Books for baby

Aliya loves books! She likes to listen to our voices. She loves the pictures too.

*Free your time to read for your baby =).

"Early literacy can start long before a baby can read. Reading books early to a child can be fun and start a lifelong affair with literature. Follow these steps to start!" ~wikiHow

"Reading aloud; (1) teaches a baby about communication, (2) introduces concepts such as stories, numbers, letter, colors and shapes in a fun way, (3) builds listening, memory, and vocabulary skills, (4) gives babies info about the world around them." ~KidsHealth from Nemours

"When should I start reading to my baby? It never too early. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends reading aloud daily to your baby starting at 6 months of age." ~BabyCenter

"Here are some dos and don'ts for you and your budding reader..." ~scholastics

Online photo editing & effects

http://www.befunky.com/

I used this 'befunky' photo editing & effects and it's an easy and simple online editing software as picnik.com. It's free and no downloads required.

Do try and change your photos to various artwork! =)

'Kejutan Harga!'

Mama mengalami sedikit 'kejutan harga barang' di Malaysia bila setahun lebih menetap di US...especially untuk barangan bayi.

Bila berada di US, kadang2 mengeluh bila terpaksa belanja 10 dolar untuk sepasang baju bayi Aliya, sebab bila di convert ke duit Malaysia, yang 10 dolar tu boleh cecah 40 ringgit Malaysia...rasa macam mahal la tu, hehe

Sepasang baju yang sama macam di US yang harganya 10 dolar tu, boleh mencecah ratusan ringgit di sini! terdiam sejenak.

Biasanya, kami beli baju2 aliya serendah harga 1-5 dolar sahaja... kain yang berkualliti jenama Carter, tapi still made in China jugak! Kerusi buaian bayi yang harganya 130 dolar di Brookings, berharga RM1200 di Malaysia! huk huk huk

Rasa macam tak worth it bila nak spend duit ratusan ringgit hanya untuk sepasang baju dan ribuan ringgit untuk barangan bayi sebab gunanya hanya sekejap aje, bayi memang membesar setiap bulan. Nak tak nak, ibu bapa ni memang kena pandai dalam mengatur kewangan untuk di belanja untuk anak-anak.

Ada pilihan lain kah ibu bapa di Malaysia?

• Mungkin berbelanja secara belian online boleh meringankan beban harga?
• Ataupon dengan membeli barangan yang tidak begitu berjenama, tapi macam mana pula dengan kualiti barang?
• Recycle dengan menyimpan barangan anak2 dengan sebaiknya supaya dapat digunakan untuk beberapa orang anak?
• Atau membeli barangan di kedai2 second hand?

Teringin nak borong barang2 bayi di US dan balik jual di Malaysia dengan harga yang lebih murah, hahha tapi dalam angan2 jela, nanti tak pasal2 kena bayar tax mahal.

Danskin's shape up shoes

• I bought Danskin's 'shape up' shoes last two weeks. They build with comfy curved plate for easy movement. Seriously, these shoes are soooo comfortable.

• You need to be careful when you try these shoes for the first time, and you will get used with it within 5-10minutes.

• This type of footwear comes with sandals too. I choose Daskin brand because they are more cheaper than others.

• I LOVE THEM very much! :). Alhamdulillah and I really glad I bought these shoes because no more foot pain!

Notes: Rasa-rasanya, sape2 yang selalu sakit kaki bila jalan lama-lama or berdiri lama2 tu sesuai kot pakai ni, sebab selese sangat.. Bila pakai tu, rasa cam jalan pakai high-heels dan melayang2..best best :)

Foods fun facts

[1] Onion

• If you eat onions you can get rid of onion breath by eating parsley.

[2] Olive Oil

• A tablespoon of olive oil contains about 120 calories and 14 g total fat.
• 'Light' olive oil refers to the light color and milder flavor- it's not lower in fat.

[3] Carrot

• Carrot really can help you see in the dark! Carrots contains with vitamin A known to prevent "night blindness".

[4] Drinking water

• There are about 100,000 bacteria in one liter of drinking water. *Masak air sebelum minum!

