Decluttered

assalamualaikum and hi!

its almost May guys! it sure feels like a few weeks ago that i wished you happy new year. oh i couldn't keep my promise to write as often as it is basically drought season in my head. crickets are singing. life is awesome alhamdulillah. hope yours are too. i have been decluttering couple of weeks ago. and i should probably tell you about it here. it was one of my new year's resolution, to practice minimalism. and life is great as it is, i got the chance to declutter and i can happily say that we are 90% living on the minimal, the essentials.

the drive was from my resolution as i said, and also because we were planning for a move around March and April. we found a place in Sri Gombak, a 2 storey terrace which is super nice and cheap for its standard but unfortunately we still feels like we should stay in Shah Alam (boleh ke gitu? lol) my husband is still doing his masters and his job requires him to be in Shah Alam, the main reason why we imagine it would be such a hassle to move now. so we let the house go. mentally i was ready to pack so i did a little spring cleaning. that turned out to be an actual spring clean.

it didn't take a day to finish all the cleaning, i spent almost 3 days selecting what we needed and what needed to be thrown away. first i did was selecting the kids small clothes (which i already did early this year because i was pregnant and i thought some of their newborn clothes could still be good for baby number 3). i selected a few that i thought was okay and i put them online to sell in Shopee for like RM10-RM30 each, not much. the rest went back into the bag, im thinking about donating them, probably gonna drop off at Tesco (they have this big boxes where you can put in clothes you want to donate). and oh, i choose to donate because we're not going to have another baby in the near time i guess, that's the plan hehe.

our clothes. that should be tough selecting your favourite clothes, tudung and all right? but i was brutal, the ones that i cant fit anymore, i just put them aside and they went in a big plastic bag that later went into a big box. my small jubah, the ones with tears, the ones with fabric that stretch way too much, out of season prints, all. i closed one eye and let them go. i just keep my neutral styled jubah, jeans, shirts, and my everyday t shirts that are loose and comfy. any materials that do not absorb sweats, i can no longer tolerate lol. as for my husband's clothes, i let him decide which he wanted to wear and which he thought should go. he kept most of his shirts. only a few shirts, work wears that went into the box, mostly because they are too small for his body now huhu. our clothes will be donated too. the plan is for us to carefully buy our clothes in the future, if it comes to a point that we hate the clothes we're wearing or they are no longer in good condition, then we can donate /throw them and then buy a new one. (just us two, the kids will always have new clothes because they are growing everyday).

decluttering is not just about cleaning your wardrobe, we also got rid of a lot of other stuff too. i threw away the kids' play mats, our mats slash carpets, some of the kids' torn books, some of the kids' toys and a lot of teeny tiny things that we collected like a broken piece of something we thought we might need someday but someday never arrives, those kind of things. as for the kitchen, we dont have much clutter there, if there's one thing we have a little too much is the plastic containers slash Tupperwares but im keeping them because i think we need that. we also threw away a couple broken kitchen appliances (coffee maker and water heater) and i used them all the time before but i dont really miss them now, weird huh. the 10% that we couldn't get rid yet are our sofa set and the TV cabinet. since we're aiming for minimalism, we like the idea of no seating furniture at our living room because we dont really have much guests all year round and also because of the kids. the idea i have now for the living room is we will throw out the sofas and probably get 2 XXL bean bags. or maybe a sofa that we can convert into a bed. and as for the TV cabinet, we're throwing it out because of the simple fact that i hate it lol but that one for sure we will buy a replacement because the wall is made of concrete and my husband is not a fan of drilling into the walls.

minimalism for us is not solely the black and white theme house or a nice Instagram pictures of our house. minimalism for us is possessing what we actually need and utilising what we have in our daily lives. and honest to God, i have never felt more full and content. i never knew throwing away stuff feels this good haha. i may still feel disturbed by the sight of the sofas and TV cabinet but i know they are going away and that is good enough. the only reason we still have that sofa is because my brother is busy and i cant let my husband carry them out himself kesian lah haha. we dont really plan on anything extravagant or fancy and that is somehow calming. it is the most relieving feeling i have ever felt. but hey, decluttering doesnt mean that you ignore all the deco right? you can have the simplest home, the most basic furniture and you can still make it pinterest worthy. 

also i read on pinterest that it is not only that we need to declutter our living space and wardrobes, we also need to declutter our social media, who we're interacting and being friends with. and i dont think i have problem with that because my circle is really small huhu.

ahh i guess that is all. my opinion if you want to declutter you should just do it. although, if you hesitate to throw away some things that probably have sentimental values, you should wait and reevaluate your decision, you dont want to regret about it the next days, years. but if its rubbish for sure, like a terrible piece of something you put on the wall, if its still in a good condition, maybe you can sell it, give it to someone you know who will like it or donate. if it looks old and dirty, just throw them away. and sometimes that feeling to cling onto the memory of the stuff, is not all good but you can reevaluate. but i tell you, detaching your feeling from the physical things in your home is freeing. burn if you can lol (that's what my mom does with our stuff).

remember, they are just things. and im not being all religious here but aint Islam is all about modesty and simplicity? :)

ps: how and why we declutter is based on our lifestyle. we dont really have a lot of visitors and our house is the kids playground. if you always have company, meaning you need sofa or at least a super comfy carpet. what im saying is, if you're interested in minimalism and you want to declutter, you can adjust the physical things in your life to your lifestyle, what and however it is.

love,

ansari

Henlo

Assalamualaikum and hi!

