28th Birthday, Alhamdulillah.

I turn 28 today, Alhamdulillah!! Yeah I'm not one who would conceal their age. Haha Thankful for the hours,days and years given to me for me to constantly change to become a better person. Shukur!

Anyway, Iskandar isn't the present type of person but he came home with a bouquet yesterday and handed it in front-ish of my brothers and his family ;) Those who knows me would know that I won't go all "awwwwww!! Hugs kisses". Haha but instead I said, "it's not today it's tomorrow" and we just laughed it off. I'm ego like that but deep inside....... :))

Anyways, to a great year ahead! Amin!!

"Khalid 3 years old" :)

**Oh no! Can't believe this post has been in my drafts for almost a month!! Khairaldin is exactly 3yrs 1mth today!**

Khalid Khairaldin turned THREE last Saturday! Alhamdulillah! We did a pre-birthday party for Layina and him in Malaysia because, other than moving back to Malaysia for good, we don't see any other time that we can celebrate his 'birthday' with his cousins. Being a June baby means it will always be school term on his birthday. So, no more time off after this seeing that he will start nursery in September, InshaAllah! How fast has that been??

THREE years?! I can't get over it, seriously. I mean even the first year birthday was a big deal and now to know that he's still growing healthily is just unreal. Don't mind me, I think I'll be writing this same thing every time it's his birthday. Haha Yes, I don't think I can ever grasp the fact that I am now a mother of two toddlers and later on even teenagers! SubhanAllah! Alhamdulillah!

So anyway, we didn't really do much on his 3rd birthday. He doesn't even know it's his birthday and I think he's still too young to understand what birthday is all about. We brought him to ASDA to let him choose his own cake but ended up he wanted a 'Yoda' cake because his Uncle Ha loves Yoda. So yeah, he had no idea what birthdays is all about. But hey, what is birthday all about anyway? Why do we feel so special on that certain day? For myself, I have grown out of birthday celebrations. Last year's birthday, I decided to send gifts to Mom and Dad instead because they have been there in my life since day 1. I don't feel anything special on 12 October other than feeling thankful for still having my parents by my side up till today. Alhamdulillah. As soon as it's 1st January, I will automatically declare my age as 1 year older than the last. Even though some would say I'm not even a full year yet. Erk, really it doesn't matter to me. It's just a number. The older I get the scarier it becomes because I know I have done so much and it makes me wonder what have I done to prepare for the hereafter?

As for Khairaldin, Layina (and future children InshaAllah) we are teaching them to not make a big deal out of birthdays. Yes, we will celebrate. Because it is a very good excuse to get people to gather and serve them some food. It's encouraged to have guests around every now and then to keep a good relation. So the 'party' isn't a big deal. What we normally tell our guest is that it's just a small gathering and because some of them know it's the kids' birthday, they would instantly say, "oh is it for Khairaldin and Layina's birthday?" We will say yes, but will insist on them to  come with no gifts at all, be it toys, clothes etc etc.

We've never bought Khairaldin a birthday present on his so called birthday. No, we are not such evil parents who do not get their child anything. Haha We just don't want him to always expect presents on his birthday. It will come to a point where he wouldn't even appreciate the gifts. Also for the guests, we know sometimes people do have financial difficulties. If we invite them as a birthday party they would think that we are expecting gifts. This will then make them feel bad not bringing anything. So we strictly tell our guests, "no present please". This not only save them some money but also save us from having to throw away the wrapping papers, boxes, etc. :)

Last week, at Khairaldin's school, I overheard mothers talking about birthday gifts. She was complaining how she had two of the same presents because there isn't that many toys for that certain age group. So yes, that's just a waste! As for clothes, not all kids grow according to the sizes referred by the store. Khairaldin for instance, is still wearing 18-24months clothing at 36months! So just imagine that. If people were to buy his aged clothes, how long have I got to just keep it in the wardrobe till he grows into it?? It'll take space and when the time comes, it might not even be in a good condition.

Alhamdulillah, so far this birthday presents arrangement seems to work. I couldn't thank Iskandar for coming up with such brilliant idea! Today, I was cleaning their toy room and the amount of toys they have got is just ridiculous. Not that they play with all of it or even any of it. They end up playing with our things. Like for instance Khairaldin has a toy microphone but both Layina and him will end up playing with our USB mic for the Wii game. So it's just a waste to get them a toy thing as we know it will not interest them much.