[5] Fruits & vegetables

• Sometimes frozen fruits and frozen vegetables are more nutritious than fresh. Fruits and vegetables grown for freezing are usually frozen right after they're picked. Therefor they have less time to lose their nutrients.

[6] Tomato

• Have a tomato with your burger! When a source of vitamin C (orange, lemon, grapefruits, strawberry, potato, tomato, etc) is eaten with meat or cooked dry beans, the body makes a better use of the iron in the protein food.

[7] Calories vs Fat

• It takes 3500 calories to make a pound a fat. So, as long as you are active and burning of calories, calories should not have too much of chance to turn into fat.

[8] Lemon

• Lemon contain more sugar than strawberry!

reference: http://www.foodreference.com/, http://www.nms.on.ca/Elementary/fun_food_facts.htm

Kawan: Jangan bergaduh terlalu lama!

Di alam universiti, saya mengalami pelbagai pengalaman berkawan, bermula di matrikulasi lagi bahkan di sekolah pon, pelbagai cabaran dan dugaan menimpa, betullah kata orang, kalau nak berkawan, pilih yang baik-baik dan beringat2 bila berkawan. Kawan ni boleh menghanyutkan kita dan dalam masa sama kawan ni boleh membawa kita ke jalan kebaikan, so, kawan bagaimana yang anda ada sekarang?

Kita biasa lalui dan dengar, dua kawan baik, sekarang ni boleh lah sebut as BFF, tiba2 terputus hubungan disebabkan salah faham, gaduh kecil, disebabkan lelaki pun ada. Biasanya benda2 camni melibatkan kaum perempuan, bukannya lelaki tu takde, tapi kebanyakkan berlalu di kalangan hawa. So ini beberapa tips ingin saya kongsikan:

• Masa bukan segalanya, jangan bazirkan masa untuk meminta maaf.
• kalau asyik tertanya, "dia sudi ke kawan ngan aku balik", "malulah nanti kalau dia tak nak kawan lagi", "dia yang salah buat apa yang minta maaf dulu!", dan jika dua2 pihak pon dok fikir camni, susah lah, sampai bebila pon tak berbaik semula, so, tak jatuh pon ego kalau minta maaf.. minta maaf, keputusan nya terserah lah, tak rugi rasanya kalau mencuba.
• Dalam Islam pon tidak digalakkan untuk bersengketa lelama, paling2 pun 3 hari, kalau dah sampai 3 tahun? ermmm
• Kalau tak berkawan baik macam dulu pon, at least tak bergaduh sesama sendiri, nanti, kot2 anak2 kita sama2 berkawan, tak kan nak terus bermasam muka?
• Minta maaf ikut cara masaing2lah, kalau segan, msg kut hp or email pon ok, yang penting kita mencuba...
• for me, hidup ini sangat singkat untuk dibazirkan..jangan lengahkan untuk meminta maaf dengan kawan2 anda, keluarga atau pasangan anda, ingat! masa bukan segalanya...

Saya menulis berdasarkan pengalaman sebelum ini, saya dan kawan2 membazir masa selama 3,4 tahun tak bertegur sape sebab selisih faham, tapi sebenarnya dalam hati masing nak berkawan dan berbaik semula, tapi masing2 asyik dok pendam dan tak berani nak mulakan maaf dulu.

Minta maaf! :)

Hey guys: How to propose a girl for the first time

Love is beautiful. Beautiful love turns to a happy ending story if we met the right person. If you think she is the right girl for you, then make your first step! These are some tips that I experienced before I got married...enjoy

1. KIS : KEEP IT SIMPLE. ~ express you true feeling with a good manner and simple words. Perhaps you can say, "I really like you when we first met. Can I know you more than just a friend?" ... Kalau dia menolak, ucap terima kasih sebab mengenali dia adalah satu yang istimewa, diharap dapat terus berkawan. Segan dan sedih kalau si dia menolak, tapi terima dengan hati yang terbuka.
2. Don't be too pushy, just be cool although your heart was trembling. If she say NO, just accept it with an opened heart. And if she say YES, maybe you can send a Thank You card with red roses. Remember, be patience!!
3. Give her some times to think.
4. Be honest. Jangan tipu2 tentang diri untuk menutup keburukan or so what ever. tapi jangan la terus tunjuk keburukan or sifat2 yang tak manis, lain2 waktu cubalah perbaiki diri...
5. Jangan marah dan salahkan si dia kalau tak jadi seperti yang diharapkan. Be a gentlemen, berundur dengan baik, maybe, dia suka ngan attitude kita walau tak cintakan kita, then dia akan propose kita kat kawan2 or family dia ke? who know??

