Dari "Bungalow" Ke "Teres"

Inilah padahnya kalau sesorang itu berpindah dari ruang yang lebih besar kepada ruang yang lebih kecik...dia tak tahu mana nak sumbat barang dia yang banyak tu!

Inilah yang terjadi pada diriku sekarang ini...

As you know, today will my last day working in my beloved room. The landlord i.e the Bank has decided to rent it out to other person. So from a room with 6 doors built-in cabinet, I'm left with merely a cubicle, which is already packed with lots and lots of files. Now I don't know where to put two boxes full of my personal files, which mainly contains of modules and handouts I received from all the trainings and courses that I attended to before. Sayang nak buang, as you might not know when you'll need them again. Plus bahan ilmu tidak elok untuk dibuang begitu sahaja. Like the souvenirs and all the decorative items, I think I have to put it in another box and bawak balik rumah. Memenuhkan stor Mak yang memang sedia ada penuh.

Oh, if you think I'm down-graded, nope I'm not. I'm still the executive cabuk kat ini Bank. Cumanya my former branch is treated differently. We were given a room each, kononnya nak compensate the heavy workloads and responsibilities yang ada.

Now that I'm moving to a new branch, kenalah tinggalkan priviledge yang ada. Cumanya after working here for the past 2 years, I've accumulated quite a lot of things. Personal files i.e. my insurance, housing loan, bills2, receipts, tax files yang dulunya di simpan di rumah semuanya di bawa ke office. Sebabnya kat rumah Mak takde space nak letak barang-barang camni. Tendency nak hilang tu lebih besar. So now, that I'm moving to a narrower space, kenalah angkut balik barang-barang ini semula ke rumah. Ishk...

Now, I really can't wait to pindah rumah so I could arrange this personal files just like I did in my office. Very the organized.

Oh, by the way, I've had a discussion with the person who I'm going to replace in the new department. Yup, I'm handling drama loans. Deal with lots of drama producers. So before you scream with joy, let me tell you one thing, producers are not celebrities. Their names might not be famous in public. But of course, some producers are artistes themselves...but they are not the easiest creature to deal with. Gosh! But hey, I've got the opportunity to see them shoot, so if I want to mingle with celebrities also can...:)

Another thing that worries me is the secrecy act. Of course, we bankers are bounded by this act i.e. we could not disclose client's info to other people. Hmmm...I've been thinking this will be hard thing to follow. It would not be interesting if I told my Hubby "Company xxx ni tak bayar hutang 6 bulan!" Hubby mesti akan buat muka "so what!" dia.

But it'll be damn interesting kalau I told him "Suh@n Mov1ies tak bayar 6 bulan. Kitaorang nak sue company tu, lepas tu owner dia menangis depan I!" Hahaha...It's so interesting you really have the urge to share the story with someone else! Ishk..ni yang payah ni. But being the banker me, I'll try not to tell stories. Kalau bapak auditor i.e. Bank Negara tahu, mati beb. Hilang soru tiap bulan nanti...
And don't come and ask me "Hey Rafiqah, ada gossip panas tak sekarang ni?" the next time you see me...
(By the way, that producer I mentioned above is a good paymaster..so don't go around telling people in public that we are sueing them. Itu sebagai contoh saja).

Another interesting thing is a friend just told me ...

"Apa lagi Rafiqah..now is the time for you to market your C.M.O.G products to this showbiz people...Mana tau diaorang nak buat launching filem ke, you bolehlah provide chocolate wrapper you as door gift!"

Erk! Sorry babe, seriously when I deal with a client, I'm strictly a banker. I memang tak tahu nak sambil menyelam minum air ni. I guess I'm afraid that my life will be at stake should I try to market my part-time biz with my Bank's client. None of my clients even the corporate ones who have annual dinner every year knows that I have side biz. But hey, who knows kan...Kalau ada rezeki that'll be a good opportunity for me to explore..emm..emm...

Updates and Photos

Thanks a lot for the comments I received from my last entry (although I have replied individually in the comment's box). Somehow or rather having posted that entry, makes me feel at ease. One thing I know is I'm not alone in this. This is part and parcel of becoming a parent. But having posted the entry also somehow makes me calmer than before. Everytime nak marahkan Ashraff or continue to do so, I'd suddenly remember this entry...and all the comments I received, and somehow it stops me from acting irrationally. I guess just like any motivational or stress management course you've attended to, you need to have a refresher course every now and then, and having posted my last entry is like a refresher course to me (so expect a similar kind of entry in the future..hehe). Thanks.

Now, a little bit of update about my life...

1. Remember the rumours about me to be transferred to a new department? Finally, I've received the letter that I've been waiting for from the HR. Alhamdulillah, I shall be working in another department i.e. Special Financing Branch, handling all the micro loans from 2nd January onwards. Meaning which, I shall remain working in the same building, with the same commuting convenience. But of course, the workload is not the same. It is heavier as the quantity are larger. So dengar cerita, Sabtu Ahad pun ada yang datang kerja (yikes!). But in numerical terms they are much lesser (nama pun micro kan). So kalau one loan turns bad, at least it doesn't cost the Bank millions of ringgit. There is a possibility (i.e a rumour) that I shall be handling tabung perfileman, so meaning which I have to monitor celebrities' accounts and collecting debts from them. Emmm...macam bestkan? Tapi betul ke best? Tungguuu....

2. We have choosen to register Ashraff to a kindergarten very near to my parents' house. Within walking distance, so Abah/Mak could help us to fetch Ashraff after school. The fees I would say is on the high side compared to some other schools that we went to, but the arrangement suits us best. More convenient. Ashraff couldn't wait to go to school, but we are kinda afraid that it took him some time to adjust waking up early in the morning. He usually wakes up around 8-8.30. School starts at 8.30. Not much adjustment to make, except that it took him sometime to get rid of his "kutu mamai" lepas baru bangun tido. Dia jenis yang suka baring golek-golek sampai 1/2 hour, minum susu, suka delay his bathing time. I'm afraid after sometime he refused to go to school because he is restricted in a way. Will see about that...

