the video that all have been waiting for!!
recorded via satellite in shangri-la, kota kinabalu, sabah, malaysia.
presenting billie "not my lover, fadz" jean!

Posted via email from izadd’s pemalas posterous

while the mummies shopped, the kiddies played and the daddies babysat.

“Tsk, kids these days…”

who doesn’t like the airport? i do! i still harbour a deep desire to one day be employed within the grounds of the changi terminals. maybe after i retire i can be the janitor there or something, who knows.

for now, h1n1 or not, it’s one of our favourite places to go to whenever we run out of air-conditioned open spaces for the kids to run around.

budget playdates. discussions of the fall of changi airport’s spot to world’s number 3. temasekholdings and outsourcing. discovery of bigger portions at the food outlets thanks to travelling angmohs’ feedback. potato chip confiscations on budget airlines… we learn something new everyday, not just the kids. who are always, always busy learning, from everything and nothing.

and what better way to end the day than a home-cooked meal by someone who’s not me?

tomorrow’s itinerary: we’ll know when the sun comes up.

now, where are those passports…

the wedding was without the person most dear to her – her father, my uncle. he’d passed on recently, not long after my own father did.

as such, bonds between certain parties were not the same as it used to be, but thankfully, our generation of cousins still have each others’ support, no matter what (sorry to say) crap the elders are going through. (yes, i am bitter. alas, washing family laundry in public is not very pleasant. and izadnhana.com, if anything, is a happy, happy place.)

in any case, the wedding went WONDERFULLY, with enough love and laughter to go around, and us cousins (plus the little nephews and nieces!) couldn’t be happier for her.

the late Atan grandchildren & great-grandchildren

wedding cake by Shamilah

azfar, who acted as his older sister’s wali, or “guardian”. that means “authorised”, by the way, but apparently not to certain parties. ha ha. (in-joke.) again, so proud of him, can?

Anugerah non-finalist turns Wedding Singer

some mutual friends

some old friends

Official Guardian of the Playground

Operation Flower Girl: Fail Whale!

i wished my mum was around, she’s on holiday for a week at sabah with her sister’s family. which is why i’m on leave too, to hang out with the kids.

and now i hear the little one stirring in her cot. think she’s just woken up from a loooong nap. fetching aniq from school, and buying tulang for dinner later, you know.

tata! have a great week, happy, happy people.

i don’t think i’ve officially introduced this much-anticipated baby here on our blog, sooo, everybody, please meet baby Natra Ashalina!

she’s a month old now, and her newly-minted parents brought her out for her first post-confinement trip to town. i’ve never seen a baby with such a perfectly-shaped sharp nose, my own babies having come out of my birth canal with flattened, squishy ones. :p

there was some serious shopping to be done, as with most mums after being released from forty days of maternity imprisonment. and some serious catching up to do with the gang.

as a welcome-into-the-world-of-shopping gift, aunty hana got the baby something which made the other aunties want baby girls even more. and now her mummy has something that her idol nicole ritchie has, other than a baby girl and an infinite amount of style, that is – a pair of Heelarious heels.

luckily, we had a ‘model’ baby that evening, baby Elsa (whom we all agreed looks like a combination of lilo and stitch, and is all of 6 months old cuteness), and true to the word, the Heelarious heels were… hilarious.

these Heelarious baby’s first heels are actually very soft (and highly glamourous) satin pumps, and meant for babies about 0-6 months who aren’t able to even stand up yet. i admit i was creeped out at first by the idea but when i saw and felt them for myself, it was just toooo adorable and yes, hilarious, indeed. definitely LOL-worthy!

they’re really great as novelty gifts, especially for fashionista mums, and i know there are plenty of them out there. (and in true fashionista mode, esah’s already planning for natra to wear them for hari raya, with which outfit. hah! mak nenek or what!?)

the heels are totally soft and cushiony, so they’re not for babies to walk in (believe me, i tried to squeeze them on auni but her feet are already too big and she’d have mauled the thing in ten seconds), and because they’re so soft, they won’t impede the babies’ growth in any way. jimmy choo should seriously look into this market. :p

hey you know i love to care and share my finds, right?

well guess what, my friend Mei sells these and other cute baby products at her site, mummylicious AND she’s giving you a 10% discount on ALL products, including these Heelarious baby heels! all you have to do is send her an email with your orders at mummylicious@gmail.com with HANA in the subject title. really. really really.

http://www.mummyliciousshop.com

so, baby Natra, welcome again to the world of shopping – in style, no less. coz you’re never too young to look fashionable!

