Trip to Outskirt Parts of Klang (Part 1)

This is actually an outdated post. This trip was on the 7th March 2010. After making waterfall trips, this time Papa and Mommy decided to bring Juan Or to the beach - Pantai Remis. Mommy's fond memories of Pantai Remis was that Mommy dug for green-shelled clams which were found in abundance during low tide, but that was when Mommy was 14 years old! By now, the beach is already exhausted from such sea creatures. From Sri Petaling, Papa used the Federal Highway to reach Klang and then to Kapar via Jalan Kapar. Pantai Remis is situated somewhere along the Jalan Kapar that connects Kapar to Kuala Selangor.

By the time we reached Pantai Remis, the sky looked dark and cloudy. No rain yet, thankfully, but it was very windy. There was also a Malay man flying a kite at the beach. What actually happened was when our cark stopped at the beach, Juan Or woke up from sleep. The moment he opened his eyes, he saw the kite and immediately exclaimed "KITE!" This was his first time seeing a real kite. Before this, the kite that Juan Or knew was merely from book illustrations. Immediately after that, Juan Or forgot about his sleepiness and was eager to walk at the beach.

Some snapshots of us at Pantai Remis:

See the kite up in the sky? That's the real kite that Juan Or saw for the first time in his life.



Juan Or even went near the Malay man (seated with his partner) to tell him "Kite! Kite!"







A close-up of Juan Or and Mommy at the beach.







Juan Or walking along the beach with Papa.








Watching the waves hit the shore.

Some scenary photos of the beach as well:

The right side of the beach.....

....and the left side.

All three of us managed to enjoy the sea wind minus the hot sun for about 10-15 minutes before it started to drizzle. Then we quickly hopped into the car and made our way to Kuala Selangor. So stay tuned for Part 2.

Moo Moo Kow Cloth Diaper Giveaway

Mommy first saw blogpost entries about the Moo Moo Kow cloth diaper giveaway in Nicole's Baby Jessica and then later in Small Kucing. So Mommy decided why not give a try for Juan Or as well. By the way, today is the last day for submitting entries. If you would like to know more about this brand of cloth diaper, do click here.

The Modern Carino online store's header.

Mommy then searched for instructions on how to participate in this giveaway and this led Mommy to the Modern Cutie blog. This blog promotes baby wear, especially cloth diapers, and a host of other baby and mummy items such as cloth pads, wetbags, liners and leggings. So all you have to do to stand a chance for this giveaway is to leave a comment at the giveaway's blogpost on why you want to own a Moo Moo Kow Diaper and that will entitle you to one entry. And if you have a blog or website and you want two more entries, just write a blogpost about this giveaway and link your blogpost back to the Modern Carino online store. Of course, you are required to include the Modern Carino header (above) into your blogpost as well. Finally, include your blogpost's permanent URL link to the comments section of the giveaway's blogpost.

Imagine if Juan Or is wearing the trendy-looking Moo Moo Kow cloth diaper instead of disposable diaper/diaper pants. That could probably 'trick' Juan Or into being fully potty-trained and save Mommy some money at the same time.

By the way, why does Mommy want to get the Moo Moo Kow cloth diaper for Juan Or? That's because Juan Or is still not fully potty-trained yet. When it comes to passing motion, sometimes he will tell Mommy (so Mommy will quickly put him on the potty), but most of the time not. So by the time Mommy knows it, the faeces are all out and Juan Or has even sat on it till it flattened or spreaded all over the buttocks! So if Juan Or gets to have the cloth diaper, then maybe Mommy can 'trick' him into thinking that he's wearing an underwear, or rather, a brief. Of course Mommy will tell Juan Or also that if he doesn't want to feel dirty in his underwear, then he has to tell Mommy when he wants to urinate or do his business. But then Mommy expects accidents to happen along the way, so the cloth diaper, while acting as an 'underwear', is able to absorb his waste as well. So the floor won't be messy when accidents happen, thus lesser work for Mommy! Other features about this cloth diaper that attract Mommy are:

• one-size-fits-all feature where the diaper has various adjustments of fastening, so it 'grows' together with Juan Or


• the diaper is waterproof despite being made of fabric.

