A'an and Intan

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Intan and with little sister, Iman

Abang (Anwar aka A'an) holding Irdina.

Mama and Babah are blessed with these two dearie kids in our custody to love them and to be loved. We had long honeymoon years while waiting for ALLAH swt to send us our little angels from heaven. We took care A'an when he was few months old and took him everywhere and being introduced as our 'son' till now. He is actually mama's brother's son. Many of our close friends understood that.

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Then mama's Kak Long got her fourth child; the only girl but understanding our hopes for a child, she let us to take care after this girl. In fact after that delivery she wasn't so well. We care and tender them with our fullest love... without prejudice. Intan is our 'lucky charm', as many said kalau ambil anak angkat InsyaAllah ade rezeki. When she was two year plus ... Alhamdulillah we learnt that we were pregnant with Iman after waiting for almost five years. It wasn't easy though as we never stop hoping, trying and praying. Until we safely delivered Iman; that made us the parents of three (A'an, Intan and Iman). Nothing changed... we still love her and A'an dearly. Many had the thought that when we had ours we would neglect these two... NOPE! They are still and will be ours forever though we are sharing the LOVE to love them. Thank u to my brother Khairol Khamis n wife, Kak Ngah and my Kak Long, Zalina Khamis and hubby; Abang Long for letting us to love these twos of our lucky charms. Now we have a bundle of joys - on Monday the children will be here with us ... that makes us, parents of 5. We are blessed. Alhamdulillah, Thank u Allah. We could not ask for more.

Istanbul

Image : Topkapi Palace Hagia Sophia Blue Mosque from Marmara Sea ; taken from Wikipedia by Salih K.

So Iran tak jadik, cancelled ... mama and babah sembang-sembang, bincang-bincang and we went through every detail thoroughly related to the vacation on the internet brochures as meticulously as possible so that it meets n fits our affordable budget. Googling, browsing surfing the net and looked for necessary search. Finally, Mama, babah, Auntie Riri and Uncle Madi spent considerable time to unanimously agreed to spend our hard-earned money to Istanbul for the breathtaking views and hope for the excellent shopping within our budget.

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It is all about budget (meticulously counted and planned) - which air fare is cheaper, which hotel is cheaper but nice and nearer to the attractions... pendek kata nak yang reasonable cheaplah!!!! Auntie2 and Uncle2 lain semua dah pegi Istanbul so they will for go another contigency plan on vacation. Fair and square! as the children would be happy for a day trip to ski resort , main snow and hope ada snowfalls and the parents to enjoy the architecture monuments/mosques or buildings and to view the beautiful landscape of Istanbul and not to forget the SHOPPING event. Babah cari carpet kot? Tentatively that is the plan. InsyaAllah ada rezeki, tiada aral melintang, kami Cuti-Cuti ke Istanbul.

At the moment actually we are anxiously waited for the two kids from Malaysia (Anwar and Intan) to spend their holidays in Dubai. Intan has been YM (yahoo messenging and web conferencing) me every day to ask bila depa nak pegi nih! Tak sabar dah. Babah has already booked tickets for them, InsyaAllah on the 3rd of November depa sampai 'travelling alone' on Malaysian Airlines MAS. This time the are independant, NO adults accompanying them... saja nak bagi depa experience this; eventhough atuk and nenek diorang ni risau benor. Takut hilang atau kena kidnap. hehehe. Actually we are worried too but( from a reliable source) which Riri herself has sent Ali and Harris who were only 8 and 6 at that time to Malaysia on 'travel alone' service. Everything went off smoothly and the children arrived safely in one piece to their grandparents in Kelantan. We were told the MAS staff would assist these children from their points of departure to the final destination in Dubai - in the hand of babah. InsyaAllah. (Tapi kalau hilang camne?) ermm MasyaAllah!!!! Hope Allah ease the journey for them. Ameen.....

