Kingdom of Ours

Naturalis Museum

2009-03-07T21:41:00.009+01:00

Here are some photos of the children from BM class trip to Naturalis Museum :

Farewell

2009-02-06T10:33:00.023+01:00

These photos were supposed to be uploaded a few weeks ago, but somehow they were concealed among my other entire folder and beyond my mind. It was a lunch farewell do for Dorisha, a good friend of mine from Singapore who has recently moved to the “Land of the Teletubbies”, New Zealand to those with grown-up kids.

We had it at a Pannenkoeken (pancake) Restaurant in Wassenaar. The food was nice albeit different from what we would normally have had in Malaysia (I remembered my Mum used to make it mixed with shredded coconut and served with leftover “Kari Ikan”), nonetheless something worth trying. They have several choices available from plain to fillings according to your taste. Mine was with mushroom, paprika, onion & cheese and dipped with some herbs sauce. I know it sounds odd, but the taste was not that bad. In fact, this place will definitely be in my “places to eat” checklist whenever I have people coming over for visit.

Breakfast at Neeza's

2009-02-05T12:17:00.011+01:00

Breakfast get together at Neeza's...

The host...

The food...

The guest...

2nd Session of Cooking Demo

2009-02-04T02:55:00.010+01:00

On Tuesday, 27 January, I had another session of cooking demo to some of the BSN Mums. This time, they requested for Mee Kari & Karipap. Most of them are expatriates and have been posted worldwide and this include Malaysia, and being such, they were quite aware of all our food back there and I was not surprised when they said that they want to learn to cook Mee Kari. I’m not sure about Karipap though, but I know when ever I brought them to school for any of the school events, they were always a hit and gone in no time.

My last cooking demo I think was somewhere in November last year and only about 7 Mums came but this time around, the numbers were doubled. No doubt I was a little bit panicky at first, not sure if I can manage a bigger crowd (I’m neither an expert in cooking nor good at public speaking), but phew !!! It went smoothly and luck was on my side, the food turned out nicely.

We have not set the next date yet, but there will definitely be another session sometime soon.

Double Date

2009-02-02T20:56:00.003+01:00

Quite a lot of things happened lately but as I have recently purchased several new novels, it seemed to have re-ignited this highly addictive hobby of mine. As such, I have not been updating my blog as often as I should have.

Well enough of the lame excuses, let me continue from my last update which ended on Saturday:

That night, Mr Dear & I, together with our good friends, Shareen & her hubby, Johan, went out for a nice romantic dinner in Delft. Yup, you read it correctly! just the four of us, no kids !

Shareen had been planning this special excursion for a long time, but due to soooo many family obligations, we had to postpone it until that night. The Restaurant is called The Ruif. We had a complete 3 course dinner, but by the time I remembered to take my camera, it was too late, all our plates were already empty. Nevertheless, I managed to take photos of our desserts and the menu of what we had !

Gong Xi Fa Chai

2009-01-26T14:49:00.010+01:00

As this year, Chinese New Year falls on Monday which is a normal working day in Holland, the celebration here was held 2 days earlier, on Saturday, 24 January 2009. Stalls selling chinese costumes, products and foods were opened along the street in the Hague Centrum and there were also lion and dragon dances and a few other chinese performances. Not only the kids were entertained with all these performances but they were also given a free drinks and a fortune cookies !

Bowling

2009-01-17T10:34:00.007+01:00

Few years back when I was still in Malaysia, I used to play bowling alot with my sisters and brothers and I was quite sure I was good at it. But, when we moved here, I only got to play once with a few family friends and since then, everybody was kinda busy and didn't get the chance to arrange for another game.

I think, the last time I played bowling was when I was in Langkawi, Malaysia during our 2007 summer holiday. All my siblings (6 of us) and our families were there and we specially dedicated 1 day out of our 4 days holiday there to play bowling! I had such a good time. Oh...I really missed that moment huhu...

On Wednesday, when a few ladies that I played badminton with, asked if I would like to join them for a bowling, without a second thought I said yes. I think it is about time...

See...I told you, now I suck !

Aidan's party at school

2009-01-16T09:45:00.000+01:00

Some photos of Aidan celebrating his birthday at his school on 6th January 2009.

High School Musical

2009-01-15T21:26:00.003+01:00

These photos were taken when we went for the HSM3 movie at the cinema. Natasha was so excited when she saw that huge poster and asked me to take a picture of her standing next to her idol from the movie, Gabriella Montez ! As for Alyiah, hhmmm who else but the ever so charming Troy Bolton.

Fun time on ice

2009-01-15T10:30:00.011+01:00

For the past few weeks, the weather here has been below 0 degree and most lakes, ponds and canals were frozen. Though it was extremely cold, nearly everyone took this opportunity to skate on this "natural ice rink" and so did we. We went to the canal just at the back of our house. Being a typical mother that's always concern about the safety of her children, I was a little bit paranoid at first, of course, anything could happen isn't it ? but when more people came and after talking to some of them, I was more convinced and decided that it was safe to join them.

The girls brought their skating shoes and since Aidan does not have one, we thought sleigh would be nice for him. It was such a good experience coz since we came here 6 1/2 years ago, we have never encountered this and never imagined we could walk and play on "water"...

One For All

2009-01-05T12:05:00.002+01:00

So many things happened last week but I was too busy (or lazy ?) to provide an update but here it is…..

Last week Mr Dear’s ex-colleague from Malaysia came over with his family and they stayed over our place for 4 nights. They were quite independent and we didn’t have to bring them around but since my 3 stooges (especially Aidan) have been asking to go to Madurodam (mini-Holland) every time we passed it, so we thought we might as well bring our guests there at the same time.

We also celebrated Aidan’s 3rd Birthday on 27 December. I remembered well how I made Mr Dear grinned ear to ear on that particular date, 3 years ago. His face was glowing with pride when he first held Aidan in his arms and 3 years have passed now yet whenever he looks and holds Aidan, his face glows. We didn’t have a big party whatsoever just a family dinner with a small cake for Aidan to blow his candles and of course presents from us all.

What else ? Oh ! Actually I’ve been asking Mr Dear to go to Germany (during winter) since the last few years coz I wanted very much to see their famous “Christmas Market”, in fact, we have planned to go this winter, but due to some “unforeseen circumstances” (my 3 stooges got sick and etc..etc..), once again it didn’t happen, perhaps next year…Instead we went to Maastricht for it’s “Winter Wonderland”. It was supposed to be a fun place for the kids but the weather was extremely cold that they didn’t seem to enjoy and keep on asking us to go home. Well, at least we did bring them out !

Since Mommy didn’t get to go to her Christmas Market, Daddy felt bad and one of his way to please Mommy was to bring her SHOPPING ! hehe…(sayang Daddy !) We went to Roermond, a factory outlet about 2 and ½ hours drive from our place. They were having their big end of the year sale and we managed to grab some good deals out of it.

We also brought the kids to watch movies i.e Madagascar 2 : Escape Africa and High School Musical 3.

Today, Mr Dear starts working and Aidan starts going back to school but the girls are starting school on Wednesday. Slowly things are getting back to the daily routine.

Anyways, I would also like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very Happy, Healthy and Prosperous 2009.

School Holiday

2008-12-26T09:43:00.007+01:00

It has been 1 week into the school holiday now but my 3 stooges have not been enjoying it instead they have been confined to the house ! And all that was due to the !@#$%^ viral fever ! Started with Natasha who got it on Saturday (1st day of school holiday) and was passed on to Alyiah on Sunday morning and followed by Aidan on that very same nite. All 3 of them were sick meaning all the whining, crying, whimper & grouchy at the same time !

However, alhamdulillah now they are all fine. They started asking for food and that is what I've been waiting to hear from them for the past 1 week. Well...let's not waste any more time, "Daddy, where shall we go for holiday ?"....

Ice Skating

2008-12-20T20:48:00.000+01:00

My 3 stooges together with their best friends, Eleanor & Johnathan at the Ice Skating Rink in Leidsenhage...

Perwakilan "Welcome and Farewell" Lunch

2008-12-19T09:45:00.003+01:00

Photos taken during Perwakilan lunch for welcoming Pn. Murni and Cik Khatijah to the Netherlands and to Pn. Norli and Pn. Rozita who will be leaving for Malaysia soon.

End of the Year Party

2008-12-18T20:32:00.007+01:00

How time flies. Just few more weeks to go before we say goodbye to 2008. It will be an extensive holiday since Christmas is also approaching. This week will be last week of school for my 3 stooges. Yesterday they had an end of the year party at their school and all parents were asked to send in a plate of party finger food for the children to share at lunch time.

