Cycling with Aaqil/Children

"Just because I have a kid now, I have to give up cycling?" Omar once questioned himself loud enough for me to hear without the need to eavesdrop. Then he gave me that look again and said to me, "The mother needs a bike! It's going to be a family activity together!" That was how we started.

Omar was an avid cyclist. He made several trips to Malaysia on his bike or even brought along his bike to Indonesia for island-hopping activities. All that happened when me and Aaqil wasn't in his picture yet. And now he has to mild himself down towards non-vigorous bicycle rides knowing he is going to tow his then 21-month-old kid-son on his KONA (thats a huge sacrifice I think) and a wife who thinks that a bicycle is only used for playing at the courtyard or the minor-road side in front of my house in Malaysia. It didn't even cross my mind that I will use a bicycle as a mean of transport that can take us to places. The hunt started with my bike followed by the rear child seat for Aaqil. My bike was an easy find and I have started shifting the derailluers (gears) ever since. Omar was a little particular with the safety aspects of the child carrier but finally we found one financially suitable without sacrificing safety.

Now I realise that cycling is not only a sporty activity. It is also an emotionally and even spiritually healthy activity for the whole family as well. We have cycled to semi-remote places not accessible by public transports and perhaps too great a distant for pedestrians on foot too. Safety? Yes, we have been questioned or being passed remarks by those overly concerned about the safety of Aaqil on a bike. As usual, I am just going to let these people ponder on these topics themselves so I can stick to my bicycling topic.

Not to go harsh on Aaqil, we will take breaks every 30 minutes for him to stretch himself out. Surprisingly, Aaqil is the happiest soul when comes to family cycling. We will always coincide cycling with several other non-cycling activities like picnics, educational visits or just resting while letting him explore on his own foot. Actually, children do make good cycling companions because they are adaptable.

Let me tell you what I've learnt so far at this new activity of mine, plus some self researches from other experts hehe...

1) When you take a child on a ride, make certain you are familiar with the bike route. If you get lost or the route is longer than expected, your child may suffer not only from a diminished experience, but also in more serious ways, such as dehydration or exposure.

2) Children tire quickly in the afternoon. Take advantage of their energy in the morning and start your ride early.

3) Plan on taking a lot of short breaks. Also allow time to stop, get off the bike and explore.

4) Always have water readily available for your child. This is easy if children are in a trailer or on their own bike, but be mindful of a child in a child carrier. Stop often so he or she can drink.

5) A well-timed snack can defuse a squabble or sour temper. Kids tend to misbehave more when they're tired, hungry or thirsty.

6) Carry a Tool Kit and know how to use it.

7) Carry a Small First-Aid Kit. Generally, you'll only need a few bandages, some triple antibiotic cream and encouraging words to soothe a small case of road rash.

8) Make It Fun. Choose an interesting route that goes by parks, rivers, views, or—surprise!—a playground. Most children are interested in what they can see along the route rather than what's at the end of the road or trail.

9) Invite Playmates. Cycling is always more fun when shared. If your child has a friend who is at the same competency on the bike, bring them along.


The most important thing to remember when cycling with children is to avoid overdoing it. You can still cover a lot of miles—it's just going to take longer. Do it as a family, it's fun. Start early, it's very beneficial for your kid. My experiences will be different if I will just buy him a bike later on and let him play on his own without any family participation.

Believers believe beliefs

I brought myself up into believing western cultures are always believably convincing and copied them blindly. These issues have in several moments questioned my integrity as a Malay Muslim, which are usually shaken by these blind beliefs. These questions were often being shoved aside by our closest of people OR you will be considered as an abnormal person if you raise these issues which most people considered them as petty questions OR they will label you as a fanatic Muslim.

Our family, the 3 of us, practiced open concept thinking, we allow questions to be asked when we practiced certain strange things, for example rules of the house and at the same time we hope our questions will be answered if we encounter or experience strange practices by other people. The motive is simple, for our growing up son to be able to know the reasons on why he can or cannot do or practice certain things. We do not want him to follow blindly what other influential people are practicing; importantly we didn’t want him to do things without knowing the reasons why, even though what he might be doing is a good deed. We do not want him to believe that what his parents do are always right, we want him to question us of our intentions, and so he will be able to understand why he must or must not do certain things.

By now, most of you must have been trying to foresee where I am getting at for this posting. Yesterday was the day it have been 31 years on the Gregorian calendar that I was brought into this world via my mother’s womb. And almost for the pass 29 years, I was made to believe that every year on this date was supposed to be the happiest days of my life.

When my son was brought into this world, I began to question myself. Should I let this western culture of celebrating the DATE of BIRTH into my new family OR should I discard it totally knowing there won’t be any harm in not celebrating it, OR we can still commemorate DATE of BIRTHs by injecting new ways and ideologies to his young and fresh mind instead of the traditional , cakes, candles, boring song, party hats and gifts?

