Merancang kejutan harijadi

Assalamualaikum and Hi,

Ni kira #throwback #balingbelakang lah sebab the actual event was on February. Sorry kalau title tu misleading. Hehehhe..Tapi siapa tahu this could help you in planning surprise birthday cake blow-out the candles for your loved ones. Nak sebut birthday party, what we did the other day tak layak dipanggil party pun. So, I settled with tiup lilin kek harijadi sudah!

This was for my husband. Birthday dia bulan lepas on 25th. Hari Rabu, I still remember sebab kids wearing baju sukan setiap hari Rabu and that day lepas sekolah terus bawak diorang pergi cari helium balloon.

One thing about merancang/planning...at least kena lah ada dalam fikiran apa yang kita nak buat. Semua tu saling berkait dengan berapa bajet $$ yang ada, masa dan juga siapa yang akan ada sama (nak tolong sebelum, semasa dan selepas). It didn't take me long to finalize my plan sebab simple je pun.

Bajet? Ciput. I need helium balloon, cake, candle, birthday card and that's it.
Masa? 2-3 hours (from the time fetch the kids at 5pm till Tuan Besar sampai rumah around 7 or 8pm), melampau kan? patutnya dah lama boleh fikir and plan something better. Tapi I'm not good in giving surprise. Plus, mana pernah surprise-surprise seumur hidup ni?
Siapa? Just me and the boys

So mana nak cari helium balloon, cake, candle, birthday card? Hahahha..baru berapa item nak kena cari rasa hura hara dah ni. It has to be from somewhere yang berdekatan sahaja. Kalau jauh nanti makan masa pulak kan. For sure cake not Secret Recipe (kan orang kata before GST lagi dah ada additional charges. Tak bajet-friendly gitu). So cake beli dekat Berry's Putra Heights. Senang! Lagipun I ingat dia ada cakap, "next time kita boleh beli kek dekat sini. Murah banding secret recipe". Ting! Confirm the right choice. After all, he didn't really appreciate cake. Me and kids pun biasa2 je. Well, kek jadi macam prop je nanti. :P

Birthday card? Well easy peasy lemon squeezy. Buat sendiri je lah! Wakakakka. I need to practise using china ink and the caligraphy brush. Comot-comot sikit pun tak pe. Yang penting ikhlas.

Tadaaaaaaa!

Apasal bergelap? Let's save that for later. Nak citer pasal pergi cari helium balloon. Ya Allah, sampai ke new mall Gamuda Walk kat Kota Kemuning sana mencari. I know got one shop dekat USJ Taipan tapi nanti sure tak ada parking. Leaving kids in the car is not a wise option. So tak pe lah jauh sikit. Lepas sekolah terus ke sana. Kedai baru je bukak. Nama kedai Awesome Party Shop.

credit to FB page of the shop

So we bought birthday candles RM12.90 (dia macam bunga api bila pasang), helium balloon x 2 RM9 and Foil balloon RM18.90. Balik tu dalam kereta Adam dah siap2 plan dah macam mana nanti nak surprise daddy. Nak kena hias belon, tutup lampu bagi gelap and etc. I said to him, hias belon? belon pun 3 ketul je kot!! :p Hahahhaha... kelakar lah diorang ni.

Dah sampai rumah, tak sempat nak rehat asyik tanya kat mana nak letak belon tu cantik? Kek kat mana, birthday card mana? ohoiiii. sabaq sat! Still got time. Lambat lagi Dedi nak sampai.

Bila Dedi sampaiiiiiii.... kelam kabut tutup lampu. Adam offered himself to 'alihkan perhatian' dedi ...dia kata..mami would need time nak pasang lilin. Ye laaaaaaa cari matches tak jumpa! Pulak tu lupa tutup kipas angin, everytime nyala api je padam. Tsk tsk.

and finally! Dedi came in and all of us sang a happy birthday song. Tiup lilin, hugs and kisses. Nampak gambar tu Mami panjat kerusi tau!

I hope you like it Dedi! We love ya.

Happy Birthday Sayang

Assalamualaikum & Hi,

Every year on Xmas day, we have a celebration. Bukan celebrate Xmas obviously. A birthday celebration. 8 years ago, we had Adam in our little family. Sweet je bila ingat balik first time jadi ibu. Terkial-kial nak dukung baby, nak bagi susu, nak salin pampers dan macam-macam lagi perihal menjaga baby. That time, we only catered for his needs.


