My girl has grown up...

There was no school on Monday for Titi, after her Sports Day.

And as usual, Dan and I didn’t know about it until she mentioned it to us. I don’t remember reading the letter and so Dan and I decided to cruise by the school to see if it is really true. It is not like we don’t trust her… it is just that well…. Last month she announced, on a Friday evening, that her Sports Day was to be that very Sunday. I failed to locate a letter from her school announcing this but since she said it is so, well… there should be one, right ? I mean I did sign a letter confirming our attendance but I didn’t get the date… I knew it was to be on a Sunday.

So we got ready that fated Sunday. The kids tuang their tennis lessons and off we walked to the field. From our house I knew something was not right because it was too quiet and there were no cars obstructing the road.

All was eerily quite. Eerie because it was like 7.30 am and the silence was deafening. There was nobody on the field. Not even butterflies. If we were in a movie, the sounds of crickets will be heard. I of course felt foolish and my brain was trying to spin tales after tales to deflect the blame from me. Actually I would prefer blame than endless ungkitan about this. I do not know why I felt I was the one answerable for this. Sigh... Minah kecik tu dah siap dengan baju sukan last year lagi… keh keh…

But Babah was not satisfied so we went home, took the car and went to inspect the school from the other side. It is not a particularly big school but Babah was insistent. Nada. All was quiet. Tranquil. No sign of activities what-so-ever. Nobody was around korek hidung pun.

Come Monday I asked her teacher, dia bantai gelak kat I. “Tak lah kak. 19 haribulan. Baju sukan pun tak bagi lagi…..” I just grinned because bodoh kan..

Anyway back to present day, we cruised by the school and saw some kiddies in the vicinity playing. But they were there for daycare as the school doubles up as one too. When we passed by, the Bibik was locking the gate and I waved at her.

Dan of course started to menyakat. “Ti ! Sekolah lah Titi ! Tu ada bibik tu !” He turned around then exclaimed, “Eh !” before bursting out laughing..

“Wooii ! Tengok tu… Kurang asam betul. Dia menyorok !” I looked behind and sure enough I saw my daughter’s butt sticking out from the car floor. The rest of her was crouching down on the car mat, lying low.

The sight of her beggers believe. Pandai pulak nak menyorok. Where did she get that idea from ? Not so innocent anymore are you, little one.

When she deemed it was safe enough, she got up with an embarrassed grin and a blushing face.

Ha ha…

Elsa's Sports Day

Sunday was Elsa's Sports Day. She is in the Red House, House of Umar Al-Khattab. How appropriate I think.

The event was very disorganised. Plus, I could smell cat crap no matter where I go. Plus it was hot. Despite all that, I love it.

The air crackeld with excitement, the kids were jumping about and the parents were armed wth cameras and video cams alike.

The kids were cute. I had chosen a few that I had wanted to take home with me, but didn't to avoid lengthy jail sentences. I pointed to each and every little one that took my heart to my husband and he eagerly looked.

We should have another baby really but... well, you know why we are not going that way.

Dan, the naughty boy conveniently pleaded a summon from his parents so he sent us to the event then went off to his parents and therefore missed the speeches. He came back when the kiddies did their dance.

By the way, it is always easier with pictures.

Doing the hokey-pokey. So cute.






She had to participate in the 5 year olds' game as Rumah Merah didn't have enough players. She was chosen for her itty bitty size, I think.






This is her year's game. Running to the obstacle and crouching to wiggle underneath ropes.






There she goes but stopped halfway to rub her eyes.







Jumped on the way back to her mates. Well done !





Mucking about with her brother before her second game, the tepung and the sweets game.





O-oh, some flour entered her eyes and she started crying for her Babah

Luckily she was the last one and the game was already over so we just stopped her from continuing.

Ran to Babah for much needed comforting. If we were in England I could have sued the school for Health and Safety reason, failure to provide goggles where hazardous small particles in involved. But this is Malaysia and my daughter need not be covered in bubble wrap anyway.

Never mind, this would make you tougher I am sure and teach you that it is prudent to close your eyes when there are flour flying about.

Well done, little one.

Reminds me of Umar's Sports Day during his kindie years. It was held at Satdium Bukit Jalil and well organised (I am anal about events going smoothly for some reason. The school was good in organising sure but did not teach my son to read Quran and hafaz surah. Pros and cons of each schools).

Anyway, my darling Umar loves to play. Which kid doesn't yeah but this boy loved it so much that he went twice. Uh-hmmm..... after his turn, he should have gone to the back of the line and put his behind down but instead he went back into the line and went again. By the time the teachers realised it, it was too late and one poor boy did not get his turn at all. At the end of the event, Dan and I swiftly whisked our son away to avoid confrontation with the boy's parents who must have been cursing my son.

Elsa

One day, I was watching the telly with my kids, yeah ? Elsa was lying across my winged chair, her head on one arm rest and her legs was on the other. Suddenly she announced,

“Um… I am the queen today.”

She put her hand out, palm flopped royally and decreed, “Umar, get me some berries…..” Then added, “Or better still… junk food…okay ?”

He he…

Umar of course ignored her.

Ha ha..

Then there was this one time when I had a sudden stomach ache in the car and so needed the loo. We were like half and hour away from home and I was already sweating. When we got home, Dan couldn’t find the keys and was frantically ransacking the car.

I was desperate I tell you. My daughter I think can see my distress, suddenly shouted an advice, “Mummy ! Run around in circles ! Quick ! Run around in circles !”

I forgot my urgency and looked at her.

“Why should I do that ?”

“If you run around in circles you will be better ! I know ! Do it quick !”

“Says who ?”

“I don’t know ! But I know it is going to work ! Cepat lah !!”

Luckily Dan found the keys then and opened the door. I was saved from making the decision to follow her advice or not.

If I did… urrgghh… I don’t think I can hold my head up high in front of my husband anymore.

U-um ! U-um !

Yesterday the kids didn’t go to school. Umar has been coughing throughout the night so it is best if he just stayed home. Elsa seeing that, pleaded exhaustion. I expected nothing less really.

Yyesterday’s episode brought back a memory of not so long ago. Umar was sick, down with a fever. It was bedtime and I was in the room with them.

Titi.. I am tired Ti. Can you please urut me ?, asked my son. I remember a very flushed face. Kesian.

But adik said, I am tired too, Um.

Abang pouted a bit then said good naturedly, It is okay, then. Therefore Mummy went over to him, volunteered her services and gave him a massage to soothe the pain.

While I was doing that he said, “Mummy, don’t wake me up tomorrow okay sebab Umar tak pegi sekolah kan. Elsa saja. I am tired and want to sleep late. I want a good rest. I want to sleep until 9 o’clock baru I feel good.”

Yelah tu Umar. You have never, ever woken up at 9. Hari cuti pun bangun pukul 6, tiba2 nak bangun pukul 9 ?.

Tapi… the next day, memang dia miss Subuh. I let him sleep and he woke up at 7.30, just in time to appease his wailing sister who insisted to see her brother before she goes off.

“Mana U-um, Mummy ?” She demanded.

“U-um tidur Ti.”

“Asyik tidur saja U-um… Nanti will he wait for me at home ?” Lah, where else will he be ? Why are you being so stroppy ?

“Wah ! Wah ! U-um ! U-um ! Wah ! Wah !

Nasib baik I decided to check if Umar was awake. He was and ran down to say goodbye to his little sister when I asked him to. Adik was duly delighted and the waterworks stppoed. Before we left, she warned “Um, nanti saya balik Um kena ada kat rumah tau…”

He he… mana lah Abang tu nak pergi, sayang ?

Ana lagi...

Yesterday, Mummy buka puasa rumah Tok. Cik Yin and Tok pun puasa so Tok said why don’t she cook up a good meal and we all can buka together. So we did but sadly without Babah as he had to go back to work.

Anyway, Umar, Titi and Esya ate with us but Ana as usual wanted to eat and play. So Cik Yin tried to feed Ana from her own plate. She managed about 3-4 feeds before Ana abandoned eating altogether and managed to influence her cousins to play with her.

Hmmm… Ana…

Mummy said, “Ana… you have to eat. Makan ni…..”

She ignored me.

Cik Yin dangled the promises of a surprise (chocolate mousse) and she came for one more bite before running off again.

Hai lah, Ana.

When Mummy was about to go home, Ana ran up to Mummy and demanded to know where Babah is.

“Babah ane ?”

“Babah work lah…”

“Oohh……” She said, nodding her head.

“Awatnya ?” I asked.

“Ana nak makan sandwich. Abah kena bawak Ana….”

Ha ha… Mummy can’t help but laughed. Ana….Why do you only look for Abah to pay for your frivolous demands, eh Ana ?

Abah came home and Mummy warned Abah of what is coming his way.

Abah geleng kepala lah Ana….

But of course Abah didn’t say no. So…. Is Friday night okay ?

Beli jam pun salah..

Sometimes whenever my sister is away or sick, I have to go and pick up my children from school. Looking at the streaming of children passing me, I noticed that most of them have a watch adorning their wrists.

I have bought plenty of watches for my son, but none seemed very eager to stay with him. Luckily they were all the 3 for RM 10 watches.

But still, a waste is waste. 10 sen is still too much money to waste so I stopped buying until I saw how lovely his mates looked with watches on their wrists.

They looked mature, and important and so male.

Umar’s Babah loves watches and I like each and every one that he has. A friend of mine once confessed he is Hantu Tetek… and I was laughing like one big kahuna of a stupid fool when I realised what he really meant. So now I am saying I am Hantu Tangan. Ask Su, my ex-colleague. I love Madonna’s hands, something that she couldn’t understand (PS : Su, kelmarin I was bored to tears so I read all my entries and aku baru perasan hang punya request nak link blog aku kat blog hang… Awat boleh ter-miss. Hang pi link buang tak pa..)