When come to this, Omar has always been supportive in family management issues and has always played a part in it. He will allow me to decide what we deem best for Aaqil and us, without conflicting with our religion’s beliefs. He does not believe in external intervention when come to raising Aaqil. He believes we can decide for our own family’s GOD given fate. In fact, he was the one who suggested that we should hands-on with Aaqil ourselves since he was 1-minute old so that we could get rid of some traditional believes that were most of the time conflicting with the religion and at the same time gain some experiences with the newborn. Thank GOD, even though at first I thought his ideas were crazy knowing that we have no experiences with infants, but if we didn’t do that, then we will not have the chance to accumulate these experiences ourselves with our own baby. Though, words do get around saying that why was I as a graduate had chosen to nurture my own baby rather then make money for myself by getting into employment? OR why didn’t we just leave these tasks to grandmothers or maids while we enjoy ourselves and make more money? We did ignore these 2 most popular questions and we didn’t regret the path we took. With additional self-researches and advises from those more experienced, GOD showed us the way and our sustenance for our simple-lifed family is enough to nurture Aaqil up. With some practical difficulties, of course, but we managed to pull through.

Back to the topic, Omar and I used to sit and reflect the things that we have blindly followed instead of questioning the motives and intentions. The things that we have done just because our parents were doing and believing in them, and we again, blindly followed just because we didn’t want to hurt their feelings. And some things from the West that we choose to follow as the Westerners have been labeled more superior from us, again without questioning the motives? We admit, Omar and I can’t be too perfect because we aren’t perfect, and the road to perfection is practically unachievable, but working towards it is a pleasure.

The last interesting issue that we brought up was from Omar’s dad himself. When Aaqil suffered a mild flu last week, he believes that the ‘tukar bulan’ & ‘tukar tahun’ is in progress. My question is, is this believe Islamic or not? If it is an Islamic tradition, why is the ‘bulan’ & ‘tahun’ based on the Gregorian calendar and not based on the Islamic calendar? Our verdict? Aaqil got the flu because we exposed him to the rain for too long, so it was our mistake and not the ‘bulan’ or the ‘tahun’. If it wasn't our mistake, then it's just time for Aaqil’s immune system to fight the flu so his bodily defense is ready to fight the next one. If neither, then GOD knows best, our task is to recover him fast rather then bringing in this ‘new’ belief into Aaqil’s and our minds.

Try this, sit among yourselves and openly ask one another the things which we always practice and do without questioning the motives. I bet there are a plenty which we just do not want to admit or face the issues…

GOD knows best… not me… not Omar…

Saying the right things at the wrong time?

"Ani." Omar called my name when I was engrossed reading a book.
"Yes!" I replied. "But whatever it is don't touch me!" That was my second reminder to him as I was having my ablution on waiting for Asar prayers.
With his puzzled looking face, he looked me straight in the eye for a moment, and when he got back to his senses, he replied, "I've forgotten what I was supposed to say."

I might have missed what he wanted to say, maybe he will if he remembers again, which I bet he will, but I have asked him again several times today but he still couldn't recall what he's supposed to say to me. With that monotonous tone of his, usually he wants to tell me something good or he is wanting me to do him a favour.

Hmmmm, maybe he wants to say he loves me??? Trust me, not in a million years, before and after. He has never uttered those words to me, again, before and after. He is capable of saying the nicest of fabricated words but never "I love you". At the same time, he is also capable of saying the harshest in the most gentle way.

His belief of 'love' is too big a word for human use that humans themselves couldn't give a proper definition for that word, most of the time caused a confusion on my intuition. Most of his facts are true. I am not going through that topic this time round as most of my dear readers will have an emotional conflict with his statements and will later repercussioned to me. But one thing for sure, he believes his actions are always louder than his words, so I have accepted that his actions so far has proofed that he loves me... heh heh.

Ok, back to the topic header. He, at one time, has frequently reminded me to not 'saying the right things at the wrong time'. I remembered at one of our many discussions on a meal when he said, "Ani, you are so capable of saying the right things at the wrong time." Of course at that particular point of time, my left and right cortex were contemplating on what he actually meant. But somehow or rather I begin to understand what it means... literally.

So, where will this topic lead to? Well, it could be meaningless if you don't look beyond its meaning. To me, what I've learnt, saying the right things are not always appropriate if the timing is bad. Its either you wouldn't get your message across or worst it will hurt someone. But for my case, I did make my husband forget what he's supposed to say.

My Orchard Road Outing...