Last but not least, just being you. You will know she is the one if the times come.

Niat yang baik dengan DOA, TAWAKAL, YAKIN dan USAHA, insyaAllah dipermudahkan jalan. Good luck!

Notes: pengalaman ni apa yang dirasai secara peribadi sebelum ni. Pengalaman yang diambil dari kawan2, dan orang sekeliling.

Fun fact about Mushroom

I love to eat mushroom so much. It is simple to cook and it does taste good.

Did you know...

Mushroom have their own taste, not sweet, sour, bitter or salty but it taste called as UMAMI. This fifth taste was discovered in 1906 at Tokyo, Japan.

UMAMI characteristics:

• Softens sour, masks bitter, extends finish, improves palatability, triggers salivations, and contribute to mouth feel, creates sense of well being.

Mushroom contain a rich mixture of natural compounds such as glutamate, free nucleic (amino), acid and ribonucleotides that contributes to that savory umami taste sensation.

In general, the more mature a food, the higher its level of free amino acids and it will higher the umami rating.

HEALTH AND WELLNESS

• Mushrooms have been successfully used in traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years to treat many different types of health conditions. Western science and medicine are finally beginning to recognize and utilize some of the medicinally active compounds in mushrooms and elucidate their modes of action.

• Just like humans, Mushrooms can produce Vitamin D upon exposure to sunlight and UV radiation. UV light is utilized in the production of these mushrooms. For example, a four-ounce (112 grams) serving of Maitake mushrooms produced by the Hokto-patented methodology contains 85% of the Daily RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) for Vitamin D. Many people today are deficient in Vitamin D and there is evidence that Vitamin D deficiencies may be linked to cancer and other disease states.

Reference: http://www.foodreference.com/html/a-mushrooms-ff0408.html

Tips for buying baby clothes!

These tips are from my experience with Aliya. Aliya growth so fast, until there is no cloth she can fit and we need to buy more and more clothes every month. What a waste when there are some clothes which not be wearing yet.

My tips:

1. Buy only a few clothes for newborn. Maybe you can preparing one cloth for one day (5-7 clothes) because babies grow incredible fast in their first month.
2. Buy clothes that easy to wear! Make sure the clothes are ease to access that allow quickly change a diaper or the pants without having fully undress your baby.
3. Do not follow the exact month of the dress, but follow the exact size of your baby.
4. Buy when you see a sale because normally infants aren't picky what they wear as long as it's comfortable. Go for cheaper clothes yet comfortable.
5. Consider the safety and comfort first. Place function before fashion!
6. Attention: Wash the new clothes first before you put it on the baby.

*Some words are taken and modified from dr. Spock

I bought this cloth because it's pretty! :(

Baby bodysuit

If you have any tips, please feel free to share here :)

Earth Day!

Show your supports, take your actions now!

• Recycle as much as you can
• Use reusable bag when shopping
• Turn off/ stand by/ hibernate/ sleep your laptop or PC when you are not using it
• Drink with reusable bottle
• Don't leave the water running when you brush your teeth
• Turn off your light when you're sleep

Please Don't Shake Your Baby!!!

Mrs. Frog!! Please don't shake your tadpole!!

Have you ever found yourself in a situation like this?

• Your baby has cried non-stop for hours.
• You've done everything you can think of, but the baby is still crying.
• You're frustrated and exhausted.
• Nothing works.

Which way do you react?

• Do you lose control, grab the baby, and scream, "What do you want?" or "Shut up!" or "I can't take this any more!" And then...you shake your baby in frustration.

• Or do you back off, get help, and calm down before picking up your baby?

Each year, about 1,000 children die because of shaken baby syndrome.

