Abang and Adik are angels of Encik Kamil and Cik Puan Kamil.

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Karangan

“I am going to give you some work today…” said I as I wake them up yesterday morning.

Adik groaned. “I know what you are going to give us. Karangan….”

Mummy smiled with raised eyebrows.

“Mummy…. Please… Can you give us something else to do ?”

I looked at her, waiting for her to continue.

“Suruh saya exercise ke… buat pilates…”

Ha ha….

“Or…. Suruh saya tolong Bibik masak ke…..”

Kah kah….

“Lepas tu baru buat karangan….”

Then... “No ! No ! No karangan…. Just anything else. Just not karangan…Asyik bagi karangan je kerjanya….”

Ha ha ! You are so cute !

But then I am me and she still had to do her karangan. I don’t know about you, but my kids generated a funny one this time.



This is Adik's.



This is Abang's.
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Both were riddled with mistakes of course but I just find them so funny. Especially Abang's 'he looked like Wolverine...."
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"Not Wolverine Abang. He is actually Iron Man..."
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Umar didn't look convinced.
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Then Adik's 'Sherlock Holmes explaint (spelling, Adik !) what Blackwood did all this time...'
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My kids wrote in pencil but somehow the scanner couldn't pick it up so I traced whole of Adik's with black ink. Abang's was a tad too long so I gave up.. Ha ha.. Hope you guys can read it...
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Sorry, pening sikit baca Adik punya...
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Oh yeah, click on the picture if you want to make it bigger for easy reading. No need to squint, now.

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Peringatan : Mulut budak2 tak de filter

I was sitting with my kids and a few others 2 weeks ago when Abang gave this speech.

“My mother is a good cook. She makes cookies all the time.. Aaannndd…. Her meatloaf is really good. She also cooks this chicken lah… that I like very much. The chicken kan when you cut it keluar cheese… so yummy ! She is really good kan people always like to order from her.She actually has two jobs. She is an engineer and a cook !”

“Aunty, you make cookies ?” Asked one little girl.

Segan lak aku… Apa ntah Abang ni. But I smiled anyway and nodded my head. “They are very, very good….” He said.

“Ye ke ?” And because her face is so eager, I offered to give her some.

She smiled gratefully then said, “My mother when she is at home, she sleeps a lot. And my father plays PSP and sleeps a lot too !”

To say I was shocked satu hal, aku tension jugak. Sebab kalau Abang boleh cerita yang baik-baik, what is stopping him from cerita yang ntah apa-apa jugak, macam that girl ? Budak-budak namanya, mana depa tahu mana kena simpan mana boleh cerita ?

I cannot imagine if one day Abang bukak mulut to say, “Semalam kan Mak saya dengan Babah saya gaduh kan…..”

WAAAAA !
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Actually, there is nothing wrong with sleeping. Why not ? We are tired from work, work can be draining. I don't know why I was embarrassed when I heard that. Anyway, just to test the market, I related the story to my mom. Her reaction is, "Kesian budak-budak tu... Takde attention dari mak bapak....."
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Errr.... ye ke ? Takkan lah maknya tidur setiap masa kat rumah.
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Bagitau another friend, she said, "Ya Allah.. malasnya...."
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Really ? I didn't say how long she was asleep. Ntah-ntah 10 minit.
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I have not taken this subject to a male friend, I wonder what a man would think.
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Whatever it is the fact remains that I was embarrassed to hear that the parents sleep a lot and women generally find it very lacking also. Although seriously I do not know why I was felt that way.


Hmmm.........

But whatever it is, kids have no social training when it comes to divulging personal information. So in order for people not to judge you, please mind yourselves at home ?

That doesn't sound right.

Besides, why should we judge ?

Confius teman...

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Happy birthday, Adik

Adik’s birthday was last Tuesday. Sorry… mak ni pergi Jakarta. Abah took her out for dinner and Mummy bought loads of chocolates and she was happy.

Where Abang was unexpected, Adik was very much planned. One day I felt so nauseous and I knew that I have one life inside me. Doctor confirmed it and Mummy and Babah was ecstatic. Abang was 3 and had just started talking.

Mummy and Babah tak sabar-sabar nak tahu if I was carrying a girl, and when Dr Rachagan confirmed it we beamed at each other as if she was the first girl to be born ever !

My baby girl was 10 days early. Ha ha… At that time, Mummy, Babah and Abang moved back to PIL's house because takut Mummy kena pegi hospital malam-malam and nowhere to put Abang. On the 14th of December we came home to get clothes and found the house was burgled. Typical.

Due to stress I think, Mummy was hospitalized that very afternoon because again, I had a ‘show’. Babah was upset because he was at the house with the griller so Aunty Su and Uncle Hood sent Mummy to SJMC. Mummy was put up in the labour room overnight and the next day was ready to push. The nurses and doctor kept warning Mummy not to as she was not fully dilated yet but she just had to because her little girl was eager to get out. And out she came, screaming like mad and Mummy’s world was complete.


Akhirnya the Doctor presented with this cheeky one. Sama je macam abang dia, teruih bukak mata, sibuk nak tengok keliling.




Mummy asked for an early discharge because Abang was distressed having to leave his Mummy alone in the hospital. We went home the very next day, ready to be a family, the four of us. But we went right back in the hospital 3 days after that because she was jaundiced. It was different in Malaysia where they kept the baby in the nursery. In England, Abang was with me the whole time, only leaving me for an hour to get his medication but here, Mummy was left alone and was called once in a while to feed her baby. Or maybe because she needed to be under the purple lights. Ha ha…

Adik hated her crib. She would fall sleep in it sure but every night she would start wailing and I have to take her and put her on my shoulder. Only then she would sleep. She didn’t want Babah’s shoulder you know, it was Mummy’s that she most coveted.

She was a happy baby. A cheeky one. I remember once Abang and I couldn’t have proper meals because she refused to be left alone. Didn’t sleep the whole day either so Mummy had to feed her son toasts and cereal.

How Abang loved his sister. He would be on tippy-toes looking at his sister in the crib and would be the first one to check on her if she so much whimpered. Tapi sekejap je. Bila dia dah biasa, dia buat tak pedulik aje…


Can you guys just look at that cheeky and very naughty smile ? I wonder if I had expected her to be this cheeky and naughty then.



Adik too loves her brother. Most of her cheeky smiles were reserved for him and many times I saw them playing together while she was on her bouncer. Ada aje barang yang abang nak tunjuk. Abang main cak-cak, geletek-geletek dia and he would call me to look at his laughing sister, face all proud and happy. He calls her Titi for some reason and so it stuck.


Look at that face, sort of saying "Hang jaga na... Kuchi kuchi ngan aku konon.. Hang tunggu aku dapat kaki, dapat mulut...." Her brother marah dia kelmarin because he was trying to correct her sentence but she refused to listen. Dok ulang je benda yang salah. Last-last abang fed-up and started howling.. Drama kan anak-anak aku ni... ? And then you know what she said ? "Abang, this is my mouth and I can do whatever I like with it ... Okay ?"


Ha ha..



From the very beginning I noticed that sometimes, Adik looked like her Atuk, Kamil’s Dad. Not the face, more like the way her eyes looked at certain times. And I had always felt so troubled by it, not because I do not want her to look like her Atuk, but because the eyes looked melancholic. Macam sayu dan sedih. At times, I would look at Abah and wondered whether he wears the same sad look, tapi macam tak de… It is funny on my part lah but that is the reason why when people talked about muka dia ikut belah mana, I would always answer “Abah..”, to be received with frowns and odd looks, especially from Kamil's family.


This is best Atuk look I could find. I dunno why I thought so




I was very enamoured with my little girl, as all mothers are wont to feel of course, which is why the I felt so troubled when I had to go back to work. With Abang, I was a student so my schedule wasn’t tight. I get to see Abang grow. But with Adik, I had to leave her from 7 am to 7 pm (or worst kalau jam gila2 punya kat KL, 8 or 9). And the amount of traveling I had to do didn’t help. That was when I vowed to look for a job that doesn’t require much traveling.

Mummy did, but when Adik was about 10 months old, Mummy was sent to Geneva for a convention, then to Vienna. So much for a new job. It was the worst trip of her life because she kept missing her baby. She remembers singing Babah’s stupid song for his babies in the shower, missing her little girl.

I am now living in this lovely place where she thinks I am her everything. When she looked at gambar kawin Mummy and Babah, she said, “Ini Babah ke ? Eeee… tak handsomenya…. Tapi pulak Mummy cantiklah, ada flowers-flowers ni…..” He he… Tensen Babahnya. As soon as I get home, there will be a shadow following me around, talking non-stop and never failing to make me laugh.

Sometimes Mummy feels guilty bila dia ajak main Wii and Mummy pulak nak tengok Mark Harmon. But she would always try to entice me by blinking her eyes rapidly or making her huge eyes even bigger. Tahu aje macamana nak buat mak dia ikut cakap dia.

This morning she told me (while I was on the john no less), “Mummy... semalam… Abang kan main Game Boy atas katil….”