I have again successfully veered off the subject again.

Anyway, Babah and I sneaked out of the house for a relaxed trip to Tesco. Saw watches on the way out and Babah bought two at RM 10 a piece. Kalau hilang aku tak sesak napaih, takpa lah.

They were ecstatic, my two kids. Sayu pulak tengok depa dok terkinja-kinja dapat jam bodoh tu. Awat lah mok yang had ni kejam sungguh. My son looked lovely. He never looked so grown up.

But then regret came soon after because we have to re-set their watches whenever they watch the telly or enter the cars. Jadik satu hai pulak motokar Mummy lain time, motokar Babah lain time and motokor Atuk pun lain.

Waaa !! Tension.

Anyway, the very first night Elsa had hers, I was fastening it on her wrist after her bath when she said, “Mummy, now is 7.30 Mummy (I just picked the number out from air. I have forgotten the exact time)”.

“Okay…”

“So what now ?”

“Ha ?”

“So what is happening now ? What does it mean ?”

“Erm…. What ?”

“So what is happening at 7.30 ? What does it mean ?”

“It means it is 7.30 ?”

“But why ?”

Apa ni ? Why what ?

“Why I need to know it is 7.30 ?” She insisted.

“Err… so you can tell that in a little while it will be 7.31 ?”

“So what is happening at 7.31 ? What ?”

I could sense a debate is brewing. So I just answered “So you know when you have to sleep. Now you have 2 hours to spend before you go to bed…”

She looked disappointed upon hearing my answer. What does she wants to know really ?

Bangau oh bangau...

Don’t know if you guys noticed the bangaus at seksyen 6. I don’t know if bangaus are indeed cranes or actually if those birds are really bangaus but have you guys noticed big white birds around seksyen 6, 4 and 3 ?

We first saw it when we had a walk around seksyen 4 then stopped for drinks at the 7-11 in seksyen 6.

Then once I was driving from seksyen 9, on the road to seksyen 3 with the pasar on my right, a big, white bird flew in front of the car, causing my kids to scream in horror than in delight and me almost in cardiac arrest.

“Crane ! Crane !”

Well, it did look like a crane with long pointy beak.

Where do they come from really as I thought they like water and there is no water source in seksyen 6. They should really be flying around the tasik but it seems that they prefer the big drain near the pasar.

Anyway, two days ago we passed seksyen 6 and sure enough some of the birds where standing in the drain, doing God knows what when Umar said,

“The cranes suka sangat basuh kaki kat situ kan, Mummy ? They really like to wash their feet, kan ?”

He he…. Is that what they are doing there, baby ? Basuh kaki ?

Kah ! Kah !

Silly old, Umar.

PS : Ye ke, ha ? I have zero knowledge of birds.

PS: Yesterday went to pasar malam and one flew over our heads. Truly majestic. Should have had my camera with me.

Hai lah....

My daughter is very merepek. Full stop.

All week she called me Sexy Pants. When I finally got tired of her ignoring my “Tak elok cakap macam tu, Elsa !” I asked her what Sexy Pants meant. Big mistake as she raised her eyebrows and said, “Sexy !!” and wriggled her bum.

I let her go after that, migraine creeping up.

She came to me yesterday and said, “Oh, I love you, baby !” while hugging me. I just shook my head, wondering where I went wrong. Especially since she goes to a Pre-Tahfiz kindy. Dan once commented, “You betul ke hantar dia pegi sekolah agama ni ?” Well, last time I checked, which was that morning when I dropped her off to school, yes !

Once while we were saying goodbye to Amir and Amelia, she gave them a mock tearful goodbye, completed with sobs and semi-hysterical cryings.

“Itu lah, Melia. I ingat I gave birth to a daughter, rupanya clown yang keluaq…”

Amir upon hearing that chuckled and said to his Ibu, “Ha ha… Aunty kata Elsa bukannya budak tapi clown…” He he… Comel lah Amir ni…. Pandai pun.

Once Dan took Umar to the loo and she was upset because she can’t go with them. Upon their return, she yelled, in public, “Look Mummy ! There’s your husband !! Look !!” People looked too because they either thought, I have remarried and Dan is not Elsa’s father or my husband had done a runner and we had finally caught him.

So yesterday in the car, she said something totally inappropriate while dancing to Second Hand Serenade. I commanded in a no nonsense tone, “Stop being so merepek, Elsa !!”

And she replied, “But Mummy I can’t !! Because it is all in my brain !!”, never once breaking off from her groove.

Oh man….

Anna being stroppy...

Yesterday Babah swung by Tok's house after our trip to Puchong (bought replacement sink and stand) for a second round of birthday cake.

Babah could only manage half as Tok Mi kept the durians given by Nenek in the fridge, next to the cake. So the cake had a tinge of durian in it.

Then Babah took out ice-cream from the freezer, from the day's before party too. Mummy just sat in front of him, looking at him eat. Then saw Anna, climbing down the stairs, with some sleep still left in her.

She got down the last step, Mummy opened her arms wide and Anna climbed up her lap. She snuggled close, resting her cheeks on Mummy's bosom.

Mummy sang, and kissed her repeatedly, and talked gibberish.

She then went, "Uhh..." Signalling Mummy to be quiet.

Okay lah.

She remained there for awhile before saying, "Anna nak naik atash...." to where her cousins and her sister were. I put her down and she looked at me with this one look then stomped up the stairs.

He he.... she was expecting me to dukung lah tu.... Tak nak.... ada kaki jalan.... Keh keh....

Then we heard her announced, "Ayah demam. Semalam ayah main hujan... Jangan bising...." Amboi... Suara dia melalak 1 minute after that tak pe...

He he...

Elsa.....

Yesterday I sent my kids home from school as my sister was yet again, down with asthma. Watched them eat, talked to them a bit then I started collecting my stuffs and wearing my tudung again to go back to work.

My children, by then were already upstairs for their bath. Suddenly I heard the loudest most terrifying sound of something crashing and breaking, then Neti’s “Ya Allah !”

I sprang upstairs and saw my son hugging his sister, who looked dazed and confused. Looked inside the bathroom and saw the sink on the floor, smashed.

Then my daughter started crying. I grabbed her and did a once over, looking for cuts or bruises or whatever. I was in panic and was trying my darnest to stay calm.

“Mummy, will she be in trouble ? Is she in trouble ?” Asked the Abang.

“What happened, Ti ?”

“I don’t know….” Answered my teary eyed daughter. I hugged her, relieved as I saw the jagged and very pointy edges of the broken ceramic.

“You are not angry at her ? She is not in trouble ?” Asked Abang again.

I shook my head.

“Yeay, Titi ! Mummy said she is not angry. You are okay, kan ? You can stop crying now…” Abang held her tightly.

As I entered the car, I heard Elsa sobbing, “Please don’t tell Babah …..”. Saw her dok sebek by the window. Hai…..

I don’t know why I was so quiet. My head seems to be disconnected from my mouth as I had a million questions to ask but none materialised. I put on my tudung and drove to work, very much detached from the situation.

Dah sampai office, baru nak ketaq. Baru nak call Dan.

When I got home after work, she was okay, she was fine, jumping around. But as I lay on the sofa, she came to me, head on my shoulder and after awhile she was asleep. Babah came home, checked the damage and agreed that all that matters is that the little one is safe.

We went out that night, it was after all Babah’s birthday but sans the kiddies as they have mengaji. Came back but she was already asleep.

She didn’t go to school today, shock induced fever I think and Abang wants to be with her. So takpelah. With H1N1 (HOne NOne – I call it hone none – Malay pronunciation, okay ?) around, may be it is a wise decision.

Still have to make sure that she is okay.

Sugus and The Dancing Crowd

One day, Mummy was beleking the food on display at a cashier and decided to try Sugus’ new … errmm….what do you call it ? Fruit pastel, I think ? You know the jelly like fruit flavoured, like gummy bears.

Anyway, bought one and showed it to my kids.

They were excited (kesian, I hardly ever layan them in that department) and I quickly popped one while backing out of the parking space.

Suddenly,

“Mummy ! Jangan makan while you drive. Nanti you want to dance !”

Ha ?

“Oh no, Mummy ! You cannot drive while you dance !! Stop eating ! Spit it out ! Spit it out !”

Punya lah terkejut, nasib baik tak brake.

Looked at Umar for comprehension and he just looked at me with wide eyes.

“What are you talking about ?”

“Kan dekat tv tu bila dia makan dia ramai-ramai dancing – dancing !” Explained my still horrified daughter.

And I laughed when the telly advert for the sweet that I am eating played in my head.

He he…..

You know which one I am talking about ?

The advertisement controversy

Mummy and Babah took Umar and Elsa to watch Transformers yesterday.

While waiting for the movie to start, we allowed ourselves to be influenced by the media.

The first advertisement we saw was pretty scary. It showed 3 beautiful people (they cannot possibly exist due to extreme beauty) clad in black, looking calmly and resolutely at these horrific monsters in white, caked with white flaky substance. The monsters were dancing menacingly on strands of hair and once one rub his arm to release white flakes. Macam snow berterbangan. The 3 heroes (yelah selalunya dah handsome-handsome, lawa-lawa mesti hero punya) gave a little smile, very much undaunted, every hair still very much in place.

It is quite scary, really. The white monsters, all flaky with yellow eyes, smiling evilly.

My scalp started to itch because seriously by then you already figured out those white monsters are dandruffs.

Arrows appeared out of nowhere and these 3 fired it coolly, again with hair and baju all in place, without a sweat killing the dancing kelemumurs.

My scalp itches some more and wanted that particular shampoo that those 3 beauties miraculously turned into.

“That is iklan to buy shampoo ?” Asked my son, face screwed.

“Why so scary ?” he asked again, both palms up.

