A proud momma

My children can really make me laugh

For some reason last Thursday morning, Adik whipped out her pencil and chanted “Abracadabra ! Make Abang a princess !!” Abang literally howled and chased Adik around. Adik squealed happily and when she couldn’t run any longer yelled “Abracadabra ! Make Abang again !!” Wa ha ha ha… Kelakarlah Adik ni.

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Or when we first went jogging at the mosque area on Sunday (Abang pegi main tennis, mummy, babah and Adik pegi jogging), Adik tried all the exercising equipment along the jogging path. Next to each equipment is a a short explaination and a picture of the correct way to use it. When we got to the monkey bar, Adik who ran ahead to study the instruction gave a loud sigh. "Susahlah ni Bah. We have to carry the ladder..." Sure enough when we looked at the diagram, the guy swinging on the monkey bar looked like he was carrying the ladder ! Ha ha ha..!!

My children can also make us shed proud tears…

Yesterday Babah and Mummy were still tired from the aftermath of the party (will write about the party at a later date when I download the pictures ). Babah especially so because early Sunday morning he had to go for a futsal tournament. He came back at 1 pm, bathed and we went out for lunch at about 2 pm, came home at about 4 pm and Babah straight away crashed on the bed. Mummy saw the love of her life baring, she also baring… tepuk tepuk Babah and alas, Mummy also went off to slumberland.

I woke up when I heard a loud bang, a bang that I recognized came from the kids’ cupboard. I raised myself from the bed and saw Abang taking out towels from it. He was naked (gloriously chubby) and was glistening wet. I then heard the sounds of the shower and my daughter singing. He vanished from my sight and I heard him say from the bathroom “Okay, Adik. Sudah.” I heard Adik replied okay, and soon I saw Adik swathed in furry toweling and Abang trailing behind. He ordered his sister to stand on the bed for easy toweling work. He then vanished again and I saw him handed her something. Adik sat on the bed and I assumed she was putting on her knickers (I found out this morning it was actually her pull-up disposable diapers that her Wan insists she put on at night).

Both of them opened their wardrobe and then returned back to the bed where they proceeded to put on pyjamas. Abang was ready first and he straightaway entered our room to watch the telly. Adik called him from their room requesting help as she encountered problems to put on her jammies. He asked her to come to him but he didn’t manage to help his sister on the first try. He then yanked the jammies off her head, straighten it properly and then put it on for her. It was successful. Adik gave him a nice smile and said “Thank you, Abang” and he replied with the usual “It’s okay..” and they both watched the telly.

I shook their Babah awake when I realised the children bathed without us telling them to do so. Therefore it was both of us who watched them from our darkened room. When they settled down to watched the telly, Babah looked at me with wet eyes. I smiled at him proudly.

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Thank you, Abang and Adik for not disturbing Babah and Mummy. Thank you for caring for us. Thank you for being you. Happy Birthday angels….

Call me Adik, my angel

I have been thoroughly entertained this weekend. Mesmerised and enchanted in fact with conversations with my daughter. Sometimes as she talked I would just look at her, watching her facial movements as she let known her feelings and messages, how her eyes would be when she is angry, or sad or when she wanted to bargain for something. I love the way her little mouth moved with every expressions and feelings.

I have forgotten what led her to say this but in the car, she was yapping away when I heard her say “then kan Mummy, you call me Adik, my angel okay ?” Babah and I looked at each other, eyebrows raised.

“What, baby.” But sadly she had already switched to another important topic and ignored my request for an explanation. Apa hal ntah.

We were on our way to A&W to book and pay for the children’s party this Saturday. When we got there, a party was already in full swing and the marketing exec asked us to sit down and have a bit of lunch before she could attend to us. When we saw people trickling out of the party room we started to make our way there. Babah said as soon as Adik saw where we were going, she hid her face on her father’s neck and held close. In the duration we were discussing with the staff, she remained rigid and hidden. She is afraid of the cuddly A&W mascot.

Macamana ni ? The bear will actually be at the party. Her own party !!

"Adik tak boleh takut dengan bear tu… He will be coming to your party..”

“Why ? Can’t he stay at his home ?”

“No…he has to be at your party. What are you scared of ?”

“What size is the bear Mummy ? Big, medium or small ?”

“Medium.”

She was silent.

“Adik.. the bear makan hot dog lah Adik. Dia tak makan orang…What are you scared of ?”

“Oh ? Makan hot dog saja ?”

“Adik… there is a person inside the bear. It is only a costume. Inside the bear is a human, Adik…” said the brother pulak.

Tak tahu kenapa, her next question was “Is there a Japanese inside the bear ?” Even Abang was shocked. I looked at her and said, “ Very unlikely will a Japanese be playing the bear Adik. I would bet it would either be a Malay, Indian or Chinese. Kadazan or Iban is more likely than a Japanese…”

She answered with and “Oh..” and remained quiet. Abang then broke the silence, “ Kalau Adik tak nak bear than there is no party for you. All the presents would be for me…”. She pondered the statement for a bit then said, “ It’s okay I don’t mind. I will sit in my room okay Mummy ?”

I was just staring at her when she said, “ The bear will be downstairs saja kan ?”

When we got home and it was time for their bath, I instructed Abang to put the dirty clothes in the laundry basket. He of course grumbled and complained about the unfairness of it all since his sister did nothing. Before I could say anything, Adik said, “ Abang, this is your room Abang. Abang lah buat kerja.”

