Ahemmmm....

Ahemmmmm... salam to everyone :)

It's been such a long time since I last wrote something here. It's not that I don't have anything to write about, this is definitely a case of having too many things on my plate right now...hehehe. I really don't know where to start...literally.

How time flies...sigh (especially when you're having fun right? hehehe). It's been three years since I stop being a tax-payer. In 2 days, I'll start joining the workforce again...sigh. I'll miss a lot of things, especially the time spent with my kids, definitely. This is not a time for reflection, it's just a note to say hello, actually.

Hopefully, I'll have the time to write something soon...hehehe. Till then, au revoir!

Malaysia Day Raya Craze...

For the past two years, we spent Raya in a very calm and subdued manner, so this year we went a little overboard...hehehe.

Since we missed seeing a few of my cousins during the first few days of Raya, we decided to give them a visit on Malaysia Day, 16th of September 2010. Hadi was complaining of a toothache, so we went to the dentist first and the dentist pulled out two of his front/bottom teeth. I thought there was only one jiggly tooth...hehehe.

Anyway, after various phone calls, it seemed that my cousins were also busy and won't be at home that day. We were already on the highway by then, so we changed our plans. Instead of visiting relatives, we decided to visit friends. The first 'victim' was Mazman's family. I called Kak Rehana and luckily they were in...hehehe. So, their house in Taman Melati became our first destination for the day.

They were caught a little off-guard because we came very fast. We told them, we would be arriving in 30 minutes but in fact, by 20 minutes, we were already infront of their house...muahaha. Kesian, Kak Rehana...hehehe. We chatted while Kak Rehana was busy frying the meehoon. The kids were happy because they finally saw Nabil and Fatiha after so many months. The compound and the house was big, so the kids were busy exploring.

We were teasing Mazman about his 'old house'... Remember the story about 'ghosts' in Sudan? It was their former house...hehehe. Anyway, we were trying to discuss about where to go next. When I call Zana, she sounded very tired because her father just had stroke during Raya so we didn't want to intrude and that's when I remembered that Aiza's also staying somewhere in Taman Melati. I called Aiza and she invited us to her house around 2.30pm.

Mazman also agreed to join us, so we went after zohor prayers. I tried calling Kak Maria but it went unanswered. I actually called Najwa to get Kak Maria's phone number actually, but when she heard that we're heading to Kak Maria's house, she invited us to go to her house instead. Hehehe.

We arrived at Aiza/Zali's house around 3pm and there were so many dishes on the table...hehehe, including sate okay?!! The kids were so excited to see the big swimming pool downstairs. Hadi and Amir even ate at the verandah overlooking the pool. Aiza and Zali were actually planning to go to Zali's parents house in Klang but I managed to convince them to follow us to Najwa's house in Kota Damansara. Muahahaha... I also called Syikeen and arranged a visit to her house after Najwa's.

So, there were 3 cars headed towards Najwa's house. It's quite easy to find actually...hehehe. Najwa who had just 'lost' her maid managed to cook rendang for us. There were 4 families in all, with kids amounting to 14 in all. So, just imagine the noise that we were making. Definitely 'meriah', just like the old days in Khartoum.

Then, around 5.45pm, Syikeen and Ezalman picked us up at Najwa's house. We also managed to persuade Syed and Najwa to join us at Syikeen's house...Muahahaha. Ezalman, who just came back from the hospital (leg injury) had to bear his pain and entertain us. But I think that our presence acted as some kind of a pain-killer for Ezal...hehehe.

Just imagine, the funny part was that we managed to 'persuade' our friends to join our 'kembara raya'...muahahaha. Mazman said that it was so 'kampung-like'...hehehe. I took it as a compliment of our 'management skills'...muahahaha. It was definitely more fun and thinking back, how strong our bond was when we were together in Sudan. I prefer to keep our friendship strong, insyaallah.

We came out of Syikeen's house just as we heard the maghrib's azan. Our family had a pit-stop at Giant's Kota Damansara where the kids had dinner while we prayed. We came back still laughing from the hilarity of it all. How a great day started without proper plans. Maybe Allah wants to remind us of our family-bond forged in Sudan of all places...Alhamdulillah...

Travel Galore - More of Raya 1431H...

On the second day of Raya, we went out to Uncle Ripin's house after a leisurely breakfast and a swim for the kids at the hotel. From Uncle Ripin's house, we went to KB Mall to buy something for the kids, especially Hadi who started asking for his 'fasting reward'...sigh.

Around midday, we made our way to Bachok, Mak Su Ani's house. By the time we arrived, Mummy and Daddy were already there and Adik and Fahim arrived soon after. Basically we just relaxed and had lunch there. I suggested to my husband that we should use the time wisely by driving to Pasir Mas as we were going back to Sabak Bernam the next day. He agreed and we made our way to Pasir Mas around 5pm.

There was a lot of traffic but it was not too bad, and we arrived in Pasir Mas just before Maghrib. First we went to Kak Ana's house and afterwards went next door to Ajik's house where they were holding an open house for their close family and friends. The food was delicious...hehehe. I was really glad that we made the effort to go there as we managed to meet many of our cousins. If I'm not mistaken, arwah Makcik Lah got about 9 kids and numerous grandchildren. We head back to KB after isya' and the night was spent packing for the next leg of the journey.

On Sunday morning, we were invited to have breakfast at Fahim's house. We had breakfast there and made our way to the West Coast around 10.30am. The traffic was really bad, it took us about 4 hours to get to Gua Musang. It was very slow moving, crawling for most of the way. Amir had a little of a mishap along the way, he actually vomited on Hadi, and we had to change him at the gas station.

We decided to use the Cameron Highlands/Simpang Pulai's route. We stopped for solat around 3pm somewhere in the mountains (in a surau). We arrived in Cameron around 4pm, where I stopped to buy some fresh vegetables...hehehe. Retail therapy wherever I can get it okay?!! Hehehe. Then from Simpang Pulai we head down to south.

It was really slow on the highway but in a way, it was quite fortunate for us because we had a flat tyre somewhere near Tapah. A fellow driver pointed it out to us, if not I would be unaware of the little situation befallen us. The kids were sleeping at the back and all the commotion did not awake them from their deep slumber. I was useless with a flat tyre and it seemed that I was not the only one...hehehe

An Indian mechanic stopped and helped us just when my husband was about to panic (he didn't even know how to unscrew the bolts, ok?!!). The mechanic told us, "Hiyo, kalau macam tu ha, sampai malam pun tak tentu boleh buka woo"...hehehe. It took him very short time to change the tyre and while he was doing it, the plus patrols came to have a look. We gladly pay him a little bit of money for helping us with the tyre changing...Phewwww.

The traffic was very slow moving, even from Bidor to Teluk Intan. Both of us were very tired that it was kind of funny, every half an hour we would change being the driver...hehehe. We finally arrived at my Auntie's house in SPP around 9pm. It was dark and we missed her house 2 times. See how familiar we were with our own Auntie's house...hehehe.