“If they want to make people to buy their shampoo kan, Mummy they have to make us feel good..” He looked at me, frowning.

“How ?” I challenged him.

“Well… with smiling people, singing… Sunshine……Nice hair… That can make people happy enough to buy shampoo. This one is scary ! Nobody wants to buy their shampoo…” He said, shaking his head, all superior.

Really ? It seems to work for me as kepala aku tetiba gatai ni. Satgi nak pi beli shampoo yang had tu jugak ….. He he.

Beer advertisement came on.

3 men (again, so beautiful) appeared to be stranded on an inhibited island, shouting happily at a helicopter hovering near. They were puzzled when the heli flew away but then it came back with crates of beer and dropped it near them.

The boys frowned beautifully.

Then the heli was back and dropped off a shed, and soon the island turned into a resort with beautiful girls serving beer. A party was on. The boys were oh so happy, drinking and flirting with the girls.

“What is this ?” Asked the beautiful boy next to me.

“I don’t understand, Mummy. They should ask the helicopter to take them home. Bukannya bagi air. Now they are still stuck there !” Palms up again, brows furrowed deeper. You are so gonna get wrinkles early, sonny.

I don’t understand…” He repeated again.

Then, “Must be one hell of a drink, eh Mummy ?”

Ha ha ha ha ha !!!

Punya lah gelak lupa nak habaq ayaq tu ayaq kencing setan…

Habis lah Mummy

Ooo-oohh…. Terrible news. Auta aku dah tak menjadi dah. I use them too much probably so my children are immune to it by now.

I had breakfast with Dan and Elsa yesterday. We were to pick up my car from Segambut so we had to go to the office late. Plus mechanic didn’t want to keep the car due to space constraint and insisted we pick it up pronto. Makan dulu sebelum pergi.

Elsa asked for nasi lemak and drumstick. When she got up to wash her hands I noticed there were still plenty of nasi in her plate.

“Oii…. Tu … nasi tu tak habis. Nanti nasi cry…..” Said I.

You know what she did ? She rolled her eyes, looked at me squarely and gave a determined “Tak !”

Errrkkk ! Foolishly I had nothing to say.

So tell me, how can a mother survives without her autas ?

Doa Elsa

A few days ago, I lectured my children on lying.

“Lying is blah, blah…. Orang yang jahat saja yang suka menipu… Allah doesn’t like liars and if you die a liar, Allah will cut your tongue and humban masuk neraka.. Nag, nag, nag….”

Took a deep breath and continued, “If you lie and got away with it, it doesn’t mean Allah will let you go. Allah knows all and he is very fair… blah, blah, blah… If you lie, you could be put to jail and when you die, kena lagi. Dah lah masuk jail,pastu masuk neraka pulak tu…..”

Then, “Ishh.... itu tak cukup doa lah, Mummy..” Said my daughter, looking at the scenery outside.

“Hmmm ?”

“Iye, orang macam tu dia tak cukup doa…Okay, let me teach you something, okay ?” She twisted her body to face me.

“Macam ni… I know a doa that can get us to syurga. You listen carefully okay ? Allahuma ajirna minnannar…” she said, eyes never leaving my face.

“You got that, Mummy ? You know, now ? Kalau kita baca doa tu, we will not go to neraka….” Terangguk – angguk kepala bercerita.

He he…. “But Elsa, if you baca that doa repeatedly but still lie, and steal and talk bad about other people, you will still go to neraka… You cannot baca that doa everytime after you do bad things, hoping it will be a free ticket to go to syurga….”

“Hmm…..Really, mummy ?” She said, eyes screwed. nI left things at that, with her hand supporting her chin in deep thought.

Keh keh…

This other conversation between my daughter and I happened on our way to buy groceries. I had forgotten my list as usual and to avoid forgetting the ingredients for dinner, instructed Umar to remember potatoes and Elsa to remember broccoli.

About 5 minutes to the shop, I tested them on their memory. Umar did well but my daughter went, “Errmmm……….” grinning at me. “What is it, Elsa ? What is it you suppose to remember ?”

“Food ?” She tried.

“Of course it is food, but what kind ?”

“Ummm….. Ahhh…. Errmmmm”

‘Broccoli, lah….”

Baru 5 minit, dah lupa… Tak boleh nak marah. Macam maknya… Keh keh

Kawan Mummy muka Jawa..

This story was told by my friend, Mashar during our Class S4 reunion.

“Myra ! Anak ko kan pandai betullah.. Mentang – mentang muka aku jawa, dia cakap Melayu dengan aku. Ngan orang lain speaking. Bila dengan aku, “Abang… boleh tak Abang tolong saya ambil barang ?” Bila aku balas dengan speaking balik, baru dia “Uncle, uncle…” Apa, ingat aku tak tau cakap orang putih ke ?”

Keh keh… Sorry le, Mashar. Part tu aku tak leh tolong…..

This other story was told by Amelia when we went jogging on Friday. She said during our last gathering at the house, the kaum bapa were sitting outside, chatting and minding the children playing.

Umar… alahai Umar ku… Umar announced to his friends, “Mari kita menembak bola !” which is a direct translation of ‘Let’s shoot the ball ..’

From the patio, Sheik corrected him, “Mari kita menendang bola….”

He he… thank you for helping me to raise my son. Need all the help I can get…

Elsa

Two or three nights ago we were in the car, searching for dinner. The little girl sat behind me. At one point, unbuckled her seat belt and hugged the back of my seat.

“Mummy… are you already old ?” She asked, caressing my face from behind. I am used to this question because I kept giving them me being old as excuses not to cook, or play or dukung. He he…. So I thought nothing of it and answered in the affirmative.

“Why ?” I asked.

“Because your skin doesn’t look nice. It looks old… Macam dah tua…”

Oh bengkek yang membuak-buak. I turned to Abah and exclaimed, “Why she never say stuffs like this to you ?” Abah gave a part guilty and a part amused smile. But the one that made me blood go upstairs was a chuckle from behind.

Looked at the source and saw him smiled happily.

They don’t love me anymore.

Waaa…….


Yesterday as I was lying in bed, waiting for Abah to clip his nails, Elsa came to me and said, “Hear this, Mummy. Hear this. Sponge Bob kan cakap ‘I adoooore you….’”, blinking her eyes away.

Lawak lah budak kecik ni.

“What does it mean, this ‘I adore you’” asked me.

Without missing a beat, she lowered her voice, lowered her eyelids and replied, “Cintaku, saya sayang…..”

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA !

I rolled to the left and right then right again. Tipped my head up and laughter came from my belly. Babah smiled in amusement, shook his head and looked at me. I know he is not used to this kind of merepekness, so looked at me for help.

I gave him a silent order to just enjoy her, every side of her. She was embarrassed too, seeing me laugh like that. To cover up, she tickled me all over. Tickling my waist, my sole, my neck. He he..

After I recovered, I told her, “Jangan cakap merepek-repek sangat, Elsa. Some people might like it, some won’t. You have to learn to watch what comes out of your mouth…” She just shrugged her shoulders.

I have my work cut out for me.

But still.. it was funny, wasn’t it ?

Birthday talks with Elsa Rashdan

“Mummy… is your birthday next week ?” Asked my daughter suddenly as we lazed on the bed. She sat up from her reclining position.

“Yes..”

“Okay, I am giving you a surprise birthday party okay ? Dahlya can do the cake. Jazmyn can do the sweets and candies. Pastu Umar can do the decoration. Abah can do the burgers and I will do the card. It is going to be sooo beautiful, Mummy… the card… It is going to have pink glitter and heart shapes with Happy Birthday, Mummy. I love you..”

Hmm….

“So… everybody else will be in charge of all the hard work, you will only be doing the card ?”

She pondered this question for a bit before answering, “Oh… making the card is susah, Mummy ! Really ! Because it is going to be beautiful….”

Suka hati ko lah, nak.

She talked about birthdays to her Wan Su also (Maksu aku memang tak aci sikit… Orang lain semua Opah, dia Wan Su… macam nama orang je… keh keh..).

“Wan… After Mummy’s birthday kan is Abah’s birthday. Abah’s birthday is in July. I am going to give Abah a surprise birthday party !” She announced importantly. I can imagine her saying it so I know she did it with great importance. He he

“Oh… ?” Maksu aku ni pun kuat mengusik. “Wan punya birthday pun in July jugak…..”

“Okay !… Then I will give you a surprise birthday party, too. There will be a cake and people will say SURPRISE to you and Abah…” Great planner, this one.

“But if you tell me now, it won’t be a surprise anymore, kan ?” Reasoned Wan Su.

My daughter was stumped for answer this time. She went quiet, then turned around and left the room !

Hai lah….. Kah kah kah !!

Sekejap ada sekejap tak de pun boleh riuh....

Sedihnya… Kalau teringat (which I am doing right now in order to write about it), rasa macam nak nangis. Seksyen 8 was without water last Monday due to a burst pipe so the family came over to the house for mandi.

I was upstairs, nursing my head and minding my sick husband, all the while watching all 4 Die Hards (I love Die Hard). What a multi-tasker, me. Anyway, Mum and Wan left the house after bathing. Anna and Esya predictably decided to stay over.

I heard cryings (plural okay..) and not wishing to wake hubby from his pain-free slumber with the ruckus, decided to investigate. In the kitchen found a sobbing Anna and a wailing Elsa.

Gathered Anna in my arms (being the youngest) and asked her what seems to be the problem.

“Anna nak balik….” Hiccuping all the way.

“Kenapa ?”

“Cookies dah habis… Titi marah Anna….”

I took her outside and calmed her as much as I can. Showed her the frog on the pavement (Ya Allah… help me….), jiggled her on my hips and promised her that I will buy 10 packets of Chip Ahoy for her and her alone. Handed her to my Maksu and searched for my daughter.