3. We have received a letter to take possession of our new house, and we plan to take the key next Saturday, insyaAllah. Can't wait to see our brand new house. Now we are finding an effective way to sell our Cheras's condo. Any recommendation? Or better still, any taker?

Of course, with the completion of the house, our cashflow is badly affected as we have to pay the principal sum. Good times are over, folks! Time to open up our family budget for year 2008. With expected increase in fuel and toll price, we will definitely cut down our holiday fund and expenditure on children's toys and clothings. Thank God my credit card balance is zero. Hope I can maintain this as long as I can. Oh by the way, do anyone of you know and good interior design consultant? Saja nak usha-usha:)

Ok, rujuk entry di bawah for some snapshots of Ashraff and Aliff's birthday bash. I'm making an entry of its own.

Birthday Photos

Finally, I've received two CDs containing about 300 photos of Ashraff & Aliff's birthday party. Lovely captures of the day, I must say! Credit to Zubye. Here are some snapshots...

THE DECO

Red and blue canopy

THE FAVOUR

Adults only favour

THE FOOD

(Alhamdulillah we have good response on this part. Credit to Hubby and Mak! Didn't get to enjoy eating them myself.)

Baked Macaroni (courtesy of Chef Daud)

Fried Meehoon (courtesy of Tok Lon)

Kuih-muih and drinks (drp pelbagai supplier..hihi)

Hawker Style Char Kuey Teow

ABC anyone?!

THE CAKE

Chocolate Moist Cake (with some cruncy filling) from Ezy Cakes Sdn Bhd.

THE BIRTHDAY BOYS

Every kid gets a Spidey sticker

CAKE-CUTTING

BUBBLE TIME

THE GUEST

To all who came, thanks for coming to our birthday party. Ibu shall update you with photos from her own personal camera (before and after party) later. And Ibu also said she wants to add all the 300+ photos in her Facebook album, if she got that extra time to do so:)

-Ashraff & Aliff-

Anger Management?

Ni ala2 entry membuka pekung di dada lah..but I need to blog about it and probably get a lil bit of advise from fellow bloggers. And yeah, I know..this is still not the entry which some of you are waiting for, which is pix for Ashraff & Aliff's birthday bash. InsyaAllah kalau dapat gambar by today, I'll post an entry about it next week.

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Each an every blood vessel in my body is filled with The Bugis blood. Mak berketurunan Bugis and Abah too. And the infamous Bugis people is well-known for their "cepat naik darah" attitude. Keturunan lanun. So that explains a lot why my patient level is very low. Cuma in public, I seldom showed my true colour so that's why some of my school friends or officemates do not know the real me...hehe.

Masa kecik, kalau marah, masyaAllah, macam nak pecah satu rumah. Abah, who has the same patient level with I do, memang tak boleh tahan dengan my perangai. So we ended up fighting with each other. Only Mak who can calm me down. The ever patient Mak, who tolerates with both her husband and her daughter's behaviour. I don't know how she does it, but she is so calm...she doesn't nag, despite me yang memang mudah menjawab dan menunjukkan aksi degil tahap lampau. But sekali dia marah, I tell you, it is really pain in the ass. She will end up not talking to you for few days, until you said you are sorry..and prove to her that u really feel sorry for your misbehaviour. She will use all sort of gadgets - rotan, hanger, tali pinggang. Berbirat kaki kalau sekali dia libas, but eventually she'll be the one who bubuh ubat sambil bagi nasihat yang sepatutnya. With that, she managed to discipline me...and I'm inspired with the method she used. I simply hate mothers who nag, and berazam takkan tergolong dalam kategori itu.

Somehow it wasn't the easiest thing to do. Ashraff is getting bigger and my God, he's really testing our patient. He's definitely my product. I can see myself in him. But, my mum-in-law pun cakap my husband is never that patient, as compared to his siblings. Just like me, dia pun mewarisi perangai Ayahnya. So, I would say Ashraff is a combination of both of us. But I have been expected this since he was born. Dengan attitude dia yang kuat nangis, I can sense that he has quite a temper. And me being a first time mother yang tidak mempunyai kesabaran yang tinggi, terus ala-ala give up dengan perangai kuat nangis Ashraff. At one time, I rasa macam taknak tgk muka Ashraff. "Take him away from me! I can't stand him crying non-stop. I nak tidur," I told Hubby. Camtulah lebih kurang. Ishk, teruknya kan...

But will all the parenting articles I've read, your child mirrors you. Meaning which, kalau u jenis pemarah, anak akan turut sama. So, I tried to change myself. Tried to reduce my temper. Tried to act calm whenever Ashraff throws tantrum. Tried to smile despite him crying so loud in the public. I attended lots of parenting seminars..and read parenting books to help me in my mission.

Alhamdulillah, it works. When I was preggy with Aliff, I have to say I'm patient and calmer. Nobody in the family congratulate me for this achievement, or maybe they just didn't notice. But I can sense the difference and I'm proud of myself when I can control my temper from erupting. Bila Ashraff nangis stail jerit-jerit je, I cuma tengok je muka dia. Takde pun perasaan meluap nak marah datang. Ntah macam ada pendinding je I rasa masa tu.

I guess that's why Aliff is a calmer and much more patient boy. Cry only when it's necessary. Alhamdulillah.

Cuma now, I no longer have that patient. I'm back to my old self. The grumpy Rafiqah Eliza. For the past few days, I've been thinking about this. What's got into me? Why can't I be patient like when was preggy with Aliff before? Is it because Ashraff is harder to handle? Is his pastering become more persistent? Maybe. But I should be more patient no matter what the situation is.

