Welcoming 2012

Melabuhkan tirai 2011 dengan trip KL-Kuantan-Kuala Terengganu-Temerloh-KL. Kebetulan, balik semula ke KL on last day of 2011.

InsyaAllah, tahun 2012, kami genap 38 tahun. Kalau ikutkan, cuma dua tahun saja penentu cita-cita menunaikan haji sebelum usia 40. Apapun, andai belum ditakdirkan menjadi tetamu Allah musim haji, mudah-mudahan ada rezeki menunaikan umrah terlebih dulu.

Kakak akan genap 11 tahun in August. That would make me officially a mother of a teenager. Moga dipermudahkan melalui usia belasan tahun - usia mencari identiti. Usia di mana dunia kanak-kanaknya beranjak pergi. Usia di mana dia akan sedar bahawa dunia ini amat luas! Usia di mana dia akan tahu Umminya bukanlah sehebat yang dia sangkakan.

Iman pula bakal menginjak usia 8 tahun in November. Alhamdulillah, walaupun permulaan perjalanan hidupnya agak sukar, dia sekarang semakin bijak! Harapan kami momentum itu kekal. With improvements of course. Dah dipesan awal-awal, tahun 2012, abang sudah Tahun 2. Dah tak boleh menangis cari Ummi di sekolah. Dah tak boleh banyak main-main macam Tahun 1 dulu.

Adam, anak yang petah, banyak akal (dan auta!). Saya masih belum memutuskan untuk menghantarnya ke tadika atau tidak pada 2012. Saya berat untuk menghantar. Bukan harapkan sangat dia boleh membaca seusia 4 tahun. Bagi saya, usia 4 tahun ialah playschool. But if he can, alhamdulillah, itu bonus. Adam pula akan menyambut hari lahir ke-4 pada bulan Mei 2012.

Azam saya? Secara spiritualnya, mahu lebih komited dengan tuntutan agama. Yang lewat dicepatkan, yang singkat dilabuhkan, yang lebih tak berpatutan itu dikurangkan. Dan insyaAllah ingin lebih menyumbang kepada masyarakat.

Moga 365 hari yang mendatang lebih bermakna kepada kita semua. Moga 365 hari itu sentiasa diberkati Allah.

Color Coding Books

When Iman started Year 1 earlier this year, he had difficulties accomodating to the new routines. So had I. Maybe I was even worse off than Iman!

One of the things was, books. He had BM, BI, Science, Math, Bahasa Arab, Agama, Pendidikan Kesihatan, among others. Most subject came with 2 books - Text & Activity. And also buku tulis and rampaian. And he couldn't tell which is which and couldn't 'find' the books in his bag. And mistakenly 'exchanged' with his classmates.

Sound fimiliar eh?

I devised my own way then. I labelled each subject with stickers - different color for different subject. And all books with same color need to be together in the bag as they belong as a family. Like us. We stay together. No one in the family gets left behind or stay with other family.

Well, let's just say, in the beginning we had so much of a family problems :D Members of families jumbled up with other members of other families. As long as they were in the same 'kampung' (I mean, school bag), it was still okay as we could still locate and re-group.

Later, we had problems with family member escaping mysteriously into another kampung! And some other books, which were not his, were inside his bag instead. Luckily I knew who that boy was and his mother.

Next day we met to exchange. His mom also color coded his son's books, exactly like I did! Sticker of same color and same shape for same subject! She must've thought that it was supposed to be done that way. I explained to her and we both laughed.

Nevertheless, after few weeks in school, Iman finally got the hang of it. How to arrange his books. Red will always stay with red. Green will always stay with green. In his bag, the books were arranged according to timetable. First subject at the front-most. After first subject ended, put the books behind all other books.

After he recognized and could differentiate between one teacher to another, I mentioned any random name and asked him what subject did he/she teach and which group of books should be brought out during that period. He tought that was a game and cooperated very well hi hi.

Solved his problem. For me, less headache.

Dressed Me Down Days

When I first started working wayyy back in 1997 (has it been THAT long? really?), we had 6 working days in a week. Years later we worked every alternate Saturday in a month. Then it was just 5 working days in a week. Fewer days but longer office hours. I heart that. Because 6 working days means 12 traffic jams, 5 working days is 10 traffic jams. Here in KL, traffic jams can be very-very mean.

Last few years the company introduced Casual Friday. Dressed Down Friday or whatever the name is. Apparently we take it overboard, the mood spills to Monday and Tuesday. And Wednesday. Thursday is no exception :D

I rarely see people is suits these days. If there is, those are consultants. Or people of higher rank going for meetings with the company's VVIPs.

80% to 90% of the time I am usually in baju kurung. When I am not, I no longer wear those pin-stripe shirts, crisp pants or my long formal skirt.

Example of me today.

Mustard cotton tunic(eh siap ada bulu bulu kain tak trim tu ha.. hihi) that was bought online ('online-shopping' is my middle name currently). Very light brown cotton pants that was bought during one of those bazaar days in Menara T*. Pair of Everbest flats courtesy of Tebby. And very-very colorful and rugged looking cotton-leather-suede Fossil Isla, also courtesy of Tebby.

Life's good!

One World, One Utama

We have foreseen that it was going to be busy year-end for Tebby (he always is anyway but at least we got to see him everyday) and nowhere much we could bring the kids for school holidays. At least until almost the end of it when we go balik kampung in Tgg.

Decided that a breakaway right after 2011 school-term ended. In OU! Ha ha.. something is better than nothing.

