8 of 12 months of 2017

Assalammu'alaikum family, friends, readers and followers of this blog. Again, I got down to this right when it is the last leg of August.

The birthdays of 2 countries falls in this month. Singapore's 52nd and Malaysia's 60th. I am not so patriotic but Singapore is always home for me. Speaking of which the song "Home" always always makes me tear. It is the only patriotic song that touches my heart, hitting all the right chords. Then the usual patriotic songs like "Stand Up for Singapore" and all the good ol' songs that truly speaks Singapore. Am really old skool like that, I am not is big favour of all the new ones, it just didnt speak to me.

So ya.. I started my August with an appointment with the Gynae for my bad cramps and all. She suspects Endometriosis first after a series of interview questions, did my PAP smear (again) and a few other tests including HPV. I was then scheduled for an ultrasound scan on 29th August, and a full review on 11th September.

My eldest came over with her kids again the first weekend of August, and Marryssa had a good time bullying my niece.. She made her sit, cook at her kitchen station and just that. My niece even got a long lecture when she stood up to talk to me.. Pfft.. Baby M, Baby M, my niece came before you,  you know. she too deserve my time, you know!

A virtual abuse on my niece. Haha.. Poor Kakya, had to wash off some food by Baby M! :p

 On the 9th August, we met up with my friend, his wife and son for a good slow hike at Chestnut, Bt Timah. Let the pictures speak for a bit.

The kids getting tired and seeking refuge with Daddies to carry them. Heh!

Enjoying the greeneries and nature hand in hand.

My friend brought along StingRay Sambal from the BBQ he had the night before. Yummy, I tell ya!

Afterwhich we head for breakfast, home for a good nap and met again to watch some fireworks.

We went for some water fun first. 

And then we changed to someone a little more patriotic clad in red to watch some fireworks.

No pictures of fireworks, because I was too busy watching the crowd and keeping an eye on baby M. :p

11th August is Baby M's sports day which i promptly attended and participated. I tore my jeans from a small fall during the game. LOL! Competitive parents we have! Hahaha. Watching the kids made my day. They all look so cute and lovable! Enjoy as the pictures speaks. :)

I ordered Takoyaki from a neighbour. It is so yummy!! And opted to self collect on a Sunday.
A dedicated review and details of this to follow later on!

After I collected these yummies my sister called to say my mom's knee pain is getting intense and need us to be there to get her to go to the hospital, and if she agree have my husband to help push her on the wheelchair. So to the A&E we went.
High uric acid and low potassium, yup. Gout, again! With her low potassium, potassium drip was required and she struggled with pain.

With that, it ends our 2nd week of August.

I took Monday off to sort my mom out at the hospital. Tuesday came and she is ready to be discharged with a back to back schedule to get her on her feet again. Some medicine she has been taking seem to have caused her potassium to deplete faster than it can be absorbed, so that needs to be looked at.

Soon after, life gets back into routine. I had my mom over to my place and cooked and have some family time. I had quite a lot of Teachers' Day orders streaming in and whilst my mom is around, I took time to complete my eldest niece's order for her mini bolster cover and baby weight pillow for a friend.

3rd week of August, and I wish it can go past fast to meet Saturday for MND's family day at USS. Life is getting really routined, with Baby M scheduled to be with me from Thurs after school right thru Tuesday morning, it will be a little hectic, but I guess it will all be worth it. I hope she enjoyed us as much as we enjoyed her company. Her presence makes our house messy and noisy, but that is exactly what made our house a home filled with memories and laughter. I love you Baby M, so so much!

And so the day came and went! We booked Amara Sanctuary Resort, Sentosa, the only downside to this otherwise wonderful place is the time they took to let us get into our rooms. We reached ard 1pm, I paid and asked for early check-in. Although there were no promised made, I would expect to at least get checked in at 3pm on the dot, but we didnt.. They made us wait and made me approach almost all the front desk staffs for our rooms eveyr 15minutes or so. We only got our rooms at 3.30pm! I find it ridiculous considering it is one of the top notch hotels. I dont know why it took forever to get our rooms ready... Perhaps a later check-out person, but all three rooms? I should have asked for a complimentary late check out or free breakfast, man!

