Yaya current obsession

Bratz thing has really got into Yaya. She talks like the bratz, walks like the bratz, always pretend to be one of the bratz character and always, always has something to do with the bratz. So one day I noticed her so engaged in doing something. Closing up on her, hah... as I have guess, she was drawing b.r.a.t.z. characters...again....







Lately, whenever babah went to the video store for some rental, he will bring home a bratz movie for the darling yaya. Happy sakan betul la makcik tu...

Athirah dah pusing-pusing

Again, I missed the action. I only realised this when I came into the living area, and saw athirah here... I have put her on the blue cloth before I went elsewhere...



In order to record her action again, I put her back on the blue cloth.





she actually has rolled over 2 times..tapi capture gambar guna camera phone....lambat laa....si thirah dah pusing2....anyway, finally I could capture the action....more pictures in our fotopages

Winter in Brisbane : Dry skin

Athirah is suffering from dry skin, dekat kawasan mulut tu. Sian. So we bathe athirah only once a day now. I apply cocoa butter on her dry skin.

Fetching the kids from school

This week I have to fetch the kids from school. On Monday, I came a little late, so I need to circle the block several time in order to find a spot. So today, I came earlier, 5 minutes before the school was out. While waiting I snap this mural, opposite yaya's classroom.



Next this playground, also opposite yaya's classroom. No wonder she kept asking babah to let her play at the playground before going home.



After picking up the kids from classroom, we headed to the car. Punya la bising mulut budak dua orang nie. I didnt catch what were they arguing about. Sampai nak masuk kereta pun kecoh.


Tak selesai lagi tu....


And finally.


Seronok jemput budak-budak nie. But leceh sikit...cos I need to carry thirah (makin semangat tu) in one hand and holding the kids in the other hand.

Cerita ceriti : Gelagat 2 periuk belanga pun melayang

Ok... nie cerita pasal gaduh-gaduh mat salih nie... my neighbour nie bujang. dulu ada gf, tinggal bersama (bukan benda pelik la kat sini kan), plus he has a son from his previous relationship (pun bukan benda yang pelik kat sini). One day, I think around noon, we heard a loud shouting outside our door. Terkejut betul masa tu. Lepas tu dengar pung pang klang klang... bunyi benda besi jatuh macam tu. Takut pulak nak jenguk ke luar pintu tu. Tengah bergaduh rupanya mereka nie...siap jerit-jerit tu. Lepas tu ada aksi kejar mengejar...geli hati betul. Yang si gf tu bleh siap cakap "I will call the police..." hahahah....

alkisahnya, mereka nie dah lame bergaduh. Patut la dah lama tak nampak muka gf tu kat rumah dia. So one day, the gf came, using the spare keys that were given to her, she unlocked the door, thought that the bf was not at home. Tujuan dia satu aje...nak ambil periuk dia. hahah...tu yng bunyi pung pang klang klang tu. Bila bf dia nampak si gf nie ambil periuk tu...dicampaknye keluar la.... kahkahkahkah...

mat salih pun gaduh sampai terbang periuk belanga gak ye....

Cerita ceriti : Gelagat 1 pasal halal dan solat

Ok I want to start a series of episodes about gelagat orang-orang kat sini.

Ada sorang kawan nie tanya, kenapa saya solat setiap kali mengadap arah yang sama. Saya pun bagitau la, itu arah yang kena muslim ikut. Tak citer panjang pun, sebab nanti dia pun pening nak paham. Rupanya dia dok perhati aje kita solat. Dulu-dulu ada bilik spare, boleh solat secara privacy. Tapi semenjak kemudahan tu ditarik balik, nak menapak ke surau kampus, yang jauhnye 2 blocks away (bukan 2 blok bangunan tau), terasa la penat dan rugi masa (lately nie masa itu emas). Last year I used to walk to the campus to perform the solah. Tapi semenjak ada bilik spare tu, solat aje la kat ofis. Tapi lepas ditarik balik, saya pun solat kat workstation aje. Tapi kat sini diorang tak kisah pun kita nak solat ke apa. Cuma diaorang curious aje laa...

