Sweet Hearts....

Salam Ramadhan to everybodddyyyyy!

well this year's ramadhan i intend to make it more meaningful and better than the last. insyaAllah, i can only pray that He allows it and ease it for me.

Since i 've caught the baking bug lately, it has been official that, after being motivated by hubs, i have started to sell some of my bakes. very cute selection they are! hehehe. so in conjunction of the fasting month and approaching Eid, i decided to concentrate on steamed fruitcakes. wait, Hubs decided i focus on steamed fruitcakes. Hmmm now he suddenly sounds like my Managing Director. Already! hahahaha.

So after late nights brainstorming on the idea and on some possible names, we decided to settle on....

BambyBakes!!!

Yeaaaah! why not just keep the bamby eh? after all it is me! hehe. so i've started an instagram account for it. and been doing some promos as well. first time ok! buat benda2 like this! coz i swear, that i'm no good at selling stuff! but pakar membeli adalah! hahahaha. so it felt awkward at times, but i had to learn the art. and when it comes to learning new things, i am up for it!! 

Again, with the help of Managing Director, Mr B, (ehem!), he suggested i do free testers giveaways. i had to listen to a mini "business management" lecture in the process. well its fair lar coz he is the one with that degree! so now u know when it comes to health stuff, who gives the lecture and makes sure it's done around here! *cough*thatshowhequitsmoking*coughcough!*

So i did them. those free giveaways. and at first i was pretty skeptical. and nervous, that nobody would respond! i mean like, hello guys! its free?? i bear all the cost for you to just eat my cake?!! hahaha. turns out my pessimism was downright wrong! tak sampai one hour, i already got 5 people saying "NAK" to my testers!! alhamdulillah! i was overjoyed! yes! even here! so this is where it started! to know if my cake can travel outside kl or not, coz one was to my nurse all the way in Kota bharu hospital! i also learned which courier is available and suitable and what not! wuishhh! mcm ni lar perasaan vivy yusoff dulu masa start business kot!!! waakakakakakaakaka! dream on righhhht! of coz there were technical problems as well, but i'll save that for my "success story interviews" later. wakakakaka!

if at all what made me wanted to blog is, a reaaallly important lesson i learn in all this. People's hearts. u bet! weird i know coz its not related to baking per se. but seriously, I'm humbled by all the experiences. i'm proven wrong at nearly every turn when i think a certain way. slowly but surely, the majority of the ones that actually showed their support TO ME personally, not publicly coz its not important to, are the ones who are near anonymous in my life. or that they are not close, for reasons that are pretty obvious for some i.e. dah lama tak jumpa is one too. they are also those who don't regularly keep in touch with me but are there in the social media world, apparently following my everyday updates. who knew.

i receive private messages from them on how to get their hands on my bakes, and have nothing but honest, positive support on what i do. and i get orders from those who i least expect to be ordering from me too. Subhanallah. Allahu akbar. who knew.

But He knew. And He is showing me that He can give blessings to anyone from anywhere, and only good would come out of it. one thing good i know for sure, is that i'm truly humbled by all this. He showed me the true hearts of people; families and friends, close friends and distant ones, and not to mention, COMPLETE STRANGERS.

that's right. my first 2 orders were from COMPLETE STRANGERS. Subhanallah. they had nothing but kind words and encouragements for me. and i don't even know them. ya Allah. i am in tears now. literally. please continue to guide me. and all others out there. to be humble and loving to one another. i know now how it feels to be at the receiving end. even tho i've been at this end countless times before. but i guess i only get to see it in a totally different light, like only now! and i'm glad i did! esp before my time is up! *cries!* how amazing are these people, people who hardly know me and are not even close, they were the ones who were swift in support, as if they really appreciate what i do. and show it! i mean i definitely feel appreciated! it's as if they know how hard it was for me to do them,  finding time secretly, even tho i don't show it on instagram! heck, instagram makes it all looks so simple and breezy and brings out the "oh-she-got-time-lar-thats-why-she-can!" reactions instead! pfft! pretty obvious lar who will be where and what in that success story interviews of mine! hehe! oops! 

Sarcasm aside, (sheesh, i've really got to stop this!), how lucky of them to be given that quality by You Ya Allah. that kind of heart. a quality that i can now pray to have. i need a  better heart. so that my children sees it from me growing up. and they will carry it out naturally. and be a lot more awesome-r than their mother. in His eyes. insyaAllah.

