ive been home for the past few days...been feeling cramps and getting terrible headaches. My tummy will get extremely hard and the muscle pull is unbearable. I suppose these are just part of the 3rd trimester woes for this particular babe. Had no such problems with irfan, just remember feeling extremely heavy and lazy with him.
i have plenty to clear at work but looks like that have to take a back seat. I hope i dunt get any muscle pulls whilst Im in labour coz it sure makes contractions a lot more painful and i doubt i can push when part of my muscle is being twisted; every single move I make hurts. the pulls feel like those simpul biawak u get on your feet or calf but i get it at the side of my pelvis and for a few moments, I will be paralysed with pain, till it just goes away on its own. Imagine having that while you are pushing in the midst of tense contractions!
and of course, there's those sleepless nites that goes without saying. Im up every few hours to pee and i just cant sleep comfortably for some reason. My tummy is rather small and aside from the baby, I dunt think I have put on much weight on myself. My arms are just as skinny as ever and my cheeks did not become any chubbier, I think..so I dunno why im feeling extremely uncomfortable. AND Im always hot and bothered these days. Have to sleep with the aircon on and in class, Im just a wreck, feeling so warm all th time and every little thing gets on my nerves. Poor kids. Think they are glad Ive not been in sch for the past 3 days.
Oh well, guess all these are part and parcel of the final leg of my pregnancy. 3 more weeks to go...no clue if it is going to be early or later than EDD.
We have not figured out a name yet but i've chanced upon a name I reaaly liked and alim has one he likes too. so we probably just throw these two names together.
Actually Irfan has a name he liked too. And when we told him the names we have chosen, he scrunched his nose and said they were not nice. Too bad...he can have a chance to name his own kids when he grows up. By the way, the name he wanted was Mudalisa Atika. Hehhehe. :) I suspect he modified his friends' name.
I dunno how some parents can start all their kids names with the same letter, but we just cant find anything we like that starts with Nur or the letter 'I' to be consistent with Irfan's name. We did try but couldnt find anything. We probably should have planned all our kids names before giving birth to the first one...heh, but then again, we've always been weak in the planning dept. So I suppose there would probably be nuthing similar about irfan's name and his sister.
I know I have told myself not to buy any clothes for the little one till about a week before my EDD. That's what I did with Irfan. But I just cant resist! Went to FOX the other day to get irfan some T-shirts but my eyes drifted to the other section of the shop, all things pink, purple and white! So I bought a couple but none of them were pink, actually, except for this really cute tights with dark pink and white stripes. I probably dunt really like pink baby clothes as much as I thought. In fact other than the tights, I doubt she can wear the other stuffs I bought till she turned older. But they were irrestible anyway so I bought them just for the fun of it.:)
Ok, time to go. Counting down the days to 11th May, my EDD. :)
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Thursday, April 09, 2009
ok long entry alert.
if you have insomnia, this entry might just be your cure. :)
Life at 31
So im turning 31 this year and never in my wildest dreams would I tink that I 'll be a mother of 2 soon. Insyallah.
Life has been pretty kind so far and like always, I've always taken each day as it comes. Might not be the best way to live your life but honestly I did not plan for everything that I have now. I've never really had a goal or target in life for eg, to make that first million when Im 35 or to have 3 kids when Im 40. Some say, those who fail to plan, plan to fail. I suppose they are right but I think life is so unpredictable..maybe Im just to scared to raise my hopes and see my plans ruined. And one thing I know for sure about myself is that Im never ambitious.
So I came to adulthood with no expectations, no plans, no high hopes of being happy, successful or loaded.
But one thing I know is, Ive always been lucky. Lucky to be surrounded with people who have been my source of strength and motivation.
Looking back, my parents had neither the knowledge nor the means to educate me. They never supervised my school work when I was young, never bug me to do my work coz they were pretty much uneducated. I remember having to explain the contents of my report book to them every year coz they are not sure if I had done well or not. BUT they motivated me despite the limited means they have, encouraged me through words and above all, i know for sure their prayers was the only thing that kept me sheltered and blessed all these times.
Somehow or other, without any aim or direction, I made it to Uni. Like I said, I am lucky coz I have siblings who took the place of my parents and helped me every step of the way. I remember my sister buying me a set of encyclopedia on my birthday when she got her first pay.It was expensive and it was quite a huge portion of her pay. She was the one who fed me with endless storybooks and bought me all the collection of Enid Blyton books I had. She promised me that if I could go to Uni, she would bring me to Australia for a holiday. In the end, she didnt but somehow I wasnt disappointed coz I understood the intend behind it.
I also know for sure without my brother, I would probably have no one to guide me in my school work. he was 5 years older than me and at that time, to me, he was a fountain of knowledge. It's as if he knew everything, so much so that I believed him when he said he could transport himself to the sky.
I hung on to every word he said. I remembered when I first bought my school books in P1, he was the one who read the books to me and my sister helped me to wrap my books. He was also the one who set mock papers for me to do and mark them when I am done. At that time, everything was handwritten and he carefully chose the questions from my test papers and assessment books and wrote them in a form of a test paper. And when I cried coz I was cranky and tired and could not finish my art homework, he was the one who completed it for me so that I can hand it in the next day. I dont know if he could remember all these details now, but I would never forget them. Coz I know for sure, I would never have been here without them.
I was never the smartest, the most hardworking, the most creative or vocal but I have always been lucky.
WIth A level grades that barely made it, I was lucky enough to be accepted in Uni. I was never the brightest student, never talked so much during tutorials but I enjoyed writing essays. before I know it, 3 years have gone by, and there I am, wondering what to do with my life. I dont have a plan, a goal or an amibition but I had all these opportunitites presented to me in my hands.
For lack of better ideas, I decided to teach. yes, for lack of better ideas.
and i remembered wanting to buy time before I start working and the 1 year PGDE course with pay could give me that. My parents wasnt exactly young anymore and the source of income would surely help. I didnt have the luxury or means to go overseas or study for a few more years so i decided to go into teaching immediately.
I was met with a rude shock when I came face to face with the stress of the teaching profession especially in the most difficult beginning 3 years. I managed to survive and again, was lucky to have met someone who saw some potential in me and gave me an opportunity to carry out a position which i doubted i was capable of undertaking.
But somehow I survived with the help of my source of strength, whom I was destined to meet. Alim was there every step of the way and helped me in my work whenever he could. I remembered him helping me to prepare my materials for my lesson observation. using his fantastic artistic skills, he prepared so many of my teaching materials that everyone in school thought I had artistic flair, which I obviously dont. From cutting circles for lesson on fractions, to collecting leaves for my science experiment, he had done it all with me. I particularly remembered him accompanying me to Mustafa Centre in the middle of the night coz I suddenly remembered i forgot to by nuts to be used in school for racial harmony day celebration the following day. He has always been the one to sit through my series of complains and tears and urged me on when i doubted myself.
But I must say all that stress, sweat and tears at work did not actually go to waste. It paid for my wedding. I managed to save enough and used the hard earned money to cover all costs, every lil detail of the wedding... but of course was pretty sad when I saw all my money gone after the wedding. :(
I have always been lazy and laid back but work requires me to be out there and take up bigger responsibilities. I struggled and surprisingly did things which I thought I was never capable of. And now, 8 years on, at a different school, I see my work in a totally opposite light. Im still not ambitious, but I now see that my work is appreciated in my school and it does have an impact on the students and teachers. And knowing the tears and heartaches of the teachers who just started out, I could use my position to create a better place for them. Work has been good so far, still busy but Im happy to be surrounded by colleagues and most importantly bosses who care.
Im still with no ambition. Opportunities keep presenting itself, as if forcing me to go somewhere, pushing me in a direction I never plan for. I donno if I should limit myself to here and now coz I am just too lazy or to take up the challenge, grow and impact others. Honestly, I never thought my attitude is ever cut out for this. But I also know,there is a bigger force out there that controls everything that comes my way.
And now at 31, I must say Im comfortable and thankful. With so many things that can go wrong, they have always come out perfect. So for all that I have today, Im thankful to so many people who have brought me here.
I donno if they know or remember all that they have done for me, but for sure,
I will never forget every single detail of how they have played a part in my life. :)
if you have insomnia, this entry might just be your cure. :)
Life at 31
So im turning 31 this year and never in my wildest dreams would I tink that I 'll be a mother of 2 soon. Insyallah.
Life has been pretty kind so far and like always, I've always taken each day as it comes. Might not be the best way to live your life but honestly I did not plan for everything that I have now. I've never really had a goal or target in life for eg, to make that first million when Im 35 or to have 3 kids when Im 40. Some say, those who fail to plan, plan to fail. I suppose they are right but I think life is so unpredictable..maybe Im just to scared to raise my hopes and see my plans ruined. And one thing I know for sure about myself is that Im never ambitious.
So I came to adulthood with no expectations, no plans, no high hopes of being happy, successful or loaded.
But one thing I know is, Ive always been lucky. Lucky to be surrounded with people who have been my source of strength and motivation.
Looking back, my parents had neither the knowledge nor the means to educate me. They never supervised my school work when I was young, never bug me to do my work coz they were pretty much uneducated. I remember having to explain the contents of my report book to them every year coz they are not sure if I had done well or not. BUT they motivated me despite the limited means they have, encouraged me through words and above all, i know for sure their prayers was the only thing that kept me sheltered and blessed all these times.
Somehow or other, without any aim or direction, I made it to Uni. Like I said, I am lucky coz I have siblings who took the place of my parents and helped me every step of the way. I remember my sister buying me a set of encyclopedia on my birthday when she got her first pay.It was expensive and it was quite a huge portion of her pay. She was the one who fed me with endless storybooks and bought me all the collection of Enid Blyton books I had. She promised me that if I could go to Uni, she would bring me to Australia for a holiday. In the end, she didnt but somehow I wasnt disappointed coz I understood the intend behind it.
I also know for sure without my brother, I would probably have no one to guide me in my school work. he was 5 years older than me and at that time, to me, he was a fountain of knowledge. It's as if he knew everything, so much so that I believed him when he said he could transport himself to the sky.