*oh, and mei says, closing date for this exclusive discount is 8 June 09, so email her quick.

a quick one. just a few picks from the mass birthday picnic by the beach last weekend. eastcoast was surprisingly uncrowded, and we even got to perv on j/a/m.i/e y.e/o in short shorts strolling and canoodling with her angmohbf. yum. (no pics of that, though. this is a family-friendly sorta blog, you know.)

my babies…

May babies…

my babes…

it’s been all good.

current mood: zen.

=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=

sometimes they make me mad, most times they make me laugh. the little one is at the stage where she’s a few notches up on the adorable factor. her scrunched up grin whenever she sees me and the way she runs with one arm clutching an invisible rugby ball and one arm swinging – priceless. now that she’s into imitating expressions and understands what we want from her, she’s really fun to play with. the big one, well, at three-and-a-half, is still hovering at the jekyl-and-hyde stage, lol. we have three basic ground rules for him, which he can repeat to you: 1) don’t make mummy angry, 2) don’t make adik cry, 3) don’t make adik fall. needless to say, there have been breaches, which are subsequently rectified. we’ve recently added a new rule that is accompanied with a sharp slap on his hand: 4) don’t bite your nails. his teacher describes him as funny. don’t ask me where he gets that from.

reporting live from sculpture square. just hangin’ out…

if you can catch her, she goes for $10. fleas included.

on till tomorrow!

join us and our friends today and tomorrow at the H.E.A.R.T. market.

we will be selling away our precious stuff, some still brand new
everything from bags, clothings to shoes at very cheap prices!

visit us at the following booths, 31, 32, and 33!!
and don’t forget to bring lots of cash, sorry no nets or credit card accepted!

pic courtesy of calaminesolutions

the blistering heat didn’t deter us from a bit of sizzling good time at the zoo on a public holiday. if we were on a giant grill, we’d have been pretty well done. auni’s toasted button nose and my broiled bare shoulders are your tender juicy evidence.

it was altogether a pretty good day nonetheless, as mentioned. if the children are happy, i’m happy. of course, happiness doesn’t come without a bit of prior warning. warning which sounded like this:

me: aniq, pls promise me two things today. 1) don’t make adik fall or cry. 2) don’t make mummy angry. promise?

aniq: promise.

they were pretty much kept on this particular day. when his sister fell on her own accord, he was quick to jump to his (self-)defence – “not me! not me! HIM!” (no, he’s not placing the blame on an imaginary assailant. he’s just still a little confused with gender-specific pronouns.)

on the boat ride at the zoo, he volunteered to carry around a snake skin for the rest of the passengers to touch and feel. before that, he was asked the two basic questions from the boat guide.

guide: what’s your name?

him (and by him, i mean the above-mentioned boy, as i am perfectly versed in assigning gender-specific pronouns, except with cross-dressers and transvestites, which are a different thing altogether, and i am meandering so far away from the course of my story now): aniq!

guide: how old are you?

him: 3 year old! (pls pardon his flawed application of plurals as well. he is only 3 years old after all.)

anyway, later on, as we were walking out of the zoo, the daddy and i quizzed him again, oh, for the heck of it.

us: what is your name?

him: aniq.

us: how old are you?

him: 3 year old.

us: where do you stay?

him: i stay inside my house.

me: HAHAHAHAHHAHAAAHAHA!

him: (in all seriousness.) *pause* mummy, not funny. not funny.

me: HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

daddy: aniq, next time say ‘tampines’.

him: pampinis.

kidzworld was crazy with kids running amok amidst the sprays and splashes of water, while the adults pretended to tend to the children but were actually secretly enjoying the cool swirls of water on their feet.

the girl made a bee-line to the water jets and never looked back.

sports illustrated – not!

i’ll keep a look out for the now-baby prawn’s smokin’ tan lines. speaking of which, she received at least 2 bikinis on her birthday. tiny, barely legal triangle pieces that would make even britney spears blush. i was tempted to try them on myself… but i digress. in any case, we’ll definitely have to make more trips to the pool, if only to make full use of her entire range of swimwear.

last but not least, thank you hidaya, who’s been a great ambassador to the zoo!

i think i remember ayu once said, in one of our crazy discussions on career choices, that she’d like to work at the zoo, even if it’s just to chop vegetables for the animals. looking at the people who actually work at the zoo, i think that might actually be pretty fun. i’d love to be able to talk to an audience like the animal show presenters there, they’re pretty impressive.

fellow zoolanders

ok, it’s almost 3am and my shoulders are tingly. i really should’ve heeded baz luhrmann’s advice and wear sunscreen.

which brings me now to copy and paste that brilliant song of his, which was, technically, not really sung, more like monotonously delivered, but brilliant nonetheless.

