Tribute to Mama aka Nenek

It's true what people say, that you will have a newfound gratitude for your mom once you yourself have become a mommy. The agonizing pain of labour and what not plus the hard work to raise a child really takes my respect to my mom to another whole new level. So, this is for you Mama, a tribute for all that you have done :)

My mom was married when she was 22 years old. My mom is madly in love with my dad and vice versa (though my dad is typical man, who seldom shows how he feels). My mom got me two years after they were married and my sisters 5 years after that. My mom is a great wife ( I can never be like her in a million years :p) She never fails to cook for my dad, she's the one who did all the chores around the house (she has three very lazy daughters ;p). In fact, I think my mom is a superwoman. When she was still working, she cooks breakfast everyday (we normally have very hearty breakfast - nasi lemak, mee wantan, fried mee/meehoon, nasi himpit etc.) She will also cook dinner everyday with two or three delicious dishes. I'm not saying that her cooking is delicious because she's my mom, but her cooking is the best. Almost everybody said so.She can also sew. All the curtains, pillowcases, our baju kurung are made by her.

My mom is a very beautiful woman and she has aged gracefully. My mom despite her talkative-ness is actually a very shy person. She was always conscious about her figure (which I think is nonsense, she has excellent figure for her age) When I was little, I used to watch her applying her make up and wished that one day I will become as pretty as her.

My mom absolutely dotes on Sara and even though she won't admit it in a million years, part of the reason she retires early is to take care of Sara herself. During my confinement, she was the one that took care of me and lil Sara. I had a very bad experience during my confinement period (what with my failed attempt of breastfeeding plus the stitches down there that refuses to heal...waaaa) Anyway, she was the one that bathe me and Sara (hee, I have no shame, I know!) In short, I seriously don't know what I'll do without her.

She bought Sara her walker, wardrobe, bracelet, necklace and a ring! uh-oh, bila la mommy nak kaya ni. I am somewhat ashamed that I can't provide for my mom as much as she did for us. If possible, I wanted to give her everything she ever wants, be it a new dining set, renovation of the porch, a maid...everything...but the time has yet to come (my salary is just enough for my little family).

Mama, I just wanted you to know that I'm the lucky one to have you as a mom and I can only hope that I am worthy enough to become your daughter. Thank you for all the wonderful things you have done and you will do (definitely!). You are a wonderful listener, a great motivator, a superb chef, a comforting shoulder to cry on in one gorgeous package. I love you, Edie loves you and lil Sara loves you too...Though we have had our differences and we will surely not see eye to eye on everything, I hope you know that I do value your opinion and whatever I am today, is all because of you.

So, Happy 52nd birthday!! We love you so very much...mmmuuuuaaaahhhh!!!!

*will edit later to include pics

How to get your baby to eat?

I guess I am one of those lucky mommies because Sara just loooves to eat. She got that from me, I guess. During pregnant, I puke a LOT, but I can immediately eat after a session of vomiting. In fact, I'll puke more if I don't eat. So for me, its like, chew-chew, gulp-gulp, bluekkk, -need-to-chew-some more-or-i'll-puke, chew-chew, gulp-gulp, ahhhhhh (satisfied stomach)

Anyway, since I got some friends asking me what I did to ensure Sara eats, I guess the rule of thumb is to never give your baby what you wouldn't eat yourself. I enjoy Sara's food as much as I enjoyed mine. Even Sara's friend at her babysitter's house loves to finish her food. Since she started eating solids (5m ++), I gave her porridge twice a day. Now, I slowly introduce her to breakfast and tea. I don't know about other mommies out there, but I am determine to give my baby home cooked meal instead of instant and ready made foods. Makes me sooo proud when she finishes her food and look at me with beaming smile and full stomach. My recipe for Sara's porridge is :

1/2 cup of rice
3 cups of water
2 big chunk of poultry (chicken/meat/fish)
1 1/2 chunk of veggies (carrot/potato/broccoli/spinach/pumpkin)
A teenie weenie bit of salt

