Europe Trip - Day 3: Disneyland, Paris

One of the reasons I chose to stay near Chatelet metro station was the connectivity to a few train lines. To go to Disneyland, we had to take RER A train to Marne La Vallee station. This train run above ground. When the train arrived, I was surprised to see that it was a 2-storey train.

Disneyland tickets were bought online for GBP50 per person for adults in conjuction with the 20th Anniversary occasion. Awal2 sampai dah kene pau belon. It was in July so it was summer school holidays in Europe. Summer = too hot. School holidays = quite packed.

Our first ride is the It's A Small World water boat ride. I was quite amazed to see that people just leave their stroller by the side. I guess no one will steal your stroller here. Haha.

After the first ride, we were already so hungry as it was nearly lunch time and we didn't have proper breakfast before. So we stopped for brunch at a cafe and had fish and chips. No pictures. Too hungry.

They had quite a number of actors running around as Disney characters. Here's Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Carribean, which also the name for our second ride of that day. I don't have a clear shot inside the ride. This was also a water boat kind of ride like the first one.  It was a family ride but not suitable for expectant mother. Mind you, I already know I was pregnant that time but my mom said should be okay for me so of course I joined! If it is suitable for a baby, I'm sure I could take it.

Third ride of the day was boat ride. I had no idea why all the rides we went on was water-based. Haha.

 

The thing about travelling with both a toddler and a senior citizen is that you need a lot of rest. By this time, my mom was complaining already. She couldn't walk anymore so we took another break at a cowboy eatery, where there were seats under the trees. We also took the opportunity to perform our Zohor and Asar prayer before continuing our adventure for the day.

After that, we went on our last ride, train ride around the Disney park. The ride suited the situation as my mom was already too tired to walk so we get to see the park without leaving the train. We went down at the entrance. At that time, it was around 5pm. We thought we were just on time to catch the Disney parade but because it was summer, Disney parade only happened at 7pm.

My family didn't want to walk to Walt Disney studios park that was just nearby so we just sat in front of the huge 20th anniversary sign to wait for the parade. Hubby went to buy Starbucks outside the park. I went to get us some sandwich from a cafe. While waiting, mom met some Malaysians who was on holiday so they got talking. I just sat, taking pictures and walked around. Asked my brother try the Space Adventure ride but he refused to go alone. So he spent his time taking pictures too.

Last but not least, the event we had been waiting for. The Disney Parade! There was like 20 minutes delay and I had been standing at the position 15 minutes before 7pm. Oh my legs. To give Tricia a better view, I carried her on my shoulder. Taking the risk of carrying something heavy at such fragile pregnancy stage. But alhamdulillah, adik survived. Strong as the sister. ^_^ It was such a memorable event. We had so much fun although we only managed to go on 4 rides. Tricia enjoyed the parade as I could feel her dancing on my shoulder while patting my head. LOL.

No cash

Let's take a break from my Europe posts and get back to the present. Just now, hubby and I wanted to go out for a drink but both of us didn't have cash with us. Initially, we wanted to go to Dome for the chocolate cake so we could just swipe our credit card there but then decided to just go for a drink in Cyberjaya. Here we were not sure whether we can charge our card especially when our bill might not be more than RM50. Hubby was just about to go in to ask whether they accept credit card when I remembered I DO have cash with me... but it was not mine, it was Batrisyia's.

Funny as it may sound, tonight's drink is on her. Haha. Okay. I'm kidding. I'm going to bank in that cash straight to her account tomorrow. She actually got it for her birthday. But for tonight, we are just going to laugh about how we were running out of cash and our daughter's money was what saved us. LOL.

Europe Trip - Day 2: Paris

First destination was of course, The Louvre, which was a walking distance from our hotel. Somehow it didn't look as grand or as big as the first time I was here. Guess I grew up, huh. Didn't buy tickets to enter the museum as the line was super long and I didn't think my mom would enjoy spending her whole day there. So we took some pictures and walked to Tuileries Garden, all the way to the Obelisque.