Moi being not in the mood to prepare anything fancy sent in Karipap for each of their classes. Hehe..coz that was what I had in my freezer - my last stash of Instant Frozen Food ! (Cik Da...cepat hantar stock baru !!!).

Oh ! and the children also received a surprise visit from Santa Claus...Ho ! Ho ! Ho !

MA-NL Gala Dinner

2008-12-15T21:31:00.004+01:00

On Saturday, the Malaysian Association in the Netherlands (MANL) hosted a Gala Dinner which was held at the Malaysian Trade Centre in Rotterdam. We were served with food specially cooked by our Celebrity Chef, Chef Ismail and a performance from the MANL dance troupe and Akademi Fantasia 6 finalist, Nadia Haswani.

As Mr Dear just returned from his travels, he was not in the mood of attending the Dinner but as a reward for being a "good Mommy" while he was gone, he said it was okay for me to go, so I went with one of my good friend, Yany.

The food was good and the performance was not bad but what I enjoyed most was the company.

Hoera ! Natasha heeft haar A-diploma zwemmen

2008-12-14T19:43:00.004+01:00

Finally all our efforts - Mr Dear for paying, Mommy for transporting & of course Natasha for doing the swimming lessons, have been paid off ! She passed her test for the Swimming Diploma A, which was held on Saturday. For the next level, instead of Monday she will do her lessons every Friday and now, I definitely will not put as much pressure on her as I believe she's got the basics covered.

Cerita Aidil Adha

2008-12-14T16:45:00.006+01:00

A day before Aidil Adha, we were invited to a Makan-Makan Do at Comey Lote's house. It was a small but joyful occasion and the food was splendid. There were, Beriyani Kambing, Ayam Masak Merah, Dalca, Acar, Jelatah, Mee Goreng, Tiramisu, Coctail Pudding (all these prepared by her ALONE) and a lot more kuih brought by some of her guests...

Alyiah's Christmas Production

2008-12-12T10:15:00.017+01:00

On Wednesday and Thursday, all parents of Year 1 and Year 2 children were invited to watch the children's production of How Big Is A Million ? (adapted from the story by Anna Milbourne and Serena Riglietti).

Overview of the story :

A baby penguin has begun to count and is intrigued to find out how big is a million is. He asks his mother to help him and she suggests that he goes out exploring to find things to count.

On his journey, he counts reindeer, kisses, snowflakes, snowmen, candles and Christmas baubles. But nothing, adds up to a million. Frustrated, he returns home to tell his mother. Seeing his dissapointment, she says she has a surprise for him and asks him to wait until its dark...

And finally, he found his million...stars !

The show was fantastic. The children were wonderful and cute at the same time and they sang very well ! Thumbs up to all teachers and their production team for making this production a succes !

Parcel from Malaysia

2008-12-09T21:54:00.009+01:00

Sometimes last week, I received :

from my Mom In Law from Malaysia. The box was packed with :

This was what I've been waiting for as the one I had was already "kapot" and I could not find one from here :

This is also something that you can never find here, a favorite "old time" snack for Mr Dear and my 3 stooges (Mr Dear eats his rice with this, ala ala serunding ayam)

These were also sent to us (buku kat sini mahal lah!!!) :

Thanks Mommy for the parcel ! The kids love their mini fan and prince & princessess books. For your info, one packet of the MAMEE was already gone hehe...

Hi all, I'm back !!!!

2008-12-08T20:50:00.004+01:00

It's been awhile since I last update my blog. The reason being was that for the past few days or perhaps week, I was down with all sorts of "physically and mentally" soreness due to the awful weather and the time of the year where you don't see a lot of happy faces and everywhere you go it was just as gloomy. Yup this time it affected me ! and I think it became worse with the constantly absent of Mr Dear from the house (or it could be the reason why ???).

I know, some of you might say that by now, I should be able to deal with that circumstances and get used to Mr Dear's job's obligation, but trust me, it's not as easy as it seem ! Only those in my situation know how I feel !

However, I do feel much better now. No, Mr Dear is not back yet but somehow I was able to fight my misery and slowly accept the fact that this is the life I've chosen. And, thanks to some of you for all your concern on my "silence".

9 years together...

2008-11-26T09:00:00.004+01:00

Syukur Alhamdullillah...today was the day when Mr Dear and I were joined in matrimony 9 years ago...Yup ! today is our 9th Wedding Anniversary.

While I was typing, I could not help it but shed some tears, of course, it was my tears of happiness for I am thankful that I've met Mr Dear, shared my love and life with him and were blessed with 3 beautiful children. He is my soulmate, my Mr. Right and the love of my life. And, like some other married couples, we too encountered difficult moments and we have had conflicts and arguments in our marriage, however, praised to Allah, here we are still happily married and with HIS permits, we hope our marriage will last forever...

But, I was also crying partly because, today, on our special day, Mr Dear is not here with me. He is now miles away on a Business trip. Anyway, My Dear, if you're reading this, I wish "us" Happy 9th Anniversary, and may our anniversary reflect all the special moments we've shared and all the wonderful moments to come...I love you.

Snowy Day...

2008-11-24T00:04:00.007+01:00

Natasha's Presentation

2008-11-23T22:23:00.008+01:00

These are some photos of Natasha and her friends during the Presentation on their Science Project recently. Parents were invited to examine the research and experiment done by each group based on the topic given to them.

Group 1 (Materials) - Investigation : which are the stretchiest tights ?

Group 2 (Rocks and Soils) - Scratch test for hardness

Group 3 (Materials) - Flexibility

Group 4 (Rocks and Soils) - Permeability test

Yong Tau Foo in Zoetermeer...

2008-11-19T21:21:00.009+01:00

Even though I am far away from "home", I don't believe I missed eating most of our local food, coz here I am surrounded by friends who love cooking, good at it and always happy to share. On Monday, one of my best friend, who definitely falls in the above said category, Shereen, invited us over to her house in Zoetermeer to savor her famous Yong Tau Foo. Afraid that we might not get enough of her Yong Tau Foo, she also prepared Mee Kari to please our stomach as well.

The food was yummylicious despite her "little error while preparing the food", which can happen to anyone (but seriously, I would not have notice if not for her disclosing it). Thanks Shereen for the invite and look forward to your next savouring meal.

Siapa ambil gambar siapa nie...

Sunday's dinner

2008-11-17T20:39:00.008+01:00

Aaarrggghhh !!! I hated it every time Mr Dear went on Business trip...Well, he left this morning and since he will be away for few days, yesterday, I made his favorite food, Ipoh Kue Teow Soup and I thought I'll share some with uol....

Cerita Saturday - Part 1

2008-11-16T21:56:00.007+01:00

We have lived in Den Haag, to be specific, Mariahoeve for more than 6 years now. And every year we received a flyer inviting us to the International Foodfair ran by the Voluntarily Committee which is held every 3rd Saturday of November in a school building just at the end of our house's street. While close as it seems, we somehow never had the opportunity to go to this event, it was either we were buzy doing our routine groceries shopping or out sending our kids to a birthday parties.

However, this year we've made it, but for a reason...both Natasha & Alyiah being part of the Brownies and Rainbows groups, were invited to perform some songs at the event. And we've been told that this is one of their yearly activities, so as long as both of them are in the groups, we will definitely have to mark our calendar for this date and event.

Cerita Saturday - part 2

2008-11-15T21:49:00.007+01:00

Why part 2 ? coz what I'm posting now was what we had for dinner tonite, which was the later (2nd) part of the day. Part 1 is supposed to be another story that happened earlier which I will update soon...

Ayam Masak Merah (something not pedas for Mr Dear & my 3 stooges)

Sambal Sotong (pedas...pedas for moi)

Acar Timun/Nenas

Ala ala Chef gitu...

2008-11-11T22:46:00.011+01:00

I have been asked by a few mothers from my daughters' class to do a cooking demonstration, many times. And my answer was always not favorable. But, after series of appeals, I finally agreed to host one and 3 weeks ago we decided on the date which was today...

After taking into consideration the preparation, the time needed and the popularity of our food, I decided to cook "Nasi Lemak" with "Sambal Sotong" and "Ayam Goreng Berempah". There were 7 ladies from 6 different countries i.e. Scotland, Sweden, Belgium, Canada, England & Australia. This was my first cooking demo but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and as planned, the food turned out good (to my own expectation, of course). In addition to that, I prepared some "Jemput-jemput Udang" for them which dissappeared in no time.