The Sunscreen Song

Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’97

Wear sunscreen

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be
it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by
scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable
than my own meandering experience… I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh nevermind; you will not
understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded.
But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and
recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before
you and how fabulous you really looked…. You’re not as fat as you
imagine.

Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as
effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing
bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that
never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm
on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing everyday that scares you

Sing

Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with
people who are reckless with yours.

Floss

Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes
you’re behind… the race is long, and in the end, it’s only with
yourself.

Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you
succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch

Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your
life… the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they
wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year
olds I know still don’t.

Get plenty of calcium.

Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone.

Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children, maybe
you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky
chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary… whatever you do, don’t
congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either – your
choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s.

Enjoy your body, use it every way you can… don’t be afraid of it, or what
other people think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own..

Dance… even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.

Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them.

Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for
good.

Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the
people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you
should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and
lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you
knew when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live
in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will
philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize
that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were
noble and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund,
maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one
might run out.

Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you’re 40, it will
look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who
supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of
fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the
ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen…

i have what you can call ‘birthday party fatigue’, but sheer maternal obligation drove me to do something for the little one’s first birthday, even though it was terribly last minute, and the planning was not half as anal as it was when i held aniq’s first party three years ago.

i’ve had the theme at the back of my mind, well, actually around the time when those beautiful (and rather mysterious) rainbows kept appearing in our skies early this year. rainbows, care bears, these were the limits of girly-ness i could tolerate. (yes, pink princesses are still not in the cards, for now.)

her daddy said one day she’ll look at these pictures and cringe in embarrassment at what mummy made her wear. lol. well, it’s better than dressing her up as a leprechaun, right?

she’s an outdoorsy and outgoing baby toddler, happy to be running around with just about anyone.

i guess i’m guilty of not keeping track of her developments as much as i did with the firstborn. you can call it a kind of ‘fatigue’ too, but so much is happening at the same time with both kids, there’s barely room for me to reflect or internalise, much less journal it down.

there are little surprises now and then, and we’re still trying to figure her out. all we know is, her hair has barely grown 2 inches since she came out, she always wants our food, she crinkles her nose when she grins, she can be very cheeky like her brother, she’s a pretty tough cookie. no princess here.

we think she’d have been a cute boy. lol.

i think i remember looking at photos of myself as a toddler and thinking how ungirly i look, with my barely there hair and the same expression in this picture. everyone says she looks like her daddy, but i kinda think she looks like me when i was small.

well, ok maybe not as colourful. :p

happy first, little girl. may your life be full of hope, surprises, miracles, and beauty. like rainbows.

(if you find pots of gold along the way, that’d be nice too.)

i think we’ve established that when it comes to planning a do, we really go all out. coz we’re mad like that.

the girls, they’re all incredibly talented individuals, i tell you. and collectively, they’re like the Powerpuff Girls – with the emphasis on Power, of course.

the baby shower theme that the uber-hawt mom-to-be came up with was Hollywood Glamour, and the colours picked were gold and black. yeah, bling, baybeh!

being fans of hollywood celeb babies that we all are, plus the remnants of oscar fever still lingering in the air, it was a theme that we took to with (gold-laden) open arms. can you spot Suri, Harlow, Honor and company on the (not) red carpet?

there was the fab food – mouth-watering pastas, pastries, potato salad, all kudos to the appointed ‘head chef’ and everyone else who contributed from their own kitchens. and the fab deco – special thanks to Luxe Nuptials for the use of all things black and gold that was hantaran-and-wedding-worthy to decorate the hotel room with. an entire coop of black chickens was even massacred for aesthetic purposes, lol.

high-tea menu: eclairs, macarons, danish pastries, sandwiches, gold cupcakes, mini blueberry muffins, mini quiches, mini fruit tartlets, pasta, chicken potato salad.

shower favours… gold “champagne”

our gift to baby. not commissioned one, ok.

there were games and prizes, of which almost each of us won at some point. congrats to farah for her finely-tuned tastebuds (gerber baby food expert, she is) and scissors-paper-stone skill (a tie-breaker between her and Is). also to raihan ruslan, who unwittingly won the pass-the-pampers-full-of-poo contest (of course, it would’ve been more exciting with real baby poo, but we value our dresses waay too much to risk that, even those who only spent $5 on their outfit, hmph). oh, and i won the celebs’ baby names contest, which i sorta cheated on. oops, sorry. alah, who wants my plastic femmebot piggybank prize anyway? no one right??