Then she quickly begged me to, “Pleeeease forgive himmm, Mummy ! Pleaseeee !” hands clasped together, before I had the chance to say anything.

Alahai kau ni, I wouldn’t know if you didn’t tell me you know, you Silly Milly…. So much drama from one so small !!

My darling little clown, you can really make me laugh with your cheeky remarks and yet astound me with your beauty. I would take time to just have a leisure look at you, taking in your smiles and your mannerisms and your facial expressions. You mean so much to me, sometimes I ache for you.

I love you lots, little one. And I hope that the world will smile kindly at you when you smile naughtily to it.


In her car seat. Gambaq tak clear sebab Babah tangkap guna his PDA. Camera kena curi kan, sehari sebelum dia sampai..



Babah tak leh lekang dengan anak... Dukung aje... Dah pesan banyak kali, toksah nanti dia asyik nak berdukung je... Tak nak dengar kan... Sampai sekarang dok kena dukung lagi... Nasib baik haluih...




This trip to PD was the high light of her life. Often times she would come up to me, sigh dramatically and announced, " I miss PD. Kan Mummy ? Do you miss PD ?"

If I dared to say yes, she would clasp her hands and said, "What are you waiting for ? Let's go !" Ha ha... After Langkawi, she would do the same trick but insert Langkawi where PD is....



I love her at this age... About 2 years old probably... Sangat naughty, sangat cheeky.. And so gorgeous !




Whenever she is hungry, this naughty girl would climb on the very high chair and banged the table. Sometimes if she saw me cooking, dia awai2 dah tunggu tang tu... Tengok muka nakai tuh... How did she manage to climb up the chair ? She would scale the table via the dining chair then jumped in. First time I caught her doing this, rasa nak pengsan, okay.

This high chair is at MIL's place now. She still loves sitting on it..




With her beloved Abang.


Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Happy birthday Abang

Yesterday was Abang’s birthday. Dah besar anak mak…

Sigh…

Yesterday we had dinner and as I watched him reading the menu, he looked so much like he was when he was a baby.

Abang was born in winter. We had moved from our house in Nottingham to Leicester, to be nearer to the university. Tok Mi and Cik Yin arrived like 2 weeks before he did and that very day we had just bought his stroller.

It was about 3 am I think, and we were awake Babah and I because nak sahur. It was Ramadhan when I realized I got a ‘show’. Called the hospital and they advised us to come. Because the hospital is literally belakang rumah, I had just wanted to walk but Tok Mi tak bagi so we called a cab. Cabbies kat UK ada jugak yang garang-garang but luckily one agreed to take us.

Masa tu was about 6 am on the 20th of December 2000. The nurse at the ward asked Babah to go home so I was left in the maternity ward with 6 other people in the room. Then something very weird happened. A story for a different entry.

The nurses kept checking up on me and Babah and Tok Mi and Cik Yin came. Then I had to spend another night. Got a bit scared sebab takut the weird visit happened again. But it didn’t so I was happy.

Dah pagi Babah came to check up on me. The midwife came and brought me to a room. I had forgotten why actually. By then, I was a bit scared because no doctor came to see me. None at all. Just the nurses and the midwives.

Ding dong ding dong dah start rasa contractions. Baru nampak muka doctor sat. Tak rasa apa-apa sangat, though. After about an hour, I started to feel contractions, but nothing that I cannot handle. Masa nilah bersyukur I am a senggugut veteran. Rasa lebih kurang macam senggugut aje.

The midwife suggested for me to take a soak in hot water, led me to a bathroom. I felt better and didn’t really feel the contraction much. Air dah sejuk, got up, cleaned the bathtub a bit then waddled back to my bed. I was induced and my water broke. Wheeled to the delivery room where I begged for epidural. Midwife tak bagi. Too late, she said. Plus it was not in my birth plan. Itulah… gatal… Saw a nice pink and round bathtub in the delivery room and remembering how the hot water lessens the pain, asked for a water birth.

Ha ha…. Midwife took a peek and said, nope we wouldn’t have the time to wait for the tub to fill. A different doctor came to jenguk. “Aaahh…. I can see loads of hair…” She smiled at me. Then she told the midwife, “Please call me when she delivered… I have to see this baby…..” and left. A bit panicked sebab kat Malaysia I was attended by a doctor, kat sini midwife aje ? Sorang pulak tu.

I pushed twice and he was out. My little boy. I was so lega, and happy and tak sabar nak tengok dia. Babah cut the cord, and they cleaned him up. “He is gorgeous….” The lady doctor said. “I love his hair !” Aku sengih aje.

And then they bundled him up and gave him to me. And he was mine. All mine. Babah dia pun cannot claim him as much as Mummy can because he came out of me. Mummy carried him for 9 months, hospitalized twice and was dizzy for 4 whole months so he is all mine.






Baru lahir... Dah masuk dalam ward. Baru terasa nak tiduq.












He was very quiet when he came into this world, even when they smacked his bottom, he let out a small cry and that was it. When I held him for the first time, his eyes were opened and were busy looking around. When he was wheeled out, he was already sucking his hand, eyes huge and very much opened, taking everything in.

We stayed in the hospital for 5 days because I had an infection and they had to put him under observation to ensure that he was not infected too. I could see snow sometimes when I looked outside and it was lovely, just me and my little guy.






His first snow. Please ignore perempuan gemuk sebelah Mak aku tu... entah siapa entah yang enter frame tu...




I remember once, when he was like 10 days old, he was lying on the mattress and I passed him by. His head followed my movement, let out a satisfied sigh and smiled. My mom who saw the incident exclaimed, “Dia nampak kau, Ala….” Ha ha… my boy.

Hati dia ni cepat tersentuh. When he was like 6 months old, we bought a crawling Minnie Mouse and when Minnie sang, dia punyalah sebek we had to send Minnie back to Argos. Sampai sekarang dia macam tu. Pantang Mummy nyanyi dia mesti sebek. Bergenang ayaq mata tu. Kalau Mummy cakap Mummy dah tua lagilah…. Mulalah kalih muka nak sorok ayaq mata…. Tak buleh nak sorok sayang, mata tu besaq sangat….



One of the things he did when he a wee lad was he loves exposing our backs for him to fondly kiss. He would just lift our top a bit then bend down to kiss our back. Kelakar sangat. The first time I put him in a baby carrier, I faced him to the crowd. Not 10 minutes of walking around Leicester City, he started whimpering, thinking that he was all alone. Tak sedar mak dia dekat belakang.

When he was like 1 month old, Tok Mi went home. During her first phone call, I put the phone to his ears so he could hear Tok Mi’s voice. His face lit up and hands were busy swimming around, all excited. Then….sebek….

And now 9 years later, he is all grown. He can’t fit on my lap anymore. Babah cannot put him to sleep on his chest anymore. Hell I can’t bounce him on my knees ages ago. I can’t even get his full attention most of the times. But sometimes, when he lowered his lids, then I can see him when he was fully mine. Or when he suddenly comes over for a hug, then he is mine.

He is going to be 10 next year, the wonder years of friendship and activities and he will forget about me sometimes. And I will lose him a bit. Takpelah…. I had like 7 whole years when he was just mine. I felt him inside me for 9 months and now I have to share, bit by bit with other people who are going to love him. His best friends, his girlfriend (no plural... 1 gilpren dah lah Um...) then ultimately his wife and children.

My baby Abang, my love, my heart and my soul, I pray for your utmost happiness, for your health and for everything to fall into places as you see fit. The world is a brighter place since you are in it.







With his Babah. Babah loves him to bits. Mandi Babah nak buat, ketip kuku sampai sekarang Babah je buleh buat. Tidur pun atas Babah... Kalau sekarang, penyeklah Babah dia.























I remember this day so well. Masa dok siapkan dia masih terjaga, dah selesai tengok2 dah tidoq. Punyalah lama nak bersiap tang winter. Angkut jugak keluaq.























Babah kejenya dukung anak aje... Tak lekang... He used to say to his baby, "Bila kita balik Malaysia, Abang ikut Babah pegi work ye... Duduk diam-diam dalam bag Babah...." Konon. La ni kalau Abang ikut, luruh rambut dia lagi kot... Kah kah !




















Babah jugak yang mandikan. Rumah kat Leicester sempit Ya Rabbi. Bath tub pun kena inflatable supaya senang simpan. Sian Abang...


























Walking at the Boboli Gardens, Florence. He could walk by the time he was 9 months old. Bercakap ? 2 setengah tahun okay...
















His favorite spot at our Leicester home, the windowsill. The window overlooked the building car park, not much but it was our only connection to the outside world. He was playing with his favourite toy, his eczema cream bottle.











Monday, December 21, 2009

Adik when watching the telly.

My little girl loves to bagi comment when she watches the telly. Dulu-dulu she gave only nice comments like “Cutenya..” or “Cantiknya…” or ‘Sedapnya….”

La ni dah pandai sakit hati. Aku perasan she really hates the Pilates teacher “Asyik-asyik suruh Mummy buat yang susah aje…….. This woman is crazy !”

And after awhile, “I really don’t like to see her smiling.. kan Um ?”

