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?)

End of year check-list...

Schools - checked.

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

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

School books - checked.

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

Stationeries - checked.

School bags - checked.

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

School uniforms - semi-checked.

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

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

School shoes - checked.

Haircut - pending.

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

RM1 notes for duit belanja - checked.

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

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

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

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

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

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

HAPPY NEW YEAR, Y'ALL.