To my friend, please don't call me a terrorist

How would you feel if you were being likened to a terrorist? A friend - who was making his point to support the teaching of Math and Science in English - wrote in his blog recently that during his pre-university years he was in the 'minority' group of students who speak and think in English. The rest of the students, i.e. those who can't speak and think in English, were to him, a group of 'terrorist'.

Wow, that's a huge blow for me for I was in the latter group. Never have I thought that I'd be labelled a terrorist in my own country, by my own people...

Well my friend, I feel for you because you have absolutely no clue how it was like living in an English-challenge environment growing up.

As a mother (who used to be a working citizen), I totally understand the importance of English and I absolutely agree that we need to beef up English proficiency amongst our students from young. They must master the language not just to move ahead of the competition but also as a tool to succeed. No argument there.

My children only read in English and I speak to them in a mix of Bahasa and English at home. In fact, my sons are better in English than in Bahasa subject at school. My 8-year old son can even tell me that his English teacher speaks broken English at school. I enrolled my daughter in a kindergarten where even the cleaner speaks in English.

I, on the other hand, come from a family who didn't speak a single word of English. My mom married my dad at the age of 16. She went to sekolah Melayu until the age of 15. My dad was a primary school teacher until he retired 15 years ago. He is now an Imam. I went to a primary school where even the English subject was taught in Bahasa. My husband grew up in a Felda settlement. English was taught in Bahasa too there.

So my friend, if you knew where we were coming from, you can surely empathize with us. We didn't hate the language then, we simply didn't have the privileges like you had when you were growing up in the city.

Slowly, we began to embrace the language and proudly we, the 'terrorist', have evolved into successful men and women at par with people like you in the 'minority' group, if not better. We might still think in our mother tounge, but we are no less sucessful than you.

Anyway, being a nosey mom that I am, I say if the government is serious about tackling this issue, they should:

• Train the teachers well. This needs to be done properly over a reasonable period of time, not hastily like what happened at the beginning of the implementation. My close relative who is a teacher in a secondary school in Selangor once said "key the door" when she meant "please lock the door." Another close relative said she can't scold her students anymore simply because she can't do it in English. I think I need not elaborate further on this point. How can the students learn when the teachers can't even express themselves in the language?
• Improve the standard of English through intensive English class instead of focusing on teaching the language through the teaching of Math and Science. Perhaps we could have 2 English classes instead of 1.
• Instead of Math and Science, perhaps we could teach less important subjects like moral studies, physical education and arts in English as a start. Thorough implementation can start once all teachers have undergone intensive English course and are QUALIFIED to teach in English.
• Have special English class for students in rural areas.
• All English teachers (both in primary and secondary schools), including those sent to rural areas must have TESL qualification.

The above suggestion is made based on my own experience as a kampung girl from Alor Setar, Kedah and an overseas graduate mother living in a nice sub-urban neighbourhood.

I think I make a pretty good point here. Don't you think so?

Opps he did it again!

I can't believe it...KJ has done it again! How is it possible for someone who was found guilty of money politics, got away with just a warning and won the top post? I am absolutely and completely baffled. He has indeed proven that he is the most important person in the country. I hope I won't get arrested because of this entry. To the government, if you are monitoring this, this article is not about slandering, it's just my humble opinion as a citizen in the silent majority group.

In the beginning of his career I actually admired him (can you believe it?). He was a reflection of the new generation of leaders - young, highly educated, outspoken, energetic and fearless. Another Tun M in the making. But he chose to take a short cut in his career and for that he lost my admiration. Should he chose to make his way up the conventional way, I for one, would be his supporter.

Rafidah, the woman who was responsible for bringing in so many foreign investments into the country - I salute her for being what she is, had a bitter taste of losing to her deputy. To me this is merely a test of popularity, not a leadership contest. An outspoken lady of steel against one that appears to be soft hearted, don't seem to make a fair contest. But then again, I don't know what's actually going in the party.

I wonder what would happen if the no. 1 post is up for contest. It'd surely be an interesting battle. I would like to see Muhyiddin up against Najib.

But who am I to judge those people, I am just a nosey homemaker with 4 kids under my care. Heck, I don't even need to contribute to the income tax this year. I say hurray to that!

For the record, I am a free agent - a party-less momma.

p/s: I can't help to ponder whether all the rumors I heard were true. One thing for sure, God knows best.

Mrs. Diciplinarian vs Mr. Popular

Have you ever wondered how would you fare as a parent if you were appraised by your own children? I for one, think that I might not do well in this particular department simply because I am the disciplinarian in the family - a general who’s responsible to ensure that the kids eat a dose of healthy food, do their homework, go to bed on time, watch just enough TV, play just enough games and etc. I even have my own set of rules in the house which everyone must adhere to.

My husband on the other hand, loves to spoil the kids. He is the one who always buy them toys and junk food, let them watch TV till late, bend the rules (that I set) and always give in to the kids’ demand. I am pretty sure my kids love their papa so much more than me. If we were appraised by the kids, he’ll most likely be an outstanding performer and I, a poor performer. He would definitely win the popular contest. Sad but true.

I remember when I was a kid, I never liked my dad so much. He was the disciplinarian and my mom was the opposite. I hated him for not allowing me to watch my favourite Chinese drama series in the evening, hated him because he always ensured that I never missed my prayers, ate my apples with skin intact, drink my soy bean milk, took my cod liver oil and etc. I love my mom because she was very accommodating, even until today.

When I became a parent myself, I understood why my dad made me follow his rules. He has successfully shaped me into the person I am today. And I am thankful for that.

Fortunately (or unfortunately?), he is still a disciplinarian till today. However, he has since given up asking me to cover my head. I said in one of my entries before that I am always a rebel at heart, this is one example.

Despite knowing the consequences of being a disciplinarian, I still believe in being one because I understand the importance of it - we simply can't have 2 parents who spoil the kids most of the time. I believe in molding my children to be the adult that I would like them to be one day – a person with integrity, beriman, berilmu dan bertaqwa. I hope and I pray that I shall succeed. In the meantime, I have to endure being the least likable parent in the house…

My sweet Pea and her new high chair

My Sophie has graduated to sitting on a high chair! She's now in her 6th month. Oh my, time flies so fast...before you'll know it she'll be walking, going to school, college and leave home for good. I'm so not ready for that!!

Anyway, last Sunday when I mentioned to my hubby about buying a high chair for Sophie, he immediately brought me to Ikea. The huge crowd at Ikea (where did those people come from anyway?) didn't dampen his spirit on getting a high chair for his baby. There were so many people that it was almost impossible to push the trolley around (what economic crisis??? people were shopping like there was no tomorrow! Unbelievable). I managed to grab one in a hurry (and grabbed a few other unnecessary stuffs as well...why did it always happen when we go to Ikea? Their clever arrangement makes people want to buy everything on display!).

Here is my 6-months old little sweet Pea sitting comfortably on her high chair. My hubby would be grinning when he sees these pictures from Hanoi...

The quest for a slimmer waist

I finally did it...I bought the Osim Uzap belt in my quest for a slimmer waist.

