Kembara Melur & Arman

Melur's 9th Birthday!

2011-09-26T19:44:00.000-07:00

We had a small birthday celebration for Melur last Sunday, Sept 25. One thing different about kids birthday parties (and weddings) here compared to Malaysia is that the size is usually much smaller. We only had 14 kids altogether, a dozen of Melur's schoold friends (all girls), Arman, and Melur. The Venue was at a cooking school, so it was a cooking and baking themed birthday party. The kids seem to enjoy themselves, they made their own pizzas (including the pizza dough), fruit kebabs, and cupcakes.

Melur's birthday is actually around the end of August, August 30. But she was OK with having the birthday party much later in September. Mommy was too busy with her comprehensive exam, which was on the same week as Melur's birthday. We are lucky to have Melur, she's so thoughtful and considerate...:)

	Seriously working on the pizza dough
	Arman working on his pizza dough, look at that level of concentration!
	Arman was shy at first, but he seems to be at home afterwards. He made himself useful during clean-up time.
	Getting silly before the birthday cake
	Birthday cake time!
	Birthday loot for this year... thanks everyone, Melur loves all the gifts.

Kids Must Listen...

2011-03-19T21:42:00.000-07:00

Here's what we do to Melur and Arman when they are naughty... ha ha ha

Winterlude 2011: Part 1

2011-03-19T20:45:00.000-07:00

Sometime in mid-February we went to Ottawa for a short, family holiday. The trip coincided with one of Arman's chess tournaments, which was held on Sunday. We left Kingston on Friday... the plan was to spend the Saturday at Jacques-Cartier Park, and let the kids enjoy the snow playground. Unfortunately, the weather was warm and the snow melted... no snow playground for us. We decided to make the best of things and see what they have to offer at the Confederation Park instead. They was an ice sculpture show... and other exhibits. Melur and Arman seemed to have enjoyed themselves. Here are some pictures...

Melur and Arman at the maple wood carving booth. They had all sorts of toys made from wood at this booth.

Mommy, Melur, and Arman... all three on our snow motorbike.

Melur resting on a sofa made out of ice... very, very cool.

The four of us in front of the winterlude sign...

Papa... you can see the line for the famous Ottawa beavertail behind him. We wanted to get some... but well, as you can see... the line was too long... and was just too cold to be standing in line.

Melur and the Cats

2010-12-22T21:13:00.000-08:00

We have two cats - Archie and Hermione. Melur loves those two cats. She reads to them, plays with them, and sleeps with them. Here, she made a makeshift bed for Hermione from the piano bench, Arman's pillow, and Arman's hair towel. Hmmm... how come she's using all of Arman's stuff for the cat?...

Here you see a picture of Melur and Hermione. Maybe it's time to buy cat beds...

Conversation with Arman

2010-12-18T23:26:00.000-08:00

Between Arman and Mommy about 2 weeks ago...

Arman : What are you reading Mommy?
Mommy: Newspaper
Arman : What's in the newspaper Mommy?
Mommy: A student fell from the roof... and died
Arman : Is the police investigating it?
Mommy: I'm sure they are.
Arman : Do they think it's homicide or suicide?

Conclusion: We've been watching too many episodes of Monk on DVDs...

Another Spring 2010 Piano Recital

2010-07-12T20:06:00.001-07:00

This video was taken last month, the last piano recital for the 2009/2010 school year. Melur and Arman play really well this time around. Arman was even a little dramatic (you have to check it out). I got tired of waiting for Melur and Arman to add commentary for their Melur and Arman Show, so I just pieced it together and uploaded it to my own youtube channel. What do you guys think?

Anyway, thanks for watching. I’ll be posting another video (in 2 parts) of our second trip to the K&P Trail. This is yet another video that I simply got tired of waiting for the commentary. There are still more videos in the queue for the Melur and Arman Show. Watch out for those!

Ep 9: Trip to Lake Placid

2010-07-01T19:49:00.001-07:00

As Mommy mentioned in a recent blog post, our family went to Lake Placid for a little mini vacation. Daddy was running a half marathon there, and we thought we’d make it into something more. We were spending money to go there and stay there anyway. Mommy’s post was pretty comprehensive, but to top it off, we’ve compiled some video footage, and put them into the Melur and Arman Show (with commentary, of course). Episode 9 is in 3 parts (3 days of footage, after all). Take a look below:

I think that pretty much sums it up. I’d love to go again, but these trips aren’t exactly cheap. And if we did have a budget, why go to the same place over and over again? Why not go somewhere else, and try something new? Anyway, we’ll see how it goes. We’ll most likely have these mini-vacations in conjunction with sporting events that Mommy and Daddy want to attend. Where shall we go to next?

Ep. 8: ISK Graduation Party

2010-06-21T21:32:00.000-07:00

Okay, so this is yet another entry from the Melur and Arman show. We recently went to a graduation party for Evening School students studying Quran at the Islamic Society of Kingston (ISK), just this past Friday actually. Food was great, kids had fun, and we generally had a good time. Melur and Arman couldn't wait to put the video together, and they dressed up for it too. Without further ado...

That's all folks. Still need to put together videos of our trip to Lake Placid. Will do that soon.

Ep. 7: Toronto for Chess

2010-06-19T18:08:00.000-07:00

This is a recent entry from the Melur and Arman show, but the trip itself is from 2 months ago, when we went to Toronto for Arman's chess challenge. There's a separate blog entry that describes the chess event. This entry describes the trip itself: where we stayed, went and ate. Couldn't quite fit it into one youtube video, so here it is in two:

In part 1, Melur and Arman talk about the hotel where we stayed, the Yorkland Hotel in Toronto:

In part 2, we continue on with dinner at a halal Malaysia restaurant called "Restoran Malaysia", followed by breakfast the next day at the hotel, and finally dinner at Red Lobster once back in Kingston:

It was a pretty short trip... only 1 night. But we had lots of fun. And it was our first trip to Toronto, although we weren't really able to explore much of the area. Maybe next time we're in Toronto, we'll be able to see more.

Episode 5 & 6: Ottawa (Half) Marathon

2010-06-19T17:57:00.000-07:00

Here's a more recent entry from the Melur and Arman show, taken from our trip to Ottawa for Mommy's Half Marathon. We separated the entire trip into 2 episodes, one for each day.

Here is Episode 5 from Day 1. Melur and Arman describe our first day at Ottawa, which includes lunch at Nando's, a quick stop to pick up Mommy's race kit, a swim at the Hampton Inn hotel where we were staying, followed by dinner at a Malaysian restaurant called Chahaya Malaysia:

On the second day (Episode 6), we dropped Mommy off at the race venue bright and early. When we got back, The kids and I had breakfast at the hotel, followed by a short swim, and then we checked out. We headed straight for the race to cheer her on. We picked Mommy up after the race, and had lunch at a shish kebab place.

And that was pretty much it. There was a big jam on our way back to Kingston - Bummer! Our next race will be at Lake Placid where I will run my second half marathon for the year (4th ever). Mommy already put in a blog entry for Lake Placid, but we'll put together something for the Melur and Arman show as well.

Lake Placid Mini-Vacation

2010-06-15T17:41:00.000-07:00

Have you ever tried miniature golf? Well, we did and we (especially Mommy) like it a lot!

Day 1 (Saturday, June 12)

We left the house at 1:30pm. Half of the drive was a bit confusing, since the road wasn't actually a interstate highway. It was quite an uneventful drive though... except for seeing Amish people on their horses and carriages. Mommy and Papa were really excited about seeing them. But, Melur and Arman were more excited to see cows and horses... It was green all the way to Lake Placid, since the area that we went through was for farming.

Arrived at Spruce Lodge at 5:30pm. Checked in, and the room is decent for 2 adults and 2 kids. Went out again for dinner. We initially tried to go to the Downtown Diner, but it was closed. A passer-by recommended two places - Lisa G's and The Cottage for dinner, and the diner for breakfast and lunch.

We tried Lisa G's. It was awesome!

Day 2 (Sunday, June 13)

Papa went running with 2500 other runners in the Lake Placid half-marathon. Mommy, Melur and Arman cheered for him.

Papa proudly showing his finisher medal in front of Spruce Lodge

After the run we decided to do something touristy. We went out after noon, and spent two hours window shopping. We are proud to report that the financial damage was very minimal... Mommy spent $27 on a tea pot (planning to start a collection... have always liked the decoration of "The Teapot" at PJ... hope that the restaurant is still around when she gets to go back to Malaysia again), $15 each for Melur and Arman for Lake Placid t-shirts, and $16 for Papa for his Lake Placid t-shirt and cap combo. We simply walked along Main Street in the middle of town, and went inside most of the stores... at least those that look quaint. One store demonstrated glass blowing. We bought some home-made chocolates and popcorn too. Stopped by the small lake at the center of the town (called Lake Mirror). Melur was begging us to go canoeing/kayaking... but Mommy actually did a lot of canoeing/kayaking during her MRSM years... and the thought of paddling for the kids at 2pm right under the sun didn't sound like a lot of fun. We went back to room and decided to watch a movie (The Mummy Returns) on the computer with popcorn*

Later after googling "family fun Lake Placid"... we got two results... one was Pirate's Cove miniature golf and the other was a local museum. Miniature golf sounded interesting. We went there, paid for a game, and started playing. Everything was fine until Arman had a tantrum** Had to bar him from hole 15-18. Oh well... was still an overall good day.

The Pirate's Cove: Offering 18 mini-golf courses

Mommy and Melur in front of the entrance to Pirate's Cove

The final score - Papa won - Arman didn't get to golf on 15-18

Ended the day with dinner at The Cottage. Another great place with great desserts!

Day 3 (Monday, June 14)

Checked out at 11am sharp. Dropped by the diner for brunch. Excellent pancakes and omelletes here. Our whole trip is complete. It was definitely a great mini-vacation, and we are planning for mini-vacations around road races in the future.

*Arman spilt the popcorn.., we ended up watching the movie without popcorn and taking an afternoon nap.

**This boy is getting to be a handful nowadays...:(

*** More pictures of the kids...

We let the kids play at the park... they seem to be having a lot of fun

Arman with his own unique style of posing in front of the camera... first you look down

Then you look up...

Episode 4: Kingston K&P Trail

2010-06-09T20:55:00.000-07:00

So here's another entry from the Melur and Arman show, taken from our first trip to the K&P Trail on April 4, 2010. We had just gotten our new bikes for the spring, and we also got a new bike rack from the car - pretty awesome. We had to split the video into 2 parts due to youtube constraints.

So the first part of the video shows us getting ready for the trip, as Melur and Arman explain, as well as the first leg of the bike ride:

This second video shows us riding back to the car after taking a break at the mid point of our trip.

I think the kids had fun. We'll definitely do this again, maybe take a different section of the trail. The trail itself isn't too long, but after going a few times, I'm sure we'll have a favorite stretch. Check it in our next episode perhaps....

Episode 3: Ottawa Winter Wonderland

2010-06-08T21:45:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if people are following Melur's new youtube channel, so I just thought I'd post them here as well. We ended up not posting some of our news/events, because Melur puts it into one of her shows. So I guess we should re-post her episodes here and provide more context. Anyway, here is goes:

On Valentine's Day weekend, which is a 3 day holiday here in Ontario due to the Ontario Family Day, we headed up to Ottawa with some friends for the Winter Wonderland. Ottawa was hosting a winter wonderland of sorts, with shows and activities for the entire family. We made the 2-hour drive up in 2 cars. You'll see Santiago sitting in the back with Melur and Arman, while Mommy and Papa are in the front. In the other car is Santiago's mom, Paula, and Farnoosh. Check out Melur and Arman's commentary:

We had to split the video into 2, since youtube only allows 10 minutes per video. This is the second half of our trip.

Anyway, thanks for watching. I'll be posting more of Melur's shows here. Till next time...

2010 Ontario Chess Challenge

2010-06-05T22:01:00.000-07:00

This is kinda old news, but I thought I'd blog about it anyway, just so there's a record of it. Last April, Arman qualified for the 2010 Ontario Chess Challenge by winning first place at the Eastern Ontario Youth Chess Tournament (for First Grade). Here's a video of his adventures at the 2010 Eastern Ontario Youth Tournament in Kingston on April 11:

So the following weekend (April 18th), we headed to Toronto for the 2010 Ontario Chess Challenge. Arman got 5th place (for 1st grade). Here's a short video:

Arman was a little disappointed he didn't win the whole thing. But he did really well. Fifth place is not bad at all, for ALL of Ontario. Maybe he'll do even better next year.

