Aisha's aqiqah

I just realized I haven't blogged about Aisha's aqiqah!!!

It was a small event, celebrated together with Khaira's birthday. Only family members and colleagues on 18th October; Aisha was 2 months plus.

We had the marhaban group from our surau as usual and the foods were cooked by my friend's mom; which was yummy!

Afterwards, we shaved her botak just like Khaira.

She didn't  have much hair to begin with; so not much difference the before and after.

Khaira of course had a blast on her birthday. Received so many Frozen stuffs, we could open a shop, hehe.

Cake done by my SIL where Khaira requested for Barney. Which she changed her mind 2 days before the event; said she wanted Frozen cake which was too late 

Nonetheless, she was the happiest girl wearing Anna inspired dress from my dad. Now that she appreciates birthdays more, I am really considering of having clowns for her 4th birthday. In shaa Allah :)

Khaira's first day in kindy..

..had been hard for both of us.

When we left her that morning, she was alright. Didn't cry and quickly made friends.

When I picked her up, I remembered she was having her Asar prayer.What a beautiful sight. Afterwards, I called her name softly, she looked at me, ran and hugged me and said, "Ibu.." And cried horribly.

And the reality sunk in.

Long story short, Khaira had been hit by a part time teacher on the first day of school because she took out the numbers on the wall.

I don't feel like telling the whole detail, because it hurts. She was traumatized ever since. Her first time away from her family had been traumatized. My first time letting my baby go to a stranger's hand with good faith had been tarnished.

And it will never be the same again.

Berdosanya what I'm gonna say after this, but, selagi teacher yang pukul Khaira tak cakap sorry to me and Khaira, selagi tu, whatever she gained from that one day dia jaga Khaira from me, satu sen pun I tak berkatkan. Jadilah darah daging dia dengan duit yang I tak berkatkan tu. How could you.. If you ever read this, teacher, I could easily serang you with the CCTV's evidence, but, it's definitely not worth it. Violence is not how my daughter and I have been raised up with.

So, the drama goes on.. Up until today, she was traumatized of having left at her school.

I was on the verge of crying at any moment my little girl came to my mind; which was all the time.

I can only leave you with my doa and prayers, Allah swt is with you, my darling. Let's just hope we get over this phase with patience.

Letting go is the hardest thing, ya Allah. Grant me strength.

Seminar Kuasai Potensi Diri 2015 - A review

"Is it ok if I wear this shorts?" Love asked, pointing at his funky Dockers I bought not long ago.

"Ala.. pakai je, it's not an islamic talk pon," I replied casually.

...

"We're not gonna be separated, are we?" He asked as we were about to reach SACC.

"I don't think so," I replied.

...

As we walked to the hall, I knew I could not be any more wrong. Love was the only one with shorts (Sorry, Sayang!) Anddd.. the seats were separated between boys and girls.

"They're not gonna make us do lame things, are they? Hand clapping, saying stuff, no?" This time around I asked insecurely. He knows how much I hate those craps.

"I'm not in the mood to meet a new people or to make new friends," He replied. On very rare occasions, he would be like this. Most of the times, he make new friends like magic. "So, it's your call. It's ok if you want to leave."

I peeked inside with lightings like a night club and people wore lots of glitters, I almost ran away. Contemplating for about 15 mins, and I said, "let's give him a chance. An hour say, then we leave".

So we stayed. For 3 hours for a talk of 5 hours duration. You rate, how good he was to us. I would stay until the end.. IF I was seated next to Love, yeah we're clingy like that, I mean come on.. it was weekend, the kids were with mom, we deserved to be next to each other at least. Haha.

Anyhow, yes, he made us do lame things. But, both Love and I found a way to entertain ourselves, so we managed to go through that stage of hand clapping, anda-kaya-dan-berjaya by looking at the people who were doing it. Entertaining, I tell you.. Until now, I don't even understand the standing-up-on-their-chair-thingy and the dancing excitedly women. Had so much fun looking at them.

