OCD?

Hubby sent me these pictures just over two hours ago. Notice something?

Notice that he has placed the cards into a perfect semi circle... and that all of the cards are facing towards him?

Yes, Ian has this extreme fixation with organizing things. Be it grouping balls into the same colour, lining up his trains in a longgggg neat straight line, or even stacking his Lego in a specific way (that God forbid, no one accidentally crashes into as he will then be hell bent on getting it stacked in the exact same way). Is this OCD?

I once read that kids with traits of obsessive compulsion may have a learning problem in the future. But then I read this article at BabyCenter which placed me at ease right away. I guess these are pros and cons of having internet at your finger tips - Mr Google tends to always give you the worse prognosis!

 It's just cognitive advance. Phewww!

I miss my curly hair baby!

Raya 2016 - Part 4!

So this is Part 4 (and my final post) of Syawal. In keeping up with the theme of cramming everything and everyone that weekend, we invited people over to our house that Sunday!

In the morning we had my in-laws and their extended families. We decided to do a repeat of the Breakfast Aidilfitri we did last year (you can read about it here). I wanted to keep it simple and mess-free; so since Nasi Lemak Turbo is a good friend of mine, I pre-ordered 15 packets of nasi lemak, with ayam goreng berempah and their famous sambal sotong. Hubby then supplemented those with roti canai and nasi dagang, while I made some homemade buttermilk pancake batter so guests could make their own pancakes on our electric griddle.

The spread in our dry kitchen that day.

Scrumptious nasi lemak and nasi dagang wrapped in banana leaf.

Seri muka and talam durian. Roti canai presented on banana leaves that came from our garden! Buttermilk pancake batter in the background.

My handsome cook. (Bagi chan lah puji sikit... rindu time time offshore nie.) *giggles*

Check out our latest pets at home. Three tortoises that have grown so much since they arrived at our home barely six months ago.

We had quite an intimate breakfast that morning. My in-laws even invited my sister-in-law's wedding planner over so that we could finalize the details for the wedding. (October is going to be a crazy month for me!) After breakfast, we even had time for a photo shoot in the garden.

So apparently there is this new trend in town, where instead of taking still photos or videos, you do a still video instead. Therefore one has to stay still all the time, suspended in motion, while the videographer walks all around the scene making it seem like a 360deg atmosphere shot. Easier said than done, really! Hubby cracked jokes (which made our noses flare up in giggle suppression), wind blew our clothes around, and a darn butterfly even flew into the shot! *chuckles*

See how happy I was holding a broom?

Still photo with my sister-in-laws. Wearing a recycled baju raya from The Calice.

Hindustan style at our front lawn.

After they left, we had my ID contractor and his family over for tea. Remember that future renovation that I mentioned in a previous post? Well, should be happening soon, insyaAllah. (Oil price, we need you to stand strong!)

Later that night, we had Aiden's ex-kindergarten mates over for dinner. The Real Kids mummy-hood is still as zealous as ever, despite our kids being in different schools this year. One of them is heading for greener pastures overseas, so we thought it would be a good idea to have everyone together for one last time before they left. We did this potluck style, so all I had to do was make the food that they brought look pretty in my glassware. (Oh, I did buy satay though!)

See how I made takeaway pizza look so good? *giggles* Satay Kajang from the R&R at Elmina.

Yummy mee sup with meatballs! My maid said it tasted like bakso. Put a generous dash of sambal kicap... yum!

Selfies in the kitchen.

Waiting for one more to arrive, and missing two more! I was wearing a modern kurung from Deir.

It was amazing to see how the kids easily bonded with each other despite being apart in different schools for over half a year. It was so seamless, they literally jumped into conversation the minute they met. Takde malu malu shy shy. 

Kids were running everywhere, upstairs... downstairs. Meanwhile, the 'responsible' parents *chuckles* were too busy enjoying themselves eating and chit chatting. Since it was raining outside, we couldn't open the patio up to make more space, so in the end everyone kinda crowded around the dining table. I think it was at this point that both Hubby and I realized that we needed a bigger dining hall!

