the precious 30-minutes

Imagine you're given only 30 minutes to prepare and cook dinner for your family.

What can you slot in within the timeframe given?

Monday- i made a simple yet 'yummylicious' vermicelli pasta in carbonara style. Done in less than 30 min, thanks to the readymade Dolmio Mushroom & Herb sauce, i just got the onion, chicken, crab stick and button mushroom sliced thinly, fry until cooked, add in the sauce....siap!

Tuesday - we had cucur 'sempoi' as dinner. Why sempoi? sbb cuma bubuh carrot, telur and togeh, couldn't find daun kucai and udang kecik at the nearest groceries shop :p

Wed- Vermicelli pasta goreng lembab....this time i make sure all the ingredients are ready in hand, as such the output pon sgtla marvellous, at least to our tekak la :) Most importantly, takder rasa kapur mee basah tuh hehe

Thursday - was thinking of having either spaghetti bolognese or toasted bread stuffed with egg and sausage. Bukak fridge tgk tomato puree already expired, opened up the freezer tgk sausage dah abis rupanyer huhuhu....so last2 mkn ape? maggi goreng cepat dimasak sedap dimakan+ayamas chicken ball. Heaven sungguh hehe....hubby ku tak makan dah sbb dah kenyang mkn food meeting ptg tuh.

Friday - sgt malas ari ni...coz i just bought croissants, muffin, apple pie, etc from la boheme jusco MV during our lunch time. Obviously the 30-min rule doesnt apply this time :p

My point is, we can actually cook something for the family within such a very limited time, provided semangat rajin tu ader hehe. Like my case, i reached home around 6pm, tak bukak tudung, terus marched off to kitchen dan bersilat, i've to ensure everything is ready by 630pm, then turn on the engine again to pick up the kiddos. Bila si kecik dah balik rumah, i literally can't move much since firas will cry his lungs out upon seeing me out of his sight, even in a minute...teruk sungguh.

Well, the second point is, why i can't be rajin at all time? kenapa mesti selective, kadang rajin kadang tak? sigh sigh :)

of breastfeeding....

Recently my daily output has come to the lowest level ever, since we got back from Singapore. Most of the time I’ll be only getting 1oz per day. It doesn’t help much either when firas refuses to nurse direct, and I notice he prefers bottle-feeding above all sigh sigh*. He’ll bite when I ask him to latch. Obviously I don’t get the chance to nurse him, even once a day. I guess that’s the reason why the supply drops, particularly because the bre*st doesn’t get enough stimulation huhu. Sedey banget rasa wei! Nonetheless I still bring the pump to office, pumping regime continues as usual, only that I’ll pump twice kalo rajin…if not sekali jela.

Singapore: 23 Oct

Day 3:
Lepas breakfast kami ke Mustafa Center right opposite the hotel. Mall ni dibuka 24hr, macam Mydin di KL sbb sumer brg dijual kat sini, nak yg branded ader, yg murah2 pon ader. Mustafa ni indian-muslim, mmg kaya banget kot sbb dia ade shopping mall, ade travel agency, ade foreign exchange, ade jewelleries....bykla chain of stores dia ader. Kat sini aku sempat sambar sandal adidas ($21) and kasut snoopy firas ($21), kasut power rangers idlan ($21), and walking shoes utk diri sendiri ($16.50).Pruz beli cap, and office shirts. Umi beli kasut. Emm tu je kot yg dibeli sepjg 3 jam kat dlm mall tuh. After that check out hotel, berjln ke city square lagi skali utk lunch di KFC. Rasanya semua fast food kat singapore ni rege dia double from KL. Utk kita rasa mahal la sbb duit depa lagik mahal from ours, tapi utk derang, rate tu kira murah la kots. Then amik cab utk terus ke airport.

Tu jela citer cuti kali ni. Overall okla, cuma penat sbb kena usung stroller/dukung firas, then nak handle perangai si abang yg sibuk complain penat jln, demand nak itu ini..memacam lagikla mujur umi ader utk tackle idlan....kalo idak mahu stress kitorang. Transportation di sini sgt efficient, taxi sumer guna meter, MRT sgt laju and cepat, town sgt bersih, jln malam rasa secure mmg tak takut langsung, cuma yg tak best currency derang mahal, so time tak sales ni tak bestla sbb taleh shopping byk benda hoho. Lenkali sape nak pegi better time GSS ker, krismas ker....confirm happening especially kat area orchard tuh. Ku upload sket antara gambar benda2 yg kami beli di sana...enjoys! Souvenir yg paling ku suka, gambar & fridge magnet yg dibeli di underwater world, 2 pics + 2 magnet for $35. Mahal kan tapi bukan senang nak dpt fridge magnet gambar diri sendiri hehehe

