Way to go Daniel!

He has done it again! Daniel and his teammates made it to the final round and won. They would be representing the state of Selangor in Projek Warga (I forgot the complete title) at the National level at USM Penang in November. I didn’t attend the presentations held at Grand Blue Wave Hotel in Shah Alam last weekend at his request. He said it would be too nervous for him to present in the presence of his parents. So we obliged.

There are 20 students in his team, 8 presenters and 12 researchers. He was the first presenter. He said his teachers were so happy they cried. I hope this is not the first time the school had won something otherwise I could have made a huge mistake sending him there instead of St. John’s. His team worked on “kes pecah rumah” as their case study. There were actually two categories, English and Bahasa Malaysia. He originally wanted to be in the English team but due to overwhelming response from the students he was not selected. He was heartbroken when he was turned down at first but then he decided to join the BM team instead. It amazes me to learn that more students wanted to be in the English team instead of the BM team. I guess in this particular instance, we have come a long way in elevating the standard of English at school. He did make the right move though, the English team didn’t make it to the final.

For a treat, I took him to 1Utama yesterday to savour Chocolate Fondue at Hagen Daaz. Truthfully, I am craving for it more than he did. So it was a 2-in-1 treat, for him and for me. Him for winning, me for giving birth to him...huhuhu. After feeding Sophie, the 3 of us, Daniel, Ariana and yours truly (Kyle couldn't join us as he was in school) made a short trip there just for the Chocolate Fondue. I also bought him a new Adidas Chelsea T as a treat for job well done (to compensate the fact that I actually wanted to have the fondue more).

Before….



After….


The verdict: not as good as what people had been saying and blogging about it (could you believe that I actually did some research about what other people said about it before I actually went for it? I know, I can’t believe it either!). The strawberries were sour, the green apple was also sour, the cake didn’t taste good (even Daniel said that he could tell that it was a cheap cake) and they even put chipsmore cookies too. I mean come on, for RM63++ they should at least make some effort to bake or buy some homemade cookies instead. But the 2 kids had fun dipping in the melted chocolate. The chocolate and the ice cream were yummy though. Nonetheless, this will be my first and my last. The moral of the story is, don’t believe everything you read in the internet!!

Chocolate Fondue asides, I am happy that my son has done his school proud. It is a great achievement indeed. Keep it up my son, momma is so proud of you!

P/s: Daniel, but this doesn’t mean that you could get away with EVERYTHING.

When the world comes together

It takes a great icon to bring people around the world together for a single cause. Princess Diana and the Twin Towers had done it. And yesterday it was the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. The world is mourning his sudden demise.

What amuses me is the fact that a death of a Pop star takes so much interest amongst the people that 90% of status updates in Facebook yesterday were about his passing. CNN and BBC were running updates on his death almost non-stop with coverage from all over the world taking center stage to even President Obama's meeting with his German counterpart and the conflict in Iran. News about his death still floods the media today. People are saying nothing but praises about him.

That got me to thinking, why is that only after someone had died that people starts to remember his good when he was otherwise taken for granted? He was almost forgotten in the last decade or so except for his court cases, his financial trouble and his extreme and bizarre transformation. Suddenly after his death, we are singing praises about him. I guess we will remember people for their good than their bad, which is a noble thing to do. I hope when my time comes, I will be remembered for all the good things I did and for what little mark I left in this world especially in my children's lifes; not the nasty stuffs (not that I’ve done any huhuhu).

In the news today, it was reported that all his records were sold out in Malaysia, even those when he was still performing with his brothers as Jackson 5, amazing huh?

He is said to have died a Muslim. If he really did, being a Muslim myself I feel happy for him, Alhamdulillah. May Allah bless his soul in barakah. Al fatihah.

Greatest source of inspiration

It's official…after 9 months Sophie has ditched her crib. She has settled for a more comfortable and bigger bed; and thus become a permanent bed-mate to hubby and I (sigh). This does make a certain activity a little harder than it already is. But what to do, life must go on…

She is going through a major teething phase. Her gum is swollen so badly (I could see 4 teeth coming out at once) that she bites everything she could grab. So I forgive her for wanting to sleep with me for some comfort at night.

