Buka Puasa Part II

Saturday
Went over to Gib's family's house over in Kota Damansara. Although it's just an arm's length away, it took us longer to get there because of the traffic jam. We got there slightly after Maghrib. But as always, food was yummy.

And of course Gib was still fascinated by Sa'eed's cheeks. There were a lot of other kids there too...a blur motion of kids. They were running everywhere! Of course Sa'eed tried to join in the fun by running around the couch with them. But he's too slow...heh. So he resorted to playing with buses and trucks.

Oh..Gib and Sa'eed had a little accident where Gib ended up crying because he accidentally hit his nose and lip on Sa'eed head...and we all know how much it hurts when you hit your nose against something. I think Gib was trying to kiss or hug Sa'eed when Sa'eed got distracted and turned around. But it's all good :)

Sunday
Went to my highschool's reunion iftar at KGPA. The food there was ok. I was satisfied because they had cempedak goreng :) Saw some people whom I haven't seen in ages. Hannah was there too. She is very adorable. So cute and tiny. You can pack her in a little box and FedEx her away....heh...just kidding. Sa'eed tried to shake her hands but I think he was dumbfounded coz her hands were so small he didn't know what to hold!

Ok, back to the food. They had all kinds of food, but the layout could be better. But I guess it was due to the limited space. I tried the rice dishes, some coleslaw and potato salad plus cempedak goreng and Roti John. I think the Roti John wasn't that great. But the lauk pauk was excellent. And they also had all kinds of drinks. Oh yeah, dessert could be better, nothing special there. Heh, they also had somehthing they called Seafood Tempura, which was actually cucur udang...what a way to jazz it up...heh.

In terms of the prayer room, it was a bit small for the ladies. Better to go early while people are still eating.

All in all, it was ok for RM43.

And I think Sa'eed had a good time too. He was friendly with people and didn't mind it when my friends wanted to carry him around.

Oh yeah, when we went home at around 9.15pm, makngah, Iffah, abg, Kak Sarah, Idraki, Rizal, Nafisah, Fatimah, Adam and Imran were still around at maktok's house. The kids were roaming around the house playing and the adults just sat around the table chatting. An interesting info I got is that there's actually a minimum wage for Phillipino maids. And that appeared in today's Star. Also, apparently some of dairy based snacks in chocolates in Malaysia should be avoided because they outsource the dairy part from China (If you aren't aware about the tainted milk scandal, you should be ashamed).

Some items that I remember: M&Ms, Snickers, Dove chocolate, Cornetto minis, Dutch Lady Sterilized Milk (the bottled ones, others are ok)...basically any products where it is stated as a 'Product of China' or something to that effect. Why must people be so tamak at the expense of others?

Lupa pulak. After the KGPA trip, Sa'eed lost his sandals because someone forgot to put it in the car. It was on the car's roof :(

Buka puasa

Yesterday we had Gib and family over for buka puasa. They were kind enough to bring yummy Ayamas. Maktok made rojak and I made air laici..heh.

I just had to jot this down because Gib and Sa'eed were really affectionate although they don't meet that often. Different from Idraki and Sa'eed where someone would almost always end up avoiding the other person. But anyways, I haven't seen Gib in a while and he's turning out to be a strapping young lad. I think Sa'eed was quite impressed with Gib's ability to push the ride-on really fast around the house. Sa'eed tried doing it on his own later that night but of course he's not as fast.

But what amused me the most was when Gib started pointing and pinching Sa'eed's cheeks while saying 'bam...bam', which probably means TEMBAM :p Pandai sungguh itu Gib. And Sa'eed also took an instant liking to Kak Nila, their maid. Alih2 je Kak Nila was carrying Sa'eed. She must be a really nice person, coz I doubt babies/toddlers will gravitate towards mean/nasty people.

And later that night, Sa'eed zonked out and slept really soundly. Probably tired from all the excitement and playing with Gib.

