Amir, Umar and Elsa

Amelia and I took our children out for lunch on Saturday. Amelia sent her car for washing, she and Amir then jumped into my car. On the way, I stopped for petrol at Shell. Amir was so cute. He told me that his dad also uses Shell because " Shell bagi kete ada power ". I told him then his father was really smart because he works in Shell. He agreed and re-iterated that Shell gives power to cars.

I then pointed out to him that his mother works in ExxonMobil and therefore uses Esso. This smart little boy then said, " Itulah, ibu tak suka kete dia ada power.... ". He he...

Sunday was Umar's first tennis leson. The coach is my cousin Abg Ijam ( Kamalia, you know his sister, Rahela Abd Rahim. I think your lecturer at UUM ) who is a lecturer of Sports Science at UiTM. Initially, he was shy but eager to learn. However 10 minutes after that, the ice had not just been broken, but it thawed and was evaporating. Fast. Very fast.

We could hear his chatters and questions and chatters. He even told his coach ( not my cousin but a young, pleasent chap called Sharul ) that he doesn't like running but wants to concentrate on hitting the balls only. He was totally useless during his turn to collect the balls. He would just collect the balls in one area and ignored the rest. I shouted and pointed to where the other balls were but Dan stopped me and forbade me to interfere. Interfere ? I was not interfering. I was just telling him to do his tasks properly. Salah ke ?

Anyway, Elsa was excited too. She keeps shouting encouraging words to her brother. " You can do it Um !! " or " Hurry Um !! Run faster !! ". When we asked if she wanted to join she intially refused but towards the end of the class asked for a racquet. He he... lagi tinggi racquet dari dia.

Umar looked so cute when he played. He was determined and very eager to learn. We however borrowed the racquet from my cousin as I do not want to invest in something that he could potentially lose interest in 1 month.

Today on the way to school, he was animatedly talking about tennis when suddenly he said, " Mum, when I enter the competition in Australia .... , ". Australia ?

Mum : What competition in Australia ?

Umar : There is a tennis competition in Australia kan ?

Mum : You mean the Australian Open ?

Umar : I think so ( Tang ni mak dia dah bantai gelak ). Mum, can I enter that competition ?

Mum : Wah ha ha... sure....

Umar : If I win, will I get the trophy ?

Mum : Umar, if you win, you will win like a million ringgit Umar.

Umar : But mum, I want the trophy....

Wah ha ha ha ha...

Help !!

Dukung Titi

Macam – macam hal Elsa. Dia ni because she is small is still carry-able ( dukung-able ). Therefore she is tremendously lazy when it comes to using her legs for walking. Her excuse is always ;

Elsa : I am cold Babah, please dukung.

Hmm…. Macam – macam. There is one time when she had a fight with her Babah, she announced that she doesn’t want her Babah anymore. She only wants her Mummy. Babah belongs to U-um now. Then she added,

Elsa : Mummy, you can dukung me later, Mum..

She sounded like it is a privilege to be able to dukung her. Her Babah gave a delighted laugh and was very gleeful. But, it was not for long. When we got out of the car, as predicted she reached for my hand and we walked hand in hand. However the father couldn’t stand the fact that his only little girl wouldn’t talk to him, so has been very agreeable to her requests. Soon, she switched from holding my hand to her father’s. And then after awhile, “ Bah, I am so cold … ! “ Mua ha ha ha… I was the one who was gleeful at the end…. Ha ha…

When we ate, I innocently asked her who was mad at her to the point of yelling ? She shrugged her cute little shoulders and said, “ No one,”. Dan smiled and gave me a smug look. I was dissatisfied and pressed her again for an answer. She looked at her Babah, smiled at me and said, “ Babah…, “ fondly, twitch her nose and kissed her Babah’s upper arm.

Dan gave me another smug look.

Hmm………..

Shoo !!

Umar is such a grown boy now. I remember being worried about him being 2 and still couldn’t talk properly… ½ a year later he did at an alarming alacrity and now, 5 years later I worry about his inability to stop. Why did I bother to worry in the first place ?

Last night, I heard him bickering with Elsa ( what’s new ? ). He was all hot and bothered and Elsa was speaking in a more conciliatory, mollifying tone. When he saw me, he raised his voice up a notch, “ Mum, Titi berak lagi dalam pampers… Titi… I told you the smell is horrid !! Why do you keep doing this ? “. Elsa was leaning against the bed and from her position I surmised her abang had taken a peep at the contents of her pampers.

Mummy : Elsa o-ok ke ?

Titi : Ha…. O-ok….

Mummy : Why do you that ? Dah lama dah Titi berhenti…..

Titi : I don’t know Mummy..

Mummy : ( After checking her bottom ) Tak de pun Umar ?

