Pre-School Hunt

Next year Nia will be turning 4 years old... So, I think this year would be a good point to start looking for a good potential pre-school for her... Since Nia has never been to a daycare centre or a baby sitter apart from her Wan's house, we will need to start preparing her mentally for this...until now, the only time yg dia pernah pergi 'school' would be during the time we sent her to playgym dekat Tumble Tots - and she lovessssssssss it.... i know in terms of readiness, dia memang dah more than ready to go to school...everyday she normally follows her Wan to pick up her cousin from Kindy...and compared to the cousin, Nia yg lagi super excited tolong babaikan the friends and teachers from the Kindy...ahahaha...typical of her...full of drama...

anyhow....so i've basically got a few list of pre-schools around Kota Damansara that I'm thinking of checking out....ni pon berdasarkan things that I've heard...so not too sure of their quality of materials, teachers or others yet....nak kena check la dulu..

1. RealKids
2. QDees
3. CIC
4. Genius Aulad
5. Itqan
6. Brainy Bunch Islamic Montessori

so, if you've any experience in going pre-school hunting, please feel free to drop me a comment on items that I should check during my visits...or perhaps if you have any experience with any of these schools pon, even better....what i have in mind that i'll need to check (or perhaps my must-haves list) would be:

1. Safety
2. Hygiene
3. Children-friendliness
4. Qualifications of the teachers
5. Headmaster visibility/availability at school
6. Food/Nutrition
7. Activity modules
8. Fees
9. Teaching methods
10. Discipline enforcement

Anything that I might have left out? Please let me know... I know it will take a few months for me to go around and survey these places...but i better start early so that I know I'm choosing the best school that suits my needs....of course, other parents might have other criterias...so its always up to us la kan which one we will choose...hopefully, we will choose one that works best for us...nanti if we're done with our survey, i'll make sure to put some of my thoughts about these schools here too....somehow or rather, I feel so nervous on Nia’a behalf…can’t believe it that my baby girl is going to school soon….Mama-Tiger mode on….ahaha…I mean, with all the stories that we listen to nowadays, it’s pretty scary to send them out there….yer la….kat rumah kite jaga macam mana….but at school, the teachers might treat them differently kan…*sigh*….ni mommy plak yg jadi separation anxiety…camno tu….huhuhu…u all mcm mana?....how was your first experience in sending your Little Ones out there venturing on their own…

Aaryan: 1st Flu

I have not done justice to my boy... bile check-check balik entries, I barely have posts related to his stories...waduhhh...i'm so sorry baby boy...mommy has been super busy this last few months memang tak sempat nak hapdet...(alasan asalan and more alasan...*eyes-rolling*)...

anyhow, Aaryan couldn't sleep too well last night...srottt sretttt bunyi nye...rupanya, anak mommy kena his first case of flu....woke up during subuh tadi, rasa badan nye mcm a bit dedo...but couldn't be too sure, i didnt have our thermometer with us, as we're now half-way shifted to our own house in Denai Alam - and most of our stuff are still in Kota Damansara...so since today is Friday and I'm working from home, took him to see a child specialist pagi tadi...

Alhamdulillah - his body temp is still normal - so no fever lah...and yang penting, no sore throat too - so that shouldn't affect his appetite...nak plak now he has become a picky random milk drinker...risau la jugak kan - although he loves solid food so much - but still la have to drink milk too...but this is a separate story...lucky for us, the doc gv us something to relieave his blocked nose - so far, he seems ok with the Iliadin nasal spray...no more crankiness...let's see if it really works tonight..

So, in comparison to Nia, Aaryan has lesser sickness-downtime...is it because I am breastfeeding? Sebab Nia dulu, umor 6 months dah warded to DSH sebab high-fever...huhuh....So far for Aaryan, Alhamdulillah, he's a healthy baby...although badan takde la se-debab Kakak dulu, but he doesn't easily contracts desease...and I hope it stays that way la....perhaps, it's contributed by the EBM too...berkat usaha Mommy memerah although berlari-lari at the office terkejo ke sana sini...eekekek...whatever it is, hopefully baby boy will get better soon....Insya Allah...

So Where Have I Been

Ok... 3 weeks hiatus from this page... It's not that I've been away yg super jauh ke ape... Cuma I've been swamped! At work and at home... Byk benda nak story-morry ni...But let's start with one story yang paling kecoh skali - our girl Nia, was warded in Damansara Specialist again - making full use of my medical quota for year 2011...

So what really happened?

