Moving

New home for Our Journal: This is us.

Jemput singgah ke http://pu3natul.tumblr.com

See you there!

-Pu3-

A little update

Last week IY told me that he read my blog. THIS blog. He said, best la mama abang baca mama cerita pasal kita pegi Perth aritu. And it strucked me that I have not been blogging for a long time. I am so malas these days to log in and babble about stuff. But when IY said he loves reading what I jotted down, I jadi insaf sekejap. Erk!

He said he can’t wait to read our Bali trip story. OMG! Pressure mode on. Anak sendiri nak baca blog mak pasal trip yang dia sendiri pegi! He said he wants to write something too about our travelling trips. He requested a notebook. A real notebook, not the computer. Phew!

I have always loved travelling although I might not be as avid traveller as some people. Though my body is not somewhere out there venturing the world, my mind is. I constantly found myself drawn to reading and finding interesting stuff on places and world maps and other culture and whatnots. The Amazing Race show has been my favourite since Season 1, OMG can’t it be more obvious?? Haha!

Instagram has brought me to see the world. I made new friends who has the same interest and I build new interest I never thought I would.

Anyway, back to Bali story. Huwarghhhh!! Will start to write about it soon. Very soon. Hopefully IY hasn’t finished his essays by then. Tercabar mak nya nanti!

So I guess stories about botol susu and work and ramblings will soon be extinct. More on travels (if we do travel) and positive vibes only. Hope there’s still people who wants to read. Oh well, at least I know I have one boy who will.

-Pu3-

Perth 2015: Fremantle

When I was planning the itinerary, it forgot that Freo Market only open on weekends. Our trip was from a (late) Sunday to Thursday, so obviously we missed it lah!

We had an early checkout at 8am and terus pick up Adam kat college. We drove straight to Fremantle via the suburbs. This time tak lalu highway, so our driving view was the houses and kedai and schools and playgrounds. Sukaa! Gee as usual dok belek perati kereta orang sana. Asking me to snap each and every car that he likes.

Fremantle or known as Freo by the locals.

We reached Fremantle and first thing’s first — Target! Haha. Last kopek to look around apa yang patut. After the quick spree, packed the stuff we bought and we walked around the area looking for the famous Kailis Fish and Chips.

Hubby packing our last loot from Target. Beg beranak satu yang kecik je and satu hand carry. Ahaks!

Baru pukul 11 lebih masa tu so the place was not crowded yet. Waiting time pun tak lama. We ordered the seafood platter and fish and chips and memang licin. It was so sedap. The place banyak sangat seagulls and we were warned not to feed the birds. The boys apa lagi, kerja nya kejar burung je lah.

The famous Kailis. Sebelah dia is the famous Cicerellos fish and chips. But we chose Kailis this time.

Hello bird! Want some fish?

By the time we finished lunch, Adam had to go back already. Dia ada class and had to catch the bus . We bid farewell to him and walked somemore around the place. Found a playground and as usual the kids begged to play. So ok layan je lah. They really enjoyed the parks there in Perth.

From Kailis we walked to the playground area. Bye bye Adam here before he took the bus back to uni. No we all tak naik the ferris wheel sebab IY gayat. Dorang dah nampak playground dulu tak pandang dah big wheel ni!

This is a cool climbing spot! IY yang gayat itu naik alahai takat mana je. Adik dia naik lagi tinggi mak nye yang risau suruh turun!

By 1pm we made a move to the airport. Supposed to return the car back to the collection point at 2.30pm. Distance from Fremantle to airport lebih kurang 1 hour. Arrived airport just in the nick of time sebab ada sesat sikit entah Waze bawak ke mana. I love you Waze but sometimes you are crazy bawak we all masuk celah kilang mana. Haha!

Lepas return kunci kereta, we all checked in and went for solat. There is a surau at the airport. Memang sebijik macam surau kita kat Malaysia. Complete with the wudhuk area inside. I didn’t know ada tempat wuduk at first. Sibuk la pegi toilet dulu. Cuma bezanya di sana takde partition asing laki perempuan. So kena pandai-pandai la cover jaga aurat.