Last Monday, I had a chance to meet one of my cyber-friend cum asiaparents group member, Haznita and her wonderful son, Danial Wan. Since I have been participating in this group, I have gathered some good knowledges about parenting especially the breastfeeding topic. I met Haznita inside here and since there are not many Malays around, I emailed her and she responded. She is an ex-engineer who gave up her career and big salary to look after his son. For more stories do visit Haznita's website.

As usual, I always enjoy outing and meeting new friends. After a quick breakfast at McDonald's Forum Galleria, we proceeded to Toys 'R' Us. Both kids had so much fun till Aaqil refused to leave. Haznita was looking for Lego Duplo for her son. A little bit indecisive about the price, we both decided to look up at Legoland Takashimaya which is 10 minutes walk from Forum's. Danial was lucky since Haznita has decided to get 1 box of Duplo basic and 1Duplo Aeroplane. I wanted to buy also but Aaqil just got his Thomas train from his uncle (my brother) currently attached in London. So until he got bored with the train, I guess I hold on first. I still had some memories of playing Lego when I was small. But girls will always be girls. I remembered I made bricks into a house and arrange the Lego plants and small flowers hehe. But till now Lego is still an expensive toy but surely it lasts long. So it is worth it to buy plus the kids can learn to be creative. Both of us shared mother's stories and tried to motivate each other to be strong on being SAHM.

I then reached home merely after Asar and we proceed to Lolo and Lola's house (thats in Filipino for grandpa and grandma). Aaqil had a bit of silver fish porridge and I had a bit of rice with fish head curry for an early dinner. Went back before Maghrib. I could not sleep that night knowing that Omar would be home the next day. I fell asleep around 1am finally, wondering how Omar would look like after a month. Yes, he did lose weight and looked more "handsome to me lah" than before hahahah...... lack of food? Nah, he managed to do some work out before coming home... ;-)

Family Cycling Time..


Aaqil was the most excited and still is after Omar came back. He always clings to his dad. Yesterday we went cycling together to eat prata (roti canai) ala Jalan Kayu in Sim's Drive early in the morning. The prata was nice and sweet and crispy, reminded me of one shop in Puchong. Singapore and Malaysia had different taste of prata and of course Malaysia's version is nicer. But this one has a unique taste though...

A month without U...

I thought at first, I was suffering from depression but I considered it mild. Last week, I had been having bad dreams, anxious feelings, crying for no apparent reason and all symtoms of depression. BUT, after i menstruated, all gone. Gone the days when I was nauseaus, sweat, generally unwell, sad and lazy for no reason. Menstruation itself is a complex process that involving hormones, body and brain.

I think I know why. I should not blame my period. It has been my best friend for almost 20 years. It is because of Aaqil's father not around leh.....Ha Ha..Anyway, he will be back in less than 24 hours woohooo...and what shall I cook on the day he comes home? "kari ikan bawal? Asam pedas? Nasi Lemak ?? Or just "masak minah" *evil grins*

I had taken some "medications" to cure my problems and it worked (Praise to Allah). Well, I have to admit I hate to see a doctor. Normally, if any of us sick, I will search on internet on the info abt the symtoms, home remedy and prescription on the sickness. So when I see the doctor, normally they will repeat what I read on internet:) It is true!!! I will waste money and my time. I have a great book that I read more than 10 times already, The book title is " How to raise a healthy child in spite of doctors" By Dr Robert S Mendelsohn.
Oh ya back to my medication on my "depression", I just browse all the nice photos when we were honey-mooning together in NZ and Australia. Sure, it has brought the happy memory back. Happy person where got sick one? Oh ya besides photos, I went swimming with Aaqil, did a few laps while my MIL 'jaga her cucu'. Exercise does bring the stress level down. I actually did not take any pain killer for my headache and nausea, but I did eat some briyani kambing after being forced by my in laws. Surprisingly, I healed!!! ha ha..

Aaqil was 3 months in my tummy!!! No wonder he likes cows and sheeps..

Swimming session at MIL place...

This afternoon, I met my MIL outside and we decided to go for swimming session at Geylang East Swimming Complex ,a 5 mins walking distance from her house.This was our second time there. The complex had just been renovated and not many people hanging around. My MIL bought a nice wetsuit for her, muslimah design but she was a bit shy although her tummy is much flatter than mine haha. Anyway, since not many peple around, we kinda conquered the whole pool that meant for parents and kids. Aaqil had so much fun inside the pool. Although he is still in "play play" stage but I saw him try to float byhimself. Maybe he remembered swimming and floating in my tummy. He also tried to submerge on his own many times. Clear sign that he will not end up like me. I only know a little bit of swimming skills after married and only frog style. Ha ha...Better than nothing!!

Since Aaqil looked so tiny in that pool, he attracted many attention and some kids came to us to join Aaqil. Some shared their swimming skills and some told me to exercise his leg. It took me by surprise when a 10 year old boy came to me and ask me to help Aaqil with his leg movement.

