Overheard

On our way to school, yesterday.

Khadra: "Mom, can we have another baby brother when Khaleeda is bigger?"
Me: "Ask your dad, Khadra."
Khadra: "I already asked dad. He told me to ask you."
Me: "I'm asking you to ask dad, Khadra."
Khadra: "But, mom. You were the one who borne me and Khaleeq and Khaleeda."

Hah, jawab, kak.. Jawab...

-dillz blogging out-

Let's Keep It Clean

There was a health-talk by Lifebuoy at the kids' school last Saturday. One which we had signed up for a week prior and for which we had to skip 2 birthday invites. (Sorry Rita and Azni)

Some of the highlights of the events were:

• Story-telling with En Durian: It had a simple theme. Adventurous Kids gets themselves dirty, adventurous kid gets sick. Adventurous kids need to be clean and practice good personal hygiene. Adventurous kids get to be adventurous and healthy! The storyteller was the bubbly, expressive and energetic En Durian, who took his time and turned it into something fun for the kids. Here's a little snippet of En Durian in action:
  
• Hygiene talk and Quiz: After the story was done, En Durian explained the expected hygienic activities that the kids were supposed to maintain. How many times they should bathe with Lifebuoy shower gels. :) When to wash your hands, and how to wash them with Lifebuoy hand wash. The kids had to imitate a series of step-by step instructions and once again En Durian made it fun. Even Khaleeda joined in! :) There was also a simple quiz at the end of it.
  
• Hand-washing demo: The kids took turns, one-by-one, to step on the stool and have a go at the mobile wash basin. En Durian was there again to guide them. So sweetlah En Durian ni. And so patient. :) Here's Khadra giving it a go.
  
• Colouring competition & Facepainting: Next was the colouring competition and to complement the activity, me and Kira facepainted the kids too. :) No pictures, sorry. I was too busy "working".
  

I did think it was a great and fun way for the kids (and their parents) to learn about personal hygiene. Even I didn't know the exact techniques to wash my hand, know what I mean? All this while, I have just been winging it. Mana ada buat claw and gosok-gosok on the palms, segala. hihihihihihi Why lah zaman dulu takde pun orang nak ajar kita cuci tangan? Kids these days are so lucky, they have everything handed out to them, eh?

Anyhoots, with the influenza scare about town, it could not have come at a more appropriate time. Thank you , Lifebuoy! Thank you, Beaconhouse Bangsar! I sure learnt some great lessons!

-dillz blogging out-

Travelog Jakarta 4: What about FUN things to do?

Travelog Jakarta Series | 1:A Quickie | 2:Business Class All The Way | 3:She came, she saw, she bought most everything.. | 4:What about FUN things to do? |5:Ada Apa Dengan Makan(an)?|

Let's see a show of hands for those who thought my Travelog Jakarta (1, 2 and 3 are already posted!) series of posts were done? You are sadly mistaken, my friend.. There's still more from where that came from.. hihihihihihi.. Now, it is time for me to share with you what were some of the fun and/or stoopid things we (almost) did whilst we were over there..

1. KidZania , One Pacific Place

We were at One Pacific Place for dinner one night so we took the opportunity to check the place and its stores for a bit. Our gracious hosts, DZ and Marin, mentioned that there's KidZania on the topmost floor and we were eager to check it out. (for the kids, I mean) Even from the outside, I must say that I was intrigued and impressed! Note that AirAsia aircraft head? Yup, that is the entrance / arrival hall!

KidZania is a world for kids to explore the ways of the world. In this themed park, they would have to get a "job" to earn money to spend in KidZania. There's many jobs to choose from - chef , pilot, construction worker, doctor etc etc.. "It is a kid-sized replica of a real city, with streets, buildings, retail and different vehicles going around the City." You can get more info here: Kidzania, Jakarta I also heard sometime ago that they will be opening up a place here, in Malaysia soon - somewhere in Mutiara Damansara, I believe.. :) Yeay!

It's apparently suitable for kids from 4 - 16 years old. Can't wait to return and bring the kids over to experience KidZania for themselves!