Since this is the month of blessings and forgiveness, may He forgives me for my sins. and yours too. and pls make doa for me in this new venture of mine. i only hope to make people happy through my bakes, for people to enjoy them, for i feel happy when you are happy. I'm eternally grateful coz He has reaaallly blessed me. and what i do. and i can only try to be a good servant to Him in return. That little i know, but already that challenging. I also believe He has written provisions and rizq for each and every one of us. so i am not afraid. for what He gives me, only He can give. and no one can take it away. and what He gives you, only He can give. and no one, not even i, can take that away. I pray to not be afraid of losing wealth, or be greedy for it. for none of it is really mine. not even the clothes i have. in the end, we will all go back to Him. and whatever is with Him, is long-lasting. and waaaaayy better. =)

So ok. Don't forget to order these fruitcakes okay! teehee! #sempatlagi #adahashtagkatblog #terbaik!

1.5kg of yumminess insyaAllah! Yours for only RM75!

Red velvet with cream cheese and choc ganache topping!

Follow my instagram @bambybakes for more infos, reviews and for orders!

Till then. Salam you lovely people! May Allah bless us ALL, irregardless of race and religion, to have sweet hearts! 

Houston, Docbamby is finally found!

Assalamualaikum!!!!

Amagaddddd!!!! wheeeeerrrreeeee have i beeennnn??? outer space or somethingggg??? hahahahah. honestly, I'm gonna blame it on my verrrrryyy old near obsolete macbook for not blogging!! hahaha!

Okay first and foremost i am verrrrryyyyy humbled and happy that people are STILL reading my blog after non-existent updates since i had Maryam! thanks a lot babes!!! i hope i have inspired some of you in whatever i preached or advocate in this blog of mine!

As some (or most!) of you have known, i am still enjoying my unpaid leave and this awesome status as a stay-at-home-mom! and despite staying at home, poooonn susah nak find time to squeeze an update or two! *terrible i know!* it's just that i have been updating mostly on instagram, twitter and Facebook (in that order).

So bila rant2 sana terus post and gaaaahh lupa nak retype or repost here. gotta start re-installing the blogger app in my phone coz i deleted it becoz it was crap!

so anywayssss, besides running around with these two....

i came across a new hobby that does not involve going out of the house, and can be done at my own time when the kids are asleep! and that is baking!!! wakakakakakaka! i know righhhhtttt?!!! soooooo Un-doctor-ish! hahahahaha! telling ppl to eat healthily is my job description and here i am... downright abusing it! worst! more like practising ajaran sesat! hahahah!

but honestly (dunno why i'm repeating this word its as if i keep lying or what!), it's the whole idea of measuring ingredients, mixing them together in concoctions, adjusting the temperature while it bakes and troubleshooting the whole process is what gets me excited! it's like i'm back in chemistry lab or something!! and when i can come up with stuff like this...

Tadaaaaaaa!!!!

Rosette Ombre cake! Chocolate filling with buttercream frosting!

Makes me soooooooooo happy!!!! literally over the mooonnnnn!!! okay i've never been outer space pon, but ok! its equivalent to doing my very own episiotomy repair!!!! errr ok. maybe not! euwww whaaatt?! alaaa u get what i mean lar riggghhtt! :P

so yea people! baking has got both my right and left brain working again! hahaha besides occupying them for the bubs! but it is definitely have been my stress release when i need my me time! 

other than that, another update that is just as important, if not much more! is that Maryam had just turn one on the 29th April! kejaaaap jer ok!! but she is definitely a person of her own! one of the  great rewards of being a mother to me is that i get to raise and be a part of the development of different individuals!! She is very sure of what she wants and don't want especially, coz she likes to do the whole geleng kepala thing (like a lot!), walked at 11months, falling on her head more than Yusuf ever did at this age (read more robust for a girl!), and can shake her bonbons naturally to music and do it waaaay better (and cooler!) than Yusuf can now! that's my girl!! hahahaha!

