Infitah Home Tuition

After much thinking and deliberation, we decided January 2012 was the last month Iman attended Saturday class in Persatuan Dyslexia, Ampang Hilir. When Iman started Year 1 way back in January 2011, we did not enroll him into KAFA classes, as we did with Kakak. We were afraid it would be too much for him to follow, given all his shortcomings (at that point). Instead we enrolled him (and Kakak) into kelas mengaji at a tadika nearby our house, 4 days a week, after Maghrib All went well until I started back working. Mula miss class, then makin jarang datang and then we stopped altogether barely after 5 months I joined back the working world. Iman was at Iqra' 3 and Kakak has just started reading the Holy Quran.

Since kami x berkemampuan dari segi masa untuk kelas mengaji on weekdays, we had to forgo Iman's Saturday class at PDM. To make way for kelas mengaji on Saturday.

We scouted around for kelas mengaji on weekends. Calls made. Emails sent. None. We felt to bad for them not attending kelas mengaji. Rasa berdosa kalau tak melengkapkan anak-anak dengan ilmu mengaji.

Among the places I asked was Kelas Tuition Cikgu Maryam (KCM.. web www.kcm.edu.my) They ols pun ada provide Saturday class and they claimed they can arrange one for Kakak and Iman. They will call us once they have the details of Ustaz/Ustazah. Every Saturday at their center at around RM35 per head per hour. That would be RM70 per week and RM280 per month. It is not the money that turned us off. They never called back.

Then someone referred us to www.infitahhometuition.com After reading the info given, I called up their Serdang Branch, the nearest with our house. Cik Wan who answered me, gave my number to Cikgu Aiman. Cikgu Aiman is a pharmacy student and is a tutor. After exchanging series of SMS, Cikgu Aiman came to our house on Saturday 11th February 2012. I like Cikgu Aiman. All my SMS-es were answered, promptly. A polite young lad that he is.

During his visit, we conveyed our expectation. Didn't want to start big, kami request for kelas mengaji and a bit of Fardhu Ain as well as sirah dulu. The focus would be mengaji. Bergantung kepada keadaan, kami mungkin juga akan mintak tuition Math untuk Kakak and BM for Iman. Kami jugak mintak an Ustazah yang can handle small children.

Price structure is much cheaper than KCM's. Rate per head per hour for 1st student is RM35. 2nd person is additional RM10 and the 3rd and 4th and so on is an additional RM5 per head. We enrolled Kakak and Iman so it would be RM45 per hour for the two of them. Approximately RM23 per head. Classes will be conducted 4x a month. Kalau miss, boleh ganti dengan mana-mana bulan yang ada 5 Saturdays (contohnya March 2012).

The do's and dont's. No monetary transaction between us and the tutor except for pemberian tambahan ikhlas selain daripada formal fee. A dedicated room is good but a clear dining table would be sufficient. My kids ambik kelas mengaji, kami kena sediakan Quran for Kakak and buku Iqra' for Iman. Sememangnya dah ada. Any other additional materials will be advised from time to time.

So, first class was last Saturday 25th February 2012. Ustazah Farah. Kesian Ustazah sesat barat cari rumah kami:D A young shariah lawyer from Sungai Besar, now practising in Mahkamah Kajang. She's staying in Kajang.

She gets along well with Kakak, Iman and Adam. Adam, walaupun tak di enroll asal-asalnya, dia sama-sama belajar :D Last-last we included Adam in Ustazah Farah's time sheet :D :D That makes the fee RM35 + RM10 + RM5. RM50 tapi kita jangan berkira soal pendidikan anak-anak, terutamanya ilmu akhirat.

They started off with reciting doa's. Then start mengaji. The session was closed with short introduction to Rukun Iman.

It's still too soon for me to comment but I am putting much hope in this. If possible (insyaAllah), Kakak tamat mengaji Quran this year and Iman start Quran in maybe 6 months from now. Ya Allah, permudahkanlah urusan kami semua.

tete-a-tete dinner @Delicious Bangsar

Decided for a quiet dinner last Friday. Just the two of us. Anyone who's been married for quite sometime would agree that at times we need to have our own space. 'Me & you' time. 'Me' time. 'You' time. And of course loads of 'our' time with the kids.

