It's just a celebration of "US"

I saw a status on one of my FB friends’ Wall today – “Saya tidak sambut Hari Kekasih, sebab saya dah kawin. Saya sambut Hari Suami Isteri” . Translated – “I don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day (or Lovers Day), because I am already married. I celebrate Husband & Wife Day”.

I can’t really say or I can’t figure out exactly as to how my take is on this very statement.

I have been celebrating Husband & Wife Day every single day since 09-09-94.

And I have to say that both Ayah and I have been celebrating Valentine’s Day ever since we knew each other. And mind you, we knew each other since 1984. And I received my first Valentine’s Day Card from him in February 1985. And I started getting bouquets of roses year in year out every single year on 14th February without fail since 1986. I guess the first couple of celebrations were mainly because we were just going with the flow, as it was never a big deal or fuss surrounding the celebration. We just wanted to appreciate our relationship.

And I can bet that there are many, many, many people out there who used to celebrate Valentine’s Day just because everybody else was celebrating it. And they are now condemning it because there are people condemning it.

But for us,there was never any ulterior niat then. And there's no ulterior niat now. It is just a plain simple celebration of our appreciation of each other. And from the first time we celebrated it, the niat had always been the same.

(And I know I will be getting a lot of serious bashings from some quarters because of this statement of mine…)

We could have chosen another date to celebrate “US”, I guess. Say, on our anniversary – which we do. In fact, Ayah and I celebrate TWO anniversaries – one for the first day of us knowing each other, and the second one being our wedding anniversary. But, it’s still nice to have more than two celebrations of “US” in a year, I guess? And 14th February seemed to be apt. We were not celebrating what was behind the “root” of Valentine’s Day – whatever versions of its roots there may be out there. Because OUR celebration had/has nothing to do with whatever roots of Valentine’s Day there are out there. It just so happened that we chose 14th February to celebrate “US” every year. Maybe purely out of convenience?

We say “I love you” to each other everyday (well, ALMOST everyday – as we age, we sometimes forget! Hahaha!). And if we don’t utter those 3 magical words, we would sometimes SMS each other.

But, no matter how I would love him to, Ayah can’t be buying me roses everyday, can he? Hehehe… So, it IS wonderful to come back from work to find a bouquet of lovely red roses waiting for me on the day we chose to celebrate “US”.

He still uttered “I love you” to me this morning, like he would normally do.

But, as of 7:00pm today, I have yet to receive my roses.

And, I’m still waiting ;)

Nope. We’re not celebrating Valentine’s Day in the sense others may celebrate it.

We are celebrating “US” on the day we chose to celebrate “US”.

And even if no roses are delivered to me this year, we will still celebrate “US” today.

Dinner or supper out – just the two of us, or with the kids, will still be a celebration, which will be made more special today – our “US” Day ☺

Is it really a bad thing to celebrate love? To celebrate "US"?

Just my two cents ☺

Updates on Family, Work and Business (?!)

Oh my...oh my! It has been nearly 4 months since I last posted an entry here (and I nearly forgot my blogspot username and password!)

So many things to share but I just don't know where to start!

I think I shall categorize my cerita into three groups today - family and I, work and business venture (Yup! you read it right - "business venture" - hence the reason why I've been running like a headless chicken for the last few months!) Will leave that story for the last.

Family and I

The follow-up from my last entry - Syukur alhamdulillah Hanna got straight A's for her PMR. Very, very proud of her :))) As the Kak Long, she has indeed set a very good example for her sister and brother.

As a recognition for her achievement, she received an award under the Badan Anak Negeri Wilayah Persekutuan last Saturday (by virtue of her Wan and Ayah being Anak Nogoghi), and insya Allah this Saturday her school will be having their Hari Anugerah and Penghargaan, and she'll get an award, too, on that day.

And Hanna got No.5 in the whole Form in the March test! Looking good so far, insya Allah :) And she represented her school in handball for the MSSD Meet earlier this month.

Hasya is made a prefect again this year, and she's holding the post of the Secretary for the Prefectorial Board. And she represented her school in netball for the MSSD, too.

As for her PKSR 1, Hasya didn't do as well as she expected, and she VOLUNTARILY surrendered her handphone to me after she got her results! She said she wants me to keep it for two months - and how could I say "No" to that, kan? Hehehe...

Hilman got No. 1 in class for his PKSR 1, and because of that we lifted the 1 month ban we imposed on him in February when he carelessly put his PS3 box on his Wan's brand new car and scratched it! So, he's back being a happy boy he is after fasting from playing PS3 for nearly 1 month!

Ayah is as busy as always - no change there. Please refer to my older postings on how busy Ayah was. Hehehe... Can copy and paste here. Same ole, same ole ;)

Oh ya, still on the family front - We've started going for badminton sessions every Sunday for the last 2 months. What started off as just a family bonding session while Hilman attended badminton coaching at the Pioneer Badminton Academy at Sunsuria, has now turned into 'sweat-it-out' sessions with friends as well, and as to date we have 4 to 5 other families of friends joining us every Sunday! My MT gang include Abid, Awin and Ieja, who have also enrolled their sons for badminton coaching, too!

The good thing about these badminton sessions is of course - I feel much healthier and relaxed nowadays. And, I now spend less time and money on shopping, too, coz' previously Sunday was our Family lepak day at the shopping malls! So, it's a double-edged sword for us :) So, that's nice :)

By the way, Hilman's chief coach is Lee Wan Wah - one half of our former Malaysia's number one doubles badminton player. Had never really seen him in real life before this - only on TV and in the newspapers. Handsome jugak Mr Lee Wan Wah ni rupanya...Ada rupa Andy Lau, weh! HAHAHAHA! And oh ya, Dato' Lee Chong Wei also made a special appearance at the academy earlier this month right after winning the All England title - much to the delight of Hilman and his friends - siap bergambo bagai lagi :)

So, that's about it on family matters, I think?

Work

My HoD tendered his resignation unexpectedly early January, and yours truly dipaksarela to become the Bidan Terjun and fill in as the HoD until August this year (and hopefully, the management will not extend it beyond that!). It has only been 3 months plus heading the Department, but, I think my grey hair has doubled (even tripled) since January! I have never been a fan of admin work, but, this time, nak tak nak terpaksa jugak pikul tanggungjawab demi department... I am so not cut out to be an HoD!

Business ventures

Hmmmm...nak tergelak pun ada - out of the blue suddenly teman dah jadi businesswoman lah pulak, ya?! :)

Sebagai persiapan nak pencen, Ayah and I decided to seriously think about investing in business(es).

Our first opportunity came when one of Ayah's friends approached us if we would be interested to become investors/financier for his OTWC outlet in Damansara Perdana. We didn't really have to think hard about it, and within a month, all paperwork was finalized, and we officially became businessman/woman! Chewaaah!! ;) But, we're not the franchisee as such, but, insya Allah will be getting some steady fixed returns from our investments into the business. Not millions, of course, but, sufficient to build up and add on to our savings, insya Allah. So, if ever you guys are in Damansara Perdana area, do drop by the OTWC place at Metropolitan Square (besides Citibank), okay? :)

AND, our more serious and BIGGER venture has just opened two weeks ago, with our Grand Opening on Saturday 16th April 2011. We have opened a TUTTI FRUTTI FROZEN YOGHURT OUTLET in SS2, PJ! Same row as McD, just besides AmBank, across the Hawker Centre.

What started out as a joke has in fact become a reality for us!

Our kids, together with their lil' cousins were so into Tutti Frutti Frozen Yoghurt (or Froyos) that they were having it nearly every day (sometimes twice a day, in fact!), and Ayah made a remark, if they buy it everyday, might as well we buy the shop! (Gempaq!! LOL!) That thought suddenly didn't sound like a joke anymore when we decided to discuss the venture with Ayah's siblings, and they agreed to it!

So, from our first meeting with Naza Tutti Frutti Malaysia management at the end of January, and after finalizing the paperwork, and renovation work, we finally opened for business on 9th April 2011, and a week after that, on 16th April 2011 we had our Grand Opening with BUNKFACE making a special appearance - mingling with guests and fans, and also singing three songs for their fans. They were simply awesome - very talented and yet very humble (not to mention making many young girls' hearts melt that day! Hehehe!)

I would like to share some pictures of our Grand Opening here :)

So, if ever you guys are in the neighbourhood, do drop by and FROYO with us, okay? The address is -

No. 36, Jalan SS2/61
47300 Petaling Jaya
Selangor Darul Ehsan

We open 7 days a week, from 12pm to 12am and we have Happy Hour from 12pm to 3pm Monday to Thursday until the end of April, whereby we give 20% discount to customers :) Free WiFi available.

I'm there almost everyday after 6:00pm - straight after work, and would stay until closing time at 12:00am.

So, begitulah kira-kiranya why I've been on a very long hiatus for the last 4 months or so. So many things to juggle and I only have two hands, 2 feet and 1 head... Fenin jugak, but, I'm getting used to the new routine/schedule now (insya Allah)

I will try to post entries regularly from now on while moonlighting at our Tutti Frutti Outlet everynight, hopefully, insya Allah :)

Wee hours rambling...

It's 4:25a.m now, and here I am wide awake - for two reasons.

Firstly - Ayah was woken up by a phonecall from Sri Ko*a Medical Centre, Klang just over an hour ago, and he had to leave immediately to attend to an emergency heart attack case. He left within 15 minutes of the call - after taking a quick shower to freshen up and gulping down a mug of Ali Ca*e coffee I made him - as an added measure to make sure he stays wide awake and alert on the road at this hour of the night/morning.

He has brought along his work attire with him, just in case his Klang patient needs an emergency angioplasty which would probably, give and take, take 2 hours to complete, after which it would already be time for Ayah to go to TMC for his ward round and later – clinic.

It has become a norm for Ayah to either come back VERY late and/or being called in the middle of the night to attend to his patients for the past 6 months or so. The reason being - he is now covering four hospitals. On top of TMC where he is a Resident Physician and Cardiologist, he's also a Visiting Consultant at 3 other hospitals - Col*mbi* As*a (Puchong), Ass*nta Hospital (PJ) AND Sri Ko*a MC (Klang). He has also been accredited to practise at Su*way MC, but, as it is, he has his hands full with the said four hospitals and has yet to start his sessions at Su*way.

So, you can just imagine the amount of to-ing and fro-ing he has to do on some days if he has patients to see at ALL four hospitals! It's just like you doing your current job, but, four times more at four different offices spread out at four different locations. Almost everyday.