I hung on to every word he said. I remembered when I first bought my school books in P1, he was the one who read the books to me and my sister helped me to wrap my books. He was also the one who set mock papers for me to do and mark them when I am done. At that time, everything was handwritten and he carefully chose the questions from my test papers and assessment books and wrote them in a form of a test paper. And when I cried coz I was cranky and tired and could not finish my art homework, he was the one who completed it for me so that I can hand it in the next day. I dont know if he could remember all these details now, but I would never forget them. Coz I know for sure, I would never have been here without them.
I was never the smartest, the most hardworking, the most creative or vocal but I have always been lucky.
WIth A level grades that barely made it, I was lucky enough to be accepted in Uni. I was never the brightest student, never talked so much during tutorials but I enjoyed writing essays. before I know it, 3 years have gone by, and there I am, wondering what to do with my life. I dont have a plan, a goal or an amibition but I had all these opportunitites presented to me in my hands.
For lack of better ideas, I decided to teach. yes, for lack of better ideas.
and i remembered wanting to buy time before I start working and the 1 year PGDE course with pay could give me that. My parents wasnt exactly young anymore and the source of income would surely help. I didnt have the luxury or means to go overseas or study for a few more years so i decided to go into teaching immediately.
I was met with a rude shock when I came face to face with the stress of the teaching profession especially in the most difficult beginning 3 years. I managed to survive and again, was lucky to have met someone who saw some potential in me and gave me an opportunity to carry out a position which i doubted i was capable of undertaking.
But somehow I survived with the help of my source of strength, whom I was destined to meet. Alim was there every step of the way and helped me in my work whenever he could. I remembered him helping me to prepare my materials for my lesson observation. using his fantastic artistic skills, he prepared so many of my teaching materials that everyone in school thought I had artistic flair, which I obviously dont. From cutting circles for lesson on fractions, to collecting leaves for my science experiment, he had done it all with me. I particularly remembered him accompanying me to Mustafa Centre in the middle of the night coz I suddenly remembered i forgot to by nuts to be used in school for racial harmony day celebration the following day. He has always been the one to sit through my series of complains and tears and urged me on when i doubted myself.
But I must say all that stress, sweat and tears at work did not actually go to waste. It paid for my wedding. I managed to save enough and used the hard earned money to cover all costs, every lil detail of the wedding... but of course was pretty sad when I saw all my money gone after the wedding. :(
I have always been lazy and laid back but work requires me to be out there and take up bigger responsibilities. I struggled and surprisingly did things which I thought I was never capable of. And now, 8 years on, at a different school, I see my work in a totally opposite light. Im still not ambitious, but I now see that my work is appreciated in my school and it does have an impact on the students and teachers. And knowing the tears and heartaches of the teachers who just started out, I could use my position to create a better place for them. Work has been good so far, still busy but Im happy to be surrounded by colleagues and most importantly bosses who care.
Im still with no ambition. Opportunities keep presenting itself, as if forcing me to go somewhere, pushing me in a direction I never plan for. I donno if I should limit myself to here and now coz I am just too lazy or to take up the challenge, grow and impact others. Honestly, I never thought my attitude is ever cut out for this. But I also know,there is a bigger force out there that controls everything that comes my way.
And now at 31, I must say Im comfortable and thankful. With so many things that can go wrong, they have always come out perfect. So for all that I have today, Im thankful to so many people who have brought me here.
I donno if they know or remember all that they have done for me, but for sure,
I will never forget every single detail of how they have played a part in my life. :)
Monday, March 16, 2009
Haji Lane with my constant companion
Whenever I look really down and upset, you'll ask me why I'm sad. And you'll ask me to smile. Sometimes you ask, "Is it me, ibu?" And I had to smile and say,
"No, it's never you, boy."
When I say Im sick, you'll constantly check on me and ask me if Im feeling better.
When we are late and the shop I want to go to is closed, you'll say
'Nevermind ibu, we'll try again tomorrow."
Once, when you saw tears in my eyes, you asked me, "Are you crying ibu?". Then I saw you looked around trying to find something to make me feel better. You picked a puzzle and asked me if I wanted to play. When I shook my head you looked around again. In the end, you took a tissue and gave it to me. You waited for me to wipe my tears, took the tissue and threw it in the bin."R u feeling better now, ibu?" you asked.
When you thought Im asleep (actually Im just pretending to sleep), you'd say,
"Goodnight ibu. I love you" and give me a kiss on my cheeks.
You'll always take everything blue and keep all things pink for me, just because Im a girl.
I teach you the alphabets, numbers and colours.
But I don't remember teaching you how to be sweet, coz honestly I don't know how to teach you that. I guess you picked it up somewhere. You are loud, boisterous, active. You never ever walk. You jump, hop, skip, run, everything else but take proper steps.But amidst all the craziness of being three,I suppose
you learn to care.
You'll always be our number one :)
Whenever I look really down and upset, you'll ask me why I'm sad. And you'll ask me to smile. Sometimes you ask, "Is it me, ibu?" And I had to smile and say,
"No, it's never you, boy."
When I say Im sick, you'll constantly check on me and ask me if Im feeling better.
When we are late and the shop I want to go to is closed, you'll say
'Nevermind ibu, we'll try again tomorrow."
Once, when you saw tears in my eyes, you asked me, "Are you crying ibu?". Then I saw you looked around trying to find something to make me feel better. You picked a puzzle and asked me if I wanted to play. When I shook my head you looked around again. In the end, you took a tissue and gave it to me. You waited for me to wipe my tears, took the tissue and threw it in the bin."R u feeling better now, ibu?" you asked.
When you thought Im asleep (actually Im just pretending to sleep), you'd say,
"Goodnight ibu. I love you" and give me a kiss on my cheeks.
You'll always take everything blue and keep all things pink for me, just because Im a girl.
I teach you the alphabets, numbers and colours.
But I don't remember teaching you how to be sweet, coz honestly I don't know how to teach you that. I guess you picked it up somewhere. You are loud, boisterous, active. You never ever walk. You jump, hop, skip, run, everything else but take proper steps.But amidst all the craziness of being three,I suppose
you learn to care.
You'll always be our number one :)
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
about 10 more weeks to go before i deliver. insyaallah.
time sure flies. i have been rereading my past entries about my pregnancy with irfan, trying to recall and compare if both pregnancies are the same. but i realized i didnt have as many entries about the pregnancy as i thought.
from what i could recall, i didnt experience braxton hicks at all with irfan but I have been getting painful and uncomfortable 'muscle pulls' at the side of my tummy every other day with this one. I came to know that those pulls are actually braxton hicks and its purpose is to prepare your uterine muscles for labour. so its kinda 'practice' for your body to get used to the real contractions.
with the second one, Im also always craving for gassy drink, especially coke and i am less particular about my intake this time, downing just about anything from coke to coffee. This time round, I've also noticed that the baby is extremely active, very much more than irfan was. I don't know if all the sugar in the coke have caused that. But the movements are rather violent and very often which made me wonder what the baby is actually doing inside. It feels like the lil one is doing some 360 degree flips, kicking, shoving or punching endlessly, making me feel like she's dropping out anytime soon.
And yes, my gynae is super confident that the gender is not a mystery. It's a girl, she said very confidently, further adding that it's very obvious and pointed to some grey-blackish thingy on the scan that's supposed to be the female part.
So im a lil less skeptical now and told irfan that he's having a sister and not a brother. He seemed very fine with it, in fact just the other day, pointed out a tiny pink dress from FOX and said maybe baby will like it coz it's "pink and have some flowers."
I'm happy to know it's a girl of course, but surprisingly have not indulged in splurging on those adorable baby girl clothes I've been eyeing yet. I don't know why but I think I'd rather wait for a lil bit longer. Yes Im crazy like that.
So far im doing good but im beginning to have the jitters of labour and delivery. it was all good with irfan, but nothing is predictable and we will never know what will happen. I have kind of forgotten the pain of labour but in 10 weeks, like it or not, it will definitely come back to me, loud and clear!
Another worry is the second one will be bigger than irfan. According to my gynae and the websites I've read, this is usually the case with the second child. Irfan was 3.74 and I really dread the thought of delivering a baby any bigger than that! So my gynae has told me to cut down on all the coke and sugar to prevent the baby from getting so big. Oh my, just the thought of it, is sending shivers down below!
ok,ok I better stop now coz I can really go on and on about my labour fears. i suppose having experienced one birth before, albeit an easy one, does not help me at all in reducing my ever present paranoia. Im a real worry wart, ain't I?
Till later:)
time sure flies. i have been rereading my past entries about my pregnancy with irfan, trying to recall and compare if both pregnancies are the same. but i realized i didnt have as many entries about the pregnancy as i thought.
from what i could recall, i didnt experience braxton hicks at all with irfan but I have been getting painful and uncomfortable 'muscle pulls' at the side of my tummy every other day with this one. I came to know that those pulls are actually braxton hicks and its purpose is to prepare your uterine muscles for labour. so its kinda 'practice' for your body to get used to the real contractions.
with the second one, Im also always craving for gassy drink, especially coke and i am less particular about my intake this time, downing just about anything from coke to coffee. This time round, I've also noticed that the baby is extremely active, very much more than irfan was. I don't know if all the sugar in the coke have caused that. But the movements are rather violent and very often which made me wonder what the baby is actually doing inside. It feels like the lil one is doing some 360 degree flips, kicking, shoving or punching endlessly, making me feel like she's dropping out anytime soon.
And yes, my gynae is super confident that the gender is not a mystery. It's a girl, she said very confidently, further adding that it's very obvious and pointed to some grey-blackish thingy on the scan that's supposed to be the female part.
So im a lil less skeptical now and told irfan that he's having a sister and not a brother. He seemed very fine with it, in fact just the other day, pointed out a tiny pink dress from FOX and said maybe baby will like it coz it's "pink and have some flowers."
I'm happy to know it's a girl of course, but surprisingly have not indulged in splurging on those adorable baby girl clothes I've been eyeing yet. I don't know why but I think I'd rather wait for a lil bit longer. Yes Im crazy like that.
So far im doing good but im beginning to have the jitters of labour and delivery. it was all good with irfan, but nothing is predictable and we will never know what will happen. I have kind of forgotten the pain of labour but in 10 weeks, like it or not, it will definitely come back to me, loud and clear!
