CNY Break

Gong Xi Fa Chai to my readers. I am in Klang at my PILs'. HB surprisingly is on leave on this festive season. Something very rare ;-)

I kind of looking forward spending the night here. No I mean it! My in-laws are pretty cool. Really! Imagine me at this moment writing this down in front of the TV watching Oprah whilst my MIL is in the kitchen preparing something for tea. She, like me prefers the kitchen to herself when she cooks. Sri does the cleaning only after she is done in the kitchen :-)

HB & Nadeeen are napping. The other girls are with their grandfather playing some games. What else shall I do? Good thing I brought along this NB. At least it gets me occupied.

Frankly I feel restless. Believe it or not I wish I have my sewing machine with me so that I can finish up my tudung orders. My... have I turned to a workaholic or what?

I love what I do now. Took me almost 8 years to discover this. At least I found it! To my readers who are still wondering on what to do.. don't lose hope. I have tried almost everything & only recently landed on this passion.

My SIL came over on Friday to collect some tudungs her MIL & SIL ordered. Since I plan to spend the break in Klang, the girls tagged their aunt to Klang. Not Nadeen though... She stayed with me.

I joined them yesterday after HB came back home from work. The minute I stepped out of the car I was reported that Balqis tripped while attempting to catch some chicks. She has quite a prominent cut on the chin. Cried her heart out of course but my MIL managed to coax to sleep. When I reached her, she just woke up but was all smiling. The fall forgotten :-)



I found Wardah making origami planes. Her attempts failed & needed papa for assistance... Yasmin was no where to be seen. She was at my aunt's house next door petting some fish. It was close to 7pm & none took their shower yet! Enjoying their break definitely...

Ohwww.... the aroma of Pisang Goreng disturbs my intention to write more. Yeah...! I'm a terrible DIL. I really treat myself as a guest here. ;-)

I'm A Working Mom

Yes, this space has long been untouched. I realise some of my dear friends in the blogsphere have been curious about me & I decide to update.

I have been a full time mom for close to 8 years. I quit my job long ago when Wardah was 22 months. Managing our own new house & the girls (then was only Yasmin & Wardah) was pure satisfaction. Anyhow when I conceived Balqis, we decided to employ a help. She helped with the housework but the girls were still attached to me.

When the girls one by one started schooling, I in a way was looking for something to do. But in the end of the day, I preferred to be with my girls more than anything. Furthermore, HB is not so keen of me working out. He prefers me home with him whenever he's off duty. So, I continued supervising my family & I got occupied with the girls' school work & other extra classes I enrolled for them. You name it... they have almost tried everything!

This homepage is the time I spent for myself & of course all the books I own... :-) By chance, HB bought me a sewing machine plus an over lock machine last year. Well, it was not that he surprised me with them but I was the one who wanted to try my skill in sewing. Really have to thank HB for the faith he had in me. The day I purchased those machines was also the day I bought this book called " Seni JahitanPakaian Kanak- Kanak". Yes, I did not know a thing about sewing!

Since I have the leisure time at home, I managed to learn the tutorial online. So basically, when I bought those machines they remained untouched since I was most of the time with my NB googling for sewing sites :-)

My mom was there to assist me. She knows how to sew baju kurungs & it was from her I practised on my theory I gathered from the Net. My first piece was Wardah's baju kurung. You may read it here. I started to explore on bags, dresses but when it came to tudungs I got hooked. Now I have started my online shop selling tudungs & my hands are full.

As Yasmin & Wardah put it, I am now a working mom. Not that they were complaining but I sensed pride in their words. Balqis too understands her mom's new passion & wouldn't mind sharing the table with me doing her work. Nadeen is a different story. She , I can see doesn't like sharing me. Enough that she has 3 sisters to compete with but now a machine? So, I have to stop my sewing when I'm needed by the little boss.

