It's Supermom's Day

I have said this last year and I am going to say this again, in my personal view there is absolutely nothing wrong for mothers out there to be celebrated once a year. We have done lots in our lives indeed - made plenty of sacrifices that no men dare go that same path and went through tremendous pain physically and mentally to give birth and raise our children. Not to mention the heartache and suffering between juggling work and motherhood, while at the same time help our other halves make ends meet. Nevertheless, we did it again and again, no regrets, no fear but with style. I say we all deserve a gigantic pat on our back :-)

So no amount of people telling me that celebrating Mother’s Day is unislamic will stop me from celebrating and enjoying the day. I sincerely hope that they won’t claim that celebrating Hari Raya too is against the religion next *grin*.

Enough said, this year’s Mother’s Day is the best ever for me. Besides spending time with fellow BFF mothers in Bandung during Mother’s Day weekend, I came home to a little surprise orchestrated by the kids. There was my favourite cake, 4 handmade cards and a little gift from the kids (but of course the father paid for it!). My heart melted upon seeing ‘em, well what mother wouldn’t right? Thank you kids...I love it, love it, love it! A very special thanks goes to my darling hubby for making this happen...luv you babeh! I guess absence does make the heart grow fonder huh?

At this point I can’t resist showing off the gift the kids ‘bought’ for me. It’s engraved with my name and the word “supermom”, cool eh? I’ve been officially recognized as a SUPERMOM by my own kids and hubby...yehaaaw!

The cake – red velvet from BSC


The cards they made which are now proudly displayed on my office wall

My kids and I – I just realized how small I am relative to my sons’ size (oops where’s my tudung? Ya Allah ya Tuhanku, ampunkanlah dosa hambaMu ini, amin)


I say, never underestimate the power of human emotion, a show of a little appreciation goes a looooong way. Love you kiddos! Happy mother's day.

17 Again!

We made it! After 5 months of planning and excitement, 6 of us young ladies made it to Bandung on the 7th of May for a 3D/2 night strictly-ladies-only retreat. I may not speak for the rest, but a few days prior to the departure I was so thrilled and bursting with excitement that I dreamt about it not once, but twice! But I’m sure I speak for all of us when I say that we had a fantabulous time there – not just shopping and spa but by just being ourselves again minus the ‘access baggage’.

In all honesty, during that 3-day getaway, we forgot that we are all married with kids. We were 17 again! What a fantastic way to celebrate mother’s day huh? What made it even better was the fact that we speak at the same wave length. Thank you for making it the best weekend ever ladies! Love you all...muahhhhs.

Ahli Rombongan Cik Kiah Goes Places, from left: Mdm. IT (juara shopping), Mdm. Banker (the master of pilih baju), Mdm. HR (ketua rombongan), moi (*** counselor), Mdm. Engineer (the spiritual one) & Mdm. Corporate Comm (official photographer)


Day 1 – An encounter with a handsome tailor

We met at KLIA with our bigger-than-us bags and bags that could ‘beranak-pinak’, in anticipation of the amount of shopping that we will do (with exception of one particular Cik Kiah who brought with her the biggest bag of all but claimed that she wasn’t planning to shop much – yes, I’m heading somewhere with this!). We were literally multi-millionaires on departure day, don’t play play arrr.

After I kissed my hubby goodbye, we made our way to the immigration counter and the fun began! It was like we left our lives behind after we crossed the immigration line. From that point on, we exercised our facial muscles lots! We talked and laughed and giggled almost every minutes of the day I tell ya.

Upon arrival at the not-so-impressive airport, we were greeted with nice weather - a pleasant change from the hot, humid and unpredictable KL weather. We checked-in and immediately left for Pasar Baru, chauffeured in a relatively new Suzuki MPV by our personal driver cum tour guide, Pak Alex. Our first stop was kedai kain D’Fashion.

It was there where we met the handsome tailor (please pardon our excitement because most of us don’t get to meet handsome men often enough. The ones we have at home no longer fall in this category *grin*). Being measured by this handsome chap (at close proximity gittew) was enough to excite us all LOL!!! Fyi, if you are wondering, we tailor-made some pants and skirts for office wear, nothing kinky whatsoever okay.

