Projek kerja kayu bersama anak-anak di hujung minggu

I've always loved woodworking. It reminds me of the good times I had with Arwah Atuk helping me with Kemahiran Hidup projects.

Lepas pergi Pesta Bina tahun lepas, selalu juga cakap dekat Daddy, "Jom lah buat kerja kayu dengan the Bees." Daddy memang ada kebanyakan peralatan kerja kayu di rumah termasuklah circular saw dan drill. Cuma masa saja lah yang tak berapa nak ada.

Akhirnya, beberapa minggu lepas, kami berjaya mencari masa dan semangat untuk melakukan projek kerja kayu dengan anak-anak. Kami ajak juga kawan rapat mereka untuk buat bersama-sama.

Berkhemah di Discovery Agarwood Research, Balik Pulau, Pulau Pinang

Balqis dah banyak kali ajak Mummy Daddy pergi berkhemah. Kami pun tak pasti dia faham tak berkhemah tu apa sebenarnya, macam mana tidur dalam khemah, nak survive berkhemah tu. Walaupun Mummy Daddy memang biasa camping zaman muda remaja dulu, tapi fikir panjang juga lah kalau nak bawa anak kecil berkhemah.

Yang terpaling "berkhemah" sebelum ni pun bawa khemah pasang tepi pantai sementara BBQ dengan kawan-kawan Daddy kat Pantai Bersih. Tapi tak overnight lah. Tu pun ntah berapa tahun punya cerita.

Banyak kali juga ajak Daddy nak bawa budak-budak konon glamping. Tapi lepas pregnant terfikir, nanti dah ada baby mesti dah putus harapan glamping glamping ni. Ye lah... ada baby kan..

Tapi kami silap percaturan. Bakri yang baru 3 bulan lebih first time camping, tidur nyenyak Alhamdulillah. Tak nangis-nangis pun. Padahal memang takde katil tilam ala glamping la. Tidur atas sleeping bag je. Kat rumah pun kadang jenuh nak bagi tidur. Hahaha! Cuma sebab air sejuk, so mandi ala kadar je la Bakri. Hehe.

Program Reading Seeds oleh Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia

Bilal terpilih untuk join Program Reading Seeds bulan Mac lepas. Sepatutnya ada majlis penyerahan, tapi sebab Perintah Kawalan Pergerakan tempoh hari, semua terpaksa dibatalkan.

Baru-baru ni, baru kami dipanggil untuk ambil kit Program Reading Seeds ni, yang mengandungi Little Reader's Treasure Box dan Panduan Module Ibu Bapa Sebagai Rakan Membaca ini di Perpustakaan Desa Mengkuang Titi, di mana tempat kami daftarkan nama Bilal hari tu.

Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia melalui Perpustakaan Awam Negeri telah melancarkan Program Reading Seeds. Program ini memberi fokus kepada perkembangan literasi kanak-kanak yang berumur 0-3 tahun yang turut melibatkan peranan ibu bapa dalam memupuk budaya membaca di kalangan anak-anak seawal usia beberapa bulan.

Jalan-jalan Kota Bharu Kelantan - Hari Ketiga

Kalau belum baca cerita hari pertama dan hari kedua, jom klik sini dulu untuk baca.

Jalan-jalan Kota Bharu Kelantan

Jalan-jalan Kota Bharu Kelantan - Hari Kedua 

Hari ketiga pagi tu alas perut di homestay dulu sebelum memulakan perjalanan. Sebab lepas siap-siap, terus nak check out, singgah mana patut dan terus meneruskan perjalanan pulang ke rumah.

Sejak plan datang Kota Bharu, memang nak sangat makan di Yati Ayam Percik. Teringat-ingat masa makan di sini masa datang tahun 2014 dulu. Tapi masa dulu, datang dinner (kalau tak silap). Tapi sekarang dia tulis tutup pukul 6 petang pula. Sebab hari kedua tak sempat singgah sini, maka masuklah program dalam hari ketiga. Tu yang jadi alas perut breakfast kat homestay siap-siap sebab nak lunch awal di Yati Ayam Percik, sebelum terus gerak balik Pulau Pinang.

Dari parking kereta dah nampak asap berkepul-kepul dari tempat bakar ayam tu. Yummss! Lapar terus perut. Masa ni tak ramai orang lagi kat kedai, mungkin sebab awal lagi. Tempat makan selesa sebab ada ruangan yang ada penghawa dingin.

Jalan-Jalan Kota Bharu, Kelantan - Hari Kedua

Kalau belum baca cerita hari pertama, jom klik sini dulu untuk baca.

