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.

.

Both were riddled with mistakes of course but I just find them so funny. Especially Abang's 'he looked like Wolverine...."

.

"Not Wolverine Abang. He is actually Iron Man..."

.

Umar didn't look convinced.

.

Then Adik's 'Sherlock Holmes explaint (spelling, Adik !) what Blackwood did all this time...'

.

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...

.

Sorry, pening sikit baca Adik punya...

.

Oh yeah, click on the picture if you want to make it bigger for easy reading. No need to squint, now.

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 !

-

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....."

-

Errr.... ye ke ? Takkan lah maknya tidur setiap masa kat rumah.

-

Bagitau another friend, she said, "Ya Allah.. malasnya...."

-

Really ? I didn't say how long she was asleep. Ntah-ntah 10 minit.

-

I have not taken this subject to a male friend, I wonder what a man would think.

-

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...

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.

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.

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….

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.

-

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.

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.

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 !!!

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.