Happy Mother's Day!

Slightly belated, but better late than never!

Happy Mother's Day to all my female readers. As a fellow female friend aptly shared, aunties deserve a Mother's Day wish too as they are like mothers to their nieces and nephews! *smiles*

So how did you celebrate Mother's Day? Frankly, I was more than happy to just do nothing on that day. The day before Mother's Day, my in-laws organized a kenduri tahlil and majlis menyambut Ramadhan at our home, and I baked four (yes four!) cakes for the occasion. (I'll share the recipes separately.) I could barely feel my feet by the time the event was over.

I must have had an adventurous streak or something, because it was my first time with all four cake recipes! I made Pandan Gula Melaka cake with Swiss Meringue Buttercream, Rose Pistachio cake with Cream Cheese, Mango Cheesecake and Brownies Kedut.

The simple dessert table, nothing fancy whatsoever!

So when Sunday rolled in, all I wanted to do was just lay on the bed and do nothing! But still, my tummy rumbled for food so I decided to head down to find something to eat. As I was brushing my teeth, I heard Aiden (and his high pitched voice) squealing downstairs; something like "Quick, Mummy is coming down soon!" Suspecting something was up, I made a big fuss about coming downstairs, and Aiden actually ran up to block my way. I feigned confusion and asked why. He cheekily replied, "Erm.... I need to find some toys!" and insisted that I followed him to his room. *so cute*

As expected, the boys raided the refrigerator and similar to last year, they made a lovely breakfast in the garden, utilizing whatever they could find in the fridge. *chuckles*

Breakfast in the garden - nasi goreng, keropok lekor, and desserts courtesy of the cakes I baked the previous day.

Flowers were also something they picked up from around the house! Friso Gold graciously sent me a bunch of flowers for Mother's Day, and the boys shamelessly passed it off as their own. *chuckles*

After that, Hubby brought us all out for cake at Nutmeg in Bangsar Village 2. I asked, "Why sampai BV2 kita pegi carik cake?" Rupa-rupanya, ada udang di sebalik mee. He brought my to Fashionvalet and asked me to pick out anything that I wanted, as a present for Mother's Day. Awwww... so sweet! Thanks Hubby... who cares about recycled food for breakfast when you can have a shopping spree afterwards! *giggles*

Thank you boys!

Check out Ian's attempt to smile while showing his teeth!

On the way home, Aiden started complaining about why I get to receive a shopping spree for Mother's Day when he has to endure a hot day in school for Hari Kanak-Kanak! Aihhhh, kids nowadays! (He's actually pining for a fidget spinner which I promised to buy if he gets good results in his exams!)

Anyway, to my fellow mummies, Happy Mother's Day and may Allah reward you for all that you do.

A Weekend at Doubletree by Hilton, Johor Bahru

Happy Monday!

We were in Johor last weekend, as Hubby's friend got hitched. It's been a while since anyone our age got married, so it was a pretty big deal for us to attend to celebrate the newly weds. Since I hate doing long distance day trips in the car, I proposed for us to spend a night in JB, so we could breakdown the trip to bearable distances. I also wanted to jenguk JPO for some early Raya shopping. Surprisingly, Hubby agreed!

By the time we left the lovely wedding at Kluang, it was close to noon. We made a short stop at JPO before we continued to the hotel. Hence when we arrived at Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Johor Bahru, it was very late in the afternoon. Check in was a breeze and the kids were thrilled to receive the hotel's signature cookies. I especially loved the exceptionally friendly check in staff; he gave us his name card and said, "If there is anything wrong, please call me so I can make it right." Awwww... I was completely sold! Also he had another surprise for us; our late arrival turned out to be a blessing in disguise because the hotel was overbooked and they had to upgrade us to a suite!

It pays to be loyal to Hilton Honors! 

It was the One-Bedroom Suite, to be exact. The suite features a separate living room and bedroom. Measuring 64 sqm in size, the suite is comfortable for a small family, just like us! There is plenty of room for the more adventurous kids to sleep in the living hall (on the sofa or a roll-away bed for a fee) but ours insisted on cramping on our king sized bed instead. If you have a bigger family, you can also opt for a connecting room. (Ian started knocking on the connecting room door and asked, "Who's there???" *super cute*)

Cheeky Ian testing out the lazy chair.