Jalan-jalan Kota Bharu Kelantan

Hari kedua di Kota Bharu dimulakan dengan sesi mencari sarapan pagi. Tak lah mencari sangat sebenarnya, sebab dah ada destinasi yang memang dah aim. Salah satu tempat sarapan pagi yang terkenal di Kota Bharu semestinya Kedai Kopi White House. Masa kami sampai, kedai agak penuh, lama juga kami terpaksa berdiri dan tunggu ada tempat kosong.

Masa nak order makanan pun masalah juga. Masalah sebab tak tahu nak order roti bakar dengan telur separuh masak, atau nak makan nasi dagang, nasi kerabu atau nasi berlauk. Rambang mata! Tapi akhirnya pilih Nasi Dagang dengan lauk ikan. Sedapnya! Lawan dengan kopi panas. Ya Allah... nikmat sungguh!

Jalan-Jalan ke Kota Bharu Kelantan

Salah satu destinasi jalan-jalan yang selalu lalu di fikiran bila niat nak melancong dalam negara mesti termasuk Kota Bharu, Kelantan. Kali terakhir melawat Kota Bharu tahun 2014, masa tu tengah mengandungkan Balqis. Awal tahun ni, keluarga mertua bincang nak pergi jalan-jalan bersama-sama. Jadi, Mummy pun gunakanlah kesempatan yang ada ni dan cadangkan pergi Kota Bharu.

Percutian ke Kota Bharu ni merupakan road trip yang agak singkat, hanya 3 hari 2 malam saja. Tapi, memang seronok! Sebab dah lama juga kami tak berjalan sekeluarga besar. Rasanya kali terakhir masa pergi jalan-jalan ke Genting Highland dan Bukit Tinggi dalam tahun 2015. Ke 2016?

Kami mulakan perjalanan seawal pagi selepas semua sarapan di rumah masing-masing dulu. Kami jumpa di tengah jalan, dalam perjalanan menuju ke Baling. Alhamdulillah cuaca baik pagi tu, jadi perjalanan pun lancar. Anak-anak dah sambung lena balik dalam car seat masing-masing, maka happy lah Mummy nak layan permandangan cantik dengan kabus di sesetengah kawasan tu tanpa gangguan minta itu ini. Hehe.

Halal Dim Sum at Canning Dim Sum Express, Bayan Baru, Penang

I planned for a surprise birthday lunch for husband with the whole family member at Canning Dim Sum Express, Bayan Lepas last week. Since husband's birthday would fall on a weekday, so I planned for the lunch the day before his actual birthday. Told him that we would go out for his birthday lunch, little that he knew that I invited his family too.

The lunch was also a way for me to take the chance to gather with the in-laws while my mom was in town too.  And while we were at it, we celebrated bro-in-law, Hafiz's belated birthday and parents-in-law, Ibu Ayah's anniversary as well.

Few hours before we leave the house for lunch, I told Balqis that we were going out to celebrate daddy's birthday and asked if she has bought any gift, jokingly. She was sad that she did not have anything to give so I told her she could write a wish for daddy. She was excited and straight away took her book and pencil case and ask how to write Happy Birthday for daddy.

Looking at how excited she was, I took out my box of papers, stickers, stationaries and help her make a card. A last minuted birthday card.

I'm pretty sure daddy was happy with this. :')

The tradition continues on new year day - City Walk 1.1.2020

City Walk 2020 are the forth City Walk for mummy and daddy, third for Balqis and second for Bilal. Since we've been joining this for 4 years out of 8 years of City Walk, I can say it looks like it is almost being a tradition for our family. Plus, I kinda like the stamp collection on City Walk passport at check-points thing.

When we joined the City Walk 2014, we got pregnant with Balqis. So we skipped 2015 and 2016. We joined City Walk 2017 and later we found out we were pregnant with Bilal, hence no City Walk 2018 for us. But last year was good, hence we came back again yeay!

Like previous year, we woke up early on New Year morning to join the other Penangites for the City Walk 2020. City Walk is an annual event organized by Majlis Bandaraya Pulau Pinang in conjunction with City Day. What I like about the City Walk is that not like other walk where you just walk for few kilometres to get the medal. One of this walk objective is to let you know more about Penang generally.

Each participants will be given a passport with five Penang attractions, historical places or main roads, and you will get stamped when you reach the check points.

Up and ready to walk!

Taman Burung Kulim is more than just a bird park

Taman Burung Kulim is not just a bird park. It is more like a very small mini zoo with other animals besides birds. There are tortoise, rabbits, chicken, duck, and reptiles too. You can also feed the rabbits and fishes. It may not as big as other bird parks or mini zoo, but with the very minimal admission fee, I'd say it is worth a visit.

