Wednesday, March 11, 2009

9th March-Happy Birthday AZ1!!

11 years ago, he came into this world in a very memorable way. I could even remember what I had for lunch that day. I was beginning to have some light spotting a few days earlier. I was too tired to go out for lunch, so my colleagues tapau some food for me. You see, I always drive right towards the end of my pregnancy. My hubby works right in the middle of KL and I in PJ.

Suddenly around 3 pm, my dress felt wet, I thought my waterbag broke. It was fresh blood! I was so scared, called my gynae, Dr HA and he told me to go straight to the hospital. I could not contact my hubby as he was in a meeting and he didn't own a handphone at that time. My colleagues really panicked. 2 of them drove me to PMC, as I was walking out, I left a trail of blood on the carpet, on the chair. We had to put a lot of old newspaper on my car seat. They had to do emergency C-section on me. I cried when the gynae asked me to mengucap. My colleagues were still trying to locate my hubby. As it was emergency, it was full anesthesia. AZ1 came into the world at 4.32 pm.

I was still very groggy when I woke up later. The room was full with my relatives and hubby's who came all the way from Melaka. I saw my son and didn't feel anything. I always never feel anything towards all my newborn babies. I only was fully awake the next day, the nurses gave me a sponge bath (it's in the itemise billing!). I felt dizzy coz I lost a lot of blood but felt no pain at all. The anaesthetist was really good.

The gynae said I had stg like vericose vein in the womb. As the baby's head pushed down, the blood vessel had a rupture. Luckily he was able to locate the place or I could have lost my womb. The doc said even the nurses were worried. In the initial months, sometimes I worry if AZ1 was really mine, coz my hubby wasn't around to see him arrive. What if he had been switched! As he grows, I know he's mine. Part of his name was in honour of my hubby's late brother who passed on a few months earlier of nose cancer.

I managed to breastfeed him for 1 month. Comparing him to AQ1, he was much easier to care for. Bibik liked to feed him well as she liked it when people commented on his tembam cheeks. He was a very cute and chubby baby. Now he's grown into a handsome, tall (ni bias ni..) and sometimes naughty young man. Since his b'day, he's been studying harder than usual, maybe it's because he's having exam this week.

Children bring us so much joy and worry at the same time. We worry about them all the time, worry about their future etc etc...This must be how our parents felt before.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Cheese And Onion Buns Recipe

Atas permintaan K.Ezza...


CHEESE AND ONION BUNS

Source : mamafami.fotopages.com

*184g bread flour
* 46g cake flour
3g instant dried yis
12g sugar
4g salt
23g honey
18g egg yolk (1 egg yolk)
35g butter or margarine
138ml fresh milk ~ lukewarm

TOPPING
Margarine
Bombay Onion ~ diced
Spring onions ~ chopped
Mozarella cheese ~ to sprinkle

1. Cream the margarine.
2. Add onion and spring onion. Mix well.

Method :

1. Place flour, instant yeast, sugar, salt honey and egg yolk in a mixing bowl.
2. Turn on the mixer and pour the lukewarm milk a bit at a time till just incorporate.
3. Add in the butter and continue kneading.
4. Pour more milk if necessary and continue kneading till a soft and smooth dough is formed.
5. Make the dough into a round ball and place it in a bowl sprinkled with a bit of flour. Wrap the bowl with a clean plastic bag and let the dough prove till double the size.
6. Punch down the dough and divide into a 50g balls each. Arrange on the baking tray. Make a slit on top using a sharp knife. Wrap the tray with plastic bag and let the dough rise again.
7. Put the topping and sprinkle with mozarella cheese.
8. Bake in a preheated oven till golden brown. I used the small oven, so I set the temperature at 175 C for 25 minutes on middle rack.

Note: I used 230 gm of bread flour instead of mixing the 2 types of flour. I also reduced the amount of milk.

Monday, March 2, 2009

Sports Day




AZ2 joins the taekwondo at the Sek Keb though he's not yet in primary school. He took part in the taekwondo demo on the sports day last sunday. He was one of those yang tengah melutut and he was sooo proud. The one jumping over is my neighbour's son.














The one in the middle front row is AZ1, behind him with the white belt is AZ2.
















Yummy




Masuk bakul angkat sendiri..he..he..! made 1 kg of buns, finished in 2 days.