I was of course busy whatsapping with Love (clingy kann..) when DAO explained how the talk worked, so I was lost when people waved and said "hi" every now and then.

"Siapa nak jadi kaya dan berjaya?"

"Hi" and wave.

"Siapa nak bahagia?"

"Hi" and wave.

At that point, I was too scared to ask.

Right after the talk, Love said it was not "Hi" and wave. It was "I" and raised up your hand. Ok, that makes sense.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Put your phone down!

Jokes aside. Let's talk about the talk.

I'm especially interested in what he called as the wheel of life. And I'm gonna share just that in my post here. The rest.. lemme promote his talk at the end of my sharing here.

Basically DAO asked us to divide our 2015 planning into 6 categories:

1. Career
2. Financial
3. Family
4. Religion
5. Health
6. Emotional

Then, in a scale of 1 to 10, rate yourself, how satisfy are you with these criteria (during 2014); number 10 being the best. Let's play with me. This is how I rate myself:

1. Career: 8
2. Financial: 9
3. Family: 6
4. Faith/religion: 5
5. Health: 8
6. Emotional: 5

Next step, compare it with your partner and go likeee.. "Are you kidding me? Confident gileeee!!" (Love rated himself all 8 and above, cheh.) Or went like, "Are you serious, family 6? You spent more time with the girls kots. Emotional 5?" (Love thought I did better, so I took it as a compliment).

Ok kidding again. DAO did not ask to compare.. but come on.. who didn't???

Then, take the bottom three and list 5 things on how you plan to improve yourself on that criteria.

Insaff..

Some of the things I plan to do in 2015..
1. No phone 7.30 to 9.30 (family time)
2. Recite quran everyday
3. Dhuha everyday
4. Hypnotized myself.. so I calm as I reach home
5. More patient with the kids

The rest of the talks are on positive thinking, back to the higer power, the usual.. go if you're not familiar with this. Go if you're familiar cuz you need constant reminder.

My verdict: Go! This guy is doing a beautiful job here (free if you come in a group of 3) to help his own race. Stop giving excuses and don't wear shorts ok. Hehe.

P/S: Love made a friend there who offered him a job verbally. So much of not feeling like making a new friend.. Seriously, how did guys do this?

Year end review: 2014

2014 is finally over. Phewww.. What a harsh harsh year for us Malaysians. How the Almighty reminded us over and over again to look for Him. Subhanallah..

So.. my 2014 year review..

1. Alhamdulillah, my uni suddenly organized mengaji class, I joined for about half a year until qatam all the makhraj and tajweed. How Allah swt eases everything for you when your niat is towards goodness.

2. Managed to qatam (Nazar no. 3) before I gave birth, Alhamdulillah.

3. Went to KK which was super fun, the Rafflesia was a bonus for me.

4. Managed to Pru my dad, in shaa Allah soon, mom.

5. Managed to publish 5 papers and 3 journals.

6. Gave birth easily and safely to a super healthy baby girl, so thankful for this one.

7. My savings is SEE (Super exceed expectation), extra RM841 from targeted. I don't know how I achieved this, I know it's quite crazy to dream this big. But I always remember, Kun Fayakun, never under estimate Him. Reminder to self, nothing is crazy.

8. In shaa Allah, Professional Engineeringship, soon. When He knows when is best for me.

So, hello 2015. Assalamualaikum. I hope it's a better year for all of us.

More achievements, in shaa Allah :)

And dear Allah swt, I just wana say THANK YOU. Alhamdulillah.

Alhamdulillah for the wonderful year 2014. Alhamdulillah for everything.

Alhamdulillah.Alhamdulillah.Alhamdulillah.Alhamdulillah.Alhamdulillah.Alhamdulillah.Alhamdulillah.Alhamdulillah.Alhamdulillah.Alhamdulillah.Alhamdulillah.Alhamdulillah.Alhamdulillah.Alhamdulillah.Alhamdulillah.Alhamdulillah.Alhamdulillah.Alhamdulillah.Alhamdulillah.Alhamdulillah.Alhamdulillah.Alhamdulillah.Alhamdulillah.Alhamdulillah.Alhamdulillah.Alhamdulillah.Alhamdulillah.Alhamdulillah.Alhamdulillah.Alhamdulillah.Alhamdulillah.Alhamdulillah.Alhamdulillah.

