Happy 2nd Birthday, Imtiaz...Penang escapade (part 1)

my macho boy turned 2 last Sunday (yes, the "terrible twos")....we had a wonderful casual celebration at the northern part of Malaysia, at the Pearl of the Orient (Penang)...

Imtiaz is all excited to board on the airplane

Imtiaz and i have been away from home for the past 2 weeks...we spent great time together in Penang as i attended the Breastfeeding Advocacy and Practice Course in Georgetown Penang...my mum followed us there to take care of Imtiaz when i was in the course during daytime... i took my time to breastfeed him during break time and lunch time and sometimes, Imtiaz went up to the 16th floor of Bayview Hotel to have his breastfeeding break with me...

on the trishaw heritage  and food trail

in the evening, once i finished the course for the day, we would stroll along the Penang Road looking for local food for dinner...we even walked to Komtar and took a taxi back to the hotel and some days, Imtiaz would love to get on the trishaw...we had scrumptious selection of local and street food... it was heaven that i gained lots of weight in just 2 weeks..!

both of us even went on a trishaw tour to the heritage places with some of my course mates...we had lovely time trailing along the heritage places, not forgetting tasting some good food along the tour...Imtiaz even made friend with the trishaw man and was really enjoying himself on the tour...

imtiaz was all tired after the trishaw tour

i carried Imtiaz in the soft-structured carrier and he loved being in it...he enjoyed watching all kind of transports while we were strolling along the busy road of Georgetown...

with the technologies nowadays, we were able to stay connected with Jihan and papa through phone calls and Skype...Imtiaz was so excited seeing them on Skype video calls... Imtiaz had his books and favourite cars with him, but i think he missed home and his other toys too...while at the hotel, he loved taking his bath in the bathtub too...

there are more exciting stories in Penang, which i will update in the second part of this lovely escapade (when the family reunited later and had a wonderful journey together..)

MAHA 2010

we went to the recent MAHA 2010 for the first time...our aim was to bring the kids to see live farm animals and trying out some good popular foods...shopping for goods was very down the list ; )

anyway, we arrived quite early at around 9.45 am, the weather was just great and there were already many people marching towards the venue...we managed to get a good parking spot, but still had to walk up and it was a good exercise...

posing with the cow

our first spot was the farm area...we got a ride on the RapidKL bus and the kids were so excited to go on the bus..this was the first experience for Imtiaz...he was extremely excited and cannot stop humming the sound of the bus while on it...

we went to see the cows and goats and sheep and i took this opportunity to introduce to Imtiaz all these animals...Jihan, even though she knows all the animals by looking at their pictures in books, sometimes she got it mixed up when seeing it live in front of her eyes...so i corrected her and she was amazed when she saw the big cows and buffaloes (not like the ones she saw during Korban recently)...

yummilicious roast lamb

next we filled our gastronomic needs with roast lamb...it was so succulent! the kids got to see some chicks and chickens, ducks and ducklings, rabbits, turkey and  geese too..we went to see some of the producst exhibition as well..then back on the bus ride to the main exhibition halls...and the kids loved the bus ride so much..

at the main exhibition halls, we marched our way to the Popular Food Stalls...crowd of peoples have started to arrive and filled most of the corners of the large MAEPS area...we tasted nasi kerabu, mee rebus, cendol, murtabak singapore and murtabak mengkasar...boy, our stomachs were full with yummilicious food!

then we made our way to one of the exhibition halls but got out after a while because the kids were already exhausted...before heading home Jihan bargained to get some balloons...so a Hello Kitty balloon for her and Upin Ipin balloon for Imtiaz...

the weather was getting hotter but still lots of people started arriving...MAHA was a great place for the whole family...learning, shopping and trying out good food all under one roof...

