tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64809257495656439222024-03-13T10:03:47.897+00:00My BabiesA blog dedicated to my kids, Adam Mikhael, Mia Amani & Maryam Ameliaaidafiqs adamiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00428216274042544874noreply@blogger.comBlogger543125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480925749565643922.post-86057210410579518652014-01-22T05:26:00.000+00:002014-01-22T05:26:23.314+00:00Homeschooling trip to UPM Edupark<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Last week, some homeschooling families got together for a trip to UPM Edupark. It is just 20 mins from our place. I was not expecting much, but..look at this..</div>
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What a gorgeous place! We took a farm truck to go in, and all of a sudden it was like we were transported to a different world..and it is beautiful.<br />
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I am blown away by the beauty of this place.<br />
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As breathtaking as New Zealand, right here at our doorstep.<br />
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We went to the cow milking place. I was hoping for handmilking but apparently these days cows are milked with electric pumps! similar to breastpumps actually. UPM students do handmilk these cows still for educational purposes. (how fun their courses must be!) I dream one day to own our own cow for milking. Fresh unprocessed milk everyday! I can make cheese! butter! cream! soap! hehe...wishful thinking but who knows, right.<br />
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The kids get to feed the baby calfs. The smell of fresh milk is amazing - delicious, fresh, sweet. It was not what I imagined the smell would be. Different than the milk you purchase at supermarkets. We went to their mart to purchase some fresh milk but they've run out quick. There is a high demand and you can only get them in the morning, 3 days a week. Very dissapointed. I will go again insyaallah early morning to get some milk.<br />
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After the cows, we went to see some deers. Cute baby deer here named Tin. The other deers are wild creatures and shy away from human contact. But Tin is quite friendly.<br />
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Male deers grow new antlers every year. The old ones drop like these.<br />
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Next we went to see the horses. Horse riding for the kids! The horses here are well cared for and it shows. They look very beautiful and healthy. Shiny hair and muscly.<br />
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Kids had fun feeding carrots to the horses.<br />
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It was a nice trip. Will go back again for the milk ;)aidafiqs adamiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00428216274042544874noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480925749565643922.post-15775886556599661782014-01-08T16:50:00.000+00:002014-01-08T16:50:10.611+00:00Make your own noodles<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
My kids tend to go through a whole LOT of homemade playdough. Yours too? How about we use that to our advantage and have them make their own lunch? hehe...</div>
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The recipe is super simple. Only 2 ingredients. <b>500g of flour, and 5 eggs</b>. Yup, that's it. Dump the flour into a huge bowl (pink bowl is a plus, obviously), make a hole and break the eggs into it. Mix it up. Knead. It makes a nice soft pliable dough. If you find it too wet, add a bit of flour. If too dry, add abit of water.<br />
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Then let the kids play with it. The longer you play with it, the better the dough will be.<br />
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Still playing the dough. Mia liked the texture so much that she asked for more the next day, just for playing.<br />
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Set your noodle maker on a floury table. I got ours from Giant, cheaply at around rm30+. It is very simple to use and the kids can operate it on their own. We were pretty much wrestling each other ( even me!) to get a turn to use the noodle maker.<br />
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When we're done this is what you get. Beautiful homemade noodles. Dry it on a kitchen towel. You can use right fresh pasta right away or leave it to dry for a couple of hours, then keep it to use another day. It should keep for a week or two.<br />
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Freshly boiled pasta. Yum! It's a hit with the kids.<br />
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Oh, did I mention we go through a LOT of pasta too in this house?aidafiqs adamiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00428216274042544874noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480925749565643922.post-26809114948697303582014-01-05T17:30:00.004+00:002014-01-05T17:30:53.431+00:00First day of 'school'<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
My New Year's resolution is to blog more. Yup. Don't believe me? I don't blame ya ;)</div>
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The beginning of the year this year feels a bit..heavy for me. This year Adam is turning 7, which means that when the other children started school last Thursday, Adam is officially a Homeschooler. The weight of responsibility felt especially heavy on my shoulders. Am I doing something right? Will he turn out ok? All those voices of doubt started to creep in on me a little bit. So I decided to take out my camera, and record the little events of our regular day, to remind myself why we're doing this.</div>
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Early morning, he and Mia decided to build Legos together. Without a fight ;)<br />
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Then we made colored foam. Still in their pyjamas.<br />
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Recipe for those awesome foam: A squirt of dishwash/shower gel in your blender/food processor, a little bit of water, some food coloring and then blend! The longer you blend, the more foam it makes. Bonus; your blender gets a good clean.<br />
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He played Jengga. Made dominoes and then later robot armies.<br />
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They fed little sister Maryam..<br />
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This is our read for the day. Adam's choice. Oh yeah. We dig dino poops. Not your regular textbook that's for sure. <br />
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He taught Mia to read Furqan after prayer times..<br />
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Alphabet homemade playdough in the evening..<br />
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At the end of the day when I look at these photos and recall Adam's first day of unschool, I thought,<br />
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no..it's not so bad afterall. In fact it's a great first day. It is an ordinary day. Full of family time, fun, child-led learning. The children get to claim their childhood.<br />
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This feels right. Alhamdulillah.aidafiqs adamiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00428216274042544874noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480925749565643922.post-14203459524491699822013-06-18T09:22:00.000+01:002014-11-19T11:59:17.733+00:00Maryam Amelia, the Birth Story24 hours prior to actual labour, I felt some mild contractions that were irregular but were getting stronger. I couldn't sleep through the night, so I spent the night packing the hospital bag, thinking labour might be near. After subuh and throughout the day I did some walking and a lot of waiting. It was very frustrating. The contractions were there, but very irregular. My husband already took the day off (it was Friday) and I felt guilty that it was just false labour. By 9pm that night, I was exhausted from having had no sleep, and went straight to bed.<br />