Kat Brisbane nie aje ada 15 masjid. haaa...jangan tak caya... mmg ramai muslim kat sini. I remember during the first few months we arrived here. Rasa tak selesa sungguh bila tak dengar laungan azan. Yela, rumah my parents betul-betul belakang surau, sentiasa dengar azan. Lepas tu rumah sendiri, betul-betul di atas surau (duduk apartment laa). So bila sampai sini, aduhhh rindu betul dengan suara azan, dengan masjid. So ada suatu hari tu, we all singgal masjid kat Darra. Nampak aje kelibat masjid tu, terus rasa syahdu di hati. Adeh...tangkap leleh betul masa tu. Anyway... nak citer pasal masjid-masjid kat sini. Setakat nie baru dapat lawat masjid darra, west end, gold coast aje. Ada sorang kawan nie pulak ingat, nak solat aje kena gi masjid. Saya bagitau laa...tak kisah mana-mana, asalkan tempat tu bersih, dan mengadap arah yang betul (kiblat la tu).

Ok, part makan-makan pulak. Dulu tiap kali monthly meeting the research group, selalu la dapat lunch free. So everytime they would ask about our special diet. So dulu ada la jugak bagitau halal food, but they do not have any idea what is halal means. So nak senang bagitau aje la vegetarian. Jadi setiap kali meeting tu, mesti ada la vege sandwich kaa...vege pizza ke...sampai naik tensen ok. So one day, ada makan-makan thing, saya n Ida masak la bihun goreng. So ada la ayam n udang dlm mee tu. Baru la diorang tau kita nie makan gak daging. Tapi puas jugak la explain halal meat tu macam mana. Ada satu hari tu pulak, belanja la kengkawan gi makan pizza halal kat albert street tu. Haa.. ingat kitaorang tak makan pepperoni ke... janji halal maaa.... ingat kitaorang nie vegetarian ke.... Ida siap la cerita daging halal tu kena sembelih cara Islam laa... haiwan jenis apa bleh makan laaa.. pening jugak tengok muka kengkawan tu...ternganga2 nak paham..hahahahhaha

But it is very interesting being asked questions like this. We could convey and help others to understand Islam better. Yang penting kat sini memang jarang la diskriminasi berlaku, tak cakap takda, ada juga berlaku, but very little. Ala tengok mat salih kat sini pun ramai free thinker agaknya. Selalu tengok gereja kosong je ari ahad. Gereja2 pulak bukan main besar. My neighbour nie pun every sunday samada dia gi keje atau dia bawak anak dia main kat playground depan rumah nie...hehehe....

the countdown begins

7 more days....
7 days left for the preparation...
7 days left to get it over with...
7 days left to face the truth...
7 days left to gain the confidence...
7 days left to end this war and to start a new battle...
7 days left to defense yourself...
7 days left to face the ultimate test...
7 days left to test your credibility...
7 days left for enjoying the rest of the weekend...

Next Friday is the big day. Hope everything will run smoothly and I will succeed.

Sojuk mendatang...murah rezeki...

Yup....it is getting colder.... currently the temperature is 13-14 deg.... "Babah, should we take out the heater now??"... "tunggu....wait until we really couldnt stand the cold laaa...." Bukan ape, last year we were over excited about using the heater (first experience maaa)...so as a result all of us suffered from dried skin, dehydrated skin, sampai kulit rasa macam kain belacu tu laaa.... So this year, as best as we can, we try not use the heater, until it is really very cold. However, for Athirah, we have put her in the sleeping bag.



Today we had curry crab.....finish oledi maaa... and just now our only Malaysian neighbour sent us this....yummy...thank you Zue....this will be yaya's school lunch tomorrow...

This is yaya's fav. She loves carbonara..... Must ask recipe from zue......

Ok...today I want to retire to bed early.....

How I baked a cheese cake

Another DIY entry....hehehhehe...

Ok... refering to my previous entry on 'cooking achivement', one of the 'in demand' food (by my family laa) that I made.... is CHEESE CAKE.... I got this recipe from Kak Ida Merpati's fotopages... thank you la Kak Ida sebab create resipe yang senang bangat (untuk orang yang malas cam saya laaa...hehehe). Please check out Kak Ida's fotopages, she has loads of easy to cook recipes published there. And for the cheese cake recipe... please look under 'Cheese Cake' link yaa..

So how I baked my cheese cake?