And that Adam from Man VS Food managed to upset her too. Have you seen it ? Basically Adam goes all over America to take up eating challenges. Once he ate 15 dozens oysters in like an hour or something. Or yesterday he tried to eat 8 breakfast tacos.

Before he takes up these challenges though, he would go around the town and sample their local dishes. Anyway, Adam was at a doughnut restaurant, sampling the delicious looking confections when Adik suddenly said, “Janganlah makan saja… Bayar lah dulu lepas tu bawak balik makan kat rumah lah… !”

And then, “Pastu pulak, dia ni suka aje makan macam-macam kan, Um ? Makan lah toast or biskut teh ke… Asyik makan-makan je kerjanya...”

He he….

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Adik, who else ?

“Mummy… you know what.. That day kan Adik kan took a walk in your room…”

Took a walk in my room ? Really ?

“… and she found the Game Boy !”

Aaahh… the Game Boy that was decommissioned like last year ? I seriously have forgotten where I hid it but to be found while taking a walk in my room sounded a bit suspicious. More like she kroseh my bilik.

I looked at Adik and she gave me her “Hey don’t hate me because I am cute’ grin.

‘”So… you took a walk in my room and you just stumbled upon the Game Boy ? Where was it ? Where did you find it ?”

“Errmmm…. in your pink bag ?”

Huh. Tulah dia. Took a walk konon.
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But then sebab cuti sekolah, and because the charger hilang lagi (Sorry Amir... I really don't know what happened to it. Ada orang curi agaknya....), Babah took them to Shah Alam Mall to replace the charger and BELI new game. Hmmm...

Eventhough it is the school holiday, I still wake up my children early. First for Subuh, second because early bird gets the worm thingy.

So last Monday, I hopped on their bed and started tickling them.

“Bangun ! Dah pagi dah ni…”

Abang stirred. Adik remained camatose… ha ha.

“Come one Adik, wakey wakey !”

“Why must I wake up ?” She asked, eyes still closed. “ I don’t have school ! Why are you disturbing me ?”

He he….

Bangun je lah. Banyak pulak cakap.

Wednesday, December 09, 2009

At the 7-E

Hari Jumaat, Babah cakap dia nak makan sardine ngan nasi. Mummy cakap “Wokey !” aje tapi bila check supplies, dah habis rupanya.

Oooohh…. Sungguh tak mau dengar leteran ataupun melihat lirikan mata yang tak best. Dua-dua Mummy tak suka.

So, I sneaked out to buy a tin. Abang and Adik followed of course. It wasn’t my intention to get out of the car, Abang had to do it. Apa guna anak yang dah besar panjang kan ? So along the way, I schooled Abang on what to buy.

“Sardin cap Ayam..”

“Sardin cap Ayam…. What ?”

“Sardin cap Ayam…”

“Wait… Is it sardine or is it ayam ?” Hmm… macam pernah dengar Jessica Simpson tanya aje.

“Sardin cap Ayam...”

“I don’t get it.... Which one is it ? You want both ke ? Sardin and ayam ?”

“What not to get Abang ? I want sardine cap Ayam !”

“O-kay…” he said bravely, still confused. I heard him chanting Sardin Cap Ayam over and over under his breath. He he…

* Dah lama-lama, I now get that he doesn’t know the word cap, as in brand. I should have explained. Hmmm… Mummy ni…

But alas when we got there, Al Bismi was closed. The one Sek 6 pun tutup. I didn’t know that shops in Shah Alam close on Fridays. What else to do but stopped by Ye Ol’ Faithful 7-11 ?

There were ample parking spaces available so I decided to get out myself. Luckily I checked my purse before I got out and confirmed the niggling suspicion that I do not exactly have money. “Aisehman….” came out automatically.

“What is it, Mummy ?” Asked Abang.

“Nothing… only that I don’t have money..” I answered while riffling thorugh my purse. Nasib baik teringat duit yang I selit kat tepi to pay ustaz. Pinjam sat lah na, ustaz. Thank you very much. As I got out of the car, Adik asked, “Mummy… you still want to go ? I thought you don’t have money ?”

He he… my cue to do some mischief.

“Takpelah… Kita ambik sardine and kalau takde duit, kita lari ajelah…”

Adik smiled nervously. “Mummy…. Mana boleh !” she protested with a very anxious smile.

“Boleh lah… Kita dah sampai ni… Kita ambik pastu kita larilah laju-laju… Okay ? Can you run very fast ?”

“Mummy….” Smile never faltered, the nervous edge also remained, “We cannot do that.. Mummmmyyy……” And I walked straight to the shop, my little girl running after me. Police and Allah and a hoard of other goody-goody stuffs were heard in a cute little girl’s voice. Plus loads of “Mummyyyy … Mummmyyyyy ….” He he.

Inside 7-E, Abang asked if he could have ice-cream and aku adalah sangat gembira sebab entah kenapa rasa macam nak makan ice-cream. Abangambik satu, Mummy ambik 2 and minah yang takut nar Mummy takde duit pun ambik satu. Siap mintak benda lain lagi. Tadi takut sangat. Nampak goodies dalam 7-E terus lupa.

He he… yang bestnya, when we were at the counter I think baru dia teringat Mak dia takde duit kot and I tell you her face was priceless. She looked at each item the cashier scanned with a frown and when all was done and time for me to pay up, she looked at me worriedly.

I stood stock still for awhile, saja nak bagi dia berpeluh. Pastu I slowly opened up my purse, pretending to look for cash. I really took my time and she got more worried when I failed to produce any money. He he… the problem was I forgot about the mamat 7-11 yang I think got quite berpeluh gak at that point. Remembering that, I quickly took out a 50 note with a flourish and grinned. My daughter… she exhaled, ladies and gentlemen. She exhaled. I didn’t know that she was holding her breath all the while !

HA HA !

“Mummyyyyy !!! Itu ada duit tu …” She said exclaimed.

“Ye ke ?” I asked with raised eyebrows.

“Mummy ni….” She said laughingly, and pok aku sebijik.

He he… Alhamdullilah she knows what it wrong and what is right. What a waste of my acting and story spinning if she didn't.

Monday, December 07, 2009

Pecah rahsia ku

Funny that when I was working in KL I managed to rush home and got ready for 6.15 pm aerobics class. But when I started working in Shah Alam, I just couldn’t reach the 6.15 target. Couldn’t or wouldn’t ?

Am thinking very hard how I managed it since my working hours were from 9-6 and in Shah Alam a more manageable 8.45 to 5.45. It boggles the mind.

Especially since I couldn’t manage the company’s Yoga Class every Friday. Ha ha… Itu in house tu. Nuts.

Anyway, I loved going to the aerobics class at sek 7. I went with Kamalia last time and we had fun line dancing, doing yoga and sweating our butts bersenam-robik. The aerobics classes were good as the instructor incorporated yoga and pilates in the programme.

For the past few months I have been thinking about taking it up again. However when I passed Speedy in OU hari tu, had an ephiphany, went in and picked out a pilates video. Senang kan… boleh buat kat rumah aje.

The hard part though was paying for it. Aku kan ada penyakit segan tak bertempat, so I handed it to Umar with some money. From the safe distance outside of the shop, I saw Umar talking pleasantly with the cashier. I saw them laughing and smirking and I got a bit suspicious.

“What did you guys talked about ?” I asked Umar.

“Oh.. that guy asked sapa punya video ni..” He answered, sniggering all the while. Kureng asam punya cashier.

“And … what did you say ?”

“I said it is for you because maybe you are a bit fat lah nowadays….” His smiles now turned sheepish. Memang nak kena belasah budak ni. Ngan cashier cashier tu sekali kena.

Anyway, I put it on as soon as I got home, my children crowding me, watching like a hawk. I have to tell you it wasn’t easy, okay. The first ones memanglah senang and Elsa kept saying, “Mummy pandai ikutlah. You are so clever lah , Mummy….”, and “Pandainya…..” Ha ha…

Then as the video went on, it got more and more difficult and I was making noises that wasn’t encouraging.

“Susahnya !!” I panted at one point.

“Mummy… don’t do it, Mummy. Why don’t you rest for awhile ?” Suggested Elsa.

I soldiered on.

“Oh my God !” That was from me again and Elsa went, “Mummy… susah ke ? Don’t do it then, Mummy….”

Another grunt and “I think I am going to break my back !”, Umar spoke out, “Mummy… that is enough lah. Why do you want to break your back ?”

I went down limping after that and feeling every muscle in my body. Couldn’t laugh for a week as it hurt, okay. Dan kept saying that the video must be good then if it hurts me. Hmmm….

I tried it again a week after that and once more my kids became the spectators.

“Be careful, Mummy. Please remember that you do not want to break your back…” Warned Umar. It was a bit better this time around as I already know what to expect but I still made references to my back. Because it hurts. A lot.

Kebetulan Ian came over after I finished contorting myself this way and that and when Umar saw Ian, he blurted out, “Uncle Ian, Mummy almost break her back again, today…” And termalu-malulah aku explain. Especially when Mr McQuistan asked, “Why are you doing it, Myra ?” Apo nak di jawabnya ?

