this is an extremely long entry, over loaded with lotsa photos

Okay where do i begin? The party itself or the preparation? I’ll just type whatever comes out from my mind…will try my very best to do it in a proper sequence.

Well, i did get green light from my finance minister to have this party but as usual we need to wait end of the month (24th onwards) to get his roster before we can set a date for the party. Elder 2 birthday is in June while uZair’s is in july but there wasnt any weekend in june syauQi was around. So there goes my hope. Didn’t want to prepare things coz afraid july pun he takde off day on weekends and the following month will be august so no way we can do it during ramadhan. Syauqi did request off day for july weekend but it wasnt firm in black n white , so i just did some minimal preparation because of the uncertainty (i.e designing, with the help of my sis-in-law of coz) When july roster was out i was simply thrilled syauqi ade off day on a weekend. Terus start printing ape yg patut, cut and assembled. Yup i had to assembled the popcorn box cum party pack. 70 of it and other cuttings to do, toppers, food tray, water bottle lable, to name a few. Mom helped a lot, i repeat A LOT of potong kain to do the flag banner, my dear school friend help me jahit it. i have a sewing machine but i doubt it i can do it straight and neat unless i take my very own sweet time. i only have like 2 weeks or so to prepare all. Oh i had lots of surprises (read: secret) for syauQi. I had lots of things under  my sleeve that he were not aware off if not sure bising buang masa dan fulus…hihi. He had no idea at all on this flag banner thingy, that morning, i took out all the flag to be hung, asking for his help. he was like “you nak buat ape ni? ” i nak flag ni from all tiang to meet up here” though of using a kayu but he suggested ikat je trus kat pokok tu.  Oh i simply love the end result…making it look more carnival i hope.

from all tiang

Oh and also i had to do lotsa paper pom pom for the wall deco. my first few was a lil (ohkay i admit, a lot) comot…i had my sister’s fren who was my org kuat behind this birthday to teach me how to make a better pom pom, walllaa…and the result was this. all for the featured wall,

Alia, my customize bday biz partner

What is a ticket booth without a ticket aight

ni mak budak giving it a try, actually we bust the max weight, mujur tak bocor…fuh

adults pun get their face painted

As most of you might already know..uzair is delay in his speech. he has yet started talking…among the very few words he says is “nak” and “bye”. Itu pun he only says nak bile dh dlm anger terjerit2. It gets really frustrating for him when he fail to deliver to us wants he wants. and on the other hand, we gets frustrated too. He makes lotsa of sound though…but not words. Some budak delay in speech tp senyap mcm malu, berat mulut. but uzair ni tejerit2 mengamuk sbb tak dpt ape die nak coz we tak paham ape die nak. he is constantly whining and throwing tantrum… there’s certain point i get soo frustrated coz i fail to attend to my child’s need. i have no idea, clueless to what he wants. I just feel like crying my lung out together with him. It is sad, i’m home 24/7 with him yet i fail to understand him. Imagine u have a son screaming all day long, and ppl ask me what he wants and all u can say is “i dont know”. It is sad to make such statement. A mother who has no answer to what his son wants. I get frustrated too. I guess to a certain point, we are on the same boat. Frustration. It is not easy to pretend you are okay when u see your child screaming away, and i don’t get time-out. I just have to deal with it. Yes, we realise maid make things worst, but can i cope without a maid, the laundry, the mess, the cleaning up. Bringing all with me where ever i go even if its just to the shop in front to get eggs since there won’t be anyone to look after them at home, can i handle that?

Anyway ,we started sending him for speech therapy. So far it doesnt help much in his speech but we see improvement in his social interaction. Dulu x hairan pun nak main with other siblings, at least now dh boleh gelak2 when he sees other 2 main. And bile jumpe org…ade lah percubaan nak pegi greet. tp since tak reti cakap…he greets with his body gesture. Alhamdulillah, we are happy to see such improvement.

