Of Bloghopping and Blog Commentator Type

for you newbies to my blog, do you know i write for one of the coolest blogs for malaysian moms - the mombloggersplanet (MBP)? now how does this MBP-me relationship works?

at the beginning of every month, i try to send in a minimum of 3 articles to little mama, the mem besa of MBP. she then will review those articles before finally publishing it.

for april, i actually sent in my articles ahead, because i knew i might be giving birth and would probably be busy with the baby and pantang. (ye la busy. ni yg ko blog ni apehal? hihi)


anyways, all 3 april articles are already out, and if you missed any ONE of them, check it out by clicking the links!

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1st article : Let's Blog Hop!

the first article was about 'blog hopping', which means :

'reading one blog after another to read the postings or to leave comments; clicking them from your blogroll, from a link in your comment space, from the chatbox, or from blogrolls of other blogs'

when i first started blogging, i was actually selfish - i write for myself, and about myself. if i read other's blogs, i read blogs by my friends and families. my blogconscious was narrow and it was just me and a few bloggers in my little bloggy world.

however, gradually i realized that there are other bloggers out there with all sorts of stories to share, and i'd be wasting it if i don't take advantage and bloghop!

and then, when i joined MBP, i made a lot of new friends - making it A MUST to bloghop and visit all the 'jiran tetangga'. by then i knew the true meaning of bloghop, which transcends the need to get higher traffic, or just so that the blogger returns the visit - bloghopping to me became a reason for friendship.

it's as simple as that. read about the benefits of bloghopping here.

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2nd article : Blogging : It Comes With a Job!


blogging comes with a whole lot of other jobs. don't believe me? then click here - and read about my interpretation of 'blogging with a job!'

while blogging, you're not only the obvious writer of your thoughts - but a 'teacher', a 'student', and even a 'CSI officer!'

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3rd article : What Type of Blog Commentator Are You?

have you ever asked yourself that? that's the title of my 3rd april article. using a number of different food items - from banana split to siput sedut - i metaphorically linked it to the way we choose to give comments.

silly, amusing but fun - i hope! click here to read!


i agree, when we comment, it has a lot to do with :

• the type of posting we're reading
• how well we know the blogger/author
• whether we're in the mood or otherwise!
• time
• how many blogs we're hopping on and plan to leave comments

so we can be ANY type of blog commentator at one time or another depending on these factors. whatever you choose to be, be THOUGHTFUL. simple comment, or long one - a well-thought comment will always leave you and the blogger feeling good!

Old Boys Weekend : Dubai '10

i'm drugged, held at gun-point and forced to write this entry. haha. (if not because of my abah being an MCKK old boy too (leman hse '65), i wouldn't have agreed!)

it's that time of year again when old boys from the malay college kuala kangsar (MCKK) gather at their school for the yearly anticipated event - the old boys weekend (OBW). this is the time of year when sports activities, sales of the MCKK paraphernalia and mini concerts involved not just the present students, but old boys especially - a lot of them holding tan sri and datuk titles.

again, the speret koleq swept all the way to the middle east, when the old boys residing in the uae also had their own little version of the OBW, last friday.

the ol boys in uae, with the burj al-arab in the background

no football matches, or aging dudes playing electric guitar here - but it was a little borak-borak session over grilled chicken, arab bread and hummus, with the view of the burj al-arab.

i didn't join the gathering like last year for obvious reasons (duuh!) and a few more of the mckk old boys also had to miss this one because they were currently in malaysia for a break. in fact, one of mr. khairul's batchmates, kamil went back to join the water polo event in the actual OBW at kuala kangsar!

bro ikmal, bro hassanal, bro zaim, bro faisal and mr. khairul

last year, they had the OBW '09 at my favorite mandi restaurant al-tawasol. read about last year's OBW here.

i was surprised that organizer mr. khairul decided to change the venue to 'chalet' in jumeirah - because personally to me, the sit-on-the-floor-crossed-legged element of al-tawasol is what brings out the festivity of OBW in dubai!

they had the OBW '09 there, as well as the berbuka and the farewell makan-makan with uncle spice '76 who went back to malaysia for good last year.

nevertheless, according to mr. khairul, this OBW '10 held at 'chalet' was still a meaningful, albeit small gathering!

and 'chalet' is by no means a less-than-yummy makan spot. in fact, it has one of the most delicious charcoal grilled chicken you can find in dubai. ultra-juicy and affordable! check out my review of 'chalet' here.


mr. khairul thanks ardent supporters of mcoba dubai gathering like bro faisal and bro zaim, as well as bro hassanal. not to forget bro ikmal who came all the way from ras-al-khaimah, and for belanja-ing the 'boys' this time around.


to more OBWs @ UAE in the coming years - 'clink! clink!' (next year buat kat al-tawasol balik tau!)