But the similar things i love and would not get tired of that happened during Yusuf, examples like the bizarre breastfeeding positions with taekwando air-kicks, clamouring all over me and sticking to me like a koala bear, and yes, mommy wins over daddy (or anyone) anytime! i love that little girl to bits!! looking forward to rock the whole "we have match-matchy shoes!" or "ooohh this hijab style is so youu!" moments! :P

As for Yusuf, still working on his hafazan. alhamdulillah dah byk sikit new surahs covered. but he now jumpa a new thing that he likes to watch. and that is uncle maher zain, raef and humood. hmmm.... nak tak nak have to monitor frequency of exposure. if knowing mommy dia ni haaa, mmg music can be distracting. so iA, i can only doa to keep going and istiqamah. siapa kata nak anak soleh/solehah tu senang again? *gulp*

that's roughly about it! went some places but yeaaa... maybe next time lar post as latergram kinda thing. boleh ker? haha! 

hmmm... funny kan when ur needed to summarise your life in the past absence but you can only come up with just this much. gotta wonder when we grow old, how much of our life can we summarise into. a one week, daily rant speech? or just a one-hour, two-hours tops, kinda chat to a stranger? *something to ponder when we face our daily life as to which things/actions are REAL priorities* #lifeisindeedshort #thislifeisshort #akhiratisforever #Allahisnumberonepriority  #dakwahitumesti #bolehplakbuathashtagkatblog #instagraminspired

So i leave u with some pics of my bakes. i'm not doing a "business" business, but hey, if you really wanna try them you're welcome to order and iA i would love to bake for you. coz you will help me retreat to my me-time often to enjoy! hehehe.

Fruitcake! 5.5 - 6 jam kukus wooo! 

Walnut carrot cake!

Simple chocolate buttercream cuppies!

Red velvet cake with cream cheese of course!

red velvet cuppies with oreos!

oooooohhhh! yummmss!

New York cheesecake!!

OK tido tido!
And as you can probably guess, yeap! i'm baking something right now!!! :P

My wealth...

wow wow wow!

Assalamualaikum everybodyyyy! *blows dust*

i keep telling myself nobody really reads my blog so much. so mcm tak kisah sgt nak update. but after a recent comment from this hamba Allah, it motivated me to try and find the time to at least write out something than leaving it to collect more dust, so to speak. Thank you by the way, i hope you know who you are. May He bless you greatly for being so sweet.

So it's 2015 already. and Alhamdulillah to start the year, i've been blessed with a milestone that i think surpasses other achievements i've experienced thus far. or maybe at the same level as some.

Alhamdulillah, Yusuf has already hafal all of Juz Amma! And if nak sgt letak date, well i decided to test him on my birthday last month! hehe. This is happening concurrently with some of the other hafazan of surahs in the quran. so for now he dah tahu:

• Al-Mulk
• Al-Waqiah
• An-Najm
• Al Mudatthir
• Ar-Rahman

And now tengah rehearsing surah Luqman, Al-qiyamah and Al-Haqqah. please note that sometimes he would get confuse with certain verses if they happen to sound the same. but i pon honestly tak tahu nak cakap he "hafal" or "baca" these surahs. As for the juz amma, he can do both. so what i do is to hold the quran in front of me (yes yes mak dia tak hafal lar surah2 ni lagi kaaan), and wud ask him to recite the surah in front of me without looking at his quran. so InsyaAllah safe to say, the above surahs he memang dah hafal and baca.

Alhamdulillah. Indeed there is no power or strength except that is with Allah.

And like every other "uncommon" parents, my hubs and I both decide not to celebrate birthdays as big in our family. In fact we don't celebrate at all. instead, we would like to celebrate on achievements based on what we deem worthy with our plans. And Allah is the Master Planner. So achievements, of course, is not limited to be celebrated once a year. If yusuf or maryam meets the required number of achievements or goals set  by us in that year, say more than twice, then so be it. insyaAllah, ada rezeki memang buat lar celebration yg we all mampu for them. we choose to be uncommon. not boring. heh.

I also learnt something valuable about kids. firstly, i had to be really patient lar when it comes to relenting to Yusuf's request for a machine gun, yang upgraded (read mahal) version (not the RM5 daiso ones which he already have 3). u know, as an accomplishment prezie. dia tak mintak pon. nor did i make it a deal that if he completed them, he will get a present. tapi, after tak sampai seminggu main, rosakkkk!!!! fooooohhh! fooooohhh! Daiso yg murah tu jugak yang tahan lama! and he wasn't even upset! i was! he just happily went like "oooohhh dah rosak!" and went to pick up the old rifle and start shooting! 

So mots for me, anak2 ni memang not born with materialistic attitudes. it's the mak bapak yang ajar. He didn't care that the expensive ones needed to be handled with care more than the cheap ones. yang he tahu is to just play. patut mahal lagi lar tahan lasak kan? sheeesh. i feel like i've been conned! but that's the beauty in the innocence and purity of a child. they tak kisah pon you kasi presents mahal or murah. they're just happy enough to even get! why we as parents fall prey to buying expensive ones instead of so called cheap stuff as gifts? or rasa if beli yang murah equates to tak sayang banyak compare beli yang mahal2? sebab orang2 lain yg sibuk ni akan comment "laaa ini jer you bagi anak you for your birthday?? you're like what... a doctor koooot!! kedekut gilerrrr!"

