The Original Juice

Tues, 21st Sept 2010.

It was very sudden when my Tunisian friend told me she was going home for good that night. I was hoping she could come with us to the Movie Night before she leaves but alas...

Her flight was at 1am and she wanted to be at the airport at 11pm. When mum heard this, she said let's go to the airport to send her. So from Orchard, I took the train home only to be picked up at the station for the drive eastwards.

While waiting for parents to come, Zei called me to ask where I was, if we were making our way already. I couldn't really make out what she was trying to say but she seemed in distress so there's only one conclusion, "Oh do you mean you need our help to pick you up?" Affirmative. Earlier in the day I had already asked her if she needed help but she said her friends will be there.

It was 10pm when we reached her place. It was quite a feat taking down her luggages and fitting them into the boot of the car. If we had known earlier, we could have cleared some space. We even had to stop by the petrol station to pump up some air for the tyres afterwards to be on the safe side cos it seemed "melendut" (lame?) with the dead weight.

It was 11pm when we finally arrived at the airport.

Tufeil fell asleep in the car and thank god he didn't wake when we transferred him to the stroller where he remained blisfully unaware of the chaos for the next 1.5hr

We met our other colleague there. She's also like a mother figure and she's my closest Malay friend I have here. It was great meeting her there and we got to catch up since I don't always get to talk to her.

At the counter, the officer told Zei that one suitcase can't be more than 30kg. Her biggest one was 34kg. But he would allow 2kg allowance but she still had to transfer 2kg somewhere else.

*Humph* Zip *humph**humph**humph* Zip *phew~*

Her "Handbags". 4 in total.


The Late Night Crew minus one in stroller behind the cam.

Hope the bear accompanied her well in the flight. LOL

Zei was sooo grateful my mum helped her with all that.. I mean.. Can you imagine lugging 4 handbags and a 15kg trolley luggage? ALONE? I certainly can't do. At first she said she could manage maybe by enlisting some help from other passengers or what but mum insisted she should at least try to ask the Mat and said that that's the least she could do since she didn't have time to buy her any "souvenir". She had planned to buy her a telekung (prayer dress).

After waving her off, we went for "supper" at Polar Puff. On the way there, Tufeil woke up. Like he knew we were gonna eat. hahaha. I couldn't be bothered to nurse him back to sleep but instead, fed him a whole sausage. (He cried when I tried giving him anything else)

It was past 1.30am when we finally reached home! By the time I got T to sleep, and me showered and everything, I had a splitting headache and got MC the next day. *wink*

Tues, 21st Sept 10.

I got my mum to do overtime cause I went to our Rec Club's Movie night.

19th Sept 10



Despite the lateeeee night last night, Tufeil woke up bright and early at 8am. I cldn't open my eyes, i just sent him out to the living room and crashed back on the bed. 30min later, I was awoken saying my parents had to get ready to go out. I played with him in the room hoping he would wanna get back to sleep. No chance.

I finally got around to give him a shower and breakfast (1 hour) and then watched cartoon for a bit. I was psyching myself, "I can stay awake for a few more minutes. I will get ready at 11am and go out to Library."

At the same time, I lied flat on my back on the carpet in front of the TV and *snap* Tufeil asked for his susu (milk). Then i fell asleep and he did too. We - anak beranak (mother & son) - slept on the carpet for 1.5hr. SHIOK.

At noon, he woke up and we went out for lunch at Cafe Galilee!!! Weehoo been a long time since I last ate there. Hungry liao. Bfast for him was just cheese on raisin bread.

The seat is sooo comfy he looks dreamy

18th Sept 2010.

Syifaa' stayed over at our place the previous night. At noon, we went to the lift lobby area to play with the Bubble Gun i just bought the night before.

Syifaa' was more adept at shooting them than I was! Blah.

WHOOSH the bubbles became like snow.


Go on. Pop one, Tufeil.

After a 3 hour nap, Tufeil woke up fresh to go out Eid visiting.

