Our New Home Sweet Home

It's been so long since I logged in, so first of all, need to clear all the dust and rust in this blog...Ahhchoooo! :P

It had been tough, and still tough, for us for the last 3 months or so. We were supposed to move in our new nest in end of Feb, but delayed to end of March, with lots of renovation still unfinished, but at least, we could have our kitchen first, and that's the heart of the house, right?

So again...this is our new nest located in Kulim Perdana (Kedah)...

It's a double storey semi-d house, 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms, with 1 utility room. We prepared ourselves for family expansion :D

So, welcome in! Our motto for the house is 'Space & Practicality', so we tried to minimize the furnitures and decorations. The curtains around the house are just whitish cream colored laces, plain, to let the sunshine and breeze in. We were expecting a hard-wooden table from our parents house for the dining hall but at the last minute, it was kind of ruined by rats, and since we haven't the budget to buy the bar stools for the kitchen breakfast table, we utilize our old free gift IKEA set first. Ok la kan?

Our dry and wet kitchen is in one room, at separate sides, left and right. Here is our wet kitchen, picture taken before we moved in. The breakfast table supposed to be longer, but it ended up as this, well...I got my hanging cabinet to keep my cookbooks (kononnya) so it's easier to reach when I want to cook. I like dark color wood-grain cabinets but since my kitchen tiles are black, I can't use dark color, so have to make do with whitish wood-grain ones. The table top is solid surface, we don't have much budget to take granite. The color was recommended by the sub-con installing our cabinets. Actually, the kitchen is only up to the black tiles, but we demolished the wall separating it from the dining area, to extend the kitchen, as I want space, space,SPACE!

My ID wasn't happy first when I wanted this big sink. He told us it was big enough to bath a baby, when he went to buy it, but I took the risk to still have it installed, and never regretted the risk-taking!

I saw the pic on the left and quickly sms it to my ID, but we couldn't find the woven basket like that, hence changed it to the pulled out basket on the right. I wanted to keep my potatoes, onions, garlic here :)

So, this is the other side which we call the dry kitchen, picture also taken before we moved in...

I wanted to have pull-out larder like the pic on the left but my ID said the whole set is too expensive, and even if he could build one using wood, it won't be strong enough to hold the weight, so finally, we settled with pulled out baskets again. Why I wanted so many pull-outs? Because my maid likes to 'hide' thing at the back of the shelves and it ended up expired because we didn't know we have it, or else we would've kept buying the thing and they still ended up behind the shelves :P By having these pull out, we could see what we have :)

So, that's all we did in our ground floor :) Simple right? Low budget style...hehheh...I'll update on the 1st floor when it's ready, but actually nothing much than the kids wardrobes and study.

Evening Walk at Mengkuang Dam

Since my husband started his new hobby of photography, we like going to scenic places, so this time, we tried Mengkuang Dam. It's located somewhere between Penang (mainland) and Kulim (Kedah), but you could access there through BKE Highway.

So, how does the dam look like? It's very pretty and cool, so relax, a great place for a nice and peaceful family outing. Lots of people were exercising around here, and there were facilities for that. The road was nice too.

Of coz, my kids enjoy this the most, especially Idlan. The walk start in the middle of the dam, which look like a lake. you could go left or right, and we chose left. I used my phone tracker to track how far it goes from the middle to the end of left side, and I guess it was almost 2.5km. Idlan was running all the way with almost to no stopping. We only went half way as I was worried Idlan will be tired and we'll end up having to carry him all the way down :)

Nisa was busy collecting the 'lalang' which looks like cat-tail :)

It was already late, so we had to go, even though Idlan protested...he just loves open space like this...such an outdoor adventurer! But we managed to sooth him and take this photo...

We promised him that we'll come again someday, and he'll be more prepared with running gears :)

Strait Quay, Penang

During one of my office's lunch, they took me to Strait Quay somewhere around Tanjung Tokong area. We ate at a place call Delicious, and just as it's name, the food IS delicious! We couldn't even stop to take photos because we were so eager to eat, but since dessert is served at the end, which is after we were almost full, I managed to snap this:

How does this look?

