Friday, December 28, 2007

End of year check-list...

Schools - checked.

Hanna's going to S*i A*an next year. She didn't get any offer to go to boarding school. We wanted to appeal, but, Hanna said she was happy that she didn't get the offer. So, after much thought, Ayah and I decided that we would just accept it as a blessing in disguise. We didn't want to force her into anything. There must be a reason for her not getting the offer. Insya Allah, ada rezqi, maybe after her PMR?

While Hasya and Hilman will continue at SS* - great school.

School books - checked.

As everybody's getting Buku Pinjaman next year (textbooks AND activity books), we only needed to get exercise books for the kids. I gave a mandate to Hanna to make sure she and her adek-adek write their names nicely on the covers and that all books are wrapped while I went to the office this afternoon. I came back just before 6:00pm, and everything was nicely wrapped and arranged in their schoolbags.

Stationeries - checked.

School bags - checked.

Hanna and Hasya are using their old ones. Hilman's old bag does not look like a bag anymore, so, he's using the Spiderman bag which he got for his birthday in September. Hasya's pink Disney Princess roller bag which Daryati washed this morning looks brand new. Hanna's Billabong is still good, and we're not getting her a new one (even though she has been hinting for a "spare" bag, just in case. Yeah, right...)

School uniforms - semi-checked.

We got the uniforms for Hanna and Hilman three days ago, but, we had to send Hilman's trousers to Khatijah, our tailor at Pasar Taman Tun. We had no choice but to buy size 9-10 for Hilman because his waist could only fit in those, and of course they're quite long for him. So, off they went to Khatijah to be altered. (FYI - it's a yearly affair for us when it comes to Hilman's trousers!). They will only be ready on Monday. And I have personally sewn their school badges on their shirts and baju kurungs yesterday - my only personal touch to their school stuff every year...:D

As for Hasya, we collected her uniform from the school this morning. They're tailor-made for her as she's going to be a school prefect next year. Ayah and I can just imagine how strict and bossy she's going to be. Gila kuasa...Hahaha!

School shoes - checked.

Haircut - pending.

Ayah's bringing Hilman to the barber on Sunday. Hasya is pretty adamant that she's keeping her hair long. Fine with me as long as I don't have to brush and tie it up every time she goes to school (DARYATI!!! Ini satu lagi kerja kamu, ya?!) Hanna - she's still trying to decide (in other words, she's waiting to see if any of her friends are cutting their hair for school next year. She'll just follow them....and here I am thinking that I have trained my kids well to have minds of their own. Sigh...)

RM1 notes for duit belanja - checked.

I think I have enough to last for the next 2 to 3 months - for Hasya and Hilman, that is. I've been collecting all the RM1 notes that I've been getting as change for the last 2 months or so. I know...I know...I could have just gone to the bank and exchange some cash with new and crispy RM1 bills...But, hey...it's just me. My way of doing things. Complicated? I guess. But, nobody died. So, no big deal...Hahaha!

As for Hanna, we've decided to give her a weekly allowance. We'll give her the pocket money every Monday morning, and it's up to her to manage it so that it'll last until Friday afternoon. It's part of our attempt to train her to be responsible for her own finances. Frankly speaking, I think the first few weeks will be a disaster...but, I'm sure she'll learn fast (albeit the hard way), insya Allah.

Following my normal practice for the last couple of years, I have in fact put the EXACT amount of money enough for 25 days of schooling for each of them in three plastic bottles bearing their names on them. I will only replenish them on the first day of each month, so, if any of them decides to belanja more than they should each day, I will know if the bottle is empty before its time. I'm one evil mom, huh?!

So, there we have it! Everybody is SO eager to go back to school!!!

(Errr...NOT really. Hanna, Hasya and Hilman are really making full use of the school holiday privileges these last few days of the holiday. Come Thursday next week, internet, handphones, PS2 and DVDs will only be a weekend thing...Such tragedy...for them...Hehehehe!)

So, all the best, fellow parents. It's the beginning of a new school year AND the whole headaches, migraines and palpitations that come with it... :D)

HAPPY NEW YEAR, Y'ALL.

