My Family, My Heaven

November: birthday celebration

2012-11-19T02:33:00.001-08:00

November is Azrai and my birthday months with a few days apart. The kids and I took the ERL from Putrajaya to meet up with Azrai in KL and proceeded to KLCC. We had a birthday dinner for Azrai at Chili's after a half hour waiting list. It was an advanced birthday dinner as I have a photoshoot assignment on his birthday. I paused and smiled after typing the earlier sentence. "Photoshoot assignment", I like the sound of that.
That's another story to tell.

I didn't get the chance to get Azrai a birthday present until the following monday. I met up with Dr Zeti and her kids for lunch at Nando's Alamanda to pass her the bags that she ordered for her self and her daughter. I threw in some freebies as lunch was on her. We had a pleasant time talking about kids. I can hardly pull thing together most of the yime with 2 kids and I am a full time mom. I'm amazed with Dr Zeti and how she handles her 5 children without a maid and with a full time job as a lecturer. Just thinking about it makes me tired.

Back to the story, after lunch, I went to Parkson and bought Azrai a bottle of perfume. It's Aqua by Armani. Only a small bottle. Nice things come in small packages they say. Danial and Arwen got something for themselves at Toys r Us too They used their hari raya green packet money with a limit of RM50 each. Danial was having a tough time looking for an item to fit the budget while Arwen was easier to pleased. I chosed a Ballerina Barbie doll for her.

Some of the November babies I know and here's a shout out to you guys, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"
Alice, Hazel, Kak Intan, Rozaimah, Azhan.

Rock on SCORPIONS!!

7 months worth of updates? Mission Possible

2012-10-31T22:46:00.001-07:00

I was reading a friend's personal blog and was enjoying it and realized that I've not updated my personal blog since May. May to November, that's 6 months worth of story to tell. How do i start? Where do i start? Attempting the impossible... And blogging on the go... Dare I accept this feat. For starters, I'm test running Blogger app on Iphone to post this entry just to see if it works.

Proud Danial with his KUMON medal and certificates of excellence

2012-04-12T20:48:00.001-07:00

Danial wasn't feeling well yesterday and I took him to the clinic straight from school. He's been having fluctuating fever and a runny nose since monday and he has already missed school 2 days.

After an early dinner at a cafe mectto the clinic, we swinged by at KUMOM centre to send his completed worksheets and collect his homework pack. I waited in the car with Arwen while he did this. He came back with a huge grin on his face and excitedly showed me the medal and certificates of excellence for ASHR 2011. He was bursting with pride. The struggle to keep to the commitment to do the worksheets on a daily basis was well worth it to see his beaming face. He wouldn't remember the struggle but he would remember this recognition.

Now, Arwen demands a pink medal for her too😉

P/s: test driving blogger app on iphone. I kept missing the big milestones to document them in the blog that I decided to blog on the go. So far, I'm liking it. This just might just work out for me 😄

Danial is in Primary One

2012-01-04T21:50:00.000-08:00

Malaysian Academic calendar started on Wednesday, 4th January 2012. This year we reached another milestone; Danial enters primary school. We’ve decided to go ahead with our plans to enroll Danial in Sri Ayesha, Bandar Baru Bangi. This shot was taken the morning of the first day to school. His uniform is white shirt, khaki pants, black socks and shoes and white kopiah. Doesn’t he look dashing :). My baby is all grown up now *sob*

I didn’t want to miss his first day at school so I tagged along and took sleepy Arwen with us. This is a shot of Danial outside his classroom, 1 Ibnu Zubair.

I’m a kiasu mom so I placed him right infront, facing the teacher :)

I can’t stop being amazed at how fast he has grown up...

Arwen still in her jammy when we sent Danial to school.

Striking her diva pose.

Class is about to start. See Danial’s white kopiah right in front of the teacher’s desk :)

The outside facade of the school. Take care of my son.

It was harder for me to say goodbye to him and later that day, I realized that it’s not just Danial or I who had to adjust to the new routine, Arwen was having a tough time adjusting to not having her big brother to play with. She kept asking for Danial and was a little bit clingy. Good thing we had some guests from United States coming to tour Putrajaya to keep us occupied.

