Sa'eed, 'Aatikah and Umaamah

e-Xra: progress so far

2011-05-27T14:45:00.005+08:00

So it has probably a month since I started to teach Saeed read BM. Alhamdulillah good progress.

He has covered a, ba, ca up till za plus nya, nga and sya, plus i and bi. That means he can already read sentences which utilizes those sukukata. For example, he can read 'mama ada kaca mata' or 'Tasya ada labi-labi'

Can't wait to finish the whole module and buy him books for him to practice on :)

On another note, we have finally moved to our new apartment. Next question is probably when is the house warming? Hehe...will need to update on that later.

Review on e-xra

2011-05-10T13:46:00.003+08:00

Recently, a friend of mine introduced this method of teaching kids to read. It's called e-xra, which stands for eclectic express reading approach. The first picture is the cover of the book and the second picture is one of the pages. (I'm not sure what they mean by eclectic in this context).

If you are familiar with iqra', this method is exactly like that. So, instead of going B-A 'ba', you just read it as 'ba'. I guess it's similar to sight words method. It seems that Sa'eed also prefers this method because he is used to iqra'.

After a section (the 2nd picture is considered one section), there will be some sentences which only utilize the words that the child have learnt. For example, after reaching 'da', there will be simple sentences such as "Baba ada dada".

Similar to iqra', you only spend 5 to 10 minutes 'reading' with the child. They can't focus on one thing for too long anyways, and 5 to 10 minutes is sufficient to cover maybe 2 sections. And as you can see, each section mixes up the words, so the child is most probably reading as opposed to memorizing (a problem I encountered by using the Read Easy method).

Will try to update as Sa'eed progresses along...

By the way, their website is www.e-Xra.com. And you can checkout youtube for some video uploads.

Pretty in Pink

2011-05-09T11:15:00.003+08:00

Umaamah in her new dress...a present from Neyna from Jeddah. Looks very cute on her. Perfect.

Story about 'Aatikah

2011-05-03T11:45:00.004+08:00

Today I feel like writing a little something about 'Aatikah. She is just so hilarious. A drama queen at times, and can easily switch her 'tap' on and off...(tap meaning cry, not pee..haha).

She'll be 3 insyaAllah in October, but I think her vocab is amazing. A little bit pelat, but largely understandable.

Everytime I look at her, I'll think about how much she has been through. Last year's surgery went well without a hitch, but still...she wasn't even 2 then.

This girl eats a ton and burns it off almost instantly, although not as skinny as her brother, she's still kinda thin for the amount of food and drink she consumes.

She has the funniest expressions and willingly obliges to requests on how to pose. As she grows up, 'Aatikah is beginning to like girly things like combing hair for hours, dressing up, play with bears and pretend they are her babies....right down to nursing her bear.

I can tell she loves Umaamah to bits, but sometimes she can be a bit too aggressive, totally different from Sa'eed. 'Aatikah's voice can be heard a mile away and she is pretty adamant on what she wants. If she doesn't get it, out comes the bawling and crying.

She sometimes live in her own world and can occupy herself with random things. Whenever we're at a family gathering, she doesn't have any qualms on parking her self next to someone with a plate full of food and go 'nak sikit'. Once she gets a morsel of food, she'll go off again to play.

Here are some pictures of the girl who wants to be a princess when she grows up...at this age, who doesn't :)

Muuuuaaaahhh

Whenever I show this picture to people, they will comment 'She looks so cheeky!'

Her latest pose...

This was staged, but she's oh so sweet :)

I just noticed....

2011-04-29T13:49:00.003+08:00

...that the picture I chose for the background of this blog is of Sa'eed when he was at the age where he was learning to walk. Amazing. It has been THAT long since I've changed the background. By saying 'I', I mean my brother...hehe

A lot has happened between then and now. And by a lot, I really mean two additional family members. One wants to be a princess when she grows up, and another is rolling away. Hmm...when do babies start crawling anyways? When you have more than one child (and at less than 2 years apart), you kinda tend to not scrutinize their developments. Experience tells that they will eventually get it and not to get stressed out if they don't hit a certain milestone as what the books tell you (betul tak mummy Adam, Imran, Daniel & lil princess?).

It's not that I don't care about the younger kids' development, but I guess I know that they will learn it, and we should just enjoy the moment. It's just lovely to see the kids do their own thing, at their own pace. And plus you won't get so worked up and start comparing your kid's development to others. I believe that things like rolling over, crawling, standing up, walking, talking are all being inspired by Allah (but of course you'll know when things need some intervention). It's like a foal learning how to walk 10 minutes after it is born.

Once the kids' brain has started to develop further and starts to form rational thought e.g. knows how to make a choice between blue and red toy, then you can slowly start to point them into the right direction like etiquette, ABCs etc. With that, I think I have to set some goals and action plans for the kids. Hopefully we'll be able to reach them.

Sa'eed
Be able to read Malay/English by 5 (he just turned 4)
Be able to read Qur'an by 6 (he is beginning Iqra' 2 right now)

'Aatikah
Potty trained by 3.5 (she will be 3 in October)
Be able to read Malay/English by 5
Be able to read Qur'an by 6

Umaamah
Honey, you do what you gotta do, we'll discuss your KPIs when you're a bit older ok :)

Are these goals too lofty or are they too weak? I remembered learning how to read muqaddam coz I was probably at Standard 1 by then. But I definitely cannot recall how I learned to read.

Oh and maybe we should start some organized extracurricular activities like horseback riding or swimming for them. Or perhaps they are too young?

oh goodness

2011-04-27T13:03:00.003+08:00

Great...a summary post for 2010 and you don't hear from me anymore. And April is almost over (dah file your taxes?). It has been quite an eventful year so far. TWO hospital stays, almost 3 weeks of MC for yours truly here.

Very weird...I was healthier (Alhamdulillah) last year when I was carrying Umaamah in my tum. Manage to not get H1N1 although everyone else got it, MC boleh kira sebelah tangan. But this year is a totally different story. Dengan random demamnye, sore throat, conjunctivitis etc. Really need to boost up the immune system.

Umaamah is 8 months already and she's currently around 9kg :) These kids are chubby and healthy when they are babies, but once they start moving around, they seem to get taller, eat more, yet don't gain that much weight. 'Aatikah for one was 11kg for the longest time. I think now she's around 12-13 kg and Sa'eed is around 15 kg.

'Aatikah alhamdulillah is doing well. But everytime she gets a fever, I get really worried. Need to check those lungs, make sure they're ok. So far so good. She's in high spirits, screams for fun, but can randomly cry for the tiniest reason e.g. Umaamah ter-pull her hair.

Sa'eed is such a big brother. Loves his sisters to bits...and apparently I shouldn't have any boys anymore because boys can only be the 'abang', cannot be the 'adik'. He loves to play and entertain Umaamah. And I can tell Umaamah somehow prefers her brother. I think coz 'Aatikah can sometimes be very loud and can't control her strength.

In terms of progress in school..alhamdulillah Sa'eed now knows how to pray and also recite the do'as during the different movements e.g. rukuk, sujud etc. He knows his al-Fatihah, can give the iqaamah plus can answer the azan. But he's not too confident in giving the azan. He has also started to read Iqra' book 2. And plus I can trust him to teach the right things to 'Aatikah, coz she's still in the stage of 'main belasah je'.

Ok...that's all for now. You can put your bets on when the next updates will come by.

The ever smiling Umaamah

Sa'eed and 'Aatikah doing what also I dunno

Having a good laugh...

Yepp...Umaamah can join in the fun already. Please excuse the not so decent Habib Jewels catalogue...

Welcome, 2011

2011-01-05T14:01:00.004+08:00

Goodbye 2010...

Alhamdulillah we survived:

H1N1 (3 out of 4)

Pneumonia + surgery (17 days in the hospital!)

Birth of Umaamah (alhamdulillah shortest birth and stay in hospital)

Broken leg (boys will be boys...)

HFMD (2 out of 5)

Abah-less for 45 days (Sa'eed: Abah saya pergi ibadah haji!)

Chicken pox (1 out of 5, but was passed to to'mi and fitrah...oops)

And 2011 is off with a bang...we just received our apartment keys and are currently planning renovations etc...exciting times ahead :)

A cause to celebrate

2010-12-17T11:00:00.003+08:00

Last night was epic.

He finally did it.

Sa'eed pooped in the toilet bowl.

In two rounds.

The first round was a small little piece.

The second round was the rest of what was in his intestines.

Definitely proud of him :)

Never knew I'd be praying for a person to be able to pee and poo in the toilet, but I did.

Alhamdulillah.

(Hopefully he won't accidentally pee or poo in his underwear anymore)

Wahahaha

2010-11-10T10:17:00.003+08:00

Oh my goodness!

Have totally forgotten to update this blog...

Well...life is hectic, as usual...Mr Husband is off for Hajj for 45 days and I am left with the kids. So you can imagine what it is like. But alhamdulillah I'm still sane :)

Oh yes...found this cool website: Bright Star Kids. They sell all kinds of labels and such. I tried ordering from them. Will update you once I get the products. Made labels for the kids' clothes since all 3 go to nursery...don't want to get their clothes all mixed up.

Umaamah bint Mohamad Zaid

2010-08-24T13:25:00.002+08:00

Sorry to disappoint, but this time around we only managed to find a name with double vowels, but without any apostrophes.

Now, who is Umaamah?

She was the daughter of Zainab and the grand daughter of Rasulullah s.a.w. She was also featured in the hadeeth about Rasulullah s.a.w. carrying his grandchild while praying.

With Sa'eed, it wasn't hard to decide coz it was almost a given since Sa'eed ibn Zayd was one of the Sahaabah promised paradise. 'Aatikah was Sa'eed's sister, so that wasn't hard either. Deciding the name for #3 was somewhat challenging because we didn't really know what to put.

Anyways, Alhamdulillah Umaamah's jaundice is quite mild and she doesn't need to be admitted to get phototherapy. Not sure how come this time around the jaundice isn't that high (not that I'm not thankful), but it could be that I was drinking goat's milk (but of course Allah willed it that way) towards the end of my pregnancy. Allahua'lam...you can try it out.

Number 3 is here :)

2010-08-21T18:56:00.004+08:00

Bear with me, she doesn't have a name yet..hehe..insyaAllah a name will be given on the 7th day, which is this Monday.

She was born on Tuesday, 17th August, weighing at 3.69 kg. The heaviest one yet! Oh boy, they just keep getting bigger. Alhamdulillah, as was predicted and advised by my wonderful gynae, this 3rd delivery could be very quick. Especially since my 3 pregnancies are close together.

On Monday, I went to the office as usual to wrap up a few things. Felt some contractions the whole day, but they were irregular and not painful. Left the office slightly earlier because the mild contractions didn't really go away. Better to not be stuck in the commute home, in case the contractions got stronger.

Reached home, went to Pasar Ramadan, had iftar and went to get a CTG at the hospital just to confirm whether the contractions are real or just Braxton Hicks ones. From the CTG, the nurse said that I only had really mild ones, but when she checked, I was already 4 cm dilated. So, it was best to get admitted.

Later my mother in law and sister in law came to the hospital to get the 2 kids, in case I did go into labor. Slept soundly that night except for when the nurse came in to do another CTG at around 1 am. Continued sleeping till I was woken up by more painful contractions at around 4 am. Waited a bit and called the nurse. She checked and said that I was 4-5cm dilated. I thought, Oh, same thing when I came in...could take a while. Then she took me to the labor room.

Got a shot of pentadine and the contractions got stronger. By this time, it was probably close to 5 am. Poor husband didn't get a chance to have his sahur. Only had a chug of plain water. The contractions kept getting stronger and the nurse kept telling me to focus on breathing in the gas, coz dr isn't here yet. At around 5.3oam she checked me again and lo and behold, I was already 8 cm. Dr still isn't here and the nurse was getting slightly agitated.

Then I started to feel even stronger contractions and could actually feel the baby's head going way down. Told the nurse baby's coming out! And she said, focus on the gas! hahaha

In the nick of time my Dr came in the labor room and sap sap sap, baby was out at 6.02am :)

Alhamdulillah, was discharged the next day and hopefully baby's jaundice isn't that high...not another day in the hospital, please...

How do you know...

2010-08-16T10:38:00.003+08:00

when a blog has been abandoned?

Answer: When your child has gone thru a surgery and the blog lacks updates on it..haha.

But I did update my fb and twitter frequently with her updates. Anyways, alhamdulillah 'Aatikah was discharged last Tuesday, just a day prior to 1st of Ramadan. And the damage done? Around RM32k. Alhamdulillah company insurance took care of this.

All I can say it, 'Aatikah sure is a trooper. Of course she cries, but all in all, very obliging and doesnt complain much. She was pricked for the iv line multiple times, even had to do it on her right foot because her hands were swollen from the antibiotics in the drip. And even then her foot also got swollen after a few days.

I think the most upsetting part for me was when the pediatric surgeon came over to explain about her 2nd xray and ctscan after about a week of antibiotics. He said that it has gotten slightly worse since she was admitted and that he had to do the surgery that afternoon. He showed the xrays and ctscan and explained everything in detail; what is going on in her body, why the surgery needs to be done etc. Husband wasn't around at that time and I was really trying hard to hold back the tears. Once I went back to the room, the flood gates opened. I was crying while cuddling and holding her. 'Aatikah was probably just looking at me, wondering what in the world is wrong with me.

Then after the surgery she was put in the ICU for observation. Hubby escorted her to the OT and was there when she got out. The surgeon showed what was taken out, and hubby described it to be really nasty. All the fluid, phlegm and even clumps of dead tissue all in 2 jars.

She spent two days in the ICU and hubby and I took turns taking care of her. But at night it was hubby's turn since they didn't have a proper bed and I was already heavily pregnant. At one point I guess the anesthetics wore off and she started to feel the pain, even tho she was on pain killers. She started to sweat and cringe and cry...until the nurse came over and increased the dosage of her pain killers. Then she slowly drifted to sleep.

All in all, we spent slightly more than 2 weeks in the hospital. The first week was to treat her with antibiotics, which didn't work. Then one more week after the surgery because she was still feverish, which is an indication that the infection is still there. After many types of antibiotics, her fever finally subsided and she was allowed to go home after being fever free for about 2 days and after her Dr changed her medications to oral ones instead of being administered via the iv line.