One World it was then. It never occured to me there is actually a hotel adjoined with OU. Sometime after I made the booking, we passed by OU en-route to IKEA. Wahhh.. not a pleasant looking hotel from outside. But the kids were super-excited. Who wouldn't? Kids love pool. At least mine do.

Afternoon to you too. Always tukang book who gets the greetings :P Room was good. Room service was even better. My only complaint would be on the air-cond. Uncomfortably cold. Dah switch off pun still sejuk. I slept in bathrobes, under layers of selimut.

A pool is like a bonus, a slide is an additional GCEO Merit or GLT award! (org T* tau lah apa maksud ni kan)

Adam bugged us for days (or was it weeks?) for new swim suits. And yet he never get into the pool at all. He cedok air from the pool and mandi macam dalam bilik air kat rumah. Nampak tak pokok-pokok seberang pool tu? Adam watered them with loads of loves and cares.



Iman. Way to go young man. Almost can swim already. About a year back, he wouldn't even masuk air sampai lutut pun.

Kakak.. Ratu Kolam. Kalau boleh dari rumah lagi nak pakai swim suit dah..

Room - Best except the air-cond.
Food (buffet breakfast) - I love!!! Spread banyak and sedap. I don't think I'd mind sitting for hours.
Pool - Best. The kids love it.
Plus point - Adjoined to OU. Amat senang nak pegi makan.

Recommended for weekend getaway, I'd say.

Hammam Bangsar

Went there 09122011. Courtesy of Tebby. Thanks Yang.

Took My Favourite Concubine package (with a litle twist and a bit cheaper btw). I got someone to bathe me, scrub my dead skin cells off, washed my hair and finally a malay-style massage (the after effect of massage adalah sangat best, as if all knotted veins and muscles let loose).

I was smelling like roses for days after that.

Website here www.hammambaths.com

Tolong! Angry Bird!

Tolong!

Tolong sajes kedai online yang ai buleh beli underwear tema angry bird. Adam is almost 95% diaper free. But he wears only angry birds nyer suar dalam. I have only 6 of those. Bought those at a temporary booth weeks back.

Who-ever knows, let me know ya. Kedai online jer taw.

Brightheart & Stripey

Iman @HUKM 23/11/2011

Hari ni bawak Iman jumpa psychiatrist kat HUKM. His second last appointment at HUKM for the year (he has 4 venues for appointment in HUKM alone! what can I say, the more the merrier hi hi) The last one will be on 8th December with his Occupational Therapist, Fida.

Since mem-parking kereta adalah mencabar di HUKM and since for psychiatrist appointment, it's on first-come-first serve basis, we hit the road like any other normal working days. Registered him and we got no 2. Jumpa doktor, the usual development-related questions, how Iman is at school - academically and socially. How Iman is doing with his other siblings (that... I have a lot to say Dr!). His speech, his concentration and all.

Academically, he is doing okay. Not to say cemerlang la (cemerlang these days refer to 100% average). He scored 80% with 2 extremes, majority with flying colors. But one subject, flew downwards steeply :D Both Tebby and I decided we are satisfied, given all his limitations. But that doesn't mean we won't grill and drill you young man!

Socially, he is OKAY. He makes friends, he has good friends, he has not so good friends. On some days he would be eating alone during break. On other days, he'd be muching with his friends and later hit the field for some running to vent his energy until, most of the time, he vomits afterwards. Doctor said physical activities in order to vent out adalah bagusss. Tapi sampai muntah Iman?

Speech-wise, still not up to his age though he can get his message across and can comprehend what others are communicating to him. But doing comprehension test in Bahasa is something different altogether :D He still lacks eye contact especially with newly-met people. I am not sure if he is shy or that's autistic trait playing its part.

Attention span is still short (unless it is something he's interested in). He gets frustrated easily when he can't get things done BUT he's very persistent and will do it repeatedly while wailing and crying and the likes until that thing is done. That's my boy. With much lower decibel of wailing and crying, will ya?

By far, the last Psychiatrist we just saw this morning is the best among the 3. We've seen 3 different Psychiatrists in HUKM so far, 2 females and 1 male. Paling tak best doktor lelaki tu. Heartless, stone, not the type yang pandai engage with children. Just hurmpp.. hemmm, hammmpp. Tu aje lah. But Iman has soft spot for female gender so I would't put the blame 100% on that male doctor tho! Kalau perempuan, kena pulak yang lawa-lawa.. lagilah dia suka. Boys will be boys *eyes roll*

Next appointment with Psychiatrist will be in March 2012.

vital stats for today, good number too!
234 and 123!

Brotherly Love?

Rare moments indeed.

My boys, it's a love-hate relationship between them (contohnya, read here). They giggle. They fight. They laugh. They scream at each other. Of course, Iman being the elder has to mengalah (he's been winning for almost 6 years anyway! Winnning over Kakak and Adam). Pretty easy for Adam eh. Adam was the one who has been 'mengalah' for some years until few month back, he decided not to anymore. He has discovered that me, Tebby and tears can actually be used as weapons against Iman :D

Being bongsu does has its priviledges. Getting that little extra leeways from the parents for one. Just blink his eyes and we went 'okay'. Just give me a wet little kiss and I said 'bolehhh'. It has disadvantages too. Hand-me-down's! But still, Adam was (and still is!) lucky. I had given away all those babies' things after Iman's birth because we thought 2 was enough. So he got all new mittens and booties, botol susu, blankets, towels and whatnots. Since Adam is a good 4 years younger than Iman, I don't see the point of keeping Iman's clothes for 4 years until Adam can fit in. Adam, despite being 3.74kg at birth, he is now a small boy. Or at least we think that way.

