This is Ashraff, Aliff and Aqieff's Life...

ASHRAFF's LIFE

Ashraff's life revolves around school, cartoon network, PSP...and hospital.
Every 6 months since the middle of last year, he has to check-in at the hospital for various reasons - June last year due to dengue, December, appendix..and on 5th July 2010, ear problem. It was a dreadful event for all of us, to see him having to go through a painful recovery.

About a month prior to the event, we noticed that his hearing ability was deteriorating as he couldn't hear his father on the other end of the phone (while it is of no problem to Aliff). We thought it was just a case of stubborn wax that caused his ears to block. But since the ear drop doesn't work, he was referred to ear specialist. That is when we discovered it might not be just normal wax problem, as he feels pain in the ear (and not to mention itchiness).

Ashraff was admitted on 5th July for the doctor to monitor him the whole day. We couldn't get a single room (gee, i hate that). To those who are used to the hospital environment, you might know how boring it is to be in one. And it makes matter worse when we couldn't watch the TV comfortably due to the position of the bed and the TV itself (kena tgk dari celah2 tirai). I was pissed off but thank God Ashraff was ok with it.

Ashraff was instructed to fast starting 12 am so I forced him to stay awake to take his 'sahur' before he sleeps that night. KFC for sahur..he ate 3 pcs of chicken at 11.30pm!

The next day he was brought to operation theater at 12 pm! This means he has to fast for more than 12 hours and that drives the 6 years old up the wall! It turns out that the doctor had to do 2 operations before Ashraff. Adoi mak...The wait was unbearable for both of us! (Just in case you are wondering, Hubby kerja macam biasa..orang ada 15 hari annual leave je. But he did came during lunch hour to see Ashraff).

Since this is the 2nd time he had to go through operation, Ashraff was phobia. His eyes were filled with tears all along the way to the OT till he was put to sleep. "Takut", "Taknak" was all I heard from him. Ibu had to be strong to motivate him but deep down inside only God knows.

Can you see my eyes filled with tears?

This time around, unlike during the appendix operation, I was the one who accompanied Ashraff into the OT. It was my first time entering such spooky place and I can feel cold shivers running down my spine. The light, the equipment..yikes! Please oh please don't let me enter this room again...

Ashraff was put under the influence of anesthetic at about 1 pm. Doctor needs to probe his ears, take all the wax out and see what's the problem deep down inside. It was a short procedure so about 30 minutes he was out, crying really loud! And what panics me was that I can see blood coming out from his ears, nose and mouth! Scary! I wanted to cry and scream really bad but I just had to remain calm and strong for Ashraff's sake.

Finally, he managed to doze off after an episode of crying and screaming.

Waking up complaining about his sore throat "Tak selesa tekak Ashraff ni."

According to the doctor, his ears are filled with water..and he has some sort of inflammation at his throat so doctor had to take it out (nope, not tonsil). So the after effect was quite bad. Ashraff was complaining about his sore throat and also the dizziness due to the anesthetic. He was crying all the way...until the nurse gave him pain killer in the evening.

Later that night, he can smile..and eat normally. He ate soft and cold food..porridge and ice-cream. That's the thing about Ashraff. He recovers easily. Just like when he had appendix removed. Undergo operation at 12 am, and by noon he can walk already. Alhamdulillah. Even the doctor was surprised to see him eating normally the next day. The doctor told me that the boy who had the same operation before Ashraff (also 6 yo) is still energy-less and lying in bed.

So Ashraff was happily discharged from the hospital. Oh yeah, we got our single room as soon as Ashraff got out from the OT. All in all, we are glad everything went well...and I really hope Ashraff wouldn't have to check-in at the hospital in December. He was so used to the procedures that he even questioned the reason why he was put on drip..."Ashraff bukannya sakit perut pun...Ashraff makan ok je...". I have no idea how to answer that...

After having to go through the traumatic experience, suddenly I remember what the nurse told me when Ashraff got out from the OT "Kenapa tak sunatkan sekali dah alang-alang masuk OT?" Gosh! Why didn't I think of that? Oh no! Not again!

ALIFF's LIFE

In life, we meet people to set memories..and depart to remember them. That's what happened in the life of my 4 year old boy. On 9th July 2010, it was Aliff's last day at Taska Ummi Sarah. We decided to send Aliff to Ashraff''s school so that he got used to the surrounding before Ashraff leaves the school for Primary One next year. At least for the first six months in his kindy life he got a big brother to accompany him.

