This should be everyone's best friend.
Well, it has been mine for the longest time! 10 years maybe! And I really want to share this with my readers.

For many years I have with sharing it with my lady friends and mummies but they seem to give me that 'ARE-YOU-SURE' look. I really cannot help but to give them the 'CAN'T-YOU-TELL-IM-SERIOUS' look in return.
Well, it all started when many ask me what was my secret to having flawless skin.

*cough*cough*

I do not have flawless skin. (Happy now?)I have a slightly an uneven skin tone and dark eye rings which I have to thank my genetics for that. Yes, dark eye rings can be genetic and I had mine confirmed by a doctor.
But I have to admit that I do have almost zit-free skin. I used to have a T-zone issue - long time back.

Of course Vagisil is popularly known as a cleaning liquid to wash and clean our lady bits. I always wonder why they have these products because we were taught since young to wash with soap during showers and during visits to the toilet. Nonetheless, I share with the ladies that I use it as a facial wash.

YUP. FACIAL WASH.

Ok, are you going to give me that face again behind the screen?

But truly, this is the one and only facial wash you will ever going to need. I am not a fan of skin solutions because I think they are overly expensive and I really do not have the capacity, be it time or energy to cleanse my face, use tons of cotton wools and toners which are overly drying to the skin. What more moisturisers. Gosh! I hate going to sleep with a sticky face.

So everytime I wash my face in the shower or when I need to take my abolution, I always do it with a 20-cent coin size of Vagisil. Wash it over my face and it cleans make up! Of course for waterproof ones, you need probably about $1 coin size of Vagisil. As for me, I only use foundation, eyebrow colour, eyeliner, blusher, sometimes a little mascara, rarely lipsticks which will be gone after a meal and too lazy to reapply again. So the make up washes off in a jiffy!

Why Vagisil as a facial wash?

1. It works on all skin types.
Vagisil is pH balanced so it is really useful for acne prone skin. As for me, I no longer have T-zone skin. In fact, it will not even leave your skin dry because of balanced pH. So really, this is truly a cheaper option to the many facial wash that you have been trying.

In fact, there are some of Vagisil formulation that contains probiotics and can help to clear up blemishes.

2. It is nicely scented.
I swear upon this. It is awesomely fresh yet sweet smell which is a bonus on top of the clean feel you have on your skin. Of course you can opt for the unscented version.

3. It is hypoallergenic.
I am allergic to 1001 things and when I knew that this formulation was hypoallergic, I was so delighted to use it without much thought.
It is really meant for delicate skin isn't it? Well, why not for the face.

4. It is way cheaper than your bottles of your skin care.
That I need not explain any further.

I am sure the gentlemen will have some reservations using them. Well, if you have a wife, just squeeze out some for yourself. She would not know the different. There is a large amount of love to be shared. Typically a bottle can last myself(only) for 2 months or so.

If you have yet to be married, well, just transfer it to another clear bottle. No one will notice.

Well, there was a day when I was home with the 3 kids alone and preparing lunch. I was happily cutting away the chilli and a couple strands of hair was tickling my nose. Without thinking, or more like a reflex action, I pulled those strands of hair away. Within moments, I felt the piercing heat from the chilli on my nose and cheeks.

I was panicking and had no idea what to do next. The pain was getting intense. I went to the toilet to wash it off and contemplated to apply some toothpaste on it to cool it down. But when I entered the toilet, I saw my facial wash aka Vagisil and I washed my whole face with it.

Trust me, the pain and heat subsided and I felt very clever. Vagisil is pH balanced, hence it neutralises the acidity of the chilli on my skin! Tadaa!

Someone I knew has eczema and when I shared with her about the pH balance of this, she used it as her shower gel. Apparently, she shared that it didn't dry her skin and she felt like the wash didn't rip her off her body moisture!

So ladies, if you are still wondering which facial wash can serve you best, I hope you will give Vagisil a shot. I'm pretty sure it can be love after first wash!

