Belum cuba belum tahu kaannnn?

Tadi check email sebab tengah tunggu email dari Adik - dia selalu macam tu, dah lewat malam baru nak sibuk-sibuk suruh tolong buat apa-apa..baru nak email, nak esok, abih aku ni? jenuh la bersengkang mata, nak reject tak sampai hati...adehhhh- pastu nampak ada email dari Nuffnang.

Ada offer untuk sponsored post berkaitan diapers, tapi for 45 parents only.

Tetiba ja macam excited coz sebelum ni rasa macam tak pernah dapat email offering sponsored post macam ni. Tengok orang buat sponsored post tu banyak la & selalu gak terdetik, "Hmmm, macamana depa ni dapat offer to blog about certain things eh?" So now I know lah..heheh

Dah lama tak blogging kan. Bukan sebab busy siapkan projects pun. Busy catching up with my current life; 3 boys & 2 of them go to school. Rasa almost 3/4 of my time dihabiskan settling depa punya uniforms; basuh, iron, sediakan untuk the next day, etc. and checking homeworks, sharpening pencils/colour pencils, check buku2 skolah..heh..banyak kerja lah...

Anyways, just wanna say HI! before I go MIA again. heh.

BYE!

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

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">

Hey there..

wow..almost a month had gone by...just like that, eh?

didn't realized i've neglected this blog for that long..but still..i had things to do, noses to wipe and tears to dry...

things are still pretty crazy these days; after nazrin's week long fever, he's still got the runny nose & he finished up 2 boxes of my 200 pull tissues in just 3 weeks! shahrin came down with fever on and off, e.g. he'd  be feverish for 2 days then gets better for about 4 days then gets feverish again..not sure if i should worry but he did vomit prior to showing fever symptoms. khairin's been like this as well, as do myself but he didn't vomit like shahrin. i was sick twice but each lasted only a day...no time for ibu to be sick...my babies need me more.. *adeh*

i've also been busy with my projects..alhamdulillah..although lately, it seems that i have assumed the role of breadwinner for this family..well, ahmad seems to be getting his mojo back so hopefully he'll re-assume this role soon..i'm tired of having to do everything around here..luckily, ahmad has taken over some of my daily chores like doing the dishes, getting the boys ready (the 2 older ones but they can manage bathing by themselves but putting on clothes is another matter as i haven't been able to do much folding & the pile is growing!) as well as hanging the laundry to dry. i mentioned to him how grateful i am when he helps me with chores & i pointed out a snippet from DIVA UNIVERSAL's "The Break Up" featuring Jeniffer Aniston and Vince Vaughn - J.A: I want you to want to do the dishes!
                         V.V: Why would I want to do the dishes?

see? and here i thought i'm the only one getting depressed over doing dishes, heheh..but lately, i do think he has changed, has gotten a bit understanding about the stuff i have to do just to keep this family functional.. plus i do have a job that pays the bills, groceries and other stuff. i'm still waiting for him to be more open about his past though..7 years of marriage is not long enough for us to truly know each other..heck, we could spend the rest of our lives together & still wouldn't know everything about each other, right?

well, got to get back to work..

p/s: i once heard someone said that she needed a wife & now, i understand what she meant, heh

ARGHHHH!!!

Okay...breath in.......................breath out........................................

Things have got to get better soon because I'm very close to pulling my hair (what little that's left of it) or throw something at someone.

Starting with Nazrin last Tuesday, then followed by Khairin and finally Shahrin just 2 days ago.
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FEVER!!!

RUNNY NOSE!!!

COUGHING!!!

PUKING!!! (okay, this one involved Shahrin alone, that one time but still......)


Nazrin is super cranky these days & just not his normal bubbly-self.
I go between feeling sorry for my sons & wanting to take their ouches away to feeling could-someBODY-come-get-these-boys-before-I-bodily-harm-myself!!!????

huh

huh

huh


Case in point: I had to do a No.2 around 9pm just now. I walked by Khairin on the way to the toilet and he was just fine, playing with something. Just as I sat down to do my business, he started wailing. Like ultrawailing..I want Ibu nooowwwww!!! kind of wail. I carried on with my business since Ahmad was around & I fully expected him to get control over things. Unfortunately, Khairin wailed and wailed and wailed till he was coughing out of breath. I couldn't take it any more so

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I HAD AHMAD PUT KHAIRIN IN HIS WALKER & PUT THE WALKER + KHAIRIN 

IN THE TOILET* WITH ME!

The things I do for my boys.
So we had a fun time in the toilet for a while hahahahhahaha lalalalalalalla

* the toilet + bathroom is huge, so that's why I didn't mind having Khairin & his walker in there. Don't worry, I was appropriately covered where it mattered :p

Being a WAHM is really stressful...

