Hectic School Holidays

What happened for the past 3 weeks?

Mak came back from Peru just for Atam's wedding. Too bad she came back alone, leaving Uncle Jack behind, missing all the bustling fun preparing the wedding.

Atam got married on May 28-27, we felt a bit short-handed though, that we didn't even have the opportunity to pose with the pengantins. I had to cancel my long leave because work is unbelievably demanding.

Aina caught sore-eyes, thanks to Ariff. She was also down with fever that we were not sure if we coud make it for the Perlis reception on June 1. Adam left early with Achoo & Acik just in case Mama & Papa decided not to go. Well, we made it though despite the jam and sleepiness driving up north on Friday night.

June 1- thanks to the nice food Pak Tam's family prepared, we had a good time though. By this time, Adam also caught sore-eyes. After the reception, we went up to Padang Besar, and we just didn't know what to get there. I finally decided to buy a small wok. Other than that, a few kaftans for me & maid. On Sunday, we held lunch for the family at Opah's house.

Coming back from Alor Setar was another frenzy - the traffic was very slow all the way from Taiping right to Rawang. What used to be a five hour journey became a 9 hour slow moving ride. I was worried all the way because I have a negotiation session at 9am in the morning, and I wasn't prepared for it at all. After everybody had settled down at home, I worked from 2:30-4:30am.

Sigh!

Selamat Pengantin Baru Mak Tam & Pak Tam

Wishing Mak Tam and Pak Tam all the best for their new life together

May you live happily ever after

Hope Mak Tam will miss us ever

At that new place you endeavour

Is unlike Shah Alam we favour

You will miss all the laughter

When the brood are all together

But then we hope our new "brother"

Will take care of you forever...

Life has been very hectic for the past three weeks that I haven't had time to update this blog. All my planned leave are canceled until I submit a major proposal on June 19th. Until then, my blogging time will be limited.

Exhilarating Genting

The bunch had a great time last weekend. Even though I was working on my proposal on Saturday, the three of them managed to entertain themselves by dipping in the instant-pool at the back of the house. Saturday was tremendously hot, so being in the pool was a splendid endeavor. Plus, with Papa being away in Melaka, the pool was a great distraction as they don’t even have to bug me at my notebook.

Having them spent the entire afternoon soaking in the pool, it was easy to let them retire early that night. With that, we have more reasons to plan taking them to the much awaited Genting trip, plus if the weather condition permits.

Despite me sleeping at 2:30 am in the morning finishing my work, I managed to wake up early to find that it was raining quite heavily. When Aina woke up, she was a little but frustrated because I already told the kids that the trip would be cancelled if it rained. So, when the three of them were all awake, they didn’t make much noise as they already knew my pre-requisite for the trip.

Nevertheless, the sun starts to appear slowly in the morning drizzle after 9am. So we quickly decided to make the trip instead. By 11am, we were on the road already. True enough, by the time we got to the cable car station in Gohtong Jaya just about noon, the weather was excellent!

Boy oh boy, the cable car ride up to the peak was an awesome 3.4km ride, with deep jungle beneath us. Both Papa and Aina are already pale. I didn’t know my girl is just like his dad. But the boys were behaving themselves too; I guess the unfathomable green abyss beneath us somehow made them nervous.

Cable car ride

Nevertheless, when we got to the peak, the kids were kids again, especially when they saw all the indoor games. When we were out at the outdoor theme park, they became even more excited. However, when we counted the number of rides they could get on to against the entrance fee, we decided to opt for the indoor park instead.

Amir steadily riding the carousel horse

Aina's tired looking smile

Big boy on the ride

So off we went to the indoor park and rode all the family rides. By 6pm, they were all tired, and we decide to call the day off. Both Papa & I agreed that we have to wait till they are teenagers if we were to go to Disneyland or the Australian Gold Coast. :-)

Sunday Stowy

Hawi tu Amir ikut Mama & Papa pegi Tesco. Pagi-pagi Amir bangun ikut Mama pegi Tesco beli fish, dengan sayur, dengan buah, dengan roti….dengan apa lagi ek?

Masa naik kete Papa kan, kan, Amir nampak buwung 2 ekor terbang kawer mewah. Pastu ada aewoplane kat sky Amir bai bai.

Kat Tesco tak ramai owang sebab Amir bangun pagi-pagi. Mama kata kalau bangun pagi fish ada banyak sangat. Mama beli bawang banyak sangat tapi Papa bayar. Abang ngan Kakak pun ikut juga, tapi Abang mewajuk sebab Mama mawah Abang sebab Abang suka lambat-lambat masa nak pegi Tesco.

Lepas tu kan Mama kata siap cepat-cepat sebab nak pi makan kat otel sebab befday Abang. Mama ajak Acik jugak tapi Acik tak moh. Mama ajak Kakak Leha juga, kakak Leha siap cepat-cepat pakai baju mewah. Pastu Kak leha pakai kefium waaangi sangat sampai Mama tutup idung dalam car Papa.

Otel tu jauh sangat kat KLCC dengan KL Tower Amir nampak! Owh...itu otel dulu befday Amir ngan Kakak jugak. Papa suka datang otel tu, otel Shalala. Amir makan udang besar banyak-banyak lepas tu Amir makan ice-cream. Abang makan nooodle 3 sampai perut Abang besar. Kakak Aina suka makan pasta aje, dengan udang aje. Pas tu ada clown datang bagi balloon.

Kakak Leha makan sikit aje, sebab dia shedih. Mama dia meninggal hari Sabtu. Kakak Leha nangis lama-lama kat bilik dia. Mama kata jangan kacau Kak Leha sebab dia shedih sangat, tak dapat jumpa mama dia masuk dalam kubur.

Lepas makan tu Papa ajak balik, Abang tak nak balik nak jalan jugak. Kita naik car Papa pegi tempat lain. Mama kata kita pi Chewas, tengok Opah Ngah baru keluar ospital.