Umar : You have to go deeper inside Mum. It is somewhere there…

Mummy : Oii… tak delah. Bau pun tak de….

Titi : Takde o-ok ke Mummy ?

Mummy : Oi… you don’t know whether you ada ke tak de ?

Titi : Tak de ? Okay……

Ada ke ? Sendiri punya hal pun tak tahu ?

Last week, we were eating dinner at home and Umar being a very picky eater, scrutinized every spoonful of food before he allowed it to enter his mouth.

Mummy : Tak de benda Umar. Just eat them. There is nothing there that tastes bad.

Umar : Mum … I can see something that I don’t like there…

Babah : There is nothing there Umar… makan aje…. I cannot see anything …

Umar : Bah, I have big eyes okay ? I can see everything !! I have big eyes… I can see more than you….

Ye ke ? I myself am very unsure…

Seperti biasa ( at least on alternate days ) she had a fight with her Babah. This time because she ripped one of Abah’s comic books. She was wailing loudly and Abah saja tambah mengusik… just to see her get angrier. I then told Dan to leave the room, as I know his parents would be coming to rescue their granddaughter soon.

Elsa : Yes Bah.. Shoo! Shoo !!

Babah : Shoo ? ( Mummy and and Babah exchanged looks )

Elsa : Bah, I don’t want to see your face. Get away from me Bah. Leave my room !!

Mummy : Elsa that is not very nice….. that is so rude

Elsa : Bah.. shoo Bah.. shoo !!

Baru nak cekak pinggang, Dan’s mum dah jenguk…. She refused to leave with her grandma but when she looked at me for support and saw my face, she quickly left with Dan’s mom. Outside, Dan’s father was waiting for her. Nanti kau, Elsa… I still have that bone to pick with you…. Shoo indeed !!

Umar, Elsa and potato crisps...

Dan woke up hungry Sunday morning. He went to look for his hidden Lays and ate in bed. The leftover was placed next to him. Then Umar woke up and as usually jumped into our bed and inadvertently saw the crisps. He asked permission to eat it but I did not allow it, as it was still too early.

We watched telly and Umar left for his room. Suddenly Dan saw him on all fours heading towards the crisps. We kept our eyes glued to the telly and watched him from the corner of our eyes. He slowly reached for the potato, took some and hurriedly crawled to his room again.

Dan and I looked at each other. What ? Does he think we are blind ? He then came again, on all fours once more but this time took the box with him, and ate while crouching and watched the telly with us. What ? Does he think we really are that blind ?

Like when I pray. Do they think I am in another world when I pray ? A few weeks ago, while I was performing my Maghrib, Elsa played with my stuffs on my vanity table. Suddenly I heard an “ O-oh… “. I heard a hasty cleaned-up act, then she slowly climbed down the chair and walked backwards until she get to the bed and jumped on it. I heard her breathed a sigh of relief.

When I checked my stuffs, I found a totally ruined Chanel lipstick. “ ELSA !!!! “. Why walked backwards ?

Again, I was on my prayer mat, reading the Quran in between Maghrib and Isyaq. I could sense my son hovering behind me, looking for something at the vanity table. He then said, “ Okay, stealth…. Slowly.. “ Then he said, “ Tip toe… “ and proceeded to do so. When he was about to climbed on my chair, I gave out aloud , “ HOI !! “. Ha ha… he was so shocked, he toppled over and landed on me……..

Ha…. Again…. Where does he think I was ? I WAS RIGHT THERE !! Maybe because I always ignored them when I pray, they think I will be oblivious to the happenings around me ? Or does he think he could be invisible ?

The earlier-mentioned Lays though quickly became a source of a fight between them both. Elsa woke up and saw Umar munching away and demanded for some. Umar told her to get it from us and so she ran to our room and requested for it. Dan told her to take the whole box to her room.

Elsa : Okay Babah. Thank you…

Mummy : Share dengan U-um okay ?

Elsa : Okay Mum. Sure…..

Nope, it didn’t happen. She refused to share and tears of course flowed from both parties. Babah went in the battleground to help restore peace but ended up kelahi dengan Elsa. I heard a few “ Babah jahat.. “ and “ Tak nak kawan dengan Babah… “ and “ Titi nak Mummy saja… “. Of course while Babah was there, he saw the state of their room and naik angin lagi. A new war ensued and the both of them had to clean up.

I was in the bathroom at that time and when I went in to look at them, Elsa was on the bed, red eyed and Umar was picking up his toys. When Elsa saw me, tears flowed again and she reached for me for comfort.

Elsa : Babah naughty Mummy….

Mummy : Kenapa Titi tak nak share dengan Umar ?