Guess the Gerber! and Pass the Pampers!

and most importantly, the glam-but-gila company. fortunately, i was holding auni, who was almost terrified of the hairy momoks and clung to me for dear life, so i managed to avoid being implicated in this scary spice scene and maintained posh spice. ho ho!

to baby N, know that your beloved aunties did all this for the love of you and your mummy (never mind that it ended up more like a hen party than baby shower, heh). your mummy has been wanting to have you so much, you’re the blessing she’s been wishing for, for so long. and now we ALL can’t wait to meet you and be part of your life.

not to mention the soo many things we can’t wait to do to you – to pay back for all the bullying your daddy did on our own little kids!

ps: if you follow your mummy’s gorgeous genes, i would like to place aniq on the waiting list, pls. thank you.

just a few notes about round two of the Jalan-jalan Cari Makan roadtrip to KL we went on two weeks ago.

remember, it was all about the food, the whole food and nothing but the food.

so ok, let’s go. first stop, breakfast on a saturday morning across the border. some had roti canai, some had nasi lemak. some had kaya toast. and a side of sausage. (which is what i call that juicy meat with the bald head. ie. “hey Sausage. Sauu-sageee.” coz she really feels like one. cheese-filled.)

we reached our destination in good time, but our hotel rooms weren’t ready. in fact, they weren’t ready for a few hours more. this resulted in a Singaporean female lioness unleashing her wrath of fury to the hapless hotel staff. wah seh. you don’t play play with Singapura lionesses, ok. they are not all docile, purring Kucintas, hor?

we bunked in with lyd & mr boy, the latter whom Sausage is smitten with, for some reason. she calls out to him every time she sees him from afar, and has absolutely no objection to him carrying her. why ah, Sausage, why? why do you like mr boy so much? is it his magic mole that holds the charm? coz mummy also has a mole and you like her very much too.

[insert obligatory family picture. see hot Sausage in stroller.]

anyway, the hotel we stayed in was the heart of damansara, perfectly located with malls and shops all around, and too many restaurants we didn’t know where to begin with.

ok ok, i know where we tried to begin with. it was the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.

i said tried, coz we somehow didn’t end up eating there although i think most of us wanted to. see, we happened to be there on a valentines weekend, and well, malaysians are not immune to the pull of the valentines dollar, or rather, ringgit. a few places had projected that valentine couples would readily open up their petaling street wallets on this special weekend, and priced their set meals and buffets at exploitative costs. unfortunately for us non-valentine tourists, bubba gump was one of them. so we gave it a miss, and headed to marche instead.

what did we eat? i don’t know! i think aniq had spaghetti, i had rosti, auni had mushroom soup (and bits of bread, baby bites and anything else she could grab within her reach), izad had turkey ham something (that looked like Spam to me), and grilled chicken. should have ordered the crepe, which thankfully rin & naz did. the calamaris farah & naz had were not as good as the calamari you find in SG. and i wanted my bundaberg root beer but got ginger ale instead, grr.

we settled in our rooms for a bit, naps for the drivers and some of the kids, and then we got ready for our reservation at Rebung restaurant. which we were an hour late for coz we got decidedly lost. lol.

(well, at least i almost wished we had, so we could go to T.G.I. Fridays instead. shhh.)

but found it we did. we had to lah, the last time we came to KL, we cancelled our reservation coz we decided to do tony roma’s or something. :p

this famous restaurant is owned by chef ismail and dr sheikh muszaphar. yes, THAT one. the pride and joy of the nation. the handsome-tak-boleh-carry astronaut. the manager of the restaurant told us that we should have informed him of our, ahem, ‘interest’ to have him present that evening coz apparently, he makes guest appearances lah, ok! but nevermind, he said, next time sure boleh. because, malaysia boleh.

so what did we eat at rebung? err…

i don’t know either! lol.

the dishes are mainly traditional. think hajah maimunah to the power of three. with all the ulams and asam pedas and sambals and siput seduts galore, i’m very sure our parents would lurrrve this place. the rest of the gang did too, actually, since they all wanted to try out this place. izad, don’t say lah, he’s one of those appreciative of malay foods. (unfortunately, the fella had a seriously bad case of ulcers this time round, so his palate was a little wonky. nonetheless, he valiantly attempted all the dishes that came his way despite their threats to assault his wounds.)

i think i had my rice with whatever i was familiar with, ie. asam pedas, kicap ikan… ok, i’m sorry, all i can remember was feeding auni with rice and sup daging. lol. and pisang goreng. i know, i’m like the absolutely worst person to bring to a buffet, i swear. hopeless like anything.

