Danish's Unfortunate Accident

Danish sustained 2 deep gashes late last night. All because I was about to stumble off the stairs and due to reflex, accidentally pushed him (he was in front of me) causing him to fall face first against the edges of the stairs. Sigh.... My overwhelming guilt does not help the situation either. 

We were supposed to spend the night at my in-laws' place, instead we spent the night at the Ampang Puteri Specialist Hospital. When the GP took a look at his cuts, he advised Danish to go for stitches under the general anesthesia and since he had just had dinner 3 hours before the fall, he could not have it done during the night. So this morning, the plastic surgeon, Dato' Dr Jalil, stitched him up and the whole procedure took about 15 mins to complete. 

BEFORE

a bit anxious

  posing!!

pretending to be asleep

just before going into the OT 

AFTER

still sleepy after the GA

A mere 15 minutes for everything to be completed but I could not sleep peacefully last night knowing that I was the one who caused it to happen. Which mother wants her kid/s to suffer due to her fault? None, that I know of. Sigh... I wish I could have reversed time and prevented it from happening. I wish I was watching where I was going and not stumble. I wish it was me who fell... I wish for a lot of things but I believe everything happen for a reason and this is just a minor test from Allah. All that I can hope now is that this incident will not happen twice and I would not want to experience the anguish again.

I love my kids deeply and I am truly sorry Danish, for allowing this accident to happen.

I'm Baaaackkkkkkkkk

Back in Malaysia!!! Woohoooo!!! Since Friday afternoon, actually. Came home, tired (after all handling 3 kids without my husband along was really challenging) and inadequate sleep. Hah.. economy class kan... kaki sakit la, pinggang nak patah la. Luckily the journey was only about 9 hours plus and I had Mek Na, Kak Nia, Kak Ina Wahab with family to accompany us. Otherwise, I honestly can't say, probably I would have been detained in Dubai for screaming my lungs out at my kids. Not that I didn't feel like screaming, mind you. One wanted Ben10 chocolate, the other one wanted sweets, later another one wanted some other things. And Danish... Danish wanted everything. Every single item that pleased him... sigh... kopak nak oiiiii...

My parents in law met us at the airport and of course, our luggage were too many to be dumped into the Perdana so Mekna and I decided to share a van to Kota Damansara. Of course there was barely enough space for the passengers but we managed as the kids went off with my in-laws. Reached my messy home feeling elated, of course, after a period of time spent in Sudan, anywhere in Malaysia seems like heaven. Hehe... my in-laws decided to treat us with Roti Tisu from Kayu.... wahhhhhh... sedap giler. Licin beb!!! Didn't even remember to take pictures. Sorry peeps!!!

Although I was tired, the kids wanted to go out, so I relented. Had sushi for dinner, went to Tesco to buy a few things and that was already around midnight. My hubby called a few times checking on us (probably because he was bored and was wondering what his wife is spending his money on) and also to ask where the salt is located at - yeah, after not cooking for like ages, he had to call la kan. 

All in all, I am happy to be back, the calendar is starting to get filled up and I can't wait to go shopping!!! Oooopppssss... already done that and more to come!!! Hahahahahahahaha...

Goodbye

Saying goodbyes are always tearful for me regardless who is leaving. Mata merah, bengkak, air hidung meleleh... adehhh... These past few weeks, one friend after another went back to Malaysia for good, leaving me behind to face the ups and downs in Sudan.... sigh... Tried putting up a brave face, failed every time. Hmmmppphhh, hampeh. 

So, another friend left Sudan yesterday. K.Adek arrived here about the same time as I did circa December 2009, perhaps a few days earlier. She is known for her cooking especially making soups. All kinds of soup, you name it. Bakso, Soto, Nasik Air, Sup Tulang and various other recipes. In short she must have loved cooking so much that I would usually get invitation from her for morning coffee, tea, lunch errr not dinner though.. hehe... a seller at the bazaar, a Petronita cook, eeeee macam-macam lah. She is one iron lady, she braved all challenges without fail. So I will definitely miss her cooking and her presence here. Errr don't think I will ever forget Annual Dinner! :))

A few weeks ago, K. Maz and K. Maria left. Next 2 weeks, Najwa and K. Masdiana leaving. And since I hate goodbyes, I decided to go back to Malaysia next week, on 20th May. So that I don't have to face goodbyes anymore. I will be back here in a flash (believe me, 2 months are not long enough) and a few more empty apartments will welcome me back. Ugh, not a welcoming prospect, I know.

