And I Did Forget My Login & Password....

As a result of forgetting both my login and password, it has been 2 years 3 months & 28 days since I last updated my blog! It really is amazing what the passing of time, unseen, can do to all that lies before me, very much seen, heard, felt & touched. I hope that I'll be able to update the high/lowlights of these pass couple of years & plus soon, InsyaAllah.

My oh my....

How on earth am I going to be able to update what's happened in the last 7 month?

I created this blog mainly to keep track on the boys' progress and now with so much development, happenings, laughter and joy that has passed, I am going to attempt at doing so....I told myself "better update the blog before they become teenagers...and more so before I forget my login and password!"

Okay, here goes....

* Umrah *
My parents in-law joined, Amil, the boys and I for mine & kids inaugural Umrah trip in April / May 07. It was such a wonderful trip and am so blessed that things went as smoothly as possible, Alhamdulillah, and that we all as one family were able to perform the Umrah. The place left such a positive impression on the kids that Umar will once in a while say "I miss Makkah, can we go back to Makkah, and also to Jeddah and Madinah - I miss the toys, the masjidil haram..."....and as for Musa, whenever he sees KLCC Twin Towers or any mosque he will say "Kaabah, Kaabah"... No doubt it was very hot during our time there, around 43 deg. celcius, but Allah swt protected the children and us, and we were able to have such a fulfilling time. Another highlight was the many, many, Camel rides that we took, especially Umar (until he became almost dizzy!) at Jabal Rahmah (where Adam a.s. and Hawwa met up again after a long time of being separated)

* Kids Birthday *
I stuck to my guns - the boys didn't have a birthday party this year. Instead just a quiet gathering with the family. Thank god they forgot last year, although Umar did ask for a magic show for him and his friends. So the solution? I arranged for the Magician "Hassan" to perform at Umar's pre-school, which was an absolute delight and excitement for not just the kids but teachers too! As for Musa, well he was thrilled enough at being able to hold the knife, blow the candles and cut the cake on his birthday... and since he was so into Elmo, we gave him a tickle-me-Elmo toy, which admittedly made me laugh more than the kids!

* Singapore Trip *
Killing two birds with one stone, we turned my business trip into a family holiday during our trip to Singapore in July 07. I was pleased to be one of 4 representatives of my company, Linfox, to collect Frost & Sullivan Award for "Best Logistics Service Provider - FMCC for Malaysia". One night of this, then the rest was yahoo, fun, fun time with Amil & kids. Highlight was definitely the Singapore Zoo - kangaroo feeding, polar bear feeding of real live fish (really left a lasting impression on Musa, though Umar and I missed it coz Umar had to go to the loo) and the impressive Siberian Tiger - aiyoh, puts Malaysia Zoo to shame, sigh.

* National Zoo Malaysia *
Ok, so this zoo pales in comparison to the Singapore Zoo, but still provides us with much joy and entertainment on a Sunday morning. Umar fave animals are the ant-eaters & snakes, whilst Musa is the Giraffe (though this scared the pants of Musa because it came up so close and was flicking it's tongue - my mom thinks that he had a fever after this because of shock by the Giraffe, the doctor of course said it was food poisoning..hehe), Elephant and Zebra - he loves the African safari animals...

* Nemo, Dory & Fuzzy *
I am amazed that Nemo (the fish given to Musa by Naelah's mom-in-law) is still alive since joining our family on 26 Sept 07. He came home with us that day in a plastic cookie bottle, which Musa insisted to bring into his cot bed during his nap time. A few days later, Amil and I bought Dory & Fuzzy, to keep Nemo company, but after a few fights later and ultimately Fuzzy's death (he was the cutest and smallest and only lasted one day), we had to separate Nemo & Dory. So now it's fish feeding & aquarium cleaning routine that keeps the kids happy on a daily basis. Of course I ensured that it was going to be a small fish (actually RM1 for 8 - but we insisted on only buying 2. My mom says that if any more die, we should still have credit for the balance 6 that we didn't take home..hehe)
and minimal fuss because at the end of the day it is me who has to look after them...

