Just my thoughts for the day...

I have so much in my mind today...

Just bought 10 DVDs yesterday and got 1 free....yey! So I'm sooooo looking forward to watch them this weekend. I'll write reviews of the movies next week if I have the time. My husband is currently away on a working trip to the UK and Canada. I hate it when he has to travel during weekends. He's been away for 2 weekends in a row. So I'm punishing him by buying so many DVDs and going on shopping expedition this weekend, so hubby, do expect to see a surge in your AMEX bill next month.

I realised last night that my daughter doesn't have enough dress. My princess lacks dress, this shouldn't be the case. One of her classmates is celebrating her birthday at school today, so they are allowed to wear party dress to school just for today. As I was checking her closet last nite I realised that she desperately needs a new dress, or shall I use plural instead, dresses... I love shopping for the kids more than for myself. For the record, the last time I bought myself a handbag was almost 2 years ago in Paris (I feel so good saying this, it makes me feel like I have tonnes of money when in fact, I don't) and a pair of jeans 2.5 years ago...hmm and as far as I can remember, the last time I shopped for myself seriously was for my maternity clothes many moons ago. Ooh, I miss Bandung too. I went crazy shopping there with a group of friends in May last year - when I was 6 months pregnant. I wish I had taken some pictures to post here, but I was too busy shopping then.

Karpal Singh is in the news again today. I think this guy is slowly going senile. This time he called the UMNO Youth 'celaka' in Parliament, yes, you heard me right, in Parliament, where they were supposed to discuss country matters. I remember reading an article in The Star 3 days ago (Tuesday, 24/2, pg N3 "Bite, kiss, bash at courthouse"). A man, supposedly mentally ill, attacked a lawyer out of the blue in a courthouse. When the lawyer later asked the man why he had beaten him up, the man said "kamu nak rampas kerajaan" a few times. In which the lawyer replied "I am not Karpal Singh." Funny ehh. The lawyer was later given 3 days of medical leave. I say this is the joke of the century!

Well, that's it for now. I'll be back for more...

In the news today...

There is an interesting advertisement (1 pg ad) posted by a M'sian citizen by the name of Anas Zubedy, MD of Zubedy (M) Sdn Bhd, in The Star today, pg N37 (world section) - it's an advertisement so it's not available in The Star online plus the ad is too big to scan too so for kengkawan yang not in Malaya sorry lah ye.

It caught my attention as the headline and subheadline reads:

Dear Malaysian Politicians,
Please stop the power chase, call for a truce and focus on the economy.

The ad basically call for the BN and Opposition to stop bickering and focus on reviving the economy instead. I particularly like this paragraph:

"BN and PR! Call for a truce. Get together and compromise. Someone has to give in. Or has hate consumed your heart till it blinds you? You can do it. You have enough intelligent people between you. I am sure you can find solutions. take the nation to heart. That is why you are in politic in the first place."

He went on to say:

"Focus on the people. Focus on the economy. Please." And sign off with his name.

BRAVO Mr. Anas Zubedy, I'm with you on this. He spoke from his heart and willing to spend good money to take up a full page advertisement just to be heard. I hope that the people in the parliament do take note and act on it.

What have become of Malaysia?????

p/s: If I have time later, I'll try to scan or write the whole ad.

Bibik's secret revealed

Ahahh...I just found out why Sophie prefers her bibik over me these few days. She loves to be carried indonesian-style with the sarong. She looks so comfy in there being rocked back and forth by bibik. So syok until she fell asleep easily. I suspect this one will not crawl too...oh dear.

Nature vs Nurture

I always wonder how on earth 3 kids born to the same parents, brought up in exactly the same environment, nurtured with the same values, loved by the same people, eat the same food...yet, they grew up to be completely unique individuals. Allah maha besar. My 3 kids (excluding Sophie, she's too young to tell yet), Daniel, Kyle Harris and Ariana have developed their own unique personality. I guess in this aspect, nature triumph over nurture.

My first born, Muhammad Daniel was born in the States. So I wanted to give him a name that sounds a bit orang putih but must have a good meaning. Daniel is a name of a Prophet and it means 'brave' in hebrew. Born on 31/12/95 at Home Hospital, Lafayette, Indiana. He'll turn 14 this year and I'm very proud to say that my hubby and I are the youngest parents in his class. Always been a chubby baby, he is now taller and much heavier than me.

A high achiever I'd say. Always in top 5 in his class. Scored 5A in his UPSR exams but mommy dearie didn't want to send him away to a boarding school, so we didn't apply for one. He actually got admitted to one of the best schools in KL - St. John's. But it's too far away to commute from Shah Alam and he refused to stay in the hostel, so we enrolled him in a school very near our house instead. A decision that we hope we won't regret later in life.

