3 day weekend_2

The 2nd of a 3 day weekend (18-20 Dec). Friday was a public holiday (Maal Hijrah) and Najib's wedding (anak Makcik Perlis) was on the 19th.
Hubby did a last minute booking at Bukit Merah Laketown Resort. Original plan was to look for cheap hotels between RM60-RM150 at Kuala Kangsar since the intention was only to stop & rest. Ended up paying RM300 at Bukit Merah thus we should make full of use the facilities, shouldn't we... We reached Shah Alam at about 10pm to pick up BIL and reached Bukit Merah at about 2am. We stayed at Laketown Service Apartment Room 6217. The notice on the block were hopeless as it said the room was at 1st floor whereas it was at 2nd.
Day 1
7.15am Noticed BIL gone. Possibly didn't want to bother us when Pipi came to pick him up at about 4am. My kids were up too so i told them to freshen up. Kasyif was excited exploring the new place so we went down to walk around and have breakfast (included) at Colours Restaurant.

Kids (my kids) still in pyjamas..hehe
7.30am Saw a father and daugther went for a swim at the swimming pool next to Suria Apartment. I thought the pamphlet says pool is open from 9.00am to 7.00pm? Another misrepresentation and i think Bukit Merah should do something about it! Do not give your guests wrong information, it shows the level of your professionalism!!!

7.45am Had breakfast at Colours Restaurant. Simple breakfast with the usuals.

After half an hour, i went back to apartment to take the swimsuits while the kids waited at the playground near the pool.

8.00am Attending the kids at the kiddie swimming pool. Kasyif didn't want to be hold! He thought he's big enough to be left in the water alone!.... Had a swim at the adult pool later on, have to shed the extra kgs as well as the more kgs would be gained at Perlis/kenduri nanti!...

11.00am Left Bukit Merah for Taiping. As promised by hubby, we would drive around Taiping before going to Kuala Sepetang. Wanted to have Doli's Char Kuey Teow & Ansari's cendol but both were closed. These 2 places brought back memories to hubby as he was in Taiping for 3 years while studying at ITTM. ITTM is now known as MMU and there's no college at Taiping anymore. More about Taiping in another entry. Head for Kuala Sepetang at about 1.45pm.

2.00pm Reached Mak Jah Mee Udang Banjir. We got there just in time before the heavy rain started. Excited to try the dish everyone was talking about. More about Mee Udang in another entry. The wow was the XL prawns, the noodles is nothing special but edible.

3.00pm Left Kuala Sepetang and heading for Perlis.

4.45pm The traffic came to complete halt on the way to Gurun just after an exit i couldn't recall. Hubby decided to reverse the car until the exit (dangerous attempt but had to) and so were other few cars. Just in time before a police car came in to control the situation, or else we would be stuck. There were 2 derailed trailers between Gurun and Pendang. Hubby really made full use of the iPhone with its locator application when we were using the 'jalan lama'...

9.00pm Finally reached Jelempok and starving. Didn't notice were were on the road for nearly 12 hours! And that didn't include the 4 hour drive the night before from Bangi to Bukit Merah... Hubby must be very very tired.....Pity him...

Day 2

7.45am Followed MIL to Makcik's house to say 'hi'. By right, relatives should come and give a hand to help and prepare the kenduri. Luckily Jelempok still practices the 'helping hand' system known as 'syarikat', a group formed to help out kenduris. Left the house 5 minutes after that... :-)

12.00pm Went to Makcik's house with SILs and kids. Helped to prepare fruits for 'meja pengantin'. Had nasi kenduri for lunch... I really like nasi kenduri in Perlis. Plain rice served with beef either cooked as kari/kurma, kerabu/salads and chicken either plain fried or 'goreng berempah'. Sometimes they serve sambal belacan which goes well with the dishes. Makcik also served 'udang goreng with kacang panjang' instead of chicken. Wow! That would be considered lavish in Johor. I guess prawns are in season and easily available in Perlis at the moment.... Also tried laksa which was served to guests who decided not to have rice.... Sedapppp....
4.00pm Went back after the kenduri seemed quiet with guests.

