Brasserie Vacherin

Yummy!!!

Busy Me

Since I got back from KL, it has been busy ever since. I start work full time and by the time balik, sure terbabas tidur with Haidan and Hairee- most of the time si Mama yang berdengkur dulu while trying to get the boys to sleep lah kannnn... eheh.

I meant to blog sooner as lots of things have happened and it's such a shame if I don't record it somewhere.

Well, hopefully will be able to catch up. It's going to be a bit busier this coming weeks with Haidan's party preparations- yes, my Haidan is turning 4 next week. How time flies is beyond me. My little baby is a big boy now, no longer a toddler.... Sigh.



It just seems like yesterday I held him like a baby (with his e-ting and all).

Haidan & Hairee

..... On 11.11.11

Testing....

.... Testing.

Blogging with my new app on my mobile.

Ok ke ni??!!

Wordless Wednesday #1

12 days to go....

.... till I'm back in KL!!! So can't wait!

I have been so busy doing all the shopping for people at home (well, mostly for my best friend Vas and god-daughter Aleeshya lah kannn) and preparing for visa and ILR applications.

I have yet to sort out our family holiday photos and especially cleaning up my mac memory! Must sort this out lah!

OK, got to go....

Karma

I always believe that what goes around, comes back around. If you do good things, then good things will come to you.... and vice versa. Hence, it reminds me to treat people the way I want to be treated.

GLEE!!!!!!

Live in London, tonight at 8pm at O2 arena. See you there!

Supermom Saturday

Today I had to put my supermom cape on as Hubby had his weekend class. Haidan, Hairee and I were rushing everywhere, poor Hairee had to be fed in the car most of the day!

Started off since 7.30am, getting the boys ready and breakfast and by 9.30am, we were off! I sent Haidan for his tennis lesson at 10am and soon after we headed straight to the nursery for their 25th anniversary celebration. Haidan was so in his "zone" - ignoring me completely and went off playing with his friends. He only came back for food! Among the chaos, I managed to take a picture of him and one of his good mates, Manas.




From then, we rushed off for Haidan's swim class at 1pm and made it on time. I managed to catch a breather and changed Hairee's nappy in the changing room. After swimming, we went to Toys R Us in Purley to get a special Cars 2 treat for Haidan (since he behaved really well at swimming).

It was here that I almost lost him! I was looking at some baby dummies and didn't realised Haidan went off my sight. A couple of minutes later, I called him out but Haidan didn't answer. In a panic, I spent the next 5-10minutes looking for him! I told the staff and the store manager and they shut the main doors. Luckily one of the staff pointed out Haidan, who was happily playing at the slides - which was quite close to where I was originally. But the fact that he didn't answer my call, I couldn't notice him. Albeit being angry at Haidan, I was so relieved!!! He got a time-out and vowed not to run off ever again.

We finally got home around 6pm. But the day didn't end as yet - Hairee suddenly decided to be very cranky and unsettled. He was crying all evening and I was so helpless. At 10pm, everyone finally settled down!

Hairee meets Zulaikha

Cars 2

The UK premiere of Cars 2 is July 22nd.

I so can't wait - not because I am a huge fan, but I just want to get it over and done with as Haidan is so obsessed with it now.

Every single day he will ask me, "Mama, are we watching Cars 2 today???" and everytime I will answer "Not yet".



Everything is about Lightning McQueen now. Haidan eats and sleeps with his Cars toys and insists he wears only 'LightQueen' spentots (underpants)! It's driving me crazy!!!

Tho... saying that, one thing good I noticed was that because of his obsession with Cars, Haidan can now managed to put his Cars puzzle together all by himself! Well done Haidan!

Bye Papa (again)

It's gonna be a hectic week (again).

Hubby left for Dubai, last minute as usual, and I have to put on my supermom cape (again).

Thank you

Last Saturday we had a BBQ party at my place to catch up with dear old friends in the UK. They all came to visit Hairee and it was really good to see them again. The last time we ALL got together (minus Kak Zihan lah) was when Haidan was born, so it was good coincidence that this time around it was for Hairee.