I’ve made appointment for developmental paeds but guess when is our slot?

31st October 2011!!! Lame lagi tu. Hopefuly by then he has grown out of this phase. Ameen.

Last week, we decided to enroll him for TweedleWink; Right Brain Education.  Tadi was our first lesson. They limit to 5 kids in a room. Our group has 4 kids but 2 were absent, thus there were only 2 of us. Since it was uzair’s first lesson, obviously u cant expect him to voluntarily enter the classroom and follow the activities. The other gal dah lame join kot sbb she knows sequence of the lesson and all. However the mom doesnt look that happy with uzair’s presence, ye lah distracting the lesson kan, i dont blame her though. But how can u expect my son to stay focus for the whole 1 hour when it is his first time. Yes, i wish it is as easy as that. Her daughter on the other hand was giving uzair such a warm welcome tp sadly, uzair skit pun tak heran

Seeing the gal so confident and focus through out the 1 hours session, it reminds me of something. Back during courting years with syauQi, i remembered talking about my studies on early child education. He once asked me, what different does it make when one starts reading at age 3 while another starts reading at age 7? Kalau ikutkn die, same je…he started reading at age 7 tp alhamdulillah bejaya je jadi pilot..haha. I did ask my lecturer on this and she said there’s no studies that show the correlation on early reading and such BUT younger kids absorbs better thus their learning process is easier on them. contohnye budak 7 thn dah reti menegluh susah bagai…tp when u teach younger kids, alhamdulillah their absorption is better.

But now as a mother, i would like to make my very own opinion of early child education. Previously we sent elder to to Kidzports when there were baby coz we wanted them to have early exposure since they were premature. We wanted them to catch up with their age. But when i gave birth to uzair, we took a 2 months break since i was in confinement. After sambung balik I notice the different in the kids…the 2 months that we stop made them loose their focus and attention in the lesson. They were not as focus as before. It took only 2 months to “destroy” their attention span. And lepas tu mmg susah lah nk train balik their attention span. However when they were 22 months, we stop kidzports sbb started sending them to Montesorri.

So back to uzair and his classmate, im pretty sure when she first started her lesson die takde lah tantrum tak nk masuk class bagai sbb younger kids would feel secure sitting with the mother in the classroom and tak tepiki of the option boleh kuar class. While uZair ni dh besar dh ade kepala sendiri taknk masuk class bagai. Siap bukak pintu kuar. Tadi during the lesson, uZair kept going out and at one point i got all stressed up and frustrated, here i am bringing him to this lesson hoping it help his development but yet he refuses to enter the class.

Pastu bikin lagi panas, bile balik umah uzair trus ke dapur while i went to the washroom. Kuar2 tgk die tgh makan coco pops cereal, ratah mcm tu je. I’ve already make the rules clear that kids eat that with milk sbb if ratah mcm tu je mmg lah satu kotak boleh habis skali duduk. So right from the beginning elder 2 eat it with milk while uzair never wanted it. Tp td kuar washroom i saw uzair with a bowl of coco pops ratah mcm tu je. I pointed it out “kenapa makan tu takde susu?” so they maid dgr..boleh pulak die jwp “biar lah asalkn tak nangis (tantrum)” . So dlm kata lain, mmg maid make situation worst actually. They only think of temporary solution tp x piki of the permanent damage. Ye lah if diroang bijak tak lah diorang jadi maid kan… Same thing happen with the isu milo. we now have to hide our milo sbb if uzair nmpak nanti die nak ratah milo. so if bukan maid yg kasi / ajar die makan serbuk milo sape lagi kan. Pastu now if nmpak milo mengamuk nak ratah. And looks like lepas ni if nmpak coco pops pun ngamuk lah nak ratah. i specificaly mention to the maid “ha nanti jadi mcm milo, guling2 if tak dpt” tak tau lah if register tak dlm kepala die.

