My Babies

i need you

2012-01-05T04:44:00.001Z

Yesterday Adam did something naughty. I was rather angry with him, and so I had him sit on the couch for a time-out. I was folding laundry at the time. When I was finished, I got up and went upstairs to put the folded clothes in our closets. Mia as usual followed me everywhere I go.

Adam stayed put where he was. But then I heard him crying out ;

"Mommy! what about me? don't leave me alone please! Siapa nak jaga Adam? Mommy jagalah Adam please....Mommy...I NEED YOU! I NEED YOU! I NEED YOU!"

oh my baby....

Dress 1 : Yellow Dress

2011-12-16T00:15:00.007Z

This dress is sort of a quick fix, because I already know by heart how to make it. Only I altered it a bit for fun. Come to think of it, a lot of things I sew are 'quick fixes'. Hmm. It's funny how I can knit slowly and leisurely, and yet when it comes to sewing I just want to get.it.done.NOW.

Let's have her stand up to see what the dress really looks like.

I added a sweet little apron, which is basically just a square-ish piece of fabric.

The bodice is peasant top style, chopped a little short. I like this style because it means no buttons or zippers - easy to sew and easy to put on the wriggly girl..

It looked like she was getting tired of photo taking...

and now she was literally saying "Dah!"

For the next dress, insyaAllah I will attempt to learn pattern drafting and draft a custom fit body draft for Mia and turn it into a dress. Goodbye quick fix! Wish me luck!

Mia's dress(es)

2011-12-12T23:06:00.004Z

It's December. Time to start sewing some dresses for a special girl's upcoming birthday. This is a tradition I hope to keep. Yesterday the sewing urge I have been waiting for finally arrived, phew.

No time to dilly dally...I dove straight into the good stuff - my precious Little Folks voile. I am making a modified version of one of her existing dresses.

I am a little positive that I might make a few more dresses, seeing as all I can think of is sewing right now...

I do get lots of help....

Getting Lost

2011-12-12T02:31:00.009Z

If there was ever a place I want to get lost at, it would be here.

We went there as an impromptu short getaway after my friend's wedding (Fiza and BBM girls, boleh letak you gorgeous girls punya pic kat blog tak?) We stayed at the Lost World hotel (nice hotel) The hot spring is a must-go. Especially at night, the setting is quite romantic..

Warm, natural hot spring...in a well-maintained facility...it was a bit crowded when we were there..if there was less crowd I bet it'll be lovely there..

The next day we went to the theme park. They have a nice petting zoo. You could catch fish...

touch a snake...

and err...hamster? er...squirrel? rat??

I much prefer this place to Sunway Lagoon. One of the best part about this place is...the backdrop! Look at that beautiful banjaran at the back!

Adam had so much fun with Abg Zaid, Abg Amar and Abg Adam....thank you Cikgu Julie kasi pinjam your son :) the children play area is fun, safe and child friendly...loved it!

bye bye Nigel. Hope we'll see you again someday!

Mia's baju raya

2011-11-24T01:08:00.006Z

I just realised I don't have any decent pictures of her completed baju kurung, just the ones I took right after I finished sewing it, and Mia insisted I put it on her. I used this tutorial, the same one I used for her baju kurung last year that still fits her. Very clear tutorial...I wonder if I can translate it to make baju kurung for adult...

I haven't done the neckline yet when this picture was taken. You can see the finished mata lalat neckline in the AidilAdha entry. Malam raya baru sibuk nak jahit mata lalat...

ok enough photo taking...time to knit :)

Laundry - more than just a chore

2011-11-18T07:08:00.004Z

Is it too weird that hanging out the laundry in the morning has become one of the things I look forward to every day? The earlier, the better. When the sun is just about to rise, the air is cool and crisp. And soon the sun comes up fully, drying up my fresh laundry in no time.

This is the first time I live in a landed property after I got married. Laundry used to be yet another dreaded chore in my to do list. In London it was worse because I had to use a tumble dryer no matter what the weather. Wrinkles up everything! We were not allowed to hang anything on the balcony.

Mia usually wakes early, in a good mood and walks around with me as I cook our breakfast and hang out the laundry. This is the best time to chat with her, she has a lot of interesting and often funny opinions.

This particular piece of quilt in the above picture was especially a pleasure to hang out to dry. I found it in our old house, must've belonged to my mom. It has some yellowish stains and a few worn out spots but in otherwise good condition. As i washed and examined it, I realised that this quilt was hand-quilted! What a treasure. You can't find hand-quilted quilts anywhere these days. and it must've taken forever to make! I'm suddenly feeling inspired to do some hand-sewing...

Now folding the laundry is another (not-so-pleasant) matter altogether...hmmm....

Blue..

2011-11-17T03:39:00.007Z

..is Adam's favourite colour. When we moved into this house, he has his own room, and he wants everything in it to be blue.

This bed is actually his old cot that we bought for him before he was born. He slept in it..maybe twice? Anyway, we converted the cot into a toddler bed for him. To make the beddings, I took him to the fabric store to choose the fabric himself. He was very specific, ok buy this colour for the selimut, this one for the bantal..

no cartoons or polka dots...just plain no-nonsense colours...hmm...not my style, but it's his room...

when the room is ready my husband asked him if he wanted to sleep in his own room. Before bedtime he asked his Daddy 'Dad, can I sleep in your room tonight?'

Aidil Adha in Melaka

2011-11-16T01:17:00.008Z

I've been a terrible blogger. Almost a month from my last entry. Gosh. I have so many things I wanted to blog about, they never got written down. Oh well. I hope you will enjoy some pictures from our Aidil Adha celebration.

I got really lucky this year. After a few years of celebrating Eid and AidilAdha away from family, this year I didn't have to cook my own rendang :) we went to Melaka, my mom and all my siblings were around, and coincidentally we all wore red/pink. Time to take a family picture!

the four of us

Aidil Adha in my nenek's (my mom's hometown) house is the best because there is always qurban done by some members of our huge family (really huge, like, let's see i've lost count now..my mom has 13 sibling, i have i think 80+ cousins, and i don't know how many children of my own cousins...). My uncle would sembelih the cow or goats himself, with help from other uncles/cousins, and then everybody will help melapah the meat, send out to other people and my nenek will make delicious sup tulang...and nasi beriani kambing...hmm yum...this year there were 4 goats altogether..

this is mia's first time watching this ceremony and surprisingly she was most enthusiastic. She asked her pak ngah (pic above) to hold her so she can get close and watch the qurban...then she went 'mbeeekkk! mbekkkk!' calling out to the goats. Not scared one bit. Adam on the other hand asked me what will happen to the goats, and when I told him we will eat it he said NOOO and looked at me like I was crazy.

p/s: I made Mia's baju kurung. Will blog about it later with more pictures...

A sneak peek

2011-10-19T12:44:00.003+01:00

Welcome to my little corner, a little haven full of wool and cotton (and a bit of silk if I'm lucky)...

I love this room.. it is not large, mind you...it's teeny tiny...but i love it nonetheless..

In my head I have begun to think of this room as the Wool Room..( I blame Elizabeth Zimmerman )

It's not completed yet, I will reveal the whole room when I feel i've done it justice.

Adam's Birthday Celebration

2011-10-17T04:18:00.009+01:00

My husband and I woke early the morning of his birthday to get everything ready for his birthday. Balloons blown, bunting hung, cake iced. Then we waited for the Prince to wake up...the Princess as usual woke up early with both of us, oooh-ing and aaaah-ing her approval at all the preparations...

When he woke he was very surprised and happy..

to realise that it was his birthday...

he and I baked the cake together the day before. He thought it was for Daddy, and didn't know it was for him...the cake was moist and yummy, home-baked by birthday boy himself :) of course the little..ehem..fingerprints on the cake made it all the more delicious...

the little mischief, caught chocolate-handed..

no he didn't mind...afterall, what good is a chocolate cake if you can't dip your fingers into the chocolate cream on top...

Afterwards we quickly got in the car for another exciting adventure...

Out to the 'Pool Party', as he called it...

Oh yeah, it was a party alright...

We all enjoyed ourselves....and the birthday boy had the most FUN of all...

Happy 4th birthday, my boy.....

We love you!!!

Paint Day

2011-10-07T05:49:00.005+01:00

I never had any water paints in the house before because we lived in rented houses but now it's time for lots of wild painting!!

They both had so much fun...

You can't see in these pictures, but we were outside and it was pouring with rain. It was quite a remarkable scene for outdoor water painting...

i knew they were talented painters, both of them ;)

p/s: paints and brushes from Ikea. Vivid beautiful colours. Stains easily washable.

Happy Birthday Adam !

2011-10-05T00:58:00.002+01:00

Adam yesterday, proud of the train tracks that he built all by himself

Adam is 4 years old today. Four!! Four sounds so grown up to me. He has grown a lot. He speaks well (though his malay sounds a bit funny), he gets along with everybody, he takes good care of his sister,his memory and observation is amazing, he is loving and very attentive to other people's feelings. Sometimes he is so independent I forgot he's still a little child. Oh my Adam.

Today, he is the person I talk to the most, the person who listens with no judgement, the person who hugs me for no reason, the person who loves me unconditionally, the person who comforts me when I cry. And I hope I can do the same for him. As I write this it makes me cry to realise that my son has become my best friend.

Adam, I love you so much. Happy Birthday baby....

Connected!

2011-10-02T06:46:00.002+01:00

Remember me? :)

Finally we have internet at Home. Does that mean frequent blog updates? I hope so.

My sewing room furnitures are arriving next week too. Can't wait!

Stay tuned.

Our new house

2011-09-23T04:41:00.001+01:00

I met a friend in Tesco the other day and she said why there's hardly any updates anymore on this blog, and the pictures are all blurry. Hehehe... she's right...i do apologise...

We recently moved into a new house and i'm hoping to get internet connection soon. For now pls accept blurry updates from my phone :) the kids love this house. We're now in the process of turning this house into a Home....

they love being able to play outside

i look forward to my sewing room. i've got it all planned out in my head. right now it's all still in boxes...

surprisingly, my favourite space in the house is the kitchen. i'm not much of a cook, i have to admit.

I will update more as soon as i can... i love this house.. it gives me a feeling of calm and peace everytime i wake up... alhamdulillah...

Casting on...

2011-09-12T08:52:00.001+01:00

...something new...

i miss knitting...

Wild Swimming in Malaysia

2011-09-09T07:20:00.003+01:00

Last weekend alhamdulillah we had the chance to go wild swimming in Malaysia! I have been looking forward to this for a long time. Let me tell you why wild swimming in Malaysia is so awesome (compared to our previous wild swimming adventures)

Summer is all year long! yes the heat is sometimes overwhelming but, it is perfect weather for a watery adventure. In London we had to wait for months for summer to arrive, and when it does there is no guarantee that the day you choose to go will be sunny. And even if it is sunny in the morning there is high probability that it'll turn gloomy any minute. And even if against all odds you do get a beautiful sunny day, the water will be freezing cold, so you cannot stay in the water for longer than 20 minutes at a time. Here the water temperature vs the heat is just perfect. Cold and refreshing.

The location of the rivers allows us to go swimming whenever we feel like going. We can just decide in the morning we'd like to go and just pick up and leave. We could get there in half an hour. In London, we have to plan it way in advance, pick a date when the car rent won't be too high (still very expensive), rent the car early on, and get up early morning because it'll take us over an hour to get to the nearest river.

Here we can pick up a few packs for nasi lemak for breakfast along the way, or by the side of the river. Delicious after a cold swim. In London I had to plan the trip, cook the night before or early morning.

But in either case, it's just wonderful to be by the riverside, to hear the flow of the water, smell the crisp fresh air, immerse in the cold water, throw a few stones in the water.

Best of all, it's such a blessing to spend time with the people you love.

oh and some durian on the way back doesn't hurt either ;)

p/s: i apologise for the lack of quality photography on this blog of late. As luck would have it, our card reader got packed with all our boxes. hopefully the boxes will arrive next week.

A gas

2011-09-06T03:22:00.001+01:00

Quoting Adam from last week;

"Kentut is a gas. A gas in the bontot"

Mommy: speechless

Hey what can I say. Kids say the darnest thing. And they're usually truthful and honest too.

I hope it's not too late...

2011-09-03T00:30:00.001+01:00

...for me to wish all of you..

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri...

Muaaaahhhhh!!!!

Love from the four of us...

Virus or Bacteria

2011-08-25T06:51:00.001+01:00

Adam is having a fever. So today at the doctor's...

Doctor: oh....ni viral fever ni....
me: oh yeke...
doctor: ok nanti terus cpt2 start him on anti biotik ok?
me: eh doktor, kalau virus pun kene bg antibiotik ke?
doctor: yelah kuman ni ade mcm2 jenis...
me: *confuse*

Yes I'm no expert, but surely antibiotic is meant to fight bacteria, not virus???

I am the Rubbish Man

2011-08-19T04:16:00.003+01:00

I was hanging out clothes to dry on the balcony this morning. A noise alerted the kids and they both came over to have a look.

Adam: What's that noise? Who's that mom?
Me: oh, that's the rubbish man, picking up rubbish.
Adam: wow! Mia, come take a look. It's the Rubbish Man! He's.....rubbishing.

Mia: wow..wow...

Adam: Where's he taking the rubbish mom?

Me: Oh..to the landfill. Or maybe he might recycle some of it.

Adam: Oh! he's going to the recycling center!

And from there unfolded many loud excited story telling about the rubbish man and the rubbish truck. Up to the point where even the rubbish men were paying attention. When they were about to leave, Adam said ' Mom! the rubbish man is waving at me!!!' I looked down and true enough, they were waving and saying goodbye. The kids probably made their day.

Guess what happened next?

