Feed a baby, feed others

One of the lessons I am instilling to my children is that we must learn to give. Especially to those who are less fortunate than we are. Have empathy as that makes us human.

When I started Lil' Tummy, I was aiming in helping busy moms and dads to feed their babies with good food. As I go on, I kept on wondering, who will care enough to feed underprivileged babies with good food?

No doubt they eat, but what kind of food? porridge, the same lame porridge? what else.
Do they get to taste other yummy food, but also healthy food?

I always believe health starts from the gut. You eat good, you live good. You can be good physically, emotionally. Whole. But, if these poor children could not afford good food because of economy status, then what do we do to help? What have we done to help.

I decided then to start something good for my family, for Lil' Tummy.

We wanted our business to help others. Other than making money, our mission is to provide healthy and nutritious foods to the underprivileged babies and toddlers. not only I can earn some for my family, but we get to help others as well! it's like a dream come true,

So, our first project was about a couple of months ago. We went to a home for underprivileged children in Ampang. Nur Kasih. It was home placing children of all ages. They have a 6 months old baby to teenagers. Ayra and Amna played with the children there. we chatted with one of the care takers and got to know their stories.

Each of them have their own interesting story to tell. Now, I would love to share but that might take a long long long time to write. Most importantly, I hope the small children could get nutritious meals in shaping their healthy, physically and mentally.

We hope our effort will be an example for our children. And I hope, we can help these children in any way that we can.

From now on, parts of purchases for Lil' Tummy will be donated to underprivileged children. we hope to donate in form of healthy meals.. or money, whichever suits better.

I pray Allah will make this easier for us.

of 3 months away

ive been trying to steal some time to blog. i kept postponing it until it was almost 3 months later.

really? 3 months just flew away?

we are done with Puasa, Raya and soon Raya Haji is coming.

Puasa was the most tiring of all. that explained why i didnt have the time to blog!

if i were to grade myself for that Ramadhan, i would give myself 4 out of 10. 

as the previous Ramadhan, i didnt get to perform tarawikh in surau or masjid. 

i did it on my own every night. and to add the shame, 2 rakaat.

i was like a drugged person immediately after magrib. not like we ate a lot. 

i guess the hormones of breast feeding mom, plus taking care of 2 more. 

we had our first raya in my gramma's place in Klang. we travelled back to Terengganu on the second day. the children forgot about me when we were there. Mommy is only needed at night. or for meals. 

so that left me some space to breathe. hahaha. not! dont forget the baby. 

so how is Lil' Tummy doing now? how long has it been now? almost as old as Amal i.e: almost 6 months.

it is doing okay. for a new start up. but not as good for post 6 months start up.

i could have been more aggresive but my kids are keeping me busy as well.

nonetheless, Lil' Tummy has 2 agents now: in Kota Bharu and KL.

I am looking to spread the wings to other states as well. and there have been queries, but we have yet to start anything yet. the time will tell.

as for cooking, i have experimented with other elements as well. i have eliminated the not so popular dish and added in more. thanks to Amal for her tongue. hahah. 

i've started her solid a lil bit early. 5 and hlaf months. only like once a day meal. and small one. like a cube per day. she seemed to like it. 

i have big plans for LT. big dreams. Oh my.

and now i am doing something something and hopefully Allah ease my way. 

it wont be easy, i know. after all, we are just starting out. 

anyway, the kids just recovered from cold flu cough and fever. and i have been exhausted ever since. i didnt have enough sleep cos Amal was like waking every few hours and cranky all the time. it wnet on for about 2 weeks. i was seriously tired. i cried in the bathroom cause i felt so bad for feeling that and i wanted a time on my own. i want a me time. a ME time.

a time to enjoy my own company. to check on myself. to know that I am still there. 

being a mom is of course the greatest thing ever. but I dont want Me to disappear. do u get what i mean?

i have dreams. i have visions. again, my dreams being the best mom is always the priority. but the other side of my dream is to work for what i want out of this life. do something good for me. for others. 

i want my children to be proud of my accomplishment, other than being a mom. 

i want to feel inspired.

i hope i am to the track.

and dear Allah, please, please ease my way.

ps: i need a spa. whole day spa. with massage and body scrub and facial and etc. i think that is... impossible since my boobies refilled so fast that i find pumping tedious. 

i hope to be able to blog more!