Attending to his scheduled clinics and ward rounds at these hospitals is not much of a problem, as Zaidy, can drive him around. It's answering to emergency cases like this morning that is making his life topsy turvy now (and my life, too, for that matter!) The calls could lead to him going to Kota Damansara (which is not too bad), or Puchong, or PJ, or even Klang at godforsaken hours, like this morning.

But, Ayah did warn me early last year when he was leaving PP*M to go private that the first couple of years would be hell as he would have to establish himself in the private practice first and get his patients base in a few hospitals as he would not be able to survive just on income coming from one source. And true enough, he has to do just that now.

Syukur alhamdulillah, his earnings since leaving the government hospital has been pretty steady without too much fluctuations between the months, but to guarantee that, he has to work twice as hard as when he was in PP*M. (and as it was, he was already working like 14-18 hours a day then! But, it wasn't too bad then as he was only covering PP*M, and was not running here and there between four hospitals like now!)

The kids and I have gotten so used to Ayah's crazy schedule now, and what little time we have with him would be maximized with whatever family outings we could go on.

It has not been easy for both parties – Ayah, and me and the kids. But, over the years, things have become relatively easi-ER.

I know a lot of people out there are thinking just how on earth does he do that? And, maybe a LOT MORE are probably thinking – “How on earth does she know that his coming home late everyday IS because he’s attending to his patients? How on earth will she know if he is in fact up to no good with some other woman?!”

Well, I don't, and I probably won't know.

I’d be lying if I were to say that these thoughts had never crossed my mind – especially in the early years of being married. Hell, I have to admit that as recent as maybe 5-6 years ago I still had doubts about that!

But, like all couples, we would have our arguments, and more often that not, they were always because of him not spending as much time as I wanted him to with the kids, and me doubting if he was really at work during all those long hours he was not home. Hati perempuan, kan…?

But, Syukur Alhamdulillah… things are so much better in that department now. I guess we grew up… Or rather, I grew up.

I guess, as long as I focus on fulfilling my duties as his wife well, and as long as I bersangka baik with him, and trust him with all my heart, and as long as I appreciate just how hard he’s working to provide for the family, and as long as (and I make sure he does! Hehehe…) he appreciates the sarifices the kids and I also have to make over the years for him, insya Allah, we will be okay. In fact, MORE than okay :)

It is strange, but, I do find our relationship has reached another level whereby there are better understanding and tolerance between us, since Ayah went private, even though as mentioned, he is so, so much busier now.

I now see and focus on how hard he works for the family, rather than on how little time he spends with us. BIG difference there.

And apart from focusing on how hard it was for him to be where he is now, I think Ayah now also focuses on how hard it was for me and the kids to go through life with him not being around for most of the time, and I know that he appreciates that fact.

Experiencing life as a doctor, and even more so, as a cardiologist, AND seeing how it has affected us as a family, Ayah is forever trying to discourage the kids to follow his footsteps. His latest attempt at this was made last weekend when he had to give a talk to a group of students aspiring to become doctors, whereby he had dragged the whole family to listen to his talk which covered his journey to becoming a doctor and what he had to give up along the way until now.

Listening to him that day had made me realize that I should have appreciated him more as a very good and responsible husband and father all these years and should have given him 200% more support than I had given him all this while. I should have given him more credits…

Anyway, I don’t think he did a good job at discouraging the kids to do medicine – cardiology in particular, as I think Hasya is more determined to become a cardiologist now after listening to her Ayah’s talk!

In a way, I guess it is not fair for us to discourage the kids to become doctors, and even more so - cardiologists. So, we have agreed that we will not discourage them, but, at the same time, we will not ACTIVELY encourage them to follow their Ayah’s path. We have gone through the trials and tribulations as a family in medical life conundrums - and we know that not everyone will be able to go through it like we did/do.

However, if Allah SWT has determined their paths to be so, then we as parents will embrace it whole-heartedly, and will support them and their families all the way, insya Allah…

So, THAT was one of the reasons why I’m still wide awake at this hour – being woken up by the emergency call for Ayah at 3:30a.m!

A blessing in disguise, I guess, because I have somehow managed to come up with this entry :)

Now, the SECOND reason why I still can’t go back to sleep is that in less than 5 hours, Hanna will be getting her PMR result!

I’m pretty nervous even though I have every confidence in her, insya Allah…But, Moms, being Moms, we just can’t help feeling the jitters, kan?

Come what may, I know she has worked hard, and I’m very, very, very proud of her.

And as my senior at school, Along Faezah would say, “Usaha sudah, tawakal sudah. And now kita redha with anything that comes our way…”

All the best, my darling Hanna! Mommy and Ayah love you VERY, VERY MUCH! And don’t you ever forget that…

And (after all that was said! :)) even when your PMR results would mean that you probably would get good SPM results, too, insya Allah, and can probably go ahead and pursue medicine after school, do think about it twice (or maybe, three or four times, or more, okay, dear…?) ;)

* By the way, Ayah's MM article for this week can be read here :)

Cerita choti...and such...

God. I'd better not get used to NOT blogging for more than a month!

All rusty already.

Ayah has been asking me every now and then, "You ada blog posting baru tak?"

I guess, with him being so ultra-busy nowadays, reading my blog might just be the only way he could keep up with what's happening with me and the kids kot? Hehehe...

The last one month had been okay. In fact, more than okay!

Did I mention that we went to Gold Coast?

Well, yeah, we did. We were there for a week - terbang there on 19 November, and terbang balik on 26 November.

It was a really nice break for just us family, and we had a wonderful time there.

We stayed at Mark*am Court, Broadbeach - which was just about 5 minutes walk to the beach and The Oasis Shopping Centre, and 5 minutes drive to Surfers Paradise and Pacific Fair Shopping Mall. We rented a 2-bedroom apartment with 2 bathrooms, a kitchen (fully equipped), a living room, a dining hall, a utility room (with washing machine, dryer, and ironing facilities), with a secured basement parking - only accessible by residents. Worked well with us as we had rented a car for the full one week we were there.

We had booked our car online from Coolangatta Her*z Car Rental and we didn't have to pay any booking fees at all. Right after clearing the customs check-point, we just walked to Her*z Counter at the airport with our rental reference code, and within 15 minutes we got our car - a Camry Sportiva(o?). And on the day we were flying back to KL, we drove to the airport, parked the car at the parking lot, dropped the key at Her*z counter and went straight to the AA Check-in Counter. All done within 10 minutes!

Mark*am Court is located just off the Gold Coast Highway which brings you straight-ish to all the Theme Parks - Movie World and Wet n Wild (20 minutes drive), Dream World and White Water World (25 minutes drive) and Sea World (10 minutes drive). We bought VIP tickets to all the Theme Parks (valid until 30 June 2011 - a good excuse to go back to GC before the tickets expire, huh? ;)It's cheaper getting the Family VIP tickets + 1 Adult ticket compared to getting individual tickets for all) and we did in fact go to Movie World and Dream World TWICE over 4 days - the first time just to go on the rides and do a bit of shopping, and second time - to indulge in more shopping there! Hehehe... :)

Even though it was mostly gloomy throughout most of our stay there - with intermittent showers and sunny intervals here and there, that didn't spoil our fun at all. Well, we just didn't linger on the weather facts even though we only had ONE full sunshiny day in the 6 days we were there. We made sure that, came rain or shine we were on the rides at the parks for most of the times! (Well, at least the kids were :)).

The day we arrived (we arrived at Coolangatta Airport at 7:50am, and at the apartment at 9:30am) we just spent the time resting and lepaking at the apartment, and later that afternoon, we went to The Oasis to shop for our one week grocery stock, and also to purchase our Theme Park tickets.

The next day was spent at Movie World and later at Broadbeach (even though it was freezing cold!)

The day after that was spent at Dream World and White Water World, and later that night we went to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows at Pacific Fair Mall. Like la cannot watch the movie in Malaysia, kan? But, the kids insisted on watching it there that night! Aiyooo... But, Ayah said, "This holiday is mainly for the kids, so, we just do the things they want to do to make them happy lah, kan?". So, the Boss (who's also the Menteri Kewangan) won, and the kids got their movie treat :)

The day after that was spent at Wet n Wild, Movie World (again!) AND Dream World (again).

The day after that - it was my turn for some thrilling "rides" at Harbourtown Outlet Centre, and later that night, we spent some time souvenir shopping at Surfers Paradise.

The day after that - we went to Broadbeach again, and we later went to Sea World, and then shopping (again) at Pacific Fair. And of course - being our last night there - malam tu pulun shopping for souvenirs at Surfers Paradise again!

Hanna and Hasya went on MOST of the BIG THRILL rides at the parks. You just name it, they were on it (except for the ones which were under maintenance on the days we were there). THEY DEFINITELY DO NOT HAVE MY GENES, unlike Hilman who was rather selective when it came to choosing his rollercoaster rides. He opted to NOT go on the ones which would leave one with a zero-gravity sensation and those which would make one feeling ultra-dizzy, post-ride. So very like his Mommy... Hehehe! :)

Apart from the Theme Parks and the occcassional shopping trips, we didn't really go out that much as the kids preferred to just sleep and rest at the apartment. And what with Ayah subscribing to a week Wifi connection to the apartment, the kids had a field day going online in the evenings!

Anyway, as we were not really rushing to go to all the places around Gold Coast and Brisbane recommended for tourists, all in all it was quite a relaxing break for us, for Ayah especially, as he managed to catch up on some sleep over there. (But, having said that, he had to spend a few hours on Tuesday to work on his MM article which he had to submit that night for the Wednesday issue! What to do? Orang Gila Kerja like that lah!)

After spending 6 days in Gold Coast, we checked out of Mark*am Court on Friday morning, took the 9:50 am flight back to KL and by 3:30pm (Msian time) we were back on home soil.

Syukur alhamdulillah, everything dipermudahkan for us from the day we left KL until the day we came back :)

If it's a relaxing but fun break in GC that you're looking for, I think 1 week is just nice with you renting an apartment and a car (with a GPS), and do as what you please in your own time, having a good nap here and there. Just like what we did.

BUT, if you feel like you want to explore a bit more of what GC and Brisbane have to offer, you should rent an apartment and a car (with a GPS, of course!) and stay for 10 days. OR if you can't afford to stay that long due to limited cuti and all, then, alternatively you can go for a 5D4N OR 6D5N packaged tour (which will be pretty hectic as there are so many things to do and so many places to go to (on top of the 5 Theme Parks!) within that 6 days.