It seemed that I just missed my Mak Su as she just went back to Jasin in the morning...sigh. But my Mak Ngah and Cik Jah was there with two new additions to the family...hehehe. We had dinner there, they had the time to cook the vegetables from Cameron, you know?!! Anyway, we made our way back to Sabak Bernam around 11pm. I actually booked a room at my relative's homestay, Zamita's in Sabak Bernam a week earlier. So, it was kind of easy, just get the key and 'pengsan'...hehehe

The next day, we went back to Sekendi and met my relatives plus all the juiciest gossips...muahahaha. Instead of going back to Rawang on Monday, we extended our stay another night. Luckily I booked a room at Sg Hj Dorani as a just-in-case scenario. We managed to visit many relatives though 2 days were definitely not enough to cover the scores of relatives I have...hehehe.

Anyway, we came back to BTP on Tuesday and Hadi and Amir had to skip one day of school. Yeay! for them, I suppose...hehehe. Looking back at the travelling we had done during Raya, I could just rolled my eyes. But the story's not finish yet...hehehe

To be continued...

Travel Galore - Eid-ul-Fitr 1431H

We woke up a little bit late on the morning of Eid. The kids woke up at 7.30am but by 8.00 everyone was ready...hehehe. My FIL was amazed and asked the kids, "Cepatnya siap, mandi kuba' ker?". Hehehe.

We planned to solat sunat at Masjid Hiliran but because we were late and it was raining, we prayed in Masjid Kristal, a short walking distance from where we were staying. There were so many people, alhamdulillah. The only complain I had was about the imam who forgot the takbir on the second rakaat, making the makmum a little bit confused.

The night before, Che Rah told us not to come too early, so after solat we went to Che Da Afzan's house. I love going to Che Da Afzan's house because her house would be the only house that serves rendang on raya morning...hehehe. Che Da cooked nasi minyak Trengganu and rendang...yeay! But while I was enjoying the spread, Che Rah called...

So, we went straight to Che Rah's house and ate Nasi Dagang. Ayah Su and Che Su also came from Dungun, so my FIL's family was complete. All surviving siblings were together under one roof. We managed to have a photography session with all the family...hehehe. We ate and chatted and had fun teasing each other...hehehe. Well, it's not easy to have everyone together at the same time.

Around 12, we made our move to Padang Midin, to Abg Luqman's house. We arrived just before the friday prayer and the ladies had our fill of nasi dagang in peace. This is where Daddy met his cousins and there were many that day. Even Dadi came a bit later but I pity him because he looked so lost in his own world...sigh.

From Padang Midin, we made our way home and started packing all our stuff in the car. We made our way to KB around 3pm. We managed to stop by at Uncle Wan Abu Mutalib's house but it was too full with a lot of people. The journey was uneventful and we safely arrived at the hotel in KB just before Maghrib.

After prayers and showers, we went to Mak Anjang's house in Kg. Bayam. Adik and Fahim also came with us. There we met Abg Pian and Wani and later were joined by Ila and Man. Abg Pian's second child was unable to walk and it was so sad because we could do nothing to help...sigh. We went back to rest around 11 pm. Such an exhausting first day...sigh.

Travel Galore - a day before Eid...

On the day before raya, we managed to find our relative somewhere near the airport. We visited Dadi who was already affected by Alzheimer and hardly recognise people, even his own children...sigh.

I suggested that instead of just spending the night before raya at the house, why don't we go to Che Rah's house (daddy's sister) and he agreed. So we went there and Che Ja was already there with her family. It was kind of fun to gossip and just get to know each other better...hehehe. At first just the ladies were at the kitchen and then Daddy joined us ladies.

On that particular night, we discovered one of Daddy's secrets...hehehe. No wonder Che Ja and Che Rah were a bit gobsmacked when Mummy told them that Daddy ate bubur lambuk for sahur. Then, suddenly Che Ja asked Mummy, "Since when Abg Long eat bubur lambuk?" and it was Mummy's turn to be gobsmacked, "huh?!, he's been eating quite a lot of bubur lambuk actually...". Then Che Ja told us that as far as she knows, Daddy abhorred bubur lambuk since young because he said that bubur lambuk reminded him of 'muntah kucing (cat's vomit)...muahaha.

When questioned by his wife and his sisters, he actually admitted that he used to hate bubur lambuk...hehehe. We had a good laugh about that in the kitchen. We were so busy laughing that we didn't realise the time. All too soon, it was time to go back to Taman Tamadun Islam...sigh. It was so nice to be able to chat with our close relatives.

Travel Galore - a summary

My husband came back on the 3rd of October and we had a family dinner/buka puasa at his parents house in Taman Tun. The next day, we went back to Sabak Bernam and had a buka puasa at Kak Iti's house. We came back to Tasik Puteri on Sunday afternoon and we treated our neighbours for a buka puasa at Jintan Manis restaurant. Food was okay but the service was a bit poor.

Our trip to the East Coast started on Monday, the 6th of October. We had a brief stopover at Kuantan for a 'spot' of shopping...hehehe. Just bought a few tudung for me and Aliah. We didn't book a hotel or anything, we just took a chance. Luckily, there was a family room available for us at Awana Kijal.

We arrived in Kijal about 5.30 pm, and about an hour later we were on our way to Dungun to break our fast with Ayah Su's family. We were treated to a sumptuous feast. We finished everything...hehehe. We followed Ayah Su to do our terawih prayers at Masjid Batu 7 if I'm not mistaken. After terawih, we continued eating bubur and other deserts at Ayah Su's house. We left around 10 pm and had a stopover at Kerteh to buy something for Aliah and Hadi's sahur as our sahur were provided by the hotel.

The next morning, we only started our journey around 12 because we were supposed to meet my PIL around 3 pm in KT. When we discovered that Mummy and Daddy will only arrive after Asar, we had a stopover at Noor Arfa's show room. The boys stayed in the car while Aliah and me went in. I just bought a few pieces of Kaftan for Aliah and me...hehehe

We made our way to Taman Tamadun Islam and Masjid Kristal as our accommodation was the guest house next to Masjid Kristal. We waited for them to arrive just before 6pm. The house had 3 bedrooms, a living/dining area and a small kitchenette. The kids shared a bathroom with us. The kids ate chicken rice while we break our fast with all trengganu food fare with the likes of ikan singgang and ayam percik...hehehe

At first we wanted to perform our terawih at masjid Kristal... infact we were already inside the beautiful masjid when Daddy called us out and drove out to a nearby masjid. I've forgotten the exact name of the masjid or was it a surau?!! The funny thing was, Hadi told his ayah that he had to pray so many times...hehehe.

