The Welcome of a New Cap

A new cap. That was the reason for last night get together. Little that my friends knew about the reason of our little gathering. They were like assuming us to make the big announcement. Sorry babe! Not that one... most probably it's a no.

Anyway, back to the cap. Some might be aware of how dear HB encountered with "TuanPuteri" of Mount Ophir & sort of presented her with my cap. My lens cap. He lost it during his attempt to conquer the peak. I hate to lie but I was a bit furious. Grr...!

My lens was uncapped for 3 solid months. It was quite a hassle looking for the right size. I am to blame really. Was rather too lazy to go to Jln Pudu or even Pertama Complex. Thanks to my good buddy Iesa. Appreciate you getting the cap for me... ;-)

I, to be frank knew nothing about this arrangement made by HB & Iesa. Was aware of their phone discussion of which weekend HB was available. In fact, it was me who confirmed to HB that we were free last night.

After the phone call between the two, HB with his infamous grin relayed a new piece of info. "Iesa tanya Ruby whether it's OK to have a pot luck gathering at his place. If Ruby hesitates we'll have it at ours." There I was gaping to swallow the abrupt plan & he added more, "Lagipun nak bagi lens cap you tu.." Deep inside me I knew that I would have to play host. It was quite recently that Iesa/Ruby hosted a kenduri aqiqah.

Right after supper Thursday night, as expected I won. It was decided that we were to play host. As to make things easier for me, HB promised that I need not have to cook at all. He planned to buy satay. Still... I love hosting. I felt bad for not preparing anything homemade at all besides drinks. Offered to fry noodle or beehoon. But the idea was rejected by HB. Didn't want to tire me, said he. Hmmm... OK then!

It was quite relaxing. After lunch, we even spared the time to go to Nickelodeon Carnival in Cyberjaya. But it was too hot for the girls to enjoy the games. After the carnival, we headed to buy satay. Straight home after that & started getting things ready.These are some shots snapped at the carnival. Balqis was moody & chose not to participate. Nadeen was as usual left at home.

Wardah with her attempt hula-hooping

I'm sure Yasmin won't agree with me uploaded this shot of her skipping... ;-)

Yasmin & Wardah as Katara posing with other characters in The Legend of Aang.

Back to the house. Guests started to arrive just before 8pm. There were 7 families altogether, 8 including mine. Would never change anything in the world for good companies, great friends & superlicious foods. To all, thanks for coming. I promise, the next time around, I will make an appoint to cook something... hehehe. To Iesa, thanks for the trouble. To HB, thanks for troubling. Hahaha... ! Nah..! Glad that you decided to have an occasion for actually welcoming my new cap. ;-) Let's enjoy the photos!

One of the potluck dishes - Spinach Dip. Thanks Shake & Fiza.

The superlicios foods

Good Companies, Great Friends!

I found these boys outside shooting ball. Was wondering where my girls were?

Was looking for them inside the house, instead witnessed Shake cutting the bread of his Spinach Dip.

The girls & their friends with Uncle Shake.

My new lens cap!

Yasmin, Wardah & Taekwondo

I'm not sure whether you're aware or not. This blog of mine is not entirely about my life but unmistakably focusing more on my beautiful girls. Hey after all, ain't them my LIFE?

Did I ever tell you that Yasmin & Wardah were in Taekwondo? I think no. Well, they are. My utmost reason for enrolling them is the fact that they need to know at least one sort of self-defense besides screaming which they have a Master's in.

They started early. I registered Yasmin when she was 6. This is the history to it... The difference in age of Yasmin & Wardah is merely 1yr & 10mth. Then, Wardah was a chubby, plump toddler whereas Yasmin was & even still is scraggy & boney. Yasmin being a big sis always gave in to her little sis. Name it.. from toys to food, almost everything. And when things did not go her ways, Wardah would never hesitate to hit her sis. It happened not once, not twice but many many times. What do you think was Yasmin's self-defense? Yup! Screaming & crying for mama..

I did not have a helper then. Still remember me making countless climbs upstairs to either their playroom or their bedroom. (Hmm... no wonder then I was slim & fit!) In the end, I got tired of scolding Wardah, instead I scolded Yasmin & I, shamefully gave her this piece of advice. "Next time, if Wardah hits you... you hit her back!".

