Being a Mother...and Hubby's Birthday Gift

I received this lovely email from a friend yesterday. And I just have to blog it as I found it to be so true!

-Somebody said it takes about six weeks to get back to normal after you've had a baby.
That Somebody doesn't know that once you are a mother "Normal" is a history

-Somebody said you learn how to be a mother by instinct.
That Somebody never took a three-year-old shopping

-Somebody said being a mother is boring....
That Somebody never rode in a car driven by a teenager with a driver's permit.

-Somebody said if you're a "good" mother, your child will "turn out good".
That Somebody thinks a child comes with directions and a guarantee.

-Somebody said "good" mothers never raise their voices.
That Somebody never came out of the back door just in time to see her child hit a golf ball thorughh the neighbour's kitchen window.

-Somebody said you don't need an education to be a mother.
That Somebody never helped a fourth grader with her math

-Somebody said you can't love the fifth child as much as you love the first.
That Somebody doesn't have 5 children

-Somebody said a mother can find all the answers to her child-rearing questions in the books
That Somebody never had a child stuff beans up his nose or in his ears.

-Somebody said the hardest part of being a mother is labour and delivery.
That Somebody never watched her "baby" get on teh bus for the first day of kindergarten.

-Somebody said a mother can stop worrying after her child gets married.
That Somebody doesn't know that marriage adds a son or daughter-in-law to a mother's heartstrings.

-Somebody said a mother's job is done when her last child leaves home.
That Somebody never had grandchildren.

-Somebody said your mother knows you love her, so you don't need to tell her.
That Somebody isn't a mother.

So mothers, do you agree with me that the statement above are all true?
I know it is, thanks to the young lad below...



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Added today at 4.00 p.m.

I am tempted to share what I've given hubby for his birthday. He wanted a pair of futsal boots, but I've given him something extra...A PERSONALIZED BIRTHDAY NEWSPAPER!!.


He was thrilled and impressed. Tak sia-sia my hard effort. Ehem..ehem...if you are thinking of getting something similar for your loved ones, you know whom to contact, right?! *wink* .

I do not plan (yet) to make this permanent product for C.M.O.G as I don't think I'll able to commit due to my tight schedule but if you want something like this, I can try to come out with something for you. Just email me at rafiqah_eliza@yahoo.com
But, do tell in advance ye!

Note to hubby : Futsal boots tu nanti kita cari sama-sama yek...

Declaration of Guilt

I've got a confession to make…

Today is the first time I skip from fasting!

Am I frustrated? Oh yes I am…But then, the experience I had yesterday was unbearable so I decided to skip one day. Yesterday, as I reached home, my body was aching and I was gasping for air…mengah semacam! Might be due to the long walk from the office to Putra station. And then another round of walk at Ker@mat’s Pasar Ramadhan. The weather was burning yesterday while we Jalan-Jalan Cari Makan at the Pasar, so as I was dehydrated and could collapse any minute. After iftaar, I had a bloated tummy and could not walk properly. Rasa pedih sangat!

This is the first time I have to go thru fasting month during pregnancy (Ashraff dulu ‘jadi’ bulan puasa and born three months before puasa..hehehe). I am somesort of mentally prepared to face the extra lethargy and prayed that I’ll be able to go thru bulan puasa at ease. Tapi kecundang jugak di tengah jalan. In fact, Hubby advised me to skip from fasting today as he’s worried about my condition. By the way, is it advisable to fast when you are pregnant?

I just hope I’ll be able to minimise the ‘puasa leave’ I have to take and make full use of this holy month to beribadah. Pray harder, Rafiqah...

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Just received this photo from my cousin – A Picture of the Four of Us.


This three are my closest cousins– from left, The Artistic Emi, The Twins Tina & Tini and Moi. We are basically one year apart, with me being the oldest (also the oldest cucu of Khalid’s clan – my mother’s side), followed by Emi and then the Twins. Since the fifth cucu came four years after the Twins were born, so the four of us are basically stuck together in almost every family occassion. Masa kecik dulu, tak pernah miss ambik gambar berempat!

But time flies…All of us have our life partners now (with Tini being the last to marry i.e. this Raya). So, the four of us decided to include our partners (and junior...sayang Tina tak bawak her 'junior') in the “Picture of Four of Us”.


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Psst...I've just added the photos of our Bandung trip here!

A helper is finally here...

My maid has finally arrived last Tuesday (19/9/2006). She came from Surabaya and has 10 children of her own, which is like 1 year apart (imagine that!). Married at 14 years old, she is now like 36 years old (but I presumed she is much older).