We are the type that will buy things when it is needed. Khairaldin might not be interested in any toys now hence it'll just waste time, money and space to get him a present just because it's his birthday. When he wants something, InshaAllah we will try and get it for him. Alhamdulillah he is not the kind that wants everything and anything. We brought him to toys'R'us thinking of buying him one of the big electronic cars, but he ended up didn't want it. Ok he did want the £300+ Ferrari ones, but when we say it's expensive he understands and don't bug us for it. Masha'Allah.

I pray that he will continue to be the guy that he is today! The boy that thinks for others (like wanting to buy Yoda cake instead of something he personally like), understands the value of money and not waste it for no reason, realises the true way of celebration/gathering according to the Islamic way and of course my constant du'a for him to become a great Muslim. Ameen!!
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Sneak peek- Khalid's lego birthday cake & Layina's cake pops

Celebrated Khalid and Layina's birthday today because he wanted to wait for Daddytok and Nana to be here. Alhamdulillah it all went well. Managed to catch up with old friends, had some real good fatty food..If I may say so myself. :)

Anyway, we're super tired! InshaAllah will blog more soon. Enjoy the home made cakes...well, at least just the pictures :)

ONE year later......

SubhanAllah! Our babycake turns the big ONE today!! Alhamdulillah shukur for having the chance to be with her 24-7, to breastfeed her until today and to basically just be there with her all the time. As years go by, there's only one thing I don't want to feel which is; regret. Family values doesn't seem to have its value anymore these days. You hear about people breaking relationship with their blood-related family like it's not a sin anymore. I don't want to witness all of this when my children are bigger, AMIN! I want them to know how much they love each other and how much they truly do care about each other from the day their sibling was born until today. However, there's only so much I can instill in my children's mind and that is why I am really thankful that I am here with them during their infant and toddler years. The years where they learn so many things and to know that they are looking and scrutinizing my every move make me wanna improve myself even more.

So Aizah Layina, remember that you are one of the lucky children to have your Mother and Brother with you during your first year. Abah didn't get the chance to be here as much as he'd love to but believe me, it is all for our family's own good. When he gets back from work, he will always pick you up and play with you, that is your Abah's love for you and your brother. Alhamduillah! Babycakes, remember that you will always be our baby no matter what. We love you so much and really grateful that Allah gave us the chance to love and care for you. Alhamdulillah shukur. Last but definitely not least, Mommy and Abah will constantly pray for your well being in this dunya and akhirah. We will always want the best for you. I LOVE YOU SO MUCH and I always will! There will come a time when you will disagree with me and we might end up fighting but dear, just remember I am your Mother and what I have gone through to bring you up until today. Again, I love you Sayang and I always do. :')

Happy 26th Birthday, Iva! :)

Alhamdulillah! I've just turned 26 years old on the 12th of October. After being a Mom for 1 year and 4 months, I have come to realise that birthdays aren't such a big of deal. I used to always want to celebrate with my friends and have parties. But now, I feel like it's not something for me to celebrate. It's more for my Mommy. After all the hard work she's gone through during pregnancy, labour, bringing me up, I feel that she should get the recognition rather than me. Not to say I'm not glad, but I'd rather not make it a big deal for myself.

Anyway, Iskandar's family is so used to NOT celebrating birthdays. He's all 4 boys in the family and yeah, boys being boys, they couldn't care less. So they are used to only getting birthday cards and I thought that's cool. So we're starting the trend too. We'll only get birthday cards and no presents. We've started with Khairaldin at least :D. We feel that we don't need that one day to buy something and be spoiled. Alhamdulillah, with the money that we've got, we have managed to spoil each other every month, at least. Not anything big, but just spend if we feel the need to.

However, since I'm the only 'Queen' in the house. Iskandar felt the need to spoil me, none the less. So he surprised me with 2 cards! One from Khairaldin and one from him. I was putting Khairaldin to sleep and he tried to sneak the card in Khairldin's hand to pass to me. Of course I went all teary eyed!!! Hehehe The wordings, spot on! Loved every bit of it. Even though it was just a card, I really felt good receiving it!! The gesture of him giving it to means so much more than buying expensive presents.

Well it didn't end there! He also suprised me with a bouquet of flowers and lilies had to be part of it! :) We also went out for lunch and later had an evening family nap! 'Twas bliss!!! Later for dinner, I cooked for Mom and Dad! My day ended well, Alhamdulillah. I want nothing more in life except for great health and knowledge to bring up my family the Islamic way so we can live happily in here and the hereafter! Amin!!