Another worry is the second one will be bigger than irfan. According to my gynae and the websites I've read, this is usually the case with the second child. Irfan was 3.74 and I really dread the thought of delivering a baby any bigger than that! So my gynae has told me to cut down on all the coke and sugar to prevent the baby from getting so big. Oh my, just the thought of it, is sending shivers down below!
ok,ok I better stop now coz I can really go on and on about my labour fears. i suppose having experienced one birth before, albeit an easy one, does not help me at all in reducing my ever present paranoia. Im a real worry wart, ain't I?
Till later:)
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
December Drive in Queensland
The Brisbane-Gold Coast-Sunshine Coast drive in Dec reminded me so much of Great Ocean Road 5 years ago. Except, this time we had irfan to share it with. It's the same fantastic greenish ocean view and the waves crashing on the shores.
Noosa was very laid back and I will surely never forget the lunch by Noosa Heads.
For me, all i needed for this holiday was some fantastic view, a crystal clear lake to dip in which Lake Mckenzie provided and a clear sandy beach which the 4 wheel drive brought us to at Fraser Island.
And irfan had his fair share of excitement,at the theme parks and zoo; 'flying' on 'airplanes', dancing with sesame street, water play, meet-ups with Dora, Spongebob and feeding the traumatised kangaroos, koalas and baby crocodiles.
So thankfully, Im recharged now for school and second trimester has been a welcoming change from the rather bumpy first trimester. Time for work now. Looking forward to May.
Pictures
The Brisbane-Gold Coast-Sunshine Coast drive in Dec reminded me so much of Great Ocean Road 5 years ago. Except, this time we had irfan to share it with. It's the same fantastic greenish ocean view and the waves crashing on the shores.
Noosa was very laid back and I will surely never forget the lunch by Noosa Heads.
For me, all i needed for this holiday was some fantastic view, a crystal clear lake to dip in which Lake Mckenzie provided and a clear sandy beach which the 4 wheel drive brought us to at Fraser Island.
And irfan had his fair share of excitement,at the theme parks and zoo; 'flying' on 'airplanes', dancing with sesame street, water play, meet-ups with Dora, Spongebob and feeding the traumatised kangaroos, koalas and baby crocodiles.
So thankfully, Im recharged now for school and second trimester has been a welcoming change from the rather bumpy first trimester. Time for work now. Looking forward to May.
Pictures
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Picture,pls!
Oh how time flies...im in my 20th week already..5 mths!
Alhamdullilah the first trimester has ended with the baby still doing well albeit the hiccups and scares in between. Much to be thankful for and praying hard the 2nd and 3rd trimester will be fine too.
This time round, my stomach is rather small although I have gained quite a considerable amount of weight. I cant really remember how it was with irfan 3 years ago but i think i became really big only during my last trimester.
Had my fifth month detailed scan yesterday. Brought the lil one and he sat through the whole scan asking this and that. The sonographer was too serious and could not be bothered to layan him, so alim had to attend to his queries. And when the scan ended, the lil boy asked me, "Got baby picture or not?" The sonographer overheard this of course coz irfan always sounds like a loudhailer and i guess the sonographer tak sampai hati (either that or cannot wait to get rid of him!) and handed him two pictures, much to his delight!
"My ****** and me;)"
Not sure if he knows which part is which from the scan coz he always points out the wrong parts to me when asked. But he always asks my gynae for one everytime she scans me, just to add to his collection.
As for the gender, although the sonographer was pretty confident with what she saw (or didnt see:)and confidently told us the gender of the baby, i think i shall wait for my next appointment when the baby is bigger to take what she said seriously.
of coz, a girl would be great since naturally if you already have a boy, you would want a girl...but irfan is kinda hoping for a brother ...poor him, been telling everyone it's a boy.
for me, with the lost early this year and my crazy paranoia, honestly i will just be over the moon if everything goes well...
Just happy to know that the baby is doing ok so far and i m really hoping the rest of the 4 months will be just as good. :)
Oh how time flies...im in my 20th week already..5 mths!
Alhamdullilah the first trimester has ended with the baby still doing well albeit the hiccups and scares in between. Much to be thankful for and praying hard the 2nd and 3rd trimester will be fine too.
This time round, my stomach is rather small although I have gained quite a considerable amount of weight. I cant really remember how it was with irfan 3 years ago but i think i became really big only during my last trimester.
Had my fifth month detailed scan yesterday. Brought the lil one and he sat through the whole scan asking this and that. The sonographer was too serious and could not be bothered to layan him, so alim had to attend to his queries. And when the scan ended, the lil boy asked me, "Got baby picture or not?" The sonographer overheard this of course coz irfan always sounds like a loudhailer and i guess the sonographer tak sampai hati (either that or cannot wait to get rid of him!) and handed him two pictures, much to his delight!
"My ****** and me;)"
Not sure if he knows which part is which from the scan coz he always points out the wrong parts to me when asked. But he always asks my gynae for one everytime she scans me, just to add to his collection.
As for the gender, although the sonographer was pretty confident with what she saw (or didnt see:)and confidently told us the gender of the baby, i think i shall wait for my next appointment when the baby is bigger to take what she said seriously.
of coz, a girl would be great since naturally if you already have a boy, you would want a girl...but irfan is kinda hoping for a brother ...poor him, been telling everyone it's a boy.
for me, with the lost early this year and my crazy paranoia, honestly i will just be over the moon if everything goes well...
Just happy to know that the baby is doing ok so far and i m really hoping the rest of the 4 months will be just as good. :)
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Tough love
Disciplining a child at any age is not an easy task, be it a toddler or a teenager. I come to realize that it is always about striking a good balance between putting the message across and dealing with the feelings at the same time.
Striking a good balance is not easy. While teenagers pose a different kind of challenge, my immeditate task now is handling this 3 year old boy now and showing him the right way to behave. On one hand, while I know positive modelling is essential in developing positive behaviour, I must admit I am not consistently a perfect model myself. Well, theory is one thing and actual pracice is a different ball game altogether. For example sometimes I catch myself yelling, although it's something I tell irfan not to do.
Teaching irfan the right way to behave can be a challenge at times. His typical response to us scolding him, would be to cover his face, break into sobs which gets louder by the minute and in between the desperate cries and unstoppable sobs, he will say these words,
" I love (sob, sob) you ibu." I friend (sob, sob) you ibu"..
By now his voice would have cracked and his words are broken and almost inaudible. His whole face would be red and tears will be running down his his red cheeks and equally red nose and lips. And softly he would say,
"I sor...ry (sob sob) ibu..."
Sometimes I wonder why he always says these words when scolded and I wonder, within his limited capacity, what does he actually understand by love and if we have made him feel insecure about how much we love him. Or could it be as a 3 year old , they are alreasy able to plan a scheming manner to act pathetic so that we can just gloss over their wrongdoings. Or maybe it's just me, paranoid over watching Anakku Sazali!" :)
At times, I just feel like hugging him and saying it's ok, I mean it's quite heartbreaking to hear his words in between sobs like that, but so far, we had always managed to stand firm and used the window before he break into sobs to explain to him what was wrong. I never knew it can be so hard to scold your child sumtimes until I become a parent myself. But I know giving in can be detrimental to the child in the long run and having a spoilt teenager might be a more uphill task than dealing with a toddler.
Most of the time, I realize they dont mean to behave badly, but they are not sure of the right way to get whatever they want, so while I say no you cant do that, I also have to teach him how to get what he wants the right way.
And one thing i have to constantly remind myself is that they are too little to learn immediately and will repeat the mistakes again n again, much to our frustration sumtimes.
Our typical response to his sobs and cries would be to ask him to stop crying and be quiet. Many times he doesnt and I will fume and would say, " You better stop now, or I will...." . At the back of my mind I know I have read somewhere that giving an ultimatum like that is not a good idea, but like I said, theory can go out of the window sumtimes.
Well, I suppose this is a struggle of a novice parent who reads too much! Hah!
And recently his reply to us asking him to stop crying is this , " I can't ibu (sob, sob), help ibu (sob sob), cover my mouth for me (sob, sob)."
Honestly, the first time I heard him ask me to cover his mouth i really feel like laughing out loud!Hehe.
BUt I did cover his mouth, and amidst the quiet, i could hear him trying his best to stifle his cries. Poor boy :(
Then it struck me! I was asking him to do the impossible all this time! When someone is sobbing badly and crying so much, one cant just stop automaticaly and immediately. What more a 3 year old who has limited control of how he feels. All this while, he really cant stop his sobs, and he couldnt tell me probbaly due to lack of words and his inability to express himself. and now that he can, his words are simple, honest and yet so true. he simply cant stop! i mean at least not immediately. But the point is, he did want to listen to me and stop but he doesnt know how, and to his simple mind, the solution is for me to cover his mouth!!
i made a mental note to remember that he is indeed only 3 and sometimes i do ask the impossible from him. Luckily he is able to talk now and expresses certain things, as simple and honest as he could.
Recently, irfan has been rather clingy to us and always wanting the attention from us, especially the daddy. Its probably coz, he has been spending a lot of time with us since he is also having his hols and i also suspect it probbaly has something to do with the other one coming soon.
Wanting attention is fine i guess, but we are still teaching him the better way of getting our attention as compared to whining and asking us to help in every other thing.
So till later, my on-the-job training of being a parent shall continue....
Disciplining a child at any age is not an easy task, be it a toddler or a teenager. I come to realize that it is always about striking a good balance between putting the message across and dealing with the feelings at the same time.
Striking a good balance is not easy. While teenagers pose a different kind of challenge, my immeditate task now is handling this 3 year old boy now and showing him the right way to behave. On one hand, while I know positive modelling is essential in developing positive behaviour, I must admit I am not consistently a perfect model myself. Well, theory is one thing and actual pracice is a different ball game altogether. For example sometimes I catch myself yelling, although it's something I tell irfan not to do.
Teaching irfan the right way to behave can be a challenge at times. His typical response to us scolding him, would be to cover his face, break into sobs which gets louder by the minute and in between the desperate cries and unstoppable sobs, he will say these words,
" I love (sob, sob) you ibu." I friend (sob, sob) you ibu"..
By now his voice would have cracked and his words are broken and almost inaudible. His whole face would be red and tears will be running down his his red cheeks and equally red nose and lips. And softly he would say,
"I sor...ry (sob sob) ibu..."