Anyway, I had wanted to post an entry on our GC trip earlier, but, after coming back to KL I was pretty buried in an avalanche of exams invigilations, and of course - with the task of marking the exam scripts lah pulak after that. And on top of that, two days after we came back, it was my MIL's turn to go for a vacation, and we were "house-sitting" for her for a couple of weeks, while she was in London.

Nak jadikan cerita, her maid ran away last Friday, 2 days before my MIL was due to come home!

I was not at home when it happened. In fact I was on my way home from the office. My SIL Rubiah was there with her kids, along with Hasya and Hilman, and Bibik Dar. Everybody was inside the house, while the maid - Eton - was sweeping outside. We checked the CCTV recording after she cabut and it showed her tawaf the compound a few times, looking out to the main road nervously every now and then, and at 4:57pm, she went down to the garage with the penyapu lidi, pretending to sweep there, walked towards the garbage closet, walked through it, and never came back in!

And I reached home at 5:25pm.

And we only knew she was gone at 6:45pm when Dar could not find her when she was supposed to start cooking dinner then! All those while everybody was thinking that she was outside watering the plants, and doing some gardening.

And the recordings also showed that the guard was standing about 30 feet from the garbage closet when Eton went out. He was looking out at the back, probably enjoying a breather of the angin petang, watching the golfers doing their thang. And he was oblivious to the fact that Eton had cabut lari right under his nose...

Anyway, like Hilman (maybe rightly?) put it, "The guard is supposed to make sure nobody comes INTO the house, NOT goes OUT of the house, Mommy..."

My MIL came back on Sunday night, and with her being maidless now, we are extending our stay at her place so that Dar can help her out around the house.

So, begitulah ceritanya...

So, that's all for now. Hopefully, there'll be another update from me soon, insya Allah.

In the mean time, here are some pics from our Gold Coast trip. Enjoy!

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7


P/S :- Please be warned : A friend took nearly 3 days to go through the pics (in between his free time and work schedule, of course :))

From Ramadhan...to Aidifitri :)

Salams.

God... Can't believe that I have not updated this blog of mine for more than a month!

Ramadhan has been pretty hectic for everyone, I guess, and no exception for me. Somehow, this year puasa seems to pass by so quickly. It has not been as bad as I had expected, being maidless and all. And I surprised myself this year with the fact that out of the 28 days of fasting, syukur alhamdulillah, I had managed to consistently wake up between 4:30am to 4:45am to prepare sahur for the family. Cuma once we nearly terlajak when I woke up at 5:25am, and we ended up having bread and jam for sahur!

Anyway, sahur has been okay since we very rarely have rice, and the whole family can survive the whole day fasting with just 2 pieces of bread/toasts with our own choice of fillings or soups/dips, and/or other non-rice stuff for sahur. So, my life has been pretty easy when it comes to preparing sahur thus far.

The kids and Ayah are also not fussy when it comes to Iftar either. I would cook when time permits. If not, we would either eat out, tapau or berbuka at my MIL's or my Mom's.

All five of us have lost some kilos over the last 3-4 weeks, but unfortunately, I have not succeeded in meeting my aim of losing 2kgs more over Ramadhan, but syukur alhamdulillah I have managed to lose 3kgs out of the aimed 4kgs which I started out in April.

I was just telling Hilman how much weight he had lost and I was praising him for being such a good boy over Ramadhan, and had encouraged him to maintain his weight or lose a bit more after raya. I was just telling him how much more handsome he looked now that he has lost some of his baby fat (Hehehe!) and that he should start controlling his food intake from now on.

And this was what he said, "Okay, I'll start a week after raya".

Me : Why a week after raya, Man?!

Hilman : Because I'll be busy the first one week.

Me : Busy?! Busy with what?

And Hilman dengan selambanya replied - "Makan..."

LOL!!! That's my boy :)

Anyway, I still have not collected our baju raya from the tailors yet, and hope to do it today. I just hope Khatijah, has finished siapkan baju for us girls. I actually sent to her to sew 3 pairs each of baju kurung for us, and she said she could only guarantee to siapkan a pair each, and if we're lucky we'll get two pairs. My worry now is if she has not even siapkan that one guaranteed pair! I have been calling her since yesterday, but she has not been answering, so today I'll just drop by her shop at pasar Taman Tun. Wish me luck!

As for Baju Melayu Ayah and Hilman, clever me has misplaced the Omar Ali's receipts! But, luckily, I remember Ayah's number for last year's baju which Abang Man the tailor has re-used for this year. The only thing is, I hope they have kept Hilman's bajus together with Ayah's because I for sure cannot remember his new receipt number. Sigh...Anyway, hope to drop by at Wisma Yakin later today to collect the baju melayu and get a new samping for Hilman. Our boy has outgrown all his old sampings!

Hilman has really shot up over Ramadhan, and I guess maybe it's because he has lost some weight, and somehow that has made him look taller :) But, having said that, we've also discovered that he's now wearing Size 7 shoes when we went to get his chapal raya the other day! That's like 2 sizes more than his previous Raya shoes! Hanna and Hasya have also lost a lot of weight and have grown rather lanky this Ramadhan, and somehow have become rather matured young ladies over the month :)

As always, there's a tinge of sadness to say farewell to Ramadhan especially when I feel that I could have done so much more in terms of amal ibadah. Insya Allah akan diberikan rezqi again to sambut bulan mulia ini di tahun hadapan, dan memperbaiki lagi diri ini, insya Allah. Amin...

Raya this year will be extra wonderful as Ayah has been extra generous this year as Ayah has presented me with early Raya and Anniversary gifts early last month in the form of a bracelet and a ring! Yeay!!! (Oh, that reminds me - I have to get him an Anniversary Card and gift for our 16th Anniversary this Thursday 090910!) And he had also asked the girls to choose a piece of jewelry each as raya gifts, and a raya watch for Hilman :) And oooh, I realized that the girls have outgrown their little girls' taste when I saw the designs that they have chosen for themselves! No more charms or cute dangly bracelets and pendants, and the likes. (Yikes!! They're growing up too fast!)


Apart from that, Raya this year will be the same as all our previous rayas. Raya eve will be spent at my parents' place when I would help out to kemas the house gotong royong with my sisters and help to cook the rendang and all and then I would go back to my MIL's and spend the night there. Pagi Raya will be spent at my MIL's and we will only go back to my parents' in the afternoon and stay on until very late. My Sis Lala also has a similar arrangement with her hubby, so, her family will also be there in the afternoon until late. And my second and third brothers (if they don't go back to the wives' kampungs) will be there at our parents' the first three days of Raya.

That's one of the things that I'm thankful for - the fact that my parents and my MIL stay about 20 minutes from each other's and our house, and we don't have to ikut giliran balik kampung. The downside is - my kids don't really have a kampung per se, and as such do not really get the real feeling of Raya like most of their friends get :( But. like they say - we win some, we lose some, eh?

My raya leave only starts on Thursday, and I will be away from work for the whole of next week. Nice :) But, as it is, I'm already in Raya mood, and can't seem to do much at the office this week. But, I'm trying my best to finish whatever I can so that I can really enjoy the long break with the family. We're not planning to go anywehere, but, lazying around the house for one whole week sounds perfect (and surely would contribute to the accelerated post-raya weight-gaining process. Sigh...But, what the heck... It's Raya :))

Ooops! Is that the time? Okay, gotta go and get ready for work now.

But, before that I would like to wish you all -

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri :)

And if in any ways at all I might have wronged or offeneded any of you with the things I have written in here, or in any other ways at all -

Jari Sepuluh disusun, Mohon Maaf Zahir Batin.

Enjoy the time spent with your loved ones, y'all!

Take care! :)

I hope my kids will miss me...

I'm 42 years old this year. Syukur alhamdulillah.

I know some who didn't make it past 40.

And I also know some who have lived nearly twice the years I've been on this earth. My Abah is one of them. He turned 81 in March this year. Syukur Alhamdulillah. Having survived two episodes of cancer in his life, and on medication for hypertension for the last 10 years now, he looks good for a man his age. A bit frail, but still good, considering.

And my Mommy will be 71 come November this year, insya Allah. She's a diabetic, she has hypertension, she had a stroke a few years back and she also had triple angioplasty done on her. But, syukur alhamdulillah, she's doing okay.

I have passed the 40-year mark. And I don't know if I will ever pass the 70-year mark, let alone the 80-year mark.

But, I hope I can fill whatever time I have left on this earth, even if I don't meet the ripe age of 80, with things that will make my kids miss me.

It may sound selfish - wanting the kids to miss me when I'm gone. But, I mean this in a positive way.

I don't want my kids to mourn and grieve their Mommy forever. Of course not.

I just want them to remember me. I want them to remember how I look, how I smell, how I touch and hold their hands, how I hug and kiss them. How I stroke their heads, how I touch their cheeks, how I laugh with them. How I smile, how I talk, how I walk.

I want them to remember that I am always with them - physically, and if not - that they are always very much on my mind. Constantly - throughout my waking hours. And that sometimes I do dream of them when I sleep.

And for this to happen, I will need to spend as much time as possible with them as I don't know when I will breathe my last breath.

It's quite hard given the fact that I have to go to work, and they have to go to school (and also to the 1001 classes they have in between school and bedtime). And of course, they need their breathing space. I, too, need my breathing space.

It is hard, but it is not impossible.

It is impossible ONLY if you don't try. At all.

I know that I've been pretty hard to please and rather grumpy when I'm at home - having to attend to the house chores after a stressful day at work and all. And I also have to attend to so many other things/chores which are not home, or work-related, too.

Many a times, at night when the kids have all gone to sleep, I would just look at them and have this unexplainable sense of guilt and regret for yelling at them earlier in the day for what later seems to be such a simple and harmless act, and I realize that it was just the "pressure-cooker" in me doing the yelling...

I know some parents spend so much time at the office, and as if that is not enough, they would bring work home with them. And when they're at home, they are oblivious to what's happening around them - what the kids are doing, what the kids are (trying) to tell them. And some even snap at their kids for disturbing them. Some are always on the phone - talking or SMSing either with people from the office, or with their clients, or with friends. Some just come home and sleep, and go to work the next day. And the cycle goes on and on.

Of course we would expect our spouse and kids to understand just how hard we have to work for the family, and that we do need to rest and sleep when we're at home.

But, we also must not forget that our spouse and kids ALSO expect us to understand that they also want to spend time with us.

