The toddler years

If I had my Child to Raise over again...

"If I had my child to raise over again,
I'd fingerpaint more and point the finger less.
I'd do less correcting and more connecting.
I'd take my eyes off my watch, and watch with my eyes.
I would care to know less and know to care more.
I'd take more hikes and fly more kites.
I'd stop playing serious, and seriously play.
I;d run through more fields and gaze at more stars.
I'd do more hugging and less tugging.
I would be firm less often, and affirm much more.
I'd build self-esteem first, and the house later.
I'd teach less about the love of power, and more about the power of LOVE."
- Diane Loomans

I am thankful that my doter is still a toddler. Not a breezy period at all, I must say. But still it has its fun part and I am still learning and striving to be a better guide to her.

This is the period whereby your child is still dependent on you. A little more years down the road, it will definitely be lesser and lesser. I wouldn't want, for the whole world, to miss being a large part in her life. I want to be there in every little achievements she gained, I want to be there witnessing every development she made, and what better years of grasping a wide range of milestones than from birth till their toddler years. From babbling to talking, from crawling to walking and much much more!

And for that, I am ever so THANKFUL for being a stay-at-home-mum.*alhamdulillah*

"It will be gone before you know it. The fingerprints on the wall appear higher and higher. Then suddenly they disappear." - Dorothy Evslin

Parents' nightmare: Tantrums!

Sample pic

Imagine this.

Your toddler wants to have something that YOU do not think he/she should at that time or ever. You had already said NO a dozen times or so. Threatened to leave but never really did. Then he/she started to throw their body on the floor and screamed at the top of their lungs! You couldn't even pick them up as they are kicking and struggling. All the time, people around you are looking and judging. The shopowner/salesmen are getting agitated as you are scaring customers away.

What would you do? So far I only see 2 options:

1. Relent and give in to the child so that he would stop his tantrums, and stop the people around you from staring and giving you the 'what-kind-of-parent-are-you look'.

2. Stay firm on your foot and just let him finish his tantrums. Just let others think what they want, its your child and its your way of disciplining them.

For me I would go for the latter. Why? Just simply because I do not want them to think that they could get away with anything just by throwing their body around. And I simply do not care of what others might think of my approach, as those who're judging either do not have a child or they are the lucky ones who get the well-behaved children at all time.

I believe that tantrums and toddlers are inseparable. It shows their determination and I do not think that's bad. Its just that they are still clueless on how to behave and be patient, so that is our responsibility as parents to guide them. Not to confuse them further, by taking the wrong simpler decision -in my opinion- to just give in.

Of course sometimes when I see other children throwing tantrums I wld silently say that "Alhamdulillah that's not my child" heh, but SURELY I know that some other day that wld be my doter and I just have to face it too, just like yesterday. I think that was the worst tantrums ever being thrown by Amira. She was really determined to have that thing, screamed, kicked, struggled, for about 15 mins I think, and finally cried to sleep. When awoke, she was still talking about having that thing. So Abah, you think we should get one for her?

She wanted this BADLY!

Fasting during pregnancy

1/3 of Ramadhan had left us. How time flies.

Alhamdulillah, managed to cover all the days and I have one more week to go! *excited+NERVOUS*

39th week baby is getting ready to pop!

I believe that as Allah had ordained us this responsibility, then He will be the ONE who will give us the strength to carry it out. I also believe that it is safe for some to carry on fasting as Allah did not exactly rule out pregnant mothers from fasting, except that leniency is given for us not to fast if our health does not permit it.

Just be sure to always tune in to your body as you yourself must be aware whether or not you are fit or otherwise.

Just to share some tips and info for soon-to-be mummies during Ramadhan:

- Do not skip your Sahur. Drink plenty of fluids. Hydrate yourself as most likely the reason you are  feeling unwell is because of dehydration.
-Keep cool during fasting. Do not frequent hot and crowded places. It will dehydrate you faster and even put you off your mood.
-If possible, get more rest. To conserve energy and fluids.
-Do not attempt to continue fasting if you feel really unwell, such as dizziness or lightheadedness. Those are indications that your brains are not getting blood flow and oxygen as well as your baby's.
-Also do not continue if you are having uterine contractions (a balling up or tightening feeling, or the feeling menstrual cramps) as it might lead to preterm contractions and preterm labour.

No two pregnant ladies are the same, so do not be discouraged if you feel that you are unable to fast. Allah is Most Compassionate.

I am also thankful that I came across a fantastic health supplement - just tried their sample pack for the past 3 days. I only had a handful of cornflakes, a cup of milo + the supplement for my sahur and hamdanlillah it lasted me well throughout the day.

Blogs..

I love stalking good blogs. 

A lot of things were benefited from some of the blogs I encountered, and inspired me to do such insyaAllah.

♥ Homeschooling

♥ Early education

♥ Cloth diapering

♥ Eliminating communication

♥ Blog Tweaking

♥ Great cooking, reading..

etc..etc..

♥ Not to mention, the opportunity of making new friends especially those sharing the same passion. 

So, thank you for sharing ♥ 

Yeay for Sleepy Kittens Storybook!

Remember Despicable Me?

