I suck as a freelance writer because...

I've neglected this blog for almost a week. *ugghhhh*

How can I promote myself as a writer if I can't even find the time to write on my own blog? Hah!
How uncool is that??!!

Anyway, in my own defense, I've been busy going to and fro between my local clinic and Hospital Taiping for my antenatal checkups. Thankfully, after peeing in so many sample cups and got my blood drawn so many times that the inside of my right elbow seriously resembles a junkie, the specialists at the hospital declared that my renal profile is OK, I don't have UTI or other pregnancy related issues i.e. high blood pressure, gestational diabetes. Syukur, alhamdulillah.

As of this week, I've hit the 37th gestation week. Looks like I'm good to go..you know where..heheh. Unfortunately, I still have a TCA with the ANC specialist at the hospital next week. I truly hope that Baby doesn't decide to enter the world anytime soon. Please, Baby? Wait till we're back at Tok and Wan's house, ok? Pretty please???

I have also completed 2 assignments for a client and currently working on 2 more articles. So far, things are moving along, slowly but assuredly. The dateline is 1st of April but since my EDD is the 4th, I plan to finish these articles at least by next week, before we head home to my parents'. Personally, after reading through the half-finished article No.1, I think I need to do more research. I haven't done that much lately since I've been relying more on whatever comes to mind. This trend cannot continue because my piece (so far) sucks and I intend to rectify that. 

With that in mind, I hope you all can forgive me if I don't update as much later, ok? Heh...

Nite..nite world! 

Banging my head against the wall..

I never seem to learn from my mistakes. *sigh*

Will be 'panda-eyed' tomorrow since I procrastinated (as always..duh) and will need to stay up tonight to meet my deadline.

Maybe I should learn to say "NO" more forcefully.........

Boring updates..

Been busy this week.

I've been going back and forth between here and the clinic and the hospital.

More EOD BP and urine tests. Bleeeeeeghhh...

I have to be at Hospital Taiping tomorrow for another follow-up with one of the OB/GYN and get my results from last week's urine test (not sure what it's called but for this test, I had to pee in one test bottle, hold it and pee in another bottle). Then, on the 8th, another TCA with my local doctor here at Bagan Serai's clinic.   

During this pregnancy alone, I've had to go through 4 U/FEME tests. Not that the tests were painful or anything, it's just the tediousness of such visits that gets to me. Hours were wasted waiting to be checked by the nurses and waiting for results from the technicians. But, I shouldn't be complaining, it's for Baby anyway. Luckily, from the results of all these tests, they know that my kidneys are fine and working properly. They are just concerned about the trace amount of blood in my urine.

Plus, I've had 2 assignments to complete and more of the same in the near future. Syukur, alhamdulillah. Guess I'll be busy even during confinement. My only concern about these assignments is whether I'd be well enough to handle them all. I've had my lil' bro go through a simple 'test' of sort to see whether he can be my assistant during my confinement. So far, he's done ok. Hopefully, I can rely more on him for my future projects. 

Well, that's all for now.

Will do that entry I promised soon.

Kucing and Nazrin

No matter how hard Nazrin squeezed her or how annoyed she gets when Nazrin kept holding on to her, she'd always finds her way to his side for a nap.

K.I.S.S.

Keep It Simple Stupid. (Someone in the internet used this phrase, I'm just borrowing it)

Or something to that effect, heh.
Shahrin has been going at me to make him some pancakes. He just wouldn't drop it since yesterday.
So, today after coming home from Taiping Hospital (another post), Ahmad picked up some stuff from the grocery shop.

To make my version of pancakes. I kind of cheated on the recipe since my version is the simplified version of 2 recipes I found online (no links though, sorry). I used only the same ingredients found in both recipes and ignored the ones that were mentioned only in either one of them.

A bit burnt since I had to multitask between cooking & making sure the boys took their baths

Shahrin's body parts heh

That's not maple syrup (drool...don't know where to get me some) just honey...

My recipe:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup fresh milk
Essence of vanilla
2 tablespoon cooking oil (couldn't find butter here)

I just threw everything in the blender and gave it a whizz. Put a saucepan on the stove, drizzle in some oil and I went to town making my family some pancakes for dinner.

Simple. Just the way I like things to be.

Sulking in silence...

All day long.

This actually happened last night but I was still so upset about it that I didn't want to say anything yet, just in case I'll regret it later.

My parents & my youngest brother came by around 9.30pm on their way to KL. They drove from Alor Star and stopped here since they're taking the train from here to KL. The train was scheduled to leave from the Bagan Serai station at 11.00pm so they stayed for an hour before my father began shooing everyone out of the house. We all packed into the car they came in (we're car-sitting for the weekend) with my parents and my bro in the backseats and I got the front seat. Ahmad drove, off course.