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Raja Khalid Khairaldin's first birthday party!

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY OUR DEAREST LOVE, KHALID KHAIRALDIN!
Love, hugs and kisses always and forever, Abah & Mommy

*click on pictureSSSSS to enlarge*

So, as you'd already know by now, it's Khairaldin's birthday on the 16th of June. We had a mini celebration with the family on his 'actual' birthday. I made Soto and just bought an off the shelf cake. Since his birthday was on a weekday, we had to rush the celebration as my nephew and niece had school the next day. We settled down by 9p.m. Small and simple. He loved it! (You could tell from the video that I'll upload soonest, Insha'Allah). When we sang the birthday song to him, he actually hummed as if he's singing it too! He was so happy and smiley the whole time. I know he doesn't understand a thing but somehow he knows the spotlight was on him. He was also being demanding all day! It was after all his day, so we, sorry I, gave in to him endlessly. :)
At first I planned to have his BBQ party on the 20th of June since it's a weekend. But my parents had some events to attend to so I changed it to the week after-27th June. My plan was to only invite the family and my cousin from Manchester. But my dad insisted to invite the neighbours as they are Muslims and since it's BBQ, it'll be rude not to. So we did. The number of people was still within our budget because my cousins + family had to cancel at the very last minute.
I had a rather ambitious plan on wanting to bake his cake! You see, the only cake I know how to bake is Moist Chocolate Cake. I got the recipe from my senior. Thanks Kak Nad! So on Saturday, I went to my brother's place to use his oven. Our oven is a bit weird so I opted to use theirs as I don't want to ruin the cake (at least that's my excuse). When I arrived their place, they were out. Confidently I set the oven to its setting. All done, mixture sorted. Started baking. I had the Number 1 cake idea for quite a while. It just looks so easy to do. Well, for someone who bakes once in a blue moon, everything seems haywire and difficult!!!! :|
I needed 3 rectangle shaped cake tin since that's how the number will be designed. Instead of using one cake mixture and separate them into 3, I did one cake mixture into one cake tin!!! Obviously when it raised, it overflowed because rectangle cake tins are just too small in height and depth! Also the mixture measurement was for normal round cake tin. So like it or not, I had to throw that to waste. I made another mixture and this time separated them into 3 containers. Alhamdulillah it raised perfectly. Now, by this time my bro + SIL arrived home. Little did I know, the setting for the oven was wrong!!!! I set it to GRILL setting instead of oven. Hence the cake being baked just the top and bottom not the inside. Setting changed. All ok. Let it set. Alhamdulillah, all in all it was perfect. Except the top and bottom bit became cookie like rather than cake! My li'l brother loved it though. He had 3 huge slices! Most of it was only just being served to him. Don't know whether he's just being nice or what. LOL!
My sister in law also baked some cupcakes. I wanted Elmo cuppies because that's the only cartoon character that Khairaldin knows and is really fond of. And surprise surprise, when the cupcakes were being served, he actually sang the Elmo song!!!!! We were too shocked! So I told my sister in law that her design was definitely spot on since Khairaldin knew what is was straight out of the box!!! For a 1 year old, he's really clever, Masha'Allah. :) I'd recommend my SIL's cuppies if you're living in the UK. Not being biased, but it's goood! And, she's wayy creative! :)
Alhamdulillah, all the food was enough and there was not much wastage throughout. Everyone finished their portions and leftovers were packed for my brothers and neighbours. Alhamdulillah all went well. The preparation was no doubt hectic! I had to run from one place to another to buy stuff. Iskandar was down with UTI, so had to rush him to the hospital at 3am on Wednesday. From then on I had to run errands on my own but thank god for having my Mom to also tag along on few occasions. :) We ladies, managed to do it ourselves.
Well, the highlight of the event was the bouncy castle! Since Summer is only for 1 week in the UK we thought we might as well make full use of it :D. We rented a bouncy castle and on that particular day we held the party, the castle was on Summer Sale! So, we really saved a LOT! It was great! Everyone's inner child was brought out on the day and as for Khairaldin, he didn't like it much. However, when we lay him down in the castle, he could easily doze off. He's never trained to be rocked to sleep, so that was new for him and he liked it. So, eventually he enjoyed it as much as we did. But really, the bouncy castle was more for us than him. It'd be so boring if we didn't have the bouncy castle.

All in, we had major fun!!! But doing it again is definitely out of the question (at least for now). Probably would just hire the bouncy castle for fun. Hahaha That would be so much fun!

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