Sometimes I wonder why he always says these words when scolded and I wonder, within his limited capacity, what does he actually understand by love and if we have made him feel insecure about how much we love him. Or could it be as a 3 year old , they are alreasy able to plan a scheming manner to act pathetic so that we can just gloss over their wrongdoings. Or maybe it's just me, paranoid over watching Anakku Sazali!" :)
At times, I just feel like hugging him and saying it's ok, I mean it's quite heartbreaking to hear his words in between sobs like that, but so far, we had always managed to stand firm and used the window before he break into sobs to explain to him what was wrong. I never knew it can be so hard to scold your child sumtimes until I become a parent myself. But I know giving in can be detrimental to the child in the long run and having a spoilt teenager might be a more uphill task than dealing with a toddler.
Most of the time, I realize they dont mean to behave badly, but they are not sure of the right way to get whatever they want, so while I say no you cant do that, I also have to teach him how to get what he wants the right way.
And one thing i have to constantly remind myself is that they are too little to learn immediately and will repeat the mistakes again n again, much to our frustration sumtimes.
Our typical response to his sobs and cries would be to ask him to stop crying and be quiet. Many times he doesnt and I will fume and would say, " You better stop now, or I will...." . At the back of my mind I know I have read somewhere that giving an ultimatum like that is not a good idea, but like I said, theory can go out of the window sumtimes.
Well, I suppose this is a struggle of a novice parent who reads too much! Hah!
And recently his reply to us asking him to stop crying is this , " I can't ibu (sob, sob), help ibu (sob sob), cover my mouth for me (sob, sob)."
Honestly, the first time I heard him ask me to cover his mouth i really feel like laughing out loud!Hehe.
BUt I did cover his mouth, and amidst the quiet, i could hear him trying his best to stifle his cries. Poor boy :(
Then it struck me! I was asking him to do the impossible all this time! When someone is sobbing badly and crying so much, one cant just stop automaticaly and immediately. What more a 3 year old who has limited control of how he feels. All this while, he really cant stop his sobs, and he couldnt tell me probbaly due to lack of words and his inability to express himself. and now that he can, his words are simple, honest and yet so true. he simply cant stop! i mean at least not immediately. But the point is, he did want to listen to me and stop but he doesnt know how, and to his simple mind, the solution is for me to cover his mouth!!
i made a mental note to remember that he is indeed only 3 and sometimes i do ask the impossible from him. Luckily he is able to talk now and expresses certain things, as simple and honest as he could.
Recently, irfan has been rather clingy to us and always wanting the attention from us, especially the daddy. Its probably coz, he has been spending a lot of time with us since he is also having his hols and i also suspect it probbaly has something to do with the other one coming soon.
Wanting attention is fine i guess, but we are still teaching him the better way of getting our attention as compared to whining and asking us to help in every other thing.
So till later, my on-the-job training of being a parent shall continue....
Friday, November 14, 2008
Tomorrow is Irfan's end of the year concert and he is performing. Im so excited, heh although I have no idea what exactly his item is about. He has been practicing enthusiastically at home, and as he twirled and clapped and hopped, i hear something about Hot Potato, Hot Potato amidst his singing and gigling. So i suppose his item is a dance about some hot potato. That's all i know.
Im sure tomorrow will be a chaotic affair as all students from all the different branches come together at DBS Auditoriam to perform. It's actually the end of the year concert cum graduation but all kids from preschool to K2 will be performing. So I can already imagine all the mayhem. I always wonder how the teachers manage to even teach the steps and rehearse with them coz I really doubt they can even stay in a line.
Irfan has been having on and off fever since Monday and has not been in school. I hope he will be 100% ok tomorrow to perform. And i do hope he remembers his steps coz he has not been practising for a week. His teacher said he is always over zeolous during rehearsals and I think I know very well what she means.
He was also supposed to wear some makeup tomorrow, powder, some lipstick, blusher ....so I told him that yesterday and he said he can't coz he is a boy and make up are for girls. Im not quite sure how to explain to him that this is an exception for a performance.
Well till tomorrow:) Think Im just as excited as he is!
Im sure tomorrow will be a chaotic affair as all students from all the different branches come together at DBS Auditoriam to perform. It's actually the end of the year concert cum graduation but all kids from preschool to K2 will be performing. So I can already imagine all the mayhem. I always wonder how the teachers manage to even teach the steps and rehearse with them coz I really doubt they can even stay in a line.
Irfan has been having on and off fever since Monday and has not been in school. I hope he will be 100% ok tomorrow to perform. And i do hope he remembers his steps coz he has not been practising for a week. His teacher said he is always over zeolous during rehearsals and I think I know very well what she means.
He was also supposed to wear some makeup tomorrow, powder, some lipstick, blusher ....so I told him that yesterday and he said he can't coz he is a boy and make up are for girls. Im not quite sure how to explain to him that this is an exception for a performance.
Well till tomorrow:) Think Im just as excited as he is!
Thursday, October 30, 2008
We, the last minute people still have not decided where to go for the dec hols. Pretty usual, very typical, very common. With my unpredictable condition,it even adds on to our dilemma. Im not sure if i can withstand any flight more than 10 hours and if I can take all the sightseeing, milk making and luggage carrying involved in a holiday at a country of a very different time zone with a 3 yr old boy.
We have narrowed down and further narrowed down but as usual, reached no conclusions yet. I am more inclined to resting in my bed the whole dec coz really, my body feels like it. But it would be such a waste and not healthy too, i think. This would probably be our last holiday as a threesome and being able to repeat our June 07 feat would be great but my body is so not up to it.
So let's contemplate and further contemplate sumore, till the date draws near and then we make a sudden decision to go somewere, not even in our plan initially. That won't be a surprise.
On another note, got some gd news yesterday and hoping it remains that way. Some good news tug on your hearts so much that you want to celebrate it but not sure when is a ripe time to do it. So we shall let it be till more good news come and we cant contain ourselves anymore, and then it will be time.
Im not at werk today-again coz my body just refuse to cooperate with me. I dunt remember ever feeling like this with irfan. I dunt really know how to explain how I am feeling, just weak weak weak and to make it worse, im down with flu which I got from irfan. So work is taking a backseat right now, although that is really an impossible thing to do so Im basically doing what I can from home.
Ok im done.
We have narrowed down and further narrowed down but as usual, reached no conclusions yet. I am more inclined to resting in my bed the whole dec coz really, my body feels like it. But it would be such a waste and not healthy too, i think. This would probably be our last holiday as a threesome and being able to repeat our June 07 feat would be great but my body is so not up to it.
So let's contemplate and further contemplate sumore, till the date draws near and then we make a sudden decision to go somewere, not even in our plan initially. That won't be a surprise.
On another note, got some gd news yesterday and hoping it remains that way. Some good news tug on your hearts so much that you want to celebrate it but not sure when is a ripe time to do it. So we shall let it be till more good news come and we cant contain ourselves anymore, and then it will be time.
Im not at werk today-again coz my body just refuse to cooperate with me. I dunt remember ever feeling like this with irfan. I dunt really know how to explain how I am feeling, just weak weak weak and to make it worse, im down with flu which I got from irfan. So work is taking a backseat right now, although that is really an impossible thing to do so Im basically doing what I can from home.
Ok im done.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
The boy's preoccupation with my tummy
In the past, when Irfan was still in my tummy, his daddy used to talk to him as much as he could.
Now, ever since I first told Irfan about the baby, he has been the one who talks constantly to the real tiny life inside. My tummy hasnt shown much yet but that doesnt seem to stop Irfan from checking on the lil one every now and then. He talks to the lil one every night, without me telling him to, sometimes just a loud "hello baby" and quick peck before running off to god knows where.
At times, he will rest his toy on my tummy and tells the lil one how special his toy is and what it is capable of doing. But amidst his entusiasm, he has many times, sat on my tummy, accidentally kicked it and plonked his toy too hard on it. And I have to constantly remind him to be gentle.
A few nights ago, he pasted a pokemon sticker on my tummy and said that one is for the baby. ANother time, he insisted that I eat his pretend playdoh food and when I refused he said the baby will be hungry if I dunt.
I think he badly wants a sibling:)
The previous trip to the gynae, she gave Irfan the scan pics. he took it, looked at it and then asked the doc, "Is baby ok?". It sounded weird coming from him cos there's an air of concern there which I never expected a boy of 3 to have.
The doc told him baby is fine and he gave her a nod and a big smile. Such a copy cat he is, I think he heard me asked the same question the last time I met the gynae and I think I smiled too when she said the baby was ok.
Sometimes, when Im in the toilet, he has this habit of just opening the door and checking what Im doing. I have to admit, because of what happened previously, now, each time I feel some pain, I would immediately check for any bleeding, spotting or strange discharge. And sometimes Irfan will walk into the toilet, sneak a peak, looked a lil alarm and ask me, "Got blood or not? Is baby ok?"
I never really explained to him what happened previously but he did know that I was very sad over what happened. He had also seen some bleeding the other time and saw my alarm and reaction to it. he did ask me what happened and I remembered telling him that I was sick. I didnt say anything about a baby.
But I guess he knows the sight of blood is a sign of something bad happening to the baby. And somehow, he has picked up on my worry and fear n constantly asks me if the baby is ok.
So nowadays, everything is really about the baby to him. He sees me eating something that looks red and spicy and asked me what if baby pedas. He lies down on my tummy to watch T.V and hears my stomach gurgling and says" Eee..baby kuntut(that's how he says kentot)!" I eat an ice-cream and he asks me if baby will get a cough from it...and the list goes on.
So now, more for the sake of Irfan, I hope all goes well. I really do.
I guess when you are expecting, people around you are always showing concern and be nice to you..But I least expect it from this 3 yr old boy. It's nice to have your lil boy show so much concern over you, in his own childish way. For as long as I am still the apple of his eye, I will relish the moment for as long as I could coz Im quite certain that one day,years from now, his mommy will take a back seat in his life.
In the past, when Irfan was still in my tummy, his daddy used to talk to him as much as he could.
Now, ever since I first told Irfan about the baby, he has been the one who talks constantly to the real tiny life inside. My tummy hasnt shown much yet but that doesnt seem to stop Irfan from checking on the lil one every now and then. He talks to the lil one every night, without me telling him to, sometimes just a loud "hello baby" and quick peck before running off to god knows where.