3 of us had a really good time though. Deep inside, I told myself, maybe I did not share passion like beauty, shoes, accessories or make up with my MIL, but she is cool in a way that she will support activities that I love to do. I am glad that when my husband is not in town, she is there to be with us, to heal my love-sick for Omar and she will come out with many options to make my time occupied with Aaqil.

After a simple dinner at MIL house, I left with Aaqil by cab. A small tragedy happened. The cab I took collided with a lorry but Alhamdulillah, both of us are safe. But the stupid driver asked us to get out from his cab immediately because the lorry took off. He wanted to chase him. I got the plate number but I am not sure whether to make a complaint or not. He still asked me for 5 bucks and yet, I did not reach my house. I must walked another 10 minutes with a sleepy head baby. Anyway, my MIL was dead worried after I called her to tell what happened. I guess when you are in another country, you will feel a little bit relieved when someone cares about you when tragedy struck.

Tired,
Take care all..

Early participation for small kids..

I have a great helper who is very enthusiast with household chores. Thank GOD. The best thing is I dont have to pay him at all and he kinda do it very well. Everyday, he helps me wiping my wooden floor and put the dirty clothes in the washing machine. He understood that his mom hates messy place so after playing he will put his own toys in the basket and books on the shelf.

Lately everybody was asking me when can Aaqil have a playmate. Well, how to get pregnant if I am still breastfeeding my 22 months old son exclusively plus my other half is not in town now haha!

Ok back to my topic, the belief that a family unit should have at least one girl is not completely right anymore. It is just the matter of training your kids (even boys) early and make them feel responsible in their own place. I try to make my son believe that he is capable of handling simple chores around the house and deep inside I pray to God when he grows up, he will know how to help his immediate family and later his wife and kids.

The early participation in household chores was deemed more important in their success than any other factor, including IQ. On the other hand, if children did not begin participating in household chores until they were teenagers, the experience seemed to backfire and had a negative effect on their success as young adults.

Aaqil can't really speak yet. He only utters some words and a short phase like "It's hot" or "juice is nice" but one day I hope he can say fluently after giving one household chores this " Mommy believes I can do it" . Just be patient when they are a little bit slow.

A father's love..

"The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother"

- author unknown -

A day on the farm..

One of the video that Aaqil likes to watch is "Baby McDonald - A day on the farm" by Baby Einstein. He loves the puppet show and the theme song of course. If I need a 45-min rest to read newspaper or do my own things, I will put the show on. Watching a video or whatever they called education tools for babies, it is known as passive learning (but it is still learning) and I have been waiting for the right time to show him what is a real farm and see and feel the real animals. And God granted my wish last Sunday when my family and my younger sis went for a short getaway to Ostrich Farm at Telok Ramunia, Johor, nearby Desaru.

We first had our lunch at Tebrau Mall, well although the name is so not catchy, but my sister said it was the largest in SEA. I did not had a chance to shop for anything as my better half is on my back. Actually some tops from Elle caught my attention but from outside the boutique, I heard Omar said "Why do you still wanna put on baby's tops? They are meant for babies and not adults..." Anyway I was totally aware of that but window shopping is no harm. Exercising that is!!! Anyway after we had our lunch at Secret Recipe, Omar already signalled me to go, he just cannot stand the shopping complex environment and even though my adrenaline shopping hormone was just about to rise, I decided to leave also since the crowds were building up. Aaqil had some good time at the Jusco indoor playground park. It was so huge but no camera allowed so no pics of Aaqil being bullied by other kids. And the breastfeeding room was excellent. Lots of room and clean. I am so glad that Malaysia now is encouraging breastfeeding. Did I tell you that most government offices in Johor now have one breastfeeding room for the working moms and visitors. My Malaysia, truly asia, I am so proud of being Malaysian.

We straight away headed towards Pengerang using trunk roads. It took us almost 90 mins of driving. Upon reaching, we found an eating place near the seaside. Had 'mee hailam' which was really spicy yet delicious. Aaqil had chinese fried rice and deep inside I was hoping both Omar and him will not get diarrhea. It was just me..because I know I can take most food but not Omar. He has a very sensitive stomach when come to new recipes.

Finally we reached our final true destination. This ostrich farm has more than 300 oastriches. They started with 20 from South africa. Aaqil was frightened at first looking at the strange huge birds which were quite friendly. They had some tamed ostriches and all of us had a chance to touch and give them food. Aaqil was really entertained and me and Omar endlessly talking to him, introduce him to chicken, monkeys, roosters, baby oastriches and other kinds of birds. It was really a great experience too to feel ostrich eggs. We can step on the eggs if we are less than 100 kg and it will not break, on sand of course.

