What Hari Raya means to me...

1. Opportunity to meet up and catch up with my beloved family :) 

I know people loves to complain about their relatives, but Alhamdullilah I have the best ones (plus minus a few odd jobs haha)

The Hanif Clan

The Malek Clan

 @ Merlimau 

Annual Family Open House @ Our Crib

2. The super stressful annual raya family portrait

Like I mentioned on IG, this semi "OK" pic took at least 4 hours and  6 different photographer (one semi professional) to achieve. No little models in making in this family for sure :p

3. Opportunity to seek forgiveness and spending time with my beloved husband (haha)

 Mr and Mrs Barney :p 

4. Yummy food???

Sadly I didn't manage to take a pic of my fave ketupat, rendang and kuah lodeh combo. Super yummy and  worth gaining the extra thousand pounds :p

5. My babies

Last but certainly not least. Hari Raya means nothing if this little munchkins is not by my side driving me insane but making me laugh at the same time. Love love them so very very much...

I know it is a bit late, but I want to wish my friends and blog readers a Selamat Hari Raya and Maaf Zahir Batin. May our ibadah in Ramadan be accepted by Allah and hopefully we'll get the chance to have another Ramadan next year * InshaAllah*

There is no compulsion in Islam...

A post extracted from my FB...

"I don’t understand why some schools need to close their canteens to “respect” Muslims who are fasting. If it was my son who is doing the complaining, my answer would be “WTH are you doing in the canteen in the first place? Go hang out in the classroom/library/surau” 

When I was growing up, 80% of my “gang” comprises of non-Muslims, some are super polite who’ll hide under the table to have a sip of their drinks while the less considerate ones will openly drink ice milo right in front of my face. (Oh well, to their credit they did offer to buy me one if I want to break my fast earlier..haha). But past the age of 9, when I finally decided to sincerely fast on my own, nothing my friends can do or say will affect my fasting.

At the end of the day, If I (hypothetically of course *cough2*) drank the tap water while pretending to take my wudhu, was it really because I saw my friend drinking or was it because I had no willpower to stop myself from consuming unfiltered water? Just because my willpower sucks, that does not give me the license to impose my religious beliefs on others.

I walk in front of the cross every single day for 11 years when I was in MGS, read my friend’s baby bible when I was 10 and after I started driving even drop my friends at the church for their mass after our lepak session. Heck I even dated a Christian for 5 years at one point of my life. Did I ever felt the urge to change my faith at any point of these events? Alhamdullilah, it is a BIG FAT NO. You want to know why? Because I truly believe in my syahadah “There is no god other than Allah and Nabi Muhammad SAW is his messenger” All thanks to my parents, family and teachers guidance.

So to the paranoid Malays, maybe instead of pointing fingers as to how other people can ruin our Iman, maybe we can step back and look at our shortcomings and learn the way of Islam through Al Quran and Sunnah. Let’s lay the foundation of Islam in our children so deep that no matter what other people choose to say or do, nothing will easily waver their faith. And from this point onwards when we decide to force our beliefs onto others, maybe we can ask ourselves, is this how Nabi Muhammad will act? A real Muslim will know the answer…"

What brought this on? I'm just tired having to expain myself again and again due to the actions of some ignorant individuals. Salam Ramadhan everyone, forgive my wrongdoings (if any) and may all of us have a blessed and fulfilling month :)

Keep Calm and Travel On...

I know for someone with 3 little children, we do travel quite a bit. Trust me it ain't easy but I'm currently at that "exploring stage". I don't care if it is  a trip in the country or out of Malaysia, I just want to see new things and expose my children to new experience/places. I would willingly eat out of my brown bag everyday if it means more travel opportunities :p. 

Some people may think that it is a waste of money as they would rather buy new bags/ gadget etc but I really do believe in the quote that "travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer". 

You'll be surprised of the impact travelling has on little minds. Little children are actually able to absorbed new cultures like a sponge and it made them very inquisitive and will open their eyes and hearts to the different cultures/races/religion around the world. Hopefully it will be less "kau-kau and aku-aku" mentality from my children. Inshaallah. 

Oh well, maybe one day I'll be able to visit more of those "exotic" destinations with my family, as for now I'm more than contend with my "Cuti-Cuti Malaysia" adventures. Finally completed the entries of my hotel reviews and travel diary of the following places I've been for the past 3 months. 

1. iCity- City of Digital Lights
2. Bagan Lalang Adventure and Avani Sepang Hotel Review
3. Hatten Hotel Malacca Review
4. Malacca Foodpedition

So any ideas of where I shall visit next???

