A million things to be grateful for....

I cant believe I went through another month without blogging, especially on my favorite month, May being my birthday month and all :p There was a period of time when I can't go a week without at least an entry. Nowadays weeks can go by without a single update.

Some people would probably concluded that the writer's block is mostly contributed to the fact that I have nothing interesting to write about. I'm fully aware that 95% of my blog entries/Instagram and FB posting are about my kids.. Actually plenty of "interesting" things is happening @home and at the work front. Not all particularly positive. I guess my need to filter those happenings does limit postings :p Whatever...

Anyway I had a great birthday celebration. Nothing fancy, I watched movies with the kids, ate ice cream and had fish and chips for lunch. What I've come to appreciate is that though I may not necessary have the "big" things, I am thoroughly blessed with the little things. I just need to be continuously grateful :) Alhamdullillah. 

Accepting that, makes me easier to please. Even the sight of my tomato plants blooming can put me in a good mood for the whole day. Ahhhh.... the joy of being older and wiser (haha like real)

Anyway there's another thing to be grateful of today....

Alhamdullilah for another chance to celebrate Ramadan. May I become a better Muslim than I was yesterday. I'm aiming to make small but consistent change for the better. Semoga Istiqamah. Wishing everyone a blessed and fruitful Ramadan. Inshaallah :) 

Keep calm coz it was an awesome weekend :)

Since it is the week before Ramadhan, we tried to cram in as many activities that we could. Alhamdullilah, it was one of those tiring weekend that leave you fulfilled rather than just plain exhausted :) 

 SATURDAY:060713

After Ryan's morning class, Ryan and I sped off to Coffee Societe, Publika for Reebok's 30th Birthday and Bridal shower Instagram theme celebration :p

Saturday morning was well spent with my lovely ladies :
My "kakak" Tini, our fave dentist Dr. Aimee, Party organizer/yellow minion Kelwa and Hanis.
Food was not bad and I enjoyed the settings and party deco :)

With my BFF and bodyguard : Ryan Daniel who patiently played and waited for mummy while she ate and gossiped. Of course he conveniently "pau" mummy for an army tanker and a book before we met up with my girlfriends..

Had dinner with the girls at one of our fave food stalls because I felt guilty leaving them at nenek's house in the morning.

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  SUNDAY: 070713

We started our Sunday with a simple pancake breakfast while our gardener mows the lawn (ahhh the smell of freshly cut grass is awesome). After tidying up, we had lunch at my mum's place and moved the party to my in laws place :p 

The girls doing their fave past time activity : CLIMBING. Terkenan Abang Ryan minat Spiderman kot when I was pregnant with them :p

Late evening and after much coaxing from Ryan, we stopped by Aeon Bukit Tinggi for Pizza. Once the kids is filled to the brim with soup, garlic bread and pizza, we dragged them to the play gym (can't remember the name) where they spent an hour climbing, running, rocking and bouncing of bouncy castles :) 

Iman Khadeeja : The resident spidergirl, even her girly princessy dress can't deter her climbing activities :)

Ranya Fatimah: Dedek yg loud and manja. She love singing and humming softly to herself. I should really take a picture of her doing that one of these days :)

My superhero Ryan Daniel : The twins looked up to him and copy his every move. This is good because they pick up new skills set fast, but also bad because they will also pick up on some of his negative habits :p oh well you win some you lose some :P

The girls playing peekaboo. My lil babies are now speaking, running and jumping toddlers. I do miss the times when they were tiny wriggling newborns in my arms. We're currently sorting out their baby stuff and giving away, selling and donating mana yang patut. Feeling a bit bittersweet because my babies are all growing up so fast and even more so now that Ryan is not only diaper free but also bottle free :) Alhamdullilah we managed to wean him off right on our target date which is when he turned 3 years and 6 months :) Apart from having a bit of a problem sleeping for the first week, tossing and turning before bedtime, there was no tantrums or fall out. Good job, Ryan!!!