Mommy's Adventure at the Litt Tak Warehouse Sale (11th - 14th March 2010)

Yay! It's the Litt Tak Warehouse Sale again at the Desa Tun Razak's SMI area! Mommy has regularly been going to this sale since Mommy was pregnant with Juan Or considering that Litt Tak is just on the way to Mommy's workplace.

Mommy arrived one the first day of the sale, at 9.10am, and there were already a lot of people - not too crowded though, but lots of people. So probably the Litt Tak sale is getting famous already! There are quite a substantial addition of new toys (i.e., never seen before in previous sales) while majority of the toys are seen before previously. On the whole, these are some pointers that Mommy noticed for this batch of toy sale:

• more quantities (rather than varieties) of infant toys. Disney (mostly Pooh and gang, but very few Mickey Mouse) rattles/teethers sold for RM1, Tomy infant's multiple touch-texture plush toy for RM1 (which is cheaper now than what Mommy bought last time for RM2), Tomy finger puppets made of T-shirt cloth and an embedded bell sold in pairs for RM2.
  
  

RM1 each only! Tomy and Disney brands! Very cheap!








• a Disney toy (Pooh) with multiple buttons and levers for older infants or very young toddlers sold for RM9 this time (last sale was RM8). (You may want to click here to know which toy Mommy is referring to).
  

• certain toys (probably just a small variety) have gone up in price, for example this cookery set is now priced at RM20 (last time was RM15 only).





This cookery set, meant to look like non-stick cookware, is now RM20, no longer RM15.




• way, way, way lesser Thomas and Friends toy set this time - only about a handful of boxes this time and the packaging looks old and a little dented at the edges, but cheaper this time.






This one's sold for RM100 and it has two separate track-routes, comes with a Thomas train, a bus and an accompanying storybook. Previously, it was sold for RM120 (you may want to click here to read about the previous sale). However, there is only one box left when Mommy saw it. But then Mommy is not buying it even though it's cheaper now because Juan Or already has a Thomas and Friends starter set (bought for RM55 from Litt Tak sale). This kind of toy only revolves around a train going round and round and round till the batteries die out, so what's the point of buying more than one set?





• a self-assembled tricycle for RM40 (last, last time was RM45, then later went up to RM50). Again, you may want to click here to view the tricycle.



• Power Ranger toys selling for as low as RM3.






Power Ranger figurines (rubbery texture) sold for RM5 each.









Power Ranger mask set (comes with sword and hood) for RM10.






More Power Ranger toys lined up at the stairs. Here's where you can find Power Ranger toys selling from RM3.

• on the whole, quite a number of toys that were seen before in previous sale are now even lower in price.
  

More snapshots of the sale:

Some infant and girlie toys.


More toys.




Gundam toys.

2-in-1 toy consisting of a doodle board and a container of big building blocks for RM8 only. Very cheap!

However, there are some toys which Mommy just can't comprehend (usually Japanese toys), like this one:

One figurine with head and another without the head. So do you play the toy by interchanging the head with the two bodies? Hmmmm......strange toy. And what's that black round thing for? Although this toy just doesn't make sense to Mommy, but Mommy still see some peple buying it. One man's meat is another man's poison, right? By the way, it's priced at RM5.

Here's what Mommy got for Juan Or:

Top: A sushi-making set that comes with the mould and dough for RM9 - have to wait till Juan Or is older before he can play this. Bottom: Tomy brand of build-and-play toy car and helicopter meant for 18 months old and above, each for RM9 (in previous two sales before, Mommy bought the aeroplane one for RM15 - cheh!). This is an example of toys that have gone down in price. But Mommy must admit the plastic material and finishing are of very good quality. Juan Or had banged the toy before and handled it very roughly, still the toy is in good shape.

Disney's Pooh Little Doctor Kit for RM15 only! The finishing looks of good quality. When Mommy found this set, this was the only one left. Mommy recall seeing the same set sold in previous Litt Tak sales for RM22 or RM25 - can't remember, but the price has definitely gone down this time. Thank God Mommy resisted buy it that time.