The ingredients
I use 3/4 of this
2 bar of this (that is 250g x 2)

and 4-5 tbs of butter, 3/4 cup of caster sugar and 1 egg. I omit vanilla essence because I couldnt find non-alcohol contain one.

Method:
Base making
Blend this or do it my way..that is...
I smash the biscuit with pestle...hahahah (tip dari Kak Ida actually)
Add in the butter. I will start with adding 3 tbs first, add in more if the breadcrumbs still crumble hahahha... what you are looking for is a bit sticky texture so that you can press the mixture until it form a base...like this...

I use 9in pie plate. Then put this in the freezer or fridge for at least 30 minutes.

The cheese mixture
Beat all this until..
and....
then....
spread the cheese mixture on top of the base.. till it looks like this
....
put inside a pre-heated oven, at 140 fan forced, for 35-40 minutes

The outcome.....

let it cool down then... masuk dlm fridge kejap kasi keras

...and I am having a piece right now...while editing this entry... sepatutnya letak dlm fridge dulu kan... tapi bila dah napsu mengatasi akal...hahahaha....

bon appetit...

.... A visit from home....

yaya with her cousins

Brisbane river ...enroute to man-made beach

at DFO


"...hands in the air everyone.."

Elmo....

More pictures and story at http://yaaboo.fotopages.com/

Off to Inala to buy seafood

We bought.....

Crab as requested by Yaya aka Kak Long aka Cici

(notice the cleaver and the chopping board...to clean the crab laaa)

Brissie call this 'sand crab'. You know before I came to Brisbane, I never buy, clean and cook crab (mom always does that... I only know how to eat it...hahahha)...But when I was expecting Thirah, I craved for crab. So where else can I found cooked crab, except I have to do it myself right. So that was the story laa...how I started to buy, clean and cook the sand crab.

Clean and cut oledi...

Tomorrow I will cook curry crab with eggplant...

Babah requested this...

banana prawn....hmmmm...maybe I will cooked sambal udang...I also bought petai in the can laaa....

For me.... fish....huhu....

Yellow tail (kembung) and mullet. Mullet taste like ikan terubuk... have not decide to cook what yet... maybe masak kunin mullet and kembung tauchu...ok kaaa...hahahahha

Mama...what about me....

Alamak bubba.... tunggu besar skit aaaa...nanti bleh request nak makan ape...

Then...off we went to Ispa Kebab...for 'tapau'ing two pizza (for lunch and dinner maaa... I have something big to do tonite).

While waiting... we had some drinks....

We waited half an hour for these.....

Chicken deluxe pizza....and

Meat lovers.... and as usual laa.... makan time....

How I cook Lasagna...mama mia

First of all, let me thank Hasni for tempting me in cooking lasagna. One fine day, her YM status flashing "cooking Lasagna" (I exaggerate the flashing thing of course). And suddenly I became alert (like Garfield). So I buzz Hasni for the recipe (allu Hasni...camne buat lasagna wehh). She gave the instructions, telling that...telling this.... yadayada..... (let me copy and paste)

hasni nn : firstly.. (kalau nak pedas sikit.. tumis cili boh sikit)..
hasni nn: if not... tumis je terus sebiji bawang besar..
hasni nn : then masukkan minced meat (kalau takde.. daging potong kecik2 ).. i agak2 je meat tu.. secukupnye..
hasni nn : then masukkan chopped or sliced carrot...
hasni nn : mushroom and chopped tomatoes (4 to 5 biji)
hasni nn : kalu u tau oregano leaves... masukkan sikit .. if not.. takpe..
hasni nn : then masukkan bolognese sauce (i pernah check kat sini tak halal.. so i substitute ngan napoletana brand leggo's)
hasni nn : masukkan byk mana tu depends on the content of bahan2 (carrot, daging, mushroom etc) tadi tu
hasni nn : masukkan ala2 sama byk ngan content tadi... tapi jgn bagi macam byk sauce sgt
hasni nn : then... gula garamlah...
hasni nn : dah settle... then ready your container
hasni nn : i biasa beli lasagna sheets yg egg based so u kena masak 'bechamel sauce'
hasni nn : 3 ingredients for the sauce : 500ml milk, 25g butter (1 sudu besar) and 25g flour (1 sudu besar) (i biasa agak2 je ni..)
hasni nn : first panaskan the milk until ala2 boiling
hasni nn : in a separate pot, melt the butter and flour ...
hasni nn : then masukkan the milk dalam butter tadi.. make sure kacau coz dia akan berketul2...
hasni nn : alrite.. sume dah ready...
hasni nn : now get the container...
hasni nn : mula2 scoop bechamel sauce tu ala2 cover container tu... then layer with lasagna sheets...
hasni nn : scoop lasagna sauce... taburkan the mozarella/parmesan cheese...
hasni nn : oops before tabur cheese tu scoop lagi bechamel sauce on top....
hasni nn : so basically what u have is..
hasni nn : bechamel sauce --> lasagna sheets--> lasagna sauce -> bechamel sauce --> mozarella cheese (this is kira one layer)
hasni nn: brand : Barilla
hasni nn: kotak dia biruhasni nn: lebih kurang 20mins..
hasni nn: ekek ni ikut kat kotak lasagna tu kata.. hehhehe
hasni nn: tapi biasanye i check je...
hasni nn: janji jgn hangus udah..

