It has been a while since I last blogged about the kids...

I was just reading my old blog entries and I realized just how much almost everything was about the kids. And I'm so glad that I actually blogged A LOT about them.

All three of our kids have left home for college/boarding school now, and whenever my mind suddenly wanders and starts thinking about them, one of the things that I would do is read my old blog postings on them.

And this helps me cope with my empty nest syndrome somewhat.

Reading my postings on each of them chronologically brings me through the journey of them growing up, and memories of what I had blogged would come back so fresh and vivid to mind - as if they just happened yesterday.

Whenever I come across stories posted by friends of their babies/toddlers which remind me so much of the similarities with my own kids when they were that age, I would quickly browse through this blog to recall the similar experiences I had with them, and I must again say that blogging is very rewarding in its own special way, especially to this lonely Mom :)

And I realized that I should start writing about them on a regular basis again. Not so much for anything else, but, so that 10 years down the road, I could recall every single thought that I have of them.

So, let me start off with Kak Long Hanna.

Hanna has settled in very well with college life and seems to be having the time of her life there. Syukur alhamdulillah. She's doing her A Levels now, and plans to read law in the UK thereafter. It was a total 180 degrees turn for her as a few months before starting college, she was set on doing Medicine! In fact when she applied for a place at KY**M, it was with the intention of taking up all the core science subjects for her A Levels. It was only about a couple of weeks before registration that she decided to pursue a Law Degree instead.

Both Ayah and I are okay with whatever decisions she makes, as long as she's happy.

Apparently, there were so many things about doing Medicine which had become some major concerns for her, especially relating to scholarships to further her studies overseas (the UK to be exact), chances of being accepted by UK universities if she were to do her A Levels here in Malaysia, how competitive the field is, future job prospects for doctors in Malaysia, and most importantly, she wasn't sure exactly if she really wanted to do Medicine. When she first decided on it, it was more because she wasn't sure what else she wanted to do, or what else she could do.

After performing solat istikharah a few times, she finally made her decision on her future career path.

Hanna being Hanna, we feel that whatever she decides to do, whether science-related or humanities, in sya Allah she'll do well.

She comes back home every week (Thank God!!!), bringing with her her laundry every time  (which I don't mind doing for her! Hehehe... so long as she comes back!).

She's taking 4 subjects - Add Maths, History, Economics and Psychology and is now busy preparing for her first exam which is to be at the end of this month. In sya Allah, I don't really have to worry about her as she knows what she needs to do and when she needs to study, and how she has to study :) As long as they work for her and she brings in good results, I just leave her to her own devices.

Kak Ngah Hasya is in Form 2 in KY* now, and she's really enjoying life there. And Hasya being Hasya, never once has she been homesick. Which is a good thing, I guess (except that it's a blow to Mommy's morale! Hehehe...)

She's doing very well academically, and has consistently been in the Top 5 in her class. Syukur alhamdulillah.

She's also active in her co-curricular activities - representing KY* in swimming and chess, and she's also in the athletic team for Hussein House and has won medals for the house for the 200m, 400m and 4x100m events. She has also won several medals for Hussein in their Swimming Championship.

She actively participates in debates organized by the Kolej and won the Best Debater Award for her batch last year.

Hasya also had the privilege of being chosen to represent KY* in the World Robotics Championship held in Anaheim, CA., a few months back with a few of her seniors.

She is now involved in the Anugerah Remaja Perdana Programme (equivalent to the Duke of E Programme in the UK) and is pretty tied up with all the required activities.

And syukur alhamdulillah, Hasya has been appointed to be in the College Committee , i.e. the KY* Prefectorial Board starting early this month.

And syukur alhamdulillah, she has started donning the Hijjab beginning of Ramadhan :)

Hilman is also doing very well in KY*. We think the school has really brought out all his potentials especially in areas we were not even aware of or even believed he would be good in before!

Yes, he was doing well academically before (even when he was not even consciously making the efforts to study! Hehehe...) But, I think the regimented life in KY*  means that he has to study when he has to study, and he he has no other choice but study. And syukur alhamdulillah, he has consistently been in the Top 3 in his class.

What really surprised us was how Hilman had "blossomed" in his co-curricular participation and abilities.

Those who knew Hilman when he was in primary school would remember how chubby he was up until he was in Primary 5. And being a chubby boy that he was, he was never ever selected to run for his House or school. And being a big boy he was, the sport in which he represented his school at MSSD last year was no other than the Shot putt event :) And, oh yes - in acara tarik tali, of course!

But, Hilman has started to shed all his baby fat since the end of last year and ever since joining KY*, he has grown so tall (taller than Ayah!) and has become so much leaner. So much so, that he was asked to try out for the KY* Under-13 Rugby Team and also to run for Hussein House during their Sports Day.

And alhamdulillah, he had the opportunity to play Rugby for KY* in two international meets. Even though his team did not win anything, we were very grateful for the opportunity given and trust the school put in him to represent them. Both Ayah and I could not have been prouder than when we saw him running and tackling, and being run over and tackled by the opponents on the field. Our little boy was not so little anymore :)

And, surprise, surprise! He represented Hussein House in the 4x100m event during their Sports Day and his team won the Gold Medal and they actually broke the school record of 4 years for that event! (I'm sure his teachers and friends in primary school would not believe this if we were to tell them this. Hahaha!).

So, overall, the kids are doing well in college/at school. Syukur alhamdulillah.

We make do'a that they will continue to do well, semoga menjadi anak-anak yang soleh/solehah dan berbudi pekerti tinggi dan berjaya di dunia dan akhirat, in sya Allah.

So, that's a wrap-up on how the kids are and what they have been up to since I last wrote about them.

In sya Allah I will try to blog more about them from now on, not so much of sharing their progress, but more for my own personal record and future recollection when I'm old and grey ;)

Wassalam...

Here's a picture of the family taken on first day raya this year :)

Hilman, my maaannn :)

I managed to ask Hasya about how Hilman has been doing in KYS thus far.

And her report to me was quite amusing actually :)

Here are some of the things she said to me about Hilman -

"He's doing okay, Ma".

"The seniors are okay with him. All of them said Hilman is sooooo baik! Too baik sometimes!"

"Some of his batchmates (girls) said Hilman is hot!" (Errrr...don't know how to react to that! LOL!)

"The girls in his batch also said, Hilman is very nice, and he's a gentleman".

"Miss Adrin (the music teacher) really likes Hilman".

And I also found out in Hasya's Twitter chats (when she didn't sign out from my phone), one of her friends from her batch (a boy) described Hilman as follows -

"Hilman is just like Johnny Bravo. Without the attitude".

Hmmm... I guess I can stop worrying about him now :)

But, having said that, this was what transpired between me and Hilman yesterday via SMS -

Hilman : Mommy, I don't have my seluar for sports

Me : Shorts or trackbottom? Can u ask Kak Ngah if it's in her bag? Makcik maybe termasukkan in her bag. If tak der jugak, then u hv to buy a new pair from the co-op, ok?

Hilman : Ok

And this morning -

Me : Hilman, Makcik said she already put ur shorts in ur bag. She sd yg ada koyak sikit inside tu, kan? Please check ur baju2 agn. And pls also check if Kak Ngah's track bottom is in ur stuff, ya? She said she's missing a pair. TQ :)

And petang ni -

Hilman : Shorts dah

And another SMS followed immediately after that -

Hilman : Trackbottom takde

Me : Ok, thx. So, maybe K.Ngah's trackbottom tertinggal in SD. And btw, Hilman, remember what I said about not to send a few short SMSes? Instead, to write whatever you wish to write in one SMS only? WhatsApps tak per if u send short ones (as long as there's wi-fi, ok?)

And I'm still waiting for him to reply my last SMS.

And I foresee that he will still send a few short messages via a few SMSes.

Hehehe...

Adapting and coping with, and filling the Empty Nest Emptiness...

I never thought I would be going through the empty nest emptiness so early in life...(Errr...as if I'm that young! Hehehe...)

I'll be 45 in May, in sya Allah, and the house is already feeling void and empty since early this year.

Hanna is waiting for her SPM result which is expected to come out some time in March, and she has been keeping herself busy with driving lessons (and she passed her tests last week! :)) organizing the UN Model Conference with her Interact Club friends from all over PJ (the conference will be held in April), and she has also been going to the gym quite religiously (after sweet-talking her Ayah to sign her up with a fitness centre a few weeks ago). And, oh yes, she has also started working at one of Ayah's companies since a week ago. She also goes out for futsal and handball games with her friends every now and then. So, she's rarely at home.

And with both Hasya and Hilman in KYS, and with Ayah consistently working until quite late nearly every night, I'm pretty much left alone at home for most of the time. I'm still on unpaid leave until mid-February, so, until then, I'm struggling to keep myself occupied. Too much time in my hands would mean I would start missing the kids!

Fortunately, I have found ways to occupy my time.

Firstly, with the decision to move back to SD after nearly 20 months of leaving the house empty, Bibik Dar and I have been going back to spring-clean the whole house everyday from 10:00am until about 8:00pm everyday. The house was in such a bad condition - with dusts so thick, and a lot of stuffs needed repairing/changed, that we are still spring-cleaning it even after 2 weeks, and we are not even halfway done!

We have sent all upholsteries to the laundry together with all the beddings, carpets, and most of the clothing which were hanging in the closets for the past twenty months. What we can wash ourselves, we would wash them at home. We have also sorted the clothing which we want to store in boxes, those which we want to give away, and those which have to be discarded.

We have also emptied all the closets, and wiped everything - inside and out. Some spots had even become moldy and extra scrubbings were required. And I just have to do a bit of advertising here -Kiwi All Purpose Cleaner is the best surface cleaner ever! It has made my life so much easier... All surfaces have been wiped clean of dusts, together with all the little-little deco mak nenek, and books around the house. All beds and mattresses have also been wiped and cleaned. Suffice to say, every night when I go back to my MIL's house, my hands would smell of Dettol... Hmmm?

But, even after all that, I have to say that for the moment, the only rooms which are completely cleaned and habitable are Hilman's, the Master Bedroom, Bibik Dar's room, the kitchen, the dining area and the downstairs living room. Oh ya, all the bathrooms are done, too :) Still pending are the girls' room, the upstairs TV hall and the study room (and I dread to open and check the storeroom under the staircase! And there's also the twilight zone area under the staircase going up to the girls' room, too! Aaarrgghhh!!!) Safe to say that Alam Flora people will be kept very busy for the next few weeks getting rid of all the junks I'm throwing out from those rooms.

