Instant Nephew

My hubby's first sister's second daughter (ie, my niece) got married on the 15th of December 2007 and with the solemnization comes an instant nephew for us! :) The first wave of events were carried out in the bride's hometown in Tanah Merah, Kelantan amidst the rain.

Khaleeq seized the opportunity to conquer the microphone at the event as he decided to entertain the invited guests.

The other half of the celebration was in Tanjung Karang, Selangor. The groom even cooked for the "makan beradab". Since there weren't much protocol involved, we invaded the meja pengantin and got to eat the really good stuff. Inclusive of the big, fat prawns and siakap masak 3 rasa deliciously prepared by the groom himself. Yummy!!!

Welcome to the clan, Zack! You can come and invade our kitchen anytime..

-dillz blogging out-

Happy Water

As part of an educational holiday program, the Azruls (minus baby Khaleeda) went on a field trip to aquaria in KLCC. It started with an LRT ride for Khadra and Khaleeq accompanied by their dad. I took the car and waited for them at the entrance to the tunnel joining Suria to the convention centre. (Just making sure that we'd have the car when they are too tired to walk and wanting to sleep on their way home)

They were featuring the Endau Rompin inhabitants when we were there , so we got to see the mischievous kongkang as well. We were greeted with a petting aquarium whereby the visitors are able to touch the exhibits there. First up were a school of recently fed baby sharks swimming in a circular container. Khadra (and Azrul) didn't want to touch them, but Khaleeq quickly stepped up to the plate. Always not afraid to try something new, that boy.. (at least once!) However, the dang baby shark whipped its tail and splashed water all over my little boy's face and shirt! That kinda put him off the baby sharks a little bit and quite loudly refused a second try. heh heh heh... He did try to hold a few star fishes in the next container, though..

Overall, the exhibits were pretty well put together and there's a tinge of quiet 'class' about it. I especially liked the 15-foot (or more) glass cylinder filled with all kinds of fishies and the stand-easy travellator tunnel going under the glass tank of sharks, stingrays and other wonderful sea creatures.

If you haven't been, I strongly suggest that you do give it a visit. Just have to tahan waiting in line for the entrance tickets. I don't understand why they only opened two counters when the queue is 100m long. Oh well, typical Malaysian brand of customer service, I guess..

-dillz blogging out-

Happy Eid

Happy Eidul Adha to all muslims.

How did your break go? The Azruls had quite an eventful one as we decided to take part in the annual qurban held in Taman Tenaga this year. Ours was one-seventh of "Lembu 2" , the white cow tied to a tree trunk in the mosque's compound. There were 5 cows sacrificed this year and another one given by the Jabatan Agama for the kampung to feast on.

The cool thing about celebrating Eidul Adha in Taman Tenaga is that the activities related to it are carried out by the actual residents of this small Malay settlement. Right from the actual slaughtering, the act of "melapah" (ie skinning) and also the cooking. It's all a big, modern gotong-royong that started the night before with an organized house-to-house "takbir". The kids who came along will get a small angpow and the troopers will be feasted with food in every single house. Pretty cool, indeed...

Just made me realize that I am not doing enough for this little community. I should be with the ladies cutting up the veges and meat or something. Instead, I was just standing around taking pictures of my cow and just being LLB. (Look-Like-Busy) Hmmm.. Maybe I should take out my "I am just out of confinement" card this time round. Doubt that I'll have any more relevant excuses for next year. heh heh heh.. Gotto remember to come equipped with a sharp knife next year.

By the way, I brought the two kiddos over to witness the slaughtering for the experience. Khadra fled at the first sight of blood while Khaleeq just went "Ee-uuu!!"

... just as expected!

-dillz blogging out-

It's Almost Over

Yeay! Yeay! 2 days to habis pantang!!!! Been waiting for the 44th day since like forever. ;)

Finally, can just devour whatever I wanna eat on Eidul Adha without any guilt! How very appropriate! But, must remember not to touch laksa and jambu yet. No big deal coz I'm not a big fan anyways. Other than that, I am all game! Yee-ha! In the mean time, I just have to tahan 2 more days...

