This morning

Our morning routine is like this; Babah mandi and Mummy mandikan Abang. Mummy mandi and Babah dresses Abang up. Babah dresses up and organises Abang’s school bag and Mummy takes Abang to breakfast. Babah drives Abang to school, Mummy dresses up for work.

So during my breakfast duty and Babah dressing himself up I would be soaking Abang time alone with me, and of course preparing his bekal.

“ What do you want for recess ? ”.

“ Can I have the icing biscuits ? ” he asked. Sure, no problem.

“ Momm….” He started and I settled down for our breakfast chat. I love this moment because it is just me and him and my concentration is strictly for my darling son. I love seeing him eating the breakfast I prepared while sharing his thoughts, experiences and feelings with me. I love that.

“ Calci-yum kan ( yoghurt ) is good for me kan ? It makes me strong kan ? ” He asked.

“ Sure, the calcium would strengthen your bones… ,”.

“ But kan Hannah kata kan Calci-yum kan kalau makan banyak-banyak boleh buat orang lembik, ”, he said, face full of questions.

“ No, I don’t think so. Do you ever share your Calci-yum with Hannah ? ”

“ Sometimes. ” Was the reply.

“ What does she take to school ? ” I asked, out of curiosity.

“ I don’t know because she sits at the girls’ tables. But mostly money. ” He explained.

“ What do your other friends bring to school ? ”.

“ Money. But they usually beli air saja Mum. And the kan Mum they said kalau makan roti vanilla ( his favourite ) nanti kepala boleh pecah. ” Said he, face scrunched at the absurdity of the tale but terrified at that the same time that it could actually be true.

“ Well, have you ever seen people fall off the table without their heads for eating roti vanilla ? ”

“ Nope…” He said, shaking his head vigorously, relieved that he could still indulge in his favourite confection.

“ You know, maybe the reason why they criticize the food you eat is because you never share…” I gently suggested.

“ No… they always rasa my food, Mum….”

Hmm… okaylah.

We then went to the door to put on his shoes. As I was kissing and cuddling him goodbye, Babah said he had forgotten his watch. So Mummy ran upstairs to for it and stumbled upon a disheveled and still groggy hantu kecik. I swept her off her feet ( heh heh ) and ran back to our men. They were already in the car and as we marched on I asked her to say goodbye with ‘ See you later, alligator ! ‘.

“ Do you know what is an alligator ? ”. She shook her head.

“ Alligator is like crocodile. ” I explained.

“ Crocodile ? No Mum. Crocodile can eat our friends !! ” Was the horrified reply.

Can eat our friends ? Apa tuh ?

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Anyway after we waved them off ( with Adik screaming to Abang" Say good bye to me Abang ! Say goodbye to me ! " ), I deposited Adik back in her bed, switched on the telly and when I left her she was looking at her books.

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But when I was done with my morning toilette and went to look for her, she was sound asleep !! Was that a dream ? Did I really held her in my arms just now ?

The siblinghood of Abang and Adik

Scene 1

“ Mum… “ said my daughter when I returned home late Wednesday night. My son was already asleep ( kesian dia and kesian mak dia ). “ Tadi kan Abang marah Memen ( Jazmyn, his cousin ).” Why, I asked. “ Haa… Abang marah Memen because Memen kacau dia. Memen cry, “

“ Really ? “ said I, a bit upset. “ Yes Mum. And then I hug her and say everything is okay… “

She then said in a lowered tone, " Memen kacau Abang Mummy. Remember that, ".

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Oh okay.. after you ratted on him, you wanna save is arse ? Make up your mind, please...

Scene 2

Last week we were in the car and Abang was being exceptionally active. Babah of course allowed him some time before Babah asked him to stop.

“ But I just want to make Adik laugh," he protested.

“ No, Abang. Be quiet. I can’t concentrate on my driving with you bouncing at the back,"

“ I just want to make my sister laugh, “ he again protested. Then his sister tried to save the day by saying, “ It’s okay Abang. I don’t need to laugh." Ha ha…

Scene 3

Usually Babah and I would tuck our children into their bed and went to sleep happy in the thought of waking up fresh. But as the night went on, we wouldn’t know if anybody would join us and cramp the space.

Anyway, one night we were woken up by the sounds of our daughter crying. “ What is she saying Babah? " I asked sleepily. “ Sounds like where is my Abang," Babah replied also drowsily.

At that I realised there was another person next to me, but shorter with smelly hair ( since Abang is super active, he sweats all the time and therefore I could hardly remember him having nice smelling hair ). “ Oh, Abang is here… “ I said. Babah then went to pick up his little girl to join us. “ Mummy, where is my Abang ?" she asked tearily. I pointed at her brother without looking at her.

“ Abang ! There you are !!" She said as she fell next to me. A minute after that she was already asleep, safe in the thought that her brother is not lost after all.

Scene 4

“ Mum, Adik dropped her books on my nose and it is bleeding," said my son one day, hand cupping his large nose. When I unclasped his hand, sure enough there was blood dripping from one orifice.

Babah was upset. To make things worse, he asked the thing that Adik didn’t like to do under duress, apologise. She can apologise but at her own time, never when forced. Never. She kept her head up high and refused to comply. Babah was understandably upset.

He then made Abang stand in front of his sister and encircled Adik’s hands on his waist. “ Hug and say sorry," Babah commanded. Nope, none doing. Her hands fell listlessly at her side when Babah let them go. Abang looked at his sister with pity.

He hugged her and said in a squeaky voice, his imitation of a girl’s tone. “ Sorry Abang, “ he squeaked. “ Dah Bah. She said sorry already,". Babah looked at him and he dropped the act. He then looked at me to hide his laughing face.

“ Bah, it’s okay. I am not angry. Dia tak sengaja Bah," he said, and led his sister away.