Sekarang ni kalau salah sikit je, I dah terus marah. Kalau mamat tu nangis style menjerit sket, dengan I sekali menjerit-jerit marahkan dia. I'm scared that Ashraff/Aliff will learn that it's okay to shout if you are angry. Bila Ashraff snatch barang from Aliff's hand and Aliff menangis, I easily pissed off with Ashraff so I will end up snatching the thing back from Ashraff's hand. This is definitely the wrong approach! I'm trying to teach him not to snatch barang, tapi I pulak yang snatch from him. Goodness..I hate myself for not being able to control my temper and for not thinking rationally before I act.

Hari tu Ashraff marah and dia baling barang kat dinding. Berkecai toys tu. I pun hangin satu badan. Tak boleh tahan betul. So, I pun marah lah tahap gaban kat dia. I don't hit him, but I'm actually nagging. Omigod! Bertambah teruklah marah Ashraff. He was so angry sampai merah-merah muka dia, and muka rebellious dia pun terserlah. Dia roar macam lion...and masa tu I dah naik takut pulak dah. Apa pulak yang dah rasuk badan Ashraff ni? So I berastaghafar and alhamdulillah my temper level goes down. I urut2 dada Ashraff and hug him. He pushed me away, coz he was really mad. My God! Tahap marah aku dah mula nak naik balik, tapi nasib baik tidak. So I just let Ashraff cry...cry as much and as loud as he wants too. After about 10 mins, I agak2 dah surut sikit nangis dia, I went and hug him again. And asked him why is he angry in the first place. He refused to tell and kept on crying out loud. But after a while, he told me the reason. I said to him, it's okay to be angry...but Ibu doesn't like the way he expressed it..and I'm trying to come out with a good way to express anger but failed miserably. Tetiba blank. Any idea on how a 3yo could express anger in a "nicer" way?

And as for me, I think I better re-read the "Cool Mum Super Dad" book...and also re-attend some parenting seminars. The Khalifah method seminar is a good way to start with. I was thinking of reading books about raising boys...and perhaps a Chicken Soup for the Soul so that I'll appreciate parenting more. And I think Hubby needs to do this too. After all, dia pun cepat panas macam I jugak. Kitaorang ni sama. Cepat panas dan cepat reda. Mak told mum-in-law the other day that kalau bebudak ni gaduh, sekejap je dah baik. Hey, camne dia boleh tahu kitaorg gaduh ni? Puas cover takut mak tahu okay...hehe..

With Ashraff pulak, reward-based method works the best. I was thinking of making a chart with star stickers. If u act good, then you'll get one sticker. And upon receiving an X number of stickers, he's entitled for a reward. But is it good to give him rewards all the time? I'm scared he'll take advantage of this. Ashraff ni manipulative okay..idea dia sgt banyak...hehe. But on the other hand, we'll be buying him toys/cds/books anyway, so why not buy something for him when he acts good?

Ishk...banyaknya yang I need to learn to become a good parent...Ni baru ada dua orang anak. Kalau ada few more with different personalities, lagilah mencabar. But whatever it is, I believe we have to improve ourselves and lifestyles first, before we could expect our children to do so. That is for me the hardest part. And of course, not forgotten, prayers and du'a.

The Pavillion

Unlike some people who can write beautifully in a flash, it took me quite some time to come out with a proper and well-written entry. My English is deteriorating due to the fact that we used Bahasa Melayu as our main language here at work. So basically I'm stuck in the middle now. English so-so, BM pun so-so jugak. Since I'm pretty much tied up with work, I'm going to use the "sempoi" and "rojak" approach for my entry. Nak jimat masa.

Anyway, kitaorang every weekend mesti keluar, usually on Saturday. Kalau Sunday, sampai tengahari je. Petang to malam, we would prefer to stay at home to prepare our mind and body for work the very next morning.

Last weekend, we decided to go to the brand new The Pavillion KL (MummyRizq mesti dah tahu every ceruk kat shopping mall ni since office dia depan tu je). I got a lil bit sentimental when visiting this place as my school used to be built on the same piece of land. I got more sentimental bila Hubby cakap "entah-entah tempat yang kita diri sekarang ni used to be your classroom". Tidak!! Tetiba lagu "This used to be my playground" nyanyian Madonna berkumandang kat dalam kepala.

Well, this place is huge! Rasa macam lagi besar daripada MidValley. Sakit jugak tapak kaki menapak dari satu hujung ke hujung yang lain. The stores inside are similar to those that you can find at Suria KLCC...or probably more. Ashraff was mesmerized with the Christmas deco, and I had to explain what is Christmas Tree to him. Hey, seriously tak berjaya ok that part sebab I pun taktau the answer for it.

And then just like the Curve, ada one level tu penuh dengan shops selling children's stuffs...Baby Gap, Hallmark, Giordano Jr, Pumpkin patch etc. Naik julinglah mata tgk baju bebudak. The only thing that stopped us from buying them lots of baju is because Ashraff and Aliff dah dapat banyak baju as hadiah masa party hari tu. It's no different than any other children shops...cumanye it's more children-friendly. Dalam satu kedai tu ada slide...lepas tu ada satu kedai pulak ada TV pasang cerita Finding Nemo...and then ada satu kedai tu sediakan kerusi meja and colouring page untuk bebudak. So apa lagi, Ashraff and Aliff had a really jolly good time...

At Pumpkin Patch...

The salesgirl siap hang lagi hasil kerja Ashraff. Ashraff tersipu-sipu malu tengok kerja dia kena tampal kat dinding. Yelah, first timekan kena pamer kerja in public...Ibu pulak terbeli 3 helai T-shirt sementara tunggu anak di habis colour...

Main slide at Giordano Jr....

Aliff yang kepenatan tidur selama 2 jam di dalam stroller dan sambung lagi satu jam kat dalam kereta dan rumah...