This one-of-a-kind baby has survived against all odds since the day she was conceived. I have not mentioned this in my earlier post that merely 3 weeks after she was conceived, a cyst (that I didn’t even know I had nor did I know that I was pregnant) has ruptured in my ovary. Oh you can’t imagine the pain I had (but of course it wasn’t as painful as labour pain). During examination it was also found out that I was pregnant but doctor feared that I may have lost the fetus because of the ruptured cyst. But guess what, she survived! She’s a fighter from day 1.

She is also different in every sense from my other kids. She could still turn into breech position on the day she was supposed to be delivered, hence the emergency c-section. At 9 months, she could climb her high chair and stand up on her feet; none of my elder children has done that before. She prefers adult food than food specially made for her. And she seems to like boys more. When she sees boys (of any age), she gets excited. Not a very good sign eh?

You know what, I could go on and on and on when I write about my kids. I have such great joy writing and telling stories about them to the world. They are my source of inspiration that keeps me writing like an energizer bunny. Sometime I wish that I could post more pictures, unfortunately, I don’t have that ‘canggih’ camera like the one my friend owns (you know who you are!). So I have to settle with words instead.

My partner in crime and my faithful shopping companion has ditched me! Of late, Ariana has been refusing to accompany me whenever I go out to the mall, do groceries and run errant. I feel like I’ve been dumped by my own daughter *sob* *sob*. She only wants to tag along if I’m willing to take Sophie along too. Needless to say, shopping is not as fun like it was before (which is good news for hubby).

My second son has been persistently asking me to update my blog every day. He said reading my blog is such a joy to him and much better than reading magazines and books (even better than his favourite Mr. Midnight series he said). When I explained that I don’t have the time to write between cooking, sending them to school and taking care of Sophie, he suggested that I stop cooking altogether and spend all the time to write instead. Hmmm….this shows that he loves my writing more than my cooking! That doesn’t reflect very well on my cooking talent (if what little knowledge I have could even be classified as talent lah), isn’t it?

Well, in my defense (of my not-so-impressive cooking ‘talent’), I guess he loves reading the articles because they are closer to his heart. He reads about his life and things he is familiar with instead of about other people’s stories in totally different circumstances. It does make me feel good though, at least this blog has served its purpose - entertaining a small audience.

I say sometimes word speaks better than action, but picture definitely speaks a thousand words...

Kyle Harris the Water Boy

After only 3 swimming lessons, my second son could finally float head down in the water. He is on cloud nine and very contented with his new skill. My boy who was a little bit aqua-phobic is finally beginning to love the water. And I am so proud of him. Way to go my son!

Taking a piggy ride behind his sister's float to swim. I am pretty sure that he would be able to swim without assistance in no time.

He first developed fear of water when he was pushed into the swimming pool by one of his brother’s friends a few years back when we were still staying at our old place. That one horrifying incident had left a mental scar. Thank God he managed to overcome the phobia before it was too late. I would like to take credit for this, for I have successfully managed to persuade him to join the class….way to go mommy!

Now that I have helped my son overcame his fear, perhaps I should work on mine too. I too am an aqua-phobic. I don’t even dare to submerge my head into the water, more so float! Now that he is learning more and more skills, the role has reversed. He is suggesting that I sign up for a swimming class too. But I think I am too old for that lah…particularly when swimming instructors are generally of the opposite sex. Momma is malu-malu kucing huhuhu.

This reminds me of our trip to Redang Island last year. I had a near death experience in the boat on the way to the island. The wave was so strong that I thought that the ferry was going to capsize bringing us all down with it. I can’t remember how many verses from the Quran I have recited repeatedly in silence thinking that I was going to die. I even shed some tears out of fear – fear of my impending death in the water. I counted the number of safety jackets and it was obvious that we had more passengers than the jackets. If the boat were to tip over I would surely die, but I would do my very best to ensure the safety of my children even if I have to kill some people in the process.

After the trip I vowed that I will never ever take a ferry ride to any Islands ever again. We’ll settle for air travel instead… A lesson well learnt.

Daniel the Magician

My eldest son is now officially a magician. He has performed at a birthday party, a wedding and now an international level equestrian event…and made some money out of it too. Here are some snap shots of him in action.