I was lucky that day. Lucky because as I looked in to check on them I saw my little girl looked at her brother who was next to her and said “ Sorry Abang." Abang looked at her and said “ It’s okay, Adik." She then reached for him and gave him a hug, sideways.

Adik punya hal

My daughter really has a smart mouth. Aduiihhh…

As usual, Saturday morning we were at Abang's music school, waiting for him to finish his class. A boy who became Abang’s friend arrived and upon seeing me asked for my son’s whereabouts. He then fired a lot of questions my way and I was struggling to answer and read my paper at the same time.

I do not what was eating my daughter that day. As I was answering the questions, Adik suddenly said, “ Oh.. shut up !! “. Both of us stopped to look at her. He then jumped out and down saying “ Oh… you said a bad word… !! “ over and over again and my daughter keep on answering with “ No. No. No. “.

I didn’t want to interfere mostly because I wanted to see if my little girl can stand up on her own, so I just sat there and watched and so did a few other parents. Adik crossed her arms, face defiant. He gave up after awhile and went to look at the many rows of guitars and picked one up. There is a little guitar for sale there. It is so small Adik could play the guitar while standing up. It was as if it was made for her.

I could see Adik’s horrified face when that boy picked the guitar up. “ That is not yours, “ she said, wagging her finger. He ignored her and began strumming. “ Put it back, “ she instructed and was again ignored.

By that time I had folded my paper and was concentrating on the drama. My daughter must have been really pissed off because she said, “ Go to your class !" That boy… well he put the guitar back at its place and quickly looked for his bag. “ Is my teacher here ?" he asked her. “ Yes," my daughter replied, “ take your bag and go to class…". And he did.

I was dumbstruck. I was about to berate on her rudeness when Abang arrived. I was ushering them out when Abang told me he needed a new theory book. I went back in. Adik and Abang crowded the counter and saw the CCTV monitor there. Adik squealed when she saw herself and Abang. Then the most embarrassing thing happened.

“ There you are Mum ! “ she said. Then she added, “ Oh you are so beautiful !! “ Man…. People who know me know of my tendency to blush. They also know how much I hate it if people compliment me on my appearance ( bukannya apa… Macam Adik cakap lagu tu kuat – kuat kan, org keliling mesti berebut nak tengok lawa mana mak budak ni. Sekali nampak muka aku ni, depa sure kata “ Laa… had ni pun lawa ka ? “ Haa… yang itu yang aku segan sungguh tu…. Aku tak dak perasan lawa punya….. ).

Juliette, the music school’s staff and another parent there were laughing ( I hope not at me but with me ) and cooing at her. Adik then climbed down the chair and loudly said, “ Mum can I go out for awhile ? “. I of course said no and this little girl she put her hands on her waist demanded for a reason with a “ Why not ? “. Her face frowned, looking at me questioningly.

I think all the other parents laughed out loud. I just scrunched my face with mortification. “ Alah, don’t do like that. She is so clever, “ said Juliette. The lady who was sitting at the counter with us looked at Abang and said “ She can speak very well can’t she ?" Abang nodded and said “ Yes, my sister is very funny. “ “ How old is she ? “ She asked. “ Five, “ said I and quickly dragged the little minx away from the crowd. Eee……..

Kertas Bahasa Melayu anak ku

Abang had his exams last month. I coached him in science and Bahasa Arab. For Bahasa Malaysia I only drilled him on spellings and stressed on the importance of capital letters for names.

A week after that he showed us his BM paper. Haaii………………

On the ‘ Bina Ayat ‘ section, they have a few pictures as subject. The first one was a picture of a shirt. Umar’s ayat was ‘ Baju ini bersih.’ Okay. Well actually that was the only okay part. From number 2 till 6, he only received 1 mark each out of the allocated 2. Beside a picture of a horse, Abang wrote ‘ Kuda itu membawa berlari.’ There was a red slash on the word membawa. Picture three was of a boy who was taking his bath. My clever son wrote ‘ Budak itu sedang membawa mandi ‘. What is his obessession with the word membawa and again there was a red slash on the membawa. The fourth one again had a slash at you guess where when he wrote ‘ Itik itu membawa berenang ‘. Ada ke ?

I asked him what is the meaning of the word. He shrugged his shoulders and said “ Entah. ”. I was lost for words. “ Membawa maksudnya bring, Abang." explained his Babah. My son’s face lit up. “ Oh, like bawak ?"

Waaahhhh !!!!!!!

Next page’s instruction was to fill in the blanks with the words given.

Nenek saya harum.

Big fat cross there.

Bunga itu tua.

Again a cross there.

What happened Abang ? Why nenek harum ? Well, said my son, Wan sometimes sprays perfume and she does smell nice. Pulak.

Why is the bunga tua then ?

Well, bunga kan when did not get enough water and sun, will get all brown and yucky. That is when it is old mum.

Okay, how can I do this ?

My baby Adik

When you ask expecting parents what sex do they want their unborn baby to be, some would say boy some would say girl and some would say they welcome either one. Some would say that raising boys are harder than girls and some would say otherwise. To me boys are deliciously boisterous and girls are well.. they get things done more discreetly and subtly. It is a trait needed to be learnt and some learnt very very fast indeed.

Two nights ago as I was tucking my two little children to bed, Adik asked me the typical question she would ask me when I tuck them in. “ Do you want to sleep with me Mum ? “ and I answered with my usual response of “ No darling, I have to sleep with Babah. “. But that particular night, with her head cocked to one side, one eye covered with her hair she looked at me sideways and said, “ You don’t like sleeping with me Mummy ? “ Aaa ? So two nights ago she slept blissfully, sandwiched between her parents.

My baby girl was speaking nonsense for a good part of her life. Then one day she woke up brimming with real vocabs and then there was no stopping her.

The next morning as I was preparing for work, she was as usual selecting her books for the day. When I turned to face her, she said , “ Look at what I had done, dude ! “. Dude ? Even Abang whipped his head to look at her. He then looked at me, eyebrow raised and both of us laughed. Adik sat on the bed, hands on the waist basking at her vocabulary triumph.