First house was my cousin's. Their new house is just LOVELY! Very strange shape that I've never seen before. Obviously i'm so swaku (country bumpkin?).

The funny thing is, the moment Tufeil reached the house, he saw the Singkong Keju (cheese tapioca cracker) and attacked it first. He had like maybe 10-15 sticks!!! Halved the container he did! So embarassing lor. He was after carrying the GLASS container and passing it to an adult to open it. And the hosts haven't even 'jemput' (invited) to eat yet. Most house always like that one he.

And then another blushing moment is he ate the grapes non-stop also. Cried when I said No more, went over to the bowl and asked another guests for it until my aunt gave him the whole bunch! Aiyooo...

Hmmm I didnt manage to take pictures by my cousin took ours. Hopefully he's uploaded them somewhere already.

Next, the guys stopped by at Makmur Mosque and onwards to Cik Zaini's house in Yishun. This is where we met Ash and her Cathay group of friends. Thank God, he allowed one of my cousins to carry him but only because she gave him some plain yellow noodle to eat. But at least, I did manage to steal a moment to enjoy the cookies. hah.

Then, Mummy dropped me at Fara's house while they go to another relative's house. I was sad that I was late and cldn't catch with the rest of the SWPH gang namely Sue and Nisa. Just after 10m of my arrival, Nisa left. Not to mention that I had to wash Tufeil's soiled bum. The ruckus he kicked up at that was.... indescribable!

The birthday Girl & sister - Shaheen & Wusqa respectively.

Here, Tufeil ate very little rice preferring the sausage instead and ate one whole piece! Arghhh!! Seems he's all into finger foods lately as it's the easiest thing he could feed himself.

Oh! He also managed to spill a cup! Alamakkk malu nye. I wish I had more hands to stop him, you know. Lucky didn't hit the carpet. 2 years back at Fara's old house also I felt guilty for playing balloon with Shaheen until it tipped over a glass of red drink.

After we said our goodbyes, I braced myself for what's coming next. Walking about 1 bus stop away to my friend Y's open house with a baby in my arms, as well as my handbag, his koala bag and a paper bag of cloth from Pakistan Sue gave. Almost caved in to a cab ride but too hot to wait around for one. Silly me didn't think about taking the bus! But to my surprise, it was really really very near! Just cross one traffic light and we're golden.

We arranged to meet with the rest of the 11 Best friends at around 8.30. It was almost 9pm when i reached but i was still the first to arrive!

The guests next to us sharing the same table entertained Tufeil for a bit. Tufeil ate some jelly, just tiny morsels of rice. Again he was not very interested which is very strange cos he's - like Ash put it - very much a MAT (malay guy) preferring rice over anything else. Even the heavenly delicious chicken satay couldn't entice him. Instead....

He played with some unknown kids.

I think this is the first time T really played with kids his age. Running around laughing for nothing. It was cute to watch. But I was in a tight schedule, wanted to eat more, feed him more, talk to my friends or let him play with my friends' kids. No Go. Everytime I managed to extract him back to our table at the other end by the lure of papaya, he would demand to be let down again to join the other toddlers.

And somewhere in between all these, Tufeil overturned yet another cup of drink. ARGHHH PULL HAIR!! It was not really a great night for me. I was uncomfortable in my purple dress because the buttons kept coming off. And my WHITE tudung was really messy with some lipstick stains, POOP stains (washed and wet). Arms were aching from carrying him for so long.

I was sooo relieved when Mummy came to pick us up. But at the same time, sad tt I had to leave my friends whom I hadn't got to talk much to, and the dear Satay that I havent got acquainted with very much. LOL.

Reached home like 10? and after shower and everytime, T crashed at almost 11pm.

What a night! I soothed myself watching some online TV till almost 1am which is a mistake... (to be continued)

Friday. 17th Sept 10.

Mum brought Tufeil out Eid visiting. It is SUPER DUPER RARE that I get the night off. But Mum was kind enough to bring him out since Syifaa' are also there so they can play.