But life goes on whether you want it or not so better make the best out of it, not that I won't be seeing them in Malaysia, in fact, K. Masdiana has invited us to come over to her mom's house on 15th June for a makan-makan session. Something to look forward to besides seeing my parents and shopping :)

To those who have left and going to leave, will definitely cherish all those happy moments always and hope that the friendship that we built will last. 

I Love You, Mummy

The day that I became a mum was the day that I truly understood my mom's sacrifices all this while.

My mom is a no-nonsense lady. She might be construed as heartless sometimes, but she has your best interests at heart. When my siblings and I were young, we were not allowed to watch tv during weekdays and limited sessions during weekends. I didn't have freedom to go out with friends to the malls and she knew all my school teachers (she is a teacher too, and the fraternity was small during that time and everybody seems to know everybody) to the point that she disapproved a friend of mine simply because a teacher in school was of the opinion that my friend was a bad influence - of course, I was pissed off at both my mom and my teacher. 

But I know now that she just wanted her kids to excel in our studies and become better people. My mom will cook whatever dishes I requested for, she is always around whenever I needed her even when she is sorely exhausted. She loves her grandsons to pieces. She wanted to resign from work just so that she can visit us more often before we moved to Sudan. Because she loves us, she loves me. 

That, I am fully aware now that I have become a mother, myself. And I love my kids. I will do everything that I can in their best interests. Period.

So, I love you, Mummy for everything that you have done for me and I will love you, always.

Birthday Bash

Yesterday, I stayed home to bake cakes for the birthday bash which was held today. 3 pieces, ugh... and K. Zue requested for Butter Cheese Cake when we had the meeting last 2 weeks. Since I was baking the whole day, I decided to bake pandan buns as well. Gave some of the buns to neighbours, especially K. Na - her plates/bowls are piling up fast, courtesy to her sending dishes (lontong, laksa, nasik ayam, the list goes on and on) to us, the faithful followers and admirers of her cooking.

Najwa came over about 9.30 pm last night to decorate the birthday cakes. I guess she was expecting me to help with the decor but helloooooooo... ME? Who knows next to nothing about ANY decor, let alone cake decor? Anyway she ended up doing the whole lot, so I was saved of making an embarrassment of myself (I don't want to upset the kids by showing up with a comot cake, now would I?) The results... jeng jeng jeng... nice huh? Trust Najwa, she can really turn a plain cake into a gorgeous one. :D

During the cake decor session, Nadirah and Danish were busy fighting over the rolling pin that Najwa brought along, and I took out mine and gave it to Danish while saying "Nah, mama ada yang lagi besar." Danish looked at Nadirah and declared "Haaaaa... mak kita lagi besarrrrrrrrrrrr!!!" Najwa and me exchanged looks and laughed outright. Hahahahaha... anyway Danish's comment is true since Najwa is the skinny one while I am the chubby one. 

Jimmy, Muadz and Mursyir ended up sleeping over and despite my asking them to sleep early in order to be in time for the early birthday bash event the morning after, all the boys continued on playing X-Box until God knows when. Luckily they were able to wake up just in time... hehe.

All the kids were of course happy to have the birthday event. It was held for the birthday boys and girls born in the month of March, April, May and June (not forgetting, the moms as well). Menu for the day were:

1. Mihun Sup
2. Nasi Impit with Kuah Kacang
3. Donuts
4. Pau Sambal
5. Jelly Cocktail

Of course, I tapau the leftovers, just so that I do not have to cook for lunch and so were many others. I think tapau is part of any makan-makan event no matter when and where, especially here in the complex.