Perth airport is small so takde la jauh sangat nak berjalan from one spot to another. Everything went well from boarding to landing. The kids behaved in the plane main game and watching movies. Masa landing IY was sleeping and suddenly he cried sebab sakit telinga. The steward gave him a candy to suck on and he felt much better after.

So that’s it. I’m done with this travelogue. So happy to be able to finish it cepat sebelum terlupa.

Another one for the album! Thanks Perth you’ve been great. Until we meet again.

If you ask me, what was the highlight of this trip? 2 words — the kangaroos and the park. I think the boys will remember these two things for quite some time. Well, at least until our next destination. Yes, it was challenging travelling with them with the penat lah, lapar lah, sejuk lah, panas lah, nak dukung la, but the adventure with them is so worth it. Make memories, cherish the time and explore the world they say. Looking forward to more travelling with the family.

IY saw me typing these entries and he asked me “mama buat apa tu?” I told him I’m jotting down our travel stories so that when you and adik grow up, you can read this and remember the places we went. He smiled.

P/S: Me and hubby received a hand written note by IY — “Thank you mama, thank you ayah, sebab bawa abang pergi Perth.”

And I just melt.

-Pu3-

Perth 2015: City sightseeing

It was a gloomy Wednesday morning (18 March 2015). It rained and we just took our own sweet time to start the day. I have already booked the tickets to go on the open top double decker bus from City Sightseeing Perth.

The rain almost got our plan cancelled. Kepala ni dah start fikir plan B what can we do indoors. AQWA came to mind. Though hubby thought another Aquaria idea was meh boring, I just feel the boys would love it. Last-last we decided to have early lunch dulu.

We ride on this double decker for the sight seeing round the city

The rain finally stopped during brunch. Lepas makan cepat-cepat pi Barrack Street Jetty to catch our 12.15pm bus. There are a few stops along the trip and we chose to hop off kat Kings Park. This time is the Botanic Garden. We stopped here for about an hour or so and walk to enjoy the scenic Perth view. Berjalan sampai the kids cakap penat. Baru kitaorang patah balik and catch the 3.20pm bus back to the city.

On the way to Kings Park via the Fraser Avenue entrance to the Botanic Garden

Dah sampai. Time to walk walk walk and golek golek atas rumput!

Nampak tak bapak dia golek kan dia dari bukit atas sampai ke bawah? IY loved that. Tapi lepas tu baring cakap “alamak, abang pening la mama!”

We walked up to the lookout point inhaling the view

IY gayat masa kat sini. Dia ajak pusing balik. Muka dia cuak! We stopped at the end of the walkway and patah balik.

We went back to the apartment to solat and freshen up. The boys kept reminding us the playground we promised. So after Asar, we stopped by at Northbridge to tapau the famous San Churro and went to the Lotterywest Family Area for some playground time.

As usual, by sunset we were ready to go back. Z refused to balik. Haiyoh, nangis kat parking lot to tak nak masuk kereta. Then suddenly dia nak makan roti canai. Oklah, we go to Makan2 Cafe again for some roti canai and mee rebus. Baru la mamat ni nak senyum.

Travelling with the boys are so challenging. I lost count how many times we lose our cool and patience. But at the end of the day, it’s an adventure worth a thousand of memories.

That was the end of our day 4 in Perth. Esok dah nak balik. It’s packing time. My hubby is the packing expert between the both of us. He packs everyday since the day we arrive. Dia akan make sure takde barang yang sepah sana sini. Baju nak pakai along the trip will be in the closet siap-siap susun dah. Dalam beg will be the barang yang baru beli shopping and ready to bawak balik. So by the end of the trip, kita boleh nampak beg cukup ke tidak, space banyak mana lagi tinggal, etc. And it’s not easy to convince him to buy a new luggage. And bawak extra beg kosong from KL also dia akan question macam-macam. Hoh, very the luggage police!

So that’s the last of our (full) day in Perth. Esok after checkout we will drop by Fremantle for brunch before heading to the airport.

-Pu3-

Perth 2015: Kings Park

On the way back to CBD, we stopped by at a shopping centre in the suburbs. I can’t remember the name of the place. Masa tengah drive tu we saw Woolworths and a signboard of a kebab restaurant. We stopped to check if it was halal, and yay it is! Kebabs and pizzas pleaseeee!