The men who will never meet

I was typing a blog entry about something else and wanted to compliment it with pictures. 

I was looking back again at the old pictures and stumbled a picture of my late dad a year before he passed away. Then I remembered some of the pictures I snapped last night. 

Quickly I put them together. Side by side. 

Immediately I broke down in the office like a flowing river. There goes my make up but I could not hold it back any longer.

It has been a while since I cried about my late Dad. 

The resemblance is so uncanny, Masya Allah. I was just writing about how Riduan was a Mecca baby when I was trying to come to terms with my loss. And I promised myself to let Dad go the moment I completed my Umrah. 

I didn't think I would be presented with this gift. I am still ashamed of how I didn't want a baby boy when it is such a precious gift. Another flesh and blood for me to look at each time I miss my Dad. 

There is just so much in life to thank for. 

Life is just that beautiful. 

Pack that bag

Unlike the daily bags, I am always more anxious about the hospital bag.
At 33 weeks, I started packing my hospital bag and this time around, the bag is different from the bag that we packed for our firstborn.

This time around we did not only have mummy & daddy's list.
We had a list for mummy, daddy, Rania and baby.

Mummy's list:
1. Vanity wear (the comfy ones of course)
2. 2 sets of clothes (one to wear in the hospital in case I refuse to wear the off-beat maternity dress and one to wear home)
3. Thermal socks (something I wear throughout my stay in the delivery suite and also during the hospital stay)
4. Toiletries
5. Slippers for use in the toilet & hospital
6. Tumbler to keep my drinks warm or cold
7. Milo 3-in-1 & other sachet drinks

Daddy's list:
I did not interfere.

Rania's list:
1. 1 set of PJs in case she wants to stay over with Mummy.
2. Bottle detergent
3. Baby Blankie (dual use for my breastfeeding as well)
4. Diapers
5. Wet wipes (only because she cannot use the Pigeon wipes provided by KKH)
6. Small towel

Baby's list:
1. Go home outfit

Then I have a hospital handbag which I IG-ed earlier.



1. Microsoft Surface Tablet
2. Book of Zikir
3. Tissues (wet/dry/antibacterial - kiasu much?)
4. Bag of medicine
5. Bag of wires - tablet charger, USB wires, power bank to recharge my phone
6. Wallet & Maternity Medical Book.

To all the mummies-to-be, hope this helps!
Wishing you a wonderful journey as well.

xoxo

Post-kiddo Marriage

Alfi and I met in Feb 2009 and by Nov 2010, we were hitched!
Many thought we were kidding to jump into the marriage boat too fast but I swear you can just tell if that was the person you wanted to settle down for the rest of your life.



Sure, there are things I didn't forsee when I married him. Like he just doesn't care if he farts loudly in public.
But any of those sorts are mediocre to me - thank god!

Honestly, I was still adjusting life as a married woman. My roles multifold. From being a daughter-in-law, to a wife, to my career and the toughest of all was time away from my mom. Something which I have spent enormous portion of my life with. Setting expectations were hard.

By April 2011, I conceived Rania.
It felt just like yesterday that our honeymoon ended. I was not ready to have a child but at the same time I knew that I could not wait any longer than I already did. But the thought of entering into another phase scares me and I was brutally honest about it in my previous posts.

Life took a turn. I was busy with work, home business and one tuition.
Still, Alfi and I had a lot of time to play around and date. Only that movies were a chore because by the time I entered my third trimester, Alfi will need to rub my back every 30 mins in the movie theatre and watching movies like Transformers was no joke.

We have our decaf coffee dates still and ate wherever I wanted to.

Then Rania came just before Christmas. She was truly a bundle of joy, bringing tears to both her parents - surprisingly. I mean I didn't think we were going to cry but we did!

Reality set in when we came home and all the attention was on her. Everyone's attention was on her.
Back then, I did not have a maid and did everything on my own during my maternity leave.