Memang I was planning to take 1.5weeks leave starting dari end of Nov sampai first week of Dec...kebetulan on Wed - 23 Nov (my last working day), mr hubster was feverish and so was Nia...so, that day, we decided to leave the office a lil bit earlier...went back home and amik Nia skali nak gi clinic..her fever wasn't that bad...temp was just 37+, but she was pretty weak that day...so at the clinic, tgh nunggu turn tu, I saw her face was quite pale...pucat sampai kuning-kuning dah...so when we saw the GP, I told the Doc la, ape pasal si Nia ni kuning skit...riso gak...so the Doc check her tummy....in case of any swelling to her spleen and liver...at this time she was quite weak...lembik and nak berdukung je....which is quite worrying since her temp tak panas mana..lepas da check, there's no indication of swelling, but we were immediately referred to the Hosp...makanya, went back home, packed our stuff and terus gi Emergency Room kat DSH... there, the doctor took some blood samples to do some tests...by then temp dah start to go up to 38.5...terus dapat one shot of voltren...since Nia ni ade fit history kalo demam panas sangat, so we hv to be a bit careful, cannot let her fever run so high...then we were told to wait for an hour for the test results to come back from the lab...maka, tunggu lah kami...

45-mins later, the doc called us back in, and told us we need to get her admitted...sebabnya, her red cell count (hemoglobin aka darah merah) is too low...her reading at that time was 7 and the normal min reading for any person is supposed to be 10...so 3 levels below the min amount...my feelings at that point of time - risau, takut, sedey, u name it, sume bercampo aduk... earlier, when we came in to DSH, we called her Paeds - just to inform him of her case ni, and he told us not to worry, it could just be a regular case of Keratin-overdose...nampak gayanye, its more than that la now... so before naik to the ward, they had to take more of her blood, cos now they need to do more tests to see the cause for the Jaundice - dah second round amek darah - mengamok lagi la princess ni...by then she was pretty pale and yellowish...so after all the processing, we finally settled down in the room at 1.30am...Nia was already asleep time tu - I guess tired from all the crying sebab kena cucuk situ sini... :-'(...my feelings masa da settle masuk bilik and watching her asleep - Ya Allah...risau and takut - Tuhan je yang tahu... I couldn't sleep the whole night and spent my time googling on the symptoms and possible deseases related to it...texted mr hubster who had to go back home to check on Aaryan - dia pon takleh nak tido jugak...eehhe....i guess, both of us had sleepless night malam tu...

so, 2nd day, Dr Musa, our Paeds, came is super early...7.15am he was already with us checking on Nia...cos the night before time warded tu, cuma kena check by the ER doctor...some of the blood test results came back as negative, so we still dont know whats the cause...Nia was a lil bit active on the second day...and can even play around and chit chatted as the usual...she was still pale and yellowish but the Paeds said, as long as she is active then its not so worrying...that afternoon, Dr Musa had to draw more blood from her...3rd time during our 2 days stay....to do more tests...as everything has came back as negative - again!...I was getting more concern now and very very very worried...but can't do much cos still tak tahu ape cause...so...3rd day came...Nia is getting very lethargic on this day...weak, loss of appetite and no mood to play at all...throughout the day, she didnt take any solid food and cuma minum 2oz of milk and a little bit of water and juice...so, we had to start her on glucose IV sebab kencing dia pon da start jadi kotor...partial blood test results came back and it showed that her red cell count was even lower now...6.3...if it goes below 6 there are possibilities of breathing difficulties, heart and internal organ failures, etc....my feelings? *cry*...hmmm....tapi bile org datang visit, control je la, cakap we are ok...so, that afternoon on the 3rd day...Dr Musa came and check, and he finally decided that Nia will need to do a blood transfusion...we were kinda hoping not to do it, since she is still small...there's not side effect whatsoever, cume taknak la kalo bole...the original plan was to get a second opinion from a Paeds blood expert based in University Hosp - but he was away travelling....so in order not to make Nia's condition worse, we had to have the transfusion quickly...at this point of time, i don't really care la...nak transfuse ke ape, as long as we can make her feel better again...so the nurses prepped her, sambung the wires and started the transfusion...tak banyak pon...cuma 1 bag of blood...at this time, i feel so grateful to whoever la yg menderma darah tu (marila kite menderma darah lagi lepas ni ye rakan-rakan)...so, the transfusion took 5 hours to complete and we need to monitor her for any side effects - fever, rashes, heat-flush, etc...

4th day...transfusion ended at 1.30am...wires are out and she's just left on the regular IV drips and some antibiotics for her fever yg dah start to subside....Alhamdulillah - there are no side effects so far and our girl is back to her chirpy noisy self...my feelings? Syukur Jazakallah...Alhamdulillah... my child is healthy again...

5th day...monitoring continued....the Prof from UM is still on leave, so we can't get the 2nd opinion still so Dr Musa decided to discharge us, since Nia's vital signs are OK now...Alhamdulillah...we got most of her blood test results...it's -ve for dengue, -ve for hep A/B/C, enzime checks are normal and G6PD is also normal...last one yg pending is for talasemia check and will only come back in 1 weeks time... so balik la dulu doctor kata...the chances of re-lapse: tak tahu...what if it happens again? terus bawak gi hosp if she shows any of the symptoms that we had before this, lethargic, dark urine, loss of appetite, pale and yellowness of the skin - check on her face, tummy, palm and feet...sounds pretty normal symptoms kan...mmm...any pantang or whatsoever? no....cos she's a perfectly healthy girl and since tak tahu ape cause sebenarnye, there's basicaly nothing we can do...

