Little family weekend

Hubby's home this weekend so we've decided to go for a short outing at the mall with Zarra because it has been a while since we both get to shop. With a newborn around, going out or shopping has dropped out of the activity chart most of the time. And this is our first outing without my Mom!

Saying goodbye to the days when going out means checking your hair and make up in the mirror, get the shoes and bags that matches the outfit, then go! That's 30 minutes tops. It can be quite a hassle taking a newborn out. We must have this imaginary check list in our head to get ready her going-out essentials. There's the formula, feeding bottle, extra diapers, hot water, extra clothes, her stroller, her carrier (when she cries in her stroller), the list can be endless with all the "just in case"! But as time goes by and the more often we get to go out, it gets easier to decide what we really need.

Alhamdulillah, Zarra was not cranky at all and she was all smiles all the time! Though she didn't want to nap nor feed. Then she got tired and slept all the way back home and I only fed her once we're home.

Waiting for Daddy to shop

Changed hub's watch battery

Lunch at Sushi King!

With Mommy

And Daddy

Look at those cheeky smile

Me wana try the green tea

It's been a long while. Sashimi!

Noticed how she know's when to look at the camera? LOL... Got myself 2 pairs of shoes for work (Hubby paid! Thank youuuuuuu). HAPPY!

Me like to bath!

No matter how cranky Zarra gets, no matter how high-pitched her voice is screaming her lungs out with me not knowing why (my baby is a firecracker!), when it's bath time - it's always happy time.

Ever since she was born, not once has she cried during her bath. Well she did once, because we forgot to add in hot water into her tub. A rookie mistake!

See that adorable face?

Spending the weekend kissing those chubby cheeks!

Sereni & Shentel Fan Love 2013

Sereni & Shentel posted this up 2 days ago on their facebook page.

They are asking fans to participate and be part of their 2013 Look Book by emailing in pictures of their fans wearing Sereni & Shentel headbands.

And I thought, 'hmm... Interesting!'

I've been a fan of their headbands since a few years back. It started with just admiring their collection for a long time before I made the first purchase. With their prices, their headbands are indeed in a way catered for high end consumers.

Although with that pricing range, Sereni & Shentel has been posting up and publicize numerous promotions over the years making it sometimes very affordable! And this is how I own my very first S&S headband. I would usually make purchases through these promotions, slowly building my very own mini S&S headband collection (still not many compared to a lot others but they are so precious and I'm very proud of it!).

Mental note: Should take a picture of my headbands!

Anyways, so I think hard and search through old pictures and I must say, these headbands has been part of among the most memorable events in my life. So I put the pictures in a new folder, cropped it according to the t&c, and participate!

Here are the ones that I submitted.

  

I got a little greedy and sent in 3! My malam berinai, my anniversary and my anniversary gift from hubby :) Posted the 2 pictures in my previous post too.

I'm not sure if I will be featured in the Look Book but it was sure interesting and heart warming thinking back about my journey being a Sereni & Shentel fan and how it has been part of my life.

So to those out there who are just like me, come on and email in those pictures! I'm sure it'll be so exciting if our pictures are selected :)

Our first Anniversary

Our first Anniversary was last week! Minus the fact that I'm documenting this a week late, oh-mai-god it's been ONE YEAR!

Can't believe we've been married that long already. Being married for a year is definitely a milestone! Glad that Hubby is onshore this time so we get to celebrate. Thing is, we've never gone out at night since Zarra is around and we'd never go anywhere during the weekends without her. So we're not sure how are we actually celebrating.

Thankfully my kind-hearted and full of understanding Mom told us to go out for some dinner and movies, she'll take care of Zarra for the night. The magic words were like music to our ears! Well, we're avid movie goers since we got together years back and even at 7 months pregnant, I was still watching late night movies (very determined though, I usually would be so tired and would have gone to sleep before 10pm).

Unfortunately, towards the end of my pregnancy, there were nothing good premiering so we ended up not watching any until I gave birth. And of course, after giving birth there's the confinement and Zarra. Those were the time when all these hyped up movies are on! We missed Batman, Spiderman (the new one of course) and tons more.

Of course we said YES! Our first date after a oh-so-long time!

The day before our anniversary, Mom surprised us with a mini wedding cake and made her signature spaghetti for everyone at home to celebrate.

 Was home for the weekend so no make up!

 Zarra sandwiched! And not liking it.

Mom even got the wedding dolls! LOL!