When I cooked it last week, I dont actually follow everything that Hasni has told me (ampun Hasni, tuanku tak murka kan...ahaks). I have mixed Hasni recipe together with san remo's (u can find Pak Remo's recipe at the back of the lasagna box) and my 'hantam korono' effort (this is one of my weaknesses, I can never follow any recipe exactly).

Today my beloved sistah asked me for the recipe. My wonderful niece and nephew (Haziq and Mira) love lasagna too (nanti Mak Chu balik Mak Chu masakkan ekkk....).So this is how I cook the Lasagna:

Ingredients:
Meat sauce
Minced meat (agak-agak la banyak mana)
2 brown onions (chopped, depends on how much you use the minced meat)
2 clove of garlic (crushed)
5 tbs of Napoletana (Napoli) sauce (I used Leggo's brand, as what Hasni suggested, kat Mesia ada nie)
1/2 carrot (chopped)
mushroom (sliced)

2 tomato (chopped)
1 cube of knorr chicken stock (mix with 1 cup of water)
salt and pepper
dash of ground oregano (i add more coz i like the smell)

2tbs of oil for cooking

Buchamel sauce (cheese sauce)
2 tbs of butter (soften to room temperature
2 tbs of plain flour
2 cups of milk
a handful of grated mozarella/parmesan cheese (i used both..yummy)

Napoli sauce

dont forget lasagna sheet (I used san remo's)


Method:

Meat sauce

Heat oil, saute onions and garlic. Add in meat. Cook till brown. Add in carrot, cook till soft.

Add in napoli sauce, chicken stock, chopped tomato and sliced mushroom. Season with salt, pepper. Lastly add the ground oregano. Stir till cook and remove from heat.

Buchamel sauce

Melt butter in separate pot, stir in flour. Cook for about 2 minutes on medium heat.

Remove from heat and add in milk. Stir.

Return to heat and keep on stir until thick and smooth. Season with salt n pepper, add in the grated cheese. Keep on stirring until the cheese melts.

Assembly

Preheat oven at 180 deg (fan forced). Pour 1 scoop of meat sauce (soup ladle) on the baking tray, follow with lasagna sheet, than meat sauce again, than buchamel sauce. Repeat this, ending with buchamel sauce. Sprinkle the grated cheese on top. Bake in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until cook (test it by pricking with a fork). Let it stand for 5 minutes.

Wallah....dig in.....

How is the lasagna kak long?

Yummy..... mom

Ok... am off to bed now. Tomorrow we are going to Inala to buy some fish, prawn and vegetables.... It has been almost two months I have not cook fresh seafood, except for canned sardines. For atang, this is not problematic coz he can have chicken everyday, or meat every alternate days....but not for me... I cant stand eating meat for long period. So I need to get seafood supply tomorrow...must .... and...maybe I have time to bake a cheese cake?? (next entry)

Crap... this is the third time

The concession card has done it again.. this is the third time the card couldnt be read by the green machine. And it will be my third visit to the Brisbane City Council (BCC) for refund and purchase a new card.

The first incident happened on the way to the office. The lady driver took my bad card, stuck a sticker on it, asked me to report it to the BCC, and I rode the bus for free that day. huhu...