Keep it up, Arman. You'll do well!

Arman's First Interview

2010-05-14T18:30:00.000-07:00

Arman came back from school last week with a note from his teacher, Mrs Richard (pronounced ree-shard). The note describes Arman's next project, which is due on May 25th. Arman needs to choose an occupation, use different strategies (e.g., Internet, books, interviews, watch a video, etc) to gather information about that particular occupation, create a poster with about six to ten facts, and give a short presentation in class on the due date. Arman's first choice was to find out about pilots... but unfortunately, we don't know anybody who's a pilot in Kingston (or anywhere else really). So, Arman ended up choosing librarians instead.

Fortunately, Mommy was able to arrange for Arman to meet a few librarians from the local university. The librarians were so happy when we told them that Arman chose librarians for his project. They simply think, "he is destined for greatness." So today, off we go to the Stauffer Library at Queen's University to meet with two librarians there - Susan and Cate. These two ladies were kind enough to spare some time to be interviewed by a 6-year old. Arman was quite the professional. He came prepared with questions. He gave a good, firm handshake to both ladies and introduced himself, explained to them briefly about his project, and then asked permission to start the interview. He did all that while still looking so cute!

These are the questions he prepared:
1. What do you do in the library?
2. When are your busiest times?
3. When are your work hours?
4. Who helps you with your job?
5. Who do you help?
6. What technologies do you use in your work?

At the end, the two ladies took their time to show Arman some neat gadgets that they have at the library. One that Arman was particularly keen on was this gadget that will make 2-D maps look 3-D, so that you can see the ground elevations and such.

Arman spent half an hour with the ladies, and left by saying thank you. The librarians seem to really appreciate the chocolate bars that Arman gave... just his small way of saying thank you. Arman will work on the poster this weekend, and he thinks that it'll be great. A big holler to the ladies at Stauffer Library for being so nice and helpful!

New Bikes

2010-05-05T20:22:00.000-07:00

The weather has been so good lately... warm and sunny, at least most of the time. We got the kids new bikes. Papa has been taking them to K&P trail on Sundays. They enjoy the ride, and most of the time, they can go on the bike for an hour or so. Just look at them enjoying their bikes, croissants, and warm sun.

It's a great place for bike rides, running, and such...

Melur's Book Report

2010-05-05T18:51:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to write in this blog for ages... unfortunately, I've been so busy. But here's a little update on Melur...

She did a great job on a book report recently (OK, so it was two months ago...). The report was really creative. She made a book bag with a picture of the book cover on one side, and a short summary of the book on the other. Inside was eight items representing the book... she wrote a poem, made a story cube... lots of interesting things.

Some pictures:

Melur has not problem being creative... Mommy on the other hand needs a lot of work. Sorry for such a lame entry...:)

The Arman and Melur Show

2010-02-04T18:33:00.001-08:00

Wow! It’s been a while since I last posted an article to this blog. I’ve been really busy with QuickSchools, and haven’t had a chance to step back. As I mentioned in my personal blog, we did make it to the 1000 Islands Port of Entry, and did our Landing (still waiting for our PR cards). But we forgot to bring our camera. And the trip itself was relatively uneventful. The following week, we got our new Social Insurance Number (SIN), and the week after that, we applied for the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP). And just last week, we had our trip to the dentist, and everyone’s cavity-free.

Anyway, for today’s post, I wanted to talk about this past weekend as well. I wanted to get Melur passionate about something. Arman has his Chess Club. Melur doesn’t have anything that she’s really interested in pursuing. So I’m attempting to get her interested in computers, maybe broadcasting, or multimedia. She loves this show called i-Carly, and I convinced her to start her own little web show.

We spent Sunday looking for a camera. We got the Ultra Flip HD from CostCo (it seemed pretty cheap). I was reading reviews for the original Ultra Flip camera, and its simple interface is actually ideal for kids. Getting it in HD was just a big plus. After getting the camera back home, we proceeded to do our first web show (with 2 episodes). I set up a YouYube account for Melur. You can check out her first web show below. Do subscribe, if you’re on YouTube.

I think it worked. Melur, AND Arman, are both looking forward to their next show. It’ll be a weekly thing, I hope. I’m hoping to teach them about planning, and broadcasting, and all that good stuff. Maybe Melur will be the next i-Carly. And when we go on family trips, I can get Melur to cover the story. I wish them the best of luck.

Tour of Pembroke Street

2010-01-03T15:27:00.000-08:00

I've been meaning to give you guys a tour of our house, and finally did it today, with the New Year (when else, right?). We got a fresh layer of snow overnight, so everything is white. Anyway, here's the video:

In case you're wondering, the temperature according to showmyweather.com was -15 degrees Celsius yesterday and this morning. It's warmed up a bit since. I've put up a little weather widget on the right for your viewing pleasure.

Also, if you're wondering how the kids faired with a second day of fasting (from yesterday's post), they did it again with flying colors. Good job Melur and Arman. Tomorrow, they start school again, after the winter break. I don't think they'll be fasting again will the weekend, but we'll see how it goes.

The Good Muslims

2010-01-02T20:38:00.000-08:00

The kids wanted to fast today (Saturday, Jan 2). Mommy and I were skeptical at first, when they first told us to wake them up for sahur in the morning. I told them, when Muslims fast, they wake up before sunrise to eat. You could technically eat before going to bed at night, but it’s not the preferred way. You have to sleep first, and get up for your last meal before starting your fast.

So the kids slept at the regular time (which is late by western standards, I think) of 9:30 pm. Lo and behold, they got up right away when I woke them up at 5:45 am. We had a quick meal of leftover curry from last night, with some frozen chapatti I cooked on a pan. When subuh came, we prayed jemaah together.

I also told them that as Muslims, it’s best not to go back to sleep after praying subuh (it’s not good to sleep after eating anyway). And so the kids stayed up and watched TV. I on the other hand, was so sleepy for staying up late last night. I wasn’t planning on fasting today, but since the kids wanted to fast, I had to fast too. And I went to bed after praying subuh :(

When I got up later that morning, the kids were still going strong. Sure, they were hungry, but they stuck in there. I tried to occupy their minds with something else. And so we prayed zuhur and asar together. Then, we headed out to Loblaw’s to get some cake for buka puasa. After getting the cake, I took them out grocery shopping. And the kids managed to make it ALL-THE-WAY. We buka puasa with Babybel cheese at the grocery store (we didn’t make it home in time). When we got home, Mommy had some fritters waiting for us. Here's a picture Mommy took, coming home from the grocery store with our cake.

Look at Melur's Make-Up. Nice cake though.
Before having our cake, we prayed maghrib and isha’ together as well. Soon after, Melur had her piece of cake. I said I’d have mine after dinner, and had cookies instead (didn’t want to spoil my dinner). Arman followed me (he often does, actually), and had cookies as well. Mommy prepared dinner soon after, and that was that.

Mommy and I were so proud of Melur and Arman today. I know many kids in Malaysia start fasting a lot sooner, but it’s hard here in Canada. And this is their FIRST time fasting a full day. Now the kids want to fast again tomorrow, so they can have more cake for buka puasa (the cake from Loblaw’s was REALLY good by the way). Hopefully, tomorrow turns out well.

Family Google Calendar

2010-01-02T11:51:00.001-08:00

I've put together a Google Calendar for important family events and holidays. For those of you coming to visit, you'll know when the kids are free. I have yet to put in all the kids vacation for 2010, but it'll be updated soon. See below:

FYI, this same calendar is also on my website at http://www.azroykandan.com.

An Author in the Family

2010-01-01T20:56:00.000-08:00

I've always dreamed of becoming an author, writing a book. But apparently Arman has beaten me to it. He wrote a book about books. Here it is:

Translation:

Book about Books
By Arman Azroy

Authored by a kid that is 6

Note: I assume he meant 6 since he canceled the 5 and circled 6 instead.

Translation:

Book have to have a title.

Translation:

Book have to have an author.

Translation:

Some books have a cover

Translation:

Some books have a picture

And of course....

He wrote this book all by himself, and stapled the pages together. How original... a book about books... why didn't I think of that...

Happy New Year!

2009-12-31T21:00:00.000-08:00

To all our family members and friends,

We would like to wish all of you Happy New Year!
We hope that your wishes and resolutions will come true for 2010.

Best wishes,
Azroy, Ayu, Melur and Arman.

Boxing Day Sale

2009-12-26T20:49:00.000-08:00

December 26... Boxing Day... the day when stores put everything they have on sale. To empty out their inventory so that they can re-stock for the new year. In Vancouver, there'll be loads of people on the streets downtown and at Metrotown... shopping from one store to another. Mommy and Papa used to hire a baby sitter since it'll be too hectic to take care of Melur and Arman, and move about with so many people around us at the same time.

In Kingston, things are a bit toned down though. Not that many people. We put some thought into it... we think the small crowd here is because (1) most of the people are locked up - Kingston has a number of correctional facilities - people in jail can't go out for a shopping spree, (2) the students from Queen's and RMC all left for home, and (3) whoever lives here would rather drive down to Ottawa, Toronto, or Montreal to shop.

Nevertheless, it was a good haul for us this year. Papa made the first dent **big smile** into our finance by waking up at 7am and going straight to Canadian Tires and Future Shop. He bought his workout bench, weights, and disk cover. We'll have a small mini-gym here.

Afterwards, we all went out around 11am. We went to several stores... we had a list of things to get. Mostly clothing for the kids and Mommy. We ma

naged to get everything except for Arman's pajamas. But Melur had this natural ability to pick up the cutest thing... and asking "Mommy isn't this cute?" Argghhh.... and Mommy is such a sucker... So, all in all... we spent quite a bit... but we followed our list of things to get... except for Melur who got twice as many things that were on her list plus a cap. Oh well, she does look great in her new skinny jeans :D

Papa's new dumbbells... you can adjust the weights from 5lbs to 40 lbs

Our new family game... monopoly. The kids went to bed crying because we didn't let them play this game tonight... it was just too late guys, there's still tomorrow.

Arman's Science Project

2009-12-10T21:45:00.001-08:00

Arman came back from school about a week ago with a note from his teacher. He has to submit his science project... His project is that he must learn about a chosen body part. Arman chose the "heart". And his project must include: (i) a model made out of clay, newspaper, etc. (ii) a diagram, and (iii) an oral presentation.

Pheeewww.... seems hard core for a six-year old doesn't it? Well, Arman, Melur and Mommy spent the past Sunday making a model heart made out of clay. And Papa helped to search for diagrams of the human heart from the Internet... Arman prepared a short report... and practiced reciting it at home. Here it goes:

"Hello. I am presenting about the heart. The heart is between your two lungs, right about here (point to chest). Its job is to pump blood to your body. It beats about 72 beats a minute. The arteries take the blood from your heart to your body. The veins take your blood from the body to your heart. The heart pumps the blood into the lungs. I can keep my heart healthy by exercising and eating good food. The most important thing I learned today is to exercise and eat good food. Thank you for listening to my presentation."

His presentation was this morning... He said his presentation went well...:)

First Piano Recital

2009-12-10T21:33:00.000-08:00

The kids are taking piano lessons in Kingston... We used to have Mike for piano in Vancouver. He was very nice... so patient with the kids, especially with Arman. Now we have Debra. She's nice too.

The music lessons are part of the school program. Parents pay for the lesson fees, and the kids have their lessons during school hours. We are lucky, since one of Mommy's friends has to pick up her son during office hours to send him to his music lessons, and then, send him back to school afterwards. Yup, that’s how it is in Kingston... lots of kids, and not a lot of qualified music teachers. The younger kids end up taking music lessons in the mornings (during school hours), while the older ones take lessons in the afternoons.

Anyway, Melur and Arman had their first recital. Quite a lot of kids performed... probably around 20 or so. The room was filled with parents. Unlike Mommy and her "abang balik kampung" tragedy, Melur and Arman were confident performing. They practiced quite a bit... and played without a snag.

Happy Birthday Melur

2009-11-12T15:55:00.001-08:00

This blog is dying... so we'll try to rejuvenate it with news about birth... birthday lah!

Melur's birthday is on August 30th. We let her choose her own birthday gift, and the restaurant for dinner. For her gift, Melur chose a huge make-up kit (made for kids of course). Mommy and Melur spent the afternoon putting them on. And Melur chose Red Lobster to have her dinner celebration. One good thing about Kingston is Red Lobster... we didn't have one in Vancouver.

