Himalaya Botanique Complete Care Toothpaste

Hello Mid October!

I just can’t believe how times flies and soon enough we are start listening Christmas jingle. How have you guys been doing? Thank you for your kind message and notes, I’m unable to reply each and one of you yet - but thank you! Feeling the love and grateful :)

Little update, me and Arielle both are well, still adjusting to our new routine and she is such a lovely baby. I can’t wait to share my birth story with you guys. Stay tuned for this.

In this post, I’d like to share Himalaya Herb Singapore Toothpaste that I’ve been using since my late pregnancy. I’ve been using this since I was 32 weeks pregnant up to today and it solves my sensitive gum problem due to hormonal thing.

My gum bleeds pretty bad towards end of pregnancy and I’ve been switching toothpaste when I was traveling back in Jakarta, Japan and Singapore - it was such a pain, and it’s really such a relieve to find one that solve my gum problem.

Having it free from nasty chemicals below, Himalaya Herb are made from 100% organic certified ingredients and 97% natural sources. They don’t contain harmful ingredients and give us a natural oral care.

Another fun thing that I learnt from the awesome team behind Himalaya Herb Singapore is to make my DIY natural toothpaste. All you need as below and voila - a natural toothpaste is yours!

I have yet to try this but definitely will when baby Arielle is more settle with her routine :)

Himalaya range available in major pharmacies in SIngapore Island wide. 

Hair Treatment at Midori Salon - Novena

One thing I realized since I become a mom is I have less and less time to make myself feel and look good, but in the same time I know - I needed to feel and look good to be able to have that " yep - this will do " to step out of the house confidently and run my day. It's funny when I posted my experience in Midori Salon - Novena in my IG stories (@eldiona) sometimes ago, I received plenty of message and comments from Mommies in Singapore on how this Japanese Salon actually their go to salon for their routine hair treatment. Honestly, I know why they pick this place..

First of all, the location is conveniently located at Novena. Is at 238 Thomson Road #03-43/44 Velocity @ Novena Square Singapore 307683 to be exact. Basically, you hop out at Novena Station, take escalator up the the 3rd floor of Novena Square and you will see this Salon.

This is the reception area. It's pretty serene and quiet for Friday morning when I was there. There were customers enjoying their treatment with a gentle conversation with the stylist. I like the ambiance. It's peaceful.

Yuan - my stylist of the day greeted me and checked my hair condition to pick the right treatment for my hair. Because I was like 30 weeks pregnant, we decided to choose the treatment that is safe for my scalp and hair. I love the fact that they care, instead of pushing me to do all hair perm or sort of highly chemical kind of treatment. This win brownie point in my eyes. :)

We decided to go with Nano treatment for my hair, which basically applying treatment with nano spray that let my hair absorbing all the nutrients. 

Yuan applying the treatment patiently, section by section to ensure all part of hair gets what it needs. Then leave it for around 15-20 mins under the nano spray to work it's magic.

Can you see the nano spray steam?

Meanwhile, he gave me the BEST neck massage I ever had! I was in Japan for 10 days before I went for the treatment, and really - neck massage is what I need. Head on to my IG (@eldiona) and go to " Midori Salon " highlight section to see what I'm talking about. 

Then we off to the washing and blow drying session. 

No auntie style here! It's fresh, young and very up to date style I got from Yuan. The last thing I want is to leave Salon looking like auntie with tight curl! Thank goodness, we will not get this from Midori Salon. 

I highly recommend Yuan as my and your stylist. He listen to what I want and he gives the best suggestion that fit to what my hair needs. Here is the price list for you to consider, but for me - I will definitely come back in a heartbeat.

Enjoy your treatment :)

Counting down to meet this little princess..

Udah mau 35 weeks dong kakak..gila cepet banget berasanya untuk pregnancy yang kedua ini :)

Pada berasa gitu ga sih untuk hamil yang kedua? Besok kita ada appointment ketemu gynae nya untuk nge cek if everything is ok.

