June 2017

Gosh ....where has all the time gone to????

I am now at my workstation ,waiting for the kids to report for rehearsals, when I happened to look through some photos. 

It is amazing (and scary) that Furqan is almost 2 years and 3 months old. I can still remember his tiny feet, squishy face and baby's smell and as much I love the current him, I really miss his baby days.

He is talking so much now that I get tired sometimes. Not tired of entertaining him but really, the mouth just gets physically tired. Haha...I definitely feel less lonely when husby is not at home. However , that will also mean that I do not have much "me"time. The only "me' time I have is when husby is home and I get to take a good shower.That is usually after 7pm. I will sometimes purposely take my own sweet time. No , it is not a selfish act because the max I have is usually only 15 minutes. 

But so what? 

I love you , Furqan Haris! 

He is already 19 months old!

It has been so so long.

Many times, I had the urge of posting something up and reviving the blog but it never became a reality.

Work responsibilities have piled up . It would still be manageable if there are just the two of us still, like in the past. I could do work at home at night, and on weekends. It is a different story now...there are 3 of us and most of my time at home is spent entertaining the little prince.

Doing school work at home is hardly in my dictionary now.

Am I complaining? Of course not.

Furqan Haris is the best gift I have been blessed with.

With much swag ...just like Daddy  :) 

Baby's First Overseas Trip!

When Furqan just turned 3 months, I read that the best times to bring babies overseas is before 6 months. They are usually fuss -free - just the usual milk, diaper change, sleep.

I told the husby and we decided the June holidays would be a perfect timing as he turned 4 months. For 2 weeks, we toyed with the idea of Langkawi, Bintan , Bali , KL ...... Langkawi was at the top of my list as I pictured a rest n relax beach holiday.

One morning , while in the lift, I said in jest that I missed the Australian winter and if only we could go there.

And so that was where we headed to ...7 days in Perth!

Us with the lil one. He slept all the way to the boarding gate.

We brought my parents along and that was an added joy, definitely. How I wished the nephew could tag along as well !

He was quite good on the flight to Perth - lying in the bassinet and sleeping when the time came. However, he refused to stay in it when we were going home to SG. Totally refused to. 



Check-ed in at midnight! We didn't want to bring our stroller over so I googled and managed to find perthbabyhire.com.au where we rented a stroller and a bath tub! All we had to do was choose among the many models, pay through paypal and got them sent to the hotel concierge for a small fee. To return , we just had to leave them there too. It was very much worth the money.
We rented the stroller for AUS$40, cannot remember how much the bathtub was  (maybe about $20), for the entire week.
I really hope this service exists in other parts of the world!

One of those rare wefies with mom.

The Quinny that I have always wanted but totally impractical in SG cos of its massive wheels. 

Didn't plan to be matchy matchy ! My Armani jacket finally breathed its final breath right after the trip :( 

The mussels were supposed to be spicy but oh well, as expected, Maggi Chilli sauce is probably ten times spicier. Cannot make it lah  - their definition of 'spicy'!

Love  the fruits and vegetables at the Fremantle market! So so colourful !

We have rarely taken any wefies since Furqan came along.... this is precious ! 

Quinny was comfy enough for lil prince who, obviously, loved the weather too! Very nice to sleep!

I did try to make sure one of us will wear matching outfit with Furqan each time. I don't know, it just gave me that cheap thrill !



He turned 4 months then!

Crazily cute and adorable ! I wish we have winter here in SG. The jacket is from SEED ....and has been collecting dust ever since we came back. Either I try to sell it off on Carousell or we have another baby soon! Heehee

He looks so sad here. I think it was because no one was entertainig him on the bus rides. The buses in Perth were VERY baby friendly. There is a ramp for us to push the stroller onto the bus and practically, EVERYONE gave way to us!

I did not know this initially but some seats on the bus can be folded up. On one bus trip, a few extremely kind souls got up from their seats, folded them and signalled to us to move into the space by the windows!

GOSH! I was really surprised by their generosity and kindness - wonder if we can ever get that in SG, folded seats or otherwise!



So engrossed in watching a sheep being sheared at the wildlife park!



Not sure if you can notice but Furqan was all rosy over there. His fair complexion plus his pink rosy cheeks made him sooooooo adorable that he easily made friends with both the locals and tourists alike! JEalous much!

Everything he has on here was worn only in Perth! Sigh....kids' winter clothes are already expensive and they outgrow them almost immediately. Maybe I should rent out the clothes.

I must must must credit my TULA and my MCM backpack...hahahah! The TULA was really a big help for us to move around quickly without the stroller and when he needed to be hugged /  go to sleep. I had my Fidella ring sling as well but I only used it twice for 30 mins each as I found it quite a hassle. TULA all the way !  :P

And that backpack is just huge enough to store all his diapers, milk, toy etc etc while still ensuring that I did not look like a grubby , frumpy mummy !

Another 'adventure' of taking public transport! We tried out the train to go to Fremantle !

 

Overall, it was a fantastic decision to go to Perth while he was still very young as he was still unable to roll , crawl, walk , make lots of fussy noise ....hehehhehe.....it was pretty easy to take care of him overseas and also in the aeroplane. I am also glad that I could bring my parents over for a holiday after so many years - goal accomplished!