Dinner was great. We bought Melur a birthday cake from Baskin Robins - pink cake with ballerina shoes on top. Unfortunately, the people at Red Lobster didn't put it in the fridge when we dropped it off in the morning. The cake melted, totally flat by the time we finished dinner. But they were so apologetic. They bought us a replacement cake... and gave us a discount in the end.

It was a good birthday celebration. We look forward to celebrating it again next year!

Chess at Starbucks

2009-03-14T00:00:00.000-07:00

It's such a nice day today. I thought I'd take Arman out to Starbucks for a chess game, just Arman and Daddy. Check it out:

Doesn't he look so confident playing chess? He's pretty good at it. I wonder how good he'll be.

Arman Skates Again

2009-03-12T00:00:00.000-07:00

Arman had another school trip to the skating rink today. Arman's grade teacher, Susan, is really active. She takes her class out on field trips quite often. And for that, we're extremely grateful. Arman is getting all kinds of experiences he'll hopefully remember for a long time.

Anyway, Mommy blogged about one of Arman's previous ice-skating trips. I just wanted to add this one picture of Arman that Mommy took today.

Hip Hop Dance

2009-03-10T00:00:00.000-07:00

Melur and Arman have been taking Hip-Hop dance lessons at school. After 3 months of weekly practice, the school organized a performance day for the parents. Unfortunately, Mommy and Papa got the tickets for the matinée show, which is scheduled during the lunch hour. Only Mommy could attend the show since Papa has to work. But no worries... Mommy will try her best to capture Melur and Arman doing “bad ass” Hip-Hop.

Yes, you guys can see the videos of Melur and Arman during their Hip-Hop performances. Melur has her game face on... she got all her moves right... and what attitude! Miss G. (Melur's teacher) said that Melur took easily to the dance, and had no problem getting her steps right... She obviously loves the more artsy stuff... dance, and lots and lots of colouring...

Arman on the other hand... well, he was definitely fun to watch. He kept smiling and looking at Mommy with the camera. He even waved. After the show, he told Mommy that he was glad she came to see him dance like the other parents. Awww...Maman, of course Mommy's going to be there! Wouldn't miss it for the world...

All the kids in the school participated, and they put together dance routines from all the classes. The combined routines tell a science-fiction/action story. If Mommy understands it correctly... it’s something along the line of superheroes freeing humans who were being imprisoned by evil robots. Both Melur and Arman were superheroes in the superhero group by the way...

On a side note, the Hip-Hop program is the school's way of making sure the kids fulfill their physical education and cultural arts requirements. Mommy and Papa would like to congratulate U-Hill Elementary for finding a creative way to make learning so much fun for the kids.

Watch out, wait a minute... let me put some Brooklyn in it!

More Snow

2009-03-09T00:00:00.000-07:00

It was such a nice day yesterday with the Harry 8K Run. But today... IT SNOWED! Take a look at the snow out from our porch. There's a fair bit of accumulation over night. Hopefully, it'll go away soon.

Harry 8K Run and Malaysia Food

2009-03-08T00:00:00.000-08:00

Mommy and Papa love to run road races. There are plenty in Vancouver, held almost all year-round. As with last year, our first road race for this year is the Harry 8K Spring Run, which is an annual run held on the first Sunday of spring. However, unlike last year, Nenek is not around to play with Melur and Arman while Mommy and Papa do our run. For this time around, we asked Kakak Jehan to baby-sit.

Since the 8K run is at Stanley Park, we dropped off Kakak Jehan and the kids at one of the playgrounds there. The runners will pass the playground on their route... so Mommy and Papa were hoping that they’d be able to see the kids... maybe hear some words of encouragement from them. What actually happened was that the kids managed to see Papa from the throngs of runners (must be his bright blue running jacket), but they couldn't see Mommy at all... (Note to Mommy: buy a bright running jacket for next time!). Later on Kakak Jehan told Mommy and Papa that the kids went on the sandy area to collect seashells. They also had an altercation with a couple of crows... the crows stole one of the plastic food containers that Mommy packed for the kids.

After the successful run (shameless plug: just look at Mommy's Supergirl pose on her profile... that one was taken right after crossing the finish line), all of us (including Kakak Jehan) went to our favourite Malaysian restaurant in Vancouver - Seri Malaysia in East Hastings. The owner/chef, Uncle Jamal, is originally from Mersing (Mommy's hometown), and a few of Uncle Jamal's relatives work at the hospital where Nenek used to work... what a small world isn't it? We ate a very hearty lunch - satay, nasi beriyani, gado-gado, and sirap bandung...

Lastly, a shout of thanks to Kakak Jehan for making it possible for Mommy and Papa to run the Harry 8K this year...

Another Chess Club Day

2009-03-01T00:00:00.000-08:00

Nothing really different went on today. It's another Sunday, and another Chess Club day. It's become sort of a routine. But Arman has a lot of fun playing chess with his friends.

After chess club, the kids always have a little fun at the playground, just outside the Old Barn Community Centre. Here they are enjoying themselves in the fine Vancouver weather.

Hope you've having a good weekend!

Malaysia Singapore Night 2009

2009-02-28T00:00:00.000-08:00

For the past 2 years, Daddy has been performing at the Malaysia Singapore Night at UBC (MSN for short). MSN is organized by the student members of the Seri Malaysia Club (SMC) and Singapore Raffles Club (SRC) on campus. It's a cultural night celebrating Malaysian and Singaporean food and culture. Last year, Mommy wasn't around (she was working on her research in Malaysia), but Melur and Arman watched with their Nenek. The year before that, if you recall, Melur and Arman couldn't stay off the stage, while Daddy played the drums for the newly formed Gardenburst band.

Anyway, this is Daddy's third year performing. Daddy arrived separately to prepare for the show. Unfortunately, Mommy and the kids missed Daddy performance, cause we performed first. By the way, Daddy left Gardenburst, and performed with a new group of Malaysian students. We performed “Mentera Semerah Padi” and “Istimewa”. You can only view these videos from Facebook at the moment.

Mommy and the kids arrived soon after my performance ended. They had to wait a really long time for the food, cause it wasn't served until the entire show was over (I guess the MSN committee didn't want people leaving before the show was over). When all of the was done, the kids were able to enjoy some food.

I'm sorry we didn't take many pictures. It was kind of dark, and there really weren't many opportunities to take photos. Hopefully, you'll find more pictures about MSN on Facebook, cause the students were are quite active there. The kids were very well behaved over all. Hopefully they can watch my performance on-line, and it'll be just like they were there.

New Skates

2009-02-22T00:00:00.000-08:00

Arman got some new skates from school. Well, they're used skates, but new to Arman. It's for Arman's school skating trips which Mommy blogged about recently. I found out from the teachers that Arman's skates costs about CAD10, which is really cheap. They got it used from a place called Cheap Skates, and I know this place. We've passed by the store on Dunbar a couple of times.

Anyway, Melur's been feeling like she missed out. So I promised to get her a pair of skates too... from the same place. And so today, after Arman's Chess Club at the Old Barn Community Centre, we took the #25 down to Dunbar. It's only about 10 minutes away by bus, and the bus runs about every 10 minutes as well.

The store itself is pretty small and cramped with used goods. I guess people can also sell their stuff here as well. What happens is, you put up a price, and every week, the price comes down. So you may have similar products with different prices depending on how long it's been around on the shelf. There were many to choose from with varying prices. Melur finally chose a pair she liked (and that I agreed with as well).

After leaving the store, it was time to head home. But the kids were feeling a little hungry. Just behind the bus stop was a Starbucks. And so we went inside and got some scones to enjoy while we waited for the bus.

Here are the ice skates we got for Melur. I hope you enjoy them, Melur!

Happy Birthday Madelena

2009-02-21T00:00:00.000-08:00

Melur is invited to Madelena's birthday party. Madelena is Jamie and Natalya's daughter (from KinderClub), and she is a year younger than Melur. But since Madelana would come to KinderClub now and then... she became quite good friends with Melur as well as a few other girls from KinderClub.

Since Jamie and Natalya live in Burnaby, we decided to get a Zipcar for that day. Taking public transportation means 2 hours of traveling time... and that's just one way! By car, it’s only about 40 minutes or so... Papa took this opportunity to get a Mini Cooper convertible. We drove in it with the top down even though the weather is still a bit chilly. The kids simply love it, and insisted on driving with the top down all the way.

After sending Melur, the rest of us went to Metro Town Mall for lunch. While Melur is having fun at the birthday party, Mommy, Papa, and Arman walked around and did some window-shopping. We picked up Melur about 2 hours later. Most of the other kids were gone already... but Melur was still running around with Madelena.

On our way back, we decided to drop by the Central Park at Burnaby. The kids played at the park there, while Mommy and Papa each took half-hour turns of running. The park has a nice paved trail for runners and walkers. The kids had fun (just look at them doing acrobatics on the slide), while Mommy and Papa managed to sneak in a bit of exercise...

Trail Run and Biking

2009-02-20T00:00:00.000-08:00

Despite the snow we had earlier in the year, the weather's really been looking up lately. Since Mommy and Daddy like to run, we thought we’d take the kids out through the near by trails. Mommy and Daddy would run, while the kids take their bikes.

We started from the trails behind our house, and then proceeded south through the Pacific Spirit Park, past 16th street. We tried to take pictures on Daddy's camera phone, but it was quite dark in the shade of the trees. This is pretty much the only picture that turned out well.

Pick-Up Arman

2009-02-18T17:00:00.000-08:00

As we mentioned before, this academic year, Mommy sends Melur and Arman to school. Daddy picks up Arman after school. The days are starting to end a little later, bit by bit. I was surprised to find Arman and his Kinderclub classmates playing outside when I came to pick him up. It’s usually still dark when I arrive at Kinderclub around 5:15pm.

Anyway, Arman didn’t want to go home. He’s having so much fun. I’m sure Arman (and Melur) will start having so much more fun outside once Day Light Savings time kicks in in a couple of weeks. I can’t wait for that myself.

Here’s Arman:

Skating with U-Hill

2009-02-18T00:00:00.000-08:00

Arman's kindergarten teacher, Susan DeBeck, is very active. She likes to take Arman's class out for field trips. They have already gone to the Vancouver Aquarium, Orpheum Theatre, and Jericho Beach.

Arman with Skate Bars
For today, Arman and his classmates are spending their school day at the UBC skating rink. This is Arman's second trip to the skating rink. With Susan's encouragement, Arman made a lot of progress. He can now stand and move on the ice without holding to a skate bar. He usually moves around the ice for 10 minutes before going to the bench for a short 1 to 2-minute rest. A lot of Arman's classmates are beginner skaters as well (though quite a few look as if they've been skating since the day they were born). They seem to be having so much fun learning how to skate together. Good job guys!

After playing for a while, Susan would ask for all the kids to line up at one end of the skating rink... and the kids will skate all the way to the end after she blows her whistle. You can see Arman lining up (without holding on to a skate bar) with his friends, and waiting for Susan's whistle.

When skating is over... Arman and Mommy would have lunch together. Mommy usually asks Arman what he would like for lunch... He usually says, "Basement!" Yup, a few food stalls at the UBC Village Food Centre serves Halal food. Arman likes to have lamb shawarma for lunch, and Mommy is only too happy to oblige.

Go Arman Go

Al-Watan Tandoori

2009-02-15T00:00:00.000-08:00

We've been hearing so much about this Halal restaurant on Fraser that apparently serves really good beriyani called Al-Watan. And seeing as we need to get some Halal meat from Fraser anyway today, we decided to make a trip to Al-Watan to see what the fuss is all about.

Sorry... we didn't take that many pictures. The food was REALLY good. Everything on the menus is good, but our favourites are the mixed tandoori (meat the even Melur likes) and the garlic naan. The garlic naan is really fluffy and tasty. I can't wait to go there again.

The owner (at least we think he's the owner) was very nice, and mentioned that he knows of a few Malaysians who frequent here. We know who they are (Kakak Jehan, and Kakak Ina). Anyway, thanks for an awesome meal.

Check out Al-Watan on Fraser and 44th st.

Bears on Valentine's

2009-02-14T00:00:00.000-08:00

It's Valentine's Day, and we started the morning at Kumon, as usual. Here we are waiting for the bus after Kumon at Blenz, Mommy's favourite cafe:

There was a demonstration at Cambie and Broadway. People were voicing up about the atrocities at Sri Lanka. You can barely make out the chants.

