Meet the MyKidz-Roos

09.04.18 to 30.04.11

2011-05-02T15:23:00.002+08:00

Rasa badan seram sejuk on Thursday morning. The night before, si Sofea dengan Danish pun felt restless. Asyik-asyik bangun malam, merengek. Danish tu merengek agaknya gusi dia sakit (which was bengkak since Sunday). Sampai kan he refused to return to his room so we decided to let him sleep with us on the crampy bed.

Nasib baik manager was not around so there was no one to catch me not concentrating on the work. Called mother who was on the way to Tampiness already. Ingat kan nak suruh dia pergi check but she was one step ahead. Surfed the net wanting to look for tickets to fly home but forgotten that it was going to be a long weekend, most are sold out. The next few days were spend waiting by the phone.

Sunday morning when the children got up for breakfast, we told them the news. They did remember which person we were referring to. From last 28th May 2010 to 30th Apr 2011, they have lost both great grandfathers on both sides, Anis and mine.

My most memorable moments with him was watching the James Bond movie which we ended up not watching (sleeping-budak-budak time mana lah faham) and going to the East Coast, crossing the PIE. And also there were times where I found him watching wrestling late at nights while the rest of us were all sleeping.

(Tak tahu apa lagi nak cakap....)

Al-Fateha

We are here..

2011-02-19T08:30:00.002+08:00

We are here...sitting at Potong Pasir, watching American Idol on cable while the kids are having their fun with Hafiz's PS3. The week ahead will be jam pack with lots of eating, shopping (YES!!) plus visiting.

Made the first phonecall to Chai Chee, appointment with Nyai. Later in the evening, there will be some lor hei stuff going on at VS. Hope to get to supper at Simpang Bedok tonight. Oh oh..we had brekkie at Burger King after touching down at Terminal 1. One wish fulfill...many more to come.

Visitors???

2010-12-18T21:24:00.002+08:00

I wonder why oh why do I get 'mysterious' visitors here. Obvious motives I believe is to get traffic over to their sites. Hmmm..

On the other hand, since the Sg's school holidays have started, we were fortunate to catch up with friends who came over here for hols. First stop was Zelda and her family of 3 boys. The last time I saw her was when we parted ways for JC. She was the only one that I knew who went to Yishun JC. We got reconnected through FB and it was great that they came here for hols this year. We invited them to stay with us. Her boys were so cute....especially Nayeel, the youngest. 2 months younger than Sofea but these 2 toddlers were either bickering or playing Iphones together. But Nayeel was more fascinated with Sabryna...mana-mana kept asking for Sabryna.

Abah's NIE friend, Zahed and his family also dropped by our place. He is going to do his masters next year so this was more of a reccee trip for him. The last time we saw was years back..actually during their wedding day!! It's strange that we never get to sit down and socialise while we were living in Sg. I guess we were too involved with work and getting by on a day to day basis. Anyway, looking forward to seeing them again sometime next year.

Great news...now that our passports are ready, we will be returning to Sg next year Feb. Jetstar has some offer so kids will be getting a week off from school in Feb. I'm sure looking forward to settle some administration work that need to be done follow by eating at our fave spots. So from now to Feb, got to start saving.

Eid Adha 2010

2010-11-16T22:11:00.002+08:00

Salam Eid Adha to all...
The father has taken a day off for tomorrow prayer where all of us minus Sofea will be heading to Rockingham Mosque also known as Masjid Ar-Rukun. I will be taking sickie since the coughing has not die out yet. Since our Pajero was sent to the mechanic today for servicing, Sofea has to attend daycare. Don't worry...she will be much happier there especially with her best friend around.

Most of the muslim community especially those from the Middle East have celebrated Eid today. Tomorrow there will only be 3 mosques conducting prayers. Most of them are from the Asia region i.e. Singaporeans. Looking forward to join in the prayers tomorrow and maybe lepak by the beach.

October babies

2010-10-25T12:58:00.005+08:00

We celebrated October with the birthdays of our resident 'ulats'!! Danish turned 11 on the 17th while Sofea will be turning the BIG 3 this coming 29th. Originally he wanted an Ipod Touch but since it's way too pricey for the budget, the dad gave him a $100 gift card instead. He has yet to decide what to do with it, probably keep it to buy PS3 at the end of the year. The boys are saving up for this one even though we, parents kept saying 'NO' all the time.

Sofea received her present early on Sat, a lacey bear toy. But I think I will get her a baby doll so that she can play with her best friend, Taniqa, from daycare. Hehehe it will be a grest surprise for her. She keeps saying she is still 2 years old because she does not want to stop clinging on to me.

Look at these 2 kids...they are a 'nuisance' when they play together. Running around in the house with most times not looking where they are going or doing. One of them will surely end up crying or bang into the wall. Sofea has a cute nickname for her brother, 'KUTU BOY' and she will say it cheekily. How not to laugh at her.

We have invested in a gas BBQ since Abah got fedup with the charcoal one that we have been using. Anyway, there is a sale going so why not get a cheap one that's enough for us family. We had to assemble this ourselves but luckily there was an English manual. Our friends were saying the last one that they bought from K-Mart had a manual in Chinese. They had a hard time figuring out which screws for which part.

At the same time, we finally bought bikes for the parents and one for Muhammad. So now we can embark in our plan to go cycling anywhere. The kids are already planning to go cycling to the Ustaz's house where they go for their Quranic reading. He stays a few streets away from us. Since now we have been eating our dinner early and the day is longer, we probably start cycling around our neighbourhood before aiming to go further.

2010-10-17T16:37:00.002+08:00

Soccer season ended with the award's nite last nite at the club's premises. We were supposed to be there at 6.30pm but since the place is so near our place and we wanted to catch Maghrib first, we were half an hour late. But lucky the 'Mat Salehs' were still busy having their beers first.

Abah presented his awards to his Under 12 team. He was not prepared though especially with his speech but I think the kids by now have gotten use to his style already. Danish received his runner-up for Sportsmanship award apart from his participation trophy.

Muhammad's team, the Under 13, was the runner-up winner in their division. They were on top last year but dropped to the no. 2 spot due to 'clerical' error. Don't ask me what was it since we still don't understand how the Football West works. This is his team photo.

We are still unsure about next season though. Abah may or may not be the coach for the Under 12s and the boys do not want to make any comments yet. But if they do decide to play again, there will be another round of soccer practices and soccer matches in our life again next season.

I brought lasagna to the awards nite and we made sure that we get a piece because the rest of the food contributed by parents were not halal. Managed to get a piece to another Turkish family whose son was in the same team as Danish. He loved it and thank me later after dinner. Thank you Ojan for your compliments.

Muhammad came back one day from school with this photo. It was taken during the day that we celebrated Eid. Remember, we wanted to let him skip school but because he had to perform at the Parliament House, it was scrapped. The man in the middle is the mayor of Perth. The lady on his right is his Maths teacher who I think inspired and pushed him all the way. She was the one who highly recommended Muhammad to change to the Academic Excellence class because of his work performance. I heard she comes in as early as 7 am almost everyday. Such dedication...I guess she is so in love with teaching.

Our no. 2 is now 11 years old today. As usual, he asked for the most expensive present which is an IPOD Touch. Hmmm...dream on Danish but Abah gave him a $100 gift voucher which he said he wants to use when he but PS3 at the end of the year.
We went to a Malaysia Food Fest today and while we were eating our Laksa Kedah and kuih bakar, Danish received his birthday calls from Mak and Bibik Atiq!! He was delighted although he did not show it. He even commented that now I don't have to hold his hands anymore while crossing the roads. Eksyen seiiii!!!

2010-10-10T21:43:00.003+08:00

We went to our fave place yesterday, IKEA. They were having a donation drive where we get to pose and take our picture for $2. This get printed and pasted on the latest complimentary copy of 2011 catalogue. Cool kan???
Our very own personalised copy. Upon seeing the picture, we realised how big the kids have grown. Esp, si Sofea who will be turning 3 at the end of this month. Kids are getting taller and most importantly, they are so settled here.

I've received my permanent contract appointment which will begin on 11/10/10. Yep, the position is mine for a year and we shall see what happen next. Now at least I can get the permit parking so no more putting $5 coins into the machine and running to the car on time before get summons.

Kids will start school on Tuesday and this will be the last term for the school year before the summer holidays. They have been spending their hols at home playing PSP and PS2 and Wii...at least keep them happy for a while. Muhammad had his friend to sleepover and we brought this Aussie boy jalan Hari Raya too. Great experience for all of us. Hari Raya has been over for ages but my Kuih Raya is still in the pantry...unfinished. I think next year just get Kuih Tarts and krepek sudah...get finish fast even before the Raya starts.

Selamat Hari Raya

2010-09-13T12:19:00.002+08:00

Selamat hari raya to all of you out there....

We had a pretty quiet one this year, nothing unusual kan??? Did the solat at the kids' school which began at 8 am after dropping Muhammad at the bus stand for him to take the bus to school. Turn up quite all right...3 safs each for both ladies and men and we had it at the basketball court. Weather wise, sejuk sekali but the men were lucky because the sun was shining brightly over them while we ladies terpaksa la shivered all the way right to the end of khutbah.

We headed to our friend's place for breakfast sebab dia ada ketupat and rendang. Then we went back home to rest or actually to clean up the rooms for Adnan and family who touched down Perth at midnight. Ingatkan nak leave the house for another house but our Indon neighbour dropped by. Lepak lagi for an hour, catching up with them while Hakim played with Sofea.

All in all, I think we went to 5 houses aje and left for home at 7 pm. So relaxed..no pressure!! Had a quick rest before going to the airport. Kids actually fell asleep but tak kan nak tinggal kan at home. They were not told of the arrival of the Akmal brothers sebab nak surprisekan they all. Gamat sekejap when the kids met including the parents also!! Not sure what others thought of us. The 3 wise men were also happy to meet...Anis, Adnan and Anwar (all starting with letter A)!! Talked and talked til 2 am!! Besok lusa jumpa lagi, talked again!!

It was the best Hari Raya for all of us especially with their presence. Tak heran nak go visiting lagi instead we spent time with them visiting all the places that they missed. Kids' kecohness were and still very welcoming to our ears!! They'll be spending time with us up to this Wednesday.

We took photos but I'll upload them later. Forgot to bring it to work today. Instead of knocking off at 3 pm today, thought I will leave at 1 pm so that I do a bit of shopping.

Eid Mubarak again to all of you!!

Happy Father's Day

2010-09-05T09:01:00.003+08:00

We are celebrating Father's Day today..this very Sunday. Sofea did a lovely photo card for her dear Abah. Take a look!!!

Insya-Allah we will be celebrating Eid next Friday. Both parents have gotten leave from work on that day. Danish and Sabryna have no school both on Thurs and Friday so that leaves Sofea and Muhammad. Sofea...easy peasy...just let the daycare know that she is not coming. Muhammad's situation is a tricky one!! We thought of just letting him skip school but alas, his band performance is on Friday at the Parliament House!! Apa dah...so since there is no relief trumpeter, he definitely have to go. But we will let him skip school for the rest of the day so that he won't miss the celebration.

Great news about Kalamunda SHS

2010-08-26T21:22:00.002+08:00

As you might remember from previous entry about us enrolling Muhammad into one of the public high school here. It's called Kalamunda Senior High School. We received the latest newsletter and the big news is that the school will be officially an independent public school from 2011. That's like our Singapore's autonomous schools. Alhamdullilah, we made an excellent choice to enrol him there.

Sometime next month, he will be performing for the Governor-General who will be visiting Perth. So far he has been performing well..get minimum 3 A's for his academic subjects. He trying to aim for 4 A's this semester. Hopefully he'll continue to do fine.

Yeah..finally Friday is coming. We will be going for the school's Iftar on Saturday so better think of what food to bring over. My shoulders are aching from sitting in front of the computer every day at work for 5 hours each. After spending those time in Uni, had to zip around for the kids. Loving the Echo every single minute. The engine is so quiet and kids are also behaving quite all righ in it. Reading their books with Sofea belting 'Barney' song.

2010-08-16T13:26:00.002+08:00

Waduh..I'm so sleepy and yet still in the office. Today, being Monday,I'm stationed at one of the private tax offices where people can come in to have their tax done. Of course, they have to pay us to do it. It is actually simple to do online but I guess there are people who would be happy to get others to worry about filling the right boxes.

Since I am free now and waiting patiently for 3.00 pm to knock off, it's time to play with the computer. Luckily ada network because there were times where this office does not have internet access. Pretty lame!!

Tonight will be collecting my new car (actually tak lah new). It's a 2002 Toyota Echo. Nimbus has become too unpredicatable for me and the last straw was last Thurs where it got overheated and we found out that the water pump was leaking. No wonder my radiator was totally empty. Not practical to rely on the Pajero because the petrol will be a killer if I am to use it everyday. This Echo was owned by a Korean lady who had returned last Sat and before her were nuns. No wonder the mileage was too low for a 2002 car - 70,000kms. However, there is a dent at the back which we can easily get someone to rectify it. I'll post the picture soon.