The second time, again I was on my way to the office, but the old man who drove the bus, wrote something that indicate fare deduction (kudukut betul orang tua tu!!)....hah...

The third, today, I was on my way back from the office, the card cant be read, the young and generous driver said.."hop in sweetie.." yeihaaa....

(Kalau kat mesia camne ekkk..mesti kena kuar duit syiling gak kan...hahahahah....)

I think the card failure might be because..... I kept the card inside the mobile phone pouch. So maybe the magnetic strip on the card was defective because of the mobile phone...I say maybe.... OK! OK! It is totally my fault. I will keep the card in my wallet (wallet ehhh...not purse) after this.


The card that has failed me...again


Still have 8 unspent fares

Clutter

I have finally submitted my confirmation document to the panel members. The confirmation date is on 27th June. Doakan saya lalui confirmation seminar dengan jayanya ya. Amin.


I just remember yesterday that I have not taken any picture of my workstation. I actually work more at home. So my study table at home is more cluttered than the workstation.


The place that I spend my time every Thursday n Friday.

I printed out these before 31st August last year....masa tu rindu gilosh kat mesia

Yaya's drawing

Mr F's workstation... notice a loaf of bread n a bottle of jam (bini kat mesia....sian kena makan wuti aje...hehe...)

Dekat ws Mr F nie jugak le tempat solatnye.....

My workstation at home

Notice stacks of paper that I need to read......stress....minggu lepas dan sebelumnya lagi semak meja nie.... orang lain pun takut nak letak barang atas meja tu...nanti dragon mengamuk....huhu

Fog in Brisbane

For two days (yesterday and today) fog obscurring Brisbane. What is fog?

"Condensed water vapor in cloudlike masses lying close to the ground and limiting visibility" (from Answers.com).

It is now winter, but the heat during the day, and cold during the night has vaporised the water droplets in the air thus resulting the fog.

Winter this year is not that cold comparing to last year. I had bad experience during last winter. Nose bleed, skin irritation, laziness, sleepiness...ahaks.... plus terrible...terrible morning sickness due to my pregnancy. Hope I wont get nose bleed again this time. It makes me difficult to breath.

Today I had meeting with my sifoo. And because the meeting started at 9.30am, I asked hunny bunny to sent me to the office. I managed to snap pictures of fog in the city.





The fog will hit again tomorrow according to the weather forecast.

Over My Head

One of the fav song I have in my collection....Enjoy



The Fray - Over My Head Cable Car
Uploaded by misslupin



The Fray - Over My Head (Cable Car) lyrics
Artist: The Fray
Album: How To Save A Life
Year: 2005
Title: Over My Head (Cable Car)

I never knew

I never knew that everything was falling through

That everyone I knew was waiting on a queue

To turn and run when all I needed was the truth

But that's how it's got to be

It's coming down to nothing more than apathy

I'd rather run the other way than stay and see

The smoke and who's still standing when it clears

Everyone knows I'm in

Over my head Over my head

With eight seconds left in overtime

She's on your mind She's on your mind

Let's rearrange

I wish you were a stranger I could disengage

Just say that we agree and then never change

Soften a bit until we all just get along

But that's disregard

Find another friend and you discard

As you lose the argument in a cable car

Hanging above as the canyon comes between

Everyone knows I'm in

Over my head Over my head

With eight seconds left in overtime

She's on your mind She's on your mind

Everyone knows I'm in

Over my head Over my head

With eight seconds left in overtime

She's on your mind She's on your mind

And suddenly I become a part of your past

I'm becoming the part that don't last

I'm losing you and its effortless

Without a sound we lose sight of the ground

In the throw around

Never thought that you wanted to bring it down

I won't let it go down till we torch it ourselves

And everyone knows I'm in

Over my head Over my head

With eight seconds left in overtime

She's on your mind She's on your mind

Everyone knows

She's on your mind

Everyone knows

I'm in over my head I'm in over my head I'm in over...