Anyway... we didn't plan anything special today. We spent our Valentine's Day evening at home, with a family dinner. Daddy got Mommy some flowers and a teddy bear, Daddy also got Melur a smaller teddy bear, as you see right here. Melur seems to like it.

I got Arman a Rubik’s cube. Arman mentioned to me that he wanted to have one, but when we say Mommy and Melur are getting teddy bears, he wanted a teddy bear too. I guess I'll be getting him a teddy bear soon.

Anyway, for those who celebrate it, Happy Valentine's Day!

More Vancouver Snow

2009-02-10T00:00:00.000-08:00

I sent the kids to school this morning cause Mommy wasn't feeling well. We took the bus. Here we are waiting for the C22 at the bus stop near Acadia Park:

In case you're wondering, there wasn't any snow yesterday. It started snowing late last night, and the snow you see today accumulated over night. This is typical Vancouver snow. It snows a little bit, and before you know it, it's all gone (at least that's what I expect in the coming days). There's not that much snow this time around.

So here's what the snow looks like at University Hill Elementary School as I left this morning.

Chess Play

2009-02-08T00:00:00.000-08:00

We go to chess club at the Old Barn Community Centre every Sunday at 12 pm. I just thought I'd share some picture from our trip there, just to give you guys a picture of what it looks like. Today, Melur's playing chess too, which is quite rare actually.

Usually, right after chess club, we let the kids hang out at the playground outside the Old Barn for a few minutes. The weather today is pretty good, still a little chilly though. It's usually rainy in the spring. Not so today, and I'm grateful.

Come join us for Chess Club at the Old Barn Community Centre on Sundays at 12 pm.

ENT Again

2009-02-06T00:00:00.000-08:00

Arman and Daddy made another trip to BC Children's Hospital today, to see our ENT Specialist. We saw him last time in because of Arman's raspy voice. Today, we're seeing him about his ears. Arman had a check-up at school recently, and they recommended we get his ears checked.

So what was the problem? Ear wax... Lots of ear wax. We were told that Arman has a lot of ear was on our last visit, and we diligent put baby oil nightly to remedy it. But I guess, they came back. And once the ear wax was removed, he checked Arman's ears again, and they were fine.

Thank goodness for that. We should watch his ears more often I guess. Thank you doctor.

This is Mike

2009-02-03T00:00:00.000-08:00

Mike is Melur and Arman's piano teacher. He's a really good teacher, much better than me. I know, cause I tried to teach Melur and Arman, but they wouldn't listen to me (maybe it's because I'm their dad). Now I'm stuck with drill duty, making sure the kids practice their piano everyday, so that they have something to sure Mike when he comes over on Tuesday afternoons.

Thank you, Mike... for being such a great teacher. We'll see you next week!

Sunday Ice Skating

2009-02-01T00:00:00.000-08:00

There's no swim class today, and whenever there's no swim class, there's a chance for the kids to go ice-skating at the UBC Ice Rink right after chess club. This is actually our second trip to the ice rink this year. Last week, Mommy came along. Daddy tried to get her into some ice skates, but that didn't work very well. Anyway, our camera has been on the frits lately, so we weren't able to take any picture or videos from that event.

Melur and Arman doing Kumon Homework in the morning
Anyway, here we are heading to the chess club in the wet snow. Arman's looking forward to the chess, and Melur is looking forward to the ice-skating.

After chess club, we headed straight for the ice rink. Arman is still a beginner, so you see him with his “training wheels”. He's not bad, still. Melur on the other hand loves the ice.

One of Melur's friends, Angela, is also here today. She comes here a lot, and she's a really good skater. From what I hear, she's taking lessons twice a week at the Kitsilano ice rink. And she comes here during Family Skate just for fun.

It's been a very fun day, ice-skating with the kids. I hope we can do this again, but most likely only when there's no swimming in the morning. It'd be too tiring. Keep it up guys!

After Party Saturday

2009-01-31T12:00:00.000-08:00

After the Teo's birthday party, I decided to go for a run with the kids. Well, the kids were on their bikes while I ran alongside them. But really, at some places, it was me pushing them. They're not that fast yet on their bikes, especially up hills.

I also let them play at the park near the Old Barn while I did some more running. That gave me the chance to pick up on my training. I have a race coming up, after all. More about that when the event comes.

Later in the evening, we decided to eat out. The kids love Japanese food, so we opted for One More Sushi at the University Village. I'll finish this entry with a picture of Melur at the restaurant.

One More Sushi, Anyone?

Happy Birthday Teo

2009-01-31T00:00:00.000-08:00

Teo is having a birthday party today, at the Gym, a favourite for kids’ birthday parties in the UBC area. Teo is another one of Arman's classmates from Kinderclub. He lives just 4 doors up the block (we're on the same block, literally).

Anyway, the day's festivities began with our customary trip to Kumon. We had to hurry, so I decided to let the kids ride their bikes to the bus stop. Walking there usually takes about 15-20 minutes, so riding their bikes was a big time saver. Here they are cheerfully waiting for the bus, with their bike helmets still on.

After Kumon, it was onward to the Gym. Melur tagged along even though it was only Arman who was invited. There were some vacancies at the party, so Teo's mom let Melur join in the festivities. Say thank you, Melur. And she did.

The first portion of parties at the Gym is of course the gymnastics part. I took some pictures and videos of the event. They played some hide and seek:

And they also played with this huge parachute that they made into a bubble, while they sat inside (that's what this is):

Teo and the Parachute

There were plenty of games. A pretty good set of activities, if you ask me. After the gym portion, we headed upstairs for the party portion, which means food and cake for the guests. As you can see, there were a lot of kids there. Quite the big party!

Happy Birthday, Teo!

Conversation with Arman

2009-01-30T00:00:00.000-08:00

One day Mommy heard this interesting conversation between Papa and Arman. Mommy doesn't remember when it had happened... but it is definitely one of those precious moments that is worthy of a blog entry.

Arman: I want to write my name... How do you write my last name Papa? How do you write my last name?

Papa: My first name is your last name.

Arman: My last name is Papa???

Isn't that the cutest?

Chess Cube

2009-01-25T00:00:00.000-08:00

I’m encouraging the kids to play more chess, and not necessarily with me. So I got them hooked up with online chess at ChessCube.Com. It’s a pretty cool site that keeps track of all your old games. And you can even play them back. So I can log into Arman’s account and review his past games, and go over what he did right and what he can do better.

Melur playing Arman from the Kitchen

Here you see Melur and Arman excited to play each other on ChessCube.Com. You know you guys… you can play chess face-to-face. But I guess the novelty of playing on-line got the better of them. If you play chess, I recommend it – ChessCube.Com

Arman playing Melur from the Living Room

Errands with Daddy

2009-01-24T00:00:00.000-08:00

We did our Kumon thing this morning, as usual, and headed back to the University Village for a short dentist appointment for Melur at 12:30 pm. If you remember, in our last dental check-up, Melur had some cavities on her newly erupted molar. The dentists needs to check the molars if they’re operable. Otherwise, we’ll have to wait some more before the dentist can remove and fill the cavities.

After the dentist appointment (which was really very short), we headed to the bus stop to take the #41 bus to Oakridge Mall. The kids need some new clothes.

We were in and out of Zellers pretty quickly, and headed over to the food court for a snack. We had some seafood teriyaki. Tasty…

After that, it was back on the #41 again, further east to Fraser St to get some halal meat.

That was the last of Daddy’s errands for the day: Kumon, Dentist, Zellers and Halal store. What a day! On the way back, Arman filled up a form from the bus, to urge the government to buy more buses. I just explained the gist of the contents of the pamphlet, but he was pretty excited and adamant to contribute to the cause.

Do we really need more buses in Vancouver? I don’t know. But Arman seems to think so.

You go, Arman!

More Fog, More Chess

2009-01-18T00:00:00.000-08:00

It’s Sunday. I took some pictures as Arman and I made our way by bus from the UBC Aquatic Centre to the Old Barn Community Centre.

You see that it still quite foggy, just like yesterday. It almost looks creepy. But that doesn’t deter Arman. He’s ready for his next chess match.

Mommy and Melur will be joining us later. Here’s Arman playing chess with fellow Kinderclub classmate, Harry.

Harry vs. Arman

Let’s the games begin…

Vancouver Fog

2009-01-17T00:00:00.000-08:00

It’s another Saturday, but an activity-filled Saturday as it turned out to be. For one, Daddy has an audition for Malaysia Singapore Night 2009. Daddy left the Gardenburst group recently, but decided to help some Malaysians put together something for this special night. Of course, Daddy can’t ignore his other responsibilities for the day, namely Kumon for the kids.

We hurried our way to Kumon this morning, and hurried our way back to UBC right after. When we arrived, it was really foggy. It’s been kind of foggy these past few days, but not quite like this. We made our way to the audition venue, some blocks from where the bus let us off. Check out the Vancouver fog:

We arrived on time for the audition, but they were running a little behind. We decided to wander about the halls a little bit. We were in the music department, as it turned out, and we were surprised to find vacant rooms filled with grand pianos. The kids just had to give them a try. I would’ve too, but I was too busy watching over the kids (and making sure they didn’t get into trouble).

The audition went terribly wrong. We didn’t practice enough to perform as a cohesive group, and we weren’t allowed to play our instruments very loud (so we weren’t able to hear ourselved very well). My thought – we were terrible. But seeing as we were the ONLY Malaysian group to perform, and Kakak Jehan was able to do some sweet-talking, we managed to secure another audition closer to the event date. Way to go, Kakak Jehan! We’ll have to really practice now, so as not to make a fool of ourselves come MSN.

It was lunchtime, and it was getting a little late. As we headed home, we gave Mommy a call, and decided to rendezvous at the University Village for some lunch. And so, we ended up having some Seafood Teriyaki. Yummy…

After that, we headed back to UBC SUB. There’s a package from Malaysia we needed to pick-up. On our way there, we decided to check out the university bookstore. I wanted to check out the Gelskins, protective stickers for my laptop. We ended up getting two, one for me and one for the Mommy. They’re pretty cool!

And now it was onward to the post office, to pick up Mommy’s package from Malaysia. It was still very foggy outside. You wouldn’t guess it was mid afternoon by the looks of it.

After we picked up the package, we headed back home. By the way, thanks for the package guys (you know who you are). Check out Melur. For some reason, she didn’t want her picture taken and hid he face in her hood. Apalah!

Chess at the Old Barn

2009-01-11T12:00:00.000-08:00

Arman has been getting really good at chess. Daddy has been teaching him some strategy, and he seems to be picking them up pretty well. He’s starting to beat his classmates at Kinderclub who used to beat him. Arman’s memory is quite impressive. Daddy tries not to overload his brain, giving him one strategy every one or two days (they’re more like tactics really, since that’s how Daddy plays). One of the first defences he’s learned in the King’s Indian Defence, which he’s taken a liking too.

Anyway, with all this talk about chess, Mommy found a chess club on campus, at the Old Barn Community Centre. Incidentally, it starts at 12 pm on Sundays, right after Swim Class. And so we decided to check it out today, after swim class. Here’s a video of us making our way to the Old Barn Community Centre. Mommy and Daddy think the kids are quite excited to check it out. It’s something new after all:

We met with the instructor, Lior, who was very nice. He seems very excited with the turn up, and took pictures of everyone in the club (on his iPhone), along with their names and contact info. Daddy introduced Arman and someone who’s taken a strong liking to chess, and Lior just had to check Arman out (I think I may have hyped up Arman’s abilities a little bit). Here they are playing chess:

Arman vs. Lior

Lior was pretty impressed with Arman. Arman’s only five, after all. And Arman was able to play the King’s Indian Defence. Arman couldn’t stop talking about it, really. Arman’s so excited about the game, Lior had to calm him down many times.

Davis vs. Arman

After playing with Lior, Arman played a few more games with the other club members. Arman was able to beat some, but he lost some too. There’s still a ways to go for his “training”.

Arman vs. Ben

Melur didn’t sit idly by either. She’s not as enthusiastic about chess as Arman is, but she can play the occasional game or two. Here’s a picture of Melur in action:

Melur vs. Annie

Coming to the chess club was a pretty good idea. I guess this will be our family’s ritual for the next few weeks, swimming followed by chess club on Sundays. Saturdays will be Kumon. Lior is setting up a tournament, and Arman will be participating in that.

Good luck, Arman!

