of Eid @VPO

Burp! Alhamdulillah :D

of 12th Anniversary

31st August 2012

thanks Yang for 12 years of togetherness (and more to come, InsyaAllah)

dua belas tahun lepas,
makan kongsi sepinggan - jimat katanya

dua belas tahun kemudian,
makan kongsi sepinggan - cinta katanya!


:D

of Pleasant Surprise!

Bunga!

I am ecstatic. Thanks Yang for the beautiful bouquet. Truly a pleasant surprise as this er... does not happen often :D Keep em coming baby (sempat lagi tu hi hi) Too happy that I can't wait to blog about it tomorrow :D

I'll be 38 tomorrow.
Will also mark our 12 years of marriage.

Ai lebiu Yang.

8 Tahun Sudah - Happy 8th (Hijrah) Birthday Iman!

Back track 8 years ago.
20 Ramadhan, 1.37pm - I gave birth to Muhammad Iman. Difficult birth. Serik rasanya nak beranak lagi (Ye lah tu serik, tahun 2007 pregnant lagi.. 2009 pregnant lagi.. :P). Raising him was not smooth sailing either.

Happy 8th Birthday Iman (hijrah that is).
We love you loads!!

Officially a Teenager - Happy 11th Birthday Kakak!

I am officially a mother of a teenager today! How time flies, before I knew it, my firstborn turns 11 today. It feels like yesterday that I stuffed myself like there was no tomorrow when I was pregnant with her.. Seriously, who would have thought I could eat a loaf of bread eaten with 7 boiled eggs at one go? Or a plate of mee, a roti canai, 3 kuih and milo? Just for a session of breakfast?

She was born a healthy 3.45kg at Ampang Puteri Specialist Hospital at 2.20pm.

This year, rainbow cake it is for her.This year is the second year that her birthday falls during Ramadhan. Since we went back balik kampung last weekend, why not celebrate with Atok &Wan kan. We had an early celebration. Early by 3 days. And as early as wee hours time sahur. Sahur-sahur nyanyi lagi Happy Birthday okay. :D :D

To Kakak, Happy 11th Birthday. We love you loads.

Happy 9th Birthday Precious!

Selamat Ulang Tahun ke-9 anakku.

Your last birthday before you hit your double digit and then your teens. I want you to know that no matter what number your age is, I'll always be there for you in good times or bad times. I will sob at your sad stories, I will laugh at your funny ones and I will smile at your happy ones. I want to be the one you'll first look for to share your stories and heartfeelings. I will love you unconditionally and hope you'd be that too, me.

I love you, precious one. Always have, always will.

My ramblings on Kakak's 8th Birthday in 2009, here.

On her 7th in 2008, here.

And on her 6th in 2007, here.

Happy 4th Birthday Iman

Happy 4th Birthday Darling

8 Tahun Sudah..

Minggu lepas ada satu topik perbincangan di HotFM. Tentang perempuan yang dikatakan emotional dan bertindak tanpa usul periksa. Maka ramailah yang menalipon dan ber-SMS.

Let's face it ladies.

Dah memang kejadian kaum hawa begitu. Maksud saya lebih emotional berbanding lelaki. Tak perlulah kita nak segala-galanya sama dengan kaum lelaki. Di pejabat mungkin perlu berada pada tahap professionalisme yang sama (tapi kalau kaum ibu dibenarkan balik awal bulan puasa ni, best juga! sempatlah memasak hebat-hebat di rumah kan) tetapi tidak di dalam hal ehwal rumahtangga. We complete and complement each other, bukan compete.

Saya mengaku lebih emotional berbanding Tebby. Saya pastikan anak-anak mendapat hadiah harijadi setiap tahun. Tak perlu mahal. Yang penting tanda ingatan dan penghargaan. Kalau anak-anak di kampung, saya pasti akan call sekurang-kurangnya 3x sehari walaupun saya pasti anak-anak OK saja. Kalau saya out-station, saya pasti bawa gambar anak-anak. Tebby tidak. Dia lebih bertegas. Bayangkan kalau kami dua-dua mudah cair dengan anak-anak. Atau kalau both of us bertegas.

But despite that, ada masanya saya lebih kuat dari segi emosi.

Walaupun Tebby tegas dengan anak-anak, dia mudah kacau bilau kalau anak-anak sakit. Jiwa tak tenang, makan tak lalu, tidur tak lena. Seriously. Dan pada pengakhirannya, dia akan turut sama sakit. Saya nampak Kakak, Iman dan Adam sebagai sumber kekuatan Abahnya. Kalau ada yang sakit, dia jadi lemah. Longlai. Dalam keadaan begitu, saya masih mampu menghadapi keadaan dengan tenang. Saya masih boleh makan. Saya juga masih boleh tidur. Masa Adam dimasukkan ke NICU barely 12hours after birth, saya masih boleh bertenang. Tebby tidak.

Kami berbeza, obviously. Dengan perbezaan-perbezaan itu, kami masih boleh bahagia. Sudah 8 tahun kami bernikah. 8 tahun penuh suka duka, 8 tahun dengan pahit manis. Kami bukanlah pasangan ideal. We have our ups and downs, we have our arguments and glitches. Afterall, ini dunia realiti, bukannya fairytale.