2. Velvet Room @ Blitzmegaplex , One Pacific Place

Boleh percaya tak we watched a movie on a bed in the movie theatre? Serious! All is possible at the Velvet Room @ Blitzmegaplex. The one we went was also in One Pacific Place. (Saya sukalah One Pacific Place nih) The price is also reasonable, Rp 250,000 for a bed. (tak sampai RM90) Reasonable lah, kan? Kat sini, Gold Class kat Signature, The Gardens pun RM60 per pax. Tak dapat tidur, pun.. :) Just for the sake of experiencing it, we watched Public Enemies - a movie I would not have watched at the theatre, kalau tak terpaksa.

pictures from: here , here , here

You are greeted in the special lounge for Velvet Room-ers, whereby you could wait around before your movie screens. Free wi-fi included, of course, and you could order from its special menu (not available from the concession counter outside). Don't worry if you could not finish your meals nor your drinks, they can bring it in and it will be served on a small table-top ala breakfast in bed. :) Best woo.. Serious - an experience you need to try for yourself! Satisfaction, guaranteed!

3. Atmosfear @ FX Mall, Sudirman

First heard about the slides that twists and turns down 7-levels in a shopping mall from my sister, Kira. We were actually looking to get some stuff for the kids and decided to check out FX Mall. There weren't any stores for kids' clothes at the FX Mall, but the Atmosfear was there. :) It really had my name written all over it. The queue was non-existent , I guess it was because it was a Monday morning. The admission was reasonably priced at Rp 50,000 (RM18) per head with a promotion to boot. Buy one admission and get another ride down for free. It wasn't really a question of whether I would slide down the Atmosfear. It was really a question of how many times. hihihihihihi

I was all suited up with the safety helmet, knee-guards and jacket before I climbed up the opening and slipped into the sliding mat. I was given a little instruction on the Dos and Don'ts - you know the usuals, keep your knees closed, body at 30-45degrees inclination, yadda, yadda yadda. The instuctor reminded me one more time, "Whatever you do, keep on holding to the sliding mat handle. Oh, don't forget to scream your lungs out." Yes, maam! They were sound advices, indeed.

There was nothing left to do, I just inched my butt and down.. and down.. and down.. I went! Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

picture of Atmosfear from: here

How can I adequately describe the feeling? Simply put, it was like AAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!! going down. There was this one section when the momentum slowed down somewhat and I could feel I was on a conveyor of some sort. Took a little breather and before long it was another round of AAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!! Landing was pretty smooth, I finished in 13++ seconds the first time down the slides. Pheww! :)

There were two gentlemen standing by at the end of the landing area ready to help me up and take off the helmet + knee-guards + jacket . I got up, and felt a litte giddy with excitement. Somehow, it didn't feel real - I still can't believe I just slid down 7-storeys!! hihihihihi

The landing portion was actually documented by a photographer. He was happily snapping away. He had some pictures of me which I was contemplating of printing and turn into a little photo-book. But, they weren't all that great, though. As soon as I told him that I had another free pass, he followed me up and started snapping my pre-slide photos. (Suiting up included) I managed to better my time somewhat too. 12++seconds. :)

The price of the photo-book was another Rp50,000 and the softcopy version was burnt onto a CD for another Rp25,000. With the additional spending, I could have gone down the Atmosfear for free yet again - but we skipped it 'coz we didn't exactly have that much time left. hihihihi.. Kalau tak, harus TIGA kali turun itu slide!

4. Skin and bling your phone @ Digiskin in Senayan City

Remember my blinged out mobile earlier? We chanced upon this little outlet tucked at the back in Level 4 of Senayan City shopping mall. You basically choose a skin and they would customize it onto your mobile, camera, laptop- whatever. I chose a butterfly motive, purple background with black and white butterfiles. I thought it looked rather sweet. You could also skin it with your own designs or photos, if you want. What I really wanted was to bling it with swarovzki crystals but again, time was our enemy. Tak sempat. :( As is pun, it took the guy some hour and a half to complete my skin.

Cost-wise? Basic skin would cut you back by Rp400,000. (RM130) For minimal swarovzki, add something like Rp120,000 (RM40) more. For a full-blinged out mobile, get ready to pay about Rp3,200,000. (Wah, RM1100 to decorate mobile phone, kah?)

