Farah Sofea

I am back!

2010-01-30T10:12:00.007+01:00

Salam to my lovely daughters Farah & Sofea!

Finally Ummi is back to paint your blog after nearly 2 years missing in action. You must thank Auntie Myra for motivating Ummi to write again. After few weeks trying to recall this old dusted blog, missing password and learning how to sign in & update...Alhamdulillah, I made it!

Today both of you are enjoying yourselves at Embah's house in Kg Ayer Itam, Muor. I am sorry I cannot join the trip because Ummi is too heavy and too exhausted for long distance travel. Ummi has baby Emran in my tummy, 8 months plus. Insya Allah soon the day will come for Ummi and baby Emran to balik kampung and enjoy the beautiful moment! Insya Allah, pray for Ummi ok?

Remember Ummi's advice when you are at Embah's house :
1) Please inform Abah if you want to play outside the house or walk to Kak Hafizah's house
2) The rambutan tree is nice to see, fruit nice to eat...not to climb! Ummi struggle to find reverse psychology word on this one because everytime Ummi said "Don't" , you ended up Doing it!
3) You can play your heart out. Remember to perform prayers, brush your teeth and take good care of yourself.

Ummi love both of you so much!!

Well done for completing your homework early and pack your own stuff. Have fun!

3rd Guest : Kak Long & The Geng

2008-03-14T23:39:00.002+01:00

1 more week to go before rombongan cik Kak Long and the Geng akan tiba insya Allah. Excitednya!!

2nd Guest : Kak Izzati, Azra & family

2008-02-24T22:17:00.002+01:00

Few days after Uncle Kimi left, we happily welcomed the second guest of the year...it is Kak Izzati, Azra, Mama Eta & Abah Azhar...yeeee!! We were so excited as we have been waiting for Kak Izzati to arrive for many years.

Today (24/2/08) we went to Amsterdam (yes, again!). One full day of walking, souvenir shopping, kebab eating, praying and visiting the famous new icon "I Amsterdam" at Rijsk Museum. Kak Izzati has been dreaming of taking pictures at that place when she first saw it in the flight magazine. Kak Izzati nak panjat sampai atas, unfortunately it was dangerous as she was not too tall. We took lots of photos, and planning to come again some day.

Abah Azhar will be taking exam next Friday. Then, insya Allah we are thinking of driving next door to Germany.

Ok, duuu for now. ZZzzzzzz....tired of walking....

1st guest of the Year : Uncle Kimi

2008-02-24T22:08:00.002+01:00

The first guest of Year 2008 goes to Uncle Kimi...yeeee! He arrived on the 4th Feruary and spent 2 weeks with us.

We brought him to Amsterdam, a must see place (although we have been there numerous times!), Delft and Paris. Luckily we have free accomodation at Uncle Don's place. Auntie Ju & Kak Sheera cooked so much local food, yum yum. We went shopping at Troyes Outlet Center, which was about 2 hours drive from Nantere where Uncles Don lives. Then, we shopped at Usiness Center which was just 30 mins drive from Nantere. A local secret receipe, mummy was so happy because she found cheap Delsey luggage bag on sale! It was just EU50, equivalent to RM250 for a huge big quality Delsey bag. There's no way you can get the same bag in KL.

Last but not least is the famous Eiffel Tower. All of us including Uncle Kimi & Kak Sheera went up to the 2nd floor at night, freezing up there. Our second visit to the famous besi buruk ha ha.

Thank you for visiting us Uncle Kimi!

Dialog Musim Sejuk

2008-02-12T22:04:00.000+01:00

Abah : It is so cold, it's winter in Holland.

Farah : Yes, Holland is so cold. I like hot.

Abah : Malaysia is hot.

Farah : I like Malaysia, it is hot. Holland is cold.

Abah : I like Malaysia too.

Farah : Why are we in Holland? not Malaysia?

Followed by a short pause, then both laughed. yeah right, why are we in Holland instead of Malaysia...memang kena balik cepat nih!

Farah Demam

2008-02-11T23:26:00.001+01:00

Farah demam hari ni. Tiba2 saja balik from office (to fetch me) she said,"Sejuuuuk, I'm cold". Memanglah this country is really cold due to winter, but her cold is different. It's fever. It turned out that few classmates are also down with fever. Musim agaknya!

Ok, esok tak payah pergi sekolah. Just rest at home. Hopefully you will recover soon, because we are going to Paris this weekend insya Allah!

Love,
Mummy

Welcome 2008!

2008-02-08T23:01:00.000+01:00

Time flies. It's already February of Year 2008, and many events took place the last few weeks. Alhamdulillah, we are blessed with good health, happiness, prosperity & peace of mind.

We spent the last 1 month 15 Dec - 15 Jan in Malaysia. It felt really good...meeting family & friends, eating all our favourite halal food, having my free massage, the facial treatment (lovely!), beautiful Langkawi...to know Malaysia is indeed to love Malaysia. Farah & Sofea had a great time playing with cousins, friends, pampered by Tok & Tokwan, enjoying the summer time. Tak payah nak pakai baju tebal2, mummy pun tak yah nak lecture panjang2 bla bla bla...

Time will continue to fly. Insya Allah mid year 2008, we will return for good. Our gorgeous home at Sek 9 is waiting for us, Tok & Tokwan miss us so much, and we miss home too.

At this point, Pakngah dah selamat sampai Australia to continue with his studies. Pakchaq has succesfully passed his theoritical exam with flying colours & made us all proud. Maksu is waiting for her exam result, and we are all managing her latest tantrums.