The siblings during their "bff" moments. I wish I can freeze time and keep them happy and protected from the cruel world and even crueler people in it. That won't happen but I always pray that Allah will bless all my children with the very best. In Sha Allah :)

Alhamdullilah, Allah has given us the opportunity to "enjoy" another Ramadan, so let's make full use of it and strive to be better Muslims at the end of the month (forever). Let's curb all of our vices (esp extreme shopaholic tendency on my part) and spend more time doing good for others and be thankful for our blessings. I'm desperately trying to remind myself that as a middle class, university educated, mother of 3 beautiful children, wife of a loving man and daughter of doting parents have nothing to be sad and ungrateful about when our brothers and sisters in Palestine, Syria, Egypt and Myanmar will be spending their Ramadan in fear and poverty. How's that for putting things in perspective? 

Help Needed!!! (Updated)

Salam and good day...

As we all know Ramadhan is fast approaching and what better way to prepare for the holy month than to sponsor other families in need? Maybe instead of buying 10 bottles of kuih and 5 pasang of baju kurung for ourself, we can set aside one portion to help a fellow muslim (or for non-muslim: a fellow human being) Good deeds will come back to you in sha Allah :)

The Messenger of Allaah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said, “Whoever feeds a fasting person will have a reward like that of the fasting person, without any reduction in his reward.” [At-Tirmidhi, authenticated by Al-Albani.]

Feed a Family Campaign by CAREFUGEES

Feed a Family : Viva Palestina

Donate cooking oil (in 2kg containers) to the above address.

So let's do whatever we can to help. Even if you don't have the financial means, help spread the cause to your family and friends :) Sharing is caring people *peace yo*

Selamat Hari Raya 2012

Assalamualaikum,

Today is my last day at work before I start my long Raya leave tomorrow :) As I do every year, I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very happy and safe Aidilfitri. Hopefully you'll be able to spend it with your family and friends.

I would also like to apologize for my wrongdoings (if any) If I purposely or accidentally wrote anything in this blog that may have hurt your feeling, through my actions/words (i.e terusik, tersepak, tergossip etc). Sorry ok :)

Hehehe do I sound sincere enough? Lan always says my salam Raya mcm tak iklas :p This year I'm gonna stay up all night and mengarang karangan minta maaf that will blow his socks off (or maybe not)

Anyways, stays safe my sayangs, don't speed, jangan main mercun and most importantly EAT IN MODERATION :p. Hopefully whatever good that came out from this Ramadhan will stay with us throughout the next Ramadhan.

Love XOXO

Farhanna 

Of First Dentist Visit and Raya Preparations

Ryan First Visit To The Dentist

Lan and I brought Ryan to the dentist last Saturday. Despite brushing his teeth everyday, I've detected some cavities on his front tooth. I googled and of course a million of horror stories came out.

Suggestion ranges from "tampal" to the more extreme "tooth extraction". I can't make up my mind as some people told me to let  it be since it is "milk tooth" anyway and some scare me with infection stories. So I turn to the experts and made Lan call his dentist aunt for her views. After listening to her explanation, I made appointment with one of the company's dentist, a specialist, since Ryan is only 2 after all.

I was nervous the whole night as I can't imagine my baby boy lying still on the dentist chair. We went to see the dentist and I was all "doc his tooth is decaying (haha)". The dentist looked at me in surprise and asked "do you let him have his bottle at night" to which I'm guilty off :p She was like "never mind we'll take a look". Despite being totally awesome during our "practise dentist visit i.e. 'says ahhhh when dentist says open ur mouth'" Ryan decided to clammed his mouth shut and muka dah cemik nak nangis.

Somehow doc manages to coaxed him to open his mouth and started checking. "His tooth is not that bad la mama. If you continue brushing his tooth and limit his sugar intake, I think we can manage it". I'm like are you sure? coz the front tooth looks yucky (haha) doc explained that the culprit is most probably due to the fact that Ryan use to take "soy based milk" when he was younger since it contain sucrose (a type of sugar) We used  to give Ryan soy based milk because he has asthma but he's on An.Mum now since that is the only growing up milk with no added sugar.

