My Two Girls – All About Zara and Zaria

Zara is very clingy to me, especially when she knows it’s a weekend, or it’s after working hours (I normally declare by shouting “DING DONG“ to the girls to indicate I’d finished work), and I’m supposed to be the one who ‘jaga’ (Malay : Take care of) her.

I tried training her to sleep on her own by giving her milk, wait for her to finish, and then conning telling her I need to take my shower first, before I join her in bed.

If she’s willing, she’ll agree, and will tell me, “Mummy, you take bath, but don’t close the door ok?”
Most of the time when I’m done showering, she would have fallen asleep.

There are times when she’s not willing to sleep first, and she’ll say “pat pat me first” or “You sleep with me first, then only take bath.” At times like this, when I insisted that I needed a bath, she would say she’ll join me in the bath.

What she’ll do is, she’ll pull a stool and place it outside of the shower cubicle, and then watch me shower; after that, she’ll pull the stool and place it near the sink and watch me brush my teeth.

Yesterday, I wanted to use the toilet and she told me she wanted to come with me.
So I told her, “Mummy want to poo poo la.”
She insisted, “But I want to come!”
“Very smelly la. You don’t follow me.”
Her response, “Never mind. I stay in the toilet and do like this..” And she pinched her nose.

o.O”

Yes, we went to Penang! Most people got it right. 🙂 Why so soon after the previous? We had to do it before the girls’ birthdays, and I didn’t want to wait till school holiday starts.

We make a trip to Penang yearly before Zara’s birthday. In 2003, I was really worried about history repeating itself when I was pregnant with Zara; my dad suggested that we asked for St Anne’s blessing and protection, and since 2003, we’d been going to St Anne to give thanks yearly.

First stop was of course St Anne. It’s really a nice and tranquil church. Zara had so much fun splashing water from the water tap (St Anne’s water) and fountain, and running around.

We had the bestest dinner in Bukit Tambun. Daddy wasn’t convinced when I showed him Michelle’s post. After much persuation (another Penang colleague also highly recommended this place), he drove us there after our visit to St Anne. For RM70+, we had baked crabs (just seasoned with salt, but so delicious, fragrant or ‘hiong’), fried ‘red lion’ fish, poached ‘spikey clams’, honey baby octupus and a vege. Seriously, that was the best crabs we’d eaten in our lives!

We brought along Tuyam this round. Booked a big family room (1 super King + 2 single beds) in Bayview Beach Resort. A hotel with worn out furniture, and stained toilet! I didn’t dare to have Zaria crawled on the carpet; and when I bathed her, I let her sit on my lap instead of the tub. Blech! We chose this hotel for the price, the pool, and the big L shaped room; another reason was for the beach where Zara could do horse riding. Zara even remembered the name of the horse she rode on last year(Ima), and asked to ride on the same horse.

My girls just love horses!

Everyday, we spent 1st part of the day in the hotel, have long breakfast, let the girls do a bit of horse riding and swimming; and then it was off finding a good place for lunch (we arrrived town at 2pm daily, good food was all sold out!! Hmmph!), and exploring Penang.

Zara befriended an older Australian girl in the hotel, and spent quite a while chatting to the girl. I wonder if they understood each other. Zaria happy to be eating fruits from the breakfast buffet and playing with things on the table

We went to Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion on the 2nd day, but too bad we missed the 2nd tour by 1 hour, so we couldn’t visit the mansion but could only see from the outside. Then it was off to Penang Botanic Gardens.

Zaria dozing at Cheong Fatt Tze; Girls love the monkeys, the stream, the trees and the stroll in the Botanic Gardens

On the 3rd day, we were off to Penang Hill. It was raining cats and dogs once we boarded the tram. Dang! They allowed too many passangers in, so it was very crammed, and most people had to stand. 2 nice local young men gave up their seats to the girls. Half an hour later, we were up the hill, but since it was pouring, we couldn’t walk about and just waited for the next tram down. What a waste of time.

We met 3 Arab men who were really male chauvinists. They pushed passed us to get into the tram first, sat on the seat, and even though I was carrying Zaria who was sleeping in my arms, they didn’t offer me their seat. What more, 1 of them suddenly grabbed Zara, and placed her seated next to him with his arms around her. Zara was in shock, and Daddy quickly picked Zara up and carried her in his arms for almost the whole 30mins journey down.