Daniel has grown to be an extrovert. He could make friends with anyone, I mean anyone from small kids to bus driver, at an instant. He can talk his way out of a lot of things, and very persistent too. Very soft hearted and sensitive, but could be a bit insecure sometimes. He is now into magic tricks. In fact, he is invited to perform at his friend's brother's birthday party this weekend to perform his famed magic show, and make some pocket money out of it too.

Muhammad Kyle Harris on the other hand, is the total opposite of Daniel. When I was pregnant with him, I read the Quran quite a lot and came across the phrase kayla in surah Yussof many times. It inspired me to name him Kyle. Harris means 'pelindung'. Born at Damansara Specialist Hospital on 12/12/00, he is now in standard 3. Quite a good looking boy I'd say. This one is going to be a heart breaker.

Unlike Daniel, he is very introvert, not the type that like to be around people. He prefers to spend time alone playing games, reading (Mr Midnight series being his favourite read) or watching his favourite TV shows (Discovery and Discovery Science being his most favourite channels) rather than go out and play with friends. This boy is a one very hot tempered kid. He has broken so many furniture and even a 29" TV when he threw one of his infamous tantrums - a sign of middle child syndrome, I think. Despite his temper he is actually a very manja boy. He loves animal much like his daddy. Doing surprisingly well in school but struggling in bahasa malaysia subject. Of all kids, I feel that I could relate to him the most.

Ariana Suraya, her name literally means 'stars full of life'. Born on 22/9/04 at Damansara Specialist Hospital. My first daughter and daddy's favourite girl (but that status quo might change with Sophie in the picture now). What can I say about this little girl....she looks and behaves exactly like me when I was her age (according to my mom and the entire clan). Very talkative, she can talk and talk and talk for the whole day. She is so much like me that it scares me sometime. Started to turn to a stubborn little girl these days. I keep saying to myself, it's just a phase...

Her ambition is to become a princess one day. She only wants to wear everything that has a picture of a princess and only in pink (or purple sometimes). She even wear a crown to school almost everyday!! Like to sing and dance. At 3yrs old she already has a pair of high heels shoes. I was looking high and low for it when she demanded for it 2 years ago. She could get away with anything with her daddy and spoilt to the max (by her daddy of course). She gets everything she wants too, I mean EVERYTHING. Ohh, she picks what she wants to wear. If she didn't like the clothes I bought for her, she won't wear them, period. Did I mention that she wants to go to a princess school to learn how to be a princess...???

Well, here they are, an extrovert, an introvert and a princess. I wonder what will Sophie be...Allah Maha Kaya.

Buang emak buang saudara, kerana kasih hamba turutkan...

Just thought of documenting my love story.

Bak kata pepatah Melayu, buang emak buang saudara, kerana kasih hamba turutkan, this is my love story...

We first met at PPP/ITM (Pusat Pendidikan Persediaan for JPA sponsored students) in 1990. He said it was love for the first sight for him (or so he said). Aidah was the 'postman'. Thank you so much Aidah...jasamu tetap ku kenang.

Although both felt that we were meant for each other, we broke up not long before we left for the States for no apparent reason. Perhaps it was fate. We both dated other people after the break up but somehow the feeling towards each other never faded. It in fact grew stronger.



Picture taken in 1993 after Commencement Day at Shah Alam.

If you have faith in love, love will find you... We were admitted to the same university - Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana. He was studying Chemical Engineering and I, Management. Our love rekindled there. It was fate that brought us together again.



This is the man I fell in love with...the love of my life. Quite a catch (at that time lah)...lucky me. Picture was taken at West Lafayette, Indiana over 15 years ago.



Less than a year after our arrival in the US, we decided to get married. It was Fall 1994. The solemnisation ceremony took place at Indianapolis Islamic Centre, Indianapolis, Indiana, about 2-hour drive from Purdue, witnessed by a few very close friends.

First picture together after officially declared husband and wife... Nazri Ason was the photographer of the day.

And almost 15 years and four childen later....(a lot more happened in between, but I'm just too lazy to scan the pictures and write the details)





...I've never been happier (despite the fact that he has gained more than 15kg and I, 5kg - a sign of prosperity and happiness that is). We are celebrating our 15th anniversary this year...yes, 15 years together as husband and wife.

Sayang if you're reading this...you are my sunshine, my life, my saviour, my love, my heart, my soul. I love you baby...

Bibik oh bibik...

She's beginning to prefer her bibik over me...! How could this be? Sungguh ajaib. My 5mths old who is exclusively breastfed by none other than me, has started to prefer my maid. I'm completely and absolutely puzzled. Is it the way she carries her, is it her smell, what is it..!!!??

