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.

Infused Water - Harap Bukan Sekadar Trend

Dah nak dekat sebulan kot kami suami isteri membawa bekal air ke pejabat masing-masing. Beli botol baru sama warna seorang sebiji, bagi penaik semangat.

Buat infused water ni sangat senang sebenarnya, dari segi teknik. Hatta yang bodoh bodoh alang dalam arena masak memasak macam aku ni pun pejam mata pun boleh buat. Tapi. Makan masa (dan makan duit juga, lebih sikit dari biasa).

Satu, masa untuk menyediakan. Berganda-ganda masa yang diperlukan untuk menyediakan infused water ni berbanding masa untuk kau takung air, curahkan cordial, godak serba sedikit, bubuh ais kasi feel macam kedai, voila, siap!

Berbeza dengan penyediaan infused water, kena basuh buah, kena kupas buah, potong buah kecil-kecil, kemudian baru masukkan air. Kemudian masukkan dalam peti sejuk untuk di-infuse-kan.

Dan bukan dan dan tu kau boleh minum. Ha, tunggu lah kau sana sekurang-kurangnya dua jam baru air buah menyerap masuk dalam air. Lagi lama tunggu, baru rasa buah lebih sebati dengan rasa air kosong. Biasanya aku buat malam, untuk kegunaan hari esok di pejabat.

Botol yang aku beli ni ada pemerah jus manual disertakan. Lalu berselang seli infused water kami dengan air rendaman buah-buahan, dengan air perahan limau atau lemon.

Resepi? Berlambak. Sila berurusan dengan Google. Nak tiru sebijik boleh, nak try ikut suka dan perbaharui dari masa ke semasa pun boleh. Ikut lah tekak masing-masing. Disebabkan infused water ni takkan sama rasa manisnya macam makan buah (i.e. tak manis sangat), aku tambahkan madu. Tak perlu banyak, cukuplah untuk menaikkan rasa. Buah rendaman boleh sahaja diratah lepas air habis diminum.

Buat masa ni, infused water yang paling gemari adalah daripada buah delima (pomegranate). Sedap hoi!

Koleksi infused water hari-hari kami dalam gambar-gambar di bawah. Nak buat variety sangat setiap hari rasa membazir pulak, sebab akan beli buah yang takkan habis dipakai sekali. Lalu dalam seminggu dua tu kasi ulang buah sama beberapa kali, sampai habis, kemudian baru beli baru.

Aku : Pomegranate + mango
Dia : Pineapple

Aku dan dia : Strawberry + Blueberry (di dasar botol) + Orange

Aku : Pomegranate
Dia : Apple

Aku dan dia : Orange

Aku : Pomegranate
Dia : Lemon

Photo notes :

1 : Bottles are differentiated using a rubber band.
2 : 1 medium-sized pomegranate can be used for 2 sets of infused water bottle. Sebab tu asik pomegranate je, di samping memang rasa yang saya suka. Dan kenapa perlukan justifikasi ini?

Tribute to Eigloo

It was dark. Eirsa and Eivie slept with us so it's one of our strategy to ensure the room was dark; easier for them to fall asleep by themselves. It had been months since they slept with each other and freed Mommy and Papa's bed just for us.

It was around 10pm, perhaps the children had fast asleep. Papa received a call. An another call. And yet another call. Eigloo's boarding place owner kept on calling Papa. Papa just knew that he had to pick up the phone. He slipped into the darkness, out of the room to answer the phone.

Hati aku dah berdebar. Kalau begini persistence, something must had been wrong. And I was not wrong.

* * *

Papa entered the room. And he seemed restless. I didn't ask him what was the phone call about. Until few minutes later. He told me.

* * *

I cried for a good 10 or may be 15 minutes. We were not that close but Eigloo had always been my 'anak angkat'. It teared my heart.

Eigloo had gone. Out of our life. Forever.

* * *

We adopted him on 23 Aug 2013. He was small, but big enough for adoption. Eirsa was super super super excited. Little kids, they always have something with animals, kan. Eivie? Well, she could sometimes be caring, a little time extra caring, but most of of the times she's just being a good companion, not carer.

I believed Papa's level of excitement was as high as Eirsa. Ini orang berdua memang punya passion terhadap binatang. Bagus. Mommy, aku tolong apa yang patut, belikan sayur, top up makanan, top up air. I don't have the same level of passion towards animals, but I don't hate them either. I'm just not good when it comes to manja-manja dan belai-belai binatang. But his company has been acknowledged and thankful for. Aku anggap dia sebagai anak angkat.

While we were at this transition phase (to new house), we had no choice but to board him for a few months at boarding center. Looking for a suitable place high and low we found this place at the cheapest daily rate. Visited the place and found that it was quite ok. Secocok dengan harga, tapi kelihatan seperti Eigloo akan dijaga baik, walau tidak sebaik di rumah kami. We bid him goodbye but Eirsa hadn't had the chance for this last farewell, because she was sleeping in the car.

