: Studiofrost: New Arrivals : Saturday, April 25, 2009
@ 02:20 a.m.
: Mother & Baby; M&Ms Diary Two : Thursday, April 23, 2009
M&Ms Diary Entry Number Two
Please do not ask me to scan this. The whole idea is to keep you in the suspense which will subsequently lead you to get a copy of Mother & Baby magazine, May issue. (I wish!)Seriously now, it's mostly about baby's first food this time round and yes, it's really worth the buy.
@ 12:03 a.m.
: Teach to Taught? : Monday, April 20, 2009
After reading a friend's latest entry, all the more tempted I am to leave the service, to stop working, and to ultimately be a stay at home mummy. I have been contemplating for the longest period of time, actually. The year of no pay leave is not only taken for the sole purpose of taking care of my girls. I need the year of no pay leave to give me a bit more time to sort out my thoughts, my wants and my priorities in life. I love teaching-there's never a doubt about it. Let me carry on. I did not join the service with the intention to leave it after only a few years of teaching. I did not join the service to take a year of no pay leave after a few years of teaching. I did not join the service with a clear foresight of what was in store for me. I did not plan to have twins. I did not plan to have three kids after only four years of marriage.
But now that everything has happened for a(good)reason, who am I to refuse? I have been blessed with a happy family. I am blessed with three beautiful girls. I was just a teacher then. But now I am a mother, a job more superior than any other job in the world.
So what else is there left to do?
You tell me.
@ 10:44 p.m.
: Exclusively Studiofrost : Thursday, April 9, 2009
As some of you would have already known, Studiofrost has already started its own label. Yes we did! It is super exciting & you will not believe what we have in store for you in the future! :)
As a matter of fact, we have already put on sale our exclusively designed outfits at Studiofrost.net since some time back. What we are left to do is to make it official. So now, hear us. Exclusively Studiofrost is finally here. For today’s new arrivals, we have some really gorgeous colorblock dresses which we have designed, just for you! Feast your eyes on them.
We LISTEN to what our buyers want. We do our best to please our buyers. They are definitely our topmost priority! The colorblock long sleeved dresses are available in four must have colours, and they are able to fit up to size L! The best thing is, we are selling them at a very affordable price too! What’s more, you will not be able to see the same design & cutting in any other store!
We chose the best material for every item and we assure you that you will be satisfied with the quality of our collection. Basically, we design what we ourselves would wear! As simple as that!
Items from previous batches, like Howell, Hudson, Vine & Dimersia cater to our medium sized to plus sized ladies as well. While Howell and Hudson are already sold out, we still have Vine and Dimersia. Trust us, we have more coming for you!
To make it easier for all, we have created a new section at Studiofrost.net called ‘Exclusively Studiofrost’. From now on, we will be uploading all of our own designs on that page! How very exciting! Don’t take too long though, you know how fast our buyers are! Fastest fingers win!
OH! Along with our exclusive collection, here's some of the other New Arrivals!
May we also take this opportunity to thank you ladies once again for your continuous support all this while!
Remember, we are nothing without you!
Cheers!
The Studiofrost Team
@ 06:35 p.m.
: Don't Drown. : Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Oh yes, we went swimming alright!
And my little chickadees sure did enjoy themselves, especially Mysha. She was frantically kicking her legs in the water, and instead of moving forward and backwards, she was moving sideways like a crab. Hilarious! Myreen was observing us, as usual. She did get excited once in a while but most of the time, she was just, observing. I seriously think she would make a good police officer when she grows up. Sharleez was ecstatic all the way until water went into her nose. That was when she wanted to get out of the pool there and then, and vouched never to go into the pool again. "Nanak! Nanak go swimming again!" she repeatedly exclaimed. She can be a sissy at times. Once everything at home is more snuggled down, I am going to bring them swimming once every two weeks or so. Do you know that swimming with your baby helps to build confidence, trust and good communication skills? And most importantly, it is a good way for me to lighten up a bit and keep fit. Water therapy, you can say.
And for those who asked, I am okay. I was drowning but I prevailed. Thank you for even offering to babysit my girls! I guess we have to learn to live life the hard way once in a while.
If not, that’s not life.
That’s paradise.
Welcome back to reality, Tatek & Nurul!
You have been greatly missed. (:
@ 11:44 p.m.
: Help.com : Saturday, April 4, 2009
This hen here is going crazy, and she will only go crazier over the next few days or weeks. April itself is a crazy month.
The previous helper was crazy too.
If you follow my tweets via twitter regularly, you would have known that we are now maid-less, no thanks at all to our then helper who well, went missing for a day. I shall not elaborate on what exactly happened but let's just say that she misbehaved, big time! It's all in the past now and the fury has since been unleashed. Right now, we are anxiously waiting for the replacement maid to arrive within the next two weeks. I pray hard that she would not try to be funny with us. Training and disciplining the maid is such a big chore, and we hate repeating ourselves over and over again. Another problem that we would have to face yet again is the girls' refusal to get close to the maid during the first few weeks. But what else can I do? I admit that we cannot do that much without a maid. It's not so much on the babysitting part, but it's the delegation of work at home, especially with three little girls in tow. Like I mentioned so many times before, I need a private time with each girl everyday, and in order to do that successfully, I need someone to help me keep a close eye on the other two girls. cannot exactly rely on Mak because she already has so much to do at home. For the next two weeks to come, I am afraid that the mayhem will linger. In fact, it can only get worse, what with the husband going for his reservist for three days, and then for his knee operation on the 15th. Wait, I am not exactly done yet. After husband is done with the knee operation, he will be hospitalized for about three days, and bedridden for another two weeks. I am just shuddering as I type this entry. I really do not know how I would go through April without the help needed. In all honesty, the husband has been helping out more than a lot at home. He is such a great daddy and husband, let me reiterate this one more time. Knowing how busy I can get with Studiofrost at times, he does whatever he can to help ease that heavy load on my shoulders. Just how would I manage without him?
I am going to need a lot of Mak's help while the husband is away and not available. I hate to have to trouble Mak with the babysitting job but I think I am really left with no choice. The girls need all the attention, with or without the maid and husband. It's now all up to me to handle the current situation. Urghh.
Oh god, help me get through this madness quickly.
@ 11:11 p.m.
: Studiofrost: New Arrivals : Saturday, April 4, 2009
@ 08:44 a.m.