Phew.. panjangnya menceceh. Actually I wanted to write about this photo..

When they held hands (because they don't hold hands, they just don't), something inside me melted until ................................................ Adam came running 'Abang kata hari ni boleh beli mainan?' *slaps forehead* (The deal was not to buy any toys that weekend) If Adam uses me, Tebby and tears against Iman, Iman uses Adam against us. Being pregnant with Iman whilst Tebby was serving the company's Corporate Strategy, proven to have effect on Iman :D :D Strategize! If you can't get something this way, there's always other ways.

Nevertheless both of them didn't get the toys pada hari tersebut. Sekian.

Mudahnya Dapat Pahala

When I started back working back in July, I had mixed feelings. Hati lebih berat kepada nak resign terus. I must say when I stayed home, insyaAllah all domestic matters were better better managed. My husband could expect full-fledge dinner on the table. All dried clothes were pressed, folded and put away. Everything was in place. Everyone was happy. (And I tabik to those who can do that, even as a working mom because it is not easy).

In addition to that, now the kids are, from time to time, asking
Kenapa Ummi kena kerja? - Iman
Why can't we be like before? - Kakak
Can you come back at noon and pick us up? - Kakak
Saya tak nak pegi taska. Saya nak duduk rumah - Adam

And today I found this.

Pernah sahabat nabi merungut apabila melihat seorang yang badannya kasar kerana kuat bekerja dan berkata:
"Alangkah baiknya jika dia menggunakan kekuatan tubuhnya itu untuk berjihad pada jalan Allah"

Mendengar itu Rasulullah s.a.w pun bersabda
"Jika dia bekerja mencari nafkah untuk anak-anaknya yang kecil adalah fi sabilillah, jika dia bekerja untuk kedua-dua orang tuanya pun fisabilillah, jika dia bekerja mencari nafkah untuk dirinya sendiri juga dikira fisabilillah, tetapi jika dia bekerja dengan tujuan menunjuk-nunjuk dan riak, maka itu adalah fisabili syaitan (pada jalan syaitan)."

Riwayat Bukhari&Muslim dan Tarmidzi

MasyaAllah. Sebagai ibu dan isteri, mudahnya kita nak cari pahala. Duduk di rumah menguruskan anak-anak, suami dan urusan rumahtangga, dapat pahala. Keluar bekerja pun dapat pahala, as long as bukan menunjuk-nunjuk (as in ayat di atas). Of course we have our preference but either way, pahala.

Kakak, Iman dan Adam - susah untuk Ummi terangkan sekarang. But this is untuk keberlangsungan hidup kita semua. Satu hari nanti kalian pasti faham.

Wudhuk

Sila ambil maklum entry ini adalah edisi 'the bad side of Kak Mon'. Edisi 'the bad side of Kak Mon' ni siri entry penuh nonsense dan ntah apa-apa. Be forewarned.

Semalam went dating. Haaaa.. dating ajelah kerjanya yer. Dinamakan dating tapi sebenarnya edisi membeli-kasut-dan-meminta-suami-membayarnya.

Pegi lepas office hour. Since I had a late Asar prayer, I had meant to keep the wudhu' for Maghrib as well.

As we strutted around, tetiba En Tebby pegang tangan ai. (Baca dengan nada-nada romantik ye) Tak kan nak tepis. Berdosa woo. Padahal sebelum sebelum tu dalam hati dok tertanya-tanya bilalah si dia ni nak pegang tangan ai jenjalan. *blush*

Later I asked.

Suami pegang tangan isteri batal wudhuk tak?
I tak de wuduk so takde apa-apa nak batal time I pegang tangan you.
I am asking in generallah Yang. Sebab I tadi ada wudhuk. Now that you held my hand just now. Sebab I've read kalau pegang gitu-gitu je between suami isteri wudhuk tak batal. Unless affectionately.
It was an affection.

Ai pun kononnya senyum malu-malu.

Sebenarnya perut ai waktu itu adalah kembung dan sebu berangin.... I leave the rest to your imagination.

But seriously, care to share your knowledge on wudhuk k. <-- this is 'the good side of Kak Mon' asking..

Of Life and Death

When we were celebrating Eid recently kat kampung, my mother repeatedly said ntah-ntah ni raya last dia. ntah-ntah tak sempat next raya dah. I jokingly said Raya Cina tak lama dah.. kejap je lagi. There she was, frail and could barely stand up straight. She looked as if she aged by few years since the last time I saw her, which was about just 3 weeks before. And yet demi anak-anak dan cucu-cucu, she cooked all the usual delicacies we usually have on Aidil Fitri. But for Aidil Adha. She told me not to buy lemang or rendang. We were to prepare like we normally do for Aidil Fitri. Despite all her sakit urat and whatnots, we had the spread ready by morning of Aidil Adha.

As muslims, kita percaya mati tu pasti. Cuma masa yang kita tak tau. No one can guarantee he/she will live for another more minute pun. Kun faya kun. Saya ingat suatu masa tu saya bertangguh-tangguh bertudung. Kiranya saya mula pun agak lewat, I was about 18-19yo time tu. Kalau diingat-ingat balik, katakan tak sempat berhijrah, nyawa ditarik balik. Nauzubillah. I have to admit dalam mencuba untuk betul betul berhijab dalam ertikata sebenar, banyak cabarannya. Sehingga sekarang pun saya masih terus mencuba.

Many years ago, my sister passed away in a tragic accident. She was not even 30, and had been married for only 2-3 years. I can still remember my mother said how sad it was for a mother untuk mengkebumikan anak. It should've been the other way around.

