Birthday Wishes and Such

It's been a pretty hectic few weeks with work and DH not around. Poor him running around like a headless chicken because of the work piling up. Alhamdulillah nonetheless, but still do worry that he's a little overworked.

Anyways, in between all the running around, we managed to squeeze in birthday celebration for Izz, Izz's 1st TV appearance on TV3, and Rayhan's 1st ever visit to the Indian Barber...almost like a tradition for the boys to have haircuts at the Indian Barbers. They are an institution, and very Malaysian thing I think!

Pictures galore...enjoys...more are in flickr!


Sleepy at TV3 for MHI taping.



Birthday Celebration!


Visit to the Barber!

Cupcakes for My Boy!

Izz Faris will be turning 5 in about 2 weeks time! How time has flown! This year will mark the first time he is celebrating his birthday with his school mates...which means no prezzies! Poor boy!

But must say he has accumulated many toys over the past year, including a useless Ben-10 watch that his dad had to fork out RM50 for! But what's a birthday with no prezzies :-(

Anyways, he'll just have to get used to it I suppose!

One Step Closer!!

Alhamdulillah, one of the banks have approved 90% loan for No.7! Now, I have put ask for permission from THE BANK to accept this loan! When I joined here I've pretty much signed over my independence...anything related to financial matters, the Bank will need to give their OK before I can proceed! Imagine that!!

Anyways, we are almost there. Now comes EPF, etc.

Frenetic July

Crazy month for me...attending training and conferences on almost on a weekly basis, and now I have to get my ass off to Langkawi for 5 freaking days for on-boarding! Tried to get out of it for the last 6 months, but luck ran out and I have to go for orientation. Kesian my babies...have to leave them for 5 days!!!

Plus work is piling, along with papers to be presented to the management team...arrghh!!

Plus am having sleepless nights thinking of duit to buy the house! We really want to get this house, which is a much larger one than our place currently. It's a superlink, and it would be really great for us to settle here...the environment, house, schools for kids, etc. So, really stressed about the money for booking and DP, loan installments, renovation...sure lepas kalau beli nanti duit tarak nak renovate - not that we need to do much, but still the kitchen cabinets, grill, autogate, etc...arrrrrgggghhh!!! Why can't money grow on trees? I know where I work print money...hmmm may be they can just print extra for me...yaa, delusional!

So, just praying hard and InsyaAllah all goes well for us to say that this will be our new home :). If not I shall just revisit this entry and imagine what could have been...sigh...

My First Time

On Mother's day last month, I got my first ever Mother's day card. It was not a surprise to say the least. Izz actually told me he had a "surprise" for me, which was he was making a Mother's day car...duhh! I even actually had to prod him to school on Friday so that he can finish his card and bring it home.

Izz whining: I dont't waaannnnaa go to schoooollll...
Me: Don't you want to go and finish your surprise for me?
Izz whining: I dont't waaannnnaa go to schoooollll...
Me: But if you don't go to school, you can't finish your card.
Izz: Hisssshh!
Me: YOU ARE GOING TO SCHOOL!
Izz: Hissshhhh! Stomping away...

So, anyway I did get my card in the end. He gave it to me after I came back from work with a happy grin on his face coz he was giving me a "surprise" gift. See, people are right when they say Mothers know best!

On my way to becoming an "Isteri Mithali"

Remember my earlier post on diamonds? So you probably would have guessed that I am a real floozy (given my mis-adventures lately) chick who is shallow, and obsessed with diamonds...well, that still kinda sums me up.

Anyway, since Habs was having their mid-year sale (50% off storewide), yours truly was busy gallivanting to 3 different outlets in search of that elusive oval cut diamond ring (it was really that elusive!). Finally, tracked one down in BV, wic was the place where I first saw it...duhh!! So, we braved through the downpour on Sunday evening (2 kids+1 maid in tow), so that I can just "check" out the ring with no "outwardly" intention of buying.

DH actually liked the ring, but we agreed that even after the discount it was beyond our budget. So, he agreed that we can buy a round-cut diamond ring wic was more within our budget. I then reserved the ring with the intention to go back yesterday evening to pick it up. I was a very happy person, indeed!

Come yesterday, wic was a hard day at work and pretty much the thot of getting the ring kept me going, I went to BV again. But instead of picking up the ring I wanted, I got DH the Butang Baju Melayu that he saw and liked on Sunday. He definitely would never spend that much money on himself, and plus he needed to get his wife that ring kan?! So, I decided to surprise him with the BBM!