: Foods for thought : Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Mysha and Myreen have already started on their solids and I could not be happier to be here at home feeding them every single day. During Sharleez's first year, I was not around during the day, thanks to work. As I was teaching in the afternoon session, I had to be in school by 9 am or earlier on most days, and would only be home by about 7 pm. I hated the feeling of being the always unavailable mother. When she started on her solids, I was not around to encourage her. I was not there to make every feeding session as enjoyable and happy as it should be. The best I could do ofr her as soon as I was home from work was to prepare and freeze the different kinds of fruit and vegetable puree for Mak to feed Sharleez during the next few days. All I kept hearing from Mak each time I called to check on Sharleez was, she refused to eat her solids. Imagine how shattered I felt- my daughter did not want to eat but there was nothing I could do to make things better.
So believe me when I say I am truly happy to be able to prepare Mysha and Myreen's meals and not be caught up with work this time round. It is such a contentment to be able to prepare food for your children. Now I truly understand why Mak does not mind cooking for us every day no matter how sick and tired she can actually be of and from cooking. She enjoys doing it. She does it with love. She derives pleasure when she sees her children eating what she cooks. It's no wonder why she does not mind us eating a lot.
Now, I am not a kitchen person - I never have been one. I have dreams of becoming a great cook like Mak but those dreams will take a bit longer to come true, I know for sure. But hey, once my girls have surpassed their first few years, I am going to start cooking for my husband, with love. Not by order. I hope you can note the difference. It's no fun doing something in the presence of force.
Right now, my only love is to prepare foods for my Nadyas.
I love to see the expressions on their faces whenever they try something new. They look so silly! And as much as I would like them to finish their food, I know I cannot force them to eat once they start to lose interest in the food. The mistake that most mothers make when feeding their babies is to force their babies to finish the food for fear that the food would be wasted. By doing so, the poor baby will slowly but surely start to hate his/her feeding session. We want a happy eater and the very least you could do is to inject joy into every feeding session. I compliment Mysha and Myreen each time they eat. So far, they have been enjoying their feeding sessions with me. They have already tried rice cereals, homemade banana puree, homemade mango puree and today, homemamde pear puree. Brown rice is next on the menu.
Their daily eating schedule looks something like this:-
9 am: A bottle of milk
11.15 am: A tablespoonful of fruit puree with rice cereal.
12.30: A biscuit
1 pm: A bottle of milk
I am planning to introduce the second meal of the day to Mysha and Myreen very soon too.
Can you again see why I love staying at home, and not go out to work?
It's my Nadyas.
They are the only REASON yet again.
@ 01:02 a.m.
: Studiofrost: New Arrivals : Tuesday, March 31, 2009
The beginning of M&Ms' nine consecutive advertorials for Huggies. Special appearances by their big sister Sharleez occassionally.
Start following the M&Ms' diary today!
Get your copy of Mother & Baby magazine from April till December 2009.
@ 03:01 p.m.
: Motherhood: What's Missing? : Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Its close to two in the morning already and as usual, I am still awake. Its not that I cannot sleep - I DO NOT want to sleep. After a day of babysitting and whatnots, I seriously need a break - I am only human. Come on, even long-lasting batteries need to be recharged, what more me? And my much needed break will only come in the later part of the day. Each night, Mysha and Myreen will be asleep by 9 pm while Sharleez falls asleep by 11 pm the latest. Once the girls are asleep, I am free for the night for about three hours or so before the M&Ms wake up for milk.
ME time is very important. All mummies need that. All mummies know that they need that time alone but sometimes, it's just so hard to do. Mummies are the busiest creatures ever, I think. They are the most important too- everyone and everything in the house needs them! So much is expected of them every single minute. Given the limited time I have for myself, I am not so ambitious. I do not require myself to be away from my girls. I have never required myself to go out of the house, away from the girls in order to enjoy my time alone. Maybe its guilt. Maybe its the attachment. Maybe I am just like my mother. We have very simple needs. Just as long as I get a few hours each day to recharge my battery, I am a very happy mummy. I like to think that this time away also makes my whole family better. My girls would not want to face a cranky mummy every single day. My husband does not need an easily irritated wife. So you see how this me time works? It can work wonders!
If you are a mummy like me and need that time alone, my advice is, don't ignore it darling! Make the effort to schedule your time alone. For sure, you are never ever going to get that time if you don't schedule it.
Those carefree times we used to have are long gone.
So make time for yourself.
It will make a difference - I promise
@ 01:45 a.m.
: Neutrogena Wave : Tuesday, March 31, 2009
For those who asked about Neutrogena Wave, here are the details:
Where to get it:
Any leading pharmacy
Price:
$24.90 for starter kit & $13.20 for refills
Is it also suitable for people with oily skin?
Yes. However, if you have troubled skin or severe acne problems, I strongly suggest you check with your dermatologist first before using the product.
@ 01:02 a.m.
: A girl named Sharleez. : Monday, March 30, 2009
I have only the finest things to say about Sharleez. Can I just say that she is an angel who gets into a little mischief once in a while?
I admit I had qualms about Sharleez's aptitude towards us and the M&Ms especially. I thought she would not be able to adapt to the suddenly two new arrivals to the family, and thus the slightly taken away time we now have with her. I did not think she would be able to accept and embrace the role of a big sister. I thought wrong. I obviously disdained my Sharleez Nadya. She has proven to be more than we would ever thought she would be, both physically and emotionally.
Everyday, she knows the drill. Wake up, drink a bottle of milk, bathe, eat her supplements, watch a bit of her chosen TV show or VCD, eat breakfast with me. After that is all done, she gets to play while I attend to Mysha and Myreen. And whenever I am doing anything related to Studiofrost at home, she does not bother me. She understands that her mummy needs to work. When I am free from work and my M&Ms, its then activity time with her. As mentioned before, I let her choose any activity for the day as long as it is not something beyond my reach. She loves painting- finger or brush. And from an Art & Craft teacher's point of view, I personally think she has a flair in painting too! I should put on view some of her paintings one fine day.
