a new journey begins...

alhamdulillah, i have created another blog the miracle of life 2 to share my pregnancy journey with our 3rd baby...i've made a similar blog when i was pregnant with imtiaz before the miracle of life...

insya allah, i'm going to find time to update all my blogs (i missed blogging and bloghopping)..stay tuned..

Ezani the 1st MasterChef Malaysia...is my own sister...

sorry peeps, i have not been updating the blog since God-Knows-When...

but today i want to share something special with all of you...

Malaysia's very own 1st Masterchef is my sister! yeay for her (and for me)...!

you don't believe me..? her full name is Ezani Farhana Md Monoto and mine Ezura Madiana Md Monoto...we stay in the same house and i used to rumble (and still doing it) into her stuffs and belongings and we still fight with each other...

get to know her better

Facebook: Ezani (Masterchef Malaysia)

twitter: @ezanimonoto

website: www.zestbyezani.com

thank you for supporting her!

sisters fight!

Happy New year 2011 - Lucky Draw Winner of Canon EOS 1000D

happy new year everyone! how did you start your new year this time round? alhamdulillah, we started ours with a bang...unexpectedly, i was announced as one of the lucky draw winner of Canon EOS 1000D by myflippix, our favourite photobook company....

we've started photobooking recently and have been enjoying photobooking with myflippix...the winning entry was produced by my dear hubby and we didn't expect that that number will be selected as one of the 3 lucky winners to win a canon DSLR..

i am really thankful and happy for this gift...thanks myflippix ; )

for 2011, i'm hoping to be more diligent and hardworking, stop procrastinating, more knowledgeable, an excellent wife to my husband and a fantastic mother to my children, to pass my Part 2 MMed (Family Medicine) in November 2011 and have an enjoyable moments with my loved ones...

insya Allah, i'm praying too for the peace and harmony among all mankind, a good health and iman for me, my family and friends...may Allah bless our good deeds and intention in 2011 and reward us in the hereafter...

am I a normal parent?

just finished reading "Am I A Normal Parent?" by Sara Dimerman...i really want to know if i am a normal parent...

this book is a therapy for the mind and soul for parents...i thoroughly enjoyed reading this and every parent should read it...this is the definitive guide to figuring out what's normal for parents in the 21st century...Am I a Normal Parent? will allow you to evaluate how you fit into what is most typical and will reaasure you that you are not alone in your worries...it also addresses feeling guilty about losing patience, being angry and not spending enough time with your children...this book also touches on how culture, upbringing and external influences affect your parenting way...

i am really fascinated with the author believes what NORMAL is...NORMAL is an acronym for No One Really Marches Alone.... even if you are in a situation where you think or feel is not normal, comfort yourself by knowing that somewhere out there, another parent is feeling, thinking and behaving just like you....

this book is deeply comforting to mothers like me who suffers the guilt and anxiety that woven into the parenting experience...it is very reassuring, not preachy, yet thoughtful and insightful, and best of all it is written in a humorous way...!

after reading this, i assure you that i am still a normal parent..!

Campaign for 90 days maternity leave

recently, the National Union of Bank Employeed (NUBE) has launched the "Our 90 Days for Mums - 1 MIllion Signature Campaign" at their headquarters in conjunction with thte International Women's Day... NUBE aims to gather the signatures in support of a memorandum to increase the 60 days paid maternity leave to 90 days - an act that would bring Malaysia up to par with the International Labour Organisation’s Convention 183 on Maternity Protection.
Other countries in the region - Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia and Indonesia already has 90 days for maternity leave.....

Some Southeast Asian countries even provide breastfeeding and child care protection. For example a mother in Singapore gets up to 12 months leave to breastfeed and care for her newborn. In Cambodia, companies are obliged to grant a new mother a 30-minute break twice daily to breastfeed her child. Those with more than 100 women workers have to provide nursing rooms and day care centers, with the cost of childcare borne by the company. Indonesian employers meanwhile are required to provide a suitable place for breastfeeding mothers to nurse their children during work hours.

based on my personal experiences, it is not easy to make people to understand the nature and the needs of breastfeeding for our own babies....to implement such a policy as mentioned above in Malaysia, we are still lagging behind and with more awareness and education of the benefits in breastfeeding for both mother and child, there is a pressing need to amend the relevant provision in the Employment Act 1955. The 60-day paid maternity leave is simply not enough for most Malaysian women.

for us, this is the time for recovery from physical, emotional and mental stress after delivery...taking care of a newborn baby is not an easy job....the new environment for a new mother, they simply need time for adjustment and recovery...going back to work is another mental and emotional stress for the new mothers and they need adequate time to prepare themselves mentally, physically and emotionally for it....

the collection of signatures in supporting this petition ends on 6th June 2010.... it will be submitted together with a a Memorandum to the Honourable Prime Minister of Malaysia and a copy to the 221 Members of Parliament as the voice of 1Malaysian citizen urging for the amendments...

lets make a change towards a better quality of postnatal care and breastfeeding practice in Malaysia...

show your supports by clicking the link below and participate...!

http://www.nube.org.my/pd/petitionE.aspx

happy birthday, dear hubby

it's hubby's 29th birthday...! so , i hope you'll enjoy the entire year ahead before you turn 30...then, there's no twenties in your life, ever..!

nothing special today...i thought of getting a card and some small thing for him (yeah, i bought the Blackberry Storm 1 month ago)...but the unplanned happened... the only available car at home became smokey when my dad fetched Jihan from school in the afternoon..so it had to be sent to the workshop to be fixed...my mum took the other car and the big car is too big for me to take...

