kitchen part-2

 

On leave. Monday last week.

Terjah Houz Depot for kitchen electrical appliances. Our kitchen dah ready for tiling and after that dah boleh pasang kabinet. Since we're planning of few built-in appliances, haruslah membelinya dulu kan. Houz Depot ni ada dua branch, one in Bandar Utama area, the other in Jalan TAR area, just opposite Medan Mara. Ample parking space and ada kedai makan makanan padang yang ohsem! Belum lagi masuk Houz Depot, dah berangan nak makan apa afterwards :D

Handsome, and not forgetting to mention, tough looking Fotile hob :D 3 burners, just the way I like it. It has some resemblance with my Rinnai hob.

Rubine Uno Series. Bigbella microwave oven. Built-in microwave oven can be so expensive, just be prepared if you're looking for one. This is the cheapest that we could find :D

Handsome looking hood. Fotile also. Not that recycling type that we're using now. No filter to change, no need to sental-sental so much. Lap-lap only. I am gonna love this fella!

Nanti dah ada oven, Ummi buat Molten Lava cake kat rumah. Ops... Ummi terlepas cakap. Let's just pretend I never said that :D 

2 bowls sink. The more complicated they are, the more expensive the price tag is. Sampai ribu-ribu tu harganya. We opted for this one. Simple looking. Big enough for me to scrub pots and pans in it comfortably. And wayyyyy cheaper.

Tebby insisted we buy single-outlet faucet until he saw this!

Although I am so in love with Rinnai, our love story was shortlived that day. Not so many models to choose from (plus malas nak pegi cari kat tempat lain), we ended up with Fotile. Hob, hood and oven. Although tempered glass in 'in' now, I still have my reservations. The No. 1 rule is - stainless steel and no tempered glass for hood and hob. As for microwave oven, we opted for Rubine. Our first Rubine was our kitchen sink, bought 10 years ago. It's kinda weird buying Rubine's electical items after that :D

 

Our things! You jangan tak masak pulak lepas ni dah ada macam-macam kat dapur. Pesanan manja penuh makna dari si suami kepada si isteri.............. Ingatkan muat kereta nak angkut semua ni, rupanya tidak! Bulky items got even bulkier bila dah kena kepit dengan styrofoam dalam kotak nun.

We browsed around for sanitary-wares, switches, water-heaters and whatnots. Tapi tak beli lagi. That day cuma focus on barang kat dapur je. Mission accomplished :D

Tips - Always ask for discount, ignore the price tag!

shawl-licious!

I remember way back in 2001 when I was in confinement after delivery of Kakak, 2 bulan memerap kat rumah amat menjimatkan duit :D

But not anymore.

These days even tak keluar rumah pun can pokai meh. These online thingy, you can shop at any time of the day, any day of the week! You can shop at wee hour after Subuh prayer or when you're lying down about to sleep with bedak sejuk on your face!

And voila, after 2 or 3 days, Mr Postman comes bringing things that bring smile to your face (or frown!)

Let's just say I am one of the victims. The voluntary victim :D

Bought these gorgeous shawls last week. RM28.00 each + RM7.00 postage. Well, *ahem* it is better to buy more than one shawls to jimat postage right?

Now, let me introduce these babies - (left to right) Light French Beige, Thistle and Light Steel Blue which translate into medium cocoa, pink-purple and light grey-blue.

Each measures at 200cm x 53cm with half moon shape at both ends. After twisting around, you'll have a nice half round shape in front and at the back. I have tried on Light French Beige last Friday. It flows and falls nicely without hugging my body shape (Like lycra. Some lycra hugs) and it is big enough to give ample coverage.  (I am 53kg and stand at 152cm) Love it.

This is what 'half moon on both ends' means. I do not know what kind of fabric these babies are made of. Some of my friends says macam kain lining baju :D But okaylah for a RM28 shawl. Of course the material is not comparable with those chiffon from Radiusite (web www.radiusite.com) and Sugarscarf (web www.sugarscarfbyriqa.com). But as the name implies, 'Essential Scarf' is one of must-have, essential staples in wardrobe. At least in mine laaa kan.