Unlike my old maid, this time around there is language barrier between us. But I would not blame her since this is the first time she is working in Malaysia. Previously she has worked in Saudi Arabia for 7 years. It is really a great help to find someone who has experience working since she knows what to do without having us to tell her each and everything. Cumanya, she still need to learn to prioritize. For the past one week, what I noticed she mostly concentrates on doing housechores rather than taking care of Ashraff or at least concern about Ashraff's regular schedules like nap time, milk time, eating time etc. Kalau disuruh bagi Ashraff susu, barulah dia bagi. Kalau disuruh tukarkan pampers, barulah dia tukar. I guess I have to ask my mother to remind her to take care of Ashraff's need rather than anything else, despite me telling her once.

As for Ashraff, I am relief that he is the 'cepat mesra' kinda boy. So, so far everything went out smooth between him and his new Bibik..except when it comes to sleeping routine. When it comes to putting Ashraff to sleep, he only wants his Tok Mak or his Ibu to lay down beside him and lull him to sleep. Not anyone else. Kat sini yang payahnya. Kat sinilah datangnya manja dan mengada-gadanya budak Ashraff. I still have no idea on how to rectify this problem. Probably the best way is to let Bibik stay with Ashraff alone, so Ashraff is not given any opportunity to choose. But, am I ready for that?

All in all, nak ikutkan Bibik baru ni lebih memeningkan as compared to my old maid. Language barrierlah, prioritization of work lah, meeting Ashraff's emotional needlah. But I guess 7 days is too early to judge her. Hopefully in one month time, she'll improve. Hubby said the most important thing is improvement. Kalau takde improvement, lagi pening kepala. Especially with the new baby expected to arrive 2 weeks after Raya.

To all my fellow Muslim out there, SELAMAT MENYAMBUT BULAN RAMADHAN YANG MULIA.

What a weekend it was!

Last weekend, we had a fun blasting time at Genting Highlands, something which hubby and I have planned to do just before Ramadhan and the arrival of our new bundle of joy. After all, it’s been such a long time since we had holiday together. Genting Highlands was less crowded as compared to the trip we had more than 3 years ago i.e. our honeymoon, which took place during the Chinese New Year Holiday. Never, never pergi Genting waktu Raya Cina…

Everything was in accordance to our plan – left my parent’s house early in the morning (takdelah early sangat, dalam kol 9.30 am), had breakfast along the way, reached Genting at around 11.00 am, enter Outdoor Theme Park, had a jolly good time for 2 hours plus there, naik rides sana sini, tangkap gambar macam nak rak dengan our new toy, checked-in at Theme P@rk H0tel, just in time for Ashraff’s nap time. He slept for 3 hours! In the evening, we paid the Outdoor Park another visit, photo here and there again, then proceeded to Indoor Theme Park for dinner, took our first family ride in the Park, which is the Rio Float. Hubby was all excited to take the picture of Ashraff in the ride when BAMM! The unexpected thing happened! The newly purchased camera showed the sign “Memory Card Error” for no apparent reason. He tried to turn off the camera, and turn it on again but the same signal came out. Masa tu both of us dah hilang mood.

As soon as the ride was over, we rushed to the nearest photoshop. To our dissapointment, even the shop could not read our memory card. We tried to get an explanation on why this happened but they could not come out with satisfying answer (anyone knows what’s the problem?). By then, I know that the photos taken earlier were all gone! Frustnye toksah nak cakaplah…Rasa macam nak nangis. The salesman told us that the memory card can still be used if we reformat it. Kalau reformat maknanya dah sah hilang sume gambar, but what to do…we decided to reformat it anyway. Unfortunately, reformat pun tak jalan! Meaning which, not only there’s no hope to recover the photos, but we can’t in fact “re-use” the memory card for future photos. Tensionnnn!!