Singapore: 22 Oct

Day 2:
Lepas breakfast (provided by hotel) kami terus jln ke MRT, beli tiket ke Harbour Front station. Dari situ kami amik Sentosa Bus utk pegi ke Sentosa Island. Entrance to Sentosa $3/ticket. Stop dekat Beach Station, and kami naik Red line bus utk pegi ke Underwater World (stop at Siloso point). Entrance ticket: $22.90 adult, $14.60 kids. Almost double the price of Aquaria kan sgt mahal! Tapi considering idlan nak sgt2 tgk fish dan alang2 dah sampai sentosa masuk jela. Dlm waterworld firas tertido halfway, dah penat sgt. Waterworld dia biasa2 jer, lebey kurang Aquaria jugak...besar pon lebey kurang kots. Lepas amik gambar, kitorang amik bus utk ke Dolphin Lagoon, malangnyer show dah habis. Time sampai sana dah pukul 12noon, sedangkan show start pukul 11am. Kecewa gak tapi nak wat camner. Then amik bus lagi turun di Imbiah Lookout, and amikla gambar ber'background'kan the Merlion. Then kami naik Sentosa Express (aka monorail) utk kuar dari island tu, dan turun di shopping mall Vivo City. Lunch di Secret Recipe, rege sgt mahal, more than double compared to Malaysia hoho. Kek dia $5.20/slice, so after convert RM12++. Lepas lunch, kami naik MRT utk pegi ke Arab Street (station Bugis). Lepak2 dan solat di masjid Sultan, kasik recharge dulu sbb penat jln. Niat di hati konon nak shopping chiffon kat arab st, tapi rege cam mahal jer, paling murah $10/mtr, baik pi beli kat Jakel je hehe, so langsung tak beli pepe kat situ. Atab St ni lebey kurang cam Jln TAR. Along the road penuh dgn kedai kain, carpet, souvenirs, etc. Then kami masuk ke satu shopping mall dekat situ, tapi tade pepe yg menarik. Dlm pukul 5pm++ minum ptg di Restoran Zam Zam pekena murtabak singapore, restoran yg sgt direcommend oleh forumer. Seketul murtabak besar (share 3-4 org) $6, mmg sedap dan kenyang! Lepas tu terus berjln ke Bugis Street (ala2 petaling street) utk cari souvenirs. Beli fridge magnet 4 for $10, t shirt 3 for $10, and keychain 6 for $3. Umi plak beli wallet. Tak lama sgt jln kat sini, sbb bising dan rasa cam pening dgn ramai manusia. Then pegi Bugis Junction mall right opposite bugis street tuh, rasa tenang sket dpt duk dlm air cond hihi. Aku just beli handbag, tu pon sbb tgh sales. Hari dah mlm, kaki dah penat...terus amik cab balik hotel.

Singapore the 'Green City': 21 Oct

Bear in mind all rates quoted in SGD (1SGD=RM2.45), so do your own calculations yer hihi.

Day 1:

Sampai di S'pore around 11am, terus bergerak ke Aspinals Hotel for check-in. Kami naik cab from Changi Airport, taxi fare $18.20. Hotel tu located in Little India, literally across the 24hr shopping mall, Mustafa Center. Disebabkan check-in time pukul 2pm, kami just tinggalkan luggage di lobby hotel. Lunch dekat lobby, menghabiskan nasi lemak (RM9), satay set (RM10) and oriental noddle (RM9) yg diorder dlm flight tadi hihi. Lepas lunch terus berjalan kaki ke MRT Farrer Park, beli tiket ke stesen Orchard ($2.30/ticket). Di Orchard Road, kitorang berjalan from one shopping mall to another....sangat letih sbb along the road ade byk giler malls. Memang tak masuk sumer la sbb penat. Kami sempat masuk ke Wisma Atria, Takashimaya, Lucky Plaza, Isetan, Tangs...and apetah lagi tak igt :p Singgah kat Mc D pekena choc sundae and strawberry milkshake ($6). Aku beli perfume hugo boss dekat lucky plaza right opposite the Mc D....forumer byk recommend beli dekat situ..mmg murah compared to malls lain. 100ml for just $49, sgt berbaloi! Di Tangs idlan merengek mintak beli mainan, so umi belikan mainan power rangers 2 set ($16)....tgh sales, so kira murah gakla compared to price kat kl nih. Petang balik hotel, kaki mmg dah lenguh yg amats. Kesimpulannya brg2 kat orchard agak mahal kalo bukan time sales...so baik shopping kat kl jer :p Lepas solat Maghrib kami gerak kuar mencari dinner, akak kat hotel tu recommend restoran mamak deret hotel kami. Order capati, roti canai and rojak singapore. Rasa biasa jer, kuah rojak agak manis...tak menepati citarasa kami. Time dinner firas dah tertido kepenatan, idlan pon ngantuk dah...tapi kami paksa dia jalan gak hihi. Pas dinner kuar round ke shopping mall dekat hotel, City Square. Tapi sempat round kejap je sbb idlan dah bising tak larat nak jalan. Last2 kami pon jln balik ke hotel. End day 1.