Essential Scarf is offered by Shawl by V Snow (http://www.shawlbyvsnow.blogspot.com).

accessorize!

I am in one of those phases again. This time - accessory!

At times like these (when 916 is freaking expensive), let's just satisfy the lust by buying costume ones :D

Turquoise RM10, Marcasite RM50. Both are love at first sight. I have always believed in love at first sight when buying things (under RM100 that is!). But in choosing a spouse, always take a second, third, fourth look. In short, take as many looks as you can before deciding :D
The same stall sells gold-look-alike rings and bangles but I felt I'd be cheating on myself too much by buying that. I passed.

 

RM28 for that brownish purplish and RM19 for that rustic looking one.

All damages incurred at Amcorp's Flea Market.

comfort

Such comforting food.
Warm chocolate cake.
With melted chocolate inside.
Topped with contrastingly cold scoop of vanilla ice-cream in chocolate shell.
Drizzled with chocolate syrup.

Loved ones digging in.
Such comforting sight that I took a seat back and just watched.

boys' toys

Move away Transformers & Toy Hero Factory :D

My boys are into bricks and blocks these days. Latest addiction. Betterlah than Transformers (cheaper), and Toy Hero Factory (smaller parts -> finer motor skills assembling while the mother practising the same skills by mengutip all these when they are done)

A year or two back Iman won a big box of Lego from his participation @PDM event. It was supposed to be a scene of a workshop. It was laaa in the beginning. Then the boys demolished my workshop (my - because I built it :P) and they built cars, planes, robots. But that was it. They got bored very quickly so every bits and pieces were put in a zip-lock and dumped into their toy box. (more like I sorok that thing sebab the very the leceh to deal with small tiny miny bricks and blocks) It never really saw the light until recently. Thanks to YouTube. They found these Lego-thingy on the net and good hooked. Needless to say, my boys ransacked the toy box and the rest is history. Memang very historical pun. They fought over tires, steering wheel, caps and whatnots. Historical fight that is.

Boys, hard at work! :D

Adam bought this last weekend. Lego 3-in-1. Ingat nescafe aje ada 3-in-1.. Lego oso got. Blue Roadster. Mode panjang-kurus, mode ketot and mode pendek-gemok.

First mode on Sunday - mode pendek-gemok :D

Mode kedua, also on Sunday (isk), mode panjang-kurus. Since dia tak berapa reti lagi nak ikut instruction step-by-step, who else la kan. Ummi la buat tu....

Sampai rumah last Monday, dia siap bersila gini bukak kotak. Nak tukar mode. Adoi.. baru sampai rumah pastu Abang Kakak ada exam the next day, dia plak merengek nak buat mode lain. Sabarrrrrrr!!!!

Okay done! Mode ketot. Muka puas hati nun. Dia cuma cucuk tayar je, the rest Ummi buat :D

This one pulak, Iman's pick. This is Kre-O from Hasbro.2 modes based on Transformers Autobot Jazz. Car or robot. He did the car first.

Proudly showing off his work (with help from Tebby.. or was it the other way around? :P) Errr... boys, cuba tiru Kakak kat belakang nun, gigih buat revision (ke melukis?)

Later he wanted to tukar mode into robot and guess what? One piece is missing. All eyes on Adam because he was messing with that box earlier. I found that piece last night amongst other toys but it was already bedtime so KIV dulu ya Iman.

And this, bought by the oldest, biggest boy in the house. I just don't get it. As much as he doesn't get it when I need 4 pairs of black shoes and perhaps another 2 pairs of brown ones. So we're even. Just don't frown when I buy some more shoes :D

The very the thick. Worth the money he said. Justifying. I've been waiting for so longggg for this he further added (while hugging the book). Eyes beamed with happiness and I thought I saw some sparks of affection in his eyes! Seriously.

Boys.. they never grow up.

