korea - cerita lama

2 hari lepas kami naik LRT ke ofis. Mula-mula ambik STAR sampai ke Masjid Jamek. Lepas tu cadangnya nak ambik PUTRA, tapi sudahnya naik teksi. Teringat masa kat Korea, memang impressive diorang punya train network. Kat atas tanah memang dah sesak. Sesak dengan bangunan. Sesak dengan kenderaan. Dia punya jam tu macam KL jugak. They have 8 providers. Setiap satu ada color sendiri, merah ke, hijau ke, biru ke. Mostly underground. Bukan setakat kat dalam bandar tu sendiri, outskirt pun ada servise. Cumanya kena pandai-pandai nak transit dan segalanya. Masalah kami masa kat sana yang paling besar ialah bahasa. Kami tak sure nak turun ke tidak untuk transit, malangnya tak ada orang boleh tolong. We spoke in English, they spoke back in Korean.

their train network

Sometimes, eventho kita tak bercakap dengan diorang pun, they speak Korean to us. Of course kami di ajar basic like ‘Salam Sejahtera’ (Anyong haseyo – they have only one phrase for good morning, good night, good day), ‘how much’ (alma-eyo), ‘boleh kurang tak?’ (kakasuseyo), ‘sarangheyo’ (the ‘g’ tu cam silent sikit, means I love you). Through shopping, we discovered ‘ipoyo’ (beautiful) and they like to add ‘e’ to the end of some words like ‘pinkk-e’ for pink, ‘handdbaggg-e’ for handbag or ‘carrrddd-e’ for card. And they use yards as measure. I went to Dongdaemun to look for Korean silk. Tempat yang sama jual lace. Canttikkkkkkkkkk!! Sesapa yang suka ala-ala Victorian yang lace sana-sini tu, you’ll gawk at their collections. Masa kami dok beli-belah tu, nampak diorang tengah dok design pattern kat lace-lace tu. I bought 3 sets of 3yards for well, .. err… God Knows what. Kalau shopping mopping ni, calculator does wonders. You nak bargain ke, apa ke, guna calculator (they say it as karrrkuuratorrr). Also sold upholstery fabric yang memang cantik-cantik. They have quilted fabric that you can buy by yards and turn it into whatever you want. If only I bring more money masa tu, harus kena beli bag lain untuk bawak balik barang-barang!

lace.. lace.. lace...

Well, this year kami plan nak ke Jakarta tapi tak confirm lagi. Nak kena jaga-jaga cuti sebab anak-anak selalu sakit PLUS, nak kena tampung balik yang dah belanja-belanja kat Korea hari tu. Nak buat passport budak gonek 2 orang tu je dah RM600.00 kan. Kalau dah ke Jakarta tu, for sure akan shopping-mopping jugak kan. Kalau keadaan tak mengizinkan, mungkin kami ke Langkawi ataupun ke Cameron Highland saja. Yang pastinya, agenda pegi bercuti bersama keluarga harus dibuat tahun 2007. Dah lama sangat nak bawak anak-anak jalan-jalan.

Okie dokie. Nanti kita sambung lagi.

lapan belasssss.....

ADUHH… sabar.. sabar… (*LAPAN BELASSSSS…)

Pagi-pagi lagi dah kena. Yang rasa terkilan tu dek sebab orang lain yang tak simpan info yang memang sentiasa dia dapat, kita pulak yang kena. Saya faham orang yang marah-marah tu. Ye lah, kalau memang dia hantar info everytime, kita pulak mintak lagi, mana tak marahkan. Kena pulak tengah banyak kerja. Kalau saya jadi dia pun saya marah. Yang tak acinya, yang dimarahkan ialah saya, orang yang tak berapa kena-mengena! Sabarr ummi,.. sabarrr…..

Semalam terlewat ke ofis. Kereta buat hal. Ada bunyi ngittttttt, ngitttttttt, ngittttttt, as if someone is grinding metals. Langsung hantar ke workshop di Pandan sebelum ke ofis. Mamat workshop tu hantar kami ke LRT station. Mdh ambik keta masa lunch. Bercerita pasal kereta ni, jangan tak tau suami saya dah tolong buatkan azam 2007 untuk saya! By end 2007, I, must own and drive my own car. Sebenarnya dah lama kami nakkan 2nd car. Kereta kecik yang tak makan minyak banyak sangat. Tahun depan tol naik lagi kan. Bab tol ni mmg tak boleh nak buat apa, keta kecik ke, besar ke, cajnya sama je. At least dapat kurangkan belanja minyak, kira oraitlah jugak kan. Back to our angan-angan tu, dah banyak kali tertangguh sebab I am not financially-fit. Duit tu ada cuma kalau kena tambah satu lagi installment, tak berapa ‘selesa’. Nak kena reserve jugak untuk contingency dan untuk ‘entertainment’! Ye lah, sekali sekala nak jugak bawak anak-anak ke McD. Ni pun tak lama lagi ada installment yang akan habis (insyaAllah, so bolehlah dihalakan duit tu ke situ). Any suggestion? Kriterianya:-

