Friday, October 29, 2010

The Night We Got Robbed

I must have told the same story for at least 10 times or more now, but just in case there's any of you who have yet to know the story, here it is.

It happened around 9.50pm, we went to our new house owner's house in Sunway -- just a few blocks away from our current house, to settle some loan issues for our new house.

Aien pressed the bell and waited outside of the house for the new house owner to come out. I waited in the car with Aydein on my lap, while browsing through the net with the phone in my hand.

We were there for barely 5 minutes when suddenly the driver's door suddenly flung open, and I saw 3 indian men crowding Aien, one of them with parang and baseball bat in his hands.

I was confused. At first I thought it was the house owner's bodyguards, trying to tell us to leave the premise. But before I knew it, I heard Aien said "Eh, kenape ni!" and one of the men shouted "Jangan buat apa-apa ah! Jangan buat apa-apa!" while levelling the parang at Aien's face.

Then suddenly the door at my side flew open! Everything happened so quickly, I barely even had time to think. All I knew was that I had to get out of the car fast when the man shouted "Akak keluar sekarang! Akak keluar sekarang!"

Outside, I heard Aien told the men, not to hurt Aydein and I, so I wasted no time and got out of the car. I already knew right then that we were mugged and the best thing to do was to do what we were told to do (get out of the car) before anything worse could happen.

Once I stepped out the car, I saw the whole thing. How there were about 5-6 men on their motorbikes on standby with more parangs in their hands, and how they managed to conceal their looks by putting their helmets on.

After telling us not to say or do anything one more time, all of the 3 men earlier got into our car and sped off, while the rest of the bikers tailed closely behind them.

Aien and I watched in dismay as they took our Wira away, helpless and dumbfounded. Luckily there was a chinese man nearby, and he helped to drive us back home.

Shortly after we reached our place, the police came to get further details on the issue. And believe it or not, our car is the third car to be reported stolen that night!

And to make matters worse, a few hours later, we found out that my in laws house in Seksyen 11 Shah Alam got broken into the very same night while they were in Johor. Some valuebles were taken away, but alhamdulillah nothing major happened and noone was hurt.

What happened to us last night made me realize how dangerous the world is out there and that crime could happen anywhere, even if it is in your very own neighborhood, or your very own house!

Things could get worse than this, we could have lost a life last night, but alhamdulillah, Allah protected us from all that. I believe there is a "hikmah" for all that have happened, and I am just very grateful that all of us came out of it unharmed.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Merry Go Round

There are many reasons why kids just love getting on rides. They are colorful, they move round and round (or back and forth) and they usually have catchy tunes to them while they move about.

Younger babies may not appreciate them all that much, but if you have an active 1 year old who is seeing the world differently now, rides seem to be something impossible to dismiss, especially when there are many of them at the shopping malls!

The very first time we put Aydein on his first ride was a couple months back, in Times Square. I guess he was still a little too young to appreciate the theme park back then, so it didn't look as though he was having as much fun then.


Not for long, though! Now, each time we pass by any rides, he would actually pull our hands, point towards the rides, and drain our pockets with the ride's fee every 5 minutes! (the ride usually only lasts for 5 minutes, you see.)



This was taken not too long ago, at one of the rides in KLCC. See how much he was enjoying the merry go round? :)

It's amazing how simple things like this could make a child's day. And if only we could all see the world through the eyes of a child, this world would definitely be a better place to live in!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Is It Zoo Time Yet?

When you have a baby, timing is everything.

There used to be a time when the toy car you bought meant nothing but something for him to chew on. Now, it's something that he can't sleep without. There used to be a time when playground was not even in his dictionary. Now, it's a place he wants to go to everyday. And there used to be a time when a hamster meant nothing but a furball to him. Now, the very sight of it would make him jump with joy!

Yes. Timing is everything. So when you see your baby shrieks with joy when he sees a cat, even if it means looking at cats' images from his papa's laptop, that's when you know, he's ready for a trip to the zoo! :)



Notice how he was too excited that his papa even had to pull him back from scratching the screen? Uh huh. This boy is definitely ready for the zoo! ;)

Quadruple Celebration!

Being a Libra must be wonderful for my husband Aien, this year. What's not to like, especially when you're being celebrated 4 times for one occasion!

First, there was the advance birthday celebration with the officemates. Actually, the whole thing was my idea because I thought it would be fun for him to celebrate his special day with the crazy people we have in the office. You have no idea how tricky it was to throw a surprise for someone who lives under the same roof!

You see, at first, I planned to throw him a party at a private place decorated with balloons and streamers, something like this.