And who knew that she won't be seeing Eigloo after that moment, Never.

* * *

Papa yang buang tahi dia.

Papa yang sikat bulu dia.

Papa yang jaga dia elok-elok.

Papa ada plan nak improve cage dia kat rumah baru nanti, beli cage besar sikit, letak dua bekas makanan; yang basah  dan yang kering. Improve tempat air dia.

Tu la. Eigloo tu kan gemuk, macam mana kucing bawak lari? Tak kejar ke?

Entah lah, benda dah nak jadi.

Papa sangat bersemangat dalam menjaga Eigloo. Dia baca cara menjaga arnab yang betul, makanan yang betul, dan praktikkan.

Kalau guidelines kata umur arnab sekian sekian tak boleh makan benda A, dia ikut, pi cari makan Eiglook sana sini. Diet Eigloo dijaga ketat.
Kalau guidelines kata arnab tak boleh pijak lama dalam cage, nanti kaki keras, dia cari alas,
Ada sekali Eigloo kena kurap kat telinga, dia pergi bawa inject. Kami semua pun ikut.
Dia juga yang bawa Eigloo pergi 'kasi', dia pergi dengan Eirsa.
Dia bawak pergi grooming.
Dia bawak pergi potong kuku.
Disikatnya rambut Eigloo berselang minggu.
Dia jadi member kat satu kedai binatang peliharaan, supaya dapat beli makanan Eigloo murah sikit.
Eh, memang dedikasi Papa terhadap Eigloo tinggi. Bukan sekadar bela gitu-gitu.

Mata aku bergenang lagi. Aku paling sedih bila kenang cara Eigloo mati.

* * *

Boarding place owner apologized for hundredth times on her negligence. She had some guests at home, her child's friend came over, decided to open Eigloo's cage to play with him. And suddenly a cat caught Eigloo, bawa lari. And just like that. he's gone. She said that it had never happened before. But yet, it happened. She offered to return all our boarding fees and even offered another rabbit as replacement. Tapi entah lah. We are sad. Aku yang paling 'jauh' dengan Eigloo ni pun sedih. Nanti lah kami fikirkan hal itu. It's not about money, it's not about just a pet.

* * *

Eigloo. This post is dedicated to you. For being a good company to us, for bringing joys to our children. Thank you, my boy.

Note : And no, we have not told Eirsa yet. Entah macam mana nak cakap agaknya. Dah janji dengan dia nak bawak Eigloo balik bila rumah baru siap.

Rombongan Sekolah

You have to wake up early tomorrow.

You have to listen to your teacher.

Hold your friend's hand, don't let go. Walk together.

Kalau Eirsa nampak "Oh so cute teddy bear!" and you want to take a look, tell your teacher first. Don't go alone, it's dangerous. 

Mommy put your towel here (show the inside of the bag).

If you need to change your clothes, ni baju (show the inside of the bag). "Ada panties tak?" Yes, ada.

And ada bread, if you are hungry (show the inside of the bag).

And your water bottle.

And ada lagi satu small towel, if you go kencing, use this to wipe.

And Eirsa nanti naik bas and go to Teddy Town! Yeay! (Ya, aku yang berlebih-lebih).

Jumaat lepas.

Yes, she's going for a school trip for the first time ever. Of course we are excited; parents will get excited for every first experience happens to their children. Excited and anxious. Their first experience will usually be the benchmark; akan suka dan nak buat lagi or if they're experiencing it badly in the first place, it'll stop them from doing it until they gain confidence to start all over again. Dan kau ingat mudah nak memberi keyakinan semula kepada kanak-kanak? Boleh, tapi tak mudah. Oleh itu, adalah penting untuk mereka mempunyai pengalaman pertama yang motivating. Tapi jika ditakdirkan Allah berlakunya juga pengalaman pertama anak-anak yang tidak berapa baik, berusalah mak bapak untuk memberikan semangat untuk mencuba lagi.

Mari kita lihat apa yang mak budak Eirsa ni bekalkan :

Air kosong, baju sepersalinan (dan panties, begitu penting ya), roti, tuala kecil, tuala kecil, beg kecil siap dengan tag nama.

Aku nak tunggu sampai bas datang, konon-konon nak berlambai-lambai dengan sambil bergenang air mata, tapi sampai jam 8 tadi bas tak sampai lagi. Lalu terpaksa lah beredar saja dan mendoakan supaya Eirsa selamat and has a good time. Kalau perhati kelakuan dia pagi tadi, tak de la benda yang merunsingkan dia, elok je tersengih-sengih dan terkadang terkinja-kinja. Dah lepas berpeluk-peluk, bercium-cium, berlalulah pergi mak pak budak ni.

Macam ni punya teruja rupa nya, inshaAllah hati tenang nak lepaskan dia pergi.

*   *   *

Pastinya Eirsa akan mengomel gembira perihal rombongan sekolah kali pertamanya itu.

