spring in Germany

assalamualaikum and good day,

here are some of our photos during spring season in Ulm. As usual, I have always like to bring my kids for outdoor activities, to lake garden, walking along Danube river, jogging, cycling to see green nature and beautiful landscape.  Syukur alhamdulillah atas segala nikmat Allah, we got the opportunity to raise kids here, with countryside atmosphere, far far away for the havoc busiest metropolitan city ie Munchen, Stuttgart, what to say Kuala Lumpur.

Deep inside my heart, i wish, my family and friends could come and experience the mature nature and the quality of life we get in Germany. Fresh air, tip top public transport, clean environment, simple and modest lifestyle, the affordable second hand stuff at flea market, the kindhearted multi racial friends at my Deutschkurs, the fresh vegetables and fruits that you can get from weekly market and the all good things etc. Believe me, life would be so much easier in Germany when you can speak their language - Deutsch. I am thinking to write on a special post about my journey taking Deutschkurs for the past 4 years.

In fact i started with basic foundation, intensive course for about 6-8 weeks at A1 level at Goethe Institute in Jalan Tun Razak Kuala Lumpur before we left Kuala Lumpur to Germany in August 2009. Okay, pause sekejap.... both ayman and azzan nak guna laptop ni., requesting on youtube to see Lego Young Builder, hehehhe...oklah,  I might continue writing later yer...

Till then, i wish all of you a beautiful and productive weekend.

my eldest son, the 4 years old Ayman Nasaie

 

my youngest son, the 2 1/2 years old Azzan Nasaie on his Laufrad, 

accompanying his father on evening jogging after returning back home from university, i keep on telling my hubby... Syg, as the proverb says...'all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.' 

jom jogging or cycling, hehehhehe... too demanded wife eh? hahhahaha

the kayaking team at Friedrichschau

taking a short break after cycling to see river cruise....

behind me is the background of Friedrichshau on Danube River

Viele Schone Grusse aus Ulm, 

sarah mama to ayman and azzan

botanical garden

I would like to share some photos of our trip to the botanical garden at uni ulm. It is located in the jungle in Eselsburg, not far away from uni campus. What not to love on green nature? SubhanaAllah, beautiful landscape view, fresh air, clean enivironment, what else can i say..yes of course, with no rubbish at all.

Let us inculcate the good moral values to our kids to appreciate and make our earth clean and clear from any rubbish pollution.

Walking along the path is so refreshing and peaceful, try it ladies and gentlemen, ada ketenangan yg akan dicari dalam perjalanan.

 

trip to the jungle during winter

 welcoming and information board to the visitor

down the hill view

 

the green field

 

my hero, my best friend, my love, my hubby :) senyum sikit syg, hehehehe. 

 ni dia, kelam-kabut chaotisch mama to ayman and azzan, behind me are the trees without green leaves due to none existence of photosynthesis process during winter, but still beautiful landscape view kan tuan-tuan dan puan2 sekalian

 let us all educate ourselves on green nature, cleanliness awareness and the idea of forest conservation and sustainability.

until then, liebe grusse, sarah.

flowers and me

assalamualaikum

here are some of my home decoration from nature materials, fresh flowers, dry leaves ...  so lazy nak cakap banyak, so i just let the photos tell thousand words, boleh kan tuan2 dan puan2 sekalian, hehehhehe. until then... i wish all of u good day.

pink roses at the bathroom 

pink roses again at our shoe racks 

ni dia azzan nasaie with his favourite jeep :) 

roses again at the front door

colourful dry leaves during auterm last year,  me soo rajin gi kutip daun-daun kering with my kids

dry lavender at the bathroom door

my simple art n craft work with kids at home - spring mood on the wall heh? 

bye n wassalam, sarah

winter in Illertissen

Assalamualaikum and good day, 

At the time i'm writing this post, snow is falling lightly from our living room's windows. Beautiful snow white view on bright sunny Friday despite of the cold temperature at -2 degrees. Syukur atas segala nikmat yg Allah bagi.