It is as easy as that.

The problem is, we tend to take our husbands or wives or kids for granted. We expect them to be there everyday waiting for us day in, day out. No matter what.

But, just because they never complain openly, that does not necessarily mean that they're fine with us not spending time with them.

I'm not saying that we should cut ourselves off from our friends, or that we should not get the rest and sleep that we badly need. But, what I'm trying to understand here is that IF we can MAKE time to attend to our bosses, to our clients, or to chat or SMS, or do whatever friends do with/between friends, why is it so hard for us to MAKE OR FIND TIME - however little, with whatever little time we have, for the family? Just THERE WITH the family. And I mean BE THERE TOTALLY, and not with our minds wandering elsewhere.

I DO TRY my best NOT to be that kind of a parent. I fail miserably sometimes, but, I do try my best to be there with the family, for the family.

Some may think that the time spent with the kids is just that - time with the kids.

But, I believe time spent bringing them to the doctors when they're sick, time spent bringing them to the shops to get the stuff for school, getting ice-creams on that hot and clammy day, sending and fetching them to and from their classes, bringing them to the barber/salon for a haircut, cleaning the hamsters' cage, listening to their favourite songs together, going shopping with them, getting to know what they like, what they don't like, performing solat with them and/or bringing them to the mosque to perform the solat, cooking for them and having a proper meal at the dinner table together, and through out all these, having meaningful conversations with them.

THOSE are the things that our children will remember us by.

NOT those fat cheques we bring home at the end of the month after slogging 18 hours a day, 7 days a week at work.

Well, the kids MAY appreciate the fact that we can afford to buy them stuffs and such. But, at the end of the day, they are just that. Things. And like all material things, these will never last.

If you can spare 18 hours a day at work, what is 12-18 hours over the weekend for your family? 6 to 9 exclusive hours per day of QUALITY time for just 2 days WITH and FOR the kids.

Just think about it. Why are you working so hard? Who are you doing it for?

Just be very careful - for one day you might end up long gone, and also long forgotten by your kids just because they don't have anything of you to remember by - those special moments you spend with them.

What they might have may just be images of you working, and working, and working...and you blowing your top with them because they are in between you, and your work.

Are these the images you want your kids to remember you by?

I hope not.

And with Ramadhan just around the corner, I hope we can all take advantage of the Holy month to start making more efforts at home to become better parents to our kids.

I hope to spend more time at home as a family and beribadah as a family, insya Allah...

I pray that Allah SWT will guide me so as not to take my loved ones for granted.

And I hope when I'm long gone, they will miss me...

Jalan-Jalan Cari Makan, and Down Memory Lane...

The last time we went for a family holiday was in November last year (I think?) Even then, I wouldn't really call it a "holiday" as such, as it was only a 3D2N break in Genting, and we were there to tag Ayah who had a meeting there. We only spent time as a family when Ayah had fulfilled whatever obligations he had during the meeting. Even then, the second night we were there, Ayah had to turun bukit as he had a prior commitment in KL, and he only re-joined us the next morning. Like most of our "tag-along" breaks, all accommodation and meals at the hotel were taken care by Ayah's sponsors. So, we only had to foot the bills for all the fun stuff at the Theme Park :)

The school holidays which had just passed was no different, as yet again we went for another tag-along break with Ayah. This time to Penang. Ayah was one of four speakers at a Cardio Meeting held at Ho*id*y Inn, Batu Feringghi, and he was given a couple of duties for Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning, and again, all expenses for our stay at the hotel were sponsored by the organizers.

(Hehehe...So, by now you all have surely got it - we only go for a holiday when we don't have to pay for it! Hahaha! Cheap-skate, huh? ;))

Anyway, we decided to start our trip up to Penang on Friday morning and break our journey in Taiping - spending the night at my Brother Jame's place before continuing our drive to Batu Feringghi on Saturday morning.

It was somewhat a different experience this time around as we brought along Zaidy to drive us, and as we were in no rush, we managed to take a few "Jalan-jalan Cari Makan" (JJCM)and "Down Memory Lane" (DML) breaks along the way. It was a leisurely drive, and Ayah managed to get some sleep during the journey (which was just as well as he only had a 2 1/2 hours sleep the night before - NOT because he was watching a World Cup match, but rather because he had to attend to an emergency until 5:30 in the morning).

Suffice to say, the trip brought a lot of memories, and not to mention a few kilos back! Dang...Whatever kilos I had managed to shed in the last couple of months, I gained back half of them over the four days break :(

Anyway, just to summarize our JJCM and DML trip, the first stop we made on our way to Taiping on Friday, was at the Sg. Buloh R&R for our breakfast (where I had a bowl of Meehoon Soto - calorie counter started its duty then). The next stop was at the Tapah R&R to buy some fruits as buah tangan for my brother and family - the normal Jambu Air, Jambu Batu and Mangoes with the Serbuk Asam Boi and Kuah Rojak. We then proceeded to Kuala Kangsar as Ayah wanted to bring and show the kids his alma mater. We spent a good 45 minutes just walking around the school compound and taking pictures, after which we had lunch at the Sungei Perak Resort (where I had a plate of Char Kuey Teow pulak. "Kachiiiinnnggg!!" screamed the calorie counter!) The next stop was the Masjid Ubudiah Bukit Chandan, and I must say that we were very impressed with how the exterior of the Masjid was being maintained. It was simply beautiful.

We left Kuala Kangsar at around 3:45p.m, and ended up taking the jalan lama up north instead of the North-South Highway when Zaidy missed a turn - which was in fact a blessing in disguise as we ended up in Bukit Gantang. And of course, when you're in Bukit Gantang, it would be a sin NOT to indulge yourselves in their famous durian, right? And that was what we did. We just stopped by a durian stall along the jalan lama, and had the most delicious durians beramai-ramai. I think I probably had 7-8 pieces of durians at one sitting (calorie counter on over-drive!) I swear I could have taken in more durians, but the plateful of Char Kuey Teow which I just had barely 2 hours before that just didn't leave much space for me to do that! :( Silap strategy wehhh...

We reached Taiping Town just after 5:00p.m, and went around the beautiful Lake Gardens, and I decided to show the kids my primary school - Treacher Methodist Girls School. Tak mau kalah... Ayah dah tunjuk sekolah dia, Mommy pun kena tunjuk sekolah Mommy...Hehehe! I have to say that we were REALLY impressed with how clean the whole school was. Kudos to the teachers and pupils of TMGS! One thing I realized - the things that seemed huge around the school when I was schooling there seemed so much smaller last weekend. So many things have changed, but having said that, I was still overwhelmed with the familiarities and memories the visit to the school had brought back to me.

We later brought the kids to visit my Uncle Yang who was staying at my Arwah grandparents' house in Kamunting, and yet again, memories of how I had spent my days at my Atok and Atah's house when I was a child flooded in. I remembered playing hide and seek around the kampung, and I remembered how my siblings and cousins used to hide in our Atok's neighbours' houses. We were free to roam the kampung, and we were welcome to hide in all the houses there, tak kira mana ceruk rumah. We were known as "Cucu Tuan Haji Ismail" - the Tok Mudin Moden :)

After Kamunting, we made our way to Assam Kumbang to show the kids the two houses I lived in before I left for boarding school in JB. The house in Rodger Place (government quarters) where I spent the first 5 years of my life is still there and I must say is quite well-maintained, compared to the house in Jalan Sekolah Arab which we rented from 1974 to 1982. I could feel a heavy tug on my heart when I saw how the latter was pretty much abandoned and rundown, and I suddenly realized that my eyes were welling up with tears looking at the house which was once known among the orang kampung as the "Rumah Putih Jalan Sekolah Arab". It was not the only house which was abandoned there. A number of other houses which my childhood friends used to live in and which I used to frequent were also in similar conditions, if not worse. It was just so sad.

I left Assam Kumbang with a heavy heart, and we made our way to the Taiping Railway Station where my Brother Jame was to meet us. He and his family had just moved to a new house and I was not familiar with the new area. Jame met us outside the Railway Station - another place which brought a lot of memories back to me as that was where I used to bid farewell to my Mommy and Abah and shed buckets of tears everytime I had to go back to JB on the Keretapi Mel at the end of every school holiday in the 80's. I must say, the Railway Station didn't seem to have changed that much, even after 25 years since my last train ride from there. It was as if time stood still there.

We had a late tea of Satay Basree and Popiah Basah Cashier Market at Jame's place. It was sweet of Jame to remember my favourite - Satay Perut and Limpa/Paru, and I dare not reveal how many sticks of that sinful stuff ended in my tummy that day!! (calorie counter kerja kuat!) As if that was not enough, we had a late dinner and yours truly had Rice with Daging Merah and Telur Bungkus that night. Tak hengat dunia...

Breakfast the next morning was the customary Nasi Lemak and Roti Chanai (and I just couldn't be bothered with my diet dah at this point. Hehehe!) We only left Taiping at 11:00a.m.

The journey to Penang took us slightly more than 2 hours, as we were not that familiar with the roads. We checked-in at the hotel just after 1:00p.m and were given two rooms - the girls got one room all to themselves, while our Boy Chiman had to settle with sharing a room with his Ayah and Mommy :) We had lunch just before 2:00p.m and yours truly had a plate of Mee Goreng Mamak (the damage has been done anyway, kan? Might as well...LOL!).

The time after lunch was spent making myself busy unpacking stuff and making the rooms homely while waiting for Ayah to come back from his meeting. But, by 4:15p.m when there was no sign of Ayah coming back to the room, the kids and I decided to go down to the beach first. The kids went horse-riding before starting their sandcastle-building project, which later transformed into a dam-building effort, but which ended up as deep hole-digging venture between Hasya and Hilman and a few new friends they made on the beach.

Ayah managed to get away from his meeting and joined us at 5:30p.m. and what better way to welcome him to the beach than by getting him to watch Hanna go para-sailing! (I tell you...I know for certain that she definitely does not follow her Mommy. I would have peed in my pants even before I were to take off with the parachute!) So, that was fun. For Hanna. But, not for her Mommy who literally stopped breathing a few times watching her daughter floating/gliding so high up in the air! Lomah lutut den...

We had a poolside BBQ and Buffet Dinner at the hotel (which meant I basically walloped whatever I fancied at the buffet station) after which we decided to go for supper at Hard Rock Cafe. Malang nasib kami, as we didn't make any reservations, we couldn't get in. That place was filled to the brim. (A note to self - next trip to Penang, have to make sure I make reservations first). We made up for the disappointment by shopping sakan at the Hard Rock Shop, and later jalan-jalan at the night gerai along the main road leading to the hotel.