Tips - When kids are playing toys with small parts, let their creativity go wild while they sit on a piece of big cloth. A blanket or bedsheet will do. Easier to kutip balik and to tidy up.

changing lanes

Remember Adam's first day at kindy? (read here) And how he demanded for uniforms when they were not ready yet? And we bought white tees and dark blue pants so that his looked similar with Iman's? (read here)

After deliberating for some time, we decided that Adam will be attending another kindy next year for some reasons. Of course this is not an easy decision to make. Kakak and Iman went to the same kindy that Adam currently attends. To say I am not at all satisfied with their services, that would be a lie. My heart melts at hearing Adam correcting Iman reciting surah Al-Quraisy. Or how at times en-route to school Adam suddenly recites Al-Fatihah. Or how just before bed he recites doa tidur. Of course, all these and all those a-b-c, 1-2-3 and red green blue and whatnots. And yesterday he went all nagging like old grandmama over me naikkan suara to Iman while we did some school revision because I really shouldn't be doing that! All the things he learns and picks from school. May Allah Bless the teachers.

But anyway, I noticed they haven't done any outdoor activities this year as planned - field trip, sports day, and the likes. Which prompted us to make the change. They used to have those. I remember cheering during their sports day way back in 2005/2006 where Kakak won several prizes. Or how we beamed with pride seeing her danced during her Ihtifal way back in 2007. Iman didn't get to do all those. But that's probably because of the disorder he used to have. 

I always got sentimental over things :D, in case you hadn't notice.

We both agreed it's Genius Aulad for Adam next year. Mainly because his cousin will be going there as well next year! We sort of had one lesser things to deal with - transportation. My SIL is a graduated house-wife. (she once work for a famous O&G company), she'll be sending his son there and Adam can tag along. You see, Iman (my 2nd) and her first offspring are of same age. Adam is 4 (my 3rd), and so is her second child. (when she got pregnant earlier this year, I was like.. uhh uhh.. need to be extra careful :D) In addition to that, Adam has one confirmed friend already, his cousin! I should post a photo of them together later. How look-alike they are! Same height, same built, same hair cut, similar facial features.

Back to Genius Aulad - curricular-wise - okaylah I think. They have all the basics (reading in both languages, counting, simple math operations, field trips, outdoor activities and most importantly basics to solat, mengaji, hafazan and the likes. We went there last week to register (only 6 seats left!). While we are serious about the kids' formal education but it doesn't mean we want to force things down their throat so they can answer questions on rocket science or do some mental algebra by the age of 6. I used to read about mummies being overly worried when their child can't read. At 6 or 7, yes, I'd also be concerned. But at 3? My principle is - let them enjoy being  children while they are still children. Let classroom education be fun and enjoyable. Oh ya, no homework :P !

We will get monthly report on our child progress via their website. Education progression as well as discipline. Oh ya, the reading thingy - it is based on each child unique individual abilities. Sort of like Peter & Jane series. The child will only progress to the next book once he/she's done with his/her current book. Which is good. I have always believed in good foundations in all things. Reading included.

Anyway, they will also be observing each child in the first month, just in case. And it was a relief when I told the principle about ADHD, she didn't looked confused and in fact we discussed about therapies and all. Having had a son with that, of course I am concerned and we always observe Adam if he has the same traits like Iman did. While I am not not being thankful for what Allah Grants us, we just hope that one episode will remain as the only one. That episode which made us, us. In fact a better us than we used to be.

Back to Adam, when told, that boy was pretty excited of the new school. I showed him Genius Aulad's website and few photos in there. He got even more excited when I told him, he's going with Zahin (his cousin). In fact too excited that he refuses to go to his current kindy the week after!

Well, young man, you'd better be excited for the next 2 years!

Genius Aulad website -> www.geniusaulad.com.my

de-tile-ing our home

 

Took a half-day off from office routine last Monday to go here - Batu 14, Hulu Langat. With Tebby la of course.. This pekan is a cowboy-ish small town. Once we took the exit from highway at Batu 11, I was brought back to my own hometown. Stalls lining the roadsides selling kampung produce (bantal kekabu oso got!) small shops selling furniture, kedai kain and whatnots. The road is just a two-lane, you need to have patience to lalu here. Got lori besar in front, that's it. Just follow its bontot especially when the traffic is heavy on both sides. If your children are not with you, you can curse a bit :D Joking okay.

