The VERY belated second birthday

Sara is going to be three tomorrow. I better get this post done before that :p

We held her second birthday sometime in January last year. I think it was 8th or 9th of January 2010. We had a small ceremony, as it was quite a last minute occasion. I had planned for sort of a cupcake-themed birthday and we made it happen even with the short amount of time we had to prepare.

We made cupcake shaped goodie bag for the guests, my mom sew cupcake shape on Sara's tutu dress, we even have a cupcake station (where the children can decorate their own cupcakes). I tried to make her a giant cupcake red velvet cake, but the cake looks like a giant glob of something (definitely not the shape of a cupcake). Oh well, at least it tasted delicious.

Sara was a bit quiet at first because she just woke up from her nap but later, returned to her happy self. I know she won't remember the details of her birthday (she doesn't even care about the cupcake theme and whatnot), but it makes me satisfied that I've tried to provide her with everything I can even though it was a far cry from the image of cupcake party I had in my head.

We had a blast and my mom forbade me from ever again having a cupcake party because the icing on the carpet was sooo hard to clean. Everybody had fun, and that's what matters most, no? :)

Selamat Hari Raya...Maaf Zahir Batin

Back when I was pregnant with Sara, I have no motivation whatsoever to celebrate Raya. I was 7months plus during that time (same as now) and I was sooooo big. I didn't even wear baju kurung/kaftan/dress, instead I just lazed around the house wearing my baju kelawar. Soooo not phat, I know :p

But, this time, considering that I have another toddler who even though doesn't really understand the concept of raya and whatnot, I feel like I'm being selfish if I didn't celebrate raya properly. So, I bought a kaftan, baju melayu for hubby and loads of baju raya for the little kid.

Early morning of hari raya, I bathed Sara and explained to her that this morning we have to "salam" everybody, say Selamat Hari Raya and seek forgiveness for any wrongdoings. So, that is what she did. I didn't explain the part where people would give her angpow, and she should politely accept it and say thank you.

The first person Sara "salam" was her Totok and Nenek, she said "Selamat Hawi Waye" and kissed them both. When they gave her the angpow, she got curious and asked "What is this?". I quickly reply "Angpow. Got money inside". Then she proceeded to "salam" me and hubby. Hubby handed her the angpow, and she took it. But, when she "salam" my sisters and they gave her the angpow as well, she immediately said "Hey, some more? Yaya got already-lah. See, Yaya got two already. Why give some more?" and everybody burst into laughter.

We went back to Kuantan shortly after the salam session in my house. We thought it would be a smooth sailing journey because the holiday was pretty long, and who goes back hometown on pagi raya anyway, right? NOT! The road was congested by people who took the opportunity of the long holiday to go to Genting. Gahhhh!!!

We stopped over at Temerloh and went beraya to hubby's side of the family and continue to Kuantan later in the evening. Our Raya was pretty relaxed, but even then, I felt soooo tired and lethargic...To top that off, I have never felt sooo huge, I was sweating like a p*g (Kuantan is soooo hot!), and my face was sooooooo round. Several attempts to look phat ended up in me looking fat *cries*

Anyway, I hope it is still not too late to wish everybody "Selamat Hari Raya" and I sincerely apologize for any wrongdoings that I may have commit whether direct or indirectly to any of you. I only took two decent pics; one with the whole family and another with my sisters and cousin. I totally forgot to take a picture of my family (with hubby and Sara). Oh well...

Selamat Hari Raya

Maaf Zahir Batin

Aidiladha 2010

Aidiladha 2010 is the best one so far :) Majority of my mum's side of the family came to KL and we had a blast. My cousin each have 4 boys so, that totaled up to 8 boys, in the house. Oy, that itself resulted in chaos and mayhem. Sara was delighted to see them, she kept tugging me to play with "abang". I taught her to say "Abang, Yaya nak main". She confidently went to them and said those words and then came running back to me. Haha.

Oh, did I tell you she can jump? With both legs up? She has been doing that since last month actually.

We had our usual festive dish "nasi minyak" and the best "soto" ever. I was working the day before, so I had no part in the cooking whatsoever (Ohh, the beauty of living with my mum ;p) But, I did bake a cake and I succeeded on making chocolate chip rolls (more on that later, promise!) We just lazed around the whole day, taking pictures, eating, watching telly and it was a very fun and relaxing day. I mean, good food, good company, what's not to love, right?

The "quiet" picture

The "noisy" picture

Later that night, one of the boys came to me and said that they miss my choc chip cookies. It's almost 10pm, I protested. But, seeing their hopeful faces, I just didn't have the heart to say no. But, I imposed a condition : They have to help me. And so, there I was at 11pm, making cookies with my two nephews. They are yawning every 2 minutes, but they helped me all the way to the end.