I was longing for DeliciousCeaser Salad added with Smoked Salmon. First had it with Tebby months back. He had stomach ache the day after. And I fell in love with it. Maybe due to the fact that when I was little, I had my fair share of buah-buah hutan (ketapi, rambai, kundang - just to name a few) and freshly grilled birds yang my brothers lastik - my stomach could stand it. And yes, for someone with that background, Ceaser Salad added with Smoked Salmon, is a bit too glamorous :D

Went to Delicious Bangsar. Some people said Delicious in Bangsar serves more delicious food than Delicious elsewhere. I can't state my opinion since I ordered something different altogether!

Our drinks. Hot Honey Lemon. Served with slices of biscotti. Refreshing. It is served separately from the honey. Just tuangkan the whole bekas. Nampak macam banyak but it is actually cukup-cukup aje nak bagi soothingly manis.

His. Pan-seared Cod. Despite much popularity on salmon, we still can't eat it. Our tekak just cannot accept. Perhaps too buttery. But cod, yes, sedap. Better than the cod I that I ate in Tony Roma's. His mains, my appetiser. Nampak tak fork tu? I had to literally shoo him away for seconds to take this photo :D 2 prawns tu I tak sempat rasa. Gone. Potatoes tu disimbah dengan kuah pasta. Something very tomato-ey.

Hers. Or mine. Chargrilled Grain-fed Chilled Sirloin Steak. Served with Balsamic Shallot Reduction. A rose by any other name will still smell as sweet. A steak by any other name will still be a steak to me ^_^ Balsamic Shallot Reduction tu is the sauce. I am no fan of sourish thing but it is good when eaten with the steak.

Drool yet? Here's a close-up :D :D

Makan Dinner @ Pak Hailam Kopitiam

Khamis lepas, kebetulan dapat balik awal sikit dari biasa. Sampai taska anak-anak sebelum jam 7.00 malam. 3 hari sebelum tu balik lewat dah gelap baru sampai taska so kami bawak anak-anak pegi makan dulu, redemption la kononnya. Kakak sajes makan nasi goreng kat Carrefour. Iman sokong. Adam setuju. Sebulat suara. Senang cerita. Kang kot sorang nak McD, sorang nak nasi goreng, sorang nak pizza.. susah juga kan. Kalau nasi goreng Carrefour tu, maknanya kat Pak Hailam Kopitiam.

Ni ai punya. Eggs on Toast (bukan nama sebenar). Sedap. Roti tu jenis pesen lama yang very light. Macam rangup-rangup sikit. Telur tu half boiled. Telur omega katanya. I couldn't care less kalau dah lapa-lapa gitu. Omega ke, Tissot ke, Citizen ke heh heh. Taruk kicap sikit, pepper sikit. I loike. Kalau tak makan ni, I usually makan Fishball Noodle Soup. Their western dishes pun okay jugak. I have tried Lamb Chop and Chicken Chop. Not bad lah.

My Hot Lemon Tea. Soothing. Kena pulak memang tengah batuk-batuk. Kalau tak lemon tea ni, I usually order air Cincau. Share dengan Adam tapi sebab ai batuk and nobody should share my drink, I might as well order something of my liking.

Tebby's Fried Kueytiaw. Tak pernah tak sedap. Very consistent. Tapi version kerang-less. I love the ones with cockles. Kena pulak kerang tu tak berapa masak, lagi sedap!

Wholemeal Red Bean Pau. Adam punya. Kalau datang sini, inilah yang dia selalu mintak. Sebelum ni fries. Ni fasa fries dah tamat, pau pulak. Pau ni ada banyak variation, dari yang manis sampailah ke inti daging.

My elder two, as usual order Nasi Goreng no-sambal, no-vege, no-garnishing. Yang ni pun boleh tahan sedapnya.

Adam, all smiles.

Ni, maskotnya pulak :D Jaafar Onn u ols!

