Ramadhan Datang Lagi..

Salam Ramadhan semua! Pejam celik pejam celik dah pun hari keempat. Kejap saja kan. Alhamdulillah Kakak dan Iman ikut berpuasa. Kebetulan 1 dan 2 Ramadhan jatuh on weekends. Iman had no problems coping on the first 2 days because he was so tied up dengan games on the iPad. Kakak pulak napped 4 hours straight on Sunday! Semalam 1st day sekolah berpuasa. Iman tak tahan haus he sipped a bit (memang bekalkan jugak, just in case) and his friends habiskan the rest. Dari takde promises of rewards, nah.. semalam dah keluar pekeliling dari abahnya hihi. Si kecik Adam takmau kalah (mungkin sebab nak Transformers as rewards), katanya hari ni dia puasa (walhalkan.... celik mata aje dah hisap susu botol!) Takpe, pelan-pelan kayuh. 

Likewise the past few years, as much as possible, iftar dengan homecooked meal. Simple menu. Like on first day, we had ikan pelaling and ikan merah goreng, sup ayam with potatoes, udang telur masin, ulam timun + sambal belacan and fruits. I made jelly for dessert tapi ada kesilapan teknik that I had to redo the whole thing. Masa ambik gambar ni jelly tengah rest dalam fridge lagi hihi. My neighbour pulak bagi sausage rolls yang lazat.

Anyway. I've been contemplating on going for terawikh with the kids @surau. Afterall, my youngest is already 4 and I couldn't even remember when was the last time solat terawikh kat surau. We have discussed the matter earlier on and decided to bring them every weekends. At least they can get the feel of it. Before fasting months dah brief the kids on what to expect, what to do and what not to do. Most importantly, jangan kacau orang lain, jangan bising-bising.

So we went. The elder 2 were okay. Adam was a bit restless. Maybe patut bagi dia bawak few small toys to keep him occupied next time. At about 11pm, selesai urusan di surau, we went home. The kids were hungry! Tapi Iman takut-takut nak makan sebab dia ingatkan bulan puasa cuma boleh makan time sahur and time berbuka aje!

Second day iftar. Tebby ajak pegi Pasar Ramadhan so masak awal sikit. We had bawal putih goreng (the kids' favorite), daging goreng kering, kailan ikan masin, fruits, jelly (yes, menjadik jugak akhirnya walaupun terpaksa jadi siaran tertunda hihi). Most importantly anak-anak dan bapa kepada anak-anak suka! My neighbour bagi rendang ayam. Sedap.

Pasar Ramadhan, year in year out, cam tu la kan. You know the drill. Lauk-pauk, kuih-muih, ayam bakar, murtabak and the likes. We refrain the kids from buying air. Iman pun baru baik dari demam and muntah-muntah. Adam je tak makan saman mintak air kaler biru. The elder two beli agar-agar 3 ketui sorang. Tak makan pun sudahnya.. Dok terjah jelly yang Ummi buat (kembang semangkuk Ummi sebab jelly dia laku ha ha)

3rd day puasa, Monday. Hari pertama bekerja bulan Ramadhan 1433H. To save time and whatnots, I have pre-prepared bahan-bahan untuk masak. Balik rumah capai periuk nasi (thank God ada periuk Tefal that has 'quick' function - masak nasi tak lama sangat), ambik kuali dan beraksi. On the way balik from taska awal-awal dah warning kids jangan kecoh-kecoh and assign everyone with tasks once sampai rumah. Takdelah teruk mana pun task tu, angkat beg, keluarkan bekal (Adam la) dan letak dalam sink, kain kotor masuk dalam bakul and do not fight (Adam dengan Iman la ni). And on kan TV, tengok TV1.

Among the things I pre-prepared  over the weekends. I spent almost half the day kat dapur. Sebenarnya spring cleaning dapur. Dah berzaman tak buat. Tu diaaa aihhh, siap ada yang expired awal 2011 lagik! Got 2 buntil-ful of expired food, and ntah apa-apa in the cabinets) Seen above is ikan sardin goreng. Earlier on, rebus ikan ni with little water. Taruk garam and asam keping. In Terengganu-speak, that process is called 'mmati air'. Tapi ada bahan lain la. In my case I just add up garam kasar and asam keping only. After 2 days, dah lemak merdu rasa masin, masam, manis ikan tu. Goreng garing-garing. Makan dengan nasi panas-panas. Berselera you.

Apapun hopefully dapat lalui bulan Ramadhan smoothy dan penuh makna. Masa untuk tingkatkan amal ibadat (and stick to it through out later), time to muhasabah diri dan memperbaiki diri. InsyaAllah..