16 comments:

IBU said...

Shana,

Hafiz going to Std 1 next year. I'm the one yg nervous wreck. Bought new shirts & trousers - no handmedown from Idin yg kenit tu. This reminds me, kena jahit sakit the trousers hem.

Alamak! I forgot the badge ... Thanks for reminding.

p/s I mentioned a bit about Tuan Doktor & isterinya in my latest entry. Hope Tuan Doktor & isterinya don't mind.

SitiNur77 said...

Do things your on way as long as nobody died. Hey, thats cool!! :) I shall do the same... (of coz if Hubby permits. Huhu).

Really good training to give once a wk school money. Guess wat? Till uni time, i failed to manage! Hahaha. Scholarship for 3 mthly, plus overdraft facilities. TEMPTING!! It's normal to shop spree the first month and ikat perut for the rest of 2 mths, right? Hihi.

Good luck to you, Ayah and kids. Happy New Year. :)

wanshana said...

Ibu,

I know what you mean - everytime anak masuk Std. 1, mak bapak yang stressed out maximum. Same here with us. Tapi anak-anak we all cool semacam aje on their first day. All three siap SURUH we all balik after we paid the fees, etc! I'm sure Hafiz will be just fine. Don't worry about him.

Glad my posting was of help. It IS sedikit sebanyak meant to help busy parents with school-going kids to check their own check-list :)

About your latest entry - Tuan Doktor & isterinya tak kisah... :D (but, an errata (?) - Tuan Doktor is not a heart surgeon maaa...)

wanshana said...

sitinur,

Thanks! :)

Yup - I can still remember my "ikat perut" days... And that is why Ayah and I have developed a systematic way (well, at least it's systematic to US!) of managing our cash flow for the last 5 years to discipline ourselves. I'm the self-appointed account manager. Everything has to go through ME. And again, so far nobody has died. Hehehe!

I just hope Hanna will learn to manage her money fast and well.

Happy New Year to you and your family, too.

IBU said...

Shana,

You're right la Shana. Hafiz cool habis. By the way, when queuing up, he wasn't in front... hehehe... dah 5 years dok tengok 'anak' beratur paling depan (idin la tu...) - so a different sight this time.

Ralat - bukan heart surgeon? Wehhhh.... tu lah you all.... asyik ingat the medical jargon jer. It's a newly coined term by Ibu for those who lift up the spirits of patients and family members, hence the "heart surge on". hehehe.... tak mo kalah no? ohhh! how I remembered PPM & the scholarship interviewers coaxing me to beat Mr K*rp*l Singh. hehe...

Anonymous said...

Hi shana,
I've been a silent reader of your blog but just decided to drop a comment this time. Hanna going to S*i A*an? If it is the school that I think it is, then it is one of the 30 controlled schools in Malaysia (MCKK and TKC are also included in the group). So it doesn't really matter that she didn't get any offer from any boarding school. Congrats to her.

Btw, S*i A*an is my alma mater.

Lalin.

wanshana said...

Ibu,

Tak mau kalah noooo?! "Heart surge on" pun, "heart surge on" laaa... :)

Btw, it's not just K*rp*l Si**h you need to beat nowadays... I think some people in the ruling party pun need some jolting...

wanshana said...

Lalin,

Thank you for visiting :D

Yes, S*i A*an is one of the 30 cluster schools in Malaysia whereby the Headmistress basically has (as good as) 100% power and control over its day to day affairs. Apparently, she also has the power to sack non-performing teachers (?). It is by far one of the better schools around here.

Yes, Ayah and I bersyukur that Hanna's going there. But, of course, at the end of the day, wherever she is, she has to work hard anyway...

So, Hanna...if you're reading this - no less than 8As for your PMR, okay?!

Take care, Lalin, and A Very Happy New Year!