But, one thing I like about all these is that Bibik Dar and I can also start packing our stuffs into boxes in preparation of us moving to BJ middle of this year, in sya Allah. So, in a way, it is quite an exciting task, just as how it is such a cumbersome thing to do.

And that brings me to the second thing which I do to occupy my time. This, I do until quite late at night - working on the renovation ideas for our BJ house. And THAT has also been a somewhat abandoned house, too!

We bought the house way back in 2005 (or was it 2006?) and we got the keys in 2008 (I think?) and as there was no urgency to move we didn't do much to the house. We furnished two of the rooms - Hasya's and Hilman's, and that was about it. We used to go there every Sunday to sweep and mop the whole place, but, when Bibik Dar went back to Indonesia at the end of 2009 (and failed to come back until end of 2010), we stopped going to the house. We had a couple of gardeners to cut and maintain the lawn for the last 3 years, and we would only check on the house every 4-5 months.

And with so many other commitments to fulfill in the last 3 years - financial, work, business, family, etc., which we felt took priorities, we could not commit on working on the renovation of the house. And the house is in a somewhat sad condition, too.

So, Ayah and I have decided to work on the renovation plans and hopefully we can start work on it soon. And with Allah's will, we hope to move in to our BJ house before Ramadhan this year, in sya Allah.

I used to have different sets/options on the renovation plans, but, somehow I have misplaced the file which had about 20 different renovation ideas in it. So, what I have done in the last couple of weeks was to come up with the FINAL plan, and Ayah has given his approval, syukur alhamdulillah. So, the next thing is to get an architect friend to work on the proper drawings and specification and submit the plan to MBSA for their approval, and hopefully the reno work can start very soon.

And the third thing that I do to occupy my time, at least on my Saturday mornings, is that I've started going for Kelas Mengaji again together with my Ahli Majlis Tertinggi BFFs. We've only had two classes so far. Syukur alhamdulillah, terbukak jugak my hati to start belajar mengaji again. The last time I went for a proper kelas mengaji was probably 30 years ago! I did join Hasya and Hilman's class in 2007, but, somehow I did not continue until the end. And every now and then, I do follow classes on TV, but, that was about it. So, this time around bersemangat to learn mengaji again. My AMT friend Reha offered to have the weekly class at her place in Kemensah, so, in a way it's a good "excuse" to get together to mengaji and makan-makan  after that :)

The fourth thing that I'm doing now to occupy my time (more of my mind actually!) is psyching myself up in to start working again next month after more than a year and a half of medical and unpaid leave... Hmmm... for this, no semangat and malas to cerita... Hehehe... :)

And of course, the fifth thing is - I've started blogging again! Yeaaaayyyy!! :)))

Laporan anak-anak...

* I actually drafted this two weeks ago, but was tied up with stuff and just could not follow it through at one seating. So, it might be a bit outdated, but alang-alang dah ada dalam my Draft box, why not just post it, kan? :)

Laporan Anak #1

Ayah and I went to Sri Aman Open Day to collect Hanna's report on 23rd June (Thursday) morning.

CGP of 3.61, and 7th in her class. She got 5th in her last test.

Not too bad, I guess, but her teacher - Pn Illyanie, said Hanna could do better. She could even be in the Top 3, in fact.

So, Ayah asked her how Hanna is in class generally, and what can she do to improve her grades. And Pn Illyanie said,

"Hmmm... Hanna ni banyak cakap in class... (Errr... Tell us something we don't know already, please? Hehehe...) But, bila ditanya soalan, dia memang boleh jawab. And bila saya tanya Cikgu-cikgu lain pun semua cakap macam tu. Hanna boleh bawak semua subjects - tak der masalah. Kalau kurang sikit bercakap, insya Allah lagi okay... Macam this time - banyak cakap pun, results ok...".

Errr... If you say so, Pn Illyanie... :)

Anyway, we went on to ask Pn Illyanie if she thinks Hanna has been so distracted with all her Club activities in the last couple of months (she's running for President of Sri Aman Interact Club, and also Treasurer for PRS, and has been actively involved in all sorts of Interact and PRS activities, and sports practice, too).

And Pn Illyanie said that it is quite normal for Sri Aman's Form Four students to go all out in all their club activities, and they would give all in whatever tasks and responsibilities given to them, and those who are active would more often than not, see a dip in their grades in Form Four.

Pn Illyanie assured us that once the students give up their posts in the Clubs when they're in Form Five, then insya Allah their grades would improve tremendously after that and they would do very well for their SPM, insya Allah.

I hope so, Pn Illyanie... I hope Hanna is one of them. I seriously hope so...

Laporan Anak-anak #2 and #3

All of us went out of the house at 6:45am on Friday (24th July) morning.

We had asked Zaidy to start work at 6:30am today instead of his usual 9:30am/10:00am reason being we were going to Hasya and Hilman's Report Card Day. If Ayah were to drive, it'll be near to impossible to find parking at the school, especially this time the school had scheduled the Open day for BOTH sesi pagi and petang in the morning.

Anyway, Zaidy dropped us and Hasya Hilman off outside the school at 7:15pm, and off he went to send Hanna to Sri Aman.

As we were early (the perjumpaan with the Guru Kelas was supposed to start at 8:00am), Ayah and I decided to have breakfast at the canteen first.

By 7:45pm, we noticed that some of the parents had started to queue up in front of the classrooms, and some had even seen the teachers, so, we made our way to Hasya's class first.

Her class teacher is Puan Usha who was also Hanna's class teacher when she was in Standard 6.

Syukur alhamdulillah, Hasya got all As. But, for placing in class she got #4. It has become a pattern for Hasya from Standard 1 to fare better in her finals than her mid-year exams, so we were half expecting that. She would normally get #1 or #2 for her finals, and the lowest she had gotten for her mid-year so far was #5. So, this is still within her expected range.

Anyway, we were told by Puan Usha that Hasya is doing well, and she should not have any problems maintaining her As for her UPSR. Insya Allah...

And when we asked Puan Usha, how she is in class, whether she's playful or talkative, etc., the reply we got was,

"No, she's okay! She's not as talkative as Hanna... (Hahaha! Hanna really has a reputation of being talkative both in her primary and secondary schools! Aiyoooo... :))) Hasya participates in class and is always enthusiastic in whatever she does. She's a well-rounded girl - and she does well in her studies and also she's very active in her co-curriculum activities, too. There are students who score, but, that's it. They just study".

So, we take it that Hasya should be fine and should improve on her low As by the time she sits for her UPSR, insya Allah :)

Next we went to Hilman's class and sat down with Encik Suhaidi, his class teacher.

And guess what? The first thing Encik Suhaidi asked was, "Kakak Hilman, Hanna apa khabar?" (Aiyoooo... Kan I dah kata Anak #1 tu famous... LOL!!!)

Anyway, Hilman got 4As and 1B (for Science, which is his favorite subject - which he got Hadiah Matapelajaran Terbaik every year). So, we asked Encik Suhaidi if Hilman had any problem following the subject in class in Tahun 5?

The answer we got was that the questions were quite hard and only 2 students got A for Science, and the fact that Hilman got a very high B for Science meant that we should not be too overly concerned. Hilman should be able to do well in the subject, insya Allah. According to Encik Suhaidy, if based on his marks, Hilman is second in his class, but because there are 2 of his classmates who got 5As, Hilman is therefore ranked #3.

And the standard question on how our kids are doing in class was also asked :)

And Encik Suhaidy said this,

"Hilman ni, kira macam jadi contoh lah dalam kelas. Memang selalu participate in class and selalu nak jawab soalan. Sampai kadang-kadang saya kena cakap kat dia, 'Hilman tak dibenarkan jawab soalan ni!" (HAHAHAHA! That is SO Hilman! :))

Encik Suhaidy went on to say -

"And Hilman suka bertanya. Apa yang dia tak faham, dia tak segan bertanya. Kadang-kadang saya pun tak boleh nak jawab and kena minta dia berjumpa dengan saya selepas kelas...(Hehehee... That's our Hilman alright!) Generally, Hilman ni bagus dan budak yang baik. Insya Allah dia tak ada masalah nanti..."

Syukur alhamdulillah... Insya Allah :)

So, I'm quite happy with the reports from the teachers, and I know, if we were to look at the previous patterns, both Hasya and Hilman will fare better in their finals nanti, insya Allah...

Errrr... But, for Ayah -

In Hasya's case, it does not matter if Hasya is more active in all the co-curriculum activities compared to her friends who got #1 and #2, she should still get #1.

And in Hilman's case, if there are two students in his class who could score A for Science, Hilman should have also gotten an A! Whether the questions were hard or not, is irrelevant.

** Adoyaiiii... Kesian lah anak-anak yang bapaknya high achiever nih...Hehehe!*

Kids trivia :)

I was having tea at Ayah's niece's birthday do at Sa*ja*a KL with Hasya and Hilman this afternoon when both of them started to ask each other some trivias to test each other's general knowledge while at the same time throwing in a few riddles to each other.

Two of the questions, and answers which really cracked me up were these two :)

# 1

Hilman : Kak Ngah. What's the difference between painkillers and killer pain?

Hasya : Pain killers kill pain. Killer pain kills you!

HAHAHAHAHAHA! Good one, Hasya ;)

# 2

Hilman : Which planet is hotter, Kak Ngah? Venus or Mercury?

Hasya : I don't know. Mercury?

Hilman : No, Kak Ngah! Venus. Because Venus is Luuurrveee (with full expression)... and Luuurrve is HOT!

And I looked at Hilman and he looked at me, and both of us looked at Hasya, and the three of us just burst out laughing!


??!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

(Hmmmmmm...Should I be worried about the second trivia? I wonder...) :)

Makcik confused... :)

Hasya is upset that she's not in the same 4x100m Team that won 1st place in last year's SSP's Sports Day. She said the team has been split into two now. So, there'll be two teams representing Green House this year, and she said she she's very sure that neither team would win the top three placings!

I asked her the reasons why the Green House teacher had split the team knowing that they would have a very strong chance to win 1st place again this year? And she said, "EXACTLY! That's why!! I don't know!!!"

And she was quite visibly upset about the whole thing.

Well, what do you expect from choleric Hasya, kan? She always wants to win!

And I was upset for her, too, knowing her capabilities. And knowing that she and her original team would win, given the chance, insya Allah.

But, on the other hand, I had this bit of conversation with Hilman.

Hilman : Mommy, I'll be running in the 200m event for the Sports Day!