Here's a collection of pix during Khaleeda's first month check-up with the pead which coincidentally spells my ticket to mengularrr!!! heh heh heh (pantang pun boleh mengular...) She put on a little more than a kg from her birth weight and other than that we had nothing exciting to report. Which is GOOD, I guess. :) I think she looks really cute in her Baby Big Bird tee. Quite expensive lah the Sesame Beginnings range ni. Have to wait for Sale to buy.. But, I really like.. Cute, like that.. heh heh heh..

-dillz blogging out-

Kira's in Italia

Been meaning to post that my sister, Kira, is currently on an intensive high school exchange program to Italy for two whole months. She left for Roma last 8th of December via Dubai. She's actually on a program by AFS and as I ciloked from their official website;

AFS Statement of Purpose

AFS is an international, voluntary, non-governmental, non-profit organization that provides intercultural learning opportunities to help people develop the knowledge, skills and understanding needed to create more just and peaceful world. 

The first time I heard about this program was through Farahana Azmin, Ema's friend, as she went on a similar program to Spain some years ago. Personally, I am all for student exchange programs because I too had the good fortune of attending one back during my A-Level days. Since Cobham Hall was part of the Round Square schools, student exchange between member schools is possible. I attended The Athenian School in Danville, California (very near to San Francisco) and my partner in crime, the ever elusive che' nah, went to Canada. (Apa nama sekolah tu, babe?) I was there for a whole month; attending high school- taking up Physics, Calculus, Stained Glass and Chorus, going to field trips and vacationing to Lake Tahoe. Boy, did I have oodles of fun.. :) heh heh heh

So, when Kira pitched to us (hubby and I) the idea of applying for the program, we were behind her all the way. Well, more Azrul than me, actually.. :) He was the one who helped her with the application form as well as the running around . She had to go through an interview to gauge her suitability for the program where she actually Thriller danced for the interviewer. BTW, the program is not FOC either. The participant has to pay RM9K for the 2 month stay which I think is well worth the money. Anyways, once her application was successful, we also loaned her several Italian dictionaries to help her once she gets there. (is it helping you, Kir?)

Kira is staying with the Acquasantas, a family of five (inclusive of one elder brother, a 15 year old sister and a younger brother) in Laterza, TA. (Somewhere in the South of Italy) Her friends and family are able to catch up with her on her travelblog which she has set to private. (Understandably so since she is posting the host family details - addresses and phone numbers - here. You don't really want just any Tom, Dick or Harry to read it. Tak pasal-pasal aje ada stalker nanti)

I took the liberty to cilok what she posted in her blog:

rules in school;
1. no uniform
2. eat anytime in class
3. can go out anytime during classes from 10 to 12
4. can listen to ipod during classes
5. can bring handphone
6. cant wear hats/snowcaps/caps in class
7. can go home early but only parents have to pick up
hmm there are more but i cant remember :P

Wah, seronoknya!!!!!!

Some pictures I took from her blog:
Looks like she has been having way too much fun! All she talks about is food, food and more food!!! She's even planning to slaughter her own chicken soon! :) All in the name of good glorious food! heh heh heh

I envy you, kiddo. Have fun and take good care of yourself!

-dillz blogging out-

Concerto!

As promised. The kiddies year-end concert at Early Years Playgroup for this year.

Theme of concert is Children of the World. Good news for the mommies is that we only had to prepare three screens as the backdrops because the screens used for Anna and the King last year are gonna be recycled as part of Hang Jebat's istana. Less to design and less to paint. :) The main screen is of 4 prominent landmarks of the world - Great Wall of China for the tanglung dance by the nursery kids, Taj Mahal for the Bollywood dance by the kindergarten kids; as well as the leaning tower of Pisa in Italy and the Eiffel Tower in France for the international medley they sing as a finale. The second backdrop is of a desert for the Cowboy/Western sketch cum sing-a-long and the final scenery is of a beachfront for the hula dance. The teachers also prepared 3-d cacti and coconut trees as props - very believable.

First up was the nursery kids doing the tanglung dance. Unfortunately, Khaleeq froze. He just stood there, stone faced.. heh heh heh .. Stage fright lah, mamat nih.. Took a little snippet of him doing nothing. if you are interested, click here for the link.
Then came Khadra's Bollywood dance. Fuyyoh!!! Check that booty shaking, dudes!! (Khadra's in the sexy green and pink number)

The Western sketch is of the cowboys riding their stick horses around a campfire and having a drink after. Then comes the cowgirls in their stick horses (some were pink horses!) and having a cuppa also.. At the end of the long ride, they have a little sing-song session of Country Road.