Sunday morning - after a breakfast of Teochew Porridge, Fried Meehoon, Scrambled Eggs and sausages (some in big and some in small portions...Hehehe!), the girls accompanied Hilman who wanted to go for a swim in the pool while their Mommy started to pack everybody's stuff back in the room. A good 2 hours were spent at the pool before the kids came up to have their shower and help me with the final packing.

By 12:30p.m everything was ready, and while waiting for Ayah to come back from his meeting, the kids and I had a few rounds of table tennis (which I'm sure did not help much in burning the newly-gained calories in me...) Ayah finally joined us for a couple of games at about 1:00p.m before we proceeded to have lunch at the Terrace Cafe. No need to tell lah what I had for lunch...too sinful :) Suffice to say there was Lamb Korma somewhere in it ;)

We checked out at 2:00p.m and started our journey back to KL. Again - a slow drive down as we were not in a rush. We made two stops on the way. The first stop was at Kuala Sepetang, just outside Taiping - for the famous Mee Udang Mak Jah just before 5:00p.m. I had the Mee Udang Special (with loads of udang and 2-3 Udang Besar thrown in) and we all agreed that the prawns were the freshest we've ever tasted. I have to say that the taste of the Mee Udang was not really out of this world, but, the fresh big prawns were definitely worthed the detour to Kuala Sepetang :)

We left Gerai Mak Jah just before 6:00p.m and continued our journey back to KL, making one last stop in Tapah to get some fruits and petais for my Mommy and MIL.

We reached my MIL's house just after 9:00p.m, syukur alhamdulillah...

Kesian the kids - had to go to school the next day, but, luckily they had prepared all their uniforms and schoolbags for Monday before we left for Penang, and I think they went to sleep as soon as their heads touched the pillow that night.

And with all the mix and match of food going through my esophogus over the four days, you would have thought that I would end up with a tummy upset, right?

Syukur alhamdulillah - nope.

But, the next day, I got this text from Zaidy -

"Salam, puan. Hari ini saya MC boleh? Sakit perut".

So, there goes my leave for Monday as I had to be on supir duty the whole day. His perut is not as durable as my perut it seems :)

Hmmmm...Maybe that's God's way of helping me to shed the excess kilos I gained over the weekend, kan? ;)

* Click here for some photos ;)

How we spend our time together in the car... :)

One of the things that is common to maidless moms like me is that we could not leave the kids at home whenever we need to run errands outside, for me - especially at night when Zaidy, our driver, has gone home.

For instance, last Tuesday night - I had to send Hanna to her guitar class at OU, and I had to bring both Hasya and Hilman with us even though the class was just going to be for half an hour. And mind you, Hilman was having a slight fever and I would have preferred him to just stay at home and rest, but, NOPE - I still felt safer to angkut all of them sekali with me.

And last night, when I had to fetch Ayah back from the hospital - again, had to angkut everybody with me. Much to the dismay of Hilman and Hasya who were watching the final episode of MONK! And you could see how frustrated they were when we reached home at 10:00p.m and Monk had just ended, and they didn't know how the mystery was solved. Sorry, kids! :(

I even contemplated to bring them with me when I wanted to send the washloads to the laundrette last night, but decided against it as the place is just 3-4 minutes away from the house. So, I made sure I got back home within 12 minutes!

But, one thing I like about all this is that I get to spend more time with them in the car. Something that I've missed since Zaidy started working with us. And I like it even better when every now and then Ayah would also use the driver and not drive to work, and I would have to fetch him from the hospital when he's done. Like last night. The conversations in the car can be quite interesting and amusing when all of us are together :)

For instance -

Ayah : So*ha*dy (his doctor friend at work) has been promoting this game to me to be uploaded to my phone, It's called "Mo*ste*s and Pl*nts. But, you have to pay for it laaa...(FYI, Ayah and I only upload FREE stuff ajer so far :))

Me : What does it do? I mean, how do you play it?

Ayah : Apparently it's quite clever and interesting - the monsters will attack you, and you have to defend yourself by planting trees/plants around your house, and the trees will have all the ammunitions, like seeds and all for you to shoot the monsters with.

Me : And what do the monsters do?

Ayah : Oh they have several ways of penetrating into your defence - they can use polevaults, and....

And just at this point, Hanna butted in.

Hanna : Oh God, Ayah...Don't tell me that these are the things you and Uncle So*ha*dy talk about when you see each other at the hospital, please...(eyes rolling...)

LOL!!!

Another conversation -

We were using the jalan belakang Sungei Buloh to go back from TMC to Sri Damansara last night, when Hilman saw the sign to go to Kuala Selangor, and he started asking -

Hilman : Mommy what other "Kualas" are there in Malaysia?

Hasya : There's Kuala Lumpur.

Me : Kuala Lipis, Kuala Kedah...

Hasya : Oh yes, Ayah's school - MC*K, in Kuala Kangsar.

There was about a 10 seconds silence, when suddenly, out of nowhere -

Ayah : Kuala Bear...

And the kids just started laughing uncontrollably!

I know...I know...it was quite a LAME joke ("What do you expect from Ayah?" - the kids would say) but, the kids laughter was just contagious and all of us just started laughing! :)

Another one -

Hanna was just sharing with us some of the lame jokes she and her friends had come up with at school using their fingers and thumbs.

Hanna : If this is a "spear" (and she held up her index finger), what is this? (And she started moving the finger vigorusly to the left and right)

Us : Hmmmm...Dunno?

Hanna : SHAKEspear...

LOL!!!

Hanna : Okay, okay...If this is a "lighter" (and she held up her right thumb), what is this? (And she started bringing the thumb up above her head).

Us : Dunno? (Obviously we just didn't want to think too much knowing how lame the answer was going to be!)

Hanna : HIGHlighter... :)

Hehehehe! :)

And she continued -

Hanna : Oh ya! Oh ya! Another one! Another one!

Us : Okay... (?)

Hanna : If these are your thumbs (And she held both thumbs up), what is this? (And she started moving her thumbs up and down alternately)

Me : ThumbDRIVE!!!

Hanna : LOL!!! Yup!!

And then Ayah exclaimed excitedly -

Ayah : Okay, okay! I have one! I have one!

Kids : Oh no!!...(eyes rolling...) (LOL!)

Ayah : If this is Hanna (and he put his index finger in front of us - and at this point the kids had started giggling already!), what is this?(And he slowly raised the finger up above his head)

Hanna : Oh Ayah...puhleeeaaazzz?!

None of us could give any answers!

Ayah : Give up? Give up?!

Kids : WHAT is that, Ayah?!!

Ayah - giving his victorious look as nobody could figure it out, then came out with this -

Ayah : Hanna SO HIGH LAAA.... *

Us : AYAH!!! THAT IS SO LAME!!!!

But, we ended up laughing bagai nak rak anyway. NOT so much because we thought the joke was funny, but, more because of how lame the joke was!

HAHAHAHAHA!!!

Aaaahhh...I love spending time with the family in the car... :)

* For those who didn't know - Hanna's full name is Hanna SUHAILA ;)

Of sleeping (or lack of it) and cooking (breakfast, that is)...

Salams and Hi! :)

I'm just taking a break from going through my students' dissertations. My head is starting to pound, and the fact that I'm finding it more and more difficult to read small prints nowadays is not really helping. Must make a point to get bifocal glasses soon. THAT, and the fact that I get so sleepy easily, too! Signs of old age.

But, I guess that, i.e. being sleepy, is not really caused by old age (I'm in denial. I know. So, shoot me). I know for a fact that THAT is definitely due to lack of sleep. I've been getting only between 5-6 hours of sleep for most nights for the last 3 months or so. This may be quite normal for some. However, for my standard, that's way too short a time for my beauty sleep.

I used to get between 7-8 hours of sleep (when I had a maid once upon a time) simply because I didn't have to do the ironing and tidying and clearing up the kitchen after dinner (and sometimes supper). And I only woke up around 6:45a.m every morning when Ayah and the kids would leave for work/school because Bibik Dar would take care of breakfast and their bekal, etc. Heck, sometimes I would be sleeping throughout and didn't even get to say my "Bye-byes" and "Muah-muahs" to them before they left. I know...Bad Wifey...Bad Mommy... :(

I don't really mind sleeping late. It's the waking up early which I have issues with. Well, at least I HAD issues with it initially. I've gotten used to it, and I've realized that it's not too bad once your body and half-awake brain get used to it.

The thing is, I would set my alarm at 5:45a.m every morning. BUT, somehow or rather, I would wake up even before the alarm goes off, and normally when I open my eyes in the morning, it would be 5:30a.m or earlier. How annoying is that?!

And I also have another issue. Every morning, I would be screaming to myself (in my heart, that is)- "What are you cooking for breakfast, woman?!!" And it doesn't help when the FIRST thing Hilman asks when he comes down every morning is, "Mommy what are you cooking for today's breakfast?"

You see, Hilman never fails to take his breakfast. He would just eat whatever it is that I serve on the table. No questions asked. No complaints. As long as there's food. He's a happy camper :)

Hanna and Hasya, on the other hand, rarely take their breakfast. They will only do so if the food I prepare berkenan di hati, and depending on their moods. Normally, their usual excuse would be, "Still kenyang from last night's dinner la, Mommy..." (??!!)

As for Ayah, he never fails to take his breakfast, too, but, he doesn't really take much sometimes because, every morning he would have a B&B session(*) with his friend, Dr. So*ha*dy at TMC.

But, when I prepare breakfast, I would prepare for everyone, including for Zaidi - the driver. So, you can imagine the amount of food I have to finish when the girls decide that they don't want to eat. (But, sometimes I would get them to bring the food as bekal).

Anyway, here are some of the items on the breakfast menu that I normally prepare - depending on how rajin or how malas I am in the morning. And you guys will definitely know which ones fall under which category for sure by looking at the list.

Nasi Goreng
Mee Hoon Goreng
Kuey Teow Goreng
Maggi Goreng
Cereals with Cold Milk
Half-boiled Eggs with Bread/Toasts
Dim Sums and/or Pau (instant punyer, okay? Just steam them up ;))
French Toasts
Campbell/Heinz Soups with Bread
Tuna Kepit :)
Egg Kepit :)
Omellette
Nuggets with Sunny Side Up
Boiled Sausages with Scrambled Eggs
Burgers
Hotdogs

And oh ya, this morning, for the first time, I made Kuey Teow Soup :)

Usually, I would finish cooking/preparing breakfast by 6:15a.m, and Hilman would be the first one to come down to eat, and by 6:45a.m everybody would have finished eating (if they eat, that is!) and left for shool/work.

