Ashraff & Exam..

Ashraff's mid-sem started yesterday. And seriously as a mother I have not done well to monitor and guide him..and am definitely not proud of it.

I could only bank on his intelligence and hope that he doesn't make any silly mistakes like in the past. Thank God Hubby was around the whole week last week so he did manage to teach Ashraff few subjects.

But that isn't the crucial part. The critical part is when Ashraff feel sick last Friday. He started to develop slight fever and liquid stool. And then it stopped for one day. Then on Sunday night, it started again. Although it's not like the normal case of food poisoning where you vomit and have frequent bowel movement, this time it's just one or two movement but it's in liquid form. I bought him to the clinic immediately.

Yesterday, he started to lose appetite. Mak had to bring him to the clinic again to get an MC while I called up the teacher to tell him about Ashraff's condition. The teacher told me he has to take the exam or else it will be forfeited and there is a big possibility that he might drop to a lower ranking class next year. Alamak!

So Mak again (to the rescue) drove him to the school and he took his exam in the school office. He started his first paper like any other students but he can move on to the next paper immediately. So all in all, he completed his exams (3 papers altogether) less than 1 1/2 hour.

I don't know how he perform in such condition but I just hope and pray he will be able to answer all the questions well.

As for now, I am not really worry about the exam but I'm worry about his health condition. He is losing weight and still the condition does not improve after 2 days. You see, after what had happened to arwah Abah, we are phobia when it comes to stomach problem. I hope that nothing serious has happened to Ashraff and it's just a temporary situation. We plan to bring him to see paeditrician once his exam is over and if the condition still persist.

For now, just pray that he is okay..keep on praying...

Handmade Gift for Teacher's Day.

The boys are excited over celebrating Teacher's Day at school. Especially Ashraff who has new set of teachers this year. One week in advance he has started to write notes to the teachers with the message 'I Love You' and put it in an envelope. He told me he wants to give his teachers on Teacher's Day.

Instead of having a plain white paper with brown envelope, I decided to bring him to our favourite stationery shop and bought few coloured paper stocks for him to make a proper handmade cards for his teachers. He decided to give his favourite teachers notebook as gift (ok yang ni tak handmadelah). Out of 9 teachers, he shortlisted to only 4 including his class teachers.

Of course, Aliff jumped in the bandwagon and decided to give his teachers too.

As for me, I intend to experiment with something new and decided to make paper bag from a normal envelope.

So starting Saturday night, the boys are busy making their teachers cards...

And me with the paper bag...voila! I did it!

And here is the finish product...

Inside : A Handmade Card and a notebook.

Inside: A Handmade Card and set of scented candle. I also bought smaller scented candle for the rest of his teachers. He has about 14 teachers altogether.

I guess this is going to be an annual event. And soon there will be Aqieff joining...

Lama-lama sure dah takde idea nak bagi apa.

International Book Fair

Twice in a row we visited PWTC. Last Sunday is for SmartKids expo & today is for the International Book Fair.

Seriously it's been a loooonggg while I visited the Book Fair. I remember Mak used to bring me to the International Book Fair when I was young. That time it was held at Changkat Pavillion.

Anyway, book has been the family's common interest..so we burn quite a hole in our pocket for purchasing books today.


And somebody decided to get 'jiwang' a bit, so I bought myself this Malay novel. I can't remember when was the last time I read Malay novel..I think it's more than 5 years ago from my favourite Malay author, Lamia A1mal entitled 3 Wajah.

After that I always hesitate on buying one..afraid that some fictions have over-the-top lovey-dovey, too sentimental storyline.

But this book seems to attract me and it so happens the author is there to promote the book..


So just put on my reading gear, find time and start reading...

My brand new gadget

I'm not a gadget freak..I don't have a capacity to do it..

So I will only get a new gadget when my old gadget is dysfunctional. And this time it involves my 3-year old phone. The casing broke, the screen got off and most importantly, the system keeps on hang/stuck so at times I could not received sms/calls on time.


So after almost two weeks of browsing the net, reading reviews, asking friends for feedback, I finally got myself a brand new gadget.



Wuhuuu! Eventually, Rafiqah is on smartphone...I hope it is a wise investment.

Currently, still in the godek-godek mood...so many things to explore, it can be overwhelming at time. Yelah, kami budak baru belajar..

Thank you so much Nokia 6220 for your wonderful companion for the past 3 years..I'm gonna miss you...

Oh by the way, Mak also got herself a new handphone today, after more than 5 years. Nokia X3 with touch-and-type function.

Canggih mak aku!

How do you shop for a Girl?