Next is the Hawaiian dance by the nursery kids PLUS the girls from the kindergarten class. Watch the snippet here!

Then, a little sketch set during the Sultanate of Malacca era, Hang Jebat has his dancing girls dance for him, Hang Tuah kills Hang Jebat and everybody's happy. Khadra is Melor, Hang Tuah's girlfriend from the jungles of Malacca. She even had a script:
"My name is Melor. Hang Tuah likes me!"
(She then doubled up as one of the dancing girls)

As a finale, they performed a medley of songs: Can Mali Can, Kookaburra and Frerre Jacques. Watch it here.

Oh, there was also the awards presentation where everyone got a prezzie. Khadra had an additional one for Best Overall Development for 4 1/2 year old. This is Khadra's last concert here as she'll be attending another school effective Jan 2008. Fear not though, I'll still be volunteering for the backdrop designs next year as Khaleeq is still gonna go there.. heh heh heh I hope he'll learn to control the stage fright by then!

-dillz blogging out-

S.L.I.M.R.E.D

My fifth sister, Ewa has 6 best friends from her secondary school days in Sri Aman. Shikin, Liyana, Izati, Munz, Raff, (Ewa) and Deena. And they call themselves the S.L.I.M.R.E.D. (You know what they say about names, right? Your name is actually a doa. So, doa kena bagus-bagus.. Slim, aje..)

Personally, they have a loong history with me. You see, during their adolescent years, I happened to be that elder sister with the legal driver's licence and car who could drive them around attending parties and such. I was their 'kaki'! Sometimes, I'd have to have my date with Azrul in between sending them everywhere. Not forgetting the fact that I actually tutored this lot in some of the subjects for SPM. So, through the screaming and yelling while class was in session, we bonded. ;) Since then, these people have always been in my life, even up till now. I remember taking them out to Sate Kajang Samuri in Bangi when I got my first paycheck. They were present during my wedding, my children's birth, birthdays and Hari Raya gatherings...

They popped in Pantai Hillpark to visit Khaleeda on her 4th day. But, only S.L.I.M. came. Raff was in Melaka, she's a doctor, you know.. Ewa is still in Melbourne, finishing up her masters and Deena is in the UK. Soon, Shikin will be going off to the UK to do her ACCA, they will be left as L.I.M. Once Ewa comes home, they will be known as L.I.M.E. .. heh heh heh

Ever wondered how one can have so many best friends? I kinda had my own S.L.I.M.R.E.D clan when I was in Form 5 too. We were living far away from our family and in STF, I was very close to 7 others in my class: Fida, Mira, Linda Razali, Kynne, Fara, Nor and Fedzah. Some of them are still close to me up 'til now. For instance, Mira and Kynne are working with the same organization as I am, so we often have catch up sessions over coffee or food. Fida, a Dr now; Fara and Fedzah are staying in the Klang Valley area, so we do meet up when there's Hari Raya open houses or Srikandi events. Nor is still in Trengganu, working with the national O&G company and the last I heard Linda Razali is still in Penang, lecturing.

I don't think I could have survived my adolescent and adult years without my girlfriends. Growing up, we shared experiences, stories and tips on a wide spectrum of things; boys, working woes, housing loans and even breastfeeding.

Since then, I have made more great girlfriends along the way. After all, one can never have one too many of a great girlfriend!

-dillz blogging out-

Six, One & Four years olds

Ziezi had a birthday bash for all her kids on Saturday, 8th December 2007. Naqib turned 6 on 10.11.07, Heleyna Zahra turned Uno on 1.12.07 and Nelysa Khadija will be four on 30.12.07. So, why not have them all at once? Penat sekali je..