After that, we continued walking towards Champs Elysees. By this time, I was too thirsty so I was the first one to break the fast. Other follow suit soon after. We stopped by Starbucks at Champs Elysees and left my mom to take care of Batrisyia there, who was sleeping in her stroller. Went to a few shops but nothing caught our eyes. Tried to look for a bakery shop Mimi brought us to before but couldn't find it. Found a halal shop but decided to go back straight to the hotel to rest. We took the metro back to Chatelet station and found a grocery store on the way back, where we stock up our supplies, mainly water. Rested for an hour or so, had lunch and went back out to Palais Garnier or Academie Nationale of Musique. Tickets were bought online EUR 10 per person. We just had to show our printed tickets to enter. The place was magnificent, simply beautiful that I thought I should bring my mom here. 

Going with my husband means plenty of stops for drinks. So we stopped for a drink at the exit. Walked over to Gallery LaFayette, then off we went back to the hotel again. The luxury of having a place in the middle of town. One thing about this Chatelet metro station is that it has so many exits that we were always confused which exit we came up from every time. This time we found a halal kebab/burger shop nearby our hotel that was opened until late. Bought food for our dinner and went back to freshen up.

Last but not least, our final agenda for the day was going up the Eiffel Tower. These tickets were also purchased online, EUR 8.50 for adult, EUR 7 for student, up to the second level and somehow this is the only slot available for us, at 10.30pm. Went by metro and managed to buy some souvenier T-shirts for the kids at the metro station here. Had a video taken when the lights changed colours at night. Very nice. I think it was done at 1 hour interval as we managed to watch it twice. Once when we were up there. And the next time, we were by the roadside. Took a cab back to the hotel and off we went to dreamland.

Europe Trip - Day 1: KL-London-Paris

I have been postponing to write this post because I know it is going to be a long one. So here goes.  Following a super tiring trip we had last year, I decided that this year, we were only going to stay at 2 hotels for this 8D7N trip, which means less hassle carrying those heavy bags around. Plus, it was fasting month so we might be fasting, if we could afford too and I kept the plan slightly lose once we were back in Britain.

Itinerary

19Jul13(Fri): Depart from Kuala Lumpur 10.05am. Arrive in Heathrow 4.15pm. Board Eurostar from London St Pancras 7.31pm. Arrive in Paris Gare Du Nord 10.47pm.

20Jul13(Sat): Louvre and sight seeing around Paris. 10.30pm Eiffel Tower

21Jul13(Sun): Whole day Disneyland

22Jul13(Mon): Day trip to Frankfurt via train

23 Jul13(Tue): Board train from Gare Du Nord to St Pancras 2.43pm. Arrive in London St Pancras 4pm. Board train to Bristol from London Paddington 5pm.

24Jul13(Wed): Stonehenge and Bath

25Jul13(Thu): Around Bristol. Maybe go see the hanging bridge we didn't get to see last visit.

26 Jul13(Fri): Bristol to London Paddington 11.30am. London Heathrow back to Kuala Lumpur 10pm

Looks all planned out and well. But a lot of things went wrong and sent me topsy turvy all along. Firstly, it took us quite long to clear immigration and reached London St Pancras. We arrived the eurostar station around 7.15pm but what I didn't know was, they moved our train to Paris earlier to 7.20pm. They could have cleared the way for us to catch the train but it was too late when they noticed us. Next train at 8pm was the last train and they could only slot us in IF people doesn't show up because it's full house. Luckily they managed to slot us in. BUT rushing in last minute, we accidently left behind Tricia's supply bagpack, which also contains all printed bookings and my laptop. Frustrated and tired from the long hours of travelling, I gave up. My brother, however, helped me to ask an assistant on board to call the station and because we were the last passengers to leave, they found our bag and kept it for us until we came back on Tuesday. The end of our FIRST chapter of running and rushing.

Arrived in Paris comfortably, took a cab back to our hotel, Hotel Louvre Rivoli, and was excited to see that it was a nice hotel compared to the budget hotel we stayed in during my first visit here when I was a student (I paid through my nose for this one for the location near Louvre and within walking distance to the metro station). I booked a double room for myself and a twin room for my mom and brother. I thought twin room means twin beds but apparently, twin room means separate toilet and bath area with a double bed. Ah, my bad but small matter.
Booked the room initially on booking.com but cancelled that booking and got a cheaper rate directly from the hotel website. EUR 547.20 for the classic twin room and EUR 617.50 for the superior double room.