“ Baby, don’t ever call me dude again," I said while Abang proclaimed, “ You are so funny Adik !"

Last night I arrived home late. My children jumped off the bed to greet me, happy to see their mammy again. Babah had a function to attend, I was hungry, the kids were peckish and therefore I suggested dinner. Yippee !! They ran to the door.

Adik was waiting for me at the entry. Her hand reached for mine and she said, “ Is that really you Mum ?" She gave me the sidelong gaze that I know so much. I was lost for words. “ Yes, baby this is me." She hugged me and said, “ I am so happy to see you !!" Awww……. honey….

Singapore Zoo

We took Friday off to take our children to Singapore Zoo. And when I said Singapore Zoo I meant Singapore Zoo only because after we left the zoo we went straight to our hotel in JB… he he. We were advised that we have to come in after 9 am and leave before 4 pm to beat the massive jam and so we did. We didn’t even visit the whole zoo in our quest to beat the traffic. Oh well, we can always go again and go again is what I intend to do.

Because the zoo was superb.

It was wonderful.

Words my friends, could not describe it.

You will be enthralled at the very beginning. When you buy the tickets, you will have a glimpse of what the zoo promises by the many, many trees surrounding it. It looked peaceful and very… well… natural ?








This lovely siamang was the first to greet us.








When you walk, you will feel like walking in a nice, clean jungle, very much like my beloved Bukit Cherakah used to look like before they commercialise it. I love the lush trees and vegetations surrounding the animals. The sound of the forests.. well it was wow !!







If you look carefully you can see a hippo peacefully sleeping right next to to the monkey clad in blue ( but this monkey I get to take home with me ).






You can hear the birds, the roars of the tigers and many, many more. It was really soothing. The ambiance was great as the trees absorbed the heat and made it cool. And it was so clean. The surrounding was clean and the animals looked like the were well look after. They even have air-conditioning houses for you to cool yourself down if the weather got too hot for you.






Imagine our delight when we found out that the lone male white tiger is called Omar.

But imagine our consternation when the lioness on the right is called Elsa !! Patut le anak - anak si Babah ni bengkeng - bengkeng belaka... But, I named them so my fault he he..... However, Abang is named after Khulafa Ar-Rashidin.. who well garangnya boleh tahan... and Adik is named after the lioness in Joy Fielding's Born Free but it also means Devoted to Allah.... But lions are garang.. so... Hmm.........




We took our time admiring and looking at the animals and enjoying the ambiance. So much so when we looked at the time, it was already 2pm and we were only halfway through. But since we have to leave for JB before 4pm, we decided we have to stop at that. We have to come next time to explore the other half of the fantastic zoo.

My favourite ? Watching them feed the animals especially Innuka the Polar Bear. He was graceful and oh so cute. If you look closely, you can see Innuka's outline just next to Adik. Unfortunatley he was looking the other way when I snapped this picture.

It rained a bit as we were leaving and Babah covered Adik's head with a small towel. As we were walking briskly to shelter, we heard a few mat salleh's voices excuse me-ing us. We stopped. Adik had dropped her towel. Babah asked Adik why didn't she tell us about the towel and my indignant daughter answered, " I did !! ". Babah said, " I didn't hear you. " and my little lioness said, " I said 'Oh man, oh man' ! " Ha ha.. those mat sallehs also laughed delightedly.

We ate at the zoo. We went to this wonderful pizza place and we had mushroom pizza. It was the best mushroom pizza ever. The place was clean, the gift shop was excellent and well designed and the gifts they offered were various and interesting.

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How I wish I could sing the praises of our very own Zoo Ulu Kelang. The Singapore Zoo is just next door. Nip over there and learn. Please !!!

The boring bits ? My daughter was more interested with the map of the zoo and her books then the animals. I swear she will out read me when she finally learned to read.

Hmmm..................

Going there was easy. We took a blue cab from JB and was sent straight to the zoo. It took us like 20 minutes without the jam. From the friendly driver we understood that only blue cabs could cross the causeway. So Babah and I planned that we will take a blue cab from the zoo and therefore could go straight back to JB from there.

The line at the taxi stand was long. We gave up one taxi when our turn came because it was not the right colour. When a blue one finally came it couldn't take us to JB because it didn't have a Malaysian road tax !!

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Okay, okay. Babah then asked the chatty driver to take us to the taxi terminal. He took us to a terminal all right but when we asked him where we can get a taxi, he was surprised. Taxi ? he asked. He was flustered when he told us to take up the flight of stairs that was visible from where he stopped and just follow the crowd. O-kay...

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So we followed the crowd and the sign boards. It was quite a long walk but since it was covered and was not hot we gamely marched on. Until we saw immigration counters. What ? It was behind glass sliding doors but when I tried to enter I couldn't. Apparently it was for people coming from JB to Singapore.

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Babah and I sweated a bit. " Where are we going actually Babah ? " I asked. He was quiet as he walked on dragging Adik before he answered, " Mummy, we have walked in most European countries and we survived Bangkok and Jakarta... we are seasoned travellers. No need to get panicky now. "

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Well yeah, but I panicked all the same. Then we arrived at another immigration checkpoint. O - oh... we are the taxis ? Luckily there was an information counter. The nice policeman said there are buses waiting after the immigration check point. I even asked where could we get the tickets ? He looked at me oddly. " Kat bawah lah cik. " O-kay.

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When we got down, there was a normal bus waiting and a few people were clambering in. I looked for a bus pesiaran but none was visible. I approached the bus conductor and asked if that was the bus to JB and he said yes. I was obsessed with bus tickets at that point and asked where coiuld I get them. He said in the bus itself. So, it was a normal bus. We got on the now full bus and 1 guy offered his seat for me and Adik. Another offered one for Abang. Problem arose.

-

Abang : I don't want to sit there...