Senang cerita, we spent like almost 4 hours there. Tapi I don't think we cover the whole place. Yang sedihnya, we all tak dapat nak beli J Co Donuts & Coffee sebab beratur panjang amat. Sampai melimpah keluar kedai. Tak dapat beli yang tu, we went all the way to 6th floor to jengah Big Apple Donut pulak. Tengok2 tutup (ke kedai tak bukak lagi). Frust! So petang tu jugak Hubby pergi Tesco Cheras to buy Big Apple. Lazat!

One thing yang best masa pergi Pavillion ni is Ashraff tak buat hal. This is the first time we tried to talk to him dalam kereta on the way pergi supaya jangan mintak apa-apa toys and CD. Kalau buku, I don't mind buying. And alhamdulillah he listens...so takdelah aksi2 jerit2 satu shopping mall tengok kat The Pavillion KL...

This is not supposed to be my next entry...

but I just had to express it on the blog, just to release the stress I have inside. I know, I'm supposed to post some pix of A&A's birthday party, but I haven't got time to transfer the photos from my camera..and the professional pix will only come next week, so yeah...be it.

Anyway, here's the story. Rumours have been going on in the office saying that I have to be transferred out from KL branch. In a way, I'm glad coz this a branch is one hell of a branch to work in. Too political. Too many people focussing on this branch since it's the main branch and the management expects you to perform.

But the rumours just stop there. It doesn't say where shall I be transferred to. And that worries me. What if I'm going to be placed in a branch located outside from KL? The nearest branch is in Shah Alam, and I could not bear the thought of having to travel there every morning, what more to branches located far away...Penang? Johor? or worse still Tawau? Kota Kinabalu? I'll be damn!

Oh gosh! What should I do?

Finally...It's over!

My body especially my feet is still aching from the "aftermath". But it was all worth it.

Alhamdulillah, the party turned out to be just as planned. I haven't been disclosing the whole story behind the party, coz I'm scared that it did not turn out well, or worse still, tak jadi langsung. So here it is.

The Plan

Mak wanted to have an open house for Raya this year coz the last open house we had was, I think, 5 years ago. And I, wanted to have a small gathering for Aliff's 1st birthday. At first, I don't think I wanted to organize any party for Aliff, but after a second thought, it wasn't fair to him as we did one for Ashraff. Then we thought of Ashraff. Ashraff might feel left-out on the day itself when we told him the birthday party is for Aliff. So that's it. The verdict is out....we want to have 3-in1 occassion at one go!

The Initial Preparation

Hubby wanted it to be grander than the usual, in terms of everything especially the food. He said this is to be fair to the guests, as they might feel obligated to buy two presents to the party. So there I was working on a budget. Of course, if you guys have been reading my blog, I've been planning for this party since the first quarter of the year.

At first, the whole planning part was dumped on me alone. I took it as a challenge, but after a while, I got all stressed out. So, I delegate the food and food setting part to Hubby. I gave him the budget and told him he's free to choose what kind of food, how many type of food and in whatever way just as long as it is within the budget. And he's also in charge of the seating, canopy, buffet table and all. If you've attended my party and found the food to be good/no good, that's my Hubby job...hehe.

The rest, especially the invites, deco and favours, are mine. I told Hubby I wanted to have a theme party this time around, and I have to crack my head to find a suitable theme that will interest Ashraff. Of course, it has to be superhero character. He loves Ultraman a lot, so that is our first choice, but we found out it's pretty hard to get Ultraman's party supplies. Then we thought of Spiderman and Batman. Aliff becomes Batman, and Ashraff is the Spiderman. Bila fikir pasal deco and favours, I slasheed out the Batman, and left with only Spiderman. So there it was "Ashraff and Aliff's Spiderman Birthday Bash".

Then on the favours. I've decided to have adult favours, kids, favours, toddlers favours and babies favours, and I have to categorise my guest according to their ages (meaning which I have to go into the extend of finding out anak diaorang umur berapa..hehe.) Kerja gila? Yes, it is! I naik separuh gila buat all the favours! Hahaha...

Adult's favour - chocolate chip, personalized choc wrapper (sorry kalau ada yg tak dapat sebab tak cukup) and a bookmark from Sydney.

Kids' favour - a personalized colouring book with Ashraff and Aliff's simple biodata and photo inside, crayon/colour pencil and personalized choc wrapper.

Toddlers' favour - personalized choc wrapper and a toy car.

Babies' favour - a rattle and baby biscuit.

I'm sorry sekiranya ada kekurangan pada favours.

We did plan to hire a Spiderman mascot but when have a look at the photo, Spiderman dia macam pakai baju melayu je. Tak cantik langsung! With such an exorbitant price they are charging, it is not worth at all. So, we scrape that idea of having a mascot.

The last minute preparation

I took two days off before the day, for that very last minute preparation. Abah cakap I macam nak kahwinkan anak...hehe. The whole two days was spent buying extra favours (in case it was not sufficient for the guest), decorate and hang up the banner, packaging the favours, decorating the walls with Mr Spidey, figuring out to do the spiderweb, and with the help from Mak, I would be able to come out with one. Thank God my sis-in-law was there to help me.

The canopy people came in to set-up the canopy. I was mesmerized by the bright blue and red 20ft x 20ft canopy. Too bad they could not get red chairs to go with the blue tablecloth.

And then there was this weather issue that I was sick worried about. The whole of that two days, it was raining cats and dogs throughout the day. We were praying hard that the weather turned out fine on the day itself. And alhamdulillah, it was. The sun decided to show up on that day, but it wasn't extremely hot. The weather was..emmm....just nice...

The Day

In the morning, we spent our time decorating the house with red and blue balloons. Hubby was on the road, grabbing some last minute supplies, like the balloon bouquet, an extra helper, food. At the same time, I had to reschedule Aliff's nap time, as that choosen time 3-5pm is usually Aliff's nap time. So we had to drag his morning nap time to about 12 pm (which coincides with Ashraff's nap time), and another nap after the party.