Babysitting Mysha and Myreen in the presence of Sharleez is not a biggy too. She helps to babysit and not demand attention from me. In face, Mysha and Myreen love watching Sharleez's antics. They find Sharleez really amusing! Where else can you find a cute and amusing babysitter, tell me? She would go "Orgghh, baby shooo cute!" or "Orgghh, baby shoo sweeet!" or "Adik, dont put your hand in your mouth!" Whenever I do reading with Mysha and Myreen, Sharleez too would join in and sometimes, even help to tell the story to the girls.
Every morning, the first thing she does is to look for me to snuggle up before searching for her sisters. "Where's Mysha/Myreen?" or "Where's adik?" she would go. If she is ignored by her still sleeping mummy, she would make herself heard. "I WANT TO SEE MYREEN AND MYSHA! I WANT! I WANT!" she would exclaim repetitively. I find that really sweet too. She loves her sisters so dearly, and she chooses who gets to touch or hold them. You are right, not everyone has the priviledge to get close to Mysha and Myreen as long as Sharleez is around. Irritate her and you are out. Irritate the M&Ms and you are as good as invisible. Get into Sharleez's good books first, I say.
But of course, we do have our bad days too which I think is better left under the wraps for only us to know and go through. Remember the good days, not the bad ones.
Oh wow, I am truly enjoying my no pay leave and the newly found title- a stay at home mummy. In fact, I would not even think of my one year of leave from teaching as a no pay leave. I am getting paid every single minute, alright! The smiles and happiness my girls bring me each day is a more than enough pay for me as a mother.
Sharleez Nadya, when you are big enough to read this entry, I just want you to know how thankful I am to have you. Thank you for being the best sister to Mysha and Myreen.
Thank you for being you.
@ 01:06 a.m.
: Studiofrost: New Arrivals : Sunday, March 29, 2009
@ 12:17 a.m.
: The Next Wave : Thursday, March 26, 2009
There are some things in life that you cannot avoid doing everyday, no matter how mundane they can really get. And some are just so, compulsory. I admit, when I was in school, I took little notice of the importance of facial care. My mum kept telling me to apply this and that on my face. I found it a chore. A really unpleasant task. So whenever I could, I would skip the daily routine of taking care of skin.
But now, I am not that young anymore. I am aging by the minute. Here's a fact. Your skin gets more sensitive as you age. Your skin no longer sheds that often, and that also means you are more prone to wrinkle and a saggy skin. Yucks! This is definitely not a good thing if your ultimate goal is to have a good skin. This is the reason why you need to exfoliate your skin more often! If you exfoliate regularly, you can improve your complexion and at the same time, help to stimulate the production of new cells and collagen. I only started taking good care of my skin months before my brother’s wedding. I wanted to look good, and I did not want to have to depend on too thick makeup to look good. Of course my goal was not to look better than the bride, but good enough for myself and the general public who was interested enough to look at me. So I did this and that to my skin. And it has since been a pleasant and a must-do-or-I-will-die routine. No longer cumbersome. No longer a hassle.
I have tried various cleansers but none has made such great an impact on me like the current one I am using. Neutrogena Wave, the next wave in cleansing. It is really cool and easy to use! Let Mdm Diah teach you. First, attach the disposable pad to the attachment head. Secondly, hold your Wave under running water to activate the foaming pad. Thirdly, press the power button to turn your Wave on and gently massage over face. Result after just one use? I would say a softer and smoother skin. I am still experimenting but the results have been really impressive so far. Of course you would have to keep using it to really see the results. No cleanser can work the way you want it with just one time use unless it is a MAGICAL cleanser. If you are as vain as me and love to apply makeup most of the time, then Neutrogena Wave is for you. Neutrogena Wave is for us. The gentle vibrations when you use it help to keep your skin pores open so that the foam can clean deeper to remove more makeup and dirt. And when the face is thoroughly cleansed, do you seriously need to worry about acnes and breakouts, and the ugly marks on the face? I doubt it. No need for that thick a makeup as a result!
Lastly, I am sure you would want to own one Neutrogena Wave just for the sake of owning your very own pink vibrating gadget, right?
Come on, admit it!
@ 12:33 p.m.
: Studiofrost: New Arrivals : Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Wait we are not done yet. We have exclusively designed these dresses just for you, our most beloved customers!
That's right, they can be worn by women of all sizes. All you need to do is to adjust the band at the waist to the desired fit!
So what else are you waiting for?
Catch them while they are still hot from our oven!
@ 12:52 a.m.
: Studiofrost: New Arrivals : Thursday, March 19, 2009
@ 12:01 p.m.
: Good Talk about Good Teaching. : Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Now that Sharleez is already two, she is slowly changing and starting to learn to be slightly independent. Good in many ways, not so good in some ways. She wants to do things for and by herself, and she pretty much has her own fixed (and funny) ideas about how things should happen. As a result, she uses "no" many times each day each time she disagrees with what we say or do. Indeed, the toddler years are characterized with much growth, change, mood swings and also some negativity. This is also the reason why they are often frustrated and "misbehave". I have had no major problems with Sharleez so far. The only major problem I have now is to discipline her in the presence of others in the house. Mak especially is one who cannot bear to see Sharleez cry, and often comes to Sharleez's rescue whenever I reprimand her. As a result, Sharleez knows that when I get angry, she will have someone to run to like her Nana, Dada or even the helper. My efforts to "scare her" a bit would turn futile. I hope Mak gets the idea sooner (and not later) that I want Sharleez to learn to be responsible for her own actions, and not get away with everything all the time. I mean, that is not how life is supposed to be, isnt it? If that carries on, I would pretty much be raising a pampered child. And we all know a pampered child is almost equivalent to a spoilt brat. As a teacher, I am strict. No qualms about that. As a mother, I hope to be just as stern though it is pretty hard at times. I just cannot bear to see that puppy look Sharleez gives me whenever I reprimand her. How could a mother ever have the heart see her child cry?
And punishing or getting her to face the consequences each time she misbehaves is not always the best solution. The fact of the matter is, people learn better when they feel better, not when they feel worse. A good communication is key, and I personally feel you need to take the extra effort to sit down with your child and talk to her. Somehow, whenever I get angry, she will get angry at me too. Rather than to let her continue to throw tantrums, I would rather cool myself down and then have a good talk with her. No matter what, that always seems to work better! I am glad that I enjoy communicating with Sharleez, and for every question that she asks me each time, I make it a point to provide her with the correct answer no matter how difficult it can get at times to come up with the right answer. Asking her to keep quiet or ignoring her questions altogether is as good as telling her "You do not have to learn." And no matter how difficult I thought it would be for her to fathom my answers to her questions, she always surprises me and everyone! Always! She somehow always understands.