Tailor yang hensem itu...on second thought maybe not so hensem, but it was good enough to excite us all LOL!


All in all, the 6 of us bought enough fabric to open a small shop in KL, and I am so not joking peeps. We shopped like it was going to be our last.

Next stop was Toko Tiga, the place to buy original jeans in Bandung according to Pak Alex. I didn’t get myself any, although I was tempted to get one - thank God I came back to my sane state (after temporarily went insane at D’fashion). After jeans we headed for dinner at some nasi padang restaurant. Boy the 6 of us can really eat!

After dinner we returned to our temporary abode and decided to have coffee outside (mind you it was 12 midnight). We chit chat till late at Wendy’s (since Starbuck was nowhere to be found) while sipping our do-it-yourself coffee, and the gossiping session continued in our room till, believe it or not, 3am!

Lesson learned on day 1 -Excessive shopping makes you hungry. You should see the amount of food we ate during dinner.

Day 2 – Temporary insanity in huge dosses

Despite sleeping late, we were all charged up to start our day as early possible. Had breakfast at 7am (yes, it was that early) and our shopping excursion began at 8am (really, amazing huh?). First stop was souvenir for wedding goody bags. Fortunately, we were still in our sound state of mind at this point though we did buy stuffs that we could definitely live without!

Next, Pak Alex wanted to take us to the handbag shop but we unanimously decided that fake handbags are just not our thing, sorry! Hence, we headed to Rumah Mode instead - my favourite place in Bandung. If you have not been to Bandung and are planning to go, do not miss this place, take my word for it. And guess what, all of us, with exception of Mdm. HR, went CRAZY shopping and emerged from the shop a few hours later a few millions poorer. Some, including a particular Cik Kiah who claimed that she wasn’t going to shop much, even went back for the second round to get more stuff while the rest of us wait outside under the scorching sun (kita bako sikit buleh?). But that didn’t stop us at all, instead, we were roaring to continue shopping (and even managed to forget about lunch along the process). What did we have for lunch again gals?

Rumah Mode...retail therapy at its best in Bandung #1


After Rumah Mode, we happily and excitedly hopped into one factory outlets after another and shopped like we were married to the Sultan of Brunei till about 6pm, thereafter we proceeded to the much-awaited spa session. God created heaven on earth, and last weekend it came in a form of spa after long hours of shopping. 4 Cik Kiahs decided to continue with pedicure and manicure but 2 other Cik Kiahs decided to continue shopping…moi is one of two who opted to shop instead ngeeeeee (you can tell where my priorities lie eh?).

Our shopping spree didn’t end there yet. After the spa we decided to visit Kartika Sari with the pretext of surveying what to get the next day at the factory before we leave for the airport. But we ended up shopping for some cookies and brownies for supper. Had dinner there too although originally we wanted to have Bakso. Rule number 1 – shopping comes first, makan second. That’s exactly what we did!

Reached hotel after all shopping outlets were closed (LOL!) and after we freshened up, we gossiped again till 3am while munching on cookies and yummilicious brownies! We laughed so loud that I think everyone on the same floor could hear us. It was really fun girlfriends!

Lesson learned on day 2 - Women could plead temporary insanity at shopping complexes, especially when we are in a group (without men or kids stopping us!). Even sleep deprivation won’t stop us from spending our hard earned moolah!

Day 3 – Revelation of a steaming hot secret

Again, we started our day super early on the last day. After we visited Kartika Sari factory and bought brownies hot from the oven, and guess what, we unanimously decided to make another trip to Pasar Baru...ngeh ngeh ngeh. I know deep inside the 3 ladies (you know who you are!) were just making excuses to meet the handsome tailor again LOL! We spent our every last penny there. Together, we bought more fabric enough to open another small shop.

D'fashion - retail therapy at its best in Bandung #2


After we were happily broke aka muflis, we headed to the airport with mix feeling – happy to go home to our loved ones and sad to end this wonderful journey with girlfriends. But, every happy ending must come to an end and it was it for us. We made full use of the last hour together at the airport chatting and laughing away as though we own the airport. More secrets revealed and tips shared - Cyberjaya is the word LOL!