We just happened to know about this Taman Burung kulim by chance on Youtube. We've stayed nearby for almost 8 years and only found out about it few months ago lol! Could have visited the place earlier if we knew.

Jawi Peranakan cuisine at Jawi House Cafe Gallery, Penang

We had been wanting to go to Jawi House Cafe Gallery for some time but had always been postponed. As we were planning to have our 7th anniversary lunch, the cafe came to mind again, and we thought it would be great to give it a visit for this special occasion.

Jawi House Cafe Gallery is located at the Armenian Street in Georgetown city centre. Placed in between the old herritage building, it serves halal Jawi Peranakan cuisine, blending Arabic, Northern Indian, Pakistani, Levant and Malay culinary traditions.

Jawi House Cafe Gallery is ranked #8 Malaysian Restaurants in Georgetown Penang with 4.5 out of 5 rating from over 600 reviews, and received TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence too!

theAsianparent app - your no 1 pregnancy and parenting app

When I was about to become a first time mom back in 2014, I remember myself looking for information everywhere on pregnancy, delivering a baby, breastfeeding and even how to care for my little ones. I bought books, I Googled and I even asked my family and friends. Information was everywhere, but I secretly wish for a community where I can ask and discuss about all of the things at one place.

Years passed by and I found out about theAsianparent apps! It was like a dream comes true. Even though I have already have 2 kids now, 5 years old elder Bee and 2 years old little Bee, there are still sometimes queries on how to care and raise my kids well. So I am so glad that I came across the apps!

I Won the China House Penang Doodle of The Week Contest

Few weeks back, the complete in-law family went for a tea time at China House Penang after attended a family member's wedding in Balik Pulau.

China House is one of Penang's famous cafe. It is a traditional compound of 3 heritage buildings linked by an open air courtyard. China House Penang which is located at Beach Street and Victoria Street, Georgetown, Penang, consists of 3 restaurants, 3 shops, 1 bakery, 2 art galleries and live music  every night.

They are famous for their cakes - there are up to 50 cakes a day!

At China House Penang, there is a paper placed on the table and crayons are given for the customers to doodle.

Before our meals arrived, I started doodling on the papers provided with the crayons, drawing Balqis and Bilal. Balqis later asked me to continue drawing Mummy and daddy and ended up drawing the whole family.

Note that I am not a doodle artist nor I am good in drawing. I just happen to like to conteng-conteng (sampai masa sekolah selalukena marah dengan my mom sebab conteng buku sekolah hahaha). And saja suka nak lukis to make the kids happy.

Taiping Zoo, Ansari Famous Cendol and Mee Udang Mak Jah

We went to Taiping the last weekend before Ramadhan. Balqis had been asking us to bring her to hotel. She basically imagine to get to go to "hotel Terengganu" again because obviously she had so much fun when we were there. Primula Beach Resort, Kuala Terengganu has a fun slide and pool with views and a private beach for some sand play.

So anyway, since we obviously won't make a trip to Kuala Terengganu again in near future, we make a rather impromptu plan two days trip to Taiping as it is one of the nearest city and has some fun place for kids too.

We started our journey on Saturay morning to Taiping by car. The travel took around 40 minutes only from our home. We went straight to the Zoo Taiping as it was one of our main agenda for the trip.

Labour Day Outing, KTM Komuter Northern Sector and Penang Sentral

I was reminiscing the good old study days when I took the KTM train back to Kuala Lumpur with the bed coach and all. I really think that the new ETS should just be an additional option, not to fully replace the old train. I've always wanted to bring my kids to experience the life I had before. Sad. Anyway, can you believe I have never try the ETS? The young and adventurous me might have taken the ETS for hundreds of time by now. But taking the ETS back to Kuala Lumpur is not really a good option for us since we would need a car (with safety seats) to go around town when we were there. Hence it's always best that we just drive back home.

The night before Labor day public holiday, I asked husband if he wants to bring the kids to try the KTM Komuter Northern Sector (Komuter Utara) the next day since we did not have anything planned. I knew Balqis would really love a train ride, and I wanted to give it a try too. We've never tried the KTM Komuter Utara. (Like there's so many difference with KL train kan haha). So we decided to bring the kids outing, taking the train to Butterworth and might as well visit the (not so) newly opened Penang Sentral.

