I'm Trying Photoscape

Having a blast!!!

Just look at my lower incissors...

Wow! new escapade...but...help me...I'm stuck!

Photoscape rocks!!!!! Thank to mrs noba because she posted on how she use Photoscape on her blog. No wonder her pictures are more professional looking compared to mine. Before this I paste my picture using Powerpoint (pathetic isn't it) and then save the slide as JPEG. After this, editing Dinky Aeisyah's pictures will be easier with this software.

Finally....School Holiday

Yaayy! It's already school holiday....these are my pupils from year 2 and I was their invigilator for their last exam's paper. Can't tell you how agitated they were just to finish the exam.

The papers that I need to mark during the school holiday. Apart from marking, I have a one day course (bollocks) and 2 days of year six extra class. So much for a school holiday...sigh...

Aahh...the much awaited school holiday except mine is full with school's work for the first week. It is the norm for the year 6 teachers. At least my weekends are going to be "Cuti-cuti Malaysia" road trip. The second weekend is "Cuti-cuti Malaysia" to Johor. Mr. Vediaz's best friend is getting married so this wedding is on top of the list, first priority to be exact. The third weekend is Mr. Vediaz's Family Day at Negeri Sembilan. By the way, his company is organising a Treasure Hunt drive on the departure day. Ehhmm...should we enter the hunt or not? I like the idea of sticking the Treasure Hunt sticker on our car but to think the hassle to decipher the clues given, looking for the next clue are actually not our thing. Can we just stick the sticker but 'cabut lari' ?

I'm Injured!

My precious Dinky Aeisyah has a bruised right under her right eye. It happened on last Tuesday. When the incident happened my babysitter was drying her clothes on her clotheslines outside, leaving Dinky Aeisyah who was playing with a plastic Malaysia flag with my babysitter's youngest son, Akram. Suddenly, she heard Dinky Aeisyah's cried. She quickly entered the house and there was Dinky Aeisyah, wailing her heart out on her walker while Akram was sobbing at the corner of the main hall. When my babysitter took Dinky Aeisyah out of the walker, she noticed the bruise and started scolded her 3 years old son. Angry at his mother, Akram started to pinch her and Dinky Aeisyah's feet, and my babysitter ran to the kitchen with Akram on pursuits. After the Catch_Me_If_You_Can scene had ended, Akram kept sitting next to Dinky Aeisyah with a somber look; he even slept on the floor next to Dinky Aeisyah's swing. I don't blame Akram on what had happened because he didn't mean to hurt Dinky Aeisyah. How he was supposed to know that the plastic flag stick could dig right into Dinky Aeisyah's face. I once jabbed my brother's earlobes when we were still small. We were just playing at that time. Being a daredevil, we wanted to know how deep a cotton bud could penetrate our earlobes. He ended up at a clinic where he pronounced his name as Wan Putih (Sorry Atih, I couldn’t help myself from telling everyone about “Wan Putih”). He didn't remember his own name so he assumed that was his name because he used to have fair skin and everyone calls him Atih. The conclusion, better watch our kids better! Yeah right!

My Second Dose of Munawwarah

Last weekend, Mr Vediaz, Dinky Aeisyah and me went back to my grandfather's house at Sepang, Negeri Sembilan. We departed on Saturday because I have this extra class with Year Six pupils. Even my family was there. My emak, Atih, Min, who was showing off his new Honda, Nana, who wouldn't let Dinky Aeisyah touch her books, Wawa and Yaya. My eldest brother, Along, wasn't there because he was at his in-laws. On Sunday, without wasting my time, Mr Vediaz brought me to Sri Munawwarah as he promised before. I spent like two hours in there! I couldn't decide which tudungs to buy. I actually brought few clothes so that I could match the clothes with the tudungs. However, there was no 'hijau lumut' tudung. So, I need to re-match the clothes and the tudungs. I also bought some pins, brooch and two hair bands. I even met with Kak Haslina Ali fo Sri Munawwarah. She's so soft spoken! And she speaks flawless English along with a Brits slang. I asked her about when she's going to restock certain colour and she said that it's hard to say really. Whenever she put up new pieces at the boutique, usually they all gone in a day. Can you believe that! Unlucky me... Speaking of Munawwarah's tudung, there few people who said that their tudungs are kind of overpriced than the others that are being sold at the market. Not to me though. The tudung is expensive but an exceptional one. So, ladies, what do you have to say about this?

From Left: Tudung T Net, Tudung T Belah (tak payah lipat, the new fabric as mentioned by mrs noba), Tudung T Belah.

I'm Back

I just got back from KL! It's been 3 days since my last post. I will update this blog tomorrow because I just now arrived and I need to unpack some stuff before I go to bed. Eventhough I'm working tomorrow, my pupils will be having their mid term exams. So, hopefully I could get some rest :)

Happy Teachers Day!

