We are Moving! (The Packing)

Packing is SUCH a tedious and time-consuming process!!!

I'm taking a break right now just to catch my breath. Keep asking myself "Where on earth did ALL these stuff come from?"

Imagine that there's only THREE of us in this house, 2 adults and one toddler and I don't remember using ALL the stuff every day or even every other day for that matter. Sheesh ...

My 3-yo toddler is such a gem as she insists on helping out as much as she can. 

Packing, taping boxes, sweeping the floor etc She even handles the huge pair of scissors, under my supervision of course, and the packing tape like a pro! Woo hoo! :D

I color code the boxes according to which room it should go to ie kitchen / room / study etc

I even maintain an inventory list just so it would make unpacking easier.

Kitchen 1 - Plates / cutleries & kitchen utensils
Kitchen 2 - Pots & pans
Kitchen 3 - Glasses / mugs & serving dishes
Room 1 - T-shirts / Shirts / Pants / etc 
So on and so forth

Needn't be too detailed else you'll end up spending MORE time listing out the items for the inventory list as opposed to the packing itself! hahaha

I make sure that each box is filled to the top, filling in any empty spaces with paper or tissue or kitchen towels or towels, etc so that it provides "cushion" to all the items packed, especially when it gets loaded onto the truck and is stacked on top of each other. 

I mark the boxes as FRAGILE or EXTREMELY LIGHTWEIGHT.

I even packed our toddler's baby stuff ie clothes / pants / socks / toys etc in a separate box and marked it with "Baby Stuff - Unpacking Not Required"

Of course, there are those days where I had to juggle between packing, business, house chores, cooking and a clingy toddler ... I often thought that I would pass out any instant!

Which I did, not literally. But that one day, when my toddler took a nap, I took a 2-hour nap too and felt refreshed after.

Hubby has been a gem, making sure he buys us dinner after he returns from work or we go out for dinner. I only prepare breakfast and lunch for my toddler and I.

Hubby had already mentioned that for the entire week next week, I can rest and that we'll go out for dinner :D :D :D 

Ok .. did I mention packing was tiring? No no no ... it's manageable (whilst thinking of the list of restaurants to hit next week) kekekeke

Marmalade at Publika

I badly needed some "Me-time" where I could complete some tasks ie documentation, calculation etc so decided on heading to Marmalade at Publika. 

Although it was approximately 26-minutes drive away from our home, I wanted to go there because of the ease in looking for parking.

So my 3-yo toddler and I headed there after making a drop-off in PJ.

Upon reaching Publika, we had to drive all the way down to B7 (basement parking) as all the other floors were full. Thank God for the Touch & Go so I needn't grab a parking ticket.

Trust me, I'm hopeless in looking for the cafe on my own and that Publika itself has a few different blocks housing shops and restaurants, I made sure that I memorised the exact location of Marmalade (hahaha I think I'm the only one doing this, hopeless, I know :D )

On B7 itself, I made SEVERAL rounds just to look for BLOCK C1. There were parking spaces which are already reserved so I had to slow down to look for a non-reserved parking spot, at the same time, on the lookout for BLOCK C1.

Thank goodness there weren't any cars driving around at that time so the search was easier.

I finally managed to find BLOCK C1 and I parked at the parking spot C7 :D Yeay! The lift lobby was just a few steps away from the car.

We then went up to LEVEL G3 and as we stepped out from the lift, made a turn to the right and then right again to find the cafe extremely close by! Yeay! Accomplished!

At the time, there were only 3 tables occupied and the play area only had 2-3 kids playing.

Of course, our toddler headed to the play area first so I made sure that I removed her shoes. 

I was trying to find a table where I could easily monitor her when a server by the name of Aisyah / Aishah came up to me and asked if I needed a table. 

I told her that I wanted a table where I could see my toddler. 

She showed me a table which could seat 4 -6 pax. I said that it was just me so she gave me a table for 4-pax but slightly further, though I could still see my toddler clearly. 

Aisyah is very friendly and has a smile on her face, one of the rare things nowadays.

After I placed my order and started up my laptop to proceed with work, I kept glancing over to the play area just to make sure my toddler was not hitting someone or taking someone else's toy etc.

I hooked up to the cafe's WiFi and keyed in their password 6201 7991.

When the food and drinks arrived, my toddler decided to go for her potty at the same time. 

I packed everything in my bag, left some of my non-essential items on the table and notified Aisyah that I needed to head to the bathroom (no changing area nearby).

The bathroom was quite a walking distance and yes, confusing so luckily there were proper signs.

I believe we spent a good 15-minutes in the bathroom as she wanted to do her "business number 2".

By the time we got back to our table, the food was already cold.

I persuaded her to finish her lunch before she could continue playing. 

I ordered their lasagna and my toddler had their fish fingers with a huge portion of mashed potato.

Ok, I had a tough time finishing their lasagna as the portion was huge too! My toddler only managed to down half of her mashed and under normal circumstances, I would help her finish her meal but I just couldn't. Too full! *burp*

My toddler continued to play at the play area whilst I attempted to complete my work. 

After awhile, Aisyah came over to ask me if I had wanted to move to a table closer to the play area as the previous patrons had just left. 

I told her Sure!! So she helped me carry all of my stuff to the other table. 

At this time, it was easier to monitor my toddler.

Unfortunately, there were a series of incidents involving other kids which left me feeling exasperated!!!

A 2-yo boy had wanted to play with her, but she kept pushing him away until he fell on the floor. I came over and apologized to his mother before carrying my daughter away from the play area and told her it was rude to push people. I told her that we would be heading home if she continued doing this. 

She said "I don't wanna go home! I wanna play." After some negotiation, I let her get back to the play area.