Adam started collecting his toys and asking me to catch them and put them in 'the rubbish truck'. And then he proceeded to drive the truck to the recycling center. And then he danced around the rubbish singing;

' I am the Rubbish Man

I go Recycling Center

Sampah...always sampah...

I like recycling...'

I swear, it was too funny. I should've recorded it.

Isn't it amazing how in a kid's world, a simple visit from the rubbish man can be so exciting.

Fresh Milk

2011-08-15T22:57:00.001+01:00

Does anybody know where I can get real fresh milk? We tried a few box variety, Adam said ' It's not the same' and refused them. He's been consuming an alarming amount of sweet cincau and soya. Help!

Keep calm and carry yarn

2011-08-12T23:42:00.001+01:00

is always my motto. Through any crisis or joy in life, it'll keep you sane and mindful of each precious moment.

no i did not forget to pack my knitting. i chose wooden needles and got through airport check, phew.

knitting at the airport lounge

Last week we drove past a factory with a sign that says 'Knitting Factory' near Balakong. My husband and I started discussing what kind of factory might that be - machine knitting? yarn? etc. Suddenly Adam offered his point of view "Sheep turn 'knitting' " which is to say a factory to turn sheeps wool into yarn! So he WAS listening all these while when i babbled about how yarn is made out of sheep's wool...wow..

p/s: i'm thinking of setting up a knitting group/class. Anybody interested?

Adapting

2011-08-12T03:09:00.001+01:00

Before we left, Adam was sad and Mia was mostly unaffected. When we arrived, we met many family members who have been waiting a long time to meet these two lucky kids. Bear in mind that to them, these relatives are practically strangers. And the reactions?

Adam is beyond happy. He's the kind of guy that thrives in the presence of company. Even when there is language barrier, he manages to communicate and play with everybody. Taking him anywhere is a breeze because he gets along with everyone.

Mia on the other hand is a private person and reveals her (cheeky) personality only with the people she feels comfortable with. As such, these constant contact with people was torturous for her. She kept crying and clung to me. Thankfully now she is comfortable with my mom and siblings who we are staying with, and she's now happy to be herself. Not 5 minutes ago she broke my sister's glasses.

In either case I'm glad they're both adjusting well...

Hello Malaysia

2011-08-10T11:29:00.001+01:00

The move has been exhausting. We slept often and erratically last week. But we've enjoyed the company of family and delicious Malaysian food. This week everyone seems to be adjusting a little better.

We're in the middle preparing our house. This is the first time we would live in our own house. We're very excited!

the fans and lights newly installed

we had a little picnic on the newly scrubbed floor

more stories to follow soon insyaallah....

Leaving the nest

2011-07-27T23:58:00.002+01:00

This blog has been really silent recently. I have been taking the time to think, to deal with this new change in our lives. We are leaving this beautiful place we called home for the past few years. It is not easy.

The past couple of days has been especially hard. Yesterday the movers came to pack our things into boxes and took them away to be shipped. I am thankful for them, because they do all the physical work, but emotionally I found it really difficult to watch our things being packed away and our home becoming empty. But it was hardest on Adam. We have been slowly trying to tell him that we're going back to Malaysia over the past couple of weeks, but i guess reality set in yesterday for all of us. He cried a lot yesterday, repeating over and over 'i don't want packing, i don't want packing. I want our house...' He tried to 'save' some of his toys, to guard them away from the movers. Mia observed all this, tried her best to console Adam. She tried to kiss him, hug him, but in his distress he kept pushing her away. She didn't take offence but was in fact more adamant to comfort him, in the end she jumped over him and just hugged him realy tight, until he laughed at how silly it was. After that he kept asking her for more hugs and she was happy to oblige. She pointed her finger accusingly at the movers as they were packing their toys and books, until the guy actually felt so guilty he stopped packing the toys for a while and went packing something else! She even tried opening some of the packed boxes of toys.

Last night adam developed a fever. Poor baby. He is really taking this hard. Tonight he still has a temperature. We have couple more days here, i hope he gets better before we leave.

My husband has a ton of work to complete before we leave and hasn't left the computer for days, working until 4-5 in the morning. I have been cleaning the house today, scrubbing everything and hope to return this house to the owner as lovely as it was when we moved in.

We fell in love with this house the moment we set eyes on it. Today the house is as empty as it was when we move in. In a way i am glad for the sadness and distress that we feel as we leave this nest. It means that we have made a good home here, a happy home. My children have been happy in this house. We have experience so much together as a family here. We have been blessed. And now as we leave, I know that with the four of us together, we will make another happy nest somewhere new. Insyaallah. Alhamdulillah, praise to Allah for the wonderful joy we have had here and the exciting adventure ahead of us.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Wispy Cardigan

2011-07-13T16:59:00.010+01:00

My WIP is finally finished. Oh boy am I enjoying it in this hot weather. So light and airy and beautiful.

The construction of this cardigan (ravelry link) is actually very simple and yet very clever. While knitting this I felt consumed by the sudden desire to learn more about knitwear garment design. All of the things I've knitted were following other people's patterns and I didn't really know anything about the construction and fit until I knit it..and I didn't really bother much about making a tension gauge etc. As a result the final knitted items are usually hit and miss. Sometimes they fit great, many a bit too big or too small. Knitting was usually mainly about the soothing knitting process, rather than the end result. Now that I'm learning about knitwear design, it has opened up such an amazing wealth of information. I'll elaborate more, maybe when I've got something to show for it..

The yarn that I used for this cardigan is gorgeous. Possibly the most beautiful yarn I've ever worked with. It's called Fyberspates Scrumptious, and totally lived up to it name. It's a mixture of merino and silk.

The back of the cardigan I made too wide, although I was (blindly) following the pattern for the smallest size. This is one of the main reason I've decided I need to learn more about garment construction..

When I look at this picture, it suddenly struck me that I must be in a Red mood. Red is my favourite colour, but I rarely wear so much of it. Red cardigan, red Kindle cover, red tudung, red speckles on my handbag, dress and wool picnic blanket. And I was casting on yet another red knitting project...the other day we went shopping for Adam and Mia's clothes and we got home and I looked at the things we bought..I suddenly realised most of the clothes that I picked out for Mia were red..and I wasn't even aware of my colour choices...weird..

I think I've fallen in love..

2011-07-09T09:13:00.006+01:00

...with these little babies..

I mean, sure, I love my two little babies...but the minute they fall asleep, I quickly took these little babies out to play with..

Isn't it gorgeous?

A lot of beautiful yarns are sold in the skein instead of a ball. When you buy a skein of yarn like this one, you cannot knit it from the skein. If you try, it will end up a muddled mess and then you either just chuck it in the bin or take about a million hours to untangle it. Go on, ask me how I know.

To knit this skein, you have to first wind it into a ball. Normally I stretch the skein over 2 backs of chairs and wind it. But, when you have a laceweight yarn like the above, one 100g skein contains over a kilometer length of yarn. It will take you over a couple hours of standing and winding. It's not fun. Oh yeah, ask me how I know.

That's why these little toys are making me sooo happy. They turn the skein into..

these scrumptious yarn cakes! oh yum..

Morning chat with Mia

2011-07-05T10:22:00.002+01:00

I was chatting with Mia as I put on her nappy...

Me: Mia, after this let's go down to check if my package has arrived ok? I'm waiting for my knitting book...

Mia: oh...

Me: Are you interested in knitting?

Mia: No! *VERY quickly*

Mia: *got up and went over to her baby monitor* Sik! Sik!

Me: Music? *switch on music on her baby monitor*

Mia: Ha....wawawawa *start singing*

This girl sure knows what she likes....

Nest Sale

2011-07-04T22:17:00.007+01:00

Helloooo!!! Nest is having a sale! Head over there now!

The sale started Saturday, but I believe it's still going now...As I blogged about before, Nest carries rather affordable yarns, and with the sale, even better prices!

ok this one wasn't so affordable, but...so gorgeous!

The kids kept busy at the garden outside..

Adam made some badges with our names on them..

No i'm not getting paid to promote them...I'm just a happy customer :) the owners - Amy, her husband and her mom are all really friendly and helpful...go on over there and see for yourself..

Lavender pillows

2011-07-01T09:28:00.005+01:00

I have been looking for ways to protect my precious woolies from the dreaded urm, creature (wool m*th) especially now that it's summer and bugs are crawling out of nowhere..I'm certain that I don't want to use m*th balls, I mean come on, the smell of m*th balls on yarn is probably worse than actually having the creatures eating up my yarn. I came upon the wonderful fact that lavender is great for warding off m*ths with the smell.

So I got a kilo's worth of loose dried lavender from this shop. Pretty cheap, especially when it arrived about as big a bag as a basketball.

and then I sewed up a stack of little lavender pillows. Using just whatever little scraps of fabric in my scrap bag.

To make a lavender pillow is really simple. Just cut up 2 pieces of scraps into a shape - circle, rectangle, square, triangle, heart, whatever you fancy - and sew them up leaving a little hole. Here I've made it simpler by using a pair of pinking shears to cut the shape (just free-hand the shape, no one is going to check if your square leans to the right) and just top-stitch around, leaving a gap. Use the gap to fill with lavender, and when finished, sew up the gap. Takes less than half an hour to make a few pillows from cut to finish.

The smell is divine. Initially I just needed them for my wool stash, but because I have extra, I scattered them around the house - living room, under the pillows (lavender is great for relaxing and helps with sleeping too) - and now the whole house smells wonderful. I'm thinking they would be great in the closet, underwear/sock drawer, shoe rack too, don't you think?

WIP

2011-06-29T10:21:00.003+01:00

Something light and silky. Almost there.

My Girl

2011-06-28T21:49:00.003+01:00

Recently Adam has taken to calling me and Mia, My Girl, on certain occasions. Especially when he's being affectionate.

'Come here my girl, come sit/read/watch (with) Adam'

'Come peluk Adam my girl...'

I can't help but melt. He sure knows the way to a girl's heart :)

Loop

2011-06-21T12:59:00.010+01:00

The yarn shops tour continues. This time we went to Loop. Loop is probably the biggest yarn shop I've been to so far - they have 2 levels for the shop and possibly a third floor for storage (?) and i think a basement too. Their location is perfect, in a busy London area, but tucked in at a cosy pedestrian path surrounded by interesting little antique shops.

Their decor is beautiful..

and the yarn collection, amazing! they have yarn from all over the world...this also means that a lot of them are over my price range (ehem) but my oh my, it was delicious just to be able to look and touch..

Even when I got back home I browse these pics often and do a zoom on all the yarn...am I turning into a yarn freak or something? oh well. Might as well admit it.

Adam and I on the cosy couch upstairs.

Some display sample knits on top floor. The foot belongs to the friendly staff who offered to take our previous picture. I did tell her her foot is accidentally in the picture and she said nope i don't mind and continued knitting. Gosh how I wish I worked in a yarn shop. To the right there is beautiful wooden yarn swift that I am in danger of purchasing, lucky they didn't have in store (yet)...

More yarn on the 2nd floor...this store is bursting with yarn..i want to live here and roll around all day in yarn..

ok i think that's enough yarn for one day (as if!)...

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-19T23:23:00.002+01:00

Happy Father's Day to all the amazing daddies out there..

Especially to my husband, the most loving, caring, and fun dad I ever met, I am so honoured that you are the father to my children. They are so lucky to have you and so am I..

My Abah, who was the best father a daughter could ask for, there was not one thing this man would not have done for me...I love you and miss you so much..

My Abah (FIL), the man who has welcomed me into his family with open arms and truly make me feel like his daughter. I am so glad that you are my Abah too now..

Kids at Newpin

2011-06-18T08:44:00.007+01:00

Just some random recent pictures of the children at our favourite children center..

Mia kissing a doll. Weird that she hardly play with her own dolls at home but here she's all loving with the dolls..

making friends..

Adam loves painting. I'd love to set up a painting space like this for them one day.

Adam tending to his 'garden'. He got quite upset when his sister stomped all over the plants and picked out flowers.

cycling together.

Mia's famous muka cebik finally caught on camera. Always makes this face when she doesn't get what she wants. Cheeky!

I am so grateful for this place. It has been a constant source of fun, play, learning and sanctuary for us. Alhamdulillah...

Knit in Public day and EZ Pi shawl

2011-06-17T00:25:00.008+01:00

Last weekend was Worldwide Knit in Public day. As usual it took a bit of persuading to get Adam out of the house (he always refuse and yet later will beg not to go home) but finally we made it out. It was a gorgeous day out, and we joined a gathering of people in Kensington Gardens in front of the Serpentine Gallery to knit together in public.

Adam was shy so the kids sit a bit of distance away and came to join me once in a while to watch us knitting...

It was a good day indeed..

I get to wear one of my knitting projects I just finished which I'm very happy about..the Elizabeth Zimmerman's Pi shawl.

This one is going to be an heirloom... and trust me it looks complicated but it's not. At all...So easy, and yet so beautiful! if you have a copy of the Knitter Almanac you must make one. I'd love to make another one, maybe in a silky laceweight..

I used natural Shetland wool (fingering weight, colour Katmollet) for this one and it is just lovely...Shetland sheep comes in a variety of colours (which is how fair isle began back then before colour dyes were available) and this is one of them.

Held together at the front simply with a crocheted flower (I crocheted a safety pin into the back of the flower) it makes a lovely wrap on a breezy summer(-ish) day.

this is one project I'm very satisfied about..I can imagine it being beautiful as a new baby's blanket, or as a decoration for the home and it'll make a gorgeous photo prop too..

Adam on that day learnt a new skill - scootering! bought that same day from Camden Market, when we got to the park he was a bit reluctant to try to learn it because every other kid around the park was using it fast and he didn't get the balance right yet..after some trials and error..he finally got the hang of it.

He said, "Yes! I got it now!". Him and the scooter has been inseparable since.