Winter In Dubai

Winter dah ke kat Dubai ni? Yup, the day is shorter now and the temperature has fallen besides at nite it is now quite chilling. Taking the children playing and cycling at the piazza was nice n we like it. Iman kept on asking me bila nak snow as children always associate the vocab 'winter' with snow falls and everything is buried white underneath and it is all white as one's eye could see. Ermm takde snowlah sayang! Kat Dubai ni rasa sejuk jer... then she pestered babah dia for snowy trip... not to ski Dubai but somewhere really snowy. The last time we took Iman and Intan to Beijing to experience snowy adventure was when Iman was only 1 year plus. Don't think she has any vivid pictorial memory on that trip at all. December will be her school holiday and the children from Malaysia pun cuti sekolah so planning for a vacation for our family. It has been so long the we didn't go for vacation before we had Ilham n Irdina. So we decided to go to Iran taking her and our other two growing anak angkat (Anwar n Intan) to Iran plus Ilham and Irdina of course. They are actualy mama's nephew and niece. More updates on Anwar n Intan later.

Dizin Ski Resort - cantik kan? and too good to be missed! Iman, Intan, Ilham, Auntie Riri, Sofia, Yasmeen and Alisya and the rest dah pasang angan2 nak guling-guling atas salji click-click crazy!!! hahahah takdak rezekilah tu. Tapi takper biar Auntie Nor n auntie Moi gi dulu.Kena tunggu the chidren besar baru dapat pergi semua.

Dizin (Persian: پیست اسکی دیزین) is a ski resort situated to the north of Tehran in the Alborz mountain range. The huge Dizin ski resort has a reputation for excellent snow, because of its altitude and the north facing slopes. The high altitude, also makes the ski season in Dizin last longer than European ski resorts. The highest ski lift reaches 3,600 m (11,800 ft), making it one of the 40 highest ski resorts in the world.Dizin ski amenities including two hotels, 19 cottages and 5 restaurants, cheap and beautiful villas and private apartments around the Dizin ski resort accommodate thousands of people every year. With only two hours of driving away from Tehran many people prefer not to stay overnight.

Went googling on the ski mountain in Iran (Dizin Ski MountainResort) was our priority as closer to Tehran... looks wonderful and has been visualizing drama winter sonata). It gonna be fun!!! for the children. The excitement mounted and did necessary search.

So asking for quotations from several travel agencies... semua kata they don't do trips to Iran (tak famous konon compared to other European countries) hampeh betullah until we got the info from our Malaysian Tourism Officer here that it is not advisable to overnight at the ski resort for families with children below 3. Hopes shattered for Iman (mama pun) , she seemed to be frustrated as has planned to play snowballs and making snowman. Nasin baik dah bawak depa pi Dubai ski earlier when we first arrived in Dubai. Well SERUPA tapi TAK SAMAkan. But we have to consider the other two as well as it would defeat the purpose if we were to go to Iran and to the ski mountain only on a day trip basis but not putting up a nite there and to miss to venture the excitement there. RUGILAH kan??? Takpe malam-malam nanti mama discuss the vacation issue later kay darlings. Sure and InsyaAllah we will go but somewhere else !!! Tunggu. (Any suggestions?)

Then cari balik gambar Iman, Ilham n Baba kat Dubai Ski. At least at that time Iman n Ilham were enjoying themselves and really had a great time. Mama and Baby Dina dok kat luar relax-relax watching them. Dina was only 7 months then. Kenalah pulak bawak Si Abg Anwar and Intan ke Dubai Ski when they are here - Cuti-Cuti Dubai.

Ilham cute, eventhough at that time she was onlt two but because she is tall; the counter boy releasde her masuk dalamdubai ski, though at the gate the guy was suspicious that she was not 3yr. Memang pun!! tapi rezeki, Ilham dapat masuk.

Iman and Ilham enjoying snowy adventure with babah.

Picnic

16.10.2008 Mamzar Beach/Park, Sharjah.

Sudirman and Anita Sarawak's song 'bercanda di pasiran pantai' is so synonym when u see beach, crystal clear blue water and sunny day, children having fun splashing, swimming, sand castling and daddies dok rendam badan with them. It was fun for dah lama tak berpiknik and this time we are well prepared; tidaklah berbaju kurung macam aritu. So the mommies yang body dah out of shape ie mommie Jeda and Mommie Riri (except auntie Moi, auntie Ziela and Auntie Nor) dok bawah pokok kurma jer brok-brek brok-brek, the daddies did the bbq. Initially nak bbq kat tepi we ols berpiknic but not allowed as the designated bbq pit jauh sikit dr beach. Anyway the chicken wings, udang ang sotong were delicious. Ada nasi lemak, meehoon, dessert, salads, kek batik and paling penting teh tarik served panas- panas dari BIG termos. The weather was friendly and it was fun. Anak-anak semua tanned....

