My Design : Family Day Promo

7 tired grandchildren

My wonderful parent is blessed with SEVEN adorable grandchildren (for the time being) and they take care all 7, everyday until we (me, my husband and my sister) came home from work everyday.

It was not easy, I know. I respect them for being able to manage all 7 everyday. Thank you.

This is the typical view at my parent's at night. Tired kids in a messy living room, waiting for their parents to come home from work.

This is a reminder that I have to go home early starting from tomorrow onwards. My parent needs a good rest.

Nazran fell down : Annular Ligament Tear

One shocking SMS from my dad before I headed to my IELTS' Speaking Test two weeks ago, on Friday. "Nazmi fell down at his school. Then his friend fell down and landed on his arm. Now he couldnt move his arm at all".

I rushed home after the test and bring him to the clinic. He was then referred to the hospital. I went back to my mom's, gather some stuff including Nazran's MyKid and IELTS book (because I have three more tests the next day) and pick up my husband at our house.

We spent the night at the Emergency Room. My husband accompanied Nazran for x-ray. I was studying outside +__+  He had annular ligament tear on his left arm. Alhamdulillah no fracture.

I had sleepless nights until my IELTS test. I fell asleep four times during the test. He cried the whole night. And the day after. And the day after. Luckily my director approved my leave on Monday to take care of Nazran. 

His arm is getting better now although still painful once in a while.

Crafty Sunday : Gotham City under attack!!!!

I bring home a couple of boxes from my colleague, Mr. Ravi's Deepavali hamper. I know exactly what to do with that beautiful boxes.

Crafty crafty..

Guess what they were making?

Gotham City under attack!!

I asked the kids to look for a small cars as a prop for the photoshoot. Nazreen only manage to find a fire rescue truck and Nazran came back with a Batmobile. Nabil came back with a few cars and trucks but they are out of proportion.

Their finds made the project more interesting because we have to stage it as if the Gotham City (to relate to the Batmobile) is under attack (building on fire - to justify the presence of the fire rescue truck). Nazran took out his Captain America and Wolverine to do the fire-fighting work. Nabil still have the leftover string from the paper cup rabbit project, for the firemen's hose.

I REALLLLLY love the outcome of this project!!!!

Working @ home

The best part when you do your work at home is... you can choose where you want to do it.

I chose the Dining Area.

When I needed a break, I made myself a hot chocolate and bake myself an apple crumble :)

And I keep wondering why I dont lose any weight.

Baby Nazmi's favourite spot

A Trip to the National Library

My husband went to Fraser's Hill on weekend and Baby Nazmi had a fever. I sent and fetched my other three sons at two different tuition classes with this boy...

I bought them lunch on the go then we went straight to the National Library. I have planned to bring them there since baby Nazmi was born. You know, during your maternity leave, you will tend to register your kid's everything - from the back account, insurance, education plan, including National Library membership.

The kids' library is so different now. 

We sat at a corner so baby Nazmi could lie down and drink his milk. Kids were having fun picking up books from the bookshelves and returning it to the trolley.

Nabil registered for a session in Hypermedia room. They provide educational games for kids above 9 years old. After Nabil's session ended, they watched Upin and Ipin together in the room next to Hypermedia's.

Then they played some games online and watch educational videos. 

You just need to register on the spot and show your ID or your kid's MyKid to borrow the book from the library. 

Thankful

I have a lot to be thankful for.

I just witnessed a particular case that proved people do not have to be pretty, slender, married to a handsome and rich husband and have a beautiful house to be happy.

Live in moderation. You will have a lot of reasons to be happy.

I also have came across a situation which remind me about the concept of respect.

You need to draw a line somewhere. Respect other people's view and other people will respect you in return. When people gave you advise, say thank you. Do not become too defensive. Just say thank you.

Do not sweat over small stuff.

Rule number one in life: Do not talk behind people's back. 