Daku mo share kalo one of the best thing di nz ini, selama proses kehamilan, ngelahirin en 6 weeks setelah ngelahirin ada midwife yang dateng ngunjungin kita en baby - dan ini semuanya gratis! Kalo kita pake jalur government health semuanya ini gretong beneran euy. Cuman beda banget sama pelayanan sama proses nya kayak di sg or jakarta. Kita ga bole milih c-sect karena kita mau, tapi cuman boleh kl misalnya ada komplikasi ato emergency. Trus kita ga bisa milih dokternya, cuman dokter yang pas available at that moment di rumah sakit. Dan ga ada ceritanya scan saban ketemu midwife, jd cuman diukur lingkar perut and didenger detak jantungnya.

Kalo misalnya kita pilih jalur private, kita bayar sekitar $4500-$5000 dan itu udah all in.

Ga ada lagi uang tetek bengek kayak bayar tissue sekotak, cotton bud, pampers macam pas di rumah sakit SG - ngehe abis. Tapi systemnya juga beda kayak di SG or Jakarta - scan nya ga secanggih dokter di situ. Disini alat scan nya butut kayak computer jaman bahela, dan kita harus ke ultrasound centre gitu untuk di scan sama sonographer expert nya. Dan....ga bisa milih dokternya juga. Di tiap private clinic ada bunch of doctor yang saban ketemu, beda beda semua - dan kalo lahirannya normal, sapa yang pas on roaster yang ngurusin lahirannya kita. Lucu ya?

Di week 34-35 ini, gw uda naek 10 kgs dong - omg. Walo ga segila pas hamil ethan naeknya, ini perut kok rasanya guede pol! En still getting bigger rasanya, uda sesek cui. Lol! We are really grateful for this pregnancy, bersyukur kalo Tuhan masi kasih kepercayaan buat kita to raise another kind soul in this world. Blessing upon our family yang ga pernah kurang dan selalu ada sukacita di rumah. Walo ga nenteng Hermès di ketek, gw tetep bahagia pol karena i have peace in my heart.

Aku mohon doa nya yah supaya baby dan eke selalu sehat, lahirannya cepet, safe, and rather painless delivery :p

5 Things To Be Grateful For..

Ikutan posting berjamaah kali ini..telat banget emang, tapi tetep eke mo share 5 things yang gw berasa grateful for...

1. Pindah ke New Zealand

Sebenernya kita rencana mo pindah ke NZ pas taon 2011 langsung setelah married. Tapi taon ini economic crisis di NZ dan karir kita di Singapore pas lagi bagus bagusnya, jadinya ditunda dulu. Baru kejadian di taon 2015, pas entong umur 22 bulan..bang Arip mutusin buat balik ke kampung Nz, dan bener aja (walo proses settle nya lamaaaaaa banget buat gw) - it is the best place to build my family. Udaranya fresh, kesehatan anak sampe umur 13 gratis, imunisasi gratis, lahiran kl jalur public gratis, sama bisa gaya gaya an baju 4 musim. :D

2. Kerja di kantor sekarang

Nama perusahaan nya ga gw sebut yah..tp gw kerja di biggest retailer di NZ dan sering sample sale! Selama 3 taon terakhir ini, gw beli baju, isi rumah, baju entong semua barang $1 ato $2 doang. Lol! Kita mak mak kan suka diskonan kan yaa?

3. Hamil yang kedua 

Walo prosesnya 1.5 taon dan ajubile nausea nya ga keru keruan..kita dapet baby girl yang kita doain selama ini. 