 

Now , I need to start saving up again ....hehehe... we may try the next hols on our own ( just the three of us ) although I am itching to bring my parents to Hong Kong or Japan . LOL

 

Just a recommendation before I end : Quins' Travel is the agency to go for if you are the kind who likes your trips to be customised to the T. We used them for Gold Caost in 2013 and for the recent Perth trip. Thumbs, fingers and all toes UP!  :P

 

Harlow!

He he....I don't usually post such things but just like this so much.. .  so share lor !



Taken at 24 weeks + 3 days 

Is this for real?

First and foremost, let's welcome a new member to my family!

My little brother ( ok , not so little now ) got married to his sweetheart last weekend.

It was a wonderful weekend indeed and I am so so thankful that everything went well. We had so much fun , in actual fact. Hanging out with my relatives was a pretty overwhelming yet enjoyable experience and if I could do it again , I would ! For the fun.

It was tiring actually.

The vendors we had were great and I really hope I can find the time to blog about one or two of them in greater detail . They really deserve the good reviews and recommendations! Let me get over this hurdle of prelim papers marking and then I hope to get down to it .

Everything is going so fast and exciting , for sure.

I must remind myself always to talk to God longer and more often, and be grateful for all his blessings. I am happy , excited, scared and humbled - all rolled into one. ... praying that everything goes well :)

Thank you Allah . Thank you so so so much :)

A Little Time Off

It is very rare that we both get to have afternoon dates. I can count on one hand the number of times we end early enough to have a late lunch outside together.

Yes, contrary to what some people may think, we do not have a half a day of work. That is soooooooooo old school!

Anyway, we managed to have one during that last lap of Mid year exam marking.

We didn't really know where to go so we just drove around for a while and eventually ended at up at The Royals Cafe along Siglap Road.

We have been here once. Besides their already famous cakes, The Royals Cafe is also known for their Mee Siam . I had that for my first visit so I thought I wanted to try something else from the menu.

In the end I decided to go for some chicken meatballs. The fish and chips did not look too appetising on the menu and I did not want mee siam.

It was not bad actually. The home made sauce was tangy and a little sweet at the same time. Maybe not as great as the meatballs at Fika Cafe (ok , drooling at the thought of that!) but enough to satisfy me then.

There isn't much to rave about this place... I guess they should really just stick to what they are good at - cakes! Thank goodness for the great company.

You know, times like this (rare dates with the other half) often make me reflect on life and count my blessings.

As humans, we are never satisfied. There is always something that we wish to have or yearn for. We tend to complain about every single thing; packed restaurants, slow transportation, busy working life and the list really just goes on. We forget about those less fortunate than us and how we are so so blessed to be living here and enjoying the comfortable lives as compared to others. 

Life has not been easy for the two of us; a little more challenging the past couple of months. However, I am really thankful that Allah has blessed me with someone who does not only understand my woes, but to actually go through my hardest obstacles with me - never letting me down , never leaving me unprotected, always, always ,always there for me and showering me with so much love. 

My husband.

I pray to God to always keep him blessed and healthy . Just keep him happy here and  after we part the world.

As for now, I also hope God answers that tiny little prayer of ours :)

I love you, husband.

Montigo Resorts @ Batam

I have never really been a fan of Batam. 

The first time I went there was in 1991 and I hated it so much! I hated the ferry ride, the dusty air, the rocky roads, the throngs of people looking at us like they were going to eat us up....and the list goes on. Food wasn't anything to rave about as well. 

2 years back, we decided to go on a mini weekend getaway with my parents, grandpa, cousin and brother to Batam. Then, I have heard all the hype about their cheap massages and spas and was keen to try them out. 

Many things have changed definitely but it was just too bad... didn't know we are supposed to pre-book all these so in the end, the whole lot of us just went for pedicure which was really really very cheap! If I am not wrong, it was only SGD 6 for the whole works!

We stayed at the acclaimed world-class Holiday Inn Hotel which was just a big disappointment. Thank goodness the great company made up for everything!

During the school hols, my husby suggested Montigo Resorts- a luxurious resort in Batam - to his sisters and their families. He showed me the pics online and all the facilities it has. I was pretty much impressed and was absolutely looking forward to it. 

According to its website, montigoresorts.com, it is where one can expect to be able to leave the hustle and bustle of city life behind, and just be immersed in the peace and tranquility of the resort that is set among lush greenery. The life of luxury. The thrill of adventure. The delight of children.

SOLD!

One thing to take note if you are planning to stay there- take ferry to Batam from Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal , NOT Harbourfont. Montigo Resorts is on the other side of Batam , from the usual busy area. 

Only a 30-min ferry ride!I was tired so I easily fell asleep. This was where we alighted. Because of its exclusivity, people who alighted here were mainly heading for Montigo Resort which is barely 5 mins away from the Nongsa Terminal.

No need to deal with the usual massive crowd at the other Batam terminal. Everything was pretty fast and quick. 