Picnic






I can't remember the name of this place, it's at the border of Johor and Melaka. Kids had loads of fun with the cousins.


















Mrs Hart recommended me this place. Jasin Hot Springs. Ada natural hot mineral water. Boleh rendam2 kaki dan ada tempat untuk kids main slide and ada small wading pool macam kat KLCC tu. We've been there twice, the kids as long as ada air, they're happy!!









































Bibik


This is my first maid. She was with us for 9 years, from the day AQ1 was 1 month old right to the time AZ2 was 2 1/2 years old. I owe a lot to her. She took care of all my kids dengan amanahnya. She's also a very pious person, often waking up at 2 or 3 am to solat..is it tahajud..errm..obviously I still have a long way to go!
We still keep in touch with her, she's now 60 I think. She took care of me during my confinement, made me some really bitter jamu. I only bathed the babies when they are 1 month old. But of course because she's older than me, I pun respect dia jugalah.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Crystal Clear

I collected my multifocals on Monday. I must say that I'm adjusting well to them. No pening2. If anyone wants to make glasses, I would recommend the CEO opticals at Kota Damansara. He's the first optician to explain everything to me and spent time checking my eyes thoroughly.

Last week I made onions and sausage buns. I will upload the photos later, forgot to bring today. I got the recipe from mamafami fotopages. Another of my favourite source of recipe is hanieliza. I really like making buns and cakes, I get such satisfaction seeing the dough and mix rise.

I visited my friend S this week. One strong lady. She's in the plastic surgery unit. I didn't know that HKL (GH) has reconstructive unit, the plastic surgeons reconstructed a breast from the fat taken from the tummy. I am proud that we have many good malay doctors. My late brother was in IJN and my SIL in UMMC. The doctors and nurses that attended to them were excellent. My faith in government hospitals have since been restored.

I look forward to watch TV3 Keliwon tonight, I quite like to watch these cerita2 misteri. K.Ezza, now that I know that you read my blog, I want to cerita about saka. Some people, unknowingly inherited the 'thing' and that is the sad part. Semoga Allah mengampuni segala dosa mereka yg telah pergi dan terjebak secara tak sengaja. Because they didn't know, so they didn't 'jaga' the 'thing'. And that 'thing' makan diri mereka. Doctors would categorise them as having phsycological problem (mental). Wallahualam.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Of dreams, doa and hope

I went to bed early at 10 with a heavy heart and head. Didn't even finish TV3 Keliwon coz it's a bit boring this week. As I'm writing this, a dear friend of mine, S is undergoing surgery due to the dreaded big C. She was in high spirits yesterday and that's good. She's the third in my batch who's got it. The other two are doing fine now, so I hope and doa that S will as well. Doa is a really powerful thing.

I woke up at 5 am this morning. I dreamt of my late mother, in our kampung house. I didn't read Yasin for her last night. Every now and then, I do dream of my late parents and brother. I was told that the departed souls can also doa for us. My late brother passed away in Jan last year, followed by his wife 8 months later, in the month of Ramadhan. She had succumbed to cancer. They went for Hajj end 2007, everyone thought that my brother would be the one taking care of her. Holy Mekah is indeed a land of miracles, my brother had a heart attack there and my SIL was the one who took care of him. Alhamdulillah they both completed the Hajj. It's probable that after my brother's passing, my SIL lost her pillar of strength as her health deteriorated after that. I think theirs was true love indeed, always together forever. They were laid next to each other. They left behind 4 children.

All that is left is just memories. When they were courting, my cousin and I were the chaperones lah. Went mandi laut at Batu Feringghi, makan celur2 (steamboat) at Padang Brown. There can eat ABC with a big scoop of ice cream. I have yet to find nice ABC like before, or maybe cause it was hard to come by in the old days that made it so sedap.

Today I want to make some onion buns to bring for AQ1 tomorrow. It's her sports day. I'll tell you all about it next week. I'm in a better mood to cook because I heard a good news regarding first formers in the school. They now finish their prep at 10, lights off at 10.30pm and on again at 6 am. AQ1 was talking about quitting school coz she could not stand the late night (11.30) and waking up at ungodly hours such as 4.30!! I could sympathise with her coz I would cry too if I had to wake up at that time. Actually, on weekdays, I'm worse than my kids, I wake up after them. When AQ1 was in Std 1, she actually woke me up every morning!