To tell you the truth, I loved the spotlight show at masjid Kristal, it changes colours every few seconds, very beautiful at night. But, I was a bit surprised that the inside of the masjid was smaller than I imagine. There was only a small space for ladies to pray, maybe just enough for 8 rows. When we were there, it was packed and a lot of people had to pray outside which was a shame really. For the millions that they spent building the masjid, I thought comfort for the jemaah would have been well thought out.

On Wednesday morning we were greeted with 'ant attack'! We woke up for sahur but was shocked with the thousands of ants attacking our food. Only the bubur lambuk was safe...eeee. My MIL had to fight the 'ants' and we had to clean up the area. Wednesday is also our relaxing day, we didn't go anywhere. We were treated at 'Bbenteng' inside Taman Tamadun Islam. No complains there as it was a free meal...hehehe. We had terawih in Masjid Hiliran, my FIL's kampung.

There were two layers and men prayed upstairs. The Masjid was made of chengal I think, but everytime the men sujud, we could hear them so loudly...hehehe. We were lucky because they were 'khatam' the alquran that night, so instead of doing 8 rakaat, I did the whole thing. Alhamdulillah. We were waiting for the sound of the canon, but since we heard none that meant that Raya would be on Friday.

Oh, by the way, my FIL was so proud of the canon that he got so excited telling his grandchildren about the history. On the first day we were in KT, I think he was more excited than the kids...hehehe. It was a case of 'bedil' here and 'bedil' there. Well, maybe for the Trengganu folks, the canon during Ramadhan signals a long held tradition and reminding them of their childhood. Something that never changes though everything else move with the times.

On Thursday, my husband bought his first DSLR camera, a canon 550EOS because there was no Nikon D90 in stock. We break our fast in a restaurant that have been mentioned by my FIL for the umpteenth time (whenever we went past it, okay?!!). It was crowded but the service was fast and efficient. I tried the 'sotong sumbat', not bad.

Did I tell you what Aliah said about our accommodation? Well, around KT we travelled in one car, so one day Aliah asked her To' Ki, "To' Ki, why couldn't we stay in a better hotel?". Oopss, alahai, these kids. Their definition of a good hotel start with having a bath tub and astro channels on TV. That would be the first thing they would check when we arrive in any hotel...hehehe. Those and the fact that there were ants there definitely brought down the standard of the accommodation to a 'homestay'.

To be continued...

Raya 2010- reflection...

This year we celebrated Eid in Malaysia, among family and friends and with food aplenty...hehehe. For the past two years, we were away in Khartoum, though it was no less festive but I miss the 'carnival' spirit there. Though I felt that my presence there was enough to make the atmosphere more festive somehow...muahahaha!

In Khartoum, we spent time during Eid visiting friends in the Petronas Complex. When I was there, we had a 'schedule' for open houses...hehehe. In 2008, Syikeen and me drew up a timetable for everyone to slot in their open houses, so that we would be able to enjoy the festivities mood and the most important thing that there would be no clashes in the schedule and everyone fed to the max! Muahahaha.

Last year, I managed to maximise the slots, so that everyone did not have to cook for 6 whole days! The ladies had to do minimal cooking during the period because we had open houses for 'breakfast, lunch and dinner!'...Muahahaha. Who says it was not fun in Sudan?!! Well, I did anyway! Hehehe

During the holidays we had very 'minimal travelling time'. The only travelling that we did involve only the walking up and down the stairs or travelling up and down lifts... or maybe the slow walk to the other block! hehehe... Can you imagine celebrating Eid in a block of flats, without anywhere else to go?!! The only invitation out would be from the embassy and the students organisation. Kesian kan?!! But I have to say that I had lots of fun and laughter throughout the holidays.

I remembered us going to each house and the ladies would normally sit in an 'island' in the middle of the room and shared gossips and laughter (with the host's homemade cookies right in the middle, I might add)...hehehe. Sometimes the men would left us there and went home first because once the wives got talking, it's very difficult to stop...muahahaha. I miss those times... I miss you guys...

Selamat Hari Raya...1431H

Salam everyone! I hope it's not too late for me to wish Eid Mubarak to everyone. I know it's really late, but better late than never right?!! Hehehe...

Anyway, I had a 'busy' Eid so far which can be vouched by the thousands of kms clocked on my poor car...hehehe. I also had a technical difficulty when my beloved modem went dead even before Eid...sigh. Now I finally got a new modem but my router is letting me down...sigh. I have been out of touch with many friends on the net and for that I am sorry, guys :) I'm here now and I plan to stay, insyaallah. I gotta go right now, au revoir!

Salam Ramadhan Kareem...1431H

Salam Ramadhan Kareem to everyone... Today is the 12th day already, how time flies...

Actually, I wanted to write something before Ramadhan but did not have the time to it. I want to ask for forgiveness from everyone who dropped by my humble blog, if I ever hurt anyone. It's definitely not intentional. 0-0 okay.

This is just an update on what has been happening since the beginning of Ramadhan. This is the first Ramadhan that Hadi is fasting, ever. So far, I'm so happy to say that he has not miss a single day of fasting...yet...hehehe. I'm quite surprised that he is so strong, actually.

He did whine though, especially the time after Asar when his hunger pangs are it its worst. The best thing to do is to just ignore his whining, though sometimes it really tested my patience...hehehe. Amir's the only one not fasting and he has been testing Hadi's patience also. The worse thing is he kept on offering food to Hadi. Yesterday, Hadi took a sip of vitagen before he realised he was fasting...hehehe

I'm also busy opening boxes from Sudan. Glad to say that nearly 90% of the boxes are opened and the 'stuff' put away in its respective places...sigh. It was quite difficult to find space for all the stuff...sigh. Sometimes I wonder about other people who had more than 100 boxes to sort out. Mine was only 39 boxes, possibly the lowest number of boxes ever! hehehe...

For those who was kind enough to drop by and leave comments, thank you. I'm not able to bloghop during Ramadhan because I have a mission to khatam the al-quran before Ramadhan ends. I'm way behind my husband who already recite more than 20 juzuk compared to me who only finished juzuk 11. Well, being a naturally competitive person that I am, I normally had a kind of a race with my husband about who managed to read more quran during this holy month...hehehe. But this time, I have 3 kids to take care of on my own... (excuses, excuses...I know...) hehehe

BTW, I managed to bake biskut makmur yesterday morning. Thank you to my neighbour who lend me her oven...hehehe. Though at the rate that Amir's going, there'll be only crumbs of makmur left by Eid...sigh

Last but not least, have a blessed Ramadhan everyone!

Alahai Adik Aku...

This time round I'd like to write about my brother, Mamud. Actually, I've been wanting to write about him for a long time, but don't know how to put it in words.

I gave him a chance to move to the room downstairs as it's much bigger than his room upstairs. He agreed and he finally moved into his room last week. I bought him a nice double bed for his room but it was a bit big and took about 1/2 of the room. Actually there should be enough space for him to put his stuff but...

