How Was Your Father's Day Celebration?

Kitaorg sambut simple2 je. Sbnarnya Hubs mcm ckp x payah susah2, tp ada sekali tu dia tersebut ala2 nak kan sama dgn apa yg he got me for Mother's Day, which was card and flowers.

Ok, so I thought I returned him the favours, but with a creative twist. Since Aisyah is soooo loving the art of painting right now, aku pon decided to get Hubs something yg diperbuat drpd hasil tgn anak dara nya yg sorg ni. Lebih bermakna la katakan.

So ini projek aku dan Aisyah smlm, secara senyap2 kitaorg buat projek rahsia dlm bilik. I had bought a wood work painting kit earlier, and tinggal Aisyah cat aje benda alah tu. Bkn senang, sbb Hubs mmg sedikit angin sbb aku tutup pintu bilik x bg dia masuk, and we were supposed to go out in another 45 minutes tp aku ngan Aisyah duk mengecat plak (he knew we were painting, tp had no clue what it was or that it was for his present tee heeee!).

Gmbr2 artist at work. Aisyah sgt sukeeeee mengecat, sampai hari ni duk sebut2 lagi nak buat painting. Btw, gaya artist tegar dah ada tu dkt Aisyah, gaya rambut serabai tuh.








I am a big believer in letting children belajar and explore benda2 sendiri, especially arts and crafts, so no matter how itching my hands were at helping or meddling with her art piece, I refrained myself from doing so. The only thing I did was taught her how to hold the brush, and to make sure she dipped the brush into the cup of water whenever nak tukar colour lain. For some reasons she hated the colour green, even nak bukak penutup kaler green pon dia marah. Oh well, who says we're doing real life painting pon kan? Abstract or avant garde art is more the in-thing pon skang hehhee.



End product. At the moment, Aisyah is no Monet, but I would describe her stylings as leaning more towards Pablo Picasso's. Ahem.

So we let it dry overnight, then once dah kering aku bungkus cpt2. This morning, aku suruh Aisyah bg hadiah tu dkt Ayah dia. Tersengih2 dan terkedek2 budak tu berjalan bg card kat bapak dia. The only person yg tersengih dgn lebih lebar lg adalah Hubs himself, sampai tergiggle2 like a high school girl, sbb dia adalah sgt x expect. I'm a genius! (Di atas permintaan Hubs, gmbr beliau tidak dipaparkan di sini, kerana it was early morning, and beliau masih busuk x mandi).




Kalo dulu dia bg aku card SuperMom, kali ni aku balas ngan card SuperDad!




Kalo dulu aku dpt bunga rose hidup, kali ni aku balas ngan bunga jg. Btw, bunga rose aku dulu tu, kini dah kering tp pesen bunga2 kat UK ni x kering coklat layu mcm kat Msia, tp mcm dipreserve plak jdnya, maybe sbb cuaca kering. So after 3 months pon still cantik lg bunganya, albeit looking a little, errr.. less than alive.







So Happy Father's Day to Hub, to my Dad (I feel bad x sempat post him a card, but I called Msia this morning), to my FIL, to those yg dah nak become bakal bapa for the first time (wink wink you know who you are), dan to all fathers in general. Yg telah lama menjadi bapa, terima kasih di atas pengorbanan membesarkan dan mendidik kami anak2 mu, utk yg tgh menjadi bapa2 baru ni, smg anda lebih rajin tolong bini jaga anak menjadi bapa yg terbaik utk dijadikan ikutan dan contoh anak2 di masa hadapan, Insya Allah....

Combo Bday Celebration

Like I said, after balik opis awal smlm, kitaorg kuar gi mkn2, Hubs belanja sempena my bday itu hari and also Aisyah's bday. Sejak gi mkn sambut anniversary dekat the Seafood and Pasta Bar di Barbican tuh, kitaorg jd hooked plak, so we decided to NOT be adventurous, and to stick with kedai yg kitaorg dah tahu komfem sedap and x was2. So again, we went to the same restaurant, sampaikan waiter dia yg greeted us pon siap ingat lg kitaorg hehe (nmpk sgt haku sorg je yg pakai tudung masuk kedai dia agaknya).

Bday Girl sengih2 sbb tahu nak keluar jalan2. (PS: Suraya, ni baju awak kasi)

Macam Ibu nya lah kan, excited x terbendung!

Sejibik kan?

Ok la, org ini ada contribute 50% DNA jg, so kena la letak gmbr dia. Lg pon dia dah belanja tu kan

But this time, tukar menu sket, we ordered the Tapas for Two platter (ada Grilled King Prawn, Raw Smoked Salmon, Pita bread, Taramasalata, Salad, Chips, Garlic Mushroom) and then side order mintak chips, garlic bread and the sticky chilli rice.