Bottomline, for right now, whatever trips we are planning, are meant to be for Aaqil and the trips planned had to be as educational as possible for that young mind. We do encountered some who didn't believe that the young ones will understand at such an age. Well, I don't know about them but thank GOD, it has worked for Aaqil, for he has pronounced 'Ostrich' as 'Oos-tert'.

Visiting the Love Boat at Punggol Marina

Omar never once believe in surprises. If he gives me something as a gift, it has never been gift-wrapped. True enough, he will never give me anything on my birthday or my anniversary, if he thinks I deserve something, he will give it anytime he likes, on no occasions, it was hard for me at first, but I am ok with it now. To him, occasional dates have no significance, he even tends to forget his own birthday at times, so I think it's fair.

What is the relation with this blog topic? Yep, this morning he gave Aaqil and myself another of his pre-planned surprises. We left early morning to head down to Punggol Marina Country Club where a client turned friend of his was waiting for us with his wife and boat, both as lovely. John, from America, Nina and their yatch, there must be a name for their lovely yatch. That was the first time I went into a yatch in Singapore after Boston. The marina is smaller than Boston Harbour though, but nice serene view surrounding it.

The weather was not so friendly as it was really hot at 8.30 am when we arrived there. Nina, John's wife is a Philipino who sailed with him for nearly 13 years. Well, I really have high respects for a woman like her. They never had a home on land and their boat is their home. That means she has to give up a lot of woman thingy like shopping. But shopping is nothing as compared to the travels all over the world they've got and the total freedom they earned on the yatch.


Aaqil was uncomfortable at first with the new environment in the boat or maybe John looked a little alien for his eyes. He was cranky and clingy. I was unfortunate too as I already felt sea-sick although that boat was not moving. The water was calm according to John but I still felt giddy and sweat all over. So we both decided to hang out on the deck while John and Omar were inside the cabin discussing about computer issues.






John and Omar later joined us on the deck and we chatted for quite a while. I was curious on how they live their lives. At first I just couldn't figure out how will this couple survive without land, I mean without a proper home built on stilts or concretes, what about their social lives and the questions went on. But upon listening to John and Nina, I believe the word 'proper home' is not something where everyone agrees to. To them, their yatch is their 'proper home', they lived their married life in it and they are both not only happy but have long ago accepted that this is their life. A kind of life where you will be held responsible over what you are going to do and you got no one to point your finger to.

I left with a lot of input in my mind. For those who think people with yatch are leading an expensive lifestyle or you must be expensive to be one, once again WRONG, please think again. On our way back, Omar asked me what would be the things that I would dream to do in life that others will find abnormal? I am still pondering about it but one thing for sure I hope we will start our true life journey soon... God Willing...

Super Grandparents..

Aaqil's greatgrandma told me that she was sad for not seeing us for almost 3 weeks. I really felt bad especially when I saw Aaqil reluctantly wanted to 'salam' her. I guess for a toddler to be confident and comfortable in one place, he/she must visit that place regularly. Anyway after we convinced him , he finally agreed to kiss his "Yot" and we took a nice picture together. I told myself, I should not make her wait for Aaqil too long. Aaqil is lucky to have a loving grandma and greatgrandma. Because he is the one and only grandchild to my MIL at the moment. No competition yet.
Nyai (Aaqil's grandma), was preparing Aaqil's favourite dish, chicken soup with rice. She then brought us out for groceries shopping and insisted to pay for everything I took. I took lots of junkies like 2 big tubs ice creams and chocolates. Anyway, thanks Mak!

My mom in law till now still decides to stay single. I pity her but after 4 years, I realized that she is happy the way she is doing now. Maybe her previous marriage experience was too painful too bear. Some people will have to go through unexpected scenarios.

As for Aaqil, he is lucky to have 3 great-grandmothers (2 in MY, 1 in SG), 2 grandmothers (both in SG) and 2 grandfathers (1 in MY, 1 in SG). Don't try to figure out which is which, unless you are willing to spare your analytical time. So failed marriages do provide something extra for Aaqil..

No Make up and Maid Without Make-up!

There is blessing in disguise why I am married to Omar. He personally thinks make-up is not necessary and I am lazy to make up. The only time I really had a make-over was 4 years ago. Well, it did not make me feel good though as most people don't want to believe the couple in the picture is us. Even my FIL's wife asked me why I put on this couple's picture frame in my living room. Oh my...
I seldom (simple lazy is the word) make up though I have mostly everything on my dressing table. Hey, I use "Bobby Brown" because I think I am "brown and sweet"! Ha ha!