It was a big move for Aliff (and me) as we have to say goodbye to Ummi, who has been taking good care of Aliff for the last two years. Personally I am blessed to meet Ummi when our maid decided not to come back to work for us. She did a great job. Aliff is healthy. Setiap kali badan Aliff susut lepas baik demam, hantar je rumah Ummi, Aliff terus gebu semula.

Not only that, Aliff also has to bid farewell to almost 20 of his friends including his two best friends, Rayyan and Faris. I gave Ummi kain ela as a token of appreciation, and she gave me tudung in return. We both were in tears. I do pasang niat to send Aqieff to Ummi if and should my mom's maid decides to go back to her hometown for good.

Then on 12th July 2010, Aliff entered school for the first time. It was a breeze for him as Ashraff is around. I don't even take any leave. I just send him at the gate and of he went inside, following his brother...and so far, he is excited to go to school everyday, alhamdulillah.

Despite that, he still misses Ummi. He didn't say it explicitly but this one time, he asked Mak (who fetch him from school) to drive pass rumah Ummi so he could wave goodbye. "Bye-bye kat rumah je pun takpe," Aliff told Mak. Alahai kesian..

As for school, I hope by next year Aliff can be independent enough to stay on his own. For now, he depends a lot on Ashraff.

AQIEFF's LIFE

On 8th July 2010, my baby has turned one. Time really flies!

On that day, since both of us do not take leave, so he spent the day just like his any other ordinary weekdays:-

Woke up at about 7am.

An everyday journey to rumah Ummi to send Abang Aliff (masa ni, Aliff belum pergi sekolah lagi), then to rumah Tok Mak together with Abang Ashraff who is still on MC (after 3 days in hospital).

A greeting from Bibik...and a birthday wish..

Ibu Ayah dah balik ofis! As usual, upstairs playing with Abang Ashraff and Abang Aliff.

At the age of one, Aqieff is very much a baby to us. He still could not walk..unlike his two brothers who walk at 11 months. He is still cradle to sleep with a rocker (an infant-to-toddler really helps). And if he is matured enough, he is still a baby to us, no matter what:)

Happy 1st Birthday, Aqieff! Ibu, Ayah, Abang Ashraff and Abang Aliff love you so much!

We had a simple birthday celebration at Bukit Tinggi, Pahang that weekend.

About Aqieff

Seldom did I blog about Aqieff (as a matter of fact, I seldom blog nowadays)...

I guess I have to do it or else I have this maternal guilt...hehe..

Anyway, here are some facts about Aqieff:-

1. He is currently 9 months old.

2. He has two lower teeth and two upper teeth.

3. He has the fastest development as compared to the two brothers..initially. He started crawling at the age of 5 months old. And now, he has about the same pace as his brothers. He can sit unsupported, walk while holding onto furniture, understands a simple 'No', can climb the stairs. He is now learning how to stand unsupported..and if all goes well, I hope he can walk before he turns one just like Ashraff and Aliff, who have perfected that skill on their first birthdays.

4. He is also the easiest baby among the three. He is active but quiet..not much of a crying or whining like the other two.

5. But not when it comes to putting him to sleep. Sangat susah! We are still using the rocker (bouncer net) to lull him..and he is also on pacifier..and he also needs his bantal to cover his face...ok senang cerita, perangai ni sama macam Abang Ashraffnye...

6. Contrast to Aliff, Aqieff smiles a lot...and his smile is contagious even to a serious stranger who doesn't smile to babies. He will look at the person's face and smile..smile as long as he wants until that person notices and smiles back at him.

7. But don't ever try to touch him, stranger! Coz he will start crying. Among the three, Aqieff has the strongest stranger anxiety.

8. Due to his easy-to-smile character, we have tonnes photos of him smiling..and as he grows older, he seems to know what camera is all about, so the moment we focus the camera at him, he will start smiling..and voila! a nice photo of him. Abang Aliff baru sekarang faham what 'smile' is..and baru lately pandai smile in front of the camera. There are some things that the brothers learn from this little lad.

9. Just like Abang Ashraff when he was a baby, Aqieff suka main dengan toys yang ada tayar..coz he loves to roll it with his tiny fingers.

10. In general, Aqieff is more like Abang Ashraff..even their faces are similar...

11. Except for, he loves to eat..yang ini sama dengan Abang Aliff. Thank God! It's easier to get children who loves to eat than a fussy eater.

12. He is also the fairest among the three. So my 'nescafe ais 'baby is not as dark as nescafe ais..pheww..

12. Aqieff is a lucky baby coz his brothers love him dearly. He always got smooches from them..and they love to entertain him. Aliff never feels this love when he was baby. Dia asyik kena pukul and tolak by Ashraff.