Sedih hati aku dengar dia nak balik. Tersedu-sedu menangis punya sedih. Pasal cookies je ?

“Kenapa Titi marah Anna makan cookies ? That is not nice…. Orang dah makan sudah lah… Blah, blah, blah…”

“Bukan .. ! “Protested my daughter tearfully. “I am not angry with her ! Tapi cookies dah habis….pastu… waaa Esya… waaa….. friend…..”

Laa… Cookies kan sekejap ada sekejap takde, so memang sifatnya yang senang habis Beli je lah lagi nanti … Macam seumur hidup tak pernah makan.… Apa hal lak ngan Esya ? I was bloody irritated with my daughter. Takkan pasal tu nak marah Anna ? Tried to get the story straight since she kept protesting that she wasn’t angry at Anna but couldn’t understand her under all the tears and acute distress.

Called Umar.

“Bukan… Macam ni kan...” He started importantly, eyes huge, finger up.

“Cookies habis kan sebab Esya, Anna and Faris makan kan…Pastu Titi turun kan and she got upset kan sebab cookies habis kan .. Pastu dia nangis kan pastu Esya kata dia tak nak kawan dengan Titi kan… So that is why she cried…”

Errr… What does that got to do with Anna ? When did she enter the picture apart from her participation in polishing off all the cookies ?

“Ohh… Anna takut Mummy marah sebab habiskan cookies. Sebab tu dia nak balik… He he… I think she wants to run away….Ha ha….” Was the explanation from Um.

Jatuh merundum hati ini when I heard that. Sedihnya bukan kepalang. Did she really think I will get mad at her for eating the cookies ? My baby …. My baby….

I took her in my arms again and told her that I love her so much it hurts. We bowed our heads together and I cried too because … well… I wouldn’t love her less would I ? How could I ? How can I ? Because of cookies ? Because of my daughter’s tears for the long gone cookies ?

My sadness was tremendous I think because she thought that she has no standing in my heart. She doesn’t feel secure and safe with me. I felt like a failure.

I hid upstairs and wept and wept and wept.

Then I called my mum. Mum said, “Laa… Anna kan memang macam tu. If bukan dia punya, dia akan tanya..Boleh minum tak ? She will always ask Boleh habis kan, tak ? berkali-kali. Kalau kita kata tak boleh habiskan, she won’t. Anna memang macam tu. She will ask permission punya.. “

Laa…. Ye ke… patut le… When I think about it, what my mum said is true. She will always ask, “Ini Anna punya ke ?” baru dia start makan. If she wants anything she will ask sapa punya dulu, and then ask pulak boleh tak dia makan… Berkali-kali tanya tu sebelum dia makan…

So all that drama ? Sebab Mummy tak pikir… keh keh…. Tapi sedih… Sedih, okay.

Pastu aku teringat satu cerita Anna dengan Tok Yah nya. She found my dad eating sweets and asked, “Tok makan apa ?”

“Weet (sweet) Tok jumpa ni…” Answered my dad, showing her the sweets.

Her face was horrified when she saw what was in Tok’s hand. “Tok ! Itu Anna punya ! Tok makan weet Anna !!” Bapak aku punya kelam kabut masukkan balik sweets tu dalam packagingnya balik, bagi kat cucu yang dok bercekak pinggang depan dia. “Laa ye ke…. Tok nak sikit je…. Okay, okay nanti Tok ganti balik….”

You see, if she has to ask for permission, we must darn well, too !. He he…

Apa yang cute ?

On Tuesday saw the cutest thing. Dahlya messaged me and we got to talking and at the end of the conversation it was agreed that I will pick her and her sister Jazmyn up at 12 and send them to our house.

Anyway, petang saw them playing outside. I saw Umar, Elsa, Dahlya, Jazmyn and Faris… and what looked like a rabbit.

“Is that a rabbit ?” I yelled from upstairs. Typical, after asking then I saw it was actually Gizmo, prancing about with them, chasing the ball.

Boleh buat kawan dengan kucing. Okay lah tu. Ha ha. Comel gila but it stopped being comel when one put Gizmo on the ball and kicked it while he is still on it.

At 6, I went to pasar malam with Maksu and bought loads and loads (RM 8 okay) of keropok lekor. But when we got home, both of my nieces dah balik. Their Abah came when I was in pasar malam. I felt so sad because I know we ran out of cookies and what nots and I wanted to give them something nice to eat. Maksu pulak pi borong otak-otak.

Luckily Amelia and Amir came for a visit and they helped to finish off the food. Amir pandai makan tako. Sedap kan Amir ?

So apa yang comelnya ? Amir makan tako ? Comel lah tu for me considering my son wouldn’t even give it a second glance.

Elsa cari pasal

We had dinner at Sakae Sushi last Saturday. Keinginan di hati nak beli tickets for Terminator. Bila sampai kata pawagam (panggung wayang gambar), the queue was MashaAllah so we decided to have dinner first.

We were eating when suddenly Babah spoke up. “Stop that, Elsa !! If you do that again, Abah pok. Stop it, now !” I was so shocked because it came all of a sudden and when I looked at Elsa, she paled and quickly took out the chopstick in her mouth.

I frowned uncomprehendingly at Babah. “Ni ha…. Budak ni … suka sangat berlakon hisap rokok.. ..” Ohh….. okay.

“You Elsa if you ever take up smoking, I will thrash you like nobody’s business…” Babah sambung lagi.

Usually I don’t agree with Babah’s harsh words, but this subject… go ahead, Bah. We couldn’t tell them enough, in fact.

Anyway when there are things that concerns Elsa, abang mesti nak masuk campur kan ? So I looked at him and saw his face already contorted with fury. “I don’t know why you always want to do stupid things, lah Elsa !”

Keep that up, okay Abang ? Tolong Mummy jaga adik.

Mummy ni....

I am a terrible mom ! I am ! I so am ! And this after posting an article about how modern parenting can be so very competitive.

Okay, seriously why I did what I did just now has got nothing to do with being competitive. I just want the best for my baby boy, my son…

I picked him from school today because my sister is away. When he saw me, his face lit up and came running for his Mammy excitedly.

“Mummy ! I got an A for my Bahasa Malaysia !” I hugged him, muttered how clever he was and he showed me his paper. 85 %.

Well… he always got 80 something. I was expecting above the 90 % mark. My face fell.

“Macamana nak dapat nombor satu macam ni ? You cannot get nombor satu with this kind of results….” I didn’t look at him at all as I was busy looking at his paper. I spotted his mistakes and pointed out why it was wrong. We walked to the car.

In the car I was quiet because in all seriousness, I was disappointed. We studied like mad and I suppose I felt like I failed.

Picked up Elsa and we drove the rest of the journey (1 minute.. ha ha) in silence. When I opened the door, he was already outside, waiting for me, his body erect.

“Are you not happy with me ?” He asked, eyes huge. Very huge. Expectant.

Allahu Akhbar. What kind of a mother am I ? I feel so terrible, I almost lost my head.
I smiled sadly at him, stroked his cheeks and hugged him tight.

“I am baby. Mummy is sorry….”

Hmmm…..

Elsa

Elsa….

She said so many funny things this past week but I could only remember two of them. I am racking my brain bout the hilarious thing she said while we were watching the telly yesterday… Hmm…

No… sorry. Can’t remember..

Anyway, 3 days ago I was preparing for my toilette when Elsa approached me, stomping her feet all the way. She thrust her workbook at me and demanded to know who desecrated it, as she puts it, with ‘conteng-conteng’.

Looked at it and saw most of the questions were answered correctly. “Umar…” I answered.

“No….” she said impatiently. “Umar cakap he didn’t do it….”

I rolled my eyes. But of course…

“Of course it is him. There is nobody in the house. No Anna, no Esya. It is not Bibik and definitely not me or Babah… So it must be Umar…”

“Umar ?” She said incredously. “I am going down and teach him a lesson !!” she announced, stomping her feet out of the room.

“Umar !!!” and I heard Umar laughed.

Ha ha….

Last night all of us had an early night. By 9, we were already tucked in bed and Babah and Mummy were already nodding off, down with flu. You see, when we put the kids to bed, we usually just make sure they are comfortable, blankets up the chin and what nots. Then we switched off the lights and leave the room.

Sometimes when we do stay with them until they sleep, Umar would be asleep in 5 minutes. Once I reproved them for talking, citing bangun lambat and all and Umar said, “Don’t worry Mummy. I can sleep easily…” and with that rolled over and in a minute was snoring.

But last night, they were mucking about, playing and talking in the dark. My repetitive warning was ignored.

Then, “Oppff ! Ouch !!”

“Are you okay, Um ? Are you okay ?” Came very soon after.

“I am so sorry, Um. It is so dark. I cannot see. I didn’t know you were there….”

“Urrghh…..”

“Are you okay ?”

No reply. Mummy got a bit panicked at that point. Was about to get up when I heard Elsa said, “I cannot take it anymore, Um. Are you bleeding ? Say something…”

Umar laughed.

Mummy also laughed.

“Um… did you fart this very smelly fart ? It is smelly….”

Ha ha ha…….

Aduih lah, Elsa…

Anna nad the crying burger...

The funniest thing happened last month when we took Anna and Esya for dinner at Nachos Nachos.

Anna like always would order everything under the sun. Luckily I managed to persuade her to order the kiddies burger. Unfortunately though she finished off her chips, took one bite of the burger and announced “Dah !!”

So I started my story.

“Nangislah burger tu nanti…”

“Kenapa ?” Eyes wide and huge, so gorgeous.

“Yelah… all burger punya friend dalam perut Anna, pastu yang this one Anna nak buang… Crylah dia sebab dia tak dapat jumpa friend…”

“Tak….”

“Iye…. Anna nak duduk dalam tong sampah tak ?” She shook her head.