Pic taken from Wiki

We managed to catch it with Amira, cant remember when though. Not too keen in 3Ds however. Coz its such a hassle to put on the glasses! The lugs are simply too long to put in my scarf and its not helping that I do not have a 'nose', so most of the time I had to hold it *leceh!*. Plus its not worth -yet- to get Amira one -we never get a ticket for her, stingy parent hehe- so she had to see a blurred picture instead *sorry dear!*

The movie was not bad, simple story line with lots of humour here and there. But what I liked most was the bedtime book 'Gru', the lead character, read to the girls. I remembered mentioning to Abah that it would be great if I can get my hands on that book! It looks so adorable and fun, with the little kittens finger-puppets!

Actually I did find it on amazon costing USD7.99 without shipping. But estimated shipping period is maximum a month for the least shipping cost which is USD4.99. Such a long wait!

So put it off for quite some time now, and alhamdulillah guess what! Chanced upon a mummy spreeing for this particular book at S$16.90! Books will arrive around 2 weeks from now. So yes! I have placed an order for it! Cant wait to receive it and read it together with my lil princess who is simply smitten with cats...

moment with newborn baby contest

A contest giveaway by fellow blogger. To join just click the banner below.

: : My first newborn : :

Nama : Amira Balqis Bte Mohammad Razman

Tarikh Lahir : 22/04/2008

Berat Semasa Lahir : 3.78kg

Umur Ketika Gambar Diambil: Minutes after delivery

Nama Ibu : Siti Khadijah Bte Asgar aka MamaBalqis

Email: mamabalqisjournal@gmail.com

Cerita disebalik gambar : Masih lagi kebiruan. Inilah pandangan pertama di antara kami yang dapat dirakamkan oleh Abah. Hanya Allah sahaja yang tahu bagaimana perasaan keibuanku semasa menatap matanya. Simply LOVE at first sight!

My BFFs

Had a superb time break fasting with my lovely BFFs yesterday! I forgot to bring my cable so unable to upload pics for now. Kak Su, Sir and Laila couldn't make it, so there were only 6 of us + 2 toddlers - an all-ladies affair.

We met up at Sultan mosque, then proceeded to Cafe Le Caire at Arab street after Maghrib prayers. Had buffet, menu was not much but it was surely filling. Arab-style cooking, with bamia, chicken, fish, rice, pita, dessert, fruits and free flow of drinks. Costs S$25 per person not inc GST and service charge. I had wanted the relaxed-eating-style actually, maybe on-carpet-seating, but to bad it was only for smoking area. Main agenda was eating, gossiping oops *astarghfirullah* catching up with stories -purely intended as lessons for us insyaAllah ;) - and a lil bit of camwhoring. Alhamdulillah the 2 toddlers were quite well-behaved, thank you girls.

Although its very hard for us to meet up now -some I hadn't met for months!-, most are busy with married and working life, but we do not feel drifted apart. Each time we meet, we are as close as before.  I love each one of you, thank you for this friendship and insyaAllah we will still be as close  for the years to come, amin.

Since there is no new picture, below is the pic from last year Raya. Missing Kak Su tho.

From top left (clockwise): Far, Rai, Sir, Afia, Sasi, Laila, me and Sarah

 

Our family is expanding! Our other half...
From left: Sir's, Afia's, Kak Su's, mine, Sarah's, Laila's, Sasi's
Missing: Far's & Rai's

 

Pre-natal Check ups

Alhamdulillah am into 38+ weeks now. Basically another week to go, insyaAllah!

Reached Singapore today at noon, and went for an appointment with my gynae, Dr Aziz. A warm, friendly and comical doctor indeed! We are very happy so far with his service.

For this second pregnancy, we moved a lot. I mean initially we stayed at Johore, then moved to Kuantan. So for the first trimester, check ups were done at Johore.

We went to Bio-Sucinas, a husband and wife's clinic. Service was good, If we did not move to Kuantan, most probably I would have chosen to deliver at the Puteri Hospital, Johore. Average check up fees were about RM150-200 each visit (inc scan and meds).

After moving to Kuantan, in second trimester, we went to al-Farabi clinic. No specific doctors but alhamdulillah so far the ones I met were good and accommodating. I was shocked though the first time making payment. It was super CHEAP! Only RM50 inc of scans and jabs!

For the third trimester, since we had decided to deliver in Singapore, we chose to try out a different gynae since Abah was not too keen with our first and we thought it would be better to choose a fellow Muslim to welcome our newborn. That was why we decided upon Dr. Aziz.

First time consultation fee was S$120 and since that time I was already into my 35th week, we had to pay the booking fee for the hospital which was S$1000. Follow up consultation fee was S$45 , not inc of scans or other misc checks.

During the previous check up, he explained in detailed on what to expect during labour and delivery. Though this is my second pregnancy, but some of the things he shared are new to me. Here are some of the 'tips' he gave:

- During labour, you will be given options to 'relief' the contraction pains. The first option would be gas inhalation. The trick is to inhale it BEFORE you feel the contraction as it will only take effect 5-10 seconds after inhaled. So if you inhale when you already feels the pain, it will not be helpful as contraction pains comes and goes.

- During delivery, the position to take is to put both of your hands behind your thighs and pull it back. Chin close to your chest and push! (Listen to your doctor when to push and stop)

- To avoid tearing, he advised to push and stop when he prompts to (that is when baby's head is visible), then what you should do is to look up and blow instead of pushing. BLOW like you are blowing a lot invisible of birthday candles!  

Next week insyaAllah will be the final check up if everything goes as planned. I just hope that baby can wait for Abah to reach here first before popping, as now Abah is at Kuantan attending his work. I would want him by my side when the time comes, insyaAllah.

