Chinese New Year Playgroup 23 Feb 2008

Chinese New Year 2008 – The Year Of The Rat.

In comes ibu's 1st Special Themed Playgroup of the Year - The Chinese New Year Playgroup!

No, there were no firecrackers so we did not usher in the New Year with a bang, but we tried to do it with as much flair as possible!

All the children were greeted traditionally at the door and given the must-have item, the Ang Pow and two mandarins each.

The day got off to a slow start as families trickled in. But by 10.30am, the party was in full swing. In total the ibu house was packed with 25 kids and 24 parents.

Artwork was on hand to keep the artistically inclined ones busy. Chinese Fans and Lanterns were coloured, sparkled up, and stapled together by Mum or Dad.




For the younger ones, colouring Chinese designs on paper and the face painter, Camille kept them occupied.

A right spread was laid out for all the hungry little mice. This included pineapple tarts ( of course! ) love letters, peanut biscuits, jelly, mini mandarins and gorgeous Chinese themed cupcakes with Mice, Gold Coins and Auspicious Calligraphy on them!


A mid morning break with Anne Ooi our ever-so-enrapturing ( if there is such a word ) story teller, saw the children thrilled by a story involving a rat and a turnip.

And the highlight of the day was the ‘lion’ arriving at 11am. Since I personally remembered as a child, being scared silly of the whole lion dance performance, drums and all, I had instructed the troupe prior to the day that this performance had to be tailored to ‘little kids. I certainly had a hard time getting it across to them. They could not understand why I did not want the drums and all the instruments. Why was I opting to play a CD of Chinese music instead? ( I was too embarrassed to tell him the truth ) Anyway Danny the troupe leader finally got my drift, and I was very happy that it went the way it did on the day.

The ‘Lion’ entered the house slowly but surely, toyed with a few of the children and then headed straight to get his ‘Ang Pow’.

With great agility he removed, from a hook hanging up high, the red packet which was attached to a head of lettuce.

The Lion then lay down and proceeded to ‘munch’ on the lettuce. Suddenly it spat out the lettuce! It looked like a Caesar Salad!


The Lion then bowed down to eat a bucket of oranges. Wow it was a big bucket too. It seemed to take the longest time but actually what the guy inside the ‘Lion’ was doing, was stuffing all the oranges down his T-Shirt!

It then got up, and went around the room, to every single adult and child, laying a mandarin on its’ lip for us to remove from his mouth. I must say, some of our ibu kids were braver than their parents!

Once done, The Lion took a break and lay down on the floor to get its’ tummy scratched. Most of the kids were fearless, touching its’ head, tail, stroking it and looking down its’ mouth. Once all the kids were done, the lion made its’ exit. This signaled the end of the Playgroup.






This was a great way to introduce a Malaysian culture to all the ibu kids, local and expat. I am planning to do a Hari Raya and a Deepavali one too. But before then, I look forward to the next Special Playgroup which will be on the 22nd March – The Easter Playgroup. See you then!

Many thanks go out to the volunteers who helped make this day happen:

Kate Healy
Tammie Morris
Birgit
( who helped tidy up after all the fun was over )

Amelie Langdon ( Photography )

Paige Head
Phillipa Yoong
Melissa Smith
( who manned the tables )

Camille ( Face Painter )

Nikki Smith ( for the great cookies you baked ! )

and of course, Alison D'Cruz & Rufa for all the help.
apologies if I have unintentionally left anyone's names out.


Written by Karen Loong-Thomas
ibu Activities Coordinator

PHOTO GALLERY OF THE GORGEOUS KIDS WHO CAME! ( and their Mums and Dads of course! )


This little one has the honour of being the youngest ibu member there!

Mums On The Run Feb 21st 2008 - SAFFRON

On the 21st of February 2008, the final Mums On The Run was held at SAFFRON ( Northern Indian Food ) in Sri Hartamas.

Tucked away in a quiet lane in this upmarket suburb lies one of KL’s oldest and most established family owned and run restaurants. The owner Billy runs the restaurant and his Mum does all the cooking, thus guaranteeing great tastes and quality control.

This night out turned out to be a really big one, totaling 12 Mums. ( nearly half were Texans too! )

As the night was getting on, we went head first into the mains, totally skipping out on the starters. As I was very, very hungry, I TOTALLY forgot to take any pictures of the food! So, you’ll just have to take my word for it that it was great!

