..potret Senaz..

Finally.. an Update

2008-11-20T05:04:00.004+01:00

Dear friends..
Just want to let you know, that from now on I'll be blogging at my old blog http://senaz.blogsome.com.

For those of you, my fellow photographer bloggers, I'm sorry to tell you that my old blog is in Indonesian and you might not found as many pictures there as in this blog. I'm quite busy with my new live in Jakarta. Not to mention I am now in my second trimester of my pregnancy. So many things to do. And so little time.

Please feel free to contact me. Hope i'll be blogging here again. Well, not in the near future. Maybe when the baby has arrived.

And here's a slideshow from my last trip to Athens. I know it's far too late. But it's better than never right?!

We're Off To: ......

2008-07-11T20:37:00.005+02:00

Finally. Yes, finally. After having so much doubt whether we should leave for vacation or not, we finally made our minds to keep up with our plan. Go on vacation. Yes, think we need one.

There are so many reasons that contaminated our(me & hubby) heads for the last couple of days about this vacation thing.
1. Zhavar, had a high fever and had been vomiting since Tuesday. In adition when he gets sick, he refuses to eat. High fever + vomiting + not eating = NOT GOOD. So we planned to cancel our trip. We wanted to make sure that Zhavar got better first. Coz for us (and many other parents alike), kids come first.
We went to the GP. After examining Zhavar, he said that Zhavar had a viral infection. So we only had to give him paracetamol. Thankfully, today he's better.

2. Me, flying by plane. When we booked and bought the flight and accomodation of this trip, it was months before we knew that I got pregnant. After we found out I was pregnant, we're really worried whether this trip could harm the foetus in any way, since my pregnancy is only 6 weeks old.
Went to the GP and Obgyn. Asked them, they said it's okay. The obgyn said that the danger is higher for babies (especially newborns) compared to a foetus.

3. Me, having nausea. This week has been hard for me. I got a really bad nausea. Nothing to describe more. I think you get the idea.
It's bad, but I think it is manageable.

4. Hubby, having high fever and sore throat.
He is a baby. He got the fever from Zhavar, lasted for two days. He said the sore throat is manageable, and will pack ibuprofen for the trip, just in case.

So anyway, within a few hours, we will leave for Athens..Hurray!!!

Zhavar in Action

2008-07-10T20:33:00.001+02:00

For some of you who've been wondering what's up with Zhavar. He's doing great. his communicating skills has been boosting compared to his other skills.
So, here's a few pictures of Zhavar. My dearest boy.

His favourite hat. a bush hat.

The boy with curly hair.

He likes to wear my sunglasses. The bigger the better ;p.

Posing after taking a bath.

Craving #2: Mango

2008-07-03T18:34:00.003+02:00

Who doesn't like mango? I bet most people find this fruit as an exotic delicacy. Me, even while I'm not pregnant would love to indulge myself with it everyday. Which I haven't been always able to do everyday. Coz here, as a tropical fruit, mango is a luxurious treat. As in expensivo.

However, being pregnant, I guess I can make an exception. Anyway, a little luxury wouldn't harm the baby-to-be. Right?!!

Random Images {City Center}

2008-07-02T17:59:00.004+02:00

Love Groningen. Love the city. Love the buildings. Love the details.
You just can't get enough taking pictures here. Literally anything would be a great object for my photography excercises.

So..Enjoy!

I took it on our way back home. It's actually from my neighbour garden.

1st Prenatal Visit

2008-07-02T17:48:00.001+02:00

This morning was very special for me. It was the very first time I can see my 2nd baby-to-be in my uterus. I was very excited. Eventhough waht I've saw was only a small black circle. According to my obgyn, it's about 4 weeks old. Yes, it's a little early for the 1st prenatal visit. But considering my history of miscarriage this would be a better way to be sure that everything was fine.

I was asked so many questiones by my obgyn about pregnancy symptomps that I've been experiencinf. Which to my surprise I haven't really having a bad nausea, vomiting, I hadn't even felt a little bit sick.

The visit lasted for about 10 minutes. We asked many questions while there. Some of the questions that cross our minds were whether travelling by plane would harm the foetus and should I get some blood test?

Thankfully, the answers were just what we had been hoping to hear. So..All in all, the 1st visit was great. Nothing to be worried about. Alhamdulillah.

Anyway, I always write & keep everything(pictures of USG, etc) that's got to do with my pregnancies on my pregnancy diary.