I still cant believe that there's only a week to go! May Allah ease us and keep us safe and sound amin.

A simple Iftar

Alhamdulillah iftar (break fast) went quite well yesterday. More guests than anticipated. Just couldn't resisit Moktok's cooking I guess!

Menu were simple dishes. Yet it was simplicity at its best. We had gulai daging, ayam masak merah, stir-fried vege and acar.

To me one the best parts is the moment when family members and neighbours gathered together to lend their hands in making this event a smooth one. From the preparation of the dishes to the cleaning up, though tiring it was an enjoyable experience nonetheless!

a truly conventional way of extracting the coconut milk

Gulai slow-cooked over woods

Amira also had tremendous fun mingling and playing with her cousins.

Will be going back to Kuantan tomorrow morning, then off to Singapore Monday morning insyaAllah. Meanwhile, baby hang on in there ya...Don't pop out yet!

Alhamdulillah we are at Terengganu now. Reached here at about 5+ and straight to the food bazaar!

I have been wanting to get my hands on the AYAM PUSING! Specially marinated whole chicken slow roasted to perfection...Love it! It costs RM20 per whole chicken..but its a BIG chicken though we couldn't even finished it and there were 7 of us.

I also love the RM1 only ABC! and the triangle ketupat pulut fried till crisp. They do not have the ketupat nasi like we do in Singapore.

When I first celebrated Raya in Terengganu, it shocked me quite a bit. Do you know that their must have Raya dish is LAKSA! How weird huh...

Moktok also prepared her yearly awaited bubur lambuk..she actually asked Abah what I would like to have for break fasting, and Abah told her its Bubur Lambuk and he did not even asked me!:p Thank god I am not like him, the fussy-eater type. But as fussy as he is, his other members of family are even fussier! Alhamdulillah Abah can eat my cookings *you better or else...heheh*

Ok better get some sleep, tomorrow Moktok will be holding a yearly Ramadhan 'jamuan' -break fast- for neighbours and surau people. Next awaited dish : Moktok's gulai daging. *drools* Cant help it, its not me or nafsu makan, its the baby..heheh.

Such a FINE day

So how was your first Ramadhan? Being 9 mths pregnant, alhamdulillah I feel that fasting is not really a heavy task, thank you Allah for the strength. Maybe because as I stay at home, the toll on me is not that heavy, I can do my work at my own pace and take a rest whenever I feel tired. *always short of breath nowadays especially after climbing the flight of stairs*

I felt that yesterday was quite a test for us -me n abah-, not fasting-wise but hmm..money-wise.

Abah came back from work and announced that he had 2 bad news. He received a call from his auntie on the way back home and was informed that she had to pay forward the fines he accumulated, as Abah's car is under her name. She wanted to settle some matters and in order to do that, the fines had to be settled first. Guess how much it was...RM600! Hard-earned money down the drain.

And what do you know, at that time when he was on the phone, he was driving *claimed that it was at a red traffic light*. Just his luck that he was spotted by the police. Another FINE coming up! *grrr* Abah defensively said to them that he wasn't actually driving coz it was during the red light when he took the call. The police claimed that they had video on him. The fine amount was RM150. Then they offered something which I wished -and Abah is feeling remourseful- they did not. A 'settlement' right there and then. RM50 and Abah was let go. BRIBERY on the first day of Ramadhan! I pray that the police did not use the money to buy food for his family's break fast. *astargfirullah!* Abah! Make sure that will be the last time! Its a sin for both giver and receiver!

Subhanallah! What a first day of Ramadhan it was!

 

THE only perfect SOLUTION

Do you know what is the perfect solution to all the problems that you are facing?

That will be SOLAT!

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Entry is in Malay.

Terbaca entri seorang blogger, Wan Anie, tentang waktu solat.

Mengapa Allah menetapkan solat pada waktu-waktu tertentu? Mengapa ia penting untuk kita mendirikan solat di awal waktu?

Sesungguhnya solat itu satu ketetapan yang diwajibkan atas orang yang beriman, yang tertentu waktunya.” (An-Nisa’: 103)

Ini adalah sebagai peringatan dan sumber motivasi untuk diri saya sendiri dan juga orang-orang tercinta. Semoga Allah sentiasa memberi Hidayah dan Petunjuk-Nya, amin.

Artikel sumbangan dari Pn Asfarilah Yakob & Pn Norpah Ibrahim Alumni ESQ


Setiap peralihan waktu solat sebenarnya menunjukkan perubahan tenaga alam ini yang boleh diukur dan dicerap melalui perubahan warna alam. Fenomena perubahan warna alam adalah sesuatu yang tidak asing bagi mereka yang terlibat dalam bidang fotografi...

Sebagai contoh, pada waktu Subuh alam berada dalam spektrum warna biru muda yang bersamaan dengan frekuensi tiroid yang mempengaruhi sistem metabolisma tubuh. Jadi warna biru muda atau waktu Subuh mempunyai rahsia berkaitan dengan penawar/rezeki dan komunikasi. Mereka yang kerap tertinggal waktu Subuhnya ataupun terlewat secara berulang-ulang kali, lama kelamaan akan menghadapi masalah komunikasi dan rezeki. Ini kerana tenaga alam iaitu biru muda tidak dapat diserap oleh tiroid yang mesti berlaku dalam keadaan roh dan jasad bercantum (keserentakan ruang dan masa) - dalam erti kata lain jaga daripada tidur. Disini juga dapat kita cungkil akan rahsia diperintahkan solat diawal waktu. Bermulanya saja azan Subuh, tenaga alam pada waktu itu berada pada tahap optimum. Tenaga inilah yang akan diserap oleh tubuh melalui konsep resonan pada waktu rukuk dan sujud. Jadi mereka yang terlewat Subuhnya sebenar sudah mendapat tenaga yang tidak optimum lagi.

