BEKAL KE SEKOLAH

Dari the girls sekolah rendah lagi, memang diorang bawak bekal ke sekolah. Mula mula tu bawakkan bekal sebab takut diorang tak pandai nak membeli kat kantin. But later, they want bekal sebab malas nak beratur or berebut membeli kat kantin sekolah.

I remembered when they were in standard 5 or 6, they were among a few kids yang masih bawak bekal but they like it that way.

Their bekal ranges from nuggets, mee goreng or just simple roti bakar sapu butter and kaya and air masak.

Now, Ms M school hours are from 7.40 to at least 3.00pm. Kalau ada CCA or ECA, it will stretch to 4 or 5pm. And she still nak bawak bekal.

Mula mula tu I just bekalkan snacks like biscuits untuk the 10 am break. Lunch dia beli kat kantin. Tapi now she prefers to bring bekal for lunch too. Especially now tengah injured kaki ni, dengan crutches and all, lagi lah malas dia nak ke kantin. Memang dia mintak bawak bekal.

These are some of Ms M's lunch and snack boxes.

 

 

Kadang kadang kalau mummy nya rajin, meriah la bekalnya. Kalau mummy nya ala ala nak bukak mata pagi pagi pun payah, simple one saja la.....

 



 

Cerita December 2015. Welcome 2016.

Sekejap saja rasa and school holiday is over. Here comes 2016.

December had been a busy month for me at work. My regional head came from Hong Kong for a visit cum audit in early December. A really stressssssssssful 3 days. On the first day of his visit, tengah tengah sibuk tu, Ms M called from school. She boarded a wrong school bus and dalam kelam kabut nak turun tu, bag dia tersangkut and she fell.... on top of another student!!! She called and said her ankle hurt so much and she cannot walk. I was on my way back from a distributor warehouse in Shah Alam with my boss and I supposed to send him back to One World Hotel in Bandar Utama. Maka nya.... detour pergi sekolah Ms M dulu ambik dia, then baru hantar my boss to the hotel.

 

Lepas tu pergi klinik, x ray and no fracture. Alhamdulilah... just balut kaki tu dengan bandage and doctor suruh rehat saja.

 

But after a week, a blue back bruises started to appear. Pergi klinik balik and the doctor said it takes time to heal. En. ID cakap masuk angin tu sebab tak urut.

 

After 2 weeks, the bruises subsided but the ankle still bengkak. Eh... tak boleh jadi ni. Pergi lagi sekali klinik and this time the doctor referred her to the orthopaedic.

 

Jumpa orthopaedic, he suspected 2nd grade ligament tear. Mungkin 50% tear but to be sure, kena buat MRI.

 

MRI result showed 2 ligaments completely torn. 3 partially torn. Its quite bad actually and I felt guilty as we took it lightly and only went to see the orthopaedic after 2 weeks it happened.

 

But since we're going to Bangkok that weekend, the doctor prescribed an ankle brace and she has to use crutches to support her movement. No splint sebab berat and susah nak move about nanti. He will review the healing progress and hopefully no surgical intervention required.

 

But that's my Fluff. Happy as usual. Asik kena remind her not run, to walk slowly, jangan lompat lompat. Memang tak boleh duduk diam budak sorang tu.

 

So since all has been arranged, we went ahead with the Bangkok trip, crutches and all. But we had a good support from the airlines in arranging wheelchair at the airport here and Bangkok. Dapat lalu special lane all the way and ahamdulillah, all went well during the journey.

 

Now, its been 3 weeks since the physiotherapy started. Last week we went for follow up and the doctor said not much progress but will review again in 2 weeks time.

 

So, itu kisah Ms M.

 

Travel wise, I did not travel anywhere for work this month. We went to Cameron Highland for a short vacation in late November and it was superb!!!! We really enjoyed CH. The last time we went to CH was like 10 years ago!!!

 

Then we went back to Batu Pahat in mid December. Jalan jalan cari makan as usual.

 

And we went to Bangkok a week after that.

 

Ms A enjoyed her holiday to the max. Makan tido, makan tido saja. Baru last weekend nak tengok homework and prep for back to school.

 

Life is still good without bibik. We got the hang of it already I guess.

We welcome 2016 with old resolutions... ahaks...!!!! Nak kurus... nak kurus... nak kurus....

