Falling Sick

I swear there must be an outbreak of tonsillitis and pharyngitis out there. Every other person from London to India to Abu Dhabi to Malaysia seems to have caught the bug. After my kids and friends caught it, I was sort of bracing myself for my turn to acquire that disease and today, sitting in front of my PC, shivering and feeling extremely fatigue, I have finally caught that darn bug that has been going around. It had decided to infect me just as I was starting to feel neglected and unwanted. :P
Fortunately I was well prepared. I woke up this morning with swollen tonsils and a burning throat. I had to quickly get ready to take Sarah to her classmates party but was already starting to feel quite fatigue (and I just woke up!) That very evening, I felt the fever kicking it and made hubby take me to the hospital where I was diagnose with acute tonsillitis and acute pharyngitis. The doctor said it was quite good that I manage to catch it early because judging by the looks of it, it has the potential to become pretty severe.
I don't like to fall sick especially since I have 3 little kids and a pretty large one depending on me to get things done around the house on top of having a lot to prepare for my trip back to Kuala Lumpur end of this week.
The one good thing about my illness right now is that I can't swallow! I do feel hungry but my throat hurts so bad that swallowing is seriously painful. Hope I'll get to shed a couple of kilos this week. ;)
Anyway, I'm really excited about going back end of this week so I'm not going to let some illness get in the way. I'm going to be strong and nurse myself back to health so I can prepare this delicate throat of mine for some heavy duty consumption of char koay teow and durian! Oh food glorious food! :)

9 Days to Kuala Lumpur

I'm starting a countdown. 9 more days and I'll be back home! It's been almost 7 month since I left Kuala Lumpur for Abu Dhabi. I can't wait to feast on my beloved char koay teow, nasi goreng USA, Johnny's steamboat and durian. No more phrata, nasi beriani or whatever nonsensical food they serve here. Hubby has left for Kuala Lumpur tonight to collect little Hana's passport. The prospect of going home is getting so close that I can even smell Kuala Lumpur. No more sand storm and stifling heat. I'm so looking forward to the heavy downpour they are experiencing in KL. Yay to rain!
I am also looking forward to meeting my little nephew who was born a week ago and to just hang out with my family and girlfriends. I've missed them so much! Although I'll only be in KL for less than 2 weeks, I'm going to enjoy every single second of it. No more cooking or cleaning just some rest and relax and tender loving care from my mom. Kuala Lumpur...here I come!

