A brand new year, one filled with hope and dreams.

In a flash, we bade 2013 farewell and ushered in a brand new year. I felt like the past few years have been zooming past me at rapid speed. Perhaps, it's a mother thing. We tend to get emotional every time we realise that our children our maturing, we are ageing, things are changing.

2013 has been a fine and dandy year for me. It has not been a year that had major milestones to record, only those teeny important ones that occur with the children. It was a year my children grew from infant to toddler, and from toddler to preschooler. I now have a handful to nurture in the comfort of my own home, and I would say it gets from exhausting to crazy fun-filled with just a snap of the finger!

As we embark on a brand new year, I look back at the year before with no regrets. There was nothing I wished I did better, nor anything I didn't have that I wished I had. I am very thankful for all that was granted in 2013, and I can only be hopeful that 2014 shall be doubly blessed.

This year is a special year for me. 2014 is a year I have a million things to achieve and prepare. If you thought 2013 was a busy year, I would not even dare imagine how this year would be. But I believe that we would get there somehow. There is a surge of excitement for what lies ahead, just like everyone else who greet the new year with new hopes and dreams.

Just as well, this is my 100th post for this blog. I shall make it a big resolution to be a more frequenter blogger, and a better one at that, so do look out for more posts, photos and updates! Happy New Year everyone, may this year be one of much blessings, love and joy for all!

The new additions to our family: Athos, Porthos, Aramis!

It has been a busy month. School has started. Birthday celebrations were on the way. I was busy, busy, busy.

As we said Hello to November, we also celebrated our youngest turning Two! We had a small, intimate party thrown over the weekend, and he was showered with much love and gifts from all those who mattered. A little more detailing about the party in the next post, for now we have something to share!

From a family of five (including the cat), we are now a family of EIGHT!

No no, we are not having triplets. Neither are we pregnant. (Oh boy, two boys is already quite a handful, we are not thinking of a third for sure!) Our youngest received a family of three little terrapins for his birthday, and we are all really excited about it!

Of course, the cat isn't all too happy he now has three other pet terrapins to vie for attention with, but the boys are enjoying every bit of the extra company. We do not have any names thought of yet, as we still can't differentiate between the three, but a friend on Facebook did suggest Athos, Porthos and Aramis after the Three Musketeers. Looks like those are the names we are going to stick with, but for now we really can't tell who is Porthos, Athos or Aramis!

On being a Father: Guest Post by the Husband himself.

The boys and I celebrated Father's Day yesterday, giving thanks to the Lord for blessing us with a man who has been the pillars holding up our warm home. I could go on and on talking about the wonderful man that he is, or the fun times we have together but then I decided to let the man himself do the talking.. Let's give a warm welcome to my guest blogger today, the husband himself to speak about what being a father really means to him. 

-----------

It has been a while. A pretty long while I must say, since I last pen a proper blog post. The invitation from the dear missus to contribute as a guest post came as a surprise yet one that I very much welcome. Finally a chance to deviate from my regular Facebook updates on football,current affairs, politics and did I mention football?

This was meant to be a belated post on the amazing yesterday that was dedicated to all the fathers out there. I had originally intended to write this yesterday but perhaps the overwhelming love and attention I received gave me a welcoming hangover that I had to postpone the blog post.

Having been a father since 2010, celebrating a day dedicated to these wonderful band of amazing men is still new to me. To have people fuss over me for being the best father to my kids, showering me with praises and gifts was something that I am still coming to terms with. Being someone that gets uncomfortable with accolades I often find myself left to blush whenever the day comes. Therefore I always thought it's just fair that I always share the credit of being a good father with my other half.

You know they always say behind every successful man is a woman. In this case, behind every awesome father is an even awesome wife. You see, to me being a father is not as natural as to how a woman takes to being a mother. Having carried the lil' one in their womb for the whole pregnancy, more often than not, the motherly instincts usually kicks in even before the baby is born. Let's not even mention the birth, the breastfeeding, the countless hours spent together, a child's bond with a mother is second to none. The father on the other hand usually take the role of a passenger, looking on through all the action, although always ready to jump in when needed. 