Babah : Why ?

Abang : I dont want to get lost...

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Adik at that time was restless on my lap. She was whining but I couldn't understand what she wanted. Abang was insisting to stand with Babah as he was sure he would get lost from his Babah if he remain seated. Suddenly Adik turned around, saw her brother and calmed down. Oh she was looking for her Abang.

-

The bus moved forward and not even 2 minutes after that the bus stopped and everybody got down. Babah and I looked at each other and climbed down the bus as well. Oh, Malaysian immigration checkpoint. After we passed immigration, we were bewildered to find ourselves in JB again.

-

" What ? "

-

A man offered us taxi and we gratefully accepted.

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So, we walked accros the causeway just now ? Really ?

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Well then, that is easier than taking a cab isn't it ? No jam, no nothing.

-

We walked accorss the causeway ? Wow !! That was easy... Ha ha...

Elsa and her banana

Abang and Adik love bananas. I wouldn’t touch them unless they are fried or dumped in coconut broth ( or nowadays on pizza with kaya sauce yumm !! ). Yesterday after lunch at home, they saw one comb ( sesikat… betul lah kan ? ) with a few fruits still attached to it.

Adik : Adik nak banana Mum.

Mum : Bananana ?

Adik : Not bananana. Banana Mum.

Mum : Okay.

So I went to get two. Abang got to me first and instructed me to peel all the skin off.

Mum : Here is your naked banana.

He laughed. Then I did the same for Adik. As I peeled of one section of skin, she screamed blue murder.

Adik : Mum no !! I don’t want it like that.

Mum : ( Froze, not daring to move ) Like what ?

Adik : Like that… !!

I remember seeing her eating a banana yesterday with the skin only halfway off and therefore tried to give her the same style but with one section of skin missing. She was having none of it. I had to pluck a new one and gave it to her as desired. So what do I do with this banana in my hand ? I do not like fresh banana unless with 3 flavours of ice-cream with nuts and cherries on top plus loads of whipped cream ( oh man…. Babah jom gi Baskins malam nanti ). I saw the love of my life wiping the table and I begged him to eat the rejected banana. He agreed. When he saw the proffered banana, he made a face.

Babah : But I don’t like my banana like that !!

Patutlah anak kau macam ni.

Anyway the 3 bears went upstairs with their bananas and watched the telly. Adik couldn’t finished hers and offered it to us. No takers. She then announced that she is just going to bin them. I really don’t like that. I grew up believing that rice could cry. I grew up feeling guilty when throwing rice away ( since I am all grown up and diagnosed with IBS – Irritable Bowel Syndrom, I have to throw my rice away as I can only take about 20% of them in my diet ). So what is a mother to do ?

Mum : Nanti banana tu cry. He is so sad because he is going to get binned.

Adik : Ha ?

Mum : Kesian banana. Kalau Adik buang dia, nanti dia cry sebab Adik tak nak makan dia.

She was already on the way to the bin turned back.

Adik : Bah, Adik tak makan banana. Babah makan okay ?

Babah : I don’t want lah...

Adik : Adik bin okay Bah ?

Babah : Bin lah.

As she was about to turn and head for the bin, I started,

Mum : Bye bye banana. Don’t cry so much… ( and waved to the banana ).

She stopped.

Mum : ( wailing ) Oh kesiannya banana. He is going to cry in the bin. Bye bye ! Waaaaaaaaa….

Her eyes started to get glassy. She was already upset and still holding the offending banana.

Adik : Babah eat my banana okay ? ( sebak, sebak )

Babah : Nolah Adik. Babah tak nak. Pergi buang.

Mum : Waa……..

Adik : Waaa… !! ( a few times louder than Mummy )

Babah and Abang were already laughing. Adik had her head on the mattress, sobbing.

Mum : Okay lah give it to me. Let me eat it.

Big watery eyes that looked at me were grateful. I took the banana and gave it to Abang.

Mum : Eat.

Abang : Mum….

Mum : Do you want the to banana to cry ?

Abang : Okaylah…. ( very meekly )

Haa… habis cerita.

The Weekend

On the way to Umar’s piano class on Saturday, Umar told me of the story his ustaz read in front of his class. It is about a doyol who one day got angry and demanded blood. He was really animated and I was mesmerized by his interest. As usual when he was having his lesson, Elsa and I trailed the shops in the mall. I entered the local bookshop and found books on Malay ghosts for children. There were Malay and English versions and with illustrations. I remember him telling me that he looked at the book his ustaz used and there was a picture of a female with long hair and sharp claws standing by a sleeping woman. I found one titled “ The Female Vampire “ with the cover illustrated just like my son described and therefore bought it. Anything to help instill the love of reading in my son. ( I know I will have no problem with Elsa because as we were looking at the books, she was happily inspecting a few when she gasped. She grabbed a Pokemon book but when she opened them, it was totally devoid of any pictures. It was a novel of some sort I think. She scanned through the book and went “ isk, isk “ all the way. “ Mum, no pictures !! “ She said in frustration. “ Titi nak learn baca ABCDEFG ni, “. Oh kesian, she wants to learn how to read. She wants to make heads and tails of the book. Kesiannya…. )

Elsa and her books. Everyday she will ferry a selection of book to and fro.

Umar was really happy with the book. He is just like me. In order to savour the book for as long as he could, he looked at the pictures first. Whole of Saturday he asked us to read it to him. He didn’t want to read it by himself ( I read it to Elsa’s gasps and Whoa… and Hantuuuuu……). Only yesterday did he start on his own and he did that many, many times. However the repercussion was felt late last night. He totally refused to sleep in his room. Dan had to tuck a Yassin ( Dan told him Yassin, it is actually buku Mari Belajar Sembahyang ) under his pillow and I had to stay with him until he drifted to sleep, reciting the 3 Quls over and over again. I vowed that that will be the last book on ghosts I buy but this morning he chirpily said that he can’t wait for me to buy the next instalment on Doyol next week. Hmmm………..

