Teaching her Bahasa

I wanted to write Bahasa Malaysia, but then again, was it really malaysia or melayu? huhu~ bahasa melayu? bahasa malaysia? bahasa 1 malaysia? bahasa orang melayu? bahasa orang malaysia? bahasa....blablabla

 Ive never talked about this in my blog. But here's my confession. I rarely speak in BM with the kids anymore.So, you can put all the blame on me - Im guilty as charged. (finally, i find this acronym -BM- really save me from the guilt and confusion of whether should i write malay or malaysia :P)

Who in the world, stop talking in their mother-tongue with their own (birth) kids?!! That is just absurd and beyond words. That is just...me. huhu~ 

Ok, admitting is the first step. Second step is the self defense. 

Obviously, it wouldnt take five minutes to realize that im just not a native speaker, not even close. Here is the only defense i could find - the kids seemed to understand and pick up more english words from tv, books, friends, surroundings etc, and i find out that they follow my words (read: instruction) much better if i say it in english. huhu~ how sad could that be?

Ok, the third step is to own my mistake. 

I realize that i certainly should get them to at least, get used to bm. So ive included BM lesson in my so-called-homeschool-lesson-planner.  

SO HERE IS AISYAH'S FIRST BM LESSON. 

KAKAK 

Me: You are kakak, right? Can you guess what letter does "kakak" start with?

Aisyah: C.

Me: Err..in BM, everything that sound /k/ starts with k, just like kangaroo that starts with k. BM is really different from English.

Aisyah: So how do we spell kakak?

Me: K.a.k.a.k! Kakak!

Aisyah: Why there's too many k inside one word? hahahahaha, that's too many k, mama.

EPAL VS APPLE

Me: So apple is called apple too, but with slightly different spelling. E.p.a.l. Epal!

Aisyah: Only one p? hahahahaha...  the spelling is different but the sound is the same! hahahaha

PISANG VS BANANA

Me: So Banana is called pisang, ok?

Aisyah: What? Pisang? Why do they call banana pisang? How did they (come to) use 'pisang' and not banana? That is so funny. Pi - sang -hahahaha

BEAR VS BERUANG

Me: And can you guess what is bear in BM?
Aisyah: I dont know~

Me: Bear is called beruang.

Aisyah: WHAT? hahahaha..Again mama, again

Me: Beruang.

Aisyah: Be-ru- what, mama?

Me: Be -ru- wang.

Aisyah: Ahahahahahahahahahahaha. Beru one. Ahahahahaha

Ok. 

I didnt expect all the laughing to last for more than half of the lesson time. Usaha tangga kejayaan. Esok cuba lagi :P

(p/s: i found out that most immigrant mommies in canada are sharing similar difficulty in asking the kids to actually converse in native language, be it BM, Arab, Bangladesh etc. They understand but they dont really speak in their native language, thus leaving the parents talking to them in their mother-tongue and the kids replied in English. I really hope she can speak fluent BM before we come back to our homeland, though i dont think that would be such a big problem either)

Is it Spring Yet?

Winnipeg.

Its winter has always been below -25'C. And the first Christmas here in 2009, the temperature dropped to as low as -46'C and I basically had to swim to get across to my apartment because the snow storm took place during quite a long weekend. But today,

 the roads were clear from snow.

the mean temp was always above -10'C. And last saturday, it was as warm as +8'C.

The view from our backyard. Basically, no snow man for this winter. Canadian friends joke about this year 1-week-winter  - that was last december where you could get a teeny meeny snowman if you were fast enough :P I wouldnt mind though. Winter has never been my favorite :D hehe. Alhamdulillah, Im blessed :)

And Aisyah? She officially declared it

"Mama! It's spring already!"

and added, 

"My birthday is coming soon"

hmmm....

Ambil Iktibar

Tiap kali openhouse, dah tau dah lepas makan-makan sampai gumok, dan akan balik rumah kompem tengah malam, dah lewat dan dah ngantuk (read: malas), tak juga nak ambil iktibar untuk solat Isya sesiap sebelum balik rumah, padahal 6.50pm dah Isya'.

Hmmm... starlight sket kat dahi sendiri. 

Balik baru terhegeh2 bagi anak goshok gigi, dan ambil air sembahyang. Tu pun sempat lagi curi2 masa tengok internet, check email, check fb :P 

Tengah sibuk dalam hal virtual sedemikian, tiba2 Aisyah keluar dari bilik tidor sambil ketawa mengekek-ngekek, sungguh-sungguh betul dia gelak. 

"Papa told me that you are praying outside, but you are not! You are playing on the computer! You're not prayingg~ " 

Aisyah sambung gelak mengekek...

Mama tutup komputer pelan-pelan, pegi ambil sejadah ~ 

Aduh~

Ehh? 2012 dah

Ehh saya ada blog rupanya?! haha..

Actually sangat bizi menguruskan kehidupan dan bisnes. Dan saya malas nak berblog sebab ada orang yang cemburu. Haish, bukan salah diriku dilahirkan comel...nak buat macamaner..

Muahaha.

Alhamdulillah, bersyukur tak buka suara pun, orang nampak kebenarannya. What really amazed me is that, saya langsung tak sakit hati. Mungkin bak kata orang, "those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind".

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2012, cuba nak tambahkan ilmu "homeschooling". Rasa macam risau nak melepaskan Aisyah ke sekolah, tak tau "perkataan apa" yang dia akan dengar, dan perbuatan apa yang dia akan belajar.

First thing first, nak kena atur kehidupan. Seminggu demam, rumah adalah serabut dan chaos.
Kita start dengan dapur :P Seminggu demam, main letak jer barang dekat area2 yang tercapai dek akal (dan tangan)

Fridge, tahan seminggu jer bersusun. Pastu seminggu serabut.
Minggu berikutnya susun balik.
Serabut balik.
Susun balik.
.
.
Kerja surirumah adalah infinite loop.