Imtiaz in his sling while munching beef balls

we brought Imtiaz stroller along and he behaved well while in it..when he fell asleep, we put him in the stroller so that he could have a somehow comfortable nap...but when he was up and about, we let him to be on his feet, especially in a less crowded area...or else he would be in his MiniMonkey sling with me...Jihan took the opportunity to sit in the stroller while Imtiaz was in the sling...

tired Imtiaz

it was a tiring day for all of us, even though we didn't explore the whole area...luckily the kids got stroller to ride on and a sling to hop on, so they were less tired than we were...

the meaning of Aidiladha

1 cow down

on 10th of Zulhijjah month of Islamic calendar, Muslims all over the world celebrate Aidiladha, which is one of the biggest and important events in the annual Muslim calender...similarly on the same day, the pilgrims in the holy city of Mecca are performing the fifth pillar of Islam, the Haj..

during Aidiladha, a ritual known as qurban or sacrifice is carried out after the Aidiladha prayer... animals such as cows, goats and camels that meet certain religious criteria are sacrificed as a symbolic gesture to remember the sacrifice that was instructed upon Prophet Ibrahim a.s...this act of sacrifice is an attribute of the spirit embodied in Islam... Islam encourages its believers to be everwilling to sacrifice in the name of God....While the sacrifice on Aidiladha is specific in nature, sacrifice can come in many forms...

imtiaz makes new friends

it should be realised that sacrifice should not be limited to the day of Aidiladha...instead sacrifice should be part and parcel of a Muslim's character which is practised every day of his life....this form of sacrifice can be tangible or intangible, be they in the form of material, financial, time and/or energy...

besides a whole array of delicacies on the table, we should inculcate the meaning of Qurban in our children...even though they are too small to understand the true meaning of it, it is a good exposure for them to see what is really happening on the day....

my two beautiful kids

as Jihan becomes mature each day, she understands that Muslims go to the holy Mecca to perform Haj..her school principal also went to perform Haj this year, so that put more sense into her...when she saw the photos of Kaabah and Muslims performing the Haj in the TV,  she would say that she one day too would want to go to Mecca...and we always tell her before going to Mecca, she must perform 5 times prayers a day, be a good Muslimah and to start saving money from now on...

and yesterday, dear hubby brought the two kids to see our Jamaah slaughtering cows at the surau...Imtiaz was so excited seeing the cows and Jihan too, being scared at first, later enjoyed herself..it was such an experience for her and i was very proud of her courage..

the kids are so amazed

later in the evening, i read her a story regarding Prophet Ibrahim a.s and his son, Prophet Ismail a.s, how Prophet Ibrahim was commanded to offer his son Ismail up for sacrifice, and though it grieved him greatly, he made ready to perform the task.. however, as he was about to strike his son, God stopped him and revealed that it was a trial... Ismail's life was spared, and a ram was sacrificed in his place...

Jihan was so amazed listening to the story and that taught her to be brave like Prophet Ismail a.s and obey all Allah's commands and also to listen well to the elderly...

insya Allah, as they mature each day, i believe Jihan and Imtiaz will understand more the  wide meaning of sacrifice...

Syawal 1431H

alhamdulillah, we had a blast aidilfitri this year...we went back to negeri sembilan and batu pahat and had great food, meeting up with relatives and enjoying ourselves travelling....the kids behaved well and had lots of fun too..

after the raya break, we went back to work and had another short break during the Malaysia Day..this time we travelled up north and had another round of great fun there...we visited relatives and friends and on the way back to KL, we stopped by at Bukit Merah Laketown Resort for a night stay...we have to come again to this place to enjoy all the fun there next time..!

something to be proud of, this year Jihan stood tall with her personal achievement of being able to fast fully during Ramadhan, alhamdulillah..she treasured the meaning of Ramadhan and Aidilfitri more this year...sharing and caring with others, especially with the less fortunate ones...

May Allah bless us all and accept our good deeds and reward us with Jannah in the hereafter

Happy 6th Anniversary...

coincides with the MBfPC training, we celebrated our 6th anniversary...it was lovely that we got this golden opportunity to reminisce our sweet memories in Kuantan....we started to get really close and got to know each other well about 8 months before we tied our knot....and we spent a year after married living together and surely that make Kuantan our favourite spot always...

so, after the training, we spent a night at Swiss Garden Resort and Spa, to unwind and relax...a short one but a quality one...we are planning for another east coast treat in Kuala Terengganu at the end of May, and you have to stay put for the story...