Aiik ? So where is her room then ? She answered that she has no room. So then I asked her why is that ? She eloquently answered “Because this is Abang’s room and that is your room, so I can sleep anywhere I want…” He he… anywhere she wants to maksudnya dengan Mummy dia lah….

At the moment Babah’s parents are having the upstair’s entire bathrooms repaired. By late afternoon Babah’s mom asked me to help her mop the floor as it was really dusty from the work. As I was mopping I heard a very high and desperate, “Mummy !! Mummy where are you ?”

I went to the stairs and saw her, my little girl, climbing up the stairs, face all worried. “Kenapa Adik ? What do you want ?” She pouted her lips and said, “Adik nak Mummy…” Oh… since she put it sweetly like that, come on over then, honey.

Her grandma saw her walking up the stairs and forbade her from doing so because of all the dust. She breezily said, “It’s okay Wan. I will be careful. I want my Mummy…” Aaah….. anak ku.. Come to your Mummy then…..

Since it was really a dusty affair, the re-novation work, I decided to change the sheets on our beds too. Adik was nice enough to volunteer her services. We talked as I stripped of the beddings and put on a new one while she neatly folded the soiled pillow cases. She sometimes would sigh about the hard work she was doing and all and what a nice girl she was. She even broke into songs while she was doing her work ( macam Cinderella sungguh ), usually Beautiful Girl by Sean Kingston.

She was singing when she suddenly said to me, “Mummy, jangan bagi Babah main football lagi, okay ?” When I looked at her she was not even looking at me, still folding her pillowcases. Why, I asked and she replied, “Because nanti Babah sakit belakang. Pastu nanti dia get angry. Pastu nanti dia suruh Um stay in his room and then I cannot be with you Mummy…” He he he… rarely the abang is banished to his room alone, usually he got company because the ruckus as a rule is created by abang and adik. What will she say next ?

Adik, my angel…..

Apa Adik buat kat kelas ?

Semalam…. Wa ha ha… nak tergolak den…. He he.

When I came back from work, I attacked the kitchen first. Thaw the meat, cut the vegetables and what nots so that after Maghrib and Isyak, I could get everything on the fire straight away.

After 15 minutes, my children came barreling into the kitchen, mouth busy with news of the day. Each tried to be heard and I was trying my best to filter the news while chopping food. But then, Abang’s reporting caught my ears and I had to raise my voice to be heard above the din.

“What Abang ?”

Abang smiled gleefully. He he….. “Adik nak o-ok kat kelas Mandarin, Mummy.” He announced happily. I looked at the little girl. She frowned while looking at her brother. “Tak pun !”

“ Iye, iye… Adik tipu !” Abang danced, happy that he got the scoop of the day. “Adik, janganlah o-ok kat school. Tunggulah balik rumah, okay ? Sekejap saja.” Said I. My daughter looked trouble.

“ Dia dah o-ok lah Mummy. Dia o-ok kat dentist !”

“Ha ? Iye ke Adik ? Ivy bawak Adik ?” I asked.

“Adik, sapa basuh ? Alahai, alahai…..”. Adik was quiet. She was upset and clearly embarrassed. I was thinking if her bum was properly washed and if I need to isolate the clothes sho wore. Abang though was having a field day. He was hooting and dancing, I had to ask him to be quiet. “Abang, sudah Abang. Adik is very embarrassed about it.” Abang thankfully stopped his shenanigans.

“Adik… lain kali kalau nak o-ok, tunggulah sampai rumah. Sekejap je kan ? Okay ?” I advised. She looked at me but was still quiet. She must be rather shaken by this incident.

“Mum…,” said the bearer of bad news, “ Mandarin class tu lama Mum… It is not sekejap… So mana tahan…” Oh, pandailah pulak. Tadi mengejek…

Abang menjaga adiknya lagi

Bergaduhlah emak dan anak perempuannya pagi ini. A usual took the kids for breakfast. Since Adik never finished her roti canai I told her today I am gonna give her nasi goreng instead of the roti. Membazirkan…. People in war torn countries tak makan, depa ni boleh tak habis makan. A good piece of roti canai wasted every single day ( I sound just like my parents ).

She refused. I insisted. She screamed. Excuse me ? I told her sternly that I do not like people screaming at me. I ordered the roti canai anyway. She didn’t eat. She put her head on her folded arms on the table. Not a drop she drank or a bite she ate.

Kebetulan next to our table ada 2 policemen tengah makan. I pun apa lagi, “ Adik nampak tak polis tu tengah makan ? Satgi Mummy panggei laah polis tu suruh tangkap lah budak ni….”. She didn’t care but her abang jumped. He took a piece of the roti and tried to shove it in his sister’s mouth.

“ Adik, makan Adik…”. She clamped her mouth tight.

“ Biarkan dia, Abang.. ” said I and stared at my daughter. She peeked from the safety of her folded arms. Abang… I really pity him. Sometimes I did not think of what my actions would do to him. I should really take into account his feelings and perangai before I do anything, before I speak.

I instructed him to call over the policemen to our table. He got up but took the plate of roti canai instead. He then went to the roti counter and asked the kakak to bungkus it for his sister.

“ Mummy… I think she will eat when you are not around …” Said he as he sat down.