2010-08-11T17:09:00.002+08:00

1st Ramadhan is finally here in the midst of all the kecohness going on last nite. Bukan apa..orang-orang Arab nak puasa on Thurs, katanya ikut negeri Arab. The rest of the Asians are divided into 2 groups. Those starting today and a group starting tomorrow.

We decided to do it today and who knows we may decide to sembahyang raya twice. Hahaha.

What's menu for today? Let see...steamed baramundi, bananas dip in white and milk chocolate and some vegies. In the meantime, still at the local library now waiting for kids to finish their tuition. 5.47 pm we going to buka chips in the car.

Salam to all and selamat berpuasa.

Nursing a sick child

2010-08-09T09:48:00.001+08:00

Ramadhan is almost here and the weather is getting warmer although we will always start the day with less than 5 degrees. By mid day, it will climb to 23 degrees. Due to the change in the weather, kids are getting sick one after another. Sofea's turn to have a cold and cough. Not in daycare today so I got to take a day off.

The latest updates on our working department are that Abah has moved on to Messenger Post (similar to our Sg's post office but the courier wing). This week is his first week at work. We invested in a new Mitsubishi van which still bau kedai, incorporated a Pte Ltd company (a requirement) and sourcing for assistant especially on Mondays.

While me, I got a permanent contract with UWA although I still request to only put in 22.5 hours of work each week. I still have to fetch the kids from schools and drop them for their extra curriculum elsewhere.

Our two cars are happily taking turns to break down. They must have been talking quietly in the garage. I had a few scares especially seeing smoke coming out of the front bonnet while driving. Hose after hose had to be replaced.

No matter how busy our weekdays are, we managed to squeeze time to hang loose over the weekend. One of them was a trip to San Churros where we ate lots of churros dip in chocolates. The lady in the picture is Meleessa who is at the moment bunking in with us til she is joined by the hubby and son after Raya. She is a good cook..so I have help in the kitchen. How do we know her? Let see...her brother-in-law is our friend and we knew the parents as well.

Last Tuesday night, we went to Muhammad's school to watch him perform with the school's ensemble. No 'Hawaii Five-O' song, lucky us!! But standard wise, Bendemeer Pri School's band sounds a lot better. Can you see him playing the trumpet? That's my boy!! Apparently, the band is entering a band competition this Friday which again I have to put aside time to send him there.

Happy National Day everyone!! And let's look forward together for a beautiful Ramadhan. I know I am!

2010-07-06T18:36:00.002+08:00

Today was the 3rd coldest morning..below 0 degrees according to the weather report. Since I'm not going to work and kids are on the hols break, we all stayed undercover until the sun came out. Too bad Abah needed to leave the house before 7 since he had a morning job with TNT.

After sending Sofea to the daycare around nine...the rest of us proceeded to the Immigration office. No...not sending anyone back to SG..but I needed to take the test all about Australia. It was actually an easy 20 MCQ questions but being me (hehehehe..last minute burning the midnight oil), I had 3 wrong answers. Ingatkan nak beat Abah's record of 1 wrong answer but tak menjadi pun!! Anyway, I still passed since it is more than 75%. So now just need to wait and see if they want to see me say the pledge. The rest of the gang have already being accepted. We'll see what happen next!! Stay tune.

2010-06-24T19:05:00.002+08:00

How would you feel if someone knocks on your door at midnight then telling you that you will be sack from your job??? I wouldn't want to be in that person's shoes!

I received flowers on my birthday last Tuesday from the family and of course, there were all the well wishes from my friends when I picked up the kids from school. Other than that, it was a quiet one (dah mature kan). The next day instead of going to work, I've decided to stay at home and catch up on my sleep (a birthday treat for myself). Life of a casual worker, just email manager at 7 am to tell her that I'm not coming and that's it. Easy peasy...anyway work all done up to date already.

Caught up with a fellow Singaporean who helped out with the school's breakfast program with me. When I was about to pull out from the carpark to send her home, she told me casually that her father passed on last Sunday. You see...the dad was diagnosed with liver cancer last few weeks. He did managed to come over to visit the grandsons for the last time although the trip had to be shorten because he became terribly sick. Amazingly, this woman, she is definitely strong...she needs to especially she is here with her 3 boys. I really like spending time with her, having conversation about aspiration and what we see in our children. She is someone who never judge a person and happy to share her thoughts. She is so down to earth and not one of those that befriend you with 'hidden agenda'. Amazing amazing woman!!! So glad I know her!!

2010-05-30T22:49:00.003+08:00

Back in Sg now but only me and Sofea. The rest are being looked after by the dad. I heard they had a blast...Abah attending the M.Nasir's concert in Curtin plus meeting Raihan at the Rockingham mosque, Danish and Sabryna had an impromptu sleepover at a friend's place plus enjoying the cool weather.

We reached SG yesterday at 6 am...quickly mandi and went to Toa Payoh to do my specs. While waiting for the shop to open, had brunch at Fork n Spoon and guess what...I met my Sec Sch cikgu!! What a coincidence!!

Attended the simple wedding of Azhar. Another cousin marrying and what makes this one extra special is that this is the kid that we saw him grew from baby to adult. The one that we always teased him about his chubbiness and cuteness. Aaahhhhh...dah besar budak ni!!

2010-05-18T09:32:00.002+08:00

Had a brief sit down with the dad last night after dinner to go through the kids' timetable for the days where I'm not going to be around. Since I'm taking the youngest one with me for the SG trip next couple of weeks, he just need to concentrate on the older ones only. Eversince I gotten hold of the driver's licence, I've been the ONE who send them to schools, music lessons, swimming lessons and soccer practices. My car has become so messy with our shoes, guitar notes and other stuff.

So back to the 'handover' of duties...I just wrote down on a piece of paper but this hubby of mine remarked, "Hey..bagi lah spreadsheet??!!!" What?? Two days punya duties pun nak spreadsheet! (Of course, bila I said that he quickly said that he was just joking.) Isshhhh isshhh..nak spreadsheet konon...hahaha...hmmmm.

I passed my tax exams and now waiting if they going to offer me employment for the tax season. Initially, I was half-hearted about it but I love doing it and besides it will be extra income for us. Then I can shop for more stuff..hehehehe!!

M.Nasir is coming here!!

2010-05-05T21:17:00.002+08:00

I just got to know about the M.Nasir's concert today. So since hubby peminat setia, pergilah tag kawan (FB..mana lagi) to ask the details. She texted me during dinner telling us that she is going to buy the tickets tonight..so nak tumpang tak?? Abah happy giler la but he asked me to come along.

After confirming the tickets, I realised that its on the 28th May. Aiseyman!!! Macam mana ni??? Concert is from 7 pm onwards, my flight back to SG is 12 midnight! Definitely must rush from the concert to the airport...hehehehe.

One of Abah's ex-student from Bishan Park SS contacted him recently so we invited him today for dinner. Since he just arrived about 3 months ago, terpaksalah kena fetch from his place. He was a Normal-Tech student and I guess his ex-teacher is very proud of him because he is now pursuing his degree in Curtin Uni. What did I cook?? After fetching the kids from their Japanese tuition, we rushed home and I quickly cooked rice for me and mother. The rest had mee goreng for dinner. The only ones who complained it spicy were Muhammad and Sofea. Susahlah ini dua orang! Bila masak tak ada rasa, yg lain pula complain.

Tomorrow will be the 2nd day for the School's Breakfast Program. Initially I wanted to buy Nutella for the kids but decided better not. Kalau ada yg allergic to nut, aniaya nanti budak! So instead I bought 2 jars of Strawberry jam. Last Tues, the kids had baked beans on toast, yoghurt (yuck), WheatBits (lagi yuck) and a jar of Vegemite found its way on the table. Ada students came up and asked ada mee goreng? nasi lemak? air bandung??? Hilarious la mereka ni..makan aje apa yang ada.

Make way for the geeks

2010-04-20T11:07:00.002+08:00

I'm sure there a plenty of fans for this show - The Big Bang Theory including us! Every week, we will look forward to watching this geekies. We are so hooked to them and thankfully enough, the TV people will run double episodes.
Used to be Friend then Simpson but now Sheldon and the rest of the cast are busy entertaining our nights. Hip Hip Hurray for TBBT!!!

PS. Muhammad received good news yesterday from his school. One of the teacher called Abah to ask if we have any objection if he is to join the Academic Excellence class. Of course not!! Good for him. His other teachers were adamant about him joining the AE class. Good for him!! Hip Hip Hurray for Muhammad!

Soccer roos results

2010-04-19T13:00:00.003+08:00

Hello hello
Here are the updates from last Sunday's soccer matches played by Danish, Muhammad and Abah, representing Queens Park Soccer Club.

Danish - Under 11s (1st match of the season)
They won 1-0...yeah!!! Great goal along with hillarious heart stopping moments with one ball rolling through the goalie's legs but bypassed the goal. They were super cute playing against Kalamunda United. Abah had to shout at the kids reminding them where to go...including Danish who seemed to be running up and down all the time. He begged to play centre but after the match, he proclaimed that he was born to play as a defender. He didn't like all the running around but he was extremely speedy. Managed to catch up with the opponent but because of the size, melayang dia bila kena pushed!!! One thing that I noticed was that they listened to their coach (aka Abah) in terms of communicating with each other during the game. They played well as a team.

Muhammad - Under 12s (2nd match of the season)
3-3 draw. They seemed unsure at first...seemed to lack concentration. Don't know whether its the hot weather or the smell from the sausage sizzle (hahaha). But they put up a good fight. But sound masih low..everything is still being done in mute!

They will have another match this coming Saturday which alas I will not be able to make it sebab kena kerja. Muhammad said it is a bittersweet news to him!! Bitter because I won't be there but sweet because he will not be hearing me shouting and cheering. Oh well...I did a lot of cheering on Sunday, Muhammad said it was embarassing because he could hear my voice. Abah pula...rested his vocal chords and was busy eating. Pekik salah..tak pekik pun salah!!! But what do I care...kata nak cheer and motivate them to play...spread all those good energy so that they will be inspired to score more goals.

Abah - Masters league
We did not follow him to the match. It was also 3-3 draw. He scored one goal but was off side. Tak pe..try again this Sunday!!

2010-04-17T20:23:00.002+08:00

Sofea's fave song!! She will sing this ever so loudly whenever it get played on the radio especially in the car. Macam nak rak kereta..full of her voice. But all of us agreed that this is a good song. Very nicely written and meaningful. We have yet to find any fireflies. Was hoping to see some in Margaret River but tak ada!!!

Hey hey...Mak is flying over on Anzac Day. Betul punya last minute. Abah needed to go back on Anzac Day (26th May) to do his finger printing yet again. No time for shopping sebab sampai pukul 3 pagi...tidur sekejap...8 am heading over to Cantonment...then 3 pm flying back. We got a brilliant idea...eh why not mak come back and stay for a month before the school hols? Kesian budak Ayu..merayu-rayu suruh kita orang tell her teacher so that she can come along!! Sorry Ayu, no can do.

Kids here a super excited to see Mak except for Sofea..hahaha...kena temporarily stop daycare for a month so that SHE can take care of Mak. Is she excited?? NO!!! Hahaha...me on the other hand, just nice that Mak can come because I've got my tax test coming up (so can cabut from Sofea) plus the Uni has asked if I can put in more working hours. Sofea will have lots of bonding time with Mak for sure...hehehehe!!!

Queens Park SC vs Beeliar SC

2010-04-12T13:16:00.002+08:00

Last sunday was Muhammad's first soccer match of the season playing for Queens Park SC. They won the match with 8 goals. The opponent scored 2 goals in the 2nd half. It was a good start. Muhammad was a left-back defender in the 1st half but moved up to sweeper during the 2nd half. He did well, I must say. It's the first time for us parents to watch our son plays soccer. I guess soccer runs in the blood.

During the game, we kept hearing the coach shouting 'Drop' to the players. So I asked Danish what he will do when he hears the coach shout that to him. Ada ke he said, he will drop on the ground as in 'jatuh'!! Duh???!!! I hope he won't do that when it comes to his first match on the 18th Apr...people will wonder why our son keep dropping on the ground when the coach shouts 'DROP'! Danish...Danish..sigh..sigh.

Abah has recently applied to work for another company which is one of his employer's client. All went well as in the interview and getting recommendation from the client's fleet manager. Obviously he is much wanted by this client but alas he is bounded by one clause in his contract which hinder him from taking up this employment. Sedih sei...because this client is one of the big player in Perth and he has impressed them with his so-called 'defensive driving' knowledge (hahaha) and time management skills. Oh well...

Wet Wet Margaret River

2010-04-08T21:13:00.003+08:00

Easter break was last weekend. We booked a campsite in one of the caravan park there, pitched a tent, shared campers kitchen and toilets with showers with other holidaymakers and tried to sleep through two nights of cold rain. Apa nasib..we were hit by rain for two nights and it was scary with the wind blowing our tent from left to right. While sleeping, we were hoping that the tent would still be rooted to the ground and IT DID!!! Wohoooo!!!