First Swim Class for 2009

2009-01-11T00:00:00.000-08:00

It is the first day of swimming for Melur and Arman for the winter session. Melur is registered for the K03 level, while Arman is registered for the P4 (Salamander) level. Both lessons are for 30 minutes, and start at the same time... Good news for Mommy and Papa, since both of us can take this opportunity to swim a few laps while waiting for the kids. Everybody ends up getting a little bit of physical activity on Sunday mornings.

Melur has been progressing well in her swimming lessons. She started off taking lessons at the UBC Aquatics Centre since January 2006. She progressed from the pre-school classes - P3 (Sea Turtle) to P4 (Salamander) to P5 (Sun Fish)... and later on the children classes - K02 and K03. Well done Melur!

As for Arman, this is his third attempt at P4. He has a difficult time with his kicks because his legs are not straight... but at least he seems to be enjoying playing in the water. Go on Arman... don't give up!

Anyway, we usually enjoy a 10-minute dip in the Jacuzzi after swimming. Here's a video:

Happy Birthday Qianah

2009-01-10T00:00:00.000-08:00

It's Saturday, and Arman's invited to attend Qianah's birthday party today. Qianah is Arman's classmate from Kinderclub, and Arman (and Daddy) sometimes get a ride home with Qianah (and her Mom) after school. But before we get to the party, let me tell you about the events leading up to the party.

We start-off with our usual trip to Kumon on Broadway and Ash. We do this every Saturday, just Daddy and the kids. It's a short trip, really. Melur and Arman have daily Kumon homework, and they get reviewed during these trips to Kumon. Daddy takes them on Saturday, while Mommy takes them on Mondays. Today, Arman finished his Kumon work before Melur, and you see him dancing in the waiting area.

After Kumon, we traversed the rain to Toys R Us, to get Qianah a birthday present. I didn't agree with many of the things Arman wanted to get, so I let Melur choose a gift for Qianah. I hope Qianah likes it.

After that, we headed back home. The trip to Kumon and Toys R Us took most of the afternoon, so we hurried back to wrap the present. Here we are at the bus stop:

We got to Qianah's birthday party in time (pretty much). Eventhough it was only Arman who was invited to the party, Qianah's mom invited Melur as well when she saw her with me. Thank you Qianah's mom. I know they'll have a blast together.

The party was very festive. Usually, when Arman gets invited to one of his classmates' birthday parties, the attendees are usually also his classmates. Not so the case here. But the kids were able to fit in. Check out all the videos and pictures from the party.

One thing to note, we met another “Arman” at the party. Although his name is spelled slightly differently, Armoun I think, the pronunciation is exactly the same. How cool is that?

At the end of the party, the rain turned to snow. What a snowy winter we're getting here in Vancouver this year. Check it out:

Anyway, thank you Qianah for inviting Arman and Melur to your party. We certainly had a a lot of fun. We hope you did too, and that you enjoy our gift to you.

Happy Birthday Qianah!

Down memory lane...

2009-01-09T00:59:00.000-08:00

This is a picture Mommy found in her mailbox. It is Arman and Maria (from Arman's old pre-school). This is from one of the many field trips the pre-school had organized. This trip is to Jericho Beach sometime in July 2008... almost a year ago. Arman has grown so much now.

On a short note, Mommy and Papa think that Acadia Park Pre-School did such a good job with Arman. They helped us in getting in touch with a Speech Therapist and getting help for his legs... Arman also started Kindergarten already recognizing the letters of the alphabet.

PS) This entry is just something that Mommy came up with rather recently and felt like sharing... doesn't fall into any of the current timeline..

More Presents from Malaysia

2009-01-08T00:00:00.000-08:00

Hey!!! We got another care package from Malaysia today. Our last one was from last September. Thank you Nenek, Mak Long, Oteh, Andak and Pak Usu. The presents were a pleasant surprise.

Melur wasn’t around to experience the opening of the presents, because she was on a play-date with Sara. So there was more for the rest of us to enjoy. Check it out:

Anyway, thanks again. The kids (Mommy and Daddy too) are very grateful.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year 2009

2009-01-03T00:00:00.000-08:00

And what goes better on a new year’s weekend than a nice styling haircut. It snowed some more today, but the kids and I braved the snow to get to a barber. Check out our little diversion as we made our way there:

Anyway, this’ll be a short entry. Voila, check out the new haircuts:

Year-End Turkey Dinner

2008-12-28T00:00:00.000-08:00

It is the end of the year... time for New Year's resolutions and also for our family, a chance to continue the tradition we started since we arrived in Vancouver two years ago... to have a get together with our Malaysian friends.

Today we invited the families to our Turkey dinner instead of our usual undergrad crowd. We had En Aliman's family (from the Consulate General of Malaysia office), Fong Yen and hubby (she's doing her Master in UBC under UKM scholarship and coincidentally is in the same department as one of Mommy's auntie, Cik Ton... what a small world eh?), and, of course, Hayani and family... Since the number of people was small (plus no hungry teenage boys as usual), our menu was rather modest - one herb-roasted turkey, baked eggplant, potato-egg salad, grilled asparagus, and chocolate chip pound cake.

Ready for Guests

En Aliman and wife, Kak Ros, have 3 daughters - Amirah, Haifa, and Fatihah. Amirah is one year older than Melur, Haifa is born in January 2004 (slightly less than 2 months younger than Arman), and Fatihah is still a baby... Mommy and Papa were hoping that Melur and Arman would be practising their Malay language with Amirah and Haifa... But unfortunately, it was English all the way for the four kids. They seemed to be having so much fun playing together... and running around the house... upstairs and downstairs... upstairs and downstairs...

Kids Playing

It was also very funny since we used to make fun of Arman and Haifa playing together... But when En Aliman and family left, Arman said he doesn't want to play with Haifa anymore since she's still in pre-school while he is already in kindergarten...Basically, he is now too old for Haifa... right Arman...

All Done

All in all, I think we all had a great time... Hope to do this again at the end of 2009!

** For more pictures, check out this Facebook Album.

Note from Mommy: Most of the recipes are available online at http://www.recipezaar.com. The pound cake is originally called "Nana's chocolate chip brandy pound cake" but Mommy substituted the brandy with orange extract... the result is amazing!

Puzzles and Skype

2008-12-27T00:00:00.000-08:00

Melur really loves puzzles, jigsaws to be exact. We got Melur and Arman each a jigsaw puzzle, and Melur solved them both overnight. And now she’s asking us to get her more complicated puzzles, with more pieces. Check out her proud achievement.

On this morning also, we were on Skype with Auntie Yaya. She’s watching from Bath via our laptop. How cool is that? I wish I had this technology back when I was in college.

It’s the weekend, and after all that shopping, we can take a little breather. Tomorrow, we’re having some guests over for Turkey. That should be fun…

Keep it up, Melur!

Boxing Day 2008

2008-12-26T00:00:00.000-08:00

It’s that time of year, when we go CRAZY shopping the day after Christmas. It’s BOXING DAY!!! And it snowed like CRAZY today too… really – Blizzard Crazy. We got a baby-sitter for Melur and Arman for the day, and made our way to Metrotown via zip car. And it took Mommy and Daddy almost an hour to get there (usually its about 30 minutes). Okay, so no pictures from our shopping trip, but we came back with plenty to share with the family.

What do you guys think? Not bad for a days worth of shopping (well okay, budget shopping).

Well… after we got home, we thought we’d take the kids out for a little bit. With all the snow we’ve been getting these past weeks, Daddy needs some new boots. And Arman needs some new shoes for school too. We made our way to the Shoe Warehouse, which was apparently quite packed with people. In this weather, everybody’s looking for snow boots.

The store closed at 6 pm, and we were barely able to get shoes for Arman before it closed (I picked mine out pretty quickly). After that, we made our way to McDonald’s for some food (we were too tired to cook).

Happy Boxing Day Everyone!

Merry Christmas 2008

2008-12-25T00:00:00.000-08:00

And the snow just won’t go away…

It’s Christmas Day. No biggie… We have nothing planned today, just another restful day at home… hopefully. We started the morning with Mommy preparing some cookies in the kitchen. Arman joined in the fun:

The cookies turned our DELICIOUS. Thank you Mommy.

Later in the evening, Mommy suggested we go for a walk outside (yeah, there’s a lot of snow out there, but what else can we do?). So we put on our jackets and shoes, and headed out toward the University Village.

Of course, everything was closed, but it was actually a nice night outside. The snow was still quite fresh (not yet brown and slushy). Might as well make the most of it.

If you guys are wondering, “is this normal Vancouver weather”? I have to say “no”, especially not in December. It’s usually rain, rain and more rain. I wonder how much snow is in store for us the rest of this season.

To all who celebrate it, Merry Christmas to you! And to everybody else, Happy Holidays!

Enjoy the snow!

Dinner By a King

2008-12-24T00:00:00.000-08:00

I came home from work this afternoon to this...

It's been continuing to snow and snow and snow. And the snow is really powdery – not that nasty brown stuff (which we'll probably get in a few days when the snow starts to melt). I took this opportunity to take a video from our living room. The kids look bored with the snow. I guess they've had enough.

So yeah... it's Christmas Eve. We don't celebrate Christmas, but I got home early today. Arman helped me prepare dinner. And when Arman starts cooking, he gets creative. When dinner was ready, Arman got started on preparing a menu. It was a feast by a king (not for a king, pardon the pun), since you see Arman wearing his home-made Kings crown again.

And once everything was ready, it was time for the festivities to start. Check out the video:

Thanks Arman, for helping out with dinner. You certainly make our evenings interesting. Anybody interested in dinner by a king?

More Snow

2008-12-22T00:00:00.000-08:00

We've been experiencing some pretty heavy snow in Vancouver for the past few days. Today is not an exception. However, Melur and Arman are making the best of the situation... actually, they seem to be having loads of fun playing outside with friends.

About a year ago Mommy found a sled left in the community laundry room*. Mommy thought it would be a good idea to take it since the kids could use it during winter. It has been in the store room for months (maybe slightly more than a year really). Finally today... the sled gets to see the light of day... Melur and Arman took it out for a short play in the backyard. Yan-Lin, who is Melur's best friend from school, also joined in... They seem to be having a blast making snowballs. Mommy took pictures of them together. Don't they look adorable among the white snow?

* Since Acadia Park is a family housing area, people living here come and go. We often find things in the community laundry room and you can just pick them up if you like. The kids love to go to the laundry room... because sometimes they get to pick something small from there.

First Day of Winter?

2008-12-21T00:00:00.000-08:00

Well, technically, today IS the first day of winter, but obviously not the first day of snow. We had our first taste of snow this season a week ago. And it's snowing again... How cool is that? What a way to spend our Sunday.

The kids couldn't wait to go out and play. We made them wear their ski pants. Arman started playing with some other boys on the block. Mommy took some videos which you will see a little later. Melur on the other hand followed me around Acadia Park to check out the fresh snow. Here are some pictures and a video:

Melur and I found a sled, and I pulled Melur around in it. You see her here playing with some icicles I found dangling from our roof. We also found some interesting forts (made from snow), featuring the Canucks - Vancouver's own NFL Hockey team.

Happy Snow Day everyone!

Getting into Kumon

2008-12-20T00:00:00.000-08:00

It's Saturday, and it's been a week since we saw our first snow fall in Vancouver this year. We started out the morning with Arman vacuuming the living room. He kinda likes vacuuming, more so than his sister. Here you see him wearing his home-made kings crown, which he learned to make in Kinderclub.

Mommy and Daddy decided earlier this week, that we would supplement our kids' education with Kumon. Kumon is quite popular in Malaysia, and apparently so too in Vancouver. There are several locations in Vancouver where Kumon is taught, but we opted for the one near Broadway and Ash. It's a bit far, but worth it for the kids.

We arrived on time, about 30 minutes before closing time. In that time, both Melur and Arman took an assessment test. Melur took a really long time, but it turns out, she didn't read through the instructions (or at least nobody told her what to do), and she ended up doing a lot of extra work. I think it was pretty good of Melur, but I guess there was still some disconnect.

By the time we meet with the instructor to talk about Melur and Arman's assessment, the center was closed, and everyone had left. It was just us and the instructor to discuss things. Here you see Melur and Arman fooling around in the center while Mommy talks to the instructor.

We were there a pretty long time discussing Melur and Arman. The both of them are apparently pretty good at Math. Melur got all her answers right. And due to our tight budget, we decided to enroll both Melur and Arman in the Reading portion of Kumon. We'll sign them up for Math later, when we have a little more cash. In the meantime, we'll continue to supplement their math at home (you go Mommy!). I couldn't believe we were there for over 2 hours. We headed home right after...