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Hmmm…… I still have a lot to learn. My son seemed very learned when he handled his very immature Mummy. In my defence, “ Nak, mak ko ni adik – beradik ramai.. so I am always in battle mode…” He he….

Spoon vs saucer

Had breakfast at Azira this morning before kelas mengaji. A fight ensued due to Abang drinking his the tarik in a saucer. When his tea arrived, he went to get the saucer, asked me to pour it for him. As he pulled it towards him, Adik handed him a spoon.

Adik : Nah spoon, Abang.

Abang : I don’t want it.

Adik : Use the spoon Abang, nanti tak tumpah. See ? See ?

And she demonstrated the usage of spoon for drinking.

Adik : See ? I’m clean….

Abang : Tak nak. Jangan kacau lah….

Adik : Abang… nanti tumpah lah….Mummy marah.

Abang : Tak … ! Don’t disturb me lah Adik. Abang nak makan !!

Abang : Makan lah !! ( Dengan muka berkerut – kerut )

I was not looking at them and was concentrating on my food when I heard her gasped. Sure enough, Abang and Adik were looking at his soiled shirt. Abang looked at me and gave me a sheepish smile.

Abang : Sikit saja ( sengih, sengih )

Adik : Look me Mum. I am clean. Tak de pun tumpah. I am so clever.

Mummy : Ha… tulah Abang. Tadi Adik wanted to be nice to you and you marah – marah. Sekarang Allah nak tunjuk Abang. You had never spilt your drink until today, Abang. Tengok tu.

Abang of course cried.

Adik : It’s okay Mummy, sikit saja… kan ? Sikit saja. Next time Abang guna spoon, okay ?

He he….

Mummy and Babah demam

Adik : Mummy demam ke ?

Mummy : A-ah… Sikit…

Adik : O- oh… Mummy panaslah… Mummy demam…

Mummy : Kesian mummy kan ?

Adik : It’s okay Mummy, I will take care of you. Nanti makan ubat and then you put yang lekat kat kepala tu ok ?

Mummy : Ohh… pandai hang noo…. Bila tang hang demam, punya dok merapu tak mau pakai benda tu… Bila kita demam pandai suruh kita lekat kat kepala….

Adik : Mum… I am not demam Mum…..

Mummy : Yelah….

Adik : Mummy kena take your medicine okay ? Then you sleep and rest okay ? Sebab nanti if you are sick you cannot drive…. I cannot go to my class and your boss marah…..

Mummy : My boss ?

Adik : Yes… Mummy, do you know Babah has a fat boss ?

Mummy : Really ? How do you know that ?

Adik : Mum… all boss are fat Mum….

Mummy : Oh ??

Adik : Yes….

He he… tak nak jadi boss lah….

Turn Babah dia pulak…

Adik : Babah demam ke ?

Babah : Yelah Ti. You will take care of me ?

Adik : Yes Bah, I will take care of you. Don’t worry.

And jumped over his Babah to be at his side.

Adik : Where does it hurt, Bah ?

Babah : Sini and sini and sini and sini.

Adik : Okay ..

And she started blowing everywhere.

Adik : Do you feel better ? Adik dah tiup dah ? Dah blow….

Babah : Belum Adik…

Adik : Okay, I try another trick okay ?

And she started to kiss her Babah everywhere.

Adik : Dah kan ? All better. I am so clever….

Hmm… yelah…

Adik the pesinent

Had breakfast at Azira this morning with my children before sending them to their mengaji class. Abang wolfed down his meehoon soup with gusto and Adik as usual, picked on her food.

“ Okay Mummy, I’m done..” she announced. Her plate was ¾ full.

“ Makan sikit lagi Adik. Next month is your birthday. You cannot be 4 years old and this small, ” said I.

She sighed. “ Mum… makan kat atas berak kat bawah…”. I raised my brows.

“ Makan sikit lagi, Adik…” said I again.

“ Mum… I am the pesinent. I can do whatever I want…”

This is the second time I heard the word pesinent. Since Abang was handily available for translation work, I asked him what it meant.

“ President…” he said simply, mouth full of meehoon.

Amboi, amboi, amboi……

Adik talking

I am very proud of Adik and her talking prowess. Oh, let me gloat, as I am a mother of children who decided to start talking when they neared 3.

Anyway, yesterday we were in Shah Alam Mall and as I was walking hand in hand with my little baby, she slipped. Babah and Mummy of course sniggered while Abang gave out a huge colossal laugh.

“ It is not funny !! ” Said the embarrassed tyke.

Of course Abang exaggerated another laugh and Mummy and Babah laughed out loud.

“ It is not funny at all !! ” She said and giggled herself. What a good sport.

When we got home and put them to bed, Adik snuggled close to her brother.

“ Adik !! Get away from me ! You are squishing me…” Said Abang.

Adik pretended she didn’t hear him and closed her eyes.

“ Mummy, make her sleep in her own bed because I don’t like being squished !! ”

I sighed and gently suggested that she sleeps in her own bed.

She went deeper into the duvet, smiled and me, eyes wide with mischief and said, “ Mum… it is better here. I am so comfortable…. ”. She did look all comfy and snuggly that I haven’t had the heart to make her leave.

Strategy baik punya….

When she was smaller, I couldn’t see the resemblance between brother and sister at all. Lately though I have noticed there are some facial resemblance but it ends at their huge eyes. The similarities are more evident in their mannerisms.