In the morning, I had few guests who dropped by since they could not make it in the evening.

Sharp 3 o'clock, the first guest arrived, which is none other than my humble photographer, Zubye. Thank you so much for willing to sacrifice your holiday just to come to my sons' party. Then a whole lotta guests came rushing in. We were panicky as the food wasn't ready at that time. We did not hire a caterer, so we had to set the table ourselves. Tu yg agak kelam-kabut sekejap. Of course, I had to be the one distributing the favours to the guest, as no one wants to take the responsibility to do so. Takut salah bagi sebab ada macam-macam jenis. Yeah...

Cake cutting is as planned, which is at about 4 pm. I didn't really notice but mak told me that tak ramai kids near the cake cutting table at that time. Maybe sebab semua sibuk makan. And I was too busy to invite the kids to go inside for cake-cutting ceremony.

I have to say it was a full house, though some sent me text messages saying that they could not make it. I completely understand, and insyaAllah we'll meet in some other occassion.

All in all, I'm glad that it is all over. Despite the party being smooth (I think!), I have some regrets though:-

1. I completely forgotten to keluarkan the party hats which I planned to make the kids wear it during cake-cutting. I SHOULD have put it at the cake cutting table beforehand. Now, 20 blue and red party hats lying idle in the storeroom. Any takers?

2. I forgot to introduce the photographer to my mother, father and in-laws. Now I'm not sure whether their faces are captured at all.

3. The house was overwhelmed with lots of guest. Too many sampai I tak sempat nak have a one-to-one chat with most of you. I'm so sorry sekiranya layanan tidak memuaskan. Maybe we'll catch up with each other stories in a more comfortable setting next time around.

4. I didn't get to bid a proper farewell to Izreen. After she has left, Hubby told me she's living to UK on the 18th, and we shall be seeing each other again in one year time. Goodness me...I'm so very sorry Izreen!

I shall learn from these mistakes.

To our guests, thank you so much for coming!
Thank you for the gifts (in whatever form...toys, clothes, books, money)...
and thank you for adjusting to any imperfection.

It feels good to be able to meet these people that I have known in the virtual world and hope we can continue to become good friends - Zubye, Zatul (thanks for that lovely email invites), Emly, Marlina, Eiseai, Dotty, MommyAlif, Ibuhaziq..did I miss anyone?

Special thanks to Firdaus and Emy for helping me out with packaging the favours and taking the cake...
To Jasmin for helping me sourcing out the supplies, giving me some valuable party ideas and entertaining the kids with bubble...
To my sis-in-law, Siti for helping me with the balloon deco and my mom-in-law for helping to look after Aliff while I'm busy decorating the house.
And Sheila & Atan for loaning your maid to us.

Of course, this party would not be possible without the help of the anchor people - Mak for helping in the kitchen, Abah for beautifying the landscape and re-paint the house...and Hubby for your all-time support. Thanks, thanks...and thanks a lot...

I shall upload the photos taken from our own camera later. And once I got some photos from Zubye, I shall do the same. Can't wait, seriously...

Ehem, we plan to have a big do in 3 years time..when Ashraff is 6 and Aliff is 4..and kalau ada adik lagi, masukkan sekali dalam agenda...hehe..InsyaAllah, sekiranya umur panjang...

2 weeks to go!

Erkk..it's two weeks to go and I still got loads to do and prepare. I'm in panic state now.

Let me see, what I have done so far...

Invites : print and will send by tomorrow. Mana yg tak sempat di hantar, there'll be an email version as invites. So, do email me so I could send u the invitation.

Favours : Half-way done. The adult's almost done. Tinggal packaging part. The children's, I am still waiting for the favours from the printing company that I engaged. I really hope it turns out alright. The infants yang belum lagi. Favours pun belum beli lagi. Erkkk..

Cake: checked.

Food: Main food, checked. Side dishes, not 100%. I leave this to Hubby. I don't think I can handle everything.

Balloons: checked.

Banner: Thot of ordering one, but looking at the price, terus tak jadi. So, plan to do our own. Bought the kain putih already. We'll see how. Worse comes to worse, no banner...hehe..

Activities: Don't think there is any. Perhaps some bubble time...or borrow some kiddie equipment from my friends so the kids can kill their time when they're there.

Photographer: Oh, this adds up to my misery last week. My initially hired photographer, who happens to be my friend, has to undergo an emergency operation scheduled on the same day as Ashraff & Aliff's bday. So, I had to find another photographer, and I was panicky as it's so last minute. Alhamdulillah, I managed to find one.

Sounds like a big do, isn't it? Nope, it isn't! So do not expect one..hehe. There's no mascot or entertainer or confetti. It's just a simple party, but because it's for two, me and hubby want it to be a bit grander than the very simple makan-makan we had before. That's all. I'm just hoping things go out the way we want it to be. And my utmost hope is for the boys (and the organizers) to be healthy and lively that day...And of course, the weather is fine. Hope, hope, pray, pray...

P.S : I got to know from a party planner that a couple paid RM6,000.00 just for balloon decorations for their son's 1st birthday party. Gosh...I can't believe people are willing to spend so much for a mere 1st birthday!

Update...(after sometime).

Hello! Dah berhabuk blog ni selepas lama ditinggalkan...

Seriously now I can't use internet excessively at work. The IT people gave us password to access, so now they can detect which website you go to, or whether u use it during office hours. So now, I can't abuse the office hours by blogging...hahaha...

I'd have to do it before office starts, or after. Or in today's case, I'm blogging from cyber cafe.