Now that Sharleez has a reasonably good grasp of the English language, I think its about time I move on to the second language, Malay. Though it is really cute now to see her reactions whenever we speak in Malay to her, that would just not be the case when she enters school. The teacher would not find it cute either.
Today, when I asked her "Nama awak siapa?" or "What is your name?" in English, she confidently replied "Number 4!" She insisted on the same answer no matter how many times I corrected her!
Now, how in the world can her name be NUMBER FOUR?!
Okay, fair enough. Nama and number sounds alike.
@ 01:01 a.m.
: Studiofrost: Makeover : Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Didn't we mention before that we have a lot in store for you at Studiofrost? Well, what do you know? It's about time we show you what we are truly capable of. (:
Studiofrost Makeover.
Coming soon!
Stay close.
Credits:
Candy Makeup by Diah
Outfit by Studiofrost
Model: Melisa
@ 01:40 a.m.
: Babyfrost: Flower Headbands : Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Whether you like your girl to be all sweet and innocent
Or all urban and chic
We have it all for you at Babyfrost!
Visit http://studiofrost.net now for more new headbands!
@ 12:30 a.m.
: The Ultimate Motherly Act : Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Just what is so motherly about this picture?
The bloody pink comb.
Urghh.
Credits:
Diah's Shirt $29, from Studiofrost
Available in grey, black, white and cream. http://studiofrost.net/shop
@ 02:35 a.m.
: The peas in my pod. : Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Do you seriously think you know all about twins?
Did you know that:-
(1) A higher percentage of twins are left handed compared to non-twins. This, I like to hear. If possible, I want all my girls to be lefthanders, just like me!
(2) Twins usually have their own language which only they can understand, and this is called cryptophasia. I hope Mysha and Myreen would develop their own special language. That would be really cute.
(3) Identical twins are sometimes born as mirror-image twins, meaning they are identical but their traits are reversed. For instance a left-handed twin would have a right-handed twin.
(4) Without the assistance of fertility treatments, twins occur naturally in 1 out of 80 births; triplets in 1 out of 8000; quadruplets in 1 out of 700,000; and quintuplets in 1 out of 65,610,000. This also means I am one lucky woman to have twins without fertility treatment.
(5) Twins do not have to be born on the same dates. It would be cool to have one twin coming out before midnight, and the other, after midnight.
(6) Once you've had fraternal twins, you are 3 to 4 times more likely to have another set! Tatek, are you game enough? Lol!
(7) Fraternal twins may look alike while identical twins may not necessarily look the same. Identical twins are always same-sex sets, though.
Take Mysha and Myreen for instance. Although they are fraternal, I think they look really alike in pictures.
Which is Mysha, which is Myreen?
It's a secret.
Let's just say Mysha always has a big smile on her face while Myreen is more guarded about sharing her smiles with others.
(:
@ 02:09 a.m.
: About rainbows. : Sunday, March 8, 2009
I am very upset with my helper.
She prepared a bottle full of expressed milk mixed with formula milk for Myreen this late when she jolly well knew that Myreen was already asleep. Granted that Myreen was still awake, she would still not need that much milk anyway to go back to sleep. She was supposed to give Myreen the expressed milk in the evening but well, she forgot to do so and decided on her own that she would give Myreen the milk at 11 pm. So gone is the whole bottle of milk, thanks to her forgetfulness. Honestly, I do not care that much about wasting the formula milk. What's that compared to the expressed milk that has gone to waste? As you might have already known by now, both Mysha and Myreen are not fully on breastmilk already so every single drop of breastmilk that is meant for them MATTERS a lot to me and them. As it is, I am actually very disappointed with myself for not being able to breastfeed them both fully like what I did with Sharleez. I am still not over that. I will not get over that that easily. The best gift a mother could ever offer her babies during their first year is breastmilk, and sadly, I am not able to provide Mysha and Myreen 100% of that. So you can imagine how I felt when I knew that my helper made that silly blunder. I was in tears when I explained to her what she had done. I was tears when I told her that Myreen's intake of breastmilk today was limited. I ws in tears when I told her that I was not angry at her but utterly disappointed. She must have been shocked at my sudden expression of grief. I was in tears too when I confided in Tatek. This breastmilk issue is such a sensitive one for me. Urghh. What a way to end my day.
So hear me now. I am a mother who constantly wants the best for her three little girls. I am a mother to three little girls who constantly require the attention from me. Everyday, every hour, every minute and every second, I am constantly asking myself whether I have given my best to each of my girls the days before. I am constantly reminding myself to treat each girl more justly the days after. I question and force myself to search for the underlying reasons whenever I feel like I have not done enough for my girls.
Mysha and Myreen as you know, are twins, and there is always a tendency for parents to feel partiality towards one twin over the other. As much as this has been proven to be true, I try my very best to give the same amount of attention to both Mysha and Myreen. It is not easy, but I am still trying. So far, so good. Sometimes, situations force you to choose one twin over the other. In my case, since Mysha wants to be breastfed more often, I handle her most of time. Myreen is more independent and prefers drinking direct from the bottle. They are different like that. While Mysha seeks my attention more often, Myreen is always cool and does not really mind who carries her. That is another reason why I handle Mysha more of the time too. However, I have been spending just as much time with Myreen. Somehow, the more unaffected she seems, the more rueful I feel and the more time I will spend with her. I just hope both Mysha and Myreen know that I love them just the same, and just as much as their big sister, Sharleez.
Even though Sharleez has been really understanding so far for a two year toddler, I know I can make that smile on her face bigger by spending more time with her alone. Even ten minutes alone with her can do wonders to her day. I enjoy spending time with her. I like to think I am reliving my childhood each time I play with her. Her current fixation is Playdoh, so I will play just that and only that with her in her room. I give her the freedom to create whatever she wants with the Playdoh, and use any colour she feels like using. Strictly no criticism or corrections on whatever she creates. That is the golden rule everyone has to stick to if he/she wants to play with Sharleez. I just do not want to limit her imagination, really.
Do you want to know what she created yesterday?
A hotdog. A teeny weeny pink hotdog.
Looks good to me!