Doc taught us the proper way to brush his teeth and send us home :) Though my fear is a bit unfounded, at least now dah puas hati sikit takde apape hehehe

Lesson learned: Once Iman and Ranya turn 1 we shall stick with "low sugar" type of formula and go on a yearly dentist visit once I can see a whole line of teeth on them :p Ryan will also follow me everytime I go for my 6 months dentist visit. Anyway doc also told us to NEVER start any of the kiddies on Ri.bena though it is rich in vitamin c etc it is a dentist nightmare. Very high sucrose level. Actually nak bagi boleh just in moderation and brush more often I guess.

Hari Raya

I'm in Raya mood already :) Dah pasang pelita and susun2 baju raya hehe. Raya with 3 kids this year *how exciting* I can't imagine the horror of packing for our Perak trip but I'm sure I'll manage. We've done our Raya shopping very early and since most of it is done via online, I don't have to go through the hassle and weekend crowds etc. For things that I can't get in the virtual world, I'll opt for shopping alone during lunch time, serious best (haha) sebab I can choose stuff in accordance to my liking and no lil kiddies meragam. Being in the middle of shopping heaven  i.e: OU, Curve, Plaza Damas, Tropicana and Mid Valley does make it even easier to shop.

Tapi Raya tahun ni is a bit sad for me. This is my first raya nenek-less, and not spent in Merlimau :'( Will miss nenek's cooking and of course her *sigh* oh well at least ada nenek/atuk/moyang in law from Lan's side. It is not the same but it will do. Seems sad that come every raya, I will lose someone dear to me (wan, nek mah, nek jah, pak ngah and pak chik) but that is the circle of life. May Allah panjangkan umur and berikan kesihatan and blessing to my love ones. Let's recite al-fatihah for those who have left us and may allah grant them an easy passage in after life *amin*

Alhamdullilah for my 3 little angels. They drive me crazy at times but they are the reason I wake up every day <3>

Photo Updates : Iftar Weekend

Date: 20 August 2011
Crabby Potluck Party @ Tinie's and Cat's Lovenest

The usual suspects :)

With my baby boy :)

What I made : Smiley Face Cheese Tartlet haha (muka Najwa gila kan :p )

Muka Kenyang: Part I

Muka Kenyang II : Ketam kismis style

Father and Son

Credits: pic for Crabby's are from Reebok's camera

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Date: 21 August 2011
Al Rawsha, I-City, Shah Alam with Lan's Clan. No photo of food and other people coz mummy too busy feeding her lil baby dino.

Happily posing before his big meltdown

I bought him this weird fan/light noisemaker thingy and a buble maker which he adores :)

Finally, after so long I can now say I've been to I-City. Never bothered before due to traffic jam and exorbidant parking rates :p


Ryan, Mummy and the seahorses :)

Why Mario got 3 :p

With the bangau

Bare Minimum Preparations??

We’re halfway through Ramadan. Hopefully our ibadah is as glorious and “meriah” as our Hari Raya preparations.

Speaking of Raya preparations, I’m pretty much set for Syawal. Since I'm simply allergic to crowds, I decided to save myself from the hassles and did my shopping early. I decided that all of us will go for readymade baju’s to avoid last minute headaches with the tailor. Got Lan, Daddy, FIL and Ryan’s Baju Melayu from Parkson and JJ (sorryla tak kuasa nak go through jam in PKNS,SACC etc).

I also managed to borong loads of Ryan’s casual clothing during the Mothercare & GAP sales. I find that it was more of a bargain as compared to the Raya sales as we got an additional 10% member discounts on top of the normal 50%-70%. In addition to the t-shirts that my sis and Cath got for Ryan from Paris and Japan my little boy is all set up to next year in term of clothes.