Having gone through both normal delivery and c-section, I came to a conclusion that losing weight is a lot more difficult with the latter, particularly around the waist. Why? I don't have a clue. I could only guess that it was because we went against nature, hence, we have to work much harder against it. I'm not proud to say that after 6 months of delivery, my tummy is still 'thick'.

On top of that, after 5 days of splurging on food last week, I was beginning to look like 3 months pregger! All 2.5kg went to the tummy. So, I needed to take some very drastic action (the type that takes minimal effort that is). What better way than buying a machine that, hopefully, will make me lose the extra fat without having to do anything.

So on Saturday, off I went to the mall and bought it. It's so easy to use, I only need to wrap it around my tummy, plug it to the power socket and it'll automatically massage my tummy for 10 minutes of a pre-programmed rhythmic motion. I'm even using it as I'm penning this article. Oh I love technology! They claimed that I could see visible result only after 3 weeks. Well, let's see. I hope it's not just some unproven marketing gimmick...

A peaceful Saturday

My 3 older kids are with my sister for the day. She's treating them for a movie outing. What a relief. The house seems so peaceful at the moment. I can only hear my water fall, no screaming, crying and loud TV volume. Sophie is taking her afternoon nap, quite longer than usual due to lack of distraction.

Last night I was already planning my day for today. I wanted to go to Pavilion KL. Nonetheless, this morning the plan changed to Ikea and now we are thinking of going to Subang Parade instead. The nearest to home plus I need to stock up some chicken. Being a 'good' mom, I only feed my children skinless antibiotic-free chicken. I can only get them at Jaya Jusco and Cold Storage. But as of now, we are still at home...hmmm and hubby is also taking a nap. This Monday he's leaving again, this time to Vietnam for a week.

I was chatting with a friend via FB this morning. He was showing me the pictures of his twin girls. It reminded me of the twin I was carrying when I was pregnant with Ariana. I forgot to write about this in "A Mother's Story." Yes, I was carrying twins for the first 1.5months. The foetus didn't develop beyond that and the heartbeat stopped. So, Ariana actually has an unborn twin. I was at risk of a miscarriage when the foetus 'died' in my womb. Alhamdulillah, Ariana survived. She is a fighter.

I just posted some pictures of my kids in my FB and realised that we don't have a decent family photo. Unbelievable. Heck, I don't even have a picture of all my 4 kids in 1 photo. This calls for some drastic action - I need to arrange for a photo shoot! Any mothers with more than 2 kids (if you have only 2, you don't qualify for this) know that it is a huge challenge to get the kids to cooperate. It's much easier to take individual photo or a 2-in-1 photo. It needs careful planning and the timing must be right. Otherwise, you'll face a hard time trying to get them to smile. I hope to get this done this week and post it here.

Well, Sophie is up and crying for mommy. Time for motherly duty... Supermomma is coming darling.

Batu Feringgi - a nature's heaven it's NOT!!

My family and I were in Penang for a short vacation this week. The kids had been asking to play at the beach for months. So, on our way back from Alor Setar, we made a pit stop there. We decided to stay at a hotel in Batu Feringgi because of its close vicinity to the beach.

Off we went to the beach in the evening. Luckily, the weather was on our side, it was cloudy but no rain. Hence, the heat wasn't too much for us.

I have not been to Batu Feringgi beach in ages. So I didn't know what to expect. The moment we stepped our feet on the beach, we were approached by a few business operators who harassed us into purchasing their products, i.e. the water sport activities. And they won't move until you say yes. Muah, being a protective mother said NO to their face with my leave-us-alone look. Despite the look, they have the guts to stand less than 2 feet away for a good 10 minutes in hope that I will change my mind and say yes. I felt like punching the guy's face and bite his ears into pieces!! Don't play play, this is a one very fierce mother.

There were way too many commercial activities going on there - para sailing, banana boat, speed boat ride, horse ride, ATC and jet ski. All these at the expense of people who just want to swim and play at the beach. It was too dangerous for kids to be there. I had to run for my life twice coz the people who were para sailing almost landed on me (this is serious stuff, please don't laugh). On top of this, the beach smells like CO2!! I can smell the diesel emission from afar. Hey, I don't need to go all the way to Penang for that. I can smell plenty of CO2 in KL.

So, the next day we decided to check out early and took the kids to Teluk Bahang instead. It was a picture perfect place. Not so many people, clean beach, cloudy weather and calm water. Unfortunately, I left my camera in the car and was too lazy to go and get it. So no picture was taken while the kids were playing in the sand. Yours trully forgot to pack her swimming gear (I personally ensured that everyone's gear is packed but forgot to pack mine - very mind boggling), so I stayed away from the water.

The moral of the story is, if you longed for a peaceful walk along the beach in Penang, don't ever go to Batu Feringgi. Find other secluded beaches like Teluk Bahang, Miami Beach (the one in Penang, not the US of A) etc. Just drive along the coastline and you'll surely find the one you like. East Coast beaches are still the best...

How I gained 2.5kg in 5 days

I came back home last night after 5 days holiday at my hometown in Kedah and Penang 2.5kg heavier. At first I was kinda reluctant to weigh myself. My husband, who celebrated his 37th birthday yesterday, stepped onto the machine first - he gained 2kg, not too bad. I followed suit and the machine read xxkg! It took me months to lose the 2.5kg and just 5 days to gain it all back...

Here's how it all happened...and you be the judge.

We left for Kedah early Friday morning. My niece (my parents' eldest grandchild) who lived with my parents were getting married on Saturday, 14/3, so the whole clan gathered to celebrate the occasion. What a feast it was. 5 times larger than my own wedding kenduri. 2 cows were slaughtered for the feast.

On the way, we stopped for brunch at Sungai Perak R&R. We arrived at noon greeted by my neighbours and relatives who were already camping at my mom's house for the kenduri preparation. Lunch was chicken rendang minang, ulam2, sambal belacan, fried ikan kembong. Dinner was gulai udang, mixed vege, ulam and sambal belacan.

The next day, breakfast was pulut with ikan masin and nasi goreng kampung. By noon, the kenduri started. On the menu: main dish - daging masak kicap, gulai daging kawah, ikan masin, variety of ulam kampung, sambal belacan; desert - bubur kacang and bubur pulut hitam; side dish - mee hailam. Later in the evening, bubur nasi with sup gear box. Not to mention other deserts contributed by neighbours and relatives. I ate every single one of them.

The kenduri continued to the next day. I forgot what we ate for breakfast and lunch. But in the evening, we went to my nephew's western food stall. I ate grilled chicken and garlic bread.

The next day, we wanted to try Radix Fried Chicken. I wanted to see for myself what's the rave is all about. Everything about Radix FC is a duplicate of KFC. Even the kitchen layout is the same. But their chickens are fried, so it lacks umph. But not bad for a local fast food chain. Everything they sell in there are their own products, so don't expect to find milo or coke. On a different note - if you want to find the largest concentration of people wearing kopiah and tudung labuh outside of mosques and religious gathering, go to Radix FC Shahab Perdana, Mergong Kedah...really, no joke!