A Reminder to Myself

Two days ago (on 20th Mar 07) when Amil returned from work he brought with him two bars of chocolate that he had bought from the little shop at the bottom of Kenny Hills. One chocolate bar was a Time Out and the other a Kit Kat.

He showed it to Umar and I, then asked me first which one of the two would I like. In my mind I had decided on the bar of Kit Kat but instead of saying so decided to let Umar have first pick. Yes, I usually do that, I let my child choose first. And Umar chose the bar of Kit Kat.

Amil offered me the Time Out but I politely declined saying I would eat it later. So he kept that chocolate bar in the fridge. Umar then rushed to open his bar of Kit Kat. Secretly, I too was looking forward for him to open it. And not forgetting little Musa hovering on the sidelines. Once Umar unwrapped the Kit Kat, I proceeded to give Musa a little piece, much to his delight, and also asked Umar if I could have a little piece.

"Of course Mummy can have a piece of Kit Kat" answered Amil before Umar could say anything. I then asked Umar for another little bite and again Amil answered that I could before Umar had a chance to argue, which amazingly Umar didn't but instead gave me another little bite.

This morning, whilst getting ready for work, Amil passed me a new bar of Kit Kat that he bought last night. I was surprised and thanked him nevertheless. I did not take the Kit Kat from him as I was in the midst of getting ready but he placed it in my hand and insisted that I keep it in my handbag so that I could eat it at work today.

The reason why I am putting this story in my blog is because what Amil did, so small an action, yet so significant in meaning, was a reminder to me that the little things do really matter the most. Though a man of few words (well compared to me anyway), the thoughtfulness displayed through his actions, more than lets me know how much I mean to him.

And yes, Amil usually does that, he lets me choose first. And he knew I didn't get my first choice two days ago.
And because of this, I am sure that the Kit Kat bar that I will open shortly will taste better than any other I have eaten...

2007 Already?!

MashaAllah, has time flown by! So much for postponing my blogging for a day or two, it has now been a month or three since I last updated this blog!

March 21st 2007. Today, as I type this post, at 2.22pm, I think about how Musa will be 21 months old tomorrow on 22nd Mar 07. Alhamdulillah this not so little baby of mine is growing up to become a gorgeous little toddler.

Anyway, to try and cover the last few months in one post, this is my best attempt at doing so:

31 Dec 06 - Hari Raya Haji celebration at Kenny and a very uneventful New Year's eve celebration. I was in bed asleep, woken up with a Happy New Year wish by Amil around midnight. Or am I referring to the previous year celebration? Yes, it was that uneventful...

1st Jan 07 - New Year Day slightly more eventful as we spent the day at Baba's kampung in Rembau. We had Wyn with us, whilst Hannah and Harris was in Singapore with their dad. It would have been more fun for the kids if they all could be together, but nevertheless a good New Year's day, with some part spent watching Umar and Amil sailing their newspaper boats in the drain...it was a nice and cool rainy day... and most of the other part chasing Musa around. Did he enjoy having no furniture and little ornaments getting in his way!

3rd Jan 07 - Umar starts at his new school, ITQAN. However he is fortunate to have the same principal and teachers from his previous school, QIDS. Thus making OUR life easier in terms of settling him in into the new school year. He started off in level K1 and after two weeks was upgraded to K2. Hopefully it will work out well for him, insyaAllah.

11th Jan 07 - Il Divo concert. If I could afford it, I would send Amil a rose every day as a gesture of thanks for giving me his only complimentary ticket to the concert at KL Convention Centre. He was, at the last minute, given another ticket, but he made sure I got the one with the better seating. Il Divo. Fantastico.

