Hari Raya with a difference

Back in the office yesterday and have been blog hopping almost the whole day. Hehehe..still in Raya mood maaa...Well, almost all the blogs I visited, it's either there is no new update as yet or there is new entry talking about Raya, with lovely Raya's pix. So I want to join the bandwagon and talk about Raya too. Hehe.

For those who have received my Raya-wish sms, you have heard the news about Ashraff. Yes, he was diagnosed with chicken pox last Tuesday, 3 days before Raya. Prior to that, we have been going back and forth to clinic for his continuous blocked nose and cough's medication. That has been going on for two weeks, before the pox actually surfaced. We were suprised at first coz from what we heard and experienced, usually chicken pox started of with high fever. Ashraff did not have fever at all...

Ashraff's Raya Look

If you are wondering whether we have taken chicken pox vaccination for Ashraff before, the answer is NO. Even a compulsory 1-year old jab, we took it when he was almost two. So what more with "jap sunat" macam chicken pox tu. I know, Ibu and Ayah are just a bunch of forgetful procrastinators.

Then in between taking care of Ashraff, Aliff also suffered a runny nose, but just a minor one. Off and on. With medication it stops, and then it started again. And moi, I guess, due to lack of sleep, was also down with flu two days before Raya. And am still coughing till today.

With the pox's virus circulating in the house, we had to seperate Ashraff and Aliff. Ashraff was quarantined in his TV room downstairs with Mak in-charge. While Aliff was upstairs with Bibik. It's not the easiest thing to do coz by noon, both boys have been missing each other badly. Aliff will crawl to where the TV room is, macam tau-tau je Abang dia ada kat dalam tu. And Ashraff, the moment he heard Aliff's voice outside the room, he will open the door and say"Jomlah masuk."

Back in Pontian, it's even harder to seperate them. There is no upstairs and downstairs in Pontian. Semuanya satu level je. There is only one tempat berkumpul in the house, which is kat bahagian belakang. So takkanlah I nak duduk kat bahagian depan rumah with Ashraff, while the rest of the family is at the back, chit-chatting away. Plus, it breaks my heart to see the boys missing each other. So I just langgar je pantang larang, and let them play together as usual, praying that Aliff won't catches the pox while preparing mentally should Aliff terkena jugak serangannya.

Alhamdulillah, the pox isn't that bad. Probably because we do not let Ashraff minum air kelapa. Orang cakap kalau minum air kelapa, keluar semua. We refused to do so because some advises us that air kelapa can cause brochitis or asthma knowing the fact that Ashraff has a bad cough at that time.

Ashraff also is still in his usual active mode. Kalau orang tak nampak muka dia bercapuk, pasti orang tak tahu yang dia kena chicken pox. Although at times, he is a bit cranky due to lack of sleep. Not so much because of the pox, but more of the coughing. He coughed badly at night and vomitted few times. On 2nd day of Raya, he coughed continuously sampai dah tak sanggup nak dengar. So on 3rd day of Raya, we brought him to the paeditrician, and he was put on nebuliser immediately. He lost quite a weight...

We thought at first there will be no Raya for us this year due to the sickness. But hey, beraya jugak rupanya. Except for no Muar, Kulai or Pasir Gudang trip, our Raya went on as usual. We still had our customary photo taking session in the morning, before heading to JB to visit my parents.

It's Aliff's first Raya!

At my Tok Mak's house in JB - Ashraff & Aliff impressed by the flying helicopter.

We visited nearby relatives' houses, but Ashraff has to be left at home with Bibik. We had to warn every guest who came to our house, especially those with children that our little boy has chicken pox. And we had to educate Ashraff not to get near to other children because of his pox. He seemed to be cooperating. I've also overheard him saying to the one of the guests that he has chicken pox. The only time Ashraff visited relatives' houses is on the way back to KL.

Hubby with his mother and siblings.

Alhamdulillah, on the fourth day of Raya, selamatlah sudah kenduri aqiqah untuk Ashraff. We did it at Pontian with the help of Mak Pontian. Meriah sungguh. And the kambing, according to Hubby, is super-delicious. Sorry folks, I don't take mutton..hehe. So now, another two kambing for Aliff pulak, which we plan to do it Raya Haji nanti, insyaAllah. Tak jadi nak buat masa birthday nanti.

Hubby and adiknya, enjoying the mutton dish.

Ashraff is not feeling well on the kenduri day, but he still makes an effort to smile.

Oh, Ashraff saw Ultraman Nexus's figurine at one of houses we visited on the way back to KL and he wants to own one too. We immediately made a deal with him that if he can sleep on his own without us patting him on his buttock, we will give him RM1 each time it happens. So far, he has RM4 in his pocket...hehehe. We'll let him count the money so he appreciates it. Teach him the value of money. Our plan is as the money reaches RM20, we'll buy him the Ultraman Nexus (altho that Ultraman thingy is more expensive than RM20)...or anything that his heart desires at that time. I hope that this reward-based strategy works well. It's about time he learns to sleep on his own. Come on lah, he's already 3 years old...

I guess, that's our Raya story this year. How about yours?