We rested before we continue our adventure the next day.

What was weird about this hotel was that they didn't have kettle in the room. I found it quite inconvenient as I had a baby with me and I needed to prepare her milk. Lucky the staff was accommodating and boiled us some water in the middle of the night and put it in a teapot for us to bring up to our room. We had our supper/sahur before we went to sleep because subuh prayer was around 2am. Brought along rice cooker, some onions, serunding and sambal ikan bilis my MIL prepared for us all the way from KL so we had plenty to eat. The next morning, I had to trouble the staff again to help us print tickets I left back in London. I was very thankful they could help to print the tickets for us FOC as it was quite a lot. I thought I would have to waste my beautiful morning looking for a cybercafe or something.

The Hunger Games 2: Catching Fire

Last weekend was supposed to be about 3 things: check-up, movie date and attending a wedding. Hubby however, didn't sleep at all Friday night. He forgot about the check-up but insisted to follow anyway, which was very sweet. But after the check up he blacked out for the whole afternoon. Wasted a beautiful day.

Anyway, the check-up confirmed our 2nd baby will also be a girl. As I said, I am equally happy whether it is a boy or a girl. Sometimes I worry if Batrisyia will think/feel I love her less later when her sister arrives. But I hope she knows that this baby is her sibling, HERS. Hehe. We have started referring to her as kakak and she knows she is a kakak. So I hope she is prepared. Anyway, I gained another 3kgs apparently for this check-up. 0kg + 0kg + 2kg + 2kg + 3kg = 7kgs within 5.5 months, which is A LOT. Haha. No. Don't blame the baby. It is 99% my fault. I tend to keep eating and eating with minimal exercise and I had to have RICE. =p Fine... Will watch my diet closely after this. Every thing else is good. Baby's growth on track, enough water, sugar and protein in urine negative. All is good. Next check-up I will have to go to another Dr though because Dr Siti will be on long leave. It's okay. It is just a routine check-up so I can live with that. Hehe.

We went home and slept the whole afternoon. I was supposed to be cleaning the house but now that I am heavy, I feel very lazy to move. So I just cleaned up here and there as I passed by. Woke hubby up nearly 6pm and we went back to Nilai for dinner. Went to Giant to buy stretchable pants and top for myself. Yeay. And went back to Bangi to join Uda and Irna for karaoke session at MyPop Avenue in Jalan Reko. Hubby wanted to go for a quick exercise but stopped by to drop me off first. We warmed up with a few songs and Tricia didn't look like she was enjoying herself so I asked her to follow her father, which she obliged, happily waving bye to me. But 10 minutes later, hubby sent her back with her bottle and her bag. Apparently, they made a move already when Tricia started shouting wanting to be with mummy. *super happy smile* =D She wants mummy. Hehehehehe. After karaoke, we continued our party back home with Kinect. Danced to a few round of songs and we think it was a good enough workout that we cancelled our Sunday morning aerobic. Haha.

Sunday morning, I was complaining to my hubby because he was supposed to take me on a movie date the day before but he didn't. Wanted to send Tricia to Nilai but was told that no one was at home. Didn't have the heart to leave Tricia there without her cousins, especially on a weekend. Hubby, sensing my concern, suggested that we brought Tricia with us to the movie after we attended my junior's wedding in Putrajaya. I was skeptical but went along with the idea. As I have read the book, I could afford to leave the cinema once in awhile and not feel like I missed anything. Hubby picked MBO Desa Petaling, which I thought was a brilliant idea. Firstly, they are not super strict, considering that we had a baby with us. And secondly, it was not as packed eventhough it was the first weekend of screening. No one was sitting beside us and the row in front of us was empty. Tricia as usual was restless most of the time. Finished balance of her milk and kept asking for more, which we didn't have. She went and made a mess with the popcorn on the seat next to us and came back to me full of popcorn in her hair. I took her out to the corridor once... then hubby came out and asked me to go back inside. Seeing how restless she was, hubby took her to buy drink and rota. It kept her occupied for awhile. And the last 15 minutes or so, hubby watched the movie by standing at the back of the cinema while carrying her. So it was a successful movie trip for the first time!!! Congratulations, best father in the whole wide world. Hehe. Mind you. This is our third attempt. First one lasted 10 minutes. Second one lasted half an hour. This is the first successful attempt. So exciting. Haha.