I got to thank my husband for making me realised that it is UNNECESSARY. THAT FEAR OR PARANOIA when you talked to Miss K about B behind her back and the possibility of Miss K told B you bad mouthed her when they have lunch together, or suddenly B behave differently (for other reason - maybe her child is sick that day) but you started thinking she knew all bad stories bad mouthed by you - and you started to hate Miss K for not being trustworthy although she didnt do that, IS NON-EXISTENCE.

Try it.

It is not that hard.

It is really nice to live your life when you are positive.

Crafty Sunday : Paper Cup Rabbits

 By the Syazwans.

From left : Kuaci, Kobitos, Boy and Kabico.

Interesting to see different detailing there. Some rabbits have bows, one have necktie, the nerdier one have glasses on, and probably was born with blue-and-green ears, the creative one has dreadlocks tail dyed in red. Nazran said that the one in green has a flu. He sneezed so hard that his nose fell off. You dont have to worry if they ran away because they have bells hanging down their [non-existing] necks!

Library2u

I applaud the effort made by my office's library.

They gathered latest publications and light reading materials including interesting novels on a trolley, and pushed it to every level of my office blocks. 

Sometimes people didnt go to the library and borrow the books because they cant find the time but now, fear not fellow colleagues, the books will come to you!

I borrowed this book (the librarian in blue is writing the due date of my book in the photo). The book is really interesting because it includes easy healthy recipes for each type of healthy fruit/vegetable/grain/meat mentioned in the book.

Please tell me...

...how to do my work at home if this cuteness constantly climb the chair to hit the keyboard?

Only in our house - Plarachute

Tie a string to a t-shirt plastic bag. 
Stand in front of a fan. 
Hold the string tightly. Raise it up a bit.
Turn on the fan, highest speed. 
Watch the plarachute dancing.
Giggle.

Kids dont need a Tab to be happy.

Mothers do make mistakes

I brought the kids to the park and shared some photos with my husband.

Husband: Why did he wears Ayan's shoes?
Husband: Where are his shoes?
Wife: Those are not his shoes??

No wonder baby Nazmi fell down frequently that morning.
IT IS OBVIOUS HE WAS WEARING BIG SHOES IN THE PHOTO. I didnt realised it until we had that conversation.

School break : Igneous Rocks!

I bought my son an encyclopedia on Rocks. I have actually read the book until the end (nowadays, parents have to read until the end every book you bought for your kids). Geology rocks!

I taught the kids about rocks two days ago. What is rock. What is mineral. FYI, there are three types of rocks - igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks. 

Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava. The kids need to first understand in detail what is volcano before we could move forward. So, we watched together a few videos on volcanoes and then, the formation of igneous rocks. There are so many interesting videos on geology on the internet!

After watching the video, I arranged the books at the bookshelves while Nazreen started to draw a mind map on types of rocks and section of a volcano. I suddenly looked up the bookshelves and saw a very special box that my brother wanted to throw away but Nabil salvage it from the pile. It is a collection of VOLCANIC ROCKS!!!!! HOW COOL IS THAT????!!!!! 

The kids were so excited to be able to actually touch and smell (sulphur) volcanic rocks! The best thing is they could actually relate to what they have watched on the videos. Geology rocks!

School Break : Picnic @ Titiwangsa Lake Garden

It is Malaysia Day and my husband have to work. 

After my husband left for Fraser's Hill, I prepared some food and asked my kids to gather some books, caps and a mat, and put it in the car. 

They have no idea what we are about to do because we rarely went for a picnic. I prepared some beef wraps, mushroom soup, hot chocolate, plenty of plain water and some biscuits.

They were extremely excited once I drove into the lake garden area. They saw the lake, fountains, horses, people jogging, cycling and families having great time together. It took a while for us to find a shady spot but once we found it, IT IS PERFECT.

Opposite the lake - separated by the jogging track, not too close because Nazmi would definitely be running towards the water. Shaded. Close to other families - this is important considering that I am alone, taking care of four handful sons.