Yesterday was 16th of May. It was the only day to celebrate all the teachers across the nation, and it includes ME! The day started as any usual day except that all the pupils didn't have to bring their textbook burden school bag. All they need to bring were their present(s) or card(s). First, we, the teachers, had a morning assembly at the assembly compound along with the pupils. The teacher in charge started with songs recital followed by pupil's performances which were Dikir Barat and Malay Choir. After that, the teachers were bombarded with students who wanted to give their presents. Afterwards, there was 'Sukaneka' but I didn't participate :) It was my pumping time LOL. The day was wrapped up with lunch at the school canteen.

The hampers. Eight of them were bought by me. Each teacher got one of those hampers.

While the teacher were having their lunch, the pupils were buying at the canteen.

My pressies!

I would like to dedicate this poem to all my teachers whom had taught me.

Teachers
Paint their minds
and guide their thoughts
Share their achievements
and advise their faults
Inspire a Love
of knowledge and truth
As you light the path
Which leads our youth
For our future brightens
with each lesson you teach
Each smile you lengthen
Each goal you help reach
For the dawn of each poet
each philosopher and king
Begins with a Teacher
And the wisdom they bring

By Kevin William Huff

Look! I'm Standing...Well, Almost..

Leaning over the storage boxes that we use as a bed railing :)

Look at my pout!

This evening, Dinky Aeisyah was learning how to stand. Try to do a quantum leap I guess. She haven't master the art of crawling yet, let alone standing :) Well, at least she was having fun while trying to stand on her own feet although her legs were more like a V shape.

My Day...

Today I had to go to Kuantan town to buy some souvenirs for the Teacher's Day celebration on this coming Friday on behalf of the Teacher and Staff Club (I'm the club Treasury by the way). I'm off to Kuantan on 1035am with one of a fellow teacher, Teacher Norma. There were many things to buy (sigh). First, we stopped at Mydin to get few hampers for a lucky draw. Then we went to the Baby Department to get 2 hampers for our colleagues whom gave birth for the past months. Done with the hampers, its was time for the souvenirs. Off we went to the SSF. There, we found this small but functional souvenir and the most importantly, the price is within the budget. 61 souvenirs altogether, pheww! By the time we left SSF, my car boot was full with hampers and souvenirs.

My fully loaded car boot.

Before we headed back to Kemaman, we stopped at the newly opened Eastcoastmall to get ourselves some Big Apple's doughnuts! Yayy! Actually, Mr Vediaz promised me to get those tempting doughnuts on the Mother's Day, however when we arrived to the Big Apple, everything was finished up to the last piece of almond...So much for a Mother's Day celebration. To made it up, I bought a box of 12 for RM17. Today, I'm a one happy teacher with a box full with doughnuts.

My preciousssss....

We finally went home....not yet guys. There is more to come. When we arrived at Kemaman, I dropped Teacher Norma at her house with her 7 years old son waiting eagerly for those luscious doughnuts at the gate. Next, I need to fill up the tank because the alarm lamp was blinking like 5 times. On my way to the Jakar Petronas, a lorry trailer on the left lane try to overtake two motorcycles and the lorry somehow squeezed me right to the road's divider. BAMMM! The lorry hit my side mirror and I braked immediately causing the car swerved a bit and landed on the divider. Alhamdulillah, I was alright. I didn't get the lorry's plate number because it was raining. At that moment, nobody stopped to helped me out. Everyone was passing me by with 'poyo' look. There I was, still in my baju kurung, standing on the divider in the middle of the main road, trying to avoid the passerby gaze, thinking hard how to drive down the car from the divider. There even cars that horribly honked at me. Thankfully, there was this guy who stopped by and helped me out.

My side mirror...

My rim...

Mr Vediaz got home quite early just to cheer me up. Well, for me, I don't know what else to say except that I'm so tired guys...sign off

Computer Hazard!

Aeisyah! Buat apa dengan komputer abah!

Seems that Dinky Aeisyah on a road on becoming a computer geek! huhuhu. She was exploring the first floor and she was somehow got so excited because she manage to escaped her parent's bedroom. So, here she was, exploring the world of gadgets, wires, router, blinking LEDs, subwoofer, you name it! As you can see in the picture, Mr Vediaz CPU isn't fully covered, he mention something about his CPU needs 'natural ventilation'. After seeing this picture, it's time to cover up the CPU for good. And, about all the wires, I have nothing to say about it.

A Tribute to My Emak

This is my emak, pictured with Dinky Aeisyah and Mak Su

Here, I would like to wish a Happy Mother's Day to my emak back at Kuala Terengganu. May your workloads are lessen by each day passing (*wink*wink) and your life will be fill with your grandchild(s) laughter :) My emak is a Capricorn, so let see what a Capricorn mother looks like....