Last Monday Abang and Adik started kelas mengaji at Sekolah Ibnu Majah in Seksyen 8. Adik is of course very excited because even though it is only an hour a day but she is already officially a school-going child ( she is keeping up with her “ Esok Babah work ? Mummy ? Abang ? ” and when it got to her and the answer is now a yes, she would close her eyes and smile happily, cute head nodding….. kesian sungguh budak ni ).

When I came back from work on Monday she came running to me and announced happily, “ Mummy I have a friend !! She talked to me and we played … ! ” I smiled at her and asked what is her friend’s name. She looked at me and said, “ Owang. ” Okay and I asked her what is her ustaz’s name. Again the same look and said, “ Owang. ”

I squinted my eyes at her and asked, “ They have the same name ? ” Again she looked at me, this time a sort of far-away look, like she ceased looking at me anymore eventhough her eyes were trained on me. I know that look so well. I call it Abang’s thinking look. It would come about when I asked him a difficult question and he would be quiet, presumably thinking with that look upon his face, so much like what his sister was doing.

I looked at away. I got all emotional, mourning for the look my son stopped giving me.

Oh, merepeknya aku.

Not only girls who just wanna have fun...

One day, I asked Adik a Million Dollars question, “ Why are you so noisy, Adik ? ” and she answered with “ Because I want to have fun Mummy… ”.

I replied with, “ Oh ? You need to make a lot of noise when you are having fun ? ” and she replied, “ Yes Mum. I like to do fun stuffs.. ”and beamed and continued with her hullabaloo.

Either she concocted the answer on her own or Abang had properly tutored her because the words rang familiar. Last time Abang would always answer the same way when I questioned his needs to be loud/buy loads of toys/extremely rambunctious. Once after he answered the customary, “ I like to have fun, Mum ” and I gave him a look that borders from bewilderment to disbelief, he sighed and explained like he would to a younger person, “ Mum…. Kids like to have fun, Mum. We like to play and play bising – bising. It is what kids do. Or it would be very boring….. We must have fun !”.

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Hmmmm….. have I totally forgotten my childhood ?

Burung murai, sayang

I love the Raya Petronas advertisement and very much humbled and inspired by it. You know……, “ Burung apa tu bah ? ” being asked over and over again and the patient “ Burung murai, nak ” from the father repeatedly. What a test of love and tolerance and I was determined to be like that so that when Abang became very abrupt and condescending towards me when I am old, I can tell him how patient I was with him without blushing because it is all true, yeah ?

Opportunity arose yesterday when in the car Abang complained that his sister is annoying him. “ Sabarlah, nak. ” Said I, very zen like.

“ Mum… she is annoying me…. ” came the complaint again.

“ Sabarlah, nak ” said me again.

“ Mummy she is blah, blah, blah… ”

“ Sabarlah, nak ”. I smiled sweetly at my husband, trying to show how patient I have become.

“ Mumm….. ”

“ Sabarlah, nak ”. I was on auto mode already.

At that time, Abang has had enough.

“ Stop saying that. I got the point already… ”.

Amboi….!! Belum apa – apa lagi dah tak sabar dengan mak dia. Uiihhhh….. sabarlah tangan ni……

How we spent our Sunday

Pagi – pagi hantar Abang to his tennis lesson. Babah, Mummy and Adik pegi mana lagi but Cili Merah for breakfast ( according to Babah’s mum, they now frequent Cili Merah every morning since Adik refused to have her roti canai anywhere else ).Abang's coach came to us and said that next year he is enrolling Abang in tennis tournaments. He mentioned that to me during raya already but I am still skeptical. Abang was excited, though.

“ Kat mana coach ? ” he asked.

“ Haa ? Kat mana ? ” asked the coach back.

“ Kat US ke ? ” Mak aiihh…. Dia buat dah si Abang ni.

“ Dulu dia nak masuk tournament kat Australia coach…. ” said Mummy malu – malu.

“ Waa ha ha ha ha….!! ” That came from the coach.

“ KL dulu Abang… KL dulu… ” said he, between gulps of laughter.

He he…..

Then Babah got very hulk like when his office called and ordered him to work. So the ones who were left at home had to make other plans. Why don’t we go and buy some food and then holed ourselves up in the room, air-cond blaring on high watching ghost movie ?

Yippee !! Everbody was nervously ecstatic ( we were excited but none of us are really that brave ). Then Adik tertidur. Then Mummy got heavy lidded too. Then Aunty Amelia sms-ed to remind us that we were invited to her house. Since we were not even peckish, Mummy said why don’t we just eat at Aunty Melia’s house ? Abang said okay ( food is not very high on his agenda anyway ).

Then Babah got home. Yeah… pegi rumah Amir !! Adik then enquired about cerita hantu. Babah said after rumah Amir, we can go and get some scary dvds. Went home at 7.30, sembahyang maghrib, watched Blade while waiting for Isyak. After Isyak, Babah still clad in his kain baring sat. Abang baring sebelah Babah and before we know it was off to slumberland. It was 8.30. By 8.45 Mummy realised Babah was snoring. Biar benar depa ni ?

Adik though was restless. She was turning left and right while watching CSI and sedaq – sedaq, si kecik tu pun dah tiduq. Mummy fought valiantly trying to get to the end of CSI. As soon as the credits rolled in she succumbed to her fatigue and slept soundly.