countless attempt

It took us more than 2 hours just to get this shot. Puas dipujuk rayu, nangis, ngamuk and akhirnya tertido. Finally this one precious shot was captured right after he woke up from sleep...alhamdulillah berjaya jugak even tho tak comey :p

Anyway we didnt want to put too much hope, takut sedey kalo terpaksa cancel. Accomodations still unchecked, i guess we'll wait towards the very last minute baru book kots. Ramai tak tahu yg aku warded balik last sat-tuesday. Asyik on off jer kan....letih pon ada. Further firas is now down with fever...asyik cranky jer. Let's just pray he'll settle down by next tuesday....kalo idak burn jela tickets tu huhu

Safely back at home yesterday. Alhamdulillah, the ERCP procedure went smooth, removal of stones done as planned, and no more abnormalities observed within the duct. Dr Ong gave mc till today, and that allows me to bake something for my office jamuan raya tomorrow :) I'm thinking of bringing cheese tarts, but let's see whether i'm 'rajin' enough to prepare the pastry hihi.

We (read:me n hubby) are having dilemma, whether to go to s'pore on the next 2 weeks or not. Tix have been bought since early tis year during AA's promo, but considering the H1N1 case, we ought to think twice about it. To be frank i couldnt get more excited when thinking about the impending trip, after all it's going to be our first plane-board this yr, and of course firas's 1st experience. We still haven't book the hotels, lucky enough i already made some research on the interesting spots to go and have them jotted down in my diary.

so friends, should we proceed with the plan or not?
blank la huhuhu.....

home leave

Isnin - As scheduled, aku menyerah diri utk diwardedkan pada hari ini. Memandangkan aku sihat walafiat dan perut alhamdulillah ok, aku dgn sopan santun meminta pada doc utk tak payah diwardedkan. Boleh tak saya puasa kat rumah je doc? Doc yg puas hati dgn tahap kesihatan aku pon dgn baik hati cakap...you kena warded, sbb nak buat blood test dan x-ray, after that petang saya kasi you 'home leave'. You boleh tido kat rumah mlm nih. Esok pagi pukul 8am datang balik arrrr. Yeszaaaaa riang gembira toksah cakap la nyeh nyeh. Blood test result alhamdulillah semuanya back to normal...berat pon dah bertambah jadi 47kg :) Pukul 6 lebey, pruzz datang amik ku di hospital. Dan after Isyak, kami bersambung jalan raya ke 2 buah rumah jiran lagik ekekeke. Memang rezeki ku lah dpt join derang sumer jln raya lagik malam ni (mujur dr Ong tak tahu hoho lagipon doc pesan suruh puasa after pukul 12 malam). Ada 2 family jiran ku sound nak dtg beraya ke rumah kami malam ni sebab kelmarin derang tak dpt join. So aku pon goreng jela karipap dan popia frozen utk jamu derang sumer. Pukul 11:45pm semua tetamu beransur pulang....dan lepas basuh pinggan2 sumer, ku menaip entry ini hihi. Bila bersalaman dgn derang, sumer perasan jarum IV berwarna biru di tangan kananku...hehe terpaksala citer kat derang yg aku warded pagi tadi....balik rumah ptg tadi, esok pagi masuk ward balik. Bila difikirkan kelakar pon ader....pepe pon sebenarnya aku sedikit cuak bila memikirkan procedure pagi esok...harap2 semuanya berjln lancar, moga Allah permudahkan segalanya.