There was one thing Alfi and I didn't see coming. Our dates together are totally compromised.
During my pregnancy, we made a pact to date at least once a week. Then when Rania was born, we told ourselves that we would fix dates every fornightly.

Today after 16 months, I only dated my husband once. Then I was so upset how much I probably would have prioritized my marriage. Then I realized dates are just something quantifiable.
Plus, we are juggling more things today than we were a year ago. With the new pregnancy, work, me juggling 7 tuition classes a week and Alfi juggling with 6 classes a week, time was barely on our side.

There are many more which I practiced daily with Alfi. Like calling him during office hours, asking him his plans and working around my schedule so that I can see him for lunches or meet him at his workplace and we head home together. We always end our phone calls with 'I love you' and 'Take care'.
Sometimes we practice having breakfast together and when I reach office, I will just send him a quick text message saying,"I miss you already." or "can't wait to see you later."

Bottom line, Rania is a gift to us.



Life would not have had so many smiles without her.



But so is Alfi to me. He is my pillar of strength and my other mutually exclusive half.



We do share our memories of what it was like during pre-baby times. We do miss it.
The first step is to let Rania sleep on her own after 16 months and while she has been great, the parents have been having withdrawal.

So I guess life really changes. But different isn't always bad.
We do have cheeky moments, many laughs and stolen moments. We are just short of going out on dates.
But this is marriage life.

While I think it is necessary to spark the flame, I think we don't need to be rigid in doing up a dating schedule.
I still like things being a little impromptu. It creates a little bit more excitement.

How do you maintain that spark in your marriage?
Share with my readers and I a little thing or two and maybe we could put the ideas to good use this coming Labour Day holiday or weekend!

This post is brought to you by Pampers Singapore

Surviving with your baby

Having a baby is indeed life changing moments for anyone.

When Rania was born, being a first time parent means that there are a lot of things which I am ignorant of. A lot of money was spent with trial and error with so many things.

I am hoping that the next baby will cut costs to half (or maybe even more)

I started off having two teats and six bottles, thinking I could breastfeed for a long time. Then a week before my father passed away, he managed to buy 4 more Pigeon bottles and a Tiger flask from Indonesia which is cheap!
So that gave me six bottles and made it easier for me. I ended up washing her bottles twice a day i.e in the afternoon and at night.

Her feeds were every 2.5 to 3 hours and I was alternating between breast milk and bottle.

Then came when my dad was in the hospital for two weeks. I was struggling with pumping out milk which I only did once a day and eventually I stopped. Later I added on 4 Avent bottles of 120ml because I did not have a maid and I was managing so many things.

My own family, the baby, settling my dad's things and everything else in the house.
That gives me 10 bottles to work with.

But it didn't last long too. Eventually, Rania was on a 150ml feed and off I went to buy another 6 Avent bottles of 260ml.
Today, she is using 9 Pigeon bottles, 6 Avent bottles and 2 small feeding bottles.

At 6 months, this was how Rania look like.



Her expressions are priceless.
To get ready takes about 2 hours because (again, using first time mother as an excuse) I would not want to miss out anything when I go out.

Here was how many things I put inside her diaper bag now. That is excluding 3 sets of clothes which I bring everytime.

Kiasu much?



Rania at 10 months



Better bonding with her dad



Today, these are the things I bring for her whenever we go out.



1. 2 feeding bottles, milk powder container & Zojirushi thermal flask
1 empty, 1 filled with lukewarm water for her to drink.
The good thing is that if I run out of warm water for her milk, I just ask for hot water and add on to the luke warm water.

The milk powder container is a gift and a Tupperware brand. I love it!

2. Favourite pillow
She used this a lot when she was teething. Because the pillow was soft, she bit on it often and a must have if she needs to go to sleep or calm her down.

3. Kangaroo
Yeah, I know.. she sleeps with her favourite pillow but her Kangaroo is what she toy she carries around everytime. She will enjoy biting the nose, the tail and throwing it on the floor just to catch our attention.