I have many stories to share, but my focus has shift lately to fb. Perhaps i should close the fb account and concentrate on blog eh? will think about it. Sometimes i thought its not proper for me to upload photos of our life in Germany to my fb family and friends, takut nanti orang lain fikir nak menunjuk-nunjuk pulak, datang pula perasaan riak. But most of the photos that i showed are the activities of my kids at home, dah stay at home mom kan...  what i did at home, my home meal food, what my kids play at home- lego, paintings, arts and crafts work, etc, what i plan for my kids indoor outdoor activities, in short, all about home etc.

Until then, pls forgive me for the short update, it is just that i am not in the mood to write.

Love, sarah

my home activities with kids

Assalamualaikum and good day, 

After 2 months of long break with no blog updates, so here i am again... after being requested from my cool and loving hubby to write something... now i know my hubby wants to read my humble story, written from my heart :) Despite of being chaotisch kelam kabut mom the whole day, hahhahahahhaha.

So basically everytime i open the internet, i will shift the tab to other website ie. babycenter to look on kids development n growth, preschoold kids activities, simple and quick recipe whatsoever lah. Dah stay at home mom kan, so mestilah baca and read something that can benefit my kids, my hubby and home. Sesekali tu, baca juga on iluvislam -discover the beauty of islam website, segala mcm tazkirah agama in the internet to equip my shallow knowledge on islam. nak jd ibu mithali, isteri solehah, tak kan nak tengok kika, zdf, vox sky tv deutschland channel jer, hahhahahaa. Duniawi sungguh mama ayman dan azzan ni heh.

I sometimes wonder why my hubby cakap.."i am married to secular wife.". bukan sekular yer syg, its just that i dont like to discuss on politics, religious thing whatsoever lah in the public or when i talk to my multi racial & nationalities friends. It is my principle - never ask people about their religion, never ask people what is their income or what they do for life. I try to avoid asking sensitive, personal questions so that my friends and the new people that i meet feel comfortable with me. Lebih-lebih lagi jika kita menetap di luar negara, being a minority muslim, minority asia, why do we have to make people in a difficult situation to answer about religions, politics , personal stuff etc. Small talks kan ker bagus, like asking about what do u do during leasure time, what are your kids activities at home, what do u cook for breakfast, lunch dinner etc and all the questions yang tak cakap bnyak pasal agama. done.   keep your religion and political view aside.

Among the activities that both my kids are enjoying most at home are:

1. Playing with cars Mc Queen, Tow truck , tractors, police cars dan segala mcm jenis car toys, hehehhehehehe, since i have 2 small boys - their favourite are almost the same, CARS. Lego cars, puzzle cars, baju cars, stokin cars, pendek kata... my kids cadar sarung bantal semua disney lightning mcqueen cars edition.

2. Puzzle -  ok, this is aymans day to day activites... we normally bought the kids puzzle at second hand flohmarkt or at discount store Mueller. jimat-cermat mama eh? mestilah, dah economics graduate mom kan, hahhahahaa... so after doing cost benefit analysis, it is not worth to buy expensive jingsaw puzzle whatsoever di toys r us yg harganya tak mampulah mama ayman nak beli yer, lebih baiklah kalau ade duit lebih sikit, i can save that money to buy WMF high quality pots, frying pans, wok for my  long lasting kitchen investment. WMF cooking tools ni sangatlah bagus dan berkualiti yer tuan2 dan puan2 sekalian. My personal experience, WMF is better that Tefal. I also regularly borrow preschool kids puzzle from ulm city library. We can borrow unlimited books and puzzle for a month. The pyramid glass windows, the spacious and beautiful interior design library pun sangat cantik, Bagus library service di sini, mmg sangat dipuji, very customer friendly,  mereka sangat menggalakkan generasi muda hari ini agar suka pergi ke library, suka membaca, sayang pd buku, budaya cintakan ilmu. To cut it short, to make reading as a lifestyle. I am currently reading on home and living magazine, segala mcm home interior or decoration ni i like. Quran dan terjemahannya pun baco jugok, buke tok baco, hok alohlah.....

3. Arts and crafts works - ni mmg favourite azzan and me. menggunting, melukis, mewarna, gam, paintings, doing arts from nature and recycle materials. try it ladies and gentlemen, try to add more contact hours with your kids on colouring, using scissors to develop the fine motor skills.