And, since all the ladies and I were enjoying it, there will be another series of cooking demo and the next one will take place in mid December. This time, they requested for "Mee Kari" and "Karipap Ayam". I don't expect to have any problems cooking Mee Kari, but Karipap, hhhmmm...well, I hope Mr Dear and my 3 stooges wouldn't mind eating Karipap every weekend huhu...

(Gambar Nasi, Sambal & Ayam tak sempat ambik, lepas masak terus ngap !!!)

Biasa-biasa aje...

2008-11-10T21:56:00.000+01:00

Nothing much happening lately so I thought I'll share with uol what I've cooked and served to my family for dinner tonite...

Prawn in Tomato Garlic Sauce

Black Bean Chicken

Pak Choy in oyster sauce

Leftover sushi from yesterday's dinner...

Rainbows Pyjama Party

2008-11-08T12:41:00.008+01:00

When I was small, I never had a chance to take up any extra lessons after school...no rainbows, no horse-back riding, no swimming, no ballet, no gymnastic, nothing at all !!! The only after school activities that I had was "kelas mengaji"...not that I was complaining coz I understood very well our financial situation at that time, it's just that I wanted to point out how lucky some children are nowadays, they can get/do nearly whatever they want. I only hope this will help them prepare for a better future.

Yesterday, Alyiah had her District Rainbows Pyjama Party. And, since they are quite young for a sleep over, the party went for 3 hours only. But still, they had loads of fun and by the time she got home she was very exhausted and fell asleep not long after.

Ayiah during her "Promise Day"

Nasi Lemak diPerantauan...

2008-11-04T22:42:00.021+01:00

He is so fun to be with, so humble, so talkative, so cheerful, so friendly and most important of all...he's an excellent cook ! Yep, you guessed it ! I am talking about our famous Chef Ismail !!!

Today, a few of us ladies had lunch at Walong, the restaurant where Chef Ismail was the guest Cook. I received a lot of good reviews from friends who had already tried the food so I thought I better not let this chance slip and you know, I totally agreed with them - outstanding !. Plus, the presence of Chef Ismail himself, together with all my other gals, made the luncheon more extraordinary.

I wish I could try more of Chef Ismail & Chef Florence' food, but sadly, those 2 Celebrity Chefs could not stay longer. They will be heading back to Malaysia soon leaving us unlucky ones always hoping for another opportunity like this to return...

Majlis Ending Raya

2008-11-02T22:45:00.017+01:00

We were invited today to the "Majlis Ending Raya" in Voorschoten. The host was A.Yusof & K.Jie or also knowned as Omajie. Her house is one of the "well-decorated" house among other Malaysians' house here in The Hague. Even today, with an estimated of 100 guests, her house was still pleasantly arranged with an additional adjacent tent in their garden specially for the comfort of their guests.

Out of the ordinary, we were served with "lauk kampung" & laksa kari lemak (betul ke K.Jie ?) and it was so good that people started asking for the recipe. Those who came late or stayed a bit longer were entertained with karaoke singing/dancing performance by a few talented/gedik individuals who's yet to be discovered or else, Shakira, (I have seen someone who can gelek maut better than her hehe...), Jamal Abdillah & Dato' Siti will be out of business soon !

Joget & Endang performance by 10 Penari Cilik

2008-11-02T11:19:00.002+01:00

In my previous entry, I've mentioned about "10 penari cilik" performing Joget & Endang in an event to be organized by the Malaysian Embassy. Well, the event was held yesterday in Kampung Kita Restaurant, one of the Malaysian Restaurant in Rotterdam. It was in conjunction with the Malaysia Truly Asian Kitchen's promotion in the Netherlands from 30 October until 5 November 2008. The other participating restaurant is Walong Restaurant in The Hague and 2 Celebrity Chefs', Chef Ismail and Chef Florence Tan were invited to promote their specialty in these 2 restaurants.

Since we were promoting our delicacies, we might as well promote our culture, and for that, a Dance & Endang were performed before the restaurant patrons. Below are some photos (more photos of the event can also be viewed at Munajie & Comey Lote) before, during and after the performance...enjoy !

Mak Andam for the day...

Yeay ! Chef Florence cookbook for moi...

Happy Halloween !

2008-10-31T21:53:00.021+01:00

Today we were invited to a Halloween party in Mr Dear's office. All the children came dressed for the party including my 3 stooges. Both my princesses were turned into witches and Aidan was transformed into his favourite superhero, Power Rangers ! The kids were entertained with games and activities organized by the Company's social club and small prizes were given away to participating kids. My 3 stooges were very happy as they all came home with bags full of goodies !

Jalan-jalan pergi makan...

2008-10-29T21:27:00.002+01:00

I went out today with Ida on a quest to hunt for accessories for "10 penari cilik", who will be performing a Joget & Endang dance in the upcoming event organised by the Malaysian Embassy, which I will update at a later date. But for now, I want to share with uol some photos of what we had for lunch in the midst of our mission...

Nori - Japanese Restaurant
Budak kecik nie mana Mak dia pergi, dia mestilah ikut...

Salmon Tempura Bento Box for Moi

California Handroll for Ida (yg lagi 1 dia dah ngap !!!)

Green Tea for us

Vegetable Tempura

Ebi Tempura

Makan @ K.Jie's...

2008-10-28T22:22:00.016+01:00

Today I had "Laksa Sarawak" for lunch and for that, I thanked K.Jie for inviting me and the other ladies from our regular badminton group over to her "cozy home" in Voorschoten. Unfortunately I didn't get to take many photos of the food as I was the last to arrive and half of the food were already "gone". But as always, K.Jie never dissappoint us with her cooking...

we also got to try out her new karaoke set...

Parcel from Malaysia

2008-10-27T10:15:00.021+01:00

3 days ago when I came home from my regular Friday badminton, I saw a note from the TNT post saying that they were there to deliver a package for me, but since I wasn't home, they left it with my neighbour. Wondering what it was and whom it was from, I went to collect it only to find out that it was from my younger brother from Malaysia !

The package was addressed to Natasha, Alyiah & Aidan and as soon as I put it down, I could see the box no more as it was surrounded by 3 little black heads...Lol. On top of the box, it says "baca Bismillahirrahmanirrahim sebelum buka" and, being the one that can read and understand what it means, Natasha told both her sister and brother of what to do. It's kinda funny when at first, they opened the box slowly while reciting Bismillah but once they saw the contents, they were energized and in no time the box was emptied. No words could describe their excitement at that moment...

Thank you Uncle Izam, Aunt. Nora, Ieman, Melissa & Ninie for the presents. We love and missed all of you and can't wait to see you next year when we return for our summer holiday...insyaallah...

(my camera rosak, so the video was taken using my hp sebab tu quality video teruk !)

Layan photo ajelah...

2008-10-26T20:10:00.004+01:00

Photos of my children here and there....layan !!!

Haircut day for Daddy & son...

2008-10-26T15:58:00.008+01:00

Both Mr Dear & Aidan had their hair cut

People always said Aidan looks exactly like Mr Dear. In fact, both my princesses also look like him. And whenever they emphasized that to Mr Dear, he seems pleased and proud about it, well who won't ? but, to tell you the truth, I don't mind at all, coz when Daddy is happy, Mommy will surely benefit...hehe...u know what I mean ????

Makan treat by Shereen...

2008-10-24T16:35:00.009+02:00

The Restaurant...

The Company...

The Birthday "ladies"...

K.Jie with her bracelet gift from Ida

Shereen with her necklace gift from K.Jie in return for her kind gestures

The Food...

The Dessert...

Yesterday, the 3 of us Libras (K.Jie, Ida & moi) were given a birthday lunch treat by our good friend, Shereen at one of the Korean Restaurant in town. The foods were marvelous and the services were superb. Though the servings were pretty large, we didn't have much problem emptying our plates. And I simply love their tea which is rather special compare to the common green tea or chinese tea that I normally have.

We really enjoyed the food (of course lah, orang belanja kan !!!) and the company and thanks Shereen for the treat !

Hari Raya Gatherings...

2008-10-20T10:30:00.003+02:00

Hari Raya @ En. Ayatillah & Pn. Husniah's house on 5th October, 2008

Hari Raya @ Borhan & Rashidah's house on 12th October, 2008

Hari Raya @ Akmal & Zura's house on 18th October, 2008

Hari Raya @ En. Jalal & Pn. Aliciana's house on 19th October, 2008

Grown Up Day

2008-10-19T11:36:00.006+02:00

Last Thursday was a Grown Up Day for Year 1 students in BSN Diamanthorst. It was when the children came to school dressed as what they would like to be when they grow up. A few activities were held for the children and their classrooms were transformed into police station, hospital, post office and office environment. Whereas, the food technology room became a restaurant and items were hidden all around the school for the detective wanna bees.