She obediently followed what I suggested. But..... I was speechless when I saw my Yasmin could not even aim to the object (which was Wardah..) she was to hit. Kept on missing her target. Not sure whether she did that purposely, but seriously... I was pissed. OK sue me! You won't believe what I did. I actually held Wardah for Yasmin to hit. Well, her hand did land onto Wardah's body but did Wardah scream or at least show some painful sensation? No! Not at all!. I then asked her to hit me instead. And as I thought... it was painless. I even asked Wardah to beat me (OK, I can't lie.. it was quite painful!) as like a demo for Yasmin. She made another attempt & still it was no difference. So, that was the history of how my eldest girl was sent for Taekwondo class. To expose her on martial arts, hoping it would help to defend herself over her own sister!! ;-)

Wardah followed suit when Yasmin obtained her yellow junior belt. By then Yasmin had improved. I'm not really sure was it really Yasmin was getting better in defending herself or was it Wardah finally stopped bullying her sister. Whichever was the consequence, I am very proud with what both Yasmin & Wardah have achieved in Taekwondo.

Quite recently they had their level grading. Yasmin from green senior (5th kup) to blue junior (4th kup). Wardah on the other hand, from yellow senior (7th kup) to green junior (6th kup). Enjoy the pictures that I snapped during the grading.

Master Moi Taekwondo team with their coach, Kim.

Wardah was the youngest in her group. Here are photos of her during the grading. Rather confident, don't you think? But, she was very nervous indeed... ;-)

Yasmin was very careful with her patterns. She even practised at home. I could see that she was determined.

Sparring

They passed. Well done girls! Each of them with a new colour on their waists.

My sweet '16' mom

My mom turns 61 today. Happy Birthday Ma... Alhamdulillah for your good health & InsyaAllah, is bestowed with great happiness & even better health for the years to come... Amin.

I am very grateful for the bond I have with my mom. Not everyone is granted with such closeness. We can get along very well except in the kitchen I think... Both of us prefer to have the kitchen only to oneself. After all isn't it 'Too many cooks spoil the soup' ? ;-)

In fact, she is closed to both her girls, my sis & I. Since she is not really a savvy mom, we rely so much on the phones. Thanks to TM for introducing the convenient package. My daily calls to my mom are free, unlimited (of course I still need to pay a flat rate of RM68... monthly). I don't work, she has retired. Two homemakers catching up almost daily whereabouts (ok, can't lie! latest gossips too..) with each other. The thing is, I enjoy it. Some might not agree with me. But my mom is unique in her own way. She doesn't get involved with my marriage & family. Not possessive & always reminding me to discuss matters with HB first whenever we make plans for something. She never decides for us. Never! According to her, once we're married, we're on our own. She is a phone call away if we ever need a favour. I hope I'm capable enough not to be nosy with the girls when they have their own family! :-D

It is a routine for her & my dad to come over for lunch every Wednesday. Also the day I can take time off ferrying the girls around. They will fetch Yasmin & Balqis from school & send off Wardah. Definitely, the girls always look forward for Wednesdays.

Since today is Wednesday, she came over for lunch. We presented her a homemade birthday card & also her gift. I did not bake a cake this time. She is now rather concerned over her sugar level.

OK, I just have to add this here. At first, I got her a blouse. Of course, I did not try it out when I bought. It was meant for her, so I simply guessed the size. At home, I of course just had to give it a try & guess what? I could fit in!!! Hey! I thought the blouse was big for me which definitely could fit my mom... but it fits me instead. Now, if I manage to wear the gift that I bought for her, it implies that:
A- I am pleasingly plump.
B- My mom is attractively petite.
C- We are both moms & now we share the same size?

Hahaha... Ma, once again Happy Birthday! We love you...!

Happy Father's Day!

Wishing all fathers & fathers-to-be a "Happy Father's Day!". I smsed both my dad & FIL early this morning. HB? Well, he left the house at 0730... for work. Working even on the day to appreciate him as a dad.

The girls woke up but didn't complain much about HB already on his way to work. They had been informed last night. Normally, they would fuss over breakfast in bed. A tradition on Mother's & Father's Day. It's their way to remind us that it is the day we are to relax & let them worry about breakfast. How sweet.. don't you think?