Sad to say, ever since I wean her off breast milk, she is very much attached to Sri, my maid. She still doesn't agree to the idea of me feeding her with formula. Only Sri can do that! On top of that Sri is excellent with children... She can manage all my girls at ease.

Now, I understand whenever my friends long for the weekend to spend time with their children. Even though I work at home, my time is no longer spent with them all the time. Yes, they grow right in front of my eyes but it is not the same anymore.

I asked the elder girls the other day... Do they prefer me then or now that I have other commitment besides them. Their response was the latter. I'm not surprised though. My sewing time is done when they are in school & at night I still assist them with homework together.

My guilt is towards Nadeen. Worse that now she refuses to sleep with me but chooses her sisters! No, Sri sleeps in her own room. But at night she attends to Nadeen when she wants milk... I don't know how things will be when Sri returns home next month. Yes, this is her final month with us & I pray that the one replacing her is as good as her.

HB now is most of the time home. But whenever he is away, I will make Balqis sleep with me so that Nadeen will come along. I miss her. Could it be a post-nursing syndrome? Is there such thing?

Day 3 - HKDL

Wow... It sure has been a while. I've been busy with my tudungs. For those who missed the post, my online shop is now welcoming customers. Do visit my shop at A Rendezvous With jabishah's Needle & Thread ;-) And if you are a fan of stone jeweleries you might want to hop at my cousin's shop here.

Well, I only realised that I have not completed my recent HK trip journal. OK, here's the final one. Still in DL as we did not manage to complete the whole park in a day. The crowd made it impossible for us. What more with 3 children & a toddler on tow.

A pose at the hotel we checked in.

A family portrait

Now day 2. It rained again that morning. Not as bad as the day before though... This time around we packed some food in the bag. Sliced cheese & biscuits.

We passed the inspection & posed with a staff there ;-)

The crowd on day 2 was surprisingly small. Not that we were earlier. The day before was a weekday as well as our 2nd day. Anyhow HB informed that Adventureland would close early at 4pm. Guess most travel agents were aware of that which explained the fewer number of visitors.

Us at Mainstreet, USA.

We were fortunate to bump into 2 characters that early morning - Chip & Dale

I did my homework the night before. Based from the brochures given, I planned for the itinerary on the 2nd day. Right after we parted from those squirrels, I instructed the gang to head for the castle. And there they were... the 3 princesses waiting to greet us.

Nadeen & Princess Aurora. She was not scared at all & was admiring the princess. After all she was human ;-)

Little chat with Cinderella whilst Snow White signed the Autograph book.

My princesses with the princesses

We missed Belle who was really opposite us. Told the girls that she would be back in half & hour time. For the mean time we headed to the Adventureland. But before that Nadeen found this souvenir shop & insisted a shot.

Nadeen & her fav bear. Check out the pose ;-)

We hurriedly queue for the River Cruise Adventure. This attracted so many visitors the day before. We were early & didn't have to wait for long...

And this was Nadeen in her elephant pose as her sisters imitated ;-)

I was aware of the time alright & off we went back to the castle to meet Belle.

My girls & Belle

Another photo session with a character noted in my piece of paper was at Tomorrowland. Only Buzz Lighyear was available...

Poses at some of the attraction at Tomorrowland.

This was the roller coaster which Balqis braved herself the night before. Nadeen & I stayed behind.

We were still early for the Lion King Festival which explains these photos ;-)

These jugglers attracted the girls

It was really their day when they met Alice at Mad Hatters Tea Cups.

Now, here's my favourite show in DL. It was totally awesome. No surprise since The Lion King has always been the best Disney movie for me. I watched it 4 times at the cinema!

The girls were not as fascinated as I was though. Perhaps they were not familiar with the story line. Can't blame them for the movie is even older than Yasmin! That was the final in Adventureland for us. Before we left here is a pose...

As jotted in my note, we had completed HKDL. It was still early & we chilled out at a park right in front of the castle. HB chose to play with my Canon & the girls volunteered as models.