My dream, even before I got married, is to have a daughter. Primarily is of course because of the lovely girlish, pinkish, princess-like clothing. And then I have this visionary of accompanying them for a manicure, pedicure, spa and go into the you-comb-my-hair-i-comb-your-hair routine.

The thing is I grew up mostly with girls. Out of my 33 cousins, only 7 of them are boys and they are all way younger than I do. And I went to an all-girls school. So the thought of having a boy of my own, never seems to interest me.

But after having 3 wonderful boys, I lost touch of the 'girl world'. I learn to be tough and more aggresive, just to acclimatize with their world so that I do not feel left out.

I hardly look at the girls session everytime I shop. It's always t-shirts and pants with bright colors - red, yellow, blue, green and design with cars, balls, Ben10, Ultraman, Spiderman, Batman (and macam2 Man lagi).

Now when we know that it's going to be a girl this time around, we know that we have to start shopping before I get even heavier.

Okay, one thing, I still couldn't get over the fact that it's a girl. It's beyond my imagination. I need the gynae to tell me the gender everytime I went for a check-up..and I think I need to have at least two more ultrasound sessions before I'm betul-betul convinced (kes teruk ni). Only then, I'll really shop for one. And trust me, by that time I will be very heavy.

There was this one time when it so happened me and Hubby past by M0thercare. I told him let's see what we can buy for our girl (if it's really a girl).

So, after 7 years of ignoring completely that session, for the first time I actually touched and belek-belek a girl's dress...and I went completely blank!

"Kenapa tak menarik pun?"

As opposed to the bright colours for boys, girls wear pastel colours - pink, lilac, aqua, soft yellow..

"Malapnya!"

"And femininenya...ada butterfly, ada flower..pastu gambar princess and fairy...

"Lepas tu ada leggingslah, skirtlah, dresslah..ishk tak pandai nak pilihlah!"

Hubby laughed hearing my comment.

At last, we ended up buying the boys' clothes.

Seriously, what happened to me after 7 years of buying boys' stuffs?

If I'm convinced enough that it is going to be a girl, I better learn to shop for one...and I think I need a companion who can show me how to shop for a girl coz now I'm totally clueless!

The Boys and Life

It's been a very long while since I update on the boys..So beware, it is a long entry...

The Matured and Serious Ashraff

Do you know that Ashraff is currently wearing glasses? Yes! He does...since November last year. His eyesight is deteriorating and we noticed it since he always read very closely to the book. And when his kindergarten teacher told us that he always walked in front of the class to take a look at the whiteboard, complaining that he could not see at the back, we had to bring him to see an eye specialist. And goodness me, he currently has the power of 200 for each eye. That's a lot for a start! And this is not my proudest moment.

I guess this runs in my gene as I started wearing glasses when I was in Standard One. Just like me, Ashraff has to wear specs because he read books with no proper lighting, which is very bad for the eyesight. Not because of using PC as he seldom does that. Anyway, is there a way to improve his eyesight especially at this tender age?

Oh yes, my boy is currently in Standard One for the past 4 months. It was rough start especially in the first few weeks as he had trouble finding his way to the right van to take him home...and then there is money issue - duit hilang, duit orang ambik, wallet tertinggal etc. There is also this classic situation where he left the entire school bag at school, and since he is in the afternoon session, so Ayah has to search for his bag at school during the night.

But now he is coping well, alhamdulillah. We have trained him to pack his own schoolbag so that he could and would not blame us if we left certain things or books. We also tell him to listen carefully to the teachers' instructions as this is no longer kindergarten where there is some form of written communication between teachers and parents.

Ashraff is no longer the tak-buat-homework-pun-takpe boy like he used to during his kindergarten days. Nowadays, he is very concern that he finishes all his homework as given. 'Takut cikgu marah', katanya. I hope he'll stay this way forever.

And why I said he is serious? Because indeed he is. He cannot take joke lightly. I always tell him to chill, but I guess he is the studious one in the family..and being a big brother, he matures fast as he knows he is the role model to his siblings. And now that Ayah is in Johor during weekdays, he has to take up the role of the man of the house. If Ibu tak sempat monitor kerja rumah Aliff, then Ashraff will be the one who do it. He will teach Aliff and make sure Aliff finishes his homework.

Now I'm training him to pray, at least Maghrib and Isya'. I told him that he is 7 years old now so if he doesn't do it that I will have to hit him with a cane/hanger. But so far, he is very cooperative in performing his solat. He has basic knowledge of it since he was in Islamic kindy for two years, except that after a while leaving kindy he tends to forget how to do it. We just need to remind and encourage him to do it..and hopefully if I can do it religiously enough, he can perform solat independently.

