#EivieSays : Episode 2

"Mommy. This is a cow. I like cow."

"Good job, Eivie."

"Yes, I like cow, I don't like hantu."

Ok, baby, whatever makes you happy. 

#EivieSays : Episode 1

"Mommy, apa ini (while touching)?"

"Breasts."

"Eivie tak de pun."

"Eivie 15 years old nanti, Eivie ada la."

"Papa ada?"

"Papa tak de, because he is a boy."

"Boy tak de ini (while again touching)"

"Tak de."

"Nanti suruh mama dia beli."

Terbang Selesa dan Bergaya

We booked flight tickets 4 months in advance but not during any kind of promotion. Tiba-tiba terdetik, bincang bincang bincang bincang, check sana check sini, banding sana banding sini, pap! Beli tiket MAS. Sebab harga tak jauh dengan Air Asia. Travelling with friends meaning the cost that I had to fork out was all for myself. Lalu boleh la nak bagi can tiket mahal sikit. Bersedap-sedap sikit naik MAS.

A few months before our travelling date, I received an email from MAS; a chance for an upgrade promo. The concept was simple : You'd be given a price range, chose your preferred bidding price and submitted. You'd be contacted if you won the bid. Wining the bid meant getting upgraded to business class seats. Sounded fun. It got more interesting knowing that our bidding could start as low as RM50 up to several hundreds ringgit. Of course we bid for the lowest; RM50. Kalau dapat, maknanya kami bakal mendapat pengalaman menaiki kapal terbang dalam kelas perniagaan (and of course in style!) dengan hanya RM50. Keyed-in my credit card particulars, I'd only be charged if we won the bid. Bismillah, finger-crossed.

1-2 weeks later I received a message that my credit card was charged with RM150 by MAS. And that meant, 

WE WON THE BID!

For both inbound and outbound trips.

Yiiiiiihah! It was not my first time since I'd got upgraded for free for my flight to KK around 8-9 years back. But it was a 6 a.m flight, I was extremely sleepy and I did not know that I could request for as much ice cream as I wanted. Rugi betul 2 jam 45 minit perjalanan.

And this time I determined to enjoy each and every second of my business class experience. Even though it was just around 1 hour flight, please don't disturb me while I'm relishing my precious moment of winning an RM50 bid. Aaaaaaaaahh.....

Lambang kegembiraan (1)

Lambang kegembiraan (2)

Memang seronok dapat terbang dalam kelas perniagaan. Memang berbeza dengan kelas ekonomi. Namun yang tak seronoknya adalah :

1) penerbangan hanyalah 1 jam

2) makanan sedap, tapi perlu dimakan dalam masa 1 jam

3) banyak movie dan rancangan menarik, tapi kau hanya ada 1 jam!

4) ada bantal, selimut segala tapi kau tak sempat nak buka plastik pun kerana penerbangan hanyalah 1 freaking jam!

5) Hanya dapat lepak di Golden Lounge sekejap je, sebab flight jam 7.45 pagi, gerak dari rumah pukul 5 pun dah rasa rabak mata aku.

Ni je sempat dinikmati di Golden Lounge.

Sadis! Tapi memang seronok dan kelakar juga. I ignored those 2 most of the time, they are my BFFL, I love them dearly but I was busy ok. I tried to finish everything on my tray, tapau-ed those that were still packed. I previously had watched Malificient halfway and hey they had it on board and I was determined to finish watching this movie before we arrived (and I did!). Busy busy busy. 

Actually, I managed to finish all and even continued with the new X-Men sebab tanpa dijangka, our landing was delayed for almost 1 hour due to unpermitted weather. Damn it. Buat penat je aku kalut-kalut makan, kalut-kalut forwardkan part dalam Malificient yang bosan-bosan sikit. Kalau tahu awal, boleh minta makan macam-macam lagi. Eh, I bayar RM50, ok! Biarlah!

Tapi masa flight balik aku relaks sikit la. Dah faham, kata orang. Tapi tak sempat nak enjoy Golden Lounge, sebab Golden Lounge at Krabi Airport can only be accessed before you checked-in.

Above all, kalau saya berduit, memang saya akan menaiki penerbangan kelas perniagaan dan lebih manis jika pengalaman ini dapat dikongsi dengan suami, anak-anak, mak dan mak bapak mertua.

Ini mungkin Ishah punya.

In confirm aku punya. Flight pergi.

Ini mungkin Fatma punya.

Ini confirm aku punya, flight balik. Sedap weh!

Ini mungkin Fatma punya. Lupa weh!

A ah. Gambar makanan je sempat ambil. Tu pun sebelum makan. Kan I dah kata I busy! Hish!

Layanan Pelanggan

I know exactly how Secret Recipe's Grilled Mushroom Chicken tastes like. It's one of my fave's dish at Secret Recipe (not necessarily that we visit SR all the time). But I know and I believe that I still remember how it tastes like. I agree that this dish has undergone quite several evolution but the taste doesn't really change much. Kalau bertukar rasa sangat, baik ditukarkan namanya terus.

Last Tuesday I ordered for one. After for quite a few months.

A plate of Grilled Mushroom Chicken arrived me 5-10 mins later. The dish didn't look quite presentable, but it's ok. I had my first spoon.

The herbal rice was ok, I'd yet tasted the chicken but the gravy tasted wring. It was salty, sticky, soury, anything but nice. May be again this dish had 'evolved' and I didn't know about it or may be I'm simply getting older. But it was not edible at all. I chose not to proceed with another spoon and called the waiter instead.