Padahal, mak yang you judge kedekut tu ada principles on raising her child. ye memang she ada banyak duit. tapi dia choose to "kaya"-kan anak2 dia dengan akhlak you tak kisah plak kan? in fact ada orang tahu Yusuf can read surah2 ni pon ada jer parents don't even bat an eyelid coz, well, not impressed lar. well to each their own. level of wealth. even the term wealth gives 1001 meanings to everyone of us. despite it being different, do know that it is YOU who to put the worth and value to your own term of wealth.

As for me, i try to seek Allah's standards as much as i can. After all, all this, that He has blessed me with: the knowledge, the ilham, and the success to follow through with plans, everything! is from Him and Him alone. So yeah. obviously He has my full attention for me to please than anyone else.

So ok. till then! terpanjang plak! hahaha. if tak terbebel tu bukan docbamby namanya!

Do make doa for my family if we ever cross your mind and land a spot on your soft, loving heart for it. 

Goodnight!

My "wealth" indeed. Thank You Allah!

yeaaaaaa! this one tooooo!!! the brains behind our family's plans! :P

what's on your mind?

Okay.

Follow up from my previous post, alhamdulillah the bubba is doing pretty well. altho there were some "accidents" of "oops!" and "oh no's!", but it was tolerable. so far lar! He actually insist on not wearing the diaper during nap and sleep time! tu yg i tak larat and kinda not giving in to the request. hehehe. pengsan kot nak wash tilam jer!

As for little baby maryam, (whose not so little anymore!) i felt 2 budding teeth on her lower jaw yesterday! yeaaaaayyy! a few more and you can start eating solids okay? but for now tunggu dull yea cayang! oh yes! i insist to still follow what i have done with Yusuf the last time. May He continue to help me in this iA.

okay laar. nothing else to post sangat, coz I'm sorta listening to a youtube video while the bubbas are napping away! hehehe. oh but do enjoy these next pictures of what i have been up to the past few weeks. and yes, it's all about fooooodddd!

Current activity! buat fruit cake!!!

2nd attempt and jadi mA! dari tak berapa suka jadi suka! hehe

as you can see, this steamer is my current best friend!

saja-saja try!

mee rebus ya'll! 

Lontong and sambal tumis ya'll!

Nasi Ayam ya'll! 

haaaa ni mmg confirm i tak buat! mesti terperanjat uolls if i did!
Saja letak coz i want one now!

1 day toilet training success insyaAllah!

Salam!

I just want to say in this short entry that one of the simple joys in life as a mother is to able to toilet train their kid! and alhamdulillah! Yusuf is officially 2 years 9 months today and managed to toilet train him yesterday!

Hope i haven't spoke too soon because ini baru hari kedua and he seemed to gotten the hang of it! of course after 4 "accidents" inside the house and one outside the first day, but he then proudly tell me he needs to shee shee and did it INSIDE the toilet!!! and you can imagine how ecstatic i was!!! terlompat2 sambil duking maryam! hahahaha.

I admit i stopped training him the first time a few months back coz Maryam baru keluar and i was adjusting to handling two bubbas, not to mention facing Yusuf's jealous streaks at times during the first months. so cleaning up after his accidental mess was just too much for me to handle without nearly breaking down on him. of course, i refuse to allow that to happen and end up break down lat hubby instead. hehehe. kesian lar he became my punching bag. and yeah, was pretty lazy to do all that as well lar kan!

It was hubs yg consoled me and said not to force yusuf and just go with the flow when he's ready. so  i did.

So now since maryam dah 6 months plus and i'm able to have sorta a routine schedule in managing them both, i decided to have a go again. so i came across this method of 3-day successful potty training. altho i didn't use a potty lar. And subhanallah, he got the hang of it on day 1! so far today no accidents yet and i'm not confident to try it thru naps and bedtime so i put on the nappies time tu jer. Am now really hoping it will be a 100% growing up milestone achievement from now onwards insyaAllah! semoga istiqamah! hehe.

The method involves having him naked from the waist down. so i would tell him excitedly that is a "no diaper day" today! of course lots of advice and encouragements are given as well. Alhamdulillah the trick to handling Yusuf is really just talking to him and explaining to him how i would to an adult. At least that is how i will continue raising my kids. and it works for me alhamdulillah.

oh, and today jugak he learnt to cycle the bike! still struggling a bit to maintain consistency sbb tak biasa, but am thrill! These may be little2 stuff but boy, am i grateful to see new achievements daily!