In total, I only slept for 6 hours (sandwiched between 2 Cik Kiahs whom are not as small as they used to be 20 years ago *peace*) during the entire trip but it was worth it. And the particular Cik Kiah who claimed that she wasn’t gonna shop much was the top spender of the trip, congratulations Mdm. IT! And for that, she was punished by having to pay for access baggage fees for the group...ngeh ngeh ngeh. But of course we will pay her back...moi is equally guilty as charged. I do not wish to elaborate on another incident that took place during check-in...that shall be the joke of the year between the 6 of us LOL!

In conclusion, this was the best trip I had in years. We really felt like we were 17 again. And I think I lost a few ounces of my facial fat. Let’s quickly plan for volume 2 peeps!

I say nothing beats good company, not even sleep! And I say, only women are capable to pull off something like this, don’t you agree?

BFF forevar!

DRIVING LESSON FOR DUMMIES

Ever since I became a frequent road user during peak hours again, I have this urge to educate fellow Malaysian road users.

10 critical lessons for Malaysian road users:

1. IKUT KIRI JIKA TIDAK MEMOTONG. Memorize this in your head over and over again. If you drive below 110km/hr, please use the left lane.

2. Cutting queue is NOT cool - it’s the opposite of cool. It’s super uncool and idiotic. It makes people like me HOT. Remember this in your tiny head - everyone else on the road wants to get to point B as fast as we could too.

3. Signaling doesn’t give you the right to simply enter other people’s lane. Follow this sequence – signal, look left or right (whichever direction you are going) and switch lane only if there is no car!

4. You are not the only one who pays road tax, others do too. Please be considerate and don’t expect people to give you way unless you have police escort.

5. Motorbikes are not meant to enter the right lane unless you drive a superbike that moves as fast, or faster than cars.

6. Slowing down to look at an accident (or animals mating at the road side) does not improve you as a person, your karma or your intelligence in anyway whatsoever, unless you plan to stop and help.

7. Decide which lane you want to take at least 100meter ahead. It’s best to use your brain wisely (this rule applies at toll booths, traffic light junctions & yang sewaktu dengannya).

8. FOCUS when you are on the road. Do not drive when you are hungry, horny, sleepy or have the urge to go to toilet.

9. Do not makan jalan. Remember that you are supposed to drive within your lane. There is a reason why the lanes are separated by clear and thick white lines. If you can’t see the lines, you should not be driving at the first place.

10. If you can’t stop them, join them – a perfect example would be using the emergency lane during non-emergency times.

Note to pedestrians: When crossing a busy road, do not catwalk or lenggang kangkong. Walk as fast as you can. Running is a better option.

Wassalam

A wedding and a funeral

What a stark contrast it was for me – 1 week we were celebrating my brother-in-law’s wedding with the whole jing-bang on my husband’s side, and we were burying my nephew the next, on my side of the family. The latter was definitely a solemn affair for the whole family. God knows how sad all of us were (and still are), having to go through such event. In less than 1 short year we lost 2 close family members - my eldest brother and one of his young sons.

I’m not good at writing sad stories, in fact, I totally suck at it. I’m struggling to write this piece while fighting back tears so badly. But I want to write about him. I MUST.

Muhammad Ismail b. Azman, fondly called Me’e, lived a short life. He was barely 18 the day he died, only a few days after he received his SPM results. He was as healthy as a horse just a few days before he slipped into coma. The saddest thing for me was, of all my 12 nieces and nephews, he was the closest to us and I believe to my parents too. Even my husband cried uncontrollably during his funeral. That’s how big the impact of his lost was to us.

He will forever be cherished as a big fella who loved to eat (and could eat an entire cow on his own!), had the sweetest smile, happy go lucky although at times he could be a little bit sensitive, soft hearted and very protective of his siblings. He took after my brother so much, especially when it came to caring for his siblings. I think (actually I KNOW!) I’m not wrong to say that he loved his 3 younger siblings more than his mother ever will, and vice versa.

Picture taken during our last family outing in Penang in December last year. Second from right is Me’e, with his closest cousins.