Kids learn and remember best when they are doing something they truly enjoy so I always make use of the time I spend with her to teach her as well. Yesterday, she learned ABC yet again, but this time through Playdoh.
And today, when I asked her again what letters A,B and C stand for, she remembered! Clever girl!
So you see, no matter how blue my days could be, I know I can always depend on my girls to create a rainbow eventually.
And of course, I know I can also depend on you as always, Tatek! You are on top of my list too, don't worry! (:
@ 11:21 p.m.
: Bow Wow? : Friday, March 6, 2009
Just what exactly is so fascinating about headbows, you wonder?
Now do you get it, the close relationship between girls and anything girly?
Do proceed to Babyfrost section at http://studiofrost.net for our newly arrived headbows sets! Every girl must own at least a set!
Enough said.
@ 12:03 a.m.
: Following the fashion or not? : Friday, February 27, 2009
Many of you have emailed me to ask me where I get my girls’ clothes and accessories. If truth be told, I get them from all over Singapore and the world. From Kiddy Palace to Mothercare to Gap to Zara to even overseas online stores. I truly love dressing up my girls, I am sure you all would have noticed by now. Even though I already have three girls to dress up, I do not regard it as a chore. It seems like I am duty bound. But in truth, I enjoy doing what I do; dressing them up differently from other girls their age. That’s what makes them different. My inspiration all along? Nobody. I just get the idea there and then. I guess that’s what makes me different too.
And I find it a real joy in dressing up Mysha and Myreen too! Despite them being the little babies they still are, I choose to believe that they can still look as hip as their big sister, Sharleez.
Their fashion so far?
What I am trying to say here is, I am not a fashion guru so who am I to give you fashion tips or so? I am just a mother who enjoys watching her girls grow up beautifully.
And as a mother, I say that the things your children wear do not have to be branded or expensive. You just need to know how to make something ordinary as different as it could be. I personally think that’s what fashion is all about, really.
Have fun, mummies!
Credits:
Diah's grey vest @ $26, from Studiofrost.
Available in grey and black.
http://studiofrost.net.
@ 12:48 a.m.
: Popular or not. : Thursday, February 26, 2009
Though we are utterly disappointed that Nurul is not nominated for her role in Kerana Fateha despite the buckets of tears she really cried as Fateha, I am still not giving up hope. I believe she deserves at least a bit of recognition for all the hard work she has done in TV so far. Do vote for her in the Most Popular Female Personality category by smsing PP W4 to 73388.
It's only 50 cents per SMS!
@ 08:52 p.m.
: TEAMWORK : Sunday, February 22, 2009
Dear Nurul & Ian,
Just in case the two of you are still wondering who the Wonderpets are, and how exactly the theme song sounds like, this is for you.
Now you both have to tell me, what's gonna work?
TEAMWORK!
Always remember that.
@ 10:10 p.m.
: Good girl gone wild? : Saturday, February 21, 2009
Hi everyone concerned, I am Myreen N., and I am here to share with you my story so far. To begin with, my sincerest apology for not being able to update as much as I had wanted to. I have my reasons. I sure do have my reasons. Do spare a bit of your time to empathize or at least, sympathize with me.
Currently, I am undergoing reformative training under the orders of Daddy & Mummy dearest. No, do not get me wrong. I have not gone wild. I have not seen enough of the world to go to that extend as yet. God forbid! My hair is the problem. It has gone wild. It has been so wild that it stands up all the time and refuses to lie flat no matter what Mummy, Daddy or Nana do to it. And we all jolly well know that anything wild needs a major reformative training. During my reformative training, Daddy and Mummy will put anything they could grab their hands on my hair just so that it would lie flat, even if it is for only a minute or two. Things that have been placed on my poor hair include:
Nana’s scarf
My burp towel
A Chinaman hat
And my very own white panties!
No matter how absurd my parents can be or how ridiculous those things are, I am unyielding. I want to go through the shame and the pain without complaining. Like they say, you've got to go through the pain, to experience the joy. So I am not giving up. I believe my hair is just like Kakak Sharleez’s hair when she was a baby. Oh yes, Kakak’s hair was as just as wild, but it was naturally tamed. Slowly but surely. That Mysha N. is lucky, though. Even though her hair stands up too, it can be tamed easily. So while I undergo my training, Mysha has the freedom to do anything she wants at all like
Stare blankly at the ceiling
Pose nicely for the camera with her big eyes
Play doctor and patient with Kakak Sharleez
And basically have lots of fun.
UNLIKE ME!
Just what is so funny, Daddy?
Bah!!!
Signing off,
The Wild Haired Myreen N. But not for long, I hope.
@ 11:38 p.m.
: Hearts. : Saturday, February 14, 2009
Happy V-Day to those celebrating.
I am not celebrating V-Day with Tatek but I am still giving Tatek a card just for the fun of it. I fell in love with the silly graphics and contents of the card the moment I laid my eyes on it and I told myself I had to get it no matter what. So there, the story of my V-Day card, all revealed. Punish me, for I have sinned. Bah!
V-Day aside, I think I should start thinking about my wishlist for my big B-day on the 25th! Not that I am dying for presents from everyone but it's just that I cannot think of anything that I would need or would like to have. The problem lies with me! Surprisingly I am an independent woman in the sphere of satisfying my physical needs. I do not like to depend on others including my ever so generous husband to get me what I want. I prefer getting them myself. That said, I think vouchers would make great gifts for someone like me. Getting vouchers for me should not that difficult. Think clothes. Think makeup. Think vanity. Enough hints already? :s
Let me now move on to updates about my M&Ms. They are turning five months in a matter of days, alright! I could not be happier. Wait, it's not because I cannot wait for them to grow up but it's because they grow up so fast, I want them to keep surprising us. One minute they would be rolling from their tummies to their backs, and the next minute they would be reaching out to touch our faces. Their personalities keep changing too. One month, Mysha would be the really cranky one and the other month, Myreen would take on Mysha's crankiness. They are truly unpredictable! :p
Bringing them out is also more trouble-free nowadays as they have more or less learned how to behave in public. As usual, strangers get very flabbergasted at the sight of the M&Ms, and it is very tiring already to react to remarks or questions like "Wah, you clever ah have twins!" or "How come you can have twins?" or "Go make some more twins lah, boys this time!" or their favourite, "They boys or girls?" One, I do not understand what intelligence has got to do with one's ability to conceive twins. Two, the twins are, alhamdulillah, Allah's gifts to us so do not ask us how come we have twins. Three, making twins is not like making instant cup noodles. Four, zip that mouth for a minute, open your eyes big, and learn to be more sensitive before asking whether they are boys or girls. But of course, I do understand their excitement at times. I used to go crazy over twins too. Sure, twins are so nice to look at but come live a day with us and you will discover the real joy in having twins. Lol! I am not complaining. How can I even complain when I have three times the happiness each day? I just do not have the time anymore to waste even a minute of it. Let me just say that I have seen better days, what more with Sharleez the ever so active toddler in tow! Hah! :)
I love you so very much, Sharleez, Mysha & Myreen!