Anyways, I got an offer for you use via this link . Simply make your booking thru that and you will get 10% refund after you check out. Extra cash for shopping after checking out of your stay, why the hell not, right?

And so, we all checked in sans my husband as he was working..

We are at Level 4, so we were greeted by the Skypool before heading in to our rooms.

I had wanted to dip in the pool at night post USS, but as always... pools always don't happen for me.

As I had to rush around, Baby M get some bathtub time with my niece and sister... And she gave me these pictures, pre-USS...

Someone enjoying youtube fun there...

And with Uncle Daddy...

When I got back there with my husband....The Q was crazy!! Glad Baby M got in way ahead of us with my sister, so it is just me and husband enduring this twirling queue which lasted for about an hour (if not more!).

It twirls and twirls, I tell ya! Crazy much!


I met my sister and the rest at the Transformer ride. Obviously, Baby M didnt take that ride.

Oh Baby M is wearing a top that I just tested for Sew Like My Mom (A special dedicated post will be up soon!)

 She asked my niece to take her picture while I was away (I think I went to the ladies, or something)

She is getting excited for the Madagascar ride. "I so excited, but I scared", she said. 

Post-USS

Yep, she knocked out as soon as we left... Poor baby!

And she slept through all night!

She was all ready and happy for another round of bathtub time the moment she woke up!

We then got ready to get our brunch.

And before we knew it, it was already time to check out.

My baby was well asleep even before we stepped out of Sentosa. I guess she was exhausted.

I made this tissue case cum pouch the other day to bring and test this out. It was just as I had envisioned it to be. Convenient and helpful!

I got back to work on these and deliver it the next day.

So yes, we took order for these for Teachers' Day, and Alhamdulillah, we received positive sales. So glad everyone benefit from the orders!

And I also had fun working on this give away that I conducted few weeks ago! Finally got round doing this. I shall do a separate post about the software I used to create this.

Beautifully stitched!

I am proud, and it looks so nice!

I also went for my gynae scan, all came back normal, Alhamdulillah!

I received her portfolio. So proud of her achievements!

On 30th, Baby M did a Tawaf Stimulation and it is just oh so cute to watch her and her friends do it with the ihram and telekungs.. May we all be granted the opportunity to do our Hajj together, Baby M! 

31st, Baby M has no school. So she will be in my trusted niece and nephew's care. Hopefully she will be kind to them before I come back to be with her! 

And with that, we came to the end of August. Fast eh... September will another month filled with my hospital appointments. Hopefully it will all be good with no concern to worry about.

I will be working on three post which I promise above. Hope out soon!

Until then,
Jun

Wassalam

Hellllooooo 2015....

Assalammu'alaikum family, friends, readers and followers of this blog. Alhamdulillah, we are granted another day to welcome another challenge of the unknown future.

So my first entry for 2015 would be filled with overdued reviews and write ups really. I have had pictures and had been hitting myself hard to do them soon..

BabiestoKids - Buckwheat Pillow

Yeah, I bought one around mid last month. The designs were pretty, and I can add "tabs". My baby have out-phased those picking on tabs period so those tabs are more so I can secure them when she is in the stroller because she now enjoys "throwing" everything down for someone to pick it up for her so she can repeat it all over again with a big grin on her face.

Although my baby wasn't very insecure when she sleeps, afterall, she is one kindda baby who can sleep even with the TV blasting, and us laughing loud next to her, but she is the kindda baby who gets annoyed by little sounds of plastic rustling or when someone sneezes or coughs.

This slim pillow makes a good comfort feeling of an arm on her cheeks and chest when something annoys her in her sleep. However, many times, I find her throwing the pillow off her chests and change her sleeping position somehow - which is of course fine!

Sometimes, I think I buy these pillows for my own entertainment. LOL. When I get home after work, I sometimes grab this pillow and start "shuffling" them buckwheat from one end to the other, back and forth, the hustling sound of them buckwheat is just somehow so calming and eases my stress.

And when Baby is not coming for the weekend I grab to smell it or just put it over my shoulders. Crazy, oh yes I am.

Grooving in her sleep, oh yeah...  

Our anniversary @ USS

And so we were told multiple times not to miss the Mummy Ride and the Transformer Ride. Indeed these two became our most worthy wait of up to 80 minutes.