They enjoyed their food very much. Then they read some books. Nazreen took out his sketch book and draw the scenery for a while. 

After that, I let them play for a few hours at the playground. 

I thought bringing four sons for a picnic by the lake, alone, will be a nightmare but it went smoothly. It was easy. We can do this again :) You could do it too.

Selamat Pengantin Baru, Azam

Azam is my cousin.
Welcome to the family, Fiza.

Mia Sara was there too with her mom. She is so adorable.

Mia with my mom, my sons (in brown baju melayu), my niece Sarah, nephew Haziq and my cousin's son Isyraq. Right: Mia and her mom

Something about India

Counting days.

(I had the same feeling before - here)

Pictureka!

The latest card games in the house.
A must-have if you have kids! It is funny.

Deco Makan-makan Raya @ MyDivision

My colleagues has requested for my help for the office deco. The theme is Raya in Kampung. I had an online discussion with some of my colleagues and prepared plans for the deco but 3 days prior the event, I had eye infection. Dang.

I went to the office at night with my kids the night before the event to bring all the stuff required for the deco (oh yes, I really felt bad that I couldnt help) but to my surprise, they have decorated the lobby and the makan-makan area beautifully.

Although I didnt manage to join them for the deco work, I am glad they have incorporated some of my ideas in their new deco plan:

 Clockwise: 5S board as the backdrop (I have different design but I cant make it so they came out with the kain pelekat stuff - neat). My signature banana tree (here). Food label incorporating our division members' names. Neat, huh? - then they came out with Kampung Dang Wani since our senior director's name is Wani. 

The whole thing came out together beautifully and inter-related. Other deco includes:

Kain batik and langsir for kampung-kampung feeling, traditional games corner - batu seremban, tutup botol, congkak and traditional house model. That's my pelita ayam over there.

The whole division was wearing kampung attire. It was so cool. Well done guys.

Now I can resign. I am tired of the decorating work.

KAED : Heritage Studies Exhibition 2014 : The cool setup

Entry on what is Heritage Studies (here).

Entry on going to Heritage Studies exhibition with kids (here).

I always love to come to KAED whenever I heard about any exhibition. I got a couple of friends who are working as lecturers there so, I got the news quite fast. These are what I have captured during Heritage Studies Exhibition 2014 last week. By architecture students.

It was one cool exhibition. I like the idea of rustic scaffolding holding together their precious works of art. Juniors, you are the best! Keep it up.

Love the red cube with lighting inside. It creates brilliant shadows. Looks great both from inside and outside.

Love the entryway with white branches and arches. Nice combination of hard rustic scalffolding and organic branches. Contrast in colour and shape. The floating umbrella? I think that was the favourite element in KAED. Seen that a lot in various exhibition in KAED but this is the first time I saw white umbrellas for this purpose. It married nicely with the other elements used by other groups.

The whole presentation was beautifully narrated and organised. I applaud the effort in craving the geometrical pattern, construct those boxes and the use of the colourful Turkish lamp to break the monotonous.

Actually there were a lot of other cool deco elements done by other groups but since I was carrying baby Nazmi with one hand and capturing photos with another, so most of the photos are bit shaky and blur. Photos above were captured when I let baby Nazmi run freely for 5 minutes.

KUDOS. GOOD JOB GUYS!

KAED : Heritage Studies Exhibition 2014 : The kids

Entry on Heritage Studies Exhibition 2014 (here). 

Entry on the deco (here).

 Upon arrival at KAED Gallery. They were excited looking at the photos hanging down from the ceiling.

 Nazran entering the Turkey's group exhibition area

 Someone knocked down the deco. Nazran tried to put it back together.

They played traditional musical instruments at the exhibition area. No one was around so they were playing and singing loudly. 

This is the brilliant setup! They sprayed "LOOK UP!" on the carpet (left) and when you look up, there is a series of planes creating a negative dome shape (right)

KAED : Heritage Studies Exhibition 2014 : The background

Entry of going there with the kids (here).
Entry on the deco (here).

