Saturday, October 27, 2012

The very laidback Aidiladha celebration

Salam and happy Saturday peeps!

Firstly, let me wish all Muslims 'Selamat Hari Raya Aidiladha' :) Hope everyone had a blast of a celebration yesterday and are not suffering from post-celebration tummy ailments after gorging on so much daging korban. LOL

Anyway, we too celebrated the Hari Raya albeit in a very modest and low-key way. By low-key, I mean that we don't have meat on the menu. Plus, we stayed home the whole day and did not have anyone over to celebrate it.

So if we don't have meat, what did we have ya?

Well, we had this:

From left: nasi minyak hujan panas, acar nanas, ayam kurma and kek batik

Sorry for the poor quality of the picture because I was hungry when I took it! So I just quick-quick snapped the photo and then tucked into our very delicious lunch. Hehe.

As usual we love home-cooked feast. So all of the above are home-cooked :) Thank goodness for Google, I can google the recipe and prepared the feast even if it was my first time to get the nasi minyak right! Hehe.

The first time I cooked nasi minyak was when we first got married and we had friends coming over. I went through the laborious process of preparing nasi minyak, dalca and ayam masak merah. The ayam masak merah was perfect, the dalca was delicious (thanks to my friend Bib who texted the recipe back when we don't have Internet access at home!). The nasi minyak was all right - except that it was bright red!

You see, I didn't know that I was supposed to just dot the rice with the food colouring. What I did was made a hole in the middle of the rice after it was cooked, and then immediately stirred the rice! Of course the whole pot of rice turned red. Hehe. When our friends asked why was our nasi minyak red in colour, we lied and said that was how we do it in Sarawak. LOL!

So back to Aidiladha celebration feast. I did not have the red colouring this time, so I only dotted the rice with green and yellow colouring. The green colouring was a bit too strong and even though I only dotted once or twice, my rice almost turned green. Almost, but see it turned ok kan? :P

I got the recipe from someone's blog but I modified it a bit - like using only Ghee to stir-fry the onion, garlic and all the spices when the blog mentioned that I should use vegetable cooking oil and Ghee. Reason being, I wanted to have a healthier version of nasi minyak.

To be honest I don't actually know how to prepare ayam kurma and I don't really feel like looking up the recipe online. Ayam kurma has always been a tradition in my family during Hari Raya Aidiladha, along with kek batik. That is the reason why I chose to prepare those two for Raya this year :)

Since I'm the lazy type, I had instant gravy for my ayam kurma. I just threw in chicken wings and drumsticks in a pot of simmering water, add the gravy, diced potatoes, chillies and onions. Voila! Delicious ayam kurma for lunch ^_^

The acar nanas is simple to make though. Hubby cut the pineaple in four, a carrot and cucumber, and half an onion and then sliced everything using the food processor. Love the gadget! Then we just mixed the whole thing with water, vinegar and sugar and let it pickled in the fridge :)

Last but not least, a sweet treat for my family is my used-to-be-famous kek batik :) To make it sweeter, my little girl helped me with preparing the ingredients:

Khayla helping to measure the sugar

I had to help her scoop the sugar though, because she is still developing her hands-eye coordination skills :D But she was thrilled to help anyway. She even helped with breaking up the Marie biscuits for the cake. It was so cute and hilarious to see her went 'ooh' when I broke the eggs into the rotating mixer bowl. Hehe.

When it came to stir the cake batter in the wok, I had hubby to do it because it was hard work. So the whole family chipped in with making the cake. He also helped to compress the hot cake in the cake tin.

So that's the story of our Hari Raya celebration and the feast that we prepared. It may be simple, but what matters is with whom we celebrate and the heavenly taste of our own air tangan, right?

Now will you excuse me because talking about food is making me hungry and the baby has been kicking me non-stop :p Time for lunch. Happy weekend guys!

Saturday, October 20, 2012

A little break away from everything

Mode: Chillin' on the pool lounge while watching my little girl and her doting daddy play in the pool.

The past 2 weeks had been quite hectic and busy for us. Our family was in town and staying with us. Of course that means having to clean up the house, stocking up on food and playing the role of tour guides.

