Thrifty Mommy

The first time I learnt of the meaning of thrifty is from Thrifty Supermarket, some 35+ years ago. Thrifty Supermarket was in PJ, where Courts Mammoth is now, and I think the building is currently known as Wisma Thrifty.

Another shopping mall that used to be a favourite of my parents is Ampang Park, and our favourite supermarket there was Fitzpatrick's.

Okay anyhow, talking about being thrifty, when shopping for my boys' clothes, I always wait for end of season sales where there are 70-80% discounts and I could get good quality clothes for them at just prices. So I was simply thrilled when we found Kiko jeans between RM22.00-RM28.00 yesterday! Damascus had been running out of good pants/jeans coz his had been handed down to Marrakesh and Esfahan's older ones were just too worn out to pass on to him (Damascus). So, I ended up buying a total of 8 pairs of jeans for less than RM200.00! Weeeeeeeeee! And half of them were for Damascus.

Esfahan had earlier inherited some really cool stuff from our friend's son Amyr, ie. Guess, Gap, OshKosh, Hilfiger jeans and shirts. Another friend, also with 3 boys, had handed down some cool Nike and Adidas shoes, which could fit my 3 boys, so it was just fabulous! My friends would ask me if I mind accepting hand me downs, and I say, "No, why should I? It's a blessing and we would truly appreciate it."

The same thing goes with the furniture in our home. I don't just believe in Recycling, but I also LOVE Vintage. One of my favourite Sunday morning activities in Rome was Porta Portese, and when I was in Pittsburgh I just loved browsing all the flea markets and garage sales on weekends with my folks.

My best finds so far from vintage/preloved/recycled items dealers are our current living room's 3seater sofa, our 6-10 seater glass dining table and our most prized possession now, the C.Steinbert upright piano. We spent only RM1,500.00 for all 3 items! No doubt the Steinbert requires some bit of tuning and repairs, but she's simply a darling as is, and when my father hits the keys with his "Getaran Jiwa" and when Esfahan experiments with Jay Chou and Adam Levine on her, my heart just melts.

@RM200.00...


@RM600.00...




A piano is something I have always wanted all my life, and as a child I couldn't understand why my father bought an electronic organ instead of a piano when I asked to learn the piano. Only now do I know that it takes some great dinero to buy a piano, something that my father, as much as he had wanted to, couldn't conjure and he made up for it in a way he deemed best at that time. Well, I still learnt music, and now I can share the joy of a piano through my children, Alhamdulillah.

@RM650.00, inclusive of those now rare vintage books...



And there's our RM50.00 fridge that I bought from my friend Ave who was having a moving house sale; that purchase was just brilliant! Yes, it's green and doesn't match any of my utensils, but it's vintage and it works awesome! So our other fridge, which is new and modern, can hence be allocated solely for JulesFudgyliciousness matters :)


I knew very well when I decided to leave my job to become a fulltime SAHM that I would have to cut down on lots of things; this, plus my conditioning growing up where I was taught not to spend unnecessarily. Instead of conveniently shopping at Cold Storage or Isetan or even Giant, I now make my way to Hero, 99 or Tesco; the main downside of Hero for me is that they don't really understand or appreciate the idea of using shopping bags and here's where I have to compromise. But since all 3 are within close proximity of each other, I can choose to buy what where, based on the lowest price, and so far for things like peanut butter, Nutella, cheese, oatmeal, cereals, and biscuits, we just head on to 99. As for milk, our household's main staple, we chase after the best price in town, or when darling husband's friend at the 100 year old dairy company is able to score some for us at their cool staff price, we gratefully add that to our blessings.

There are things I don't insist my family thrift on, and they are health and education. Of course my children go to normal Sekolah Kebangsaan and not a distinguished private school or a private Kafa, but my husband and I do our utmost best to value add that with books, annual enrichment holiday trips, sports, and all the other supporting activities like science, art, chess, etc. This is where earnings from my Jules activities come in handy :)

Occasionally, I would feed my insanity with a Lulu Guinness or a Longchamp or a LeSportsac, but that would only be past seasons after some fabumiraculous discounts. Or, I'll just wear my own JMDs :)


As the saying goes, "A penny saved is a penny earned." And that is especially true for me coz only last Sunday that I earned a vintage Steve Madden and a gorgeously darling Betseyville from darling husband as my dearly belated birthday presents :)

Priceless...

Finally, A Normal Faced Mommy!