I was finally able to submit an article due 2 days ago, TODAY!, after the client repeatedly called me asking about my progress. *sigh*

I didn't mean to take this much time but it is utter chaos right now (well, technically, right now all 3 boys are sleeping! can you believe that??!) with the dirty dishes in the sink, laundry all piled up high, floors not swept... errmmm...somehow I'm getting a dejavu while writing this. It is so reminisce the months when I was pregnant with Khairin..ahakss..

Unfortunately, the only thing that's coming out of anybody is snot, snot more snot and throw in some barf too. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, our household is currently under attach! At first, it was just Nazrin coming down with fever which started 3 days ago. Then, Khairin got it too, so I've been keeping up with fever medications and keeping the boys cooled whenever their temperature got too high. I was practically (still am today..my arms are cramping!!!) 'wearing' Khairin all through the day. Man! he was clingy and with the runny nose, he couldn't take naps like he normally does, thus he gets even clingy-er. Nazrin cried over every coughs and whenever his nose started running and when I asked him to take a bath because I needed to try & get his temp down. Owh...that one can sure turn on the waterworks..and he keeps asking for cough syrup BUT wouldn't eat it when I wanted to give it to him. I mean, COME ON!!! He complaints (and cries) every time he coughs then asks for the cough syrup but when I place the spoon near his lips, fully expecting him to open them, he cries so hard till he coughs and coughs and coughs and throw up.

Yeah...that's the story of my life right now.

I couldn't find the time to sit down and work on the article all day yesterday. The client has been very understanding till she couldn't stand it anymore. Hahah. But all in all, she was still very kind for making the payment even when I fully expected her to bail. Fortunately for me, so far, I've never had a client bail out on me without paying for my services. Although I know I should change the way I conduct my services which is ask for payment first before submitting the article/paper/thesis that I've written/proofread/edit. But when clients give me just a few days of completing the task before they have to submit it themselves, how can I ask for money first?

Alhamdulillah, this month alone, I made almost the highest I've gotten so far. I did have to juggle quite a number of clients almost one on top of the other but I managed. The only problem I face constantly these days is juggling between work and household responsibilities. And my boys.

Like last week, I practically had to 'import' Ahmad's step-sister to come over and look after the boys while I focus on finishing 2 articles that needed proofreading. This week I couldn't go get her since we crashed my sister's car and she's still using ours so we're car-less right now. I think I need to set-up some kind of schedule to separate my work and my household responsibilities. I normally just spend whatever minute I can grab between finishing my chores and looking after the boys to complete my projects but after the last 3 days, I think I need to be firm about my timetable. At least, if I can come up with some workable time allotments for my projects, I can request or instruct my future clients that I have a certain time-limits for completing certain projects. Then, I can estimate how long I would need for each project.

Well, I think I'd KIV this for the next time I am in trouble. For now, I need to finish writing a report for a long-term client of mine who happens to be my neighbor's niece. heh.

Sleep tight boys, Ibu's gotta work!    

p/s: I bought something totally out of character 3 weeks ago after I was paid for an article. I bought myself a handsome black chair! Soooo professional looking, let me tell you! Now I can pretend that I'm in an air-conditioned office while I work. heheh...next time I just might buy myself a nice looking office table to fit this chair. hahahahha

Looks identical enough to my chair. Isn't she pretty? Heh. I love the latticed back. 

BM entry: Kehilangan...

Pagi tadi (17hb/10 bersamaan 1 Zulhijjah) lebih kurang pukul 7.30 pagi, anak jiran sebelah telah meninggal dunia.

INNALILLAHIWAINNAILAIHIROJIUN....

Kita sedekahkan Al-Fatihah buat dia yer....
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Jiran tu dah dua kali kehilangan..kali pertama, anak dia yang sepatutnya jadi waris harta2 dia dan waris lelaki yang sepatutnya boleh jadi wali kat adik-beradik perempuan dia kalau ayah depa dah meninggal. Meninggal waktu budak tu bakal hadapi PMR plak tu. Pagi tadi plak, anak sulung dia yang dipanggil Ilahi akibat serangan asma.

Walaupun anak tu anak istimewa (dah 20tahun tapi pertumbuhan dia macam kanak-kanak ja) tapi tetap anak dan aku tumpang sedih untuk dia. Parents shouldn't have to bury their children.