Cess ! Ko ni kan semua nak cerita kat orang tau !!

Waaaaaaaa !!!

Wednesday, December 02, 2009

Elsa

Yesterday my kiddies started mengaji balik after 3 months hiatus. Bini ustaz bersalin so ustaz a bit busy. Anyway, yesterday ustaz made an apperance again and since it is the school holidays, the class started at 8 am.

When I returned home yesterday, I straight away went to the kitchen to prepare dinner. While I prepared the chicken, Elsa of course came to my side and started talking.

“Mummy… ustaz kan … tak kenal saya…”

Eh ? Macamana tu ?

“Iya… ustaz tak kenal saya ….”

I of course asked Umar who was watching the telly.

“No lah ! Dia bukan tak kenal… Dia lupa nama Titi lah, Titi ni !”

“Ye ke, Um ?” asked Elsa who went to her brother when Umar started speaking. She laughed and returned to my side.

“Oh…. Dia lupa nama Titi…..” Said I.

She nodded her head.

So.. I asked, how did he say it ?

“Dia cakap macam ni, “Awak ni siapa ?’” She answered.

Umar spoke up again. “Bukanlah.. ! Ustaz cakap, ustaz lupa nama Titi… And he asked for her name ! Apalah Titi ni ! Suka aje cakap macam tu !” He answered hotly.

Elsa who again went to her brother when he started talking, said “Ye ke, Um ? Ustaz cakap macam tu ke ?”

“Yelah !” Umar answered hotly. She gave an “Ohhh……” and returned to my side.

Before I could ask Umar what was eating him, Elsa whispered to me, “Mummy… I think Um is in a baaadd mood…” and smiled ruefully.

Aku gelak macam orang giler, sambil ketuk-ketuk ayam. I kissed her wide forehead and looked at her fondly.

You know what she said ? “Mummy don’t laugh like that. You sound evil when you laugh like that… Very evil….”

Cess !

Malam tu pulak, we went to Subang Parade sebab Dan had to buy new futsal shoes. Umar refused to come so it was just the three of us. While walking towards Cold Storage, Elsa asked her Babah, “Do you want to play the tennis game with me nanti ?” but before her Babah could answer, she said, “Tak nak !” in a masculine voice.

“Babah asyik cakap tak nak, tak nak, tak nak aje……” She said, as she walked swinging her arms happily, shaking her head so that her hair flew around her face.

Babah rolled his eyes and Mummy looked at her in wonder.

You are sooo cute !
PS : When we went to my Bab's house with my nieces last weekend, Elsa who sat in between Esya and Ana at the dining table suddenly grabbed Ana's hand and peered at it closely.
"Ana ... mana kayu yang masuk tangan Ana tu ?"
Ana pulled her hand away and shook her head. Drama minah ni.
Elsa looked at Esya for answers. "Is the kayu big, Esya ?"
Esya pondered for awhile and said, "Besar !!" Huiiisssh... exxaggeration to the max.
"Sakit tak ?" She asked Esya again.
Esya had lost interest in the conversation and just shrugged her shoulders. Elsa though knowing she wouldn't get any more information from those two, looked ahead, face berkerut-kerut.
Entah apa yang dia imagine, ntah makcik tu.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Apa benda ntah

“Mummy what is the meaning of answers and sensors ?” Asked Elsa one day.

“What ? Say it again ?”

“Answer and sensors. It’s a bad word, you know…”

Err…. Really ? Say it again, please.

“Answers and sensors… You cannot say it because it is a bad word…” He he… dia baru cakap takpa… But then answers and sensors sound innocent enough to me. Aku kot yang salah dengar. But before I could ask for a repeat, Umar interjected, “Mana ada. It is not a bad word !”

“Yes it is ! Mr Crab said so !” Laa… buang masa aku aje Mr Crab ni.

“Mr Crab is stupid Elsa. They are not bad words !!!” Kata abangnya naik hot. Apalah Umar ni, benda kecik pun nak marah.

“Yeah… but stiiilll…” Elsa answered, complete with head cocked to one side, eyebrows raised.

Comel lah ko ni…

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Ana buat gempaq

Last week I was talking to my mother on the phone when we were interrupted by a loud sobbing at Mummy’s side.

Ana was wailing and I mean howling y’all. I heard a loud “Waaaaaaaaa !” followed by “Toookkkkk !! Ayah buat shaya !!!!!”

Tok asked why and in between sobs she explained, “Ayah nak geget tangan shaya. Lepas tu Ayah nak potong tangan shaya !!!”

I who was listening to the other side got rather panicked because her cries were so loud and she sounded I don’t know… I can’t explain it. Whatever it is it was enough to make me clutched my phone tighter and almost pushed it in inside my head. Punya drama. Then I heard my brother’s voice.

Rupa-rupanya begini, ada selumbar masuk dalam jari dia so the Ayah was trying to get it out with his teeth. Itu yang dia kata Ayah nak geget dia. And then when she made so much noise, Ayah threatened to cut off her hand bagi senang.

He he….. Cara menangis macam dah kena dera tahap gaban dah lah.

Then Tok pujuk. She said, “Ana kena lah bagi buat ni kalau tak nanti malam-malam Ana tidur sakit… Nyut, nyut, nyut….ha….”

Tak jadi as she wailed louder. “Toookkkkk ! Janganlah cakap nyut, nyut, nyut !!!!”

He he…..

My kids who were with me of course demanded to know what the fuss was all about. I started of like this, “Ana kan jari dia masuk… alah sometimes macam kayu tu dekat jari dia.. She was crying like gila-gila sebab Mamu nak geget pastu nak potong tangan dia… that was what she said lah… Tapi….”, here I was interrupted by Umar.

“What ? For splinters ? Can’t Mamu use like a tweezers or something ?” Berkerut-kerut muka abang yang memang over-protective ni. “Why must he cut her hand ? Why can’t he just use tweezers ? That is a bit too much. Mamu ni kadang-kadang suka je buat benda-benda extreme….” He shook his head then looked outside the opened window, like his mind was trying to reach Ana nun jauh kat sek 8 sana.

Hai… sampai ke situ pulak dia ni. Then come Elsa’s question that managed to put a stop to my attempt to paint a more correct picture to Umar. She asked, “Mummy…..” her eyes big and worried. “How did Ana get kayu in her jari ? Kayu kan besar kan…. How Mummy ? How ?”

Sigh…. Which one to tackle first ? Which one ?

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Hari yang penuh emo..

Hari ni Umar pergi ambik hadiah. I am proud. Of course.

I think I was emotional from the very beginning when he first told me. So this morning, I woke up with a lot of feelings and emotions.

While seated and waiting for the ceremony to start, I heard the sounds of kompang. I do not know about you, but I looooovvee kompang. To me, kompang signifies grandeur, celebration, very Malay, very us, very Malaysian.

Kompang boys.


Foolishly I shed a few very, very unnecessary tears when I saw handsome boys in light blue baju Melayu, in a line, hitting their kompangs. Have I ever told you how I find my husband the sexiest when he is in baju Melayu ?

Then I saw my niece in her purple robe, ready for her graduation. I jumped out of my seat, and ran to her, giving her hugs and kisses. And aku yang memang emotional almost meraung because… well… because you know why.

Nur Aleesya.



I hugged her, and told her how proud I am with her and was just trying to make her feel the motherly pride I had. Just trying to fill in the gap her beautiful mother left.

I kept seeing Shera there. Busy pulling this, and smoothing that so I did the same. I laughed because I knew she would be laughing, and I kissed her because I knew Esya would be kissed so many, many times.

I tried my best so that my little girl wouldn’t feel the void.

I kept hearing her shouting in delight if she saw me, “Ala ! Ala ! Tengok tu Esya, Mami Ala tuh !”

I knew her too well to know what she was going to say. She is wonderful kan ? Sigh…. Best not talk about it anymore.

Anyway, so Umar went to take his certificate. He looked so handsome, my baby boy.

Waiting for his turn.


Babah and Mummy are sooo proud of you.


This picture was taken by Faiz Hakim who came for his daughter's pre-school graduation and... got the best student prize. Congrats Faiz !

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Dah makan dah ?

I have noticed that my daughter has a very loving and thoughtful nature

You know how we send our maid away on weekends. Sabtu pagi hantar, Ahad petang or malam ambik.

And everytime, everytime Elsa sees her… either as soon as she gets in the car or when we arrive home, she will ask, “Bibik dah makan ?”

Sometimes whenever I come home late, after the customary greetings, she would ask me, “Mummy dah makan ?”

She will also be concerned with her darling Abah’s tummy content, “Abah dah makan ?”

Two-three weekends ago I made kari bendi, daging masak merah (resepi dari my darling Jubei… menjadi okay, thank you) and kerabu su-un. The kids came running into the kitchen, baru balik from their class as I set the table. Elsa seeing food gave a whoop of delight and washed her hands. She climbed on the chair, did a survey of the dishes that I made and started scooping su-un onto her plate.