14th Jan 07 - Aby goes back to Japan. It was certainly nice to have her home from Tokyo, albeit a short visit. I do look forward to having her home for a longer time. Spent the day in Genting with Wyn and kids.

21st Jan o7 - Lake Garden followed by a visit to the Butterfly Park with Amil and the kids. Topped the day's outing with yummy ice-cream that Musa insisted he feed himself!

26th Jan 07 - Boyz II Men concert. Wyn and Hannah joined Amil and I for the concert, whilst Umar, Musa and Harris stayed at the hotel with Ijah. Amil truly enjoyed himself. His equivalent of my Il Divo.

3rd Feb 07 - Bought a real kids bed for Umar at Ikea. Thought he should enjoy his childhood the "kid" way. Also bought a NordicTrack treadmill at Ikano. Big health investment! Amil and I take turn alternate days on the treadmill. Baba has joined the club too. I have been out of the routine since my severe limau kasturi allergy reaction on 20th Feb 07; and subsequent chest infection and recurring asthma. So far recovering, alhamdulillah.

13th Feb 07 - Amil's 34th Birthday! And officially he is 3 years older than me. Early in the morning the boys and I each gave him a British India shirt. After dinner we had fun cake blowing session, an egg free cheesecake we bought from Secret Recipe. Later on we had a lovely, cosy dinner for two at Alexis in Jalan Telawi, Bangsar. This was the place we went to early on during our courtship to have dinner and view my 2000 South Africa trip photos.

14th Feb 07 - Lyn is pregnant! And makes me choke on my water when she told me so. This is the news of the year! Though it is still a family secret. It goes without saying, though I still have to type it, that we are all truly happy and excited for her and Epin! Can't wait for the birth. InsyaAllah all will go well for her and the baby in all aspects. Due date is late September / early October 07.

17th Feb 07 - Zoo Negara Malaysia, here we went, for the second time. Musa's favourite animal was the giraffe and giant tortoise. Umar's was the reptile display, in particular the snake enclosure where there was a tiny little mouse trembling for fearing for his life. Umar couldn't wait for the snake to devour the mouse, which sadly for him did not happen whilst we were there. My favourite was the new baby Nile hippo. So cute in such a big way...

18th Feb 07 - Chinese New Year day and a trip to Aquaria at KL Convention Centre. Went with Amil, the kids and Ijah. Musa was fearful of the shark. Smart. He knows which ones to be afraid of. Most of our time was spent sitting in front of the giant aquarium where the kids were treated by feeding of the sea creatures, including a giant stingray, turtles, fish, etc. I suspect they had stuffed the sharks to the brim to ensure no unpleasant, accidental devouring of the divers. Oh yes, and there was another treat. A live mermaid wearing a bikini top, which Umar described as "not real", but more than thrilled the daddies and other men watching the show....

19th Feb 07 - Lunch BBQ at Mama & Ayah's and Afternoon tea with Nena and the Lion Dance at Raintree. At Mama's we congratulated another set of soon to be parents. Jojo and Ijan. Due date is in October 07. Another joyous occasion to celebrate and finally, insyaAllah, a cousin for Umar and Musa from Daddy's side of the family! In the afternoon, the kids were excited by the Lion dance at Raintree despite the loud clanging of the cymbals and banging of the drums!

26th Feb 07 - Promoted to Business Manager at Linfox! This is my tenth year with Linfox (previously was Mayne Nickless Logistics cum Mayne Logistics). Alhamdulillah, I was given this promotion and, what goes in hand, the opportunity to do something a bit more different and challenging. No more time to check my ninemsn.com.au or thestar.com.my on a daily basis. Busy, but good busy, so, good.

3rd Mar 07 - Our 6th Year Wedding Anniversary! Time does fly when you're having fun! Alhamdullilah Amil and I have been blessed with a great relationship and marriage. The good times more than outweighs the difficult ones and insyaAllah may we continue to have an even deeper love for, loyalty and commitment to each other for always. We gave each other pressies (a top for me and a pair of shoes for him) and we spent the day at KLCC shopping!

