Little king's man..

Mother came back from Solo (Surakarta, Central Java) last night.. She was away for 5 days on a family visit trip..

Welcoming Mother back at home, of course, Ariq and Aza who were asking about her every day were very happy..

Surely Aza, being very excited, enjoyed his presents/souvenirs so much.. Now Aza can pretend to be a soldier on a horse, carrying a mighty sword.. Just like in the old tales.. ;-)


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Healthy house inspection..

It is always a lot of fun whenever Ariq's classmates come to visit our home..

Today, the class is here again with the teachers on their science period, to do an 'inspection' of a healthy house.. ;-)

Well, gladly the visit was in the morning, when the house was in its best appearance, haha.. Plus, the kids much prefered to run around the backyard.. so, the condition of the inside was very well preserved until the end of the visit.. :-)

When everyone had completed their worksheet, noting their observation of the requirements of a healthy house, then it was morning snack time.. 

I thought I did better than the last time in serving the snack -during the last visit, I ran out of food much too soon-.. It turned out that although I did slightly better this time, but still.. I should have put more of the macaroni and cheese, because the kids came back for 2nd and 3rd servings!! WOW! Everything, -cartoon milk, macaroni and cheese, sandwiches and waffers- were gone by the end of the visit, which made me a very happy host.. :-)

The thing that I noted the most was the way the kids behaved.. It was only one year since the last visit, but they have grown so much in terms of manner.. the way they asked about things they needed to find out about, the way they take turns in taking their food, communicating with each other, and mostly.. how they only tiptoed and had a peek when checking the bedrooms.. (last year, they ended up jumping up and down the bed!), hahaha... :-D

It is amazing watching and observing how children grow.. :-)  This is really a great day.. :-)

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Ariq's birthday..

It was Ariq's birthday on the 19th of April..

But, guess who was having a blast??? Well.. this little brother, of course! Hahaha...

Ariq asked my parents to come over on his birthday  and bring a cake, since it was a school day (the grandparents were initially thinking about taking him out for lunch or dinner)..

When mum asked Ariq what cake he wanted, his answer was, "Oh, any choice will be nice, but.. it might be better to have Aza's favorite." -Aza's favorite, by the way, is strawberry cheese cake, with fresh-whole strawberries on top of the cake-.

On the same day, in the art and craft subject at school, Ariq's class had their party hats returned from grading.. so, yeah.. Aza had his favorite cake and a cute hat! Oh, he also had the honor of blowing the birthday candles for the second time.. ;-)

Our family has never been big on birthdays.. It looks like Ariq and Aza like it the same way.. we usually just have a family dinner (either at home with a special menu, or out in one of our favorite restaurants), and buy a cake to share at home.. Birthdays are usually lovely though, because we would all be relaxed -even the birthday boy is allowed to blow the candles wearing pyjamas- .. :-D


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The boys' busy afternoon

Ariq came home at 2 pm, bringing home 2 books from the school's book festival;

'The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian'

and

'Pirates of Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest'.

Aza and I were reading the books, while Ariq was listening to the story and playing his game on the computer..

Then, Aza asked Ariq to print a picture of Lich King sword.. After that, they went to the minimarket to buy play-do, with which Ariq made a tank

and Aza made a Ninja Turtle eye mask.. ;-)

When they had enough, they went outside and played with the waterhose.. Quickly the nanny caught up with them and gave them their afternoon shower..

After having a serving of milk each (Ariq, chocolate.. Aza, natural),

now the boys are happily sitting with me in the study.. Ariq is back with his game, and Aza successfully 'forged' his own Lich King sword from scratch..

A very nice way to start my weekend.. :-)





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Dry season is here..

The sky is bright and clear all day..
The air is getting hotter and drier..

This yellow flower is the last one in the backyard..

And I found fruits of the little red flower (Soka) bush..

Dry season is finally here..

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Hostile takeover!

Ariq: Can I sleep in your bed until mum and dad come in?

Aza: Nope. Last night you were too lazy to move and I couldn't sleep well..

Ariq: So?

Aza: Alright.. I'll sleep next to you on mum and dad's mattress..

Ariq: And where will they sleep then?

Aza: Don't know.. But I know you can't sleep alone.. Haha.. So just be quiet and go to sleep..

Nope.. I'm not typing the names the wrong way around.. Ariq is 7 years old and Aza is 3.5 years old.. And, Aza is the one who has been sleeping in his own bed at his own will.. But he will do almost anything for Ariq.. ;-)

And, yess.. We're squeezing tight tonight.. Just consider it a family camp night (we just watched 'Narnia - Prince Caspian' before bedtime)..

Night night, boys.. Sweet dream.. :-)

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Sword making instructions by smithy Aza..

The great sword expert and maker, Aza, finally agreed to reveal his secret to making 'Lich King' sword.. ;-)

1. Make a sketch of the sword

2. Cut the sketch

3. Shape the sword using colourful blocks

4. Modify the sword according to the intended model

5. Have the finished version of the sword checked by a 'World of Warcraft' player/fan

6. 'Lich King' sword is ready for use

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Unique Engagement..

Busy weeks.. now followed by tired week.. pheewww... :-P

The 'butterfly sign' was all right.. the guests came as planned. Joe's family came and met ours last Friday morning, and now it means.. Sinta is officially engaged to Joe!

In Indonesia, the romantic moment of "Would you marry me?" and "Yes", cannot be considered an official engagement, until the family of the future groom comes to the home of the bride to follow up on the 'personal engagement'.

Once the representative of the future groom's family (can be the father or an appointed spokesperson) expresses the intention of proposing for the girl to be wedded to the guy, and a representative of the future bride's family (can also be the father or an appointed spokesperson) provides an answer based on the future bride's answer (which usually is a 'yes').. Then, the engagement becomes official and the two families can start preparing for the wedding ceremony.. :-)

Sooo... CONGRATULATIONS!!! :-)

Anyway.. It was a very unique engagement ceremony, since neither of the couple was here.. Sinta was still in Moscow, Russia (doing her Master degree), and Joe was still in Verona, Italy (doing his PhD).

During the engagement ceremony they appeared only on the TV screen which was connected to the laptop. We used Yahoo Messenger for the video chat (Skype doesn't have video conference chat) and Skype for the voice chat (voice chat quality of Yahoo Messenger was not as good as that of Skype).

Love is a mystery.. we only know it when we have found it.. The process of getting to know each other between Joe and Sinta was not long. They met each other face to face once around last August, then they followed up via the internet..

They met again once around the New Year in Moscow and they decided they were going to get married. After that, most probably, they are going to settle down in Italy for some time.. :-)

The little sister is getting married.. and flying away with the love of her life.. it always sounds strange in every family.. at the same time, it is one of the happiest moments too.. :-)

Here are pictures of the event:


Ahmad (My husband-as family rep), Mother, Joe's mum, Joe's dad (as family rep)



Joe's mum, Fiki (Joe's brother) and Tia (Joe's sister)



Shahliah (Dani's wife), Mother and Me..
Mother and her two daughters-in-law (a son-in-law coming right up very soon.. hehehe...)



The cousins, chatting with Sinta and Joe (left and right top of screen) after the official engagement ceremony


Congratulations again, Sinta and Joe.. wishing you both a blessed future together.. ;-)