We couldn't squeeze 5 couples in! Check out my 'instant' daughter, so cute with a bow in a hair *smiles*

And another photo with Hubby, kain pelekat and all.

The ladies. Wish Erma and Nely were with us!

Our antics - posing for photos and then vetting through them. Memang tak ingat anak.

Anak pun tak ingat kat mak bapak. Love this photo of Ian balancing precariously while peering curiously at the iPad.

Candid pose while the kids were busy watching TV.

Mommies and daughters.

So many paparazzi!

And that marked the end of Syawal, well for me at least. Bring on Zulkaedah already! 

Raya 2016 - Part 3!

We've been getting warnings of deteriorating weather offshore, hence we've been idling for a few days. Which of course, gives me some spare time to blog.

But before I start blogging on my offshore adventures, I simply must recap Part 3 (and later Part 4) of my Eid, which also marked the end of my Syawal onshore. Since I was given the bonus of an extra weekend home, I cramped as many open houses as possible on Saturday (Part 3, this post), while I had guests over all day long on Sunday (Part 4).

On Saturday, we had 5 invites to attend, and incidentally each and every one of it was in the Shah Alam area. It made commute very easy, and we didn't even have time to feel hungry. Everyone certainly fed us well that day.

Kicked off with breakfast at our insurance and unit trust agent's house. Good spread of freshly made roti bom, kuey teow and nasi lemak bungkus. Kenyang! But we still had to make space for 4 other houses!

My three boys matching in green.

After that, we headed to a small get together at Dayang's house. Of all the things she served us, the ikan bilis goreng became the main attraction of the day. Once we started snacking on those, we simply couldn't stop! Next, we all went to Yay's house in Denai Alam. I was already full by then, and I wasn't able to put anymore Raya themed food in my tummy, so I had yummy lasagna instead. Bajrangi Bhaijaan was on TV (have you watched that movie? I thought it was quite good) and as soon as the show ended we said our goodbyes and hastily left for the next house.

Of course, we managed to squeeze in a group photo together.

Missing another two!

From there, we headed to my in-laws place as they were having a small get together for family. They made laksa sarawak but frankly, I barely touched anything as I was already feeling so bloated with all the food I had consumed since morning. After that, we rushed home to get ready for the SPK neighborhood open house where I was in charge of the dessert table. Unfortunately it poured cats and dogs that night. So there I was all dressed up in my beautiful baju raya, only to then pair it with Crocs. Stylo eh?

Love the flowers from the caterers. Definitely drew the attention away from those two balang tutup merah. *giggles*

Due to the rain, everyone had to cramp underneath the tents. The vendors (apam balik, char kuey teow, coconut shake) were also shielding from the rain under their small umbrellas. Seats were limited, the ground was muddy, but the food was good! Despite the rain we still managed to pose for decent pictures.

Wearing Matase Sutera.

Lovely neighbours.

Kudos to the Cahaya SPK Welfare Committee for making it happen.

Okay, stay tuned for Part 4!

Finally Offshore!

Hey everyone!

Just a quick one to say that I am finally offshore! I left for Kota Kinabalu last Friday night, did an overnight at the Hyatt Regency (was upgraded to a suite too - I'll save that for a separate post!) and then took a chopper the very next morning offshore.

First chopper out that morning! Various coloured coveralls represented various companies that will work together to make it happen.

My home for the next two weeks!

If you are my Instagram follower, you would know how much I struggled with packing, and keeping to the (ridiculous) 11kg weight limit on the helicopter. I meticulously weighed everything and found out that my empty bag was 3kg, my safety boots were 2kg, my coveralls and hard hat were 1kg, my toiletries were 1kg... which left me with a grand total of 4kg for everything else! A bit tough for a two week trip!

Anyway, I apologize in advance if you do not see any updates here. Internet is intermittent offshore. Weather has been kind so far, but we are getting a severe weather warning in the coming days; hence internet may not be reliable.

Doakan for a successful project completion for the future of the energy industry in Malaysia, and that I will return home safely to my family. Thanks in advance. ;)

Signing off, 110km off the coast of Sabah.
Liz