“Burger pun tak nak duduk dalam tong sampah… Busuk… Sapa nak…” And so I screwed up my face and started wailing, before which I stole a glance at my husband and saw his little bemused smile.

“Waaa !! Tak nak duduk dalam tong sampah !! Waaaarggh ! Busuknya ! Nak duduk dalam perut Anna !! Wargh ! Wargh ! Wargh !”

Anna looked much tormented. “Tapi Anna tak nak dah ….” She said, pressing her body further into her chair.

“Busuknya tong sampah !! I want my friends dalam perut Anna !! Waaarggg !! Busuknya !!!”

Umar, Elsa and Eysa looked mighty uncomfortable. In fact Elsa had the telltale sign of tears. He he…

“Tapi Anna dah kenyang !! Kakak… makan lah burger ni…”

“Saya tak nak… Saya dah kenyang…” Esya said slowly, eyes huge. Keh keh…

I then got distracted by something on the telly and forgot about her. Suddenly, “Mummy…. Macamana ni… Anna dah kenyang…. Burger ni cry….”

Woo hoo !

“Ha … itulah… tadi Mummy suruh share tak nak…. Ni tak pasal-pasal burger ni kena buang… duduk dalam tong sampah….”

“Anna tak nak….” She said again.

The telly claimed my focus again before the very distressed Anna asked me again, “Macamana ni ?”

Aiseh… “Okay lah takpe lah… Mummy suruh abang tu makan, okay ?”

Just so happened none of the waiters came our way for me pretend giving him the food. Anna on the other hand, could not take it any longer. She just doesn’t want to see the offending, crying burger in front of her anymore I think, out of guilt. The problem must be solved. “Mummy…. Anna dah tak nak ni….” She said again, drawing my attention to the dilemma in front of her.

He he… tergelak aku. And then, “Bagilah Umar makan…” Abang offered. Good boy. I pushed the plate to him and saw him taking a very much visible gulp. He looked at the burger pityingly. Chomp, another chomp then, “Mummy… I am actually too full already… I could not take another bite…..”

“Tak pe, Umar… It’s okay… leave it… Never mind…..” He gave another sympathetic look at the burger and pushed it away. However….

“Mummy, look Umar tak habis burger….” Anna waved her finger at him. “Um… kalau tak habis burger nanti burger ni cry dalam tong sampah… Waagh ! Busuk… ! Waaghhh ! No friend !! Um buat burger cry….”

I couldn’t believe my ears. The audacity of that girl ! How dare she lectured Umar about her burger !! Her burger !! My eyes were still huge, mouth gawping when she looked at me haughtily. “Tengok Mummy, Umar tak habis burger…”

Tak terkata apa… Nothing came out of my mouth. Nothing !

Babah reached across me for the burger and finished it off in two huge bites. He smiled at Anna.

Phew… !!

I really hope she learnt her lesson.. but I have a feeling she didn’t.. Ha ha… I have to laugh…

Spots Mummy.....

We were very tired from our holiday (I do not know which part of a relaxing holiday ever applies to me), but we still went for the classes. I was driving the kiddies home when Umar suddenly said, “Mummy you know Abah cakap dalam plane kan that he expects me to be covered in scars, not Elsa….”

I looked at Elsa and my eyes went directly to the new scar on the chin courtesy of her inability to wait for the just out of the oven cookies to cool. Then to her left eyebrow, a scar she got when she was just a wee lass of 2. We were living at Sek 7 then. I love living there because we were really in a community. I had neighbours who greeted me and came over just for a chat. My kids were called out to play every evening and were very much loved.

Well Elsa tumbled and fell on the tarmac while playing, the disfigurement still very much evident after 4 years. What a mess. I wholeheartedly agree with Umar and again cautioned her of her recklessness.

I looked at her and she had this look that clearly told me that her mind is whirring for a rebuttal. She had to say something. However before she could Abang continued on.

“If you do not take care of yourself, Ti nanti your face will be full of scars. Nobody wants to marry you if your face is like that. It is ugly you know…. Blah, blah, blah….” I just listened, wanting to interrupt but so very interested to hear his train of thoughts.

Then, “Babah kan kawin dengan Mummy because she is beautiful. Kan Mummy ? Mummy is beautiful that is why Babah wants to marry her (kembang lah sekejap…he he). It would be very hard for you to get a boyfriend like this, Ti…. Blah , blah, blah. Tak cantik… blah, blah, blah, No boyfriend… blah, blah, blah..”

I was valiantly trying not to laugh but all my effort came undone when Elsa finally found her point, “Tapi Mummy ada spots spots tuh…. Tak pe pun…. Abah marry pun dengan Mummy pun….”

Wa ha ha !! Umar can’t help himself either. Tears streamed down my face.

But …. Tak pe Elsa…. Spots spots ye…. Nanti kau

Spots spots tu bekas jerawat aku le…..

Gambar sebelum terjatuh..

Comel aje...

Innocent face..

Dah jatuh..

Kenapa muka terus naughty ?

Abah kata dah tak boleh mintak hantaran RM 100, 000 dah. Kena le tolak RM 10, 000... Huhu....

Hair

It is so hard to get Elsa to tie her hair. Sakit lah, tak cantik lah, I don't want my forehead exposed lah....

Aiyoo....

Last week though I came home to find my daughter in a ponytail. Teacher ikat, she informed me. Cantik tak, Mummy ? She asked nervously. I of course said "Cantik...." and kissed her delighted face. Girls......

Anyway, thank you Teacher because now she insisted for her hair to be tied every day.

However, well there is always a however in my story. Anyway, she's always insisting that I tie her hair immediately after bath. NO can do, little girl, we cannot tie wet hair...is what I explained every single morning (well... for the past week... ha ha..). But this morning she was pestering me so much that I had to do something.

Ikat rambut rabbit tau, Mummy. Rambut rabbit, rambut rabbit, rambut rabbit x 1000 times. I swear, my ears threatened to leave my body everytime she said it.

So...... I split her hair into two and as I gathered one side I told her, "I don't want to do rambut rabbit, today..."

"What ? Why ? What rambut are you going to do ?" She asked worriedly.

"Rambut naga ! Dragon hair ..." I half hissed and half roared. I am very clever at that, trust me...

"Dragon hair ? But why ? I don't want rambut dragon lah, Mummy....."

"Why ? Because you said rabbit so many times, I got bored. So I want to do dragon hair instead. Dah boring dah dengar rambut rabbit, rambut rabbit so many, many times...."

"Mummy, how does rambut dragon look like ? I don't think I'm going to like it....."

"Heessh..... tengok je lah dulu..... I am so fed up of rabbit....." She gulped. Ha ha....

So.....

"There you go. See ? See ? You got dua tanduk kat tepi, just like a dragon..." I said, pushing her to the mirror.

"I don't think I like it very much..... Can you buat rambut..... errmm.... macam biasa tu.... yang ada dua tu...." He he... she got the message. Yabedabadooooo...!

"Ini kan ada dua ni ?"

"No... I want the dua tu kat bawah sikit. A bit lower....."

Okay.....

"Macam ni ?" I asked after I did a quick Thomas and Guy.

"Yes..... yang ini lah...."

Smiled.

"Am I gorgeous ?"

Hai lah..... "Yes you are......"

"I know......"

Hmmm.........

Anna....

This is major, major cute.

Remember how Anna will turn to Dan if money is involved ?

Well I came home on Tuesday very much tired. I threw myself in front of the telly, hugging a cushion. The kids came to say their hellos and my kids they are, cleverly read the telltale signs that Mummy is not just exhausted, she is devastatingly so.

Anna approached me and I think she knows that there is no way Mummy is cooking that night. So she said, “Mummy… mana Abah ?”

“Kenapa pulak … ?” Was the lazy reply.

“Anna lapar ni…. Anna nak makan…. Mana Abah ?” I started laughing. Really, this girl. With her big eyes, hand in a circular motion at her stomach, huge thick hair. How can anybody concentrate on their daily activities with her around ?

“You know we will be eating out ye, Anna ? So anything yang kena bayar, kena ada Abah ?”

“Ha Mummy, Abah bayar….” Keh, keh, keh.

Dan came home 20 minutes later and we sneaked out of the house to buy groceries at pasar malam. While there I warned him what was waiting for him at home. He shook his head.

We got home, put the stuffs away and as I was climbing the stairs, Dan just right behind me, Anna came running and planted herself in front of Abah.

“Abah ! Abah ! Anna lapar ni…. Anna nak makan….” Alahai, kesiannya dia ni.

Dan looked down at her. “Okay, tunggu kejap Abah mandi ye…. Lepas tu kita pegi makan…..” He patted her head fondly.

“Yeay ! Abah nak bawak Anna makan !! Yeay !!”

He he…. Funny girl, Anna. After Maghrib, Abah whisked all of us to Subway.

Aduhai, they created so much ruckus ordering, Mummy felt like giving up and just go home. One wanted cheese, the other doesnt’t. Then the debate on salad and cucumbers, then drinks. All that noise came with , “Anna nak ni ! Anna nak ni !!” from well…. You know who, who jumped up and down, pointing at a picture of soups.

We chose a mixture of crisps and cookies with the sandwiches. Anna found the cookies’ bag, looked at it for the longest of time then asked me, “Ini cookies ke, Mummy ?” She sounded so innocent.

“Ye…” answered the very harried Mummy who was trying to figure out who ordered what.

“Untuk apa ni, Mummy ?” Another question from Anna Banana.

“Makan lah …”

“Makan saja ?” She asked.

“Laa… makan sajalah…” Said I and left the table to help Abah with the drinks. I heard a very soft (and happy) “Okay…” but thought nothing of it. We came back with the drinks, opened our sandwiches and began eating. I looked at all my children, making sure they were eating when I noticed something weird about Anna. She was eating but why her food just didn’t seem right ?