Me : Wow! Congratulations! Well done! Have you practised for it? Do you think you can win?

(Frankly speaking, I was a bit surprised because Hilman is more of the Lontar Peluru and Tarik Tali type of athlete. You know what I mean? Hehehe!:)

Hilman : I don't know. I fell down while practising, and got second last.

Me : It's okay. Nanti masa Sports Day, you have to run REALLY fast and be careful not to fall, okay?

Hilman : Okay. But, I always got second last bila practise la, Mommy. Even before Puan Anuradha chose me. I don't know why she chose me la?

And at this point, Hasya butted in and said -

Hasya : Teacher said she wants to give everybody a chance to participate masa Sports Day!

Hilman : I guess so. But, Mommy, how can I make sure I run fast and win the race, Mommy?

Me : Hilman, just run to the finishing line. Run as fast as you can, okay?

Hilman : Okay, but, I think I'm going to get No. 7 or No. 8 again.

Me : It's okay, Hilman. Just run. Who knows? On that day you can win with me cheering you on?

And Hilman just laughed away at that thought! :)

Hilman : It's okay lah, Mommy. But, if I don't win, tak per, right?

Me : It's okay, Hilman. As long as you try your best, okay?

Well, Hilman is a phlegmatic boy, and very laid back about everything anyway :)

And I'm happy for him, because I know he would try his level best, and he would enjoy the experience of running for his Green House, insya Allah :)

I feel bad for Hasya, but, I feel happy for Hilman.

In other words, I am bit confused really - on how I should feel between the decisions made by the Green House teachers on the 4x100m event AND the 200m event because BOTH involved my kids, but both with probably different implications on and outcomes for them...

Anyway, let's just wait for Saturday next week, shall we? That's when their Sports Day will be held ;)

All the best Chimin and Chiman!! :)

And just remember to have fun, okay?

Chicken Soup for the Young Love's Soul... :)

I went back to my MIL's for a short while over lunch yesterday as I had the kids' stuffs (which they had asked me to drop at their Wan's on the way to work) in the car. I totally forgot about it until about 1:50p.m.

As the bags contained their change of clothes and also their stuff for their piano class later in the evening (read as "unfinished piano homework"), I had no choice but to send them then. Hasya and Hilman finished school at 1:00p.m, while Hanna at 2:00p.m.

Upon reaching my MIL's at around 2:10p.m, I saw that Hasya and Hilman had just finished having their lunch, but I didn't see any lauk-pauk served on the dining table. So I asked them what exactly they had to eat, and they told me that they had asked my SIL's maid to make them Campbell's Chicken Soup which they had with some bread.

Hilman who was excited to see me home started telling me about school, etc,. When he's excited, sometimes he can't construct his sentences properly and it could be quite difficult trying to understand what he's trying to say. And it doesn't help when I myself do not make myself clear. And yesterday was one of those days -

Me : How was school today, Hilman? What did you do for Hari Maju Diri? Did you have fun? Hilman dah makan?

(My fault for asking him too many questions at one go!)

Hilman : Dah makan. I had Chicken soup with bread and I put a lot of pepper in it. School was good! We had to be in groups and we had to write about what we like. And Mommy, I wrote letters about the girl I like and then I put the letters 'HS' on it, too!

(Excuse him, please. That's his English when he's excited ;) Hehehe!)

Me : (And I was like...???!) You did?! What did you write in the letter?!

(I was quite surprised to know that he was bold enough to share with his friends about the girl he likes in school because at home his sisters would be teasing him about it 24/7 and he would vehemently deny liking the girl! So, I thought - "Waaaahhhh! My son so bold already, and so confident about this girl!"

Hilman : Huh?! What letter?

Me : You said you wrote a letter to ****** ****? Did she know it was from you?

(And I thought that was so cute and sweet!)

Hilman : Nooooo!!! I didn't write a letter to ****** ****!

Me : Then, what letter were you talking about, Hilman?

Hilman : NO! I didn't write her a letter. I used the pepper to write the letters of her name and my name (he meant their initials!) on my Chicken Soup la, Mommy!!! I didn't write any letter to her!!!

Me : Ooooooo...okay ;)

And I thought THAT was even cuter and sweeter! :)

That's my Hilman...Hehehe!

(And I must say that he has excellent tastes in girls. That ****** **** is damn cute, I tell you!)

;)

And the results are in!!!

It’s that time of the year again – exam results time.

Ayah and I already knew Hasya’s and Hilman’s results last week, but, we only knew Hanna’s today when I attended Sr* Am*n’s Open Day this morning to collect her report. Ayah couldn’t make it as he is now in Kuching and will only be back on Saturday night. But, I have been giving him ‘Live Feed’ of the results and everything else religiously :)

The Verdicts –

Hanna has improved (depending on how you look at her results).

Hasya has also improved (also depending on how you look at her results).

Hilman pulak, merosot (whatever way you look at his results).

Hanna :

For her Form 1 Mid-Year exam last year, she got #17 in her class and #40 in the whole Form, and for her Finals, she got #3 in her class and #7 in the whole Form. There was a vast improvement in her performance last year. Last year’s results were, by the way, based on the traditional percentage-based ranking.

However, Sr* Am*n has changed their policy this year and now rank their students based on their CGPAs. Meaning, even if you score 8 very high A’s and you get 1 high B, you still will be placed lower than your friends who get 9 straight A’s, even though their overall total marks and percentage may be less than you. The more A's you get, the higher your CGPAs, the higher your ranking will be.

So, based on the new CGPA system, for her Mid-Year this year , Hanna got #17 in her class, and #36 in the whole Form 2 (with 6As and 3Bs) and for her Finals (which I just got to know today), Hanna got #10 in class and #18 the whole Form (with 8As and 1B). I guess for a school like Sr* Am*n, that’s not bad a position to get at all :)

Apparently, according to Hanna, if the ranking were to be based on total percentage, she could have gotten a better position. Well, Hanna. It is NOT. So you’d better make sure you aim for all A’s next time, okay? You will just have to work harder for Sejarah, and at the same time maintain your A’s for all the other subjects.

So, if we were to look at her position in Class and Form now, and compare them with her last year’s FINAL exam – she dah merosot. But, if we were to compare between her Mid-Year and Finals this year, she has improved. A lot. :)

Her current CGPA is 3.79, which will be brought forward to next year. There is still room for improvement, and I make do’a that she’ll do better every time, insya Allah.

It’s your PMR year next year, girl... You’d better work hard(er) and smart(er), okay? (Goshhhh!! Baru macam semalam I blogged about her UPSR results! How time flies...)

Hasya :

Here’s the tricky one. If we were to look at Hasya’s Mid-Year and Final Exam rankings since she was in Standard 1, they were #1 and #1 (Std 1), #2 and #1 (Std 2), and #1 and #2 (Std 3). However, for her Mid-Year this year, she slipped to #5! Anyway, syukur Alhamdulillah, for her Finals this year, Hasya got #2.

Yes, she has improved when it comes to her position in class this year, i.e. naik 3 mata anak tangga, BUT, she didn’t get all As for her subjects. For the main UPSR subjects, Hasya got 4As and 1B (No prize for guessing what subject she got B in...YUP! Pemahaman... :( But, she has improved in terms of her total percentage. So, I’m okay about it (but, I’m not sure about her Ayah, though!).

Hasya has been banned by her Ayah from using her laptop and/or going on the internet since we got to know that she got a ‘B’ for her Pemahaman. And that means, she has not been FB-ing for the last 2 weeks. And I think all her plants and animals in Farmville have wilted away, died and gone to heaven. And all the food in her Restaurant City dah basi and berkulat and dah jadi tapai kot?! :)

She kept on asking when the ban will be lifted without telling me in so many words that it’s her Farmville and Restaurant City which she’s so worried about. But, I’m her mother. I know. :)

I just want to prolong her agony at least until Tuesday next week, coz’ that will be the school’s Hari Anugerah Kecemerlangan when she’ll get to go on stage and receive her prize. Unlike the previous years when Hasya would also get prizes for getting highest for 1 or 2 subjects (normally English), this year, she’s only going on stage for getting #2 in her class.

Hilman :

Now, Hilman ni pun tricky jugak ni.

If we were to look at his performance since Standard 1 – his positions in class had been #12 and #5 (Std 1) – meaning he improved a lot that year! He maintained and got #1 and #1 (Std 2), and for his Mid-Year this year, he got #1, too. However, for his Finals this year, he has slipped dua mata anak tangga to #3! And for that, his Ayah has banned him from playing his PS2 and PSP indefinitely. His total percentage has also gone down :(

And unlike the previous years when he would also receive prizes for getting highest for Science, this year he’s only going on stage to receive his prize for getting #3 in class. Just like Hasya, there will be no prize for best in subjects this year...

But, but, but...To make up for it, he will be getting another prize called the “Hadiah Kecemerlangan” which has just been introduced by the school, for getting all As for his exam! Yeay!!! :) But, then again, he got all As for his last exam anyway, so, no "improvement" as such in that department lah this time, kan? Only 5 pupils from his Class got all As apparently. I’m not sure about the rest of the Standard 3 classes. So, insya Allah, Hilman will be placed in the best class next year.

Anyway, I have to admit - this time punyer exam, both Ayah and I were pretty tied up with work and stuff, and neither of us had the time and the chance to come up with our normal mock papers for Hilman and Hasya. In fact, for Hasya we basically left it to her tuition teachers to go over her subjects. And as for Hilman, I only had time to go through his workbooks the nights before his papers :( (Maybe...JUST maybe, the mock papers could have made the difference?!)

Anyway, Mommy just want to say that I am so proud of all three of you!!! Keep up the good work, and Mommy hope to see a lot more improvement for next year, okay? MMMUUUAAAHHHSSS AND (((((HUGS)))))!!!

So, next Tuesday will see both Ayah and I attending SK Sr* Pe*al*in*’s Hari Anugerah Kecemerlangan to cheer Hasya and Hilman on when they walk up the stage to receive their prize(s). That is - IF Ayah tak mogok and doesn’t want to go because his kids didn’t get #1... Hehehe!

If that’s the case, I’ll be there... still :)

And a big shoutout to Hanna's friends who read my blog:
HELLO KARYNA, NADIAH, SERI SARAH, AQILA, ANGELA AND PIK LENG! :)

Nice car. Shame about the driver :)

We were on our way to an open house last Saturday, and were driving along the LDP when I saw a yellow Lotus cruising from behind us, and for about 15 seconds we were side by side, moving through the traffic.

