Qiqah Little Amal

Salam Aidiladha to all muslims in the world!

today was the second day of aidiladha. we had the Aqiqah Day for little Amal. 

she is 6 months old now. and weigh approximately...8kg plus plus?

 whatever her weight is, my arm hurts whenever i carry her, or breastfeed her.

huhu

the little princess is now crawling all over the house.

she loves putting everything she sees in her mouth.

she is in the curious stage. and i am tired of saying no. 

when i put that thing, she finds some other things and starts to taste them. 

she likes tasting her own arms. and she would suck it sampai keluar bunyi sedut.

it is hillarious. she makes me want to taste it too.

the little princess of the day put on Ayra's dress. it was all about recycling.

as long as it looks new and the baby is cute, who's asking eh?

we recycled from head to toe, except the diaper.

she got a lot of angpows, and she was really eager to taste them too.

it's the way she shows her appreciation. lol

and she even had a unique gift: a bag full of sugar. 

well, actually, she got 6 packs of sugar all together. 6kilos in total.

so she is like 6 kilo sweeter today.

bahahhha.

i havent received anything this unique. i havent encountered this before. 

my Mak said it's an orang kampung's tradition. but she herself does not know the symbolic meaning behind it. so, as usual i turn to Mr Google, whom we know has the answers to all. 

but whoa. Mr Google does not know it all after all!

i could not tfind the symbolic meaning of sugar. it was just a gesture show gratefulness.

and we are forever grateful for that. every little things matter.

dear Amal,

mommy hope you will the coolness of our eyes and our strength 

love u Amal.

Amna's 2nd Birthday!

The cheeky girl is now 2!

cheeky 2 year old.

Man o man. she definitely has her own personality!

My Amna, the one who is very 'garang', but I believe she knows what she wants, and she will get it no matter what. Strong headed that one.

She is a fast learner. I may be guilty of comparing her milestone with her sister's, but she eventually comes out from her comfort zone and blooms.

She is very particular on things and its being or orientation. 

For example, if the carpet should be laid out nicely on the floor, not folded at a corner, she makes sure it doesnt. She will help to unfold the folded corner just to make it ok.

She loves playing with water. at the sink.

she has a thing with cleanliness. and washing her hands.

I think it's just a reason for her to play with water. ;)

She adores her big sister. A lot. 

She basically follows whatever she's doing. 

Including scratching habit to fall asleep.

So now, we need to scratch 2 people for them to sleep!

lucky us that Ayah will scratch Kakak, and I will scratch Amna.

I am so occupied if Hub is not around!

She falls asleep easily. She would get on the bed, shows a sign of patting her bum so I will do so, or scratch her leg or arm, and within few minutes, she would be in dreamland.

She likes to eat. A lot.

She loves Nasi. and Chocolate milk.

She stopped using bottle for milk when she was hardly 1 year plus. 

She prefers the straw cause that is what her sister is using!

She doesn't like veges, nor fruit. 

So, I have to be creative in providing her nutritious meals.

like adding vege puree in her meal.

She likes Frozen and Dinosaurs. 

Hence, for her 2nd birthday party, we decided to throw her a simple birthday party with dinosaur theme. 

I was pretty exhausted with 7 months pregnancy on board.

But...

we cannot help feeling guilty if she does not have any special celebration like her sister's.

so...

tadaaaaaa

We ordered the base of the cake. with frosting and grass buttercream.
The dinosaur deocs was done by me and Ayra.

An intimate birthday celebration with close family.

Her Nena, Tok, Ki Uncle and Aunties and Cousins.

Since it is a dinosaur theme, Nena managed to make 4 tails in 5 hours!

(talk about last minute preparation from Mommy and Ayah)

She had so much joy in her eyes.

I can see it. we can see it.

She had a very overwhelmed expression on her face when we sang her a birthday song.

Like she wanted to say:

"This is for me???? Awwww...thank you..."

Ayra was also being so nice for letting her sister to have the spotlight.

She was so eager to have the party and buy her present.

She was so excited.

She was also excited to decorate Amna's cake with dinosaurs.

I am so grateful to have both in my life. they are 2 angels sent to me to light up my world.

I love them with every single soul of mine.

Mommy wishes Allah protect both of you from the evil of the world, the people,

and that we will strive together in Jannah.

Happy Birthday Amna Nabeela.