Hihihi...it's a chocolate sundae or something, I can't remember the name, and during the first visit, I brought Nisa and she loves this! For me, it's too sweet though :P

I keep talking about it to my husband and Nisa keeps pestering him to go there again, so one day, we went :)

So, what do we have there? It's actually a shopping mall by a marina, so a nice place to lepak and take photos:

It's December which is Christmas season, so they put on the decorations which are nice :)

My kids, apart from enjoying the food at Delicious, then enjoyed running around in the open and safe space! Just look at my young bachelor!

He's a heart-breaker right? I bet he's going to be a handful for both his mama and papa to handle when he reached teenage years :P

How about my little princess?

Sometimes she sounds too grown-up, and others she became my little girl again...sighhh....time really flies right?

Will these 2 keep on being best buddies in 10-15 years time?

I pray for that every day. Such happiness to see them so close, happy and healthy like this :)

I didn't miss taking my photos too ;)

And with them...

Idlan is more of a mama's boy, he won't sit still with his papa, always protesting...hihihi

But I managed to capture this finally...

Strait Quay is really a nice place for family outings, so if you happen to come to Penang, don't miss this place, especially Delicious! Hehehe...

Ichiroku Reunion 11-11-11

Last week, I went to Melaka for my batch's reunion at Pengkalan Balak. We chose the date 11-11-11 to be the memorable date. It's a batch reunion for UM students under Rancangan Persediaan Ke Jepun under Look-East Policy, and our batch is the 16th batch, which in Japanese is 'Ichiroku'. My family moved on Thursday night and stayed overnight at a friend's house, and got to move on that Friday 11-11-11 itself. We were supposed to check-in at 4pm, and I've been updating my friends in FB on my journey and where-about almost as LIVE telecast *grin* We arrived later than we should coz we got lost at a few turns, due to wrong direction given by our organizer..hehheh...But when we arrived at the Teratak Atie Ira and what we first saw really made our long journey worth while...

My husband is also under the same  program but since he's older by 2 years, so he is batch 14th, but he knows most of my friend. The tricky thing here is...my ex-bf will also be here...and when we arrived, he's the one who welcomed us and pointed us (not showing personally) to our rooms. My hubby and I had been having mixed feelings about joining the reunion, but being the always positive-thinker me, I said we should get over the hurdles. I must tell you, I was not, and maybe still not, a nice person, and a few people had either removed me as their friends or try to avoid me, and some of them even didn't join the event *grin* What have I done? Well, maybe I'm a bit irritating or annoying by always saying out what I think? :)

Ok, back to the reunion, after settling down, my kids of coz, went to explore the beach as there were already a few families arrived and their kids are enjoyying themselves...

Nisa did manage to make a friend first so she started out playing with herself since Idlan wasn't keen on the beach, he was afraid of the waves *grin*

Then, I saw one of the people I really hoped to see, one of the 2 best friends I had in UM, and both of them were my room-mates, but the other had to cancel her trip at the very last minute so...

She's Iena, and she's actually the wife of one of the guys in my batch. She's not RPKJ, but a law student. The funny thing is, she's been in UM for a year until the 2nd year where she was placed as my room-mate, she got to know the boy who live within her neighbourhood is actually in my course. They went to the same kindergarten and he was a very naughty boy who always annoys her. It started by her sending her regards to him, and me as the messenger, and with the fate from Allah, the 2 became a couple and got married with 3 kids :D It was like a dream came true, after almost 12 years or so, we finally meet each other, I almost cried!

We then introduced our kids, her 2nd child is 4 years plus so the girl and my girl made friends...

They became inseparable though both have communication problem, since Nisa couldn't really speak BM, but luckily this girl is very chatty and didn't mind, she talked almost non-stop :D

I think Nisa was the sexiest girl there...sometimes with a 'mermaid pose'....:P

She sometimes tried to pull in Idlan...

After a while...Idlan finally found his confidence...