Aisyah's World

I love listening to Aisyah's fairytale stories. There were times when she was the superhero saving the world, while at some other time she was the princess riding a white pony. Paling tak tahan bila dia dah start ballet dance siap pejam-pejam mata :) Oh, sometimes she made up a few jokes too. Her 'knock, knock jokes' was far from funny, but I do love to listen to them again and again.

The ABC game
Me: So Aisyah, give me something that start with the letter A.
Aisyah: A? Apple!
Me: Good job. What else start with the letter A?
Aisyah: Mmmm..mmmm... Aisyah?
Me: Yup. Very good. What else?
Aisyah: Mmmm...mmmm...mmm
Me: What else start with the letter A?
Aisyah: Mmm...A... Adora, Amandi, Asabun, Ashampoo.....

Grrr...

Me: Now, tell me what starts with the letter B?
Aisyah: B!
Me: Yes, B.
Aisyah: B!
Me: Yes B. What starts with the letter B?
Aisyah: B! It's B, mama, B! Buzzzzzz~ Buzzzz~ Buzzzzzzz~ Like that. Buzz~ It's bee.
Me: Owh (I thought she said B, but she was referring to bee :P)

Me: What else start with B?
Aisyah: Bacuum? Bandi?
Me: Hehe... (She's been using bacuum instead of vacuum and bandi instead of mandi since she was much younger..hehe, salah ajaran nih :P)

Aisyah and Papa
Papa was tearing the cellophane tape with his teeth, and he wasnt aware of the pair of keen eyes have been watching him at work.

Aisyah: Papa, dont eat it (cellophane tape). It's not tasty!
Papa: (Surprised) Hehe, ok ok. Sorry Aisyah. Hehe~
Aisyah: No papa, no laughing, papa. It's not funny!
Papa: ...

Speechless terus :P

Just what would I do without her~

Hikayat Telur Masak Sambal

Alkisah beberapa lama selepas kahwin, mr Z request untuk makan telur sambal yang sedap, macam maknya masak..Ehehe, telur sambal tuh ok lagi.. yang sedap tuh yang tak tahan.. macam maknya masak pulak tuh..Isk isk

Eksperimen pertama:
So goreng2 la telur, tumis bawang besar, tumis sambal, bubuh sos tiram and sos kicap sikit... sedap~ ala-ala telur sweet sour mak (nih belum dapat pengesahan lagi, tapi sendiri perasan :P)

Bila kasi Mr Z, komen beliau,
"ini bukan sambal telur nih. Ini lain."

Eksperimen kedua:
Ni pun dibuat sebab permintaan boss besaq. Rebus telur. Pastu goreng-goreng sikit telur tuh. Kemudian tumis-tumis bawang besaq, putih etc, masukkan telur.

Bila kasi mr Z, komen beliau,
"ini bukan sambal telur pecah. Mak abang buat sambal telur tuh dia pecahkan, bukan rebus"

Eksperimen ketiga:
Atas permintaan mr Z lagi, harap lerrr nak buat sendiri setelah di"condemned" sedemikian rupa :P Kali nih tumis2 bawang, tumis sambal pekat2 ala2 sambal ikan bilis, biar wangiii~ pecahkan telur...

Bila kasi mr Z, komen beliau,
" Telur mak abang buat tuh memang pecah, tapi tak sebiji -sebiji macam nih. Kira macam pecah la..."

Eksperimen keempat belas:
Buat lagi nih, gigih sungguh isteri mithali nih. Kali nih buat tak pecah sebiji2, tapi kacau2 sikit sambil tumis sambal tuh.. wah~ kali nih ok kut. Bau dah sedap :P

Bila kasi mr Z, komen beliau,
"Hmmm, pecah sangat nih. Kuah kering sangat nih."

Eksperimen keduaratuslapanpuluhlima:
Cili blender dengan bawang besar 0.33 biji + bawang putih 1.5 biji + belacan + cili sesedap rasa macam biasa. Tumis2 bawang, tumis cili naik bau, tambah air sikit, masuk garam gula, air asam skettt~ dah ok semua rasa, masuk telur, tunggu kejap, kacau2... Taraaa~

Bila kasi mr Z, komen beliau,
"Hah, sayang masak sedap. Tatau nak puji macamana..."

Owh Tuhan, kena sujud syukur nih..Setelah 13 tahun kahwin, baru dapat resipi rahsia sambal telur air tangan mak mentua..

Kalau nak tau kenapa sampai 13 tahun baru dapat resipi rahsia nih,

1. Saya ngaku saya tak pandai dan tak pernah memasak, sampai lepas Aisyah lahir jer baru giat memasak

2. Saya tak pernah merasa sambal telur mak mentua saya, jadinya macamana nak imagine rasanya, rupa bentuk pun tak pernah tengok... kira blind shot ler ni. Arwah mak mentua saya dah lama meninggal. Alfatihah.. Mana nak cari resipi kan? Tapi kiniii

"Mak, cheq dah pandai masak sambal telur yang Mr Z suka.." *sob *sob

Nak tengok ker rupa sambal telur hikmat tuh? Agak ugly, macam biasa presentation out terus, tapi yang penting rasa dah jadikk~ yesss! yesss!

The long lost recipe of sambal telur mentua

First Day of Play School

When she was around 2 years old plus, she recognized all the alphabets and numbers up to 10 already- just like most of the kids around her age. But it seemed to me that she wanted more than that. So when she started counting up to 20 and knew colors just with a one time lesson, I was quite amazed. What struck me as a surprise was, at that time, when she wanted to count more, what she did was counting using ABC after the 10. For instance, when she said that there were around "V" stars in the picture, what she actually mean was that there were actually 32 stars there, 10 + 22 (V is the 22nd alphabet in ABC, right?)