Okay, people might say, sarah, u boleh lah buat all the activities with your kids ... u r stay at home mom, ni hah nak cerita sikit.... tuan2 dan puan2 sekalian jgn ingat staying at home mom ni senang yer, its not easy... i clean, i cook, i  go to night class belajar bahasa german turun naik tukar train naik bas, i inlvolve with most of my kids activities, hantar ambik ayman di kindergarten, kids gymnastics session, playgroup session mutter kind treffen, attending baby cafe, taking care of my 2 kids day and night, i go for grocery shooping, beli ayam daging halal semua di illertissen ni kene naik train yer tuan2 dan puan2 sekalian, my hubby called me - sarah, the house manager, hahahhahaa. jgn ingat me as a stay at home mom ni relax2 duduk depan komputer jer yer. kata  nak jd ibu mithali, takkan nak duduk depan facebook jer kan, hahahhahaaa. okay, i might sound too outspoken here but i always  like to be sincere and honest.

4. Bathing on the tab - this is also one of ayman and azzan favourite, mandi kolam dgn segala mcm ducks, playmobil boats etc. since i am very lazy to write anymore, itu sahaja lah yg sempat difikir buat masa ini..

for my kids home activities.

photos coming soon, i will upload later yer. this time i will just let this post publish and no more save and put into draft folder, hahahahhaaa. until next updates insyaAllah,,, nak gi sembahyang maghrib ni.


bye n wassalam, liebe grusse sarah.

salam and good day

My dear blog visitors and readers, pls forgive me for neglecting this blog for quite some time. I am super duper occupied recently, hardly have time to sit comfortably in front of computer. Will write on our life update when i have ample time insyaAllah.

At the time i'm writing this post, both ayman and azzan are sitting on the sofa... keep on requesting me to read them books, and my ayam masak lemak cili api is on the stove.. multitasking mom eh? hahahhahaha. their father will come back in 2 hours time.. ok, time to clear up the messiness in the living room, nak gi lipat kain settling laundry and prepare dinner. bye for now...

Liebe Grusse, sarah - the kelam kabut chaotic mom :)

busy me

Assalamualaikum and good day

I am currently working on avis case on the denying of damage car scratch claim. We rented a car recently from avis and they claimed that their is a scratch at the car upon returning. Stress, sad and disappointed okay, they accused on something is not our mistake.. I am filing complaints against Avis. Malas nak cerita panjang-panjang, pening kepala. To cut it short, i will meet their bos tomorrow. Ya Allah, pls guide and help me, aminn.

Liebe Grusse, sarah

from my little kitchen

Assalamualaikum and good day All,

Ladies and gentlemen, i'm presenting u some home made food that i prepared from my small kitchen.

Bihun sup ala bakso...makan panas2, nak sedap, tipsnya masak sup kene guna air rebusan daging yg bertulang. i got this tip from yulie, my indonesian friend. Bakso yulie memang sedap tak leh lawan ok. Semasa nak hidang tu, u all bolehlah taburkan bawang goreng rangup dan juga hirisan daun saderi, nak pedas sikit, boleh letak sambal kicap atau cili hijau potong... the result?  wah lah... comfirm sedap, makan bertambah.menu sihat, berkhasiat utk seisi keluarga.

Ni pula, mee rebus johor favourite my hubby nazri, mmg dia suka sangat makan mee rebus ni... nak sedap, tipsnya kene blend udang kering dan juga serai utk mewangikan kuah. Again, masak dgn daging yer tuan2 dan puan2 sekalian. Keledek tu pula lepas rebus, blend atau lenyek utk jadikan kuahnya pekat. memang sedap ok? No santan, no cholestrol, sihat berkhasiat. Try it ladies and gentlemen, hidangkan dengan telor rebus, hirisan daun saderi, bawang goreng, cili hijau potong...

Another mee (ok, i alternate the spagetti to turn into mee kuning) from my kitchen, this time around i cooked mee bandung...  I prefer to put as much vege in my cooking menu to make it colourful, cantik, jd berselerah utk makan...