I am so thankful to have them- some I've known for years (Hawari dah 12 tahun kenal!) and it's good that until now our friendship is still strong. It shows me that it doesn't matter if we don't call or see each other everyday, but the respect and care is still there. It's so good to know that we were celebrating good news of Kak Aznim, Lee and Peyruh moving into their new home, Zura's engagement and Hawari's new job. Meeting them again reminds me of good sincere friendships, which I know will last for a lifetime.

And with that, I am so thankful.

Alhamdulillah.

My Spice Babies

I was going through our storage closet to get Haidan's old baby clothes for Hairee when I found something special from my memorable Spice Girls concert - the Spice Baby bib!

Here's an old picture of Haidan in Jan 2008, wearing the bib when he was about 7 weeks old.


And here's Hairee in Jun 2011, wearing the same bib!


Hehehehe, can you spot the difference?

Get ready to Wiggle!!!

Due to last year's success concert, Haidan and I booked ourselves to watch the Wiggles Live 2011 in HMV London Apollo in Hammersmith. Although Hubby left (last minute as usual) for Dubai, it did not deter me to cancel the trip. For me, Haidan deserves a treat, especially with Hairee's arrival and all... I had not spend as much time as I wanted with Haidan. So, we called Sarah our trusted babysitter to look after Hairee for the day and off we went.

Haidan was all excited since the night before. He insisted to wear his Wiggles t-shirt and hat for the day. We also made a paper guitar to pass to Murray - Haidan's favourite Wiggle member.


A Percy (train) and Thomas (tube) ride later, we arrived at London's HMV Apollo.


Hot potatoes, it's The Wiggles!!!! They performed some of their greatest hits (though I was expecting a bit more)... lots of new songs, which Haidan wasn't familiar with though. But all of them were still wiggling despite them all in their late 40s/ early 50s!


A surprise appearance from Jeff Wiggles who fell asleep amidst it all. Haidan and the kids then shouted "Wake Up Jeff!!!" and he was back greeting the kids hello.


The highlight of the day was when Murray Wiggles personally accepted Haidan's guitar! We were very lucky and Haidan was so star-struck, he was just left speechless when he met his guitar idol in real life!


Thank you Wiggles!!!!

Bye Papa

Hubby is off to his monthly business trip to Dubai and Brunei from today till next Tuesday.

So, time to put my Supermom cape on coz I'm anticipating long hours of restless nights, toddler tantrums and baby tempers! Bring on the caffeine and iron tablets - I need all the energy I can get!

Time is flying too fast....

... and my boys are growing up too fast.

Hairee can now respond with a smile if I call him.... (awwww)



and Haidan no longer wants to respond if I call him..... (sigh)

Mumbai Memories

It is about a year today that I was in Mumbai visiting my best friend, Vasantha and my god-daughter Aleeshya. I was flicking through the photos and remembered the trip so well.




The week I was there, Vasantha took really good care of me - making sure I take in as much as Mumbai could offer. We went on a city tour to sample Mumbai's rich history (Ghandi), magnificent architectures (gateway to India), diversity (palaces and slums) and of course the yummy curries.



And speaking of curries, it was here in Mumbai that I have tasted my favourite type of curry - The Mumbai Green Masala. I loved it so much that I made Aida (Vasantha's helper) to cook it again before I left Mumbai and of course, noted down the recipe. So, to celebrate my one year Mumbai memories, I decided to cook it today:

1) First blend coriander leaves, mint leaves, cinnamon, cumin, green chillies and pepper corns with some water. This is the masala paste and is left to set.


2) Also, marinate chicken pieces with chopped garlic, onion, ginger and salt and set aside.


3) Heat oil in pan. When ready, fry sliced onions and some curry leaves until 'naik bau'.


3) Then add in chopped tomatoes and potatoes and fry till potatoes are cooked.


4) Then mix in the masala paste in (1) and let it simmer for a couple of minutes.


5) Last but not least, add in the chicken pieces and mix well. Simmer till 'naik minyak'.


6) Finish off with salt and sugar to taste and our Mumbai Green Masala is ready, hoorrraayyyyy!!! (clap, clap, clap).

Desperate Housewife

Since my last post, I was kept on my toes juggling Haidan, Hairee and Hubby.