so follow up a week later...talasemia results came back and as expected, it's also negative...so the final rule is, doctor said, it must've been viral infection....(this is one powerful virus we're talking about!!...phewww)...so she's now on multivitamin precribed by the doc and folic acid - untuk tambah red cell...other than that, she's now back to herself seperti biasa...the final diagnosis that we got masa discharge was: Hemolytic Anemia hope this will never ever happens again...Sebab this is one scary parenting experience that I hope none of us will have to go through....Seeing your child weak and pale...Ya Allah...you feel so helpless and you just wish that you can make everything better again....I salute to other parents who might have to face dugaan yang lagi besar from us... sesungguhnye, this experience is humbling for me...for now i realized, how small we are and how precious life is....Alhamdulillah, Nia is all better now...berkat doa from everyone...Thank you all and Thank you Allah...and of course, thank you to Shell for paying our medical bills throughout our 5 days stay at DSH... :-)

Blood bag ready to be infused

Mommy said, solat dulu before masuk fresh blood - doa to Allah so that, with this new blood, Nia jadi sihat again..

The difference between healthy pink and whity paleness

The following day....dah bole senyum...

My Babies

waduh waduhh....sedar tak sedar...today ngam ngam both my babies are another month older... Nia turns 31 months young hari ni...and Aaryan is officially 4 months...Alhamdulillah, my babies are all well, sihat, gebu, montel, bijak and talkative!!!...ahhaha... kakak can go on and on talking non-stop...and i noticed this past few weeks, she can start playing with a wilder imagination....she can act out princess scenes from the disnye movies that she loves so much...on top of that, can even sing....she plays with her dolls and babies and speak to them in her own version of english...ahahah....tah ape dia ckp...pong pang pong pang bukan main lagi...english version pelat i'd say...:p...

as for adik...si dobot yg forever happy....he's never fussy...smiling all the time...nangis only when he's angry or sleepy...still not showing any signs of turning over to his tummy....and kepala pon still jugak duk head-banging...ahahah....takpela...berat kena tarik dek pipi kot...:p....

macam tak sangka plak, how fast time flies...goshh...rasa mcm baru je kluar spital...anyhow, i'm enjoying my time with both of them...snuggly wuggly time...everyday bau susu masam kena muntah dek Aaryan pon best je...akaka....perfume to mommy's nose...LOL...whatever it is, i'm glad to see both my babies growing up healthily, Alhamdulillah... next year kite plan birthday bash hip & happening lagey...:p

Introducing Baby A

Hello lovelies...

Lambat plak update... Been overwhelmed since the arrival of Baby A last Friday... Alhamdulillah, the surgery went smoothly well... Can't story much about the delivery right now cos I'm back in DSH with Baby A bcos of jaundice... Just nak introduce our Junior to all je dulu... And I will update the story morry in the following entries kay...

So meet the infamous Baby A... Which actually stands for: Ahmad Aaryan Faheem Bin Fahmi... Out into the world approximately around 9:05am on Friday, 10 June 2011 weighing 3.02kg with the length of 48cm... Mommy decided to call him Aaryan... Tp Babah nak panggil Ryan (glamer katanye akakaka).. Tak kisah la, asalkan both ada maknanya... I dun really mind... So whats in the name this time?..

Ahmad: Prophet's name
Aaryan: Utmost strength
Faheem: Brilliant (sama mcm kakak nye for Aqeela)
Ryan: Gate of Heaven

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

How Was Your Weekend?

Our weekend was packed!

Sabtu pagi, we went for my last check-up with the Gyne kat DSH. Alhamdulllah, Baby A is looking fine - Doc cakap baru 2.4kg - macam risau la pulak - a lil bit too small I think despite da masuk 36 weeks+ now... Kalau ikut the tracking kat BabyBump, he should be weighing 2.6kg by now... So Mommy will try to eat more ok lil guy... this week and next week hari-hari kite mintak Babah belikan Baskin Robbins - macam zaman2 Kakak Nia dulu...ekekek... anyways, Baby A is doing good in the tummy.... head down and still showing no sign to engage... amniotic fluid is ok...heartbeat is strong....so, everything is good to go... The Doctor asked us if we have decided on the date, so we told her our options, either on the 10th or the 11th... as expected, she agreed with 10th of June.... so, terus la book OT and gave me the green admission form sume... nak book bilik terus tak boleh - we can only do that 1 day before the operation - so kena call hospital... But hubby said, takyah la susah-susah, so we opted for the Premium Room... kena la topup sikit from the amount that Shell normally covers... asal selesa lepas operation nanti... so peeps, the official date is - Friday, 10 June 2011... Fuh!!

afterwards, off we went to KLCC.... kan semangat nak pergi carnival Mothercare tu...eheh... dengan boyot-boyot ni, masih jugak gigih pergi hokeh... the store was not as big as i imagined it would be...but ok la, it has more items than other Mothercare shops... there were clowns, wheels of fortune draw lots, face-painting, free popcorns and free cotton candy... Ingatkan pack giler, but lucky for us, we were there quite early, so that 'traffic' inside the store wasn't as bad... bought a couple of things, feeding bottles for Nia and Baby A...found my Lansinoh nipple cream, bought gifts for Vikrant's new baby too... and a few new tshirts for Kakak Nia...and Baby A's first blue bear...hehe...