Ayah saudara saya, he passed away on 5th Syawal this year. He battled colon cancer for quite sometime. He survived for years through series of chemo and whatnots, and suddenly he gave up. Soon after, he passed away. He was my mom's youngest sibling, in mid-40's, and yet the first that passed away.

Last Tuesday, Tebby's cousin passed away. Even after post-mortem, cause of death was uncertain. I think he was in his late 40's or early 50's. His father (Tebby's uncle) masih ada. Uzur, diabetic (has had his toe removed due to that).

Life goes on. Through happiness of births and sadness of deaths. We all moved on. We need to carry on.

I remember when I was in my early 20's. I saw engagements, weddings, people fell in love with each other. Later I saw some friends' marriage fell apart and they got divorced. And some now in their second marriage. And now I am seeing deaths of close relatives.

When the time comes, bersediakah kita? Cukupkan amal-ibadat? Anak-anak kita sudah cukup terdidik kah? Bila ajal datang, sedetik pun tak tertangguh.

Kepada Mak saya, sesungguhnya mati itu pasti. Siapa yang pergi dulu, hanya Allah maha mengetahui.

SKYNET - Servis Courier Ala Siput.

Sila ambil perhatian ini adalah entry edisi CEKAK PINGGANG.

SKYNET COURIER SERVICE adalah sangat tak boleh diharap. My package which was sent on 4th November dari Kelantan tak nampak bayang sampai ke saat ini (5.19pm 9/11/2011). Okay bersangka baik, mungkin 4 dengan 5 November sebok nak cuti raya. Bila call tanya status, manjang la nak call back tapi har** takde nak call back pun. Okay sebelum tu memang ada kesilapan address. Dah dibetulkan semalam dan dah berjanji setia benda tu sampai today before 5.30pm. Takkan dari where-ever your place is (tapi sangat sure in KL), nak sampai ke Bangsar pun sampai 2-3 hari? Ni korang ikat pakej tu kat siput ke?

And today, 9th November, banyak lah alasan. Rider takde lah. Rider barulah. Dah nak baliklah. Tak sempatlah. Ofis haku jauhlah.

Halloo!! Dah tulis kat address tu kan? Ikut je lah address tu. Dah bayar pun, bukannya free. Nak meniaga buat cara nak meniaga. Ni meniaga ikut pesen dia. Bukan ikut apa yang dijanjikan dengan customer.

Untuk makluman, after all those 'barang dah kluar' (kalau dah kluar pesal nak tanya barang tu besar mana? you should know better barang tu besar mana), nanti saya call balik (but never called back..), you think I want to believe semua alasan tu? Even so, it's not my problem okay. Kalau janji benda tu sampai today, ianya should sampai today. Rider mogok, not my problem. Rider malas, not my problem. Benda tu sebesar meja kopi sekalipun, not my problem. Sebab it is a promise already to get my thing from there to here.

I am giving sampai kol 6.00 ptg only. This is the latest janji ntah apa-apa from SKYNET. Ntah kan sampai ntah tidak tu kang. Atau kalau hantar ke langit je yang sampai? SKYNET la katakannn... Atau manusia-manusia kat SKYNET tengah merancang nak bagi alasan apa pulak lepas ni..

Sapa keje kat SKYNET? Apa komen anda?

Selamat Ulang Tahun ke-7 Muhammad Iman

Semalam, 7 tahun lepas. Jam 1.37 petang.

Saya melahirkan seorang bayi lelaki seberat 3.3kg. Mungkin dia tak sabar-sabar nak ke dunia koporat. Pakai tali pusat di leher. Macam pakai neck-tie. Bezanya, pakai neck-tie sekali lilit di leher. Dia ada 3 lilitan tali pusat di leher! Macam-macam teori orang tua-tua yang kami diberitahu termasuk teori gantung tuala di leher dan teori kain pelikat. Korang tanya lah orang tua-tuan because I'm not telling them. Tapi, the truth is semua teori itu tak kena langsung!

Muhammad Iman.

Nama yang Abah pilih. Muhammad itu memang wajib. Itu nazar saya. Kalau lelaki anak kedua ini, Muhammad lah sebahagian namanya. Muhammad itu Yang Terpuji. Why not? Semua orang mahu anak-anaknya menjadi Yang Terpuji. Hatta anak perempuan pun harus bersifat yang terpuji. Cuma jangan diberi nama Muhammad pulak yer. Iman itu Abahnya yang pilih (Sebenarnya nama semua anak pun Abah yang pilih. Sukahati dia lah. Anak dia pun. Janji maknanya baik-baik ajer. Plus harus simple saja) Even dengan nama mudah macam tu pun saya tersasul-sasul. Contohnya pagi tadi saya memberi arahan bak komandor waktu turun kereta dalam renyai-renyai hujan.

'Iman dengan Abang turun dulu'

'Eh silap..'
'Adam dengan Adik turun dulu'

'Eh silap lagi!'
'Boyssss!!!! Turun berdua, share payung'
Tapi ini bukan sebab-musabab nama.. ini tanda-tanda age is catching up bukan?

Mungkin itu jugak ditakdirkan anak-anak saya ada 3 orang ajer! Bertukor bimbor bak kata orang Terengganu.

Dalam demam-demam tu sempat lagi acara 'ketuk-ketuk'. Mulanya nak potong kek di rumah ajer. Dah alang-alang nak balik kampung Raya Korban nanti, kami cadangkan potong kek di kampung saja, sama Atok, sama Wan. Iman setuju.

