The beginning of discipline

I believe it's time to start disciplining Little K.

Sounds harsh? Haha. Though many associate the word discipline with punishment, the meaning is actually teach (from Latin).

Nearing a year old, at times Khaira has her own tantrums. Sometimes even the smallest thing can make her angry, eg. when we're not alowing her to put something in her mouth. But I try to understand that what might seems very simple to me is a serious thing to Khaira. Nonetheless, there is no way I would let her shout at everything we're not allowing her to do.

Some of you might not agree of the thought of me disciplining my baby that early. Here are some reasons why I feel I should:

1) To instill a concept of right or wrong to her.
I believe if I start to tell her what's right or wrong in a later part of her life, she would become confused and asked, "Why is it ok for me to do that previously?" I am aware that she might be too small to fully grasp the concept, but big enough to slowly digest it.

2) To plant the seeds of self control.

3) To teach respect for the rights and feelings for others.
A baby is after all a baby, with the self-centered nature. But, to help her grow from a baby to a caring and sensitive child is our task.

4) To keep my sanity later on ;p

Everyone has different parenting styles. Nobody likes a tantrum baby/toddler that cry out loud in public. For me, I look up to two mommies when it comes to discipline, BFF Maria especially and Kak Iza :)

Sofea's first birthday :)

It was Sofea's birthday party last Sunday!

Sofea + BFF Maria

Potong cake :)

With Khaira :)

.. And the cul-de-sac crew!

So, October nanti Khaira's turn k?

Caramel pudding

I am.. oopss.. correction.. I was not so good with dessert before. But the lab I'm currently staying (I got a new lab yo!) are full with talented working supermums.

First, they insisted me to cook bubur pulut hitam, which was ok. Terkurang santan. Insya Allah, will try do it again very soon.

Then, last week I did this!! Caramel pudding, ok. Good enough for me, considering I just started with dessert. It took me like 20 minutes to get it done, simple recipe, yet very delicious!



Hiasan kena berguru lagi


Ok, recipe best kena share..

For caramel:
1/4 cup of sugar

For pudding:
3 eggs
1 can evaporated creamer (susu cair, bukan pekat manis ok!)
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoons vanilla essence to get rid of the unpleasent smell of eggs (but since I don't have this, I just memandai potong daun pandan kat luar rumah, hehe)

Ok, simple recipe..

For caramel, just melt the sugar in a pan. Stir until it becomes caramelized. Don't have to put any water, the sugar will caramelized nicely, it takes time.

Then pour the caramel in a container. Put at one side. Don't worry, it'll become hard like candy. It's ok. Don't get panic like me. Haha!

For the pudding, take the eggs, creamer, sugar and vanilla essence in a blender, blend it until smooth. Also take a while. Patience is the key.

Then, pour in the container filled with caramel just now. Steam for 20 mins.

Anddd... ready to serve. Sebenarnye kena masuk fridge dulu, but kalau tak sabar mcm saye, boleh je terus potong n mkn. Yummy!

Pasnih nak buat bread and butter pudding pulak, then maybe boleh buat red velvet, pastu rainbow cake. Pastu boleh buat cake utk birthday party Khaira Asyikin! Ohh!! Berangan!

Bantal busuk - do you think it's cute?

I am thankful for everything Khaira Asyikin turns up to be.

She's an easy happy baby, Alhamdulillah. Last Saturday, I brought her to a wedding, a stranger with a 7 months old daughter came to me and said, "You memang terror, how do you raise her to be such a little angel? Share tips and tricks please!"

Alhamdulillah, all praise be to Allah SWT. Alhamdulillah :)

And among many things I am thankful for, I'm thankful because she doesn't have any bantal busuk (or comfort object) to make her contented.

I know some of you might think it's cute.

But, I just finished my morning read, and this one is worth sharing. Do you know that bantal busuk or other comfort object is a sign that your baby is a little insecure?

When your bundle of joy realizes that you are not gonna be around for him/her all the time, he/she will become attached to a transitional comfort object (bantal busuk, stuffed animal, blanket, etc.)

As I am a working mother, I always hope Little Khaira understands what I have to go through everyday. And that she knows, regardless of the job that I have to attend to, I am always around whenever she needs me.