At the store, Nia did her face-painting...one on her right cheek and another one on her arm....suka la makcik tu...ade glitter glitter and diamonds being sticked all over her...then we went to the next counter, where she got a pink beads wristlet made for her - jadi free sebab Babah dah purchase macam2 item kat Mothercare... so, after that, mula la dia berangan jadi Princess...*sigh*...ehehhe....afterwards, we went for lunch at Chilis... Nia was so tired, sampai tertido kat table tengah makan...kesian betol la munchkin ni....after lunch, we did some window shopping since baby girl dah pengsan ni - take the opportunity to go around kejap :p...pas ni nak dating susah da...nak plak kena perintah berkurung 45 days nanti...fuh!....then , we decided to leave KLCC.... drop-by at Masjid Negara for prayers....siap tunggu sampai Asar...then we went to Lake Garden...ahahah... semangat gilak I tell u....Babah nye la...cos he promised to the lil missy that he'll take her to the playground...alang2 da memang kat area tu, he decided to drop by terus kat Lake Garden....so biar la let loose some steam at the playground for 1hr+...

Then on Sunday morning, we went to the Curve.... saje gatai bawak Nia pi tengok KungFu Panda 2... ternganga je la Nia inside the cinema.... there were no songs unlike the typical Princess-sy movies that she loves so much.... so ended up, dia keep on asking me, kenapa tu...kenapa tu...kenapa tu...eheheheh...hadoii...cian anak mommy...couldn't understand the movie so much....but she had fun - bole la gelak-gelak at some of the actions yg funny.... after the movie, we asked her, if she wants to watch Panda again.... then she answered, "But I want to watch Princess!!"....haihhh...princess lagi....kena ajar suke benda lain apart from Princess la mcm gini....

that was our weekend, how was yours? did you had a good time like we did? I hope you do... ;-)

A Lost Forgotten Girl

Ya Rabbi....

The world is really coming to an end.... Somehow lately ni, banyak sangat news about children passing away...this is just so sad and tragic... memang lah dikatakan takdir.... but seriously, i don't get it how can we forget our child and left them for a solid 1 hour locked inside the car under the scorching sun!!...Masya Allah... not that I would want to judge the father... I'm sure it was not on purpose ke ape... so negligence aside....i just truly hope that this kind of things will not happen dah lepas ni.... Parents should be more vigilant and alert... tak kisah la time tu tengah kelam kabut ke...tengah stress ke ape ke...but our children should always be protected, no matter what... okla....mek taknak emo lebih-lebih...to know further why i'm being so dramatic, sila la click kat link bawah ni....

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/5/24/nation/8744565&sec=nation

http://www.bharian.com.my/bharian/articles/Budaklemasdalamkereta/Article

Pusat Akuatik Darul Ehsan

bersempena with the public holiday yesterday, we decided to do something a lil bit fun for Nia...yer la...lepas ni once Mommy dah start pantang, Nia pon kena pantang skali la with Mommy at home... takleh lar nak jalan-jalan on every weekend for 45 days.... since, Babah dia pon dah promised to her that he will take her swimming, we decided to go to Pusat Akuatik Darul Ehsan Shah Alam.... we've been hearing good reviews about the place.... my nieces and nephews are all regular patrons to this public pool... they've been taking swimming classes on every weekend and have been going since they are 3-4 years old... all the while, asal depa ajak, tak pernah plak teringin nak pi... so this time, I told Fahmi, let's try it out... tak cuba tak tahu... i'm not a big fan of huge crowds, so Sunway Lagoon is totally out of the picture... so it was either this place or pool at The Club, Bukit Utama... tapi itu we'll have to pay more la, since both of us are non-members... makanya, googled for some public reviews of the place and so far out of 5 blogs, all 5 have given the place a thumb's up... so, yesterday, off we went to Pusat Akuatik Darul Ehsan - awal gila hokehh...kol 8.45am dah terpacak kat ticketing kaunter...ahahah....talk about being kiasu!!...