Dalam kenangan...
Muhammad Ismail bin Azman (16 October 1993 – 1 April 2011)

We all miss you so much. May Allah swt grant you Nur in barzah.
Al-fatihah

The new more adventurous me

I did the unthinkable today (by my very own conservative standard) - cut my hair really short (Halle Berry style) and got it coloured...woot woot! Well done Azura!

My hubby is ecstatic with the change (although he has yet to see it) but I know my abah on the other hand, will react otherwise *gulp*. I’m sure you can see how big of an influence my father has in my life. Even after 38years I’m still desperate for his approval. Is this good or bad?

And guess what, I also received a fair share of questioning from my second son today. He was bewildered to see my hair in a lighter shade and wasted no time to question whether it is allowed to colour our hair in Islam. See peeps, I have to explain my action to my father, my husband and my kids. It’s not easy to be me eh?

The answer to his questions is yes it is allowed (both harus & makruh, depending on the type of colouring done, but haram for temporary dyeing) to colour our hair with any colour but black, and using ingredients that are not haram. I wouldn’t have done it if it’s haram. The intention aka niat too has to be right. In my case, I coloured my hair for myself and at the request of my husband - not to show others (riak) & berhias (tabarruj). Wallahuwa’lam.

I’m beginning to love the new more ‘adventurous’ me...I’m lovin’ it! I wonder what’s next...a sports car sound sooo appealing to me right now. Dalam hati ada taman *wink* but dalam pocket belum ada duit *sigh*.

I say, I sure hope that this is not a sign of mid-life crisis. I’m way too young for it *denial mode*.

I wanna be a millionaire so freakin’ bad!

A couple of weeks ago my son asked me soalan cepu emas - what would I do if I had RM1million. He really got me thinking because after that I realized that having 1million ringgit is actually not a big deal at all.

These days, a nice house costs millions of ringgit, a very nice car that I like so much cost RM650K (if I throw in insurance and road tax, it’ll be a lot more), a really nice handbag would cost tens of thousands of ringgit (and we’d love to have more than 10 right?), children’s education would be in the hundreds of thousands of ringgit each (and I have 4 of them but thank God so far none is interested in doing Medicine...phew! Ahkak tak mampu u’ols), even a decent meal for a family of 6 costs more than RM200.

In my own conclusion, 1million is not sufficient to last until the day we die unless you plan to live in a kampong and grow your own vegetable to eat.

Nevertheless, I hope to be a millionaire one day. And I promise to spend my money wisely. Note to hubby, please work very very hard and make me a millionaire.

I say, I wanna be a millionaire so freakin’ bad...

Adventure? Perhaps not.

I was reading some friends’ blog and was amazed to read how they seem to really enjoy life. Impromptu trips to God know where, makan2 at places unheard of (I have a friend who would make a day trip to JB just for the sake of having itik panggang!), riding on superbike across the country, horse riding in the jungle, supper in the middle of the night, breakfast so early in the morning...you get the idea, right? That certainly got me thinking that my life lacks adventure...sigh!

My life, to say the least, is just plain ordinary. Is it me, is it the husband or is age catching up too fast? The closest I get to adventure is writing in my blog in my bed while watching a movie and sipping a cup of iced Nescafe! What a pathetic life I have huh? Hey, I don’t even go to spa...hahaha. That was my last year’s resolution isn’t it – to visit spa once a month?

These days I get tired easily. To go out for supper in the middle of the night is unthinkable. My clock stops at 11pm. I take nap in the afternoon (OMG, I’m turning into my mom!). To go for an impromptu trip out of town is almost impossible for us, I have four kids, one of them as you know it, is an active toddler (who by the way screams at everything) - to get a family of 6+1 on the go without a proper plan is...how do I word this...crazy. To leave them behind is not my style. My conscience would kill what little joy I shall have...double sigh! Oh please don’t make me start on superbike and horse riding, but makan2 at godforsaken place...now that I can handle. But where do I start? My usual makan place is either at 1U, Empire, Subang Parade dan kawasan2 yang sewaktu dengannya...triple sigh! I need help here peeps.

I say let’s take it one day at a time. As for now, I am happy with my seemingly non-adventurous life. I therefore conclude that I shall stick to what’s familiar, or should I start taking vitamin supplements? Hurmmmm...perhaps I should.