I'm sure a lot of mothers out there can relate on this issue. It is so heartbreaking to see your child chooses your maid over you. When I was still working not so long ago, my daughter loved my maid more than anyone and perhaps anything. She would run to my maid when she fell down, when she was hungry, sleepy and what-nots. She even picked up some bahasa indonesia, and can even sing an indonesian song! The boys luckily could already differentiate between a mother's love and the concept of having a maid in the house.

The problem with maids is they tend to manja the children to the max without considering the goods and bads of their actions. My maid used to manja my first daughter so much so that she was always carried when she was a baby. Believe it or not, Ariana didn't even crawl when she was a baby. Why? Because she was never put down to learn to crawl, despite numerous warning from yours truly.

I quit my job last year in hope that I could steal some of those love back. The good news is I did, alhamdulillah. Alas, whenever I scolded her for something, she'd run to my maid and bibik would come to her rescue. That still need some more work and patient. I'm glad however that in the last 1 year, I've spent more time with my daughter than in the last 3 years. The boys equally. No regret in quitting my job in this particular department.

I could only hope that Sophie for one, would not turn out that way...insya-Allah.

It's a throat infection!

Boy was I wrong!!! Sophie is not teething, she has throat infection. My so-called motherly instinct is totally out this time. Her fever didn't subside after 2 days of medication and I decided to take her to her pediatrician (did I get the spelling right?). The trip to the doctor was actually another first for me. It was the first time I went to the doctor alone with my baby. I never did that with my other kids. Well, after 4 kids I guess I can do anything-lah. Mama boleh!

This baby is really one of a kind. I delivered her via emergency c-section, she was in breach position. She was already in the correct position and her head was in fact has engaged halfway. However, in the last minute she decided that she didn't want to come out of my womb through that narrow birth canal. Hence, she turned head up the day my contraction started - a highly unlikely scenario, according to my OBGYN. So I was rushed to the OT for immediate C-section. The damage - RM10K.

To make matters worst, I had full blown chicken pox a day after I had her. Dr. Musa, being very cautious of Sophie's fragile condition, isolated her in a ward all by herself for 7 days and gave her some anti-viral medicine to prevent her from getting the infection from me. Only my husband was allowed to see her, everyone else was barred. I nearly went into depression during that 7 long days. I can now empathise with mothers who had stillbirth, although I didn't actually have one. That 7 agonising days was really difficult. I cried and cried when I thought of her. Additional damage - RM3K. All in all, the cost to take her home was RM13K.

On top of this, my maid just went back to Indonesia for 1.5 month break 3 days before my labour. My mom can't stay to help out and my in-law too had better things to do. It was Ramadhan, just had c-section, had full blown chicken pox (you won't believe the size of the chicken pox), with 3 school-going kids to manage - all with absolutely no help at home. Can you beat that?

I went to hell and came back! No more babies for me please, thank you...

Politikus

I promised myself that I shall NOT write anything about Malaysian politics (but I can't help it). Why?

• Firstly because I feel politicians are a bunch of clowns in disguise, both sides that is.
• Secondly, after Tun, no one can even come close to achieve what he did to the country. Put a man like him in the Middle East, I believe the world will be different. Many may disagree with me on this one. They have their reasons, I have mine.
• Thirdly, there are way too many ambitious politicians these days who see their personal interest above the rakyat. It's a waste of time to discuss about them.
• Lastly, I always view politics as a dirty domain where everyone has a hidden agenda. There are no angels in politics. Again, it's a waste of time to discuss about them.

Heck, I don't even believe Obama can really bring change to America!!

Sophie's first fever

Being a mother of four, nothing surprises me anymore. Been there, done that. My 5 months old baby Sophie caught fever for the very first time yesterday. A mild one that is. My motherly instinct tells me she's teething. Off late she's been sucking her thumb and drooling like there's no tomorrow. Quite early compared to my other kids. My eldest and my second son had their first teeth when they were about 6mths old and my daughter had her first tooth at 1 year old!

Despite her fever, she's been quite a good baby. Not so fussy albeit a little manja than usual. She takes her medicine in a not-so-difficult manner (I have experienced the worst of its kind with my other kids - spitting, excessive crying, vomitting, etc. - I've seen it all baby!). I hope that I am right and the fever won't upgrade to something serious, insya-Allah.

Here she is sucking her thumb while she takes her afternoon nap.

The beginning of "life as i see it..."

I have been contemplating about writing my own blog for years, but somehow it never materialised. Delivered baby...check, quit full-time job...check, baby settled into a schedule...check, lost the baby weight...almost. Can't find anymore excuses not to start. So here I am, writing my very first entry in my very own blog...hurray. Better late than never huh!

As I write my first entry, I can't help to wonder...would people be interested in life as I see it? My other half, still, until today, can't comprehend what interest people to write blogs. I guess in an era where change is the word, everybody wants to be heard and counted. Sadly however, people like my significant other, may not hear what we want to say...

I'll be back for more.