A Little Update & Great News..

I was so not in the mood to update my blog. I can't even stand long enough in front of my lappy to post a new entry. The nausea, headache and my hyperactive little hero makes me impossible to think on what to post eventho I have a lot of things to story about.

So, one by one. First of all, I'm not feeling very well lately coz of my morning sickness or should I say all day long sickness. Haha. Yup~ I'm 9 weeks pregnant. Alhamdulillah. Arsyad will soon get a baby brother or sister. We did a scan last week and Alhamdulillah everything looks good. And Arsyad even look at the screen and call his tiny little brother or sister , "fish". Till now, when he looks at my tummy, he'll say "fish". Haha. 

This time around, I can hardly eat. Sometimes I don't even know what I want to eat, most of the time actually. But, Alhamdulillah everything goes in my mouth, didn't come out like my 1st pregnancy. My skin is not as glowing as before. I can't even look at my own face in the mirror nowadays. Need to be more patience and hoping that this feeling will go away.

My little prince, Arsyad become more clingy and sensitive. He will do everything to attract my attention. He didn't like babies nowadays. He'll cry and shout everytime I hold a baby. And he wants me to hold him all the time everytime we went to the mall. I can't even walk on my own, but I've to carry a 2 year old toddler with me. Can u imagine that?? I've to be more patience. I know he knew that he'll be no longer my little baby anymore. But you will always be Arsyad. I hope you know that. Mama always love you.

Okay, enough for now. Hopefully my appetite will be better and I can update my blog more often. Please pray for my health yeah~ :-)

Ayers Rock Butcher and Grill

We went to this restaurant at Kota Damansara last 2 weeks I guess.. I don't know what to eat that night, so I just agreed whatever my hubby suggested.. We've tried their food at Bukit Jelutong and it was not that bad and not that yummy either.. 

This time around, I've tried their premium ribeye, and hubby tried the burger.. It was so damn yummy!!! And I can finish the whole plate.. Mine was RM40 and hubby's was RM18 I think.. And there is no tax and service charges.. 

The steak doesn't has any specific gravy, but it is just nice like that.. I really2 love it!! If you like steaks and burgers, you should try this.. :-)

My New Mary Kay Makeup Set

I just received my new makeup set from my friend. I really need a new makeup to cover my really bad skin lately. I've tried the makeup before and it looks good on me, at least to my eyes and hubby's of course. Hehe. So, here it is my new makeup from Mary Kay.

Foundation, Eye shadow, Blusher, Lip Gloss, Mineral Loose Powder and the brush

The palette

I love it. The foundation is not too thick and I can just apply a thin layer on my face. I love the color of the lip gloss and blusher. And I don't know when I'll use the eye shadow coz I don't know how. Haha. The price is way cheaper than Bobby Brown, M.A.C, Chanel, CD and any other makeup. 

If you want to try it, you can just contact my friend, Salmiah at 012-3814311 to get yourself a free facial or makeover. For me, it is worth it!! :-)

Easy Peasy Apam Rose Recipe

I managed to do this apam rose a few weeks back I think. This was my first attempt and I made it in the middle of the night coz I can't sleep. And, I just in a mood to be in my kitchen. Hehe.

I got this recipe from K.Ummi, but she named it as apam mekar. I changed it coz I use rose essence. Haha. Suka hati jek. And mine was not like hers at all coz I just use the medium heat so the apam didn't "tersengih" like hers. But the taste was yummy and looks cute too. :D Actually there is other apam rose recipe, but I didn't try it yet. Will post it here if I ter-rajin buat la kay. Hehe.

So, here is the easy peasy recipe copy and paste from K.Ummi:-

Ingredients:- (You can get 25 pieces of apam)

• 250 gm sugar (I used castor sugar)
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence (I used rose essence)
• 200ml fresh milk (I used full cream milk)
• 300 gm flour (I used self-raising flour)
• 1 teaspoon ovallette
• Red and green color (I used red only)
• Acuan kertas secukupnya

Method:-

• Heat your steamer (I used rice cooker)

• Beat the sugar and eggs till fluffy
• Add on the vanilla essence and continue beating
• Add on the flour, fresh milk and ovallette. Continue beating
• Divide it into 3 bowls or according how many colors you want
• Put it bit by bit in the paper cup

• Put the paper cup in the steamer for about 15 minutes

• Done!