Dah sampai tu Amir tengok kata chest Opah Ngah ada tempat doctor cut, kaler yellow! Ada benang macam mama jahit baju. Lepas tu Wan Chor ajak makan pisang goweng dengan kawipap, Amir makan kawipap aje kat tepi dengan cwunchy-cwunchy pisang tuh. Pas tu bagi kat Mama bagi abis. Kat rumah tu Amir minum air suam banyak sebab boleh ambik sendiwi kat paip tu. Kakak Aina pun nak ambik sendiwi.

Lepas tu hari nak hujan macam thunder. Papa ajak balik cepat-cepat. Pas tu Papa stop kat Giant sebab Mama kata nak beli bawang. Mama kata Mama nak pegi cepat-cepat, tapi Amir nak ikut jugak. Amir kejar Mama masuk Giant dekat kedai Saykepi.

Owh...Mama nak beli cake. Amir nak cake black aje. Tu cake Amir. Mama kata tu cake Abang. Nak jugak cake Amir jugak, Amir nak jewit kat mama dah. Mama kata cake Amir nanti fiderman...ok lah Amir nak cake fiderman, tapi September nanti. Cake black bagi Abang.

Lepas tu balik rumah pasang candle, ada nine. Abang tepuk tangan, Papa take picture Abang smile kat cake black dia. Mama put fire kat candle, lepas tu Amir cepat-cepat tiup lepas Mama & Atam & Kakak nyanyi kat Abang…

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ABANG!

Tergolekdoq

Hari Rabu baru ni Mama tergolekdoq.

Hari Selasa kan dah rasa macam seram-seram sejuk. Malam tu memang rasa demam, telan le 2 biji panadol. Lepas tu pukul 4 pagi dah tak leh tido, pinggang sakit, berpusing-pusing seram sejuk tergigil-gigil. Last-last turun bawah, buat milo campur oat satu mug, minum habis dengan 2 biji panadol lagi. Pukul 6.30 pagi dah berpeluh-peluh, so kejut abang pi school, siapkan dia, then mintak Papa hantarkan.

Pukul 8 pagi Rabu contemplate nak pi kerja ke tidak. Sms boss kata tak larat, dan tak kan join dia meeting dengan client kat Jalan Duta. Dia kata take care ..he he. Sat lagi pukul 9 pagi Amir datang, "Mama, bangun, dah siang la Mama, Amir nak susu".

"Amir pi cakap kat kakak Leha la, Mama tak larat"

Lepas tu dengar dia jerit kuat-kuat tepi tangga "Kakaaaaaaak Leeehhaaaaaaaaaaa! Amir nak susu botol besaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar!"

Tak lama lepas tu dengar sok-sek sok-sek, Amir panjat katil masuk selimut Mama dengan botol susu besar dia. Last-last kita berdua pun out sampai pukul 11:30 pagi. Perut Mama dah berkeroncong, nasib baik Leha sudah masak nasi. Tibai aje nasi tu sebab dah tak larat nak tahan ketar badan, nak makan ubat.

Call Papa, dia kata dia ada lunch appointment. Kalau nak pi hospital, kena tunggu petang. Berguling-guling le Mama kat atas katil menahan sakit belakang. Malam tadi sakit belah kiri, masa tu sakit pindah belah kanan pulak. Lagi sakit la dari nak beranak. Pinggang pun rasa macam nak tercabut aje. Masa tu Mama rasa dah 100 kali keluar masuk toilet shi-shi sikit-sikit. Abang & Aina pun dah balik sekolah, masing-masing tolong gosok belakang Mama tengok keadaan Mama macam tu.

Then Papa sms kata dia nak ambil Mama pukul 2:25 petang. Bila Papa kata dia nak mai sat lagi, ingat nak mandi la. So pi la toilet kunun nak mandi. Tapi of course kena shi-shi dulu. Bila shi-shi tu tiba-tiba rasa lain macam je...dengar "ting" macam ada mende jatuh kat dalam bowl. Lepas basuh tu, perhatile betul-betul dalam bowl tu..macam ada biji lada hitam. Nak ambik ke tak? Aahh, bukan tak leh sterelize tangan tu kang..so ambik le biji tu. Cepat-cepat cuci tangan ngan dettol. Macam batu-karang aje...warna brown, ada shiny-shiny spike sikit-sikit.

Dan-dan tu sakit belakang hilang. Batu karang dah keluar le rupanya. Terus call Papa kata tak yah hantar hospital la. Nanti petang pi jumpa doktor dekat rumah ambil MC aje.

So petang tu pi jumpa Dr Ikhwan tu, dia kata nasib baik batu dah keluar. Dia bagi antibiotic and pain-killer la, sebab bladder mesti infected punya. Dapat MC dua hari, tapi Khamis dah belambak meeting lined up. Nak buat camne?

Lepas pi jumpa doktor, kita pi makan kek Secret Recipe (Saykepi kata Amir)...tapi malam tu start demam balik....sampai la ni masih demam on off.

Ingat nak balik awal petang ni, tapi my colleague baru call minta tolong buat proposal, esok due!

Ada ke suka buat last minute! Arrrggggghh!!!

Wayward Weather

May I say that the weather is a little bit on the naughty side? Playing tricks everyday, unbearably hot during the day, and thunderstorms late in the evening?

The tricky weather makes our body systems go haywire, and children are the most affected, especially my kids.

To top it all, masing-masing degil!

They want "air sejuk" all the time, especially Amir. Some smart alec like Abang will also climb and open the freezer door of the refrigerator and ransack all the fish containers with the hope that there would be a lucky container full of ice-cream. That's because Acik & Atam would always hide their precious Italian or Neopolitan icecream in between the fish containers.

So there goes the "pantang" for the asthmatic kids.

What happens next? They would end up like this:

I'm starting to feel the chill too! I need a loooooooong break!

New Trail & Outpost

The hamsters pair, Racer & Teecoos had their offsprings last month - all four of them. After a few days, only one managed to survive. Amir named him Wobot. This means they need bigger space to play, and Papa (who took a day-off from work last Monday, without telling me, and went to the Curve, Ikea and all) managed to buy the extension of the Habitrail.