The spacious living room.

A work desk and a coffee/tea corner too.

There is also a small work desk and a counter with basic coffee/tea making amenities in the living hall. The window overlooked the swimming pool, so much so that the kids started stalking the activities happening down there and used it to their advantage. "Mummy, there are still people in the pool; can we go??"

Comfortable work desk.

The entrance to the bedroom.

The view of the swimming pool from our living room.

The bedroom comes with a comfortable king sized bed, an LCD TV, plenty of wardrobe space and an impressive en suite. Although the bathroom has a speaker for you to 'listen' to your TV, it was transmitting the voice from the show on the TV in the living hall, instead of the bedroom. I don't know whether this can be changed, but we didn't bother to check it out.

King sized bed in the bedroom.

Plenty of wardrobe space in the bedroom and continues into the bathroom.

Why are you boys on my bed???

The bathroom is marble from tile to ceiling. It has a standalone bathtub and a glorious walk-in rain shower. More wardrobe space too. Water pressure was extremely good. Amenities from the Crabtree and Evelyn Aroma Active range.

Loveeeee the modern bathroom.

The boys had a grand time in the bathtub.

I wish I can have this at home!

Breakfast at Makan Kitchen was excellent. It features a wide spread ranging from Malay, Chinese and Indian cuisine, to your comforting American breakfast favorites. Since the hotel was fully booked, we actually had to queue to get a table! But it was well worth it; servings were generous, the varieties diverse. The kids enjoyed the soft serve ice-cream dispenser while Hubby raved about their croissants. Me? I was just happy to try a bit of everything. We took more than an hour to try everything in the buffet line. By the time we dragged our feet back to the room, we were absolutely full! But did that stop the kids from begging us to go to the swimming pool? Of course not!

Signboard directing you to the various food havens.

The boys stuffed themselves silly with sugary treats.

A quick stop for some warm milk before we headed to the swimming pool.

While I supervised the kids at the swimming pool, Hubby went for a quick run at the gym. He was mighty impressed with the treadmills; they were connected to the Internet so you could watch your choice of YouTube or whatsoever while running!

The swimming pool was nice but nothing to shout about. The kids pool and the lap pool were decent, and there were a few lounge chairs in the pool itself, which was quite a creative touch. Just beware of 'ulat bulu'; I found at least 4 crawling at the potted plants near the swimming pool.

The adult lap pool.

Ian posing by the kiddy pool.

Last photo before we checked out.

Our stay at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Johor Bahru was extremely short, but an enjoyable one. We will definitely return! Anddddd... we ended our trip to Johor by making yet another stop at JPO. *such a shopaholic* *giggles*

Ian trying to look interested at JPO while Mummy shopped to her heart's content.

What are the odds of meeting a friend at JPO! 

A Playground in a Cinema??!!

Hello peeps! How was your long weekend? Too short, wasn't it? We were in Kuantan for the first two days, but left for home on Sunday afternoon so we could beat the crazy traffic. On Labour Day, Hubby had to work (oh the irony!) hence the kids and I decided to have some fun without him!

A friend shared a photo of her and her family sitting on a very cosy looking bean bag, watching a movie at the cinemas. Intrigued, I googled the place. That was how I discovered MBO Kecil.

MBO Kecil is a cinema made for kids in mind. Other than cosy bean bags and sofa beds, it has a PLAYGROUND too!!! Yes you read that right. A playground in the cinema! The cinema allows kids to run around during the movie; the younger ones can ride the slide and play at the playground while the older ones (Mum and Dad included) enjoy the show. How will they run in the dark, you think? Well - they dimmed the lights just slightly during the movie, ensuring good visibility for everyone! So you can confidently let the kids roam around, knowing that they are safe and sound within the cinema hall compound.

