Winter 2016 : Nazmi's first day

It was Nazmi's first day attending supplementary school on Saturday.

His class ends early, so we went to the library together because I want to borrow a few books.

We had a blast eating and waiting for Papa in the cold. Papa picked up abang-abang first, before he came for us.

Winter 2016 : Malaysian breakfast at SKMM

Usual scene on Saturday mornings at Abraham Moss High School cafeteria.

We had Malaysian breakfast with our kids, who are attending Saturday supplementary school, Sekolah Komuniti Malaysia Manchester (SKMM). Malaysian community around Manchester will come here and sell Malaysian delicacies at this 'Kedai Kopi Malaysia'.  

Libyan also runs their supplementary school here on weekends. It is a good exposure for the students to mingle around with others of different nationality every week. We love to buy sandwiches made by a very nice Libyan lady.

Winter 2016 : Convenient online shopping for Papa's birthday!

I ordered some stuff from eBay and get them to send to Argos for me to pick later. Since I am in the campus most of the time and my husband is busy running errands and managing the kids, so we might not be home when the Royal Mail guy came.

It is truly convenient to be able to choose where to pick up the stuff we bought online, at our own time. I chose Argos at the Manchester Fort Shopping Park as I also ordered some perfume and men’s stuff for my husband at online Boots store. Argos have allocated special collection point for eBay orders.

I told my husband that I just need a while to pick up some stuff at Boots (and pray hard that we will not follow). He decided to wait in the car as it was cold outside. I emptied my backpack earlier and put the books at the backseat. He didn’t notice. I glad I did that because the boxes are massive!

That night, we blew some balloons for papa while he was sleeping, then we surprised him with a loud birthday song and showered him with a lot of birthday presents and kisses!!

Winter 2015 : Shoes organiser (Manchester)

We have an issue with a large amount of shoes, especially the growing number of BOOTS in the winter. They were everywhere. We have a narrow mud room and putting a shoe bench/cabinet there is not even an option.

Until one day, my husband found this timber frame (maybe from an old baby cot) in our room, waiting to be disposed and he decided to do something about that. 

A few minutes later, VOILA :) 

We have made similar project in Malaysia (here).

Winter 2015 : IKEA, Ashton-under-Lyne

Our first trip there.

We bought a carpet for the living room last week. We have a laminated floor so it is extremely cold in winter. We cant even step on it especially in the evening if we dont put on our slippers.

We need more stuff to keep us warm. So we bought a carpet for our bedroom (GBP9), some throws (GBP5 each) for the sofa in the living room, TV cabinet (GBP9) and other small stuff. The current currency exchange (RM to GBP) made the prices of these similar items are more expensive than IKEA Malaysia.

Winter 2015 : Nasi lemak aka rice cooked in coconut milk

From wikipedia - Nasi lemak is a Malay fragrant rice dish cooked in coconut milk and pandan leaf. It is commonly found in Malaysia, where it is considered the national dish, and also popular in neighbouring countries such as Singapore; Indonesia especially in Eastern Sumatra; Brunei and Southern Thailand.

Nasi lemak warmed up our cold winter night. I just cooked the rice and cut the cucumber. My husband prepared the rest.

Fall 2015 : Etihad Stadium

I am not into football, but I can really appreciate the stadium design.

So, that makes me equally excited to go to the stadium with the boys. It is just 15 minutes away from our house. This was during the Storm Clodagh.

The visit marked our 11th wedding anniversary. Still going strong. No blue box this time.

Fall 2015 : The first hair cut

Among new skills that we learned in Manchester. 

How to cut each other's hair. We bought the hair clipping machine for less than GBP10 and we learn how to cut hair from the Youtube. My husband cuts my sons' hair. 

Then I cut my husband's hair. I really need more practise. haha.

Fall 2015 : The fog

This is the beginning of our experience on the weather roller coaster in Manchester.