Awwww....isn't that sweet of me? I must say that this side of me very rarely comes out. But you know, I may not write much about DH, but he is really an awfully sweet guy (when he is not trying to "spin" stuff on you - he is one master "spinner"!), and I do love him to bits...again I don't say or show it often enough. So, he was extremely surprised when he saw the long jewelry box, instead of a small ring box (probably thinking what the f*%# she's gone and bought now?!), but the look on his face was priceless! He did say the usual crap la about I shouldn't have to spend that much, etc., but I knew he was thrilled!

So, all in all, I may not have gotten me the ring, but I sure did earn lotsa points, not only am I on the way of getting the ring again later on...and may be even the oval-cut one, but got me some cash for savings, points on being a good wifey, and made my DH a happy man and glad that he married me! Muahahaha!
DH's BBM Up-close - white swasa (7k gold wic Muslim Man can wear), with single a diamond surrounded by turquoise and smaller diamonds.

Something on my mind

Just needed to get this off my mind before I start work...yea right! Like I ever start doing work, kan?

Anyways, my MIL's maid ran away last Thursday night, and it just so happened that me and family were staying over then. So, when we found out (at least me and the kids, the rest knew that night itself) in the morning, Izz was quite upset about the maid running away. Not that he was especially close to her, but he was just confused coz he was hearing the discussion about her running away and stealing stuff from the house. Just before this the driver also quit over night, but not before stealing stuff as well. So, being 5, how do I explain to him why people do bad things?

Like this morning he asked me when Kak Ida (the runaway maid) is coming back, and I had to explain that when people ran away they don't come back coz they did something bad. I also had to explain why these people, who were close to us, stole stuff. Sigh...so very the difficult. When he watches CSI, etc. (yes I do let him watch CSI, but with certain reasons and logic wic I shall not explore...suffice to say he is well-balanced with Disney and AXN), I can easilly explain what happens and at the end of the day it's just acting. But when it's real life, and it's closer to home, how do I explain?

But it's interesting to see how a child's mind work, and whatever we do explain do sink it as I can see him relate it to different scenarios, or I hear him telling it like a story to other people. And he is not "judging", he just accepts the explanation. Let's hope our maid continues to do the good job she is doing (I am very well behaved with this maid - no yelling/scolding, etc.), and she doesn't disappoint him like these other people have.

BTW - I've been tagged by Lara. But will get to that later as I need to empty my bag...:p. Woo hoo more excuses not to do work!

Family Break

End of last month we took the kids to Kuantan on OUR OWN!! We always had my parents whenever we went on holidays to help cover with the kids. But this time they were on to us, and cleverly kept quiet when I told them we were gonna take the kids away to Kuantan. Guess they learned their lesson...I even tried to get Izz to convince his Mak Tok...but nope, she didn't fall for it!

Anyways, it still ended up being a good break...exhausting for the parents, but seeing the kids having a blast really made up for the exhaustion...or could it be the ring and pendant I got when we detoured to Habib Ampang...hmmm...

It took us 1 day to kinda recover from the shock of having to fully care and feed the kids on our own coz the first night when the kids went to bed at 9, so did we! But our second night was good...we spent it hanging out on the patio, and we just talked for a couple of hours! This is what I've been telling DH...we may not get to go for the romantic holidays just two of us (not that we did that often before we had kids), but it's just that our lives now have evolved, and we need to adjust to that life. We chose it so we need to make it work. There is really no point in comparing what we had vs. what we have...we'll always be disappointed, kan!? It's all about managing expectations.

I guess it also helped that we are not like the typical couple that go away on our own all the time. I think the only time we went away the two of us was for our honeymoon. Other times we went away with his family or my family. I've always preferred holidaying with people as opposed just the two of us....more fun that way. Think he agrees with me, but makes a big deal about no personal time just to test me :-P

But he knew what I was like when he married me...I am not one for romance, etc. Kan aku ni minah kering! Anyways, we've had our trial, and if I may say so myself, we passed brilliantly! So in Sept, we may do a short break in Genting, and next year hopefully BALI, baby!!

Confessions of a Psycho-Mom

I have a guilty conscience to clear...I need to be a much more patient and better parent! My eldest boy is becoming soooo difficult to handle...fussy eater, tunes me out (wic I deserve I think), and is driving me up the wall, and he IS 5!!!

I know I need to be more patient and find better ways of reaching out to him as opposed to always picking on him and yelling at him...but my patience is 0 to none!

