Wednesday, 9 December 2009

A refreshing weekend

When Mr X told me that his colleagues and him planned a weekend stay at Jan*da Baik, I was sceptical. Whats interesting there? Never heard of any nice attractions in that place but since he was so eager and excited, I layannkan aje…

We were late (as usual) and the last to arrived at the meeting point – Gen*ting Sem*pah. After a group photo (which I reluctantly joined – kat sini pun nak amik gambar ke? smile_tongue), the 4 cars with 4 families and 4 singles continued our journey. 30 minutes later, we were welcomed with a large compound kampung house with a nice white gate, neat landscape complete with fish pond, Came*ron-like temp. and the calming sound of the stream. Hmm… not bad…

 

100_6515 Unpolluted stream!!! just across the narrow road

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Where the guys spent most of their time fishing. Love the wakaf. 

Then as I stepped into the house, hey… not bad at all. I actually like… no, love it!!! It was very traditional on the outside, but completely modern yet maintaining kampung elements (open spacious concept) on the inside.

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Where the ladies spent most of our time.

100_6517 Beautiful paintings by the landlord.

Right after settling down, the women went straight into the kitchen to prepare lunch. I mentioned to Mr X before that I dont want to get involve with the cooking(dasar pemalas) but it turned out that I love sibuk2 in the kitchen, helping them marinating the fish and cutting the veges. Simple dishes, but the company, and ambience (haha) made me finished off 3 servings smile_embaressed.

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Simple lunch with breathtaking scenery.

After Zuhr, it was the moment everybody was waiting for… mandi sungai. Lil x kept tugging my leg requesting to change into her swim attire but I was soo malas to berendam as my eyes were so heavy (+ lil y was asleep so I was very tempted to join him). But lil y finally woke up so I gave in, we made our way to the stone-throw stream. Sejukkkkk… I was just dipping my legs but lil x cant resist to swim seeing her friends having fun. I made sure Mr X was with her at all time since the rain had just stopped making the flow a bit fast.

100_6484 I just dont understand how they could stand the cold water.

Lil y and me surrendered 30 minutes after that. The water was icy cold and the poor baby had runny nose. Made 2 big pots of hot tea for everyone and one of the women made yummy cucur while the rest of them made their way to the fish pond, fishing and naik sampan.

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Hasil tangkapan. Half of em.

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 Love love love the wakaf!!!

Right after Maghrib, the guys prepared the BBQ pit for our dinner.

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See the panjut? Meriah ok.

100_6496 My man with my meats hehe…

Since most of them didnt take lamb, I was more than happy to have em hahahhahaha… If only I knew the temperature was THAT cold, I would have brought duvet instead of blankie. But we slept well, with the sound of crickets and frogs…

The next morning was spent with more berendam, fishing, cooking (the women) and carom (the men obviously).  The kiddos made new friends and I was quite amazed they can survive without PH*DC & C*N.

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Sharing is caring

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 Having fun

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The juniors – kawaiii!!!

It was a relaxing, and indeed refreshing weekend amidst the natural tropical rainforest. I felt guilty for underestimating the place. Now I realised that there’s still a lot to encounter and experience in our own country. Am so glad we had the chance to expose the kiddos with nature (including an encounter with humongous froggy), kampung life, tranquillity and serenity. Looking for more trips in the future!!!

Thursday, 3 December 2009

My EBM doesnt freeze

Its been 2 days today and that one particular bottle still contain liquid. Not even partially frozen. Its not the temperature as other bottles froze well, similar batch and the batch after that. So it has been sitting in the freezer for 2 days and still unset??? I wanted to bring it to the nursery today but hesitated, so I just let it stay there for 1 more day. Hmmm… interesting…

From kellymom:

Storage conditions:

  • Do you plan to freeze the milk? If you're not expecting to use refrigerated milk within 5-8 days of expression, then freeze as soon as possible after expression. Use as soon as possible after thawing (but always within 24 hours). I usually put them in the office fridge after pumping, and upon reaching home, lil x will put them in the freezer.
  • Make sure that all packages in your refrigerator or freezer are sealed well, so that your milk cannot absorb odors from other foods. A box of baking soda placed in the refrigerator or freezer may help to absorb odors. Yup I do put my baking soda in the freezer just to make it lasts longer since my baking mood ada pasang surut, so it has another purpose, good.
  • Store your milk in the BACK of the refrigerator or freezer, not in the door. Don't store your milk against the wall of a self-defrosting freezer. Haha when I have many, the ones to be kept as stocks will stay at the back while the ones to be used within 1 week will be stored at the door (FIFO). But now all my bottles can fit the door (2 tiers). That little. Sad kan…
  • Is your freezer cold enough? If your freezer keeps ice cream hard, then the temperature is right. The freezer is full to the brim atm with frozen food and daging qurban but other ebms turned to ice, so it must be below 0 degree.
 
Moskel kan???
 

Thursday, 26 November 2009

Paintball

Tailgated Mr X to his company’s annual paintball games @ Bukit Ja*lil. Left home earlier than normal working days to make sure we reach the place before 9am. Hangkut lil kiddos from bed, without bathing them first. Xsampai hati coz they were still deep in sleep + it was weekend and I felt cruel to wake em up very early in the morning.

The was an international paintball tournament going on so the park was packed with professional paintball soldiers from all over the world and stalls selling merchandise and gears. We got the chance to witness real (international) paintball games and they were quite interesting.

IMG_0601 The pros all geared up and ready to enter the battle

IMG_0602 Their battlefield.

Don’t really understand how their games worked. The international tournament was held at an open field with dummy forts as can be seen above, hence they gated the filed with mesh. Besides that, they also have a ‘permanent’ battlefield with proper barricades and other obstacles for amateur.

After finishing 2 pre-packed sandwiches, lil x made a new friend and they had fun collecting leftover bullets and playing with balloons.

IMG_0608 Socialising

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One of many balloons that he popped

IMG_0612 Muka xmandi

Lil y also enjoyed the new surrounding, walking here and there (let him walk to tire him out LOL) Was a bit grumpy near his nap time, nursed him and straight he went to the lala land.

IMG_0616 Siap ade gf temankan lagi

Our penat bangun pagi, keluar rumah awal & berpanasan totally worth it as Mr X’s team emerged as champion. Weeeeeeeeeee… Had a yummylicious lunch where I had 2nd 3rd 4th servings at his colleague’s house where all 3 beranak (except me) refreshed themselves wangi2 to continue our jalan2 to Sg. Wa*ng… again hehhe…

IMG_0607 My knight in muddy black armour :P

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Last but not least…

Pic via

May Allah SWT accept our Sacrifice (Qurban) and our good deeds,
grant us forgiveness and have mercy upon us.

Friday, 20 November 2009

Merry Friday

Parenthood taught me lots of things that cant be learned in school, books, nor parenting sites. One of the many things is to answer their question carefully, and correctly. Like last few days, while we were enjoying durians that Mr X bought, this conversation took place…

lil x : mama, kita nak KAWEN dgn abg z, boleh?

me : *cough* *cough* *maintain composure* kawen? why nak kawen?

lil x : sbb kita BERCINTA dgn abg z laaa…

me : *rasa nak tertelan biji durian*

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Introducing lil y to entertainment…

143 5

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Im loving my Lena because its height (easy to climb Blackie), water proof (especially in monsoon season like now), design (stylish kan, no?), and comfort (the most comfortable heels Ive ever worn).

Excuse my two-toned feet. Sunburnt from last getaway haha…

Monday, 16 November 2009

Their first monorail ride

It was unplanned. After a relative’s wedding at Su*bang Jaya, Mr X wanted to pay his fav. barber a visit (yes everytime he wants to cut his hair, we have to go allll the way to Ke*ramat). Then we decided to go to Sg W*ang to look-see-n-feel hp (coz we desperately need to change ours). Parked at BTS coz the traffic towards Low Ya*tt/Sg Way was impossible.

As we didnt bring our stroller, my eyes have to be on lil x ALL the times as she tend to stop at each and every shops and touch each and everything on display. *sigh* After few hours and few hundreds RMs poorer still havent found THE phone, we decided to make our way back to BTS. Then this one brilliant idea stroke my mind when I saw the monorail signage, amongst the toilet and surau which we were looking for previously. So we boarded the Sg W*ang monorail, the kiddos had fun riding the ‘choo choo train’, stepped out one stn later at Im*bi.