Additional trail tube (in yellow) for more meaningful playtime.

Wobot enjoying his (or her?) new outpost. He became this big after 3 weeks! He was just the size of a peanut when he was born.

Now, Adam is telling me that Teecoos looks like she's pregnant again. He's excited about it because his friend just bragged to him that he got 7 hamsters. Oh my! At the rate they are breeding, the habitrail soon will look like train coaches!

My Naughty Bunch

Remember Adam has to regularly use the inhaler?

Now the cannister is nowhere to be found.

I just found out that the three of them had played "doctor-nurse", and have used the nebulizer on to the "bearly patients". Now we are out of stock. That thing was supposed to last 3 months!

And now I gotta call my paeditrician friend Noni and asked what was the name of the inhaler. I think it's "Inflamide".



And this is what happened if you have a kid who just couldn't stand still to have his picture taken with his favorite movie character.

Nak Durian!

This is a tree planted by my next door neighbour outside the house. I always park my car underneath this tree.

A few days back, coming back from the market with Amir, he pointed his fingers to the hanging fruits.

"Mama, Amir nak durian!"

I never realized that the tree is bearing fruit already.

"Bukan durian la Amir, it's nangka!"

"Owh!"

Asthmatic Adam

The flu & cough virus are on the loose lately. My kids got them one at a time, taking turns one after another. Adam got it last, which eventually landed him in room 312 in DEMC last week.

Adam got the coughing bug the previous Sunday, afterwhich we had to bring him for many rounds of nebulizer. Normally, he'd recover after two days, but on Thursday his condition remained that the GP requested for a chest x-ray. True enough, his chest was filled with phlegm, and infected with bacteria. Eventually, he was diagnosed to have pneumonia, and needed to be admitted for the intraveneous antibiotic.

It was the day of my big presentation with a client, and in the middle of it, Papa smsed that he needed the insurance number and stuff like that. I had to call him during break time, and frantically sorted out the details. After that, my mind was not at the presentation at all, and had to get myself excused at 3:30pm.

First day at the hospital. Not a happy lad at all, especially when Mama is not around. Generally, he's ok, it's just that he needed to be on the nebulizer every 3 hours, and antibiotic 3 times a day.

Cheerful a bit, when Mama popped in at 4pm on the first day. Every half an hour, he'll go round the paediatric ward, talked to the nurses, go down the lobby and made himself at home.

Resah, gelisah, bila lah Abang boleh balik nih... 4 days at the hospital is agony.

Waiting for the discharge papers...

So it was a three-night-four-day stay for Adam in the hospital. We took turn to accompany him, Mama, Aina & Amir in the day, Atam & Acik popped by in the afternoons, and Papa stayed the nights. Of course he's upset because Mama couldn't sleep over, but since Amir is also showing some signs of flu & cough, Mama had to sleep at home.

In the end, Adam now is equipped with an inhaler, which he needs to use three times a day, for 3 months. He was pronounced as asthmatic, but not the frequent type. The inhaler is supposed to help strengthen the lungs and treat the asthma. Hopefully this illness is not for long.

Now we are monitoring Amir.

Mesmerizing Malaysia

I'm beginning to sound like a tourism ad.
It's just that sometimes it's the day-to-day thingy that sometimes I fail to appreciate.

The rocky beach behind Marriot Miri. The actual panorama is more breathtaking. I'm marking this place as future vacation spot with kids.

I pass by this bridge everytime I go to Putrajaya. Execellent view huh? Even better that Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Rain is always welcomed during the hot spell. This one taken during our trip to the Butterfly Park.

My long unattended lilies in my garden - despite the insects attack and lack of fertilizer, they still manage to bloom, large and pure.

Hills being cut for the marbles along the Ipoh Highway. One day all these beautiful hills will be a flat, barren land.

p/s: And all the shots were taken using my Sony Ericsson K510i. Please refer to this blog if you wish to republish the shots.

Tourism or Independence?

It's Visit Malaysia Year 2007 (VMY07) , but it's also the 50th year of Independence. We hear more of VMY07 all over the radio stations, but less of the nation's birthday. I guess whichever generates more money will make the headlines. A lot of influential people will also make money out of new tourism related projects, anything goes, as long as you can convince the public that the projects would directly or indirectly affect them beneficially.

So then how would my kids understand the meaning of Independence? And it's the 50th celebration. Do I need to show them the lovely places in Putrajaya, or the big posh bungalows along Section 9 and 7 in Shah Alam? Or merely repeating the movie Embun? Or try explaing to to them why Mama & Papa had to work late nights to fork out lotsa money so that they could have better education and compete in the outcome of the national post-independence curriculum.

I have not heard of any big plans for a big celebration yet. Maybe I'm too busy to read the papers and catch up with the latest fling. But I still managed to get some abuzz on Eye of Malaysia... so is it me or is it the news? Somebody please update?

Baby for Sale Anyone?

Over the past few weeks, my kids had a lot of baby-encounter, from people visiting our home with babies, to meeting friends with babies.

This, of course triggers a lot of baby requests, and play time is now baby-themed.

"Mama, jom pegi Tesco beli baby" nags Amir all the time.

"Do you have money to buy the baby?" I asked him back.

"Ada, dalam poket Mama!"

"Baby tu berapa ringgit Amir nak beli?" asked Papa this time.

"Dua ringgit!" and he smiled endlessly, thinking that we both are willing to entertain his wish.

However, when we are at Tesco, babies are no longer on his mind, thanks to the many aisles of toys, cookies etc.

After work last week, I found these in Adam's room.

Welcoming 2007

Goodbye 2006, Hello 2007!

That means goodbye my savings for the year, hello new school uniforms, fees, new tyres, insurance and road tax.

That also means we have to forget about having another baby sister, because that will cost us another big dent in our twiggy-bank. The kids have been watching waaaay too much of baby movies over the holidays, and have been begging for a little baby, especially Amir & Aina.

Well...I too long for soft little teeny weeny body to cuddle, but the thought of going through a torturing 9-month pregancy just gave me the jitters.

