Mummy's dream came true

30th November 2009

It's Monday today and while some people need to go to work (including mummy), daddy and I enjoy the day off in lieu of the Saturday public holiday. So, while mummy was at the office, the three of us prepared a special surprise for her.

In the afternoon as mummy arrives home, Safiya and I yelled "surprise!" and gave her a small wrapped box as her birthday present. Mummy was smiling as she opened the box and saw a Kenwood glass liquidiser and thought the surprise ends there.

Then, we yelled "surprise" even louder and presented her with another box, even bigger that time. Mummy is extremely happy and seemed to not believe her own eyes! We know that she has been dreaming of owning a Kenwood Chef Mixer ever since she developed her passion for baking but the price has definitely made it difficult to realise her dream.

The glass liquidiser apparently is one of the attachments of the mixer and can be used for making fresh fruit juices. Yummmyyyy...

Not wanting to waste any minute more, mummy quickly reached for her recipe and made delicious banana muffins. Coincidentally, we were invited to a gathering in Pengkalan Batu and the muffins proved to be a hit there.

To mummy, we hope that you love your birthday presents this year... and we are looking forward to taste more and more of your baking soon! Hehehe...

Mummy is 28 today

29th November 2009

A very special happy birthday wish goes out to dearest mummy. We love you very much and we are so lucky to have you as our mother.

Hugs and kisses from
Syafi & Safiya

(Mummy's picture taken in Disneyland Paris in 2001)

Aidil Adha is upon us again

28th November 2009

We would like to wish all Muslims "Eid Mubarak" in conjunction with this year's Aidil Adha celebration. For those unfamiliar with it, Muslims celebrate two Eid ("raya" in Malay) in a year and Aidil Adha is celebrated in the Muslim month of Zulhijjah, when Muslims from all over the world gather in Mecca to perform Haj. Aidil Adha is also synonym with slaughtering sacrificial animals to be distributed amongst the needy.

In Brunei though, Aidil Adha is not usually celebrated as much as Aidil Fitri. Having said that, this year we got to celebrate it with Nini Boy, Nini Gal, Ngangah and the Warya family who slept over at our place last night.

For breakfast, we had pita kebabs, fried rice (normal and spicy), bread and fruits.

Good news for Safiya and I... Today, NiniBoy and NiniGal gave us special envelopes to mark today's celebration. Thank you very much! Hehehe...

Doa Kesyukuran

27th November 2009

As a last minute planning, tonight we hosted a small dinner for our family. Since we celebrate Aidil Adha in Brunei tomorrow, we decided to start the gathering with a mass Isya' prayer followed by takbir recitation.

Afterwards, we recited a doa selamat in conjunction with three of our family members who celebrate their birthdays this month, namely daddy (1st November), mummy (29th November) and Mama Usu (19th November).

For dinner, we had Hainanese Chicken Rice as well as Sarawak Laksa. Again, mummy was the only chef for tonight's menu since daddy was working during the day and nini bini (our usual chef) was busy preparing for her catering business reservation due this weekend. We hope everyone enjoyed the meal.

And of course, the must-have event is done right after dinner. Daddy and mummy both have a cake each, and Warya family bought another cake for them, and for Mama Usu as well. That means... we had three different kinds of birthday cakes!

Here are pictures taken from tonight's gathering:

Mass Isya' prayer and takbir in the prayer room

10 month old cousin Syahmi joining in during takbir recitation

Doa Selamat recitation

The buffet table

Everyone enjoying dinner. Notice also Ngangah's silly pose with her chicken bone

Three cakes for three special persons

Blowing the candles, with a little help from Safiya

As a final note, daddy and mummy would like to thank everyone for coming, and a special gratitude for those who gave them their birthday presents. Frankly, they were not expecting presents at all and just want to have a nice family dinner, but the kind thought is very much appreciated.

JIS Year 1 Award Ceremony

25th November 2009


Today, my school organised a special award presentation ceremony especially for Year One students, including me! The event was held at the Orchid Garden Hotel during lunch time. Coincidentally, daddy was having the day off since he was not feeling well, but insisted on attending the ceremony together with mummy and Safiya.

See if you can locate me...

As part of the decorations, all students had made posters and I was happy to show off mine to my lovely family. After all, it did take lots of hard work... hehehe...

Trying to locate my poster among the lot


Found it!

I went to the hotel by bus together with my teachers and friends, and our parents met us there for the event. After a quick refreshment, the ceremony started just before 1 pm. After a short speech by one of our class teachers, all Year One students performed a song on stage, titled Oky Doky Unga (it sounds correct, sort of... heehee...). In the video below, you might not see me since I was standing in the second row.