After exactly one month, my face has finally become normal again, no more Two Faced Mommy, Alhamdulillah... :)


But it took a lot of persistence and positive thinking. For the past month, my routine was practically reflexology, massage, acupuncture and fire cupping. I also read up about auricular therapy and did that myself at home, and I also readministered discipline in my eating habit. That too was also based on heavy research on our local traditional herbs and spices and home remedies to treat ear ailments and facial palsies.

The doctors said 1-3 months, so I'm feeling so blessed that I'm practically back to 100% after just 1 month.

I still feel some facial muscle pull when I speak, especially when I start to scream at my goons for their perpetual mess! And my ears still get a bit buzzy when I'm in a crowded place, like the restaurant, supermarket or the mall. But I guess, I should be happy that things didn't turn out for the worst.

My greatest fear throughout all this was that at the back of everything, there was always that slight possibility of the "Big C" making a play. Of course I never mentioned this in any of my earlier posts coz I didn't want to cause any unnecessary scare. That was why I forced myself to rest completely and take a break from my normal Jules operations, mainly from baking coz it involves really heavy work, especially when I'm making fondants. Mind you, I've never used an electric mixer, and all my fondants I make from scratch with marshmallow. But I love it, of course. And I've seriously missed my own brownies.

Nevertheless, I'm glad I took this break. One, coz it was good for my health, and also coz it gave me more peaceful time with my goons. Of course, peaceful in this context is very subjective, but what I mean is that, there was no need for me to rush with their homework or activities coz I was also not rushing to complete my baking and deliveries.

Marrakesh for one, is in dire need of my full attention these days, as I find that he is somehow having more difficutly finishing his homework, spelling, writing and reading. I'm not really certain why this sudden change, as he was quite the opposite last year when he was in K1. I guess it might be coz he's all alone now in kindy, without his Abang Ngah, Damascus, who's already in standard 1. And he's also trying to deal with the fact that he too will have to start standard 1 next year, which means no more Madam and all the friendly teachers and aunties to baby him anymore. But my consolation is that these days he insists on going to school early and does not whine about not wanting to go to school anymore; but the deal was that he need not go for daycare anymore either. It's a fair deal I guess, so I'm now doing my part, that is sending him early to school and fetching him right after school, and spending more quality time with him doing homework, spelling, writing and reading. Every question he asks me about stuff he learnt in school I try my best to explain fully and clearly. And after he's done with all the compulsory work and moves on to his art and crafts, I too can also carry on with my crafts :)

His older brothers, Esfahan and Damascus, are quite independent now, but they still need monster mommy when it comes to homework and tidying their room.
And thankfully, they understand that I need to spend more time with Marrakesh now, and they do their bit to help their darling Kekesh :)

So, moral of the story, my recent ailment has actually allowed me to have more meaningful moments with my preciousnesses, if there's such a word. I guess not coz there's a red dotted line beneath it, but I'll just use it anyway, my preciousnesses... :)

And as I turn 42 today, I am grateful for not only the strength that God has bestowed within me, but also for the strength, and love, that I have all around. Frankly speaking, being a mommy is ONE HELLUVA job! Only the sanely insane are ever willing to do it unconditionally. And being a sick mommy is even more difficult, more so heartbreaking, coz while your spirit wants to continue caring for your loved ones as you normally do, your flesh somehow is not able to, and this is truly disheartening, it makes you feel like you're doing such an injustice to your kids especially, coz kids really don't know better about this kind of things. They really actually depend on you completely to care for them, and when you can't, sigh... So, that's when you need the support of your family and friends the most. And having that support means all the world to me.

But, I think that the irony of it all is that, while there you are thinking that you're not doing right by your kids coz you're in bed ill and resting, your children are actually well off managing on their own, finding their own food from the fridge, having their own breakfast cereal, making their own hot chocolate, preparing their own toast with peanut butter, happily dipping their own oreos in milk, all because you have actually taught and loved them well... :)

All the joys of a mommy most often also equates to her heartaches, which eventually creates more joy. Yup, it's just something one cannot really explain, until one has become a mommy herself.

Driving Our Babies

I'd just finished chatting with Madam Rusha, Marrakesh's principal at Krista Taman Putra Sulaiman, about his progress academically and personally. As I walked to the car, a blue Honda Jazz passed by me and I could see clearly that this man was driving while cradling his sleeping baby in his arm....AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

Had I been a law enforcement officer, I would have pulled him over and advised him to use a infant/child seat/carrier!

Good morning uols! Hope you're all fine and well...