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<b>Saturday, 15 June 2013 </b><br />
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At 12.30am, I was woken up by a strange heavy pressure in my lower belly. It felt like the baby's head was right down there. Then around 1am strong contractions started regularly, every 7-8 mins. By 2am it was much stronger every 5 mins. I still hesitated about going to the hospital because of the false labour the day before. I thought this could be false labour again. My husband insisted that we go anyway. He loaded the car and by 2.20am we were out the door.<br />
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My husband played the reading of Surah Maryam on the radio while in the car, to calm me down. The road was clear, and he was driving like a maniac :) About 200m from the hospital, we were stopped by a police car. He told them "Saya nak bawak isteri saya ke hospital ni!" The officer took one look inside the car and quickly told us to go...haha..<br />
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Around 2.50am we arrived at the hospital ER. It was calm and quiet, I refused the wheelchair, to the nurse's bewilderment and walked to the labour room. At the labour room, the nurse monitered my contractions on the CTG machine for half an hour, then did one VE. I was 5 cm dialated, and she concluded that my contractions were 'weak to moderate'. I insisted to get off the bed and walked around the room. She was hesitant but I told her that Dr Seri already signed my birth plan for a simple natural labour, and I specified that I wanted to be mobile, did not want any pain medication, CTG machine or IV fluids. Contractions were getting stronger at this point and I kept feeling like I needed to empty my bladder. I walked around, ate dates and drank water, and holding onto things when contractions came. I had read about Quranic childbirth during pregnancy and remembered about the verses in Surah Maryam, about how Maryam gave birth to Nabi Isa;<br />
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<i>{19:23} And the throes (of childbirth) compelled her to betake herself to the trunk of a palm tree. She said: Oh, would that I had died before this, and had been a thing quite forgotten! {19:24} Then (the child) called out to her from beneath her: Grieve not, surely your Lord has made a stream to flow beneath you. {19:25} And shake towards you the trunk of the palm tree, it will drop on you fresh ripe dates. {19:26} So eat and drink and refresh the eye. Then if you see any mortal, say: Surely I have vowed a fast to the Beneficent Allah, so I shall not speak to any man today.</i><br />
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Around 4am, the nurse asked me whether I really didn't want pain medication because if I did then I could sleep, and she will come check on me again at 6.30am. I said no, and asked if she could help me put on the hospital's fancy new tens machine instead. She didn't really know how to put it on either, and while we were all reading the tens manual and trying to figure out how to use the tens machine, 2-3 very strong contractions came and suddenly I was soaked to my feet! My water broke. This was the first time my water broke by itself. I was relieved, thinking 'oh good this time nobody's going to insert a knitting needle in me to break my water!'.<br />
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All of a sudden the contractions were just a minute or two apart and they were very, very strong. I already felt the urge to push. I got on the bed. The nurse ran out to call Dr Seri. The contractions came very strong and I could feel the baby coming. This time without any pain medication to numb me out, I was hyperaware of everything happening with my body. I felt the baby's head going down and pushing out. I yelled out to the nurse 'Nurse!! Baby nak keluar dah ni! Saya nak push!'. It didn't matter to me if the doctor came or not. The nurses kept telling me don't push! put your feet down! You're only 8cm dialated! I couldn't care less. I KNEW the head was already down there and she was coming NOW! My husband was there the whole time holding my hand, saying comforting words to me ; astagfirullah, astagfirullah...relax, relax...breathe, breathe...<br />
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Luckily Dr Seri came very quickly. She said, "Tell me if you feel like pushing". I told her "I want to push now! and can I put my feet up now?" (as in pulling the knees up towards my body in a semi squat) She quickly put on her apron and told me "yes you can put your feet up. The reason they won't let you before was because I wasn't here yet. You can push a bit too, if you felt like it". She didn't have to tell me, I was already pushing a bit at every contraction, because the urge to push was so strong, and I knew it was time despite being told repeatedly not to push.<br />
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She got in position and soon in the next contraction, the baby's head was out. There was no "push now 1,2,3" from the birth team whatsoever. I simply released and breathed her out. Soon the next contraction came and plup! out came her shoulders. Within seconds she was in my arms. I had requested for cord clamping to be delayed, so Dr Seri waited for it to stop pulsating while I immediately breastfed the baby. My husband cut the cord, and soon more contractions came and with a short push the placenta was out. Perinium intact, so I didn't need any stitches. The baby was born at 4.37am, her weight was 3kg.<br />
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It was a quick, simple, natural birth. What a beautiful experience. My husband had wanted the name Maryam, and as I looked at this tiny bundle in my arms, and the fresh memory of Surah Maryam intertwined with her birth, I knew, this was her name;<br />
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Maryam.<br />
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Maryam Amelia.<br />
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I love you.<br />
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<br />aidafiqs adamiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00428216274042544874noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480925749565643922.post-51182422282278331732013-04-03T01:30:00.001+01:002013-04-03T01:30:34.908+01:00Handmade cloth pads<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Did you know that Kamdar sells beautiful flannels for rm 5.50 per meter? I bought a few meters recently for a variety of projects, one of which was to make cloth pads.</div>
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When I just had Mia, I used the usual large disposable post-partum pads at first. I found them very uncomfortable, particularly because I had stitches, and that area tend to be very sore anyway, after childbirth. Regular disposable pads feels plasticky and sometimes the stick on wings get stuck to your skin and..eugh! Too much information there. So I ordered some cloth pads online quickly and it was so much better!</div>
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With this upcoming birth I decided to make some cloth pads myself. Why wouldn't I, when pretty cotton flannels are at my disposal.</div>
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It was very simple, I didn't bother trying to find other fancy bamboo fabric or even pul, I used many layers of the flannels, and for waterproofing, I used the only waterproof fabric I had on hand - leftover from previous projects. You can see the red polkadot fabric, I'm not sure what kind it is, probably laminated cotton? Bought at Ikea a while a ago so I don't remember the price.<br />
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I hid the waterproof layer inside 2 layers of flannel as the backing. The soaker middle is sewn separately, with i think 8 layers of flannel altogether. Probably didn't even need waterproofing already with so many layers but it's nice to have reassurance. Then the soaker is sewn to the backing and it's done. Easy peasy. I still need to find a solution for closing though ; maybe buttons or I'll get snaps installed at the craft shop.<br />