I asked him to taste it. I said, "Masam lah, tak boleh makan." And he responded, "Mushroom, memang lah masam." My blood started to simmer.

He brought the plate back to the kitchen and I waited for several minutes.

He came back to me, "So macam mana?" I said, I wanted to order a different dish while he continued,

"Kita orang rasa kat belakang tadi, ok je. Banyak je kita orang makan."

"Tak kisah lah, itu you all rasa, tapi I rasa masam. Bukan I tak pernah makan."

"Mengandung ke?'

That's it. My blood boiled. I handed him back the menu and did not proceed with any order. Tak payahlah, I said.

Apa lah yang susah sangat nak menjadi pekerja yang baik? Or even seorang individu yang baik? I did ask you politely, did I? Did I yell at you? No. So what's your problem? It was perhaps a late lunch session, you were perhaps tired but that kind of attitude was never tolerable. Kalau aku jadi owner kedai, memang dah kena sekolah mamat ni. Customers are paying more than RM15 per meal added with 10% of service tax, yet what kind of service are you giving? Kalau service macam ni baik aku bayar dengan penampar je. And it is sad to say this kind of attitude among servers are common in Malaysia.

Good thing was, I did not pay. Berani la kalau diaorg nak suruh aku bayar. I might look petite but I'm not easily intimidated.

Ok, perhaps I'm easily intimidated with frogs, lizards, but that is a totally different story.

Which Parent Are You?

Bila ada anak-anak kecil, eating is all about putting food in your mouth, chewing and swallowing, while avoiding to get choked. Dah tiada zaman kau mengamati butiran nasi, menghirup sup sambil memikirkan kurang garamkah terlebih ajinomoto kah, mengirai helaian mee sambil menghembus-hembusnya supaya lekas sejuk. It's all about speed and precision. Ha ha.

Eating out without opah and atuk equals to eating out without iPad or tab. No gadget but papers, pens and pencils. Kalau terlupa bawak, pinjam kat kedai. Kalau tak de juga, ha lantak sana. Hadap je apa yang ada. Tu pun hanya boleh menabahkan budak berdua ni selama hmmm... tak lebih dari 15 minit. Selebihnya sama ada papa makan dulu atau mommy makan dulu. Our standard faham-faham sendiri practice is papa will eat first while mommy looks after the kids.

Ini dua orang perut sudah kenyang, lalu yang belakang sekali itu boleh makan dengan tenang.

And I actually like this arrangement. One of the perks is I can take my own sweet time finishing my meal. Kunyah halus-halus, telan perlahan-lahan, teguk air tanpa sedak. But the cons are my food will be cold when my turn finally comes and sometimes I don't even get the chance to eat my food because the kids prefer mine than theirs and I have to eat their food. But it's ok. Janji aku kenyang.

Seronok kot akhirnya dapat makan. Muka buruk pun, buruk lah.

Dah tua ni aku makan asalkan kenyang dan tidak memudaratkan. Haha. Jika mahu bersenang-senang waktu makan, kami akan makan berdua sahaja.

So, which parent are you?

Anak Mak Dah Besar : Part 3

I used to have the phase of my-ambition-is-to-be-a-perfect-mom when we only had Eirsa around. When things get emotionally beyond control, I also have this moment that I always regret; yelling at my kids. I regret it because I know, when the syaiton takes control over my emotion, the yelling is basically to satisfy my anger and it's no longer about the kids' behavior. It hits me even harder thinking what have I contributed to the kids' development when yelling is totally a no-no? Ya Allah, please grant me patience, O Allah you are the best Protector of my heart.

And as I grow up as a mother (5+ years into motherhood now) I learn that motherhood/parenthood is about knowing the right things for your child, doing the best as a parent and the rest is to go with the flow and to leave it to Allah. You can never control everything. Every phase of your child(ren) development is different, this method is effective now but not later. That method is effective with your 1st child but not with others. Really, the kids are learning, so are we.

Throughout the time we learn that it's the voice tone and consistency in our actions are the best and the most workable for both our girls. If we don't want Eirsa to do certain thing, we state it in a firm voice tone and the stand has to be consistent every single time. And. The stand has to also be applicable to Eivie too, even though she's still too young. Really. This has to be done to portray our seriosness and fairness. For instance, if Eirsa needs to pick up her toys, then Eivie has to do the same too. No age selection. She'll get the same punishment if she doesn't want to do as per 'rule' says. For instance, if she refuses to pick up her toys and will I refuse to bancuh her milk. I'll stand up there for 5 good mins waiting her to pick her toys until finally she does. No mercy man, no mercy. It's not some kind of if you want me something from me, you have to do as I said. No. It's more like I've aksed her to pick up her toys but she refuses and stubbornly sticks to her decision. Later she wants something from me (for instance, susu) and now baby, you'll see who's the boss. Pick it up or no susu. Ha. Lebih kurang macam tu.

And don't forget to reward them with good words like thank you, good job and if the financial and time is right, bawa pergi makan di kedai and some toys. It's motivating and they'll feel appreciated. It's just that mind the fine line between rewarding and bribing.

With Eirsa, she's a good follower. May be she's not when she's younger especially during 'trouble two' but she rarely spoke those days. She mumbled. Hence we did not know exactly her response in the form of words when she disagreed. She would just cry or throw things or mengamuk. At the age of 5 now, it's easier to talk to her and for her to follow our instructions and rules. Even though sometimes her actions are accompanied by tears. But she gets things done. Well done.