I was advised by my MIL to dress appropriately so as not to be mistaken as a maid to Aaqil. However, some still thought I am a devoted Philipino maid to Aaqil.
If anyone asks me whether I am from Philipines, I just said 'no' and kept quiet. If I am lucky, Aaqil will utters "mama, mama" in front of them and they will feel ashamed of themselves. Action speaks louder than words. Sometimes I just could not understand. Rather than they think I am a maid, why can't they ask whether I am a mom first. Anyway, that does not matter anymore because I really cannot be bothered with these type of people, I just find them ignorantly funny.

Another funny thing that always happen to me when somebody knock on my door. When I open they will be asking for the owner of the house or 'my parents'. Normally they are real estate agent or sales man. Huh...Don't I look like I can attend to them at the door?

Well, I was fore-warned that grooming can make your husband love you more and more. Well again, some uncertainties are best left unanswered. God knows best...

Aaqil on the Drums..

I saw him banging on plates and pots one day and I thought maybe drumset is a good idea for this habit and hopefully become his learning tools. I find Aaqil entertaines by his new drumset although sometimes the repeating sound he has been making very annoying. But all toys make an annoying sound I guess.

When it comes to music instrument, drum is the easiest to play, just give it a smack. A friend of mine told me it can give a baby sense of order, discipline and equilibrium.

I hope my neighbors will understand his new toy. Just one of them asked me whether we heard any bang sound and loud music at 7-8 am in the morning. Huh!! Who else?? Father and the son.......

Aaqil's Paternal Grandmother and Greatgrandmother...(Re-edited)

Hot topic nowadays is "Bila la nak kurus?" (that is "When will you/I slim down?" in Malay). I remembered those days when my nikah (wedding solemnization) was just around the corner. I was presurrised by my colleagues and relatives asking me to lose at least 5-8 kg. They had used harsh words and sarcastic remarks to make me realized that my body was "tembam" (plump) during that time. Enough headaches with the hectic wedding plans, I did not want to get a migrane by calculating calories and skip meals. However, I was just an ordinary girl who was excited on becoming somebody's wife. Happy person eats a lot right? So I had never lose my weight till I actually gave birth to my son. I have lost weight now however, due to breastfeeding since Aaqil's birth. Although my weight should only be 47-49 kg, but I am blessed with my weight now. As long as I can fit into size 28 (size 8) jeans, I don't have to starve myself.

Omar has been encouraging me to exercise regularly, he is more to me keeping fit as a result and not exercising just to lose weight. He actually never complaint about my looks and body. However, by him being quiet does not make me feel like I should abandon my agenda to be slimmer. I am amazed by the way my MIL 'jaga badan'. She is 52 now and still look great and active and weighs only 52 kg. Don't talk about my SIL. She resembles Kris Dayanti or model Rachel Hunter. Both are hot hot woman!!

To my dear friends who are now on diet, count me in too. I really envy (I mean good envy) my MIL's small waist!! Let's diet towards healthy mind and body. On top of all, we all should be realistic on our target..Good luck girls!!

Aaqil was 16 days when this pic was taken with his grandma or in javanese "Nyai"

Aaqil's great grandmother or "Yot"..She is now 86

PS: The word 'diet' or 'dieting' literally means 'to eat and drink according to a regulated system, especially so as to lose weight or control a medical condition'. And 'diet' never ever means 'eat less' or 'starve yourself'! A 'healthy diet' simply means 'eating within your means' or rather 'eating what your body needs'. If everybody watches their diets, than their diets are automatically healthy, but we tend to eat beyond our means at times, or worst, all the time. Well, reminding myself too, that is the reality in difference between 'I need' and 'I want'.

Our Sunday today was occupied by our picnic in Sentosa, and yes Aaqil did have his wonderful time at Palawan Beach, just one of the few beaches in Sentosa. Accompanied by Omar's dad and his wife (auntie), the trip was made more fabulous with Auntie bringing her Chicken Curry delicacy, though without coconut milk to make it sound healthier, but it is still rich in mount-watering taste. Healthy to begin with not until I finished up 2 pieces of chicken together with the skins, well that was the unhealthy part? We were supposed to be expecting some guests from Manila to join our picnic but they later called it off due to their insufficient time as they were rushing for their last minute shoppings for they have to fly off the day after. But no food went to waste, all were taken care off biologically.

Aaqil did help...

We got Aaqil a new float for him to rest himself on the waters but it took us quite some time to convince him that this float is safe. After a few planned distractions and some sand plays, he finally agreed with our theory and belief. Soon, there he was, back to his water crazy mood, alternating with his version of sandcastle buildings.

then... he was convinced!

Did you see his sandcastle?