Planning Mika's 3rd

Since Mika had never had a proper birthday party in his life, I thought it would be nice to throw him one for his 3rd. I had initially planned out a small intimate get together for his birthday, but being me, I tend to over think things and my ideas turned into one grandiose affair. Hubby wasn't let in on the plan and nearly had a heart attack when I told him of my plans ( albeit last minute). Thank goodness my man was a good sport and was very cooperative.
Back in Malaysia, organizing a birthday party was so easy. All I had to do was find the right people and hire them! There was an abundance of caterers, party planners and entertainers. Here, I just didn't have a clue especially being new in foreign country and all. I tried to do some research but what I found was mediocre and ridiculously expensive. So I had to improvise. I had to conjure all my past memories of the birthday parties I had been to as a little girl before the whole party planning mania hit Malaysia.
So I began the task of sorting out the guest list (which seems to grow every time I thought about it..hmm), planning out the menu, searching high and low for a cake maker and devising activities for the kids during the party. Who would have thought that the task to search for a decent loot bag would be one complicated mission? I guess that's one of the cons of living in this hick town called Abu Dhabi.
I've always loved pinatas at parties so I thought, "Why not have one?" We searched high and low for one and when I finally found a shop that sells pinatas, I was astounded to discover that they were selling it for a whopping Dhs180 for one very small pathetic looking pinata! WTF?!!
So I figured, if I wanted a pathetic looking pinata..instead of purchasing one, I'll just make one! I studied the pathetic looking pinata closely to find out the materials they used. Polystyrene, crepe paper and construction paper. "Well, this looks easy enough.." I thought. So after purchasing the materials (I spent like less than Dhs40 for the stuffs, and that included polystyrene glue, glitters and a blades. Sheesh, that pinata shop was truly ripping people off!)
Armed with what little amount of creativity skills I have in me, I started the task of creating a pinata. Half way thru, I was seriously doubting my so called 'bright idea'. Never thought it would be so tedious. No wonder they were selling it for RM80 in Malaysia. If it was up to me, I'd probably charge like Dhs100 for one but Dhs180, heck, I'm no con artist.
After the whole pinata saga, I started to doubt my abilities in cooking for a lot of people. Could I really do it and complete it before the party began? So I did the smart thing and begged some friends to help me out. Luckily they took pity on me and agreed. Those friends of mine are truly god sent. Bless them all!
The morning of the party, I woke up early to prepare the spring rolls, chicken curry, jellies, chocolate fondue and fried vermicelli. On top of those, I had to pick up the cake as well! Perhaps I am taking my super mom aspiration a tad too far. But being one who is always up for a little challenge, I succeeded in completing my tasks in time for the party. However, I ended up looking like a train wreck. I didn't even have time to wash my hair and groom myself nicely for the guests. Well, it doesn't matter really as kids can't really tell the difference. Heck they eat food they pick up off the floor so I'd guess they wouldn't notice your ordinary disheveled mom..
It was a nice party after all. Everyone seemed like they were having fun and most importantly, Mika had a really good time. So all that hard work was not in vain. The kids played pass the parcel, pin the tail on the donkey, dancing statue and not forgetting the pinata. A couple of kids got hurt during the pinata wrecking process. I had thought about blindfolding them at first but I guess it was a good idea after all to leave that out because considering how much damage they could do with their eyes wide open, imagine the damage they would have done when they are blindfold and equip with a weapon. Seriously scary.
I'd say it was an overall successful party. I'm proud of myself that I was able to pull it off. Everything went smoothly except that I forgot to serve the jellies I had painstakingly made that morning. Mika had never receive so many present in his life and couldn't stop gushing about it days after the party.
So I guess I do have it in me to plan a nice party and for that I'll give myself a pat on my back. However, for Sarah's upcoming party, I'm doing it in some playland where I won't have to lift a finger. I'm done planning parties. ;)

Pinning the tail on the donkey. I drew the donkey...not bad eh for someone who had never drawn a donkey in her life :P

Passing the parcel game. The kids were all good sport and willingly performed the forfeits. They displayed a good sense of camaraderie and support for each other.

My pinata!

A happy camper!

