Keel Laying for 2273

Alhamdulillah the Keel Laying event for 2273 was a success.. For those who don't know what i am rambling about, the keel is the base of the vessel and today marks the begining of putting the keel together.. From otday onwards, the ship will be put together like a puzzle.. Ok before i bore you with the details of the makings of a vessel, i better stop. Tapikan if anyone is interested just let me know haha

I never would have thought, 5 years ago that i would be at a shipyard and learning how they build a ship! haha i of course am still trying to grasp everything, especially the technical details..

tonight there will be a dinner n then i will start to pack! Tomorrow i head home and will arrive in Brunei on Friday! yeayyy! i have missed my loved ones immensly! Cant wait to kiss and hug the Hubs and Lil Miss Nadia! hehe Two more sleep sayanggg... hehehe

worst joueny so far!!

Olllaaa peeps! Writing to you from cold and gloomyy Okpo Geoje Island South Korea. I love the weather tho! hehe It took us 23hrs from departure in Brunei to arrive to our hotel room!! I can purely from the bottom of my heart say that it has been so far the worst trip i have been on! Singapore was fun of course, it was the flight to Seoul and the Incheon Airport! The airport calims that it is a hub but we think not! We had to claim our luggages, go through immigration and then check in in order to board the domestic airline to Busan. Its ridiculous that we had to do that as our connecting flight was in the same airport, its just a diff wing! GAHHHHHHHH Need i mention that the assistant that they gave us was USELESS! spoke basic english and banganggg!! Double GAHH!!!

Nonetheless we are hear now and we just met with our Bruneian Site team and its all good. I look forward to the meetings tomorrow, going to the shipyard and the event.. I hope that the journey back will be better.. huhu

I am missing Nadia a lot but trying not to think about her that much pasal ijap krg if i malar kanang her she will ingat me.. huhu My family and the Hubs, has been doing a great job at distracting her and keeping her busy with play time cause it seems like her bed time has moved from 8ish to 9ish! haha nonetheless keep up the good work! Love you guys lots and lots!!!! Kiss and hug nadia for me okayy..

will post pics when i get home okay..

Letter to God

Dear God,

Please take good care of my darling angel for me while I am away. Keep her safe and let her be good to everyone. Please distract her so she doesn't miss me too much. 

Please give my husband strength, courage and patience to look after our little angel while I am away.

Please also distract me while I am away so I don't miss her terribly. Please keep my tears from falling. Please also keep me safe and away from any harm. 

Thank you and Love you lots!

Your loyal and humble servant,

Nani Azni

Daddy, why are you in the phone?

Nadia seem to be taking Video Calls very lightly.. Is it because she can only see so much, or is she just not interested in screens, similar to how she is not that interested in the TV. haha

This was taken during the rare moments that she actually paid attention to her Daddy.. Kesian the Hubs! I hope she pays more attention to me when its my turn to be in the tiny screen! huhu

Expressing and Travelling

I will be traveling on business trip on Sunday for about 6 days.. And when I got the instruction to do so, my immediate thoughts went to EBMs! hahaha The fist thing I did when I got home that day was stock check and I have been doing that on a constant basis now haha.. Alhamdulilah my EBM stock is now at 170oz.. AND if Dia takes up 24oz per day, my EBM stock will be able to last 7 days.. so insyaallah my EBM will last my whole trip.. hehe

Another thing I thought of was of course expressing during the trip.. I so far only have 1 medium-sized cooler and my SIL was kind enough to lend another medium-sized cooler and one small cooler. The medium-sized cooler will be placed in my luggage and small cooler in the hand carry.. The small cooler will be used to transport EBMs expressed while in the plane and in transit. I have made an expressing schedule for my trip going and coming back as total journey time for me is approximately 18hr each way.. *huhu* (making room for quick shopping trips in between toooo hehehe) *thanksss maiii!! Love you lotsss!! hehe*

With the cooler box I had to think about ice packs.. As the trip was last-minute and I don't think that my order for Technice will come in time so SDMummy was kind enough to lend me her technice sheets.. *thanksss daaaa!! Love you lotsss! hehehe I will ganti balik as soon as my orders come in aah hehehe*

Another thing that come to my mind was Dia of course! With Anjai being away for work as well, how are we going to manage thisss.. huhu Alhamdulilah he basically received an A-Okay for him to come home.. *woot woot* I can't thank his superior enough.. At least now Dia has one parent present at all times, during the night.. hehehe I hope the hubs will be able to manage sleeping with Dia alone.. and more importantly mid-night feedings! The pleasure of Bfing, I don't have to get up to feed Dia.. Again I hope the hubs manage the mid-night feedings and less sleep.. huhu Sorry love!