I'm recovering well, Alhamdulillah, still taking things easy. I can't very well explain how my body is progressing, but I know how it is progressing and I know it's not yet back to how it was before the otitis media fiasco. But as all women and wives and mothers out there know, no woman can be or appear to be, unwell for too long, coz you just can't. Somehow we're not allowed to be un-okay, we just need to be okay, for the survival and wellbeing of all others... :)

Anyway, about the man cradling his sleeping baby while driving, why do people do this? His car portrayed him as a progressive man living in a progressing economy, but his action proves that he is way back in the dark ages! I mean, I believe that people having babies these days are quite fortunate coz they have a wide reach to facilities and necessities. In the matter of the infant/child car seat or carrier, there's a huge variety in the market now which can cater to a wide range of budgets, and most of them meet the required safety standards. If you can drive a Honda Jazz, you could pretty much afford a proper seat/carrier for your baby.

You think you're a very skilled driver and you drive very safely all the time and that nothing bad will ever happen to you and your family while you're on the road? Well, what about those irresponsible morons who do not stop at red lights, do not give indicators and who are not as safe a driver as you? Or that drunken lorry driver who risk running into you because he wasn't even aware of where he was or what he was doing? Or that random cat that suddenly runs in front of your car? Or that little child who appears out of nowhere?

Or you just cannot stand to hear your child crying and screaming for not wanting to be strapped to the seat/carrier? You go crazy hearing all that noise so you'd rather let them have their way regardless of the risks involved? While you are safely (technically) buckled up in your seat belt? Or you think you love your child more than other parents who put their children in child seats/carriers do? That cradling your infant child in your arms while you drive is the ultimate display of parental love?

There are 3 seat belts at the back seat of our Kancil and Merce, but only 2 in the Kembara. So, travelling with all 3 boys mean driving either of the former 2, in which case monster mommy will make sure they're all buckled up at the back. Yes, you may sometimes see goons jumping around at the back, but soon after monster mommy will appear victor and all 3 will eventually be strapped up in the seats, carrying on happily with their own stuff. When they were babies, all of them were transported in infant/child carrier/seats. There weren't many locally made ones then, most were imported and very expensive, but we had to. For Esfahan, we had actually recycled Medina's 8 year old baby car seat, no problem. Then we bought a new carrier coz Medina's could only be strapped to the car seat and couldn't be used as a carrier to carry him around conveniently. Then when Damascus and Marrakesh came, we had to buy an additional one coz they both needed infant/child seats at the same time. And while Esfahan could safely be strapped to the normal seat belt as early as 3yrs, Damascus needed to be strapped in his child seat until much later, coz of his natural characteristics which required him to be strapped in a child seat to ensure his own safety. Marrakesh was more like his Abang Long, so no problem there.

My husband and I, we are not the perfect parents, but we do our very best, as challenging and frustrating as it may be, we try, we just do.

So, I don't know. Why do you cradle your baby in your arms while you drive? Why?

Two Faced Mommy Part 2

So I'm back from the Operating Theatre!

It was a rather jiffy procedure that myringotomy, or was it just Dr Lim who did it in a whizz? Hehe, or both, but either way, like I said, it is a routine procedure. I was wheeled down to the 1st floor at 4.30pm, then sent to OT 7 at 4.45pm, a few minutes later I remember Dr Mohandas, the anaesthetist, said "Sweet dreams Juliana", and then the next thing I knew I was awake in another room, with nurses and a few other operatees. I looked at the clock it was 5.30pm. Then a nurse walked beside me and pondered upon my puzzled face as I asked, "Dah sudah ke?" She giggled and replied, "Iya, dah sudah." I was wheeled back to my room, and the whole of last night was just rest.

Alhamdulillah, I'm sitting now in my room after a nice shower and waiting for breakfast to arrive, functioning just nicely. Well, my face is still senget, and my ear still abuzz, but I have been told pre-op that it will take some time for me to get back to my normal self, quicker than relying solely on antibiotics, but in time nonetheless. And Charles, the audiologist, had told me earlier that I had actually lost 50% of the hearing in my left ear, and that it would take about a month or so for the ear to adjust back to normal after the procedure (subject to terms and conditions...hehe...ie. overall health condition, diet, daily routine etc.).

There was a bit of pain for a while after the procedure, but nothing that required painkillers, as I also wanted to manage the pain naturally, else I wouldn't know when it actually ends.

