Ahmad Aydein Is TWO!

Aydein sweetheart,

Happy 2nd birthday, sayang! I am glad I have been given the chance to live yet another day to celebrate this meaningful day with you :) How do you find toddlerhood so far, kiddo? Must be pretty darn cool to be able to run, jump, climb, grab and demand just about anything you want eh!

Has anyone ever told you how you first got to this world? I think I might have told you about it somewhere last year, but in case you don't remember, let me refresh your memory okay? Believe it or not, you were conceived almost right after your papa and I got hitched! Just a month after we got married, to be exact. You must be a pretty darn good swimmer, aren't you? :P

When I first knew I had another life inside of me (that's you!), to be honest, I was caught off guard. I thought I couldn't manage, I thought I was not ready. But God is fair. He gave me 9 whole months to prepare myself, and when it was nearing the due date, I was actually eager to see you!

Did you know that you've been a very good sport all the while before you were born? I never had morning sickness you know, and I honestly thank God for that! And when it was time to deliver you, you proved to be a good sport once again! Delivering you was one of the sweetest experiences I have ever had. It was painful definitely, but smooth-sailing. Painful because I had to endure 2-3 hours of unbearable pain, and smooth-sailing because I did not even have to use any kind of drug to get you out to this world! Yes sayang, I gave birth to you the natural way. :)

When I first held you in my arms, it was magical, almost surreal. All the pain that I was battling with moments before just instantly disappeared when I looked at that angelic face of yours. So peaceful, so pure.

After you got to this world, both me and your papa always try our best to raise you to become a good khalifah, and provide you with the best that we could provide to our only child -- that's you. It saddens me for not being able to to fully breastfeed you up till 2 years, but I always, always try my best to give you the best for everything else, and that, you have to know.

And now, look at you! All grown up, handsome and strong! A little stubborn too, but I guess that's a trait you got from me, eh? :P

I am sorry there won't be any huge birthday party for you this year like you had last year when you turned one. Trust me, I had it all planned since January! However, after discussing with your papa, we figured that it's best that we hold a birthday party every alternate year, so do look forward to next year as you can expect a big surprise coming up for you next year!

Meantime, you can look forward to a getaway trip that we've planned for you soon! Yes sayang, we're taking you out on a birthday trip soon! We're thinking of a trip to an island, what do you think? We could build a sand castle together! I am so excited about this trip I even bought this for you! :D

Comels kan! Don't worry, this is not your birthday present. :P I know you've grown very fond of toys lately, so we've decided to take you to Toys 'R Us this weekend where you will get to choose whatever you want at that store okay! :D See how lucky you are? You might not get to have a party this year, but you get vacation + small birthday celebration with family + present of your own choice instead! :)

Last but not least, happy 2nd birthday again, Aydein sweetheart. May you be blessed with success and goodness in life and the hereafter. I look forward to seeing and hugging you when I get home later! I love you, little munchkin!

XOXO,
Mama.

Awak Layak Ke Terima Duit Hantaran Beribu-Riban?

Marriage. It's that one stage of life that most of us look forward to. Some of us are willing to spend A WHOLE LOT just to keep up with the crazy 'current trend' nowadays. The question is, will the 'current trend' guarantee happiness?

I came across this VERY interesting blog entry that actually made me think. It's about dowry or 'duit hantaran' in Malay.

picture credits to Google.com

After reading the entry, I can't help but to agree to the things that he highlighted. I have shared the link to this blog entry in my tweet previously. But I thought I'd just share the extract of the blog entry here again, for all of you to read as well, just in case if you're not my Twitter follower.

To all my single friends (boys & girls) who are not married or planning to get married, do read the entry below! It's truly an eye-opener. Well, to me at least.

To all my married friends, do spread the message around. Ambil yang baik, and perhaps educate our families & friends mana-mana yang patut :)

Jangan Sayang Aku Kerna Aku Tinggi

gadis semakin lama semakin mahal

aku pun tak paham kenapa. hari ni ade jemputan kawen untuk family aku. so, tadi aku sajelah aku tanye kakak aku berape hantarannya, dengan nada cool bagai sesuatu yang norma, kakak aku kate, “hantarannye 12ribu”. apekegile!!! oh duniaaaa.. kau menyukarkan lelaki miskin macam aku untuk cepat ade anak.. ohooo~

ianya perlu diubah!! ye, aku perlu ubah mendealah fenomena gadis semakin mahal ni. selagi ianya berterusan, selagi itulah gadis akan semakin mahal, semakin mahal dan semakin mahal. ini tak bulih dibiarkan. perlu ade pencetus, yang akan membuatkan lelaki-lelaki miskin yang nak kawen berkata, “hantaran dorang tu seribu setengah je.. takde masalah pun. kawen jugak. bahagia jugak. so, aku pun kawen nanti nak hantaran seribu sengah jugakla”. heh!