You girls truly complete my life, no matter how cliched this may sound. Happy Lovers' Day, my Nadyas!
@ 01:57 a.m.
: Studiofrost Fashion Festival 1 : Sunday, February 8, 2009
Gosh, there are just so many things I have been meaning to update about, like Studiofrost Fashion Festival, Ili’s birthday celebration, my M&Ms’ progress, and of course, Sharleez! But as usual, time is rarely on my side, and that leaves me with a forsaken blog. And to think I came up with that Playdoh entry first. Quite pitiful, I must say. So anyway, let me start first with Studiofrost Fashion Festival. I think I can do this, provided my girls do not demand my attention within the next few minutes or so.
Alhamdullilah, the hard work paid off. The event was everything we had hoped for. Turn out on both days was more than overwhelming, and we could not be more thankful to our customers for their endless support, as well as my parents and family members for believing in us. Thank you also to
Kak Hanim from Berita Harian for dropping by, and for that much appreciated write up on Berita Minggu today. Here are some pictures from the event.
The entrance to Studiofrost Fashion Festival
The refreshment corner.
The crowd.
The Studiofrost team on day one.
The Studiofrost team on day two.
The Studiofrost family.
Our Babyfrost model.
Our Babyfrost model with the men.
The future Babyfrost models. Akan datang!
Mysha trying her luck in modeling.
Shafiq, our cashier for two days straight.
The Nadyas with two of our customers.
End of day one.
End of day two and Studiofrost Fashion Festival 1.
And please, do expect more from Studiofrost. We have a lot in store for you in the near future, like our own clothing line for adults and babies, more Muslimah wear, and Studiofrost Fashion Festival 2. All that and more coming up pretty soon!
At Studiofrost, we aim to keep surprising and pleasing our buyers.
Once again, thank you everybody for your support!
:)
@ 08:24 p.m.
: Our Playdoh Party : Sunday, February 8, 2009
Thanks to several reasons better left concealed for now, Nurul and I have been spending a lot of time together nowadays. And since we are always together, we do things we both like doing, and we also end up doing things that we would not do on normal days. Our latest craze is, believe it or not, Playdoh! It all started with me telling Nurul about how much Sharleez loves playing Playdoh in school, and how irresistible I find Playdoh. Nurul got so energized and started telling me about how she had every single set of Playdoh when she was young, and how much she just loves playing with Playdoh. Loves, because she STILL loves playing with Playdoh. So we both decided there and then to go to Toys R Us right away to buy Sharleez every single set of Playdoh we could grab our hands on. Can I just add here that we were the ones overly excited, and not Sharleez? Sharleez was just sitting in her stroller, watching us silly adults make a fool out of ourselves. We were like, “Sharleez look at this, an ice cream making set!!” and “Sharleez, do you want this pizza making set? Yes, right?” In truth, we just wanted all the Playdoh sets for ourselves.
We could not wait to get home just so that we could play with them Playdoh sets. And we did just that. We turned Sharleez’s room upside down along the way. It was really funny. Sharleez was trying really hard to figure out how to knead the Playdoh into shapes while Nurul and I already had a competition going on. A “Make A Meal” competition. Oh my god, you would not want to be there witnessing us both. We were screeching like hyenas while creating our meals. We could not contain our exhilaration, simply put!
This was what I came up with.
And this was what Nurul came up with.
She was so proud of her creations, I tell you!
Check out the Playdoh on her jeans! Bet she was proud of that too! Lol!
Deprived childhood, you say? Maybe.
But the bottomline is, we really did have a lot of fun while babysitting.
And we are so going to have another Playdoh party soon!
@ 10:11 a.m.
: After The Party: Day One : Friday, January 30, 2009
@ 04:33 a.m.
: Studiofrost Fashion Festival Day One : Friday, January 30, 2009
Well, well, well! Studiofrost Fashion Festival's turn out on day one was amazingly overwhelming! We did not expect such a big crowd! Thank you so much to those who dropped by. We truly appreciate it. It was really nice to meet you girls finally! And for those who missed out a lot on day one, worry not! Day two promises an even harder to resist deals from MORE exclusive new arrivals to MORE flower hairclips to to MORE headbands in more colours to MORE bargain bin items! And what's more, we are going to further reduce most of the prices of our items on the last day because EVERYTHING has just got to go!
Make it a date with us today?
Aranda Country Club Executive Suite 2303
60 Pasir Ris Drive 3, Singapore 519497
The craziness will begin at 6.30 pm today, and ends at 11 pm! So come on, join in the craziness!
Lots of Love,
The Studiofrost Team
@ 04:01 a.m.
: 4 times 2. : Monday, January 26, 2009
Finally, an update!
As usual, I have been so busy with my Nadyas. They are getting more active by the day, I am having a bit of a hard time catching up with them. Age is catching up with me, though. I am turning twenty eight in less than a month's time. Lol! Okay where was I? Right, catching up with my Nadyas. The initial stages were very tough, I almost gave up! Come on, I have only started becoming a mother about two years ago, and I cannot deceive myself and everyone by saying I am already a perfect mother. I am not, YET. Thankfully, my family members are especially supportive. They truly understand what I am going through, and I know they are trying their best to help me out whenever they can so that I can make the best out of each day with my Nadyas. Only God knows how grateful I am to have a family so very supportive. Only God knows! :)
And only God knows how much I love my M&Ms, who turned four months old on the 23rd. They have grown up, alright! I am very pleased with their progress so far, despite the traditional belief that twins are prone to firstly, late physical development and secondly, slow language development. Ya da ya da ya da. Now, I know for sure that my M&Ms are definitely not slow in terms of their physical development. Come on, look at their size since day one. They can easily pass off as sumo wrestlers. Myreen is already able to sit up straight with assistance. Mysha needs to work a bit harder as she is still having a hard time supporting her heavy fat cheeks. This explains why Mysha is always looking down. It is not because she is always asleep. It is because her cheeks are too heavy for her. Lol!