I turned to look at the driver, and jokingly said out loud -

"Hmmmmm...Nice car. Shame about the driver".

All eyes automatically turned to look at the driver, and Hilman had this to say -

"Mommy, rich people are usually fat, right, Mommy?"

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Okay, mana orang-orang kaya kat luar sana nak tolong jawab??!! Silakan :D

Is it hard being a Mom...?

This has been the longest hiatus this blog has gone into, and I guess a few friends were beginning to get worried by my long silence.

Ibu left a comment on my FB - "What happened to you? Sonyap jo..."

Bella SMSd me yesterday - "...Lama tak nampak u update. I hope all is well..."

And even Ayah has been asking me a few times - "You've not updated your blog?"

Thank you for your concerns, my dear friends and hubby :)

I am fine, syukur alhamdulillah. Just that life (if it wasn't already hectic before) had been MORE hectic in the last few weeks.

For a start, the Uni's new Academic Year started early this month, and we had been busy briefing new students as to what the Department has to offer, etc. Instead of the usual congregation of all the new students at the Faculty's biggest Lecture Hall where all the departments take turns to brief the newbies, this year, due to the H1N1 threat, the freshies were not allowed to go to the main campus, and instead we had to go to all the residential colleges for the briefings. So, you can just imagine giving the same presentation over and over again, but to different sets of students? Aiyoooo...mentally exhausting, I tell you. Even though I was not doing the talk myself, going to the residential colleges, and listening to all the briefings itself was quite draining.

And of course, when class started, yours truly had to organize the tutorial groups, etc. And it didn't help when you've come up with the list of students for each group, and allocated the Tutorial topics for each of them, but, every couple of days, a few would come to you and inform that they either just joined the group, or that they had just dropped the course, and you would have to RE-ORGANIZE and RE-ALLOCATE the Topics all over again. And that went on until end of last week. Thank God, I only have a total of 76 students this Semester...

And the kids were ever so busy with all the activities Tok Nenek under the sun, kan? The last 4-5 weekends had not been true weekends for us because of that. I found myself driving the kids here and there for all their extra lessons and social activities throughout most of the Saturdays and Sundays.

And it didn't help when both Hasya and Hilman fell sick at the end of last week.

It started off with Hilman having a bad cough on Thursday, and I had to bring him to see Dr. Mu*a on Friday. He had to go on the nebulizer, and was prescibed with Tussidex, Prednisolone and of course his 4-hourly Ventolin puffs. Thank God, he was not having any temperature.

Come Sunday morning, his cough was not getting better, and Hasya was starting to have flu-like symptoms, and by Sunday evening her temperature went up to 38.4, and she had started coughing, too!

Monday morning, I had to bring both the kids to see Dr. Mu*a again. Hilman had to go on the nebulizer again, and Hasya was asked to take the 4-hourly Ventolin puffs, too, together with Tussidex cough syrup. She was also given a course of antibiotics (Augmentin), but ONLY to be taken if her fever didn't subside by the third day.

Monday night - her temperature was hovering above 38.4 throughout the night, and I was up almost half of the night, waking up every hour or so, checking on her, and spongeing her down. At one point, her temperature shot up to 39.7! We decided to just start her on the Augmentin and not wait for another 2 days.

I had classes until 6p.m on Tuesday, but, Hasya was keeping me in the loop on her temperature. She would call me every hour to give me an update of the thermometer reading. The Augmentin must have helped, as she recorded temperatures of between 37.3 to 37.6 through the day. BUT, Hilman's cough, on the other hand, was NOT getting better at all. In fact it was getting worse. His cough sounded so hollow and so coarse, and I could just feel how soar his throat was just by listening to his coughs!

Wednesday morning, Hasya's temperature went up to 38.1, and I decided to bring them to see Dr. Mu*a again. That was the third visit within 6 days. Those who are familiar with Dr. Mu*a's clinic would know that every visit would mean that half of your day would be gone. However, Dr. Mu*a, upon seeing us in his waiting room, immediately asked us to go to his room - no need to ikut nombor. He was quite happy with Hasya's progress - even though her temperature had not gone down to the normal level, she was getting better and was advised to just continue with whatever medications she was on.

However, after checking Hilman, he ordered for an X-Ray to be done on him, and lo and behold, it showed that Hilman had a lung infection and he was immediately put on a course of Klacid antibiotics.

Both kids were given MC until today.

So, you guys, the last one week had been quite a stressful time for me. What with the lack of sleep, my Florence Nightingale shifts, the running around, the start of my Lectures and Tutorial classes, and the rest of the unsettled stuff at the office. And it didn't help when I was getting the constant, "Are you going to work today, Mommy?!" or "What time are you coming back today, Mommy", or "Do you HAVE to go to the office today, Mommy?"!, either to my face or through the phone. And I was putting on my remote control mode from the office and kept on calling home to make sure the kids were getting their medications on time, and also to make sure that Dar was in fact giving them the RIGHT medication at the right time. And with them being sick and all, eating out or even tapau-ing food from outside would be a BIG No-No! So, that meant I had been doing the cooking myself for the last week or so, too.

It didn't help that we also had some problems with the piping of our nextdoor neighbour's aircond which led to quite a bad leakage in our Master bedroom and onto the plaster ceiling and wall of our living room. And Ayah had also been pretty busy at work in the last month or so, and have been coming back late most nights. But, being busy at the hospital is good for Ayah nowadays, so, I can't complain, can I?

Anyway, it must have shown on my face - the strain, because, while I was driving the kids home from the hospital that day, Hilman asked me what my schedule was after sending them home. Hasya was, by that time, already asleep on the backseat of the car. And I lined up my plans for the day, and said to him -

"First, I have to go back to the office as I have yet to clock in for the day, and I have to settle a few matters at work. Then, I'll be meeting Ayah for lunch. Then, I would be going back to the office to do some work. Then, I would be fetching Kak Long from school at 5:30p.m. Then, I would be sending Kak Long to Wan's house, where she would get ready for her piano lesson. Then, I would be sending Kak Long to her piano lesson, and I would wait for her to finish. (Hasya and Hilman were supposed to have their piano lessons at the same time, too, but this week they're excused) Then, I would be sending Qa*sa*a (his cousin) back to Wan's house (she also goes for piano lessons at the same place and time as the kids) And THEN only I would be making my way home to SD with Kak Long, and cook dinner for you and your sisters".

I said all that to him without a pause.

And after all that, Hilman looked at me and said,

"Is it hard being a Mom, Mommy?"

And suddenly I felt a lump in my throat, and my eyes were getting blurred by the tears welling up in them when all the built-up strain and stress seemed to be rushing in and hit the core of me in those few moments...

I was trying to compose myself, and after a few seconds, I said to him -

"Yes, It IS hard sometimes, Hilman, to be a Mom. But, you know what? I wouldn't change it for the world...NOT EVER."

And with that, all the stress and strain that I was feeling throughout the week, just evaporated away as I held his hand in mine throughout the rest of the journey back to SD...

Pizza...CGPAs...Sports...

I went back to my MIL's house this afternoon to fetch and send Hilman to school. He was all ready, sitting on the bench in front of the house, complete with the surgical mask on him.

I went in to have a drink first, and saw some leftovers of the Do*inoes Pizzas which Hasya brought back from her Do*inoes school excursion yesterday. I did not expect any leftovers from yesterday as I knew just how much Hilman loved pizzas, so I asked Dar if she had served Hilman with the pizzas. And this was what she told me -

Dar : Sudah, buk...Tadinya sememangnya tinggal 3 keping, jadi saya sudah hidangkan dan suruh Hilman habiskan kesemuanya. Tapi, Hilman 'ngabiskannya satu saja. Tinggalnya dua. Dia bilang sama saya - "Makcik jangan makan ni, okay? Saya tinggal satu untuk Kak Ngah. Lagi satu untuk Kak Long..."

I just smiled as I felt all warm inside thinking how thoughtful my boy was!

After sending Hilman, I fetched Hasya and sent her back to my MIL's place, where Dar served her the pizzas on top of the rice and lauk-pauk. I told Hasya how thoughtful Hilman was to have tinggalkan one pizza each for his sisters, and she just smiled.

I went up to solat Zohor, and fifteen minutes later, I went down.

The pizza plate was empty.

Kak Ngah had finished both pizzas, without leaving anything for her Kak Long...

Sigh...

I didn't scold her of course, because benda makan, kan? Dah masuk perut dah pun. And further more her Kak Long was not expecting to have pizzas today anyway.

But still...a bit terkilan coz' niat Hilman was for his Kak Long to have one of the pizzas... Nampak gayanya, this weekend nak kena order pizza again. I ni tak boleh lah benda-benda macam ni...Rasa macam ada benda tak settled. You know what I mean?

Pelik ke?


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


Hanna's school had its Open Day on Wednesday. The plan was for both Ayah and I to go and see her Class Teacher to discuss her performance for her Mid-Year, but, alas, at the last minute, Ayah had to perform a procedure, so Mommy had to go alone.

Hanna warned me that there would be a huge drop in her position this time as the school has changed its ranking system this year. If before, students were ranked and streamed according to their total marks and percentages, this year it is based on their CGPAs.

For her Final Exam last year, Hanna got 3rd in class and 7th in the whole form, but, her Mid-Year this time, she dropped by quite a number of placings as she didn't get 4 flat.

Kesian Hanna...Her marks were not bad at all. All her A's were very high A's, but she got 2 B's (both missing the A's by only a few marks!), and because of that, she lost out to some of her friends who got all or more A's than her even though her total marks were much higher than theirs...

Anyway, I guess it is a good strategy and system the school is adopting because at the end of the day, it is how many A's one gets that counts when it comes to PMR and SPM, and not one's total marks, kan?

I told Hanna to improve on all her subjects, especially her BM and Sejarah, which gave her the B's. Because to me, as long as she aims high, and as long as she does her best, insya Allah she'll improve and get all A's at the end of the day anyway. But, I tell you...the competition kat that school....oh my...REALLY tough!

Hanna ni, selalunya Mid-Year Exam memang selalu gives us heart-attacks, but, when it comes to the Finals she always excels, insya Allah. This - since Primary School lagi :)

We can only do'akan the kids... The rest would all depend on their own efforts to better themselves, insya Allah.

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

A bit on the kids' sports activities - Hasya is now training for her school netball team. Tak tau lagi if she will be selected, or not, but she has been going for training for the last one month or so. She's praying that she'll be chosen!