She also knew the shapes, music instruments that I read for her only for one time, "oval", "cone", "curve" in addition to the basic shapes of triangle, circle etc, and "tuba", "clarinet" "xylophone" in addition to "drum", "guitar" etc..And she corrected me that the "alligator" in the TV was actually a "cayman", and the vegetable that I forgot the name- was actually the "snow pea". I guess just like any other moms in the world, sometimes, your kid can really surprised you that you thought for once that she/he is a gifted child or something..hehe :P

At around this age, it seemed that they absorbed more than what we thought was enough for them. Naturally, Aisyah and me were both thrilled with the idea of sending her to school. Anak cik F pun lagi terer, dah tau Alif hingga Ya, siap mengajar "makhraj" yang betul kat Aisyah and Aunty Z nih, kehehe. Comel. So kitorang daftarkan diorang di playschool dekat-dekat sini juga. :)

Teacher was asking about Ayyan
Teacher: How old is he?
Cik F: 5 months
(Interupted by Sufia, cik F's daughter)
Sufia: Afia 3 years old.
Teacher: Oh so you are 3 years old.
Aisyah: (Quietly raised two of her fingers) Two


Heh, perasan muda :P

Ayyan slept half day at school. Adoii, hari pertama kat sekolah pun tido ker?

Muka budak baru bangun. Tak sedar pun orang amik gambar nih.

Gambar di atas hasil kija Aisyah n Aunty Fida nyer..ehehe. Gambar kerja tangan Sufia and Aunty Z lupa amik pulak.. Issk.

By the way, this is Aisyah's artwork at home, after school. I thought I was seeing two guys dancing - but hey, i was just being as imaginative as I could. Or maybe it was just the Martians! :P

Aisyah Rifqah and Ayyan Fateh

Sibuknya, cuma sekarang Ayyan dah makin lama sikit tidur, bolehlah update blog. jalan2 blog orang. Kalau tak, jangan harap lerr nak sempat bernafas.

Perkembangan Ayyan

- Dah boleh meniarap dan mengesot
- Kalau kejar kereta control bukan main bersungguh
- Suka senyum. Character agak "cool"
- Sayang "menyayangi" mama, pantang mama bangun lebih 10saat mesti nangis
- Meghap, meghap

Perkembangan Aisyah

- ABC ok
- 123 sampai fifty, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55..pastu tiba-tiba 100 terus kau
- Eja "Aisyah" dan "Ayyan" (hehe, sambil tengok bantal bantalkabu :D)
- Meghap, meghap, pantang mama bangun mesti ikut tepi kaki...issk


Kakak Aisyah dan Adik Ayyan

- She loves him, he loves her
- She always forgives him for everything that he did to her, "tarik rambut" "cakar tangan", because she said "Adik so small~ll, so cute" :P
- She always knows what he wants every time he cries

"Mama, baby's scared!"
"Mama, baby want susu!"
"Mama, baby dont want to mandi. Baby want to sleep!"
"Adikkkkk!!! Dont cry adik. Im comingggg. Im Doctor Aisyahhhh"

Yeah, right. 

- Kakak bersungguh-sungguh buat lawak untuk adik
- Adik bersungguh-sungguh gelak walaupun tak lawak

Sempat ambil rekod sedikit sedutan "lawak pagi Isnin, sebelum mandi"

There might come some times when you both would disagree on certain things. And when that time came, I just want you to remember, how different you both were once. Yet, you are so in love with each other. Dont you think you were so happy together?

Aisyah Rifqah (3 years 5 months)
Ayyan Fateh (5 months)

Bottle Tooth Decay

Pernah dengar istilah kat atas? Lebih kurang - kerosakan gigi disebabkan oleh penggunaan botol susu ketika tidor.. saya tengah berjuang sorang-sorang nak stopkan penggunaan botol susu aisyah waktu tidor.. memang penat, bila mr z asik buat de ja vu and the process has to be restarted all over again.

To Mr Z, biarla dia nangis sikit meraung banyak pun, buat tak tau aja, your sweetheart darling sugarpie pretty daughter's permanent teeth will soon grow, if we dont stop her using bedtime bottle, your beautiful lovely most beloved graceful pumpkin sugar plum daughter will grow up to be called jongang takder gigi (<--bahasa lembut sket) .. nanti orang buat drama bersiri pula...ganti halimah jongang..huhu~ tak bermenantu awak nanti :P

Bila google toddler tooth decay treatment etc, result asik keluar kena surgery la, crown la, implant la..tension. No wonder saya nampak beberapa orang budak umur 8,9 tahun dah pakai gigi besi. Pastu try pulak google "rawatan gigi susu rosak" ...haa, kan ada yang lojik sket. Mat saleh nih semua benda nak surgery, even lump yang jadi waktu breastfeeding pun dia suggest surgery..sungguh ngeri

But finally jumpa jugak artikel pasal gigi susu nih:
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Source: here
Baby tooth-->

Permanent tooth -->

Try to wean your child from a bottle as early as is practical. Nursing bottle decay is common, and your children need their baby molar teeth for about 10 years. Breast-fed babies also can get nursing bottle decay if, as toddlers, they consistently fall asleep at the breast with milk in their mouths.

And from another site (forgot the link) : Tooth decay are contagious.

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Sites dalam bahasa melayu lebih banyak yang memberikan jawapan tanpa perlu surgery, contohnya sini yang menyatakan bahawa gigi susu akan eventually tanggal, tapi tak perlu dicabut melainkan goyang kerana gigi susu tuh umpama reserve spots untuk gigi kekal. Jika dicabut awal sangat,akan memberi kesan kepada struktur gigi kekal.

Tapi gigi susu perlu dijaga terutamanya gigi geraham. Gigi geraham susu (baby molar teeth) penting at least sehingga umur 10 tahun, dan cavities gigi mempunyai tendency untuk berjangkit ke gigi lain.

Ganbatte, mama! aisyah, korekara no neru toki no miruku wa mou issai yurusenaindakara ne :P papa no gokyiouroku mo onegai itashimasu..tte iuka, gokyouroku shite yo!

No TV Week

Needless to say, watching TV has the pros and cons. But excessive TV time wont do any good... regardless how ever you try to justify it. Aisyah watched way too much cartoons that the rest of the things, our words and her play time, ceases to exist. I felt ashamed and frustrated with myself, I had been a mother to two just recently, but already a horrible failure.