Papa, being the conservative banker he is, well... being calculative as well, are pretty much contented with the bunch. Hey, it's not cheap to raise children these days.

Let's just be calculative for a moment now, let's check our monthly list of spending just for the kids:

• Groceries
• Diapers
• Powdered milk x 2 tins for 2 kids
• Kumon x 4 subjects for 3 kids
• Aina's pre-school fees
• Adam's BM & Math tuition
• Taekwondo
• Iqra' home classes

Well, these are the basics, no frills yet. Frills include entertainment, toys, clothes and eating out.

Perhaps we need to look at those not as lucky as we are? Perhaps we need to be more sensitive to others needs? Like the flood-stricken victims? Like the land-slide survivors? Like the less fortunate ones?

Perhaps with the new year, we should be more prudent? And with prudence comes more blessings and increase in iman? Let's just ride the course of 2007 with more conscience of the poor and more quality time with our offsprings. I wish my kids will fly this year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Still Rude Malaysians

Based on my personal encounters, Malaysians are still rude in general, despite the many efforts to reinstate that we Malaysians are of the gentle and respectful, polite culture. Unfortunately, I beg to differ, as I believe it's the little things that people do make you realize that people are not so polite after all.

Let me cite a few personal encounters, and observations:

Scenario 1:
Me and kids trying to get out of the elevator in a shopping mall. When the doors opened, people outside came rushing in as if that was the last elevator to leave the planet. They didn't bother to see a mother with 3 little kids trying to get out from the unnerving crowd, despite the fact that I was trying to manage the stroller out of the way. How disrespectful!

Scenario 2:
Gentlemen-ness is lacking in our local men. There is no giving way to open doors for ladies or even mothers with kids. No wonder we women adore the Mat Sallehs as they are more polite and sensitive to women (in that manner lah).

Scenario 3:
A senior citizen with walking stick trying to board the bus. The waiting crowd just pushed him aside. When I was in Perth, Australia, the bus driver actually came down from the bus and assisted an old lady with a wheel-chair to board the bus! He actually folded the wheel-chair and got showed her a seat in front. How attentive!

Scenario 4:
Al-fresco dining - this is eating out in the open at stalls. Well, I was pregnant that time, and the boys next to our table was puffing and smoking cigarattes like nobody's business. No doubt that it was open dining, and you could actually smoke, but please la be sensitive to your surroundings. It was so different in Paris. Smokers will not light up their cigarettes if they see pregnant ladies or kids around them.

Scenario 5:
Spitting in public! Euuwww!! I was in my car, at the traffic lights. A lorry driver in front was spitting out like there was a basin or something on the road. Come on la... people are just waiting there, observing other people. Tak malu ke?

Scenario 6:
Was just in the LRT last Sunday, taking Amir for his first ride. We got three seats to share, Adam, Aina, Amir and me. A few stops away, a couple with 2 kids boarded, the little boy was screaming as he didn't want to stand wobbly-ly. Two young chaps were just beside me and Adam. Nobody moved. I told Adam to give his seat away, and Adam moved to sit with me and Aina. But the boys didn't move at all. Gosh...what ever happened to kids these days??

Scenario 7:
Another LRT incident, last week, coming back from JB. A bunch of youngsters were talking loudly. It was rush-hour, and people are cramming in there, and these people just laughed and shouted as if there were loud music in there, macam disco la kut?


So there goes the ever so polite Malaysians. Or are we just polite to tourists and foreigners? Why can't we be nice to people of our own kind, people of Malaysia?

Pet Commentary

A visit to Pet Safari last Sunday ended up with 3 hamsters and a habit-trail (the cage) which costed me a single room in a 4-star hotel for the entire package.

Well, somebody really really really begged for a pet, and after a series of promises like:

"Abang bagi makan hamster!"

"Abang promise to wash the cage!"

"Amir put air kat hamster!"

so we decided to put some responsibilities in the kids. Aina initially wanted a tortoise, but we figured we'll end up with too many habitats to take care of. So hamster it was.




We got 2 male hamsters and 1 female. Abang named his male hamster "Shark", Aina wanted a white hamster, so she named him "Racer" and Amir, simply named his girl "Tikus".

Unfortunately, Racer was the more dominant male, trying to outcast Shark, he bit and fought till Shark went bleeding all over and died on the second day. We learned our lesson, not to take two males at once.

By the third day it looks like its Papa who is doing the feeding and water-level checking all the time..

Monsoon Blues and School Holidays

Year end in Malaysia will always be equated with the monsoon. As far as I could remember, it rains almost everyday since the start of school holidays, which was about 2 weeks ago. My kids are restless now as we have no agenda for the long holidays. To top it all, Mama has got tonnes of work mounting up to January next year!

But as a mother, I always want to ensure that my kids are happy. So we need to have some compromise this time around. I told the kids that we can't go somewhere far and spend days away from home. So the plan is to make every weekend as fulfilling as possible.

This plan started Saturday last week, where I brought them to the Butterfly Park, had lunch at the Bird Park among the Hornbills and climbing (not literally) the KL Tower. The day ended beautifully with us watching the sunset behind the dark clouds in the horizon which I believe is somewhere near the Klang shorelines.

It rained halfway through the Butterfly Park. Adam got bored waiting for the rain to stop.

Kois being fed every day by visitors to the park. No wonder they are so fat!

Magnificent view of KL.

I'm pleasantly surprised my phone camera picture turns out nice and sharp.

Aina loves collecting ticket stubs.

Hornbills are friendly in the bird park.

So now the challenge is to produce a weekend initerary for the kids, and manage the weather too! And here I am blogging in the middle of a Saturday meeting at the office. My colleagues thought I'm very much indulged in my proposal preparation. He he...

p/s: The copyright of the work in here belongs to Makbudak. Please cite reference to this site if you'd like to reproduce the materials.

Award Surprise

On Friday last week, Mama had the honor of watching Adam going on stage, as a recipient of the “Peningkatan Prestasi Terbaik” award of Penulisan Bahasa Melayu. Boy, was I so proud of my son!