Somehow or rather we decided not to make the frustration took over the fun we had earlier, so we decided on few things…at an extra cost, of course. First, we had to buy a new memory card. Since we are at oh-so-pricey Genting, so memory card pun mahallah jugak. Secondly, we decided to go back to Outdoor Theme Park tomorrow morning just to follow the trail we had yesterday and re-take all the pictures. All in all, it costs us RM200 more than what we budgeted. Apa boleh buat…gambar punya pasal…

So, lepas dah recover dari perasaan sedih dan frust, we spent an enjoyable night at the Indoor Theme Park till 1 a.m. There’s this one ride which we found interesting, Ride De Paris, which is only open to 3 years and below. It’s a line of small cars meant for kids those age that moves according to its track (sorrylah, I’m bad at describing things). At first, kitaorang takut nak bawak Ashraff naik coz unlike all the rides before, this time around we could not accompany him. What if in the middle of the ride, he cried or struggle to set himself free? Lama jugak kitaorang i.e. the not-so-confident parent, dok perhatikan ride tu..boleh ke tak boleh? Tetiba this active toddler of ours shouted “Nak naik car! Nak naik car!”. So, we decided to give him a try. To our surprise, bila the lady manning the ride letak je Ashraff in one of the cars, dia terus tak pandang kitaorang kat luar. Puas we all called his name, but he refused to look at us. The steering wheel seemed to mesmerize him.
Thus, for the whole 7 to 8 laps, memang dia tak pandang luar langsung. Sibuk main steering wheel and pushed all the buttons they had inside the car.

Bila habis je ride tu, all the other children semuanya willingly stepped out of the car except ours. Menangis-nangis “Nak main lagi, Nak main lagi…”. Satu kerja pulak nak pujuk dia lepas tu…

The next day, our mission to go back to Outoor Theme Park is accomplished. Except for one thing - hubby will not want to go back to the “Flying Coaster” he took the day before mainly because of the ticket price..like RM12 per ride…and according to him, the ride is thrilled but scary…Thus, no picture of him ‘in action’. The rest, we managed to re-capture the exciting moments on camera. Of course, the luckiest and the happiest person throughout the trip is *drum rolling* ASHRAFF! He got to enjoy these rides all over again - the antique car, the plane, the choo-choo train, the spinning tea cup (yang ni Ashraff cakap “Naik minum”..hahaha) and play in the children’s playground. The second time around we eliminated the need to ride those what we consider as boring rides to Ashraff like the slow Merry-Go-Round and the Carousel. And this time around, the photos we took might not be as many as the one we had earlier, but it is more, how should I put it, errr…comprehensive?

Broke!

It's the month of September again! And like every year, I foresee that I'll be broke by the end of the month.

Let me see...I got Hubby's Birthday on 15th September...
Followed by my sis's birthday on 17th September...
And then 3 days later, on 20th September, it's Mak's birthday...

Belum beli hadiah lagi...and still have no idea what to buy. But still have to buy something for the three important people in my life.

Darn! That's it. Didn't I tell you I'll be broke by the end of this month?!

Set Selepas Bersalin - Yang Mana Satu?

Probably it's too early for me to ask this question as I'm only 31 weeks pregnant. But too think of it again, I do not want to make the same mistake as I did with Ashraff the last two years.

Throughout my pregnancy with Ashraff, all I care to learn was anything and everything got to do with pregnancy and labour ONLY. I neglected the post-natal part like taking care of your baby, yourself and how to breastfeed exclusively. Thus, as soon as Ashraff was born, I felt that I'm overwhelmed with his presence and at the same time I have a strict confinement regime I have to follow.

Since I’m basically clueless, my mother and my MIL were basically the people who dictated me on what to do and what to take to ensure the well recovery of my body. They were also the one who helped me a lot in handling Ashraff. Mak(s), what will I do without you… As I’m the type of person who believe in good confinement regime to ensure a healthy body when we are old, thus I just followed obediently on all the instructions given by my two fellow mothers. Nasihat standard orang tua-tua - Kita perempuan ni kena jaga badan betul-betul, kalau tak suami lari… Hahahaha…

At that time, I resorted to using and consuming the post-natal set my MIL given me. It was prepared by my hubby's aunty for just RM50. I have no complain on the price of course coz it is relatively cheap as compared to the commercial brands we have in the market. But one drawback is the jamu is in powdery form. So, I had to mix it with water, add a lil bit of honey and drink it. Though I had no fuss on the daily food I have to take for 44 days (which turns out to be tasteless/plain), perintah berkurung dalam rumah selama 44 hari, bertungku, bertangas, berurut, berbarut, berbengkung dan mandi wiladah for the next 44 days, I did complain on the taste of the jamu that I had to consume. MasyaAllah, memang pahit sekali! I ended up consuming it for one week only and then I stopped. Memang tekak tak boleh terima! Jadi, lepas berpantang pun badan tidaklah rasa sesihat atau sesegar mana.