When we got there, it was only 10.40pm and not many passenger have arrived. So, we sat down and made small talks while waiting for the train to come. The boys spent the time running around like crazy and no amount of telling them NO!!! Boys, no running!!! could make them stop, so I just let them.

At almost 3 minutes to 11.00pm, the stationmaster came out of his office and announced that the train will be delayed till 1.00am. WHAT???? He kept the announcement super simple and the gist of it was just that, the train will only get here around 1.00am. He didn't explain why or where or when.

Anyway, as it was almost 2 hours to wait till it arrived, Ahmad and I suggested that we all get back in the car and wait till 12.30am before coming back to the station.

Somehow, Baba decided that it would be better for them to wait at the station itself. My mom, who was already sleepy by then, even went ahead and lied down on the bench. No amount of cajoling could make them change their mind. We were told to just go home and leave them there, they'll be fine. I tried persuading Mama to come home with us, at least she'd be more comfortable sleeping in bed as oppose to sleeping on the hard bench. But Baba vetoed any decision she was about to make by saying that who can sleep with the boys running around like they were doing last night.

Honestly, I felt insulted, I felt hurt and most of all I was sad by the way they chose not to wait at Ahmad's mother's house with us. I mean, they were spending almost all their time these days switching between my two sisters' house in KL and they couldn't even spend 1 and a half hour here?? Yeah, sure, this is not MY house. I just happen to live in it but I would have liked it very much if they spend more time here.

The truth is, in the course of my 6 years of marriage and living here, my family had never really spend the night here. They've always only stopped by for a few hours either on their way from AS to KL or from KL to AS. Even after Ahmad's mother moved to Taiping with her other children, my family still wouldn't spend the night here.  

So, what was I supposed to do but leave them there? Like I'm the cruel daughter who couldn't even provide a comfortable place for my parents to rest while they were here. All I can do was kissed them goodbye, wished them a safe journey and got in the car with my kids and husband. Around 12.45am, Ahmad asked me if they have boarded the train but I was so upset, I didn't want to talk to either of them. So I made Ahmad call them instead. The news was that the train was delayed till maybe 1.30am but then again, the news was of no significance to me since they didn't want me there and they didn't want to come home with us. So, I sulk.

I am still sulking.

This morning, I didn't call or SMS them asking about their trip. I don't know what time they arrived in KL and I definitely don't know when they are coming back. They were only supposed to spend 2 days there but I suspect they'll stay even longer visiting their youngest granddaughter.

Well, it looks like I just have to sulk in silence since there is absolutely nothing I can do about the current situation.


*sigh*

Better to abort or dump?

Please go read this at Cecily's, I'll wait for you. Read through all the comments too.

So, what do you think?

Personally, I don't know what to think regarding this issue because such actions can never be done by me. Plus I don't think it's legal to abort here in Malaysia and is the amniocentesis test available here? I have no idea. I did find some links that explains the legality of abortion but most of them are in forums, so I don't know if they are legit.

But the real question is, between abortion and baby dumping, which is the worst?






Almost everyday we read about babies being dumped in the most heartbreaking manner, all over Malaysia.
517 babies have been dumped since 2005, as reported here in The Malaysia Insider.

The good news is about half of this number have happy endings since the babies were found still alive. Not so with the other half though. *mommy tears*

I mean, how cruel is that???
How can a person carry her baby till full term and then just dump it in the toilet, in a bag by the dumpster, stuffed into a trash can of a gas station, left by the roadside, thrown from the fifth floor!!!

There are cases where the babies are left in places where other people can easily find them. Those at least showed that the babies' mothers or whoever dumped them have a heart. Maybe they were afraid of the consequences of having babies out of wedlock, thus dumping the babies seemed the only way to go but they still loved their babies enough to place them somewhere that they can be found.

Both issues touched my heart. Abortion is a serious issue but so is baby dumping. One is about deciding to end a life before it really begins while the other one is about getting rid of a life when you don't want to deal with it. So, which one is more horrible than the other?

I had so much to say (in my head) when I first read Cecily's entry but now, all I can think about is MY Baby in MY womb. How I will love him/her with all my heart, just as much as I love my two boys.

And I thank GOD everyday for these precious gifts.

p/s: this entry is rather lame, isn't it? As I mentioned above, I had a lot more to say while I was reading Cecily's entry but now, at this moment, my thoughts have deserted me. I would have loved to elaborate my feelings on this topic more eloquently but the reasoning and facts to support my thoughts are not coming through for now. So sorry about that.