A tribute to friends

In life you need a good set of friends. Those you can count on and you can be yourself and won't judge. Those that will drop everything to rush to your side to make sure you're ok. Those that won't push you if you're not ready, will give you a tissue when you cry and when things are bad they will say "what do you need".

Yes... you have your family but you still need your friends.

And I am blessed to have a bunch of them.

You girls know who you are. Thanks.

:)

Alia and recycling

Asa is very into recycling. I'm not against it but it really bothers me when he hordes the stuff he wants to recycle in the room until it turns into a mountain of rubbish. Like seriously. Pack it and recycle it already.

Anyway, Asa wanted to instil this habit on Alia so he kept telling her to recycle things instead of telling her to throw things. And now...whenever I say she's not getting any new toys because she has so many already,  she happily, without much thought goes to her toy boxes, and say "I want to recycle my toys" and proceed to the recycle bin.

Alamak.

I want a dollar store... eh a RM1 store

Malaysia should have a RM1 store. But that will never happen because you can't buy anything with RM1. Although sometimes they do have a RM1 stall in front of Giant in KJ.

But still. They don't have the knicks knacks I'd like to find to do some DIY for the kids or anything that's mentioned in DIY blogs.

Of course we have Daiso - the RM5 shop. But still..RM1 would be nicer.

Urgh why is our ringgit so weak.

Alia and instructions

Was watching Azalia playing a game on the Ipad and diligently following the instruction.

Me: Alia, why when the game gives you an instruction you follow, but when I give you an instruction you don't

Alia: (smiling cheekily) Because game is more important.

ERKKKK..

Nampak sangat sengaja ignore mak dia.

Tips to bringing an active toddler and a baby to Universal Studio Singapore.

1. Bring a backpack to keep everyone's stuff in so that your hands are free to carry the baby whenever he's fussy

2. Bring 2 strollers. Yes, your 5 year old can walk and run but if you're spending the whole day there, chances are, she/he will be tired at the end of the day and will want a place to crash. If you don't mind a cranky toddler there's no need to bring one. USS does provide a stroller but it's not as comfy.

3. Baby wearing not recommended. Because you will want to take turns to go on rides and its just a hassle to take turns baby wearing. So keep the baby in the stroller. Plus you'll be on your feet most of the time and the weight can take its toll on your shoulders.

4. A mini fan for the stroller with new batteries. We got two fans because the toddler wants one and it kept her occupied on a really hot day. The mini fan kept the baby comfy in the stroller and he slept according to his usual schedule.

5. Comfortable slippers. Yes. Slippers. For everyone.

6. Bring water bottle. Drinks are not cheap but there're water dispensers outside of every restroom.

7. Ask about child swaps. Basically tell them you need to take turns taking care of the kids so they will give you a fast pass so you don't have to queue up again after your partner has been on the ride. We did this with the transformer ride because if I had to queue up again it would have been an extra 50 minutes.

8. Come before 10am, queue up at the entrance, and the moment you enter race to the transformer ride first to avoid long queues because this is the IT ride.

9. Bring ponchos. Because it can rain any time. And if you don't have a rain cover for the stroller, the poncho will do just fine.

Overall we had a blast at Universal Studio Singapore. Azalia's most memorable moment is when she walked out of the transformer's ride and proudly told me

"Mak, the blue and red robot said I was very brave Mak. I was very brave. "

Alolololololo.

Motherhood

Being a mother changes you. It turns your life upside down. You're basically responsible for another person's life. Another human being is solely dependant on you. Well at least for the first few years of their life.

My children brings me immense joy and agony. They bring the best and the worst out of me but I love them. God.. how much I love them.

"You think that true love is the only thing that can crush your heart....The thing that will take your life
and light it up...Or destroy it.Then you become a mother."

Meredith Grey, Grey's Anatomy

Siblings

Azalia has been asking for a sibling ever since she knew what a sibling was. Hence when Arfan was born, she dotes on him almost immediately and want him to be by her side every second of the day.