How could I say this... The problem is that he wanted to put in two big wardrobes in there...sigh. I told him to lose one closet, but he wanted to put in all his stuff in there. Actually his stuff is not that many but when you count all my late brother's belonging as well, it became quite a lot...sigh

It's kind of sad actually because I think Mamud has not moved on. He insisted on keeping all Ayang's stuff, all his shirts even. When I came back in 2008, I managed to give away a few of Ayang's clothes, otherwise everything's basically intact. Mamud decided to keep them all for himself...sigh

Both of them were not that close when Ayang was alive and maybe this is a way for Mamud to be close to Ayang's memory. I don't know. So back to the problem at hand, his room now resemble a storeroom...hehehe. But he finally agreed to let go of one closet, only to put in a smaller one inside. And there were a lot of his stuff still in the living room! My living room is now a big store room!

Everything's so messy...sigh. And the best thing is my contena from Sudan is coming this Tuesday. Even though there's only about 30 odd boxes, but it's still 30 too many. That's another thing, on Friday I got a call from Subalipak apologising that they could not send my boxes on that day, they will only arrive on Saturday. I panicked and told them that I didn't even know that the boxes are arriving that soon. Then we decided to have the boxes delivered on Tuesday...sigh. The day before Ramadhan... I could feel a headache coming on...sigh...

So, I'll write more when the boxes arrive. Now, I have one day to clear all this mess first! Au revoir!

Busy...

I've been neglecting this blog lately. I've been busy running around actually. Since the kids started school, I've been running around after them...sigh. I've been driving more than 100km per day! Seriously!

Weekends have been hectic also...sigh. So many things have happened but I'm too tired to blog while in between 'runs'...hehehe. Anyway, I'll blog when I can, insyaallah.

A tiring weekend...

Yesterday morning, I bundled my kids and rushed off to OU to watch the movie, 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice'. They loved the movie but Amir managed to doze off at the end...hehehe

After the movie, we went to Seri Pacific Hotel to check in. Yesterday, I had a reunion dinner with my school mates. The 20th year of our leaving SSP! I'm very old indeed...hehehe. I'll write more about this some other time, insyaallah.

Anyway, after we checked in, we went over to the Mall and had a bite to eat. After that, we went to a bookstore and bought a few activity books for the kids. After Asar, they wanted to go to the swimming pool and they had about an hour of fun frollicking in the pool...hehehe.

I went to join my friends around 7.45 pm and when I got back to the room around 11 pm, Amir was sprawled on the floor while the other two were still energetic enough to play with the balloons that I brought back...sigh.

Today, I checked out around 11 am, and had breakfast with my friends at the Mall before we parted company around 12 pm. We were supposed to visit Cikgu Poyah in Seremban who was diagnosed with breast cancer and had the operation done about 3 days ago, but we had to postpone it to a later date.

Somehow, my daughter managed to 'do something' to the automatic window button on the driver's side that now won't work at all...sigh. I drove to Selayang to get it fixed but the workshop was closed. After that, I stopped at the barber's to give the boy a crew cut as usual...hehehe. Went back to BTP to have lunch and arrived home around 3 pm...phewww

I managed to coax the kids to play at the playground before 6 pm but they only managed to play about 20 minutes when it started drizzling...sigh. Anyway, I'm feeling really sleepy tonight, so au revoir!

My World Cup : Part 2

This year, I planned to enjoy the World Cup 2010. I do not have any favourite team but I certainly had an irrational dislike of Italy and England. Though I did have a soft spot for Germany and the Ivory Coast...hehehe. The Ivory Coast was unlucky to be grouped together with Brazil and Portugal because if not, they would have gone at least to the quarter finals. Anyway, it's just not to be...sigh. While Germany played to their full potential and displayed one of the fastest attacking football there is.

Though they lost to Spain in the semis, I was not too disappointed because Spain played well and managed to curb any kind of moves the Germans tried. The best team won and I was also glad that Spain became the champion. They deserved it! I quite like Holland but they played 'dirty' at the finals and it was a shame. I knew that the odds were against them but was quite disappointed that they came out trying to spoil Spain's victory. The game between Germany and Uruguay was much better, free flow and they played beautiful football, definitely.

Since the WC begun on the 11th of June, I've been glued to the TV screen on about 80% of the games. I actually started my marathon on the 10th of June...hehehe. When my husband came back for a course in Cherating on the 12th of June, I was a bit disappointed because there was no telecast of the WC in our room in Swiss Garden Kuantan. But all was not lost because they showed the games at big screens around the hotel. We normally chose to sit out at the beach front and watched the matches.

My husband made me miss Germany's first game because he didn't want to wake me up. Actually he suffered from jet lag and though he heard the alarm clock, felt that he could not get up and would rather let me miss the game also. Hmmmphhh! One night, I crawled out of bed and watched the game at the lobby with another patron. Luckily it was dark because I literally dragged myself out of bed...hehehe

Anyway, when the kids started schooling after the school holidays, it became a challenge to sleep late and wake up early. Sometimes I survived on 2 or 3 hours sleep and during the day, I became a zombie. But once I caught myself nodding at the wheel and that put a stop to watching the 2.30 am games. Luckily it was during the quarter final rounds where we were given a reprieve of about two days before the next round...hehehe

Sometimes, I persuaded the kids to sleep downstairs infront of the TV, so that I could watch the games and be near the kids at the same time. My living room became truly 'lived in'...muahahaha. In my opinion, Germany provided a lot of entertainment in whatever games they played, except against Spain (they truly need a lot of experience and maturity to counter Spain's tactic). I loved how the Germans made the English looked like fools. Slow and weak against fast and strong contenders. Simply loved that.

Actually I liked watching Argentina played also, though I hate the over-dramatic coach. I think if you put a 'stick' as a coach also, they could play well. Brazil was too cocky for me. It was kind of sad that the African teams were not that successful...sigh. But it just goes to show that brawn without brains would not guarantee you success in football.

What about South Korea and Japan? I liked them also and sad to see them end their campaigns. They showed that Asians could also play world class football. I would also support Japan's bid to host the WC in 2018?!! At least, the matches would not deprive me of my much needed sleep...hehehe

Any complaints? Of course, the ball is one. Next time, please let someone involved in the game to design it! A ball that was designed in a lab should stay in the lab! Some referee were 'card-happy' like the Saudi man. Iskkk, at times, I wish they could invite Colina to referee again. I miss seeing his bald head running alongside players and controlling the game. If he referees, no one dares to say anything...sigh.

I bid farewell to World Cup Mania 2010! I laughed, I cried but most of all, I enjoyed every minute of it. I wonder what I would be doing during the World Cup 2014 in Brazil...mmm

p/s: Ramadhan is coming. I wish I'll have the same kind of passion to wake up nights as the WC...hehehe

My World Cup : Part 1

I'm a football fan. I wasn't that interested when I was younger even though I studied in a country where EPL reigned supreme. If I'm not mistaken, Gary Lineker was quite famous then. I just couldn't understand what's the point of 22 men chasing 1 ball?!! My husband was and still is a Liverpool fanatic. So, I became a fan by default or is it by marriage? Hehehe. But when I could not stand to support Liverpool anymore, I chose to support Chelsea starting from 2003.