Hanna pulak will be representing her school in Taekwon-do for MSSD this month. She has been a red-black belter since she was 11 and had not sat for her black belt grading as she has to wait until she's 15 to do that. She stopped going for classes when she was in her UPSR year, and only started again this year. According to her Master, next year she can straight away sit for her 2nd Dan Black Belt grading, insya Allah. So, we're quite excited about that!

Hilman pulak seems to exhibit some talent in playing badminton, and we're thinking of sending him for a structured lesson in the game, insya Allah. He enjoys playing with his Ayah and Mommy more than with his Kak Ngah, coz' his sister asyik tak dapat return serve ajer....So, their game together tak smooth sangat.

This was what he told his Kak Ngah -

"Kak Ngah, I play better with professionals..."

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!


Sekian... :)

5-Day Wrap-up...

Have been busy, busy, busy!

What with the school hols and all, and the kids are at home 24/7, and them asking me, "Are you going to work today, Mommy?" (like a dozen times a day - and that's just in the morning!), I feel like there aren't enough hours in a day this term break.

I've already stocked up the fridge, freezer and pantry to last the first week of the school holidays last Friday, but, I think the stock for milk and fish is already running low!

A lot has been happening, and I've been meaning to blog about this and that, but other commitments seemed to have a strong hold on me in the last few days.

So, now that I have the chance to write, I'd better do it immediately.

I guess I'd better do this chronologically.

Thursday, 28th May 2009

(i) Report Card Day for Hasya and Hilman.

Ayah couldn't make it for Hasya's report as he had a few patients scheduled for his clinic that morning, so, yours truly had to go alone. There weren't many parents when I reached there at 10:30a.m., and there weren't many pupils either as they were given the options of staying home or, going to school, and then following their parents home after the meeting with the class teachers. I guess most pupils opted for the former.

There were quite a number of prefects present though, and I guess they didn't have any choice but to attend school as they were given specific duties to help the teachers for that day.

Surprisingly, "Schoolaholic" Hasya opted to stay at home, and I could sense why. She knew she didn't do as well as the previous years, and she didn't know how to react if her report card were to be handed to her by her teacher personally that day. And frankly speaking, I didn't know how to react, too, when I was handed her report card.

Hasya got 5th place in her class, Syukur alhamdulillah. But, for someone who usually got 1st or 2nd place all this while, 5th place was quite a spirit damper - not just for Hasya, but also for her Mommy. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't upset, nor was I disappointed. I was sad more than anything because I knew she could have done better, and I guess I was partly to be blamed.

I admit that I had not spent as much time with the kids this time revising for their exams, as I did previously. And I had not been that strict with them when it comes to watching TV/DVDs, playing PS2 and reading story books. Hasya seemed to be ONLY doing just that two weeks prior to the exams. My bad. I thought she was ever ready for any exams thrown at her.

Hasya was using the excuse that all her classmates who had beaten her in the exam go for tuitions, and thus, they were more prepared and more advanced than her in all the subjects. Hmmmm, we'll see if that reason would still be valid for the next exams, okay, Hasya?

Because starting after the hols, we're engaging Hanna's former tuition teacher, Mrs Ya*un*ha to be Hasya's home tutor pulak. One thing we realized, the fees now is quite a bomb compared to Hanna's time 2 years ago! Well, for Hasya's sake, insya Allah it'll be worthed every single sen, insya Allah.

Anyway, for Hilman's report, I had to go again in the afternoon, and this time Ayah was there, too.

Hilman was jaga-ing a Std 2 Class when we arrived. There was no queue at his class and Ayah and I managed to see his teacher the second we reached there.

And as expected, Hilman got 1st place in his class. Syukur alhamdulillah. Yang kelakarnya, everytime he saw his friends along the corridor when we were going home, he would ask them their placings in class, and when they told him their placings, he would tell them, "I got 1st place", Hehehe! Those who know Hilman would know that he wasn't bragging or anything like that. To him, it was just an act of sharing information :)

(Come to think of it, Hilman watched as much TV as his Kak Ngah did, if not more, and in fact played PS2 MORE than her...So, how do you explain him getting #1, and Hasya #5?! Hmmmmmm....?)

Anyway, as a lesson, Hasya is not allowed to watch TV/DVD or play PS2 indefinitely. So, for the past few nights Hilman has been dilligently supplying her with all the details of the 10:00pm Naruto show.

And last night, as I was going to the Family Hall on the way to the Master Bedroom, I saw Hasya sitting on the sofa, facing the wall, with her back to the TV. Naruto was on. And I asked her -

Me : Hasya what are you doing staring at the wall?!

Hasya : I'm listening to Naruto, Mommy...

Me : What do you mean?! Hey! You're not supposed to watch TV, okay?!

Hasya : I'm not watching, Mommy. I'm just listening! You said I could not watch TV. I'm not watching, okay Mommy...you didn't say I could not listen to the TV...

I tak tau nak marah or nak tergelak, and I just walked into the room. Ayah who was lying on the bed, heard what Hasya said, and he was trying hard not to laugh. I locked the door behind me, and both of us just burst out laughing!

Hasya...Hasya... Sigh... :)

(ii) Kantoi

Anyway, that evening, Hasya and Hilman were supposed to have mengaji at 8:30pm at their Wan's place, and as usual, right after school all the kids were deposited at my MIL's house.

It was at 8:00p.m, when I received a phone-call from their Ustadz who apologized and told me that he was not able to make it to teach that evening as he had to attend to some "hal mustahak".

In a way, I was quite relieved because I was supposed to go and get the cards and gifts for the kids' teachers for Friday's Teacher's Day Celebration while they were having their mengaji that night. So, immediately upon being informed that the class had been cancelled, I asked the kids to pack their stuff and change their clothes, and off we went to One-U to get the cards and gifts together. Saved me the headaches of choosing everything for them.

Anyway, we reached One-U at 8:45pm, and we were making our way to Me*or* La*e at the Lower Ground Floor when we bumped into......Guess who?!!










Their Ustadz Mengaji!!!


He was outside a gift shop with his daughters and wife. His daughters were obviously looking for cards and gifts for their teachers, too!

Awkward, I tell you. Really awkward... Hehehe!

So as not to make him feel embarrassed, I gave salam to him, and said,

"Ustadz pun kena cari barang untuk Hari Guru, ya? Samalah Kak Shana. Budak-budak ni, selagi tak beli kad dengan hadiah untuk cikgu-cikgu dioghang, selagi tu tak senang duduk! Nak kena beli MALAM NI jugak! Esok tak boleh! Nasib baik juga Ustadz batal kelas malam ni, dapat jugak bawak budak-budak ni untuk pilih sendiri, etc.!


Ustadz pun tersipu-sipu malu. Kesian pulak kat dia. But, I hope he knows that I truly didn't mind him cancelling the class that night.

I'm also a parent of demanding kids. I understand ;)

Anyway, we managed to get 4 cards and 3 gifts each for the three kids to give to their teachers.

Nak harap their Mommy buat cupcakes for their teachers (like a lot of my supermoms blogger friends out there! Bravo!)? Errrrr...tahun depan pun tak leh janji, okay? Hehehe!


Saturday, 30th May 2009

Besides my normal supir duties - sending and fetching kids to/from Chess, Guitar, and Swimming Lesson, that night Ayah and I sent Hanna and her friend Mira to Bukit Jalil for the Relay for Life event.

We decided to while the time away by going to Endah Parade. We were there at 9:20pm and decided to leave the place shortly after that.

How do I say this? Errrr...that was the first and the last time we would go there. That place was so....errrr...so-NOT-my-cuppa-tea laah!

So, while waiting for midnite - the time we told Hanna and Mira we would fetch them, we decided to go to my Sis Lala's place in Keramat, only to find that the whole family had gone to have dinner at my BIL's Kak Ngah's place in Hillview. So, my BIL invited us to join them at his Kak Ngah's house. All the usual suspects were there. (They are actually our second set of Majlis Tertinggi - the family version, who meet nearly every Saturday Night for PotLuck thingies at my Sis Lala's place in Keramat).

We left Hillview just before midnite and went straight to Bukit Jalil to fetch the girls, reaching home just before 1:00a.m.


Sunday, 31st May 2009

Supir duty again!

Morning - Sent and fetched Hasya and Hilman to and from their Dance Class.

Afternoon - Sent Hasya and Hilman to Royale Bintang Hotel (The Curve) for a birthday party, while Ayah sent Hanna to Kg Tunku for her Taekwondo training. She's competing in the MSSD Sports Meet later this month, insya Allah.

Evening - I fetched Hanna from taekwondo training, while Ayah fetched Hasya and Hilman from Royale Bintang...(Hehehe! Saja tukar angin :))

After Maghrib, we left for One-U to watch the 9:30pm show of "Night at the Museum II".

I tell you, it has been quite some time since I last had such a good laugh at the movies! Highly recommended. Memang a great stress-buster that movie!


Monday, 1st June 2009

My Abah and Mommy are staying with us the whole of this week, as it is my turn to bring Abah for his radiotherapy treatment at GH.

Abah has been going to GH on a daily basis for the last 3 weeks for his radiotherapy treatment (except for weekends and Public Holidays) and all this while, my Sis Lala has been bringing him to the hospital. It has been quite a convenient arrangement as her place in Keramat is so much nearer to GH, and as Lala is a SAHM, her daily schedule is rather flexible. Abah and Mommy had been staying over at Lala's place, and she has been attending to all Abah's and Mommy's needs for the last three weeks. God bless her! :)

However, we have to make another arrangement for this week as Lala and her family have gone to Bandung/Jakarta (they left this afternoon) for a family getaway.

As it is already the Semester Break for the Uni, my schedule is also quite flexible now, and after seeking permission from my HoD, I've been allowed to take time off in the morning so that I could bring Abah to the hospital for his treatment, and only go to the office after lunch.

As I'm writing this, Abah has another 4 radiotherapy sessions to go to, before he starts on a couple of brachytherapy treatment sessions, insya Allah.

Abah is responding very well to the treatment, in fact, he's doing MUCH, MUCH better than he did when he had to go through the same treatment when he was dignosed with his first NPC in 1995. Syukur alhamdulillah.

His face does not have any burnt marks, and he has not lost the ability to taste food as he did in 1995. In fact, it gives me great pleasure to see him eat A LOT everytime I cook for him and the family :) My Mommy said he has been eating a lot more than he normally would when he was at home since he stayed at Lala's and now, at our place. I'm really glad :)

He spends most of his time on the sajaddah, berwirid and berzikir after solat, and other times in front of the TV, changing the channels every minute or so :) So, the kids have been warned by moi to NOT kacau Jaddi in the living room when he's watching TV (or most of the times, the TV watching him! Hehehe!) Anyway, as Hasya is OFF TV now, there's no risk of Hilman and Hasya fighting over which channels to watch on the upstairs' TV.