All in all, I'm at ease when taking care of Aqieff..it was so easy that I can't believe he is already 9 months old. Trust me, soon it will be time when people asked me "Bila nak try for a girl..?"

About Art...

The boys love to scribble (I mean, all kids love to do that). But they really enjoy it. That seems to be part of their favourite pastime. Drawing and colouring (and for Ashraff, reading). This is the longest time that they can stay put at one spot. Even watching their favourite TV shows could not beat that.

Of course, to avoid squabbling, they have their own sets of stationery - color pencils, pencils, rulers, erasers...and the drawing materials (be it paper or colouring book). Of course, for us, not hearing and looking at them quarreling, it's what I'd call as "Kodak moment", so I enjoy every minute of it as well.

Ashraff has improved a lot in drawing and colouring. He can draw robots, his favourite TV characters like Spongebob and animals (his duck looks way better than mine). I guess he inherited this skill from both my parents (gee..why don't I). Due to this reason, we believed that it's best for us to help him enhance his skills, thus we send him to art class every Saturday.
His first class was last week where he spent 2 hours coloring. We send him to a franchised art class, GlobalArt. He loves it and look forward to his next class. I'm glad and hope that motivation remains.

He can also read on his own now, both English and Malay fluently...cuma masih need improvement on the punctuations - when to pause, when to stop, when to ask, when to shout. Dia main langgar je..

Aliff, of course, a few steps behind his brother. But from the progress, I know he can improve in that area as well. One thing for sure, he can color within the object's lines. Every time his brother is doing his homework, Aliff will grab one of his coloring book and color all the way. So takdelah nak kacau Abang dia yang sekarang sangat disiplin buat homework.

We intend on sending him to Ashraff's school this June. Since he's a year-end baby, so he is a bit young for his age. I have the attention of sending him next year, but after second thought, it will be best sending him this June so he has about 6 months to familiarise with the new environment with the help of his brother.

Guess there's some updates on the boys...after so long...

My formal education in photoshop

Wow! It's been a very long time since I've last updated my blog. There's too many things to do...update CMOG's blog, facebook, fulfilling order for CMOG...apart from the normal chores.

Well anyway, here I am taking a break from a short training in using adobe photoshop. Finally, after years of exploring photoshop through trial and error and learning the basics from the internet, I've managed to find a class that's suitable for me...A full 2-days course of Basic Photoshop. Thanks to my hubby who told me about this class and persuaded me to attend it.

I hope that this is fulfilling and I may use it to practice, especially in improving the designs I've made for CMOG.

For those who are interested, I've attended a class organized by sifoo.com. Do check it out!

What's with Ashraff?

2009..a challenging year for Ashraff indeed..

Twice he was hospitalised. One, in June..due to dengue fever. He was hospitalised for seven nights..seven miserable nights for both Ashraff and us.

And on 15 December 2009 (Tuesday), sharp at 12.00 am midnight, Ashraff had to undergo an operation to take out his appendix, that by then has ruptured. Alhamdulillah, we (Hubby to be exact) took him to the specialist immediately or else he might not be around to see the world anymore..nauzubillah.

It all started on Monday morning where he complained that he has stomach ache. I was on leave that day. But because Ashraff usually has stomach ache, I did not take him seriously, plus I thought he uses that strategy to persuade me not to send him to school (his daycare was opened during school holidays). Boy, was I guilty when I got to know he had an appendix problem!

I took him at about 6 pm that day and the teacher told me that Ashraff is not feeling well and kept on complaining about his tummy. By then, I was worried. Well well, nak dijadikan cerita, Aliff and Aqieff pun demam on the same day. So as Hubby reached home at about 6.30 pm, I immediately told him about Ashraff problem..and he rushed Ashraff to the clinic, get a referral letter and sent him to Ampang Puteri. At 12 am sharp, Ashraff was brought to the operation theatre to had his appendix removed. I was not there to witness the event as I was at home to take care of the other two sick boys. But Hubby told me all about it. How he as a man, felt like crying holding Ashraff hand and giving him motivational words.

But Ashraff was a strong boy. That morning he has started to walk to the toilet. He said he can do it and he will walk slowly. And by the next day, he can walk around the paeditric ward. He was hospitalised for about 3 nights. And one week after that he can jump and run like before.

Well, I still fell guilty over what had happened.not only of my silly negligence..but about what I fed my 5 year old until he suffered from the pain. Maybe Ashraff loves to eat spicy foods. Sambal and asam pedas are his favourite dishes. But because he is such a picky eater, so whatever he wants to eat, we just gave him. Now, we had to control what he and Aliff are taking (and soon Aqieff). It might be one of the reasons, only God knows...