Tadi, aku dah set dlm hati nak buat kerja tapi Khairin asyik terjaga ja. Dah nenen & tidoq pehtu tak sampai 20 minit dia bangun balik, nak nenen lagi. First 2 times tu ok lg tapi bila dah 3 4 kali, aku pun naik bebai. Sian budak kecik tu, Ibu marah dia...macam la dia paham..sedih sangat muka dia tadi lepas aku marah dia..Ni dia dah tidoq, aku plak dah hilang rasa nak buat keja, padahal 19hb ni dah due..aissyyy

Nyesal plak..tu la, org slalu cakap, sebagai Ibu kita tak boleh terlalu ikut perasaan & cakap yg bukan2 kat anak kita sbb takut ALLAH makbulkan. Percakapan seorang ibu tu bagai doa, kata org. Kadang2 aku sempat brenti & pikiaq dulu sebelum buat apa2 tapi selalunya terlalu ikut perasaan jugak. Ahmad ada tadi masa aku marah Khairin, baru lepas makan ikan kembung bakaq dlm oven. Maybe dia kesian kat aku (kut la heheh) or maybe sebab sebelum ni pun dah banyak kali aku bebel kat dia..so lepas makan terus dia tolong basuh pinggan mangkuk dalam sinki. Aku ni malam malas dah nak main ayaq, sejuk tangan, kebas jari dari time lepas bersalin Shahrin pun tak hilang2 lagi (6 thn dah ni jari2 aku kebas semcm..huhu) takkan nak cari pasal main ayaq sejuk2 plak malam2 kan. Alhamdulillah la Ahmad tlg basuh dah..esok kurang 1 box to tick off my to-do list utk esok.

Kadang2, sambil duduk layan anak2 makan ka, tgk TV ka (time tak bizi writing la) aku berdoa dalam hati.. "Ya ALLAH, jangan Kau ambil anak2 ini dari aku Ya ALLAH, tak tertanggung rasanya kalau depa tak dak, aku sayang anak2 aku Ya ALLAH.."

Walaupun kena marah mcmana pun, yang nak memujuk tu Ibu la jugak. Macam pagi td, masa aku bangun Subuh, Nazrin bangun & merengek nak yang tu yang ni, nak susu la, nak tidoq atas katil la (dia tidoq dlm ndui@buai) nak tidoq ndui balik la..aku ni bebai la..kang satgi Khairin jaga kalau bising2..sudahnya aku pi marah dia sampai dia lari keluaq nangis tersedu2 kat luaq bilik..dia ni Drama king sikit, merajuk guling2 atas lantai, main lari2 sana sini konon nak aku pi pujuk dia...aku malas nak layan & terus landing balik atas katil nak tidoq blk before kena bangun untuk hantaq Shahrin pi skolah. Waaa waaa budak tu tunggu melalak, last2 aku jugak yang bangun pi amik dia & peluk dia..terus diam..see..w/pun aku yg marah, aku jugak la yg pujuk..kalau aku tak pujuk pun, selalunya depa akan mai jugak kat aku nak suruh aku pujuk...haiiii la anak2..sian hangpa dapat Ibu garang..

Macam baby Adam dalam FB tu, aku slalu tak gamak nak baca update dia..tambah lagi tgk gambaq dia, nampak ja title kat status update ada Adam tu, terus aku scroll down cepat2..bukan apa..dia dgn Khairin sama umoq, beza 15 hari ja, kalau tak salah aku, dia brain damage sbb masa delivery, his oxygen supply was cut-off. Nak tau apa sebenaqnya jadi kat dia google la sendiri yer...yang paling buat aku sedih tu, Khairin pun masa delivery APGAR score dia rendah, he wasn't breathing..unresponsive..tak nangis pun..aku tak la risau sgt masa tu sbb Dr. yg mai cakap kat aku tu relax ja, like he was confident anak aku ok..lain la kalau dia mai cerita kat aku dgn muka serius or gila belabah, memang aku melalak dah la waktu tu..

Alhamdulillah, sehari ja dia kat NICU under observation. Duduk seminggu kat Hsptl Taiping pun sbb dia demam, infection maybe dr tempat depa cucuk jarum tu..Now do you see why aku tak sanggup follow FB Adam? terasa sgt mcm aku terlepas ujian yg sama..tatau la apa akan jadi kat kami kalau Khairin yg kena mcm Adam kena..Nauzubillah Min Zalik...  

 

Busting out the bigger clothes.

I was finally able to rummage through my storage boxes this morning for 6 - 12 month baby clothes. Khairin is already too big for the hand-me-down teeny tiny new-born baby clothes. This would be the 4th time I did something like this; store away new-born/3-6 mo clothes and take out bigger ones. The first 2 times was with Nazrin, so today is Khairin's turn. I usually store away booties, mittens, swaddles and other new-born paraphernalia when my confinement period is over because I'm lazy like that. Bigger clothes for 0-6 mo are usually stored away only when my babies got too big for them. My babies are all on the smallish side of the spectrum, that's why I always wait until they really fill in their clothes (I'd still wait even if the clothes are labeled as 0-3 month but they can still wear it when they are already 5 months old) before buying/taking out bigger ones. 