Big D being swamped by curious kids

Another one...

Taking a break


I didn't see him during the first two days when he was on duty. He said the best audience was a group of mute and deaf students. They were so amazed by his so called ability. Best of all he said he felt good entertaining and making a few groups of children from orphanages happy and all excited with his tricks. They made his day.

For me, I am glad that he took up the challenge. It's a splendid exposure for him to learn and be more confident in public speaking. This weekend he will be presenting a case study to a group of professors from USM. He and his team mates is presenting his school in a project aimed at exposing young students to do research and public speaking. His main task is presentation (he's the key presenter). I am so proud of my Big Dan.

Keep it up my son!

Happy father's day!

On Sunday, we celebrated father’s day in tribute to the most important person in the house - PAPA. Why most important? Because he brings home the moolah... and also because he’s the reason for my kids’ existence (besides moi of course - it takes two to tango lah).

My husband woke up early as usual (he’s a morning person, the opposite of me) – had his coffee while reading newspapers after his Subuh prayer. He played with Sophie and bathed her before we left for Putrajaya. Isn’t he just wonderful? I love you baby…

This year we celebrated Father’s Day at Pullman Putrajaya. We decided to have lunch there because Daniel was performing his magic tricks at Putrajaya Equestrian Centre in conjunction with Premier Cup 2009. He was the official ‘street magician’ entertaining kids with his two other friends from Friday evening to Sunday, thanks to my sister who organized the event. Thus, we wanted to drop by to watch him in action.

Father’s day buffet brunch at Pullman wasn’t so bad, but wasn’t that great either. There were not many varieties to choose from but the food was relatively good. Service is almost up to the standard. Halfway through our meal Ariana and Kyle Harris were invited to make father’s day card which they happily obliged. About half an hour later they were back at our table without the cards. I was wondering why did the hotel staff kept the card when it should be given to my husband. 15 minutes later, my curiosity was answered. Ariana and Kyle Harris won the first prize (we didn’t even know that it was a contest). We got a free 1 night stay with breakfast for 2. Not bad eh? Congrats kids, great teamwork. Daniel couldn’t join us for the lunch because of his prior commitment.

Here are the cards Ariana and Kyle Harris did (and won) for the contest.



As usual, any trip to an eatery place would not be complete without Sophie poo-pooing halfway through our meal. This little girl would poo-poo every time we go out to a mall, without fail. I guess she likes the idea of going to public toilet! She is at the age where it’s hard to keep her lying still to put her diaper on. She would turn the minute we put her down and try to get up on her feet immediately. Sometimes even when I am breastfeeding her, she’d try to get up and try to breastfeed standing! For this reason, I have to start buying pull up pants instead of the conventional disposable diaper (and they are more expensive, sigh!).

So imagine the challenge to wash her and put her diaper on in a not-so-convenient Malaysia public toilets. And why can’t they equip male toilets with the facilities too? At least the father could help change the baby instead of the mother being the one who had to do it all the time. WHY???

I applaud some retailers like Parkson who goes to the extra mile to equip their stores with baby room (that fathers are allowed in) complete with partitioned and covered area for breastfeeding. Some not-so-smart retailers like the Japanese counterpart, have it too but do not have covered breastfeeding area (hence fathers are not allowed in), not so smart eh? What if a single father needs to change his baby? I guess Malaysia is either still ruled by a group of chauvinists (who think that only mothers can and should change their babies) or people who live in caves all their life.

At the end of last year I went to Bangsar Shopping Centre (a place where they have more expats than locals) for a birthday party at the kid’s floor (a newly renovated floor just for kids). Sophie, did her thing as usual and needed a diaper change and guess what…they don’t have a toilet with baby changing facilities. Not deterred, we went out to the smoking area when there was no one there smoking (yes they have a smoking area on kid’s floor instead!) and changed her. After that I needed to breastfeed her, and of course they don’t have a breastfeeding area. I wanted to swear at the people who designed the facilities…some stupid moron!!! So what I did was I asked for a comment book and left some nasty comments about their lack of judgment and common sense. Way to go mommy!

