Hello from Beijing!

*This post is written and uploaded on 27th December but i just realized it was not fully loaded. Maybe it's the unstable internet connection i had at that time. So anggap je la ni post from Beijing ye. haha*

A short post from the back of a bus in Beijing.

I'm currently here on a 1-week vacay with the in-laws. I gotta admit that Beijing has never been on my bucket list but i am glad i came here. It has been an amazing (and tiring) experience. We went to visit Tiananmen Square, tea house, silk factory, jade factory, the Great Wall, and for the first time in my life, i get to see the snow and went skiing!

I'm not even gonna promise to write about this trip. Trip Seoul bulan 5 lepas pon aku tak cerita lagi. So many things to tell, so little time to write.

 Family photo at Tiananmen Square eventhough anak-anak tak bekerjasama 

Kasi lompat melompat di Beijing Zoo

My first time merasa main salji and our first time skiing!

Masa ni laju-laju tinggalkan Afif and Dhani kat in-laws and gi ski. Feel like teenagers again buat mende-mende extreme ni haha.

Family photo at The Great Wall.

 

10 Years On

Today is me & Mr. Chenta's tenth anniversary of being together.

TEN freaking YEARS!

Today, 10 years ago, was the first time he told me he loves me. Haha it was funny, really. i've always known that he had a thing for me by the way he acted and the things he said. But men being men, he did not confess.

Sampai la that fateful day..

*Happy sigh*

i've been having feeling for him for years too. So naturally, i said 'i love you, too' without hesitation. Tak reti jual mahal langsung haha

Thinking about it still gives me goosebumps til this day.

It's really true what they say, time flies when you're having fun. Alhamdulillah our 10 years together seemed to went by in a blink because we really do have fun together. Tipu lah kalau takde masa-masa sedih, tak gaduh, tak sentap, takde ugutan nak breakup. Tipu lah kalau semuanya smooth.

But you know what? Alhamdulillah we made it through.

Through study years.

Through early working years.

Through jealousy and orang-nak-ngorat-gf/bf-aku phase.

We got MARRIED!

We became PARENTS!

Through the grief of Afif's deafness.

Through the kilograms that we gain together.

Through financial ups and downs.

Our journey is a beautiful one. i know i can get through anything as long as i have you.

Baby, the last ten years are the best 10 years of my life. Everyday i thank the Almighty for you. Trials and tests are always gonna be there but i always pray that we'll stay in love and we'll stay happy together til we take our last breath and insyaAllah, enter His paradise together.

To many more years of adventure together, insyaAllah.

Fashion Styles for 2017

Guys..

2016 is ending, guys. Did you notice? It's almost December already!

So many things (mostly good things) happened to me in 2016, Alhamdulillah. We'll have time to talk about that later.

Now i have more pressing issue to talk about: F.A.S.H.I.O.N!

As i flipped in the pages of magazines, scroll through Instagram and the Internet, i couldn't help but notice the variety and the ever-changing world of fashion. Beautiful people of various skin colors and body shapes wearing beautiful clothing.  Medleys and variety of colors, style, materials and look took place. Silih berganti dari awal tahun hingga lah sekarang.

Kalau perasan, pakaian Muslimah or modest clothing took more of pastel shades this year. Early in the year, chunky beads on blouses and tops were the rage and now, bell sleeves are so in. Bukan aje pastel, trend monochrome pon memang trending dalam tahun 2016.

Untuk stail non-Muslimah, i really love the flowy, off-the-shoulder tops. Stail kembang-kembang sikit tu. Marion Caunter really pull those off with her banging body.

In terms of bottoms, skinny jeans (or pretty much skinny anything) are so last year, dahling! The boyfriend jeans dengan stail 'rugged' terkoyak sikit berjaya menambat hati muda-mudi tahun ni. People also lean towards a more relaxed fit bottoms like palazzo and cullottes. These cuts are more modest for a Muslimah like me.

Hah.. Korang jangan tak tau. Even though i'm a mother of two, i still care about fashion, okay? Terkejut tak? Impressed kan? Haha..

Top and skants are from Zalora.

#teefatalksfashion

*flip shawl*

With all these happening in 2016, one couldn't help but wonder, what is in the book for 2017?

Thanks to Zalora, i got a crystal ball to see what's up and coming for next year!

Zalora understands the need for GOOD fashion and they will not deprive you of options.