These two photos baru updated, evidence they did the good job though the udangs were well done albeit delicious. Chicken wings and drumstick were medium- well grilled. The marinated squids were yummilicious, nicely barbequed. The photos are Ehsan from handphone canggih Uncle Norris (taken from blog Auntie Moi). The cameramen terlupa bawak toys depa masa pindah tpt bbq. Babah Imran As usual tolong tengok. or dah tolong hidupkan api dengan Uncle Madi n Uncle Norris. hehehe

Mommies dok tunggu hasil bbq. and Dak Dina Debot je yang takmo main pasir this time... main makanan ajer kerja dia. Yang kat bawah, anak2 sementara tunggu dadies balik berbbq main dulu kat playground, just cant wait nak terjun lebih-lebih lagi dah tukar swimming attire.

Lambatlah ayahs, babahs and dadies nih!!

Uncle Fadzil, inflate the pelampung, served air, jaga anak dalam air... eh mama Nor mana? Mama Nor masak nasi lemak lah!


Meriah kan masa makan nih sebab semua dah lapar... sini takdak pokok nyiok melambai-lambai, semua pokok kurma jer.

Ermmm daddies sebelum terjun laut, semuanye makan kenyang-kenyang and they looked starving... memang lapar as masa bbquing tadi siap pesan mommies jangan makan dulu and wait for them

Let the photos tell the stories... Eh Alisya n kakak (the two Balqises) tak nampak pulak, mana ye? Nampak ayah dia n Uncle Haza jer tengah cari ikan. Ade ke??

Photos of the year by Auntie Ziela ; Dak Ilham taknak keluar dari air, ngamuk sakan. Then tertido... penat ghupenyer. Auntie2 and Uncle2 dok gelak jer tengok telatah anak Imran sorang nih. We had to leave as the daddies nak pergi masjid for Friday Prayer. Sorry Ilham, next time kita pergi Ari Sabtu, ok Darling so boleh dok sampai petang.

1,2,3, Doze Off

Off late ni malas nak buat write up... so went thru the memory card found these photos of my lovely Dina. Dina ni suka lawan mata trying hard to stay awake (means kalau ngantuk pun dia lawan takmo tido) until kadang2 tu tetiba jer tengok dah terjelepok. And there are many occassions dia tertido masa makan. Ermmm Dina, Dina, Dina! So enjoy the photos ' Dina on candid camera"

cute; photos by babah... sian dia


Tu siap mengigau angkat roti n ingat nak mengunyah, hehehe but zzzz tak mampu because terlalu mengantuk.

Raya Lagi dan Lagi

Still in Raya mood. Malaysians in Dubai ni n where ever they are memang suka jamu orang makan. Since we are still in Syawal mood, there will always openhouses tagged with breakfast raya, lunch raya or dinner raya. So on last friday morning we were invited for breakfast Raya from our friend in Qusais; Nor n Fadzil's abode. Everything were already on the table, nasi lemak berendang, meehoon goreng and me myself bawak curry puff daging. Sembang-sembang and makan-makan and after Friday prayer nak convoy again to Ajman pulak (another state in UAE) for another supergrand open houses by trio hosts; Su n FND, Kak Sharifah n Abang Mustafa and Kak Faridah with Abg Musa.




Pic 1. CG is one of the guests

Pic 2. Plenty of food; nsi minyak, dalca, paceri nenas (very yummy), mee udang etc etc

Pic 3. Two mommies yang tak berhenti enjoying food

Pic 4. Brok brek2 macam kat kedai kopi

On the way home heading to Dubai, we decided to stop at Al Mamzar Beach at Sharjah. It has been so long we haven't been to any beaches since last we lived in Penang. Even tho dok tepi laut adalah bawak anak gi Feringgi 2 times, itupun dah puas Iman merengek. I was heavy carrying Dina at that time. So on that day, clad in Baju Kurung ( baru abis beraya kan - and if were to be in Malaysia... sumpah tak pakai baju kurung kat beach - sure org tengok PELIK!), we were at the beach. Ermmm, pompuan2 Arab pun biasa mandi/berkelah tepi laut pakai abaya, hehehe.

photos ehsan dr lensa Haza

Pic 1 . Dak Dina Debot 1st time jumpa laut

Pic 2. Ain and Dina (ain miss Post Dickson -kampung mama dia)

Pic 3. Ilham dah lencun basah, the children enjoying themselves

Pic 4. mommies berbaju kurung kat laut ... hehehe

Ilham, Ain and Apit tak kira dah, terjun ajer kat laut tu. Sure u guys tanya tak panas ke now at Dubai. ooo... dah temperature has dropped a little bit and on tat day, it was breezy; nice weather.