The castle again

I was told of a new character would be waiting at Fantasy Gardens. Most of the characters mentioned we had the chance to meet the day before. Hence I herded the troop back to Fantasyland.

Fantasy Gardens was very near to Cinderella Carrousel & upon seeing those horses, Nadeen pointed out for the ride. We didn't hesitate at all. The queue was very comfortable to wait for.

The little boss

This time around all of us got onto the caroussel. Nadeen was of course supervised by papa... & mama?

Mama chose to join the fun ;-)

After the carrousel, how could we hide the Dumbo ride which was opposite the carrousel from the little boss? So off we flew with Dumbo again. But not in the rain this time like the day before :-)

Nadeen's love affair with an elephant continued... (the ride was in the background)

At Fantasy Gardens we met the same characters like before. Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Winnie the Pooh. But this time we found Mulan.

My girls with Mulan

At DL Nadeen not only attracted the characters & staff but also other visitors. She was playing with the bubble when than auntie came & approached :-)

We did The Adventure of Winnie the Pooh again & another round in the tea cups :-)

HB & Nadeen skipped the tour at "It's A Small World" the day before. So we made another round for it. The girls wanted ice-cream. I bought only 2 for them to share. It was drizzling with moderate temperature & ice-cream by right would be a no no. But I guessed 2 cones shared amongst 4 wouldn't do that much harm ;-)

Nadeen & her ice-cream she shared with Yasmin.

Now, this was what happened when she didn't get the first lick of the ice-cream she shared with Wardah... Fhening! Fhening!

It was almost time to leave. The girls anyhow took some more photos at the Tomorrowland.

Future astronauts?

At Main Street we bumped into this Elf.

We had earlier checked out before we left the hotel. But our luggage was left behind. HB took the shuttle back to the hotel & we were to meet up with him at the MTR Station, a walking distance from DL.

We discovered an art & animation academy before right next to the exit. Since the queue was bearable, we gave that a try....

Inside, the girls were given a step to step guides on how to draw a character. In their session, it was Winnie the Pooh.

You have to be more imaginative to see the bear.. ;-)

Now the girls with their art work. Notice Balqis's sour face? Well... the ice-cream episode was over. This time was Wardah's doing again, who else? She laughed at Balqis for signing off her name as "Eric" (the staff who assisted them with the animation). Balqis not only followed his step by step drawing but also his signature ;-)

They did pretty good, didn't they?

Here is an artist who was obsessed with her own piece. Hehehe...

We then made a move to the Mtr Station. Farewell Mickey!

From far the girls saw HB seated with all our luggage & they ran to get him just to show their drawing. If they are good in art it is definitely their paternal blood. I am just lousy at drawing. So, their papa appreciates their piece art than mama :-)

Wardah continued pestering Balqis with the signature thing & even called Balqis Ms Eric :-)

Tickets bought but we were a little bit early for the MTR. I gave some slices of cheese for them to snack on.

Whilst they were enjoying their cheese, came this lady with her friend. In Chinese (which I was not sure which dialect) she asked for my permission to shoot a photo with Nadeen. That was what I assumed because she was only speaking in the same dialect.

In the MTR back to the airport hotel.

The trip back to the hotel was quite tiring. We changed to at least 3 different trains... and check out Wardah there. Kesian anak mama....

We checked in at the same airport hotel & flew back to KL on the morning flight. Tickets for a later flight were fully booked so I had to sacrifice my shopping. What mattered most was the fun my girls had at DL...

For those who plan to go to HKDL, I suggest that you do that when your children are still small. They will enjoy the many characters. I met 18 of them! I doubt teenagers will enjoy it much. Most of the attractions cater for younger kids. Balqis at 5 got in all rides... even the roller coaster! Perhaps when my girls are all grown up we will venture a bigger DL & I hope their parents are still fit for the rides ;-)

The End