Eventually the busy weekends, the restless weather and having to care for many people took a toll on my health. Not to forget having too much durians during this rainy season :p

So this week we decided that we should treat ourselves to a mini vacation. Since I have to be in Kuantan for a meeting on Sunday (crazy right, Sunday also kena kerja!), I booked a room at the Swiss-Garden Resort for the little holiday.

And nobody is happier than our little girl who loves nothing more than being out of the house and exploring new surroundings!

She is, as always, the perfect little traveller who spends her time in the car watching tv or sleeping. I cannot emphasize more how I love having little girls because they are much more calm and well-behaved :)

We arrived at the hotel at 3.00pm. The check-in process was quick and smooth and we were in the room in no time at all.

Since it is a resort the room is quite nice and cozy, although the housekeeping was really bad. Can you imagine that we found a dead cockroach under the bed and lizard's dropping at the veranda? :( It just reduced my rating down to just three instead of five.

Anyway I didn't want to let it ruin our vacation so after a bit of a rest, off we went to the pool for a fun time (more like Khayla's fun time!)

So here I am sitting on the lounge under a shady tree enjoying the sight of my little girl having the time of her life splashing in the clear blue pool. I just noticed a small brown bird with green feather on its breast perching on the tree's twig, while a red flower fluttered down into the water.

This is the life.

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Letter to My Child: Khayla (22 months)

Dear Khayla,

In approximately 2 months, you will turn 2 years old. I'm dreading that age, because I heard and read that a 2-year old is just a monster in disguise - that's why the phase is called "Terrible Two".

Already you are showing symptoms of becoming a monster little girl - you can turn the house upside down without even blinking your eyes. You can passionately and stubbornly refuse your food and then cry endlessly for a bottle of milk instead (which in the end, just to shut you up, I will give in to you instead of sticking to what your paed told us to do). You climb up the dining chair and the sofa without fearing for the danger of falling down and knocking your head like you often do. You love to open and close the kitchen cabinets, the rice container and also the cutleries drawer and then carry off the contents of the cabinet (forks & spoons, spatula, whips, plastic containers, onions, etc.) to the living room where you pretend to cook by yourself.

Just looking at the mess you created makes me feel like coming down with a headache. I will have to lie down and close my eyes so I would not see the mess - but then you will climb up on the sofa where I'm resting to jump up and down near my tummy! If I was not scared of you falling off the sofa, I'm scared that you will fall onto my tummy and hurting your little sister inside. You, my daughter, is a force to be reckon with!

My dear Khayla,

Sometimes I feel quite sorry for you because you are so full of energy and enthusiasm, yet sometimes your parents just don't have the time nor the energy to keep you entertained. You love to play but I notice that playing alone is no fun to you. That is why you get bored easily with your toys and after a while will sidle off to ~~disturb~~ to check on a near-comatose Mommy. I have to admit that since I become pregnant with your little sister, I am not so much fun to be with. In the first trimester, I slept or threw up most of the time and was a grumpy Mommy. In my second trimester, I had regained my energy to play with you after we reached home from work / daycare but hey, where did the Time go? Suddenly, Mommy is in the third and final trimester and became tired easily. You are forced to play on your own.

But fret not baby, in another 2 months you will soon be joined by another little girl who will be your lifelong friend and playmate. Then both of you can ~~turn the house upside down~~ play together ok?

My sweetie-pie,

Despite your sometimes testing behaviour, you are still most of the time a very cute and adorable little tot. You make me laugh at your adorable antics and when you are in the mood, you can be spontaneous with your showers of affection.

For example, you will suddenly abandon your toy to give me a peck on the cheek or if you suddenly remember how much you love me, you will give me a kiss on the mouth! Awww... it just makes my heart melt ok?

When you makes me upset, your face shows that you know that you did something wrong and sometimes will give me a beseeching look before deciding to give me a sweet smile because you know that I cannot stay angry at you with your angelic expression, like the photo above!

God, sometimes I admit that I really want to smack your bum-bum for being such a naughty girl but I cannot! You look so perfectly innocent twiddling your fingers together and giving me a look that clearly says, 'Mommy don't be mad ok...'

Hmmph.