A glimpse of us in Penang Hill; the girls waiting for the next tram down.

Dining in Penag was really good. We were in Pang Hainanese Seafood Restaurant, along Tanjung Bunga, on the 2nd night. The food was cheaper and better quality than KL restaurants. 3rd night, with DR‘s map, we managed to find the relocated Nonya Breeze and had a good dinner there. This place never dissapointed us, 3 years in a row in Penang, they served us the best nonya food which is value for money. But the best is still the crabs in Bukit Tambun! *drool*

Yes, another holiday, so soon after the other. That’s because we want to do this before the school holidays where every where will be crowded and hotels will be charging more.

We were in the land of good food and a place rich in culture for the last few days. Guess where we went?

Pst! I may start posting paid post here and there, so please bear with me, ok?

After rain in the evening, Daddy went for his jog, and I brought the girls out to the park.

Me : Can mummy go jogging with Daddy or not?
Zara : No no no.. Cannot. You bring us to the park.
Me : Mummy always never get to exercise, mummy will become fatter and fatter.
Zara : I don’t want mummy to be fatter and fatter. You go jogging la.
Me : I go now ok? Aunty Jelly will stay in the park with you.
Zara : Cannot.
Me : I thought you say mummy can go jogging?
Zara : The road so wet and slippery, after you slip and fall. You don’t go now.

o.O”

Yesterday about 7:30pm, after we’d gone to the park :
Me : Can mummy go jogging now?
Zara : No no no.. Cannot..
Me :  Yesterday you said mummy can (could) go?
Zara : It’s dark outside. It’s dangerous. After you cannot see, you bang on the pillar how?

o.O”

Me : Then mummy go tomorrow morning then.
Zara : No no.. I want you to sleep with me.
Me : I’ll sleep with you in the night, but in the morning before you wake up, I’ll go for a jog.
Zara : *pondering*
Me : Can or not?
Zara : Daddy jaga me?
Me : I don’t know, if you wake (woke) up too late, maybe Daddy has gone to work.
Zara : You don’t go la, you stay at home with me la.

My reason to be fat.

It was a long weekend, but we really didn’t want to go out of town. Heavy traffic on the highway, exorbidant hotel rates, why bother?… Luckily we stayed back.

I had a bad throat infection on Friday. On Saturday, I had back ache and joint ache, but I went on to do some cup cakes baking. My maid was going to visit her friend the following day for Raya, (her once a year off day), I thought I’d make some so she can bring over to her friend’s house, since this will be her last year with us after 8 years of service. On top of that, my friends and a couple of kids were coming over to our house, cup cakes are always great for kids. I even attempted to decorate them using fondant.

Zara messed things up helped out; and she only likes the fondant, not the cup cake

By the time I was done, it was 6:30pm. I was running a fever, I felt as though there’s a hot piece of coal stuck in my throat. I was shivering in cold. Daddy brought me to see a doctor, no panel doctor available near by, and it cost me ~RM50! Grrrrr.. why do we always fall ill on public holidays??!!

I slept after the doctor’s visit to nurse my fever. Shivering one minute, feeling hot another. Luckily, 12hours of sleep later, I recovered, and was able to enjoy my friends’ company.

We were old friends from university, 4 of us used to cram in a run down apartment, and we haven’t met probably since my wedding (we met separately, on other occasions, but it was very rare that all 4 of us could meet up at the same time).

No photos of us, but the kids’, only 1 of my friends brought along her kids.

It was close to imposible to take photos of 4 young kids

Zara had so much fun playing with the older girl. I only realised they were spraying water on everything in the play room, filling up their their toy cups and did the ‘yam seng’ (Chinese : Drink Up or Cheers), washing the ‘dishes’ in the fish tank. No wonder she said she missed Yen Mae after they’d left.

I always wonder, what do people eat for their breakfast, or lunch, or even dinner. Do they eat unhealthily like me? Do they eat the same thing everyday like Daddy (bread/cereal for breakfast; rice & fish for lunch and dinner)? Do they eat differently in Italy,?in the US? Do busy mothers have time to eat?

I need variety in my meals, and I prefer savoury stuff when I’m hungry. However, from this month onwards, I’d been trying to eat healthier (bye bye lomaikais, nasi lemak, roti canai.. for now), and today (or most of the days), this is my breakfast.