Elsa : Because itu Titi punya…

Mummy : Jangan macam tuh… you always have to share…. Umar pun suka Lays jugak…

Umar : Titi tau tak semua budak suka makan potato chips … ? Dah lah aku jugak yang kena kemas sorang – sorang……

Ha ha ha… Dan and I tergelak besar bila dengar.. kelakar lah Umar.

Tapi Umar memang anak Babah dia…. Champion leter… The scene below happened last night. Elsa although is already toilet trained will still be encased below the navel with pampers… just in case….. Anyway, we were at Petronas Sek 6, I was paying and Dan was waiting by the pump. When I entered the car, Umar dok membebel…

Mummy : Apahalnya Umar ?

Umar : I could smell something horrid Mum. Titi berak. Ti, you are already 4 years old !! You cannot do this anymore. If you need to berak… you have to tell people. You have to do it in the toilet !! You cannot do it in your pampers… Busuk tau… It is sooo horrid !!

Ya Allah…. Rentikan lah Um…. Especially since Elsa did not do the poo-poo….

Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan Bandar Anggerik

I like Umar’s primary school. First of all because the headmistress is somebody that I know and trust, my Geography teacher Pn Ramlah ( now Datin Ramlah ). She had always been the nice and loving type of teacher and it is evident she’s is still the same person by the way she runs the school and the way her students are with her.

I have seen students fighting to salam and kiss her hand. I have witnessed students ran to greet her to just say hello. She sometimes would wait for her students to enter the school ground and greet them and the parents warmly ( she once asked me to introduce her to my son and I told Umar that this was my teacher.. Umar seemed unimpressed. When Umar waved me goodbye with a “ Bye Mummy “ cikgu Ramlah said “ Haa.. dah Mummy dah… “ ) and urging the kids to walk faster to the assembly ground if the bell had already rung, non-threateningly of course .. he he…

Anyway, like I mentioned I like the way she ran the school. Every morning during assembly, 1 volunteer ( or kena paksa I don’t know ) will be standing in front to recite the times table. Every morning we will be greeted with now all the too familiar “ 3 kali 3… 9, 4 kali 3… 12 “ in the same sing songy tone. Sometimes it will be “ 2 times 4 is 8 “. That one is usually noticeably at a slower pace. Anyway it is good practice because Umar now could remember a few, eventhough all jumbled up. “ 3 kali 2.. 6, 5 kali 8.. 40, 4 kali 4… 16 “. Takpelah, asal betul ye dak ? But I think the most important thing is my son has no fear for the times table. I remember I was scared of them. Even now, I am kinda uneasy of them, just in case tersilap… malu… he he…

After the times table recital, there will be 5 minutes reading time where everybody will take a storybook and read. Parents will have to ensure that students are well stocked with books in their bag. Then there will be another volunteer who will be up in front of the whole students, with a mic in her/his hand and talk about the book she/he read ( Dan said everyday there will be 2 students who is dreading to go to school ). I find it good practice because it helps to instill the love of reading. Furthermore, I think most of the students there will come out confident of their ability to talk/speak in public.

Then there are free mengaji classes every Saturday for the students. Their aim is for every student to khatam Quran by 12. Last month there was Solat Camp where each student were assessed on their correctnesss of their solat. Good huh ?

One more thing I like about the school is how polite most the students are. Everyday I will be greeted by the pengawas and sometimes by the students. “ Selamat pagi Kak… “ haa… itu part yang paling syok tuh… Kak….. he he….

Umar's Song

Ohh…. Menggigil emak ni semalam. I came home to Umar’s announcement that he is entering a singing competition in school. Eyes wide, I asked him why he wants to do a thing like that. He said because cikgu suruh. When I asked him why his teacher made a request such as that he said because teacher asked the whole class to enter… Ingatkan cikgu dia specifically asked him to enter…

Anyway, I asked him if there are any songs in his mind and he excitedly told me he has a funny song that he wishes to sing for the competition.

“ Lets hear it, “ I say and istighfar was all I could muster when I heard it. It was a fun ditty but it was of his own composing… Waahh !! It goes something like this ( the gist of it lah )

The weather is hot here
I want it to be cold
But Shah Alam has no snow
So I have to go to London or Paris

Oh Malaysia why are you so hot ?
Please give me some snow
I want to play outside
But I am always sweating

Oh Malaysia, oh Malaysia

Okay, the lyrics are not half bad, although it is a major inducer of discreet ( at that moment ) laughter but the melody was inconsistent. Sekejap macam ada his own melody, sekejap macam ada London Bridge, sat lagi another nursery rhyme.

Umar : Is it good Mum ?

Mum : Err… yes… You don’t want to sing other songs that people already know ?

Umar : I think my song is better mom… it is fun…

Mum : Sure, but I don’t think you have the melody right..

