The countdown begins...

We are going home...in a month's time... yahoo...

Can't wait to be in Malaysia again! Even though I've lost someone very dear to me forever, I'll get to see his grave... I'll remember you always, brother... The sadness of losing you is still acute, but I'll also get to see friends and family...

I've started the countdown, but I think I'm the most excited of all... hehehe... Aliah's looking forward to see her tok and che' su again, Hadi's looking forward to get Ben 1o toys and Amir is blissfully unaware. Well, in less than a month, we'll be among our loved ones, insyaallah. We'll be travelling on the 28th of November and will be arriving on the 29th. We'll be going back straight to Sabak Bernam and have a tahlil for Ayang on the 30th, insyaallah.

We might be travelling to Kelantan and Trengganu for the Eid ul Adha with my in-laws. Really looking forward to see Mak Anjang, Mak Su, Che Wa, Che Da and numerous others. Hopefully there'll be time for me to go and check out Wakaf Che Yeh... hehehe

There's a plan for a reunion with my Seri Puteri classmates in Johor Bharu during Christmas. Hope to see you guys there. Since it's so close to Singapore, might be able to squeeze a trip to Singapore to see Mak Ngah and family. Probably able to look at the Christmas decorations at Orchard Street...hehehe

In the meantime, we have lots of other things to do before going back to Khartoum. It looks like it's going to be a rush of activities throughout our 'vacation'... well, at least we'll be able to put an end to a lot of cravings... hehehe. Anyway, we'll be heading back to Khartoum on the 1st of January 2009 (what an apt date, huh?!!)... new year, new resolution kind of thing... Can hardly wait for the 28th of November to be here...

29 more days and counting...

The end of syawal

Today marks the end of Syawal. It also put an end to the various excuses of eating and gatherings in Khartoum... hehehe. The first week of Syawal was full with open houses and I thought that it would end there, but I was wrong. Even though the husbands and kids started their normal cycle, the ladies continued to celebrate Syawal in style.

I'll just list down the 'activities' as I remember it. On the 13th of October, Kak Yah, Kak Zila and Masdiyana invited all ladies to the Petronita's room in Block B. The spread includes soto, nasi impit, kuah kacang and a variety of cakes and cookies. On the 17th, the whole family was invited to Itta's house (her husband works for Scomi). There was so much food, she cooked spaghetti, laksa penang, nasi bukhari with lots of dishes . Her house nearly overflowed with guests... hehehe

On Sunday the 19th, Kak Roza (her husband works for Malaysian Embassy) invited the ladies for brunch at her house. We were tempted with laksa johor, nasi impit with kuah kacang and sate goreng and piping hot lasagne (very delicious!). Look at the pictures below...

Kak Roza's in blue (next to Amir)

From right: Najwa, Pn. Taha, Syikeen, Kak Shidah, Lisna and Kak Hanum

Amir and other kids in the play room

Kak Zila's starting with doa and a smile...

We were cracking jokes... dah kenyang...

Last weekend, there was a flurry of activities. There was the bazaar on friday morning and Mushyir's birthday in the afternoon. Zaki invited us on Saturday afternoon. The spread include mee rebus, nasi impit kuah kacang and a delicious cocktail drink. At night, we invited a few of my husband friends, our neighbours (left, right and above) for dinner. We cooked roast chicken, roast potato, murtabak and peach crumble (served with vanilla ice-cream). Syikeen made salad and mouth watering tiramisu... hmm... delicious...

I think I'll always remember my first Syawal in Khartoum. Who would have thought I would have so much fun? And the purpose of all the gatherings is also achieved, we managed to get to know each other better...alhamdulillah...

Amir, the sleepy head...

Muhammad Amir Rashid is my youngest child, my 2 year old is also my closest companion as well as the reason for most of my angry outbursts (the reasons were well documented in my previous posts... hehehe). He's so adorable, even if I say so myself. So far, whenever we go, whether in Malaysia, Khartoum, Paris or even Dubai, people would come near and complimented us on such a lovely boy... Some would even pinch his rosy cheeks... He is cherubic alright, people just do not know what he's like at home. What antics he's up to at any moment of the day. He keeps me on my toes and I've learnt to be suspicious if he's so quiet... more often than not, he's up to something no good.

Trust me, he's the worst of the three...Sometimes, I just couldn't believe the things he did... But he's also the easiest to fall asleep, no crying when he's tired, he would just fall asleep... Travelling with him is wonderful, simply because he would fall asleep about 30 minutes into the journey (by car, van or aeroplane). We call him the sleepy head in our family... the reason would be clear when you look at the pictures below... hehehe... enjoy...

This is his favourite position... dead to the world...