Here's a picture of the diaries(bottom: pregnant w/Zhavar..up: 2nd pregnancy)

And here's a picture from the USG, that I've attached to the diary

Craving #1: Petai

2008-07-02T12:29:00.001+02:00

Petai. Never in my life I like it. I hate the smell of it. Oh yeah..it's really smelly. As a matter of fact, as smelly as it is, you can smell it on your pee after you eating it. Not to mention what it can do to one's breath. So the bottom line, it really does smell.

However, despite of the smelliness, many Indonesians loooove to eat this thing. And now, I'm one of them. Well ok, it smells. But seriously, it's delicious. No wonder people crave for this food.

Anyway, for those of you who like or want to eat this, just a quick suggestion. Brush your theeth or even wash your mouth with peppermint and eat a lot of menthol chewing gum, afterwards!!!
Please..do your partner or whoever whom you'll interact soon a favor. Okay? K!

Random Images {City Center}

2008-06-30T18:15:00.004+02:00

Went out to the city center with Zhavar to buy a pregnancy diary at the book store. I wasn't on top of my stamina(well, maybe it's a hormonal thing). I could only grab a few pictures on our way there. Which I regret later on, coz it was a nice sunny day and it wasn't as hectic as weekends.

#1. The Netherlands. Famous of its flowers. No wonder there are so many street florist. This is one of them.

#2. Bike. Bike. Bike. Oh, you'll see so many bikes here. But this one is a peculiar one. I love the front wooden basket with fake flowers all over it.

#3. They're really ordinary delivery motorbikes. I shot'em coz I love the bright yellow colour. I just thought that it would make a nice picture.

Anyway, while we were heading back home, hubby called and asked where we were at that time. And so, he caught up with us. Then together we went home.

Since his father were there, Zhavar refused to sit on his stroller. So he walked all the way home. I've got a shot of this moment, he was holding hand with his daddy. Soooo cute...

Zhavar in Action

2008-06-30T18:12:00.000+02:00

He asked me to put his jacket on for him. After I zipped it up, he put one of his hand inside the pocket. And for several minutes didn't take it out.

Where did he learn to do that? Oh so cute..

Anyway, his eyelashes are longer than mine. I envy him ;p.

A Little Help From Hubby

2008-06-29T18:00:00.003+02:00

I remember when I was pregnant with Zhavar, hubby helped me with cooking. Coz I had a bad nausea and it's caused by everything that's got to do with kitchen.

Now, eventhough I haven't felt sick yet. Yesterday, hubby offered to make sambal terasi. Of course my reaction was... HURRAY!!!
1st. His attempt was very sincere.
and
2nd. His sambal terasi is very delicious. Seriously! Who could resist?

Thanks hubby.....Love ye...

Am I....?

2008-06-27T14:05:00.005+02:00

Me, for the last couple of days:
1. Being very lazy & sleepy..
Not sure whether it's because of the weather or it's just me???

2. Having random abdominal pain..
Occasionally, I've been feeling a little pain in my stomach. It's the same feeling as when you're going to have ure period. I've had thoughts that's because I was hungry. But apparently after I eat, it still comes on & goes.

3. Appetite is increasing..
Before going to bed, I've been feeling very hungry. So have been having a little snack before going to bed. Early morning, I mean reaaaally early as in 4 o'clock in the morning I feel an empty stomach.

4. Emotionally un-stabil, moody..
When I see babies, I've been having an urge to pinch their cheeks.(which I didn't). And believe me, it's hard for me not to do that. Anyway, I've been a little sensitive too. Oh my.. Poor hubby. He's the only person that has to deal with my moodiness.

Ok. From here, are you getting anything? Any clue?

Oh..and number 5. I'm late..

Well, anyway..since I'm not a teaser & in this case can't wait to spread the good news, so here goes.....

InshaAllah, we'll be getting another member of the family.

Raising a Picasso

2008-06-26T14:03:00.003+02:00

I bought him crayons & a lot of drawing papers. BIG ones.
Apparently, that wasn't enough for him. So, there he went. Drawing on the wall, his playpen, my desk and God knows where he'll be heading to next time..

Picnic

2008-06-24T20:13:00.005+02:00

I've been wanting to have a picnic in our backyard like forever. Fortunately, it was bright and sunny, this morning. We ate our breakfast there while watching Zhavar playing with his ball.

It really was nice picnicking in your own yard. I wonder, why it took us 3 years to do this..

I used sharpen unmask tool in this picture.

This one is shoot straight out of the camera.

Zest For Baking {Mini Eclair}

2008-06-23T20:00:00.001+02:00

We always end our dinner with dessert. We always do. Whether its' a cake, ice cream, pudding or just a fruit of salad. We always have something sweet.And most of the time we bought them. So when there's nothing for dessert, and we haven't got time to buy it, I must make it myself.