I do pray that I will be able to get back to my normal routines soon though, so that I can get back to managing my home, my family, my business as usual, insyaAllah. Frankly speaking, I'm not too worried about how my face looks, senget or not; like Annette Bening's character Sylvie Fowler said to the salesgirl at SFA in The Women, "This is my face, deal with it."

As it is now, my left eye can't blink properly, so it tends to get very teary and I have trouble driving, looking into the car mirrors, and estimating depth and distance. Dr Lim says I should not drive yet, but if I need to I could just drive a short distance, eg sending the kids to school, getting groceries. He said that as a doctor there are many things he would advise me against doing, but as a person he has to be practical and help to guide me in how I should do things in my current condition. I really appreciate doctors who are practical like that, especially those who go around in jeans, casual shirt and casual shoes :)

Anyway, Dr Lim just popped in to check on me, he told me he made 2 holes in my eardrum and sucked out all the pus that was behind there (yeah, gross isn't it?), that the incisions should heal pretty fast and that at this point I have recovered about 25% of my hearing; he's also very glad that I didn't vomit after the GA yesterday. I can also now continue with my meds orally instead of via IV, and he'll check in on me again this afternoon before he sends me home.

Yayyyy! I'm going home! Alhamdulillah :)

I'm sharing all this with you in the hope that the information will benefit you. This otitis media normally occurs in children, rarely in old makciks like me, but they still do happen. Facial paralysis however could most likely happen to people my age, not just in the form that I'm experiencing now, but others, like how Bell's Palsy happened to my mum some years ago. I hope you will read ya...

Like I always tell my kids when they casually come to me asking, "Mommy what's this?" : "Iqra'!" "Read!" Hehe, mean mommy huh? They know they're allowed to use the computer anytime for school work, research, or piano (definitely not for games), no question about it, and they always give me that urgh look everytime I make them get things the hard way. Of course if they need further explanation then only they can come to mommy. Well, nothing good in life comes easy, right?

So, I'm trying to finish as much of my oatmeal and half boiled eggs now, to restore my energy, and also before they give me the meds which will make me feel gooey...

Thank you for all the prayers and very kind, warm wishes that have been coming in from family, friends and patrons, they really do mean so much to me, may God bless all of you and your loved ones. My life is indeed beautiful and truly blessed, Alhamdulillah... xox :)

Two Faced Mommy

Hi there! It's been quite a while since I last dropped in here. If it were up to me, there'd be a post each and everyday, but since it's not always up to me, ie. kids rule the home too, I'll try to make the occasional post as meaningful and informative as possible.

I wrote in my JulesRules blog about how my 2012 started. So now I'm going to share with you the latest update thus far.

I'm here in my room at Gleneagles KL waiting for my ENT specialist, Dr.Lim (Lim Wye Keat), to pop in and check on me. We will then decide whether he should poke a hole in my right eardrum to release the fluid that's been accumulating behind it, which in turn has been pinching on and infecting my facial nerves, causing my face to suffer partial paralysis (only the right side of my face). He says my paralysis is mild, no cause for alarm. I googled facial paralysis, AAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!! I got pretty alarmed! So, I stopped googling and decided to just leave it to Dr Lim to get updates on my condition. At least he smiles and makes comforting jokes when he tells me that it may take up to 3+ months for my face to get back to its normal self. Heeeeeee.......

Two Faced Mommy
...taken this morning while having cappuccino at Starbucks, and I may be sporting this look well into Spring/Summer 2012 :)

Okay, I just finished talking to Dr. Lim, and my condition is Otitis Media, which is quite common. And yes, I decided that I will undergo the procedure, Myringotomy, which is to drain the fluid that's been bugging my ear and my life. Dr Lim says that it's a very routine procedure and some are even done as a daycare service. Phewh, okay, that sounds okay, but my main concern now is the general anaesthesia (GA) that I'll have to go under. Not that I have any issues with GA, I've had it a few times for several gastrointestinal procedures, but GA is still a GA and the risks are immense. But after almost 2 weeks of buzzing, ringing and disorientation, not to mention excruciating pain, it is something that I just have to do as opposed to carrying on with merely antibiotics, coz I seriously do want to get on with my normal life again. So I pray that it will be a safe and successful procedure, insyaAllah, and I place my utmost faith in the Almighty.

I have just been labeled "NBM" or "Nil By Mouth" by Nurse Kam, and the myringotomy is scheduled for this afternoon, some time after 3pm, which gives me the required minimum 6 hours of fasting.