Public IHL vs Private IHL

I’ve been wanting to write this piece for quite a while. But the thought of the extra ‘effort’ I need to put into writing this article has put me off till now. Time is really a luxury for me these days...sigh.

After my SPM years ago - when I was a clueless 17 years old - all I wanted to do was to study abroad. My direction was clear, to go abroad come what may. At that point of my life, the farthest place I had been to on earth was KL, and that was not enough for me. I wanted to see the world, go places I had not been before and learn things I can’t possibly learn here. For once in my life, I wanted to be independent. My parents who were fully aware of my rebellious nature knew me too well to go against my will.

I had my way at last. I had the opportunity of a lifetime to study abroad, and like people say, the rest is history. I am glad that I chose this path. Should I decide otherwise, I will not be the person I am today.

My eldest son Daniel will soon graduate from secondary school and move on to his tertiary studies. In less than 2 years, we will be at a cross road in deciding his study options. The truth is, I wish he could win a full scholarship from Cambridge, then further his Masters in Harvard or MIT and get his doctorate from Al-Azhar. In an ideal world, that would be any mother’s dream.

Unfortunately, we live in a real world. And to expect that from our sons is too ‘cruel’ and unkind, although it’s not impossible.

Just to share a true story, a Taylor’s A Level student secured a full scholarship from Cambridge University to read Law after her graduation at Taylor’s. After she completed her degree at Cambridge, Harvard offered her a full scholarship to do her Masters there. Upon completion of her Masters, Cambridge University once again offered her a fellowship for her PhD. I had tears in my eyes when I learned about her success story, really! I get super emotional when I hear this sort of stories...ahkak sedih campur bangga gittew taww.

In the past, for us (the general Malay population), we had only 2 options - public universities or study abroad. Private education was never an option for us. These days securing a government scholarship is not as easy as it was 15 years ago – the quantum has decreased significantly hence the awarding bodies have become very selective, leaving us with lesser options. I would love to send my children to study abroad but when money is concerned, if they can’t get a full or at least partial scholarship, I can’t afford to spend hundreds of thousands of ringgit to send them abroad. Did you know that to send your child to study medicine for 2.5 years in the UK, you need to fork up almost RM800K (including living expenses)? You may have that much money, but I unfortunately, don’t. I very the poor you know...

Hence, for people like me who are neither millionaires nor hardcore poor (i.e. the group of people that often receive the least attention), we need to have more options. This is where Private Institution of Higher Learning (IHL) comes into play.

20 years ago, private colleges/ universities were perceived as colleges for either rich kids or worse, rejects. But that was 20 years ago. Private colleges have come a long way since then. In fact today, some of these colleges has evolved into full fledge universities offering far better and greater infrastructure and academic quality than those of public universities.

If you asked me, between sending my kids to public universities and private universities, I’d rather send them to private uni and pay a good sum of money for their education. Why? Statistic has shown that employers prefer students from selected private universities than those from public universities - a known fact in the industry. They are in greater demand because they have all the aptitudes that employers look for: well-rounded, soft skill and better prepared for the working world. Graduates from private IHL generally command higher salary than their counterparts from public uni too. On top of that classes are conducted in English. Need I say more?

I am fortunate enough to have the opportunity to work in Malaysia’s top Private IHL and to be able to experience for myself how the institution strives to provide a wholesome learning experience and the best learning infrastructure for students. Private IHLs like Taylor’s is no longer an exclusive university for rich kids but a university for high achievers. Did you know that JPA, MARA and other sponsoring bodies like Petronas, Felda, Bank Negara, Sime Darby and the likes now send their sponsored students to private IHLs? There are plenty of them at Taylor’s. Did you also know that these days Public IHLs are going after lecturers from Private IHLs, instead of the other way around?

The trend now is more and more Malays (and sponsors too) are sending their children to Private unis, including the top guns in the Ministry of Higher Education itself! You can trust me on this one peeps, I am so not joking. It speaks volumes of the quality of education at Private unis doesn’t it?

But please don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting that Public IHL is inferior in anyway but I strongly believe that they could learn a thing or two from Private IHLs. It’s time to shift the paradigm – it’s been long overdue.