Tremendous changes could be seen once she was fever free. She started to eat well and was more active. Had to let her loose outside of the room for her to run around.

All that is left from this episode are the scars on her left torso. The long gash is about 3 inches long and that is where the Dr did the incision during surgery. The bottom scar is for the chest tube which was left attached post surgery to drain off excess fluid, if any.

And all I can say is, Alhamdulillah!

Here we are...

2010-07-31T16:55:00.005+08:00

We are currently in the hospital. We have been here for a week now and we expect to spend a week more here. I update my facebook and twitter (ummisaeed) more frequently on what is going.

In a nutshell, 'Aatikah was admitted due to lung infection and pneumonia. Here's a chronicle of what happened.

Tuesday, 20th July: 'Aatikah and Sa'eed both were feverish, temperature wasn't that high.

Wednesday, 21st: Still feverish at night, but were active as usual

Thursday, 22nd: Both getting better

Friday, 23rd: Teacher called from the nursery, said that 'Aatikah had really high fever. Went to the clinic after work and was told that it was viral fever.

Saturday, 24th: Went back to Bangi as 'Aatikah looked better...but didn't really want to eat. When she ate in the afternoon, vomited everything out later in the evening.

Sunday, 25th: Vomited again in the morning around Subuh time. By this time her lips and hands were blue-black and she was shivering. Temperature was about 39 degrees. We went straight to a hospital in Bangi and did a blood test.

Results weren't good...her white cell count was super high and her hemoglobin was slightly low.

Went straight to D*SH to get her admitted.

Paediatrician saw 'Aatikah in the ward and thought that her liver was enlarged and her lung didn't sound normal. Recommended for an ultrasound and an xray the next day.

Monday, 26th: Did the ultrasound - enlarged spleen and fluid could be seen in the left lung

Xray (To'ki and Tokmi took her in the xray room0 - showed that about 90% of her lung has some kind of infection. Right lung was totally clear. Started antibiotics right away.

Tuesday - Friday, 27th -30th: 'Aatikah still feverish in around 39 degrees.

Sa'eed was feverish too. Did a blood test and showed that he also had an infection. Was admitted, but not as serious as 'Aatikah. Started antibiotics right away.

Friday, 30th: Did a ctscan. Showed that fluid was still accumulated between the lung and rib cage. Fluid has probably 'hardened'. Was referred to Dr Razak, the pediatric surgeon. Decided to have the surgery after Friday prayers.

Coughed up nasty sputum.

Surgery was to remove the fluid and abscess formed...surgery started at around 2.30pm and successfully ended at 4.30pm.

Hubby saw what was removed and he said it was ugly. A mixture of blood, abscess and lumps of abscess.

Dr said that some of the lung tissue was already dead due to the infection. Probably started to get infected about 4-6 weeks ago.

'Aatikah placed in the ICU for observation.

Saturday, 31st July: Alhamdulillah recovering well. Started to eat a bit of porridge. Husband and I taking turns to be in the ICU with her.

A picture is worth...some words

2010-06-14T14:28:00.001+08:00

While looking at the above picture on my phone...

Sa'eed: Ummi...adik marah

Ummi: Adik marah siapa?

Sa'eed: Adik marah Sa'eed....

When is enough really enough?

2010-06-09T10:49:00.001+08:00

Hmm…I'm beginning to like writing from Microsoft Word. I think the idea flows better because I'm not constricted to the little itty bitty box in the blogger dashboard. Plus, I think I type faster too when I use Word…heh…perasaan je kot.

Anyways, work is kinda laid back this week because so many people are out of the office. Nak buat kerja pun terbantut. As I'm skimming thru random people's blog, ideas for my own blog start to appear. I can update you guys on every minute detail of my life and my children's life. But I don't think I'll ever get to that level. Not that I don't want too…but some things ought to be private. It really surprises me how some people can divulge so much un-needed information of their life on their blog. I make exceptions for updates on babies and toddlers, because even updating on their first poop is cute!

Oh I digress…there are blogs out there of people showing every single item they bought on their shopping sprees. And of course these people aren't the people who shop at Tesco, amik gambar sayur utk update. But these people are probably the socialites…their guilty pleasures are the Chanels, Guccis and Ferragamos (mine is a simple RM1 cone ice cream from McD). It's nice to see that people can afford those things (which then answer my question to who in the world shops at designer boutiques in KLCC?). But as I look through what they buy, I thought…when is enough really enough?

Some people survive on less than RM1000 a month and they are fine and dandy. Their kids go to school, they have enough to eat…in other words, they're content. Then there are people who claim to not have any money even when they earn RM8000 a month…and they don't even have kids! I've also seen blogs of people earning upwards of RM20,000 through MLM, with their car funds and free vacations etc. Sapa tak jeles memang weng la…but then again…when is enough really enough?

I don't want to be poor, but I don't want to be rich either. I think content is what I'm looking for. Am I contented? Alhamdulillah so far so good. We can afford some of the nice things, even though we cut back on things like eating out, but when we do really eat out, it's probably something we can appreciate more. Sometimes we treat our families for dinner…and that's always nice because dah berapa kali our parents treat us for breakfast, lunch or dinner kan…We have one car for the family, and that's enough…although with 3 kids in kids, it is expected kena squeeze squeeze sikit. But I don't think we need an MPV or a bigger car.

But really, what is my point? I guess I don't really have a point. I'm just thinking and writing. Think about it. You might make a million bucks today and can afford all the ridiculously nice things in life. No one's stopping you to earn that million bucks. But what values are you teaching your kids? How long will that million bucks last? What happens if it's no longer there? Heh…macam intro org jual insurance tak?

To Sa'eed and 'Aatikah (and future siblings insyaAllah)…don't expect to get a free ride in life. Spend on necessities and don't be bothered with designer items etc. They're nice to have, but you don't need it to survive. And dream on if you expect your parents to fund everything for you. Loan boleh.

Sa’eed the Teacher

2010-06-09T10:14:00.001+08:00

If they're not fighting over something, Sa'eed and 'Aatikah can be good friends. And recently Sa'eed started to 'teach' 'Aatikah random things. Once at their grandparents' house, Sa'eed was teaching 'Aatikah the word 'ice-cream'.

Sa'eed: ICE-CREAM

'Aatikah: keeem

Sa'eed: ICE-CREAAAAM

'Aatikah: keeeeeeem

Sa'eed: ICE-CREAM nah (lah)…bukan uncle hakeeeem

'Aatikah: keeeeem

And then yesterday, Sa'eed was showing how to put the animals printed on velcro onto his brand new book.

Sa'eed: Ni colour apa? Reddd

'Aatikah: eddddd…- while trying to stick the velcro thing onto the page

Sa'eed: Bukan letak samtu (camtu), seni nah (camni lah) – and shows 'Aatikah how to do it

And 'Aatikah willingly obliges.

Sometimes Sa'eed will think he knows what's best for his sister. Last night I made a small cup of milo for the both of them. Sa'eed is usually contented with one cup, but 'Aatikah sometimes likes to have more. So she would come find me in the kitchen and ask for more. Sa'eed will then follow her from behind…

'Aatikah: Nak agi – while handing the cup to me

Sa'eed: Ummi…dah sukup (cukup) kan…kan…kan…ummi…sukup kan satu…adik tak payah!

And the latest word that Sa'eed thought 'Aatikah is GOM-MOK (gemuk)….haiyaaa..

The night visitors

2010-06-08T14:31:00.002+08:00

Last Sunday night, Rizal and his crew came over to maktok's house for a visit. So, it was him, Nafisah, Adam, Imran, Daniel and the maid. Add myself, Mr Hubby, maktok, Sa'eed and 'Aatikah and you get yourself 6 adults, 5 toddlers plus 1 (ke 2?) yet to be born babies. The adults as usual were sitting around talking and getting updated with the latest news and gossips. And the kids…oh the kids! They played and played and played till everyone was nice and sweaty. See…kids CAN get exercise indoors too.

I think that night the kids' names were called every other second because they were either fighting over toys, jumping to close to Daniel or wrestling too hard. Imagine Adam and Sa'eed wrestling! Hahaha…if you don't know Adam, he's a tall and big 4 year old boy (as the majority of my side of the family was once upon a time) and Sa'eed is this tall and skinny 3 year old boy (some of the luckier ones on my side of the family were like Sa'eed). But it was all good fun…no one was pushed to the ground and no one got a smack down…so it's all good. Plus, it's good for Sa'eed…builds character! Of course sometimes it might get out of hand and we'd tell them to calm down and take a breather.

At one point Sa'eed and Imran was climbing and jumping off the sofa and 'Aatikah wanted to join in. The maid put some cushions on the floor so that no one got hurt. But this 'Aatikah is too gung ho and ended up landing head first. She looked like someone diving into a pool. I held my breath, waiting to see what happens next. While picking herself up, she was laughing non-stop like that was the best thing that ever happened to her. Of course she went ahead and climbed the chair again.

Daniel the cutie pie was mostly minding his own business and amused himself with whatever toys he could get. He was contented playing on his own, but once or twice he cried because someone accidentally stepped on him. 'Aatikah played with him for a while, but I guess she wanted to play with the big boys. Sometimes it got quite petrifying to see this little girl trying her might to fight for toys with them or to join them in playing gaduh-gaduh.

The more popular toys that night were the ride-ons and a multicoloured train. Everyone would want it if someone was holding it. But no one wanted to play with it if it was sitting there on its own…until someone comes to play with it. So fights mostly revolved around those things.

I think the kids gelled well together because Adam even asked permission from his mommy to keep Sa'eed…haha. The night ended with a bang…literally, coz the front door slammed on Imran's itty bitty fingers when they left. So kesian, he cried his eyes out.

All in all…you guys should come more often!

Potty training....

2010-06-07T16:45:00.005+08:00

Me: Sa'eed, ummi nak pergi toilet kejap ok.

Sa'eed: Ummi, Sa'eed nak kencing.

Me: Ok jom...

Put him on the toilet bowl and wait for him to do his business...

Sa'eed starts huffing and puffing and groaning

Sa'eed: Ala....tak de kencing lah.

*slap forehead*

All in all, I think he's getting better at peeing in the toilet. But the #2 part is proving to be a bit more difficult. I have a feeling he waits to be diapered at night to poop. Haiya, bila la nak berani to leave him diaperless at night??

Happenings...

2010-06-02T11:59:00.003+08:00

Last week was awesome. Filled with celebrations and family get togethers.

On Tuesday we celebrated my mother-in-law's birthday at Subak, Sg Penchala. The food was ok, but nothing to shout about. Then on Thursday we went to Ruz Aladdin for a surprise dinner for my mother-in-law...heh...it was a surprise alright!

Then on Saturday we went to Ancasa Suites in PD and stayed there for a night. I totally loved the place...although I couldn't do any activities. But I think we should go there again so that I can go jet skiing and banana boat-ing. The crew initially wanted to try out the banana boat, but it rained after breakfast, so the gals plus my father-in-law went karaokeing. Sa'eed and 'Aatikah went there too, but I took 'Aatikah up after a while because she started to act up. And I was told that Sa'eed eventually slept through the karaoke session....gila hebat...dengan suara sumbang2 pun boleh tido...haha.

On another note, 'Aatikah's eczema is acting up. I think it was the seafood in PD. Currently I'm using Efficort on the more serious spots and Ezerra on the not so serious spots. Yesterday she wasn't scratching like crazy anymore, but we'll see.

Sa'eed on the other hand is a bit degil nak pee in the toilet. Yesterday I saw that he was fidgeting around, keeping his pee in. Even when I asked whether he wanted to pee, he said no. I offered to carry him to the bathroom, and he said no. Before sleeping, I said to him, you'd better go to the bathroom, and he said no. I dragged him there and he started crying and he didn't want to pull his pants down. While crying, of course la terbabas and he started peeing on the bathroom floor....and it was a lot too!

Right after that he was all smiley and I asked, next time kencing kat mana? Toilet, came his reply. Pandai pun! But I have no idea why he refused earlier on.

Aaah....what a weak update...no time no time!

Progress

2010-05-24T09:56:00.003+08:00

Yesterday Sa'eed went diaperless at home and it was quite a success. Apart from the berak terbabas incident....heh. Every 5 minutes I would ask him if he wanted to use the bathroom. Every time he would answer no. And if I attempted to drag him to the bathroom, he'd stiffen his body.

So I thought...can he really tell me when he wants to pee?

He had his morning shower at around 8.30 am. I started to cook lunch at around 10.30 am. By that time, he hasn't gone to the bathroom yet, so I was getting worried. Then suddenly at around 11 am, he came to the kitchen naked with a worried face.

He wanted to pee! So berlari lah ummi dia angkat Sa'eed pergi bathroom. Nasib baik tak terbabas.

After that I kept on asking whether he wanted to do his big business. He kept saying no. But I think at around 12 or so, when I asked, he said 'dah!' hahahaha...so you can guess that we spent a long time in the bathroom cleaning up.

I still keep him diapered at night. But the goal is to be diaperless before baby #3 comes...boleh kan , Sa'eed :)

Oh and this you just got to see...Left the two of them to watch National Geographic. After 5 minutes, I went to see what they were up to because I couldn't here any shouting or cries. I was pleasantly surprised to see this...

'Aatikah getting comfortable....

But not for long!

Haha...Sa'eed started to squeeze her cheeks. I'm just glad he didn't push her off his lap...

oh by the way...

2010-05-20T11:46:00.003+08:00

It completely slipped my mind. I haven't really made a formal announcement that baby #3 is on the way. My EDD is insyaAllah on 31st August, towards the end of Ramadhan.

Sa'eed and 'Aatikah both were born slightly before 'Asr, in the same labour room and with the same nurses. I wonder how it will be this time around. Sa'eed was 2 weeks early, born on a Saturday and 'Aatikah was right on time, on a Thursday. In both cases, I didn't even realize that I had gone into labour, not until my Dr checked. The contractions were painful as he**, so don't even ask if it hurts! Thank goodness Mr Hubby was there with me both times.

Both times we had to stay an extra one week in the hospital because the babies developed jaundice. This time I'm experimenting with goats' milk. Someone said that it can help with jaundice, so I drink about 400mls of it everyday. But it's not cheap ok! I dunno, we'll see k.