Kalau manis saja pun, tak sedap juga kan. Perlu juga masam, masin, pahit, tak gitu?

To Tebby, Selamat Menyambut Ulang Tahun Perkahwinan kita yang ke-8. Semoga jodoh kita berpanjangan dan diberikan kehidupan rumahtangga yang bahagia dan diberkati.

Oh ya, backtrack 34 tahun lepas, saya juga dilahirkan pada tarikh ini, tahun saja berbeza!

Happy 7th Birthday Princess!

Last two weeks, she brought home a science homework from school. It was about taste - sweet, salty, sour and bitter. A word caught my attention under the category 'bitter'. I didn't know we have 'teh bulan' in english. Even if it referred to teh cair often served at kenduri-kenduri, it cerrtainly doesn't taste bitter, right. She told me that TEA-MOON (the one she wrote) was actually TIMUN - spelled in English!

'Ala, timun yang makan dengan nasi lemak tu Ummi. Kan tu pahit. Sebab tu Kakak tak suka'

Last week pulak, after her cries and screams in APSH's A&E Unit (when they drew blood for test), she bought herself (means -> she picked and I paid) a Barbie Mariposa storybook. On the way back she announced to me and Tebby..

I'm going to reading books forever - She said

To read, not to reading - Tebby corrected

Do you know what forever is? - Tebby asked

Hmm - Kakak thought for a while

Forever tu sampai meninggal dunia lahh - her answer

Today, the girl I gave birth to on 080801 at 2.20 pm, is 7 years old. She's bringing along two Moist Chocolate Cake from Secret Recipe to Atfal to celebrate with her friends. We haven't got her the present yet but I supposed we're going to buy a watch as she was bugging for one months ago. I am contemplating of buying another cake for a family celebration during the weekends. I hope she'll like it.

I got a lump in my throat while typing this. I don't know why I often got sentimental when it comes to Kakak. Maybe because she's my firstborn. Maybe because she's my only girl. Maybe she's the only child I gave birth to without the help of vacuum? I don't know. I'd better stop listing all the possibilities as my list semakin merapu dah tu.

Anyway.

To Kakak, Happy 7th Birthday.

Ummi, Abah, Iman and Adam love you.

ps - Update: she doesn't want a watch anymore. Instead she chooses a series of princesses' story books. Nanti nak kena pi beli nih.

Dendang Perantau

Salam Aidil Adha dari kami sekeluarga. Buat pertama kalinya dalam 33 tahun hidup saya, saya tak beraya di samping keluarga di kampung. Time bujang dulu, sure balik kampung saya punya. Bila dah kawin, alternate dengan kampung Tebby. Janji kat kampung, tak kisahlah kampung siapa. Tahun ni, disebabkan masalah-masalah yang tak dapat dielakkan, rancangan kami beraya di kampung saya di Temerloh terpaksa dibatalkan. Antaranya sebab banjir. Walaupun air yang menenggelamkan parts of the kampung dah surut dan cars can go in and out, dengarnya Jumaat ni akan bermula 2nd wave banjir. Lagipun Iman masih tak berapa sihat, kotnya terperangkap nanti, satu hal pulak. Tebby pulak terpaksa bekerja esok sebab dan ambik cuti kecemasan masa Iman sakit bari-baru ni. Kiranya kena ganti baliklah nih.

Untuk juadah pagi raya (sob sob), kami buat Nasi Minyak lengkap dengan Gulai Dagingnya. Ada sikit agar-agar telur 'Nnesang Kerek' dan sebekas kuih bahulu. Cukuplah untuk kami anak-beranak. Surau sementara di area rumah kami pun ada buat sembahyang sunat raya.

Tebby kata eloklah namakan hidangan ni 'Nasi Minyak Dendang Perantau'. Kalau raya puasa, harus banjir nih!

Yang ini pulak bakal dikorbankan pagi-pagi Jumaat (esok). Ada unta sekor, lembu 4 ekor. Unta dengan lembu-lembu ni memang jadi attraction kat budak-budak sini. Maklumkan budak KL, ada yang tak boleh beza kerbau dengan lembu. Tension agaknya unta dengan lembu-lembu tu dok kena kerumun. Anak-anak saya (kakak terutamanya) tak terkecuali. Dia tau esok unta dengan lembu-lembu tu kena sembelih so dia nak jugak (tak boleh tidak) pegi buat 'lawatan terakhir'. Dah lah hari pulak hujan. Kenalah kami naik kereta ke tempat lepak binatang-binatang tu (padahalkan dekat amat). Janji dia puas hati. Elok jugak hari hujan sebab rupanya dia dah plan nak pegi peluk cium unta tu! Dek sebab hujan, kami tengok dari dalam kereta je.

Salah seekor lembu yang akan dikorbankan esok.

20 Ramadhan 1428H

Diam tak diam dah 20 hari berpuasa (saya 15 ajek so far - semalam kantoi lagi, muntah dari pagi). Biasanya bila dah 10 hari terakhir ni, cepat aje rasanya kan. Tambah pulak, kerja berlambak kat ofis nih. Sabar....