Nia pon excited - despite kena kejut from her sleep, she's in good spirit and tak cranky at all... teruja nak swimming lar tu...nampak pool je da terjerit-jerit..hishhh...anyways, bought our ticket priced at MYR2.50/each for adults....children under 3yrs old is free of charge....at 9am sharp, the guards allow us to go in...my my my...that place is HUGEEEEEEEEEEEEe i tell u...the pool besakkkk gilakkk.... at first ingat nak amik entrance to indoor pool...skali abang ticket tu ckp, the shallowest corner for indoor would be 10ft deep...terus tak jadi...mek beli ticket outdoor ja la....i think the depth was around 4ft....ok la....the kiddie pool pon besar pon sadly it was closed for maintenance... else, it would've been more fun - cos siap ade slide bagai macam.... but after awhile, i realized the sun seems to be right smack on top of the kiddies pool....and it was pretty cool around the adult pool...so tak kisah la... Nia pon ade her arms float... i believe she enjoyed the outing very much.... she swam for a solid 2 hours...naik atas for 15mins recharge energy makan nasi lemak and drank a box of lychee drink... i didn't go into the water.... if i did i would've been like a penguin with this huge tummy....so Nia had all the fun with her Babah.... takpela... kasi bonding time daddy-doter skit...eheheh.....

so our review?...will we come back here?... i think we will...maybe not anytime soon - since i'm almost due... so Nia kena tunggu lepas mommy abes pantang la...then we can come here for a dip again....not bad for a public pool....although i do wish they can provide more seats around the area cos I saw many parents had to end up sitting on the floor sebab tak cukup kerusi...lucky for us we were quite early, so we get to hog 4 seats and a table...ehehhe...

A Box of Patchi from my Love-lies!

Just sharing what I got from my sayang-sayang for Mother's Day.... I'm pretty sure the money came from Babah..... But the delivery of the gift was done by Nia... hehehe...she came over with the box and gave it to me after I finished my Maghrib prayers.... mommy siap dalam telekung lagi kot...ahahah.... she said, " Mommy....besday to you"....aahaha....I guess dia da lupa ape Babah dia da pesan what to say....anything wrapped or comes with a ribbon equals to a birthday gift for her...anyways, mommy is really touched with the box of golden Patchi.... and I love both of you very very very much too!!!...muwaksssssss.... Thank you darlings....

p/s: Notice the blue and pink thumb-prints?... no wonder I've been hearing Nia talking about her's is pink and Babah's is blue...was wondering what that was all about....hehehehe...

Anak Itu Hadiah Yang Paling Berharga

Ya Allah....

Sedihnye rasa when I read the paper recently...3 small young girls, were swept away by the current whilst they were picnicing at one of the picnic spots in Kuala Pilah....they were so young...baru umur 5 yrs, 4 yrs and 2 yrs old...and yg bongsu plak is still missing, masih tak jumpe jenazah arwah...kite yg stranger baca news ni pon rasa sangat sedih tak terkata...i don't even want to think how the mother is feeling right now....Astaghfirullah.... sesungguhnya, anak-anak itu kurniaan yg paling berharga from God...I pray that none of us will ever have to go thru the pain of losing a child....biarkan sorang, apatah lagi 3 org sekaligus... Insya Allah, arwah bertiga selamat di tempat yg lebih bahagia, and become bidadari-bidadari syurga yg sempurna....Al-Fatihah for adik-adik kita ini... and hopefully the parents of the children are strong to go thru dugaan yg maha besar for anyone to go thru...

Project Dora

We are planning to throw a Dora-licious birthday party since Nia is turning 2 soon. As usual, the one who is more excited is always the Mommy. Ha-Ha. Kalo tgk si Nia, I doubt it that she even understands what the hu-ha is all about. Tak kisah la, what I want is a memorable event for my girl before No.2 pops out soon.

So, Project Dora was established and the main Project Manager is Mommy with Babah becoming the right hand man. The plan kicked off from 2 weeks ago (ok...sgt poyo although party nye in March) and some rough idea of what we want for the party. Due to budget constraint, we can't afford untuk tempah every single little things for the party. So some of the items needs to be DIY by Mommy and Babah. We started off with the Invitation Card - ciplak from the idea we saw online and off we sent out the invite to our close friends and families. Then Mommy has always wanted all those cute little fancy cupcake toppers and TQ card that I saw at this website, so we asked for a quote, and it came back not within our range so, again, another DIY project. So, Alhamdulillah, we managed to complete our own set of cupcake toppers, TQ Cards, drinking water labels and food tags. Sume sendiri bikin - that's why we need a longer planning period. Kalo budget ade berkepuk, senang la, main order je. He He. Tapi bile dah siap sume, rasa puas hati jugak. Cos we did it ourselves. Malam-malam bile tang perut keras takleh nak tido tu, Mommy pon operation gunting and gam ler.

Next, we have the menu to think about. Our guest list is not too big - so Wan agreed to help and cook some food for the party. Ordered out most of them too from our regular places. Kuih traditional, birthday cake, tartlets, brownies, cupcakes, etc. So finger's crossed that everything will be ready in time on the event day nanti.

Apart from that, we have balloons to think aboout. Ye la - kata pon party budak-budak. What is a party without any balloons to play with right. Mommy saw some DIY helium balloons pack at the party shop. Tapi bile survey harga, with another kedai, we found that it's cheaper to just order it with them for the same count of balloons. So kiddos who are attending the party nanti, be prepared to swat and pull 50 helium balloons that we plan to let afloat kat ceiling rumah.

