Happy Anniversary!

3 years ago tonight, I slept with my best friends in my room, nervous about the next day. Feels like not too long ago.

I'm kinda nervous tonight too. My husband is sweeping me off my feet yet again, taking us off to a secret holiday. Can't wait!

Owl Door Stopper

Made this little guy the other day when i found out my sewing class was never gonna happen. jahit sikit nak hilang tension. He's filled with rice, so he's heavy and makes a great door-stopper, or a book-end. he's easy to make with just scraps of fabric. try using a heavier fabric for the main body though. the parts are appliqued using loose zigzags..

The Love of My Life

To my husband, my soulmate, my bestfriend, the father to my son, the love of my life;

You're the best thing that ever happened to me..I don't know what I've done right to deserve you, I am forever grateful..I wish you all the best things in life and the hereafter..

Love you so much bang..

Happy Birthday!

Lizadeth

Yesterday Juliet (Elizabeth's nanny) took me and Adam to Regent's Park. She promised me it was going to be really nice and she was right, Regent's Park was utterly breathtaking. I'll do a proper entry on Regents Park another day, hopefully with nice photos that will do it justice. but today's entry is about something else.

Adam and Elizabeth were playing together. You know toddlers this age rarely play WITH each other. They play near to each other, but doing their own thing. But yesterday was amazing, they truly played WITH each other and enjoyed it! I took a video...

So i was watching this video several times last night. Suddenly i noticed something. I heard Adam said "Lizadeth!" twice in the video. Once in the middle and once towards the end of the video.

Can you hear it too?? pls tell me i'm not imagining things...

Little Venice

Little Venice is located about 10 mins walk from from our house. In spring, this place is just lovely..

Here it is - isn;t it gorgeous? it's where the canals meet. there are a lot of boathouses mooring around..and it's also home to many noisy ducks. Adam loves them..

this is the park where we go when it's sunny. it's just on the bank of little venice. you can see the canal just at the background..

this week we found out about the boat rides. seems that they go to London Zoo from here on boats..i'm looking forward to take Adam there.

we're so lucky to live here alhamdulillah..any readers living in london?don't forget to visit this lovely area ok..you're welcomed for tea at my house :)

Sewing Class

Oh, I'm awfully dissapointed..

I've been fantasizing about taking this course. It's titled "Introduction to Clothes-Making". They hold it at this Centre near our house. The centre has a Creche facility for the children, which means that i could leave Adam in their care (for free!) while i'm taking a class. I talked to the tutor over the phone, she said for the first day i can't use the Creche yet, until i'm enrolled. So yesterday my husband took a few hours off to look after Adam. i was so excited..

See the classroom? it looked like Project Runway with the huge cutting tables, dressmakers and wonderful old Bernina machines. Then the tutor started explaining about the course...

apparently i'm in the wrong course! the title is "ABC in Creative Skills". And the project is to make a collection of bags! Yes, i could also take this course, if would be lovely to learn new things about bag-making and to be able to work on those great heavy Berninas. But, this course costs a lot - 300 pounds for 3 months (one day a week classes)! considering the fact that i don't earn any more money...sigh..i'd hate to spend so much of my husband's money on this..hardly seems worth it, i've already made bags...Plus she said the class that i wanted isn't available until next september :(

What was Adam doing while i was in class?

taking a stroll along the canal. The centre is located in a very beautiful area right next to the canal...

in the end, i left after an hour. I guess this class isn't for me. Oh i'm so upset..

I know this may sound awful but..it felt kind of nice being away from adam for an hour. Oh he's a delight to be with of course, it's just that it felt good to have some me-time yesterday.. sigh.. thank you Daddy for babysitting..

Baby Harness

Dare i ask...

what do you guys think about this gadget? I suspect a lot of people are going to disagree with me on this...hehe..

this particular harness also works as a backpack. we put Adam's drink bottle, a diaper or toy inside. Adam loves to put it on, makes him feel like a big guy, like daddy.


I had my doubts about it too..but soon after Adam started getting mobile i knew i would eventually need it. I want him to be able to explore things freely - he loves being on his feet, chasing after dogs or birds. sometimes he pretends he's catching a bus. sometimes he wants to say hello to people on the street. At the same time i want to protect him too. He can be really quick for a tiny person..



so far this little gadget has been working out great. sure, a 10 minutes trip to the store would take an hour :) but that's ok..