On good days, Hubby comes home early and we all sat down together for dinner. Haidan gives a big kiss before bed and Hairee slept through the night.

But on bad days, Hubby comes home late and missed dinner. Haidan throws a tantrum before bed and Hairee decides to play through the night.

Yes, it has been a roller-coaster month. I did a daily schedule just to get myself organised and it did helped quite a bit. Most of the things I wanted to achieve has been done:

1) Breastfeeding is going well, Alhamdulillah. I think I managed to compile about 80 packs of frozen milk stored from my daily morning expressing.

2) I have lost weight and inches since I gave birth. Though I know I can do much better without the Doritos and Oreos... and start on my Wii Fit as soon as possible. Yes, Hubby gave me a Wii Fit for my 34th birthday and it is still in the box, ooops!

3) Caught up with the latest episodes of Vampire Diaries and Desperate Housewives.

4) We managed to squeeze in a short family trip to Liverpool. Although we just stayed one night as hubby was working and it was tiring (4 hours drive to Liverpool and back), but it was really nice. It was just good to get away from home and I was really happy to see Hubby and Haidan enjoying themselves together- it has been a while since we all just spent quality time out.


5) I have braved the town with Haidan and Hairee in tow all by myself. Hard work but the fresh air was worth it.

All in all in the past month, I was really living the desperate housewife life- keeping myself busy trying to be the perfect mom and wife. There were days when I knew I did a good job but most days feeling overwhelmed by it all. I enjoyed the moments of laughter with my 2 boys and also the tears when it got a bit too much, especially from the exhaustion of it all. But I will cherish this coz I may not get this chance again to spend as much time with my boys. Also nothing beats a big thank you hug from your loved ones after a long day... knowing that hey, I might not be the perfect housewife... but at least I'm appreciated.

Busy busy busy

Today marks the first day I'm left on my own as a full time mom. Got up for Hairee's morning feed at 8am and then got Haidan ready for nursery. While Haidan has his breakfast, I expressed my daily breastmilk for storage. Then Hubby sends Haidan off to nursery and I'm off to bed again.

At 11am, Hairee's awake for his next feed. This is when I'll officially get up for breakfast and then mandi and get ready. I then mandikan Hairee and from 2-5pm, I have the whole 3 hours to catch up with housework and prepare for dinner.

Today Hubby comes home early but from tomorrow onwards, I will have to get ready at 5pm to go and pick up Haidan from nursery. It will then be crazy after as I will have to juggle with getting a stubborn toddler for his bath+dinner and a clingy baby who can't be left alone for more than 5 minutes!

It will be a bit of an experiment on how I can cope in the next couple of days but hopefully I can establish a routine good enough to sort out Haidan, Hairee, the housework and fit in some well deserved 'me' time in a day.

Another year older...

... and another year wiser.

My 34th birthday is my official (self declared) pantang off-day. So the first thing we did was to go enjoy my long awaited Oreo milkshake! Horrraaayyyyyy!

Today is also my self-declared official independence day - the day where Papa and Mummy are no longer here to help around leaving Hubby and I to manage 2 kids all on our own! The thought was quite scary as we have taken them for granted for the past month.

Anyways, this year's birthday celebration is just me with my family. It was a simple lunch meal with the ones that matter most to me and it was lovely. I learnt from the past that to enjoy the present I must not worry too much about the future - just take one day at a time and enjoy every moment of it.

Happy birthday me :)

Hairee's got acne...

... and lots of it! They just sprout on his face all of a sudden, kesian sangat tengok dia. There's even some crusty yellow bits on his eyebrows!!

But with all of that Hairee doesn't seem to mind at all, sigh... bless!

Hairee's first visitors

The past week, the weather has been glorious! Unfortunately, I don't really get to enjoy it much since I'm still sticking to my pantang commitment. Hairee's doing really well - he's now 3.5kg and we can see his legs and arms getting 'plumpier'. His feeding is also more regular and predictable and breastfeeding has improved much for me too.

Although I didn't get to go out, we were lucky to have guests coming to visit Hairee and me. A big thank you shout-out to them for the lovely gifts for Hairee (and for Haidan too!).

