Assalamualaikum, Ahmad Emyr

AlhamduliLlah, Ahmad Emyr bin Ahmad Feisal, a.k.a. Baby E, has been safely brought to the world through the Ceasarean Section incision, at 6.24pm on 23 May 2009.

The decision for the C-Sect delivery was made after certain considerations were taken, including Ahmad Emyr's weight which was initially estimated at 3.8kg and there were no progress on the 2cm dilation.

Apparently, Ahmad Emyr is one sturdy cute baby whose weight is 3.9kg.

Welcome to the world.

-The Proud Father-

Hello!

InsyaAllah, Little Man will arrive this weekend, fresh from the oven in a package replete with Love :)

Little Man is still happily ensconcing himself in his warm cocoon, prompting my doctor to induce his arrival this weekend.

Hopefully all will be well even though my brain is constantly mixing up visions of what-ifs and what-to-expect; and my body, well, heavy.

But I keep telling myself that trust and faith must be placed in oneself as our human body is capable of extraordinary things. Amazing and magical things.

Semoga dipermudahkanNya.

Freestyle cooking with fruits!

Roasted Strawberry Chicken in Mango sauce

Feisal and I, well, We're bored of eating rice. So this week is Western Week.

On Monday, I had strawberry jam (opt for cranberry jam if you have any) smeared all over the chicken thighs. Together with crushed garlic, ground cumin and fennel, chilli powder, salt and pepper. Then, just pop them into the oven for an hour.

For the potatoes, I just boil them. Smear butter whilst potatoes are still piping hot. A dash of salt and chilli flakes.

For the salad, add apples for extra crunch. Lemon juice and tartar sauce for the dressing.

For the sauce, puree mango and add a squirt of lemon juice. Easy!

And last night's dinner, Mutton Stew with Apples

1. Marinate the mutton/lamb shoulders in cumin powder, chilli powder, salt and pepper.

2. Preheat a large thick-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add a splash of oil to the pot, covering the bottom in a thin layer. Then toss in enough meat to form a single sizzling layer. Sear the meat on every side until it's evenly browned. As it browns remove it from the pot. Once the meat is done discard the remaining oil but keep all the browned bits in the pan. (They'll add lots of flavour, scrap them off if you must)

3. In the same pot, saute onions until translucent. Add the browned meat, tomato paste, carrots, apples, and chicken stock to just barely cover the works. (Add celery and mushroom if you have any.)

4. Add dry basil and bring the pot to a simmer. Continue cooking until the meat is almost tender, about an hour.

5. Serve with meatballs and toasted buns. Seriously easy and tasty.

Random-ness

Perut sakit on and off, Little Man terajang like nobody's business. Braxton contraction every 15 minutes dah. Nak pakai seluar pun takleh angkat kaki. Apa aa, tak macho dah.

Last weekend, Feisal and I made a decision. Well, I managed to persuade Him to let me stick to my current doc. So rakan-rakan, I won't be delivering kat SJMC. Berat hati nak tukar doctor. I love my current doc.

So InsyaAllah, Little Man will say hello to the world at Pusat Perubatan Naluri, somewhere in Wangsa Maju. Haha Aunty Nadia lagi kena datang tau!! dekat dah ;) Tapi even Us pun tak survey lagi Pusat Perubatan tu, maybe this weekend We'll go there. So I'll be at home waiting for labour to kick in, ditemani Mr Cat and Mr Rabbit :)

I told Feisal, wouldn't it be nice if I could deliver next week, tapi Feisal cuak! haha. apa aa, lagi awal lagi bagus. He's already 2.6 kg what. Tak la besar sangat nak push. ye ke?

Of my Dad

"Esok Mumy pergi ke Kapit for a week supervising her students. Mummy sedang enjoy anugerah bintang popular. Nampaknya Farah Fauzana menang banyak anugerah".

Those are excerpts from my Dad's email, who is no longer incompetent with the computer and internet. He's hooked I tell you. Selamat Ber-internet Dad! It is never to late, way to go!

The ascent of a 49kg me to an acceptable 62kg. Yes, to date, I have managed to load a healthy 13kg of water, baby fat and mummy fat into my almost nine months pregnant body. 13 is always a good number, though I reckon the number of weight gained will not remain stagnant.

Little Man's movements and pokes are anything but gentle, responsive to every sound and movement, especially to his Ayah's voice. Although many times I would have to stagger rather than walk steadily, or occasionally feeling seedy; this journey has been a stupendous one.