4th Mar 07 - Dani admitted to University Hospital. Sadly, this night Umar's and Musa's beloved Uncle Dani was admitted to UH as he was unwell. After several days stay at the hospital, Dani was discharged with a positive outlook for him, that he was going to get better, alhamdulillah.

10th Mar 07 - Kenduri Arwah Aunty Dah at Bangsar and ITQAN's Open Day and Jumble Sale. After the kenduri, which for me the highlight was to see Aris after almost 2.5 years, we headed to Umar's school. Lyn, Epin, Is, Long, AJ and Aimran joined us there later to while the afternoon away eating, drinking, shopping and for the kids - jumping on the bouncy castle and just running around. Umar had his first attempt at real archery whilst Musa's highlight was drinking a box of Milo from no one knows where he picked up from!

11th Mar 07 - A wooden splinter in Umar's big toe! When Amil and I were trying to take out a splinter from his toe, one that shortened his earlier excitement from getting a green light sabre, we had to use a combination of a nail clipper, tweezers and needle. The whole ordeal that lasted almost half an hour, made Umar's discomfort grow quickly, turning into pain, which was the trigger point for him to cry and eventually through gritted teeth and sobs and exasperation that we were still unsuccessful, he cried out to us "Are you trying to kill me?!" That made us pause, then burst out in laughter, which in retrospect gave us the much renewed energy and patience to give his toe one last dig, finally taking out the tiny dot size of the offending brown splinter.

Point to note, whilst I was clipping at Umar's toe, I could feel a little activity by my own toe. And looking down at my feet, I saw Musa clipping away at my toe with the other spare nail clipper :-)

13th Mar 07 - Baba's 73rd Birthday! This year's celebration was a comparitively low key one as it was only Baba, Mummy, Long's and my family there to celebrate with Baba. Mummy cooked up a lovely spread made up of chicken stew, garlic bread, chinese fried rice, fried macaroni... and Long presented the yummy Haagen Daaz ice-cream cake. Unfortunately I was not able to join in the later part of the night as was still recovering from asthma... so no ice-cream cake for me...

12th to 16th Mar 07 - Umar's 1st term School Holidays. So that he would not totally terrorize his little brother Musa at home, I decided to enrol Umar for a holiday program at his school for 4 out of the 5 days. This consisted of daily 3 hours of art & craft, cooking, story telling and solid fun & play sessions, which he thoroughly enjoyed. Some products of his efforts was a picture frame painted and stuck with glittery buttons, craft boxes with shells and stick-ons, yummy biscuits and cookies (which mostly Musa and I ate because Umar's allergic to the egg ingredient) and a lovely dinosaur crayon painting.

17th Mar 07 - Overnight at Saujana Hotel in Subang. The kids and I joined Amil for his 2nd night at the hotel. During his work conference thingy he was given a huge suite (equal to the size of 3 rooms), which we were able to stay in one extra night for a bargain rate. Of course the kids loved the hotel stay. The bubble baths, the chance to sleep with Amil and I in the same room and same bed, to name a few. We went to Dome at Subang Parade for dinner. Musa enjoyed and devoured his fish and chips dinner and was delighted by the tiny bit of Chocolate drink he got from Umar. Umar, as usual preferred to start the meal with the drink and finished off his pasta much later at the hotel. A typically enjoyable hotel outing for us four.

And the most recent highlights:

20th Mar 07 - Musa said "Work"! When I went to say goodbye to Musa before going to work, I asked him to salam me and after he did so, he said the word "Work". So I asked him "Where is Mummy going to?" and he answered "Work". I repeated my questions in various ways and each time he answered "Work". Aaaawww, my not so little baby is beginning to not only communicate by using body language and just plain "aah-aahs" but he is beginning to use specific words for specific actions! Aby asked me in an earlier email how many words can he string. Well he hasn't really gotten there yet but the several individual ones that he can say more than makes me proud!

