End of Confinement

44 days served!

Celebrated by buying nursing tops (yay!) and feeding Bean directly instead of pumping (double yay!)

Full Moon Package

Preamble: This is NOT a paid post.

In fact, none of my reviews are sponsored, as I believe in writing independently and honestly so that I am able to share reliable information after testing or using the products and services first hand.

Today's post is about a catering company (with an online presence) that comes with a reliable team of customer, kitchen and delivery service.

I found them via Google and could not be more impressed by its delivery of promise.

I rang Citarasa Uniq customer service number given on its web site. Unfortunately, no one answered it the first time so my mobile service provider cut me off after x number of rings.

However, within seconds, a mobile number rang my number. Hesitantly, I answered (thinking that it is one of those pesky insurance or credit card companies). Luckily, it wasn't!

It was Citarasa Uniq customer service staff who returned my missed call. She was concise, polite. Good product knowledge and quick with best option available. A dream customer service staff *applaud!*

From then on, it was all so simple.

In a gist, here is what I did:
1. Discuss full moon package items - all their food are certified halal.
2. Finalise booking and sum payable.
3. Provide name(s) of child(ren) and parents; delivery address/date/time.
4. Pay online and SMS them the receipt number.
5. Citarasa Uniq staff delivered the items to the address provided at the time and date specified, complete with complimentary card bearing the birth announcement.

For slightly more than RM300 purchase, I was given a complimentary delivery to one address within Klang Valley at no additional cost.

Now that is a breezy, easy peasy full moon party pack a mother in confinement can organise in less than an hour without leaving the house!

Reviews from my ex-colleagues on the food: YUMMY! They were especially grateful that food arrived on the dot, for lunch. Bliss!

Full Moon Celebrations

Cannot believe how quickly light and dark merge into 28 days in just a few naps and seemingly endless diaper changes and feeds.

Bean is coming of age in 2 days!

I have placed the order for halal full moon party pack (luncheon) with Citarasa Uniq. They also have package for aqiqah parties, if you are looking for one.

Bet you can guess by now that I am culturally and genetically Chinese, and Muslim by faith?

Truth be told, I am also making up for my tardiness back when I had The Little Girl in 2010. 

This time, the full moon party pack will be  for both Bean and his elder sister...like a mini ratification/repentance to redeem myself *erase guilt for good*

Why didn't I do it last time?

My main excuses is that I served my confinement days at The House back then, had limited online access and a much tighter budget as a new stay at home mother. No rezeki?

By the time I wanted to and could place an order, it was a bit too late as the deadline for order came to pass too quickly. Again, no rezeki?

My bad. Totally.

So this time, opportunity has presented itself to make good the double joyous occasion, and alhamdulillah I am able to share both the food and good tidings with those close and dear to us.

Here's to Bean: Blessed Full Moon, son! I love you more than I can ever express in words and action. May you grow healthily , wisely and handsomely! 

Last but not least to The Little Girl: happy belated full moon, darling! You are and will always be loved dearly. No one can ever replace you. Every time you smile my heart grows that much bigger (the reverse is true when you act up or throw a tantrum, I feel like my heart had broken to smithereens).

Oh syukur alhamdulillah for these two amanah...and I pray that both The Other Half and I will be showered with more grace and patience in raising these two beautiful souls on the Right Path for His Glory and Purpose. 

Amin!

Second Pregnancy: Recliner

The most expensive seat in our living room comfortable recliner for my pregnant body.

 

We bought ours at Harvey Norman, IPC, Malaysia a few months ago (as a present to me) to sit comfortably whilst being pregnant and soon to be breastfeeding again, in sha Allah. We saw many other models from many other shops but found this to be "the one".

No regrets! This is now my "go to sleep solution" when the cramps and aches get in the way of a restful slumber, especially at night.

 

Comfort: Buttery soft leather with the right lumbar and neck support. High back to suit relatively tall people in this household.

 

Recline Angle: Follows body contour and weight. Love how simply this works with your own body weight (increasing, in my pregnant case) and has no buttons or pedals (easy for handling when breastfeeding).

 

Childproof: No sharp bits, no sharp angles. No loose hanging bits. We have a 3 year old at home, remember? Soon to be born Bean who will eventually be crawling and exploring too, remember?

 

Care: Easy to maintain with soft wipe and full range of leather care products.

 

Price: Very reasonable since you cannot measure comfort, sleep and safety in terms of $$$!

Second Pregnancy: Diaper Bag

The Skip Hop Onyx Tile is on my hunt list at the moment. I love how it is single strap, easy to loop over the Maclaren stroller, has 9 easy to use fairly roomy compartments, washable and reasonably priced.

When purchasing a diaper bag, I consider factors like dirt management/laundering after using it at public diaper change stations, nursing rooms that may not come with hooks, stroller friendliness when you need both arms, lightweight construction etc.

I guess I must learnt something useful since my last pregnancy.

With The Little Girl, we first used a Nike Gym bag (single strap, washable, lightweight, large compartments) but eventually outgrew it when the ranks of solid food, toys and books joined the "cargo".

Eventually, we upgraded to an actual diaper bag from Carter that was large enough to store the works (could have included the kitchen sink if we wanted to) but the larger the bag, the more I carried. That resulted in achy shoulders, for sure!

 

Now, I have seen the actual Skip Hop Onyx Tile bag and LOVED it, but me being me, I refused to purchase it there and then because the shop assistant was "not the least interested in selling anything that day".

However, I can just imagine going places with this design and oh, the places we could go with it! Fashionably at that!