I don't know why, but ever since I organized Aydein's first birthday party, I am so into event planning. I am even considering doing it full-time! Unfortunately, I could not find any party shops around my workplace (not even KLCC and Pavillion) that I ended up arranging the little get-together at Kenny Rogers instead, and requested the staffs to put up some balloons at the place.

Once I got everything planned out, I told Aien to join us for a party, assuming the party is for Syikin's (our colleague) Farewell Party later that day. It was easy to trick him into believing this as coincidentally, that day was really Syikin's last day with Loveclients. However I told him I had to leave earlier because I needed to accompany my friend who wanted to get a pair of shoes for her wedding in KLCC, so we decided to meet each other at Kenny Rogers later.

Meantime, I went to KLCC with my friends, and looked for a cake for the birthday boy. I wanted to get an ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins for Aien, but there is no Baskin Robbins in KLCC. So in the end, I settled with Chocolate Strawberry from Secret Recipe which is actually very, very nice!


Once everything is set up, I lit the candles and waited for Aien to show up. And once we saw the glimpse of him, we all sang a birthday song to the birthday boy who clearly looked really surprise at first, but managed to regain his self control by smiling widely. Happy birthday, sayang!


Then, on October 3rd, Aien and I went for a movie together to celebrate his actual birth day. Once we are done with movie, we went back and picked Aydein up for a family dinner at Dome's. It was not much, but it was meaningful because we had the 3 of us together.


And that night, I called all of Aien's siblings and asked them if they could all gather at my in laws house for Aien's third round of celebration -- with the big family this time. I bought yet another cake from Secret Recipe (Pecan Butterscotch, which is just as nice!) and had a good time celebrating them with the bunch.


Finally, a few days later, my elder sister Sarah came over and we all went for the final celebration at Zanmai Sushi -- her treat! I wished we had the rest of my family around though, but it was still a wonderful evening because hey, sushi would make anybody's day! ;)


Happy 25th birthday, sweets! May you have another wonderful year of good health, laughter, happiness and joy!

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

My Personal Favorite

Among the many cool friends mama has, I think the coolest of them all has got to be... Aunty Zatie, she's my personal favorite!

Not that I will ever stand a chance with her next to the macho Uncle Ejad, but you know, she has always been there every step of the way since the day I was born!

Auntie Zatie is the one on the left, in purple.

According to mama, she has been following my development since day 1 through this blog. Once in a while, she would drop a line and ask how I am. Not just that, she along with Uncle Ejad would go through all the trouble of giving me a little something now and then, each time they think of me!

You see, when they came and visit me when I was a newborn, they brought along with them a set of adorable clothes as well as a Lamaze plush toy that I named Dancing Tiger. Remember him from this post? I called him Dancing Tiger for a reason -- because you can pull the tail to make it jiggle/shake!


A few months after that, mama came back from work with another gift from Auntie Zatie for me. It was a cute blue bib that says "Thank Heaven for Little Boys". I really liked the bib, that I used it over and over till it gets worn out! Heee.


Unfortunately, when it was time for me to meet her on my first birthday a few months back, she was not able to make it as she had to attend her brother's wedding. But that didn't stop her from sharing that meaningful day with me still.

Last week, Auntie Zatie and Uncle Ejad swung by my place and surprised me with a post-birthday gift that comes with a special card!


It was a big gift for a small me! I got really excited and curious that I started ripping the wrapping gift open! Hmm I wonder what's inside?


And after a bit of help from mama, I finally managed to rip it open! Oh, look! It's a funky Shape Sorter!


Thanks Auntie Zatie, and Uncle Ejad! :D

Did you know though, if mama only knew about shopping, fun and games before she got hitched back then, Auntie Zatie on the hand, is already well equipped with motherhood knowledge like Medela, EBM and things that mama only knew after she had me! Isn't that awesome? :)


Mama said although Auntie Zatie is yet to tie the knot with Uncle Ejad, she has a good feeling that Auntie Zatie would be a good mother in a future knowing how well versed Auntie Zatie is when it comes to motherhood! So Uncle Ejad, make sure you waste no time and marry Aunty Zatie quickly so I can play with your future baby! ;)


Until I see the both of you again next time, take care! :)

Thursday, October 14, 2010

What You Can Do I Can Do Too (Part 8)

It feels like a long time since I last updated on Aydein's progress. It's amazing how he has progressed so much from just rolling on his back, to creeping, to crawling, to cruising, to standing, and recently, walking. Just when I thought he could not surprise us with anything anymore, he would do something to leave us glowing with pride yet again. :)

Anyway, at 1 year 4 months, Aydein can do a lot more things as compared to before.

