Don 2, Chocolate and The Gift

This post was actually meant to be a movie review for Don 2, but it was a rare opportunity for movie, shopping and dinner date for us parents of 2, hence the title. So we had the kids safely tucked away with their grandparents, while we had once in a lifetime experience spending quality time (and watching SRK movie).

It is the double bonus season for SRK fans, after Ra.One, Don 2 comes hitting the screens worldwide with huge expectations. And whats more, this film boosts of the sleek director Farhan Akhtar's venture after his successful acting stints. Don 2 is the sequel of the remake Don from the early 80s. After the success of Don, Farhan Akhtar left no stones unturned in coming out with the sequel that is huge in every way.

After conquering the Asian underworld, Don 2 is back to take over the European scene. This time he does it by planning a crime such that he foils his enemies, gets money printing plates and leaves no evidence behind. The story is very fast and gripping, and somewhere in the middle it starts to falter and drag a little, only to come back with a bang later! Little details and sub plots suddenly fall into place and you won't realise what hit you. The screenplay is perfect and Don-Roma's love hate relationship is used well in this movie. The audience (and Roma) is still left wondering what Don really feels. And the ending very much suggests another sequel. As long as Badshah Khan is in business, I bet there is going to be a huge franchise of Don sequels in the future. He did an awesome job as the self-absorbed criminal.

I am about to blow an extra candle on my birthday cake, so we were also busy shopping for my gift in between the movie. Yes you read it right, before and after the movie. It was one of the moment that you have bought the movie tickets, and while walking around you suddenly like something, and you don't have adequate time to purchase it without missing the movie. Thank goodness we made it for both. As for the gift, I ain't revealing it here, lets just say I added another bling to my possession. Although my dear half was more into getting me a gadget, I turned out to be a typical woman who swoons over the blings. Lets get the i-anything for our next celebration.

In all happiness we went on for our planned dinner at Bubba Gump. Movie and shopping made us so very hungry. We ordered a huge appetizer, two main courses and a desert. We ate like 2 hungry horses and sped up to our most favourite part of it, The Chocolate Thing. The experience is definitely one of a kind, at the risk of sounding like junkies, we can suddenly feel a rush of happy hormones into our already happy system. How happy can one get? Definitely not happier than The Chocolate Thing!

Here is hubby waiting for the shot to end, before the gobbles up the desert.

The Many Faces of Sanju Part 2

Here's the second part of the Sanju series. Disclaimer: Pictures are in no particular order of event or preference, and captions are my wittiest best, not necessarily relevant.

Do not adjust your computer screen, the boy does circus acts

This side table of 25 years is now turned upside down to serve as a push car

Chocolate monster

I support ahimsa - Mahatma Kanth-i

I'm tribal boy, in a tribal world

This is my seductive pout to get the models

Enough of the camera flash already!

Getting bald rocks with so much of green notes!

Baby Jeev stole is exact same look/face of mine

Can we get a dress for me, pretty please!

Sanju Revisits Babyhood

With the presence of Baby Jeev, it is a revisit to babyhood for Sanju as he tries to replicate, copy or even demand similar attention as his baby brother. Here's listing a few:

• Whenever I rub yu yee oil for Jeev, Sanju comes over and lifts his tshirt, to get some yu yee in his own tummy. I don't blame him, it smells refreshing
  
• Sanju asks to be put into (his former) Baby Jeev's cot, and lies down for pretend sleep. After a few minutes he will start moving (and destroying) every single thing inside. The highlight of this whole experience is when we put the mosquito net around the cot
  
• After his shower, Sanju likes to be swaddled with his towel, and then wiped dry. He sometimes also cries out like a newborn. I had actually started practicing swaddling him after bath when I got to know I was expecting another baby, just a small step to prepare and hopefully familiarise him with the coming events
• Occasionally Sanju would take over the bouncer, and watch tv or drinking whilst rocking away
• When I took Sanju's old play gym out, he did not give any chance for the baby in it, because he hogged all the space in it before lifting it away to another play corner
• Sanju has observed Baby Jeev wailing and crying his lungs out, hence whenever he wants to throw a tantrum, he uses the same style of wailing to get his way
• Sanju tries to 'use' Baby Jeev's bottle and pacifier if he spots them in the drawer
  
• When we bring the stroller out, Sanju ends up playing in it, instead of Baby Jeev
• Baby Jeev inherited Sanju's bangles, but each time Sanju sees them on baby, he will try to take it out and wear on his own hands. Too bad they don't fit anymore
  

Other than that, Sanju behaves like a responsible elder brother at all times, taking care of Baby Jeev very well. He also is a good listener (like his dad) whenever I have anything to complain abt the fussy little baby. He likes to kiss baby, and loves lying down beside him any chance he gets. And at other times he is responsibly naughty and is capable of making me insane. That is part and parcel of being a parent, so I suppose Sanju is doing a great job at it.