Last night too saw Elsa falling off the bed after jumping up and down happily with her cousin. Dan had asked her to stop many, many times and when she fell, her Babah was understandably upset. Dan went to inspect her with fire in his mouth and when found that she was okay, asked her to stay in her room. Dan left the wailing Elsa and closed the door of our room, to teach her a lesson. Fine. Umar was in the room with me doing revisions ( he is having his exams tomorrow ) and we were just spectators to the drama that unfolded in the other room. Umar however jumped off the bed when his Babah closed the door. He was jittery and mumbled a few sentences. He then gave up and just the left room. He actually went to his sister’s aid, calming her down and telling her everything is okay. He apparently found Dan’s once over on Elsa was not thorough enough and checked his sister carefully from head to toe. He then asked Elsa in details what happened and I saw my little girl re-enacted the accident.

The sweet, sweet boy than tentatively approached his father and explained why it is not his little sister’s fault at all.

Maybe he was trying to repay the good deed Elsa did for him earlier. He was trying to peel of his stickers without success. He tried to enlist for my help but as I was writing a report and was brimming with ideas, asked him to wait. His frustration was getting louder when Elsa finally took notice.

“Um, kenapa Um ? “ asked his little sister.

“ Ni, tak boleh bukak. Susah. “ Elsa took a look at it and was successful after a few attempts. He he… comelnya korang ni.

However not so comel is Elsa’s new habit. She likes to ho hum and sighs a lot nowadays. Whenever I asked her what is the matter, if anything is wrong, she would say, “ Tak de apa – apa, “ and shrugs her shoulders. Even Babah had asked her a few times and the answers are the same. Last night though Umar has had enough. “ Ti, you only make that sound when you are bored or angry. Not when ‘tak de apa – apa’, “ The funny part if he squeaked when he said “tak de apa – apa”.

Mummy's rehat

Last 2 days, as I was still busy getting ready for work, my little daughter who jumped into our bed some time during the night, woke up.

Titi : Mummy mana ? ( hair as usual pontianak style, extremely tousled can’t even see her face )

Babah : Mummy kat situ Titi..

Titi : Mummy tak work kan ?

Mummy : Eh, Mummy work.

Titi : Tak…. Mummy tak work.

Mummy : Eh, I told you kan yesterday that I am working.

Titi : Mummy… mummy tak work…

Mummy : Kenapa sayang ?

Titi : Mummy tak sayang Titi.

Mummy : Eii ? Tak lah. Mummy kan sayang Titi.

Titi : Haa….. ( and rested her head on my lap )

Kesian…….

Yesterday morning saw me cutting a jam roll and placing them in a Tupperware. Umar who was having his breakfast asked me;

Umar : Is that for your rehat Mum ?

Mum : Yes.

Umar : After you rehat kan, you go back to your desk and do your work.

Mum : Yes.

Umar : At school kan during rehat kan me and my friends play. I have a lot of friends in school. What about you ?

Mum : Well, I have about 3 people that I hang out with and sometimes 4.

Umar : Is that all ?

Mum : Well, there are plenty other but these are the people that I usually play with.

Umar : Wow, I usually have more than that Mum and it is so fun….

Yelah, kau lah yang popular….

Spiderman

Since my son started primary school I have been hearing strange stories told to him by friends. I expected this. I mean I were a kid once too ( and that was not so long ago yeah ? ) and I know only kids are capable of concocting tales like that.

Umar is also very descriptive of the things he did at school, when he wishes to tell me, of course. Anywhere yesterday he told me about the game he and his classmates played during recess.

Umar : Hamshah is Spiderman, A is is Spiderman 2, B is Harry, C is Venom and I was the Sandman.

Mum : Why were you the Sandman ? I thought you would want to be Spiderman ?

Umar : Because Hamshah started it first so he gets to choose who played Spiderman. He told me to play Sandman.

Mum : So, who was MJ ?

( He blushed and gave me this weird smile he sported when there are embarrassing scenes or scenes involving girls of romantic nature on telly ).

Umar : Mum, kita main lawan – lawanlah. Mana ada girls.

Mum : But dalam cerita Spiderman ada MJ and she always needs rescuing.

Umar : Mum…. No girls mum. Kita main lawan – lawan saja.

Mum : I know… Why don’t you invite Hannah to play ? She can be MJ and then Sandman and Venom can kidnap her and then Spidermans and Harry can rescue her.

Umar : No Mum. Hannah cannot play. Don’t you know Hamshah don’t like girls ?

Hmmm….. pulak.

Since my son started primary school I have been hearing strange stories told to him by friends. I expected this. I mean I were a kid once too ( and that was not so long ago yeah ? ) and I know only kids are capable of concocting tales like that.

Umar is also very descriptive of the things he did at school, when he wishes to tell me, of course. Anywhere yesterday he told me about the game he and his classmates played during recess.

Umar : Hamshah is Spiderman, A is is Spiderman 2, B is Harry, C is Venom and I was the Sandman.

Mum : Why were you the Sandman ? I thought you would want to be Spiderman ?

Umar : Because Hamshah started it first so he gets to choose who played Spiderman. He told me to play Sandman.

Mum : So, who was MJ ?

( He blushed and gave me this weird smile he sported when there are embarrassing scenes or scenes involving girls of romantic nature on telly ).

Umar : Mum, kita main lawan – lawanlah. Mana ada girls.

Mum : But dalam cerita Spiderman ada MJ and she always needs rescuing.

Umar : Mum…. No girls mum. Kita main lawan – lawan saja.

Mum : I know… Why don’t you invite Hannah to play ? She can be MJ and then Sandman and Venom can kidnap her and then Spidermans and Harry can rescue her.

Umar : No Mum. Hannah cannot play. Don’t you know Hamshah don’t like girls ?

Hmmm….. pulak.