Then on the day itself, we had a nice dinner at Shangri-La's Tanjung Aru Resort and Spa and food was superbly awesome accompanied by luxurious atmosphere. Our first dinner date at a fancy hotel (ever!) then watched Resident Evil: Retribution. Good movie, though I was yawning perhaps 4 - 5 times because I was so sleepy. Hubby kept on asking if I wanted to cancel and go home but I managed to stay up and enjoyed the movie. Then home and straight to bed! (Yes, bed. THAT tired)

 With my dear Sayang

Coincidentally, Sereni & Shentel was having a mooncake festival promo that weekend. Now, those who know me knows how I'm a huge fan of their headbands. I could get two headbands worth RM360 for half the price, RM180!  I've been wanting their New Money collection but it was so pricey I hold on to the thought. So this was definitely an irresistible offer. Told Hubby about it and he insisted on getting them for me instead as our anniversary present.

OF COURSE I SAID YES PLEASE! 

Picked the colours I wanted and fast forward 2 weeks later, the package arrived today. I am so in love!

New Money & Mandy!

Immediately tried it on at the office!

THANK YOU HUSBAND! I LOVE YOU!

I'm a Cookie

Chipsmore! Get it? Get it? Now you see me then you don't?

;P

With all my time being occupied then, being pregnant and now having a baby, I almost forgot the existence of my blog. Wonder if I still do have any visitors?

I should have remembered to blog during confinement because I was stuck at home for 44 days with Fashion Valet as my bestfriend. Think you can save money by staying home? Think again!

Since I've been away for so long, where do I start?

I gave birth the next day!

Oh yes! My last entry, I was 6 months pregnant. 3 months after that (though I was 2 weeks earlier than my due date), on 30th June 2012, I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. We named her Zarra Binti Mohamad Zechary. Yes, we did get comments and questions on such a short name but we like it like that. There's no point in giving 3 names when everyone will only be calling her by her first name anyways right? Saves her the trouble of filling in forms in the future too! ;)

Zarra a few hours old with her Daddy

At only 2.75kg, she's the cutest and most adorable thing in the world. I remember feeling nervous and shocked right after seeing her for the first time. I know most would shed their tears of joy, but I didn't. I was probably more shocked and excited! It's such a miracle looking at my baby, knowing she has been in my tummy for 9 months. Now I can see and touch her, and hear her cry! Mashaallah.

She was born at 11.47pm. When she first came out, her eyes were already wide open and everyone was telling me how Zarra was the only baby still awake and moving about while the others were fast asleep or crying. Zarra was there, eyes wide open, moving her little legs and feet quietly. Pictures I edited for my instagram!

And the rest is history :) She's 3 months old last weekend and my baby is super healthy and cute!

She just had her 3 months immunisation jab last saturday. She's 6.1kg now! I hate these jabs babies have to go through. The doctor said 20% of babies who gets the jab will get a fever, so we always have to monitor her temperature. Zarra wasn't cranky after the jab, just very sleepy and weak. Perhaps drowsy. So she slept extra hours last weekend. But come Monday and Alhamdulillah, my baby is back to normal and mighty fine! She went through the jab twice already, she'll be a bit warm the next day but thankfully no fever.

Mommy and Baby Zarra before her 3 months jab

Though she woke up 4am this morning -_-. She's usually up by 5.30am - 6.30am after her midnight feeding that's around 1am or 3am. So I had to be up by 4am too but I can't go back to sleep because once we are done, it's time to get ready for work.

How time flies!

What I miss

My belly is growing everyday and I have finally started walking like I don't care about the world. I tried so hard not to walk like a penguin (to show that being pregnant doesn't mean you should let go of your looks and ways) and tried to keep good posture like I normally would walk but with all these weight now, I had to give in and walk like how nature has intended pregnant women should sway.

There were a few things that I so missed ever so dearly the past months.

1. Heels

I've been wearing the SAME pair of shoes to EVERYWHERE. Mom bought me this pair of slipper/wedge-like shoes from Hush Puppies 4 months ago and it is the most comfortable non-living thing that you could put on your feet! But thing is, it is also the only type of shoes I could wear. And fit-flops of course. I miss wearing different kind of shoes with different colors to match, and heels that aches my feet.

2. Jeans

Yes, JEANS! Maternity jeans don't count because it doesn't make anyone feel sexy. With all those ads from Levis in malls makes it all worse. I look at my skinny jeans in the wardrobe and all I could think of was... "Oh would you still fit me?"

3. T-Shirt

Hmm... this I might be able to fix *rages through hubby's shirts* - Will do!