We ordered an assortment of food, from the very spicy to the mildest of mild to suit all tastebuds. The Prawn Piazza whilst getting the thumbs up for being very tasty, was also very very spicy. Amongst the 3 different chickens we ordered, Achari Chicken, Murg Masala and Butter Chicken, the Butter Chicken came out tops as an all time favourite. The Maharaja Baingen ( eggplant ) was well received and the other vegetable we had was Aloo Gobi which is a Northen Indian staple of cauliflower, potatoes and peas. The mutton dish, Saag Gosht was a tad oily but nonethless, very tasty. The food was accompanied by Saffron and white rice, a variety of nans, chapattis and batthura breads.

The service, though sedate at times, was efficient and fast. The deco is simple and has remained the same for years. But as a testament to the quality of the food, even local Punjabi or Northern Indian families eat here!

We had more than enough to eat, in fact some of us were pretty stuffed. For 12 people the bill only came to slightly more that RM400. Divided amongst us it turned out to be a pretty affordable meal.

It was really great to see so many Mums that night and to catch up on a bit of gossip or exchange ideas and tips! Next month sees ibu moving with the times and the start of PARENTS NIGHT OUT. We hope it will be as successful as this one. See you all on the 13th of March at Ipoh Old Town, Lucky Gardens, Bangsar!





SAFFRON
No.5, Jalan Sri Hartamas 7,
(Opposite PETRONAS)
Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-62011375

Silent Auction & Charity Bazaar at BSC 24th / 25th November 2007

We FINALLY have our Silent Auction Article folks! Read On!!

“SILENT AUCTION” - ibu’s first silent auction fund raiser for Agathians Shelter for boys.

(Actually it wasn’t so silent. The last few minutes saw 3 people starting an all out price bidding war on a Persian carpet with paper snatching and strong tones of ‘put that paper down madam, I’ve yet to re-bid!’)
Sorry – maybe I should start at the beginning – 24/25 November 2007 saw ibu holding its very first Silent Auction & Kids Bazaar Fund Raiser. For those of you blissfully unaware of our numerous email & SMS reminders, the auction was held at Bangsar Shopping Centre (BSC for you newbies) with 100% of profits going to Agathians. Now, how does a charity like ibu, organize a charity event for someone else you may ask? Well, with great difficulty. In essence an opportunity came about which was too good to pass up - BSC offered us the space for free and we still had Melissa’s voice in our heads (ex-chairperson, bless her heart), asking us (the charity team) what our big event for the year was going to be… so with motivation and a keenness to help others we plunged in and trusted to the guy above.




What is a silent auction? Basically its just like a normal auction in that there are items to bid on – the only difference lies in that the bidding was on sheets of paper that was laid out on the tables, near the bid items. This way people could come back at the end of the 2 days and see if they still had the highest bid or whether they should re-bid.



Besides the silent auction of the many, many items we had donated by generous sponsors, we also organized a kids bazaar (free angel making, nominal fee for cupcake decorating and RM30 for batik painting) and lucky draw. Naturally the angel making was a big hit, the cupcakes earned RM2,452, the batik earned RM350, generously donated by Craft Complex - RM10 per piece of batik made. (for some reason the batik wasn’t popular, though we thought it’d be our best seller. It’s a puzzler.) The 2 days saw 235 tickets sold.








At final count, we had these figures:
Silent Auction RM36,506
Private & Corporate Donations RM14,225
Periphery activities (tickets, cupcakes, etc) RM8,652
TOTAL RM59,383
(expenses – mostly subsidized by Mel Smith) RM2,242
PROFIT TO AGATHIANS RM57,141


As mentioned 100% of profits went to Agathians Shelter towards building their new home in Petaling Jaya – currently they live in 2 very small single-story link houses that is home to some 30-40 boys from age 3-16 years. With this new home, they will be housed in a bungalow with actual grass around the house and hopefully a double story level soon. For more information visit www.Agathians.org




A months of stress, some tears, some laughter and a few new friendships later, and it was all over! Phew. We’re not entirely sure that we’d do it again or if its viable for an entity such as ours to tackle fund raising for other charities, but at the end of the day we had fun, raised heaps of money and almost reached our target of RM60,000!


