field trip to bee farm

yesterday my kids's school had a field trip to a bee farm in cibubur and invited the parents to join. we rode on the bus by 9 am in the morning and arrived at about 9.45 am. in the farm the children had some activities such as exploring bee hive, exploring honey making, honey tasting, spreading honey on bread, and doing the bee dancing. mikal and mizan were excited and happy to do so!!

on the bus, off to the bee farm!!

mizan loved honey water..he drank it to the last sip!!

bee hive!!

some of the mommies from mikal's room

the smell of mama

when i left my job and  being a full time mama for my kids, nap time was always my favourite time of the day. when my children were taking a nap, i could have my free time to do all the households, just sitting and do nothing, watching my favourite serial movie, or even stealing a nap with the boys.

what had in my thoughts was that i noticed  when i had a nap with them or just stayed close to them, they could sleep peacefully  for hours. then i realize that it was my smell that made them so.

i remember it also happened to me not only when i was younger, but also now when i am being a mother myself. as a kid and teenager, i loved to be in my mom's room. it was the coziest place in the world. i knew it was the smell of my mom that kept me stay in. now, as a mom, i still love to be near her. i love her scent. it is peaceful and it always makes me feel safe.

Baby's sense of smell starts long before they were born.  when babies are in the womb, their senses start to develop. when they arrive in the world, most of their senses fairly well developed. they cannot see well yet, but  the smelling, hearing, and tasting are how they get to know their mom and begin to form a strong parent-child bond. babies start to smell early, and believe me, it's the scent of mama that they love the most. even when i skipped shower, my babies still loved to hug me!!

the next projects

mizan is now 2 years and 5 months. i've been thinking to stop nursing him since he was 2 years old. however mother-led weaning was a difficult process for both mizan and me so i just stopped trying. now he's getting older and i think i need to seriously do this thing no matter how the process will run.

another thing i want to do with him is potty-training. i started potty-train mikal early and it was a stressful and full-of-tears process for both of us. therefore i dont want to be in rush to potty-train mizan. but also, he is almost 2 and a half years now and i think i need to do this soon.

which one should i do first? mother-led-weaning or potty-training?

a very short holiday in Bali

We're just back from a short break in Bali!! The kids's school was off for termly break/holiday so we decided to go to Bali last weekend. Here I share some photos from our holiday.

just arrived - at the hotel lobby

kids club

Mikal and friends were getting ready for cooking class

he took his cooking class very seriously!!

done!!

while waiting for the bread baked in oven..

dinner at the beachwalk

pool.beach.kids club.repeat.

Pura Tirta Empul Tampak Siring Bali

Selfie with the holy spring water as the background

the best crispy fried duck

I spied a pirate ship kite

hiding in the shades when they should get more vitamin D

some thoughts about the organics

a couple months ago we bumped into two students from harvard business school who carried out a research about marketing in some of south east asia countries. we met them when we were about to spend our saturday in klcc mall. the students asked us some questions about children diaper rash products. they asked about the brand, how did we get to know the product, did i do the research about it, did it work well, etc. one of the questions they asked was whether the product i used organic or not. at the moment, i was too shy to answer. i needed a couple of minutes first until i answer, "no, it's not organic."

in the ride back home, i started thinking, why did i feel so bad to answer that i did not provide the organic products for my kids? was it a must? then i started to trace back my experience with organic stuffs since i became a mom.

as i remember, as a new mom for mikal, i tried my best to provide him organic foods. i tried to give him all the best i could get for him since his first food. i still remember how i always looked for time to find some organics fruit, vegetables,and even snacks for him. whether in break hours or after office hours i always searched and tried a new local supermarket that sells organic foods.

although i was not so familiar with the concept of organic clothes or toys back at that time, i also provided my baby with the best stuff i could afford. for examples, the clothes with softest fabrics and toys with non-toxic materials.

now, with two children, getting all the organic products for their needs seems too pricy for me. even our financial condition is getting better, i think organic products are just not worth. it of course makes me feel bad sometimes.  for some stuff, the more expensive it is the better the quality. i do believe that and i do support the organics. however, to me, giving the best for the children is not only about giving the organics. it's more about the time and the attention i give to them. it's about dedicating my life to do the best i can as they grow. it's a study of a life time. interestingly, i found a good article that support my view about this. this article says that food (in this case vegetables or fruits) those are grown by conventional way is perfectly safe to consume by the children. moreover they are full of nutrition and very healthy. these kinds of fruits are also way more healthy than snack bars from the supermarket. so, don't worry to give your children fruits or vegetables from conventional farm because of the pesticides or whatsoever and otherwise providing them with the snacks you get from the supermarket. fruits and vegetables are still the best for human body, whether it grows in conventional or organic way.

as the healthy lifestyle is getting more popular now i see those advertisements about clothes and soft toys with 100 % organic cotton, organic baby toiletries, and so on. what came first in my mind when i saw them was, "okay, i can't afford this. even if i could, i won't force myself to provide my children with this whole thing." the thing is we have two children and i think it is much better to invest some money for the future. let say for their education, the health insurance, or investing the properties for their future. some says providing the organics means large investment for your kids future, yet to me it is just not my thing. if i give my children the organics, it is just because i believe that it is worth it. it is not to follow any lifestyle or because i do not want to be judged as a bad mom from the others. 

bits from our weekend

last weekend we went to our hometown medan to attend a cousin's wedding. mikal and mizan were very happy to see our big family, both from my husband's side and my side. especially for mikal, the time spent in medan was always amazing. he loves to play and laugh  together with his cousins. i took some photos from our weekend and glad to share them in this post.

with cousins!! (from left to right: ica, sisy, mikal,aisyah)

it's always hard to take family picture, but we did it finally!!

this always happens when i try to have the children pose

yeayyy!!

and there they started to escape

giggling!!

oma and opa wanted to pose too

look how my baby pose!!

finally, me and hubby

My five years old baby

my dear  mikal, 5 years ago you came to this world and my life has changed forever. i still remember the night i went into laboring and it will still be here in my mind forever. you teach me to to be a mother. you teach me how to be kind and speak tenderly. you rock my world.

when i see you sleep i see how tall you are,and i remember by the day you are a very loving and caring person. you love your little brother, always try to protect him, though often you have a fight with him over something. sometimes you push him when he tried to take the toy you play with but sometimes you just give up anythig you hold for him.

you love transformers and hotwheels. if you can make it your way you want to buy toys everyday. but mama always tells you that you already have a bunch of toys. you love fruits, ice cream, and noodles. you love to play at the beach and park. you love reading books. your favorite book is the jolly pirate. you love blue. you love paw patrol. you love angry birds.

one night, out of the blue you just told me the story of ghost and vampire. i didn't know where you got those from, but it just made me realize how big you are now.

this year we don't have a chance to celebrate your birthday with family. however mama did her best effort to make a small celebration in your classroom at school during snack time. you got lots of presents from your friends!!

five years old is delicious i wish i could keep you forever in this age. but more than anyting, i always pray for all best things for you.wish you become a smart and responsible human being. wishing you healthy, wealthy, and happiness for your life. i love you, my little hippo. i love you i love you i love you. you may be five now, but you are forever my baby.

birthday celebration with pirate theme at school