The Cheeky and Talkative Aliff

Aliff is going to be 5 this November. Still a chatter-box and I think he has the most word count in a day. He knows his ABC, 123 and Aliff, Ba, Ta well..and now he has started to spell and read simple words. He is still weak in spoken English. And I guess part of it is contributed by us. We seldom practice talking English with him.

Being a 2nd child, he has the 2nd child syndrome with him. He loves to bother his brother, both older and younger brother. Rasanya KPI (key performance indicator) dia ialah "dalam satu hari kena buat at least one of them cry". Seriously, that irritates the brother..and me.

He is not the type that you can slow talk to or negotiable. He just would not listen. Frankly speaking, he is the hardest to manage for the time being.

But he is also the one who knows how to melt your heart with his smiles, action and soothing words. Unlike Ashraff who is more individualistic, Aliff is more sensitive to how I feel. He knows when I'm feeling down. In fact, he is the only one who always come to me and massage my feet, back and shoulder and talk to the baby inside my tummy.

He is also the joker of the family. He doesn't realize that sometimes the words that came out from his mouth are funny enough to make us laugh.

Aliff is so into 'susu kalsium'..a name he called for fresh milk. He no longer an eater like he used. Pretty hard to make him eat, so I'm now resorting to giving him multivits with lysine to increase his appetite. He hates it so much because of the sweet taste - both the tablet and liquid form.

The Sweet Aqieff

Aqieff is going to be 2 in July, right after his sister/brother is born. Among the 3, I have to say that he has the slowest development in terms of speech, which worries me. Most people say it is just slow development, but I'm worried if it is more serious than that.

We went to see peaditrician last week and we were told that by this age, he has to know at least 10 words. I don't think he is anywhere near that. Yes, he understands instruction well and babbles a lot, trying hard to communicate with us, but no proper word comes out from his mouth. I'll wait until he is 2 years old and if things remain the same, I shall bring him to the speech therapist. Maybe, just maybe, it is slow development after all.

And lately he falls sick a lot. Almost every month he is on antibiotics. He is just like Ashraff at this age. I guess not breastfeeding them for long contributes to that, as Aliff isn't anywhere near that, so far. And just like Ashraff, he is also a choosy eater. Even at this age, he is still on cereal. We tried giving him porridge, but he will just throw up. But these few days he has started to show some improvement by wanting to eat rice. We gave him bit by bit as he still needs to learn how to chew and swallow. I think he will skip porridge completely and straight to eating rice.

He is also the easiest to manage so far, right from the day he was born. If not because of his illness which caused him to become cranky, Aqieff will usually play on his own or watch and interact with TV. Other than that, he will play with his brothers. He loves to dance to the music and I must say, he's good at it.

Despite the easy-going him, he still rise to the occassion everytime his brothers turns aggressive. He knows how to protect himself by turning himself into an equally aggressive little boy. He is catching up real fast with Aliff's height. If Aliff doesn't speed up, Aqieff might turn out to be taller than he is.

He is still my sweet lil Aqieff who loves to smile...

The boys common interest

1. Books

We don't have much toys in the house. But when it comes to books, it's a different ball game together. We have tonnes of them. We have a wall-to-wall bookcase, which placed all our books. Hubby of course with his CPA and MBA books. And me with my novels, arts and crafts books...and the boys, well, their books take the whole section...

I bought the set of Time Publishing Encyclopedia when Ashraff was about 3 years old. Paid by installment for 2 years, and only now, I can see it put to full use. The two boys love it.

Not only on the shelves, but on their study table as well...

Specifically, Ashraff loves to read books about animals...encyclopedia that is. He knows detailed facts about animals..like how many types of snakes, which is venomous and which isn't, and which snake can be found where. And there are five classes of animals - mammals, reptiles, amphibians, bird and fish...and what makes each classes different. What is vetebrata and what is inverbrata...the difference between herbivor, amnivor and carnivor. Wow! He is like a our in-house zoologist.

Aliff, on the other hand, loves robotics stuffs...machines, aircrafts etc. He told us he wants to be a pilot when he grows up. We told him to study hard and take care of his eyesight, don't fall into Ashraff's trap.

Above is the kind of book Aliff loves, other than the normal colouring and sticker book.

Aqieff has started to follow suit. He not only look at the picture, but he also pointed at the words, and sounds as though he is trying to read. Bunyi macam mengeja pun ada. Funny. Of course, he is on board books, hasil peninggalan abang-abangnya. Most of them are still in good condition.

2. Drawing and scribbling

The boys adore drawing according to their interest. Ashraff will go for animals..and sometimes cartoon characters. He can even make out simple quiz for us or Aliff to answer.