It was a mammoth effort and there are so many people to thank, so please bear with me:
• The 80+ sponsors & vendors who generously donated time, money and/or space – A Cut Above, Alex Yoong, Amita Pearls, Asian Tiger Transpo, Baby Loft, Bangsar Shopping Centre, Belle Baby, Berjaya Air, Blessings Bed & Breakfast, Bisou, Borneo Pop (Jonas Jodie), Buds, Carcosa, Celebrity Fitness, Cold Storage, Celia Yap, Charita, Chateau De Sable, Cheras Driving Range, Craft Complex, Deok Sun, Dr Yee, D'Showcase, Dodo Art, Ebeza, Expedite Printing, FA'IQ Jewels, Fogal Meat Market, Fit For 2, 90’s Go Lights Temptation, Glaxo Smith Kline, Gymboree, Grace Salon, Grand Continental Hotel, Hadar Gifts, HerbaLife, House & Co, Gudang Damansara, Judy Yap, K.M. Oli Mohamed, Khaana Peena, Kid Sports, Kidscool, Lords Tailor, Leighton Construction, Lazat Cooking School, Mines Watersports, Montes, Mad Science, Mattel, Maxnetic, Nando's, Nestle, Numpueng Art, Out of Africa, Pantai Hospital, Persian Collections, Pet Epicure, Planet Art, Raffles Furnishing, Sew & Soul, Starwright Graphic, Suzie&Russel Palmer, Sprintserve, Sparkles Jewellers, SMACC, The Bridge International church, The Attic, TNT Kickboxing, True Life Art, TwentyOne Restaurant & Bar, Victoria Music, X1R, Yee Wah Hing's Watch, York House, Zazi Art, Zurich Timepieces
• The 80+ volunteers that were integral leading up to and on the days – Amanda & Michael Moggie, Amy Sholdl, Angela McKenzie, Angie Tan, Ann Gunapalan, Anne Tiernan, Asha Pollack, Beatrice Huang, Brian Fernandez, Chela Mega, Cheong Wai Quan, Chong Yee Li, Christina Rajaratnam, Clare Suanders-Tack, Cressa Chan, Diane Douglas, Emma Brant, Eunice Marie Song, Eveline Deutman, Fabienne & Elisabeth Rushworth, Francis, Gail McIntyre, Helen Garry, Ingrid van de Coevering, Jane Sullivan, Janice, Jenny, Jill North, Jo Yoong, Judy Yap, Julia Smith, Justine Goh, K Fuad, Lynn, Maureen Tong, Melissa Smith, Michele Sagan, Nikki D’Cruz, N. Wilson, Nor Azlina, Paige Head, Penny Dunn, Phyllis, Rachel, Rene Springall, Rita, Sarah, Sharon Tan, Shireen, Siew Teen, Sigrid Gauthay, Soraya Putra, Tee, Tammie Morris, Tasneem, Teresa Botner, Teresa James, Vanessa, Wai Fong, Wendy McLean, Will Stegall, Yasmin Panton, members of the committee and many many more.

• And also all the boys at Agathians Shelter for coming out and supporting us: Poobalan, Siddha, Buddha, Devan, Jaianand, Dhilip Kumar, Haran, Kesava, Shankar, Hari, Sunder, Shatiasilan, Yuvarajah, Amaran, Arunasalam, Jeevanathan, gunasegaran, Ezra, Bose Mani, Prem Kumar, Dinesh Kumar, Teenagaran, Meriyappa, Thevendran, Jaganathan, Loga Lingam

• And a special thanks to Brian, Viknesh, Simbu and Eswar for staying all day on both days and helping us!

• Much gratitude also to Siva and his helpers
And a special thanks to Melissa Smith for donating her time, generosity and patience, Paige Head for her selfless long nights, Allison for being our constant backbone, my husband Andrew for babysitting Tara every weekend and putting up with my not-so-niceness and Jenny Stegall for having the vision and heart to start it all.
Finally my humble apologies for any errors or omissions in this article. I’ve tried to include everything and everyone as I’ve remembered it, but as I still have pregnancy brain (from a year ago!) I may be a bit remiss.

Hope everyone had a merry merry Christmas and New Year and I look forward to seeing y’all at ibu!


Written By Charities Coordnator Phillipa Yoong-Bayly

Family Day Out 26.01.08 - Police K-9 Unit

PUNCTUAL, PROFESSIONAL AND PROUD - POLICE OFFICERS AND THEIR DOGS!


Family Day Out for January 2008 started off with a bang - or should I say WOOF! at the KL POLICE K-9 UNIT near lake Titiwangsa. Though extremely hard to find, we finally all made it there with many thanks to Sargent Ramasamy who escorted all 7 cars from 3 different locations into the camp and to the training facility!

We were met by Corporal Ravindraa who gave us a very thorough briefing before the show started.

We learnt that Malaysia launched its' POLICE DOG PROGRAM in 1968. In 1969 it acquired 6 dogs from the UK. By 1972 Malaysia purchased another 6 dogs from the UK but this time sent 6 trainers to the UK to get them specially trained together with the dogs.