Cepat di Masak Sedap di Makan

Rasanya most of us especially the working mother akan stock instant food kat rumah. 'Fast to cook, good the eat' ones. Kalau hari-hari yang sampai rumah dah gelap, time tu pulak anak-anak pulak merengek lapar, haruslah menggelupur nak masak segala kan. Makanya, stoklah bebenda yang senang nak masak. In our little household selalunya nugget (mesti brand Marina, kalau idak budak-budak takmau makan), Ayamas drummet, sosej, roti canai segera (cap Kawan atau Kart's biasanya). Telur waaaajiibbbb ada sokmo. Ni menu 'terpaling amat cepat' la ni. Goreng dan tepek atas roti letak sos tomato (kalau Iman dia letak kicap sikit :D).

Nasib anak-anak bukan jenis nak makan nasi berhidang (nasi dengan lauk, dengan sayur, dengan sambal etc) memalam hari. This is something I picked up sejak kawin dengan En Tebby. Family inlaws ku memang makan light meals for dinner. Memula dulu lapar jugaklah, lelama ok jer. Bila ada anak, tabiat ni mengikut sekali.

Untuk mak pak pulak, ni feveretnya. Instant noodles. Most of the time cap Maggi la kan. Maggi Ayam sama Maggi Kari. Kadang-kadang Maggi Tomyam. Kadang-kadang tukar angin makan hak cap Cintan pulak. Weekend lepas beli jenis lain pulak. Saja nak rasa. Maggi pun dah overdose :D

Ni NISSIN INSTANT NOODLES perasa seafood. Lepas anak-anak dah dinner baru kami masak yang ni. Kalau idak dah tentu berebut dengan diorang. Bukan kedekut.. tapi kenyataannya memang tak elok makan instant noodles kan. Rasanya? Tak pedas.. macam makan Maggi Ayam. Serving BESAR. Macam dekat 2 peket Maggi tu ha. Overall, boleh tahan la. Ni En Tebby yang makan. Tetengah syok slurrrpppp... Adam dengar (amekaw.. kuat sangat slurppppp nye ha sampai anak datang menyiasat) terus datang nak mengejoinkan dirinya. Terpaksalah Tebby kongsi dengan Adam. Tebby kata sedap. Ai tak sempat rasa.

Yang bawah ni pulak ai yang makan. Instant noodles FF perisa Tom Klong. Apa-apa je lah. Tom Yam I know. Tom Klong never heard of.

As the name goes, ianya adalah pedas. Bak kata orang Tgg, pedas berdesit. Masam pun boleh tahan. Bak kata orang Pahang, masang melepang. At the end of it Iman datang mengejoinkan diri.. tapi kejap aje penyertaan dia sebab dia tak tahan pedas hihi. Nak pow Tebby punya, dah selamat dilicinkan dek Abah dengan bantuan padu si Adam ^_^ I wouldn't recommend this one (of course based on my tekak lah kan).. baik korang beli Maggi Tomyam tu ha. Murah pun murah daripada hak nih. Sedap pun lagi sedap dari yang nih.

ps - orang-orang yang seangkatan dengan ai sure tahu iklan megi zaman dedolu dengan jingle nya 'cepat di masak, sedap di makan' masa tu rata-rata orang susah, megi ni satu bonus kalau dapat makan.

Attempted Kidnapping BTHO

Malam semalam waktu tengah buat revision dengan anak-anak, email dari egroup kawasan perumahan saya masuk di handphone. Mengucap panjang saya. Di kawasan kejiranan kami yang tenang aman damai tu ada attempted kidnapping. Lorong jalan rumah saya tu!

Ya Allah lindungilah anak-anak kami dari semua kejahatan yang nampak dan tak nampak. Terus sesi revision bertukar sesi tazkirah hal-ehwal keselamatan.

Untuk makluman, kejadian ni berlaku di Suakasih, Bandar Tun Hussein Onn, Cheras.

Ni catatan email dari jiran..

Salam kepada semua penduduk di Zon AEE. Baru sebentar tadi jiran belakang rumah saya datang memberitahu. Tghari tadi anaknya tengah tunggu bas nak ke sekolah agama. Datang dua pemuda Melayu yang tak dikenali bagitahu bahawa mereka disuruh ayah kepada budak itu untuk mengambil dan hantarnya ke sekolah. Nasib baik budak itu pandai menjawab, katanya ayah ada di atas rumah, padahal ayahnya masih di ofis. Dan dua suspek itu bertanya kenapa ayahnya tak pergi kerja. Jawab budak itu, ayahnya baru balik dari kursus. Dua suspek tadi apabila mendengar macam tu mereka pun terus pergi.

