My Kids Have Been DOAWKed!!

There is a BOOKXCESS outlet in One Utama that sells books in an unbelievable affordable price. The books are sold at 50% to 80% off the original price because they are remainder and overprinted books. What is more amazing is all these books are in great conditions and they are not at all preloved.

I first stumbled upon the place as I was going to Daiso. Come to think of it, I have noticed the outlet a few times before but I thought it was one of those novelty shops. All I remembered was there are so many Star Wars posters as its deco. I guess, it was one of those days when I had few hours to spare, I went in and realized that they were selling books (more than posters of course) and their children's corner are amazing. Most of the books are in box sets. So you will see Big Nate, Dork Diaries, Elmo, Horrid Henry, Little Miss,  Thomas, Amelia Jane....all in box sets.

Managed to bought Diary of a Wimpy Kid (DOAWK) Collections by Jeff Kinney among others. It is a box set that consists of six books. They are Diary of a Wimpy Kid, The Last Straw,  Dog Days, Rodrick Rules, The Ugly Truth and Do-It-Yourself Book. The books quickly become my kids' favourite. Whenever it is reading time, they were sure to pick up the books and immerse themselves in the life of Greg Heffly. I guess they can totally relate to Greg's schoolboy experience which are told in Greg's diary entries and comical line drawings.

AM loves it so much that he decided to make one for himself. I am so happy that he initiated the journal (he prefers this term than diary) project on his own. And the whole process was just amazing. The best thing is I am allowed to read it. And he also gave the nod for me to share these pages in this blog. Though it may seems petty, but I will always make a point to ask for permission first.

 You know how difficult it is whenever the "How was school?" question is normally followed by a one liner

 answers. Okay. Fun. Boring. As usual. Alright. Same. Bolehla. Best. Tak best. 

This journal saves me from all that. Reading all the entries made me realized stuff that happened at school and the kind of person he is when he is surrounded by his peers. I am able to know his likes and dislikes. His close friends. His favourite food during lunch. Subjects that he despises. Teachers that he adores. What he thinks of his sisters. But most importantly, I appreciate the feelings that he poured in his writings and drawings.

Traveler's Factory, Japan

So my husband went to Japan two weeks ago for his work trip leaving me behind with the kids. After almost ten years of marriage, I am pretty much used to it by now. Now, my husband being the kind of man that he is, went  to most places that we visited during our Japan family trip last year, took photos and sent them to me. His walk down memory lane, though may seem romantic to some degree was actually an attempt to annoy me because he knew how much I miss Japan.  To show how serious he was about the whole 'I-wish-you-are-here' thing, he went to Sushi Zanmai all the way to Tsukiji market, ordered the same bowl of sashimi like he had last time and captured it all in one photo. All in good faith of course haha.

Juicy tunas that melt in your mouth. Japan sure promises the best gastronomical adventure that you couldn't find elsewhere because I can never look at those tunas in Sushi King the same way again.

Ohhh, and that was not it. There is more trick up his sleeves, I assure you. Traveler's Factory was next on his list. But I am kind of glad that he went there because now with a small baby, my days of  traveling seem to be put on hiatus. So, looking at the photos that he sent all the way from Nakameguro's back alley pretty much quench my thirst of traveling. 

 

The view from outside.

Stationery heaven.

My husband brought Pokemon gatchapon (capsule toys) for the kids and of course souvenirs from Traveler's Factory for me. But instead of giving me all the stuff at one go he decided that it would be more fun to let time does the magic...in other words, he loves to 'torture' me. Never mind, since I love surprises, I would say, bring it on. Plus, it is like having your birthday present when you least expected it. 

So the first present was the one that he gave me straight away. And it is this mini coloured pencils set, consists of 12 colour pencils, a sharpener and an eraser. This credit card size stationery set screams journaling on the go, all the way!!! It could easily fit inside your journal. It also has Traveler's Factory logo printed on its case.