I was totally exhausted by the time I was back and ended up taking a nap for 4 hours, not realising that the boys missed their Friday prayers because they were asleep as well... sigh... Syed actually called to ask for Jimmy who was fast asleep in Thaqif's bed and I felt bad for letting this happened... sigh again...

The jelly cocktail is still available, so probably I should be calling the other madams for a lepak session at the Laman Santai... hmmm... interesting. Ok peeps... must make a few calls. hehe.

The Haircut

My boys have had their hair kept long since the day we arrived in Khartoum. That was the 31st December 2008. They refused to cut their hair despite my urging them to do so (at the very least during the first few months we were here) because they have seen what the barbers here are capable of doing, due to the communication breakdown (we cannot speak Arabic, the native language here). So at the end of the day, both me and my husband let them be, after all, when we are back in Malaysia for good, there is little chance for them to keep long hair because the government schools have rules about that. The last haircut they had was in December 2009 when we came back to Malaysia to attend Yayah's wedding and that was just a hair "trim".

And I thought everything would be ok until the day we are transferred back to Malaysia...

Yet disaster strikes a week back!! I was justifiably surprised when Thaqif made a comment about Arif having "kutu" (kutu is head lice) and Jimmy was the one who discovered it a couple of weeks back. I said "WHATTTTTT???" And there goes Thaqif rambling about Auntie Najwa found quite a number of lice eggs and nits after Jimmy made the comment. I asked Arif if all these were true and he sheepishly replied yes. When I asked why this piece of news was not conveyed to me earlier, Thaqif said "Arif was scared, Mama, because he has kutu." I was dumbfounded for a while, thinking whether I was too harsh on them or whether they had the wrong information on kutu. I probed further and later found out that Arif thought improper shampooing will result in having kutu. Since this was my first encounter with kutu in my adult life (I can vaguely recall having a kutu attack when I was in Standard 1 or 2), I googled whatever I can and got to know that improper hygiene care does not have any bearing with getting lice. Of course I was a bit relieved knowing this and informed the boys, "OK, there is nothing wrong about your hygiene but I was disappointed that you didn't tell me earlier since we can take care of the lice when it was first discovered." I ended up going to a few pharmacies the next day to find whatever medication available here. I applied the treatment to the boys (yes, all 3 of them have head lice) thanks to Najwa who has some leftover of LiceMD coupled with the new medicine. And that night itself, I pestered Rommil to bring the boys for a haircut (don't think I can stand another day) at the barber. Of course, Thaqif had his misgivings but Alhamdulillah, he went for it. Haaaa.. but Mama had to google for the Mohawk cut fashioned after David Beckham la kannnn. Hahaha...

Arif was the first to go through the scissors. Apprehensive at first, but he was all for a haircut.

Arif - After

(chubby eh??)

Danish - he was pretty happy to cut his hair

Thaqif - ala Beckham

To ensure that the boys are free of lice, I was practically a Mak Beruk every day, searching for nits, eggs and kutu. Aiyoooooo.... I don't think I can face another bout of kutu if it ever happen again. For the last 2 days, I have not found the eggs or lice, and I hope this will continue forever. But just in case, I have asked Rommil to buy a few bottles of LiceMD in Malaysia. Not going to be caught unprepared, again.

To mothers out there, please check your child's head now and again. You'll never know when it'll happen. 

Bun Pandan Kak Noor Masri

This is arguably one of the best recipes I have ever tasted. Kudos to Kak Noor Masri.