In my prayers I do ask God to make me more patient and a better mom, and to have the strength and capability to guide my children well. I just don't want to drive them away. When I get into my psycho-mom mode, it's almost like an out-of-body experience and I hate seeing what I am doing. And when I realize what I am doing I would stop, and I think my kid gets so confused seeing his mom all weird-out!

But sometimes it's just so hard to stop myself...I dunno as I am getting older I becoming a person that I don't recognize anymore...I am so anal, and nit picky, and I hate myself for being this way.

I need to learn how to stop before I become someone I don't know or even like anymore. What does this say of me as a mom, and a Muslim? I so hope that self realization is the path of becoming a better person, if not I am so fucked! And worse my kids will be so screwed!

Things that Kids do to Themselves. Sigh...

Izz Faris really got himself into a fix over the weekend. He went and put a polystyrene bean (from the bean bag) into his ear! The thing is we don't even know how long that bean has been in his ear! I guess things happen for a reason...here I was cursing that he caught flu again after 2 weeks, but if he hadn't gotten sick the paediatrician wouldn't have had to check his ear and found that stupid bean!

It's these little things that on the surface you think nothing of, but when you actually think about it you get some clues that some things are not just pure coincidences. There is a greater plan that we are not privy of but at times you get some glimpses of it...if you pay attention.

So, now after much yelling and screaming (he was not crying but screaming!), he is alright, and we have cool story to tell for the rest of his life. But he'll pretty much tell everyone that his 1 yr old brother stuffed that bean into his ear!

Gen Z?!

The new generation of Malaysians. This video was done by my baby SIL and her classmates. I really can't imagine what the world will be like when Izz and Rayhan are grown up. Even now, I see how my SIL and her peers are soo different in their thinking, and how the world of technology has created such an influence and redefined our culture.

It is also interesting how people have so moved on to using "artificial" way of demonstrating creativity...but that in itself is a form of creativity isn't it? Just amazing how far we've all come, and large the generation gap will continue to become.

Vegging Out the Holidays

I've been holiday since Friday afternoon. We are having one of our last few long public holidays for 2007. After this there will be blackout of public holidays till May coz most of the day offs will fall on a Saturday, and we don't work on Saturdays. What also sucks is that these Saturday public holidays will not be captured in our annual leave nor will we get replacement leave. But I guess I shouln't complain coz I do get 26 days a year of annual leave which is much higher than normal, and if we include more replacement leaves there will be no way for me to use up all the leave.

So what do we do during these days? Pretty much vegging out at home in front of the TV especially when Izz has been sick for the last couple of days. If not vegging in front of the TV, we are out at the shopping malls spending money. Actually when we think about it there really isn't much outdoor stuff we can do in KL. There are the parks we can visit I suppose, but only if you want to weather the weather. Like when we went to the birdpark...I have never walked so much, and because of the trees the humidity was just crazy...I was completely drenched! There is no beach in KL. The nearest is PD, which pretty much is a sorry excuse for a beach. It probably is much better than before, but still very far from the pristine beaches of the East Coast states.

It takes a lot more effort to do the "natural" stuff here in KL, effort which Ash and I are too damn lazy to take. Plus we are so not the nature people - can't ever imagine taking a hike in the jungle or going to the waterfalls. Which leaves me with the wonderful world of ASTRO where I can take advantage of the Discovery and NGEO...so I guess there will be benefits of vegging out in front of TV. Who says TV is bad for you?!

Family Time

We actually had family time doing the touristy stuff - we went to the bird park and Aquaria! You know since we had kids, our lives have become less of "us/me." I know my Ashran always tries to ask me to focus on "us/me" but it is difficult. I am always feeling guilty or torn. I don't spend enough time with my kids, and when I do have the time they will always come first, Ashran second and me last.

This quality time crap really sucks! By having that concept it has just taken out aspects of "us/me-time". You only have a finite number of hours in a day, days in a week, weeks in year...and next thing you know kids have grown up, people have moved on, and then you'll wonder where you are at!?

I have to say that I am very lucky because I have strong family support where the kids will get attention from their aunties, uncles and grandparents...but it still doesn't alleviate my guilt, and what's worse now I have to compete with these folks for the attention from my kids. Talk about being confused - you are appreciative but you are also resentful!

There has to be a better way of being able to manage this thing of being a mom, career person and wife! I can't always be trying to squeeze some of "me/our-time" when I do stuff with my kids. I guess at the end of the day, you just have to make the hard decisions that you need to split yourselves, and make certain sacrifices because you have chosen this life and this path. I guess I just have to have faith and persevere that there is a bigger plan for me, and my path is not ending here.