As one of the class mum, I volunteered to help and was assigned to the office environment. And to make the event more fun for the children, all Year 1 teachers, assistants and volunteers were requested to dress in school uniform (this was a secret to the children). In the morning, when we were getting ready for school, Natasha and Alyiah were surprised to see me dressed up in school uniform and they had good time laughing but later they both agreed that I do look like one of the Year 6 student from the school....huhuhu Lol.

Alyiah dressed as a Doctor

Some of Alyiah's friends dressed as Car racer, Animal's keeper, Actress & Police Lady

Doctor Alyiah & student Mommy...Lol

One of the mother/volunteer & teacher dressed in school uniform

Moi & one of the volunteer cum Chef

Tag from Kakak Degil

2008-10-17T22:16:00.012+02:00

This Whos, Whats, Whens & Wheres tag was passed to me by Kakak Degil not long ago (belum jadik pekasam kan Nonie ?) and I am more than happy to do it. So, here it goes...

Whos

- Who was the last person you talked to ?

Mr Dear (he is now laying down next to me)

- Who was your last kiss ?

my darling Putra

- Who knows the most about you ?

my sister Liza and my sister-in-law Nora

- Who can make you laugh no matter what ?

Zack and Codie

- Who can you always count on ?

it depends on the situation...

- Who has your heart ?

Mr Dear and my 3 stooges

- Who is or was your favorite teacher in school ?

my Ustazah, Pn Norhayati

- Who is your best friend ?

Mr Dear

- Who loves you

Mr Dear (wait..let me double check with him....) and my 3 stooges (they say it without fail every nite)

Whats

- What is your favorite song at the moment ?

don't have any

- What are you looking forward to ?

going back to Malaysia, next summer holiday

- What is your favorite colour ?

obviously pink (I know...even Natasha laughed at me when I told her)

- What website do you visit most ?

TV3's website

- What is your favorite smell ?

Mr Dear's after smoke smell (18sx !!!)

- What is your favorite movie ?

The Lake House

- What makes you mad ?

when my kitchen is messy

- What curse word do you use a lot ?

bodoh !

- What kind of phone do you have ?

Samsung U600

- What was the last song you listened to?

raya song (in my car)

Whens

- When was the last time you went to the Mall ?

this afternoon

- When did you talk to your crush last ?

I didn't get to talk to him

- When do or did you graduate ?

looooonng time ago

- When is the next time you'll do something fun ?

tomorrow

- When was the last time you ate or drank something ?

3 hours ago

- When is your birthday ?

7 October 1971

- When was the last time you went to the movies ?

2 months ago

- When is your parents birthday ?

Abah - 4 November and Mak - 28 October

Daddy - 12 July and Mommy - 15 July

- When were you in the car last ?

about 2 1/2 hours ago

- When will you be 21 ?

huhuhu...tak nak jawablah yang nie !

- When will you be taking your next vacation ?

December (Insyaallah...)

Wheres

- Where do you live ?

Den Haag, The Netherlands

- Where is the best place to be ?

in Mr Dear's heart and mind

- Where was your last vacation ?

Slagharen

- Where were you born ?

Ampang, Selangor

- Where is your best friend

sleeping next to me

- Where was the last place you were besides your own house ?

Voorburg

- Where do you think you'll be in 10 years ?

hhhmmm...a good question for Mr Dear !

- Where is your cell phone ?

in my handbag downstairs

- Where are your parents ?

my Abah mudah-mudahan disamping hambaNya yang mukmin and my Mak & PIL in Bangi & Subang Jaya respectively

-Where was your display picture taken ?

in Disneyland, Paris

2008 APSCC Special Award

2008-10-17T21:35:00.001+02:00

In this entry, I would like to share with you all on the recent achievement of my beloved Mr Dear.

Altogether, Mr. Dear has been working in the satellite industry for more than 12 years now. The first 6 years of his career was with MEASAT Satellite Systems in Malaysia and the remaining years with the company that he's working for now, SES New Skies. Praise to God, all of his efforts and work has been recognized, as, he was recently nominated along with 4 other persons from various satellite companies to receive the 2008 Asia Pasific Satellite Communications Council (APSCC) Special Award. This Award was in recognition of the work done in the protection of satellite spectrum from terrestrial services. The prestigious award ceremony was held on 23 September, 2008 in Jeju Island, Korea which unfortunately Mr Dear could not attend as he was in Geneva attending another meeting.

To my dearest hubby, if you're reading this, I'm sorry for publicizing this here. I just could not help it but wanted to share my contentment with all my friends. And I would also like to add how much we (Natasha, Alyiah, Aidan & I) love you. We are truly proud of you and keep up the good work !

Year 3 Collections Day

2008-10-16T10:36:00.002+02:00

Yesterday, all parent of Year 3 students were invited to the classroom to view the Year 3 Collections. It was one of the children's work for this term. The children were asked to bring in a collection they have at home be it a collection of toys, stones, materials, coins, books, stamps, shells or just about anything (except living things of course !) Then they categorised and make labels for each of the section and printed some facts of their collections ready to answer questions from parents.

Natasha with her Keyrings collection

Mommy & Aidan tumpang sekaki

Balquees with her pens collection

Mark with his stones collection

Saskia with her shiny papers collection

Juliet with her shells collection

Edward with his sushis collection

Joseph with his Spidermans collection

Esther with her toy animals collection

TAG !!!

2008-10-14T22:58:00.001+02:00

Actually I have been tagged by Comey Lote and Kakak Degil , but, I have been busy lately so I'm going to tackle the one from Comey Lote first (Nonie punya K.Ila peram dulu ya !)

15 Facts About Me :

Fact 1 : Love my hubby and children very much

Fact 2 : Shortest in the family

Fact 3 : My nickname among my siblings is Cpen (short form for Si Pendek...huhu)

Fact 4 : The only one in my family with straight hair (out of 6 siblings)

Fact 5 : I was once engaged (not to my hubby) but 1 week before the wedding, I called it off

Fact 6 : Older than my hubby by 1 year

Fact 7 : Love to dance and good at it (prasan !)

Fact 8 : Have back problem

Fact 9 : Known as Kak Uda among my cousins

Fact 10 : My puppy love was with Sultan Kedah's nephew when I was in Form 4

Fact 11 : When I was young, I sold packet Nasi Lemak from house to house to help my family

Fact 12 : Short tempered

Fact 13 : All my children were born by caesarean

Fact 14 : Cannot tolerate a messy house otherwise I'll go "meroyan" (only applies to my own house ya !)

Fact 15 : Love to window shop

I don't intend to tag anyone in particular however if you are reading this blog, consider yourself tagged !!!

Happy 8th Birthday Natasha !

2008-10-13T15:39:00.000+02:00

Last week was a very busy week for me. Not only I had to do preparations for our open house, but I was also preparing for Natasha's birthday. Her birthday was on 10 October, 2000 and this year, it was on Friday. So, on Thursday night, I baked some muffins for her classmates and with the "help" of my 3 stooges, we decorated them with buttercreams and chocolate sprinkles. This year, Natasha chose a blue buttercreams. She's no longer pink's fan. She believed that pink is for little girl and she has now passed that stage.

To my dear Natasha...Daddy, Mommy, Alyiah & Aidan wish you Happy 8th Birthday. May you be blessed with good life, good health, good friends and the best in everything. We also wish you a year filled with the same joy you bring to us. No matter how many birthdays come and go, you'll always be our little girl and we're so proud to have you as daughter.

Jamuan Hari Raya - Final

2008-10-13T10:54:00.010+02:00

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my friends and their family for coming to our Jamuan Hari Raya and making it the most memorable event for us. And thank you too for all the lovely foods, flowers and gifts. Please accept our apologies if there was any inconvenience.

Oh ! on top of that, I received another belated birthday presents...yippie !!!

from Muna

from K.Jie

Jamuan Hari Raya - Part 2

2008-10-12T22:16:00.013+02:00

Abang & Adik

3 Mak Dara Pingitan

Cik Da Comey

Bergambar dgn Ambassador (yg pakai baju hijau bercermin mata)

Jamuan Hari Raya - Saturday, 11 October 2008 (Part 1)

2008-10-11T23:59:00.010+02:00

Nasi Tomato, Ayam Masak Merah, Daging Masak Hijau, Acar Rampai & Rendang Ayam

Biskut Raya dari Malaysia & dari Pn. Aliciana

Makanan Ringan

Kek Lapis Prune, Kuih Lapis & Lopes

Ketupat, Timun & Bawang untuk Sate

Mee Hoon & Mee Kuning untuk Soto

Perencah Mee Hoon Soto

Minuman Panas & Sejuk

Happy Mommy !