4. 2 diapers and 1 or 2 sets change of clothes
Anything more required means it is time to go home

5. Dettol wet wipes
Heck yeah, I sanitize anything that I can get my hands on especially the baby chair in restaurants. I cannot imagine them using the same cloth to wipe trays and then wipe tables and whatever else and then wipe the baby chair.
The next thing you know, your baby is biting off the handles, licking and sucking the surrounding bars.
*shudders*

6. Cusson Wet Wipes
Love this wipes. It is a one wipe for all.
Bottom, hands and mouth.
And I love this one because the smell is so nice and refreshing.

7. Dry tissue
Trust me, you no longer need those small packet ones. Travel size is the best.
My favourite brands are Kleenex, Paseo, Fair Price.
This one happens to be Watsons brand because it was on sale for 50cents a pack.

8. Biscuits
These are really cheap biscuits. A box of 20 packets (2 biscuits in a packet) costs $2.60 and Rania really enjoys them because they make the 'crunch' sound.

9. My wallet and medication bag
I cannot live without these.

And all these to fit into the Kipling Backpack.
This the diaper bag that has lasted with us for 4 months. The longest running.
I like it because it is very practical.

Either myself or the husband can carry it.
Even when I am alone, it is manageable to handle Rania on a carrier, with a backpack and even add a pram to that!

Yes, I am one mummy filled with much gusto.
(I still miss my heels though)

I know that there are a lot of mummies who gave birth just before or soon after me.
How has your diaper bag evolved or what are the things in there?

We used to share what is in our handbag.
Times have changed.

What is in your diaper bag?
xoxo

Work-Life Balance

After 30 years, I laid on the bed, passed my little girl to the maid and watched The National Day Rally.
Maybe I have grown up. Maybe it is about time that the national issues worry me.

The economy, health benefits, education are those that interests me a lot now.. or at least at this age.
Baby boom is needed to build up the economy. Which is great!

A lot of people checked-in with me less than a month after my wedding and asked if I was pregnant.
And it went on till I was pregnant and didn't know about it.

Worry not, I always say. The husband and I are looking forward to have children. In fact, I always mention, one of the reasons why I married him was because he wanted 5! So did I!
And that would also mean that he is marrying me to be committed to the family.

And the organisation I work in is a very pro work-life organisation that my husband advised me to 'rot' in here.
Microsoft have made it in Business Times and many other tech magazines, championing work productivity and the new world of work.

So today, I have the joy of being in the corporate world and yet not forgoing my responsibilities as a mother. While a lot of mothers I know dread going back to work after their maternity leave, I was quite okay about it.

Of course, even being away from home for a short while makes me miss my little princess. But I really enjoy working too.
So this is really a great balance.

I can take childcare leave if need be and have a peace of mind that I am spending time with my daughter when needed. I know organisations, even government agencies where employees need to provide child MC to take childcare leave.

I think that is pure crap.

For example, I took childcare leave on one of the days when my mom was in London and my aunty was unable to take care of my little girl.
How do I justify that on black and white.

And during childcare leave, this is what I enjoy most.
Catching up with my husband over lunch so that he can see his princess and queen.
It does cheer him up.

There are also some companies I know deemed themselves as flexible but not-so-flexible. Many who are still not walking the talk.

Let's face it.
There are still many out there who loves micro-managing to the point that even if you need to go to the loo, they should must know. Even the one sitting next to you. Because if you are not seen at your desk, you are considered to be MIA.
Everyone plays the role of a superpower and I think that is disgusting.

We are working adults, feed mouths, take on responsibilities and supposed to be matured to make strategic decisions.

This is definitely the reverse indication.
So yes, I am an advocate of work-life balance. Even if emails come in during the night, I make it a point not to reply till the next morning (unless I have a meeting which will hold me up till lunch)
I cannot help it that I can be a workaholic.

