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

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

School crush...

Okay… okay…. Ceritanya begini….

To my FB friends, I think you know what story I am telling.

My mum picked up Abang from school yesterday and in the car Abang called me. He sounded upset and from the semi-incoherent babble, I got the message that a girl has a crush on him. I heard Tok laughed like mad in the background, saying “Apalah Abang ni… benda merepek macam ni pun nak nangis…” and more roars of laughter from the grandma.

Picked them up from their class after work and here is our conversation.

“What happened ? Who has a crush on you ?”

“Normah…” Okay you guys know it’s a pseudonym, yeah ?

He he…

“But they said I have a crush on her !!” Pulak.

We were in the car, Adik was at the front passenger seat rubbing her feet, listening to the conversation. I dunno why I kept looking at her, seeing her cooly listening to her brother’s story was quite entertaining.

“How come ?”

“Macam ni. I was walking kan and then Jamilah called me. She and Normah were whispering whispering then Normah said Jamilah said I like her !”

Wah ! Direct tanya, okay ? Aku seram.

“Why did Jamilah say you like Normah ?”

“Because I gave her the Daisy Duck pen !!!!”

“In front of Jamilah ?”

“Yes…..” And itulah salah satu lesson why you must listen to your parents !!

On the way to the airport last week Abang told me his teachers want a present from him and he wants to buy presents for 39 of his classmates. 39 ? Kapak lah bapak kau nak oii…. Botak le lagi kepala dia ….

So I advised him to just buy for his best friends. Itupun amounted to 7. Okaylah. I bought pens in various colours with various Disney characters on them. The night before they went to school, I was reminding them over and over again to not dispense out the gifts in front of their other mates who are not getting them. Dah mak pelakon Oscar kan so we re-enacted the ways and the hows to panggil kawan slow-slow and bagi sorok-sorok.

“Whatever it is, no matter how long it is gonna take you, please do not and I mean DO NOT give them in front of your friends yang tak dapat. People can get hurt, okay. You must not hurt other people’s feelings !”

Haaa…. gitu lah pesan mak ini. It so happened I didn’t notice one pen although was not girly coloured but had Daisy Duck on it so the boy who got them of course le refused. He he……

So my boy gave the pen to Normah ni in front of si Jamilah ni and of course le si Jamilah ni buat conclusion gitu.

“Itulah I told you already…. DO not give the pen in front of anybody that is not getting it. If it were you, you wouldn’t get hurt ke ?”

“No…” Of course le jawapannya gitu.

“Okay if it was you and Karim were sitting together then Normah gave a pen to Karim, you wouldn’t rasa malu ke… hurt ke… wondering why Normah didn’t give you one also ?”

“No… I don’t care about that kind of stuffs…” Huh, boys !

I looked at Adik for help but she was still looking straight ahead, one hand still rubbing her thighs but there was a small smile on her face. She shook her head and murmured, “Stupidnya Abang ni…..”

He he… Aiyoh lah…..

“Well….. what to do it happened already…” I said.

“Itulah Jamilah said I have a crush on Normah because I gave her the pen and also because her mother likes me ….”

“Eh ? What’s that again ?”

“Oh… Normah’s mother likes me….”

“Her mother ? You know her ?”

“Yeah.. we’ve met before …”

Ha ?

“When ?”

“At school… Her mother asked me to take care of Normah from the naughty boys at school….”

O-kay…..

“She only asked you to do that ? She only knew you ke ? She doesn’t know the other boys ?”

“Oh.. she knows Karim too but she only asks me to take care of Normah…”

Pulak dah…. Apasal lak pompuan ni bagi keje kat anak aku ? Dia pun baby !

Hmmm……….

“Cantik ke Normah ni ?”

“I don’t know !” He answered with a laugh. “I don’t have an opinion on that !”

HAHHAHAHAHAAHHA… Aduh lah…

Then I went for the kill. “You like her ?”

“As a friend…….” Okay, good one.

Adik still have a little smile on her face. I was glad that she found the whole episode entertaining.

“Mummy….. please don’t tell Babah about this, okay ?”

“Why ?”