The crowd started building up after Aaqil's short afternoon nap, people of different walks of life lighting up Palawan Beach, bikinis, trunks, naked babies, I mean real babies. Took a walk with Aaqil to the claimed Southernmost Point of Asia Continent. A suspension bridge linked where we were to that small island where at one point Aaqil stood and watched an Indian romantic couple with the woman in her traditional saree in their utmost passionate mood lying and rolling on the sand. Aaqil must have wondered why didn't his parents allow him to roll on the sand too?

when the bridge swings side-to-side, he does too...

136.01km from equator

Well guys (if you have something to comment about babies and their effects on water/sea spirits, please save your breathe or fingers if you are typing), picnic with baby is fun but it could be not if you didn't equip yourselves with picnic essentials, imagine you were there without diapers? Sounds exaggerating? Well it does happen to people around me.

Here are some tips of mine, might not be fool proof if a tsunami heads your way though, God forbids! And one more thing I need to exaggerate before I begin... 'PICNIC' as in the dictionary means 'A meal eaten outdoors, as on an excursion'. But there are still those who always relate picnics to beaches? Wonder why... anyway, here it goes...

My tips :-

Plan your trip simple, so it's easy to make last minute adjustments, remember, you have a baby with you, too much new sights and sounds will over stimulate the baby, and make them sit too long instead of letting them running around at their own energetic place will understimulate them? So balance up...

- Diapers, all depends on the age of your baby, you'll know how much to bring including spares

- Blankets, they are multi-purpose, you may use it for comfort, shade, warmth, for baby to lie down bla bla bla

- Ziplocs, handy for soiled diapers, dirty clothing, shoes bla bla bla

- Baby wipes, handy for fast baby clean up and other clean ups too

- Tissues, if the mess to clean up is too expensive to use the baby wipes

- Extra clothing for the baby, definite!

- Sun hat, if your baby is ok with something on the head

- Food for the baby, babies might not like your picninc food though and they can't wait till you get home to eat...

- Slings or carriers if you use one, great to have both hands free!

- Plan where will your baby sleep on his picnic nap, if he needs a crib, bring one?

- Stroller can be handy too

- Camera, unless you want no pictures, OR so that your baby has something expensive to play with?

- Importantly, the way you pack your bag, separate babies stuff and other picnic stuff, or you'll confuse yourself, and please DON'T carry 6 big bags just for a 1 day picnic...

For more professional tips, pls visit babycentre.com

tired, bye

Three of us had a long day today in JB. Omar purposely took leave to accompany me to do my new IC and run some bank errands. We managed to kill 2 birds with one stone. I met up with Aida's sister as she had some stuffs from Aida for me. Aida, thanks so much for the lovely gifts and souveniers and of course the fish.

Ila and Aaqil got along well...

I have not met Ila, Aida's sister for almost a year. She has been great I supposed. Glad to meet her again and we did have a small chat in her room at Hotel Rasa Sayang which was coincidentally near the building where I did my IC.

Omar was a bit pissed off with a few government officials there. He said all were sour faced when he came across them. Not too sure if he look too Singaporean. Didn't our PM encourage to be "berbudi bahasa" when handling with any people? As for me, I had been trying my very best to converse in my sweetest voice as much as possible with them, but the result, they would look back at me sarcastically. I rather keep my mouth shut then, losing my temper to these people are not worth while at all.

We hang around in JB, had so much 'makan-makan' . From roti prata, nasi lemak, ABC, Japanese tako pochi, pretzels, secret recipe and lots of teh tarik. My khaki pants felt tight on the way back. Felt like puking too. I have to really obey what our prophet said . " Eat when you are hungry and stop before u are full".

We went back with KTMB train. Met one JB woman that seeked my help for her to apply for PR status. She lives in Tanjung Pagar and by making one new friend, I will have another place to recci next time. Tanjung Pagar railway area still belongs to Malaysia. Omar has been pastering me to recci there, but I was so scared with the long grass that had not been maintained there. I am sure there are snakes and crawling animals :). Now I can stop by at my new friend's house and Omar can recci the small forest on his own.

Believe it or not one of our favourite hang out place in Singapore is Chinatown. Yes, typically Chinatown in all over the world is associated with gangsterism, dirty place, crowded and 'no halal food to be found maaa'. I have been to several Chinatown in States, Europe, Australia and NZ and comparing to these, Chinatown Singapore can give you lots of surprise.

I have several reasons why I like Chinatown.

1. I can get the herbal ginseng there for my chicken soup which superbly delicious. Just put the herbs and whole chicken. It is healthy and yummy and my family loves it.
2. There are several halal food restaurants/stalls and frankly, they are not just halal, they are incredibly delicious and they maintain the cleanliness of their places.
3. A place to run away from 'Malays' , and I mean racist Malays who think chinese is a bad race.
4. A place where I can buy cheap stuffs for my house. I can spend 3-4 dollars and bring back one big bag full with household items.
5. Omar and I were born to love Chinese food.
6. There are some historic mosques and temples around as well as religious events.
7. Auction street everywhere.