So, this time around I want to be more prepared. I have somesort of made up my mind to purchase Amway's Tropical Herbs set. Actually I'm in love with the bengkung that comes together with the set. A cousin of mine who gave birth last February used this bengkung together with Amway's ointment (that also comes together with the set) and she got an impressively flat tummy after two weeks of birth. Envy, envy...Unlike her, I used the traditional 10 metres long bengkung which required an assitant should you want to wear it properly so you can get a good result like my cousin's. Bila dah takde orang nak tolong, I ended up pakai sendiri so tak berapa ketat sangat. Jadi lepas dah habis pantang pun perut masih mengeleber. Actually perut masih lagi mengeleber till I got to know I'm pregnant again..hehehe...So, Tropical Herbs set is in my list.

However, this set contains only two jamus for internal consumption. I don't think it's enough. Or is it enough? So, I was thinking of buying another set focusing on the internal part. Let me see, we have commercial brands like Salindah, Sendayu Tinggi, Set Bersalin Manja etc, etc, etc in the market. I seriously do not know which one to choose. Anyone here want to share with me your experience and knowledge in this? Any set selepas bersalin yang elok dan sesuai untuk ibu yang menyusukan anak?

Finally...Our Bandung Trip...

It was a long delay in writing about our Bandung Trip (excitement pun dah kurang) as I kept on forgetting to transfer the picchas in the PC. Tak syoklah kalau takde photos! Anyway, this is what happened during the whole trip...Please ignore the date at the photos...it's hay-wired!

Thursday, 27th July 2006
We arrived at LCCT at around 6.30 a.m. It was my first trip to LCCT and to my suprise it is quite a distance from our KLIA (though they share the same runaway). Our flight should supposedly depart at 7.45 a.m (notice i use the word 'supposedly'?). Ashraff was wide awake and excited by then. Ibu had this mixed feeling - happy sebab dapat jalan2 ngan Ashraff and nervous sebab nak bawak Ashraff naik plane for the first time.

We were also a bit anxious on whether we will incur excess baggage’s charge as Bibik's stuffs were A LOT, i tell you...Let me see, she's checking-in 5 big and heavy bags and hand-carrying 1 sling bag and 2 paper bags. It was a handful! Alhamdulillah, tak excess baggage. It helped to check-in as a group.

In the departure hall, we got to queue at the so-called ‘VIP’ line as we are flying with an infant. This will give us the advantage to choose the best seat in the flight. Dapat tepi tingkap lagi syok. Tiba-tiba, the AirAsia’s staff stopped and asked me whether I am pregnant or not and if yes, whether I have filled out a form at the check-in counter. Huh?! Takde pun. The staff at the counter noticed I’m preggy but did not ask me for anything (except for my passport). So, the whole family has to wait in line while I have to fill up a certain form. By the time I finished filling up the form, the ‘non-VIP’ line dah takde orang dah, maknanya semua dah board the plane. Damn! There goes the opportunity for us to be able to seat together!

Just as expected, memang kitaorang terpaksa duduk berjauhan dalam plane tu. Mak and Abah was far at the back, Ashraff was seated next to me, while Bibik was just across the aisle from us. To make matters worse, there was a one-hour delay in take-off, for only God (and the pilot) knows why. Imagine a toddler being strapped at his seat for one hour! Okay, he did enjoy the new jigsaw book I bought for him for the first 20 minutes.
And after that, he started fidgeting, followed by a struggle to set himself free. He started calling for Tok Mak and Tok Abah. I just had to let him go before the whole cabin cracked with his high-pitched shout. But the Air Asia’s flight attendant warned me to put him back in his seat as the flight is about to take-off anytime. Gee! Kau ni pernah ada anak ke tak hah?! So, I tried my very best and most creative ways to entertain Ashraff in his seat with my Bibik’s help. Sampai berpeluh-peluh..sebab Ashraff sekejap nak pergi kat Bibik, sekejap nak balik pada Ibunya. Kalau tak bagi, menjerit. Boring sikit, menjerit. Dia diri atas kerusi, look behind, saw Tok Mak and Tok Abah, jerit lagi. Since Ashraff was the only infant / toddler in the flight, so I presumed we managed to attract the attention (or irritate) all the passengers in the plane, especially the one sitting in the same row as me and Ashraff. Kesian minah tu, nak tido pun tak boleh!

