2 sad news in one morning.

First sad news:

I sent Nazrin to kindy this morning and stopped at my favorite nasi lemak stall on the way home. While waiting for my nasi lemak to get wrapped, the owner told me that there has been an accident a few kilometers down the road that involves 2 motorcyclists. Her husband has gone there to help. I heard the siren of an ambulance just before we went out of the house this morning, so it must have been on its way to the site. When her husband came back, he told us that one of the victims has just given birth 19, people, 19!! days ago. She's practically still in her confinement period. She should have stayed home with her baby but she was on her way to send her older child to a kindy nearby when she collided with a man who was on his way to work. What really bugged me was the fact that the onlookers who were there said that her husband was asleep at home when this happened. ASLEEP???!!! I mean, come on! She gave birth to your child! Couldn't you have woken up & help send your other child to kindy for a minute?? Is that so hard to do?

Poor mommy...she could still be hurting down there from a normal birth since I know from experience that if she had a C-section, she wouldn't be riding a motorcycle this morning. Only 19 days ago. Poor baby too. 

Second sad news:   

Ok, this is not entirely a real life situation but the reality of it is very real. Really.

If you have ASTRO Diva (Channel 702) subscription, then, you would've seen the snippet for the next episode of Downton Abbey. Spoiler alert!

When I saw Sybil's husband standing by the window, holding a baby in his hand, and the narrator saying something about 'a joy turned into sorrow' or something, I knew Sybil would be in some kind of trouble. This morning, my favorite blogger confirmed it. Read it here. Sybil died during childbirth due to preeclampsia.

She, Cecily the blogger, not Sybil the character, went through this same problem with her last pregnancy that almost took her life. But sadly, she lost her twin due to complications brought on by preeclampsia. It is horrifying to think that 76, 000 women died of it in a year, even with the advances in medicine we have today. I am thankful that my 3 deliveries went well, my boys are healthy & I am still alive. 

Makes you wonder why, after all the hardship women go through to ensure the survival of the human race, couldn't men be nicer to us? 

Trippin' down memory lane.

Don't have much to say, I got stuck on something & a month later, I still can't shake it off. *sigh*

Now I know how Mak felt when Monster said those horrible things to her. Back then, I thought Mak was being overly dramatic but now I know.

Anyway, school term has entered its 3rd week & we've finally gotten into the groove. Things go smoother in the morning but you can still expect Shahrin to make me 'see red' some days. Just goes with the territory, I guess. 

Work-wise, I do have some projects lined up but they are still tentative ones. The clients have yet to confirm whether they are going to hire me or not, so, I've been pretty relaxed this month (if you rule out going from doing 1 load of laundry to 2 loads per day due to the additional uniforms worn by both brothers & getting Shahrin ready 2 times a day; regular school in the morning & religious school in the evening).

Talking about uniforms, I got a bit nostalgic a few times already while dealing with Shahrin's school uniform. Plus, I even got crazy memory flashes while putting the 'kapur kasut' (literally translated as whitewash for shoes?) on Shahrin's shoes. While washing Shahrin's white shirts, I'd think back to my mother who would often tackle the boatload of dirty laundries during the weekends. Back then, we had a semi-automatic washer but she would always have some clothes that she washes by hand. She had a few huge basins; plastic ones and a metal one that she still has today. I do remember helping her rinse a few loads in those basins, with the water pouring out of the pipe and me holding & rinsing one item at a time. Then, we'd wring out the water in the spin part of the washer. I remember going out during the afternoon (after finishing each load) and hanging them on the lines outside the house I was born in.

I also remember Mak ironing MY school uniforms & the ones that struck me the most are during the 5 years I had to stay at a boarding school. I remember reluctantly washing my uniform that has been washed & ironed by Mak when I have to return to school after the once per month weekends at home. I didn't want it to lose the smell & the crisp ironed look from home, buhuhu. Hahaha..this feeling lasted the whole time (5 years!) I had to stay at that boarding school especially after long school holidays. Ironing Shahrin's uniforms just brought back those bitter sweet memories.

As for his school shoes, I don't really remember when I started washing my shoes myself but I do still remember Mak teaching me how to put on the 'whitewash' (not sure if this is the correct word) shoe white on my shoes. Back then, the whitewash shoe white bottles had separate wands with the sponges but the one I recently bought was cleverly designed as one piece with the sponge on top. 