Milk Frother & His Birthday

Hub's birthday was in November and I had to crack my head thinking of what to buy.

With limited money and time, I really had no idea on what.

Then I remembered that he lovesssss matcha latte. 

It is his recent obsession lately. 

of course, I am responsible in introducing Matcha to him.

Otherwise, he sticks to coffee and tea.

We have our own matcha powder at home.

The one Mom bought for us when she was travelling Japan.

It is really2 good. 

It's like my daily dose of antioxidant.

We have tried making our own version of Matcha Latte, 

but we failed to nail it.

As i made my further investigation on how to improve the home made version of matcha latte, 

I finally figured out the key: Froth your milk.

It's the bubble and creamy texture that makes latte so yummy.

So, i figured, what could be better to give him for his big day?

A Milk Frother!

Not only that it will add to our kitchen essentials, but his matcha latte or any other latte can tremendously improved!

So I began searching for the most reliable, affordable milk frother.

I found that there are many types of Milk Frother in the market.

http://www.kitchenkapers.com/milk-frothers-and-milk-steamers.html

I have few options in mind. 

I have tried looking for it high and low from the local shops, like Kitchen Shop, Harvey Norman, Parkson, or any canggih2 centre. But it is either they don't carry it or that it has ran out of stock.

what i wanted is something like this: (based on reviews)

Another option I had was to purchase online.

and the only one providing it is 11th Street.

I have never purchased from 11th Street, and I didnt know exactly how long it will take.

Few errands came in between and I got caught up in the middle.

and at last, his birthday came.

I didnt get to buy him any gift on time.

except for a Pavlova with candle on top.

hehehe

But, on our visit to Ikea last month, I finally bought the long awaited milk frother!

but please, the price is so cheap, it is hardly a present!

only RM5.90

ahahahahah

But Hub was happy with it.

he even complimented that it is one of the best birthday gift i have given him.

We make latte almost on daily basis.

Coffee, matcha, or even hot chocolate.

I even use it to whisk eggs. 

We love it.

We love the price even more!  

Now, we get to enjoy our coffee or matcha as above.

(picture taken from google)

need to learn how to make this later:

And ouh, to my darling Husband, 

Ayra, My Letter to You when u r 4

My Dear Baby Girl Ayra Nabeeha,

 

You are now 4 year old girl!!! and I am so proud of every inch of u, every character of you.
You have achieved so much in this 4 years of your life...

You love going to school. even though it was hard on the first month of school. you created so many excuses.
"Mommy, kakak sakit perut." "Mommy, i dont feel well"
but as time went on, u learn to make friends and your teachers have been so patient in pulling your interest towards school.
You love your teachers and friends. You always talk about them in the most delightful ways.
You are friendly, joyful and fun.
You are independent and hardworking.
Teachers always say that you are the joy of the school. Without u, it feels empty. That goes the same to me and Ayah.
You love helping others, and Mommy too. You are our Anak Solehah..
You love arts and painting.. i have to bring pen and papers everywhere we go just for you to draw something and be creative. im glad. at least u didnt demand for the gadgets.
Your Nena has been very helpful in developing that part of u ;)

Your drawing skills have developed so much. i am now more beautiful. ;)

You love drawing your little happy family.
You love singing and talking. and at times we are out of words to respond. ;)


You have a gentle heart and soft spoken.
You love Amna so much even though at times she gets on your nerves. that's what sisters are for.
She looks up to you and likes to follow/imitate your every behaviour.

My doa for you is that Allah protects from from evil of the world, evil of the eyes and temptations of the world.
That for you to grow up being Allah's best servant.
For you to be the best example for a muslim.. that you have quran in your heart and Sunnah of Rasulullah saw in your actions and words..
and that for u to enjoy your childhood the best that u can.

I am proud to have given birth to u on 24.11.2011 at about 530pm. Our journey will not stop here and i am looking forward to more.

Ayra's 4th Birthday at LC

The little princess is now 4!!

Happy Birthday my little Ayra.. 