Okay, so we stopped by Blenz on the way home – Mommy's favorite place. And THEN we headed home. Hopefully, the Kumon will do them good. We wish only the best for Melur and Arman.

Blenz - Mommy's Favorite Canadian Cafe

Curious about Prayers

2008-12-17T00:00:00.000-08:00

Arman has been rather curious about prayers these past few days. And so I thought it'd be good to get him started. We've prayed together a couple of times now, and he knows to just follow his dad. Here's a picture of him praying with his Daddy.

Arman also loves this new Science Book he got for his birthday. It's a book about the human anatomy, with descriptions of the various human systems and organs. Arman's always so curious, and is able to retain many of the things we teach him. I suspect I'll be reading from this book at bed time for many days to come. So far, it's been one system a night, and we're already starting to repeat systems.

Not to forget Melur, she just has to be part of the spotlight as well. Here she is doing a yoga pose from a book Mommy has been reading. I don't think Melur is particularly interested in Yoga, but she is quite flexible and athletic, in my humble opinion. Keep it going, Melur!

Do they look the same?

First Snow and Ice Skating

2008-12-14T00:00:00.000-08:00

We woke up this morning to this…

What do you say to that? When people ask me about Vancouver weather in the winter, I always say it’s mostly rainy, with maybe 2-3 days of snow for the entire season with barely any accumulation (maybe 1-2 inches). And really, that’s what I’ve heard, and it hasn’t been that far off. But today’s first day of snow really threw people off. And it’s not officially the winter yet.

We were planning to let the kids use their scooters to the ice rink today, but not with this snow. Instead, I got the kids to put on their snow clothing (water-proof snow pants in particular) and enjoy their first day of snow this winter. They were pretty excited to head out.

As you can see from the video, they didn’t spend very much time outside. Arman has better winter clothing than Melur, so Melur was in first. I think she needs better shoes, and maybe better gloves that are waterproof. What she has now is okay for cold weather, but definitely not suitable for snow fights and making snowmen.

Before heading out to the UBC Ice Skating Rink (which we’ve never been to before. We usually go to the Kitsilano Ice Rink), we had some baked breaded fish fillets for lunch. Not all that great, but does the job. We walked to ice rink through the thick snow. The ice rink is just behind the bus stop we’d usually take to Oakridge Mall.

When we arrived, we quickly rented our gear, and made our way to the rink. There are actually several rinks, 3 in total I think. We saw one was being used for hockey practice. Oh, admission and rentals for the 4 of us was CAD $20. Not sure if that’s cheap or pricey. It’s been so long since we last skated, I think it’s been over a year, maybe 2. But this rink is so much closer, and it doesn’t require a bus ride.

This facility also provides better training equipment than Kitsilano. We were expecting little orange cones for Arman, but instead he got to use a metal frame thingy he can use to support his weight while on the ice. He was extremely excited to be able to skate for the first time. I remember his last attempt to skate at Kitsilano wasn’t so rewarding.

I tried to get Mommy to skate with us, but she gave up. I guess it’s just not her thing. She’ll come along for more trips to the rink, but will most likely just watch from the sidelines. Melur as you might have guessed is already quite the expert on the ice. Sorry, I wasn’t able to take many pictures or videos. Arman likes to play with the camera while I’m not around, and by the time I started taking pictures and videos here at the rink, the battery was running out.

Well, this was our day at the rink, and also the first day of snow this December in 2008. After the ice-skating, we made our way one block east to the zip car to do some grocery shopping. Hopefully, we’ll be able to go ice-skating again soon.

Family Skate

Aidil Adha Reception

2008-12-13T00:00:00.000-08:00

It’s Saturday, and we have an Aidil Adha reception to attend, hosted by the Consulate General of Malaysia at Vancouver. Daddy had an IELTS exam to take this morning, so I’ll have to meet Mommy and gang at the reception after my test is over.

My exam finished at around 1:45 pm (it started at 8:30 am). I hurried down from SFU Harbour Centre to the Ukrainian Hall (where we had the MABC Deeparaya festivities). The reception is from 12 pm to 2 pm. I know, the event will be over by the time I get there, but I should be able to say hi to the hosts, and show that I didn’t completely forget their event.

Mommy and the kids arrived late too. It’s always hard to move the kids in the morning. They were so late that Mommy decided to take a cab there (which was really, really expensive, to us anyway – not recommended unless you have the cash). They arrived just before I did.

When I arrived, Mommy was already mingling with a few guests. Some kids from some of the families were still there. And the kids immediately started playing with them. They ran around the stage like they normally do, kind of like at the CG Eid Reception.

Anyway, we didn’t stay long, since people were already leaving. It was a short stay, and we headed home. When we got home, the kids had a chance to try out their new scooter. And Arman tried his new remote control car he got from Nenek for his birthday.

Tomorrow, we’re planning to go ice-skating before taking a short trip via Zip Car to the halal store for some supplies

Special Delivery Scooter

2008-12-12T00:00:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, we received something special in the mail from Auntie Yaya and Nenek: 2 scooters for Arman and Melur.

Arman’s birthday passed recently, and I know Auntie Yaya ordered these on-line before Arman’s birthday. It just takes a few days to arrive. I got home late last night (company Christmas Dinner), and the kids were already sleeping when I got home. So I spent the night putting it all together.

The next day, after work, I saw that the kids were extremely happy with their new gifts. Thank you Auntie Yaya and Nenek. Arman’s scooter has three wheels, while Melur’s has two. Both scooters have bright lights along the bottom. I think the kids really enjoyed that. It’s a little cold outside now, but hopefully, we can take the scooters out for a spin this weekend.

Cool Scooters

Arman’s Birthday Raya

2008-12-08T00:00:00.000-08:00

Okay, so officially today is Arman’s birthday. And seeing as today is also Hari Raya Aidil Adha, we decided to make a little something of it.

It’s Monday, a school day for the kids, and a workday for Mommy and Daddy. And despite all that, Mommy took the time to prepare a special Raya dinner for us all. As you can see, we had Rendang, Lode and Kuah Kacang. It’s very yummy, Mommy! Thank you…

After dinner, we invited Kakak Jehan over for a small dessert party. We got Original Cup Cakes from Broadway Avenue. We had a taste of it at Kakak Jehan’s birthday party last August. Very delicious!

Kakak Jehan came over with a birthday present for Arman. How nice of her. She got Arman a nice looking chess set. Arman just loves to play chess. He’s been playing a lot of it at Kinderclub.

And so we brought out all our birthday presents (not the presents from Arman’s birthday party 2 days ago), including gifts we bought at Toys R Us yesterday (courtesy of Nenek Mersing). Arman’s getting quite a lot of toys this time around, isn’t he?

Here you see Arman opening and playing some of his new toys. He seems to really like the Leapfrog game we got him. We figure it’s educational, and along the lines of the laptop we got for Melur 3-4 months ago. Enjoy, Arman!

So that’s pretty much it for tonight. I expect to be playing a lot of chess with Arman these coming days. Thank you Mommy for the dinner. And thank you Kakak Jehan for Arman’s birthday gift.

Happy Birthday Arman

New Toys, Piano and McD

2008-12-07T00:00:00.000-08:00

So, it’s the day after Arman’s birthday party. Arman has a lot of toys. To kind of ration it out a little bit, we (the parents) told Arman that he could open one present a day. Today, he chose to open the Magnext toy. He actually got 2 Magnext gifts, so I let him open both. Looks like good fun.

I also took the opportunity to record Melur playing one of her favourite songs on the piano. It’s called “Grand Mother” in the C Position, taken from her Piano Adventures book by Nancy and Randall Faber (that’s the book Melur and Arman use with Mike, the piano teacher). She likes this song because it’s the first song in the book where she gets to use both hands at the same time. What do you guys think?

Daddy had a board meeting this afternoon with MABC Canada. So Mommy took the kids to Toys R Us, since Nenek Mersing gave some money to get Arman (and Melur) some presents. They stopped by McDonalds while they were out.

Anyway, Happy Birthday Arman… again, since it’s officially tomorrow.

Arman’s Birthday Party

2008-12-06T00:00:00.000-08:00

This year is the first year Arman gets to celebrate his birthday with his friends. If you recall, last year Arman spent his birthday in Malaysia (Daddy missed that one). And the year before, we had a small party at home, having just arrived in Vancouver 3 months before. So today, we’re throwing a ‘relatively’ big party at the Acadia Park Commons Block for Arman.

Arman invited about 16 of his friends from Kinderclub. Some of the kids didn’t RSVP back, so we weren’t sure if everyone was coming. And so, we got Melur to invite some of her friends too, at the last minutes… Just to make it more festive. After all, we’re paying good money to get a presenter from Mad Science. So we had a total of 18 kids there.

We started by serving the food first, since Mad Science isn’t starting until 30 minutes into the party. We served pizza, popcorn, veggies & dip, and juice boxes. The veggies and dip didn’t go out very well like Aidan’s party. I think there was a slip in strategy somewhere. Oh well… we tried.

Melur had 2 friends over, Audrey and Yan-Lin. They had a separate table… I called it the “adults” table. Audrey looks so mature for her age. It’s hard to think that Melur and Audrey are classmates in Grade 1.

Yan-Lin, Melur & Audrey

Soon, Mommy arrived with the Mad Science guy. He needed some time to set-up, which wasn’t really a problem since the kids kept themselves busy playing the balloons and running around the very large activity room at the Acadia Park Commons Block. Before long, it was time for the show to begin.

The “Mad Scientist” was nice to include Melur and Arman in a lot of the demonstrations, though he did get many of the kids involved as well (as you can see in the video). The kids made slime, which I thought was pretty neat.

After the science show, it was time to cut the cake. We got the Diplomat’s Cake from True Confections. It was kind of sweet, plain vanilla. The kids didn’t really like it that much. But the parents seem to like it.

Finally, it was time to open the presents. As we’ve seen in previous parties, kids will crowd around while the birthday boy opens their gifts. Today was no exception, as you can see in the video.

Qianah (pictured right) was a bit upset since she didn’t have a gift. Her dad explained that Qianah’s mom was out, and that she would arrive soon with the present. Lo and behold, she did, and all was well. Thank you Qianah, for your present. In fact, thank you everyone for all your gifts for Arman. He’ll have a blast with all his new toys.

All in all, I think it was a pretty successful party – last one for the year. Till next year, Happy Birthday Arman!

For more pictures (and there are a lot), check out our Facebook Album (it's public).

Happy Birthday Anna

2008-11-23T00:00:00.000-08:00

We were very late today. Melur has another birthday party to attend – Anna’s birthday party at Telus Science World. The last time we were here was to celebrate Yasan’s birthday back in February. We took the #99 to Main St, and then the #3 bus to the Science World.

When we arrived, everybody called out Melur’s name. I guess she’s a big part of the gang. I left her at the party (these things are usually just for the kids anyway), and headed towards Pacific Centre Mall to rendezvous with Mommy and Arman. Mommy wants to do a little shopping.

Anyway, since we were late to the party, and the party isn’t that long to begin with, I didn’t end up spending a lot of time with Arman and Mommy at the mall. Soon it was time to pick up Melur again from the party. I headed back via Sky Train.

When I arrived, the party was just over, and the kids were wandering around inspecting the various science exhibits. The kids were very interested in this one bicycle contraption that makes a little ball float.

Anyway, the Science World is a pretty cool place to take the kids. There are many interesting exhibits, and I don’t think you can see them all in a day anyway. You can get a season pass, and visit here as often as you like. I find it a little expensive. We were hoping to get season passes for the Vancouver Aquarium, but that hasn’t happened yet.

After the party, Melur and I took the Sky Train to Pacific Centre Mall to meet with Mommy and Arman. We rendezvoused at Starbucks. Soon after that, we headed to the bus stop to take the #17 back home. Here’s a video of the kids waiting at the bus stop.

Thanks, Anna for having Melur over for your party. I hope you enjoyed you present (from Melur). And Happy Birthday!

Raspy Arman

2008-11-21T00:00:00.000-08:00

I took the day off today to take Arman to see an Ear Nose Throat (ENT) Specialist at the BC Children’s Hospital. It seems like we take Arman here a lot. We've never taken Melur here to see a doctor though...

We have an early appointment. Arman’s old speech therapist has been trying to get Arman to see an ENT for the longest time. We’ve just been too busy to arrange it. And after all the usual going back and forth with referrals and whatnot, we finally got Arman an appointment.

