"Love can change a person the way a parent can change a baby- awkwardly, and often with a great deal of mess.” - Lemony Snicket, Horseradish

A darling friend Ayuni requested from Ayin and me a checklist of stuffs needed for a newborn. True there are a lot on the net but some are way too extensive, like what do you need an RM189 brush and comb set for? And expensive night light with lullaby? Sure, if you have money to burn, go ahead, but if you're practical (and kedekut) like me, soft light from a semi-closed bathroom door and your own zikrullah lullaby would do insyaAllah. 

So yeah, because I was bored, stressed out and was melayan Hadi painting anyway, I doodled this one for Ayuni and you can share it too! (I think I left out some essential items here, like a thermometer perhaps - thank you, Ayin for pointing that out. And yes Ieja, maybe a baby carrier too)

Till then, enjoy your pregnancy, mommies-to-be! (And enjoy shopping for you baby!)

“A morning coffee is my favorite way of starting the day, 
settling the nerves so that they don't later fray.” ― Marcia Carrington 

My mom is an avid fan of tea. She’s a tea-holic, she actually survives on tea, really. She could go days without rice and proper food but could only last a few hours without a cup of steaming hot tea. So naturally I was never raised to be coffee lover. The first time I tasted coffee was probably when I was 10, at a relative’s house and they served us hot black coffee (yes, to the kids as well) and I remember thinking that the taste wasn’t anywhere near good. 

Little did I know the day will come when I will be finally introduced to good coffee, become obsessively dependent on them (oh those sleepless mombie nights and sleepy mombie days) and the rest they say is history. 

[Mombie: a mommy who is a zombie, weee!]

Coffee; in support of mommyhood since forever (so my mom preferred tea but to each moms their own caffeine, yeah?) Happy International Coffee Day, coffee lovers all over the world! Thank you for existing in our lives!

Monica: "Welcome to the real world. It sucks. You’re gonna love it!" 

Twenty years ago, 6 friends came into our lives and set the highest standard for TV show. Twenty years later, no other sitcoms even come close to be as good. I can watch one random episode today for perhaps the fifth time and still laugh as hard as I did the first time I saw it. Happy birthday and thank you, FRIENDS. Best. Sitcom. Ever.

"Women are not moody. We simply have days when we are less inclined to put up with crap." - Karen Darby

If women talk gross you out, then stay out of this post. It’s the time of the month again. This is my second red flag after I gave birth to Noah (breastfeeding tends to do that to you – delay your cycle) and I was a few days late. So I was hoping to get a positive result on the PT, what’s with all the crappy mood swings and bloated (more than usual) tummy but sadly it was a negative and today, it came. Yikes. Sucks. Crappy. Mood. Swings. And. Even. Crappier. Period. Pain. I know, I know, people don’t think typing like this is cute anymore. I’m stuck in my own time bubble. Anyways yeah, I need some hazelnut latte. And someone to tell me I’m cute, in spite of the zit on my nose.

 

PMS women 101. Perpetually torn between loving food too much and wanting to be skinny.

"Between the innocence of babyhood and the dignity of manhood, we find the delightful creature of a boy"

Mothers, here's to all of us.

Here's to 9 months of nausea, back pain and headache, to mention the least. 

Here's to child birth pain; erased forever at the wonderful sound of your breathing, crying babies. 

Here’s to saggy baby pouch, uneven lactating boobies, ugly stretch marks and apparent c-section scars. 

Here's to the struggle of breastfeeding; the nip cracks, sleepless nursing nights and endless pumping. 

Here’s to celebrating baby poop and fart. 

Here’s to lack of sleep and the glories it brings; eye bags, zombie-ness and surviving on coffees. 

Here’s to new moms; stumbling through diaper change, baby bath, and the art of taking a two-minutes shower. 

Here’s to baby’s first step, first toothless smile, first hearty laugh. 

Here’s to restless nights caring for your sick children. 

Here’s to toddler tantrum, terrible twos and terrific threes. 

Here’s to moms who are in dire need of date nights, coffee breaks, trip to the salon, an uninterrupted toilet visit, a long phone call with your friends; whatever it takes to remain sane. 

Here’s to moms who never get such breaks; may God ease your hardship. 

Here’s to proud moms fighting back tears watching your children singing their heart away at a school concert. 

Here’s to working moms struggling to balance raising kids and meeting deadlines. 

Here’s to stay-at-home moms who are 24/7 on their feet. 

Here’s to imperfect moms who don’t always feed your children homemade organic food, who couldn’t bake the perfect rainbow cakes, who couldn’t even master a simple kid’s craft. 

Here’s to learning to let go of a huge part of your personal social life. 