:: brand new.
:: harganya tak boleh lebih RM45k.
:: economical fuel consumption (obviously keta yang lagi satu tu akan rest kat rumah. We’ll be driving the new car to-fro work)
:: small (saya yang akan drive keta tu, kenalah sesuwaaiii dengan saiz saya nih!). lagipun mesti fit nicely dalam porch kami.

Kami dok terfikirkan Savvy. Yaaa,.. kereta yang nampak agak pelik tu. Lain-lain termasuklah MyVi dan Kelisa dan Suria. But nothing is definite yet. Yang pasti bukanlah cap-cap luar Malaysia,.. tak mampu bebb!! I just hope I can own one tak lama lagi.

* kisah LAPAN BELASSS ni nanti saya ceritakan kemudian ya…

cerita bergambar + 5 things

Sharing a few photos I managed to snap during our recent stay in APSH, before the battery went totally dead. I have a few in my hp, unfortunately my pc doesn’t have that ‘gigibiru’ facility, hence I couldn’t download them.

kakak registering herself at the admission counter. seen together with abah

interframe - jeans kelipkelap I bought in Namdaemun, Korea

pekerjaan si Muhammad Iman

lagi pekerjaan si Muhamad Iman

Anyway, let’s us bore ourselves with my ‘5’ things. KakZ, I sincerely think and feel my answers are all boring and uninteresting. But anyway, here goes..

5 things i would like to do if i were a millionaire:
1. Pay-off all debts including that of my parents. Tho there’s not much under my belt (sepadanlah dengan gajiku) but to langsaikan a bit here and there would be a relief to me.

2. Build welfare homes for the needy or start-up a project where they can benefit financially from it.

3. Pegi haji with my family.

4. Build a small but perfect home on a piece of land not in KL, outskirt maybe. A room for everyone with a surau, a small reading room cum library, a taman with a little pondok and a big-big kitchen.

5. Buy a small car for myself perhaps?

6. Air purifier for every inch of the house!


5 bad habits:
1. Shop at hearing rumors about bonus. Got plastic money what.. (bad baddddd badddd habit)

2. Suka lipat kaki atas kerusi bila makan.

3. Keep things which can’t be used anymore. Contohnya baju anak-anak. Sentimental values konon, sudahnya jadi sarang cik lipas. But I somehow grew that habit bit by bit. Some other kids can benefit from that rather than cik lipas sekelian.

4. Good at soothing myself when I overly shopped.

5. Procrastinate.


5 things i hate doing:
1. No ironing for me. I’d rather fork out some dough to send them to the laundry nearby.

2. Folding clothes especially those of my kids. The smaller the items, the harder it seems.

3. Follow-up-ing countless times after sending-off emails. Aiyohh, organizer ada sorang satu kan, company bagi kan.

4. Waiting for the suratkhabar man to sell-off suratkhabar lama but for the past months, they just don’t come. So, ada setambun suratkhabar lama tersadai in my porch.

5. Adjusting sewn clothing after stitching it sbb tersilap.


5 things i never do:
1. Buy original designer handbags.

2. Paint my house with warna-warna ceria (told you, I am boring)

3. Buy carved furniture (that is so not me.. PLUS, imagine the dust they’re gonna accumulate)

4. Wear shoes with heels more than 1.5inch.

5. Paint my lips red or pink.


5 things i regret doing:
1. Delaying pakai tudung until I was 20 I think.

2. Buy 2+3 sofa with dry-cleanable-only slipcovers (I later tried to wash them in the washing machine. They were all shrunk and the colors run a bit).

3. Yelled and told my gynea what to do when I was in labor room.

4. Let the rumput mutiara kat laman mati after a few months.

5. Not driving in KL until now.


5 fave toys or things:
1. Handphone. Going out without one is like going shopping without my under**** on. No one knows but I’ll be too conscious to the fact and start to act weird.