Smaller-item toys: Baby Mickey teether for RM1 (obviously Juan Or doesn't use teether anymore but this is more of Mommy's collection of Mickey Mouse items), children basketball set for RM3 (a hole is provided for you to hang the basket or if you like, you can use the heavy-duty foam double-sided tape provided), toy saxaphone for RM2 and a toy binocular for RM2.

Left: 'Flying' toy which is made up of a launcher to propel a winged device for RM7. Right: Fractions learning game for RM7 to serve as educational tool for Juan Or when he is much older.

From top to bottom: Big watergun for RM10, Power Rangers toy sword for RM3, and Japanese superhero figurines of rubbery texture and fine finishing for RM5 each. The figurines are more for Mommy's collection in the showcase cabinet, not really for Juan Or's playing though. ^ ^

This time, Mommy decided to introduce the toys to Juan Or, one by one on separate days. Mommy's plan is whenever Juan Or spontaneously shows good behaviour such as clearing up his toys/things, obedience or allows Mommy to brush his teeth without making a big fuss (but without warning him about rewarding a toy for good behaviour.....hehehehe), then Mommy will take out a new toy for him to play.

Today, Mommy decided to introduce the toy saxaphone. Juan Or was very enthusiastic about it probably because it was something new and never-seen-before for him.






Well, he doesn't quite know how to hold it properly. He tends to hold it at the top bended portion of the saxaphone and not pressing down any keys, so no matter how he blows, there's no sound. But sometimes, he managed to hold it properly and managed to press some keys too, so there's sound. Luckily Papa managed to capture this photo at the time when Juan Or held it properly.

Here's a video of Mommy teaching Juan Or how to hold it:

And here's a video of Juan Or blowing it, although he still holds it in a funny sort of way:

Anyway, here's a blogpost compilation of Mommy's experience with the Litt Tak Warehouse Sale:

• December 2007 and May 2009
  
• August 2009


• December 2009

Just a little positive note here: Although Litt Tak states in their advertisement that the sale ends at 6pm, but in reality, even at about 10 minutes past 6, they still entertain customers. Now, that's something good to know, right? ^ ^

Free Sample Disposable Diapers

Mommy can safely assume that almost everyone loves free samples because you get to use them for free without any obligation to buy the product(s) in the future. Hahaha.....Mommy is one such person too. And Mommy is all for free sample disposable diapers! Reason? Because the free samples add to the stock of disposable diapers for use, thus lengthening the amount of time before opening a new packet of diapers. Although Mommy doesn't save much from using the free samples, but a few dollars saved is still a few dollars earned, right?

So far, Mommy only managed to get free samples from MamyPoko and SCA Hygiene (Drypers and Drypantz).

Mommy got the MamyPoko ones after a friend (which Mommy got to know from Friendster) told Mommy that she got hers from MamyPoko's website. For MamyPoko, you will need to register to be a member of the MamyPoko Club first before you can click to request for free samples (the icon at the top right hand corner). However, the free samples took very long to arrive - something like 6 months!

As for SCA Hygiene, Mommy managed to get hold of its website but its website does not have any indication for free sample request. But the opportunity came when Mommy saw a Drypers advertorial in Parenthood magazine, so Mommy emailed the company with the requested particulars. In just within 1 month, the free samples came but unfortunately it was 2 pieces of newborn size! Obviously Juan Or cannot wear them anymore! Mommy was wondering how can SCA make such a mistake? So Mommy made a quick check again at the Drypers advertorial and indeed, SCA was right. The advertorial was about how daddies can play their role during the birth of their babies which points back to newborn size. Even the particulars that SCA requested did not ask for the baby's date of birth. Mommy also made a check at the email content that Mommy sent to SCA and indeed Mommy did not include any info on Juan Or's age. So Mommy emailed them back again thanking them for the free samples, mentioned that Mommy would be passing the newborn size to colleagues who are currently pregnant and requested for size L instead! About 3 weeks later, Mommy received 4 pieces of size L Drypers and 3 pieces of size L Drypantz which is more than what Mommy had asked for! Yippy!

These are the free sample newborn size Drypers which obviously Juan Or cannot wear anymore.