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In just under rm 25, I get 9 cloth pads. If you want to make them too, you can print the pattern template <a href="http://prefold2fitted.blogspot.com/2012/10/online-free-downloads.html">here</a>. There are a lot of patterns there for sewing cloth diapers too. I have made some cloth diapers from her patterns and love them (will blog about this later).<br />
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Have fun sewing!aidafiqs adamiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00428216274042544874noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480925749565643922.post-22273529382184720032013-03-20T14:49:00.002+00:002013-03-20T14:49:43.979+00:00Adam makes liquid soap<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
You can see how my blog is now filling up with talks of soaps and lotions and balms. Can you imagine all the soap talks, lipbalm talks and<a href="http://www.miaamanibodycare.com/"> Mommy's Business</a> talks going on in my house? Naturally the kids are very curious and interested and want to get involved. Soapmaking, unfortunately is an art that must be practised with supreme caution and <b><i>without children</i></b>. Oh yes. Imagine the frustration. Adam's frustration. He loves experiments and soapmaking sounds like the ultimate experiment for him (based on my description). </div>
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So to let him in on some of the excitement, we made liquid soap together.</div>
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To make liquid soap, we used offcuts and soap slivers from the soap I made before. These soaps have fully saponified but are still soft and need drying time to harden before we can use them. But they'll be perfect for making into liquid soap.<br />
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To make liquid soap, we just chop up these soap and 'cook' it with some boiling water.<br />
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When it's all nice and melted down, we added some food coloring and essential oils for scent. I gave Adam full control of this 'experiment' and he chose his own colours and scents.<br />
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Tadaaaa!! Homemade liquid soap! From left - colored blue scented with sweet orange essential oil, original Milk Calendula Soap, colored pink scented with rose geranium essential oil (for Mia), and the last one colored purple but Adam didn;t like this one and decided not to scent it.<br />
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Someone's very proud of his soaps :)aidafiqs adamiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00428216274042544874noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480925749565643922.post-44614737070888666862013-03-19T15:03:00.000+00:002013-03-19T15:03:04.818+00:00Rosemary Lavender Shampoo Bar<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
You may remember a few entries back I have been switching to homemade shampoo. My hair feels nice and healthy, but I do kind of miss the lathery, bubbly feeling of shampoo. But I definitely do not want to switch back to regular shampoo. So I decided to make shampoo bars! what are shampoo bars? They're like natural soaps, but you use it on your hair. </div>
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To make this shampoo first I infused my olive oil with dried rosemary and lavender. I made small lavender-bag style herb bags to infuse in my oil. You could just cover the herbs with oil but making these bags make it easy to remove the herb out later. Rosemary and lavender are great herbs to use for hair.<br />
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Here it is infusing using heat. I also used purple gromwell root powder to try to color my soap. It's purpose is mainly cosmetic. I was hoping for a pretty purple soap.<br />
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Got my kit ready.<br />
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This is the color of my oil before saponification. Lovely reddish purple.<br />
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This is the color after saponification, and after being in the oven for 20 mins! (I used hot-process soapmaking method this time) It turned from purple to sort of greenish...then later greyish.. and finally...<br />
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To settling on this stone gray colour. Shocking! The texture is different too from the cold process soap that i made before. Hot process soaps are cooked through until full saponification occurs, and by the time it is poured into the mold it is soap already and the texture is more solid than liquid. So the resulting soaps will have this rough, rustic look of handmade soap.<br />
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Although the colour is not what I wanted, I am very happy with these shampoo bars. Because of the hot process method, the soap can be used right away, and so I have been using these shampoo on my hair. It is heavenly! makes a lot of bubbles, it feels silky and lathery on my hair and the smell of rosemary and lavender is just lovely.<br />
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So now my hair care routine is this: Deep condition hair at night with virgin coconut oil (once a week), wash the next morning with this shampoo bar, then do a *vinegar rinse for a conditioner.<br />
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My hair feels well conditioned and silky smooth right after a wash. Before this right after shampooing with regular shampoo my hair feels a bit dry and a bit frizzy, then turns slightly better the next day. Loving this routine now and love these shampoo bars!<br />
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*To do a vinegar rinse: mix one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar with 1 cup of water, add in a few drops of tea tree essential oil, rosemary essential oil and lavender essential oil.aidafiqs adamiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00428216274042544874noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480925749565643922.post-74885059317120705552013-03-17T12:53:00.001+00:002013-03-17T12:53:41.046+00:00Mia Amani - Natural Handmade Bodycare<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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All of my recent obsession with natural handmade products has finally come to this - the opening of my own online natural bodycare <b><a href="http://www.miaamanibodycare.com/">shop</a>!</b><br />
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The products are basically the ones I have been making and enjoying with my family and friends. The recipes are true and tested and actually work. A lot of people have been expressing their interest in switching to natural products too, and I hope this <a href="http://www.miaamanibodycare.com/">shop</a> will be a good source for that. I have a line of simple everyday products ready in the shop, and more to be introduced in time.<br />
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Please have a look at the <a href="http://www.miaamanibodycare.com/">shop</a>, I hope you will enjoy it!aidafiqs adamiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00428216274042544874noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480925749565643922.post-47641276029990846432013-03-06T11:02:00.003+00:002013-03-06T11:11:47.704+00:00Making soap from scratch<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
You know I like making things. For years I have studied and contemplated making my own soap from scratch. Not the simple melt and pour soap (that's not really making your own soap, is it. more like taking somebody else's soap and stamping your name on it), but the real, traditional way of making soap using oil, lye and water - saponification. Making soap the way it was made hundreds of years ago. </div>
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Why use natural soap? Well, did you know that your regular bar of soap contains little to no soap at all, and is full of harmfull chemical and is more likely a detergent? Most commercial soap companies strip the glycerin out of the soap and sell it to the cosmetic industry because it is more valuable than the soap itself. Glycerin is a product of saponification, and it what keeps our skin hydrated and moisturised. anyway, you can read online many other reasons why using natural soap is better. I'm just going to now describe how I made my soap.</div>
