A cause to celebrate

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

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

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 :)

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...

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...

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

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?

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

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

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....

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...

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

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...

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

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!

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

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....

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!!

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

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....

....geramnye dgn si comel niiii!

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

The loving brother

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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?

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!

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

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?

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

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.

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?

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!