Husband recorded our ride via his SJ4000 harnessed to his chest, you guys can view it here. It is 4D so it may appear a little blurry on some parts. The only thing I hated about that ride was the people behind us, they screamed at everything including the black screen while we were supposingly waiting in the dark.

The Mummy ride was even better! We didnt get to bring anything in though, it was strict as not to allow any loose items on us during the ride including bags, so oh wells. We truly enjoyed it and bought the photo! This time the only thing I hated was the couple who was behind us, both of them just kept nudging us to move forward, the guy with his hands hugging the woman then conveniently swiped our back. Then the woman with her stupid clutch bag swiping my skinny ass. I was getting super annoyed at one point I refuse to budge even though the people ahead of me had moved 5 steps. And guess what? The woman pushed me with her boobs! Damn so irritating and rude!!

Yeah, you guessed it right, it is that couple next to us. 

And as you can see, we were just the few who were enjoying the ride while majority of just hide their faces. Heh!

I would believe we had covered about 90% of all the rides inside minus the really kiddy rides. We took the treasure hunt ride though, and the sesame street one. Haha.

The Jurassic Park ride, the one where we took the raft, I think it should be more wet. I was hoping for water to be poured on our heads. But it didn't happen. We still enjoy it though.

Oh! We also watched Shrek the Movie (4-D) we got sprayed many times! Haha...

So now, enjoy the pictures, well, actually more is in my husband's phone, as I didn't have my phone out during our stay there, all my stuff were in the locker.

It is just coincidental that we celebrated our anniversaries in red. :) And yes, we went on public transport :)

The long wait before we went on our Transformer Ride.

Us before the Sesame Street Ride

We were greeted by snow and them tall people!

Awesome and friendly tall people!

And we are done! That is more than 12 hours out and about... 

Shopping at Zalora

Yeah, nothing very new here. Well it is just my second time shopping, the first time being a fail because I ordered a shoe too small my size and my size was out of stock so I had to return them and got refunded.

My second time shopping I bought Dungarees, and three Zalora Basics Handkerchief Hem tops.
For the first time I shopped on a Non-Muslimah Portal and got the tops to be what they were meant to be. Proper long sleeved (often they say long sleeve, and when I wear them, it became 3/4 sleeve - or MAYBE my hands are just longer than average...), NOT translucent (I always get this..), long bodied (it covers my whole butt and more!), and most importantly, DOESN'T HAVE too wide a neckline or a plunging neckline. Fuuh!

BONUS is, the material is so comfortable! Even with a bit of weight at the bottom, I still feel very comfortable in them and they have since become one my favorite pieces in my wardrobe.

And you people know just how fussy I am with my clothes these days. 

Pass down the old clothes

Yeah, with the new year, many of my acquaintances and friends recited they wanna change for the better and start wearing the hijab. Some of them are not very well to do, so had no idea where to start without buying any new clothes. So I gave away my share.

And invited a friend to come over to give her an idea of how one can muslimah-lize her everyday clothes by just adding in a long sleeve inner or add an outer wear and such. I know the feeling, I've been there. With a tight budget, sometimes, everything you pull out can't seem to be Muslimah enough. Not until you see someone who have successfully done so. It happens. And I sometimes think it is Satan whispering and blinding us so we would change our mind about wearing the hijab. Don't let him win... Fight on and try your best.

It is okay, start slow. As your love towards your hijab and the sincerity starts pouring, the ideas will come and soon, your wardrobe will be very Muslimah friendly.

And so Baby M had a playdate yesterday for over an hour.

She is just probably trying to impress the lad by showing her folding skills. ;)

And so my friends, who has a nudge to start wearing the hijab. Here's a shout out to you.

"You can do it!"

Heed not those people who tells you things like, "Ala, step baik uh nak pakai tudung semua, padahal perangai setan"

Let them talk, fact is they are afraid because you are stepping out of the dark zone and walking towards the light. Remember, tutup aurat wajib, ahklak baik boleh diperbaiki dan dibina.. Ikhlaskan hati, bersihkan alami.

I've heard this phrase before, how you dress don't tell how religious you are, but your iman will determine how you dress."