Life is pretty much the same. Only the day before yesterday, i applied for jobs. Yes you read that right. I fixed a few things about my resume and put the best pitch in my applications. Yesterday i got 2 feedbacks asking when i can attend interview with them. Of which i didnt respond at all. Fyi they're just some mediocre jobs around shah alam.

Thing is when i applied for the jobs, i wasnt thinking straight. All i focused on was fixing the damn resume. And i said hey maybe i could try apply for some jobs, see how goes? Silly. Yesterday as i received the feedbacks, it hit me; shit im not ready for this. The things i need to figure out and this is not the time. So i ignored them which is rude. I feel guilty.

The thing i realised was, is how not ready i am to make a new schedule for both me and the kids. Suddenly Muaz looks so small and he looks vulnerable. After that, i kept thinking about does the job really pays well and is it worth it? All pointed to nahh. So i caved.

Now, i have zero experience in leaving the kids to strangers for long hours while i work, so i am really and honestly scared. I realised now that i am totally clueless and probably a bit lacking of bravery to start a new routine. Yes, i am comfortable with where i am now. And change is scary as hell.

Nevertheless, i am keen to look for a job in the future, something i can do for me. But as of now, i just dont see it. I should probably learn a few things from my friends who is working or read some articles right? For now, i just want to be a mommy.

A Lioness that Writes

Assalamualaikum and hi

I am really bored. And having so many things happened in the past months, made me write a little more these couple of weeks. Which is good according to a few people. And hey, i just found out someone used to think my blog was interesting. Maybe i wrote different kinds of things back then and i write a different ones now but im still happy lol. And i dont really know the person personally so that's like a genuine fan right? XD

Anyway, im trying to focus on writing a little more now because i want to kill some time and because im afraid im losing touch with the knowledge i have. I think i write silly. There i said it. So, i really appreciate any comment anybody has about my writing or content or anything. Honestly i dont proofread my posts until days after i post them (if i happen to remember to or i reread it). I think that's step two lol. Im just thinking about putting what i think out there and if you have any comments you may say it even if its brutal. I need it.

Being a stay-at-home wife slash mother, as of now, i will be writing about what i do. I am not a missus know-it-all but think of me as a very talkative woman who talks about her house and kids and sometimes her husband in probably a mushy way because why not. Lol. Also, im a closeted poet so i might throw you a few poems i wrote. Yes! I made some short poems so beware lol. Oh my God, there is a lot of LOL in this post i think its sugar rush, maybe i had too much milo before.

For the record, its weekend tomorrow. Everyone is asleep and here i am writing. Its a mom thing right? You beg for sleep but once everyone is sleeping, suddenly your mind lights up and all your good mood is surfacing because finally you have time for yourself, to be alone in your thoughts andddd you sleep late so tomorrow you wake up tired. Or maybe its just me. But dont get me wrong. I love my family and i love being the tired lioness that i always am. Hehe

But with that i bid good night. See you in the next post! And oh, if you have any comments you can leave it/them below the post, or you can email me at sarychocolate@gmail.com or if you're from Facebook or Twitter, you know how to reach me.

Thank you for reading!

Love,
Ansari

How I Potty Train Zahra

assalamualaikum and hi!

happy weekend! we have plans this evening but as of now, we're just enjoying each other's company while basically resting and watch the kids play. what else to do? lol but i have a few minutes to kill and i want to kill it with kindness. kindness of sharing with you guys how we potty train our 4-year-old daughter, Zahra. she still wears diaper at night, that we are not having urgency to change yet because we're still sleep deprived XD. and actually we haven’t discussed about it yet. so, I’m just sharing with you how we potty train the first child during the day, okay? hehe

what I did was I asked for advices from my friends and sibling about how they train their kids. and looked for some info on Facebook. unfortunately, all was useless. I put napkin on Zahra as a replacement for disposable diaper. that was not smart at all. she thought it was a disposable diaper and she did her business in the napkin resulting more issue for me, stinky ones. we stopped there and then knowing it won’t work. she was 3 that time. we also stopped because i was starting to get angry at her when she accidentally peed or pooped in her napkin because i have already reminded her that if she wanted to do her business she needed to tell me. i gave her a full day tour to the loo every 15 minutes prior, it was tiring. she was stressed, it wasn’t working.

i tried again a few months later after reading an article on Pinterest. it says the training only takes 3 days. i felt like i wanted to try because it sounds easy, and it really was!

first day

i didn’t put diaper on Zahra that day. not even pants! she was half naked. for three days. every 15 minutes i would take her to the washroom and make her squat. asked her to pee. she didn’t pee for the first few trip but after that little drops will come out, not much but okay. i was making her get used to going to the washroom, squat, pee and clean herself. then, i just take her every half an hour or an hour. in the whole day, i still need to ask her whether she wanted to go to the washroom and tinkle. i was nervous about her pooping but i needed to this. end of day one just pee no poo. she wore diaper at 6 or 7pm.