Melahirkan Bayi Genius Akhir Zaman - A review

I'm done reading this in less than two weeks. Don't ask my verdict. I'm bias like that towards Puan Lina Karim.

Get the ebook here

The best RM56 I spent on (RM6 charged by pay pal; RM0 for printing sebab Love printkan, Tq Sayang!).

I especially love Chapter 7.

Some notes worth sharing:

1. Babies start hearing as early as they are 5 months in the womb. If we train them to listen to Quran, in shaa Allah, when they come to the world, they would be familiar with the Quran and at ease everytime they listen to it.

2. They have the sense of touch as early as week 8. Rubbing your tummy will generate a lot of oxytocin receptors. I discussed about oxytocin many times before in my blog. It is a happy hormone that will ease your birthing process and make your baby happier in the tummy (hence healthy and more adaptable because the baby feels loved). So, be happy especially when you are pregnant, unhappiness leads to the development of cortisol; a hormone that can cause brain damage as well as lowering down your baby's antibody.

3. The sense of taste develops during week 13 to 15. So, eat healthily. Dates help the babies to speak earlier later on. Don't forget the happy pills; Vitamin B (Acid Folic is one of them). I took Vit B with Acid Folic during my first trimester to ease up my morning sickness. Apparently, Puan Lina did mention morning sickness helps you clean yourselves internally when you are pregnant, a new insight :)

4. The sense of smell develops at week 11 to 15; they can smell the amniotic fluid which is similar to the smell of their mother; hence they recognize the mother the moment they were born.

6. At week 16 onwards, baby can start seeing and recognizing whether the outside of the tummy is dark or otherwise. After week 27, you can start stimulating them by using torch light directs to your tummy.

7. You can start a routine for your baby since in the tummy. Fix time to solat, sleep, eat and play so that it creates their muscle memory and they can hopefully continue with the sleep routine as they come out of the womb.

So many points I wish to share.. But I guess, it will never be the same; not comparable with Puan Lina's explanation.

My suggestion..

GO.BUY.THIS.BOOK.NOW.

For pregnant mommies who are reading this, happy birthing and enjoy your pregnancy because you're the chosen ones!!~

The magic of mothers and daughters - A review

2 years ago, during my birthday, I received this book from a new colleague and her boyfriend.

With PhD, then the aftermath, then books in queue (up to date, I would estimate I have 30 more books in queue and I'm still buying new ones, I really should stop buying, shouldn't I?), I only managed to read it recently.

I would rate this 2.5 over 5.

So disappointing.

I guess the biggest mistake is letting writers write these stories, they tried to make the stories too fancy, it lacks of soul. I would prefer to have normal people with interesting stories to share, it becomes more genuine.15% of the stories are just plain whining and selfish for me. A grandmother whining of having autism grandchild, sad. Parents who chased away their daughter and refused to take her back when she begged just because they were scared she would give bad influence towards the son, haunting. A woman, who thought it's best to choose her daughter over her dying mother, tragic.

"The best thing you can do is to serve your mother, then your mother, then your mother, and then you father, then your relatives."

What we learned in Islam.

"What you give up (to your parents), must be the same than what you give down (to your children)", a speaker once advised us.

I have nothing nice to say because these three stories I mentioned above haunt me throughout.

My story of having this book is, at least for me, more interesting.

Shortly after this colleague gave me the book, she broke up with his boyfriend, which was part of the reason I refused to read it. Kind of inappropriate, I was thinking.

But right when I started reading the book, they got back together and now they live happily ever after. The end.

13 years and counting

Love and I are always pysched about anniversaries.