New word

2011-06-15T08:28:00.005+01:00

Recently Adam has created a new word.

'Toxes'

Or it's full version ' Spabok Toxes' (sorry i don't know the right spelling. Maybe i should ask him)

It is used as....a swear word! sort of.

Whenever he is upset..in a moment of frustration, he shouts out 'Toxes!' outloud. If Mia is extra cheeky she might get a whole 'Spabok toxes!'

To be honest we don't really know how to react to this...one part of me is thinking maybe I should stop it...because he is swearing..but, he isn't really swearing, is he?

Another part of me, just think that it sounds irresistibly funny. Seriously. My husband and I can barely stop ourselves from laughing everytime he said it. You have to hear it to believe it. Plus it seemed to release the negative energy and he sometimes laugh after. Don't make the mistake of saying it to him though because he will get very offended :)

The scooter

2011-06-14T12:41:00.005+01:00

Yesterday at the playground...

Adam was playing with his new scooter. An outspoken kid about Adam's age approached him several times, attempting to borrow his scooter. Adam was reluctant, this scooter is new and it was his chance to play with it now that we're out of the house. Eventually he let the boy borrow the scooter, and then sat down, waiting for the boy to finish.

The boy swirled around aggressively for a long while, showing no signs of returning the scooter. Adam was still sitting on the same spot, waiting, now looking forlorn and quite sad. Mia was watching this and immediately her mouth turned into that cute cebik that she does when she's upset, and started complaining 'OOOhh!! Aaaagh'. Clearly she didn't like that this boy was taking his brother's scooter. I said to Adam 'You can ask for your scooter back, if you want to'. He said ' Mommy pandai...mommy ask please...' He refused to say a word to the boy. I said ' You can say "Can I have a turn now?" or "Can I have my scooter back please?". It's OK to ask him, Adam...'. He said 'No....Mommy ask please...' now looking even more sad.

I kept quiet, curious to see how this turn out. Eventually the boy got distracted left the scooter by the slide and Adam quickly grabbed it.

Some time later, Mia was riding the scooter and Daddy was pushing her around. The boy came, asking to play with the scooter. Mia quickly replied ' NO, NO, NO, NO, NOOOOOOO'. And scootered away, without a care. The boy persistently ask again and again. At one point he came close and tried to take the scooter. Mia was clearly unimpressed by this behaviour, and just grabbed the scooter back and pulled it away from him.

Me and hubby was just watching all of this, open-mouthed.

Adam saw and came over. We told him 'Mia jaga scooter Adam la Dam....'. He replied 'Thanks Mia!'

Then it hit me that one of them has my trait and the other one has my husband's. Opposite to each other. Can you guess which is which? :)

Wild swimming season is back!

2011-06-08T07:44:00.012+01:00

Well, not quite, it was still chilly when we went there..but good enough..

I chose another location out of the Wild Swimming book, a river an hour and a half from our house..from the car park to the river there was a bit of a walk through the lovely countryside..about 30 mins with kids..Adam had fun running through the meadows..

This is the location. Beautiful river in unspoilt surroundings. This spot is the location for the first dinosaur fossils found, so rumour has it if you dig around you might get lucky too..

Mia made herself at home at once..

Adam soon got in the water looking for fish..

Perfect spot for a picnic. There was not a lot of people around. There was another family fishing..then there were some walkers passing by on their walks..

The river was shallow, lovely for paddling with children..

Later it started to rain slightly..typical British weather..sigh..(made me think of the recent Family Day by the river in Malaysia that we missed. Bestnye korang mandi...subhanallah Malaysia summer all year long..i'm looking forward to wild swimming adventures in Malaysia when we go home...)

so we packed up and went to Coldwold's Wildlife, a zoo.

Rhinos and zebras grazing on open fields..

Adam held a hawk with no hint of fear whatsoever..

These chicks travelled a long way..kind of like us :)

This last picture is at Millet Farm Center, another trip we went to the same weekend. Fruit picking and farm animals...loads of fun there..more story and pictures on my husband's photoblog here.

Here's to soaking the most out of the lovely warm weather...(however brief it may be...)

Nest, London

2011-05-29T22:56:00.008+01:00

Some eye-candy for you from Nest, a lovely local yarn shop. Hands down the best yarn shop I've been to in London so far...

Beautiful display on the window, and outside a cosy little potted garden, with this little yellow bench that the kids could hang out at while Mommy shopped..

rows upon rows of gorgeous yarn...

the look of joy on my face! Why? not only were the yarns all yummy, they were affordable! I came out with a rather big bag of precious woolies..

pretty knick knacks..

comfy seating area if you feel like knitting..

and more space at the back for courses..

the shop is owned by a mother and daughter team, and when we were there the daughter and her husband was there...they were wonderful and helpful..and the husband is a muslim..

the kids surprisingly had a fun time too, out in the garden. Normally when we go to a yarn shop, within a couple minutes of arriving they would be begging (read: screaming to) me to go home. But this time they found bees, and ladybirds and butterflies at the garden...

and they decided to set up camp! I had over an hour of blissful yarn time and even then, they still refused to leave. We literally had to drag them out of there...

awesome, awesome shop...about an hour by public transport from my house though..if not, i probably would go there again (and again...). If you're a yarn lover in London, please take time to go to this lovely shop...

Adam's embroidery

2011-05-27T09:49:00.009+01:00

I was browsing through Soulemama's book - the Creative Family, when I came across a picture of her 3 year old son doing embroidery. I showed the picture to Adam. It didn't look like he was paying any attention, he was doing something else at the time. 10 mins later, he came back to me, saying he wants to do 'knitting' and pointing to the book. 'Aaah, you want to do embroidery?' 'Yes!' he said.

I already had all the simple tools on hand. An embroidery loop, some big nearly blunt needles, cotton embroidery threads in many colours and blue linen (emphasis on the blue as its favourite colour and always held his attention no matter what the activity).

He chose what colours he wanted, i threaded the floss and made a knot and he did the rest. Very quickly, I might add. He was very excited at the prospect of choosing his own colours and mixing it up. He said he was making lots of Xs.

I didn't even have to show him how to work the needle. I was surprised that he already knew how to. I did have to watch for the floss getting caught with the fabric etc...he asked for help when this happened, but mostly I just watched and took pictures...

Knitting might be a bit hard to master at this age but embroidery is pretty simple and gives them a feeling of satisfaction at the finished product.

When finished he said 'Perfect', and it is. I have it framed now, ready to be hung.

of course there's the whole floss shredding part which is half the fun...

this little one didn't want to be left out...so she 'knitted' while adam worked on his needlework..hehe...

Disneyland, Paris

2011-05-21T09:03:00.017+01:00

I know it's a bit late but here are some photos from the trip.

This is the hotel we stayed at, the Dream Castle hotel. It didn't look like much from outside, but it's the best family hotel we've ever been to. Adam loved it so much.

Why wouldn't he? How awesome are these wooden bunk beds? He often climbed up there to 'Adam's bedroom' to play games.

My handsome boys at a retail outlet near the hotel.

Hellooo Disneyland!!! Adam says it's Mickey Mouse's Clubhouse and he really really enjoyed himself there.

one of my fav photo..hehe

We chose Disneyland for our anniversary trip for many reasons - the kids will love it, it was near to London, just a short train ride away, and also there is another special reason. Many years ago at this very bench at Disneyland Main Square, somebody said three very important words for the first time...

accompanied by three little flowers picked right off the yard here.

don't laugh. we were young once, you know :)

Adam and Monster

during the Main Parade, we were lucky to get a good spot at the last minute (the whole sidewalks were crowded) and was selected with some other kids to join some dancing with the parade casts. I was quite surprised to see him happily joined in and danced.

Alhamdulillah...we had the most wonderful family time...

and the best part? the look of happiness on their faces. You can't put a price on that.

there is one setback though...since we've been back...Adam keep saying 'Let's go to Mickey Mouse house mom...i don't like Big Ben house....' oh dear...every time we look at the pictures, he started telling all the stories about Disneyland trip. He remembers every detail.

Chicken Soup

2011-05-19T12:59:00.002+01:00

Upon being presented with with his lunch, a simple chicken soup with rice, Adam asked;

"Mommy cook for me soup?"

I said " Yes Adam..."

He replied "Wow, this is nice! thank you Mama cook my soup...."

Aah...the pure, sincere, appreciation from a child. I am most humbled to be its recipient day in day out. Reminds me never to takes things for granted.

5th year Anniversary Trip @ Disneyland Paris

2011-05-12T11:48:00.000+01:00

Now where's my high school french when I need it?

Two sides of a coin

2011-05-10T10:28:00.010+01:00

The past couple of days we have had two rather surprising news regarding our family's public exposure.

The first I consider a very rude awakening. I have always run this blog in a carefree manner, trusting of mutual respect and understanding. But this incident have made feel that perhaps I should've been more cautious. A friend (thank you dear!) alerted me to this parenting seminar, organised by UTM, which uses the picture of myself with my two children.

Four buntings already hung at UTM's main entrance

Two banners already hung inside UTM

Brochures about to be circulated

I called the organisers to enquire about this. Obviously I have no connection to this, and they have used the picture for their benefit without our consent. The graphic design team member that I spoke to first tried to deny it saying 'No we didn't do any posters...' and then proceeded to tell me that she has checked with UTM legal and there is no Akta saying that they cannot just pull pictures out of the internet. I told them I wasn't going to sue or anything, it just would've been nice if they has left me a message saying they would like to use this picture for this purpose. I mean, that's just common sense, isn't it? You are using pictures of children. The parents deserve to know what it'll be used for. In the end they apologised and sent me a formal apology letter afterwards to my email. I felt like it was too little too late, since they already hung huge banners and buntings with pictures of my children without my knowing.

I don't know why..I just find it so upsetting...afterall, they're using it for a good cause. If the they had approached me before they used the picture, I would've reacted very differently. I would've been very proud to help them and give consent for them to use it. Maybe I'd even promote it for them and encourage my friends to go.

They didn't give me chance to consider it, to look the picture over - was i appropriately dressed? Were my children? Were they in a compromising act? etc. They're using it for a parenting course. They should've known a parent's first instinct is to protect their children.

Anyway, at least they apologised....

The other incident that also happened in the past few days was very similar but my reaction was the opposite side of the coin. Another friend (thank you!) found a picture of Adam in the UK Sunday Times.

This picture was purchased by Sunday Times from a photography agency called Getty Images. Getty Images sells pictures on behalf of my husband (and loads of other people too). So my husband has in fact sold his first picture!(internationally!) Congratulations bang!

Let's get grow

2011-05-09T08:40:00.007+01:00

I've been thinking about growing herbs this year at the early spring. But so far, we have proved to be highly unsuccessful planting-wise. I was beginning to think we have 'red hands'. I'm serious, every time we grow something, they die. One time, a potted herb died within a couple hours of being brought in the house - yes, they literally wilted and die.

The recent planting occur quite by accident. We were going out to the GP and Adam didn't want to come. So to entice him I said 'Adam, how about we went to the shop and get some seeds to grow on our way back?' At this prompting, he immediately got up and get ready. All the way there he kept saying 'Nak grow! nak grow! Dad let's get grow first ok?'

I made sure Adam does all the work. My husband and I might have red hands, who knows, maybe Adam's hands are green right? Anyway he didn't need any motivating, he was more than happy to do it 'myself!' as he said.

sowing the seeds....

watering the seeds...

Adam was rather proud of his work. Every few minutes he came to check to see if it's grown. Needless to say he was frustrated that first day. He said 'It's not worked!'. Insofar, his only idea of growing came from reading and playing games whereby the seeds appeared immediately after watering. So naturally he expected it to be quick. This is the perfect opportunity for him to learn what real growing is like.

Luckily we planted a few days before our Mallorca trip. So on the day that we arrived, when we checked on those seeds..

hey what's that?

The seedling have grown! Adam was most surprised and excited...so was I, quite honestly :)

Mallorca pictures

2011-05-06T10:30:00.018+01:00

We spent a week in Mallorca, a beautiful island in Spain. I was glad I opted for the no-chaos, relaxing, sun-soaking beach holiday, somewhat typical for British holidaymakers. We were all a little unwell, Adam especially so, so the lazy days at the beach were most welcomed.

(I warn you this entry is picture heavy!)

The beach in front of our hotel was spectacular. The long white sandy beach and stunning blue water stretches for miles.

My poor baby was sickly for probably half of the week. In the above picture, he asked for a cuddle, and a few minutes later exploded with vomit all over his feet and shoes. His mood swings rapidly from happy to poorly. But he didn't throw one tantrum all week. The lovely owner of the restaurant that we frequented said that 'he's an angel!' (to which he replied 'No, I'm just Adam')

This pretty little angelic looking girl however....hehe...grew soooooo much cheekier in Spain! I swear, even her hair started curling upwards in a haphazard manner making her look so much cheekier! Gosh, she didn't stop moving for one second! She jumped off chairs and sofas and tables, climbed up dining tables and scatter food all over the floor, bang her head on everything. The same lovely lady at the restaurant commented to me with a smile 'You must be very tired' while indicating to Mia. She even suggested once with a wink 'Maybe we can find her a long rope, then tie her to the chair...'

But while Adam was being unwell, I was glad that she was being herself..

After a while Adam recovered and started to enjoy himself...what a relief..

Did I mention how beautiful the beach was...? It reminded me of the beautiful waters of Terengganu islands. I am really looking forward to take my kids there when we go back..

Here we were at the jetty, enjoying the view. You can see through the water all the way around. Adam was looking through the cracks in the wood.

One of the days Adam asked to go on a boat. So we went. On the way we saw these beautiful cliffs with the odd goats climbing about. Subhanallah isn't it amazing? How do the goats live so high up there? One wrong foot forward and they would plunge deep down into the water and jagged rocks.