1) 2 scoops of organic soy powder + 1 tsp of organic wheat grass + 1 tsp of organic barley grass?mixed in a glass of water?- I get my energy health drink. It actually makes me feel less lethargic in the day (see, I’m still blogging at 12am!)

Tastes nicer than it looks.

2) 7 spirulina pills – my morning supplement

Hate the smell! Blech

3) a cup of English tea – no photos, but you can imagine how it looks like.

4) 2 half boiled free range chicken eggs

My all time favourite

Healthy hor?

What about the 2?girls?

Zaria had her organic multi-grain (brown rice, buckwheat, millet, quinoa) porridge with organic carrots and organic potatoes, sprinkled with organic sea weed (it’s organic all the way for her whenever I can).

She loves it!

Zara seems to have the least healthy breakfast. Jacob and cheese, with a cup of milo. She is like Daddy, she can have this every day!

Zara’s breakfast served in her tray

I’m turning this?to a?tag, lets see what people eat for breakfast.? For a start, I’m interested to see what these people eat for breakfast on a normal day :
Nadia – I know it’s Ramadhan, but I’m curious what do people eat before Fajr (is this what the first prayer is called?)?
Chanel – Half boiled eggs like me?
Simple America, May – Starbucks?
LB – Lohmaikai.. not?
eHon – Do you have time for breakfast?
Michelle – Eat with hubby?
Misha’s mum – Restaurant everyday?
Winn – What do pretty people eat?

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Thoughts aside..

The acne cure tips and medications to skin infections are related to your environment and lifestyle. Matching skin care acne free massages and lotions help to eradicate them and remove blemish effects due to weather and climate changes.

Continue from here.

After 2 nights in Berjaya, we moved to our luxurious room in The Datai on our last day. Yes, that was how I compromised, 2 nights in Berjaya, 1 night in Datai.

I have to say, it’s no wonder Datai is ranked as the no. 2 hotel in Tripadvisor (at this time of writing). The minute we stepped in, they knew who I was (from our entourage I guess); we were escorted to the bar for our welcome drink (luxurious juice and not those run down cordial), and were given cold towels to freshen ourselves; my forms were brought to me for signing.

From the number of people I recorded in my booking, the room was prepared to cater for us. I asked for a cot in my booking, but they did more! One of the day bed has been converted to a bed, and extra bath robes and towels were provided without me requesting. They really look into the details.

The room was very spacious and comfortable; we even got our own Lavazza coffee machine in the room (freshly brewed coffee as and when we wanted!), the service impeccable, and the resort just blends in beautifully with the surrounding rainforest.

Girls chilling (1st top left pix was from Berjaya, the rest fr Datai)

Unlike popular believe, Datai does welcome young guests. It’s just that the main pool is restricted to adults and the young guests have to use the pool at the Beach Club (where the beach is), which is a nice stroll away through the rainforest.

At the Beach Club, beach towels are brought to you, you get ice water served, and also cold face towels delivered. After we moved to Datai, we didn’t go out any more for meals, we just wanted to fully enjoy the service and facilities.

The beach is nicer and cleaner, with softer sand. It doesn’t have the shallow pools like the ones in Berjaya though, but still, the kids have fun.

They don’t have a shallow wading pool or a baby pool, but Zara with her floats on, could be left alone playing in the pool, we just kept an eye on her from a far. As for Zaria, she refused to put on her neck float, and preferred to sit at the steps of the pool just splashing water.

I also have my birthday eve dinner at the Beach Club. Zara was dining for free, but the chefs actually took the trouble to prepare something not in their buffet menu for her. The following day’s lunch, when I was undecided on what to order for Zara, the waitress asked what type of food Zara likes, and the waitress got the kitchen to made her fried rice with ikan bilis (Malay : white baits) which wasn’t on the menu! What can I say about the service?

When we asked for a late check out because our flight was close to 6pm, I was thinking even 1hr later would be nice. The front desk requested for our flight details, and then told us we can have the room till 3pm! What a delight! Snob hotels like Equatorial should really learn from them.

I so regret we didn’t stay there for 2 nights as Daddy had suggested, especially since they are running the Rainforest Promo where the rate is almost half of the published rate. I was just trying to be nice to Daddy’s pocket. *Sigh* By the way, price for local meals in Datai is almost the same as what Bon Ton charges,  I just think Bon Ton is overcharging!