Thanks for dropping by Gib and family! Drop by la again and again and again....hehe...mcm la korang duduk jauh beno.

17 Months!

Wow...time flies really quickly! Pejam celik pejam celik, dah 17 months dah. Some updates on the little one (but soon to be the big one...hahaha)

- Hates to brush his teeth. InsyaAllah I'm gonna get some yummy toothpaste real soon
- Able to feed himself with a spoon, and on target too :)
- Signals stop if he doesn't want to eat anymore
- Able to reach for the doorknob on his tippy toes. Yesterday he tried to open the bedroom door. But of course his hands aren't big enough to grip the doorknob.
- Likes to overturn his Ikea toy storage thing and mess the living room with his toys. Will use his senduk to spread his toys all over the place.
- Seems like he is always munching on something.
- More responsive to 'No'. Hope this lasts :p
- Poos about 3 times a day! Makan banyak, poo pun banyak!
- Sleeps like an ulat. Takes up more than half the bed. Just last night he was crawling in his sleep and decided to sleep on my tummy.
- Insists on eating breakfast right after he wakes up.
- Likes to overturn his ride-ons and play with the tyres as opposed treating them like ride-ons.
- Calls everyone 'tak'. Not exactly talking yet. Should I be worried?

September 11 Remembered

Can't believe it has been 7 years since 9/11. I guess everyone who were in the States during that fateful day remembers exactly where they were. Me included.

I was in University of Indiana-Bloomington at that time. The 10 of us were taking various classes for our pre-University, which is equivalent to matrix etc in Malaysia. As usual, after my 8am class, I would go to the cafeteria nearest to my dorm to have breakfast. And I usually sit my self near the exit (boleh ciao cepat) where the big screen tv is located.

The tv was tuned in to CNN. At that exact moment, they were showing clips of the first airplane hitting one of the twin towers. Other students there weren't exactly going berserk. I think everyone thought that it was a one in a trillion freak accident in New York. Shortly after that, I finished my breakfast and left the cafeteria to go to my dorm.

Then suddenly, the President of the Malaysian Student's Association called me up and wanted all 10 of us to go to her apartment. I was like, why? That was when I knew that a 2nd plane had hit the twin towers and people were saying that it was a terrorist attack. And knowing how popular muslims are depicted as terrorists, she wanted all the Malaysians to be at her place.

After that day, the 10 of us would always get escorted to class by our advisors, Deb and Julie. Which was kinda nice actually since it was getting colder as winter was approaching. I think that lasted for about 2 weeks.

The backlash in a university setting wasn't that bad. Apart from the incident where one of my friends got hit on the back for saying salaam to a fellow (Arab) muslim. But the university took swift action. A lot of discussions and panels were held in the days after 9/11. People were shocked, scared and angry and they had to somehow let it all out.

Even when I moved to Hopkins the next year, discussions on 9/11 were still going on. Muslims were still taking precautions as not to be too 'out there'. But overall, I think everyone took it in stride. It was an awful incident that no one wants to experience or remember, but people kinda have to because of all the innocent lives lost on that day.

Of Labor

I remember while I was studying in the States, we always attended Friday prayers. In one of the khutbah, the imam said that God made us forgetful for a reason. For women, so that they can forget the pain of going through labor and have more kids.

But of course that was coming from a man.

Sa'eed was born about 17 months ago and I still can remember the whole labor process plus how it felt like being stitched up after the womb tenant got evicted. Not fun. But I was holding Sa'eed at that time and I guess the pain was at least bearable. Mind you, I didn't use epidural and I don't think my doctor used any anesthetic before stitching me. Come to think of it, I don't think the gas I was inhaling helped either.

But anyways, I think the contractions was the most painful part. The pain kinda subsided when I was pushing during the contractions. Then suddenly baby was out.

With my EDD almost here, I have no idea what to expect. Hopefully it will be as easy (relatively) if not easier than the first one. Ameen!

