BEKAL KE SEKOLAH

Dari the girls sekolah rendah lagi, memang diorang bawak bekal ke sekolah. Mula mula tu bawakkan bekal sebab takut diorang tak pandai nak membeli kat kantin. But later, they want bekal sebab malas nak beratur or berebut membeli kat kantin sekolah.

I remembered when they were in standard 5 or 6, they were among a few kids yang masih bawak bekal but they like it that way.

Their bekal ranges from nuggets, mee goreng or just simple roti bakar sapu butter and kaya and air masak.

Now, Ms M school hours are from 7.40 to at least 3.00pm. Kalau ada CCA or ECA, it will stretch to 4 or 5pm. And she still nak bawak bekal.

Mula mula tu I just bekalkan snacks like biscuits untuk the 10 am break. Lunch dia beli kat kantin. Tapi now she prefers to bring bekal for lunch too. Especially now tengah injured kaki ni, dengan crutches and all, lagi lah malas dia nak ke kantin. Memang dia mintak bawak bekal.

These are some of Ms M's lunch and snack boxes.

 

 

Kadang kadang kalau mummy nya rajin, meriah la bekalnya. Kalau mummy nya ala ala nak bukak mata pagi pagi pun payah, simple one saja la.....

 



 

Cerita December 2015. Welcome 2016.

Sekejap saja rasa and school holiday is over. Here comes 2016.

December had been a busy month for me at work. My regional head came from Hong Kong for a visit cum audit in early December. A really stressssssssssful 3 days. On the first day of his visit, tengah tengah sibuk tu, Ms M called from school. She boarded a wrong school bus and dalam kelam kabut nak turun tu, bag dia tersangkut and she fell.... on top of another student!!! She called and said her ankle hurt so much and she cannot walk. I was on my way back from a distributor warehouse in Shah Alam with my boss and I supposed to send him back to One World Hotel in Bandar Utama. Maka nya.... detour pergi sekolah Ms M dulu ambik dia, then baru hantar my boss to the hotel.

 

Lepas tu pergi klinik, x ray and no fracture. Alhamdulilah... just balut kaki tu dengan bandage and doctor suruh rehat saja.

 

But after a week, a blue back bruises started to appear. Pergi klinik balik and the doctor said it takes time to heal. En. ID cakap masuk angin tu sebab tak urut.

 

After 2 weeks, the bruises subsided but the ankle still bengkak. Eh... tak boleh jadi ni. Pergi lagi sekali klinik and this time the doctor referred her to the orthopaedic.

 

Jumpa orthopaedic, he suspected 2nd grade ligament tear. Mungkin 50% tear but to be sure, kena buat MRI.

 

MRI result showed 2 ligaments completely torn. 3 partially torn. Its quite bad actually and I felt guilty as we took it lightly and only went to see the orthopaedic after 2 weeks it happened.

 

But since we're going to Bangkok that weekend, the doctor prescribed an ankle brace and she has to use crutches to support her movement. No splint sebab berat and susah nak move about nanti. He will review the healing progress and hopefully no surgical intervention required.

 

But that's my Fluff. Happy as usual. Asik kena remind her not run, to walk slowly, jangan lompat lompat. Memang tak boleh duduk diam budak sorang tu.

 

So since all has been arranged, we went ahead with the Bangkok trip, crutches and all. But we had a good support from the airlines in arranging wheelchair at the airport here and Bangkok. Dapat lalu special lane all the way and ahamdulillah, all went well during the journey.

 

Now, its been 3 weeks since the physiotherapy started. Last week we went for follow up and the doctor said not much progress but will review again in 2 weeks time.

 

So, itu kisah Ms M.

 

Travel wise, I did not travel anywhere for work this month. We went to Cameron Highland for a short vacation in late November and it was superb!!!! We really enjoyed CH. The last time we went to CH was like 10 years ago!!!

 

Then we went back to Batu Pahat in mid December. Jalan jalan cari makan as usual.

 

And we went to Bangkok a week after that.

 

Ms A enjoyed her holiday to the max. Makan tido, makan tido saja. Baru last weekend nak tengok homework and prep for back to school.

 

Life is still good without bibik. We got the hang of it already I guess.

We welcome 2016 with old resolutions... ahaks...!!!! Nak kurus... nak kurus... nak kurus....

2016 - Ms A will take her SPM.
2016 - Ms M will have her checkpoint exam

We hope 2016 will be as good if not better as 2015. Insya Allah.

Here some pictures from our holiday.