Pesan pada anak-anak, JANGAN, JANGAN DAN JANGAN ikut sesapa tak dikenali walau sebaik mana pun they look, walau apapun alasan diberi, walau apa sekalipun! Kepada yang ada maid, mintak pesan teman anak-anak tunggu bas/van sampai naik bas/van. Waktu balik tunggu depan pagar. Jangan bersidai tepi pagar dengan maid jiran berbincang hal gaji tak cukup sampai tak tengok anak-anak pegi balik sekolah! <-- sempat lagi tu mengimbau kenangan bibik yang %^&(O&%$ itu.

Teringat saya waktu si Kakak tertinggal van sekolah tahun lepas, (baca di sini) dia jalan kaki dari sekolah agama ke sekolah kebangsaan. Syukur tak ada apa-apa terjadi. Waktu driver van maklumkan si Kakak takde dalam van, saya rasa jantung dah berhenti, nak bernafas pun rasa sesak dada! Zaman sekarang, anak perempuan anak lelaki sama saja. Perlu di ingatkan sentiasa. Waktu Iman Tahun 1, dia keluar senyap-senyap beli jajan di luar pagar sekolah. Bila saya dapat tahu, menyirap rasanya. Ya, saya memang over dan paranoid. Sebab hal-hal macam ni lah.

Baru seminggu lepas depan taska anak-anak ada orang capai henbeg dari dalam kereta yang parking depan kereta saya. Mujur henbeg ajer yang dicapai, tak bawak kereta lari sebab dalam kereta tu ada anak-anak yang masih tidur. Antara hilang hendbeg dan kidnapping, kidnapping obviously berganda-ganda-ganda-ganda lagi menakutkan! Apapun mohon Allah lindungi kita semua. Dalam masa yang sama berhati-hati lah.

Sebagai amalan yang paling simple, amalkan bacaan surah 3 Qul (al-Ikhlaas, al-Falaq, an-Naas), 3 kali setiap surah, pagi dan petang. Rata-rata dari kita rasanya hafal 3 surah ni. Jom kita sama-sama latih anak-anak hafal dan amalkan surah-surah ni. (saya merujuk di sini)

Rekreasi di LakeValley BTHO

Petang tadi ke LakeValley. BTHO's own recreational area. Sini takde clubhouse. This is the next best thing lah. Tempat ni quite baru jugaklah. I have lived here since 2003 and this area only opened about 3-4 years back (rasanya). Complete with jogging track. Alat senaman pun dah banyak and wakaf-wakaf pun dah banyak. Kat area ni mostlynya rumah semi-D and bungalows. Kat belakang sign tu is town-house. Still in construction.

Populasi yang datang petang tadi. Ramai yang bersidai kat tepi tu pasal dalam tu banyak ikan. Kalau baling roti konfem berebut-rebut ikan datang makan. Dalam pukul 6.30 gitu dah tak berapa laku dah.. ikan-ikan dah bulat kenyang :D

Ni port kami. Sama-sama terlibat bagi ikan makan. Habis nam keping roti Gardenia yang masih elok lagi budak-budak ni kasi ikan makan. Layannn. Dulu banyak orang jual fish food kat tasik ni. Pastu dah tak dibenarkan. Okay jugaklah kalau ada restriction. Dulu pun siap ada orang jual toys. Budak-budak ramailah merengek nak membeli. Termasuk yang bertiga ni ha.

My babies. Trying out the bars. Omak korang tak berdaya walaupun tak berapa nak gemok. Tengoklah Kakak tu.. punyalah happy.


Kakak and Adam monkey-ing around. Bagusss.. kasi peluh-peluh sikit. Asik berakar depan TV je kan kalau kat rumah.

Iman trying out. Dah naik tak reti nak kayuh. Dah kayuh tak reti nak stop. Dah stop tak reti nak turun hihi.

Yang ni pulak kena dapat bantuan. Senyum je lebih, kayuhnya idakkk.........