5.45pm Hubby wanted to go to Kuala Perlis. Errr...haven't we just had kenduri today? There must be leftovers and yet we are eating out? 'Makan ringan-ringan je' he said, implying we should just order light meals e.g 'sotong goreng tepung'. Just Irdina & Jasmin in the car.

On the way to Kuala Perlis

7.15pm Still waiting for our sotong, ikan jenahak bakar, kailan ikan masin and mentarang. Don't ask me what happened to ordering 'light meal'. Will write about this eating spot in another post.

7.45pm The 2nd group joined the feast. Nurun, Anis, Dek Mi, Pipi & Harith and A Oun. Ordered another 1kg sotong and gerut bakar for them.
7.55pm The 3rd group in Wira parked nearby. Waida and Fazli. So 8 adults and 4 kids...meriah!
8.30pm Left Kuala Perlis. The 2nd group would be sending A Oun to bus station (he was going back to Shah Alam at 9.30pm).
That was Day 2.

Day 3
Nothing much on Day 3 since it was a travelling day. Left Jelempok at about 2pm. I couldn't stay awake lately, dunno why. Woke up here and there but noticed there were lots of cars. Detoured at Tapah since the traffic seemed bad and unmoving (IPhone to the rescue).
8.00pm On to Sungkai exit and i dozed off (sorry)...stopped by at Behrang for quick dinner. Dozed of again...
12.00 midnight Reached home...pity hubby....

My dearest kids, Happy Birthday!

16th December was chosen to celebrate the births of my children this year. Irdina is 7, Jasmin is 5, Kasyif is 1. Since I combined the 3 birthdays, i wanted to put more effort in organizing a fun party and i have my maid to help out.

The party food. The birthday cake.

It seemed like a chaos at first. 12.30pm and i was still climbing the ladder hanging the decorations. I just dumped the mini sausages, crab balls and chicken wings in the oven while i start frying macaroni at about 1pm. I was still cooking when some of the kids came at 1.45pm (the invitation says party starts at 2pm). The cake was not picked up yet and my appointed helpers (my 2 teenage cousins) were no where to be found!

The good thing about kids only b'day party is you don't have to put so much effort on the food and they are easy to please. I've arranged a craft station at the porch so i just asked the kids to make some crafts (cutouts prepared earlier) while i went to fetch the cake.

The craft station.

I was happy to see some of the kids explored their creativity at the craft station and looked forward for the games. I arranged for 3 games: musical chair, throw/catch ball and 'who am i'.... The prizes were simple, Mamee snack/Double Decker/Sunmaid raisins and winners get to be crowned. I was happy that i decided to make the crowns because I saw they really liked the crowning part more than the prizes.

The ladybirds made by guests.

The crowning of the winners.

Peeking at the cake.

Most of all, i was happy to see my kids were happy with the party. They appreciated every single effort that i did. From the decorations, the rearrangement of furniture, the making of fancy cookies (which they helped).... they kept on saying "bestnye! tak sabar nak birthday party!".....They were excited to peek at the cake i picked up that i had to chase them out of the kitchen and asked them to wait in front.

21 goodie bags using brown paper bag, labels and gold ribbons.

Organizing birthday party for them is more than just for fun. It tests whether you are in tune with your children and understand them. Mothers may be excited when the goodie bag, the prizes and table cloth match the overall theme. But what children are excited about are the content of goodie bag, the games and the cake. I asked my children's opinion what to get for the goodie bag. I asked them to help me out on the decorations and fancy cookies. They asked a lot of questions and i tried to explain the best that i can. So it was more than just organizing for fun. I actually spent some of my time with my children and noticed how little time i've spent with them before.

Things to remember for next party:
1. Kids are indifferent about party food, so don't put too much effort on it. Make simple stuff and can be prepared a day earlier. Or just buy frozen ones...
2. Cake, games and goodie bag. The 3 things essential to kids for a good and fun party.

The treasure chest full with goodies.

25 cookies made 1 day earlier.