Found this pic here. See how old school these are? Hahah
Now I know they are called 'shoe whites'.

The one I bought is similar to this one, clever, no? :D

       

I kind of love getting Shahrin's school items ready for him, although I do realize that I have to teach him and let him take the responsibility soon. It's this thought that made me think back to my primary school days when I was 12years and below heheh. What I do remember is waking up and trying to take a bath with my eyes close (the water was super cold though which would instantly wake me up heheh), putting on my uniforms alongside my sisters, eating our breakfast which is almost always nasi lemak. I remember cycling in front of my brother before he had to attend boarding school (he's 3 years older than I am) and riding on my Baba's motorcycle with my sisters. I wondered how Mak managed to manage all of us even when she's busy with her own work (she's a retired teacher as my Baba). I only have to manage 2 boys but I struggled during the first 2 weeks. What's with the washing (whites with whites, colors in a different load, thus increasing my daily laundry load from just 1 to 2 per day), the ironing (2 sets of uniform each day plus Nazrin's uniform which I have to wash everyday since he only has 1 pair) and off course, the part where I have to remind Shahrin every other minute to;

                  take a bath, Shahrin!, 

                  hurry up, Shahrin!, 

                  wear your uniform, Shahrin! 

                  put on your shoes, Shahrin!

                  

                  HURRY UP, SHAHRIN!!!!!! 

Alhamdulillah, Nazrin practically readies himself in the mornings which gives me sooooo much joy. :D

You've been played?

So what??!!

GET OVER IT!!!!

Why??? Just because you can??

Watched the viral video of the UUM gathering this morning.
After watching it, I felt less miserable, knowing that I'm not the only one with problems. Animals do too.

I applaud that student. She was brave, knowledgeable and eloquent. I don't have the guts to stand there & voice out my opinions like that. I am glad debate competitions during my time were not in the parliamentary style or I would never, NEVER have entered them. Didn't finish watching the video though coz the "LISTEN" lady lost me after her 'JAWS' joke and her nonsensical blabbering. 

This whole thing makes me realize that I am better off keeping my mouth shut if I am not willing to pick a fight with anybody. Which I am not. I'm a pacifist. I'd rather stay away from someone I don't like than try to make that someone see things my way. Or just laugh it off when I have been verbally attacked by someone. Which would make me a lousy contestants in most shows like The Survivor, Fear Factor, or other reality shows.

That said, I have to admit to myself that I am such a wuss, a pushover. I often let other people walk all over me because I'd rather smile and be friendly than say something sassy like, "Talk to the HAND, *#@$^!" 

Shahrin vs Nazrin

Oh man..

Today was better than last week, if I do say so myself. I managed to get Shahrin out of the door by 7.25am without physically hurting him or myself..hahahha..joking.

but, MAN! he was such a pain in you know where!

He hasn't change since we started sending him to kindy/preschool till now. Well, there are days when he would get up without a fuss but when he gets cranky, like this morning...ughh...I very nearly see red.

He would cry, he would just stand there in the toilet, not wash his face, not taking a bath, complaining that he's still sleepy..he's still tired...etc. etc. I practically had to shove his arms through his shirt just to get him into his uniform. I put his socks on, his shoes, he just stood there..crying..
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Nazrin on the other hand, was excited about going to school. He woke up early today, kept telling me that he can go to school (kindy) today since he couldn't go to school yesterday & on Saturday. He took his own bath (yeah..he manages himself well in the bathroom) and we were out of the house by 7.50am. We got to his kindy, he climbed off the motorcycle and walked in all by himself. He turned around only when I called out 'goodbye' to him.

That easy.

It's 2013 already?? The 1st week of school update.

Hi all!

And assalamua'laikum to all Muslim readers.

Man, the first week of school term was hectic with a capital H!

We had to rush around buying more school supplies as the week progressed as we figured out what it takes to send 2 kids to school. Well, technically, only Shahrin has to attend the public primary school since Nazrin is only 4 years old but Nazrin has been so excited about going to school (like his older brother), so we decided to send him to Shahrin's old private kindergarten/preschool.   