So I went to the kitchen to making mini eclairs. Well, actually it was supposed to be BIG eclairs. But since I made the batter 1/2 of the recipe, I decided to bake the little version instead.

Anyway, hubby said Yum-O. He, who doesn't like sweets. Remember?! So I took it with a big smile. Or should I say.. grin.

Photos of Today

2008-06-23T19:36:00.003+02:00

I was planning to take pictures on our way to Zhavar's school, this morning. Literally, anything that I'll see on the road would be my object victim. My primary intention is to get used to the camera. Get better in composition. Nailing the exposure. And finally..has the "it" eye.

So I had my camera & my favorite lens. I wore my shootsac lens bag. And I also brought a lot of spirit with me. For me, the latter was the most important thing. Coz you've no idea, how difficult it's for me to just hunt for pictures. We've no relatives who live here, whom we could ask to babysit Zhavar fo a while. And Zhavar, who's 16 mo, isn't old enough to take care of himself. I wouldn't want to abandon him just to take some(good) pictures. I could, however, ask hubby to watch him. But that means, I should wait until he got home from the University, which is usually around 6 pm. And that's not a good timing, since it's almost dinner & Zhavar's bed time. Above all of that, as I mentioned in the previous post, I'm a full time mom who takes photography just as a hobby. I'm not going to make it a big deal for not regularly producing good pictures. I want to have fun with it. I want to learn it without any burden whatsoever. I want to make progress and still have time for my family(esp Zhavar).

So anyway, this morning didn't turn out just the way I planned it to be. Coz suddenly, on our way to Zhavar's school, it rained. I, myself, had to paddle quickly to arrive faster at school.

Luckily, when the school was over, around 12 o'clock, the rain stopped. So on our way home, I could take some random pictures. Just so you all know, I took all the pictures with only one hand. While the other hand was holding my bike, on which Zhavar sat on it. I couldn't risk parking the bike while Zhavar was on it. Or even to let Zhavar off the bike. You'll never know what could happen to him while I shoot.(wouldn't want to imagine it either). So I dragged the bike for the whole journey.

Ready to go to school.

Sleeping on the bike, while on our way home.

Saturday Day-Out

2008-06-22T17:03:00.006+02:00

Today was cloudy as ever. However, since it's weekend we need to go outside. What I meant by need is actually a must. Coz there's nothing left on the fridge. We've got to buy milk, eggs, bread, cheese, etc.

So, there we went in the afternoon to the city center. First stop was the book store. Hubby needed something for his disertation. Second stop, the parfume store. I needed to buy gifts for my friends, which apparently I didn't find it there. Next stop, was V&D(one of the largest depart.store here). Thankfully I found the perfect gifts for my friends there. After that, the 3 of us hung-out just for awhile in the cafe at this depart.store. As any normal woman would've done, while heading to the cafe, looked for and found items for SALE. I saw these cute form SALE(buy one, get one free) chocolates. And it's from Belgium. I love Belgian chocolate. So I bought one box(get 2 boxes ofcourse). After paying it, I hastily opened it & took a bite. Oh soooo delicious. It was like eating Pringles but made of chocolate. You can't stop consuming it. Darn!

Our last stop was the supermarket. We went there only for a couple of minutes. Coz I already made a list of "Things to buy". So it was a quick stop.

And we went home. Have a little football game in the backyard. Zhavar had a blast. And so did we.

Hubby took the 2nd shot.

Don't Forget To(always) Bring It!

2008-06-22T16:56:00.003+02:00

Here's a note to me, from hubby:
Don't ever forget your camera!
Just bring it! Eventhough you might not take picture for the whole day. It will eventually become a habbit and it will be handy when there's something need to be captured. And the most important thing is practice makes perfect.

Thanks hubby, for always reminding me. I constantly need some push now & then.

What's For Breakfast?

2008-06-22T15:49:00.007+02:00

"How can people here eat a lot of bread? How can they only eat bread and feel enough? Is bread delicious?"

Those were questions that arises as an Indonesian, who eat rice everyday(just like normal Indonesian do), about 4 years ago. This questions didn't pop out at the very first time I placed my feet in The Netherlands. It popped out when I first lived here.

I was very amazed to see people eat bread everyday, 3 times a day. I mean, literally they ate bread at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Not that I found it weird or something. Coz really, I do know that western people eat bread. I do know that it's their main source for carbohydrate. What I didn't understand is, does it satisfy them? Or, have it never bored them?