I remember when we were little. Unlike "todays'" kids whom parents allowed them to go for late night outing, my parents made us follow the first rule of playing outdoor - which was to be at home before the dawn. Menggeletar kaki tangan kalau tengah balik rumah, on the way tuh, tiba-tiba azan maghrib. The mildest punishment would be no TV time and late dinner, and late dinner implied the best part of the fish were taken and fried chickens would all be long gone. Owh, just that u know, I have 3 little, selfish, carefree brothers..ngehehe. Of course they were :P

During those days, to be able to get hold of the TV remote controller were such a big reward for us. I mean, father would always have the last word of what to watch, how loud (or how very, extremely slow) the volume would be. We were made to watch the prime news together. And whatever that come after that.. Huhu~ not that we had much choice back then..Owh, there were also another news at 10pm back then... :((

Until one fine night,the moon might have shone directly to my father's heart. After the prime news ended, he gave us the remote controller. "Watch whatever you guys wanted to, I just want to sleep early tonight."

My heart jumped to the sky. I was excited and thrilled with the idea of having that black things with 10 buttons in my hands, well, I guess I wasnt the only one who were excited with that idea. Soon, we found out we (me and my elder sister and my brother) were pushing and shoving one another. Whoever got the remote controller would change it to their favorite tv shows. So 5 seconds it was on my fav tv shows, the next it was some kungfu fighting- the choice of my younger brother, while few seconds later, my sis swiped it from his hand and change the channel to drama minggu ini. Drop it? No way... At that time, for the three of us, it was a between-life-and-death battle. And the fight escalated to calling one another names, and went further to pillow fighting and hair pulling :P No, I musnt give up. If I must, Id fight to my death, said a 9years old me.

What happened next was like a dream....
...
...
....
My father grabbed the silly box and threw it over the window, with a stunning loud thud sound.

..
..
And he went to sleep, so did us. No one EVER say anything anymore.
..
..
After sometimes, we got over the tragic death of the tv. Without we even realized it, life without that silly box has been a bless in disguise - if i can say that. I managed to go to school without praying that the teachers wont collect our homework or that classes would be canceled, because the three of us would spend the night together doing our homework. While there's always something to talk about every night. I found myself came back from school eager than ever to discuss the new things that I learned at school, and was excited to hear about my sis' or my brother's stories as well. The bond between the siblings grew stronger, and most importantly, all of us did better, if not well, in our exams :P

So after I found out that Aisyah has been turning deaf ears to my words, refused to taking bath or sleep at night or even weekend outings, just because she wanted to watch TV, I guess it is time to limit her fav tv time, and spend more time with her, whether or not we have anything to do at all.

Started from today...let's see how well it will go :)

Ayyan at 2 Months

Huh, tiap2 bulan nak update pasal ayyan fateh, obsessssss... kata orang jepun, "oyabaka".

At 2 months,
- Ayyan tak banyak nangis, tak kena colic cam kakaknya, Alhamdulillah
- Suka senyum. Dalam tidor suka gelak mengekek2 kalau dipangku
- Selalu kalau merengek tuh bersebab. Check diapers or nak susu, etc. Aisyah dulu, dah habis mamanya, mak tok n tok wan gilir2 dok cari sebab nangis tanpa punca... dah memang hobi dia nangis rupanya. 
- Ayyan suka benor borak2
- Kalau orang buat tak tau mesti dia panggil sampai orang pandang
- Kadang2 dia nangis kalau mamanya bizi, dia panggil "mama" , saya tau most kids do that "sounds-like-mama" thingy but I cant help it...saya obsessed :P
- Minggu lepas dah 7,8 kali dia cuba meniarap. Biar betul budak nih. Sabar yer, lagi 2,3 bulan sila meniarap sungguh2.
- Actually dah 2 kali dia dah meniarap (kitorang tak nampak)..huhu~ masuk semalam dah 3 kali.. tak boleh jadi nih.. bahaya betul
- Kaki, tangan dan tengkuk beliau agak well-built. Mama tak risau sangat nak pegang. Badannya agak besar. Arini nak pegi monthly check-up nak tengok berapa kg

Kata sorang kawan kat sini, "Your kids are big, not like you and your husband"..
Hehe, itu namanya pujian dalam kutukan...ahaha, takder tak marah. Saya memang Hobbit sikit. Untuk menyedapkan hati, saya anggap hobbit equals to awet muda...dan..shh, jangan komen ayat nih.

Our family doc cakap, "Your baby is healthy. Hes big, in fact, hes bigger than you, mom "
tiap-tiap kali jumpa. Masuk nih dah 4 kali jumpa, dan dah 4 kali dia sebut. Aminnn. Memang anak-anak mama harapnya besar dari mama, tapi, haish, moga2 dalam appointment arini dia tak sebut lagi... Ngehehe.

Apa yang saya nak buat from now on:
- Dah lama tak study, nak sambung semula study, otak kiri dah stalling
- Diri sendiri dah terabai, asyik pentingkan orang lain, mulai harinih, I want back my life. And regain those 4 years that I lost. Owh, ia tiada kaitan dengan orang lain, ini cuma ayat terhadap diri sendiri..
- Spend dengan anak-anak, buat activities at home semula. Badan dah sihat... sakit belakang jer yang tak hilang-hilang :((
- Bisnes semula
- ...as if my happiness depend solely on these two little persons

 Aisyah cuba tiru gaya adik startle n terkodek-kodek kaki

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This is Ayyan Fateh homevid on How to Babble

Tengah cakap elok2, tiba-tiba papa bangun, terus si Ayyan macam sedih dan start merengek nak nangis. Masya-Allah, tengok balik video nih, baru tersedar. Bayi umur 2 bulan pun dah faham perasaan sedih.

This is Ayyan Fateh homevid on How Not to Turn Over..

Cubaan meniarap yang tak jadi.

And then, this is Aisyahs video on How Not to Skipping Ordinarily

Cubaan melompat yang pelik sekali

Haih, macam-macam...