“I am soooo embarrassed lah…. Saya rasa macam nak pengsan ! And anyway, saya tak tahu crush tu rasa macam mana ! I have no idea ! I don’t know what they are talking about !”
This was the part where I positively roared with laughter. Dear me. Allah help me !!!!!!!

“Abang… takkan lah Mummy nak tanya (yup… she still hasn’t got tanya and bagitahu sorted out yet) Babah….” Said Adik.

We got out of the car and I noticed Adik was still smiling. If only I could just get one little look inside her brain. I am itching to know what she found so amusing !!!

Anyway, that night SIL came to the house. Her story is like this. Memang kecoh le masa balik pasal Abang kena usik dengan kawan-kawan. According to SIL mak si Normah ni memang suka kat Abang. Selalu puji kata Abang pandai (ini perempuan dah tengok ke report card anak aku yang kurang memuaskan itu ?), Abang handsome lah apa lah. Ikut dia, mak si Normah ni memang aim Abang. Okay, I don’t get that part.

“Si Normah tu yang suka kat Abang !! Suka lambai-lambai lah… Bukannya si Abang ni yang suka kat dia !”

Pulak dah.

“Masa balik tadi, si Normah ni lambai-lambai lah tapi Abang lari. Ajak Jamil (his cousin) pegi tempat lain…..”

He he…

Aku kan… he he…. Aku tak tahu nak cakap apa.

I for one thing find all this amusing. And seriously I am not angry. Love, puppy or real is a feeling that will come. Sure, I don’t know how to handle this but it is not something that I can avoid, or discourage. Well… which I can’t encourage either at this moment.

I am glad Abang told me, though. I am gald that he is comfortable enough to moan about this to me.

Although kenapa dia segan giler ngan bapak dia I dunno. Babah pun even after my warning pegi gelak-gelak tanya Abang. Mengamuk lah dia. Hai…

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Cerita semalam

Eventhough it is the school holidays, I still wake up my kids early. Subuh satu and dua is early birds catch the worms thingy.

He he…

Anyway, yesterday I managed to wake up Abang but not Adik.

And I know what I will hear when I return home, Adik nangis cari Mummy. News bearer was Bibik. But when I gave her a lecture, Bibik defended her pulak.

“Bukan… kan udah biasa bangun sama-sama. Ini bila Mummy pi, dia ngak nampak… Nangis lah dia…”

Hmmm………

As usual she followed me around when I am home. I cooked, she set the table and waited for me there. She talked and she chatted. I made carbonara yesterday, the children’s eternal favourite. Plus fried calamari which is Abang’s must have with pasta.

While eating, Adik took a moment to look up at me and said, “You are the best cook I have ever seen, Mummy ! This carbonara is really good….”

You have ever seen ? How many cooks have you seen ?

Penggunaan bahasa yang salah.

Anyway, I wanted to go and see Kak Kay but Babah still wasn’t home from his futsal. I bathed and prayed and my little girl of course was on my bed waiting for me. Percy Jackson was on.

“I am going down there to switch on the power, okay ?” She said as she bent beneath the dressing table for the switch. I dunno why I found that funny.

Anyway, while waiting for Isyak, Mummy and Adik baring-baring, sembang-sembang and I noticed that her eyes were heavy.

“You sleepy ?” Her head was on my shoulder by then.

“Yes…..”

“Close your eyes then…”

“Will I go to sleep like that ?” Err….. how did you sleep all this while ?

“Yeah…. Go go on then…”

So she closed her eyes and immediately went to sleep. Immediately okay ?

He he… Abang came up and asked, “Is she really sleeping or is she pretending ?” Ini ajaran Tok Yah, pura-pura tidur then scaring the hell out of your victim is funny and entertaining.

“No…this is real…. By the way, I have to go and visit my friend. Yang rumah dia terbakar tu… You wanna come with me ?”

Abang was intrigued and wanted to come. But then when he turned around, he was reminded of his sleeping sister.

“What about Adik ? We can’t leave her here… Alone….”

“Why not ?”

Ini part best. Abang’s face was incredulous because Mummy had to ask. Berkerut-kerut berbagai. “What ? You know her ! You know what she is like !” Bulat mata pandang Mummy.