kereta, komputer dan gadis

kereta, semakin hari semakin murah. begitu juga dengan komputer, semakin hari semakin murah. ini menunjukkan teknologi semakin berkembang. bila sesuatu itu semakin berkembang, harga akan berkurang dari semasa ke semasa. gadis pula lain ceritanya. semakin tidak berkembang, semakin mahal! itulah yang berlaku pada gadis pada hari ini. kalau orang dulu-dulu kahwin, hantaran untuk gadis 3,4 ratus. habis kuat seribu dua ribu camtu. sedang dalam diri gadis itu, al-Quran 15juzuk dia hafal. paling koman surah al-mulk jadi amalan. sembahyang tak tinggal. masak, jangan kau cerita. segala negeri punye masakan dia bulih tibai jadik segala. daging salai lomak cili api, laksa penang, baryani gam, cek mek molek, sata, kuah lodeh, segala ceruk mane punye masakan buleh. hantaran 3 ratus, pakej lengkap, bahagia ke akhir hayat lagi.

la ni, hantaran 8ribu, oh tak, 10ribu, err.. sekarang 12ribu ke 20ribu.. tapi masak?? arararara.. kuah kacang pun bukak mesra.net camne cite bai? nak masak asam pedas, rase bubur lambok kot! masak buleh kawtim lagi kot.. kot la. al-Quran.. surah-surah lazim pun terkial2.. jap, check balik fatihah pun ade yang tak molek lagi. itu hantaran beribu riban tu dol! pendek kate, dalam dunia kegadisan, semakin tidak berkembang ilmu di dada, dunia meletakkan harga yang semakin mahal. silap2, belum sempat habis bayar loan kawen, dah cerai. berlaku kan?

aku tau, yang bace akan cakap, kau ingat gadis ni ape, barang! harga gadis semakin mahal pulak!! bukan, aku tak cakap gadis itu barang. gadis itu sesuatu untuk dimiliki untuk sama-sama berkongsi hidup dengan. so, kau yang faham tentang gadis itu bukan barang untuk dijualbeli dan diperdagangkan, mesti kau tidak akan kisah pasal hantaran bukan. tapi masalahnya, manusia hari ini yang meletakkan gadis itu bagai barang! nilai semakin mahal bila semakin tinggi mutunya(kunun dengan ade kelulusan), semakin mahal bila ianya semakin cantik(kunun hot la), semakin mahal bila ianya limited edition(kunun dianya anak tunggal).. nah! kau yang letakkan nilai gadis itu macam barang bukan!

kereta, komputer dan gadis, bila kita pilih untuk memiliki, semuanya ade spec(specifications) masing2 bukan? kau mesti mahu yang terbaik, dengan harga yang terbaik untuk kau jugak. dunia hari ini banyak menyusahkan kita. dengan berleluasanya fahaman kunun ade nilai standard dalam hantaran mengikut zaman. contohnya zaman la ni, rm10ribu tu at least. gile betul! aku yang tak fikir pasal kawen lagi ni pun dah terasa getarnya. kamonlaaa… takkan takde gadis yang faham?? seksa kot nak kumpul rm10ribu.. tu hantaran je tu.. majlis lagi.. beli barang2 hantaran lagi.. koman2 rm30ribu kot nak kena standby. adess.. pastu bulan2 nanti nak bayar duit loan kawen, loan kereta ngan rumah lagi. ohhhhh~ hidup dengan hutang sampai mati. silap2 wasiat pun sampai tulis suruh anak sambung bayarkan hutang. aku bercakap dari sudut seorang lelaki miskin macam aku.. kau yang kaya, duit berlori-lori takpelah.

aku menulis bukan mengatakan aku anti pada hantaran mahal. sekadar aku mahu gadis hari ini faham akan beban lelaki yang tak berduit. cuba letak diri korang kat tempat lelaki yang nak gile kawen ngan korang tapi takde duit sampai kena buat loan untuk hantaran 10ribu tu. huhh! tak pun, camnilah. ape kate korang je yang bagi hantaran kat lelaki? haa.. best gak tu! kat akula especially.. amacam??

kesimpulannya.. aku rase, kawen tak patut dijadikan beban. aku rase belambak artikel pasal mahar/hantaran kat internet ni. aku tak bace pun aku tau die mesti nak suruh gadis2 sedar tak payah mahar mahal2, same macam ape aku tulis. lagipun aku bukan gadis untuk bace artikel camtu. aku tulis pasal ni sebab tibe2 aku rase aku perlu ubah fenomena ni. semangat macam semangat luffy tibe2 menjelma dalam diri aku. ho!

Extract from http://parkins07.wordpress.com

Now, what do you all think? Make sense, no? :)

Babies See, Babies Do!

At 1 year 11 months, my little toddler absorbs things extremely fast, like a sponge. He's picked up many new words, composed new simple sentences, and absolutely loved mimicking every single thing we do -- like putting on his own shades when we wear our shades, pretending to snore when he sees his grandpa sleeps, or pretending to sneeze hard whenever we sneeze!

But among many things, he has a thing for my makeup kit. I noticed that each time I put on some makeup on my face at the dressing mirror, he would watch me intently, all fascinated.


Putting on makeup with him by my side is a battle each time because he would try to grab the first makeup item that he can reach and try to apply it on his face. Of course, before the product could even touch his face, I would quickly grab it from him and that's when the battle and the crying starts.