For dinner, we went to my eldest brother's chicken rice stall near my mom's house. I had meehoon sup with extra helping of chicken. Oh, we had nasi minyak bungkus for breakfast that day.

The next day off went to Penang to continue our culinary journey while celebrating my husband's birthday. First stop, laksa penang at the sea side - a cheap way to enjoy good food. We only spent a little over RM20 for a family of 6 (including the maid). Dinner at Gurney Drive. My husband and I shared a huge plate of pasembor - so huge that we can't even finish it, Daniel had char koew teaw and fried oyster. Ariana and Kyle Harris decided to stay at the hotel with my maid. So we ordered room service for them. On the way back, we stopped by at Cold Storage to get some bread - which I later ate for supper.

The next day, we had breakfast at the hotel and for lunch we wanted to eat nasi kandar. We went around the island looking for nasi kandar restaurant recommended by friends and family but couldn't find it. So we stopped at Subaidah Nasi Kandar that we found near the roadside after we were too hungry to search some more. I ate a platefull of rice with chicken, telur sotong and vege. That concluded our makan journey.

So there it was, my 5-day journey of makan, makan and more makan... I have a wedding dinner to attend on the 4/4, so I better work hard to lose the extra pounds now...oh dear. Jazzercise anyone?

The quest for flawless complexion

I wanted to write this article yesterday, but I didn't have time to do it. So, while waiting for the beef to defrost in the kitchen sink, I'm taking what little time I have to write this article. And by the way, I cooked nasi lemak earlier today. Hubby came back from India early this morning and asked for home cook nasi lemak for breakfast. Isteri mithali...

Back to my topic. When I look at other women's faces, I noticed how flawless their skin are. I look at them with envy. As far as I can remember, I never once had flawless complexion after I reached puberty. I blame it on the gene. None of my family members have flawless skin.

Of late, my skin has become worst. I have pigmentation on my cheeks and forehead - the worst of its kind. It started when I was 3 months pregger with Sophie. It become more obvious after my trip to Redang Island in March last year. The sunburn made the pigmentation worst (despite a thick layer of sun block that I applied on my face). At the beginning, I thought that after the pregnancy, it'll fade away like other dark lines we normally have on our body during pregnancy. But months later, it seems to stay.

So, I needed to take some drastic action. Being a Clinique fan for ages, I tried their brightening range. It's been months and still no improvement. So, I decided to change my skincare range. This time I wanted to try something local. I went for AG2000, a product by Healwell Pharmaceutical, the people who brought us Gamogen - a gamat-based product. Don't be deceived by the word local, though they are local, their products are not exactly cheap. For a set of 3 products - cleanser, day cream and night cream, it cost me RM398. Not bad hah!

I've been using it for almost a week now and walla...I could already see some result. The pigmentation seems to be fading away, unbelievable but true.

By the way, when I was in confinement after delivering Sophie via c-section. I consumed Gamogen. I can't help but to feel that it helped me heal faster. I took it with combination of pati haruan (forgot the brand though). After 2 weeks of surgery I could already cook, clean, wash clothes, iron, etc. while taking care of my baby and 3 other kids on my own. I wrote an article earlier on my experience during confinement - no maid, no help.

So my friends, if you have a problem like me, you may want to try this product. I'd like to recommend it. I'll keep you updated on the progress of my complexion from time to time.

Things about me...

I've been tagged by my friend who's currently residing in Manama City, Bahrain via her blog. Ada ke such thing, tag through blog...?? Anyway, to honour her request, here are some things about me...

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
Honestly, I don't have a clue. Let me ask my mom when I go back to her place this weekend.

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
Four days ago when I watched 'Seven Pounds'. My hubby cried too....hehehe

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
Absolutely no. I think I have the worst handwriting in the world. And it's now passed down to my first son. He has ugly handwriting like me.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE LUNCH MEAT?
I'm a chicken person, so chicken it is.

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
Absolutely, I'm a momma of 4. Productive eh?

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
Definitely. I make a very good friend and a good listener too. Don't believe me? Try being friend with me and you'll surely agree with me.

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM?
Occasionally, when I exhausted all attempts to get my message across. Sarcasm is my last resort.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
Of course I still do. Why wouldn't I?

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
Not in this lifetime. I have better things to do.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE CEREAL?
Cherio. I rejoiced the day I found it at Cold Storage. I bought 4 boxes at a time @RM25/box. Expensive, but I love it, love it, love it...yummy

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
Not relevant. May I know who still wear shoes with laces these days...? Even school kids wear zap on.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE ICE CREAM?
Chocolate flavoured, any brand. Can't afford Hagen Daz though, too expensive for me. I'd rather save money and buy handbags instead.

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
Their faces. It speaks everything.

15. RED OR PINK?
Emmm...red. I think red is sexy.

16. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVOURITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
My complexion. I wish I have flawless complexion. When I was a teenager, I hated my ears. I wished I could glue them to my head. They are huge!! But I've since embraced them as my unique feature. My first daughter inherited my ears. She'll hate me in her teenage years for giving her the ears...huhuhu

17. WHOM DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
My husband when he's travelling. Otherwise, my arwah grandma. She practically raised me up. I wish I could see her one last time and tell her how much I love her.

18. WHAT COLOUR OF TROUSERS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
Black quarter pants, no shoes. I'm a Malay Muslim, we don't wear shoes in the house.

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
The soothing sound of the water fountain in my courtyard. The courtyard is just next to my home office.

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOUR WOULD YOU BE?
Yellow! I'm a happy person. Yellow has always been my favourite colour.

23. FAVOURITE SMELL?
My baby...my Little Pea

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
My ex-boss. He called to ask for a favour earlier today.

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
Of course I do, very much. Otherwise I won't take the trouble answering these questions.

26. FAVOURITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
I don't do or like sport of any kinds, except ehemm...if that's considered a sport.

27. HAIR COLOUR
Dark brown. Never coloured my hair and may never will. I come from a conservative family background. My dad is an Imam. What? I don't look like a typical Imam's daughter? I know, I know...belum sampai seru.

28. EYE COLOUR?
Dark brown

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
I have 20/20 vision. I don't need help in that department.

30. FAVOURITE FOOD?
Italian pasta and sandwiches. Sorry, I can't decide which one I like the best. Favourite fruit is durian...love it!

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
Definitely happy ending. I don't understand people who like to watch scary movies...

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
Seven Pounds. Good movie, I recommend it. But this one doesn't have a happy ending though.

33. WHAT COLOUR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
Dark blue.

34. SUMMER OR WINTER?
Definitely summer. I hate winter. I hibernate during winter.

35. HUGS OR KISSES?
Both

36. FAVOURITE DESSERT?
Everything that falls under that category

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND TO?
My baby's cry

38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND TO?
Ariana in her mengada-ngada state

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
I don't read so much. The last time I read was 4 months ago, a novel by Amy Tan. If you knew any full time mother of 4, with a 5 months old baby and does freelance work from home, who have time to read, please let me know, I wanna get some tips from her.