Apart from that, he can write stories based on the illustration made.

There's this one time, he made a complete book with illustration and storyline.

Aliff is into robots and building. He is improving really fast in drawing.

Aqieff, emmm...just scribble. But at this age, he already knows how to hold pencil properly, just like his brothers.

3. Balik Kampung Trip

The boys are always looking forward to a getaway at kampung. The things is we hardly could fulfill their request because Ayah has classes during weekends and even on long holidays. But now that Ayah has completed his MBA, we intend to go back to Pontian as often as we can. Plus, I look forward to the trip too.

The boys like to main batu every morning...evening...


Fuhh! Finally...I've managed to complete this entry..after taking about 4 days drafting and editing. Now it's time to publish...tadaa!

Tooth Fairy datang rumah?

12 April 2011 is another milestone for Ashraff.

Buat pertama kalinya, gigi susu dia tercabut! Ayah dengan cekal hatinya telah menjadi dentist lalu mengikat dan menarik gigi yang goyang itu dengan benang. Ibu telah menutup matanya kerana berasa sangat gerun. Yikes!


But it's pretty stubborn to fall, so the permanent teeth has started to grow..dengan buruk..alignment lari!


Seriously kena simpan duit for orthodontic treatment.

And today another teeth fall out on its own. Bangun2 tidur je, gigi dah ada dalam mulut. Nasib baik tak tertelan.

Life as a 'Single Parent'

It's been one week since Hubby is off to Johor for work. I survived the first one week...yeay!
But it's not as smooth sailing, which is what I expected. It is a tough life..

Basically, this is my daily weekdays schedule as a single weekday parent:-

• Wake up at about 5.30-6.00 am., prepare breakfast for Aliff. Just a simple breakfast - nugget or sausage or sandwich..depends on what he wants and usually he tells me one day before.
• Subuh prayer. Gosok tudung (I prefer to do this myself instead of asking the maid to do it).
  
• Prepare Aliff's school bag (if it was not done during the night) and Aliff's uniform + underwear + socks on the bed.
  
• Ensure that the maid woke up Aliff at 6.30 to prepare him for school. Ok, this is the most tedious task in the morning. Crying, wailing, nak-tidur-lagi and tak-nak-sekolah from Aliff.
• Make Aliff eat his breakfast and drink his milk.
  
• 6.50 am - woke Ashraff up, ensure that he brushes his teeth and make up his bed (lipat selimut, susun bantal, tegangkan cadar). Ashraff is a morning person so he has no problem in that area, alhamdulillah.
• 7.00 am - angkat Aqieff from his bed and leave the house for Mak's. Mak shall send Aliff to school as it is a bit too early for me to send him directly.
  
• Park our Innova at Mak's house..and borrow Mak's Honda to work. Sorry, I'm still not confident to drive an MPV to work. 7.10 am - leave for work. I have to leave early to ensure that I have the perfect parking spot. You see, I don't have a dedicated parking space at my office as I never drive to work before.
  
• 8.00 am - reached office.
  
• 9.00 am to 6.00 pm - work, work and work.
• 6.30 pm - reached Mak's house. Sometimes I'll fetch Aliff at school but most of the times, Mak did it for me.
• 6.30 - 7.00 pm - take a lil bit of rest. Lie down, put my feet on pillow.
• 7.00 pm - Ashraff is back from school. Ensure that he takes a bath, while I have my Maghrib prayer. Ensure that Ashraff performs his Maghrib prayer. For the time being, I'll monitor and guide him.
• 8.00 pm - we had our dinner - me, Mak and the boys.
• 8.30 - 9.00 pm - reached our home.
• 9.00 pm - ensure that Ashraff does his homework and do a little bit of revision. Aliff usually will join his brother - either learning to read, writing or drawing...or join Aqieff to watch TV. I'll ask the maid to look after Aqieff while I change to my nightwear and perform Isya' prayer.
• Ashraff will pack his own bag based on his daily timetable. And I'll check to make sure his homework is done and the bag are packed accordingly. At times I just trust him as by then Aqieff is crying for me to put him to sleep. But Ashraff insists on Isya' prayer before he goes to sleep. So I'll carry and try to soothe Aqieff, while guiding Ashraff with his prayer.
  
• 10.00 pm - the boys are ready for bed. Kiss them goodnight...and put Aqieff to bed. ZZzzz...

Well, now that I put it in writing, it doesn't look tough as it sounds. But of course, in the middle of it all, there comes the time when the boys fight, cry, refused to listen to instruction etc, which in my condition, could drive me up the wall! And there are also time which I have to drive Ashraff to stationery store as he needs to buy some material for his Seni subject.