I can now feel my baby's movement since the past 3 weeks and I get super excited every time she does it! The first few times I felt it, it felt like pop of air bubbles in my tummy. I wasn't quite sure if it was her, or if it was really just air. Then days passes, the movement is getting more frequent especially before bed time. Now she moves all the time - any time of the day!

I wonder how do people start with their list before welcoming a baby.

She's 6 months today :)

Lunch @ Fullhouse

It's been a while since I hang out with my girlfriends, the last time we met was during my wedding! I've spent the past 4 months mostly hibernating at home (was so tired and sleepy all the time not to mention the sickness I was experiencing).

Fullhouse is a cafe that just opened quite recently at Suria Sabah shopping mall. Interior wise, the place looks cosy and englishy and artsy. But since the place just opened, it was quite packed and we had to queue up for a table. Food? We ordered pastas and it's not bad at all. Not the best pastas of course but reasonably alright. Three of us had pasta and the portions were inconsistent. Service? They did warn beforehand that the food was going to be a bit slower than usual because the place is full. The waiters were helpful on checking our orders and some came quite fast while some were slower.

With Dina

Nana's hubby - Bob, Nana & Effy

It was good catching up with them last Saturday. Nana is also expecting and she's due a month earlier! But it's her third, so she's dealing with it like a pro.

Prior to lunch I made it a point to go for a little bit of pampering - a pedicure and a hair wash at the saloon. I just wanted someone to massage my head and shoulders while washing my hair and yes, that felt GOOD! So good that I wish I could do it every single weekend day! As for the pedicure, I can still trim my own toe nails but it'll take me hours and it gets so tiring afterwards that I'll need a nap to rest. So why not?

Fine, it doesn't take me hours but the nap part is true!

Someone was doing my feet while the other was massaging my head... I feel so Tai Tai.

A good weekend indeed! Counting down 4 more days 'til hubby is back :)

Hello 'lil one :)

Most of my family members, closest friends, followers on twitter/instagram already know, but it's such a special news to share it deserves a single post on its own.

Yes, a 'lil one is on her way! :)

I was advised by the elderly not to announce or mention anything too early to anyone in fear that the pregnancy was still very fragile. I must wait until a few more months before we can break the news - thus the silence in facebook, twitter and the blog.

I am now 21 weeks and you read right, we did the gender scan at 16 weeks and it's a SHE! A baby girl is on her way to shine our lives and further completes our little family.

The first 4 months of my pregnancy was filled with morning-evening-night sickness (it comes as it pleases any time of the day!). It doesn't happen everyday though but, I am constantly tired and sleepy. The sickness was so bad I once puked on the table at a cafe during breakfast with my hubby! I thought I could hold and wait a little longer then puke at the office's toilet, but obviously that didn't work. I was so embarrassed and hubby had to apologize to the next table and he said something like, "Sorry, my wife is pregnant" - with the biggest smile on his face.

We didn't visit the place for the next few weeks.

I didn't have as much appetite too. I don't know what to eat and most of the time I'll just eat for the sake of eating because I didn't want it to affect the baby. I later learnt that this was quite normal during early stages of pregnancy.

Going towards the 5th month, I was suddenly fond of brinjals and apples. So much that I had them everyday (Mom nicknamed my baby "brinjal" -_-). Now that I have passed the 20 weeks mark, I'm gaining my appetite back and have started eating my favourite foods again. I still hate plain water unless served cold - it's unusual because I used to love warm water! I'd go to restaurants and only get plain warm water to accompany my meal. I now hate it.

I was slightly struggling during my brother's wedding 2 weeks ago. I had to help out my mom and there were tons of things to do! There were 2 nights where I had to sleep at 3am to settle seating arrangements for the reception and finish up the slideshow. I would normally survive fine, but I'm just so used to sleeping a lot during this pregnancy. Alhamdulillah, everything went well during that wedding weekend and despite being slow prior to that, I managed to cope up with the constant speed that the event requires.

I hibernated for a day after the wedding so all was good again!

During my brother's Akad Nikah day - 18 weeks (yes, hubby on the left)

I'm halfway there, my center of gravity is slowly shifting, and I'm so excited with the baby's development every single day. Can't wait to meet her in July! :)

My Brother's Wedding

I know I have not even done any full length post on my own wedding and here I am trying to blog on my brother's wedding instead! Well, his wedding was just last week and before this entry expires like my wedding entry is, I'm going to blog about it.