Lepas makan, it was still early and we decided to check out the famous Kings Park. We headed straight to one of its playground (they have a few) that is called the Synergy Parkland. They have the best parks. I love lepak-ing doing just nothing watching the boys play ball, frisbee and boomerang. Of course I took pictures of them. Wouldn’t want to waste the beautiful scenery, kan?

The park map. And this is only a portion of Kings Park. People can BBQ, kids can play and there’s a cafe to hang out. They have outdoor cinemas too here.

Boys will always be boys! Bergomoi berpeluk bergaduh!

To the playground now

Dengan mak pak join panjat sekali!

All is good now. Lepas nangis, kita gelak-gelak pulak. This has to be one of my favourite shots. Thanks Ayah!

Maghrib was approaching and it was time to go back. We had a hard time pujuk budak-budak ni balik. Sampai kena promise more playground time later.

Back to the apartment, we were supposed to dine out with Adam but sebab kepenatan, we just bought kebabs and pizza makan kat apartment je. Adam came over and makan with us. There is a halal kebab restaurant around the corner our apartment. While the kids sibuk mandi dan freshen up, I went out to buy dinner. While waiting for our order to ready, sempat jalan pi Target kejap tengok apa yang patut. Hehe!

Lepas dinner the boys were ready to sleep and Adam went home. Penat tapi we had a wonderful day. To be continued!

-Pu3-

Perth 2015: Caversham Wildlife Park

It’s day 3 and today (17 March 2015) we were all by ourselves. Adam was busy with his classes so we will only see him for dinner. Off we went to Caversham Wildlife Park.

After breakfast, we drove to Whiteman Park which is where Caversham is located. The journey took us about 30 minutes from Perth CBD. It is a big open park and most of the animals are not in small cages like the zoo.

Once we enter the Whiteman Park, we had to drive masuk ke dalam lagi to reach the Caversham Wildlife Park.

Entering the park. Kat depan ni ada banyak tahi kangaroo which I think they all buat baja kot for the grass. Z said “eh macam taik adik je ni..sama laaa!” OMG adik that’s  TMI! Aiyoo!! Haha!

Park map

The park is nicely shaded with big trees, tak terik kena matahari. Nice!

It’s an open space where the kangaroos roam freely, they kept hopping towards us for food. Mulanya me and the boys cuak gak. IY siap terjerit-jerit terkejut. Tapi lama-lama when dah warm up, he enjoyed the experience very much.

IY getting the hang of it. Suka dia when they came hopping towards him for food.

Budak ni sampai sudah takut nak hulur tangan dia. Dia dok risau kangaroo gigit katanya. Haha! Tapi tak takut pulak nak pat the kangaroo. He will just tabur the food on the ground and let them eat sendiri. This is Z proudly saying “Tengok ni! Dia makan yang adik kasi ni!”

If you know me, I’m not an animal person. I am scared and geli of animals. Not geli yuck but geli tickle. So this, ladies and gentleman, is an achievement for me! Yay! I fed the roo. Still can’t believe that I did this.*lap peluh*

He’s a natural. Relax je dia. Agaknye kalau boleh peluk cium gomoi pun dia nak kot. Hehe!

One for the album!

We were lucky to come early in the morning when the kangaroos are still hungry. When we came in the second time before we went home which was almost noon, they were not as excited to see us. Dah kenyang kot. Semua pun asyik melepak je tak peduli pun kat food. So if you are coming to Caversham, make sure you come early ya!

There was also a farm show at 10am. We were a little bit late sebab spend too much time feeding the kangaroos. So sempat watched the last part of the sheep shearing. Then they had the bottle feed lamb activity and the best part was Gee and IY did the cow milking. Me and Z tak sempat sebab the cow peed in the middle of the milking session! Bertempiaran semua lari sebab the cow kencing. Macam pipe pecah!! Although the staff did clean the floor and the milking session resumed, I dah malas nak beratur balik. We moved on to the sheep.

IY milking the cow. He said “lembut lembik  je Ma. Abang rasa geli” Z on the other hand tak percaya when we said susu dia comes from this cow.