Tp kesimpulannye, i feel early childhood education is important, hopefully it will be less stressful for the parents. Maka biarlah takde budget tuk shopping, makan luar bagai, but en suami mari kita masuk kan dlm belanjawan tahunan for uwais’ early childhood education sebelum terlambat.

Life has been very busy lately. Hardly have the time to update this blog. Last month i was busy with kids’ bday preparation. Cant wait to get the photos so i can do an entry on that.

Meanwhile lets enjoy this Fatty Crabby Baby Shower cum Bloggers-Meet-Up. It was an impromptu baby shower for Lana. We wanted to eat fatty crab, but there’s no way i can do so if we were to go to the restaurant. So just like what i did with yaya (tapau makan at my place), i suggested the same this time around. Thus it was possible for mom and dad makan smpai jilat jari while the kids buat hal masing2…hihi

While choosing the date, lana suggested to do it last week sbb anytime she’ll be in the labour room…along the conversation, someone mention boleh jadi ala2 baby shower. It was just part of the conversation. So malam tu i decided to do a lil deco mane yg sempat. Buzz my sister-in-law to help me out with the design, i had something in mind tp tak berjaya buat…the “swimming baby”. It was already late night so didnt expect much coz i knew she was also tied up with her schedule. Tgk2 bangun besok pagi…tadaaaa there’s an email from her with the swimming baby. Yayyy!!!

So i played around with the design to do some other decos (i.e flag banner, place mat ,cupcake toppers and bottle lables ). Printing shop closes by noon on saturday so agak kelam kabut thus i settled with watever yg sempat buat. And i was thinking, takpe 2nd baby takyah beria sgt setakat nk add some colors here and there for the day. Little did i know, lana never had a baby shower mase hQ. Lana, if only u hinted to us

Nway, i didnt take much photos coz the crabs were just sooo tempting. Put aside the camera and start makan dgn penuh perasaan sume org

Here’s poster that greeted me in the morning when i checked my email.

The table mat and bottle lable for the botol susu,

After the main dish ketam ,we had dessert. Fiza bwk kuih keria, yaya; karipap, nita ikea’s dessert (arrghhh time ni lah lupe namenye, almond something), siti brought Serai Pavlova di mana telah mengkaburkn mata sume org…thus i was kinda lucky actually coz lana bwk her sinfully delicious brownies with great package, along with vanila ice cream…had 1/2 of it remaining in which i hide it in the fridge for me and i (yes only me) to indulge it….hihihihi.

The brownies,

and the pavlova,

that’s about all the photos i took, was too busy enjoying the great food and good company that i decided to ditch the camera aside. and the reason i can afford to ditch the camera aside was because nita’s husband became the trusty cameraman on the night. here are some shots he took (in which i downloaded it from his fb , thanks !)

someone is stealing the preggie mommy lime lights!

n in this pic below, i think i can see uwais’ face in me, no?

Remember my previous post of my substitute beauty regime? It is almost 2 weeks since we had ours installed and even the husband notice the different. He can feel the after effect; skin feels softer after his shower. Not only his skin but also his hair. I always thought he would be the last to feel any difference coz usually men couldn’t be bothered..hihi. In fact in my previous post, a reader left a comment saying after a week using the Coway Water Softener, her husband commented “kulit makin licin n gebu” and she no longer need to standby lotion at the office for her dry skin.

Recently Coway Spa Water Softener had their Grand Launch and Family Day at Sunway Lagoon. It was launch by Mr. Andy Kim Ja-Joong, Head of Strategy Planning Department and Mr.Hoe Kian Choon, Senior Sales GM of Coway Malaysia

It was just ideal to have the launch at Sunway Lagoon, after long hours in the pool there is nothing better than having a shower with Coway Spa Water Softener, to keep our skin moisturize. It was indeed a new shower experience for all. We even had celebrities on that launching day

Ms. Vanidah Imran shared some insight on Coway’s new Spa Water Softener. She shared with the crowd that the Coway Spa Water Softener helps to moisturize skin.