Shahrin was the lucky one, he got all brand new clothes when he was a baby. Then, when his clothes began to look too snug for comfort, we bought bigger clothes for him, plus a few hands-me-down from our neighbor. I didn't know what to do with the smaller clothes at first because we didn't have any cabinet space for them. Then, I found a blog with organizing tips, from it I learned that I should keep them in an air tight container for use with future babies. So, I bought a plastic storage box and began sorting through Shahrin's baby clothes and carefully stored them in it. I didn't put any mothballs in, hate the smell but so far (it's been 6 years now) my baby clothes are well stored with no smell, infestations or decay.   

6 years later plus 2 more babies, my storage system has grown into 3 more plastic storage boxes. These boxes are stacked one on top of the other in a corner of our bedroom. It is a good storage system since it allows me to easily store and take out baby clothes (plus my preggy blouses) without having to buy new dressers plus I can save space. The number of clothes; new-born, toddler, big boy has certainly grown over the years thanks to our neighbor and our families who gave new and used clothes to us. Of course, we've also bought new clothes for Nazrin and Khairin since we didn't feel it was fair not to buy them new clothes as well.

After 3 kids, I no longer feel nostalgic when the time comes to make the transition from new born clothes to bigger ones. I didn't hold up a onesie and hug it close to my heart or place it close to my nose to sniff the baby smell on it, heh. I didn't waste 15 minutes just lovingly stroking the cute matching T-shirt and shorts with a baby lion on it. I didn't stop and stare in wonder at how tiny 0-6mo clothes are compared to 6-12mo clothes. And off course I didn't just sat there and reminisce about how cute Khairin looked in the pair of purple shorts. Heh heh heh.

     

Yaaaaawwwnnnnnnnnn.....

yawn...yawnnn....yaaaawwwwnnnnnnn....

ughhh...i'm feeling soooo sleepy right now..

my two little ones woke me up at 4.30am!!!! first, it was khairin who wanted to nurse,
then nazrin woke up too wanting his bottle...

unfortunately, nazrin who sleeps in the swing, had peed during the night and the floor was wet..
*sigh* what to do? i took nazrin to the bathroom, cleaned him up & put him in a new pair of PJs while khairin played in front of the TV

when they realized that they are both up, it quickly became playtime.... yaaaawwwnnnnn...while i had to clean up the mishap and change the 'sarung' he sleeps in..huhuhu..

can't blame nazrin though....he usually makes it through the night without any 'accidents' like today..it's been raining a lot these days as the monsoon season hits, it gets so cold even i feel like i need to pee more often..*sigh*

well, since i was already up, i waited for subuh which was at 5.54am..
just as i finished praying, khairin started bawling..he's sleepy, so off to bed little man..

this was followed by nazrin who wanted to be tucked into his swing..luckily, khairin was so sleepy that i don't have to pat him to sleep...as for nazrin, he finally fell asleep with the help of the electronic baby-swing machine my father bought earlier this year..

now, i'm left all alone...yaaawwnnnnnnn... trying not to fall back asleep since i'd have to get shahrin ready for school in (checking the clock...) 20 minutes...if i do go back to sleep..i'm afraid i'd still be in bed till 10.00am heheheh..

well, gtg...need to get shahrin's lunch box ready..

My father bought something like this, so i  don't have to swing  the swing myself

nazrin's 'bed'-look-alike 

Enjoying a special time with Khairin..

Khairin is in daaa hoouusseeeeee!!! WOOT WOOT!!!

heh..

my 2 older boys are out with their ayah, flying their wau at the playground. have fun kids!

i'm just chillin' with my youngest, with jamie oliver on the telly (he's touring great britain, presenting all types of food) and a paper to be proofread, while feeding khairin at the same time. talk about multitasking, eh? khairin is very vocal these days. he is babbling right now coz i'm not paying him any attention hahah. it's very relaxing when i don't have to cater to two other mini me and i intend to enjoy every minute of this time. i think khairin loves it too because now he has the whole place to himself instead of having to endure his 2 big brothers. ahmad, you need to take those 2 out more, ok?

khairin has perfected what i like to call 'the caterpillar move'. He would get up on all four, launch his body forward, land 'plop' on the floor and repeat. he has gotten quite far when using this technique. i often have to scan the whole living room area for any potential threats; sharp, poisonous, choking hazards, anything and everything before letting him roll around on the floor. that's a tall order when i have 2 other kids who love to toss their toys all over the place. *sigh*

khairin will be 6 months old in 4 days. YAY!! we've got the green light for solids from the clinic during our visit last week, so i've been experimenting with baby foods these days.