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This is by no means a tutorial on the cold-process soapmaking. It was just how I made my soap. If you do try it however, make sure you have done proper research especially on lye safety. </div>
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Ok so I started by assembling my equipments and material on the kitchen counter. the lye is not in picture because it was still hidden in my storeroom, and I wasn't going to take it out until I absolutely have to (hello, lyephobia much???)<br />
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Next I weighted my oils and melted my solid oils.<br />
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Then I weighted my water, in this case I used full cream milk that has been frozen and then blended to a slush.<br />
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Then I weighted my lye. Gigil tu tangan, ok. You MUST wear gloves, goggles, apron, long sleeves clothes when handling lye. If splashed, God forbid, it can burn through your skin, your kitchen counter, your floor, etc. Do not make soap while tending to children or pets.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUREpavxFp2Ro642GtW3_Vl0TjcRWeELCOf8qW2qc_wUhV2jp8qvC4MLQqcWeqwMx9NdaqQ4rqyG2cQD45ASBi1St1uEJJ2BXh6IIgs1q8SDXPdVSnILeAyKibrRj6irVWXbViaHIdD5VP/s1600/IMG_3084.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUREpavxFp2Ro642GtW3_Vl0TjcRWeELCOf8qW2qc_wUhV2jp8qvC4MLQqcWeqwMx9NdaqQ4rqyG2cQD45ASBi1St1uEJJ2BXh6IIgs1q8SDXPdVSnILeAyKibrRj6irVWXbViaHIdD5VP/s640/IMG_3084.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Next I added the lye to my milk slush. Slowly.<br />
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Stirring constantly. Notice the colour has turned bright yellow and the milk has melted.<br />
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Ooops it turned bright orange. Lye solution made with milk can turn any shade from bright yellow to orange. I was hoping for a bright yellow but it's ok this will do as well. I colled the solution down in cold water.<br />
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When the temperature of both the lye solution and melted oils reached 45C, I added the lye solution to the oils.<br />
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Then I whisked by hand alternately with this old mixer. And the guess what happened? This £4, 3 year old hand mixer decided to die on me. Yes. Right in the middle of the action. Oh kayy. Major disaster. I do not want to be whisking 2 hours straight.<br />
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In it goes into my food processor. I have read that you can make soap in a blender, but there was no way this batch could fit in my blender. So I gambled and dumped the whole thing in the food processor.<br />
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It worked! I reached trace. Trace is when the texture becomes the consistency of pudding. Or susu pekat. When you drip on top of the mixture the drips stays on top.<br />
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Next I added calendula extract, because I am making calendula baby milk soap. Gave it another whizz in the food processor.<br />
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Ok then I poured the soap into a soap mold.<br />
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Looks yummy like caramel. Oh come to think of it the texture was kinda caramel-ish, too.<br />
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I freeezed it. Was trying to prevent over heating because milk tends to heat up and burn during saponification.<br />
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After 48 hours, it was time to cut!<br />
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Done! Luscious handmade soap. My baby's going to be so spoiled.<br />
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Oh, a bit of an anti climax though - we need to wait one month at least for this soap to cure before it can be used! Curing allows full saponification to occur, so the lye will be completely neutralised and no longer caustic to the skin, and also the soap will dry and harden making it longer lasting. Oh man....<br />
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Coming up next - more soapmaking and also liquid soapmaking. Stay tuned!aidafiqs adamiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00428216274042544874noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480925749565643922.post-5091698799816373062013-03-03T14:10:00.002+00:002013-03-03T14:10:55.742+00:00Lavender Calendula Face Cream<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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My face is the dry type and I always need face moisturiser whatever the weather. I am on a mission to find the perfect face cream recipe with the right texture. Recently I made this face lotion - Lavender Calendula Face Cream, and I love it! This lotion is basically an emulsion of oil and water, so it hydrates and moisturise at the same time without feeling greasy. The combination of calendula and lavender smells heavenly! My skin feels great, and I even use it on my body too. I have to say it could be my favourite out of all the natural skincare concoctions I've made so far.<br />
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The only downside is that this lotion, because it uses only a natural emulsifier and none of the synthetic emulsifiers and stabilisers that exist in regular lotions, there is a chance it can be quick to separate back into water and oil. So far I've used it for a couple of weeks and it is holding its creamy texture well. Let's observe for a few more weeks or months to see how long it can last without separating. That is if I haven't used it all up by then...aidafiqs adamiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00428216274042544874noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480925749565643922.post-67133422322172465642013-02-26T10:57:00.002+00:002013-02-26T11:03:09.472+00:00Homemade baby cloth wipes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
I'm 5 and a half months pregnant now and at what you might call a baby-moon stage where I'm somewhat more productive, feel healthy and am probably at the nesting stage too considering I'm slightly more organised than I usually am. Great time to be making something for the baby today, I thought. We have decided to fully cloth-diaper this time. With Adam and Mia, we only partially cloth diaper and didn't have enough CDs for fulltime. This time insyaAllah I am determined to cloth diaper Baby no 3 fulltime. Both my babies are fully toilet trained for a long while now so I have no ideas yet on the latest reliable brands of CD or how to cloth diaper a newborn, so if you have any tips, please leave a comment! I'd really appreciate it.</div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, I was thinking about CDs today and went digging in my sewing room to find anything I could use to make some CDs, maybe. I found this 2meters length of blue cotton flannel. I bought this at Adam's request a couple years ago when I was sewing a bed set for his birthday. He specifically asked for this fabric, 'to make into my selimut', were his exact words, which I thought at the time was pretty smart for a 3 year old because flannel does make great blankets. However I ended up sewing a quilt cover instead for him using another fabric, so this flannel has been sitting in my shelves ever since. I thought it would totally make lovely absorbent baby cloth wipes.</span><br />
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I set out to make full use of every inch of this 2 meters flannel. Afterall you can never have too many wipes, can you, especially with newborns. They pee and poop ALL THE TIME.<br />
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If you want to make these wipes too, basically what you need to do is just fold up the fabric to find the approximate size that you think might be good for wipes.You don't need a ruler at all. Fold up, look at it, put your hand on it to see if it'll cover your whole hand as you wipe and go by instinct. Then cut. They don't have to be exactly the same sizes either.<br />