 Jari mot mot in Boh Plantation

 Gaya macam pergi overseas tau!

 

Succulent strawberries

 

 All thing strawberries....

 

 

 The day she fell off the school bus

 

 Nasi bariani gam kambing Batu Pahat

 Mee hailam favourite @ Jengkuan Batu Pahat

 

 Nasi lemak ikan kerapu @ Sri Gading, Batu Pahat.

 

 

 Mee bandung Muor

 Breakfast asam pedas kat Batu Pahat

 Off to Bangkok. Crutches and all.

Food.... glorious food.

 Starwars exhibition @ Siam Paragon

 

 

 Chao Phraya River Cruise

 Usman Halal Restaurant

 Tak reti penat budak dua orang ni tau!

 Coconut and thai milk tea ice cream. Happiness in a tempurung.

 Ms M

 Ms A

 

 

 

AFTER ONE MONTH...............

Dah sebulan Bibik balik. How are we coping? So far ok. Buktinya... berat badan makin naik, bukan makin turun sebab kena buat kerja rumah! hahahahaha............

To avoid stress due to change in lifestyle, buat apa yang mampu saja. The house may not as clean as before but what the heck. We are happy anyway.

We have cleaning lady coming every Saturday to clean the house.
Baju yang nak kena iron hantar laundry semua.

We eat out most of the time for dinner. But I cook in the morning for the girls lunch and Ms M requested for a bento box for her lunch. Masa tak de bibik ni lah dia nak bento box. But mummy is more than happy to prepare her lunch box.

Overall, we are happy with the arrangement now. We may stay bibik-less if everything goes well.

But I really really need a holiday. Please.....

 

BYE BYE BIBIK

My maid of 10 years is going back for good next week. Life will be different definitely. And since we plan not to hire a new maid anymore, we have started making some changes starting a few month back to anticipate our maid less life.

 

I think we will be ok without a maid. There are a lot of working women out there who can manage without a maid. But may be because we've been having maid since Ms A was born, some 16 years ago, the thought of not having someone to help you with the housewhole chores is quite nerve wrecking hahahahaha.....

 

The thing is, not only me but also En ID has concerned about life without maid. Can we cope? YES we can. Hopefully......

 

In anticipation of a maid less life, we have:

1. Move Ms M to a private school. Because in her previous school, she has to go to school in the morning for co curriculum, then come back at 10am, then go again at 12.30pm for classes. With no one at home, we are worried to leave her alone at home and to manage all by herself. So we move her to a private school where she will be at school from 7.30am to 5pm. (Yes... Ms M is 13 but I'm an over protective mum yang sentiasa over worried about so many thing.....)

2. Built a patio and fenced up the backyard. Senang nak sidai baju tak kena hujan. And the fence is to prevent our cats from wondering outside or outside cats to come in and pop at the lawn.

3. Buy easy to use kitchen gadget macam airfyer, noxxa cooker. Minimize kerja kerja nak membersihkan dapur lepas masak.

 

Frankly, after reading a few blogs of working mums with no maid, I feel more confident. I don't think it would be that difficult. Its just 3 of us at home. Ramai orang lain yang anak masih kecik and ramai pun boleh cope. Siap boleh masak or ambik tempahan baking lagi. May be it would be difficult for a start but life will be ok after a while.

 

To my bibik, thank you so much for your 10 years with us. You'll surely be missed. Semoga bibik diberi kesihatan yang baik dan dilindungi Allah di dunia dan di akhirat. Terima Kasih Bibik

 

 

Ms A with Bibik. We went to visit Ms A yesterday so she can say good bye to bibik.

 

 

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Ms M

Today is Ms M 13th birthday. My happy baby. My sunshine. No word can describe how much she mean to us.

 

Ms M at 6 years old

 

7 years later.......

 

Happy birthday Fluff.

 

Ya Allah, kau lindungilah anak ini di dunia dan akhirat. Jadikanlah dia anak yang solehah, teguhkan imannya, permudahkan urusan dia di dunia dan di akhirat.

 

Mummy, Papa and Kakak love you so much!!!!!

 

 

 

LIFE LESSON

Saya ada seorang kawan yang dah lama tak jumpa. The last time jumpa in 1983 semasa saya di sekolah rendah. Dia ambik tempahan menjahit baju di rumah. So, last week saya pergi rumah dia nak tempah baju.