 

About the movie, I felt that it was cramped nicely. Some details were taken out to fit into the 2 hours screening without sacrificing the main storyline. 1) The scene where Katniss had to climb a tree and jumped back when the electrical fence was activated. 2) Scene at the party in District 1 where Heavensbee showed his clock to Katniss as a clue for the game. 3) Katniss not knowing how to use the thing Haymitch sent her until she saw a wet rat drinking from a tree. But all-in-all, I loved the movie. The final chapter to this trilogy is going to be a gory one. Looking forward to watch it later.

2 years old Batrisyia Hana

1) Mummy's little helper

We went to a hotel sometime last month. Before going out again, I couldn't find my slippers in front of the door. Apparently, Tricia went and kept everyone's slippers under the cabinet. Awhhh. Now I'm feeling the benefit of having a girl.

 

2) She loves me

Previously, my husband likes to play with my daughter by pretending to bite her. That same weekend, hubby pretended to bite me. Tricia was looking at me for my expression. When I had no expression, she didn't react. But when I pretended to be in pain, she shouted at her father, and scolded, slapped, kicked him... to let me go. She didn't even shouted that loud when the father was biting her. I am SO touched.

 

3) Cover up

Last weekend, I wrapped myself in a towel while dressing her up. Halfway through my towel dropped a bit, revealing myself. She suddenly said... "Mummy! Tutup!"(Cover up) Wahhh... Big girl already huh. And then, in the car, she was sitting on my lap... I pulled over the seat belt across her and it lifted her top a bit... Then she started screaming... "Mummy!!! Maluuu" Initially, I didn't understand what was happening. Because it was at night and it was dark... What could she be shy about. After a minute or so, I remembered the towel incident and checked her top. True enough, the seatbelt pulled her top up a bit. After I pulled it back down, she was satisfied and kept quiet.

 

4) First hiking experience

Hubby brought her up hiking in Nilai yesterday. Papa said, she was very strong. She walked herself halfway. Then only asked papa to carry her. A very healthy toddler. ^_^ Mummy is so happy with your progress, dear.

 

Quiet weekend in

Saturday

Had a good rest with my tiny little family last weekend. Tricia was again down with fever on Friday so I was up from nearly 4am to 6am to cater to her demands. Was waken up by my mom for breakfast nearly 9am. Mom left so I woke hubby up around 11am. It took him nearly one hour to finally wake up and all the while I was doing (handwash) laundry. 12pm left the house to buy tiles for our house, which is currently STILL under construction after one and a half months. Had Kenny Rogers for lunch at the new Bangi Gateaway. It rained heavily right after so we went back to sleep. Spend the rest of the evening at a relative's house as our cousin was getting engaged the next day. We slept quite late that night as everyone had enough sleep during the day. Haha.

Sunday

Woke up around 10.30am. Continued with my washing a bit then was rushing to attend the engagement do. Hubby and I wore the same shade of colour with the bride-to-be. Haha. Nasib baik sepupu sendiri. Kalau tak, kene hamun dah laki aku nih.

Went back to refresh/rest a bit, then off we went again. I had no idea where we were going that time. All hubby said was we were going for a drink. Apparently, he was taking me to have tea in the Majestic Hotel KL. Awhh. It was really lovely. Everything was sooo... British. Muahaha.

 

I had a wonderful wonderful time dating with my husband. I must be very lucky to get dates even after years of being together. We rushed home hoping to go to Putrajaya for some exercise but as soon as we left the house, rain started pouring down again. So we went back and just chill. I continued cleaning the house a bit, Tricia running around aimlessly, hubby stuck in front of the TV watching some recordings on our PVR. I joined him to watch masterchef US season 4 and then it was already 10pm. I fell asleep on Tricia's sofa for half an hour or so then woke up hungry. Went out for seafood dinner and came back super full.

