All a girl needs is a pair of comfy jeans, cute shoes
and an A.T.T.I.T.U.D.E.

 

But of course, a head full of hair would be great too!

Chef Irfan



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Sunday morning





The boy not happy that his daddy left him. Hey, but your tortoise mummy is still behind u wat?!



Trying to catch up. See who is last?

I'm not really good at running long distance. I'd rather cycle and swim than jog. My stamina is super lousy and I lasted for less than half an hour. Then i felt like fainting, breathless, giddy, nauseous. After that irfan and I rented the bicycle while Alim ran. Yes I'm quite hopeless. BUT I shall not give up. Maybe new shoes will motivate me! Yes new shoes!!!

For now, I just do what I do best. Sit down on my butt and enjoy the breeze...




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Like most five year olds, drawing is something he likes to do for now. To quote his exact words, " drawing makes my heart happy, ibu,".







The story for this one, as narrated by him: we are in the red car, on our way to the zoo. We are following the signboard and we are stopping at the red light. The sun is shining, the sky is blue and there is an apple tree. Behind us there are two cars. The last one is a green mini car.Beside us there is the sea all the way to the zoo.

Every bit of his drawing are mostly lil scraps of his experiences put together. The
mini; I told him was my fav car, the sign boards and the drive along the coast is a typical sight during our holiday road trip, the apple tree from one of his storybooks..and so on.
The good thing is drawing usually keeps him quiet for a long time and we get to enjoy some peace and quiet in the house.:)

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Today is my afternoon duty so I am in school, till about 7.
Marking papers and thinking about where to go for the June hols. Yes..it's a typical teacher syndrome. When we are swarmed by work, we let our minds wander to a happier place. That usually keeps our sanity intact for 6 months.

Anyway, so where do you reckon a couple like us, with two kids in tow CAN go WITHOUT dying of fatique along the way? Without killing each other or throwing the two kids down some picturesque mountain?

We always end up in Australia because it's so family friendly. Alim can drive to his heart's content, Irfan can run around the endless beach till he loses steam and alisha can, well..I dont know what she likes to do other than be carried by me. She is quite choosy, this one. ..And I , I can just stone and enjoy the beach with alisha close to me. We dont need a guided tour as everything is so easily accesible by car. We can shop, rest and find food pretty easily.

we would love to go back europe but historical places would probably be out. Inititally I wanted to go Italy but by the time I get to see the colosseum and leaning tower of pisa, I would probably be all disheveled and tired out. I can just imagine us shouting, "Irfan, come here. Irfan dont touch that! Irfan not too loud!" while he runs around the place, oblivious to his screaming parents. Alisha will be screaming, crying, and i would frantically try to soothe her quickly so that I dont get the glare from the tourists who are busy listening to the guide. The best is when Irfan wants to go to the toilet and there's no toilet in sight and adik is screaming for her milk at the same time!

And all this plus trying to capture a good shot from the muscular DSLR?! Oh man, talking about it is already making me tired! Haiz.
Chaos chaos, all day long!

so italy has been crossed out..hmm next we move on to greece. I cant remember what I was watching on TV but right now all I can think of is SANTORINI! Is it crazy to bring the two kids there? I think its a good balance between seeing some ancient ruins and enjoying the beautiful beatiful islands..imagine the white walls with the blue doors, perched high up overlooking the Aegen Sea. Droolz...
And it's quite a drive- friendly place but im imagining riding on a scooter instead. Of course not possible. Mana nak campak tu dua budak?!

Think it's a good idea?

Someone suggested going to some theme parks. But im not really a fan of theme parks. We did go to gold coast with irfan last 2 years. I guess the only person who will enjoy it is Irfan. But he's not paying, so doesnt matter what he likes...hehhe. Anyway he's too short for most of the rides.

Hmm..so how? The West Coast sounds good too. There are activities for everyone; alim can drive, kids have enough entertainment to keep them occupied and I can SHOP! In some ways, i guess the west coast is similar to oz; the beach, theme parks, shopping....

How? How? How?
Alah susah susah pegi malaysia sudah. Makan puas puas and stay in a nice nice place. Kids swim till they kembang, we also can eat till we meletop!
Confirmed relax and minimal chaos...
But I cant stop thinking of Santorini leh.
Guess I will have to continue dreaming for now. ...

I'm dreaming of Santorini. Wish I can just go in march but I know one week is too short for a place like that. So I just got to be patient and keep on dreaming for now.


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A typical day home from work. Even when u are dead tired, you have to smile for the kids. Coz they have waited for you the whole day.
You might want to lower the vol though, coz let me warn u.. Irfan was irritatingly loud here....as usual..haiz..