Ken and Karen are friends of my brother. They are in Malaysia as part of their world tour. Read all about their adventures and misadventures here. I took them around Putrajaya with my little missy and she was terribly shy. She didn’t say a word to these nice couple. It was scorching hot and the tour was mostly done in the comfort of my Nissan X-Trail. We went to Masjid Putra, the first mosque visit for Ken and Karen. :) I sent them back to Putrajaya Sentral station to catch the next train back to KL after a pleasant lunch at Umai. Their next destination is Penang for a week and Cambodia later. This is part of their 16 months world tour and they are already 4 months in. Good luck Ken and Karen. It was great to get to know you folks.

Azrai’s 11.11.11 birthday

2011-11-20T21:28:00.001-08:00

My darling husband celebrated his 43rd birthday on a very special date: 11.11.11. I made a video for his birthday for his birthday present:

Later that evening, we went to Umai, for his birthday dinner. Well, not much of a birthday dinner because the kitchen was booked for a private function that night so they can only serve light snacks.

After dinner, we sent Danial for his graduation concert rehearsal at Perbadanan Putrajaya. We’re supposed to go to Penang that day but since it’s Danial’s final concert at Generasi, we couldn’t miss it. We managed to postponed our reservation at Lone Pines Hotel so he could go for his graduation. More pictures of us killing time at Perbadanan Putrajaya and a video of Arwen clowning around :)

Danial is 6!

2011-09-27T09:02:00.000-07:00

Danial turned 6 on Tuesday, September 20, 2011. It was a gloomy day. He went to school as usual in the morning. He knew it was his birthday that day and asked me before he left for school, “What’s my surprise”. I had to swallow the lump in my throat and told him that there is no surprise. I think he didn’t believe me. Well, my dear son, YOU are the surprise. The magical, wonderful and beautiful 6 years that you’ve brought into our lives with your presence. What 6 year old would take that kind of answer?

When I picked him up from school, he asked me again. and again I told him there’s no surprise. The day went on as normal as any day could be. He did his worksheet, reluctantly at fourish and I took them out to the playground as promised. I brought my camera and took some shots just to have this memory of him when he turned 6.

My handsome boy

With his little sister.

What Danial does, Arwen is sure to follow.

We took the kids to TGIF Alamanda to celebrate. This is a shot of them staring at the tv behind me. I love this kind of celebration. Low key and personal but Danial insisted that he wants a birthday party. I might consider having a small get together among close families and friends sometime down the road. Not too far after his birthday I hope.

Danial’s shot but I have glare on the lens :(

We then took them to Carrefour and got him his surprise :) Nothing big, just a bicycle. He has outgrown his old bicycle and agreed to let him get a new one for his birthday. Here’s a picture of the Carrefour staff attaching the trainer wheels onto his bicycle. He even asked for a bell. What birthday boy wants, birthday boy gets :)

While waiting for Danial bicycle to be ready, Arwen had a test run of the tricycles there. I’m just thankful that my kids are not ones to beg for toys. I won’t have the hearts to turn them down. She was ok just sitting on the tricycles and got off it when we’re ready to go. If she’d ask for one, it’ll break my heart to turn her down with that look on her face. The beauty of a second child, she gets to inherit Danial’s old bicycle... maybe we ask Babah to paint it pink and add a basket for her...

Here’s a video of Danial throughout the years....

Arwen’s First Haircut

2011-09-20T01:07:00.000-07:00

I’m multi-tasking my errands today. I put Arwen into the new Ilisa Back-Tie Bow Dress I made for her hair cut appointment so that I can shoot the dress as well. I picked up Alice who helped made Arwen’s appointment and drove straight to Bangsar Shopping Center. The haircut was hardly 5 minutes and the hairdresser was really good (No wonder they charge RM30.00 per kid’s haircut). I guess 5 minutes seems like an eternity to a 2 year old preschooler.

Today is Danial’s 6th birthday. He wants a birthday party which I have yet to plan. For today, we’re going to celebrate his birthday with a family dinner at a place of his choice (my bet it’s going to be McDonald’s or KFC) and get him a bicycle. Oh! and by the way, his birthday came with good news. We finally heard from Sri Ayesha that Danial is accepted for year 1 primary school. I’m super proud of him.

Danial starts fasting this year

2011-08-03T23:44:00.000-07:00

It’s the fourth day of fasting and since Day 1, this is how he looks like during sahur. Either Azrai or I would carry him to the dining table. I bet if someone would just feed him, he’d be happy eating with his eyes close. He’s been doing great so far. I hope he can complete his fasting this year. I do not promise to give him any monetary reward nor encourage others to. I want him to fast because of Allah and not for the money. However, I’ve already made a promise to myself that I’d give him extra duit raya for the effort that he put to fast, regardless of how many days he fast.