And of course, how much work is involved for me in washing the dishes and cleaning up the kitchen after that very much depends on what I cook for breakfast lah, kan? Sometimes, I have to wash a few periuk belanga and kuali segala and kitchen utensils, on top of the pinggan-mangkuk, etc. Letih weh...

Truth be told, I've run out of ideas as to what else I can prepare in the morning. Please, please, please... I need more ideas for my breakfast menu, please. The easier it is to make, the better. The less utensils used EVEN BETTER! Hehehe! :)

What do YOU guys prepare/have for breakfast at home normally, ya? All suggestions are welcome, and very much appreciated ;)

Thanks, y'all ;)

And I only wished that I was one who could take afternoon naps easily, so that I could make up for all those hours of sleep lost, especially on long Friday afternoon lunch-breaks like today. But, alas, when it comes to this, my body and my brain don't seem to be able to work out a new routine which includes afternoon naps for me to follow and get used to :(

Sigh. Nasib badan...(dan otak...) :(

One month summary :)

Phew. ONE posting for last month. ONE. That's a record for me who used to blog quite prolifically :)

Blame it on the age. Blame it on my maidless status. Blame it on the weather. Blame it on my angin malas. Blame it on writer's block. And, oh yes - you can blame it on Facebook, too, as I find it lighter and easier to layan than my Blog :)

But, no - I'm not abandoning my Blog. It's too precious and too special to just be set aside. So many of my memories are in here, and of course - I've made so many wonderful friends through this blog of mine. So, have no fear. This blog is here to stay :)

This is for you, Amy ;)

Anyway, so many things have happened since my last posting.

I've made a major decision with regard to something which I had been working on in the last 6 years. I have not been happy, in fact - so many times I had been so depressed working on it. And I have not made good progress in the last 2 years due to so many things happening in my life. Ayah has been a gem and has supported me on my decision to just move on with life, and move on with so many things which I was not able to do in the last 6 years. Never did he ask me if I was sure of my decision. All he said was, "I want you to be happy... The kids and I need you to be happy...". And YES, I am so much happier now. Feels like a 2-tonne rock which I have been carrying with me in the last couple of years has been lifted off my shoulders. I am so blessed to have Ayah and the kids beside me. Nothing else matters. Syukur alhamdulillah.

I'm settling well with being maidless. It has been more than 3 months now. I've worked on a workable routine - if I'm able to do it, I'll work on it. If not, I'll pejam mata and work on it when I'm next able to do it :) Laundry kat dalam bilik belakang tu, toksah cakap lah... :) Selalu sangat pejam mata. Hahaha!

And, oh ya - we've got a new driver by the name of Zaidi. So far so good. He was working with my BIL before this sebenarnya, but my BIL felt that he no longer needed a driver. He prefers his wife to ferry their kids around, and he doesn't trust anybody to drive their cars. Senang cakap - he just doesn't trust ANYBODY with his kids and his cars. He was given the driver by my MIL's company, and I guess he felt obliged to take Zaidi in the first place. In the end, Zaidi was doing all sorts of filing work at his office.

So, when my MIL realized that he was not really using the driver as he should, my MIL suggested for Zaidi to be transferred to us. And the rest - is history :)

Zaidi ni pun, first impression working with us was not really good. But, we gave him the benefit of the doubt. He was supposed to report for work on 22 February, but that morning he called to inform that his motor rosak, and petang baru okay. Kalau ikutkan hati, mau jer suruh dia naik cab datang kerja, kan? But, sabar ajer lah... At least he called.

And last Saturday, he was supposed to come at 8:30a.m, and we got an SMS from him at 7:15a.m, saying that he could not come to work because he had to send his mother to the hospital. So, again - sabar ajer lah... At least he called. We gave him the benefit of the doubt. Again.

Hmmmm...I don't know how far and how long I can appease myself with this reason... Because I'm sure one of these days, I akan hilang sabar jugak, EVEN if he calls! But, for now - we beggars can't be choosers... But, overall - he's a much better employee than Sabarudin.

Oh ya... We finally traded in our old faithful Naza 2 weeks ago. The kids, especially Hilman, were sad to let it go. Kalau boleh, they want us to keep all our cars. Hilman said that when he grows up and have enough money, he will buy our Naza back :) And I thought that was so sweet of him. Anyway, we've got ourselves a Toyota Alphard in place of the Naza. And we're also thinking of trading in my ole Kembara as well, and membuatkan Hilman lagi sedih! He said, "Why Mommy?! We have so many memories in your Kembara..."( And yes, he wants to buy back the Kembara, too, when he has the money :))

At the school-front, the kids are doing well. They're having their March tests this week. And with all first tests of the year before this, Ayah and I have not really pushed them and/or sat down with them to go through their subjects. We normally just want to gauge their natural raw academic capabilities for every new academic year. Once the first results of the year are out, then only we strategize for each kid.

If their results are so-so, at least we can always tell them to look back at the results and set a target for them to always improve on the marks by studying. The problem is when they get really good results and they become complacent because tak study pun boleh score maaa! Anyway, we'll just have to wait and see.

Hanna's sitting for her PMR this year, and she's attending tuitions at two different tuition centres. One for her Maths, Science and Sejarah, and another for her BM. I hope they'll help her. She has always been a good student, but, I hope attending the tuitions and getting a better understanding of the subjects concerned will boost her self-confidence in her own capabilities more. She received the Sijil Kecemerlangan for her Form 2 academic performance early this year. The Sijil is given to all students who obtained more than 14 A's for their Mid-Year and Final Year Exams put together.

Hanna's also doing well in her co-curriculae activities. She's representing her school in Merentas Desa at the MSSD. She's also in the school Football and Handball Teams, and also on stand-by for their Netball Team (she played last year when the Form 3 players were busy preparing for their PMR).

She's also in the school Taekwon-do Team. She has been a Red-Black belter since she was 11, and had always been told that she could only sit for her Black-Belt exam when she turns 15 (which is in November this year). But she has just been informed by her coach who had assessed her during training, etc., that she can go straight to Black Belt without going through her grading exercise. Syukur Alhamdulillah :)

She's now busy practising for her Sports Day - she'll be representing Blue House in Shot-putt, Long Jump and also 1500m.

As with their Kak Long, Hasya and Hilman are also representing Green House in their Sports Day. Hasya's in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m, Long Jump, and Shot-putt. While Hilman's in the Long Jump (I know, right?! I pun terkejut when he said he's in Long Jump!! My chubby baby! Hehehe!). He's also in the Shot-putt and Tarik Tali events. But according to him, during Latihan Rumah Sukan, when the boys practise tarik tali against the girls of Green House, the boys tak pernah menang. Hehehe! His excuse - there are more girls in Green House, compared to boys :) Me? I say - "Girl Power!!!" ;)

All three kids have been practising really hard now, and all three kids are now quite sun-burnt. And Hilman has lost his title of being "The fairest of them all" to ME! So, ME being the fairest now - you can imagine just how tanned the kids are! :)

Okay, I've over-extended my lunch break. Got to go now. Have to get back to work. Hope this posting has covered all that I've missed writing on in the last one month :)

Take care, y'all.

* And Dilla - I'll work on the tag SOON, okay? ;)

It takes some getting used to...

It's 10:08a.m now.

Ayah had just left for the hospital 15 minutes ago and should be back by 10:45a.m to send the kids to their dance class.

Breakfast was simple - leftover Nasi Goreng from yesterday, and for Hilman, leftover pizza from Nachos Nachos which we tapau-ed last night. He didn't quite like it, so I had to add new toppings of sausages and more cheese to it. And the pinggan is licin already :) And Hilman said 'Thank you' to me three times for making the pizza taste better :)

It'll be a Sunday at home for us today, but not a relaxing one, I'm afraid. Ayah has to finish his article for MM by 6:00p.m today, and as for me, I plan to clear the porch of some boxes which had been there for the last one year and REALLY make time to send them to the intended recipients either later today or tomorrow morning. Apart from that, of course - the clothes need ironing, too. Anyway, I'm just going to iron Ayah's work shirts enough for 2 weeks, and of course the kids' school uniforms - all 15 pairs of them...again. First thing to do - to find them shirts and uniforms in that pile in Dar's room :(

And I forgot to remind the kids to wash their school shoes yesterday, so they're doing it now. Hope the sun shines the whole day today so that the shoes will be dry in time for school tomorrow...(Hmmmm...macam lyrics lagu lah pulak ;))

Sabarudin reported for duty on Friday, and I took the day off to show him the routes to the kids' schools/centres, and also to Ayah's hospital, etc. Also got him to bring Hilman and myself to Tesco that afternoon. It did make a huge difference not having to go round and round finding a parking space myself. It saved so much time, and of course energy because I had him to push the trolley to the car at the end of it ;) I didn't have him following me around while I was doing my grocery shopping, of course. That would be really awkward for me (and for him, too, I guess?). So, I just asked him to wait for me at the entrance near Pizza Hut.

So, Friday was his day with me and the kids.

Yesterday, on the other hand, was his day with Ayah and the kids.

He arrived at 7:15a.m as Ayah needed to be in Co*um*ia As*a by 8:00a.m. Hanna also had to be in school by 8:00a.m as she had Handball practice until 10:00a.m. Hanna was sent first, then Ayah. At 10:00a.m he fetched Hanna, sent her to my MIL's house so that she could get ready for her guitar class. At 10:45a.m, they left my MIL's house to fetch Ayah, sent Ayah to TMC, and then sent Hanna to OU for her 12:00p.m guitar class. As for me, I only had to send Hasya and Hilman to their Chess Class in Taman Tun at 11:30a.m and then came home straight. Hanna was fetched by Sabarudin at 1:00p.m, thereafter he fetched Hasya and Hilman and then off he went to TMC to fetch Ayah. They all arrived home together at 2:15p.m.

When I asked Ayah what did he think of Sabarudin, he told me that the whole time they were together in the car, Ayah had to keep on reminding him to use the indicator lights when changing lanes or making a turn. And according to him, they nearly hit a car as they were going out at the junction near our house! Hmmmmm...risau jugak, kan? But, I hope in time he'll know what we expect out of him. He needs to get used to our style of driving if he's driving us around, right?