3. Take time to prepare and put a budget. It's easier when you have a budget and knowing the limit you can spend. Divide the budget into cake, goodie bag, deco and food. It is a lot cheaper if you make the deco yourself. Buy manila cards, search for ideas on the internet. The party doesn't have to be full with expensive decorations, just colourful to bring out the party atmosphere.
4. Don't panic if things not going as planned. They are children with low expectation...except on cake, goodie bag and games!.... Just apologize and move on....And have fun!...

So regardless of your budget, party is meant for fun. Focus on what is important...you kids that is!...

3 day weekend_1

The first of 3 day weekend (11-13 Dec) was quite packed with fun activities. Friday was a state holiday for Selangor (B'day Sultan Selangor) so i managed to complete 'to do' list for the children's birthday party next Wednesday....
Day 1
10.45am Went to Pustaka Rakyat at Seksyen 7 to buy stuffs for prizes & crafts. They liked the stationery store and i liked it too. Managed to find playing cards at RM1 and interesting short ruler at RM1.80 as goodie bag gifts.
11.30am Irdina said she's hungry. Oh dear! I didn't noticed it was near lunch time! So we made a quick trip to Kedai 1.99 and Yummie Bakery before we went back to have lunch. Oppsss, we need to order the cake first, kids.....
12.30pm Went to Segar Bakery at Sek 4 tambahan to order the birthday cake. The first time i put some thoughts on the design. The kids chose edible images (I chose Upin & Ipin for Kasyif) and ask questions regarding type of cake and costs. Do you know that there is a butter cake/butter cream, butter cake/fresh cream, you can mix 2 flavour in one cake, have them layered like kek lapis, and add RM2 if you want a square cake rather than round? A 3 tiered cake starts from RM200 because for a normal 3 tier: 3kg, 2kg & 1kg, each kg costs roughly about RM30++ and that doesn't include the deco yet. OK, so we decided on a rectangle chocolate/vanilla with 3 different edible images on a 2kg cake. Hmmm, can't wait to see the outcome!
1.30pm Since Irdina was pressing me to go bowling, i planned to go to Alamanda to do some food shopping for the birthday and play bowling. I asked the kids to have lunch first and take a nap before we go. They didn't have their naps though....
3.30pm Reached Alamanda and went straight to bowling centre. All lanes were occupied due to tournaments and only available around 11pm....OK, bowling cancelled and so let's do the shopping. Dropped by the amusement centre opposite bowling and indoor playground next to Parkson Grand to ease the children's dissapointment.
4.45pm Started shopping. Decided on raisins, double decker, London Choco roll and 2 other junk foods...all x2 packages. Crab flavoured ball, mini sausages and another balls, chicken wings. Cancelled on drink cartons, the brown bag could not handle the weight.
5.50pm Reached home to cook chicken soup for hubby.....And this was Day 1....

Day 2
Hubby was not around in the morning. I finished up some craft projects for the party.
1.30pm Hubby came home from work at UiTM. Decided to go to Mines since Irdina pressed him to go bowling. He suggested Mines boat trip after bowling.
3.00pm Left home for Mines.
3.30pm Went straight to bowling centre. Saw Crocs SALE banner on the way. I had to resist myself....(kids first, kids first...)....Alley not available so put name on waiting list (maybe availabe around  5.00pm... Woohoo! Crocs Sale, here i come (luckily the venue was near to bowling centre)
4.45pm Kasyif was restless and so we went out before i could find a pair for myself. I did buy one for Kasyif.

4.50pm Played bowling

6.15pm Went for Mines boat trip (South Lake). Couldn't recall the exact price but it was quite pricey to me (considering the plain views offered). Maybe Adult RM20 Children RM15...

6.40pm  Hubby + Irdina + Jasmin went to the 'animal park' since it came free with the boat trip. I didn't go since Kasyif was asleep. So decided to go up to Level 5 for the Crocs Sale again....Unfortunately it closed at 6pm... Maybe i was not meant to be wearing Crocs...sob sob.......

8.00pm Left Mines and asked hubby to drop by Minlon to survey for sofas. Found an attractive set at a whopping RM5,400 before discount of 30%. The distinguished feature is the sofa has curved arm rest. The drawback is the colour and the metal legs. If i want to change the fabric (to purplish) and only take the 3 and 2 seater, the guy qouted me RM4,400. How come? RM5,400 (for 3+2+1) at 70% is only RM3,780...that means change of fabric would cost me extra but the guy didn't highlight me.... Luckily i was only surveying....

