Colosseum

I am blogging from the historical city of Rome!

We were expecting cold rainy weather on arrival but for some strange reason the weather has been tremendously sunny. It was around 20′c at one point and here we are in dressed in winter clothes

Aidan is also enjoying is first experience in Italy and has been behaving very well, thank god.

I will write again soon with more photos, tadida!

Help, Aidan’s crawling everywhere!

My oh my, leave him for 10 minutes and the next thing you know – he’s under the radiator or stuck between furniture or biting my SLIPPER!

With the constant chasing, my days are getting busier leaving me absolutely no time to do anything – ie BLOG. And I miss reading too. A lot.

And looks like we have to start baby proofing the house very soon,  I caught him tweaking the amplifier twice already!

I am also making sure that he’s dressed in good crawling clothes so that his knees and elbows are well protected.

Getting cheeky with the camera

Last week he was getting a little hyper in the house so we brought him out for a walk – it’s so much easier to handle him when he’s in a stroller.

Here’s a picture of us trying to take a photo with the moving train.

This train is so cool, it doesn't need a track.

Anyway, Big bro and family have safely arrived in London last Thursday and I hope they survived the storm on Saturday.

They’ll be arriving in Dublin this week and I hope they don’t bring along the weather with them. There has been some sunny spells lately which is rare for November.

Can't wait to bring my nieces here!

I can’t wait to meet them – my nieces are such great babysitters

Aidan’s been jumping in our arms for a while, so we thought we’d give this a try – the Jumperoo!

So far, he’s loving it that he could spend a good 30 minutes jumping and jumping to his heart’s content!

It’s a great way of keeping him occupied whilst I’m in the kitchen making meals.

The downside? The music can be pretty irritatting after hearing it over and over again

The little one is taking his morning nap now giving me about 20 minutes to do up this post.

As promised here are some photos from the open house. After browsing through my camera, it turned out that I didn’t have that many photos after all *LOL*

To be honest, I was pretty nervous at the thought of  inviting friends over as the house was nowhere near ready. All we had was a kitchen that was 70% complete and a bedroom which only had a bed and a wardrobe. I only knew mum had placed her old furniture when I arrived in KL.

So that was why I handed out those invitations 3-4 days before, talk about last minute!

It was great to meet-up with all of  you after all these years especially Raz whom I haven’t met since those London days in 1998 or was it 1999??

And to Miss Cream who drove from KL- Ipoh for a friend’s wedding,  back to KL and arrived just in time for our do. I’m amazed that your kids are so well behaved after that really long road trip!

First to arrive was Mother of 3!

Princess Kiki has grown a lot since I last saw her

i've known her since our CBN days

Ithink I have like 10 shots of this particular photo. Didn’t know where to look, there were far too many cameras!

Another cam-whoring session in the house - oh so many babies!

Am envious of these 2 who have a full mop of hair whilst Aidan has none!

Momster and Dydd, I hope you didn’t go home hungry

To the rest : Coffee-junkie, Krezijexx, Nadio, Mummy-O, Tun – Thank you all for coming, I know some of you had many other obligations with the raya season going full force at the time.

And not too forget the lovely gifts and duit raya for Aidan, it was very much appreciated!

Hope to see all of you again next year!

ps: For some stange reason the quality of the photos are not great when I upload them here. Hmmm…

Aidan celebrated his first Halloween last weekend and I had a fun time dressing him up.

A few days before the celebration, I actually had my mind set on a pumpkin but I couldn’t find one that was appealing enough. So we bought him a spider outfit only to find out at home that it was too small for him.

I was on the brink of giving up but at the very last minute I found one that I instantly fell in love with.

The Alien from Toy Story

It was nearly impossible to take a photo of Aidan as he’s getting so wriggly nowadays.

This was the best shot

Aidan's so wriggly!

So off we went to a friend’s place for a Halloween Dinner, it was nice to meet-up with everybody again after the trip home to Malaysia.

The neighbourhood was filled with children dressed-up as witches, ghost and ghoulies. It was a joy seeing kids going from house to house screaming ‘Trick-or-treat’ and the decorations were spooky and scary too!

Our friend didn’t miss out on decorating her home and I especially loved the lighted pumpkins lined-out on her balcony. I really should have taken a photo of the kids trick-or-treating at her house. Apparently there were more than 30 kids that came to her house that night and she was very well prepared with chocolates and sweets.

Halloween Deco

My biggest regret was not bringing Aidan out with the bigger kids thinking he’s only 6 months but there’s always next year. Besides, he’s too young for sweets!

With the lovely host

The photos were taken with a point and shoot camera so the quality isn’t great.

The night was rather warm too and that’s why Aidan only had the head gear on.

Without the bodysuit, he looked more like Shrek!! *giggles*

The comot alien with fellow earthlings

The other 2 kids here are so adorable, don’t you agree ?

One angry alien (shrek ???)

We had a great time and the dinner was great nonetheless. Looking forward to next year’s Halloween!

ps: I know I still owe you an entry on the open house!

Phew, it’s been quite a week.