An Incidental Birthday Cake

I had this delicious carrot cake when I was in the St Boniface Hospital, and was planning to make one but had always ended up with some lame excuses such as..you know, the kids were being difficult, some of the ingredients were not available, the time...blablabla. But I went crazy when I saw in datin K's blog the cake she made for her family that sure look as delicious as, if not more than, the one that I had after the delivery. I want! I want!

So there you go, I made one. I can assure you it was as yummy and healthy as well :) As I was layering the frosting, my not-so-little anymore Aisyah came in:


Aisyah: Wow. I want to blow! I want to blow!
Me: What? Blow? Why do you want to blow?
Aisyah: It's a birthday cake.
Me: Ic

I decided to give my cake a pretty topper by adding some sprinkles. Alas, that was all I could think of :P As I was sprinkling the tiny stuff, she interrupted again

Aisyah: Is that mine?
Me: Err...yup!
Aisyah: Wow. We need more of this (referring to the sprinkles)

Amboi! So you want me to add more sprinkles because it was "your cake"? hmm...
Sian, birthday tahun nih mama gave birth to her brother so I was totally worn out..and both mr z and I have decided not to make candle-blowing-cake as our family custom, so we gave her some toys etc without the cake, but I guess she figured it out by herself.

So here's our incidental birthday cake,

Comot kek mama, but we liked it very much that I made it again today..ngehehe.
3 strawberries to mark 3 years..err, didnt plan on that either. Happy very belated birthday, Aisyah :)

Baby Carrot

Well, Aisyah refused to be called 'baby'. For her, "Baby" is a special word meant for her little brother..

Mr Z: Ni baby papa jugak kan?
Aisyah: (Snapped) No! This is Aisyah, this is no baby. That is baby. (pointing her finger at her little brother)

At the other time, she saw this scene where the cartoon characters were using carrots as the swords. So that's what she wanted to do so, and she asked for some carrots.

Mr Z: We dont have carrots anymore. But we have baby carrot. I'll give you baby carrot.
Aisyah: Haa?
Mr Z: This is baby carrot
Aisyah: Baby???!
Mr Z: Yeah, this is baby carrot.
Aisyah: Baby? Noooo. This is no baby! That is baby (again pointing out Ayyan)

And last night,
Aisyah: Mama, can I have baby carrot?
Mama: Ok.
I gave her one.She ran to her baby brother.
 Aisyah: Baby,  Baby~yy. This is baby's carrot. 

And she tried to 'feed' him the baby carrot.. :P

Ok, so she had mistaken "baby carrot" for "baby's carrot"...

I had a pleasant surprise one day when I found out that ->

She rocked the cradle and even sang for him. Guess what, she placed her favorite "baby tiger" in his cradle for him to cuddle and managed to get him to sleep, for the first time. I am amazed. In this case, she is totally the opposite of me. Coz she took care of her brother quite well, I must say. :P

So far so good. Alhamdulillah
Hari nih dah 44 hari, yeay!! 

Ayyan Fateh

Aisyah took this picture :P

The Little Brother

I tried to prepare Aisyah for the arrival of her new sibling in every possible ways that I could think of (to stagger some time for her to be ready for the possible changes) but was consistently frustrated by her passive response. She did not bother to show even the slightest interest on the soon to come baby. She even poked my tummy while I was telling her that she would have a baby brother soon, and that was when I decided that I should expect some sibling rivalry and her being extra crabby and demanding!

 It was not until in the final weeks of my pregnancy that out of the blue, she pointed out to my tummy saying "adik baby" and then called herself "kakak Aisyah".. :)

She first met her baby brother the day after the delivery. At that  time, the nurse was positioning him on her lap, trying to get him to burp. She was really amused by that and giggled happily ':) And there you go, she fell in love with him from the very first moment she laid her eyes on him.. She found him to be "very cute" and "very small". She call him "beautiful baby".

She has her own way of showing her role and love :)..


Well, when cik F's two and half years old daughter, Sufiya was approaching the cradle, Aisyah stopped her and said "No! Don't touch".. After Sufiya's second relentless attempt to approach the baby cradle, Aisyah seemed to allow her to do so, but with a strict and loud warning, "Be Careful!" Both cik F and me was laughing hard at her showing her being big sister. The other time, when another young visitor, cik Azie's one year old daughter went to the same cradle, Aisyah again stopped this "intruder" and shouted "Stop! Mine!!"

Well, she is very helpful and I find it to be rather cute sometimes. Yes i mean it - SOMETIMES...

HE'S CRYING
She heard him crying and rushed to her cradle
"Baby! I'm comiiiiiiiing baby. It's ok baby, Esyah ada.."

And then began to search for new diapers and jelly etc for her baby brother. But it was funny though when she complaint about him crying during her favorite TV shows.

"Mama. This baby is noise! This baby 'ekk, ekkk'! "

HE'S SLEEPING
"Auwww! Adik baby is sleeping. Soo cute"
And then started to scream, err, sing,
"Im a butterfly, I can fly, fly, I fly..."

And hundreds other ways of her showing her love towards her baby brother, to the extend that she wanted to bathe him and clean him..Ended up, mama kena cuci dua-dua org sekali..huhu.

 I love you both. 

(Abaikan pameran lukisan bersepah oleh kakaknya itu)

Well, she just cant resist the temptation to touch n tickle his tiny feet...even while he's sleeping. Penatnya..

But I know that everything's worth the sacrifice when I find myself spending hours looking at them..

The Gift

I havent found the strength and will to write anything in this blog yet :) Too many things happened that I was afraid if I ever to write anything here, I would only point out the few (never before happened) bad ones, and it would simply show my immaturity and weaker side of me. For things that I cannot say, I would keep it in my heart, and may Allah make it easy for me. Im still in my confinement and am trying to breath slowly one at a time. It is hard when you have to overcome every physical and mental changes almost all by yourself, but Insya-Allah nothing is impossible.

Make it easy for me, ya Allah. Give me strength and patience.

But one thing for sure, I really want to shout this out to the world :-->

Please welcome my newfound love, Ayyan Fateh.