Looked harder then, “Anna… makan sandwich dulu !! Cookies tu nanti…..”. That came from Abah. She grinned her wonderful grin, put the cookie down and start chomping on her sandwich.

When I said makan saja, I didn’t mean for you to eat it, lah Anna ! You asked me a question and the answer to that question was makan saja... It was not a nod for you to have dessert firt.

I wonder…Anna dah putar Mummy ke ?

Anna nih….

Cepat ! Cepat !

I came home last Friday to a house full of children. Aleesya’s rule when she is in Mummy’s house is mandi, then dinner then baru boleh balik.

If none of the above happened, she will start questioning. That fateful Friday Elsa was to have her piano replacement class and therefore I dressed her in a lovely long, lacy white skirt with a nice pink top. Aleesya as usual in her trousers, that Ben 10 wannabe.

However, I saw the widened eyes when she saw my daughter, who really scrubbed up nicely in the ensemble. I continued looking and saw her lowered eyelids. Hmmm….. intriguing. I have to approach with caution, knowing her dislike of anything girlie. In fact many of Mummy’s money were wasted because she just refused to wear anything with ribbons, lace or even pink.

“Cantik kan Titi pakai ?” I said. She lit up.

“Cantik, mummy ! Ada ribbon kat sini….” Mummy almost had a heart attack. She doesn’t find ribbons offensive !!

“Eysa nak ke skirt ni ?” I asked. She looked down and gave me the slightest of nod, I thought I imagined it.

“Dia ada dua colour… white and brown. Esya nak colour apa ?”

“White...” She said quietly.

She trulu wants it. The skirt !! She wants to wear a skirt !!

Kebetulan I bought the skirt at Reject Shop in Shah Alam Mall and there is where Elsa is having her lesson. I drove fast. Got there 10 minutes early, waited impatiently for 5 minutes before Dania admitted Elsa in.

Rushed to Reject Shop, Umar and Eysa running after me. Cepat ! Cepat ! Yah ! Yah !

“Mummy ! What’s wrong ?” Asked the now panicked Umar. ”Why are we running ?”

“Esya wants to wear a skirt ! I’d better buy one before she changes her mind !! Quick ! Quick ! Cepat sikit !!” And off we went.

Got there and I showed her the skirts. She nodded her head eagerly, eyes wide. I was so happy but then there were no white ones her size. How do I tell her this ?

I took the brown one and commented how nice it looked. I asked her to try it on, just for size. As soon as she put it on, the long skirt covered her legs, wishy washy when she moved, I knew she was hooked. Colour (or even the fact it was made totally of lace) didn’t matter anymore.

I pointed where the ribbon was, commented on how pretty the ribbon looked. “Esya nak ni ?” I asked. She nodded shyly.

Phewww…..

Seized the opportunity by adding a very sophisticated blouse to wear with the skirt (Seriously Reject Shop is good nowadays). When we got home, saw Anna lying comfortably on Babah’s lap, watching the telly. She was asleep when we left for Shah Alam Mall so therefore seeing her very much awake, sans a new skirt in her size with me, panic sekejap.

I undressed Esya there and then and clothed her in her new outfit. Babah’s eyes widened but said nothing. We went out for dinner.

At Tok’s house, people gasped with incomprehension. Tok Mi laughed.

He he……

Luckily Mummy pakaikan skirt tu untuk Elsa kan ?

Lubang kat kedai Tok Mi

“Mummy… Cik Ta is taking us to Tok Mi’s shop for lunch tomorrow…” Announced my daughter last week.

“Mummy tahu mana kedai tu ?” She asked.

I shrugged my shoulders and shook my head. The little darling took a deep breath and started. “Okay kat situ macam ada hole …” she made a round shape with her fingers

“Okay ? Okay ? Ada lubang kan ? Pastu masuk lubang tu and then macam ada kayu go up and down, up and down…” Hand demonstrating this up and down motion.

“Jalan straight sampai nampak ada pintu merah ni. Pastu naik tangga pastu pusing sini (she made a left hand gesture). Pastu pusing sini (another left hand gesture). Dah sampai…..”

“Do you know now ? So easy kan because I already teach you…..” Eyes wide looking at me, waiting for my nod of comprehension.

“Tapi how do I get there ? From the house ?”

She thought for awhile. “Mummy jalan-jalan sampai nampak hole tu okay ? That hole…. Pastu ada up down up down tu...”

Hmm… yelah. Berapa banyak le lubang (basement) yang ada kat Shah Alam ni.

He he…

Kebetulan lalu kami kat kompleks PKNS tu kelmarin.

"Mummy !! That one !! Kat situ lah kedai Tok Mi...." She said excitedly, finger pointing.

"See ? See that hole there ? Kat situ ada up and down up and down tu...." Tangan again up down up down. Cute..

"So now you know, okay ?" She said, grabbing my shoulder.

Yelah, aku tahu lah....

Ha ha

Elsa and Ana

Yesterday Abah saw Elsa playing with Umar’s new chess set and was being very reckless about it.

“Ti… jangan main sepah-sepah. Itu Umar punya… karang hilang kang…..”

She looked up at her father and said, “It’s okay. I am not afraid of Umar…” shrugging her shoulders.

Sungguh lah budak ni. Patut le tak peduli kat abangnya. Bulat mata Abah.

“I am not talking about Umar. I am talking about me. I paid for it, kalau hilang Abah marah… !”

She looked at her Abah again, face in a frown. “But Abah…. This is not yours, this is Umar’s … It’s okay….”

Melawan…..

Kisah Ana pulak…. Last week I think she requested for iced tea from makcik. Makcik however shook her head and said, “Kan tak boleh. Ayah tak bagi minum ais……”

She replied ? “Ayah tak de lak, acik. Tak pe…. Buat aje…..”

Lagi sorang… Keberanian tiada batasan...

Macamana budak berdua nih….

What have you done ?

We moved house 9 months ago and we are still looking around for furniture. We still do not have a coffee table yet, nor a side table. Umar doesn’t even have a bed yet. I hate buying furniture for the sake of buying. I want to fall in love with it first before I contemplate taking it home with me.

Well… in truth, I fell in love many times over, just my pay packet didn’t allow them to come home with me.

We had been busy, Rashdan and I these past few months and therefore furniture hunting activities were shelved momentarily. We can’t any longer though because we had been receiving a lot of visitors quite recently and the non-existence of a coffee table was very much felt. In short, we do not know where to put the coffee (just a figure of speech. There are no coffee granules in my home. Usually orange cordial or tea) for our guests.

Such a lengthy introduction for a very short story I have in mind. Anyway, our renewed vigour to furnish our house reminds me of an incident years ago when Umar was about 5. We had moved to Dan’s parents’ house but sadly we could only take some of our stuffs with us. The rest of it had to find new homes. The washing machine went to my brother, the pot and pans went to my sister. Quite a bit of furniture went to my mom. She has a big house so she could accommodate them.

Anyway, one of the things she got was our coffee and side table set. They have similar detail, being a set, only one is long and the other one is short. Mum put the side table in between her leather librarian chair and the coffee table elsewhere. A few days after we moved, my baby Umar went inside my mom’s house and immediately saw the side table.

He went to it with a frown (I was looking at him), checked it a bit and exclaimed, “Tok ! The table has shrunk !! What have you done ? Dia dah kecik dah !!”

And we burst out laughing.

Funny lah you, Um… !

Bawang...

Yesterday Elsa had done it again.

I came home to a very messy house. Toys were strewn all over and I counted the kids made 4 play stations. I heard them singing and yelling upstairs, having their bath so I went to the fridge, grabbed my anniversary Twix and ran upstairs.

“Why is the house so messy with your toys ?” I asked, hand on my hips. They stopped whatever they were doing midway.

“After mandi, go down and clean-up ..” I ordered. “And I mean you guys, not Bibik. She didn’t play with those toys, you guys did !” I stood there, looking at them sternly. Elsa frowned, pursed her lips and said, “Kalau Bibik nak buat, apa salahnya ?”

Bibik looked at me and grinned. I should have given them a menacing look, not a stern one.

“No !! You do it !!” I said and promptly left before she could say anything else.

I threw myself on the bed, grabbed a Fiona Walker book and started reading. Remembered the Twix, took one and slowly ate it, savouring every chocolate, biscuit and caramel. I had wanted to wait for Dan and share it with him, but I can’t any longer. I was craving since yesterday, but am thoughtful enough to save the other piece for him.

Enter Elsa. She saw me chewing and demanded to know what exactly it was.

“Bawang …” Said I, not looking at her.

“Bawang ?” She asked incredulously. Then, “Let me see this bawang….”, and went around the bed (I was at the other side of the bed). I quickly popped in the last piece, chomping it furiously.

“Let me see…” She demanded.

“Dah habis !” Not satisfied, she leaned near me and smelt my mouth. Damn !

“Mummy…. I think I like this bawang….. It smells so good…..” She said, eyes wide.

“This bawang is yummy, Mummy. I know it. I can tell….”

He he….what can I do ? Grabbed the remaining Twix and gave it to her. She opened the packing, took a bite and closed her eyes.

“I like bawang…” She grinned.

Ha ha…

Louder, please..

When I came home yesterday, Elsa announced that my presence is required by her teacher at school tomorrow. She explained that she will be singing and we have to watch her do it.

I frowned. A concert on Tuesday ? Very unlikely, so I asked if there is any letter from school. No, she said. There is no letter from her teacher.

I put that at the back of my head, assuming that she had misheard or misunderstood teacher’s instructions. Things though got very serious when Babah is involved. Babah prodded and asked and prodded and Mummy sighed. Elsa, at times under duress, would suddenly loose her vocal chords. She would speak in a volume so low, only a chipmunk on her shoulder could hear.