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Lethargic, perpetual sleepiness, spaced out, dormant. Think I need to exercise. And swallow some vitamins on a regular basis. Afterall, I am getting older.


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I was in a bad mood. And I knew it wasn't a good time to sit with irfan to do his writing.but I did. I raised my voice, made him repeat writing the letter many times and even told him if he is not interested he can close his book. What did he do? Sat quietly, looked at me and held his pencil feverishly. But I showed no mercy, I'm crazy that way. I think he was quite stressed out coz suddenly he couldn't write the letter a. His strokes were wrong which made me even frustrated and him even more stressed out. He had never seen me this way and he didn't even dare to budge. He tried and tried but kept getting it wrong. At the back of my mind, i knew it's pointless scolding coz it's emotional and not constructive and no way he's going to learn with the way I'm teaching today. No fun, no games, no encouragement but just me telling him how terrible he is for not knowing when he has written it a million times. He tried again got it wrong again. And I was just mad mad mad.he looked at me. I scowled at him.
And finally, he looked up at me and said this, ever so calmly;
" I am trying my best ibu."
he then carefully moved his lil fingers to write the letters again.
Guilt surrounded me and I became speechless. His words hung in the air for the longest time as i looked at him trying to control his fingers while he keeps glancing at the examples i have written out for him. I didn't know what to say. I wondered where he had learnt those words. To express himself simply and truthfully. To remain calm even when I must have shattered his confidence for a while there. I would have expected him to at whine in protest when I told him to repeat and repeat again. But he didn't.
I immediately calmed down. He looked so kesiannn.
I was really unreasonable that day. And i must say he handled the situation much better than me. Note to self: never let this happen again!


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Nine months









As u can see, not much development when it comes to hair growth.

And Here's a day to remember...a basi pic taken last year.



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Irfan started ngaji this year. I came back earlier and so managed to go to the 20th floor with him and see him in action;)


A few days later I came home and saw him busy writing this on the board.


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An artist needs an inspiration.
Irfan's drawing inspired by Pirates of the Carribean. The boy is watching and drawing at the same time.

The lil girl and her new found friend.

Test

Wat's uuupppp??
Test post from the Iphone.
Amazingly quick and easy. Even the video upload! Yeah!

Mistaken pillow

Good night. Hold me tight!

lately, it seems that the topic on fragility of life, death and dying keeps presenting itself to me.

late last year, i had this dream that we were in a car, stuck in a jam and before we knew it, a big wave of water came over us and we were sucked deep beneath deep water. we didnt even have a chance to react before we realized we were underwater. i couldnt breathe but i told myself not to panic and to hold my breath. i reached to unbuckle my seatbelts and alim's; feeling my way through the water. i could see my hair dancing around me, as the water circled my body and pulled me deep. After freeing ourselves, I tried to push myself up, swimming up , looking and looking for the surface. but i couldnt find it and i eventually woke up.
till today, i couldnt figure it out. what was it? a tsunami? or did the road suddenly give way and we fell underwater? i googled about the meaning of my dream. what i found out all points to mean that something bad is going to happen to me. something close to death or even death itself.

that was pretty scary at that moment but life went on and I soon forgot about it.
till recently when someone predicted that an impending disaster is about to strike and we might be affected. actually 'might' was not what he said. i dont know what will happen but if you know me, you know that i get paranoid easily. even if it didnt happen, but ive already thought so much about it. ive imagined the worst scenarios and it all brings me to realize what i have already known all along; that life is fragile and tomorrow we can be gone. before we know it, we will just perish, disappear, become non-existent. if not us, people we love. the impending disaster might not happen soon, might not happen at all, but we will definitely go , one day; sooner than we might think. so even if the disaster doesnt happen, i thank you for freaking me out and reminding me about that. coz i ve known all along, but i have also forgotten.

like i said, the topic of death and dying just wont leave me. a few days after, i took a cab. it was a lady driver. since i go to sch by cab most days, i decided to get her to send me to sch everyday. everyday, in our conversations along the way, we learn more about each other. she is a catholic so some of our beliefs are somewhat similar. i soon learnt that her only daughter passed away a few years ago, in a road accident. her daughter was hit by a bus while crossing the road. even after so many years, I could hear her sniffles as she told me what happened. she ended her story by saying life is fragile and we can go anytime, or people we love can go anytime. she said the incident has brought her closer to God. i could feel and hear her devastation, her lost, her grief, her missing her daughter. she is a mother and I am too and i can only imagine.

and i sat in her cab and thought about my dream, the prediction, her story. its all about death, about how we have no control over when we go. i wonder why ive been hearing these things. but deep down i think i probably already know. maybe because i asked for it, somehwere in my prayers.

on the other hand, it might be mere coincidence of course. i cant tell. im not sure. i cannot imagine. its too scary. but one day it will come.
we dont prepare for such things, we cant. we will just live through it. or we will be the one to leave. and people we love will have to live through it.