At times, he will rest his toy on my tummy and tells the lil one how special his toy is and what it is capable of doing. But amidst his entusiasm, he has many times, sat on my tummy, accidentally kicked it and plonked his toy too hard on it. And I have to constantly remind him to be gentle.
A few nights ago, he pasted a pokemon sticker on my tummy and said that one is for the baby. ANother time, he insisted that I eat his pretend playdoh food and when I refused he said the baby will be hungry if I dunt.
I think he badly wants a sibling:)
The previous trip to the gynae, she gave Irfan the scan pics. he took it, looked at it and then asked the doc, "Is baby ok?". It sounded weird coming from him cos there's an air of concern there which I never expected a boy of 3 to have.
The doc told him baby is fine and he gave her a nod and a big smile. Such a copy cat he is, I think he heard me asked the same question the last time I met the gynae and I think I smiled too when she said the baby was ok.
Sometimes, when Im in the toilet, he has this habit of just opening the door and checking what Im doing. I have to admit, because of what happened previously, now, each time I feel some pain, I would immediately check for any bleeding, spotting or strange discharge. And sometimes Irfan will walk into the toilet, sneak a peak, looked a lil alarm and ask me, "Got blood or not? Is baby ok?"
I never really explained to him what happened previously but he did know that I was very sad over what happened. He had also seen some bleeding the other time and saw my alarm and reaction to it. he did ask me what happened and I remembered telling him that I was sick. I didnt say anything about a baby.
But I guess he knows the sight of blood is a sign of something bad happening to the baby. And somehow, he has picked up on my worry and fear n constantly asks me if the baby is ok.
So nowadays, everything is really about the baby to him. He sees me eating something that looks red and spicy and asked me what if baby pedas. He lies down on my tummy to watch T.V and hears my stomach gurgling and says" Eee..baby kuntut(that's how he says kentot)!" I eat an ice-cream and he asks me if baby will get a cough from it...and the list goes on.
So now, more for the sake of Irfan, I hope all goes well. I really do.
I guess when you are expecting, people around you are always showing concern and be nice to you..But I least expect it from this 3 yr old boy. It's nice to have your lil boy show so much concern over you, in his own childish way. For as long as I am still the apple of his eye, I will relish the moment for as long as I could coz Im quite certain that one day,years from now, his mommy will take a back seat in his life.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Been a while since I updated this space.
Actually there were many things worth penning down here coz it has been a rather eventful few months. Happy moments, heartbreaking ones and then there were the dull 2 weeks of nothing but bed and ophrah. Luckily the lil one is around to bring some life into my very lazy 2 weeks.
So anyway, highlights include the lil one's birthday, my birthday, hari raya, some wonderful news and then, the 3rd farewell for the year. Significant events that celebrates life, dealing with death and stuff in between; all rolled in 2 months. Yes, been pretty busy.
Some pics of happy moments cause they are so easily forgotten. Sad moments are etched deep inside and there's really no need for pictures coz I can see them clearly even when there's nothing concrete to hold on to.
This is a real belated entry on Irfan's brthday last month.
The lil one loves birthdays so much, so although Im kinda lazy to invite so many people over, as it was the fasting month anyway, nonetheless we decided to go crazy with this one, but still keeping it a small and cosy affair.
He was excited as he always is, not much of his reaction to birthdays has changed since his first birthday, making me wonder if he will ever get sick of blowing candles and singing birthday songs.
Waiting for everyone to gather and sing his bday song.
Thomas here, Thomas there, Thomas everywhere. From Thomas cake, tablecloth, balloons, cups, goodie bags, Thomas party hats and EVEN self printed Thomas T shirts for everyone! Even my dad and mum wore the T-shirts , can u believe it? I can't believe it ...hmm wonder whose idea it was?!
See the T-shirts? Hehe funny rite?
And like every year of his birthday, Irfan is having a big smile plastered across his face. That is perhaps the biggest motivation to do crazy things like buy plain T-shirts, print design and iron them on for about 10 people! Otherwise who would have bothered! Oh Im sorry, someone WOULD have bothered, look at another over zealous person in the pics, with the big smile plastered across her face too. Banyak nah idea dia..deprived childhood tak?
Till next year:) Keep the smile plastered and the enthusiasm going for as long as you can, lil one!
Actually there were many things worth penning down here coz it has been a rather eventful few months. Happy moments, heartbreaking ones and then there were the dull 2 weeks of nothing but bed and ophrah. Luckily the lil one is around to bring some life into my very lazy 2 weeks.
So anyway, highlights include the lil one's birthday, my birthday, hari raya, some wonderful news and then, the 3rd farewell for the year. Significant events that celebrates life, dealing with death and stuff in between; all rolled in 2 months. Yes, been pretty busy.
Some pics of happy moments cause they are so easily forgotten. Sad moments are etched deep inside and there's really no need for pictures coz I can see them clearly even when there's nothing concrete to hold on to.
This is a real belated entry on Irfan's brthday last month.
The lil one loves birthdays so much, so although Im kinda lazy to invite so many people over, as it was the fasting month anyway, nonetheless we decided to go crazy with this one, but still keeping it a small and cosy affair.
He was excited as he always is, not much of his reaction to birthdays has changed since his first birthday, making me wonder if he will ever get sick of blowing candles and singing birthday songs.
Waiting for everyone to gather and sing his bday song.
Thomas here, Thomas there, Thomas everywhere. From Thomas cake, tablecloth, balloons, cups, goodie bags, Thomas party hats and EVEN self printed Thomas T shirts for everyone! Even my dad and mum wore the T-shirts , can u believe it? I can't believe it ...hmm wonder whose idea it was?!
See the T-shirts? Hehe funny rite?
And like every year of his birthday, Irfan is having a big smile plastered across his face. That is perhaps the biggest motivation to do crazy things like buy plain T-shirts, print design and iron them on for about 10 people! Otherwise who would have bothered! Oh Im sorry, someone WOULD have bothered, look at another over zealous person in the pics, with the big smile plastered across her face too. Banyak nah idea dia..deprived childhood tak?
Till next year:) Keep the smile plastered and the enthusiasm going for as long as you can, lil one!
Thursday, September 25, 2008
I don't ever remember specifically teaching irfan any of these things...so i really wonder where he gets these ideas from...he surprises me with his ideas...maybe it's from school or tv,...im not quite sure.
Incident 1
yesterday we saw a heavily pregnant lady and i was just curious what was going on in irfan's tiny lil head. so I asked him,
ME: What's in her tummy?
IRFAN: Baby
ME: How is the baby going to come out?
I had expected him to say something along the lines of cutting open the tummy and extracting the baby...but he surprised me with this answer:
IRFAN: Come out from a big hole
ME: Hole?which hole?where is the hole?
IRFAN: Hole where the ibu kencing. Can ibu? can come out from there or not?
not quite sure what to say, i just nodded and said, "yah...something like that...hey look what's that? " and quickly changed the subject before he starts firing me with more questions, like he always does.
Incident 2:
We were watching Animal Funniest Videos on tv and they were showing some pigs doing something funny..and Irfan out of the blue , dengan bersungguh-sungguh said,
Irfan: Ayah, we cannot touch pig, you know!"
Alim: Why not? Is it dirty?
Irfan: Cause...later Allah ANGRY!
I looked at alim and asked " did you teach him that? Coz I sure didnt" alim said no. MAybe he learnt it in school ...but we often tell him that we have to pray coz later allah angry, but not about touching pigs....
Then alim asked: How about dogs? Can we touch dogs?
Irfan: ( starts thinking. i can almost see his lil brain ticking) Dog, CAAAANN.
Alim: Why?
Irfan: Coz dog good boy...dog can play with irfan..dog can help irfan..I like dogs, ayah. Can buy?
We left it as that and didnt bother to correct him, coz i honestly dunno how to explain to a 3 year old why we can't touch dogs. If I were to say later allah angry, he will definitely ask me why...and I wouldnt know what to say.
Actually, it's no surprise that he views dogs as friendly creatures coz almost all children's books portray dogs as childrens' best friends. He has books which show dogs playing with lil boys and girls, fetching toys and licking their faces in delight. So i guess, that's where he got the idea that dogs are fun to have.
As he gets older, I also noticed he's becoming more sympathetic to others and has shed some of his egocentrism. He tries to cheer people up when they are down and again, I dunno where he learns them from. I dunt remember doing this to him or to anyone around the house so i doubt its from modelling.
Incident 3
Irfan: Ibu, why your face like that? ( pulls his lips down to show me a sad face- which, by the way was really funny!)
I didnt even notice he was looking at me and i didnt even realize that my face was showing how i was feeling. I was unhappy with something but didnt know my face was showing.
In no mood to reply, I just kept quite. He came close to me and looked straight into my eyes and asked again" Why ibu? Are you ok?" N nod nod his head. By this time, I wanted to laugh but played along, and showed an even sadder face. After all, it's not always that I get this much attention from anyone. Heheh.
After a few moments of looking symapthetically into my eyes,
he said, " Smile ibu, Big smile like this." and he gave me the biggest smile ever.
The first time he ever did that to me, my heart melted till it flooded my house!! I guess its true kids are really very sensitive to our moods and they can tell if you are unhappy or not. It's really nice to have someone try to cheer you up like that.
On another occasion, well, ok, I do get my bad moods a lot at times, so he asked " Ibu, why your face like that? (and again, pulls his lips down to show a sad face). " Who disturb you, ibu?" Just for the fun of it, I pulled an even longer face and said, "Ayah! Ayah disturb me." Hehe.
He stood up, marched over to alim, who was in the toilet, happily minding his own business. Irfan came up to him, started cekak pinggang and with an almost defeaning voice said , "AYAH! Why you disturb ibu? Say sorry now!"
Of course, alim ignored him, knowing that it must be one of my silly ideas.
