My little couch potato aka Pea-ka-Pod

My baby is growing way too fast. From an angel in a cot to playing masak2, playing mommy to her babies, watching her first movie, eating junk food, melaram with mama's heels and doing things her own way...sigh! Gosh...can't growing up take a break?

Here's my little angel all grown up...

Watching her fav TV channel, Playhouse Disney, while munching on Apple Chips. This little girl could live on junk food alone if I let her. No thanks to Papa for the early introduction!


Watching ghost movie complete with her 'terrified' look (thanks to my maid who likes to watch horror movies hmmmm....). By the way, she is kinda gifted - she could see monsters, no joke!


Melaram with mama's heels. Her favorite activity is to rummage my shoes cabinet and parade in my heels one by one (owh...she would only pick those with really high heels)


Enjoying her very first movie (and popcorns too) at the cinema - Shrek Forever After


My 4 kids sipping iced milo from a one gigantic glass. I love this - it's priceless!

Testing the water

It has been almost 2 years since I last donned my power suit and walked in my 3” pumps. I did just that this morning (thank God I could still fit into them!) – just for the sake of sitting for a written test. Yes, you read it right the first time, I sat for a written test!

About a month ago I came across a job advertisement that I felt was too good to pass – a middle management position at one of the country’s biggest conglomerates and best of all the office is so conveniently located not so far from my housing estate. I wanted to ‘test the water’ hence I wrote in to apply for the job. Guess what...I made the first cut (despite the fact that I’ve been on a break for almost 2 years...wohooo! Saham ahkak masih laku u’ols) and they called me in to sit for a written test.

This is where it gets interesting. The test comprised of 3 sections – an essay (in English of course), translation (English to BM) and another translation (BM to English) and all these had to be completed in exactly an hour. I felt like I was sitting for my English test all over again.

I completed the English-BM translation almost effortlessly (although writing with paper & pen really made the job more testing that it already was. I wish they had allowed us to employ computer instead, it’d definitely make writing a lot less painful) then I moved on to the BM to English translation. This is where I choked! There were so many BM words in the speech (the text was taken from an actual speech) that I never knew existed. To make matters worse, the words that I didn’t know were the key point of the speech! Thus, in a gist, I translated the text completely and almost entirely out of context...wahahaha. I’m 70% sure that I failed this part terribly. Having spent too much time on this particular section naturally left me with little time for the English essay part. So, the writer in me didn’t get a chance to realize its full potential (tolong bagi laluan untuk ahkak perasan sekejap ya hihihi)...sigh!

In all honestly, I’m actually not expecting much. My goal was to test the water. Let’s see whether I’d make through the second cut. But frankly, I doubt that I would after the translation blunder hahaha...

I say never take your mother tongue for granted and assume you know everything. I scored A1 for my BM paper in SPM, yet today, I can’t even write a decent letter in BM. What telah happened?

Parents beware!

I’m supposed to be working on some paper work (deadlines! deadlines! But who cares, I’m my own boss hehehe...) but I just have to blog about this very important topic first before my momentum wears off. Last night as we were having dinner at home, my teenage son was telling me and my husband about his friends having girlfriends (ah yes...the things parents have to worry about when we have teenagers at home). He was telling us how he envied his friends who have girlfriends (OMG!) coz he longed to know how it feels to be in love (double OMG!). We debated about this topic and he reasoned that the he is only curious, that’s all. I’m terrified already, God help me...please make them stop growing so fast.

When I was in secondary school (I went to an all-girls school), my 2nd elder brother gave me stern warning against having boyfriends. I was scared to death of my brother (who is the fierce one in the family) that I didn't even dare to even talk to boys from other schools. I know now that he meant well and I am glad that I have a brother who cared enough to warn me. At this point, I wish I could have someone telling my kids the same thing and leave the same impact on them that it did me. I have four kids and 2 of them are girls...I have to go through this phase 4 freakin’ times (triple OMG!).

How would you handle the situation? I reasoned with my son on the disadvantages of having a girlfriend at his age, albeit rather unsuccessfully. Deep inside I know that nothing that I say could stop him; no amount of advice, words of wisdom or even scolding could stop a child from doing what they want. I could only hope that I have nurtured them well enough to distinguish between the good and the bad to stop them from doing things against my will...insyaAllah.

I say it’s challenging enough bringing up children of your own. Having teenagers in the house is even more complex, overwhelming and extremely mind-blowing...and I’m not kidding y'all!