i remember that shahrin was (still is actually) the pickiest eater when he was 6 mo. but then, he had been fed solids since he was 4 mo by the babysitter & developed the worst case on constipation ever. i was busy with my studies back then and wasn't experienced when it comes to babies, so i just allowed the babysitter to do what she thought was right. shahrin was underweight at birth and didn't weight much those days, so the babysitter did what she thought would help him gain more weight. but that's in the past and i'm more experienced now, that's why i waited till i got the green light from the nurse before feeding khairin.

nazrin was the champion eater when he was 6 mo. i loved making porridge for him since he would gobble everything up and when his teeth started coming out by the time he was 9mo, he preferred non-puree food which made everything so much easier for me. by the time he was 1.5 years old, he was already feeding himself and eating food like grownups do. he doesn't mind spicy food and his favorite is fried chicken.

with khairin, i'm starting things slowly with farley's rusks, mushed bananas and boiled potatoes. so far, he seems to like the rusks and the bananas but since he is always busy exploring, i'm still uncertain when it comes to his eating schedule. what i've done so far is to feed him when he seems unsatisfied with nursing after a few minutes. after only 3 - 4 spoonfuls, he'd already lost interest in the food and wiggles off to explore the first thing that catches his eyes. sometimes he'd eat 3 times a day, other times he'd only want to eat once. well, it's still very early & very much trial and error, we'll have to wait and see how his eating habit is going to be in the next days. 

even after 2 older babies, i'm still learning. heh

p/s: if you've noticed how i've grown lazy and have ignored the proper way of writing with proper casing, then yes, you are right. i have been influenced by Syigim from how do i spell the word. just so you know, hahahah.

In just one hour...

I went from

INDIFFERENT to

SLIGHTLY FRUSTRATED to

HIGHLY IRRITATED to

OUTRIGHT RAGE!

from seeing all the clutter around me. *sigh*

The mountain of clothes resembles our current living room where Ahmad does all his sorting through his bundles 

Just like me when tackling the boys' toys *sigh*

I keep wanting to do 'something' about the first issue but knowing Ahmad, it would be a lesson in futility.
Same goes for the toys. Ughhh...

Wish the 'Clean House' team can come here and help me out :(

Quick lame updates..

1- we went for monthly check-up today for both nazrin and khairin. sadly, both boys didn't put on much weight even though nazrin eat a lot and khairin nursed a lot. nazrin's weight is in the lowest weight percentile while khairin is going under the normal weight percentile. not good, not good.

2- khairin has been acting up a lot lately which could be why he didn't gain much weight. anyway, i think i know why; he can already turn on his stomach now! he has beaten nazrin's record of doing so by the time he was 4 months old, khairin is currently 3 months, yesterday was his 3 month birthday hahah. he would effortlessly turn on to his stomach then cry out loud when he couldn't hold his head up and his nose is pinched on the floor, hahah.

3- nazrin is also acting up but i'm not sure why he is. i mean, he's already 3 years old, so why the crankiness?    i thought such behaviour only lasted through the terrible 2..maybe he still couldn't accept the fact that he is no longer 'Adik'

4- i'm out of ideas...hmmm...

-edited-

5- just heard a sad news from a friend. i pray that she stays strong. i regret not keeping in touch with her even though i read her FB status..i'm so sorry rumet T__________T

6- i hate these cartoons; Tom and Jerry, Oggy and the cockroaches, The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy. Totally useless and meaningless cartoons..i don't get the stories behind them.

7- i love disney channel, lovelovelove spongebob squarepants

Update on our little 'holiday' getaway.

We left for the waterpark at around 2 o'clock. You know, after I have done all the work around the house as well as packed everything we would need for the outing.

Anyway, we got discounts for our tickets since Ahmad is a Kerian resident and his cousin (another Kerian resident) works there, so she used her IC card to get me my discounted ticket. All in all, we only paid RM30 for 2 adult tickets since we didn't have to buy any tickets for the boys. Now, I've been to Tambun and Sungai Petani's theme/water park and boy! were the tickets expensive. Nevertheless, you do have plenty of water hole choices to choose from, plus in Sg Petani's water park the ticket includes lunch for all ticket holders. 

However, the Bukit Merah water park was smaller with just a few water hole attractions which may account for the cheap entrance fee. Anyways, the boys sure had fun (I think) and I'm sure Ahmad did too. In fact, I think he had more fun than the boys, playing in the water with the figure-8 float. Since I had to look after Khairin, the 3 of them went of to splash in the water at the biggest pool there (it has waves going every half hour or so which made everyone screamed with joy when they were hit by the 'big' waves haha). Me and Khairin just wet our feet and dip our butts in one of the shallower kiddy pool but we had fun too.