Seronok kan? In a way, I kinda fell in love with Jakarta on this trip. Just felt like staying there forever. Apa-apa pun, am definitely coming back. Insya Allah, this time with the troop in tow. ;)

-dillz blogging out-

Growing - The Making Of

Khaleeda takes after Khadra in terms of her love for performing, her music sense, rhythm and dancing. She will be 2 in November and she loves posing for pictures and recording her "performances". Often times, she would request to have a look at the recording / picture shot every after "take".

She has a number of "performances" in her repertoire now. She loves imitating the moves off her favourite shows like Barney and Hi-5. She could, if she wanted to, perform to "Growing", "If All The Raindrops", "If You're Happy and You Know It" and "One, Two Buckle My Shoe". I was trying to capture her performing to "Growing" just the other day..

Take 1:

First try to get her to perform the song. Tak habis satu verse pun, main talent telah menyuarakan rasa tidak puas hatinya...

Take 2:

Musnah harapan bonda. Start-start pun dah takde angin nak perform. hihihihihi

Take 3:

When it started it looked like she would go all the way... Sampai nak hujung first verse, member dah buat tak pahammmm je. hihihihi

Wah!! Susah juga ya nak manage small talents ni. Mummy pun dah tak larat nak tunggu. Lain kali je lah nak, ya?? :)~~

House Arrest!

Azrul has not been feeling all that well since our travels back from Jakarta. I blame it on his frequent fly-out in the past few weeks. He has also scheduled another trip to Phnom Pehn this Sunday. When one's body has been put into the stress of travels, rushing hours, unfamiliar territories and food, lack of sleep etc etc , your body would somehow find a way to tell you to slow down. Mulalah batuk-batuk, sakit badan, demam segala datang menjelma.

After a few days back from Jakarta, he started to feel weak, tak sedap badanlah kata orang.. Then, the high fever started on Sunday. His temperature reached upto 39.7C so, we went straight to the Emergency Department in Pantai Medical Centre. The ED was filled to the brim, eventhough it was at 11:30pm. After they took his history and temperature, he was given a 3-ply mask and immediately taken to the isolation area. We stayed till 2:30am when he was finally released to go home, but with a self-quarantine advice. I also underwent self-quarantine the next day and worked from home, just in case.

He felt better soon after. The high fever was completely gone on Tuesday. However, he noted that his chest was giving all sorts of funny noises. He could even hear his wheezing with every deep breath. So, he decided to go back to the clinic on Thursday and have a check. True enough, he was referred for an x-ray at the ED in Pantai Medical Centre. We spent Thursday lunch at the ED and he had his chest scanned and also some blood works done. He sent me back to the office and he went home to wait for the results.

At about 5pm, he went back to the ED and was told that he had developed mild pneumonia and needs to be self-quarantined at home for about 7 days. (Later, we went back to ED to get some clarifications on what to do and was assured that he just needed to rest and just stay away from gatherings and the masses as a whole so that he won't get infected by the gen pop. You never know what other people has and it's just sound advice to just carry out social distancing.)

So, with our masks still on, we went to borong two boxes of 3-ply masks (one for adults and another for kids) , a few bottles of Dettol antiseptic gel and some supplements for the kids. BTW, OMG on the price of the face masks. RM1 for each 3-ply = RM50 per box. The N95 variety is going at RM5 per piece. Don't get me started on the antiseptic sterilizer thingamabobs- the surgical standard ones are going at RM45 per bottle. (Medium sized) Last-last, pharmaceutical companies jugak yang kaya bila ada outbreak macam ni. Way to feed on people's paranoia! :(

Anyhoots, Azrul will, from now on (until his 7-day quarantine is over) live in the space I stayed during my confinement, separate from the others in my household.

1- The two of us while waiting to get his chest X-rayed at the hospital
2- Bahan borong dari pharmacy
3- Patient under house arrest dalam keadaan duduk and melayan bosan at isolation room in our house
4- As above, but dalam keadaan baring
5- Khaleeda putting her mask on to show daddy how cute she looks. :)

Would have to ask for his wish list on how to kill the boredom. Would also need to stock up on the jajans in the kitchen. Kesian, suami saya..

Saya sudahi dengan a good read on A(H1N1) --> A(H1N1) flu: Updates on 10 FAQs - Dr David KL Quek. Be informed, do the right thing!

-dillz blogging out-