2008-10-08T17:34:00.014+02:00

One of my princesses' after school activity is swimming and the lessons are on Mondays. However, parents are not normally allowed to watch their children except on selected days which they called "Kijk Dag". Since it is only a half an hour lesson, I don't go home, instead, Aidan & I will wait in the restaurant nearby and when they're done, we will then pick them up from where we dropped them off.

After almost 1 1/2 years since she started her lessons, Natasha has finally been upgraded to the final level before getting her Swimming Diploma. I was so happy coz I've been waiting for this moment for quite awhile. She was the last few from her batch to move to this level. Some of them have already moved up in April this year and I was quite upset with the slow progress from Natasha. I've been nagging her about it but only lately did it sink in.

Natasha is the type of person that needs encouragement and must always be reminded of her capabilities. Whereas Alyiah is the total opposite, she dares to try new and different things, i.e. more adventurous, and has more self confidence. She just started her swimming lessons in March of this year and I am quite sure she will progress well.

I believe Natasha will now have less pressure when it comes time for her swimming lessons since I will no longer be nagging at her to perform better.

Natasha doing her underwater swimming test

1 year older...or wiser ???

2008-10-07T17:28:00.033+02:00

Today is the day I was born 37 years ago. Thank you God, Abah & Mak for bringing me into this world. I am also grateful for my life, my health and prosperous years that I have had and nothing more I would wish but all that to continue for I really want to see my children grow up and become successful and hopefully along the way shed some of my tears of joy and happiness.

However, being surrounded by lovely people, I was not left empty handed on my birthday. To Mr Dear, my adorable children, my parents in law, my sisters, K.Jie, Shereen, Ida and all my friends, thank you for the gifts and best wishes. I truly appreciate the kind gestures and will cherish the valuables all my life.

from Mr Dear

from my 3 stooges

from Ida

from Body Shop

3 Dwaze Dagen

2008-10-05T01:39:00.016+02:00

Yesterday, one of the shopping complex (actually, it's the only shopping complex) in The Hague, called Bijenkorf, had a "3 Dwaze Dagen" (3 Crazy Days) sale. The sale started on Thursday but I didn't know about it until the last day which is yesterday late afternoon hmmm...something is wrong somewhere ! this is definitely not me, coz normaly I will be the first one to know if there is any sale anywhere....so, after our makan-makan at one of the open house, and in my Baju Kurung, we rushed there and within the last 2 hours of their sale, I managed to grab these...

Dyson Vacuum Cleaner

Eager Beaver winter jacket untuk Alyiah

Gaastra winter jacket untuk Aidan

The sale was actually held every year at the same time of the year and if you are lucky, you can really get a good bargain. But of course, you have to fight with hundreds of other people.

Het Hoogstraatje

2008-10-04T22:59:00.016+02:00

Aidan started going to school on Thursday. He was a little bit upset when we left him and kept asking us to stay. Yup ! Mr Dear was there too. He took a day off as he knew that Aidan and I will definitely need "his shoulders to cry on" huhu...The first day was a little bit tough for both of us (Aidan and I) but we're okay after that.

Mr Dear tengah pujuk Aidan

Aidan nak ikut we all balik...

This video was taken while we were waiting to go into the classroom and when he was still happy and excited about school. Every day children must bring one fruit each which later they will be cut and shared among the children, thus the apple...

Hari Raya Celebration in the Netherlands

2008-10-02T10:52:00.038+02:00

H.E. Dato' Dr. Fauziah, the Embassador of Malaysia in the Netherlands giving Natasha duit raya

Alyiah & Aidan excited when they got the duit raya

Here in the Netherlands, we celebrated our Eidul Fitri on Wednesday, 1 October 2008 and as usual, Malaysian Embassy in the Netherlands hosted the "Sembahyang Sunat Hari Raya" for all their muslim citizen followed by the "makan-makan" gathering which was open to all Malaysians.

It was a warm and colorful event despite the cold and the wet weather outside. Everyone came in their best attire complete with "songkok and samping" for the men. Being far away from home does not stop us from celebrating Hari Raya the way we should celebrate it just like the song I used to hear when I was little, sang by D.J.Dave which, part of the lyric says, "cantik berseri-seri, tua dan muda berpakaian serba baru". But to me it's not the matter of baru or lama, but the spirit that you put for the occasion.

The food were kindly prepared by the Embassy's staff and their spouses. There are actually some other food served but as usual, busy with the 3 stooges that I didn't get to take the photos before it dissappears.

Kari Ayam

Nasi Beriyani

Sate Ayam

Sayur Lodeh

Nasi Impit & Kuah Kacang

Karipap, Kueh Lapis, Chocolate cake & Buah Dragon Fruit

Carrot cake made by yours truly

Marble Chocolate Cheese Cake also made by yours truly

Eid Mubarak

2008-09-29T10:31:00.007+02:00

Sadly Ramadhan is coming to an end and Syawal is approaching, however as a Muslim, we should be celebrating it anyway and my family and I would like to take this opportunity to wish Eid Mubarak to everyone especially to all my blogger friend as well as to my blog's silent readers. Do accept my apologies for any wrong doings or things I said that might be offending for I've never meant it. And I wish you a safe journey to wherever your destination will be and may this Syawal give us peace and happiness.

Surprise ! Surprise !

2008-09-28T16:46:00.008+02:00

Yesterday at about 2:00 pm, while we were getting ready to go out, a parcel arrived for me ! It was really a surprised as I was not expecting anything. But I believed I recognised the handwriting on the box, it belongs to my dearie sister. Yippeeee !!! a parcel from Malaysia ! (jakun kejap sebab bukan selalu received parcel nie...) Apalagi macam harimau kelaparan disogok makanan, we all anak-beranak (kecuali Mr Dear, sbb control macho !) terkam dan terus buka the parcel.

Jeng..jeng..jeng..it's a kuih raya !!! aaahh bestnya..bestnya..ada jugak lah kuih raya we all tahun ni !!. Tak taulah kenapa this year I'm not in the mood to make any kuih and our preparation pun ala kadar aje...so dengan kedatangan kuih nie barulah ada semangat beraya !! Sebab tadi tak menyempat buka parcel, terlupa pulak nak snap gambar before cuma sempat ambil after aje...ada 4 jenis kuih semuanya, kuih chocolate chips, kuih suji, kuih almond London dan yang paling best, Mr Dear's favorite, kuih tart nenas.

Kuih suji dah tinggal separuh dihabiskan oleh Aidan

Untuk my lovely sis, K.Ija dan Mak tersayang, terima kasih yang tak terhingga sebab ingatkan kami disini. Kami betul-betul terharu dan sebak masa dapat kuih tu...dan terima kasih sebab telah memberi sedikit kerlipan cahaya Aidilfitri buat kami disini...

Cerita hari Jumaat

2008-09-27T18:14:00.020+02:00

Dalam train on the way to Airport

2 minggu berturut-turut Mr Dear went away on business trip. The first week, he went to Luxembourg for 3 days and then he went to Geneva for 4 days. He came back from Geneva yesterday and since I don't have anything planned for the day, I decided to bring Aidan for a train ride to Schipol Airport to meet Mr Dear. As usual, Aidan's always on cloud nine whenever he sits on a train and you can never be bored if you are sitting next to him for he'll always question you with anything that he sees along the way or come out with all sorts of story to amuse you. The "silence" sign by the wall have never work on him.

While waiting for Daddy dear

All along, Aidan has always been "Mommy's son" but yesterday, he refused to walk, sit and be carried by me. He only wants Daddy dear. He must have missed his daddy extremely to push me aside. Mr Dear apa lagi, kembang kempis lah hidung dia, full of pride ! Nevertheless, it does not last long hehehe...Come night, he started looking for me again. Kesian pulak kat Mr Dear....itulah lain kali janganlah kerap sangat pergi outstation kan anak dah tak rapat...or....selalu-selalu lah lagi pergi outstation, biar anak rindu dan mencari...eh ! yang mana satu ni ??? Tak kisahlah.. janji setiapkali tanya Aidan "who's son are you?" dengan selamba dan pantas dia akan jawab "Mommy's son"...

Library

2008-09-25T14:03:00.025+02:00

Remember in my previous entry, I mentioned that Aidan will only starts school in January ? well, last week, I received a call from the Playschool saying that there will be a space available for him sooner than that. However, it is not within their school but in another school, except that they're in the same organisation. I was also told that one of the teacher in that Playschool is a British lady married to a Dutchman which to me is a plus point lest Aidan having difficulty adapting to dutch language. As arranged, on Friday, I went to that school and met with the teachers and was quite impressed with what I saw. The playschool had recently been renovated, have more toys, more organised and is definitely much bigger than the other playschool. Gladly, I accepted their offer and Aidan will begin his first day in that playschool on Thursday, 2nd of October.