May this year continue to be the best year for all of us, insya Allah.

Andalusia Spain 21-26 Nov 2007

2007-12-02T21:55:00.000+01:00

4 beautiful cities in Andalusia, Spain...Seville, Cordoba, Malaga and the majestic Granada, this was our latest vacation this year. Weather was perfect, Alhamdulillah. Flight via the new Cliqair was smooth. It was a sweet surprise to discover the beautiful scenic drive when we drove from the big city, across arces of olive estate, cruising along the coastline in Malaga and wondered around the mountains' feet to reach Granada. SubhanaAllah! This is another version of Swiss...without river due to dry climate.

The pic above is the artifact left at Medinat Al-Zahra, in Cordoba. That site used to be a grand mosque where the Caliph used to pray. We cannot help but to feel sad for this land, who lost the spirit of Islam 900 years ago. There is no more Islam in Andalusia...beautiful mosques have been transformed to dark churches, jamon (babi) become the nations' popular meal (surprisingly the dried version of jamon were hanged everywhere in the supermarkets unlike here in Holland or UK), azan prayers have been replaced by the bells' echoe; we could not imagine this event happen in our lifetime. We would rather die, than seeing Islam die with our bare eyes.

What's left is the design and architecture, old artifacts and the famous khat in Alhambra, "Wa La Ghalibu Illa Allah" (There is no conqueror other than God). We, Muslims, bow to God and only God, not another man or patung or anything else other than God.

I feel sorry for the Andalusians, but it gives us a great learning exposure on how ugly things would be if you do not defend your faith.

Farah Sofea, Ummi hopes that you will go again to Andalusia when you're matured enough to understand the whole picture. Visit Andalusia to refresh your memory and strengthen your iman & takwa.

Happy Birthday Abah!

2007-07-11T22:29:00.000+02:00

Yesterday 10/7/07, we celebrated Abah's birthday yang ke-31. Ummi organized a surprise birthday part for Abah. Our friends and Abah/Ummi's friends came at around 7 to celebrate the happy occasion. Farah & Adik sang the birthday songs for Abah, both in English and Dutch version. After eating cake, we played with our friends...yippie!

We ate cakes, soto, pulut kuning, fruits and manggo juice.

Happy Birthday Abah!

We love you so much. Mmmmmuaaaah!

Farah Chicken Pox

2007-06-28T21:09:00.000+02:00

This is to record that my eldest daughter dah kena chicken pox at the age of 5 in The Netherlands. Your chick pox was mild because you got a jab when you were small at Klinik Adek.

So remember this note, takut Ummi lupa the correct answer if you ask this question,

"Farah dah kena chicken pox ke belum?" 20 years from now...

The answer is Yes!

LEarniNG to ReAD

2007-06-21T16:52:00.000+02:00

This term, Farah is doing a lot to be able to read. Abah bought lots of new materials and make them too. Books, worksheets, dictionary (pictionary), charts, websites, etc etc. Now, Farah and Sofea would also want to learn and not to forget our Malay. Auntie2 and uncle2 in Shah Alam, buleh tak suggest good Malay books for me to read. Simple, easy but good tatabahasa. Kalau terjumpa kat memana kedai buku kat Shah Alam, we might want your help to buy them too.

Roland Garros

2007-06-06T18:11:00.000+02:00

Introducing.....Sofeapova, the next contender in the French Open, Roland Garros. Currently Home No. 1 & tak sabar nak lawan Umar ;-)

Long Weekend (Queen's Birthday 30/4/07)

2007-05-07T23:33:00.000+02:00

Well, ini saja jer nak tiru title blog Myra he he

30/4/07 (Monday) was a public holiday in The Netherlands, Queen's birthday. We decided to use this golden long weekend opportunity to enjoy breakfast in Luxembourg, have lunch in Germany and dinner in France. Kelas gitu! Sampai rosak kereta we all ha ha

We left home on Friday at around 7 pm, after work. Arrived in Luxembourg at 12 midnight, sleep over at Ibis Hotel, Aeroport. Next morning, after breakfast we found this beautiful carpet of yellow flowers behind the hotel (above pic). SubhanAllah...cantiknya!

Next destination was Mettlach, Germany which was about 40 mins drive via countryside road. Itu tempat Ummi shopping Villeroy & Boch item at the Outlet Center. Tak sangka we jumpa kedai jual nasi briyani kat situ! Best la makan lunch. Farah Sofea met their friends..Maisarah, Izzaty, Fariz. What a coincidence, ramai pulak Malaysian shopping kat situ on that day.

By 5 pm, we continued our journey down south towards Colmar, France. The real original Colmar, aka Bukit Tinggi. It was Sunday, as usual 98% of the shops were close except for souvenir shops and restaurants. We were already accustomed to this "tradition" , so no hal. We did not plan to shop anyway in Colmar.
(pic update later)

The village was quiet impressive. Very artistic and interesting architecture, with timber and vibrant colours as the main source of attraction. One part of the little cosy town is known as "little venice". It has a little canal in between buildings and little boats for tourists to explore. We also met some Malaysian students who were doing pre-u courses there sponsored by Petronas, Telekom &amp;amp; JPA; lucky brats!

On the way back our car broke down in France highway; overheated due to malfunction screw. Like a sick horse, we slowly drove few miles at a time to reach the nearest big city. Thank God we managed to find a huge BMW service center in Luxembourg. Put a night there which was not in our original plan; and first thing in the morning at 7am, Abah sent the car for repair. Ingatkan 2-3 hours boleh siap, we got the car at 5 pm! While waiting, sempat jalan2 to explore the beautiful city. (pic to update).