Then on Saturday, ada dinner Raya pulak kat our newly acquainted friend Moi and hubby. It is always about food and snapping photos, let the pictures tell u more (malas nak menulis lately)

Pic 1. Blogger mommies sibuk berposing.

Pic 2. mommies n children 'say cheese' together

Pic 3. Daddies and babahs and Ayahs yang kena paksa berposing

Pic 4. The princesses

Emmm... lupa pulak nak express our heartiest gratitude to all hosts yang jemput makan kat rumah mereka. Terima kasih daun keladi... jemput kami lagi. Semoga murah rezeki.

Kasih Ibu

It has been six months since we left Malaysia for Dubai and selama tu jugaklah we haven't seen both mommies for real (selain dari virtually berwebcam with them). Unlike mama yang selalu berwebcam dgn mak KL, babah cuma sembang ngan mak dia via handphone. The broadband was not fully utilised in kg kat Perlis. Anyway Mak Bedah doesn't need to ber E-mail or to use any e-banking facilities.

Finally on third Raya, we had a video coferencing dgn seluruh sanak saudara Perlis di kg at Auntie Mani's Hs kat Arau. Wah! mcm seronok jer hehehe. Thank u to the technologies. Mak started to sob, sob sob when tengok cucus here. Iman, Ilham and Irdina. Tok Bah pun excited nampak cucu-cucu. Babah even dapat talked to Nenek and she managed to see the great grandchildren. We got to see the newborn twins too, Akiff n Aliff (do I spell them rite). After wishing Selamat Hari Raya maaf Zahir Batin n wishing babah n Dina Happy Birthday, Mak Bedah breakdown again with tears till she could not uttered any words, ... so heartbraeking and me too sob, sob, sob. The man... trying to digest the feelings and kept it to himself ...'gulp'

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Then
Quote unquote written by my roommate in the my-UAE yahoo group on 5th Oct "tiba-tiba tersentuh, menjerut rasa dan teringat pada mak di kampung bila dengar lagu ini. What a wonderful song by my favourite singer. Sempat menyaksikan konsert live beliau di KL membuatkan rasa terpaku bila beliau mula melontarkan vokal. Kagum dengan bakat beliau dan tiada tandingan".


imran



Comment from mama :

emo gak my soul mate nih, ke tangkap sedih sebab baru sambut birthday??



This song is specially dedicated to both Mak Bedah and Mak Leha with lots of love from us in Dubai.









p/s : how would we react when the children are grownups and leave us just like we did? 20 years lagi to countdown.!!!

Our Trio

Our mischievous precious trio munchkins, the apples of our eyes

Just googling on the poem and found this one; kind of cute and funny. It relates our darlings stories well on how Iman used to complain to me and reason out apart from pin pointing at Ilham (blaming her of course) when I heard screamings or cryings of Ilham or Irdina. Ilhams as always, the cheeky ones who always possible of doing anything. Irdina mmm... too soon to anticipate. Whatever!! Just love the way u are darlings ... u guys are always the best gifts sent from heaven. Alhamdulillah, Thank You Allah.

Babah and Mama

Terrible Twos

Mom it wasn't me

that did those things to you.

I think it was my sister, (aha)

she's in the terrible twos.

I think I skipped that year.

I don't remember it. (u are rite!)

I'm now six you know and

I'll soon be big as you. (ok)

Surely you don't think it's me,

that put glue in your shoes. (so, it wasnt u?)

Just the other day

I heard Sis call you a witch, and (aha.. not good Ilham) hehe

the clock you found took all apart

was the one she tried to fix. (Ilham is for sure)

Do you reckon it was her

put sand in my go cart? (wasn't it Irdina?)

I know I need a new one,

but I wouldn't go that far. (nope, u r not)

I get in so much trouble

for things I didn't do. (really?)

Why is it me that

always gets accused? (SORRY!)

