Tampoi

Dear Diary,

My parents came down to KL a few days after I gave birth to see their new grandchild. As usual they brought along many food. One of the things that they brought was this fruit. Do you know what fruit is this? This is buah tampoi. I have never seen this fruit being sold in KL. I remember eating it once or twice during my childhood.

Buah tampoi has thick orange-light brownish skin and white flesh. The same method to open a mangosteen is applied to this fruit as well in order for us to get to the flesh inside. The taste is sweet + sour… ala masam-masam manis gitu.

I didn’t really enjoy eating the fruit because the flesh is not much. Buah tampoi is seasonal and it has seed. It is not advisable to eat the seed because it will cause constipation. Macam tak puas je makan sebab biji besar isi sikit.

Ages ago, buah tampoi was known as jungle fruit but now it is planted commercially; for example in Sarawak. For more info regarding this fruit, please refer to Wikipedia.

An End of A Chapter

Dear Diary,

January 2010 - Imran entered pre-school. First day of school, I was choked with emotions. Felt like only yesterday I held him in my arms for the first time, he was still a baby. All of a sudden, there he was walking into his classroom. He was so eager to start learning and meeting new friends. I waited outside his kindergarten on the first day just to keep an eye on him. Fortunately, he adapted well to his new environment. He looked happy every time I peeked to check how he was doing. So, second day onwards he was on his own.

February 2010 - Imran started taking school van to kindergarten. Uncle Low, his van driver, is a very responsible man.

May 2010 - Hubby and I went to Imran’s kindergarten for his report card. I already wrote an entry about this before. As days went by, his writings and reading improved.

November 2010 - Hubby and I took another two trips to the kindergarten. The first trip was for his report card. Imran’s results were not as good as previous semester; however, he’s still among the top ten in his class. The second trip was for his graduation day. Jangan tak tahu, tadika sekarang ada konvo tau! The same mushy feeling I felt on his first day revisited me and I had tears in my eyes. Ermayum, a friend of mine, wrote in her blog about this uncontrollable motherly feeling. I totally understand how she felt because I experienced the same thing. Whenever Imran’s eyes searched and found mine, that feeling surged and tears welled up my eyes.

The school term ended in the middle of November. Imran was sad to part with his teachers and friends. Eh, sentimental gak anak teruna aku sorang ni. He has his ups and downs. Along the way, there were days when he showed so much enthusiasm and there were days when he needed pushes and coaxes. The graduation day marked the end of a chapter in his life. He got many more chapters to go through. I hope he perseveres and pray he’ll succeed in life.

For the Love of Cheese

Dear Diary,

Let me tell you a secret. I have a weakness for cheese. It doesn’t matter the cheese comes in what form, be it in cakes, buns or dishes, I simply love it. So, when I read that Pizza Hut’s latest promotion is Extreme Cheesy 6 Pizza, I went berserk. This is crraaazzzyyy!!!!! Who would ever imagine six types of cheese on one pizza? Well, brilliant people at Pizza Hut made this wish come true. No way I’m gonna let this promotion ends without me tasting my dream cheesy pizza.

Despite my strong desire to try the cheesy pizza, I’m in a dilemma. You see, I’m now in confinement after giving birth to my third child last month. Can a lady in confinement eat pizza? What harm can an innocent piece of pizza do? Furthermore, my confinement will end in just a few days.

After much deliberation, I braced myself and together with my family gave Tesco Ampang’s Pizza Hut a visit. Without hesitation, I ordered Extreme Cheesy 6 Combo 2, Sweet & Spicy Chicken Wings, Primavera Spaghetti and Hot Milo. My pizza has pepperoni (Cheesy Pepperoni) as topping since I must consider everybody else’s taste as well.

When I took my first bite, all six cheeses which are parmesan, mozzarella, romano, cheddar, provolone and Monterey Jack, came together in my mouth to create a perfect harmony. “This is heaven,” I thought to myself. The pepperoni added an extra zing. The Extreme Cheesy 6 Pizza is very scrumptious that I ate four (yes, you read correctly) slices of pizza. Never in my life, can I finish that much pizza at one go. Even my six year old son enjoyed his pizza tremendously as you can witness in the pictures.