The wool sangat soft and the one yang dah togel belakang tu kulit dia oily because it’s covered with lanolin.

We didn’t get to take a proper pictures with the koala. The koala area was crowded with people and it was time for the koalas to sleep. I could see that the animals there are all well taken care of. Nevertheless, the boys had the chance to see and pat them.

Kerja dia makan and tidur je. Time spent with visitors are only 1/2 hour a day for each koala. They rest of the time they sleep and eat. And they feed on eucalyptus leaves. I love the smell of eucalyptus!

Z loves to pat animals. dia sapu bulu koala tu and said “comel je dia ni kan?”

Mula-mula we pat like this with our palm. Then the staff advised us to pat with the back of our hands.

After the koala, we spent the rest of the park time with other animals and before we went home, we had another round of kangaroo feeding. It was lunch time and we were starving! Although the park serves halal food, we were not really into it. So we decided to head back to the city for lunch.

We were amazed to see this sign at the park near the cafe. Nevermind the grammar mistakes but wow they must have A LOT of Malay visitors to come up to this. Even Chinese sign pun takdak. But we bought ice creams and drinks je pun.

So that concludes our Caversham visit. In the next entry, it’s the King’s Park story. Stay tuned!

-Pu3-

Perth 2015: Rockingham Wild Encounters

The original plan was to go to the Caversham Wildlife Park to feed the kangaroos. We changed it to Rockingham Wild Encounters sebab Adam has never been there. Caversham dia dah pernah pegi. Since Monday is the only day he could spend the whole day with us (no class), we chose to see the penguins.

After breakfast (16 March 2015), we went to pick up Adam and head to Watertown Brand Outlet Centre (formerly known as Harbourtown). I need fitflops sebab it’s too hot and I could not walk in my sneakers all day long, especially to the beach! Jalan pusing outlet se-round and stop for lunch at Ispa Kebab. Halal food is pretty much everywhere. We didn’t have problem to find food at all!

I thought I could go crazy shopping here. But nahh…I was okay. Not much damage done! And oh yes the stroller was utilized by the 6y10m boy too! Nasib baik la tak rabak.

Errr tapi kat sini macam rambang sikit. SMIGGLES! Stationeries je pun but oh my..it brings out the highschool girl in me!

Journey to Rockingham is about 45 minutes. The traffic was clear and we wazed through the highway. Hubby enjoyed driving in Australia so much. He kept saying kereta ni sedap bawak la, jalan highway dia best la and dia jamu mata tengok Australian cars. Me on the other hand sibuk enjoying the view, the clouds, the skies and the Australian houses. The kids were okay minding their business at the backseat. Sibuk menyanyi la (penat dengar depa dok nyanyi lagu yang samaaaa je), sibuk makan la, sibuk bergaduh pun ada. IY didn’t need the booster seat while Z had to be strapped in the car seat but he’s used to it, so it was no biggie for him.

I’m thankful that the boys didn’t get sick on this trip. From our previous travelling adventures, depa ni asyik demam sokmo. This time Z had a slight runny nose but that was it. Perhaps it because of the weather yang similar to Malaysia. And time zone pun sama. Tak de masalah jetlag.

Enjoying the view. For those who loves driving (like my hubby!), road trip is the best way for you to enjoy Australia.

It was so easy to move about with Waze. Salah jalan pun takpe coz Waze will always have an alternative route.

Arrived Rockingham and we took a short 5 minutes ferry ride to the Penguin Island. We saw penguin feeding activity and jalan-jalan around the island for pictures, of course. Cantik sungguh beach dia. I just wish it wasn’t too hot at that time. Kalau tak, dah berpicnic dah kot. I originally wanted to go to Cottlesloe for some beach time tapi tak sempat lah.

You can see the Penguin Island in this picture at the far end. Dekat je. Berenang pun sampai kot. Lol!

Off the ferry and walking towards the Penguin Island entrance.

Cute little fairy penguins

The penguin feeding activity

After the feeding session, we walked around the island. This picture was taken before IY fell down that beam. We told him to walk in the middle but this budak banyak akal wanted to be the little adventurer konon. Luckily the bushes tu tak deep and he just had luka and lebam sikit kat kaki and tangan. Tak tau nak marah ke nak kesian. Dalam dok kata jangan, dia buat jugak and bila betul jadi, haishh!