Actually, we never expected this, but the call came in to Papa on Tuesday last week, asking for our attendance to the Majlis Anugerah Cemerlang of the school. When Papa told me that Adam will receive on award for “Prestasi Tulisan” we were giggling endlessly as his writing is always the first thing we commented every time we review his work.

Turned out that Papa misheard the invitation. So the award is for his improvement in Bahasa Melayu composition and writing. We were impressed!

Being very easily distracted, Adam is not doing that great in school. I have always been the worried mother, and boy oh boy, the competition these days are just unbelievable. Not to mention the ever complicated curriculum for an eight year old, I just don’t have the heart of putting that pressure on Adam.





So, I decided (since Papa is always too busy with work) that we’ll take things easy for Adam. Let him bloom at his own progress. Just to catch up, we put him in Kumon so that will discipline him a bit. I’m not too sure if it’s the right thing to do for him. But I always pray that he’ll give us a surprise someday, and this award is one of them. Ameen!

Homey Hippopotamus

Remember when when we were small and we loved to play "badak-badak"? (This question is for my siblings actually)

Now I have rekindled that memory with my own kids. So, how do we play "badak-badak"?


First, take a sizeable blanket enough to wrap your kid around. Fold both corners to form two triangles at one end of the blanket. Then place your child on the blanket while placing both hands under the folded corner.

Then wrap him up from both sides of the blanket.



Roll him over and bend him like below...wallah! Introducing you the Homey Hippopotamus! So this hippo can be a scary mean ol' hippo chasing everybody in the room, or simply a loveable, huggable little baby hippo that people just can't wait to cuddle. Now, this one looks like the latter, isn't it?

Oh, I just love entertaining my kids play time.... and this is merely one small piece of their imaginations..

In the Raya Mood 2

The best part of raya is actually the preparation, especially the day before. This year we celebrate the first raya in my kampung, so we got busy with preparing lemang, rendang and kelamai (pumpkin cake in bamboo). The riuh-pikuk from the kids and cousins is unmatchable by the rest of the kids in the neighboring houses. This year, all my mom's grandchildren are back, so the pitch and screams are almost 100 decibles, especially chasing after the chickens.


This year, we had two types of rendang, rendang daging rusa (venison) and buffalo meat rendang. On top of that, the evergreen gulai ayam kampung, without the skin because all these kids had torn away the skin while pulling off the feathers. Thank god, only one chicken is skinless, otherwise, the flavor would have been different.

And Mama was in-charged of the kitchen, with the blending and the "tumis'ing", managed to put these rendang on the stove before Asar. Ended up with sore shoulders - results of dehusking coconut with Papa and fidgety fingers after squeezing the coconut milk.

The gentlemen? Well they were kept busy with the lemang and kelamai outside. The weather was excellent, so they didn't have much trouble taking care of the fire. Somehow, my dad was a little bit disappointed as the lemang was cooked to perfection - no kerak! And he loves kerak lemang!

So the timing was nice, we had lemang, gulai ayam and rendang for the buka puasa of the last day of Ramadhan. The kids just love the gulai ayam, not hot at all, while the parents were wishing it should have been a little bit spicier and hot...

In the Raya Mood

Somehow all the buzz and fuss of the festivities reminds me of my childhood. There was a different feeling back then, and I miss that feeling.

I miss the atmosphere of Ramadhan then, specifically being around the kitchen of my late grandmother's house when she and my mother would prepare the buka puasa dishes.

I miss feeling so weak and drained while waiting for the azan.

I miss the fresh smell of rambutan plucked from the trees, turned into juices from the blender my mother just bought when we first had electricity installed at Wan's house.

I miss being greedy with all the buka puasa spread like pengat, kueh talam, rambutan juice, gulai cendawan sisir.

I miss having buka puasa with my parents and siblings.

And I look forward to a sumptuous buka puasa with them when we all get together this Sunday to prepare my mom's famous gulai ayam kampung, my kids favorites - lemang and rendang daging kerbau... Hey, only in my kampung I get to have daging kerbau (buffalo meat), instead of beef!

Now & Then

The difference between a primary two boy NOW with his mother at primary two in 1976 THEN.

Adam - 5 pairs of school uniform – none of them is spotless, must have at least one marking of pens or water color, or pure dirt.
Mama - 2 pairs of school uniform – managed to bag the “Best Dressed Student/Cleanest Uniform” award most of the years in primary school.

Adam- 1 pencil last 2 days
Mama- 1 pencil last 1 month

Adam - New box of color pencils every MONTH
Mama - New box of color pencils every YEAR

Adam - Exercise books become “lonyer” by end of first term
Mama - Exercise books in excellent condition till year end

Adam - Sleeps in air-conditioned room, showered with warm water every morning while Mama busily prepares which uniform (ironed by maid) to wear and put tie on.
Mama - Slept in ”kelambu”-clad bed, no fan or air-cond. Showered with ice-cold water, collected the evening before from the perigi near the kubur…and dressed up on her own with uniform ironed by herself.

Adam - Homework done only if Mama asked and checked, under close scrutiny of Mama or aunties.
Mama - Her mother never has to worry about homework – all homework settled by night time.

Adam- Screams and shout for Mama to look for his missing textbooks that Mama has no idea of the whereabouts.
Mama - Books and school things are sacred stuff. Treated with honor and dignity.

Adam - RM 1 duit belanja every day, with bekal air and sometimes bekal of rotikaya, cereal, apples or sausages.
Mama - 20 sen duit belanja, spent on the best nasi lemak daun pisang ever, sold by best friend who came to school with a basket of those to help her mother.

Adam - Sent to school in Papa’s car, came back in neighbor’s car.
Mama - Walked about a km to and from school, with a bunch of friends, sometime de-toured to collect rambutan or rambai by the road side.

Adam - Watched Playhouse Disney Channel and play the videogame. Hands are quick on the remote and joystick. Calories burnt – 200 perhaps.
Mama - Created own game using stuff collected around the house, sticks, boxes, leaves etc...Imagination was wild and high. Calories burnt probably 1000.