Anyway, we were not there for kampung produce (we did a stop though, on the way back cause Tebby couldn't resist this small shop selling keropok lekor ^-^), furniture or kain. We were there for tiles! The house renovation has progressed into a little more detail thingy. Tiles, tap, sinks, hood, hob, counter-top. Boy, to say I am not excited with all these, that would be a lie. Thing is, I am too excited that at times I do not even want to think about it (like that oso got?) I am afraid if we make mistakes in choosing. The color, the material, the combinations.. yada yada yada. Worse, the mistake that would be too expensive to rectify. The mistake that we'll have to live with for a long long time.

The very the less glamorous than Viva Home Center :D We went there once, and Adam came back with high fever! But that's not about fever what-so-ever lah kan. This one is suggested by our contractor. Tiles cost is already included in his quotation. We were there just to pick and choose. Mula-mula nak sampai sini, I was like 'Betul ke jalan ni Yang?' Sebab macam nak masuk kampung ai je..

 

It's a showroom cum store. They have ready stocks depending on tiles. Being sempoi that we are, we picked from ready stocks they have. Malas nak tunggu :D

Myriads of colors, texture, shapes and sizes to choose from! Headache you know. What goes well with this? Will this look good? Will it look dull and boring? Will it be good to have different color here? Or all same color? Monotone? Contrasting? Licin or not kalau basah? Most importantly? Senang cuci tak? :D :D

The beige on top.. that's for bathroom wall. I was quite tempted to combine with the lower one. Simple geometric patterns in brown grey. But *ahem* that one is RM30.00+ per piece. The plain one on top, tak sampai RM10.00. Kenot a Yang? Owh, kenot.. I asked, I answered.

Since I was too lazy to think, we'll use the same combination for both bathrooms (we do not touch the 3rd one, budget constraint)

 

Aww.. sukanya hasben ai pilih tiles u ols! Baju kuning tu our contractor, Mazlan.

Granite! *gasp* Love at first sight u ols! The color, the texure.. oh la la.. they are so me!
Can I have this in the kitchen Yang? No.
Probably on the walls only? No.
Okaylah, the backsplash area only? No.
Okaylah, take gambar only la..

You see, granites are expensive. If the normal tiles is RM15, granite is RM30. Instead of losing 2 strands of hair, you'll lose 4 :D

That day we picked tiles for kitchen, bathrooms and porch. No gambar dah after that, I was too busy choosing and proposing, justifying (and sulking ha ha). Almost all picks are matte-finish, with some texture, in grey, off-whites, beige. You see, I am afraid of playing with colors. My palette would be of grey, brown, whites, pastels, earth-tones. The most outstanding color of that day was terracota for our porch. Afraid it might be too flaming-orangy, on the sides we'll have grey tiles :D Perhaps putting a bit of grey tiles forming some kind of simple design in the middle, you know,.. to tone down that terracota hues. Aiyoh.. kenot la. Me and kaler buruk (as my mother puts it) cannot be separated :D

This, reminds me of my early years of working. Punch card! Lewat three times, tukar kaler card. It would be visible to everyone who was always late hihi.

Just when we were about to leave the premise (after headache dealing with colors, texture and size), there was a tapping sound kat pintu kereta. Rolled down the mirror.

'Kak, tiles dapur yang akak pilih tu dah takde stok'

Oh well! Since we had earlier on shortlisted 3 colors, we just picked the second option. Off white instead of white with tints of green.

Okay, tiles done. Next!

the 'b' word

I am always cautious on my kids choice of words. Strictly forbidden words - the s-words, the b-words, the f-words, which they came across while browsing the world via internet. Sometimes they do not know what those mean but they keep on saying them all out loud, merely imitating and making fun.Once warned, berani lah nak sebut lagi.. siap kena cubit kang :D

Adam, when in doubt, always asks if he can say this and that.
Boleh ke cakap quiet?
Boleh ke kita sebut shut up?
Boleh ke bagitau come back here?