Some of the piddling details about me and my nearing-the-end-of-pregnancy:

I love taking cold showers, at least 3 times a day. Absolutely no hot shower, whatever the time. I love nibbling and munching on ice cubes. Similarly, only ice cold water may wash down my throat. At times, bedtime will call for both air conditioner plus fan for me. Cleaning and cooking, I still love. Especially cleaning, totally obsessed!

A satisfying meal for me is one that ends with sweet chocolate ice cream or ice blended mango, leaving me with an uncomfortable heartburn. And heartburn is best remedied with fresh milk, so I love fresh milk. I do not take special formula milk for pregnant mums, for no specific reason.

Also, I did not sign up for labour class. Do not feel the need to. Watch youtube only. Feisal and I never went for a detailed 4D scan as We feel babies look the same, and complications, if any, could also be detected through normal ultrasound. Alhamdulillah, my fabulous doctor felt the same, optional she said. We are the play-cool couple, semua tak payah :)

And above all, have a positive attitude, and have faith that things will fall into place at its own pace. Oh, one more thing, jangan manjakan badan. Exercise!

Home Sweet Home

On this day, when We were supposed to be gallivanting around Jakarta and Bandung.

Of course We did not just sit around at home. Ate until I nearly burst, searched (and bought) some practical mini nursery items for Little Man, purchased an excellent Wodehouse book, watched the Malaysian Monsoon call a halt to the F1 race and best of all, proposed a slight alteration to Little Man's name.

From what Dear Feisal was able to glean (after sensing the akwardness in the name), it appears that now Little Man's name carry three wonderful meanings instead of just one previously. After much persuasion, Feisal concurred. And I smiled with glee, a befitting name indeed.

Addicted

background image

And the decluttering has begun. Some people regard this as 'nesting'. I don't know what it is, but it has certainly emboldened me to declutter everything I can lay my hands on.

And those magazines, are only a product of one book shelf and a magazine holder! I managed to fill a huge garbage bag with small clutters from drawers and shelves. Oh am I satisfied, knowing that drawers are near empty, neat and clutter free.

I have always liked Peter Walsh, who refers "clutter" as an all-encompassing noun. It means "anything that stands between you and the vision you have for your best life." And I agree.

Knowing full well that our home is not a museum led me into chucking almost everything-unused away, be it tiny momentos or things that stand in the way of my vision.

And Our trip to SSF tomorrow (to redeem my voucher) will see me buying cute boxes or baskets to store most of out stuff in.

Little Man deserves this :) And this is only the beginning of Our Little Project Nursery. Having a clutter free home will certainly lend free rein in our imagination and creativeness, or lack thereof!

Check this Out

Just found out about this online store that sells only flats and gladiators. In Jakarta. hmmph. Love the shoes. Check out Wondershoe people.

And for those who dig in heels or stilettos, check out Yunique Paradise. Also nice to look at! Kaki saya bengkak darab lapan so definitely won't buy any, not even to be worn after Little Man's delivery. Duh. Selipar jepun is the way to go, ha ha.

My diaper bags arrived yesterday. I know, why buy two. The black one does not look like one, it looks just like any other handbag. So I opted for two. Guil.ty Plea.sure. Give me a break.

To Shuey

All cats go to heaven :) and of course other animals too. Jangan sedih-sedih sangat ok babe.

Checked!

After a dreary Friday, Feisal and I were prompted to clear our shopping list for the Little Man come weekend. Little did we know that shopping for baby's essentials and mom's too was easy. As long as you know perfectly what to buy and most importantly, sticking to its practicalities, you are good to shop. Alhamdulillah, after only three shopping trips, Little Man's checklist is cleared. And mine too :)

There is no need to share the pictures of every single essentials that we bought. Same predictable stuff I suppose. Last weekend and yesterday, I bought these for myself :

Left to right: More comfy pants and few more comfortable tops. Cotton pants and button-down tops for confinement. Check out the bunny pants! Only RM 17 at Subang Parade.

Last two weeks, the doctor informed me that the amount of my amniotic fluid was on the high. So she performed a routine MGTT (Glucose Tolerance Test) to confirm whether I have gestational diabetes. Ran a couple of blood tests and fortunately, I'm cleared of the suspicion. Raging hormones I suppose.

The thing was, I had to fast for half a day. Feisal and I felt bad for this Little Man, sure hungry and all. So, a short shopping trip interposed between the two hours blood test. (You have to draw blood, drink a very very sweet solution and wait for two hours for the blood to process the sugar, and draw blood again).

So, we bought him five rompers for "We feel bad for our hungry Boy". Basically, these three rompers will be worn by him upon his arrival, InsyaAllah. Funny cartoons befitting the ocassion,no? Monkeys, Alligators and Emergency Vehicles :)

Having experienced my students' disordeliness led me into buying these for our Little Man last Friday night. Poor him, had to endure hunger and restlessness as well. Mommy's sorry poor Boy.