Mummy gelak.

“She can get crazy if she wakes up and doesn’t see you… She will cry and cry and cry… Eee… saya rasa macam nak pecah kepala !!” He added, hands holding his head. Kira habis serious lah tu.

Then he switched on the telly and put on his Pokemon cd. I read while waiting for Isyak. When Babah returned home and we got ready to go out, I asked him whether he still wants to come.

His face was very funny when he said this. He said it slowly at first before gaining speed, “Mummy… I think I am coughing right now… and… I am afraid I will get choked from the smokes at your friend’s house… So I’d better stay home…” His face became more animated as his speech got faster, and at the end he was smiling happily. Like he started the speech without having any idea of what to say, of what excuse to give me and as he went on, he was like surprised with his own ingenuity to bagi alasan.

Dah tu melompat-lompat kegembiraan, face was so flushed with happiness, like saying, “Yey…. Finally aku berjaya bagi alasan munasabah ! Mummy believed me ! She believed me !!”

Aku kan budak-budak ni…..

Hai lah…

Dah besar dah toys kita Bah…

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Mummy ! Don't fall !!

Yesterday was sooo…… bloody kelakar….

After dinner of mee bandung, I sat on the sofa, melepak-lepak dengan Kamil. Adik as usual is at her office desk in front of us and Abang was slumped next to his father, watching whatever crap we were watching.

Sambil-sambil dok tengok tv, tangan ni dok gatal-gatal meraba my face and I don’t know how suddenly I felt like my fingers got wet and when I looked was stained with blood.

“Blood Kamil….” I said and proffered the side of the face for him to inspect.

“Jerawat tu…” he said after a very, very cursory glance.

Adik who heard our conversation suddenly was in front of me, looked at my finger and her face people… her face….was soooooooooooooo aghast, I was taken aback by the force and intensity of it. Looked at Babah in bewilderment and he too was looking wide eyed at Adik. I just couldn’t describe it to you okay but that face will forever be etched in memory.

“Mummy !! Are you okay ? How come you have blood ?” One hand on her chest, face mega, mega horrifyingly concerned. Abang jumped to his feet and rushed to my side.

And Mummy being mummy…. Well…. start le berlakon.

“Ooooohhhhhhh…..” I groaned, hand on my forehead. Kamil screwed his eyes and shook his head, a little smile formed on his face.

“Tolong… please….. It is painful….. Please… I need tissue….” Terketar-ketar Mummy cakap, Azean Irdawaty mesti nak ambik jadi anak angkat. Abang rushed to get tissue and pressed it hard on my ‘wound’.

“It’s okay, Mummy… It’s okay…. Evrything will be all right….” Said Abang soothingly. He then looked at my wound and exclaimed, “Hey… dah tak ada apa-apa… it’s okay now…. You are fine already !” His face was kind and encouraging. Darling, listen to Mummy… you would make an excellent, excellent doctor.

Babah geleng-geleng kepala, but his face was amused. He looked at me and mouthed, “Saja je you., ya….”

If lah my children remember this day, they might one day think Hmmm…. kenapa Babah wasn’t concern masa Mummy berdarah dulu tu ? You remember ?

He he…

Anyway, I got up shakily (I so bloody deserved an Oscar), stumbled a bit and tried to grasp Babah’s hand. “Please…. Help me upstairs….. I need to lie down ……” Babah gave me a lopsided smile, laughed and shook his head. “I nak tengok tv …..”

My itty bitty Florence Nightingale was next to me in an instant. She draped my hand around her shoulders and said, “Mummy … it is okay… I will help you… I will take you upstairs….” He he… hang kan pendek sayang, mana buleh Mummy lean on you. Nasib baik lah berlakon so I gamely walked slowly towards the stairs, one hand encircling her tiny, tiny shoulders. Abang hovered behind us.

Nak bagi real sikit, I put a little bit more weight on my right side, kononnya macam nak jatuh. She screamed. “Mummy !! Mummy ! Don’t fall down ! Don’t fall !!!”

Ha ha ha ha ha… Aduhai lah anak ku. Yang herannya, Abang langsung tak offer bahu dia… he just walked behind us, kononnya jaga dari belakang.