That little girl is Batrisyah ...husby's youngest niece. She is just a natural in front of the camera...seriously a model in the making. 

Open concept lobby. Nothing much we could do here except to wait while husby went to check in for all of us. 

The villas

Because the whole resort is so so big, you've got take the buggy whenever you need to move from one place to another.

We were hungry so we told them to drop us off at the restaurant ....we had a quick mini self-tour before giving up to the growlings of our stomachs (or perhaps, it was just mine....).

One of the pools to chill by....

Such cute carts. These are used for the different stations for breakfast and dinner buffets. 

I love the nautical designs. We were also very surprised by the extremely low prices on the menu. Of course Batam is known for cheap food but this was ridiculously cheap as Montigo is a more upscale resort as compared to the rest of Batam. Servings were satisfactory and taste was a-ok! 

Sorry...no photos of lunch at all! I was hungry and  of all times, had an extremely bad toothache.

The resort is really suitable for people with kids as there were quite a few facilities meant just for the little ones.

Water fountain for the kiddos (and adults) to get wet in. The washrooms are below the play house  ....check out the slides on the ride. They look pretty fun!

Drinks area 

The little girl surrounded by all kinds of toys - Lego, Barbie dolls etc. The first thing I checked was the condition of the toys, in case they were a tad too dirty. But nope, they looked pretty new.

We took the buggy towards our units .. only to realise that they were extremely near to where we were . We could have easily walked lah.

The villas come in pairs. We booked two and were lucky that we were next to one another. 

 Each villa is 3-storeys high and comes with a private pool and deck, seriously perfect if you just wanna chill.

FIRST LEVEL

The spacious living room...can easily fit in one whole family here!

The kitchenette

The common toilet

iPOD  dock

A pool in the balcony! I didn't get into it at all during our stay because my stupid toothache was really driving me mad!

That's Harith , coming down from the 3rd level. I didn't go up but the top deck is meant for barbeques and private parties.

SECOND LEVEL   

There are two bedrooms on the second level , the master bedroom with a king-sized poster bed and another with two single beds. The second room is also fitted with its own bathroom and television set. 

We had the master bedroom! WHeeeeeee! It was pretty big, with an even more massive bathroom!

The bathroom was really huge. They have the separate showers and toilet on the left, the long bar on the right with your sinks and amenities for his and hers, and just space to roll about. Hahah...... I thought the big extra space was  not fully utilised. Perhaps they could have installed a much bigger bathtub or even a jacuzzi to fill it up. 

I absolutely love the dresser and the fact that everything was within reach! The tissue, hairdryer, cotton buds, bin were all within reach without having to move my butt a single inch! Another plus point is how I could arrange all my vanity items in the middle of it all, just bring the mirror down and voila! All looked clean and sleek! This is something to consider when I buy my bungalow in the near future. :P

Photos of the house stopped here. Seriously , my photos don't do the place any justice.

First , I forgot to bring the SD card for my camera (how dumb, right?) and then the toothache just disturbed me big time !

There were no plans to go out to Batam City area as it would take 45 minutes to get there , provided traffic is good. Furthermore we went there to chill and relax, not get caught up in busy traffic. 

Thus the two of us went on with our favourite activity that night - spa visit!

Somehow, the hotel staff did not come with the buggy on time so husby decided to walk. It was a pretty far walk but you know, 7+pm, velvety night sky with some twinkling stars and a bright moon, hand-in-hand with the love of my life.... the walk seemed short :) 

The Spa Villas were in clustered huts and looked so peaceful in the low lights and bamboo furnishings.

Into the world of bliss

The spa massage cost me about $75 for 1hr and 30 mins. It definitely costs much less in Batam City area but cheaper enough compared to what I would need to pay in Singapore , with this kind of ambience.

Chill and sip at their lounge after the massage 

I really wanted to just go to sleep after the massage... hahha... so we called for a buggy. I didn't want to walk all the way back.

It was a very peaceful sleep that night .....ZZZZZZzzzzzzzz.....I love spas.

Early next morning, after the Fajr prayers, we could already hear the screamings from his nephews and nieces next door. Husby decided to have a morning swim in our villa pool . I didn't go down because, I repeat, of my stooooooppiiiiddddddddd toothache. 

The kids rushing through breakfast so that they could jump into the pool again. 

If I had counted correctly , they had 3 main public pools for one to choose from , each complete with the lounging chairs, shades and all.

We only stayed  a night day because the rest wanted to venture into the city to do some shopping. I wouldn't blog about the next hotel in the city because I didn't like it at all.It was a bad choice. 

I would love to stay at Montigo resorts again , perhaps, with my family the next time round. It costs about $500 (SGD) per night and each villa can probably accommodate 6 people. They are pretty sticky about the number of guests staying in each villa so if you are thinking of bringing the whole village to share one, do think it over. You can check out montigoresorts.com for more information :)

Every guest needs to be registered at the hotel lobby upon check in and the buggy will send you to your villa thus, there isn't much space to 'cheat'. Maybe you can squeeze in the kids but for adults, ermmm....go think of something yourself!

Here's ending the post with the pretty Batrisyah....have a good Sunday,y'all!