By 6 am, everybody was awake. The first thing Adik said when she mamai-ing opened her eyes, “ Bila nak bayar cd hantu Mummy ? ” Hmm… tonight babe, tonight. If we are not asleep by 7 that is…

Babies are stupid

We were having breakfast at G Hotel ( don’t ever stay there. It is rubbish. RM 400 over for nothing… seriously ) in Penang and I was eating some excellent cheese from the cheese board. I asked Abang to try it and he of course refused, saying that he doesn’t like cheese.

Mum : But you used to like cheese Abang.

Abang : When I was a baby ? Well, I changed my mind.

Mum : Dulu when we were in Belgium, we would take some cheese from the buffet and feed you with it while we tour the city. You loved it… ( said I while waving the cheese in his direction ).

Abang : Mum, babies they do not know anything. They just eat what people give them because they don’t know how to taste. They eat and eat because they do cannot smell.

Mum : Oh ?

Abang : Mum… babies are so stupid. They just eat what people give them...

Uiihhh....

Trying to keep Adik quiet

Semalam, more drama with my kids. Adik buat drama dah lama, though. She will start her conversation innocently enough.

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Adik : Esok Mummy pegi work ?

Mum : Pegi.

Adik : Babah ?

Mum : Pegi.

Adik : Abang ?

Mum : Pegi.

Adik : Adik ?

Mum : Duduk rumah ye ? (with a groan as this happens every single day so Mummy knows what is gonna happen next)

Adik : Waaa.... Adik nak pegi sekolah ( x 100 ). Adik nak pegi school ( x 100 ).

Mum : Pegi tanya abah ko ...... Dia yang tak bagi....

Adik : Bah !!!

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This has been going on since start of this year, stopped for awhile, surfaced a few times each proceeding month and repeated with intensity every day since this very month. I don't want to handle this because this is her Babah punya kerja. She cried and cried and cried even promises of sushi was of no help. I finally said, " Adik, you can go to school after your birthday okay ? After your party I will send you to school okay ? But if you cry, there will be no birthday party.... ".

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She agreed and stopped the hullabaloo. Just to goad her Babah further, I whispered to her, " Tell Babah kalau Babah nak Adik diam pasal school, you have to buy me Mickey Mouse necklace... ". She perked up. " Nolah Mummy. Mummy lah cakap.... ".

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" Adik lah cakap.... " " Mummy cakap for me okay ? " Then came Babah's voice, " What are you two whispering about ? ".

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I looked at her and she avoided looking at me. " Adik kata if you want her to be quiet, you have to compensate for her non-schooling year with a Mickey Mouse necklace. " Babah looked at us. Since Adik is Babah's princess, what can he say but " Okay .... ". He he...

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I looked at Adik and she grinned, her thumb up. I reciprocated. Babah..... he he.

-

Anyway, since we did mention sushi, Adik of course membuat tuntutan. Pegilah kami ke Sushi King. Before masuk kereta, Adik suddenly remembered a new purple dress that her Aunty Su bought her. Dekat pintu kereta ni dok " Bah, I need my purple dress... " " Adik you are wearing a purple dress.... " Countered Babah, patience slowly ebbing from his body...

" Not this one. This one pyjamas... I want my purple dress Bah... ". Sigh.. I sternly ordered her to get in the car and be quiet.

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Of course she was not quiet and was sobbing uncontrollably. Tensionnya aku. After one fight to another !! When we got to a quite dark place, Babah pulled another trick. " Adik, if you are not quiet, I will leave you here. "

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When she raised her sobs an octave higher, Babah literally stopped the car and I opened the door. Abangnya pulak started wailing. " No ! No ! She is my only sister !! No ! No ! " Babah and I exchanged smiles. Adik got smart and shut her mouth. Abang sobbed, hugging his precious little sister.

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Hmmm.... how long do we have to keep this up ?

Bukan I !!

I came home yesterday to see a frowning husband and a missing daughter. My son was his usual happy self. He however showed me his remote control car that looked brand new yesterday morning when I left for work and Adik was playing with it. That evening though, the aerial was broken.

“ Adik did this Mummy, she broke my toy.” informed my son, eyes round, face solemn. “ But the problem is dia tak mengaku !! She lied in front of everybody !! ” He added. Ohh…. That is serious indeed.

“ Where is she ? ” I asked. “ In Wan’s room. She went there when Abah marah dia…. ” Abang answered, tone scandalous. I instructed him to fetch his sister.

As usual since Abah was still in the room, she entered with eyes covered by her hands. She ran to me and gave me a hug.

Mum : Adik broke Abang’s toy ?

Adik : Noo... bukan I.

Mum : Adik…. You know what we feel about lying. Adik rosakkan toy Abang ?

Adik : Bukan. Not me.

Mum : Adik, orang yang tipu masuk neraka remember ? Adik nak masuk neraka ?

Adik : Tak nak. I don’t like here anymore. I want to go to bilik Wan.

Mum : Adik, dalam neraka ada apa ?

Abang : Ada api ( menyampuk pulak budak ni. He was standing next to Adik, looking intently at his sister ) and big, humongous monsters that will eat you.

Mum : Adik nak kena makan api ke ? Tak nak kan ? Okay, say sorry to Abang.