Tapi, lepas tu dia nak potong kek dengan kawan-kawan di taska pula. Okay takpe. Layankan ajer. Dapat jugak pahala belanja anak-anak kecik makan walaupun cuma 2 biji kek besar.

Tapi, katanya kek yang nak potong di kampung tu pun dia nak juga! Adoi..

Layan.

Apapun, dia sangat gembira semalam. Katanya 'Saya tak tiup lilin sebab tak ada lilin. Tapi mata saya kelip-kelip macam ni' sambil buat mata kelip-kelip macam malu-malu.

Apa-apa sajalah Muhammad Iman.

Selamat Hari Jadi ke-7 buat Iman. Moga seluruh kehidupan akan diberkati Allah. Jadilah anak yang soleh sepanjang hidupmu.

ps - Di sekolah dia baru belajar rukun iman. Dia pelik sebab sama dengan namanya. Beriman kepada Allah, iaitu percaya kepada Allah. Beriman kepada Rasul, iaitu percaya kepada Rasul. So forth and so on. Dan anakanda Iman, membuatkan saya percaya kepada banyak perkara. Percaya bahawa kasih itu tiada sempadannya. Percaya bahawa mimpi-mimpi juga boleh jadi realiti!

tapi Iman belum jugak hafal-hafal rukun iman itu :P..

Bila Terpaksa Memilih

Kalau boleh memang tak mau.
Tapi terpaksa.

Iman is not doing well, health-wise. He's been sick on-off for quite sometime. Measles la, demam la, batuk la, selsema la. He's asthmatic, thus he's prone to sickness. Especially when the weather is not being kind. Last week, baru je baik demam and semalam he was 39d!

It is not that we've been saved from all these all these while. When he was about 1-3 years, he was always sick. In fact those phases were more difficult than what we're facing now. Imagine being admitted in hospital for 4-5 times a year and each time, it was for a period of 2 weeks, on the average. And it was always both of them (Iman dengan Kakak, Adam takde lagi masa tu).

But when he begged us to stay home together, I could feel I was breaking into pieces. He hit me just at the right place. How more cruel can a mother be when she leaves for work while her child is sick? What more when the child begs to stay home?

Iman, to you, I may seem to put my work before you but it is not. It never was and insyaAllah will never be. You don't know how hard it is for me to stay in the office while every second I remember you're being sick. But life isn't always like we want it to be. We may plan things the way we want them to be but how they will turn out, it is always Allah's decision. After all these years, I have learnt apa yang Allah takdirkan upon us, are exactly the things we need, no matter how hard or sore things were in the beginning.

Rest assured Ummi dan Abah sayang Iman, Kakak dan Adam, so much more than you all could ever imagined.

Iman, I miss the happy-go-lucky you. I miss my little chatterbox. I miss those sparks in your eyes and the cheeky smile. Please get well soon.

Steam Garoupa Hong Kong Style

Memula sekali nak ucapkan terima kasih banyak-banyak kat MIL ai yang mendidik anak lelaki dia ni tak berat tulang memasak kat dapur. But these days rasanya memasak dah tak sinonim dengan kaum wanita je. Chef pun ramai kaum lelaki. Para suami pun dah ramai yang pandai memasak.

Sebenarnya lepas balik cuti raya aritu, hidup kami kat rumah cam tak terurus sikit. Barang dapur (barang basah) pun tak stock up... until last 2 weekends. En Tebby pegi pasar beli lauk pauk mentah sama sayur. Among all, dia beli ikan kerapu. Nasib baik muat pengukus tu Yang. Kalo idak haruslah kena cantas muncung atau ekor ikan ni.

Kerapu stim ala Hong Kong katanya. Ai donno sebab waktu you pegi Hong Kong you tak bawak ai (baca dengan nada merajuk <--- motif nak merajuk lepas 2 tahun?) so I can't compare. Apapun, without comparison pun, ini adalah terbaek. Sedap sehingga menjilat jari. Serius Yangg, ni bukan bodek you belikan ai gelang emas.. ops!

Oh ya, kalau agak-agak susah nak kasi belah ikan sampai terkangkang cam tu sekali (ikan terkangkang? apakah??), masa beli kat pasar tu cakap ajer kat tokei ikan suruh siang untuk stim. Tau lah depa nak mengerjakan ikan tu nanti.

Kan ai dah cakap sedap tadi. Ni buktinya. Tinggal tulang belakang jer. Lepas sesi foto ni, kuah-kuah semua habis kena hirup. Oh ya, pinggan tu hadiah dari kawan-kawan MTP5 waktu walimatulurus kami 11 tahun lepas.

Ni adalah bukan pinggan ai he he.

Moga Berjaya Anak-anak Ku

Moga Allah permudahkan anak-anakku menjalani sesi peperiksaan akhir tahun 2011. Moga boleh recall apa yang diajar di dalam kelas. Moga boleh faham soalan dan arahan dengan baik. Moga dielakkan kesilapan.

Kak Mon's Cheesy Story

Masa Kak Mon kekecik dulu, tak tau pun wujudnya benda yang bernama cheese ni. The closest I got to dairy products was susu cap junjung (gambar atas). Masa kat sekolah rendah, ada gomen bagi bantuan makanan, termasuklah dapat susu kotak from time to time (apart from daily free lunch and sometimes dapat free berus gigi dengan ubat gigi). Suka sangat. Kadang-kadang dapat yang kotak besar tu (1 liter). I have always like plain white milk. I can take chocolate and coffee flavour as well but my preference was and still is plain white milk. I can't drink strawberry flavour. If not, kejap aje cerry-berry okay. Strange kan. I can eat strawberries without the same reaction tho.

