Maulidur Rasul 1430H

26th February 2010
12th Rabiul Awal 1430H

Especially to all Muslims, let's celebrate together the birthday of our beloved Prophet Muhammad SAW.

Allahumma Salli 'Ala Sayyidina Muhammad

The reveal

25th February 2010

After an agonising wait, we now finally have our new ride! The car was ready yesterday afternoon after 11 days of finalising the booking and purchase stage. Actually, the process does not take that long despite the two public holidays in between since the registration process with the Land Transport Department was already done after 4 days.

However, the further delay was caused by the additional things that daddy requested to be installed in our new ride. These additional fixtures include a full body kit, front and rear sensors, one rear camera, a dvd player, four headrest tv screens and a bluetooth receiver. Thankfully, the car agent is very helpful and cooperative.

And so here is the reveal...

It's a 9-seater Hyundai H1 wagon!

Front and rear view

It has sliding doors on both sides

The headrest tv screens that daddy requested. We got 4 of these! Hehehe...

Enjoying our first ride

I was so eager to go to school this morning!

And here's some information contained in the catalogue, in case you are interested.

Fulfill your tastebuds with Brunei traditional delicacies

24th February 2010

Introducing our beloved grandmother or Nini Green's blog. It's especially made to offer interested customers with a variety of Brunei traditional Malay kuihs for purchase. Please feel free to drop by the [website]. Orders can be placed via phone.

Thank you and we look forward to serving you

Brunei's 26th National Day

23rd February 2010

A huge congratulatory message to the people of Brunei in conjunction with Brunei's 26th National Day celebration today. We should be thankful for the peace and harmony that we enjoy day by day!

This year's theme is

"Negaraku Brunei Darussalam"
(My country, Brunei Darussalam)

Proud to be Bruneians
www.syafisafiya.blogspot.com
www.syafisafiya-house.blogspot.com

Short Ugama programme

22nd February 2010

I am currently in Year One. Usually in Brunei, students in Year Two will also begin their Ugama school alongside the normal school hours. Although I will only start Ugama in September, JIS has introduced a short Ugama programme as an introduction for prospective students. It's held once a week right after class until 4 p.m. (about 1 1/2 hours). It's a really good practise for me so that I have an idea that my school hour will be a little bit longer once I move to Year Two next academic year.

By the way, the above picture was taken by mummy just before Ugama class. I only needed to change into my long pants and put on my songkok. As for my friend Adam, he decided to change his whole outfit into formal Ugama uniform (pictured here without his sinjang).

Family reunion

21st February 2010

As today is Sunday, we decided to have a family reunion amongst daddy's siblings. Wawa and Ngangah came with each one's family but sadly bungsu couldn't join us. Our last reunion was sometime last month when we had Yong Tau Foo for dinner. Today, we had our special and exclusive home-made noodles soup. Don't be misjudged by the awkward shapes of our noodles... it tastes heavenly and very addictive too!

Looking forward to the next reunion!

CNY parties

19th February 2010

At JIS today, all classes in Junior School had a party in conjunction with the recent Chinese New Year celebration. As for myself, we had a disco right after class from 2.30 until 3.30 in the afternoon.

Since Safiya is still in Nursery, her party started early at around 10.45. Parents were invited to come and join them, and mummy took the opportunity since it was her day off work. Mummy says that it's always great to see what your kids do at school. I guess it reminded her of my school days in Australia back in 2008 when mummy get to join me for one whole day every school term. Such an unforgettable experience.

Lots of foods at Safiya's party... cupcakes, biscuits, chips and so on. Safiya's teachers say that the children usually play with their food during snack time, but all the sweet treats tempt them to stay put! Hehehe...

After her party, parents were invited to help their children with Chinese New Year art activities. Safiya did lots of interesting crafts and happily showed them off to daddy and I once we arrived home later today.

Painting happens to be one of Safiya's talent. One of her teachers said that Safiya is always careful with her painting, unlike some of her friends who tend to be sloppy at times.

Safiya's handprint using a golden colour paint

Safiya's own lantern

Quiet story time just before her class ends

Safiya went home wearing her self-made mask. Cute!

P/S: We miss you, Miss B and Mrs. Miller... always!

Moist banana cake

18th February 2010

Mummy has been a frequent visitor to this really informative and interesting [blog] relating to cooking and found a moist banana cake recipe. After dinner today, mummy decided to try it out and the result is marvelous. Click [here] for the recipe. You won't regret it!

Simply delicious!

New recipes from Chef Daddy

16th February 2010

Over the long Chinese New Year weekend, daddy tried out two new recipes that we got from watching television. The recipes are both Chinese style (a coincidence?), and they both taste delicious. Thanks daddy for giving mummy lots of days off from the kitchen... hehehe!