So he sang the song again…

Mum : Umar, your melody is different now and your lyrics has changed too. Maybe we should sit down and I can write down your words again so that you could remember..

Umar : Good idea. I think you should sit on the piano too….

Aaahhh… banyak kerja pulak……

That happened on our way to McDonald’s. I hate going there. Selain dari my perut is very Melayu, they serve Coca-Cola… Hmm… enough said. So yesterday, I was coerced going there by my son’s “ You are the best mother in the world Mum. Can we go to McDonald’s ? Ada toy Ninja Turtles that I really like. “

Hmmm….. Awal – awal dah cakap the best mother in the world macam mana nak refuse ?

Are you dissapointed in me Mum ?

Umar : Mum, are you disappointed in me ?

I was asked that question when I queried Umar on the things his ustazah told me, last night.

Mum : No…

Umar : Are you angry then ?

Mum : No….

Umar : So, I am okay ? I am not in trouble ?

Mum : No…. but you have to tell me why do you fall asleep in class ?

Umar : I do not have enough rest Mum. Selalu kena pegi sana pegi sini. Kena jaga Titi….

Mum : Oh really ? Jaga Titi ?

Umar : Yes… it is so hard to take care of her..

Okay…… We went out for dinner again last night. Nando’s by popular demand ( I couldn’t see what the fuss is all about actually ), so we went to SACC. As we were waiting for food, Elsa who was gazing outside suddenly pointed to Nando’s outside hut.

Titi : Look Mum, there is a celebration there…

When we looked, there were paper pink paper streamers and heart shaped decorations.

Titi : It’s Valentine’s Day…

Babah : In April ?

Titi : Look at the love, love…. ( and gestured to the hearts )

I have to tell you this, she didn’t say it like most of us with the vowel e, you know like lurve ( I was once told by a teacher that whoever pronounced it like this, he or she sounds like a constipated cow .. he he ), but lave ( like laugh with a v ) … the correct pronunciation.

Babah and Mummy exchanged looks that said, “ My baby….. “.

Umar kena buli ke ?

Macam – macam hal si Umar. On Friday Dan’s mom announced Umar cuba ngelat pergi sekolah agama. She then duly informed us what was Umar’s excuse.

Umar : Wan, Umar tak payah pegi sekolah agama hari ni sebab uncle Joe tak hantar Dahlya and Jazmyn ( maybe demam kot I am not sure ). Aunty Wawa pening kepala dengan anak dia 3 orang tu and Aunty Su pening kepala dengan Bibik Sarah. Tak de orang nak hantar Umar…

Cakap… macam orang tua. When Dan’s mom pressed him for the real reason, he finally admitted because there is a boy who is much bigger than him who keeps asking for money… Tension….

I asked how did he asked for money, rudely or nicely ? Umar said he asked nicely, usually with “ Umar ada duit tak ? “ Hearing that, I am unsure he was a bully, maybe he really didn’t have money. Dan then asked what car his parents drive, but Umar doesn’t have the answer to that one.

Last night, we went out for dinner and Umar fell asleep in the car. When we woke him up, he cried and complained that his feet wouldn’t wake up. At that moment, I really feel for my son and without thinking I scooped him in my arms and entered the house. Elsa was jauntily walking in front of us ( I could still picture her in green sleeveless t-shirt and green flowered skirt, swaying to the song playing in her head, her figure illuminated by the neon lights outside that entered the house through the big window at the staircase ) and was shocked when she turned around and saw her brother in my arms. As we climbed the staircase, she looked at me and asked why am I carrying Umar ?

Mummy : Because Umar is my baby.

Elsa : Mummy tak sakit belakang ke ? ( my usual excuse when she asked to be carried )

Mummy : Ermm… sakit sakit… tapi sian abang kan ?

Elsa : Come on Mummy, you can do it !!

And she kept giving me encouraging words to help me carry her precious abang safely to his bed.

He he……

Anyway, what is a mother to do on Monday morning but to call his teacher ? Ustazah Rozita was shocked but assured me that she will handle the situation. And no, the boy doesn’t come from a poor family but he does go straight to sekolah agama’s nursery before going to the classes.

I assured her that if he is really poor, I do not exactly mind if he asks my son for money, but ustazah understandably doesn’t like the idea. She said the boy is a bit naughty and that is why she puts him in front next to Umar. With that I became suspicious. Why does the ustazah placed Umar in front of her ?

With that she laughed. She said my son would fall asleep as soon as he enters the class. Give him 5 – 10 minutes he will start snoring and off to slumberland. I was shocked and I emphatised. Kesian dia. Moving him to the front helped a bit. He will be nodding his head but at least he wouldn’t sleep.

What to do ? What to do ?