Anyway I was put tenderly on the bed, Abang fetched more tissues and pressed it on my wound. Adik stood next to me, wringing her hands and looking so worried. One great mother in the making here people.

Babah came, saw them fussing around me and snorted. Shut up, you……

“Okay… you guys go ahead lah…. Tak pa…. Pergi tengok tv…” Said I, kononnya macam tak nak orang risau. He he…

“Mummy… we don’t mind, Mummy. This is our turn to take care of you…. You have taken good care of us…. So now we will take good care of you…” Said Abang oh-so tenderly, Mummy rasa macam nak nangis. His face was kind, he was smiling and his eyes were big with encouragement.

“Mummy… please don’t die…” Hai… si kecik ni memang a bit macabre.

“You promised to make carbonara tomorrow… You said it’s today but you did not make it… And just now masa kita makan you said you will make it tomorrow !”

Ha ?

“And I want to eat meat loaf next, Mummy !!” She pleaded.

Wei….. are you telling me your main concern is your stomach ? All this help and care you so generously bestowed on me is because you want to make sure your tummy is filled in the future ?

Babah was already laughing, terguling-guling atas katil.

And you must do that in front of your Babah ? Why can’t you say that just now when Babah was not around ? Why in front of Babah and now he is sooooo gonna laugh at me. For days…….

Cess !

She then pointed her finger at her Babah, “Babah cannot cook ! So if you die we are going to starve !” Ya Allah dramanya. Aku ingat aku yang dok berdrama, rupanya ada orang lagi terer dari aku. Aduhai lah… tahan gelak, tahan gelak because the curtains are still up. The play is still on.

Abang intervened, cutting short her moment of madness, ‘Why do you treat Babah like that ?” He asked angrily. “Why can’t you say nice things about Babah ?”

He he……

“Aarrhhhgghhh…..I will be fine tomorrow…. Go… go and watch tv now….*cough* * cough*” Said I before terjadi pergaduhan besar pulak.

*The cough was real as aku belum baik batuk lagi…

“Never mind lah, Adik… why don’t we just play the game kat atas ni ? At least we can be near Mummy ….”

Adik agreed and they left the room.

Babah started giggling. I did too but quietly sebab sakit kan ?

“You saw her face just now ? My god !” said Babah.

“I know.. ! I will remember that forever !”

Then we laughed again and I must have forgotten that I was sick because suddenly I heard, “Is that you laughing, Mummy ? I can hear you laughing…. So you are better now ? Or you are not sick at all ?” coming from outside my bedroom, in a little girl’s voice.

Babah and I covered our mouths to stifle our laughs, like 2 naughty children.

When I peeked, her face was concentrating on her Abang’s playing. She didn’t even break whatever she was doing to confront me. Cool lah you, Adik. Very cool.

Ha ha…

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Alahai Abang ni

Babah send a well oiled, every limbs working perfectly Abang to tennis class. Adik tak pegi… demam.

Mummy collected Abang who limped to the car.

“What happened ?”

“I don’t know… suddenly saya sakit….”

“Oh… takpa… balik karang Mummy check… Maybe just a pulled muscle or something like that….”

Then, “Mummy… walaupun kaki saya sakit tapi saya masih ingin bersenam !”

Dahh…. Naik dah bulu roma aku… Buat dah budak ni….

I tried my darnest to stifle my tremors so I bit my lip and smiled at my son.

“Iya… I had the determination to go on so that I can be very good at tennis. I also have the determination to play so that I can be thin…”
Tambah besar Mummy punya gelak….. WAAARRRRGGHHHH ! Mana hang mai, sayang wei….. Felt like I was in a Japanese series.

He inhaled and continued, “Mummy… determination tu apa ?”

Pulak…. Kuang kuang kuang….

Mid explaination, he cut in, “Oh… maksudnya determine ?”

Ya Allah… ya lah… Tambah tion je kat belakang….

One morning about 2 weeks ago he complained about Gizmo’s consistant meowing.

“Dia cari anak dia lah Mummy. I pity her but it was soooo noisy....”