• When an infant is shaken, the baby's head snaps back and forth. The vessels in your child's head cannot tolerate the impact of the extensive shaking. The vessels break, causing blood to empty into the baby's skull.

• You didn't know it was so easy to cause your child's brain to bleed, did you? We know you don't want to harm your baby. You may simply be tired and angry for a moment. But if you lose control, even for an instant, it can haunt you for a lifetime. You and your child may deal with possible neurological damage, mental retardation, seizure disorder, or blindness as a result.

Here's what you can do.

• When your baby is irritable, make sure all his/her needs are met. Rock the baby in the crib or your arms, put him in his stroller and take a walk, or put him in his car seat and take a ride.

• If you feel your patience is evaporating and you're exhausted and can't take it anymore, put your baby in his/her crib and leave the room for a while until you are calm again. Ask your partner to care for the baby or ask for help. Call a friend or a relative. Take a walk after getting some help before you take over again.

• Don't shake your baby. A moment of anger may haunt you for a lifetime.

Mama is trying to calm Aliya down!

You have been given a precious gift--a child.

• Parenting your child will not always be easy. Along with the laughter, the hugs, and the fun there will be fatigue, frustration, and impatience. Sometimes the worries and problems that prompt raising your hand against your child have nothing to do with the child.

• Raising your hand in anger never solves the problem and often creates new problems.

Reference:

University of Iowa Children's Hospital
Child Protection Program
First Published: 2003
Last Revised: October 2003
Peer Review Status: Internally Peer Reviewed

Never miss your breakfast!

Breakfast really is ‘The Most Important Meal of The Day!’. But only if you eat well throughout. The benefits of eating a good solid breakfast are lost if you then don’t eat until late at night. So, control your diet as well!

Your breakfast is your starting point. It gives your energy level, as well as your metabolism, a kick start, and gets you into gear. By eating your first meal of the day, breakfast, when you wake up, you are ensuring that your body and brain are getting the nutrients and minerals it needs to function effectively.

You should be looking at getting between 25-30% of your daily calorie intake at breakfast. By eating a good breakfast, with a high level of both carbohydrates and protein you are allowing your body to re-fuel and re-build, with the added effect of reducing hunger through the day due to the high level of protein. This is because protein, in general, takes a lot longer to digest than carbohydrates, and therefore is in your system for a longer period of time. This in turn is a very effective tool when trying to lose weight as well as gain muscle and bulk up.

Overall, breakfast is a must!

Benefits of eating breakfast

• Provides needed energy for the body and brain.
• Helps increase metabolism.
• Helps lower cholesterol.
• Helps you lose weight/control weight

Some good breakfast suggestions

• Bagel w/peanut butter, fruit, milk/whey protein shake
• Oatmeal, fruit, milk/whey protein shake
• Cereal, fruit, milk/whey protein shake

Reference: Health & Fitness tips for you!

MILK

Does milk really do a body good?

A nutritionist investigates the claims about the beverage

[1] MILK is a best cure for spice of hot chillies! ~proof by mythbusters team

...Apparently when it comes to beating a mouth-sizzling burn, milk really does the body good.

[2] Is MILK really a fat-burning food?

By Alan Aragon, M.S

MAYBE! In a 6-month study, University of Tennessee researchers found that overweight people who downed three servings a day of calcium-rich dairy lost more belly fat than those who followed a similar diet minus two or more of the dairy servings.

In addition, the researchers discovered that calcium supplements didn't work as well as milk. Why? They believe that while calcium may increase the rate at which your body burns fat, other active compounds in dairy (such as milk proteins) provide an additional fat-burning effect.

Of course, the key to success is following a weight-loss diet to begin with.

After all, downing your dairy with a box of doughnuts is no way to torch your gut.

[3] Does MILK build muscle?

By Alan Aragon, M.S.

Absolutely. In fact, milk is one of the best muscle foods on the planet. You see, the protein in milk is about 80 percent whey and 20 percent casein. Both are high-quality proteins, but whey is known as a "fast protein" because it's quickly broken down into amino acids and absorbed into the bloodstream.