Lil'Tummy in Kosmo!

I received a call one fine Saturday evening from a lady.

She said she was Kosmo.

well, I didnt jump straight away.

I knew she would want to ask something related to the event that we participated in.

Probably how to spell my name, etc.

but then, she asked whether she could meet me. 

she wanted to know more about Lil' Tummy and myself.

How it started, how long have I been doing this etc.

I was like.. what? me? Lil' Tummy?

i mean, we are barely breathing.hahaha 

i dont have customer based, and I am actually kind of lost there somewhere.

hahaha

but, of course I said yes.

come one, free marketing, who would in the right mind would decline kan??

(even though I am faaaaar from ready)

The reporter, Cik Zu, came the after that, i.e Sunday. 

I didnt know what to expect, what to say, what to wear!

i knew i had to wear black though.hahahahaha 

it was all last minute. even the children got ready while the interview session happening!

It was fun. it was mostly on me, and how i started this, why i wanted to do this.

the girls even posed for the pictures. 

i demonstrated on how the meal was prepared, but it was not more like halfway there.

but the girls pretended to like them nonetheless.

talk about acting!
for me, i just hope i didnt look fat. or chubby.
gosh my cheek!

Amna was like always, cheeky as she has always been.

always wanted to be by my side. and Ayra knew enough how to behave, especially when the cameraman asked her to pretend and pose. 

And little Amal was busy sleeping!

(thank god for that!)

we even invited a 'customer', who is the baby of my cousin.

well, she is considered my customer since her mothers buys from us!

hehehe

so, the little cute debob Irene was in the paper too!

front cover of Pesona!

in case you missed it, please have a look below:

look at Amna's cheeky face!

this is nothing much. or big.

I am very sure, there are other brands of homemade baby food that deserve this more than I do.

they have been in this business longer time than i am.

i am still a newbie, slowly building up my brand, and customer base. 

but nevertheless, i am thankful to Allah for giving me this opportunity.

this is His gift. out of the blue. from the sky.

haha

Alhamdulillah...

ever since then, the business has started to kick off well.

not great, but well enough.

and i am forever grateful..

I am now a busy mumprenuer.

day time junggling my task of being a mom and businesswoman.

taking orders, arranging for delivery, answering calls,

marketing and promoting and making sales.

we started with 5 purees, and 4 level 2 meals.

and we have now added 2 more desserts, and 2 more meals for 8M above.

i am excited.

i do hope this gets better.. 

something i can be proud of, my girls would be proud of, and

mostly, something healthy to feed the children.

cos, every children deserve the best right?

xoxo

Chef Mommy! 

Glimpse of Glam

Remember I told you that the press were at our booth and they snapped many pictures 

of us and the booth? 

Well,..........................

Lil' Tummy appeared in the paper! 

We found it out tru my friend, who was that girl next to me in the picture.

This was in Kosmo on last Saturday, 14.5.15.

The article didnt say much on Lil' Tummy. It was more on the event itself, which what it was all about right? But nonetheless, we were thrilled to see our faces, and our product in the news.

can u see Amal's head? 

Oh my Amal. you are just 2 months old, and now u r in the paper!

hehhhe

I carried Amal in my 5 year old Baba Luna Sling. It was easier to breastfeed her that way. and less strain on my arms and i get to be mobile. my hands are mobile.

my friend said i so look like a superwoman.

u know, with the mumsprenuer and mommy thingie and all that?

yup, kind of i guess?

hahaha. 

any superwoman cannot do it on her own.

a good support system is a must.

in my case, my husband and my mother.

I shared that picture with lots of my friends and family members.

kind of excited you know? 

#jakunmodeon

#bagichanlanakjakun

i have another surprise to blog about. only after Friday that I shall talk about it.