Ahmad did come and took Khairin twice so that I can have fun in the water too. Well, in that sense, the boys had all the fun, both with Ahmad and me since that's all they had to do; enjoy themselves. I took them for a 'walk' in one of the waterways surrounding one of the waterholes on the floater. We did have some accidents with other visitors on floaters but everyone was just goofing around, so nobody got angry or anything. Nazrin loved going down slides, so we stayed at one for half an hour. By the time we completed the circle, Nazrin was already shaking in his clothes even though it was a hot day. Shahrin was practically all over the place; running/swimming here and there.

We met a friend of mine and her family while we were there but didn't stay long for a chat since each family wanted to play some more- the kids went everywhere. But one thing that caught my attention was that her husband has gotten a bit chubbier since I saw him last. I have also noticed that this is true for most of my friends' hubbies. My husband is the only one who hasn't put on weight in the 7 years that we've been married. He has stayed the same from the first day we officially met till today. Hmmm..does that has anything to do with my not cooking? heh..

Another thing that caught my attention was that how different we were compared to other visitors that day. I observed that everyone came loaded with tote bags (the kind companies give as freebies) and floaties and strollers (those with babies) and baskets (although no outside food and beverages were allowed in the area) and 1 family even took their tent along.

I only packed 2 bags; one Celcom freebie tote bag and an over-the-shoulder Anmum gift bag. The tote contained change of clothes for all of us while the Anmum bag was stuffed with Khairin's change and wallets and android phones. I specifically took along the Anmum bag since it was partially waterproof and can be slung over for easy handling. This way, we wouldn't have to rent one of those cubbies and still keep our valuables safe.

In a way, I think I was being a minimalist; a pair of change for each of us, except for Khairin, I packed 2 sets for him, 1 towel for us parents and 1 towel for the boys. That was all. As I sat at the seating area with Khairin, I watched all these other people going about, enjoying their day at the water park. They seemed to lug around bags full of stuff and I wondered what did they put in all those bags. One family of 3 in particular; parents and a baby, had at least 5 bags with them, plus a buggy and a baby carrier. The father was wearing the baby while the mother struggled with the bags and the buggy. I thought to myself, "what in the toot are in all those bags??" I mean, just how many change do you really need for a day at the park with just 3 people? If it were me, I'd only bring along my set of change, Ahmad's and the baby's (but since I already have 3, I had to bring more).

One more thing that caught my eyes were how some of them were so concerned with their appearance that they missed the whole idea of having fun. They came in high heels and their bling-blings and their iPads and their expensive watches. Then, they spend half an hour just to arrange all their belongings just so and they can't all go in the water since someone had to look after all their stuff ( you know, to prevent theft). I mean, if you already know that you're going to a place where there would be a huge crowd with little security, just leave all that expensive getup at home and just come in your shirts and flip-flops. It would definitely be easier on your peace of mind.

Like we did. I dressed the boys all ready in their bathing suits at home and I put on mine (T-shirt and slack). By the time we got there, we just had to take off our flip-flops (or slippers as we call them) and head on right into the pool. When we're all done and wrinkled up, all we had to do were change into clean clothes and we're on our way home. Easy, isn't it? Well, that's just me being the minimalist. I sure would like to know what you would bring to a family day at the water park.

Do tell.   

Morning 'pick-me-ups' with Khairin.

Morning peeps,

Or should I say, afternoon? It's been raining all morning here so things are a bit gloomy and chilly at the moment. Hopefully everything will clear up by noon since we're planning to go and have fun at Bukit Merah Laketown Resort today. YAY!! I initially wanted to ask Ahmad to take us to the beach but with all the recent rain, it wouldn't be safe at the beach, especially with 2 rowdy boys. So, a little bit of change to our holiday outings was in store. The boys don't know about this plan yet, it's a surprise for them heheh. 

Owh...meant to do a post about Khairin. 

Well, he's almost 3 month old now and very recently had a total head shave. He is now as bald as an...eagle? hehe.. he has started cooing just last month and giggling just a few weeks ago. Oh, you should see him going, cooing with his toothless grin, tongue all over the place, lips pursed just so and the giggles. OMG! the giggles. I can't handle the giggles hahahahha..

Even after a sleepless night with him, mornings are still happy moments. We'd spend a few minutes just enjoying each other before his brothers wake up. Coffee has nothing on this boy when it comes to giving you a boost of energy to perk you up. Oh, don't forget those ever flapping arms and legs. They are constantly moving, like he's trying to get somewhere in a hurry. Even when I've pinned his arms to his side, he'd still keep moving his body and legs. Hahah.