Hopefully you will grow into a well-meaning and polite person just like Paddington Bear. And Paddington also loves to 'try so hard to get things right'.

And these are among the nine rompers given by my sister Dedek few months back, and also our Baby's first set of clothes.

And most importantly, after a short shopping spree with Dedek yesterday, we did not get my Boy anything. So I made a dash into Lovely Lace, which led me into buying this cute white box. That tall giraffe was a gift from his Ayah last weekend :) A good start for our own little project nursery.

There, a short story on some of our Little Man's things. Having bought and prepared everything does not necessarily precipitate labour, does it? Hopefully not!

The disturbingly inconvenient truth

"Mdm, why did you not invite any real lawyers to judge our mooting session?

"Can we start at 9:30 a.m instead? There are some stuff that need to be settled. The opponent also".

"Mdm, we are in the midst of binding our bundle and written submission".

"We will send to you our bound bundle only after we are done with our oral submission".

* After making me wait for a solid one hour, had the audacity to enter the mini moot court without apologising for their untimely lateness*.

*chewing gum during the proceeding*.

" *digressed in their submission, for the most part* ".

8:45 am : You had the audacity to dilly dally at God-knows-where whilst I rushed on my wobbling feet to grab the keys to the mini moot court, only to find the same rather unsightly. So, I had to rearrange the furnitures to resemble a proper court room setting, intermittently chowing down my breakfast bar. Sat myself at the bench, only to find myself waiting for a solid one hour when in fact you should have started on your submission 15 minutes after my arrival.

Because of your stupid group, you have made the other teams wait anxiously. Because of your blatant ignorance, I was pressed for time and had to give my allocated time for quick lunch a miss. Unlike you lot, I hate making people wait in an unopportune hour, even if they are just students. Your untactful inconsiderateness have caused my poor Baby his lunch, leaving me blanketed in wrenching guilt every time he squiggles.

I care not if you speak flawless English. Ample time was granted for solid preparation. Flaws have been pointed out during lecture. Pompous and bodoh sombong. I repeat, bodoh sombong.

And you expect me to invite my lawyer friends to listen to your unstructured and jumbled-up arguments? And make them wait for your well-timed grand entrance? And witness your utter disregard for proper court's room conduct? And wriggle their fingers through your un-bounded bundle? Utterly foolish.

And until now, you have failed to submit to me your group's bundle and written submission. No sms, nothing. Too bad, your group have lost 30 solid marks there. And for all I care, I do not care at all. Deservedly so.

There you have it, the inconvenient and disheartening truth on a fraction of my Compulsory Moots students, on their submission day : Their Final Exam.

BODOH SOMBONG.

Blogging proves to be boring these days. I would rather have my eyes transfixed on the TV. Or let my passion for cooking take charge in the kitchen, which I do so often. Leading me, more often than not, to blog on cooking/recipes.

What I prepared for dinner last Monday:

Asian Inspired Roast

* Marinate the chicken parts in chili powder, ground cumin, fennel and coriander, crushed garlic and ginger, and salt.

* Chill in the fridge for few hours.

* Roast the chicken in a pre-heated oven for an hour, adding the bed of carrots and broccolis in the last 20 minutes.

Creamy Baked Potatoes

*Boil 4 medium potatoes (cut into quarters) for 15 minutes or until tender. Leave to cool.

*In a saucepan, add 4 tbsp butter, 2 tbspn milk, salt and pepper; beat until fluffy.

*Beat in grated mozarella cheese. Sprinkle with paprika.

*Pour the creamy mixture onto the potatoes and place on a baking sheet. Sprinkle handfuls of remaining grated cheese onto the prepared potatoes.

* Bake, uncovered, at 200 celcius for 20-25 minutes or until cheese are goldenly brown.

* To serve, dollop spoonfuls of mayonnaise and chili sauce mixture.

Home made Banana Split

* Chocolate Sauce - Melt heaps tbspn cocoa powder, 1 tbspn butter, 3 tbsp condensed milk and fresh milk in a saucepan. Pour onto the vanilla ice-cream and chopped bananas. Top with crushed peanuts.

Simply delightful!

I am entering my final trimester, and the skin on my tummy and abdomen is getting itchier by the day! Tiny, red spots have also appeared and these eruptions are definitely annoying. I can't help but scratch them. Other than that, I have no other grouses to air.

It is heart chuckling to be able to feel my baby's feet, elbows and hands everytime he elects to surface on my tummy. Not only that, he punches his Ayah a lot these days. One nudge on my tummy by Feisal will eventuate in two strong nudges by Little boy. Little boy sure knows how to be cheeky with us.