Plus, Aqieff has not been well. He has a runny nose, cough and fever. Now he is still on antibiotics. And because he does not feel well, his sleep is disrupted. He will wake up few times at night crying and I had to soothe him. So, I haven't got much rest even during the night. There are two nights which I have to leave Aqieff to sleep with Mak's maid because I badly need a rest. Do I feel guilty? Yes! Yes! Yes! I never leave him (or any of my children) to sleep with maid, except at one time when I was admitted to the hospital. But I have to accept certain things in a positive way...just to keep my sanity.

And I was still lucky as compared to many parent who are of the same situation as I am. One, because I have my mother with me. She helps me a lot, especially in terms of meal. At least, as I came back from the office, dinner is ready to be served. Two, Ashraff is kind, helpful and mature enough to alleviate my burden.

Hubby does his fair share of responsibility, remotely. He ordered our groceries need online so at about 8pm at night, the things shall arrive at Mak's house. "Takyah lah you pergi G1ant," katanya.

And for maid, well, I still need to send her home middle of this month. And so far, fat chance of getting a replacement in time. So I intend to move to Mak's house once the maid is no longer around. I don't quite prefer this notion as there is proper facility for the boys like study table or their own room. They have to sleep at Mak's room, and usually they'll wait for Mak to put them to sleep. Mak pulak has her own schedule, some late night TV series that she loves to watch. So, the boys will usually sleep late at night and ended up waking up late...Aliff will normally go to school at 8.30 or 9.00. Seriously, I don't quite like the arrangement. But I have not much choice, do I? I don't think I have the energy to handle all three + my big tummy alone especially during the morning rush.

For now, all I can hope and pray is for Allah to give me good health and energy so I can handle the situation well. Have to admit, they are few times that I almost breakdown and cry as my body could not take it anymore...my feet are aching as I'm on my foot most of the times and my back is killing me. I'm not strong...but I'm trying to be one. I just hope that my kids..and Hubby appreciate my effort so far.

Praying hard for things to get better...

Too many things on my plate!!

Ok, I'm getting heavier...that's nothing new here..

But on top of that there are some additions to my almost full plate..

1) Maid

Yup, we just got ourself a new maid. She came 4 days ago from Bandung with the help of my friend who deals directly from her Indonesian acquantaince. This particular maid is supposedly to become my friend's maid but due to urgency she has taken other maid, so this maid is given to me instead.

We took her from my friend's house last Sunday...and exactly the next morning while I was busy preparing breakfast for Aliff, she came to me and told me that she has medical problem i.e. Hepatitis B. What?!! How does that happened? I was told by my friend that her medical record from the check-up done in Indonesia is clear. So where does this medical problem comes from?

As soon as I arrived at the office, I rang my friend to tell her the news. She was shocked as she was told by the agent in Indonesian that the medical record is clear prior to proceed with making her passport. And this maid also told my friend that she has no medical problem. So siapa yang tipu siapa ni? Agen Indonesia yang tipu? Atau maid ni yang tipu sebab dia nak balik?

You see, my friend told me that as soon as this maid arrived in Malaysia, she seems to have second thought about working in Malaysia..so she called up her husband, and her husband told her to return. Senang je cakap.

So, at first we thought that this Hepatitis thingy is a made-up story for us to return her to her country. But we were wrong. Yesterday, my friend received the medical report via fax from the agent and from the record shows that indeed she has a minor Hepatitis B. So, from what I deduce here, the agent has cheated on us as according to the verbal agreement, passport is only to be done should the medical record is clear. Now, things do not turn out this way.

And the maid did not know that she has to do a second medical check-up in Malaysia in order for us to 'legalize' her stay here. So when my friend asked her before, she said that she is okay.

Now that things turn out this way, the maid is begging for me to send her home as she feels uncomfortable staying. But my friend told her to stay (her tourist visa lasted for one month) until the agent finds her replacement.

The maid feels so stressed out with the whole scenario until she burns a hole in my maternity blouse while ironing. I take it as she did it unintentionally (lebih baik berfikir baik) but that does not stop me from being annoyed and mad at her. Dia fikir dia je stress, how about me? Duit dah keluar, maid tak dapat...gee...

We'll see how things go today. But for the time being, we hope and pray we could get a replacement maid as soon as possible without burning further hole in our already burned pocket.

2) Relocation

In the midst of maid's problem, Hubby just got a letter this afternoon from his management for his relocation to Johor. This is not something new to us as we are already expecting this since end of last year. But now that reality strikes, I feel so emotionally unprepared. Wow...to think of not having Hubby around to assist me with the kids are something a bit too unbearable. I know there are a lot of wives and mothers out there who are of the same position as I am going to be, but they may be super-wife and mother but I am not.