Things to pack (for expressing purposes):
1. Coolers
2. Ice packs + Technice sheets
3. Marker pen + masking tape
4. Sterilizing tablets
5. Pump (of course!)
6. Containers (for storage purposes as well as sterilizing purposes)
7. Zip lock bags
8. EBM bags
.. did I miss anything?

I emailed SQ re my requirements i.e. will need to use their freezer while in the plane, but they haven't replied me! GAHH!!! And I checked that maximum amount of liquid allowed for hand carry is 100ml each so will need to pack my EBMs in 3oz each..

Things to do:
1. Move half of EBM to freezer downstairs
2. Either move the bottle warmer in our room or the hubs will just make do with Hot water to warm bottles up for mid-night feedings (Hubs, your call!)
3. Download Skype for both Laptops!

Will miss the little one immensely but i hope she understands that sometimes work requires Mummy and Daddy to be away for a couple of days!!! huhu I am both excited and scared! So help me GOD!

her first bruise

Dear Nadia,

Happy belated 13 months girl.. Sorry I didn't write to you yesterday. I was pre-occupied with work.. boo hoo..

When I got home yesterday you were with your Aunty getting dressed and you beamed me a huge smile! I was a pleasantly surprised you did not cry when you saw me.. And when I went to pick you up I realized why you were smiling.. you had a bruise below your left eye! Guiltyyy as charged!!

(can you see her bruise? huhu)

I asked your Nini Girl (NG) what happened and she says that you and Kaka Aniz were playing on a pile of cushion and you missed a step as you try to get back on the ground.. Let this be a lesson my dear and don't do it again my dear. Your Daddy was so worried when I told him last night.. Be careful okay.. Remember not everyone can keep an eye on you ALL the time so you need to take care of yourself okay..

Talking about your Daddy, we have been sleeping alone for the past couple of days as your Daddy has to go away for work.. I hope you understand that sometimes Mummy and Daddy has to leave you for a couple of days to go to work.. So don't cry a bucket when we do and please be good when we are away okay.. Kesian your NG and Aunty if you naughty bah.. hehe

Ok tha'ts it for now.. and please promise me that you will be good..

xoxo
Mummy

Over the weekend..

olaa peeps! How are you guys doing this fine Monday? Here are some photos taken over the weekend..

Nadia received a belated birthday gift from my colleague.. hehe

I mentioned in the previous post that the hubs is away at work.. Se we kept connected with him via phone calls, video calls and occasional visits..

Daddy I Love youu.. (her daddy was on the other side of that phone next to her)

Nadia put the phone on your ear so u can hear Daddy

Mummy, there is a loudspeaker function you knoww..

Kissing the daddy

The little girl woke up at 4.30am, refused to wear her pants after her nappy change, made a mess and then trying to knock the cartoon out of the TV!!!

That morning Dia and i went out with my parents.. hehe

Dia with Nini Boy and Nini Girl

We also made a quick stop at my brother's house.. and this was Dia running away from Babu Irma.. She was happily demonstrating how she can walk by walking in and out of the kitchen to the living room.. hehehe

REUNITED!!!! hehehe in the afternoon we went to see the hubs at his office.. hehe

She also had the sniffles.. This was taken after i gave her meds and she was still playing around with the syringe..

Nite nite daddy

this was taken last night.. all of them were enjoying some sweets hehe

Tag replies:
Tina Adam: hehe Thank you
TC: Awuu.. iatah barijap pasal takut ia gugur
Shopaholic: U should see her do it in real life, lagi siok.. but barijap sikit! haha

P.S. Hubs, We MISS you!!

Walking

Keeping her teeth clean!

Ola peeps! It'll just be Dia and I for the next week or so as the hubs is away for work. And unfortuantely this time around it won't be as easy to see him as last time.. huhu So hubs, expect to see more pics to the little one here (if i am rajin.. other wise FB saja tah hehe)..

Hi Daddy.. This is how i brush my teeth! I start in the front..

.. then I go inside..

And my teeth are all clean and shiny now.. hehehe

Fenugreek overdose?