Adam - Results: No 32 out of 39…sigh!
Mama - Results: No 1 out of 25, infact no 1 throughout the primary years… :-)

Terkenang semasa dulu...

In every congenial trip back to my mother-in-law’s in Alor Setar, we would religiously make our compulsory visit to Pekan Rabu, the all northern food-galore center. When we were there recently, Amir found a new love – the “emping”. We were at this regular store, getting the regular stock of ikan masin and putu beras when we realized that Amir was happily dipping his little hand, filling it with emping from one of the containers. He was munching bit after bit that we decided to stock that too.

I already knew what to dish up with the emping. We just need some young grated coconut and some thinly sliced gula kabung to be mixed with the emping to make an unforgettable concoction. Which reminds me of the good old days...




When I was small, there was a period of time that my family stayed with my late grandmother in her kampong house. My dad was assigned to a very remote school deep in the jungle of Pahang. Accessing his workplace was very challenging, he decided to leave us to stay with our grandmother. This was in the mid-70’s, when having electricity and water is a new concept to the kampong people. Oh! I remember… I think we only had electricity, but water access was still very much ‘going-to-the-well’ type.

This was when I remember there was a lush green paddy field behind the house, with plenty of coconut trees swaying, that you could see tempua’s nests moving to the motion of the wind. This was when the air was crisp and smell of young paddy seeping up my nostrils. This was when I would pull the strings of the scarecrows tied to a bunch of empty milk cans made by my late grandmother to jolt the nerves of the uninvited visitors, cheering their departure.

I remember after the harvesting season, my mom’s siblings would gather at their eldest sister’s place to celebrate yet another good year of harvest. This was where the fun start, the making of emping. I recalled my aunties choosing a certain type of yield, dry frying the rice and when it was ready, transferred to a lesung kaki. Boy… I remember the fun of tapping the lesung with my elder cousins, and it was done with such a rhythm. The best part was enjoying the emping hot from the "oven"!! How I wish my kids would experience the simple life in the kampong during those days...

Seloka buat Amir

24 September 2006

Sembilan bulan bermacam dugaan
Demam campak sungguh menduga
Kering air di dalam badan
Pinggang seperti dikerat tiga

Kandungan dibelit tali pusat
Sekali lagi Mama di’caesar’
Amir Ridhwan sangatlah bulat
Isra’ & Mikraj lahir lah dia

Dibelai ditatap saudara berdua
Adik baru umpama bintang
Tiga hari ke hospital semula
Demam panas mula mengundang

Sungguh resah rasa di hati
Buah hati tak dapat dibelai
Tinggal dia seorang diri
Demam kuning pula mengintai

Seminggu berjauhan tidak terduga
Rindu kami terus membara
Berkat doa seisi keluarga
Amir pulang semua bahagia

Tangkas berlari seperti kedidi
Burung tempua burung cecupak
Amir cergas tidak terperi
Belum setahun sudah menapak

Murai lalu di buluh tajam
Pohon jambu jadi penahan
Balik kampung duduk tak diam
Anak ayam lari bertempiaran

Sorong papan tarik papan
Buah keranji dalam perahu
Suruh makan Amir makan
Ayam sahaja nasi tak mahu

Riuh pekik tiga beradik
Rumah bagai tongkang pecah
Main bersama terpekik-pekik
Mulut becok Amir tak sudah

Tiga tahun sudah berlalu
Tetap menagih belai manja
Kerja Mama bertalu-talu
Tumpuan kasih sentiasa dipinta

Usia Amir masih dipangkal
Doa Mama setulus hati
Moga anakku sentiasa beramal
Buat bekalan kemudian hari

Driving Paranoia

My thoughts are always running wild especially when I’m driving and stuck in traffic jams. I would be thinking of possible dangers or chaos in my way particularly if I’ve came across some gruesome reading prior. The intensity of these thoughts would be even more propagated if I could see the potential danger of an object. And these are my fear list:

Stuck in traffic under the monorail track – fear of the track plummeting down on my car and I just couldn’t get out in time

Stuck in traffic with big trees by the roadside – fear of a fallen tree on the car and eventually me

Driving past a construction site – fear of a falling block from the cranes.

Traffic jam during a downpour with lightning and all – fear of being struck by lightning and just roast to death

Traffic jam during a downpour – fear of a sudden flood and being stuck while getting scolded by hubby for not planning my routes in the first place

Midnight driving from work – fear of a car breakdown in the middle of nowhere and my cell phone battery decided to run out as well

Midnight driving alone from work – fear of even glancing at the rear mirror to find “somebody” sitting at my backseat….

I shall mention no more…in view of the last item, sigh!

Is Not Ramadhan Yet!

What is it with people these days? At 4pm, Jalan Tun Razak is already congested. It's been like that since Tuesday, and I was always late for my appointments. Are people practising for the early dash home for buka puasa? Why suddenly people start going home early? Or are they becoming like me? Setting appointments later in the day like 3 or 4pm outside KL so that I could go home immediately after my meetings.

Whatever it is, I'm feeling the Ramadhan bug coming my way...the urge to get more dried fruits like apricots, dates, seeds, the sudden desire to do spring cleaning, the waking up at 4am...

I also found myself looking through fast recipes to compile for the maid who doesn't know how to vary the menu. I just hope she'll improve soon.

Little Cause, Ultimate Torture

It’s an agony enduring a cavity in your lips. It’s even more difficult if it’s almost the size of pea! The throbbing in the head, the ultimate shear of the nerves every time food touches the cavity – it’s just nerve-wrecking.

Imagine waking up in the morning, when your lips have been ‘sealed’ for the night – opening your mouth is torture. Later when you are about to brush your teeth, the bubbles of the of the toothpaste just stings your cavity like a bamboo cutting through your skin. The soreness and the twinging sensation are just unbearable. Don’t you just wish that you have that painkiller that could just numb all your senses?