Having Hana

I'm now officially a mother of 3. Reading my old postings, I recalled swearing off childbirth after I had Mika but here I am 3 years later with another child and I've discovered that being a 3x mom isn't as bad as I thought it would be.
Found out I was pregnant after hubby got the news of the job offer with Etihad Airways. We had initially decided that I would stay behind in Malaysia with the kids until after the baby was born but seeing that getting a place in a desirable school here in Abu Dhabi is rather difficult, we had to jump on the chance when Sarah got offered a placement in a school of my choice. So being 6 months pregnant at that time, the kids and I had to quickly pack up our stuff and make the move to Abu Dhabi and quickly started scouting for ob-gyns.
Looking for a suitable doctor here in Abu Dhabi was short of a nightmare. The first one looked like a painter and I'm not talking of the artist Da Vinci sort of variety. This one looked like she worked in a construction site with her dirty stained denim overalls. Yup, she wore denim overalls to work. So she got scratched off my list even before I saw her...I didn't even bother to give her a chance...first impressions does matter.
The second one was this old Iraqi man. He had a very thick accent that I couldn't make out whether he was speaking in English, Arabic or whatever language for that matter. I had to give 100% concentration when he spoke trying to look for clues or keywords to even attempt to guess what this man was saying. In addition to that, he was rough and had the largest pair of hands I've ever saw in my life! So that one is definitely out of my list.
I've almost given up when hubby decided to take me to this new hospital at the airport road. I felt certain that all the doctors here in Abu Dhabi was a lost case but went anyway since I was already 8 months and didn't have much of a choice. When I inquired at the reception of a female doctor, the one that was available could only be available 3 weeks later, Feeling seriously dejected, I asked the receptionist if there was any other doctors who was immediately available. She told me that they had 2 men doctor but one was away on leave so would I like to see the remaining doctor? What the heck...what do I have to lose? So I agreed and there was my chance encounter with Dr. Marwan Kamil.
So fate had stepped in and here I was with...lets just call him Dr. Hottie. ;) This doctor was a babe! Gosh , he is truly one very handsome man, not too old, perhaps in his late 30s or early 40s, quite the gentleman and was most impeccably dressed. In addition to that, when the man spoke, I could understand every single word he said. I am blessed!
We had build quite a good rapport between us and I was so comfortable with him that he even made the whole birthing experience quite pleasant! I had a normal vaginal delivery without any sort of medication!(Nevermind that the baby was overdue and I had begged to be induced to get me out of my misery..LOL :P) I was sober and alert throughout the whole thing and actually really listened to my body. I could even laugh and joke with the staffs and the doctor in between contractions and the pushing part.
The doctor also commented that I was a most cooperative patient, quiet, confident and very composed. He admitted that he was very impressed. What he didn't know that I had to force myself to maintain my composure because I didnt want to look like such a wimp in front of Doctor Handsome here. :P
Baby Hana (I wanted to name her Maya actually and had been calling her that until the 8th month of my pregnancy but due to some glich, she is now named Hana) was forced out into the world after being 8 days late on the 20th of December 2008 at 7.30pm weighing a hefty 3.6kg and measuring a good 50cm. Welcome little baby, I'm truly most happy to meet you! :D

Welcoming me back to Blogosphere!

I haven't blogged for the longest time. And now that I've decided to return to blogosphere, I've discovered I couldn't just picked up where I had left off. I had made a few attempts to blog, but just couldn't find the words or even the heart to write. I even started a new blog only to have it deleted because I discovered I had a huge case of writer's block and starting a brand new blog won't cure it.
I discovered so much changes to blogspot and decided if I wanted to start blogging again, I'd perhaps start with changing the look of my blog. Then I came across my old postings and got curious what in the heck did I write about previously. I started to read all my posts and recalled so many forgotten memories. Those posts made me laugh and cry as I started to recall my past experiences. When I looked at the date, I was shocked to discover it dated back to almost 4 years ago back in 2005 while I was carrying my second child Mika.
Now I've found a reason to return to blogging. To document my thoughts, feeling or whatever so I'd never forget. Thus here I am, continuing where I'd left off after a very, very long break.
So much have happened since my last post. I have completed my studies, sold my home, see my little sister get married, relocated to Abu Dhabi, made some wonderful new friends, have had my third child and celebrated both hubby's 39th and my son Mika's 3rd birthday.
It's been 6 months since I made the permanent move to Abu Dhabi. Although apprehensive at first, I found myself to be embracing the norms of this country. Sarah started a new school and I'm happy to report that she is thriving in this new environment. Mika isn't the little baby I keep thinking he is and has grown to be quite the cheeky little fellow. My new baby Hana is absolutely beautiful and with the experiences I have gained through raising the other 2, she seems so much more easier to handle thus making it so much more pleasurable to take care off.
Today I was greeted with the wonderful news that my little sister just gave birth to her first child. A little boy she and her husband had decided to call Imran. I feel bad for not able to be there for her but if the saying is true, distance makes the heart grow fonder, I am truly looking forward to our reunion in April and to meeting my brand new nephew whom based by the MMS my sister sent me, is truly one gorgeous baby.
Being in Abu Dhabi, I am able to experience an enjoy a better quality of family life. After reading my old posts, I began to recall how much hubby would usually shy away from spending time with the family, prefering to hanging out with friends till the wee hours of the morning instead. Here, he is almost constantly with us whenever he is not flying thus becoming more and more attached and hands on with the kids.
I've so much to write about and can't wait to continue asap. For the time being, I'll just be contented with the fact that I have found the heart to blog again. Welcoming me back to blogosphere. :)