We arrived by the boat to this lovely beach - Formento Beach.

It has plenty of rocks and seaweed. Adam enjoyed himself immensely. I tried to restrain myself from telling him 'Dangerous! Don't climb up there!' but he balanced himself walking round the rocks better than I did. He went exploring, finding little pools and claiming them as his 'river house'. We went back on the boat with him kicking and screaming, not wanting to leave.

Another day we went to the local market in Alcudia Old Town. The market was very lovely, and located around this beautiful old fortress..

I finished this little cardigan for Mia while we were there. It was still unblocked but the yarn is so beautiful and lovely, it didn't matter. The pattern is by EZ and came so quick, I think it will be my go to baby cardigan from now on. Even in hot weather, the cardigan is lightweight and the open lace pattern pattern makes it quite an airy wear. It looks lovely over summer dresses on a breezy day.

Most of our days were spent like this - rolling about in the sand, or getting wet in the water. Such bliss! Alhamdulillah....

You will notice that the birthday boy, the photographer, isn't in any of the photographs...I do hope he enjoyed this birthday trip....

London, home sweet home

2011-05-04T09:23:00.002+01:00

As much as we love travelling, it is such a nice feeling to realise we also love to be back home again. I looked back dreamily at the blissful time we just had in Mallorca, but I feel so calm and grateful to be home.

We arrived at 4am last night. As the cab pulled into the main entrance, Adam scanned around and exclaimed; 'Oh! This is OUR HOUSE! Big Ben! (the landmark for London in his beloved Atlas) I can play games...I can play car.....blablabla (more things he wants to do)'

That is exactly how I felt too. Well I don't exactly want to play car, but..you know what I mean :)

I'll be back with pictures soon....

Malorca, arrival

2011-04-29T06:32:00.004+01:00

Despite feeling rather ill, Adam was still pretty excited about going on an aeroplane. He slept in the plane and the moment we land, we woke him up. He was groggy and all of sudden, projectile vomitting all over the place! He didn't even eat hisdinner so it was all his lunch thatcame out. Poor baby..

After that he did feel slightly better and told me he didn't want to go home. He said 'Nak lain house' meaning he want to go to a hotel. I said,yes thats where we're going. When we arrived at the apartment, he was happy and suddenly he realised there is no television. 'cannot find tv mom. i cannot find tv..' over and over again. 'Lets find lain house mom' It was 2am.

Oh dear.

Daddy's Birthday trip

2011-04-26T14:44:00.002+01:00

We're off to the airport for Daddy's birthday trip.

The location is a secret, the birthday boy doesn't know yet where we're going. All of us are not 100% well. Adam has quite a bit of fever, Mia's nose is runny but luckily it doesn't stop her from being her usual cheeky self. We have plenty of Calpol and Lemsip packed up but please pray for us!

Wishing you a wonderful week ahead.

To my dear husband

2011-04-25T23:24:00.002+01:00

Yesterday, at the tube station, you carried Adam in his stroller down a flight of stairs. When we reach the bottom of the stairs, there was a lady with her child in a stroller too, struggling and looking around for help. Without a moment's hesitation, you offered to help and then proceeded to carry her child in the stroller up the stairs.

This simple act of kindness reminded me again of who you are and why I love you.

You have a heart spun out of pure gold. May Allah bless you always, my love.

Happy birthday.

Abah

2011-04-15T10:52:00.004+01:00

I remember calling my father on his 47th birthday in 2002. I wished him Happy Birthday. I remember him saying ' Abah dah tua, Kak Long...' in a very sad tone, which was very uncharacteristic of him. A year later he was diagnose with cancer. And then began a painful journey of illnesses after illnesses, that claimed his body, his mind and eventually his life.

I want to remember all the good happy memories with him. There were so many of those. But somehow this is the memory that keep popping in my head today.

There are so many things I wish I could've done, things I wished I could've said.

I miss him so much...

I would give anything to have him back..

But I pray and trust that the Almighty is looking after my dear father in the afterlife.

He would've been 56 today...

Happy Birthday Abah...

The British Museum

2011-04-14T12:50:00.011+01:00

London is full of great museums and most of them are free. Last weekend we decided to explore the British Museum. We haven't been here before and was pleasantly surprised..

The museum building itself is rather old and magnificent.

They have a stunning display from Ancient Egypt..even Adam was quite entranced..

Also, an exhibition of mummies...although, i found it quite creepy...i mean...there are dead people in there!

Their African section was very interesting...especially the African textiles..

This piece of work was my favourite..

They also have an Islamic History exhibition with some beautiful, interesting pieces...

The museum was so huge we didn't get to visit all the exhibitions but it was a really good Sunday trip nonetheless...and after the museum we walked leisurely around towards a tube station and stumbled across a lovely park that the kids really enjoyed...i think that deserves its own blog post actually....

I Knit, London

2011-04-13T10:28:00.006+01:00

Why is it I always 'blog' inside my head and not on the computer and then before I know it there's a backlog of unwritten entries unpublished? Oh well. Let's just get on with the entry before my cheeky daughter wakes up from her nap and I finish the entry in my head again..

One of the things I love most about living in London is that the city never fails to surprise me. After 2 years, we are still constantly discovering new things to do and new places to go. I realise that London has plenty of beautiful local yarn shops, but I normally do my yarn shopping online or on Oxford/Regent Street. But I have since discovered that there are plenty of other cozy charming shops, and that a lot of knitters travel a long long way just to visit these shops. So I made a point to visit one of these shops. I didn't really go to buy any yarn, just to stare and oooh and aahh and fondle the gorgeous yarns. Even if you're not a knitter, I'm sure the sight of these beauties might be quite inspiring.

This is the shop. I knit London. Small, but very popular in London.

This specialty yarn is made out of buffalo hair! Can you believe that? Somewhere on the underbelly of the buffalo, i think? It is quite soft! And, it costs about 35 quid a pop! I suppose it would cost quite a lot...afterall buffalos don't have that much hair...

gorgeous colours...i wish i can decorate my home with yarn like this...but my kids love to play with them too! (they call them ball, or snake, or 'mommy bag knitting')

This yarn is very rare! with stainless steel. I can't believe I missed this! I didn't realise it was there so didn't get to feel the yarn..My husband was the one who took this photo...

Oh man this is the stuff...I've been eyeing this yarn from The Natural Dye studio for a very long time. It's 100% silk and just soooo beautiful and soft (also so expensive).

I came home with a magazine on light spring knitting and some needle blocker. And a bucket full of inspiration. Anybody want to join me go to their knitting group?

Big Fair Isle

2011-04-07T23:44:00.008+01:00

I realise that my previous post may make some people uneasy, which is understandable because it contradicts a lot of things we believe in. But it's ok, it's important to questions things, get out of our comfort zone for a little bit and not to just follow everything blindly. At the very least, exploration of this issue has made me look at my children and at life differently, and helped me appreciate my children's innate ability for unprompted learning. I am making a point to learn more about unschooling, and to observe my own children's fascinating capabilities. Maybe we will explore this topic further in another entry.

For now let me distract you with this BIG Fair Isle project I was working on.

The colours are just amazing. The pattern and yarn are from Alice Starmore. I love her work.

The buttons are from Liberty. They have the loveliest buttons there. I chose ones that stand out because of their shape and not colour (so the colours of the fair isle work stands out more)

I am in love with this vest. I want to wear it, sleep in it, rub it in my face, put it on my wall, stare at it....but...it is a quite a BIG disaster!

Did I mention BIG?

There's about 10 inches of positive ease..

Kinda make me look like a BIG silly monster...hehe...

But I love it anyway. Sigh. You don't choose who (what) you love, you know? I learnt so much from knitting this - continental knitting, stranded knitting, fair isle, knitting with both hands at the same time, colour blends, and steeking! (i'll try to explain more about this amazing technique. i have met knitters who has been knitting for more than 20 years without ever trying out steeking). this is the most fascinating knitting project I have ever done and I do not regret knitting it at all, even though it doesn't fit...any ideas what I can do with it? I was thinking I'll hang it on the wall of my (future) dream studio...hehe...

Unschooling - a brainstorm

2011-04-04T09:56:00.010+01:00

After I wrote this I realise my thoughts have formed a sort of long novel here. Please bear with me as I brainstorm this idea. And join my process if you wish.

Recently I have been thinking a lot about Unschooling. Unschooling is similar to homeschooling, but it is different in the sense that the children are given the freedom to lead their own learning and education. There are no set schedules, exams and testing, curriculum, or set subjects to be studied. The role of the parent is merely one of a facilitator, to make the resources available to them and to answer questions. When I first heard of this, it seemed too far fetched to me. What about University? What if the child doesn't know what he needs to learn? Is it just about having fun and nothing else? How does it work with multiple children - how does the parent cope with teaching their own children (I question this with homeschooling too), how is the support for unschooling in Malaysia?. I had too many unanswered questions and put off the idea for a while. Lately I came across this website, and after spending time reading about it...I am starting to question my whole belief system in regards to child education.

Unschooling is based on the concept of TRUST in our children. Trust that they want to learn, trust that they know what they need to learn, and trust that they know the best way to learn. We love and trust our children, but why is this concept feels so alien? It is so ingrained in our bones that if children are left to their own devices, they will naturally NOT want to learn anything. If nobody told them to when and what they must learn, they won't. And we prove this point by looking at other school children, or at our own experiences as school children - at weekends or whenever children had free time, all they want to do is sleep or rest or laze around and play. Perhaps the very fact that we have been forced to learn what other people think we must learn is what hinders our learning in the first place. Perhaps we were so tired from learning 'hard' things we don't really see the use for, that caused us to feel like relaxing and rewinding whenever we get the chance. Think about this carefully and observe our own little children, the ones who hasn't been to school yet. Are they lazy? Do they learn nothing at all if we didn't try to teach them something? The answer is quite the opposite. Little children has the passion for learning with more force that we adults can keep up with. Let's look at Adam, for example. We are pretty easy-going about Adam's 'education'. I have never told him to learn the alphabet, or numbers in either a gentle or firm way. I haven't suggested that he memorise the alphabet song and I have long since given up on flash cards, even, because he showed no interest in it. But I love reading for myself and we do have plenty of books around the house, most of which are about things that he likes - animals, trains, other vehicles, dinosaurs, maps. And we only ever read these books when he asked to be read to. Now despite (or probably because of) this relaxed attitude, our nightly story time is one of his favourite time of the day. We let him choose his books and he would try and choose as many books as possible. A while back he has taught himself how to use the computer so that he can play games on the Cbeebies website. and from there, he has taught himself Phonics because he wanted to play the Alphablocks game. I myself only have the vaguest idea how phonics work. But i sat by his side when he asked me to, to help him win the Alphablocks game. Before I know it, there was another game on Ipad that he wanted to play, and while watching him play that game (another phonics game) I realised that he already know most of the sounds of every letter! Mia is already able to pronounce some of the phonics sounds just by listening to Adam. Honestly, their ability and passion for learning goes beyond our wildest estimation. Now, does this apply to older children? As they get older will they have the same hunger for learning to be able to learn what they need to learn? Perhaps, if they are given the freedom to learn whatever catch their interest (instead of learning what other people deemed necessary), they will have a lifelong interest in learning.

Now I thought deeply about how this apply to myself and my husband as the 'product' of schooling. We spent many many years at school and university, but how much of that 'education' did we retain? I was a straight A student, a first class student and yet....can I pass any of the tests I took if I take it now? More importantly, are we using the subjects we learnt at school in our real daily lives, or in our jobs even? We always say ' Our degree certificate is merely our ticket for a job'. What is implied is that we hardly even use what we learnt and took exams for, even if we work in the specific area that we studied for. Now for me, I have had a job as a Chemical Engineer and now I am a housewife. I am not using any chemical engineering at all in my life. And yet I have taught myself many things that had nothing to do with what others have told me to learn. I learnt sewing, knitting and parenting with a passion and joy that I have not known any other time in my life. I seek these knowledge myself and I found them infinitely rewarding. My husband is the same with photography and football. We never had any classes in these subjects and don't even think of them as subjects. We just want to learn them! Now, think of all those years we spent in school - imagine if instead of wasting our time learning what other people think we needed to learn, we use that time learning whatever we wanted to learn? We could've been whatever we wanted to be! Now I am thinking of how amazing it would be if my own children had that opportunity and the time, to be what ever they wanted to be.

Am I qualified to educate my own children? Perhaps the question should be, who is more qualified than I am to teach my own children? It is not the fault of the school, or the teachers, really. How can a teacher, with a classfull of 30 students, possibly be able to cater to the very individual interests of her 30 students? The best she can do is teach the subject matter that is handed to her, to the best of her ability. But for an unschooling parent, she does not have 30 students, only her own few children, whom she know by heart their interests and personalities.

My biggest concern was University. My husband share this concern too. I read and read and then it came to me. Yes, there are ways for unschooled children to enter University if they wanted to. They can take entrance exams and there are ways to prepare them for it. But the whole idea is that - IF THEY WANT TO. They don't HAVE to enter University. Too radical? Yes, it seemed like that to me to at first. We are the product of years of schooling. The Path has been laid out to us and we believe and follow it - Do well in school to get to University, do well in Uni and get a good job. But now, I am starting to rethink this whole idea. Does it matter if we become engineers, or doctors, or scientists? What if a child wanted to be a farmer? Not because his father was a farmer, but because he finds it so fascinating? An unschooled child could've explored this idea early on in life, and possibly become a successful farmer before he even becomes an adult. I have friends who studied engineering and other 'serious' subjects but ended being successful farmers, business women, photographers, famous crafters. They did this admirably by leaving behind their years of study and pursuing their dreams. Now imagine if the same people had not wasted their lives learning things that they never use but instead pursue their dreams from early childhood?