I couldnt help but laugh and that must have confused irfan a bit. Anyway, isnt it nice to have someone blindly stand up for you like that!!:)
I guess 3 year olds are smarter than we think. We dunt have to teach them for them to learn, they just pick everything and make their own conclusions. They probably have formed these ideas in their heads a long time ago, but only now, they are able to verbalise them. The questions are coming fast and getting more difficult for me to answer. Most times, I dunno how to simplify the answers to a level of a 3 year old. Once, just for experimental sake, I answered him using proper sentence, proper terms, like how I would explain to an adult. I am very sure he doesnt know what I am saying, and almost half of the words he has never heard before. After the 'cheem' explanantion, he kept quiet, looked at me and finally said, "Ohhh" and barely a second later, asked" Why ibu? Why like that, ibu?" Why?" Not knowing what to say, I revert to my "Hey look, what's that?" strategy and changed the subject. Luckily, he's easily distracted.
I find it really fun finding out what he is thinking and expeimenting with his thought processes. Of course, sometimes, he will give me silly answers which I never quite figure out. And at times, he is just so impossible, that I feel like tying him up to a tree. But most times, he is always there to brighten up my days. :)
Incident 1
yesterday we saw a heavily pregnant lady and i was just curious what was going on in irfan's tiny lil head. so I asked him,
ME: What's in her tummy?
IRFAN: Baby
ME: How is the baby going to come out?
I had expected him to say something along the lines of cutting open the tummy and extracting the baby...but he surprised me with this answer:
IRFAN: Come out from a big hole
ME: Hole?which hole?where is the hole?
IRFAN: Hole where the ibu kencing. Can ibu? can come out from there or not?
not quite sure what to say, i just nodded and said, "yah...something like that...hey look what's that? " and quickly changed the subject before he starts firing me with more questions, like he always does.
Incident 2:
We were watching Animal Funniest Videos on tv and they were showing some pigs doing something funny..and Irfan out of the blue , dengan bersungguh-sungguh said,
Irfan: Ayah, we cannot touch pig, you know!"
Alim: Why not? Is it dirty?
Irfan: Cause...later Allah ANGRY!
I looked at alim and asked " did you teach him that? Coz I sure didnt" alim said no. MAybe he learnt it in school ...but we often tell him that we have to pray coz later allah angry, but not about touching pigs....
Then alim asked: How about dogs? Can we touch dogs?
Irfan: ( starts thinking. i can almost see his lil brain ticking) Dog, CAAAANN.
Alim: Why?
Irfan: Coz dog good boy...dog can play with irfan..dog can help irfan..I like dogs, ayah. Can buy?
We left it as that and didnt bother to correct him, coz i honestly dunno how to explain to a 3 year old why we can't touch dogs. If I were to say later allah angry, he will definitely ask me why...and I wouldnt know what to say.
Actually, it's no surprise that he views dogs as friendly creatures coz almost all children's books portray dogs as childrens' best friends. He has books which show dogs playing with lil boys and girls, fetching toys and licking their faces in delight. So i guess, that's where he got the idea that dogs are fun to have.
As he gets older, I also noticed he's becoming more sympathetic to others and has shed some of his egocentrism. He tries to cheer people up when they are down and again, I dunno where he learns them from. I dunt remember doing this to him or to anyone around the house so i doubt its from modelling.
Incident 3
Irfan: Ibu, why your face like that? ( pulls his lips down to show me a sad face- which, by the way was really funny!)
I didnt even notice he was looking at me and i didnt even realize that my face was showing how i was feeling. I was unhappy with something but didnt know my face was showing.
In no mood to reply, I just kept quite. He came close to me and looked straight into my eyes and asked again" Why ibu? Are you ok?" N nod nod his head. By this time, I wanted to laugh but played along, and showed an even sadder face. After all, it's not always that I get this much attention from anyone. Heheh.
After a few moments of looking symapthetically into my eyes,
he said, " Smile ibu, Big smile like this." and he gave me the biggest smile ever.
The first time he ever did that to me, my heart melted till it flooded my house!! I guess its true kids are really very sensitive to our moods and they can tell if you are unhappy or not. It's really nice to have someone try to cheer you up like that.
On another occasion, well, ok, I do get my bad moods a lot at times, so he asked " Ibu, why your face like that? (and again, pulls his lips down to show a sad face). " Who disturb you, ibu?" Just for the fun of it, I pulled an even longer face and said, "Ayah! Ayah disturb me." Hehe.
He stood up, marched over to alim, who was in the toilet, happily minding his own business. Irfan came up to him, started cekak pinggang and with an almost defeaning voice said , "AYAH! Why you disturb ibu? Say sorry now!"
Of course, alim ignored him, knowing that it must be one of my silly ideas.
I couldnt help but laugh and that must have confused irfan a bit. Anyway, isnt it nice to have someone blindly stand up for you like that!!:)
I guess 3 year olds are smarter than we think. We dunt have to teach them for them to learn, they just pick everything and make their own conclusions. They probably have formed these ideas in their heads a long time ago, but only now, they are able to verbalise them. The questions are coming fast and getting more difficult for me to answer. Most times, I dunno how to simplify the answers to a level of a 3 year old. Once, just for experimental sake, I answered him using proper sentence, proper terms, like how I would explain to an adult. I am very sure he doesnt know what I am saying, and almost half of the words he has never heard before. After the 'cheem' explanantion, he kept quiet, looked at me and finally said, "Ohhh" and barely a second later, asked" Why ibu? Why like that, ibu?" Why?" Not knowing what to say, I revert to my "Hey look, what's that?" strategy and changed the subject. Luckily, he's easily distracted.
I find it really fun finding out what he is thinking and expeimenting with his thought processes. Of course, sometimes, he will give me silly answers which I never quite figure out. And at times, he is just so impossible, that I feel like tying him up to a tree. But most times, he is always there to brighten up my days. :)
Friday, September 05, 2008
Been a good, fruitful week...
got many things done!
brought irfan to watch thomas today. of course, he was super excited, despite it being his nap time.
before we left, i vaguely remember him putting something in my bag and saying something about wanting to give thomas a present.
in the middle of the show, thomas appeared and the lil fella was super excited, reached for my bag and asked for the present. for a while, i didnt know what he was asking. he dug my bag and took out this.
to me, it was just a piece of paper and i thought he took my mess of receipts in my bag, by mistake. but he held on tightly to it and asked, "When can i see thomas and give present?"
"later, and are you sure that is the present for thomas."
"sure," he replied.
of course, the show ended without us having a chance to see thomas up close, much less give thomas any presents. once the curtain closed, the lights came on and that was it.
he was dissapointed at first but as usual, we managed to distract him with something else.
soon he forgot all about it. kesian tak kesampaian nak kasi present.
later, in the car, he fell asleep and the paper fell and i was telling alim, it's funny how a folded paper like this can be a present for thomas. alim told me to open it and look inside.
haizz...kesian. he had actually wrapped the dolphin he made earlier, thinking that he would give it to thomas later.
i can imagine his lil hands putting the dolphin carefully inside and folding the paper one side at a time, hoping thomas would like it.
and there i was thinkin that it was some piece of trash in my bag. shame on me!
earlier in the day, he had shoved me a blank piece of paper and asked to make a dolphin. i was doing something else so alim attended to him and i guess he helped draw the dolphin and cut it. i was too busy to notice him wrapping the dolphin and wasnt paying attention when he was explaining to me about the present. Actually many times, I have caught myself doing a million and other things when he is talking to me. But then again, he doesnt seem to mind coz he always goes on and on all the same.
Too bad thomas didnt get the carefully wrapped dolphin. Think I'll keep it in my bag for a while. And maybe lie to him that I have passed the present to thomas and that thomas loves it very much?!
That's what mothers do right? Do a white lie once in a while...
got many things done!
brought irfan to watch thomas today. of course, he was super excited, despite it being his nap time.
before we left, i vaguely remember him putting something in my bag and saying something about wanting to give thomas a present.
in the middle of the show, thomas appeared and the lil fella was super excited, reached for my bag and asked for the present. for a while, i didnt know what he was asking. he dug my bag and took out this.
to me, it was just a piece of paper and i thought he took my mess of receipts in my bag, by mistake. but he held on tightly to it and asked, "When can i see thomas and give present?"
"later, and are you sure that is the present for thomas."
"sure," he replied.
of course, the show ended without us having a chance to see thomas up close, much less give thomas any presents. once the curtain closed, the lights came on and that was it.
he was dissapointed at first but as usual, we managed to distract him with something else.
soon he forgot all about it. kesian tak kesampaian nak kasi present.
later, in the car, he fell asleep and the paper fell and i was telling alim, it's funny how a folded paper like this can be a present for thomas. alim told me to open it and look inside.
haizz...kesian. he had actually wrapped the dolphin he made earlier, thinking that he would give it to thomas later.
i can imagine his lil hands putting the dolphin carefully inside and folding the paper one side at a time, hoping thomas would like it.
and there i was thinkin that it was some piece of trash in my bag. shame on me!
earlier in the day, he had shoved me a blank piece of paper and asked to make a dolphin. i was doing something else so alim attended to him and i guess he helped draw the dolphin and cut it. i was too busy to notice him wrapping the dolphin and wasnt paying attention when he was explaining to me about the present. Actually many times, I have caught myself doing a million and other things when he is talking to me. But then again, he doesnt seem to mind coz he always goes on and on all the same.
Too bad thomas didnt get the carefully wrapped dolphin. Think I'll keep it in my bag for a while. And maybe lie to him that I have passed the present to thomas and that thomas loves it very much?!
That's what mothers do right? Do a white lie once in a while...
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Saw two funerals this year. For a long time, I've always said that I have 4 sets of grandparents..I have MANY grandparents, I used to say.
But this year, the number has significantly reduced. Like I said i saw 2 funerals this year and this year has not even ended yet. 2 funerals are too many.
I think I wrote an entry here somewhwre about how each of my grandparent is going through old age. Well, two of them have succumbed to their illness and passed.
To me, it was quick. It was so sudden. But in actual fact, so many years have gone by since their illness was first discovered. It's true, we are so caught up in living, that the years seemed like minutes till the minutes actually end.
It's funny how it seemed like it just took a minute for the person to disappear from the face of the earth. But the loss is forever.
I cannot ever imagine the devastation of losing someone I hold so dearly. I went to the grave and saw rows and rows of names. I'm sure each of their passing, has broken someone's heart.
It made me wonder. How many hearts were broken, when the sand covered her that gloomy, rainy evening when we bid her goodbye?
And how many realized and understood the last lesson she taught us when she passed? How many actually learnt from it and seize the opportunity to have a second shot at being better?