Thus, I don't think it's any longer appropriate for us to go to the "samenspel", so yesterday, I brought Aidan to the library in town, instead. After dropping off my princesses, I went back home to pack his bag with nappies, drink and sandwiches and since the weather was quite good, I decided to cycle there. It was a nice 30 minutes cycling and chatting. Yup !! Aidan loves to talk. He can talk non-stop for hours (Natasha called him a chatter box!). In the library, he enjoyed himself all the same and does not seems to mind the difference of the venue. Here, he has 2 favorite books, World under the sea and Big Blue Train.

22 Ramadhan

2008-09-23T09:05:00.011+02:00

Syukur Alhamdulillah, Mommy dengan beberapa ladies friend Mommy dah pun melaksanakan salah satu daripada tuntutan ibadah kami didalam bulan Ramadhan yang mulia ini. Hasil daripada "pertemuan" kami setiap hari dari 3 Ramadhan sehinggalah semalam (22 Ramadhan), kami akhirnya "Khatam". Bukanlah niat Mommy untuk bermegah ataupun riak, cuma sekadar untuk berkongsi kegembiraan kami dan aktiviti kami disini aje. Harapan kami, insyaallah, kalau masih ada rezeki tahun depan, lebih ramai lagi teman-teman disini yang dapat ikut serta. Sambil tu, jom tengok apa yang sempat kami sediakan untuk majlis kecil-kecilan tersebut ...(bukan makan kat situ tau, tapi untuk dibawa pulang...)

Pulut Kuning & Rendang Ayam

Telur Pindang

Apam Seri Wangi & Bubur Lambuk

Dan juga ada Sambal Telur, Kek Gulung, Cucur Udang & Anggur

Kami juga telah menjemput Ustaz Naf'aan dan isteri beliau untuk bersama-sama mengakhiri dan mendoakan majlis tersebut. Mommy pun nak ambil kesempatan ni untuk mengucapkan terima kasih kepada kawan-kawan Mommy yang terlibat : K.Kamariah, K.Jie, Shereen, Ida, K.Herita & K.Liza. Semoga usaha dan niat kita diterima dan dimakbulkanNya....Amin.

Berbuka Puasa

2008-09-21T16:34:00.018+02:00

It has been a tradition for the Malaysian Embassy in the Netherlands, during every Saturday of Ramadhan, to host a "Berbuka Puasa & Sembahyang Terawih" for all Malaysian muslims' residing in the Netherlands. And this year was no exception but with a slight change. Due to certain reasons, instead of every Saturday, this time it was only held on the second and third Saturdays. We were fairly upset at first when we heard the announcement, as this is the time for all of us Malaysian to meet and get to know each other better but we should be grateful nonetheless the Embassy is hosting such an occasion for us.

Photos above are some of the food that were prepared by the Embasy's staff. These are the main meals served after our Maghrib prayer. I didn't get to take photos of all the "kueh" for the Iftar as I was busy entertaining my 3 stooges. By the time we finished performing our terawih, it was already 11:30 pm and my 3 stooges were very tired (of running around with other children, of course) and sleepy. They had a good time and so did I. It was nice to have the opportunity to gather and perform terawih with fellow Malaysians which gives me the being-at-home feeling.

Sekolah Main-Main

2008-09-18T09:35:00.017+02:00

My 3 stooges getting ready for school

Aidan in front of his school

Yesterday, after dropping off my princesses, I brought Aidan to the Playschool where I've registered him. I was suppose to wait for the invitation letter from them but I could not wait any longer and decided to just walk in and ask them personally about the outcome of our application. Aidan was so excited hopping around happily when we got to the school thinking that finally he was able to go to school just like his sisters and it will definitely devastate him if they send us home given that I didn't make any appointment.

Fortunately, we got some help from one of the school assistant but apparently, at this moment there is no space for Aidan in that school until January but what they can offer now is for Aidan and I to join their "samenspel" every Wednesdays. "Samenspel" is when parents of the children from the Playschool join in with the children to play and do all other activities the children normally do. And so happened yesterday was Wednesday, so, we got to stay and join them.

Aidan did some painting and got to play with other children, eventhough they don't speak the same language yet, but they seems to enjoy each others' company and as long as Aidan is enjoying himself, I'm happy. However, I'm a bit concerned he might get the impression that I will always be there with him when he goes to his Playschool in January. But let's worry about that later.

Belajar Piano

2008-09-17T14:11:00.008+02:00

These photos were taken yesterday before Natasha had her Piano lesson. Normally, before the end of her lesson, her Piano teacher will give some exercise or new song for her to practice and to perform it to her in the next lesson. And thanks to her that I am now loaded with another tasks. Weekend is no longer something that I look forward to as that is the day, besides our groceries day, when I have to sit with my princesses and do with them all their school and after school lessons' homework. My weekdays are already hectic enough with their other activities and I don't think I can squeeze in any more time in between. What do uol think ? should I take up a Time Management course ?

Pokok Kelapa

2008-09-16T22:45:00.008+02:00

Few days ago, when I was sitting in my living room bored and blanked, I realised that I didn't have any "greens" at all in this particular area. So, without hesitating, I called my friend and convinced her to accompany me to one of the Garden Centre near our place. There are many type of plants to choose from but what I need is something that is easy to look after and does not need much attention from me as water once a week is just what I can afford to give.

My friend suggested the above plant as she said it suited my criteria. I fully agreed with her for the fact that I've been eyeing on this plant for quite sometimes but I was not sure if this plant (or any plant) can survive in my house. Well, now that I've changed my mind, let's see how long this plant can lasts.

Taik Burung

2008-09-16T14:19:00.012+02:00

As usual this morning, a few of us ladies met up again for our routine get together. And when we finish and as we were making our way to the car, we saw one of our friend's car was half covered with bird droppings. We just could not stop laughing when she told us how embarassed it was when she has to drive the car in the highway this morning and that everybody were staring at her with a disgusting smirk. She could not clean it before as she was already late and decided to drive it anyway. And to save her from getting the same "look" on her way back, we all help to clean her car to the best that we can. Actually part of the reason why I help is because I will be driving in the same direction as her and will be trailing behind her and I don't want my car to be knowned as "the car" behind the car with the bird shit". Muahahahaha..

To Ida, if you read this, ...Ampun !!!....

My first award !!!

2008-09-15T15:00:00.007+02:00

Spread The Love Award

This award was given to me by my dearest friend, Ida. I was so excited when I got this award and I can say that I am very lucky to receive this award in view of the fact that I just started blogging. All the credits to Ida for giving me the inspiration to initiate this blog and for introducing me to some of her blogger friends and most of all for this particular award. And it is my honour to continue "spreading the Love" by presenting the award to :-

Kakak Degil
Mommy Aqil
Munajie

My Misses to My Princesses

2008-09-12T21:23:00.015+02:00

Ingat lagi masa kecik-kecik dulu, orang tua-tua selalu pesan, "jangan melawan cakap orang tua" , "jangan membantah", "jangan menyampuk bila orang tua bercakap", "jangan nak tunjuk pandai" dan macam-macam "jangan" lagi. Mommy pun masa tu memang takut sangat dan tak berani nak buat tu semua (tapi dalam hati tu bebal jugaklah) sebabnya kalau nak merasa lebam bekas cubit kat peha atau birat tali pinggang kat belakang badan hah cubalah...itu kalau kes beratlah tu, tapi kalau setakat "radio karat' dan "jelingan menggoda" Mak, selalu dahlah....

Tapi budak-budak sekarang nie dah tak macam dulu lagi (tak sure lah pulak kat Malaysia...). Mereka dah bebas beri pendapat dan menyuarakan ketidakpuasan hati mereka. Rasanya ini semua sebab pergaulan disini tambahan pulak disekolah pun memang digalakkan murid-murid untuk "berbahas" dengan cikgu dan menyuarakan pendapat mereka untuk setiap topik yang dibincangkan. Here, they practice two way discussions. Bagi Mommy ada eloknya jugak, sekurang-kurangnya nanti bila besar tak de lah jadi "pak turut" aje, cuma jangan sampai melampaui batas-batas adat kita dan boleh membezakan antara orang tua dan kawan, okaylah tu...

