Sunny Safari

Kunjungan ke Bali Safari & Marine Park is a must kalau pergi ke Bali bersama anak-anak. Tiket masuknya 110ribu sudah termasuk safari ride & fresh water aquarium. Anak-anak juga bisa melihat gajah dimandikan dan beberapa hewan tertentu diberi makan. Sebaiknya dicek dulu jadwal-nya, karena gajah hanya dimandikan 1 kali di pagi hari, pemberian makanan 2 kali (pagi & sore). Jika mengajak anak balita, ada baiknya membawa stroller & memakai sunblock. Jangan lupa topi & air putih juga.

Aira & Aidan senang sekali di Safari Park. Dengan berbekal peta, mereka berhayal menjadi Dora & Diego. Yang jadi favorit tentunya adalah Safari Ride. Aira tidak begitu suka masuk ke tempat komodo tapi senang sekali di kampung gajah. Aidan senang melihat bayi gajah & naik kuda poni. Walaupun si poni sempat berhenti, bukan untuk pit-stop, tapi untuk poop-stop.

Yang perlu dikunjungi juga disini adalah Ranthambore untuk melihat harimau putih dan kalau ada waktu makan siang di Tsavo Lion Restaurant yang pemandangan di balik kacanya adalah si raja savannah dan kawan-kawannya, walaupun kemungkinan besar ya mereka sedang tidur siang. For more pics, click here. :D

Safari Ride

Another free scrapbook design by Smilebox

The Beach Far Away In Time

3rd time a charm. My 3rd trip this year to Bali was truly a charm. I went there with hubby, Aira, & Aidan. Aira, the little Ace that she is, fell in love with the sea instantly. Mister Aidan on the other hand, loved the sandy beaches, but refused to do more than dipping his toes in the sea water, he claimed that the water was 'too big' and absolutely not save for kids his size. x)

Me & hubby, we fell in love with Echo Beach, stated to be 'far away in time, hard to find - hard to forget', which was true. The perfect kind of beach to bring kids to. The wave just right, the sand great for building sand castle, there were shells to be picked, no drinking stalls or ibu-ibu selling things, not crowded, and very clean. Oh, and the sunset, the sunset just marvellous. To be there with my hubby and kids, pure bliss. :)

September, 29th 2010

Echo Beach

Canggu, Bali

My (not so) Baby Girl 9th Birthday

When Aira turned 5, I made a promise to myself (and hubby) that I would stop celebrating her birthday, until she's 17. Since then, I already broke that promise 3 times, and about to broke it again. We celebrated her 6th at my mom's place, 7th at her school, 8th was a pool party inviting family & neighbours. On my defence, this year was pretty small, only some of her closest friends from school.

I love planning for birthday party, specially a small one, and for my (not so) baby girl I made sure that it was a fun one. This year she turned 9, on 3rd grade, had her own peer group, listening to Justin Beiber & Lady Gaga, so clown won't impress her anymore. So I, suggested by my friend (& practically Aira's godmother) Syarin, decided to take her & her friends to watch a movie at Subtitles. Why Subtitles? So it would feel more like a party, not just a regular going-to-a-movie outing. They can choose the movie from Subtitle's dvds collection & watch it in a private room. How cool was that? Very! Yes, very cool for a bunch of 9 years old girls. Hah! :D

Next on my list was goody bags. I know, she's 9, but I just couldn't stop my self. So I prepared 8 bags of 'age appropriate' goody bags filled with small but fun things like a pack of paper for folder refill, a fan, pencils, a box of 6 colors pens, various shapes of paper punchers, an eraser, & a wrist band. They loved them.

I asked Aira to tell her friends to ask for their parent's permission. But then I decided to gave them an invitation explaining to the parents about this 'party', that I would pick the kids up at school, take them to movie & lunch, & drive each one of them home.

It was Friday, Hubby & I picked Aira & 7 of her friends at school, they had already changed out of their uniform & we cramped them in our car. It was pretty crowded, but they didn't mind. They asked hubby to changed the radio channel to U-fm, & sang along. When we arrived at Dharmawangsa Square, hubby dropped us off at the lobby & I got people staring at me, walking with 8 noisy 9 years old girls behind me, with matching wristband from the goody bags on their hands. Aira leading the bunch with a crown headband on her head.

We went to the basement & entered the cool Subtitles area. That was when the 'oohs' & 'aahs' began. First when they entered the reception area with white tiles, bright lighting, mirrors, & the futuristic feel the room gave. Then when they were asked to choose the movie on an online computer. Next when they curiously checking out the dvd rack & the guy on the counter showed them how it move ups & downs. And finally when they were taken to their private mini theater with red velvet seatings, big screen & sound system to watch their movie, Nim's Island. I ordered hot dogs & fries via the phone in the room (another 'ooh') & wait outside with hubby.

