Afternoon tea with Tok Ayem

Backlog entry

My babysitter was on medical leave on Friday 27/04/2012 due to heavy flu. She opted to take the day off for the fear of infecting the babies. To comprehend her absence, I had to stay home and accompany Piya for one whole day. Yeaaa!

As all of you have known, Piya began walking since she was 9 months and 3 weeks. To encourage her walking, I cleared the living hall for her and much to my surprise; she walked for an hour w/o taking a rest. She was totally in the state of adrenalin rush while I became exhausted chasing and guarding her. I haven't bought her the push-car yet; besides it's kinda expensive. i let her play with this table stool but only for awhile because it is not safe. One hour later, I bathe her and she doze off w/o much hesitance before I could even dress her up. She slept while she was still in her wet towel.

 

 

 

Out of boredom, I asked my parents to have a cuppa tea at Secret Recipe Bukit Jelutong for afternoon tea. Thanks to Secret Recipe for having a great offer; free tea / coffee upon purchasing 1 piece of cake. I think it’s kinda a bad idea taking Piya out with Tok Ayem. Tok Ayem was so uncomfortable with Piya’s behavior. The thing was during my upbringing, Tok Ayem was very very strict; we don’t walkabout in any restaurant, we don’t shout at our parents while dining, we don’t throw tantrum at the dining table and we will remain silent when the elders are conversing. So back to Piya, she was totally against my father’s principal and that annoyed him. She was walking about in the restaurant, ranting happily, throwing her spoon and nagging away while Tok Ayem and I were conversing. *gulp. I know he was irritated by the whole thing but he gave in as he adores Piya soo much.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We arrive home around 6pm and Piya knows it is time to play outside. i had so much fun playing with her at Mak Tok’s garden. I am still having a hard time to believe how much she has grown.

Me vs Grandparents

Another weekend spent at home with Ayah. Lately the weather is also very cloudy which kinda makes us prone to remain tucked in our beds. Having said that, I still did the laundry as usual after Subuh prayer. So, feeling bored and hungry, I cooked fried rice for Ayah and prepared cheese sandwich for Piya. It is so much fun preparing sandwiches for her. For lunch and dinner, I cooked rice porridge with plenty of veggies for her. Alhamdulillah, she has good appetite.

My salient point today is what Piya is consuming. Staying with the grandparents does offer a different gamut of challenges. My latest drill that kinda makes me boil is Maktok’s stubborn pleasure of feeding Piya foods / drinks that I am not ready to offer. The latest incident took place while she was preparing Tok Ayem a glass of ice lemon tea when I heard an apparent giggle. Maktok called me and asked to look at Piya. I came over the dining table and maktok demonstrated again an action in front for me; she was feeding Piya with ice lemon tea. APAKAH…?

Geraaam nyer aku masa tuh Tuhan saja yg tau…….. Maktok suka wat mcm nih tau… This incident took place while I was around Piya but what would happen during times when I leave Piya to Maktok all by her selves? I scolded Maktok as usual and as expected Maktok would be in denial defending her actions. This is not the first time ok………..

Scene 1: Piya throwing foods all over the place while feeding time (part of her milestone)

Mama Piya: Sayang, don’t throw your foods. Mama xsuka.

Maktok: xpe, die kecik lagi.

Scene 2: Piya screaming at the top of her lungs demanding something

Mama Piya: Elfieya! Boleh tak jgn jerit2..? Mama xsuka tau.

Maktok: xpe, die kecik lagi.

Mama Piya: Amboi~ Kecik lagi..? kalau masa Dora kecik dulu, xde maaf.

Maktok: Sayang anak lain, sayang cucu lain.

Scene 3: Maktok feeds Piya foods w/o my consent.

Mama Piya: Mama kasi Piya makan ape? Boleh ke??? Biar betol mama nih!

Maktok: Aku dh bela 4 org anak elok jer semua. Tak sakit otak pon.

Sabar jer laaaa….. I am one of those people facing this grandparents-indulging-my baby-issue.

I notice that my parents turned over a new leaf with Piya’s presence. Suddenly they’re no longer the monster who used to scold us (at the top of their lungs) or even beat us with rotan / hanger / newspaper etc. They no longer have those demonic eyes glazing at you fiercely for breaking something, spoiling food or pestering them. I remember asking this question to my mom and she responded that she is more serene and buoyant now. She’s no longer easily moved by some sense of friction. Based on my observations, I think the reasons behind these new behavioral are most probably influenced by these:-

Time:

They have lesser competing pressures for their time. Surplus leisure time I presume. They’re no longer need to punch-in / out daily or have to crack their head mitigating office issues.