Warna alam seterusnya berubah ke warna hijau (isyraq & dhuha) dan kemudian warna kuning menandakan masuknya waktu Zohor. Spektrum warna pada waktu ini bersamaan dengan frekuensi perut dan hati yang berkaitan dengan sistem penghadaman. Warna kuning ini mempunyai rahsia yang berkaitan dengan keceriaan. Jadi mereka yang selalu ketinggalan atau terlewat Zuhurnya berulang-ulang kali dalam hidupnya akan menghadapi masalah di perut dan hilang sifat cerianya. Orang yang tengah sakit perut ceria tak ? :-?

Kemudian warna alam akan berubah kepada warna oren, iaitu masuknya waktu Asar di mana spektrum warna pada waktu ini bersamaan dengan frekuensi prostat, uterus, ovari dan testis yang merangkumi sistem reproduktif. Rahsia warna oren ialah kreativiti. Orang yang kerap tertinggal Asar akan hilang daya kreativitinya dan lebih malang lagi kalau di waktu Asar ni jasad dan roh seseorang ini terpisah (tidur la tu .). Dan jangan lupa, tenaga pada waktu Asar ni amat diperlukan oleh organ-organ reproduktif kita

Menjelang waktu Maghrib, alam berubah ke warna merah dan di waktu ini kita kerap dinasihatkan oleh orang-orang tua agar tidak berada di luar rumah. Ini kerana spektrum warna pada waktu ini menghampiri frekuensi jin dan iblis (infra-red) dan ini bermakna jin dan iblis pada waktu ini amat bertenaga kerana mereka resonan dengan alam.. Mereka yang sedang dalam perjalanan juga seelok-eloknya berhenti dahulu pada waktu ini (solat Maghrib dulu la .) kerana banyak interferens (pembelauan) berlaku pada waktu ini yang boleh mengelirukan mata kita. Rahsia waktu Maghrib atau warna merah ialah keyakinan, pada frekuensi otot, saraf dan tulang.

Apabila masuk waktu Isyak, alam berubah ke warna Indigo dan seterusnya memasuki fasa Kegelapan. Waktu Isyak ini menyimpan rahsia ketenteraman dan kedamaian di mana frekuensinya bersamaan dengan sistem kawalan otak. Mereka yang kerap ketinggalan Isyaknya akan selalu berada dalam kegelisahan. Alam sekarang berada dalam Kegelapan dan sebetulnya, inilah waktu tidur dalam Islam. Tidur pada waktu ini dipanggil tidur delta dimana keseluruhan sistem tubuh berada dalam kerehatan. Selepas tengah malam, alam mula bersinar kembali dengan warna putih, merah jambu dan seterusnya ungu di mana ianya bersamaan dengan frekuensi kelenjar pineal, pituitari, talamus dan hipotalamus. Tubuh sepatutnya bangkit kembali pada waktu ini dan dalam Islam waktu ini dipanggil Qiamullail.

Begitulah secara ringkas perkaitan waktu solat dengan warna alam. Manusia kini sememangnya telah sedar akan kepentingan tenaga alam ini dan inilah faktor adanya bermacam-macam kaedah meditasi yang dicipta seperti taichi, qi-gong dan sebagainya. Semuanya dicipta untuk menyerap tenaga-tenaga alam ke sistem tubuh. Kita sebagai umat Islam sepatutnya bersyukur kerana telah di'kurniakan' syariat solat oleh Allah s.w.t tanpa perlu kita memikirkan bagaimana hendak menyerap tenaga alam ini. Hakikat ini seharusnya menginsafkan kita bahawa Allah s.w.t mewajibkan solat ke atas hambanya atas sifat pengasih dan penyayang-Nya sebagai pencipta kerana Dia tahu hamba-Nya ini amat-amat memerlukannya. Adalah amat malang sekali bagi kumpulan manusia yang amat cuai dalam menjaga solatnya tapi amat berdisiplin dalam menghadiri kelas taichinya.
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Semoga ia dapat memberi manfaat kepada yang membaca. Wallahu a'lam.

dan Allah Taala tidak menjadikan ini (kejadian langit dan bumi)dengan sia-sia. Maha suci Engkau, maka peliharalah kami dari azab neraka." Ali Imran: 161

Amira and cats

She absolutely LOVES and ADORES them! Just give her any cats, white, brown, grey or even black she can just shower them with cuddles and kisses! *well I had to scream whenever she tried to kiss the strays*

Actually we did try to adopt a kitten, cute lil playful grey kitten given by Abah's friend. We survived for 3 days with it. Nooo, the kitten did not die, Abah asked his colleague to take care of it first as we will be journeying a lot. (pssst intan if you read this, I give you the permission to take care of it forever..shhh dun tell razman..heh)

She was practically smothering the poor lil kitten

For me, I don't mind cats. But taking care of them, hmm, that's a totally different situation. I simply have no idea on how to take care of pets. Plus I read that cats are not perfectly suitable to have around when you are pregnant, it makes me even more conscious of them. It worries me crazy that they will poop or pee around the house or worse somewhere I wouldn't notice! *shudder!*

So baby, can we not have to take care of it? I am sure that every now and then there will be cats coming to visit you. They always do.