Now these are just my thoughts right now. As you can see this is mainly a rojak of my questions and opinions about unschooling. I do not know whether I will eventually choose unschooling for my children or not. But it is very thought provoking way of life. So radical that I wonder if executing it would harder than trying to convince others around us that it would be the right decision for our children all their lives. How is the unschooling community in Malaysia? Do you have any thoughts on this? Please, let me know.

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-04-03T14:30:00.003+01:00

To all you beautiful, wonderful mamas out there - Have a blissful and hopefully restful Mother's Day today. You sure deserve it!

Happy Mother's Day especially for my mom and my mother in law..

To my sweet husband and kids, thank you so much for the lovely day you're treating me to...I must be the luckiest mama in the world..

Worm Digging Tutorial, by Adam

2011-03-31T23:46:00.013+01:00

I came across worm digging by accident recently while having a picnic at the park with my family. Mom, Mia and I were on the picnic blanket having our lunch while Daddy was taking our pictures. I was going to put on my yellow boots to join Daddy when I saw it. A huge worm! Right under Mommy's feet! I told Mom and she screamed in shock! Silly Mommy ;)

Aaanyway, after that I decided to go on a the search for Worm-py. Ah yes, I like to add a Y at the end of any word as I see please. Choose can be choo-sy, Up can be Up-py, Snake can be Snaky, Shoe can be Shoe-shi. Mom said 'Oh you mean Wormy, Adam?'. No Mom, I said Worm-py! *roll eyes*

Right, I'm getting a teensy bit distracted here. Let's get back to finding Worm-py.

First step, gather you tools. You can use a fancy digger, or use whatever you have. Here I am using a pair of plastic fork and spoons from our lunch earlier.

Now, start looking for worm trails. Daddy told me that the best way to spot a worm hole is by the 'fresh worm poop' on the ground. These are round little brown things..that looked like..well, poop!

Once you spotted these trails, just go on and start digging! Use your hands if you wish. It's a lot more fun I can promise you!

Try to rope your little sister into helping you dig as well. Remember she might need a little guidance, but she'll get there soon enough.

There, I told you. She's already enjoying it. Cutting your job in half. Ha!

Now little sisters are notorious for getting distracted easily. Especially when she sees you so focussed that it gives her an opportunity to launch an 'attack' at you. Cheeky! But, if you're a toughy like me, you might want to consider letting it slide. She's only little.

See how happy she gets?

Where was I? Oh yes. I was digging. Now after some exciting digging you may find little tunnels where the little Worm-pies live. Be gentle and eventually you will find what you're looking for.

Taraaaa!!

The End!

This is why we love Spring

2011-03-31T13:49:00.011+01:00

The air is cool without being cold. The sun is out on lucky days. The days are longer. We can venture out to the parks almost every day if we feel like it...(who wouldn't when it's so sunny and beautiful?)

Daddy can play with his camera and take our photos...

Mommy can knit..

The kids can play..

Dig out worms...

Where ever you are, I hope you're enjoying a little bit of grass and dirt too..

Sarah's dresses

2011-03-24T20:12:00.006Z

The moment I heard Sarah was born I immediately started making her a couple of dresses..to welcome her into the world. They've reached her now so I can put the pictures up..

An Itty Bitty dress in sweet beautiful fabric (Delia) by Tanya Whelan. Mia has one in a Tanya Whelan fabric too...(but she can't fit into that one anymore. will have to keep it for her sister, perhaps?).
I love the simple construction of this dress. Perfect for a newborn baby..

Here is the gorgeous Sarah wearing her new dress. Maklong loves you Sarah!!

Then I made this pheasant dress for her. Again simple construction, but lovely and this one is definitely practical and will grow with the baby. Mia's pheasant dress that I made her she could still wear as a tunic-style top...

a little crocheted flower. My crochet skill is limited, but this flower is pretty easy to make.

Tiny little lacy edge. Found really cheap at the Church Street market near my house.

My one and only favourite niece Sarah...I hope you like the dresses. They're not as pretty as you are, but every girl deserves a little handmade in her life...

Spring Cardigan

2011-03-21T13:48:00.008Z

This blog is suffering from serious neglect, isn't it? Oh dear.

Shall we brighten things up with a little bit of lovely spring knitting?

I am still knitting my main Fair Isle project, but I ran out of one of the colours so while waiting for the colour to arrive, I started knitting this project. The yarn was supposed to arrive in winter, but it took 2 months to get to me. I was so upset with the company that sold me this yarn. But the yarn itself is exceptional- chunky but light and airy, and oh-so-soft. The yarn is Cascade Eco + , for any knitter reading this who might want to give it a go. When wearing this I feel like getting a big cozy hug. The whole cardigan used up only about 1.3 skeins of yarn. A skein of Cascade eco is 250g, and when wound up into a ball, it was as big as a football, literally. I bought 2 skeins and have plenty leftover, enough to make Mia a shalom too. Guess how it took me to knit this? A WEEK. Yes, i couldn't believe it either. I'm not a particularly fast knitter, but i guess the chunky yarn and the amazing pattern just comes really quickly.

The original pattern is the popular Shalom, with some modifications. I added long sleeves, three buttons and longer body with no waist shaping. Details on the mods here (ravelry link).

You will find a lot of similarities between this cardigan and my first cardigan. The top down construction, 3 buttons, similar silhouette. I find this type of cardigan not only visually pleasant, but also very practical. It's easy to breastfeed in this cardigan. I don't even need to unbutton, just lift slightly, attach and pull down again to cover up. Almost like a nursing shawl in itself (notice how my clothing choices always revolves around breastfeeding rather than fashion?)

I thought the cardigan was a bit big on me when i finished but after blocking, it neaten up nicely and the slightly loose look feels really comfortable. And of course, you know it's definitely my kind of colour.

Now, I wonder if it'll look great in red, too. I'm sure I can find a spare week somewhere.....

Aviatrix 2

2011-03-10T10:44:00.003Z

Lately Adam's attitude turned a little upside down - all of a sudden he's asking for hats and scarfs. Usually he's a serious hat-hater. So I thought I'd knit him an Aviatrix, too, to match his sister's. I made sure the yarn's blue, so that the probability of it being worn is higher, because blue's his favourite colour.

This hat has gone into record for most worn hat so far...phew...but getting it photographed is mission impossible...thus the blurry photo taken on my phone...

eta: better pics of adam and the hat on my husband's blog here.

Sing

2011-03-08T08:57:00.002Z

We were all in bed. Daddy was reading a story. Adam was listening. Mia wasn't. She came over to me.

Mia : Ma, ma. Nak. Naaaaaaak. (wants her milk, cos she was really, really sleepy)

Mommy : Adik nak susu? Wait ok, sing dulu (there is a song at the end of the story)

Mia : Lalalalalaaaa *singing*

that girl does love music....

Two in a row

2011-02-26T01:00:00.002Z

This girl always manage to surprise me. 2 new words in a row.

This was yesterday - PURPLE

and here's one from today - THERE (taught by Adam)

I'm proud of you, my little genius.

Meet Sarah...

2011-02-19T11:25:00.002Z

the latest addition to our family!

no, not my baby, silly ;)

my niece! hehe....

i'm a proud Maklong indeed..i wish i can go there and give her a cuddle..i've been hassling my brother with constant calls to check on her..

congrats Aie and good job Liana!

Little knits

2011-02-15T23:10:00.006Z

While waiting for my yarn to arrive (photo in the previous entry) I knitted up a few other little woolies. My hands can't keep idle anymore. They yearn for some yarn twiddling on a daily basis. small little knits can be very quick to knit up and brings (almost) instant gratification.

I made this warm cowl for myself actually. As soon as I casted it off, with the ends still waiting to be weaved in, Adam claimed it as his ('My blue one, Mommy!' and ran off with it). Blue's his favourite colour but I didn't expect this because he detest anything knitted. Absolutely refuse to wear them. Which is why I hardly ever knit for him. A tragedy for a knit-loving mama. In the picture above he is styling up his hair to be photographed.

ok dah hensem. It's his new thing. The first time I saw him fluff his hair like this, he climbed up to the mirror, looked at himself and said 'wow, hensem! like Dad!' hahaha....oh yeah he calls us MOM and DAD now...don't know who taught him that. I thought he would be 21 before Mommy starts to sound too childish for him. Oh dear (which btw is also his favourite phrase to say. in an English accent)

The yarn is soft and gorgeous. rowan's organic pure wool DK, bought on sale from JL so it was quite cheap for quality wool.

This is the Aviatrix hat i made for Mia. She hates hats and only tolerates them when it's really cold. The moment we step indoors she'll be pulling them off. So this hat is rather perfect for her because the hat is safely attached to her like a helmet, thus rendering it harder for little fingers to remove.

the construction of this hat is very unique and quite surprising, as it is knitted on straight needles only. Very quick knit too. the pattern is free in ravelry and i would very much recommend it. The pattern is well written for 3 different yarn weights so you could pretty much use whatever yarn you have in your stash.

The yarn I'm using here is rowan's silky tweed, a mix of wool and silk. it's purple with little sprinkles of blue and orange and a few other colours. just beautiful. I have a couple skeins left...just looking at them fantasizing what else to knit is a pleasure...you know i have a soft spot for purple..

Nothing warms the heart of a knitterly mama more than seeing her little angels all wrapped up in her wollies. Aaaah bliss.

My cardigan

2011-02-11T08:49:00.011Z

This is the first garment I made for myself...i was rather nervous to start..here's the result:

(ernie, here's the blouse from previous entry. how come you always notice my fav clothes?)

the pattern is the February Lady, a free pattern found on Ravelry. The pattern was inspired by another pattern from Elizabeth Zimmerman's famous book - Knitter's Almanac. I got the book (very cheaply) off Amazon recently and was totally smitten with EZ's words and liberating opinionated way of knitting. The lacy gull pattern on the bottom bit of the cardigan looks lovely but it is actually pretty easy to execute and memorise. A note for knitters - I did the yarn overs the opposite way, thus twisting the yarn and closing up the holes slightly. I ended up with a denser, warmer fabric. It took me almost a month to finish it.

The yarn was also inspired by EZ. In her book she mentioned about Shetland wools, famous the world over and traditionally used for Fair Isle garments, and the sheep is grown only in the Shetland Islands in the UK. I looked it up online and got this yarn. When I received the yarn, I was slightly sceptical. The yarn felt a little prickly on my fingers while knitting. I went online to learn more about it and found a wealth of information about Shetland wool. The more I leaned the more I fell in love with this wool. This is real sheep's wool. It looks like wool, feels like wool, and smells like wool. I kept sniffing the yarn as I knit. It smells gorgeously sheepy. The yarn has great stitch definition, is very warm and hardwearing. It has had minimal treating. This is wool as the sheep knows it, almost.

These beautiful buttons are from Liberty, covered with lovely Liberty fabric.

This cardigan has hardly left my shoulders since it finished blocking. I love it! I almost wish winter won't pass so quickly..so I can knit more! I'm full of knitterly thoughts these days.I try to find knitting time as much as I can and if I'm not knitting, I'll be online learning about knitting or reading about knitting, or thinking about knitting. I've had quite a few knitterly dreams too!

I have a few more quick knits I've yet blogged about...will need photos of those..but here's a sneak peek at my current project:

oooh tasty!

Andalucia, Day 3

2011-02-09T08:29:00.012Z

On the third day we decided to have a relaxing day at the resort. After a yummy breakfast at our now favourite restaurant, the kids explored the beach.

Adam and his sand castle

Mia tried making a sandcastle too. I can't tell you enough how liberating it feels to be able to just let my baby explore the sand instead of gritting my teeth, making her cry and constantly cleaning sand off of her..as a result everybody had such a fun relaxing time playing in the sand..

She played until she got tired and fell asleep...

time for me and Adam to have a splash in the water. The season is actually winter there, but swimming is all year round. Although the air temperature is cool, the water temperature in the ocean is rather warm, around 18C, comparable to a UK beach in summer.

Daddy's big sandcastle

After the beach we went for a drive to Malaga. My husband went to the football stadium..afterwards more swimming in the swimming pool...

and then dinner at the restaurant. The photo above is our seafood paella, a local favourite as suggested by the restaurant owners. I was quite suspicious when they suggested paella because I once had paella in spain before (while studying in sheffield) and it was eww tak sedap..but this paella, wow, really changed my impression of paellas...it was delicioso! (as the spanish would say. and by spanish i meant Dora the Explorer). Mia ate a lot of it too!

the restaurant owners - Lilian and Richard. Their restaurant turned out to be one of the highlights of our trip. Delicious local food and excellent service. Wonderful people too. In case you're going here, their restaurant is called Caribe, overlooking the beach...

Snippets

2011-02-03T07:53:00.003Z

Scene 1

Adam and Mia is playing pretend.

Adam: Skasuma!Skasuma! Wait please!

Mia: *run away grinning*

Adam: Skasuma! Here's your package. Your post. There. Take it please. *caught up to her*

Mia: *smile, takes the 'package' (a drawing of Thomas ripped up from one of his books)

Adam: Ok thank you very much.

Mia: *ran away again with the package*

Adam: Wait Skasuma come back. *took the package back*

Repeat above a few times.

p/s: Skasuma = customer (after a LOT of guessing about)

Scene 2

Adam has been using the word 'lawer' recently. I spent days trying to think of what it might mean. Last week while he's having his lunch...

Mommy: Adam, what does lawer mean? lawa?later?

Adam: Erm...*thinking* aaah ok. AAAAAAAAgh!!AAAGGGHHHHH!!!! *scream*

Mommy: ohoooo! Lawer means LOUDER?

Adam: YES! good job Mommy.

Scene3

Adam was playing with his trolley and accidentally ram into my the side of my head. I was sitting on the floor feeding Mia.

