Dim Sum Feast

ehehee... we'd planned this kinda last minute so it was just us four, with Aina.
(the fourth was of course Ana, our maid. some may say "WHAT??!!?" but it is for selfish reasons ok...it's the ONLY way i get to eat in peace!!)

Aina's top is something new which I got for her from PONEY on the same day her Babah went (last minute) shopping for stuff he needed before he left for Japan :-)


As usual, our fave dim sum venue was Quality Hotel, KL. Wed tried the one in Shah Alam before, which was closer to home, but it lacked the huge variety (desserts and sweets) offered in the KL outlet.





Aina was her usual cheeky self, and had a ball trying out the many dishes that was available. I gave her a small amount of chicken porridge, then Ana fed her fruits and a bit of cake before Aina decided she'd had enough and was bored to just sit at the table, ehehehhee....

I'd made reservations for 11am, since on Sundays their Dim Sum Buffet starts at 9am. I thought it's be a good time as it was not quite breakfast time, yet too early for lunch, so the crowd would not be too bad. I was right!!!











Oh yea... turned out my cousins with their own lot were there so initially there was a bit of squealing which scared a little boy who probably thought someone got murdered or something, hHHAhaHAhAHAHHAHhAHaha....

I'd not seen my cousins in ages and it was definitely a pleasant surprise :-)

All in all, we had a good makan session :-D

And, most importantly, even Aina was happy and fell promptly asleep as soon as we reached the traffic light in front of Sime Darby building LOL LOL LOL




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Study Time....

Hehehehe... this is Aina during her so-called study time LOL LOL LOL
She has three board books (so far) and she usually opens up all three in front of her, then decides which one is of interest at that particular moment, then chuck the rest to one side :-P


She 'studies' anywhere - in her cot, on our bed, on her play mat.....we try not to restrict her too much as she's only a baby, ehehehehe


In this particular set of pics, she's reading through her book of nursery rhymes :-D :-D :-D



Even now, I laugh like mad when I think of her antics yesterday while we were having dinner. She'd barely slept all day (which is always the case when left with Ana) so by the time I got home, she'd been fed and bathed as I went on to prepare our dinner. While we were having our meal of fried mee hoon, Aina was SO sleepy she actually nodded off a few times, and she could hardly hold her head up!! We laughed like mad, and I rushed though my noodles to put her to bed. If I had my fone with me, I'd heave kept her nodding off a few more minutes just to record her.... ehehehehehee....




This video is off Aina who REALLY hates wearing a hat, but as she was so engrossed in my handbag, she ocasionally forgets about the tiny 'irritation' before it gets too much for her to bear!

Sorry about the poor lighting but nowadays, if she notices the camera/phone, she'll reach for it and stop whatever she's doing. I just didn't want to distract her with any of my own movements.




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Note : FYI, Ana is the one who keeps putting the hat back on Aina's head!! :-P

Friends II

It was another day for catching up with friends, and this time it was with my friend who's currently stationed in Singapore, but will soon be posted elsewhere :-)


We decided to meet up after I got off from work at Dong Yi Shun, the Chinese Muslim Restaurant in Summit USJ since I'd been raving about the handmade noodles for ages and ages, and this is her chance to try it LOL LOL LOL

Aina immediately took to Rin, putting out her hands willingly to be held by Rin as soon as we arrived, and Aina had a great time eating the noodles and the beef filling of the dumplings :-D


Don't know what got into Aina, she tapped the waiter's hand which was next to her, and started mumbling as if saying that he was bothering her, and we all laughed. She's really cheeky these days, and refuses to sleep... preferring instead to play in her cot!!

I've taken some pics of her, 'studying intently' in her cot, but will only upload those when I'm done editing (well, resizing) them.



AM

Chinese New Year

It's not easy for mom to be so relaxed about her travel plans but with this little minx around, we left for Ipoh a little after 8am, which was VERY late for her, eheheehehe....

Aina was very much the princess as she bullied her TokMi endlessly!! She refused to sleep, refused to sit in her car seat, fussed in the car..... a REAL hand-full!!!

These pic of her in her seat were taken early in the trip....







Along the way, we only stopped at the Tapah R&R for a toilet break, before pushing on along to Ipoh.

After we left Granny's place, we headed to.......

the place is located near the majlis bandaran building, opposite the flats

Aina and Mama waiting for TokMi to bring over the yummy food :-)

Nasi Kandar - steaming white rice, chicken rendang, brinjal and okra, cool cucumber slices with the specially-made coconut sambal

After lunch, we headed back to KL. I decided to feed Aina her milk and let her sleep for the rest of the journey. Unfortunately, the little miss had other plans...

She finished off her formula, then started fussing!!!

I held my ground for a bit, and she slept a little while before creating a HUGE fuss again, and that's when TokMi took her to the front to let Aina enjoy the sights, so to speak...

These are pics of Aina's 'faces of tantrums'..........





We arrived in KL around 2pm, and our dinner that night was curry mee which Mom had cooked early that morning:-)






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Crawling!!!

