When was the last time?

I miss our random date nights. :(

Rezeki milik Allah

Woke up this morning with a thought that has been lingering on my mind since last night.... (or maybe the last few nights but I haven't gotten the chance to pen it down).

Both of us have been rather tight with our finances these days but Alhamdulillah, we tried to manage it in a way possible for us to live through the days.

There are days we find ourselves not being able to eat outside and then we remembered my mum gave us some paste she bought so that cooking is made relatively easier for me. And then I also had my lovely friends who gifted us with AMGD passes, which helped us too.

It's tough, I have to admit. especially when money is a critical tool in this time of age.

At times, my clients delayyyy their payment, but we still have to deliver it to them (because majlis orang.......), and trust that they will pay.......someday. It's difficult to have that trust, because some may "forget" about paying..... and we are here left waiting. (How can one forget paying something that is owed to others eh? Sigh). Have to learn how to manage this one. It's not easy having to send messages to someone for something that THEY owe you. It's very naggy, but someone gotta do it. Orang kata "dah macam kerja tailong". 

But having said that, our rezeki (or sustenance) didn't come to us as a form of money, for now, but at least it comes in other forms:

- Family

- Rezeki anak

- Rezeki ada rumah untuk tinggal

- Rezeki makanan (no matter how financially tight we are, Allah cukupkan with food on the table for us. This, I find amazing. Alhamdulillah Syukur).

- Rezeki kawan, walaupun I don't have many of them, but the count of them are really amazing friends

I guess I have also come to realise that it is hikmah too that I wasn't given a job because the initial plan was to have our MIL to take care of our son, while I go to work. But Allah is The Best of Planners. Indeed there was a reason that He doesn't allow me to go to work; MIL was diagnosed with cancer and of course, who else would be the better person to look after my son other than myself?

It is not at all that bad. Yes, being an SAHM is tough. There are days you get mad, slightly depressed and all, hahahha... but at least you get to witness the every milestone of your child. 

It's amazing, Masya'Allah. 

Indeed, rezeki itu milikNya Allah. We just gotta have faith and husnudzonbillah (sangka baik dengan Allah) and everything will eventually make sense and fall into place. ♥

A night like this ♥️

My husband is on night shift and as usual, it's me and Adriaan at home (with the little one wriggling inside the tums). 

As I am typing this, Adriaan is already sound asleep on my tummy, hugging the bulge (his adik hehe). I wish I can freeze the moment in stills and have it printed but the room is dark and my phone camera does not take good night shots. #bummer

When he was awake, his head was on my tummy, playing with my fingers quietly. 

It feels so surreal to be spending time with him alone, all quiet, in our own moment. 

Mummy wish to cherish this memory forever close to my heart. 

I love you, my son - Adriaan Shariq. ♥️

*kisses his forehead

Necessary buys for our home

Since we have confirmed on engaging Steven by J.S. F-u-rnitures as our Contractor, we started buying the necessary items for our home.

We jotted down the items to be bought required solely for the renovation and what can be bought much later after renovation is completed. We needed to segregate our spending by stages, because kita taklah kaya mana kan.

Items needed for renovation:
- Bidet Spray
- Ceiling fan with light
- Cooker hob
- Cooker hood
- Faucet/Mixer
- Kitchen faucet
- Kitchen sink
- Instant heater
- Lighting
- Sanitary fittings
- Wash Basin

Approximate spending: $4.1k

Items that can be bought/installed after renovation:
- Airconditioner
- Boltless Rack
- Grille + Window for the Service Yard

Approximate spending: $4k

So, you see. It totals up to about $8.1k. Where to get that sum of money eh? Dengan renovation cost lagi. 

But not all hopes are lost. Haha. We made a trip down to the stretch of shop houses at Jalan Besar Road to take a look. Our agenda for that particular day was more to surveying the prices for lighting. Shops after shops we went in. Until 1 particular shop where we realise that it has almost everything we needed. Lol.

We ended up buying everything we stated above in that shop except for the ceiling fan with light because we already bought those from a different shop at Sembawang last year before we even receive the keys to our home (nasib baik dapat rumah. kalau tak, terpaksa forego deposit kipas tu lol).

From a $4.1k budget we had, we spent about $2.5k in total. Just nice of what we have actually. Hahahha. The shop owner was very nice to give us some discounts on the items as we bought quite a bulk from them. Anyway, we didn't even have $4.1k to start with. Kesian eh. Lol.