It was so much fun. Aira was so happy & her friends had a great time. They couldn't stop chattering on our way home. Even Subtitles was happy about our visit too, they gave Aira a voucher as a gift when they found out it was her birthday. And how I knew that her 9th birthday celebration was a cool one? Aira got 2 other birthday 'private party' (including pick up at school & ride home afterward) invitation from her friends. Hers was the first. Happy birthday, little Ace. :D

27.08.1980

The actual birth-day. August 27th, 30 years ago. Thank you Mama.

The real celebration is for you, the one who gave birth to me.

Aidan, Si Anak Taman Bermain Besar

(originally posted on facebook July 14, 2010)

Need I say more? x)

hari pertama, bak pasir masih fresh.

agak jijik, tapi penasaran.

"besok aku mau bawa mobil dimasukin ke pasir" kata Aidan.

two builders, building a house. :D

Anara: mmm.. kayaknya aku perlu palu yang lebih besar.

Aidan: yang ini cukup besar?

Aidan kok jadi keliatan bantet ya di sebelah Anara? ;D

dan Aidan pun gak bisa turun. xD

Blueberry Crispies and a Good Sunday

It was a good Sunday. Saya sempat pilates di pagi hari dan belanja sebentar ke supermarket. Udara juga menyenagkan, tidak panas & tidak hujan. Siangnya saya memutuskan untuk mengajak Aira & Aidan 'memasak', sudah lama juga mereka gak main-main di dapur. Akhirnya kami membuat Blueberry Crispies resep dari Tia, teman saya. Mudah sekali, dan anak-anak senang karena bisa ikut membantu. Aira senang melakukan semuanya, kegiatannya cukup mudah untuk anak seumur Aira. Aidan senang menuang dan mengaduk, dan juga mengacau tentunya. Tapi tidak ada kerusuhan yang berarti sampai akhirnya Blueberry Crispies berhasil dibuat. It really was a good Sunday. :)

Ini resepnya, kalau ingin mencoba.

Bahan:

100gr rice crispy sdm selai bluberi

400gr white cooking chocolate, potong2

2 sdm mentega tawar

Caranya:

1. Lelehkan potongan white cooking chocolate dlm wadah tahan panas yang dimasukkan ke wajan datar berisi air panas. Tambahkan mentega tawar. Aduk sampai mentega larut.

2. Tuang ke rice crispy. Aduk rata. Tambahkan selai bluberi. Aduk sekali asal terlihat semburatnya.3. Tuang di loyang 24x12x4 cm yg dialas alumunium foil. Padatkan. Bekukan.

4. Potong2 ukuran 4x3 cm.

Utk 21 potong

Additional tips:

- White chocolate terkadang rasanya terlalu manis, untuk mengimbangi bisa mentega tawar ditambah sedikit jumlahnya.

- Kali ini saya pakai selai blueberry Morin, sebelum ini pernah pakai Smucker's. Menurut saya lebih enak pakai Smucker's, ada butiran blueberry-nya, rasa manis lebih natural, dan semburat warna ungunya juga lebih bagus.

selain white chocolate, ini bahannya.

Adik Aidan senang tuang-tuang.

cek dulu timbangannya, bisa buat timbang aku gak?

Kalau tuang yang ini Bunda aja, panas soalnya.

Aduk-aduk rice crispies dengan coklat leleh.

sekarang aduk selai blueberry-nya. aku bisa aduk tanpa dilihat!

dituang di wadah deh.

ayo diratain di wadah.

tekan-tekan sampai padat!

ini setelah dibekukan di lemari es, siap dipotong-potong.

selamat mencoba, kakak Aira! (dan adik Aidan yang sudah kabur).

So Much for Snail Mail

Oke Pos & Giro Indonesia, anda baru saja menghilangkan kepercayaan seorang anak perempuan usia 9 tahun terhadap konsep berkirim surat lewat pos.

Tanggal 7 Juli yang lalu Aira mengirim kartu pos untuk adik Aidan dari kantor pos pusat Jakarta, yang ada di Jakarta Pusat. Alamat tujuannya berada di Jakarta Selatan. Dengan alamat yang sama persis seperti yang digunakan jika hendak mengirim barang lewat JNE (yang selalu sampai ke tujuan). Hari ini, tanggal 19 Juli, dan kartu pos Aira masih belum sampai juga. Oh well, so much for snail mail, we're back to e-mail.

*snail mail pic taken from: http://bit.ly/do31tL