I am on emergency leave today. Ashraff was sick (again). I don't know what's up with him, but he has been sick almost every month lately. As usual, it started of with a blocked nose, but just normal medication won't clear his nose completely. He needs antibiotic to be able to do so. Now, it comes together with a very high fever. Mata dia berair je...and he is lethargic most of the days. My usually active lad is lembik, and I'm helpless to see him like that. So today I bought him to specialist, and the doc has to give an antibiotic jab as his fever is pretty high. He was wailing and crying...so the first injection at the buttock did not succeed, so doc had to give another one on his thigh. Kesian mamat tu. He was clinging to me from morning, but I had to escape free for a while to use the Net (had to make some internet banking transactions). So dah alang-alang dapat internet ni, lebih baik update blog...hehehe...

Last weekend was a busy one for us. On Saturday, we were running errands on the morning, and later in the evening, we went to Eiseai's son birthday party. According to Eiseai, it was a small do, but to me, it's qute grand. I love her house...a minimalist approach is definitely my style. Of course, BJ is a nice area to live in. Dulu masa my hubby was working for Guthr1e, I was dreaming of having our house at BJ, but hey di luar kemampuan, plus it's so far away from mak abah. I can't live that far...hahaha...Anyway, it is good to meet Eiseai and her family again. This time around, I didn't get to meet lots of bloggers' mommies except for Erin.

Me, Eiseai and our Ashraff/Asyraf's

But what I'm thrilled most is Eiseai & hubs love the chocolate wrapper we did for her Asyraf.

Thanks u guys!

Then on Sunday, we went back to Muar for my cousin's wedding. Can't miss this one, as this is the last cousin that is having a wedding in Muar. The rest are all happily married. I always love going back to Muar. When I was small, we celebrated our Raya in Muar (Abah's side). The house is just accross the mosque so every Raya morning, me and my cousins will open the front window to watch the guys parading in colourful baju melayu to perform the raya prayer. Then, when Atok died, the house is rented out to other non-related party, so we could not visit the house anymore. From then on, no more kampung life for me, thus, I made a vow to myself that I'll marry one "kampung boy" so my children will get the taste of kampung life, just like I do. I'm glad I found hubby....

I used to play infront bunga api infront of the house with my cousins..and picking up rambutan from the tree. Now, all that is left is just memories of the good old days...

The next two weekends will also be busy weekends for us. Next week, I have 1 invitation to wedding and another to a birthday party. Then we have my company's annual dinner, carrying "Gold, Glitter and Glamour" as its theme, which I don't think I'll follow the theme. I don't have a gold outfit nor a glitter outfit. So me and hubby have decided that if people decided to tell us that we don't follow the theme, we will say "Yes, we do. It's "Glamour", can't u see..." Hahaha...

Then, of course, in between those busy schedule, I have to prepare for Ashraff & Aliff's bday party. Yup, it's on the 8th, so mark your calendars. I shall post you the invites by this week...So, blogger friends, pls email me your address so I could sent you an invite. Janganlah shy-shy nak email ye...

My (Quite) Long Break...

I took a 2-days leave on Monday and yesterday, thus, plus the weekend, I have a 4-days leave. No purpose in specific, just to finish up my annual leave for this year (we are granted 30 days leave every year).

Anyway, last Saturday was supposed to be a hectic day for us with 3 Raya open houses to attend to. It was the last day of Syawal so lots of people decided to use this day to invite people for “makan-makan” at their houses. Do u notice the word “supposed to”? Well, we attended only one open house, which is my Branch’s open house at Rest0ran Puter1 at Taman Tun. That restaurant belongs to one of our clients so we were offered a discount for the event. Nice food, great ambience. We were there for 3 hours, and for the whole of that hours from 12 to 3, Aliff did not nap at all. He refused to coz the surrounding was a bit too happening for him, so he was walking non-stop and tried to make friends with bigger kids. I thank God he was not cranky and a bit independent at that time. Takdelah macam koala nak melekat je kat Ibu dia.

So after that event, both boys were tired and slept like a log. That's why we have decided not to attend the other two houses. At first we thought of going there without the boys, but Hubby pun keletihan. Plus the traffic on the road...oh my God...was terrible!!

On Sunday morning, we went to see our favourite cake chef and placed an order for A&A's (Ashraff & Aliff) birthday cake. By the way this chef makes lovely wedding cakes. Beautiful decorated, plus the cake itself is super-delicious! Of course, the price is on the high side as he made cakes for celebrities and royalties, but hey, he's one of our clients as well, so we got a discount for the cake:) I don't know how A&A's cakes gonna be, but I hope it's okay. Yang penting rasa tu okay.

Then the rest of Sunday, we just lepaking at home. No wait! We had another Raya open house at the month of Zulkaedah...hehe. Yang ni wajib pergi coz it's Hubby's immediate boss...hehe...

Monday and Tuesday despite not having any specific reason to take leave, I just decided to use these two days to get a glimpse of what life is as work-at-home-mum. Here's what I learn within the two days:-

1. It is much less stressful than the daily task I had to fulfill in the office especially when you are doing something that you are passionate about, but it can be physically tiring as you have to entertain the kids, running errands...or should we live in our own house, I'd have to do the cooking...and when the kids are schooling, I have to send and fetch them from school, which brings me to the second point...

2. Time management is critical! If you can't manage time well than it might defeat the purpose as why you chose to become WAHM in the first place - tak masak, tak hantar anak sekolah, tak make sure anak buat kerja rumah. I have to very much improve on this bit. I'm pretty bad at time management. My ever-organized Hubby always complains about this. "You dah buat ni?" "Errr...belumlah." or "Alamak! Lupalah..." Mana tak mengamuk pakcik tu!I usually got carried away doing something less important, then only remembers that I have to do something essential by the end of the day. I must maintain a "things-to-do-list", just like I did in the office. Or else, I'd easily lost focus.

3. Have to start the day early, probably not as early as you used to get up for work, but at least before the kids wake up. So you have time to prepare yourself.