And when the kids were bigger, both had their own set of challenges (e.g. Sa'eed slept all the time, 'Aatikah wouldn't sleep; Sa'eed pooped day and night, 'Aatikah only does it during the day). And each one has their own quirks and personality.

I wonder how baby #3 will be. And as usual, we'll only scramble to find a name after she is born...jeng jeng...a girl?

Conversations

2010-05-20T09:06:00.003+08:00

Best buds...sometimes

The kids are getting smarter by the day and some of the things they do or say really surprises me sometimes.

As I am further along in this pregnancy, I always tell them that there's a baby in the tummy. 'Aatikah would usually just kiss and bump her head on my tummy, but Sa'eed, being more vocal nowadays, would ask random things about the baby. His usual question would be 'baby tengah buat apa (what is baby doing)? And I'd answer him by saying 'baby tengah tido (baby is sleeping).

Then he'd ask 'dah tutup lampu (have you switched off the lights)?' if I said yes, he'd ask 'siapa tutup lampu (who switched off the lights)?' And for him, it would be a different person switching off the lights. Sometimes it would be Aunty Sheya, sometimes it would be Chu Teah and sometimes it would be me. If I answer no, he'd tell me to switch it off because baby wants to sleep.

Last night while we were seated on the floor and having dinner (I was feeding 'Aatikah), Sa'eed sat next to me (he finished eating already) and started talking about his day. He said that he had a fight with his cousin. I asked him how did they fight? And he said that they were kicking each other, while showing to me how they kicked. Then 'Aatikah joined in the conversation by saying 'haaa....paaap paaap' and beating her chicken on the plate at the same time. The chicken, by the way was mine, and she took it off my plate without me noticing while I was talking to Sa'eed.

Later that night, Sa'eed was asking about his Neyna (grandmother) and he wanted to call her up. So he handed me my phone and asked me to call her. First, I called the house. The phone rang, but no one picked it up. I told Sa'eed 'takde orang lah (no one's there)' and he said 'adaaaa....tunggu kejap (there is...wait a while)! So we waited and waited and no one picked up. Then I tried her cellphone and she picked up.

The conversation was really funny. He wanted to show her his car and shirt and pants and toys, but of course she couldn't see them. And his voice gets ultra soft whenever he's on the phone. But nontheless, a big improvement from the days when he would run away whenever anyone handed him the phone and he hears a voice coming out from the phone.

Oh and last night, 'Aatikah slept through the night! Hopefully it's for the long term and not just a one time thing.

Bitten!

2010-05-14T10:35:00.002+08:00

Oh my, I knew this would happen sooner or later.

On Wednesday Sa'eed came home and said that he was bitten by someone in school. He showed me the teeth marks on his left hand. Kesian dia...

The next day he didn't want to go to school. I asked him why not? And he said, takut kena gigit...lagi la kesian dengar. But of course I insisted he went because I don't want it to be a habit for him to get to stay at home whenever there's a little bit of trouble.

When hubby asked his teachers, they said that it was because the kids were fighting over a toy. So I guess Sa'eed lost...Oh I hope he doesn't resort to biting his sister whenever they fight over things!

Report Card Day

2010-05-10T11:38:00.002+08:00

The kids' school had a meet the teachers' day this past weekend. I think it's good coz even tho they are a nursery, they keep close records of the kids' progress. And some of the things mentioned about the kids can be surprising...in a good way.

Sa'eed:
Although it took him 2 months to adjust to the school, he has made tremendous progress. He is one of the more active students who participate in class. He will be among the first ones to answer the teacher's questions and will also ask questions. Besides that, for a boy, he understands instructions during arts & crafts and does the tasks well. He did a mother's day card for me and at first I thought the flower drawn on the back of the card was by one of the teachers, but it turned out that he did it all by himself.

He already knows his alphabets, numbers, phonics, colours, shapes and sizes. Sa'eed also doesn't talk non-stop like most kids, but he will only talk when he answers questions or when he wants to ask a question...as the teacher put it, he doesn't talk pointlessly. But what surprised me was the fact that he's the only student that hasn't gotten a time-out...haha, at home, his name get called at least once a minute, usually because he likes to disturb his sister!

His developmental areas include remembering instructions (has to be reminded a lot of times) and being more assertive (he gets bullied quite a bit coz other kids know he won't fight back, but Sa'eed knows to call his teacher if he's in trouble). He also needs to learn to share.

'Aatikah:
She's a bit more reserved, especially in a crowd of people. But she has a best friend already. This girl, Natrah, who is about her age is her best bud. They always sit together and will be yakking away in their own language. 'Aatikah also loves to use the pen and scribble or draw. I also noticed that she can hold the pencil/pen properly. For her age, I think it's quite awesome. Besides that, she also joins some of Sa'eed's class and can follow what the bigger kids are doing.

Oh, but the best part is that she sleeps a lot! haha....naptime at school is usually from 1 to 3.30 pm, but she will usually sleep past that. Takpe, sleeping is good for brain development..enjoy it while you can, hun.

Sa'eed and 'Aatikah:
I asked the teachers, how are the kids' relationship in school. And their answer? Sa'eed is a regular big brother. He calls the teacher if someone is picking on 'Aatikah (because he's not exactly bouncer material...heh) and will never forget 'Aatikah during meal times.

All in all, I think the kids are making good progress in school...alhamdulillah :)

Kiddies....

2010-05-06T13:13:00.003+08:00

When they are not at each others throats, they get along pretty well. If one cries, the other one will try to soothe him/her. It's pretty sweet to see. But when they fight, oh my goodness, expect an orchestra of tears to start.

Sa'eed's favourite sentence is now What is this? But he says it as What a this? And he also developed an attachment to his trains. Hari hari pun nak baju train dia yang satu tu.

Anyways, this post doesn't have much point to it. I just wanted to put up a picture of the kids coz some people miss them :)

Eeeep!!

2010-04-29T13:58:00.002+08:00

As I was messing around with my phone camera, I caught something on it. It was dark and very quite except for the sound of my kids. Then something appeared and disappeared again.

Can you identify what the creature is? This is not for the faint hearted, I kid you not...

The state of affairs

2010-04-27T12:45:00.002+08:00

After the HS by-election, many constituents probably wish that their MPs drop dead. Then the brouhaha will arrive, promises will be made and big money will be doled out. It is quite embarrassing too that this tactic usually works. Money speaks volumes and there's probably not a lot we can do to change mindsets, unless each individual stops thinking for himself and starts thinking of the bigger picture.

We talk about wiping up corruption, of cleaning up our good 'ol country of the corruptor and the corrupted. But all these efforts are useless if we can't get the basic things right. Offering something to someone in hopes of getting something back is in itself bribery. If they really deserve it, then why offer it now, and not 2 years ago or 5 years ago?

And this race thing is really getting me quite piqued. Whatever the results, it's because the Malays this or the Chinese that. Then there's the stereotyping tied to the certain race. "Oh, you're Indian…no wonder lah." People, that's backward thinking. How on earth are we to become a first class country if our thinking is still stuck in the old age? It's not about your race, it's not about your religion. No doubt these two things play a pivotal role in your values and in your upbringing. But that's not the end of it.

Our world view of things has to be changed. We can't afford to keep on living in our own little hermit cave and think as long as we're surviving, then it's alright. For sure it's not alright because whatever you do today will definitely affect what your children go through later. And please don't get me started on the social ills being committed by our youngsters. Scares me to death. Scares me to realize that my own kids will grow up in this kind of environment…right here in this "Truly Asia" country with corrupt morals. I pray day and night for God to protect them and to give them good common sense and to see their parents as someone they can go to for advice, and to actually listen to that advice.

But more more importantly, to constantly turn to God for guidance and patience.

Aaaarghhh....

2010-04-20T16:15:00.002+08:00

....geramnye dgn si comel niiii!

(Pic courtesy aka ripped from Aunty Q's facebook)

The loving brother

2010-04-19T10:14:00.002+08:00

Scene #1

'Aatikah was crying because I was busy doing something and can't carry her.

Sa'eed: Aatikah kenapa? Kenapa ni?

'Aatikah: Waaa waaaa waaaa

Sa'eed: Kenapa ni? while holding her shoulders...tu ummi tu..jom

Scene #2

'Aatikah crying yet again

Sa'eed: Aatikah kenapa? Kenapa ni?

'Aatikah: Waaa aaa waaaa

Sa'eed: Kenapa ni? Kenapa?

'Aatikah: Waaaa waaaa waaaaa

Sa'eed: Ish...diam lah

'Aatikah: WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Scene #3

Piaaaap....Sa'eed hits 'Aatikah

'Aatikah: WAAAAAAAAAAA WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Sa'eed: 'Aatikah kenapa? Kenapa niii?

14 April 2010

2010-04-14T10:58:00.004+08:00

You've grown by leaps and bounds in 3 short years
Hope we'll never forget the joy and tears
Know that we love you very much
All through your sulks, tantrums and such

You're such an independent child
And you have your own unique style
But you'll always be my little baby
Even if you've gotten quite heavy!

Many brand new things to experience
To learn, discover and sense
The world is out there waiting for you
And we'll always be here to see you through

Happy Birthday...

Science Lesson: Life cycle according to Sa’eed

2010-04-12T10:18:00.001+08:00

Dari ulat....jadi kepompom

Tido tido dalam osso (this one I still can't figure out what it means)

Cukup masa.... pompom pecah

POM! POM!

Jadi rama-rama

Rama-rama hisap madu

Mati dah

Very cute…complete with all the actions. I tried to get it on video, but this vain child of mine keeps wanting to see his face. So it's a tad bit impossible.

hmmm

2010-03-26T15:44:00.000+08:00

What do you do if you know that after a certain number of years in service, you will automatically be promoted?

You slack off, you play the fool, you do anything besides working.

Yeah...exactly.

'Aatikah vs chicken

2010-03-24T09:48:00.002+08:00

Here 'Aatikah is chewing on a chicken drumstick. I separated the bone from the meat and put it all on the plate. She took the bone and chewed on it instead of the meat.

Good job! Haha....

Alhamdulillah!

2010-03-23T14:24:00.005+08:00

Alhamdulillah no more H1N1 in the household. The kids have recovered although they are slightly snifling. It was quite an ordeal with one person getting it after another. First it was Mr. Husband...but that was easy to deal. Sent him to my mother in law's house to be quarantined. Unfortunately, he already had the virus before the quarantine period.

A day after he was quarantined, both Sa'eed and I had a fever. Went to be tested (at a clinic) but turned out negative. But after 4 days, Sa'eed was still feverish. So I took him to the hospital to get him tested for both H1N1 and dengue. Turned out he was positive for H1N1 after all.

So, just a note for you all. A good reference is www.h1n1.moh.gov.my. They have all kinds of links for clinics and information on H1N1. But...a word of caution. At the selected Cegah & Rawat clinics, they only carry out the Rapid Test, which is less then 50% accurate. A more accurate test will be at the hospital, which takes about a day. It's called the PCR test. Although that's the case, the PCR test is about 80% accurate. So there's a 20% probability that it will give a false negative.

And that was what the peadiatrician suspected was going on with 'Aatikah. She developed a fever (38 - 39 degrees) and I took her straight to the hospital to be tested. We decided to just keep her warded since maktok is at home and we don't want to risk getting Sa'eed relapse (possible if the virus has mutated to different strains). Her Dr. gave her the anti-virals even though the result was negative. But with 'Aatikah, her fever went up and down. With Mr. Husband and Sa'eed, their fever went straight down once on the anti-virals. So 'Aatikah and I ended up spending 4 days at the hospital.

But alhamdulillah all is well in the end!

Not looking too good...but still enjoying her prunes.

Had to do a blood test when her fever wasn't stabilising

Goofing around while waiting for test results

After the nurse took some blood samples

Was still able to pose even though he had a fever of up to 39 degrees

Back at home and all is well

Sa'eed with his ka-white (car white) and ka-waid (car red) (as he calls them)

The Scare

2010-03-10T13:59:00.000+08:00

Mr Hubby is currently staying at his mother's house while the kids and I are at home. He developed an awful cough during the weekend and then had a fever on Monday. We went to the hospital on Monday and the results came out on Tuesday.

So yeah, he's positive for H1N1!

Then yesterday Sa'eed had a fever of almost 39 degrees. I took emergency leave so that I can get him tested. Sent 'Aatikah to school since she's fine and when I came back, a slew of symptoms started to appear. I was coughing, sneezing, had body aches and of course a fever. We went to the 'Cegah dan Rawat' clinic for the test. Alhamdulillah the both of us tested negative.

But oh my goodness, the nasal swab was not the most pleasant test in the world. The doctor literally shoves a piece of long cotton bud deep down yr nasal cavity and swirls it around. Very ticklish and it will surely make you cry.

Although I've disinfected the house, we are still sick. So, I guess it's better if you stayed away from maktok's apartment for the time being. Oh, maktok, btw, is still ok.

Biggest Loser Asia

2010-03-10T00:10:00.002+08:00

The finale for Biggest Loser just ended. David from Indonesia won. But just one comment. I thought he kinda looked umm...sickly. Compared to Erik from the original Biggest Loser (forgot which season) who looked totally fit and healthy during the finale. David, on the other hand, just looks really thin.

But whatever it is, congrats to everyone (as if they read my blog!). The contestants are really awesome to lose all that weight.

Can you be bludgeoned to death, yet not be injured?

2010-03-09T14:13:00.002+08:00

Apparently, you can...

News from bernama.com.

Woman stumbles on neighbour's body
Sunday, March 7th, 2010 21:28:00

KUALA LUMPUR: Curiousity (wait, is it not curiosity?), it is said, kills the cat (I don't get it, no one got killed for being curious).

This morning, a woman's curiousity over the failure of her neighbour to emerge from the house for two days, ended on a macabre note.

The nude body of the neighbour who was bludgeoned to death was found in the living room of the house in Taman Ikan Emas, Cheras.

M. Tamilselvi, 49, sustained a fractured neck when her curious neighbour stumbled on the body about 11.30am (would mean that the neighbor stepped on the body and fractured the body's neck). The 50-year-old neighbour lodged a police report.

Cheras police deputy chief Supt Abdul Rahim Hamzah Othman, said the killer might have been known to the victim as there was neither a break-in nor theft of valuables.