Goodie bags! Ni pon dah siap - as of last week. Haha. Ye la - first time nak organize party kat rumah Denai Alam ni. Kena la cepat-cepat. Nak plak rumah tu still empty. Takut tak sempat nak buat so tu yg poyo awal2 dah pack sume benda. So yes - we have completed 60 bags of goodies in preparation for anyone that will be coming.

Games during the party. At first Mommy plan ade la jugak nak main 1 game. Cos the party wouldn't last that long - 2 jam je. So nak main game byk2 tak sempat. Tapi bile tanye kat Babah, he said it might be a bit rushed. So we scraped out the idea to play any games. Main je la korang sama2 sendiri nanti. But we did print out some coloring sheets and activity pages that the kids can doodle with kalo boring-boring.

And lastly, outfit for the birthday girl. So far ini satu je lagi yg still pending. Harap-harap we can go to the malls and hunt for it this week. So far I have no idea nak pakaikan Nia macam mana. No dress for her - cos I am sure dia akan berpeluh2 masam cos ramai org. So, defintiely wearing jeans. We just need to look for a nice top for her. Any idea where we can get any cute little outfits?

So harap-harapnya, the party will go on smoothly. We are trying to manage the crowd - taknak ramai sgt - else tak sempat nak mingle with all the guests. And those that we invited this time pon hanya yg rapat-rapat je. Will update more after the real party day which is gonna be on Sat - 5th March nanti. Till then, it's gonna be a fiesta!

Marking the Half Way Journey

Believe it or not, I've actually reached my half way mark for my second pregnancy. Cepat betol la time di akhir zaman ni. It still feels like it was yesterday when I joke to Fahmi and told him we're expecting no.2 soon. Another 20 weeks (or maybe earlier) and we're going to have Junior out with us (Insya Allah) and Nia will become a Kakak (Hehe).

Anyway, we did our scan last month and Alhamdulillah, our Gyne managed to catch a glimpse of our Junior's gender. So Insya Allah, in June, we will have a boy joining the family. *grin* Pasnih, Babah nye dah ade rival la at home since he's not gonna be the alpha male at home anymore. Dah ade jejaka baru in the house. Huhu. Excited bagai macam. No preparation has been done for the lil kiddo as of yet.Mummy and Babah have been super busy and we might have not been paying much attention to you all this while, lil guy. But Mummy promised, we'll do much better after this.

Starting with your name. Although you are just 5 months young, we have already decided and pick your name from the longgggggg list that Mommy gave to your Babah. I pretty much over-ruled his selection, since he chose Kakak Nia's name last time - so our deal was - if we were to get a boy - I get to chose your name. (He He). So now, Mommy is trying to teach Kakak Nia, on how she can pronounce and call you later. But she's still blabbing like a baby so most of the time we ended up talking and calling you Baby instead. Ok la tu - for the time being. Hehe.
In a few months time, Babah dah promised to take us out to shop for your lil clothes and other stuff. Nothing much to buy this time - since most of the stuff are still new from Kakak Nia's time. But you will definitely get some new clothes and towels and such. Takkan la nak share plak towel sume tu kan. He He.

Ok la - we'll see you again in 1.5 weeks time during our routine date with Dr Susanna. You take care okay lil guy and remember, Mommy, Babah and Kakak Nia are all excited to meet the real you in 20 weeks time. Mwaks!

I Need a CashCow

I was watching the re-run episodes of Giuliana & Bill on #712, when something that Bill said to Giuls struck me right on my head..."You've got the spend less and save more now that we're having a kid"....ahhaaa.....How very true is that....I mean, all parents know this.....And of course, future parents too....When I was expecting Nia last time, I didn't expect it to be so much like this that I can't even remember the last item that I actually bought for myself....Nowadays, most of the things will either be the groceries, things for the house, infant formula, packets of MamiPokos and new set of clothes for the Little Missy....I was trying to think back when was the last time I bought a new pair of clothes for myself and I think it was during Raya....tu pon sebab beli materials untuk baju raya....ahahah....no new blouses....no new jeans....no new shirts.....not even a new handbag (although I've been salivating for one for sooooo longgg...)......the sacrifices that you make for your child...ahaha....We don't even think of new stuff for us now....it's always for Nia, just to make sure she gets the best of everything.... playschool.... developmental toys....educational activities....hahaha ....my oh my.....if I were to think back of myself 3 years ago....i was no where close like this....every month ade je handbag or kasut baru....mental!....guess its just one of the things that a kid can change in you....

Another 28 Weeks to Go....

Alhamdulillah....I have reached my 12th weeks of pregnancy.....Compared to my previous pregnancy, I am really couting the weeks to cross over to second trimester this time...and thank God, that is just 1 week away....*phew*....bukan ape....kali ni, my morning sickness - or shall I say, evening sickness - is worse than the previous one....My 1st pregnancy was pretty much smooth sailing apart from the fact I regularly have a blackout and fainted once during the 1st trimester....tapi morning sickness memang almost zero that time....kali ni, asal balik kerja je, gerenti mual - angin - sume la, cukup lengkap...once muntah lam kete...kat toilet tu, toksah ckp la....haha....papehal, at least my case is not as bad as some of the other preggie ladies...