Happy One Week, Kazim!

kazim has been with us for one week already.

*smile*


i really wanted to take a LOT of shots of the big brothers khaleef and kahfi with lil bro kazim, but currently kahfi is having flu and is being a HUGE mr. cranky pants. so that has to wait.

in the meantime, here's a bit of our new member of the kay klan - kazim!

• hates to sleep in the crib since the day he came home
• been sleeping on the bed right next to me
• sleeping pattern still makes me sane - he sleeps for long hours both in the daytime and night. great for mak!
• tali pusat dah jatuh on the 5th day!
• i'm still iffy in bathing him. he's so tiny! mr. khairul's mom has been doing that since day three when she came
• been breastfeeding well and hopefully for as long as i can
• one day while breastfeeding him, i spoke a little too loud at khaleef who was running out of the room, "khaleef! don't run! walk, please!" then kazim buat muka jebik and started whimpering macam merajuk nak nangis. amboi, dah pandai terasa!
• khaleef calls him 'kajiiiim', while kahfi calls him 'beh, beh', as in 'bebeh' kot hihi
  

a friend asked me, what the heck is that white thingy doin on your son's head? petua orang tua, when a baby has hiccups, put a tiny damp tissue/lil part of a cotton ball and place it on the baby's head (right on top of a soft spot on the baby's head). the hiccup will soon go away!

here's to another healthy week for kazim, and many, many, MANY more to come!

Duta Malaysia di Channel Dubai One

caught this on tv today.

this tv program titled 'ambassador', was aired on channel dubaiONE. and surprise surprise! it was an interview with our very own malaysia ambassador to the uae, dato' yahaya abdul jabar.

a mesra-rakyat leader, i can see his warm personality when speaking about his childhood and education, at the same time his professionalism when talking about malaysia-uae economic relations.

malaysia ambassador to the uae, dato' yahaya abdul jabar

he started of with a personal take on his life as a young boy growing up in penang and his college years. it showed him as an everyday man with carefree childhood and exciting student life (do-it-yourself toys and student demo against vietnam war during his UM days!)

then he moved on to describe his first arrival to uae, from his previous posting in south africa.

later the topic moved on to a more serious matter like trade relations between malaysia and the uae, timber promo, tourism and investment. he also applauded the many malaysian construction companies that became part of the many developments in the uae, including big projects in reem island abu dhabi and also across dubai.

bangga pulak!

here's a short clip i managed to take while the program was on air. i think it was taped in 2009 but i'm not sure whether they're only airing it now or whether it's a rerun. nways, enjoy the clip!

Kazim's 3 Birth Certificates

i don't know about other countries - but here in the uae, malaysian babies born here will have THREE birth certificates!

1. the first official one in arabic
2. then you'll get the translated one in english
3. finally, one in bahasa malaysia

kazim got his arabic birth certificate yesterday! yay! he's officially a uae-born baby! the steps are very simple - to find out how, just click on the this link here, where i wrote about how kahfi got his arabic birth cert.

you have to go to the hospital where your baby was born in (for arabic), and then to al-baraha hosp (for the english one), and finally to malaysian consulate (to get the BM version) - to get the three birth certificates.

pay around 120dhs (equal to 120rm more or less) for all the procedures, and you're good!

the next step is to make kazim's passport ASAP (kalo tak, tak balik malaysia!), and when we get that, to apply for his resident visa (kalo tak, jadi pendatang plak kat dubai!).

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sigh. it felt like only yesterday when we made these items for kahfi...