Danial did well in KUMON

2011-07-28T08:36:00.000-07:00

Here’s a reason to shout! Danial did so well in his test that everybody was surprised, even the little guy too :) He did the test in 4 minutes. Yes, 4 Freakin’ Minutes. Isn’t that awesome? :) And for that, we treated him to an ice-cream sundae at Mc Donald’s. We asked him ok, and all he wanted was Mc Donald’s ice-cream sundae... life’s simple pleasure without burning a whole in the pocket.

A full Saturday

2011-07-28T08:09:00.000-07:00

Saturday, 23rd July 2011 was a super busy day for all of us. Kicking off with Danial’s Placement Test at Sri Ayesha, Bandar Baru Bangi at 9am. He has to do written tests, reading tests and practical tests (solat). The above shot was the when I sent him for the written test. I just told him to do his best. He looked terrified and confused. My heart went to him. He took a long time completing the written tests. He kept flipping the pages front and back. By the time he went in for the reading test, he was already frustrated. The teacher who conducted the English reading test had to call me in because he simply refused to read and kept quiet. I really, really felt sorry for putting him through this. The solat bit was a breeze and we were among the last few to leave. We made it up to him by taking him to McDonald’s.

While Danial was downstairs taking his tests, the parents were upstairs queueing up for an interview. This was my line.

I sent Azrai to Grand Millenium to meet up with Oliver and headed to KLCC. I was supposed to meet with a photobud who came from Penang but he had a change of plans. I took the kids to Toys ‘r’ Us. The guilt for putting Danial through the tests was still high.

Danial trying on Optimus Prime mask

Bumble Bee mask

Arwen and Danial playing with lego blocks

Free toys

After browsing around in Toys ‘r’ Us, I treated them with ice-cream and chicken puff at Secret Recipe. Then we headed to Nenek’s house in Setiawangsa. We left the kids with Nenek and went for dinner with Alice, Faudzi and Wan Ju at Alexis, GE Mall. There was a jazz performance by Victoria Newton (Australia) and the show was superb. They didn’t allow any photography during the performance but I sneaked a few with the Iphone.

Victoria Newton

Trip to JB

2011-07-28T07:31:00.000-07:00

We tagged along with Azrai last weekend to go down to JB. He has a few appointments there. We started the journey late as Azrai had to do groceries for Mak. While Azrai did that, I get to meet up with a photobud from Penang, Harris McHorror who brought his entourage to Alamanda when our plan to meet up in KLCC got mucked up. I gave the lovely and pregnant missus, Emma a petite diaper tote which I made and blogged about here.

Anyway, after sending the groceries over to Damansara, then only we made our way to JB. That was already about 3ish. The drive on the highway was pretty smooth with a few ‘superman’ on the road. I was too slow with the camera to catch any of them in action.

We reached JB around 6.30pm but were stuck in a horrible jam. We were running low on fuel that we made a u-turn to refuel and find alternative route to the hotel. I wanted to check in before maghrib but the traffic was really impossible. The jam stretched to the very road that leads to Naza Taiyya Hotel. Mental note, we cannot stay there any more. We checked in at almost 8.30 and ordered room service instead of braving the traffic again for dinner. Then, lights out!

Monday, we camped in the hotel room. Here’s Danial’s shot on the Iphone of his toys that he brought along for the trip.

The kids were restless and wouldn’t take their nap. I gave in and took them to the pool. We own the pool. There was nobody else... Kinda spooky too...

The view from our hotel room. I bet this is one of Danial’s doing too.

Azrai found out where they relocated Tepian Tebrau and we headed there for dinner. We didn’t find the usual ikan bakar joint and just randomly sat at one of the stalls. We ordered the same food. They tasted quite decent. I guess chances are, all the ikan bakar and seafood along Tepian Tebrau would taste the same.

Lala masak cili

Ikan Pari Bakar

Kailan Ikan Masin

Azrai decided to make a few more sales calls before heading home so we had another splash time at the pool. I finished my socks (read about it here).

We went away for 2 days. I ended with 6 loads of washing to do. Had to do it in 2 days as I ran out of space to hang the laundry plus the weather was rather gloomy. And we cheated too, Arwen was on disposables instead of her cloth diapers. Otherwise, the laundry would just be plain ridiculous.

Raya Shoes Unboxed

2011-07-28T06:57:00.000-07:00

Arwen couldn’t wait for Raya so she wore her raya shoes for breakfast at the mamak shop today. Asalkan bahagia nak...

