Commencement of Spring Term 2017/18

Happy New Year!

The fireworks at midnight of 1 January 2018 were good. The kids slept through them all, syukur alhamdulillah. The Other Half and I watched The Hundred Foot Journey to find some light and entertaining source of inspiration and we did! We were kept up till 3:30am by FRU trucks, police siren and dispersing revelers.

The kids resume schooling today and I am really glad to have them back into their routine. The long Winter break was...too long for our liking as we had to stay put. In fact, when we looked at the calendar for 2018, there are many long holidays which will mean increased holiday expenses (staycation, play dates, etc.) and for the sake of my own sanity, I shall try to book some local holidays after I pay off annual insurance premiums. Langkawi and LEGOLAND come to mind.

We had a great kickstart to the long break by arranging for a batik and play date at Little Green Tomato at Persiaran Ritchie. We then went home and swam before a lunch picnic at the deck. At 5pm, we picked up two new bicycles for the kids. According to the kids, that was a perfect first day of holidays.

The Belang Moms then left for their respective holidays and we were left mainly to our own device in Kuala Lumpur. We discovered Kiddomo at Starling Mall, Jurasicca at The Gardens and indisputably the best part is still Taman Tun Dr Ismail's Lembah Kiara Park where we went as often as we possibly could. The only biking break we had was when my 11 year-old car went through a major part replacement last December and I am glad it is still in good service despite the hiccups we have had since 2015. I am not shopping for a new car as I am not ready to take on a hire purchase agreement at the moment. The freedom that comes with being debt-free since 2009 is something I want to hang onto. We shall see. 

Career-wise, I have something brewing and hoping the plan will work. This is perhaps the better timing as the support network and age of children are gelling better than the last few years. Obstacles that only The Almighty can remove had been offered up in prayers so I keep my fingers crossed for the best.

What will 2018 bring, we don't know yet but we sure pray this will be a great year. Bismillah to 2018 and have a great one, my lovelies!

Holiday Plans 2015/6

We were informed by my MIL that our family holiday plans for 2016 have been made, and partially paid for. In sha Allah. 2016! It sounds like a long time to go, right? Lots of prayers required here.

Now that 2016 is planned for, we looked into shorter term plans for 2015 *chuckles*

Our August 2015 plans have also been confirmed and paid for. In sha Allah, we will hunt for organic farms and let the kids ride in a tractor. It is about time they learn about sustainable food source and the science behind it all (without the confines of a laboratory of a formal school!).

The summer holiday is relatively long so we have slotted in a beach holiday too; so let's pray for good weather. Hopefully the kids will be excited to put some effort into turtles conservation come September 2015. The Little Girl was very happy to add Peninsula Malaysia East Coast as one of the places to visit.

In sha Allah, December 2015 is going to be a "repeat" holiday like December 2014, and we hope to improvise on the "weaknesses" from 2014. Innovative parents, with unoriginal ideas of where to go, much. Last week, we asked The Little Girl where she would like to go this December 2015 and she chose a local theme park destination, bless her!

Key points:

1. Instead of a long drive, we will break the journey into shorter sprints with fun overnight stays in between cities. Port Dickson and Malacca both seem sensible as en route points to and fro Johor Bahru. We are keen to try out Grand Lexis at Port Dickson or YTL Malacca. 

2. Instead of 2 connecting rooms, we paid for a 2 bedroom suite. I will be the happiest mum if the washer/dryer at Doubletree Johor Bahru works so that we can pack our suitcases home without any wet clothes from the waterpark at LEGOLAND Malaysia Resort! I will also be sure to order a delicious bowl of laksa Johor before 11pm!

3. Instead of single entry one day park tickets, we bought a two day park and water play with option of multiple exit and re-entry. It is going to be a matter of time we opt for annual tickets for cost savings.

Wish us luck!

Do you also pre-plan annual holidays, my lovelies? Or are you an impromptu/last minute traveller? Please do share!

Legoland Malaysia Resort

I shall not write a review of Legoland Malaysia Resort as there are countless great reviews already blogged about.

Suffice to note this was the highlight of this short getaway for the kids. We had arrived the night before, checked-in late at Doubletree JB and even had to wait for our connecting room (it was a good wait by eating dinner at Makan Kitchen). By the time we unpacked, showered and settled down, it was late. 