One morning, we woke up and found our house covered in thick fog. It was Nazran's first day at school.

The whole journey to the school was like a setup in a horror movie with silent roads and heavy banks of fog. Well, maybe there were people walking nearby but we cant see them. The visibility was less than 40 metres.

I went to the campus after meeting Nazran's teacher and came back at 8pm. I have a class which ended at 7pm and it took me one hour to reach home. The fog was thick, still. It was so scary walking alone in the fog, at night. You cant really see if there is bad people until they come too close. Walking for 15 minutes seems like an hour.

This is one of the news headlines on the fog:

Flight disruption at Manchester Airport as fog causes traffic and travel problems across region

Let's learn about fog from the MET office:

Fall 2015 : Show Racism the Red Card!

They have to wear something red to the school that day for the "Show Racism the Red Card" campaign - the UK's anti-racism campaign that uses top footballers to educate against racism.

 (Nazran still havent received his placement)

Fall 2015 : The trip to the supermarket

Our routine every Saturday. Stocking up the pantry.

Fall 2015 : The welcome home every afternoon

When I came back from my campus everyday (during nice weather)...

"welcome home, mama!"

I will text my husband when I got off the bus. I took me another 15 minutes to walk home. They will wait at the end of the hidden pathway for my return. And we will walk and laugh together until we reach home.

Fall 2015 : The bye-bye every morning

When I am going to my campus everyday....

"bye-bye, mama!"

They waited until mama disappear from their sight.

Fall 2015 : Their first day of school

The trip to the school.

Fall 2015 : Kids' bedrooms - the before and after

They were so excited. Well, me too.

….and we slept really well that night.

Everybody woke up at 6am. Everyday, for the next two weeks.

Fall 2015 : Pillow and duvet hunting

After we came home from the grocery trip and had our lunch, I wipe clean the whole house using the baby wipes +_+. We killed a lot of spiders using aerosol spray. We didnt know whether they were lethal or not. They were HUGE. and A LOT. Especially in Nazreen's room. We just kill them all.

After that, we went out to buy pillows and duvets. Luckily we saw a small shop selling pillows and duvet by the road side on our way to our house. We really hope the shop is still open since it is Sunday. And it is already 4pm.

We walked. And walked. And keep praying it is still open. Alhamdulillah. Our rezeki. 

And Alhamdulillah the kids were so strong, physically and mentally going through all these with smile and laughter.

Fall 2015 : Our first grocery trip

After we put in our stuff, we decided to do some shopping. We need an electric kettle, rice, milk and other necessities.

The nearest ASDA is just a 10-minutes walking.

So we just walk. It was a very pleasant grocery trip. 

Fall 2015 : Hidden pathway

We found a hidden pathway, a shortcut to the main road under these beautiful big trees. 

Fall 2015 : Visiting our new house

This is our house. 

What we like most is the fact that this house is not facing the main road :) 

We have such a lovely pedestrian walkway and green areas in front of our house.

The previous tenant was, according to the agent, missing in action. They left the house and all their stuff. And never came back. The agent took all their stuff out and put it at the backyard, change the locks and paint the house. The house is spotless clean and looks new.

Those are the stack of previous owner's stuff. The kids retrieved a lot of toys, still in good condition. Some of them still working, with batteries on. Such as the lantern Nazreen was holding down there. Since the previous tenant is a Muslim family, we took their mugs, pots, pressure cooker and other kitchen stuff as well. Those things are really in a good shape. They also left behind buggy and booster seat, which we really need for Nazran, if we were to rent a car.

Our white kitchen. We have a solid wood and tempered glass dining table but no chairs. We managed to retrieve a stool, folded chair, two garden seats and a cabinet from the stack. We love playing scavengers that day!

Learning about different type of waste to go into which bin. Every house is equipped with blue, brown, black and green bin.

Fall 2015 : The Freehouse, literally

This is where we live for the first few day in Manchester.