With Eivie, it's a different case altogether. Because she knows how to respond back in word and she knows how to manipulate too, even at the age of two. She will eventually grumpily follow, but she will still want to project her dissatisfaction. She will always have to say something. And usually it's funny because she'll unintentionally do it in a very cute way. And I have to tahan gelak or tahan senyum; not to spoil the important teaching moment.

And many times, once she finally gets what she wants after having to go through the correct things that I ask her to do, she'll say,

"I don't want to friend you forever."

or

"I don't like you (pointing at me), you (pointing at papa), you (pointing at Eirsa). And you also (pointing at opah)."

Nak tahan gelak is always a struggle with this mini-me weh!

Solat pandai, menjawab pun pandai, ini orang

One Of The Flaws

Mine (well, at least according to this quiz) :

How about you?

Anak Mak Dah Besar : Part 2

During a site visit

The kids passed by 1Utama Shopping Center twice a day; while on the way to and fro their preschool.

I'm on duty as their supir throughout this week. And every time we passed by this building, Eirsa will say, "Asyik tak pergi Oh An Eee je, Asyik tak pergi Oh An Eee je..." Oh An Eee is for ONE which is referring to 1Utama. And every single time I'll also explain that you cannot go there everyday, you have to have money to go there, you cannot go there by yourself because mommy and papa have to work, if you go there everyday you'll get bored, yada yada yada. Explain, not bebel. They have got the chance to go to 1Utama once in while, we don't really bring kids to shopping centers often.

And yesterday while passing by 1Utama,

When Eirsa is 8 years old, Eirsa dah big, I want to go to Oh An Eee by my self.

And how do you want to go there? By bus?

Mommy gives Eirsa telephone, then I'll call mommy when Eirsa kat Oh An Eee la. Then mommy come and take Eirsa la.

Where do you get a telephone? You have to buy your own telephone first.

Hmmm... I wonder where she gets this idea in the first place.

How Anti-Social You Really Are?

My result :

So, how anti-social you really are?

Anak Mak Dah Besar; Fizikal, Mental dan Emosi.

Eirsa is at the phase where she can easily feel ignored and thus feel like everybody loves Eivie more.

It breaks my heart every time she comes to me saying that this person only plays with Eivie, this person only gets angry at her while both of Eirsa and Eivie fight, this person doesn't say 'good job' to her but rather to Eivie only. I will always give her a big long hug every time she comes to me, teary, together with explanation and words of encouragement, of course.

* * *

As as child, one of the worst memories that I had was to feel less loved by my father. I was quite frequently told by some of my aunties that my father loved my elder sister more than me. I did not know the reason though. I made me very sad, even though my father was no longer staying with us since I was 5 (I guess). It broke my heart every time when my sister and I fought, it triggered that I would be punished more because I was the less-loved child.

Thankfully, mak treated us all five equally. No more no less. That always gave me the strength that I was not always ignored. At least there's a person in this world loved me unconditionally.

* * *

And when Eirsa feels the same, it is totally relatable. It's my responsibility to ensure her that, no baby, we love you both equally, at least mommy and papa do. In fact we have loved you more for 3 years, when Eivie wasn't around (yet). The feeling of being ignored shall never bring you down, because you have to know that we are always here for you. Don't let others make you feel any less, because you don't deserve to. And above all, Allah loves you.

And yes, I know this is one of her development and learning processes, thus I'm determined to make the best for her.

On a more relieving note, Eirsa dah sangat boleh diharap sekarang! She helps a lot to take care of Eivie when I'm busy doing the house chores (less yelling, screaming and fighting episodes too), she helps to attend to Eivie's needs at the backseat while we are on the move, she helps cleaning up after playing (not perfectly done and sometimes with bebelan when Eivie doesn't cooperate, but still) and anything that I request her to. Anything that she can do by herself she will. Mandi sendiri, buang air kecil dan besar, beristinja' semua sendiri. Alhamdulillah. Lega sikit. Terima kasih, Eirsa!

Anak sulung dah besar. Anak kecil pun mengaku diri sudah besar padahal berak masih dicebok orang.
Dua-dua pun saya sayang sama rata.

A Quick, Needed, Relaxing Getaway

So we went to Krabi, just the three of us girls.

Wah, cara aku cakap macam tak berperasaan, padahal this is one of the highly anticipated things that we are looking forward since months!

SO YEAH WE FINALLY MANAGED TO HAVE A GETAWAY AND THIS TIME TO KRABI!! YAHUUU!!

Gambar wajib kot, kalau tak buat "berdosa".

From year to year from one baby delivery to another baby delivery, we still did not manage to repeat our vacation, just the three of us, for years. And several months before, tak de nak tunggu promo or what not, check je harga flight mana yang paling reasonable, book and all set. No turning back! Pepandai lah kau nak curi cuti ke, curi tulang ke, kalau tak dapat pergi jugak, halal je la flight tickets tu. Tapi alhamdulillah, despite personal things that each of us were going through, we managed to realize this escapade.

I plan to break the story into several episodes, kalau aku nak himpunkan, memang lah namanya lagi lima tahun baru siap. Tu pun kalau hidup lagi.

So I consider this post as an introduction : Ana, Fatma dan Ishah telah berjaya bercuti ke Krabi pada 25 - 27 October 2014 and the trip was not just successful but was so memorable and appreciated and we shall do this again (if not soon) girls! Gambar semua tak transfer apa lagi, walhal dalam hati begitu membuak-buak benda yang hendak diceritakan. Laters.