We were supposed to come in early to help out with the preparations. But we had some errands to run that morning and didn't get there until 2.30pm (the party was scheduled to start at 3pm). heh heh heh It was very festive-like, loads of balloons, streamers and brightly decorated tables and chairs. There was a nail art station and sand art station already set up. I volunteered to open up a face painting booth for the kids. (Cover datang lambat, maa) Though I could not eat the meehoon goreng and Nasi Dagang served at the party, we did have a lot of fun.. Check out the collage!-dillz blogging out-

Khaleeq Ku Sayang

My son Khaleeq and a Magna Doodle sketch of him made by my dear hubby. Sebijik, right?

Being a rather loud person *ehem* and finding that I rarely ever run out of things to say, I was a little concerned when Khaleeq was barely talking at the age of three. We made him undergo all sorts of examinations and meet all sorts of specialists. ( Read about it here! ) We also enrolled him in the same playgroup as Khadra to speed up the oratory skills.

At this juncture, I am pleased to report that he is not JUST another pretty face. It has been quite hard to shut him up these days for he is always yakking. :) Not that we understand ALL that he says, but we could kinda guess most of them. His favourite phrases include; "Khadra, SHARE!!!", "Hey! It's missing!!", " (Missing item) , where are you?" and "Gimme the (item of interest)"; So, that's great progress! :)

I do believe his biggest influence in terms of his vocab and slang (he definitely has one) comes from his favourite shows; (like : Wiggles, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Blue's Clues, Elmo's World, Sesame Street, Barney, Dora the explorer and everything else on Playhouse Disney Channel) as well as his elder sister, Khadra. Khaleeq has this tendency to add -ya at the end of a word. For instance; tv-ya, tree-ya, A-ya, E-ya (for the alphabets) - just too cute! One of his teachers even asked me if he had a Furby at home coz he speaks like one. Boleh? heh heh heh

I also noticed that as much as he loves to dance and sing; he kinda sucks at it. Kesian dia singing out of tune. I normally try to hold in my laughter out of pity. Khaleeq has two distinctive voices, one that he uses when he is trying to be all manja-manja and another when he gets pretty upset. The first is very soft and sing-songy and kinda makes your heart melt instantaneously. The other is shrieky and loud and just plain irritating. Unfortunately, it is the second voice that he utilizes to sing. Nevermind the out of tune part.. heh heh heh His dancing skills, most unfortunately, is by imitating the Wiggles and Steve from Blue's Clues. Horror, I tell you! :)

Khaleeq is just a joy to watch. In the mornings, he would come up to me and greet , "Good Morning, mummy" and plant a kiss on my cheek before scurrying off to watch his morning dose of Playhouse Disney Channel. He is also our in-house clown. He just loves to make people laugh. For instance, there's the Knock! Knock! jokes.
Knock! Knock!
Who's there?
Stinky Shoes!
Stinky Shoes Who?
*2 seconds silence*
Knock! Knock! - and another Knock! Knock! joke will commence. You wait and wait for the punchline and there's none. So, you'd just laugh because it is so NOT funny! And this would go on for a few good rounds. (or until I m just too lazy to answer him)

In the fashion-front, Khaleeq truly has a mind of his own. To the utter dismay of our Bibik Parmi, he tears down his wardrobe in order to create his own ensemble. He sometimes changes his clothes up to five times a day. (H is actually asking me to change his shirt as I type this)

However, I find that bringing up a little boy is totally different from bringing up a girl. With Khadra, I use a lot more reasoning (when I am in the mood for it) and with Khaleeq, I tend to lose it more (ie more shouting). It's just that he is so darn active and when he is in one of his moods he could be a little too physical. (ie pinching, pulling hair, literally jumping on people and throwing stuff) He is also a little harder to control when we are out. So, I have to resort to the cuddly monkey harness when we go to public places.(just have to ignore the "looks" that the public gives me though) So, I am now trying very hard to cut down on the yelling and pinching his butts. Just have to remember to take a deep breath and chill during one of the episodes.. :)

For all the joy, laughter and yelling that you have brought me, little boy, please know that I do love you.. Unconditionally.. the good, the bad and the ugly.. just bring it on..

I love you, Khaleeq boy!