Dearest child,

Let's talk about skills you have picked up over the past several months. Swimming for instance. I am so proud that you are now really independent in the swimming pool. You love the water so much even though it's cold and you love the sensation of floating in the water.

Every time we mention 'Swimming!' your face lit up like a Christmas tree and then you will rush to put on your shoes after we changed you into your swimming attire. The moment we put you in the water, you giggle so hard like someone is tickling you! That is to show how much you enjoy swimming.

Apart from swimming, you've also begun to show a flair for singing. It started with humming the 'bear song' and then one day, when we returned from daycare, you started to sing 'Twinkle-twinkle little star'!

May I remind you that at this age, you still could not form a full sentence, or even speak properly except calling out, 'Bapak!' or 'Mommy!' yet you can sing 'Twinkle-twinkle little star' so clearly!

There are a few more nursery songs that you love to hum or sing along to like 'Old McDonald has a farm' (the only part that is recognizable is the 'e-a-e-a-o!') or 'Are you sleeping?' You also love the Colbie Caillat song 'I do' because I played it over and over again a couple of weeks ago. Hehe.

But that does not mean that I will feel happy if you decide to be a singer. No, no... You can be a pilot or a successful businesswoman, but being a singer is a no-no.

My lapis lazuli and sweet little munchkin,

I just want to reassure you that despite the upcoming arrival of your little sister, you will continue to hold a special and dear place in my heart. You brought so much joy to my life when I needed it the most, and the most awaited gift by God. Remember that when I'm busy taking care of your little sister and seemed like I could not give much attention to you. However, I will try to love both of you equally. Both of you, your sister and you, grow inside of me and hold a special place of your own in my heart.

I love you very much ok.

Love,

Mak

Friday, September 21, 2012

Open house 2012

Salam everyone and i know it's a bit late, but I still want to wish everyone Selamat Hari Raya! LOL

We had a glorious Raya break this year mainly because it was a long break as we commuted between Kuching and Bintulu. Since my cousin got married on Independence Day, I had a good excuse to prolong the leave so we could spend extra time with our loved ones at home.

Anyway the festive mood continued and last weekend, being the long weekend we decided to host makan2 event @ open house this year.

Honestly i was expecting massive efforts to be put to prepare the feast. Days before the event, I ambitiously planned to prepare laksa Sarawak, mee kolok and daging masak hitam served with lemang (tak sedar diri tengah pembawakan budak!).

But as the day drew nearer, laziness took over and I had a brilliant idea of getting a caterer to prepare nasi tomato while we only prepared laksa Sarawak and mee kolok.

We managed to get a caterer 2 days before the event at very affordable price (RM5 per pax, complete with serving tray, plates and everything needed for the party).

Then on Saturday, we did some major cleaning before we went out to buy groceries for the feast. We also stopped by Deja Moss' cake shop to buy kek lapis Sarawak to add to my kek lapis cream cheese variety.

Kek Lapis Tulip from Hadeeja

What with grocery shopping, going to Kak Retna's doa selamat event, and cake-hunting, eventually we reached home around 8pm to start the preparation.

I immediately started on the mee kolok recipe for dinner. And that's when I decided to drop it from the menu. My mee kolok was almost inedible! LOL

So, our menu was - laksa Sarawak, nasi tomato, kek lapis Sarawak, and some Raya cookies that I purposely saved in case we decided to go ahead with the event.

Senang kan?

By that night we were already in full mode of the feast preparation that even our little girl decided to chip I'm some help.

She helped me to fill the cookie jars :) aawww...

She also helped to clear up her toys (but always got distracted by the toy she picked up!) and even wiped the polystyrene bowls.

The whole family worked hard that night and only went to bed around 1am.

Penat seyhh...

The next day, I became worried that nobody would turn up to our feast because we only had 5 people who confirmed they would come via FB. And we had prepared a feast for 30 pax!

So apa lagi, sesi calling2 to check whether people were they were invited.

Needless to say, I was worried over nothing because after 2pm, neighbors, friends and colleagues turned up till we had a full house!

Meriah sangat rasanya, sampai tak cukup tangan melayan tetamu ^_^

To my delight, my cream cheese kek lapis was a hit and I had to refill the cake tray several times. Thank God we had the cakes all cut up and stores in the freezer ready to be served.