The Little Girl was super excited the following day as we were visiting Legoland. We had purchased the single entry one day pass for theme park only so she knew it was going to be "precious". We drove from JB to Nusajaya guided by Garmin without issues.

The parts The Little Girl loved best were Driving School, Boating School, fire truck mission, Santa Got Stuck in the Chimney musical, train ride, Bug, pony ride and playground. She queued patiently and understood to return later if a particular queue was going to be more than 15 minutes.

Bravos to all other parents and children that day. Stellar rating for queuing patiently and orderly. Not a single incident of queue cutting *5 stars*

Bean fell asleep at Miniland so The Other Half and I took turns carrying him while he slept. Every time I leave his Ergobaby Carrier in the car, he sleeps! On me! I am very puzzled as to the how and why. It was hot and humid so I stayed in the shaded pavilion under the fans while waiting for The Little Girl and The Other Half.

The second half of our day was after a popcorn break to wait out a slight drizzle. We then discovered a semi-covered playground! It is a good idea to have built one for days with showers; but humidity issues are not addressed so it felt like sauna under the canopy. We skipped this after seeing flushed cheeks on all 4 of us.

We proceeded to The Castle for a look-see without taking the roller-coaster rides, queued for Star Wars and finally got ready for leaving. We waited for our PhotoAir package by browsing the shops for souvenir. The final snack we ate was to fill our tummies and quench our thirst before driving back to Doubletree JB (with room service for dinner in mind!).

The walk back was a little sad for The Little Girl who had predictably refused to leave. We consoled her with promise of Bob the Builder and followed by shopping at Johor Premium Outlets the following day, and she reluctantly agreed. 

Once we arrived at the open air car park where we had parked our family car earlier, we could feel the heat rising from the ground. There were trees planted, supposedly to provide shade, but unfortunately the trees were not thriving. I suspect it is due to buried rocks and hard soil, making it difficult to root and grow properly. The trees looked like bonsai.

Let's hope that the trees at the car park would have grown taller and shadier by out next visit in a couple of years, in sha Allah. We bet Bean would enjoy Legoland Resort Malaysia a lot more once he is tall enough for the rides. 

The Other Half and I now know to plan and book ahead for a two day multiple entry pass so that we can walk across to Medini Mall for meals and breaks. We may even consider booking into the theme rooms at the hotel itself. In sha Allah, next time.

Thank you for having us, Legoland Malaysia Resort. Bravo for selling apples and mandarin oranges, we especially loved that!

Last Minute Plans

The week is whizzing past a tad too quickly, my lovelies.

Well, it looks like Allah swt is blessing us with a short getaway to the southern tip of our country where more interlocking plastic bricks and discounted/end of season/especially-produced-for-premium-outlets goods can be purchased.

You must already know how much my little family loves designer outlets from reading about our 3x visits in York last summer? Alhamdulillah children are growing and outgrowing their stash of "stock". I hope JPO has enough rides and playground to occupy them while I get to "work".

This mini getaway is a last minute decision. We were pleasantly surprised that The Big School has complete sets of books, uniforms and sports attire so after the visit on Wednesday this week, we need not visit until next year when the academic year starts for The Little Girl. Alhamdulillah for this ease! We have canvas shoes, liquid chalk to whiten canvas shoes and socks too. All that is left to hunt down is a few pairs of black tights.

As usual, our hotel bookings and theme park tickets were completed online (what isn't these days? I wonder if agents still have much to do?). 

I still wish The Other Half would agree to bring along the car registration card and our passports so that we can drive across the Second Link. I have between now and our departure time to convince him. Impromptu drives? Knowing that shops are aplenty along Orchard? The Other Half smells a rat! He would rather spend RM than SGD considering how weak the RM is at the moment. Such loyal subjects we are.

Having said that, I know he has a good head on his shoulders. After all he appointed me as the chief holiday planner and chief luggage packer (I am not printing a list this time, just to try packing for 4D3N by memory). This is a lifetime irrevocable designation. I have my job cut out for me *unless I forget to pack stuff due to laziness and not printing the packing list*

Happy blessed holidays, my lovelies!