Dia tinggal di rumah PPR. Bila masuk ke dalam rumah tu, the house is bare. Ada sebuah meja makan dan satu TV. Itu saja. Di satu sudut, ada mesin jahit dan mesin jahit tepi. Dia sambut saya dengan penuh mesra walaupun pertama kali berjumpa semenjak 32 tahun lepas.

She has 6 children. Suami bekerja di kilang berhampiran.
Dari luaran, she may not have much. Tapi she has what most of us always wanted.

Hati yang tenang dan kebahagiaan.
Suami yang baik.
Anak anak dia sungguh tinggi budi pekerti.
Anak lelaki dia yang berumur 14 tahun, terus masak air dan buat air tanpa disuruh.
Tutur kata sungguh sopan
Keikhlasan terserlah
Muka nampak telus dan tenang

Dia mula bercerita....
Dulu adik beradik ramai. Selepas SPM, dia tak boleh sambung belajar sebab kena tanggung adik adik. Lepas kahwin, baru suami tanggung untuk dia belajar menjahit yang memang dia amat minati.
Kami berbual panjang. Dari cara membesarkan anak anak sehingga hobi memasak.

In life, you can learn a lot not only from people who is the so called "success" in life but from all walks of life. From people like her.
Money is not everything tapi keberkatan itu lah yang paling penting.

I came home with a smile. Terima kasih Allah kerana mempertemukan saya dengan dia.


 

12/365 of 2015

Today, hari pertama Ms M ke sekolah menengah. Dah besar anak mummy....!!!!!!!

We sent her to school. All of us, Papa, Mummy and Kakak.

I have mixed feeling. Excited, proud, anxious....

 

 

 

 

Ms M sekolah sesi petang. Lepas hantar dia, terus ke AG hantar Ms A balik asrama.

Sunyi balik dah rumah....

Oh I miss school holidays.

 

BIBIK

Pejam celik pejam celik..... dah sebulan dah MyBibik balik cuti. And today is the day she suppose to come back. ETA 10 malam ni.

 

Bibik has been with us for almost 9 years. She joined the household when Ms M was 2. Then after 6 years, she decided to go back for good. For the next one and a half year, we had 2 helpers. After sending home the second maid, MyMama decided to call Bibik and asked her to come back and work with us again. Bibik and MyMama memang rapat and I think she decided to return because of her. She came back in Nov 2012 and has been with us since.

 

Contrary to many believe that kalau ada bibik, semua benda dari kemas rumah, masak hingga jaga anak serah pada bibik, that is not true for us. Bibik main task when we hired her back in 2004 is to take care of the kids. To ensure the kids safety at home. Ini termasuk keadaan rumah mesti sentiasa bersih.

 

At that time, Ms M was 2 and Ms A was 5 and went to kindy in the morning. I made her work timetable in detail. What to do at what time. She has to ensure rumah siap kemas before Ms M bangun sebab bila Ms M dah bangun, 100% attention is to her. Dah la Ms M ni tak reti duduk diam. She doesn't have to cook and she will do laundry only when we're back from office.

 

Bila my girls dah besar, I start ajar dia masak for the kids' lunch. But most of the time I still cook for them. I still prepare dinner until now.

 

Alhamdulillah, MyBibik ringan tangan. Rajin nak mencuba resepi baru dari buku buku resipi yang saya belikan. Kadang kadang tanya Ms M makan apa for lunch... ayam percik dia kata. Wah.... pandai bibik buat ayam percik. Kadang kadang dia buat doughnut, seri muka, sardin roll untuk teatime Ms M.

 

Bibik rajin berkebun jugak and she has green fingers. Apa yang dia tanam menjadi. Cili api, serai, bendi, pucuk ubi, kunyit even halia pun ada tanam kat belakang rumah. And my small garden at the porch area is well taken care of.

 

We never have problem with laundry. Semua settle. Bibik gosok semua baju yang basuh termasuk la baju tidur and t shirt budak budak tu.

 

After working with us for many years, she knows what to do. Ada saja benda yang dia akan buat. Tukar langsir, tukar cadar, lap tingkap, cuci kereta, sapu sawang, lap dinding... semua tak perlu dibagi tahu. Sebab tu, in her spare time kalau dia nak tengok tv pun saya tak kisah. Sebab saya tahu dia dah buat apa yang dia patut buat. Lebih lebih lagi, with Ms A kat asrama now, tinggal Ms M saja kat rumah. Jadi Bibik ada lebih masa terluang.