No pictures though. I need to learn how to put watermarks first. Till then, toodles.  

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.

I've always wanted one of my own..

And today, I finally got what I wished for!!!

LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!!!!!!!

 Shahrin finally gave me the family portrait I've always longed for when watching movies on the telly and they always put this kind of drawings in it.

Ughh..don't know how to turn it right-side up..

Anyway, the biggest person in this picture is Ahmad, the small one at the top of this neck-tilting drawing is Moi (I'm actually smiling while I'm typing this because you know why? My son actually drew me smaller than how I actually look these days. Is he just trying to please me by drawing his father bigger than I am? hahah) The dude in the red 'shirt' with huge hands is the artist himself (:p) and the dude in yellow is his brother. Notice the pair of legs between them? Shahrin drew those as himself but when he found that the space was not enough, he drew another one beside it. Haha..

This is his second drawing of the day. This is supposed to be Ahmad. 

I can't believe Shahrin actually drew these on his own. Well, he's always shown quite an aptitude for drawing but he has never drawn people before, so these really took me by surprise.

I am soooooo proud of that boy!!!

He has definitely inherited his father's talent in drawing, 

that's for sure. 

I can't wait to see what masterpieces Shahrin will do next.

Nervously wringing my hands..

And not half an hour later, I felt like banging my head on the wall.

All these happened last night, just around 11-12 o'clock. Nazrin was having a good night (read: sleep undisturbed for a long period of time) when he woke up crying and holding his left ear. As usual, as he was sleeping in the swing, I tried rocking him back to sleep. That attempt failed.

So, I picked him up and tried looking into his ear (there's always the concern over insects getting into ears..) with Ahmad's help. We couldn't see anything. Then, Nazrin kind of drifted back to sleep in my arms, so I put him back in the swing. Not 15 minutes later, he woke up again, crying louder this time about how his ear hurts. Thinking that it might be an ant inside his eardrum, I did what my parents usually do when we were young and have insects in our ear (which happened quite often..eicchh..), I dropped some water into his left ear. Which led to him crying even more and causing me to feel like a bad mother for putting him through that. 

I was getting frantic when he kept crying and getting back to sleep at intervals for nearly 40 minutes. I finally gave in and asked Ahmad to drive us to the clinic to get Nazrin's ear checked. Luckily, two of Ahmad's friends were hanging out here, so we left them to look after Shahrin, who blissfully slept through this whole episode. Since all the private clinics were closed, we headed out to our local clinic. They always have someone on standby for emergencies. 

When we got there, the ambulance driver was washing the ambulance (weird much but very helpful) and he told us to call the number of last night's medical officer on duty. Ahmad gave him a call. Poor man* was already asleep but he came pretty quickly since his living quarters was just behind the clinic. Nazrin was quite calm by that time and he didn't cry when the medical assistant checked his ear with that pointy thing with lights at the end (what's it called by the way?).

What did he find? Earwax.

That's right. Nazrin's left ear was full of earwax. Apparently, the earwax had hardened and that had caused him to feel pain which could be due to the pressure buildup within his eardrum or just because hard earwax can cause irritation. HAH! Who knew?

So, he gave us some panadol for the pain and an eardrop to soften up the earwax. And there I was ready to do battle with whatever insect he might have found inside Nazrin's ear. DUH..

After thanking both gentlemen, we headed back home and I kept having this weird feeling that we've been through this before. By the time we arrived, I finally figured out why I felt like this scenario was familiar. Because it was. I think it was last year when we were crashing in at my sister's house (without Ahmad) for a family gathering. The same thing happened then too. Nazrin just got better from a fever and one night he kept crying and holding his left ear. My father took us to the nearest private clinic but the Dr said that there was nothing wrong with Nazrin. I had to beg him to do a more thorough check since I couldn't stand seeing Nazrin cry. He too came to the conclusion that Nazrin's left ear was so full of wax that it was causing him pain. I had foolishly thought that some insect had gotten inside his ear then too. Stupid!

I think I'd be better prepared for next time (if it ever happens again) and will not jump to the same stupid conclusion again. This time around, I think I see the pattern now. It seems that Nazrin can get this same problem again following a fever, which was exactly what happened then and last night. I can't always clean his ears since he'd want to do it himself, which always leads to me telling him no and him crying for not getting his way. Next time, I'll keep an ear-drop ready for such incidence. 

Go read this for info: earwax in children.

At least I'm not completely to blame for his earwax build-up. Heh.

* Thank you so much to En. Sahrun from Klinik Kesihatan Bagan Serai. Sorry for disturbing your sleep. Heh.

    

Cute pictures plus yesterday's update.

I'm down with fever since last night and today I'm still not feeling so good.