Everyone knows I'm in

Over my head Over my head

With eight seconds left in overtime

She's on your mind She's on your mind

[ Over My Head (Cable Car) Lyrics on http://www.lyricsmania.com/ ]

Bouquet and gratitude

My gratitude to many people who have helped us before and after Athirah was born

1. Mak and Abah, who came and looked after us.
2. My sis and brother for all the support.
3. Ida and Nazir for looking after Yaya, plus cooking for us before Mak arrived.
4. Abang Kamal and Onn for preparing the aqiqah dish, to be distributed.
5. Idris and Ani for taking care of Athirah and sending and picking up Yaya from school.

To those who came and visit us:
1. Lan and Zue.
2. Kak Ana and family.
3. Idris and family.
4. Zaini, Naim and kids
5. Dr Norzie.
6. Syamir and Rozi.
7. Abang Nas and family.
8. Kak Ati and family.
9. Malia and family.
10. Hanafiah Ainul and kids.
11. Linda and family.
12.Kak Ha and family.
13.Kak Zalifah, Abang Kamal and kids.
14. Mariam, Zarizi and kids.

And also to those who I have not mention (pardon my memory).

The day Athirah was born: after the birth

Athirah was born on the 5th of January 2008 (26 Zulhijjah 4028) at Royal Brisbane Woman Hospital, Herston, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, 1.30am Brisbane time. She weighted 2.94kg, length
49 cm. Labour was painful, but short. I recovered fast after the delivery. The hospital service was superb, nurses are kind, helpful, I learn a lot from them. One valuable thing that I learnt from them is, not to panic and be relax. You see, Yaya did not breastfeed because I didnt have much milk. So I was determined to fully breastfeed Athirah at least for a couple of months. So when the midwife laid Athirah on my tummy, I immediately bring her to my chest for latching. But she was not interested. She continued to sleep the whole day. Worried I kept on latching her, every 2 to 3 hours. Seeing the difficulty, I asked the nurses, they said it is normal for a newborn to not interested with the feeding because she thinks she is still in the womb, plus the baby tummy was so small, like the size of your thumb. So that is why the baby was not interested.

Ooooo I see.... See how the nurses explained and educate you. I remember when I had Yaya, the nurses were a bit aggresive when I said that I couldnt feed Yaya, instead of word of encouragement, they pumped my breasts until they were bruised. Oooooo... such a bad experience eh... But not here in Brisbane. So to those mother-to-be out there, don't expect that your baby will straight away know how to suckle and dont be worried if the baby is not interested in the first day because it is normal. Baby will show the sign of hunger and the need to be fed on day 2 onwards.

One more thing that shows how relax the nurses are, was when Athirah shown the sign of jaundice. After discharge, an appointed midwife will pay a visit for both mother and baby. So the third day, Athirah had a slight jaundice on her face. The midwife said this is nothing to worry, and it is normal for Asian baby to get jaundice because our skin is yellow. Plus jaundice is a way of getting rid of the bilirubin. So primary remedy is to keep on breastfeeding (Athirah is fully breastfed) and put her under the light (no direct sun, sun in Brisbane is too stinging).

Following the first visit, another midwife came to again check on the baby (I requested it, because worried the jaundice would got severe) two days after the first visit. The yellow on Athirah face was so obvious, even her white eyes have turned into light yellow (Yaya also had jaundice, and have to put under photo-treatment), so Athirah condition match Yaya's when she had to be admitted to the hospital. But the midwife said this is not serious, just keep on feeding and put her under the light. She then shared her experienced with her two boys who had jaundice, so severe that they turned green. She just kept on feeding her boys and gradually the jaundice subsided (giler kan minah salih nie.... cam tak percaya). But she said if I am worry, I could bring Athirah to the hospital for blood test. But she recommended that I wait for the baby first checkup (happened on the 10th day) for the blood test.

So when Mak came, she too was worried with Athirah condition. But I had to stay strong to not be panic easily. So why did not I take Athirah to the hospital? It was because, I am convinced that what those midwives told me is true. This was strongly supported with an explanation from Dr Norzie.

Dr Norzie is doing her sub specialist at Mater Hospital. She is from HUKM. She came and visit us, tagged along Zaini and Naim. Dr Norzie explained that the jaundice will plateau after 10 days. So looking at Athirah, she said nothing to worry, and after 10 day, everything will be OK. As long as she is feeding well, stay alert when she awakes, the jaundice will soon subsided. I asked her why did medical staff here were not as aggresive as nurses back home. She said because the local people here are well informed and are well prepared with any emergency. I agreed. I received lots of fliers from the hospital pre and post natal. I infact experienced a superb treatment from these medical staff. The nurses are willing to share you and help whatever they can. There were no gaps, even you asked silly questions, they would answered them without grunting. I was lucky to gain this experience.