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
A picture of a man's skeleton. My son's gift to my husband. It's now mine :)

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT?
Desperate Housewives...my favourite show. But I'm not desperate...yet!

42. FAVOURITE SOUND(S)
My baby's laughter

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
Neither, but if I had to choose, Beatles. I hate hard rock.

44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?
I guess it must be the US of A.

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
Cooking? I don't know...I think I'm a good cook and my husband said so too. But then again, he may just want to jaga my hati.

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
Cek orang Kedah.

47. HOW DID YOU MEET YOUR SPOUSE/SIGNIFICANT OTHER?
During undergrad studies. We studied at the same college/uni. He is my first love.

49. IS THE CUP HALF-FULL OR HALF EMPTY?
I'm an optimistic person, so half full.

50. IF YOU COULD SIT DOWN TO DINNER WITH FIVE PEOPLE WHO WOULD YOU CHOOSE?
My family lah, of course. But +1, there are 6 of us!

So Dak Wan, I've answered all 50 questions. I hope now you know me a little bit better yah...

Supermomma

It was quite a busy day yesterday. Woke up early, sent Daniel and Ariana to school, played with Sophie for a while. Did some editing job. Picked up Ariana sent Kyle Harris to school. Went to nearby supermarket to get some groceries and supplies. Did some more editing job. Picked up Daniel, went to the bank to bank-in some cheques. More editing... By 4pm I was exhausted and took a nap. Nap is a luxury thing for me these days. I seldom have a chance to take a nap. But yesterday was an exception, I was dead tired. Woke up at around 6pm, picked up Kyle Harris, prepared dinner and sent him off to tuition class at 8pm, picked him up later at 9.30pm. Took him to stationery store to get some supplies he needed for his art class today. Came home, played with Sophie till 1am before I finally retired for the day. Yes, you read it right, she went to sleep at 1am. What a day....

When my husband is away, I always have to play supermom to the kids. The other day my husband asked me to 'learn' how to pay utility bills online. I said, no sirree, thank you very much. I don't wanna add another job in my resume right now. Between sending kids to schools, cooking, a baby and my freelance job, I already have a full plate in my hand.

I think that I'm busier now as a stay at home mom than when I was working full time. Speaking of work, I was recently offered a job. I wasn't looking for one but people came knocking at my door. I guess at times like this, this is considered good news. But the offer is not official yet. There are still loads of issues to discuss. I'm in no rush, so I'll take my time.

Back to being supermom. I noticed that the dark circles around my eyes are getting more and more pronounced these days. I have not been getting enough sleep ever since I was pregnant with Sophie. The most sleep I get everyday is 6 hours of interrupted sleep. So whenever I have a chance like on weekends when hubby is around, I'll try to get more sleep.

I have more errants to run. In my list for today:

• To register Ariana for 2011 school intake (primary 1)
• Go to Pos Malaysia to get some stamps for the school registration
• Pay Kyle Harris's school fees (sek. agama)
• Pay Ariana's Iqra class

So I better keep my feet running. Will be back in the evening with another entry that I've been wanting to write.

My blogger son

How many mothers my age can proudly say that their kid is a blogger? Not many I presume, or probably none. I am superbly proud to be, hopefully, the first 36-yrs old mom to have a blogger son.

Yeah, my 13+ son is now officially a blogger! He is my no. 1 fan. The first thing he does everyday after school is to read my blog. So whenever I can I make it a point to post a new article everyday before he come home from school.

The joy of reading my blog has inspired him to write his own. His first entry was about his crush on his classmate during his primary school years - a girl named Farah Iman. May I ask how many mothers are ready for this - the first crush that is? I think none of us do!! My baby is growing into a young man. And I'm so not ready for that yet. I fear for the day that he'll fallen in love and I'll become less relevant in his live. Isn't that the case for most men?

Daniel will always be my baby. When he scored 5As in his UPSR, I adamantly said that there was no way I'm sending him away to a boarding school, much to my in-laws' dismay. I don't want him to spend his teenage years apart from me. I want to see him growing up in front of my eyes and right at home. I don't want to miss any part of his life for as long as I could. I want to be there for him when he has his first crush, when he reach puberty, have his first pimple...

As a mother, I believe teenage years is so crucial for parents and their children to bond - the bond that will define our relationship forever. If you failed during this period, their peers will become more relevant to them than you as a parent and your family as a unit. And if that ever happened, we better pray hard that they have really good peers.

So my friends, I've reached another milestone in live where my first son is a blogger. I wonder what comes next.... God help me, I'm not ready for whatever it may be...

Seven Pounds - movie review

I love Will Smith. I watched almost all movies he starred in. The latest being Seven Pounds. I recommend this movie to anyone who loves story about love, regret and sacrifice. I say this is one of the best movies I've watched the past couple of years.

If you don't shed any tears watching this movie, I say you really have one tough heart...or you don't have a heart :) It's so touching and sad that even my husband shed some tears. I seldom see him cry during our 14+ years of marriage, this is one of the rare occasions. So, I thought this movie is worth a review in my blog.

Have you ever did something so bad that it haunts you forever? The movie started with Ben Thomas (or rather Tim actually, he was assuming his brother's identity as an IRS agent in his mission) making a 911 call. He was about to commit a suicide. The story line is a mix of his present life and flashbacks to his past. You have to watch until the end of the movie to understand completely what was going on.

He was punishing himself by giving to others. He gave his life so others could live. I wondered at first what does the title mean? It signifies what he has given to others - first was half his lung to his brother, half his liver to Holly, bone marrow to a kid, a kidney to an ice hockey coach, his beautiful beach house to a domestic violent victim, his eyes to Ezra and his heart to Emily. His message to the people he helped was 'live life abundantly'.

He did all these out of guilt. Guilty of causing the passing of 8 lives during a car crash, including his wife. An MIT graduate, a successful aeronautical engineer with a beautiful wife lost everything in a split second. The guilt has haunted him so badly that he was willing to take his own life for others to live in a rather creative way. He did his reseach well enough to ensure that the people he was helping really deserve it.

I say the ultimate message in this movie is - DON'T USE YOUR HANDPHONE WHILE DRIVING!!

Go watch this movie, if you don't like it, let me know... If you are a sucker for this type of movie like I am, I have another one to recommend - Life as a House. I watched it a few years ago. A friend recommended it. If you didn't cry watching this movie either, I say you really have a damn tough heart.

A mother's story

Two of my friends are expecting their first child. And they are both so happy happy happy on the prospect of welcoming their first child into this world. I say they don't know what they are getting themselves into. Having and caring for children is not exactly a bed of roses for most parents. It changes your live completely. Live as you know it will never be the same when you have kids.

So my friends, be prepared for sleep deprivation, say hello to stretch marks and saggy breasts and say good bye to long shopping hours, midnight movie outings, long and civilised dinner, your waistline and your bedroom action with your husband - they may be non-existence for a while, except for the waistline...you may never get it back.

Yet, strangely enough, I keep wanting for more. This is my story as a mother...