Overall, sedap mmg sedap, but next time prolly nak order yg proper dish mcm last time la, bcoz tapas looked more like a snack di perut org Msia seperti kami ni, walhal pada omputih mesti diorg kata dah cukup byk dah tu haha. At least merasa la jgk tapas before I get to Barcelona next month, so idak la teman terpinga2 kalo dah sampai negara Sepanyol sana besok2.

Afterwards, kitaorg jenjalan kat seaside tu la, standard taktik nak kasi Aisyah release all her energy and then hopefully tido awal hehehe. Tgk syok2 posing, Hubs mintak ada sorg org tua ni yg tgh berjalan ngan bini dia tolong amik gmbr family photo kitaorg. Org tu baik betul, siap ajar setting2 kamera lg dkt Hubs apa semua. Pastu wife dia pon sakan je layan, tunggu husband dia duk ajar and petik2 gmbr kitaorg. Siap bgtau lg dia ada cucu lelaki baya Aisyah, and when I told her it was Aisyah's bday, dia pon wished la happy bday, peramah betul. Aku tgk muka laki dia tu mcm familiar sgt2, tp mcm x caya je terserempak dia kat sini, so tanya la, 'Do I know you from somewhere?'. Pastu dia sengih2 bole jawab, 'From the University'. Pastu baru la konfem tekaan aku, org tua itu adalah Head of Graduate School kat UoP. Hehe... Dia siap ingat lg aku pernah gi briefing yg dia kasi psl Transfer Report. Aku kenal dia, tp mcm lain betul rupe nya bila dia pakai baju kasual hihi...




Oh smlm aku kata Aisyah dpt Bday card from her nursery kan? Ni dia, a pic of Butterfly lg. I am very touched, sbb hand made.






And this is Aisyah today after nursery. Mula2 tgk tangan dia merah, ingatkan kenapa. Bila aku tanya, Aisyah jawab, 'Pik', and tunjuk hasil seni dia hari ni. Oooo... she drew a pic of something today. Nmpk nya usaha menghantar Aisyah ke nursery sudah slow2 menampakkan hasil yg positif. Now we've got to get her an Art folder, so that bole simpan sbg keepsake hasil tgn dia nih.







Bkn sahaja dia telah menghasilkan artwork, malah hari ni carer dia ckp dia nangis kejap je, pastu joined in semasa singing session, AND makan cheese pasta for lunch followed by Strawberry Mousse as dessert dgn BANYAK NYA! Siap ada bukti lg sbb ada keping2 putih kering kat pipi dia (comot mkn cheese pasta kot) when we picked her up that afternoon. Oh, I am so proud of her.... Hopefully this stays la, and bukan fluke or one off only :)



It reads:

Today I enjoyed playing with Home Corner, Mazes and Singing. I did a painting today. I went into the Ballpool and played in the garden

For lunch I had Cheese Pasta, Strawberry Mousse at 11.45 a.m

I slept for N/A

and I drank water on the go

Toileting / Nappies:
9.00 - dry
10.30 - dry
12.30 - wet

That's all folks. Have a nice weekend!

And You Are Now Two!

Today is Aisyah's birthday. Alhamdulillah, she is now two years old.

Instead of writing a sappy entry pjg2 di opis, I choose to go home and get ready so that we can start celebrating (tuang half day opis, bday anak punya psl :P). Nak pakai baju semenggah sket, sbb nak gi family photoshoot hajatnya, then cari bday gift Aisyah and then lastly maybe pergi eatery mana2 lah. A simple celebration je, but nak tulis jgk, sbb I don't want x de entry di hari bahagia ini.

Gmbr2 kat bwh ni was snapped this morning, before her nursery. Skang dah pandai decide nak pakai baju apa. Dia suka sgt baju ni sbb ada gambar Mickey Mouse. Pastu pandai, x nak pakai tights dah, so last2 pujuk dia suh pakai socks la jgk. So for the first time sejak dtg UK, Aisyah has shown the world her legs hehe. Selama ni aku psycho takut kaki dia sejuk, but apparently, dia panas. Kulit omputih ok anak aku tuh... Ah... bila dah besar, pandai dah decide nak pakai apa ye, Aisyah?







Today aku specially pakaikan dia badge 'Birthday Girl' kat dada masa pergi nursery, so that she could be proud of her bday. For the first time sejak gi nursery, ahri ni dia x nangis. Baik je masuk kelas, join budak2 lain tgh colour. Kat nursery dia x leh bawak cakes or food from home, sbb takut allergic kat budak2 lain (nuts, eggs, dairy, etc), but it was very nice of the nursery to give her a Bday card. Aku x tgk lg, but Hubs told me when I called him a few hours ago. So ni nak balik nak tgk for myself lah.

Ok la rindu kat Bday Girl dah ni! Am very excited to have a smashing combo bday celeb with my gal!