Shhh, don’t tell anyone I’m still in confinement. “Sorry Mama!” but “I’m crazy about Cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeese!”

Address: Lot No. 8, Ground Floor, Tesco Hypermarket Ampang, 68000 Ampang, Selangor. Website: www.pizzahut.com.my

How to Look After a Baby

Dear Diary,

Let Miss Zarra show us how to look after a baby…..

Testing je

Dodoikan baby

Breastfeeding

Sapu minyak yuyi sebelum pakai lampin

It is another story when it comes to her little brother. Lately, her jealousy is becoming more apparent. If Baby Irfan is sleeping soundly (what else baby does right), she’ll shake him or purposely talk very loud to wake the baby up. If she’s holding something for example teddy bear or toys, she’ll go near the baby and hit him. One more thing that she really likes to do is poke his brother’s eyes. Again and again, I tell her that all she’s doing to the baby are not good and she should pity and love her little brother. Also, I need to remind her that both Abah and Mama still love her. If only everything stuck in her head….hopefully as time goes by, she’ll come to terms of having a little brother.

The Wedding (Bride)

Dear Diary,

(continued from The Akad Nikah)

I’ve been delaying in continuing my life story. This post has been in my draft for months but somehow I just couldn’t care to complete and publish it. Sorry for the delay….not that anybody is actually following my life story. Never mind, I’m writing all these for my children which was my intention in the first place.

After the akad nikah, we rushed back home. The groom’s entourage went back to Hotel Seri Malaysia. Both sides had to get ready for the bersanding ceremony in the afternoon. When I got home, some of the guests had already arrived. The first thing I did as soon as I was home was to have my lunch. Who knows what time my next meal would be and I wouldn’t want my tummy to start orchestrating its own music when I am on pelamin. Then, the mak andam started putting on make up and helped me with my silver colored songket wedding dress and my long bluish veil.

After Zohor, the groom side arrived escorted by kompang group and girls carrying bunga manggar and hantaran. As their group reached my house, I came down the stairs following the trail of two flower girls and my maid of honor. Only Allah knows what I felt at that exact moment. So many emotions running through myself, fortunately I managed to walk to the pelamin and sat without any glitches. Once I was comfortably seated, then only Mr. F was allowed to join me on the pelamin.

Next on the agenda was the merenjis ceremony. The groom’s family and relatives started the merenjis followed by my family and relatives. After the merenjis, both of us were led to meja pengantin to eat together with the groom’s entourage. I did not really enjoy the meal because I was very nervous, such a loss because all the lauk pengantin were very delicious.

After everybody had their meals, the groom’s group bade farewell leaving Mr. F or should I start call him Hubby behind. The kenduri went on until late in the evening. It was one wedding that I would remember for the rest of my life….

ps: to be continued in The Wedding (Groom)

Hiccups

Dear Diary,

What do you do when your baby hiccups? Ever since I was a child, I’ve been witnessing this one petua being practiced in my family. The tip is to tear a piece of tissue or paper into a very tiny piece, wet it in water and put it on the baby’s forehead. Poof! The hiccup’s gone.

Model memperagakan kertas tisu yg telah dibasahkan di dahi

I don’t know how it works or what is the connection between wet paper and hiccup or what is the explanation behind it but this little petua works every time. Well, at least for me it magically works for my three children. By the way, my mother in law uses a tiny piece of thread instead but the method is the same and it also helps to stop the hiccup.

Sometimes we just have to rely on pesanan orang tua-tua or petua turun temurun no matter how ridiculous it seems to us because they know better but they just don’t know how to explain it scientifically.

ps: A friend from Japan, Fith, left an answer regarding this petua. Here is her explanation.....

"..mmg ada kajian sains yg dah prove-kan petua ni,ianya berkesan sbb baby akan cuba fokus pada benda yg duk atas dahi dia tu n somehow ia membantu dia bernafas dgn baik dan hiccups tu berhenti.sgt menarik bila org2 tua temui cara ni mendahului teknologi sains.so lps ni klau org ketawa atau pertikaikan tindakan tu,kita dah boleh jwb dgn ilmiah,hehe..."