Mummy snorted. “Nolah… she stopped calling her children already.. That was a booty call, okay ?”

“Apa booty call ?"
“Eh !.... Err…. She was calling for her boyfriend….”

“Oh… dia mencari teman lelaki dia ?”

Oh tidakkkk !!!!!!! Mummy felt tremors traveling thorugh her body and just couldn’t stop shuddering okay ? Just can’t seem to stop.

I must him given him a look because he smiled at me and said, “What... I know how to speak Bahasa Malaysia properly now….”

Err…. That is not properly, darling… That kind of talk masih boleh buat orang berguling, okay ? Ya Allah, ya Rabbi ….

Friday, March 12, 2010

Why are you growing up too fast ?

One day when I was sick, I went down to watch the telly after staying in my room for far too long and feeling so confined.

Adik was watching Sinetron with Bibik, concentrating with the storyline.

“Mummy… I don’t like this story.” She said suddenly.

“You want to know why ? Because Cinta kan suka that boy tapi kan…. He is not handsome. Not at all !”

Waaah…. Dah pandai dah…… Nak handsome. Taste sendiri pun dah ada. Muka punya heran kenapa lah si Cinta boleh syok kat mamat yang buruk lagu tu.

He he…

That day when we watched Percy Jackson and The Ligthning Thief, there was a scene where Percy and Athena’s daughter (I have forgotten her name) were smiling and looking at each other from far. Adik who was on Babah’s lap (memang rugi beli tiket untuk dia ni), looked up at her father and asked;

“Babah…dia suka ke Bah ?”

He he…. Amboi lah. Babah nodded then looked at me, smiling sadly, sort of saying, “My girl….. is so grown up !”

Ha ha… yelah Bah. Mummy feels it too.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Masa power cut...

We had a power cut yesterday.

The air was sticky and hot and everybody was in a bad mood.

Babah came home with candles. The kids had a lovely time watching the flames danced in the dark.

It is exam week and Adik had a nice time reading and doing her revision by the candlelight. I am sure adik lebih jepada berangan-angan at the novelty of doing that dari study. Abang though was all hot and bothered, and takut I am sure because he stayed close to Mummy.

I went up to bathe and sembahyang. The kids followed closely. Abang was lying on the bed and Adik was in the family room, trying to get some cool air from the opened door. I put the candle next to my sejadah.

“Mum… don’t put it there….” He warned.

“What ?”

“The candle ! I am so scared if you are going to catch fire !”

“No lah… Jauh ni….”

“Mum…. Please be careful… I will watch for the candle as you pray lah….”

Hmmm….

True to his words, he didn’t move from his position. I could feel his stares as I did my 3 rakaat.

As soon as I gave my final salam, he said, “Mum… please lipat your telekung now because it can catch fire….”

Aiyoo ! Yelah ! Yelah !

We joined Elsa outside. I sat next to her on the daybed while Abang showed me sort of macam concert dia buat kat sekolah. It so happened I started coughing as soon as he opened his mouth but that didn’t deter him from performing. He kept on with it, pausing respectfully when I coughed louder than his singing until Adik naughtily went,

“Abang…." She said grinning “…. I don’t think she likes your singing very much… She is still coughing…” her thumbs pointing at me happily.

Abang went “ Hey ! Adik ni !”

And I miraculously stopped coughing !

Keh keh !

Monday, March 08, 2010

Saya tekan-tekan

One day last week Abang called me through Tok’s phone.

“Mummy… hari ni saya ko-ko. Can Tok Mi send me ?”

“If Tok says yes than okaylah…. I can’t send you…”

“Okay Mummy… you pick me up after school okay ? Bye Mum…”

His voice sounds like nectar to my ears. Sedap sangat, manja….. My mind immediately went the times when he was smaller, all chubby cheeks and very, very fair sampai muka tu semak sebab nampak blue veins all over his skin.

His eyes, his huge eyes are what I love best. Everything you want to know about him is there.

Anyway, my sister CT called me and we talked for one hour. While we talked I heard a message came through but I ignored it. After our session was done, I checked my phone and found it was missed call message from home.