She stopped midway, frowned, looked at me with wide eyes and asked, “Mana ayam untuk U-um, Mummy ?” She knows her abang’s food preference. I shook my head and said there was to be no ayam on the menu that day. She then asked, “U-um nak makan apa ?” I pointed to the beef.

She looked at the food unconvincingly. Then she turned her head and said to her brother, “Um ! Um boleh tak makan beef ? You like beef right ?” She shifted her eyes to me and asked, “Does U-um like beef ?” (She, my little girl likes to ask me, “Do I like that ?” whenever she sees something unfamiliar or new on her plate… he he….). I shrugged.

“Um ! You will like this beef Um. It is yummy ! Come ! Let’s eat…” What a thoughtful little girl I have, making sure that everybody has something they like to eat.

Last week I made chicken chop for dinner, to be accompanied by creamy mashed potatoes and corn kernels. Elsa of course had to set the table and when I laid the food she inspected my offerings.

“Um ! Chicken chop, Um !”

“Um ! Ada mashed potatoes AND gravy !”

“Ada corn Um.. like the one that you like.. !”

Aku nengok je budak kecik ni. She saw me looking, and went, “What ? I was just telling him what he likes …” complete with the cutest shrug ever.

Last Sunday we had dinner at a restarant. 20 minutes after the children’s food arrived, ours still failed to materialize. As I was talking to Dan, Elsa suddenly interrupted our conversation.

“Mummy ? Your food is still not here yet ?”

“Yes…” I answered in a mournful tone.

“Are you hungry ?” I nodded. She looked at her Babah and asked him the same question. Babah nodded. She looked at me again and at then at her Babah, her hand already on her plate. As soon as she opened her mouth, our plates arrived.

Mummy tahu Elsa mesti nak offer her food to us.

You are wonderful, you know that Elsa ?

Thursday, November 12, 2009

What is wrong, Um ?

Yesterday I picked up my children from school. We arrived way too early Elsa and I so we sat in the car listening to the radio and talking while waiting for the bell to ring.

We got out of the car exactly at 1 and as we walked, I got a pleasant surprise of seeing my son already walking towards us as he is usually the last to leave the school. He didn’t know I was already there, right in front of him as he walked with his head down. Still his eyes were visible and seeing it I knew immediately that something was wrong.

If only I can describe his face. Seriously first I was struck by how gorgeous he looked. Anak aku, gorgeous le untuk aku…. Sometimes, his baby face would emerge and I would sigh, remembering him as a newborn. Then I could see that he was upset, the way he had his head down, a little frown, eyes troubled and then when he looked up at me, his smiles were somber. But it was the eyes that gave it away.

I think Elsa saw it too as she was very quiet next to me.

“What is wrong, Um ?”

“Nothing…”

“You are upset. Tell me why.”

He hesitated a bit and then, “Tadi kat delam kelas we played football. But since we do not have a ball we used a bottle cap. My friend J tendang the ball kan lepas tu kena my friend I. Sampai berdarah dia punya ibu… errmmm… ibu…” He pointed at his feet. Both Elsa and I looked at where he pointed.

“Ibu jari kaki ?”

“Yes …. And sampai berdarah !”. Elsa gasped.

“Are you hurt Um ? Is it still berdarah ?” She asked, face horrified. He he… aku dah agak dah minah ni. “No lah. Not me….” And she took a long relieved breath and said, “Ohhh…. Your friend ye ?”

Hmmm…. Something just doesn’t add up.

“Why are you upset, then ?” I persisted.

“Because saya kesian dekat dia lah Mummy….” He didn’t look at me when he said that, he faced downward again.

“Um… you are upset about something. Something happened that involved you. That story you told me just now has got nothing to do with you. Tell me what happened to you. You are upset. Cikgu marah ? You did something to make other people angry ? Somebody did something to you ?”

He rolled his head in a resigned manner and started to speak, “I was reading kan and then suddenly my friend D came from behind and terkejutkan saya….”

“Is that all ?”

“Iya.. dia buat banyak-banyak kali… Saya marah lah.”

“Did you tell your teacher about it ?”

“Yes… Tapi cikgu kata biarkan aje…”

Dia diam, aku diam. I am not convinced. There is something my baby is not telling me.

Is he in trouble ? Did he do something wrong ? Or some people did some bad things to him ? Is he being bullied ?

My baby…

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Umar got me thinking

Okay… ini cerita sayu pasal anak aku Umar. Mungkin kalau hangpa baca you feel it is nothing, but aku ni... well, aku dok teringat-ingat aje sampai sekarang.

Ahad, we had lunch with Dan’s parents and his sister’s family. Nak balik, all the cucus trooped in Atuk’s car and my children after that followed their cousins home.

Yesterday, in the car with my kids, just the 3 of us, Umar told me of the wonders that there was in his aunt’s house. “Rumah Aunty W kan ada PS3 Mummy !! Best saya main. And dia orang have so many things to play with sebab dia orang tak payah share computer…”

“Really ? Ada berapa bijik computer kat rumah Aunty W ?”

“They have 3 computers and 1 laptop and now the PS3 ! Best kita main !” He said enthusiastically.

“A-ah kan Um ? Best kan kita main ?” Elsa concurred but I could detect a hint of longing in her tone. You know… like wistful.

I sighed. Bila aku bercakap, aku rasa ada sedikit getaran di suara dan hati. Aku tak tahu kenapa aku rasa macam sedih. “Umar, Elsa… I am so sorry that I cannot provide you with all those things. Kita ada computer tapi computer lama… so very slow. And you guys have to share..”

Aku sesungguhnya tak tahu kenapa aku rasa macam ni, rasa macam nak nangis.

“I can’t afford to buy you all those okay and for that I am very sorry.... I am sorry you guys cannot have the fun things that your cousins have… Mak bapak dia orang banyak duit and Mummy and Abah not so….”

In truth, benda-benda tu semua mahal bagi aku sebab aku tak rasa it is important. Ada kawan aku pernah cakap, dia heran giler bapak dia boleh beli the latest BMW tapi nak pasang 2 Astro kat rumah dok merungut mahal. Well aku explained sebab bapak dia rasa Astro tu tak penting but the BMW is. Untuk orang yang tak suka tengok tv, mahal lah nak bayar RM 138 sebulan.

Samalah macam aku. Aku rasa benda tu semua distraction and ada banyak benda lain yang better for my children to pass their time with. Like playing together and conversation and reading and using their imagination to play.

Once Dan whistled for me when I was watching the telly. When I got to him, he pointed to our children sitting side by side blowing bubbles at the patio. Elsa was paddling her feet and Umar was talking non-stop, creating scenarios for the bubbles they blew. It was an awesome sight to me and time well spent.

Although I agree that playing games can also help with a child’s development but it is also very, very addictive. And that to me is the most worrisome aspect of it. This is also why we only have 1 Astro installed eventhough we have 3 tellies. Also I totally refused to have a telly installed in my car. To me that is too much. Look at the sceneries outside for crying out loud. Ada lembu ada pokok and building and architectures that can be admired, live ! Kat rumah tengok tv, dalam kereta tengok tv jugak lagi ?

I remember masa kecik-kecik, my mother would always hambat kita orang pergi sembahyang come Maghrib. “Tutuplah Doraemon tu ! Bising betul. Maghrib-maghrib pi pasang cerita kartun bising lagu tu !”

My dad pulak will say, “Korang ni baguslah. Dalam kubur nanti Munkar Nankir tanya sapa tuhan kamu hangpa ni mesti jawab “TV !” Puuunnng ! Kena pok dengan dengan besi panaih. Padan muka !” Dengar tu kami pun mencanak-canak bangkit pi ambik wuduk. Telly too is very addictive. Lagi lah ni ada channel berpuluh-puluh. Masa ada 2-3 channel pun dak cukup melekap.

And then to buy one for each of my children ? Definitely not. Sharing is the operative word here. Learning to share is very important to me as I believe sharing breeds genorisity. My boss had twice complimented Tan Sri Azman Hashim’s brother for raising a smart and courteous son. I want that. I want smart and courteous children. Self effacing, kind and considerate.

But that doesn’t mean that I find Aunty W’s way is wrong. That is her right. That is her choice. She knows what she is doing as I do know the path I am leading my children to.

Itulah alasan – alasan ku and to tell my children that, well I don’t think they will appreciate it much. But saying I can’t afford to pay for those stuffs is true because I find them very, very expensive.

And then my son speaks, “Mummy… It’s okay. The most important thing is my parents. I have you as my mother and Abah as my father. That is the most important thing, okay ? I don't mind if we don't have those things because I have you and Abah.” And with that he squeezed my arm.

Aku terkedu sekejap. Mata aku dah berair. I looked at him from the rearview mirror and saw him smiling, his face kind.

“That is soooo sweet, Umar…”

He nodded his head, again smiling kindly at me.

“Thank you. I really appreciate that….”

I watched the telly thinking about that very moment, I cooked and talked but my mind kept wandering to that moment. I kept hearing his voice saying it over and over again. I cried a few times.