He's sleeping in Aliah's room...

Amir's sleeping on the coffee table in Blok G
I was angry with him because he's not supposed to sit on the table. I was scolding him but the next thing I knew he was fast asleep (ignorance is bliss, i suppose...)

I found him sleeping while eating Julie's love letters...

Sleeping while playing with his cars...

Sleeping after drinking his milk... this is normal...

In Disneyland... while waiting for the siblings on one of the rides...

I've learnt to treasure those quiet moments when he's asleep...hehehe... I just couldn't imagine what mischief he's going to be up to at his grandparents house when we come back next month. I am sure to be on guard every minute of the day. Hopefully he'll be on his best behaviour... insyaallah...

Hadi's potty training...

I am really happy to say that last tuesday (21st Oct 2008), Hadi finally finished his potty training. He went to school without pampers... The best thing was he asked not to wear pampers himself... Hehehe

Let me backtracked a little. Hadi turned four years old in march, but I couldn't manage to potty train him in Malaysia. The original plan was to finish potty training him before we came to Sudan. But with all the hectic preparation and arrangements that had to be done, I failed miserably. I tried, but being Hadi, which favourite word is 'No', it was an uphill struggle. In Malaysia, whenever we dressed him without pampers, he would pee every 5 minutes... sigh... My husband's theory was that the undergarment was making his 'little member' very ticklish... huh?!! I truly don't know.

When we arrived in Sudan, I spent the first month potty training him. He was a little bit better but the first two weeks was hell. When I asked him whether he wanted to go to toilet, he'd say no, but 5 minutes later he would be wetting his pants... sigh... Anyway, finally we managed to make him wear no pampers at home, but we still put it at night. Another problem was his inability to do the 'big one' on the toilet. He would wait until he's wearing pampers to do his number 2... hehehe

When we moved to the new complex, I gradually coaxed him not to wear pampers at home. He would only wear pampers at night and in school. Two weeks ago, we managed to train him not to wear pampers at night and at the same time do his number 2 in the toilet, yeah... and on the 21st, he asked me not to put his pampers on to go to school. I happily obliged, but waiting for him to get back from school was nerve wrecking. I was afraid that he would wet his school pants. But alhamdulillah, he got back dry but was really in need to go to toilet... hehehe...

At first, he said he would only go to toilet at home, and this worried me a bit... but one day he came back saying that he went to the school toilet... yahoo... But now, I have to be alert when I hear the toilet being flushed because I do not know when he'll go to toilet. I am not a control freak, just need to be sure that he washed himself properly before going out of the bathroom...sigh... I am really glad the 'battle' is finally over... Now, I'll have Amir's potty training to look forward to... Hehehe... I think I'll wait for another month or two before I start the 'programme'. Below are some pictures of Hadi.

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Hadi and his siblings in our old house in Blok G...
As you can see, while the parents busy were unpacking, the kids were busy playing!

Hadi (You can see the stubborn uplift of the chin...)

On the first day of raya...

Hadi when he was smaller, very cheeky smile...

Aliah's reward...

I am really grateful to Allah because by His Grace, Aliah managed to fast fully during Ramadhan. Last year, she managed only 23 days. So, instead of giving her a money reward, we promised her a cruise on the Nile if she persevered. Alhamdulillah, she did it and of course being Nur Aliah Zahra, started hounding us on the first of Syawal itself... sigh...

We kept on putting it off because of various programmes. So, to be fair to her, last Friday (17th Oct), we went on the 'cruise'... It was a hot afternoon, we asked Haithem to accompany us on the trip. He did the haggling for us as well. It was not a proper cruise...It's just one of the boats to ferry people to and fro from an island ( I've forgotten its name...). At first my husband was a bit sceptic of the safety of the boat, but well, while in Sudan... do what the locals do... hehehe...

I was planning to take pictures of the place where the White Nile meets the Blue Nile, but I've forgotten to recharge the battery of the camera, so I only managed to snap a few pictures. It's an hour on the boat (from 3.30 to 4.30)... In the beginning, the kids were a little bit scared but halfway through, they got accustomed to the gently swaying motion.

I brought along some fried rice and drinks, so Amir and Hadi had lunch on the boat. I was amazed at the place where the Niles converge. You can clearly see the differences in the currents. Haithem also acted as our tour guide, telling us about the places that we passed. You could see how people pumped up water from the Nile for their daily use. There's one instance where we could see a man drinking the water straight from the Nile. Haithem laughed at us and said, ' See sir, no soba, no sofea' (Soba and Sofea are the two brands of mineral water that Malaysians normally buy...hehehe)... My husband tapped his tummy and said, 'Not good for my tummy, Haithem'... Hehehe, we are kind of 'soft' compared to a sudane.

