a birthday to plan for

we have a birthday to plan for. muhammad nashwan nasr is going to be 3 next month...

the concept is going to be similar to nadia nasira's recent birthday celebration. my little boy has chosen his birthday cuppies design and mummy's job is to place the order. let's see if aunty sharifah nazlina volunteers to sort it out like she did for nadia nasira...

the design is.... tadaaaa....

my son loves elmo!i think second to ben 10, of course. i guess he would have opted for ben 10 anytime but as far as mummy is concerned, ben 10 will never be an option!

i am so against exposing him to ben 10 because i think he is too young to understand that violence is not an acceptable way of life. i don't know if i am overly concerned about it but when i evaluate him.... i think there is a part of him which is extremely loving and wanting to be loved. this is the reason also for him to compete with his sister to complete the tasks i give his sister. he probably thinks i love her more and that is the reason for me to ask help from her. there is also a part of him that is too rough.

well i guess boys will be boys, i suppose. however, it does help to be prudent in raising a child because i can't afford to make a mistake here since time is of essence. i can never go back in time to mend all the mistakes i have done in life especially the lost time with my children.

by the way, we have a birthday to plan. i love you baby, so very much!

ms. lat

do i have a ms. lat under my roof?

my husband asked me to hurry and look at what was on the white board. this is what i discovered....

looks like she is ready for art lessons...

the white borad was supposed to be for me to teach them instead, it is used for them to play teacher, teacher just before bedtime. you can hear them taking turns being the teacher shouting out the roll call.... aqil nouman, adeena saffiya, aleesha zaara, etc. and the list goes on...

my first haircut...

it was time for nazhan nasr's first haircut at the barber shop...

the before look while waiting for big brother to be done with...

big brother's turn...

it is my turn...

i am impressed with this one... the other children wimped and cried their lungs out on their first haircut while my mr. all smiles are cool about it.... by the way, nadia nasira and nashwan nasr went to the children hair saloon at great eastern mall for their first rm25.00 haircut...

we will take you there too, darling...

it doesn't hurt, does it?

i'm done...

the photographer and her subject...

special guests

i had special guests coming to my office the other day... they entertained my collegues, collected chocolates from the uncles and aunties and did some coloring at my desk before we all went home...

durian feast...

the school must have introduced nadia nasira to durians... she kept asking for durians everytime she saw durian stalls by the roadside. so, daddy decided to have durian feast.... the children were all excited, especially nadia nasira...

waiting anxiously, with a smirk on her face....

the only durian expert in our house, demonstrating to the children...

the durian expert apprentice....

the durian lover, the look on her face explains it all....she enjoyed the feast the most.

he would not eat it at all.... what a waste, my dear son!

the feast...

in order to ensure that everyone get to taste each of the durians, this methodology is invented by my mother in law.

photography

don't ask me what i was thinking when i did this....

oh well, this is what my mum used to do when we were babies. she would prop us up in a basin with lots of small cushions around us. i tried doing that and realised that the basin was too small....

nadia nasira, the big girl....

it wasn't until recently did nadia nasira decide to eat her meals on her own... that was after much persuasion and encouragement from mummy and nanni! mummy's favourite phrase was... nadia nasira is a big girl now. you must eat on your own.

her grandmother would praise her everytime she ate her lunch all by herself. it was such an achievement and proudly, she would announce to me when i return home from work. what a relieve....

yet, there will be days when i will take time to feed her and make it a fun activity as i am not ready to admit that my little baby girl is a big girl now! what an irony!

invited readers...

dear readers... something tells me that it is about time my blog go private and be read by invited readers only.... i know some of my dear readers and i'm glad to share my blog with you. if you are interested to be included in the invited readers list, please email me at basaria@tnb.com.my. till then, take care and have a great life....

google, the best teacher

guess what.... i have been googling about almost everything under the sky and my dear teacher, mr. google provides me with lots of answers... i am so thankful that God has allowed such technological advancement over the years by leaps and bounds.

breakfast at school

nadia nasira is usually the first one to fall asleep, it can be as soon as her head touches the pillow sometimes. however, she couldn't last night. even long after nashwan nasr (the most difficult one to fall asleep) was in dreamland, nadia nasira was still sucking her thumb. i knew something was not right. thumb sucking usually indicates my little girl's state, either hungry or sleepy. so, i asked her if she wanted to eat something. she nodded furiously. we both jumped off the bed and headed downstairs. i was nagging along the way... if you don't eat your dinner well, you will be hungry and you can't fall asleep. oh my, my four year old had a reply to that. nn: that's why lah. you didn't give me susu. mummy: but, you haven't fallen asleep yet! (she only drinks milk in her sleep.) nn: tadi i sleep already. mummy: ?!!?