He can walk - very fast too if he wants to.
He can even walk backwards whenever he feels like amusing us!
He can also twirl his body round and round for the fun of it.
He goes to you when you say "come here"
He will get the thing that you point to while saying "aydein take/ambik?"
He puts out his hand at the sink when you say "wash hands"
He gives an object to someone if prompted, e.g. "give papa"
He puts out his foot out when prompted, "wear shoes?"


He can shake his head "no" and meaning it.
He knows the comb goes to the head.
He knows the toothbrush goes into the mouth.
He knows that the phone goes to the ear.


He gives you a big, wet kiss on the cheek, and lips too, if you pout your lips at him.
He can sleep through the night at times.
He can sleep by himself although at times.
He can eat by himself.


He refers "cat" as "auw".
He is overprotective over the people he loves, like.. ME! Hee!
He will clasp his hands at both of his ears while saying "Awaaba!" when he sees anyone performing solah.


He can now say papa clearly. Among others are : mama, ball, bye, bird to name a few.
He can express himself clearly by pointing to the things he wants.
He can "salam" and kiss your hand.
He enjoys handing objects to you.
He will also bend down and "sujud" when he sees anyone performing solah.


However, he has also picked up some habits/attitudes over the past couple of months that were nonexistence earlier.

He will roll and roll on top of me before he falls asleep every night.
He is very clingy, especially with me, nowadays.
He doesn't warm up to strangers as easily as before. Talk about stranger anxiety!
He knows now "bye" means leaving him so he'll cry each time we leave him for work.
He has a say to what goes into his system (fussy eater alert!).
He tends to throw a tantrum when he doesn't get what he wants.
He sometimes likes people to get things for him, instead of getting it himself.
He is possessive of his toys whenever his elder cousins are around.
He has a habit of handing over his bottle after each feeding.

Aydein keeps surprising us with all the little things he does. It's been such an amazing experience watching him grow up. He has grown so much and so fast over the past couple of months that sometimes I wish I could slow down the time so he will be my little baby forever. It's true what they say, no? Cherish every passing moment with your baby, because babies won't be babies forever!

Friday, October 8, 2010

Introducing My New Obsession!

2010 seems to be full of surprises for me. First, I received a bouquet of flowers for Mother's Day from my colleagues. Then I received a chic tote as a surprise gift from Aien when he came back from US. And yesterday, he managed to get a crazy shriek from me again when he surprised me with.. this!


Okay, hold your horses, let me explain!

You see, on my last birthday, Aien told me that his gift to me would be a little late. He would not tell me why at first, but eventually he did (because I pressed him!), and that it would be an iPhone 4. When I heard this, I was dizzy with happiness! However, I realized that we are not from the rich and famous. iPhone 4 to me costs quite a bit, hence, I feel that it would be a waste for Aien to spend that much on me. So I told him to forget the idea and get me something else -- something cheaper, much cheaper that that.

I have gotten my eyes on iPhone 3GS for quite some time now however, I even asked Aien to get a second hand one for me, just so he would not spend so much on a new one for me. Honestly, I just needed something that I could use to update my blog and other social network applications. Even a cheap phone with that functionality works for me because the Nokia 7370 I was using then simply cannot do that.

The Nokia 7370 that I hang onto, for nearly 5 years

He kept saying things like, "No, sabar lah," or "We'll find one that is best for you," or "Let's just wait dulu", that I simply stopped asking or hoping.

And then, yesterday, while I was working in the office, I suddenly heard an unfamiliar ringtone coming from my handbag. I peered inside my handbag and was confused to see an iPhone with an unknown number ringing in my handbag. It took me quite a while before I lifted it up and by the time I did, it stopped ringing. Still, I held the iPhone in my hand, staring at it for a while, trying to make out, why the hell was the iPhone doing in my bag? And then, it slowly registered. I turned around, and asked Aien, "Oh, my god. Did you get this for me? Is this iPhone mine?!" When he turned and just smiled, I shrieked and I shrieked and I shrieked like crazy! :D


And when the chaos is over, I asked him, why iPhone 4? Why not HTC, or 3GS or any other cheaper phones? He said simply because it is the best phone for me. :) And oh my, the trouble he went through just to surprise me with this iPhone! He told me he actually went to 5 different stores at 3 different locations and had to even forge my signature in order to buy the plan okay! Long story cut short, he went all out just to surprise me with this sleek beauty! Well, what can I say? His effort definitely paid off because he really did manage to surprise me yesterday! :D

Again, sweets, if you're reading this, thank you so much for this wonderful post-birthday gift. Patience definitely paid off, because hey, after months and months of waiting, I am now the proud owner of the new iPhone 4! :D