Last night she had a slight fever. She was cranky and clingy and it got worse when Azrai got home from work. I took out the good ol’ sling and carry her in it for a bit. Tried to take a photo with the iphone. She noticed and made the ‘peace’ sign... Incorrigible!

Green Lantern 3D

2011-06-28T19:07:00.001-07:00

Last friday, after Azrai's drums class, we had dinner at TGIF. It was next to GSC so we went to get tickets for Green Lantern 3D. It's Danial's latest superhero fascination.

This time around I remembered to wear my lens. It makes it easier to wear the 3D glasses. The build up for the story was a bit slow. Nevertheless it was entertaining. Arwen fell asleep towards the end of the movie

Danial wanted to check out Toys R Us for the Green Lantern ring but they don't have it. Here's Arwen trying out some shades to hide her puffy eyes...

Saturday Stroll at Putra Perdana

2011-06-19T15:45:00.000-07:00

It was a lazy saturday and the kids were getting restless at home. Azrai was busy with work but agreed to get away from it for a while and take the kids out. Instead of hitting the mall which average Malaysian do for recreation, we decided to check out the parks around Putrajaya. We headed to Putra Perdana because I recalled the playground near the parking area.

We went for a stroll around the park first. Azrai wanted to check out the Monolith Park where I took pictures of the rock formation for my photography page theme day in Facebook.

I stopped by and took a quick shot of these wild mushrooms. They reminded me of the Smurfs :)

I had Danial jump for me :)

We went back to the playground and let the kids run free for a good half and hour.

All good things must end. Time to go home and hit the shower :)

Lynne and kids came for brunch

2011-06-17T10:57:00.000-07:00

I sent Danial and Arwen to Setiawangsa to spend the night with their nenek. This is the second time doing so after the success of the first sleep over. Similar to the first time, Azrai and I went to see a movie, X Men: First Class. It was good.

Sunday morning, we went for early breakfast at our regular joint. Then, to Pasar Presint 8 to get groceries to make laksa sarawak for brunch. Lynne and kids were coming over for brunch. I packed my camera and took some shots at the pasar. Here are some that I like:

Top view of the groceries section

Fish monger

Pak Din

Eggs

Vege

more eggs

Couldn’t take my sweet time because I had to go home and cook. Made it just in time. Lynne and kids really know how to show appreciation for food. All my effort and time spent preparing the food was well rewarded especially Manja who had 4 helpings of laksa sarawak :) These shots were taken by Azrai who struggled to get everybody and everything in the frame as I had my 45mm lens on at that time.

Lynne’s main motive was to enlist me as her tailor. I’m amazed at her utmost confidence in my sewing. I don’t actually sew adult’s clothing except for my own. I can afford to make mistakes on my own clothes; not on others. She brought a lot of material that I got goosebumps and could feel the fear and stress rising. I do so want to please her but it’s just beyond my capabilities. I’ve asked Kak Nad to look into it. If she can cut it for me, my job is half done. Kak Nad hadn’t gone around to cut the fabric yet. So, my worry hasn’t really started.

Burglary next door

2011-06-17T10:14:00.000-07:00

My next door neighbour’s house got broken into last night. The burglar got in through the opened windows of one of the bedroom in the first floor. The freaky thing is he dared to go into the house while there are occupants sleeping in the very room he broke into. He managed to take some purses and handphones. It happened around 3am. I woke up at 12 midnight when Arwen started to fuss. She has high fever and Azrai and I took turns sponging her down. She settled down around 2am after taking medication and I couldn’t go back to sleep. I didn’t hear anything until the next day when Kak Nad, whose house is opposite mine told me.

I was busy yesterday with Arwen. She has high fever and was very cranky. I gave her medication and sponged her down regularly. It was my 2nd day of puasa ganti cum puasa sunat Rejab cum puasa sunat khamis. I was so occupied with her that the time flew so fast. Good job Kak Nad offered to take her off my hand for a bit so I can shower and pray. She inserted the capsule in Arwen’s behind to help bring the temperature down.

I got served with this notice too for having jentik-jentik in the water from my aircond. I had to clean it up and make sure I make time to dry the place everyday.

Today, Arwen is back to her usual self. I’m relieved. Today is also the first day for Danial’s class to go for water play session. I’m happy that the school plays a pro-active role to utilize the facilities at the community centre. Not just by having water play sessions for the kids but also sending the teachers for CPR training.