So esok pukul 11am ku akan disorong masuk ke bilik procedure.
Next update tunggu yer :)
Gud nite semua!

Cerita raya lagi....

Jadual weekend kami padat dgn jalan2 raya. Alhamdulillah dpt bertemu rakan2, jiran dan sedara mara+menjamu selera dgn juadah yg lazat2 belaka :)

Jumaat- Malam tu kami ke rumah ex-ofismate ku Aida di Puncak Saujana kajang. Aida baru pindah rumah…rumah pon cun melecun! Sempatla jumpe dgn few bebudak 1090 mlm tu. Balik rumah dlm pukul 930pm gitu, kami sambung jalan raya di rumah jiran2ku…bermula dgn rumah Isma, then rumah Seri, dan akhir sekali rumah kak Kherry. Balik rumah kol 12 malam! Firas pon first time tido pukul 12ish..mlm tu siap bgn 2-3x sebab ngigau…penat sgt kot huhu. Idlan plak sibuk main bunga api ngan geng2 dia kat luar rumah. Actually tradisi beraya ke rumah jiran2 ni mmg dah start sejak 2 taun lepas…every year kami akan take turns ‘open the house’ utk geng jiran2 yg terdekat…adelah dekat 12-15 buah rumah kot in total.

Sabtu – Pukul 7am dah start masuk dapur buat cheese tarts & cream caramel. Tgh hari ke rumah jiran di depan rumahku Aida. After that pegi beraya ke rumah abangku di ampang jaya. Niat di hati nak bawak kek, tapi tak larat nak buat mlm tadi….mujurlah adik iparku sudi tolong buat muffin kelmarin thanks eh unda! Jalan punyerla jem teruk hari tuh…ramai org kuar beraya kots. Ptg otw back kami singgah ke jusco beli sedikit brg2 utk masak sbb mlm tu turn rumah kami pulak kena serbu jiran2 tetangga :p Aku masak sempoi jer…spirals Bolognese & carbonara. Selesai masak and solat maghrib kami sambung beraya ke rumah jiran Sherry. Then derang sumer serbu umah kami. Tetamu terakhir balik dlm pukul 11pm lebey….lepas kemas2 pukul 12am baru tido…penat giler ari tuh.

Ahad- Masing2 bgn lambat today…aku kol 830am baru bgn. Lepas breakfast & iron baju, dlm pukul 11am bergerak ke rumah umi di ampang. Umi wat mkn2 sket sempena kami anak beranak berkumpul kat sana. As for myself kiranya ni la baru nak beraya dgn family sendiri. Umi masak punyerla byk…nasi putih berlaukkan gulai nangka ikan masin, butter prawns, ayam goreng rempah, telur puyuh cili, stew daging & ulam-ulaman. Dessert plak pudding roti….sian umi ku kepenatan sampai tak lalu nak makan. Bila kami balik baru lah umi makan…tu pon dah almost 4pm. Balik rumah siap tapau lagi lauk pauk..so dinner selamat tak payah masak hihi. Malam lepak kat rumah jer….idlan siap tanye malam ni tak pegi jln raya ker? Akakaka anakku dah syiok berjln malam :p

Esok malam (isnin) jalan2 raya ke rumah jiran akan diteruskan, tapi aku tak dpt nak join sbb kena warded ke KPJ balik, selasa akan undergo another ERCP procedure utk take out the remaining stones yg masih tertinggal. Alhamdulillah puasla dpt berjln raya before kena warded hihi…doakan procedureku berjaya ye kengkawan :)

enjoy the pics!

Few of my friends asked whether I still breastfeeding Firas.

Yes the journey is still on…though the facts that I already supplement him with formula ever since I got admitted into hospital last month. When I was on MC, the pumping routine continued as usual since firas was sent to nursery during daytime. Now that I’m back into office, the regime stays the same only that I do it twice per day. At most I’ll get 10oz in total, so Firas will be taking 2 bottles of EBM and 2 bottles of formula at the nursery. I notice he doesn’t favor the taste of the formula, in another way I’m glad that he still likes my b**ast. Or could it be that the dutch lady 123 doesn’t taste as good as what his brother is consuming (that is enfakid haha :p) So far his bowel movement is good… no problem to pass motion unlike Idlan who persistently having the constipation problem years ago that resorted us to finally changed to Enfa.

So adik, so long as you stay active and healthy, kita remain dutch lady je la ok? Besides you‘ll continue benefitting from your mama’s precious milk so long as the production is there insya allah :)