anyway, the manager took us around the place, took some pictures, and we left, with our butt marks imprinted on the red sofa as a memo for mr astronaut that the Kucintas had come, preened and poised, ready to pounce on him. meoowr. next time lah.

the next morning was hotel breakfast, the usual fare. i was delighted to find porridge amidst this, and proceeded to stuff auni with as much of it as i could. can you tell i’m obsessed with stuffing her, like a turkey?

with all the restaurants around our hotel, it was a bit of a puzzle how we somehow ended up going all the way to KL central for lunch. some had chicken rice, some had bubur ayam (which again, i managed to stuff the little Sausage with). the fella, despite his frazzled ulcered tongue, could still taste how bad his mee bakso was. which was why i held out on local fare – i wanted my westerns and i wanted my meats, dammit!

BUT! to keropok lekor, i concede.

coz, malaysia has the best lekors lor! they have soft ones, thick ones, crispy ones, thin ones.

i like the piping hot chewy ones. mmm mm.

next up was PS Boutique. that’s Petaling Street Boutique, to you.

the lure of this place is, of course, the search for the Almost Genuine-looking Fake Goods. attempt only if you are already familiar with the real stuff, know your goochis and el-vees and praduhs well. also your tissohs and omegahs. :p now, we will not disclose what have been collectively acquired at PS Boutique by the gang, as we are sworn to secrecy of the highest order. (now, pls girls, tuck in those blue boxes away…)

but i will tell you this – izad’s favourite stall in all of PS. this is real stuff, cannot bluff. with the heat beating down on us, we had at least three cups between us.

my perseverance finally paid off when we reached pavillion – carl’s jr.! and this time, no wussy chicken burgers (coz the last time we came, the beef broiler machine thingy was out of action). good ol’ double hunka meats for me. and this time my turn to stuff my face, with the yummilicious chilli cheese fries. and free flow of drinks!

they (the burgers) were so huge, i shared one with izad on the spot, and took away another one, of which i devoured half of at the hotel later that night, and the other half… back home in singapore, shhh. lol.

speaking of that night, we decided not to follow the rest to farah’s friend’s house coz it was late and we wanted to get the kids bathed and in bed after a long day out. he was kind enough to pack some of the satay kajang he’d served, though.

and so much for getting into bed – us and aniq ended up sprawled on the hotel room sofa watching a ‘friendly’ Wall-E dvd we’d gotten from PS Boutique earlier.

on our last day, our Bubba Gump plan was once again thwarted (why ah??), coz we decided to push on to KL central again. eh, we didn’t even get to eat those swedish meatballs at ikea again. and TGIFridays was out of the window as well, lol. so much for damansara.

we got to KLCC and headed for Chilli’s instead. nachos, fajitas, all good. even auni had her free kid’s meal of mac & cheese. now i know what to buy for her next time. gooey, disgusting mac & cheese. lol.

and that, i THINK, concluded our Jalan-jalan Cari Makan trip. well, give or take a few snacks in between.

travelling with a bunch of friends is always good. give and take is a must, and miscommunication inevitably happens, but surviving it only makes the bonds stronger, no? well, i hope so.

travelling with kids – what can i say? the joy and the fatigue come with the package.

leave them behind? yeah, right!

my parents, they aren’t exactly, ahem, the wild party animals that you think they are. (hurhur.) what more with abang aniq and me in the picture, they will take whatever morsels of ‘excitement’ that come their way, even if it’s a small party at a friend’s house, with greasy home-delivered fast food and a cringe-worthy countdown show on tv.

coz taking care of us at home alone is hard work, you know. so whenever an opportunity for a celebration presents itself, they’ll jump at it.

we babies work very hard too… bottoms up!

i was snoozing when 2009 arrived, but i believe abang aniq and all disturbed my slumber with loud poopers poppers and blowers and silly string.

then they played some games called ‘charades’ and ‘truth or dare’, and thank gawd i can’t talk yet, coz they’d have to pay me to keep my mouth shut for the things they said and did! ;p

abang aniq and i may have been kept out till late more than once because of my parents, ahem, ‘irresponsible’ behaviour, but one day – maybe not in 2009, seeing that i’ll probably be busy with other more important things – one day, i’ll try to remember to thank them for showing us that it’s okay to have fun, despite having little children to run and clean up after.

that it’s possible to still be themselves, despite being old farts.

that it’s important to surround themselves with what makes them happy, not just family, but invaluable friends who open up their homes, arms and hearts to you.

i’m too young to have a new year’s resolution (unless you can count growing more hair as a resolution?), but i’d say – here’s to another year of great celebrations, mum & dad and all my lovely aunties and uncles!

cheers,
auni h.