Unlucky for him, he was hit by a big wave *grin*

People started pouring in and losts of laught and tears over old times and catching up on the latest things. A few celebrities in the crowd, 2 authors actually...one is Ilham Hamdani (the pic below on the left) who wrote the book Hidayah Cinta which was quite a boom I heard...Sorry, I don't really read novels *blush blush* Next to him is a nother author who wrote the novel trilogy Kembara Lang Surya...

After Maghrib, the event started of with BBQ party. Some people brought potlucks but the main is BBQ shared by the team. The most-awaited food is a 'kambing golek' sponsored by one of us, a prosperous businessman :D

I heard that the goat/sheep cost like 1.5k plus, coz it came with the chef and workers all. But really, this is the best thing of all, and my long journey is not disappointed coz I've been looking forward for this! :D I brought fruit rojak since coming from far, it's the easiest food I could bring without getting it spoiled...we don't want to end up having big-scale food poisoning!

Some of us Ichiroku ladies who participated...most are mommies...but we still look like college freshies, don't we? Haha!

The the group photo of all Ichiroku who managed to attend...

Seems like the ladies aren't that bad compared to the guys who doubled or tripled their size! Huhuhu...sorry guys... *grin*

Finally, group photo of all partipant including families...

The strange thing I observed, the mommies are busy chit-chatting while the daddies are...

Exchanging baby-care tips??? Or showing-off their babies????? What a strange world that day became...hahaha

Some mommies went to the extreme, since some of us married among us, meaning the same batch, so while the daddies is busy with their own agenda, the kids...

Please don't do this at home...or even anywhere...exception given during reunions only....hahahahahahha

One of the best photos is...

My husband took this photo without knowing whose kid he was, and he is actually my ex-bf's son *LOL* I put the photo on FB and it was a hit! My ex-bf didn't comment a thing, but during the reunion, I met him alone while taking Nisa to the toilet, he smiled...so maybe I've finally crossed my hurdle successfully, and maybe he too :)

Some of us slept late and others didn't sleep at all. We were supposed to be leaving the next morning but we couldn't stop chatting, and finally everyone left at 1pm on Saturday. I went around Melaka to try the real Asam Pedas, visit my hubby's best friend and then we stayed overnight at my friend's. We moved on Sunday morning, all happy though tired :)

Double birthdays!

I owe this entry to Nisa, but since it's already Idlan's birthday, tomorrow to be precise, I just combined both in one post...boleh dak? Hehheh...

I'm blessed with both kids born on the same date, 1 month apart.

First, Nisa's 5th birthday on 29th of September, which falls on a Thursday. We did the celebration at school first, and then another family party at my hometown since my dad's birthday was also on that week, on the 27th....

This year, I thought of ordering another customized cake from KDC but the owner was tied up, so I had to order the cake from the bakery nearby. Their cake is good actually, but not so many options in decorations and shapes. I wanted a princess-theme cake, but they don't have what I wanted, so I ended up ordering...

Angry bird!!!!!

Hehehe...Honestly, Nisa wasn't a fan, she doesn't even know what it is, but she knows friends at school is crazy about it and she just followed. There's this boy who likes her and keep giving her Angry Bird's merchandise. It's a choc moist cake, something that the kids will surely love. The topping used fresh whipped cream, and Nisa keep commenting that she loves the cake topping so much! Well, I'm glad :)

The birthday girl with her one and beloved sibling...for now...hehheh...*grin*

Next is the photo of them with the principle. He's also a child therapist and licensed psychiatrist, specialized in motoring skills in children development. Most of his patients are autistic, ADHD and CP kids who come in 1-2 session per week, which we sometimes could meet when we are sending or picking up our kids. It makes us grateful to have 2 beautiful and normal kids...

More of Nisa's birthday photos below...

There's only about 3-5 kids in this nursery/kindy, they only take in less than 10 as they are using one-to-one approach of teaching. The lady beside Idlan used to be Nisa's carer cum tutor when Nisa was at Idlan's age, now she's handling Idlan as the youngest kid there.

That weekend, we had another birthday bash at my parents' home in Alor Setar, combining Nisa's and my dad's birthday :) Nisa didn't get her birthday presents till that day, and what she wanted???