Quest for flawless complexion (part 6 - SKII)

It has been almost 2 months since I’ve started using SKII. I’ve been using a combination of the following products as ‘prescribed’ by the beauty advisor:
1) Facial Treatment Cleanser
2) Whitening Source Clear Lotion
3) Facial Treatment Essence (aka Miracle Water)
4) Cellumination Essence
5) Cellumination Deep Surge
6) Whitening Mask

My skin showed remarkable results in the first month that even my mom-in-law noticed the change and complimented me on my skin’s progress. BUT sadly my joy was short lived. Right after I started my swimming lesson my skin once again metamorphosed for the worst. The 3 huge patches on both sides of my cheek and on my forehead have become more pronounced now. Chlorine + the sun = a deadly combination for me (I found an extra strength sun block with 130SPF, even that too failed to protect my skin). It’s so severe that I feel so embarrassed to leave the comfort of my home and to meet people. On Sunday I bumped into an ex-colleague at Empire Subang and as I was chatting with her I felt the urge to cover my entire head with a brown paper bag so that she doesn’t have to see my face as we talk. Seriously, I feel like hiding from the rest of the world!

Hence, despite my busy schedule (yes, although it may be hard to believe for some, I am BUSY okay!) I finally did some research on pigmentation (it’s about time huh?). My condition is called Melasma – a type of pigmentation triggered by pregnancy hormone. Melasma starts to appear during pregnancy and becomes more apparent after the baby is born. Some even said that it’s related to breastfeeding too but was strongly challenged by some quarters, especially by the advocates of breastfeeding, due to lack of scientific evidence. Based on online expert advice, the recommended treatment for condition as severe as mine is laser therapy. I concur with this as I also don’t think that any amount of cream could save me now. And guess what, the cost of laser therapy is a hell lot less than that proposed by New York Skin...phewww! Nasib baik ahkak tak terjebak you ols...

Should I go for it? I say yes indeed! Nonetheless, I am waiting for my swimming lesson to be over and done with before I seriously look into this. It won’t be long now, I have about 4 weeks to go (I’m having 2 classes a week to speed up the learning process) before I would be a certified swimmer...woohoooo!!

I say, next to marrying my beloved hubby, having my kids are the best thing I’ve done (although scientists claimed being pregnant with them are the cause of my severe skin condition, kids please take note!), breastfeeding them is the best gift I could ever give to each one of them (although that could have contributed as well, kids please take note too!) and taking swimming lesson is perhaps the biggest fear I've overcome thus far (although this is a major culprit too). These are all parts and parcels of life. If laser treatment also failed me, so be it. Akan ku hadapi dunia dengan penuh semangat waja...yakin boleh!!!

At peace with my decision

I have never been so sure in my life until today. I have turned down 2 job offers (that I was offered, not applied to) in less than a month. I know that if I were to accept either one of the jobs I’ll be miserable again – the old me will resurface, a monster mom & a terrible wife! At this stage of my life, I am no longer “ambitious”. Although I knew that if I were to accept the offer all my financial woes will be solved instantly. But money is no longer the driving factor, my kids are. I am so happy that I am strong enough to turn down the last offer in particular, despite it being so tempting. In my heart I know that I’ve made the right decision...insyaAllah. May Allah continue to guide my way.

In the meantime, I couldn't be happier with the status quo - a freelancer, a sexy domestic goddess (just need to say this to make me feel better! I feel better already hihihi) to my husband and a devoted mother to my kids.

I say there will be time when everything shall not revolve around you and you only. It rotates around a much bigger sphere – there’s you then your significant other, your kids and your parents. Every decision you make will affect everyone in your big bubble...wallahuwa’lam.

Hello, my name is Tetek

It’s official, my lil' Pea-ka-pot calls me by not Mama or Mommy but “Tetek”. She used to call me Mama but somehow over time it has evolved to Tetek. I guess in a funny way when she sees me she only see my teteks more than anything else...wahaha. The funniest thing is she has a doll that could say “Papa, Mama”; when she plays with it, she’d call out her own version by saying “Papa, Tetek”...funny eh? She refers me as Tetek even when she plays with her doll...LOL! Well that’s my little one-of-a-kind baby who by the way still converses in her own funny alien language at 20 months.

I am actually hoping (haven’t come to the planning stage yet though) for a short gateway (which I so desperately need) in July to celebrate my anniversary but looking at how things are going with this little girl, I am having serious doubts that it could materialize...sigh! This is what happened when a child has never been separated from his/her mother since birth for more than 8 hours. I didn’t have this problem with my other kids when I was still working full time. One thing I know for sure, if I were to leave her at home overnight I would have nightmares! I don’t think I could survive a night without my lil' princess by my side and vice versa...how lah? We are both so attached to each other, especially during bedtime.