Easy right? Go and try it yourself. :-) 

Weaning & The End of My Breastfeeding Journey

It is almost 2 weeks now, I stop breastfeeding Arsyad. Alhamdulillah, I never thought that it will be this easy. I did try few times before this but he refused to stop and I can't be patience enough hearing him shouting, crying and kicking especially in the middle of the night. But this time around, Alhamdulillah Allah makes it easier for me and him.

So, how I did it? I put a lot of nescafe to my breast. I mix it with water a bit so that it will be sticky and when I applied it on my breast, it looked very ugly and scary. Haha. Thanks to yana for the tip. :D I just showed to him once, then he immediately didn't want my milk anymore. He was so shocked and ran away. Hehe. Yup, he will ask for it once in a while, but he will understand when I said "mama sakit". And Alhamdulillah he didn't wake up at night and didn't ask for his milk anymore. He just cried a bit sometimes then will fall asleep after that. He even can sleep on his own now, no need mama or papa besides him. :-)

The only problem that I have so far is to make him drink formula milk. He did drink his full cream milk, but refused to drink his formula milk. But these few days, he started to drink his formula milk eventho he didn't finish even a bottle. Hopefully, he will get use to it coz I don't want him to stop drinking milk. Doesn't matter formula milk or fresh milk. As long as he still wants it.

So that's it. Alhamdulillah, I managed to breastfeed him till he is 2 years and 2 months old. I'm glad that I  managed to go through all the challenges and hopefully I can do the same with my other children. InsyaAllah. :-)

Ban On BPA Milk Bottles

Finally, government had decided to ban BPA milk bottles from March next year due to BPA's risk to infant hormone systems. I think most of us mommies already know about this, and most of us already use the non-BPA bottles. But, for those who still don't have any clues what it is all about, you should read more about this.

What is BPA? BPA is an abbreviation for Bisphenol-A (BPA). BPA is an 'ingredient' used in the chemical compound that lines the inside of food containers such as canned goods and cartons for liquids like milk and juice. It also is the major building block in Polycarbonate plastic. Plastics with number 7 on the bottom of the container. 

How does it get into us? The bonds in BPA are prone to leaching (falls apart from its parent compound) into the foods contained within the can/carton or plastic container. This takes place over time and can be accelerated with heat.

How does it affect us? BPA acts as an environmental estrogen and once it is ingested it can disrupt proper hormone functioning, alter genes and interferes with normal physical and behavioral development. Our children come first!! The effects of BPA will be more pronounced in children because they are growing and developing at such a rapid pace. We as adults have mature brains (most of us anyway) and bodies. Therefore the interaction of BPA and our hormones/genes are dulled in comparison.

So stop using the BPA milk bottles mommies. You can read more about the news here.

Load Your DiGi With More Freebies Today!!

Who doesn't love freebies right? So this is a great news specially dedicated to all DiGi users. DiGi is going to shower you with lots of freebies when you reload on any DiGi prepaid plan. But hurry!! It is going to be happening only from 1st - 31st March only. So, if you love collecting freebies, you better start reloading today!! Don't forget!! The more you reload, the more you get!! Go here for details. 

Tsunami @ Japan

It is so scary looking at this video. YA ALLAH, ALLAHUAKBAR.. Sesungguhnya tiada satu pon yang dpt melawan kuasa Allah S.W.T. Let us all pray to our frens, and hoping the best for them.

YA ALLAH, selamatkanlah kaum muslimin dan muslimat, jauhilah kami dari segala malapetaka dan lindungilah kami di bawah rahmat MU YA ALLAH. Amin~

Matta Fair 2011 Review

We went to the Matta Fair this evening, just want to see whether is there any good deal for us. We don't have any idea where to have our vacation. Most probably within Malaysia only, but we did survey a few packages for traveling abroad. As we went there around 5pm, so as expected there were full of crowds already. We had to park our car at The Mall and walk across the street to go to the fair. And, the fee is RM3 per person for adult and children below 12 are free of charge.

There were so many packages and great deal. We even didn't manage to go to all booths. But, the one that I interested the most is traveling to Hong Kong by Reliance coz the package includes ticket to Disneyland and also we can have 1 night stay in Disneyland Hotel itself. And for 5days/4nights traveling, it costs us around RM28++ per person for adult and RM25++ for children. That inclusive of airplane ticket with Malaysia Airlines, breakfast and lunch for certain days and a trip to Shenzen, China. Is it cheap? Arsyad will be the happiest person if we can go to Disneyland. Hehe.