Anyhow, I sure am glad to be stepping closer to the end of all kemualan dan yg sewaktu dengannya.... How's Little Miss taking in all this? I don't think she fully understands the situation yet...She know's that there's a baby inside mummy's tummy....cos she followed us to our first scanning last month....but apart from that, she's been acting like a big drama princess as the usual....mengaruk nak dukung, manja, cranky...sume la....guess its the big sister syndrome...and all this only happens when mummy is around...kalo mummy takde, ok je, behave baik-baik....oo well...i've expected this...and Nia pon still small....so I don't really mind....kang once dia dah besar, dah taknak la plak cuddly cuddly with mummy...eheheh...sementara dia nak ni.....ok la....

Ouch!

Mummy's princess got a big cut on her palm.

What happaned?

Minah nih duk main basikal outside the house compound kat atas jalan raya. Now kan school break, so we have 6 of her cousins staying over at home. So she was all happy that morning, playing with everyone when suddenly, our neighbour's dog decided to bark at them excitedly. Teruja tgk ramai budak-budak outside the house kot. So this Little Missy, panicked, and wanted to get down from her bicycle to run over to her Bibik. Tapi tersadung and fell down on the road - jalan raya tu lar. But I guess, because of the adrenalin rush, she didn't realize that she had a cut at that time and continued playing macam biasa. Afterwards, boleh mandi (tak nangis lagi), main ngen cousins - siap pukul-pukul abang-abang dia (tak nangis lag), kira all is well la (sebab tak sedar lagi tangan luka this time). Then out of the sudden, my niece saw the cut and told the Bibik. So Bibik came over to inspect so Little Miss pon baru la perasan this red gash on her palm. Terus la drama - nangis tersedu sedan, wants to be carried all over the house by Bibik, and siap lentok kepala atas bahu. I'm guessing its not so much of the pain, cos if it is, she would've cried time mandi pagi tu. My guess is dia seriau cos tak pernah luka and it looks pretty gory with the red color around the wound. He He He.

Elok Mummy balik kerja malam tu, drama sambung la. Show off her hand and asked to be carried. And please, don't mention the luka to her, else, the tears will start rolling down again. *_*. Nia oh Nia.

It's A Boy!

Congratulations congratulations and congratulations to our beloved friends, Ash & Mizi, who have just greeted their second child into this world yesterday afternoon at 3.35pm... Both baby and mummy are doing great, and I can just envy Ash for such an easy delivery that she had this time around.... Syukur Alhamdulillah...

Compared to her 1st delivery for Qadeja, Baby Umar's birth was pretty much smooth sailing and fairly quick....Ash felt some contraction started yesterday morning and by the time she reached the hospital, she was already 4cm dilated!! How awesome is that?!!!. :-)....Next, the Gyne just induced her a lil bit with some water and with just 3 push, Junior No.2 popped out weighing a whooping 3.6kg!!!

So harap-harapnye, our second one nanti pon akan jadi as easy as this....but somehow i doubt that....since my previous delivery was a C-Section and if I can go for a normal birth (which I'm hoping I can) this time around, it would be similar to someone yg baru nak beranak first time normal since the passage is not there yet...so yes, the tearing and everything lar....haihh....cuma harapnye this time, baby is totally engaged la....so that takyah go for C-Sect....

Whatever it is....let's toast to sleepless nights and diaper-changing duty! :-)...Hail Mommies~

Green Lumpy Phlegm

Mommy has a sick grumpy baby at home. Munchkin is not feeling well and has been restless all through the night. Both of us didn't get much sleep as Munchkin was having blocked nose and its really difficult for her to breathe. She ended up crying most of the time and even threw up on our bed at midnite. I had to carry her almost all thru the night and end up sleeping on the sofa with her on my lap. Lucky for her, there's no temp recorded as of yet - and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this is just gonna be a bit of cough and some green runny nose. Temp will mean possible fit attack for her and we really really really need to avoid that. On top of that, we'll be travelling to Terengganu to visit my grandfather tomorrow so I really hope that her condition will improve much better by this afternoon or at least tonight.

For now, she's finally sleeping after a dose of Promethezine from Dr Musa and a layer of Vicks Vapo-Rub on her chest and back. Hopefully with enough rest, Little Missy will feel a bit above the weather tomorrow.

It's Halloween Town

Nia had a Halloween Party at her play school (Tumble Tots) yesterday. All of us went and Nia dressed-up as a Witch. Somehow, despite all the struggles and a lot of wet tissues being used, I managed to paint a spider and a web on her face using my liquid eye-liner. Sorry ye - ini amateur in action. So the drawings pon takde la cantik mana. But ok la. Make do.