4. The best time is when I could greet the boys at their beds. Cuddle, cuddle, kiss, kiss, before sending them off for their morning baths. It's good to hear Ashraff asked "Ibu tak kerja ke hari ni?". Wish I can do this every morning....

5. I need to have internet connection at home, to check out orders, read emails, networking with others, blogging and blog hopping. Maybe in two days I can live without it but permanently? I don't think I can. It will drive me insane! Internet shall be installed at our new home, insyaAllah.

6. I need to have my home office, a proper place for me to have my notebook and printer, and also my work area for me to do the wrapping, cutting...and a designated place for my stationeries and stocks. Currently I did my work at the dining place. So everytime nak makan, I have to put my things away, and I have to re-set everything should I want to do work. A lot of hassle. Plus my things are kept in the store, where mak keeps most of her temporarily unwanted goods. Lemas! That's the thing when you live with your parents. You can't treat that as your own house, eventhough it used to be your house (when you are still single). I can't wait for our house to be completed by the end of the year so I could have my work station. We target to move in by middle of next year, after fully renovated, insyaAllah.

7. I still need a maid, especially when my children are young. If they are bigger, then I think we can make do without one. Probably we just hire a daily maid to help with the house chores, especially the ironing part. I simple hate ironing!

Two days is just not enough but at least it gives me an insight on what's life has in store should I decided to take that path. There's room for improvement, like for instance, my target by 7 p.m. onwards, I should stop doing any work, at least not until the kids are settled in bed. This is because within these few hours, I should give 101% quality time for the family. My target is also to work an average of 6 hours in a day only, so I would have ample time to focus on the hubby, kids and housechores (cooking to be exact).

Hehehe..this is my ideal work-at-home-mum life. I don't know for sure when I shall take this path coz financially we are not quite ready (orang kata, kena tunggu sampai at least 3 bulan gaji ada dalam simpanan), but it has always been my dream - doing something I love most..and at the same time, take care of the family. Of course, I could give it a try for about one or two months once we are ready, and should things do not turn the way we want it to be, I could always resume working in corporate world before I loss the skill. I was talking to famy the other day and this is what she says her plan is.

Anyway, on Tuesday, I also did some "school shopping" with Ashraff. I guess I made an entry before about our decision to send Ashraff to school starting next year. So on Tuesday, I brought Ashraff to two schools whom I made appointment with the principal beforehand. The first school is our first choice (Tadika Mekar Ilmu TIC jr...anyone sending your kid there?), since it's just a walking distance from my parents' house. Personally I like this school in terms of the setting - roomy and proper ventilated. But it has a longer school hours which is until 12 pm (normally 11.30 am) and it has homeworks and exams. Somehow, Ashraff dislikes this school. He verbally expressed this as soon as we got back to the car. "Ashraff tak suka school ni. Ashraff nak school besar. Yang ada Mrs Van tu". (That'll be L0rna Wh1ston, boy. We can't afford it now, okay?! ).

Then we proceeded to the second school (Tadika Twinkle Tots at Wangsa Maju...anyone sending your kid there?) . I love this place too with few exceptions. First, it's 100% Malay so I doubt Ashraff will speak in English despite it being English medium...and then maybe he could easily influenced with the use of "engkau aku" which I don't quite prefer especially with young kids. The principal told me that in class the kids are prohibited from using these words or any bad words for that matter. But other than that, it's pretty hard to control them as some parents also used "engkau aku" when talking with the kids...and in the TV, they used "engkau aku" too...and in books. Errrr...macamana nak buat ni ye? Another bigger issue is the distance. The school fees is less expensive than the 1st one, but including the transportation, it will be way more expensive. But I love the activities than they have...and the principal loves the kids very much. Some owners do it for business...but this one is due to passion. So, I have a strong feeling that my boy will get a proper love and care should I send him here. Plus, Ashraff had his lunch at that school. Dia nampak bebudak tengah makan and dia terus dengan muka tak malu cakap dia nak makan. The owner gave him a bowl of rice with fish and spinach...and to my suprise, my picky-eater boy ate the whole bowl including the spinach! It must be peer pressure..hahaha...

And as expected, he loves this school. He couldn't wait to tell in the car, so he just expressed it in front of the principal. "Ashraff suka school ni. Ashraff nak school kat sini..." Gee....Now we are in dilemma. The first school or the second one? Does distance between school and your house matters in choosing the right school? Does the opinion of a 3 year-old counts? Or do you have any other recommendation? Emmm...susah jugak "school shopping" ni ye.

Wow! Look at my entry this time...When u have the mood to write, you just pour it all out in one entry...

Take a break...

Here's an advert from my lil gift shop in my other window...

For those who are in the mailing list, you might have got our newsletter already.
But for the benefit of all, here's the latest news from CMOG.

We have launched a new newspaper, which is the Wedding Newspaper. Check it out here!
And we also have re-introduction offer of C.M.O.G Kids Personalized T-Shirt here!

Coming up real soon is the Anniversary Newspaper...
And also the cheaper alternative for the chocolate wrapper, which is affordable to all. Now everyone can have their own chocolate wrapper! (ala-ala tagline A1rAs1a pulak..hehe).

Alhamdulillah, I have a super-fast and energetic "general worker" to help me with the wrapping of chocolate, so I can concentrate on doing something else.

And oh, one more thing, if you are an active blogger, please subscribe to CMOG's mailing list (for those bloggers who have been receiving newsletter from us then u don't have to do this) as we shall also launch a new great offer, specially for bloggers like you, insyaAllah.

Now, that I have announced this, I must make sure that all of the above materialize kan?

My baby is now a toddler...

Hellew!

Anybody home?

It's been two weeks since my last entry. I just lost the appetite to blog, that's all. And I also lost the energy to blog hop. I'm sorry should I have not visited your blog lately. Will try to "qhatam" all your entries soon. Anyway, just as I was excited to blog, I found that I have problem uploading photos! Gee...so I waited and waited, until the problem rectifies, which is just few minutes ago!