Speaking of work, I have to swallow my words this time. I have taken some writing & editing jobs recently. I once said that it’s game over for me for my freelance job, but I realize that I could use the extra money and put my leisure time to a much better use than out berpoya-poya all the time...ngeee. Hence, I’ll be busy busy busy for the next few weeks, more work means less cooking and outing for yours truly – which is good for my darling hubby. Less cooking may translate to less weight gain for him and less outing means less moolah spent :-)

I say time is money - you either make or waste money every minute of the day. I wonder what else I could do to generate income in my spare time rather than spend money that I don’t have. Should I reconsider going back to work full time? Perhaps I should...

Happy Mother’s Day

It is time of the year again for mothers to be the center of attention for a day. Mother’s day for me means not having to lift a finger for a day – no cooking, changing diaper & yang sewaktu dengannya. I declare a holiday for myself...yet someone has the guts requesting for homemade nasi lemak for breakfast! Sorry sayang, my kitchen is closed on Mother’s Day. Better luck next time dear.

This year as a bonus my parents are here visiting. My mom wanted to cook but I insisted no cooking on Mother’s Day...hehehe so we treated my mom to an Arabic food for lunch with plenty of left over for dinner too.

My eldest son woke me up early morning with breakfast in bed. This has sort of become a tradition whenever there’s a special celebration in the house. Ariana made me a beautiful card but Kyle, I don’t even know whether he knew that it was Mother’s Day yesterday! In my household, Mother’s Day is not such a big deal because the person who always makes a big deal out of things is the one celebrating it. Do you get what I mean? I can’t tell them to organize something special for me, someone else has to play the role and take the initiative *hint hint hint* (could I be more direct? LOL!)

Enough said, Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers out there. Remember, the hands that rock the cradle rules the world! I couldn't agree more, mothers rule...yeah!!!

Impossible is nothing, just do it!

Oh my, I did not meet my KPI for April...I am supposed to write at least 9 articles every month but I only had 8 last month...sigh! It’s a sign that I need to cut down on my berpoya-poya time...ngeee.

I did myself proud last Saturday; I went for my 1st ever swimming lesson. I know at my age, I may be a laughing stock...but I am determined to learn come what may! I want this to be an example for my kids – it’s never too late to learn just about anything.

It was supposed to be 4 of us ladies but the other 3 pulled out at the eleventh hour but I decided to go ahead with the class (see how determined I am?). It was actually a blessing in disguise indeed, having the instructor all for myself is way much better. I had 2+ hours of undivided attention from the instructor...bliss!

I had plenty of butterflies in my stomach before the lesson started and kept farted during my entire journey to the class (it happens to me when I’m nervous...funny eh?) I was scared to death (although I was really good in pretending that I wasn't...hihihi). And when the instructor started teaching me the breathing technique, I felt like I wanted to quit pronto. I didn't think that I could do it at first. I even told her that I was having second thoughts. But then I decided to gather all my courage and push my fear aside and just do it. I kept saying to myself if my 9 year old son can do it, so can I. And like they say, the rest is history...

The instructor and I (see how paranoid I am about getting sunburn? I bought a diving suit that covers my entire body and applied 2 layers of sun block - 50 SPF & 25 SPF. Yet my face got burnt pretty bad...sigh!)


What I’ve learned on my first lesson:
1. Breathing technique under water (I’m a pro in just 1 lesson...wheeee!)
2. Submerged my head fully into the water (something that I was too chicken to do all my life). I could do this in the deep pool to y’ol...don’t play play arrr
3. Float (this one took quite a while for me to master, I was too scared to let go of the instructor’s hands and float freely)
4. Glide (I could actually glide in water wehhh, amazing indeed!)

Submerging my head into the water for the first time


Now you see me...


Under the water I go...


Now you don't! I'm gliding in the water y'ol!



For a person who is too scared of the water, these achievements are noteworthy indeed. I feel like I deserve a medal of some sort lah...hahaha. I am so darn proud of myself. I know in an instance that I will be a better swimmer than my husband...yeehaaa! You just wait and see mr. hubby...hehehe.

Don't I look like a pro? Hehehe...I loike!!


I say, believe in yourself and you will achieve the impossible. All you need to do is face your fear in the eyes and just do it...I’m glad I did!

p/s: I'd like to credit paparazzi in da house for being there for me and snapping the above priceless photos :-)