I once worked in a top notch privately owned museum (owned by a Malaysian billionaire). The museum is relatively unknown to locals but quite a popular spot amongst tourists. They have an impressive lineup of staff from all over the world conserving and documenting the priceless exhibits. I am talking about a building that was built with the finest material imported from all over the world and even the master craftsmen were specially brought in from as far as Iran and Turkey to work on the details. But guess what the toilet is not even equipped with baby changing facilities. It only last me 6months there. I simply can’t work for people who are more concern about their building than the welfare of their staff and the visitors.

It seems like I have deviated from the original topic…eheh. I’d like to take this opportunity to wish Happy father’s day to all fathers out there especially to my dearest husband, abah (my father) and bapak (my FIL).

I say Malaysia still has a long way to go when it comes to baby friendly facilities…

A year and going stronger?

My little baby Sophie turned 9 months yesterday. This month also marks the first anniversary of me being a full time mom. I quit my full time job to be a (temporary) full time mom in June last year. Wow…time flies really fast. It’s been a year already! I hope to go back to work in 2010. I have another 6 months to put my feet up before I put on my power suit again and join the ‘dead people walking’ regiment next year…huhuhu. I’ll get back to this point later.

My little ray of sunshine was born on Nuzul Quran last year. She has plenty of nicknames; amongst them are Chopie Lopie, Chopie Doppie, Epie, Effie, Pea, Pea Pod (as in Pea-in-a-pod) and Choppie Chop. But I always insist that she is called Sophie (although I myself call her Pea most of the time).

Baby Sophie can now sit on her own unsupported and stand up with support. The minute she woke up in the morning she would find her way to stand on her two little feet. We have adjusted her crib to the lowest position and raised the side bar to prevent accidents. 13 years ago we had a little accident when Daniel fell off his crib when the crib bar was lowered down. It was his first attempt to stand on his own and he fell off the crib after he successfully did so. After that incident, I’ve became paranoid each time I leave my kids in the crib alone.

She could wave good bye too (with two hands though) and her appetite has increased significantly. She takes more solid food these days and depends less on my breast milk for nutrition. She still refuses to take formula in a bottle plus I don’t have a heart to stop breast feeding her either. Hence, I didn’t try hard enough. In fact, each time I stopped breast feeding each of my kids I cried like a mad woman. I always felt like I was losing the special bond we shared, the way God intended. I breast fed Daniel for only 4 months (and I regret it very much), Harris for 10 months and Ariana for a whopping 22 months.

At 9 months, she still wakes up at least twice at night for feeding. And yes, I am still pretty much a zombie. She has developed a new habit lately, she prefers to sleep with me and my husband in our bed. This whole sleep-with-mama-and-papa phase started when we were travelling in the last couple of weeks. She has been sleeping in our bed for more than a week when we were in Kedah, Penang and Pahang. But I try not to get her used to the idea. I need my space and my bed!

Each of my first 3 kids slept (mostly) with me and hubby in our bed when they were babies up untill they turned approximately 1.5 years old, even though they have their own crib. The crib was reduced to an accessory in my room. But for this little baby, I was determined not to allow her to be a huge and effective contraceptive method for us. I have succeeded so far but of late she is beginning to dislike sleeping in her crib perhaps because she has gotten use to the idea of sleeping in a bigger and more comfortable bed, not to mention next to mama and papa. I hope this is just a short phase.

Now back to my point about going back to work next year. A friend recently asked through FB (isn’t it the greatest invention ever?) how it was like being a full time mom. In all honestly told her that I enjoyed it at first but now I am starting to lose my mind already. I credit FB and blogging for keeping me sane all this while. Perhaps I need to channel my boredom into something more fruitful like looking for more freelance jobs and taking up more extracurricular activities. But then again, frankly, I am just too lazy to make the extra effort. That’s what being at home for too long can do to you. You become lazy to start something new and get out of the comfort zone.

I wonder how other moms in my shoes feel. Do they feel and experience the same withdrawal syndrome or it is just me?

Salahkah ibu mengandung?