My jetlag was terrible this time round – waking up at 3am and in bed by 6pm. It took me a couple of days just to get over it. It didn’t help that Aidan was down with a terrible bout of flu ( his first! ) that I had to give him a dose of antibiotics. It did the job though and he’s now back to his chirpy self.

He was in this state for the first 2 days we arrived back in Dublin

All the smiling on the plane took a toll on his health

My laundry and cooking is also now back on track.  5 loads of laundry and imagine all the drying, folding and ironing that came with it too. The kitchen is also up and running, I couldn’t take another day of takeaway!

Anyway, I had meant to put up photos of our trip but never came round to doing so as things have been a little chaotic around the house.

In brief, the trip home was short, memorable and very meaningful as it was our first time living in our new home. It was also our first raya as a family plus I have not been back for Eid since 1999.

Mom was generous enough to give us her old furniture so we felt comfortable living in the new house. We had 5 days to make the house look more decent for Aidan’s aqiqah so you can imagine the mad rush to buy lights and fans.

Amidst all that fiasco, mom and I were on another mission to buy gifts for the Marhaban ladies and guests.

We were expecting a group of 15 ladies but suddenly at the very last minute they confirmed a bus load of 35 will be attending the do. So there was another panic of  ‘What should we get for them?’. Mom finally decided to buy them kain so we bought 35 x 4 meters worth of kain baju kurung!

At the same time, I was organizing little gifts for guests which included chocolates and cookies. Smallhouse Cookies and Coochicoo did a brilliant job on the orders that I would gladly take them again for another occasion, they were efficient thankfully. And it also turned out that the lady who runs Smallhouse Cookies was a friend of my SIL, the name Enolil was too familiar to her What a small world!

3 days before the aqiqah we went to back to Tapah to pay a visit to Nenek’s kebun. Hubby, all dressed in army gear went in search for batang pisang ( to place the bunga telur ) as shown in the photo below.

Hard at work- ada macam macho sikit

A day before the big day, we were busy moving furniture around, arranging and rearranging carpets every single corner of the house.

We had less than 12 hours – tired and drained but the show must go on.

Putting-up fairy lights

One knackered Usu, 2 nephews, 1 Hitler

The big day came and Aidan was all dressed in princely garb. Unfortunately the baju melayu that mom bought for Aidan was a little too big so out came the emergency romper and satin shoes that I had bought for him from Ireland.

My biggest regret was not taking a photo of him individually, infact to be honest we had taken very LITTLE photos being the host.

I know my uncle took some great shots – there was one photo of the 3 of us that I must, must get hold of.

An hour into the ceremony, he demanded to be carried.

Aidan being Aidan, he decided to show his true self an hour into the ceremony by wailing his heart out.

So daddy came to the rescue and carried him around. It was already well  into his nap time so I don’t blame the boy for being cranky.

He managed to stay quiet in Daddy's lap

Whilst all this was happening, Aidan’s cousins were happily playing badminton behind our house.

This was obviously more exciting for them! Mana laa datang raket ni ? Sorang tu siap lengkap berbaju melayu!

Despite little hiccups here and there, overall we were happy with the ceremony. Eventhough we had taken very little photos, the happy memories will stay with us forever. Thanks to everyone who gave us a helping hand especially to Big Bro and SIL who went on a special quest to look for paperbags that fitted our taste and budget, it was very much appreciated!

And finally a photo of one of the gifts for the guests – I will try and take a photo of the rest when I get the chance.

The personalized chocolate

The last minute paperbag

And by the way, the show didn’t end there, we had an open house that very afternoon. I hope to put up the photos in my next entry!

Sound asleep in the bassinet.

We have arrived safely in cold and rainy Dublin.

Hubby was at the airport to pick us up and hugged Aidan the minute he saw us. I must get used to the idea that I am now second in his life

Aidan proved me wrong by being such an angel on the KL-London-Dublin flight and gave big smiles to everyone passing by on the aisles. Traveling alone with a 5 month old didn’t turn out to be a disaster after all.

He happily played with his toys and adored the constant attention from the elderly English couple sitting across us. They gave him plenty of tickles on his belly!

Anyway, this morning I was already surfing Air Asia looking-up for cheap flights but deep down I know that was the heart talking and not the brain..hehe.

It usually takes a few days before I start to feel ‘normal’ again in this place that I call home for the past 12 years.

Alrighty, will post when I get the chance – I have so much housework to do, it’s unbelievable!

I am in my S.O.S  mood.

We will be heading home next week and does anyone out there know where I can get cheap, affordable readymade baju kurung ? So far nothing in my wardrobe fits! Mom also mentioned she bought Aidan his first baju melayu and I hope it fits him like a glove, if not – where can I get a decent baju melayu for a 4/5 month old ?

Despite getting all excited about our trip home, I am very nervous about the very long  journey. My biggest worry is his frantic screaming and I am all for sedating the little rascal on the flight if he gets a little out of hand but the daddy has strongly opposed the idea. So looks like I will have to pack his favourite blankie, toy and pillow along to recreate his bedroom scene in that tiny little bassinet, I hope it works. And that’s not counting the pre-sterilized disposable bottles and bibs, nappies, jammies etc that I have to lug too. Oh dear, oh dear – Wish me luck ! Any tips ?