Normally, I will put the rice and water in the slow cooker for a whole night and add the others early morning (my mom usually does this, I'm so not a morning person). Let it cool, then take two spoons of the porridge along with chunks of veggies and poultry and blend them into a fine texture. I also add a teaspoon of butter for the fat requirement of growing babies. Then, mix the blended mixture with the remaining porridge and voila, Sara's favourite dish is ready :)

The thing that motivated me most about giving Sara home cooked meal is the way she enjoys her meal. She needs no coaxing from me, she will voluntarily open her mouth wide upon seeing her red spoon with porridge. No prodding needed...hihi...She's also a neat eater and most importantly she NEVER (until now) spat out her food.

Since I started introducing her to breakfast and tea, I sometimes gave her rusks biscuits, oats with prunes, steamed apple with honey, steamed pumpkin, mashed potatoes. Next on my menu is crushed avocado...and pasta with bananas (found it in some blog)...Yum!! To all the experienced mommies out there, I will highly appreciate any new recipes for babies...Please, do share yours here :)

My mum is amazing by Zain Bhikha

Have you guys ever heard of this song? The lyrics are soooo touching (apart from the last two verse)...makes me wanna cry...To all the mommies out there, this song goes for you :)

She wakes up early in the morning with a smile
And she holds my head up high
Don’t you ever let anybody put you down
Cos you are my little angel

Then she makes something warm for me to drink
Cos it’s cold out there, she thinks
Then she walks me to school, Yes I aint no fool
I just think my Mom is amazing

chorus
She makes me feel like I can do anything
and when she’s with me
there’s no where else, I’d rather be…

After School, she’s waiting by the gate
I’m so happy that I just can’t wait
To get home to tell her how my day went
And eat the yummy food, only my Mom makes

Then I wind her up cos I don’t wanna bath
And we run around the house with a laugh
No matter what I say, she gets her way
I think my Mom is amazing

In the evening, she tucks me into bed
And I wrap my arms around her head
Then she tells me a tale of a girl far away
Who one day became a princess

I‘m so happy, I don’t want her to leave
So she lies in bed with me
As I close my eyes, how lucky am I
To have a Mom that’s so amazing

Then I wake up in the morning, she’s not there
And I realize she never was
And I’m still here in this lonely orphanage
With so many just like me

And as my dreams begin to fade
I try hard to look forward to my day
But there’s a pain in my heart that’s a craving
How I wish I had a Mom that’s amazing
Would be amazing

The compulsory pose :)

Last month, we took Sara to be photograph into what we call a compulsory pose in the family. I too, have exactly the same picture...let's see the resemblance and the difference...

Sara @ 5m++

Mommy @ 4m++

I think Sara has more prominent face features than me. Sara has clearly defined eyebrow and she smiles for the camera whilst mommy looks like in a state of shock. Heh. We both have the same thick hair but mine refuse to lay flat. My mom said that my head was drenched with water while this picture is taken, else I would look like a porcupine. Haha. What do you guys think? :)

The proof of maturity and calmness :p

I am a 29 year old mommy. By right, I am a mature and calm woman. But those who are close to me, knows that I can be a b*tch sometimes. I often get tangled up in a confrontation that ends up with inappropriate words :) But, I guess its true what they say, becoming a mommy does change you in a lot of ways.

Instance No 1, a confrontation with a very rude clerk

Her : Buat meeting malam-malam, mana ada katerer nak sediakan makan?
Me : Takkan la dalam Putrajaya, Kajang takde langsung
Her : OK...SAYA BAGI NO FON, PUAN BOLEH TELEFON CARIK SAMPAI JUMPA (with a very rude tone)
normally I would burst in anger and utter some rude words..heh...
Me : Saya tau, CC banyak pengalaman, dulu kerja di ** banyak handle event besar. Mungkin takde meeting last minit macam ni. Tapi CC kena faham ye, kita masuk tempat baru, kita yang kena adapt dengan tempat tu, bukannya tempat tu yang adapt dengan kita. Di *** ni, memang banyak meeting last minit yang kita handle, tapi kita masih kena sediakan makan minum macam biasa. Kena sacrifice la sikit.
Her : OK! SUDAH! SAYA FAHAM! SAYA YANG MENURUT PERINTAH! SAYA FAHAM! OK! DAH! (while putting her hand up to my face - how rude is that??!!)
Me: CC jangan macam ni, saya cakap baik-baik ni. Saya tengah cuba nak berbincang ni.
Her : OK!! DAH!!
Me : Oklah kalau macam tu. No hard feelings ye. Kita kerja ni kena bekerjasama.