Have a good weekend everyone!

Monday, February 16, 2009

This and that

It's now lunch time. I made 3 pieces of french toast this morning so am not going out for lunch. I may have Maggi later, been a long time since I had one. Almost every morning I will buy teh tarik from the shop below. I find food is getting more expensive, kalau sedap sangat tu tak pa juga. Tonight I will make ayam masak lemak cili api. My maid normally cooks for the kiddies only and I will make the main dish for dinner. I like cooking, provided that I don't have to do the dishes. My hubby doesn't like eating out sebab lunch dah makan kat luar. He's not fussy, asal ada something pedas macam sambal tumis dah cukup.

When I was doing my A levels, once I went to Cardiff. Shana, if you're reading this, I know a few of the R*C boys that you once mentioned in your blog. I liked them, coz they were very gentlemanly. I was staying in a hostel so I didn't know how to cook at all. I wanted to help, so Ra*in asked me to kopek bawang putih and I ended up kopek a few labu..Syish..I have come a long way.

Nowadays I find myself myself just skimming the newspaper. Malas nak baca. Tak habis2 dengan politik and power struggle. We are facing a very bad economic downturn and the politicians are busy fighting. The only newspaper that I read cover to cover is Mingguan Malaysia, especially Panca Indera..he..he..maybe I'm becoming shallow, but at least it doesn't leave me with a headache!

Some of my male friends are making so much fuss about that female YB with naked photos of her being circulated around. Personally, I don't think she's done anything immoral, she's single and it's not against her religion. BUT...her weakness is that she got caught. I think it must have been done by someone once close to her. I mean, the photos shouldn't have got out, if she can't manage that someone, how is she supposed to manage her constituent...

Right now, telinga I ada rasa panas sikit. People in the office talk very loudly about politics. Sigh...I'd better keep my mouth shut or I will lose some friends. I am the minority here.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

My weekend

Since hitting the bigh four oh, I have started having problem reading especially when I'm wearing my contact lenses. On friday, I went to make multifocal spectacles. Hmm..they're quite costly, but I hope my headache will disappear soon. But the optician did tell me that it will take me about 2 weeks to get used to them. The optician spent 1 hour checking on my eyes, he even checked my eyes. My iris (if i hear correctly) are big and don't shrink easily. That's why I tend to get headache when sitting in the hot sun too long. The spectacles will be ready in about 1 week's time.

Hubby and I usually go out for dinner on Valentine's Day, without actually mentioning the word Valentine. This year, we didn't cause he was busy working on his laptop the whole weekend. I was busy cooking the whole day, I made cinnamon buns and sausage buns. Been a month since I baked anything, no mood, sebab kept on thinking of AQ1. Then bila ada free time, I turned into a very garang tutor. Maybe I should send my bill to my husband.

AZ1 didn't make it to the football team. Kesian pula I tengok dia coz he really minat football. So we told him to go and see the teacher and ask him to reconsider. AZ1 is already red belt taekwondo, I think they call it pooms. My hubby always talks to him about football. Sometimes I forget that he's only 11, so I expect more from him. Good thing that hubby is more easy going with him. I always compare my kids to me dulu2, but I have to remind myself that they are not me, and this is different era altogether.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

My eldest son - AZ1

AZ1 will be 11 next month. Right now, I'm fuming at him. Yesterday, I found out that he walked home after the football try out with my neighbour's sons. I didn't even know about the try out, then the kakak driver gave them a scolding for walking home and not informing her. Memang patut dia marah.


Last night, Kas my neighbour talked to me. My son and her sons have on a few occasions being going to the shop near our house straight from school. Kena cross jalan to go to the shops and anything can happen, especially in KL ni. Dia memang kena dengan I this morning, baru terkeluar rahsia that once he even brough AZ2 along!!


I also told my maid off for not telling me..Am I being too protective? Even nak pergi playground depan rumah I make my maid go with them. My kids go to Kafa on most afternoons, except bila ada co-co or they call and said they are too tired. Everytime I go and take report cards from the ustazahs, they complain about the same thing. AZ1 is too playful although he has the brains. Of course they compare him to AQ1 and AQ2. Sigh...