Kung Fu chicken

Fried fish in mango and sour plum sauce

Syahmi's birthday celebration

14th February 2010

Last night, we attended Syahmi's first birthday party at his grandparents' house in Kilanas. Syahmi had a cute birthday cake that translates into "I'm 1 year already". Unfortunately, we had to leave early because Safiya suddenly had high body temperature. Although we didn't get to play the party games, we did enjoy a lovely dinner. Thanks Syahmi for the party and hope you enjoy your birthday gift.

A new car on the way

13th February 2010

After lunch today, we all went to a car dealer company to test out a car we are planning to purchase. Well, we do have three cars so far and that's definitely more than enough for a small family like us. However, with a baby underway and with the addition of a maid (or two), daddy thought that it is time to get a bigger ride that is comfortable for everyone. Moreover, we have a new tendered car registration number that must be processed before the end of this month, so whether or not to buy another car is not actually an option.

What's the car? Wait and see!

Our mini project

12th February 2010

Last weekend, we did mention that daddy and mummy were planning on a mini project, following our trip to the plants market (refer previous posts). As you might have guessed, it has something to do with planting works. That's absolutely true.

In the afternoon today, the project came into effect: planting around our new flag pole. Since the plants were small, it didn't take us very long to complete the project. Nevertheless, Safiya and I helped as much as we could... we just love to get our hands dirty! Hehehe...

The next step will be getting some large stones to arrange around the perimeter. For the time being, we used some wood planks to help prevent erosion of the compost soil. We did a great job and we are proud of ourselves.

Flag hoisting

11th February 2010

In the afternoon today, Safiya and I, together with daddy officiated our newly installed flag pole in front of our home. All this while, we have been using a temporary pole put up near our main entrance door. Since Brunei's National Day is just around the corner, it's a perfect time to have a permanent pole finally put up and we can proudly show off the new flag we bought last week!

NOTE:
For non-Bruneians who might be confused with the colour of our flag; it's a special flag for Pengirans (a title inherited for generations, usually dating back to a royal family member). There are also other types of Brunei flags for those bestowed with special titles ("gelaran") by His Majesty the Sultan of Brunei.

Adam's appendicitis

11th January 2010

Yesterday morning, mummy received a sms from Wawa Jay informing that our cousin, Adam, had been admitted to hospital the night before after complaining of stomach pain. Firstly they went to a private clinic, but the doctor referred them to the emergency room since Adam showed signs of appendicitis. The doctor monitored Adam's condition overnight, and in the morning decided that Adam must undergo an operation to have his appendix removed.

Last night after dinner, we all went to the hospital to visit Adam. Thankfully, the operation went well and Adam seemed to be feeling alright, except for the pain around his wound. Adam also complained that it was painful everytime he laughs, so we tried to be as supportive as possible.

Thinking about this, it's quite shocking that Adam was diagnosed with appendicitis at an early age (7 years old). It really shows that the condition can be experienced by anyone no matter how old you are. So, to be safe and informed, mummy researched through the internet and found some useful informations about this condition [click here for more]. We'd love to share it with you too:

What causes appendicitis?

It happens due to a build-up of thick mucus or due to stool that enters the appendix, which then hardens up and becomes rock-like and blocks the opening from the appendix to the cecum. After the blockage, it gets infected by bacteria. The body responds by attacking the bacteria - this is called inflammation.

Symptoms

• abdominal pain which may at first be poorly localised (not confined to one spot) and difficult to pinpoint.
• loss of appetite, which may progress to nausea and vomiting.
• Once inflammation increases, the pain becomes localised clearly to the area between the front of the right hip bone and the belly button (the McBurney's point).
• If the appendix ruptures, the pain becomes diffuse again as the entire lining of the abdomen becomes inflamed.

Treatments

• antibiotics (mild cases)
• appendectomy (removal of appendix)
• drainage (in cases of ruptured appendix) to draw abscess out of the body, followed by appendectomy.

How is appendectomy done?

• Incisions / normal operation
• Laparoscope (through small puncture wounds)

Some good news about appendectomy...

• The appendix has no clear purpose in our body, and once it's removed, the body will work just fine.
• The patient will get better in a short time, and won't feel any difference without the appendix.
• Even better, you won't have to worry about appendicitis again!
  

Kids can cook too!

10th February 2010 (Part II)

For dinner today, daddy decided that we have pizzas and salad. It mada Safiya and I happy since we love pizza, and more importantly, that means we get to show our cooking talent. Mummy let us be as creative as we want, and the only part we left for her to do is baking them in the oven and cutting with our pizza cutter. We made two pizzas, one with pineapple, tomatoes and olives as toppings, and the other with sausages, chicken thin cuts, carrots and tomatoes. Yummy!

Before (above) and after (below)

We were quite generous with the cheese!

Daddy's salad with croutons, walnuts and olives