One of my ex-colleagues had just delivered her first baby about a month ago. However, instead of enjoying motherhood for the first time with her bundle of joy, she is said to be experiencing post partum depression coping with her newborn that seems to cry non-stop. Been there, done that…

Of late, my husband has been going around preaching to his friends and colleagues that they should get their wives to quit their jobs if they wish to have ‘happy’ babies. We have 2 children born when I was not working and 2 when I was working full time. I guess this fact does make us credible when it comes to this recommendation. We make a good case study.

Case 1: Daniel was conceived during my last semester at Purdue. I was 5 months pregnant when I graduated. I didn’t start working until he was about 10months old. Notwithstanding the 1 month of crying due to colic, he was a really happy baby. Smiled/laughed a lot and was really easy to care for despite my lack of experience with babies. Always a healthy child and never been admitted to a hospital.

Case 2: Kyle Harris was born when I was still attached with the first company that I worked for. A company full with a bunch of not-so-highly educate but long serving men. It was so darn hard dealing with those chauvinists. In short, I wasn’t a happy pregnant woman then. Harris was born with a major tantrum from day 1 till this very day. He was also born with a congenital eye problem which still troubles him till today.

Case 3: Ariana Suraya was conceived when I was working under the toughest boss ever on top of an unbelievably busy working schedule and quite a long distance travelling to and fro work (not to mention the heavy traffic jam!). I was really miserable when I was pregnant with her. She was born a cry baby (she cried for the first 2 months non-stop) and seldom smiled/laugh when she was a baby. She always looked sad when she was a baby up until she turned 1. She could easily fall sick and has been in and out of hospital because of her asthma problem.

Case 4: After we conceived Sophie, I decided to quit my job. I wanted to have a stress free pregnancy since my husband could support the family without my income (which was peanut by the way). I quit just before I entered into my 3rd trimester (wanted to leave earlier but decided to finish a project that I started before leaving for good – so the last 3 months on the job was relatively stress free). It was the best decision I’ve ever made. Sophia Amani was born a happy baby. She loves to smile and laugh, easy to handle and such a joy to our family. Never had a major cry episode since day 1. She seldom falls sick too. In a nutshell, she is the best baby we’ve ever had.

Given the scenarios, I strongly believe what mothers experience and sense throughout her pregnancy, particularly in the third trimester when the baby’s brain cells are developing rapidly, is crucial for the baby’s wellbeing and character. Babies feel what their mothers go through every day – anguish, frustration, sad, content, merry, etc. etc. And I believe that these emotions affect the babies’ mood even in the womb itself. I think the above cases speak for themselves.

In my own experience, I also believe it influences their intellect too. Two of my children who were born when I was experiencing stress free pregnancy seem to be smarter (at least at their infancy stage). The one that was born when I was under tremendous pressure seems to have the lowest IQ (based on my observation – again, this is during their formative years).

If these were true, I feel bad for my two kids. Salahkah ibu mengandung?

Nevertheless, arguably it could simply be a coincidence (or destiny)… One thing for sure Allah knows best, wallahuwa’alam…

Travelling again!

We are travelling again tomorrow! This time to my in-laws’ place in Jengka, Pahang. I dread having to drive again when the fatigue of last week’s travelling still hasn’t weaned off totally. This week has been quite a busy week for me too. I’ve been taking the kids (including little Pea, she enjoys outing at the malls) out almost every day to shopping malls. First it was Ikea/Ikano, then Mid Valley and lastly Sunway Pyramid, all because I was too lazy to cook…hehehe. When I am not in the mood to cook, the result would be a disaster. So I better keep away from the kitchen for the time being.

And today, I did something good for a change. Instead of going out and spend money unnecessarily, I helped the needy, thanks to my neighbor Izza who started this noble effort. With the money a few of us contributed, we bought necessities such as rice, sugar, canned food, detergent, flour, cooking oil and lots more for an orphanage and youth rehabilitation center. I feel good with what I did and I promised myself that I shall do that kind of stuffs more often. A day well spent.

Tomorrow, I am meeting my ex-colleagues for lunch. I have been planning to meet up with them for quite a while but timing was always a factor. School holiday is a perfect time to meet as I don’t have to ferry the kids to school. Then, we will leave for my in laws’ place in the evening, hopefully before the evening rush starts. Oh my, I realized that I have been going out every single day this week. No wonder I am dead tired.