20th Mar 07 - Shopping with Umar at the Mall. We spent 2 hours at the mall shopping for my stuff and a toy for Umar. After exhausting all options to choose for Umar a toy, I told him that I was getting tired and that we should go home. In all positiveness, he said to me words to the effect of "Don't give up Mummy! You can do it! Try harder and we can find a toy for me!" Wow, does that echo me or what?! Anyway, eventually, after many, many selections, trying to find Umar a toy that was "really cool", I picked up a Dinosaur mould and paint set. Finally we could go home!

Next time, when you want a shopping buddy, you can borrow Umar. He makes a good buddy. Just ignore his running around, jumping around and all time fidgeting and he'll be able to last the distance with you. And when we got home he remarked that "I want to go shopping with you everyday!"...

Happy Birthday to Me

On Friday, the 8th of December 2006, I turned 25....for the 7th time.

Scene One - Kids Bedroom. It was sometime after midnight, that Amil woke me up after I had unintentionally slept in with our boys when putting them to be the night before. He welcomed me into my 31st year, by asking me "So how does it feel to be 31?". At that time, all groggy and still sleepy, I attempted to murmur an answer, which I'm sure did not make much sense, to either of us.

Scene Two - Our Bedroom. 7am. Now I am woken up later in the morning with a "Happy Birthday!" from Amil followed by a little kiss. Once he had gathered Umar and Musa, the boys went on to wish me "Happy Birthday Mummy!" and we all broke into a happy birthday sing song. Musa however was puzzled but mostly excited by all the hoo haa that was surrounding him!

The boys then gave me a birthday card and present, which was a very nice ZARA shirt, with fine pink and brown stripes, that must have taken them great effort to choose and buy...hehe...of course with some help from their Daddy. Amil then gave me a birthday card that was both funny, sweet and touching. My present, he said, would follow with a shopping outing together :-)

Beep beep, beep beep. In the background I could hear my mobile phone receiving sms-ses.

By this time I was feeling all warm and fuzzy and very much loved. It was certainly a great start to not just a Happy Birthday but what I suspected would be a Wonderful Birthday...

After we all had showered and Amil and I dressed for work, Umar came into our room and asked "So Mummy, when is your birthday going to start?" Another one of Umar's priceless questions.

"Do you mean my birthday party?" I answered with a question.
"Yes! Yes! Your birthday party!" He replied excitedly.
"I won't be having a birthday party Umar" I told him.
"But WHY Mummy?" The WHY had been stretched as far as it always can be. He was obviously disappointed.
"Actually, that's a good question Umar" and went on to tell him that I had to go to work but that we would do something when I got home later.

Scene Three - Office in Shah Alam. Lugging my laptop bag, work bag and hand bag, I akwardly and noisily climbed up one flight of stairs to get to my office. As I walked into our admin. office area, a few of my colleagues broke into a "Happy Birthday to Youuuuu"...Another sing song! What a nice surprise. Then, Mano, our Office Administrator and good friend of mine, gave me a warm birthday embrace followed a short while after with a yummy nasi lemak bungkus.

I also took the opportunity to read and reply the sms-ses that I had received from Mama, Ayah, Dani, San San (a colleague from Head Office), Wyn, Izue and Dani.

Around 9.15am, Aby called to wish me. Around 10.30am, Lyn called to wish me. And later still around 3pm, Wyn called me to follow up on her sms. Aaaah, my darling sisters.

Scene Four - Office. Time was around 11.30am. I was busy doing work (yes, I managed to do some on my birthday) when Angie (our Fleet GPS chick) popped into my office with a huge bouquet of flowers in her hand. WOW! was my first reaction. It didn't hit me that the flowers were from me. Angie gets her fair share of flowers and I thought she was just showing it around.

"If you don't want these, I'll keep it. And they're not from me" she said.
"They are for me?" I asked, genuinely surprised.
"Who are the flowers from?" I asked, genuinely unaware.