MBO Kecil is in Starling Mall, a new mall in the Damansara Uptown area. Before we drove into the mall, we went on a joy ride around Uptown collecting Pokeballs. *giggles* Starling Mall is relatively deserted, as most outlets have not opened. Of course, the MBO Cinemas on Level 5 was brand spanking new, spacious and impressive to the eyes.

Our local MBO cinema is gloomy and dark, but this one is the complete opposite! Spacious, airy and full of light.

Kids insisted on doing Avengers poses at the entrance. Nasib baik comel!

We were wowed as soon as we walked into MBO Kecil. There are three types of seats in the cinema; four sofa beds (max two adults two children) furthest away from the screen, three rows of normal seats right after, and then three rows of 'bean bag' seats which end right at the start of the playground. The playground is at a lower elevation, located right underneath the screen. There is a long slide which takes your child from the seats elevation down to the playground. (Or you can always take the stairs down!) Be forewarned that the cinema will be quite noisy - what do you expect from a cinema that is made just for kids??!!

Entrance into MBO kecil. There was even a baby changing room right opposite the cinemal hall! And seat layout plan so you can craft your kids' exit path to the playground. *chuckles*

Since I can't do justice to the seat layout from my humble camera, here's a birds eye view from MBO Cinema's Facebook page.

Ian exploring the playground. Quite impressive, eh?

He didn't really like the slide down ("It's scawyyy") but actually agreed to pose at the start of the slide.

Our bean bag seats.

See how the seat width is just nice for Ian? Note also that the seat is at the same elevation as the floor (that's why it's called a bean bag instead of a chair).... 

Which was a slighttttt problem because it meant that I had to curve my legs like this throughout the movie. BTW, those are my knees! Good tip, choose the first row of bean bags so you have more leg room. But it also means that you've got to literally lie on your back to get a good view of the screen.

If the bean bags are not good enough for you, try the sofa beds. Note that it is the furthest away from the screen so you get a comfortable viewing experience but you won't be that close to the playground in case you need to keep an eye on your child.

My verdict? One thumb up for creativity and effort to integrate children into the movie-going scene. A lot of thought was obviously poured into the design of the cinema, while keeping the sanity of parents in mind. The only thing to be improved would be the size of the bean bags, and its distance to the screen.

That being said, I would still visit MBO Kecil in the future. The kids absolutely enjoyed themselves, and where else would I find a playground in a cinema, in Malaysia???!!! 

Where's My Freedom???

Remember my previous post about enjoying my freedom with my success at transitioning the two boys into their own room?

Well unfortunately, it was a short lived period of happiness. Hubby started having early morning telecons with Houston which meant that he had to leave the house as early as 5am. He decided that it was a good idea to let the kids sleep in our bed to 'accompany' me. Wrong move, bro!

Ian started having bedtime problems. Every time we escort them to their room for sleep time, he would cry "My room is scawyyyy (scary)" and he would bawl his eyes out. I've tried everything, from being firm (threatening to put him in the toilet if he leaves his room) to downright mean (actually locking him in the toilet - oh my heart broke that one time I had to do it). And I can never bring myself to do the cry it out method. I'm done being nasty so I'm now trying the SuperNanny way; waiting in front of the room until he falls asleep and escorting him back to bed whenever he attempts to leave the room.

But it is so darn exhausting. If Ian had his afternoon nap, it would take ages for him to fall asleep at night. Once, I waited an hour! Only to be woken up an hour later with him crying outside my door. And sometimes he would come banging on my door up to two times per night. Why two? Because the first time I rajin lah escort balik. Second time dengan I sekali dah tertido on his bed. It's a nightmare!!! *sigh*

I know fellow parents would say "sabar" and that perseverance is key. Tapi I am really really tired from all this drama. Hubby sleeps early all the time (due to said morning meetings) and I am usually up late at night supervising Aiden's revision for his upcoming exams. I really do not have time for this extra drama. Plus, it's not helping my bank account. Why? Because all those time spent in front of the boys' room, went to website surfing which led to online shopping. *sigh*

Sorry about the rambling but I'm really at wits end about what to do. Hence the vent. *double sigh*

Adorable... but so naughty at night!

Cheeky in the mornings, a nightmare at night!