We left the scenic city at around 5 plus. Alhamdulillah, we arrived home safely at around 10 pm. Exciting long weekend indeed!

Umrah Trip 3/4/07 - 10/4/07

2007-04-21T19:36:00.000+02:00

Alhamdulillah, we finally received the golden invitation from God to return to our hometown in Tanah Haram. This is our second trip. The first trip was about 2 years ago when Sofea was still feeding and learning to walk. At that time, we went together with tok, Pakngah, Auntie Kamalia, Uncle Sheik and your friend Ayesha, plus Auntie Amelia & Uncle Sib.
This time we went with 3 other Malaysian families from The Hague. We almost canceled our trip due to visa issue. For whatever reason, the visa was issued very late this year. Alhamdulillah, at the very last minute we managed to get our visa on Monday morning 2/4/07.

In the wee morning of 3/4/07, Uncle Yusri sent us to the airport with his MPV. We took BMI flight from Amsterdam-London-Jeddah. The flight to Jeddah was not full, as there were not many Europeans traveling to this part of the world. So, apa lagi...we got 1st class seat for economy class fare. Since so many empty seats at the back, we turned the seats into our beds. Bestnyer!

We spent 2 nights in Medina, 5 nights in Mecca. The temperature was not as high as our first trip. Max was about 30 degree plus. 2 years back, average temperature was 40-50 degree!
In Mecca, we met Tok. She joined another group from KL, and stayed at the same hotel with us. Tok really missed both of you, her little angels. When we left, she was so sad...

Farah Sofea sibuk sangat main dengan geng baru kat Tanah Haram; Izzati and Maisarah (anak2 Auntie Rafidah and Uncle Abdullah). At the mosque, while we were praying, you were busy playing! Risau jugak Ummi takut anak2 Ummi hilang, Nauzubillah. Ummi noticed Sofea was the "geng leader", influencing everybody to run in big circle behind us. Sometimes, anak2 orang lain pun join your group.

Another challenge Ummi had with both of you was saie. Instead of walking and saie with Ummi & Abah, you chose rock-climbing at Bukit Safa! In your pretty long dress, you climbed up the little slippery hill calling Ummi from the top. Ummi nearly pengsan!! Marahnyer!! Habih pahala Ummi buat umrah.

Next visit insya Allah, no more running, rock-climbing and playing in the mosque okay?

Cologne & Dusseldorf Trip

2007-03-31T12:16:00.000+02:00

Picture taken on the 16/2/07 at Dusseldorf, Germany : Farah Sofea having breakfast at Rhine River Hotel (nampak tak sungai kat luar tingkap tu? That' the famous Rhine River in Europe). We stay overnight after window shopping kat Cologne :

Tok & Tokwan joined our trip. This picture was taken at Koningsalle , Dusseldorf (equivalent to Jalan TAR kat KL tapi kedai2 kat sini high end...all those expensive boutiques etc). Jamu mata sajalah :

This was one of the memorable trip we had together with Tok & Tokwan. Masa Tok & Tokwan mai, Ummi was quite busy with office work. Since we are already planning for a long holiday in early April, Ummi could not take another long day off in Feb when Tok & Tokwan was around. Alhamdulillah, just before Tok & Tokwan balik to KL, Ummi managed to get one day off on Friday and without thinking twice, we just booked the hotel room, grabbed some maps and off we go...exploring shopping cities Dusseldorf and Cologne in Germany.

It was a wonderful experience. Weather was perfect (although still cold). Our mini "tom-tom" (Ummi's PDA) proved to be the best gadget of the year (sebab we could surf the internet and made last minute hotel booking at River Rhine Hotel and drove there via internet map). We had tasty yummy fish & chip, we bought nice shirts and jackets at bargain price sebab sale and the best part is, Ummi could spend quality time with Farah Sofea, Abah and especially Tok & Tokwan before they return to KL...sampai Tok & Tokwan had to postpone their flight lah he he.

Next time dah tak teringin lagi nak pi Dusseldord because not our cup of tea.

But Cologne is worth going back, insya Allah some other time we will visit Cologne again.

Farah's Dinasour Concert

2007-03-25T23:13:00.000+02:00

The school term is ending, it's Easter holiday season soon. Farah had a school concert last week which is a normal tradition here to end a term, and the theme was "Dinasour"...ggggrrrrr.

Farah had a great time this season in school, you have many friends in Blue Class eg Alexander, Mughda, Petra, Begum, Francesca. Your English is superb! Your confidence level is 10x better compared to where we started last few months back. Ummi received excellent positive feedback from your school teacher on your performance in school. Well done, Farah! We are so proud of you!
The pictures above were taken during your concert. Unfortunately Farah baru baik demam, 1 week you were on sick leave. Kesian anak Ummi, kurus and pucat. See the picture above (Farah with Begum), I can see your lips macam pucat sikit. Anyway, you did well during the little concert. Both Blue and cannot remember other class (red or yellow or green) combined to sing, play the instrument, "turn" into dinasour etc. It was fun, and Ummi salute the teachers for coordinating the move. It is not easy to manage 4/5 year old kids (about 40 of them) for this presentation. Well done!