My first child was accidentally conceived 9 months into my marriage. So in the Summer of 1995, a year after our marriage, we headed back to Malaysia for wedding receptions at both sides. I graduated in that Summer, 5 months pregger. My husband, who was studying Chemical Engineering, still had 2 semesters to finish - it took a bit longer for engineering students to complete their course. So I decided to stay with him until he graduated despite my mom's plea to deliver my baby at home in Malaysia. My husband wanted to be there when his son was born and I didn't think I could live apart from him either.

So there I was, young and clueless about caring for a baby. I just turned 23 when Daniel was born on new year's eve, a year and a half after we got married. It was 7.30pm on 31/12/95 (Malaysia time - 8.30am 1/1/96). It took 11hours of labour to welcome him into this world. After 3 days in hospital, we took him home in our old Chevy Citation amid heavy snow. Once we reached home, reality then hits, how on earth are we going to care for this little human being. Luckily we bought ourselves a copy of "What to Expect the First Year". The book became my best friend. God wanted to test our patient and gave us a colicky baby. He cried like there was no tomorrow for the first one month of his life, every night without fail for a few hours. We did everything we could to make him stop crying to no avail. Then on the second month, he stopped crying.

After the 1month crying was over, Daniel became a happy baby. Taking care of him was quite easy. He stopped waking up at night for feeding at 3.5months old, thanks to the tips from his paediatrician.

My husband was working at night during his last two semesters to support me and the baby. But somehow living in the US poor is much easier than living here poor. Their standard of living was so much lower. Everything there was so cheap. Plus, I had support from the US government because I was breastfeeding. Their objective was to nourish the mother so that she could breastfeed the baby properly.

As for the hospital bill, the US government was generous enough to pay for it - thank God for Medicaid. Want to know how much was the bill? A whooping USD15,000, and it was more than 13 years ago! But the experience of delivering a child there was priceless, nothing compared to Malaysia. Their standard is far higher than us. They paid for all follow up treatments as well. We came back to Malaysia when Daniel was 6months old. The 32 hours journey home was a breeze.

My husband and I came back to Malaysia, with a degree, a spouse and a baby. That's 3-in-1 in just three years.

Having a child so early in life has made me mature very fast. Unlike other people, I never had time alone for myself right after graduation. But never once I regretted my decision to marry and have kid early. Should I can turn back the time, I'll do it all over again.

My young infant and I attended my husband's graduation in Spring 1996. Lucky for us, my husband was hired by Motorola before he graduated. Two weeks after we arrived in Malaysia, he started working there as a Process Engineer.

It took me more than four years before I was ready for a second kid - mentally, physically and financially. My second son was born 5 years after my first son was born. But he was born with a congenital problem - squint eye. The muscles in his left eye were not even. One was shorter than the other. How did I discover this problem? For the first 3 months of his life, he never responded to my smile. When I brought it up to his paediatrician, he referred me to an Opthomaltic Surgeon who then recommended surgery to correct the problem. We were told that his brain was shutting down one of his eyes and it was also affecting his other eyes. In other words, he can't see anything in the first 3 months, hence, he never responded to my smile. We went to a few doctors not just for 2nd opinion but for 3rd and 4th opinion. And all concurred that he needed surgery. So, at 5months old, my baby went for surgery. A day after he took him home, he smiled at me when he saw my smile. My heart melted...it was all worth it. He smiled at me for the first time...

When I think of mothers who have children born with more serious problems, I can imagine how they feel. When the doctor first told me that he needed surgery, I almost collapse in her office. Words can't describe how I felt at that time. Only a mother can understand it. I felt like I wanted to hold him and never let go...

Alhamdulillah all went well. He went into the operating theater twice. One to access his situation and a week later for actual surgery. The procedure was done at Damansara Specialist Hospital. However, his eyes are never 100% well. He often has headache whenever he has to focus at something for too long. It's straining his eyes muscle.

I told myself I'll be happy with just two kids. I didn't have the energy to have another. But three years later I decided to have another one. At 20 weeks, my OBGYN told me that I was having a girl. I screamed in the doctor's office so loud when he told me that. I'll finally have my own princess. Again, I told myself three is enough, it's a good number. It was already more than I could handle.

God wanted to test us again this time. She too was a colicky baby. She cried excessively for the first 2 months. I almost went into depression coping with her crying. Luckily I'm blessed with a husband who is so understanding. He held the baby at night so that I could rest despite having to go to work the next day. Brooke Shield wrote in her book on her post partum depression that she felt like throwing her baby out the window. That was how I felt at the time.

But again, three years later I decided to have another. And last year I had my girl on Nuzul Quran via emergency c-section. I had my tube tied during the surgery, a decision that I hope I won't regret. This time I really don't think that I'll have the energy to handle more babies. Age is catching up. 4 is really a good number - 2 boys and 2 girls. This last baby so far has been a pretty good one. Not a cry baby and not so fussy, unlike the others, alhamdulillah. I said to my mom that God finally gave me a good baby.

How have they changed my life? My life revolves around them and them only. Whenever I introduced myself in front of a group of strangers, I always introduce myself first and foremost a mother. A mother to 4 wonderful children - that's how I define and describe myself. Everything else is secondary....(except for religion of course)

One fine Saturday morning...

I'm writing this article serenaded by the sound of hubby cleaning the fish pond in my courtyard with his new toy - Bosch water jet spray. The courtyard is just next to my home office.

The kids camped in my room last night. It has become their weekly routine. Once or twice a week they'd request to camp in my room. We watched TV until 1am and woke up at 10am by the sound of Sophie cooing in her crib. At 5months old she still wakes up at least once to feed at night at around 5am.

It's 12.32pm and I haven't prepared lunch. We'll most likely eat out for lunch. Having a baby always makes me feel so lazy to leave the house. I'm breastfeeding her exclusively, hence, I have to take her with me wherever I go. And the thought of preparing her, dealing with her crying in the car, taking turn to eat with hubby, are not really appealing to me right now. For those who don't have kids, babies are not exactly angels. They only appear like one in movies, in real life it's a different world altogether.

I just wanna stay home and relax. But the kids want a day out at the mall.

On Thursday, after lunch with hubby at Restoran Ubi Kayu, I made an unscheduled pit stop at my old office - to collect payment for a job I did for them. It was nice catching up with ex-colleagues. The office is still freezing cold like before. I hated that office because it was too cold for me. I once had to wear gloves in the office - it was so freaking cold. Sometime I felt that my brain was frozen till I cannot think straight. On that day, I had 4 hour of precious kids-free time. I cheer to that.

I seldom have 'me' time ever since I delivered Sophie. She has become my permanent accessory. Sometime I wish all babies could be like movie babies - you feed them, put them in their crib and they play till they fall asleep on their own. But then again, good things only happen in movies. Sophie is now sleeping in her playpen in my office. Whenever she's asleep I'll jump to the opportunity to update my blog or to check out my facebook.

Speaking of movies, I still haven't finished watching all 11 DVDs I bought the other day. I just don't have time to watch them. So far I only managed to watch 3. I hope to watch a few more this weekend.

Ok, it's time for my shower...yes, it's 1pm and I still haven't showered. It's Saturday, so who cares. Hubby has just finished cleaning the fish pond too...tomorrow he's leaving again, sigh.