There was a notice on the door this morning of a fogging session around the area. There has been a Dengue case reported obviously. I decided to take the kids to the Alamanda and let them play at the play area while waiting for Azrai to finish his drums class. I took some shots as usual.

xox

Happy faces

window shopping

super speedy escalator :)

Nasi Lemak Brunch @ Hajjar’s cum Lynne’s Surprise Birthday Party

2011-06-10T00:52:00.000-07:00

I’m using my Iphoto to help me back track and update this blog. This nasi lemak brunch and surprise party happened on Saturday, May 21, 2011; 9 days premature of Lynne’s birthday. We did the birthday surprise because we can’t take chances that we get Lynne’s time on her birthday as she’s very famous :)

Birthday girl making a wish and blowing her candles

Lynne the birthday girl and Hajjar the ever so charming hostess

The PotPet Gang. Danial took this. Alice was giving the thumb’s up to the maid who became the bidan terjun photographer

Iphone cover from Alice

My handmade Avabag for my gorgeous Lynne

CK towel set from Hajjar

Taken by Danial. Good job!

Oh, I brought along Danial and Arwen (you can see Arwen’s bottle on the table) as I didn’t want to give bibik the pleasure to look after the kids while Azrai go gallivanting at Low Yat.

Too much of a good time, I got sick the next day. I had body aches and told Azrai I feel like I’m coming down with something. Azrai wasn’t feeling great either but he’s better at fighting it. I got really sick that I lost 2 days. Taking panadol every 4 hours and my throat was all scratchy plus coughs. I went to Poliklinik an-Nur on Tuesday and the doctor says the symptoms I have fits the profile of a viral fever. I thought I was getting better and registered Danial for school next year. It was overdue so we got Presint 8. I even went to Sri Ayesha in Bangi to get the details. The fever came back and took a turn for the worse. I was out for the next few days that Azrai had to take time off from work to help take care of the kids. I can’t remember what day we went to an-Nur Specialist in Bangi for fear of denggi. We dropped the kids at Mak Ot’s. The doctor said I got bacterial infection now as the phlegm is in the lungs. This time I was given anti-biotics. The doctor said I need complete bedrest and take a lot of fluid. Oh, and I totally lost my appetite too. I had my rest. Azrai took care of the kids. I lost the whole week just recovering from the fever.

The week after, I started work on Hajjar’s order of 5 Avabags. It’s therapeutic for me in a way. I did it slow and steady and managed to finished it in time.

The windscreen of the Vios was cracked by a pebble on Monday. Azrai was so busy that we only managed to get it sent to Toyota service centre PJ on Wednesday evening. I took the kids to fetch him there and we went to Decanter for dinner with Alice and FD. Love the asam laksa as I’m slowly recovering and getting my appetite back.

The car was ready on Wednesday so we went to get it. I sent the kids to spend the night with Nenek Setiawangsa. Managed to get a hair cut and went Axa Affin in Wisma Boustead, Jalan Raja Chulan to submit my insurance claim for the windscreen. Went back to Putrajaya and headed to Alamanda to get movie tickets. The only movie time available was 6.15 for Pirates of the Caribbean. I didn’t fancy the midnight show as I doubt I’d be awake watching it :P Signs of maturity... Had my lunch while waiting for Azrai. We later went for dinner at Noodles Station before going home for an early night, free of the kids... This was the first time for Arwen to be away from us... I try not to think of them as I worry that Arwen might get cranky and ask for me in the middle of the night.

Luckily, everything went well. I was so eager to go fetch the kids the next day. Azrai was enjoying the peace and quiet. The rare time that he can hear himself think, he says. We got there around lunch time. Azrai took a nap and we were off to MidValley around 4pm. I think it’s the guilt for leaving the kids behind, he took them for a treat at MegaKidz while I had the luxury of going around in Jusco, Kamdar and MPH.

Had our dinner at Chicken Rice Shop before heading home. Ahhh, it’s good to have the kids in my arms again... noisy or not.

What? No picture?

2011-06-10T00:16:00.000-07:00

Last night we went for dinner at Thai Base with our makan partners Alice and Faudzi. Sub-agenda is to get my serunding and to pass her the apron she ordered for her cousin’s birthday. So, that was the contra deal. We left Putrajaya after maghrib as Danial had his Kumon class yesterday evening. Reached there around 8.30pm. We quickly ordered the food and good thing the service was fast as Faudzi said,

“Lapa nak mampuh!”