Sometimes I find it amusing. Yesterday was one example.
He: Boleh ke kita cakap busuk?
Ai: Boleh lah. Tak salah.
He: Okay, boleh cakap busuk?
Ai: Iyaaa! (with irritated tone)

He went screaming to Iman 'Abang busukkk! Abang busuk! Busuk! Busuk! Busuk!'
A fight followed after.

Ai: Kenapa adik cakap macam tu? Tak baik!
He: Tadi Ummi cakap boleh??

lawak CoolBlog

image - Google images

[semalam on the way back home after picking up kids from nursery]

Ai - Jom, Ummi belanja minum CoolBlog.
Kids - Yayyy!

Ai - Ummi turun sorang je. Nanti semua turun, lambat jadinya...

[masuk Carrefour, order 6 CoolBlogs, 5 minutes later order ready]

Ai - Ummi beli rasa pineapple untuk Abah, Kakak punya coffer blog, Iman rasa grape, Ummi rasa green apple, Adik rasa kiwi. Pastu Ummi beli extra satu.

Adam - Ummi, yang rasa extra tu warna apa?

Funny okay.
Cool Adik! Hi.. hi..

brotherly love

Iman got a sample of Protex few weeks back from school.

Sorang dapat satu Ummi. 

But he brought home two.
Habis tu kenapa Abang bawak balik dua? (bimbang dia ambik kawan dia punya)
Saya mintak untuk Kakak jugak.

Awww.. that was a very sweet of you Abang. Taking the trouble to get one for your Kakak as well.

We were at BreadTalk one day. As usual I asked them to pick one each. Iman and Adam both picked roti cheese (yang diorang makan dalam gambar). Kakak did not want anything but Iman insisted that I bought a sausage bun for her.
Kakak suka yang ni Ummi.

So I did. Turned out that he was right. Malam tu Kakak sebok cari makanan bawah tudung saji, terus ambik that sausage bun.

That's between him and Kakak. Obviously he prefers Kakak. Between him and Adam, it's more like sibling rivalry between them.

They fought, they yelled, they kicked, they pushed, they jelir-lidah, they rebut toys - At each other. With each other. When one got scolded, the other would come close and bisik 'padan muka'. It ended up both of them got scolded in the end! When one told about things-happenings at school, the other would always have his own version :D

Anyway, last 2 weekends something happened. Went to kenduri akikah jiran belakang rumah. I went back with Iman and Kakak as Tebby was still talking with someone. Adam was with him. Minutes later Tebby came home.. without Adam! Guess who ran to Adam rescue with all his might? Iman!

Kids, stand for each other no matter how easy or how hard the situation is. When I'm gone, you will have each other to look after each other.

St. Ives Craze!

I am in one of those phases again :P

Overboard.

Latest being St. Ives haul!I remember I once used its apricot scrub some 10-15 years ago. Masa tu rasanya apricot scrub was apricot scrub. These days there's few variations just for apricot! For blemish, gentle, ageing yada yada yada. Confused? I am :D

My haul last week:-
1. Apricot Scrub Gentle for Kakak
2. Blemish & Blackhead Control Apricot Scrub .
3. Renew & Refirm Apricot Scrub 
4. 24-hour Moisture Lotion
5. Exfoliating Apricot Body Wash
6. Oatmeal & Shea Butter Body Wash

My daughter is 11 this year and she has started to get those whiteheads (yikes!) and small pimples on her face. When I was in my teens and 20's, I had clear skin. In fact I never had proper skincare regime until I was mid 20's. But I was okay. Back then, sabun LUX could do. A single bar of LUX for whole body, from top to toe, so to speak! Sent a message to SKII if I can share my FTE with Kakak. Response - she has to wait for another 7 years! The product is not recommended to use by under 18. :D :D I bought Cetaphil cleanser for Kakak some months ago (as recommended by a pharmacist).