He said the victim was believed to have died two days earlier, adding that she was last seen by the neighbour on Friday.

He said blood stains were found near the entrance of the house -- which was in a state of disarray -- and on a chair.

However, Abdul Rahim believed the blood belonged to someone else as Tamilselvi was not injured.

The body was sent to the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre for post-mortem.

***********************************************************************************

Maybe I should be an English teacher....haha.

A picture together!

2010-03-08T11:32:00.002+08:00

Sorry for the lack of quality in this picture. As usual, it's from my cellphone. This moment only lasted a few seconds since they were running in opposite directions.

Aah...Sa'eed will turn 3 in a month! I guess it's time to consider potty training....oh wow...I don't know where to start!

Major disappointment

2010-03-04T08:55:00.002+08:00

Aaah...how does it feel to have worked on something for so long, to get it endorsed by the highest level in the company, only to get it rejected by one person who's not even in the company, but is the boss of the company (you get my drift?).

And of course, no real concrete reasons were given.

Yes...disappointed at best.

Sa'eed, where's your hair?

2010-03-01T11:46:00.003+08:00

Sa'eed just had a new hair cut! He looks cheekier than ever...

By the way, I absolutely love this picture ripped from Kak Sarah's blog. This was taken in the tour bus during our recent trip to Langkawi.

And today also marks the 5th year of the passing of my mom. Al-Fatihah...

Family Day 2010

2010-02-23T15:24:00.004+08:00

Just got back from the Kader Clan's Family Day 2010 in Langkawi. Left KL on Friday night and came back yesterday evening. Last year the family gathering was in Kelantan, but this year was filled with more activities. For the first time we had a sukaneka where families were re-grouped into different groups. So it did get ultra competitive at times.

On Saturday was an island tour where we went to the Buffalo Park, Cultural Center, lunch at Restoran Kantan and Underwater World. Then in the evening we had dinner somewhere in Kuah. But we did miss the Buffalo Park and the Cultural Center because ada yang bangun lambat. It was quite cool eating out coz we always had the place to ourselves. I'm not sure if it was a special arrangement by the organizers or it was because we were that awesome....haha. But the whole clan filled up the whole restaurant anyways, so if other people wanted to join, please wait in line.

The next day was sukaneka and it was great fun. Although it was really really hot, we still had a great time. We played angkat bola pingpong dengan sudu, cari gula-gula dalam tepung, shrinking island (aka musical chairs), sponge & water, watermelon eating competition and last but not least, a crawling game. Then later that night was a Hawaiian themed bbq night. 'Aatikah wore a sundress which her Aunty Sheya bought and Sa'eed was suppose to wear a nice Hawaiian shirt and pants courtesy (Read: borrowed) of Gib.

'Aatikah went to the dinner with her To'ki, To'mi and Aunty Baby while my husband and I attempted to find a clinic because Sa'eed developed a nasty fever. I brought medication from KL, but that wasn't really enough to suppress his fever. His temperature hovered at around 38-39 celcius and we had to strip and shower him a couple of times to lower his temperature. So that night, we went to a clinic in Kuah and arrived there at 8.50pm. The clinic was suppose to close at 9pm so of course the girl at the registration counter won't let us register.

So we walked to the next nearest clinic to find out that it wasn't even open, although the girl at the first clinic said that the second clinic closes at 10pm. We asked around and the next nearest clinic was 10 minutes away. While contemplating whether to go or not, we decided to just get the suppressor medication inserted via the other hole. After that we joined the bbq just to eat something and left early so that Sa'eed could get some rest. Unfortunately we had to miss the rest of the bbq coz the food was really good, and the entertainment was great too...I heard they even had fire eaters...or was it flame throwers?

Anyways, Sa'eed's fever went up and down, but never lower than 38 degrees. So lastly we decided to wrap him in a wet towel just so that he could sleep. Of course he didn't like it and kept screaming 'Taknak demam...taknak demam".

The next day he still had a fever and didn't even want to eat boiled eggs, which is his ultimate favorite food in the world. So we decided to go to the clinic before checking out of the hotel. I dressed him in the Hawaiian themed clothes so that I didn't borrow it in vain. The doctor on duty was this nice Indian man who had a lot to share. He said Sa'eed should drink more plain water. He himself drinks 5 litres of water per day and hasn't gotten a fever for 14 years. And the one time he did get a fever, it was only for half a day. I just nodded, while Sa'eed was just sitting there listening to the man talk.

After that we got back to the hotel, packed, checked out and had lunch at Wan Thai with my family. At first we wanted to go to a seafood restaurant, but since the place wasn't open, we headed to Wan Thai instead.

Then, we left for the airport at around 1.30ish coz our flight was at 3.30pm. Overall it was an OK trip. We didn't really get to do much coz the weather was so hot and plus Sa'eed wasn't well. Hmm...I wonder where the next Family Day will be.

Sa'eed and 'Aatikah playing at the hotel while we were waiting for our transportation.

Kids trying their luck pointing at things, hoping to buy something.

On the way to dinner in a spanking new dress. You can probably see that her tummy is a bit round.

Sa'eed looking really unwell, but handsome in Gib's Hawaiian clothes.

2010-02-17T11:24:00.003+08:00

Finally, a relatively quite day at the office. The DP pack is done and passed to Corporate, hopefully they don't call me...haha. Anyways, this past 4 day weekend was spent over at the in-laws. We didn't go out at all...which is a good thing coz that translates to no money spent and more money potentially spent during our Family Day weekend up North this coming weekend.

Kids are growing up really quickly and getting cheekier by the day. Sa'eed now likes to pretend to be sleeping if I ask him to do things or sometimes just randomly pretend to be sleeping. And he likes to test my patience by saying things the opposite of what they really are...for example, saying that his left hand is his right hand and vice versa.

He still loves cars and will always ask his Aunty Sheya to buy a car from him. Plus he hijacked his Uncle U-tap's (that's how Sa'eed pronounces his name although that's not his uncle's real name) Top Gear magazine to look at the cars. Thank goodness that magazine does not have pictures of models prancing and posing with the cars.

Sa'eed pretending to sleep, specifically when I wanted to take a picture of him

'Aatikah is learning and growing he vocab. After 2 weeks of off and on days of being unwell, Alhamdulillah she has regained her appetite. Absolutely loves spicy food...opposite of her brother who doesn't even dare try. She also likes to scream if she sees people coming towards her and once, she even screamed when she walked into a Aunty Q's bedroom (where the girls were quietly sitting and gossiping), as if making a grand entrance....all this thanks to Aunty Sheya.

And she is also quickly outgrowing her 12-18 months clothes...especially the tops. Some shirts would drape over her tummy and some dresses would be short. But no problems with pants tho.

'Aatikah post coco crunch

In terms of what is happening around the country, it sure is not looking good. Every small issue becomes a big one...doesn't matter if it's from the government or the opposition. For example the Perarakan Maulidur Rasul. Even if the letter posted on KJ's website is authentic, it says the perarakan will be cancelled, but replaced with a Majlis Perhimpunan Ummah which features Qur'an recitation, some nasheed and a forum. But of course headlines scream 'Penang cancels Maulidur Rasul celebrations'. It's probably too hot outside to have a perarakan anyways...

And one more thing I don't get is how can a faulty mechanism in a submarine that causes it to not be able to submerge does not interfere with its operations?

Oh and there's this series on youtube which is good (I think) to teach kids mengaji. Try searching for Muslim Kid School.

Okie dokie...almost lunch time!

Where has time gone?

2010-02-10T11:21:00.004+08:00

Aaah....funny how every post begins with 'wow it has been x weeks since my last post'. Anyways, a lot has happened in between my last post and this one. But I guess the biggest 'event' is both kids have started full daycare. Long story short, had to stop the nanny to preserve some sanity. I shall not go into details coz it is so stressful just thinking about what happened. But if you really need to know, she was accused of doing something that I can't say whether she did it or not...haha, if that is not a satisfactory answer, come over and have lunch with me.

Sa'eed has adjusted well to school, although sometimes if he wakes up early enough, he would say that he doesn't want to go to school. It'll take some cajoling, but he seems ok when we do drop him off. If we ask him what he learns in school, he'll go ABC or alif baa taa.

I think it took him slightly more than a week to finally be confident enough to join the classes. Otherwise he'll just look from afar. But I'm glad that the teachers understand that kids need to take their own time, so they just encourage him to join, but does not force him to join the class.

It took a bit longer for 'Aatikah to adjust. Today was actually the first day that she didn't cry when we dropped her off. Siap salam lagi tuu. But the negative side of sending young kids to daycare has hit her pretty hard. She's still recovering from a nagging cough and cold. Hence you can see in the picture that her eyes aren't as bright as they usually are.

Work is getting pretty busy too. Paper work is really tiring to do. Tons of contracts, agreements and board papers to draft. But being on this team has its perks too. As a friend aptly put it 'high risk, high returns'. We get to do presentations to the company's management committee, to various boards of listed companies and have discussions with VPs and the like.

But of course the downside is that I can't really control my time coz sometimes last minute discussions would start at 4pm and of course it does not end at 5pm. I have left earlier for some of this discussions (come on, who wants to go home late when your kids are sick and waiting for you to pick them up from daycare?). I just hope this won't affect my annual performance ratings....but I doubt it wouldn't.

On the homefront, I wish laundry would sort itself out, clothes get ironed by themselves, floors magically get vacuumed and cleaned, dishes are always washed and on the drying rack bla bla bla. I really don't know how some full time working moms get it all done without maids. You might say it's just your mindset, which I think is partly true...but with 2 kids wanting your attention, it is kinda hard. I have tried waking up at 5am or sleeping late to do chores, but it is tiring!

Anyways, have a fun looong CNY weekend!

To Lasik or not to Lasik

2009-12-29T08:29:00.004+08:00

Lasik is basically a laser eye surgery to correct your vision. But before the doctor can perform the surgery on you, extensive testing has to be done to determine whether you can do it or not. And contrary to some beliefs, most people I know only did lasik on one eye. Then the other eye will somehow 'correct' itself so that you may have 20/20 vision.

I recently found out that Lasik is the most performed surgery in the US. One of the well known centers for Lasik is the Stahl Eye Center located three locations in New York. They have been serving patients for more than 35 years and patient outcomes have been independently verified by nonprofit Lasik patient advocacy USAEyes to meet or exceed the national norms for Lasik results. Fewer than 100 doctors nationwide have attained this certification. It's also good to know that the doctors there are graduates from top notch medical schools such as UCLA, Yale and Johns Hopkins (my alma mater!).

I personally think Lasik is pretty cool because patients won't have to depend on contact lenses or glasses. I for one, have spent a ton on both those things. I heard that there is no pain involved and recovery takes as little as two hours. My boss did it and he was already off to Japan the next day!

I wish the centers here in Malaysia would emulate the Stahl Eye Center where they offer 24 months of low monthly installments and it's no interest too. Oh well, perhaps when any of the centers here offer that, I will consider to have Lasik done.

What about you? Would you do it?

Updates

2009-12-14T10:32:00.002+08:00

Kids are getting bigger and cheekier. I think next year we might send Sa'eed to playschool...but not sure yet when and where. I think it'll be good for him since he can play with kids his age, hone his socializing skills and perhaps learn a few things :)

As of right now, I'm more inclined to the Montessori method since it is more wholesome and does not focus on making sure the kid performs or show results quickly. Their methods are individualized and they are assessed individually. I think this is good since kids don't get compared to other kids (e.g. ranking no.1, 2 etc). And if a child is advanced, he or she get to do activities based on his or her abilities and not be tied to an age specific curriculum.

There are a couple of Integrated Islamic Kindergarten around, but I'm not a 100% sure yet.

'Aatikah is growing up pretty well too. Walking like a champ, although yesterday she had her first major accident where she fell and cut her lips :( She likes to play with her brother even though Sa'eed likes to grab things from her....tapi kadang2 balas balik tuu! She's really into books right now and loves playing with water. Mandi bawah shower pun tak takut.

Oh and she has more girly clothes now, courtesy of her lovely Aunty Sheya...

Sa'eed with his cheeky face. Everytime he sees this picture, he'll say 'hensem!'

'Aatikah the little princess

Aik..#3 ke? Oh no no no...not yet. Ni lah dia adik baru...Fitrah Abd Rashid. Awat masam no muka tu?

Chav

2009-12-01T10:33:00.002+08:00

Just ran into this word today: CHAV

Do you know what that means? It is basically a label given to youngsters in the UK. They dress a certain way, they probably talk a certain way too. It’s quite amusing to hear all these kinds of labels given to our youngsters…especially the so called delinquent ones. Sometimes I don’t get it. We do not want them to act in a bad way, yet we label them negatively and expect them to change.

And labels usually have a different effect on these youngsters. More often than not, they bask in the glory of being called something and of belonging to a certain group. To them, this is an elite status. In my opinion, they just need to identify themselves, to belong somewhere.

Oh well…back to chav, the root word has its origins from Romani, meaning child.

So can we say that an acorn is a chav?

I don’t think so. An acorn is a nut.

You might think that this is such a random post on a Tuesday. Well, it is. Random.

Has it been THAT long?

2009-11-19T13:25:00.002+08:00

My apologies for non-existing posts, therefore I hope you like these 2 pictures. We don't have internet at home and I don't have time to write from the office, except for today coz I skipped lunch.

Perhaps when we have internet at home I'll be more disciplined at updating the blog. Or perhaps we should move to another country to give me more reasons to upload pictures and every bit of detail. But until then, forgive me for lack of entries.

The Weekend that was…

2009-10-26T08:46:00.001+08:00

..awesome!

It started on Friday with 'Aatikah's 1^st Birthday. I gave her a dress which I bought eons ago but never got around bringing it home from the office. Anyways, instead of showering her with gifts and presents, she presented to us her ability to walk all over the house, able to get up to a standing position without holding onto anything and jumping…but of course without her feet leaving the floor. She has bloomed into a wonderfully happy baby. Far different from the wailing and yelling little baby. She's not too afraid of other people right now and can tolerate more pain without screaming her head off (of course this pain will usually be inflicted by her brother….haha)

Nothing really exciting happened on Saturday, but lots of things happened on Sunday.