Sekarang ni tengah musim jagung di German. Balik jer dr Lidl Supermarket di Neu Ulm hari tu, i straight away rebus jagu. hah...resepinya senang, rebus jagung bersama garam sampai air rebusan jagung tu kekuningan. Tinggal jer dlm periuk dlm 2 jam mcm tu, tp nak kene selalu tambah air.. I prefer the soften corn, tak bestlah makan jagung rebus yg keras2, sakit gigi nak gigit nanti. I can say that Deutschland corns are big and sweet, syukur alhamdulillah.Serve with butter, thats it.

Raya cookies baked from my oven.. I made tat nenas gebu, my style... i tak reti nak gulung yer tuan2 dan puan2 sekalian, ehhehehehhe. Bahan2nya pun senang, jam nenas bought at Kaufland Supermarket, to make the jam pekat sikit, i put some corn flour supaya jam tu tak berair sangat. (Thank u umi for the tips) I made tat nenas with the help of my hubby nazri, ayman and azzan.(Everybody involved in raya cookies project) Susah sikitlah buat biskut dgn ade anak kecik lg ni, thing can be done in short period but it dragged and delayed dgn ayman n azzan nak main tepung semua, cleaning up the messiness ended up lambat nak siap... hahahhahahah .. apapun, this is the end result, not bad kan? hari ni buat, 2 hari lps tu dah habis licin. habih gomo blako ko pok2 ni...hahahhahaa

Above is my biskut nestum.. sangat sedap, rangup, menu sihat & berkhasiat...cepat betul habis.. hehehehhehe.

Nasi impit and kuah kacang... makan pula dengan sup sayur cendawan capur..But i dont care, i prefer my menu to be served with vegetables, tak kisahlah sup sayur ker, sayur rebus ker, sayur celor jer ker, salad /ulam-ulaman, timun/ tomato hiris ker, yg penting kene ade Sayur... Barulah menu sihat, berkhasiat. Tuan2 dan puan2 sekalian, jom kita amalkan cara pemakanan sihat supaya badan cergas, bertenaga, kulit pun cantik dan dijauhkan dpd penyakit. Not to forget, to look younger than our age.

Jika tuan-puan sekalian selalu menjamu selera di luar, sesekali tu seimbangkanlah dgn home made food. I'm sure home made food ni lebih bersih cara penyediaannya. Sudah tentunya kita masak pun dengan bahan mentah yg segar dan berkualiti. Lets nurture ourself to eat healthily, practising happy and healthy lifestyle.
 
Until next updates insyaAllah, liebe Grüße, sarah

panic me!

 

when i woke up todays morning, i saw more than 10 miss calls from sofia's house and hp number. our close neighbour in einsingen, ayman's best friend sofia is coming over in 2 hours to our guest apartment in wiblingen. i will update more later... am thinking to bring her and my kids to wonnemar open air swimming pool. naik bas yer tuan2 dan puan2 sekalian, hehehehehe. bye for now.

cycling trip to Allgau

my dear readers, here are some snapshot photos of our cycling trip expedition to Allgau... perfect weather, perfect landscapes, perfect view, green nature, SubhanaAllah everything is so beautiful... we were on Syawal short trip getaway in a long distance cycling expedition from Ulm to Kempten in Allgau.

i will write more when i have ample time okay? both my kids ayman n azzan are forcing me to open their super simple songs in youtube.. see? this computer seems no longer belong to me, semua ayman n azzan nak guna okay?? children nowadays are mostly computer literate eh, ahhahahahaa.

lunch with lasagna and rendang

Today i cooked lasagna fresh from my Neff oven and its done serving for my 2 kids. Habis separuh tray, senang hati mama ayman okay, ehhehehehhe. Later in the afternoon, i will drag ayman n azzan to uni, turun naik bas sending lunch bekal for their abah, isteri mithali huh??  For my hubby, I cooked sup sayur campur with rendang ayam, mkn dgn basmati rice. I alternate my rendang ayam recipe, instead of using santan, i used condensed milk from Algäu, like what sheila rusli mentioned from her well known ketuk-ketuk ramadhan programme, condensed milk contained less cholestrol, less fat. Ladies and gentlemen, let us practise & maintain healthy lifestyle in our cooking menu.

ok thats all for todays update. Another busy week for me.

my story

Please forgive me for abandoning this blog for quite some time.