Heritage Studies in KAED is a core subject focusing on heritage preservation and documentation. It is to initiate understanding and to appreciate the architectural heritage by documenting it for future generation. This is my FAVOURITE SUBJECT in KAED.

For this subject, a group of architecture students will go to the selected old building, any type of building, be it a house or a mosque, with has long history, significant contribution in Islam in their localities and rich with Islamic architectural elements. The selected building is usually located outside Malaysia.

The first batch went to Egypt. My batch supposed to go to India but we end up in Indonesia because of political issues then. We stayed at Semarang and commute to Kudus everyday for nearly (how many - couldnt recall) weeks. The next batch went to China if I am not mistaken, and I lost track for the following batches. There were some groups did the study in Malaysia due to some unforeseen circumstances but they were equally excited because Malaysia is rich with beautiful and historical Islamic architecture.

The students need to do a thorough study of its history; what has evolved from the day it was built; what are the meaning of each decorative element (believe me, they all have meanings, in fact, different meaning in different era); what kind of construction method they are using in that era; what material used for the foundation (we need to dig in), floor, column, roofing; what is up there on the roof? (we have to climb up); the ceiling is too high, how are we going to measure everything up there? (we have special laser measurement gadget); we need to capture photos and videos - using manual camera, digital, black and white film, slides format; interview people, create a mould from plaster of paris or plastercine for each 3D decorative elements, and trace the 2D ones because we need to reproduce a drawing for each elements and many more.

In the end, we need to produce a very thick comprehensive report (mine was 3 thick volumes), a complete set of measured drawings in AutoCAD which usually stretches beyond 200 sheets, proper documentation of recorded audio and visual material, presentation drawings and the most exciting one is to produce the scale model of the building. Everything will be displayed in an exhibition at the end of the semester.

I know it sounds simple but it is far more complicated than that. Maybe my explanation is insufficient to describe the agony that we have been through for this subject - to put in the whole building in a set of drawing and to fit in 200 years of history in a report. You are welcome to add in, in the comment section.

To cut a long story short....

KAED students have completed their Heritage Studies this year and they have set up the most anticipated exhibition every year. Heritage Studies Exhibition. The moment I heard about the exhibition, I jot it down in my planner and on the second day, I brought my kids there after coming back from the office. Entry on the kids will be posted separately.

This year, they went to separate site. Turkey, Terengganu and Johor.

Clockwise: A very cool poster! Sketches. Axonometric drawing.

 Clockwise: Photo collection. Presentation drawing. Decorative elements mould using Plaster of Paris. A very delicate one to bring home. 

Clockwise: Presentation board. Scale model of Rustem Pashah Madrasah in Turkey. Scale model of Masjid Abidin in Terengganu.

OK. Now I missed KAED. Missed the old days in Semarang and Kudus. Missed being Indonesian celup. We communicated in Indonesian for quite sometimes - until the end of our semester. lol. It was truly hard to get rid of the slang after we spent a lot of times mingling around with the villagers, attending lectures at Universitas Diponegoro and spending a lots of times with architecture students from UnDip, which happened to be our chaffeur in Kudus.

SLUG!

Since we started having our vertical and herbs garden, snails and slugs have been a common visitor to our house. My landscape architect friend said it is a sign that I have developed a balanced ecosystem in my garden. Later, I should expect to have more ants, grasshoppers, butterflies and birds. Wow.

My kids love the snails and slugs but I cant stand looking at the slug. Geli ok. Lembik. Ada dua telinga lembik..euuw.. Recently I found one of them at our living room. These are the kids' artwork (and *cough* mynotetomyhusband *cough*) to mark the day the slug came into our house. lol.

My landscape architect friend's advise:

1.  Burn the soil before I use it since I bought a pre-mix soil with organic fertilizer. It might contains their eggs.

2.   Blend some garlics and a bit of water. Strain the water and spray it to our plants. To keep them off our plants. I think I need to spray my house with that too. lol.