For the love of food...

I woke up a bit late than usual today. Ariana was sent to school by papa and Daniel cycled to school today...what a relief! After I picked up Ariana from school, prepared 3 dishes for lunch. Fridays are a bit more special than usual as hubby normally come home for lunch when he's not travelling. So, I spent a little bit more time in the kitchen today. Hence, the late article.

I have been going out for lunch dates with hubby for the last 2 days in a row. We are trying to spend some quality time together (minus the kids) before he travels again this Sunday. This time to India. First we went to JM Biryani on Wednesday - I had biryani with chicken masak merah, lamb and beef...oh so yummy. I've been frequenting JM Biryani for quiet a while now. The food still taste as good to me but I noticed the portion is getting smaller by day. Quite sinful as you can see the oil dripping from the dishes, but, who cares...! Then the next day I wanted to try Restoran Ubi Kayu at Taipan USJ as hubby said it was good. But it turned out to be quite a disappointment for me. For nasi campur, I prefer Restoran Jaring at Bandar Sunway. No one can beat their kerabu umbut kelapa. I like their donut too, soft and gebu to the last bite. I discovered this place when I was working at Taylor's College, my last job.

I remember when I used to work at Islamic Arts Museum not so long ago, every Friday we'd tapau lunch near the National Mosque. Onec a week the area would turn to food galore. It also resembles a pasar malam where you can find anything from food to socks, fruits, trinkets and what not. There's one nasi campur hawker that I like the most. It has the best patin masak tempoyak in the world. I never liked masak tempoyak, or anything that has tempoyak in it, until I tried theirs. I never looked back since. I also discovered Ikan Bakar Bukit Aman when I was working there. Simple dish but their air asam is the best.

When I was working at Parkson HQ in Klang a few years ago, I was introduced to the best lontong in the whole wide world by my best friend - lontong Klang at pasar jawa in downtown Klang. They have a branch in Section 7 Shah Alam, but it's not as good as the one in Klang. If you want the authentic one, go to the stall in pasar jawa.

I'm not really a food junkie. I have a friend who can tell you where to find the best ikan bakar, itik panggang and any food that crossed your mind, in any part of Malaysia. Just ask her and she'll tell you where to find it. Apparently she and her husband are much like food hunter. They travel all over the country just to eat...amazing.

I'm married to a person who is not very particular about food...and I thank God for that. Perhaps because my mom in law is not a very good cook. So, he's not used to eating good home cook meal growing up. He'll eat just about everything I prepare at home. His favourite dish is my laksa kedah. He's a fish person, so anything with fish in it will make him happy. Me, I'm a chicken person - we are not exactly a match made in heaven when it comes to food.

The kids loves western food. Whose kids don't anyway, right? Daniel is a huge fan of American burger and sushi, Kyle Harris loves pizza, pasta and Japanese udon. Ariana likes any form of noodles - spaghetti, udon, mehoon, etc. But they all share the love for one item - egg! My kids can just live with egg alone. Scrambled egg, sunny side up, omelet, dadar, french toast...anything and everything egg. You won't believe how many eggs we consume in a week. And none of them takes any form of vegetables. They fear vegetable like it's going to kill them if they put it into their mouth. I have given up trying to feed them vege a long time ago.

For Sophie, so far I've tried feeding her carrot, peas and corn. She seems to like carrot the most and peas the least. So peas is off the menu for now.

As for yours truly, I love Italian food the most. By Italian, I mean pasta, not the fancy ones. I'm not much of a rice person. And I love sandwiches. When I was in London for a short vacation in 2007, it was like heaven for me. Sandwiches were everywhere. I rejoiced the minute I saw the shops selling so many types of sandwiches. I miss the sandwiches.... Oh, I also had the best nasi goreng kampung in the world in London, of all places. If you don't believe me, the next time you're in London, go to Holiday Villa London and try their nasi goreng kampung. It'll be your best 7pound spend for a plate of nasi goreng (that is if they still have the same chef).

Oh my, I realised that this article is getting rather too long. Food is a universal language, when we talk about it we can't seem to stop. Even when we talk to stranger, the easiest thing to talk about is food. You'll never go wrong when you discuss about it, trust me. I can go on and on talking about food so I better stop at this point. Till next time...

Perak of Perak

I am so tempted to write about the political situation in Perak. But I thought, what is there to write, it's in the news everyday and has become the joke of the century - 1 state with 2 administrations! How on earth are they going to pay the salary for 2 groups of administration? Most importantly, who's decision is it to follow? I don't want to say anymore.... For the sake of Perakians, go find a solution to this at once!!

For the love of writing...

My husband asked me last night, do I really have a lot of ideas to write in my blog. I told him, yes indeed. In fact, I have to pick and choose what to write coz I have so many things to say with so little time to write.

My mom loves to cook. She would jump on any chance of planning for a kenduri. In fact, she is busy planning one for my niece's wedding on 14/3. My dad once said, my mom just loves it when people enjoy her feast. I agree with abah on this. And my mom is one hell of a good cook. Much like my mom, I enjoy people reading my writing. I love it the most when my sons give me feedback on my articles. My husband...well, he only likes to see pictures.

My passion for writing started when I was in Form 4. I was in Science stream then, but my essays always came up top and often posted by my BM teacher, Cikgu Ismail, on the notice board for others to read. I was the only Science stream student ever participated in writing competition in my school. I came up 2nd and 3rd in general poem and patriotic poem competition in school, respectively. I used to express myself in poem. I remember one day, I was slapped very hard by my brother for the silliest mistake. I was so upset I wrote a poem. I used to keep a journal of poems. I wish I still have the book, it'd be my most prized possession if I still do.

My ultimate dream is to write a book. But so far it remains a DREAM. Dreaming is good though, someone once said that all great achievements begin with a dream. I like this. So I will keep dreaming about writing that book...

Slumdog Millionaire - movie review

This would be my first attempt to be a movie critic...

I watched Slumdog Millionaire with high expectation. A Bollywood movie that has won an oscar for best movie, it must be good...I thought. But I was quite disappointed with the movie, perhaps because I've set my bar rather high for this one. One thing for sure, if I were an Indian national, I'd be offended with the movie plot. Here's my say on the movie.

The movie started with a young man in police custody booked for suspicion of fraud during filming of "Who wants to be a millionaire" show. What???? You are being tortured just because they THINK you cheated? What'd happen if you're taken into custody for something more serious, like murder or kidnapping? I thank God I was born in Malaysia, I don't ever want to live in India if it was true.

Then came the flashback into his sad childhood. A kid willing to jump into a pool of shit just to get Amithab Bachan's autograph? Is this for real? Then he let his brother sold the autograph without much squabble? I mean, come on, he jumped into a pool of shit for that autograph!

Watching the kids living in poverty and being forced to beg is heart-wrecking. I've never been to India but a close friend of mine who had been there said her trip to New Delhi last year was an eye opener. It was a sad trip for her seeing kids her daughter's age begging on the street and living in such deplorable condition. It makes me feel lucky to be born in Malaysia. Malaysiaku gemilang...