Of course I know people who don't wear the hijab, but masyaAllah, they never missed their prayer calls even by the minute. It is their struggle, don't judge. There must be a reason why.

Hijab is not just a cloth covering your hair and aurat, but more of the cleansing of heart from judging others. Having the hijab on doesn't give you any rights to judge others and look down on them for the struggles they face.

Likewise, doesn't mean someone wears the hijab, she is an expert of Islam. It doesn't work that way. We are all still learning. Don't let the pride override your good intentions. Don't let those praises get into you. MasyaAllah, all these are just a loan from Him. Alhamdulillah, he had bestowed it to us.

And so some people had or will be benefiting from the items I had passed down to them, all I would hope for is that they would continue paying it forward.

As such, let us close the book of 2014, and kick off with a good 2015.

Save the buck

Yeah, finally money talk! I am on a strict mission to save $10K or more by end of this year so I can welcome 2016 without worrying too much.

And I am also praying very hard for my husband's dream to come true. I am looking forward to that moment more than me wanting to be a mother for some reason. Maybe because I know this will definitely allow me to be a mother. LOL.

So how to make this $10K possible? Well let's break it down, save along with me, yes?

To reach the $10K target, I would first take way my tontine share. All that goes to savings, so let's minus of $2K off that total amt, and if I continue for another round, I'd probably get another one this yr so that's a total of $4K off the total amt. That leaves me with $6K to save.

That would mean $500 a month to save. Sounds very possible. On average I just need to put aside about $17 a day into the saving tin, and deposit it at end of month.

Let's do it!!! We can all do it!

Cheers to $10K in the bank at end of 2015!

BUT, I need to bring my parents to travel once... Hmm.. nevermind, will pump in a little more on some days/months.

A message from my eldest niece

I suddenly received this very long message from my eldest niece, I initially thought it was a forwarded message. However, her name wont allow me to assume and not read, so I read along.

She wrote, "Bik Jun... I just read ur blog (got the link from ur insta) and i have to admit i agree 900% with regards to your parenting article! I wish I could comment "yes" to every single part.

I feel as though I'm reading an audio book online (because I imagined ur voice and because I miss you Bik Jun *kissy smiley*) and I've been sitting in the same position for the past 1 hr. That's how great it was reading your blog.

And I'm gonna start my savings plan too. Just like what you had posted: start small even with $1 or small changes.

You're my inspiration and role model Bik... When I read your post about getting a degree, and how ppl have always thought that you can't do it, and you proved them wrong. You eventually became a degree holder and I'm really proud of you. Someday, I wanna be like you. I wanna learn things the hard way and have a great determination to succeed. Yes I did cry a bit (of course I hide from Ummi when I cry because it's very awe-inspiring! *lots of smiley*

Sorry for the random long paragraph text, I just feel that you deserve it all. I hope to see you soon Bik! Love you! *kissy smiley + hearts*"

Awwwww... honey bunny sugar plum! I love you so! You know, you deserve it all too, dear! Because a lot of what I wrote, I always had you in my mind. I always want to protect you, your siblings and cousins from doing silly mistakes like I do and still be as successful as (or more than) me!

I had always prayed for the best there is for every single one of you. And as always, no matter how often, even if I see you everyday, I'd still miss you every second. I love you, my children. I really do!

Nothing beats words like these. It warms my heart and brings tears to my eyes because someone out there reads with their hearts.

Remember, a lot of things in this life is worth a good fight. Sometimes, even without the support from the most important person in your life. If it is worthy, insyaAllah, the person will see it in time to come. Some things are just set out for you to fight for it so you gain it with much pride and humility.

As the wise people say, if it is easy, you wont appreciate it. If it is hard, you might give up. If you didn't give up, it must be worth it. If it is worth it, then it is worth a story to tell. Go get it!

One day you would look back, and say "I am so glad I did all that to get to where I am today"

And one day, everyone around you, esp those who thought you won't make it would hold your hand and say "I am so proud of you"

Make those discouraging cheers become your motivational cheers so you would outdo everything and show people especially yourself, that you're better than just that. You are afterall YOU. So You and only You should determine who can step on you and who can kick you so you'd fly.

Until the next entry,
Have an awesome 2015 you all!

Wassalam,
Jun