“Mummy ! Tok tak ambik saya ! Dia lupa !” Said my son in despair.

“Oh dear… Tak pelah okay ? Just stay home and study… Is that okay ? I’ll cook whatever you want tonight…..” He loves going for his ko-ko so I know he is very, very disappointed. To make it up to him, offer lah nak masak apa-apa yang dia nak.

“Okay… meatballs spaghetti… “ Fullamak… Demand…

I got home at the appointed time and he was already waiting for me. His face was all smiles so I was glad.

Then, he frowned. “Saya tekan-tekan nombor Mummy tapi tak dapat ! Saya tekan-tekan nombor CT pun tak dapat ! Saya tekan-tekan, tekan-tekan semua tak dapat ! Banyak kali saya tekan-tekan, tekan-tekan…”

He he… sorrylah darling, sebab memang Mummy and CT dok bergayut !

So that night, to compensate for his failed tekan-tekan, Mummy added fried calamari to the menu. He was extremely happy.

Ha ha… Mummy’s little boy.

Friday, March 05, 2010

Hey... I know that sneeze...

Aku gelak sakan when I took Adik to shower after swimming. First she said, “Mummy perempuan kan lambat kan bila mandi ? Bila kita keluar Babah and Abang is always waiting for us….”

He he…. It is good that you know but that doesn’t mean that we can keep them waiting, nanti dia orang boring.

If we are always late bukannya apa, both of our hairs now dah panjang. Adik’s is almost to her bum and mine has passed my shoulder blades so it takes a bit more time to dry our hair. If we want to compare with the boys, well Babah rambut macam ada takde je… Keh keh… Abang pun short hair so it will dry in no time. Mummy and Adik je yang problem.

Anyway while waiting for me to dry my hair, we heard the sound of somebody sneezing.

“Babah ! That is Babah !” my little girl shouted and ran out. I let her because I can also recognize the sneeze. It definitely came from my husband, the serial sneezer. Ha ha….

Babah and his sneezing are quite legendary, okay. Dah lah he has quite a sizable honker. Anyway, when we were in the UK, our friends Cho, Nani and Noreen came to visit us in Nottingham. We were in the kitchen cooking when suddenly we heard Kamil sneezing from the 1st floor.

Upon hearing it, Cho, sweet sweet Cho, clapped her hands happily and exclaimed, “That is the first time I dengar Kamil sneeze secara live ! Selalunya I dengar through the phone !! I kenal itu dia kan ?”

Ha ha…. I laughed so hard when I heard that.

Really lah Babah ni….

Tuesday, March 02, 2010

Mum... these are drugs ?

“Mum… are you doing drugs ?”

“Eh ? Wazzat again ?”

“These…. They are drugs kan ?” He asked, clutching my Panadol Actifast.

Aduhai… Mummy dah lah demam ni… tak terjawab sebab I was too tired and too woozy to think straight. Plus my chest felt so heavy so talking requires a huge effort.

About a month ago I think Abang started asking about drugs. What are they, what they look like and why are they bad.

I explained that drugs are medications. But it gets dangerous when you take without while you were sick to get a good feeling.

“What good feeling ?”

“Seriously I don’t know because I have never done it before. But…. If you take ubat while you are not sick, well then you will get sick. You get addicted to them so you keep taking them and then they turned toxic in your body…. Then you die….. Like you are not sick, but you still telan Panadols hari-hari… so now the Panadols have become a dangerous drug to you..”

“Addicted tu macamana ?”

“Well… like you addicted to your video games asyik nak main aje sambil lupa semuanya…….” And jadi leteran lain berkenaan video games pulak. Sian Abang. No matter lah what topic he brought up, last-last mesti kena batang hidung dia.

We didn’t talk about drugs anymore after that until the above-mentioned episode.

So… I cannot just let it go right ? I mean budak ni mulut dia boleh tahan kepohnya jugak kang dia canang lak kat sekolah mak dia “is doing drugs…” so nak tak nak, I asked him to follow me upstairs and tried to explain as best as I could again, without veering off the subject.

Tu lah… I must learn not to campur-adukkan my topics. Must ensure my kids paham everything and ask all their questions before aku corner tempat lain.