Mommy: Aww...sakit Mommy Adam...*starting to get upset*

Adam: I'm so sorry Mommy...where sakit? Where? Here?

Mommy: My head Adam....

Adam: Oh no...let me see...fuh fuh *blow on my head* kesian Mommy....*kiss my head*

Mommy: * tak sakit dah*

Mia's birthday celebration

2011-02-02T00:14:00.009Z

Whatever happened to my resolve to update this blog on a daily basis? (erm, daily -ish, at least). I still owe you photos from Andalucia but here are some photos from Mia's birthday.

simple homemade chocolate cake for her

she's reading one of her birthday gifts. I caught her reading Adam's books lately, so I got her some books of her own (most of Adam's books are already worn and torn)

her birthday bunting hang nicely on the walls

her birthday crown.

my princess and prince

Some of her presents. Adam received some presents as well (of course!) and somehow Mia's more interested in his presents than hers!

here she is running after Adam's new fire engine :)

Happy birthday my lovely. We love you so much!

Andalucia, Day 2 (my birthday)

2011-01-24T11:40:00.015Z

The climb up to Al-Hambra was rather interesting, to say the least. We somehow ended up on the walking track (no driving) up the hill towards Al-Hambra. I was out of breath most of the climb but I was actually glad we walked up...the walking path was actually beautiful. Running along the side was this lovely little river, which I later learnt was the River Darro. Inside Al-Hambra were also plenty of fountains, reflecting pools and Royal water passes and you can hear the sounds of the water all around. It turned out these water features of Al-Hambra was the highlight of the trip for Adam.

This is the side of the Palace of Charles V.

And this is the inside. This palace and some of the Christian buildings were built in the 16th century, after the christians rulers took over.

But for us the main attraction was the Islamic architecture in the Nasrid Palaces, built in the 13th century. I had never seen anything like it. There are so many photos, I wish I could put it all up to show you just how beautiful this place is..

Breastfeeding in Al-Hambra. Too weird ? hehe. She doesn't care. This girl has breastfed ALL OVER the WORLD, literally. Now focus your attention on the beautiful walls. This is just a tiny, hidden little corner of the Nasrid Palaces. Now imagine all of that beauty and more, all over the place, up the wall and ceilings.

Some of the intricate details on the walls. Subhanallah, isn't it brilliant?Everything must've been sculpted by hand.

The view over the Court of the Lions. The Fountain of the Lions at the moment is under restoration work. The lions have been carefully removed because they have been deteriorating from water from the fountain and the fact that it is exposed.

The lions can be viewed here in this building. Sorry Ernie no photos of the lions because it's on special exhibition and they don't allow any photography in there..apparently since the restoration work they've discovered new things about the lion - for example they have slight differences in the details and they've been made in pairs i.e. pair of similar ones.

Can you believe the view from up there? When Mia saw the view she went 'Wow!'. Seriously.

Adam kept checking out where the water was flowing, the water channels, stopped to listen to the sound of the water, looking out for the fish in the reflection pools etc...He was the Hydraulic Engineer for the day..

Al-Hambra was truly a once in a lifetime experience.

That night we had dinner at the same restaurant as yesterday. Food there was really delicious and the owners are this wonderful couple. We had some yummy local spanish food for my birthday dinner. Seafood is quite reasonably priced here, and very fresh. The owners suggested another very local dish - paella, for our dinner the next day and we agreed and couldn't wait to taste it.

I had the best birthday I could ever wish for. We retired to the hotel room, ready to rest when I discovered another birthday surprise waiting for me.

From the most romantic man I ever met.

I am very lucky, indeed. Alhamdulillah...

p/s: I have no idea why my text is coming out underlined and I can't seem to fix it. oh well. hope it's not distracting you too much.

Mia is one

2011-01-21T23:26:00.004Z

Dear Mia, my daughter, my princess, my pride..

You are one year old today.

You are the cheekiest little girl I've ever met. When you don't get what you want, you curl your mouth open ( i must get a pic of this ) and pretend to cry. You look so cute it never fails to make me and Daddy smile. How can we get mad at you when you make that face?

You are so smart. You understand everything we say. You absorb everything like a sponge. Even when I think you're not listening. If I asked you tonight to find something that I just introduced to you this morning, you will know where it is.

Recently you learned how to kiss. Wet and sloppy of course. You can almost say 'kiss' too. You only offer a kiss when you're very happy. A kiss and a sweet smile. Let me tell you, getting a kiss from you is the best feeling in the world.

And that special smile of yours, with your eyes crinkled up they're almost closed. You can get away with anything with that smile, you know.

You love your Daddy very much. Always hugging him, calling after him, and you won't let him go to work. You're his princess. He loves you more than you know. I'm afraid your future husband will have a very difficult time asking for your hand :)

You hate car rides, or train rides or anything that requires sitting still. You love being at home, or at the children centre, where you can roam around happily. I thought your brother Adam was energetic, it turned out you're even more so. I can hardly keep up.

You brother loves you the most. He protects you, he greets you when you wake up. He loves it when you hug him. You two are learning to play together. You fight with him all the time too, that's what siblings do. But watching you two together, aah...it is the most blissful feeling for me.

I long for the newborn that you once were a year ago. So soft and little and fragile. But I am proud to embrace the clever little toddler that you are becoming. I love you so much, princess..

Happy First Birthday Mia.....

Andalucia, Day 1

2011-01-21T00:24:00.009Z

What struck me the most when we first arrive was how different this place was from anywhere we have been before. In London it was cold and damp, and a mere 2.5 hour flight later, suddenly it felt like summer. The sun is out, and we didn't even need a jacket. The climate here is very unique. Although it is winter, this part of Spain is sheltered from the harsh weather and retains a pleasant mild climate. Temperature is around 12 - 16C.

The hotel we stayed at was beautiful. Plenty of interesting things to do. The resort was by the beach and had outdoor and indoor pools , which is brilliant for Adam, because he has been asking to go swimming for weeks...(insisting on wearing his swim pants whenever we went for any trip, even in the cold winter and snow)

Upon arrival, we immediately explored the beach. The beach had soft black sand, and just a dream to roll around in. The kids loved it so much. We let Mia run around free. We were a bit concerned about her eating the sand but after the previous incident at children centre, we just let her be. She was so happy. She did try to eat the sand a bit, but most of the time she was walking around, picking up smooth rocks, running her fingers through the sand.

Adam making a border around his sandcastle. I noticed he is paying more attention to details and designs.

He had a little dip in the water.

And then later my husband and the kids went for a swim in the indoor pool. The outdoor pool was surprisingly cold despite the hot weather. Mia was excited! and bold! She ran around the outside of the pool and tried to jump back in the pool...

The day ended with a delicious dinner at a restaurant by the seaside as the sun is setting. More story to come about this restaurant, where we had many wonderful spanish food...

p/s: ernie, i know you're waiting for photos of Alhambra..hehe. It'll have to wait after Mia's birthday ok (tomorrow).

perfect birthday!

2011-01-17T23:53:00.002Z

alhamdulillah..i am having the most blissful birthday ever. we are in alhambra, spain. it is a world unlike any other and it is magnificent. i dont have any photos as we have no internet or laptop here. i am trying to post from my kindle. hope it works. for my friends and family,thank you for the birthday wishes..

to my husband. you're awesome ;)

with love from me. older but hopefully wiser (and prettier?)

For the love of Cath Kidston...

2011-01-15T23:18:00.003Z

Yes, I am a self-proclaimed Cath Kidston fan. I browse her website just for eye candy. I long for a studio just like the ones in her store. Now can you tell why I would be so ecstatic such gorgeous goodies for my pre-birthday present? He knows me too well.

This was not my first pre-birthday present. He already got me the coolest phone ever. Apparently there is also another present on the way. Aaaand, he asked me to packed our bags tonight, because tomorrow we are going to a secret location for me and Mia's birthday trip!

This is turning out to be the best birthday ever....and it's not even my birthday yet...

Thank you sweetheart...I love love love the presents!!! and i love you even more!!

Tonight I am working on Mia's birthday banner...

All Cath Kidston fabric, of course...I will have finished photos when we hang it up....

Hopefully we will have internet connection where we're going..but if not, full update when we get back!!

Mia's knitted wool soaker

2011-01-15T10:43:00.002Z

A wool soaker is typically used over natural fibre cloth nappies as a nappy cover. Natural sheep's wool contains lanolin, which is a wax that is produced by sheep to keep their fleece in weatherproof conditions. This essentially makes the wool soaker water repellent, thus making it an ideal nappy cover. Add in its warmth and breath ability, it has become quite a favourite as a night time solution for cloth diapering parents, i heard.

I've never used them myself. I'll give this one a go and report back. Wool soakers need to be treated with lanolin, to ensure it has enough lanolin to work (some wool has been treated to remove some of the lanolin) but it is easy enough to do. Just use a teaspoon of pure lanolin (the same lanolin used by breastfeeding mothers can be used) melted in hot water and some soap and soak overnight. I can't wait to try this on Mia.

Once it is used, it only needs to be washed every couple of weeks because the wool is anti-bacterial and basically renews itself if it is aired after use. Simple!

Making this soaker was very easy and quick. And the result is really cute too! I would use it as pants even if it wasn't used as a nappy cover. The pattern was free on Ravelry. The link is here if anybody's interested. The wool I used was a real treat (Rowan pure wool aran) - softest wool I ever felt, gorgeous yellow colour, and it was on sale! A bought wool soaker can cost anywhere from 10 to 20 pounds...

I might knit more if this one works well....

oh btw, this is one of mia's birthday present as well :)

Mia's birthday dress

2011-01-13T22:28:00.005Z

Here it is! Phew, like a weight lifted off my shoulder when I finished this dress. Wouldn't she look just so lovely in this sweet dress?

I chose a random fabric I found at Liberty which of course turned out to be by Tanya Whelan. Who else would design such beautiful elegant patterns? (well Cath Kidston would actually, but hers comes in cotton canvas, perfect for home decorations, not for a Princess dress)

The ribbon is a vintage ribbon found at Portobello market, and the only one I have on-hand that is long enough for this project. Turns out to be a rather sweet combination...

aaah loving all the gathers...now if only this dress comes in adult sizes....(although, if it does, it may not look quite as cute on me as it does on Mia i'll bet ;) )

Mia's (back-up) birthday dress

2011-01-10T23:19:00.005Z

This dress style has got to be my favourite one. I love gathers and pleats and this dress is full of it. Bubble skirt and pheasant style top. The pattern is Miss Lily, from the Handmade Dress.

It's quite an easy construction. The whole process from cutting to sewing to finishing took about 3 hours.

I love bubble skirts! it just looks so girly and magical. The fabric is not the fabric I had in mind, it's a trial fabric, but still cute...to try the pattern for the first time..a girl can't have too many dresses, after all, right? I'll update again once I have the real birthday dress completed..

oh..so good to be sewing again...

Cast one on

2011-01-07T00:41:00.002Z

Tonight I went to my knitting group meeting. I brought a project that's a treat for myself (my birthday is in January too, you know), I don't have a picture of it yet, maybe later I'll put it up. In the group there's this pakcik, and he had the above badge on his bag. Cool, huh?

Anyway, when I got back, I was still in the mood to knit so tonight I thought I'd cast on a little something that will be one of Mia's presents. She has quite enough cardigans and hats - she still fits in the ones I knitted for her while pregnant, and I found 3 lovely hand-knitted cardigans for a pound a piece at the carboot sale recently. So I thought I'd make her a wool soaker. I have never used a wool soaker on the kids before. But I've looked them up, and seemed rather interesting.

Here's the tension square i made (well more of a rectangle). A tension square is a test sample that you must knit up in order to match the size specified in a pattern. A tension square for knitting is basically what pre-washing is for sewing : It is a pain to do when you're excited to start your project and wants to save time, but if you skip it, you will end up doing the opposite.

I only got to here tonight. More to come. Time for bed.

Prep time

2011-01-06T00:05:00.002Z

It's January and my little princess' birthday is approaching. I think she deserves a little bit of mama-mades for her first birthday, don't you? I'm a procastinator, I always delay until the last minute to do things..and it doesn't help that I'm the worst organiser on the planet...it think this time i'll record my progress on her birthday prep, just to motivate myself...

ok here goes..

I'm starting with her birthday crown...the pattern is the same as Adam's birthday crown (from the book - The Creative Family)

I am using wool felt here instead of the usual craft felt. If you can get access to wool felt, I certainly recommend it. To be honest when I bought the felt I was just testing, I didn't think it would make that much of a difference. But it does. The texture is so much more stable, dense, smooth and just a dream to work with. I would imagine it would withstand long wearing and much chewing and yanking too. The crown can be kept for many birthdays to come.

The result. A crown fit for a princess, no less.

'Amirals'

2011-01-04T22:19:00.002Z

The first time Adam I heard used the word 'amirals' was in a pretend play. I was unpacking one of my circular knitting needles and he took a look and said 'Mommy, amirals. Snake! sssssssss (bunyi snake)'. And then he took the needle and packaging and started playing snake. I could understand how a circular needle can become snake (it is long and narrow) ..but...what's amirals? I asked him and he tried to explain 'snakes Mommy...amirals!amirals!'

So for the next couple of weeks I occasionally hear the word popped up now and then. And everytime I would guess the meaning - emeralds? mirrors? nothing was right.

Last weekend we went to stay at a farm with my mom. The farm had farm animals - chicks, ducks, goats. The word 'amirals' popped up a lot more. I told my husband 'I think the word had something to do with animals'. He ventured a few guesses as well. Adam said no no no.....

The farm had a sign that says 'Free range children and animals'. Finally it hit me. Can you guess what it is?

AMIRALS = ANIMALS!!

duhhh...

*i love all the mispronounce words...soon enough he will grow out of it...but i will enjoy every word as much as i can now...