First to arrive was Asparagus Belacan with white rice. It’s so yummy mainly because everybody was so hungry and it was the first dish that came out. Followed by Butter Prawns, Crispy Sotong, Thai Steamed Siakap and Lemon Chicken. Just typing out the menu makes my mouth water again but it doesn’t do the same justice as photos would. Everybody has a camera phone and I even brought my camera but when it comes to food, I think I’m just kiasu. Takut habis, hahahahahha...

All in all, it was a good dinner. Kenyang bodoh sampai takleh tido semalam. Thank you Mek and FD. Next one is on us...

House Keeping 101

2011-06-09T14:51:00.000-07:00

OMG, I’ve been neglecting this blog for the longest time that it’s going to be a big deal to blog about everything between now and the last post. If this is a house, it’d be dusty and filled with spider webs here and there.

A couple of days ago, Azrai commented that I’ve not updated the family blog. Hmmm.... Guilty! The Needlework blog is regularly updated because

I make stuff on a regular basis
I have more followers there

But then, there’s a lot of things happening in our lives too and this blog is meant to archive the special moments in our family so that one day our children can read it and perhaps read it to their children. As for the 2nd point, it’s just irrelevant either way.

Enough said. Back to the task at hand... where do I start? Hmmm... Let’s show some pictures... They tell stories better.

I took this yesterday morning around 10am. It was a nice day and I decided to let Danial and Arwen have their bath outside. Kids, water and bubbles equal a fun time :)

Oh, and by the way, these were taken with my new 45mm macro lens. It’s a Leica Macro DG-Elmarit 45mm F2.8 lens to be exact. I ordered it online and it just came in last Tuesday. I actually called Panasonic Direct on Monday to check on the status because it’s been pending for over a week. I placed the order on Friday, 27 May 2011; just days before the special offer price end. I thought they were out of stock.

Here’s some unboxing shots I took of the lens.

These are taken with my trusty, all time favorite 20mm f/1.7 pancake lens.

Oh, and since I’ve not blogged about it before, here goes. I’ve been stung in a big way by the shutter bug. It just grew on me over the few months. I was envious with the pictures my brother took during raya last year (you can see some of them in this post here) and I asked him to get me a good camera but not too complicated and bulky as a DSLR. He got me a second hand GF1. I had fun experimenting with it and took good product shots of the stuff that I made and it made a positive impact on my needlework blog. Then, I decided to do a 365 project so that I can learn and master my camera and at the same time improve on my photography skills. An old bud from uni invited me to join DSLR Malaysia 1 hari 1 foto (1 photo 1 day) which is a great way to share my pictures with photography enthusiasts and get them to comment on my work. I must say, I learned a lot and some of my work did make it to the Wall of Fame much to my surprise.

Fast forward, GF2 was released early of the year and my brother persuaded me to upgrade and so I did, again with his help. He even managed to get me the twin lens kit but I kept the 20mm lens and sold the 14mm with the GF1. I got the GF2 last February and having fun with it ever since. My 365 project is still going strong when there were times I was so late with the photos, it was nearing the status of an abandon project. But I’m glad I stuck with it. Maybe I’ll add a tab on this blog of my 365 project.

I heard the Subuh Azan a few moments ago. Time for my appointment with the AlMighty and get some shut eye. I’ve been up since 2am. I’ll try mobile blogging next time...

My New Mobile Phone

2011-01-26T14:37:00.000-08:00

This is my Nokia MusicXpress which is a gift from Azrai just before I got Arwen. I’ve decided at that point of time to go back to basic after my HTC. It’s missing the ‘*’ button courtesy of Arwen. She was teething at that time and picked it off with her gum. She took it as her teether I supposed. This phone has taken a lot of beating, and I mean A LOT especially from Arwen.

To date the phone is still in working order and the last scare was when Arwen was ‘chewing’ on it and got it all slathered up in her gooey, it went blank. I panicked and after several attempts to boot it up again and failed, I left it for a while for at least half a day hoping that whatever gooey that has sipped into the phone would have dried up and not short-circuited anything. Lo and behold, it came back to life! She’s a fighter alright.

My Ipod was not spared from Arwen’s wrath. This picture was just minutes before Arwen took a bite at it. I was charging the it and left it on the side table where I usually do. Arwen somehow or rather got onto the sofa and reached for it. The next thing I knew, she got gooey all over the Ipod.