I really can't wait for the day! And last week, I had the chance to waltz around with a toddler, my cousin's daughter. Qaseh is simply adorable!

Comfort Food

Mummy used to make this almost on a weekly basis when we were young. Now, all she did was email me the recipe and prompted me to try make them myself. Sheesh! So Feisal and I did just the same.

You will need :

* 1 tbsp butter

* chicken breasts

* button mushroom

* spring onion

* carrot, broccoli, tomato (diced)

* diced pineapples

* slices of bread

* grated mozzarella cheese

* 1 cup fresh milk

* 2 eggs

* 1 tbsp mayonaise

* salt and pepper to taste

1.Melt butter, add in chicken. Fry till almost cooked.

2. Add in mushroom, spring onion, the vegetables mix, salt and pepper.

3.Cut bread into squares. Place in ovenproof dish. Spoon in mixture no.2, together with the pineapples. Top with remaining bread.

4. Sprinkle with half of the cheese.

5. Place eggs, milk and mayonaise in a bowl and whisk to combine.Carefully pour egg mixture over bread mixture and sprinkle with remaining cheese.

6. Bake for 50 - 60 min or till slice is firm.

Ours was not as tasty as mummy's, but it was a simple yet filling dinner!

New Look

To one in my state of mental and emotional upheaval, change is direly warranted. After a few hours of nutting things out, I have decided on this look. Boy am I contented.

I love it, hope you do too!

Here's to my Bittersweet Symphony's new look, in its most natural.

Shop shop!

I am in love with designer diaper bags by JP Lizzy.

Unfortunately, not all designs are made available by its international retailers in Malaysia. I am planning to get this soon :

Not only is the diaper bag chick, it comes with a changing mat, cosmetic bag and a wristlet. Totally worth it!

I really like this black tea tote as well, mainly because it does not scream diaper bag! Unfortunately, it is not available here, so I would need to order straight from the retailers in the US. Shopping, it has been a while. Aahh, simply gratifying.

I decided to try a Middle East recipe for dinner yesterday. The original recipe can be found here. It is so simple that anyone could whip this up. I am glad that Feisal loved it, and so He had seconds. All you need is:

* 500 gm fresh medium shrimp in shell, peeled and deveined. Marinate the shrimps in :-

* 1 tspn gingerrot

* 1 tspn ground coriander (ketumbar)

* 1/2 tspn paprika ( I used chili powder instead)

* 1/2 tspn 5-spice powder

* 1/4 tspn ground cumin (jintan manis)

* 1/4 tspn ground turmeric

For the rice,

* 1 1/2 cup long grain rice

* 3 tbs margerin ( I used ghee instead)

* 1/4 cup finely chopped onion

* 3 cloves garlic, minced

* 1 red chili, finely chopped

* 3 1/4 cup chicken broth

* Fresh coriander

1. In a large saucepan heat margarine/ghee until margarine/ghee is melted.

2. Add onion, garlic, and red chili. Saute until onion is tender, about 5 minutes.

3. Next, add rice and saute for few seconds.

4. To the rice, add chicken broth. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 10 minutes or till rice is nearly done.

5. Lastly, stir in the shrimp mixture. Return to boiling; reduce heat.

6. Cook, covered, about 5 minutes more or till shrimp turn pink and rice is tender.

7. Garnish with fresh coriander.

Somehow I find it gratifying even just to cook one dish. Just like this chicken briyani Feisal and I whipped up some time ago. Campak the briyani mix and chicken into the rice cooker. Of course, must eat veggie. Salad is always the way to go.

Cooking cut short, a wholesome meal indeed!

To Lily

"My heart is reaching out to you,
For what you’re going through,
I’m thinking of you frequently,
And praying for you, too".

I apologize for failing to contain my emotions yesterday. Stay strong girl.

Listen to my ramblings

I don't know what is up with Astro, they are like sloth that it is not even funny. Only that, sloth is much cuter. They should have installed a new astro set for us since last week, but being the sloths that they are, they have not. Do not be deluded into thinking that they offer a decent customer service. It is nowhere near decent. Let alone great. Rot if you may.

On the flipside, thanks to the tv ariel, we can now make do with tv3 and the likes. I hate watching the news though. So full of bull if you know what I mean. But, I enjoyed watching the Juara Lagu special show just now. Stacy can really dance and sing in one breath like it is nobody's business! Really love her showmanship. Speaking of local talents, I enjoy listening to Bunkface, more than I do Hujan or MUH. Bunkface rocks. This is me doing my bit in 'menyokong industri tanah air'.