Anyway, the people we saw along the river were friendly and the kids would wave at them and they would wave back. Most were spending the afternoon fishing. By the end of the journey, we were wilting under the heat. There were two instances when the engine died on us, my kids were playfully shouting, 'help!help!'. Aliah melodramatically said, ' we're going to die in the middle of the river'... Hehehe. We safely landed at 4.30 pm, enriched by the experience... alhamdulillah.

Amir rearing to go...

Amir's rosy complexion...

The boat's rickety floor... heheh
My husband and Aliah kept on switching sides (trying to escape from the sun)

Haithem and Hadi
Hadi and Amir are so attached to Haithem and it makes shopping for us very easy because Haithem would carry the kids... hehehe

This a picture of a truck and a boat that fell in the river...

I'll tell you something about the above picture. When I showed it to Syikeen, she said they saw the same truck when they joined the cruise last February. That means the truck had been in water for at least 6 months, maybe longer... hehehe... Do not be surprised because that's what they do. Some vehicle would be left to rot on the road if they're involved in an accident and it was expensive to salvage... The concept might be shocking to us, but here it's the norm.

If given the chance, I'd like to go back on the Nile, maybe on a 'real' cruise... and during 'cooler' weather... and bring a camera with battery...sigh...

Block A Raya Open House -- Family Pictures

I was so busy during the open house that I've forgotten to snap our family pictures. To those who miss us (ada ke?)... here are a few pictures...Enjoy...

Amir in action...

Aliah and Nadia

My husband and Amir

Aliah and me...

The only family picture...
You can see that Aliah's giving a finger, she's not swearing okay... it's just her injured finger...

Block A Raya Open House -- Part 2

By 8.30 pm, everyone's hungry, not just the guests... even the hosts felt the hunger pang. Anyway, while eating we were entertained by the slides prepared by Ezalman. We also had a 'live band'... well, just Wahyu with his guitar... hehehe... Syikeen, Nonie and Ezalman also performed several songs. Don't ask me what songs, because I was busy eating and chatting... hehehe.

I just hope that the guests were satisfied with the food served and the company provided. As the host, we did the best that we could. The kids were also given a surprise of 'ice-cream'... well, not just the kids, the 'mommies' also got our share... hehehe. By 10.30, our guests started to leave. We divided the leftovers among us, I took three bottles of sirap oren... sweet and juicy... hehehe. The general workers and students finished cleaning up by 12 midnight. And that's the end of the report about our open house...

The gentlemen...

The students...

Che Ku and his soup...

Smiling while queuing up... a good sign...

The ladies...

Block A ladies...

After eating... just while the time away by people watching...

Wahyu and his guitar...

Syikeen and Nonie...

The students...

It's not complete without a smoke or two...

An indonesian family, Wahyu, Asih and baby...

The ladies with Puan Taha... say cheese...

It was tiring but we ended up knowing each other better... Well, hopefully we'll have another gathering like this next year...bye, for now.

Block A Raya Open House -- Part 1

Block A residents...

I think before I start, I'd better warn everyone that this is going to be a picture report. I am using the pictures to show the atmosphere of the open house. As mentioned in earlier posting, our theme was traditional. So, the guests would have to take off their shoes upon entering the hall and they would sit on the floor (with carpets of course!). The decorations (ketupats etc.) and the food were also ala kampung. The food include ayam masak lemak cili api, daging masak kicap, udang goreng, sayur campur, ikan kering (a variety- donated by residents), ulam (including jir-jir (like its counterpart in Malaysia 'tongkat Ali') and keropok.

Since we have a lot of food on offer, we divided them into little 'stations'. Look at the pictures...

This is the dessert station (minus the cakes...)

This is the fruits station...

This is the drinks station...

This is one of the food ststions...

This is the soup station...

While waiting for our guests, we took the opportunity to take pictures with each other, with the food, with the guests...etc. I would like apologise to our guests because with all the picture takings, we started a bit late... hehehe... Just look at some of the pictures...

From right: k.rehana, k.jaz, k.shidah, k.hanum, me and k.jannah
For your info, this is the favourite spot of the ladies, right infront of the dessert...heheh

The kids of Block A

Block A ladies...with the cakes

Najwa cutting her 'ketupat' creation...

At about 8.30, we started with bacaan Quran by hj. Yaacob's son, a welcome speech, and we had a beautiful montage prepared by Ezalman (of the preparation) and also a collective pantuns about block A residents prepared by Lisna.

Bacaan quran...

The guests, waiting patiently... Pn. Taha (in blue) is the Ambassador's wife...

They're watching the montage...