I haven’t bought anything for myself. I still have 4 new jubah from Mecca that have not been worn yet, a caftan from Chanteq that I bought on a whim a few months back and a maternity batik kurung that I only worn once. I guess I’ll choose something to wear from my cupboard instead. Saving my $$$ for my trip to Jakarta mid of next month. Though I do think that I deserve a new shoe for being so frugal (Azlan take note- I can imagine my husband feigning deafness/blindness)

My Raya preparations for the house this year is also pretty minimal. I guess since we've just moved in earlier this year, everything still looks brand new so I don't really need to go all out on Raya decorating. My ID motto is the simpler the better :) Anyway with a toddler around and 2 more babies underway I figured that it is better to keep the dust collecting/ fragile/breakable items out of the way: p

Raya would not be much without kuih raya,right? I ordered a grand total of 2 balang kuih raya, one which would be given to my mummy. Malas nak membazir sebab not like people would eat the kuih pun so I rather stick to kerepek. Siapa datang rumah I’ll cook for you instead, ok :p

My final shopping list? Cookie container, a new teapot (since SOMEONE broke my fave teapot lid *sobsob*), Fairy lights or pelita?? (Can’t decide between these two, what do you think?), songkok Ryan, Baju raya for mummy and slippers for MIL. Hopefully by the end of this month, this list will continue to be as short .

Ramadhan and My Twin Pregnancy

It's a bit depressing to spend Friday lunch in the office, but in order to leave early (i.e. 4.00pm) I need to forgo my usual 2 hours lunch break.

Anyway today is the 12 day of Ramadan. The fasting months have been good so far :) I've been fasting on alternate days on doctors advice. Actually she would have preferred if I do not fast at all this year but after discussing with Lan and doing some research on fasting while pregnant with twins I decided to go ahead.

Alhamdullilah, I don't have much problem fasting. I don't get super hungry/thirsty but at the end of the day I do feel a bit more exhausted (which is easily remedied by going to bed extra early i.e by 10pm every night- yes 1opm is very early for me ok..hehehe )

However, unlike fasting when I was preggers with Ryan, this time around I really have to watch what I eat during sahur.I would need to drink at least 500ml of plain water (trust me it is not easy to gulp that amount of water at 5am), eat at least 4-5 pieces of kurma (my savior), have at least 1/2 a bowl of cereal/pasta/nasi, a bottle of vitagen and take all of my supplement.

It sounds a bit tiresome but I guess when you are carrying twins the effect of fasting has a different effect on your body. I ate 2 pieces of bread and drank a cup of tea for sahur last week and end up having to break fast at 10am because my body was shaking due to low sugar level. Thank god I always keep a stash of choc and biscuits in my office drawer/car :p

I've been monitoring my weight daily. My main aim is to maintain my current weight and ensure there's no more weight loss. Babies are kicking actively so I take it my little munchkins are fine kicking each other in my tummy hehe. My main concern is of course the babies growth, I need to ensure that the babies are growing at a steady pace and at the same rate. Since I can't measure their growth with my own eyes, I'm basing my assessment based on my weight, growing tummy size and fetal activities.

It seems like a lot of work, but my motto is to prepare for the worst but pray for the best. Being pregnant with twins means the pregnancy risk would automatically double. I'm more succestible to gestational diabetes, pregnancy high blood pressure, early labour, pre-term pregnancy, c-section etc. I don't want to live in denial and assume that my pregnancy will be all rainbows and candies but at the same time I choose not to be pessimistic and focus on "risks" and end up not enjoying my pregnancy. Balance is the key :)

Currently,I'm reading all sorts of literature on twins pregnancy. Sometimes the more I read the more I feel like panicking (haha) but based on my experience with Ryan, having some basic knowledge on what to expect do help on some level. At least you won't end up all panicky when your are face with the unwanted situation.

