Water babes

We didn't hit the pool for two weeks due to flu bugs attack, coupled with El Nino;). The weather does not really bother the kids but it is just too hot for mama who prefere to stay out of the water.

Last sunday, we finally did and here are some pics, not in particular order.

It's normally hard to snap a pic of all 5 together.

It's the very first time I let Atef in the water 'on his own'. I imagine he said "I really like this, mama!". I just replid "Enjoy, baby, enjoy!".

Bea3 looking at her 'food'

Adel making funny faces for the camera



Bea2 eager to 'serve' drinks for everyone.

Bea3 chasing Adel with some water...



Bea1 being 'served'. No wonder we never have enough plates and cups in the kitchen.

Atef under a shade when it's too hot!

More funny faces...

Bea1 teaches Atef splashing water, as if he does not know it already!

A wedding....

...in lot of pics and not too many words, I hope.
I start off with the hantaran. Kak long decorated all dulang for both sides. Such tedious work! According to her, the cage-like thing is a new trend.

Thought she ran out of sticks (3 sticks for the square). She insisted, it is a trend!

Thought of attending a class for kek hantaran, then bring the cake home and claim to orang kampung I made it hehe...but of course, I where got time wan! So, I just left it to the expert. Generous me contributed cakes for both sides.

Hijacked some pics from my brother's FB page. Dad's hard work in some old oil palm estate to get the 'umbut' of an old oil palm tree. I just have no idea what that's called in English. It is the inner part of the lower trunk. This is the first time I got to know that the one from oil palm is also used. I knew about those from coconut. My brother said oil palm is better. That combined with beef (only the head shown here....ewwwww) produced gulai kawah....yummmm!





The colour theme was blue and white. Suddenly we saw bright yellow seating area for the 'makan beradat' that made my sister freaked out...muahahahaha!

Mandatory pics of kids playing on the 'pelamin',

a sleepy, moody kid that didn't want to be part of anything,

a baby that was just too tired to bother!

The youngest in the clan, my parents' 30th grandchild. We managed to snap a pic before the drool dropped;). Nice!

Let me tell you about 'ngele'. In Kelantan, when you are invited to 'doa selamat' or 'baco doa' ceremony for a wedding, you are not expected to contribute money or gifts. But if you are invited for 'ngele', yes contributions are welcome. The differences are, invitation for 'ngele' is always done with cards, but only verbally for the other. 'Ngele' is normally more exaggerated than 'doa selamat' and, small gifts (called 'siso') are given (normally bunga telur) to guests. So, baco doa is always like free meals for the kampung folk. And, money is always given in a subtle (or very sopan) way, you see in the pic...mom was handing a bunga telur, and at the same time receiving money (of course not visible) from the guest. And yes, definitely, I was shooed away for being a busybody, snapping pics of hands away hehe!

Adel's act for the camera.

I just love this pic. It was almost over, mom was alone under the tent, almost smiling. She looked tired but content, maybe she was just being grateful that everything went just well.
And finally the pengantin...I'm sorry sis, you got to know this from my blog. Frankly the fake eye-lashes made your eyes BIG and diminished the soft look on your face, and the make-up made you look older;). Anyway, I wish you all the happiness in the world. I remember saving RM3 when I was little just to buy you a baby doll in a red overall that closed her eyes when laid down. I was always trusted to feed you when mom's busy. Can't believe you are a wife now. I hope you will realise that it does not really matter if the freaking bright yellow does not match your colour, the thought of the people who made the effort that counts. Looking at the trend in the family, in a year's time you will bring a baby to this world, and another two years after that....then only you know what a marriage really means...*evil laughs*.

Girls' wardrobe

Got so excited with the Ikea sale, went there on the first day and loaded the MPV with the girls' new wardrobe.
Off course, earlier they wanted these


but I had to give lectures on why they could not have those. For the price of one cartoonish Mammut, I could get two tall Trofast that comes with bigger space. And Hensvik looks too flimsy, to me.
And more importantly, pine Trofast goes well with the Vikare beds (that I got from the As Is many months ago for only RM190 with the mattress, I still can't get over it).

Loved to have all red, but they had ran out of it. Bought the blue ones as the staff could not confirm when the new stock of the red doors comes in. That's a total of RM430 saving with the sale. Please ignore the artwork on the wall, still can't bring myself to get the painting done.
For some fun, I stitched the Kallt stars on the Minnen mirror (also from As Is) and the girls were so pleased with that. Ok, the boy too;).

I can't stay away from Ikea. For this sale alone, I had made 4 trips. The first one to get the furniture, the second, on the next day to get some points for the card from a friend's purchase, the third on Sunday to return shelves (of the wrong size) and get the right ones, plus some shopping at the Curve to fill the wardrobe a bit;). Yesterday, went there to get the Kallt lights. All are very fast visits, the last one is only half an hour while waiting for Bea1 to finish school. And I still have a voucher from the shelves return. So, definitely there will be the fifth...see, that's how crazy I am!