It was Mummy and Babah’s anniversary yesterday and we had warned them that we might, MIGHT mind you, have dinner a deux. Elsa of course was not happy but Umar was very understanding.

“Ti…. It is their anniversary, Ti. We have to leave them alone to celebrate….” He admonished his sister. Hearing that, Mummy got a bit segan for some reason. Called Babah up and Babah revealed that he had never planned to leave his children anyway, ha ha…

Anyway after dinner, in the car for some reason, Elsa brought up the Mummy-teacher-said-you-must-come-to-school subject again. Babah grew rather concerned and asked, “Ti did you do something at school ? Is teacher angry with you ?”

“No…” The little one said, but after that we could hear the sound of her voice but not the words. She had done it again.

“Elsa…. What did teacher say exactly ?” I asked.

Again, just the sound, but the words failed to reach our ears.

“Elsa… louder !!” Said Babah.

“Teacher kan… cakap kan….” There were more after that but it was indistinguishable. Babah and Mummy looked at each other, feeling totally helpless.

“Elsa…. Please speak louder or Abah will stop by the side of the road …..” He didn’t have the chance to finish because Abang quickly barked orders, “Ti !! Kuat sikit lah !!”

“Teacher cakap kan Mummy kena datang sekolah kan dengar saya nyanyi lagu Syaitan kan tapi tak de surat pun kan…. Saya dah check kan…”

Was it so hard ? “That is all she said ?” I asked and she gave a more ear grabbing “Yes !”

Then, she opened her mouth again, started to say something when Abang Um barked, “That is enough ! Don’t say anything anymore !”

He he……

Elsa’s Lime Tree….

It was rather hot two Saturdays ago, so I ordered iced lime tea for breakfast, as oppose to my usual tipple, warm lime tea. Umar was talking to me about things that he finds embarrassing. It was a very animated conversation and I remembered him saying, “I would be mortified if I walk naked in public….” I was shocked with his usage of mortified and wanted to be sure he was saying it right, so I asked him to repeat.

He didn’t answer, so I looked at him and saw him looking at his sister, eyes narrowed. “Why would you ever be naked in public, Um ?” I asked. He raised his palm at me, asking for a minute and asked, “Ti…. Did you swallow some seeds ?”

Elsa slowly released the straw from her mouth, a slight confused look on her face and said, “No….”. Umar frowned. “I thought I saw you swallowed the seeds…..” He said again. Elsa shrugged her shoulders.

“Mummy… will she be okay even if she swallowed the lime seeds ?” Came the very expected question.

“Well….. I wouldn’t know…. Worse come to worse, she is growing a lime tree in her tummy and when it is grown, we have to chop it down lah….”. Elsa laughed but Umar, again predictably became more apprehensive.

“Will she be okay ? When they operate her ?”

“Well… she should be… It just a matter of chopping the tree….. Then they will sew her up again….” Mummy is good at appearing nonchalant.

“That is why I do not like drinking anything with lime. It is the seeds, you know… So dangerous….Blah, blah, blah….” Mummy and Elsa rolled our eyes.

I again ordered the same beverage last Saturday. It is usually iced tea for the kids to share and sharing produces a lot of fights and promises of a scuffle. Maybe that was what motivated Elsa to again grab my drink.

But surprise, surprise (actually not really…) Umar stopped her from reaching for my glass and pushed the glass of iced tea to his sister.

“Ti… drink this…. Don’t drink Mummy punya…..” He said, with a frown and a lot of authority. It was an order.

Bewildered, Elsa took the offered drink and sipped gratefully.

"We still have to see if the tree is growing in you..." He grumbled.

He he……

Abah tak puas hati pasal hal semalam...

We came home to a sassy mouth Elsa yesterday. Boy was she on a roll. Abah was asking for it, really but me, I didn’t say anything at all but got the brunt of her witticsm all the same. Witticism or insolence ? Hmmm ?

Abah came home to find his girls comfortably having a conversation on the bed. He just couldn’t let things go, that one and so the first thing he said was, “Elsa… malam ni kalau sakit perut lagi, gerak Mummy….”

Elsa looked at him and shook her head. “Tak nak….” Abah raised his eyebrows. “Because mothers cook and fathers basuk o-ok…” She added.

We couldn’t say anything, really after that. He he….

This morning we woke up late again. Dan yelled in shock when the sun greeted him as soon as he opened his eyes.

“Oii bangun !! Pukul 7 dah !!” And we scrambled out of our beds.

Don’t know why his phone won’t co-operate again. Mogok gamaknya. I scurried after my children, barking instructions for them to hurry. The kids got ready in record time. As I combed Elsa’s hair, I was muttering about our lateness when Elsa helpfully gave me an advise.

“Mummy, if you want to hurry up, don’t sit too long in the bathroom like this…” and with that she sat on the bed, shoulders hunched, palms opened. It looked suspiciously like how palms look like when its owner was reading a book.

“….lama-lama…” My eyes cannot get off of her.

“You can be ready faster if you don’t sit too long on the ….ermm… bath tub….”

“Oh ?”

“Yes….. I know, Mummy !!”

Babah gelak sakan. Hmmph !

Ha, Abah....

This morning I woke up with a start and saw the sun was shining high up. “Dan !! Dah pagi !!” I informed my husband, several octaves higher from my normal pitch. On hearing that, my kids also jumped from the beds.

7.26 am the clock told me.

“Kita tak pegi kerja ke ?” Asked my confused husband. Gelak aku… he he…

His next sentence was, “Awak tahu tak Elsa cirit birit malam tadi ? Gerak langsung tak bangun !”

“Haa Mummy. Saya cirit birit….” She said softly.

“Laa…. Ye ke ? I tak sedar pun….”

He he… Sebenarnya aku sedar. But then because Dan sleeps on the children’s side, so the first thing Elsa saw was her Abah, therefore.. well you know the rest. I heard her talking to her dad, and I also heard Abah calling me, but I kept on closing my eyes.

Why must he call me ? Why must I do it if she had specifically called for her Abah ? Why can’t he do it ? She is your daughter too. Why must both of us loose our sleep ? He he…

Anyway, Elsa got up 3 times to go to the loo, poor baby, and each time she sought for her Abah. He he…. What to do, yeah ?

Anyway, to continue my story, I looked at Elsa, gave her a thumbs up and said, “Well done !!” Elsa smiled beautifully at me, nodding her head. Dan of course wasn’t happy.

“Elsa next time kalau nak pi toilet malam-malam, panggil Mummy kay ?” She shrugged her shoulders while reaching for Kitty. Dan smiled triumphantly. Yeah, right.

“Elsa… who will you call next time when you have cirit birit again ?”

“Babah… “ She said, smiling.

“Itulah awak…. Dia tak sayang awak tuh…” Said the guy who is stuck washing her daughter’s bottom. “Elsa sayang sapa ?” Dan asked.

“Abah lah….” She answered, again smiling happily.

“See ?” Came the smug reply of the guy who needed to find the silver lining, desperately.

“Elsa tak sayang Mummy ke ?” I asked, knowing fully well that I will win no matter what.

“Sayang….” Of course….. There is no doubt about that.

“Tapi kalau saya o-ok Abah kena basuh…” Said she.

He he….. Happynya aku….

Elsa's try at the art of hinting

“Mummy…. I want to have something nice tonight, Mummy….” Said my daughter when I came home on Monday.

“Good… Mummy puasa hari ni…. So I am verra hungry !! Kita pegi makan kat Kuting Besar nak ?” Kuting is what baby Umar called udang and since the floating restaurant at the tasik sported a huge neon-lighted picture of udang, Umar calls it Kuting Besar and so it remained until today.

She made a face. “Tak nak lah, Mummy….” Mengeliat-mengeliat atas katil. “If we go to Kuting Besar we eat nasi… Tadi saya dah makan nasi dah…..”

“Alah…. I am soooo hungry sebab puasa…. I would love to eat Kuting Besar….” Said me.

“Alah….. I don’t want to go to Kuting Besar…..” She re-iterated.

Hmm….. In my head, all our favourite restaurants flashed through one by one but nothing seemed to linger longer than the others.

“So… what do you want to eat then ?” I asked. She frowned, chin on her hand and had a good think.

“Saya tak tahu lah….” She finally said.

“Well if you don’t want to eat Kuting Besar, you have to think of another place…. It is too late for me to cook something….” I eyed the juicy plum that I brought upstairs as my buka. Yummm….

“What do YOU feel like eating ?” She finally said. Ya Rabbi !! Sebijik le macam bapak ko nak oii…..

“I told you I want to go to Kuting Besar…. So that is where I want to go….” I reminded her, exasperation around the corner.

“Hmm… tapi tadi saya dah makan nasi…..” Are we going there again ? We are definitely going round and round and round again.

“Okay lah…. Macam ni lah… I will order mee for you, okay ?”

“Kat Kuting Besar ada mee ke ?” She asked, face in bewilderment.

“Ada lah… banyak kali kan kita makan mee kat situ….”

She went quiet, no answer. I know the conversation is not over and by then had a suspicion that she is not telling me all of it. She started to draw imaginary pictures on my duvet. I waited.

Then it came. “Kat situ ada mee tomyam tak ?” She asked, after consulting her notebook (I will tell this story later in my own blog…. Ha ha).

I shook my head. Aduhai anak ku. Kenapa cakap berkias ? Why can’t you just spell out what you want ? Nak pegi Secret Recipe ke ?

Sadly, Abah hates Secret Recipe. So I tell you what, Mummy’s little girl. Next weekend, Abah ada event. We go then, kay ?

Muaaahhh !

Archie and Veronica

When I came home yesterday, after the customary greetings and hugs and kisses and brief exchange of the day’s news, I went upstairs to shut myself in the room for a little rest.