4. Mesin kopi nespresso

Penggila kopi, ngacung! Ga bisa kalo sehari ga minum kopi, itu adalah sayah. Mesin ini hematin duit jajan eke, 1 capsule nya 50 cents kalo beli di sg..$1 kl beli di nz - dan bisa minum kopi enak. :p

5. Mudik ke Jakarta dan liburan taon 2018 ini

Grateful karena masi dikasi berkat buat balik, en dikasi kesempatan sama kesehatan di bunting gede ini buat liburan. 10 weeks count down to the sleepless night ni..jadinya seneng banget masi bisa hore hore sekarang. 

Ternyata, banyak yah hal hal yang bisa kita grateful for kalo di list satu satu..dan bikin kita jadi bersyukur untuk idup ini :)

A day in the sea..

Sejak kita pindah ke New Zealand 3 taon lalu, masi tetep aja banyak yang nanya gimana caranya kita adaptasi di tempat baru yang beda banget dr idup kita dulu di Singapore. Buat si abang mah kayak ikan balik ke habitatnya, yang dimana dia happy banget..idup di tempat yang adem, musimnya beda beda dan juga malah happy banget di negara yang support work life balance. 

Buat eke? sulit....kakak! 

2 Taon. It took me 2 taon buat finally berasa mantep, iyah..I can live with this. 

Dan yang ternyata, gw happy disini. Although, berasa banget beda lifestyle dari yang dulu di SG..dan jadinya ditanya balik sama temen temen baru disini, ngapain pindah ke NZ? Idup di Singapore itu gimana sih? Yang akhirnya, nanti dibikin video kecil aja deh soal bedanya tiap tiap negara. :)

Sekarang, mo cerita soal kita spend one day in the sea..tapi ga pake berenang. :P

Kita charter kapal pas birthday si abang kemaren..dan ternyata enak banget yah di laut itu..tenang, never ending horizon and kagum sama alam jadinya.

Kita pergi 2 keluarga buat celebrate birthday - dan pengen have a good quality time yang beda pas birthday, akhirnya kita mutusin buat ajak si entong pergi mancing :)

Ada anak kota yang seneng dapet hasil pancingan! Kita berasa seneng banget si entong dapet kesempetan buat explore yang gini ginian disini. Jadi ga melulu ipad ato henponan di rumah. Dan kita peratiin anak anak kiwi sini, kl lagi di luaran gini yah..jarang banget kasi anak anaknya gadget, jadi mereka either dikasi buku gambar ato disuruh lelarian aja di taman. haha :)

Ini 3 musketeer yang hari itu sibuk nangkepin ikan - rusuh ya bo jagain 3 anak di atas kapal dan ga pake pelampung. Mak nya yang deg deg an luar biasa.. omg.

Kita naek kapal jam 7.30 mulai..dan kelarnya jam 4 sore balik ke dermaganya, yang ada semuanya tepar jam 3 sore..kena angin sepoi sepoi sama gajlukannya kapal - molor semua. Eke berasa idup beda banget disini..dari anak kota yang sekota kotanya, gw ga nyangka kl gw bakal enjoy simple life di New Zealand ini. Cuman one thing yang kita belajar, dimana aja kita bisa bahagia kok..asal expectationnya aja yang mesti di adjust. :)

Nanti satu satu dibahas yah soal how life is much different here in a good and bad way..do let me know kalo ada yang penasaran tentang topik tertentu soal NZ. :)

Baby no. 2 is on the way

I've been wanting to share the news!
We are expecting baby no. 2 and currently feeling so over the moon. The 2nd journey is pretty long and hard I would say, we tried for the last 1.5 years and it didn't happen until now. We are feeling blessed and would like to cherish this moment as family ☺️.

Perasaan waktu sama Ethan, pregnancy nya pretty smooth and enjoyable banget - beda banget sama yang kedua ini. The first 14 weeks, alamakjang maboknya ga keruan! Makan salah, ga makan lebih salah lagi..lol. Thank goodness, sekarang di week yang ke 21 uda mulai bisa makan normal ama aktifitas normal lagi.

Doain ya, semoga everything goes smoothly and kami sehat sehat selalu. Amin