Fremantle

We went to Fremantle on our third day. When you go to Perth, Fremantle is a must-go place. Historically, Fremantle is the original place where the Dutch set up a new port and town. The old buildings in Fremantle are well preserved.

Diorang kata kalo nak cari souvenir, pegi la E Shed market kat Fremantle. Memang murah. E Shed market ni macam konsep Pasar Filipin kat KK tu ha. Gedung besar, dalam dia banyak stall. Cari stall peniaga Indonesian. Murah. Kami laki bini beli sweater $7 each. Patung koala a set of 12 berharga $2. Tshirt around $7 gak tak salah aku dan banyak lagi. Kat town, sweater aku tu berharga $20. Muahaha..

Jangan lupa makan kat Cicerello's. It is famous with the fish and chips. Ramai gilaaa orang.  Bagi aku, so-so je la fish and chips dia. Try Black Pepper Squid dia. Perghhh da bomb!

 
We went to Fremantle by train from Perth. It's the most covenient way as the train station is near our hotel.

 Afif's first train ride. Look how excited he was!

 Lame lagi ke nak sampai, Ma?

 The Western Australia Museum

One of the stores in E Shed Market.

Hubs took a photo of me taking a photo. Heh.

Pemandangan luar E Shed Market

Fremantle Ferris Wheel

At Cicerello's. Gamba makanan takde sebab kebulur terus licinkan pinggan.

Harbour Town Factory Outlet

Harbourtown is 10 minutes bus-ride away from our hotel. We chose to go on Friday as it is open until 9pm. On other days, it is open until 5pm. More info here.

Among shops that are available are FCUK, Cotton On, Valley Girl, Chica Bootie, Converse, Timberland, Adidas, Nike, Bras & Things, Oroton, Quiksilver, RipCurl, Roxy, Pumpkin Patch, and many more. As shopping is not our main agenda in Perth, we're looking for really cheap things here. Maka tak jugak la banyak membeli.

To be honest;
 - Converse is worth buying as the stuff are cheap. Ada harga $30, $50.. i likes this one pink leopard print        sneakers tp xde low cut plak. Hubs punya pulak takda size. Maka tak beli. Sneakers untuk budak ada          banyak choice compared to kat KL tapi Afif baru dpt hadiah Converse (lagi) maka tak beli jugak.
 - Pumpkin Patch mahal okeh. Jeans untuk Afif yang on sale $20 which is RM60. Kat KL jeans pumpkin        patch aku bleh dpt RM40. Baik beli kat KL, unless if you find something below $10.
 - Valley Girl ada baju yang murah, ada yang mahal. Biggest catch is $7 blouse. Heehoo!
 - Cotton On banyak murah. Aku beli hi-cut sneakers $10 and shawl $5. Muehehe.


 The entrance of Perth Harbourtown FO

  

 "Woahh.. A hot girl!"

 "Maa stop embarrassing me, she's running away!"


Tips & Other Stuff

Transportation 
i'd recommend you to take public transportation as much as you can because they are so convenient. Train stations are all over the place. The trains are clean and spacious, the stations are clean, with easy-to-follow guides and instruction. The bus services are also excellent. The coverage is wide in the city and also out of city center. The best part is in-the-city trips are free of charge! The buses also have ramps for people with strollers and wheelchair. Even travelling with Afif, we have no problems at all taking the bus.

Car rental is also easy in Perth. But book your car online at least a day ahead. We also rented baby car seat for Afif as it is compulsary here. We rented the car for a day for our Caversham and out of town trip. Total fee is around $130 including car seat, GPS and insurance (these three are optional). Bear in mind that parking charges in Perth City is expensive.

Halal Food
There are many halal restaurants in Perth. You can click here and here for a list. We frequented the Central Cafe as it is nearest to our hotel. Our favorite is Charcoal Chicken but it's a bit out of town. Oh God the lamb ribs is yummy i still think about it when i'm hungry.

Bear in mind that foods in Perth are not cheap. Most meals costed us $12-$15 per person. Memula terkejut jugak. Orang kata gi negara orang, jangan convert harga makan tapi dulu kat UK makanan dapat je around GBP5 and mostly under GBP10. Maknanya cost of living in Perth tinggi sikit, even for the local.

Places That We Missed
Pergi pon 4 hari je kan, so tak sempat la explore banyak. Tapi aku terkilan sebab tak spend more time kat King's Park and Mill's Point. Walaupon hanyalah park, tapi sangat cantik with breathtaking view. Cuaca plak sedap sejuk. Memang elok sangat picnic macam dlm citer omputih kat TV. If you're lucky you could even see dolphins at sunset swimming in the swan River.

We spend only a few hours in Fremantle, tak sempat lepak minom kopi kat Cappucino Strip. A stretch of street with many, many choices of cafe. A must-go for coffee lover like me. Nyesal tak gi.

Cottesloe Beach pon tak sempat gi. Orang kata cantik. Haih laa..

So that's what i can recall on top of my head about out Perth trip. i miss Perth! If you wanna go, my advice is take more than 4 days, please! Take time to go for a picnic at King's Park. Take time sip hot coffee at the cafes. Because i didn't have the chance to do that.

That's another continent off my bucket list! Tinggal lagi benua Afrika dan Amerika tak pegi-pegi. Dengarnya AirAsia bukak route cape Town next year. Moh kita? *wink*