Here’s to our kid’s little achievements; learning to ride a bike, writing ABCs albeit crookedly, baking cookies, painting their own crafts, dressing themselves, making friends. 

Here’s to everyday drama; that even a simple act of getting ready for school could take longer time and more shouting than it should. 

Here’s to the pang of guilt you feel after you yelled at your kids for well, being kids. 

Here’s to breaking down after you couldn’t handle a bad moment. 

Here’s to other moms who give support and encouragement in those kind of bad moments; no judgment whatsoever. 

Here’s to moms giving in to ice creams, candies and gadgets; for a piece of sanity. 

Here’s to the constant fear for your child safety. 

Here’s to feeling the need to flee from wherever you are to hug your children when hearing news of a terrible accident, a wild storm, a baby dying. 

Here’s to kissing boo-boos, rocking a restless child to sleep, lullaby singing, comforting a tummy ache. 

Here’s to the heartache of letting go of your child; to school, college, out to the wild wild world. 

Here’s to stressed out moms; whose babies won’t stop crying, whose toddlers won’t stop shouting. 

Here’s to clueless moms; whose preschoolers won’t stop asking questions and demanding answers. 

Here’s to moms raising know-it-all teenagers, may God grant you patience and strength. 

Here’s to older moms, learning to let go of your all grown up babies. 

Here’s to the perfect trophy moms, the tiger moms, the crazy cool ones; whichever kind of awesome moms you are. 

Here’s to motherhood and its roller-coaster ride; of trying our best, taking each and every day as it comes and hoping that our kids will grow up to be amazing. 

Here’s to all of us. Happy mother’s day. 

"People expect all women to react the same to pregnancy. But anyone who's been around pregnant women knows that it's not all cutesy and sweet. You spaz out and you're angry and you have tantrums." - Keri Russell

If you follow me on Instagram, you'd notice that I've been posting quite a number of pregnancy doodles, because doodling makes me happy and during earlier trimester of my pregnancy, it helped to ease my nausea. Really. Give it a try. Hehe. I'm currently in my third trimester, the 34th week; one minute I'm all full of energy and could probably run the marathon (if the marathon is at a mall, I must add) but the next, I'd feel so heavy and rasa nak baring sepanjang hari. One day I'd be cranky, hot and bothered, and the next day I could be chirpy and quite nice to hang out with all day long. Ha ha ha! What pregnancy does to you. Anyways, here's some of my pregnancy doodles for you:

“May Allah turn all our heartbreaks into hope, and free our hearts from the shackles that bind them.”

 

 

Reflect on this: Sometimes we lose hope in turning to God and asking for His help because we feel like we have done too much wrong. And yet think of a child who has just angered his mother and immediately after trips and falls on the stairs. Even if that child had just angered his mother to tears, the moment he falls and cries for help, she runs to him. This is human mercy. And God is infinitely more merciful than a mother is to her child. So, do you think -- no matter what you've done -- when you're falling and cry out to the most merciful ... He wouldn't come save you?

 

Sejak aku baca nukilan Yasmin Mogahed ini, aku tak boleh keluarkannya dari benak. Terlalu mudah analoginya, terlalu sampai maksudnya; Allah ada. Aku kepingin nukilan beliau, Reclaim Your Heart. Ulang tahun aku 24 hari lagi.

 

 

DOODLE OF THE DAY

DOODLES OF THE DAY

“You can't have it all.” --- Gwyneth Paltrow, on trading movie career for motherhood.

I know I’m not the only mother who sometimes worries and thinks that I’m not doing a good job in raising my kid. There are easy days when your kids seem like the angel that they deep down really are. But there are bad days - that make you question your judgment, your method, your beliefs - that makes you question yourself: Am I doing the right thing? I know I’m not the only one.

 

But chin up, mommies. We’re in this together. Our everyday lives may not be Hallmark perfect. Our kids may not be angelic 24/7. Our house may not pass Martha Stewart clearance. We may look horrific at times. But as long as we try and strive to be the best for our kids, I think they’ll be OK.

 

In the words of Rachel Martin: “Being the cheerleader. Being the fighter for them when no one seems to be listening. Being the one who gives of herself even when she feels like there is not much left to give. Being there in the middle of the night. Being the one who listens. Being there sitting in the car waiting for them to emerge from their class. Being the one who helps them pick out the right shirt. Being the rocker in the rocking chair when the pile of laundry is overflowing. Being the one who's mastered the art of counting to ten many times. Being the one who cooks lunches that no one likes but still smiling. Being the one who wants to be a good mom and keeps trying every single day.”

 

I think we’ll be OK :')