Now that Arfan is 5 months old, he has become more aware of his surroundings and you can see he looks forward to playing with his sister as well. Whenever Azalia would come into the room, his eyes would follow her, he laughs when she laughs and enjoys being tickled and playing peek a boo with her. sometimes when i carry him he would lean towards Azalia as if asking for her to carry him much to Azalia's delight. Of course since he now weighs half of her (yes my daughter is skinny..) she can't possibly carry him but sometimes i would let her hold him in the carrying position while i assist and you could see both siblings loved it.

Azalia loves him so much that she cried the first time Arfan was shaved bald. She didn't want anyone laughing at her brother and call him 'botak'. Apparently only she has the right to tease and make him cry. Azalia would also roll to his side of the bed every morning, sometimes putting her arms around him. Watching this every morning certainly melts my heart.

 Azalia is also very attentive whenever Arfan cries. She would take it upon herself to try and cheer him up. At first it was just calling out his name and say shh shh shh. Now she would clap the twinkle2 song and Arfan would stop crying and just stare at her.However Azalia can also be quite rough with him. She would come out with all sorts of ways to play with him. From the harmless tickling his tummy, to the heart-stopping jumping on the bed with him lying down between her legs. Yes the latter is so so terrifying that I screamed when I saw her doing it. Arfan on the other hand seems like he can take anything she throws at him. He seldom cries despite how rough she is but instead rewards her behaviour with a hearty giggle. So of course I look like the bad guy for scolding at them when they are having so much fun.

Regardless... I love watching them play. You could see Arfan happily observing Azalia when she's around. He looks more calm when his sister is around. I foresee both of them to be best of friends. Sibling rivalry is of course unavoidable but maybe because of their 5 year difference, Azalia would be be the sort of sister who would always always have her brother's back.

Food for the brain

For future reference

http://darwishndarwisya.blogspot.com/2010/02/berkongsi-resepi-makanan-untuk-minda_22.html

A repost: Why marriage

7 years next week :)

Why Marriage? Mari Nichols-Haining

Because to the depths of me, I long to love one person,
With all my heart, my soul, my mind, my body...

Because I need a forever friend to trust with the intimacies of me,
Who won't hold them against me,
Who loves me when I'm unlikable,
Who sees the small child in me, and
Who looks for the divine potential of me...

Because I need to cuddle in the warmth of the night
With someone who thanks God for me,
With someone I feel blessed to hold...

Because marriage means opportunity
To grow in love in friendship...

Because marriage is a discipline
To be added to a list of achievements...

Because marriages do not fail, people fail
When they enter into marriage
Expecting another to make them whole...

Because, knowing this,
I promise myself to take full responsibility
For my spiritual, mental and physical wholeness
I create me, I take half of the responsibility for my marriage
Together we create our marriage...

Works everytime

Hope I'm not jinxing this by blogging about it but Arfan would fall back to sleep everytime after playing with his little caterpillar friend.

Pass the hat - Activity to do with my 4 month old baby

This time around I've decided to subscribe to Babycenter.com for funsies. Just discovered they have age appropriate activity suggestions on a weekly basis. So I decided to try it with Arfan.

This week activity suggestion, since Arfan is 4 months : 4th week, is Pass the hat.

Pass the Hat

At this age, your baby is thrilled to be able to hold things in her hand. A game of pass the hat – or rather, grab the hat (or the nose) – will send her into smiles of surprised delight.

Appropriate for: 4 months to 1 year
Skills developed: Sense of cause and effect
What you'll need: A hat with a brim

With your baby on your lap facing you, place a hat on your head, then lean in close. Let your baby reach up to the hat and grab it off your head. She may even manage to put it back on your head (with a bit of help from you). You can switch to another brimmed hat, but don't do it too often, which can confuse your baby. When she's done playing with the hat, give her nose a gentle pinch, then wrinkle your own nose and lean as close as you can. Once she reaches for your nose, she may be surprised to find that she can't remove it!

source: babycenter.com

Instead of using a hat I decided to let him play with my spectacles instead. We had a good 10-15 minutes doing this as he looked in awe how he could take my specs of. Azalia joined in and put her hat on and let Arfan take it off.