Mother's Day

We went to Subang Parade on Sunday and people were celebrating their mothers everywhere. I saw a mother waiting outside the building, maybe for her ride home, with her grown up son when suddenly her daughter jumped from behind and surprised her with a huge bouquet of flowers. So sweet.

I was walking with my family. I was holding hands with my son when he suddenly tugged his hand free and walked behind me with his Babah. I heard whisperings and then furious whisperings and then his father’s “ What ? I couldn’t hear you ? “.

My son let out a “ Arrgghhh ! “ and yelled “ I want money to buy Mummy a present !! “ He he… I was embarrassed, my son was embarrassed. I then turned livid when my husband gave him RM 10. Aik ?

I curiously asked my son where does he intend to buy my gift and he said, “ Book store. I know you love books,”. What a thoughtful and observant son. I was beaming with pride. I then looked pointedly at the offending RM 10 and asked my husband what kind of book would I get with RM 10 ? Dan sighed, took back the red currency and replaced it with a crispy dark blue one. Now we are talking.

Bliss……

Elsa that night also requested stuffs from her Babah ( Dan once said in frustration, “ Korang bertiga kalau tengok Abah je mintak duit, “ he he ). She is clever that little one. She approached him from the back, hugged him and looked at him while her chin was resting on his shoulder. She then went, “ Baaahh…………., “.

I don’t know what she asked for but since they were quarrelling not half an before, her Babah said to her, “ I thought you don’t love me ? “.

Titi : No… I love you Bah.

Babah : But just now you said you don’t love me. You love your Mummy saja ?

Titi : Bah, I have your face Bah.

Babah : Ye ke ?

Titi : Yes Bah. I choose you….

He he… Kembang kempis le hidung si Rashdan tu.

Titi gaduh dengan Babah

Dan didn’t go to work yesterday, which surprised me. He is quite a discipline worker and his announcement to skip his Saturday workday was a shock to all of us. I questioned and prodded for a reason but the only answer he gave me was malas.

After awhile though he finally said, “ Well, I have to show my face to those people at Cili Merah didn’t I, lest they think you are a single mother.” Ha ha… Thought he didn’t care. I don’t really care too in fact, but I hate the sympathy stares I get. Hmmm….

Anyway, Saturday morning for the first time ever, I saw Dan ligan anak dia. He he… I mean I was chased around by an angry parent quite often when I was small, but to actually see the love of my life did it to my son was hilarious and exhilarating. Well, exhilarating because I want to see what Dan would do when he catches his son.

Well, when he caught him, Dan dragged Umar in front of me. Dan was hiding his smile and Umar was bawling like there is no tomorrow. I was holding the crying Elsa on my lap. They were playing roughly in front of the door and an accident happened. Elsa was the casualty. Dan fetched a broom handle and a brolly and gave one each to of his children. He then asked them to fight. I had to see Umar holding a broom handle and Elsa with a brolly bigger than her, crying their eyes out.

I told Dan that no matter how hilarious I found the scene in front of me, he has to stop immediately as we are going to Cili Merah and their red eyes, puffy noses and sour mood will raise questions. How right I was. 2 of them asked what was wrong with them almost immediately. One even kneeled in front of Umar to ask if everything was okay. Hmmm…… never doubt a woman’s instincts.

So that was that. However, last night there was another fight between Elsa and her precious Babah. Dan woke her up to bathe her and somehow or rather during the cleansing ritual, she claimed her Babah had hurt her hand and was very upset. I could hear repeats of “ Babah naughty ! “. I asked her to get her hairbrush and after her hair was neat asked her to return the brush to its rightful place.

He he.. when she returned to our room, I saw her walking with her eyes closed. I blinked twice to ensure what I saw was right. Sure enough, there she was with eyes squeezed shut and both hand extended to help her navigate the way. I nudged Dan and he broke into the widest smile ever. When I looked at her again, she had her eyes opened just a smidgeon and when she saw her Babah grinning at her, she closed it tightly again. Wa ha ha !! She was so upset with her Babah, she didn’t even want to see him. Aiseh Elsa.

She came and hugged me for comfort and left the room after Dan kept nudging her with his feet. 5 minutes after that she came back into the room with one hand over her eyes and the other one flailing about in front of her.

Dan couldn’t helped himself but jumped off the bed and picked his daughter up and tossed her on the air a few times and tickled her until she accepted his apology.

Hai Ti… if I had know that is the best way to handle your dad, lama dah buat…..

PS : But Titi, the last statement is not a word of encouragement. Please do not do that to your husband…. often… ( yup that is the operative word ).

Hmmm……..

Last week and last night

When I got home yesterday, Elsa showed me a pink headband ( cekak ) that she found. I explained that it is not hers and to give it to her grandma as I am sure it belongs to one of her cousins. It reminded me of a something that happened on Saturday while we were waiting for Umar to finish his piano lesson. We were scheduled to attend a birthday party in the afternoon and we were without a present.

I went to a Barbie shop there and bought little Hana Amran something pink ( the in-thing to buy for girls for as long as I could remember ) and visited another shop to buy wrapping paper. I am quite a regular at that shop as they have wonderful arrays of clips and headband and what-nots to brighten up ( and tidy up – especially for my daughter as she prefers the pontianak hairdo ) little girls hair/hairdo. I was drawn to a new style of cekak, chose a white one and put it on Elsa’s hair.

I asked her is she liked it and she replied no, she doesn’t. The guy manning the till quickly shove a mirror to Elsa’s face and ask her to look at herself in the mirror. She looked at the mirror, preened left and right, look at the guy again and shook her head. ‘ No, I don’t like this, “ She said. I took it off and out it back on the display.

He then chose a pink one with a smart bow on it and asked her to put it on. He showeed her the mirror again and .. well, repeat above-mentioned steps. He tried to cajole her into chossing that one by saying “ I think you look like a princess. Don’t you think you look like a princess ? “ She shook her head and said “ No, I don’t “ and took it off determinedly.