 

We are quite liberal with Bibik. Dia boleh cuti bila bila dia nak. Dia boleh ada phone. Dia boleh keluar. Kalau tak nak masak dan saya tak sempat masak, dia boleh beli saja kat restoren dekat rumah tu. Tapi alhamdulillah, setakat ni dia tidak pernah lagi mengambil peluang atas kebebasan yang diberi. Dia jarang nak cuti, adalah 3 bulan sekali. Dia tak suka bersembang atau keluar rumah tapi saya akan suruh dia keluar kalau budak budak tu nak main di taman permainan. The kids cannot go out if Bibik is not with them.

 

I have my fair share of maid from hell too. Dari yang lari, yang menipu, yang melawan sampai lah yang menjual diri jadi prostitute dalam rumah pun saya pernah alami. But I want to count my blessings, not my misfortune. So, I thank Allah for sending us this Bibik.

 

And how was our life without Bibik for the last one month? Ok saja. Alhamdulillah, the girls dah boleh diharap. Boleh sidai baju, angkat baju and lipat baju. Ms A can cook simple meal using airfyer or even the stove. Boleh basuh pinggan sendiri and make their own bed. May be normal tasks for other kids but since these 2 girls dah biasa ada bibik, I'm so proud to see them being able to do the chores when bibik is not around.

 

Kalau bibik tak balik malam ni macam mana? Life goes on.... Things happen for a reason and we will accept it anyway. InsyaAllah...... she will be here.

 

 

 

Aidil Adha Yang Santai

I was away in Hyderabad last week. Sebelum pergi, dah plan nak masak mee udang raya nanti.

Flight balik dari Hyderabad pukul 12.45 pagi which is 3.15 pagi waktu sini. With only 4 hours flight, nak tidur pun tak lena. Sampai KLIA pukul 7.30, dah macam zombi.

Sampai kat passport control, letak passport kat machine tu, letak thumbprint and keluar. Lepas tu singgah kedai kat situ nak beli barang. Nak bayar, cari passport tak de. Eh... mana dia pergi? Rupanya dah ditinggalkan kat machine tu. Memang lah dah separuh sedar tau.

Keluar airport, terus ambik teksi airport and balik. Bila dah masuk rumah, eh..... mana handbag? Ya Allah.... handbag tinggal dalam taxi pulak. Dah la jenuh call KLIA Limo nak trace balik taxi driver tadi. Alhamdulillah... dalam kol 2 petang, taxi driver tu datang hantar bag tu.

So, mana nak sempat mencari udang nak buat mee udang. Call MyMama and cakap tukar menu lah. Beli lemang and bawak serunding daging yang memang ada stock kat rumah.

Malam tu, pergi rumah MyMama. Dia dah masak rendang ayam pencen. Nasi impit segera dah rebus. Dia cakap nak buat Nasi Ambang juga. So, saya volunteer masak ayam kicap, sambal goreng jawa dan mee goreng. MyMama tinggal buat serunding kelapa saja.

So, inilah juadah santai Aidil Adha kami. Nasi Ambang, rendang ayam pencen, serunding daging, nasi impit dan lemang.

 

Lepas makan, semua terlentang. Happy...!!!!!

 

MY SWEET 15

Today is Ms A 15th birthday.

 

 

My sweet Ms A.

My perfectionist, the girl with heart full of love.

She taught me a lot since the day she came to this world.

She taught me about patience and compassion

She transformed me.

From carefree, careless young lady

To who I am today.

Now.....

I'm concern about what happen to the world around me

I'm concern about the environment

I'm concern about the future

Because it all will affect the people I love

My babies.

She made me feel important

She gave me the sense of selfworthy

Because I am a mother

 

I just cannot describe how much I love her.

No word can describe how I feel.

 

Ya Allah... Terima kasih atas kurniaan Mu ini Ya Allah.

 

Ya Allah, kau lindungi lah anak ku ini di dunia dan di akhirat. Kau tetapkanlah imannya, jadikan lah dia anak yang solehah dan hambamu yang taat.

 

To Ms A,

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DARLING.

MUMMY,PAPA AND ADIK LOVE YOU SO MUCH

 

 

 

 

 

The faces of ratu selfie....!!!!!!

 

Wordless Wednesday

Busy. Desperately need a holiday!!!!!

Post Raya Chaos

Masih lagi dalam mood raya amidst a very hectic month.

Lepas cuti raya, we resume project menukar kitchen cabinet yang dah lama tertangguh. Tertangguh sebab tak de masa nak cari accessories. Tertangguh sebab we went for holiday in June. Tangguh lagi sebab bulan puasa. So, hari Selasa lepas raya tu, baru lah start projectnya.