Back-up Unit Returns!

mr. khairul calls her his back-up unit.

fresh from the long holiday in dubai with mr. khairul's bapak, siblings and his mak long just few months back, she returns to dubai just yesterday morning to help during my pantang.

mr. khairul's mom is here!

mommy's boy

kazim is her 4th grandchild after khaleef, kahfi, mr. khairul's niece wafa, and now baby kazim. she brought a whole lotta ikan bilis for my lauk pantang, kapur for my tummy in berbengkung, as well as all the daun-daun needed in bertungku.

i also asked her to get kazim those cheap baby clothes - the white, or blue ones with little holes on them - you know it? i absolutely love those baby clothes because tengok baby pakai pun macam selesa je ade banyak lubang-lubang. hihi. it'd be one hot summer once he fits into those clothes, so i'm sure he'd be all comfy and cool!

what else did she bring? ah, yes - the most anticipated item of all - her homemade kaya. satu balang tu bawak!

she was here when i had kahfi (click here), and now for kazim. thanks a lot, for many lauk pantang to come, and for keeping kazim's big brothers company!

Welcoming Baby Kazim Khairul

hello world!

introducing the latest addition to the kay klan - little kazim khairul!

'kazim' means 'the calm one' or penenang in arabic and how apt it was - he made little noise when he cries, hardly high-pitched or loud wailing. just low, sad-sounding cries when he needs something.

truly a calm one!

born 1st day of april, 2010 at 1.30pm in the what is said to be the best maternity hospital in dubai, the al-wasl hospital. he was 2.9kg when he was born, the heaviest of my 3 kays!

alhamdulillah, the delivery went smoothly, my husband on my side, and little kazim came out perfect - with 10 fingers and 10 toes!

our lil kazim khairul

the contraction pain i felt from 4am in the morning that 1st of april was truly THE contraction pain - i noticed some blood discharge around 9-10am, and that's when we decided it's really time to take our packed bags and head on to the hospital.

we're truly lucky to have a few families ready to take care of khaleef and kahfi while mr. khairul tend to me at the hospital. ye la since baby kazim tak saba-saba nak klua sebelum opah dia datang, sape nak jaga abang-abang dia?

thanks so much for your open arms, my dear friend fauziah and kak linda. however, since they had to go back to malaysia around this time, it was kak zaida's family who took the boys in. with their 3 girls and a boy, the house looks set to receive another 2 boys! memang meriah lah! we are forever grateful at your generosity and loving care abg imran and kak zaida!


because of them, mr. khairul got to be my side through the entire experience. holding hands, encouraging words and silly jokes, hugs and caresses - the whole works!

the nurse said i was super-cool - dilating 7cm and still i haven't scream a sound! cool, eh? the only time i was actually vocal was during the last contraction pain - the one when baby kazim finally pushed himself out!

with the extreme pain and awfully groggy from the laughing gas, i was in a world of my own - where the only thing i was thinking about is getting the baby out. the voices on my left and right were just floating sounds, muffled but audible enough for me to follow.

i remember the nurse asked me not to push yet. gile ke! i remember the nurse asking me to wait for the doc. i remember then the doc asked me to push. then asked me to stop. then asked me to push slowly. then asked me to breathe. then told me if i push too hard i'm gonna have a stitch down there. fine! just get the baby out!

i remember too mr. khairul reciting a quranic surah while caressing my hair back. all the while still guiding me and telling me that everything is fine and i was doing things perfectly well. it was absolutely helpful. i loved his touches, and i loved the ultra-calmness in his voice. thanks, honey!

after one more push, kazim was out - head, shoulder and thigh! a perfect lil boy, our 3rd baby kay! without washing, the nurse placed him on my chest - for the first skin-to-skin contact between mom and baby for a whole hour.

kazim's first documented smile!

the nurse who took my particulars was an iranian, the doc who checked my dilation was from pakistan, the nurse who took care of me during my labor pains was a philipino, the doc and nurse who helped delivered kazim were from kerala, india and the nurse who bathe kazim the next day was from somalia.

what an international scene! and they're all super nice, helpful and really made the painful labor more bearable.

that's what we got delivering at a hospital in dubai. it's truly an enriching experience talking to people of different backgrounds and experience. priceless!


alhamdulillah, the doctor found both baby kazim and i in acceptable health, and was discharged the very next day! yay! while in the hospital i can choose to have the local meal (arab food), philipino diet, or indian. and i choose indian food lah. hihi.

so it was capati and curry chicken for dinner, and this pancake-with-onion and tomatoes thingy for breakfast. nyum.

erm, speaking of food - it's time for lunch. wife of mr. khairul's mckk senior kak muna came by last night to drop off a few 'lauk pantang' - this ikan masin in kuah asam jawa, fish curry and otak-otak. thanks so much, kak muna!

..and i can't wait to munch and lunch, so see you guys in the next post, for further adventures of mom of three boys!