But of course, no Mummies in the world were ever left alone so after about 5 minutes I heard the pitter patter of small feet working up the stairs and my baby girl flinging the door open. While chattering, she selected a book from a book shelf in the room, opened it and became quiet.

Bliss. Mummy just needs to rest her eyes, not sleep, just close it for a teensy while. Then I heard a giggle. Opened one eye and saw my little girl reading her Archie’s comic book with a wide smile.

Closed my eyes again.

I heard her giggle again and these words, “Mum… this book is soooo funny !!”

Really ? Archie is funny to my 5 year old ? Very impressive indeed.

“If you like it so much, we can always go buy some more…” Said I encouragingly. She gave me a 1000 watt smile. What a smile, I tell you. Happy, Mummy closed her eyes again.

Another giggle. Then she got up from the sofa and joined me in bed, giggling and shaking her head. Curious, I made the mistake of asking her what so tickled her funny bones ?

“Budak perempuan tu ada boyfriend….” She said, not shyly but as a matter of factly. You know, just stating a fact that there is this girl in this comic who has a boyfriend. I was expecting some shyness because well you know, she is a little girl, and usually this subject is discussed with some blushes all around. Hell, even us adults sometimes discussed the matter of the hearts with some degree of self-consciousness.

“Oh ?” Was what all I could muster. I made a mistake again by pushing the matter deeper. “Why is that funny ?”

“Because she is kissing her boyfriend. They kiss sama-sama….” She said with a laugh and quickly opened the pages. Ha ? Kissing ? That was what she got from Archie ? That was what she like from it ? I gloated too soon. I groaned inside, wishing I had never asked.

“Let me show you…..” Her face concentrating on the task at hand, eager to show her mummy the picture of 2 cartoon characters kissing, as she put it, sama-sama.

“Ada banyak….” She said again, and giggled. I was torn between satisfying my curiousity and not wanting to know. As I was still deciding which one I wanted, she brandished an opened page in front of me.

“See ? See ? Dia cium sama-sama… Together !!” She said. My eyes focused on a picture of Archie smooching Veronica (why always Ronnie and not Betty ?), pink hearts all over the place.

He heh…. I laughed. It is funny if you think about it. Well…. hmmm….

Anyway, soon after Babah came home and I told him the story. He frowned at the giggling Elsa.

“Ti… jangan buat Abah pening kepala, Ti !! Merepek…” Elsa and I burst out laughing. I don’t know why but we did. My mom did tell me that one of my problems is I find kids a big colossal joke. When I was small, gelek-ing Ijat or Mail on my hips, I was always laughing at their impertinence. Mum would be cross and say, “Jangan gelak.. Marah !! Kecik-kecik memanglah kelakar… karang dah besar terbiasa….” Well… you know the drill. I still haven’t learnt. But thank Allah SWT for Rashdan.

Elsa grabbed the offending comic again and showed Daddy Dearest another scene of Archie and Ronnie’s kissing scene. Abah’s frowned deepened. “Merepek le kau ni…. Jangan buat Abah pening, kay ?” Said he, patting his daughter’s head affectionately.

And Elsa knew how to get into her father’s high regards again. “Tapi kan Bah, Reggie ni naughty kan….?” She said, head nodding knowingly. It worked, as Babah looked at her with respect, “Pandai pun…. Reggie naughty kan ?” He said with a smile.

Elsa was on a roll. “Ha… kan, Bah. Pastu kan Veroroninica (he he…) naughty sikit….kan ?” She purloined that thought from me actually, naughty girl but Babah was smiling even wider. Age old tricks that little girls learnt from the wombs, I suppose.

But, Babah is not that stupid as the very next day, when we went to have dinner at Tony’s in Uptown, Elsa found rows and rows and rows of Archie comics at the local newsagent. She squealed happily but Babah quickly told her off. “No ! Jangan merepek….” He he….

I though couldn’t bear her crestfallen face so suggested maybe we could find Little Archie comics. Archie and his gang were little in that particularly titled comics so probably there are no inappropriate scenes. Plus there are Sabrina The Teenage Witch and Casper The Friendly Ghost in Little Archie.

However, fate was not with Elsa. We couldn’t locate any Little Archie and she went home empty handed.

I had to hide that particular Archie comic and check the rest that I have in keeping. Babah wants them to be rated PG.

Ha ha…

Elsa Rashdan

“Mummy !! Where is your car ?” Asked my daughter one night as she peered outside. “Cik Yin pinjam...” Said I. Hearing that her eyes went wide, brows furrowed.

“So how are you going to work tomorrow ?” Comelnya muka…

“Tok hantar….” With that she went quiet.

The next day as usual I got the kids ready and when I ushered them downstairs for breakfast, started my own toilette. As I was about to put my clothes on, I heard her crying from down below. Babah and Umar had already left the house.

The crying got nearer and nearer and soon I saw my little girl, very much distressed, face wet from tears.

“Laaa…. Awatnya ?” She looked relieved when she saw me and quickly threw herself on me.

“I thought you left me …” She wept. “I cannot see your car…”

“Elsa… I told you right, that Cik Yin borrowed my car… Tok is sending us….” I heard an embarassed laugh came from my lap, where she was sobbing not 1 second ago.

“Ohh… ha ha…. I forgot….” She said, big grin on her face.

Entah apa-apa entah minah ni..

Elsa’s hair is rather long now and what a messy girl she is when her hair is in that state. Two days ago she was moving about, hair all over the face, obscuring me from seeing her exquisite face. As she walked past by, I grabbed her and started pushing the masses and masses of hair away.

When done, I was treated to a big grin that was just waiting for me to see.

“I am gorgeous, Mummy !!” She declared, oh so confidently. I agreed but chose to instead say, ‘Oh really ?”

“Yes….” She said. “But don’t worry, you are gorgeous, too…” Leaving me with my mouth hanging open.

Two weeks ago we went to celebrate baby Muhammad’s birthday. When it was time to cut the cake, she went near to inspect the cake. Kamalia’s mom Aunty Zainab offered her a piece. “No thank you,” She said. “I don’t like this cake. I only like chocolate cake….”

I of course tackled my daughter in the car. “Ti…. Next time if you don’t like anything, please give a better excuse. You can say something like you are not hungry. Saying you don’t like what people had made a lot of trouble to make is quite rude….”

She was quiet but looked thoughtful. Akhirnya ini yang keluar dari mulut anak aku, “It’s okay Mummy. Dia tak marah pun…. So tak de apa-apa…..”

Haarrummmppphh !

Botol ! I saw him !

As usual almost everyday I will leave some work for Umar to do. Usually Bahasa Malaysia because his BM is simply atrocious. He doesn’t like to read in BM so I do not know how else to improve his command in that particular language,

Sometimes I would check his work, sometimes I won’t. It depends. I mean I do not make a point to check every day. I did however about 3 days ago, especially since it is exams time and was hugely disappointed to see that he didn’t finish it.

He did a few pages and left a few blank.

When I asked he flustered. It is normal for him to tell me he couldn’t do it but very suspicious when he was grappling for an excuse.

Disappointment turned into rage. I got so angry and I started yelling at him. He blinked his huge eyes at me but it failed to chasten me. Hey, I am not in the wrong here. Anger spent, I went to cool down in the kitchen. Elsa was colouring and not 5 minutes after I sat, she said, “Mummy… Umar buat kerja lah..”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “Botol !” She said, nodding her head vigorously. “I saw him!! Saya nampak dia !!”

“Then, if he did his work, why tak habis ?” I challenged.

She grinned. “Saya tak tahulah…..” she said, smiling so broadly that I calmed down immediately. Her cheery mood was infectious.

Tak yah......

Kelmarin Anna complained about Bubu. Dengan mata berkerutnya, dengan suara sedihnya. Apalah Mummy nak buat apart from saying, “Naughty nya Bubu…. Nanti Mummy pok dia !” with enough vehemence to sound convincing.

“Eh ! Tak yah !!” She said, palm and head wagging. “Nanti Cik Yin marah ….”

He he comel…

“Laa… tapi tadi Ana kata Bubu buat Anna….”

“Jangan….. Bubu Cik Yin punya nanti Cik Yin marah…..” She insisted.

“Okeylah… if that is the case, Mummy nak pok Cik Yin sebab bagi Bubu buat Anna…” Said I.

“Eh ! Tak yah !!” Palm and head wagged again, so very adorable my little Anna.

“Cik Yin Anna punya…… jangan……”

He he he…..

Kelakar lah Anna ni …..

Umar...

I was lying in our darkened room 2 days ago, waiting for my kids to go to sleep before I join my waiting husband to watch the grown-up stuffs on the telly (usually if I managed to not go to dreamland with my babies hand in hand lah).

Our conversation had dwindled, the little people were tossing around waiting for sleep. The silence was marred by Elsa’s coughs though, which came intermittently at first but gained frequency as the night wore on.

I was debating whether to just let it go or start the inevitable war if medicine is mentioned when Umar spoke, “Elsa… please get a drink of water….”

“Ha ?” Was her reply and abang said it again in another language, “Pergi turun bawah minum….”

She was silent but after another cough, she said, “Teman, Um….” Umar sighed but he got up all the same and together they went down.

Mummy waited for them and when she came to, it was Subuh.

“Bangun cepat, kata nak pegi Pasar Tani ?” Said Abah.

The kids scrambled up and at 7.30 off we went to Pasar Tani. In the car, abah told me a story. “Semalam I bagi Elsa makan ubat batuk and they watched the telly with me…. After awhile, Elsa cakap “Umm… jomlah kita tidur sebab esok kita nak pegi pasar tennis”(nama lain bagi pasar tani sebab we can only go after tennis class or when tennis is cancelled…. I think lah…)..”

He he…. Umar sure bengang sebab kena arah left, right and center.

It’s okay… Umar is a good boy….