Ice Age 2

2007-03-02T22:22:00.000+01:00

Tonight we watch vcd Ice Age 2 The Meltdown at home. Ummi so excited to spend the time together with Farah Sofea & Abah this weekend. For the first time after long long months, Ummi returned home early on Friday feeling happy, free and easy! In the past Ummi was really bogged down with work, which was very unfortunate. Insya Allah this year onwards Ummi is determined to change that.
So that was the starting point of this movie show tonight. After Maghrib, quickly we went to vcd rental shop to rent few movies and rushed home to watch. Under the full moonlight and cold winter, the four of us hugged each other comfortably, nestled together at the sofa watching the funny cartoon. It was so funny I could not stop laughing! In fact, we think part 2 is much better than part 1.
Something interesting happened during the show. When the lady Mammoth found her old place when she was a baby, walking alone in the icy snowy cold place towards the big tree...suddenly Farah cried. We were surprised, Ummi thought Abah terpijak Farah ke. Or Adik did something to Farah. Only after few minutes that we realized Farah cried because she was so so sad to see the baby Mammoth walking alone in the ice land. The baby lost her mummy and daddy. Oh dear, how sweet and sensitive my daughter Farah! At her age of 5, she has started to internalize the feeling, appreciating the subject matter just like Ummi...always cry when Ummi watch cerita Hindustane he he. Abah apa lagi, usik Ummi la,"Just like you! Asyik2 menangis tengok cerita sedih". Laa! Dah cerita sedih kenalah menangis he he.
Anyway, it's nice to discover something new from my family tonight. Good night Farah! Good night Sofea!

Nak Abang

2007-02-25T14:06:00.000+01:00

I have been observing my two little daughters playing the past few days. It's interesting to see how fast they developed and the various 'themes' they have in each phase of life. The latest theme seems to be about Princess & Prince. Farah Sofea love watching Princess cartoon series eg Princess Barbie. Biasala, cerita2 princess & fairy tale ni tak lari jalan cerita...it's always about a beautiful princess, a handsome prince, an evil witch, dancing, ballet, beautiful gowns, magic, lawan2 and at the end, living happily ever after.
Farah Sofea pun, as always, berangan lah jadi beautiful Princesses. They love wearing long gown especially Adik. Farah sometimes wear the Crown together with high heel shoes. The best part is here we can easily get so many toys, costumes, gadgets yang related to Princess theme because of Disneyland & Barbie influence. Farah Sofea would then sing and dance together just like the Princesses in the tv.
The tricky part is they don't have the handsome Prince! While Farah understands the meaning of Prince and the difference between a girl and a boy, Adik is struggling to differentiate between the two. So Adik always force Farah to become the 'Abang' aka. the Prince; while she becomes the Princess! Of course Farah refused because she too wants to be the Princess.
End up menangislah si Adik nie crying, "Nak abang! Nak Abang! Farah tak mau jadi Abang!"
When the real Abang comes aka. Abah the Handsome King, or Ummi volunteers to be the Abang, Adik tak nak. She still wants Farah to be the Abang. Farah refused. So bercucuranlah air mata Sofea sebab Kakak Farah dia tak nak jadi Abang. Huwaaaa. Puas Ummi try to explain, but Adik tak faham lagi. Well, the time will come soon.
Nampaknya kena lah deliver one more child...a boy! ha ha

Let's play Snow!

2007-02-10T19:45:00.000+01:00

Finally after waiting for 2 months, the beautiful white soft snow dropped from the sky. SubhanAllah! Wonderful! Last winter, the snow arrived in December. This time lambat sikit, perhaps due to global warming. Netherlands is known for mild winter, meaning the temperature drops within the range of -10 degree (max) to +8/9 degree. In fact, for the past few years the lowest temperature never really hit -10 degree. Snow turun pun for few days je. Not so thick, you're lucky if you can build a snowman. Pictures above were taken on the 6/1/2007, at our little garden behind our house. Farah & Sofea really enjoyed playing with the snow. Main lah puas2, lepas ni bila balik Msia tak jumpa snow lagi!

Farah Dapat Award!

2007-01-26T22:26:00.000+01:00

Congratulations Farah!! Last week Farah received 3 awards from her school. It was all related to her excellent performance in school especially for the effort shown to speak and learn English. We are very proud of you!! Keep up the good work sayang.
Sometimes Ummi & Abah curious dengan Farah. Unlike Adik, you like to cling on us (esp Abah)...manja sangat, everyday we have to send you and put your stuff in order before saying goodbye. Well, at least you don't cry like another little girl we know (she cries every single day!). So we were quite curious on how you behave without us, although deep down our heart we believe that you will and you can survive!!
Alhamdulillah, the 3 awards were your evidence. You did it! You did it! We are so proud of you.
Syukur Alhamdulillah, although it is not the award that counts, this is the first time Ummi experience such feeling of joy and pride for my daughter. Insya Allah there will be more stars coming, waiting to be picked up by you...both Farah & Sofea, my darling angels.

Winter Blues...

2007-01-23T21:37:00.000+01:00

Today finally the temperature drops, down to 0 degree. No snow yet, but the surrounding was white & icy. Unfortunately Abah pun 'dropped', down with fever and cough. Same goes for Adik, coughing. Farah vomitted at school yesterday. Today we declare cuti for both of you so that you can rest at home. Abah also can rest, tak yah send you to school. Ummi took the train to office.
In office, Ummi pun tak senang hati thinking all my family members are down with fever, cough.
Ummi pun pening kepala sangat, but Ummi keep to myself...kesian kat Abah. At lunch time, Ummi makan ubat & took a nap.
Alhamdulillah ada pakchaq at home can help to cook & heat the food. Hai...inilah dugaan duduk jauh from family ie. mama, ayah, tok, tokwan, maid. We have to survive on our own.
Sabar okay, be strong. Please makan ubat, jangan malas tau.
Ini ujian kecil dari Allah nak buang dosa...soon you all will recover, insya Allah.