On the way back, hubby was feeling a bit touchy feely. He suddenly said, he couldn't imagine how my late dad could "let me go". I was a little perplexed with this statement. Let me go? How? He said... You know... choosing the new family over an existing daughter. He said now that he has Tricia, he couldn't imagine letting her go... ever... no matter whoever enters his life later. The bond is so strong, it shouldn't be forgotten just because somebody doesn't like the child around. I was speechless. I wanted to defend my dad a bit but I had nothing to say. Tears nearly formed in my eyes but then a familiar feeling kicked in. I don't need to feel sorry for myself because I am strong. I accepted my life as it is and I am fine. Maybe my dad let me go because it was best for me. He needed a wife and I had my mother. If he kept hanging on to me, I would be destroyed by my stepmom. But all the words didn't come out. I kept quiet, didn't reply my husband a word. Then I turned to my daughter and said... at least no matter what happened, you know he will never leave you.
I must thank God everyday for sending this guy to me. The day he entered my life, I stopped trying to stay strong and I let go. I was free and I was finally happy.

Happy 2nd birthday, my little princess! 10.11.13

I have to admit I went overboard with the planning this time. Last year, we had a small celebration with family members only. I felt guilty for not inviting some close friends over so I invited over 120 people this time, excluding those who told me earlier they won't be coming. I prepared food for 80 people. But sadly, only about 40 people turned up. A lot of food and door gift wasted. I was disappointed. But I guess I learned a lesson. Birthday parties aren't that important so not everyone will turn up. Plus the location is a bit far from KL, which I totally understand. But I just wished people would have told me earlier that they don't feel like coming so I don't have to prepare so much food to be wasted. Especially my side of the family. I expected them to turn up but no one did. Those who cancelled last minute was understandable too. A lot of people was sick last weekend including the birthday girl herself. On the way to PCY, she even puked all over her new dress... Had to put on her spare dress, which is luckily quite nice too, given by her aunty.

That said, I especially appreciate those who turned up. Thank you everyone for coming. And on top of that for the wonderful presents for the birthday girl. She loved them all. Well, at least, mummy loves them all. Haha. I haven't collected the pictures from that day. This is one of the pictures sent to me via whatsapp. Us slaughtering the angry bird cake. Happy 2nd birthday, my little princess. Love you forever and ever. Wish you all the happiness in the world. Muacks.

21 weeks

Woohoo... crossed my halfway mark of this pregnancy. 21 weeks down... 19 weeks to go. Funny my immediate superior just found out about my pregnancy recently when she was the one approving my claims. Maybe she's not aware of what prenatal check up was. When she asked me about my due date and I told her end of March, she said the baby will have a strong character. I was quite blur that time, then only it hit me... strong character like HER! Oh my gosh. If that's the case, I'm gonna have 2 power houses in the house. 1 Scorpio, 1 Aries. That's a handful. Combined with the father's Leo, mummy's gonna have a hardtime handling everyone. But there's still a possibility that the baby will be a Pisces, which has a milder personality, I think. The crossover date is 20th March. Batrisyia was 5 days ahead of her EDD. Since this is my second pregnancy, there is high possibility this baby will come out slightly early too. Ah well, quite exciting to see. Not that it matters or will affect me significantly in any way. I just find zodiac reading interesting. Come out whenever you are ready, baby. All of us can't wait to see you. ^_^

Paramore - Still into you

Our marriage just crossed the 4-year mark recently. And I felt this song represents my feeling about us at this moment.

Paramore - Still into you

Can't count the years on one hand
That we've been together
I need the other one to hold you.
Make you feel, make you feel better.
It's not a walk in the park
To love each other.
But when our fingers interlock,
Can't deny, can't deny you're worth it

 

Cause after all this time.
I'm still into you

I should be over all the butterflies
But i'm into you (I'm in to you)
And baby even on our worst nights
I'm into you (I'm into you)
Let them wonder how we got this far
Cause I don't really need to wonder at all
Yeah after all this time
I'm still into you

 

Recount the night that I first
Met your mother
And on the drive back to my house
I told you that, I told you that I loved ya.
You felt the weight of the world
Fall off your shoulder
And to your favorite song
We sang along to the start of forever

 

And after all this time.
I'm still into you

I should be over all the butterflies
But i'm into you (I'm in to you)
And baby even on our worst nights
I'm into you (I'm into you)
Let em wonder how we got this far
Cause I don't really need to wonder at all
Yeah after all this time
I'm still into you

 

Some things just,
Some things just make sense
And one of those is you and I
Some things just,
Some things just make sense
And even after all this time
I'm into You
Baby not a day goes by that
I'm not into you

 

I should be over all the butterflies
But i'm into you (I'm in to you)
And baby even on our worst nights
I'm into you (I'm into you)
Let em wonder how we got this far
Cause I don't really need to wonder at all
Yeah after all this time
I'm still into you
I'm still into you
I'm still into you

My little family

Took Tricia out yesterday afternoon somewhere in Putrajaya.