Oh yea... this morning, Aina woke up and suddenly decided to crawl!!!
It's like she dreamt it, then woke up to try out what she 'learned'!!!
LOL LOL LOL

Nowadays, Aina:

1. does not like to be left alone. she'll cry if I walk out of a room

2. cannot see me get ready. If she sees me wearing my tudung, she'll immediately stop playing and put her hands out. If I ignore her, she'll cry!

3. she knows what she wants, and how to get it.... plus, she can throw a mean tantrum when she wants to. We do try not to give in all the time, though. Have to make her understand that some behaviours are just unacceptable!!

4. eats EVERYthing that I eat, and has (so far) no allergies, touch wood!!

5. LOVES to play in her tub but really HATES cold water... Have to figure out how to overcome this if we ever plan to take her swimming!!!

6. if she sees someone walking by, she'll put up her hands, asking to be carried as she likes to see and explore, but have yet to gain true independence on her own two feet!!! ahahahahaha



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Miscellaneous I

Hehehehe.... I've put up the title with a number (I) because I know there'll be many more pics with no specific title/category :-D :-D :-D

These are various pics taken of Aina

konon sangat commeeellll anak mama nih!!!

mama nak gi mana? aina bawak laaa....

The pics of Aina at the wheel was taken while waiting for Tok Cik Yat (i.e. mom's maid) to buy Aina's taufu fah:-P

These pics are of not-so-superior quality as they were taken with the handphone camera. I do not own a too-nifty gadget, so it's not one with 3.0MP or anything like that, ehehehehe...

I rely on my D40 for better pics :-D :-D :-D



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p.s. I do have some videos of Aina, but I'll see if I can figure out on how to load it in here...

Up One Level....

Caught Aina on tape (well, phone anyways...) today after zohor prayers. Grabbed the phone to record a video, and the camera to capture these pics.

She's enjoying her 'new found' freedom of having feet to use, and it's usually practice time in her cot.

She knows how to have a good laugh and understands when we tease her...



We took Aina's kakak to the doc today as her in-grown toenail is creating havoc!! It was a bit swollen, but she started to take out more, then it became worse....! So, this morning the doc cut out the portruding flesh from the wound, then cut off a bit of her toe nail.



As the jab wore off (doc obviously gave her a shot to numb the area), it began throbbing and I know she was in pain. We'd warned her, so I made sure she took the painkillers doc gave her. She also has a course of antibiotics to finish off :-)


I told her it's good for her to get it done now because it's holiday time so I will only be back at work on Wednesday -- ample time for her to recover....!!



Look at the cheeky girl!!! It's too bad her babah is so far away............... :-(



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Comot!!

That's the only way to describe Aina, ehehehehe.... We'd gone to TOkMi's for a couple of days, and she treated Aina to a scoop of triple chocolate (can't recall the brand), but of course Aina didn't finish all of it herself -- most of it went to Mama, hahaha!

In her hand, she's holding a piece of pear :-)














































Weekend will be 'tying up loose ends' time before we head back to visit my Granny in Ipoh. Time permitting, we may even end up visiting a friend there, but we'll see how THAT goes. We've also planned to go to our favourite place for Nasi Kandar, so if I get the chance, I'll make sure to take pics :-D

It'll just be a day trip, then Tuesday will be resting (and laundry!) day before I go back to work on Wednesday.



AM

Friends

Met up with an old friend today, who was more like a "Adik Manja" to me during my time in the UK :-D

She's currently residing in the US, California to be exact, and has been working as a travel agent for the last 8 years. She's sacrificed a lot to achieve her dream of finally being able to live in the US, and this is her third year back here after 10 years of not coming back to even visit her family.

When she contacted me via Facebook to tell me that she was coming back, Lillian (the other friend in the pic) tried to see if we could conjure up more friends but unfortunately, in such short notice, with the holidays coming up, it was virtually impossible.

SO, it was just us three :-)


Anyway, I would like to go to sleep now as I have a REALLY bad, pounding headache, so I'll add in pics of Aina which I took today in my next entry, InsyaAllah...



AM

Cold

...or is CRUEL a much better word?

I am, of course, talking about what I read in the newspapers yesterday about abandoned/unwanted children.

STORY 1
The 6-month old baby boy who was so unceremoniously dumped into a bin by his dad, just because the dad suspected that the baby wasn't his, thanks to his cheating wife (or so he claims). In my most humble opinion, he should have binned the wife!!

Thankfully, a security guard was aware of the whole 'drama' that took place and went to check on the so-called object that was dumped.

STORY 2
The 2-year old girl who was left wandering the streets on her own, with a small backpack containing a change of clothes, diapers and a bottle of formula.

WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH HER PARENTS????

It was fortunate that a good person found her and took her to safety. Imagine if some paedophile found her?!??!?!

With everything that's been in the papers and going on around us today, it makes me sick that people like these idiots are allowed to be parents.