And when I opened and read the card, a smile, as wide as a door fridge can open, instantly appeared on my face. It was personally signed, Amil, Umar & Musa.

Aaaw, my darling boys, my darling husband. Thank You. The red roses were a perfect way to end my morning and begin my afternoon.

Scene Five - Office. Mano, Angie, Alvin (our IT dude) and I topped off our nasi lemak brunch with desserts from Maccas (McDonald's) at Kota Kemuning. Just after I got off the phone from Wyn, I was called out from my office to the main office area. And there waiting for me was a nice, big cheesecake with strawberry and chocolate sticks and ball (for the record, Mano and I shared the ball...someone had made off with the sticks...). Yes, we had yet again another sing song session, this time for both me and Mano, as her birthday fell on that Sunday, 10th December 2006, and we blew out one candle each.

That cake blowing session further strengthened the warm and fuzzy feeling...

At the end of the work day, I was very proud to carry to my car the bouquet of flowers and box of leftover birthday cake...

Scene Six - Restaurant. Amil treated Mummy and I to a lovely dinner at Penang Village in Hartamas Shopping Centre. In contrast to my 30th birthday dinner celebrated at the Mango Tree with the whole of the Junus & Mahiran clan, which I might add was fantastically organized by Aby, this 31st birthday dinner was nice and low key. Penang Prawn Mee was my birthday dish and yummy it certainly was.

Scene Seven - Home. Driving into the driveway, we spot Baba just coming out of the car at the garage. Mummy yelled to him from the gate "Who's birthday is it today?". At that time I went to give Baba a hug and looking at him answered Mummy's question "Mine!". And with that Baba sheepishly apologized and then warmly wished me. "It's never too late" I answered and gave him a big hug and kiss.

Amil and I ended the night with an excitement filled feeling of anticipation as the kids and us were to spend the following 3 days and 2 nights, from 9th to 11th December 2006, at Shangri-La, Putrajaya as part of my birthday celebration and also Umar's school holiday getaway.

And now, to answer Amil's earlier question "So how does it feel to be 31?"

I feel wonderful, contented in a blissful way and extremely happy, even in the knowledge that, amongst others, I will attain more lines on my face, have a tougher time to loose that stubborn bit of flab, be less flexible in form but more firm in my beliefs, and in short - older but hopefully wiser and kinder. Oh yes, and even in the knowledge that I am now two years younger than Amil...well only for two more months...then it will be back to three years again :-)

I am very thankful to Allah swt to have allowed me to reach my 31st year in good health, happiness and surrounded by my great husband, gorgeous children and wonderful family & friends, alhamdulillah. And may Allah swt bless me and my family with goodness, patience and perserverance to overcome difficulties with ease and happiness always and hereafter. Ameen.

All Things Anakin

"Mummy, when you and Daddy got married, did you kiss?" Umar asked.

"Yess" I answered somewhat hesitantly somewhat dreading the next question this was going to lead up to.

"Did you and Daddy kiss on the lips?" Umar continued with a cheeky twinkle in his eyes.

"Nooo" I answered in hope that the questions would stop there and knowing in truth I would not be able to answer further questions had I told him yes, I did kiss his daddy on the lips.

"But Anakin Skywalker kissed on the lips when he got married!" He went on astonished at the fact that his parents were not like Anakin.

"But that's just in the movies..." I poorly attempted to pacify him.

Umar's disappointment was obvious, followed by his scrunched up face.

"Why did you not invite me?" Umar asked in a serious manner.

"Invite you to what?" I asked genuinely surprised...then it hit me "Invite you to our wedding??"

"YES! Why did you not invite me to your wedding??!!" Umar was exasparated.

He had witnessed Anakin's wedding on TV but did not get invited to witness ours. I highly suspected it was because he wanted to witness our kiss or to actually prove that our kiss had actually been on the lips!