But this boy is smart. He knows that the only time that mama is unconscious is when mama is sleeping. So one day, while I was in a deep, deep slumber, I was suddenly awaken when I heard my husband exclaimed, "YA ALLAH AYDEIN! YANG, TENGOK ANAK YOU NI!" loudly. I got up from the bed, and my heart sunk when I saw.. this.


And then, later on, I saw.. this.

Checkout the sides of his lips! T_T

And my heart sunk even lower, when I saw.. this!


Yes, that's my Topshop Lip Polish in Rhubarb that I used oh so very carefully just because I didn't want it to run out fast. And there my boy went, digging the whole thing out from the container and smeared it all over his face, hands and carpet! I wanted to scream (loudly) but all I could do was just stare in disbelief as the lip polish that was once FULL is now almost left with... nothing. :(

What made it even worst is that there's no replacement for it anymore! Not at the moment, that is. The personnel at Topshop KLCC informed me that Rhubarb color in particular is now out of stock/out of season when I went there recently to get a replacement. As such, I will have to wait until the color is in-season again!

GRRRRR! Now when is that going to happen? Next week? Next month? NEXT YEAR? Grrr I want my Rhubarb Lip Polish back! Does anyone of you have an extra, new Rhubarb lip polish that you would like to sell out? I want to buy!

I'm a Pirate, Take Me To Stranger Tides!

In case you don't know, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is premier-ing soon and I for one, am very ecstatic about it!


Synopsis

Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) finds himself on an unexpected journey to the fabled Fountain of Youth when a woman from his past (Penélope Cruz) forces him aboard the “Queen Anne’s Revenge,” the ship of the formidable pirate Blackbeard (Ian McShane).

When I was a kid, I have always wondered how it would be like to be a pirate. How cool it would be to be sailing across 7 seas in 'em outfits that only beggars wear and STILL look cool.

But among the many good things about being a pirate, there are 3 things about being a pirate that appeal me the most :

1) The Language!

I have always had a thing for foreign language. Heck, I even learnt Spanish own my own just because I find that language very beautiful, thanks to the Spanish soap dramas that I watched everyday last time. Pirate language on the other hand, although uh, not as beautiful, but they would still come in handy during gossip sessions! For all I know, I could even learn the Mermaid language and be friends with them! Some say that mermaids are actually ugly and not how they're portrayed to be. Hmm, that's another thing I would like to know if I were I pirate!

2) You Steal, You Hero!

We all know stealing is bad, and in some countries, you'll even get your hands chopped for stealing! But not for pirates! The more you steal, the more glory you bring to your ship! Not that I want to steal, but, you know what I mean. T_T

3) Sharksfin and all exotic seafood.

Some of you are going to hate me after this, but I gotta admit, I LOVE SHARKSFIN! There, I said it. >< And, by being a pirate, I can take sharksfin and all kinds of exotic seafood all day, all night! I don't even have to worry about gaining weight because hey, who judges an obese pirate on a ship? NO ONE! That's another reason why it's awesome being a pirate.

Now, does anyone of you want to make me your pirate and take me to stranger tides?

Nuffnang On Bernama TV

As most of you might have known, Nuffnang was featured on Bernama TV (Ch : 502) last week.


I know, big deal right. But being a jakun girl that never appeared on TV before, I practically told the whole world about it via Twitter and FB.

Tak masal, I know. But really, I was darn excited that day, I had to make sure everybody was as excited as me too! :P

I still remember the day of the shooting. Everyone in the office was super excited and even made an extra effort to wear something nice and put on a little makeup just in case any of us got captured in camera. One of them was (ahem) me, and I was glad my effort paid off because my boss wanted me to be part of the "acting" group!


Haha yeap, on camera we were asked to act as though we're having a discussion, but off camera we were actually laughing our socks off! :P I mean duh, that's expected la kan! :P


The shoot was taken at our new office and this shot that I am going to share with you below is taken while our boss, Timothy is interviewed by the TV crew. One thing for sure, I really admire how he composed himself throughout the interview -- so relaxed and cool okay! If it were me, I am sure I'd be sweating profusely and stuttering every 2 mins! :P


This is another shot taken while Tim is showing the viewers how the ad campaigns are assigned.


Not everyone gets the chance to be on TV and for me, it was such a very memorable day even if I only appeared just for a brief second! Hehe. Ye lah, lu ada? Takde kannn! :D I also loved the part where a picture of me, my husband, Redmummy and Reddaddy at the Nuffnang Footprints is zoomed at one part of the video :D


Tak sia-sia you follow I pi events kan, yang? :D

Anyway, for those of you who have missed the show, don't fret, because I've actually recorded the show using a video camera just for memory's sake.



Oh and do excuse me if the video is a little shaky, senget and also if you hear a little 'TENG! TENG! TENG!" sound at some parts of the video -- that's actually my 'smart' maid banging the milk carton with a spoon and later on got shhh-ed by me. T__T

Alternatively, you could also watch another recording of us here, thanks to Iman! Last but not least, long live Nuffnang!