Margaret River has a lot of wineries and caves. Since we were not into wines...we checked out the caves instead. Being a Kiasu holiday person aka Abah, we had to rush from one cave to another to catch the guided tours. We went to the Jewel Cave since the boys had gone to the Mammoth with Suffi before. Before the tour, we were made to warm up (the dad's brilliant idea) by walking the shortest trail . While walking we spotted a black tiger snake...coollllll kan!!!

At the caravan park, when we had breakfast n dinners at the common kitchen, we managed to see what the Aussies cook. We even copied their menu i.e. grilled potatoes with butter. Sedap giler...by the way, food was the highlight for the BIG MAN because he get to eat baked beans for breakfast. The kids enjoyed hitting the tennis courts after breakfast and played footy with other children. After dinner, the park owner organised movies under the stars. ICE-AGE 3 and CARS were popular with the kids.

This was by the beach. While the boys and dad trying to catch a fish unsuccessfully, we girls spent time playing. Sofea went everywhere in her robe because we did not pack her sweater.

These were taken at one of the lighthouse north of Margaret River. It was built in 1903 and still very strong. It was super windy up there and cold. Temperature was somewhere around 19 degrees.

Ta da..here is our tent. Our sleeping area for 3 nights.

Thunderstorm of the century

2010-03-24T10:30:00.002+08:00

Weatherman predicted that a storm will hit us on Sunday. Kita pun tunggu la but tak jadi. Come Monday evening around 4pm, on the way back from picking up the children, we saw black clouds moving very very fast covering the entire sky in front of us. My nimbus pun hari tu lembab sikit (pasal tuan dia dah dalam ketakutan..hahaha) plus the traffic lights were not working. We tried to reach home secepat mungkin. My kids' friends' father also reached our doorstep just before the storm but I heard they were stuck along the way home.

When it started, we saw that it was unusual than the ones before. The wind and rain were hitting our house in all directions. Apa lagi, water started streaming in through the sides of the windows, soaking the carpet. Oh..by the way, power were off when we reached home. Danish panicked when he saw his room's carpet were wet...he told Muhammad something about judgement day and then took cover on the sofa and slept. Dia tu pengecut sikit!!! Muhammad had to help me clear all the electrical items and furniture away from the windows and after that we just stared at all the water coming into the house. Nak buat apa lagi??? Sofea and Sabryna hid in the little pink house.

Abah was stuck somewhere on the road and he saw hail as big as golf balls. Nasib baik van tak rosak. The most amazing thing was that it was lucky that I did not work on Monday sebab the roads to and fro were closed because of flash flood and landslides from Kings Park. Abah said he could see water streaming down from Kings Park. Today pula I decided not to go to work sebab kids' school is closed for repairs and I'm hoping the cleaning company contact me sebab they put me on the waiting list. My agent's staff cekik darah bila I report the damage. Macam la I ni asking them to bear the cleaning charges. I told her to check if the owner has insurance which he should have one and then we will claim from the insurance company. After I left the office, she called Abah to tell us to go ahead with the cleaning and pass the receipt to them. See...nak kena tunggu instruction from boss baru boleh buat kerja.

I did not take pictures of what happen at our place but you guys can follow this link for video report and see how terrible the Monday's storm was.

http://www.reuters.com/news/video?videoChannel=2602&videoId=61176422

Police drama

2010-03-18T15:07:00.002+08:00

Yesterday we had an cop chasing man thingy that usually happened on TV. One man carjacked a total of 3 cars to escape from police chase which resulted going against the traffic flow on a busy highway. He finally flipped with the 3rd car after hitting a police car.

Then he was taken into custody. This morning pula, dengar news that he escaped again while being sent to hospital. Nearby suburbs were close, residents were asked to stay indoors and total of 150 policemen went out looking for him. The man was finally caught in someone's backyard. Luckily, we are staying away from these suburbs kalau tidak tak bolehlah kita pergi to our kids' harmony week celebration.

This year's harmony week celebration was quite fun (although a bit draggy). Banyak makanan, from Middle East, Bosnian, French, Asian and Australian. Sedap juga..although the nasi lemak wrapped in banana leave was gone before the assembly ended. Parents lapar betul!!! Everyone from the students to the teachers wore lovely dresses from their own culture. But I think the best would go to Mr Conteh, the science teacher from Sierra Leone. Also, that one Lebanese boy whom we know can be quite mischevious sometimes, read out Surah Yasin very very well. Excellent!!! It had been a lovely assembly but alas I did not bring the camera. Just check out the pics in the school's website.

http://www.afic-lic.com.au

2010-03-16T11:16:00.003+08:00

I know, I know (talking to the kids)..its being a long while since I've updated the blog. Bukan apa..just being busy with the daily stuff. Kids going to school, parents going to work, Sofea going to daycare plus the boys (including the BIG chief) managed to squeeze 3 times of soccer in a week. Just to let you guys know, we are still surviving here.

Since summer is ending or supposed to be ending tapi autumn tak muncul-muncul...still panas up to 41 degrees sometimes, we managed to escape over one long weekend and went beach hopping up in the north of WA. Accomodation was at a caravan park in Ledge Point which is near Lancelin (place where we can do sandboarding). Asyik swimming aje...panas kan but once you entered the sea, it was sooooo nice. On the first day, I could not resist going in with my jeans and t-shirt sebab lupa nak pack my swimming shirt. The next time we passed by a shop, terus beli one swim wear. We did not bother to remove the swim wear while driving sebab everytime we saw a nice looking beach, we parked and we jumped in!!! Sampai balik!!!!!

We going to have another long weekend this coming Easter and this time we booked an unpowered campsite in Margaret River. Tapi belum pun beli a tent and all the necessities. Kids are excited over the idea of going camping. We might drive up to Albany to meet Ali n family who will be there to do some salmon fishing.

Look at them all grown up (ok...slightly in terms of height). The house is never quiet with them around especially Sofea who believe it or not, is the loudest. Sounds more like Ayu when she was at this age.

This was taken at the last beach that we decided to stop and swim. Yanchep beach...good for snorkelling too. Wasted tak ada snorkel gear but we love this area and it was amazing that last year the govt was giving out cash for anyone who want to puchase a home there. The only setback is the suburb is about one and half away from the city centre.

Ni pulak si Danish and Sabryna sitting together still building sandcastles. I had to take this picture while busy packing our stuff so that we can hurry to our rented chalet for Maghrib. Lovely sunset and there was a big moon on the other side which I forgot to snap sebab by this time, semua dah ready to go home!!

2010-02-17T22:01:00.002+08:00

The house was less noisy yesterday night which was quite a relief for us. Imagine having to hear all 4 of them making noises right up to bed time everyday. Sometimes I wonder if our 'noisemakers' were the ones that made the neighbour next door moved out (hehehe).

Back to why it was 4-1 yesterday. Muhammad had his first camp in WA. It was organised by his school and the theme revolved around bullies. Why bullies??? There seems to be much bullying going round in the schools not only here but other states. Just yesterday, there was this news about how a 15-year old boy stabbed a 13-year old boy to death within a school compound in Brisbane. Last week, Muhammad's new friend had a fight with another boy from his class.

Before the camp, we told Muhammad not to eat any meat dishes. But we did send the teacher-in-charge the directory for all Halal food in WA. And yesterday evening, the teacher called me up to inform me that he was on his way to buy some chicken and lamb for Muhammad. Baik kan???? So today when we picked Muhammad back, we did ask him what did he eat. He said while the rest were eating pizza, he was cutting into his delicious steak. Jealous semua orang!!

I think he has settled himself quite well in this school which by the way is on top of Perth Hills. His maths teacher has noticed his ability in the subject while his English teacher mentioned good comments on his essays.

Since today he enjoyed himself at camp and the other two 'noisemakers' did well in their English test (Danish hit 95% - 2nd in class), I gave them MacD's treat after Japanese tuition. Sofea pun tumpang gembira because she can drink Frozen Fanta.

Next time I will post some photos because these people dah malas nak posing in front of the camera. I really need a good rest after such a busy week...if only I can magically disappear the laundry that needs my attention.

Boring weekend

2010-02-07T22:24:00.002+08:00

We were so bored over the weekend!!! Especially on Fri and Sat...normally we would have plans but this time 'Na Da'!! At about 9pm, I asked if they would like to go fishing. Semua enthusiastically agree....so we started to pack some light food, Abah made hot teh tarik and we got our jackets and fishing gears. Sofea pun tak nak kalah kept shouting "Where's my jacket?"

Went off towards Coogee Beach with the Pajero. Belum sampai Sofea dah ngorok..after she got herself tired from all that singing. The wind was not that strong but it was still quite chilly. We tried the 'secret recipe' passed down from Hairuddin, belacan coated bait. Punya la tak boleh tahan bau!!! Danish caught the first fish after just a few mins. Tak pakai bait pun!! After that Muhammad was on a fishing spree, having caught 10 more fish, I think they were herring. In the meantime, a seal lion visited us. This seal lion was probably the same one that swam near Abah & Muhammad a few weeks ago. Very big and Sofea got so excited looking at it close-up.

Next day, we bbqed the fish along with some seafood platter dishes. Yummy and delicious! (If you want to see the photo, it's being uploaded in the FB).

Sunday pula, the rest went to one fair in Wembley while I went to work at the Uni sebab this month, the tests are scheduled on Sundays. They went on camel rides, pony rides, play free games and cuddled animals. Saw some of the pictures, very nice!! Everyone now resting waiting for the new actions for the new week. Tomorrow I'm going to start my tax course. Originally planned to go to office but nampaknya kena postpone to Wednesday. Enjoy the rest of the week everyone!!!

2010-02-05T12:49:00.002+08:00

Everyday without fail once I picked up the kids, I would ask them about their days in school...and this was our conversation yesterday.

Mummy - How was your day??

Muhammad - Oh today very fun...got home economics. And I made salad!!! I like cooking.

Everyone - Wow!!!!

Mummy - So Muhammad, now you can make salad at home. What did you have for recess?

Muhammad - Salad la.

Mummy - Wah!! Now can eat salad already. Boleh la..can have salad at home nowadays.

Everyone - No!!! We don't like vegies.

Muhammad - Hahaha..no mummy!! I had to eat because the teacher was in front of me.

Aiyah..ingatkan dia dah convert to salad lover but it was just a drama for the teacher. Tak nak malu juga anak aku ni. Anyway, Muhammad had his first music lesson and he was assigned to take up trumpet. Kalau in BWPS, he was playing the cornet (adik-beradik trumpet), this should be a breeze for him. He even talked about getting himself join the school's ensemble. He even promoted his school to Danish yesterday saying that the subjects are so interesting. Hopefully this could motivate Danish further.

2010-02-03T20:39:00.002+08:00

3rd Feb - still another new day for all of us. We had a lot going today starting with another house inspection by the house agent. We are wondering why they were so eager to inspect since the last one was just before Christmas. So while I did the final cleanup, Abah's turn to send the 4 kids to school, bus stand to catch the bus and daycare. Luckily all are within reach of each other.

Sofea cried sebab kena tinggalkan by the Abah. But funny thing was when I asked why did she cry, she said it was the father who cried. Dengan action-action sekali...funny girl.

I started work today but my manager came later at 12 noon sebab baru sambut her new grandson. So when she arrived, she gave me the 'stuff' to audit. Goodness me...I'm so out of touch with Excel and now they are using Windows 7..pengsan!! Tapi tak pe, dah buat appointment dengan 'Teacher Wana' tomorrow morning to give me crash course. Left uni at 3pm lepas tu 'rush' at 60km/h with the Pajero to pick up Sabryna n Danish, then Sofea and last Muhammad sebab his bus came at 4.05pm at the designated bus stand. Mana kita pergi???? Not home!! Went to the library for the Japanese tuition. Janji 4.15pm but sampai 4.30pm. The sensei sampaikan hantar sms takut kita lupa. Betul punya busy kan!!!

I noticed today that other drivers stayed away from me...hahaha...mana tak, they all probably tak confident tengok I drive the Pajero steadily. I probably looked like a dwarf!! Tak kisah la...lagi bagus. I don't like if they drive too near me. Tak pasal-pasal stress!!

School starts already..yoohooo!!!

2010-02-02T13:18:00.002+08:00

Alahai, all of us were waiting impatiently for school to start since few weeks back. Finally the day came yesterday, at least for Muhammad. He started new year with new school, new teachers, new friends and new suburb. His school is situated on Perth Hills itself so nak kena naik bukit turun bukit. Its about 20 mins drive there. I did the whole driving yesterday but at the end of the day, I've decided tak sanggup la nak do this 4 times a day..everyday!!! So today since he was given the SmartRider pass (mcm EzyLink card), we sent him to the designated bus stop near Sofea's daycare where he took the public bus. Save Mama dia from all those driving.

Muhammad came back yesterday telling us how good his first day was. As usual he made friends with some people. He got himself organised for the next day without us telling. It's good to see that he settled himself well.

Danish n Sabryna only started school today. Although the school has a small number of students (300+) but today with parents and friends, punyalah kecoh. They implemented a new assembly system. Normally when the bell rang, all would proceed to their class but starting from today, everyone queue up and baca doa before going to the classes. Alhamdullilah...a good start kan???!!!