Paddle and paddle

Unlike Aliff, Ashraff is kinda slow when it comes to motor skills. I've been trying to show him how to paddle a bicycle before but it never works. I lost my patience half of the way. Come on, shouldn't paddling comes of naturally? Guess not with Ashraff.

But alhamdulillah, at the age of 5, finally he grasps the skills of paddling, thanks to Ayah who has all the patience in the world to guide him. Yippee!

He was so busy with looking at his feet while paddling, he has no clue on how to manouver the handles, so he carries the bike everytime he wants to make a u-turn..

Anyway, talking about the boys, Ashraff is finally wean from bottle. Now he takes his milk from the cup. Aliff is toilet-trained (diaperless during the day), thanks to his babysitter. Two kids - none of them trained by me!

Aqieff is somehow or rather using pacifier to make him sleep, especially during the day. It all started when he suffers from colic right after my confinement, so the only thing that can ease him down is the pacifier. Plus, it makes our job easier to train him to use the car seat. After all, Ashraff is using pacifier and it's pretty easy to wean him from that thing, so we thot no sweat in trying to use it with Aqieff. We tried with Aliff too but he refused to suck on the dummy.

Anyway, my fellow blogger readers, Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri! And mintak maaf banyak2. And this raya, after 7 years, we are celebrating our first raya in KL. Nak menziarah Abah's kubur di pagi raya...I'm expecting Mak to outburst with sadness as 20th September will be her first raya and first birthday without Abah. Poor Mak...

1 month old Aqieff

Aqieff is one month old on 8th August. He weights 4.3 kilos, an increase about 1.2 kilos from the day he was born.

Yesterday we had a small makan-makan at our house just to celebrate Ashraff's 5th birthday. Hubby was the master of the kitchen where he cooked meehoon goreng. I'm just his helper, making sandwich and chicken roll crackers as per instructed by him. All recipes are from him.

I'm glad Mak decided to come to our house (it's her first visit after the house is fully furnished. Arwah Abah couldn't make it.). Since she's still in her tempoh idah (edah?), it was a short visit, makan2 and terus balik.

We bought a cup for Ashraff in conjuction with his 5th birthday to make sure that he weans from bottle. No more bottle for a 5-yr old boy! He took the fact well this time around, unlike our first effort about 3 years ago..

Now, satu job settle. Next will be to toilet train Aliff..

I will always love you...

I will always remember this date...26th JULY 2009.

This is the date when Abah passed away...peacefully...at 8am in his own bed.

Now, I will never hear him calling my name.
Will never see him watching CNN or Discovery Channel...or reading newspaper.
Will never hear his word of advice.
Will never see him playing with his grandsons.
Will never see him sending us to work at the frontgate...together with Mak.
Will never see him jog in the morning..or gardening in the evening...or going to the surau.
I will never hear his laughter..or jokes...or merely his voice.

All that is left is his photos...his handwriting...the clothes that he wears...and all the good memories of Abah...

I miss him...dearly...

Abah, I will always love you...forever and ever...
I wish I could tell you this before you leave...

Introducing..our latest addition...

For the first time in my life, I have internet connection at home! Yippee!! Now I'm happily blogging at the comfort of my home.

Alhamdulillah, I've safely delivered a new baby boy on 8th July 2009 (exactly 2 weeks earlier than my EDD). The delivery went out smoothly and less traumatic as this time around, I opt to use epidural. Believe me, after going through twice the labour pain plus the stitches downunder(with very minimal pain killer), I got a bit traumatise to go through it all again. Thus, that is when I decided the epidural thingy. Wow! No wonder people opt for that. It's a pain-less labour!!
Anyway, on 7th July 2009 which was the day of my check-up, I had to be admitted to the hospital due to high BP. The reading was 140/90. I was monitored throughout the night but it turned out my BP was still at the border line (the lowest was 120/85), so my gynae decided to induce me. Yeah, it's Ashraff all over again.

So at about 5 am, they induced me, but I don't feel any pain at all (just slight discomfort). Gynae was suprised to see me sleeping after the induction took place as she came and checked my dilation at about 10 am. I was dilated 3 cm only. Ain't suprise me, coz I don't feel any contraction going on at all for the past 5 hours after induction. So they decided to put me on drip to fasten the labour. To the labour room everybody!