It flickered and the display went lighter. I was hoping that like the Nokia, it would fix itself up but it didn’t. It went blank on January 11, 2011; Dato’ Siti Norhaliza’s birthday (totally not related whatsoever).

We tried to get it fixed (read about it here) but it’s unfixable. I was heart-broken as it has sentimental value to me. It’s a gift from Azrai as an appreciation for being a mom for Danial. It’s almost Danial’s age as Azrai got it for me a few months after Danial’s birth. Faudzi even took it to Digital Mall, Section 14, PJ to get a second opinion only to confirmed it’s downgrade to a paperweight.

Last weekend, Azrai had to work both Saturday and Sunday as his principal rep from Zimmer, Oliver was in town. Not that I was complaining or anything. I was prepared to stay home with the kids and just laze around the house. I half wondered about the Iphone which I registered for the waiting list (An Even Fuller Sunday) and wishfully thought how awesome it would be if the stocks are in and I can get mine soon. Alice told me she had to wait 3 months to get one for Wan Ju. I braced myself for a 3 months wait. When Azrai came home after work on Sunday, he brought in a Maxis Iphone paperbag. I was taking in the washing from the cloth line, tried hard not to get excited. The kids were all over him so I followed him in.

Casually, I asked what’s in the bag and peeked in. Just some bills for a screen protector (????). He smiled and took out the Iphone from his bag. Aloysious of Maxis BSC, called him instead of me so he went to pick it up after sending groceries to Mak in Damansara. He said that it’s going to be an all in one gift for 2011 ie. Mother’s Day gift, Anniversary gift, Valentine’s Day gift, Birthday gift and everything else I can think off. DEAL!

We later went to KLCC to activate the phone and I treated Azrai and the kids to pizza at Pizza Hut. Now we have Berry and Apple at home. Fruits is good for you

DIY Passport photos for Danial’s school chart

2011-01-18T20:58:00.000-08:00

After a full weekend running around, we’re ill-prepared for Monday rush. I only managed to wrap half of Danial’s books as I ran out of plastic wrap in the middle of the night. In the morning, while Danial was taking his shower, Azrai reminded me that we need to give the teacher his passport photo. Not having any at home made us improvised. After Danial showered and dressed, I got him to stand against the wall and snapped his photo. I then googled for Malaysian passport photo size which is 3.5cmx5cm. A quick edit on Photoshop Elements 9; I printed 4 photos of Danial on a 4”x6” HP photo paper which we have lying around at home. and TADA! passport photo, good to go!

An Even Fuller Sunday

2011-01-18T20:44:00.000-08:00

Sunday started with breakfast at our usual mamak shop. Then off to get Nenek Damansara’s groceries at Carrefour, Tropicana Mall. It was a gloomy day and a bit chilly so I packed Arwen’s cardigan. Dropped off the groceries at Damansara. Stayed there long enough for Arwen’s feeding and diaper change.

Sms Alice to say that we’re coming over. I passed her other cover for the Viao. Stayed a while to chat and they got to go through my cute photobook. Then, we all went to BSC as none of us had lunch yet and it was already 3pm.

We went to La Bodega because I told Azrai they have salt beef sandwich and he wanted to try them. Here’s some photos I took and edited with Photoshop Elements 9.

Arwen with her Angelina Jolie’s pout pose

Arwen catching some Zzzz

We later went to Machines to check for the Iphone.

Danial digs the Ipad

He always managed to find his way to the games

I registered on the waiting list at Maxis Centre, BSC. Lady luck was smiling on us; the person in charge of the outlet is Aloysious; Azrai’s ex-stamford college mate. I hope I get a call from him soon.

While making our way back to the car park, Alice stopped for a paparazzi photo-shoot session and I caught her in action.

After that, we went to Setiawangsa. Danial wanted to give his surprise gift to Nenek Setiawangsa (the photobook). We left the kids there for a while and went to Carrefour Wangsa Maju. I went to Nagoya to get some fabrics and Azrai just wandered around; savouring the freedom without the kids, even for a few hours.

Before heading back to pick up the kids, Azrai had dinner at Ali Bistro; nasi beriyani ayam.

By the time we got home, everybody was bushed, including me but I couldn’t sleep because of the coffee I took and ended up wrapping Danial’s school books. We’re not prepared for Monday, Yikes!!!

Saturday Outing-MidValley

2011-01-15T04:48:00.000-08:00

Today, the family outing destination is to MidValley. The objective is to get Azrai’s new Blackberry at Maxis Centre, Gardens.

