Little Missy's birthday thingy...

So we had a little do for the little missy on Sunday. Just us, four in the family. It started with a shopping trip without Papa who had to bury himself in work - just a little breather for him so he could complete them quickly before the afternoon.

Then she requested for a pink birthday ribbon which said 'BIRTHDAY GIRL'. Of course she didn't want to wear what I've already bought for Adik - it's Adik's and he wants to wear that one! So to avoid bigger confrontation, I bought one for Kakak. Her choice.

Then I let her choose a birthday gift for herself in the form of books, and she picked Dora's little books. And Adik got a Thomas book. Again, if 1 person gets something, the other one must have also.

Later that evening after dinner, the celebration begins. Enjoy the photos!

Birthday girl with her chosen birthday ribbon

Open the present time!!!

Anyway, since there won't be any full swing party for Qistina this year, I gave away some party packs to her classmates the next day.

I do hope she has enjoyed her day. She did get a birthday sticker at school, and her classmates sang to her. Many happy returns again, darling...

One of Life's Changing Moment

5 years ago today.

My life changed.

In fact, our life changed.

Our firstborn came into the world.

And we welcomed her into our life.

With much love, admiration and awe.

Everyday is a new day.

You learn things about us, and we, about you.

What a journey it has been.

Filled with laugh, joy, tears, pain, surprises, shock and most of all, love.

She is an independent individual today.

Makes us proud with all the new discoveries she learnt at school.

And now talks with an admirable accent :)

17:34, on 13.02.06

We are grateful to you Ya Allah

Ar Rahman Ar Rahim

Syukur Alhamdulillah

For blessing us with a beautiful daughter and sister to Rayyan

Nur Alin Qistina

Who turned 5 today

We pray that you grow up to be a good Muslim

Lovable, knowledgeable, respectful, kind, strong and all things good

No words could describe the love we have for you

Our prayers and hope that we will share many more smooches and big hugs and high fives

And laughters and tears

To share many more moons and suns and snow and rain together

Many happy returns

Our dearest Qistina

Buah hati Mama and Papa

Kakak to Rayyan

We would not have it any other way.

Allah selamatkan kamu

On another note to a lovely little person

Mya Hannah

Qistina's twin

Many happy returns to you sayang

You are 5!

Hope you and Qistina will get to celebrate many more birthdays together

Semoga menjadi anak yang baik insyaAllah...

Lots of hugs and kisses to you from all of us here..

1st, 3rd and 4th birthday together

(2nd birthday Qistina's mama was in confinement hehehe...)

Totally lost it

Last week was a pure 'off' week for me. For some unexplainable reasons, I was a cranky person. Unexplainable? Naaahhh... Not really... But it is not good enough a reason to act like that.

Anyway, Q started coming back from school bringing her lunch back. Untouched. Almost.

And I went ballistic! Seriously I have never been that angry with her.. And at the end of everything, both of us were crying. She of pain, and me of frustration and guilt. Then we apologise to each other. With lots of hugs and kisses.

What happened to me? I am a crazy, horrible, unreasonable mother. What was I thinking?

That night I went to bed crying, and praying that I would be a more patient mother. I am working on this. Hard.

And then I looked at her sleeping, so peacefully, and my guilt came back. I wish I could take back what I have done.

To my darling Q, I am so, so sorry. I should have not lost my temper. Please forgive me. I love you. So very much no words can describe it.

It's Complicated..

.. but I still want them!

Staying here in foreign orangputeh land makes me miss the ever delicious food back in homeland. These food can be bought from the night market near our house, or the stall near Atok's house with a mere few ringgits to spend.

Anyway, since this tastebuds feel like having them, I have to think out of the box to prepare them. Here are the results :-

1. Laksa Johor

Done with tuna, kuah rendang brahims, rempah kari ikan babas - alhamdulillah the taste is quite passable!

2. Nasi Kerabu

Inspired by a dear friend who made nasi kerabu 80% complete, in Queensland. She shared with me, what were the ingredients she used and voila! Made them the same weekend. My Kelantanese husband was thrilled!!!!

And now I feel like kaya (coconut jam), roti naik Johor and Murtabak Raja... So how?

There Goes...

.. January! The first month of the year, one twelfth of 2011 flew by, oh wait, poofed by in a flash... What did we accomplish this month?

I for on is very grateful and thankful to Allah the Almighty for the health of my family. Alhamdulillah! I pray that they will always be healthy.. Ameen...