Going back to my in laws place is not exactly a holiday for me as I would be busy in the kitchen the entire time. Being the only daughter in law, it has become my official duty to be the humble cook. Thank God my in laws are not that picky when it comes to food, it’s quite easy to satisfy their palate. I pity my sisters in law as my side of the family is very particular about food. In fact, my two elder brothers are cook themselves.

You know what, I still haven’t finish the two books that I bought last month. I just didn’t have time to read. I dedicate what little time I have to FB. I need it to cure boredom and loneliness. My gym plan also hasn’t materialized. I blame my FB friend for it, she is unconsciously discouraging me by saying that she has to lug and drag herself to the gym every day. Being a good wife, I don’t want to waste my husband’s money if I think I couldn’t do it. That’s a good enough excuse isn’t it?

In the meantime, I am trying to devise a plan so that I don’t have to cook this entire weekend. Perhaps a short trip to a nearby attraction would save the day. My wicked mind is working overtime today.

I say a good daughter in law does not necessarily have to be good in the kitchen. But winning the in laws' heart through good food is definitely a short cut…

What's in the food?

I have reached yet another major milestone…my eldest son is now noticeably taller than me. It is only a matter of time before my second son will follow suit. At 13.5 years old, Daniel has yet to reach a major growth spurt, nevertheless he is slowly towering me by day. He now weighs 69kg (hard to believe eh?), way heavier than me. Once he reached puberty, I think will look more like a sister to him than a mother(in size that is). He now fits into my husband’s size whilst I could share apparels with my second son. Harris now weighs 40kg, close enough to my weight. I find this rather hard to believe…what have I been feeding these kids?

For mothers who don’t have boys, you wouldn’t believe how much food they could consume. Despite being extra cautious with what I feed them (and they being picky eaters), they still gained so much weight and grow so big. Harris is far bigger than kids his age. You wouldn’t have guessed that he is not even 9 yet, he looks more like an 11 year old boy. Ariana is also tall for her age even though this little princess eats scarcely. Sophie is my only child that will most likely inherit my trait – petite in size and will most likely grow up to wear size 4 shoes like me. At 8months old, she’s quite small for her age and still wears shoes newborn size.

Yup, I wear size 4 shoes, the smallest you could find on the shelves. When I was in the States, I shop for shoes in the children department - nothing in the adult section fits me. When I was shopping for my wedding ring (also in the States), the salesgirls was so surprised to see my tiny fingers that she had to call her colleagues to join her in ‘admiring’ my small fingers. Perhaps they have never seen fingers so small on an adult. My ring had to be altered to fit my small fingers. Now that I think about it, it made me feel like a circus freak. But after four kids, trust me, they are not that small anymore…

How could a petite person like me have such tall and big offsprings? Perhaps I have a recessive tall and big gene in my chromosomes, or is it the food? All 4 of my brothers are really tall; in fact they are much taller than my parents and even my husband. My second brother and my immediate younger brother are easily 6-footers. My sister and I on the other hand are really short. We are both barely 5’ tall. I don’t think that they got it from my husband’s side either - they are all only average height people. So it must be me – both in my genes and what I feed them at home.

I say it’s hard to control our kids’ weight even when we cook the healthiest food at home… The so-called healthy food stuff like fresh milk, cheese (which are coincidently my children's favourite) and what not are actually major culprit. I wonder what’s in the food being served at school canteens...

Kids with the wits

During our short vacation in Penang, I tried (very hard indeed) to snap a few family photos. We never had a proper one since Sophie was born. The usual suspects (read: the boys) were making the session a not-so-pleasant experience, although we finally managed to snap some good ones. At one point my husband had to intimidate them by threatening that we won’t move from the place until they smile for the camera.

Looking back, it was kind of funny. Getting four kids to cooperate is close to impossible, over and above a maid who lacks photography skill. Hence, it took a while to achieve what my husband and I were hoping to get.

Here are some photos that we managed to capture…not perfect but good enough for our standard, given our limited resources.









Here are few more examples of how hard it was to make my kids cooperate...







Some shots of Sophie having fun in the pool...