2. Camera. A good tools to keep memories alive, especially when you have kids.

3. Spec. I am almost blind without them.

4. Washing machine boleh ke? I can’t imagine myself without one when each kid wear like 4 pairs a day?

5. A kenji brooch, worn on my wedding day last 6+ years.

well, that's about it for today.

APSH episode V&VI 2006

I'm back. Biarlah takde house-keeping 2x sehari. Biarlah takde orang hantar food 4x sehari. Nothing beats home. We were in APSH 16-25 November 2006. Paid holiday, as some like to put it. It was an about RM12k holiday this time around!

Kisah tak berkesudahan..
Kalau nak dikira, tahun 2006 ni saja, kami anak-beranak 6 kali masuk hospital! Di mulakan dengan Iman yang cirit-birit sekitar February. Diikuti episode pneumonia dan URTI kakak dan Iman in July. Mdh warded in October sebab gastritis haemorrage. And baru-baru ni, kakak due to high-fever and Iman cirit-birit.

Kalau nak backtrack, bermula dari 2004 lagi, penghujung tahun sentiasa ditutup dengan kisah sakit. 2004 ditutup Iman yang kena jaundice berpanjangan, 2005 ditutup Iman yang kena pneumonia dan 2006 dek Iman yang cirit-birit dan Kakak yang demam panas.

Tapi saya tak mahu mengeluh. Itu anak-anak saya. Anak-anak yang saya mohon dari Allah dikurniakan kepada saya untuk disayangi dan dikasihi. Allah amanahkan anak-anak itu kepada saya dan suami. Saya bayangkan saudara kita di Palestin atau di Iraq, dugaan yang Allah hadapkan saya tiada apa-apa! Saya bayangkan kawan-kawan yang tiada cahaya mata sendiri walau sekian lama berumahtangga. Syukurlah.

Si sakit menjaga si sakit...
Dua hari setelah kakak dimasukkan ke hospital, Iman turut serta! Tak semena-mena dia muntah tak berhenti. Pagi-pagi buta (memang sungguh 'buta' sebab masa tu pukul 2 pagi!) mdh bawak dia ke A&E, terus hospitalised sama sebab takut dehydrate. Dahhhh.. dari sorang dah jadi dua. Demam kakak masih tak berubah. Bila kesan ubat habis, demam naik semula. Dari bilik single, kami berpindah ke double-bedded yang lebih besar. Dalam hati ni, biarkan aku sendiri yang sakit, bukan anak-anak. Allah Maha Mendengar. 2 hari kemudian, saya sendiri kena demam panas yang hampir mencecah 40d! 2 kali saya ke A&E malam-malam buta. Sekali kena caj RM100++ dan kali kedua RM200++ kerana buat blood-test! Dan 2 hari kemudiannya, saya kena cirit pula! Kali itu, saya sekadar memesan suami membeli pil chi kit tek aun saja! Dalam keadaan kami yang 'berjemaah' sakit, suami saya yang dah 'suam-suam' badannya terpaksa menggagahkan diri. Sesekali saya dan kakak di spongingnya waktu kami tidur.

Bertimpa-timpa!...
Suami saya pula kebetulannya wajib menghantar final paper untuk MBA. Last-last minute si professornya call, minta dibuat editing itu ini sebelum buat hardcover binding. Alhamdulillah bila siang demam saya kebah. Jadi dapatlah dia ke sana-sini membuat editing, printing dan finally, hantar untuk buat binding. (Kalau tiada aral, awal 2007 kami akan ke UTM Skudai untuk konvokesyen).

Iman, anak lelaki saya tu, memang lasak. Walaupun begitu, he 'scored' among the nurses. Senyumnya. Tingkahnya. Lakunya. Galaknya. Setiap kali doktor atau nurse masuk bilik, dialah yang paling sibuk 'mengandam' itu ini. Satu pagi semasa saya dalam bilik air, kedengaran berderaian pinggan mangkuk pecah. Dalam hati saya dah tau angkara siapa. Berterabur pinggan mangkuk kaca bersama dengan sarapan yang masih belum sempat dijamah. Iman oh Iman. Tengahari pada hari yang sama, dia dengan bangganya menunjukkan tangannya kepada saya. Makk aihh, terkejut saya sebab dia cabut balutan tangannya yang kena IV. Terkoteng-koteng tempat cucuk itu ditangannya. Berderau darah saya. Cepat-cepat saya pegang tangannya dan panggil nurse sebelum dia grab the whole thing and pull it out.