And I made a couple of new friends, and went out with one mommy friend. It feels good..

This month a year ago, I didn't think that we'd be here..

Anyway, our prayers for the safety of fellow Malaysians in Egypt. We hope if you are leaving Egypt, you will land safely to wherever you are heading to.

Ooohhh goodness...

.. what a mess!!!

The above was his latest phrase! You just turned 3 sayang and then you surprised me with that!

Bet this came from the nursery... Mrs Stone, your teacher likes to say that hehehehehe...

Anyway, there was a little celebration for your birthday

Hope you enjoyed it darling!

Birthday boy

It was the letter 'C' week at the nursery, so aptly it was Caterpillar Chocolate Cake with a Candle

And then at night we had our little celebration at home.

Another round of candle blowing!

Many happy returns again sweetheart...

Muahhssss...

Time Flies..

.. when you are having fun!

I can't believe that it's already been 3 years since we first lay our eyes on you. 1,095 wonderful, unforgettable, amazing, unbelievable, sweet days.. How we are blessed...

08:08, on 28.01.08

We are grateful to you Ya Allah

Ar Rahman Ar Rahim

Syukur Alhamdulillah

For bestowing upon us a beautiful son and brother to Qistina

Muhammad Rayyan Faris

Who turned 3 today

We pray that you grow up to be a good Muslim

Lovable, knowledgeable, respectful, kind, strong and all things good

Words can't express how much we love you

We pray and hope that you and us will have many more days and months and years together

To share many more hugs and kisses and laughter and tears

Many happy returns

dearest Rayyan

Anak manja mama and papa

Qistina's baby brother

Allah selamatkan kamu

Sweet tooth

Q & R have sweet tooth. They must have dessert each time after dinner. Since these are the only junk food I will allow (apart from the keropok from kampung which they MUST have during and after dinner), they get to choose what kind of sweet treats they can have.

This week it's smarties chocolate chip giant cookies. Half a piece each, once a day.

Last week - chocolate chip little muffins.

And fairycakes, the week before that.

Did I make all of them myself?

No lah.. All supermarket bought (*all images are from google). :D

Lazy mama... and it is cheaper to buy... (excuses, excuses..)

Hopefully someday my heart will be open to venture into baking these wonderful sweet things. I envy those with this baking oh-so-delicious-treats talent.

Till then, I will just stick to learning how to cook savoury dishes. Speaking of which, tried making dalca last night. Alhamdulillah it turned out fine... Heh..

Edinburgh - Dec'10

Christmas break.

Destination : As above.

Unbelievable weather.

Calf deep snow (are we crazy or what?).

Beautiful place.

Feels like in Narnia.

Stayed near the beach.

-14 degrees.

Had a great time.

Hope you'll enjoy these photos.

Just realised that there's no family photo here.

Did we forget the tripod?

In English We Say.......

..RED! In Spanish we say ROJO (pronounced as roho)!

Qistina and Rayyan is currently so into Dora and Diego so much they have become Spaniards. Hahahahaha... Apart from Spanish here and there, Qistina right now speaks the English sounding VERY English (they speak with a little sing-song way); she used to be very American via Mickey Mouse/JoJo's Circus etc, and then Korean via Pororo (from watching them on youtube). How fast kids pick up languages and slangs... :D

Dora and Diego (Dora's cousin)

Anyway, there is one particular cartoon that I myself enjoy watching here - Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom. The English and their jokes, and the way the punch lines are said, even in cartoons, are a joy to hear and watch. The characters Nanny Plum (Holly's nanny) and the Wise Old Elf always have the best lines - so much so that sometimes Papa and I will crack up laughing hehehehehe... There's (obviously) Ben - an Elf (with his family), and Holly - a Fairy princess (and her royal family), who are best of friends in their little kingdom. Every episode is a different story and as most other cartoons nowadays, they always teach the kids something good.

There's also Peppa Pig - an 8minute/episode cartoon, and Qistina loves it. About a family of pink-coloured pigs who likes to snort; and their friends of many animals. The characters are quite cute, and Qistina now have Peppa's lunch bag, boots and some clothes. Rayyan on the other hand, have a mix of everything - Thomas' jacket, Bob's boots and George's (Peppa's brother) hat/gloves/scarf.

Peppa and her family - Mommy Pig, Daddy Pig and little brother George

Thomas the Tank

Bob the Builder

Well, now that Rayyan will be going to nursery school, he will need a lunch bag too. Ben 10 perhaps?

* all images are from Google