Adik : Sorry Abang… ( She leaned on her brother, looking remorse )

Mum : Sorry for what Adik ? Say sorry because I broke your toy.

Adik : Bukan I ( body instantaneously erect ).

Mum : Adik, remember neraka ? ( at this point the abang was squirming )

Adik : Not me.

Mum : Adik, say sorry to Abang !

Adik : Sorry Abang ( this time she hugged her brother and Abang was holding her tight. She did look sorry so I was very hopeful ).

Mum : Sorry for what Adik ? Come on. You are sorry because you broke his toy.

Adik : ( again she was defiant ) Not me. Bukan ( and shook her head ).

Mum : Adik, nak kena bakar dengan api ke ?

Abang : Adik, it is okay Adik. Abang tak marah pun. It’s okay.

Mum : Go on then, say sorry because you broke his toy.

Adik : Sorry Abang because I broke your toy… waaargghh….!!

Abang : It’s okay Adik. I will still love you even if you break my toys. Many, many toys.

And they hugged. And Adik was smiling again. Ya Allah, please lembutkan lah hati si Adik ni macam abang dia…..

9 days with my kids

I had wonderful 9 days with my children. I was happy to be with them and them.. well they showed me what they really are capable of doing.

Let’s start with Abang. I think I have mentioned that we trained our kids to be able to talk and express themselves. I teach ( well taught now since we are thinking of stopping this particular type of training ) them to be able to do things for themselves, have no fear of voicing out what they need and what is required.

Then one fine day during Raya, we found that we have actually over trained him…Selamatkan lah aku, Ya Allah….

We were at McDonald’s ( save me again, Allah ) and as usual, with the Happy Meal comes a toy that is gender specific. Since I have a pair, I asked for one boy toy which was a dino-robot thing and a girl one which was My Little Pony doll. Adik dislikes toys with flowing hairs and asked for a change. We of course sent Abang to do the deed. He approached the manager, a guy with a protruding belly and looked nowhere near my son’s age.

“ Dik, dik… boleh tak adik saya nak tukar toy ni ? ” It was a horrifying moment for any mothers. I looked at the guy and he was looking down at my son, one hand on the counter top and lips one thin line. Babah clutched my arms.

I think the guy asked what sort of toy Adik wanted because Abang answered, “ Dia nak toy robot jugak. Boleh tak ? ” He bent down and handed it over to Abang. Abang shook his head and said, “ Adik saya tak nak yang ini. Dia nak yang lagi satu…. ” and proceeded to the toys’ display and pointed at the desired toy.

When he came back, he informed us that they do not have any other toys but the same one that he has, so Adik has to be contend with it. Babah and I looked at him as he resumed his eating.

“ Why did you call that guy dik ? ” I asked.

“ I don’t know… ” he shrugged.

“ He is older than you, you know… ”. He looked at me and nodded his head. “ So, you should call him abang.. ”. At this point he looked at me, realizing that this is another lesson of life that we are bestowing on him, also means that he done a whopper yet again.

“ That was quite rude, Abang calling somebody older than you adik…” said I again. At this point, his eyes went bigger and rounder, a sure sign that he is going to cry. I sighed and shoved a calorie laden fry inside my mouth instead.

The next morning, he was hounding us to get him to a pasar mini. “ I want to buy Transformers card ” said he, raya money burning in his pocket. “ Which pasar mini ? ” Seksyen 9, he answered. I racked my brain for a pasar mini at Seksyen 9 and took him to the one at seksyen 8.

Babah went in with him and before Babah could open his mouth, he asked the shopkeeper, “ Pakcik ( he got it right this time ) dekat sini ada jual kad Transformers tak ? ” The pakcik answered in negative form but showed him a Transformers packet that has a toy inside. Hmmm…. Well he had to make a sale, I suppose. My son took it and started to feel the packet, to gauge the toy inside. “ Boleh pecah tak toy ni ? Sebab kalau senang pecah nanti mak saya marah…. ”. Aduih, tensionnya budak ni. You don’t have to rat on your mother you know. The pakcik of course said the toy could survive brimstone and fire. Without asking for his father’s permission, he said he’ll take it and paid for it and left, leaving a bewildered Babah in the shop.

Hmmmm………….

Si Adik pulak lain ceritanya. I took them to their piano class on Saturday the 8th of Raya. I waited on the bench in front of their classes when Adik came out first with her teacher in tow. She took my handphone and showed it to her teacher. The wallpaper of my phone at that time was Babah’s picture, taken by the princess herself.

“ Look at my father teacher…” she said, holding the phone up to her teacher. When she politely looked at the picture of the dashing Babah, Adik added, “ He is so cute !! ”. I went red with embarrassment. I swear the hallway went quiet. I dared not look at her teacher when I grabbed her and pulled her to me. She really couldn’t shut her mouth when she helpfully said, “ My father is just a boy.. ”. Eh ? What does that mean ?

I smiled awkwardly at her teacher because you know, my daughter looked like she was trying to get a replacement for her mummy ! Surely her mother must be horrible if she was promoting her father like that. Aduih…

Abang then emerged from his class. When Adik saw him she said, “ Have you met my brother, teacher ? ” Without waiting for her teacher’s answer she said, “ This is my brother, Abang. ” Her hand gesturing to him lazily, like an old hand at introducing people.

Hmm……… ( again ).