21st November marked our 13 years anniversary. 13 years since he proposed to me as his girlfriend in front of the boy's toilet in our high school. I was just done with my Tae Kwan Do practice in my Tae Kwan Do's shirt that was stained with chemicals that I just accidentally burned in my chemistry lab. Bad day ended with memorable ones. How time flies..

I love you, baby!

As always, both of us took a leave on that Friday. Had breakfast at our fav. mamak (the only mamak I ate), Ad Dhuha (the owner is a Malay, btw; my colleague's hubby) together with K, dropped by at Little Caliph to pay her fees, back at home to feed the little ones while Love had his Friday prayer. Then, leaving the girls for our little date!

We watched Interstellar and oh my goodness!! Have you watched? Have you watched? What do you mean you haven't watched???? Go watch now! Totally worth my 3 hours and the dizziness due to the aftermath.

Then, we had our early dinner at TGI Fridays. New menu, everybodyyyy!! Loaded chip Nachos! Recommended by the waiter with the description, "Macam kerepek makan dengan cheese." Made us laughed, but actually that was exactly how it tasted like.

Pic in hubby's phone, so I stole this pic from google

Okay, the best part.. what did I give him for our anniversary?

Photobook, yo! A compilation of all our pics from 13 years back!!!

I bought the Photobook from Groupon. Made it at http://www.photobook.com.my/. The design and all can be done online. They even provide templates. The process is very simple. And you just submit the design and the pics online, the next day it arrives at your doorstep.

The best part is, Love loves it a lot!! Hehe.

The next day was his birthday, he had 3 celebrations this year. Amboi!

I made him a no bake Nutella Cheese Cake! While both Love and Aisha were asleep, I brought Khaira with me to buy the ingredients and before both of them were awake, the cake was almost done!

The crumbs on top were done by K

Not pretty, but really yummy. Both my brothers had 3 slices at once. I know Love would love to have 3 slices too, but he was on diet so.. *perasan mode on*

Seriously, it's easy to make and yummy (the yummiest no bake cheese cake I've done). I don't fancy baking. At all. But come on, this is a no bake cake and for my hubby's bday. Once a year ok lah kan.. because he's the only guy I'd bake for in this world (not lazy, ok, sweet! Haha!).

If you happen to follow my Instagram and Facebook, some of my friends asked me what happened with the parcel from UK.

Like I predicted, he didn't manage to find it. It was under the bed, he looked but couldn't find. Guys! Then I put it in my laptop bag next to his. Couldn't find as well. And finally I put it in the paper bag where he usually placed his baju-kotor-yang-can-still-pakai (guys!), mestilah tak jumpe jugak! So, he got his present on his birthday, lupe ambil gambar ok. Next time, in shaa Allah!

Anyhow, doakan kami bahagia until jannah!

For those interested with the no bake Nutella cheese cake; copied from Nigella's website.

Ingredients (*tak logik kan I ada penimbang or able to measure in gram segala ingredients ini, jadiku pakai hentam)

250 grams digestive biscuits (McVitie's besar = 400gm, so agak2 la separuh lebih sikit)
75 grams soft unsalted butter (1 bar setengah)
1 x 400 grams jar nutella (at room temperature)
100 grams chopped toasted hazelnuts (tak jumpa hazelnuts, so pakai digestive biscuit punye crumbs)
500 grams cream cheese (at room temperature) (1 pack Tatura besar)
60 grams icing sugar (sifted)

Method

1. Break the digestives into the bowl of a processor, add the butter and a 15ml tablespoon of Nutella, and blitz until it starts to clump. Add 25g/3 tablespoons of the hazelnuts and continue to pulse until you have a damp, sandy mixture.
2. Tip into a 23cm/9inch round springform and press into the base either using your hands or the back of a spoon. Place in the fridge to chill.
3. Beat the cream cheese and icing sugar until smooth and then add the remaining Nutella to the cream cheese mixture, and continue beating until combined.
4. Take the springform out of the fridge and carefully smooth the Nutella mixture over the base. Scatter the remaining chopped hazelnuts on top to cover and place the tin in the fridge for at least four hours or overnight. Serve straight from the fridge for best results.