We didnt plan for anything big due to budget issue, since i have resigned and money is kind of a crucial part of living these days..haha.. 

nevertheless, I want her to celebrate her birth as it is a day of celebration. 

for me, for her.

so we decided to hold it at her LC. boy was she excited!

she wanted her birthday theme to be Green. because she is obsessed with her sport's house color. 

hahahah. that's a relieved for mommy!

and so I began planning, as usual, for her party. 

i wanted more..but. less is also acceptable.

after all, ukur baju di badan sendiri..

we didnt get to watch her cut the cake cos i was at work.

i came a little bit late.

so, here are what the teachers shared with us:

 

 you see how she was forcing herself to smile?

she told us that she wanted to wait for us, but she didnt know how to tell the teachers.

aw..that is sad..

but it's okay we told her.

we'll have another one, a joint party with Amna's. just us family.

The Dress:

Ayra doesnt have a green dress yet.

to make her feel special and in touch with her green theme, i found this beautiful maxi dress

in Poplook for Kids. only RM64.

i sewed the pearls for her to make it more beautiful. otherwise it looks a bit plain.

i got the pearls from Jakel. Rm45 per meter.

but for her drees, i used about 1/3 of it. or less.

Cake:

i have been ordering cakes, each year, with this one lady in Setia Alam.

her name is Ashilah. i got to know her from my bff Azza.

they work together in Maybank.

and she makes delicious affordable cakes!!

her cakes are not too sweet, so that works fine with my family.

it is soft and moist. unlike certain cakes which look pretty but very dry. 

urghhh i hate dry cakes. it's like eating sands.

the colors of her cakes are very pretty, and well blended. 

her work is neat. and of course delicious. 

i like the fact that she is so nearby to my house that transporting the cake is not an issue.

i am a little bit reluctant if the supplier if out of shah alam cos i really do not have much time to waste on travelling. time is an essence and being stuck in the traffic is not an option.

i've googled some pictures of green cakes and got Ayra's approval.

luckily me she didnt demand for anything extravagant. 

i dont like fondant figurine like cakes.

the fondant itself is a waste and taste bad. it will end up in the bin and that is a big waste.

(being cermat and thoughtful to the environment ok)

Food:

since the birthday is celebrated earlier (20.11) than her actual birthday (24.11), and the school was also celebrating Childrens' Day and another boy's birthday, i figured there 

will be plenty of foods there.

the mommies like to contribute foods and the school itself will prepare satay.

so, i ordered meehun goreng  and karipap. 

i know my girls love eating meehun and most children love it too, so, yeah, meehun it is.

Party Pack:

now, this is the tricky part.

i had a lot of ideas of green party packs. but again, money.

and snacks. i really dont want to give the children junk foods.

i always throw them away when ever the children got junk food for parties.

it is just not healthy and full of MSG.

a big No No.

i ordered home made green popcorn from my staff. her dad makes popcorn.

and yes he can make a green one.

then we bought a small milo drink.

and few chocolates.

we went to GM Klang and found very2 cheap small puzzles and stickers.

Ayra agreed for those to be in the party packs.

then, we pack them in a brown bag, and i put on a green serviette on top and staple it with a patterned ribbon that i have in hand. 

the one with pink ribbon is for the teachers.

and the rest are for the children.

i just whatever crafty things that i have in my crafty box. 

(i have a huge crafty box for me to be creative)

 

i dont have much pictures to share.

was too occupied with the event and eating and being tired.

hahhaah

this is just a simple party. 

the fun and thoughts that matter!

Happy 4th Birthday Princess!

Ayra's 1st LC Ihtifal

Ayra had her first Ihtifal (performance) this year.

the 5 little caliph schools around the area gathered in Setia City Convention Centre
for the year end Ihtifal. 

Of course we were excited to see our first bundle of joy performing!

It is the moment that we have been anticipating for, for the last one month.

She had been practicing on her verses and scripts on daily basis.

We even rehearsed with her just to make sure she got it right.

The event started with all the children reciting their hafazan of surah-surah lazim.

reciting surah-surah lazim with the rest.

Then it was the turn for her school's group performance.

They played a video montage of the school's activities throughout 2015. 

At the end of the video, they showed a video of Ayra holding a microphone and teaching her friends the song You Are My Sunshine. and they were singing together happily.

The teacher even displayed Ayra's name and her age of 4. 

it was soooo sweet.

I had tears running down. 

It was so touching. and I was overwhelmed with happiness.

My baby girl is so big now.

Next came their performance on the stage.

It was the school's performance consisting of children aged 4 to 6. 

so, Ayra was one of them. 

She was the flower, and they were performing songs on Allah's creation through the verses in Quran.

