To a Wonderful Dad :)

Before i was married to my husband, I noticed that he's a natural with kids. Chidren from all ages seemed to be attracted to him like a magnet. After i get to know more about him, I start to realize bit by bit that he is just the right father material. And that's when I decided that I am ready to move on to the next phase of life with this wonderful man.

When we had Alyssa, our lives totally changed. The sleepless nights, the breastfeeding woes, nappy-changing and the endless uncertatinties that we faced. Both of us had no first-hand experince on taking care of a baby, and it definitely was not as easy as we thought. 

But my husband was determined to be a hands-on daddy. During my confinement, every night without fail Alyssa would cry for hours, and only fall asleep after cuddling her in our arms. The moment we put her down, she would start screaming. To make matters worse, Alyssa had problems with latching. I had to wake up every 2-hourly to express milk to feed my baby. I was totally exhausted from chronic sleep deprivation. Compounded with hormonal instabily, I was at my wit's end. I would burst out crying for absolutely no reason. I realize I was suffering from post-partum blues. I needed help. And my pillar of strength was my husband. 

He would wake up many times at night to feed the baby and change her diapers. He would stay up all night to cuddle our baby just to make sure she sleeps. Even though the night before he was on-call at the hospital,with no sleep for the past 36 hours. Even though the next morning he has to set off for work before 5.30am, and return after 6.30pm. It was not easy, but he sacrificed his own sleep just so that me and Alyssa could have ours.

Thank you S, for being the best daddy and husband that I could ever ask for. I couldn't ask for more. We love u lots! Happy Father's Day!!

KL's Farm In The City

Last weekend, we took our kids out for another outing with Hidayah's family at Farm In The City in Seri Kembangan. Just like the name implies, its a combination of a farm/mini-petting zoo with a 'kampung' ambience right in the heart of the city. Just perfect for the kids! :)

The best part about this place is that you can feed the animals as well as pet them. The kids (and us too!) had lots of fun feeding and touching the animals up close and personal. Surprisingly, the animals were very tame and friendly! The staffs were cheerful and pleasant too.

The farm opens from 10am-6pm (weekdays), and 9.30am-6pm (weekends). Its closed on Tuesdays, except for school holidays and public holidays. Fees are RM30 for adult (Malaysian nationality) and RM25 for kids below 12years. Children who are less than 90cm tall gets to enter free of charge.

In front of the entrance. The place is stroller-friendly, which makes it very convenient for family with young kids.

Alyssa insisted on wearing her headscarf even though the day was hot. She would make a big fuss whenever we try to remove her headscarf! Haha...(i'm proud of you darling).

The schedule for main activities. Don't miss out on the animal feeding & show!

 What did the fox say? (apparently he didn't say anything!)

You need to be at least 90cm tall to have a go on the pony ride (none of our kids qualified for that yet though).

That's Alyssa's Papa petting the raccoons!

Feeding the fish and swan at the pond

If you look hard enough, you can see a porcupine in this picture...

 Isn't the Marmoset monkey cute?

Alyssa just LOVES the rabbit farm!

...but freaked out after being 'attacked' by a group of hungry rabbits :)

 ..catching 'longkang' fish. The fish was so fast, we didn't manage to catch any   :(

 At the birds' sanctuary.The birds are so tame, they will literally feed off your palm!

BIG tortoise (yup, they love kangkung!)

Check out the expression on Alyssa's face.....priceless!

Aren't we cute? :)

Clockwise from left: Azkiya (Dayah's eldest daughter), Alyssa, Aufa (Dayah's second daughter), and Dayah's nephew (not sure his name)...peace!

Azkiya is not afraid of the goat :) 

...group photo with Hidayah's family...say cheese!

To those family with young kids, this place is highly recommended for you. I think it's more exciting than taking the kids to the zoo, as they get to feed and interact with the animals here. In the farm, most of the animals are free to roam about safari-style (except for a few which are enclosed in their sanctuary).  

Be sure to bring along lots of water as it can get hot during the day. And I recommend going early as I notice that as the day progresses, some animals tend to ignore the food being shoved upon them as they have been fed by the visitors who came early (perut sudah kenyang maa...). Don't be afraid to bring along your kids' stroller as they have a convenient stroller-track. And bring plenty of snacks/energy bars to keep your kids alert and perky throughout the outing! :)

Unplanned Udang Galah Road Trip

A few weeks back, we brought our kids 'balik kampung' to visit my aunt Mak Teh in Temerloh, Pahang. The tranquil kampung environment was just the break we needed from the hustle and bustle of city life (if u consider Ipoh busy enough!). We called up our old friends Hidayah (who works nearby at Klinik Kesihatan Maran) and her hubby Fauzan over to join us overnight at Mak Teh's house.

While catching up on old stories, suddenly Fauzan casually mentioned, "Korang, nak tak esok kita pegi makan udang galah dkt Laban Chondong...." 

           ..........and before we knew it, the next day we found ourselves packed in our faithful old Honda CRV, embracing ourselves for a 180-km roadtrip to Leban Chondong just to eat udang galah! Owh, and we dragged along our kids too (3 hyper-active toddlers and 1 baby). Yup, we're dat crazy!!! Did i mention that we LoVE adventures? :)

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Along the way, we stopped by Pekan for some cendol and rojak at Hamid Cendol....yum yum!

Check out Daniel's drumstick! *chomp!*

The journey took us about 4hours (with many pitt-stops along the way). Finally we ariived at our destination. It turns out to be R&R Leban Chondong. There are many stalls selling udang galah, but many recommends the one at the end, which happens to be attracting the largest number of customers. 

The iconic udang galah statue in front or the R & R

can't wait to dig in!!

The udang galah came in different sizes, from C (smallest) to A+ (REALLY big!). The price of the dish will depend on the size of the prawns. We settled down with B+ sized prawns.

Yummy udang galah!

Kedai Makan Mak Ngah

...tido kekenyangan.

We arrived back in Temerloh at night. All in all, it was an enjoyable trip. We all had fun, and having friends who are "same head" (sekepala) with us makes the trip more worthwile. Would we do it again? Definitely!