Anyway, he's on a 3-month probation. If we feel he's careless and bukan pemandu berhemah, I guess we'll have to find another driver then.

I felt so much more relaxed, and I found that there were so much more things done at home with this arrangement. One of the things is that, now, I don't have to bring the semi-dry washing in everytime I want to go out sending/fetching the kids (fearing that it might rain while I'm out) and the laundry gets done earlier and easier. And the kitchen sink is clear and empty all the time because now I DO have time to wash the dishes straight away after our meals, and not have to wait until I'm done with the ferrying around job.

But, I think Ayah feels a bit awkward having a driver because he's so used to driving himself everywhere as and when he pleases whenever he's called to any of the hospitals, and now he has to wait for Sabarudin everytime he needs to go somewhere. Ayah may feel that it's so much easier and so much faster if he drives himself all the time. But, I guess it takes some getting used to.

As for me, I told Ayah that the driver is primarily for him. If Sabarudin can send and fetch the kids in between, it'll a bonus. If he can't, I can always ferry the kids. After all, their schools/centres, my office and my MIL's house are all quite near to each other. The only days which I may not be able to do so would be on Tuesdays and Thursdays when I have full teaching schedules.

And the difference between Ayah and I is that I tak sampai hati nak bagi Sabarudin kerja more than his hours, while Ayah said I should not feel like that because we're paying him for his OT. Furthermore, he had been out of work for the last 2 months, and he probably doesn't mind working over-time anyway. And Ayah said, he should expect to work over-time as that is what's expected of a personal driver anyway. I guess Ayah has a point there. I guess on this issue, it's me who has to get used to the idea of asking Sabarudin to kerja lebih masa.

I guess we see things differently - we men and women. To me, I think he would want to spend more time with his family. But, to Ayah, he thinks he probably wants to earn more money to support his family. It's kind of reflecting how both of us view our own careers and lives, I guess. But, I'm still in a dilemma when it comes to ask Sabarudin to do OT. How la like this?

I guess in time I will know what Sabarudin wants from his job, and insya Allah we then can somewhat balance that with what we want him to do for us to make our lives easier.

And our lives will be even easier if Dar is around nanti. Talking of whom - she has yet to call... :(

Leaving our comfort zone...?

One of the many reasons why I love my job is the fact that my hours are as flexible as how I want them to be. True that lecture times are set by the University, but, I am free to determine when I want to have my tutorials.

My teaching timetable this Semester, is the same as it has always been for the last few years. Again, I have loaded my Tuesdays and Thursdays, and kept the other days of the week free for my research, reading and writing.

I would send Hilman and the maid to my MIL's before I go to the office every morning, and my MIL's driver would send Hilman to, and fetch his sisters from school every afternoon, and the girls would stay at their Wan's house until I fetch them and the maid in the evening. My MIL's house had always been our depository centre ever since we came back from the UK in 1997 simply because it is right smack in the middle of the route between our SD house, our workplace and the kids' schools.

I have always had my lectures and tutorials on Tuesdays and Thursday for as long as I could remember. And alang-alang those two days are packed, I had also arranged for the kids to have their mengaji class at my MIL's on Tuesday and Thursday nights. This had been the arrangement for the last 4 years.

So, every Tuesday and Thursday, I would finish my class at either 5:00 or 6:00p.m, after which I would fetch Hilman from school, go back to my MIL's place which is just 10 minutes away from my office/the kids' school. Hanna and Hasya would already be there since after school. Ustadz would come at 8:30p.m, and their mengaji class would end at 9:30p.m. We would normally leave for SD around 9:45p.m, and would reach home by 10:00p.m - just in time for the kids to catch Naruto on Astro Channel 616.

This arrangement had meant that after a packed day at work on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I wouldn't have to worry about preparing/cooking dinner, as we would be having dinner at my MIL's, and dinner would normally be cooked by my MIL's maid, except on a few occassions when yours truly would help out. Good strategy, huh? ;)

Nevertheless, even though I had been quite free on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays all this while, I still had to leave the office at 6:00p.m. as I had to wait for Hilman to finish school and fetch him, and then fetch the girls and the maid from my MIL's, THEN only we would go back to SD. More often than not, we would reach home just after 7:00p.m and I would straight away cook dinner for the family (except on Wednesdays when the kids have their piano lessons from 6:30p.m until 7:45p.m. after which we would have dinner outside).

As I said, their Wan's place has always been our stop-centre, ever since we came back to Malaysia in 1997. In fact, when we first bought our SD home way back in 1999, we rarely stayed in SD, preferring to stay in PJ simply because it was just so convenient to do that. And when the kids started schooling, it seemed to be the most sensible thing to do - depositing the kids there until the time came for me to fetch them after work and go back home to SD.

However, this year is a bit different as I now don't have to wait until 6:00p.m before I leave the office because Hilman now goes to school in the morning. Meaning, theoretically, for THREE days of the week, i.e. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, when I don't have any lectures or tutorials, I can actually fetch the kids from their Wan's house earlier, so that we can reach SD by 5p.m, or even 4:30p.m, I guess. And I was really looking forward to the change to the routine, when finally we all can reach home earlier than we normally would, and this would mean, for the first time in years, the kids would be able to spend more time together at home in SD, instead of in PJ on weekdays.

However, with Hanna sitting for her PMR this year, we decided to register her for extra tuitions, and it's just our luck that her tuitions are held on Mondays and Wednesdays from 4:30p.m to 6:30p.m. in PJ. This means that realistically, the ONLY day that we will be able to go back home early now will be on Fridays.

There goes my plan of spending more time in SD with the kids this year :(

The only way to go around this is to come out of our comfort zone which we have been in for the last 13 years (at least!) and change our after-school deposit centre to our SD home instead of their Wan's place in PJ.

A perfect arrangement would be for Dar (when?!if?! she comes back) to stay at home in SD, instead of me sending her to PJ every morning, so that she would have more time attending to our SD home, and more time for her to prepare the meals (or rather, for me to start TRUSTING her to use the stove while I'm not at home!).

We should also have to consider getting our own driver instead of relying on my MIL's driver to fetch the kids from school everyday. At least I won't feel guilty if I'm asking our own driver to drive the extra miles to send the kids back to SD every afternoon. We do give him a certain amount of allowances every month for helping out with the kids, but, of course, at the end of the day, he is still not OUR driver, kan?

And I feel Ayah desperately needs a driver to drive him around, too, especially now that his "kais pagi, makan pagi" activities are done in 4 different hospitals (which are NOT close to each other!) I can see that all the driving around has taken its toll on him... Not just that he's SO exhausted every night when he comes back from work, his back-pain is becoming...well, a VERY REAL pain in the ****, and it's becoming more painful for him by the day.

We SERIOUSLY need to change our routines, especially in cuting down on transit times in PJ, and also the travelling/driving/sending/fetching/ etc., times so that everybody will be more relaxed at home AND at work.

The questions are -

Are we prepared to come out of our comfort zone which we have been in for the last 13 years?

Are we prepared to change our daily routines which so far have been quite convenient to us?

Are we prepared to bersusah-susah sedikit and not rely on my MIL's maid and driver anymore?

Are we prepared to start a new routine so that we can enjoy our own home more, now that the kids are bigger?

Hmmmmm...?

The last couple of weeks, and Back-2-School....

Salams, Seasons Greetings, and a Happy New Year to all :)

I've been neglecting this blog of mine for more than 2 weeks. No specific reason really - except maybe, because of my Bibikless status at the moment. It didn't help at all that the new Semester just opened on 28th December.

Insya Allah, I will counter-comment on all the comments left on my last posting on my Laundry Woes soon, ya? Please accept my apologies for not responding earlier :)

Anyway, the last 2 weeks had been pretty hectic -

I had taken a week off from work to instead slave away at home.

But, nevertheless, I had managed to meet up with my MT friends a couple of times for karaoke/birthday do, and a Pot Luck Hi-Tea/Dinner/Supper/Sahur. It was great to have been able to see them despite everybody's busy schedule.

We, as a family had also managed to squeeze in 3 movies - Avatar (3D!), Alvin & The Chipmunks 2, and Sherlock Holmes in the last couple of weeks.

And, not forgetting - I had the chance to join the Makcik Bloggers' gathering at Dave's Deli One-Utama on New Year's Eve. It was really good to see some of my dear Makcik Blogger friends again - Kak Ezza, Zai, Ibu, Kay, Yani and of course to finally meet Naz, Kak Teh, Datin Mamasita, Kak Puteri, Eja, NanaDJ, Hanz, SohoMama and Shahieda. You all can read all about it here :)

The last 2 weeks had, in a way, been a bonding time with the kids as they have been great at helping out at home, especially in taking care of our pet hamsters - Benji and Button, and pet terrapins - Seth and Jasper. Siap gotong-royong 3 beradik bersihkan the cage, etc :)

Hanna finally got a 1-to-1 lesson on how to operate the washing machine, and how to sidai baju properly :). She has been doing the sweeping and the mopping every now and then, and she has also been great with helping out with the dishes. Hasya has been helping to tidy up the living room especially (which seems to need tidying up every 2 hours or so! How?!), and setting the table for our meals. Hilman pulak has chipped in by doing the vacuuming around the house.

God Bless all of them :)

But, of course, the last two weeks have not seen all my laundry woes dissapear. They are still very much there. And they are now collectively known as "Mount Kinabalu". Soon, they are going to graduate to "Mount Kilimanjaro". Hopefully Dar will come back before they transform into "Mount Everest"... Hehehe!

AND, of course, the last two weeks have also seen me busy getting everything and everybody ready for school.

I finally decided that every one of the kids should have 5 pairs of school uniforms, so that I won't have to worry mid-week if tak sempat nak basuh or gosok. Whatever old uniforms they can still use, they'll use, and I just added a few new pairs each so that they'll have enough to last them from Monday to Friday. Heck, I've also made sure everybody has enough undies to last for 3 weeks in the (unlikely) event (of course!), tak sempat nak basuh. HAHAHAHA!

As for school shoes, I thought it would be quite ridiculous to get them 5 pairs each, so I settled for 2 pairs each. (That reminds me - I have yet to teach them to wash their own school shoes!)

As of 11:15p.m just now, ALL 15 pairs of uniforms had been ironed and hung in the kids' closets, all books had been wrapped and put in the respective school bags, and all stationeries had been put in their pencil cases.

And as of 11:30p.m just now, all three kids had gone to bed (and I hope are already asleep as I'm typing this!)