May her soul rest in peace. May she always be loved and remembered. For me, I will always remember her as a funny grandma, always with a kiddish laugh, red lipstick and overpowdered face. :)
You will be missed.
But this year, the number has significantly reduced. Like I said i saw 2 funerals this year and this year has not even ended yet. 2 funerals are too many.
I think I wrote an entry here somewhwre about how each of my grandparent is going through old age. Well, two of them have succumbed to their illness and passed.
To me, it was quick. It was so sudden. But in actual fact, so many years have gone by since their illness was first discovered. It's true, we are so caught up in living, that the years seemed like minutes till the minutes actually end.
It's funny how it seemed like it just took a minute for the person to disappear from the face of the earth. But the loss is forever.
I cannot ever imagine the devastation of losing someone I hold so dearly. I went to the grave and saw rows and rows of names. I'm sure each of their passing, has broken someone's heart.
It made me wonder. How many hearts were broken, when the sand covered her that gloomy, rainy evening when we bid her goodbye?
And how many realized and understood the last lesson she taught us when she passed? How many actually learnt from it and seize the opportunity to have a second shot at being better?
May her soul rest in peace. May she always be loved and remembered. For me, I will always remember her as a funny grandma, always with a kiddish laugh, red lipstick and overpowdered face. :)
You will be missed.
Monday, August 25, 2008
I found this post in my drafts. I have written it some time back when the govt came up with incentives and started the 4 mths maternity leave thingy and there was a lot of news coverage and buzz on it. Never got to posting it till now...
"Ok OK Im really getting dizzy from all this BABY talk...
Yesy, yes so we all know that money really doesnt make one totally motivated to have more kids. We really don't have to interview a dozen people and feature them in every newspaper to know that, do we?
So just to add one more thought to the already millions of thoughts out there on the baby issue, here's my two cents.
The way i see it, the clever people in white is not tackling the root cause of the problem. I think to many, what they are dishing out, is not what we need. Basically they are giving monetary incentives and more time with the baby ( ok I can really argue on whether the 4 mths maternity leave really solve the time issue but i think many people have talked about that so I think we get the picture that it really would not motivate everyone out there)
To me, the problem is that the people in white have been asking the wrong question. They are looking at the problem and thinking, "What are the factors that STOP couples from having more kids?" So they figured that it is money and time and so they start dishing these incentives out.
Firstly, the question is not beneficial and secondly the answers are not accurate. Couples with high incomes can easily afford more than 1 kid but these are the majority of couples who prefer to have less.
Many put off having kids because they want to concentrate on their careers first and do you think asking them to stop work for 4 months to take care of their baby will attract these ambitious women to start a family, and a big one too? In fact, it might just deter them even further.
So i think the more fundamental question is, "What motivate couples to have more kids?"
In the past, people had to go through worst living conditions, meagre income, and yet they still have the very least, 7 kids. Yes, you can argue that because the women were not educated back then and could stay home to take care of the kids. But is that what motivates them to have more?
I might be wrong here because i really dunt have figures, research to support my thoughts here, but i suspect, back then, to our parents, great grandparents, kids are an investment whom they can count on when they grow old to take care of them. That motivates them. SO , motivation is extremely crucial in wanting to have more kids.
For some , it's religion, others, the love for kids, the love for clutter, noise and coziness of a big family.
Today, the first point is not valid, because we are all so busy planning for our retirement, so much so that we don't have to depend on our kids when we are old.
And because having kids is a personal decision, motivation cannot come in monetary forms, it has to be a change in midset, an assurance that having more kids is the the best for your future, your family and not because your nation asks you to.
EVeryone wants the best for their family. And if the govt wants us to have more kids, they must show, prove how having more kids can be the best for our family in today's demanding time.
Yes, that is not an easy task, but it has to be done, coz, we the good citizens of tis sunny island, has been taught well that we have to the best in everything. And we all want to have the best for our family, that is the aspiration of all hardworking singaporeans out there.
OK so complain complain complain, what's the solution then?
All these just made me think they could probably encourage more couples to have more kids if they could prove by research that children with more siblings have an edge.
Now, we all want our kids to have an edge dunt we? We never want our kids to lose out on anythng. The best, remember?
So go dig up some research to prove kids with more than say, 2 siblings grow up with better social skills, pick up reading, writing and talking skills faster, more independent, creative , wholesome etc etc. And best of all, they learn to take care of each other, so much so that you can go to work with a peace of mind.
Then go on to say, how it might not be healthy for kids to have only one other sibling or alone. Show that it might be detrimental to their development. Of course research support would be crucial here coz we arent easily fooled by propaganda and brainwashing.
Judging from how parents would always do the best for their kids, these would just encourage those with one child to have at least 3.
Coupled with the incentivess given, this might just do the trick. Of course, this research needs to be true and then publicised well.
Not sure if it would encourage a lot more to decide to have more, but that's just a thought."
"Ok OK Im really getting dizzy from all this BABY talk...
Yesy, yes so we all know that money really doesnt make one totally motivated to have more kids. We really don't have to interview a dozen people and feature them in every newspaper to know that, do we?
So just to add one more thought to the already millions of thoughts out there on the baby issue, here's my two cents.
The way i see it, the clever people in white is not tackling the root cause of the problem. I think to many, what they are dishing out, is not what we need. Basically they are giving monetary incentives and more time with the baby ( ok I can really argue on whether the 4 mths maternity leave really solve the time issue but i think many people have talked about that so I think we get the picture that it really would not motivate everyone out there)
To me, the problem is that the people in white have been asking the wrong question. They are looking at the problem and thinking, "What are the factors that STOP couples from having more kids?" So they figured that it is money and time and so they start dishing these incentives out.
Firstly, the question is not beneficial and secondly the answers are not accurate. Couples with high incomes can easily afford more than 1 kid but these are the majority of couples who prefer to have less.
Many put off having kids because they want to concentrate on their careers first and do you think asking them to stop work for 4 months to take care of their baby will attract these ambitious women to start a family, and a big one too? In fact, it might just deter them even further.
So i think the more fundamental question is, "What motivate couples to have more kids?"
In the past, people had to go through worst living conditions, meagre income, and yet they still have the very least, 7 kids. Yes, you can argue that because the women were not educated back then and could stay home to take care of the kids. But is that what motivates them to have more?
I might be wrong here because i really dunt have figures, research to support my thoughts here, but i suspect, back then, to our parents, great grandparents, kids are an investment whom they can count on when they grow old to take care of them. That motivates them. SO , motivation is extremely crucial in wanting to have more kids.
For some , it's religion, others, the love for kids, the love for clutter, noise and coziness of a big family.
Today, the first point is not valid, because we are all so busy planning for our retirement, so much so that we don't have to depend on our kids when we are old.
And because having kids is a personal decision, motivation cannot come in monetary forms, it has to be a change in midset, an assurance that having more kids is the the best for your future, your family and not because your nation asks you to.
EVeryone wants the best for their family. And if the govt wants us to have more kids, they must show, prove how having more kids can be the best for our family in today's demanding time.
Yes, that is not an easy task, but it has to be done, coz, we the good citizens of tis sunny island, has been taught well that we have to the best in everything. And we all want to have the best for our family, that is the aspiration of all hardworking singaporeans out there.
OK so complain complain complain, what's the solution then?
All these just made me think they could probably encourage more couples to have more kids if they could prove by research that children with more siblings have an edge.
Now, we all want our kids to have an edge dunt we? We never want our kids to lose out on anythng. The best, remember?
So go dig up some research to prove kids with more than say, 2 siblings grow up with better social skills, pick up reading, writing and talking skills faster, more independent, creative , wholesome etc etc. And best of all, they learn to take care of each other, so much so that you can go to work with a peace of mind.
Then go on to say, how it might not be healthy for kids to have only one other sibling or alone. Show that it might be detrimental to their development. Of course research support would be crucial here coz we arent easily fooled by propaganda and brainwashing.
Judging from how parents would always do the best for their kids, these would just encourage those with one child to have at least 3.
Coupled with the incentivess given, this might just do the trick. Of course, this research needs to be true and then publicised well.
Not sure if it would encourage a lot more to decide to have more, but that's just a thought."
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Yesterday, marks the end of the many many months of training for the rugby boys and the husband who is in-charge of them. The excitement of participating in sports and Nationals is always undeniably exciting and heart stomping. Amidst all odds, the boys actually made it to the top 4..I mean for a neighbourhood school who don't have a ton of boys to choose from and affiliated primary schools to scout the best players from...top 4 was really awesome. As we all know rugby is a game always dominated by elite boys schools so it's pretty amazing that for the first time in many many years, an underdog of a neighbourhood school managed to grab a medal.:)So congratulations to BTS for proving that hard work pays.
Yesterday was the finals. My sis and I went, coz we were rooting for Haris. He played really well...well,I'm not an expert so I wouldnt know but alim said he did good. They lost. We kinda expected that but he took it well.
I come to realize, exposing your child to sports really builds up their confidence and character. For many many months, a lot of Haris's time was spent on hours of training and he never complained. His time and energy was channeled into something important and so he had no time to idle. I think for a teenager, idle time is extremely dangerous. I also see some changes in him and Im happy and proud to see how he has grown. I think the school he is in plays an important role in shaping him as a person.
To a certain extent, it is true that the kind of school you put your child in, really shapes their character. Of course, there are exceptions to this, some kids are just not moulded by the culture of the school. But majority do, especially students from elite schools as I observed during the rugby finals. Because the school culture is a certain way, generally the students from that school behave in a certain way and I suspect all the way to their adulthood. There is something similar and distinct about their character which makes them true to their school. The boys from the two schools really behaved differently from each other. For example in the way they speak, behave and carry themselves. And interesting enough, their parents who came to support also differ between the two schools. I wouldn't want to generalise but the boys from a particular school has an air about them which some may see as confidence, while others might just label them as extremely cocky.
All this made me wonder what kind of school should I put Irfan in? Of course, he's too young for me to be sure about his inclinations. I wonder, what his strengths would be and as a parent, how do I ensure his stregths are discovered and optimised.
Some say, the kind of things we expose a child in, is extremly important in shaping his charecter. The kind of school he is in will determine the kind of things he will be exposed to. But to me, as a parent, we can only limit our childs' exposure to a certain extent. We can't control all of his movements, so ore importantly we have to equip him with the right decision making skills so that no matter what kind of undesirable situations he is exposed to, ultimately he is able to make wise decisions for himself.