Cerita minggu ini

Last night I slept on my sejadah after Maghrib. I was so tired I decided to baring sekejap and then terus lelap. Babah woke me up at 9 and was quite upset because I missed my Japanese class.

I then decided to go down and cook for our sahur. Abang requested for pasta. Adik decided to follow me to the kitchen. While waiting for the pasta to boil, we sat on the floor for a cuddle. She was on my lap and I was fiddling with her hair and singing. When I finished singing, she said to me, “Mummy, you are a good mother.”

Mummy : Really ? Why ?

Adik : Because you make me things and give me something to eat and you like to hug me.

Mummy : Thank you honey for the appreciation.

Adik : ( Grinned ) You’re welcome Mummy.

Babah then came down to announce that he is going out to buy Abang’s chocolate milk. Adik of course wanted to follow. She held her father’s hand, looked at me as she was about to take a step and said, “Don’t forget the mushrooms Mummy for the basgetti.” He he….. comelnya.


2 weeks ago, Abang again complained why Harith ( Babah’s nephew ) is older and bigger than him. I have tried explaining to him in various ways. That day, I tried a different route.

Mummy : Abang, you must understand that Harith was born first. He was born before you. He was born before Babah and Mummy got married even.

Abang : Oh ? Why didn’t you get married yet ? Because Babah was not ready ?

Babah and Mummy looked at each other. Dah start merepek dah budak ni.

Babah : Merepek lah ko ni Abang.

Abang : Bah, is it because you have another girlfriend Bah ?

Dengan itu Mummy dengan muka yang berkerut dan tangan kat pinggang swiveled around to look at Babah. Babah looked shocked, then scared.

Babah : Apa ko merepek ni Abang ?

Abang : Yelah, usually the fathers tak nak kawin because they are not ready Bah. Because they have another girlfriend Bah.

Aiseh, buku apa yang ko baca, cerita apa yang ko tengok ni Abang ?

My baby Adik…

My baby Adik. Ha ha…

Yesterday while I was sitting in front of my dressing table, getting ready for work, Adik came to me. She was watching a Disney video.

“Mummy, Belle kan dia bau du-yan ( durian ).” Said she.

“ Really ? Euuuwwwww…..” was my reply since I abhor durians.

“ Ee….” Agreed my daughter when she stopped halfway. She looked confused.

“But mum… I like du-yan…” Her face contorted in wonder.

“You don’t like du-yan ?” She asked me.

“No..” said I.

“Why ?” She asked again and before I answered, she added, “Because they smell yucky ?”

I nodded my head.

“But I like du-yan Mum,” She said again and left me. He he..

Last night Yaya ( Babah’s sister ) came running to my room. I was just folding my telekung when she appeared very much scared.

“Tolong ! Tolong ! Ada ular kat bawah,”

I jumped on the bed. My children who was in their room heard what their aunt said ran to my room crying. Especially Abang le. Babah went down to check it out but returned with the news that he couldn’t find the snake. Oh seramnya. After things calmed down, we went out to Shah Alam Mall, wanting to buy groceries.

As Babah backed out of the driveway, his mother stood at the door, wanting to see us out. My baby Adik scrolled down the screen and said, “ Be careful Wan. The snake is coming !!!

Merepeknya kau anak ku.

Alahai anak ku Adik…

3 weeks ago, Adik's piano teacher got a new student, a boy about 7 – 8 years old. This boy usually would barge in the class even though my daughter was still in there. Anyway, on his first day, I was waiting for Adik outside but she didn’t emerged. After 5 minutes I went to check on her and found her watching the boy playing his piece.

" Itu abang.. " she said.

" Oh really ? " was my reply.

" Yes… he is my boyfriend… "

Adoii……

I of course told on her to her Babah. Babah was amused.

" Adik ada boyfriend ? " Babah asked.

She smiled and started to swing her body left and right.

" Ha… abang…. " .

Okay, okay…. Mummy dah panic. There was another person who was not amused. Her own abang.

" Adik… you cannot have a boyfriend. Only teenagers can have boyfriends !! You are still a baby !! " Babah and I went quiet. Both of us looked at Adik. She stopped her body swing, eyes wide looking at Abang

" Ha ?? " Was all she said.

Last Saturday we went to piano class again. This time Tok Mi followed us. When Adik came out of her class, I asked her, " Was that your boyfriend ? "

She of course smiled and said yes.

" My boyfriend is abang, Tok. " She informed my mum.

Before my mother could reply, her own abang hissed, “ Adik !! You are so embarrassing !! People is going to laugh at you. You are a baby !! “

Haa… luckily I have Abang at hand to deal with her in 10 years time when she starts giving me boys’ problems.

Adik hilangkan barang

This is the story told to us by Babah’s parents. Abang came home from school looking for his GameBoy. When he asked his sister on its whereabouts, she said she had lost it. Abang was livid.

Abang : Adik main GameBoy dekat mana ?

Adik : Dekat rumah lah…

Abang : So, where is it ?

Adik : Dah hilang.

Abang : Adik main kat bilik Atuk ke, bilik Mummy ke ?

-
Adik : I don’t know….

Abang : Adik, jangan buat abang marah tau. Abang puasa !!

Adik : Let me go find it…

Abang : You better Adik. Jangan buat abang buka puasa !!

At that point, his Atuk called him and asked what was he talking about. Abang went quiet.