Capricorn Mothers
Dec 22-Jan 19

Mothersdayworld

Capricorn Moms

• Capricorn mothers are very particular and take to parenting very seriously. (I think she is the babbling type)
  
• They always give sacrifices for the sake of their kids, in their own typical ways. (She does this all the time)
  
• They are soft and sentimental by nature.
• You can take her to a food joint or other places like this, which she really wanted to visit, but just could not because it was too pricey. (My emak is homey at heart, so we don't go out just to eat outside)
  
• Your mere realization of her true nature and doing things dear to her will touch her heart.
• Capricorn moms really appreciate being a little extravagance. (Yupp, although she saves a lot, she couldn't resist to buy new cloth for her baju kurung)
  
• They are very hard working ladies. (True!!!)
  

Gifts For Capricorn Mothers

The Mother's Day is the perfect setting to pay rich tributes to her dedication and sacrifices. Her joy knows no bounds when you present her with gifts like:

• A piece of jewellery, (Ala, tak mampu lagi lah mak. Mintak ayah la belikan!)
  
• Flowers and (nanti mak nak letak mana ye bunga-bunga ni)
  
• Books (buku PTK boleh tak?)
  

To Along, Atih, Nana(ha?), Min, Wawa and Yaya, Angah sure that all of you couldn't top my Mother's Day greeting this year!

I'm Rolling

Rolling over and over....

Dinky Aeisyah now sporting her signature mischievous look!

I love rolling y'all!

Dinky Aeisyah is already 8 months old. Time does flies really fast kan. Every time Mr Vediaz and I look at our Dinky Aeisyah, we always utter the same phrase, "Anak abah dah besar dah". Right now, Dinky Aeisyah loves smacking her lips. She does it all the time. I try to snap her photo whenever she does it but she knows the camera is meant for her so she stop smacking and starts smiling. Maybe some other time.

How To Prepare For The Best Breastfeeding Journey

Every new mother yearning to have the grandest preparation for their coming bundle of joy. In my retrospect, I prepared and planned a lot on welcoming my Dinky Aeisyah. I even made a checklist on things to buy which I assume that every mother did with their first baby :) One thing that went pass my checklist was my breastfeeding checklist. If I could turn the time back, I would surely prepared more on this because of all mothers who breastfeed their child know that breastfeeding is the most time consuming effort ever. Alright, so how could you prepare for your first breastfeeding journey?

1) From physiology part, first you need to determine whether or not you have a normal nipple, a flat nipple or an inverted nipple. If it's normal, you don't have to correct it because that is the perfect shape for a breastfeed mother. However, with both flat and inverted nipple, what you could do is to wear a breast shells inside your bra during your pregnancy time. From what I read, breast shell could help to extend the nipple outward. I've seen Avent Nipplette but I don't know how it works :)

2) Gain as much knowledge as you can. If there is a breastfeeding support group near your area such as provided by mamalink, by all means, GO!. If there is a forum on breastfeeding such as susuibu or mymombest, register as a user and get active! (I encountered susuibu a week after I gave labor, poor me). Get to know anyone who are still nursing their babies. Lucky you if your sister also nurse. By knowing these mothers, it will help you to get the big picture of breastfeeding because trust me, you will be clueless when the time comes. It also great, having this niche of friends, that we could talk these breastfeeding thing without being interrupted. Whenever I'm having this conversation with other mothers who still breastfeed their toddler at my workplace, and mind you they are all ustazahs (Mr Vediaz always says that THEY PREACH WHAT THEY SAY!), other teachers would sink into silence. How weird is that? Ahh, maybe they just shy. Another thing is, get a breastfeeding book. Mine are The Nursing Mother's Companion and The Milk Memos. I read The Nursing Mother to gain insight into breastfeeding and The Milk Memos for a good laugh during pumping :)

3) Talk to your doctor about you plan to breastfeed, if your doctor is pro-breastfeeding, good for you. This is because your breastfeeding success can be influenced by your doctor. In my case, I did talk about my plan with my gynae. However, after I delivered Dinky Aeisyah at a private hospital, I suspected that the on duty nurse gave Dinky Aeisyah with some formula because I noticed her bassinet was positioned upright twice, signaling that the nurse just fed her. How could they? On Dinky Aeisyah's bassinet there was a card stated that "I'M BREASTFEED". Maybe I wasn't being persistence enough :(

4) Round up your very own support system. The first person would be your husband. As for Mr Vediaz, he is supportive with my decision to breastfeed Dinky Aeisyah. Even we both come from a non-breastfeeding families, we muddle through our best. For our next baby, we'll definitely put in our effort more (Mr Vediaz, are you reading this?) Without the support system, there is no doubt that your breastfeeding effort would be crumbling down at the slightest provocation. Have you ever heard these kind of phrases, "Your milk is not enough", "She's crying because she is starving", "You need to mix with formula because you are a working mother". " She will be a clingy baby". A lot huh...As said by Kathleen Huggins, mothers frequently give up breastfeeding in the learning stage because they have little information, guidance, and support. How true is that. Even one of my colleague stopped breastfeeding her baby because of what her mother said to her. So, persevere ladies!

