Picnic

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.

Saturday Day-Out

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.

Sweet Tooth

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..

The Unexpected Package

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

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

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.

Love Story

Sansa.
A beautiful 22 years old woman. Just graduated from Univ.Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. Being the youngest daughter makes her very much attached to her parents and sisters. No. She's not a spoiled girl. On the contrary, she's very independent. She's a person who likes to take care of other people. Not the other way around. Behind her childish appearance, she's actually wise for her age. I wouldn't be surprised if her friends like to share their joy and tear with her. She is a very friendly and kind person. She has a whole lot of best friends from elementary school to the university who love her very much.

Yudhi.
A handsome 32 years old man. Working as an assistant vice president in one of the prestigious banks in Jakarta. The oldest son of his family. A kind, polite and respectful man. Not to forget his intelligence. And he's very much a family man.

These two people met for the first time at her house. He was companying his mom visiting one of her friends. Which actually is Sansa's mom. At that very first sight, he knew that he wanted her in his life. She, on the other hand didn't even seem to care about that. Until several days after that day, they kept in touch by phone and sms. And finally, he acquired the key to her heart. Love, care, support and respect has filled their relationship.

Just about 6 months of their so called dating, they decided to get married. Their love story continues. The love kept growing & letting stronger. Their life couldn't be more perfect. She got a job on a prestigious newspaper in Jakarta. And he was just won the employee of the year Award that was held in Thailand.

(aren't they a lovely couple?)

These two love birds are crazy of each other. I was so thrilled to hear when se got pregnant one month after they'd got married. They both would make great parents. A baby would be very lucky to have them as his/her mom & dad.

Unfortunately, it was 2 days ago when I heard the news that she had a miscarriage. She was really devastated. Both of them. She cried on the phone. I, too, couldn't help not to cry also. I was really shocked & sad when I heard it. It seemed that everything was fine with her & her pregnancy. But you never know what God wills.

To my sister, Sansa..
Hope you'll be better.
Keep trying.
Keep hoping.
Keep smiling.
Keep praying.
and keep being grateful for what you've got.

"So truly with hardship comes ease"
"Truly with hardship comes ease"
(Al-Inshiraah :5-6)

Love you very much. And can't wait to see you. See your smile again.
*mba Senaz*

Weekend - To The Playground

Aaah, finally it's Saturday. Even though I do not working, I still think weekends are the best days. At weekends, we usually spent hours in bed. Oh yes, my son sometimes still sleep with us on the same bed. And then wake up very late. For us, one of the indulgence of weekends is by being lazy.

Unfortunately, it didn't happen this morning. Coz Zhavar woke up very early and wanted to play outside. Usually hubby is the one who takes Zhavar to the playground on weekends. But today, he still has a lot of work to be finish. So after having breakfast, doing this and that, me & Zhavar went to the park.

When we got to the park, it's just the two of us there. Well, no wonder coz it's still quite early for weekends(around 9 am). But a little later on, came a father and son. And couple of minutes after that came other fathers and daughters/sons. Until the playground was full with fathers and their children. Except me! I was the only mom there. That was what amaze me. Dutch people somehow can still manage to play with their kids. From Monday till Friday are working days for daddys. So weekends are daddys-son/daughter time. Wow!

Ok. Here are a few images of Zhavar playing in the Playground.


Zhavar was really having a good time there. We even made a scene on the spot. Zhavar cried when I put him in his stroller.


With his favourite toy. Any toys that have tires.

Oh yes. He can be tired too. So off he went to the bench. Not forgetting his sippy cup.


Yep! It's quiet sunny today.