Of coz, to be a QUEEN! I found this crown set at Toys R Us so I bought this, and Nisa requested Playdoh set, so papa bought her that, and she wanted Barbie sling bag so her maktok bought her that too.

 We bought chocolate ice-cream cake from the local bakery, which was great in taste, though very limited choices in varieties, but we are happy enough :) My big bro or Nisa's PakYong was going to have his annual dinner that night and here's a photo of him and Nisa before going...

Well, our little queen had a great day, and it's time for mama to prepare for Idlan's birthday!

I ordered the cake from the same bakery in our housing area, and this time, I requested for a customized shape, and iiiiiiiit's........

SPONGEBOB!!!

Why is it Spongebob? Bcoz Idlan likes Spongebob la of coz *grin* This time, I ordered the cake to be vanilla with strawberry fruits cake.

Idlan just learnt how to blow, in time for his own birthday. I was worried if he can't yet, and will end up Nisa blowing the candles. Idlan is a bit slow in certain development, so I'm lucky to have him in that school as he's improving a lot nowadays. He used to jump in a funny way, but now he could already jump on a trampoline, the teacher told me today :) He could speak, though not clearly, but at least understandable...at leats for me and Nisa :)

If you see in Nisa's birthday pic, he used to hold the spoon wrongly, but now on his birthday party, he used the right way of holding the spoon. The happiest thing for me is....he wants to wear his birthday hat! He usually doesn't like to wear anything on the hat, but miraculously, he did on that day!

Just now, we had a small party at home, just us, letting him opens his birthday presents, since his real birthday is tomorrow, 29th of October. He was os happy with his gifts, a wooden shape puzzle from mama, a toy car garage set from papa (but chose and bought by mama :P) and another Hi-5 VCD to share with kakak. Currently, both of my kids are fans of Hi-5, so I will buy the original VCD whenever I could get my hands on them. Tomorrow, papa plans to celebrate at TGI Friday :) Yum yummmm...

A Day With Nature

Salam....

Lama tak masuk sini, byk cerita nak cerita tapi sbb byk sgt terbengkalai, jadi maleh...kekekekeke
Anyway, ni cuba2 menghapdet diri...Ari ni cuti Deepavali, papa ajak bawak anak2 jalan2...and we really mean JALAN...Nisa dah lama dok ajak pi tangkap insect, dia ingat mcm kat oversea gamaknya butterfly berterbangan merata2...hehehe

So, lepas brekpas with nasi goreng special mama, papa bawak kami ke tepi sungai kat Seberang Jaya, tempat org slalu jogging. Time tu dah dekat kol 9, matahari dah meninggi, org dah mula balik, tapi kami menghala masuk lak...hehehe

Gaya bersemangat anak2 kesayanganku nak menangkap insect...hehehe...

My hensem boy...

Nisa excited sungguh nak tangkap insect, malangnya maybe sbb dia bising, abis semua dragonfly and rama2 lari jauh2...huhuhu

Seksi plak tengok gambar anak dara mama nih, tapi sbb tau akan panas, tu sbb kasi pakai baju pendek2, kesian satgi berlengaih...

Kalau kena matahari, mmg clear la nampak natural highlight rambut Nisa ni, but kalau ikut genetik, kaler ni akan hilang once dekat2 nak masuk skolah menengah...

Ini budak excited asik berlarian ja, jarang dapat space camni since dok umah atas kayangan ni kan, happy sungguh dia berlari2...

Mama dah pesan, satgi jatuh ka tak larat ka...takmau dengaq...so last2 camni la jadinya...

Takmau jalan balik ke keta, jenuh mama dukung plak ini budak...hishhhhh...hehehe...but i loikeeeee...my manja boy

Aiyaaaaa...dah burn plak anak dara mama ni...takpa la, skali skala kan? Tengok bulu mata dia yg mama cukup jeles, takyah pakai menda alah bg curl tu, takyah pi perm...hehehe...adik jenis straight panjang, kakak mmg natural curl...ikut jenis rambut kot since kakak rambut curl, adik straight...

So itulah kisahnya anak2 kami yg 1st time get in touch with nature...