When we first welcome our first child, the missus and I, we were clueless about how to go about doing things. Yet while she confidently took on her duties, I always needed that reassurance that I am doing things right. Little chores like nappy changing, preparing a warm bottle of milk, selecting the right clothes - not a single thing could have been done without the nod of approval from the only one person, between us, who seemed like she knows what she was doing.  And so we moved on from me getting better at nappy changing to picking up nursery rhymes, to learn about the importance of indoor and outdoor play and everything else that makes me look good as a parent. At least that's what I thought.

Therefore if and when, anyone thinks that I have been an awesome father to kids, I reserved my heartiest thanks to my dear wife, without whom, being that wonderful dad is not possible. She may not realize it but who I am as a father to my kids (and a pretty awesome one some will say) is probably all thanks to her being a good mother and me playing catch up. As we go along the journey of attempting to good parents, I am a but a shadow of my dear wife, imitating her every step in attempts to be the male version of the awesome mother that she is.

So here's a belated Happy Fathers'day again to all you awesome dads and of course not forgetting the women who made it all possible. They say the trouble with being a parent is that by the time you are experienced, you are unemployed. So may the learning journey continue and may we all be as good parents to our kids and enjoy every moment of it.

Sweet nothings on Mother's Day.

Early this morning, I woke up to an empty bed and to soft whispers in the next room.

Choose a crayon, and write what you want to say to Momma...

Hmmm, I wanna write A! A for Ahmed!

Errrr Ahmed, we'll write that later. But for now, what do you want to say to Momma on Mother's Day?

Oh okay! I want to say Thank you Momma, You're Welcome Momma and I love you Momma!

And those were the very words that made my day the most memorable one. Indeed, thank YOU two for being my gift sent from heaven. Everyday feels like Mother's Day when I am with you two babies.

A crazy errand running, insane plan executing, and physically exhausting party to plan.

I have been busy the past few days, preparing for a surprise intimate birthday party for the husband. He turns thirty-four today, and this is just my second time attempting a surprise for him in the whole seven years we have been married. See, it's never easy doing up a surprise when you live under the same roof, and well... I just really suck at keeping surprises secret for too long. The excitement just catches up with me!

This intimate party was a crazy errand running, insane plan executing, and physically exhausting one even though it was a relatively simple party to begin with. Thing is, I have two toddlers driving me up the wall the whole time. I brought both boys with me, one in a pram, the other walked free. We went into the cake shop, first child wants to pee. We went to the supermarket, and the second child needed a change of diaper. Then there were the decor supplies I needed to buy, and the first child needed to pee AGAIN. The whole time had me running to the washroom a total of five times in the short span of an hour and a half. I succumbed to finally buying a packet of biscuits with chocolate to dip in for the boys, and that ended in another disaster because the little one decided to have his whole face smeared with chocolate. Still I continued going around running my errands with a chocolate monster in the pram, and another monster running loose. Did I mention that I had to push a pram whilst carrying like a million other things as well as holding the hands of my toddler? That was just the errand running and as if it was not enough...

I came home, attempted to put up the decor with two screaming toddlers who were fighting over every possible toy. Then came the yelling for more sweets (serves me right for even thinking that sweets could provide me some sort of peace!) which then contributed to their hyperactivity and what not. The kids took every opportunity to get their fingers onto the hung up decorations, and I tried my best to keep them away which failed miserably. My last resort was to surrender my iPhone which kept them occupied for a mere fifteen minutes (I think!) before all hell broke loose again.

It's amazing how the love for the husband and the determination to give him a good 34th birthday surprise kept me sane throughout the chaos. I am still sane, though my back hurts and my feet are exhausted... but seeing the husband's eyes light up when he came home to our surprise was definitely worth all that. I must give a pat on my back for successfully pulling a surprise party on my own, with two kids to handle! I guess love pushes you to do things that are beyond your capability sometimes, yes?

Happy wonderful Birthday to the amazing husband I am thankful for,

and the fantastic father the boys are blessed with!