Knowing that HB would be home in the afternoon, I planned something for the girls to surprise their papa. I baked a cake right after he left. I thought of letting the girls had fun decorating a Father's Day cake...

They sure did have fun. I ran out of butter & was too lazy to drive out. An instant fondant icing packet was our savior. We decided to make an aeroplane cake. In the end, we presented HB with according to the girls, a clown aeroplane cake... hahaha! As Yasmin put it, "A train, a truck & an aeroplane..". It did look look like Thomas though. You know that blue train...

The girls & their cake

Yasmin still insisted to make some jelly for HB. Ever since she started learning making jelly (blogged about it here), HB bought her a packet of instant mix jelly which had been hibernating somewhere in the shelf. She knew about it & prepared that especially for HB.

It is a norm for HB to ring me up when he was approaching home. And he did today at 3pm & upon hearing papa was coming home, the girls scattered looking for a hiding place. The funny thing was all of them hid behind the same curtain. I was supposed to give the cue (little did I know what was going to happen) & once I did, the girls one by one from Yasmin to Balqis emerged shouting "Happy", "Father's", "Day". Nadeen was upstairs napping. They then presented HB with the cake. HB was surprised I could see. The girls all of them simultaneously started telling him how they went about decorating the cake. He took a slice of the cake & asked "Where's the tail?" Do aeroplanes have tails? Hahaha..! Sorry for not notocing. To us the important part of a plane must be the wings... hehehe!

After a slice of cake & a big scoop of Yasmin's jelly, HB surrendered in bed. He sort of promised the girls that if he had ample sleep, he would take them out for a movie. That's one thing about this man I married. Always putting his girls first. I told him the other day to take the girls for a jog or do a little hiking. Those are the things that he loves to do. So, thought of spending the time together his way. Instead, he suggested to take them out to watch "Kungfu Panda".

Exactly at 5pm, Wardah either woke HB up or he happened to be awake, asked her papa whether he was still tired. She was too eager to catch the movie. I was downstairs feeding Nadeen when Wardah annouced "We are going out now... papa suruh get ready!" I checked on him. He confessed that he was still a little bit tired but how could he say No to the request. Now I remember why I married him! ;-)

The show was at 1745. We managed to get there 10 mins before. Unfortunately, tickets were all sold out including at 7pm. Wow! We have to come again another time & this movie better be good!! Grabbed some books instead. I am now have picked up reading again. Will blog about this soon.

The girls asked HB to choose a place to eat. Of course, instead of him choosing, he let them tell him what they preferred to eat. They somehow bumped into this girl in red hair promoting Wendy's. But before we reached Wendy's, Yasmin saw her favourite Kenny Rogers. End of search. We did enjoy today...

Happy Father's Day!

We did it again Balqis...

I don't know about you but I am one of those mothers who is very finical about schools the children go to. When Yasmin was starting Year 1, I took the trouble to register her in a smart school so far away from home. Having doubts over the distance also knowing that Yasmin would be the pioneer batch, I shifted the registration to another school, which according to friends was a good school based from its UPSR results. To make it short, I somehow failed to enroll Yasmin in that school. Instead, her name was listed in the school near my house. Then, the school was new & was without a principal for quite some time. Now it has improved a lot with many experienced teachers posted there... Alhamdulillah.

Seriously, it is not that easy to be that selective over government schools. It is not like private schools whereby you have the honour to choose whichever suits your needs. As long as you have the $$$ anywhere can be arranged. So am grateful with the school Yasmin & Wardah go to. They just need the extra attention from me, time to time.

Balqis is a different story. For those who are frequent here, might remember that Balqis at her tender age of 3 has gone to not 1 but 2 different kindergartens. And today, still at 3 years old, she enrolled to another kindergarten! Why? I know... let me explain. No! We didn't move. Still the same old house in Puchong.

When Balqis started kindy, she was barely 3. Very limited kindergarten offered playschool in my area. Hence, had to travel a little bit further out of my area for her playschool. Early this year, she continued in the kindy for nursery class.