Thank You ever so much ya Allah!

As for the toilet training thingy, semoga i istiqamah! I've been warned to expect more accidents. let's just hope i'm strong enough to handle them!

Till then peeps! gotta uncheck the next thing in my to-do list before the bubbas wake up from their naps!

My Quranic miracle...

Salam and good day everyone.

Bismillah.

To write this up has not been easy for me, for i kept holding back and have been having ongoing discussions about it with hubs. As much as i can see the possible benefits of sharing something good, it is in my nature of thinking negatively of some people who would see it in an ill-mannered form. senang citer i pun bersangka buruk lar kat depa and vice versa. but i must admit that this is in fact a blessing and a miracle that i should not keep from other people. for it would definitely benefit me more as my investment in the akhira, for which that is better for me.

Speaking of miracles, we must all agree that nothing can even come close to the miracle that is the Quran. From its content, language and historic events of its descend on earth to us. All of it are amazing masyaAllah. As a mother, who only wants what's best for her children, i have made it a personal goal that i want them to be amongst the best in Allah's eyes insyaAllah.

So what do i know? How do i even begin? The only method i'm aware of and is currently doing, is to do the opposite of how i was brought up in areas that i think can be much further improved in myself. This thinking of course is very much tailored individually for only you would know what is best for you based on the knowledge you have gathered and exposed yourself with. So i would want my kids to be as if, if Rasulullah saw is still alive with us today, they would be his companions whom he would cherish.

MasyaAllah. Big dreams i know. But hey, just because it doesn't sound worldly enough like wanting Yusuf to be an astronaut or Maryam as a nuclear scientist, that doesn't mean it's not valid. And I believe it is very much achievable. How? you guessed it. with lots and lots and lots and lots of tears, sweat and sleepless nights. But just as you are motivated in doing something you love, this is me. In doing what i love. and it's a new found love indeed!

We are 5!

Salam everybodyyyy!!!

*krik krik krik* *crickets chirping in background*

okay okay. i've been AWOL for quite sometime. i honestly dunno what reasons to give. but that's just it. it's all excuses! haha. and of course been verrrrry busy. *ehem*

I just celebrated my 5th anniversary recently. who knew eh? open close open close eyes dah 5 tahun! and it's as tho it is literally that long! only a blink of an eye!

Anyways, like most couples, we are truly blessed we have gotten this far and at where we are today. I'm truly grateful for the blessings He has bestowed in our little family! Marriage is indeed an investment worth paying attention to for the rewards of a successful akhira. and as He had intended, being parents constitute a big part of our marriage. i'm extremely grateful of how He has guided us in it. For i definitely see His miracles in this everyday!

So i thank You countlessly Ya Allah, for our partnership here in this world. You indeed know what is best for me. and may it be Your mercy and love that we end up together in Your Jannah, amongst the chosen ones who would do just about ANYTHING for You and You alone. InsyaAllah.

La hawla wala quwwata illah billah.

There is no power or might except with Allah.

True indeed.

Ada big mirror, apa lagi kegunaannya kaaan?

and look who decides to join us. He mmg pantang nampak mommy
and daddy manja2 dua orang!

Now he's just being cheeky.

Our girlie selfie Maryam honey!

and we won't stop.... supporting our Palestinian brothers and sisters!

Now it wouldn't be an anniversary post without a pantun right?

Sayang, sayang aduhai sayang,

Sayang yang legal sudah 5 tahun,

Perutmu sudahku boroikan abang,

Supaya yang lain tak nak pandang pun!
So you're stuck with me, and me alone!

Gendang gendut tali kecapi,

Cik abangku gendut, saya tetap happy!
hehehe!

Eh! asyik pantun pasal perut jerrr! hahaha. ok. saving the best one for last! Impromptu poem ready? set? gooo!

5 years of marriage, 

5 years have passed,

5 years we paid homage

To the One who made it last.

It's been 5 years of knowledge,

Of us and of Him,

It's also 5 years of privilege,

To get us closer to Him.

In 5 years we became 4,

And as fours, we love only one.

It's from that One, that we are 4,

Coz without Him, we are none.

Thank You Allah for our 5,

May we continuously live in sunnah,

to love each other we strive,

and be the best of our Rasul's ummah.

For it is our very own pursuit of Jannah.

I love you, ya habibi.