And that is definitely not an easy task for any parent.
Yesterday was the finals. My sis and I went, coz we were rooting for Haris. He played really well...well,I'm not an expert so I wouldnt know but alim said he did good. They lost. We kinda expected that but he took it well.
I come to realize, exposing your child to sports really builds up their confidence and character. For many many months, a lot of Haris's time was spent on hours of training and he never complained. His time and energy was channeled into something important and so he had no time to idle. I think for a teenager, idle time is extremely dangerous. I also see some changes in him and Im happy and proud to see how he has grown. I think the school he is in plays an important role in shaping him as a person.
To a certain extent, it is true that the kind of school you put your child in, really shapes their character. Of course, there are exceptions to this, some kids are just not moulded by the culture of the school. But majority do, especially students from elite schools as I observed during the rugby finals. Because the school culture is a certain way, generally the students from that school behave in a certain way and I suspect all the way to their adulthood. There is something similar and distinct about their character which makes them true to their school. The boys from the two schools really behaved differently from each other. For example in the way they speak, behave and carry themselves. And interesting enough, their parents who came to support also differ between the two schools. I wouldn't want to generalise but the boys from a particular school has an air about them which some may see as confidence, while others might just label them as extremely cocky.
All this made me wonder what kind of school should I put Irfan in? Of course, he's too young for me to be sure about his inclinations. I wonder, what his strengths would be and as a parent, how do I ensure his stregths are discovered and optimised.
Some say, the kind of things we expose a child in, is extremly important in shaping his charecter. The kind of school he is in will determine the kind of things he will be exposed to. But to me, as a parent, we can only limit our childs' exposure to a certain extent. We can't control all of his movements, so ore importantly we have to equip him with the right decision making skills so that no matter what kind of undesirable situations he is exposed to, ultimately he is able to make wise decisions for himself.
And that is definitely not an easy task for any parent.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Updates
The destination this month is Butterfly Park at Sentosa. According to my mum, he was very fascinated by every single insect he came across with that day. And the guide capitalised on his enthusiasm by making him the guinea pig and putting all sorts of insects on his lil body.
The guide putting a stick insect on his cap.
There's a stick insect on his cap and a grasshopper on his T-shirt.
So far he hasn't been bitten by anything yet, so I think he doesnt know that some insects can be dangerous and painful when they bite.
Well last month, we also celebrated Racial Harmony Day. Since he enjoys dressing up, he chose to go Indian this year. Schools are very on about such celebrations, so as usual, I dusted one of my Racial Harmony Day costumes and put it on. In a few years time, will repeat this top again. :)
Costumes from where else, but good ol' Mustafa!
He also had his National Celebrations in school and I managed to drop by his school to see the chaos and madness of lil toddlers in a celebration mood. They were all over, each doing their own thing and I managed to observe Irfan a lil. He was pretty mild that day and quite well-behaved. I also noticed that he preferred to mix around with older boys...and pretty much ignore the other lil wobbly toddlers.
Moving on...we managed to have a short shopping break to KL. What more can I say..shopping is always good.:)
Picture doesnt include one driver, one babysitter and one bank teller.They sure make our shopping experience much more comfortable:)
Work has been good lately...been going home before 3 more often and not doing work at home. Well, when managament changes, certain things are bound to be different. So far it has been good and hope it continues...
Till later.
The destination this month is Butterfly Park at Sentosa. According to my mum, he was very fascinated by every single insect he came across with that day. And the guide capitalised on his enthusiasm by making him the guinea pig and putting all sorts of insects on his lil body.
The guide putting a stick insect on his cap.
There's a stick insect on his cap and a grasshopper on his T-shirt.
So far he hasn't been bitten by anything yet, so I think he doesnt know that some insects can be dangerous and painful when they bite.
Well last month, we also celebrated Racial Harmony Day. Since he enjoys dressing up, he chose to go Indian this year. Schools are very on about such celebrations, so as usual, I dusted one of my Racial Harmony Day costumes and put it on. In a few years time, will repeat this top again. :)
Costumes from where else, but good ol' Mustafa!
He also had his National Celebrations in school and I managed to drop by his school to see the chaos and madness of lil toddlers in a celebration mood. They were all over, each doing their own thing and I managed to observe Irfan a lil. He was pretty mild that day and quite well-behaved. I also noticed that he preferred to mix around with older boys...and pretty much ignore the other lil wobbly toddlers.
Moving on...we managed to have a short shopping break to KL. What more can I say..shopping is always good.:)
Picture doesnt include one driver, one babysitter and one bank teller.They sure make our shopping experience much more comfortable:)
Work has been good lately...been going home before 3 more often and not doing work at home. Well, when managament changes, certain things are bound to be different. So far it has been good and hope it continues...
Till later.
Thursday, August 07, 2008
A good day is when the lil boy says "I love you" out of the blue, totally unexpected.
A good day is when a parent comes to you and said you made a difference to his child's life.
A great day is when you are sitting at the corner of an empty cafe with a loved one,
and the wind blows across you, and then, your favourite song comes on.
I had a great day today. Thank you for being the one who shares the song with me.:)
A good day is when a parent comes to you and said you made a difference to his child's life.
A great day is when you are sitting at the corner of an empty cafe with a loved one,
and the wind blows across you, and then, your favourite song comes on.
I had a great day today. Thank you for being the one who shares the song with me.:)
Saturday, July 12, 2008
A Reminder to Myself
(Found this in one of the saved posts- unpublished..probably due to lack of time...)
there's so many things to be thankful for in this life. too many, that i dunt think my lifetime of thanks will ever be enough.
many good things have come so easily. they are borrowed, no less, coz nuthing is really ours. so that means these good things can be taken away just as easily too. mere humans, we really have no control over anything except to plea to the greatest power to spare us yet another day, for us to show our immense gratitude as HIS humble creation and another day for us to work towards saving our souls.
as the days passed and as we proceed through the the different stages of life, we expand family ties and the number of pple we love multiply. when we were younger, the only love we noe, is that of our immediate family. then marriage comes and now there's more people to love; our wife/husband and his whole family. then we give birth, we created more pple to love; our own children and if god bless, our daughters/sons-in-laws and grandchildren. and the best part is, theres more people in this world who loves us back.
along with these love comes more responsibilities. now as a wife, as a mother, as a daughter in law. during my younger days, i used to see these responsibilities as a burden but now i realize how silly i was.
now i noe dat it is indeed a blessing to have more responsibilities. HE has promised that if we were to perform our responsibilities as a wife well, we will be blessed with much more AFTER. and as a mother, if we r able to raise a good child, its in our child's prayers that we depend on in the days AFTER. i am thankful that HE has given me the opportunity to be both; a wife and a mother. these are NOT the work of mine. but its up to me HOW i want to make use of these opportunities. they serve as means to an end. An end which all of us cant escape from.
responsibilities are never easy. so each day is a challenge to myself to perform them well. i think my lifetime is for these.
the presence of LOVE definitely makes it easier. In fact, u wont see them as responsibilities at all. u do it coz its in your heart to do so, not some work to be done and completed.
there's an opportunity in every family ties, in every human relation that we have. an opportunity to love, to do good.
knowing that we are on borrowed time, we just want to provide the most and treasure our loved ones. it is not within our knowledge to know who will leave first n we dont want to regret anything when it doesnt matter anymore.
so i see now, that there is no time to remain angry with anyone or to bear grudges when life is already too short and unpredictable.
im still learning to perform my roles as a wife, daughter, daughter in law and mother, etc.
and i pray that i am given the time to continue learning and the stregth and patience to do them well.
and when things get difficult, i hope i will never forget the bigger picture; that these worldly responsibilities and family ties are indeed opportunities for us to do good n decorate our souls, for when our bodies are limp and withered.
(Found this in one of the saved posts- unpublished..probably due to lack of time...)
there's so many things to be thankful for in this life. too many, that i dunt think my lifetime of thanks will ever be enough.
many good things have come so easily. they are borrowed, no less, coz nuthing is really ours. so that means these good things can be taken away just as easily too. mere humans, we really have no control over anything except to plea to the greatest power to spare us yet another day, for us to show our immense gratitude as HIS humble creation and another day for us to work towards saving our souls.
as the days passed and as we proceed through the the different stages of life, we expand family ties and the number of pple we love multiply. when we were younger, the only love we noe, is that of our immediate family. then marriage comes and now there's more people to love; our wife/husband and his whole family. then we give birth, we created more pple to love; our own children and if god bless, our daughters/sons-in-laws and grandchildren. and the best part is, theres more people in this world who loves us back.
along with these love comes more responsibilities. now as a wife, as a mother, as a daughter in law. during my younger days, i used to see these responsibilities as a burden but now i realize how silly i was.
now i noe dat it is indeed a blessing to have more responsibilities. HE has promised that if we were to perform our responsibilities as a wife well, we will be blessed with much more AFTER. and as a mother, if we r able to raise a good child, its in our child's prayers that we depend on in the days AFTER. i am thankful that HE has given me the opportunity to be both; a wife and a mother. these are NOT the work of mine. but its up to me HOW i want to make use of these opportunities. they serve as means to an end. An end which all of us cant escape from.
responsibilities are never easy. so each day is a challenge to myself to perform them well. i think my lifetime is for these.
the presence of LOVE definitely makes it easier. In fact, u wont see them as responsibilities at all. u do it coz its in your heart to do so, not some work to be done and completed.
there's an opportunity in every family ties, in every human relation that we have. an opportunity to love, to do good.
knowing that we are on borrowed time, we just want to provide the most and treasure our loved ones. it is not within our knowledge to know who will leave first n we dont want to regret anything when it doesnt matter anymore.
so i see now, that there is no time to remain angry with anyone or to bear grudges when life is already too short and unpredictable.
im still learning to perform my roles as a wife, daughter, daughter in law and mother, etc.
and i pray that i am given the time to continue learning and the stregth and patience to do them well.
and when things get difficult, i hope i will never forget the bigger picture; that these worldly responsibilities and family ties are indeed opportunities for us to do good n decorate our souls, for when our bodies are limp and withered.
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