I won’t be having much of a raya celebration this weekend as hubby will be oncall on Friday and Sunday eventhough we have been invited to a few houses. I’ll see how it goes. There’s so much to settle – we called the gardener over yesterday to mow the lawn which was looking rather desperate and Aidan also just had his 4 month vaccination and has been feeling rather contrary. He woke up twice in the middle of the night with a burning head. For the past 2 months, he has been sleeping alone through the night with no feeds, so last night was pretty alarming that he demanded a cuddle and that’s what he got, poor boy.

I am slowly organizing his Aqiqah from here – ordered little favours but I have yet to reconfirm with the people. I have warned mom to not bother about a decorated crib as the hefty boy is already rolling, topsy turvy! We have been joking about putting him in his bumbo seat but knowing him, he’ll be squirming to get out after 5 minutes. That’s why its best to have the Aqiqah when they’re 7 days old when all they do is sleep, hehe.

And…I haven’t come round to emailing you people about our open house! Now I wish I have Facebook, makes life easier. I hope to do so soon-ish (not Facebook)  so do check your email! If not, I have to rely on Momster for everyone’s number.  (How come I only have her number ?)

Some time this week I have to start packing our clothes, send the car for servicing, vaccinate Pepper ( I hope she doesn’t get a fever too) and prepare her food and lodging, clean the house as we’re expecting guests on Monday , iron hubby’s work clothes as he will be coming back to Eire earlier, juggle a very demanding 4 month old baby AND trying to read Dan Brown’s latest!  I know I can hire a babysitter as all of it can be done in a day or 2, but at the same time I know it’s feasible if planned accordingly. And then there’s raya too!

Okay, if you don’t hear from us – Selamat Hari Raya and Maaf Zahir Batin! Have a safe journey balik kampung .

Sorry no formal raya photo of the 3 of us on the sofa and I hope this will do- a pleasant walk in the park before heading off to a friend’s iftar last Saturday.

He kept looking away !

We wanted to take a photo of Aidan in his Harvard tee to give to my father but he was getting too distracted by the other tourists. I caught his Tok talking to him when he was just born  – ‘Nanti bile besar masuk Harvard macam Tok!’

You can be anything you want Aidan as long as you love Mommy! hehe.

Future Harvard Freshman ?

Lovely garden - I wish my lawn is as green as this

And finally now he decides to look at the camera!

ps: All this written in 15 minutes and me sounding like a choo choo train.

Honestly, I was waiting for this day to come so I packed Aidan into the car and drove into town hoping to catch some sun.

He needed the fresh air badly, being all cooped-up at home isn’t healthy for a 4 month old.

We took a walk in the park and regretted not bringing the dSLR- I could have taken plenty of photos!

So here are some shots of Dublin from my iPhone and me feeling like a japanese tourist.

I love everything about this park

I would always recommend a trip to this park if you’re planning to come to Dublin.

If you’re lucky and the day is sunny,  grab a sandwich in town, pick a spot and just take in the scenery.

I used to feed the ducks here back in my college days

Birds eye view of the entrance of the park

I took the photo above from the top most window of this building,

St Stephen's Green SC

Shopping and dining is great too – plenty of shops, boutiques and restaurants or you can just walk along Grafton street and be entertained by the street musicians.

Oh, can I just include one photo taken last year – just around the corner from the park is a lovely theatre where you can catch some great shows. My last one was Riverdance.

This photo is pretty sentimental - I didn't know I was already 6 weeks pregnant with Aidan! No wonder the dress was a little too tight. I can't wear it now

Back to my story, today while I was just traipsing around town exploring every corner, I found a really lovely children’s boutique selling really cute clothes and toys. I must make a trip there again.

Another view of the city

You don't have to go to NYC for a Horse and Carriage ride

Anyway, I bought a little gift for a friend who just gave birth to a baby boy called Mohd Affan last week. We’re planning to pay them a visit this weekend.

Aidan got one too, aren't they cute ? You can actually wheel them around.

Daddy came home from work and turned Aidan’s name around.

It took me 4 months to realize this...teehee

So that’s a little tour of Dublin if you ever plan to come to this place.

The walk  ( and the window shopping ) did us both good, felt a little refreshed.

The sun was definitely a mood-lifter, it’s so easy to make me happy

We bought this playgym when Aidan was 4 weeks old and he still loves it till today.

Every morning before his feed, I would give him 10 minutes of belly time  even though he absolutely hates it. So lately, I would put the playmat right in front of the TV hoping he will keep his head up longer.

I had the camera out the other day and almost got a photo of him looking at me through the mirror.

But he got distracted by the Disney Channel

Bonding with the animals

Alrighty, it’s another hour before we head off to a friend’s house for iftar and I need to do a little packing.

Earlier, I managed to prepare a quick and simple dessert for the feast tonight.

scoop, scoop into the little jelly cups

My aunts in Taiping went crazy over these during our trip home 2 years ago,

as it is so easy to make them and tastes yummy too!

So nowadays my mom would make sure I bring a couple of packets to Dublin.

Mango Dadih - almost ready to be chilled in the fridge

ps: Happy Merdeka Day!