Sekejap je dia insaf. We took a breather at the picnic spot under the big trees and the boys started chasing the birds. Kesian burung-burung itu bertempiaran!

It was 3pm when we took the ferry back to the mainland. We stopped by at the Rockingham Shopping Centre for solat. I saw Target and oh boy, I am one happy momma!

Went crazy inside Target here. Reminds me a lot of Primark in UK which I loveee!!

We went back to the apartment to freshen up and after Maghrib we went for dinner before sending Adam back. Dinner was at Makan2 Cafe in Victoria Park. They serve Malaysian food. The owner is a friend of mine I got to know from the Instagram, a Malaysian couple who now resides in Perth. Good food. The boys had roti canai and we had mee rebus and nasi goreng.

Lepas hantar Adam, we were done for the day. And that was only 8pm. Haha! Awal gila by Malaysian standard. But not in Perth!

Next — A day with the roos!

-Pu3-

Perth 2015: The Arrival

Just got back yesterday. Took an extra day off work today to recover from what I call a holiday hangover. You know, that tired and malas feeling of unpacking and laundry and sorting out stuff. That’s a hangover to me. Hubby has resumed work today and while I’m waiting for the laundry and the kids are playing, I better jot down our travelogue before I lupa. While it’s still fresh!

We took the morning MAS flight and after 5 1/2 hours, we arrived Perth at 3pm on a Sunday (15 March 2015). In Perth, we rented a car for us to move about since our itinerary required us to travel out of the city centre. When in town, we just hopped on the free buses that were available. We searched for the rental car deals from VroomVroomVroom and Thrifty had the best offer. The counters of the rental car companies are in the Arrival hall itself and the parking lot for car collection pun kat sebelah je, so it was convenient la for us. Not that we have a lot of luggage (hubby is a light packer) but yeah with kids in tow, memang our hands were full.

Weather was bright and sunny of 28°C. Panas terik macam Malaysia but the cool breezy wind made it bearable for us. Tidak berpeluh tidak berlengas. Yay!

Clear blue Australian skies. I love the view very much!

Our ride in Perth. Got upgraded from the original booking. Hubby loved this car!

We drove straight to our hotel to check-in. We stayed at Adina Apartment Hotel in Barrack Plaza. Booked a one-bedroom apartment via Agoda. I utilized my Agoda points for this apartment so no need to pay full price this time. The perks for being loyal. Yay!

Our one bedroom apartment complete with kitchen, washing machine and a dining area. Washing machine and the dryer was the winning factor. Hubby was happy because boleh bawak baju sikit je tak yah beg berat. The room is with a king bed which was my no 1 criteria when choosing a hotel sebab the kids co-sleep with us; we need all the space we can get!

After settling down, my brother Adam who is studying in UWA Perth came to the apartment and brought us to dinner. Maghrib time was 6.30pm so by 7pm dah gelap malam dah. We had dinner at supposedly Oleh-Oleh Cafe which is a halal Malaysian cuisine cafe. Tapi rupanya dah tukar management kot sebab the name is now different. It’s called Nyonya something (I lupa nama kedai). The kids had satay and we had nasi gorengs. The food was so-so. Nothing to shout about lah. Went to the local mini mart just around the corner to get our breakfast supplies.

We sent Adam back to his college after dinner. He showed us around his uni area and pusing-pusing town centre. I was amazed how the town is already shut off by 8-9 at night. Jalan raya and housing area pun gelap gelita. Gee usik the kids saying that zombies are coming out to play anytime soon. Tapi ada je ada kedai yang bukak up to 11pm. Mostly Asian restaurants lah. We called it a night early that night. Exhausted, of course!

The apartment has an indoor basement parking space for guests at $25 per night. I emailed the hotel prior to our arrival to book but unfortunately there are only 2 nights availability. Lagi 2 malam tu we had to park at the Wilson Parking which is located at the next building. That one mahal sikit la coz is goes by hour. But all in all, we were happy with the service.