 

I just don't have the heart to really put this to use yet. So at the moment, the colour pencils still remain sharp and untouched. 

I found the second gift, a week later, tucked neatly in between AD's nappies. It was a really nice surprise. They are these two black and white wahi tapes. And it is all nothing but the truth, when they (the journaling addict) say you can never have enough washi tapes. 

The Tokyo Metro Trip by Metro and the black Traveler's Factory washi tape.

 This Traveler's Notebook x Tokyo Metro collaboration washi tape showcases all nine lines in Tokyo Metro extensive rapid system. They are the Ginza Line, Marunouchi Line, Hibiya Line, Tozai Line, Chiyoda Line, Yurakucho Lin, Hanzomon Line and Namboku Line.

 A close-up look of the washi tapes. 

I can't wait to see what will my next surprises be.

My Delivery Story

It has been nearly two months since my last post. My new baby girl sure is keeping me busy. I gave birth to her in mid October, three days before my scheduled induced labour. I was a week overdue and she was showing no signs of coming out at all. I had mild contractions three or four days before I delivered her on Thursday, the 13th. The contractions weren't that bad, Alhamdulillah. Although it was my third pregnancy, but it was almost six years ago since I had my last baby, so I was a bit rusty and I had long forgotten what contractions really feel like. I had at least one false alarm. Went to the hospital one night and was later sent back home soon. That was embarrassing.

In the meantime, I did my daily CTGs every morning. I was told that I could just stay at the hospital until my induced date so I don't have to worry much. But the idea of just waiting unknowingly and  simply being away from my two kids is a big No-No.

It was a Thursday night, right after everybody went to bed when I felt the contractions. Although I had felt them earlier during the day, yeah, I was at IKEA with my parents, when I felt them. I knew, the contractions were different than before. The type of contraction that stops you from doing anything, that just bugs you and doesn't seem to go away. Deep down I was telling myself, 'This is IT' but I didn't tell my parents or call my husband because I knew he would straight away rush me to the hospital. Perhaps another false alarm. But that night, the contractions were stronger and longer. I waited for a good half an hour before I decided to wake my husband up and even then I wasn't too sure of going to the hospital. I am glad my very persistent husband forced me to go or I might have ended up giving birth at home instead.

Luckily my parents were at our house visiting since Monday, so we could leave the kids with them. It was one in the morning, the road was cleared, so we reached the hospital within 10 minutes. It could be way earlier if not because of the police roadblock. We were nearing the hospital when I didn't feel any pain  at all. I thought of turning back but my husband stopped me of course. And right when we parked our car at the emergency entrance, I felt one long, sharp contraction and looked at my husband and of course he was staring at me with his I-told-you-so face.

So I was told that I was already 3 cm dilated. Since I didn't want any painkillers, the midwife asked me to get as much sleep as possible as I might be delivering sometime after Subuh. I did not get to sleep much and at about 3 plus am, I felt a strong urge to push. Woke my husband up who was sleeping next to me, had to yell at him to call the midwife since he was a bit groggy. At that time I was 7 cm dilated. Then, things were kind of fast forwarded for me. My gynae came probably 10-15 mins later. Honestly I don't know, as it felt like ages. And I was trying so hard not to push the baby out until my gynae came. She had to rupture the sac and seconds later, one long push, and my baby girl was out. It felt so surreal. But my husband and I were so happy and relieved. At last, we could hold her in our arms and kiss her to our hearts content. It was an amazing experience having AM and AZ and we could not be more grateful to be able to relive it again. Welcome to the world!!

And then there was the night wake up call.😂

40 Weeks and Still Pregnant

Yup..Today is my due date and I am still very much pregnant. I know I shouldn't worry much but why everything seems to be stressing me out. My gynae is giving me another 7-9 more days before we opt for induce labour (and I pray really hard that we don't come to that as I want this pregnancy to be as natural as possible). 