Holiday in UK (December 2006)

2007-01-20T21:29:00.000+01:00

19th Dec 2006 - this time we went to explore UK by car. Pakchaq joined the trip. We left home early to catch the ferry in Callais, France. The trip to the ferry was about 3 hours. Weather was perfect, full of sunshine. We were very excited!

Calais was a huge port which transport thousands of people, cars, trucks, lorries and buses every day between mainland Europe and UK. Our ferry was called P&O; nothing like our Penang ferry. It was a huge big ship like in the movie, complete with restaurants, shopping area, children playroom etc. The ferry trip was only 1.5 hour. Alhamdulillah, tak pening2 loya2...in fact rasa best pulak!

1sy day - Sheffield (up North England)
We stayed at our friend's house. The next few days we spent driving around - to the outlet centre in Mansfield & Chesire Oak (the biggest outlet in UK), we passed the highest point in UK Motorway. The scenery was fabulous...green hills, blue skies, rivers, sheeps (sama je macam kat rumah we all). Living in lowlands Hollands, kami jakun laa tengok bukit ha ha.

Then we went to Conventry to visit another friend. From there, we explored Warwick University, Oxford, Stratford-Upon-Avon (kampung Shakespeares), Stoke-on-Trent (tempat shopping pottery like Royal Doultan, Potmeiron etc) and of course London on Boxing Day. There were so many people in London, like madness.

We returned to Voorschoten, our home sweet home, on the 30th Dec 2006. Quite exhausted, in fact Farah Sofea demam and batuk2. Alhamdulillah we were back on our feet a week later. It was indeed a wonderful journey, we'll definitely going again to UK insya Allah!

We are back!

2007-01-20T20:48:00.000+01:00

To all our beloved bloggers,

Sorrylah banyak2 sebab we all too busy to blog...we went holiday in UK, then our school started in January. Adik Sofea baru je start join sekolah sama dengan Farah. Senang lah sikit Abah hantar both of us to school. Farah in Blue Class, starts from 9 am to 3 pm. Adik Sofea in Caterpillar class, starts from 9 am to 11:30 pm.

At first, we were all struggling to wake up early and go to school because it's winter time! So, pukul 8 pagi macam tengah malam..still dark, so we all liat laaa nak bangun tido!! The first week was terrible, lambat memanjang. Everybody were rushing. Dah la Kak Nor takde. We were so used to the 3 weeks December 06 holiday agaknya, liat sangat he he.

The following week was much better, and it got better and better..syukur Alhamdulillah.

Selamat Hari Raya from Farah Sofea

2006-11-10T22:48:00.000+01:00

Anak2 Ummi so cute pakai baku kurung yg Ummi beli from Vietnam. Thank God muat, and Kak Nor tolong jahitkan kain adik yang panjang tu. We slept late sebab takbir sakan from one to another, 6 houses in total. So, bangun pagi pun lewat rushing to go to the Embassy to perform solat jemaah sunat Eid. Alhamdulillah we made it just in time. Farah Sofea pakai colour soft purple, that's your picture outside the Embassy near the gate. Comelnya!

More photos of my darling angels...

Selamat Hari Raya & Maaf Zahir Batin kepada Tok, Tokwan, Embah2, Pakchaq, Pakngah, Maksu, semua saudara mara tersayang, kawan2 di Malaysia (Ayesha, Amir, Umar, Elsa dan semua lah)...we love & miss you!!

Ada Batu!

2006-10-09T21:56:00.000+02:00

This is a funny story from our Iftar (breaking our fast) yesterday. As usual, all of us little family sat together at the dining table ready to bukak puasa. Both Farah Sofea lead the session by reciting doa makan. Then, Abah read another doa followed by eaten (Dutch version of eat).
Suddenly, Sofea who was sitting in front of Ummi looked straight at Ummi and said out loudly,"Ummi! Ada batu kat situ!!"; pointing at my face innocently.
So everybody looked at me, true enough there was a huge jerawat batu right smack in the middle of my face , in between the eye brow (kat nandek) red and angry. Everybody laughed lebih2 lagi Farah and Abah diye, indeed it was like a batu!Oh, malunya...

Back to School

2006-10-07T10:15:00.000+02:00

This year Farah & Sofea start schooling. Farah goes to pre-school at International British School while Sofea goes to playschool at Windmill Playschool (because no place for Sofea yet at Farah's school, full house). Farah starts at 9am to 3pm, Adik session begins at 1pm till 3:30pm - daily.
Farah is a bit shy and clingy to Abah. The first time we sent you to school, Farah peluk je Abah. We knew you won't cry, you will survive but Farah kan manja; so okaylah we waited until you settled down a bit. Farah is not so happy with her new white blue navy school uniform because she loves wearing her colorful flowery t-shirt. Jenuh jugaklah Ummi & Abah nak pujuk! At the same time we lega sebab it's easier to manage the uniform; otherwise Farah asyik nak pakai the same old t-shirt everday! Balik je from school, straight away Farah salin to her home dress...she hates uniform.
Sofea has a different story. So excited to go to school sampai it's a taboo to say sekolah cuti, she will cry!! Everyday after lunch at 12:30pm, Adik dah siap with her knapsack bag, waiting at the door and said,"Abah, jom pi school!". At school, Sofea salam Abah and terus disappear...ran straight to the classroom, sit next to her teacher, ready with pen and paper. Bagusnyer!! Looks like our theory berjayalah, we said to Sofea school equals play, fun, toy. It works!