My M&Ms are not too bad either in the area of speech development. They babble a lot, respond to our silly faces and voices by making silly sounds, and are beginning to imitate sounds. They have also started responding to their own names. Their attention span during reading time is slightly longer now, and this gives me the opportunity to complete reading more storybooks to them. So far, they have been reading the same four books over and over again. I am not too ambitious yet when it comes to reading of books to them as I believe in repeating the same storybooks to them. The young ones learn better through repetition. Repeat after me. Lol! But seriously, I think repetition works no matter how humdrum it can be. I used the same approach on Sharleez when she was a baby and she now knows the title to every single book she owns. She even memorizes the storyline of some of her favourite books and reads the books to the M&Ms. So I do not have any problem at all whenever I need a book to read to the M&Ms as Librarian Sharleez is always there to help me.
Oh my god. I can just go on and on talking about my girls.
Let's just look at their pictures for now to see how much they have grown, can?
Mysha, obviously pleased with her accomplishment.
Myreen however, is not too pleased and ends up wailing.
Sharleez turns a deaf ear most of the time...
and prefers practicing on her poses.
Wonder where she learns that from. *Coughs Mama Aan*
Meanwhile, Mama Aan has been an extremely reliable babysitter. I can seriously trust her with my Nadyas, anytime.
Trust her to sacrifice her self image by looking silly all the time for the sake of entertaining my Nadyas. How terribly sweet.
Ian or Papa Ian, is not too bad either but needs to learn to be more sensitive to little girls' feelings. Lol!
Tatek as usual, is a great daddy! His patience when dealing with the Nadyas, is praiseworthy. :)
And wey, give me some credit too for giving birth to the girls, at the very least?
I think I am doing a reasonably good job so far too, as a mother.
And what's so funny about that, M&Ms?
Bah!
Credits: M&Ms' barrets from Babyfrost.
The barrets and other great stuff for babies will be on sale during Studiofrost's Fashion Festival. Stocks are limited, so do hurry!
@ 02:07 a.m.
: Love Starts After Dark : Saturday, January 17, 2009
Studiofrost Online Boutique
is delighted to welcome you to
The Fashion Festival by Studiofrost
A two-day love affair
7:00PM - 10:30PM
This 29th / 30th January
Aranda Execute Suite 2303
Aranda Country Club
60 Pasir Ris Drive 3, Singapore 519497
We promise you two evenings of priceless bargains and myriad range of items including :
Studiofrost Exclusives
Presenting a full collection of our new range for the season! Items are not on sale on the website and are strictly exclusive to TFF's two day affair. Mmm mm.
Babyfrost
Sharleez N drags her wagon of brand new and preloved clothing and urges for all baby bonitas to give her some good lovin'. Little bambinos, treat yourself to a balloon from Sharleez herself!
Accessories
Just what is an outfit without accessories? Shoes, necklaces, headgear - you name it! Irresistibly enticing..
Bargain Bin
Dip your hands into our Bargain Bin items encompassing gently used quirky items for both men, women and children. The choices are endless.
Light Bites & Savory Snacks
Pit stop! Indulge in our mouth watering home made snacks and refreshments as you enjoy breeze from the beach.
.. All that, and so much more. Do prepare your dollar bills in advance as all items have to paid in good ol cash!
We'll see you there!
@ 11:47 p.m.
: Mysha's Antics 1 : Wednesday, January 14, 2009
It's such a joy watching them grow.
This is Mysha & her Daddy, communicating in baby language no less.
Now do you understand why I want to be a SAHM so much?
@ 09:05 p.m.
: Royal Rumble! : Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Move aside Hulk Hogan, here come Mysha & Myreen!
How, do they have the potential to be heavyweight champions?
@ 08:48 p.m.
: Of numbers & alphabets. : Wednesday, January 14, 2009
What do you know, this old cow here will be turning 28 come February 25th! TWENTY EIGHT.Of course it is a big deal. Of course I am scared of turning so much older by the year. We are talking about a big number here. Who wouldn't be scared? But as they say, the only way to stay young is to grow old gracefully. True? Well, I am for sure trying to stay young each day by keeping myself very close to the very young ones; the Nadyas. I understand baby language. speak baby language. I read baby books. Now do you believe me when I say I am trying to stay young? And to those truly concerned about my birthday present (lol!), you should know what my birthday wishlist is for this year. Nothing too fanciful. Nothing too costly. Enough details given? More details will be sent via SMS, don't worry!
Anyway. Let's move on from the age issue to the schooling issue. If you have been following my updates at Twitter, you would have known about my so-called quest for a reasonably good playgroup for Sharleez. A reasonably good playgroup in this case, must be of a walking distance from our place and msot importantly has a teacher who is able to provide motherly care towards the really young ones. Her grasp of the English language needs to be reasonably good, not fantastic. Come on, we cannot expect so much from a playgroup teacher. As long as it is not Singlish, I am not complaining. The first playgroup that we went to which is only a few blocks away from our place, somehow fits all the above mentioned criteria. What's more, Sharleez was so excited the moment she reached the school, and could instantly adapt to the new environment without much help from us. She made herself at home the moment she was in the classroom, and even made the first move to shake hands with the teacher. But the funniest thing was when she took a tiny book on 'Shapes', got the teacher's attention, and named correctly all the shapes in the book. Who is the teacher, here? That was when we decided that there was really no need even to search any further for another playgroup. And so much for our quest for a playgroup today! Only a visit to the first playgroup and we already had a good first impression! Lol! But seriously, only God knows how at ease I felt when we managed to secure a place for Sharleez in that particular playgroup despite her only starting school in March! And only God knows how extremely tickled I felt when the teacher gave Sharleez her first set of uniform! The uniform is just too cute, and I can already imagine Sharleez in it. With her Barney schoolbag and those super chubby cheeks to boot, she is almost ready to go!
So hear me now.
We will be attending trial lessons tomorrow and Friday, and I cannot wait, can?