SIL #1 had 2 free children's tickets to the KL Bird Park and we wanted to go before it expires on 31^st October. So off we went at 9 am on Sunday…6 adults + 2 toddlers + 1 mini toddler + 1 yet to be born baby. As we parked and got out of the car, my dad came over to our car and said, 'ok, funny story #1'…..'somebody forgot the tickets'. Hahahaha….yes, the free tickets were left at home. So we ended up buying the tickets for the 2 kiddies.

Although this blog lacks pictures, I can assure you that the Bird Park is so worth going to. Lots of birds to see and the place is very clean. The birds there are also well taken care off. Although there's sometimes poop on the pavement, but that is very much expected since it's an open air aviary. Sa'eed and Idraki had the most fun, running all over the place while attempting to hold hands. 'Aatikah was well behaved too. Not a sound from her, apart from that one time she had to have her 'refill'.

The Bird Park even has a little nursery where they have eggs hatching and where they keep the chicks (as in baby chicken ye) and ducklings. My brother took one out for the kids to see. Unfortunately we decided to let Sa'eed hold one and he almost squish it to death. Thank God for small bones and fast reflex (of the chick). So, no more holding little animals after this.

After a couple of hours and after venturing into every nook and cranny (except for the children's park where we consciously decided to steer clear), we were exhausted and hungry. We ate brunch at The Hornbill Restaurant (that does NOT serve hornbills)…I thought it was a wee bit overpriced, but we got a 20% discount for being Malaysian..haha.

Next, we went to the Deer Park next door. It's free anyways and not as big as the Bird Park. 'Aatikah was asleep by then but the boys were still full of energy. We spent about 20 minutes feeding the deer and then went home.

All in all it was a good trip. 'Aatikah slept for about 2 hours while it took some cajoling to get Sa'eed to sleep…he was still running around the house when we got home. I have no idea how such a tiny body can be so full of energy J

Odds and ends

2009-09-18T08:34:00.001+08:00

Wah wah wah....it has been ages since I've posted anything on this blog...nampak sangat bukan blogger tegar.

Anyhow...the office is pretty empty due to 'Eid holidays. I'll be taking the whole of next week off, so that is definitely something to look forward to. As usual we'll be celebrating the first day of 'Eid in Seremban then insyaAllah we'll be heading over to Penang for a few days.

On another note, the Sister in Law is back from the UK...yaaay...tak sabar nak tgk dia bawak balik apa...eh eh silap...tak sabar nak tgk dia :p

OK people, SELAMAT HARI RAYA, BE SAFE AND DON'T BE A GLUTTON...hehehe

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2009-09-03T10:09:00.003+08:00

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Alif Ba Ta and Bawan(g)

2009-09-03T08:40:00.003+08:00

Finally after 4 months, I managed to change Sa'eed's birthday ticker...heh..talk about procrastination huh.

Anyways, Sa'eed has successfully completed his lessons in capitalized ABCs. Later we'll start lessons on small letters. For the capital letters, he sometimes confuses J with L and E with F. He's also having some trouble with W. As for numbers, formal lessons have yet to begun, but he can count up to 5 and match it with the number of fingers.

Now we're moving on to Alif Ba Ta. Made a powerpoint presentation of the Alif Ba Ta two days ago and that's currently how we're teaching him. I'm also looking for the big chart of Alif Ba Ta but can't seem to find it. If you happen to see it in a shop somewhere, holler here ey.

The first time we showed him the powerpoint, he already recognizes a few letters, which to me is kinda impressive. Maybe coz he's watching that dubbed Arabic cartoon which teaches Arabic. It's on Astro Oasis at 5, I think. But one funny story: When we arrived at the letter Ha pusing/pintal (you know, the round one) he confidently said BAWAN(G)...hehe. Good to know he knows his veges. Currently he can't pronounce the NG sound yet.

As for 'Aatikah, she's cruising away and want to stand all the time. She can already fight for things with Sa'eed and will leash out her high pitched voice. Sa'eed on the other hand will keep on saying no no no no. 'Aatikah will always get all giddy and excited whenever Sa'eed is around and Sa'eed never fails to entertain her. Except for when one is bawling over something, the other one will just stare.

It's nice to see the relationship that those two kids are building. I'm sure there will be catfights and doors slamming in the future. But I do hope they stay close to one another like they are now.

Can you talk toddler language?

2009-08-31T21:22:00.003+08:00

Before I begin, Selamat Hari Merdeka! In my opinion, merdeka day is a bit toned down this year. Not a lot of people are as 'semangat' like before. Perhaps coz it's Ramadan plus all the H1N1 virus.

Anyhow, try take a stab at what these words mean to a 26 month old kid (pronounced as spelled): HERE ARE THE ANSWERS
Ee-per : DIAPER
Tee-fee : TV
Aa-ju : BAJU
E-war, like 'enam' : SELUAR
Kek : SOMETIMES CAKE SOMETIMES CAT
Bou : SOMETIMES BOWL SOMETIMES BALL
Bobok : KEROPOK, OR ANY CRUNCHY FOOD LIKE CEREAL

Ok, that's all for now coz someone did a number 2.

Post Sarawak

2009-08-25T08:49:00.002+08:00

The three of us went to Sarawak and left Sa'eed with his grandparents in Bangi.

Sa'eed didn't cry and didn't even look for us. But he did look for his sister....hmm, he's a grown boy, that little one...boleh masuk asrama dah. haha. Even when we reached home around 1 am from the airport and picked him up from Bangi, the kids were rolling around the bed like little lion cubs. Mak bapak dah pening2 lalat ngantuk, but the kids were wide awake.

Ever since that Sarawak trip, at home, he would look for three people almost daily.

Sa'eed: Atok?
Me: Where's Atok?
Sa'eed: Abisss. Nena?
Me: Where's Nena?
Sa'eed: Abisss. Sha (referring to his Aunty Sha..kalian yang lain jangan jeles ye)?
Me: Where's Aunty Sha?
Sa'eed: Abisss

And if Sa'eed plays with my handphone (or ee-phone as he calls it), the conversation kinda goes like this...

Sa'eed: Kummm....Sha?
Me: Sa'eed cakap dengan Aunty Sha ke? Where's Aunty Sha?
Sa'eed: Work

Hehehe...I'm sure someone's gloating by now.

Measles!

2009-08-17T09:38:00.002+08:00

Sa'eed has been having high fever since Tuesday (~38 degrees) plus runny nose, coughing..in short, the works. So of course our first thought was H1N1, but alhamdulillah it wasn't. On Saturday, rashes started to appear on his body. So memang confirm, he has measles.

I googled measles and it is actually a virus on the respiratory system. No wonder it is more dangerous for asthmatic and people who have had pneumonia. But what I'm wondering is how come he got it since I did get the MMR jab for him. Come to think of it, I got measles in primary school and I'm pretty sure my parents got the jab for me. Ke zaman dulu2 takde MMR?

Anyways, there are 4 AirAsia tickets with our names on it for tonight. We're leaving for Sarawak today and unfortunately Sa'eed has to be left behind. The rashes are still there and he's probably still contagious. Even if he's not, it's probably not wise for him to be in a virus/bacteria incubator aka airplane since he's immune system is probably quite weak from 5 days of fever and not eating very well.

And did you know that Malaysia currently has about 4 times more deaths (in terms of percentage) as compared to the global average.

Oh yes. It is contained. Don't worry. *rolls eyes*

Milestone kah?

2009-08-13T15:07:00.002+08:00

I haven't done any miletone updates for so long. So I will attempt to do it as best I can in 10 minutes:

Sa'eed

He is more vocal now and his vocab is expanding rapidly
If he's sitting somewhere quietly, he's probably sticking the stickers from his sticker book somewhere he's not suppose to
Loves any type of cars
When we are in a parking lot, will stop at each car (unless someone drags him along) to recite the carplate (tapi bukan betul pun...haha)
Says Allah when we ask, 'Tuhan siapa?' :)
Can say his ABCs if someone guides, but not when he is busy playing with his car

'Aatikah

Started to warm up to people, but still very cautious (READ: cries her head off)
Has begun to be more confident in standing up while having her death-grip on something
Yesterday she even let go for a few or maybe a fraction of a second before falling
Has 4 teeth. Her top 2 teeth a gapped (like Madonna)!
Has superb hand-eye coordination...everything goes into her mouth

Hmm....10 minutes are up. Tapi napa mcm lame (as in lame, not lama) je update? hahaha

The Rons and the Runs

2009-08-03T10:49:00.003+08:00

This past weekend we went to Cameron Highlands and stayed at one of T*NB's banglos, which was in tip-top condition. Left home at around 10am for breakfast and headed straight to the Rons. The drive up was quite pleasant. We managed to stop by Kuala Woh and had a mini picnic with Krispy Kremes and a bunch of other junk food.

On the way to the banglo, we went up to Boh's plantation, but we couldn't get down from the car coz it was raining quite heavily. So after resting for a bit and changing drivers (yay I got to drive and as I am typing this I just remembered that my drivers license has expired). We reached the banglo and was later joined by sister-in-law.

Our activities included going up to the peak of Brinchang and climbing up the viewing tower, strawberry picking, tea & scones and visiting the local pasar tani.

The kids behaved well and were bundled up nicely because it was quite cold with the rain and all. Our car also behaved well even tho it threatened to not start a few days prior to the trip.

On Sunday we wanted to leave before dark, but we left at 7pm instead coz we wanted to wait for my husband's parents. And while waiting for them, Sa'eed must've done his number 2 for about 7 times. I think it was the strawberries. The water was pretty cold and I'm sure the boy was rather uncomfortable, so whenever I asked him if he 'uk 'uk-ed, he would reply 'tak' even if he did.

On the way down, it was already pretty dark. While we were on the swervy road, hubs suddenly slowed down almost to a halt. I was sitting in the back with the kids, so I didn't really know what was going on. Suddenly two guys came up to the window and I was like 'drive je laaa, jgn berhenti'. Hubs kept on driving and I turned to look; apparently, there were some tree branches on the other side of the road. I didn't see any cars or motocycles beneath the tree, so I dunno if those 2 guys were honestly in distress or were they plotting to con some people. But in any case, we called Emergency and they connected us to the Fire Department.

We reached home at around 11.30pm and 'Aatikah was wide awake! She was as happy as a clam, proceeded to poke and prod the sleeping Sa'eed when I put her on the bed and climbed all over me when I pulled her closer to me as to not wake Sa'eed up.

So yes, I'm like a zombie today at the office.

Confused

2009-07-31T11:28:00.002+08:00

I was thinking this during my daily 10 minute pumping ritual in the office.

The government wants to abolish PPMSI (learning science and maths in English). But everyday we see English words Malay-fied. For example, capacitor is kapasitor, inquest is inkues. classic is klasik, lyrics is lirik.

Our alleged mother-tongue language is being butchered by the day.

So what's the point?

On another note, yesterday 'Aatikah pulled herself up to a standing position without any assistance except for gripping Sa'eed's table with her death-grip. I was nearby so I put tons of pillows around her, anticipating her fall. She did fall flat on her face (on the pillow) because she couldn't balance herself while happily holding her prize (the ASTRO remote) from on top of the table.

She was shocked for a second or two but quickly recovered and proceeded to play with the remote.

Sa'eed on the other hand, is bilingual...hahaha.

Scenario: Sa'eed wanted to sit at his table to eat. This conversation below is all Sa'eed, talking to himself.

"Mamam...mamam"

"Wait...wait" while pointing finger, gesturing to wait, while I put his plate down.

"Duduk"

"Sit"

"MMmmmm...nyam nyam nyam"

Hahaha...funny boy.

Now's the time to imitate

2009-07-27T09:38:00.002+08:00

I think Sa'eed just recently found his voice. His vocab has grown by leaps and bounds (although not conversing or stringing sentences yet, rilek la beb). He likes to imitate words now, so we gotta be extra careful in what we say....not that we swear freely in the house, but still..

But I still can't figure out what go-ji is...whether it is roti or kunci.

Wah wah wah

2009-07-24T08:45:00.002+08:00

Yesterday 'Aatikah turned 9 months. I was cooking in the kitchen while she was in the living room with Sa'eed and their Tok Nyang. Suddenly 'Aatikah went 'maaaa-mam...maaa-mam'.

Wah wah wah...pandai kau nak mintak makan ye.

So I gave her some rice with soup. Even while eating she kept on saying maaa-mam...maaa-mam. Dua mangkuk (baby size of course) habis licin dia makan.

And because 'Aatikah was eating, Sa'eed also asked for food (1st dinner). Then when Abah was eating, he asked for food again (2nd dinner), and when Nyang was eating, he asked for food yet again (3rd dinner).

Whoaaa

2009-07-17T09:23:00.002+08:00

Hrmm...first things first...

Welcome to the world little Syed Daniel! Syed Daniel is my cousin's (Rizal & Nafisah) 3rd kid. Hey guys, when you get number 4, please don't name him/her anything that starts with an 'S'. I don't want to state the obvious but Adam, Imran, Daniel spells A-I-D with their initials...heh

On the home front, 'Aatikah is getting bigger by the minute. She can commando crawl pretty well now. Last night when I was busy cooking, Sa'eed wanted to have the freshly made fried noodles although he just had dinner an hour before. I didn't have time to really watch him eat, so I just put the noodles is a bowl and asked him to go eat in front. And of course he HAD to eat right in front of 'Aatikah.

'Aatikah being 'Aatikah headed directly to Sa'eed's bowl and Sa'eed being Sa'eed terus menggelabah. So I put him and his bowl on his IKEA table so that he can eat in peace. Then the little girl started crying because she wanted what her brother was having. I had tons of things left to do because we were expecting a guest. So I just left her there (with Abah in sight). Nangis punye nangis and she commando crawled to the kitchen. Half way she gave up and Abah saved her from the torture.

If food is not in the picture, Sa'eed can be quite the big brother. I can leave them together to play and Sa'eed will be more than happy to layan 'Aatikah with games of chak chak or randomly hand her things to play with. If Sa'eed gets bored and looks for me (most of the time I'd be in the kitchen), all it takes is for me to say "Sa'eed, mana adik? Adik tengah buat apa tu? Pergi tengok kejap". And most of the time he'd saunter back to the living room while saying "diiiikk....diiiiikkkk...hahhahahaha...dikkkk"

Ok, one random thought. In my company, there are plenty of ladies who are around 40-ish who aren't married yet. Yesterday I ran into one and a thought struck me.