while we were at the kitchen, she ate some biscuits, some of my dinner and a piece of chicken nugget. she lingered around while i cooked their next day meal.

all of a sudden, she said... mummy, can you cook spaghetti with sos putih for me? she was referring to spaghetti alfedo. i want to bring to school. i want to show my teacher mummy cooked for me. when i tried to negotiate and get out of it, she said... my friends semua bawa makanan mak dia masak... my heart went out to her.

oh yes! at midnight, i cooked pasta (i ran out of spaghetti) alfedo for my little girl. she was so thrilled and she said, thank you mummy for cooking for me.

i reflected on my earlier conversation with her. i tried to think like a 4 year old and i so understood her feelings. she probably saw many of her friends brought home cooked food while she ate what the school had provided for her. she probably longed to bring breakfast specially cooked for her by mummy and be able to tell everyone that her mummy cooked for her.

many a times, we fail to see through what is in the little hearts of our babies....

left handed, right handed

my girl is right handed....

my boy is left handed...

my baby? looks like left handed? yes? no? hahahaha hopefully he takes after mummy and big brother...

6 month old baby food

muhammad nazhan nasr is close to 7 months old. it is time for weaning food. he had been eating farley's rusk, pasta and baby rice. for the first time, mummy is serving homemade food cooked with so much love.

daddy came back from a trip to london with lots of stuff for the children and mummy. among other things are 6 month old food storage containers and feeding spoon. all new for each new baby though there are some recycled items.

mummy was so enthusiastic and checked out several sites for recipes for 6 month olds. annabel karmel is the best. http://www.annabelkarmel.com/ so, this is what mummy cooked. 8 portions of butternut squash, sweet potato & carrot puree and 4 portions of broccoli & apple puree, all to be eaten with baby rice thinned with milk. they don't taste so bland as the combination comes with its natural flavour...

butternut squash, sweet potato & carrot puree

brocolli and apple puree

12 meals are ready to be frozen.

baby nak susu

i like the way nashwan nasr look for me to tell me mummy, baby nangis. baby nak susu everytime his brother cries. i guess that is all he see me doing with the baby.... breastfeeding!

home remedies for cough and cold

i am tired of treating my children for cough and cold all through the year, more so with them going to school. i think i have found the ultimate remedies... my grandmother and my mum had practiced this on my children and apparently, it worked.

combination of tulsi, betel and karpuravalli juices acts as expectorant and helps to break down solidified phlegm and expel it. how much of each? depending on age. for my children, my mum said.... use a handful of tulsi, 1 betel and 4 huge karpuravalli. if they are younger, reduce by proportion.

you can grow these plants at home in sizable pots but they grow healthier on land. my old neighbour who supplies these leaves to me has the plants at home.

let's bid farewell to cough and cold the grandmother's way...

nazhan nasr...another milestone

roll, roll, roll away...

little nazhan nasr is practising his newly mastered skills on our bed...

kitchen helpers....

these are my two kitchen helpers in my aprons.... my son is in my favourite apron (made in japan brought in from narita)...

they insist they help out in the kitchen.... nadia nasira climbed on a chair and rinsed the dishes while i soaped them... nashwan nasr ran away within minutes....

my mother

my sister told me that my mum had an issue that she didn't know how to resolve. being in the corporate world has thought me problem solving (me by nature loves problem solving but don't give me a mathematical problem to solve because my literary brains cannot compute).

well, my mum's issue again. it was so simple that i made a few calls and this morning, i resolved it. guess what my mum's remarks were. she said it in tamil and of course, saying it in the mother tongue, i understood the depth of its meaning. she said...my gratitude to God who has blessed me with intelligent children.

i choked on my tears hearing it from the person who has brought me into this world, who fed and clothed me, who taught me my firsts, who took pride in my achievements, who laughed and cried happy tears for me, who gave me strength to carry on when i am down while she shed tears in silence...etc, etc, etc.... words are never enough.... she is my mother...

 i was not proud when i heard that, i felt terharu... i attribute it all to Allah!