When I came home, Abang just returned from his sekolah agama. The first thing he told me was of course about Adik losing the GameBoy. I went upstairs and called her name. She didn’t answer. When I went to look in their room, she was putting on her panties, helped by Bibik.

Mum : Adik, mana GameBoy ?

Adik: Dah hilang.

Mum : Hilang mana ?

Adik : I don’t know. It is gone Mum.

Mum : You have to find it Adik. Before Babah balik.

I threw myself on the bed. Adik was pretending to look for the GameBoy around the room. She was about to land beside me when something caught her eyes and she gave a little gasp.

Adik : Oh my God …

And she quickly scrambled up and reached on top of the shelves next to the bed.

Adik : I found it !! Mum.. look !!

When I looked she was opening a box that used to house a GameBoy game cartridge. She took out the GameBoy from its hiding place and brandished it at me.

Adik : Look ! I found it all by myself !!

Abang who came to check what the commotion was all about was ecstatic. She gave the GameBoy to Abang and settled next to me. I then noticed her empty wrist. My blood drained.

Mum : Adik, where is your gelang ?

She quickly got up to face me.

Adik : Ha ?

Mum : Where is your gelang, Adik ?

Adik : Emmm… let me go and find it.

Unfortunately, while that conversation took place, Babah entered the room and heard us. He ordered her to look for it. She peered behind the telly, she went behind the bed and looked under the chair.

Adik : I couldn’t find it Mummy.

Mum : Adik, go look for it.

She left for her room. After awhile Babh asked me if I am not going to check on my daughter. Why, I asked. She has been standing behind the door for quite some time, said Babah. I found her sitting on the bed, all pouty.

Mum : Where is the gelang ?

All I got was silence and lips jutting dangerously out.

Mum : Twice in a day, Adik. You lost 2 stuffs today.

More silence. I sighed. I went back to my room and before long I heard her laughing and saw her tumbling happily on the bed. Hmm…. Abang yang dah nak batal puasa tu dah pujuk.

It turned out, Babah’s mom took the gelang from her for safe keeping.

Berbuka Frenzy

Last weekend we stayed at the Crowne Plaza KL because Babah had a few coupons still. Went there after art class, checked in, performed Dzuhur and off we went to KLCC for Raya stuffs ( read clothes ). Went back to the hotel at 5, performed Asar and rested a bit. At 6.30 Babah was yapping that we were already late for the buka puasa buffet but Mummy said that since it was just an elevator ride away, we could leave at 7.05 if we wanted to.

Babah insisted. So off we went. We were 25 minutes early. Abang is not much an eater and a very picky one at that. But as we were shown to our table and passed rows and rows of food, Mummy saw Abang eyeing the offered fare hungrily. That was the first for us. Mummy was enjoying the sight of her son salivating.

We sat down. And looked at each other. After about a minute, Abang wanted to go and take some food. Mummy was against it because the last 10 minutes is the hardest and with scrumptious food in front of our face … well it will be just torture. Abang insisted and grabbed his Babah’s hand. Off they went.

Mummy laughed out loud when she saw her son’s plate. Nasi tomato ( that is the first time she saw Abang chose nasi tomato willingly… in fact it was the first time she saw him ate it ), fried calamari and fried chicken. There was also 3 pieces of oreos at the side of the plate.

As Mummy have predicted, 15 minutes went by slowly. Abang asked for the time repeatedly at very, very short intervals that Babah had to put his watch arm on the back of Abangchair, for his easy viewing. 2 – 3 minutes before adzan, Abang wanted to go to the loo. While he was there, the call for maghrib prayers started. As Mummy was eating her cempedak goreng, Abang came hurtling down the restaurant, jumped on the chair and started to scoop up his food with his hand. Abang detested eating with his hand. He always requested for cutleries. Therefore when Babah saw him doing that he offered his cutleries. But nope Abang was not to be disturbed. He pushed it away and started eating. It was a sight to behold.

Being parents of non-eaters, seeing your child eating in a frenzy was oddly comforting. Then it started to get worrying when he didn’t stop for air at all. Mummy had to ask Abang to stop and rest for a while when Abang ate his rice berlaukkan oreos. Surely that combination is bad for the taste bud ?

After he finished his plate, Abang slumped on his chair. Mummy asked him to take a rest. She was shocked when Abang said he saw the pasta counter and wanted macaroni with bacon and white sauce. Really, darling ? Second plate ?

So Babah took him again and Mummy went to get some keaw tiaw goreng to share with Babah, which was so delectable, she almost swooned. When she got to the table, Abang was already there, nose buried in his plate. As soon as he saw his Mummy he waved excitedly. “ Mummy come here for a while and smell my food !! “ He said. So Mummy went and obliged him. “ Smells wonderful kan Mum ? “ Mummy smiled at her precious one and pat his head. And then he started shoveling. Ya Allah, anak ku, she thought.

Ha ha… For somebody who had always snubbed food, this puasa taught him a lesson. His Babah’s advise rang true. Earlier while we were in KLCC, Adik wanted to be fed and so Babah gave a fiver to Abang and asked him to buy Adik some fries at A&W. Abang went grudgingly and when he handed the mouthwatering friend potato to his sister, he said “ Now get away from me … “. Babah told him puasa is about patience and being tested by Allah. Furthermore, said Babah, when you finally eat, the food will taste 100 times much better than usual.