2016 - Ms A will take her SPM.
2016 - Ms M will have her checkpoint exam

We hope 2016 will be as good if not better as 2015. Insya Allah.

Here some pictures from our holiday.

 Jari mot mot in Boh Plantation

 Gaya macam pergi overseas tau!

 

Succulent strawberries

 

 All thing strawberries....

 

 

 The day she fell off the school bus

 

 Nasi bariani gam kambing Batu Pahat

 Mee hailam favourite @ Jengkuan Batu Pahat

 

 Nasi lemak ikan kerapu @ Sri Gading, Batu Pahat.

 

 

 Mee bandung Muor

 Breakfast asam pedas kat Batu Pahat

 Off to Bangkok. Crutches and all.

Food.... glorious food.

 Starwars exhibition @ Siam Paragon

 

 

 Chao Phraya River Cruise

 Usman Halal Restaurant

 Tak reti penat budak dua orang ni tau!

 Coconut and thai milk tea ice cream. Happiness in a tempurung.

 Ms M

 Ms A

 

 

 

AFTER ONE MONTH...............

Dah sebulan Bibik balik. How are we coping? So far ok. Buktinya... berat badan makin naik, bukan makin turun sebab kena buat kerja rumah! hahahahaha............

To avoid stress due to change in lifestyle, buat apa yang mampu saja. The house may not as clean as before but what the heck. We are happy anyway.

We have cleaning lady coming every Saturday to clean the house.
Baju yang nak kena iron hantar laundry semua.

We eat out most of the time for dinner. But I cook in the morning for the girls lunch and Ms M requested for a bento box for her lunch. Masa tak de bibik ni lah dia nak bento box. But mummy is more than happy to prepare her lunch box.

Overall, we are happy with the arrangement now. We may stay bibik-less if everything goes well.

But I really really need a holiday. Please.....

 

BYE BYE BIBIK

My maid of 10 years is going back for good next week. Life will be different definitely. And since we plan not to hire a new maid anymore, we have started making some changes starting a few month back to anticipate our maid less life.

 

I think we will be ok without a maid. There are a lot of working women out there who can manage without a maid. But may be because we've been having maid since Ms A was born, some 16 years ago, the thought of not having someone to help you with the housewhole chores is quite nerve wrecking hahahahaha.....

 

The thing is, not only me but also En ID has concerned about life without maid. Can we cope? YES we can. Hopefully......

 

In anticipation of a maid less life, we have:

1. Move Ms M to a private school. Because in her previous school, she has to go to school in the morning for co curriculum, then come back at 10am, then go again at 12.30pm for classes. With no one at home, we are worried to leave her alone at home and to manage all by herself. So we move her to a private school where she will be at school from 7.30am to 5pm. (Yes... Ms M is 13 but I'm an over protective mum yang sentiasa over worried about so many thing.....)

2. Built a patio and fenced up the backyard. Senang nak sidai baju tak kena hujan. And the fence is to prevent our cats from wondering outside or outside cats to come in and pop at the lawn.

3. Buy easy to use kitchen gadget macam airfyer, noxxa cooker. Minimize kerja kerja nak membersihkan dapur lepas masak.

 

Frankly, after reading a few blogs of working mums with no maid, I feel more confident. I don't think it would be that difficult. Its just 3 of us at home. Ramai orang lain yang anak masih kecik and ramai pun boleh cope. Siap boleh masak or ambik tempahan baking lagi. May be it would be difficult for a start but life will be ok after a while.

 

To my bibik, thank you so much for your 10 years with us. You'll surely be missed. Semoga bibik diberi kesihatan yang baik dan dilindungi Allah di dunia dan di akhirat. Terima Kasih Bibik

 

 

Ms A with Bibik. We went to visit Ms A yesterday so she can say good bye to bibik.

 

 

 

28 Ramadhan

Its almost the end of Ramadhan of 2015.

 

How was the Ramadhan this year for us? It was a quiet one. I always love bulan puasa. I feel very peaceful. And I feel this year, it passed by so fast. 2 more days and its Hari Raya already.

 

I think this year, I am more organised. Be it for Ramadhan month and also for Hari Raya celebration. I planned properly what to buy, how much to spend, avoid impulse buying, and avoid last minute shopping so tak membazir.

 

For buka puasa, I cooked most of the day. Small portion. We don't usually eat nasi with lauk. Just simple meal like noodles, soto or cucur udang. Sahur baru makan nasi. Itupun, although with small portion, my fridge is full with left over lauk.

