Ramadhan...Part 1

Yesterday (Wednesday) was a rather long and full day for me (not in the sense of "after food full", okay?!)

We spent the night before (Tuesday) sleeping in SD as I felt the need to have my own family space in our own family home this Ramadhan. Ayah was a bit reluctant initially as he didn't want me to fret and work myself up preparing for berbuka - and worse, for sahur! But, I was determined to have some time alone with Ayah and the kids at home, and nobody was to say 'No' to me.

Hilman and Hasya finished school at 5:30pm on Tuesday, and right after fetching them, I went straight to fetch Hanna from Mak's place. By the time I got everybody in the car, it was already 5:50pm. The traffic jam from Section 16 to Taman Tun was like nobody's business. It has always been congested during peak hours, but it is worse during Ramadhan.

Hilman kept on asking me, "Mommy, when is buka puasa?", Hanna kept on asking me, "Mommy sempat ke Mommy nak masak nanti?", while Hasya kept on asking, "Is Ayah going to buka puasa with us at home?". My reply to all three - "Buka puasa is in about 1 hour 10 minutes time, and if Mommy tak sempat masak we will just go to Secret Recipe, and Ayah will join us there nanti, okay?"

And next came, "But, Mommy!!! I want to go to Pizza Hut", from Hilman. "But, Mommy!!! You said we could go to Secret Recipe! I want to go to Secret Recipe!!!", from Hasya. And from Hanna, "Mommy, can we not just tapau food anywhere and just eat at home?!!", and they went on and on and on and on..... And from me - (a long) "Sigh...." And throughout the car ride back home to SD, the three kids were debating on why their choice of berbuka puasa venue was the best.

Instead of using the TTDI/LDP route, we took the TTDI/Penchala Link way, and alhamdulillah managed to bypass the massive jam at TTDI/LDP/Bandar Utama and reached home at 6:35pm, and I asked Hanna to call Ayah and inform him that berbuka would definitely be at home.

First thing first - cooked the rice, defrosted the fish, fry the kids' favourite Ayamas "Hot and Spicy Chicken", stir fry the vegetables, reheated some leftover we had in the freezer, put the fish in the steamer, etc. and by 7:15pm, we had a full course for berbuka! Ayah reached home just minutes after Azan Maghrib, and the kids were so excited to see him. It's quite rare to have him berbuka in time with the rest of the family at home. Most of the time, he would have a mini berbuka at the hospital and would only reach home around 8pm or so. So, everybody was pleased... I was pleased...(even though I had to clean up the mess in kitchen and dining room, and do the dishes, etc. after that!)

So, THAT was the "berbuka puasa" part...

Then came sahur. Without any bibik around, yours truly had to wake up at 4:40a.m and prepare the food (aduhhh!!!). Thank God for microwave ovens (I agree with you Helena!!). Woke the family up at 5:10a.m and by 5:35 a.m everybody was filled up. While Ayah and Hanna got ready for work and school respectively, Hasya and Hilman went back to sleep, and yours truly had to wash the dishes and clean up the kitchen (again....). We just used the breakfast table in the kitchen during sahur instead of eating at the dining room, so, cleaning up was relatively easier and quicker for me.

Solat suboh was performed right after Ayah and Hanna left the house, and I busied myself with the laundry and sweeping and mopping the house right after that. I also managed to do a bit of ironing (Aaaaahhhh...so proud of myself...Hehehe...) and by the time the house was spick and span (well, at least to MY "bibik-less" standard la...Hahaha!) it was already 9:30a.m.

Hasya and Hilman woke up at 9:45a.m. and after taking their shower and all, we left SD for Mak's house as the kids needed to pack their schoolbags for the day, and they also needed fresh school uniforms which I forgot to pack the day before. FYI all their school books, uniforms and spare school shoes were/are kept in PJ - naturally, as it is our primary place of abode on weekdays.

By the time I sent them to school at 12:30pm yesterday, and fetched Hanna from school, I was already feeling the dugaan of Ramadhan and feeling dead tired! But, I was REALLY happy - for the first time this Ramadhan, I got the chance to prepare BOTH for berbuka and sahur, on my own, for my family in my own home...

Bliss...

Wassalam...

(...To be continued...)