i didn't have time to get him anything, but i already bought 3 GSC tickets to watch Transformers tonight for both of us and Jihan wanted to tag along too...but what am i doing at home now..?..i told you about Imtiaz is currently reverse cycling...so he refused to let me go as he wanted to breastfeed directly with me when we were about to go....so, i told hubby to go ahead watching the movie with Jihan and without me, as it was running late...

i was quite disappointed but i didn't have the heart to leave my little boy crying for milk...he slept soundlessly until now, feeling satisfied after the feed....and my other 2 precious are not home yet...i'm still waiting for them...

we'll celebrate their birthdays tomorrow with a special cake that i'm going to make tomorrow morning....

relaxing....

i'm on my 2 weeks leave now before i join Master in Medicine (Family Medicine) in June 2008...i'm planning to relax and do whatever i wish to do before the madness starts again....arghhh!!..

so, what's the plan for these 2 weeks..?

well, i completed my 2-days full cake decorating course with my sifu, Kak Ayuliana...she's the BEST!! i learnt to decorate 8 pieces of cake using different techniques and methods and the results were superb!!! i never dreamt to be be able to make such beautiful cakes...it was never my ambitions before...but now, i've acquired the skills and that is one of the wonderful gift and knowledge given by Allah...i thank HIM for giving me the chance and the opportunity to learn these beautiful techniques from a wonderful friend...

i bought 2 new books earlier, Sundays at Tiffany's (James Patterson) and He Loves Lucy (Susan Donovan)...already finished reading the first on and currently reading the latter one...

i need more workouts!!! and control my foods!!! arghh....! i reached 55kg (from 61-62 kg) in around 4-5 months but during the past week i put up a kg....! (sigh)...i'm feeling happy and good with my new weight and figure...this was my post delivery weight...my aim now is to reduce further to at least 53kg and down to 50kg....!

i just came back from Petrosains...brought Jihan along to give her some scientific exposure...she enjoyed herself there...and now she is fast asleep....

i'm planning to try out new recipes...aiyaa, how am i going to curb my appetite then...?nevermind, i can do extra workouts to burn the calories...hahaha...

i bought a new activity books with a lot of colourful stickers inside and i plan to do it with Jihan...she doesn't know about this book..if she is being good, i'll let her have fun with the stickers later...

next week, we are travelling to Kuantan...ooh, i can't wait to taste my favourite ikan bakar, sotong goreng tepung and such!!

at the end of my 2 weeks break, we are going to celebrate mother's day and father's day at Cyberview Lodge again!! i'm longing for spa treatment...must beg dear hubby to treat me!! and not forgetting a hair cut and a hair treatment too....

that's all i think...i'm planning to have all the fun before June 2008!

an anguish wait...

my dear hubby underwent his laparoscopic cholecystectomy (removal of his gallbladder secondary to symptomatic cholelithiasis) on Monday....

i thought of not seeing him in the operation theatre (OT) but i changed my mind because i wanted to be near him when he wakes up...

he went in at 8 o'clock but i only went in at 8.30 am because i didn't have the access to the changing room, so i had to wait for other staffs pass through the door....i worked there before, so i know my way around...

i went to his OT and saw him already under general anaesthesia (GA)...i did not enter the OT, i just waited outside the induction bay but was able to see him through the window...i didn't want to disturb the people inside the OT, they would probably become anxious if they know that i was there....

the surgeon and his assistants only started the operation at 8.50 am....they made 4 small holes on his abdomen to accomodate the camera port and other accessories to assist in removing the gallbladder....i can hear my hubby's pulse through the anaesthetist monitor...in the middle of the operation, the anaesthetist asked the surgoen to withold the procedure...he needed to change his laryngeal mask airway to endotracheal tube (ET) to ensure better air circulation to his lungs....so he was intubated in the middle of his surgery.....

the operation resumed...i was able to see the procedure through the monitor....his gallbladder was quite embedded to his liver with some adhesions...i wasn't sure about my feelings at that time....i was anxious when it was quite noisy in the OT...

the gallbladder was taken out after 1 hour the operation started....i've worked with the surgeon before, so when he came out i talked to him and he was assuring me that it was a succesful operation...no spillage of bile and not much bleed....

i went into the OT to see the stones; the culprit all this while....to my surprise, they were only tiny stones but many of them.....and they were black in colour....

my husband was stitched and cleaned after the procedure and he had difficulties to wake up from the anaesthesia....he was still unconcious but struggling when they wanted to get his ET tube out...

he was brought to the recovery bay and complained of pain at the operation site and also his shoulder....he was still not fully conscious and kept asking me the same questions about his operation....

affter 1/2 hour at the recovery bay, he was discharged back to the ward....

another cupcakes project....

i made some cupcakes for Dr GG and my aunt, MakTam, and as usual Jihan loves being at our lovely home in Bukit Mahkota as she can run around at the big house....

Jihan loves to disturb me when i iced the cake...she loves looking at the various colours and at the end she will pretend blowing the candles on the cupcakes....

still on medical leave...

i'm still down with conjunctivitis..less redness but still always watery and sticky...so, i called my boss telling her that i'll be on MC again today.... :(

alhamdulillah, Jihan is well...no signs and symptoms of conjunctivitis....papa is in Kuala Kangsar for 4 days for PPD camp...(gonna miss u...muahhhhh!!!)

my parents are coming back from umrah today....can't wait for them to come home...miss them so much too...my sister is cooking mee Bandung today....yum..yummmy....