Day Trip

We went to London King Cross, and to this platform...

and took the train...

and arrived at Hogwarts!

hehe..no, not nearly as exciting as that..

we went to Cambridge! It's so beautiful there! rase mcm walking around inside a magical painting...

Cambridge is popular for Punting - like a sampan, moved by using a long pole pushing the bottom of the river..


Adam on our punt tour. sempat bermesra dgn strangers. If you notice in the background our tour guide pegang the long pole and moving the punt with it..

by the riverbank. Adam ralit tgk ducks..

Sporting Daddy pun try out the Storch OMT. he also thinks it's great..

Adam sedap tido...

mmg cantiklah Cambridge..sape yg lucky enough to be able to apply to Cambridge, pegilah...best giler all the colleges we went to..semua lawa2 giler..old historical buildings, wonderful traditions..

rase nak dtg lagi sini..dekat je..sejam naik train..

Adam, nak study kat Cambridge tak nanti?

Quick sewing project

I've started on a new quilt but it's been a few weeks and i'm hardly making progress! This is so frustrating! i'm a speed devil when it comes to sewing, i love seeing to work comes to life. With quilt you just need more patience i guess. i feel like i've come to a sewer's block?is there such a thing? i wanted to try machine applique and made up the pattern myself and to use up only the fabric i have on hand. feels like taking too much at once. terus tak jalan2 project. i'll just turn it into a long-term continuous project..boleh tak..

in the mean time i need quick projects for instant satisfaction. So i came up with these..

cushions in spring colours! i've been thinking in pink and green lately..

aren't the fabric gorgeous?? the cushions itself are pretty simple to make. sewed up in about an hour. see, instant gratification.

even more satisfaction when i see hubby curled up on the sofa hugging them :)

It must be my lucky day

We went to the carboot as usual today. The weather is really gloomy and raining a little, plus it's Easter Hols so the bootsale is only half full, not as many stalls as usual. we were dissapointed, but since we were already there, might as well go in.

As it turns out, this is the day i get to find real hidden gems...


First i found this copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows for 2.50 pounds. What a bargain! the book is in brand-new conditions..awesome..

Then just before we went home (didn't buy anything else) i saw these gorgous colours that looked really familiar......oh..

Me : *couldn't believe my eyes* this is a carrier, right?
Lady seller : i don't know, you tell me.
Me: How much is it? *holding my breath*
Lady seller: *shrugged, couldn't care less* 50p? (not 50 pounds, 50 pence!!!!!)
Me: *stopped breathing* *take out coins and pay her*

i practically ran out of there, feeling as though i literally stole an expensive wrap! (which i did!)

It is a Storchenwiege Ulli wrap, converted into a Mei Tai. Storch wraps are really expensive (around 119 USD each), and the convert job costs a lot too, since it takes a lot of gut and plenty of sewing talent to cut into these expensive wraps. One of these babies could easily have costed 200 USD or more..oh God..i suppose a fellow babywearer would know what i mean..

the sewing is absolutely excellent. The fabric is heavenly soft and all broken in. and the colour?definitely MY cOLOUR! i've been eyeing Storch Ulli on FSOT for a while (and also Maruyama in almost similar colours) but they are too expensive for me since i'm not earning any money nowadays..i just can't believe i found it SO CHEAP!!!Next to NOTHING!...not to mention converted into my favourite carrier - mei tai! Like, it was thrown there for ME to find!!! OMG, is it my birthday??

OMG..i'm still reeling in the after-effects. i hope i don't wake up to find it's just a dream.

the wrap-mei tai is now in the wash. can't wait to wear it soon..

fuh...alhamdulillah...

Edited : I found one Ulli OMT (same as mine) on FSOT (For Sale of Trade forum where they sell used carriers) selling for 280USD!!!!

Let's eat!

Since we came here we haven't bought a high chair for Adam. Normally I feed him while sitting on the floor, since it is less dangerous than holding him on the big table. Sometimes it results in..

swimming in soup and eating off the floor :)

Kalau high chair Adam yg dulu punyala bercinta nak masukkan Adam dlm tu..he really hated it..tu tak campur sakit jantung everytime he kept trying to jump out of it..

Yesterday Daddy bought Adam a new high chair. I have had a photo of this high chair long ago, stored on my "Inspirational Photos" folder cos i love it so much. We found it accidentally at John Lewis yesterday and it was very reasonably priced. Yay! Terus bawak balik..