Pengakhiran...
Pada hari ke-7, barulah demam kakak kebah sedikit. Walaupun adakalanya tinggi, jarak antara 'serangan' semakin jauh. Pada masa itu, Iman dah 90% sembuh. Pada hari ke-8, demam kakak sekali sekala sahaja, dengan suhu 37.5d atau 37.7d sahaja. Pada hari ke-10, doktor benarkan kami pulang. alhamdulillah.

Penghargaan...
Terima kasih kepada yang meninggalkan komen/pesan/nasihat dalam entry blog ummi sebelum ini. Ada yang tak berjawab, minta maaf. KakZ, nanti saya try buat ye!

Terima kasih kepada yang datang menziarahi kami di APSH. Tak lupa juga yang bertanya khabar thru SMS dan yang memberi kata nasihat dan perangsang sewaktu kami gundah gulana. Kepada Semut yang menghantar email, terima kasih. Bila nak updet blog?

Kepada sang suami...
Terima kasih kerana menjaga kami 3 beranak walaupun you sibuk dengan paper MBA you masa tu. Sedar atau tidak, pengalaman sebegitu banyak mendewasakan kita. Mendekatkan kita dengan Allah. Menambahkan kasih sayang antara kita. Mengeratkan kita dengan anak-anak.

Kepada diri sendiri...
Lepas ni masuk ofis semula. Banyak back-log. Boss pulak asyik kirim salam je!

motherhood - joy and pain

Life is not always a bed of roses. I consider my life is beautiful. Nevertheless, being beautiful doesn't exclude pain and sorrow from the whole context. Take this for an example. Childbirth is painful. Motherhood is beautiful. They contradict, yet they complement.

The pain and sorrow part is back again into our life.

Kakak demam. It started back about a week ago. mild fever now and then. About 3 days ago, when the temparature shoot to 39d all of a sudden, we started to worry. And when the medications did just little help, we brought her to APSH yesterday. Did a blood test which turned out ok. We went back with nurofen, actifed, butilyn, zitromax and mulacolast. Since I wasn't on leave, she was sent to Atfal, afterwhich, about 1hr later, I got a distress call from Atfal. Motherly instinct told me to go back and fetch her home. I did. I took leave yesterday, which was supposed to be taken tomorrow in conjuction with Midvalley's J-Card day. Kita hanya merancang, huh. Last night she was still shivering with fever. Today mdh is on leave to look after her. Left with just 1 more annual leave, I have been toying with the idea of taking some more unpaid leave. See lahh how nanti.

Other than sharing the story-mory part of it, I want to give out some tips we've been adopting since we embarked the journey of parenthood: -

1. Have a thermometer at home. We used to have the strip-type at home but it did little good. Before we could conclude anything, the strip went out of place already. You may tell an adult to sit still while you read the temparature, but with kids, it takes lots of holding down and at times, yelling too. Then I redeemed a digital-type which gave doubtful readings. Finally, when I was financially better, I bought a Braun's. When the reading is 37.5d, it is borderline fever. When it is 38.5, it calls for an alert.

2. Do sponging and ensure the child is hydrated. Offer him/her sips of water from time to time. He/she may not feel like eating but try to console him/her into drinking. Bathe him/her in pleasantly lukewarm or cool water. No hot or cold.

3. Have medications ready at home. Be well informed on the dosage and 'when' you should give it to him/her. Hence, the importance of a thermometer, in case of fever. And be ready with 'ubat bo*to*'. Bila suhu cecah 38.5-39d, it helps to bring down the heat, fast.

4. In case of 'tarik'/fit, do not panic (easier said than done, I have to admit). Mandikan dia with cool water. Then bagi oral medication or ubat bo*o*. Go to clinic or hospital. Bring along a bottle of water. we never know ada traffic jam ke apa ke. At least we can still do sponging en-route to the clinic/hospital.

5. Like myself, my kids are sent to nursery when I'm working. It can be confusing with all sorts of ubat-ubatan, the dosage and all. I know certain nurseries are very systematic. They have forms and all to fill-up when it comes to leaving the trust to the care-giver, for giving medications. What i do is that I always write a note with kakak's or Iman's name on top. I go by timing rather than type. Example: -

NURUL ATHIRAH
8.00 a.m
~ nurofen
~ butilyn
~ actifed
~ mulacolast.
* -> 5ml
* -> mulacolast -> bancuh dengan segelas air

6. Inform the care-givers on the child allergies, of any.

7. And again, when you got a distress call, I know you feel like flying back home or honking the whole journey through. Stay calm, tell the care-givers what to do. In my case semalam, I told them to bathe her, wet her hair and rub wet towels on her body until we arrived.