So those questions lingered in my head for quite some time. Till 2 years ago, when I was pregnant with Zhavar, as you all might know that pregnant women(some of them) desires certain food. For me, it was Indonesian food. But since there's only a few Indonesian Restaurants here & none of them provide the cuisine that I wanted, so basiccally I couldn't satisfy my longing. And hubby, didn't lose his wit. Better went home with something then nothing, he thought he bought me a complete sandwich. And that's because: first, it was healthy. Second, that's the only food that he could easily find in the supermarket.

So, without any hesitation I ate it. Coz I was usually desperately hungry at that time. And BAM! Since then, I had this huge lust for eating bread. Seriously, it was uncontrollable. I woke every midnight just to have some bread. At lunch time, I only want to eat bread from the bakery near hubby's office.

And so there you have it. I was becoming one of them, who eat bread everyday, 3x a day. As time goes by, my desire for bread waned. Now, I'm a mix of both east & west. I eat bread for breakfast. The rest(lunch & dinner) are rice.

So what's for breakfast today?. It's definitely NOT rice.

Bread + coffee (in our fave mugs) = yummy breakfast

Sweet Tooth

2008-06-20T19:09:00.005+02:00

I've an addiction to sweets. I think it's inherited from my father's side. Or maybe from my mother? Well, maybe both.

My parents, both, are Javanese. It's really not a secret that we, Javanese, love sweet food. It can be seen from our cuisine that tastes(most of them) sweet.

On the other hand. Hubby comes from Sumatra(another island in Indonesia). He doesn't like sweet food. Well, not that he hate it. It just that he's not really into it. If he has to choose two different kind of food, sweet or salty, he'll definitely choose the latter. However, if there's nothing left except sweet food. He'll eat it without a doubt.

What about Zhavar? Who he resembles? Oh yeah. He's as sweet tooth as I am. Not very proud of it. Coz it's not a good thing. But I try to limit his sweet toothness.

You see, this is a picture of him eating stroopwafel. And it's undoubtedly very sweet. Oh my..

Something For Our Feet

2008-06-19T18:46:00.010+02:00

This must be our lucky day. After hunting sandals for the whole week, last week, in the city center and came home with nothing. Today or to be precise tonight we went to the shoe stores near our apartment.

We finally found the specific sandals that we've been looking for. It can be worn in hot weather, the soles are flexible/elastic, with velcro strap to adjust the thightness for each foot, for hiking, and last but not least it must be comfortable for long wearing.

So without any second thought, we bought them. Yes, it turned out hubby want one too :).

And talking about luck. They were on SALE. It was far cheaper than the stores in the city center. Can't wait to wear them on summer vacation.

My sandal.

It's hubby's.

New Toy

2008-06-19T18:31:00.006+02:00

Have I mentioned that for the last few days, it's all been cloudy and rainy here? And today from morning till afternoon it rained hard. As per usual, I couldn't help not to yawn the entire day. I always get very sleepy when it rains. The sound of the drizzle somehow slows down my adrenaline. In other words, it's sooths me. The greyish and cloudy sky make me think that it's already night. To me, it's like my surrounding is tlelling me that it's time to go to bed.

So anyway, I felt very lazy because of my sleepiness. Instead of doing my chores, I just sat on the sofa, yawning, while watching the telly.

In the middle of my almost-dreaming-state, our bell rang. And guess what? It was the postman with the package that I've been waiting for. All of the sudden, I felt wide awake. It was like I was recharged or something.

So there I was. The whole evening playing with my new toy. Oh, It's so worth the wait.

Zhavar's playing with the already-opened box

A Book Worm Is In The House

2008-06-18T22:21:00.005+02:00

Honestly, this is the first time in my whole life I see a toddler who very much loves to be read to. I'm talking about my son, Zhavar. Not once that he spent a day without asking us to read him books. Most of the times, with his gestures he asks me or his father to read him some books. And at other times, when me & hubby are busy, he reads the books by himself. Well, maybe not really reading. But he's enjoying every pictures on the book.

It could cost us at least 20 minutes to read him books. That's because Zhavar's an active learner. After we read him a book(or some), he always asks or makes a review for himself. He would ask about every pictures that are on the book. And then he would seem to try to remember or orally imitate on our answers.

Zhavar's reading activity is becoming a habit for him. It's in his must-do list. We(me&hubby) have never pushed him in anyway to be read books. The only thing that we do is read him a book every night since he was born. And we always do that because we see that books soothed him. So we continue doing the bed time routine until he was about 11 months or so. At that age, his reading time expanded beyond bed time routine. It became one of his main activities.

I'm very proud of him. And knowing what Zhavar's interest are, I constantly buy him books, whenever I see/cross a bookstore. Now, he got his own library, I think.