Arman’s appointment was quite early in the morning. I took Arman by bus from home, while Mommy took Melur to school. We were expecting Mommy to join us at the hospital after sending Melur, but our meeting with the doctor was quite brief, and we were done before Mommy could make her way here.

It was a quick trip. When we arrived, we met with a lady doctor who prepped Arman by performing some checks to his ear. Then we met the specialist, who was extremely nice. I think paediatricians are generally very nice to want to work with kids all day long. He has apparently been to Kuala Lumpur too.

Anyway, as you’ll see me try to get Arman to explain in the video, the doctor inserted a camera into Arman’s nose to see the vocal chords. He confirmed that he has calluses called vocal chord nodes. We all saw it on a large TV screen in the room. His calluses are apparently quite normal, and sometimes takes years to heal if the child doesn’t allow the vocal chords to rest and heal. So I guess we’ll be trying to get Arman to speak a little softer at home.

I took the whole day off expecting to spend a fair amount of time at the hospital. But barely midway through the day, Arman and I were already home with Mommy. Later, I took Arman to pick up Melur at school. Arman got the chance to describe his morning to Jamie and some of his other friends at Kinderclub. He seems pretty excited by it.

We like your raspy voice, Arman. But try to rest your vocal chords a little bit. I think it’ll be good for you in the long run.

Happy Birthday Papa

2008-11-16T00:00:00.000-08:00

Many things are happening today, as we mentioned in yesterday’s post. We start with Mommy’s Fall Classic 5K Run early this morning. She’s been training for it, a little bit. And today she gets to put her hard work to the test. Mommy finished in 00:36:58, 2 seconds shy of 37 minutes. That’s a WHOLE SECOND faster than her 2007 UBC Longest Day Run, at 00:36:59. Good Job, Mommy!

After the run, it was time for Arman’s gymnastics class. And right after that, Arman went to attend Aidan’s birthday party. I was surprised to learn that Aidan’s party coincided with my birthday, but as it turns out, his actual birthday is on 19 November. Happy Birthday, Aidan!

As with Melur’s birthday party at the UBC gym, Aidan’s party started with an hour of gym. I left Arman there by himself, and rejoined him at the second portion of the party… the food part.

The kids were pretty organized. I was surprised that Aidan’s mom prepared some pretty healthy food (fruits and vegetables) appetizers for the party. I think we should do that too, in the future. After the pizza and cake was served, it was time to open the presents.

Aidan got a lot of presents today. All the kids crowded around to see. Arman got Aidan 2 Transformers. We hope Aidan enjoys them. The kids were very rambunctious, running around with balloons, and rather physical with their play. There were only 2 girls there. And the remaining boy… Well, boys will be boys.

Later in the afternoon, it was time for Daddy’s birthday party. We invited the Malaysian students over for some cake over tea. Mommy got me a nice mocha cake from True Confections. Some of the guests arrived late, so we started a head.

The late guests actually came bearing gifts. I really wasn’t expecting any. I had a wonderful birthday celebration yesterday, and the gift Mommy got for me was excellent! But today, I got a leather strap for my guitar. Thanks, guys! I love it. I spent part of the evening showing off my new net book to the other Malaysians.

And that was pretty much our special birthday Sunday, which included a run and another birthday party.

Happy Birthday Papa

Prelude to Tomorrow

2008-11-15T00:00:00.000-08:00

So tomorrow will be filled with many activities. Mommy will be running the Fall Classic. After gymnastics, Arman will be attending Aidan’s birthday party. And tomorrow is also Daddy’s birthday. And in preparation for tomorrow, we have a whole bunch of things to do today.

We start with a trip to Toys R Us. Since we didn’t manage to get a gift for Aidan last weekend, we had to make a quick stop today. Arman managed to pick something quickly, and after that we were on our way to the Running Room.

We walked about 5 blocks west to Running Room. It’s getting cold with winter just around the corner. Mommy needs a light running jacket for tomorrow’s race. Arman and Melur had a blast running around the store.

The trip to the running room was quite short too. Right after, we decided to have a little –pre-birthday dinner at Hime Sushi, to celebrate Daddy’s birthday. But seeing as we arrived quite early for dinner, we decided to drop by the public library just next door. We sat down and looked through a few books.

Arman loves the Otto books by Todd Parr, as you see in the video above. We’ve borrowed quite a few of his books in the past. He’s even thought about writing to him.

Soon, it was time to dinner. I love this place, as I know the kids do. We ordered a LOT of food. It’s my birthday, after all. You can see for yourself.

After dinner, we felt like desert. But unfortunately, Hime Sushi doesn’t have a desert menu, at all. So we dropped by McDonald’s on the way home, for a fudge sundae.

When we got home, Daddy opened his presents a day early. Well, in my defence, it’s only a couple of hours early in Vancouver. It’s already by birthday in Malaysia, if you really think about it. Mommy got Daddy a new net book – the Acer Aspire One. I love it… And like always, Melur made me a special present for my, all by herself – her very own special brand of artwork made with tender loving car. Thank you Melur.

Now that the prelude is done, let’s see what tomorrow brings.

Longest Day

2008-11-09T00:00:00.000-08:00

I think today is one of the longest days for Melur and Arman, and it all started with being a little late to watch a movie. But before that, let me describe the preceding events.

Sunday is Arman’s gymnastics day. He’s been going for a few weeks now, with only a couple of weeks to go. I thought I’d take some pictures, since he seems to have so much fun here. Arman has gymnastics from 11:15 am till 12 pm.

Anyway, after lunch, I thought I’d take the kids out to see the new Madagascar Escape 2 Africa movie that came out recently. Mommy is very busy today with schoolwork, and I’m sure she can use a little alone time. There’s a show at 3 pm, which I thought we would be able to catch.

But as usual, despite our best intentions, we managed to just miss the bus we intended to take, and had to wait another 15 minutes for the next #99 bus to Metrotown. We had a Booster Juice smoothie while we waited.

And then it was onward to Metrotown. We arrived at the Silvercity movie theatre about 15 minutes before the movie started. But by the time we got to the counter to buy tickets, we were told there weren’t that many seats left, and that we’d have to sit upfront. I wasn’t very enthused with the prospect of having a giant movie screen just a few feet from my face, so we opted for the next showing at 4:45 pm.

The first thing the kids wanted to do with the extra time was to get some food. They are always hungry, especially when the weather gets cold. I know I do. And so it was off to the food court for some Souvlaki. Yummy…

After that, we decided to do a little shopping. The kids need some new clothes, and so we headed to Zellers, which as you’d know by now, is our favourite place for kids stuff. It’s quite inexpensive. They look so mature walking together to Zellers.

We thought we’d stop by Toys R Us to get a present for Aidan (Arman is invited to Aidan's birthday party next weekend), but again we were falling behind schedule. And so we had to rush back to the movie cinema.

The movie itself was awesome. Animated movies these days have a little something for everyone. It’s entertaining for kids, but also has some mature themes that keep the parents interested as well. It was after the movie that the real craziness began.

I didn’t know that the mall closes early on Sunday, at about 6 pm. When we left the cinema around 6:15 pm, which was inside the mall, the mall was officially closed, and was in the process of closing up. And as we were about to leave the mall, Arman had to go to the restroom. Aw, man! Kids can’t hold their pee very well. And I frantically searched the mall for a restroom. The ones close by were already closed off. We finally found an open toilet way back near the food court. Believe me, it’s a ways away from the cinema and the main entrance to the mall.

And when we got out of the rest room, the main concourse of the mall was already partitioned off. Which means, we can’t go out the way we came in. I had to just find an exit, and hope that we can find our way back to the train station from the outside. The empty corridors leading outside were a little scary, but I kept my cool. I think the kids found it more interesting than anything else. Mommy would’ve probably freaked out (Sorry Mommy!).

So we made it out to a parking garage, walked around Zellers, then along a main road, toward the train station. It was dark and cold. The kids were kind of tired (I was too). And so I offered to drop by our favourite Hime Sushi for dinner tonight. That kept them going.

And on the bus trip home, the #99 we were on was involved in a collision with another vehicle. How strange is that? Nobody got hurt, but the car that the bus nudged hit a poll by the roadside and was totalled. The kids were more curious than anything else. But the accident caused a traffic jam, which only meant that our trip home would be delayed even further.

We managed to get on the next #99. People were abuzz with the accident. But we just waited for our stop. And when we got off at Point Grey for Hime Sushi, we discovered that the restaurant was closed. They close early on Sundays too. And so we had to walked down a block and settled for some other sushi restaurant. Not as good though, as we later found out. But I didn’t have time to cook anyway.

So that’s was our longest day ever, which started with missing our bus, catching the later movie, needing to go to the bathroom while in a mall that was closing, and then having to find another way our of the mall, getting on a bus that was involved in an accident, and settling for another sushi restaurant after discovering our favourite place was closed. What an experience.

So how was your day, Mommy?

Dentist Time

2008-11-08T00:00:00.000-08:00

Okay, so it’s been a little over 7 months since Melur and Arman went to see a dentist. The last time we saw Dr Moy was some time in March. During the last check-up, Melur was cavity-free, and Arman needed some fillings. This time around though, Arman is cavity-free. Melur however, has some cavities on her newly erupted molars. Apparently, there are some deformities, or dents, on her new teeth, that make it easy for food to collect.

Anyway… we came straight from swimming classes, and we forgot to bring the camera. So we have to make do with pictures from Daddy’s camera phone (which needs to be upgraded BTW).

Since Melur’s cavities are on her newly erupted molars, the dentists won’t be able to perform any work on it, until it matures a little more. Melur will have to come back in a month to check on the progress of the tooth. In the mean time, she’ll have to live with the cavity and brush well, so that it doesn’t spread too much further.

That’s pretty much the dental update from Melur and Arman.

Halloween 2008

2008-10-31T00:00:00.000-07:00

The good thing about having a Blog, especially after doing it for a few years, is that you start to build a library of memories of past events. We’ve been in Vancouver for over 2 years now, and today marks our third Halloween here. If you want to see Last Years Halloween, or Halloween from the year before, all you have to do is click through. How cool is that?

Anyway, I think this year’s Halloween was pretty cool. As part of an agreement with my department co-workers, I had to dress up as one of The Village People. My little get-up received quite the reaction. Here I am with the kids (picture above), ready to go Trick or Treating. Can you guess who I am?

This year, Arman got a brand new outfit from Zellers. He’s a Henja (Okay, he’s a Ninja, but he sounds so cute saying “Henja”)! We got it 2 weeks ago. Melur got some new wings with last years dress, and went as a fairy. They both look quite cute, and certainly very excited for the evening. And as with previous years, Mommy held the fort at home to dish out the treats. No tricks please…

I must say though, this year’s “harvest” wasn’t as good as previous years’. All the houses in Acadia Park were out of candy pretty quickly. I think we’ve had a lot of new comers to UBC this year. I remember when we first came, we ran out of candy very quickly. And we learned to stock up the following years.

But we had lots of fun. Melur and Arman met with many of their friends along the way, as can see above. Arman got cold and tired, and headed home first. Melur and I tried a few more houses on our way to the University Village, but they were all out of candy. And so we ended the evening with some take out – Japanese food. Mmm... Yummy...

For more pictures, check out our album on Facebook.

Happy Halloween

Learning the Alphabet

2008-10-28T00:00:00.000-07:00

Arman has steadily been getting better with the alphabet. Arman’s teacher from U-Hill Elementary assigns homework for Arman, which Mommy diligently goes over with Arman night after night. Here’s a picture of Arman doing his reading homework. You’ll also see Melur close at his side.

Melur is already reading very well (at least we, the parents, think so). And she likes to show off her skills in front of Arman. We try very hard to get Melur to let Arman learn on his own. Be every so often, Melur will blurt out the letters that Arman needs to learn.

Once Arman can recognize all the letters, we’ll need to teach him the sounds that correspond to each letter. He’s already started that task, and we’re still working on it. Wish us luck!

True Confections for Mommy

2008-10-26T00:00:00.000-07:00

Okay... So it’s still not Mommy’s birthday yet. But it’s Sunday, and Mommy’s birthday is just a day away. It’ll be more fun to celebrate Mommy’s birthday on the weekend, rather than on a weekday. And so I went out this morning with Arman to True Confections and got Mommy a cake. Since I didn’t order the cake ahead, the cake didn’t have any writing on it. But it’s a good cake.