The boy came back and wanted to play again, she started rattling the toy so that he couldn't grasp it. I shot her a look and she stopped, allowed the boy to play together. 

Another girl around 5-yo wanted to play with her too, starting talking etc, she kept saying "no no" and the girl's mother told her daughter "You can play with another toy, she probably brought hers from home." So the daughter initially looked disappointed but went to play with another toy instead.

My daughter of course, kept pushing the 1-yo boy away so I had to go over and take her away from the play area a few times. 

UNTIL ... a boy aged around 5-yo decided to sit down on one of the chairs to watch TV. 

My daughter suddenly went over to him and smacked him on the head with a toy she was holding!!!! 

OH MY GOD!

I apologized to the boy and his maid, took my daughter away and asked her why did she hit the boy?

She said "That's my chair!" and started crying. 

RIGHT, so she had sat on the same chair previously to watch TV but because she was playing something else, the boy had sat on the chair because it was unoccupied. 

I told her that there were soooo many other chairs she could sit on to watch TV and that if she continued to hit people, we would be heading home. 

Of course she cried a bit then said she wanted to play. 

I told her to apologize to the boy for hitting him, she did but the boy was too shy and walked away. Oh no, poor little boy!!! 

My daughter then decided to sit on a rocking horse and the boy continued to sit on the chair. They both watched TV like nothing happened coz they were seated side-by-side. Goodness gracious!!!

At this time, Aisyah had come over to my table to re-fill my iced water. 

After awhile, she came to me and said "Ummi, I want to play outside" I told her that it's extremely hot outside so she should play inside.

Of course, some drama there where we were negotiating not to play outside. 

Suddenly, she went back to the play area and continued playing. 5-minutes later she came back and said "Ummi, I don't want to play outside, I want to play inside." 

I acknowledged and told her Good girl!

Not long after, I heard the same 1-yo boy suddenly cry. 

Oh dear!!! 

I fetched my daughter, apologized to his mom AGAIN and told my daughter to put on her shoes as we were heading home. Of course, she cried. 

I gather my belongings, paid the bill and we headed down to the parking lot.

She stopped crying in the car and was talking and busy wiping her hands with the wet tissue I handed over to her when she suddenly stopped talking probably 10-minutes later. 

She had fallen asleep in the car.

1. Website
2. Address: No. 2, Level G3, Block C1, Publika Shopping Gallery, No. 1, Solaris Dutamas, Jalan Dutamas 1, 50480 KL.

   Phone:03-6201 7991 (this is their WiFi password) 
3. Click Location for more details on the opening hours and a guide to Publika via a map.
4. Facebook
5. Email: marmalade.cafe.my@gmail.com

Cooking with an Induction Cooker

I have to admit, I've NEVER used an induction cooker in my life! 

So we bought one to bring over to our new home. 

Reason being is that we would be having limited storage space in the kitchen cabinet so we decided to save space and avoid purchasing any gas cylinders.

Today, out of all days, the gas ran out whilst I was in the midst of preparing soup. 

For a moment, I panicked as I had already thawed the chicken and marinated them too, waiting to be deep fried.

I would never call the gas man to come over if I am alone at home with my toddler, it would normally be when hubby is around. 

I decided to use the induction cooker which we just bought. 

Hubby found it at a second-hand shop which cost us RM200+. It's a pretty good deal considering that it was a well-known brand and if they were to sell it online, it could fetch approximately RM1k-RM2k. Crazy expensive!!!

Here I was initially struggling to figure out how to use it, but after a minute or so, I figured out that it was pretty easy :D :D :D (smiles to self and starts doing a victory dance kekekekeke)

The ONLY thing that I had to quickly think on my feet was figuring out how to fry the chicken considering that we couldn't use our wok on the super flat and sleek surface.

I noticed that the pots and pans bought from IKEA could be used with the induction cooker. 

When I tried to use a frying pan which wasn't from IKEA, the induction cooker generated something like an error message, "EO" reflected on the screen (wow, makes it sound like I'm operating a smart computer or some sort) ... but for a moment, I went "oh wow! that's pretty cool!" 

Brings me back to the time when I was in college, working on a topic, "Ubiquitous Technology in a Home". 

Coolness! 

Once I was done with the cooking and switching pots and pans, I let it cool off for awhile before I could wipe it down. 

It was WAYYY easier to clean this induction cooker as opposed to cleaning the normal cooking stove. :D

Oh well, I might as well get used to operating this one so that it would be a breeze once we settle down in our new home. 

Till then, let me just go check a manual so that I know I'm operating this correctly...

We Are Moving! (The Roadblocks)

We plan to settle down in our new home before the fasting month (Ramadhan) starts. 

This way, we could observe the holy month with a peace of mind and not scramble all over the place, pulling out stuff from boxes or even stepping around them.

I plan to prepare home cooked meals and not buy pre-packed ones, plan to use proper plates & cutleries as opposed to using paper plates and want to know where the fresh food are kept in my fridge as opposed to having an empty fridge.

Yes, I'm still halfway in packing our stuff. 

I had just managed to clear the clutter that had slowly accumulated throughout the entire week as we had gone on a family trip.

My living room looks more like a living room, clutter-free.

I'm losing my hair, I know it as I went for a haircut the other day and the lady asked me if I was suffering from hair loss! Owh!!!

We have other major things piled up for us to do even before we could sit down and complete packing our stuff.

Our weekends are full, some of my weekdays are packed too and the only thing that could keep me sane is ensuring that the house is clutter-free. 

Can't help it if I have rows and rows of boxes stacked against the wall, carefully placed to avoid blocking the hallways or walkways.

Ugh, I honestly don't know WHEN I can finish this episode!

Seriously can't wait to have it done and dusted with.

Wish me luck, peeps!!!