Then, I started to read up on football news and watched games without fail. I became a football junkie...muahahaha. Well, now I agree when people say that football is a beautiful game. It is! In football, you'll have to work together and different positions have different parts to play. Different teams have different dynamics and I love to watch them all.

So, of course, I love watching the World Cup, it's not just about a football game, but also about pride of a country. In 2006, I was heavily pregnant with Amir during the WC and I was bleeding, so I was given a 2 week bed rest. So, I used that 2 weeks of 'bed rest' by watching WC 2006. Amir was delivered after the second semi final match. My favourite player was Zizou of course and I felt like kicking that Italian player for making him sent off. My favourite coach was of course Klinsman. I liked this man since he was a player...hehehe

Anyway, I'm lucky because this year, I'm still on leave! Yeay!

After all these years...

Hmmm... after all these years, my kids finally slept in their own rooms! Finally!

Apart from watching mind-boggling football during my sojourn from blogging, I was busy painting and decorating the two rooms upstairs. Ayang's old room was painted pink for Aliah, of course. And Mamud's room was painted blue for the boys. Mamud is in the process of painting his own room downstairs and his choice is green. So, my house is officially a 'rainbow' of colours...hehehe.

I was caught quite off-guard this evening actually, when Amir asked whether they're supposed to sleep in their rooms tonight. I immediately grab the opportunity and said yes! Aliah was at first not very keen to sleep on her own but after painting her room pink and added whatever decorations that she desired, she was very happy with her room. Actually, I just bought very cheap wall stickers at the night market...hehehe

Of the two boys, Amir was the one excited. Since the room was small, I put in a single bed with another bed which could be pulled out when needed. Their room was decorated with two tones of blue at two sides to signify the ocean while the other half was painted blue and cream to signify earth. We put up stickers of fishes at the 'seaside' and giraffes at the 'earthside'...hehehe. I think, I really need to put up pictures here. Anyway, Amir was happy because we put on stickers of Ben10 too.

Hadi was of a different opinion, though. He didn't want to stay in that room. He was very reluctant to sleep there tonight, but I was firm. Actually I was quite 'sorry' to see them out of my room, but I thought that once I relent, they won't take me seriously ever again...sigh.

Can you imagine, they've been in my room all their lives...sigh. I'm missing them already. I think I'm experiencing a small scale 'empty-nest' sindrom...muahahaha. So, bye for now, I want to enjoy having a room to myself all over again! Au revoir!

A long day...a long wait...

This morning, we made our way to KLCC around 11 am and arrived about an hour later. So, we ate at chillis and while waiting for a table, I brought the kids to kinokuniya to buy a book each. Later we enjoyed lunch and straight after lunch, we took a taxi to Prince Court Hospital.

We arrived around 1.30 pm, visited my friend and then left about an hour later. My friend's recovering well, alhamdulillah. So after prayers, we took another cab to KLCC around 3 pm, it was raining but it subsided after half an hour, alhamdulillah.

We finally reached home about 4.15 pm. After Asar, I went to Kak Min's house as her daughter's getting married tomorrow. I was in my shirt and trousers and slippers of course. When I reached her house, I discovered that the akad nikah was taking place in the masjid and after that there'll be tahlil at the house. Errrrkkks, no wonder the others were in lovely baju kurungs...hehehe

But being me, I just stayed on and joined the tahlil after the akad nikah's finished. I came back home before maghrib and sent the kids for mengaji. After their mengaji session, I gave the kids dinner and after isya' went to Kak Min's house again. They were having BBQ, but I went in and help with the bunga telur or should I say, filling up the sweets for the reception tomorrow.

Around 10 pm, I asked one of the boys to switch on the TV...because I wanted to watch the match between RSA and Mexico. FYI, I'm a footie fan actually...hehehe. Last night I stayed up and watched the opening ceremony...hehehe. Anyway, my job's done right at the end of the first half. I ate a little and then rushed back to watch the second half at home. I missed the first goal of the World Cup because I came in at 57th minute...ish, but managed to watch the Mexican goal. Yeay!

While waiting for the second match, I did the packing for our upcoming trip and managed to do laundry at the same time. I went out to hang the clothes at 2 am...hehehe, I hope I didn't make so much noise and disturb my neighbour.

Now, I'm watching the game between France and Uruguay. Actually, I just wanted to say (in a roundabout way) that I'll be hanging my 'blogging hat' and put on the 'footie fan hat'...muahahaha. Please do not expect any entries after this until the finals in another month's time. Whatever entry after this will be considered a 'bonus'. I'll be busy 'studying' all the stats and watching all the fixtures...muahahahaha! Happy World Cup, people!

Bone tired...

Today has been a very tiring day.

Early in the morning, I woke the kids up and rushed to Taman Sri Rawang. I dropped them off at Kak Arah's house around 9.15 am. Then I drove to Selayang Jaya to leave the car at the workshop for a major repair. I asked the mechanic to drop me off infront of Selayang Mall and I immediately spotted the taxi that was waiting for me at the curb (I asked for Zali/Ema's help in finding a reliable taxi driver and they gave Abg Md Noor's number).

The taxi ride was quite interesting...hehehe. We talked about football and the incoming WorldCup among other things. I also asked him whether he could pick me up around 5 pm and he asked me to call around 4 to make sure that he's in the vicinity.

I arrived at the hospital around 10.45 am, went to my friend's room and met Kak A and my friend's sister. We were waiting for the operation to finish and waiting's definitely a very tiring activity...sigh. She went to the OT around 8 am and we were quite worried because it was taking more time than expected. She finally came out of the OT around 12 pm but the effect of the GA was still very strong and she looked so weak. It tug at my heart...sigh

Kak A was better in helping her and anticipating her every needs. She vomited several times but nothing came out, just green/ yellow liquid and I bet it was very painful. We waited for her to be lucid but she told us that she was quite hot and she couldn't see properly, must be the after-effect of the GA as well.

The nurses showed us the 'specimen', the thing that they took out during the operation. Being me, I managed to snap a few pictures just before they took it to the lab...hehehe. It looked a bit scary, 'matter' swimming in a bottle of liquid and blood...Isk.

Kak A and I went down for lunch around 2 pm. After lunch and solat, I went to the florist shop and managed to get a small pink bouquet for my friend. When I went upstairs, I received the good news that the cancer hasn't spread to her lymph-nodes, alhamdulillah...

Soon, the florist bought the flowers up and while the rest were still trying to figure out who it was from, I went and signed the delivery papers...hehehe. I was glad that my friend seemed happy and in a better spirit after the good news. She was also well enough to get up to go to the toilet and could walk albeit a bit unsteadily.