The one on turning another year older.....

I'm turning 32 tomorrow *inshaallah*

I don't know what to feel really? Happy (Yes), Excited (Yes), Grateful (Yes), Tired (Yes), Sad (Nope) Mixed feelings all around....

I know I'm blessed for what I have in my life and the things that I've achieved so far, but I want to do so much more. So much more of what? I'm still figuring this out. Sometimes I can't help but feel like I'm missing out. Hmmm... maybe I should make more travel plans to get out of the rut. Or is this just an excuse to go for another long holiday? hehehe

Anyway, I'm addicted to this song called "Conqueror" from one of my current favorite TV show "Empire" by "Estelle and Jussie Smollet". The lyrics totally reflect what I'm feeling at the moment.

Life is like a big merry-go-round,
You're up and then down,
Going in circles trying to get to where you are.
Everybody's been counting you out,
But where are they now?
Sitting in the same old place,
Just faces in the crowd.
We all make mistakes,
You might fall on your face,
But you gotta get up!

[Chorus:]
I'd rather stand tall
Than live on my knees,
'Cause I am a conqueror,
And I won't accept defeat!
Try telling me no,
One thing about me
Is I am a conqueror,
I am a conqueror!
Ooh oh

Got a vision that no one else sees,
Lot of dirty work, roll up your sleeves,
Remember there's a war out there,
So come prepared to fight!
You never know where the road leads you,
Not everyone's gonna believe you,
And even know they're wrong, don't prove them right.

Bento Boxes - The Farry Way

I've been bitten by the "bekal" bug lately. Every Friday the kids are required to bring food from home to share with their classmates. Last year when it was just Ryan, I will usually buy cupcakes/breads from the bakery. Too much hassle to cook dishes for one kid. Now that I have to cook for Iman and Ranya too, it is worth more the trouble :p

The munckins prefers pasta and rice dishes. Surprisingly food such as icing donuts and cakes are not too well received among their peers so I try to stick to basic food items. Ryan is not to keen on the cutesy deco (star carrots, bear nasi lemak etc), so I will usually save those for the girls. Gosh my baby boy is all grown up because teddy bears are no longer cool *boohoo*

I've also taken to start bringing lunch boxes for lunch. Awesome way to save money, what with the rising prices of goods and GST etc. Oh well it is also a healthier option since I know what goes in my food and I can vouch for the cleanliness factor. See... there is silver lining everywhere :)

Have an awesome weekend everyone....

Iman and Ranya Q1 Developments

It feels just like yesterday that we celebrated the arrival of 2015, in just a blink of an eye it is already April. Time move so fast, sometimes it feels like all I ever do is try to catch up. Anyway, Lan and I attended the munchkins "Report Card Day for 1st Quarter of 2015" two weeks ago.This post is dedicated solely for Iman and Ranya :)

Teacher Nisya took us through the twins activities in Tadika, highlighting their current skills and things that needed improvement. I'm happy to hear that the girls have started to socialized and does not follow Ryan around as they used to. They're also learning to share and listen to instructions and doing a lot of activities to developed their fine and gross motor skills.

Iman Khadeeja

In terms of speech, I would say that Iman is the more advanced of the two. Her speech is clear and very precise. Iman enjoy singing and dancing and is very quick in terms of memorizing lyrics and steps. Currently her favorite activity is playing with play dough and cutting and pasting paper strips. In summary she like making loads and loads of mess.

She's able to recite Al Fatihah,Surah Ikhlas, doa makan, tidur and naik kenderaan with assistance. Other development includes knowing her numbers and ability to understand instructions in both English and Malay. However, she will usually converse in Malay. Iman has very little patience for coloring, but that is slowly improving, at least nowadays she tries to keep her colors within the lines :)

This little princess has an opinion about EVERYTHING. From clothes, shoes down to the color of her headband. She love to imitate everything I do and is currently obsessed with make up and wanting me to put on innai on her feet -__-  I'm ok with the innai but is very much against the idea of makeup. We keep on telling her she's beautiful and don't need the extra enhancement unlike me who's old. Her reply to me was priceless 'Kakak tau kakak comel, tapi kakak nak jugak pakai makeup sebab kakak nak cantik macam mummy". It was difficult to say no to that :p so we compromised a tiny bit by allowing her to put vaseline on but only on weekends (and only if she asked for it).