I'm not saying I'm good. I just want to share what I learn through my exprience.

Bila dihadapkan dengan situasi-situasi unpleasant seperti ini, jangan mengeluh. Pasti ada hikmahnya. At least I am a wiser person than I was, ain't I?

kakak @tmn tasik permaisuri

blue-blacks we may be

I’m back!!

Short notes
:: Thanks to all well-wishes.
:: Yes Farra dear, Ummimon is indeed me. We’ve had meeting together before. I remember back in 2004, both of us were pregnant, me with Iman and you, Mus’ab.
:: Spoken to PB last week (I think ~ forgive my memory). Suara ala-ala anak dara you.. PB, harap-harap solution dah ditemui untuk masalah PB tu.
:: Congrats to Elin and Aida yang menerima jemputan Allah sebagai tetamuNya. Semoga mendapat keberkatan dan kelancaran mengerjakan haji. Doakan kami di sini. *jeles*

Ok, back to my ‘berpergian’.

Me, along with ½ of the office, including Sikulat, Zarid and my cubicmate, Rahmah, went to Selesa Resort (somewhere in Bentong, near Bukit Tinggi but it wasn’t at all di bukit-bukit nan tinggi okayy) for a 3d2n ‘Teaming To Win’ programme. Simply said – teambuilding. Overall rating (by me, personally) on a scale 1-10 (10 is the best), I gave it maybe 7 or 7.5. Not bad huh? That point is given after considering the fact that we have great time albeit the bruises, blue-blacks, aching muscles, sore throat and the likes. I am only better today. After coming back, I’ve been limping at home, especially after sitting or lying down too long. At least I didn’t get as much blue-blacks like Zarid did, and nor did I lose any shoe-sole like Sikulat who lost the sole of both sides of her sneakers. While Zarid’s had littlest grip on her shoe soles, Sikulat’s had more than she needed. I guess her soles gripped the soil farr to much sampai lekang dari kasutnya.


Ok. Now what did we do over there? Thankfully, it was 80% outdoor, 20% indoor, else we all’d be nodding off to ohlala land. The day kicked off with a short briefing followed by ‘The Nail’ and ‘The Mole’. After Asar, we had telematch. We cheered on top of our lungs, we laughed out at ourselves and others and we stumbled on one another. And we were back with aching legs, sweating. Night was spent trying to choreograph, put lyrics to melody for the final presentation the next night. When we were back to our apartment (shared with Sikulat, Zarid and Rahmah), we had tell-tale of our love-lives, our ex-es (not that we have many anyway), our kids until we were all nodding away.
(Photo left ~ us, before the programme kicked-off)
(Photo right ~ The Moles. It turned out that it was all misunderstanding and ketidakpercayaan)

2nd day saw us having a more vigorous activity. After breakfast we had ‘Obstacle Run’. Panjat pagar (was 5m tall I think), lari ‘zig-zag’, lalu spider web (made of metal chain), got ourselves literally thrown through tayar besar, panjat and turun semula a-pyramid-like structure (where Zarid jatuh berkali-kali – kasut takde bunga), did commando crawl under barb wire, jalan atas uneven tunggul kayu whilst balancing ourselves, panjat dan turun semula riverbank yang licin sambil memeluk buluh-buluh yang miang (which under normal circumstances, would leave us scratching the whole day), masuk jeram air then panjat bukit semula. 2 persons left me gawking..
(Photo ~ lookk who's trying hard to balance herself)

:: PERSON1 ~ a man who managed to have just a bit of his hair went out of place after all those activities. Other than that, he was as neat and handsome as ever. Even baju dan seluar dia were not as comot as the rest of us. I am beginning to belief that people like James Bond does exist in real life, don’t you think? You know, after great explosions, they always managed to survive neatly and handsomely.
:: PERSON2 ~ a lady who passed all obstacles. Turned out a bit comot. Cleaned herself thoroughly in the stream and fetched out her make-up kit. Within minutes, voila…. She was as ready as if going for a high-tea.

On the last night, we did our little performance. Sikulat’s group won with their march song, complete with the tip-tapping of drum. It was followed by a karaoke session, which left me, Sikulat and Zarid with throbbing heads from the loud noise, lampu yang kelam-kelam and some ‘sumbangsih’ they did. Bravo to the bravery, anyway. (some sang well too). I gawked. They twisted, the danced, they salsa-ed, they joget-ed. It was easy to get overwhelmed so I just watched from the sidelines.