Another speaker shared her experience as well. Apparently her daughter sweat a lot and often has rashes issue. But since the family started using the Coway Spa Water Softener her daughter’s skin showed lots of improvement, say bye bye to rashes Those with sensitive skin you should really give Coway Spa Water Softener a try. Especially those with hectic schedule, you hardly have time to pamper your skin, rubbing lotion after every shower, so why not give this Coway Spa Water Softener a try.

I always envy people who have the time to be consistent in applying their beauty regime. With 4 small kids, having the chance to shower without anyone knocking the door calling for me is considered a luxury. Although at times there was no knocking, I still have to cut short my shower time cause I can hear my elder 2 giggle about. Whenever both of them happily giggle away, it surely means they are up to their mischievous act. Thus I can never take my own sweet time taking my shower. Sadly, despite having a dry skin, I never have the chance to apply lotion n other beauty regime for my skin.

When I heard there’s new water softener in the market, I was keen to know more about it. It is from the water itself, thus I need not apply any other additional lotion to my skin. The water softener is by Coway – the leading home-wellness appliances manufacturer from Korea.

Just like swimming pool, our tap water contains chlorine too. The residual chlorine in tap water causes skin dryness. Besides that, it can also accelerate hair loss and skin aging because it destroys vitamins in our skin. The Coway Spa Water Softener is able to do exactly that – transform tap water in our homes to soft water making it a healthier option for our bodies while giving us smoother softer skin. This is just ideal for me, I need not do any additional steps (i.e. applying lotion) for a smoother and moisturize skin.

I guess we never place importance in the water we shower as much as we place importance in the water we drink. Hardly you hear people drink water directly from the tap water. We either boil it or use the water filter. We should be doing the same to our skin. During my university years, I had a Thailand course mate, Nuraya Ramsamkee. She is so beautiful masyaAlah. Her skin is flawless No make-up yet it was simply flawless. Unfortunately she is rather quiet, I didn’t have the opportunity to ask her beauty secrets.

However one of the terms, our rooms happened to be side by side. Believe it or not, she actually boils the water every time she takes shower! I thought she did that because se wanted to bathe with warm water. But one day, I saw her boil the water but didn’t immediately take her bath. By the time she bathes, the water was already cold. I guess now I know the reason, she boils the water to removes contaminant particles. Hence the superb flawless skin

Coway Spa Water Softener removes contaminant particles to ensure our skin absorbs only clean water with several layers of protection. The composite filters remove harmful substances such as chlorine and floating substances in tap water to minimize irritation to skin. It also has cation ion exchange resin for removal of substances causing water hardness.

This slim and compact product benefits has been proved by a 4 month test done by Woongjin Coway Cosmetics R&D Center, SMCTC (A clinical test organization) & KATRI (Korea Apparel Testing & Research Institute)

Basically it is a 2 in 1 product for me, it helps increase my skin’s moisture level while taking my shower, without the need of applying other product after shower. It is said to increase skin’s moisture level up to 69%, hence preventing loss of skin moisture and reduces skin friction up to 20%. Besides or skin, it also soften our hair and scalp; helps those with dandruff problem. Everyone knows the effect of chlorine, thus this Coway Spa Water Softener does exactly that; reduces chlorine effects.

The product is easy to use and maintain. They also have rental unit available for only RM70 a month, and you will be entitled free product maintenance every 2 months for 5 years. If you would like to purchase it, the price is RM1900 with free 1 year maintenance (for every 2 months). Or if you wish to give it a try, they currently having a 14 days free trial for the public to try out the Spa Water Softener (1,000 units) in the comfort of their homes. Absolutely free & no hidden charge. You may call them at 1800-888-111 or logon to www.coway.com.my

my boy enjoying his shower

lil’ uWais enjoying his bath time