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I ended up with about 24 pieces of smaller sized wipes which will be perfect for wiping bums and 16 medium sized wipes which can I thought might be nice as burp or vomit cloths too.<br />
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Then all I had to do was serge the edges, and in less than an hour (from cutting to sewing), I was done! 40 wipes in total from 2 meters of fabric. Awesome. I know these will be so useful when the baby comes.<br />
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Adam made 4 of these for me and they look just as perfect as mine. He's not new to sewing. After watching me sew for practically the whole 5 years of his life, he has made his own pants, his own apron, some small toys for himself and even little gifts for Mia.<br />
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Recently he made these pink pillows for Mia's dollies. His idea and work from start to finish.<br />
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Back to the wipes, they would be a great first project for your child if they want to learn sewing and you own a serger.<br />
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I think I remember the flannel fabric being quite cheap when I bought it. Maybe I'll visit Nagoya again and buy some more plain flannels in other colours. More wipes in other colours and also, I'm thinking they'll probably make good absorbent kitchen wipes and swaddling blankets for Baby3. This was a very easy project and gives instant gratification. Try it!aidafiqs adamiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00428216274042544874noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480925749565643922.post-72490615065283445232013-02-20T12:29:00.000+00:002013-02-20T12:29:08.156+00:00Homemade shampoo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
If you read my blog a few years ago, you would realise that this is not something new for me. I tried simple homemade shampoo using only baking soda before. But shamefully, I turned back to regular shampoo after a while. It was difficult to get used to the no suds and no smell shampoo, my hair felt dry at times and I couldn't find a solution for dandruff.</div>
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This time I am determined to try again. </div>
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The recipe is simple - a tablespoon of baking soda to a cup of water. This time I added a few drops of lavender and rosemary essential oils for the lovely smell and these oils help with scalp care and dandruff too. I'm finding it so much better than just baking soda. The rosemary gives it a kind of tingly and refreshing feeling while washing.<br />
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To help with dryness I also deep-condition my hair once or twice a week with virgin coconut oil. I love virgin coconut oil! such a gorgeous smell and so good for hair, skin and for ingestion too. To use VCO for hair I just mix about 5 drops of lavender essential oil to about 1 oz of VCO then use about half a teaspoon each treatment. Sometimes I use VCO on it's own, no lavender. Basically I just massage the oil into the scalp and hair just before bedtime then go to bed. I wash my hair in the morning. Wake up to naturally beautiful luscious shiny hair!<br />
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So far I am loving the new homemade hair routine. If you try this remember to give a few weeks time for your hair to adjust and detoxify. It might feel slightly oily in the beginning. Our hair is used to the SLS and other toxins in our regular shampoo - break up might look ugly at first, literally! Give it time and you can have beautiful healthy locks free of chemicals.<br />
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I have plans for other haircare treats so watch this space!<br />
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As you can see the last few posts have been about natural bodycare. I'm in the zone and if you're not a fan I hope you'll forgive me :)<br />
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I've done a lot of experimenting recently..<br />
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Playing with lip balm colours - all natural colours. In the above picture I used red clay, roselle and purple gromwell in different strength and combinations.<br />
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above : experimenting with different shea butter textures and recipesaidafiqs adamiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00428216274042544874noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480925749565643922.post-77349373310673390802013-02-06T08:16:00.002+00:002013-02-06T08:16:53.540+00:00of lotion bars and body butter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
After the successful makings of the lip balm in the previous post, I made plans to replace yet another bodycare product we use on a regular basis - lotions and moisturisers. </div>
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First I made body butter. This is the texture of the lotion before it was whipped...<br />
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Then it became butter!!<br />
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Gorgeous luscious smelling body butter! but unfortunately after testing this butter for a while, I don't think it'll work. after sometime the texture breaks down to a thin whip cream consistency, and down to oily...this country is just too hot for body butters with no artificial stabilisers or preservatives..or maybe I need to figure out a natural alternative to stabilise the butter texture. Which means more experimenting..which I don't think I mind all that much :) In any case this batch of melting body butter is still very nutritious for the skin so I use it at night on my foot for a moisturising foot rub, and now my dry cracked heels are healing! (I know because I only apply to one foot to compare! haha )<br />
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The lotion bars however turned out great! Looks beautiful too. They smell lovely - lavender and ylang-ylang. I place ours on a small clay pot ( but I imagine it'll look good on a pretty soap dish too ) and use it daily after bath and before bedtime. The ingredients are all natural and suitable for children, and the kids love the night-time massage. To apply we just rub it with our hands to melt a small amount of lotion and then just massage onto skin.<br />
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Goodbye you chemical-full creams!<br />
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And now I'm off to figure out what I should be making next.. :)aidafiqs adamiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00428216274042544874noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480925749565643922.post-31369485341044801702013-01-30T01:09:00.000+00:002013-01-30T01:09:01.436+00:00Beeswax<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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When we were in Cameron, there were a lot of honey products being sold at the markets. In the highlands apparently there are a few honeybee farms maybe because of the lower temperatures up there making it suitable for honey farming. I saw that most of the honey are pure unrefined and some even sell the honeycomb together with the honey. I asked them about beeswax and they directed me to their farm. It's not easy to find beeswax in Malaysia.<br />
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We went to visit a farm and the kids had a blast looking at a real honeybee farm. I went to the farm shop and found beeswax. Their beeswax is pure unrefined and smells deliciously of honey.<br />
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I've always thought about making my own body care products to replace chemical-laden commercial products, and stumbling upon this beeswax has opened up a door. So I started experimenting and made some...<br />