By the way, Mommy had done an online free sample request long time ago on Huggies website and same like MamyPoko, you have to be a member of their Huggies Club first to which Mommy is already a member. Then when filling up other details, somehow the online form kept on retrieving Mommy's email address and saying there's a mismatch with the address. This went on for several times until Mommy got so fed up, so decided not to go on. However, Mommy has a colleague who has received the Huggies Ultra free samples via online request. So, looks like Mommy doesn't have much luck with Huggies.

So conclusion is: SCA is the most efficient in sending out free samples, MamyPoko is very slow whereas Huggies is totally hopeless (to Mommy!).

Waterfall Day (Part 2): At Sungai Gabai Waterfall

This is a continuation of the previous blogpost.

From the Semenyih dam area, we went on further following the signboard indicating Sungai Gabai Waterfall. However, Mommy felt there wasn't enough signboard put up to give people the confidence that they are on the right track to Sungai Gabai Waterfall. After the first signboard, we didn't see anymore signboard for a long, long stretch until another signboard appeared within 1 to 3 km from the waterfall. So to be honest, at one point, we really thought we lost Sungai Gabai Waterfall.

The road leading to Sungai Gabai Waterfall was very narrow and isolated. Luckily Mommy's small Kancil car was used for the trip rather than Papa's Wira. The road seemed more like one-and-a-half lane wide only, so you can imagine just how near another car from the opposite direction was to our car. Finally when we almost reached the waterfall, we were greeted by a Malay man who quoted RM2 for entering the waterfall parking area. He mentioned RM1 per adult, so looks like Juan Or's entry is free-of-charge. A closer look at the man's jacket indicated that he was Sungai Lui's Village Safety and Development Committee member. Whoa, so looks like the authority to collect parking fee here is owned by the village rather than the local municipal council! Ah, never mind since it's only RM2 rather than the one at Jalan Sungai Tua that charged RM4!

The entry ticket - RM1 per adult.

There were really many cars parked along the narrow road, so Papa parked quite far away so that we won't face problems with hoggers when it was time to go. So we had to walk quite far to reach the waterfall area which is good exercise for Mommy considering Mommy barely can make any time to exercise anymore after giving birth to Juan Or.




We reached the lower and flatter surface of the waterfall (or rather stream) first. So all three of us dipped our feet into the cool water. The depth of the stream is not as abrupt as the one at Jalan Sungai Tua. This stream seems to have more shallow spots, so is safer for toddlers like Juan Or. As usual, Juan Or enjoyed his dips with snapshots to show:













Mommy managed to capture a closer look of the stream water too.....





.....and the river rocks as well.






After the feet dipping session, we ventured further up a steep, long and rather narrow flight of stairs to see the waterfall. While climbing up the stairs, we were greeted with barbeque aroma because along the stairs, there were 'stops' for people to camp or picnic. Whoa, the smell of barbequed spicy chicken really made Mommy's stomach rumbled, what's more it was already noon - time for lunch! With the smell temptation came the visual temptation! It's just so tempting to steal glances at what the picnickers were barbecuing, but lo and behold, all Mommy saw were chicken pieces with most parts charred! What an anticlimax! ^ ^




Finally we reached the top part of the waterfall, though not the topmost part yet. It was Papa who carried Juan Or all the way up. Mommy, without carrying Juan Or, was already slower than Papa and Mommy was panting like mad too. This reminds Mommy that Mommy is no longer young! We spent some time looking and admiring the waterfall. Juan Or seemed fascinated too. He did not fret at all, instead he looked long and hard at the flowing water.

A landscape view of the Sungai Gabai Waterfall.

A portrait view now.

Mommy managed to record a video of the waterfall too.










And last but not least, a last dip at the stream water again before it's time to say bye-bye to the waterfall!

The next day, Papa complained of back muscle pain because it turned out to be too strenuous to carry Juan Or up and down the stairs. So Mommy helped to massage Papa's back and turned out, Mommy didn't do it correctly so much so Papa's back became worse the next day. Finally Papa decided to merely leave the back to heal by itself. As of the time of writing, Papa's back has healed already.