Both of them will be taught by new teachers. Nampak all right and I heard they were the best teachers from another Islamic College. Semua orang nampak ceria sei..including mak bapak..hahahha.

Tomorrow will be my turn pula to start the first day at work. The Uni gave me more hours and this time I can spread it during the weekdays. Best kan??!! Boleh pergi holidays lagi.

15th Jan 2010

2010-01-16T11:53:00.002+08:00

Yesterday marked our 2nd year stay in Perth. But how did we celebrate our anniversary??? By playing badminton and takraw with some friends, the group of friends that we first met. I played badminton with this 50+ year old lady who was left handed but she was super good and very the agile. She so super fit, malu nye saya. She wasn't even panting unlike me...hahaha!!

By the way, after putting on those extra kilos during our KL trip, I've decided that we are going to eat a light lunch everyday hence cutting down the rice intake. So far so good, tummy is on the way to recovery. The boys have been putting on muscles since they started on the swimming holiday program, 3 times per week. Left 2 more weeks before they start school. In the mean time, we are going to watch 3D Avatar today taking refuge from the 40 degrees heat.

Enjoy the weekend!!

PS..Abah is doing his calculation right now on whether to buy a Mitsubishi Pajero or not.

2010-01-12T13:32:00.001+08:00

Sabryna had her first ever hair cut ever today. She wanted a new look so we decided to let her have the 'bob'. The boys needed time to get use to her new hairdo while Sofea kept begging for a hair cut saying repeatedly, "Please Mummy please Mummy...I want to cut hair."

Stuck in Sunway

2009-12-30T20:25:00.002+08:00

Muhammad and Danish were telling us about their hilarious experience getting stuck in one of the water slides in Sunway. Muhammad went off first, sharing his tube with Haidil. But before that, the 4 boys shaked hands and Muhammad said "Today, we might or we might not die. So good luck to you all." (Apa saja la budak berempat ni!!!) Then off went Muhammad and Haidil. Then they got stuck in the tunnel..

Muhammad - Haidil, shout shout. Tolong! Tolong!

Haidil - Tolong! Tolong! Tolong! Aku tak nak mati!

Man came to their rescue and pushed them down. But they got stuck again in the middle. Haidil started praying, reading Al-fateha and whatever surah that came to his mind.

Meanwhile, Danish and Harith prepared slide down. They too got stuck in the tunnel.

Harith - Tolong! Tolong! Tolong!

Danish - Shut up! You are embarassing me!!

Harith - Ok...(one second later)..Tolong! Tolong!

Again man came to their rescue and pushed them down. They met the first two who shouted - WE ARE ALIVE!!! They then reached the end of the water slide. Once off the tube, Muhammad and Haidil kissed the ground.

What a hilarious story!! We were all laughing and laughing. Tak boleh tahan!! No wonder they said they had fun together with the Akmal brothers. Hahaha...

(L)epak (R)oad block (T)ersesat di KL

2009-12-29T14:29:00.003+08:00

Left Perth for KL on Christmas eve and we arrived there at around noon, taking Air Asia for the first time. We rated the service, food and atmosphere better than Tiger. The kids' meals came in a box with food and puzzles to keep them occupied. Very Good!! Parents' meals were Nasi Lemak and it was super good. Flight was all right with slight bumps when we were near Exmouth and Indonesia. Not surprisingly coz there is a category 2 cyclone just after Exmouth.
After landing at LCCT, we thought of taking the budget taxi to Duta Vista Suites. But they quoted us RM180, tak nak la!! So we then bought bus tickets for shuttle to KL Sentral - adults RM8 each while kids RM6 each. After an hour ride in a comfy bus, we got into a cab which cost us RM15 to reach our destination. After checking in, Jasmin came with our rented car. Punyalah besar...its a Naza Ria, similar to Kia Caarnival. Abah had to reverse a few times before being able to get it out from the so-so sempit car park.

Kids were disappointed with the apartment. It's a 2 bedroom apartment with kitchen but the one that we were given had so many problems. Firstly the fridge was leaking that caused Sofea to slip and fell twice. Then there was no towels ready for us, lucky we brought along two from home. We asked for a change of room but no such luck because the manager said all fully booked. Another major problem was the entry card. We could not use it to get in. We had to get the manager to open the door for us!! Pengsan!!!

We then decided to head over to KLCC for makan and that was closed to evening time. Since we did not have a map, we were keeping a lookout for KLCC building and just drove towards it. Pusing punya pusing!! Lucky sampai juga!! Headed straight to the foodcourt and we sat there from 7 pm to 10 pm. Makan...minum..while waiting for the Abdat family to join us. They went to Genting but they were leaving for Jakarta the next day. It was good to see them and have dinner cum supper.

We will see them back in Perth next year in February. It's their first visit to KL and they managed to get to Singapore for a day trip before flying to KL.

After that eventful supper where we 'helped' to tutup kedai, we drove towards Maya Hotel where the kids were super anxious to meet the Akmal brothers. They had a good room where we could see the nicest view of KL (20th storey). The boys played PSPs with Harith and Haidil under the table (of all place) while Sofea, Sabryna and Haikal played together. They really missed each other!!

After making final plans of where to go the next day, we bid them farewell. We planned to go Sunway Lagoon for a swim and slide. This was when the night adventure started. Duta Vista is situated along the highway and because it was night time, we kept missing the exit and instead went round and round. To make matters worst, our tank was empty. We exited Sri Hartamas and came to a road block. Abah stopped the car to ask for direction to the nearest petrol kiosk while 2 policemen shined their torchlights to see what's inside the car. Dah la black car...besar pula tu. Silap-silap they thought we were kidnapping the kids who were fast asleep by now. After pumping petrol, we went to a taxi stand and got hold of a taxi driver to show us the way. We ended up at Dust at 2 am and again had to get the night manager to open the door for us!! Penat sei!!

Next day after getting a change of room, a better one with a nice view of the pool that we did not get to swim, we headed towards Maya Hotel to fetch the Akmal bros n parents. Drive there was fun with Adnan fiddling away in the car instead of concentrating on giving navigations. Plus he came up with an imaginary signboard. Kids, as usual, playing PSPs together and refused to unglue themselves from each other even when they went for water slides. The boys got stuck in one of the water slide and the lifeguard had to jump in and push them out. Too light, he said!!

The next day, we took the 2 older Akmal bros to Berjaya Times Square indoor theme park while their parents went for shopping and massage. Because of the height restrictions, Haidil and Sabryna could not join the rest on the fast bumper cars. I tried to cheer them up by going on other games area but both looked bored especially si Haidil!! Ish ish!!!
Then we went to this haunted house. Since Sofea wanted to stay with her Abah, I accompanied the 4 boys. Sabryna also wanted out from going in. Hahaha...we just entered the place and I was not much help because I started screaming when the 'ghosts' started jumping out from nowhere with their masks on. Haidil wanted me to hold his hand and also cover his eyes for him. La!!! Budak ni. How to walk and see??!!! By the time we came out, we were all laughing away!!! We could not spend the whole day there because the Akmal bros were due to fly off at 6pm. So after saying our goodbyes to them, Kak Lah and Uncle Agus, we went back to Duta for a rest before having dinner at Pavillion.

I managed to have dinner with Lin, Linah and Is who drove up from Sg to meet me, Zarina, Mumu and Sharifah who were permanently residing in KL. We had a mini Cedarian reunion with one RGS 'spy' = Is. After dinner, Abah and I wanted to have supper of roti canai and teh tarik so we headed over to one curry house outside Pavillion. Food was good and we went back the next day for breakfast.

We did not shop for clothes because there were not much sale. Instead we spent the next 2 days cutting our hair and buying lots of books such as the 'Mr Midnight' series and some other local writers. I spent RM260 just on my hair and this did not include any colouring at all. Abah n the boys only spent RM26. Minus one zero!!

Oh..I forgot to mention that we did got ourselves lost again in Pavillion carpark. We could not remember where we parked the car and went round and round before the security guard came to our rescue. Sesat aje!!

But it was a good getaway trip and we ate to our hearts content. Now still groggy from all the sleepless night in the plane.

Final assembly of 2009 and saying 'Goodbyes'

2009-12-16T13:24:00.003+08:00

We attended the final assembly of the year with the annual graduation ceremony for Muhammad's class because they will go into high school next year. Today is Muhammad's last day in this school since he will be going to a state high school next year with new friends and teachers.

While he took away the Science Award, Sabryna walked away with the top prizes for Numeracy and Islamic Studies. Good for her!! Danish is just happy with the siblings' achievements and hopefully he will be inspired to work harder next year. Abah managed to join the assembly having to go off for his morning run at 7am just now.

Sabryna will be saying goodbye to her best friend, Manda (the one without the tudung), whom will be returning to Jakarta since the father has finised his studies here. We bought her a going-away present and just looking at the picture, they can pass as twins!! These three were inseparable in school and they have been best friends forever since last year.

After the assembly, we headed to the airport to say our goodbyes to Roskhaider and family who were with us since last friday for holidays. They have the most well-mannered and quiet children and Sofea had a blast playing with the youngest daughter. One thing we learnt during their stay was we all came from VJC!! Small world huh??!! Well goodbye guys and we hope to see you again. Our door is always open for you!!

Laki ku..peminat Alleycats

2009-12-14T12:07:00.002+08:00

It all started with hubby asking me to update the music selection in his Iphone. He was bored from hearing all the 80s Malay rock songs. So last night while he was having a table tennis match with his friend, Roskheider, who is here holidaying with his family, I was busy updating his Iphone. So now in his phone, there are songs from Alleycats, Carefree, M Nasir and etc. As he was checking out the list, he found this song, played it and dedicating it to me who was by then, half asleep. Sofea was long gone so she was not disturb at all with his singing. Aiyoh...the song got stuck in my head after that!!! Til now!!!

2009-12-09T12:13:00.005+08:00

The final house inspection for 2009 was finally over today. This time, 2 ladies came and walked around the house ticking here and there on the inspection list. As usual, tak ada apa diorang nak find fault because the house is very tidy. Look for yourself...but then they did not know what we've been through over the weekend. Penat giler kerjakan the backyard and the front lawn with the mower, shears and cutter. Abah upah the boys to dig out the broad-leave weed, one for 50 cents. Sofea busied herself by digging up the sand and playing with her kakak Sabryna.

This is our games room where we managed to fit the kids' PS2, Wii, table tennis and look, Sofea's little pink house that she will drag from one room to another. Rumah bergerak!! This will be the first room people see when they step into the front door.

Here pula is where we will lepak and watch TV. My fave corner is fully equipped with a power point for my lappie and TimTam. I think we spend a lot of our nights here as a family and watching our fave shows. The kids will squeeze themselves on the sofa (the best seat) with us parents in the middle. Nasib baik semua badan kecil molek.

Because of the inspection, the computer corner is very very clean and tidy. This is usually our most chaotic messy area. Not the bedrooms but this table. PSPs, DS, bags, letters, notes and everything else got dump on this table sampaikan sometimes the laptop gets hidden.

Ni pula our backyard yang menyusahkan diri kita everytime comes inspection. We have to make sure the weeds are gone and the grass are cut. Do you notice the round table with umbrella and chairs? With the summer here, we try to have our weekend lunches and tea breaks here. If the kids want to play out in the front, we will put out the 2 chairs and table in the games room and have our tea there while keeping an eye on them. Our street is relatively save for them to ride their skate scooters up and down.

Ni pula our small kitchen. I try to buy flowers to brighten the area which I can get from the supermarket for AUD$5 a bouquet. Plain and simple kitchen with enough area for me to mess around.

The next few days will be busy with other important stuff than the house...YES!!! Christmas parties to attend to (one with Sofea's daycare and another one at my workplace), the boys will be going to a birthday party, Muhammad's graduation assembly where I heard he's going to....(psst..its a surprise) and of course, packing for our KL trip. Come New Year we may be going to Margaret River, just need to confirm accomodation aje. Betul punya busy kan????

Waving farewell to Shekeen

2009-12-05T20:24:00.003+08:00

Almost 2 years ago, we came to Perth within the same month of each other. We became friends since all of us were new to this foreign place. Everytime any family managed to get a house for rent, we would invite one another for bbq. But today we had to bid farewell to Shekeen who nicknamed all of us her 'Oz Clan'. She would be getting married next week and begins a new chapter in her life as a 'Mdm' back in Singapore.

Yesterday, being Rin's birthday, we took the opportunity to have the last get together before the 'Oz Clan' gets smaller. Abah was supposed to prepare a speech tapi dia lupa. But we did have that 'speech', just outside the front door di bawah lampu porch. We said our goodbyes and well wishes to Shekeen. I think it was very private and nice because knowing me, I wouldn't want to say all these private words at the airport. There were definitely tears today at the airport that I had to delete the many photos that were taken because semua muka sedih..:(

These 2 babies have been babysitted by their Aunty Shekeen when the mummies had something to do. Shekeen said she has photos of Sofea and Camelia when they were little. Look how big they have become sitting on their Aunty Shekeen's lap for the last time.