Ranya Fatimah

My little drama queen :) Ranya loves her books. Sometimes I will catch her quietly sitting in a corner turning pages to her storybook. She is also the first to pick up a book and will make me repeatedly read to her everyday. She is quite eloquent but since she has a very manja way of speaking, it sounds a bit pelat and babyish. However, Ranya is able to pick up new English words at a faster pace in comparison to her siblings.

When it comes to arts and craft, she choose to do things her way. For example when we were doing cut-off  body parts for her school project last week, she insisted on turning the mouth upside down because "her doll is angwyy". Since it is her project I relented. Like Iman she's mastering her surah, doa's, numbers and alphabets.

Ranya is also the most sensitive of all my children. Every little thing will set her off and her favorite line after getting a scolding from Lan and I is " Mummy/daddy tak sayang dedek, dedek nak balik rumah atuk, mummy/daddy gemuk". 

I'm also happy to report that both twins are currently potty training and is 80% out of diapers. Thanks to the encouragements of their caretakers in Taska. Accidents are now so much farther in between. It is a bit more challenge when we go out but Lan and I just need to be patient. Potty training twins should be an Olympic event of its own :)

Now that the twins are in preschool, I need to make sure that my time is evenly divided to ensure that I can sit with each child and check on their progress and identify their talents and weaknesses. By doing so I'll be able to determine the most appropriate learning method for them. Since each child is different, the way they process information may be different too. Some kids learn through visual, while some may thrive more when their audio sensory is stimulated. It is not enough to just want and raise a child as individuals, you have to be ready to treat them as one too.

Alhamdullilah, for everything that Iman and Ranya have achieved so far and I pray for the ease of future developments. Our main priority at the moment is to instill as much manners and discipline in them, something we're currently struggling as there's is now 3 of them to keep up with, but we try. Inshallah with time and patience, we will get there :)

Note: All photos are credited to the Teachers of Tadika Ceria Az-Zahrah

101 Japan Trip - Our Winter Holiday

A friend requested that I blog a similar 101 post to my Hong Kong trip, but this time covering our recent holiday in Japan. To tell you the truth, travel tips are pretty much similar from one country to another. My basic mantra is "Be ready, prepare yourself for the worst but pray for the best"

We have a basic travel checklist which we will tweak here and there based on the duration/weather/purpose of our stay. When it comes to my children essential (milk,food and medicine), I rather over pack than under pack because you'll never know when you need things and I hate scrambling in a foreign place feeling lost.

Below are some tips and relevant links for your ease of reference. 

1. Winter Clothing and Essentials for Small Children

This is our first time traveling out of the country during winter with the the kids. Preparations started 6 months before our trip in terms of research and shopping. The best trick I learn from most parenting websites was to layer. This works real well because though it may be super cold outdoors, trains and buildings are heated so putting on super heavy clothing on your child which can't be removed may make them very uncomfortable. 

We always start with an inner shirt below their normal clothes/shirts, a vest (depending on the weather forecast of the day), and add on the final layer which is the jacket. Hats is a must because we lose heat mostly from our heads, so insist that your child put it on. Alternatively you can also get an outer jackets with hoods. Get scarfs and mittens which are made from non-scratchy material. Test it out by rubbing the material on your hands, if you don't find it comfortable, your child won't be either.

This time we lugged our double stroller,the buggy and ALL of our stroller accessories. I have to admit  having the stroller helps. Since my children are creatures of habit, the 1 hour time difference totally wrecked their nap schedule, so they took turns napping in the stroller. The rain shield helped during super windy and cold days too. You just need to be extra careful (and fast) when handling your children and the stroller in the subways.

The problem with traveling during winter is that you have to deal with heavy coats and boots, which means a lot of luggage. Since there's a lot of walking from the airport to the station to the hotel, we packed our luggage in such a way that we'll be more mobile, we used two backpacks, one large trolley bag and a large carry-on to cater to 5 people. We even had a test run to ensure that we'll be able to carry all of our luggage + handling the stroller  and the kiddies. 

2. Weather Forecast
We religiously checked the weather forecast 2 months before our travel date to ensure that we packed right. It was raining on and off  and the temperature was around 2' to 12' . We made sure everyone had a rain jacket/poncho, waterproof jackets, foldable umbrellas and extra shoes. Better be safe than sorry I say because if you think having to walk outdoors in the cold sucks, try walking outdoors in the cold while it is raining :p 

My favorite weather forecast website : Click Me

2. Pocket WiFi

Alhamdullilah we managed to find our travel locations easily, thanks to the help of internet. Despite having a very detailed itinerary and travel plan prepared, I still depended a lot on travel apps and internet search to get me from one point to another. I decided to rent a pocket WiFi for our use in Japan, for easy and multiple connectivity. The pocket WiFi is able to connect up to 8 devices at once, so between the 5 smartphone users in the family, we managed to safe quite a lot.