Memahami bahawa trend fesyen sentiasa berubah setiap tahun, Zalora telah bersedia untuk memberikan yang terbaik kepada kita semua yang tertunggu-tunggu apakah trend fashion terkini 2017 yang akan muncul.

For women's collection, 2017 might see more of the bling bling style with variety of cuts and looks made out of shiny materials for us to dazzle in. They are so THE look for bold women who knows what she wants and out to get it.

 

 Bling bling looks fresh from the runways

i personally love this skirt from Rico Rinaldi x Tomita Flowers.

Not exactly bling bling but just as festive.

Available on Zalora MY.

Isn't this sequin mesh dress from Zalia gorgeous?

Sequin clutch by Miss Selfridge, available at Zalora MY

For men, fret not! Zalora keeps you covered with endless choices that they offer. A fresher, street style look are gonna be in. Practical and suitable for the urban man in you who prefers comfort without neglecting style.

Apa pun pilihan anda, keep yourself updated dengan perkembangan trend fesyen terkini untuk tahun 2017!

Dah, gi bukak website Zalora skang. Jangan kata sis tak payunggg!

A Crazy 12-Hour Singapore Trip

So last three weekends Linda and i did something crazy.

We went to a 12-hour makan trip to Singapore.

It all started one day when Linda said she misses the cakes at Fluff Bakery. And i was like "Aku rindu makan sup tulang merah Singapore!" Last-last lepas pikir-pikir, kitorang beli je tiket walaupon tiket maha. RM373 return ticket. Gila tak gila kan?

Beli tiket hari Khamis. Hari Sabtu terbang ke Singapura!

We took the 7.40am flight to Singapore and our return flight is at 8.50pm. With limited time, we REALLY have to plan where to go and how to get there. Roughly, this is our plan:

Our rough plan

Hello Singapore!

Sampai Changi Airport terus cari makan sebab kebuloq!

Our first destination was Orchard Road. We didn't have anything to buy. We just thought it'd be nice to walk ain and out of designer's boutique that we don't have in Malaysia. We went to Laduree for the macarons, got shoe crazy at Manolo and Christian Louboutin (i went crazy, Linda was cool) and Chiara Ferragni at Takasimaya.. We fell in love with the Flirting shoes. Memang masing-masing nak beli sangat dah but we got into our senses right away dan tak beli. Selamat duit aku. We even went to FashionValet Singapore. It's funny coz i never been to FV KL. Bahaha..

First destination: Orchard Road.

Manolo!
Ni kat Takasimaya Department Store. Aku cam gila gak la. Tapi tak try pon sebab tengok harga pon dah nangis apatah lagi nak beli haha

Laduree!
Pasni tayah gi Paris dah setakat nak makan macaron Laduree kan

Aku paling lamaaaa kat kedai Chiara Ferragni ni. Fell in love with the Flirt in Multicolor shoes.
i was so SO close to buying this tapi cepat-cepat kembali ke alam realiti. Next trip, konfem aku beli.

Si gila berdua

Around 2pm perut berkeroncong. We made our way to Arab Street area for foooood. Singgah Zam Zam dulu beli murtabak famous. Ingatkan nak makan masa pekena sup tulang merah kat MA Deen tapi pakcik kat Ma Deen kata no outside food. Haih. Last-last bawak balik je murtabak tu. Food at MA Deen ok je la nothing to shout about. After lunch we went to Fluff Bakery and tapau cupcakes and cakes.

Nasi biryani ayam kat MA Deen.
Biase je nothing special.

Sup tulang merah idaman.

Sopan je makan kan? Korang tak tengok aku sedut-sedut guna straw. Hahaha.

Fluff Bakery!

Muka serius membeli dan menjual cupcakes.

 Selesai borong cake, kami terus ke MRT station to go to Merlion Park. Nasib baik la cuaca tak panas sangat. Tu pon berpeluh ketiak dah berjalan. Nak bergambar nyer pasal, gigih wehhh..

At Melion Park overlooking the Marina Bay

Kononnya pas gi Merlion nak picnic plak kat garden kat Marina Bay. Tapi memasing dah penat gila menapak seharian. At 4.30pm we decided we had enough dan terus balik ke Changi Airport and lepak kat surau je sementara tunggu flight balik. Haha.

Crazy sisters from another mother.