Annual Concert 2014

Dan hari itu, yang hari-hari direngek untuk memakai sepatu hitam baru dan berbedak bergincu seperti mommy, pun tiba. Malamnya semua dikerah untuk tidur awal seperti hari-hari bukan hujung minggu, supaya semua dapat bangun awal dan bersiap dengan tidak tergesa-gesa. Lokasi konsert tidaklah jauh tetapi siapakan tahu apa yang bakal menanti di tengah dan tepian jalan. It turned out to be true. Ada pula jalan yang ditutup, menjadikan beberapa jalan hanya boleh dilalui dengan satu arah sahaja. Lokasi konsert yang tidak familiar juga menyebabkan ramai ibu bapa yang tersangkut dan menjadikan konsert hanya bermula 45 minit dari masa yang dijadualkan. Makanya, kami yang sampai tepat jam 11.45 pagi ini, perlu menunggu sehingga jam 2.00 petang baru acara bermula.

Eh. Cepat sangat pula bercerita engkau ini, tahu-tahu dah sampai ke lokasi konsert. Haha.

Pagi itu. Opah tolong masakkan nasik lemak, bekal perut anak cucu supaya tak lapar sehingga nak menyampai penyudah konsert. Konsert dijadualkan pada jam 12.30 tengahari hingga 3.00 petang. Mommy bawa juga bekal pisang sebiji dua, walaupun anak-anak akan disediakan snek ringan oleh cikgu-cikgu, tapi perut mak pun sama manja tak boleh lapar. Mau migrain karang kalau makan lambat.

Menyiapkan anak-anak pun mudah, lancar saja. Walaupun nak mengenakan gincu pada bibir Eivie ya Allah, kelakar betul. Orang suruh buat aaaaaa dia buat aaaooooaaooooo. Bibir dah la kecil, main calit je lah mana yang dapat. Puji je cantik cantik very nice very nice dia terus ok. Lipstick mak kau pulak ada warna cair-cair je, dah nak habis pula. Terpaksa pinjam lipstick Opah sikit. 

The assembles. Semua costumes, sekolah sediakan, Kasut dan stokin sahaja mak pak kena sediakan.

Orang yang tak berapa pandai pakai gincu, memakaikan orang lain memakai gincu. Lantak.

Pukul 11.10 begitu, bergerak lah kami ke lokasi konsert. Dalam kereta kena pastikan Eivie tak tidur. Kalau dia dah tidur dan disuruh bangun, ada potensi menjadi amukan sebab tak cukup. Mood Eivie adalah salah satu perkara yang perlu dijaga pada hari itu. Kalau tak, mungkin ada kejadian meraung di atas pentas. 

Sampai-sampai je dah hampir 11.45 pagi; yakni masa yang tertulis dalam guidelines untuk parent hantar anak-anak ke belakang pentas sebagai persediaan. Melihatkan tak ramai parents yang datang, mak budak-budak ni pun ambil kesempatan untuk buat final touch up. Tahu sajalah kalau dah keluar dari kereta, baju, seluat, skirt, rambut, semua senget. Tudung mak pun senget, sikit.

Dan kemudian berduyun-duyun lah kami ke belakang pentas, menghantar budak-budak. Masih kelihatannya cikgu-cikgu semua sedang sibuk membuat persiapan. Khabarnya telah dijadualkan pada hari yang sama adalah hari untuk konsert oleh beberapa cawangan yang lain juga. Cawangan sekolah budak-budak ni mungkin yang kedua atau ketiga. Perlu ambil giliran untuk membuat persiapan.

Dan apa lagi, sementara menemankan budak-budak di belakang pentas, mak bapak pun buat lah beberapa perkara yang perlu.

A ah. Perlu SANGAT aktiviti bergambar di belakang pentas macam ni. Kakakaka.

To the advantage to get Eivie to familiarize with the stage. At this point I had the feeling that she would not create any scene during her performance slot. 

Dan kemudian kami beralih ke tempat penonton, meninggalkan kanak-kanak berdua ini.

Menanti menanti menanti menanti menanti. Risau juga hati kalau budak-budak ni tak senang dan bosan menunggu lama. Bosan -> tak de mood -> tak mahu menyertai pesembahan. Kasihan cikgu dah buat segala persiapan. Crossing our fingers dan akhirnya konsert pun bermula.

Dimulakan dengan Eivie. Ramai yang tak sabar nak menantikan persembahan oleh Eivie ni, haaa.. 

I did say that she won't create any scene while performing, right? Yes, she didn't! Alhamdulillah. But it's just too literally that she did not do anything at all but just standing!

Tu, yang paling kanan, yang could not bother much.

My poor little baby!

And here's the video, capture by her Uncle Pi. You can watch up until the end of the performance, but she would still remain the same; standstill.

Ya Allah! Kesian pun ada, kelakar pun ada. She's still not even 3 years old, these whole things about getting on the stage and performing and getting big clapped from the audience, might scare her. That's what I was afraid about. Dia tak nak dance tu aku tak kisah, she'd always act depend on her mood. Tapi tu la, I didn't want this to contribute to her list of bad experiences thus affect her mental and emotion development. I hoped not. I might be all dramatic and exaggerating but yeah, that's what mothers do.

Another good thing was that she did not cry until end of the performance. Tapi masa aku jemput dia di belakang stage, mata ada bergenang air sedikit la. Hugged her tight and told her she did a good job and everything was going to be ok and mommy's here baby! Air mata aku pun bergenang sikit (mengada). Teachers were all fine about she didn't dance. What did you expect, kan. She was the youngest. Dia nak naik dan tercegat atas stage tu pon dah cukup baik. Daripada dia lari ke bawah mendapakan mak dia.