Welcoming 2011

2011-01-03T23:29:00.008Z

We have had the pleasure of such wonderful companies this past month. Now they've all gone back home and we miss them all!

Their departure marked the end of the year for us. And now we're slowly falling back into the comfort of routine life. It is cold outside, but inside in this cozy little home, it is always warm.

Avatar gloves

2010-12-28T20:38:00.006Z

I started these gloves a few days ago. The yarn is a yummy variegated 100% lambswool - Rowan Colourscape Chunky. I initially bought this yarn to make a hat for Adam ; blue is his favourite colour and it was really cold this Christmas that he really needed a hat. But he wouldn't even give the yarn one look when I asked him if he would like a hat made from this colour. He hates hats. My husband wanted a pair of gloves to play snow with so I made these gloves with the yarn instead. But because the yarn colour is variegated (i.e. the colour changes along the yarn in the skein), the gloves doesn't match! Somehow I ended up with this pair of really unique gloves full of brilliant colours and character. And my husband is calling it Avatar, because the colours remind him of the Avatar movie, and coincidentally, we were watching Avatar on tv while I was knitting this.

My husband is an iphone user so I made the gloves with a slit in the index finger so he can play on his phone while wearing it...I don't know if my husband really like the colours...probably too colourful for him..and also, as luck would have it, temperature increased dramatically in the past couple of days that there are no more snow and he doesn't really need full gloves anymore....oh well...at least i enjoyed knitting them..hehe..and with the crazy weather, you never know when it's going to reach freezing temperatures again...

Mia @ 11 months (and Snow Day)

2010-12-21T09:44:00.007Z

I have a sneaky suspicion Mia is trying for the fastest growing baby award..gosh..she's practically a toddler already!

She's a stable walker by now and can walk any distance she likes, or run, even. With her tiny little body she looks like a penguin waddling around the house. She follows me around where ever I go, and she is very quick. Every trip to the toilet is a race because she will be banging on the toilet door before I even had the chance to sit on the loo.

She understands everything we say to her. Honestly, she does. And she will respond to prove it. If you ask her, where's your Princess book Mia? She'll go and fetch the Princess book.

Yesterday she picked up a blanket, pulled it over her face and giggled. I asked, 'where's Mia?' and she pulled the blanket down, laughing and smiling proudly. Pandai main cak cak...adam la ajar ni...

She's very possessive of me. No one can come near me. If she sees me cuddling up with Adam or Daddy, she'll come over and start crying, until they leave me alone with her.

If she wants cheese she says 'chissss, chissss' . if she wants susu she says 'ssss,ssss'. She tries to repeat after the words we say.

We have a little gate at our living room door to prevent her from going to eat shoes in the hallway (one of her favourite activity) but lately she figured out how to open it! So much for babyproofing! honestly, we've had many adults guests who couldn't figure out how to open it...in fact everything in the house is now subject to her experimentation...the tv, the speakers, the wires, the bookshelf...Adam keep going 'Mia, no! nanti Daddy marah!'. But she just smile cheekily and keep going at it...but when Daddy's at work, Adam says 'It's ok Mommy, biar je iya (mia) main..Daddy work, Mommy...'

Oh yes, he constantly covers for her. If he sees me or Daddy telling her off he'll say 'Daddy, sian iya (mia) ....janan (jangan) mawwah (marah) iya...'. Or sometimes he says 'It's ok Mommy...iya kecik Mommy...'. hheheheh...do you know how lucky you are Mia?

You are well-loved, my dear. Happy 11 month birthday!

Here are more photos from our recent Snow Day. As usual not much snow in London but we made the most of it...

Adam had the most fun, naturally.

We tried to make a snowman....but...like my husband said,dgn Adam memang takkan siap2 nyelah...he said nak buat 'sandcastle'.

it was pretty heavy snow that day...is it bad that i want to wish for more snow? the news says it's pretty bad already...and everybody hates it because it makes travelling impossible and dangerous..but for us who aren't travelling anywhere, i'm content to stay at home with the kids, blissfully knitting and staring in wonder at the snow falling outside...

my little snow angel

The Cloth Hall, Kent

2010-12-17T11:45:00.013Z

Recently we went to Kent with my mom. It was the weekend when it snowed really heavily. Kent was badly affected. But we called the highway and they said the roads are cleared. On the way to the car our porter said 'Going to Kent? You're very brave. Goodluck!'. That gave me the chills for a bit but we went anyway...

Alhamdulillah we arrived safely. Everything was covered in snow, white and foggy. It looked magical. Especially the cottage we were staying in...well it's hardly a cottage..a mansion perhaps? There were 6 rooms altogether but we only rented 2 rooms. Luckily the other rooms are empty so we had the house to ourselves. And the house, what a treat. It was built in the 1450s! almost 600 years old house! I certainly have never seen a 600 year old house..let alone have the chance to stay in one.

It had 3 sitting rooms. this was one of them. We spent most of our time here, because this living room is on the first floor, right next to our bedroom. Notice the original wooden beams on the walls and ceilings.

It was just the perfect place to sit and knit...and stare and the beautiful wooden beams...The house must've been made for a very rich man 600 years ago...it's huge, full of little sections, secret pathways and hallways. Do you see the little door next to the fireplace? Every door has this clever little contraption. Every time you some into a room, the door swings close and locks itself. Then when you go out, there's another clever little trick to 'unlock' the door. Genius! Nothing like our modern doors...

Here's the living room on the ground floor...with a huge working fireplace...

This is the dining room. I'm thinking we should get a table like this one when we have 8 children..hehe...

the kitchen

The view of the house from outside..it comes with 8 acres of land as well...cantik sgt...

except for the caretaker who was awful ( malas nak citer pasal dia ni, I already made a complaint about her) we had an awesome time there...will definitely want to go again...(if they change the caretaker). The other house in the small village are historical as well...really charming place..

p/s:ernie i bet you would love this place.

edited to add: I forgot a fascinating fact about this place. The house is called Cloth Hall because in the olden days it belonged to a cloth merchant. He used to store his wool in an outside barn...I can just imagine all the wool spinning and weaving probably went on there as well...which makes knitting there especially meaningful...

Let them eat the sand

2010-12-11T00:14:00.004Z

Last week at Portman Children Centre.

One of the staff was recording the children on her camcoder. Mia was walking around, playing. She's in her comfort zone in this place. The staff spotted Mia and started recording her. Soon, she has neglected the other kids and continued following Mia and recording her every move. She's tiny but very bold and quick on her feet - determined to climb everything, try out everything. Adam was playing in the sandbox. She came over to the sandbox, grabbed a handful of sand and put it in her mouth. I rushed over, took the sand out and started cleaning her mouth and hand.

The staff: You know she's going in there? (the sandbox). Then there is no point in cleaning her hands. The sand will just come out in her poop. She is using her mouth to explore.

Interesting, I thought. I am usually relaxed in letting my kids put things in their mouths, because I believe it is necessary for their learning and exploration. But I do draw the line on things they can choke on, things that are dirty, and..well...sand. However, stopping babies from eating sand when you're in a sandbox can prove to be very frustrating for both the baby and yourself. So I thought, ok, let's give this a try. Let's let them eat sand.

The staff is still recording. Mia grabbed some sand in her hand. She put it in her mouth. I fought the urge to clean her up. She tasted the sand, slowly. Her face crinkled up. She spit the sand out.

The staff: You see? She doesn't even like the taste. She is spitting it out.

Mia repeated this cycle a few times - grab, taste, spit. Then she started feeling the sand with her fingers. Her face still crinkled from the taste of the sand.

The staff: Now you show her what else you can do with the sand.

I took some sand toys - sand wheels, shovel. I started pouring the sand, turning the wheels. She observed, interested. Then she tried the toys. No longer putting the sand in the mouth. She poured the sand, picked up the shovel, felt the sand with her hands and feet. She climbed in and out of the sand. Tumbling into the softness. A whole lot of learning (and fun!) that she would've missed had I kept saying NO to her eating the sand.

She did try putting the sand in her mouth a couple times after that, but she didn't enjoy it. I think she discovered that playing with the sand is more fun than eating it.

Getting hooked on crocheting

2010-12-07T12:17:00.012Z

I apologise for the lack of updates. Been away in Kent, bracing the chill. I'll update on that when I have some photos.

Today I'll write about our Autumn Festival, which happened a long while back, well..in autumn :) There were a lot of activities..baking apples pies, animals from the farm for the kids, pottery, folk dancing etc...

baking apple pies

adam and friends doing craft

The boy in the photo, Luca, we met there at the festival. He's six, and very sweet. He played with Adam the whole day. While they were on the crafting table, he made a lovely little card for Adam.

the front of the card says 'fren' with a drawing of himself and Adam

and the inside says ' Diy mdam I fik you or the boose from Luka'. I asked him to read it and he said ' Dear Adam, I think you are the best, from Luka' . isn't that the sweetest thing? I have it hanging on the wall in the kitchen until now.

At the festival I took the opportunity to learn to crochet. A few ladies were teaching people to crochet. They even provided the yarn and hooks. I think the lady who taught me only knew the basics, but it was enough. I started a hat that day...

..but only finished it recently! which is why this entry is written today, months after the Autumn Festival :) The actual crocheting didn't take very long at all, but I only crochet few stitches at a time, in between my knitting. Crochet is quite addictive too. Recently I borrowed a book from the library to learn more about crochet and made this:

comel tak baby chick?

this is the hat I learnt to make from the Autumn Festival

mia hates hats though...she only allows me to put a hat on her when it's really cold..

crochet ckp melayu ape ye.....?

Knitting in the round and my mom

2010-11-27T23:12:00.008Z

(Two unrelated topic really, but as you know women's thoughts flow from one topic to another with no rhyme or reason)

Last week I enjoyed a few hours of blissful knitting time at my knitting group, which I haven't been to in months, since Mia was born. Thanks to my understanding hubby for babysitting the little ones! I love my kids dearly but a few hours away from them is much needed once in a while, and I came back revitalised and hopefully a better mom to them both. I decided to learn a new technique - knitting in the round- using 4 double pointed needles and the friendly group of knitters helped me. Turned out it was easier than i thought it would be, and totally addictive.

I ended up with this pair of gorgeous fingerless mitts. They're quite long, run up to half my lower arm. Pattern is Toasty (free, check on ravelry). Such a simple, understated beauty. You can finish these gloves in a few hours. Perfect for gifts. I might make more just so I could use the double pointed needles again.

Aaand, in other news, my mom is here!

hmm...why is that little girl breastfeeding in most photos?

She's only been here a couple days, and i think we're already gaining weight! So much yummy food! she's been cooking up a storm and we're loving it! this morning she made laksa johor for breakfast! yumyum...i hope she will enjoy her time here...

There's no use in crying over spilled milk

2010-11-24T00:51:00.003Z

Adam wanted some milk. I poured it for him, asked him to sit on the dining table to drink it so that Mia wouldn't be able to grab it out of his hands (as she often does). He refused, and insisted that he sit on the floor to drink it. I made it clear to him I wasn't happy about it, but gave him the cup anyway. He drank some, then walked over to the table. On the way, the cup slipped from his hand and milk spilled on the floor.

I was upset, mainly because he didn't listen to me in the first place. Didn't say anything, just got up to get a dishcloth in the kitchen. Mia started crying, she doesn't like it when I walk away from her. Adam followed me to the kitchen, started apologising softly 'Sorry Mommy, sorry'. I said 'Tulah Adam, I told you to sit on the table. Kan dah tumpah'. He can see from my expression that I was upset with him.

I wiped the floor. Mia walked over, crying, climbing over me. I took her, put her a short distance away so I can wipe. She was still crying, trying to get over to me. Adam went to her, quickly grabbed some toys and put them in front of her to distract her from coming over to me. 'Here Mia, play toys. Mommy lap jap ok...' and at the same time, saying also to me 'Sorry Mommy, sorry..sorry..'.

Oh gosh. That woke me up. Who's the grown up in this house? The Mommy who lost her temper over a little spilled milk, or the little boy who isn't afraid to apologise for his mistake and is clever enough to take care of his sister.

Thank you for teaching me a lesson, Adam. I'm so proud of you.

Mia @ 10 months

2010-11-21T21:40:00.005Z

Honestly, she's 10 months? Can you believe that?

She's found her feet and is absolutely refusing to crawl any more. She can walk 2-3 meters now. She can turn around, walk right and left. She falls on her bum constantly, but she just keep getting up again. She likes to browse the floor for leftover food (sigh...i do feed her, i promise) but even then she'll pick up the food and then eat it standing up. Determined to prove to me she no baby no more.

I love it when she calls me 'Mama mama'. She can get away with anything if she calls me Mamama. Even Adam started calling me Mama too. Sometimes she calls me Dada Dadi too. She blabs a lot, sounding like she's really telling a story.

She knows when Daddy's getting ready for work. She doesn't like it when Daddy leaves. She'll immediately go to him, and start manja-manja. Poor Daddy doesn't stand a chance against her charm. He'd have to go to work thinking about her all day. And when he comes home from work, she'll greet him, hug him. Who can resist that girl?

she knows what 'susu' means. If you ask her 'Adik, susu mana?' she'll show you where it is, and probably demand a sip too.

She's growing way too fast. Where's my little baby? But oh she's still there. When she hugs me close and rests her head on my chest. When she gives me a wet sloppy kiss. When she flashes me that cheeky beautiful smile. Still there. Always my baby.

Happy 10 month birthday, my pretty one. I love you so much.

Hand-knitted sweater for him

2010-11-19T22:17:00.008Z

Yes, it is finished!!!! I am beside myself with relief. It took me a total of 4 months to finish it, on and off. I was worried it was going to turn into one of those projects that were started but never finished. But finished it I did, phew.