I say where our children are concerned, we always want the best for them. However, the subject matter is very subjective. So let’s not be so judgmental.

Kids say the darndest thing

I came across the following as I was reading some stuff on the internet. Very funny...which reminds me of a story about a 16-year old school boy from Kuantan who represented the state of Pahang in a National Science Competition many years ago. In the final round, the judge asked him "What is Diabetes?", not knowing the correct answer he replied "Sakit badan". Go ahead and laugh....teeheehee. As you'd have guessed it, his team lost in the final round to the team from Kedah. The boy later became a top scorer in his SPM exams and went on to study Chemical Engineering abroad and married a beautiful and equally intelligent maiden from Kedah. They now have 4 kids together. Sakit-sakit badan huh...Thank God this young chap didn't choose Medicine as his career.

Now back to the funny stuff. The following questions were answered by 16 years old kids in Canada for their GED examination:

Q. Name the four seasons.
A. Salt, pepper, mustard and vinegar

Q. Explain one of the processes by which water can be made safe to drink.
A. Flirtation makes water safe to drink because it removes large pollutants like grit, sand, dead sheep and canoeists

Q. How is dew formed?
A. The sun shines down on the leaves and makes them perspire

Q. What causes the tides in the oceans?
A. The tides are a fight between the earth and the moon. All water tends to flow towards the moon, because there is no water on the moon, and nature abhors a vacuum. I forget where the sun joins the fight

Q. What guarantees may a mortgage company insist on?
A. If you are buying a house they will insist that you are well endowed

Q. In a democratic society, how important are elections?
A. Very important. Sex can only happen when a male gets an election

Q. What are steroids?
A. Things for keeping carpets still on the stairs

Q.. What happens to your body as you age?
A. When you get old, so do your bowels and you get intercontinental

Q. What happens to a boy when he reaches puberty?
A. He says goodbye to his boyhood and looks forward to his adultery

Q. What is artificial insemination?
A. When the farmer does it to the bull instead of the cow

I say, if you didn't laugh reading the answers, you have definitely lost your sense of humour.

Q. How can you delay milk turning sour?
A. Keep it in the cow

Q. How are the main 20 parts of the body categorised (e.g. The abdomen)?
A. The body is consisted into 3 parts - the brainium, the borax and the abdominal cavity. The brainium contains the brain, the borax contains the heart and lungs and the abdominal cavity contains the five bowels: A,E,I,O,U.

Q. What is the fibula?
A. A small lie

Q. What does 'varicose' mean?
A. Nearby

Q. What is the most common form of birth control?
A. Most people prevent contraception by wearing a condominium

Q. Give the meaning of the term 'Caesarean section'
A. The caesarean section is a district in Rome

Q. What is a seizure?
A. A Roman Emperor.

Q. What is a terminal illness?
A. When you are sick at the airport.

Q. Give an example of a fungus. What is a characteristic feature?
A. Mushrooms. They always grow in damp places and they look like umbrellas

Q. Use the word 'judicious' in a sentence to show you understand its meaning
A. Hands that judicious can be soft as your face.

Q. What does the word 'benign' mean?
A. Benign is what you will be after you be eight

Q. What is a turbine?
A. Something an Arab or Shreik wears on his head

I say if you didn't find this funny at all, you have certainly lost your sense of humor...

1-800-CALL MAMA

On Thursday, as I was driving home at 7pm, I got a call from Nana asking whether she could attend her friend’s birthday party over the weekend. The conversation went on for quite a while as I was asking her where the party is going to be held bla bla bla. Fyi, she doesn’t know where it will be held yet but insisted on going nevertheless. So I told her to ask her friend at school the next day.

After I hung up, I realized that it was perhaps the 8th call I received from home that day. They - my kids - would call every day asking and reporting about anything and everything under the sun in real time, no exception whatsoever. The first call would come at 11am every day without fail from Nana and this would go on until I reach home late in the evening. Even the little sweat Pea would also want to say something over the phone, in her own alien language of course.