"Mesti loaded kan dia ni...bestnye. She can live wherever she wants. Her savings must be huuuuge"

But then another thought struck me.

"But who would she spend the money on? Anak2 pun takde...."

Hmmmmm......

Too close for comfort!

2009-07-06T11:22:00.002+08:00

Oh my oh my.

A guy on the 35th floor of my building has been confirmed with H1N1. And apparently he had a meeting on my floor. But some are saying it's the floor above.

But anyways, a friend of mine on my floor was in close contact with him when they bumped into each other in the elevator. This friend of mine is currently sneezing etc and has gotten an MC for 2 days.

So yes, yours truly will be getting a bunch of hand-sanitizers during lunch.

And it pays to have a friend who's father is the Asst. Health DG. She said that this flu is like 'any other flu'. But is deadly to people who has pre-existing illnesses that compromise their immune systems, old people with weak immune systems and kids with not yet matured immune systems. And once infected, it takes up to a week for symptoms to show (hence the one week quarantine for suspected cases).

The treatment is the same for normal flu. The only reason you need to be quarantined is to help contain the spread. So far, patients admitted and subsequently discharged to the Hospital for quarantine since Case #1 has been certified with a clean bill of health.

So please have the courtesy to sneeze or cough onto a tissue and dispose of it properly.

Kiddies

2009-07-06T09:31:00.002+08:00

Sa'eed

The lil boy is coughing and has a slight fever. Usually he would just lie down and won't even bother his sister. But he gets all cheery and excited whenever I offer him egg.

My mother-in-law recently bought an IKEA stool for him. The next day my grandma bought an IKEA table to match it. Sa'eed is thoroughly enjoying both items. Sometimes he would put the stool by the windows, sit on the stool while looking outside.

His vocab is definitely expanding. He knows alphabets when he sees them, but gets them confused. Main tibai je mana A, mana R.

If he's doing his business, he will say uk-uk. But if he's not done and I try to take his pants off to wash him, he'll struggle like mad. Hmmm....is this an opportune time to potty train?

'Aatikah

This girl is getting spunkier by the minute. She can commando crawl and is starting to heave her self up while holding on to a chair or Sa'eed's table. She can also walk while holding on to the sofa (and of course with someone holding her hips). She's also learning how to use the straw. She can get the water into her mouth, but she'll splutter some out.

And all this happened in one weekend...phewwww.

How alternative energy changes lives

2009-07-03T15:34:00.005+08:00

I was in Tanzania, Africa a couple years ago over the summer working on a solar project. This particular post is about a small village area in Bagamoyo. To get to Bagamoyo from town (Dar-es-salaam) was a couple of hours and to get from the center of Bagamoyo to the village area was a couple hours more. I remembered the road (if you can call it a road) to be very extremely bumpy.

When I got there, I could see a couple of girls carrying buckets of water on their heads. If you look at the picture, the girl is actually carrying a baby tub on top of a bucket. They walk from their huts to a small watering hole twice a day to get water. Each trip probably last an hour.

The picture above is what their huts look like. I've been told that because it is made out of mud, after a while it gets 'holey' and snakes tend to come in uninvited.

Hmm...so what is this structure? Looks like a regular water tower you find in more modern housing areas. And that's exactly what it is. The government gave some funds to some people to build this thing to store water so that it could be distributed to the surrounding households.

How do they get the water in the tank? Via water pumps pumping water from the underground source (aquifer).

The above picture shows the water source. The pump is close by. Since the village is not connected to the grid, the only way to get the pump to work is by using alternative energy.

And in this case, they chose solar panels. We did the testing on that day and everything seemed to work ok. The pump had enough horsepower to pipe the water up into the tank and the piping network from the tank was working too. So the people in the village only had to open a tap and water would be flowing.

It might not matter to us coz we are so used to having water whenever we wanted it, but to them, this small effort is worth so much more. Now the girls won't have to walk to and fro for long hours just to get water.

But I bet the small kids would continue going to the water hole to bathe (read: dangerously dive) just because they can :)

I am the party poop-er

2009-07-01T13:29:00.002+08:00

Ada ka, this penguin pooped right when I was snapping this pic. But the most tak tahan thing is that the penguin pooped while nuzzling with its girlfriend.

Langkawi Pics

2009-06-30T14:34:00.000+08:00

As promised, here are some looooong overdue pics from our Langkawi trip. Not a whole lot coz it takes ages to upload. Oh, and these aren't in any particular order.

'Aatikah and Auntie Blossom at the nikah ceremony.

'Aatikah chillaxing at the airport with a bottle of H20

This was at Perdana Quay aka PETRONAS Quay near the cable car ride. PETROSAINS here is free! Since it was a hot day, we decided to hang out at the fully air conditioned place while waiting for 'Asr prayers.

Some waterfall that has lost its mojo because water was trickling instead of falling. Can you spot hubby?

Hmm....asyik 'Aatikah je, mananye gambar Sa'eed nih?

Ah, ni dia Sa'eed...hehe, and I HAD to put an embarassing photo of him first. Oh well...this was him passed out while we were up on Gunung Raya.

Practicing some karate moves on the beach.

Talking to the fish....

Spring cleaning

2009-06-29T10:17:00.005+08:00

Hmmm....my apologies for not updating ever so frequently. Work has become really hectic. Have been going home late more frequently too.

But anyways, job satisfaction is on an all time high, which is good I guess.

This pass weekend was mostly spent outside the house. Saturday morning we went to DSH to get 'Aatikah's 6 month jab...yepp, at 8 months. Then we sent the car for servicing. Or was it the other way around? But anyways, papa loaned us his car and of course we forgot to take the house keys from our car keys. And maktok pun was painting the town red with makngah, so we did the next most sensible thing...headed to makngah's house konon2nye nak tunggu derang balik. Plus, Umairah and family were home. Umairah looks like a carbon copy of her mom, but apparently I'm the only one who sees it...hmmmm...other people claim that she looks a whole lot like her daddy.

At makngah's we got a call from the service center saying that our car was ready, so we picked up the car and went home. Heh...got a call from sister in law asking if we were going to the wedding. Our reaction? Haaaaaa? Whose wedding???? Rupanye it was hubby's cousin, the one we went to Langkawi for. Langkawi was for the bride's side and Saturday was for the groom's aka hubby's cousin's side.

So after Zuhr we headed off to Bandar Tun Razak for the wedding and ended up lost. (But not as lost as someone who wanted to drive to Melaka but ended up going to Ipoh....muahahahahaha. That, my brother, will never be forgotten).

Hmm...Saturday evening was a blur.

On Sunday we went to Ampang for my cousin's kenduri do'a selamat. Baby Noah is so cute! Tido bagai nak rak even though the house was full of activity. 'Aatikah on the other hand was very very very clingy. Fortunately or unfortunately she only wanted ME. If not, she'll start crying her dinosaur tears, her eyes would get all red and she would shriek like there's no tomorrow. Maybe coz she's still recovering from her on and off fever + runny nose.

Came back from the wonderful lunch and relaxed with some Simpsons reruns.

Fabulousmoms.com recently opened up a branch in TTDI and was hoping to visit, but no time yet...even though we drive pass it every single day...heh

Hmm...back to work...oh so much fun dissecting the recently passed American Clean Energy and Security Act...

My little princess

Aiseyh, sorry Sa'eed, ummi nak put your picture also, but tetiba cannot upload. Sorry babe, we don't love you less k :)

First word?

2009-06-18T11:33:00.002+08:00

Oh yeah baby, the girl is beginning to be a talker like her aunties (on hubby's side...hahaha). Just yesterday she let out her very first word...and it had to be 'bah'. Why can't it be 'ummi' or even 'mi' instead? Sa'eed's first word was 'bah' too.

But anyways, apparently today she's miaowing. Called up the house to ask if her fever has subsided and that's what maktok said. 'Aatikah's miaowing. *slaps forehead*

Will update later on our holiday in Langkawi :)

Holiday-ing

2009-06-11T15:15:00.002+08:00

Yaaay....insyaAllah tonight we'll be leaving KL to go to ******. This will be the kids' second time on a plane, hopefully everything goes well. We'll be attending a wedding on Saturday, but we extended the stay to Tuesday to maximize the RM 1 Air Asia deal we got (in other words, we were to kedekut to pay extra to come back on Sunday).

Sarah, we promise to not leave Sarip stranded anywhere :)

How apt

2009-06-03T15:14:00.004+08:00

Source: www.babyblues.com

Annoyed?

2009-06-03T11:26:00.003+08:00

I always frequent this one particular forum for breastfeeding to see what problems other mommies have and then if I've had the same problem and was able to solve it, I'd give my 2 cents. Or to just get other people's experiences in breastfeeding. But lately I don't go to that forum anymore coz it has started to be quite annoying.

Some new 'forumers' would come in and ask a question such as, why is my pumping output so low or maybe something like what do I do if my baby doesn't take the bottle? and my maternity leave is almost over? All innocent questions and very much a common problem. But then, some experienced forumer will be like, 'oh, we've answered that question before. look it up'. And that pretty much annoys me.

Why don't you just answer the question, if you're too lazy to type coz you've typed it a million times, copy & paste je lah or just keep quite. Not that hard, huh. Come on, even if the question has been answered before, some of the discussions don't really address the problem. Plus, do you expect the person to go through god knows how many pages of discussion.

That is why it's called a forum in the first place. To have healthy discussions and debates. If you expect people to just read through old postings, then just freeze the whole freaking forum.

And I have no idea why I am so sore about this...standard answer: hormones kot.

Papejelah

2009-06-03T11:22:00.000+08:00

KANGAR: The Raja Muda of Perlis has advised youngsters not to record sex scenes on their mobile phones.

Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Putra Syed Sirajuddin Jamalullail expressed his concern as there had been many cases of photographs and shocking scenes of youth, especially young women, engaging in sex being widely circulated on the Internet.

He said the scenes were usually recorded by the boyfriends and later used to threaten the women.

Source

Erm…good advise. But shouldn’t the advise be to NOT have sex out of wed-lock?

Oh my oh my

2009-06-01T14:04:00.002+08:00

Guess what?

I can feel a tooth on the little girl's lower gum. Can't see it yet, but can definitely feel it with my finger. Hoooo boy, hopefully she doesn't bite! On another note, she can already sit unassisted fairly well. She can even lean forward or sideways and sit-up properly again.

At this point, I think she's a tad bit more active than Sa'eed when he was at the same age. And I sense it's gonna get more fun around since both of them can interact a bit. Well, Sa'eed does all the goofy acts and 'Aatikah acknowledges it by laughing or looking at him as if he's weird.

Thinking Out Loud

2009-05-29T09:11:00.003+08:00

Here I am at the in-laws. Kids are asleep and hubby is in Johor. And in the background is sister-in-law's soft (loud) snores...hehe...which sister-in-law, I shall not name.

Anyways, I was planning on doing some reading on renewable energy since the team's intense one month work will start next week. I am totally not prepared. Fortunately or unfortunately I've been roped into this team where everyone else is really smart and know their stuff. I on the other hand....ehemm....The team's task is a rather big one. We're suppose to map out exactly which part of the renewable energy value chain the company's suppose to enter. And of course, the business expectation is for us to enter the most lucrative sector.

But hey, in this country, no renewable energy business is lucrative. Unless you are a foreign company setting up a manufacturing plant. You'll get tax relief, cheap land, cheap labor etc. And what's in for us is a measly number of employment. I understand that the government wants to attract foreign investment. But come on, you're practically giving everything to them at a cheap price, and you tell us they will create job opportunities for fellow citizens. But seriously, their product is not even for the local market. So, the obvious states that they will probably reap in tons of profits. To be fair, the government should give the same incentives to locals doing the exact same thing.

Another hindrance is of course the subsidies. It's like crack cocaine. We are so addicted to it.

Oh yeah, just remembered. I was at a conference recently and this guy from the States did his own testing from the hotel room. He's from an energy efficiency company, so it is his practice to randomly check the grid's stability based on its frequency, whenever he's traveling. And surprise surprise, our country's grid is soooooo not stable as compared to other countries. The frequency was jumping up and down. So what is means is that the grid is having trouble stabilizing itself. Oh you who are in the Planning Division of TNB, please fix this...haha..yes, you.

Ok...I think it's time too sleep.

Eih....wait a minute

2009-05-25T12:11:00.004+08:00

'Aatikah has always been wary of strangers holding her. I think I've mentioned before that 'Aatikah will only allow strangers to hold her 10-15 minutes max. Every time someone holds her, she will turn her head to look at that person, turn her head to look at me, get red-faced and start wailing.

But then, we were like, oh like this cannot lah. Tak cool lah ni taknak kat orang. So we kept handing her to people and to test out how much she will last with so and so.

Then suddenly it clicked. After Odah's wedding on Saturday, suddenly she was okay with other people besides me, abah, maktok and makcik holding her. Siap boleh tinggalkan dia dgn the in-laws while hubby and I settle Sa'eed's smelly poop (while we were in Alamanda).

Oh but I hope she won't be as gung-ho as her brother.

Sa'eed is a different story all together. It is quite dangerous, I think. He is not afraid of anyone (except for cousin Firuz because Sa'eed rammed into him and that knocked the daylights out of the little guy....). So much so that he voluntarily climbed into a makcik's car during the nikah ceremony at the inlaw's house while the groom's entourage were about to leave the house. Hmm did that sentence confuse you?

And he didn't even mind spending half the day with Mr. Hubby's aunt's family + Tok Yang. Heh, but when they sent him home, the aunt asked if Sa'eed wanted to follow them home for the night. Sa'eed replied with a resounding shake of the head...nasib baik reti nak duduk rumah time malam :p

Sa'eed the handsome boy in baju melayu with aunties. Pic by Aunt K kot.

'Aatikah si mata bulat. Pic by Aunt K.

'Aatikah si comel ikut template ummi dia...haha. Pic by Aunt K.

Planning

2009-05-21T12:43:00.002+08:00

My degree was in Environmental Engineering, but I'm currently doing Strategic/Technology Planning. So what exactly is Planning?