I'm glad that Dr Lim gave me home leave last night and that I was home with my kids to tuck them in bed, to wake them up this morning to get them ready for school and that I had my precious hugs and kisses which are definitely at the top of my "Reason For Living" list. Alhamdulillah... :)

Till we meet again, insyaAllah, stay fabulous! A piu tardi...xox :)

Esfahan's Money Craft

One of the greatest joys of Staying Home is, I have ample time for art&crafts with my kids! Yes, I do complain that they mess up the whole house doing crafts, but at the end of the day, when I see their final work, I can only beam with pride and sheer pleasure :)

Kids today are far from how I was at their age. They have vast opportunities to learn, Disney, Nick, Ceria, TV IQ, Tutor TV, Discovery, NatGeo, YouTube, Google, it's like a whole new universe out there! So when they come to me asking to use the computer, and asking for paper, carton box, glue, cellotape, etc., I just sigh and say, "Okay, tell me exactly what you're browsing...paper bottom drawer, others top drawer." And as futile as it may be, I always scream, "Make sure you tidy up your place after you finish!" Oh well, one can only try. But when they ask if they can use actual money to do craft, I'm like, "Heh?"

The latest craft by Esfahan, a racing car and chopper bike, using actual notes : "Mommy, I can only make them using real notes, normal paper won't work!"...something about the size and thickness and whatever...


Cool eh? :)


Another craft he's developing is Voice Over, which really does require lots of time from mommy, playing chauffer and manager! The most exciting one thus far, apart from his Malay dubbing for Francis of "Hana's Helpline" on Astro Ceria, is "Pada Zaman Dahulu", where he lends his voice to the character of Aris. This 3D animation series is targeted to debut on TV Al Hijrah, on Astro channel 114, on 3 December 2011.

Family love...

Ahh, this month has been very testing. Marrakesh got sick, then Damascus, then Esfahan, all with tonsilitis, one after another. Then Damascus developed rashes all over his body, and the poor boy was going around scratching, scratching, scratching! The doctor suspected that it was an allergic reaction to the antibiotic that was prescribed to him, Cephalexin. So Augmentin was prescribed to him instead, and his tonsilitis disappeared but it took several more days for the itchiness and scratching to subside. All in all, I was nursing 3 sick children for 2 whole weeks! And since they were sick, they couldn't go to school, and when they didn't go to school, they were hanging out at home, which means that mommy really had her hands full... Sigh... But, this is what I chose to do, and as testing as it may be, it always keeps me close to my kids, and I also learnt something new about antibiotics :)

There were also birthdays : Ayah's mom a.k.a. Tok Baie, mommy's dad, a.k.a. Tok Abah and Esfahan, a.k.a. Abang Long :) Somewhere between aching throats, fevers and itchiness, we managed to have fun and celebrate all these birthdays. But Esfahan has an additional celebration, which he is looking forward to this coming Saturday, a day out with a few of his close friends from school, at the movies and arcade! Phewh, it's good coz it'll all be at the mall, so mommy need not bother with cooking, dirty dishes and kiddy games, but mommy and ayah will be chaperoning them, along with our 2 younger goons. I'm anticipating that handling the 2 younger ones will be more challenging than minding Esfahan and his friends.

Amidst all this, we also received sad news of friends succumbing to cancer and of friends' children falling ill. News like these are never easy. Though it's nothing new to me, it's just as dampening as experiencing it for the first time; it affects me quite deeply actually, every time, but I do my best not to show it of course, I just let it gradually pass and move on, because more importantly, I have to be strong for the ones experiencing the actual loss... And when a child falls ill, it really just is very sad and frustrating. Then I start fearing for the well being of my own family, if anything happened to me who would take care of my children, if they fell seriously ill what am I to do? And then I start looking into our health and education plans again, and start planning for this and that and this and that...

But I've always managed to keep my faith, insyaAllah. And I fall back on the love of my family, something I know I can always depend on. Then my heart and my mind become happy and clear again. And then I'm back to simply driving the kids to school, picking them up from school, chasing them with their homework, screaming at them to clean up their mess and carrying on with my own Jules stuff...

Moral of the story? Hmmm... Family love is super fab. And being a mom is one helluva job! Hehe... :)


3 November, dinner at Hadramawt Jalan Ampang, then cheesecake!


12 November, I was SO busy with my Jules stuff that I only managed to wish my father Happy Birthday later that evening! Terrible daughter huh? Anyway, we tapau-ed him his favourite kuey teow goreng from Sharin Low restaurant, then it was black forest cake!