My children love cheese. Maybe as much as I love plain white milk. Cheese slice. Cheese stick. Cheese wedges. These are not cheap (by my standard). Anak-anak suka, layan je lah. It's a good source of calcium anyway. Try shoving into their mount calcium tablets, buleh? I bet tak berjaya. Cheese is your solution to giving doses of calcium to your children, in tender loving ways :D Tak payah main kejar-kejar pastu kepit anak kat kaki pasal nak kasi makan vitamins and whatnots.

My children especially love Kraft Cheese Wedges. Tebby once bought that expensive cheese hak bulat tu. The one that you need to manually slice. It has a red skin which we can peel off. Kakak, Iman, Adam, makan sikit je. They don't like the taste. In a way, it was a good thing. Jimatss heh heh. This Kraft Cheese Wedges, it has 8 wedges in a box. Harga dalam RM7-RM9 la lebih kurang.

But semalam, I found an alternative to Kraft. Ada jualan kat Menara and this thing seolah-olah melambai-lambai mintak dibeli (ahhhh.. Kak Mon.. what's new *eyes roll*). I bought not one, but two. Nasib baik, SEDAPPPP!!! It is softer that Kraft wedges and stiffer than cream cheese. You can hold it in your hands but not for long. Ngapp terus. Lebih lemak berkrimmm.. I loike. It also has 8 wedges (Saudia branded it as triangles, not wedges), sold at RM5 per box. Murah kan.

I got a problem tho. Adam, is allergic to cow's milk (lactose intolerant). He can consume tapi tak boleh banyak-banyak. Disebabkan triangle ni sedap, he almost had 4 of them last night alone! Sampai kena umpan dengan chocolate cake baru dia stop. Bacakan kisah kami berkejar ke A&E KPJ Kajang sebab allergic lactose di sini.



Having ngapp-ed a triangle semalam, think am gonna buy some more today. Frens, if you are in Menara and terliur with this entry, should you go and buy some, please leave a box or two for me ya..

Adam..

Sebuas-buas abang dia yang ADHD tu,

.. tak pernah pecahkan gelas kat kedai makan

.. tak pernah lompat atas tilam pastu jatuh berdebum kena bucu night stand lalu terkoyak kulit kepala

.. tak pernah berlarian dalam kedai pastu tersambar botol kicap, terpelanting dan pecah berderai.

.. tak pernah main lastik-lastik pastu terlastik muka sendiri sampai berdarah-darah

Tapi yang sorang ni, setakat umur 3+ tahun, semua dia dah cover.

Balik kampung di Tgg, mak sedara dia, Mak Ngah kata kat En Tebby
'Lek lek mung masa kecek' - sebiji sebijun macam abah dia masa abahnya kekecik dulu.
Tokmi (my MIL) pulak kata
'Ni dok bbuah mmana nihhh. Aboh yer lagi nelang tak mboh diangg' - ni tak buas mana pun ni. Abah dia lagilah na**l tak reti diam

Phew. That saves me from all accusation where genetic is concerned hihi. Walaupun sebenarnya masa kekecik dulu boleh tahan hebat panjat pokok manggis belakang rumah Wan (my nenek), walaupun main air sungai Pahang (tapi sampai laaa tak reti-reti berenang), walaupun main dalam semak samun cari buah jambu, pastu terserempak dengan cik bab*, lari lintang pukang sampai calar-calar peha (masa tu pakaian rasmi adalah tshirt dan short. time tu ustazah pun pakai selendang nampak jambul, so a mini short for girl my age that time was a normal thing).

Apapun, among the 3, Adam ni senyum simpulnya paling mencairkan hati. Dari baby lagi dia pandai bawak diri. Boleh main sendiri. Tak banyak kerenah. Kerenah-kerenah yang buat Ummi dengan Abah tak keruan, semua Iman dah bolot. Dah besar sikit ni je dia membuas. Tu hasil kreativiti sendiri campur dengan tunjuk ajar si Iman.

Teringat waktu dia mula-mula menjengah dunia, putih pucat sebab kurang oksigen. Terus masuk incubator. Tak sempat Abah nak potong tali pusat sebab Dr Ashar dengan tangkasnya dah buat dulu (Kakak dengan Iman, En Tebby yang potong tali pusat). Lepas diazankan, terus tolak ke masuk incubator. Esoknya masuk NICU. Terus start antibiotik. 5 hari warded baru boleh balik rumah jumpa Kakak dengan Abang Iman. Abang Iman tak sedar pun kewujudan adik dia for the first 2 weeks. Hari ke 15 baru dia stopped from running around and cakap 'Eh.. baby! Baby! Baby!'

Setakat umur 3 tahun ni alhamdulillah dah kenal almost all colors. Cuma putih/white tu dia dok kata 'warna susu'. Buku Iqra' baru nak masuk page 2, tapi boleh lahh. A, I, U manjang asik lupa which is which. Dah boleh kira 1,2,3 tapi nombor belum kenal. Dah pandai ikut solat. Dah pandai baca doa makan. Tapi baca lepas dah suap makanan, tangan berlemoih dengan nasi, siap baca doa, dia pun raup tangan penuh nasi ke muka. Bila ditegur, cepat aje dia menjawab 'saya baca doa makan la niiii....' Sambil jeling tak-puas-hati-sebab-kena-tegur.