Apapun syiok jugak dapat brisk-walking keluar peluh. Good for my heart, good for my skin, good for my health. Most importantly dapat spend quality time with my little family..

Easy Peasy Buffalo Wings

In my household, we rarely eat proper nasi-berhidang for dinner. That is the habit I learn from Tebby's side of family. Breakfast like a king, lunch like a queen, dinner like a beggar. Well, we don't exactly have dinner like beggar but usually very light ones. Sandwich, soups, fried noodles..

Obviously 'light' here doesn't mean 'lean' :D Basically it's dinner on a plate, not on many plates :D

Anyway, I did BUFFALO WINGS for dinner today. Baked, though I prefer them grilled. Kalau grill stove-top alamatnya berkepul-kepul lah asap dalam rumah nanti.

Iman loves these! He's such a picky eater so when he ate one after another, it was such an accomplishment. Tebby tak layan.. tak cukup masin katanya..

Washed, kitchen-towel dried, marinated for 3 hours in refrigerator. I used 8 wings.

Here's the cheat! Ready made marinade, made my life a whole lot easier. (I am not a good cook to begin with :P) Mc Cormick Original Buffalo Wings Seasoning Mix. They have spicy variation. Kalau beli yang itu the probability anak-anak tak suka adalah tinggi. Original then.

It says 2.5lbs wings to a packet. 2.2lbs = 1 kg. A little lesser than 1 kg. I used 8 wings to 1/2 of the packet. Next time to increase by a spoonful to cater for Tebby's tastebud. Bake for 25-30 minutes. My oven is that small portable Faber oven, it took 45 minutes until done. Kalau 25 minutes alamatnya putih melepak lagilah wings tu.

Directions for grilling. Kalau buat outside BBQ bolehlah try this method.

Drool yet? Go and try. I bought this at Carrefour BTHO. Think this is widely sold in most supermarkets. Search the spice aisle k.

Mr. Brite,.. Scotch-Brite

Hello Mr Brite! Welcome on board!

I bought meself this, this morning. SCOTCH BRITE - Quick Sweeper Kit. Normal price is RM39.90. Or RM36.00, can't remember exactly. For today is RM25.00. I need new broom anyway. I hate having to deal with dirt and dust but I can't afford to have cleaning service everyday. This is not exactly the next best thing (now, THAT is going to be a uncorded vacuum-cleaner *hint*) Anyway, if it works as it claims, I am sure gonna fall in love with this :D Temporarily, before the bonus comes in *hint* and I can get the SAID vacuum-cleaner.

That is what micro-fibre is famous for anyway, in household cleaning department. It traps. Less flyaways. If it is as it claims, I have less to deal with my endless season of shedding (rambut gugur lah tuuu.. sobs). The kit basically comes as 2 items. The batang penyapu and the cloth. Oh, can be used dry or wet. Eloklah tu, budak-budak ni memang suka tumpahkan air.

Buh pi la kaler apa pun. As long as it works. Am I right? Or am I right?

Adjustable. Ikut lah keselesaan masing-masing. Can be lengthened so Tebby can use it and shortened so any of the children can use it also :D :D But I am the defaulted user..........


The micro-fibre cloth. Feels like kain tuala. Ada yang halus sikit. Ada barisan yang kasar-kasar sikit.

The cloth is attached to the batang penyapu with 2 strips of velcro. Detached to clean and wash.

Owww yess.. let's give this baby a try

I tried sweeping the staircase and floor downstairs. The stairs always gives me headache bila nak sapu. When swept, dirts and dusts of kos lah flyaways jugak kan. And they jatuh on my sofa which is berdekatan dengan tangga. With this, since it traps, less of that problem.

Since I last swept the floor few days ago (seven days makes a week right? but 'few days' sounds less evil than 'a week' does hihi), the accumulation of dirt and dust was too much for this Mr Brite to handle. I had to sweep and then bersihkan the cloth and the swept again, and bersihkan semula. For light cleaning, yes. For a week worth of dirt and dust - no.

So, do I love Mr Brite? I do. Afterall everyone comes with own set of the goods and bads..

Note - Bought at Carrefour BTHO