Next week, my brother Eddie will be bringing Abah for his final radiotherapy session on Monday, and thereafter for his brachytherapy as we pulak will be away for 6 days.

Where are we heading to?

Remember my posting on our planned Bali trip dulu? Yup! It's next week, and we're leaving this Saturday. Ayah will be away in Cambodia this Thursday and coming back on Friday, and he'll be sending us to the airport. Ayah will only be joining us in Bali on Monday, insya Allah.

So, in case some of you were wondering why laaaaarrr this posting is SUPER-LONG, this explains this longer-than-usual posting - I'm trying to make up for my possible non-blogging week the whole of next week. Takut ada yang rindu kat I pulak nanti...Heheheh :)

We are so looking forward to the trip, but I am so not looking forward to the packing, y'all. But, what to do? Can't rely on the kids to do it, can I? Nanti ada pulak yang tak cukup benda-benda kecik nak pakai kat Bali pulak nanti... ;)

See you all the later part of next week, okay?

Cheers!

(Land of The Barong!!! Here we come!!!!!!)

Tomorrow : Report Card Day...

Tomorrow's Report Card Day for Hasya and Hilman.

Ayah will not be able to attend in the morning for Hasya's session as he has scheduled a few patients for his clinic, so Mommy will be going alone. But, insya Allah, both of us will be there for Hilman's report in the afternoon.

We sort of could guess how the results would be by the way the kids react when we ask them for the marks and the marks of their classmates.

Hasya seems to be answering with, "I'm not sure...", everytime we asked her who got highest for each subject and what their marks were, just to gauge where she stands this time. (Remember us? K-I-A-S-U PARENTS - spelt in capital letters? :)) So far Hasya got highest for English. The rest of the subjects - she either got second, third or fourth highest, with two classmates consistently doing better than her. Unlike the previous years, this year her two classmates were quite consistent in getting high marks for all, and not just for 1 or 2 subjects.

Ayah and I feel that Hasya might have been too complacent this year. As usual, we never push the kids for Mid-Year exams as we want to see who their "competitors" in class are in a "baseline" situation first. The grilling and drilling are reserved for the Finals :) We realized that she has been watching too much TV, and reading way, way, way too many story books at the expense of her school books.

As for Hilman, he has been keeping track of the marks of all the "smart" people (based on his observation la) in his class. He came back on Friday last week, saying that he might not get first place because Al*x and Ja*in*tha might have beaten him in a couple of subjects. But, yesterday, he came back and said that there might be a possibility that he could get #1 because he just found out that the two friends actually got lower marks than him for the subjects concerned. We'll just have to wait and see how it goes tomorrow. It might be that some of his other classmates also did well, and he was not "monitoring" their marks, kan? ;)

Anyway, we know that Hasya has learnt her lesson. But, we still need to put her in place. So, we have decided to bar her from watching TV indefinitely. And she's okay with it. The house has been void of the sounds coming from the idiot box for 5 days now. And the sweet thing is - because his Kak Ngah is not allowed to watch any TVs, Hilman is also not watching any programmes - including his regular and mandatory 10:00pm Naruto :) I think he feels kesian for his Kak Ngah.

But, but, but - yesterday he asked me, "Mommy, if I get #1, can I watch TV again?" Hehehe! I guess there's only so much a little brother can sacrifice for the sake of his Kak Ngah, right? Especially when he so deserves what little entertainment he can get around the house :)

Anyway, we'll see how they have really fared in their Mid-Year tomorrow. Whatever it may be, we hope that they'll do better in their Finals, insya Allah.

Even though Ayah and I never believed in sending the kids for tuition at such a young age, we feel that this time around we'll have to make an exception, especially when both of us are finding it more and more difficult to find the time to REALLY sit down and coach the kids, especially on a daily basis, out of the exam fever period. At least for Hasya, that is. We're thinking of a Home Tuition for her, and we're trying to get Pn. Ya*un*ha who tutored Hanna for her UPSR three years ago to tutor Hasya, too. As for Hilman, he'll probably need it when he's in Year 4 next year, too, ESPECIALLY for his BM Papers.

As for Hanna, she just finished her exams on Monday, and so far the results that she has got back are pretty good :) She'll probably get all her results after the school hols, I think. In the mean time, yours truly will have to just sit back and relax and TRY not to think of what her overall results would be.

My God...did I just say "school hols"?!

Hmmmm...I'd better think of things for the kids to do over the hols, now that TV is OUT for Hasya!

Cheers, y'all :)

Separa surprise :)

I was in the car with Hilman after fetching him from school earlier on. He was sitting alone at the back, with his schoolbag occupying half of the space.

We were on our way to his Wan's house to fetch his Kak Long Hanna and Kak Ngah Hasya, before going back to SD when he suddenly said -

Hilman : Mommy, your "surprise" is in my schoolbag okay, Mommy?

(FYI, he has been hinting about this "surprise" for me for the last week or so :))

Me : "Surprise"?! Hmmmm, I think I know what it is, Man. You want me to guess, ke?

Hilman : Okay la, Mommy. You can make a guess.

Me : It's a Mother's Day Card, right?

Hilman : (Silent for about 10 seconds) I know you already know la, Mommy.

Me : Hehehe...Sorry, to have spoilt it for you. Thank you, dear. Did you make it yourself?

Hilman : You see la nanti, Mommy...(Pause for about 10 seconds again). That's why la all my books are on the seat. Cannot fit in the bag because your "surprise" is in there.

I looked behind, and true enough his books were all over the backseat!

Me : Cannot fit in your bag?! Waaaaahhh, how BIG is my Mother's Day card, Hilman?

Hilman : I'll give it to you in 2 days time, okay? Then you see laaa...

Me : Okay, darling :)

Hilman : And Mommy, when I give it to you in 2 days time, make sure you "look" surprised, Okay?

Me : (???!!!) Errrr, okay... (Hehehe!)

So from now until Sunday, I will be spending most of my time in front of my mirror - practising my best "SURPRISED" look for my dear boy ;)

* HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL MOTHERS OUT THERE! Hope you'll have a lovely time with your family this weekend. And make sure practise your muka 'surprised' for your anak-anak, too, okay? ;)

Of sports, and birthdays...

Sorry, sorry, sorry... Have been busy, busy, busy!

Exams have started, and I need not say more :)

Anyway, before cerita jadi lemau, I'd better post this.

It's the time of the year when anak-anak kita get the tan, or rather - sun-burnt. Yup - it's Sports Day time :)

Hanna took part in the shot-putt event and she got silver for Class 2. Initially she thought she got the gold, but apparently the teachers also took into account the throws made by the students during the qualifying rounds. It's okay, dear. Silver is good :) You can always try for the gold next year, okay? No pics of her because her Sports Day was held on a Thursday and both Ayah and I couldn't be there :( Most parents couldn't make it. Maybe memang the school wanted it to be a closed thingy? I don't know.

Hanna was also involved in the handball tournament. She's in her school U-15 team and they also had the inter-school tourney last week. She was the Wing and one of the Strikers (I think?). Anyway, they won 1, and lost 2. So, their journey to the next level ended there :( But, I know she had fun practising and playing for her school. That's the most important thing, dear :)

Hasya was in the 200m and also the 4x100m events. She just missed the bronze medal for the 200m run by just a foot, I must say. But, YEAY!!! Her team got GOLD for the 4x100m event! We've never really seen her run on the tracks before, and I have to say, she can really sprint! It just so happened that three of the runners in her team were also with Hasya in the state rhythmic gymnastics team, which I blogged about here. Memang gymnasts ni kuat lari, kot? Hasya was also in the Perbarisan and her house - Tun Perak (Green) won first place.

Hilman pulak was in the Baling Bola dalam Bakul event and his team won the silver medal. And I think, if there was a prize for it, he would have also won the "Student Most-Resembling Udang Bakar" prize that day. Him, being so fair and gebu, habis muka jadi so merah! Kesian betul...

Overall, Green House got second place, behind Red House. And Hasya is praying hard that her legs would grow longer so that she can run faster, and beat Red House in all events next year. That's the spirit, my girl :)

Anyway, Mommy and Ayah are SO proud of you guys!! Well done :)

Petang tu, they didn't go for their Chess and Swimming classes. Balik from Sports - semua melepek...

In the evening - checked in at Sa*ja*a Im*ia* Resort again for a triple birthday celebration - Hasya's, Ibu's Idin's and also Sh*dy's a.k.a Mr.Engineer's birthdays, or in short - "HASYIDIN'S BIRTHDAY" :) It was a Pot-Luck thingy with spreads like Nasi Hujan Panas, Kari Daging, and Acar (On*ir's), Ayam Masak Merah (Moi), Ketam Masak Lemak, Lala Tumis (Ibu), Eclairs (J*), Satay Kajang Samuri (yang dibawa dari Taman Melawati ke KAJANG oleh Re*a, buleh?!), Nasi Lemak, Spaghetti Bolognaise dan macam-macam lagi.

Ibu was the games coordinator and the kids had some water games in the pool, which included water polo, and also a race. Who would have guessed - Hilman won the swimming event! (But, errrr...maybe because he was the ONLY one wearing flippers that night? Laju giler...Hehehe!)

We also had a Karaoke contest, and Ayah got the highest score of 98! Fuiyoooo... don't pray-pray, okay? :)

Another sleepover, but, the Kaum Ibu only went to bed at 4:30a.m :)

Sunday morning - left the "Resort" at 11:00a.m as Hasya and Hilman had their dancing lesson nun on the other side of KL...but, not before having a few rounds of Nasi Lemak with Sambal Sotong and Sambal Udang and Ayam Goreng, and Nasi Goreng Bibik Special. Breakfast included in the package, maaa...Kena lah makan, kan? ;)

Everybody had fun. And needless to say - everybody had extra kilos on them that weekend... :) And nobody cares. Hahaha!

Here are some pics.

These and those...

Posting ini adalah ditujukan khas kepada kawan yang sorang tu - yang tengah bored giler nun kat Rawang tu, untuk dijadikan bahan bacaan dan bahan rujukan di kala mengantuk dan kepala asyik tersengguk-sengguk macam ayam mematuk padi... :) Dan sempena memenuhi permintaan kawan tu, I shall call this entry as "These and Those" - a timely hapdet after my previous posting of "This and That"...Hehehe!