Yes, I have a mother who lives nearby...and maybe a helpful live-in maid one day. But the responsibility of raising the children still lies with us...so not having him around to help, is a tough scenario for me.

And to top it all off, the letter stated that there will be no salary adjustment for him i.e. he is promoted to a higher position with the same salary earned. What?!! I really don't believe this! Our cost of living will increase substantially...with rental and 2 cars to maintain (one in KL and one in JB), cost of him going back and forth every weekend...and yet no salary increment?! You got to be kidding!

All this while, I thought having to make emotional (and perhaps physical) sacrifices without him around is substantiate with at least a better financial position (although that is nothing compared to his presence in the house)...but now with this news? Our lives seems to be deteriorating in two ways - emotionally and financially!

Seriously now I could not think straight. There are two many things on my plate...belum selesai masalah maid and now this...

I feel like bursting out...

Please oh please make this easier for me...

Something that I have in common with Victoria Beckham...

...is definitely not her net worth!

But having three boys to raise...and a baby girl coming along the way!

Alhamdulillah, after having 3D/4D scan last Saturday, it is somewhat confirmed that we are expecting a baby girl as our fourth child...

How do I feel about it?

Let me quote Mrs Beckham "We are still in shock. After having 3 boys, you sort of expecting another one, so finding out there is a little girl in there is suprising..."

Yes, that's exactly how I feel...nervous, shocked, unbelievable!

The most excited one in the family is Abang Ashraff.

He told me that I can now start shop for pink...and light purple. Yup, he associates those two colours with girls. And this baby sister will enjoy playing Barbie..and dress up like a princess. He also told me that he will have a sister who shall be schooling at CBN (C0nv@nt Bkt Nanas), just next door to his school.

Yup, he is very excited.

And am I as excited as him?

Emmm...biasa je. Still in shock.

After all, it's better for me to feel this way rather than feeling over the moon, as nothing can beat the power of Al-Mighty. He has the power to change everything, even at the very last minute.

As for now, we only hope that the baby is born safe, healthy and perfect, just like my past three deliveries.

Please pray for my safe delivery which shall take place this summer...i mean, June, insyaAllah.

"Kalau betullah dapat baby girl, she is such a lucky girl to be bless with three brothers to protect and love her dearly, insyaAllah..."

What an eventful day!

Oh well...it's 2011 and this is my first entry for the year...and it's already March.

Wow...so many things that I've blogged in my mind but never got the chance to write it down.
Our Perth trip in November 2010, Ashraff's first day in Standard One, my pregnancy so far, Aliff and Aqieff's development...

But today, I really need to pen this down...it's about what happened yesterday.

Hubby is outstation for one week. Since Hubby is not around, I had to drive to work...with the almost 20 years old kereta merah kepunyaan Mak. The car, looking at its age, has lost its alarm function, so we had to manually lock the car, and you have to do while you are inside the car with the driver's door open, come out from the car and close the door. Pretty tricky.

So basically you can guess what had happened.

Yeah, yeah..of all the day, I left the car key inside the car while the doors are all locked. It was raining heavily so with my hands full of things - umbrella, paper bag lagi, I completely forgotten to take the key from the car while I locked. I got to find out..bila lagi, masa nak baliklah. Berpeluh-peluh cari kunci rupanya ada dlm kereta. Gee!

I immediately called Mak to check whether there is any spare key at home, and thank God she said yes. So, I decided to take LRT and taxi back home, took the spare key, asked Mak to drive me back to LRT for me to take the car home. But alhamdulillah, on my way to LRT, a colleague of mine passed by and gave me a lift. The first comment I got when I reached home is "Dah macam Ashraff pulak, tertinggal-tinggal benda...". Hahaha...mana lagi tumpahnya kuah kalau bukan ke nasi...

After dinner, me and Mak (accompanied by Aliff) went to Melawati to re-print Ashraff's passport photo as the school requested for it (apparently the one we gave them during registration got lost in the midst of 1001 documents).

Then Mak was kind enough to drive me to the office despite her not being well.

At almost 10.00 I reached home safely. Problem settled. Now, it's time to check on Ashraff's homework, and to pack the boys things for school tomorrow, settle them for bed so that I could get my rest. The boys are left upstairs to watch TV.

Things are not settled there.

Suddenly I heard Ashraff shrieking from upstairs "Ibu! Tolong! Aqieff terkunci dalam bilik Tokmak!" and Ashraff started crying "Aqieff! Aqieff!"