I’ve had this mouth ulcer for almost a week now, and it’s really driving not just me, but also Papa, crazy. With the ulcer come a prolonged headache, back pain and swollen lips. And Papa will be the perpetual masseur and therapist. He does not favor this at all because the default masseuse cum therapist will always be yours truly. This is however, one of the times that I could get pampered in that manner (besides giving birth and pregnancy discomforts). As much indulgence I could get from the man, I still prefer being the masseuse because it’s 10 times better than tolerating the pain… I just wish this gigantic ulcer would diminish by the time Ramadhan starts…

Merdeka Spirit

What do my kids know about Merdeka?

Adam: Oh…bila Merdeka, ada Jalur Gemilang. Teachers at school main sports, boy teachers main football, girl teachers main netball. And Murid-murid jerit-jerit, and then we sang “Tanggal 31..” and “Negaraku” and “Keranamu Malaysia”…oh..malam tadi ada fireworks!!

Aina: Merdeka…..Aina made flag at school…Merdeka ada fireworks!!

Amir: Amir nak fireworks!! Banyak-banyak kat langit..

________________________________________________


On Merdeka Day, the kids and I were watching "Embun", a pre-merdeka movie about a girl who fought against the Japanese invasion, whilst at the same time falling for one of the soldiers.

What's important was what my (elder) kids learned that day- that life was tough at that time. They got a clearer picture of what life is all about back in the old days. That there was no electricity, no water through the tap and that life was lived in constant fear. Fear of the atrocities and brutalities of what the Japanese soldiers could bring upon the poor kampung folks. But among all those, there are still bravehearts that brought the spirit high to the rest of the people. And this is the kind of spirit I would like my kids to have.

Actually I was quite surprised that all three of them actually insisted to sit through the entire movie. Adam was the most keen, asking all sort of "W" questions, why, what, where, when... but I hope he got some understanding of what Merdeka means...

"So, after orang Jepun kalah, Malaysia merdeka? Ada fireworks tak?"

My Regular Phone Conversations

Scene 1: Home calling Mama

Mama: Hallloooooooooo (with nice big smile..)

Home: Hi Mama, Ini Aina. Mama! Mama! Abang tak buat homework!

Then shrieks at the back...followed by sound of phone being grabbed..

Home: Mama..kentut, kentut, kentut!

Mama: Ammmmmmiirr! Stop saying that. Nanti sapa cakap macam tu Mama taruk kat luar..

Again..sound of phone being grabbed...

Home: Mama! Ini Aina, Amir cakap "put put"...

Mama: Ok, Aina please tell Abang to do his work (in the background .."Tak nak!!!")

Aina: Mama balik what time?

Mama: Seven maybe...

Aina: OK, see you..

Now Amir grabbed the phone..

Amir: Mama balik what time?

Mama: Seven o'clock sayang..

Amir: Alaaaaaaaaaa..Mama balik kul sebelas la...

Mama: (Giggles..) Ok, Mama balik kul sebelas...bye..

Amir: Yea! Yea! Mama balik kul sebelas...bai Mama.



Scene 2: Mama calling Home at noon

Mama: Helloooo, Amir?

Amir: Helo Mama kentut, kentut, kentut!

Mama: Amir, please don't say that. Nanti mama put down the phone

Amir: Kentut! Kentut! Kentut (louder by the word)

Mama: Apasal la anak Mama ni cakap macam tu...What time did you wake up boy?

Amir: Kul sebelas!

Mama: Have you taken your breakfast? Abang & Kakak dah balik school?

Amir: Dah...Abang ngan Kakak balik kul sebelas!

What Happened on July 20, 2006

Something I wanted to describe some time before but just didn't have time to do it. I was so absorbed into this one "crazy" project that I didn't even have time for own - frankly speaking, I lost about 2 kg of weight.

This is the date just a day prior to my dad's scheduled surgery. We're just about to retire the night, July 19, and I was the only one awake finishing my work while the rest of the household has long gone to slumber.

It was about 12.30 midnite, when suddenly the lights went out, so did the aircond. Must be a blackout, but then I peeked through the window, the rest of the neighborhood was all lighted up. I woke Papa up, asking him to check the fuse. While doing that, I heard noises at our gate, sounded like my neighbor were banging on my gate. Papa was still dazed as he had a long day, but upon hearing the noise, he was immediately up on his feet, went straight downstairs. I followed him, with my kids all awoke, only to find out that our electric meter outside the house was in flames, with our neighbors shouting to wake us up.

I started to panic as Papa were shouting for the fire-extinguisher. In total darkness upstairs, I just couldn't find the torchlight and the fire-extinguisher. I ran downstairs looking for the other set in the kitchen, trying to light the stove for some lights. Adam & Aina were somehow excited with the activities, but Amir was screaming due to the darkness. Acik came down trying to figure out what's happening. With Papa screaming for the extinguisher and wet cloth, I just couldn't figure out what to do first. The fire started to spread to our shoe-cabinet, latched to the wall just below the meter.

Somehow Papa managed to find the extinguisher the same time I brought wet old clothes. My car was in the porch, just inches away from the fire. Papa managed to extinguish it in less than 5 minutes, but the shoe cabinet was half destroyed. As the extinguisher is dry-base, dust was all over the house.

And we went through all this with my mom and Atam fast asleep upstairs. Only later we woke them up, sending everybody to sleep over at Acik's apartment nearby as they sure couldn't sleep in the heat. 2 am, it was just me and Papa sorting out things with TNB and Bomba, fighting away the mosquitos while trying to catch some sleep.

The damage: 2 pairs of Adam's school shoes, 1 pair of Adam's taekwondo shoes, a pair of my Balenciaga, a pair of my Alain Delon, the TNB meter, the entire fuse cabling, the shoe-rack from IKEA, almost half of the porch ceiling and wall, dusty floor...and a lot of restless sleep. Remember, at this time, we're still maidless.