The police dogs were mainly used as 'RIOT DOGS' during those days.



September 11 brought about a major change for this department and its' program. The Government of the USA and the ATF sponsored 11 EXPLOSIVES DOGS and 11 officers and men from Malaysia to be trained in Virginia, USA.

In 2007 Malaysia made its' largest purchase ever, obtaining 30 dogs from China. 27 for its' CRIME Unit, and 3 for its' NARCOTICS Unit.



Dogs are purchased 'Green' ( as in 'freshies' ) at 12-14 months of age. They undergo a 16 week training which includes OBEDIENCE, SEARCHING, TRAINING etc.. They are then tested to see if they are able to work with the 'public'.

In KL alone, there are 34 dogs in service. ( 15 in CRIME, 11 in EXPLOSIVES and 8 in NARCOTICS ) There are 10 dogs in every other state in Malaysia.



The Police K-9 Unit consists of a few different breeds of dog. GERMAN SHEPERDS - The King of Dogs ( as Corporal Ravindraa puts it ) heads up the CRIME DEPARTMENT. (Belgian Sheperds have been recently purchased too, but are still in training) BORDER COLLIES, SPRINGER SPANIELS, WIMERAMAS AND LABRADORS - NARCOTICS and LABRADORS - EXPLOSIVES



We were also surprised to know that Police dogs only get fed ONCE a DAY at 3pm.

We also learnt that different dogs required differing methods of reward. EXPLOSIVES Dogs who are only HAND FED ( never from a bowl ) receive a treat from the officers' hand as a reward.

CRIME DOGS - relish PRAISE and NARCOTICS DOGS work for a rolled up towel.

Crime Dog training. Note how he sits perfectly still while his handler searches the suspect.


Bapsy, Nelson and Jack ( Narcotics Dogs )


Bapsy the Black labrador above, receives NO OBEDIENCE training as an EXPLOSIVES dog. She works very keenly to find bullets, firearms and any other form of explosive, all for a reward of a treat from her master's hand.

You may be interested to know that it is one Officer to one dog from purchase to retirement ( either the dogs' retirement or the officer's! whichever comes first! )
If a handler is on Medical Leave, the dog gets a well-deserved break! If an officer were to retire before the dog, a new handler is selected, and dog and handler go through 16 weeks of training ALL OVER AGAIN!



Contrary to popular belief, NARCOTICS Dogs are NOT addicted to drugs or narcotics. They only work for their rewards. Part of their training includes trying to distract them by lacing drugs with curry powder and belachan ( a pungent local prawn paste ) This however cannot trick the NARCOTICS dogs, who have a sense of smell more than 100times greater than that of an average human. Heroin is the main drug found in KLIA and Ganja on buses.


Jack sniffing for drugs.

Jack the NARCOTICS Dog sniffing for drugs in a row of bags. He didn't find any.

I was asked to volunteer to place a drug-laden briefcase amongst the original bags, just to prove the dog is not trained to trick us!

Searching Once more..

Correct Briefcase! TRIPLE-PACKED Marijuana and Jack sniffed it out!



One of Catherine's girls getting a good sniff from Bapsy.


Rebecca getting Up Close and personal with Bapsy the Explosives Dog after the Show.


All in all, despite getting lost initially, and the heat ( which is generally unavoidable in this beautiful country ), it was a very interesting day. It certainly was different and was great especially for those amongst us whom are dog lovers, as we discovered that all retired dogs are kept on the property in a retirement village, where they are well taken care of, walked and played with every day, till the end of their days.

The Police Officers were equally as impressive and gave me a new found respect for the much maligned Force. These guys were SO FRIENDLY, they were playing with all the children, bringing us drinks, and chairs and answering all our questions. The best answer of the day was to the question (which was made in jest) - " What can we do to train our children like this?" and the answer was "What do you think is the main component of Dog Training? - Its PATIENCE! So, the same goes for your children -PATIENCE!" Wise words Corporal Ravindraa.. wise words indeed!

Written by Karen Loong-Thomas ( Activities Coordinator)

Mums On The Run 24 Jan 2008

Starting off the New Years culinary adventures, we find ourselves at MOUSSANDRA. Tucked away on the sleepy side of KL Plaza ( one of the older buildings in the City ) is this slightly offbeat but intimate Spanish / Greek restaurant. Step inside and you are immediately transported to another city .. Established in 1996, Moussandra is a proven favourite with locals and visitors alike.