Don't you know it's Sis

that's in her terrible two's? (plus u)

by Reatha Crow

Penang CM - in Dubai

October 06, 2008 16:28 PM

Guan Eng on Business Trip to Abu Dhabi & Dubai
PENANG, Oct 6 (Bernama) -- Penang Chief Minister, Lim Guan Eng, is now leading a business delegation to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to foster networking in Abu Dhabi and Dubai...

for more read http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news_business.php?id=362789

The CM in actions

Dubai, 6th October 2008, Penang Chief Minister, YAB Lim Guan Eng accompanied by wife, YB Betty Chew Gek Cheng and YB Jeff Ooi ( YBerusaha PP quoted him as 'a blogger who blogs for good cause',- maybe after this would tip-toe into his blog) and few others had a meeting session with few Malaysian residing in Dubai. Reasons? He and they didn't need a reason to meet the Malaysians here, anyway they had a business trip in Abu Dhabi and took the opportunity to have a session "mesra rakyat". Merely a session sembang-sembang to share their views and visions on the administration in governing Penang I supposed. Nothing to condemn on the latest events in Malaysia.

While I was asked to usher YB Betty to the dining, I managed to whisper to hubby on what to address to the YB Betty, nak panggil 'Puan Sri ke , Datin Sri ke , Datin ke or apa ke? He answered 'Not in the list'. Eh! A CM with no title of Tan Sriship, Datuk Sriship, Datukship or whatever branded names to be posted before ones name. Impressed on the first encounter. Come to think of that, ramai sungguh Malays with such honourships ye ''sigh". Well, spare the 2 cents worth comment later!

Ladies with YB Betty, Member of the Malacca State Assembly for Kota Laksamana (wife of Penang CM - YAB Tuan Lim Guan Eng)

More pictures from Lensahalim and LensaImran

Jalan-Jalan Raya Lagi

3rd day of Syawal

We decided to take the children beraya at the Outlet Mall, just did window shopping and took them to the Chuke E Cheese, a family entertainment arcade. Pity the elder girls as during Ramadhan terperuk kat rumah. Besides babah wanted to buy souvenir for Uncle Ajim who is leaving Dubai for Finland for a better future. Babah bought some sweat shirt and a working shirt at the Masimmo Dutti.

Malam we had BBQ at AR to bid farewell to Ajim. Agenda; bakar-bakar, makan-makan, brok-brek, brok-brek, and plan for the following Jalan-Jalan Raya lagi.

4th day of Syawal

waiting session at the Dubai Outlet Mall

mommies waiting too

The plan was to wait at the Outlet Mall and then we would altogether convoy to the destination. This is our first time joining the seniors and friends in Dubai to Syawal Annual trip to Al Ain. Finally by 9.15am, 11 vehicles with about 45 adults plus children convoyed bumper to bumper, to the first destination, to our Singaporean friend's villa ; Dr. Ahmad Jaafar and wife Kak Fazidah. We were pleasantly welcomed though we came early before expectation. Patutnya lepas Friday prayer, ni pukul 10.30 dah sampai. Chaotic jugaklah guests arrived earlier in a big group. hehehe.

The mansions


After Friday prayer we were invited to join some Malaysians Muslims (ex-airforces) for small Raya gathering who work for the UAE Airforce. They lived in a huge mansion in Al Surooj Al Ain. The house has 10 BIG rooms, 2 BIG halls on the floor level (very big I mean), and a very BIG Family Hall on the first floor, big bathrooms, everything is BIG. Quite funny coz everyone is stunned with the size and price (rental ); maybe because we are now so used to cozy, mediocre affordable size of houses/apartments in Dubai.

1st pic 2nd row, is the 2nd hall. the children were having fun berlari without boundaries (bising tu!)

Bersama-sama Abang2 Ex-Airforcers beraya di Perantauan


Look at that yellow and blue flag!! Aha! bendera Peglieh (Perlis), Babah really felt at home meeting some of orang kampung. Many were orang utagha and to be specific org Perlis. Many missed anak cucu actually and they felt happy cum excited having us there - terubat rindu. The children dapat duit raya lagi!