5) You could consider few purchases that could help you breastfeed better. As for me, My Brest Friend nursing pillow is my the most indispensable item ever. Dinky Aeisyah couldn't latch well during the first 4 weeks. With the nursing pillow, I could comfortably positioned her during every feeding. With every feeding took up around an hour to two hour, having something to prop your elbow is good enough. Another item is a nursing bra. You could start shopping for your nursing bra in your third trimester. I bought mine when I was 37 weeks pregnant. I bought a cheapo one :) It doesn't hold my milk dud very well. Right now I'm using an Emma Jane nursing bra which has a good support, stretchy material with nice colour. Mine is Lilac! You could also buy a nursing shirt to wear during you confinement. If you choose to wear your daily shirt, it's fine but it would be hassle a bit. I bought two short sleeve and long sleeve nursing for starter. A box of breastpads also help if you always leak. I think the cheapest one could be Pureen's breastpads. I don't wear breastpads because I seldomly leak. My biggest regret on non-purchased item was a breastpump. Actually, breastpump is not a necessity. But, in my case it was. After my labor, my milk wasn't coming in. It was day 5 when the milk started coming in. Dinky Aeisyah was starving at that point. If I had a breastpump, I could pump in order to give the milk dud more stimulation. I found this on ask moxie and in The Nursing Mother's Companion that if you had and IV fluid during labor, which I had, it would cause an edema to the breast, and edema delays or reduces milk production. I don't know if this fact is being back up by a medical research or not. Since it make sense in my part, I might opt not to have an IV fluid for my next labor and see how it goes :)

Ok, I think that's all from me. If there is something that I forget about do let me know. All these suggestions are purely base on my unbiased experience.

Nursing In Public with a Nursing Blouse

Yupp! as the title says, I nurse Dinky Aeisyah everywhere. Thank God that in Malaysia we don't have this nonsense regulations on mommies who want to breastfeed their babies outside at public places. However, to achieve this secrecy act, you need to have special gear! By all means, the special gear is a nursing blouse :) However, of all nursing blouse that I found in the online store doesn't suit my dress code. This is because I choose to wear a cloth that is not body hugging, have a long sleeve, and it should fall below my rear end :)

This is a Maternalove nursing blouse. It's lovely but...my emak will kill me if she sees me wearing something like this :)

Last month, I went to the Modernmum at KLCC and they were having this promotion, buy 2 blouse at RM180.00. So, I bought 1 nursing blouse and 1 maternity blouse. There were 3 designs of nursing blouse but the other 2 weren't my liking. When I got home, I was thinking what am I going to do with the maternity blouse. I couldn't wear it during the family outing. How am I suppose to breastfeed with it. Then the idea struck! I could improvise it.

This is the Modernmum maternity blouse. I bought a matching japanese cotton fabric and had it cut to fit the blouse. Then I sew the cotton piece at the shoulder and underarm part of the existing blouse. Now, it has become a stylish nursing blouse!

This is the nursing opening. Don't mind the awful stitching at the neck. I haven't sew for few months so it get some time to get use to it.

This is my old blouse. Instead of keeping in the closet, I've decided to turn it into a nursing blouse! For this one, I used a SB Line cotton.

As you can see, my sewing standard has improve with the next blouse :)

What do you think? Pretty handy I might say.

Presenting...Little Adam Zafran

Adam is soundly sleeping....zzzzz

This is my new nephew from Mr Vediaz side of family. From my family side, Dinky Aeisyah is the first grandchild; so, just imagine all the attention that she has every time my family drops by at Kemaman! Adam was borne on 30th of April. His mom had a show at 10pm and the bundle of joy was finally out to meet his parents at 2am. Adam's birth was a normal one but the gynae had to vacuumed his out. Everything went well and Adam was brought home for the first time on 1st of April. Mr Vediaz and I, want to express our heartiest congratulations to Abang Aidil and Zai on the birth of their first baby boy, may Adam shines your life with all the love.

I'm Driving

Mind you 'all! I'm on my way to meet my new cousin

Mr.Vediaz, Dinky Aeisyah and me were on our way to Bangi. Our sister in law just gave birth to a baby boy. Luckily, 1st of May was a public holiday, it's kind a blessing in disguise :). Due to our ad-hoc and super short trip, we just spent out time at home and at the hospital :( . I wished, I had the time to go to Sri Munawwarah because after this we aren't going back to Bangi any time soon.