Only 6 Mums managed to 'escape' tonight for this Mums on The Run. However, the conversation flowed as easily as the Sangrias did!

Moussandra's assortment of artful Spanish Tapas and Greek Mezes is a great way to become acquainted with the cuisines of Spain and Greece.

ibu was offered a 30% discount off the set menu which included Tapas/Meze , Main Courses, and Dessert. The portions were more than generous and we all left feeling stuffed. The dessert - Creme Brulee, was especially good!

Having experienced the excellent food and the professionalism and friendliness of the staff, I would personally go back to Moussandra again - especially for the Lamb Shank which was almost big enough for two!

Do join us next time we go out for dinner and catch up with old friends - or make new ones! Bring your spouse too ... as from next month, this outing is being renamed PARENTS' NIGHT OUT!



From left to right ( clockwise ) Amelie ( Tuesday afternoon ibu YogaKids Instructor ), Chystel, Melissa ( ex Chairperson ), Wai Kuan ( ex Secretary ) , Karen ( Activities Coordinator )and Kate (new Chairperson )



Amelie - Your Friendly YogaKids Instructor posing with her Moussaka before diging in!

Moussaka

Paella - A House Speciality. Yummy!

A Wonderful Sea Bass.


The Lamb Shank - Huge Portion and Delicious!










Moussandra

Lot B-8
Mezzanine Floor
KL Plaza
Jalan Bukit Bintang
Tel: 03-21440775


Written by Karen Loong-Thomas (Activities Coordinator)

Family Day Out - Dec 2007 - Eye On Malaysia

DECEMBER FAMILY DAY OUT - EYE ON MALAYSIA




On a hot, humid and hazy morning in December, 22 ibu members and staff braved the traffic into town and ventured up the massive Ferris Wheel structure aptly named EYE ON MALAYSIA at Taman Tasik Titiwangsa.

One member had come with her husband and children and had originally not intended to go up due to a fear of heights. However, she braved up at the last minute and decided to go on the ride after all!



Due to pre-purchased group tickets, there was no trouble with queues, something the Eye is famous for.

We were allowed 6 ppl to a car instead of the usual 8 which can often be too crowded. The structure is massive but the cars quite small. It's a bit scary at first but you get used to it pretty soon if no one is rocking the car!



There was not much of a view because it was hazy, but the view is pretty impressive regardless. You get the feeling the KL Tower and KLCC are right next to you!

The Eye goes four rounds ( 12 minutes ) per ticket, however, after about two rounds most of us had had enough. Some of the kids however, couldn’t get enough and squealed for more.





After the ride we all gathered together to have a drink and take pictures at the Eye Café.



The day out was an enjoyable one, a nice change of scene. A chance for old friends to catch up, and also to make new ones. The Eye is now being dismantled as its’ tenure in Malaysia is over. So those who missed it in 2007 may have to visit London in the future to experience the Eye Experience!











On December 7th 2007, 22 kids and their parents enjoyed discounted rates to a beautiful play entitled Aesops Fables by booking in advance with ibu, enabling us to get great discounts for the best seats. Look out for future offers, and book EARLY!

Written by Karen Loong-Thomas ( Activities Coordinator )

Family Day Out Fire Station Visit 10th November 2007

At 10am on Saturday Nov 10, 17 IBU families arrived at the Hartamas Fire
Station. As they approached, one can see the eyes of each child grew as
big as rambutans. We were all enthralled by the two big red fire
engines parked there.

Sri Hartamas Fire Station has 31 firemen and 2 fire ladies.


Encik Yazli and Encik Rosli were very enthusiastic and very patient in explaining
Fire Safety to us. A fireman rolled on the floor to demonstrate what to
do in the event when our clothes catch fire. We were also told to crawl
instead of walking upright if there was smoke.

Then alarm went off and firemen slided down the pole. When asked to
volunteer, 2 moms eagerly jumped from the 1st floor and slid down.




Next we were introduced to the wonders of the fire trucks. Now I even
know where the snake box is! A snake box is a container where captured
reptiles are held. All the kids had a chance to sit by the wheel,
touched all the buttons, explore the inside of these big machines and
ask the friendly fire lady questions.







Then the fire engines were started and wow, all were captivated by the
loud noise. The highlights were definitely the water hose and the
electrical ladder. Each child got to experience the powerful water hose
and see how far the water could spray. And finally parents and the
children went on the magic ride together on the ladder which can reach
many stories high.







At the end of this outing, all were full of excitement and left with a
big smile. That night I can guess what they will dream about. And I
don't mean just the kids!