Dan akhirnya, saya berjaya mengheret diri sendiri membeli baju raya anak-anak dan mak anak dan pak anak. Dek sebab lembek longlai Ramadhan kali ni, saya memang hilang mood nak buat preparation. Sampaikan kakak saya marah, dia kata 'engko tu takpelah takde mood raya, budak-budak mesti nak beraya sedikit sebanyak'. Tapi kan.... tapi kan... when I started, tu diaaaaa....... nak tau 'hasil tangkapan' saya so far..

[1] 2 pasang baju untuk Athirah. Like she requested, sepasang baju kurung warna purple. Saya beli di PSA. Lagi sepasang ialah long-pants MIKI and long-sleeve t-shirt KIKO. Except baju kurung, lenlain semua ada discount hebat. Tak lalu saya nak membeli baju budak-budak sampai nak mencecah ratus ringgit sehelai. Oh ya, anak dara tu mintak dibeli rantai matching dengan baju kurungnya!

[2] 2 pasang baju untuk Iman. Dia tak request apa-apa sebab masih belum reti nak demand-demand ni! Sehelai seluar 3/4 sama kaler dengan seluar Athirah cap MIKI (got discount), a shirt from IQ and sepasang t-shirt and seluar from cap JUSCO.

[3] 1 pasang baju kurung riau untuk saya dari PSA. Sama kaler dan material dengan Athirah. Cuma saya punya lebih vogue gitu, kelip kelap dengan batu permata bertaburan he.. he.. siap dapat matching tudung and brooch free lagi tu..

[4] 1 helai shirt grain-neck for Tebby. Toksah pujuk lah dia pakai baju melayu sepasang time raya-raya ni. Mesti pakai shirt (lepas semayang tukar t-shirt pulok). Last dia pakai baju melayu sepasang masa kami bernikah 7 tahun lepas.

[5] 16 tabung tart nenas! 2 untuk kami, 5 untuk staff saya dan 9 untuk cikgu/pengasuh di Atfal Sayang/Excel.

[6] 4 bekas biskut dengan nama yang pelik-pelik.

[7] 2 biji kek lapis prune dan another 2 lapis masam manis.

Katakanlah mood saya bershopping ni wujud dari 1st day puasa -> *saya pengsan* ->*tebby double pengsan* !!!

Little Celebrations

I had a good 7th Wedding Anniversary & 33rd Birthday Celebration. No candle light dinner, no bouquet of roses, no romantic night just you and me. But I had good time amidst burning charcoal, burnt chicken parts, choose-yourself birthday/wedding present(s), running and screaming kids. Those spell F.U.N.

Oh, btw, our little getaway before fasting month is officially postponed. Both Tebby and I (and the kids too) have so many things on our plates at the moment. I'm moving office, the kids have a forthcoming Family Day and Tebby, like usual, is always busy. And their grannies insisted to see the two goneks early Ramadan.

Anyway.

After trying out the shoes and applying the 6-steps skincare regime (most probably I'll settle back to the basic 3 in no time at all!), me, Tebby and the kids went to a BBQ dinner gathering with old school-mates in a friend house at Precinct 9, Putrajaya. We were busy gossiping, taletelling of our lives, shared secrets and all (and eating), I had forgotten to snap a single photo. I even forgot that I brought along a camera. Those are friends from my secondary school. Some whom I haven't met for a good 16 years! Coincidently the host, Ana, shared same birthdate with me. So we had the limelight cutting cakes while others sang the old Happy Birthday song. (actually on Thursday, my office had a little makan-makan celebrating a retiring colleague, celebrating 50th Merdeka and also my birthday. Siap gemuruh tepuk tangan lagi tu bila buat announcement tu. Unfortunately I wasn't there. BigBoss hantaq pi meeting... waaaaa) Of course posing-posing maut kat tangga like the good old days. Before parting ways, we exchanged gifts with each other. It's a girls' thing lah, you guys will never understand. Since I have no photos (yet.. since I intend to pester my friends to have some email-ed to me), I might as well paster the gifts that I got... a wrist-rest-cum-paper-weight and a memo holder. We got home at midnight. Others stayed on until the wee hours. Some even slept at Ana's.

The nexy day, before I knew it, 1/2 the day was gone. We woke up to a shining sun. Ya Allah, ampun.. tertidur sampai tak tersedar. Instead of going for breakfast, went to a brunch in Jusco Cheras Selatan. Had steamboat @Johnny's. Sebelum balik, went around in the premise and stopped at PSA. Tried on 6 and decided to get just 2. 2 long tunics that reach my knee. Tebby paid. Had I known he was going to do that..... *evil thought*. Thanks darling. To close them all, malam tu we had a steak dinner in a steakhouse somewhere in Balakong.

Anyway.

Last Friday, not only we celebrated our 7th Wedding Anniversary and my 33rd Birthday but that date also marked the commencement of our 8th year sharing our lives together and the start of my 34th year. I am making resolutions for betterment, physically and spiritually. InsyaAllah..