"Because you were just a little dot in heaven then..." which of course, Umar was not too happy about.

Since this interrogation, there have been numerous instances where he had highly likely wished he was not just a little dot in heaven, but physically there with us, wanting to actually participate and be part of our history in the making....

Beauty in the eyes of my little boy

The first time I started wearing a head scarf was on Monday, 4th October 2004.

That morning, I got ready as usual, with the only difference at the end my routine being me putting on a head scarf, instead of styling and fluffing up my hair to give it some "body". Then I showed Amil and told him that I was going to start wearing the scarf today. He was surprised and said that maybe I would want to consider wearing it when Ramadhan, which was around the corner, starts. I replied that I was already fasting, to repay the days missed, so I may as well start now. Amil smiled, gave me a kiss and wished me the best, since he knew how nervous I was feeling.

Days before, I had asked Amil what he thought if I started to wear the scarf now (as in in the near future and not when I am older, say around 40 years and passed my "hey" days). Though I know my decision would be independently made, the support from him would make it easier. "It's always a good time to do good things" he replied. Short, sweet and straight to the point, but that was all that I needed.

Other than Islamic reasons for my wearing a scarf, sheepishly I have to admit that on bad hair days I am glad I wear a scarf so I do not have to make any painful and elaborate attempts to resuscitate my flat and lifeless hair, nor do I have to explain to my work colleagues the "oh, my wet look is actually just me trying out a new hair care product", which is really a result of my hair dryer failing to function.

On the other hand, also sheepishly, I have to admit that during some of the times when I have had good hair days, even sometimes wonderfully sexy hair days, I feel like wearing nothing over my head and just walking out the door, do a few of those hair ad moves for all the world to see. I want to experience that feeling I had pre scarf wearing days, the pride I felt when heads turned and people looked at me, even if those feelings were not spiritually right for me.

But this want more or less grinded to a halt just a couple of days ago on Monday, 20th November 2006.

I was having one of those good, wonderfully sexy hair days and after dressing up in a black top and jeans, felt like embarking on one of those hair ads head turning outing. In reality however, I was about to take Umar and Musa out to The Curve to meet Amil for dinner.

Anyway, deciding to play a joke on Umar, I turned to look at him, struck a pose, with my body-filled hair loose around my shoulders, and asked him whether he was ready to go out. He looked up at me, his cute impish face smiling away and said "But Mummy, you forgot to wear your scarf!". I told him that no, I didn't forget and I was going to go out dressed the way I was. "But Mummy, your scarf makes you look pretty!".

That was the moment. I felt a rush of emotion that I could not fully comprehend. I was ashamed of myself, but at the same time I was so proud of my son. And now I am thankful that he unknowingly taught me a valuable lesson.

This wonderful innocent child, my little boy, made me realise that it does not matter what the whole world thinks of me. What matters is that when I make a decision, and feel that it is made for the right reasons, then I must stand by that decision through thick and thin, not only through flat hair days but good hair days too, and in body, mind and soul.

I then put on my scarf, took a good look at myself and smiled. Not so much because my little boy thought I looked pretty but more so because my little boy had humbled me. Thank you Umar.

This photo of me was taken at my workplace in Shah Alam on 16th June 2006.

The Daily Marathon

Some days they can go the distance....

But some days they just can't....

Umar & Musa's photo was taken on Sunday, 3rd September 06, awake when leaving Tok Nik & Tok Ayah's house and asleep when arriving home at Nena & Tok Ba's house 25 minutes later...

This Baby Can Read!

Yes! Believe or not but our little Musa can read at 16.5 months old! He may have possibly been able to read earlier but unfortunately because of my unattentiveness, I unwrapped this wonderful gift only last week!

It was a rainy, lightning & thunderstorm filled night, last Friday night, 10th November 2006, and I was much relieved to be home from work before the clouds decided to split, which in doing so released a forceful downpour of not only cats and dogs, but chicken and ducks, and what I felt was also cows and buffalos, accompanied by their own personal sound and lighting effects courtesy of nature.