Pic at 5 days old :)

Ayyan simply means "the gift" and the word ayyan (some people spell: ayaan) has always been associated with the meaning "the Gift from the Creator". What else can I say? :) hihi.

Am really sorry for the very late blog update (though i do update fb on daily basis :P). Terima kasih kawan-kawan semua for the du'a and well wishes.. . Gambar atas tuh spesel untuk aunty Sumayyah dan aunty Farah yang belum 'jumpa' Ayyan lagi :)

Family dah bertambah sorang..Need to reassess my daily schedule :) Gambar atas featuring Aisyah, papa and Ayyan Scoffield from Prison Break :P

Perfect Delivery

This is gonna be a very long and annoying rambling note and I didnt expect anyone to read this to the very end. Yet I've decided to jot this down so that I would never forget my experience of giving birth to my first daughter :)

My daughter's delivery is one of the few moments i would never wanted to forget. And my previous pregnancy had been a wonderful journey.  The first tiny flutter to the first hiccups, there wasnt any second that I did not cherish. The anticipation at the first few weeks to the excitement at the last minute, of delivering my little daughter into this world, really drew my heart closer to the Creator, and I felt so much blessed for being given this opportunity to feel that a life was actually developing inside my body... And for the first time in my life, I felt that being a woman was indeed very powerful :)

Yet, as if being a woman alone wasnt complicated enough, we were sometimes burdened by the abundance of choices and the lack of sympathies from the people around us. They gave us choices yet they wanted us to choose what seemed to be normal (if not perfect) for them... "Follow the tradition, stick to the norm!" They said so...

GENERAL HOSPITALS or PRIVATE HOSPITALS?
Some people told me that there it'd make no difference at all in whether u gave birth in general hospital(GH) or private health institutions. Im sorry but I beg to differ. Well, I guess they were indeed very, very lucky. Giving birth in a GH sure could save heaven lottts of money, talking about a 4-digit-expense, but I guess I wasnt that fortunate :P

I remember going to a GH at 3am when suddenly I had this strange, sudden severe backache that I couldnt lie down nor that I could sit down. I walked like a crooked witch!I felt so much pain as if someone was twisting my backbone from inside my own body! And I was spitting some blood as well :P

- An elderly nurse checked my tummy and asked a set of 20 questions. I gave my best cooperation but she just didnt have the slightest idea of what was happening.
- I asked her if this pain has anything to do with the fetal been lying transverse? But she didnt seemed to be interested to answer that..
- She 'passed' me to another young, very young doctor (intern?) who again checked my tummy and asked the similar 20 questions..
- The young lady doc again passed me to a young 'boy' (another intern?) after fail to diagnose the symptoms
- The young boy again check my tummy and again asked the similar 20 questions

Few of the questions are:
- Is the first time... blabla
- Is this your first pregnancy? 
- Is this
- How long has it...
- Do you feel any contraction ..
- Do you have this disease, this penyakit, this genetic.. blabla
- Are you on medication ...etc etc
- Did you eat...

- The similar 20 questions! Three times in a row!
- No one write down any note!
- No one seemed to bother to use/suggest the use of the ultrasound machine! (or the more conventional one)
- No expert docs were available at that time
- The asked me to be warded for "observation" , and when I asked them what was there to observe when they cant even use the ultrasound machine and no doc was available, they said that it was a normal procedure. They wanted to see if the pain would go away within 24 hrs or else, they would 'try to do' something
- Since I can "see-if-the-pain-would-go-away-within-24-hrs" by myself, I refused to be charged.
- I found out that I was suddenly in the "Hotel of California" situation, that once I checked-in, it's almost impossible for me to check out. I need to get a sign from Doc Someone (an expert) and Nurse Someone.
- I made quite a scene of not getting myself checked in (kesian, mesti si husband malu waktu tuh kan :P) and Mr Z told them that he was gonna get me checked by my doc in KL, and later got me sent to my own hometown for my delivery
- They made him promise to do that, and we found out that suddenly they could get a "dismissal" sign from the Doc Someone and Nurse Someone...
- Owh, before that, the nurse 'interviewed' me for another set of the same/similar 20 questions!

- As if that wasnt enough, one of the nurses there write down her phone number and asked me to call her, since the pain was actually caused by someone who has evil intention on me, through the witchcraft!!

YESSSS! THAT WAS WHAT I WAS LOOKING FORWARD TO HEAR WHEN I CAME FOR PREGNANCY ASSESSMENT! 

YEAH RIGHT!!!!!!

To be fair, I must say that indeed they worked really hard and gave 100% attention on me, really! Thumbs up for the all the hard work and effort!

It was just that I wished they had put a little effort in being professional as well, such as making notes so that I didnt have to answer the set of 20 questions for 4 times!
-----------------------

I came back and did my own research, and found out that my pain was most probably caused by the position of my baby :)

- There were few other occasions that made me a bit hesitated to give birth at general hospital.. One of the most "traumatizing" experience was when they couldnt find my baby's heart beat and suspected something very bad must has happened, so kept asking me when was the last time baby was moving etc.. Yeah right, I had to guide them where to put that 'ultrasound' thingy on my stomach...

- I remember telling the nurses (?) that my baby was in a transverse position but being ignored! Huhu~

I wouldnt mind delivering my baby in GH this time, because they managed to convince me of their commitment and I could see that the staffs were all very professional. I love the staff being very detail and concerned about my condition at that time. Not that Im judging and generalizing things, but let me rephrase my stand again, I dont mind delivering in GH but I was just not lucky enough at that time...that all my experiences were all kinda traumatizing. Some people seemed to have all the lucks :)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

How Long to Wait?
Well, we've waited long enough for my daughter to 'voluntarily' present herself to the world. After 8 days, we've decided that 'enough is enough' thus we went to induce the labor, but Allah has decided for us that she peeped out from her bedroom's window :P
Additional 8 days of labor might has given her unexpected benefit. She developed no jaundice at all. Alhamdulillah

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Normal Delivery or C-Section ?
Yup, another life-and-death decision to make.. I was half ready to go for normal delivery. However, despite being induced twice, I could feel no contraction, no pain and in fact, nothing happened. The baby refused to engage! Yet, the CTG was showing that she was in 'stress' (as the doc said it) , so they suspected the case of meconium and rushed me to the Operation Room right away. Yes, I was glad for the fast and correct decision they had made.. 15 minutes later, the baby was brought safely into the world. Alhamdulillah, alhamdulillah...