Everyday, all of us are busy with our own chores and responsibilities. Guess who is the busiest of them all? Abah la of course, kerja mengambil menghantar keluar masuk..Thank you very much Abah for your BIG contribution! We really appreciate it.

Ummi & Abah hope Farah Sofea will enjoy your learning journey, and become succesful insan both in this world and hereafter.

Please...

2006-09-30T07:23:00.000+02:00

Ummi loves to hear this word coming from my darling angels; when you want to ask for something from someone.

Scene A - Sofea wanted to watch Madagascar & ask Abah to get the VCD.
Sofea : Abah, adik nak tengok #$%& (some kind of baby sound, difficult to spell), please...
Abah : hhmmm okay (but no action**)
Sofea : Abah, adik nak tengok #$%& (some kind of baby sound, difficult to spell), please...please...PLEASE...PLEASE...PLEASE (getting stronger and louder)
Abah : okay okay
** we could not understand what exactly she wanted, the only thing that went into our head was the lovely word 'please'. How cute and adorable!
Finally, after some clues we realized she wanted to watch Madagascar.

Move it ! Move it!

Maid oh! Maid

2006-09-17T19:37:00.000+02:00

Syukur Alhamdullillah - I dah jadi 'Cik Puan' sekarang nie kat Hague! My maid arrived last week, first time travelling all the way from Malaysia to be with us. Suspend jugak since she can't speak English; but I gave her an identification letter just in case immigration / custom tanya. True enough, after waiting for quite some time kat Schipol, I received a call from the Immigration Officer asking about her. Nothing serious, just nak confirm who is fetching her. Phew..lega. And no problem at the custom, selamat belacan aku!!
My anak2 pun happy sangat, especially cik Sofea, "Kak Nor adik punya, Bibik (my mum's maid) Farah punya". First time jumpa kat airport after few months tak jumpa, Adik (Sofea) siap malu2 kucing pulak.
Ummi lebih2 lagi laa happy. Breakfast, lunch, dinner - siap. Laundry - settle. House cleaning - tip top. Anak2 clean & happy. Abah can focus 101% on his work, in his office corner at home. We can enjoy our weekend...bermalas2an and rest after 5 days of hard work and schooling. Thank you very much to Mama (Tok) for going all out to send the maid for us...we are happy family!

From Paris With Love

2006-09-06T07:43:00.000+02:00

From Paris with Love - Alhamdulillah we had a wonderful family vacation in Paris last weekend. Ummi and Abah really enjoyed spending the quality time with Farah & Sofea. Both of you behaved very well - congratulations!! Ummi bagi mark "A+" for this trip!

Ok, let's see what we did this summer...

1st day- Friday 1st Sept 2006
We were planning to leave on Thursday (Merdeka Day), but unfortunately Abah had to complete his project and Ummi was so exhausted after working like donkey last weekend. So we decided to take our own sweet time, prepare for the trip, take a good rest and first thing first after Subuh on Friday - we leave to Paris.
"Anytime after Subuh, BEFORE Zuhur is okay," that's Abah's definition of living 'after Subuh'!
Ummi wanted to leave at 7am (real meaning of after Subuh). Finally, we left home at around 10am, the weather was perfect...so Paris, here we come!

2pm - We stopped for lunch kat R&R highway, Farah Sofea played at the playground. While Ummi and Abah tengah dok syok2 makan, suddenly a big fat dog leaped happily at us! Luckily tak sentuh or terkam Abah. Ummi was shocked, but did not scream. From far we heard the dog master shout, calling his dog. Kurang hasam betul!!

5pm - Arrived in the City of Love. Bonjour!The first tip I got from the Dutch about Parisian is the way they drive. Far cry from The Netherland. So many cars, big huge roundabout, slow moving traffic, cilok sana-cilok sini, busy lively roads - my Dutch office collague could not stand driving in Paris. But for my F1 husband driver, it was fun! Abah kan terror drive kat KL tu, cilok sana-cilok sini...so apalah sangat Paris nie ha ha. We stayed at Ibis, Rue Combrone. Close to Eiffel Tower, 2 mins walk to the train station, cheap halal restaurant behind the hotel, small but clean and practical room overlooking the city - great!

7pm - Lepaking at Eiffel Tower. Wow!Fantastic view. We strolled along the green park, towards the magnificent giant tower. Built in 1800s, Ummi and Abah could not stop admiring the knowledge & technology those people had at that time to build this strong tower. We went up to 1st Floor, ticket was not too expensive and the crowd was small. Wow!A bird's eye view...soft wind, twinkling stars, bright lights, small little people like ants walking below. Sungguh kerdil manusia ini...

2nd day- Saturday 2nd Sept 2006
Today Abah decided to go to La Fayette. Yes, the trendiest shopping centre in Paris - equivalent to Harrods in London. We took the train/tram at Combrone, switched at Torecado and arrived betul2 bawah La Fayette Gallery. Spent half a day kat situ, mainly at La Fayette Maison (home department). So huge, 3 different buildings along Rue La Fayette to cater for 3 main departments ie Women (7 floors tak silap), Men and Maison. Belek punya belek, Ummi ended buying plastic rose flowers ajer he he. Kunun nak beli container garam yg stylo, but to pay Euro30 for that little thing, urrr...not my cup of tea. We had that big ice-cream before leaving La Fayette, satu kon tu ada minimum 5 big scoops...sampai Farah Sofea dah tak larat makan.

Along the road, ada orang jual kat kaki lima. We bought some souvenirs for our house in Voorschoten. What else kalau bukan the magnet and Eiffel Tower.