But I'm also praying for a friend of mine whose EDD is 28 September, but her husband will only be in Malaysia on the 22nd. Her mom is not muslim, so if her husband is not here when she delivers, it will be kinda hard. Hopefully her baby comes out after the 22nd. Ameen!

Sa'eed: Fresh from the oven

Funny...

You might have gotten it in your forwarded emails. I thought it was hilarious :)

1. You spend the first two years of their life teaching your children to walk and talk. Then you spend the next sixteen telling them to sit down and shut up.

2. Grandchildren are God's reward for not killing your own children.

3. Mothers of teens now know why some animals eat their young.

4. Children seldom misquote you. In fact, they usually repeat word for word what you shouldn't have said.

5. The main purpose of holding children's parties is to remind yourself that there are children more awful than your own.

6. We childproofed our homes, but they are still getting in.

ADVICE FOR THE DAY:
Be nice to your kids.
They will choose your
nursing home one day.

AND FINALLY

IF YOU ! HAVE A LOT OF TENSION AND YOU GET A HEADACHE, DO WHAT IT SAYS ON THE ASPIRIN BOTTLE:

'TAKE TWO ASPIRIN'
AND 'KEEP AWAY FROM CHILDREN'!!!!!

Source: Not sure

Pregnant Ladies Unite!

I commute in the LRT to and from work. I consider it lucky if someone offers me a seat. But yesterday was the best! This one pregnant (really pregnant! about to pop anytime) lady was sitting down. Entering the LRT, I ended up standing near where she was seated. Just as she saw me, she nudged this kid who was sitting next to her to offer me a seat.

I thought the kid was her brother or something. He promptly got up and of course I sat down. Weird thing was, the kid walked to another section of the train. Malu kot...as it turns out, the kid and the pregnant lady had no relationship whatsoever. hahaha...

If you are commuting and pregnant, where you position yourself is important. The highest probability of someone offering a seat is:
1. NOT in the morning commute...seated people always doze off (or pretends to)
2. NOT kids in uniform, except for the geeky looking ones
3. chinese men (for some reason the thin ones and not always the chubby chubby ones)
4. some malay/chinese ladies (malay: usually the ones in kurung, chinese: usually the ones in corporate outfit)

*This analysis is totally based on my observation. Hmmm....for some reason, I rarely see Indian folks seated.

Little Quirks

Some updates on the little boy.

- I think he kinda 'knows' that adik is on the way. Now he likes to rub my tummy, kiss it and go muaaaah. Or is it because my tummy is just nice and round?
- Likes to cuddle and kiss me and be clingy. Keeps asking to be carried.
- Wants to feed himself. What I'll do is give him a spoon to play with while I feed him with another spoon or with my hands.
- Since it's now Ramadhan, I get to leave the office earlier. Yesterday, I was around during his dinner time. Maktok wanted to feed him, but he refused. At first we thought he was full from snacking on some apple slices earlier. Turns out, he wanted ME to feed him...aaawwww...
- Knows how to point to things rather well.
- Sometimes we can reason things out with him and he'd understand. Includes why he can't follow abah to the mosque and that he can't have more of the sweet sugary donut, but he can have the nasi himpit.
- Understands 'no' and different voice tones rather well. If he gets scolded for playing with the plug or anything dangerous like that, he will look at you and pull a long face...then the tears come, but he won't be hollering...but if you keep on scolding him, he will definitely holler.
- I think yesterday he dreamt of something because he was clapping in his sleep...weird.

But the funniest of all:
- if someone farts loud enough, he will snicker and then start making the pbbtttthhh pbbttthh sound while sembur his saliva everywhere.

And here are some pictures from Rizal & Nafisah's house...

Sa'eed playing with Imran

The kids being splashed by my dad...menggelabah masing2 :)

Latest (lazy) post

Behold...my laziest post ever. Please refer here.

But yes, thank you Rizal & Nafisah for hosting us. Food was delicious! And the house is nice and roomy. In my dad's words....muat kalau 4,5 anak...hehe.