Then after the group performance, it was turn for her spotlight 

moment that she has been practicing for.

the teacher invited her to the stage.

she became the introducer for the next performance.

"Assalammualaikum. My name is Ayra. i am from Tadika I***** C****. The next perfomance is from Tadika Kembara Khalifah, performing In The Name of Allah. Bismillah."

awwwww my... she was so confident and so smooth!

I am so ovelwhelmed with feelings.

there she was. my baby girl.  

looking all confident, and full of joy being on stage.

she sure loved the attention!

 

I am a proud mommy. 

and Amna is starting to follow her big sister's footsteps!

The Capello Cut

Ayra only went once to the salon to get her hair cut.

Other times were done by Barber Ayah, or Hair Stylist Mommy.

that explain her crooked bang!

But this time around, Hub insisted for me to bring her to a proper hair salon.

Poor girl. We need to make her hair nice again.

(Ayah is guilty for this one, not me)

So, initially we went to Al Zahra in Seksyen 7. I went there once and their service is okay.

And more importantly they are muslimah only salon.

No males allowed.

But, when we went there on Deepavali, they only had 2 staffs working and 4 customers on the list, with 2 still waiting to get their hair treatment.

We were told it was only 1 in line. 

So we agreed.

But almost half an hour of waiting, and suddenly the list increased from one to two,

with Ayra being irritated for waiting for so long, 

I decided to go to other places, or..worse come to worse, cut it off myself!

I called Capello by Nina and they are able to make the cut once we arrive.

So, without further a due, we walked there straight away.

while Ayah and Amna had their tea session in Paparich. 

I didnt want to disturb them and let them enjoy their tea, so we walked there instead.

 

Thank god it was not that far. and Ayra did not complaint.

 

Reaching Capello, we had to wait for about 10 mins, and Ayra got on the chair.

One stylist hold her head while the other did the trimming.

I had to remind her many times not to move her body nor her head.

otherwise her hair will be crooked and ugly.

haha

Ayra agreed that the length may only be cut a little. Not totally short. 

and for us to trim the bang in front.

Talk about being a princess!

Not even half way through, you know what she did?

She fell asleep!!!

I had to hold her cheeks and called her names many times.

She couldn't care less on what others are doing to her hair or head.

Basically, that was my pose for the next half an hour. 

she was literally sound asleep!

Thank god she woke up or I might have to carry her down!

Alumni Pharmacy 2015- Awesome!!

What a tiring 5 days holidays that we had!

To make full use of the annual leaves that i still have in hand, we decided to go back to Terengganu in between the Maal Hijrah holiday, and the Alumni Event that Pharmacy UIA was hosting over the weekend. 

I signed up to join the event. to.. explore. to..have fun..to keep updated. 

And it was a great one, I did not regret of going.

Whilst in KT, I had some ample time to figure out things i want to do while being unemployed, or working for the next big thing in life. 

Managed to do few things that got me excited by having that 'light bulb' moment.

I wont disclose it just yet. jinx ;)

Anyway, this post is meant to tell the awesomeness of the event held by Pharmacy UIA. 

They did a good job in providing us with great inputs, activities and to keep our babies and toddlers occupied.

nice artwork. impressed. look so funky and so hip.

We reached Kuantan at about 5pm. 

Man was I shocked that it turned orange.

Literally orange Kuantan.

Aint it a suprised that this grave issue did not come out in local news?

Like everybody is having a good time inhaling bauksit and enjoy being orange.

Talk about personal interest and politic eh.

I would move out. Sell the house and relocate.

Anywhere. 

Not there.

You should see the place. It has ruined the beauty, the greenery, the houses, and most probably the health of those residents there. 

It's sad.

But..easier to talk, than going through it right.

I hope these innocent people are safe and okay and protected by Allah..

Even UIA is slowly affected by it.

UIA Kuantan has become so graceful, so gah, so wow. 

Hope it does not turn orange though. ;)

The mosque, faculty/kulliyahs, and hostels, etc.

there are different now.

When i was there, during my Uni years, 

there were only Medical faculty, and few hostels. and a place call cafeteria for students to eat. 

it was DULL. 

Looking at it now, Allahuakbar. MasyaAllah.

It changed almost 360 degree.

picture taken from google

picture taken from google

picture taken from google

We checked into our pre-booked hotel, Sri Manja.