Oh, on a different movie, I was comparing note with my Facebook friend on the message in Burn After Reading the other day. His take was don't trust your wife 100% and don't cheat on your wife, and I said cosmetic surgery rules! We both laughed at it.

Run bibik...run!!

"Life is like a box of chocolate, you'll never what you gonna get..." Recently, a neighbour's maid ran away, in fact two of of my neighbours' maids ran away in the same week - I assume in hope of better pay and better living. Hiring a maid is actually like a box of chocolate, you'll never know whether you'll get a very good one, a not-so-good one or a really bad one.

Maids are human being. Put ourselves in their shoes, we want to be treated like human being, not slaves. I treated all my maids like they are part of my family, with respect and humility. But as I said, it's like a box of chocolate.

I had my fair share of good and bad maids in the past. Luckily the current one is pretty good. She's been with our family for almost 5 years, and I hope for many more years to come. She is so good that I don't think I could function well without her around. I have had 4 maids before her. We hired our first maid in 2001 just after I had my second son. She was an illegal immigrant. We couldn't part with a few thousand ringgit of our savings at the time, hence, we decided to get an illegal one instead. She was quite good, my house was squeaky clean when she was around. However, she being an illegal, we decided to let her go about six months later.

After that we took another one through an agency. She made quite a good first impression and we like her at an instant. She said to be a mother of 2 and coming to work in Malaysia to help her husband to make ends meet and to provide better education for her children. But this is a story of deceit.

Only after 1 month of arrival, she started to ask for day off. There was once she went out on a Sunday and didn't come back as told till the next day. Imagine the trouble we had to go through with 2 kids at home and having to go to work. To teach her a lesson, we didn't allow her to take another day off in the following month. What happened next was she started to hurt herself - I know what you're thinking, psycho!! We put up with her because she was good in giving excuses in such convincing ways. You won't believe how good she was in her drama. In her third month with us, when we were getting ready to balik kampung, she asked to meet her friend on the 10th floor before we leave (we were living in a condo then) with a pretext of returning a bag she borrowed from her friend. That was the last time we saw her. She left almost sehelai sepinggang - she only took her purse with her and left everything behind.

Funny enough, during her 3 months stay with us we never received our phone bill. When we asked her about it she claimed that she has never seen it. After she dissapeared, then came the bill - and it was red in colour! Apparently, she's been keeping (or destroying) the bills for 3 months. Wanna know how much was the amount? RM1,400++!! I had a shock of my life. Then her relative called to ask for her, not knowing that she was gone a few weeks earlier. When I told him that she has left, another story unfolded. She was actually not married - no kids and no husband...

Not deterred by the experience, plus we didn't really have much choice then, we got ourselves a brand new maid. This one turned to be a pretty good one - we thank God for that. Like people said, 3 times a charm. And a charm it was indeed. However, when her contract almost ended after two years, she wasn't sure whether she wanted to continue for another year because she said she missed her young son back home. Her dilly dally attitude prompted us to hire a new one. We couldn't just sit down and waited for her to decide, as we needed to get a new one before she left. She later regretted her indecisiveness - in her own words, nasi sudah menjadi bubur.

The fourth maid was another nightmare. She told us that she's here to help her husband who worked as plantation worker in Indonesia, to make ends meet. No children yet, so there was no problem with leaving her family behind. I noticed something weird about this lady, she wasn't so good with housework, cried a lot and liked to stare at an empty wall. I thought that she was just missing her family in Indonesia and needed time to adjust being away from them. But I think God loves us and our children more. A month later, she asked us to mail a letter to her family in Indonesia. Somehow, my heart told me to read the letter before we mailed it out. I know it's invasion of privacy, but Allah had showed me the way. I was expecting my third child then.

Upon reading her letter, we realised this time we are being lied to again. Another case of deceit. She was actually here to reunite with her husband who worked at a construction site in Ampang. She has in fact spent a night with her husband at my agency's place prior to coming to our house. She mentioned in the letter that my sons (whose kids are not at that age anyway!!) are naughty and hard to handle and wasn't sure whether she could handle a baby, and that she felt like running away! As you'd guessed it, the letter was never sent and she was sent back instead. I don't understand these people, what's wrong with telling the truth?? We'd have allowed her to see her husband if she wanted to. Being a married woman myself, I surely can emphatise with her on this one. Why, why, tell me why!!!!!!!!

Well ladies and gentlemen, a box of chocolate it is indeed. Oh, I forgot to mention, the maid that ran away, called us a year later to apologise. She said she shouldn't have ran away when we treated her so well. She was lured by a better pay but was conned instead. She was working in a factory canteen in Sepang and wasn't getting her pay for months - well if you asked me I say she deserved it!! And, guess what, she asked whether she could come back and work with us!! She must have thought that we were a bunch of idiots...

What have I learned from these experiences, you may asked. I learned not to trust Indonesion maids completely no matter how good they seem. Jangan sangka tiada buaya di air tenang... I pray to God that I don't have to go through these nightmares again for the sake of my children, insya-Allah...

Facebook wonders

I say Facebook rules! It is indeed a great tool to keep in touch with friends and to jejak kasih long lost friends. Hats off to the person who came up with this idea. Through Facebook, I've discovered that quite a number of my friends are living abroad some as far as Germany, USA, New Zealand, Australia and Bahrain. Some have also became successful entrepreneurs. I've also engaged in some very interesting thread of discussions, met the most mysterious person on earth who claimed that he knew me during my undergrad studies, discussed movie reviews and what-nots.

I must say that it's quite addictive actually - like a cyber drug of some sort. I can't live without Facebook these days. It's the first thing I do in the morning and the last thing I did at night. My husband jokingly said I'm too addicted to FB that he's going to ban me from using it one day. Who knows one day there may be a FB Anonymous for addicts...hahaha. A friend once wrote in her FB status update that she wondered why a lot of people claimed that they were very busy yet still have time for FB, during office hours even. I guess in this instance, friends come first, work second. Plus, FB is far more fun than work, don't you agree?

FB has also become a great way to boast what you have to your friends. I see a lot of friends posted photos of their travelling around the world much to the envy of others, including yours truly of course. Some even use FB as their marketing tool. Two of my old buddies are now in the cake-making business. And mind you, they can make some mean creations. The pretty pictures of their cakes and cupcakes are good enough to make me drool every time. Hey I'm even thinking of ordering a cake from one of them for my hubby's birthday, which is 2 weeks from now.

Oh my God...my husband's birthday is coming very soon!! I haven't thought of what to get him for his birthday yet. One problem though, I don't earn a steady income this year so how am I going to get him a present?? I still haven't got my paycheck from my last editing and writing jobs...sigh. Warning - when you work as a freelancer, people don't exactly pay you on time. So if you are hard up for money, don't try to become one. Oh I know, I could write him a poem...hah. I must get my creative juice to start working on that love poem now... Stay tune for more updates.

