Why We Should Ban Cinderella , She Is Bad For Our Daughters !

As I read Cinderella to Kaseh for her bedtime story tonight, i realised what a horrible story it is. It' unsuitable for a child like her and there's so many wrong messages in it. "Cerita ni tak bagus Kaseh, mana ada Prince that will sweep you off you your feet", i tried explaining to her. Unfortunately she wasn't very conviced. Oh no, what have i done! I bought the book at the first place, it was an innocent purchase. I grew up reading Cinderella, Snow White,

Beauty and The Beast and etc so i thought hey, it's a fairytale, popular childhood stories with good moral values. Right? Wrong!

Here's why you should keep Cinderella and all the other Princesses away from your daughters.Firstly, Cinderella teaches you that a girl's main purpose in life is to find a Prince that will sweep you off your feet and you will live happily ever after. That a girl is so helpless and only this Prince will rescue her from her evil step mother and half sisters. Secondly, Cinderella teaches you that, hey I just got to know this guy, dance a little and let's get married. Errr.....what we should be teaching our daughters is that - never talk to strangers, don't trust them what more marry them! And thirdly, Cinderella emphasises that physical appearance is uberly important that when she is no longer in her Princess's dress, the Prince no longer recognise her, he only knew it was her because she coukd fit the glass slipper. Like this is super salah.

In this day and era, what we should be teaching our daughters is to be dependent and financially resourceful. They shouldn't be relying on any man for a better life. We should provide them with the education where they will be able to use it to fend and create a career for themselves. If they do find a well to do suitor aka the Prince, then it's a bonus. But relying for that Prince to come? I'm sorry girlfriend, it ain't happening.

There's so many alarming messages that came out from this simple fairytale. Don't get me started on the Fairy God Mother and the step sisters. How come at such a tender age, Cinderella is already imprinting sifat hasad dengki (jealousy) , that her step sisters are jealous of her beauty and poise. And what about her father who marries an evil women? The father seem not to care about the welfare of his own daughter, that he is so blind and gullible to marry a woman so prententious in front of him and abuses his daughter behind his back? ( I'm assuming Cinderella's maternal mother passed away ok). Come on, Dads are better than this.

This so enough said about Cinderella. We should ban her and all the other Princesses from our homes. Kaseh will not be pleased, it isn't her fault because this is what they learn from watching TV and reading books available in the market. But as parents, we need to guide our children accordingly. Just because it's pink or purple, doesn't mean that it's innocent.

Lucky for us, I see Frozen in a different light, that only a strong sisterly love will set you free. And the recently released Malificient starring Angelina Jolie, sends the right message about maternal love. No Prince charming is going to wake Sleeping Beauty up. 

Our girls must be empowered and we must teach our boys to respect girls! Gender equality begins at home and it starts with you Moms and Dads. Good bye Cinderella, you aren't welcome here.

Sedondon di Hari Raya - What's our Theme Colour for 2015 ?

Day 11 of Ramadan. Every time Ramadan comes, it hit us like lighting, fast and impactful. I always wish that it didn't go by so quickly. Terawikh and Sahur are amongst the activities that we don't usually do on other months plus breaking fast with the family, a common old tradition that is lacking in the modern family house hold now. Cakes and dishes that you usually won't find on normal months too due to Bazaar Ramadan and for me that extra time i get between Sahur and Sun rise, time spent on reciting the Quran, checking emails and finishing up some paper work before the kids wake up.

Soon, Eid will be approaching. Simple but yet complicated question pops up - Warna baju Raya kita apa ? (What's our Raya theme colour this year ?).  Every single year ever since we had children, we try to coordinate the colour of our Baju Raya. Corny as it sounds, but this practise actually makes the Baju Raya hunting a much memorable and fun experience.

Let's recall, the pass year's theme colour.

This was taken in 2011 Raya. Both of us wore light green and it was so difficult to find baby baju kurung in the same colour. Kaseh wore Peach, but ok la still look in sync with both of us .