And for local one, I love to go to Langkawi and the great deal so far was RM380 for 3days/2nights stay at Aseania Resorts, Langkawi and one rental car. This is for the accommodation only. Is it a great deal? Coz others were all RM4++ for this hotel. We didn't pay any deposit yet, just want to see the price first. 

Btw, there are other exhibitions as well besides this MATTA FAIR. The one that I realized was cameras, so for those who are looking a new DSLR or new lense, you might consider to go there. I don't know about the price coz we didn't manage to go inside the hall. There also women's section, slimming centre, skin care and few more.

I don't know whether it is worth it for you to go or not. But for those who are really looking forward to have a vacation with your family, you might consider to go and grab a great deal. :-)

Getting Toddlers To Behave

Parents have found that toddlers often have a mind of their own as they accumulate new experiences. They are naturally curious, with a passion for enquiring, hence earning themselves the tittle, 'the why' generation.

When you ask your toddler to do something, he or she may actually do it, thus surprising you! At this age, many children begin to learn to control their urges, hence changing their behaviour accordingly. So they might do what mom or dad requests. Not all the time, of course. This ability is termed self-regulation and it marks one of life's most important milestones in a child's development.

There are ways to encourage good behaviour in children of any age plus a few extra tips that can help bring out the best in your toddler. Here are the tips:

• Toddlers are naturally curious about their world. They learn by testing and experimenting with everything around them. Constantly telling them 'no' can dampen this natural curiousity. So, try some other ways to change their behaviour which you disapproved.

• Allow exploring. Try to create situations where your child can explore life without long lists of 'don'ts' and 'nos'. For example, if it's not acceptable to blow bubles in milk during lunch, suggest that after lunch, he may have fun blowing bubbles in water outside the house. Put potentially harmful or breakable things out of reach so you don't have to instruct your child not to touch them.

• Offer two choices. Most children like to have some control over their world. By offering them two choices (either of which you are happy with), you can guide them to the result you desire. So, if you think your child needs to do a wee, you could promp, 'Would you like to go on the potty or the toilet now?'

• Change the environment. When your child wants to 'help' in the kitchen, make sure he's standing away from the  hot oven. Give him a simple task like counting the number of eggs (if you're baking) or give him a wooden spoon for stirring the flour mixture.

• Show him how you feel. If he pulls your hair playfully, put on a sad face and say 'ouch'. If he keeps doing it, avert your eyes and withdraw a little. Saying something like 'it hurts when you pull my hair' will help him learn to empathise with the feelings of others.

• Withdraw your attention. Your attention is a powerful reward for your child. Withdraw attention when he is doing something you don't like. Ignoring him for a while or walking away from him are good options if your toddler keeps doing something you don't like after you have asked him to stop.

• Explain the consequences of his behaviour so he can figure out why something is wrong. This helps give him a better understanding of the world around him.

• Manage transitions carefully. At this age, children can find it hard to change from one activity to another. Some extra time, sensitivity, and planning can help.

• Introducing discipline. The word 'discipline' actually means 'to teach' and not necessarily 'to punish'. If you use the tips provided, you will probably never need to punish your child in the old-fashioned sense. Smacking is not an effective or acceptable punishment for a child, regardless of age because it doesn't change a child's behaviour for good. It might stop his behaviour momentarily while he tries to figure you out. Hitting a child doesn't give him the opportunity to learn about related consequences or solve his own problems. Instead, it can make him fearful, insecure and resentful. If a child persists in misbehaving and refues to listen, then parents might have to resot to appropriate action to discipline him.

• When to say 'no'. Often, children behave 'badly' because they know it will get attention, and for toddlers negative attention is better than no attention at all. So paying too much attention to bad behaviour actually encourages it. If your toddler is aware of the 'right' behaviour, he will only respect you if you follow through with the matter-of-fact consequences that you have pre-agreed on. If he is not aware, then a firm 'no' or 'stop that now' is something your toddler should understand, but save those for situations when their obedience really counts.

Just remember that toddlers' behaviour is unpredictable. Though they stopped in their tracks the last time you said 'no', doesn't mean they will stop every time. So you still have to make sure you have a firm but comfortable grip of your toddler's hand when crossing the road, or in other potentially dangerous situations. (eg. near a pond in the park, at the swimming pool, etc.)

If you ever become concerned or very frustrated with your toddler's behaviour, seek professional advice.

Source: Susta Frens magazine by Susta Club