Posted below is a funny video taken when she was about 14 mths. The stray cat and her warmed up right away.

Welcoming the long-awaited guest

Tonight we will be embracing Ramadhan insyaAllah. Are we really prepared to welcome it and make the best out of it?

Ramdhan is a beautiful gift to us from Allah. Be sure to show the gratitude it deserves.

In everything we do, it is better to make plans beforehand. It is important to know what we would like to achieve, to reach and to complete. Only by that, we will have a clear idea of what we should do exactly, and insyaAllah our time will be more organized, and we will be more productive. Doesn't it just make you feel proud of yourself if you have had a productive day? This will definitely ignites you and motivates you to be better and better for the days to come! ~ success breeds success ~

So let's sit for a moment and plan out your Ramadhan. Its more worthwhile to be spending a little of your time planning than to waste a lot of your time unplanned.

Set your GOALS. WRITE it down. PASTE it up so that you can see it everytime. READ it every now and then. STICK with it until it becomes a habit. Make the best EFFORT to complete it. TAWAKKAL and DO'A to Allah.

For those who would like to download a free template of Ramadhan planner, click here.

May this Ramadhan be a better Ramadhan for us than before, amin.
Just a reminder for myself and my beloved.

Ramadhan Kareem to all.

Great Dinner

A few nights ago we went for a dinner at this roadside 'warong' style makan place. Nothing fancy about the place BUT the food there was absolutely superb!

I had the Chicken Chop while Abah ordered Nasi Goreng USA. YumYum!

The catch:
Altho chicken was deep-fried till crisp but it was still YUMMY with a pour of black pepper sauce. What impressed me most was the generous servings of side dishes! You can see fries, wedges, coleslaw, bread and sotong ball! Wait there's more...they even accompanied it with dessert! A small bowl of nata de coco. I simply love it!

And it only costs...RM9!

They will definitely receive my patronage again and it will be Char Kway Toew next!
Gotta give it ♥♥♥♥♥!

Finally Moved!

I have finally made the decision to move from WordPress to good ol' Blogspot. Reason is I get to tweak my blog as I like!

All the posts from WP have been moved here.

For those who simply love blog-tweaking, shabbyblogs.com is definitely a site for sore eyes.*thanks to a fellow blogger, Ida, for the inspiration and sharings!*

I ♥ my blog look!

Artsy Crafty

From WP 7/8/2010


A little peek into Amira's passion for arts.
Her very first trial on water painting with Abah:


Abah bought her a set of water paint on her 2nd birthday and she definitely love it! Some of her collections:


First guided drawing. She drew the horizontal and vertical lines in the tortoise on her own guided by my pencil-tracing lines. I simply told her to draw a straight line from the  green dot to the red dot I marked. Colouring was done by her.


Practice of drawing curves (inside the butterfly). Alike the lines above she traced my pencil lines from green dots to red dots. The horizontal short lines were also drawn by her.


This is the latest drawing and I must say I am quite proud of her as she managed it on her own, from the petals, stalk and leaf. Instruction were given once, to follow my pencil lines and green dots to red to dots.


Last but not least, her first trial on collage with different shapes.

Making conversations

From WP 6/8/2010


I happen to be a not-so-friendly-open-to-conversation person. Not my fault, its just most of the times I don't have any idea of what to say. Abah is always 'nagging' at me not to be so quiet with people - well I think I am way much better now. You see, I have this theory of why I am such an introvert. It is because I have a super-friendly mum! *you will simply warm up to her*.

She is the exact opposite of me, she can strike a conversation with anyone anywhere I tell you! So since young, my mum did most of the talking, and as I was raised and taught that its rude to interrupt people's conversations, that is why I have been keeping mum and it becomes me - she even did most of the talk when I have friends over..heheh.

Sometimes I think its funny the way we strike a conversation with someone. Let's say if you happen to see your neighbour watering her plants, I know exactly what you are gonna say to her,

"Siram pokok kak" (with a little questioning tone). Am I right or am I right. I just dun understand it, of course she is watering her plants, so why are you asking a redundant question? How about if we ask,

"Tengah buat ape tu?" I bet she will definitely thinks "Bute ke budak ni? Tak nampak ke aku tengah siram pokok ni"

or maybe since 'asking' is what we do when we do not know or unsure about something and would like to acquire information on it, why dont we try 'buat-buat tak tahu' and say,

"Tengah basuh kereta ke?". Hmm definitely " Gile ke ape budak ni!"

 So I guess that is why everybody will choose the first option as it seems the sanest. And usually it will be greeted nicely, though its like "duh!" - I remembered watching this Erra Fazira's movie with Juliana Banos, cant remember the title tho, Erra will always greet the next-door uncle, saying something like "cuci motor cik?" and the uncle will retort back "taklah cuci kapalterbang!" lol.

Honestly, since moving to Kuantan for about 2 mths now I have not had the opportunity to meet with my next-door neighbour the wife -we met the husband. Terrible right? She is working and the walls between us is so high that I cannot see if there is someone at home or not - Abah is blaming me, he said I should go and take a look sometimes if she's home- I am like, hellooo, what am I supposed to do, stand in front of their gate peeking inside, like a busybody.

So I have decided that we buy a box of dates for them as a gift for Ramadhan, and hopefully will get to meet them maybe later today, insyaAllah.

Still BF-ing..