Raya 2013, I was heavily pregnant with Kefli. In this photo , i was due anytime during the Raya month. Of course, I didn't feel like "bergaya di hari Raya" (fashionable), with almost 20 kg additional weight gain due to the pregnancy. Thus, I opted for a cotton Peach based Kurung Pesak which I bought at Kompleks Karangkraf, Jalan Conlay to match Sol's Peach Baju Melayu Johor. I bought Kaseh's Kurung at Amcorp Mall. Photo taken at my mother's house in Bandar Utama, PJ.

2014 our theme was Grey. This is by far my favourite Raya family photograph. Classic ! Any parents would know that taking a perfect family photo is impossible with kids. It was the morning of Raya and Kaseh was not in a very good mood! Taken at Kaseh's Moyang's house in Seksyen 16, PJ. I opted for a blause from @surisara and paired it with a batik sarong, Sol's and the children's traditional attire are from Omar Ali, TTDI. 

So what will our theme colour be this year? I guess we shall wait and see on the morning of this coming Raya. For you who are still thinking about your colour, here's some guidelines to what certain colour means to the wearer. Taken from a seminar i attended with @theimagecreator. 

Green - Hope

Blue - Productivity

Red -Powerful

Orange - Energetic

White - Organised

Black - Convincing

Yellow - Cheerful

Purple - Royal

Grey - Intelligent 

Good luck with your Raya shopping ! 

Happy Ramadan 2015 & Yummy Lasagna Recipe for Iftar

Salam Ramadan everybody ! How's you Ramadan so far ? It's the 6th day of fasting and my body and mind is still getting used to the whole routine. Fasting is actually more of a mind over matter, psychological and spiritual. For me the non eating or drinking is not so much the issue because if your mind is set to it, you will do it.

For me, Ramadan is similar to New Year because i often reflect, reset and re strategise life outlook and plans. There's a lot more time during this month to do so, because there's extra time during lunch breaks for pondering, some gap time during sahoor and sunrise plus Terawikh prayers are great time for Dua and seeking his blessings. I hope you've adjusted to the timings and change of routine, it's only the first week, but i'm telling you time will fly and soon it will be Eid. So let's make the best and optimise the month.

Over the last weekend, I had an opportunity to Emcee the opening of Mother Care 13th Outlet in Atria, Petaling Jaya. Wow, this is rezeki Ramadan, and i am so ever grateful that i was invited to host it. On top of all the nice presents, i met so many other Moms and Dads who shares the same interests.

Yasmin Hani, Irma Hasmie, Blogger Ben Ashaari, Anabelle Kong, Winnie and FourfeetNine.
It was a great start to Ramadan, i wasn't planning to shop for Raya for Kaseh and Kefli , but couldn't resist browsing thru their latest collections.

Ok, take a breather , I don't have a specific Shopping day for Raya, and to be honest we have purchased our traditional attire well in advance, but yes might KIV these cute baby tees!

Another headache that Moms get during this Ramadan is - nak machine papa ? Preparing the anticipated Iftar meals for the family. It must be something that everyone would agree too. And Mom don't have much time and energy to spend long hours in the kitchen .

So what's cooking ? How about this 80 kg Grouper i found at Village Grocer will grocery shopping ?

Check it out! You can feed the whole family for year with this 80kg beauty.

Curry ? Steam ? Masak Lemak Cili Padi. I'm kind off afraid to cook this fish, not so sure who will purchase this, or perhaps it will remain as attraction to shoppers. What would be more practical is Yummy Lasagna that's absolutely easy to make ? So here's what we had for our Father's Day Iftar Session. The recipe is below, be sure to try ! 

500grams of minced chicken

2 cans of tomato pasta sauce

Button mushrooms

Full cream milk

Cream

Butter

Flour

Lasagna Sheets

Garlic and Onions

Mozzarella Cheese 

Tomato Sauce

1. Stir fry onions and garlic.

2. Add minced chicken 

3. Add 2 cans of tomato pasta sauce

4. Add 2 cups of full cream milk. 

White Sauce

1. Add some oil and butter in a pot 

2. Add flour and stir

3. Add milk and cream

4. Stir in low fire

Layer the sheets, an alternate between tomato sauce and white sauce.And when you finally done, 

sprinkle loads of cheese and bake for 20 mins in 180 degree. Great for Sahur too. Selamat berbuka !