The kids and their father coped well. Everything was still in place when I got home. The kids ate well. They were neat. So is their wardrobe. You were right people, salute to Mdh. I just had to clear the laundry. Mdh and laundry just don’t go along well, let’s put it that way.

So now, here I am. Continuing back from where I left before last Wednesday. With renewed spirit and some blue-blacks.

bye bye love, I'll be back soon

I’ll be away for 3 days. I'll leave at approximately 8.30 this morning.

I’m kinda sad having to leave my husband, kakak and iman behind. Last I went out-station for business was in January 2004. Iman wasn’t even born yet. Korea was different, since I tagged along with mdh. I hope they’ll have good time despite not having me around.

Like always, I am not worry about whether or not my kids will be starving. Mdh is a good cook. In fact, a better case that I am. I am just a bit worry about him having to deal with details. Like how many pairs of these and that should go into their respective nursery bag, or what should be put in their bakul bekal, or where do I put kakak’s panties and socks and school-scarf. And like I used to do, I’ve drawn a picture of their wardrobe and has written-down the list of things. You know, what and how much of this and that, that go into this bag and that bag. But I still expect to get his phonecall. Short-cut, as they call it. I’m sure you can deal with this alright yang. Afterall, you’re a SUPER-dad.

In anticipation of the short separation, I kissed and hugged and smooched them in advance. I just hope I won’t wake up drowsily in the wee of the night kissing anyone that happens to be sharing the apartment with me for the next 3 days!

Photo
~ A heart shape I traced with my finger before we depart for Atfal 2 days ago, sending kakak laughing out loud and all smiles for school. Iman laughed out even louder, merely copying and trying to out-do his sister. Why, she asked. Because, I love you dear. She spent the whole short journey looking at the shape on the glass window, which slowly wiped away by the morning dew as the wind rushed by ~

I am not even there yet. But I miss them already.

what really make me a supermom

SUPER SHE-hero
ready to save the world from evil.
(note the 'A' she has infront of her shirt ~ it's her number, as she claims it)
(illustration by SHE-hero herself)

SUPER HE-hero
an asisstant to SHE-hero.
(illustration by SHE-hero)

the answer is ~ because I have a self-proclaimed SHE-hero daughter...
too much cartoon network, eh?

i know what he did this weekend

On behalf of Iman, I'd like to say many-many thank you for the birthday wishes. The bubbly is already 2 years-old, even I, seem, to not believing it either. It's like just a few days ago that I held him in my arms for the first time, all stained with blood and that whitish thingy, with his blue-black forehead from the vacuum. Just in case any of you wonder, we haven't really decided when to add new member to the family yet. It depends on many things, Iman himself mostly.
(Photo ~ New York Cheese Cake which bears the wish)

So, how was everbody's weekend? Been filling up like there's no tomorrow, huh? As the air is clearer and we've been keeping the kids inside the house for so long when we were in KL, Saturday seemed to be the ideal day to get some fresh air and exercise a bit. Went to Taman Tasik Permaisuri Cheras. Yup, it was a lot of running after and chasing that little guy. While the vigourous parts were left to mdh, I was the porter, carrying a bag of the usual diapers, susu, botol air PLUS sandwiches for our breakfast. PLUS, looking for tortoise and fishes to be fed by the little princess. The tortoises seems to be of lesser lot I think. Susah nak cari. Fortunately almost at the end of our trip there, we found a spot with lots of fishes, all jumping to the bread thrown by kakak, much to her excitement that we had to scrape the tuna off our breakfast so that she could fed the fishes (bertuah punya anak). We also went to an open house cum house warming in Bangi. Alhamdulillah, Iman was behaving a bit better. The worst parts were just pouring air sirap on himself and trying to switch off the TV.
(Photo ~ Kakak and Iman, refuelling after the running around)

Kakak ~ standing at the spot where the fishes jumped to her bread.
Everything was well until some bodies decided to do a fogging nearby.
Aiyohh, cannot wait aa? Must do in the morning when people
bring their family to exercise eh?

Half of Sunday was spent at home, clearing the usual loads of laundry and did some dusting. Afternoon, went to visit a relative in Gleneagles. He just had his littlest toe amputated. He has diabetes. Even his eyesights were worsening. Since we had almost nothing in the fridge, we stopped by Secret Recipe in Tmn Connought for a decent lunch. Plus, we needed to buy cakes for Iman to celebrate his birthday with his friends in Atfal. With Iman along, you can expect we deduct 20% off satisfaction in meals. He tore sachets of sugar and pour its contents like we do with confetti. He insisted on feeding the cake by himself then spitted them back and stepped on it. He even drank the tomato ketchup, my godness. When we took away the ketchup, he threw away the nuggets. (as I am typing this, he's hopping endlessly in the living area). And he flirted with 2 girls! We left somewhat a bit embarassed, with 2 cakes and an apology.