Anyway, back to the excitement at hand. After giving the kids a bath, around 6.50pm, I stayed with them in their bedroom playing hide 'n seek, transformers, blocks, boing-boing bouncy ball and all other games and activities that we could come up with until it was their bed time, which on a god blessed night would be around 9.30pm.

At around 8.30pm, Umar was happily building his Decepticon army, thereafter equally happily pulverising them to pieces (though how much pulverising can you do to lego blocks?). Musa was sitting on my lap whilst I read to him. Little did I know that he could have been reading to me!

Musa soon became restless and I had to quickly get his attention before he decided to destroy Umar's Decepticon army. I reached down for the Magna Doodle board and wrote the word "ear" on it and showed it to Musa. What he did next almost blew me away. He touched his right ear. Did I see right?? I wasn't sure so erased the word and re-wrote it. And he touched his right ear again! I did it a third and fourth time; and he subsequently pointed to his ear the third and fourth time as well!

I was so excited at my new discovery, a gift from Musa, I call it, that he was equally excited by my facial expression and the praises I was heaping onto him. At that time Tok Nik, Tok Ayah, Uncle Dani & Aunty Izue just arrived for a visit. I shared with them this newly found talent of Musa, and soon found out that he could also read the word "mouth", by touching his own cute little one and "eye", by touching his gorgeous doey ones.

When Amil got back from work, he thought I was pulling his leg when I told him Musa could read. Okay, firstly Musa can't even speak, accept for a few incomplete attempts at vocalising some words. He can however say "Da-da" as in Daddy (yes, a total point of pride for Amil), which is the only complete word he can speak (and no.. he has not attempted to say Mummy or Mama either). So for him to be able to read? How can he right? Well wrong. He can and he does this by pointing to the corresponding body part or doing the corresponding actions to the words shown to him. Of course Amil was equally excited and overwhelmed at the replay of Musa's "reading" sessions.

Over the weekend, Amil and I continued to write various words on the Magna Doodle board and pieces of paper, which Musa would read and subsequently point to or enact out correctly 85 - 90% of the time. The other 10-15% he would not get right was probably due to the confusion he felt when looking at all the monkey like antics and displays of excitement shown by Amil and I when he did get it right!

Todate, he can read the following words: ear, mouth, eyes, hair, point, finger, laugh, arms up, clap, clapping, though we are yet to try some more new ones. We have kept in mind that since he can't really talk now, it may be difficult for him to express words such as animals, things, and the like.

However, what has been more compelling for us to realise, other than the wonders of him being able to read, is the fact that he has opened up our eyes and hearts even more to getting to know what he is all about and what his personality is like. Not to just take for granted that he's only a baby. Although we know that he's one smart, funny and very cheeky baby, it has made us realise how important it is to cherish every little moment and every little thing he does. We may have seen most of it before, with our first born Umar, but this serves as a reminder that it's only Musa's first time and that we need to go through it all with him and with the same feelings or at least effort we had put in the first time around. Each child is different and to think otherwise, to think that their milestones are similar or just the same... is to risk missing out on a lot of good things and their unique, individual achievements...

Note: Musa learnt to read via watching the "Your Baby Can Read" VCD series, which I had actually purchased for Umar more than 2 years ago. Since Umar was not interested in it, possibly because he had other activity classes (The Shichida Method), I kept it aside and only resurrected them when Musa was about 6 months old. Musa would watch the 20 minute VCDs once to twice a day, whilst drinking his bottled milk. And now at 16.5 months old, he still happily participates whilst watching the VCDs. In case you'd like to know more about the VCDs, you can check out this website http://www.infantlearning.com/

Musa's photo was taken on Thursday, 31 August 06 at Tok Ba's kampung house compound in Ulu Sepri, Rembau, Negeri Sembilan.