I pre-ordered my WIFI from the company's website,2 days before we left for Japan. When we arrived it was already waiting for me in the airport. To return I just dropped the package at the post box before boarding 

Check out website for more info:  Global Advanced Communication

3. Travel Apps
I downloaded several key apps before leaving just in case there's any problem with the WIFI. I also subscribed to Celcom roaming in case of emergency (you can never be overly cautious when traveling with 3 small children)

Anyway these are the apps that I found most helpful while in Japan:

• Japan Trains - This is super awesome because not only will it tell you the time and name of the train to take, it will also detailed out the platform/station PLUS the cheapest route to get to your destination PLUS options. Take note the different type of trains while purchasing tickets, there's express (no stops in between of stations), rapid (limited stops), local (stops at every station, cheapest and takes the longest to your destination) tickets.
• Solat/Qiblat/Halal Food Guide- There's a few options but this is good to help determine qiblat for solat and will alert you of the time. The halal food guide comes with a list and some is even linked to its location + GPS 
• Currency Converter- Oh well if your Math sucks as mine, any assistance with the numbers and figures are most welcome :p 
• Waze/Google Maps-In case you need extra help to point you out in the right direction. I did use this a few time because the road signs can be quite confusing and in Japanese

Check out website for more info on train routes : Hyperdia

4. Halal Food

You can't find Halal food easily in Japan. I would say that it is more easily available in tourist spots like Dotunburi Street and Namba. I did manage to find some Halal kebab, tempura and udon while I was there.

We were lucky that our hotel is equipped with a full kitchen, so we  prepared our own breakfast, dinner and pre-packed our lunch. We brought the normal essential like rice, pasta and Brahims (chicken because you can't bring in beef due to the mad cow disease issues) We bought the rest like veges, fruits and eggs at the nearby market.

The cold weather makes my kids constantly hungry, instead of eating and snacking every 4 hours, they need to be fed frequently especially after naps.  We made sure we had snacks like cereal and cheese crackers in hand.

Just a  reminder for people who choose to eat at seafood restaurant and buy seafood/vegetarian based food, the Japanese sometimes uses alcohol during food preparations especially in rice and sauces (most fish sauces used on takoyaki contains traces of alcohol). 

Even pre-packed food which does not contain meat, sometimes use animal fat or lard. One instance was when we were in USJ and asked the popcorn vendor if the popcorn is vegetarian friendly and his answer was no. I'm not sure if it was a mistake on his part but suffice to say we decided againts buying them for the kids. So unless you read or speak Japanese well, I advise you stay clear of things that may fall under the "vague" category. This is also based on the advice from my friend who's in Japan.

Check out website for more info : Halal Kansai Restaurant List

5. USJ Tickets
We pre bought our Universal Studios Japan Tickets from Japan Travel Bureau (JTB) in KLCC. As you know, I AM ALLERGIC TO LONG QUEUES so I made sure that we secured our tickets to USJ a month before we left (Yes I'm super serious when it comes to Harry Potter preparations :p).

Check out website for more info:  Universal Studios Japan and JTB Malaysia

6 . Train Pass
You should take advantage of the train pass packages available for tourist when traveling in Japan. Before choosing a Travel Pass, make sure that it is the one that will work best with you travel route. Based on our itinerary, I choose Kansai Thru Pass because the station is the closest to my hotel. It was also the cheapest option for ticket price for our travel route. Another plus point was they offered discounts vouchers on entrance ticket to several attractions around Kansai. I purchased my tickets at the Kansai Airport itself. There's a 2 or 3 days pass available depending on your needs. You also do not need to use your tickets consecutively.

Check out website for more information: Kansai Thru Pass

You can also purchase the JR Train Pass through JTB. If you're traveling in the Kansai area you can consider the JR Kansai Area Pass available for exclusive use by foreign visitors to Japan. It provided unlimited travel on local JR trains and the Haruka limited express train in the Kansai region around Osaka, Kyoto, Nara and Kobe for one to four days, consecutively. 

One thing I like about the JR line was its loop lines, meaning you do not need to make a lot of train change to get to your destinations.

Check out website for more information: JR Kansai Pass

7.Travel Diary
For our travel diary check out the following links:

• Osaka
• Universal Studios Japan
• Kyoto
• Nara 
• Hotel Review : Mystays Otamae, Osaka  

Fuh!! super long post, it took me 3 days to finish typing this, so hope that it helps someone :) Happy weekend everyone....