Today, I am still trying to stop surfing on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram by 8pm.
It hasn't worked but I will try to get there.

Family time after 8pm on weekdays.

xoxo

Just a lil' bit

I usually patronize Al-Falah mosque solely because I love hanging out Orchard Road.
I get my Starbucks fix. If not convenient, then it will be Coffee Bean.
My Famous Amos fix sometimes. Marks & Spencer cookies if I feel like it.
I relax my eyes with window shopping.

I do my grocery shopping in town most of the time.
It is easy to find Rania's food ingredients in the supermarket than the normal wet markets.
Basil leaves, thyme, pumpkin in small portions, things like that.

It is a good exercise walking too.

So prior to Ramadhan, when I was at the mosque, I entered an empty prayer hall, horrified seeing this!



I think it is very kind of the mosque to put toys for children so that their mummies can perform their ibadah without having their kids having to distract them.
The least you can do is to at least clean it up before you leave, don't you think?

Islam always teaches us to be considerate.
The mosque has been considerate to you. I think, we as mothers should too.

xoxo,
Mima

Did you know? Confessions of an uptown girl

I cannot remember when was the last time I entered a wet market.
I am serious.
Was it at the age of 14 or 16?
Ok somewhere there.... and here I am turning 30 in 6 months time.

So last weekend morning, the husband brought me out for breakfast at the Ang Mo Kio hawker center and then he led me to the wet market to stock up our refrigerators!
He always wondered how come I never put my feet in the wet market.

Basically, my family eats out every day, every time.
Our tapao food to work is very simple. We buy pre-cooked shrimps and fillet fish for our porridge from the supermarket.
Frozen chicken from the supermarket.
So the husband taught me around the wet market and I felt super amused with myself.

Thank you husband nonetheless for the experience.
I am growing up aren't I?
(Though its a little late. But better late than never)

Just a quick update, I am contracting very often now.
Maybe 1 big contraction every hour and smaller contractions along the way.
I am scheduled for my check up tomorrow but I am hoping that Rania can wait a little while till this weekend.
Her Yayee will be back from Bangkok and her Baba will be on long leave due to Christmas and New Year.

Plus, I have yet to get my guest room ready for Mummy and my Lil' Sis to come and stay over.
Hang in there sister!
Give your mummy a breather ok.

xoxo,

Life's transitions

I slept crying last night, thinking it will not be long till I move out of the house which I have been staying for the past 20 years.

As much as I am looking fwd to it, I am afraid to be away from my family.

My dad who will do anything for the daughter.

My mom who loves to hear my stories and gossips and critics and my greatest friend and fight (when we have one and that makes a mother and daughter inseperable)

My sister who never fails to lend me a shoulder when I need one or a hand when we sleep at night and I do not feel too good.

Writing this makes me tear again. Maybe I am just afraid of missing their faces.

Maybe I am afraid of the physical distance between us.

Truth is...

I need to move. I need the space. I need the space for my own family.

And we would love to have some privacy.

My husband is a lovely man and is accomodating to my needs but this is a transitional phase.
I know my family is silently coming to terms with it. They think I do not know.

I quietly do.

It is actually tougher on me than anyone actually know because I never spoke about this.

McDonald's Open Doors

I am actually very excited to do this blog entry for many reasons.

Firstly, I didn't think I was going to.

Plus, if anyone knew me, they should know what a McDonald's fan I have been for more than 2 decades.

(yes, it has been that long)

Try talking to my in-laws and they will really tease me about putting an 'M' sign in front of my new house door.

Or they would tease my husband to quickly get rich so that he can buy a franchise for me.

So over the weekend, me and some other bloggers were invited to McDonald's Open Doors.

A sneak peek to their upcoming activity for Sept 2011 to Feb 2012.

The McDonald's Open Doors aims to educate their customers of what happens in their kitchen and why we have always been unable to resist them.