It was a fun and worry-free day for me. Lama dah aku tak keluar ngan girlfriend sehari suntuk tanpa risau memikirkan nak balik cepat sebab anak kat rumah.

i'm glad we took this trip.

  Total steps that day. Slalu aku average per day 9000 steps je.
Sumpah penat cramp kaki.
But it was worth it :')

Afif is F.O.U.R!

Alhamdulillah.

God, time seems to move on so fast and before i know it, my eldest son is 4 already!

Four, guys, four!

Gone were the cuddly infant years and the toddler years with all the tantrum and mood swings. My now 4-year-old son has became a little man.

i have so much to say about Afif i don't even know where to begin.

Kurusnya Afif!

First of all, he has grown tall and thin. All the baby fat on him? Poufff, gone! We always get comments from people "Kurusnya Afifff!" and "Kenapa Afif makin kurus ni?"

Well people, no, we don't starve him. In fact, it's the complete opposite wehhh. Everyday for breakfast he eats soft-boiled eggs (3 eggs for both him and Dhani). An hour after that he's ask for food (usually peanut butter-choc sandwich or banana). At around 1pm he eats lunch, usually rice with a protein (chicken or fish but his fave is egg tofu) and vege. Kalau lunch feveret tu memang 2 mangkok pon licin. Around 3 or 4pm makan snacks (biskot, roti, coklat, banana or grapes). Malam makan lagi nasi or pasta. Banyak kan dia makan kan? i also dunno why he looks thin. Vitamin pon bagi. To be honest kadang terasa la jugak bila orang asik cakap kurusnya afif. Macam aku tak kasi anak makan plak kan? Then again i feed him good stuff, i know he has normal appetite and he is not sick. His BMI is within the normal range.. So tak kisah la kan kurus pon sihat and i know that i look after him the best i could.

Si kurus Mama

Memang Tak Habis Energy Ye Afif?

Afif memang sangat energetic. Kalau weekend or cuti sekolah memang dari pagi sampai malam la dia berjaga dan melasak. No naptime whatsoever. Aku kalo weekend memang penat la dari pagi ke malam melayan dia. On school days dia tido tengah hari. Tu pon lepas brapa lama sekolah baru dia adapt to the tido siang culture.

Tapi yang elok nya dia tak berapa tido siang ni, malam cepat je dia tido. We try to impose early (sorta) bedtime for our children.. Kol 8.45pm dah get ready dalam bilik.. Bedtime story, minom susu, gosok gigi & pakai pampers (he still sleeps with diapers on haha) and around 9-9.15pm, lights out.

Skang dia punya feveret is jadi gymnast. Dia boleh buat terbalik-terbalik tu weh. Terjun dari kerusi siap terbalik badan. Tak lama lagi agaknya boleh buat cartwheel. Haha. Kalo murah rezeki boleh la consider masuk gymnastic classes ye dop?

Aktiviti petang

Afif at School

As i blogged before, Afif goes to playschool at the start of the year. He was enrolled in mainstream playschool because we (with his speech therapist recommendation) would like him to mingle with kids his age to enhance his speech progress. As the months go by, the teachers notice that Afif was not able to focus on table top activities. Buat aktiviti 2-5 minit pastu dia bangun nak main. He has short attention span and low sitting tolerance. After discussion, the teachers group him with younger kids (3 year olds) as his hearing and speech age is around 2.5-3 years. Tapi bila dah group ngan adik-adik ni, dia lah abang long. Orang soh buat keje, dia ajak kekawan dia main. pening teacher! Haha

 Teacher hantar gambar Afif ngamok kat sekolah (-_____-)

Fun with friends

Lawatan ke balai bomba

After further discussion, we agreed to put him in Behavior Modification Program (BMP). Untung nya sekolah Afif ni ada mainstream playschool, mainstream preschool and also program for special needs kids which is BMP ni la. Kat BMP dah included speech therapy, occupational therapy, water therapy, and the teachers are experienced with special needs kids with conditions like autism, ADHD, dyslexia, to name a few..

Memula risau la jugak sebab most kids at BMP are non-verbal. Maknanya tak bercakap sangat. Macam mana Afif nk bercakap kalau kekawan tak bercakap kan? But we realize in order for him to progress better, he needs to learn to focus, follow instruction and have high sitting tolerance. So we give it a shot. He started his BMP program in August.