----------------------------------------

KIds

Glad to know that irfan is phonetically aware and is performing at his age level. During the assessment, i was pleasantly surprised to note that he is able to sound all the alphabets and knows the beginning and end sound of words. The teacher said he is slightly advanced for his age. I am definitely relieved. But the sad thing is, I didnt know he knew all that before the assessment. Gotta kick myself for not spending enough time with him.

But apparently he knows. I am relieved because putting him in montessori has always been questionable. I guess for him, he is able to learn in that kind of environment. Although it looks like he is playing more than he is ever learning. There were many things he definitely picked up at school and not from me. Things like telling time, addition, comparing numbers, name of continents.. ALim's mum was asking him what is 2+ 1 the other day. He said 3 and then he said, If I take away 1, i would have 2 left. He then quickly went back to his toys as if to say, enough asking,; not only do I get the concept of addition, I know subtraction too, so enough of the testing!

He is definitely not a genius, but whats important for me at this age, is his whole attitude towards learning. ANd if there is one thing he has definitely picked up in a montessori pre school, is the love for learning. If he has a ton of toys to play with, and at some corner an adult is showing and reading a book to kids, he would definitely go over to see; leaving his toys behind. I dont know how long this would last of course. I suspect by P6, all this enhusiasm for learning would definitely have died, buried deep under the tons of worksheets he has to complete for PSLE! sigh..

its not that i hate worksheets. after all, my job is to issue them. hah. Up to a certain point, I think its absolutely necessary. A teacher cant run away from that. In fact, I was relieved and glad when i asked irfan what he did in school today and he said; my teacher gave me a..hmm..she said its a...worksheeeeet.
Happinesss!

i have been asking him to remember what he does in school everyday. he is supposed to report to me details everyday. Everyday I would ask him if he did any writing or reading in school. After all he is in K1 this year and there should be more focus on writing. so i was happy he came home, saying the word "worksheet" for the first time ever. Now that sounds more like school.

WElcome to learning the Singapore way, Irfan! (actually its not the learning but the major assessments that stresses one out.)
I think at some points, you would hate it very much but it would make you vair vair creverrr lohhhhh!!!

Updating this entry from the phone with coldplay playing. Heaven. Back atwork in a day and part of me is looking forward to the clean slate and exciting beginning. Another part of me is just gasping for air realizing the hard work that is yet to begin. 2009 was good. I started 2010 in a melancholic state . I don't have a clue why.

I said,"how do you know?"
and he said," I've known you for ten years and Ive married u for five. And I love u. Always. That's why."
I hope whichever year ends and begins, some things will remain the same.

Road Trip- Perth, WA
(IV) Margaret River, Fremantle, Swan Valley and some things in between




Swan Valley


Margaret River Chocolate Factory

Our beachfront apartment at Scarborough Beach for the first two nites.




View of the Indian Ocean from our apartment

Our second apartment at quaint Margaret River.





Grocery shopping so that we we can cook dinner.




Cook busy at work. After all the driving?! I was amazed!
I wasnt the one driving and I couldnt even lift a finger to cut the onions.tsk tsk.

Some of the pit stops/lunches/time for kids to let off steam by the park/beach.






He picked a wildflower, held it up and said, " For you Ibu.." *heart melts*


Fremantle Market


"Cuppucino Strip" in Fremantle


Our last stay at Mercure Hotel at Perth City.
Despite alisha's bush hat and shades, she came back with two red sunburnt cheeks.


Perth City. Waiting for my mum to finish shopping.


Finally, date nite:)


Although this wasnt our first time in aust but it was extra special coz i brought my parents along.
Strangely enough, we felt like we had the responsibility to play host when in actual fact we were equally new to the place. I hope my parents enjoyed coming with us as much as we enjoyed bringing them. :)

Road Trip- Perth, WA
(III) Busselton Jetty and coastline views
along our drive to busselton jetty, we came across this small jetty on crystal clear water. Its very quiet with less than five people on this pretty beach. so we stopped for a bit to enjoy the view and for alim to have his photo fix.







Busselton Jetty in Busselton
Said to be the longest wooden jetty in Southern Hemisphere, stretching almost 2 km from shore. But when we came it was undergoing renovation so only the first 200m of the jetty was open.







Boat ride
Rock formations shaped over time. Some of them are acatually amalgamation of roots.









Spotted some dolphins and seals, much to Irfan's delight.










all ready to dive with the dolphins...in his dreams.


the sun was shining so brightly. luckily we all had shades, including alisha(thanks to cik ros for buying her one:)