The case of fighting for attention

My eldest son Daniel, who is a big fan of my blog, asked me last nite "mama what do you want to write in your blog tomorrow?" I said, "well I'd have to wait for tomorrow first." He then went on to suggest that I write about how he shares the same interest with his papa - football. I wasn't thinking much about it until this morning...he was actually fighting for my attention! I think it may be related to the fact that I recently wrote a dedicated entry on his brother and his youngest sister. So I thought this issue warrants an entry on its own.

When you have more than 1 kid, each kid will fight for attention. They each want to be mommy's and daddy's favourite and will try to get your attention at any cause. In my case, it will start tonite. Once their daddy is home, each of them will fight for their turn to talk to him and get some of his attention. It will be like pasar malam with each of them trying to get into conversation with papa dearest, all at the same time. I won't even have a chance to talk to my husband during this chaotic period. Kids will be kids...

I remember when I was young I felt that I was not special. I am the 4th kid out of 6 children, an insignificant number, sandwiched between brothers and a sister. I always felt that my sister was, and still is, my father's favourite, perhaps because she was smarter than the rest of us, and my immediate younger brother was my mom's favourite because he was so attached to her (mind you, even untill today). Each time my mom was pregnant, I prayed for a brother because I wanted to remain the youngest daughter...and thank God, He answered my prayer. I wanted to be special, and to me, being the youngest daughter has its perks.

So, I can relate to my son on this subject matter. When I mentioned in one of my earlier entries (Nature vs Nurture) that I feel that I could relate to Kyle Harris the most, it was actually related to middle child syndrome. I know why he acts and behaves in such a way, because I too am a middle child - always a rebel at heart.

My son, for the record, mama and papa love all of you equally - not more, not less - for what you are...you don't have to earn it. We love you with all our hearts.

Oh happy day...

I woke up this morning feeling ecstatic. Hubby is coming home today and he said he bought me a small gift that I will like. Hmmm I wonder what it is... Why am I so excited? Well, in his many overseas business trips, he seldom bought me stuff, save for some silk lingeries that he found in China and Korea a few years ago. Other than that, zilch. But he never forget the kids. My kids actually look forward to his trips because they'll surely get something when he's back. At one point, he was travelling beyond the Malaysian borders every week - no joke, different country every week, and every week the kids will get something. Mostly toys and chocolate bought at KLIA after he touched down. I say the global economic slow down has a good side of it - my husband is now travelling a lot less, from every week to twice a month, alhamdulillah.

There is actually another thing that makes me superbly happy today. I stepped on the scale this morning and it read 48.2! I couldn't believe my eyes at first, so I stepped down, adjusted the scale and stepped on it again. It read 48.2 again, still not satisfied, stepped down and stepped up again. It read the same. Then it hits me, I almost lost all the weight I've gained during my last pregnancy....yahoo yippeededooo. What did I do? Nothing physical. I just cut my rice intake, eat 5 meals a day and brestfeed my daughter. I works everytime.

Can I brag some more...? Yes, I can. Everytime I delivered a baby, I gave myself 6 months to get back into shape. I believe in setting a target - to succeed in anything, you must set a target. Without it, you lack direction and motivation. With another month to go, I'm almost there baby! Hmmm, may be I could write a book on this one - "how to lose weight without exercising." Now that's what I call an idea!

I hope my happy vibes would continue for the rest of the day...insya-Allah.

My take on the toll hike U-turn decision

Before I write further, I would like to make it clear that I'm NOT anti-govt, nor am I pro opposition. I'm proud to say that I am a product of the system, without it, people like my husband, my sister and I may not have the opportunity to study overseas and become what we are today. So, I vote for the status quo to stay.

The reason I'm writing this particular post is because of the recent U-turn on the toll hike decision by the government. My concern is not the toll hike, but the U-turn decision. I've seen similar scenario many times in the current administration. Make a decision one day, overturned it the next. Why can't they just stick to it or study it carefully before making any decisions at the first place??? I call them hangat-hangat taik ayam administration.

To me, this looks as if they were:
1. Not prepared. Did not do their homework before making any major decision.
2. Weak. Will succumb to any pressure.
3. No direction. Will move towards any directions that deemed favourable at the time.
4. Lack communication. Obviously they didn't communicate enough.

Would this administration make a strong government. I think not. Would the PM in-waiting make the new administration strong. I think not too. I say Muhyiddin is a better bet!

Thanks to Tun M who has set such a high benchmark, it is hard for anyone to meet the expectation as PM in the next few decades...long live Tun M!

p/s: For the record, I don't support toll hike. I vote for NO toll :-)

Sophie's meal time

My husband has been pestering me to post more updates on his youngest breed...Sophie that is. He misses her so much now that he is traveling.

She is now in the spitting phase. She'll spit out everything that goes into her mouth. Hence, the mess on her bib and clothe, she even spit some onto my face in the process. The Malays call this period menyembur. It is believed that during this period, the mother would shed her hair the most. Heck, I'm losing so much hair already, anymore, I'll go bald.

If you are wondering what is the orange substance I'm feeding her, it's organic carrot with a little bit of rice cooked together and blended to perfection - baby's gourmet food. I never fed any of my children with artificially flavoured cereal (Nestum, for example) as those are full of sugar and you-don't-know-what. I make it a point to prepare all baby food from scratch, save for travelling period which I settle for gerber baby food in a jar.

Here is our Little Pea's (our latest nickname for her) messy meal time....

An eventfull saturday it was

I woke up this morning with a mission...to update my blog. Bathed my little baby, fed her, prepared lunch, took a shower and here I am.

A lot has happened yesterday. Early in the morning I attended Kyle Harris's Hari Kecemerlangan at his school. He was being awarded for finishing 3rd in his final exams last year. A proud achievement indeed, considering the number of students in his class and in his school. There are more than 2,000 students in his school, with 97 teachers (1:21 ratio, not so bad). 27 classes in the morning session and 27 in the afternoon session. In standard 3 alone, there are 8 classes, and in each class there are an average of 40 students. Kyle Harris is in the second best class this year.

Bravo my son. Keep it up!

Here he is waiting patiently for his turn to go up on stage.

Kyle Harris (he is known as Kyle amongst his friends and teachers. At home, we call him Harris) getting his trophy from I don't know who. Mommy wasn't paying much attention to the emcee, sorry dear...

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With his best buddy, Zikri.

Zikri is top in the class. I'm glad that he chose his friends well, if you know what I mean... I'm sure a lot of mothers out there prefer their kids to be amongst smart peers than otherwise.

In the evening, off we went to 1Utama - our favorite place, for a shopping expedition. Got myself a nike t-shirt and then started looking for my daughter's dress. We visited 6 boutiques before my daughter and I agreed on the one we both like - first was Osh Kosh then Pumpkin Patch, GAP, Zara, Guess and back to Osh Kosh. I realised that it's not Summer yet, hence, there were not many dresses available. Got a good deal at Osh Kosh as the dress was on 30% sale. I also bought her a matching bolero from GAP. Mission accomplished! Wanted to buy more, but being a GOOD wife, I decided to settle with only one dress for Ariana and not to buy any for Sophie.

We went shopping some more after that, books and food. I needed that to relief some tensions. Retail theraphy works everytime...