Yeaaa it was only 1 stn hop hahahhahah. But enough to make lil x grin from ear to ear, and 10 minutes of phonecall describing her experience to her beloved grandpa. *contented*

Friday, 13 November 2009

Worth sharing

Reading this reminded me of my own experience.

I gave birth to both my kiddos at govt. hosp. As both deliveries were c-sect, I stayed nearly 1 week enjoying all sorts of pain-killer drugs injected to me every 6-hours, imagine how much would I have to pay if I were to go to a private hosp. Alhamdulillah everything went well and the baby & I were well taken care off. However, there's one thing I would like to share here...

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After the consultant decided that I need to be c-sect (lil y's heartbeat dropped significantly), I was requested to sign a consent letter. Just wanting to get the baby out safely, I just signed WITHOUT reading. It was my 2nd experience, so I was aware of the risks and consequences of emergency s-sect, or so I thought . Then I was wheeled off to the OT. As the surgeon arrived, she asked me whether I was abc and then only I realised, NO. Thats no my name. Everyone was confused. Then she showed my the consent letter (she's an indian, she thought she might have mispronounced my name). I looked at the letter, THATS NOT MY NAME, but I SIGNED THE PAPER. Goshhh!!!

As they realised the mistake, they immediately contacted delivery room to rectify it. As it was a new hospital, everything was computerised. Apparently they had mistakenly printed and given me another person's consent letter, which I blindly signed. If it was not detected, we (me & abc) would have undergone the surgery without valid consent letter. It might not be a serious case if everything went well for both of us, but what if something went wrong? Or what if they REALLY think I was abc (people read printed names, not scribbled signatures) and abc was scheduled for tubal ligation, after c-sect?????

So guys, please read this and be extra cautious, everyday, anytime, anywhere...
1. Say: "My name is Mary Smith, my date of birth is October 21, 1965, and I'm here for an appendectomy."
You might feel like an idiot, but say this to every doctor, nurse, and technician who takes care of you. 
2. Say: "Please check my ID bracelet."
Hospital staff is supposed to confirm your identity in at least two ways, according to Nancy Foster, vice president for quality and patient safety policy at the American Hospital Association. One of those ways is to check your ID, or scan it if it has a bar code. Another way is to ask you for your name and date of birth.
Of course, you should check your bracelet to make sure the information on it is correct.
3. Say: "Please look in my chart and tell me what procedure I'm having."
If a nurse states that you're having an appendectomy and she's right, that's not enough, because that nurse won't necessarily be there with you in the operating room.
"Make sure the nurse is looking at your chart when she tells you what procedure or test you're having," says Ilene Corina, president of PULSE, New York, a grass-roots patient safety organization.
4. Say: "I want to mark up my surgical site with the surgeon present."
Hospitals these days often hand patients a pen and ask them to mark where they're going to have surgery. Corina says you should do it in front of the surgeon who will be with you in the operating room, and not just in front of the person who hands you the pen.
"If you mark it and the surgeon doesn't know about the marking, what's the point of marking it?" Corina asks.
5. Be impolite.
Foster, the executive at the hospital association, gives this example.
"If the nurse comes in and says, 'Are you Mary Jones?' and you're really Miriam Jones, you might just nod your head and say yes because you're too polite to correct her," Foster says. "Don't be polite."
As we Malaysians are usually bersopan santun, & berbudi bahasa. I might have nodded also if abc's name was quite similar with mine. So friends please be extra extra careful yea...


ps:- Apart from this system glitch, I am very satisfied with the hosp. Service was good, staff was friendly and food was unbelievably yummy haha... 

If we hold on together

One of my dear friends put this song lines in her FB status. If memory serves me right, this song was played in one of many motivational courses which we were required to attend prior to PMR (Gosh it was aaaages. I feel old matured.) Anyway it is such a sweet song. Will put it under my “mood-lifter list”.

Now must find copy of Land Before Time and show to lil y so that we can sing this song together smile_regular