At about 10.30, the anaesthetist gave me an epidural jap. I was freaking scared of the needle going through my spine. But it turns out to be not too bad. Labour pain is million times more painful than that. At 11.00, they put me on drip. I could feel my belly harden every now and then so I presumed that was when the contraction took place. Other than that, just like I mentioned before, it was painless and I slept all the way till I felt the urge to push, which initially I thought the epidural effect has worn off. But it turns out I'm fully dilated and ready for the active labour i.e the pushing game..."Cepatnya!," I thought.

Then at exactly 1.10 pm, our new bundle of joy was delivered...

Name : AQIEFF BIN MOHD FITRI

DOB : 8th July 2009

Weight : 3.13 kg (the smallest among three, maybe becoz he was born 2 weeks in advance)

Length : 52 cm

Story behind his name. If you can see, the name rhymes with Aliff which wasn't our criteria in choosing a name for our 3rd boy. But, Abah likes it. This is the first time he (or any of our parents) intervenes in choosing a name for our baby. With him in that kind of condition, the best thing for us to do is to follow his choice so Aqieff it is...meaning "seorang yang fokus."

So now I have three boys in the family..plus Hubby, four. I'm definitely outnumbered! But I'm blessed. Blessed with God's gift.

"Kita ada four boys sekarang. Kesian Ibu takde kawan...," said Ashraff. Geee...who cares...I feel so special surrounded my boys. Plus, that's one thing I have in common with Victoria Beckham...hahaha...

Aqieff was so far an easy baby, alhamdulillah. Ashraff adores his brother very much, which was different when he got Aliff last time. Aliff has no sign of jealousy so far. So it was easy to handle the boys this time around as compared to handling Ashraff when we got Aliff. Maybe due to age factor. Ashraff got Aliff when he was 2yo3mo, while Aliff got Aqieff when he was 2yo8mo.

As for confinement, this is the first time Mak couldn't take care of me so I have to survive on my own. Thank God, Mak Pontian was here for the first two weeks to help. And I hired a confinement nanny to help me with the cooking, urut, tungku, tangas, bengkung, lulur, mandikan baby..and other general help she could. Kak Nor is a major helper. And I was treated to everyday spa at home!

Despite that, confinement still means confined between the four walls..so you tend to get bored. Jadual Astro pun dah hafal..hehehe...Everyday I make a mark at the calendar. Bila nak habis 44 hari ni...Today will be my 18th day of confinement. Another 26 days to go...Time moves very slowly...

Now some updates on Abah. He was weaker than the last time I blog about him. He is now on diapers, few people have to lift his body to make him stand and walk and not only his leg but his hands are now swollen. I never got the chance to see him everyday now that I'm in confinement. The last time I saw him was when Aqieff was admitted due to jaundice so as I visit Aqieff in the hospital, I visited Abah in another hospital as well. Tomorrow I shall be going to Mak's house to stay overnight as Hubby is going to Singapore (to watch Liverpool game live there). So, I got the chance to see Abah...and massage his legs and hands, talk to him, keep him company...

I wouldn't blog about his actual condition coz only Mak and me knows about it. Let just say, only miracle can cure him now..We keep on praying for this miracle to come...

Oh by the way, just to share. For this confinement, I'm using Nona Roguy's product. For the first time, I have no constipation problem during my confinement. Thumbs up to the product!

Heii banyaknya benda nak blog...Another thing, the boys are finally sleeping in their own room! But Ayah got to put them to sleep first. It was a pretty easy transition period for the boys. Now we only have 1 boy to share the room with us...

"Home Sweet Home"

I haven't got time to write long entry..what more to post some photos...

But I got to mark this date down...

27th June 2009...is the day we finally moved in to our new house. A house which insyaAllah will be our permanent house till bercucu-cicit. Unless, we strike a gold somewhere which allows us to upgrade our house to let say, a mansion..:)

If I have the time, I'll share you more story on this..and post some pictures. You see we do not have a camera (camera rosak!)..and all photos are taken with our so-so handphones which does not come with a cable to 'sedut' the photos to our PCs. Jadi faham-faham sajelah...

Oh, lil more update since ada time lagi before Hubby arrives...

On the not-so-nice news, my father is diagnosed with unknown cancer about 1 1/2 months ago. 'Unknown' because the cancerous lumps happens to take place in between his stomach fats, which according to oncologist is a rare case because cancer should start from an organ. Initially, the whole family was sad and shock at the same time. I cried for days (almost every prayer), but after a while, we learn to accept it as fate and most importantly, to encourage and motivate Abah to take it positively. Abah lost lots of weight. Hanya tinggal kulit dan tulang sahaja from waist above, as from waist downwards was blotted with water. His feet, especially, is swollen so he couldn't walk far. He just stayed upstairs sebab once he go downstairs, he needs help from at least two people to carry him upstairs again (one to papah dia, and another to help him lift his feet so he can climb the stairs). My used to be healthy father is sick and it is sad to see him suffer. So far, he has undergone 3 sessions of chemo..so about 5 times more before the doctor does a full body scanning to see if there's any improvement. Now, we can only pray to see him recover cause not all cancer is fatal. Many survives.