I took my leave around 5 pm and straight went to the workshop to get the car. I arrived in Rawang about 6.30 after struggling to be patient while being stuck in a traffic jam at the Templar area...sigh. Some things just never change...sigh.

Anyway, I was glad that I went to see my friend at the hospital today. I finally met her in person after hearing about the bad news 2 days ago. Though she was still weak, I hope she knows that her friends will support her through this difficult times, insyaallah.

Get well soon, dear friend... Tawakkal illallah...

I

Adeh...

Today, I planned to visit a friend in a hospital in KL. So, this morning I settled Hadi's and Amir's school registrations and came back to Tasik Puteri around 1.30. Around 3 pm, Amir went with Mamud to pick up my cleaner and on the way, dropped off Aliah and Hadi for tuition at Jane's.

I took my own sweet time and only started my journey around 3.15 pm. On my way out, I called Kak Arah to arrange for the kids' 'stay-over' tomorrow at her house. Suddenly, I heard a loud bang and the car hit the divider! I stopped the car at the side of the road and lo and behold! I saw a flat tyre infront (right) and a big hole in the tyre. It must have popped!

Not only I had one flat tyre, when I hit the divider, it also made the tyre at the back split open. So, I called Mamud and the chinese workshop that I'm familiar with to get me a tow-truck. Mamud stopped on his way back home and I asked him to wait at the car while I drove Kak Wahida and Amir back home in the Wira.

While I was at home, the towtruck driver called at told me that they couldn't find the exact location of the car and I had to 'pick up' the tow-truck instead...hehehe. But, when I arrived at the 'site', I couldn't see the car! Huh?!! Then I got a call from the workshop telling me that my brother had actually change the front tire and drove to the workshop himself! Adeh...

So, I told the tow-truck driver to go back to the workshop while I drove straight home...sigh. Imagine me, driving around Tasik Puteri in a very old Wira, which is very low (it must have lose all its suspensions!). I felt like driving a go-kart car...hehehe. I could feel every bump and jolt of the road...Adehhh...

So, hopefully I could finally visit my friend tomorrow, after her operation in the morning. Well, what can I say except thanking Allah that the kids were not with me when it happened and I was right smack in Tasik Puteri where I could get help easily...Alhamdulillah.

Sigh...

I just came back from Selayang Mall. I went there while waiting for my car to be serviced somewhere in Selayang Jaya.

I brought the kids along while I was about to pay for my purchases, I got a call from an old friend who needed a sounding board. I gave her my honest opinion and the rest was up to her...sigh. And while we were about to eat, I received another call from a close friend. An unexpected call...sigh. After lunch as I was about to let the kids play at the play area (they have rides and stuff), I was approached by someone. Another shocker for the day.

It was Ani, Mohamad's wife. I was stunned. Today is the 15th day of his passing and she brought her kids to eat at the KFC because the oldest daughter requested it...sigh. She was crying when she called out to me and immediately I felt the sadness and the hopelessness.

It was hard for her to be in Selayang Mall because that's where they always go together, sometimes 2 or 3 times a week. I just let her talk her heart out and I listened because I think that's what she needs the most, someone who just stop and listen. She told me that she always depended on arwah to do most things and now she's at a lost. She couldn't cry infront of the kids because she needs to show a strong front, but my goodness, she's breaking apart...sigh.

I told her that she needs to be strong and Allah would not give her something that she couldn't handle, eventually. Sounded like empty words but I truly believe in this, actually. There's always a higher order of events that only He knows and as always, He knows best.

I suggested to her to start a blog. Somewhere that she could pour her heart out and hopefully help her to figure things out and survive this ordeal. I know she needs an outlet to write about her worries and share her tribulations. I truly hope she would start writing, so she could lighten the burden, somehow. I bet there are many out there who would help her through this, insyaallah.

Today, I listened. I stop talking and I listened. Hopefully, I helped by listening to the people around me. So far, it has been quite a day for self-reflection also...sigh.

It's been a while...

It's been awhile since I last blogged. I was too sad after Mohamad's death and later my husband came back for a week and I had so many things to settle within that 1 short week.

Actually I have so many things to share but I do not know where to start...sigh. So, enough to say that I miss blogging and I miss visiting all my fav. blogs...hehehe. Insyaallah, you'll be seeing more of me soon. So, till then, au revoir!

A tribute to Mohamad...

Today, I'm reminded again of how fragile a life is. This morning, my friend, Mohamad passed away at PPUM around 10.20 am.

He had a stroke on Thursday last week and I went to visit him on Friday. On Saturday evening, I received news that he suffered another stroke and was critical. Friends and family members kept on visiting. And today, I got the dreaded call from Shima around 10.30 am...sigh

I went to MPM and followed En. Isa to Pulapol's surau for the rituals of 'mandi, kapan and sembahyang' before the journey to his final resting place in Batu Pahat, his wife's kampung. We arrived around 12 and soon the surau started to fill up with his friends and relatives. We waited patiently and he finally arrived just before the zohor prayer.

After zohor prayers, we had tahlil while he 'dimandikan dan dikapankan'. Before he 'disembahyangkan', I had the chance to see him for the final time. I couldn't help but cry when I saw his kids kissed him for the final time. He looked so serene, so devoid of life.

He left behind a wife and 3 kids aged 12, 9 and 4. The middle one is a boy who looked just like him. The first-born looked so calm, while the boy and the youngest looked clueless. Amir is the same age as the youngest and I couldn't help being so sad.

Mohamad was such a family man. He would send and fetch his kids every day. He was always jovial and loved to tease everyone. Being in the same dept. we were quite close but I think the guys would miss him more. I saw clouded faces of Eddie, Fauzi and Nawa just now and I bet En Z would really feel the loss also.

Farewell dear friend, Allah loves you more. Semoga rohmu di berkati Allah and digolongkan diantara orang2 yang beriman, insyaallah.

A friend in need...

Yesterday, on my way to Tesco, I received an sms from Sha. I was shocked when I read that our colleague, Mohamad, collapsed and had a stroke the night before. He was in ICU in PPUM. I decided there and then to go and see him but I completed my errands first. I was on a mission to find a new washing machine but failed to do so as there were so many products on the market.

Anyway, I sent the kids back to Tasik Puteri and made my way to PPUM after zohor. Shafiza called to ask me to bring socks and any form of 'minyak panas' for En. Mohamad. I managed to get socks but I couldn't find any minyak panas in BTP...Isk, one shop was closed, another finished its stock and the last one didn't have any...sigh...

I've never been to PPUM before but managed to get into the area of section 16. I detoured a bit when I got into UMSC but soon managed to find PPUM safely. The only problem was parking. I only managed to find the layered parking space in the East Tower while En Mohamad was in the Main Tower. I had to walk very far to reach the Main Tower but everyone was friendly and directed me to the correct area.