Hmmm…. Maybe I will reward him with a console. For his birthday next month probably. After all, he did get 100% on his BM kan ?

I really have to think this through.

Dan hati aku ini bertambah sayu dan syahdu.... If syahdu means what I think it means lah...

Thursday, November 05, 2009

Ana nangis...

I heard a loud sobbing as I got out of the car yesterday. Sighed. Out came Neti with Ana on her hips.

What now….

“Shaya nak balik…” She sobbed. “Shaya nak mandi kat rumah Tok….”

“La… rumah Mummy takde air ke, Ana ?” Asked I as I held out my hand to take her in my arms. She hesitated a bit before coming to me in full force. “What is wrong, baby girl ?” I asked, my lips on her very thick hair.

“Dia pecahkan gambar kak…” Explained Neti. “Dia takut itu… takut dimarahi...” Ooo…..

“Saya udah bilang Mummy tak marah tapi takut kali dia… Dia mahu pulang….”

Alahai siannya anak Mummy ni. You still don’t get it ke Ana ?

“Ana… Mummy sayang Ana… Mummy saaaaayang Ana, okay ? Ana buat apa pun Mummy sayang Ana… Ana pecahkan kete pun Mummy sayang Ana…”

Her sobs subsided somehow. I kissed her very wet and salty cheeks, feeling like a failure. “Ana Mummy punya jugak kan… So I will never send you away… Okay ? Kalau Mummy marah pun Mummy sayang… Tahu tak ?” She stopped her sobbing and heaving but tears still streamed out of the huge, mournful eyes. Allah, please make her understand.

“Gambar mana yang pecah ?” I asked as I stepped inside the house. She started heaving again. “Never mind, Ana… Just let’s see it…” It was the picture frame of 5 generations of females of my family. My nyang, my grandma, my mom, myself and Elsa. The picture was alright, the frame was broken but there was nothing to roll in the ground with grief for.

“Okay… Ana jangan buat lagi okay ? Nak main, main baik-baik… Jangan sampai jadi lagi… Okay ?” She nodded. I hugged her tight. “Ana nak mandi ?”

“Tak nak… Shaya nak mandi rumah Tok…” Hmmm…. okaylah. I know she still feels insecure.

I took her to the kitchen and switch on the telly. “Ana lapar tak ? Mummy lapar lah…” Said I as I rummaged the larder. Found some rempeyek which was nice. She took one and I took 2. She smiled enquiringly at the other rempeyek in my hand. I offered it to her and she snatched it merrily. Then I remembered the cupcakes I made 2 nights ago so I gave her one. She took a bite and smiled in delight. “Mummy… shaya shuka ini.. Shedap lah Mummy mashak…” I beamed at her. “Iye… shaya shuka bila Mummy mashak….” I took out the chocolate cream frosting and piped some on her cake.

Her eyes widened. “Mum –mee ! Shedapnya !!” She said, legs paddling happily. I hugged her. “Ana sayang Mummy tak ?”

Budak busyuk tak nak mandi....


She nodded happily, leaning against me, fitting herself on the crooks and cranny of my body.

Please remember that, okay ?

Esya is different from Ana. No matter how angry I got, she will always come running back because she knows I love her. Tapi dengan Ana ni susah sikit… Kalau merajuk… I might lose her forever and that is something that I am not willing to face. Not ever.

Wednesday, November 04, 2009

I don't believe it !

Can you believe it ?

Gosh, I am still in shock.

Very shocked.

Umar got 100% in his BM Pemahaman.

Percaya ?

Me neither.

In fact, his friends didn’t either.

Nor his teacher.

Ha ha….

I looked at the paper for the longest of time while he fidgeted next to me, eyes though never leaving my face.

“Are you happy, Mummy ?”

I looked at him blankly. “Well… are you ?” he asked again.

I was speechless. I can’t say anything. Cat got my tongue. He frowned then he looked worried. Maybe he was thinking dapat market ntah apa-apa kena marah… dapat full marks pun tak happy ?

Thinking about that I forced a smile. It was hard as my face felt heavy like granite. It felt like it was gonna crack as I widen my lips. I was that frozen.

“I need to talk to your father….” Was all I could say.

He looked anxious now. “Is it bad ?” His face and his words thawed me somehow. I was very conscious of every movement that I made as I hugged him. “No… of course not. It is wonderful.”

Babah took like 30 minutes to come home. I tried reading, then watching the telly while I waited for him, but my eyes were drawn to his exam paper. They kept going back at the 100% that was written in red ink.

He knows what menjunjung means. I bought him a few BM novels to read 2-3 months ago so maybe menjunjung was used somewhere in the books.

Babah came home. I ran downstairs and yelled him the news. Umar by that time was doing a little hopping dance in front of him. “Really ? Wow !” every syllable was uttered in extreme happiness. If we were in a cartoon, flowers and birds will come out of Babah’s mouth. Babah hugged him. Well… Babah was better at this than me. He seemed to take it in his stride.

Bah… this is the boy who wrote “Kambing itu membawa berlari.” Was it kambing ? Or was ii kuda… I don’t remember anymore. He also wrote “Budak itu membawa mandi”.

Hmmm….

Just be happy Mummy. He did very well.

He showed Atuk his results. Atuk said Atuk will give him a present. He told us yesterday that after a long, hard think… “I think I want a holiday from Atuk…”

He he…

“Where to ?” Asked me.

“Australia will be nice….”

Good boy.

“Alah… kita pegi Hong Kong Disneyland pun best..” Said Babah.

Heh… he doesn’t know his son, this guy.

“No lah, Bah.. I am not interested in Hong Kong Disneyland..” Ha ha.. told you. He wants to go to Disneyland Paris.

“I prefer the one in Paris…” See ? See ? I am his mommy, kan ?

Good boy.
PS : Bahasa Arab 70%... ke 60%... Hmmm....

Tuesday, November 03, 2009

Mummy's doa for her Ana

There was this one day I was in the car with Ana. Just me and her, Ana and Mummy. As usual, I seized moments like this to dispense my wise advice. Mak kan…

“Nanti Ana jadi doctor okay ? Bila Mummy sakit, Ana boleh tolong Mummy…”

“Emmm…. Tak nak lah !” She said, sambil tendang-tendang kaki, a big grin on her face.

“Alah…. Why not ? Nanti kalau Mummy sakit, Ana boleh bagi ubat, boleh inject …..”

‘Taaak naaakk !”

“Okay… habis tu Ana nak jadi apa ?”

She smiled. From the smile I knew what she was going to say. “Pin-shesh !”

Tak habis-habis.

“Okay… pin-shesh buat apa ?”

“Buat pin-shesh lah…”

“Yelah… doctor bagi orang sihat…. Tukang masak bagi orang makan… Pin-shesh buat apa ?”

“Piinnn-sheeesh..”She said slowly. “Buat macam ni …” And with that she widen an imaginary skirt and bowed her head, like a courtesy.

He he…..

Mummy doa Ana kawin ngan anak raja (Ya Allah, Melayu kunonya aku, macam dialog Bawang Putih Bawang Merah) sebab Mummy nak nengok Ana kembangkan skirt and drop a courtesy.

Although…. Hmmm…. bukan princesses are the ones receiving the courtesies and not giving them ?

Friday, October 30, 2009

Umar in his mother tongue

“Mummy… boleh tak kita pergi bersenam ?” Said my son to me one day.

Eh ? Apa dia ? Meremang bulu roma cek sat. I think even my goose bumps had goose bumps.

“Saya nak pergi jogging dekat tasik. Saya nak bersenam sebab bersenam boleh menyihatkan badan.”

Help ! My hair remained standing on its ends.

“Cikgu cakap apabila kita sihat, otak kita pun akan….. errm……” He faltered.

Kesian pulak. “Cerdas ?” I helpfully suggested.

“Yes… cerdas….” He said smilingly, nodding his head.

Then.. “What does cerdas means ?” Errr…… Cergas means energetic, so cerdas is the cergas for brains ?

He he…. You do not want to hear me fumbling to explain that.

My son’s second attempt to speak full Bahasa Malaysia. Actually the right description would be Bahasa Malaysia dalam buku teks.

“Mummy, semalam saya sedang baring… Kemudian Gizmo datang dan menjilat kepala saya. Dia suka jilat kepala saya, Mummy !” I think my eyes were wide when I looked at him. Buat dah budak nih….

“Kenapa dia macam tu, eh ? Kenapa dia suka menjilat kepala saya ?”

Waaaaaaa !

“Kerana kau tu kuat peluh, rambut masin ! Dah pegi mandi !!”

He he… I have to chase him away as I do not want him to see me rolling around in mirth. Apalah skemanya anak aku ni….

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Mummy ! Shaya....

“Mummy tolong shaya…” Said Ana to me while I was busy preparing dinner. I looked at her and saw her holding out her new, very pink (a must for little Ana) Power Puff Girls CD bought by Cik Ta.

As CD cases are wont to do, the front cover was unhinged.

“Shaya tak boleh buat sebab shaya ni kecik lagi….” She said again, as I took the case from her hand. She looked at me with her very thick hair framing her face, eyes looking at me forlornly.. like being little is such a hindrance...