 

For the first time in many years, we did not go to pasar ramadhan Stadium Shah Alam. Dulu, tiap tahun mesti kena pergi sekali pasar ramadhan Stadium Shah Alam, Pasar Ramadhan Taman Tun, Pasar Ramadhan Seksyen 14 and a few other famous pasar ramadhan. But this year, I think we only went to the one near our house twice, once to the one in Kota Damansara and once to pasar ramadhan in Greenwood when buka puasa rumah mama.

 

For Hari Raya, I buy most cookies from the usual suppliers. Only managed to make Krispy Almond / Florentine Biscuit last 2 days. Baju raya awal awal dah tempah. Guna saja kain kain yang dah ada dalam simpanan. I bought a few sarees from my last trip to India. And a few kain cotton bought in Arab Street during my frequent visit to Singapore. Sebelum kain ni semua reput dalam almari, baik la di hantar tempah.

 

Work wise, I did not travel anywhere during fasting month. Alhamdulillah, my boss understand and I can arrange my own travelling schedule. However, I think I'm slacking and so unproductive puasa kali ni. Macam beku otak tak leh nak pikir. Slow sikit lah... haishhhh!!!!!

 

Last Friday was Ms M last day in her current school. We're moving her to a private school which will commence in September. So in the meantime, she is so very happy duduk rumah tak buat apa.

 

As for Ms A, she'll be sitting for her IGSCE this October. Stressful for her and equally stressful for mommy too. Semoga Allah permudahkan semua urusan dia. We support her where we can. At the end, we believe in rezeki dan ketentuanNya.

 

Till then, Selamat Berpuasa ( for hari ni and esok) and Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri. Maaf Zahir dan Batin

SAWADIKAA BANGKOK

Ini cerita 2 months ago actually. After meeting in Vientiane ended on Friday, I had an audit to do in Bangkok. So, instead of going back to KL then go Bangkok on Sunday, I went straight to Bangkok on Saturday from Vientiane.

I always love Bangkok because of the food. So, lets talk about the FOOD!!!!!

Dulu dulu, my favorite spot will be Mak Yah Restaurant. Its near Ratchadewi BTS station. Tapi this time pergi, dah tutup!!!! And I don't know where there moved to.

I started savouring my Thai food at the airport during my transit to Vientiane. There is a halal food outlet inside the airport. Nama apa lupa dah.

 

Green curry chicken yang sangat sedap. Cost THB 300.

(Yes.. expensive... harga food airport la kan...)

Since Mak Yah dah tutup, I tried a new place located at Sukhumvit 22.

Usman Thai Muslim Food

Nice ambient. Very friendly owner yang pandai cakap melayu

I had tomyam seafood and nasi with daging goreng kunyit. Memang sedap and harga pun berpatutan

The next day, which was Sunday I went to Chatuchak Weekend Market, a must if you go to Bangkok. Walaupun tempat tu sesak dan panas, there's always interesting thing you'll find there.

Saffron. Murah sangat.... not sure if it is truly saffron so I didn't buy it

 

For lunch, I stopped at a small stall in the middle of the market named Kahjak Restaurant. I tried catfish with basil leaf. Something different which I didn't regret. Sedap sangat....

 

 

  

Catfish with basil leaf.

Tak de rupa keli. Semua dah dihancurkan. 

 

And a glass of Thai ice tea....

 



And I tried different food everyday while in Bangkok

 

Orange juice by the road side near Central World

 

 

Phad Thai at Faridah Fathonee near where Mak Yah Restaurant used to be.

 

Pulut Mangga at food court in Platinum Mall

 

Green Curry Chicken at Usman

 

Kangkung goreng at Usman

This is another halal food outlet at the airport located near the prayer room.

I came back from Bangkok with an extra weight as usually.......................

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Ms M

Today is Ms M 13th birthday. My happy baby. My sunshine. No word can describe how much she mean to us.

 

Ms M at 6 years old

 

7 years later.......

 

Happy birthday Fluff.

 

Ya Allah, kau lindungilah anak ini di dunia dan akhirat. Jadikanlah dia anak yang solehah, teguhkan imannya, permudahkan urusan dia di dunia dan di akhirat.

 

Mummy, Papa and Kakak love you so much!!!!!