Then, each class was called on stage and everybody was given an award certificate according to individual's achievement. As for myself, I was awarded for drawing great detailed pictures. Oh boy, it makes me more proud of myself!


After that, each class come up on stage and recite one poem each that we memorise by hard. Below is my class's choice of poem by Barbara Moore:

Soup, soup, glorious soup,
Soup that goes 'SLURP'
And soup that goes 'GLOOP'.
Soup that is thick,
And soup that is thin,
And soup that goes dribbling
All down your chin!


Thank you to JIS for holding such a memorable event. We really feel honoured and appreciated that the school went far in organising it, and deciding that our air-conditioned assembly room at school wasn't special enough for us. Hehehe... and of course, thanks to daddy and mummy for the continued support throughout my study.

Weekend with cousin Adam

22nd November 2009

Our weekend got better. Although unplanned, our cousin Adam decided to sleep over at our place. Of course, that meant that we get to spend Sunday together... yippeee! Here are pictures that we took during this fun weekend.

Having dinner together. We had rice, fried chicken, eggs sunny-side up and veggies.

For breakfast today, mummy made waffles... one of Adam's favourite food. Eaten with peanut butter and coconut jam really made our day. Thanks mummy!

Then, daddy received a call from Ngangah informing that she planned on bringing Adam and myself to the stadium for a bike ride. I was really excited, but Safiya prefers riding the bike at home for now. Maybe she'll join in when she's a bit older.

While waiting for Ngangah to pick us up, we decided to do some warming up at home. Safiya had her first ride and was able to cycle on her own.

What a fun weekend!

A happy day

21st November 2009

Ahhh... Today is one of our happy days. The reason is because at noon today, Safiya and I together with beloved daddy accompanied mummy for an ultrasound check up. We were very excited to see how our little baby is doing now. As far as we know, the baby must be growing fast since mummy's tummy gets bigger by the day! The ultrasound went well, and the doctor assured us that the baby is strong and healthy.

I was also amazed by the baby's strong heartbeat. As for the gender.... yes, we finally know now... but we think we should keep it as a surprise for our family. Keep on guessing! Hehehe...

Afterwards, daddy treated us with lunch at Pizza Hut. What a great day!

Happy Birthday MamaUsu

19th November 2009

A big birthday shout out to lovely Mama Usu who is currently studying in the UK. Hope your 24th birthday brings you more success and happiness.

Love from your nephew and niece; Syafi & Safiya

The car is back

15th November 2009

Early last month (October 1st to be exact), daddy had a very unfortunate day. When he had just started his daily journey to work early in the morning, daddy lost control of the car and hit a fire hydrant that was erected on the side of the road. It's the same route that daddy takes everyday and ironically, the mishap happened about 1 1/2 kilometres away from our house.

Luckily, no one was injured and the only thing that the incident left behind is a bad memory. As for the car, the front bumper was crushed and had to be replaced. Both air bags were deployed too. Thankfully, the car insurance comes to the rescue and helps a lot with the repair expenses.

After more than a month in the workshop, the car is finally ready. There is a slight change in the bumper and the car also had a new paint job. The result is really nice.

Bungsu Raudah's engagement

13th November 2009 (Part II)

Congratulations to Bungsu Raudah (mummy's youngest sister) on her engagement today. We are really looking forward to the wedding ceremony sometime next year, and we're pretty sure it's a ceremony that everyone can't wait to see since Bungsu is the last lady in the familly who hasn't tied the knot.

I'm a Native American Indian

13th November 2009

"In the past we would pickle, salt and tin food to get us through the winter"

Hehe... You might be wondering what am I talking about? Well, it's actually about my play during our morning assembly this morning. That was my line. Every Friday, the Junior School at JIS attends assembly. Unlike most schools in Brunei where students stand up under the hot sun, we sit in a room and watch a presentation from a different class every week. This week was my class's turn.

We presented a play about the historic event when some pilgrims from England came to the United States on board of a ship, and there they met some Native American Indians who showed them how to fish, hunt and some other skills. I played the part of a Native American Indian.

Overall, mummy said it was an excellent play, considering that my friends and I are all around 5 years old. Everyone remembers their line, and the play went smoothly, except for the most part of myself trying to fix my headdress on stage! I was in a bad mood after the play because one of the feathers fell off and I was unable to fix it.

After the play, the school had presented certificates and medal to some of the older students who did well in a special Maths test taken during the summer holiday. The test was organised by a university in Australia.

After the assembly, we took some pictures. As you can see, I was not that happy, thinking about my fallen feather.

But not for long! My friend Adam cheered me up and we did some 'wrestling' before returning back to class... hehehe...

I was glad with my achievement. Thanks mummy and Safiya for coming to watch me on stage and taking a video for dearest daddy to watch later.