I apologetically told him that my daughter is very fussy and very headstrong. She will decide on most of the things that involves her, I explained. When I gently reproached her when we left the shop, she said “ But I don’t like them Mum… “. Okay lah.

Last night during dinner Umar casually mentioned that he ranked 15th in his ugama class. Mummy and Babah were shocked. I gave him a stern lecture, not much on his position but more on his nonchalant attitude to his exam results. However Umar loves me. His love for me knows no bounds that even though I was the one most upset and Dan joined in the tirade only sparingly, it was still his Babah that he got upset with.

Umar : Babah you are a big, fat meanie…!!! ( and burst into tears )

Babah : What did I do ?

Umar : You are always mean to me….

However the phone rang and Dan left the table to answer it. The three of us quietly resumed our eating. After awhile though, Titi asked for the whereabouts of her Babah.

Mummy : Oh, he left. I have decided to give you a new Babah.

Umar : Why ?

Mummy : Well you always say what a meanie he is, so I am going to find you a nicer one.

Umar : But mum, I want my old Babah !!

Mummy : Why ? You said he is mean, so let me find you a new one that is much nicer.

Umar : I know I said that but I want my Babah ( tears flowed rapidly at this point ) back. I like that one Mum…. Please…

Titi : Stop Umar. I know, I know…. We can walk home. ( Abang dia dok risau bapak lari, yang makcik ni rupanya dok pikir macam mana nak balik rumah. Patut le diam je ).

Mummy : Well… since you complained so much, I thought why not ?

Titi : There Babah !! There !! Umar eagerly looked at where Titi pointed and was so relieved when his Babah was actually walking towards us.

He he…… Tahu pun…… Bila I bagitau Babah dia, tahu lak malu…..

Tennis and shoes

I went to play tennis with a friend yesterday. Our game was at 7, we finished by 8 and after bathing and praying, I rushed to Up Town Damansara to buy dinner and was home by 9.

When I arrived, my family was already waiting at the door. The sight of my car brought cheers and happy jumps from my kids ( I know their Babah was excited to see me home too, he just looks ugly jumping up and down with happiness, that’s why he didn’t do it ). But when I got out of my car, resplendent in my tennis gear, Umar and Elsa’s happy faces turned into quizzical ones. “ Mum why are you dressed like that ? “ asked my son.

“ Oh this ? I went to play tennis with my friend, “ said I, trying to dodge his eyes, very much like a naughty school girl. While taking out my gym bag from the car, I changed the topic. I really do not want any confrontations that night. I then busied myself with dinner preparations.

When we sat down to eat, Elsa who was sitting next to me suddenly leaned over and said to me, one finger up, “ Mummy, this is night time okay. You cannot play tennis at night. Okay mummy ? “ Her face was in earnest, her eyes round while she told me off.

“ Okay, “ said I meekly, just like a naughty school girl again. Hmmm…………….. I know I will never hear the last of it.

Anyway this morning, I dressed to work with a signing ceremony that I have to attend in mind. Of course I have to dress carefully and therefore was critical of every item I put together. As Umar and Dan was on the porch putting their own respective footwear, I modeled my outfit with a lovely pair of Nine West peep toe pumps, asking for approval. Umar gave me a wide smile and said I looked nice and Dan nodded his head but with a look that said something is not right there, wife. I know that look and I hate that look and he knows that I hate that look. But he also knows that that look could potentially make us late for work. Therefore, he didn’t want to say anything.

I however pressed for an answer. “ Okay tak ? “ and I repeated it a few times while alternating stood straight and pranced about ( which is the best way for them to see the full effect of my outfit ). “ Okay Mum, you look nice, “ but that came for my son and not from my hubby. Again, I repeated the question when Umar again opened his mouth, “ You look nice mum, but it would be better if everybody cannot see your toes, “ and smiled at me.

I was stunned. Dan looked at Umar and said, “ Pandai pun. Exactly my feeling, “. I know that is how Dan feels but degil kan as I love shoes and I love diversity… he he.. Anyway, I shook my head in wonder, gave my son a hug and changed to my normal, very scruffy looking round toed, black Clarks shoes.

“ I am so clever kan Mum ? “ said my son.

Hmmm………………. Learn to be an asset to your wife, sweetheart, okay ?

The long weekend Part 2

We are regulars at Cili Merah, Sek 9. Anybody who wants to see me can find me there every Saturday morning with Umar and Elsa. We are usually there by 9.30 as Umar’s piano class is at 10.30.

We are such a common face there that I do not have to order drinks anymore, as the staffs are familiar with our usual tipple. They would come and chat and help me with the kids too. The other regulars recognize us too. There is this 1 pakcik who always keep an eye on my children. Once he even rescued Elsa from falling off her chair. After that he would usually remind my daughter to sit down quietly while waiting for Mummy.

I told my husband of the stares that I got ( once, I caught the Sendayu Tinggi lady staring at me. She did that for 3 consecutive weeks. I was really upset and told Dan that if she ever comes by and offered her products to me, he has to indignantly tell her that his wife is already perfect… he he… ) when we first frequented the restaurant. Dan works Saturdays and therefore it is just the kids and I. They were just curious stares, wondering about my status I think. That is why I drag Dan for breakfast there most Sundays. Some who had seen him would figure out that he works 6 days a week or thought that I have a honey ( madu le ). And some who had not seen him assumed that I might be a single mother.

Anyway, there is this one guy who kept on staring. When everybody was already bored of us he was still looking. Maybe he hadn’t bumped into Dan with us at all. I did not really tell Dan about it because I do not know what the real deal is. However last Saturday he actually approached our table.

Him : Mana ayah ni ?

Umar : Babah saya work.

Him : Takkan lah hari cuti pun kerja ? Cuti tak kerja ( dia ingat aku ni bercerai – berai ke ? )

Umar : Yelah… bapak saya grumly….