The Many Faces of Sanju Part 1

Inspired from a fellow blogger Mabel, I decided to dedicate a few series of blogs with pictures for my first born, Sanju.

Sanju will be turning 2 years old soon, and I can't imagine how fast time has passed. There are so many photo memories of his growing up years, and it is amazing how much Jeev resembles him in most of them. Jeev, however, does not have that many photos taken. I suppose that is the advantage of being the eldest, Sanju's every step was recorded by every family member, like papparazis.

Here are photos of Sanju in some of his best and funniest moments.

World Cup 2010 Fever mode!

Cocooned in mommies tshirt, he looks like a refugee

Tipah tertipu, bang!

Sanju sitting on his throne, every morning

I'm sexy and I know it

He learnt mocking me this way each time I scolded him, incidently it was on our 2nd wedding anniversary


Watching tv the adult way

Playing sick at the Pantai Klang children's ward

Another AIO Love: Grovia AIO

I stumbled across the new Grovia AIO diapers for sale on the FSOT by chance. Still in confinement then, I was itching to click 'Buy', and getting new diapers for my then newborn was just the right thing to do, as he was outgrowing the petite and cute newborn dipes. Whats more, the AIO diapers are in cute pretty prints!

Previously I had tried the Grobaby (older version) AI2 for Sanju but I did not find love in it because the soakers would scrunch up once soaked. It did not look right, and would also leak due to that. But still I wanted to give Grovia AIO a try because I wanted to get something different from the current stash of pocket diapers, hoping for something more convenient.

The cutting of Grovia AIO is on the smaller side, hence it fit my baby well from early stages. The trim and snugg cutting looks very nice on baby. It comes with a snap on booster, which I only started using recently to reduce the bulk. Another feature that I like is the fact that its a side snapping diaper.

The inner body and soakers are organic cotton and very soft to the touch. I can only imagine how gentle it would feel to the precious bums. And most importantly it does not scrunch up. Washing and drying the AIO is a tad faster than bottombumpers, maybe it is due to the organic cotton soakers.

For AIO lovers, or if you wish to try an AIO diaper, Grovia is definitely a great choice, apart from Bottombumpers. Now I am itching to stock up on these diapers, if you know of a good deal in town, do let me know!

Superhuman Me

I don't watch superhero movies because they seem ridiculous to me (except Endhiran and Ra.One). I never thought superhuman was ever real, until I became a mother, of two. Pardon the not-so-humble post, but the content on this blog entry is totally my very personal views and opinions, and you have the very right to think otherwise, if you dare to.

When I was a full time working mother of one, Sanju, I believed I was definitely a human of a higher ranking given the amount of multitasking I did. From household chores and work to my baby care from scratch. I stayed home for the first 4 months to do everything for him on my own and witness every single milestones.

And even after going back to work, I researched, planned and prepared all his solids by myself, ensuring no stones left unturned. That is just one of the small (more humility) things I did, and I rightfully felt pretty super myself.

Fast forward to the arrival of my second baby, 19 months after Sanju, I was in serious doubt if I could cope. Gone were the ambitions of working full time. Hubby and I decided there is no day care or babysitter that can take the combination of kids, only the mother can provide the proper care (and juggle) for the 2 of them, hence we decided that I will be a stay at home mother.

After confinement period at both our families place, I put myself to the challenge. Never realised there was such a potential in me. I am now officially a superhuman with super abilities of handling 2 kids of 19months gap by myself.

I handle the household chores, while ensuring both are fed, burped (not Sanju), changed, you get the idea. This involves a lot of running around, tripping, forgetting, misplacing, and some tantrums in between, of myself or even Sanju. At all other times, it is Jeev's frequent crying that keeps the ambience lively.

I get to cook if both of them nap at the same time. Ocassionally I do my nails. I also try to pluck my eyebrows and upper lip facial hairs, but there is a huge risk if either of them wake up in between, because I will end up with only one side done. And if either one is asleep, I try my best to make sure the other does not get in an activity that might wake the sibling up. Some sanity is all I ask for. And some sanity is all I get, sometimes.

While Peter Parker says 'With great power comes great responsibility', I say 'Great responsibilities unleash the great powers within us'. I'm amazed at myself, for the superpowers and the super-quote, no offence Spiderman!

Speaking of superheroes, here is Sanju, eating his favourite chicken rice, and refusing to wear his bib, so daddy put it on like a cape for him.


How are the kids doing? Well, growing up well, still finding the harmonious balance while spreading superpowers to their mom.


Here's wishing more superpowers to enable me to update my much neglected blog more often. Perhaps I need to make the kids nap longer. Till then, superpower dust to you all!