Here were the mother and daughter who celebrated their birthday last night together. Rin and Sabryna lost one of their front teeth together almost the same time but they were too shy to show off their beautiful 'smiles'.

We wish all the best to Shekeen and hope to see her again. She can always return here for her future honeymoons. But for now, I am thinking back those wonderful times together, us getting comfort from each other while adapting to our new life here. Each of us have our own different path to follow and I am glad that we met along the way. Waving goodbye for now....

Long weekend..woohooo!!

2009-11-28T20:48:00.003+08:00

Since Fri was Eid Adha, the kids' school was closed for the day plus Monday. So betul punya raya lah budak-budak ni. Best tu best but the Mummy will be penat layan their kerenah. This year, with the new head of the school, it hosted the solat raya for the 1st time. But since Muhammad orientation in his new school, Danish attended it all by himself. I had to make arrangement with a friend to help take him back to his house while I dropped Muhammad and Sofea (dia kena pergi daycare la!!).

I contributed popiah goreng for the after prayer's makan-makan. With the support of parents and friends, it was a small but very meaningful day in school. Muhammad also had fun attending the whole day program and we also attended the talk given by the principal. The school will have few trips next yr, i.e. trip to Germany, a ski trip and also Italy. Best kan???? Being him, he has already make friend with another Aussie boy of his size and also taking the outdoor specialist program.

Today and tomorrow, the boys will be attending 'ESQ Leadership Workshop' conducted by an Indonesian company. So while they were there today, we went to pick our friend, Hairuddin from Singapore who is now living and working in Sydney just 4 months back. Hah..apa lagi, my husband happy la sebab we get to do touristy things. We took a ferry from Perth to Fremantle, enjoying the view of Swan River and the places surrounding it. We then headed towards Swan Valley for chocolates, honey and halal grape juice. My friend has one thing on his mind all the time and that is to borong kicap 'Cap Kipas'. Apparently they don't have that in Sydney.

Look at this picture. Sofea took this all by herself. Cute kan??

This one pula was in Perth Mosque after doing our solat Zuhur. Penat juga today. Another day tomorrow to enjoy. A birthday party to attend to and lots of other activities in between.

2009-11-17T11:31:00.002+08:00

We have tried our hands twice in catching crabs last year. Recently we even experienced collecting abalones. Abalones are pricey and now I know why. It's tough trying to identify them among the corals and you have to brave the icey cold water at the same time. There were those who wore their diving suits to keep them warmer and yet I saw one brave Aussie man who only had his speedo on.

We had never tried eating abalone before because of the price. I decided to rope in my Chinese neighbour to teach us how to clean and which part that is supposed to be edible. She's been here for 7 years and had never went to the beach and try to collect the abalones. So since next Sunday will be the last day, she decided to come along. Anis was saying at least have this wonderful experience once in your lifetime.

Look at the men in the family showing off their fruit of labour. We bought extra screwdrivers for our next trip.

Sofea Shakira is officially 2

2009-10-30T12:53:00.003+08:00

We celebrated Sofea's birthday at home. Luckily I decided to cook something simple i.e. Char Kway Teow and bought our fave banana and choc cake from Miss Maud. Since Abah finished work early, we quickly set up the birthday party venue. Tak jauh...outside in our garden. Table and chairs were wipe cleaned (it was raining past few days). Although it is officially spring, tapi sejuk juga bila petang. Abah opened our non-alcoholic bubbly grape juice. When we sang the birthday song in Eng, Malay and Chinese, our neighbour's dogs, Phoebe and Lexus joined us by barking away...kids and dogs making music together.

Want to show what we had for dinner a few days ago, steamed white promfret and fishballs. Simple yet yummylicious. Kids took most of the fishballs and left the snow peas behind for us parents. Now I want to search for ikan pari so that I can cook asam pedas.

A hungry woman = An angry woman

2009-10-26T11:11:00.002+08:00

Men should learn to steer clear from annoying a hungry woman. But no..after years of researching and staying together, men still don't have any clues. Yesterday happened to be my work day, yes, they do have exams on Sunday. I was out as early as 6.15am, making my way down to the Uni with less cars on the road. Kids and hubby were still in dreamland when I left. Hot coffee was what I usually have for breakfast so today was no difference.

Everything went smoothly at work except for the computers switching to the daylight savings mode. Apa dah...IT tech tak take note of this. Starting from this year, we are not practising this daylight savings change. Never mind...so problem settled. Then when we were about to leave at 1.45pm, my Nimbus could not start!!! Lucky kawan belum blah..if not, I'll be helpless. Called RAC but they did not want to proceed because membership under hubby. So get hubby to call and nominate this vehicle.

Ingatkan case closed...so makan ice cream to pass the time with the friend. After 1 hour of waiting, the man came. He asked for husband...huh what for?? Said to check ID since membership under hubby. I said he's all the way in Caversham Park having fun time with kids and he already nominated the vehicle. What else? So he went to check but still did not want to proceed because of some admin technicalities. Duh!!! Again called hubby who by now still want to argue with me about what he had spoken to the customer service rep. Arrrgh!!! This fella could still advise me to get hubby to call the base and then call him again! I said WHAT!!! By then, I just kept my mouth shut and my friend said I looked very pissed off!!! Yes...I'm hungry and I'm fedup. Dah lah tu PANAS!!!

Ok...later this dear partner of mine called to say the rep advised that I forked out A$183 to join as member and then they will come to my rescue. Tak nak la...already we knowed that the battery needed to change and it going to cost us A$130 and I have the potential to wait for another hour or so under the hot sun. Bad idea!! We joined the rest at the park (nasib kita dapat kawan baik) and hubby stayed way away from the hungry wife...take cover dia cakap later!! My tummy dah masuk angin and felt very sleepy after all the waiting and stressful moments.

You really need a lot of patience when it comes dealing with how the way they work here. We noticed banyak dua kali kerja and a lot of time wasting involved. Hubby went back to Uni to wait for the RAC, already informed that he needed new battery but the one that came did not have it. Still asked if we want to order one and will send to our place. So the base despatched another person to come to our place. Another waiting game involved.

Problem solved last night with our car having the new battery and hubby realising that the membership that he bought carried many disadvantages. Getting the ultimate cover does not mean you get the ultimate service!

2009-10-23T08:00:00.004+08:00

No title today since I can only think of the word 'recap'. Anyway here's what happened in the past few days.

Monday, Haany and family became our guests for the last day of Syawal. She has grown since the last time we saw her. Dah one year old pun. Look at her standing beside our soon-to-be 2-year old baby. She also pandai menyakat si Sofea. Purposely made Sofea green with jealousy by sitting on my lap and not wanting to move. Clever and very huggable.

Then on Thursday, Danish's class did a performance to celebrate WA Week. We are still unsure of the significance of the week but I guessed its something like our National Day. Danish was one of the camels. Its about how the Afghans came to WA and helped to build Perth Mosque, our oldest mosque here. The school also had a guest from the Minister's office. Apparently all the Ministers are congregating in Burnbury for their parliament sitting.

After school, we went over to Carousel to get for Sofea a booster chair so that she can eat on her own without sitting on our lap. K-Mart was having an offer so instead of just grabbing the booster seat, I ended up buying 3 lunch boxes for the older ones. Its up for $4 each and quite big and colourful. Plus you can put a mini bottle in it. My car is already stock with mineral bottles just in case they get dehydrated after school. Dah rasa panas pun!!

Birthday weekend

2009-10-19T12:38:00.003+08:00

Our resident 'ulat' turned 10 on Saturday. So since he did not want a big birthday bash, we planned a BBQ lunch at Whiteman Park. Of course, we did not go into the wildlife park itself (mana nak BBQ..nanti Koala pun nak makan) so we went to one of the picnic areas. The place is huge so in total there are 18 carpark areas with their own picnic areas. Siap dengan BBQ pit and toilet facilities. The only setback that we found out was that the pits are coin-operated. $1 for 15 mins for cooking. Apa la...tempat lain free, sini kena bayar pula.

We had BBQ ribs, lamb cutlets, caramel chocolate cake plus sparkling grape juice which Danish tried his hand at popping the bottle. Of course, kita shaked first so that bubbles would flow out for dramatic effect.

But weather was super HOT!! 33-35 degrees...very mengantukkan! Even the birds for the Birds of Prey exhibition did not want to fly because of the heat. Ingatkan nak balik but we detoured to our friend's house to take cover from the heat. At night, while the rest of us watched X-Men 3 at home, Abah and Muhammad went out fishing. They did catch fish, total 4 but all tak boleh makan sebab all were Puffer Fish!!

Since Danish said his birthday was incomplete...we continued with a trip to the swimming pool on Sunday. We were joined by Ali, Batrisyah and their father so the kids were even happier that their friends got to join them. The aquatic centre was cool while the water was warm. For me, I spent the time looking after their belongings while reading Dan Brown's book. Not the latest one but 'Angels and Demons'.

We managed to get the kids occupied over the weekend although Danish did mentioned about not going out of the house anymore if the weather gets too hot. Dia tu, energy banyak but bila kena panas, LEMAU rabak. We still have another birthday celebration coming on the 29th October. Sofea punya turn!! Still thinking where to go and celebrate her birthday.

New hobby

2009-10-15T22:01:00.003+08:00

For the coming next 5 weeks, I will be spending an hour every Friday over at Whaleback for my beginners golf lessons. Initially, my Indon neighbour was supposed to join me in this new hobby (hubby dia pandai main golf la) but since the son has no school on Fri (kindy), terpaksa she postponed to next year. The whole course costs $63.40 plus another $47 for grounds fee. Murah kan??? The golf course is just less than 10 mins away from our house. Best kan???

Saying farewell to the 'King' today

2009-09-24T13:48:00.003+08:00

Parents, staff and students today gathered together for the last assembly of the term to say farewell to their first principal. All were overwhelmed with emotions although I must say the younger children may not realise the impact of this sad day. The 'King' gave his final speech to all and he too was filled with emotions. From the day the school started with 14 kids and now 300+ kids, his contributions were countless. The touching moment was when while giving the speech, he had to sit down because he was feeling dizzy. Then 2 of the Year 11 boys went up to accompany him with one putting his hand over the shoulder. Such tender moments brought tears to everyone's eyes.

Muhammad represented his class to hand over the card and read a poem written by the students. One part of the speech that reminded me why I decided to send the kids to this school was that you can see the smiles on the children's faces everyday without fail. Everyone look forward to go to school. His favourite words was "Whatever happens, always smile." Thank you to the King for putting those words in the children everyday without fail because happiness is the most important ingredient in one's everyday life.

Our first guests for Raya 2009

2009-09-23T12:48:00.003+08:00

We received our first Raya guests yesterday. Managed to whip up Chicken Briyani on time (late notice from Abah) before guests arrived at 7pm. The sickies were better although Danish was having nightmare during the day (something to do about PSP..apa saja). The 'bujangs' are Uni students although through our conversations over dinner, we found out that they are so young. They are actually born in 1990s...Anuar (the oldest, 1960s) mentioned that they made him feel so OLD!! But they are very intelligent. Aimee will be heading back to Sg soon, having completed his studies in Biomedical Science. Will be posted to University Malaya after that. This will be his last Raya here. Good to know him these past years.

We have been receiving Raya invitations but need to KIV them til we return. I need to start doing the packing and weighing the luggage soon but body seems to be lazy. Looking at the photos posted by the family members made me feel "Aiyah..I wish I was there."

3 kids down...

2009-09-22T11:27:00.002+08:00

Apalah nasib..eve of Raya, Sofea was down with vomiting constantly that kept us awake at every hour. She continued doing so at the mosque. Then yesterday morning, it was Sabryna's turn (same condition) followed by Danish in the afternoon. Although the 2 girls were much better than yesterday, Danish is left with a headache. I was also feverish last night til I had to take 2 panadols to sleep.
We have yet to complete our shopping and of course, the packing. Abah is too busy working and these kids do not want to leave home to help me (2 days off from school). Hopefully things will get better.

Eid 2009

2009-09-20T15:19:00.004+08:00

Woke up as early as 6 am to get ready to head upwards to Masjid Al-Maidin for our Eid prayers. A convoi of 5 cars made up of 3 families with kids and the rest uni students. After prayers, we bersalaman, took photos and ate what was spread on the tables outside the mosque. We then headed towards Burns Beach to visit Ferhad and family. But we did made a stop at Burns Beach to take photos by the sea. Anuar/Wana's car had a flat tyre so we rest for a while to help them change it.

After Ferhad's place in Illuka, we went towards Rahman/Yuhana's place in Belmont before heading towards Armadale for the 'last' invitation. At Kak Ina's house, we watched 'Ironman' while eating the dishes prepared by Kak Ina and chatting with her daughters' friends from Oman. I thought we will be heading home after that but Abah decided to drive towards another friend's house, Hidayat (another 45 mins drive). Alah..he wanted to watch the soccer game sekali, if not where got sanggup drive upwards. But it was good fun today. I think the highlight again was food and the beach. Also the company was great to be with.