Planning can be viewed as an exercise to optimize resources. We do it subconsciously every day. For example if you need to go grocery shopping, get fuel for the car and settle your bills at the post office, you will plan your route and take into account waiting time (if any), if you need to grab lunch in between, are the places close by and so on and so forth. Once you have that plan in your head, you implement it for the day or even spread the activities over a few days depending on how your schedule is.

In terms of Corporate Planning, there are two types. Strategic Planning and Business Planning. In simple terms, strategic planning is sort of planning for the future (say over 10-15 years) and business planning is more towards short term activities. So for example, you want to be worth RM 500 million within 10 years and RM 1 billion by the time you're 50 (strategic planning) so what you do is you invest in property, mutual funds etc (business planning). But to plan, you need your background information, so this is where the analysis tools come in. Some that might be familiar to you is STEEP, SWOT and Porter's 5 Forces.

On paper, it looks easy enough to do either strategic or business planning, but in reality it is not that easy since you need to do enough benchmarking activities to understand your competitor's own strategic plans so that in some ways, you'll be able to leapfrog their achievements. This is where radical thinking comes in.

How exactly do we think radically? If you've taken chemistry before, you'll know that a radical is an element that disassociated itself from other elements. For example let's take oxygen - O2. If the two Os disassociates, you'll get two O radicals. That is actually how you form ozone. When the O radical meets O2, you'll get ozone, 03.

Aaaaanyways, if you take that as an example, you can rightfully conclude that to think radically, you need to disassociate yourself from the norm.

Hmmm....what is the point of this post? I pun tak tau. Just writing my thoughts, I guess. Sorry if I have bore you...heh

One of those days

2009-05-20T08:43:00.002+08:00

Oh tidak.

I am so the very stressed.

Sarah, jom gi retail therapy on Friday. Let's ditch the nikah petang tu....muahahahahaha...kidding :)

On the homefront, En. Hubby is at home babysitting the kiddies because Makcik is unwell. En. Abang did the babysitting for us on Monday and Tuesday. Thanks ye my bestest big brother in the world.

Happenings

2009-05-18T10:10:00.002+08:00

Haha...baru seminggu tak update dah ada suara suara bingit suruh update blog...so, hambik ni.

Sa'eed

What can I say about this little kid? His vocab is expanding, but still on one word 'sentences'. Favorite word is probably 'nak'. Semua pun nak. My sister in law is getting married this weekend and the living room is filled with candy. So of course Sa'eed would point everywhere and say nak nak nak nak non stop. Once he gets a candy, he will sit quietly and eat it. Then the nak nak nak nak frenzy start all over again.

Sa'eed absolutely loves to go jalan-jalan. One time he was asleep and I was half awake. Abah was already off to work. I suppose Sa'eed was half awake too at that time coz when he heard the car engine immediately he woke up and said shhh shhh (meaning shoe).

In the eating department, he is a tad bit more picky. Give him a plate of rice, fish and veggies, he would want to finish up the veges without eating anything else. Kalau ada egg or tofu lagi dahsyat. But ok la, at least he eats healthily. And he loves fruits also. He can easily finish half a papaya or 2 apples at one go.

Heh, and I seriously think we need to go on a shopping spree for him. He's fast outgrowing his clothes for 3 year olds.

'Aatikah

Hmmm...this little lady is more on the emotional side. Currently she won't last for more than about 5 minutes with people she's not familiar with. She'll cry like she got beaten or something. Oh I hope this is just a phase.

And currently she can sit unassisted, but someone will have to put her in the sitting position first. But of course she will topple here and there after a few minutes. She also loves to grab objects and put it in her mouth. And she has started to become more mobile by rolling.

By right she can start on solids, but I'm keeping that to a minimum since she's already 'solid'...haha...and of course so that she maximizes her milk intake. I have about 3 liters of frozen EBM and she's the only one who consumes it in the house...Lets not put all that output to waste ya.

I think Sa'eed absolutely adores his sister. Nak peluk lah, nak angkat lah. And he has learnt to agah her...quite amusing to see. She doesn't seem to mind the affection, except when she's not in a good mood lah.

Hmmm....I thought this entry would be quite long...but after a week out of the office, I have tons of things to catch up to....workwise ye, bukan gossip...haha.

Are we worthy?

2009-05-06T12:44:00.002+08:00

Last weekend I received a very heartbreaking news. My friend's husband's sister's baby died in the womb...at 9 months. She was due in a few days. Apparently the baby's umbilical cord broke in her tummy. That news was very much difficult to digest..even though for the life of me I can't remember her name and I've only met her once.

To have a person grow inside you is a very exhilarating experience. Every day you think about whether you've eaten enough for him/her to grow and wondering if you're doing the right thing traveling to and from the office everyday. As you feel the baby kick, you shriek in delight and wait in anticipation for that moment to come even though sometimes it does hurt. Towards the end of the pregnancy you feel the kicks and movements ever so often and sometimes you dread it. But when you can't feel it anymore even for a second, you keep telling the baby inside you to keep on kicking. And once baby gives you even a little nudge, you heave a sigh of relief.

When the baby is born, you trace your fingers on the outlines of her face. You welcome into the world with love and care. As the nurses wrap her up, you just stare at your baby, hoping to be able to hold her as soon as possible. Her newborn scent wafts in around you and you bask in the happiness of holding someone you've been wanting to meet for the past 9 months.

But to have that feeling taken away from you is unimaginable. I can't imagine what is running through her mind when the baby is no longer inside her but yet the baby's not with her. For 9 months the baby was growing and connecting with the mother. For 9 months the mother's heartbeat was the loudest and most reassuring sound. And for 9 months she built her hopes and dreams for the child in her womb. But after a split second, it was all gone.

That got me thinking as to how lucky we are, alhamdulillah. To have 2 beautiful kids within 3 years of marriage. Indeed we are blessed, and hopefully the kids are lucky too to have us as their parents.

Comel bangatttt

2009-04-24T14:28:00.003+08:00

Since takde orang lain nak puji anak I, mari I puji anak I sendiri. (Notice how if it is related to cuteness and all round good behavior, they're my kids, otherwise, they're our kids).

'Aatikah yang comel gile tak tahan

Sa'eed at around the same age...

BTW, Krispy Kremes is finally opening on Monday at Berjaya Times Square! yummehhhh

Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

2009-04-23T09:17:00.002+08:00

As per some requests, here is the recipe for the delicious cinnamon rolls. This was copied verbatim from here.

Have you ever been shopping at the local mall when suddenly you smell something overwhelmingly delicious? If you follow the scent of cinnamon and butter you will usually end up at a Cinnabon kiosk with gigantic hot cinnamon rolls covered in gooey icing! That's what these taste like, only better! These are a little more cooked on the inside than the typical Cinnabon and a little less sweet, a little more cinnamon and spice... I pretty much followed the recipe below with the following exceptions: i added more spices (cardomon and clove) to the the filling and then i mixed it all together to form a paste and spread that onto my rolled dough. The other change i made was to roll up the dough into a log and then cut in half, wrap well in saran wrap and foil and put into zip lock bags so that i could freeze them for a few days. I took the frozen logs out and let thaw in the fridge... then cut the logs into rolls, put into a baking pan and left on the counter to proof for a few hours, then cooked. They turned out just as good as the fresh-dough cinnamon rolls and its great to be able to make the dough in advance and then have cinnamon rolls whenever you feel like them. Next time i think i will actually cut the dough into individual rolls and freeze those in bags of four... then when the urge for buttery cinnamon hits i will be ready!

Cinnabon™ Knock-off Cinnamon Rolls

Rolls:

1 pkg. active dry yeast (1/4 oz. size or 2 1/4 tsp.)
1 c. warm milk (105º to 110º F.)
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/3 c. margarine, melted (used butter)
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
4 c. all-purpose flour

Filling:

1 c. packed brown sugar
2 1/2 TBS. cinnamon
1/3 c. margarine, softened (used butter)

Icing:
1/4 c. (1/2 stick) margarine, softened (used butter)
1/4 c. (2 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 TBS. whole milk
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1/8 tsp. lemon extract

For the rolls, dissolve the yeast in the warm milk in a large bowl
Mix together the sugar, butter, salt & eggs. Add flour and mix well
Knead the dough into a large ball, using your hands lightly dusted with flour (i used the KitchenAid with the dough hook and kneaded for about 10 minutes). Put in a bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place about an hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough flat until it is approximately 21 inches long and 16 inches wide. It should be about ¼ inch thick.
Preheat oven to 400º F.
For the filling, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Spread the softened butter evenly over the surface of the dough, and then sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar evenly over the surface (i mixed my sugar and spices together with the softened butter to create a spread).
Working carefully from the top (a 21 inch side), roll the dough down to the bottom edge.
Cut the rolled dough into 1 ¾ inch slices and place 6 at a time, evenly spaced, in a lightly greased (i used Pam) baking pan. Let the rolls rise again until doubled in size (about 30 min.). Bake for 10 minutes, or until golden on top (i baked mine for about 15-18 minutes to get them nice and browned on top).

While the rolls bake, make the icing by mixing the butter and cream cheese in a large bowl with an electric mixer on high speed. Add the powdered sugar and mix on low speed until the sugar is incorporated, then add the milk and flavorings. Mix on high speed again until the icing is smooth and fluffy.
When the rolls come out of the oven, let them cool for about 10 minutes. I scooped up the gooey, melted caramelized cinnamon butter mixture from the bottom of the pan and drizzled over the top of the rolls for more flavor and texture. Then I coated each roll generously with the icing.

Good Luck!

Anak siapa tuu....

2009-04-20T14:08:00.002+08:00

Pic ripped from Sarah's

Sa'eed is becoming cheekier by the minute! And he knows a lot more words now. The latest ones being:

1. taaaa-tiiihhh, accompanied with stomping motions coz that's what I do with 'Aatikah
2. mars, courtesy of Aunty Ruqayyah
3. tido, suruh Aunt Rumaisa tido
4. nyaa, which means Nyang for his Tok Nyang

And yesterday he showed his ability to totally own the iPhone. He knows how to unlock it by sliding the 'lock' thinga-majig. Slide sana slide sini, pasang lagu. Slide sana slide sini, call aunty kat US.

Ummi dia first time pegang iPhone pun pegang terbalik...haha

Mega project

2009-04-20T10:21:00.003+08:00

Hehe...alhamdulillah this time menjadi jugak the cinnamon rolls. The first time I attempted to make it, I uneventfully killed the yeast by dousing it with hot milk. This time I made sure the milk was only warm.

Looks delicious kan...hahahaha

Ummi, not too close please...

2009-04-17T08:34:00.003+08:00

Honey, you're only two and yet you've started to resist public displays of affection....

*hadoiii*

*kerana ku terlalu cantik maka gambar ini telah di-delete...hehe

At Treats, TTDI.
Picture courtesy of Kak Sarah

The Giants vs Smallville

2009-04-15T08:31:00.004+08:00

When we were in highschool, Hawa and I always joked that when we got married, we'll get kids as big as a soccer team. Then our kids could play against each other. After a while, we toned it down to a basketball team each.

Both of us ended up marrying in our early 20s but neither of us married our 'old flames'. Hawa's husband has 13 other siblings while my husband has 5 other siblings. I thought my husband's family was big but as you can see, Hawa's husband's family is even bigger.

Come April 2007, Sa'eed was brought into the world and later in October of the same year, Hannah came along.

When I found out in February 2008 that I was pregnant again, Hawa said "ala bestnye pregnant sekali lagi. Makes me want to have one too". And that was exactly what she did. Our girls were born about a month apart.

So, are we on track to have our soccer/basketball team? Perhaps, but that's not in our hands.

But, since hubby and I are both baka gagah perkasa, our kids are quite chubby and tall. Hawa and hubby are both comel lote, so their kids follow suit. And so, I have arrived to the point of this post:

From L to R: Sa'eed, me, 'Aatikah, Mr Z, Kols, Sophie, Hannah and Hawa
Picture by Aini

Here are both our families and notice the size differences...hehe. Oh well, kalau manusia sume tinggi berat sama, tak thrill la kan.

HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY, SA'EED!

2009-04-14T08:27:00.002+08:00

Wife: So, are we going to buy that house?

Husband: I'm not sure. I think it's too far from the workplace.

Wife: Ok. Which area do you think is best then?

Husband: Hmmm....why don't you find out. It's in your portfolio.

Wife: Huh? Since when? What's in your portfolio then?

Husband: Human Resource.

Wife: !!!

So, to our first HR recruit......

HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY, SA'EED!

You have grown by leaps and bounds and will continue to do so.

Please be kind to your sister and everyone around you.

Jadilah anak yang soleh.

And please don't throw your parents in the old folks' home...har har

XOXO

This not so little baby boy

2009-04-13T09:06:00.003+08:00

Credit: Makcik Aini

Just look at the kid. He's absolutely exploding with cheekiness. And as cliche as it may be, time really does fly by. Tomorrow he will turn 2.

It seems like only yesterday I delivered him (although yesterday we were gallivanting around town). Not too long ago I was nervously holding him, amazed of this teeny tiny body that just popped out of me.

His hair was thick, which grew very very slowly once we shaved him bald. His small body quickly ballooned in the next 6 months but after that he started to become one slim child due to his activeness and non-stop running all day long. His once long fingers are now short and stubby.

I still remember the nervousness as parents when he was admitted for jaundice. We were at the hospital for quite some time and diagnosis after diagnosis came when his jaundice just wasn't going down. Breastfeeding was also a challenge in the beginning where I had to wake him up every so often and it was exhausting because he would constantly doze off. But after about a month, everything started to fall into place and he was breastfeeding like a champ.

This little boy has developed his own personality. He likes to go to the kitchen and pretend to cook, but at the same time yells "gooooaaaaaall" whenever he sees people playing soccer on the tv. He sometimes whacks his sister but absolutely loves to cuddle with her and doesn't even mind if he gets kicked in the face. He loves his greens and lauk masak lemak. He loves playing in the water but is petrified if it's cold. He enjoys eating and can eat all day long if given a chance, but he doesn't gain not even an ounce. He quickly warms up to people and will introduce his sister to them too.

Sa'eed, you're one truly delightful boy even though your poop smells like no one's business..heh. It has been an adventure with you and it will continue to be one. Maybe we don't say this enough but we love you to bits.

The biggest no-no

2009-04-09T08:38:00.002+08:00

While at DSH, I ran into one of my seniors in the States. So it was the usual chatter. At that point of time, I didn't even remember her name.