When I got home yesterday and played with my baby girl, it was just totally beyond me how can ANYone, let alone a parent, just abandon a child. I imagined Aina being dumped in a public bin, and it brought tears to my eyes... I imagined Aina wandering the streets with her little diaper bag, and I almost sobbed aloud.
(thank goodness I didn't or else the maid would've thought I'd gone bonkers!!)

It is indeed a sad time when parents can just leave their helpless children to fend for themsleves, and the little ones have done nothing wrong.

If caring for a child is too much due to financial/economic issues, then by all means, go to the nearest police station or shelter or whatever, and give up your child properly. Do what is necessary so that your child can find a better home, for a better future.

By dumping your child like nothing more than garbage is unacceptable, inhuman, and most of all, CRIMINAL.



AM

Normal

...well at least SOME sense of normalcy :-)

Aina's fully recovered now, and she seems to be even more mischievous and cheeky!

I've not warmed up my 'new kitchen' so I thought of adding a simple recipe of what I made for dinner last night, Ayam Masak Kicap.

AYAM MASAK KICAP
(quantity of spice ingredients depends on quantity of chicken)
chicken pieces
shallots*
garlic*
ginger*
(all * ingredients to be pounded to a paste)
dark soy sauce
sweet soy sauce
light soy sauce
oyster sauce
white pepper, salt & sugar to taste

heat oil in a wok and fry pounded ingredients.
add in combined mixture of sauces, with a bit of water.
bring to boil, then add chicken pieces. bring up to boil again, then lower heat and leave to simmer for about 15 mins, until chicken is cooked through. if gravy becomes a bit dry or thick, adjust by adding water to desired consistency. season to taste before serving.

Aina was also over the moon last nite as she was able to see her babah via our webcam, and she was grinning the whole time her babah was talking to her. Needless to say, Aina's babah was also happy to see her :-D :-D :-D

Seems that he may be held back a few extra days, but hopefully he'll be back before the end of the month as I've planned a bit of activity for us then.

Our short break this weekend has been cancelled due to some unforeseen reason, but we (Aina and me) will be making a short trip back to Ipoh to visit my maternal grandmother on Chinese New Year.

Don't scoff, because FYI.... I am 50% made up of chinese blood! ehehehehe



AM

Hot!

Yup..Aina was hot again yesterday i.e. Friday, and I decided to take her to SJMC before I went in to the office. We left for the hospital at 6.20am, and were the third. I had to register Aina first as this was her first time there, but since it was early in the morning, the wait was not long at all. I'd called up my boss to inform that I'll be a bit late.

Turned out Aina's temp was over 38.5 so I ended up taking the day off since she was crying "mama...mama..." and wanting to be carried constantly... :-s

I didn't feel comfortable taking 2 days off but at this point, my priority was Aina.

By mid-afternoon, we decided to put wet towel on Aina's head to bring down her temp a bit as her head felt SO HOT!

By nite time, her temp was almost normal, and she'd already started to play with her toys again.

This morning, she woke up slightly warm, but it was normal I guess. She played and ate as usual, so I knew she was fine, leaving me to go ahead with my planned activity (almost) guilt-free.



We'd made plans for a spa party @ VilaManja and since we'd committed a party of six persons,if anyone of us cancelled, we'd get billed anyway.

Oh yeah, Aina woke up with a bit of a nose bleed, but it was just a tiny amount. I think she may inherit my intolerance for 'heat' because as a child, my nose would bleed almost every week when the weather was hot!

Anyway.... it's getting late, so I better go off and sleep now while Aina is sleeping peacefully :-)




AM

Fever

Aina was unable to sleep last nite, and by 4am her temp was higher than the previous nite when I put her down to bed.

Since I didn't know which clinic/hospital I'd go to, or how long the wait would be, I decided to just take the day off.

Ended up going to SALAM Polyclinic, near De Palma Shah Alam, and since it was a Thursday, not many people were there. Took Aina home, gave her her meds (which is equivalent to declaring war on a small country!) and then put her to bed.

Lunch was take out from A&W (sorry!) and then while the maid watched over Aina, I started to prepare for dinner. I'd decided it'll be a simple affair of bee hoon soup so all I had to do was to prepare the broth that would go with it.

The simple dinner was most satisfying.... and then it was 'war time' again with Aina to get her to take her meds.

Alhamdulillah......... her fever gone down so I guess I'll be going to work tomorrow :-D

I have something planned with my sis and nieces on Saturday, and if I remember to bring the camera, I'll add some pics from that little 'do.

Till then, stay safe..............



AM

A New Beginning.....

...to symbolise a new year, and soon... a new home, insyaAllah :-)

It is with a heavy heart that I am leaving my other 'cyber home' but what should be done ought to be done and therefore here I am...

Apologies if this will begin as a dull and uninteresting blog as I start to learn the ropes in 'handling' and familiarising myself in my new home. For now, I'll just add Aina's pic which I think is absolutely adorable, with her smiling behind her pacifier, hehehehehe.......

Until I get the hang of adding pics in a different manner, I guess this will have to do as an introduction.

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