I love my kids nonetheless. Really.

Oh, the princess is having her end-of-term assessment the week ahead. Since she has missed many schooling days, I don't expect much from her. But still, like any other mum, I wish her all the best.

Okay friends, need to see to our dinner.

message from the birthday boy

Attaya akummm.. (translate into adult's language ~ assalamualaikum)

When I was dancing and jumping this morning, Ummi sang Happy Birthday To You. A song I heard in nursery almost every month. Ummi hugged me. Ummi said I am a big boy already. I am 2 today! But Ummi, eventho I am a big boy already, can I still sleep with kikkerr?

me and kikker

Ummi said I am a challenge to her. Even to get me. She was on bromocriptine and clomid before she finally got pregnant with me. She said it was something to do with the hormonal thingy (abah,.. women ARE complicated). When she was carrying me, she had a labor show when I was just a 7 months foetus. She had to spend 3 days in APSH and poor her Abah couldn’t wait on her since he had to stay with Kakak at home. But I was there with her, accompanying her. Eventho she couldn’t hug me then, I was there, close to her. So Abah really need not to worry, I was there.

I guess Ummi had written here how I was born and what kind of labor experience she had to push me to the world. I was sucked out, simply said. Boy, I couldn’t wait to wear those thing Abah had around his neck, handsomely getting ready for work. I ended up with my own umbilical cord instead. Abah had just one tie but I have 3 loops around my neck. It was kinda suffocating me, really. But I had better APGAR than Kakak, nyeh nyeh nyeh.. Atok and Wan said I am cuter, fairer and more gebu than Kakak nyeh nyeh nyeh..

Did Ummi write here about how clinging I was to her when I was small? I loved to be held and nursed most of the time. In fact during my first 2 months, I gained almost 1.5 kg every month. I really drained Ummi. She was a frail 40kg when her confinement ended. Nope, she’s now 6-7kg heavier. And I made Abah and Ummi worried to the roots of their hair when I had prolong jaundice. I was well over a month old when the yellowish finally subsided. Dr told Abah and Ummi, I had breast-milk jaundice (Abah and Ummi were perplexed when seeing my jaundice result getting higher eventho Ummi fed me more and more as told, to reduce my jaundice but, it was explained, lega diorang). That year, Abah and Ummi didn’t really celebrate Eid, as they were so worried seeing me a little yellow baby. Abah and Ummi brought me back to KL for my one month shot. When we were in KL, I got constipated, thanks to Ummi who broke the confinement rules. I spent most of the time crying and only stopped when I was put to Ummi’s breast to nurse or simply to be comfy ‘there’. They rushed me to APSH when they thought they couldn’t handle me anymore. And on the way, Abah’s brand new, 2 weeks old Optra was hit from behind and it cost him thousands to repair. Thanks to that crazy uncle who followed us on his bike, much too close and too fast for comfort that he hit us and flung himself on the road, breaking several of his fingers.

Last year, Ummi was so excited as my 1st birthday would coincide with Eid 1426. She said, that could be once in a lifetime event. She prepared for Eid in a way she never did before. We all had color coded baju raya. Abah and me in brown rich cotton baju melayu while the girls (Ummi and Kakak) in their pink kurungs. But again, we didn’t really celebrate as I was down with cruel pneumonia. Poor Abah and Ummi. They had sleepless night. They had to deal a lot with my vomiting. And I was one little monster when I was unwell. But Ummi assured Abah there was hikmah in all those. On 5th day Eid, I was admitted to APSH. And Kakak, did I ever thank you for putting up with me at that time? And that you had to stay back in kampung with Atok and Wan while Ummi and Abah gave their utmost attention to me? I did not, did I? Well, at least you got that Annika doll, complete with her magic wand and that little horse as compensations. Fair, wasn’t it?

Well, I am sure Ummi had also written here how I behaved during Eid or simply how I am living my daily life. I can be soo sooo very handful but I can be adoringly huggable and kissable. I can be really friendly. I run a lot. I jump a lot. I drink my formula a lot too. I am one little jealous boy when it comes to Ummi so stay away from her, she’s mine. And stay away from Abah too, he’s Ummi’s. As for Kakak, I love her but I just also love to confront and provoke her until she cries and retaliates. Ummi told Kakak I’ll stop doing that when I grow up but I haven’t really decided on that. Don’t tell Ummi that okay.