The love of my lfie ♥

I believe babies tell many things in their own way... longgg before they know how to speak. Even when Khaira was inside my tummy, she would rub the inside of my tummy with her little fingers whenever I was down. People would questioned on how do I know it's her fingers, I just try to connect with her every single time possible. Same as when she's growing up now.

I don't believe in sign languages. Because baby has their own languages that we need to understand. We have to understand them first before we start to make them understand us. So I take the cue from my baby.

First, to understand the meaning of the different type of cry. Then, to understand her facial expression. It tells a lot of thing. And now, the body languages and behaviours. I believe as a parent, we must always aware of the little changes in behaviour that our baby tries to show us.

Like one time, Khaira refused to sit in her car seat. We took it as a sign to change the car seat (it became too small for her) before she got used to sit with me and totally refused to sit in her car seat.

Another time, when she had the separation anxiety. We followed BFF Maria's advice by taking her out whenever possible to make her see new people, and hence, she's okay with strangers now.

Alhamdulillah.

Baby speaks to us in a different way that we need to master. Whether it's through reading or classes or observations, it's just worth to know :)

143, Khaira Asyikin!

Love doesn't work one way

I've been quite unhappy with work for the past couple of months.

You see, the place I'm working currently is also the place where I did my foundation, my undergrad, my master, my PhD, my first real job, everything lah in a way. And I've a very sentimental value towards this place.

I used to go to the office smiling.. :) Greeted by beautiful horses every morning, awww how I used to love this place.

But love doesn't work one way, and lately I feel like I'm the only one loving, so it breaks my heart; pieces by pieces, waiting to shatter.

Since I plan to retire early, I thought of retiring here, but now my future seems a little blur.

At the moment, in probably what seems like some attempts to make me happy, the company I'm working with try to compensate with this..

1)

2)

And several other things.

But seriously.. there's only one person that can make me stay..

And I'm waiting for him to come "home" hopefully very soon. They said "patah tumbuh hilang berganti."

But not in my case. I miss him, a lot.. still.

Muslimah hair salon, please!

I know it's not a good thing to do, but I'm just gonna do it anyway..

SIGHHHHHHH...

Ok. Done.

I love pampering myself. I save a little every month to pamper myself, whether for facial or body scrub or hair treatment or massage. (Ohh.. speaking of massage, I still have 6 free massage vouchers to be used as a present from Love for winning gold in ITEX yay!)

Anyway, since I've been trying to be a good Muslimah nowadays, I've to consider a lot of thing on my beauty regimes. You know, dealing with all that stated above means I've to open myself to strangers.

I've settled down with facial, body scrub and massage. If there's a thing a salesperson should know about me is that I'm a loyal customer. Once I've found a good place, I'd definitely stay. I've stayed with the same spa and salon since I started working, heck I've even married my high school sweetheart ;p That's how loyal I am.

So, for spa I'd always go to Seputeh Kapas, the most convenient place ever. Sometimes to Dermalogica because I always received  free vouchers since I've been using their products for years. So, there, settled.

But, I'm having trouble to find Muslimah hair salon, haish! I used to love the ones in Equinne, Headkandee, oh my so superb!



True definition of bliss :)


I googled and some suggested Hairven in Alamanda, hmmmmph.. not good enough for me since the hair stylists are mostly Chinese. Not that I'm being racist, but it's still aurat with them though they are Chinese lady. And not that I'm being too "alim", but I'm trying to improve myself as a Muslimah, you know in life we need to always aim for improvement. Baby steps, insya Allah..

Then, I found a hair stylist that I love in Bangi. She was a little slow, but she did my fringe the way I liked it, cut my hair the way I asked her to. Though the appointment was always full, but I was contented.. until yesterday she moved to a new place. Then, I'm back to square one. :(

I surveyed some other salons yesterday. Conclusion:
1) Most Muslimah hair salons are small and... hmmm.. a little dodgy. A little old and dirty. I like a big hair salon.
2) The price for hair treatment in these big hair salons are damn expensive. And they are using weird brands I've never heard of. Harga lebih kurang L'oreal.

Though the price for hair cut is half than what I've to pay in Headkandee.

So, if you are planning to start a Muslimah hair salon, a proper one, around Bangi or Seri Kembangan, please contact me. I might be your loyal customer ever!

Geek joke #3 - Capacitor