-dillz blogging out-

Eee. Bee. Emm

I have always known that I would breastfeed my babies even from early on. Of course, the advantages are aplenty : nutritious and everything in just the right amount, hassle free when you are mobile - no need to bring the thermos of hot water, bottles and formula when you go shopping and not to mention, cost effective ( especially if you plan to have several kids). With Khadra, I exclusively breastfed (only drinking mommy's wholesome milk) her for 7 months, that was until I was 5 months pregnant with Khaleeq. Khaleeq had a longer span of exclusive breastfeeding - 11 months. However, I carried on breastfeeding him whenever I was around him. Only when I was away, our trusted Bibik Lidiya would make him formula milk instead. It was a huge relief for me then coz it also meant that I could stop expressing milk at work. This went on until he was 2 years and 3 months. Not bad, not bad at all... I hope this time round I'll be able to match my experience with Khaleeq. Just taking it one day at a time.. We'll see how it goes..

So far, I think we are on the right track. It is Day 30 and my little stash of Expressed Breast Milk a.k.a EBM is now at 23 bottles. I have a couple of 2 oz., 2.5 oz. as well as 3 oz. bottles to cater for Khaleeda's current milk intake while I am out and about town. (merayau la, mana lagi..)

I started expressing since Week 2 and hopefully, I'll be able to hit 60 bottles of 4 oz. by the time I get back to work in January next year (or more, who knows.. ) It's not all that impossible, you know.. I personally know at least 2 people who came back to work with 100+ bottles of EBM stocked in their freezer. (which was especially bought to store them milk, by the way.. And NO, they were not especially well-endowed if you know what I mean..)

I have been tempted to switch my old skool Avent ISIS manual pump to the double automatic pump most of my friends are using, but I really do swear by my Avent pump. Seriously.. Eventhough Avent has come up with an enhanced version of the classic pump as well as a more intelligent version of the pump, obsolete me am still using the good old pump I bought during Khadra's days. All thanks to the purchase of the pump spare parts way back then.. The bottles, sterilizer unit as well as the warmer has also been brought out from storage, so I did not have to spend much this time round. (Lega... heh heh heh)

Excuse me, I am off to pump some milky!

-dillz blogging out-

Belated Welcome!

Sorry babe, but I have yet to announce another addition to the Zaghlol clan; grandchild number 9, Miss Laiqa Akhyar binti Wafi Nazrin. Born on August 28th, 2007 to my third sister, Illa, Laiqa is the long awaited princess after three boys. She came out just a tiny 2.9kg, but this little makcik has already been to Bangkok. Jangan main-main... heh heh heh
Here's a picture of her during her recent aqiqah - so serenely sleeping in the Graco swing.

And here's a little picture of my Khaleeda in her other crib that was also beautifully decorated for the same event. Khaleeda was only 4 days old then. Yes, we attended the event. Can't deny it 'coz we've got pictures to prove it!

-dillz blogging out-

Busy As A Bee!

Have been busy, people.. Mainly because that time of year is here yet again... I have been running around town to prepare / assemble / acquire / tailor costumes for the children's concert this coming 12th of December. Just like last year and the year before last, the kids will be performing their year-end concert as a finale, before school is out. This is truly an event that I look forward to every year. The theme this year is about Children of the World. They will be travelling around the world, showcasing the different cultures through songs, sketches and dances.

The costumes I need to prepare for Khadra are:
1. Sexy Indian costume for her Bollywood dance;
2. Cowgirl costume;
3. Customized "Kemban" for her role as Hang Tuah's gilfriend, Melor; and
4. Bikini set for her hula dance.

For Khaleeq:
1. A Chinese boy costume complete with the headgear with the braided hair and tanglung for his lantern dance;
2. Baju Melayu for his role as extras in the Hang Tuah sketch - orang kampung je; and
3. Swimming trunks for the hula dance.

Status update: So far, all have been obtained pending the tailored Melor outfit and Khadra's Bollywood skirt that had to be altered. These will hopefully be ready for pick-up this Sunday. Pheww!!

Also, just like previous years, I am officially the designated artist for the concert's backdrops this year. Not too many backdrops this year; just three new ones. And because of my pantang status, I am only designing and sketching the backdrops for other mommies to paint. (Who knows, I might just paint a little bit of it..) I'll definitely get a snap of my fruits of labour once it's done, okay?

Yes, I know I am still in my confinement... But, I make sure that I have my barut and socks on when I am doing all of the above, though.. After all, a mom's got to do what a mom's got to do, no?

-dillz blogging out-