My Life is Full....

I just read this very enlightening article about our obsession to appear "busy". One thing we do not realize is "busyness" is a form of sickness, it makes us unhappy, stress out and ungrateful. We go through life in a hurry and never stopping to smell the roses on the pursuit of being busy. To some being busy is a form of "validation", the busier you are, the more important you're perceive to be. The problem is you're just adding unnecessary stress to your life. So why bother? 

Next time someone ask you this question "so how's work? how's life?" Instead of automatically saying "I'm busy" and rattling about the list of activities you're going to do or expected to do. Pause... smile... and say "My life is full" 

YES I'm busy tending to gabijillion work expectations and disappointment but at least I still have a job which pays for my holidays and shoe obsession :p

Weekend filled with activities and no rest ? family events? kids classes? a million invitations and activities? Rather than treating it as a hassle, I try and think of it as a good opportunity to meet and spend time with family and friends.

I know committing to sending my kids to extra classes means that we'll have less time to sit around and do nothing. However, extra classes for them mean they'll get to mingle with their peers, exercise, learn new knowledge and develop new interest. Wouldn't I rather have that than allow them to waste time just watching tv and playing with tablets all day? Anyway, Some people can't even afford basic education, so the fact that I have to make several class rounds during the weekends should not be something to complain about. 

Dirty house? oh well having to do housework means I have a house to clean :p 

Yes my life is full... not with just activities but also with love,laughter and blessings and for that I shall be grateful. 

Reminder of things to blog:

1. - 101 Guide to Traveling in Japan
2. - Travel Diary Osaka, 
3. - Travel Diary Kyoto 
4. - Travel Diary Nara
5. - Universal Studios Japan (Wizarding World of Harry Potter)
6. - Hotel Review : Hotel Mystays Otamae
7. - Munchkins Bento Box preparations
8. - Empathizing with special need kids
9. - Ryan Development Report
10. - Iman and Ranya's 1st Quarter School Report

That is a long list. I will find the time inshaallah, not for the benefit of other but for my own personal satisfaction :) have a good weekend everyone. 

Back to Reality....

I'm back....

Back in Malaysia, back at work and back in my blogsphere :)

I can't believe that I have not been blogging for the past 1 month. I do not think I've gone that long without posting anything since I started blogging 7 years ago. Life have been pretty hectic in February, since I'm going on a holiday, I had to make sure that all my files are in order. Just so happened I was saddled with one cursed project. Everything that could go wrong, went wrong. Last minute issues, unavailability of officers in charge (as in a few bukan sorang ye) and macam-macam lah... At the end, redha je with the happenings :p

Alhamdullilah, we had an awesome vacation in Japan. My wish to travel to a cold country with the munchkins came true --> Read: Trench coats and cute hats. Truthfully, the weather can put a damper to travel plans and people's mood but the fun did outweigh the gloominess.No thanks to meticulous research and reading on my part :) I will blog all about our adventure in Osaka, Kyoto and Nara soon. 

  

6 YEARS AND COUNTING

Thank you Allah for the opportunity to spend my 6 years anniversary with Lan overseas. 6 years ago, we started our marriage practically with nothing to our name, just with our outmost trust in Allah plans and love for each other. Our biggest blessings after 6 years is of course Ryan, Iman and Ranya. Like all marriages we have our good days and days where we could just murder each other. Our love and respect do act as a glue to keep the relationship in tact. 

To my dear husband,

Thank you for continuously putting an effort on building our marriage and not quitting on "us" when things get tough. Thank you for always putting our family first before other stuff though that may not always be easy for you. I know with time, more challenges and test will come our way and I hope Allah will give us the strength and wisdom to deal with it together. Outsiders may not "get us", they may even misunderstood our dynamics and partnership but as long as we know what we're doing that is enough for me. 

The 23 year old girl you fell in love with, your soon to be 32 year old wife and that creaky old woman I'll be in 40 years will love you forever and ever and inshaallah till jannah.

XoXo,

Far

A N T I C I P A T I O N

4 more weeks to my 6 year wedding anniversary with Lan and our Annual Family Trip (inshaAllah). Loads of last minute "challenges" and headache in planning but nothing that is truly worth it comes easy :) May Allah give me the patience coz he knows how much I need it hihihi

In the meantime I will think of this little cuties (and their handsome big brother) every time someone is driving me nuts...