Yes, I will still blog about my own wedding. I WILL! Besides, it's my blog so there shouldn't be any expiry date on my own wedding's entry right? Right! So back to the topic...

My brother Andy is now happily married to his girlfriend of 9 years, Farrah and their solemnization was on February 18 followed by a reception on February 19.

A family shot before we leave for the bride's house. We're all wearing green at the groom's side!

With my sister in law, Jesmine.

Alhamdulillah everything went well during the solemnization. Farrah was looking gorgeous and though my brother was very nervous and anxious at first, he managed to stay very collected. He said the lafaz and they're married! And now I have another sister in law!

Right before the Akad Nikah

With the new family :)

Their reception was the next day at The Magellan Sutera Harbour and this time, our family decided on wearing pink. The whole reception has a theme of pink, white and black so we opt for wearing shades of pink and the idea of getting the whole family in the same shades of colour is just awesome (we did the same for my wedding!). You can see pinks walking around the ballroom and when it's family picture time, everyone looks so coordinated.

Hubby and I was made in charged of seating placements for the groom's side and to be at the reception table to usher in the guests. Sad thing was, since I was placed at the reception table, I didn't get to see my brother's grand entrance from inside the ballroom and missed the bacaan doa :( We managed to run away from the reception table just in time for the Merenjis session. But after that, ALL IS GOOD! I can see our family enjoyed the night and the newlyweds looking like royalties at their reception :)

With my reception table crew!

Farrah requested for my brother to sing that night and with all the courage and perhaps all the romantic side of his humanity, he did! In front of 700 guest and our VIP (Sabah's state CM). He sang "Truly" originally by Lionel Richie.

Family picture! This was with our family from Sarawak.

With hubby and his sister.

Here's a Same Day Edit video of their solemnization made by XD visual (our videographers imported from Bintulu!) that was shown during the reception.

For their Solemnization, I was mostly in charged of the doorgifts on our side. We gave away Acar Buah in these jars where we tied it up with ribbons and stick on custom made stickers on the lids. Thanks to my cousin Nazia and sis in law Jesmine for helping out with filling in the Acar and tying up the ribbons!

I designed the stickers for the lids and sent it to a printing company (printing is so expensive in KK. Anyone has any contacts on good and reasonably priced printing companies - KK or KL - do let me know!). Their minimum printing order was 500 pieces but we used only 200+ pieces. So now I have TONS of extras that I'm not sure of it's fate yet.

Farrah did suggest making it as their wallpaper in the bedroom (kidding, of course).

Hmm... maybe it CAN be wallpapers on their bedroom wall.

I'm not serious.

My hubby and I also made their Slideshow for the reception and here it is!

Congratulations Abang Andy & Farrah! Semoga kekal bahagia sehingga ke akhir hayat. Amin!

P/S: Yes, I look different in my recent pictures :) That announcement deserves a posts on its own! So stay tuned ;)

It's no big deal

The issue has gone so out of hand that when you google "Amalina", you'll be directed to Nur Amalina Che Bakri with the first site found is a Wikipedia page made for her with her excellence in her education. But her write up had to be tainted with a one liner that goes "On January 2nd, 2012, controversial pictures, believed to be Nur Amalina Che Bakri. who is currently in her final year, leaked online. She later posted a video online explaining the situation.".

Seriously people? Grow up!

I wasn't aware of the issue at first but our media seemed to have the tendency of shoving things into our face. I thought, oh no what have this girl done? So I got curious and look it up on the internet thinking she might have lost her phone somewhere with naked pictures of herself and some random thief who got her phone has uploaded it on her twitter account (you know, ala Hayley of Paramore style).

Then I found it and I go, that's it?

She was accused of failing in her studies which was not true because she is doing well, still being sponsored, still making education excellence related stuff that she does. However, what concerns our fellow citizens is not her education performance (which made her famous and known in the first place), but how she looked like then when she got her SPM results 4 years ago and now. Biggest concern? She was wearing hijab with baju kurung then, now she has ash brown hair with tights and boots to suit her winter weather. It is so bizarre that the issue made it to the prime time news last night!

IMHO, if it's just because of her appearance, give it a rest and just stop the whole critic party. Stop judging her with all the cynical comments. There are sure more news-worthy material that should make its way to the prime time news.

I'm not her supporter nor am I a fan or agree of her doings but I'm not perfect either. Who are we to judge her faith in God. She might be wrong, but so are the media for blowing things up out of proportions and so are you for being so judgmental. She excelled in her studies then and still doing well now, that matters most right?