How can I not kiss and hug her tightly until she complained after that ? Geram lah dia ni…. Geget kang…

Ana ni ikut mood. Kadang-kadang bila dia malas main, she prefers to memerap dengan aku and kacau aku masak. The questions that she asks ! Aduih.

“Mummy buat apa ni ?”

“Ini untuk apa ?”

“Ini sedap ke ?”

And every answer I give she will answer with an “Oooo….”

While I was busy cooking one day, and answering her barrage of questions, I heard an unfamiliar meow and Ana’s “Mummy look ! Itu kawan Gizmo yang Abah marah tu !”

I seized the opportunity to have a relatively peaceful cooking time so I told her, “Ana jaga pintu okay ? Jangan bagi meow tu masuk. Nanti Abah marah ….”

So my obedient little girl pun pegilah to do my bidding. But peace did not come because every movement the cat did she reported to me.

“Mummy dia dah jalan..”

“Mummy dia tengok saya….”

“Mummy dia jilat-jilat….”

“Mummy tengok shaya ni… Shaya duduk sini tak bagi dia masuk okay…”

“Mummy…”

“Mummy….”

“Mummy….”

Waaaaa….. !!!!!

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Muka Elsa

My daughter approached me last week and said, “Mummy… Aleesya kan .. kalau ada apa-apa new things.. She will always go first. Everytime Mummy. It is always her first, then me second and Ana third. Me and Ana could never go first…” I love seeing her face when she executed this speech. Eyes big, eyebrows knitted together…wonderful.

“Tell me, Mummy… Is that fair ? Is it ?”

I didn’t say anything but just looked at her, marveling at the play of emotions on her face.

“Mummy… Tell me, is that fair ? Ha ? Ha ?” She insisted after Mummy didn’t even attempt a reply.

He he…. Maybe that is why sometimes my kids are frustrated with me… I love to see their faces and therefore sometimes I didn’t respond to their questions. It wasn’t anything other than I was just too busy admiring their faces. Somehow Mummy is unable to multitask when she gazes at her babies’ faces.

Before that, we Mummy and Titi, had a discussion about Ana. “Titi kena sayang adik, jaga adik… Make sure she is okay, kena pandai mengalah, okay ?? Dia adik kan... macam U-um jaga Titi, sayang Titi. So Titi pun kena sayang Ana, kan ?”

She listened to me with had cocked to one side. I kept quiet after I concluded my nasihat for the day, waiting for her response. Then it came, her face turned up to me, eyes squaring up to mine, with a solemn face. “Mummy…. Tahu tak…. Esya kan….” Here she paused, shook her head and added, “Dia kan tak sayang adik dia….”

I raised my eyebrows. “Iya… sebab dia selaaaaaalu marah Ana, Mummy…..”

Mummy got all choked up when she said that because the face and the manner she said it was exactly the same as 4 years ago, when she said to me, “Abaah…. selaaaaaalu marah Titi….” That time, she had just learned to talk and her full sentence like that was precious and rare.. and somehow that one, that “Abaah… selaaaaalu marah Titi…” was the one that was firmly etched in my memory.

Alahai anak Mummy ni…..

Friday, October 23, 2009

Mummy... let's play

When Elsa asks me to play, we could either main kejar-kejar, or me pushing her around on her scooter, singing, dancing or play dress up. Or... play with my shoes.

"Mum ! Do you want to play with your shoes ?"

"It is sooo much fun !!"

Okay......




She would try them on, and then prance around the room. The heels making a very satisfactory clickety clack on the floor.


Aahh... good choice. My favourite Russel and Bromley. "Mummy ... look at this. This one is sooo pretty... !" She said, eyes wide in appreciation when she first saw it. Exactly my feeling when I saw it in the shops, little girl.




Busy opening the boxes to look for masterpieces of the cobblers.




Putting this one back to its place before running off to get the other boxes... Abang likes to be with is but he did his own thing.
She is mine, isn't she ?
Heh.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Hal donia versi Umar Rashdan.

I am writing it down in paragraphs without pembuka or penutup kata. You will also notice the absence of my replies sebab mak yang ini tercengang tahap gaban campur ultraman bila anak dia bercakap. The hot chicken pie I made lay untouched on the plate with a few pieces remained pierced on the fork, hovered in front of my gaping mouth.

Mummy you know what happened ? Singapore kan ada buat documentary pasal orang Malaysia dancing-dancing. But it turned out that the dancers satu pun tak de Malaysians !! Semuanya Indonesians ! So sekarang the Indonesians dah marah and nak bomb kita ! They want to start a war dengan Malaysia sebab dia orang kata kita tipu. But… bukannya orang Malaysia yang buat, tapi orang Singapore. Jadi why not the Indonesians bomb aje Singapore ?

You know what.. Singapore is very tak malu because we give them water and sand … and food but they lied about us, kan Mummy ? Blah, blah, blah, blah….

I couldn’t hear the rest as I was busy trying to close my mouth and push my eyebrows back to its normal position.

Emmm… my answer ? I explained it was Discovery Channel instead of Singapore (or National Geographic ke ? Aku pun confuse). It was an honest mistake that does not warrant any bombings.

I do not know about sand but we did not give them water but they bought it off us. At a very cheap price.

And I do not think that we give them food. I am sure we export some, but that is not the same as giving away.

He looked at his food with a frown. Have I ever told you how beautiful he looked when he frowns ? Funny eh ? So imagine his beauty when he smiles. He just lights up the world, my little boy.

PS : Err…. Discovery Channel punya office tu kat Singapore ke ?

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

My sappy kids

I am not much of a telly watcher. Last night, for some reason I was more fed-up with it so I went upstairs to read. Elsa of course followed and after 10 minutes, Umar showed his face.

We talked while the 3 of us read. Elsa soon got bored of her book, took my handphone and started larking about with it, filming his abang reading. I grabbed the phone and suggested that we record our singing.

Me first and I belted out Torn by Natalie Imbruglia. Since it is the kids’ favourite song too, they joined in. Kacau aje.

Elsa sang lagu bodoh Aku bukan Superman which was funny because she made up the lyrics as she went along. Batman and Spiderman segala keluar. Umar sang a horribly nasal rendition of Suasana Aidilfitri. Poor boy. Even he winced when we played his singing.

And so it went on, taking turn to sing one by one. The kids went further under the duvet and I sighed; while singing Lost In Space, pretending to be the bald bloke from Lighthouse Family; as I knew the kids will definitely sleep with us that night.

Strategy baik punya.

As they smiled and laughed and talked with half-open eyes, I said, “Okay… I am going to sing a song for you, okay ? This song is for Mummy’s Um and Titi…”. And started singing Rock A Bye Baby.
Rock a bye baby
On the tree top
When the wind blows
The cradle will rock
When the bough breaks
The cradle will fall
And down will come baby
Cradle and all

After I finished, we listened to it again. When that was over, Elsa said, “This is soooo embarrassing…”

He he… What ? You found my singing embarrassing ?

No Mummy… She said. I feel like crying….. And she encircled my body with her tiny, tiny hands for a tight hug. I smiled. Then I reached for Umar’s face to stroke his cheeks, finding it wet with tears.

Apalah sentimentalnya budak-budak ni..

He he…

Monday, October 19, 2009

How Do You Solve A Problem Like Anna ?

Last Friday the kids rushed to my car as soon as I got into the driveway, asking for permission to go to next door neighbour’s. I watched them leave before I felt somebody tugging my hand.

Eh ? Anna ?

“Anna tak nak pegi ke ?”

“Shaya tak nak… Shaya nak duduk rumah saja.”

So I scooped her up, deposited her on the sofa, rummaged for a snack and plopped myself next to her. By the way, we were out of junk food so I grabbed the multi-compartment Tupperware where I keep my kuih raya. So we had a fun time agonizing between 6 types of kuih raya while watching Hope and Faith.

Then, both of us went to pasar malam. And she had a fine time soaking up Mummy and Me time. Punya manja dengan berdukungnya, wanting to pick out her own Yong Tau Foo. Plus the keropok lekor and air minum. Ajak Mummy main lompat-lompat lubang longkang while walking back to the car.

Before we left the house, I put on the seat belt for her. But when we were leaving the pasar, I had forgotten to do so. As I was about to turn right in front of surau sek 6, she yelled, “Mummy ! Mummy tak pasang fish-bet Anna !” Terkejut beruk Mummy sampai buat emergency break. Lepas tu dia gelak-gelak. I want to ask you, who can get angry at this face ?




Dah lah kiyut-miyut, clever pulak tu. After my emergency break, I resumed our journey. She looked at the scenery outside and asked, “Mummy nak pigi mana ni ?”

“Nak balik lah…”

“Balik rumah Tok ke rumah Mummy ?”

“Rumah Mummy lah ?”

“Tapi shini bukan pigi rumah Mummy…” but before I could answer she said, “Oh… nanti Mummy pushing ye ?”

He he… clever okay. A-ah, Mummy will have to pushing, illegal U-Turn (sorry) kat depan SUK.