 We had a fire scare that night. At about 11-ish, an announcement came from the PA system that the alarm went off and there is a possible emergency. We were told to remain calm and wait for further instructions if evacuation was necessary. Ya Allah, dengan pyjamas nye, dengan anak-anak dah tido nye, dengan mamai penatnya…uwaaa panic tau! I quickly pakai my tudung and grab our wallets and passports and waited. We went out the balcony to see 2 fire engines arrived at the lobby and heard the alarm (we didn’t hear the alarm at first when in the room). I recited Rabbi Yassir Walatua’ssir Rabbi Tamim Bil Khair. Ya Allah please make everything easy for us.

After 1/2 hour, another announcement came in and they confirmed that the nature of the alarm was not an emergency. Phew! Lega. Boleh tidur balik dengan aman. I jokingly said to hubby, ada orang masak apa la agaknye tu sampai smoke detector bunyi kot!

Okay, done with day 1. Will sambung lagi later! Hopefully before I go to work this Monday. I figured if I tangguh this entry tak siap this weekend, it will never be completed until our next trip ke next destination! Lol!

Toodles!

-Pu3-

Hey March!

Hi people!

March is here and I have been waiting for March since 2014. We will be visiting my brother in Perth so yes, excited we are. Or you can say, excited I AM to finally be travelling again.

2014 was a hiatus year for us. We decided to put our travel plans on hold because of the unfortunate incidents that happened throughout the year. Hubby was the anxious one actually. Saying NO to every destination that required us to fly. This year he said okay (with a tight face) when I say let’s start with a short journey. 5 hours is not too bad I supposed. Kalau ku suggest London, confirm reject dengan veto!

It’s gonna be a quick getaway for the four of us. Nevertheless, we sure hope to enjoy every second of it.

Will be writing the travelogue when we get back! Until then, enjoy my IG pictures for live updates.

Doakan kami selamat pergi dan pulang. Amin.

-Pu3-

Done with potty training Z

Yes you heard me right. We finally made it! Success PT at 3 years 8 months old.

We started potty training Z seriously masa dia bersunat on 3 November 2014. At first he refused the briefs and preferred the pull-up diapers. The diaper stayed dry the whole day and he knows when it is time to go to the toilet. Ada la sekali dua terbabas jugak atas sofa (eeekk!) and atas lantai. Mostly sebab dia tengah ralit main or watching tv/ipad.

Then after 4 months of training, he managed to go diaper free and wearing briefs. Day and night! Weehoo! Ayah dia gumbira sebab tak payah beli diapers dah. Hehe!!

While training we had a few challenges like during car rides we had to stop at petrol stations or city R&R. Cuba bayangkan my anxious-ness when he said “nak kencingggg, nak berakkkk” when we are in a traffic jam? Whoaa! Mencabar sungguh!

But my ultimate challenge was of course the night time training. I had to be discipline enough to ensure he doesn’t go to bed without going to the toilet first. If he terlena somewhere else, like on the couch, in the car, I had to take him to the loo and force him to pee while sleeping. Alahai kesian gile masa ni. Tersengguk-sengguk pejam mata sambil kencing. And if he can’t go, he would cry asking me to carry him to his bed. “Tak jadi mama, kencing tak jadi datang.” Hahaha!

And I also had to set my alarm at 2am and 4am every night to wake up and take him to the loo. Angkat dia and put him on the toilet seat making sure he doesn’t fall. But yes, accidents still happened though. After all of the above!! Ada gak time mama dia terlelap, maka basahlah tilam. Lucky he’s still sleeping in his babycot (converted to toddler bed). So tak banyak la kerja sangat. Cuba bayangkan kalau tilam queen size mama ayah itu! Hoh! Sakit jiwa nak cuci.

Finally, after a few weeks of dry mattres and dry pants, I am convinced that he’s is fully in control of his bladder. I no longer need to wake up in the middle of the night to take him to pee. He is also able to hold it in if we are in a traffic jam or somewhere yang tak ada toilet. “Takpe mama, adik tunggu kejap balik rumah”.

Awww, my big boy. Thanks for catching up real quick. Mommy can sleep well now at night. I need my so-called beauty sleep back!

Z at 3y8m

-Pu3-