 

It's okay to fall baby. Just get back up and keep running.

Pending updates

I have so many travel trips to update but so lazy to catch up.
1) Europe trip - July 2013
2) Raya trip - mid August 2013
3) Busan, South Korea trip - mid September 2013
4) Melaka trips - October 2013

All coming right up... Okay, don't know when. Haha.

Gingivitis and Periodontitis

This is the second time in this pregnancy I am having gum infection. The first time, I thought, it was one of my wisdom teeth acting up. My dentist told me before that because it came up half way, it would cause pain once in awhile. So I lived with it and did nothing about it other than putting on bonjela to the affected area i.e. my lower back gum on the left... down to my left-side of the throat. Swallowing was difficult during that period. After nearly 2 weeks or so, it went away. That was just a couple of days after raya, exactly when we were climbing up Cameron Highland in mid-August. 

Earlier this week, early October I would say, my right gum was having the same symptoms but on the right side. This time, I know it is not because of my wisdom tooth. It must be infection. Other than gurgling with mouth-wash day and night, I did nothing else. But when I told my mom what I was having, she suspected I have Gingivitis like what she experienced before. Consulted my group of friends and the Dr in the group suggested I went for scaling immediately to clean my mouth so that it doesn't breed more bacteria, thus help with the healing process.

So yesterday, during lunch time, I went to a dentist in The Curve. I was not surprised when the dentist told me that I could not do my scaling that day. On normal days, scaling would cause my gum to bleed and is super painful. Now with infection and sensitive gum, brushing alone already caused me to bleed, what more scaling. However, I was surprised when she told me that both sides of the gums were swollen because I only felt pain on one side. She inspected my neck and said my face was also slightly swollen because of that. I asked her whether this is Gingivitis but she said, no... this is Periodontitis.

Although she knew I was 4 months pregnant, she still put me on a course of antibiotics and told me to come again next week. I asked her whether it is necessary. She replied, yes, if not, it won't heal. Haaaaaaaaa. Setting up the next appointment was a nightmare because she insisted me to stick with her than going to other Dr and that I go to TTDI branch instead of The Curve but was told that parking there was difficult. Her timing and mine clashed and she scolded me for not wanting to take time off from work to come for check up and bla bla bla. I am so going back to my old dentist in Setapak next week. 

Met mom that night and told her it is not Gingivitis but Periodontitis. Expecting she would say the latter is not as bad as the former but she told me the opposite. Periodontitis is worse as it is now affecting my bone. Urgh... Bad news. Mom checked with her friend to ensure that the antibiotic is really safe for pregnancy and was told that it is. (She doubted my dentist. Haha.) But she still asked me to continue massaging my gum and use mouth wash, instead of taking the antibiotics first. I agree with that. I'll give it more time as I can live with the pain at the moment and I don't need to take the pain killer yet although it is also provided. If I can survive labour contraction, I definitely can survive this. Haha. Byk pulak dugaan this time round.

Progress so far

Our baby's progress so far: 6 weeks. Right after I came back from UK, I had cramps like period pain near my lower abdomen. I knew it was probably due to travelling stress. Scheduled my first appointment with Dr Siti around 8 weeks and being the busy Dr that she is, I couldn't move my appointment forward so I went to Klinik Wanita Taman Tun in TTDI just to be extra sure that everything was okay.

 

8 weeks: First appointment with Dr Siti! I missed her. Haha. Was so proud to answer her that this pregnancy was planned and not an accident. Did pap smear test and everything was cleared.

13 weeks: Second appointment with Dr Siti. Did blood test. Result to be given at next check-up. Couldn't believe baby was so big already. Some bones already formed. No wonder mummy felt knees a bit loose again. You have been taking my calcium storage. Baby was moving actively during ultrasound. Wahhh... another active child we have here.