Saturday they slept at my house so I had a whole day with them which was nice. Sent the kids to tennis then took the 2 girls to Cili Merah. Esya do not want any food because she ate with Umar and Elsa. Ana though had nasi impit and timun. Hmm…. Tambah kuah kacang then you are truly mine… he he…

Again when the kids went next door to play, she didn’t want to follow suit. When Bibik asked, she answered, “Saya malash….”

However after 1 hour, timbul penyesalan so she whined for her sister. So aku pun pegilah dekat pagar, jerit-jerit panggil budak-budak bertiga tu. Sorang pun tak dengaq. Memang tak dengaq ka saja ka, aku pun tak tau.

So I tried calling the neighbour’s kids, S*** and S*****. Anna by this time was sporting a deep frown and was sweating profusely. Especially at her nose, macam arwah ibu dia. No answer too. I opened my mouth to call their gorgeous little sister when I realized I had forgotten her name.

“Anna… apa nama adik dia orang ?” I asked.

She looked up at me with a very upset face and said, “Nama shaya Anna lah Mummy ....”

HAHHAHAHAHAHHAHA…. !

“Bukan your name lah Anna…” Said I between laughter. “Nama adik S*** !”

She laughed, covering her mouth with her hand. Super duper adorable, okay ?

“Saya pun tak tahu lah….”

He he…. Anna nih…..

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Don't Go Breaking My Heart

You guys remember me and Titi’s discussion on heart break ?

Well kelmarin dulu, after iftar Dan and I went up to bathe and pray. I was too tired really, so I decided to lie down for awhile. I know.. melengahkan solat, especially it was already 8 and as my boss put it, dalam masa injury time to pray. But I was sooo tired, what with work and rushing home to cook and running to the kitchen tearing off my work clothes, ala-ala Superman and the actual cooking of course, so baring sekejap kay ?

Anyway, Elsa of course joined us, sitting in the middle, as usual poring over books while Dan and I chatted. I had forgotten what we were nattering about but I remember saying, “Dan please, don’t break my heart.”, good naturedly.

Elsa gasped and looked at her Babah. “Bah, do you have a girlfriend ?”

Mummy’s turn to gasp, head swiveled to look at the cad. Eh, this entry for my blog ke my children ke ? To be decided later.

Babah who was flipping through a lad’s mag looked at his girls, and I don’t understand why, with flared nostrils. He smiled. Okay, I know why Elsa said it, it is in reference to our conversation a few entries ago, ha ha, but I just didn’t like the hidung kembang. Very suspicious.

Elsa apparently didn’t like it either. She cocked her head , screwed her eyes and asked in a sing-songy voice, “Babah ? Do you have a new girlfriend ?”, paused and added, “or a new wife ?” Eyes widen now, forefinger wagging. Mummy’s breath intake was sharper. Does this girl know something that I don’t ? Something wholly important ?A matter of life and death ?

“Have you seen Babah’s new wife ?” I asked her. Dan sengih. “Merepeklah korang ni…” He said.

“Emm… no…” She shook her head.

“So why did you say that ?” My attention is directed to her now, wanting to see her reaction. She looked at me with brows furrowed.

“O-kay…. Like this…” She paused to think. “Hari tu kan yang Mummy ambik saya sekolah dulu kan, pastu kita pegi ambik Umar kan….” Head cocked to the said.

“Okay, listen Mummy… Remember kan yang Mummy ambik saya mula-mula…. Okay ? Remember ? Pastu….. kita pegi ambik Umar….. Okay ?” Sighed, took a deep breath. “Pastu kita kan tunggu Umar…. Remember ? Okay…. Listen Mummy… Pastu kan….aaaa… Mummy where is your computer ?”

Eh ? Babah stopped hiding behind his mags to look at the troublemaker.

“Sebab cuba Mummy bukak computer dekat cerita about me and Umar tu…” He he… she was referring to my blog. I explained that I have left the computer at the office. She sighed for the twentieth time and shook her head.

Cute.

She hugged her knees and thought a bit. Finally, “Okay… listen carefully okay Mummy…” Siannya budak ni, but I just want to see if she can explain herself. “Okay… listen….” Diam lagi.

“Okay… “ palms up…”remember hari tu kan yang saya pakai mask kan lepas tu kita ambik Umar kan ..”
Berapa banyak punya kan budak ni…

“Pastu kan saya nyanyi kan Dont Break My Heart kan.. Pastu Mummy cakap kan kalau Abah ada girlfriend it will break your heart kan ?”

She looked at me, waiting for my confirmation.

“So….” She continued while exhaling, “you just now said Abah break your heart kan… So Abah ada girlfriend lah kan…” She trailed off.

“Or… a wife !” She finished with a flourish, coupled with raised eyebrows.

Hehheheheehehehehheheheheh.

HAHHAhahahahahahahhaha

Abah geleng kepala. ‘Itulah awak. Mengajar yang bukan-bukan…”

So.. Mummy spent some time talking to her, trying to put things right again.

Hopefully Mummy is successful. Hmmm…………

Friday, October 09, 2009

Elsa and Umar

Eons ago… well probably sometime before Raya, I was cooking and Elsa came down with wild, wet hair, fresh from her bath. To tease her, I said, “Is that really my daughter ? Is that my little girl ?” fully intending to add, “Because my daughter usually has her hair neatly combed…”

Didn’t get the chance. Don’t know what came over her, but upon hearing that, she ran to me and enveloped me in a fierce hug (well, she hugged my bottom le… kecik kan…).

“I love you, Mummy… I really do. I really do not love Babah more….” Ha ha…. Lain pulak jadinya. My fault really as I like to draw attention to the fact that she positively worships the ground her father walks on. That much is true.

Aku pun apa lagi, “Ye ke Titi sayang Mummy ? Titi sayang Babah je ….”

“Oh Mummy ! I love you so much, Mummy ! You are my mother and a very good cooker…”

“Cook…” Mummy corrected.

“Cook. I love your cooking Mummy, It is soooo delicious. So I really love you…”

Hmm… Is that all I will be remembered about ? My cooking ? What about my loving touch and patience and grace ? Hehheheheh….

I have often read columnists, especially the British ones, writing about their mother’s grace and poise and smell. They talk about her style and her patience and only sometimes they mention her cooking.

One lady columnist remarked that she loves kissing her mother as Mummy still wears the same perfume and the smell would always invoke the sense of nostalgia of her happy childhood.

I feel the same way about my late Tok Cik. I grew up watching her putting on her makeup after her bath, liquid foundation and mascara afterwards. The liquid foundation has this very lovely powdery smell that I love so much. I love watching her pour some one her very plump palm, rub it with her other palm then applying it all over her face and neck, all the while infusing the whole room with its lovely scent. I saw it on sale once, bedak Tok Cik as I call it. Opened it up, took a whiff and felt so bereft. I cried inside because the smell came with the memory of how she felt when I hugged her and how her cheeks felt on my lips. I also remembered the feel of her baju kurung kedah as my hands encircled her body. I could also see her ears and where all her moles were !

Kelmarin, Elsa was watching me preparing for work and when I reached for my perfume from Britney Spears ( don’t worry… pakai perfume ni tak bermaksud anda akan berjangkit ngan perangai gila-gila dia and mula mencukoq rambut. Perfume ini guna nama dia saja and takdak langsung guna peluh dia…atau apa-apa pun dari badan dia yang boleh mendatangkan bau…), she said, “Mummy, don’t wear that… Wear this… Red Door….” She picked up my Elizabeth Arden perfume and handed it to me.

“Why ?” I asked.

“I like it better when you wear this one, It smells nicer….”

I smiled and thought about my Tok and so I complied.

Janganlah Elizabeth Arden stop production perfume ni lak. Aku pok satgi.

Itu Elsa. Ramadhan baru ni, after my prayers I entered the kitchen and saw Umar sprawled on the sofa, munching on Pringles.

Yumm… I reached for it but Umar informed me, “Dah habis….” I made a face. I wasn’t that disappointed but just made a face anyway. Aku ngan memek muka aku… My English teacher masa I was in form 3 Puan Jamilah once sighed, “Myra… why that face now ?” He he he he he…

Umar I suppose felt guilty. He does love his Mummy kan.

“Is it okay, mummy ?” he asked.

“Yeah… takpelah….” Pouted a bit.

“Are you sure ?” And aku kan kuat mengusik, so I replied with a sigh, “No it is fine. Mummy nak pi Batu Belah Batu Bertangkup je… I think kat situ ada jual lagi kot…”

The effect was immediate. He sprang from his chair and scrambled to the larder. Kelam kabut budak tu bukak almari and looked for food. Kebetulan Babah got some hampers from his clients, and habih semua dia bawak keluaq tunjuk kat kita. One by one tayang depan muka tanya mana yang Mummy mau.

“You want this, Mummy ?”

“This one looks nice….” He said, face bright like trying to entice a baby.

“What about this one ?”

Aku gelak tengok anak aku ni. My baby boy….

“Jomlah kita pegi beli Slurpee…..” Said I…