Sepatutnya.

Tapi tidak terjadi begitu.

Sudah ditanya baru dia bercerita sedikit. Dan kemudian lagi sedikit. Mungkin dah habis diceritakan pada Atuk dan Opah sekonyong-konyong Atuk dan Opah menjemput dia balik dari sekolah. But we knew she had a great time. She recapped how she decorated the teddy bears, got on the bus, held hands all the time with Adam Omar (bukan skandal), slept on the bus next to Adam Omar, ate some bread and kenyang.

Yang tak pergi pun (Eivie), dapat juga,

And. She also drew a map from her school to Teddy Town, Kajang.

Jalan nan berliku liku liku liku.

L.O.V.E

Rentetan perihal aku mendaftar sebagai penderma organ :

(Discuss  discuss discuss, bla bla bla, pok pek pok pek pok pek, things about organ transplant)

Bie harapkan Papa untuk uruskan dengan sepatutnya, if I happen to die first and to undergo this process. 
Thank you, hugs and kisses.

Yup.
<Smiley>
Sebab ada criteria dia.
And tak lah semua boleh diambil.
Eloknya Mommy cakap dengan mak jugak.
Just to let her know.
Tu je.

A ah.
I plan to. InshaAllah.

And Papa hope Mommy ada dengan Papa sampai hujung hayat.
<Wink>
Tak tau Papa macam mana kalau Mommy tak de.
Mommy je yang tau Papa macam mana.
Huhuhu...

InshaAllah, amiin.
Now give me my Chanel.

And that's, ladies and gentlemen, what we called LOVE.

Nota : Kami bila berbicara, memang menggunakan ayat penuh-penuh. Skema? Mungkin. Tua? Mungkin tidak, mungkin sekadar hmmmm.. berumur.

Calories Burning - The Alternative

What did you do when you go to Ikea?

Getting some ideas?

Window-shopping?

Browsing?

Actually DID some shopping?

Budgeting?

Killing time?

Bonding time?

Looking at people's behavioral (wow!)?

Pretending to know about stuffs?

Taking measurement?

Taking measurement for a millionth times?

Taking selfies and posting it to social medias? (dengan niat bermegah-megah aku-dah-sampai-sini-hoi! atau mungkin tidak, saya tidak judge anda)

Planning for the new house?

Planning to revamp the current house?

Planning to revamp your mom's house for as a surprise birthday gift?

Dreaming?

Or.

Sleeping, like these two did?

I was actually scheduled for a 5km running->jogging->walking->crawling TM Fan Run last Saturday. But I've got chickened out several weeks prior to the event, disebabkan langsung tak training hapah benda hamjadah pun sejak bulan puasa. Kot ye pun semangat kobar, aku masih kenal hati budi stamina sendiri.

Thus, I scheduled another form of calories burning activity cum aktiviti menggembirakan anak-anak cum tengok calon-calon perabot untuk rumah cum breakfast session; at Ikea.

Arrived at 8.40am, breakfast started at 9.00am, continued buat macam rumah sendiri di seluruh pelosok Ikea afterwards until 12.30 pm. After acah-acah surveying (survey apakah namanya kalau 80% of the time entertain budak-budak sahaja), one thing for sure; we needed to find other candidates for our dining set and sofa. It's either the price didn't suit with our budget or the cheaper options were not at par with our angan-angan tinggi tak sedar benchmark. And another thing for sure, benda-benda yang pasti akan dibeli di Ikea memerlukan satu lagi sesi membeli-belah yang lebih serius dan fokus dan tenang dan waras (read : sesi tanpa anak-anak). And another another thing for sure, the kids had fun there, lalu kuota bergembira mereka telah dipenuhi untuk minggu ini.

Lagi gambar-gambar kegembiraan.

Lagi 8 minit sebelum pintu dibuka. Ni yang dinamakan pepagi lagi dah pergi beraya rumah orang tuan rumah pun tak bangun lagi.

Dah besar sikit, layankan je permintaan untuk guna pisau garfu sendiri, dengan pemantauan secara terperinci dan kadang-kala boleh mengundang sakit hati si pemakai.

Yang ini pun sama. Asalnya mahu taraf yang sama dengan si 5 tahun Eirsa, padahal awak baru 2 tahun, pisau lebih panjang dari lengan. Sebagai alternatif, mommy bagi peluang bercomot-comot menyuap sup sendiri. And Ikea was being thoughtful by supplying this disposable bib for free!

Dan ada kalanya budak-budak ni tak nak makan. Mak dan bapak kau kena la lebih kreatif bagi menampakkan aktiviti memakan itu adalah satu aktiviti yang menggembirakan, bukan setakat aktiviti bermain sahaja ya menggembirakan. Berikan kayu aiskrim/pengacau kopi, lalu jadilah lollisausagepop. 

Acara wajib, lebih kurang highlight of the day. Gitu. Sekarang aiskrim ni dah semakin murah, RM0.80 sahaja.