Panjang pulak intro kali nie. Sebenarnya Mommy nak cerita pasal conversation Mommy with Natasha malam tadi. Setiap kali Mommy update blog, Natasha selalu tanya apa yang Mommy tulis dan dia mesti menyebok tanya itu dan ini. Tapi malam tadi terlebih lah pulak curiosity dia, and she started asking me....

Natasha : Mommy, who is "my misses", is it me and Alyiah ?
Mommy : yes, kakak
Natasha : why did you call us "my misses"
Mommy : because "miss" means little lady and Mommy have two of them, you and Alyiah. It's plural, that's why Mommy said "my misses"
Natasha : Oh ! but why can't you just write our names ?
Mommy : then it will be difficult for Mommy coz every time Mommy has to type two different names.
Natasha : why don't you write our first name instead coz both our first names are Putri
Mommy : how can I write "My Putri", it's only referring to 1 person
Natasha : hmm...you said Putri means Princess, then you can write Princesses..."My Princesses"
Mommy : (ternganga kejap...) okay, if that's what you want...(masih cuba nak cover kebodohan diri sendiri !!!)
Natasha : tersenyum puas hati...

tapi belum sempat Mommy tarik nafas lega, dia sambung lagi...

Natasha : and Mommy ! can you write all your stories in english, then I can read and understand them better...
Mommy : Ok Kakak, Mommy will try...Mommy will try...(dengan nada sayu...)

Bertuah betul anak ni ! but anyway, she has her points correct. Dan dengan terpaksanya, lepas nie Mommy kenalah tukar ayat seperti title di atas...dan pasal entry in english tu pulak, let's see how it goes...

Football

2008-09-11T16:31:00.005+02:00

Sebenarnya macam-macam aktiviti lepas sekolah yang my misses ada dari hari Isnin sampailah hari Khamis. Cuma hari Jumaat aje dorang boleh arrange playdate dengan kawan-kawan dari sekolah. Hari Isnin both my misses ada swimming lesson, hari Selasa - Piano, hari Rabu - Rainbows/Brownies dan hari Khamis - mengaji Al-Quran. Itu belum lagi activities run by the school. Penat jugaklah Mommy berkejar sana sini hantar dan ambil dorang balik, kalah pemandu Teksi rasanya. Tapi no complain, memang dah itu tanggungjawab Mommy, siapa suruh jadi HouseMom kan!!!

Tapi entry kali nie Mommy nak cerita pasal Alyiah's new activity which is Football. Few days ago, sekolah hantar list of activities for the children to choose, then Mommy pun tanya lah both misses apa activities yang dorang berminat. Natasha nak join Science Superstar Club on Wednesdays, okaylah kan. Lepas tu Mommy tanya Alyiah pulak, laju aje dia cakap dia nak join Football Club ! Biar betul budak nie !!! Mommy pun warn dia yang she might be the only girl there, tapi dia kata "I don't mind, I like football !" mmmhhh... nak buat camna kan dah dia minat...

So tadi lepas sekolah Mommy pun hantar lah dia ke football field, and luckily ada lagi sorang girl in the team so she was not the only girl, takdelah awkward sangat. Tapi sebab last minute tak sempat lagi nak beli proper attire for her, maybe next week lah kot. Anyway, Mommy sempat jugak snap 1 - 2 photos of Alyiah with her best buddy - Kasper.

Class Mum

2008-09-10T09:14:00.017+02:00

Why oh why did I volunteer to be my daughter's class mum ??? but to think again, I did not volunteer, instead one of the mother came up to me and ask if I would like to be one, but why did I agree ??? sigh !!! I know.... it's not like I've been elected to be the President or Prime Minister, to be venting, just that I'm afraid I'm not capable enough to handle the responsibility.

As a class mum, I have to coordinate helpers for the teacher whenever there are any activities in the school i.e. International day, Science day, Sports day, What I want to be when I grow up day (???) to name a few, and also for the school trips. Sometimes, I will have to contact parents to organise out of school social activities such as coffee morning or parents nite out. And talking about social activities especially among the foreigners, is also another dilemma for me. I don't really mix around and mingle with other parents except when is necessary and when I pick up my misses from school, I will just stand and wait at one corner without anyone noticing me, except my misses, of course, and within few minutes we're already in the car heading home. Don't get me wrong, I am not an introvert, I think it's all rounded up to a few reasons or perhaps I am just too shy. But you can't blame me, I'm an Asian, remember !!!

I guess, now is the time for me to change for the benefit of my misses. I need to show them some good example in being more of an extrovert and be more confident. Meanwhile, let's just hope that there'll be no complains whatsoever from the teacher and other parents about me as their class mum.

Aidan Seow Putra

2008-09-06T14:06:00.004+02:00

Nothing much I can story mory at this moment because it's Saturday ! Yup ! Saturday is our groceries day and it is when we go out from noon until quite late doing all our errands, hopping from one shop to another stocking up all our necessities for the whole coming week. This is also the day where I declare my "cuti masak day". So, normally before we leave the house we will fill up our stomach with some left over foods and don't have to worry about lunch anymore. But dinner will either be eaten out or brought home.

However, I will not leave uol with just the above boring story. I've uploaded a video of my darling Putra saying his Al-Fatihah and hope uol will be entertained. Also wishing uol a nice and peace weekend.

Cheerio !!!!

Ampun Tuanku

2008-09-04T21:19:00.009+02:00

Dua minggu lepas kami disini menerima kunjungan DiRaja Perlis yang terdiri dari Sultan dan Sultanah Perlis yang diiringi dayang dan pengawal peribadi DiRaja. Jangan panic !!! bukan lah berkunjung kerumah Mommy nie tapi Rombongan DiRaja tu berkunjung ke Amsterdam !!! Tuanku baru aje lepas menjalani pembedahan di bahagian kaki (tak sure which part) kat Denmark dan atas nasihat Doktor, Tuanku hanya dibenarkan menaiki pesawat utk pulang ke Malaysia selepas 10 hari dari tarikh pembedahan. Tapi sebab dah banyak hari di Denmark jadi Tuanku dan rombongan Baginda mengambil keputusan untuk datang ke Amsterdam dengan menaiki keretapi selama 16 jam dan kemudian dari sini Tuanku teruskan perjalanan terbang pulang ke Malaysia dengan MAS.

Tapi Alhamdulillah, my rezeki, and being one of the Ahli Perwakilan di sini, yours truly dapat jugak "Jemputan Makan Malam bersama Sultan & Sultanah Perlis" ! Tapi food malam tu we all masing-masing yang masak according to menu requested by Tuanku. Both Tuanku were very humble dan tak lepas dari mulut Tuanku ucapan terima kasih yang tak terhingga for all the preparation. Selepas makan, we all tak terus balik tapi disambung pulak dengan sessi karaoke dan tarian pocho-pocho. Part karaoke tu yours truly lemah lah sikit sebab memang bukan bidang yang digemari tapi kalau pasal menari...no problem ! laju aje kaki nie bergoyang...

Inang DiRaja (yg pakai tudung putih) tengah ajar tarian Pocho-pocho

Dan atas sebab-sebab yang tertentu, Mommy tak ada lah pulak gambar dengan Sultan & Sultanah, yang ada pun gambar sesama kami masa menari dan masa kami tengah berbaris tunggu ketibaan Tuanku. Apa pun malam tu tetap akan menjadi kenangan manis untuk kami semua disini....

Papa ku pulang dari...

2008-09-04T13:47:00.012+02:00

Seronoknye dia...

Tengoklah aksi my misses tengah tunggu train

Isi perut dulu sebelum gie Airport

When I was browsing thru my file where I kept all my photos, I noticed a few things came to pass recently that I have not get the chance to share with uols. Tapi macam mana nak compose everything in 1 entry ya ??? Takpelah kita start with latest photos dulu k. These photos were taken last week at Schipol Airport. I brought the 3 stooges there untuk menunggu ketibaan Mr Dear yang baru pulang dari Macau. We all pergi naik keretapi lebih kurang 45 minit dari our place. Seronok sangat 3 stooges dapat naik keretapi tapi yang paling seronok Aidan lah sebab dia nie memang suka sangat trains and aeroplanes...Lama jugak we all kat situ sempat lah my misses main kat indoor playground kat situ dan puas lah Aidan tengok aeroplanes dari dekat. Happy sungguh 3 stooges hari tu dan triple happy lagi bila nampak Mr. Dear walking, waving and carrying bags with goodies from Macau untuk dorang (utk Mommy pun wajib ada hehehehe) part nie aje lah yang seronok bila Mr Dear gie business travel...