Kate & Lorraine:


Mel, John, Ian and baby Bella:


Carolina:


Devina:


Also, visits from Abi & Asha, Safina & Karen and Surindran & Deviga.

My pantang so far

It has been just after 10 days since I gave birth to Hairee and Alhamdulillah, I am recovering really well. As compared to the pantang I had with Haidan (which was really stressful!), I felt like I'm 80% normal. Mostly is just the tiredness of getting up at 12am and 3am for Hairee's feed and nappy change but other than that I'm feeling allright. I do need more time to heal (especially for my stitches) and I think my urut session did me wonders.

Breastfeeding is better, no more engorgement pain... though I am beginning to worry already if I will have enough milk. I have started manual expressing yesterday just to relieve my engorgement when Hairee decides to have a longer nap than usual but I am not ready for the electric breast pump yet... well at least not till Hairee is 2 weeks old.

Weight? I was 75kg at the heaviest during my pregnancy and am now 66kg. So not too bad actually. I need to lose 10kg more to get back to normal and I'm so happy to report that I can still fit my first PB set. So will try and wear it from day 14 onwards.

Now that I'm physically more stable, I'm already lining up my activities to accomplish this month. I plan to:
1) Move my contacts from BB to Mac (ready for Iphone)
2) Start mobilising my important notes from my old Moleskin to the new one
3) Learn to use the electric breastpump
4) Start wearing my PB

Don't want the list to be too long because I want the goals to be achievable by 30th April.

Project Potty Update

Hari ini dalam sejarah.



A great milestone - Haidan managed to use the potty to do his first ever yak-yak all by himself!

My final phase of labour

2am: Checked in St Helier's Labour Ward. I was 2cm dilated. Midwife advised us to get some rest as the next check will be at 6am.

6am: The morning shift midwives arrived- Lorraine and Amanda. My contractions are now more regular, I was 4cm dilated. The midwives had to strap me in with the fetal monitor but the reading was unstable as I moved a lot.

9am: The consultants came to visit and advised to put a proper hearbeat monitor clipped on baby's head for better monitoring. At this stage I started to use my gas&air.

From then onwards, I did not remember what time it was or who came by. All I can recollect was being very high on my gas&air and how I squeezed Hubby's hand every time a contractyion came. I also remembered Hubby giving me sips of water and lucozade in between contractions.

I remembered asking permission to have something to eat since I haven't had breakfast, but got refused just in case I needed a C-section (which made me more determined to tahan the pain). I also remembered getting into upright positions which helped ease my back pain and I kept remembering Haidan's face to ease the contraction pains.

11am: Consultant came in to check on me and I was already 6cm dilated. My water broke. Consultant found that my waters contained meconium.

12pm: I feel very strong urges to push but I wasn't fully dilated. I was begging them why am I not allowed to push but Hubby told me to just take in deep breaths. I think I did make loud noises and probably swore a bit - not sure coz too high on gas&air.

12.30pm: I was getting really irritated to push baby out. The consultant came in and gave the midwives a go ahead to proceed. Hubby saw baby's head crowning and I remembered pressing down and pushing as much as I can. I was so determined not to let the baby get stuck (and lead to distress and lead to forceps or emergency c-sect), that I just pushed without even waiting for the contractions.

12.53pm: Baby Hairee was born!



From then on, I was totally numbed out and high and could barely remember the placenta being out and had stitches coz I did tear. But it didn't matter coz I did it - I finally get to give birth naturally!!! I got my VBAC wish!!!

And Alhamdulillah, baby Hairee was given the all clear after his meconium scare and I could hear his sweet cries as I cuddled him. Baby Hairee Alief Hasli was born at 2.76kg, 50cm on 30.03.11 at 12.53pm at St Heliers Hospital, Sutton.

My first phase of labour

7am: Started to feel the early mild contractions. Felt like period cramps. Timed it - it lasts 35-40s and is 5-10minutes apart. Coping with breathing. Had a 'show'.

9am: Had breakfast and said goodbye to Haidan as he was whisked off to nursery by Atuk & Nenek. Gave him the longest morning cuddle, just in case I won't get to see him later :(

12pm: After a short nap, had a shower and had Mee Bandung with root-beer float for lunch. Can still feel the mild contractions but not as consistent as this morning. Could it be false alarm? Still have my 'show', so am wearing a pad now.