It's the first sweater I ever made, and the first adult item I knitted too. It took 14 skeins of yarn (Rowan's Summer Tweed - beautiful yarn to work with. Gorgeous shade of green and the fabric it knitted to is soft and tweedy. If you plan to use this yarn, I would suggest using aluminium knitting needles instead of wooden ones because the tweed effect gives it a bit of friction, making it harder to knit with wood )

Here's a zoomed up photo of the intricate pattern. To create this pattern, a cable needle is used throughout every right side row, which is the reason why it takes so long to finish it. But I liked the challenge, and I think it probably brought me up another level as an 'intermediate' knitter instead of a beginner. To any knitters interested, the pattern is from Nora Gaughan's Men collection. All of the knit in that book looks terrific. I wish I had time to knit them all.

Unfortunately I suspect he's not going to fall head over heels in love with it. I've run into a few issues with its sleeves. The sleeves seemed to have grown a few inches and flared out at the bottom, all by itself, within the first wear. I have no idea how to go about fixing it, since you can't cut and sew a knit, you see. Or can you? does anybody have any ideas? It's my gift for my husband for our last winter in London, so I need it to be awesome. Help please!

Yours and mine

2010-11-15T08:15:00.003Z

Well you know how I haven't been sewing for a while? Recently I made this little project for instant gratification - baby legwarmers. It's time for legwarmers but the ready-made ones are so expensive! So I made them out of normal ladies' striped socks. The cotton socks costs less than a pound a pair from Primark. And the sewing time is about 10 mins per pair. Awesome.

and then I realised that I can use it too, as arm-warmers. They're becoming increasingly popular these days ('Life unexpected', anyone?) and very practical. Keep my arms warm and if my fingers get cold I can pull them down to cover them up too. I'm thinking I should whip up a few more of these.

I can wear them, Mia can wear them and even Adam can wear them as legwarmers (but he wouldn't!) and it's small enough you can always throw them in your purse if anybody needed them later in the day. The British weather can be so unpredictable. You see the sun is out so you go out all skedandy for a short trip to the children centre and the next thing you know you and your kids are soaked from head to toe. Which actually happened to me last week and the only pair of dry 'pants' for Mia I can dig up from my (sister's) bag are these legwarmers. Bless them.

Mommy's knitting bag

2010-11-09T00:22:00.006Z

This is my bag. I fill it up with my current knitting project. It's always by my side. Whenever I find a free moment, I take out my needlework and knit. One stitch at a time. Adam knows this. He calls it ' Mommy's knitting bag '. He knows Mommy loves knitting. Sometimes when he asks me to play with him - in the house he built up, or the pirate boat that he's sailing - he makes sure he takes Mommy's knitting bag so that Mommy can knit in the house/boat. Whenever Mia comes and try pull the yarns out of Mommy's knitting bag, he tells her 'No Mia, this Mommy's knitting bag'.

Today I bought a new bag. He saw the bag and looked at it.

Adam: What's this Mommy?

Mommy: That's my new knitting bag. Cantik tak?

Adam: Oh...ok...*opens zip* eh? no knitting?

*the bag is new so it's still empty.

Adam: I don't think so this knitting bag, Mommy.

---------------------------------------------------

Later that day, he and Daddy was drawing on the computer. This is what they drew;

that's Daddy in the driver's seat, then Adam, then Mommy and then Mia in the back. Can you guess what's the little thing next to Mommy is?

It's Mommy's knitting bag, of course.

*my husband told me while they were drawing he said ' Where Mommy's knitting bag?'

Breastfeeding Mia

2010-11-05T15:06:00.003Z

yes she is breastfeeding in this photo

I think I wrote a lot of entries on breastfeeding Adam, didn't I? Somehow with Mia I haven't been talking about breastfeeding much any more. Yes she is exclusively breastfed too. It's just that by now nursing on demand has become so much part of my life, as natural and essential as breathing, that I hardly even think about it much any more.

Breastfeeding with my second child is different from breastfeeding my first. I am a stay-at-home mom this time, so there is no struggles with pumping and storing and not having enough milk. We're both very lucky. I remember how much effort is needed to fully breastfeed a child while working full time, and it gives me the appreciation for this special time that I have with my daughter.

Mia is a frequent nurser, but unlike Adam, she rarely breastfeed to sleep, except at night when we're in bed. Normally she needs a rocking in Daddy's arms for her to fall asleep after her nursing sessions.

With Mia I've breastfed practically everywhere - on buses, tubes, in the park, on the plane, while walking on the street, while shopping and talking to shopkeepers, in rivers and beaches while paddling, on boats, in restaurants...yeah, literally everywhere. Mia is a champion on breastfeeding in public. She's not shy, she'll ask for her milk whenever she feels like it, and she doesn't mind her face being covered in fabric while she's nursing. I've never even had to use a nursing cover. I normally use my wrap or scarf to cover up.

In this country breastfeeding is even more uncommon than in Malaysia. At least in Malaysia everywhere you go there is a breastfeeding room available. The last time we went for Mia's developmental check up, out of about 15 babies her age, only Mia and one other kid is breastfed. The rest are bottle-fed babies. Even the health visitors who were doing the check up didn't seem to be too knowledgeable on breastfeeding. While giving us the information on how much formula an 8 month old baby should consume in a day, they 'guessed' that the breastfeeding equivalent would be around 3 feedings a day. Are you kidding me? I'd have done 3 feedings by 10 am.

The reason I am thinking a lot more about breastfeeding recently is because I am currently facing a breastfeeding hurdle. Mia has 6 teeth already, and she is now teething, again. She is in a lot of pain, and so am I! It's come to a point where I've started to bleed and having to pump to avoid causing even more damage. Luckily Mia has no issues drinking breastmilk out of a bottle, alhamdulillah. I am having flashbacks to all those painful days back then whenever Adam was teething. And then it occurred to me, this is our first breastfeeding problem. After 9 months of smooth-sailing, exclusive nursing. It has been quite a blessing indeed. I've never had to buy a single bottle of formula with both kids. I hope we will get over this hurdle soon, but for now, I am happy to be paying my due. Alhamdulillah.

I hope to continue breastfeeding her until she is 2 years old. And the rest of our future children too. I may not be the best mother in the world, heck, most of the time I don't even know what I'm doing..but this one I do know is the right thing to do. So if one day God asks me, what have you done for your children, I can say I did one thing right, at least. InsyaAllah.

What's your parenting style?

2010-10-29T09:41:00.005+01:00

Parenting a small baby wasn't particularly difficult. Their needs are basic - food, nappies, sleep and lots of love. We did decide early on certain things, like breastfeeding. The rest we make up as we go along. For example, sleeping arrangements. We knew we were going to sleep with our babies in the same room, but before I had Adam we bought a cot for him, fully intending to let him sleep in his cot but next to me. But then he arrived and we discovered it was best for all of us to co-sleep in the same bed. I get more sleep, he gets more sleep, all of us get to cuddle. Then Mia arrived and we wondered how we're going to fit another baby in our (relatively) small bed. We bought another cot just in case. We thought maybe one of them will sleep in there. Or maybe not. Again we followed our hearts and intuition. Now she naps in her cot, but sleeps in the bed with us. Somehow, she fits.

As the baby(ies) grow bigger, our parenting changes to adapt. It gets trickier, doesn't it? Now they need discipline, they make specific demands, they ask questions. I find myself constantly trying to find the best way to parent. No I am not particularly consistent. I didn't find a specific parenting style and stick to it. For it's very much trial and error. Yes I made lots of errors. But that way I discovered what works and what doesn't. And what works for us today, may not work for us tomorrow.

Our (current) parenting style may not be 'acceptable' to everybody else. Let's face it, a lot of our parenting decision are not exactly conventionally 'normal'. Like exclusive breastfeeding, co-sleeping, babywearing. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. I'm asked these questions constantly:

'tak bagi air masak ke baby tu?'

'tak campur susu botol ke?'

'muat ke katil tu semua org?'

'Aren't you afraid she's going to turn out spoiled because you wear her all the time?'

'Isn't he going to be spoiled because you get him everytime he cries?'

etc

followed by some well-meaning advice. I listen and nod, but I continue to do what I know is best for my children. I am consistent when I need to be. Hopefully it will help others question their own parenting style.

I find that the best way to parent is by watching my own kids and adapting myself to their needs. There are a lot of thing we can learn from them. Our culture dictates that the parents are always right, and must always have control. But I think parents don't always know best. It is ok to question our parenting styles, it is ok to listen to our children, it is ok to tell our child 'I'm sorry, I made a mistake'.

Am I rambling? I guess what I'm trying to say is, I am coming to terms with the fact that it is ok to follow our own intuition. When your heart is full of unconditional love, it is ok to follow it.

Mia @ 9 months

2010-10-23T23:12:00.003+01:00

She is getting good at walking. Few steps at a time. She tends to walk more when she's crying, and then we'll clap and she'll smile proudly in between bouts of crying which looks rather funny. She's quite small for her age ( I know she looks big and chubby in photos but in real life she's actually really petite compared to other babies her age) so whenever she gets up and walk it doesn't fail to catch people by surprise. And makes me immensely proud. Not that I had anything to do with her walking, she accomplished that all by herself, but I'm a proud mommy nonetheless. My little walking miracle.

She associates Daddy with sleeptime. He has magic arms. He can put her to sleep in a few seconds.

When I talk to her, I swear I think she understands what I'm saying.

Whenever I'm taking Adam to the toilet (which she hates, because she doesn't like being left alone) even when she's playing away from us and didn't see us, the moment she heard us talking about 'peeing' and 'let's go to the toilet' she immediately start crying and quickly crawl over to me.

She loves bath time. And cries whenever I took her out of the tub.

She says 'Daddy' or Dada' or 'Didi' often, but just recently she started saying Mommy, or 'ami' - yay!

Happy 9 months birthday sweetheart. Mommy loves you.

My sister..

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..is visiting! She came by herself on AirAsia. She's on holiday at the moment. Mia immediately warmed up to her. Normally she won't go near any 'stranger'. I suspect it could be because she kind of look like me.

Do you see the resemblance? Our late father used to mistake her for me and the other way around. The last time I called my brother he thought it was my sister calling him (even though she was in the house with him). So I suppose thats why Mia had no trouble trusting her right away.

We went to the park last weekend cos it was sunny. Yes I am still knitting that sweater. By now I've told everyone on blogland and my husband has bragged about his sweater to his whole family that i just must finish this sweater and it must must look good! hehe..

love this photo...

and this..oh..i just love it when they actually play together..

We took the opportunity to ask my sister to take some photograph of us too..

once upon a time, ahem..(nampak single couple tak?)

the reality! hehe...

hope my sister will have a good time here...

Another Anna Maria's voile top

2010-10-16T00:50:00.004+01:00

I've got to admit, there hasn't been much sewing going on here lately. I've hit a bit of a sewing block, probably. Looking through some photos for inspiration I found this top I forgot to blog about, so I thought I'd put this up, get a little bit of craft injection in this blog. I made it a few weeks ago, using Anna Maria's voile again. It is possible to whip up a whole new wardrobe for oneself using her voiles? Oh yes please.

I can't get enough of it. it's so gorgeous and feels wonderful on the skin. I want to wear it, I want my girl to wear it. Usual quilting cotton makes great girls dresses but you don't necessarily want to wear it yourself.

Ok enough talking about sewing. Time to do. Anybody can give me some inspiration please?

eh why this photo? I don't know why, I love it.

The perks of having an 8 months old

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At 8 months old, she can give you a smile so sweet and innocent, you want to give her the world everytime you see one.

You hold your breath for every first step*, first laugh, first word.

She has the loveliest smell. I swear, inhaling the sweet smell of a baby is valid addiction. You cannot get enough of it. Take a whiff, and all is well in the world.

She still has some of her baby fat, looking chubby and oh so cute you want to eat her up.

There is something special about little toes, I can't explain it, it just is.

When she sleeps, she looks like an angel. Curled up little fingers, little toes, little angel face. Everything so little. I can't help but want to snuggle up to all that goodness. Why people decide to have separate room for their little babies I will never understand.

You don't have to yell at her or try to discipline her or drag her to her naughty corner when she misbehaves. Even when she's being cheeky, you can't help but try to keep from smiling.

I wish they could stay little for just a tad longer. Yes, please.

*Isn't it ironic that while I'm writing the above entry about appreciating my 8-month-old, she actually took her first step, right in front of me, and yet I missed it??? Argh! that should teach me to appreciate my baby even more. My husband saw it though (lucky him!) and we quickly took the video below, as she took a few more first steps. Enjoy!

The perks of having a 3-year-old

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At three years old, you can sit knitting on the bench at the playground while your child climbs a mountain of a slide 5 times his height without so much of a blink. You're confident he can find his balance instinctively and if not, he can handle a bit of a tumble better than you could.

You can sit next to him as he feed himself lunch, probably feeding you too in the process. Sometimes you can even swing a quick shower while he's snacking. He can pour himself a drink from the water jug on the table, saving you from having to get up.

Sometimes he reads himself a book, build himself a rather nice looking 'pirate boat', or clicks himself a video from the Cbeebies website.

He can clean up after himself. Oh in fact, he enjoys 'tidy up time' a whole lot more than you do.

He doesn't eat sand, or paper, or leftover food from under the table, or chokable buttons under the sewing machine.

You can have a real conversation with him. Not only will he listen, he can also respond with appropriately placed words like ' Oh I see....'

You don't have to have a heart attack every time he climbs the table or the kitchen bench or anything with remotely sharp edges. After about a million bumps and bruises in his lifetime he is now pretty savvy at threading the hazard zones.

Of course by the time you find the wisdom to appreciate all this, enter child no 2, in all her cheeky, no-regards-to-danger-whatsoever self. There is nothing like having another baby to give you the wake up call you need as to how under appreciated you firstborn is. Oy.