A Homemaker’s Diary

Remember my previous entry about my garden? These were the pictures taken about a few weeks ago.

Now my garden is not that nice anymore..huhu! The next door neighbor decided to put up the wall and the Indon contractors spoiled everything. They stepped on my pearl grass while laying the bricks, making the cement dropped everywhere and in the process damaged most of my plants..eeiii sakit hati!

We have to remove most of the potted plants away from the construction area in order to salvage them..but some die in the process. Benci! Benci!

I hope the job will be completed soon because I plan to rearrange my plants and replenish the grass before Hari Raya.

I have been researching on the design of beadwork to do on my baju raya this year. There are many pictures from other beaders that I have saved in the hard disk. So I showed them to Hubby and asked for his opinion..his comment…
“eeii serabutnya, macam macik2..tak cantik la..batu bulat2 besar nampak pelik..” isk isk..

So since my baju raya is like color of Rangooli, I was out of ideas on how to jahit manik on it..huh! I tried combining manik pintal with labuci and it looks tak berseri (I used the leftover of beads from the time I sew Niece’s wedding attire, the beads colors do not match my baju kurung tone very well.)

I can’t use manik tabur with bunga lalang design like above since the corak on the baju kurung is not plain.

In the end I think I have to make do with manik V design like the above picture since I only have just enough round beads with 2 colors that suit the baju…(ni kes malas nak beli beads baru tapi nak jugak jahit manik kat baju raya..isk!)

I even practised beading the pyramid design like above but it just looks gloomy. Next time I should have think twice when selecting the color, corak and kain for my baju kurung raya..huhu!

(Most of these pictures were posted in bungatelur.info before, I haven’t beaded any new design to share since I have my son..isk!)

I’ve got my baju raya from tailor last Saturday. And now I am contemplating whether to sew beads on it. I have been researching several designs from other beaders online, but it seems that the design I like will need me to spend a lot of hours beading it..which won’t be a problem if I don’t have a little fella here to take care of..huhu!

Oh, the liberty of childless years, boleh suka suki buat apa yang terlintas di hati..now even the visit to the loo has to be done in split second while he’s sleeping (or in the morning, before he’s awake)

Coming back to the beading topic, I feel really tempted to jahit Swarovski on the baju raya. I think I still have some beads left from the time I tried to make bracelets a few years back. Checking out one design on Glamstarz fotopages, she used about 800 pieces of 4mm biconne..(if I were to jahit that on my baju kurung raya rasa macam tak berbaloi sebab lagi mahal beads dari harga kain..huhu!)

I think I will end up beading something simpler. I will save my Swarovski dream on something that costs 300 or more..keh! keh!

Remember the last entry where I wrote about all the books I previewed..hehe! I think I will buy this book : Six weeks to better parenting: the complete guide for creative raising of children two-twelve by Caryl Waller Krueger.

Reason being, I like all the values that the author mentioned in the book especially the part on how to raise a poised child. I am so lazy to copy word by word what the poise section says, but in simple language it means having a child who know how to “membawa diri”.

I’m sure it will do your child good as well since he/she won’t feel embarrassed or awkward being in an unfamiliar situation. Being poise is much more than knowing what to say, poise is also knowing what to do in a varieties of circumstances in strange places and in new experiences.

For example, even if your child is a city girl, she will feel at ease mingling around when brought to some kampung area for kenduri kendara..haha! (the kind of traits and criteria I hope to look for in my future daughter in law..)

Important to remember, a child does not gain poise just by going through the situation. We as the parents must prepare and let them practise. We have to give them opportunities to think on their own and act spontaneously, educate and give them knowledge. Lack of poise comes from the fear of looking foolish or the fear of making mistake or the fear of the unknown.

Very crucial that we as parents listen to our child, letting him know that his opinions are important and suggest ways to improve rather than criticize. A poised person has self esteem, and a child loses that when the parents are constantly criticizing or demeaning him.

I am glad of myself..heh! This week I managed to find and read a lot of good materials on parenting topics like separation anxiety (at parents.com) and raising an only child.

As usual with the help of amazon.com and Google Books preview, I read these books (or the snippet of them..heh!):

Parenting an Only Child: The Joys and Challenges of Raising Your One and Only by Susan Newman Ph.D.

The Future of Your Only Child: How to Guide Your Child to a Happy and Successful Life by Carl E. Pickhardt Ph.D.

Six weeks to better parenting: the complete guide for creative raising of children two-twelve by Caryl Waller Krueger

The Seven Common Sins of Parenting An Only Child: A Guide for Parents and Families by Carolyn White

Oh, BTW my no-cry sleep solution book has arrived at Hubby’s office. Can’t wait to check out the techniques and try them out so that I will be able to sleep at night peacefully..heh!