Selamat Hari Raya, Maaf Zahir Batin from MyKidz-Roos

2009-09-19T23:53:00.002+08:00

As I am typing this entry, we are 5 minutes away from welcoming 1st Syawal. This year's Ramadhan has been very blessful for us and the kids. We are especially proud of all 3 children because they did not miss any of the Ramadhan days even though there was one day when they woke up late for sahur. They performed their daily routine diligently and never get attempted to break their fast although some of their peers were doing it.
Like last year, we called upon our friends whom have not made plans to return to Sg to have the last Iftar together with us. Simple fare of lamb briyani, lasagna, spagetti meatballs, pavlova, banana choc cake and air bandung. The company was great and we organised the kids to lit up their sparklers in the garden. Tomorrow we will be leaving home as early as 7 am to head upwards to Masjid Al-Majid in Hepburn (45 mins from our place) for our Eid prayers. After that, we will be visiting our friends and their families.

Selamat Hari Raya to all our friends and families. We hope to be able to say hello to Ramadhan 2010 and to our Sg families, we hope to see you soon.

Alamak lupa nasi da..

2009-09-17T20:37:00.002+08:00

I got distracted today after baking this delicious banana cake (trust me..its nice). Went off to finish cooking the lauk-pauk for our dinner and sat down with the kids while enjoying the smell of the cake lingering in the house. 15 mins to go before buka, or maybe lesser, I realised that I have not cook the rice!! Plan B was to get the kids to eat the cake first before hitting the main dish. Danish said "Yeah" or was it Muhammad (can't remember coz too busy panicking over the rice). They gulped the cake down with gusto and thumbs up. 20 mins after the official buka, the rice pun dah siap to eat.

There was hot news in school today. Principal will leave at the end of this term which is next Friday, by the way. He sent out letter to all informing his decision which was sadly due to not being able to work under the conditions set by the school commitee. Hmmm..on one hand, I welcome the news (becoz I'm still hopeful that a Muslim shd hold this position) but on the other hand, what lies ahead and who will be the new leader. But then we should give this person credit for leading the school from the start with 52 students to its current status. He is a well mannered person with a HOT car.

Raya mood = ON

2009-09-17T11:28:00.003+08:00

Our Raya mood is on already sampaikan the whole house started smelling delicious. Yesterday, since Sofea was in day care, I attempted to make kek kukus that took 4 hours to steam. Actually, I pengelat sikit with the recipe. Since I can't think of how to brown the cake (after talking to mother, she suggested gula hangus but too late dah siap pun), I decided to add chocolate. So jadi lah...Kek Kukus Chocolate. Masa steaming process pula, I steamed for 3 hours in the afternoon and stopped sebab nak kena pick up the kids and sent them to Japanese tuition. But continued 2 hours more at night. By the time, Abah and the boys balik terawih, dah siap...yeah!! Not bad juga. Better be sebab I burnt my fingers with the hot caramel.
Dinner pula, I cooked briyani rice and Moroccon Lamb Curry. Everything was cleaned up within minutes. Planning to do some more baking today or tomorrow. For Saturday nite, we will be hosting the final Iftar at our place with our friends yang tak balik Raya. Abah will be organising the takbir (this year tak ada Pak Sahar like last year) and Shekeen going to bring CD lagu raya. My children ni spoil betul..they opted for lasagna instead of the usual Raya dishes. What to do..have to fulfil their
request.

I can't remember when we took this picture but it was in the SD card. Its tuna baked pasta and kuih dadar. A sample of one of the simple dishes that I whipped up for one of the daily Iftars.

Countdown to ...

2009-09-14T20:48:00.002+08:00

The children have started counting the days to Hari Raya and going back home. Everyday, while driving to and fro the school or to the library, they will be discussing what to buy (raya clothes), what they are going to do this coming Sunday, what they are going to do with their duit raya, what they are going to eat in Sg and many many more. Since I don't have a radio in the car, I have to listen to their discussion.

Today they were discussing about eating Japanese food and hitting all the fast food chains in Sg. Yes, people, we are deprived from Halal fast food over here. I still have tons to settle before Raya. Lawn to mow (Abah's job), toilets n bathroom to wash, clothes to buy, prepare food for Raya, trying to squeeze some time to bake some cakes or maybe choc chip cookies, necessary errands to run like paying rent and buying stuff to bring home plus meeting the endodontist (root canal specialist). Last sat, my usual dentist could not get to one of the nerve in the affected tooth so he referred to a specialist. I made the appointment this Fri afternoon and have check out the route to the clinic in East Fremantle. I will have to drive myself there...shucks!! Clinic not open on Sat (apa nak buat!!!).

We will be celebrating Raya with our friends staying in the North this time round. Planning to bring a cake when we congregate together for the Eid prayers. Kids will have Mon and Tues off from school and Friday is the start of their term break already. Abah is busy nowadays but he sure is looking forward for his upcoming break.

School assembly

2009-09-11T14:39:00.003+08:00

It has been ages since both me and Sofea attended the school's assemblies. Since I've been sending the kids to school in the morning there is no reason not to now. Abah has been busy doing his deliveries this entire week starting from 7am, covering for a 70-year old man who went for his hip surgery.

Sabryna received her merit certificate award for her excellent work in class. Good for her!! She so blur that she did not even realise that we were watching her at the sides. Hmm..getting to be like the father soon :)

The Year 4s had put up a short skit about Ramadhan and Eid. It was good and simple with everyone clad in their national costumes. Sofea clapped her hands to the rhythm of the song.

Scar

2009-09-09T14:34:00.003+08:00

I didn't realise til yesterday that I had these burnt marks from the hot oven incident. Upon seeing this, I realised this Ramadhan, I had been cooking up for the fasting 'customers'. Every night, they would come up with requests for next day's dinner. Most times I found myself having to come up with more than 1 dish. We had lamb curry last night but since Abah and Danish wanted to eat mee, they had mee curry instead of rice. Today they have requested for pizza since we still have not finish the mozarella cheese and the smoked pepperoni. Compared to last Ramadhan, I was not like this. Our food were basically the same thing everyday, rice and some lauk. Sofea was not cooperative last year in leaving the mummy in peace to cook. But this year, she is awesome except she turns her demands to the father. IGA is having some chocolate sale which I am tempted to borong back home.

Sofea, the swimmer

2009-09-07T11:52:00.003+08:00

It's great that we have a swimming school near to our house (about 5 mins walk). The older children have suspended their lessons for this Ramadhan but will continue when we return from Sg. In the meantime, Sofea, looks forward to her weekly swimming class. She would begin to sing her fave swimming rhyme, "Giddyup, giddyup horsie." whenever she put on her swimming gear all by herself.
Her lesson is usually on Tues morning but occassionally, I let Abah handles her on Saturday. All the daddies will normally turn up with their kids on Sat. I saw one daddy handling 3 young children all by himself. Terror!! I think the mummy must have gone to take a break all by herself in the gym upstairs.
As I am uploading the photos, the empty house is filled with wonderful noises such as the radio, washing machine and the sound of wind blowing outside. Kids are all in school and Sofea is off to daycare. I am enjoying the solitary and already planning to curl up and read the novel that I borrowed from the library yesterday.

Root CanaL

2009-09-01T10:15:00.002+08:00

Alas, the tooth will not wait til the day I return to Sg. It screams for help everytime the temperature drop less than 5 degrees especially at night and early morning. At times, I could not even eat or drink anything during sahur with the rest. I would be lying as still as ever, holding my left cheek and hoping the pain would go away soon. I thought I could wait a bit longer but then after checking that the private insurance waiting period for dental works is over (12 months sei!!!), I booked the dentist last week. So today, at 4.30 pm, I will head over to the clinic with the gang (Abah will meet us there). I will have to prepare sandwiches for them to break fast in the clinic and we will follow up later with fried kuay teow.

1 week of fasting

2009-08-29T20:19:00.004+08:00

Today marks the first week of Ramadhan and we are loving every bit of it. Waking up at 4.45am in the morning had been a breeze for the kids. They would have their sahur of cereals, honey drink and bread with their usual noises. I wondered if our neighbours could hear their giggles. Luckily, now that I've gotten the provisional licence to drive, it did save time for the kids to get home without having to walk home from the bus stop.

Sofea has also successfully settled herself well in the child care centre. Apparently she ate pretty well there, plus she ate rice which was something she refused to eat at home. I had to constantly remind myself where she was when I do not see her strapped in her car seat. Her daycare's fee is $62 per day but because we can claim child care benefit, we only pay 40% of the fee. Not too bad..considering I can have time to finish my transcript work without her demanding attention from me constantly. Left 2 more data to transcribe by next week and after that I am done.

Sofea's 1st day in DaYcare

2009-08-24T14:46:00.003+08:00

Photos taken this morning before leaving home to Sofea's daycare, about 5-10 mins ride away. She wanted to bring her best friend, Ernie along with her fave shawl.

When we reached the daycare, there were about 4 other kids along with Teacher Nur and Teacher Rita. The kids were getting ready to have morning tea of fruits platter. After playing with the toys and singing, the small number of children prepared to have their lunch of macaroni and cheese. Sofea ate all the colourful vegies made up of carrots, peas and corns. She helped pack the toys away and I think she settled in perfectly well. She was not even aware that I sneaked out from the centre. By the way, Teacher Nur, was a former resident of Pasir Ris Town. Nice to get to know another fellow Singaporean. We exchanged information and she even shared with me how she raised her 2 daughters in Perth.

TIME TO ROUND UP THE TROOPS NOW!

1st n 2nd day of Ramadhan

2009-08-23T20:08:00.002+08:00

Ramadhan is here again...and we have been soaking it well especially the kids. The were super excited to wake up for sahur. Plus they asked me to whip up apam balik. After the 1st sahur, the boys stayed up to watch cartoon (being Saturday, it starts as early as 6 am) while I was getting ready to leave for work at 6.30 am. They spent the day shopping at Toys R Us with Abah. We ate rice with ayam masak kicap and apam balik after that. Since we ate at 5.51 pm, we called up Mak after dinner to tell her what we ate. Actually more to disturb Hafiz...hahaha!!!

2nd sahur was bread and Nutella, with oats and biscuits. After Subuh prayers, all went back to sleep except for Abah who was tuning to some Raya songs (cepatnya). We spent the rest of the day in Fremantle looking for souveniers for Abah's ex-students and played at the oval before heading home for dinner. I managed to fry mee goreng and grilled crumbed fish with spinach and feta in time for buka.

Right now just relaxing after a great meal while the men-folk went for their terawih at the turkish mosque. Sofea is sleeping away..she starts daycare tomorrow and I'll be free from her 3 days in a week. Yes, free time for me to do my transcript work and maybe sleep.

From L to P

2009-08-12T19:39:00.002+08:00

Yes, people...I have graduated from being a 'L' plate driver to a 'P' plate driver with effect from yesterday's afternoon. My driver's licence will be send over by mail in a week's time. I made my first solo drive to school to fetch the children with sweaty palms. No one sitting beside me telling me what to do. The only consolation I received was Sofea singing 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' behind me. She seemed to be very happy..singing away. Probably she tumpang happy now that I can drive her and the rest around without having to wait for Abah.
Today we went a bit further after school, down to East Vic Park Library for their Japanses lesson. There were several times esp. at the roundabouts that worried me but Alhamdullilah, all went well. Except I had to make the call to Abah telling him that I parked head in. I worried about having problems reversing out from the parking lot. Again, it worked well. Muhammad sat beside me armed with street directory, telling me where to turn. Yes...I have a talking Tom-Tom.
Back to yesterday, once I finished the final computerised test, Hazardous Perception Test, I was a bit bumped. Why?? Because I was not confident about my clicking. I turned around to look at my friend, Shahreen who was minding Sofea and gave him a not good sign. But the lady said "Yes, my dear, you were successful." Yeah yeah yeah!!!
Now the 'P' plate has been securely stuck onto the Nimbus. We going to say goodbye to the blue Toyota Corolla tomorrow. The car will be sold to a friend. The car that helped me pass my driving. Goodbye to you...

Books for Us

2009-08-09T18:12:00.003+08:00

We have been looking on a lookout for good books on Islam for quite a while. Thanks to a book sale over at the nearby exhibition centre, we bought good books that we will be using for our daily discussion after Isya' prayers. The books are suitable for our children especially in the way they have been written. We went to the book sale not once but twice to see if there is anymore that we may have misssed. For those who wish to see the range of books and games, check their website...www.ibcshopping.com.au.

Last night, we went to our friend's place to send the boys for their 1st ceramah. This was nicely organised just for the boys, where they read a surah and had a discussion headed by an Ustaz. Back home, we always rely on MUIS or mosques nearby to have similar programs, eg. Teen Alive, Kids Alive. But here, we as parents, have to gather our resources and strengths to help such programs.

Right now, I'm enjoying the books that we bought and getting the materials ready for our nightly discussions. Tomorrow morning, I will be heading to the licensing centre to sit for the final test before getting my driver's licence.