I know that some people might say that C-section is a very risky procedure and has a lot of side-effects whatsoever, in short, it is not an option that one should think about! Well, trust me, sometimes things werent about choice, there were more of a fate rather than of a choice:)

------------------------------------------------
Female Doctor or Not?

We booked for a female ob/gyn, Dr Zaleha back in my hometown, but since things weren't not going according to the plan, we also had to have a male surgeon and specialty male doc for anesthetic into the room as well. Well, they were a bunch of professional, I still had my aurah covered at its best :)   
=====================================================

Im glad that I didnt have any generalization over certain issues, I mean, I had never put that private medical centers are any better than the GH, or normal delivery is better than C-section, etc etc... I read somewhere from a pregnancy bookand kept reminding myself that

- Do not compare one pregnancy to another, or to others
- Do not compare your pregnancy and delivery experience to another, or to others
- Every child is different and lovely
- Every birth is unique and special
- If you have to opt for a different option compared to what the community think as "normal", just remember that every mother suffers their own problems and no one is perfect! No one is a loser :)

========================================

For me, a perfect delivery implies that you had a wonderful memory to reminisce in the future, and a healthy baby to adore,  and a calm journey throughout the pregnancy...

I had a perfect delivery for my first baby, I spent the whole time concentrating in my reading. I was as calm as if I knew I was going to die in the labor.

But this time, Ive been very tired, clumsy, hopeless, clueless, sad and busy.. Im not ready- not ready for everything. I just need some little morale support and understanding for a peace of mind, was that too much to ask for?

 The little thing that keeps me holding on :)

The second delivery would be soon. I pray hard that everything would be all right, and I wouldnt mind some little pain as long as the baby is healthy. Please pray for me my friends, as your du'a is the only thing I need now.

Re-bonding :)

I have a mile long list of what I have to do to prepare this home and ourselves for the coming baby. Wow, I never thought that being in my final weeks of pregnancy, I'd have such a great challenge to make sure everything is ready, so that the junior would feel welcomed while his papa wont feel so much burdened. Just when I thought that everything was being perfectly sorted out (or at least I'd soon) I might have forgotten someone!

Aisyah!

No! It's not that I forgot about her. But it's the fact that Mr Z is going to be temporarily in charge of entertaining her, is something that I forgot to list out. I know that Aisyah used a lot of English + Malay + her own language of Chinese/Spanish version (?), that only me could somehow tell what she was trying to say, but after I saw how Aisyah was crying her lung out to get her message conveyed to him but to no avail, I came to a realization that I need to do something about this, especially when Mr Z ended the conversation with

"Aisyah, papa minta maaf sebab papa tak ikut sangat perkembangan Aisyah. Papa busy sangat lately. Papa tak faham Aisyah cakap apa...."

Huhu~ wasnt that... err.. sad?

I'd still be with her/them all the time, but there are few occasions when I'd rely solely for him to entertain her for the few days after my due delivery, such as her bath time, reading time and "sing-a-song time"..

-------------------
Dear papa,

I'm writing this to you because I know that you love me very much but yet, you havent had that much time to spend at home..thus, Im sure youve missed out some of the fun that I have with mama. Mama asked me to write this note so that you would have no difficulty in understanding my languange and be in my little world :)

Bath Time
I really enjoy my bathing time with mama. I'd bring some toys with me to the tub depending on my mood at that time. I love making bubble and play with the jug, sometimes I will spill the water on the floor, mama would always mop the floor after that, since she didnt want anybody to complain about water leakage whatsoever. And I also enjoy "hujan-hujan" or bathing in the shower. Shampoo time can really be intimidating. Mama would shampoo my hair once in the other day.

Owh, after we're done, mama would wrap me in a towel, and I would hug her for some times and we would play some kind of games such as "guess what's the sound" game etc at that time. And papa, just to let you know, our bathing time have never been less than 15minutes.

Sing-A-Song Time
Sometimes, I love to watch my favorite cartoons/songs via youtube.Maybe I should list down some of my favorite songs, and how I refer them.


Falling Down - London Bridge is Falling Down
Spider - Incy Wincy Spider
Toopy Binoo - Toopy and Binoo(any episodes)
Princess - Toopy and Binoo episode Sing and Dance
Doll - Toopy and Binoo episode Halloween
Pumpkin -  Toopy and Binoo episode Pumpkin Party

Iyayo - Old McDonald have a farm
Ni Wa Wa - Kai Lan (Ni Wa Wa song)
Wen Wen - Rain Rain Go Away

Ok Papa? These are my most favorite songs. For the other songs, I think I say the titles quite right and you wont have any problem, I guess :D

p/s: Owh, one more thing. When I say "Stop, Kol Kom", I mean "stop, it's not that!" Mom just doesnt have any idea what language it is in...

Your one and only daughter,
~ Aisyah Rifqah ~

Dora.. Daisuki

Aisyah loves everything about Dora.. Everytime she set her eyes on benda-benda related with Dora, she would certainly fell in love with it.. So dia dah ada beberapa koleksi barangan Dora kat rumah nih, a flap-book and few other books from the tv series

 A blue t-shirt, toothbrush and tooth paste etc

Owh, the latest of her collection would be the potty

yang telah ditanggalkan satu-satu, sebab dia terlalu sayang dan cakap "gross" kalau letak sebagai potty train, dan dijadikan pelampung mandi kat tub :P

So last weekend, we went shopping around for a pair of new spring shoes for her, since she had outgrown the old ones. Papa had his eyes on a pair of leather shoes, while Aisyah went for a sandal that looked like this ->

Mr Z's choice was a pair of fuschia leather shoes from BUM kids equipment and has nothing to do with Dora, but they looked very nice indeed. Yang membuatkan Mr Z tertarik adalah lampu2 yang berkerlipan kalau kasut dipijak. While Aisyah demanded for a pair of plastic sandal that looked similar to the above picture, with Dora's pic clearly printed on them..I must say, Aisyah has a better taste than mine :P they were quite cute and would be perfect for this coming spring/summer :)

I used to let her choose her own books, toys etc when we're doing shopping, for i know very well that she is a stubborn girl, and that she remembers clearly all the stuffs that I bought from the store, or if I 'cheated' on anything. She would check them at home later, so dia akan ingat mana orange, or cheese, or corns or books yang dia nak etc.