Bukan renovate pun, cuma tukar the existing kitchen cabinet yg dapat dari developer masa beli rumah tu 13 tahun lepas. Dah nak roboh dah cabinet tu. Nak tak nak kena juga tukar.

Contractor tu kata dalam 12 hari. Tutup la dapor 12 hari. Ms M and bibik tiap hari makan lunch kat luar. Malam pun dinner kat luar. Dah naik jemu lah makan kat luar. Tapi nak buat cemane, dapur tak de. And sebab tak de dapur, nak ajak orang datang raya ke rumah pun kena postpone la buat masa ni.

As of today, masih belum siap. Aduh... rimas rasa lah. Hidup tak terurus.

Our weekends are full with open houses. A blessing untuk orang yang tak ber dapur ni.

It is equally chaotic at work as well. Mid term review lah... organization changes. Haih...!!!!

Tengah sibuk nak monitor progress dapur ni, kena gi outstation jugak. I tried to minimise my traveling this year since both Ms M and Ms A exam tahun ni. Tapi nak tak nak kena gak la travel dekat dekat.

I was in Brunei last Tuesday. Second time in Brunei and 1st time there after the implementation of hudud law. Apa perbezaannya? Tak de apa. Brunei bagi saya sama aje macam sini. Cuma tak de la bar and lounge. Tapi since kita pun bukan ler pergi tempat tempat macam tu, jadi tak de la rasa apa beza pun.

Masa pergi tu naik Royal Brunei sebab MH flight ke Brunei only on alternate day. Isnin, Rabu and Jumaat. Tapi sebab saya tak nak stay lama, nak sampai, attend meeting, siapkan kerja dan balik, saya pergi naik Royal Brunei hari Selasa. In terms of service, RB sama macam MH bagi saya cuma again, no liquor was served dan sebelum berlepas, ada bacaan doa yang sungguh merdu dan panjang. Saya suka..!!!!! Regardless of the recent tragedy, saya masih MH loyalist.

Satu malam saja di Brunei and Rabu balik dah.

Next week ke Singapore pulak. Kesian Ms M. Mummy promise this should be the last trip before your exam darling.

Plan for this weekend, visit Ms A, a few open houses and hopefully dapur dah siap.

Salam Jumaat.

Aidil Fitri 2014

Dah 16 Syawal hari ni baru nak cerita pasal raya. Been busy at work and home, tak sempat nak update pasal raya.

Tahun ni kami beraya di Batu Pahat, rumah En. ID. Tapi My Mama dan My Abah juga asal dari Johor and tahun ni My Mama decided nak balik Muar jadi kami dapatlah beraya bersama juga.

Raya yang paling meriah for the girls sebab dapat rasa beraya di suasana kampung sebenar. Walaupun rumah En ID di Batu Pahat, tapi rumah teres, bukan rumah kampung jadi bukan lah beraya di kampung dalam erti kata sebenar.

Hari Raya pertama, the usual routine, masak, pergi solat sunat di masjid, kemudian makan dan sesi bermaaf maafan. Tengahari, kami bertolak ke Muar untuk beraya di kampung My Mama. Actually, rumah nenek tu dah kosong. Tiada siapa duduk tapi adik My Mama ada rumah di kampung sebelah. Jadi kami semua beraya dirumah Mak Ngah.

The usual hidangan di pagi raya. Ketupat, rendang ayam, rendang daging, kuah kacang dan lodeh.

 

 

 

 

 

Ms A and Ms M di depan rumah moyang nya.

 

 

Excited tengok pokok durian musang king

 

Pengalaman pertama petik buah manggis dari pokok.

Pokok pulasan yang meriah berbuah

 

Kutip hasil dari kebun

 

 
Semua reban itik, reban ayam diredah budak dua orang tu. Excited sangat sangat. Best raya ever katanya.

Hari Raya kedua, kami ke rumah pak cik belah My Abah di Semerah, Batu Pahat where keluarga belah My Abah akan berkumpul setiap tahun pada raya kedua.

Hari Raya ketiga, dalam perjalanan nak beraya di Kluang, singgah ke JPO pulak. My first time there. tak de lah membeli sangat. Saja cuci mata.

Hari Raya ke empat baru balik ke KL balik. Penat but it was a fabulous raya indeed.

SELAMAT HARI RAYA. MAAF ZAHIR DAN BATIN.