BelangZ

Date: 26 August 2015 Just got back from hiking up Tabletop Mountain, and it wasn't easy. Went with WinZie, leaving the kids with Hasben at home. This has got to be the toughest bushwalking I have ever experienced. Not suitable for my 4 year old son, nor his 1 year old brother! So this sisterly trip started at 7.30am and it took us an hour to reach the top. My stamina was really bad, I was panting the whole way up. Parked our car at Tabletop Drive, and was so enthusiastic: The climb was really steep, even from the very beginning of the track: About half an hour of hiking, I initially thought we were nearly there: The awesome view on top of the crest: Apparently, we only just made it over this 'little' hill: This is the foot of the actual Tabletop Mountain (long way to go!): We had to climb over more rocks before finally reaching the top. Had a view of the giant Australian flag at Picnic Point and the highway up Toowoomba Range: Th...

Date: 13 August 2015 Laurel Bank Park is one of my favourite places for evening walks. Just noticed there was a little area behind the BBQ shelters that I have never explored before. Thanks to Hana who shared a picture of her mom with lavenders, I thought Lil Sis would enjoy it too. We visited the park in the late evening, so the sun was nearly setting. There was also a little fountain with ducks which Kimi enjoyed the most, and a little bridge - great for photoshoots. And here is Hasben, posing happily (^u^) :

Date: 9th August 2015 Lil sis is hear for a month and she is itching to get out of the house. Babysitting the nephews must have drained out all of her energy. So her first trip was a picnic up Ravensbourne NP, about an hour drive from Toowoomba.. We spent the evening just enjoying the beautiful mountain view of the Great Dividing Range, while the sun sets slowly behind us. An absolutely perfect weather for a picnic and some family time ;)  

This is a very depressing day for me. In a normal day, my food are more or less edible. But today, my popiah was, how should I say this, horrifically revolting. Asyik share gamba masakan yang menjadi, kali ini, saya ingin kongsikan masakan gagal. Sekali gigit, suami pasti pengsan. Jangan cuba resepi ni ye kawan2... I prepared the stuffing while fasting, so I couldn't taste them. Wanted to fry some on time for Iftar. Hasben helped with the frying. He bit excitedly across the crunchy popiah skin... And made a scrunched up face followed by a wiggly dance. At that moment on, I knew that it was a big mistake to put the fried suon! It probably had gone bad but I wasn't sure. It did smell a bit weird though. The fried suon was given to me by Dura, leftovers from one of her parties. And me, always challenging myself to use up all the hand-me-downs ingredients thought it was a good idea to made this suon popiah. HAH! FAILED BIG TIME! Now, everytime I burped, I can taste it. Dep...

Date: 20 June 2015 Kimi, Kimi, Kimi...  What can I say. I love 3 year-olds. They are absolutely funny. They talk gibberish and they are full of energy. However, there are times when you just can't find the humour. Kimi, specifically, refuses to share his food and toys and only pees at the very last minute. I am not proud of it, but I sometimes imagine pinching him very very hard. Like for instance, when baking these cupcakes, he got super excited. He had his whole face in the bowl, while I mixed the batter. "Swirly, Swirly!" he said... And then he sneezed! The full blasted one, "Haaachooooom.....!" Directly into the bowl. Hmm... I was initially planning on bringing these cupcakes for iftar at Kak Milin's house. But after what happened, I just couldn't imagine serving them to fasting people, with the special secret ingrdient. So, how was I feeling at this particular moment? Shall I throw the batter? Shall I give Kimi a smack? Can I blame him for...

Alhamdulillah, Ramadhan, we meet again! Hasben has a new little masjid companion. I was very proud to say goodbye to Hasben and Kimi as they left for Tarawih. My baby boy, all grown up now. As I try to put Afi to sleep, I heard Hasben pulling up the driveway. It hasn't been more than 30 minutes since they left. "Ju, help me! Kimi shishi in the masjid! At the last tahiyat, he was wiggling wiggling, and the carpet was wet!" Hasben left for the masjid again, with Kimi standing in front of the door, soaking wet down to his socks. So no sleeping for Afi as I clean up the little Khalifa. I wasn't very cool to be honest, I was nagging the whole time. Ramadhan, the month of patience - I failed my first test, huhu. Washing up the pee-full clothes with my $10 washing machine. I am going to miss you LG,  with your annoying 'Error' beeping and all... After taking his shower, I asked him to clean up his toys while I was busy cooking for sahur: Me: Kimi, clean...

Fasting for pregnant or breastfeeding mommies is very subjective. It all depends on how the individual mommy cope with the situation. For me, alhamdulillah, it is manageable, as long as I wake up for sahur. Otherwise, my low blood pressure will not allow me to make it through the day. I will be sweating, breathing rapidly and experience sudden loss in energy.  Anyway, since 2010, it was fulfilling to actually fast throughout Ramadhan. But last year, Afi planned to arrive before Raya. I was like *yikes*! To cut the story short, I only fasted for about 5 days. And because it was practically a month to qadak, I decided to wait until autumn/winter, when the day is shorter and cooler, ahaks. And then it totally slipped my mind...  In the middle of Rejab, I suddenly realised that I didn't have much time. Hasben promised to become my fasting-buddy but didn't even make it 1 day... Pftt.. Anyway, I have been fasting nearly every day now (minus the times I missed sahur, huhu). To...