I have to sign off now. Big boy has a lot to do, they say. Now, where’s my new HOTWHEELS?

ps: Abah made us 'CRISPY POTATO WEDGES' a few days ago, maybe you'll want to try it out this weekend. Recipe is here.

when my heart skipped a beat

went back late yesterday. mdh had a longggg meeting, until well after azan Maghrib. i myself too had to finish off several tasks (before i switched to zuma and luxor anyway)

like always, took the elevator from 23rd floor, hoping to catch the lower deck to minimise walking (lazybum ~ if I got in the upper deck, I'd have to climb down (down... my godness, it's not even climbing up) the steps to get to the place where I normally wait for mdh). when i finally reached LG Floor, something caught my attention. My heart skipped a beat... Is that what I think it is?


Went closer. *skipping* *skipping* *skipping*

This is soooo not good for my wallet (and waistline)

Anyway, yippeedeeduu!

post raya 2

MIRROR MIRROR ON THE WALL.. WHO'S THE SMALLEST OF THEM ALL?
Meet my youngest niece - Nur Lailatul Fazira Husna, born 19th Ramadhan 1427

MIRROR MIRROR ON THE WALL, WHO'S THE ***** OF THEM ALL?
Meet Nurul Athirah, Nur Rabiatul Adawiyah, Zeti Nur Batrisyia Husna Hafiz

Get Your Own! | View Slideshow

proses membuat lemang sedang dijalankan...

Kakak, Aween and Batriysia. A gang of 3 who dream to be horses..
(don't ask..)

We left for TGG on the 3rd day Eid. We took off Iman’s car seat so you can guess what I did the whole journey. Iman decided to vomit near Marang that we had to stop to do some cleaning. My SIL, who was on the way back to KL saw us and made a turn to exchange salam and duit raya for the kids.

In TGG, we didn’t really celebrate. My MIL wasn’t well. In fact she gets fever, cough, runny nose now and then since she first got a stroke in July/August. In addition to that, her feet and hands are swollen, now and then. While we were in TGG, she was on her back most of the time. She can’t move without help. She needs someone to aid her to bath, to go to the toilet, for ablution and even to put on her telekung. Alhamdulillah she’s blessed with many children (that makes me think about the 2 kids I have now) that can help her. She obviously lost weight and appetite. When we told her we’ll be back for Raya Haji, she said she hope she could do a korban before Allah finally calls her to rest. Please doakan kesejahteraan and kesihatan my MIL.
(Photo ~ kids in the car.. en-route to TGG. Iman's trying out mdh's shade)

Kakak was of help. She helped massage her Tokmi. Helped me with the laundry and housekeeping. While Iman, my oh my…
:: he made ssagong (sagun) out of cookies by rolling, shaking and throwing the cookies container until they were all powdery.
:: made acrobatics using MIL’s tongkat and penyodok sampah.
:: watched TV from the TV rack itself. He climbed, reached for the antenna and did a little samba proudly before any of us could get him down.
:: broke a raga he fetched from the meja solek by stepping and jumping on it.
:: stood on pahar sold in Pasar Payang in his quest to reach out for ssabong belong (liquid soap that comes with a plastic loop where you blow through to make transparent bubbles) hung at a stall (after he tried to rearrange tepak-tepak sirih)
:: dipped his hands in gulai ikan kat dalam periuk.
:: insisted that he was thirsty but kept on spraying out the water he sipped.
:: and his favorite ~ switching on and off endlessly the tv.
:: bang anything onto the tv screen (mind you, it’s a brand new 29inch sony)
He’s a little tester, I tell you. But Allah blesses us with him so that we learn what patience is all about. (imagine had his twin survived ~ there’s the hikmah in losing his twin)
Anyway, seeing her grandson antics, MIL kept on saying ‘le’ le’ macang ayoh die mase kecek’ (translated into simple BM ~ sebijik macam ayah dia masa kecik). Kids will always be kids eh? His dad outgrew all those. Still naughty in some other ways tho ;-)

Did I mention we have a theme song for 1427's Eid? It's a duet by Hail Amir and Uji Rashid that goes 'indahnya sungguh di hari raya, ramainya orang bersuka ria... na.. na.. na..'. Sung by Nurul Athirah practically at every house she visited. Very-very sumbangsih I must say but glad for the courage she had!