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Lip balms! All-natural skin nourishing ingredients. I've started using them and I absolutely love it! My lips are usually dry and cracked but now they are soft and moist! I'm never going back to store-bought lip balms ever again, I can tell you that.<br />
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Stay tuned for more adventures in natural skin care. I'm full of ideas now to slowly replace the commercial products we use regularly...<br />
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*Beeswax is secreted by honeybee workers and is used to construct their honeycomb cells. It makes a great skin barrier that allows the skin to breathe.aidafiqs adamiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00428216274042544874noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480925749565643922.post-77054225881689897552013-01-28T07:52:00.002+00:002013-01-28T07:54:30.003+00:00I'm back!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Oh my it's been months since my last post. How have you been?<br />
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A lot has happened in the last few months for us. I turned 31 (waaaa!) and Mia turned 3!<br />
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She's the cleverest, cheekiest 3 year old you'll ever meet. Her vocabulary of both English and Malay has grown extensively and quite often what she says are funny, witty and bound to surprise you.<br />
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My boy Adam is a lot taller now, most his clothes are starting to look short on him but he's still as thin as ever. He is homeschooled and very proud of the fact. He's my little homeschool ambassador.<br />
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And there's another little surprise. Notice a, ehem, small 'bump' in the picture above? I'm almost 5 months pregnant! Hello Baby no 3! Wish us luck!!<br />
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*pictures are from Mia and my birthday trip to Cameron Highland a couple weeks ago.aidafiqs adamiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00428216274042544874noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480925749565643922.post-8824769218921800912012-10-15T15:57:00.001+01:002012-10-15T15:57:31.060+01:00Adam's birthday trip - Legoland<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
We didn't tell Adam where we were going for his birthday trip. But he did guess Legoland at one point. Which tells me we made the right choice. He somehow heard about it from the neighbours but told us it was too far and too expensive for us to go. He was thrilled when we arrived and he saw a huge banner for Legoland!</div>
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Mia solat by the poolside :)<br />
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cutting his birthday cake on the morning of his birthday. Thank you Pakteh for the cake!<br />
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Early morning on his birthday. Straight to Legoland. Wearing his new mama-made birthday outfit.<br />
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The kids enjoyed it immensely. There were some height restrictions on the rides, meaning that Mia doesn't get to ride on many, but Adam does pass a few. She didn't have to pay for tickets though, and there were plenty other things to do so I guess it was ok eventhough it was frustrating for her when Adam gets to ride and she doesn't.<br />
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I was really amazed at all the structures built out of little pieces of lego. Everything from Masjid Putrajaya (above) to real size human figures. It was awesome. It could not have come out all made up from the factory. Some geniuses (with a cool job description) must've spent time thinking about the shapes and construction of each of these amazing lego structures. Inspiring!<br />
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going on a wet ride with Adam<br />
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cheeky girl climb over the fence to touch the little lego people ;)<br />
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The whole of Legoland is literally scattered with lego pieces. Legos in the middle of playgrounds. There was a huge hall full of all sizes of lego pieces. Here in the picture Adam is constructing a car to race down the track (behind him). To think, a small tub of lego is so expensive, and yet in this place they are so generous with the legos. It's a lego heaven! nobody checked if your child stuffed some lego down his pants. Lego was everywhere!<br />
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cool runway for kids (and adults) to race their cars<br />
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One of the things I found most clever about Legoland is this: You know in any theme park, there are rides which you have to wait in queue for a long time ? here there have a little 'waiting area' for your children in the middle of the queue and it is full of legos for the children to play with while you wait in queue. As you near the front of the line, there is a small gate where you can fetch your child from the waiting area. Genius!<br />
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The birthday boy was very happy. It was a good trip.<br />
<br />aidafiqs adamiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00428216274042544874noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480925749565643922.post-60605467832759982052012-10-03T11:52:00.000+01:002012-10-03T11:52:05.966+01:00Adam's birthday gifts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Adam's 5th birthday is coming up this Friday. Five! We're all excited, especially him. I made him some handmade birthday presents.</div>
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This is a puppet theater. It wasn't a surprise gift, I let Adam chose a project for me to sew. He loved it and chose all the fabric himself. It's not his birthday yet but we already enjoyed many performances this week.<br />
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I made him a pair of smart pants to fit. He always have a problem with bought pant - if it fits his waist, it'll be too short but if it's long enough for him the waist will be way too loose. Children pants are way overpriced here anyway so as long as he will wear them I shall try to make his pants for him.<br />
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The waist has a faux fly. It opens up but only halfway to allow the pants to be put on. The back has elastic for long-wearing.<br />
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Then I made a red shirt for him. Red's his favourite colour and if you ask him he wants everything in red.<br />
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When he asked me who i'm making these clothes for I told him it's for my 5 year-old friend. He said "I'm almost 5, but not yet. Can I play with your friend?"<br />
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These are not expensive gifts. The shirt costed me next to nothing because the fabric was a scrap from years ago. I only had to buy the buttons (less than 50 sen for all). But it was made with a lot of love and I hope he will appreciate that one day.<br />
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I love you, Adam..<br />
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p/s: we're going for Adam's surprise birthday trip tomorrow! stay tuned for updates soon!aidafiqs adamiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00428216274042544874noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480925749565643922.post-59625621054950594902012-10-02T01:39:00.001+01:002012-10-02T01:39:41.591+01:00Carnivorous plants alert!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A few months ago, Adam came across carnivorous* plants in one of his books. It was just a small section, but it sparked his interest. He asked if we could grow them. To be honest, when he first mentioned this I thought the plants only grow in the wild, possibly rare, not in Malaysia and there was no way we could grow them in our house. But I entertained his request anyway, and together we browsed the internet - videos, websites - looking for more information on them. He is fascinated by these plants and in particular the venus flytrap. It turned out these plants can be grown in the home, and that in Malaysia there is a local carnivorous plant - periuk kera!<br />