We thought that we were well prepared for the start of the new year & new chapter in Shahrin's life. But, even with only 3 school days left since Monday & Tuesday were still holidays, I felt like I needed more than a 24 hours day. I spent Tuesday night sewing Shahrin's school badge on his uniform till 4am! My sewing skills leaves much to be desired, heh. Then, on the 1st day of school itself, I woke up 10 minutes before Shahrin's 1st day of school is supposed to start!!!! 

Can you imagine how we scrambled around that morning? Plus, I forgot to iron his uniform the night before & had to make Shahrin wear his still-hot-freshly-ironed uniform. My poor son. Heh. Luckily, I had prepared his bag, shoes & lunchbox the night before, so, Ahmad later told me that the drop-off went well. A teacher was there to greet the newcomers, so the Standard 1 students were well looked after. Ahmad told me that the next 2 weeks will only be sort of an orientation period where the teachers will show these kids around the school, take them to the canteen & supervise them on how to purchase their meals, show them where the toilets are and etc. 

I couldn't go with them that 1st day because I had to get Nazrin ready for his 1st day at kindergarten. He was WAY better at getting ready for school compared to when I only had to deal with Shahrin. He did cry a little for having to wake up earlier than his usual time but after I told him that he should get ready to go to Abang Long's school, he became quite excited. Too excited, in fact, that the moment we got to his kindergarten & he was safely inside, he didn't even look back at me or wave me goodbye. Bwahahahahaha...      

Then, later that 1st day, Ahmad said we need to buy Shahrin more uniforms for his religious classes [KAFA or PAFA] (in the evening at another school) so we rushed out that evening to find white Baju Melayu and green songket. This part was rushed because we weren't aware that PAFA classes starts at the same time the public school starts & that registration was open since December the 24th, 2012. Luckily, Ahmad's friends who have kids already attending school told him about it. I'm not quite sure how this religious school works since Shahrin already has religious class during school hours but Ahmad said that it is sort of compulsory for kids to attend this school. So, Shahrin's schedule were packed on Thursday and Friday; 7.30am - 1.20pm at public school and 3.00pm - 6.00pm at the religious school. 

So, this week was very challenging for us, what's with getting things ready for the boys; iron school uniforms that are way to big for them, even the S sized ones, that I had to sew up the arms and pants to fit them, wrapping Shahrin's textbooks, buy more school items for them..etc. etc. Ahmad was in charge of sending & picking Shahrin up from the public school as well as sending & picking him up from religious school. As for me, I only have to send Nazrin to kindy but Ahmad would pick him up & bring him home. 

Ahmad is so into the whole 'going to school' thing which is so 180 degrees from how he acted when Shahrin only attended preschool/kindy. Back then, I was the only parent actively involved with Shahrin's school days; get him ready, send him to preschool, pick him up (although Ahmad did this more than I did but still..), prepare his uniform/bag/pencils/colour pencils..you know..school stuff. This year, he registered Shahrin for the public school and the religious school. He sent & picked Shahrin up from both schools and he asked Shahrin about his days. Plus, we initially bought each brother new school bags with Transformer pictures on them which the boys chose themselves. Then, after the 1st day was over, Ahmad told me that we needed to buy another bag for Shahrin, this time it has to have wheels because he said he couldn't stand seeing Shahrin dragging his 1st bag which was heavy with his textbooks & exercise books. This is quite the opposite to Shahrin only having 2 bags (one was a hands-me-down & the other was bought 2nd-hand) during his 3 years in kindy/preschool. Nazrin is the lucky one, he has a new bag, new pencil box (Shahrin never has one), new uniform. Hehe..

Apart from the hectic preparations, Ahmad is also busy making things. His welding business has taken over his time this past month and it looks like more orders are coming in, alhamdulillah. In fact, Shahrin's and Nazrin's new school items were bought using the money Ahmad received for making the parking-tent thing while I was waiting for my translation payment to come through. Which it has. As for me, I barely made it through the week trying to juggle between altering the boys' uniforms and proofreading for my loyal client but I managed to get my boys to school and finished my project, albeit 1 day later than the dateline, ahem. 

p/s: I LOVE!!!!! school term. Love it! Love, love, love it! hahahhahah..The past 3 days were heavenly, the TV got its well deserved rest, no one screaming or crying or demanding drinks. The house stayed neat the entire morning. Can't wait for the new week to start. Hahahahahahahah. <---crazy :p=":p" laugh.="laugh." nbsp="nbsp" p="p">