A mother of two sure can dream, yes?

So...

 

Which is your favourite diaper bag?

 

Would you purchase anything from an unfriendly shop assistant?

Squishy Homemade Playdough

The Little Girl loves playdough sessions in the afternoons.

 

After purchasing a Playdoh kitchen set with tubs of a few colours, I started experimenting with a few homemade playdough recipes.

 

The best that I have come across so far was published in The Star, Star2 Family Section at page 6 on 25 April 2012.

 

It is really easy to make, cost effective and has the best texture suitable for Playdoh play-sets (neither too soft nor too hard).

 

Skill Level: Easy

 

Time Required: 1 hour 30 minutes (including prep and washing up time)

 

Stuffs You Will Need:

1. Mixing Bowl
 

2. Whisk/Mixing Spoon
 

3. Ziplock Bags
 

4. Cookie/Bento Cutters/Rolling Pin/Tray/Playdoh Play-sets (The limit is your imagination, really!)
 

5. Food Colouring (I use Apple Green, Egg Yellow, Cochineal, Orange, Rose Pink, True Blue and Fortuna Red for variety - and only a small drop for each batch! I also mix colours to get new colours - red with blue equals purple, you get the drift.)
 

6. 1 cup of boiling water
 

7. 1 cup wheat flour
 

8. 1/2 cup salt
 

9. 1 tablespoon cream of tartar
 

10. 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

11. 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence (for fragrance, omit if you like)

 

Steps:

1. Pour the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl.

 

2. Add vegetable oil, (vanilla essence), and carefully pour in hot boiling water.

 

3. Whisk the mixture until it clumps like mashed potatoes. Let it cool for about 10 to 15 minutes.

 

4. Remove the slimy dough from the mixing bowl once it is cool enough to be handled. Sprinkle some flour on flat, clean surface and start kneading. Add more sprinkles of flour if necessary. Stop kneading when the dough no longer leaves a sticky residue on your fingers.

 

5. Separate the dough into small, fisy-sized balls. Press a small hole into the middle of a dough ball and add a tiny drop of food colouring. Take care not to add too much food colouring as it will spill out and stain your fingers! To control the amount/ease of dropping the food colouring, measure the liquid using a pipet or short straw. 

 

6. Fold the tinted part of the dough into the ball. Keep folding till the colour spreads evenly.

 

7. Repeat Steps 5 and 6 with different food colouring.

 

8. Keep each playdough colour seprately in ziplock bags.

 

Ours keeps for up to a month if sealed properly.

 

We discard used playdough after each play session for hygiene reasons, especially if there has been a playdough playdate.

 

Here is to hours and hours of fun!

Belated Greetings

*oops*

I have been busy, really!

*smiles*

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Year of the Snake it seems. Do you know that I have snake phobia? That is how much I avoid "ulala celebrations". Thanks to ASTRO for making snakes look like croissants, I now look at French breakfast delights minus the carbo-lust.

I will not be using any free entries to any reptile farms either.

By the way, I stopped reading and believing in zodiac and horoscopes many years ago when I learnt about self-fulfilling prophesies/started taking The Holy Bible a bit more seriously. I was semi-obsessed with the horoscope, zodiac and feng shui theories in my teens and had many books for reference.

 All of these books were recycled when I was baptised as a Christian. Further, my practice of not believing in those "new age" stuffs was confirmed when I discovered the Al-Quran. I now regard feng shui like architectural concepts for comfortable and safe living (especially with kids around) instead of placing objects for luck and wealth.

Yes, I was so jahil. I hope Allah forgives my past and accepts my repentence.

Islam does not prohibit the celebrations of new year itself. It is encouraged for families to still gather for reunion dinner (just consume halal food and drinks). Ang pow, if given or accepted, is best regarded as an act of charity/sedekah. It is better to give than to receive *aren't you pleased to hear this?*

The intention/niat is very important. By all means, get together as a family and celebrate being together in harmony. Not more than that.

Things we did this year to introduce The Little Girl to Chinese New Year:

1. Fed her quite a lot of mandarins and tangerines.

2. Gave her an ang pow.

3. Hosted a reunion lunch at home and invited a close friend over.

4. Attended a celebration lunch with close family friends, complete with halal yee sang salad.

5. Dress her in a qibao on first day of Chinese New Year.

6. Participate in play school Chinese New Year open house.

So, again, Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Happy Valentine's Day to those celebrating it.

(JAKIM issued a fatwa that it is haram for Muslims to celebrate this event. I love how true it is in Islam that every day is a celebration of love! Before you jump to conclusions, Read source here.)

With that, I will end this post by wishing you love every day *big smile*

The First Gift

I had the first challenge of looking for the right present for the woman who already has everything - Z's mother - when I was invited "home" for dinner on Chinese New Year Eve on 24 January 2009.

I had to get her something extraordinary and really did not know what to make/cook/buy.

When I saw this pot of orchid, I fell in love with it and hoped she would like the simple gift. Dinner went well, she liked the gift and you all already know the rest of the (hi)story.

Guess what? The same pot of orchid is still flowering to this day!

What did you bring as a first gift to your significant other's parents? Do share!

The Gift Hunt

Hello October!

It is time of the year to shop for Dada's birthday present. If you think it is hard to shop for man, wait till you have to shop for the man who already has everything.

We cannot give him Patchi again because we have always given him Patchi. Maybe a Tiger Woods golf merchandise? Where do they sell the hardest Sudoku puzzle books? Sigh!

Any other original and good ideas that don't cost a bomb? Share!