Other than the maid, AZ1 is always the first one up, weekdays or weekends, but he's also the first to bed. So he must really tired himself out at schools. My kids are only allowed to play PS2 on weekends. The family room upstairs is just next to my bedroom. Just last month I was woken up at 2.30 by some noise outside my room, guess what, AZ1 putting on PS2. Told him to sleep, then again woke up at 3.30!! This time claiming dia salah tengok jam.

Some Photos



These photos are taken with my handphone, my camera was my b'day present 4 years ago and doesn't take good photos indoor anymore. I have a feeling my hubby is getting me another one this year.

These are the cards that my kids made for my b'day. AQ1 shared with AZ2.






AQ1 doing her Kemahiran Hidup project. She's in Std 4, she's the most artistic in the family but really slow in doing things. She seldoms finish her art in school, selalu bring home. Then she tends to spend a few hours on it. So now i give her time frame, 1.5 hour only on art homework.









AZ2 reallly loves playing and he's quite creative. This is the jet that he made last night. Initially he wanted to be a soldier or a police officer (like my late brother). He loves playing with guns and lawan2. Now he doesn't want to be a soldier anymore because hubby told him that he must stay in the jungle to be one.








These are the cupcakes we had last weekend











Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Monday, February 9, 2009

Thank you for the b'day wishes. We had a simple celebration i.e had dinner outside. The kids gave me home made cards, very nice, although AZ2 took 2 days to finish the card. I belum pandai nak download gambar onto the blog lagi. Hubby has not given me anything, belum ada idea he said..it's ok.

My spa session started at 2. Mula2 that energy chamber, I was supposed to sit in it for 20 minutes. It's like a big tempayan with lots of steam coming out. Similar to sauna I think. I could not relax in it, coz certain parts of my skin felt so hot. Only tahan for 15 minutes, why, because without thinking that morning, I had applied some slimming gel on my tummy and hip. That gel react to heat..that's why i tak tahan. After that the body scrub, second time in my life, I think the one they did at Mustika Ratu was better. Then a quick shower, then a 1 1/2 hour massage. That was good. The indon lady who did the urut kept on burping coz she said my body banyak angin..hmm..how does that work..Anyway, the energy chamber really exhausted me out, I fell asleep during the massage and I sweat a lot too. I even slept very well that night, macam after exercise. But it is costly I think for just 20 minutes.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

6th February - I'm 42!!

Today is my birthday and I'm 42 years young!

My hubby's b'day was 6 days earlier and we have not celebrated yet, not even a cake. Birthday present pun tak ada. So since AQ1 is coming back this weekend, I've ordered some pretty cupcakes to be picked up this afternoon. I would have ordered from Zaitgha but she's too far and I'm ordering from her for AQ1's b'day. I have not bought anything for hubby as he's always telling me not to do any shopping now, wait after June as things may be cheaper then. But I really hope he gets something for me...

The spa that I usually go to, is giving me a 60% discount for my b'day. So that's what I'm treating myself to this afternoon. A scrub, energy chamber (apa tu??) and a massage..bliss.. Now every 2 or 3 weeks I have to send AZ1 to the mosque on fridays. He is not yet 11 but already in the adolescent years. A few weeks ago, I saw that he shaved already!! It's very awkward, to me lah. Now I only have 1 child yang still cute and boleh gomol2!

Thursday, January 29, 2009

A Turbulent January

It has been a very long and stressful January. I have not been reading any blogs until today. There was so much problem in the office, everyone was just stressed out. Finally, there is light at the end of the tunnel. One day, when the stress factor is completely removed, I will write about it. Enough to say that my blood pressure went up, first time in my life.

My eldest, AQ1, is now in a boarding school Seremban. She is still adjusting, I think it's a shock to her system that she has to do everything herself. Kat rumah tak pernah buat kerja langsung. Unlike me, Std 3 dah pandai basuh baju.

I even forgot what my blog is called, apatah lagi my password!

Sunday, January 4, 2009

AZ2 is 6 today!!