For comparison purpose, my weight before pregnancy was 56kg. Now at 16 weeks: 59kg. I have been eating to my heart's desire and stopped my gym workout, which explains the rapid weight gain. First month of pregnancy was fasting month so I didn't gain weight considerably during that time. When I entered my 2nd month, I turned into a cookie monster and had to constantly eat all the time. Now in my second trimester, I am more stable... could go on hours before another meal. However, I have been frequently forgetting to take my supplements =_= bad mama.

Not only that, I have been drinking too little water and last week I thought I feel a funny feeling when pee-ing. Went to the Dr to test my urine and luckily no infection whatsoever. Colour was a bit dark so need to DRINK MORE WATER. One more thing, I just found out, the sharp pain I felt in my lower abdomen when I sneeze is called Round Ligamen Pain.

Gift from God

Hubby and I had been talking about expanding our little family for awhile. We talked about it and took into consideration future travel plans. Since my younger brother graduated this year, there will no longer be scheduled UK trips in the near future. Mom talked about going to Umrah early 2015 because that is when her current contract ends. I asked her if we can go early 2014, mom said she couldn't take that long a leave while being employed.

Hubby, being the fatherly figure he is, wants to have another child soon. I asked him whether we could delay the plan for another year... i.e. 2015 after we got back from umrah or whether he would still prefer to go ahead with 2014. He said 2014 sounded better. Actually, my mom (especially) and I are not for having kids close apart. I personally think I won't have enough energy, attention, affection to spread between 2 very small children. But hubby thinks he can handle it and let's face it, he handles the kid more than I do most of the time. After much thinking, I agreed to go ahead with his plan... Planning for a 2014 baby.

It goes well with my "list of achievement before crossing 30-years-old" or lack thereof. At least, now I have another item on my list. Having 2 babies before 30. As we all know, my CFA is nowhere near completion. Work... as I just moved to a new department, I had to start from below and it's kinda demotivating to see my "juniors" progressed faster than me. So I have nothing else to look forward to. And since family gives me as much happiness as anything else in the world, why not focus my achievement here!

So after the hustle bustle of the first half of the year, we decided to cut loose and not think about "family planning". We went on a short weekend getaway in Cherating and 2 weeks later...

Even it was not an accident, to be honest, I was still quite shocked to find out. Haha. The pattern was the same. I called hubby to our bathroom to show him the test result. When I asked him to look inside the bathroom, he replied "Pregnant lagi?". His responses. =_= Haih.

We expected to get pregnant maybe 3-4 months down the road but Alhamdulillah, we were given the gift earlier. Allah works in mysterious ways and we are definitely blessed and happy to be having a baby again. Be it a boy or a girl, we will be equally thrilled. Please pray for our safe journey and hopefully it will be as easy as my first one was. InsyaAllah, we will try our best to be good parents to our children as they are truly Gift from God. My expected due date is (EDD) 24th March 2014.

Laundry funny story

Came back from our weekend getaway in Melaka last night. Since Tricia was restless and hungry for milk, I rushed back home before I managed to pick up the laundry from the shop. Hubby, who was on his way back, offered to pick the laundry up for me. He came home with a plastic bag full our clean clothes and... someone else's ironed clothes. I called him to bring the shirts to me, inspected them and saw that they were clearly not ours. I asked hubby, "can't you see they're not your shirts". Hahaha. Men...

Lucky the laundry shop was still opened and we managed to get our clothes back. Since we didn't lose our shirts, I think the incident was really funny. Hahahaha.

Cherating 29-30 June 2013

Finally, my one of my long overdue posts. After a hectic first half of the year, hubby and I decided that we need a break. We booked one night stay at The Legend Cherating Beach Resort, via booking.com about a week earlier. Quite last minute, I would say. We chose that resort because it is the "nicest" with reasonable cost. The "nicest" was supposedly ClubMed Cherating but I went online and it costs RM4,000 for a one night package. Okay. Too much.

My friend warned me that the room was so so only. I arrived at the reception area and it looked nice. Our chalet was the furthest from the reception area so it was a bit of a walk. Room was a bit outdated so even with low expectation, it was a bit disappointing. I took pictures of the room but hubby deleted it from his phone so too bad I can't share it here with you. But when I open the balcony door, it was the view of the beach. Spontaneously I said, "I forgot why we came here". It was not for the room but for the beachside serenity.