Kalau dengan Iman, it's a love-hate thingy. One second they're happily laughing and giggling together, and the next siap berguling-guling gaduh. Most of the time over one very same thing. Contohnya berebut mainan. Ada berpuluh-puluh robot dalam tong mainan, hak yang satu itulah jugak jadi isu. And sometimes they fight over something both of them don't want.

Iman - Ni saya tak nak.
Adam - Ni saya pun tak nak.
Iman - Saya tak nak! Saya tak nak!
Adam - Saya pun tak nakk! Tak nak!!!!
*Gaduh*

Adoi. Kalau ingat-ingat balik, cam kelakar. Rebut benda bergaduh, taknak pun nak gaduh jugak.

Apapun, we love you Adam!

Tengok Adam dalam gambar-gambar kat bawah ni.. semuanya senyummm je kan..

Muhasabah Diri

Last week ofis sejuk amat.
Last week VP pesan pakai uniform CS* every Monday. Tak kiralah uniform unit mana pun (banyak unit bawah CS* ni).

Hari ni pakai uniform seperti diarahkan. Uniform Kutip-Hutang. Dapat masa kat unit lama, CMD. Agak tebal. Kaler hitam with a bit of white and orange.

Hari ni jugak ofis aircond nya amat selow.
Panas okay.
Berpeluh-peluh.

Rasa nak roll-up the sleeves.

Nampak tangan. Walaupun tak gebu, still.... Haram okay.

I am ashamed I even have that thought *sigh*
This is nothing kalau dibandingkan dengan api neraka..

Sharing..
(Dipopularkan oleh Raihan satu masa dulu)
I'tiraf
Wahai Tuhan ku tak layak ke syurga Mu
Namun tak pula aku sanggup ke neraka Mu

Ampunkan dosa ku terimalah taubat ku
Sesungguhnya Engkaulah Pengampun dosa-dosa besar

(arabic verse)
Ila hilis tu lilfirdausi ahla
Wala aqwa alnnaril jahim
Fahabblitau batau wafir zunubi
Fainnakarob firul zanbi azim

Dosa-dosaku bagaikan pepasir di pantai
Dengan rahmat Mu ampunkan daku Oh Tuhan ku

Wahai Tuhan selamatkan kami ini
Dari segala kejahatan dan kecelakaan

Kami takut kami harap kepada Mu
Suburkanlah cinta kami kepada Mu

Akulah hamba yang mengharap belas dari Mu

Apa tu?

cer teka!
cer teka!

Lagi Terlewat!! Happy Belated Birthday & Anniversary..

Ini adalah beg duit Kak Mon yang En Tebby hadiahkan sempena birthday Kak Mon ke-37.

Hari ni alhamdulillah genap 37 tahun, 1 bulan dan 6 hari bernafas di bumi Allah.

Hari ni juga alhamdulillah genap 11 tahun, 1 bulan dan 6 hari bergelar isteri En Tebby.

Thanks Yang. Terima kasih hadiah pepel wallet ni walaupun sebenarnya I yang pilih sendiri apa cap nya dan kaler dan segala-galanya.

Thanks Yang. Sudi melamar I jadi isteri you.

Thanks Yang. Sudi jadi suami I dan bapa anak-anak kita.

Thanks Yang. For all those wonderful years.

May we have a blessed life ahead.

Nota: -
Ni bukan edisi menunjuk yer. I am keeping this blog as my life journal so apapun yang ditempel dan ditulis di sini adalah untuk kenang-kenangan jua. I am actually the very the down-to-earth. Mungkin kalut-kalut jugak. Ai pernah terjatuh bedebuk bebetul depan entrance parking lot di waktu orang ramai lalu lalang nak ke ofis. Malu Kak Mon taww.

Muka depan :P
Background tu ialah loose tunic from SNUUS (carik kat fb yer). Very comfy. Wear it with long skirt, I'm off to office. Wear it with a pair of jeans, I'm off to berjimba-jimba with my family. Tetiba iklan, motif?

Purple zip-around. Muka belakang. Normally I'd go for brown/black. Ntah apa rasuk Kak Mon hari tu, I picked this one. Another one yang Kak Mon suka was brown tp takde zip-around tu. Siap ada ekor okay. I have some reservation kat ekor tu tp dah wallet tu dtg dgn ekor, takkan nak gunting pulak kan.

gegedik yang terjuntai kat zipper luar.


Sila sumbat kad-kad and more cardss. Kad kredit, kad bank, kad pengenalan, kad nikah. Penting untuk membeli belah, mengeluarkan duit dan mengelakkan dari kena tangkap basah :P


Pandangan dalam.


Ni gegedik zip dalam untuk coins pocket tu. Kalau korang amat-amati, kat bola tu boleh nampak Kak Mon heh heh.

Kak Mon - Beg gedik takpe. Jangan tuan beg menggedik. Tak sesuai okay.

Edisi Cotton

Orang dah berzaman pakai baju kain cotton, Kak Mon baru nak berjinak-jinak dalam bidang cotton-mengotton ni. Ambik kau, 4 lai terus.

Semua beli online. Semua from blog Cik Hammie ni. Dalam banyak-banyak online outlets, blog si Hammie ni never fail to excite me with her collections. Hak femes now adalah polka dot but I personally thinks polka dot just don't go along well with a 37yo.

Sebenarnya cotton ni kiranya making a comeback jugaklah. Dulu pernah femes gak tapi paling-paling tua pun budak sekolah menengah je yang pakai. Pastu jenis kain pun tak banyak. Kalau sebut cotton, hak sejenis tu je lah. Design pun banyak yang bunga kekecik je. Takpun belang-belang. Belang-belang tu limited orang buat sarung bantal atau pijama. Now, japanese cotton got, swiss cotton got, cotton silk got. Everything cotton also got lahhh. And now even mak-mak yang ada anak bersekolah menengah pun also pakai cotton.