From WP 6/8/2010


Amira has been on exclusive (no formula) BF since I stopped working at ard 6 mths old. Up till now. Yes! even now!

But actually for abt 4 mths back, there is no milk. She just need it to get to sleep, though its possible for her to sleep without it. I guess she just like the feeling of closeness and familiarity. I let her be coz I am thinking of tandem nursing my coming soon and Amira. It is said that it can promote bonding between the two. I wouldn't want her to feel left out just because someone new is coming along. I want her to believe in me and be assured that she is not being replaced or anything. I am quite worried as how she will feel towards her younger sibling, tho she had been practising a lot of baby caring with her teddies for the past few months and seems loving enough, insyaAllah -2 of the teddies were put on diapers, heheh.

After a year plus of exclusive BF, turns out that she does not want to drink any other milk! We have tried various brands, flavours, Karihome, fresh milk - all were rejected. I think she takes after me as I dont drink milk either. Cant even stand the smell of it! But thankfully she loves cheese, the orange-flavoured calciyum drink, milo and I am also trying to find other alternatives that can be a substitute for her source of calcium needs *worried*.

I also intend to give exclusive BF to my coming soon, insyaAllah. May Allah ease it for us.

People, especially men, may think that BF is an easy natural work - yeah it is work as it needs effort and determination to do it - but it really is not the case for most of us. That is why knowledge and support are very IMPORTANT! If you would like to know more, get support or addressing any issues on BF there is this group on FB -put together by my school seniors, thumbs up!- that you can join:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=579672887

Just for those who are still clueless:
BF = Breast feeding
FB = Face book
Somehow I find that funny..lol.

Friday is here...

From WP 6/8/2010


Wow its already Friday! When I was working back then, Friday seems to be the most awaited day of the week. Everything and everyone seems chirpier on Fridays don't you think. Fridays are still most anticipated now, coz that means we will have weekends with Abah!

No plans yet for this weekend except to paint the room. This will be the last weekend in Kuantan, next week will be going to stay put in Singapore till delivery insyaAllah. I will surely miss home. *Baby if you want to stay home these will be the final days to pop out k!;)*

Am having frequent cramps nowadays, both when walking or sitting. Near the pelvic. Morning leg cramps are like everyday routine. Just like this morning, thankfully Abah is already up and helped me with the toes - everytime I got cramps I will bend the toes backward and it goes away. It sure hurts!

I still carry Amira a bit here and there - including up and down the stairs - cant help it, she's very clingy. I think that must be why my tummy seems to be a bit lower in this 2nd pregnancy, that everybody, and I really mean EVERYONE seemed so sure that its gonna be a boy! Old wives' tales huh. But science had been showing that 99% chances are its gonna be a GIRL! I like!

There's this friend - ex-collegue - of mine, who during pregnancy, all through 9 mths+ check-ups was told confidently by her gynae that she would be having a girl. When it was time to deliver, turned out that she gave birth to a, yes you guessed it, BOY! So off she went home with a baby boy clad in pinks! *heheh* I hope mine wouldn't be this case, all the clothes I bought are pink!

Yesternight we went to MegaMall, no not KL, but Kuantan to get some groceries as I saw there was Giant. Big Disappointment! Will not be going there again, unless I want to go 'Popular' maybe. I wanted to try grocery-shopping there as I thought it might be better than the Carrefour at the East Coast Mall - which was disappointing also, the produce and poultry sections were like days months old products, there was once I bought a packet of kway-teow which turned out to be mouldy! Yucks! -  but it was not! There were rottens carrots, potatoes, I mean come on!, why are you still putting them up on shelves for sale?!

I give up on the supermarkets! at least here, so I asked Abah to scout for other places with FRESH products, wet market or minimarts, I don't care. Its really hard that I am not mobile, as I have no licence - one of the goal to attain when baby's out, insyaAllah - or else I will go round Kuantan myself.

I believe that somewhere out there, there is a place I can do my shopping with a contented heart.*heh*

Homeschooling ~Pt.2~

From WP 4/8/2010


Social concerns.

That was the first and foremost issue popped when abah and I talked about homeschooling.

Q: How will Amira develop her social skills if she were to be homeschooled?

A: I would like to address this question in a different angle. Are kids' social skills developed only when they go to a school? 

I have had the opportunity to experience being a Montessori teacher for 2 years, handling 4 yrs old kids. No children are the same , well it doesn’t take any experience to know that, but what I am trying to say is that these children came to school all ready with their characters built and attitudes rooted in them. Some may be friendly, others may be shy and quiet. We as teachers could only encourage or show them the right way to communicate and behave socially. This shows that parents or caretakers are the primary factors in children's development and it started way before they enter their nurseries or kindergartens. And so I believe that in developing social skills, responsibility falls on the parents' shoulders regardless the children will be going to school or not. We are the one who are supposed to show them the right way of communicating and behaving around people.


Loving and responsive parenting helps children to see the world in a positive way and to expect that relationships with others will be rewarding. Children who display high levels of social competence typically enjoy parent-child relationships characterized by positive and agreeable interactions, acceptance (Cohn, Patterson, & Christopoulous, 1991; Pettit & Mize, 1993; Putallaz, 1987)

Amira playing with her cousin

When we decided upon homeschooling our children, it means that we are ready and will undertake the full responsibility to provide them with the utmost suitable environment for them to develop all their skills, social included. Homeschooling does not mean confining our children at home without outdoor activities, but in fact being flexible will makes it much easier for us to do just that.