Instance No. 2, a phone conversation with a lecturer

Me: Ok, skng ni apa masalahnya?
Him: U buat macam ni, semua lambak kat sini, mana boleh. I ada kelas sampai lewat malam the day before. U guys buat keja macam mana ni?
Me: Tak, kan hari tu kita dah putuskan dalam mesyuarat that ** akan handle semua berkenaan kursus ni. In fact, saya dah sediakan semua requirement yang pihak u mohon. Bukan kita nak lepas tangan, tapi memang kita agree semua penceramah akan disediakan oleh **
Him : U tau tak, u buat macam ni tak betul. U tau tak apa itu **? U tau tak??!!
Me : (silent)
Him: U cuba cakap, u tau tak apa beza antara ** dan **? eh, come on la, u guys supposed to know all this
Me: (silent - malas nk layan org gila..haha)
Him: U guys have got all the raw material, takkan la tak boleh buat
Me: Ye, memang kita ada all the resources, tapi what we need right now is a so-called expert advice on how kita nak mengolah banda tu supaya jadi lebih berkesan. U said in the meeting that all this cannot be learned in one slot of the course, so saya bagi one full day untuk betul-betul belajar benda ni.
Him : U guys memang tak patutla buat macam ni. Bagi je semua kat **? - plus more blabbering and whining, malas nak dengar betul-betul
Me: Oklah, skng ni macam mana kita nak solve ni? U memang tak boleh nak hadir ke?
Him : I'll see what I can do la (and hang up!)
wtf?? I hate people who hangs up the phone before the conversation is over

Anyway, I think I portray a very high degree of tolerance in both events. I know my youngest sis will be like "Is this truly Along??" Heh. Hope I can be that patient to my little angel as well :)

My LITTLE big girl

Did you notice that more and more babies and kids accessories resembles our own accessories? Even their clothes is similar as ours, only miniature in size. Recently, I bought Sara some hairclips and she looks soooo grown up wearing it...she looks like such a big girl... *sigh* I miss newborn Sara...I feel like she's growing up too fast...

My little "Naruto"

Sara was feverish a few days ago (fine, it was last week...Mommy is such a lazy blogger :P)...anyways, we put Koolfever to her head and she looks soooo cute...just like a konoha ninja...

Here's my little Naruto

And she was such a good baby, even though she was feeling unwell, she finished her porridge, she drank her milk and cries out for attention once in a while. Other than that, she remains as happy as a clam...Sara, Mommy and Baba loves you to bits...Thank god you are fine now...

A perfect place for a garden wedding

Yup, I know. I've been married for almost 4 years (in fact, only 19 days to our 4th anniversary). BUT, when I saw this place, I knew that it would be a perfect place for a garden wedding *sigh* rasa macam nak buat wedding lagi sekali je bila tengok tempat ni

Anyway, the place is at The Royale Chulan Hotel (somewhere in Jalan Conlay - I dunno, I'm very bad with places and names of streets). I went there for a short course and the ambiance, the foods, the service were top notch. I've tried to capture pics to show how this place can be perfect for wedding, but since I'm using a compact camera, it doesn't quite translate the surroundings.

There's an open place in the middle of the hotel (behind the lobby). It's covered with glass-type roofs that lets natural lights into the whole area. So, you will get a garden wedding minus the heat (how great is that??). They also have a platform ready for bersanding, a waterfall for outdoorsy-type photograph...

I dream of Sara getting married in a place like this. BUT, that will be like in another hundred gazillion years... :p