On top of phone calls, I also received numerous text messages from the kids. The top sms sender is Kyle. He’d send sms asking just about anything from a meaning of a word he just came across or asking for help with his homework. Just the other say he sent me an sms asking for the meaning of the word ‘blacklisted’. Curious, I immediately call wanting to know why, and much to my relief he came across the word on TV...phew! For once I thought I got blacklisted for doing something against the law!

Well, ladies and gentlemen, I now officially operate a hotline. Call mama whenever you are in doubt! Hahaha. Admittedly, I do get annoyed sometimes but most of the times they make me laugh. They made my day with their calls. This whole non-stop phone call business makes me feel like I am the single most important person on earth. I honestly hope that they’d never stop calling, forever and ever okay! Keep the calls coming kiddos.

I say (not that it’s a contest) mothers always win hands down. There’s a reason why the first word is always ‘ma ma’.

I'm no supermom

You wouldn’t believe how much I miss writing in this space. I know it may sound weird, but I really do miss writing here as much as I miss going out for coffee with girlfriends. [Note to self: must find time to blog]

Blogging didn’t just help keep my sanity intact during my 2.5 years ‘tenure’ as a full time mom to 4 very healthy, active and curious kids, but it also kept me relevant throughout the break. Suffice to say that my 2 years of ‘practicing’ my writing here has actually borne some fruits – writing comes more naturally to me now than before. As an icing on the cake, words spread and I actually got a couple of writing jobs from people who read my blog. Not so bad huh? I am glad that I indulged myself in blogging.

It’s been almost 4 weeks since I came back to work full-time (time flies huh?). I am still getting used to the new routine – leave home before 8am and (trying my best) reach home before 8pm. On my first day at work, I left the office at 8pm (yes, no joke here peeps). That’s what you get when you joined a company that you are so familiar with – there's no such thing as ‘getting to know’ the company or induction whatsoever, you get loaded on your first day because they know what you are capable of delivering based on your track record.

For that, I am so grateful that I left the company in good terms. I have received such warm welcome upon my return from every one, particularly my boss. Many, including all the Os of the company, came to see me personally to welcome me back. I feel so blessed, Alhamdulillah. At least I don’t have to struggle so hard to start over.

Being a working mom also means less time to do things that I enjoy, cooking for example. Since I started working, I’ve only cook like 5 times, or maybe less. Eating out has become part of our routine, which I actually don’t quite fancy. I don’t like the fact that I don’t have control over the food I eat and the food I feed my children, the health aspect of it that is. Having said that, I am not attempting to be a supermom (I know I can never ever be one and I don’t wanna die trying, drama momma suits me better lah), hence compromise has to be made and eating out it is for the time being.

My husband is also getting used to not having home-cooked meal at home whenever he’s around. He hopes (and I am desperately hoping so too!) that it’ll work to his advantage because he is eating less nowadays. He kept blaming me for his substantial weight gain over the past 2 years. Now that I seldom cook anymore, let's see whether he'll lose some inches. But I take comfort in him eating more when I cook and less when others did. It seems like “the way to a man's heart is through his stomach” has work pretty well for me...wheeeee!

On another note, Daniel’s application to enter SBP was successful Alhamdulillah, but my husband and I have unanimously decided NOT to send him to the school. We want to keep him at home for as long as we could, which annoys the little brother who wishes to send his big bro off to a boarding school far away from home...hahaha! I am 100% sure that I’ve made the best decision in his interest. Unless he was admitted to MCKK or yang sewaktu dengannya, I don’t think he would be better off there then he is now. I understand his needs more than anyone else in this world (this is perhaps the over-protective side of me talking *grin*). I get to keep him for another 2 years, yeay!! On the other hand, this boy is getting too expensive for me to keep...hmmmm

I say live up to your own expectation, measure up to your potential. Don’t try to do things beyond your reach, unless you plan to live a short life. I'm no supermom.

Nana made Mama go banana

I'm in the mood to write, hence I'm gonna write another entry tonight.

My first daughter entered Primary 1 this year. I was all jittery a week before schools open. She was so cool but I on the other hand, was a nervous wreck. Nervous because I worried that she couldn't adapt to the school environment with over 400 students in Primary 1 alone (There are 10 Primary 1 classes of 40 or 41 students in her school!). Nervous because my girl doesn't know how to use squatting toilet (trust me, I'm not joking!) and she hates dirty toilet (she would rather hold her urine if the toilet is slightly dirty or even wet). Nervous because she's used to learning in English and now she has to learn in Bahasa. Nervous because she is so fragile and because she has to take school van to school.