Now that I am six months plus along, I should actually start buying baby's essentials. Plus, my feet are beginning to swell, so I shouldn't be on my feet for too long a time at once. We have gotten a baby car seat cum stroller thus far. That's about it. Having prepared a checklist will definitely obviate the need to overspend, or so I hope. Speaking of babies, all the best to Farah Nini on the very-soon-to arrive baby no. six!

Oh, this is the exact 3+1 stroller set that Feisal and I got for Our Little Man inside :) Chick ey?

A Little Note

To Dearest Asni, my Best Buddy, I am happy for you. Now that the 'cat' is out of the bag, I am sure everyone will be praying for your tiny miracle's well being and health. So will I. So, your paranoia and anxiety, enough already! Just take care, take your supplements daily and be happy! If anything, Abdul will be there to spoil you. ha ha.

My Life's happenings for those who wish to know :

1. Been watching 8tv for the past three days. Astro cable had been gnawed through to its last breath by none other than si putih nakal. Not that we can't watch tv3, last night saw us both 'listening' rather than watching Buletin Utama as the vision is akin to millions of bees on the screen. I'm sure you can conjure up that image in your mind. Feisal can't do without news, so at 8pm, He would ask 'boleh imagine tak muka orang dalam tv tu macam mana. As long as you boleh imagine the image, ok la'. Yeah.

2. I can now gauge my Baby's sleeping pattern. No, not the rabbit. The Baby in my tummy. He'll sleep once Feisal hums to him, which is few minutes after I lie down, not forgetting, after several karate kicks. He'll then wake up at 10:30 a.m. EVERY morning. No kidding! (I once played a whole Green Day song to my tummy at 9:30 a.m and he refused to budge an inch). Hopefully, he'll be tardy for school and stuff. What's "tepat" in Arabic? Maybe we should call him 'Ahmad Tepat'.

Oh, that's about it. My life is so simple :) Ah, now back to watching 8tv.

1, 23.

For a 28 year old; considerably young still, my Husband's facade screams otherwise. But, He's becoming more of a kid by the day. A big bully, a cheeky and funny guy He is. Thank you for painting my life with colours of all sorts. Anything but soul destroying.

His becoming of age is just another day. It's Father's Day that I am looking forward to. InsyaAllah :) Will Our son inherit His signature eyebrows? ha ha. I Love You nonetheless Feisal Boy.

Ginger

Last Saturday, I met this little fella at our uncle's family get together, amid cheerful children and not to mention a clown. Looking so forlorn and agitated, I felt obligated to cuddle and calm this little fella down. So there I stood, overfond of this fella, silently hoping that Feisal would say yes. Yes to my wanting to take this fella to the vet, and yes to my forlorn hope of keeping him.

Perish the thought already. Of course it was a no. Mainly because this cute creature is owned by the condo's management. So I had to let him go, and not that I know not how, I just love him already. All creatures big or small must be in want of love and care, and it seemed to me that there was a scarcity of the same. Too bad, and on our way home, I blurted "His name is Ginger".

Check out his expression. The same night, this little boy merajuk. He took one sniff at my baju kurung and instantly he smelt something foreign. It's only Ginger silly, your it-was-not-to-be buddy.

Cooking made simple

With the weight I'm carrying, I try to keep cooking fast and simple. One that requires minimal dexterity and preparation, so as to minimize, if not prevent a nasty backache.

And this little Boy loves it when I cook, that's when he's most active, besides after every meal that is.

Check out the recipe here!

Perpetualness

Kuching - Perpetual rain, flood alert, can't wait to fly home again.

Kuala Lumpur - Perpetual kicking and poking, baby alert, can't wait to meet him.

Gaza - Perpetual carnage, on perpetual alert, can't wait for it to end.

Pan Boy

I'll be flying home later today. And Feisal and I have just dropped my cutie pie off at my cousin's, just two floors away from us. And here I am, away from my bunny, strucked by a phenomenal amount of sadness.

My cousin's unit and ours, its distance is nothing. But I can't come knocking on people's door at 2 a.m. can I? Only to then tell them how much I miss my bunny and needed to see the same right away, after being apart for only five hours. Deranged.

I can't help but imagining him hopping around happily around my feet, silently asking for treats. Delirious.

Sorry for you have to sleep in your cage as opposed to your favourite spot in the living room Pan Boy.

I'm in for a bunny meltdown!

All I need.

I loved 2008. And I will feel the same for 2009.

Everyone had their fair share of having to take the rough with the smooth. As did I. But I love my life nonetheless.

Just don't stop loving. Here's to permeating and surrounding oneself with love. Hello 2009. And of course, I love you all.