Some of the boys :)

The next day, everybody went back to Kuantan. Sara woke up and was somewhat disappointed to see that there was no more abang. I, on the other hand, had 300 cupcake to do for a solemnization favor. :)

Hitting the big Three-Oh

Yesterday marks the day I hit the big three-oh. I've been stalling for the longest time, but no amount of power can make the clock stop ticking, so yeah, I'm thirty. 30. Ugh, even typing this makes me feel old. Hehe.

For whatever its worth, I did check few items on my life checklist.
Marriage : check!
Baby : check!
A stable job : check!
So I guess all in all, I am indeed blessed.

We didn't do anything special yesterday. Hubby brought me out on Sunday to celebrate and bought me a cake. Honestly, when you've been married for 5 years +, both of us just wished for practical birthday presents. And, this year, I have nothing that I REALLY wanted, and I just bought the two handbags, so no present this year. I just hope that he'll finish his studies, and get that scroll for my birthday present.


Okay, I have another confession. I've been late for my period and I was thinking well, maybe, I am pregnant and what a wonderful present that would be on my own birthday, so bright and early yesterday's morning, I checked and it was negative. Again. :(

Gosh, this post sounds downright depressing. Better stop before I make everybody feels gloomy. Thanks for all the wishes on my facebook and SMS. What better way to cheer me up than the little kid, right? Hihi, see this pic? She got soooo big, her wrist is almost as big as mine...ngeee

Raya 2010

Just to serve as a reminder for the years to come, below are Raya 2010 pictures. This year was a bit low key, but it was certainly different from last year because Sara got a little older and she can eat variety of food as opposed to porridge only (last year), so she became the kuih raya monster. The kid can gobble 8 almond london biscuits in one go. I had to change her baju kurung from size 2 years to size 4 years because her tummy was too big for the 2Y size.

On another note, the other day I went home and was greeted by the little kid at the door. She excitedly exclaimed "Mummy, mummy, big nose cit" all the while digging her nose for more nose shit? I asked her "Eeee, who teach you to do that?" and she answered proudly "CikSu".

Hmm, if I didn't know any better, I would have thought that I have two brothers instead of two sisters ;p

The two aunties who taught Sara every GOOD and NAUGHTY things.

Sara says : Selamat Hari Raya!!

Hi everyone!!

Peek-a-boo!! Selamat Hari Raya!!


Mummy says to say sorry for any wrongdoings. But I haven't done anything wrong, did I? Apart from ci-ci on the floor, throwing my food when I've had enough, not wanting to be held by people I just met, whining and crying...

Err...looks like I do need to apologize then. Okay, fine, sorry everyone...My Raya was a blast, I hope your Raya was fun too...mmuuaahhhsss!!!

OMG...OMG...I totally forgot its father's day

I totally forgot. I truly did. I remembered planning to buy a card or something, because I already bought and give hubby his gift, but on the day itself, I totally forgot.

So, here it is....Happy Father's Day to my hubby, papa (my dad) and Abah (hubby's dad). Thank you for being in my life.

To dear hubby, although we are so incompatible in many ways, you are the best person for me and the best father for Sara. Mmuuuahhhsss from Mummy and Sara.

This pic was taken when Sara is almost one year.
And no, they don't usually go to sleep like that ;)

Farewell cuppies

These cuppies were ordered to celebrate a farewell party. To me, farewell is such a sad thing. I mean, you got use to the person then having to find out that the person will be transferred to another department is just downright sad and depressing.

Recently, I had to say goodbye to a very dear colleague. She was in her confinement leave when she found out that she was transferred to another department. We weren't close from the get-go (when I was transferred to my current department), but as time goes by, we became closer. We discovered that even though we were quite different in terms of our approach towards certain aspect and problems at work, we do complement each other and we work VERY well together.

Slowly, our working relationship turned into personal relationship. We could share stories about almost everything. From husbands, families and when she discovered she was pregnant, we were both ecstatic. We can trade children stories! God knows how bored she is with me gushing about Sara every now and then.

She was with me throughout my pregnancy (and all the emotional hormonal outbursts every now and then). She took over most of my job, as I was so tired (read : lazy) to work. She helped me through so much and willingly listen to every child related story. I tried my best to repay all her favours when she was pregnant, and I missed her soo much during her confinement leave, consoling myself with the fact that she'll come back after 2-months leave.

So, when she told me that she received a letter saying she has been transferred to another agency, I was shocked and dissappointed. Don't know about her, but I'm certainly missing her. I can only hope that I've been there for her as much as she's been here for me. I can never thank her enough and I sincerely hope that we can continue our friendship even though we are no longer in the same deparment. Miss you babe, and hope for nothing but the best in all your future endeavours.