Overall, it was quite a nice trip, except Daddy and I have no time for ourselves, and we seemed to need double of the time to do everything. More time needed for everybody to shower and get ready, more time needed to finish a meal, so, we have less time to go around or visit other parts of the island.

We have to plan for another trip before year end and I wonder if we should bring one of the maids this time.

Thanks to Chanel, many months ago, I booked the tickets to Langkawi when MAS had their RM1 promo. For 4 of us, it was ~RM300 return. Cheap cheap.

Then many years ago, when we were sipping tea in The Datai with my Greek friends, my friend’s hubby vowed to his wife, “If you gave me a daugther next year, I’ll bring you back here, and this time we’ll be staying and not just sipping tea.” Daddy, not loosing out, said the same to me. In deed, we have Zara the following year, so it’s time for Daddy to fulfill his promise. But Datai is so expensive, how to make him pay? So we compromised.

We left the maids at home, and headed to Langkawi, with an active toddler and a beginning-to-be-mobile baby. Brave huh?

We got our car from the airport, a Honda City, 4D/3N for RM240. I just love travelling off peak.

Our 1st stop upon arriving Langkawi was Bon Ton, can you beat it? Nasi Goreng for RM36? Laksa for RM28? .. but we have to say, the environment was nice, although the tables and chairs can do with some cleaning (cat fur and dust everywhere!).

Girls in Bon Ton, padi fields and cow dung just a stone throw away

A close friend sold us her Berjaya room stay for RM50/night. We were supposed to get a Superior room, but when the reception saw Zara batting her eyes we came in a family, she upgraded us to Deluxe, which comes with a day bed, and a king bed.

The Beach around Berjaya is nice and clean, with a few shallow pools where Zara could play in. My only complain is, the property is huge! For you to get to the main hall where everything is, you have to call for a buggy to bring you there. Zara loved it though, she said it’s like a roller coaster ride, since the challets are all located on hilly terrain, the rides to the main hall is very bumpy.

This is Zaria’s first time playing at the beach. She was a wee bit afraid of the waves, but happy to be able to play with sand, and even eat some.

Zara just loves the sea! Even under the scorching sun, she refused to get under the shade. Thank goodness Daddy didn’t mind the sun, so he followed everywhere she went.

Nobody should leave Langkawi without going on the cable car ride, more so if you stay in Berjaya, because it’s just a 2min drive away.

Top right pix : The track which is suspended and linked from station 1, unfortunately is closed.

We drove to Kuah town on the 2nd night, kitchen wear and chocolates were so cheap, not forgetting alchohol too. We just bought some Swiss Cadbury that’s all (I can imagine Shopping Amah grabbing everything from Kuah, and maybe even some Kleenix if she were in Langkawi).

Eating in Langkawi is expensive, even out of the hotel. I wonder if people knew we’re not local, so they really cut our throats. Mantis prawns at a road side restaurant (not beach front or posh) ~ RM60 for 2? We also bought bread and buns from Tun’s bakery, The Loaf, ~RM15 for a raisin loaf, ~RM6 for a savoury bun. Bread is of high quality, but price is a bit steep I think.

To be continued here.

May the people be free from oppression!

Today Blogsphere come together to Free Burma, do join in.
And if you haven’t signed the petition, do it now.

free burma

We brought the 2 girls for a holiday recently, just Daddy and I and the two girls without the maids.
We thought it was our holiday….

… The truth is, it was the maids’. While we were busy handling the kids, I’m sure they had a good time at home, watching TV, and probably sipping Pina Calada while chilling out in the wading pool.

We thought Zaria has this thing about remote controls..

…. The truth is, she’s just able to fall asleep, anytime, anywhere, even midway eating.

We thought getting a hotel with big bed is important..
… The truth is, it doesn’t matter, because in the night, they snuggled so close to me, all of us could actually fit into a single bed.

We thought she likes nice hotels… The truth is she very much prefes home..
When I asked her, “So, did you like the hotel?”
“Yah”
“We stay here for a few more days ok?”
“No No No.. I want to go home.”
“The bed in the hotel is so comfortable, why do you want to go home?”
“My bed is even more comfortable.”
“But we don’t have swimming pool in our house.”
“Have wut. My swimming pool got Mickey Mouse one, even nicer.”

I also have nice swimming pool wut!

Holiday post will come later.