Ok, Hubby is here..so long...

A helping hand is here!

Alhamdulillah, our new maid has arrived last weekend. When we say 'our' it includes the whole Fitri's troop and Mak Abah i.e the maid is shared with Mak and Abah. No, she does not earn double income. Instead, the maid's monthly salary is paid from two different pockets - mine and Mak's. She is just our part-time maid who does the basic household chores for us - ironing, washing, folding the bajus and cleaning the house. Tugas dia lebih kurang sama macam those maids you hire on weekends.

We still send Ashraff and Aliff to day care centres. And when we moved to our new house, we shall not bring her with us. She stays at Mak's house. That's the arrangement for the time being.

I'm happy and less tired now. Kerja dah lah melambak kat office. Balik rumah nak iron, basuh baju, lipat baju lagi. Hey, I'm not a super-wifey and super-mummy. Plus, I'm getting heavier. Paling tak suka buat is gosok baju. Berdiri lama-lama gosok baju boleh buat tapak kaki I jadi sakit..and peluh tak payah nak ceritalah.

Now, I have more time to look at Ashraff's homework, read them goodnight story books and berborak. That is if I'm still not stuck in the office at 9 pm lah kan..(mcm hari ni). Got to go now!

P.S: Sofa, checked. Curtain, almost checked. Target to move: by end of May.

P.P.S : Still hasn't choose a name for our 3rd boy. What's a good name that starts with an "A" and ends with "FF" and does not rhyme with Aliff? Or on a 2nd though, "FF" kat tengah pun takpelah:)

Money, Money, Money...

Alhamdulillah, I've just received the back-dated salary adjustment that I've been waiting for since last year. Since it's back-dated, kembunglah bank account. But not for long because this money shall now goes to the furniture shops. Sofa, dining table, king-size bed..and curtains...errr..don't think it'll be enough to cover all..

We also have to allocate some for the maid which I've been negotiating with Mak to pay half of the agent fees and monthly salary. And let the maid stays at Mak's house so we can have some privacy at our new house...and to make sure I'm at my toes on whereabouts are the children's things sebab kalau ada maid ni I tend to take things for granted. Mak seems to agree to let the maid stay with her at this point in time. Basically we want to have a part-time maid. At first, we thought of hiring the maid who came during weekend but then we are in the dilemma on sending the 3rd baby to nursery at 2-month old age. So negotiating with Mak is the next best thing to do since Mak is also looking forward for an extra helping hand.

The plan is to send both Ashraff and Aliff to full-day programme at school and only the baby will be taken care of by the maid at Mak's house. Kena review jugak budget takut quite costly. Hey, we both don't earn that much...:)

Oh, it's Maghrib time. Gotta pray coz Hubby is fetching me right after Maghrib to watch movie together after so long...Confession Of A Shopaholic..wuhuu!

What's up RafiqahEliza?

Hehehehe...where have I been for the last 5 months?

Well, I'm still alive and kicking..but very (3x) busy..mengalahkan PM.

For the past 5 months, there's been a lot going on in my life I just don't know where to start. So I better make it into point form to make sure I do not miss anything.

1. Work - I'm out of Branch, thus no longer doing branch operation. I was transferred to HQ on 1 December 2008 into credit department, doing regional work for loan applications received by the Bank. This includes vetting applications done by the branch and presenting it to the committee. The hard pard is of course presenting caused you are high likely to be bombarded by committee should you miss out some important facts or worst case, give them the wrong information altogether. But I've learned to become 'muka tembok' and put everything behind you as you walked out from the committee's meeting room. So far I love this job but it gave me no time to blog or surfing. Well, well.

2. Hubby - Alhamdulillah, he received his CPA Australia certification last month. I'm proud to see him walk up the stage to receive his cert. Now, he's pursuing MBA, thus he has to forgo half of his weekends with the family to attend classes. Not only that, he has to wake up at 5am to do his assignment and help me with doing laundry at the same time now that we are maidless. Talking about maidless...

3. Life without a maid - Tired but satisfied. I'm happy because I have a helpful helper i.e. hubby. The kids weren't too hard to handle as they can be left unattended (provided they stay in a room) so I can do some household chores before putting them to sleep. We send Ashraff to a full day programme at Islamic kindy while Aliff was sent to the nursery. So far we love to see their development.