During my last visit, the baby was doing fine. The fluid looked clean. She didn't poop yet so that was a relief. Tomorrow I'll be starting my daily ctg to monitor the baby's health plus my usual physio which means I will be going to KL every single day. Haishh. Anything for the baby. 

I feel so heavy right now. I'm trying so hard to keep my mind away from thinking too much. So far, walking seems to help a lot. Try to do the most of the ante-natal exercises as much as I can. I watch movies, read books, clean the house, window shopping....anything...just so I can kill time.

Prayers during Labour Pain

   

These are several questions with regards to Muslim mothers who are about to deliver a baby. 

1. Bila dah pecah ketuban, wajib solat ke?
2. Kene sembahyang tak kalau keluar darah sebelum bersalin?
3. Darah sebelum bersalin (yang dipanggil dengan term tumpah atau turun darah), adakah dikira darah haid atau darah nifas?


For Question 1 & 2
 
Based on my reading, and from what I understand, kita WAJIB SOLAT even bila a) air ketuban pecah, b) tumpah atau turun darah dan c) waktu sakit contraction. The prayer remains an obligation until the baby’s head is born. Darah yang mengiringi baby tu barulah masuk kategori darah nifas (postnatal bleeding), so dah tak wajib solat. 


For Question 3

And to answer the third question, darah sewaktu hamil adalah dikira darah haid sekiranya mematuhi tempoh kitaran haid je.

 You seriously might want to read all of these for better understanding.

1. Hukum solat ketika hendak melahirkan. 
    Muslim OB/GYN
    Laman Fiqh Anda
    Dr Zubaidi

2. How to pray when you are in labour pain?
    sayangISLAM

 

Bearb_store Goodies

I have another lovely little order that I would like to share with you. This one is from another local stationery online seller from Shopee which goes by the name bearb_store. It took them almost a week to process the order even though most of them are ready stock items but then again I am never in a hurry.

The order came in a plastic bubble wrap bag. (The kids went crazy for it). As you can see from the pics above, I went with four washi tapes and the other items are just planning goodies that they give for free! So generous. Love the extra effort.

I chose the perfume, stationary, flower and newspaper/magazine tape. Loving the materials of the washis. Last I checked, the first two washis are sold out already. 

I just wish that the seller would inform us if some washis that we ordered would come wrapped around plastic sample rather than rolls. I was kind of expecting that when I bought the newspaper/magazine tape as there are no indications whatsoever from the product details or pictures.

Other than that, I was beyond thrilled to receive all the items. 

Mini Craftmates Haul

So, for this entry I decided to share a mini haul from Craftmates now that AM and AZ are into creative journaling. This is also my first time purchasing stuff from Shopee and I must say that it was a pleasant experience for me. I love the fact that the customers are always able to keep track of the items bought from the seller, from the first day you ordered them up till they are being shipped out. Once you confirmed that you have received the items, you will earn Shopee Coins and you can use them for your next purchases. 

It took 5 days for the items to reach me which is kind of ok if you ask me.

These are most of the things that I bought. I bought ten washi tapes. As you can see they are probably too much. Even for the three of us. In my defense all of them are on sales. Washi tapes are also something that I probably don't limit myself from buying. They are small and they don't take much room for storage. If you get bored of them, just use it up. Well, that's my justification anyways.


Among them is this super slim washi. 

Look at the size compared to the standard washi tape. Retail at RM2.20, I didn't realize it is that slim although the site did mention its width; 3mm. The bird washi is AZ's favourite. In fact, she did a page on birds just so she can use it in her creative page. And that super slim washi, AZ used it to highlight the title.


All of these items were on sales. Except the super slim washi tape. You just have to browse through their  20% -70% category . Free shipping for minimum purchase of RM20. And it will take them 14-20 days to deliver pre-order items.

They also gave stickers as freebies. Don't you just love surprises no matter how small they are? I am so happy with all the items bought and will probably purchase other stuff from them too.