Oh well, I'm already thinking about the mac n cheese bites and mini cheese cake I'll be preparing for buka puasa today and tomorrow (buruk perangai puasa tapi non-stop fikir pasal food kan) hahaha

Have a good weekend everyone :) Take care *muackz*

April - June 2011 Photos Updates

Lan's 30th Birthday Dinner - Our Crib :)

We had a small family gathering to celebrate hubby's b-day on 17/4/2011.
Menu: We had yummy MU themed choc chips/bluberry cuppies from Nadibakes + Nasi Tomato, ayam kurma and the works (courtesy of my sis), Pizza + KFC

Random pictures from the dinner :)

Short Family Trip : Glory Beach Resort, Port Dickson

Ryan LOVES the water.
We didn't let him take a dip in the ocean this time around as sea water from this side of PD is a bit dirty.
My 3rd Convocation in UiTM : 12 May 2011

I'm now officially a Masters Degree holder
Masters in Law (Corporate Law) 2011
*alhamdullilah*

With my family, parents & in laws :)

Outing with Ryan : Sunway Pyramid Cars 2 Exhibition

Note: Finally managed to upload some backdated pics. More to come soon.
Anyway, Selamat Menyambut Ramadhan, May Allah bless our Ramadhan this time around in every way *insyallah*

Of Grandmother's and Ramadhan

I went back to Malacca last weekend on a short trip to visit my ailing grandmother - Nek Mah (My Mum's Mother). She's over 95years old and up to last year was walking, talking, performing prayers by herself etc. However,due to old age, she's not doing all too well at the moment. She's been hospitalized twice this year and the outlook is not that well. According to my aunt one of my grams liver have failed and there's little the doctors can do about it.Sometimes she can't even control her eye and mouth movement. Sad!

I feel kind of bad. You see I'm not very close to my grandmother, as my mum was raised by her uncle (i.e. my grand uncle). When she was conceived, my grand aunt can't have any children so they decided to "adopt" my mummy. My grandparents who at that time already had 10 kids(or is it 11??) gave my mum away. Technically, my mum did see her parents from time to time. She knows that she's adopted and all but of course she's closer to my grand uncle family. When her aunt passed away, Tok Mat remarries and my Nek Jah was the one who took care of of my mum.

So other than my late Wan (whom I truly adore and miss like crazy) the only grandparents I ever knew was Nek Jah. She was the one who will come over to take care of me when I was younger, her house was the place we spend Raya and of course she was present during every important event in my life : engagement, wedding, Ryan's birth etc. Eventhough my sister and I are not truly her grandchilden, we were never treated any less... I love her like mad :)

What is sad is I can't feel that kind of connection with my real grandmother. No one is to blame, we're just not close due to circumstances, I know she's a great woman (she raised 13 out of her 15 children). From the stories I know she's strong, kind, loving etc but sadly I won't be able to hear her tell me those stories herself, won't be able to get her to kiss my pain go away the way Wan use to do, she'll never cook me my fave. dishes like Nek Jah (I doubt she even knows) or even cuddle and play with Ryan...

All I remember was the awkward smiles and conversations during Hari Raya *sigh*. No matter what I pray for her speedy recovery and good health :)

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Travelling with Mr. Ryan...

Alhamdullilah. Ryan is a good traveler. Not much fuss though he does get bored lying down in the car seat for so long. He slept throughout the journey to Malacca but we were not lucky on the trip home :p

Daddy and the already bored and wrigling baby.

We have two extra passengers: Nurul and Amzar (who invited himself over to the trip)

Mummy I wanna watch....... ELMO!!

I thank god for Elmo and the portable DVD player in my daddy's MPV ;p

On the way home : Dinner @ Wong Solo, Shah Alam :)

OMG he's so extra manja since he's been home from the hospital. He's forever making people carry him around *sigh*

Amzar's Mangga pose... He's 13 going on 5. He'll drive you nuts sometimes

The Guys Club...

Ryan and Daddy and mummy in the reflection :)

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p/s: Not in picture Nurul and I :)

pp/s: Selamat Berpuasa and may you have a blessed Ramadhan

ppp/s: Jangan tamak2 di Pasar Ramadhan

pppp/s: Anyway my cousins find the "siapa Ryan angkat tangan" trick hilarious. They kept on making him do it non-stop. Kesian cheeky cheeks, mcm circus monkey lak... hahah but in a very cute and intelligent way of course :)