Ni cotton kasa rubiah katanya. Kena buat lining yer dek non-dek non sekelian. Kejarangan.

I loveeee this one. Lightweight and soft. 2 kali si Hammi tu re-stock, both times I missed. Sokmo dapat kat orang lain.


Yang ni cotton silk katanya. Kalau pegang memang syok. Licin dan lembut. I loike.

Hak ni pulak swiss cotton katanya. Merahnya Mak Ngah, macam zaman dulu. Statement Mak Ngah ni anak-anak zaman kelahiran 70-an je yang tau rasanya. Iklan BSN kalau tak silap.

Perbarisan kain Kak Mon. No 2 dari kiri dah hantar tailor. 3 beradik tak seiras tu belum. Kang pokai pulak nak bayar upah jahit.

Walau apapun jenis kain, tak kira how lasak or how soft it is, for baju kurung I normally put them on delicate cycle (mesin lah, tak koser nak handwash okay, banyak lagi benda lain nak buat), guna detergent for wool or lingerie, and never ever dry directly under matahari. Always under shade. I have one pair of silk baju kurung which still look like new even after 11 years!


Kak Mon - dia dah nak mula lah tu...

Edisi Terlewat..

errr...

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri
Maaf Zahir Batin

adik baju merah tu, boleh tolong duduk tak?

Macaroons!

Sesungguhnya makan lepat pisang adalah lebih nikmat!
Udoh le mahalllllll.. RM3.00 sebiji. Tamak, beli pulak 6 biji ^_^
fa alif dal nun mim wau kaf!

Punyalah berzaman berangan nak makan macaroon. Dok baca kat blog/fb orang lain makan macam sedappppp la sangat. Siap posing makan-makan kat Harrods KLCC tu. Ala-ala high-tea. Kak Mon takde jadual high-tea beb. Agak-agak nak makan tu, tea time ke, lunch time ke, dinner ke, supper ke.. bila-bila pun buleh.

I've been hinting En Tebby tapi nampaknya he didn't get it. Dia kata nampak macam tak sedap so dia tak beli kan. (Atau dia pura-pura tak dapat hint?)

Verdict? As I mentioned above, makan lepat pisang, sotong celup tepung, cokodok adalah lebih nikmat. Ni according to tekak Kak Mon la yer. Kang ada pulak peminat tegar macaroon marah Kak Mon..

And yes, my husband knows me like the back of his hand. Dia nyer komen, I don't think you'll like it', selalunya adalah benar...

Duit Raya Apa Bikin?

uiks.. kuku panjang.. lupa nak potong
So, apa jadi kat duit raya anak-anak tahun ni? Tahun-tahun lepas Kak Mon masukkan dalam akaun Tabung Haji masing-masing. Alhamdulillah budak-budak ni lepas pantang ajer Kak Mon bukak kan akaun TH. Tak banyak, bolehlah menabung sikit-sikit. Tahun ni Kak Mon dan En Tebby kasi can depa belanjakan duit raya. Nak kasi they ol feel belanja duit. Dan selamattt poket Ummi dan Abah :D

The boys macam biasalah. Awal-awal lagi dah tempah nak beli toys. Transformers. Tak sudah-sudah. Sampaikan tong besar kat rumah tu dah melimpah-limpah. Adam memang dah aim 'Megatron daun'. Dah lama dah dia nak tapi tak dapat-dapat. Benda tu RM100++. Sila guna duit raya ye Dik. Iman pulak takde anything specific in mind.


Memula terjah kat Toys R Us MidValley. Belek punya belek. Tengok punya tengok. Takde pulak 'Megatron daun'. Daun tu sebenarnya cam selimut Megatron tu. Rupanya kalau sekali pandang memang macam daun buruk. So carik kat Metrojaya pulak.

Yey.. Megatron daun!

Tengoklah senyuman puas hati dia tu..

Uiks.. cepat sikit la Iman. Sempat lagi posing ala-ala Transformers.

Still browsing... punyalah lama dia memilih.

Kenot decide. Cam apak dia lah. Kalau memilih punya lama...

Si Kakak pulak beli buku kat MPH. Now dia collect siri Charmseeker pulak. Pastu siri Enid Blyton. Dulu dok kumpul siri Geronimo Stilton. Hobi yang ni Kak Mon takmau berkisah sangat. Yang penting dia suka membaca.

Ni lah buku-bukunya..

Ni pulak hasil belian fasa 2 (sebab duit raya ada belen lagik). 2 ni dirembat di Isetan KLCC. Belah kanan tu Iman punya. Megatron. Bukan Megatron daun. Punya banyak suku sakat Megatron. Buat modal kempiskan poket Abah jer. Yang kiri tu Adam punya. Apatah namanya. Punyalah susah nak transform, jenuh Ummi belek instruction. Pastu Iman buat cepat je.. tayah tengok instruction ponnnnn....

To date nyer duit raya..
Kakak - guna 60% je. pandai jimat anak dara Kak Mon ni. Tak macam Ummi dia..
Iman - ada belen RM10
Adam - budak ni siap hutang Abah dia RM10 sbb tak cukup duit!

Kak Mon - dulu kekecik takde duit2 raya ni semua. membesar di kampung yang hampir semua serba sederhana. malah ada yang serba kekurangan. tapi ziarah tetap meriah