Sitting in a classroom of 30-40 students, does not actually prove that your children are socially competence. I mean how can you even communicate with your friends when you are expected to be silent at all times. How many of us are still keeping in touch with our primary school friends – just adding them up in FB doesn’t really count – and how many of our friends now are actually friends from school?

And anyway, greatly because of the SOCIAL problems that are widely heard and seen among students nowadays are reason enough for us to ‘keep’ our children at home. Though some of you may say that they have to experience and learn it on their own, I would rather it be ‘prevention is better than cure’.
This post is not directed to anyone but just as an assurance to our own self. And maybe IF this question is being popped to us we have the answer ready.  To each is own.

The plan

From WP 4/8/2010


Since the first trimester we have been undecided on where should I give birth at.

A LOT of things have to be taken into consideration:
- who's gonna take care of me + plus Amira during confinement = preference my own Mum (Singapore)
- Abah's work = preference Kuantan
-  Celebrating Ramadhan and Raya = preference Terengganu

Not to mention the other people's feelings, like Moktok would LIKE me to deliver in Terengganu, and mum would LIKE me to deliver in Singapore.

So you see, its so not easy making this decisison. We had to discuss and make the wisest decision and of course me and Abah have different preferences. I couldnt remember how many times we tried to discuss about this and ended up upsetting each other.

But in the end, as of now, we (especially me) had decided to deliver in....Singapore. Thank you Abah for supporting and agreeing with me. Top of reason is my own fear and confidence. I am afraid and have no confidence of the unfamiliar environment. I had never been to a hospital in Terengganu, as for Kuantan, visited a friend who gave birth recently, had to be c-sect even though first pregnancy was normal -not helping at all, though I believe its nothing to do with the doctors or the hospital but nonetheless it gave me the shudder. Not saying that it will all be better in Singapore, but at least I would have that strength - mind especially- ,
insyaAllah to preservere and hopefully that will make it a little better.

So this is our plan, insyaAllah:
We will drive back to Terengganu on the first Ramadhan. We hope that this will at least make Moktok happy -Abah happens to be the apple of her eyes, and for the past 2 yrs we have been celebrating Raya at Terengganu, so for this year I hope she can take it well that we are not going to be there for Raya. Then on Sunday, we will drive back to Singapore (abt 10hrs journey if Abah's driving - gulp-). My appointment will be on the next day. And so after that, I will stay put in Singapore, until delivered, maybe spend 2 weeks of recuperation then come back to Kuantan/Terengganu. *Allahumma la sahlan illa ma ja'altahu sahlan, O Allah please make it easy upon us, and pls give me strength to go through this, amin*

So that's the plan, and only if baby does not decide to pop earlier.

Ahlan wa Sahlan...

From WP 3/8/2010


Today next week, we will be greeted by Ramadhan, insyaAllah.

Not sure if I can complete a month of it as baby is due on the 3rd week. But I hope Allah will give me the strength to cover all the days before delivery, amin. Lets pray and make it our goal that this Ramadhan will be better than the last. *Pls guide us O Allah and include us with the victorious, amin ya Rabb*

Am in dilemma actually, should I or shouldn't I buy a new dress for Raya? *hee talking about Raya already*

Why? Because most probably I won't be going anywhere as I will be in the confinement period and I don't know what size should I buy if I were to get one.

Maybe I should scout for jubah/abaya type. Easy to put on if there are visitors right. Anybody knows any nice jubah to recommend? hmm..

Everything that could go wrong, went wrong..

From WP 3/8/2010

and it was our HONEYMOON.

Lesson learnt: Never let Abah plan our holidays. *sorry dear but its true :)*

Alike all newly married couples, the next exciting journey would be the HONEYMOON! To me it doesnt matter so much on the whereabouts, just as long as we had a whale of a great time together, it sufficed.

Honestly, we were really on a tight budget when we got married. We were even contemplating not going for a honeymoon at that time yet, but knowing that its 'now or never' abah put aside some for it. He chose Bali and it sounds heavenly to me.

We went by AirAsia from KLIA and if I am not wrong our departure was at 4pm. We reached KL that morning and were fetched by Abah's brother. Went to his house @ Shah Alam, had lunch, and it was already 2-3pm when we were on our way to the airport. ( Dear Abah do correct me if I got it wrong, cant remember the exact details )

Can you guess already what would go wrong?

The TIME! If your plane departs at a certain time, you have to be there like 2 hours earlier right!  But everyone seemed clueless about that, and we did not read the procedures on the ticket carefully. So when we reached there, the plane was about to take off in another half an hour! *ingat mcm naik bus ke, being early half an hour dah cukup bagus eh*

Still clueless, we said our goodbyes, then searched for our check-in counter. Of course we couldnt find any counters calling our ticket number as it was already CLOSED. So we went to one of the counter to ask about it, and to our HORROR the guy said it was closed and we have to change our flight to the next day.

Oh great..we couldnt go the next day, we already had someone waiting at the Bali airport for us and we had already booked our accomodation and such. So we pleaded and begged the guy to please let us through since the plane had not taken off yet. At last he relented, took our luggage - we only brought one as we intended to shop there - and hurriedly we went to the security gate.