BUN PANDAN
Sumber: Kak NoorMasri & Resepi Diana


Bahan-bahan doh:
400 g tepung roti (strong white bread flour) - D guna 350 gram tepung roti dan 50 gram tepung superfine (Nani guna tepung gandum biasa)
2 1/2 sudu kecil yis kering
1 sudu kecil garam (paras rata)
50 g mentega }dicairkan
70g - 80 g gula
1 biji telur
100 ml susu segar suam
110 ml air pandan - suam (Nani gantikan dengan air suam kalu nak buat bun biasa)

sket susu segar (1 sudu besar)- utk sapuan atas roti
1 sudu kecil mentega cair} utk sapuan atas rotiCara membuat doh:

1. Campurkan tepung, yis, garam, dan gula kedlm mangkuk besar.
2. Buat lubang di tengah2nya, tuangkan mentega, susu, air pandan dan telur.
3. Gaul tepung tadi sehingga menjadi doh yg lembut.
4. Uli selama 15 minit sehingga doh menjadi licin (tidak melekat di jari) dan elastic (walaupun doh ni agak melekit pd mulanya JGN tambah sebarang tepung)
5. Bulatkan doh kemudian letakkan kedlm mangkuk yg telah dilenser dgn sedikit minyak dan tutup dgn cling film.
6. Letak ditempat yg suam selama 1 ½ - 2 jam sehingga doh mengembang 2 kali ganda.
7. Kemudian bahagikan doh tersbt kpd beberapa bahagian seberat 50-60g g setiap bahagian pastu bulat2kan..susun dlm loyang yg dilapik dgn kertas minyak atau disapu majerin jarak antara satu sama lain jgn terlampau jauh supaya bila kembang doh tu akan bercantum sesama sendiri.
8. Kemudian tutup loyang tersebut dgn cling film selama 1 jam atau sehingga doh tersebut kembang 2 kali ganda semula.
9. Panaskan oven pd suhu 190-200'C, sapu roti dgn susu segar kemudian bakar selama 15-20 min atau sehingga keperangan. (Kat oven Sudan, 170C dah ok)
10. Angkat, sapu dgn mentega cair. Sejukkan atas redai besi dan tutup dgn kain bersih (utk mendptkan soft crust)


(Note: If you are using breadmaker, please proceed to dump everything according to the manufacturer's guidelines and walllahhhh!!!)

First Rambling

Now I officially have my own blog. Wooohooooo... I wanted to start earlier but somehow it did not materialise until now. Been pretty busy with... hmmm... life actually. Being a mom to 3 growing boys is not without its challenges. But I'll live, nevertheless. Actually I think I owe the creation of this blog (partly) to K.Maz. She has been blogging for quite some time and I like the idea of sharing life as it is, to the whole world, whether the whole world is reading it or not. She was a fellow friend here in Khartoum until she went back to Malaysia recently and she can be visited here.

Anyway, as the title above suggests, being a shopaholic, I can really shop and I am an impulsive buyer. I am currently residing in Khartoum, Sudan and I still shop whenever I have the time, be it in souqs, mini markets or online shopping. I never thought that I will be able to shop as and when I want to in Sudan, but you'll never know! Sudan is full of treasure troves and one might just tumble into it unknowingly. There are antique items for grabs, curtain and upholstery materials at half the price in Malaysia and various other stuffs - kitchenware, tableware, etc. For the ladies here, it is an excuse to escape the hustle and bustle of the kitchen... hehehe..

Online shopping? It is the best, let me assure you, to the point that I'm addicted to it. Well, since money is not endless (not that I have not wish it to be so) I am satisfied if I can just view the countless handbags, shoes, sunnies and so on (on daily basis, mind you)... and there are a lot of bargains out there if you know where to find them.. I do not have to buy everything, do I (though arguably I would love to buy everything that I want to)? However, if you want good service and value for money, visit NekRock's boutique? I have done business with her many many times and she has never let me down. She will wrap all items nicely so that they are not damaged whilst in shipping, asnwer your queries promptly and try her best to accommodate to your wishes. There are other sites as well which I will share with you later but if you want some updates and sound advice on bags, why not visit Purseblog? You will get to know who wears what and reviews of the latest collections from various designers. And while you're at it, check this blog out, The Bag Connoisseur, hosted by our own Malaysian women? Ahhhh... the joys of having everything at your fingertips, including shopping, is bliss. But as I am a self-confessed shopaholic, there are always excuses for me to spend my money and you know what?? It is my money and therefore I will spend it the way I see fit! Muahahahahahaha...