First, it was supposed to be just Hasya.

Then it was supposed to be just Hasya and Hilman.

Then it was changed to also include Hanna.

Under all three arrangements, Di*a assured us that she would be taking care of them in the event that both Ayah and I are not able to join them.

After much thought, we then decided that I should be with them as it wouldn't be fair on Di*a to have to take care of our 3 kids when she would have so many other things to attend to and do there.

And a few days ago, Ayah said that he will be joining us, too - either for the first, OR the last 3 nights we're there. Yeay!!!

"There" where? I heard you all say.

"There" = BALI!!!

Yes! We're going off to Bali in June, insya Allah :)

Di*a is bringing some of her students to attend a special workshop on Balinese dances over a 6D5N stay at Diwangkara Sanur and Maya Ubud, and parents are also encouraged to attend, as it would be an interesting and wonderful experience for her students and their families. It'll be like a family vacation, too!

This is not the first time that Di*a is organizing such a trip. Some of her students had the opportunity to learn and have fun in Bali a few years back and those parents who had joined them then strongly recommend that we follow the troop this year.

So, from now until June, Di*a's students who are going to Bali will be taught a few Malay traditional dances which they will be performing on a special night in Maya Ubud. Not only that, they will also be going through a few workshop sessions when in Bali to study and learn on how to dance some of the traditional Balinese Dance, after which they will be performing those dances to the locals. That will be so exciting!

As it will be during the school holidays, Ayah finally decided that ALL of us should go. Lagi pun dah lama the kids tak holiday outside tanah tumpah darah mereka...(Asyik-asyik gi Langkawi ajer kan? Hehehe!) Their passports pun dah lama expired. High time to renew them. And after that we won't have any excuse not to go holidays abroad sekurang-kurangnya 3 kali setahun kan, Ayah?! (Hehehe! Ayah dah start berpeluh dah tuh...)

And that's another thing.

Because it was supposed to be just Hasya alone going initially, last month we only renewed HER passport. And because of the Immigration policy that the father of the child MUST be present at the time of applying and collecting the passport, we had to wait until Ayah had some free time to bring Hasya to the Immigration Office. Nasib baik lah jugak kat Pusat Bandar Damansara...Kalau kat Putrajaya, mau Hasya tak jadi gi Bali kot dek passport tak terbuat-buat oleh mak bapak dia...

It was AFTER Hasya already got her new passport that we decided Hilman and Hanna would also be going, and of course, we had to renew THEIR passports, too!

It was a bit tricky as Hanna is in the morning session, while Hilman goes to afternoon school. And Hanna being Hanna - she wanted to maintain her spotless school attendance record. She received a special certificate for 100% perfect attendance last year, and she wants to maintain that. And Hilman being Hilman - pergi sekolah pun okay, tak pergi sekolah pun tak per :) So, we decided to bring them to the Immigration Office on one of the afternoons, after Hanna finished her academic session. Itu pun tricky coz' at Sr* Am*n, the students are expected to attend extra-curri activities until either 4:00p.m or 5:30p.m everyday! Nak tak nak, Hanna had to miss out on one of her handball practice sessions last week (she's in her school Under-15 Team, by the way :))

Nak collect the passports pun satu hal. The kids AND Ayah have to be there. Nasib baik lah jugak the collection counter opens on Saturdays and Sundays. So, the kids don't have to miss school again. But, masalahnya pulak - this weekend, Hasya and Hilman are following their Wan to Port Dickson. And we don't want to wait for the next weekend. Lama sangat! So, nak tak nak, Ayah had to collect Hilman's passport with him this morning. And both Ayah and Hanna are only free to collect HER passport this Sunday. Banyaklah pulak kerja, kan?!

And until and unless we've got everybody's passport renewed, we won't be able to book the flights online (which is supposed to be much cheaper than dealing with the travel agents, etc). I just hope we'll be able to book and fly on the same flight as the rest of the troop nanti. And I also hope the fare tak mencekedaghah sangat...

Everybody's pretty excited.

Hilman especially, because this will be his first time performing in front of an audience. He's going to dance the Zapin with his friend, Is* (the cute little boy in the MILO and the ASTRO adverts). Only that - how I wish Ayah could be with us for the whole 6D5N stay there. But, alas...He can't afford to close his clinic that long. He has to "mengais", remember? :)

This will be Hilman's first time in Bali. And Hasya's, too! As for Hanna, this will be her second time. The first time being 8 years ago when she followed her Wan and her aunties for a holiday there.

Although Ayah had been to Bali a few times, this will be our third time going there together. The first time was when we went for our honeymoon...(Hmmmmm....Come to think of it, MAYBE technically, this will be Hanna's third time in Bali? Hahahaha! ;))

We are ALL excited! I think Ayah needs this break (even though it's only for 3 days) and it'll be a trip to remember for the kids, insya Allah.

In the mean time, it's "kais" time for Ayah and myself. Perlu juta-juta rupiah untuk belanja di Bali, dooonngggg... :)

Of bugs, fungus and roaches...

Ayah and Hasya were feeling better on Monday night and throughout half of Tuesday. However, by the time they came back from work and school respectively yesterday, both were having slight fever again, and aching joints. The bug seems to be making its comeback every other day it seems. And this time around, Hanna pun dah start demam.

She looked pretty pale and was not her usual perky self when she got back from her tuition last night. Gave her a couple of PCM (which she had difficulty swallowing, as usual :) Hilman and Hasya are much better at taking pills whole compared to their Kak Long actually :) Anyway, after having her supper, she went straight to bed. I told her that she should not go to school if her fever were to get worse, but she insisted that she had to go to school as they were having the inter-class choral speaking competition today and she was the conductor for 2H.

You can read her version here :)

Hmmm...all three of our kids are like that! They never want to miss school even if they're sick! It's good I guess...But, that would mean that they can be guilty of spreading all the bugs to their friends at school! Sigh...

They follow their Ayah. Cannot stop working. Throughout his waking hours, he would be working, working, working.

That brings us to the next thing. Ayah had to work on a presentation which he's scheduled to give tomorrow, and he was also supposed to work on his 2-weekly article for Me*ro Ah*d last night, but, he just had to take a short nap before he started tapping on the keyboard. He had been working on an article for Ma*ay Ma*l the last few days which was sent to the Editor just yesterday, and he really needed a break. And his fever was not helping at all.

Just as he was about to lie down on the bed, Hilman came in, grinning. We knew that he was hoping to be allowed to sleep with us because apparently there was a BIG cockroach on the wall outside his room when we got back from my MIL's last night, and before we knew it, it was gone. And Hilman was pretty sure that it had gone into his room. And because of that, he was so not going to sleep in there :)

Seeing Hilman entering our room, Ayah asked him :-

Ayah : Chiman, urut kaki Ayah, boleh? Please?

Hilman : Okay! (without hesitating at all and he went straight to Ayah's feet), but I want to check if your feet got fungus or not first...

Ayah : Fungus??! (And Ayah and I tergolek-golek tergelak!) HAHAHAHA!

Just then, Hasya came in, asking me to feel her forehead. I had also just given her some PCM before that for her fever, and she just wanted me to check if it had started to work on her or not. And Hilman said -

Hilman : Kak Ngah, are you demam?

Hasya : Yeah...

Hilman : You can sleep with Ayah and Mommy tonight. I sleep with them when I demam, too, you know?

Hasya : Naaahh...I want to sleep in my room, but, I just can't sleep.

Hilman : I always relax here first, you know. Everytime before I go to my room. I relax here until I feel sleepy. But, sometimes I would fall asleep terus. You can relax here first, too, Kak Ngah.

(That's Hilman - offering OUR bedroom to his Kak Ngah. Hehehe!)

Hasya : Naaahh...I think I'll go up now. If I still can't sleep, I'll come down. Okay, Mommy?

Me : Okay, darling. (Kiss kiss, Hug hug). Get well soon! You come down if you cannot tidur, okay?

Hilman : So Kak Ngah. You're not sleeping here tonight? (Just making sure :))

Hasya : Naaahh...

Hilman : Okay then. I can sleep with Mommy and Ayah then.

And he jumped straight onto the bed!

And yup! He ended up sleeping with us sampai pagi.

But, not before he was satisfied that Ayah's feet didn't have fungus on them, and not before he urut his Ayah's feet until Ayah pun tertidur... :)

Perfect Valentine's...

Friday night - right after Maghrib, Hanna and I left the house for One-Utama.

The mission - to get a pair of running shoes for Hanna as her school was having a "Merentas Desa" event on Saturday morning, and she didn't have any running shoes to wear. And I also wanted to get a Valentine's card and gift for Ayah. The last Valentine, both of us were so busy that neither managed to even get a card for the other! So, this year, I was determined to at least get a card for him :)

We reached One-Utama at 8:30p.m, and for the next one hour or so, we were at Ne* Ba*an*e, Ni*e, Ad*da* and Ba*a, Ne* Ba*an*ce (again!) and finally Ba*a (again!). Mak ooiii... The trainers are so mencekedaghah, except for those in Ba*a, so that was where we finally settled for a pair of Po*er trainers for Hanna for RM50 :)

Anyway, after getting the trainers, we went to look for Valentine's cards for Ayah. Hanna managed to find a cute one for her and her adik-adik to give to their Ayah, while I was struggling to find a nice one for my hubby. As it was rather a last minute thing, I didn't have much choice, and I had to settle with the best of whatever were left at the card shop, which were not that nice. Sorry, Ayah :(

Next mission - to get his gift(s). By that time, most shops were closing already! Hanna and I managed to run to Gu* La*oc*e. Hmmmm...bad idea to go shopping with your 13y-o daughter as her taste can be so like langit dan bumi to yours! Whatever it was that I liked would get an immediate disapproving look from her. Anyway, as it was a VD gift for MY hubby, and I was paying for them, I had the final say lah kan? By the time we settled with the gifts, it was already 10:30p.m, and off we went home to SD.

And then, it was the waiting game...

Ayah finished his Friday clinic at 10:30p.m, and he was supposed to meet up with Na*a, a friend who was back in KL from Sydney. As Na*a's flight back to Sydney was on Saturday morning and as both of them had been pretty tied up in the last couple of weeks, Friday night was the ONLY time they could meet up for a teh tarik session. 10:30p.m turned to 11:30p.m as Na*a had to settle a few last minute things before his flight back to Sydney. And while Ayah was waiting for Na*a, I was waiting for Ayah at home...Tension lah jugak...