My comment? I have a lot to comment, but.. I choose not to spoil it here. 

probably next post. if I still have the fire in me to..fire. haha

  The full event started on Saturday with games between batches,

children games etc.

Hub had to be imported to play with our batch of Rx3.

He had too. Not enough player.

Ive prepared painkillers etc. I knew he would complaint later.

haha, which is true enough.

Importantly, I want him to enjoy being there..with my friends.

:)

 

The girls had fun time playing with balloons and games with the kakak2 there.

So, nice to say that I didnt have to run around to keep them entertained.

Thank god for these helpers.

That night, a dinner was held for the alumni. Many familiar faces, many forgotten names,

i am so forgetful these days. I am and i feel so bad. 

I had to secretly ask my friends on who is who. 

oh dear. 

Can i blame the hormones?

or the birthing process?

;)

The girls, especially Ayra had so much fun time while mommy and ayah had dinner.

The host has prepared a special Play Room for the children.

There were bouncing castle, movie show, clown (yikes) with balloons.

Ayra is scared of clown. Mommy is too. There's just something creepy with that make up.

How can one find it amusing? 

The sisters kept them accompanied. played with them, talk to them,

 so no wonder Ayra didnt want to come out and eat.

nice lady who decided to become a clown.

 

our Rx3 batch. some of us at least.

Sunday was the final day. 

and... I have given my word to my friend that I would share my experience working in private sector.

I said yes, and then I backed off.

I just didnt feel.. good.

U know, with the resignation and all.

I dont feel like I am qualified to share anything.

but, a promise is a promise. 

 

and so, there was I. 

Along with 2 entrepreneur brothers, one of which owns 5 pharmacies.

and I was like.. makan gaji.

and soon to be unemployed. and a fulltime mom.

what's there to share?

But, as I held the mike, the generous side of me came out.

I shared what made me quit from government,

what made me want to explore the private sector

what are the challenges, the ups and downs,

the benefits. 

I got excited. ;)

that's called gile mike.

hahhaa

But, truth is, I had more to share. But time was not permissible.

I wanted to add that support from family is important. 

Support from your spouse, your mom and dad.

Without those, it's hard to do it alone.

Then one must read. Read as much as u can. And where ever u can. When ever u can.

Knowledge is something one can never get enough of.

The only way for one to improve is through gaining more knowledge.

Read every genre. Not just novels. Read on economy, on health, on religion, motivation.

read on biography, and success of others.

We always need to be inspired.

Humans are weak and forgetful.

By reading, we can constantly be insipired to keep on moving. 

To keep on working for our dreams.

And never ever ever stop praying to your Lord. Your Creator.

 Al-Khaliq (الخالق) 

 

You may not know what you want, in life, in job, in whatever. 

But pray anyway for guidance.

Pray that He will guide you to the right path, the right life.

That He eases your way in every corner of life

and that He guides you in ways that can benefit your deen, yourself, and your family.

Ask that He murahkan rezeki towards rezeki that could bring you closer to Him, 

not rezeki that lead you astray. 

I've seen many successful people forget their roots, their self when they are at the top.

I dont want that.

Let me always be grounded with every achievements that I have.

Terbang tunduk, kata Fynn Jamal.

The journey may not be easy, but it doesnt mean it is bad. 

I is just a phase.

You just have to keep on going.

Dont give up and dont stop praying.

I have learnt a lot from all the sessions I've listen to.

I am so in awe in people's accomplishments.

 They are to be proud of.

We have very notable seniors/juniors/ friends that we could be proud of.

And they have go beyond the stereotype pharmacy field.

And that is breaking the norm. Which is good.

It shows that this field has more to offer than the typical expectations.

I am impressed that we have a senior who is now a writer, 

with many books being written and produced.

and he has helped others to do the same.

How I wish I could do the same too. I have always wanted to write. 

but.. well, probably when the time comes. 

example of his book

And we have those being entrepreneurs. Not one or two.

But many. and I am just.. envy. A good one.

I would like be one too. I do.

Not only these people are a success, but they are passionate about what they are doing.

They love their job. 

Now that is something i am still searching for. 

I just hope the search will not be too long.

After all, time is running out.

Overall, it was a good event.

With great input. And it was a bonus that the children are enjoying that too.

Kudos to the whole team who made it possible and a success.