If only they had playgroups for adults with deprived childhood as well.
Lol!
@ 07:37 p.m.
: Mother Azizah. : Saturday, January 10, 2009
Mak has been helping out a lot with the twins and Sharleez on weekdays when I am busy with err, something. When I say a lot, I really do mean A LOT. Given the choice, I would not want to weigh her down at all since the girls are by right, purely Tatek's and my responsibility. But choice I do not have any. Taking care of an infant is already that time consuming and demanding, so you can imagine what it is like to have two infants plus an active toddler under the same roof! Not easy. Let me admit that thus far, I am still not that confident yet to handle all three girls by myself. I get nervous, in fact! So for Mak to singlehandedly handle all my three girls five days a week without complaining is truly remarkable. I cannot thank Mak enough, ever.
However, I do know that Mak reads my blog regularly. :)
So Mak, thank you so much!
I'll make it a point to let you totally rest during the weekends, okay? I do not need the weekends that much anyway since everyday is pretty much like a holiday to me already.
And I will make certain that my girls will grow up to love you as much as they love me. That should not be much of a problem I am sure since they already love you that much, anyway. I am so sure.
Okay, I have said my thanks.
Now its time to say goodnight.
I have a big headache to take care of, you know?
@ 11:46 p.m.
: Two Little Candles. : Thursday, January 8, 2009
My most precious Sharleez Nadya turned 2 on the 3rd of January 09, and that was by far the most memorable day for me in 2009. Lol! I had been planning for her second birthday months before the actual party despite wanting it to be just a simple party. I did not want to make the party as huge as her first birthday party this time round as I really wanted a personal touch to it with the presence of just my family members. Yes it was a simple party alright, what with the party theme, dress code, an invitation card and goody bag prepared for all my family members. I had ordered a Strawberry Shortcake for Sharleez a month before her birthday, and even had the party people come over to my place to fix the helium balloons and giant
Strawberry Shortcake balloon an hour before the party. I bought Strawberry Shortcake paper plates, papercups, napkins, party poppers and basically anything pink I could think of. I told you it was just a SIMPLE party. Lol! Nurul called me a freak when I told her about all the plans for Sharleez's second birthday party. Ili did not want to stick to the dress code initially because she thought the whole must-dress-up-in-pink-party-at-home idea was simply gay. Gay or not, she had no choice but to follow suit as she adores Sharleez that much. So in pink, she was dressed up in. Thank you Ili for sacrificing your self-image for Sharleez's birthday! :)
I was moved deeply to see everyone putting in so much effort for Sharleez's party. Tatek and I went out shopping for pink outfits days before the party. Mak searched her whole wardrobe for a pink outfit, and managed to find a sweet pink baju kurung in the end. Daddy ransacked his whole room and found a mysterious pink polo t-shirt which actually belongs to Ian, after thorough invesgation was carried out. But like they say, finder's keeper. Nurul had prepared for the outfit for the party way ahead! She was confident nobody would be able to beat her outfit. True enough, she was the most well-dressed 'guest' on that day! Well done, Aan! Haa Aan. Haa Aan. (private joke!)
Private joke aside, on the actual party day, the cake from E-Creative arrived at 9 am sharp. The balloon people came at 11.45 am to put the helium balloons in place. I called MacD to order food for the party. Tatek and I then finished up on the deco with the excited Sharleez running around. I had SMSed everyone to standby at the party venue at 1 pm sharp but as expected, everyone was late and only gathered at about 2 pm. By then, the birthday girl was already quite grouchy and a bit hard to please as her nap time is usually between 2 pm to 4 pm. But the party had to go on, and thank god we managed to cheer Sharleez up along the way. We started the party with countless singing of the birthday song to her. Sharleez was extremely excited over her Strawberry Shortcake cake, I tell you! She was more than willing to blow the tiny two candles and cut the cake with Daddy's help. After a hearty MacD meal, everyone gathered at the living room for the presents opening session. There were so many presents but only one little toddler with a pair of tiny hands, so she was pretty confused as to which present to choose first when we asked her to. But she made up her mind right away when she saw that Barney wrapper. That present with that Barney wrapper was one of the many presents from the ever so generous Nurul and Ian. Thank you guys for the pair of twins dolls, the doll stroller and the cute little outfits for the dolls. Sharleez sure loves playing with them a lot and calls them Wyween (Myreen) and Tasha (Mysha)! Lol! Thank you Ili for the Jungle Tails puppet book and the many chic outfits from H&M! Thank you Shafiq for the book of nursery rhymes which comes complete with a sing along CD. Thank you Sri for the $10 and card (which earned you card of the day and the prize money of $10). Thank you Mak and Daddy for the beginning readers set and Walt Disney picture dictionary. Thanks to me and Tatek for the singing set, telephone set, and supermarket trolley set. Thank you everyone for your very touching cards for Sharleez. Thank you for dressing up in pink. Thank you for your presence. Thank you for loving Sharleez as much as we do. :)
May I now present you with the rest of the pictures of Sharleez's pink Strawberry Shortcake party?
The birthday girl hugging her best friend for now, Strawberry Shortcake, or Ahberry Cake, as what she calls her.
I am glad she was that excited over her presents.
Having fun with the floating balloons.
Mysha and Myreen, eagerly waiting for the party to start.
Mysha and Myreen, getting ready for the party.
The birthday girl all dolled up and waiting for the guests to arrive.
The pink party freaks.
The most well-dressed for that day. Bah!
Sharleez's birthday cake.
Concentrating on the cake and candles while we sang her the birthday song.
Blowing the candles with all her might.
The only time she is allowed to hold the knife.
The pink family.
Mysha fell asleep halfway through the party.
So did Myreen!
But might as well! We had our MacD feast in peace. Lol!
Sharleez got tired of her hair and turned it into a big mess. Thank god for the Singapore girl, Mama E, who managed to fix her hair within minutes! Lol!
Presents opening time!
Running away with the telephone set and refusing to open the rest of the presents.
Myreen looked on and did not know what to say. What's new? Lol!
We ended the party with a much anticipated duet by Ian and Ili.
Their 2009 remix of the "Ting Tong" song got Sharleez shaking to the music.
Lol!
What a berry special party indeed.
Happy turning two once again, my Sharleez Nadya.
Mysha and Myreen, getting ready for the party.
Presents opening time!