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

Happy Mommy's Day from my little sailor

Happy Mommy's Day

Sara wishes her Mommy and all Mommies in the world happy mommy's day. Sara even wrote a card and gave Mommy a lovely present, a self-stirring mug for her sangat-malas-nak-basuh-sudu-kat-ofis mommy...yeay!! We went to OU to celebrate and Sara wore her new outfit...my little angel becomes my little sailor...tee hee hee...


Mommy have been very busy lately...my office is under massive re-org, plus some very annoying people that makes my simple job becomes harder (apa kejadahnya sampai cek aset pun susah sgt..bluekkkk!) anyways, mommy is happy that her little angel is growing up all happy and healthy...Sara loves playing with me in the car and moments like that (just the two of us) is the ones that I treasure most...her cute cheeky face looking up to me...rasa macam nak benti keja n duduk jaga sara kat umah jek...huhu...

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO NENEK & ATUK

Today is Nenek & Atuk's anniversary. They have been married for 30 years. They have been through so much together. I just hope that I can learn from my mom who has always been so patient with my dad. I wanted to write so much but I'm so busy lately. I'll put up a tribute for them as soon as I got the time. In the mean time, I want them to know that I'm honored to be their child and they will and always be my idol in life. Me, Sara and hubby love them so much and wish them all the happiness in the world.

Tribute to Cik Ngah aka Yanie aka Angah

I've been meaning to write this tribute a long time ago, but knowing me, I procrastinate as long as I can. I meant to finish this in time for her birthday, but 5th February was long gone...heh. Anyway, Angah was the second child in the family. And it's true what they say about the second child, we use to butt head over a lot of things when we were small. I in particular, wasn't fond of having somebody else steal all the attention lavished on me. (My bad.)

She was a very adorable child. (Some people said that Sara resembles her) She has this most gorgeous dimple that is apparent everytime she smiles.

She was a very timid child. I guess its because she has a very loud sister (huhu). She has always been the beautiful one but she went through a major physical phase in her life (involving a very wild hair and plump figure..haha) which we like to call "zaman gelap angah". I can't find it in my heart to post her picture during that transitional time (hihi...that's how bad she looked then)

She didn't shine academically during primary and secondary school but ironically, she was the one that never fails to get 3-pointer during uni. I guess she found her calling in accountancy. I know that she often felt that my parents are always comparing us but trust me, (now that I'm a parent), Mama and Papa never intentionally compared us in any way. They love you for who you are, not for what you would become. Look at you now, more successful than ever.

She has a very big heart and with that comes her big head. Hehe, that combined with my ridiculous temper always resulted in our disagreement over a lot of things. Luckily, even though we butt head a lot, both of us remain as close as ever. Compared to all us three sisters, she was the one closest to my dad. Probably because she was the one who resembles my mom the most.
She has a lot of admirers. I think she had like two serious relationship and currently, I'm not quite sure whether she is seeing someone or not. Her priority in life now is her work and family. She spoil Sara with a lot of gifts and most of the clothes she bought are too big for her. Hehe, she just couldn't understand why Sara couldn't fit into all those clothes. Mekacih cik ngah, nanti Sara besar, Sara pakai baju cik ngah bagi ni...mesti comelll

I'm not sure how she feels about my hubby but they get along fine. We can hang out together all the time. We have very similar taste in movies and once, we spent an entire night watching anime (of course me and angah actually watched the anime while hubby dozed off :p). One more thing that she have in common with hubby is their fascination towards games. She loves playing games on hubby's PSP and PS2 (before those were stolen...damn u robbers!!)
She has a fetish for shoes and loves heels. She use to wear flats all the time until one day, she develop an instant liking to high heeled shoes/sandals. One more thing that must be mentioned with her is that she never hesitate to spend money on us. Since she's earning the most with the least amount of commitment, she always treat us gifts and dining out.

Among us three sisters, she is hardly the most organized nor the most fond of cleanliness. HOWEVER, she was the one that can't stand the smell of Sara's poop. Haha. During the first week (when Sara's poo-poo is blackish and has a very pungent smell) she puke the first time she saw her niece's poop.

To Angah, I love you sooo much and I wish you all the success in the world. Although sometimes I know that you hated my unfair temperaments, thank you for remaining close and supportive.No matter what people say, to me you are beautiful, inside and outside (but you would more beautiful if you wake up at decent hour during weekend :p ~kidding~)

I wish that you will find a man that will love you unconditionally because let's face it, you are quite difficult to please...hehe...But, no matter what, I want you to know that I'll always support your decision and I will try my best to respect whatever decision you make in your life. Eventhough I may not agree with the way you handle things, I will certainly try my best to respect and support them.

I love you...Sara loves you and Abedie loves you too and we want nothing but only the best for you...muahhhhsssss.....