I took the opportunity to go out shopping for some stuffs I've been meaning to buy for T. Only went Causeway Point though.

Bought for Tufeil:

1. 7pcs of 18 - 24months short sleeved bodysuits @ $42 from MotherCare
2. A rainbow Spring $3
3. A mini 3 to 5 pcs puzzle $3
4. Bubble Blower $10

Bought for myself a giant Pooh Mug @ $12.50

Bought presents for Fara's children whose birthday party is the next day.

Met Ash @ the doctor's and afterwards we had dessert!

Longan with Mango Pudding on Ice.

Title translated to: Tufeil Spent Eid at Village



Tuesday 14th Sept.



Ayah took leave to go to errr Pontian, Johor (i think?) with his brothers to visit from relatives there. I couldn't take leave to follow or take care of T cause I just took two days the week before, so my parents had to bring him along - much to my mum's distress. Sorry!



I felt guilty too cause Ayah would be busy entertaining Tufeil, he won't get to catch up much with the family and that would defeat the purpose? I hope he hadn't been too much trouble.

"Are these diamonds on the ground, Atok?"

"Bye Atok, I wanna cross that Golden Bridge"

My my! He does look all grown up in this pic!

Well he didn't reach home till 7.30pm! I came home first and baby-less for about an hour. This is very RARE indeed! I savoured the moment by showering quickly and eating dinner in front of the computer watching Hell's Kitchen. I even managed to clean up my room a bit.

My pocket is sooooooooooooooooo dry right now I barely have money for lunch.

Payday won't be till Monday. So it was a HUGEEEE relief when I remembered I have this sort of secret account. It's actually my Study loan account and they make us contribute $10/m into a savings account. and it's been 4 months since i last drew it out so i have $40. Weee Alhamdulillah.

Here's the list of things I wanna buy when I have the money:

1. CalciYum yogurt for Tufeil
2. HL Choc milk for me
3. Crayola or colour pencil
4. Drawing Block
5. Some story books for Tufeil
6. Some toys that Happygrub's girl has
7. I need to get him more bodysuits. Most of the ones he have are from 6-9months and the collar is stretched down so loww I'm scared it'll him cold at night.

Well i say this for the past 4 months without actually buying any except for the food stuff. Everytime after paying the bill etc I find I don't have much to spare. =( Maybe it was because of Hari Raya prep But i know i also indulged in food. *guilty grin*

I solemnly resolve to strike off some from the list next week.

Sun, 12th Sept 2010

We were out and about by 12nn. Tufeil had a good breakfast before going out, so I wouldn't worry much about his next meal till later.

First house was my Aunty Roza and Uncle Ali just a few blocks away but we drove there. Aunty is a very talented and creative person.

She made this BEAUTIFUL fondant icing of a traditional Kebaya shirt shape

This is her selection of cookies - beautifully laid out

And this. This is Tufeil my baby wearing a deep pink Shalwar Kameez sewn by his paternal grandma.

It is slightly big - but that can be tackled as he grows or we just folded the sleeves and pants. However, he got a bit uncomfortable with the Mandarin collar neck. It was way too tight. We had to leave the first button undone.

Hmmmm

We tried to feed him some bread with chicken curry but he fast grew disinterested. I tried to nurse him to sleep, but it was too hot. Only after Syifaa' came did his face light up. Oh and today I was also armed with The Talking Tom Cat iPhone app.

Next house was somewhere in Bukit Merah about 30min away. So yes, Tufeil slept in the car and I had to carry him up to Nek Ngah's house.

I held him for a whole hour.

We all know by now that we can't put Tufeil down on a bed. He would instantly wake up! Best bet is to just continue holding him.

When I got tired of just looking at other people eating the delicious prawn Mee Rebus, the hostess' signature dish, I decided to try put him on the bed. If he sleeps good, but if he wakes up Fine 1hr nap is good and others who have finished eating can help to mind him. No prizes to guess which way it turned out! He let a mighty wail out. It took awhile to console him and then 2nd sis carried him out to the corridor to play.