We were also amused that children found our ice-dispensing fridge fascinating. They kept refilling their cups with crushed ice every time they finished their drinks.

Overall I'm so happy that we managed to host this makan2 event successfully although it was a last-minute decision thing. Our normally peaceful home was also bustling with laughter and crowds.

It was totally worth it to be having people over at our house even though after everything was over, we had another massive clean-ups to do and a really aching feet and back to tend to.

I can't wait to do it again next year, Insya Allah :)

I'm also grateful to those who also brought along some gifts (eh, first time pulak buat open house dapat gift!) because they knew that we just finished our house renovation a few months back. So they came along with some housewarming gift for us. Baik kan?

To these friends and colleagues, we take this opportunity to say thank you for the lovely gifts :) See how Khayla was excited about 'em?

Sunday, July 15, 2012

The third fun weekend - The Lake Garden is bigger than our house and she loves it

The 17mo toddler was restless - she had been cooped up in the house for most of the day and because the house is just a 900sqf box, she couldn't run as much as she wants.

So guess where we brought her for a run? Yup, none other than the lovely Lake Garden :)

Yeay! The field is bigger than my house!

Sometimes I wonder whether I was in the right frame of mind when I decided to go ahead with the MBA when I knew I was pregnant - if I could go back, I would tell my child-less self that I would suck as a mother. Good mothers bring their children for swimming, shopping, playing at the playground, not cooped up at home finishing homework and assignments, and dragging their toddler to group assignment meetings. I may excel with flying colors in studies, but I fail miserably at being a mom :(

This semester break? I made it up, and score countless brownie points in Khayla's book. We brought her to the Aquaria a couple of weeks ago, then last week we brought her to play at the indoor play area at Paradigm Mall and watch her first movie (Ice Age 4, and 10 minutes later she dozed off because the cinema was dark and cold).

How little Khayla must have enjoyed her weekends because she always wakes up earlier than usual.

So back to Lake Garden story. We were fortunate to find a parking space to park our not so compact car anymore. The moment Khayla got off the car, she was already heading towards the playground and pointing at the swings! Oooh... how she loves the baby swing!

Giggling excitedly, she rocked back and forth as we pushed the swing higher and higher. Her eyes lit up with happiness - watching her adoring her swing moments made me feel, 'That ugly scar from the C-sec, sore nipples, and 10kg gain from the pregnancy? Oh yeah, totally worth it!'

We also took her to play the baby slides, and she was an expert at pushing herself down the slide, then scrambling up to climb the slide again.

Tired of the playground, we wandered off to the park and the baby-Daddy team started to run down the jogging track while I pushed the stroller. This girl puzzled me. She ate maybe 2 spoonfuls of rice, which she ate one grain at a time but heck, the way she sprinted off like an Energizer bunny, where did that extra energy came from???

I think we must have walked for a half a kilometer, before both Daddy and baby plonked themselves on the curb for a short while - then she spotted the fountain. Shrieking excitedly, she was up and running towards the fountain! Another baby copied her action - wow, babies must have love fountains.

We reached an open field, and since the day was nice and not too hot, we decided to bring along a mat which we spread on the ground under a tree. Then I went off to buy some ice creams, snacks and a drink for both of us while Khayla was already sipping on her Dutch Lady chocolate drink.

It was a joy sitting there having our tea while watching other families playing soccer, badminton and frisbee. After a while, Khayla decided to explore the field and the two love of my life went to explore the bridge across the field.

We spent about an hour at the field, and Khayla had fun wandering the field and even playing a balloon which a kind lady had given to her. At one time, she was picking up the balloon when she fell on it belly down and for one second, I was filled with horror that the balloon will explode. Instead, she rolled off the balloon onto the ground on her back - looking stunned, like, 'What just happened?!'

But eventually she did burst the balloon and then the picnic was over.

I am looking forward to plan the next weekend. Btw, Khayla added more to her nonsense vocab this week - and she was endlessly babbling in her own language.

It goes like this - AMIAMIAMICHIWOWO!CHIWOWO!AMIAMIIIIII! So Internet, AMIAMIAMI! (I sure hope she doesn't mean she wants to go to Miami).