Him : Grumly ? Apa tu ?

Umar : Garang…..

I quickly cut in the conversation and told him that my husband works Saturdays. The roti canai guy who apparently had been listening to the conversation came to us and told Umar “ Bapak awak kerja kan ? Kadang – kadang dia datang jugak…. “.

Malunya….. !! I described the incident to Dan and do you know what my husband said ? “ Lain kali Umar pakai gambar Abah lah kat leher… “.

Hmmm…………………….


******************************

My office was closed on Monday to replace the Agong inauguration Thursday, a working day for us. Therefore on Monday I was entrusted to get the tickets for Spiderman 3. After sending Umar to school, Elsa and I had our breakfast at where else but Cili Merah. We then went to SACC as Mummy had to buy lining for some of her kains and as usual ended up buying more kain for baju kurung ( I need help. I don’t know why I keep doing this. I have like 15 materials at home that have not been turned into baju kurung yet. I have actually given some to my sisters. Sapa – sapa nak beli, mailah as I know I will go and get some more….. waaahhh…. !!! ).

We then swing by Umar’s school to pick him up. Went home, had a short rest then we sent Umar to his sekolah ugama and Titi and Mummy headed off to the Curve for Spiderman tickets. We were lucky. We got the last four seats but it was the Couples’ seat ( which their Babah fondly calls Kerusi Romen ) and therefore a bit more expensive. Boleh lah, even at RM 11 a seat ( daylight robbery. How could they raise the price of tickets just because the movie is famous ? Dan said the price at GSC is RM 14/seat… wa lau weii ).

We ate at La Cucur afterwards and in the way to the car, stopped at a popular watering hole ( the coffee and tea kind of watering hole ) for banana chocolate chip muffin. Yum-my !! While waiting for our muffin ( I was carrying the little princess. She pulled her “ I am cold and shivering “ trick on me ), Elsa was looking at the pastries on display and pointed at the banana and chocolate chip muffin I ordered. “ Look Mum. I want that cookie. Got chocolate chip. “

“ That is not a cookie Titi, it’s a muffin and that is the muffin that we are getting, “

“ I like chocolate chip cookie Mummy, “

“ It is not a cookie Titi. That is a muffin, “

“ Chocolate chip cookie… yey !! “

I was about to correct her yet again when the mat salleh behind us spoke, “ It’s okay. For her I’ll call it cookie from now on…., “ and winked at my daughter.

Waa…. Malunya. I gave him an embarrassed grin and allowed him to pat my daughter.
We resumed our journey to the car. I was still carrying her and she was clutching the bag of cookie when she said, “ Mummy dengan Titi saja kan ? Umar takde, Babah takde, Mummy dengan Titi saja… “ he he….. yup darling girl. I had a wonderful day with you too, just the two of us.

The long weekend Part 1

Elsa. Hmmmm…..

Last week my children’s cousin Aida was sleeping over because her parents went on a holiday ( bestnya. When can I have a romantic holiday with my husband ? ). Aida of course wanted to camp out with her cousins. Now in their room, we pushed together a Queen bed with a Single ( the single is actually a day bed ) to make a large but quite separate bed. Elsa usually sleeps on the Queen and Umar on the Single.

That night I heard them arguing. Umar was yelling for Elsa to make some room for Aida. Aida was complaining loudly that she doesn’t like sleeping in such a cramped bed. I heard nothing from my daughter. When I peeked, I saw my little angel in the middle of the bed arms and legs stretched out as far as she could, looking innocently at her relatives. No matter how much I instructed, pleaded and ordered, she wouldn’t budge. Aida got fed up and slept with her Bibik instead.

The second night, I heard a loud gasp coming from the kids’ room. It was Elsa. “Bah, my room is in a mess. How can I sleep like this ? “ Amboi, siapa yang sepah bilik dia kalau bukan dia sendiri ?

When I checked in on them, I saw for the second time Aida and Umar squeezed on the day bed. I asked Aida what she was doing there and asked her to share Elsa’s bed. All three of us looked at the little terror, wondering what she would do. Elsa looked at Aida. After a long time, she asked “ Do you want to share my bed ? “ Aida quickly jumped in with her without answering.

The long weekend found us frequenting the tennis courts often. I swear, my thighs has become tighter ( I actually want them to be smaller ) and tauter. My son was relentless on the court. He never complained and hated long rests. He just wanted to be on the court, hitting the balls.

Since he only had 2 classes, he is still not very good. He could hit and all but then his balls went all over the place. He was frustrated but determined to learn. Babah served the balls and Mummy hit all the balls that he missed back to Babah. Titi is the much needed ball picker ( but usually gave up after awhile and insisted that it is her turn to be coached too. That too is usually short lived before she buried her nose in her books… my daughter…. ).

Once after tennis, we went for 1 game of bowling. It was fun for us but not for Umar. He only managed to knock 1 ball or no balls at all. At the end of the game, we had to deal with our teary eyed son. We couldn’t console him at all. What do you say to a boy who sobbed, “ I have to be clever at everything “ and pooh-poohed all your reasonings and explainations ?

Amir, Umar and Elsa

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mum : What competition in Australia ?

Umar : There is a tennis competition in Australia kan ?

Mum : You mean the Australian Open ?

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

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

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

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

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

Wah ha ha ha ha...

Help !!

Dukung Titi

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

Elsa : I am cold Babah, please dukung.

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

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

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

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

Dan gave me another smug look.

Hmm………..

Shoo !!

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

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

Mummy : Elsa o-ok ke ?

Titi : Ha…. O-ok….

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

Titi : I don’t know Mummy..

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

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

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

Titi : Takde o-ok ke Mummy ?

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

Titi : Tak de ? Okay……

Ada ke ? Sendiri punya hal pun tak tahu ?

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

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

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

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

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

Ye ke ? I myself am very unsure…

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

Elsa : Yes Bah.. Shoo! Shoo !!

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

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

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

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

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