But before I go into the birthday festivities, I want to mention that Melur is now able to make butterfly origami all on her own. Mommy and the kids borrowed some origami books from the local library earlier this week. And Mommy also bought some origami paper from the Internet. We’ve all been trying our hand at origami. And now Melur is going to make a butterfly origami for all her classmates. Good job Melur.

Now back to the festivities… What do you think of the birthday cake? It looks awesome! It tastes awesome too. Arman chose the Chocolate Orange Cake for Mommy. Here’s a video:

Anyway, we were only able to take pictures on my phone yesterday, so hopefully today you can take a better look at the birthday present Daddy got for Mommy. I also got her flowers.

Melur made Mommy a present, a little heart-shaped necklace, made with tender loving care. You can see it in the picture below:

So this is how we celebrated Mommy’s birthday (in addition to yesterday’s sushi dinner). Maybe we’ll have a bigger one next year. Anybody want a slice of cake? We really recommend it.

Happy Birthday Mommy!

Early Birthday for Mommy

2008-10-25T00:00:00.000-07:00

It’s Saturday, 2 days before Mommy’s birthday. Daddy had to attend an AGM for MABC Canada this afternoon, and so we planned to meet up at Metropolis at Metrotown right after. I arrived at the mall around 4:30 pm, and rendezvoused with Mommy and the kids at the food court. They were having a late afternoon snack. I didn’t have time to eat at the MABC meeting, even though food was served. So I ordered up a veggie burrito for myself.

We had a chance to walk around quite a bit. With Halloween just a week away, the mall was filled with ghoulish décor. One atrium in particular had a Ghost House, though purely ornamental (you can’t go inside). It’s just for show. Just the same, the kids were entertained with dead bodies lying on some sort of torture device.

After exploring a few stores, we stopped for some yoghurt/smoothie at Yogen Fruz. It’s quite delightful – yoghurt and fresh fruit blended together. Every few feet along the mall corridors, there are quaint little sitting areas with sectionals and sofas. It’s a great place to relax amidst a busy day of shopping. And that’s where we sat while we enjoyed our little desserts.

Anyway, Mommy has been in an “exercise” mood lately, and so we stopped at a few sports stores. While she was shopping, I managed to coax the kids into making their first purchase on their own. They were thirsty, and so I handed them a toonie so they could buy themselves a drink. And so they did, while I watched about 20 feet away. They were scared (or shy) at first. But after a little encouraging, they managed to do it, and felt really proud and happy afterwards. I’m really proud of them too.

Before long, it was time to head home. It was already quite dark outside, and cold. We had only been walking around for an hour or so. Seeing as we were all quite tired, we decided to celebrate Mommy’s birthday a little early, and have dinner out with the family. The venue… Hime Sushi on 10th, right next door to the library in Point Grey. Mommy took the kids there a couple of times before, and they just love it.

Anyway… seeing as we were already kind of celebrating Mommy’s birthday already (2 days early, 1 day if you’re in Malaysia), I decided to give Mommy her birthday present. What do you think, Mommy? Do you like it?

Sorry, the picture isn’t so great. We forgot to bring our camera, and so I had to use my camera phone, which has a much lower resolution. Anyway, Happy Birthday Mommy! We’ll have your cake tomorrow.

Melur Vacuums

2008-10-24T00:00:00.000-07:00

I took a picture of Melur today, just a random picture of Melur with the vacuum cleaner. Our living room is our family room. And I’d say we spend about 90% of our time in this little room. So it gets dirty and messed up pretty quick, especially with the kids around.

And so just about every night before the kids get ready for bed, we get the kids to help clean up their stuff in the living room. And sometimes, that entails vacuuming the carpet floor as well, just in the living room. It’s usually Arman who quickly volunteers to vacuum the room. I think he thinks it’s fun. He beats Melur to the queue almost every time. But today, Melur got a chance to vacuum.

She’s really working hard at it. We try to get the kids to help around the house, especially when it’s safe and fun. I think it’s a good habit to have. Anyway, thanks Melur for helping us keep the house clean.

Arman's Legs

2008-10-23T00:00:00.000-07:00

It’s been over 6 months since our last trip to the BC Children’s Hospital. When we were here last March, the doctor wanted to wait to see how well Arman’s leg adjusts, before deciding to do anything. Anyway, I took the afternoon off today to take Arman to the doctor again.

Our appointment with the Orthopaedic Paediatrician is always on a Thursday afternoon. I made my way by bus from the office and rendezvoused with Arman and Mommy at the bus stop near the hospital. And then we made our way in together.

We were right on time. We registered at the front desk and waited for our turn. We were a bit confused about what we were supposed to do exactly. At one point, we were asked to take x-rays first, which we did. Arman’s an expert at that already. It is his second set of x-rays at this hospital. After that, it was back to the waiting room.

Mommy had to leave early to pick up Melur from school. So it was just Arman and I waiting for the doctor. We were finally asked to wait in the examination room. We saw x-rays of Arman’s legs both from today and 6 months ago. Everything was computerized.

When we finally met with the doctor, he wanted to wait another 6 months. But he said, in all likelihood, Arman will need plates put into his leg, which will stunt the growth of his bone on one side, effectively straightening it as the bones grow. The procedure itself is quite minor, and we can expect Arman to come home on the same day, if not the next morning. Arman would need to wear the plate for a few years while the bone straightens, and then removed later.

Anyway… we really hope the best for Arman. We have another appointment to meet with the doctor next May. Hopefully, we’ll have something good for Arman then.

New Costumes

2008-10-19T00:00:00.000-07:00

So this is going to be a short entry. We went out today to get Melur and Arman some costumes for the upcoming Halloween. As you know, every year, they go out Trick or Treating around Acadia Park. Last year, Melur went as a princess, and Arman went as an Ape, the same Ape costume Melur used the year before. Basically, we have a budget for only one new costume every year, and this year it’s Arman’s turn.

For some reason, whenever we go shopping, I forget to take the camera out and take pictures. And so this is the only picture we took today – Arman trying out a ninja costume as Zellers. You’ll see more pictures of him come Halloween time.

We got the ninja costume. So Arman’s going as a ninja, or as he’d call it: a “Henja”. I find the pronunciation so adorable, that I find myself saying “Henja” too. Maybe I shouldn’t aggravate the situation. Anyway, stay tuned for costumes from Halloween, coming up soon.

Scarring Conversation

2008-10-17T10:33:00.000-07:00

About one month ago... on the way back from school...

Melur: Mommy, when is this (pointing to the scar on her upper left cheek) going to go away?

Mommy: I don't know, sayang.

Melur: I want it to go away. It's ugly. I want to have a clean face.

...Enough said.

Turkey Time

2008-10-12T00:00:00.000-07:00

It’s here… it’s finally here, time to pull out that old (or new) turkey recipe and get it going on in the oven. We don’t really celebrate Thanksgiving per say, but it is a long weekend, and turkey is not available all year round. 'Tis the season for turkey! And it's really the only time we get access to turkey, especially the Halal kind.

As we mentioned from yesterday’s post, we had some hardships getting a large turkey, so we end up with 2 smaller turkeys. Every year, we try to out-do the previous year. Last year, and the year before, Thanksgiving coincided with the Muslim fasting month. This year however, Thanksgiving weekend came after EID. So this Turkey feast is also our Raya Open House. We’ve been planning it for a while now.

So we have 2 birds and 1 oven. That won't do. So for the first time since coming to Vancouver (we're had to borrow ovens for turkey before, in New York), we have to “borrow” an oven from the other Malaysian students. We prepared everything beforehand, rubbed in the spices, put it in the bag (literally), and then delivered it to the their house with baking instructions. Hopefully, it’ll turn out all right.

We started the party at about 6 pm. The turkeys didn’t take too long to bake. We had meat thermometers, and the turkeys were done before the time we set. We were a little worried, but they looked cooked. What do you guys think? Mmm…. Yummy!

We had lots of guests. Baby Adam and his parents were here to enjoy they’re first taste of turkey. I hope they enjoyed it.

There were also a few new Malaysian students (new to UBC, that is) we invited, whom we met at the last Raya open house. This is probably their first taste of turkey too. If so, we’re honored.

Oh… If you recall at the last CG Open House, I mentioned that we were roped into performing at the MABC Deeparaya festivities. We took this opportunity to practice for the show. Jehan, Mira, Shahrir and I will be performing a couple of Raya songs, hence the guitar. Wish us luck. We perform next weekend.

Anyway, overall I think everybody had a good time. The kids certainly found ways to entertain themselves (after stuffing themselves with turkey). They played a few games of checkers, which they learned recently. I'm really proud of that.

I had lots of fun too. Love the turkey. I wonder when we’ll get to have turkey again. Well, I guess I’ll be having turkey leftovers tomorrow, and possibly the day after. But what about AFTER that? Christmas maybe?

For those who celebrate Thanksgiving, we wish you a Happy Thanksgiving. For my fellow Muslim brothers and sisters, Eid Mubarak! And for everybody else, hope you had a fantastic long weekend. This is a good time to enjoy a good meal with family and friends, no matter what you celebrate.

Enjoy the long weekend!

Happy Thanksgiving!

PS: For more pictures, visit Our Photo Album on Facebook.

CG Eid Open House

2008-10-11T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today is the start of the long weekend, and a long day at that. Before we go into the main event of the day, the Eid Open House hosted by the Malaysian Consulate General at Vancouver, we have a little party of our own to prepare for tomorrow. And so we took the zipcar out today to get some supplies, starting with fresh vegetables and a turkey from Fraser. Fraser St isn’t too far from the Open House, which is being held at Oakridge Mall. But we were late nonetheless, an hour late. The turkey we got was kind of small (12 lbs), and so we were in a frenzy to secure another bird for tomorrow. We were not successful, and made our way to the open house.

The open house was great, lots of food and lots of friends. The kids had a blast playing with all the other kids who were there. If you don’t believe me, take a look for yourself:

We met a lot of new people. Daddy got sucked into performing for the MABC Deeparaya. Daddy will be organizing something with the Malaysian students. Hopefully it’ll turn out well.

We didn’t stay too long - we were an hour late after all. After the open house, we decided to give it another try, and drive around for halal turkey. Thank God, we found a place near the Joyce Sky Train station. Woo hoo! Another 12 lbs bird for tomorrow’s turkey feast. We’re hoping to carry on our tradition from last year - Malaysian Turkey Eid on Melfa Lane. Stay tuned…

Piano and Music

2008-10-05T00:00:00.000-07:00

Melur and Arman have been taking piano lessons for a few months now. And since they started playing, I’ve started playing more as well. The keyboard you see used to be an ornament in our living room, collecting dust. Mike comes in on Tuesdays, and gives them a formal 30-minute lesson each. And I hold up the rear, and make sure they practice every day until their next practice.

This lazy Sunday morning, we decide to relax with some music and piano. You see Arman playing with Melur. And then Arman takes a video of Melur dancing to Daddy playing the piano. I’m reading music from a book, which I rarely do. So forgive my clumsiness.

The last clip in the video, we see Arman playing Ode to Joy. Arman seems to enjoy playing the piano more than Melur. He regularly practices on his own, while Melur needs some pushing. But both kids are progressing well with their piano.

Anyway… I hope music will continue to be a strong part of their lives. I’m a strong believer that music can hard-wire your brain to do math better, and there’s research that supports that. Let’s play more music.

Arman, Arman

2008-10-04T00:00:00.000-07:00

It’s Saturday, and Daddy got up early today to join a conference call with the extended family. Nenek is in Malaysia, Uncle Danny in Japan, Uncle Lyle in Indiana, plus Auntie Yaya in Bath, UK. It was a Skype / YM fest. Unfortunately, Nenek’s YM web cam wasn’t working, so we couldn’t see her at the same time as everybody else. So we took turns talking to her on Skype (her web cam was working on Skype). The wonders of technology…

Anyway, today’s little entry is about Arman. Arman is quite the character. Some time last year, we got Arman a suit from Zellers. He looked so adorable in it. It came with a clip on tie. And for some reason, he likes to wear it to bed… clipped onto his pajamas. And here he is the morning after in his pajamas and tie, dancing in the living room.

Arman is always curious to try new things, especially things that I use around the house, like the laptop, phone and camera. Here he is taking video with the camera. As you recall, he took some videos on Raya day, just 3 days ago. Today, he’s narrating what we’re doing this fine Saturday morning.

Well Arman, I hope you can keep your curiosity going. I think it’s one of your endearing traits. Keep asking, and you’ll never grow bored of life. And as he always says…