And according to Dr Norzie, Malaysian medical staff were aggresive because the public make them to. For example, in Malaysia the patient request to have a C-section because couldnt she stand the pain. So doctor has no choice but to perform it, because the patient has shown a sign of distress. But here, the mother wants to deliver normal, no matter what it takes, as long as both mother and baby are fine. So dont blame solely on the medical staff ya.... sometime it is you who force the doctor to make that extreme decision. But I couldnt deny the fact that some doctors and hospital take advantage on this situation, in order to charge more (ooopppssss, my opinion, not fact).

So I should say, I had a good experience giving birth in Australia. Makes me much confidence with the whole ordeal. Hope some information in this entry will shade some fear for mother-to-be, especially for the first time mother.

The day Athirah was born

OK... here is the story about me given birth to Athirah (finally). Note that the last entry I wrote before I delivered Athirah was about baby preparation. Days following the entry, I was getting heavier, until on Thursday night (that is 3rd Jan), I asked Atang to massage my feet. During the massage ordeal, Athirah was busy moving in my tummy, maybe because the sensational of the massage got into her as well. Suddenly she made a really big move. Both atang and me saw a huge bulge on the right side of my tummy. Looking at the bulge, I felt the hair on my neck stood up. This was the first-time Athirah did that, and it gave me a shocked. Later I went to sleep....

After fajr I went back to sleep as usual (because it was still very early). Later at around 8.20++, I woke up, feeling an urged to wee. You know that we can control ourself if we want to relieve right, but this urged could not be control. So I rushed to the loo, and relieved myself, only found that, it was not urine and the water kept on leaking. When I felt it was finally empty, I rushed back to the room and woke atang, hysterically said to him " I think I broke the water bag". I was 37 week and 3 days. EDD is 22nd Jan. Panic, anxious, overwhelmed I said to the baby, "please wait baby... it is too early". "Atok and Wan have not arrive, please wait for 1 more week." But I kept on leaking.

I called up the hospital (Royal Brisbane Woman Hospital), and explained to the person who answered the call what have happened. "Are you wearing pad mem?" ohhh why didnt I think of that. "No" I said. "Please put on a pad and come to the hospital. We would like to check what is going on?". So, I called up Ida, asking a favor to look after Yaya, while we were at the hospital. Upon arrival we went straight up to level 5. They put me under observation. I was still leaking, but no contraction, and the doctor confirmed that the membrane has raptured. However, since there was no contraction and the baby heartbeat was normal, they hospital told us that we could go home and monitor the progress ourselves.

We picked up Yaya from Ida's house. Had lunch. I did feel exhausted. Called Mak n Along, told them not to worry, explaining them if I have no contraction until 8am the next day, I need to be induced. After cooking dinner (dinner was the fav oxtail soup), I started to feel mild contraction. And there was spotting. At 6pm ++ again I called the hospital and told them I had spotting. "How regular is you contraction mem?". "errr... i am not sure whether I am experiencing one." And so they said,"Come to the hospital when the contraction is 5 minutes apart or if the spotting turns green or if you are worried." 5 minutes apart ehh... My sis Along was so worried when I told her what the hospital had told me. If I was in Malaysia, they surely put me under observation the first time I walk in. But things were different here. I will tell you why in the next entry.

So after dinner, I called up Ida, to tell her that we are sending Yaya at 9pm. We wont want to wake them up in the middle of the night, if suddenly I need to go to the hospital in that hour, so we decided to send Yaya early. While we were still at Ida's house, around 9pm++, I started experiencing regular contraction, but it was 30 minutes apart. At 10.30pm the contraction was 10-15mins apart. Thought that we should headed for the hospital, we went back home and grabbed the suitcase and stuff and rushed to the hospital. At 11.20pm I was admitted. At 12 midnite, the pain was getting stronger. In comparing to Yaya's delivering ordeal, this time the pain was stronger and frequent but short. Thanks to my beloved Atang, who was on my side the whole ordeal. I could control the pain much better by breathing properly, in and out during contraction. The nurse who looked after me was very calm, motivating me, telling me what to do, the experience was so different here, soo relax.