Unknown said...

wan shana....:)

bagus bagus....cool way of parenting wrt to ur way of dispensing their pocket money....train them early...!
saya suka, dan juga ikut the same way.....monthly allowance.
as a result of saving amirul boleh beli satu laptop while haziq spent all of his before the month is over. nasib la.....habis dah tak tambah! hehehe

check list = useful.

selamat berbuka sekolah untuk anak2 dan ibu ayah di malaysia.

ps: came to know fr IBU's blog - ayah is a heart surgeon.....nak minta his number for emergency call. tolong tanya dia....is it safe for me to play football - with history of high BP and Angina?
Today one footballer ( pro ) in scotlAND DIED ON THE PITCH....


id

Anonymous said...

Asm Brother Id

How are u and ur family? I've visited ur blog and read ur comments in Shana's before and this is the first time we meet in cyberspace.

Read about Phil O'Donell's tragic death. It smells very much like a heart-related cause, without going into the details.

To answer ur question, it is safe to play football in ur condition (lightly, that is) provided that it is stable and ur doctor has given u the 'ok'. I know there may be a million things u want to ask. Perhaps it would be better if we communicate via email.

Btw, here's wishing u and ur family a very happy, prosperous, successful and healthy 2008!

Haizal aka Ayah
(drhaizal@yahoo.com)

P.S. I'm not a heart surgeon laaa. M not so 'brutal' ;p I'm a cardiologist working my socks off in a govt hospital... :)

wanshana said...

Brother Id,

Hope Ayah's mini advice above is of help :)

Hmmm...I think Hanna will be like Haziq the first few weeks ni. We have not decided how much we should give her every week as her school hours will be until about 3:00p.m, but on two of the days, she finishes at 6:00p.m because she has after school club and sports activities! (Ayah was saying - serupa macam boarding school aje...)

I have a feeling her weekly rehat, lunch and tea money will probably exceed her Mommy's!

Happy New Year to you, K.Lil and anak-anak! :D

Mior Azhar said...

Syana,
I just came back from another round of shopping barang2 sekolah kat Sunway. I really dislike it nowadays... shopping with the girls that is. And it annoys me that they could not get all the shopping done in one sessi. Ada jer barang yang terlupa beli...
And you know, last year I started giving weekly allowance to Alia and Asma rather than daily. And they tend not to eat/spend it in school and save it all. Then at the end of the month its shopping time for them. Girls!

wanshana said...

Mior,

Terlupa ke, or saja buat-buat lupa? Hehehe! Maybe they love spending time shopping with you kot?

Anyway, hope you've got everything they need for school now. I ni still terasa macam there's something missing, but, I just can't figure out what exactly. Check-list semua kira dah okay. Oh well, I'm sure if it was important I would have had it in my check-list anyway.

Oooohhh...I really hope Hanna will be like Alia and Asma - pandai berjimat. Shopping using whatever savings she has at the end of the month would be a good incentive for her I think.

Happy New Year to you, Azian and anak-anak. Take care.

MAMAMIA said...

U memang rajin buat check list, & the good thing is, almost all aspects covered.

I have resumed my duty as Menteri Pendidikan on last Sat.

Happy New Year!!!!

Spena said...

HI K.Shana, I sure do learn a lot from reading your checklist. Anyways, if ada rezeki in the future, I hope to practise it.Or maybe on my anak sedara ke.
Hope to see you at the next gathering somewhere, next year, Insya Allah.
Btw, I'm tagging you to start off the new year...;-)

wanshana said...

Mamamia/Menteri Pendidikan :)

I ni memang "Minah Check-list" pun. Everyday I have a check-list of things to do, things to buy, etc. That's the melancholic trait in almost 100% phlegmatic me, I guess.

Mamamia dah ticked ke everything in your check-list? Dah siap shopping, etc for school stuff anak-anak, I hope.

Good luck with the new school year, dear, and here's wishing you and the family all the best in life for 2008.

Take care.

--------------------------------

Spena,

Glad to be of help :D

Yes, insya Allah we'll get to meet up again soon.

And, oh yes - I've checked your blog and have read your entry on the tag thingy. Insya Allah will get on with it soon. Watch this space! ;)

Here's wishing you a happy and glorious 2008!

Take care, dear.