After one hour of struggle, whailing and crying, the plane finally took-off. Diam sediam-diamnya Ashraff at that time, enjoying the moment. Hahhh…lega… And after that, lagi lega, sebab Ashraff decided to take a nap. But since it was uncomfortable, so his nap only lasted for 45 mins, which I hope would be longer. Though it was a short nap, but it managed to rejuvenate Ashraff and fill up his energy tank. So, there he was my lil lad lari sana lari sini in the plane. Sekejap lari ke belakang, sekejap lari ke depan. Sekejap pergi ke tok mak, sekejap lari ke bibik. And the best part, he wanted me to follow him. So this heavily preggie lady pun terpaksalah mundar mandir kat aisle tu. Memang glamer habis! The last 30 mins of the 2-hour journey, Ashraff has started to become restless again. He shouted “Nak tuwun (turun) bawah! Nak tuwun bawah!” What??! Macamana nak turun bawah? We were like 30,000 feet above the sea level!

So, there goes another round of a-mommy-trying-hard-to entertain-toddler session with Ashraff. All my efforts seemed useless as Ashraff is the type yang very persuasive and persistent. Kalau dia nak turun bawah, means he wants it there and then. Seldom we are able to distract him from his original objective. Or probably Ibu is just not creative enough. But alhamdulillah, mak and abah were there to help me handling Ashraff’s tantrum.
After 30 minutes, we arrived safe and sound at Bandung’s airport. It was a small airport, just like our Kuala Terengganu’s airport. After going through a long queue at the Immigration, we finally got to meet Bibik’s family – Ihsan and Syifa’ (Bibik’s children), Ihsan’s teacher and his family and Benny, our driver for the day. We then checked in at the lovely Sukajadi Hotel and straight away went for a lunch at McDonalds in Istana Plaza. My lil boy, probably due to overjoy has refused to eat even a little bit. He is more interested in approaching kids slightly older than him and started calling them “Abang” or “Kakak”, which of course, made them confused as they were not referred to as “Abang” and “Kakak” in Indonesia. So, lagi sekali Ashraff tak duduk diam. By this time, I was pretty much exhausted running around, chasing him. Patient level pun dah semakin menurun. I totally wished hubby was there so we could take turn in handling him. Abah was a great help but I felt guilty if I let the old man do the chasing.

After the short lunch, Benny sent us straight back to the hotel. At the hotel, it was time for us to bid farewell to Bibik Aidah. I cried, really cried. I can’t imagine myself crying just to bid farewell to an Indonesian maid, but I did cry. She cried too. Even Mak cried. Guess it was pretty sad to let go of a good employee. I told her to take care of her health and she advised me to be really patient in handling children (tau ler yang I ni bukan penyabar orangnya..). Ashraff was oblivious to the situation, though I tell him again and again it’s time to say “Bye Bye For Good” to Bibik. He did say “Bye Bye” and then rushed to a nearby fish pond. Oh well….Yeah, that was it. I was officially maidless after that.

We went to our rooms, which is situated very near to the hotel lobby and facing the swimming pool. All of us were extremely tired and sleepy, so we took a nap. It was quite a long nap for me and even longer for Ashraff. Dia macam tak boleh bangun, sampai kena kejut. Tau pun penat mamat tu…

At 6.30 p.m, we made our way to the famous Chihampelas Street, which is famous for its factory outlets for branded clothing like Guess, Elle, Gap, Old Navy and..basically any brands that you can think of. Ashraff was thrilled to see the shops decorated with murals of superheros like Superman, Batman and Spiderman. Ibu was even more excited to see branded goods in mark-down prices…hehehe…Apa lagi, boronglah! One advice for those who intend to visit Chihampelas is not to bring your stroller along coz it is truly not a stroller-friendly place (A ‘gendong’/sling will be more useful). Nasib kitaoranglah sebab terpaksa bawak empty stroller and took turn in carrying Ashraff at the same time. To let him walk by himself is dangerous coz the road is narrow and the traffic is crowded…and Ashraff memang susah untuk dipimpin. Oh yeah, one thing good about bringing an active toddler along will hinder you from buying more as you don’t have the luxury to browse through leisurely. Jimat duit…hehehe…

Ashraff in one of the shops at Chihampelas Street
Penat tak penat, we were there for two hours jugak. By 8.30 p.m., we were all very hungry. Abah teringin nak makan Nasi Padang. We tried to ask the local people where the nearest Nasi Padang restaurant. They recommended few places, but when we reached there, Mak macam tak lalu nak makan (probably due to the place’s condition) so we took a taxi and went back to the hotel to have our dinner. Again, budak kecik tu langsung tak nak makan. Asyik sibuk nak pergi tengok fish pond or the swimming pool. Nasib baik susu masih laku. So far, Ashraff is more active than the norm. Mungkin excited tempat baru kot…

We retired to bed at around 10.30 pm that night and look forward for a bright new day tomorrow…which apparently turned out to be more tiring….