The most challenging part was to get that thing into her routine. After some months, she finally gets it - wash face twice daily with Cetaphil. And now I added up another thing for her - Apricot Scrub Gentle (for sensitive skin). Scrub in the morning. Cetaphil in the evening. I saw the tube in the bathroom she usually bathe in. I hope it doesn't just sit there. I'll check again tonight :D

As for moi, I have started using 4 items. Kenot wait. So gelojoh want to try all :P

On alternate days I use Blemish & Blackhead Control Apricot Scrub. In between, it's Cetaphil. After a week I notice my facial skin is a bit itchy tho less oily (i have normal-oily skin). The area around my nose is menggelupas. Tak banyak la, sikit aje. Tolerable and I hope this is temporary.

Exfoliating Apricot Body Wash is more of a body-wash than exfoliator. It has very very gentle beads. Small ones too. I barely feel their presence. Guess that's normal for someone who's used to sugar and salt scrub! The smell is nice and sweet but it doesn't linger.

My relationship with 24-hour Moisture Lotion almost ended right in the beginning. I have made my research before actually go out and buy. I intended to buy its Replenishing Mineral Therapy variation but couldn't find on the the shelves. The SA there assured me that was an old product packaging and the newer replacement is 24-hour Moisture Therapy. I was sold into believing, when are in fact, two different variations :D The texture is rather heavy and rich and I have to really rub to get it absorbed. But once absorbed, it's not sticky, not oily, not filmy. I like! Sans the hardwork to rub it in that is :P The smell is so-so only. But it lived up to its name. I am moisturized aaaaaaaalllllllllll dddaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyy looongggggggg........

On days I am too lazy to slap on the body lotion, I showered with Oatmeal & Shea Body Butter Wash. Unlike my Exfoliating Apricot Scrub, this one doesn't lather up much. It has creamy texture and smells delicious... Imagine oatmeal and butter... hemmmmmmmm!!! Better not use during puasa :D After shower, I am all cleaned and moisturized. No need for body lotion anymore.

Aaaaaaanywaayyyyy, I am one flip-flop person. Sometimes I am so rajin with all those. On malas days, a bar of soap will do... top to toe.

project lasagna in the house

Remember this? Thalia frozen lasagna that we bought from Cold Storage Alamanda? It has vegetables - corn, carrots, green peas - much to Iman's irritation. And he doesn't eat vege.

So I decided to do my own version of lasagna. For the meat sauce, the same ingredients and cooking method as beef bolognese sauce. Large onion, Prego ready-to-cook pasta sauce, Ramly ground beef, canned mushroom. Let it be a little watery to soak the pasta sheet while baking later.

 

Seen above before baking it. Layered with white sauce. White sauce contains butter, flour, milk and cheese. I used 2 sheets of cheese. Yep, the ones that we eat with bread. Too kedekut to buy mozarella. Why so mahal? Did not dare to use almost-RM20-per-pack cheese for my first trial, I opted for cheaper version. Less 'berlemak' feeling. But the drawback is that, when you cut this baby, no cheese stringing here and there. Less sexy I think :D 

Tadaaaa!! Cooked. Well, you know the proverb - do not judge the book by its cover. So tak cantik. The word sexy is so not to describe this :D

White sauce not evenly distributed - Adam did the top layer. (alasan!)

Baking dish is not deep enough - time to get a proper one (ting!)

I should have covered this with aluminium foil, no?

Oh ya, I did not measure the baking dish with the oven. It could not fit the oven just by milimetres! Then I tried putting it 'membujur'.. please... please... please... let this fit in. Let this fit in. Alhamdulillah.. muat! Cukup2 je kepanjangan untuk tutup pintu over. Next action - get a new bigger oven (ting!)

But honestly, sedap. The best lasagna, Kakak cakap. Ahh kids. Jangan puji-puji sangat, kang tetiap minggu Ummi buat hihi.

Anyway, I used this San Remo Instant Lasagna sheets.No need to soak or blanch. Just layer this between meat sauce and white sauce.

Resepi? Ada kat belakang kotak nun..