I had on me my hand luggage and nobody informed me that you are not allowed to bring any liquids - I really did not know about this at that time- and what do you know, my bag is FILLED with my facial and toiletries items. There were facial foam, toner, shampoo, shower foam...all newly-bought. Not to mention my also new big bottle of Hugo Femme. So when my bag passed the detector, the lady security opened it and took out the items giving me 2 options: Keep it in the airport locker with a daily fee or off they go into the garbage bin. I was already pissed off with Abah about the timing and our nearly missing the flight, and now this?!

Abah quickly phoned his brother and luckily they were still at the airport, so all the things were passed to them. But I stubbornly held on to my Femme. I just don't care and luckily the lady was quite kind she let me through.

We reached Bali at last! Excitement rising. After all the checks we went to get our bag. But whats the next worst thing that can happen in a journey? LOSING YOUR LUGGAGE! That was what happened. YES we lost our luggage. We waited and waited and waited but our bag was still nowhere to be seen. I dont even want to list down what's in the bag, its too upsetting. And so there we were, on our honeymoon, without our luggage -thankfully I put both our essential 'inner clothings' in my hand luggage *hee* .

But I had to admit, the next 6 days were one of the best weeks of life. Alhamdulillah no more screw ups. I think we had already nailed it all, thats why. And Bali was simply GREAT! The Villa we were staying at, -got a superb price courtesy of Abah's 'boss', instead of 300-400USD per night we got it only S$100 per night!- was outstanding! It was HUGE with personal pool, garden, lounge, kitchen, 2 bedrooms, and the best thing were the bathrooms!

Awesome place!

My top and Abah's t-shirt were bought there, but I had to put on the same scarf every other day


As Abah had already experienced Bali before, so he knew a bit of the places here and there. Instead of taking a car tour, we went everywhere by motorcycle and it was FUN! Just the two of us.
And so I have to say, putting aside of all the things that happened, it was the perfect honeymoon.
Thank you dear. :)

Tentiu Abah :)

From WP 3/8/2010


Guess what? Abah came back from work today bringing goodies from KFC!

no pocket however coz Abah claimed that the KFC staff gave him the wrong order..hmm..:)

Surprised? not  really actually..coz I know he read my blogs...*hee*

But nonetheless I am still touched by his effort. I am not really a verbal person, I am so used to keeping my feelings to myself. But this is definitely a good channel for me to voice out, be heard and understood. I still remember his comments after he read on my "confession" as a SAHM. He was clueless and did not expect that I would feel that way. So now, he understands better, insyaAllah. *So for those of you who cant be heard, its time to BLOG! heh*

I am not saying that everything will be picture perfect after this, I understand that there will be always be times of ups and downs. Without spices everything will taste bland eventually, and as the saying goes 'after the big break-ups there will be the hot make-ups' *is it?* But I do hope that by understanding each other better - though its already been 3 yrs of marriage, there are still lots to learn about each other - we will be able to stick out through anything TOGETHER, me n you Abah, amin.

know he's trying hard to be the best husband and father to us. You are doing a great job Abah. I really do appreciate it. Tentiu Abah. I love you so. I really do.

* "tentiu" is Amira's way of saying thank you. Both her 'c' and 'k' will sound as 't'. - Hisy pelat, pelat-

What?! Already closed?!

From WP 2/8/2010


It was 9+pm. We were feeling hungry but too lazy to go out - especially me -. So we decided upon home deliveries. I had wanted to eat KFC - been wanting to eat the pocket thingy - but they have no deliveries.*sigh*

Tried once and just gotta have it again!

 So we settled on Mac's. After browsing online through the menus - I was already drooling over the quarter pounder with cheese, it just look soo monstrously yummy -, it was already about 10pm.

Doesnt it look hugely YUMMY!

Picked up my hp and dialled, greeted by automated message. After going through "press 1 or 2"  this and that, finally a real person. More greetings, - silently I was already like can you be quicker, my credit is getting low here - asking if I had ordered before - no, because the last time was at Johor's house - then taking down my address, name bla bla bla. I think 15mins were already gone by then. Finally its time to order! And just as I were about to pour it out, the other end said " Eh alamak! Dah tutuplah dik"

WHAT?!!

Apparently in Kuantan, there is only 1 Mac with delivery service and it closes at 10pm. *sobsob wailing!*
And so, I had mee goreng and abah had nasi pattaya bought from the shop behind our house.

where did my lil princess go?

From WP 1/8/2010


Isn't it frightening when you realised how super fast time really flies.

Although I watch Amira's growth and progress everyday with my own eyes, it still amazes me the speed that she is growing. Especially when you looked through the old and new pics.

 

My baby is no longer the innocent, little-haired lil princess anymore. She is GROWING. Now not so innocent, with her already-reaching-the-shoulders curly hair. She now knows what she wants and demands it, she has a firm mind of her own, and she is beginning to show her acts of independency. All of which never fail to throw both Abah and Mama in dilemma most of the times.

Now she would want to do most of her things by herself - bathing, putting on clothes, making her milo and such. Well, isn't that supposed to be good? Maybe.. but the problem is she would not want ANY HELP at all! Like when we were supposed to be getting in the car, she would want to get in by herself - we cannot even give her a tiny push or offer a hand -, she would want to close the door - dont even try to touch the door! - else she will scream and would want to do it all over again even if it means she had to get down again from the car just to get in ALL BY HERSELF! Amira, amira...

I do wonder if its just amira or all/most of the the 2 yrs old are behaving that way? Hmm...
But I guess no matter what, your children will always be princes and princesses in your hearts. They are just to dear that I believe any parents would do just anything for them. I would, insyaAllah. I love you baby.
Always will.