Alhamdulillah after almost 3 months, memang nampak la progress. The first 2 weeks tu dia memang takmo masuk kelas BMP tu. Menangis nak naik atas (kelas playschool). Tapi lepas tu, he loves it. We notice he is happier. Malam sebelum dah kata "Esok gi sekolah.. Jumpa teacher.. Jumpa Kawan.. Jumpa Isyraff.."

Progress lain adalah dia lagi senang follow instruction dan paling ketara he speaks English! Seryes yang ni mak terkejut. Sebabnya we speak Malay at home coz that is the normal practice bila ngajar budak pekak bercakap (speak one language or kalo nk sangat dual language, one parent kene cakap 100% Malay, one parent cakap 100% English which memang tak laa kan). Sekarang ni dia boleh count 123 in both language, knows colors in both language, and understand simple instruction in both language (sit down, stand up, be gentle, wash buntut haha). He knows ABC and when we read books, i sometimes point to letters in words dia cam those letters. Maybe next step is to teach him reading la kot but before that, kene improve his focus. We still have to work on his attention span but these progress are good enough for now.

Berbaloi la spend beribu yuran sekolah sebulan bila nampak progress kan..

Afif Talks!

i remember being worried about his future and his ability to talk when he was first diagnosed with hearing loss. Alhamdulillah after 3 years of wearing hearing aids and 1 year of using the cochlear implant, he can now talk! He talks in 2-3 words sentences. If we're lucky dapat la 4-words sentences (tapi sangat jarang la). He doesn't have tantrums anymore coz he can now express his feelings and what he wants. Among his words are..

Mama, lapa la.. Jom makan.

Air apple habis. Jom pegi kedai.

Esok Afif gi sekolah. Jumpa teacher, jumpa isyraf, jumpa kawan..

Daddy takde. Daddy gi keje.

Pinjam telefon. Nak (main) Minion.

Afif tanak swimming. Nanti tenggelam. Afif nanges.

Kadang tu memang aku stress jugak weh sebab dia cakap non-stop. Dulu nak sangat anak bercakap. Ha skang non-stop dia membebel tau pon penat nak layan.

Mama! Lampu merah..

Mama!! Minion jatuh!

Mama! Tingginya rumahhhh

Mama! ade semut la..

Mama! Angin.. Pokok goyang nanti jatuh!

Seriously, dude?

Ni la among common daily conversation kitorang. Haha.. Tapi butir perkataan dia tu memang pelat. Kadang mama dedi je paham. Contoh nama dia Afif, dia sebut Ashish. Minion dia sebut minek. Apple dia sebut apo. Ape-ape la, nak, janji mama daddy paham. Haha

InsyaAllah with more hard work and practice, he will continue to progress and hopefully talks like typical kids.

Afif Likes and Dislikes 

Afif is a fun-loving, happy, friendly, sweet and smart kid. He loves saying hi to random strangers and making friends. He loves playing with water but tak suka gi water therapy sebab nanti kene benam dalam air. Haha. He loves animal. His favourite foods are creamy pasta, nasik lauk labu masak lemak or tofu telur. His current favourite shows/movies are Minions, Tangled, Wreck-it Ralph and American Ninja Warriors. He loves playing Minion Rush game on the iPad and he is so good at it. He loves doing puzzles. He loves his brother Dhani so dearly and he sleeps hugging or holding Dhani's hand.

On the other side, he could sometimes be rough, impatient, careless and overly lasak. Bila bergaduh ngan Dhani tu aku rasa nak tamparrrr je dia.  Bila kat mall tu cam pelesit dia lari. He does not like spicy food at all. 

He has a bestfriend. Nama dia Isyraff. i think the main reason why he loves going to school is Isyraff. He loves talking about Isyraff, even with his limited vocabulary. Selalu cerita Isyraff marah, Isyraff nanges, isyraff langgar dinding pastu jatuh.. Pernah sekali ni hantar dia gi sekolah. Dari jauh dengar budak jerit "Afifff!" Rupanya Isyraff baru sampai. They ran towards each other and hug. Macam la setahun tak jumpa. Haha. 

Birthday Celebration

We didn't do much for his birthday celebration this year. Kami celebrate sehari awal kat sekolah je. Beli cake and prepare some goodies for his friends and teachers. Tema nya adalah Minions sebab dia gila Minion masa tu. Minions cake and Minions goodie bag (siap pisang okayyy..) Suka dia celebrate ngan kawan-kawan. 