Got back to our seats, and waited for Eirsa's performance slot; 4 slots away from Eivie's. When we asked her why she did not dance. She simply said, "I don't want." Rasanya ok lah jawapannya begini, daripada katanya takut ke, I want mommy ke ye dak? Too cool, baby, Too cool.

In the meanwhile, captured and gave big claps to other participants too, they did great job at this young age.

And there came my Eirsa. YOU CAN DO IT, BABY! Biasalah, mak bapak over. Lantak.

Menjadi lumrah, tak senang duduk mak bapak budak tengok anak masing-masing nak perform. But I quite disagreed with the choreography; berderet budak-budak berbaris ke belakang. Anak-anak yang di belakang tu tak berapa nampak, until they did some formations. Dapat lah nampak sikit. Mungkin disebabkan anak aku kena letak kat belakang, aku bising lah sikit ye dak. Cuba cikgu letak anak aku kat depan, tak de la pulak complain. Eh. Tak juga. I believed the teacher could better on kids placement during the show since they knew well that mak bapak mesti mesti MESTI nak tengok anak masing-masing masa buat persembahan. So, kalau dibariskan anak-anak tu di selebar-lebar stage, lagi bagus. Tak pe lah, I hoped they would improve in this segment. The teachers had done a great job organizing this event pon, kan.

Still, I was glad she did enjoy herself during the performance. Kami duduk di depan sekali, ada potensi budak ni tak nak perform bila nampak mak bapak opah and adik dia kat depan. But nah. She's so composed and so determined to entertain us. 

Ini yang dah penghabisan. Before they took a bow.

Semangat weh berjoget. Kadang-kadang dia akan memandang ke hadapan mencari kami dan kami terkinja-kinja melambai kembali.

And the video. Eirsa yang di kumpulan belakang, kanan. Rambut paling pendek, goyang paling comel. "We are so proud of you, baby! Weeeeewit!!" Pada hampir pengakhiran video, kelihatan Eirsa tersimpul simpul senyum nya sambil melambai pada kami. Yeah! Keberanian seperti ini yang kami mahukan! Go baby, go! (Tak sudah-sudah over nya mak bapak)

Dan acara kemuncak tahunan ini diakhiri dengan majlis penyampaian sijil kepada murid enam tahun dan majlis sukaria (read : berlari, melompat, menjerit, menyanyi, dan juga tidur, seperti Eivie) oleh murid-murid lain di bawah pentas.

Graduation ceremony.

Sementara menunggu habis majlis graduasi.

Eirsa and Ibrahim Shabin.

Alhamdulillah. Settle satu benda penting untuk tahun ini. Matlamat tercapai bilamana anak-anak gembira (dan sorang tak berapa nak endah) dan memperoleh pengalaman baru yang menyumbang kepada perkembangan menttal, emosi, rohani dan jasmani (amboi). Eivie's participation is more than sufficient for her at this age, bak kata Papanya at least she participated and had got to wear cute costumes too. InshaAllah, tahun hadapan ada lagi dengan Eirsa sendiri yang akan menyertai majlis graduasi. Bagaimanakah chaotic nya? Sama-sama kita nanti!

Pemalsuan

Rabu lepas. Usai waktu pejabat.

Sedang aku berbaring-baring, langsung tak de buat sebarang pembelian secara atas talian, sekadar bermain Sudoku. Tiba-tiba dapat message dari bank :

"Your code is sekian-sekian for online transaction at website-sekian-sekian of USD205. Your code will expire in 4 mins."

Sejurus selepas itu, masuk lagi satu message dari bank :

"TQ for using your card ending sekian-sekian for USD8.56 at Antique Inn bla-bla-bla. For enquiry, call number at the back of your card."

Pulak. Bila masa aku yang tengah berbaring-baring ni sempat nak membeli-beli? Credit card pun tak de dalam tangan, semua dalam wallet, dalam bag, semuanya di bawah. Takkan aku membeli belah dalam separa sedar? Dalam hati? Membeli belah dengan niat sahaja sudah dimakbulkan Tuhan? Cannot be!

Website beli-belah tu pun sangat tak familiar, tak pernah kukunjung, tak pernah kutahu. Hati mula dilanda debar.

Papa pula pada masa itu tengah membentangkan pasal solution untuk aircond di rumah baru. Makin lama makin menjadi angin lalu suara Papa; dah tak berapa dengar di telinga dok memikirkan "Ada orang fraud-kan credit card aku ke? Damn it!"

Aku kerat sekejap semangat Papa yang sedang berkobar dalam pembentangannya itu, aku tunjukkan sms nan dua. Sah, sms dari bank tapi pembelian bukan oleh pemilik kad. Bukan aku yang membeli. Aku tidak bermimpi membeli! Aku tidak berhalusinasi! Aku tidak membuat pembelian itu, muktamad!

Segera aku telefon bank. Memang pasti ada transaksi baru berlaku, dan ianya bukan oleh aku. Kad kredit telah dimatikan serta merta. Kad baru akan di hantar kemudian. Refund untuk pembelian secara fraud akan diuruskan dengan aku perlu mengisi borang.

Pheewww! Nasib baik cepat! Nasib baik nilai fraud cuma sedikit! Pembelian USD205 tu tak lepas, sebab code dapat kat aku. Hanya lepas USD8.56 sahaja, pembelian ini mungkin menggunakan system yang tidak memerlukan code Syukur. Minimal damage.