Back to School

2008-09-03T21:41:00.012+02:00

Natasha & Alyiah on their sports day

Today both my misses started school. Kelam kabut jugak pagi tadi sediakan their uniform, snack & lunch boxes. But luckily Mr. Dear is around to help with the preparation, as usual, otherwise sure both misses will be late for school. Maklumlah hampir 2 1/2 months we all anak-beranak (except Mr. Dear coz he has to go to work) bangun after 8:00 am, so terlupalah sekejap nak adjust our wake-up time...The misses were so excited going to school that they both didn't want to eat their breakfast. Natasha is now in Year 3 (equivalent to Darjah 2 in Malaysia) and Alyiah is in Year 1 (kindergarten level in Malaysia) and not forgetting Aidan which is still waiting for confirmation letter from the "peuterspeelzaal" (dutch playschool) just a few rows behind our house on his admission to their school. Actually it is not compulsory for Aidan to go to school yet, but every morning he will cry and wants to follow both misses to school and since the peuterspeelzaal here in Netherland started taking children as young as 2 1/2 years, so we thought we might just send him in, besides it's just for 3 hours. In a way, it's a good preparation for him coz insyaallah if our application is accepted, in September next year (in Netherland, the school year starts from September until July), he will be starting school in the British School's Nursery joining both misses and at that time it will be from 9:00 am until 3:00 pm. I wonder if he will survive that long hours without me by his side for he is soooooo attached to me. Well...1 year is quite a long time to go and you'll never know what will happen by then. Hopefully as he grows he will have more confidence and be more independence. But no matter what he'll be, to me, he will always be my baby....

Photos taken during their last day of school term Sept'07 to July'08

While both misses are back in school, Mommy is also busy scheduling her diary and trying to get back to her normal routine. And since it's Ramadhan, just like any other previous Ramadhan, my schedule in the mornings are pre-booked for the whole month with "appointments" with my dearest muslim friends. Other than that, hopefully everything will be back on schedule...

My brain is actually warming up and suddenly there's so much story mory to share with uols but somehow my eyes are not cooperating....But they are not to be blamed as they have not been trained to stay up open until late, note : it is now 11:54 pm. Well, what can I say. Will try to be back in again tomorrow and hopefully upload some photos for uols...

Till then, tatatititutu....

2008-08-28T16:41:00.008+02:00

Cuti Sekolah Part III

2008-08-28T14:31:00.010+02:00

It's been awhile since my last entry. Biasalah bila Cik M datang melawat dan Cik Idea pulak tak datang menjenguk alamat tak berasap ler Blog Mommy...Ini pun paksakan jugaklah duduk kat sini lagipun both my misses tak ada so I better use the "tanpa gangguan" opportunity nie to story mory here and upload some photos for uols.

Well, our trip to Slagharen was an "okaylah" but memorable, if one might ask. Okaylah in the sense that they have quite a number of rides for the little misses to muse themselves despite the rain and the breeze. At first, we were not too sure whether was it a good idea staying there for 5 days as we were afraid that the 3 + 1 stooges (my friend's daughter came along with us) might get bored of the park and all the attractions, but we were wrong. Every day they woke up early and pestering us on getting ready and with the same excitement every morning they marched to the park as if there's some new rides waiting for them to venture. And a memorable one I would say because all the 3 + 1 stooges came back home with mosquitoes biten marks all over their body especially their cute faces. We didn't come prepared for the mosquitoes party hence the punishment, I might say. You can obviously tell that this was our first time staying in a camping type of accommodation and after all the pain by just looking at how the children suffered from the itch, I guess this will also be the last for us.

Cuti Sekolah part II

2008-08-16T18:18:00.012+02:00

One week's activity settled !!! everyday I have to crack my head and think of activites for my both misses. They are so used to doing activities after activities in school and when they are at home doing nothing they started to get bored shooting me with a non-stop questions like "what are we doing today, mommy", "what are we doing next, mommy", "where are we going today, mommy" and so on...Thank god 3 weeks has passed since we came back from UK. You must be wondering how I survived these 3 weeks ???? well, we didn't stay at home much really, I brought them out most of the time to parks (indoor and outdoor), sealife centre, cycling (in Netherlands it is very safe to cycle as everywhere you go there is a cycling path and here cyclists are given priority) and to the cinema. We've watched Kungfu Panda and Mamma Mia !. Thumbs up to both movies !! The misses enjoyed them very much even Aidan loves them.

Okay enough of being bad mommy ! this whole week we didn't go out at all (actually the weather plays its part too) but I've been sitting down with rotan in my hand and torturing the misses with reading, spelling, adding, multiplying and lots more !!! even Aidan have to sit and do some reading too ! but he loves it especially books with lots of fishes, aeroplanes and trains in it. But all of that with a promise of a rewards ! so not so bad lah...

The reward is Mr Dear will be taking us to a theme park call Slagharen (within Netherland) which is about 2 1/2 hours drive from our place. We'll be staying at a bungalow just outside the park. There're also different types of accomodation like chalet, tent and caravan and most important is that they have a huge open and covered pool. To tell you the truth, mommy pun excited gak...imagine 5 days without having to hantuk kepala and think what to cook ! woohooo Slagharen, here we come !!! ooppss ! thank you Daddy...

2008-08-15T14:53:00.001+02:00

Undergoing MyBlogLog Verification

2008-08-15T13:45:00.001+02:00

Undergoing MyBlogLog Verification

Cuti sekolah

2008-08-15T12:29:00.008+02:00

Now both my little misses are having their summer break. Dah 4 minggu dah, masih ada lagi 2 minggu to go. The first week of their holidays we brought them to UK. We all drove our own car via Dover port. Macam jakun pulak budak-budak tu naik feri. Mcm tak pernah !!! tapi sebenarnya Alyiah & Aidan memang tak pernah pun. Natasha aje yg dulu naik feri masa nak pergi Penang. Tapi feri ke Penang sekejap aje, yang ini sampai 1 1/2 jam. Mabuk jugak we all dibuatnya. From there we continue our journey to Bicester which is about 1 1/2 hours drive pulak lagi. Kat Bicester we stayed one night in Bignell Park Hotel. The purpose of our trip was for the children tapi Mommy pun nak lah jugak something for mommy kan ! Actually bukan ada anything special pun kat Bicester nie tapi sebelum pergi actually I dah google and did my research. Kat sini ada Outlet Village !!!! woohooo !! nama dia Bicester Outlet Village. Best sangat tambah pulak Mr Dear dah bagi greenlight utk shopping !! they have all the branded goods selling at a vvveeerryyy reasonable price. So apalagi, borong sakan ler we all. We were at the village from 11 am right until their closing time which is 7 pm. Bayangkan lah berapa kali we all tawaf outlet tu pun tak tau lah ! sampai kan muka both my little misses dah lbh masam dari cuka. Aidan no problem sbb in the stroller all the time. Tak sempat pulak nak ambil gambar masa kat situ.

Esoknya lepas check out we drove pulak ke Birmingham sbb nak pergi Cadbury World. Kat sini pun best. They have a lot of attractions for children, tak boring langsung. From there we drove to Windsor and check in at Hilton Hotel. We stayed here for 4 nights. This place is actually our main destination sbb we all ambil package hotel & entrance to their famous Legoland themepark and Windsor Castle. Overall, the children (mommy and daddy pun lbh kurang gak lah tu) had a very good time.

Alhamdulillah

2008-08-14T18:47:00.008+02:00

Finally, I've been accepted as one of Blogger family...dah boleh upload gambar ! Tapi masih banyak lagi nak kena belajar sbb dah lama sebenarnya tinggalkan bidang nie...lbh kurang 8 tahun dah kot tak buat benda-benda nie semua, asyik busy with the 3 stooges tu aje....
This photo was taken at the Malaysian Embassy of the Netherlands during the 2007 Eid Celebration. There are Daddy or will be known here as Mr Dear, Mommy, Natasha (7++), Alyiah (5) and Aidan (2++). We've been living in this country since 2002 and still enjoying it. Insyaallah, I will try to regularly update my blog and share with uols cerita-ceriti di sepanjang kehidupan kami disini...

Still trying

2008-08-14T14:51:00.008+02:00

hellllpppppp !!!! I cannot upload my pictures..what to do ????

Am still trying to upload some photos but still no signs of luck. Meanwhile let's see if the video uploading is on my side...

and the result is (drumroll....) tadaaaaa !!!!! Alyiah & Aidan strolling along the shopping area in Leidshendam.

Assalamualaikum....

2008-08-14T00:07:00.006+02:00

Telah ku tilik, telah tu fikir, dan setelah penat menjelajah keserata blog akhirnya keputusan diambil.....dear bloggers here I come....