Although there are much more beautiful design/function I wish we could have bought - because gatal nak "rumah idaman" - but I'll make do with what we have, even if the designs are not what I have in mind lol. Asalkan function sudah.

Maybe next time lah eh when we have more rezeki or when the current items have eventually passed their "old age" due to wear and tear. Haha.

To get the renovation process started, hehe, I'll let you in with a peek of our computerized drawings by Steven.

KITCHEN AREA:

ENTRANCE OF KITCHEN/DINING AREA:

AN OVERALL VIEW: 

Taklah selawa ID punya with rendering of the visuals and the likes haha, but jadilah eh. And yes, we decided to hack the kitchen entrance and make the kitchen entrance bigger instead of having it a closed kitchen because we liked it to look more spacious. The kitchen by itself is really small - I feel a tad claustrophobic when I walk in it! #ngadengade Sure, the smell of food cooking will travel, but I'll usually balas with nice scented boiled lemon and cinnamon after cooking is done. So I hope that will help with that problem? Heh. 

Alright, more updates to come :)

Welcoming July

Time flies and we are already at the second half of 2017! Say whatttt!

Ended my first Ramadhan with being able to fast for a full 30 days (Alhamdulillah), but not doing so much this year as compared to my previous years. :( I don't know if caring for a baby plus carrying one in me is a valid "reason", but hais, I am sure I could do better.

Nonetheless, Ramadhan this year is already over and I could only do'a that I'll be able to meet the next Ramadhan... Aamiin.

Few quick updates!

RENOVATION:
We are almost halfway through our renovation progress.
- Hacking of our kitchen was done on the first few days of renovation
- Then we had to choose our toilet floor tiles again because the one Steven showed us from Hafary is out of stock
- Doors installed, and painted
- Delivery of the items we bought (Note: Gonna blog about our buying process, insya'Allah!)
- Toilet floor tiles have been overlaid once we confirmed our new tiles
- Our kitchen entrance have been touched up after the hacking
- Installation of our instant heaters has been done

Upcoming week:
- Installation of our kitchen cabinet

To do:
Pass the second payment to Steven

PREGNANCY:
We are at our 17 weeks 4 days today. Alhamdulillah.

The first very very mild movement/shifting I felt was exactly on the 17th week, around the same time as when I first felt Adriaan's movement. But Adriaan's one was more prominent in a sense I could actually see the bulge forming. This time, I could only feel the subtle movements internally.

The next appointment will be on the 19th July where you'll turn 20 weeks insya'Allah. We will also get to know your gender.

Your Ayah and Nyai is guessing girl whereas I still have no clue. I kindaaaa have a feeling it's a boy though from the shape of my tummy. But Ayah said it looks different this time round. Don't cheat my feelings leh. Hahaha. Show your true shape please!

Well, we will see lah eh. Like I once told Ayah, it doesn't quite matter girl or boy this time. All I know is if we plan to have a third one insya'Allah, to be much more careful in the family planning department (not because I don't believe in rezeki and qadar Allah), but I need the time to recuperate especially since my recent Prolapse episode.

To-do: More kegels!

ADRIAAN:
Few updates pertaining to this son of mine haha.

- He is no longer "butt-heavy" and "lazy" to use his leg muscles to stand. He has shown keen interest to start walking. Good progress but no rush though! I would prefer him to take his own sweet time and crawl longer.
- He has his sleep regression episodes. *cries* It comes and goes. There are weeks where he'll sleep through the night so SO peacefully. But there are nights where he'll be jolted awake either by his own version of nightmare or just wanna play and not sleep. Pfft.
- I've started giving him 2 meals per day, one in the afternoon for lunch and one in the evening at 6pm. There'll be 2 different purée flavours for his meals. He'll be turning 1 years old about 4 months' time and I need to get him used to more food. Time is running out and I've yet to explore more food options for him. He's still "stuck" at some 4-6 months' old food range. :/ I've yet to start him on Baby-led weaning (BLW) because 1, we don't have a high chair for him to sit on it quietly and explore. 2, my husband HATES mess, in CAPS, Bold, Italics, Underline kinda seriousness of hatred. Hahaha. But I hope to explore when his Ayah is not around, with fruits that are more soft like bananas (can you try bananas again, Adriaan?), Avocados or dragon fruit? Insya'Allah.

To-do: Buy more fruit and vegetables, and maybe try starting him on fish and meat?

Alright, that's it for the updates this time round.
Note: This is just a skeleton of a proper update espesh on my renovation progress. Will do a more proper one with visuals. Hehe!