Waiting for our number to come up

Showing some teeth

Arwen keeping herself occupied with some rubber bands

Next stop, Machines to check if they can repair my Ipod. Answer is ‘Negative’. I was devastated. My Ipod of five years is now reduced to an expensive paperweight, thanks to Arwen’s saliva.

Moving on. We crossed over to MidValley and made our way to MegaKidz. Danial hasn’t been there for a while so it’s a treat for him. We took the ‘Drop & Shop’ package and left him there for an hour.

Danial couldn’t contain his excitement

Arwen made do with this car ride

While Danial was in MegaKidz, Azrai took Arwen with him; leaving me free to roam about. I wasn’t that much in the mood to window shop as I was still sad over my Ipod’s demise. I made my round in Kamdar and proceeded to MPH and bought Australian Smocking & Embroidery magazines which were on 30% discount.

When would I ever make these, I wonder...

We picked up Danial and went to the foodcourt near Machines for lunch. Here’s Danial, clowning around.

When we came home, I saw a brown box perched near the door. Yeay! My photobook from Blurb.com is here!!!!! It’s small, but love it just the same :)

Happy 2011

2011-01-01T19:57:00.000-08:00

This year’s resolution when it comes to this blog, is to blog more actively. I’ve been biased towards my other blogs especially Rozi’s Needlework as it has more readers (or is it?)

This blog has been side tracked... kesian. Well, side track no more.

Kicking off new year, we went Mak Ot’s for jamuan tahlil and doa selamat. Partly to give thanks for Ali’s outstanding performance in the recent PMR. He got 7As and 1B. I’ve also managed to finished mama’s tudung and passed it to her. What a relief!

Today, we went to Danial’s Generasi Briefing at the community centre hall. Half way, waiting; I asked Azrai to take Arwen as she’s getting restless and the briefing hasn’t even started. Went through it with Danial. Nothing new. More resolution for the whole family with emphasis to Danial’s education:

Wear shoes to school. Don’t wear slippers anymore
Come early to school
Bring plain water bottle
Send toiletries to school-need to confirm with the teacher as Danial only goes there half day and may not take a bath at school anymore.
Personal hygiene-short nails, short hair
Label his belongings
Check his bag periodically in case he takes his friends stuff purposely or otherwise
Communicate well with the teachers

I take it I’m one of the seasoned parents with Generasi and I admit that they have come a long way. I applaud the efforts they’ve taken to improve the qualities of the teachers/caregivers so that they too look at their profession as rewarding and going somewhere. Retaining good employees is important, in this case to the emotion and welfare of the children under their care.

Maybe Arwen should go here when she’s older.

I want to win a Celcom Blackberry Torch 9800

2010-10-23T07:06:00.000-07:00

I’ve never participated in a contest before because I never consider my chances of winning anything. The odds are never tilted to my advantage. But when I received the monthly update from Nuffnang about this contest, I just couldn’t pass on this opportunity. So here goes.

I want to win a Celcom Blackberry Torch 9800 for a very special person in my life, my best friend, my lover, the father to my children, my husband, Azrai Shamsir. He’s has put everybody else’s wants and needs before his own and he really deserves the fine things in life; one of it is this magnificent gadget.

He’s the sole breadwinner in our family and being a stay at home mom and wife to this wonderful man, I wish I can afford this for him. I know he’d love this Blackberry because all the best features are all his requirements for a smartphone and more.

Maximized multimedia with a memory of 8GB, expandable up to 32GB with a microSD card, he can save all his favorites songs from the current hip hops to the oldies but definitely not mouldies.
5 MP camera with fash, continuous auto-focus and image stabilization, plus 11 photo modes and video recording to capture spontaneous moments.
Integrated social feeds to be connected with Facebook whenever and wherever.
Faster, richer browsing when he needs to look things up on the world wide web on the go.
5.8 hours of talk time and up to 30 hours of music playback to keep him company while waiting for an appointment or in between destinations.

Having this Blackberry Torch 9800 with Celcom Exec 50 Plan would definitely not rip his pockets apart . What is Celcom Exec 50?

15 sen call rate to any number
Automatic discounts every month
Talk more, save more (up to 30%)
Low monthly commitment of RM50
FREE Celcom Broadband Basic Plan for 1 month
And the best part is Celcom is the fastest, widest, clearest mobile network in the country

His birthday is coming up on November 11. I wish we can surprise him with this gift.