(a few of his favourite books)

The Unexpected Package

2008-06-17T15:21:00.004+02:00

Last week, I bought something from Ebay. Based on the information from the seller, it should arrived this week. So since Monday, I've been waiting for the package arrive at my door.

This afternoon, while I was browsing on the internet, our bell rang. SInce we didn;t have any appointments with anyone, I thought that must be the mail man.

Me, who was still in front of the computer asked hubby to see who it was. And yes. That's the mail man. I was so excited and couldn't wait for hubby to come back with a package.

I waited almost 10 minutes. But hubby still haven't showed up. So I shouted(in a very nice voice) "Was it the mail man, hon?" "Yes." "Did he deliver any package?" "Yes." "Why don't you come here with the package?" I was very impatient.

And within a minute, he showed up wearing a green army boonie hat on his head, with an all smile face. I was going to laugh, but still kept it cool. (Seriously, you might also find it funny if you see his face at that time). Then I went, "Where did you get that?" "From the package that was delivered by the mail man.", he said.

I was a little bit dissappointed with the fact that the package wasn't for me. So I continued browsing on the internet. When suddenly hubby put something on my head. I immediately took it off and said "What?". "That's for you," said hubby. OMG. He bought the same hat for me. And he also had already bought a boonie hat for Zhavar. So the 3 of us, now have the same hat. Green army boonie hats. It looks silly actually. I laughed for about 5 minutes non-stop. But wait till you see us wearing those hats for their intended use(maybe next month). It goes from silly to cool ;p. Haha.
note: I'm still waiting for the other package that hasn't arrived yet.

Here's a picture of us wearing the hats.

Don't we look hilariously funny with those hats??

Back To School

2008-06-16T18:26:00.006+02:00

Last week, Zhavar skipped school the entire week. It's not because he didn't want to go to school. On the contrary, he loves school. It's the place he can play with a lot of toys. Being read a lot of books. Running. Screaming. Playing with other children. Etc. It's his do-whatever-I-want place.

The thing is, I was too lazy to bike him there last week. (Oh shame on me). The weather last week wasn't to friendly. It was always cloudy and a little bit rainy. So I thought it's best for us not to go outside(in support of my lazyness).

However, if you live in The Netherlands, especially Groningen, you can;t really count on the weather. Coz eventhough it's summer, there's no guarantee that the sun will shine everyday. When it does, it may not shine the whole day. So the whole last week, Zhavar just played inside the house. Poor him. I think he's a little bit frustrated about that. Since our apartment(as many other apartments in The Netherlands) is small.

So this morning, I decided to took Zhavar to his school. And he's very delighted knowing that we're heading to school. He really enjoying his 3 hours time at school. And by the time we went home, he's all sleepy.

After 1,5 hours of sleep, he woke up from his nap. And we, the 3 of us, headed to the city center to have some lunch. We ate in Wagamama. The only noodle speciality restaurant in Groningen.

And we spent the rest of the afternoon hunting sandals for me. What for? For our on coming trip. Yey! Summer vacation is on its way.

(Zhavar's playing with his chopsticks while waiting for his food)

(pictures taken at Wagamama Restaurant in Groningen)

16 Months

2008-06-15T17:57:00.003+02:00

Today, Zhavar is 16 months old. It's amazing watching him grow everyday. I never realize how fast the growth of a child is until I have one. It seems not long ago he was just a baby. Now, he's already a toddler. He's becoming more independent. There are many things that he has achieved at this age. Out of all his developments, one thing that I notice that I fell should emphasize is his communicating skills.

Eventhough at this time, he can only say a few words(3 clear words to be precise), we actually(most of the time) can communicate well with each other. He understands simple instructions, like: "Please, close the door!" or "Please, put that garbage(small one ofcourse) to the litter bin!" etc. Also, he can tell us what he wants by using the baby sign language.

Me & hubby had have been into the baby sign thing since the day ZHavar's born. But little did we know that it would actually work. We couldn't be more happy with his development.

Here's this month highlights:
-understand simple instructions
-words: gajah(jajah), traktor(takton), nenen(nana), kupu2(pupu)
-sign language: bicycle(tangan genjot), car(brem2), bird(tangan buka nutup), dog(guk2), etc.
-point out: hair, clock, book, tv. etc.

Anyway, yesterday I bought a cake from the supermarket. So today would be an appropriate time to cut it.
Happy 16th Monthsday my dearest Zhavar!!
note: we never celebrate birthdays or monthsday or whatsoever.

Here's a picture of hubby acting surprised plus drooling over the cake. See how ridiculous he looked ;p.