In the morning bila Adam bgn tido..nampak je high chair baru dia, terus he demanded to be seated in it!

coolest high chair ever!

he was so happy with the chair! tak gosok gigi terus mkn fruits jam-jam tu jugak..

later in the day - drawing pulak kat chair dia..

alahamdulillah Adam suka..jgn hangat2 taik ayam sudah...hehe..

Science Museum

This week and the next is Easter Holidays for the school kids here. I was going to take Adam to Newpin today but i thought Newpin would be closed for the holidays so i decided to take the bus with Daddy to work and go to..

The Science Museum!

unfortunately i didn't take too many photos..was busy trying not to lose Adam in the crowd of school children..

Adam learning 'the science of water'

today it was so sunny and warm that it was finally time for Adam to have some ice-cream :) we had lunch afterwards with Daddy..


p/s:All the museums here are great..and entrance is FREE!! (Ernie you would love them)

Cute Face

jumpa pun gamba "cute face" Adam...

Adam @ 18 months

He weighs 9 kg. finally naik jugak sikiiit his weight..

He responds to familiar instructions;
“Funny face!” = scrunch up face. I think I’ve put up a pic before
“cute face!” = pursed lips. Oh this is cute but I don’t have a pic
“fingers” = wag fingers
“tongue!” = stick tongue out and move around
“eyes!” = open and shut mouth (?) well this is a funny one. We taught him this one by raising our eyebrows and every time he tries to copy he ends up moving his mouth instead of his eyes.
“turn” = turn and spin around. Throw a “funny face” while he’s turning and you get a spinning clown.
“Lap, lap” = go find fabric scrap and start wiping
“nose” = point to nose. This one I just taught him this morning.
I find that if I teach him one at a time and make elaborate celebration everytime he does one right he can easily remember them.

He remembers his “school” (Portman). I only realised this last week. It was Wednesday so Portman Centre was close, so we went to Newpin instead (another children Centre). After Newpin we went to visit Elizabeth’s house. On our way to her house we went pass Portman and Adam started crying and pointing to the Portman building. I thought it was just a coincidence but on our way back again he cried and tried to struggle out of the carrier to get to ‘school’.

Adam and Elizabeth has become good friends, sort of. We have playdates at either her house or our house from time to time. When they’re playing they’ll always fight for toys and kejar2 each other nak cari gadoh…but later when it’s time to go home both of them will cry. Everyday after our daily morning toddler group sessions at the children centres Elizabeth will say to Adam “Mama Po!” (mom carry you) and then take my hand and say “Acai! Acai!” (meaning Go Together! in Chinese).

He’s very friendly to strangers. It started around 17 months I think. Suka tepuk2 org dlm bas…wave to anyone..Last week he approached a girl at the park and started to hug her, check out her purse, rip out the hole in her jeans and pulled at her necklace. He was behaving really well though so I wasn’t embarrassed. But I did apologise anyway and the girl said, it’s ok I love it! Hehe..pandai2 je adam ni pick up girls at the park…

Happy 18th month birthday Adam! Love you!

cerita basi - trip to sheffield

oh has it been 2 weeks already since sheffield trip? wow time is passing by so quickly. i won't bore u with too much details of cerita basi in sheffield..just some pics..



hubby at his old house

my old house - did you notice we both lived at house no 15?

we basically just went walking around seeing all the nostalgic places. familiar streets, the uni, our departments, city centre..

our favourite restaurant

adam took to Linda so quickly. within a few hours he's already bullying her into holding him and taking him everywhere he wanted. i'd put their photos in here but takut nanti diorg terkejut pulak tgk their pics on display..

the have a car so Mus drove us to this HUGE carboot sale. i thought ours was big...but this one was just endless..it's in the middle of a farm area in the country side..

we went to this park in the city centre. it was such a beautiful sunny day, it think there were about 3-4 weddings that day in the church next to it. the brides and grooms took pictures in the park..children running everywhere..can you guess what happened?

this! he got soaking wet! i took off his shoes and socks to let him play but had to leave his jacket on cos it was still a bit chilly. good thing i brought spare clothes with me. in the summer it would be even better here because it'll be warm and perfect for running around with no clothes on at the fountain. i hope we'll be back here again in summer..

we left with him kicking and screaming :)

last Sunday Mus and Linda payed us a return visit for 3 days. Adam was down with cough but he was happy linda was around. when they went back, he cried and cried and kept searching our guest room for her..ohh...