End of Day 2

Day 3

I went for a fancy cookies decorating class at Seksyen 7. Found Loveliana website here. Only 2 participants including me. Paid for RM150....ok for beginners like me as all were hands on. It could be costly to some since all you do is simple cookie baking and simple decorating. As for me, the opportunity couldn't come at a better time since i'm thinking of making some as goodie giveaways for the coming kids' party. To order would cost me 20 cookies x RM3 =RM60. Paying RM150 would need me to bake about 3 times to break even with RM60. Later i'll calculate the actual cost to make 20 cookies.

The other participant, Marina from Ampang. Nice girl.....

The result of my work.

The kids followed me and excited watching the cakes & cookies.

Hari Raya Aidil Adha

This year is Perlis's turn. Went back on night of 26th Nov (Wednesday around 7.30pm). Stopped by McDonalds drive thru (after Sg Besi toll) for dinner on the go (there goes my diet! But i couldn't resist the curly fries that came with the relaunched Prosperity Burger)....
Journey was silent (because i slept!) as kids was sound asleep by Rawang. I woke up at Simpang Pulai and didn't sleep after that. We reached Jelempok around 1.30am. My hubby can really stand the long drive all this while and i have been impressed. I would look at his face while he's driving and appreciate his stamina.Got me thinking what if anything happens to him or when he gets old? Thus i savour every moment whenever he drives back to Perlis because you'll never know when you'll not be able to have such efficient journeys. No breaks and get us there within 6 hour drive....woohoo!...

Jasmin started to pinched her nose...

Watching the event taking place....

As my eldest has started to learn about our religion, for this Hari Raya Haji i asked her whether she wants to see a cow being slaughtered as korban? Suprisingly she said yes and so i explained to her what korban means....The simplest explanation I could think of 'kerana apabila lembu itu disembelih, dagingnya kita boleh sedekahkan kepada sesiapa yang memerlukan. Dan Allah akan sayang kepada orang yang suka bersedekah'. I vaguely overheard my husband explained about Nabi Ismail & Nabi Ibrahim but not sure whether she could understand 'sacrifice' in that context..... Anyway, i could see Irdina growing up with lots of questions in her head.... And i have to be ready to educate her the best that i can.....

Dengan nama Allah.....Bismillah......

Skinning the korban....

Year end activities_Ana Montessori

Ana Montessori organized a Sports Day on 7 Nov and a concert on 21 Nov. Jasmin participated in both events. I think she enjoyed participating unlike when she was 3 where she refused to join. Maybe due to her age, she has now grown up and learning to be independent...most pics on sports day are on my hubby's IPhone.... here are some from the concert.....

Lining up waiting for instructions from the teacher.About to start the pom pom exercise

Jasmin and friends as dancers at a Malay wedding. I think she likes the dance very much. She watched the video on IPhone quite a number of times.

A budding dancer?

I'm so proud of you!.....

To note_Tiara Beach Resort PD

Although this month is December, i still want to include this which took place in May (Labour Day). This was planned to reward our eldest for being good at going to school. She's very shy and it took about 3 months after she started Standard 1 for her to get used to her new phase of childhood...

We reserved a 2 bedroom apartment with Mari Mari.com for a night. Paid about RM200++ (include breakfast) and invited my brother in law and family to join us.  We went to Teluk Kemang first in the morning before checking in at around 2pm.

Posing at the banana boat.

Teluk Kemang during holidays was packed with visitors.

 

Playing with sand                                           My kids with cousin, Damia

The place is not so bad i would say. The accomodation was basic but liveable. There was a 4+1 dining table and a kitchenette, convenient for families who likes to prepare simple food like sandwiches. There was a living area with a TV but reception was bad. We could see the adult pool from our unit.

 Artificial beach with sand

Kasyif wants to join the fun

The kids' slides.

One of the bedroom                                                             Happy faces

Finally, the living room. Slept like a log....:-)

 Recommended for families with small children.....