Lesson learned:

Always keep fire-extinguisher handy
Devise a fire-escape plan for your maid to understand and assist the children when you're away
New installed meter from TNB runs faster than the old one

Peace in Slumberland

At the end of a hectic day, the only peace of mind I would get is watching my kids in slumber. Next to prayers, it's the only thing that will lower the pace of my heart beat, though I do admit sometimes I rushed my prayers...

Adam is still like a baby, suckling his thumb. He'll go to bed fully clothed, but by dawn, he only has his undies on, sweating, and Mama is curling under the thick comforter from the cold breeze of the aircond. I wonder why Adam felt so warm?


Aina is a light sleeper, just like her mom. When she had a bad dream, she'll be right on my side of the bed, squeezing in between her little brother and me.

And this boy, no matter where I put him in the room, by 3am he'll be somewhere in between Papa and Mama.

See how peaceful is Slumberland...I wish peace would shower all around the world especially in the Middle East.

I also wish for peace to fill my heart everytime I face the most difficult customer to date...eh?

Being Patient

My dad was admitted to IJN on July 16 for the surgery to remove the tumor in his chest. The surgery was scheduled to be done on Friday, July 21, but did not happen because of the high occupancy of the operating theater. Being there for almost a week was already a torture for my dad. He just couldn't bear the thought of being away from home and his circle of usrah colleagues.

Finally, the surgery was due on Monday July 24 at noon. He was whisked to the OT at 12.30pm, but I think the procudure only started at 1pm. Mak, Atam, Ateh and Adik were waiting there. I wish I could be there, but I had to care for Amir (my maid was still not here yet) while at the same time attend to my endless work stuff. I ended up bringing Amir to work, while Dad would fetch Adam & Aina after school and perhaps brought them his office.

The procedure was completed at 4pm. The tumor was removed, measuring 10x10cm at the core (refer picture - what looks like the head is the core) about 12-14cm tail. Imagine that growth with the size of a grapefruit all these while nestling in between the heart & lungs...no wonder my dad's cough is endless.

My dad came to consciousness at about 6pm, it was heart-rendering to see him in ICU, with all the supporting tubes & IV. In his semi-consciuosness, heavily drugged with morphine, his index finger kept pointing to his legs. The bed was not long enough to accomodate his long legs to stretch out properly. I told the nurse to move him so that he could stretch his legs. They only could do it after sponging is done. So we waited about half an hour for them to do that and finally removed the oxygen tube from his mouth after 7:30pm.

The next day, Tuesday, Apak was transferred from the ICU to the normal ward at after 4pm. Though still heavily monitored, it was a relief that he didn't have to stay long in ICU. This time around, Mak wanted to stay the night to care for his husband. Even then, Apak, was already complaining why Mak was late. She insisted that I pick up the new maid first before sending her to IJN. We noticed that Apak was a bit impatient and quick-tempered - must be the drugs. He was groggy and confused in identifying his children.

Alhamdulillah, by Wednesday, he was back to his normal self. With the after-effects of the drugs, he was a little bit dizzy. But he could already go to the bathroom by himself. The doctor said his recovery was quite remarkable, and Apak attributed all that to prayers and zikirs. With zikir, your soul becomes calm and peaceful, hence the strong will and determination...

The Power of Branding

My two sisters and I are playing this game currently. Come up with a brand that has become generic in the eyes of the local consumers. Do you know how to do this? Just think of some product that you think is commonly referred to as the actual thing. That people are actually unaware of the brand usage. Example - Pampers for diapers. And the top nominees are:

1. Pampers - baby diapers (of course)
2. Maggi - instant noodles (favorite food in boarding schools or even colleges)
3. Softlan - fabric softener
4. Pajero - 4-wheeler (I think most Malaysians refer to all 4-wheeler as Pajero. I have a friend who sent his Ford Ranger to the car-wash, and upon completion, the car-wash operator called his worker to get the "Pajero" right in the owner's face!)
5. Clorox -I think all makciks use this to refer to all sort of bleach product
6. Shell - all gas stations are called Shell (I think)
7. Dettol - for all disinfectants
8. Kotex - tolong beli Kotex bang! And the hubby obligedly understood what it meant...

So what else can you think of?

I'm bored - and blogging in KLCC Convention Center while my kids are roaming KLCC with their aunt...sigh..

On the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

Life at the workplace has been very hectic for the past month, and even more so for the past week. Tuesday was worst because I thought I was going to have a heart-attack. I felt my chest tightening and my blood pressure was unstable. When I looked into the mirror, I saw hot-flushes all over my face. The nervousness was mainly due to the fact that a client asking for a proposal presentation with a very short-notice, and I have no one in the office to support me technically. Every single effort to win this RM7 million project I had to bear myself. Was also frantically trying to get support from my partners, but of course, being the prime contractor, it had to be me.

I think I'm not in a very good shape in terms of maintaining my physical fitness. Endless self-promises I've been making to myself to at least exercise 3 times a week, or do some situps before taking the morning shower. And I'm still making that promise which has yet to be fulfilled. Even worse, I'm still maidless, so with endless hours at work and endless house chores, it is the ultimate recipe for a nervous breakdown.

I'm glad I still can count on my siblings to help me with the kids care and some housework. I'm also very furious with my maid-agent for not being proactive about servicing us. When we made the booking of the maid, he should have advised the maid to make the necessary arangements already. What I'm hearing now is the maid wants to go back to her kampong first when she was supposed to be here on Tuesday!! The agent should have told her to do so when we placed the order 3 weeks ago.

And I'm still freaking mad! To top it all...Amir loves to tabur bedak all over the house........

All I have to say...

All I have to say is that:

1. Murphy's Law always works at the very last moment of whatever submission you need to do: Example - The Immigration system have been down for the last 3 days of last week. So we couldn't make the submission for our new maid.
2. The government will always find fault in whatever you file: Example - Medical reports of the maid candidate is incomplete - Duh!
3. The last day of current maid is Thursday: Translate - I don't know how long will I be maidless..
4. Work is endless and piling: Translate - I can't take too long of a holiday to care for my children.
5. Mak!! Tolong! Translate - import reliable support structure from kampung laa..