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We came across a website - Petpitchers - for Malaysian enthusiasts of carnivorous plants. There is quite a large community there and a lot of information about growing carnivorous plants in our tropical weather. Also, we found a few places to buy them.<br />
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This nursery is called 4ZE plant, in Ampang. The owner specialises in carnivorous plants especially monkey pots. He has more than 100 species here.<br />
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Close up of a beautiful monkey pot. Malaysia is home to many species of this plant. Its mechanism of trapping its prey is by baiting them with the sweet smell of nectar, then the insects will slip on its slippery wall and into the watery pots. The insects are then digested by the chemicals inside it and the nutrients are released into the plant.<br />
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This is a venus flytrap. Adam's favourite. The traps open up, and when a fly/insect goes in, it will automatically close up, trapping the insect inside and digesting it.<br />
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Look how happy this boy was! He walked around the nursery taking photos of everything. An early birthday treat for him :)<br />
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This one is another type of carnivorous plant. I think the name is sarracenia, and its trapping mechanism is similar to monkey pot.<br />
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This Atok was showing Adam around and helping him to choose plants to start off his carnivorous plant collection. He chose one venus flytrap, one sarracenia and one monkey pot. Now my husband and I are not particularly good growers, many of my plants tend to die on me unfortunately, but hopefully Adam can grow these well....<br />
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I was barely aware of these plants before but I think he's got me hooked, too...these plants are amazing!<br />
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*carnivorous plants are plants that lure, trap and digest small insects/bugs for growth and survivalaidafiqs adamiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00428216274042544874noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480925749565643922.post-87831720235958715662012-09-26T03:04:00.000+01:002012-09-26T03:04:08.223+01:00Green HulkThis morning, in the kitchen..<br />
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Adam spilled a whole bottle of green food colouring on the kitchen floor. It was a (green) bloodbath in there. He came over, pale faced and apologised to me. I went to the kitchen, fuming, and started to clean up the mess. The kids hover around, trying to get in the action and stepping on the drops of coloring.<br />
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Me: Kids! Get out of the kitchen please, I'm trying to clean this!!<br />
Adam: nanak mom...<br />
Mia: I want to watch you...<br />
Me: Out please! It's getting worse when you step on it...Adam, go sit on the black chair and think about what you've done! I'm about to turn into GREEN HULK here kids...<br />
Kids: *whispering* oh no green hulk...let's go...<br />
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They sit quietly on the black couch while I clean in peace. A few minutes passed by...<br />
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Mia: Mom...<br />
Me: yes?<br />
Mia: Why you tak turn into green hulk yet?aidafiqs adamiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00428216274042544874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480925749565643922.post-75869316055022109352012-09-19T08:56:00.001+01:002012-09-20T04:44:04.884+01:00Earthworms<br />
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Today he is fascinated with earthworms. We read about worms, talked about worms, watched videos about worms, drew worms, dug out worms. <br />
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In the picture there's an orange paper next to him. He drew an earthworm, a milipede and a centipede. Then he said he wrote a book, 'like my worm book'. He read me his book and this is what it says;<br />
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"'Sometimes earthworms eat dead leaves and dead grass. Centipedes live underground. Sometimes it can bite people. Milipedes live underground too"<br />
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p/s: i apologise for the picture quality. i'm posting from my phone<br />
<br />aidafiqs adamiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00428216274042544874noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480925749565643922.post-38508129021173295182012-09-13T05:11:00.000+01:002012-09-13T05:11:43.918+01:00Knitting lace<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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When I started knitting I was under the impression that you need to be an advanced knitter before you can start knitting lace. Recently I've been trying my hand at it and realise, it isn't much more difficult than knitting anything else.<br />
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This luxurious gold one was made for a friend. It is a small shawlette, coincidentally in a colour that she liked. It knitted up in no time, and gave me the push the knit another one straight after.<br />
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I made this one for myself, for hari raya. I have plenty of this gorgeous<a href="http://mommysknittingroom.blogspot.com/2012/06/fyberspates-scrumptious-lace.html"> Fyberspates Scrumptious </a>yarn (some of which I am selling in my <a href="http://mommysknittingroom.blogspot.com/">shop </a>). It's a mix of wool and silk, and the result is a soft wispy lace yarn, with a lovely shine from the silk. Beautiful.<br />
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Draped it on my shoulder, with baju kurung.<br />
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This one is new, just blocked yesterday. The true colour is more beautiful, it isn't captured very well here. It's more of a pink/purple. The size is generous, the biggest out of the three I've made.<br />
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I was in the mood to knit lace shawls when I started this one. Now I realise I have another one in the same colour, that I started a year ago, but never finished. I'm thinking of selling this one, any takers?<br />
<br />aidafiqs adamiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00428216274042544874noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480925749565643922.post-26431855950761975192012-09-11T03:11:00.003+01:002012-09-11T03:11:42.049+01:00Salam Aidilfitri<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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How was your Ramadhan and Eid this year? Ours was a blissful one, alhamdulillah...<br />
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This year we celebrated Eid at my Atok's (grandma) house in Muar. When I was growing up we always celebrate Eid here with this huge family. It was such a blessing for me to be able to gather with them for Eid this year, brought back beautiful memories of my childhood.<br />
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mintak ampun...banyak dosa ni...hehe..<br />
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Adam, Mia and Sarah, their only cousin...we love you Sarah<br />
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Ramadhan this year I'd done a record amount of sewing. I made most of our Eid outfits, making it a very handmade Eid. Alhamdulillah..the kids love their mama-made clothes and wore them with pride..<br />
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That said, I seem to have lost the sewing momentum now. I had 'Make Adam's birthday gift quickly!' on my schedule today but found myself updating my spiderweb infested blog instead. Huh. We'll see if I can get into the swing of things again.<br />