Afif, friends, and his Minions cake

Excited nampak kek.

Goodie bag set sederhana. Haha

On his birthday, kebetulan ada speech therapy at Institute HEARS. Dia demam sebenarnya tapi bila therapist bagitau ada kek, kami datang juga. Tapi ye lah birthday boy demam kan.. Duduk monyok je dia. Kesiannn.. Haha. But i'm so touched by the effort by Dr. Basha and team. Last year pon diorang celebrate birthday Afif. Semoga Allah balas yang baik2 untuk doktor.

Afif birthday celebration at Institute HEARS.
Afif demam, terus tak ingat nak bergambar bagai.
The hijabi lady in pink is Dr. Basha. She is the one we're forever indebted to. She plays a huge role in Afif's speech & development.

Alhamdulillah..

i'm so grateful for my boy. Walaupon dia ada kekurangan, Allah lebihkan banyak untuk dia. Ramai sayang dia, hensem plak tu (sape lagi nak puji anak sendiri kan? Haha). Baik hatinya. A happy and friendly kid (Dr. Basha's words). 

i pray that Allah continues to keep you blessed with good health, abundance in rezeqi, terang hati and stay good & pure inside out. Mama & Daddy love you so much.

Afif Got a Haircut!

Rambut Afif dah panjang.

Sebelum ni masa umur dia setahun lebih gitu pernah bawak potong kedai. Dia punya lasak nya Tuhan je tau. Pastu kan kalau potong rambut rasa cam miang geli geli bila rambut tu jatuh. Memang nangis la dia.. Memang serik la kitorang bawak gi potong kat kedai dah.

Since then, kitorang potong rambut dia kat rumah je. Mr. Chenta siap beli mesin cukur rambut tu haa sebab nak potong rambut dia. Sebab tu la style rambut dia tak brapa nak up-to-date. Mak bapak yg potong. Asal boleh. Kahkahkah

Macam mana ntah bleh plak hilang mesin cukur rambut tu. Rambut dia plak makin panjang. Rimas aku tengok. So since 2 weeks ago i've been telling him "jom gi kedai potong rambut. Panjang la rambut Afif.."Pastu kalau lalu salon or barbershop kitorg akan cakap "bestnye potong rambut. Hensem la.. Jom!" Everytime jugak la jawapan dia "no! Tanak! Tak boleh laa.."

Sampai la last week. Rambut dia yang panjang tu asyik masuk mata. Dia dok ngadu "sakit mata la mama. Rambut masuk mata.." Aku pon explain la rambut Afif panjang.. Kene potong ni. Gi kedai la jom potong rambut.. Sebab rimas agaknya terus dia kata okay. Tapi kitorang tak sempat bawak.

Last week Tuesday, masa SIL amek aku balik keje, dia kata Afif dok ajak dia "Aunty, jom gi kedai. Potong rambut" Ape lagi terus la kitorang bertukar haluan gi Alpha Angle. Nak potong kat Kwik Cut la gamaknya. Masa tunggu turn tu, aku Google gambar boy haircut and tanya kat dia nak macam mana.. excited la dia scroll memilih. Sampai satu gamba ade budak rambut panjang dia tunjuk and kata "Mama, ni no-no. Tak Boleh. Panjang masuk mata" 

Sampai turn dia, semangat je duduk. Tukang gunting plak seorang amoi. Pandai la dia membodek and amek hati Afif. Pakai kain sarung tu bagai and start menggunting. Tengok je diri dia kat cermin. Ada certain time masa mesin tu cukur area2 tengkuk, terkekeh dia gelak. Geli! Haha.

Prepping for the cut. Looking so excited.

Almost done!

Dah habis gunting dia belek-belek rambut dia. Aku pon cakap "Woww.. Cantik nye rambut pendek. Hensem la Afif!" Pastu dia kata "Yayyy! Good job, aunty! Thank you!" sambil cakap kat hairdresser tu siap thumbs up bagai.

Seeing this, i realized that my baby is not a baby anymore. Slowly he developed into this little man before my eyes. Wanting to get a hair cut, praising and thanking a good work by a total stranger. That is a HUGE deal to me. 

We left the barbershop with springs in our step.

Ahh Afif. Don't grow up too fast ok? Mama can't handle it.