To my surprise, merely a week after school starts she assimilated well into Primary 1 at the over-crowded school far better than I had expected. She used the school toilet on the fifth day of school. She even refuses to bring food to school for recess because she wants to buy food at the canteen. She hasn't complaints about school, yet. Alhamdulillah.

And when you pray for something, insyaAllah, Allah will show you the way. Alhamdulillah, a friend of mine offered to fetch Nana to and fro school. I couldn't express how much I am thankful for her offer. Thank you for the bottom of my heart Sue!!! I sleep better these days knowing that she doesn't have to walk out of school all by herself and find her van amidst a sea of people (you wouldn't believe the amount of students at her school and the number parents who crowd the school compound to fetch their children).

I can see her bright future. My girl is not that fragile after all. I see me in her. I know she could do great things in her life, just like I did *grin*.

I say we need to have more convictions on our own children. They could do far greater things than we could imagine. After all we are the ones rocking the cradle :-)

Nana during her first recess at school.


The sea of parents who came to see how their kids do during recess on the first day!

The greatest gift yet

It's been a while since I last wrote in this space. Making preparations for back to school for 3 kids ain't easy. It consumes all your energy, really! Not to mention your money too *gasp*. After back to school, it was back to work for me. It was fun nonetheless shopping for back to work. This one I don't mind draining all my energy into at all...hehehe. Who wouldn't right? Anyone who says that he/she doesn't like shopping is a big fat liar. Liar liar pants on fire!!!

Anyway, just to back track a little bit. My eldest son delivered my birthday present 8 days after my 38th birthday in December – in a form of As, 8 to be exact. Alhamdulillah syukur ke hadrat Allah s.w.t. Daniel passed his PMR exams with flying colors. Best of all, ALL but 1 of his very close friends scored 8As – that 1 friend scored 7As and 1B. I found this to be quite amazing. Again, Alhamdulillah. 71 students from his school scored 8As, most of them are girls (I wonder are girls smarter than boys or girls are more hard-working? Thought provoking eh?). Congrats to my nephew Azani who scored straight As too.

Daniel and his close buddies who all passed with flying colours. I am sooo proud of them! (These few kids spent lotsa time at my home, ate food that I cook and breath the air in my house - what I am actually trying to say is I have some contribution in them scoring straight As...ngeh ngeh ngeh, boleh?)


Although Daniel didn’t put much effort into preparing for the exams (it’s actually close to a miracle that he scored straight As) I was confident enough that he would deliver the results. In all honestly, I’d be furious if he didn’t. I have high expectation for him (and all my children for that matter). At this point, I’d like to claim all credits for his brainy brain. Remember what I wrote earlier about smart mothers and smart children (see previous post)? At least I can now say that all the ugly stretch marks are worth it...wheeee!

Speaking of expectation, sometimes I wonder, is it right for parents to expect highly of their children? I expect all my children to be smart. I expect all of them to study abroad and become successful people, dunia dan akhirat. It is because of this super high expectation that I can’t never teach my own children. My blood would ‘go upstairs’ every time they didn’t get my explanation the first time. The same goes for my husband. Even Mr. Cool Guy couldn’t teach his own children – we both lack the patient because of our high expectation.

I know that this is certainly not healthy but I just couldn't help it. I expect my kids to know algebra since birth...hahaha. This momma is so the over the top gittew kan.

Anyway, Daniel is anxiously waiting for the result of his application to enter boarding school. Although I did try to sabotage his applications, my doa to Allah is to give him the best. If going to a boarding school is the best for him, I will accept it, but if it isn't, we'll make the best of it. But in all honestly, if you asked me, I'd say that I prefer him to be with me at home *grin*. Over the top and selfish...bravo momma!

I say at some point of our lives, we need to learn to let go of certain things we hold so dear. I hope I will be brave enough to let a part of me go when the time comes...

Happy 2011 everyone!