The sandals that Aisyah picked was way~y bigger than her own feet, and yet, that was the smallest size available. So Mr Z decided to give it up, despite my warning that she would never forgive him if he did. 

So bayangkan, bila sampai kat rumah, I tried to make her forget her Dora slippers (?) dengan wagon n toys yang kitorang beli.. But until the end, she insisted for her shoes jugak.. So papa gave her the box yang ada kasut fuchsia tuh..

Dia sungguh excited. Buka kotak dengan sengih-sengih..Buka2 jer kotak...
...dia terdiam
...paused for few seconds
...telan air liur
...muka cam nak nangis
...sambil menahan sebak cakap..."No, no Dora!"
...terus tahan sebak sambil tengok kasut tuh
...pastu pandang depan dengan pandangan yang kosong dan macam menahan tangis

Huhu~ kami gelak jugak tengok mukanya..Tapi still, rasa bersalah la pulak..

Kecelaruan Bahasa

Perkembangan Aisyah..Just a few bytes untuk catatkan perkembangan Aisyah. Waktu mula-mula datang dulu, dah makin banyak dia boleh cakap dan boleh express her feeling etc. Tapi sekarang macam ada kecelaruan bahasa pulak... Nak kata kitorang tiba-tiba bercakap English dengan dia, tak jugak...tapi sebab berkawan dan tv (tree house lerr nih), maka pening nak melayan kadang-kadang tuhh

------------------------------
1. The Song

Last few days, papa bukak tingkap sebab nak tidur bertemankan cahaya bulan :P. Bulan kat sini nampak jauh lebih besar banding di Malaysia, mungkin kedudukan Canada nih kut. So kitorang pun baring-baring nak tidor, tiba-tiba si Aisyah sit up straight, pandang ke arah tingkap dan tangan kanan tunjuk straight ke arah bulan... tiba-tiba

"Twinkle-twinkle little star,
How I wonder what you are...
Up above the world so high
Like a diamond in the sky..."

dengan kuat penuh semangat patriotik sampai habis...terkedu kami yang tengah lali-lali nak tidur nih :P
--------------------

2. The Request

Kadang-kadang agak funny bila dia cakap

"Mama, can I nak nasi pleaseee?"
"Mama, can I have nak makan?"
"Can I nak play please?"

Atau kadang-kadang dia akan bawak some food yang dia dapat dari dalam kabinet,
"Mama, this one kena masak!"

------------------------

3. The Compliment
"Oh no, mama look. That one over there...sakit"
(Pointing at vacuum yang handle tak letak properly, so bila mama betulkan..)
"Very Good, mama."

Atau bila makan...
"Mmm... tasty!"
"Deliciousss...Mmmm" Sambil jilat2 mulut macam kartun
"Mmmm... yummy!! I lovve~e yummy. Thank you, mama"
------------------------

4. The Complaint

"I want nak ayam goreng! I dont want mee...No mee!"
"No way!"  

 -------------------
(Sniffing)

"Oww..mama. That one stinky (tutup hidung).. Euww...gross!"
 (kalau dia buat macam tuh kat tong sampah yang tengah tunggu diangkut keluar tu ok la, tapi kadang2 dia buat kat makanan seperti air sirap cincau..sebab nampak hitam-hitam kat dalam tuh.

-----------------------

5. The Refusal


"Mama! I dont want no gosok gigi! No! I dont want! Don't touch! Oh no! Oh no! Oh HELPPP"

-----------------

Aisyah, mama will always love you :) Hope that you do, too

Aisyah Sleepy?

We went for some shopping with cik F and her cute little girl the other day. To wake Aisyah's sleepyhead and encourage her to wear her jacket etc, i promised her that im gonna buy her some 'buku book'.. Turn out Sobeys (and few other stores that we went to that day) didnt have a section for toys and books for the kids..

So predictably, she kept reminding me of 'that' unfulfilled promise these few days.. even when we went to the bridal shower last time or simply watching tv at home. So yesterday, I took the opportunity to take her out. It was just another perfect day for some walk. Knowing her nature of enjoying her sleep in the stroller in every outing, I knew that I took some real risk by taking her on her feet. Huhu~

'We' were singing all the way there. She was just happy and happy to get some 'buku book' while I was looking forward to grab some nice drapes or cute cardigans for this coming spring.. So when we got there, she was just excited and started to choose few books. The good thing about letting her make her own choice is that she will only take one thing at a time.

When she finally made up her mind and took a book on Dora party's planner, I put her in that shopping cart. So I guessed it was my turn for some spring spree.. Just few minutes in the cart,

Me: "Are you sleepy, Aisyah?"
She: "No! Aisyah no sleepy!" She snapped.

Yeahh, wriggghtttttttt!!!

Now, how am I going to take her home without her precious stroller?...I am a genius! huhu~


I lugged her off the cart, still sleeping.. Owh, she was crying a bit.. Pujuk juga lagi dan lagi. When she was ok, I put on her jacket and we dashed out from the store without buying a single thing..just in case I have to carry her afterward...
Nasib baik dia dah ok, and started to sing again all the way home... Fuhh~
So we stopped by another shop on the way home to get her a 'buku book' because she would never keep me at ease if i forgot to buy her one, again..

Aisyah oh Aisyah...

p/s: Banyak branded names bags tengah offer, 50% off... Sesetengah tuh takder jual kat Malaysia. Nak kena beli nih.. Owh, tarik nafasss...