Money:

An abundance of time + money; what better way could they think of rather than spoiling the little munchkin?     

Love:

It is irrefutably that grandparents love babies more than their own children. I think it’s because they will regard the little human as their descendant carrying their name & family’s honor. I was quite stunned the other day when my mom holds Piya as I was slipping on my slipper; she said to Piya “Oh sayang tok! How can I live w/o you?”



2 months old - Mak Tok nak mandikan Piya

 

 

9 months old - holiday at PD with Mak Tok



Sayang sayang jugak… but they’re not the ones to bear the brunt of problems later.

Especially for you golek~

As March has arrived, i am filled with great anticipation. Well basically for 2 main reasons:-

1. Uncle din's bday which is 4th March
2. My BFF bday too; 17th March

Coincidentally, i treated the whole office meals from Butcher and Grill (Putra Height's outlet) as a token for my recent promotion upgrading. Yes, it is a double joy for me receiving 2 recognitions in February. I always bear in mind that "what you give, you get back". Even Allah SWT has promised the same thing in the holy Al-Quran right.

Today's post will be dedicated to my dear Golek as she will be reading it tomorrow from Hubby's office. Apparently she is residing in Dubai since Raya Haji so i have not seen her in awhile.

Thank you Golek for your infinite support.. Miss you babe~

Baba's 62nd Birthday 2012

Baba was born in 1950 on 1^st January. Every New Year, my mother and I would stay at home and accompanied him while my brothers would hang-out to join the crowd. Hence more often than not, we would cook something and talk almost about everything during the night. Well, actually I do want to hang-out with my friends too and watch the beautiful fireworks but being the only girl in the family forbids me to have that privilege. My parents prefer me staying in and watch television with them.

Like all the years that have passed us by, we open our chapter in 2012 by commemorate Baba’s 62^nd birthday at home. As you may notice, Baba loves entertaining guests with his savories and signature desserts. Zeffi and Abg Pian came over to join the celebration. The adults would talk about life, education, children, and foods or even listen to Baba’s story telling. Meanwhile the children were just children. Totally avid and fickle playing among themselves.

Everything was homemade cooking. We had roasted turkey, cauliflower + white sauce, garlic butter broccoli & glaze 'kumara' (sweet potato). The desserts were French cream caramel, peach ghetto, thriffle & chocolate birthday cake bought by Zeffi.

We had a lovely time and most importantly Baba was happy having his children + grandchildren around.

Happy Birthday my dear sweet Baba.

Baba's Savory & Dessert

Whenever we will be receiving guest (either big or small scale) Baba has a high tendency to prepare his signature savories. He always say to me that “you must serve your guest foods that they are incapable of doing & beyond their expectation.” and I will be like “okeeee….”.

Last weekend we received our neighbor; Wan Chik the contractor as our guest for supper as a token of appreciation for chopping down the trees next to our house. You see, next to our house a small ‘forest’ as a result of negligence from the landlord. Apparently the landlord is residing abroad and is not bothered the welfare of his land. Hampeh betol…

So the menu for Wan Chik + wife was; Roasted Chicken, Macaroni Carbonara & Potato Salad while the deserts were;  Apple Crumble & Cream Caramel.

 How to prepare these dishes? That’s a secret I’ll never tell… you know you love me.. XOXO..

MFM offer - out for dine on a special occassion

Do you recall the post where i bought 3 coupon vouchers to dine-in at Manhattan's Fish Market? well, prior to collecting my new car, i treated my family using those coupons. in fact, that was the intended plan all along.

COMMENTS

1. Thankfully the coupon vouchers werent faux and acknowledged by MFM Subang Jaya. i was worried for the thought of purchasing something bogus.
2. The service was ok laaa..Suddenly out of the blue MFM Subang Jaya outlet employed a bunch of foreigners as waiters.. adddduuuuh...why laaa...i really despite well-known restaurants hiring foreigners who are mediocre in English.. we ask for 2 warm waters and it never came. then i called the Malay waiter to request the plain waters again...this approach leaves negative impact on your image branding laa.
3. The foods met my expectation. it was really mouth watering and worth my money. the serving was humongous! one serving is actually ample for 3 adults. and btw, you tend to get bored or muak eating too much of the deep fried shrimp fritter........
4. The drinks were very sweet while the soups were not tasty.. i thought they were serving seafood chowder instead it was pumpkin chowder....aaaaargh... not worth it...

Having said all that, we had so much fun as it has been a while since everyone is around the table.