He's a big boy now. He has learned to have 'WANTS' in his life. Macam-macam dia nak. Toys, makan sedap, adik baru, pergi jalan-jalan, tengok movie, Xbox dan macam-macam kehendak lain. Ada yang small things we can just fulfill. Tapi kalau yang besar-besar tu, selalunya kena tunggu big occasion macam dapat result XM bagus ke, birthday and etc.

Tahun ni result XM pun corot. Tapi bila birthday, nak mintak hadiah yang boleh tahan lumayan. Antara dengan nak bagi atau tidak. Setelah beberapa pusingan buat perbincangan keluarga.... akhirnya satu perjanjian dibuat, dapat hadiah birthday ni kena study hard, rajin solat, jadi good boy and etc.

We really hope this will work. Insya Allah.

Location for makan-makan: @thefoodiescafe at Putra Heights.

Make your own photo props

Assalamualaikum & Hi,

See that photo props? Yeah, made those myself. And I'm proud of it. Given time, resources and other constraints.....siap jugak malam sebelum birthday kenduri the boys bulan lepas.

Actually, if you are the less rajin type can just order it online. Tengok instagram for #photoboothprops or #photopropsmalaysia
I have seen some insta sellers are selling per piece RM3...kalau mahal sikit ada yang jual 10 pieces sekali for RM60! There are different sizes, materials being used and customized designs. Meriah korang!

I got ideas to make my own version from hashtags tu lah... pastu pergi beli barang:

- glue gun and the glue stick (RM16.90 + RM4)
- Kain felt pelbagai warna beli dekat Daiso (RM10)
- Model Card - White color (RM3.50)
- satay stick - tak jumpa dowel (RM3)

Additional barang required which already ada dekat rumah:
- pencil (for drawing purpose)
- Cutter/knife
- scissors
- Marker pen/ magic color and etc

If only banyak masa, can even decorate with glitters and other artsy stuffs...which usually boleh beli from art shops, DAISO and etc....

I googled, Youtubed...to see how to make one...and finally I made 13-14 pieces of them (some already missing in the picture). Senang je korang nak buat ni rupanya. Tapi kena creative sikit lah. If you can't draw ..fret not... sebab ada je website yang bagi free template such as this one from Personal Creations.

1. Print/draw the design on a paper/felt
2. Cut it out
3. Paste it on model card (optional for flimsy ones)
4. Fix dowel/satay stick using glue gun

Done!

Supermakwannabe as a Party Planner

Assalamualaikum...

Oh Yes, I am a party planner too! :p

Took the description randomly from this website here. "Party planners (also known as event planners) coordinate gatherings of all types and sizes and handle every detail ranging from the venue to party theme. You'll likely need a bachelor's degree, but the job can be exciting and allow you to meet a lot of people. The career can be demanding at times, as you'll need to work under deadlines to make sure all the party details are in place and your clients are satisfied."

Well well..What can I say. I'm over qualified since I have Master's degree (that is no biggie but worth mention). Yes the job can be exciting in which I got to meet and communicate with a lot of people. Such as the restaurant manager (handle bookings and arrangement), school principal (to ask for parents' contact number - to send invitation on behalf), family/friends, the parents (of whose kids to be invited & need to ask permission) and on and on.

Working under deadlines? Obviously. Like the birthday party is in 2 weeks time. The Mothers' Day celebration just few days away. Some instant surprises unplanned lets-blow-some-candle over 4-slices of different cake kind of celebration. All I (have to) do.

Of course those are all for the sake of making sure the party details are in place and 'clients' are satisfied!

This will be sticky post for label 'party planner'. And introduction before I actually do up the post for recent birthday party for the boys. Oh it was so much fun!!!

#Latepost : Makan di D'Kayangan Buffet BBQ Steamboat sempena Hari Ibu 2014

Assalamualaikum...

Well, we managed to gather most of the siblings for Mother's Day tahun ni. Mungkin juga sebab tuah double celebration sempena Konvokesyen during the day (blog post about it read here). So malam tu pergi dinner beramai-ramai. It was a fun occasion ramai-ramai pergi makan steambaot buffet dekat D'Kayangan Buffet BBQ Steamboat.