He was in ICU on the fifth floor and I saw many people outside the closed section, so I asked which one was his wife? I was lucky because they were En Mohamad's relatives, coming as far as Batu Pahat. His wife told me that he was paralysed on his left side and has a blood clot in his brain but the good thing was he was responsive, so the doctors were monitoring his development. If he started going downhill, they were going to operate on him.

When I had the chance to see him, one of the nurses was doing a routine check up. He slurred, but managed to answer questions from the nurses like where and who he was and I was impressed when he could lift up his right hand and feet. We also felt encouraged when his left feet responded when poked. I saw how glad his wife is, alhamdulillah.

Seeing him lying down, helpless, I felt an acute sadness. He's a tall and thin man and very jovial. Working in the same department, we learned of the antics and quirks of your friends. Our work is stressful because it involves a 'zero-defect' clause and the only time for us to relax would be at the pantry. Sha and me and the clerks used to have fun and made a lot of noise in there. Mohamad would normally make jokes and we would laughed at his antics.

It seemed that he was diagnosed with high blood pressure sometime last year and the stroke was probably brought on by the high BP...sigh. He's about the same age as Sha and me, below forty with three young kids, still in primary school. He's one committed father, sending and fetching the kids from school everyday. He's such a family man.

Mohamad, I pray that you'll get well and get back on your feet, soon. Your young family needs you. Ya Allah, Kau pulihkanlah kawanku Mohamad seperti sediakala, sesungguhnya hanya Kau yang Berkuasa sepenuhnya...

Hadi's a gem...

My son Hadi is a very peculiar character. In terms of development, he's quite a fast learner and he loves watching Discovery Channel and he used to love watching Nat Geo Wild in Sudan. He loves animals and dinosaurs and he has a very good general knowledge compared to his sister.

He is also known to come up with 'gems'. Sometimes out of no where he would 'crack' us up with some thing or other.

Recently, he managed to make us laughed like mad at my in-laws house. He came downstairs without wearing pants, so my FIL asked him, 'How come your punai is so small'. Unperturbed, he answered, "If it's too big, it'll be difficult to carry it around". My FIL just erupted in laughter and I was gobsmacked...muahahaha.

Meeting old colleagues...

Yesterday, Nawar called me and invited me to a gathering at the office today. He told me that since Sha and me are not at the dept. anymore, they seldom have makan2 gathering...hehehe. Normally Sha and me would plan and organise such gathering quite often, the guys just contributed money and the rest would be up to us, with the help of Zu and Nisa of course.

But, unfortunately, I woke up late. I only managed to get out of the house about 10.30 and arrived at the office about 11 am. I was stopped at the gatehouse but I shouted to the new guard that I'm one of the staff there...hehehe. As soon as I arrived at my old dept., I called Nisa to open the door, I totally forgot my old password...hehehe

She didn't realised it was me at first, not until she saw me...then of course, she screamed...hehehe. Fortunately, my old boss was not around, so I had a jolly good time at the pantry with Ruhaibah, Azlina, Kak Aliah and Nisa. Ustaz Zul and Saharudin came to take a look at who's making the noise...muahahaha. I listened to many juicy gossips while I had my fill of the food. We were celebrating Nisa's birthday today...hehehe

From the 5th floor, I tracked down Kak Zubai at the 2nd floor. Here, I saw many old and familiar faces, Isa, Kak Mas, En Salleh, Bad and many more. I was of course very loud and very merry...hehehe. Everyone kept asking me when I'm going to turn up for duty and I told them that I'll be there in January, insyaallah.

Shima called, asking me to go to Dahlia's, an eatery nearby, for lunch. When I got there, she was having lunch with Ika and Juliana. I made my move around 1.30 pm and what a whirlwind 3 hours it was...hehehe. I came back with a promise to join the other officers for a 2 day course sometime in June where Sha from JB will also be there. Hmmmm, this is more for wanting to see Sha other than anything...muahahaha.

p/s: Sha, I think they're going to regret inviting both of us for the course...hehehe

Time out...

I just got back from a wonderful 'time-out'.

A few days ago, I met Kak Normali at Tesco and she told me of a reunion of sorts that was to be held today at PappaKopitiam in Rawang. So, I decided to join them today...hehehe. Who are we? Well, friends who were teaching in SMK Seri Garing around the late nineties and early 2000. Some of us have left the school and either join other schools or join other professions.

So, today after feeding the children and solat, I drove to Rawang. The reunion was supposed to be about 2 pm and I arrived about 1.58 pm. At first, I was the only one there because the others were celebrating Teacher's Day in their respective schools. Then, I saw Kak Huzaina with two of her kids. Kak Huzaina lost her husband sometime in October last year after raya in a motorcycle accident. How sad. She's currently doing her phd with 4 boys to take care of. I'm glad to see her so strong.

Soon, we were joined by Miss Lee Guat Eng, a retiree but she used to be the 'tigress' in SEGAR. Someone who would be feared by students and teachers alike...hehehe. For such a small person, her voice would even 'outdo' mine. She's always serious at work and she controlled the timetable of the whole school. But when it was time to let our hair down, she would be the one responsible to organise such outings as well. It was nice seeing her alive and well...hehehe

Then, I saw Kak An and Kak Faiz, both still in SEGAR, still in their sports gear from the Teacher's Day Games at school. These two were my closest buddies in school, I could tell them anything and expect it to be kept a secret. I miss their company and their support...sigh.

Next, Kak Normali came, followed closely by Kak Gee and Kak Razani...hehehe. Kak Lis is the quiet, artistic type while Kak Sani is the loudmouthed and outrageous type...hehehe. Both used to teach Seni. Kak G is also another lovely soul that I miss so much. Later Kak Hafizah came from Batang Kali and lastly Kak Jannah came.

I chose to sit outside, but we were so noisy. Ehemm, I'm one of the culprits...muahahaha. There were so many stories floating around, sometimes I felt lost but it was a nice and friendly atmosphere. Loud and boisterous most of the time with Kak Sani telling us all sorts of stories...hehehe. Kak Gee said she missed hearing my laughter...hehehe.

This is a kind of confession. I am very bad at keeping in touch. I do not write, phone or even email my friends. I think I am the kind of person that does not normally 'look back'. Once I left a place or group of people, I seem to disappear from the face of the earth. But my strength is in 'picking up where we left off'. There's no awkwardity, I just jumped right back in...hehehe...as if I never made any disappearing act.

So, it was really fun.

What I am doing now...

What am I doing, now? Literally? I am perfecting the art of observation a.k.a 'skodeng'. I am actually observing how the contractor is doing the construction works...from the comfort of my living room...hehehe. Well, as if I know what the workers are doing anyway?!!

So, I play it safe. Rather than look like an idiot out there, I just 'marvel' inside. They started the job on the 4th of May and 12 days later, they managed to finish most of the work at the back (except for the grill) and they're now tiling the front porch, minus the gate. Not bad you know, considering they had only 3 workers normally and the boss of course.