Apam balik

2009-08-04T20:06:00.004+08:00

It has been such a long time since we all ate apam balik. Usually we ate this once a week, mak would buy for our breakfast from Pasar Geylang. So after stumbling on a packet of mixed nuts costing $2 from Sam's Warehouse, made this today for tea break after we returned from school.
This time round, we had a mixture of almonds, hazelnuts, peanuts, sweet peanuts, macadamia and walnuts. Kids walloped all down within minutes after I cut and placed on a plate. Had to hide 2 remaining pieces in the oven for Abah. I have to make some more for tomorrow.

1 cup of flour
1 cup of milk
1/4 cup of sugar
1 tsp bicarbonate soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla essence
Crushed peanuts and sugar sprinkle on the batter before folding it

Wall climbing

2009-08-02T19:59:00.003+08:00

We spent Sunday in Bayswater watching the finale of the Avon Descent, the annual white water rafting that starts from Toodyay and ends in Bayswater. It's like a carnival where there are bouncing castles, mobile zoo, pony and horse rides, plus many others that the children get to enjoy for free. Even though it's still winter, today's weather was pretty hot. Even the water level was reported to be lower than last year because of lesser rainy days which made the rapids much challenging for the paddlers.
Muhammad and Danish tried their hands at wall climbing. Sabryna was an inch shorter so she did not make the cut to try out. Sofea enjoyed herself in the playground. We then headed off to have our lunch at Mak's Place in Northbridge after doing our zohor at Perth's Mosque. Since it was still early, we joined our friends who were having a picnic in King's Park. More soccer playing, footy and eating delicious home-made nasi ayam and titbits. The weekend flew so fast..we will be having our next inspection on Thurs and after completing the moving of the lawn, left the interior of the house to be in top condition.

My first WA paycheck

2009-08-02T09:41:00.003+08:00

Finally I received my first paycheck after they settled a bit of some admin glitch. So what did I do...
I bought this...

and kids ate these for dinner last night.

Abah is equally happy although in a quiet way because now he has a microwave to heat up his food fast.

Following his dad's footsteps

2009-07-28T09:46:00.003+08:00

Yesterday being a busy day for us, we headed out very early in the morning and did not get to see the postbox until much later. I had to settle urgent work matters down in UWA. Managed to get kind help from Shekeen to babysit Sofea (thank you very very much) and also thanks to Fiona for getting me to UWA ala 'fast and furious' but still within the speed limit.

When we returned from school, we received a big envelope from the postman. Good news for Muhammad!! He's being accepted to enrol in an Outdoor Adventure Program in one of the high schools nearby. Not all high school offer this program and within the vicinity of the school, there's this Bilbulmum Track that will soon be his 'classroom'. Its a specialist program with normal curriculum integrated with outdoor programs. After that busy day, it ended in a very sweet way. Alhamdullilah....

Bila nak sekolah ni???

2009-07-21T09:43:00.002+08:00

Where is that school newsletter??? Nobody seems to be able to find it and because of that we were confused over the start of Term 3 for their school. Official day was Monday but our children were divided on the actual day. 2 said on tues while another one (danish la...no surprise) said on wednesday. So Abah said, nevermind just wake up on tues morning, wear uniform and we shall see what happen next!!

Morning came today with a text message from their friend's mom. Their school will start tomorrow!! Hahahaha...tulah, ada note pergi buang note lepas tu kena main teka-teki!!! Danish menang!

Holidays..

2009-07-20T11:14:00.002+08:00

Flights have been booked for both trips to negara tercinta dan negara jiran yg dah lama tak bertemu (baru setahun!!!).
Looking forward to all the makan trips that we are picturing in our heads...yum yum. Laksa!!!Mee Siam!!!Briyani Power!!!

Gingin's Gravity Discovery Centre

2009-07-18T20:36:00.003+08:00

Yes..we went up to Gingin this afternoon along with the kids' friends. Its an observatory centre where exhibits on gravity and science are being displayed. Sofea joined us by running around and looking at the exhibits while attempting to discuss about them with us. The highlight today was we climbed up the leaning tower which was very high. Both me and Arshad did not finished the last 3 flight of stairs because we got scared by the howls from the wind. It was terribly windy up there. So we sat huddled together while waiting for the rest to complete their climb to the top.
While we were exploring the rest of the premises, we spotted two wild kangaroos hoping away. Lucky us!! That was another highlight although by the time we got close to them, the kangaroos hopped away.

Happy Birthday Muhammad

2009-07-13T21:00:00.002+08:00

Muhammad turns 12 today and we had a low-key celebration for him during dinner. I cooked his fave dish, pandan chicken with roti jala (1st time buat..menjadi), rendang daging padang and bought white choc mud log.
He followed Abah to work today to get a first hand look of being a courier man. He came back and said it was awesome. However, he still wants to be a zoologist. Happy birthday to our first born...may you be a responsible tween and a filial son always.

Hiking at Bilbulmun Track in Kalamunda

2009-07-13T10:19:00.003+08:00

We finally managed to go ahead with our plans to do some trekking at Bilbulmun Track over at Perth Hills. Initially weather looked kind of gloomy but clear sky appeared giving us the much welcome sunny weather. Boys were delighted and enjoyed their company with their friend, Ali. They kept themselves busy chit chatting while walking. The girls, Sabryna and Batrisyah, walked together and keeping each other entertained with guessing game. We found out that this was Batrisyah's first hike. Yes girl..you conquered it well!! Sofea kept herself quiet in the backpack-kind-of-carrier and slept for a while. Of course Abah had the honour of carrying her all the way....10 kg on the back!

My Nike shoes gave way during the last stretch of the hike. Thinking of getting proper hiking shoes next time. We truly enjoyed ourselves especially with the company at hand. We will definitely come back to explore more of the Bilbulmon track. Love it love it love it!!

Facebook friends

2009-07-10T10:22:00.002+08:00

Recently, I was reunited with several of my long-lost friends through the Facebook. Funny thing, some were actually still living or working in the same housing estate where I was living but we never bumped into each other. I think with the process of ageing that is going on, I would not think of recognising them either.

Today, my long lost buddy who has been staying in KL forever found me in Facebook through another buddy of husband who is now working in Abu Dhabi. We lost contact since after secondary school where she further her studies in UIA. While my friends back in Sg, I heard they are organising get together here and there, catching up what they have been missing. Some I heard, even brought along photo albums when they met up.

My primary schoolmates are still together playing soccer and after that lepak at the old Rezeki restaurant just opposite our old school. The only way for me to hang out with them is through FB. I get to know their professions, where they stay and how they look now. One friend (we all called him Mat Noh) is a singer and I have never thought he will be one in a million years. These are my friends right from P1 and we had good times playing catching and teasing one another. Right now I am many many hundreds kms away from them but through FB I am so much nearer.

Friends...

Sofea, the Entertainer

2009-07-06T12:48:00.003+08:00

Sofea has been a great girl lately, entertaining the chickies patients with her antics. We are just hoping she won't catch the chickies. Just manage to get her immunised a month before it all started.
Abah will be returning to work tomorrow after 6 days MC at home. Face is much better. He looks like having pimples that will dry up and peel off in the next few days. Still look much better than before. We will be staying indoors in the next few days since weather is not favourable to go outside. It has been forecasted to rain the whole week. Well never mind...the kids are happy with playing their PSPs and DS. Just need to stock up the freezer and the fridge with stuff to eat. Oven is still down so can't use it to bake or grill anything.

Chickies Attack!!

2009-06-29T14:32:00.003+08:00

First victim was Sabryna who cried and cried because of the itchiness and trying to get attention from us all while being bored having to remain in the room all day long.

2 weeks later (just like what 4x has predicted), Muhammad and Abah found red spots on their bodies this morning. Both are first timers while Sabryna was a 2nd-timer for this chickies attack. One advantage for having chicken pox in winter is the itchiness is practically nonexistence.

Another week of quarantine. Have to miss out the get-together at Shekeen's place tonight. Thought of sending representative but he is also down!! Have fun people!!!

BBq Baramundi for Lunch

2009-06-22T10:15:00.003+08:00

Yesterday's lunch was a wonderful treat. My Indon neighbour suggested bbq-ing baramundi for lunch at our place. We called him 'Masterchef Nanang'...why??? Becoz, he was the one who cooked the main dish...to perfection!!

Roast the baramundi, ginger and onion on the charcoal. Blend the grilled ginger and onions with handful of peanuts together with some lime. Mix the blended stuff with hot water, add salt to taste and pour it over the grilled fish. Eat hot hot and if you want it spicy, blend some chillies.

I forgot to take some photos of the dish..by the time I remembered, it was already in the tummy. Their son, Hakim, had fun playing with the children although it was quite funny listening to their conversation. Hakim, speaking his Bahasa while Sabryna just remained silent and Danish trying very hard to be the translator. While Sofea, she just used sign language with her Abg Hakim.

Visitors came and left

2009-06-15T15:42:00.003+08:00

All our visitors from Sg came almost the same time and all left yesterday night. Abah made 2 trips to the airport, first to send off Amran n family and later Suffi n gang.

One conversation we will always remember :
Me : Did you enjoy yourself here, Suffi?
Suffi : Yes..I will miss Muhammad and Danish.
Me : Hey..what about me???
Suffi : You too.
Me : Ok..you come back and we shall go sandboarding together..but when you coming back?
Suffi : When I grow up and get married.
Me : Hmmm...when will you get married?
Suffi : When I'm 20 years old.
Me : Hahaha..oh no..I'll be 50 years old. How to sandboard with you????

We'll see each other soon again, Insya-allah...sometime soon!!!

PS..Sabryna got the chickie pox yesterday. Hmmmm...the rest of the brood shouted hurray when Abah said no school for all 3 kids for this week.

Weekend getaway

2009-06-08T11:14:00.002+08:00

We drove over towards Pinnacles on Sat which is 3 hours away. Booked 3 rooms for all 3 families with 9 children altogether in Cerventes. Nice place where there is a common kitchen for us to cook our meals. We saw wonderful sunset at Pinnacles although we could not sandboard, not permitted. Nevermind, Lancelin is available and we went over the next day before heading home. The men had a joyful time taking turns driving the Toyota Rav4 while the mummies managed the kids, getting them to take turns using the boards. Wish we could spent more time because I think the children can come up with more creative slides. We did get to see another spectacular sunset in Lancelin. With great company, we all truly enjoyed the weekend.

To lil Haikal...I will miss your 'No', 'Deepy' and your 'Don't talk nonsense'...

To lil Haidil...Haha you got me trick over your 'tummy' problem, a good diversion to hide your special souvenier from Gingin Gravity Centre and your special alligator that lives on the tree.

Sabryna's new PINK bed

2009-06-03T20:05:00.002+08:00

We bought this off from a Scottish man who stays way up in Clarkson today for AUD30. Luckily Abah had a job to Joondalup so he was able to fit in the van while doing his delivery rounds. We are in the midst of slowly getting bed frames for the kids. Yeah..a bit slow but we really want something that the kids will enjoy sleeping in it.

Just look at Sofea making herself comfortable on the bed!!

Halfway thru the long weekend

2009-05-31T18:18:00.004+08:00

Our long weekend started with trip to have our dinner at Lathansa Cafe on Friday with a quick trip to Harbour Town before it closed at 9 pm. We then spent the day at Fremantle, eating lunch at Kailis and having Baskin Robbins after go-karting. Wanted to see the sunset over at Perth Hills but we were too late. We then spent the rest of the night borak-borak letting the kids enjoy themselves playing with PSPs, soccer table or just giggle here and there.

If only I did not have to work on Sun, we probably set off to somewhere. Wait la...see coming weekend...if everything turn out right.

After my work at UWA,lunch and meeting my friend to collect my work assignment, we headed to Fraser Point just in time to hire the bicycles and rode over to Swan Bell. It was a lovely one hour ride with the cool evening breeze...woohooo. I love this big bike because Sofea get to sit on her own. It cost us $27 for one hour rental.

Tomorrow we have a birthday party and I have to start early to make some epok-epok for the kids. Another day to enjoy!!

Happy Birthday to Mak

2009-05-29T09:09:00.002+08:00

Especially for Mak...happy birthday!!!!

Sofea posing for Mak wearing what was passed down from Hafiz to Fuad to Zohri to Hambali to Muhammad to Danish to Sabryna to Ayu. Only Danial and Aisyah did not get to wear this. Still very good and look new as always.

PS...Dik, don't buy for Mak another bag, she got lots already right??? Can buka kedai lelong her bags. Hafiz...stop asking for your presents, birthday over already!!

Our newly refurbished dining set

2009-05-22T19:28:00.002+08:00

We bought this from a Thai girl who just graduated from UWA and in the process of moving to a small apartment. They are made of timber and I just finished sandpapering and giving the table a fresh coat of varnish. I had planned to do another extra coat but alas, I dropped the can of varnish on the store room floor so had to shelve the idea totally. Took me almost a week to finish the table and now it is ready for use.

Its raining...