And as the clock struck midnight, still no signs of Ayah. I decided to SMS a Valentine's message to Ayah and almost immediately I received Ayah's Valentine's message to me! Apparently, our messages got crossed :)

By 12:45a.m, I dah merajuk dah...and SMSd Ayah -

"Lama sangat waited for you. I'm going to bed now"

And he came back with, "ODW home".

I put the card and the gifts on his pillows, and went straight to sleep.

I can't even remember when exactly Ayah came home because I was so deep in Slumberland then. Merajuk MAKSIMA lah tu...But, I somehow could recall him saying sorry and thanking me for the card and the gifts and kissing my forehead, before I heard him snoring...and I myself went back to sleep! So much for a romantic Valentine's eve, huh? Hehehe!

On Valentine's Day itself, we had another cause for celebration - in the form of Hasya and Hilman getting prizes for their Hari Anugerah Kecemerlangan at school. The prizes were for their 2008 Final Exams. Both Hasya and Hilman received 2 trophies and 2 Certificates each : Hasya for getting No.2 in her class and best for English for the whole standard 3, while Hilman for getting No.1 in his class and best for Science for the whole standard 2 last year.

Another cause for celebration was when we found out that Hanna's (cheap :))new pair of Po*er trainers had served its purpose very well indeed as Hanna got a medal for 16th placing for her Category (out of about 200 runners) in the Merentas Desa! No need for expensive trainers to run fast, huh? ;)

The rest of Saturday afternoon was spent sending and fetching the kids to and from their swimming class, and with Ayah and I having a long nap until just before Maghrib(something which we rarely get the chance to do!)

After Maghrib, Ayah and I left the kids at home with Dar, with RM125 for them to order Pizzas from Do*in*es (sebab guilty lah tu!),and off we went to KL*CC as Ayah had made reservation at Ta*ak*ra. NOT the most romantic place to have a Valentine's dinner - what with its very bright light and noisy crowd! Hehehe...But, it was perfect for us :)

We left the place just before 10:00p.m, and as we were walking to the car, holding hands, Ayah said,

Ayah : I can still remember the first Valentine's card I gave you...in 1985...

Me : Oh yaaa...me, too!

Ayah : It has a picture of a girl...

Me : Yeah, wearing a bonette... It was red and pink!

Ayah : You remember it, too?!

Me : Yes, of course...my first Valentine's card. Of course I ingat.

And I could feel him squeezing my hand tightly...

And I dah tak merajuk dah with him after that...:)

Even though this year Ayah did not give me any cards or roses like he normally did in the past, I went to bed having this warm and snug feeling in my heart that night knowing that like me, he still remembers the first Valentine's card he gave me 24 years ago...

I guess the feelings are still very strong...Syukur Alhamdulillah :)

Of Pink Panther 2, Shoes, and Los Angeles...

We went to watch Pink Panther 2 last night. I am a big fan of Steve Martin, so, I may be a bit biased when I say that it was SUPERB! Or rather, I should say, HE was superb :) But, Ayah, Hanna and I enjoyed Pink Panther 1 more. Hilman and Hasya loved both equally and they could not decide on which of the two was more hilarious :)

The younger kids didn't know that we were watching the movie. I told Hanna about it though, as I wanted her to bring her jacket with her, or at least wear a long sleeved top, as it can be pretty cold in the movie halls sometimes. As we wanted it to be a surprise for Hilman and Hasya, I had to secretly bring their jackets in my handbag (Yup. I have a VERY big handbag. And it's like ASTRO in there - macam-macam ada... :)) If I were to ask them to bring their jackets themselves, they would surely suspect, as the only time I would ask them to bring their jackets during an outing would be when we're going to the movies.

And as Hilman was (and is) still coughing, I also had to bring all his cough medications with me to be given to him before we went in to watch the movie. So, you can imagine how bulky my handbag was last night!

We went to Sk*chers to get Hilman's new slippers. The Sk*chers that I got for him from Newcsatle two years ago (ala Crocs) dah botak habis the tapak. And we managed to find a nice Camouflage design for him. And Hasya also got a pair of nice sandals for herself there. Hanna wanted a pair of Sk*chers trainers for herself, too but, the ones that she liked were selling at RM269! And considering that we just got her the Alhambra guitar 2 weeks ago which burnt a big whole in Ayah's pocket, RM269 for a pair of trainers for her is out of the question. And immediately after that, she pulled me to the side and said, "Mommy, tadi in Ni*e, there was a pair of trainers that I liked selling at RM159 only..."

(ONLY??!!) Hmmmm...you speak to Ayah, lah Hanna... Fenin Mommy...

We had dinner at Kl*ang St*tion, and all three kids ordered Hainanese Chicken Chops which came rather late. The movie was supposed to start at 10:20p.m (or rather the trailers and all), and the food only came at 10:05p.m! Obviously, both Hasya and Hilman were rather perplexed when I kept on asking them to finish up their food fast, and I kept on looking at my watch.

They finished everything at 10:20p.m on the dot, and I immediately gave Hilman his cough syrup. We walked up the escalators to GSC and the smaller kids got really excited when they realized that we were heading to the cinemas. We decided not to tell them what movie it was that we were watching, but both of them could sense that it was PP2. And Hilman, kept on asking me throughout the trailers, "Mommy, we're watching Pink Panther 2, right?!", and all he got from me was, "You'll just have to wait and see, okay?" And when the movie started, there were squeals of "YES!" from both Hasya and Hilman :)

(But, I later found out that Hanna had already told Hasya about it even before we left home last night! Trust Hanna to do that. But, I guess sisters can never keep secrets from one another. Hehehe! And pandai betul Hasya "acting" as if she didn't know... :))

And just as the movie was starting, Hilman asked me,

Hilman : Mommy, can I have the Los Angeles, please?

Me : Huh?! Los Angeles?!

Hilman : Yeah, the ones the doctor gave to me. The sweets? The ones like Strepsils?

Me : ??! (and after a few seconds, then only I got it) Oooooo...you mean the LOZENGES?!

Hilman : Yeah, the Los Angeles...

Hehehe! Kelesss gitew...my son takes Los Angeles to soothen his sore throat, you all...Hehehe!

Syukur alhamdulillah, after taking his cough syrup and his Los Angeles, and after putting on 2 layers of jackets, he barely coughed during the movie.

We reached home just after midnight, and everybody went straight to bed. But before they went to their rooms, the kids thanked us in concert with their, "Thank you, Mommy. Thank you, Ayah. For tonight. We had fun..."

Thank you, kids. Mommy and Ayah had fun, too :)

P/S : Oh, by the way, looks like one of our kids is closely following Ayah's footsteps...Check it out here

Delighted to be Reunited...

It's 1:37a.m, and I can't seem to bring myself to sleep.

Ayah has long gone to Dreamland, and Hilman is sleeping in between us as I'm typing this. The aircond is not switched on because Hilman is still coughing (after 2 weeks!), and maybe that is why I find it hard to doze off on this rather warm night.

Hilman has finished his course of Prednisolone (a steroid-based pills) and his Pabron syrup, but he is still coughing slightly. He still takes his Ventolin puffs every four hours, and he has been banned from taking any cold drinks, and also from switching on the aircond in his room when he sleeps at night for the past 2 weeks. I might have to bring him to see Dr. Musa again, but the only time I'm free to do that is this Friday morning.

Things have been pretty busy at work. My HoD is away on his 3-weeks "pilgrimage" to India, and for 2 of the weeks he's away, I have to be the acting HoD. And I just so hate admin stuff! But, what to do? And one of the things that I have to attend to is this visit by students and staff from Andalas U Indonesia today. Needless to say, I also have my normal teaching commitments on Thursdays to fulfill, too.

I feel bad for not being able to bring Hilman to see Dr Musa today. And Ayah is pretty busy, too. If only Dr Musa opens his clinic until the evening. Anyway, I will definitely bring Hilman to DSH on Friday. But, hang on! I have to check - I seem to remember that Dr Musa doesn't have his clinics on Fridays! I might have to bring him to see Dr. Azizi instead. Hmmmm, in the mean time, he will continue with his 4-hourly puffs and the normal Breacol syrup. Hope they'll make the cough go away somewhat, somehow.

And I have also been meaning to blog on my STF81-85 Reunion which was held last Saturday, 31st January '09 at Singgahsana. It. Was. Such. A. Blast!

But, MrsNordin told me that someone made a remark that I looked kind of "lost" that day! Yup, I guess I was "lost" alright. Lost for words that is! Hehehe! Or as I term it - "wordless" :)

There were 60 of us, and I just couldn't make up my mind as to whom I should be sitting and chatting with, and in the end I menghinggap sana sikit, sini sikit! And after 23 years, understandably there were some awkward moments between some of us. But, having said that, there were those whom I could just re-connect like we never left school all those years ago!

So, to those who may have felt "offended" by my state of "lostness" (?!), I sincerely apologize. I janji tak buat lagi...Hehehe! 5 hours to catch up on what happened to us in the last 23 years was surely not enough. And I went back having regrets for not being able to REALLY sit down and borak with some of the gang :(

It's good that we have now managed to compile all the data and contact details of most of our batchmates, and I am already looking forward to having coffee with Yan Hamid and Anis Harun one of these days, insya Allah. I might rope in Neetot, Farah and Shahariah (who could not make it that day) for a Kopitiam session somewhere. Eta, Anne, Zaza, Ogy, Oya, Pis, Netty, Jue are you guys in? Awe and Lin, all the way from BP, Hye from Bukit Mertajam, and of course, Aida K from Abu Dhabi - let us know when's the next time you guys are coming up/down/over to KL, and maybe we can arrange for the Kopitiam session to coincide with your KL trip, huh?

And my friends in FB have also increased in number since the Reunion. So, I'm pretty busy hogging on my FB account, too, these last few days, looking at all the photos posted - hence the somewhat state of neglect of this blog these last few days :)Sorry, guys.

But, to make up for the slight hiatus, you all can read all the postings about the "Delighted to be Reunited" Reunion of STF81-85 Batch by MrsNordin, Eta, McZae and moi, here, here, here, here , and here if you guys want to know more about what went on that day. And, oh yes - there are some great pictures, too!

Cheers, y'all :)

Post-script :

Ayah managed to bring Hilman to see his Paeds friend at TMC this morning. Apparently Hilman has a bad case of laryngitis, and he has been given 1 day MC. I'm glad it's not his asthma. Apparently his lungs are clear, but he has a very red and inflammed inner throat. Poor baby... :(