Bersembang dengan Papa, celah mana dapat di-fraudkan kad aku itu? Dah lama juga tak buat transaksi kad kredit secara perlu memasukkan nombor kat dan nombor sekuriti kad kerana lebih mudah membuat bayaran melalui Paypal. Ada kemungkinan juga masa membuat pembelian atas talian yang lepas-lepas. Tapi dah lama kot, baru sekarang dapat detect detail kad aku? Atau fraud semasa aku buat bayaran di kedai dan ada mangkuk ambil detail kad kredit. Entah lah. Tapi bukan main lagi pembelian kau ye, dalam USD sahaja!

Lalu sentiasalah berhati-hati dengan pembelian secara online juga ketika membuat pembayaran di kedai menggunakan kad kredit. Gunakan hanya system pembayaran yang selamat, seperti yang memerlukan code untuk meneruskan proses pembayaran. Kalau bayar di kedai pula, pastikan kad kredit sentiasa di depan mata kita. Mungkin perlu membuat bayaran dengan sendiri bangun dan pergi menyerahkan kad di cashier, bukan melalui waiter. Mungkin.

Selamat berhati-hati.

Pre-Concert Photos

Eirsa and Eivie's first school concert ever is scheduled this coming Oct 12th. Prior to the concert, they have weeks of practices, rehearsals and also some photography sessions. Eirsa's practice sessions were usually extended even when she reached home, even when she's taking a shower. Ya. Sunggu bersemangat. Eivie on the other hand, ikut mood. Kadang sama terkinja, kadang dia buat dek je.

For pre-concert photography session, the school hired a professional team and parents will be given samples and a form and we can opt to buy our children photos 2-3 days prior to the concert. Of course we would, lebih lebih lagi dengan gambar-gambar yang sebegini menghiburkan :

Eirsa
Oh my darling! Oh my darling! She's all grown up! Look at her all looking so sweet and very good at posing! Great at singing and dancing too! Kiss hug kiss hug kiss hug, never fail to make me proud.

Eivie
And this person. This person. Even now I'm laughing ROTF (not literally, of couse) when looking at this photo! Surely she's very adorable, good at singing and dancing, but why so serious? Kahkahkahkah!

Will send the kids to their respective teachers latest by 11.45am on Sunday and we will only able to pick them up after the concert ends. The teachers strongly advise (warn?) that parents should not interfere during the preparations, we believe to avoid chaos. You know budak-budak, kalau dah nampak mak bapak, apa pun tak boleh. Masa tu lah nak menangis, masa tu lah nak terkencing, masa tu lah nak terberak, masa tu lah lapar. But when parents are not around, semua pun boleh. So let them be. Pandai lah teachers uruskan.

We choose to put our expectation low during their upcoming concert. Both ada hangin dan mood masing-masing, with Eirsa is expected to be behaving well but Eivie tu aku doakan supaya tidak menyusahkan teachers sudah. Haha. Janji dia nak naik atas stage dan tak nangis, syukur sudah. I do hope they have good time and it's going to be a valuable experience and memory for them. InshaAllah.

Status Kemajuan

Bukan tak nak cerita pasal progress rumah baru, tapi aku tak pandai nak bercerita pasal projek ni. Latest progress : renovation is still ongoing. Ada kerja, kontraktor buat dengan bagus. Ada bahagian, kena tegur untuk dibetulkan. Ada perkara kena tegur, marah, gaduh, baru dia nak betulkan. Kalau kami boleh buat sendiri, memang kami dah buat. Tapi sebab memang kena harapkan kontraktor buat, hadapkan je lah, janji kerja jalan.

Bila nak siap? Mungkin bulan Nov 2014. InshaAllah... Amiin ya Rabbal 'Alamiiin. Harapnya tak lewat sangat. Bukan sebab dah tergesa nak masuk rumah baru, tapi kalau siap cepat, cepat berlapang dada. Tak de la terjaga malam pun susah nak lelap dok memikirkan hal rumah baru. Bukan apa. Dah banyak duit diperuntukkan untuk rumah baru, lalu hasilnya perlulah paling dekat dengan terbaik. Bukanlah berhabis-habisan sehingga kering kocek, tapi perkara-perakara yang perlu, inshaAllah sudah diperuntukan duitnya. Kalau ada yang tak dapat terlaksana pun, biarlah seminima mungkin. Benda-benda penting seperti tambahan power points, tambahan lampu kipas, nak pecah itu, nak pecah ini, nak cat itu, nak cat ini, nak pasang air-cond, nak tanam wayar astro tu semua, kalau rasa akan perlu biarpun 5 tahun lagi, buat sekarang. Bak kata Papa, jangan sampai menyesal. Benda-benda loose seperti perabot, barang elektrik tu kami anggap secondary. Memang lah selagi boleh nak beli, selagi muat budget. Tapi dahulukan benda yang akau cakap 'jangan sampai menyesal' tadi. Letih nak taip semula.

Dah settle semua ni nanti, aku plan nak pergi bercuti, sebab nak meraikan. Hahahaha. Bukankah sepatutnya duduk di rumah baru sepuas-puasnya baru pergi bercuti lah setelah penat mengerjakanya? Nak bikin rumah baru menjadi seakan sebuah resort, masih belum tergapai lagi tahap kewangan. Jika tidak, hari-hari boleh rasa seperti bercuti. Balik kerja bukan pulang ke rumah, tapi pulang ke hotel. Gitu. Eh. Tapi tak juga, kalau dah duduk di rumah ala resort lapan bintang sekalipun, tapi kau juga lah yang kena berkemas, kau juga lah yang kena membasuh pakaian, kau jugalah yang perlu menguruskan semua, bercuti apakah itu? My ideal idea of a holiday is to stop doing all the chores and to just relax with my family.

