for the love of all things handmade ...

i'm a fan of handmade crafty things. i love the creativity and sometimes imperfect look that can be seen through a handmade item. to me, that's part of the beauty of buying, making and/or owning a handmade piece. it's simply unique.

towards the latter part of my pregnancy with Baby Z, i 'stumbled upon my cousin's blog. crafty she is, alright! growing up though, i had never thought she'd be the crafty type. while i always knew she'd be good at writing and anything computer-related, crafting away wasn't something i had envision her to do. so it was a surprise of sorts when her blog revolved around her knitting hobby. before any of you think it's a grandma-esque type of hobby, think again. these days, it's all about embracing the art of handmade products. knitted items is no exception. it's altogether modern, cute and functional, i kid you not.

earlier in the week, i came home to discover a package had been mailed to me, but that i had to collect it from the local post office since i wasn't in when Mr Postman came ringing my doorbell. i knew it was a lil something from my cousin as she had emailed me telling me to look out for a gift she'd made. i was occupied with some many things over the week, so i only managed to collect the parcel on Friday.

i was prettily greeted by this thing of beauty. just look at it. isn't she pweee-teee?? :-)

:: her brilliant work of art; hand-knitted with love ::

my cousin attached a letter with the parcel. she explained how the gift was inspired by the lil things i had created and made for Baby Z's corner. she took the colours i used as her cue to knit the cardi, and i personally think she'd interpreted it so well. i absolutely love that bit of lime green injected in between the otherwise very-much-girly raspberry shades. just pretty, i say.

:: this lil piece of personalized art and origami cranes were the inspiration behind the cardi ::

so now that we've this piece of knitted wear in Baby Z's wardrobe, one would probably wonder when she'll actually use it, right? well, even before i read my cousin's letter, as soon as i opened the cardi, i was thinking how it'll enhance Baby Z's corner real well. just as a decorative piece of element. whether or not she actually wears it out isn't my priority. just having it in her posession i think is wonderful enough. reading the letter, turns out that was also my cousin's intention; that in the event Baby Z won't or can't ever get to wear the cardi, it'll be a perfect and pretty accent to her corner or nursery (yes, she's still in our room, a nursery she hasn't got one just yet).

:: how it'd look hung (though really, a much much prettier hanger should be used here .. heh) ::

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oh, i got a lil something too myself. a tub of hand cream from the very uber-cool Lush store in London.
cream does smell great, dear. and thank you SO much for the lovely gifts. love them! :-)

got name?

I had just finish feeding Baby Z and was just cuddling and playing with her when Big Z came into the picture.


Big Z : hey Zayaan ... hey Zayaan Atiyaaaa ... is that Zayaan's name, Mummy?

Me : yea, that's her name .. her full name's Zayaan Atiya Izmet Iskandar ... what's YOUR full name?

Big Z : Muhammad Zarif Izmet Iskandar ... right, Mummy?

Me : yup

Big Z : ok, what's your full name, Mummy?

Me : it's Sabidatul Mrika Hajeedar

Big Z : (pauses and smiles with startled expression in his eyes) ... hey ... but that's Atok's name, Mummy!! (looking startled and smirking this time finding it hard to believe his mom) ... and it's your name too??!!

Me : (laughs with him) yes, Zarif, that's Mummy's name .. my full name .. my full name has Atok's name too coz he's my Daddy.

Big Z : (can't quite wipe the smirk off his face) ... sigh ... oh, okayyyy Mummy (still not able to believe his mom completely)


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I guess for Big Z, there's only one Hajeedar .. that's his Atok. So to hear that his Mummy has his Atok's name in her full name was just that bit difficult to grasp. After a bit of staring into space and singing, he resorted to "OK Mummy ... i think i'm going to sleep now ... i'm going to have my Iggy Arbuckle dream now ... OK ... good night Mummy, love you Mummy". And off he went to bed. That was about a quarter to 9pm. By far, the earliest he's gone to sleep! Maybe if I 'shock' him with such facts each night, he'll sleep as early as before 9pm. Heheh ...

he loves me, he loves me not, he loves me!!

Big Z last night. Was telling him to stop playing. It was almost nine and he had to get to bed. This was his response.


"if you scold me, Mummy ... i'll go away. i'll go to all the hotels. everywhere! aalllllll the nice hotels only. and then you come with me".

Say what?

"yea, you come with me to aalllll the nice hotels coz i love you, Mummy .... much and much always".


Glad we got that sorted then! He'll take me with him on his hotel stays, but following him getting scolded by me for not behaving. ... Now for us to rope in the Daddy in this plan. LOL

know your mother tongue, my dear ...

Big Z thinks in funny ways, I'm starting to think that. No wait, I most possibly knew that all this time, but humour me, why don't you? :-)

We generally converse in English to each other. Of course there are the Malay words thrown in between our sentences, but truth be told, it's pretty much English rest of the time for us. Big Z though has decided he should be fair and kind to the maids (once a week I borrow my mum's maid to help me with the housework; rest of the time, I'm THE chief maid at home ;-)) when he's something to say in front of or to the maid. The following were some things he said at different times; the ones I managed to overhear.

.................................

Big Z wanted some cold water ...

"Kakak, nak air cold please. Muhammad nak air cold please".

Firstly, note how he says 'cold water'. It becomes air cold, like one would say in Malay, air sejuk.

Secondly, when he uses a bit of Malay, he's suddenly Muhammad more than he is Zarif.

Big Z was lying next to Baby Z and I was trying to get him in the bathroom for his shower. The maid happened to be just outside the family room we were in at the time ...

"Oh Mummy ... wait just a little bit, ok. Jap je ...... Muhammad nak baring next to Zayaan. Just a lil bit, Mummy".

Again, the Muhammad name is put to use here.

.................................

It was his school's Open Day earlier this week. Had a chat with his teacher and while he's doing well in school overall (for which I'm very thankful and glad), once a week he has a one-to-one session with his teacher for Bahasa Malaysia. Says the teacher, she speaks to him in Malay, he replies in English. He understands Malay, but just thinks quicker and replies accurately in English.

:: Big Z showing me his school work at the Open Day

(more photos over on my Facebook page) ::

So there you have it. My Big Z who thinks he needs to use his first name when conversing in Malay. I just think it's interesting how he's chosen Muhammad to be the 'Malay' name and Zarif the 'English' name. LOL

Big Z speaks ...

Big Z after finishing his sandwich.

Mummy : Zarif, did you wash your hands? ... I don't think so, I didn't hear the tap on.

Zarif : (ponders a bit, complete with index finger on his chin) Hmm ... No, I think so. Yes, I think already. Yes. I think.

Mummy: OK ... you didn't wash your hands. Go wash them now.

Zarif : OK. yea, I forgot, yea ... but don't tell Daddy, ok Mummy??

Yes, he is a lil afraid of the Daddy; with me, I can be screaming away, he thinks I'm still playing. *does he EVER take me seriously*


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Zarif's been having a bit of a sorethroat and cough.

Zarif : (clears his throat quite a bit) Oh Mummy. See! Now I have to do the M, M, M. See, like this. (clears his throat again, this time shaking his head in disbelief)

He can be such a fuss pot and an old man at times!