At 1am (5th Jan), I was moved to the birth suite. The room is big, like a single room ward in a private hospital in Malaysia. So you can imagine how big the room is, with complete birth equipment. Here they offered a lot of birth delivery option, eg. deliver in the water. Actually I opted for epidural, but since my contraction was less than 5 minutes apart when I came in, so the epidural would be useless. So when they asked me whether I wanted the 'gas' to help ease the pain, I immediately response, "Yes!!". Almost 1.20am I felt the urged to push. With two strong push, Athirah came to the world at 1.30am. That was my first normal delivery (totally). Yaya's was normal but with the help of ventouse.

Feeling Athirah the first time, laying on my belly was so wonderful. No exact word could really describe what did I felt during that precious moment. Atang couldnt wait to hold the baby. He managed to bring dates this time. The midwives let us rest, while waiting for the time to move us to the ward.



At around 6 am on the 5th of Jan, we moved to the ward.

Does Athirah really looks like a boy?

People who met Athirah thought she is a boy, although Athirah was wearing pink attire. Some even said that, probably I wanted a baby boy, when I was pregnant. Well maybe that is true, I did want a baby boy, but I didnt mind having baby girl either. For a matter of fact, I was confidence I was having a boy, because:
1. The shape of my belly was not the same when I was having Yaya.

Plus when I was having Athirah, I met all these believes:
2. Old folks said, if a little girl having a strong liking at you, it means you are having a baby boy.
3. I craved for seafood (this according to gee).
4. The baby likes to stay on the right side.

However, I had an instinct that I gonna have a baby girl, so I did bought some pink clothes. Anyway, when people said that Athirah looks like a boy, maybe partly because I wanted a baby boy, but actually, Yaya too looked like a boy when she was a baby. And at that time, I really wanted a baby girl. Lets compare some old pictures of Yaya with Athirah's.

These are pictures of Yaya:


These are pictures of Thirah:



See the resemblance. I guess it runs in the family. FYI both of them, inherit my hair, when I was an infant.

My cooking achievement

I have planned many things to write, but have to put on hold due to my preparation for the confirmation. The date has been set (finally), the panel were selected, the document is under review, and need to be circulated to the panels on the 13th of June, allowing the panel two weeks in advance from confirmation due date. My list of things that need to be done for next two months is keep expanding, only able to complete 1/8 of the list, so far. arrrghhhhh.... I am feeling stress...

A promise that I have kept so long is to write about my birth experience. Athirah is now 5 month 1 week, still no entry about it. Hmmm how should I start.... guess I have to put it aside again.

To gain the momentum back, I would start with a simple entry. Cooking entry, yup.... let's talk about my cooking experience. Living abroad, with a family to look after, eating outside is an occasional thing, to save money plus not many Halal food outlet around. So cooking, I must everyday. Craving for a particular food can only be solved by cooking it yourself. With the advent of technology you could download the recipe from the internet. I have a list of cyber chefs that I visit often for that reason. You can found them in my fotopages.

So what are the dishes that I never, will never cook, if I was still in Malaysia (in simple word, buy only laaa), that I managed to cook here (huhu):

1. Cheese cake (credit to Kak Ida merpati) : so far people who have tasted it, love it.

2. Chicken rendang. I cooked this for Raya last year.

3. Marble cake (Kak Liza recipe).

4. Roti Jala, cooked this for iftar last year. Asked mom to post the roti jala cup hahahahha...

5. Choc cupcake. Did this with Yaya. Our first cooking project together.

6. Roast chicken (thanks to my loving sis for the recipe) and mash potato

7. Penang Laksa (thanks to Eyla for the recipe)

8. Yaya birthday cake (this is the first time I baked her a cake)

9. Mee Kung Fu

10. Curry puff

11. And today Lasagna

Dish (yang leceh laaa) that I have cook before coming to Brisbane, that I have mastered here(chewah!!) based on Atang's compliment:

1. Hainan chicken rice.

2. Mee kari.

3. Kung Poa Chicken (cashew nut chicken).
4. Telur bungkus.


hehehhehe.... syiok la masak.... next I want to try the marble cheese cake recipe. Will update soon.