It was quite late when we arrived. We went to a nearby seafood place for dinner but menu was limited because apparently they just changed cook. Food was again so so. After dinner, we went for midnight walk on the beach near our room. Tricia was having problem walking on the sand because it was too soft, she found it difficult to walk on. So she insisted on being carried all the time.

We slept through the night and morning. Didn't go for breakfast even though it was included in the package. Went for lunch buffet at their restaurant facing the pool. Food... nothing to brag about but service was oh-so-slow. When we asked for the bill, the waiter came back and asked us did anyone quoted any price to us before. Like what the ??? Kept telling us the lunch buffet was quite expensive but didn't tell us how much the total cost was. When we asked from another person, assuming their manager, the same thing happened. The manager asked us whether anyone quoted us the price before. I was so scared hubby would lose his patience but luckily he didn't. Did we look that sloppy that they think we couldn't afford the price? Should have at least told us before we started eating if you are that worried we couldn't afford the bill. 

All in all it was a nice break for us despite the initial scare when we forgot to bring our baby's milk powder. =p So much for being a pro-traveller. Lucky we managed to find a supermarket that was still opened before we arrived at the resort. Haha.

New finance minister in the house

Last weekend hubby gave me some money while he was driving. Tricia was sitting in between us. When I was holding the money, Tricia took it from me, handed me one piece of RM50, and gave the rest back to her father. T_T [No need to give mummy a lot of money. One piece is enough.] Pffttt, papa's girl...

Picked up my mom and bro and headed to the curve. On the way there, Tricia called each and every one of us to count together, "Papa, Mummy, Cacik, Tokma... One... Two... Three... [until] ... Ten! Yeayyy" When my brother cheated, not counting and playing with his phone instead, Tricia shouted his name and we had to start counting all over again. Oh gosh, princess.

Selamat Hari Kemerdekaan, Malaysia!

Selamat pagi semua dan Selamat Hari Kemerdekaan Malaysia. Travelling around the world makes me appreciate the fact that I am truly blessed to be born and raised here. I love the peace and harmony so let us cherish and nurture it.

Today's post will be about my family. I know I still have a lot of backlog to catch up but I think it is important that I capture this emotion right now. I want to express my deepest gratitude to my in-laws. Without them, Batrisyia's upbringing would not be the same. She is now a very happy, comfortable little girl, despite being a very demanding, hard-headed one. 

Months before she was born, there was news that my office would be moving to a new building and there would be a nursery there. Not wanting to burden my in-laws, who already had 4 grandchildren that time, I looked forward to the move and bringing my baby to work with me. The only set-back I worry about is the closing time of the nursery which is supposed to be 6pm. With my working hours, it is just impossible for me to leave the office on time. But the move got constantly postponed so we had no better choice but to leave Batrisyia with my in-laws. However, today I believe that this is God's better plan for us.

Currently, Batrisyia's most favourite persons are: 1) Atok (Her grandfather) 2) Papa (Her own father) 3) Daddy (Her eldest uncle). All of them triumph over me. Am I jealous? Not really. Here is why. I know my working hours is longer than most people. Factoring in commuting time, I only have a few hours a day to spend with her. So most of the time, she spends it with her other family members. And these few favourite people must have treated her with love and attention that resulted in her loving them so much. So while I am away, she must have been loved. So what do I have to complain about?

When I come back late, her aunties and uncles at home will take her out, buy stuff or toys for her and treat her like their own. She has many sets of parents and she doesn't mind it, as long as she is having fun. Seeing her growing up with her cousins in a positive family environment makes me happy. She thrives, she grows, she learns. She is getting bigger and wiser day-by-day.

Plus, at the end of the day, I will always come back to her. She will always go to sleep with me by her side. She knows my love for her is unconditional that she can always come back running to me and I will forgive her instantly. She knows when she needed someone to comfort her, I will be there for her so that for me is enough. I am fine not being her Most Favourite Person as long as she knows how much I love her.

To my most special family, I am very very blessed to have found you. You guys are God's gift to me. Not just my one and only husband, but the whole family. I love you guys to bits.