Eh, kenapa dari hal rumah beralih ke hal cuti? Ya Allah, mudah terpesong sungguh! Kahkahkah.

Oh ya. Sesudah hal mengubah, kami sedang dalam proses menguruskan hal furnishing. Tempat untuk membeli sofa, kedai untuk membeli langsir dan buta-buta (blinds) dan kedai untuk membeli beberapa barang elektrik telah dikenalpasti. Lawatan kali pertama juga telah dibuat. Tinggal nak finalize order, nak bayar-membayar sahaja. Tiba masa nanti, inshaAllah kami akan kongsikan di sini. Kitchen cabinet dan wardrobe mak bapak anak-anak juga telah ditempah dan menunggu lagi 2-3 minggu untuk sampai dan dipasang. Yang itu entah apa pulak halangan dan rintangannya nanti. Harap-harap dipermudahkan. Hal ini juga, jika masuk kategori 'worth a recommendation', kami akan kongsikan di sini, inshaAllah. Tu belum masuk tugas-tugas untuk pergi ke MBSA semula untuk tuntutan cagaran, pergi ke developer's office juga untuk tuntutan cagaran, pergi ke kedai perabot kegemaran di Damansara untuk beberapa perkara yang telah dikira-kira worth buying di situ. Oh. Banyak lagi kerja kami sebenarnya.

Keep calm and keep moving.

Menguruskan (Bukan Tubuh Badan)

Kadang kesian juga terpaksa mengangkut si dua kecik ni ke hulu ke hilir sebab nak menguruskan hal rumah baru. Tapi disebabkan mereka kelihatan happy je, tak de la tebal sangat perasaan bersalah. Dan. Bila memikirkan rumah tu untuk mereka berdua juga, boleh lah nak digagahkan lagi mengangkut. Cuma kesian tetap kesian. Kita yang besar ni rasa penat, mereka apatah lagi (walaupun secara zahirnya aku tengok elok je melompat berlari sampai ke malam. Pffft..)

Menguruskan rumah sebelum ini, I was heavily pregnant with Eirsa. Masa tu memang berat, tapi nak bergerak tu lebih ringkas. Masa tu memang cepat penat, tapi boleh berehat sekejap dan sambung semula, sampai ke malam. Tidak perlu memikirkan pasal budak, sebab budaknya senang dibawa ke hulu ke hilir di dalam kantung.

Tapi kali ini proses menguruskan rumah baru dah bertindih dengan proses menguruskan dua orang budak ni ha. Dah kalau namanya bawa budak-budak, memanglah berkicauan suasana. Kalau suara saja yang kuat, boleh tahan lagi. Tu, kaki tangan tu, sama kuat. Kuat berlari kakinya, kuat membelek tangannya. Dalam erti kata lain, jika dikekang, bakal menghuru-harakan kedai yang kami singgah-singgah. Ada tuan kedai tak kisah dengan budak-budak, ada yang depan mak bapak dia buat tak kisah tapi belakang dia jeling-jelingkan anak-anak aku (aku perhati, ok! jangan nak bermuka-muka sangat), ada yang depan-depan aku diaorg soundkan bebudak. Tak de la nak marah tuan kedai, tapi rasa tak best nak survey kalau dah anak-anak begitu aktif dan tuan kedai mula menunjukkan rasa tak senang. Hati aku pon silap-silap boleh jadi panas.

Oleh itu. Kena la membawa bekal fizikal, emosi dan mental dalam bentuk pelbagai. Nasib baik atuk dan opah ada iPad dan tab, boleh pinjam. Sebagai tambahan, kami bawakan buku-buku, sebagai ubat duduk diam. Nasib baik buku-buku hasil beli di Big Bad Wolf tahun lepas masih ada lagi. Buku-buku lama biasanya dah tak berapa laku kat budak-budak ni. Kalau ada buku-buku baru, baru ralit.

Tu pun tak lama, dapat lah duduk diam 30 - 45 minit. Kemudian dengan tiba-tiba menyerap semula ke dalam badan, satu bentuk tenaga tahap tinggi, mana dapat entah. Datang semula tenaga untuk berlari, melompat, macam baru makan gula sesenduk. P.E.N.G.S.A.N.

Masa-masa yang waras untuk kami membincangkan hal rumah baru adalah masa-masa seperti berduaan dalam kereta pergi dan balik pejabat, masa-masa take five di pejabat, masa-masa lepas makan malam sementara bebudak ni melompat atas katil, masa-masa beginilah yang kami selitkan untuk bincang hal-hal rumah baru. Tapi boleh lah. Progress rumah baru alhamdulillah berjalan juga despite all the chaos. Haha. Chaos. Sememangnya chaotic when you are working and at the same time have to look after two tak-duduk-diam, kids! Eirsa tu boleh lah disogokkan dengan kertas dan pen lalu dia akan menulis. Eivie tu tak ada benda yang boleh bagi dia ralit lebih dari 30 minit. Semuanya cepat membosankan.

Dah lepas seharian mak bapak penat, budak-budak pun penat dek mengikut mak bapak, kita bagilah sikit ganjaran. Ganjaran yang murah, menggembirakan walaupun ada unsur tidak berapa sihat sedikit. Sekali sekala, tak apa lah. They deserved it.