This includes how raw ingredients are sourced from a global supply chain and ensuring world-class standards for quality.

In fact, I managed to understand how our food is always served hot and fresh. Something, which I never thought about because I have taken it for granted.

So at the start of the tour, we were first brought into their storeroom.

I was actually pretty surprised to see a huge walking space at the center of the room and everything else neatly stacked at the sides of the room.

It was amazing to understand how detailed everything in the store was.

From having the heavier things raised above the floor.

To the lighter things placed at the top shelves to prevent any unnecessary injuries to the staff.

And how they are neatly arranged and labelled

Then I understood why I enjoy my corn cup very much.

They used DEL MONTE!!!

Fresh and crunchy. Seriously, how you compare that with the $2.50 fun fair corn cup.

Next stop, we went to the chiller. So that was our group of bloggers who was already feeling the cold before we got into it!!

*lol*

Here are the things which you get to see in the chiller.

Your good ol' hotcakes!

Your fresh milk and milk products

Cinammon Melts!!!

The freezer was just behind the chiller and I swear I could not stay inside there anything longer than 2 minutes!!

I cannot imagine the staff having to pick a box and make his way out.

*brrrr*

Our favourite patties!

Beef, fish, chicken

Then we were brought to the staff's section. I am always amazed by the energy among the staffs. How vibrant their working environment is.

Truth is, you rarely see people who are grumpy.

With 115 restaurants island-wide, employing 8000 people, the management must have done something right to see the consistency of the staffs.

Break time for the crew

And communication is always seen very important. Especially when everyone is on the move and things needed to be done quickly.

Ok here are the more interesting thing.

I am a food lover. i fail at preparing any sorts of food so far and I really appreciate those who are able to do it really quick and accurately.

See how they split up the work.

When the order comes in, the breads are firstly toasted

Placed in their respective boxes with sauces and pushed to the crew next to her

Thank you for letting me have a photo with you Bella!

The next person in line prepares it with the patty and vegetables, pickles or onions and even your special orders

Patties are cooked and kept warm

I think that it is really awesome that they are digitally labelled!!

Here is where the patties are cooked

And after they are cooked, all they do is to sprinkle some salt and pepper.

(doing this in the middle of the night is making me hungry)

As I walked around the kitchen, I practically saw instructions everywhere!!

A constant reminder for the crew which I thought was a good idea. If mistakes are minimised, food is not wasted.

We know how McDonald's has evolved with technology.

From a flat plastic key cashier to touch screen and flat TV showcasing their customers orders.

The next thing I am going to show you is awesome.

Remember how McD staff had to carry large brown paper bags filled with fries and pouring them into the fries basket, estimating the quantity?

They currently have a machine which automatically dispenses the right amount of fries to be fried.

All they needed to do is to shove the fries basket in and there it dispenses!

My ultimate favourite!

Plus the oil they used has NO trans fat!

I was super relieved to hear that, I swear!!! *lol*

I had a good time learning all those facts!

Thank you McD for organising Open Doors Preview

And I was very much entertained by MacD's Open Door Ambassadors

Not to mention that I tasted the Horlick Mc'Flurry and it is awesome!!!

And if you did not know yet, for the month of Sept, they are having this offer!

Snap away on my blog and get 2 Horlicks Mc'Flurry for the price of 1!

:)

I also like to thank OMY for making this happen for all of us.

It was an awesome experience!

So parents, if you are keen to have some fun-filled activities, here are the details to the McD Open Doors details.

A total of 300 kitchen tours will take place every 3rd Sunday of each month beginning 18th September 2011 to 19th February 2012.

And from what I understand, there are some months which have been fully booked for certain outlets!

But fret not, head down to Mc'D Open Doors to check on the available timings at other outlets and register online!

It's very convenient and rest assured your children will be squealing and feeling very excited to experience the tour.

Please note that children under 7 years are advised to be accompanied by adults.

Are you going to plan your weekend already?

xoxo,