Nak makan BBQ steamboat ni was originally idea Kak Ita, kalau pergi Seoul Garden usually small setting difficult nak get about 20 people to sit down together at one table. Bila google dan study sikit pasal tempat ni...rasa boleh la booked. From the fanpage nampak macam-macam pilihan makanan. Ada big round table. Tempat macam okay jugak (dari dalam gambar lah). Lepas tu, ada promotion for the first 50 customers during Mother's Day dapat kek "Hari Ibu". Adult RM33, kids 5 y/o above RM17. Abang besar belanja...laju je we alls makan..selera!! Semoga murah rezeki la ye abang besar. :-)

Some useful information kepada sesiapa yang nak pergi ke sana.

Location : Sri Acapella Service Apartment, GPS Coordinates N3.088301 E101.54794 Shah Alam
Hours : Mon-Sun 6pm -12am
Services : takes reservation and walk in customers
Other info: Cash only :-)

And oh yes, before I actually decided to book makan buffet ni, ada la baca review from other bloggers. One review by FatinSuhana yang femes tu was really macam nailed my decision lah. I pictured that it's going to be more or less macam apa yang dalam gambar dia. Can't deny she took good photos too.

Sekali.......

Hari tu agak kelam kabut, we all sampai tengok the reserved table was small round table written 11 pax. Masa called for booking I rasa ada cakap 3 kids and 11 adults. So we expect bila sampai tu table arrangement dah proper lah. But apparently that was not the case. Sedikit kecewa bila mintak setting new table, mereka bagi kita duduk dekat luar. Lepas tu, buat kerja tu macam endah tak endah. The girl yang jaga cashier tu didn't really inform us "Puan, table kita setup dekat luar ye since you all ramai". Not at all. Kesian my mom kena tunggu dan tertanya-tanya which I also tak ada jawapan. And my SIL pulak bawak her baby yang baru lepas habis pantang. Macam kurang sesuai lah dekat luar tapi malas nak kecoh so okay je la. Hujung sekali sampai tak ada bumbung dah. Luckily it was not raining.

Bila dah duduk dekat luar, tak de la plak signboard D'Kayangan BBQ Buffet Steamboat whatever nak posing for photos kan. Aisehmen. With running kids and all, boleh pulak lupa nak ambil gambar sekitar tempat makanan tu. Pilihan makanan memang banyak which I don't complain at all. Toilet pretty clean, surau pun ada kalau nak solat.

Tapi.........

We still cherish the good time of togetherness lah. Bila semua sampai, lepas dapat complimentary kek tu we all nyanyi ramai-ramai lagu "Ratu Hatiku" untuk mak. Cewahhhhh, first time kot ramai-ramai nyanyi macam koir! We had good time catching up, group photos, selfie and etc.

Happy Mother's Day to all mothers out there!

Mother's Day plan

Assalamualaikum...

Mother's Day is around the corner. Kalau ada yang selalu confuse tu, in Malaysia it's celebrated on 2nd Sunday of May. So, this coming Sunday 11th May is the Mother's Day. In our family, we don't really celebrate it like a big occasion. At least send wishes and sometimes eat out to spend time together.

Well, we should celebrate mother every day by right (ayat cover kah itew?) No. Seriously. Ibu, Ibu, Ibu lepas tu baru bapa. Ingat ye anak-anak. Afterall, she (ehem me including) is the only person who works 24-7 for FREE. Yes, FREE with clause ;p (minus the 1-2 pasar malam tudungs every month, facial treatment, massage with Makcik Odah, upper lips threading at salon, western dinner sebab craving, kopi mahal, share dengan adik ipar beli skirt and yes the list goes on and on)

This year, Mother's Day coincides with Convocation Day. Double celebration yo! So, mak is coming over. She will be my honorable guest along with MrKingOfMyHeart. Kalau abah ada lagi...mesti abah pun datang. Al-fatihah.

The plan? Takde plan pun. Convocation pepagi buta sidang ke-2 sesi pukul 7.30 pagi. We are targeting lepas subuh terus kena gerak. Nanti jam dekat main gate UiTM. Probably by noon baru abis. Lepas tu nak ke mana kita? Haven't figure out. Makan di mana? Ada good suggestion boleh tinggalkan diruang komen.

Speaking about Convocation Day...special day...NAK PAKAI APA? Masalah orang perempuan kan. Se almari baju yang sudah dipakai, dikatanya tak ada baju nak pakai. Kalau ada baju baru...baru ada baju! I beg to differ, excuse me. I will be wearing baju kurung raya yang lepas. For real! I berjaya this time. Semangat yang kuat ilham dari Allah..berjaya jugak tak swipe credit card, tekan ATM machine atau make online payment for #OOTD di hari Konvokesyen nanti.