The first thing that came to my mind is "Gosh! The keys are all in Mak's room! Pleaselah ada satu set lagi kat luar.."

I ran upstairs but Mak reached there first (yelah, agak payah mak buyung nak lari).

Mak pulak menjerit "Ya Allah! Aqieff selak pintu...Pujuk dia utk cuba bukak selak while Mak think of a way..".

By that time, Aqieff has started to cry...so Abang Ashraff nangis kat luar, Aqieff nangis kat dalam...

I tried to console him and tried to ask that 1 1/2 year old lad to release the latch, but it is all in vain. Aqieff's cry was getting louder..and panic strikes me. Apa lagi, I tried to kick the door...imagine mak buyung kicking the door..buruknya! That only lasts for few kicks because I know that's not the way to solve the problem.

By then, I've started crying while trying to console Aqieff. Tetiba dengar bunyi macam Aqieff terjatuh. So, I kneeled down and said to him between my sob "Aqieff jatuh ye? Bangun Qieff..bangun!". My cry is getting louder...and so did his..

Since Hubby is not around there's no man in the house, so we had to call Syafiq (sedara) for help. We waited anxiously for him...and that seems to be the longest time in my life...

I tried to selitkan kertas bawah pintu..and I could feel Aqieff pulled the paper. I feel connected to him...and the only thing that seperates me with Aqieff at that time is the thick wooden door...Only God knows how much I want to hug and kiss him.

After 1/2 hour, Syafiq arrived. He climbed the stairs to reach for Mak's bedroom window. I didn't see him in action as I was at the door trying my best to be with Aqieff. But all I could hear that there is a loud sound, mcm org bertukang..and the next thing you know, the door is opened...and I could see Aqieff terduduk atas lantai.

I grabbed him, hugged and kissed him as much as I can.

He was wet with sweat and tears after 45 mins being locked in the room...and also blood. Yes, blood! It was all over his t-shirt, hand and face. My God! I think he must have fell down and cut his lips as it is swollen. To my suprise, the wall next to the door is also painted with his blood. Horrific sight for me!

All in all, it was a tiring day for me and the rest of the family. Both of his Abangs are very quiet after the event as they are both guilty for entering Tok Mak's room without permission and left Aqieff there alone.

We learn our lessons...the latch which is within the reach of a toodler, has to be removed. Yep, after 7 years of having kids in Mak's house, we don't think the situation will happen...but it does happened...and Aqiefflah mangsanya.

At about 12 am, the boys are finally put to sleep and I got to settle myself in bed and inform Hubby about the whole day event. Yes, it is an eventful day for me!

Hope today and the rest of the week are brighter and smoother...sebab kalau hari2 ni macam semalam boleh sakit jantung, sakit badan, mcm2 sakit dibuatnya.

What's in store for 2011?

Hello! I'm backkkk....home sweet home....

Oh yes, I should have make an entry about our Perth trip but instead I intend to complete and publish this entry first. I have been drafting this entry for the last two weeks but still haven't got time to complete it.

Shall talk about Perth in the next entry...

2011...still another two months to go...but for me here, I could feel the heat already. There's so many things in store for that year which makes me shiver everytime I think of it. Let me see what we got in store...basically there are 3 major events that will take place...

1. To begin with, Ashraff shall enter Standard One next year. That alone is a major shift for us and to Ashraff especially. To Ashraff, he will have to face bigger school, bigger school kids, new toilet, new teacher, handling of his own money, a more hectic timetable, lots of homework, heavier subjects etc.

And to us having to deal with the above could cause a lot of headaches. We have to be stricter serious parents when it comes to making sure that he finishes his homework on time. This means we have to do a lot more monitoring. With another two smaller kids in tow plus no helper, that can be a great hurdle for us..I hope we can managed..and I hope Ashraff can makes things easier for us..

2. Hubby..is seconded to Pasir Gudang for two years...starting this December. He shall be going to Johor to train two new executives. Together this with this secondment is a promotion. The Board has approved for this secondment and Hubby is only waiting for the official letter of appointment. So basically it hasn't 100% confirmed as yet...but big probability is there.

Me, I have no choice but to support him. He is looking forward for a promotion so this is one good opportunity for him. Plus the money is good - increase in salary and allowances. But deep down, I dont like the idea of long distance relationship. I've heard of too many marital problems arise when husband and wife live far apart. My initial plan is to take a 2-year unpaid leave and follow Hubby to Johor. But then, not having any support system in the form of Mak Ampang or a maid could cost me a lot of trouble. Hubby will be working and I will be taking care of the kids alone for at least 10 hours in a day. That could drive me insane! I can never be a typical housewife...I'm not up to the challenge.