City Walk 2019 In conjunction with City Day

We woke up early on New Year morning to join the other Penangites for the City Walk 2019. City Walk is an annual event organized by Majlis Bandaraya Pulau Pinang in conjunction with City Day. This City Walk is me and husband's third time (after 2014 and 2017), Balqis' second time and of course the first one for Bilal.

What I like about the City Walk is that not like other walk where you just walk for few kilometres to get the medal. One of this walk objective is to let you know more about Penang generally.

Each participants will be given a passport with five Penang attractions or historical places, and you will get a sticker (previous ones were stamped) when you reach the places.

#snippetsofmylife : Wanita - keluarga dan kerjaya

Cerita semalam, makan-makan dengan 2 wanita yang "berkorban" untuk keluarga.

Yang tinggalkan kerjaya asal untuk anak-anak dan keluarga. Dengar cerita diorang, tertanya pada diri sendiri, kuatkah aku kalau nak tinggalkan dunia engineering/research sepenuhnya demi keluarga dan anak-anak?

Sebelum ni selalu je tanya diri sendiri; tak takut ke kalau org sekeliling kata, belajar je tinggi-tinggi tapi end up tak guna semua tu?

Open House Event Space, Bukit Mertajam, Penang

Open House Event Space is a newly opened event space located in Bukit Mertajam, Seberang Perai, Penang. The Open House is a kid-friendly open space which cater a smaller crowd with smaller budget place for meet-up, party, event or easy-going talk and workshop.

Jalan-jalan Terengganu Part 3

So, hari terakhir dalam program Jalan-Jalan Terengganu empat beranak diteruskan di hari terakhir. Sekejap sangat rasa berjalan memandangkan hari 2 cuma dapat melawat 2 tempat je. Sobsss.

Seperti semalamnya, hari ketiga juga dimulakan dengan sarapan di hotel saja. Sarapan di hotel Primula Beach Resort boleh tahan sedap dengan variasi nya. Yang paling tip top - of cos Nasi Dagang. Sebab memang puas hati dengan Nasi Dagang nya, tak terasa nak cari di luar sana. Nasib baik second day still ada menu yang sama. Selain tu, ada toast, salad bar, mee goreng, nasi lemak, cereals, omelette panas-panas (mine is cheese omelette of cos!), bubur dan macam-macam lagi.

Sebahagian dari sarapan Mummy yang sedap enak dan tak sabar Mummy nak makan yumm yumm!

Tapi...

Jalan jalan Terengganu Part 1

Setelah lama tak berjalan-jalan, akhirnya Mummy dan Daddy buat keputusan untuk bawa Balqis dan Bilal ke Kuala Terengganu alang-alang dah ambil cuti yang panjang untuk hantar mak ke Kompleks Tabung Haji Sepang untuk menunaikan ibadah haji pada tahun ini. Kiranya, percutian ni officially percutian pertama Bilal dan first trip for us as a family of 4. Kami pilih untuk ke Terengganu memandangkan kami dah berada di Kuala Lumpur, so perjalanan dah dekat berbanding kalau nak ke Terengganu ulang-alik dari Penang.

Kami hantar mak ke Kompleks Tabung Haji Sepang hari Khamis. Waktu lapur diri tengahari, lepas tu mak terus masuk dengan group dan kami terus gerak ke Terengganu. Kami singgah di Kemaman dulu malam tu sebab plan nak jumpa dengan kawan se-universiti yang ada kat Kemaman. Alang-alang dah jalan ke sana kan. So, malam tu kami dinner dengan salah seorang sahabat di Restoran Terapung Bakau Tinggi, Kemaman. 

Esoknya, kami ber-reunion kecil-kecilan sambil breakfast dengan 2 sahabat dari USM - Azrul dan Fakira. Diorang yang cadang makan kat kedai makan ni, katanya antara kedai sarapan yang terkenal. Sampai-sampai kat Kedai Abezi Nasi Kerabu Kambing Bakar ni, memang ramai orang dah. Antara menu yang ada kat kedai ni, of cos la Nasi Kerabu Kambing Bakar, ada roti canai dan murtabak, nasi berlauk, nasi lemak dan macam-macam lagi.

Kambing bakar yang sedap dan lembut. Memang teringat-ingat je.

Visit to KL Tower Mini Zoo

The KL Tower Mini Zoo is located just before the entrance to the KL Tower. The concept is similar to Farm in The City in Seri Kembangan. I think it is managed by the same company/group. Some of the animals in the zoo are birds, guinea pigs, hedgehogs, rabbits, monkeys, foxes, raccoons, tortoises and alpacas. 

Balqis loved the alpaca so much that she keeps on telling us about how she touched the alpaca till today.