3rd day- Sunday 3rd Sept 2006
Exciting journey to Versailles (20 mins by train) to Chateau de Versailles. Istana King French zaman dolu2. Huge vast estate, syurga seorang Raja di atas dunia. We felt like going to a ball dancing, macam Cinderella gitu going to the castle. Farah Sofea siap menari2 macam princess. Many people, but the queue was not too bad. There were sooo many rooms, galleries, chapel - all with high ceiling (which I like), and over-crowded art on the wall/ceiling/door ie everywhere (which I could not stand). After a while, Ummi dah pening walking in the semi-dark room, with too much gold/bronze embroideries and patung. Abah tanya,"Where is the King's toilet?? Bertatahkan emas jugak ker?" Tak tunjuk pulak.
And the garden was thousand and thousand of green acres, with fountains, canals, beautiful flowers and another Chateau at the end of the garden, a huge Estate belonging to the Queen.
Ini memang kaya dunia tahap maksima, tapi nothing compared to the Heaven of Jannah Firdaus. We had a quick picnic lunch, and then...yahoo!Disneyland Paris

4pm - Disneyland Paris. Actuallynyer, Ummi did not really plan to go there. Not yet. The final year before we leave Malaysia, baru we go again to play at the park. Masa tu Farah Sofea dah BiG girls, baru you will enjoy. But alang2 dah sampai Paris, might as well singgah to jalan2 and take pictures. It was about 30 mins by train, but worth it. Langit macam nak runtuh, nak hujan. Alhamdulillah, it did not rain and we had a jolly good time taking pictures, shopping souvenirs from Disneyland Paris (which mainly made of China!). Our next trip we will stay minimun 3 days here and explore this fairy-tale land, ok? Siap duit ajer...

4th day- Monday 4th Sept 2006
We decided to go to La Fayette (again?!) he he sebab Ummi nak shopping lagi. Macam la banyak duit nak shopping, just nak check price Biotherm lotion ajer. True enough, Ummi ended buying 3 Biotherm products instead of 1 and some toys for Farah Sofea. This time we explored all the gallery floors for women/children. After that, we went to Musee du Louvre and Arc de Triomphe to snap more and more photos. Next visit, Ummi nak masuk Musee du Louvre to say Hello to Monalisa.

5pm - Au Revoir Paris! We shall come again. Return to Voorschoten, The Netherlands. Home Sweet Home.

Learning Points from our Paris Trip :

Stay near the train/metro station - very2 convenient to jalan2. The public transport here is 3x better than Malaysia of course, and more frequent that Holland.
Halal food (Arab) behind Ibis Hotel, Rue Combrone. Cheaper than Hague for a set of meal.
Solat on the move is not a problem. Toilet kat highway very clean. Just bring your sejadah/telekung, empty bottle and COMPAS along; pray kat open space at the park. Wonderful!
Preparation before the trip...urrr, we really have to improve on this Abah. We took 2 days to study the map, prepare the food bla bla
Don't underestimate Farah & Sofea. 2nd day onwards we didn't even need the double stroller! ha ha beriya2 beli 'new' stroller for Paris trip. They walked and walked and jumped and danced and ran...phew!Catch them if you can.

Ummi and Abah seronok sangat bercuti dengan Farah Sofea in Paris! Hope you both had a great time too. Look forward for our next trip...

Roti Bakar

2006-08-28T12:09:00.000+02:00

One of Farah (and Sofea) favorite breakfast is roti with butter. So today Farah requested just that and abah pun prepare la the roti. Here, we can easily find half-cooked roti so u will have to masuk dlm oven before eating it fresh from oven. Selalu pakai our big oven set at 200celcius for 10 minutes. But today, abah nak try pakai the smaller oven toaster (my favorite oven). Disebabkan oven ni very small (comparatively), so abah set the oven heater at both up and down and set the timer to max 15 minutes....and wait until the bell rings....

And the result:

Korek jugak la roti tu makan isi dia, still good n lekker. tapi tak habis pun farah mana.

Kesimpulan:
DOnt under estimate my little oven toaster!

Jumpa dah...

2006-08-25T07:46:00.000+02:00

Dah jumpa dah koleksi gambar2 lama.... ummi buleh la mengarang dgn lebih pjg lebar lagi... hhmmm... kena set another pc/notebook la gamaknya kat rmh nie.. see what abah can do with it.... 'the blogger corner'

Favorite Cartoons

2006-08-25T00:50:00.000+02:00

Carta mingguan minggu ini:-

1 - Spongebob Season 2

2) Spongebob Season 1

3) Pink Panther

4) Tom n Jerry

5) Jetix's cartoon (ntah apa tajuk dia)

haa... totally spies laa... tapi dutch version.. kalau depa tgk ni, kira dutch language session laa

All time favorites:

...isk, penat la cari gambar yg lain2... tulis je la:
-Madagascar
-Robot
-Ice Age
-Brother Bear

Coming soon:

Ummi Down

2006-08-23T22:59:00.000+02:00

ToDAY Ummi down lah sayang...uhuk uhuk...Ummi not well sebab heavy red-flag. Ummi balik office awal because Ummi feel so dizzy and tired, so Ummi balik and bum for 3-hours straight. Kesyian Abah, kesyian baby2 Ummi. Insya Allah esok Ummi sihat, we can go to the park again bagi kambing makan ok?

"emmmbeeeekkkk"....