After he had calmed down, he came in and ate some fruit cake that i pinched and fed him and then also a whole banana. I'm relieved that he's had a somewhat healthy if not proper meal. I'm pretty sure he would be a happy baby from here on out.

Next House was Nek Milah's in Pasir Ris.

The customary photo at the void deck.

Can you see how matching our dresses are?

Kids playing with the small baby chairs.

Sarina and Syifaa's turn

All 3 of them now.

Enough playing. It's time to eat!

Tufeil's face looked weird cause he was chewing.

Tufeil discovered some delicious potato chips

I was sooo surprised at how tekun (focused) he was sitting and eating his crisps. He even managed to personally finish a whole fruit cake holding it in his hands and bite after bite after bite. He didn't put it down once. Don't mind my amazement but I think this is a real achievement! A milestone if you will. He didn't even glance at the glasses. Granted, he did topple the containers but only for trying to twist them open. =)

Another thing I'm curious about is also how he picked out the same food over 3 days in different houses. How does he tell it's the same one or that he would like it?

OK let's burn some energy and play some more!

With their feet together, I told Tufeil to tickle Sarina and she got mighty angry! Oops Sorry!

Sat, 11th Sept 2010.

As is customary of late, the first weekend of Hari Raya, my mum's siblings from her dad's will come visit us. And today is that day.

We took that opportunity to invite my Tunisian friend, Zeineb too. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures from my phone with her.

There were so many people once the group came. Also quite a number of children. However, Tufeil, at first, played on his own, until the ball came out and the boys were playing and he joined in. So much so that he wanted to go out to the lift lobby to play! Embarrassed to report that Ayah had to rein him in instead of his own mother. But the good thing was, there were so many eyes looking out for him while i do the task of being Assistant Hostess. haha

When the Simei gang came, it was more a relief. We all went out together after 2pm. We walked to sis house two blocks behind.

Tufeil was fascinated by the fishes but content on looking from afar.

He also found joy jumping on the sofa led by Kakak Syifaa'

Peekabooing with me too

Here, Tufeil insisted on some kerepek pisang (banana crisps). Seems like this boy is into savory snacks just like his mummy =) But thankfully he didn't touch too many glasses. Syifaa' managed to spill one though but we managed to rescue the drink before it reached the carpet.

From the east, we went all the way west to Bukit Batok. On the way, i realised that Tufeil had pooped! Oh Great. I was wishing that I could just change him at home cause I hate going to other people's toilet. Now I had to give him a full SHOWER! Nonetheless, the needful had to be done. But not before...

1. Climbing 4 flights of stairs with a 10kg baby in arms while being careful not to press against his bums lest all the poo sticks or worse rides up the diaper! LOL

2. Tufeil crying to be let to play with a cat in the corridor. No chance of him being scared of cats after being scratched. But he did maintain his distance, that's for sure.

I didnt take any pictures because truthfully, I was so knackered after all these I couldn't be bothered. Plus the house was sooo romantically dimmed, iPhone camera has no chance of shining.

It was prolly 9pm and we were hungry. I realised that I hadn't had a proper meal since... 10 hours ago. At the one house that offered some food, I was frozen on the seat with a sleeping baby. We decided to go somewhere for dinner. However, most of the 24hr Muslim restaurants are closed for Eid as well and the usual halal establishments are closed for the night. So we settled for... McDonalds. I realised Tufeil hadn't eaten much either. So he had Nuggets meal - 2.5pcs. Did i tell u he LOVEEE fries just like his mummy? hee hee heee....

We slept close to 11pm!

PS: I had to render my Cousin Nur's help to remember where else did we go that day. Bcos my phone only had pictures from my sister's house. I left my phone in the car when we were at Simei and used Ash's phone to take pictures. But it scared me so that I cldnt for the life of me remember. It was like a totally black out. Thank god for photos and blog. Must write while the memory still serves me.