Nak jadik cerita masa nak balik 3 children missing in actions, 2 Anak Nor Fadzil dan sorang anak Imran. Ahaks. Everyone helped us to find them (terjerit-jerit carik diorang), ghupe-ghupenyer kat gym tingkat atas naik gerek (beskal) and threadmills. Punyelah besar rumah, budak-budak boleh hilang!!!

quote unquote an email from Abg Rasid :

Setinggi tinggi penghargaan terima kasih
kepada sahabat sahabat serta kelurga (my-uae) dari Dubai yg telah sudi
menziarahi kami warga Al-Sarooj, Al-Ain...(Sri Kembangan) (ehek)
tempoh hari 03 Okt 2008

Minta maaf laaa xdapet nak jamu ketupat lemang
Cuma sempat buat Buboq Kacang (+nangka) je...

(( Yg hilang anak tuuuu... jangan serik pulak nak mai.
xkemana aiihhhh.))
Depa syok...

Terubat rindu........


TQ to :

Hasnol, Affendy, Imran (Tok Peduka)
Hj Rahim, Fudzail, Nizam
Muhd Fadzil ,Afzanizam, Nor Azman

Habis di Al Surooj, ingat balik terus but we went to another house, ruman Wan Nasrun, pekena laksa dan badan dah penat sebenarnye. Later we ols singgah solat Maghrib at the rest area and then proceed to Haza n Ziela's open house in Escala Al-Attar, Gold Souq. Memang ramai but again space is not the constraints. We had soto ayam, nasi impit, etc etc. The day end at 10.30 gak, rasa penat sangat... the children apa lagi but they were so energetic, mana depa dapat energy pun tak taulah. That nite wehad a deep slumber.

kita makan lagi

brok-brek, brok-brek


To all tuanpuan rumah, Thank u for having us and thank u for the food. Semoga murah rezeki, Ameen.

Raya Lagi.

2nd day of Syawal(Updates)

santainya depa, buat macam umah sendirik

The nite before, we had open House and to celebrate Dina n Babah's birthday. So the following morning, we felt total exhaustion, anak-anak pun kepenatan, Along and Ain slept over nak main ngan Iman.



So on the 2nd dayof Eid we had 2 open-house invitations. At three o'clock, joined by Ziela, Haza and children we we started our ride to Qusais; Nor and Fadzil's abode. Many were there, Ajim and the most jovial available bujang si Bob, many new faces, Riri n Mahadi, Moi n family and the rest. Nampak ada laksa Penang, sedap ni as don't feel like eating nasik impit dah(everyday dok ngadap nasi impit and kuah kacang - tukar selera pulak) and tuan rumah sediakan the best cake as good as secret recipe in Msia, it was so darn rich and would add extra kilograms which never vanished from me during Ramadhan. We brok-brek-brok-brek, killing the time as all of us would konvoi ramai-ramai to Karim's and Salinah's open House in Al-Mizhar.

Dua gadis cilik - Iman n Sofea

Open House of the year. The hosts Pn Salinah and En Karim invited everyone yang tak balik kampung di Malaysia to celebrate Raya at his Open House in Al Mizhar Dubai. This one was really a open house which offered and prepared variety of food namely Laksa Sarawak specially cooked by Salinah, sate, soto ayam, nasi mandi with lahaam, the traditional colourful Sarawak layered Cakes (kek Lapis Sarawak) and plenty of other delicacies. Here u meet many of Malaysians residing in Dubai or to be specific in the UAE. The Indians, the Chinese and others joined us . Not to forget the lagu Raya was aired all the time, it was so nostalgic and it was so Raya. Something amiss was to see the children main bunga api or mercun, try to find for them but there were nowhere to be found. The fact was the children were not deprived from having the same feelings , the real suasana Hari Raya eventhough far from their beloved kampungs in Malaysia, their atuks and neneks and cousins plus relatives . Mama and Babah pun tak sempat nak rasa melancholic sedih sambut Raya di perantauan as we were happy meeting friend kunjung mengunjungi their houses meneruskan tradisi keluarga. We miss the time with our beloved families in Malaysia of course but the time spent here with good friends during Syawal compensates it well. Alhamdulillah.