2pm: Off to St Heliers for my consultant appointment for a membrane sweep. The consultant decided to NOT give me a sweep since I am progressing (yeayyy!!!).

7pm: Contractions seems to be more regular during dinner time, each lasting 40s every 5-10 minutes. So I scoffed down as much A&W root beer float as I can just in case, eheh...

12am: Contractions still 40s every 5-10 minutes but intensity is getting stronger. Managed to watch the whole episode of CSI with Hubby before Hubby called in the hospital to say we're coming.

My hope for a VBAC

My official due date was yesterday, 25th March 2011.

Unfortunately, baby was too comfortable to even give me the slightest sign that it's ready to come out. Unlike with Haidan, who came 2 weeks early I am quite surprised I'm still pregnant.... (especially when I have announced to every person I know that most likely baby is coming earlier than my due date!).

Hubby and I went to see the Consultant at St Heliers yesterday for a check-up. I was quite disappointed that Dr Croucher was not free and a junior doctor, Dr Anne saw me instead. She said baby is in perfect position and baby's heart rate is active and good. She also did an internal examination, giving me a slight sweep which released my 'show'.

Dr Anne is quite confident that labour should commence within the next couple of days, but if it hasn't then I'm due to come back on Tues 29th for another internal sweep. If all else fail, I have a C-section booked for Tues 5 April 2011 - (41w + 4d).

On one hand, I'm getting quite fed-up being pregnant as it is getting more difficult to rest and sleep. My backache is getting worst and I'm irritated with my sudden stuffy nose. I'm also worried that the longer the baby arrives, the less time I have with Papa & Mummy helping me out.

But on the other hand, pushing my C-sect date to 10 days could give me the chance to experience the natural birth I have always wanted. The chance to give birth the way nature intends to without medical intervention and hopefully letting my body recover naturally. I am really praying that my wish for a successful VBAC will come true. I have done more research now on VBACs and am ready mentally (and hopefully physically) to face natural birth with minimum intervention. I plan to just use gas and air at the very end of labour (>7cm). My hope is that I can dilate and progress OK within the next 10 days to avoid having another miserable C-sect experience.

Sigh... come on baby, let's work together now OK.... Mama so can't wait to see you sayang.

Can we fix it? Yes, we can!!!!

Haidan, the mat-kepoh-chi, insisted to help his Atuk out with the DIYs using his Thomas screw driver.

Time is near and help is here....

Papa and Mummy arrived yesterday, Alhamdulillah. Haidan was so excited his Atuk and Nenek is around, it was a struggle trying to put him to bed last night!

To be honest, I'm so relieved that they are around coz it makes staying home juggling a cheeky toddler while carrying a huge bump a lot easier.

I have 5 days to go to due date and am already feeling the slight twitches of contractions a.k.a Braxton-Hicks and sleeping has proven to be really uncomfy. I get cramps and feel so kebas on my leg and hips every night and my back aches every morning I wake up from bed.

I really hope that I get to give birth naturally this time around coz I want to at least experience it. I know it will take a lot of pain bearing, but I'm willing to give it a go without epidural this time. Hopefully just with gas and air. I am watching One Born Every Minute religiously to get myself mentally and physically prepared for labour.

Insyallah I pray all will go well.... amin.

ooooohhhhh.... me like this

As an incentive to 1 of my 5 2011 resolutions, this little gadget here has caught my eye. It would be perfect to materialise my Projek-Celik-IT goal wherever I go:



The Ipad 2 with 3G

Me like....

Me want....

Me need....

Project Bathroom Completed!

Since the last update, my bathroom project has progressed in full steam! Here are the updates...

Main wall tiling continued:


Mosaic tiling completed:


Heater installed and tested:


Shower wall tiling:


Power shower installed:


Laminate flooring completed, new sink and WC installed:


Shower screen glass installed:


And finally, adding the finishing touches... I present to you our new guest bathroom a.k.a family shower room:



Hip Hip Hooorrrraaaaaayyyyyyy!!!! (Clap Clap Clap)