So the next best thing is to stay in KL. Hubby will be going back every weekend for his MBA classes. Well, at least for the 1st 6 months of 2011, I'll see him during weekends. After that, it's all up to him.

In this case, let me correct my last sentence in item (1) above. With 2 small kids in tow, no helper, and no Hubby to help, it's a major hurdle for me...I don't know whether I can handle it. And that brings me to no 3...

3. I'm 8 weeks pregnant. I'm due somewhere in June next year. It was totally unplanned. Well, at least not this fast. Dah rezeki...so I accept it with an open heart. So I'm expecting another 20 kilos extra weight next year...just like my other pregnancies.

This time around, the first trimester wasn't as bad as with Aliff or Aqieff. I have minor nausea...threw up few times but other than that, I'm fine.

I have bring up the notion to get a maid. I really think handling 4 kids aged 7 years old and below is something that I could not manage alone.

I don't know..there's too many things to absorb at one go. Seriously, if you asked me, I'm scared to face the incoming days...I just pray hard that Allah will make our life much easier...

Oh yeah, basically the reason why I intend to post this entry first before the holiday entry is because I don't want people to see me in my holiday photos and wondering "gemuknya Rafiqah..."...

Meeska, Mooska, It's Aliff's Birthday!

Yesterday was Aliff's 4th Birthday!

Dah besar dah budak breastfeed Ibu...

We had a very small do with only the cake and no other guest except for the usual members of the house...and Mak Pontian. Mak Pontian is here, all ready for the holiday trip.

Since Aqieff's birthday in July, Aliff has been asking for his birthday celebration with Mickey Mouse as its theme. The thing about Aliff's birthday is that there is a 2 months gap between his and the rest of the family members (mine-June, Aqieff-July, Ashraff-August, Ayah-September), so his is almost.forgotten...or should I say, the birthday spirit is gone (that's why the plan is to have one in October to bridge the gap).

Aliff wanted to have his birthday at school just like Abang Ashraff, but I somesort of disagree with his request. For me, the birthday celebration at school should be when he is 6 years old since that is his last year at kindy.

So, with birthday spirit gone and Ibu isn't in the mood to make goodie bags, all we did yesterday was cake-cutting of the 1kg Mickey Mouse's cake at Mak's house. Me and Hubby are still wearing our office attire...and Aliff is wearing his day care attire.

"Mana baju birthday Aliff?," asked Mak Pontian

"Aliff nak pakai baju birthday kat Perth nanti...nak potong cake pun kat Perth," replied Aliff dengan muka selambanya...

I'm like what?! Another cake in Perth ke?!

But kids being kids, despite the small do, Aliff was in jovial good mood yesterday..and so does the other two boys.

HAPPY 4TH BIRTHDAY, DEAR ALIFF!

We all love you dearly.

Countdown to Perth...

We're almost there...4 days to go...

Alhamdulillah, the kids are back in their pink of health. Hubby is currently on his semester break, 3 weeks of holiday for him. So, we are all basically prepared for the trip...except maybe some warm clothing for Ashraff, which we are going to shop by this evening. Yesterday, we've bought a new stroller for Aqieff. It was a good buy, but then again, it's not into our initial budget. Our old stroller..hmm..time2 nak pergi ni pulak buat hal...

Ashraff has been counting days since last month. He is the most excited one in the family when it comes to this holiday trip.

Me...I'm wishing for a good health. Hasn't been well for the past two weeks...and it's getting worse...

Unlike for the Sydney trip, where the 'holiday folder' was prepared by me, this time around, I just leave most of the planning and organizing part to him. You see, to us who travels with small kids, a 'holiday folder' is important so that the trip is planned well.

But Hubby's holiday folder is excellent! He took the extra mile to come out with a neat and exciting folder. Check it out!

The Cover (for your fierce eyes only...hehe..)

Inside...

The 4 days itinerary

General Info - weather, prayer time, halal butchers and restaurants

Apartment booking confirmation

Car rental booking confirmation

Bus timetable

City Map

General info - on places to visit

Ashraff's reading material - sea animals to be found in Aquaria (or whatever they called it in Perth).

Now that I look at it, where's the air flight confirmation?! Itu yang utmost important!

Ok now, I'm excited to go.

Cuma tulah, the anxiety part is still there, which like most airplane trip, I'm afraid of Aqieff's behaviour in the flight. The last trip we had to Kuching in April, he was crying non-stop during the touch down. Berpeluh jugak masa tu. Now that he can walk, I hope he can tolerate being stuck in a confined space for about 5 hours. Praying hard that everything went well...