2009-05-21T12:46:00.003+08:00

Weather updates have been warning the WA residents that there will be rain later this week and true enough, it started with gusty wind and big droplets. I had to rescue the plastic garden chairs, my wooden shoe rack and cover the dining table that I've just finished putting on a coat of varnish from being blown off. I did not have time to save the shoes which were all over the garden and realised that the groundsheet that was to cover the store door was blown off! I will go over to the neighbour's house later to see if there is any chance it got stuck in her garden.

Sofea putting herself in a box that we normally used for our vege shopping. Just nice for her size.

Posing for the camera.

Memories

2009-05-20T09:31:00.002+08:00

What I cherish and miss most...
- Bai roti stopping in front of the house with his roti slapped with kaya and mentega.
- Me volunteering to sweep all the dry leaves and lighting a small fire to burn them in the garden.
- Me learning to ride bicycle, being pushed by 4X and ended up into some semak.
- Me catching spiders and putting them into matchboxes for fighting matches.
- Me following someone (can't remember who) to someone's house to buy rojak petis (sedap).
- Waking up to the sounds of Burung Terkukur in Tok Baba's house.
- Me getting a treat of icy lollies that Nenek Nyah made and sold to kids from her big fridge.
- Going up to Kedai Bachik or Kedai Yam to get some groceries shopping.

What I simply would not want to go through all over again...
- There's only one thing i.e. having to do 'business' either by digging a hole in the garden or using the ehhemm ehhem 'rumah kecil'.

PS...I can't wait to read the trilogy and definitely going to keep it for the kids to enjoy.

My baby is learning to swim

2009-05-19T12:15:00.002+08:00

Did I mention that one day last week while trying to shake the terrible headache off me, I went out for a walk. Instead of getting rid of the headache, I ended up enrolling all four children, yes, including Sofea, to have weekly swimming lessons at the nearby gym! My headache cost the father AUD$300 i.e. swimming lessons for the whole term ahead. Tak pe..Abah said, can claim income tax. Hehe...luckily when the kids returned, they were glad upon hearing the news.

So today, Sofea had her first swimming lesson. She did not cry but she refused to touch the rubber ducky. Geli kot!!! The bros and sis will have their lessons on Thurs afternoon after school and they will be together with the Akmal bros.

Ape nak masak hari ni???

Sambal clams, fishball soup, roasted chicken wings and some leftover chicken curry.

Mummy's Day Special

2009-05-10T21:03:00.002+08:00

We had Mother's Day Hi-Tea over at Yuhana's place with cheesecakes, eclairs, sponge cakes, kuih bakar....just look at the picture of the food spread. Although before that Abah drove towards Dianella to eat lunch at Charcoal Chicken after we went to buy the nougats for the mummies...and oh yes...flowers too!!

My brood gave me these this morning and each of them received a great big hug from me!!!

House Inspection

2009-05-07T11:21:00.002+08:00

We have been blessed with being able to buy (although more like pinjam for 999 years or less) our own property back home that we don't need to rent from anyone. After more than a year of renting a house, we went through all the ups and downs from applying for one, to furnishing one, to clean one especially come the inspection days.

On behalf of the owner, the property agent will do a house inspection every 3 months. Basically to report to the owner and also to document of any faults, if any. We just had one today....as usual, the stress of getting everything in spick and span will start at least 3 days before the actual day. Cobwebs need to be brush off, weeds need to be pull out, laawn need to be mow, toilets need to clean and carpets need to be deodorise (our house is all carpeted!!!). Luckily for us, the children have been consistently keeping their room neat and tidy, their toilet and bathroom clean and their nonsense stuff being tuck away in the wardrobe. I will normally have a frantic 1 hour or so to deodorise the carpet with the help of the vacuum cleaner and carpet powder (either vanilla-scented or lavender-scented).

The agent will knock on the door after ten and usually spend less than 5 mins moving in and out of the house. Always happy with the condition of the house. Today she mentioned that its always been easy with our house since we have been consistently clean and tidy. We just need to rectify the long crack in the wall that I caused with our old van. Hmmm...time to get quotation from the contractors to mend the wall since we are liable to get it repair. Yikes!!! Hopefully will not cost so much but I figure it might be a 4 figure sum.

Sofea Da Vinci

2009-04-28T14:42:00.002+08:00

No more colouring on the carpet or walls...Sofea is now equipped with her art set costing $6 and a red IKEA table lined with white drawing paper for her to show off her artistic skills.

Bodysurfing @ Trigg

2009-04-25T22:10:00.002+08:00

As planned, we spent the day over at Trigg today. Wanted to snorkel at Mettams Pool but due to safety reasons for the children, it was abandoned although the men had their 1 hour of snorkelling fun there. The kids voted Trigg the best beach ever especially the waves. By the way, our entourage this time included 13 children under the age of 12. Managed to catch few shots only since I too was busy body surfing with at least 3 layers of clothings on me (to beat the cold wind and water..hahaha). Plus I lost one new goggle!!! Anyway...kids had so much fun and it was well worth spending the whole day there...yippeeeee!!!

These are the men folks coming back from their 1 hour of fun away from kids and wives. Wonder what they were laughing at..but we ladies were making jokes about the older ones bullying the youngest in the group!!! Hahaha

Kids playing soccer with their Uncle Anuar, the captain of one side while their Aunty Wana attending to other group. They showed off their soccer skills after showing off their body surfing skills in the water earlier.

Last but not least, Mummy Lulu taking a break in her lazy chair, enjoying the cold breeze while her boys were playing safely within sight. Hmmmm....wish everyday is like this!!!

Sat's Day Out

2009-04-18T22:25:00.003+08:00

We had a lovely time today starting in the morning after breakfast. We headed over to the Lotterywest Family Park in King's Park where the playgrounds are famous among the kids. We played footy and had lunch before it started to drizzle slightly. We proceeded to Harbourtown to do some shopping for the coming winter. Since it stopped drizzling, we made plans towards Sir James Mitchell Park which happens to be along the Swan River overlooking the city. With the evening breeze blowing and dark clouds still above us, we continued to play footy and running around. Initially we wanted to go back for dinner but since all of us were craving for oysters, we drove towards Kailis in Fremantle for a bbq seafood platter. Jason Mraz and other singers (donoe who??) were having a concert there. So we sat outside the boundaries of the concert and enjoyed Jason Mraz's singing live...yeah!!!!

Bunga Melor Lestari

2009-04-15T20:57:00.003+08:00

Abah received the latest pic of his new niece back home. Her name is so unique and we were told to call her 'Bunga'. She just turns 40 days old and looking so cute and adorable already.

Where are we going next??

2009-04-14T21:23:00.003+08:00

Term break has started so the kids will be spending at home for the next 2 weeks. I've stocked up the pantry, fridge and freezer with food. Today alone, I had to send them to the cinema where the boys watched 'Dragonball Evolution' with their friends. We girls, roamed around Carousel and spent half an hour with the Akmal bros who were there shopping with the whole entourage. It rained for a while which was very welcoming. Abah finished work early today so we headed over to the nearest oval for some footy throwing.
Now surfing the net thinking and looking for another exciting place to explore during the next long weekend. Adelaide sounds good (for now....haha).

Shire of York

2009-04-13T13:50:00.004+08:00

We took an hour drive up to York last Saturday morning. The initial plan was to spend a day there unless we can get a last minute accomodation. After searching high and low, being a long weekend, we managed to get a self-contained unit in York Motel for AUD250 per night. We decided to stay 2 nights since we found out quite a number of places that we can explore.

After a quick drop at the local IGA, had fish n chips for lunch, we explored the small town of York that has an old history. We even met this M'sian couple with their 2 boys. They too were planning to drive up to Albany sometime soon just like us. We exchanged phone numbers so that we can contact each other for the trip together. Wife is doing PHD in Physics for the next 3 years. Their 2 boys were delighted to play with the children at the playground before they headed back home before nightfall.

The next day, we drove to another small town nearby, Beverley, where there is an agricultural farm. We went on the drive trail with our reliable Nimbus, looking at the beautiful sceneries of wheat farming and cattle grazing. We spent the rest of the day just driving around and enjoying each other's company. We decided to eat pizza for dinner so after placing our order, we went back to the motel to freshen up and get a good movie dvd for the kids.

On the way back home from York, we stopped over an olive oil farm to get a 2 litre fresh olive oil for our kitchen. Cost us AUD49 but the taste is so much nicer than the ones in the supermarket. That was the only souvenier from the York trip apart from all the nice photos.

We welcome the rain today which will surely cleanses our Nimbus dirtied from the weekend's road trip. Now time for a rest and a long snooze!!

Kena ambushed by a dog!!

2009-04-04T20:41:00.003+08:00

We spent the afternoon at a park near our place while Abah went to play soccer against a team from China. The kids played ball and hanged around at the playground. I had made some tuna sushi for us to eat during tea break. So there we were sitting down eating the sushi away when along came a big dog (the police dog kind) coming towards us. As he neared us, he sniffed into the box of sushi and ate the balance all up!!! He was so busy eating that he ignored his owner's callings. The box was almost empty when he reluctantly let himself being pulled away. Apparently, tuna was his fave food according to the owner. Hmmm..kurang asam punya owner!!! What to do..anyway we ate most of the sushi before kena ambushed by him.

Sunday outing at Floreat Beach

2009-03-31T15:06:00.003+08:00

We went to Floreat beach for a picnic and body boarding. The weather was deliciously wonderful, not too hot nor too cold, PERFECT. While the dads and kids hanged out in the water, the mummies hanged around eating and looking after our spot on the beach. Anuar managed to leave souveniers for the sharks i.e. his spectacles and cap.

Look at Baby Haany, our youngest beachgoer, playing with whatever thats nearing her reach.

Kids playing after their swim. Total of 12 kids altogether.

This is my version of kuih keria. Hahaha

Look at these bapak-bapak having a laugh before doing the solat Maghrib at Anuar's house.

Aussie of the Month

2009-03-26T21:42:00.004+09:00

Muhammad was selected to be the 'Aussie of the Month' for March. Here are the pics of him accepting the badge and certificate. Congrats to our Muhammad!!

Early morning autumn mist..

2009-03-25T10:13:00.002+09:00

We woke up with the first autumn mist that partially covered the whole of the street. It was not cold yet but the view was lovely except that I was too preoccupied with Sofea running around barefooted towards the street, there was no time to look for the camera. Shucks!!

We had a lovely breakfast of croissants filled with smoked salmon and since Muhammad was going to cook up sushi in school today, we had sushi with smoked salmon at home too. Of course, there was also leftover of Aglio Olio from last night's dinner and a great cup of coffee for me!!

Rain Rain Come Again..

2009-03-23T21:40:00.002+09:00

I love to hear raindrops pitter-pattering on the roof but today, Sofea and I missed hearing it because we went for our early morning walk-cum-shopping. We were stuck across the street because the rain came down heavily and although we were well-equipped with an umbrella, its not a good idea to continue our journey back home or we'll get drenched. So there we were taking refuge from the rain while enjoying a banana or two. It was super cold but super nice at the same time. Love the rain, love the rain!!! Finally we reached home slightly wet and Sofea started to have a running nose, poor gurl. We look forward to another rainy day tomorrow.

PS...At the moment, there were tens of whales went on shore over in Augusta, south west of WA. Very few survivors and many volunteers are trying to help the remaining few to survive. I'm still wondering why were they heading to the beach knowing that they won't be able to survive.

"R" stands for ....

2009-03-23T09:24:00.002+09:00

Whenever any head of the countries announced or finally admitted that they are sliding into recession, there will be a solemn silence of sadness. The world's economy is not so rosy than before. Over here, we are all beginning to feel the pinch here and there. There are many lay offs happening in every industry. The best thing right now is to tighten the budget and spend wisely. Luckily for us, our kids are older enough to understand between wants and needs. Hmmm...

March babies

2009-03-22T12:23:00.005+09:00

We had a good time yesterday celebrating the birthdays of our March babies...Azlina (14th Mar), Shekeen (22nd Mar) and lil Haady (27th Mar) with a spread of the usual bbq food and good company. It was lovely getting to meet up with one another after weeks of not seeing each other. The children love playing with each other in the instant pool and then watching "Home Alone 2" together on telly. We were lucky that it did not rain yesterday although there was a cool breeze blowing at us over at Shekeen's place. We welcomed another Singaporean family that just migrated over here in Jan. They happened to live just across us..along one of our favourite walking route.

Abah and Adnan have been busy learning to surf over the weekend at Trigg Beach. He would come home hungry after only spending 3 hours learning to surf. No photos to show since he's too busy surfing than snapping his Iphone.

Lil Sofea will soon turn 17 months and she has become quite a terror at home, scolding and screaming at Sabryna especially. But she will be such an angel when she is alone at home, running in and out of the house exploring the backyard and chasing after the birds away. Plus my next door neighbour's dog, Lexus, loves smiling at her whenever we chill at his place. He would whimper to get into the house whenever he sees us but hahaha no such luck!! So these 2 will play peek-a-boo through the screen door only!!

I bought a 2nd-hand cupboard recently from the AngliCare Shop. Still look alright for $35. Now Sofea will not get her hands on Abah's PDA anymore since it will be away from her reach.