That makes it a very good protein to consume after your workout. Casein, on the other hand, is digested more slowly. So it's ideal for providing your body with a steady supply of smaller amounts of protein for a longer period of time — like between meals or while you sleep. Since milk provides both, one big glass gives your body an ideal combination of muscle-building proteins.

[4] What about antibiotics?

By Alan Aragon, M.S.

No one really knows. Some scientists argue that milk from cows given antibiotics leads to antibiotic resistance in humans, making these types of drugs less effective when you take them for an infection. But this finding has never been proved.

If you're uneasy, you can purchase antibiotic-free (and typically hormone-free, as well) milk from specialty grocers, such as Trader Joe's or Whole Foods, or select USDA-certified organic milk, which is available at most supermarkets.

References:

1. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22349307/

2. http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/mythbusters/db/food/cure-milk-hot-chilies.html

Baby portraits

Since I always captured Aliya's portraits, there are a few tips how to take a good baby portraits. These tips were taken from babyzone website that I want to share with you!

Tip 1: A calm baby is a photogenic baby

It's best to photograph babies when they're well rested (in the morning or while they're sleeping).

Tip 2: Keep outfits simple

Dress your children in solid colored clothing, so the focus will be on them, not their outfits.

Tip 3: Ditch the props

Props and toys in photos can be distracting. Clear away clutter—even consider using a blank backdrop.

Tip 4: Find soft, natural light

In general, natural light (and a slightly overcast day) is best. Check out these photo lighting tips from the pros.

Tip 5: Keep focus on baby's eyes

Babies wriggle, but as long as your child's eyes are in focus, the rest of the picture can be slightly out of focus and still look great!

Picnik.com review

picnik.com

I am picnik.com premium user. Picnik.com is an online photo editor.

• The site, which is powered by Flash, smoothly performs many of the tasks that most users want from a photo editor. Furthermore, these tasks are logically organized.
• When you first visit Picnik, you are faced with five large tabs: Home, Library,Edit, Create, Save & Share.

• The first, allows you to add photos from all sorts of places. You can upload images from your computer, take them from flickr, or take them from any other website, such as Photodoto. You can even take them from a WebCam photo.

• Once pictures are uploaded, you can edit them in any number of ways. No, you cannot do all the fancy tweaks that a high-end program like Photoshop does, but you can do most common tasks, including Auto-Fix, rotate, crop, resize, change the exposure, fiddle with the color, sharpen, eliminate red-eye, and undo.
• Click each tool to see a menu of choices. For example, if you click Colors, you can change the warmth, the saturation, or the white balance.

Edit tab

Create tab. Normally I used Effect sub-tab that consist a lot editing style.

• Choose the Create tab.The site already offered so much functionality and a lot of photo editing style. Enjoy and fun to apply.
• When you have finished playing–oops, editing–you have numerous options. You can save images on your own computer, send them directly to flickr, or to several other websites.
• All in all, I was impressed. I found Picnik to be useful, fun, and easy to use. Picnik is organized so thoughtfully and logically that I was up and running within minutes. Try it and see for yourself.

Below are some reviews about picnik.com from other's user.

1. "these online editors don’t have the fancy stuff like Photoshop does… But if you’re in a fix, away from your own computer, traveling, etc. these places can be a lifesaver if you need to do some quick cropping, adjusting, and resizing" ~Brian Auer.
2. "I have just started using Picnik and have found it to be very useful indeed. Yes I am a Photoshop user but Picnik definitely does have its place. In particular the things I like about Picnik include

• It’s intuitive interface.
• The sense of fun it conveys.
• Its tight integration with Flickr.
• Speed – it’s really fast.
• The simple but comprehensive output options.
• It’s FREE!

I would recommend that anyone try it – it’s the type of program that you can make an assessment in 5 minutes." ~Doug Barr

Notes: The article are taken and edited from http://photodoto.com/review-picnikcom-online-photo-editor/

Photo sample that I edited it using picnik.com:

Before

After

Aliya of the day!

Good morning everyone! Aliya just woke up at 7.30am.

Aliya stay with mama, papa already at work!

This is yesterday evening photo. Mama taken this photo in front of our apartment.

We want to go to Walmart while jogging. The wind is quite cold, so mama covered Aliya with 3 blankets.