Today is my youngest son's 6th birthday. He is by nature a happy child, he brings sunshine to the family as he is a sanguine..His teachers miss him when he was absent from school, last year he had hand, foot and mouth disease. He's not scared by ghosts stories. When we balik kampung last school holidays, my Sister In Law hairan seeing him sitting on a chair in front of the bathroom. You know how slightly eerie a rumah kampung can be, furthermore banyak pokok2 pula tu. His eldest sister actually made him sit there coz she was scared!!
When I was pregnant with him, I was really tired all the time and really heavy. When I complained to the gynae, all he said was..biasalah tu, dulu pregnant umur 20an..sekarang 30 an... No wonder as he was the biggest at 4.13 kg, he was even bigger than AQ1 (my eldest) at 1 month old.
I actually tried to enter him into Std 1 this year, tapi tak diluluskan, he can read and write but spelling not so good yet. He is happy about not going to proper school yet. He gets to enjoy another year of main2, he is quite imaginative at play. He can make robots and pistols out of blocks and can entertain himself with minimal toys.
Last month, he asked me to get a baby as babies are so cute..I said you are my baby, he said..No, I am big already..Last night we went out for dinner and I already made 2 cakes for him, 1 for school and 1 for the family later tonight. Rupa cake tak ada coz I'm still amateur, nanti dah terra sikit buleh ambik gambar

Thursday, January 1, 2009

16 things about me

First of all, this is my very first entry. I wish everyone to have a blessed New Year 1430 Hijrah and 2009.



I have been tagged by Wanshana, so here goes:



16 things about me:



1. I was born in Penang and spent only 12 first full years of my life there, then went to secondary school in Seremban and since then, have only been back for short trips. I always feel so happy to be back and meet my relatives there, back to my roots.


2. I had 4 elders brothers and 1 sister (who died before I was born). Last year, around this time my 3rd brother passed away after coming back from Hajj, it was a very sad time for me. My father passed away 3 weeks before I graduated in 1990 and my mother passed away in 2006.


3. I am in the accounting industry, a career that is supposed to fit my personality. I am a melancholic-phlegmatic, meticulous and a person with few words. I like dealing with numbers, but not very good with people. But I've learnt to open up and be more friendly. People used to think that I'm snobbish, though I have nothing to snob about! I am actually very shy.


4. I love to read. I read all sorts of books, amongst my favourites are Agatha Christie, Jeffrey Archer, Sophie Kinsella, John Grisham, Dan Brown, Mitch Albom and Alexander McCall Smith. When I was a teenager I loves Mills & Boon and that Flowers in the Attic series but I don't like romance novels anymore


5. I am married and have 2 boys and 2 girls (selang bunga, starting with a girl). How did I manage that? Rezeki and a bit of a planning..My eldest is daughter is going to Form 1, followed by my Std 5 son, Std 3 daughters and my 6 year old son.


6. I have known my husband more than half my life, since I was 19 years old. He's only 6 days older than me.


7. I love to cook and bake. But I'm not one of those who can whip out something at a short notice. I need to be ready to cook. I've recently learnt to bake cakes and buns, since my hubby bought me an oven.


8. I love to watch family dramas and mysteries (like CSI). I like action movies like the Bourne series and the Bond movies (ONLY with Daniel Craig). Harry Potter and the Narnia series are ok too but I never get the Matrix! Ermm..I love cartoons (I've forgotten the right word!) such as Madagascar and Shrek, but my fav is still The Incredibles.


9. Why did I choose the name Busybody? Because I felt like a busybody reading people's blogs!! But I don't think I am really.

10. I like to pamper myself occasionally, going for massage and facials. I tell myself that I earned it especially after a really stressful time at work!

11. Sometimes I get stressed out at home too, especially when the kids fight..sigh..but lately been feeling a bit melancholic cause my eldest is going to Form 1, in my old school. Children grow up real fast, I still remember her as a colicky baby, crying non stop from Maghrib till midnite for 2 solid months!! I am growing old..

12. I am a worrier, what to do, Allah makes me that way. I worry when we go to the beach (when the kids go too far away), I worry when we go mandi sungai (takut batu2).

13. My favourite singer is Celine Dione and I like Siti Nurhaliza too..though I have never bought any CDs!

14. I feel so lucky to have been born in Malaysia.

15. I don't like computer games, or playstation. Sometimes just seeing my kids play PS2 makes me pening already.

16. I learnt how to cook after I got married, when I stayed with my Sister In Law for 2 months. Masa student dulu, I only knew how to make sambal sardine, ayam goreng, ayam masak merah and nasi goreng. But I have improved a lot.

Phew..jenuh juga ya nak fikir 16 things about me!