Friday, 28th July 2006
Look alike granddad and grandsonWe left the hotel at around 10.30 a.m, after having breakfast at the hotel. This time around we decided to take “Angkot”, a 10-seated van that acted like a public minibus, to bring us to Pasar Baru. Though it was meant for 10 people, but the driver jam-packed the van with like 18 people?! Masa tu dah sesak nafas! But it was a great experience. Ashraff didn’t mind at all. He just gave his usual cheeky smile to other passengers.Mak, Abah and Ashraff in the oh-so-stuffy Angkot
A helpful local passenger indicated us where to stop to go to Pasar Baru. The “Angkot’ dropped us in the middle of a wet market, and we have to manouver our way to find Pasar Baru, which is actually an 8-storey shopping complex. Masuk je kat dalam complex tu, terus berpinar bijik mata. If the Chihampelas’s factory outlets cater for Ashraff and Fitri’s stuffs, Pasar Baru is definitely my place. The place houses lovely embroidered clothing, nice telekungs, beautiful bed spreads and quality fabrics at a very cheap price. Certain levels of the complex are dedicated only for souvenirs, leather bags and shoes. The very top level is the mosque itself so Abah managed to perform his Friday prayer there. Apa lagi, makcik sorang ni rambang matalah…

My first stop was to buy “baju hamil” for myself. I bought one long sleeve baby-doll looking maternity blouse and one heavily embroidered blouse for only RM40 each. If ModernMum or MotherClub yang jual, mesti dah ratus-ratus punya. Rasa menyesal tak beli a few more as at that time I was thinking I have only 3 months to wear these garments. Then, I bought myself few ‘after birth’ embroidered blouses and t-shirts. Mak bought lovely embroidered jubah putih which she intends to wear for umrah or tarawih prayer for only RM24! Then we proceeded to the textile area. There, we borong few “sulam tebuk” material for kebaya, paired with matching “kain batik”, mostly priced at an average of RM50, depending on the material. I also bought one hand-painted fabric for only RM45. Very cheap for a hand-drawn material! I bought one for my mother-in-law as well.

I have to salute Abah for patiently waiting for us and at the same time chasing after Ashraff, who is free without his stroller, while we do our shopping. Ashraff free as a bird in Pasar Baru
Word of advice - You may bring your stroller to this place. Ashraff then had his afternoon nap at the mall, while we had our lunch comfortably without having to follow his butt.
We continued shopping as soon as Ashraff woke up from his sleep. Borong lagi..dan lagi… Memang duit banyak habis kat sana. Soon, Abah got really tired and insisted on going back to the hotel. While waiting for the taxi, I managed to grab a good buy – a Muslimah swim wear – for only RM40! Cheap aye?!

At night, we took a 10-mins walk to Carrefour and Sogo, planning to find a good place for dinner there. The place was just one-month old, and banyak lagi area yang masih dalam renovation. I really like the interior there as the floors are made of timber wood. Something different compared to our Carrefour here. I am looking forward to come back in few years time and see how the whole building looks like as from the miniature model, it looks really grand. Ala-ala castle gitu!

We retired to bed at around 11.30 p.m., that was after a hard time forcing Ashraff to sleep as he was more excited to be at the poolside rather than going in the room. Ni lah susahnya kalau bilik berdepan dengan swimming pool.

Saturday, 29th July 2006
We took a cab to the airport at 8.30 a.m as we have to catch a flight at around 10.00 a.m. Phobia from my last journey with Ashraff in the flight, I kept on praying that things would be easier for me this time around. Alhamdulillah, Ashraff slept throughout the journey. We reached LCCT at around 12.30 p.m., welcomed by my lovely hubby who I have not seen for the past two weeks as he has to work in Sabah. Happy, happy, happy.

Looking back at the pictures I took, I had this one slight regret. There is no photo of Chihampelas Street or Pasar Baru. I guess it was really a handful to snap photos with an active toddler in tow, and not forgetting barang yang banyak di tangan. Kena-kena pulak I’m the only one who knows how to handle the camera. Lagilah susah… Well, kalau ada rezeki, I would love to visit Bandung again. The two days trip tak cukuplah. Banyak tempat tak dapat pergi. And this time around, I’ll make sure hubby is around!