Today, they come in more numbers maybe because there are a lot more work to be done. They work in chain. One tidying up, one mixing cement, one tiling, one cutting some of the tiles and the others are doing their respective job. 'Respective job' means, they're doing things that I do not know how to describe...muahahaha

What I observe about Chong, the contractor? He's very on hand kind of boss. He will do whatever needs to be done alongside his workers. If they're plastering, he'll be plastering as well and I could see no way his workers could 'curi tulang' because he knows what they should be doing. He knows more about tiling than them and he would do it with them. Sometimes, he would check the quality of their work. I am quite impressed with the hardworking man actually.

Having said that, I also could afford to just be in an 'idle' mode because I have a 'project manager' in Rawang. Who? Kak Arah, of course...muahahaha. She would keep tab on the contractor every day, asking about progress and such like. She even has a contract drawn for him to sign...hehehe. She knew Chong for several years already and Chong already know how meticulous she could be, so all are in my best interest...muahahaha

What's my job spec? Emmm...just to open the door and plug in the socket. That's it, plain and simple, sometimes I let the kids do it...hehehe. I could go 'cruising' and 'gallivanting' all over klang valley...hehehe.

Right at this moment, Chong is doing the tiling himself. I think I'll wake up the kids and get ready to go out :)

It's been a month...

It's been a month since I've been back in Malaysia. What a month it has been...hehehe. I think I've been spending money like water and it defeats the purpose of going back to Malaysia in the first place! Sigh... Sorry dear husband...

Well, do I miss Khartoum? Errr, I miss the friends and the company of my husband but other than that, I'm not looking back. It's a chapter of my life that has ended and the sweet memories remain there somewhere as history. I'm looking forward to new adventures and new experiences :)

I think a month of eating at popular eateries, restaurants and hawker stalls is taking its toll. I miss home-cook meals, even though I have to cook it myself...I never thought that I would say this, but I kind of miss cooking...muahahaha. My husband has actually done very well in Khartoum, cooking for himself and sometimes for his friends...hehehe, though he kept on bugging me for recipes everyday...sigh. I can't wait for my 'wet kitchen' to be ready. Maybe another week, insyaallah.

Well, what can I say, a month is definitely a very short time. How time flies when you're having fun...hehehe

Happy Mothers' Day...

Just would like to wish Happy Mothers' Day to all mothers out there!

Being a mother is definitely not an easy task. I'm definitely not a perfect mother. I scream, I scold and sometimes even punish my kids. Sometimes I feel so inadequate in bringing up these kids... but at the end of the day, I'm really glad that Allah deem it fit for me to have these three beautiful kids. I love them to bits!

Another thing, I think I'm turning into my mother...sigh. Some of the things that I don't like about my mother is materialising in me as a mother...sigh. Now, I know, how tough it is to bring up my own kids. I could only imagine how difficult it was to bring up one smart-ass kid a.k.a me. Did you know that I taught my mother how to read? Yep, she was illiterate but when I started learning to read in standard 1 (I never went to any kindy ever :)), she insisted that I taught her how to read the newspapers (I used to read BH then). She must be quite smart also to be able to learn from a seven year old...hehehe. Whatever it is, I love you, Mak! I hope you forgive me for all the wrongs that I did, intentionally or otherwise. Semoga Mak digolongkan diantara orang2 yang beriman, insyaallah. Al-fatihah...

To those of you, who are lucky enough to still have your mother with you, appreciate them not on just this day, but everyday because you'll never know how long she'll be able to be with you. You'll never know the meaning of missing your mother until you lose her, so love them while you still can. Truly, take it from me.

So, again, Happy Mothers' Day to all :)

Minah rempit on the loose...

Hehehe... yesterday began my stint as a 'minah rempit'. Yesterday, my kids started their lessons of Al-Quran a.k.a mengaji. I decided to finally sent them to mengaji at the Rumah Kasih Sayang's house about 5 minutes drive from my house. They were supposed to start on Monday but I forgot on Monday and on Tuesday, we went to see Sri's baby.

Yesterday, the two boys refused to mengaji with the ustazah...sigh. And today, Hadi slept while Amir did mengaji. Well, there's some improvement and I asked the ustazah to let the boys mengaji first starting from tomorrow. Their mengaji session is actually quite brief, from 7.30 to 8.00 pm.

From 8.00 to 9.30, Aliah and Hadi will be having tuition with Jane. BM, English, Maths and Science for Kak Long while Hadi had to learn BM and English. Luckily, tuition classes will be held on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays only.

I haven't started the process on enrolling them in the SK yet, letting them enjoy their summer holidays. I plan to send them to school after the school holidays, insyaallah. So, now they'll start their tuition and mengaji sessions and I'll let them get used to the routine first...hehehe.

So, I'll be seen driving around the BTP area at night while during the day I'll be driving around the Rawang area...hehehe

A tiring day...

Yesterday was a busy day for me. Early in the morning, the builders started arriving (oh, yes, I've managed to appoint a chinese contractor with the help of Kak Arah). So, they came and straight to work. By afternoon, they've cleared my front and back clutter. Very impressive work for a first day.

Before noon, I received news that Sri delivered a baby girl safely at 9.10 am at Pantai Hospital. I got the good news via Khartoum...hehehe. So, I called Adik and we arranged a trip to visit the latest addition to the family around 8 pm.

At noon, I joined the crazy quiz at NekkRock Boutique...muahahaha. We were supposed to guess the price of Nekk's latest purchase and there were about 20 of us scrambling to guess. The adrenalin rush was fantastic and I had fun laughing like mad. It lasted for only about 20 minutes, but it felt so much longer, especially when you're in the middle of the 'crazy-rush'...hehehe

After that, I brought the kids out to buy lunch. When we arrived back at the house, the key broke in the lock...sigh. Luckily, I had a spare key to open the back door. The fact that the builders already pulled out the back fence also helped my predicament. Afterwards, I asked a locksmith to take out the broken key...sigh.

After Asar, I made my way to Taman Tun and because of the rain, even the highway was jammed. Right after the Sg. Buloh Bridge, the traffic was crawling. I arrived at Taman Tun only at 6.30 pm...isk. Anyway, we arrived at the hospital around 9pm.

The kids were excited to see their latest cousin. A baby girl named Annisa' Nur Raudhah. Sri was occupying a two bed-room but luckily there's no other occupant, so we had the room all to ourselves...hehehe. The kids had a wonderful time playing in the room and they made so much noise...Adehh. I'll try and upload the pictures later :)

We went back around 10 pm, but had a detour at KFC Sg. Buloh because we were thirsty and the the kids were hungry. We finally reached home about 11.30 pm. We decide to sleep downstairs infront of the tv and only slept around 2 am...hehehe

Such a tiring day...sigh...