Now is the second term. I have to admit, it is tiring sending & fetching these girls from school. My daily schedule is full. Then last week, the government announced the new rate for fuel. RM2.70 per litre. 78sen increased. That's a lot. It was only Balqis's kindy which was out of the way.

Having discussed with HB, we decided to shift Balqis back to our area. I beforehand of course had surveyed 1 particular kindergarten & very happy with what it yet to offer my 3rd girl. I asked Balqis whether it was OK for her to change school. Surprisingly, she was not sad with that idea but looked curious. Wanting to know more about the new kindergarten. I took her to the kindy later in the afternoon & she was all smiling. So, today was her first day of school in her 3rd kindergarten... hahaha!

Balqis with her playschool teacher, Amy & nursey teacher, Doreen & her friend Yin Yin in her former kindergarten.

This morning she was all excited about the new kindergarten. We sent her off & she kissed us both & simply waved goodbye. As if it was her not her first day there. I had sort of predicted that (Balqis is the most independent of all my girls) & hoping that tomorrow things would still be the same.

Ready to go

Balqis waving at us

Her new teacher helping her out

Her classmates

After school she still had that smile. That was good news. According to her teacher, she adapted so well. We'll see tomorrow...

Taipei - The Journey Back Home

Our flight to KL was at 0800 local time. Taipei even though is like 3000km away, shares the same time with KL. Obviously, we had to be at the airport as early as 0700. In my previous post about our journey to Taipei, I mentioned about the hotel was far from the airport. Hence, at 0605, we departed in the hotel shuttle ( a double-decker this time & the girls were again so thrilled!) to the airport. Any idea what time we had to wake them up? Yes... 5 am in the morning!

It was rather fun though. Seriously! Having to handle our children, OURSELVES! Waking them up one by one. The eldest first, the youngest last. Watching HB made a fuss over them. Prepared milk for Balqis & Milo for Yasmin, Wardah & yours truly. He is a great dad... After all a Cancerian!

Wardah & Balqis couldn't hide their excitement. They chose the very front seats of the double-decker.

At Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, formerly known as Chiang Kai-shek International Airport.

The girls with the cabin crew & Second Officer of MH 69

Waiting in line for the Immigration

At the waiting room. To kill time, these girls' mama loved to play with her toy.

The journey back home was not difficult for me. Maybe I was feeling like a Pro, handling all 4 girls in the cabin ;-) The flight from Taipei to KL was rather relaxed for the crew. One of them even volunteered to have a look at Nadeen as for me to take my breakfast. That was so very thoughtful of her. Of course I needed breakfast... I was breastfeeding. The girls of course enjoyed their bread so much & since it was breakfast, they were served their favourite - croissants.

We reached Kota Kinabalu after 11am. This time around, we chose to check out the new KK International Airport. The last time I was in KK was when Wardah was a baby like Nadeen. Nothing much to explore really. HB treated the girls ice cream & they admired things at a souvenir shop.

The girls never missed the chance whenever offered to go to the cockpit.

After departed, I could sense that Balqis was not in a good mood. I understood her whining so well. She was sleepy & tired too. I had no choice but to handle both Balqis next to me & Nadeen, on my lap. Alhamdulillah... she was served noodle for lunch. Not simply noodle but the yellow noodle which she loved. Chinese style cooking with soy sauce & tofu. She finished up her lunch in record time & once done she dozed off... With Balqis asleep, I managed to rest. Nadeen was easier to handle of course. Remember? I am her human baby bottle plus pacifier! Hehehe...

Some of the pictures shot. Erghhh... I have no idea where. If not mistaken in KK.

Finally, our Taipei escapade came to an end. Who would have thought that I could manage all of my 4 girls alone in the plane? HB, obviously... because he got us the tickets, didn't he?. Thanks, for having the faith in your wife ;-) I do not mind at all doing it again. Their excited laughters, their curious expressions & their non-stops tales about the journey... those are all priceless!

I learned that Yasmin & Wardah are mataured enough to handle situations when needed. Responsible in helping me to take care of the younger ones. Yasmin was always tailing after Balqis who was once lost in Dubai!(I blogged about this). Wardah on the other hand, never failed to entertain Nadeen & making sure she was in happy moods. I was totally wrong about my girls. They are indeed ready for responsibilities. It was merely a matter of time...

The end.