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My brother inlaw got engaged this Eid, too. Selamat Bertunang Ija!<br />
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Anyway, selamat hari raya Aidilfitri. Good to be back on this blog again.<br />
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(is anybody still reading this space or not i wonder? ha)aidafiqs adamiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00428216274042544874noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480925749565643922.post-41863533726376111632012-06-05T16:12:00.003+01:002012-06-05T16:12:45.339+01:00mommy's knitting room<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><a href="http://mommysknittingroom.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-size: x-large;">mommy's knitting room</span></a></b></div>
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I have an announcement to make. I have just opened a new<b><i><a href="http://mommysknittingroom.blogspot.com/"> knit shop</a></i></b>, selling some of my favourite knitting supplies. I am not a very business-minded person but I want to give this a go, and hopefully both me and my kids will learn something from the experience. A new adventure commence!<br />
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Please come visit and spread the words! Thank you!aidafiqs adamiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00428216274042544874noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480925749565643922.post-71849759660071738782012-06-05T04:00:00.001+01:002012-06-05T04:03:42.198+01:00Camping trip at KLD<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Adam has been asking me daily to 'make fire' and go fishing. He wants to make fire in front of our house! It's about time we take that boy camping. So last week we did. We went to <a href="http://kemlambaiandanau.blogspot.com/">Kem Lambaian Danau</a>, an outdoor camp that usually organises outdoor courses for big groups. The owners are my uncle and auntie, and the camp was empty at the time so we had the place all to ourselves. The camp is at a beautiful location, out in the wild and right next to a big lake.</div>
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*bear with me this entry's full of pictures</div>
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Adam making our tent with Tok Busu and Tok Auntie<br />
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This is the book that inspired this trip. Back when we were in the UK, I found this book second hand at a market. The title is 'The curious boy's book of Adventures'. I was planning to give it to him when grows up, maybe 7 -10 years old? All kinds of interesting things in there for curious boys from camping to hunting to making rockets and writing secret morse code. But Adam found this book and it has been one of his favourite book ever since.<br />
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When the tent is all set up and the fire started, we went fishing at the fish pond next to the lake..<br />
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Adam and his diy fishing pole<br />
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we caught 4 fishes and my husband got the biggest one - 2 kilos ikan patin!<br />
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Adam spent hours tending to the fire. He's been dreaming about this for a long time. He didn't get bored and never even asked for his toys or ipod.<br />
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In the late afternoon we went on the boat around the lake. In the picture Mia is holding some 'monkey pots' plant (periuk kera) that grows wild over the lake. In the background is my cousin who grew up around the camp and is the ultimate 'lake boy'. He was our guide when we were there.<br />
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These trees are big with big trunks but the trunks are hollow and the trees, big as they are, grow floating on the water like lilypods. My cousin said if you're stranded around water this tree is good to find as they make good rafts.<br />
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Then we went swimming! If this isn't 'wild swimming' I don't know what is. The water looks murky because the floor of the lake is mud and there are lots of water weeds floating around. But the water is clean and lovely to swim in.<br />
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there are a lot of treasure to be discovered. Here's an escargot, breeding wildly on the shore. They also found and caught some little prawns there.<br />
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the boys went on a canoe trip<br />
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That night we had a barbeque! those two big fishes covered in foil are the fishes we caught that day...ikan patin..huu sedap! and so fresh. the rest of the fish we kept for masak tempoyak pulak later..pergh..Adam insisted to be the chef. He refused to leave the bbq until all the food's been cooked.<br />
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The next morning we went on the four-wheel around the wilderness surrounding the camp. There are 7 lakes around the back, they used to be mines. From one of the laks you can view Gunung Ledang. We stopped some interesting places along the way. The tranquil lakes made me feel like diving in for a swim! According to my cousin in one of the lakes there's a spot where local village boys climb trees and jump into the water! Sounds like the kinds of childhood I want for my kids. Oh my.
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One of our stops was to the 'Canyon'. This is a natural canyon shaped my moving water. Those holes you see are homes to thousands of little blue birds - Tiong Pasir. This was an amazing experience for us. The place is huge, full of bird holes everywhere. We even found some hatched eggs!<br />
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Mia next to pokok senduduk, picking the flowers and fruits. This plant grows wild around the canyon. You can eat the fruit and it'll make your tongue purple.<br />
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It was only a short trip and soon we had to go, very reluctantly! Adam was crying for a while because he didn't want to leave. We promised to come again, soon! Such an adventure we had. Thank you so much Pak Busu, Auntie and Iwan for your hospitality! can't wait to go again...<br />
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<br />aidafiqs adamiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00428216274042544874noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480925749565643922.post-91860056208784217672012-05-29T09:20:00.000+01:002012-05-29T09:21:13.017+01:00Kekabu chair cushions<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This month I've been making a few of these. A simple square pillow filled with kekabu*. When filled up nice and full it is quite comfortable to sit on.<br />
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The little erm dots(?) you see are places where I've handsewn in place so that the kekabu stays in place all flat and full, and not run around inside the pillow. This pillow will be used for chair cushions.<br />
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The hard part is actually filling up those kekabu because little Mia insists to help and always gets kekabu in her mouth :)<br />
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So when the pillow is ready I make a simple pretty cover then it's ready for use.<br />
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About time I make use of my Cath Kidston fabrics that has been laying around collecting dusts..<br />
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A couple for the chairs in my sewing room..<br />
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and one for my husband's workstation at home. He complained his backside was hurting when he saw me making the other two cushions - cheeky!<br />
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*kekabu is a tropical version of natural cotton.aidafiqs adamiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00428216274042544874noreply@blogger.com2