[malaysian-uae] Karim's open house was reported in Khaleej Times

Traditional Open Houses
Zafrullah, a Malaysian who has been in UAE for four months, spoke with nostalgia at the open house of Malaysian couple, Karim and Salinah, in a villa in Al Mizhar I in Dubai.
"In Malaysia, anyone can walk into an open house of a Malay Muslim. Here, I can see only the familiar faces of Muslim families, and as we partake in the feast, we miss the thundering sounds of bamboo cannons."
Malaysian businessman Karim and wife Salina said their family has been organising the traditional open house even after coming to the UAE.
"At home, Eid Al Fitr is celebrated for a couple of weeks as people visit their family members, relatives and friends in a show for togetherness.
"Here, the long celebration is during Eid Al Adha," Karim said. Salina added that even in the UAE, Malaysians are doing the same during Eid by visiting the homes of their compatriots to exchange greetings and feast together.

by

lily@khaleejtimes. com

For whole report read Khaleej

Happy Birthday Darlings

precious moments photographed by Uncle Haziq Ariffin

Last year, there was no celebration to celebrate my soul partner's birthday. It was 20th Ramadhan anyway... No candle lite dinner, no birthday card except the anxiety awaited at the Pantai Medical Centre, KL. I was due at anytime and ready to be taken to the OT. Somehow, I was very well prepared to send him the best ever gift one would remember for the rest of the life.

I delivered him A VERY SPECIAL DELIVERY from HEAVEN, a beautiful healthy 3.2 kg baby girl namely Intan Nur Irdina for his birthday (3rd of October 2007, 6.50 a.m). Alhamdulillah. Despite the pain and the agony, the fact was "priceless and undescribable". It is precious!!!

So this year babah got the opportunity to celebrate birthday with Dak Dina Debot. It was supposed to be today 3rd October 2008 but since many family friends were around on the open house day (1st Raya) kita buat sekalilah yea.

To both of you,

Babah and Irdina Darling
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
We love u guys so much
from Mama, Kak Iman and Kak Ilham
Cherish the moment; a year older, a year wiser.

dr Lensa Imran

Satu Hari Di Hari Raya

1st day of Eidulfitri 1429H

Last nite tidur pukul3.30am baru abis masak, yelah balik pasar pun pukul 11.30pm. Kalau mak tahu mesti kena bebel for last minute preparation. Actually kan mak... depa brought forward the Eid... No worries...

As usual, pagi Raya we would start the day kat kampung. So this time ada jemputan breakfast Eidulfitri kat kampung At Twar 3 daripada Uncle Fudzail and Auntie Azma. So pagi-pagi lagi with the princesses pakai Baju Kurung, we started the day. The men solat Raya and the ladies prepared the dishes. Many turn up, memang terasa suasana Raya.

Di Abang Fudzail and Kak Azma's Breakfast Eid At Twar 3

At PP and Kak Aishah's abode

Then, kami konvoi ramai-ramai ambush Arabian Ranches. It was fun, berkumpul ramai-ramai sanak saudara seIslam walaupun tidak ada pertalian darah. Miss this konvoi-konvoi with mak and ayah if balik Johor or mak and abah kat kg Perlis. Routine rituals, makan-makan and sembang-sembang and next house; To Mirdiff, Rumah Abang Azman and Kak Jah.


Habis rumah Kak Jah, Riri 'Jommmm' ajak pergi rumah depa pulak kat Sharjah... Boleh saja so kami konvoi dengan kereta Nor n Fadzil, Haza, Ziela n children were with us. Hari ni no time frame or curfews ... kami dan anak2 akan ronda2 beraya sakan.

kakak Iman n Kak Ilham manis berbaju kurung



Pukul 4ptg, muka semua tah toye and mata semua dah layu, bebudak pun dah penat though excited. Tapi sebab Raya spirit kami teruskan juga tradisi kunjung mengunjung ni.. (Iman tanya, mamahari raya ni takde duit angpow ke?", hehehe nanti mama bagi.





Well then it was ad hoc desicion by us to invite jer friend for small Raya open house. Invited few friends so mama balik and masak kuah lodeh yang tak sempat masak Subuh tadi. Sate, Rendang ayam, Kuah Kacang, Nasi Impit semua dah ready tunggu tetamu ajer. About 8.30 they turned up and few other friens dari Ajman and Sharjah join them. Alhamdulillah... memang ramai and we sincerely welcome everyone to our humble nest. Space is not a boundary... and they enjoy the food esp (S.O.S) nasib baik ada Kelantan Murtabak King imported dari Brickfields, Malaysia. (hehehe) buat spare.

Actually ada special event on that nite, will update later.

"Open House at 3324, Uptown Mirdif"