Dia now has 6 teeth, 4 on the top and 2 on the bottom.. We introduced tooth paste to her and her first reaction was price-less! haha If only we caught it on video.. haha We intentionally picked Banana flavored and I think that confused her kali cause she kept on looking back at her toothbrush! hahaha

What I also noticed these days is that her EBM intake varies daily.. She use to take only 3oz per session but now mum says she needs approximately 4oz+ during her nap. On some days she will be able to finish 10oz per day but on some days she will only take up to 8oz.. My mum reckons her EBM intake is reducing cause she is eating more now.. Part of me is happy cause it means that my stock will increase (providing that i consistently produce) but part of me is a bit sad. my little girl is growing up so fast.. She doesn't need my EBM as much now.. huhu

On expressing side, alhamdulillah i managed 12oz yday, 1oz increase. Could it be from the extra Fenugreek pill I took? Hopefully I continue to increase.. Ok now I wonder if anyone can get an overdose of Fenugreek.. *google* Ok i just checked the bottle and one person can take up to 2 capsules per day.. *pheww* (kenapa aku inda check dulu before taking the second pill? aiyaaaa)

Nadia is still the picky little girl that she is, still showing signs of resistance towards the maid.. The routine currently is that Mum looks after her in the morning and then maid looks after her in the afternoon.. Although ada lah signs of improvement.. I hope i hope i hope that she improves faster cause its stressing me out! bukan pulang apa, payah my mum if she wants to go out, etc etc.. And Kesian my mum ngalih.. huhu

overdrive weekend

My weekend started off with a visit to the dentist on Friday afternoon and then headed to my cousin's engagement. Was a bit surprised when my mum told me my little cousin is getting engaged and i tot, my my they grow up so fast! hahaha

Dia and her Nini girl

Meezah with her future MIL

Getting her bling on her finger

Dia had her first taste of sugar cane/tebu/gelagah and she was on that thing the whole afternoon! hahaha

Dia, Yours Truly, the newly engaged and our grandmother

We headed to aMIRIka on saturday..

A nap

while we were waiting for our green tea frap at starbucks..

Among some of the things we brought to entertain the little girl during the long journey

Playing with her Microphone hehe

Snacking

'Mummy i can seee youuuu'

Still snacking on the way home..

Sunday morning we headed to CA Mohammad to have a quick breakfast before heading to Anjai's place..

Hello Daddy

Ok you can have some of my baby bites

Do i look like Daddy?

My mother made a comment how we never seem to rest, never staying at home during the weekend.. haha it is true.. We spend our weekend going here and there especially over to the ILs as it is the only free time we have.. Last weekend especially I think we overdid it haha I ended up with a headache last night and fell asleep at 830pm!! hahaha could it be that we went overdrive as the hubs will be busy with work next week?? huhu

oh my little girl can now say 'Mummy' *YEAYYY*

Complicated

Stock currently stands at 160oz which means I managed to increase an extra 10oz *yeay* If I were to be away from Dia and she were to take 24oz for a full day, it would mean that my current supply will only be able to last for 6.6 days, i/e I can only go away for a maximum of 6 days otherwise Dia will need to be supplemented with FM. I would, as much as possible keep her on BM, it means that I will need to increase my stock more (increase production) or only go away for a maximum of 6 days..

This has led me to wonder what if I take 2 Fenugreek pills instead of the normal 1 I take these days, whether it will increase my BM production higher.. Currently on average I make about 11oz daily which means I make 2oz more then what I use to make prior to taking the supplement. I guess I can try taking an additional pill later today..

Complicated business lah BFing for working mothers.. hehehe Ok ok I admit it, I make it more complicated.. hahaha (TC: Stop rolling your eyes on me! :P)

I love talking to other BFing mothers re their journey.. Was talking to a friend earlier this week and i found out she makes 32oz per day!!!! THIRTY TWO!!! She expresses Subuh, once at the office and once when she gets home.. I find this very inspiring!! the lazy bum that I am, I only express twice daily during weekdays and abandon my pump during the weekend (yes I only expressed during the weekend that one time *blush*). Hearing stories like this is like hearing a bell in my head that I should put in more efforts.. Yes I should express moreee!!!! haha

I am currently taking a break from working as I decided to stay back during lunch today. I need to get as much work done as possible.. huhu Ok back to work peeps! In case i don't blog tomorrow, have a good weekend ahead of you..

non-constructive comments are not accpeted, thank you very much! *tee hee*

First of all thank you, thank you, thank you for your comments and support...

May I first say that the comment came from someone very dear to me and I know that he/she only means well by his/her comments. It is a perspective issue and lack of information when it comes to merits of BF/BM.. So I don't entirely blame him/her lah ah.. I was mostly venting and I wanted to share the experience with other Mothers out there..