Kuekenhof, Land of Flowers

2006-08-21T20:37:00.000+02:00

Last April we went to Kuekenhof, the famous flower garden in Holland. Full of tulips with various vibrant colours.
So beautiful!!SubhanAllah!
This is one of my dream come true...
And guess what? The garden is near my house!!
Tak sampai 30 mins dah sampai. People from all around the world visit this lovely garden in Apr/May.
So friends, pack up your things and take that flight to Amsterdam. Remember-the flowers in Kuekenhof only bloom in End April/May!

Sofea Day

2006-08-15T23:31:00.000+02:00

Today Ummi announce the Sofea Day. A bit too late, dah nak dekat 12 am Hague time, but because Ummi cannot sleep melayan karenah Sofea and for what you did...Ummi declare today as the Sofea Day!

Why?
1) Wall of Fame - Sofea happily scribbled the wall of our rented house for xxx times. A nice piece of 'art', black colour pencil on the white wall! Ummi and Abah dah many many times told you not to do it. Sofea dah stopped for quite a while after the last Wall of Fame kat rumah tok - in our bedroom, full of your art contribution. Today suddenly Sofea went back to your old hobby, which I am not quite happy...esp rumah we stay nie rumah sewa. Even if it is our own house, I wouldn't allow you to scribble on the wall. Kesian Abah kena cuci balik.

2) Wall of Fame part II - ini lagi best. Sofea SPRAYed your chocolate milk from your bottle to the wall!!! So we can see dots dots and many many more choc dots scattered from head to toe. Nice piece of 'art'! Ummi dah tak tau nak cakap apa. So tired looking at it after coming home from office.

3) Cannot sleep mode - for whatever reason, Sofea could not sleep tonight. Maybe panas kot, so Ummi mandikan Sofea with warm water at 11:30 pm. Or hungry? Sofea gelisah semacam. We were trying to put you to sleep for the past 2 hours. Sofea played with your pampers, golek2 non-stop, rengek2...sabar je la. Ummi could not stand it anymore because Ummi sakit. I woke up at 4 am today and worked very hard with no rest, planning to sleep early to avoid sakit and get some rest. Esok Ummi boleh wake up fresh early to cook for the family.

Apakan daya...It's nearly 12 midnight, and Ummi dah pun start sakit. Too late...

Inilah cerita our cheeky2 bom2 Sofea. Sabar je la - that's the word...

Favourite Words

2006-08-09T17:06:00.000+02:00

This is Farah's favourite word : "Lupa ke?"
Adik pun dah start follow kakak dia (sound like this : 'di-ye').

*Ummi forgot to bring Nana (short form for Ribena) for Farah.
Farah : Ummi nak Nana. Ummi lupa ke?
Ummi : Ya la, Ummi lupa. Sorry okay.

*Ummi tertumpah Nana kat dapur.
Farah : Laaa tumpah?? Ummi lupa ke?
Ummi : Ummi lupa la. Sorry okay.

----------------------------------

Here goes favourite words Adik pulak ...
1) sekem = ice-cream (mentioned at least 3 times a day)
2) di-ye = dia eg Ummi di-ye, Abah di-ye, Adik di-ye, Kakak di-ye, Tok di-ye, Pakchaq di-ye, Pakngah di-ye, Maksu di-ye etc
3) Vi-C = Vitamin C

---------------------------------

Once upon a time, Farah bukak fridge. Adik mengadu kat Tok (kununnya)...
Sofea : Tooooooook, tengok ni Kak Farah nie. Pandai-pandai...(stop kejap)... bukak peti ais

Ummi & Tok tergelak kat dapur sebab kelakarlah dengar Sofea cakap "pandai-pandai". Macam tiru Tok ajer bila Tok tegur Sofea!

Cute sangat dengar anak2 Ummi cakap. I wish I can record your voice everyday so that Ummi can listen whenever, wherever. I am sure Tok, Tokwan, Pakchaq, Pakngah, Maksu & Kak Nor kat Malaysia pun rindu nak dengar suara Farah Sofea!

Apa pun, cakaplah perkara yang baik2 dan elok2 okay darling Ummi!

'New' Stroller

2006-08-08T18:57:00.000+02:00

Now is 7 pm Hague time. Ummi is still in office, waiting for Abah and Farah Sofea to fetch. Abah just bought a 'new' stroller for Farah Sofea. Phew...Euro100! Not cheap girls, but we need it and it is second hand item.

Ummi thought now that both of you are already aged 4 & 3, we don't need any more stroller. We already have one for Sofea which Ummi bought 2 years back for our Umrah trip (that one was not cheap either). It turned out that recently Farah also needs one because you are tired of walking...yes, Ummi understand - living in Europe requires extensive walking exercise. So everytime we go out, Abah has to bring 2 stollers for each of you. Then, one fine day Abah said,"We need only ONE stroller that can carry BOTH of you. It's more practical". Well, now we end up with 3 strollers at home!

Nanti Abah post gambar stroller Farah & Sofea...

Ummi tak le agree sangat sebenarnya nak buy one more stroller, since it is not cheap. But since we are planning to go to Paris and bring you two, and Ummi loves Abah...okaylah! No problem.

And this is when it is loaded ... BDM=42kg

1st Blog Day

2006-08-08T12:29:00.000+02:00

Excitednyer Ummi first time create blog untuk anak2 Ummi, Farah Sofea. Ini sebab tengok blog Ayesha lah nie, anak Auntie Kamalia & Uncle Sheik. Terus Ummi make time to create one for anak2 Ummi tersayang! Enjoy! Semoga Farah Sofea happy & terhibur dengan coretan Ummi dan Abah di alam maya ini...