My hubby nazri keeps on complaining - 'sarah, why your blog ni suram jer?' ni hah, nak beritahu.... boleh jer update blog hari2, ade syarat dia...  i x nak masak, no baking cakes for u after works, pinggan mangkuk semua dlm sink x payah basuh,  no regular groceries shopping mkn jer ape yg ade dlm kabinet, no laundry, anak2 tak terjaga, tak der aktiviti sbb mama dia duduk depan komputer jer, dok update blog. boleh ker mcm tu? Sometimes, i wonder, how the active bloggers spend their life time, sitting in front on computers berjam-jam lamanya. I have piled of works to do. Cooking, cleaning the dishes, laundry, house cleaning, handling 2 small children, doing grocery shopping, tu belum lagi cakap turun naik bas gi kelas bahasa german kat vhs ulm. busy mom okay? i have less time for myself, nak mandi pun tak leh lebih 10 minits.  Inikan pula nak duduk 2-3 jam write up on blogs.  I dont know on other people, but for me, to generate ideas on writing i have to be in a good mood, good environment, good time. Bukan terkejar-kejar dgn anak and household chores.

Okay, lets the story begin.... I am  quite busy and occupied recently- first and foremost, serabut kepala with searching one after another apartments, the process started by contacting  housing agencies, read and look after rental housing advertisement in the website and local newspapers, i also made few appointments to view the potential apartments, dealing with housing agents and potential landlords and so on & on... pening kepala okay?  To cut it short, syukur alhamdulillah we managed to get a comfortable apartment and within our budget in Illertissen. We signed the rental agreements on last week and planning to move in by next Sept. So Tschuss univ guest house in wiblingen, selamat datang to our new apartment in Illertissen :)

I am starting up with my simple home preschooling lesson plans with ayman & azzan. Among the activities are arts & crafts works, paintings, drawings, Iqraq reading book 1, learning on ABC Alphabets letters & 123 numbering, singing super simple songs and outdoor activities. Ladies and gentlemen, lets nurture our children from early age to be all rounder achiever. Everything start at home.
 
Their playgroup & kids gymnastics sport will start again next September. German is now on long 5-6 weeks summer holidays. Therefore, most kindergarten, playgroups, schools are closed. I have registered Ayman at Illertissen St Martin Kindergarten but he is still on waiting list. As an alternative, i enrolled Ayman & Azzan on English Play Group session at Fbs Ulm. Mahal sikitlah compared to German Play Group session tapi nak buat mcm mana, parents will always want their children to have the best exposure and learning environment kan.

I try as much as i can to plan on our household financial budget  (we are only depending on one man income - my hubby) so that we are not spending unnecessarily. I am practicing what i learn in uni days, economics goal is trying to minimize the cost and maximizing profit and satisfaction. so ladies and gentlemen, lets minimize the economics inefficiency.  Therefore our top priority expenditure will be on foods, home rentals, public transport on our monthly ticket bus, some allocation of money on childrens (pampers, milk, playgroup, kids gymnastics  & swimming course fees, hobbies and activities). In that sense, have to let go and  delay  my own wants. Beli apa yg perlu sahaja tetapi dalam masa yg sama, within our budget constrain, i try as much as i can so that our family can have a good and quality lifestyle. 


While waiting for both ayman & azzan with their paintings activities, i would like to share some of our summer activities with my family & friends. Let photos tell thousand words. Until then, best wishes..sarah.

 art & crafts works, leaves with water colour paintings

the messiness of kids outdoor work stationbut its worth the effort. try it ladies n gentlemen, your kids will love paintings

 part of their hands paintings, of course with the help of mama

 ayman passion on memory cards puzzle at ulm city library

 

me with my 2 years old azzan

 

  dropping by at the strawberry farm in nersingen, part of our cycling trip in june 2012

 bringing the kids walking along the jungle and to the Iller River behind Kloster Wiblingen. About 15-20 minutes walk from our guest apartment.

 azzan throwing stones to the river, so beautiful weather, beautiful clean river, green trees, nature is the best medicine!

taking photo with the background of purple lavender flowers in Neu Ulm, it refresh my sweet memory during our short holiday trip in Aix en Provence South France in November 2011. Provence is so famous for their lavender landscape. 

i have so so many photos to share. dah malas dah nak write up on photos caption. ok bye2 for now... assalamualaikum & tschuss...