Noted and Thank You, Google.

Her Best Friend, Gitu

Alya (left), Eirsa

This was Alya, Eirsa's best friend when she was at her previous daycare. Eirsa, when she was at her previous previous daycare, dia tak de kawan rapat. Paling paling pun dengan Hadif, anaknya si Ishah. Up to a point, the daycare owner told us that there was something wrong about Eirsa. May be she was concerned but I was a bit offended. Due to several other unpleasant incidents plus we thought that Eirsa better off to an upgraded daycare (daycare + few hours of school session), we searched high and low for her new daycare (previous daycare).

We found this AN's nursery; a surge of double the fee but looked like a more promising with 2-3 hours of short period of classes a day. With very limited options due to distance and ehem ehem, fees, we chose this place for Eirsa.

As expected, she'd face some difficulties in getting used to the place but miraculously it took less than a week to lose her morning tears. She started to love the school and after several weeks, she began to talk about her new best friend; Alya.

Eirsa didn't have many friends. She was so selective when it comes to strangers when she was around 3-4 years old. But after meeting with Alya, these two were inseparable. I thought it's just Eirsa who was talking about Alya this Alya almost most of the time, but it so happened to be Alya did the same while she was at her home too. We found out about this when we accidentally bumped into Alya and her family at the Citta Mall and that was also the first time Eirsa and Alya had that outing together (as shown in photo above), walaupun sekadar sekejap sahaja.

We were glad that Alya gave many happy memories to Eirsa, and that she learnt a lot about friendship at her very young age. Alya was a very good girl, very independent and very friendly. These helped a lot in improving Eirsa's socializing skills, indirectly. Although it was sad that Eirsa didn't able to meet Alya again, but we were also relieved that her transition to this new preschool was smooth, even though she did mention about Alya once in a while and I cried a little bit in my heart. I hope one day they would be reunited and be friend again. A lot of time I had this idea of having Alya at our house so that they play together all day long, sleep together through the night, tapi tak pernah ada rezeki untuk direalisasikan.

And I also hope that along the way, Eirsa will meet many many other good friends that will give her good memories and happiness (and vice versa) because I know friendship means a lot to a girl during her schooling years and how friendship plays big role in cultivating a person's good (or bad, na'uzubillahiminzalik) behavior while she's in schooling years. Amiin.

Kalau Murah, Beritahu Kawan

Uuuuuuuih, memang sibuk! Kadang-kadang sangat sibuk, sekali-sekala tersangat sibuk. Hujung minggu memang dah sedia terbahagi; Sabtu untuk uruskan hal rumah, Ahad untuk menggembirakan anak-anak. Perkara pertama tu memang wajib, kalau banyak duit memang boleh upah interior designer je tapi duit pun ngam ngam, lalu semua kerja-kerja planning, idea pouring, head cracking, call sana, pergi sini, semua tu memang kena buat sendiri. Nak cerita semua kat sini memang tak terdaya. Lalu, mana-mana yang dan sahaja lah. Gasak.

Tapi yang ini rasanya lokek kalau kami tak kongsi. Sebab kami dapat cerita pun dari blog-blog yang lain. Kalau tak, masakan ketemu tempat ini. Dan disahkan oleh beberapa kawan di Twitter, lalu berdoyon-doyon semua ke JF Home Appliances, Subang Jaya setelah membandingkan harga dengan beberapa kedai lain.

Tuan kedai ramah-tamah dan kelihatan jujur : Checked.
Kedai senang nak dicarik (ada dalam Waze) : Checked
Dapat free gifts : Checked.
Free Delivery : Checked.
Harga patut : Checked. Untuk barang yang kami beli, it was the cheapest among those shops that we've visited.

Di kedai ini kami telah membeli hood, hob, oven dan microwave. Untuk barang lain, rasanya boleh dapat murah di kedai lain dan kami masih mencari. Malahan Mr. Ea cakap "Washing machine you jangan beli kedai saya lah, saya tak dapat jual harga murah." Tokeh kedai Mr. Ea dan isterinya Mrs. Vanessa yang akan melayan pelanggan sendiri. Lalu, cubalah kawtim harga tanpa putus asa (sebab kalau dah berhabis kawtim, Mr. Ea sendiri akan cakap "Itu harga sudah murah, kalau murah lagi saya terpaksa cakap bye bye saja."

Tapi sebelum conclude apa-apa, pastikan kamu buat perbandingan dengan beberapa kedai pilihan masing-masing, barulah membeli. Memang perlukan beberapa kali visit, memang perlukan kesabaran tinggi, memang perlukan kadang kala kena tinggalkan anak-anak untuk dapat membuat keputusan dengan lebih waras. Kau hingat senang ke nak pindah rumah baru hoi!

Idaman. But not this time.

Round lah satu kedai, tanya satu-satu bagi bebetul puas hati. Mr. Ea might be biased when it comes to brand (dia akan push ke Rinnai dan Fotile), but be prepared dan cekalkan pendirian. Hahaha!

Mr. Ea, jejaka berbaju putih.

Sesi kedua, angkut si duo ini. Sedang bermain hello hello dan nyanyi nyanyi.

Aktiviti berfaedah anak beranak sesambil menunggu. Sesi kedua ni, kami sebagai support system saja, sebab sebenarnya kami dah membeli pada sesi pertama. Hahaha. (Berbaju kurung kerana terus ke kedai ini sejurus pulang dari kenduri kahwin)

Note : Tak, saya tak dapat commission apa-apa. Saya bukan agent.