second day

still no diaper no pants. i reminded her about washroom just like the day before but with longer time intervals like every hour or so. in the evening, i saw her ran to the washroom. she peed by herself! she didn’t washed herself because i had not teach her that yet. amazed, i asked her what she doing in the washroom and i took her back there and cleaned her. and oh, remember to praise your kids once he/she has finished doing his/her business. that's a big deal for them. give them high fives every time they come out of the washroom clean. they will be very happy. second day went very smoothly, until she wanted to poop. i saw her lingered around the kitchen near the washroom, i know my daughter and that was her 'dance' she always makes when she wants to poop lol. so i took a pail in front of the toilet bowl, upside down (we have the sitting type), i put her on the toilet bowl, she sat even though she looked nervous and afraid she was going to fall into it. key was, i left her alone. before that i told her to call me when she was done. i waited in the kitchen, listening to her lol. after i was sure she was done, i asked whether or not she was done and she said yes. her first poop in the toilet, a success! she was very happy i tell you! lol. i cleaned her and gave her high five complimenting how big her stool was lol. she was very proud okay. she wore her diaper only when she was about to to bed that night.

third day

no diaper no pants again. she seemed more confident and happy to go to the washroom herself. she would tell me when she wanted to pee and run very happily. or she would just call me when she was done. all was good and okay. she didn’t even pee anywhere else in the house, just the washroom. she wore diaper only when she wanted to sleep.

fourth day

she wore shorts. it was different but she knew by that time that she can take her pants off and go to the washroom and do her business as per usual. day 4, she graduated from her potty training. i still compliment her after she gets back from the washroom and i was and still am very proud!

key point, no pants. and compliments. these are the things that helped me potty train my daughter. i think it would still be a success if i started earlier like when she was 2-year-old above. kids are very smart and they love new things. always be patient and calm. give your best compliment and smile every time they have achieved something.

that was all i guess, i still can’t believe Zahra is 4 and she will be in school next couple of years. time flies so fast, i hope we use this opportunity to love and care for our kids as much as we could and as much as they need us to.

lots of love,

ansari

Zoo-day

assalamualaikum & hi!

its march! and it is the birth month of our big baby, Zahra. so happy birthday Zahra! you are four! four years! we love you so much. you have grown into a kind and loving girl, we hope we will see you grow into the best person you can be. as a treat, more like a coincidence actually, we took the kids to the National Zoo. it was amazing, considering the kids now know about animals. and that is what i am going to tell in this post.

being a bored mom that i am, i did a lot of research about going to the zoo lol. and guess what? there are actually a few things we learnt beforehand, thank God im pretty particular about this kind of thing kan? lol but hey, if you're the kind people who likes to be adventurous and make impromptu plans, that's cool too.

Planning

• we made the kids watch national geographic so they can identify the kinds of animal in the zoo, tame and wild. zahra and muaz are already 4 and 2 and they have animal miniatures and they know the names and all, so we think these ages is just nice to start going to the zoo. earlier than that, a baby wouldn't know what they're looking at and they will probably just sleep or cry the whole time at the zoo.
• weather forecast. it is best that you go during a sunny day and not during a rainy one right? we went during a sunny day but at 1pm, the sky was dark it started to rain (which was a relief because we justtt about to get out of there phew)
• its best that you go early in the morning. the zoo is open at 9am. we arrived there at 945 am, it was nice, not so many people despite it was a Saturday. around 11am or noon people started flooding in.
• make sure you plan where you want to go (you can google the map online or you can study the map there, they will give you one before entering), there will be animal shows at 11am and 3pm. if you want to catch the shows, you better plan ahead.

What to wear?

• depending on the weather, wear accordingly. malaysian weather should be just sunny or rainy right? no snow.
• comfy, cotton clothes
• hat!
• kids wore shorts and sleeveless shirt
• my husband and i, we wore jeans and sport shoes and sneakers
• muaz wore sandals with socks and zahra wore slippers (because she didnt want to wear her crocs!) it is advised that kids wear sport shoes too, but a nicely fitted ones, sandals are okay too

What to bring?

• a stroller & cover (blanket if you want)
• a mini fan with powerbank and cable
• camera, gopro
• mineral water
• spare clothes for the kids, diapers (who knows what will happen, the car will be very far)
• umbrella
• milk bottles or kids favourite drinks (they sell drinks and food too in there. we stopped and had refreshment near a zebra, giraffe and rhino place, it was so nice drinking cold orange juice while watching the animal lol)
• sunblock! we used mary kay sunblock SPF50, suitable for adults and kids above 6 months. apply every 2 hours. 

take a lot of pictures but dont forget to actually enjoy the time you're having with your family. we didnt take much pictures because the animals were amazing lol. you will be tired i swear! but fret not there are buses (you have to pay separately at the entrance). if you have any questions, you can ask me lol. i guess that is all about prepping for zoo trip. thank you for reading! byeee~

love,

ansari