All three had their hair cut yesterday. Although I must say that I couldn't really see much difference in Hanna's and Hasya's hair before and after the visit to the salon! Apparently, Hanna needs to have another haircut in March when she'll have more hair for the stylist to work on (?!) And Hasya only had her fringe trimmed. Mind you, these two girls were the ones who had been bugging me to bring them to the salon for a haircut for the last month or so! And yet, when their hair was cut, it was not really cut. You know what I mean? Seriously, I don't really know what I was paying the stylist for.

Hasya's and Hilman's schoolbags are already sitting nicely on the rug besides the front door. Their school shoes are also arranged nicely near the door, siap stuffed with their school socks ;)

We've given all three kids enough school allowance to last them for 6 weeks, insya Allah. Ayah and I have been doing the same thing for the last couple of years - we would give the kids their allowances in advance, and it is up to them to make sure that they spend the money wisely so that it'll last until the last designated day that it should finish. If they decide to spend more than they should on one day, then, they will have to spend less on some of the other days. Failing which, they will be without any allowances until the next top-up day.

Hilman is especially happy that this year he'll be getting RM3 everyday instead of RM2 - same as his Kak Ngah. He said, now he can buy extra Keropok Lekor kat sekolah... Sigh... Sungguh tidak adventurous anak bujang I sorang ni...


As for Hanna, it's RM5/= per day as her school normally ends earliest at 2:30p.m, and it can also be extended until 6:00p.m. Frankly speaking, we don't really know how much is actually okay for the kids to bring to school. We know some of their friends who are given between RM5-RM10 everyday (and I'm talking about Primary school-goers here!)

Anyway, I'm SO excited for the kids!

Hanna will be taking her PMR year this year. And my do'a that she'll do very well in her exams. Ayah and I have decided that her outings with her friends will be VERY limited this year (if there is any at all, that is). And she's only allowed to go on-line and use her HP during weekends.

Hasya is a prefect this year, and she looks so grown-up in her new uniform :) She has shot up tremedously over the school holidays, and I wouldn't be surprised if she'll be taller than me by the end of the year.

Hilman pulak is in morning school for the first time. He kept on asking me not to forget to wake him up tomorrow. His sisters have warned him NOT to wake up late and cause them to be late for school. Mommy pun suspense jugak ni! Anyway, tadi Hilman siap pesan, "Mommy, I want hotdogs, and scrambled eggs for breakfast tomorrow, please..." Hmmmm, let's just hope Mommy can wake up early esok. If not, Cereals and cold milk ajer lah nampak gayanya, darling... :)

So, the kids and their Mommy are all geared up.

JUST BRING IT ON, SCHOOL!!!

(But, please have mercy and take it easy on me... at least until Dar comes back, ya?)

Naik bukit, turun bukit...

It's 1:14a.m, Sunday 13th December 2009 - and the kids and I are still awake in our room at Aw*na Hotel, Genting.

Ayah, meanwhile is down in KL. He turun bukit a few hours ago as he was attending MC*BA's Dinner at Is*ana Hotel, and I asked him not to naik bukit balik tonight, but instead sleep at home. I just didn't want him to drive up back here alone. Not when he's not that familiar with the roads and all. Anyway, he has decided to sleep at the Hospital instead as he has some work to finish there. He knows that if he were to go back home, he would be sleeping instead :) Anyway, he should be back here again first thing tomorrow morning, insya Allah.

We checked in at the hotel on Thursday afternoon. Ayah has a Cardio meeting/conference and it will only end at 1:00p.m today. Nasib baik they only have half-day sessions in the morning ajer, so for the last two afternoons, we've been going on the rides at Genting Theme Park. Syukur alhamdulillah the weather has been really nice.

The kids have really enjoyed themselves especially Hasya and Hilman because this time around they could go on most of the rides. The last time we were here they were not tall enough for some of the thrill-rides. In fact, on the second day they actually went on some of the rides again. Me, I only went on 5 rides - itupun I had my eyes closed during most of them. Hehehe! I memang penakut...(tapi teringin jugak nak naik!)

Insya Allah we will be going back to KL tomorrow afternoon. IF Ayah larat, after checking out we will be going up again and lepak-lepak at First World Plaza, etc. If Ayah tak larat, we'll probably lepak kat OU jer. See la how it goes nanti.

Anyway, here are some jokes from Ayah sempena our Genting trip ni -

JOKE 1

Just as we were approaching Aw*na Hotel and as the kids saw the signboard, they shouted -

Kids : Ayah! AW*NA!!!

To which ayah answered - "You wanna what?!"

Me : Errrr...?


JOKE 2


As we were driving up, we decided to open the car windows and breathe in the cool fresh air.

And just as the cool air came through into the car, Ayah said -

"Hmmmmmm...The Late Lim Goh Tong was SOOOOO rich he actually installed AIRCOND through the whole of Genting Highlands!"

To which the girls responded, "Ya Allah... Ayah, punya ler lame your joke..."

Me : (SETUJU....)

HAHAHAHA!

P/S : And Ayah, if you're reading this tonight (instead of doing your work!), I just want to say "I Miss You..." :(

Life without you...

At 9:30p.m last night, I sent this SMS -

"Asslmkum. Ini Ibu Shana. Mau bertanya samada Dar sudah selamat sampai ke rumah? Pesawatnya tiba di Yogyakarta pukul 8:30 pagi tadi. Terima kasih"

2 minutes after that, came the reply -

"Wlaikmsalam. Alhamdulillah. Sudah selamat sampai. Maaf baru bagi kabar"

And I sent a reply -

"Syukur alhamdulillah. Sampaikan salam kepada keluarga di kampung. Hilman minta beritau Dar dia baru beli 2 ekor anak kura-kura!"

Those SMSs were sent to Bibik Dar's husband.

YES - Dar has gone back home for a 2-month break. And I really hope she IS coming back to Malaysia and work with us again. We've heard of stories of maids who were supposed to come back after their holidays who never came back, and this was after their majikan had paid for all the charges/fees for permit renewal and all.

So, to play safe, when she asked us to transfer all her gaji home 2 weeks ago, we told her that we would keep the amount already spent for her permit renewal, and she could send it home AFTER she comes back in January nanti. And she was okay with that.

So, we take that to mean that she IS coming back.

But, at the same time, we're not keeping our hopes too high because the cash my MIL and my Mom gave her, and all the stuff we bought for her and her daughters to bring home with her could easily be about the same amount we're keeping, if not more. So, she MIGHT feel that she could just forego her gaji that we're still keeping.

When I asked Ayah if he thought Dar was coming back or not, he said "50-50", especially when we checked her room, and saw that she had brought ALL her things with her, save for the clothes she wore the night before and the towel she used yesterday morning.

But, for now we want to bersangka baik... and insya Allah she will come back especially when we have promised her a significant increase in her pay for the next two years.

She told me that she would come back once the work to repair her house (especially the roof) is done, and that should only take about a month. And even though she is supposed to go home for 2 months, she said she would come back by Mid-January. I can only make do'a that she will come back, no matter when exactly, insya Allah.

And YES, we've bought two terrapins last night, and the kids (or rather the girls) have decided to name them Jasper and Seth. Apparently they're a couple of characters from the "Twilight" saga (?!). My 14-year old Hanna seems to think that "Seth" is such a sexy name (??!!). That worries me - giving a sexy name to a terrapin?! Hehehe... And she also said that when she gets married and have kids nanti, all her sons will have "Seth" as their first names. Hmmmmm...Sexy names for her sons...and it started with naming her terrapin "Seth", too?! Aiyoooo, Hanna...

So, the terrapins are additions to our existing pets. We already have a couple of Syrian hamsters at home - Benji and Button, and I just hope the kids will be responsible pet-owners and take really good care of them. Dar had been the one who cleaned their cage, bathed them and changed their water and food all this while, and for the next couple of months, the kids will have to be responsible for them. At least the pets will keep them occupied over the school holiday, I hope.

(A good sign this morning when Hilman woke up, and the first thing he asked me was, "Mommy, when do I feed the terrapins, Mommy?" :))

I made sure that they sit and see and help Dar to clean the hamsters' cage on Saturday night so that they know how to do it and not expect ME to clean it for them every time. I have so many other things to do without adding "cleaning hamsters' cage" to my already long list of things to do over the next couple of months.

And, oh ya - I've already cooked 6 chicken/beef/fish dishes yesterday and have frozen them in small containers for convenience. So now we have frozen Assam Pedas Tenggiri, Lemak Chili Padi Tenggiri, Daging Kicap, Daging Masak Merah, Sweet and Sour Chicken and Ayam Masak Lemak Putih in our freezer. Not forgetting the big pot of Sup Tulang/Daging Qorban on the stove :) If we were to eat at home on alternate days, those should last us for about 2 weeks, insya Allah. I only need to teach Hanna how to cook the rice now. (Yup! She never masak nasi before this - all throughout her 14-years of life...)

As for the laundry, I've made enquiries at the nearest Laundrette, and nampak gayanya I'll be a regular there. They charge 2kg per kilo, and for ironing, it's RM1.20 per piece. I would probably wash and dry everything at home, and just send the necessary clothes for ironing. But, then again - what with it raining everyday, I would probably dump everything there every 2-3 days or so and let them take care of everything. I've also bought a small pail and detergent for each kid to put in their bathrooms for them to wash whatever necessary themselves.

Hanna is now in-charge of sweeping the floor every day so that it'll be easier for me to do the mopping later on. We're so used to Dar mopping the house every day, and we have to make sure that we stick to that. Failing which, maybe we would just do it every other day (or maybe once in 3 days...or once a week ke...? See la how it goes :))

Dar had also blended all the onions, garlic, ginger, dried chillies and had put them in their usual containers in the fridge, just in case I need to use them. That should last me for about a week, that is - IF I were to cook everyday, but, I'm not, am I?;)) Anyway, IF I run out of them, I need not worry as Pasar Taman Tun has this gerai which provides all things under the sun blended. They also have pre-mix pastes for rendang, asam pedas, Nyonya/Kapitan curry, and the lot. I loike :) I've also bought some Maggi pre-mix paste last week. Just in case. Anyway, Pizza Hut, Dominoes and McDonalds are just a phonecall away, kan? :)

Anyway, it's Day 2 without Dar, and so far, so good. The kids helped me clear the kitchen and wash the dishes last night (but this morning I had to re-wash a few of them!) Hopefully they'll get better in time, insya Allah.

All we need now is luck. Loads and loads of luck.