But what I think is wrong is to compare one child/baby with another.. I believe that each baby will develop at their own time.. All babies or rather everyone is unique in their own way.. Some babies walk faster, some babies talk faster.. Mun semua tah baby/anak nya yg lakas, yang dulu, bisai tu eh.. (pls note my sarcasm!! haha)

To pressure the child to do something will not get you anywhere.. I think I learned my lesson here.. I think right before Dia turned one she was walking on her own but sadly she has lost her mojo! We don't know what happened but my mum thinks she might have fell and now she refused to walk on her own. Mesti kami pigang tangan nya.. No matter how we bait her, if we let her hand go she will marah and sit back down. Aiyayayaya!!!! Dia ani make her mummy, daddy and ninis excited tapi cancel! hahaha oh well.. we'll just let her be lah.. nothing we can do if she refuses to let our hands go kan.. hehe

~d~: thanks babe.. hehehe
akina: jangan tah peduli with non-constructive comments jah. banar nya mu.. nda kan di pajal2.. sabar jahhh *Big hugs*

In order to be more green i have created my own Recycling bin for papers lah.. I placed it next to my normal bin.. Placing it next to my normal bin will remind me to segregate papers to be recycled and normal trash! hehehe Here is a picture of it! hehehe

Notes to self:
1. Stock check
2. Send materials to tailor
3. Pick up sample baju

50 of 2010

Our Little family finally had the whole weekend together after 3 weeks.. *yeay*

We kicked the weekend off with lunch at Seri Meradun..

Dia doesn't look too happy does she? haha Me think she is a bit envious of Mummy and Daddy's food.. hehehe

Then a quick stop at Hua Ho Tanjung Bunut en route to Anjai's place

We introduced her to Mr Jolibeeeee...

Eeeeeeeeeeeeee....

Because the cake at Dia's birthday party was popular and we also received a request to bring some when we come over to the IL's place, we decided to buy a whole cake instead.. hehe well mainly because the left-overs abis sudahh.. hahaha

Mainly to Yaki cause he wasn't feeling well during Dia's party and was unable to attend the party..

Cutting the cake, after the birthday song.. (kenapa kalau potong cake mesti ada birthday song? hahaha)

Mummy gimmee more cake!!!

Since Dia is now one, we decided to take her to Jungle Gym! We almost didn't go cause the little girl was asleep and took her time getting up when we got there.. hehe

look at all these colorful balls!!!

Where are we again?

Dia enjoyed this slide! (and mummy tooo... tapi ngalih eh! i was sweating!!)

Upset cause we had to go home

Mummy: We have to go home cause Daddy wants to watch F1..
Dia: Ok Ok.. Nanti bawa Dia main sana lagi ah..
Mummu and Daddy: Ok.. We promise..

Back to reading her book

In the evening Momoi and Meejan dropped by our place.

Momoi and Caca

Noris Irmezan.. Can't believe this boy is almost 10!!!!

I had a great weekend.. with the exception of one incident.. I received a comment from someone that Dia looked very tiny during her birthday party and I was telling that person how Dia did not have any appetite hence why she lost weight.. and then that person said 'Kesian.. Apa jua ganya susu nya, susu mu..' I was stunned! I had to bite my tongue and ignore it but in my head the words were on replay.. Sedih kuuu!!! I am sincerely sad!!! because..
No 1. the perception that FM is better than BM
No 2. the perception that FM fed babies are bigger/fatter than BM fed babies.. I find that this is not entirely true cause i see babies who are FM fed who are not so big and BM fed babies who are bigger in size.. Its the babies nature bah.. Mun sudah andang badan anak ku damit.. kan ku paksa2 ia makan and minum, inda jua ia mauu..
No 3. And whats with the obsession of fattening a baby up? Big/fat babies does not mean they are healthier!
No 4. 'apa jua ganya susu mu' I think anyone will be jauh hati when those words are said to them.. As if my BM inda berkhasiat lah.. huhu

To to other BF-ing mommies out there or those who are planning to BF their babies.. Be prepared to get hurtful comments like this.. I know others who have received even worse comments like how BF-ing parents can't afford FM.. Just bite your tongue and smile.. This is the other side of the journey.. Like i always say If niat kitani tulus and ikhlas insyallah perjalanan kitani dipermudahkan.. Amin..
(apologies for the rather emotional post.. hurtful comments re BFing or rather my BM does not sit well on me..)

Hello April

It seems like every time a new month comes along I am surprised at how fast the time flies by.. Its no different this time around.. So bye March and Hello April..

Enjoying the book given by Aunty Bibie

I think she was showing her teddy the colorful pictures in her book.. hehe

Time to sleep already?

Ok i'll put the book away.. Nite nite teddy..

I read in the paper today that JASTRE is introducing no-plastic day.. Yeayy!!! About time someone introduce this in Brunei! Go Green peeps!!! Personally the hubs and I have been trying hard to use our own bag when we shop but of course there are times when we forget pulang.. hehe oh if anyone knows if there is a recycling place in Brunei, let me know.. We need to send some old papers and books their way.. hehehe

Oh quick shout out to Atein.. Thanks for posting up photos of Dia's birthday party on your blog!! Love the pics and will text you when we decide to go on a road trip to KB ya.. hehehe