"Buat apa kat sini? Check up ke?" said the senior.

"Tak lah. Ni anak nak kena jab ni." I said to her while pointing to 'Aatikah.

*at that point I was racking my brains trying to remember if she's already married. Since I couldn't remember, main hentam je lah*

"You kat sini untuk check up ke? Pregnant eh?" I innocently asked her coz she kinda looked...umm...well rounded.

"Eh tak lah. Dah deliver dah"

*I could literally feel the daggers from her eyes* oooppps

"O ye ke? Baby berapa bulan?" *lame attempt to cover malu*

"Sebulan je baru"

"Oh..tgh maternity leave lagi lah ni"

*'Aatikah started crying*

"Ok lah...baby nak nyusu nih...gi dulu ye"

*Thanks 'Aatikah for saving your Ummi from further embarassment*

For men who don't get why this is a big deal, it is considered an insult to say a non-pregnant woman is pregnant

Selamat Hari Tua beb

2009-04-08T08:17:00.005+08:00

Happy Birthday!

Semoga kau belanja aku makan kenyang-kenyang.
Ok la, in all seriousness,semoga panjang umur dan diberkati Allah selalu.
May all your wishes come true.
Dan sila hadirkan diri ke office ye :D

Haha...terharu tak aku wishkan kau kat blog aku?

Happy Birthday, Sarah a.k.a adik ipar tapi lagi tua

Sa'eed di zaman kegemilangan lemak2 di badan berposing dengan Sarah.

Once in a while

2009-04-07T11:14:00.002+08:00

Last night was one of those nights where 'Aatikah wanted to nurse a billion times. I don't think I did quite fall asleep at all. She would toss and turn in her sleep and nothing would put her back to sleep except for nursing.

To top it up, Sa'eed was tossing and turning too. And all the while he was holding on to his new car (or khorr, according to Sa'eed). So whenever he tossed and turned and accidentally let go off his car, he would scramble to find it. One instance he draped his hand over me while holding the car. When he drifted to sleep of course he eased his grip on the car and it fell.

Sepantas kilat dia bangun, climbed over me dan terus menyambar kereta nya itu. Sempat pulak point at 'Aatikah and said 'Kah...kah'. Then he went back to sleep.

Dan begitulah cerita di malam hari.

This morning....

2009-04-06T09:29:00.002+08:00

As usual, this morning I took the LRT to the office. Standing nearby was this young chap, wearing a gold chain, tight shirt and jeans. Looking very cool listening to his iPod. His hair was dyed brown and his hair was spiky. Kinda looked like someone you would avoid if you were ever walking alone on Petaling Street.

Anyways, suddenly his phone rang.

"Ye, adik kat dalam train nih"

"Hari Jumaat pukul 11 pagi adik sampai la kot"

"Ok bye...assalaamu'alaikum"

So, all is not lost with the youngsters :)

Oh yeah, btw we went to Masjid India to tempah baju on Saturday. That was the first time all four of us went and oh my goodness....nak carik makan tempat yang decent pun payah. If it were the 2 of us, I don't think we would mind eating at a dodgy looking place. But with the children, we have to be extra careful since Sa'eed needs to eat too. We ended up eating at Restoran Yaseen near Jakel. Then we headed to Wisma Yakin to the tailor's with the in-laws.

Parking was ridiculous too. We ended up going to the stinky covered parking area which cost us RM 11 for 2 hours. Next time naik LRT je la kot.

Then on Sunday we had lunch with my parents, brother + family, maktok, pakngah + family at d'Cengkih. The food was excellent. All the food were Johor specialties. The service was fast too...hehe...except for one time when my brother waved to get the waiter's attention and the waiter just waved back! hahahahahaha

MmmMMmmMmm-meeee

2009-04-02T11:18:00.002+08:00

Aha...yes.

"MmmMMmmMmm-meeee"....which I would like to think it means Ummi.

Yup yup yup...Sa'eed can pronounce it already.

And of course I am extremely happy :D

Weekend Happenings

2009-03-30T08:31:00.003+08:00

On Saturday was earth hour. We definitely observed it. Although I will have to confess that the tv and fan were on.

8.30 pm Lights off
8.31 pm Jakun-jakun tgk tv of other places that switched off their lights
8.45 pm Solat Isha'
9.00 pm Everybody slept

So yes, Earth Hour was great coz it caused the kids + parents to sleep earlier :D

Then on Sunday I hosted a pot luck for some friends. Hawa and family, Aini, Eqeen, Sarah, Odah and Arina (in order of appearence) came over with tons of food. Dua tiga kali round makan (Hawa appeared to be eating non stop...haha). We had spaghetti, pasta salad, fried mihun, brownies, mashed potatoes, salad, roast chicken, pizza and banana split (did I miss anything?). Everything was homemade except the roast chicken and of course ice cream. But the roast chicken has its own story...hehe. To cut it short: oven rosak.

I was really fun making fun of Arina, catching up, gossiping, wondering if Arina's cronic lateness is a disease and reminiscing about our days in school. The 2 babies ('Aatikah and Sophie, Hawa's baby girl) slept and woke up and slept again while the 2 toddlers played, but not together. Sa'eed stayed away from Hannah (Hawa's daughter) because Hannah would smack him or scream if he tried to play with her. Hahaha...takut perempuan ke, Sa'eed?

Later that night we invited my brother and his family over to finish up the leftovers. That night Sa'eed had a ball playing with his regular playmate, Idraki. As usual they played monkey see monkey do. And Idraki was also manja-manjaing with me. He wanted to sit on me all the time and even when I was holding 'Aatikah...he even followed me to the room when I wanted to put 'Aatikah on the bed. Smitten by your gourgeous aunt eih...hehe.

All in all it was a very enjoyable weekend. Will put up pictures once I get them!

Dik, abang botak tu kirim salam

2009-03-27T16:27:00.004+08:00

Had lunch with Arina 'overworked and underpaid' Husna, Aini 'gomen' Kasim and Ikin 'adik Aini' Kasim. We ate at Nandos. I ordered a Peri Platter for the 4 of us, which was quite a bargain since we get 1 chicken, 2 large rice, 1 large coleslaw, 1 large fries and 1 large salad.

But that's beside the point.

After we ate, as usual dok borak-borak dan mendengar cerita drama Arina. Then came one of the female waitress and she went up to Ikin.

"Dik, abang botak tu kirim salam"

Ikin pun smile aje lah, but it really meant I don't give a da*n.

Why are guys like that? Come on la, that is sooooo out of season. Lagi menyampah ada lah.

Sa'eed and Idraki

2009-03-26T11:43:00.003+08:00

Last night Abang and his family came over for dinner. The moment they came in, Sa'eed and Idraki ran in the opposite directions. Sa'eed ran to the living room while Idraki ran to hide near the dining table.

It is always amusing to see them interact with each other. Sometimes Sa'eed's the ringleader and sometimes Idraki is the ringleader. Last night they even joined forces and shook 'Aatikah's playpen with her in it! haha...

At one point, I couldn't find them and it ended up that they were both hiding under the table.

But Abang says that Sa'eed has a bad influence on Idraki coz at times Idraki will point and go 'uhh uhh uhh' although Idraki knows how to talk already...hehe. Apa la Sa'eed....patutnye dia yang contohi Idraki.

I had the best childhood growing up with my cousins and hopefully the kids in our families will get that chance too :D

Random Thoughts

2009-03-25T11:46:00.004+08:00

Democracy
In the US, the whole country went out to vote to determine who the next President will be.

In Malaysia, only 0.01% of the whole population consisting of one race votes to determine who the next Prime Minister will be, who btw runs uncontested. Some surveys done with that kind of number would not even fly.

Husbands
After a couple of smses with my SIL, we have determined that her husband is Gerrard and my husband is Torres.

Kids
Kids are growing very well.

Yesterday Sa'eed had a bout of tantrum. He started to throw out all the clothes out of the laundry basket because makcik was holding 'Aatikah and he wanted to be carried.

'Aatikah wakes up in the morning all smiley and puts on her cutest face. And that's why I'm always late for work.

Infidelity
Men who have affairs are gatal and women who knowingly reciprocate are idiots.

Worrying
Isn't it worrying that rape cases are on the rise in Malaysia? Some people blame the ladies for dressing inapropriately and 'inviting' rapers to rape them. But what about the kids/toddlers and OKUs? Apa yang turn-on sangat tengok budak2 lari dalam diapers?

Telemarketers
WHO IS GIVING OUT MY INFO TO THEM HAA? It's one thing if they know my name and number, but the other day a telemarketer was like "...and your CIM*B credit card expires in 20xx kan?" Of course la my respond was like, "No. Bye."

Announcement: Ada orang nak dapat adek!

2009-03-24T08:39:00.002+08:00

(Translates to: someone's getting a younger sibling!)

Right...you read it correctly. Someone is getting another kid sister/brother.

And yes...it's me.

In case you didn't get it. It's another baby brother or sister....

...FOR ME!

Congratulations to Papa and Che' Nor :)

And can you believe it, my SIL actually had a dream that Che' Nor's pregnant. And it turned out to be true!

Stay Away Sa'eed!!!!

2009-03-17T08:19:00.004+08:00

'Aatikah the almost 5 month old already knows how to 'defend' herself.

Yesterday while I was sitting on the couch and holding 'Aatikah, along came Sa'eed and he sat next to me. Then of course he proceeded to torment his sister. He grabbed her arm and yelled loudly. For the first few times, 'Aatikah was fine with it. Then I guess she got tired of Sa'eed grabbing her arm.

So each time Sa'eed grabbed her arm, she would yell....a loud and piercing scream. Of course Sa'eed found that amusing and kept on grabbing her arm, yelling, let-go, grab it again etc...Haha, in the end 'Aatikah cried.

It's sometimes funny to see them interact. Sa'eed sometimes play peek-a-boo with 'Aatikah and she would smile and coo at him. Whenever Sa'eed is nearby, 'Aatikah would just look at him to see what he's up to and Sa'eed being a typical male, would totally tak perasan. And at night, during bedtime, Sa'eed would always want to sleep as close to his sister and sometimes put a hand on her tummy (which we don't allow and he'd always be carried off kicking and screaming).

Hehe...this reminds me of my relationship with my brother. When we were younger, things could get a little rough and someone almost always ends up crying....but it ain't me...wahahahaha

Oh anakku

2009-03-16T11:19:00.005+08:00

Ever since 'Aatikah was a born, I could count with one hand how many times she pooped at night. So it was good for me because if her diaper is full, I can quickly change it and she doesn't even wake up. But on Friday, she pooped at 3 am and yesterday she pooped at 5 am. Of course she was wide awake. Believe it or not, the sound of her pooping woke me up....broooot broooot...hahaha, it was that loud.

And both times I had to run to the living room to get the plastic mat in case her diaper overflowed. Yesterday it did, but good thing I had the mat or else it would have gotten on the bedsheet. Anyways, for both times, 'Aatikah couldn't sleep after I cleaned her and of course if she's not sleeping, I can't sleep either.

So there we were, wide awake in the dark. I did try to sleep, but 'Aatikah was cooing and gurgling (and kicking me all over). The boys were of course sleeping like logs. In the end, I nursed her and we both fell asleep.

On the other hand, Sa'eed thinks he's an Arab...muahahaha. He pronounces 'pipi' (cheek) as 'bibi'. In case you didn't know, there's no 'p' sound in Arabic. And that brought the conversation to 'I want to go to Berak (Perak)' and 'No Barking! (Parking)'.

Really aa?

2009-03-13T09:14:00.002+08:00

Mak aih...has it really been almost a month since my last post? Feels like I only did that tag thing last week. I have been superbly busy at work, mainly working on my year end assessment thing for the company.

Anyways, some updates on the kids.

'Aatikah will be 5 months in about 10 days and so far alhamdulillah she is developing well. She weighed about 7.3kg during her 4 month check up and already wears 6-9 months romper because anything lower than that won't fit her lengthwise. And 1 year old's dresses fit her ngam ngam punye. Besides her allroundedness, she can also reach and grasp for toys and pull it to her mouth. Oh ya, she has also started playing with her feet (and NO, I don't want to hear about how older folks say if a baby does that, it means that he/she wants a younger sibling). Also, whenever I nurse her, I cannot talk too much, otherwise she will get sooooo distracted. All in all, she's a sociable baby...likes to smile, coo and always wants people to be near her.

Sa'eed on the other hand is....Sa'eed. Hahaha....I don't even know what to update on him. Except that he has his own hideaway drawer where he hides things, he knows which cabinet has what and he knows that the goodies are in the freezer (read: mini cornetto icecream). He also likes to use the pestle and mortar. And currently he's in his eating frenzy phase after his I don't want to eat phase. Sa'eed also has developed his own 'fake' crying, where he will pretend to cry with his eyes closed and will slightly open them to see if anyone's looking. Drama punye budak! This boy is also quite the little social butterfly, will wave to anyone and is not afraid to go up to other kids.

Oh ya, we recently went to Kelantan for a huuuuuge family gathering (no, I'm not Kelantanese, my Penang relatives wanted to go there). Sa'eed terus lupa mak bapak. We rented a bus to go around town and Sa'eed would confidently plop himself in the front row seat, sitting with his Tok Teh and he would get off the bus with anyone who was willing to take him.

On the last note: insyaAllah, my brother and I are planning to publish children's books. One is already in the pipeline....makngah, nanti we all nak dtg mengadap for you to comment..hehe..pro bono can aa?

Tagged!

2009-02-17T13:46:00.004+08:00

Another one of those hutang tag from last year.

Rules: The rules are simple. Use Google Image to search the answers to the questions below. Then you must choose a picture in the first page of the results, and post it as your answer. After that tag 6 people.

I am:
I really want to go to:

My favorite place:

My favorite thing:

My favorite drink:

My favorite food:

My favorite color:

I live in:

I was born in:

I attend(ed):

My favorite show:

This is my hobby:

I definitely wish for:

Now let me tag:
Hawa, sbb dia duduk kat rumah
Aini, sbb dia malas update blog
Mak Adam, sbb I know it'll be interesting
Zik, sbb I know he will merepek
Pial, sbb I know dia suka, tapi takde masa kot
Teah, untuk menyerikan blog