Started feeling sick 3 nights ago (feverish and runny nose) but 2 days ago I felt so much better that I forgot I was sick just the night before. Felt slightly nauseous since morning yesterday & I haven't pooped (sorry hehe but honestly, its not a nice feeling, not going when you need too) since yesterday. Don't know if the constipation was brought on by the fever or the other way around. But as usual, did nothing about it since I felt strong enough to do housework (which never ends *sigh*).

Around 4pm, Ahmad went out as usual for the night market. Luckily, he may have sensed that I'm not feeling well so he offered to take Shahrin along with him. Since a friend of his went with him to help set up the tent and arrange the goods, I happily said ok to the idea. Actually, I was ecstatic over the idea but I didn't show it to him hahah. Never a good idea to make him feel like I'm taking advantage over him :p

So, I had a blissful evening folding the laundry and making a felt project for Shahrin. Oh, shoot! I forgot the before pictures, dang! Oh well...this project will be revealed soon, so check back here often,okay?

Anyhow, when I said blissful, I really meant it because Nazrin slept through the evening, which I am also thankful for. Now, please feast your eyes (sorry in advance for the crappy shots, I only have a phone camera to work with) over these cute pictures of a sleeping prince and his adopted feline brother.

Introducing our 4th child, Kucing (that's Malay for cat)
since no one came up with a proper name for him.

This whole bed is MINE!!!!

2 hours into their nap time.

1/2 hour later.....cute right? hehe

The Boys.

I haven't done this in a long while. I used to do a monthly update when Shahrin was still a baby but I didn't do the same for Nazrin, what a pity. So, today I think I'm going to do an update for both boys.

Firstly, my first born, Shahrin.

Well, he is quite a handful, let me tell you. One minute he is as docile as a sleeping kitten and the next, he'd be running all over the place like a cheetah on caffeine. Most of the time, he'd be watching cartoons and laughing along to GOD knows what. p/s: he used to watch ASTRO Channel 613 which is full of educational programs but these days, he'd watch Channel 616, non-stop if I let him. I don't quite like the programs on that channel e.g. Tom & Jerry, Pink Panther, Courage the cowardly dog to name a few. The first two shows kept showing repetitive actions of falling down, getting hit, getting pranked again and again while in Courage, 'stupid dog!' is said over and over. Ughhh.. Sometimes I can get him to change channels but most of the time, he'd be stuck on 616 all day long. Anyways, he is officially off diapers even at night since last month. It started quite by accident when I forgot to buy his size when we went shopping & he couldn't fit into Nazrin's diaper. so, we went cold turkey on him and I had to wake up every 3 hours and persuade him to go to the toilet, lest he pees on the bed. It was hard work the whole week when we decided that since it worked well the first night, why not continue with it? I practically had to set an alarm just in case I slept the night through. All in all, I don't have to wake him up to pee anymore because he finally get the point of waking up when he needed to go. So, we have successfully weaned Shahrin off of his diapers. Yeah, at 5 years old. Lame huh? Other than that, he is getting better at listening to instructions and doing as he is told. He knows a little bit about addition and subtraction. His spelling still needs more work, so he still can't read on his own. He is also very possessive with his toys. We've had countless fights over toys in this house to the point where I am willing to throw away everything out just to stop them from fighting. All in all, I think Shahrin is just being a growing up boy, learning my buttons and knowing which one to push but sometimes can melt my heart with a simple kiss.

Nazrin, my second boy.

Now this boy is quite the opposite of his brother. He does everything fast and with a I-can-do-it-myself attitude. He eats a lot (Shahrin is a very picky-eater) and always want to feed himself. He learns to do things faster compared to when Shahrin was his age. Maybe it's because he has a role model to look up to or maybe since he was born with no complications like we had with Shahrin. Although he is still small compared to other children his age, I no longer worry to much about it since he eats well and active. He is quite the copy-cat. He'd watch his brother play (anything) for a while and the moment he gets a turn, he'd play it the same way he saw his brother did. Also quite by accident, Nazrin is off diapers too!!! I still have some of his diapers but since he doesn't seem to need them, I haven't make him wear them about the same time we weaned Shahrin off. I usually put his diaper on after he had fallen asleep but with having to wake up to tend to Shahrin, I somehow forgot to put one on Nazrin. But after 2 nights of keeping dry till morning, I decided that Nazrin can manage his bladder well even at night. So, now we have managed to save money on diapers, alhamdulillah. Heheh. 

There you go. A summary of what my boys are doing these days. Ahhh..can't wait for the baby to come out though. With everything that's going on these days, I have a strong feeling that it could be a girl! Uuuuu..the nice dresses I can buy, with bows and laces and ribbons..heheheh. 

Have a nice day guys!