Now here I am blogging excitedly...

Aliff has fully recovered from his chicken pox. It wasn't a severe case of chicken pox, so not that many scar on his face and body, alhamdulillah.

Talking about Aliff, my mushroom-haired boy is now 1!!! He turns 1 year old on 2nd November 2007!

12 months have passed, but I still remember clearly the day when he was born. He was born Khamis malam Jumaat (sama macam Ashraff) at 9.43 pm (Ashraff is at 9.47pm). It was a fairly easy delivery. The intense and unbearable pain lasted for like 2 hours, almost the same as Ashraff's. But this time around, I did not take any pain killer except for the gas. I want to take pethidine just like I did with Ashraff's, but doctor said it's too late. I was already dilated like 6 cm at that time. So, the whole 2 hours I've been clinging for the gas for life. The active labour (pushing part) was harder this time around. It took me about 5 pushes before Aliff was out, as opposed to just one hard push for Ashraff.

Anyway, that's 12 months ago. Today Aliff is an active and healthy boy. As I left for work last Friday morning, he was still fast asleep. And unfortunately, as I returned home, he was also sleeping. So, it took me almost whole day to wish him happy birthday.

But the wait is just worth it...

Let me jot down Aliff’s achievement and development as at todate, just for my own personal record:-

1. He can walk pretty steadily now. He has been walking since he turned 11 mo. I’m surprised he can walk before he turns 1, because his development was pretty slow initially like he only perfected roll-over skill when he was 4mo, he can only crawl when he was 7mo, sit independently when he was about 8mo. Sorry Aliff, Ibu must have underestimated you. Oh God! Now, I miss to see him crawl…just like I miss the days when Ashraff crawls…

2. Abang Ashraff could be his worst enemy. Aliff could expressed his anger with his face expression as well as body reaction when Abang Ashraff takes the stuff he’s holding. He can fight back now. He can protect his rights now; no longer give way to Abang Ashraff like before. I just watch when they are in conflict. Let them try to settle on their own. If things go out of hand, then I or Ayah will interfere. Oh, the dawn of sibling rivalry.

But, just any normal sibling relationship, Abang Ashraff is also his idol and his "bestest" friend. He loves to follow Abang Ashraff around, which Abang Ashraff will treat that as "main kejar-kejar". I find it pretty much amusing.

3. He lost quite a weight resulted from the chicken pox and a bad cough he had earlier. Pipi dia dah tak tembun cam dulu. He lost his appetite either because of the sickness, or he no longer finds bubur nasi mouth-watering. We now tend to give him nasi biasa with our own lauk. Haven’t brought him to his 1 yo jab yet so am not quite sure of the weight. But I think he weights around 8.5 kilos now. Is that normal? Should I be worried?

4. He understands instruction well like when we ask him to take a certain thing, he’ll do it. If we asked him to throw ball, he’ll do it. He can clap when we ask him to clap, blink his eyes when we say “blink-blink”, put both his hands on his ears, when we say “Allahu Akbar” and lie on the pillow when we say "sayang bantal".

"Sayang bantal...."

5. Unlike Ashraff who up till todate, could not follow where we point our finger to, Aliff could. I guess Ashraff is a bit abnormal when it comes to this. He can’t seem to focus. We have to say “look at our finger” and push his head so he’ll look at the direction where we are pointing our finger to. Kadang-kadang sampai sudah dia tak nampak, lepas tu tanya “Mana? Mana?”

6. Aliff is attached to me, which is different than Ashraff. Ashraff at this age prefers Bibik to me. I remember being so jealous of Bibik. But Aliff, eventhough is quite attached to my maid, he still prefers me when I’m around. I like the feeling, but at times he is “too attached” to me sampai I nak ke toilet pun susah. Yang tu kekadang buat I rimas dan agak meletihkan jugak.

7. Recently Aliff loves to wake up in the middle of the night to play. So far, twice already. He’ll play about 1 hour or so, and go back to sleep. I guess he must have got than from me, coz Abah said when I was about Aliff’s age, I used to play in the middle of the night as well. Oh gosh! I hope this will pass soon, coz I couldn’t bear not to get enough sleep at night.

8. Aliff could also utter a few words. Some of his words:-

Bebbit (Rabbit)
Baw (Ball)
Pitca (Picture)
Fis (Fish)
Nak (Hendak)

He is quite a chatterbox compared to Ashraff. Ashraff could not utter a single word at this age.

Aliff playing with his "Bebbit"

I’m so proud of both my boys, Ashraff and Aliff. Both have different personalities, but so far, their developments are healthy and normal. They are both apples of my eyes. Add colours to my life. The best time for me to really appreciate them, is when they are both fast asleep. They look so calm and innocent and I almost cry just by looking at them. I guess every parent shares the same feeling, right?!

Oh anyway, Ashraff got his Ultraman Nexus already. He brought the 20 RM1 bill to the cashier to pay his Nexus. Now, we all tengah pancing dia suruh let go of his diaper. Everytime he does his biz in the toilet, I’ll reward him with RM1. He is aiming for a Dark Faust, Nexus’s enemy. Actually he has been doing his biz in the toilet before, but after the chicken pox, mamat tu mengada-ngada taknak pergi toilet. Mati akal camana nak buat. So, we decided to implement the reward-based system coz it has been working well before. Alhamdulillah, berjaya jugak. I hope he’ll be diaper free soon, at least in the day…

"This is my reward for sleeping on my own. Not more patting on my bum bum"

TO ALIFF, HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY FROM AYAH, IBU AND ABANG ASHRAFF. MAY U GROW UP TO BE A GOOD BOY. WE LOVE YOU TO BITS, DEAR!

"Some people call me 'Cupcake'" - ALIFF-