Being determined that I am. I will keep trying to snap more good photos from time to time. I wonder what do mothers do to make kids cooperate during photoshoot? Don't tell me more toys coz I have tones of them at home. I prefer a 'cost free' approach...

Yet another school holiday indulgence

What a week! Last week was quite an exciting week for our family. We headed back to my hometown on Sunday for a short visit. I wish I could spend more time there but my husband only had a week off and we have to optimize that one week with as many activities possible.

It was scorching hot there. I thank God the Almighty for the invention of air conditioners. Without it I don’t think I could stand the heat wave in Alor Setar. It was hot like a sauna. As usual, a trip back to my hometown would not be complete without the usual makan treat by my mom and relatives. Being the only son in law, my husband is quite my mom’s favorite. Hence, each time we visit home, my mom will cook his favorite food – laksam Kedah. He considers it as a special treat for him. I have yet to master this delicacy simply because preparing its mee is really a pain in the ass (pardon me for the language!). The thought of having to cook the mixture of flour slowly by steaming one small tray at time seems really tedious and time consuming to me. Preparing the gravy on the other hand, is a piece of cake (I think). So, for as long as I have my mom to cook the laksam for my husband, I am safe…

Our visit to my second brother’s place turned out to be quite a treat. He served us with steamed glutinous rice served with buffalo’s milk (note: buffalo not cow – and it’s only for the brave) and eaten with a choice of banana, mango and durian. That was my first and I simply love it. He also cooked fried rice. I don’t know what he put in there but it was simply delicious. Boy can he really cook. I didn’t have time to visit my first brother’s chicken rice stall this round but my two sons did manage to savour their Pak Long’s chicken rice.

We left for Penang on Wednesday. My husband and I wanted to make this trip a really makan trip. So armed with an iphone and a Blackberry, we navigated our way in the island by using the GPS looking for eatery places friends recommended successfully. I’d like to take a moment to salute the people who invented GPS, bravo…2 thumbs up!! What an adventure it was. We tried biryani and murtabak at Hameediyah, nasi dalca Hamid, pasembor and char koew tiew at Gurney Drive and nasi kandar line clear. I actually wanted to try another nasi kandar – nasi kandar beratur near masjid kapitan keling and nasi kandar kampong melayu, but the timing wasn’t right. I learned that in Penang, nasi kandar operator only cook once. And they only cook at a designated time. Nasi kandar beratur for example, is only available after 11pm (yes 11pm at night, who eat rice that late? Only in Penang I guess). There is another operator who uses the premise to sell nasi kandar at different time slot, but we were told that it’s not as good as the original owner which only starts serving his nasi kandar at 11pm. Once finished, they’ll close their shop. This is so unlike in Klang Valley where nasi kandar is available 24/7. Complicated eh? Could someone please explain to me why…

Of all the food we tried, I give 5 stars to Hameediyah. Their biryani is simply heavenly. Even my 8mths old baby loves it. If we had more time, we’d have tried more food that friends recommended. But fret not, there’s always next time…

The damage is only 1kg for me. So, it wasn’t so bad but my tummy has ballooned up to two dress sizes I think. My hubby didn’t even dare to step on the scale.

The kids had a great time too this round. Better the last visit in March. We decided to stay at a much better hotel so that the kids can utilize the better facilities like the nicer pool and the fully equipped kid’s zone. We made the right decision indeed, they didn’t even ask to go to the beach. Even baby Sophie had a great time in the swimming pool. The swimming class has a very positive effect on Harris after all. He enjoys playing in the pool more than before.

Feringgi Beach is as bad, the beach near the hotel we stayed is swarmed by more so called water sports operators. We didn’t even dare to step onto the beach this round. They started shouting (literally!) their offerings at us from afar even before we reached the shore, such an ugly scene... I feel sad for Penang.

The one week travelling (with endless driving) was really exhausting. Perhaps it was the heat wave that made it worse (or is age catching up???). I still feel tired till this very day hence the late update. I didn’t feel like writing when I am tired although I have a lot to tell.

I wonder 10 years down the road, would we still enjoy travelling as much as we did 10 years ago? Would we still have the energy say to take the rides at a theme park? Or would we prefer a more relaxing holiday instead? I hope and pray that I will still have the energy to cope with my kids when the time comes…