4. New house - kita hanya merancang, Allah yang menentukan. We are still staying at my parents'. Apparently we are facing cost overuns..hahaha..Nope, adalah reason yang lagi concrete. Lihat di bawah...

5. New family member - Alhamdulillah, I'm 5 months preggy. Due in July this year. And it is quite a hard first trimester for me as I was admitted to the hospital due to dehydration. So now u can figure why we can't move in to our new house. Who wants to help hubby to do the cleaning and unpacking job? Hehehe...but I'm okay now. In fact, kitaorang dah tau gender baby ni. Jeng, jeng, jeng...Another BOY! Seriously if u asked me, I don't mind, but what frustrates me is because I dissapoint Ashraff who keeps on telling me he wants a sister so tak payah berebut-rebut nak main his toys as she can play with her Barbie (siap bagi reason tu) and my mom who wants cucu perempuan from the very beginning. Tengok diaorang frust, kita pun frust. For me, just as long as sempurna dan sihat, alhamdulillah. Lagipun I feel special to be the only female in the family. Kalau gambar raya I sorang je pakai baju kurung, yang lain pakai baju Melayu. How cool is that!

6. Business - As abandoned as this blog, the same goes for CMOG. I do take orders but very limited due to my time constraint. I need to spare some ME time to take care of my physical health sebab kalau Ibu dah stress, susah nanti..hehehe..

The next point I think I better make it into another sub-heading because I'm gonna talk about the boys...

ASHRAFF:-

1. He is 4 years and 7 months. His baby brother will come just in time for his 5th birthday.

2. He is attending Islamic kindy school and alhamdulillah he attended the school without much hesitation.

3. On the 1st day of school he cried because he has to stay till evening while most of the kids go back in the afternoon. But I managed to convince him to stay dengan alasan "Kalau Aliff boleh duduk nursery sampai petang, kenapa Ashraff tak boleh." That's when his ego strikes in...and he kept quiet after that.

4. I love the activity they had for the full day programme. They have prayer time, doa time, makan time, nap time, mandi time and khalifah circle time. So basically now Ashraff knows the basic prayer movements and bacaan-bacaan yang senang. He also knows when to doa - nak makan (yang ni dari dulu lagi), nak tidur, keluar rumah, masuk and keluar tandas. And the best part is tak semua doa dia hafal so at home he asked me or Hubby to recite. Gosh! Frankly speaking, banyak yang kitaorang tak hafal, but to fulfill his demand, now both me and Hubby terpaksa hafal some of the doas, which is also beneficial for us. Kalau tak kena macam ni, sampai bila pun tak hafal.

5. I also love to see the positive changes in his behaviour. He helps me a lot especially when Hubby is away. Some of the things he helps me is to pack his and Aliff's things for school and nursery. He make sure that his pajamas and Aliff's are ready on bed so that Ibu can change them into pjs without much hassle.

6. I'm yet to see him read...and to see him wean from drinking milk from bottle.

ALIFF:-

1. He is 2 years and 4 months to be exact. Will be brother when he's 2 years 8 months. But in terms of year, they are 3 years gap.

2. Still chubby..and cheeky too.

3. Kuat makan, kuat berlari, kuat main, kuat tantrum..

4. A chatterbox. Can ask question perfectly. Cepat warm up to stranger as compared to his brother.

5. Suka buli abang. Abang being very good brother selalu mengalah, unless he's damn angry like this one time, Abang dah penat-penat buat tower with blocks, tetiba datang Aliff dia saja je langgar and the whole tower just collapsed. Abang was so pissed off, dia tolak Aliff jatuh terhentam kepala kat lantai, and then dia cakar muka Aliff. Berceloreng muka Aliff..

6. He no longer breastfeed. I've tried different methods like slow talking until to the extend of putting benda-benda pahit kat tempat yang sepatutnya, but nothing works. Until one day, I wean him cold turkey. I let him cried for one hour..berguling-guling atas lantai. Tried that before but my heart cepat cair and gave up. But that one fine day, hati I memang cekal. I couldn't take it anymore as it's very painful when he breastfeed and dah takde susu pun. He finally gave up trying and opt for susu Milo instead (susu Milo = chocolate flavoured formula). The next day his crying shortened and finally he stopped asking.

7. He love to sayang-sayang baby. He will hug my tummy and say "sayang baby"...

Opps...Hubby is coming. Gotta sign off. I'll post some pictures later...insyaAllah..