Jihan got to splash in the pool, unfortunately for Imtiaz, he was too sleepy to join his sister but somehow managed to had a good splash at the bathtub...

we pray that our marriage will always be blessed by Allah and i am very much grateful for having Dr Asrul as my husband, my soul, my warrior, my partner, my best friend...my life is so meaningful with his love, presence and support, no matter what i do....and our life is more colourful with the presence of our little monsters who keep our world spinning, but our love towards them is endless...may Allah gives us strength to walk through our journey together, keep us together, no matter what happened... thank you Allah for this great life, great journey, with my loved ones....

happy 1st birthday Imtiaz

finally, Imtiaz turns 1....he's such a handsome, macho boy now....we had a wonderful birthday party inviting family and friends at our lovely home...Imtiaz was dressed in a casual way - a shirt and pair of jeans...he was so excited playing with the balloons, eating all the delicacies that were spread on the table and was so amazed looking at his homemade Winnie the Pooh birthday cake...!!

the day before that, my cousin celebrated her4x birthday...so we had a double birthday party...i made her a chocolate mud cake with a letter R as her initial on her cake...

Imtiaz now has 4 teeth - 2 upper incisors and 2 lower incisors....he is about to stand on his own without holding onto furnitures and is more creative and intelligent from day to day... i still fully breastfeeding him, alhamdulillah and he is stronger and smarter each day...

he got wonderful birthday presents, thanking our relatives and friends for them....

he was so tired by the end of the day and retired early to bed...Jihan too was enjoying herself and was so excited opening Imtiaz's presents....she said, "imtiaz, let's share the presents ya..!"

happy 59th birthday

it was my father's birthday last sunday, his 59th....alhamdulillah, he is still well, active and healthy at this age, after 3 years pensioned....we had a little celebration at home and later had a lunch out - a feast of nasi baryani....

i made a special chocolate mud cake...the kids were excited having to blow the candle and cutting the cake...

we pray that you have a wonderful year ahead and have a healthy life and may Allah bless you always...

loves, mak, along, angah, asrul, jihan & imtiaz....

weekend getaway- kuantan

an ad hoc plan to have a short weekend getaway in kuantan in early January and this time we headed to swiss garden resort and spa....the kids were excited as usual, even us were so excited to have good feast of food there....

the kids had so much fun in the sun at the swimming pool...Jihan got tanned and her body was like a chocolate eclair....half tanned and half normal skin colour, following the shape of her swimming suit...Imtiaz continued his excitement in the bathtub in our room as well....it was hard to get him out of there....

we had good food as usual....the "must-do" list on our feast - Ana Ikan Bakar Petai, satar and keropok lekor at Kuala Kemaman... we also had lunch at Pantai Batu Hitam and a mamak style dinner at Taj Point...

Imtiaz had a change of his usual food...no more porridge but he had ikan bakar, satar, roti canai and roti naan, and omellete for breakfast....

before heading back to KL, my dear friend Dilla invited us to her house for lunch and we had an array of delicious kampung-style food - ikan patin, kerabu umbut and sambal udang....wow!!! that was the best meal ever we had during this trip...! thanks buddy....

our next stop...? hmmm....we'll let you know later..

a short PD breakaway

thanks to lovely cousin, Ana for inviting us for an overnight stay at Sri Pena Port Dickson, a few days before New Year....me and hubby went there right after work...the kids went earlier with their grandparents...

we arrived at almost Maghrib...the clans had already started barbequieng and my little boy had already asleep...Jihan said, Imtiaz was really exhausted after playing in the pool...and the aroma of the barbeque chicken and satay were really fantastic!!

had a wonderful potluck dinner and barbeque....! and had a good night sleep too....

the next day, me and hubby rushed back to work, leaving the kids to stay a bit longer with their grandparents...

even though it's a short one, the kids had so much fun in the pool....and we plan to have fun like this more often next time....