Tadaaaaa....

Selamat Hari Jadi King of My Heart

Assalamualaikum.

Dia bukan jenis suka kejutan, tambahan pula jenis kejutan yang perlu belanja besar sehingga membazir. Tiada perancangan tertentu untuk meraikan hari jadi si dia pada hari itu. Dia pergi kerja seperti biasa, anak-anak juga ke sekolah. Saya pula tiba-tiba mendapat pelawaan untuk 'freelance job' beberapa jam di Kuala Lumpur. Alhamdulillah, dapat sedikit duit untuk berbelanja! Saya terfikir hendak belikan kek ais kerim Baskin Robin, sayangnya tak ada rezeki kerana kesuntukan masa.

Selepas bergegas pulang dan terlewat sedikit mengambil dua orang adik beradik itu, kami tiga beranak singgah ke Giant untuk membeli kek di Secret Recipe. Sudahnya, kami membeli 4 jenis kek yang pelbagai dan minta diberikan beberapa batang lilin. Hmmm, agak okay juga begini. Masing-masing dapat makan kek kesukaan sendiri. Si dia pula memang kurang gemar makan kek. :-)

Selain kek, saya terfikir untuk menyuruh anak-anak saya menyediakan sesuatu untuk Dedi mereka. Sesuatu yang mereka hasilkan sendiri. Kebiasaanya kad hari jadi bukan? Tetapi ada kelainan pada kali ini. Mereka membuat ciptaan dari tanah liat/plastesin untuk diperlihatkan kepada Dedi. Saya suka asalkan mereka dapat dijauhkan sebentar dari permainan berupa gajet. Sekarang memang saya menjalankan kempen #boysnogadgetplz di rumah. Ini adalah salah satu tool yang saya gunakan. Nampaknya ia berhasil. Alhamdulillah.

Si Abang, Adam lebih kreatif dan ada daya cipta. Dia membuat beberapa bentuk haiwan dan bentuk yang berkonsepkan "Animal Zoo". Manakala adik kurang sedikit daya imaginasi, cuba membuat beberapa rantaian tali berwarna warni!

Selepas nyanyi lagu harijadi dan tiup lilin kek, mereka sungguh gembira untuk memberi kejutan (kononnya) pada Dedi - hasil kerjatangan mereka. Tadaaaaaaa...

Segala doa yang baik-baik untuk ketua keluarga kami, imam kami dan pelindung keluarga kami ya Allah. :-)

Happy 7th Birthday Putra Adam

Setiap tahun bila orang lain merayakan xmas, kami sekeluarga akan meraikan sambutan ulangtahun kelahiran - Adam. Yes, he was born on xmas day. 7 tahun yang lepas, I gave birth to him. C-sect di pagi hari selepas subuh. Patutnya 26hb plan, tapi malam xmas eve tu mengidam makan kek secret recipe tak dapat..marah kat dedi sampai pecah ketuban! Drama kan? Tak lupa sampai sekarang uols. Lagipun orang kata kalau apa2 hal anak sulung memang sentimental, memang takkan lupa.

Gambar few years ago when he was 4 or 5yrs old.

Tahun ni tak plan untuk celebrate macam tahun2 sebelum nya. Sorry ye sayang. Atok baru meninggal October yang lepas, so mami tak rasa a celebration is suitable at this moment. Kita go makan2 somewhere je lah, tapi hadiah tetap diusahakan! So on that day, we all pegi makan dekat TGIF, IOI Mall puchong. Many times cuba ingatkan dia..bukan party..celebration tu yang penting.. he's a grown up boy now. So kena jadi lebih bertanggungjawab, jadi good boy, anak soleh..bla bla bla... memang semua mak-mak suka bebelkan? Cakap benda yang sama berulang2..cakap tu kan doa? :-)

Tahun ni tak de photographer nak amik good photos. :-( Butttt...fortunately ada helper yang dapat tolong amik gambar ala kadar. Jadi la dari tak de kan....

Tahun ni Mami wajibkan all to wear white as theme color. Nampak sedondon and I pretty happy semua orang comply walaupun at the end of the makan2 baju both of them dah macam belacan. Kena sos ..kena sodas...sabar je lah! By the way, I think kids clothes beli dekat H&M adalah berbaloi. It's reasonable and trendy. Both of them wearing blue pants cost RM69.90 and long sleeve round neck t-shirts RM25.90.