Aisyah sayang, Ibu dan Ayah sayang sgt kat Aisyah. Grow up to be a good girl ye sayang?

Serenely Climbing

Hari ni I had a little meltdown. Bkn psl belajar, tp psl benda kecik2, but nevertheless related to my work so it all added up into my head. Things were just not going may way! But thanks to a few people I talked to, I felt much calmer and motivated. I totally forgot that sometimes, you really just needed someone who goes through the same crap to know how the stuff really stinks. And it made me feel kinda normal again to know taht everyone else yg buat PhD pon feels the same. Plus dpt belated Bday card today, so that kind of buffered the emotions a bit. Balik2 terus rasa re-charged.

There are things that happened today that boiled my blood, but some things I can change and there are things I must leave it as is (at least for the time being). Mulling over it is never going to do anything good. So Lord, please give me strength to change the things that I can change, the serenity to accept the things that I cannot, and the wisdom to know the difference.

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh.

When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but don't you quit,
Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns.

And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out,
Don't give up though the pace seems slow ,
You may succeed with another blow.

Success is failure turned inside out,
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far.

So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit,
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.
(C.W. Longeneker)

On the same note, a friend of mine (K Mar who came to visit us in April) had passed her viva exam today. Woo hoo! I am super-jealous now, but in a good way. More reasons to kerja rajin2 now.

Ok la, gotta go. I'll leave you guys today with the anthem song of all PhD students - apa lg kalo bkn Miley Cyrus' 'It's the Climb'.

Parcel For Moi

Rather busy today, so just a quickie ok?

Smlm dpt email suruh tuntut parcel dkt Reception. Peliks... mmg tgh expecting a parcel pon, I ordered something online, tp rasanya it was addressed ke rumah, kenapa plak leh sampai opis nih?

Rupa2nya, si Zafi itu telah telah menghadiahkan daku surprise Bday present. Beliau telah bersusah payah mengorder online dan oleh sebab x tahu alamat rumah, tp kalo tanya kang x surprise, sanggup bliau mengambil risiko hntr ke lab. Haha. Aku adalah amat, amat, amat terharu wokeh? Terima kasih byk2 Zafi. Semoga Allah membalas budi baik mu itu!







Hadiahnya adalah sebuah mug. One side ada gmbr Aisyah, masa ni gigi dia jarang2 lg sbb lom tumbuh taring dan geraham. On the other side of the mug, ada gmbr geng2 muda belia (ahem!) kat Plymouth ni, kitaorg masa tu gi jenjalan ngan Uni Trip ke Stonehenge, which was September of last year. Cpt nya masa berlalu you alls, dah half way through June dah kan? Almost setahun dah that trip, aiyo!

Ok I gotta go. Sebetulnya ada byk gak nak dibloggingkan, tp spt biasa, masa mencemburui saya hehe. Apatah lg di bulan Rejab ini, gigih lah aku berposa (ganti). Bijak betul pergi start posa during the longest days of the year. Yup, hari tgh pjg, posa skang start from 2.45 am - 9.30 pm. Wallaweh, you do the maths la ye, malas nak kira berapa jam tu. Semoga Allah memberikan aku kekuatan, dan menjauhkan diri drpd gastrik yg kekadang dtg, sbb byk lg nih berhutang... Tu la, masa x posa atas tiket 'Rukhsah Pregnant', or 'Rukhsah Breastfeeding', mmg best, tp part kena ganti, lu pikir la sendiri...

Knp x ganti musim winter? Sbb musim winter is just as bad, psl udara sejuk kering, kalo posa berhari2 berturut2 konfem bibir pecah2 and luka2, kulit jadi gatal sbb dehydrated x minum air, even tho siang nya pendek. X pe la, kira training utk Ramadhan, sbb it will still be about this long jg come August pon. Plus, bila lg nak merasa posa pjg2 gini ye dok? Kat Msia x dpt :) <--- ayat org x de pilihan kena jugak ganti di musim summer haha! Alhamdulillah, skang cuaca mmg tgh best and ok sgt utk berpuasa, tidak la panas melampau2 dan sejuk terlebih2. Just to show you that summer is indeed, here, ni gmbr Aisyah dah bole pakai spaghetti straps. Lately nih pakai skirts and shorts je dah, jeans simpan dlm gobok. Don't we all love summer?! :)







PS: To my mother - Umi, kalo itu trolley, by the time balik Msia sudah goyang2 atau tercabut tayar nya, paham2 aje lah mengapa. Cucunda terchenta buat race car, apa bole buat, hehehhee...

Ok la aku nak balik. Kalo sempat nak buat Cakoi. Time2 posa ni mcm2 teringin, tp adat duk oversea, nak mkn kena la bikin dgn tulang dua kerat jgk, haih!