An Update..after my long absence..

Hellooo...

It's been a long while since my last update. 4 months, believe it or not. I guess this is the longest period since I left any entry.

As usual, to start again is not easy. Writer's block..Lost of vocabs..Poor sentence structure...Mixture of English and Malay. Do excuse me for that..

Thus, I opt for a simple way to update about myself..and my family..that is, by using point form..

1. I am a busy woman..very busy at work since we have to take care from A-Z of banking operation i.e. from marketing, processing loan, disbursement, collection and NPL rectification. Gila ke hape..I memang lost focus. Itu nak buat, ini nak buat, last-last semuanya tak siap...

2. I am maidless since one week before Raya. We sent bibik for 1 month holiday, and she ends up not coming back here (just as we expected). We decided not to use the help of maid as at now. With the help of my supportive hubby, alhamdulillah, I manage to resume my duty as a bionic woman who take charge of everything in the household..except for masak..sebab as at now, Mak takes care of those. But dah pindah rumah nanti, semua sekali kena buat. If other people can do it, why can't I? Plus, I feel a lot more satisfaction having to do it on my own. Cause when we had bibik, I neglect some of the things. Baju ni simpan kat mana, or toys ni simpan kat mana pun tak tahu.

So far okay as the boys can play on their own now, leaving me with ample time to take care of household chores. But I don't know what it'll be like if I'm pregnant again and have a newborn.

3. As mentioned in point 1, nope I'm not pregnant. I wanted so much to have a baby in the 1st half of 2009, but God knows best. Currently, it's like "kalau ada, adalah..kalau takde pun, takpe..". Kira taklah beriya2 and got frustrated everytime tak jadi..if you got what I mean.

4. Lanjutan dari perkara 1 dan 2, CMOG is abandoned. Not totally, but slightly ignored. I have to decline big orders, which is quite frustrating. Even now, I have to find ways to continue with CMOG despite not having maid. Time management everybody!

5. About being maidless, we have decided to enrol Ashraff in a full day programme. Since Ashraff's current school does not have full-day programme, we decided to switch to a new kindy next year. This time it's an Islamic English medium kindy and hope it is for Ashraff's own good. As at now, Ashraff is staying with Tok Mak and Tok Abah after school.

6. As for Aliff, we are sending him to a daycare centre starting next month. This is my biggest dilemma. To be able to have a strong heart to see his sad face everytime we send him off to the daycarer, especially during the first few days. Or whether he can adapt well to the new environment. Whether the daycarer can cope with Aliff's tantrums and antics. Plus, the day we send him to nursery is also the first day he weans from breastfeeding (plannya) as it is the day after his 2nd birthday! Oh two new changes in one day. My poor baby...

7. About weaning, I still have no idea on how to do it or will my plan to wean him off on his 2nd birthday materializes. Aliff is still very much attached to it. He refused to take formula when he is with me. My biggest worry is during the night feeding. Takutnya nak tempuhi saat-saat itu..oh please make it easy for me and my Aliff...

8. Our new house..renovation just completed. Now we are looking for all the loose fittings - furnitures, lighting, paint, wallpaper, curtains..oh so many things to consider..and so much money involves...Plan : to celebrate New Year at our new house.

9. Our old house...manage to find a buyer. S&P signed and deposit taken. But we haven't move our things as yet. Plan : To do it after Raya.

10. Hubby...currently doing MBA. So basically half of our weekends are gone as he has to attend classes. Not a problem..I support him all the way.

11. The boys are doing great and thriving well. Ashraff is a lot matured now. He can tolerate his brother's antics. In fact, he understands that bibik is not coming home..and ibu is penat so don't make ibu marah. He keeps on reminding Aliff to do this and not to do that. But of course, a 4 yo is still a 4 yo. Bergaduh, melawan cakap, sepahkan barang, masihlah buat.

12. As for Aliff, he is a chatter-box especially after the prolonged fever during Raya holiday (maybe rindukan bibik kot). He can not only construct sentences, but he can ask questions well too. Macamana ni? siapa tu? kenapa? apa? all at the right places.

Apa lagi ye...Oh yeah, due to my demanding activity, my social life is neglected. I miss going to Aidan's party, miss Ariff's party, miss reading all the juicy stories from hot-gucci blogging mama...Thank God we still make it to most of the Raya's open houses. Hmm..what to do...

Anyway, here's a Raya picture from us...

It maybe too late..but what the heck, Selamat Hari Raya from Fitri, Rafiqah, Ashraff and Aliff...

Photos of the boys...

Till my next update (yang tak tahu bila), adios!