We had the usual activities in class. Learning the alphabet - story telling - arts - phonics - music and exercise. But this time around, we finished the activities a bit earlier, and had a mini party for the kiddies to eat nuggets and cocktail sausages prepared by the school. Afterwards, they get their chance in grabbing as much treats as they like from the 'treat corner'. There were lots of candies, sweets, chocolates and snacks. Nia was too occupied with eating (as she rarely gets to eat on her own) so Mummy had to help to fill up her treat pack. He-He-He.

All the kiddos came all dress-ed up. We had another witch in class, a fairy, a bumble bee, a pumpkin, a ballerina and a walking skeleton. He-He. All of them looked really cute in their costumes. Sadly, we didn't manage to get a class picture. Else, it would've been perfect. As the teachers dressed up as well.

I'm not too sure if Nia would have another chance to attend another Halloween Party next year, as we're not planning to continue her lessons at Tumble Tots come Jan onwards. Most likely we'll try to look for another play-school. Maybe Gymboree - have anyone tried this before - are they good? We'll see how it goes.

So "Happy Trick or Treating" everyone!

First Trial

Look at this little girl... In Mummy's Tudung....

Yesterday, as soon as I reached home after work....Nia dengan sangat la excited berlari2 ke pintu...nak sambut Mummy & Babah balik....I always love this moment of the day....Because you can see how much your child loves you...With her smile....her screams...hahah...and from her eyes pon tahu....haihhh....one of the joys of motherhood...anyways, as promised, malam tadi tested out my amateur-skills untuk face painting muka Hubby....I don't have any real face paint to play with...apart from the 5-sticks of glitter face crayons that I bought at Toys'r'Us previously....trying to make do and save some $$$, I planned to draw using 2-tubes of my liquid eye-liner....result? Ok la...Bcos the tip is quite pointy, so its very easy to use...

Some loose powder as the foundation, a bit of glitter eye-shadow, pink blusher, 2 tubes of liquid eye-liner, brushes, pencil eye liner, glitter face crayons

And we don't have any pink based paint....so, terpaksa la setempek sacrifice my Clinique Blusher...Haihhhh....all in the name of "ART"...aahahha....so the end result?...Jeng Jeng Jeng...

What do you think? Ok tak? hehehe....ok what for a first timer.....^_^....Credit goes to Hubby for allowing me to use his face a my canvas....kekeke...

Mahalnyeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

It's gonna be a WITCH....

Hehehe....we went to Ikano last night to look for Nia's Halloween costume....as mentioned in my previous entry, that I planned to go to Toys'r'Us to get the outfit....but a colleague of mine kat office ni ade mentioned that there's also another shop at LG Ikano which is also selling costumes...so we decided to just go and see what they have....rupanya, kedai yang dia mentioned tu, is the Balloon Party Shop....the one next to the BBQ shop (dekat stretch yg connect Ikano with IKEA)....so we went in and saw that they have a variety of collections....I was getting all excited, cos I noticed that they have the Minnie Mouse costume exactly the same as the one that I saw on the Internet tapi the website does not ship outside of US....dengan teruja nye tengok the price tag.....and my jaw went like this.....

My oh my....MYR420 for a Minnie Mouse costume?!!! apakah ini woiii?....so bloody expensive?....on the internet, the website in US is just selling it for USD$25....even if they were to ship to MY, I don't think the cost will reach MYR420?!!...sangat la mencekik darah ok....so, put that back on the rack.....next tgk Mermaid custome.....another whoooppping price tag....MYR380.....goshhhh....terus simpan balik and ajak hubby to get out of there.....its just too expensive...kalau takat nak pakai sekali je....harus la tak worth the money at all.....sorry Nia, you cannot get the Minnie Mouse outfit, b'cos Mummy and Babah is still slaving in Kerang to put food on our table everyday....if we are Royalties or some petroleum Sheikh family....then, that's a totally different story....^_^...

Makanya, pergi la kat Toys'r'Us....and we found a few selections of Halloween costumes...ade Doctor, Thomas the Train, Policeman, Mechanic, Pumpkin Baby, Dracula Cape, Skeleton Body Suit......and we decided on the Witch Costume since its the cutest one for kids and it even comes with a witch's hat and a tiny broom (which looks more like a feather duster rather than a broom...ehhe).....I also bought some glitter face crayons to do some face-painting for Nia nanti....now ni yang rasa a bit susah sikit...you see, I'm no good in arts....art class is my least favourite subject in school....why? because I'm not artsy, and I always get a "C"...ahaha....in simple words, I am definitely no where close to Picasso....so, painting Nia's face is gonna be one big challenge for me....

In preparation, I will need a lot of practice to get this done....so, pagi ni google-d for some picturs that I can use as reference and I managed to get these...

Kinda cute eyy....So, tonite I think I will need to start practicing on Hubby's face dulu...ahaha...baru la boleh buat on Nia....harap-harap menjadi la....as a back-up plan, I'm also searching for any shops that offers face-painting as one of their service....anyone has any idea where I can find a face-painter in the area of Kota Damansara?...Please do let me know.....till then, happy practicing to me....hehe...and yes, I will try to upload some pictures of my 'master-piece' with Mr Hubby nanti...