Nothing big, but a big deal for us.

xoxo

Lil' Tummy

Not too long ago, a mommy, who was working full time in a corporate world, with all the blings and dramas, decided to quit her stressful job, and just be a mom (and of course a wife).

even though she didn't know what to do financially, she did not regret at all on her decision. 

but to make sure she is doing something for herself and to support her family, she knew she had to do something. plus, she can never sits quietly and be..still. 

it's not in her DNA.

after searching high and low of what she should do, and eliminating possible things that she could do, she ended up wanting to cook.

cooking and baking have always been her interest. even though she may not be the world class cook or baker, the satisfaction of doing so makes her want to do it. 

she loves cooking healthy meals for her children. ever since they were small, she had always prepared their meals on her own, despite her busy schedule. 

for her, children should not be fed with processed, MSG packed food at all.

to be healthy, it has to start from the earliest age. 

what we feed our children will shape their eating habits, their skills, their brain.

having that passion, along with her knowledge in health industry (since she has a degree in pharmacy), she wanted to do help busy parents, who care deeply of their children's nutrition needs, to give them the best homecooked, healthy meals. 

and that is when Lil' Tummy comes. 

she started to read more and more on food and nutrition. and proper storage, suitable packaging etc. 

she designed her own label and did her own logo. 

she wanted to do something that she can call her own.

something that someday, her children will be proud of. her family will be proud of.

with the birth of Lil' Tummy, not only she means business, but deeply, she really wants children to be able to have good food. and busy parents are given the option to provide good healthy food for their children. 

her journey just began. 

she has a lot of fears. lots of doubts.

but, she has to do it. she needs to explore her capabilities, her destiny. 

she knows it will not be easy, but like what Estee Lauder said:

whenever she thought of quitting, or losing hope, or changing course, she remembers the efforts that she had put in, the faces of the ones she loved, her dreams and goals, 

then she resumes back on the road.

hopefully, Allah will ease her way, and she will finally reach her destination: all that she pictures in her mind that she has become.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

i came across an advert on this moms' event on FB. it was an event held for mumpreneur, to help them showcase or market their products and help with their business.

even though my customer base was kind of nil, Hub said it will be agood platform for me to try and showcase my brand. after all, the first stage of business is on branding your product. 

it was to be held in The School Jaya One PJ. 

I didnt want to do this alone. i invited my friend along, who has a small baby boutique business online. she has been doing quite ok, but never had experience in this either. so i guess, why not we do it together? first timer experience!

the friend's pot

Lil' Tummy had its first ever booth event last week. 

it was a new experience for me. i was kind of scared. i didnt know what to expect.

i made the preparations weeks earlier, to ensure it became like what i imagined in my head.

for a new product, the first impression is very very important. 

the packaging must be appealing, must be intriguing. 

the booth set up must be unique and interesting, something that can catch the attention of passer by. 

i finally came up to this:

alhamdulillah, even though the sales we not up the roof as what i would like to be, somehow we managed to attract lots of peoples' attention. even the press, whom i didnt expect to be there as well.

mom helped me a lot. she has always been supportive, and of course Hub too!

i owe them a lot for that weekend. 

Mom, for coming with us on the first day of the 2-day event. helped me to set up the booth and manned the booth. then helped to jaga Ayra and Amna on the second day, while me and Hub went to the booth on our own. Amal of course was with me. boobies are stuck. haha

Hub, even though he is tired, he stood it out for me. he accompanied me on both days, angkat barang and be there all the time. 

this is just the beginning. I dont know how it will be.

hopefully Allah will make it easier for us. 

Ayra was so excited on this too. 

what she did on the first day there:

Amna was busy being cranky, and Amal was busy being in my sling all day.

people were amazed by her, being 2 months old, and following mommy to run her business.

well, we need to train them early right? ;)

 we have may reporters at our booth taking our pictures and Lil' Tummy. 

I honestly dont know if we will ever come out in the paper.

if we do, then.. OMG.

i will definitely share here.

Xoxo