Having said that, I remember one saying, "To be a perfect person in this world, you must married a Japanese woman ( because they will obey you ), live in France ( one of the beautiful country) and eat Chinese food (because it is damn delicious and healthy) . Oh No, I only eat chinese food but that is good enough!!!

Ain't nobody perfect in this world.

Today we went there again to be a "kay-poh" family for their 15th day Chinese New year Celebration. No, don't get us wrong, we are not celebrating with them, we just want to see the fireworks and the crowds.

Aaqil loves indian food too but this 'luxury food' only can be eaten once a month...

We had a great early dinner at one of the halal indian restaurant called "Taj Indian Food". We ordered Tandoori chicken, fish beriyani, fried brinjals and the indian style potato vegies. It was very fulfilling and we definately will come back. I did not get anything today as most shops were closed for their celebration but yes, I had a great time this weekend, again in Chinatown.

I have been following Tagalog telenovela 'Sanay Wala Nang Wakas' since 3 months ago. The drama is good for me to kill my time as I really admire Jericho's look. It is typical love drama about a rich guy who fell for a poor gal and they both had twists and turns before they became together. Yes, I know that watching drama is not good so I am taking the opportunity to learn Tagalog language so that I can converse with my FIL's wife. Although she can speak English fluently, I make her laugh whenever i try to utter some simple phrases in Tagalog. Laughter is a good medicine especially for a cancer patient like her. Now we both have more to talk about....... about the prediction of the ending of this telenovela though I already knew the ending which I got from the internet.

'Kuya Bernard had a wrestling session with Aaqil'

Today we had a visitor. Auntie Aida (my FIL wife) nephew from Philippines. A 21 year old boy but very street smart. He is here to work as a Management Trainee in Royal Sporting House. He speaks with an American accent and to my surprise he was telling me about the history of Philippines government until Gloria Arroya made public recently to abolish presidency. I was really impressed with his knowledge about politics and everything. Wish Aaqil can grow up being street smart and not paper smart alone.

After fulfilling dinner..

Omar bought some popiah from 'Qi Ji' for tea time snacks. Auntie Aida and Bernard enjoyed it very much. We had so much to talk until they decided to stay for dinner. We bought mutton soup, mee goreng and fried rice mamak style for dinner. Again this health concious boy enjoyed it.

All of us plan to meet again at Sentosa Island this coming 26th for a picnic. Was wondering, what will I cook?

Fat and happy!!!

I just weigh myself...I gained 2 kg. I guess the reason being is that I have been eating outside for the whole week since Najwa is around. Although most of the time, she is hooked in front of my notebook chatting with friends, her presence really made me feel less lonely. I have been too obsessed with nurturing aaqil and some of my freelance jobs and with her around, things are getting less stressful than usual.

Anyway, Najwa has been experiencing toilet phobia in Singapore...just like some of my friends that visited me before. Hardly we can find a toilet with water pipe in public toilets here, just like any other countries which muslims are minority as far as I am concern. But our religion has made it simple and convenient for everyone to clean themselves and maintain our hygiene. Using a tissue as a rough object is not wrong. Well, here I will lay down some of the solutions to use the dry toilet.

1. Use wet tissues or baby wipes which we can find everywhere. It also comes in a small packet thus convenient to put in a small handbag
2. Wet the normal tissue you find in the toilet. Wet as much as you can from the sink outside.
3. Use the handicapped toilet. There are sink inside. (The handicaps will hate you for this?)
4. Do your business at home and drink less (and get dehydrated and die under the hot sun?)

I am glad that after some advises, my sister finds my techniques for dry toilets are acceptable to her.

Last but not least : You can't be fussy when you use public toilet and we have to understand the toilet cleaner's predicaments if the toilet is not clean. Just imagine if you are a house owner and your guest made your toilet dirty...How will you feel? So it is our responsibility too to help our public toilet clean be it in Malaysia or anywhere else. And do thank the cleaner if you ever bump to them.

After using a toilet in Chinatown....

CNY with Najwa

First of all, Gong Xi Fa Chai to my fellow Chinese friends....

Introducing my youngest sister, Najwa...She is 20 years old and in relationship with a skinny guy..She is now in her first year in UTM.


We went downtown to experience the unusual quiet shopping malls and streets. Traditionally, on Chinese New Year Eve, those who celebrate CNY will have their reunion dinner. We were at the Fountain of Wealth in Suntec City Mall. We joined other tourists to circle the fountain wealth. We saw some of them determined in making their wish.

My sister loves the picture above. So I have to put it for the sake of her to show off to her friends who have not been to Singapore :D