Orang Utan vs Orang Hutan

Life resumes after I got back from Sing-ka-poh Friday night. Funnily the Changi seemed a little quieter than normal. There were less ppl around. Much less than I've seen Changi ever. Even KLIA. The Lounge was deserted. On my flight back, in the Biz Class, there were about 4 passengers. Hmmm .. takut nak travel ke?

At KLIA, we had to pass a temperature screening booth but these nurses in masks only were interested to screen you if your eyes were blue/green or grey and your hair was not black. Otherwise, you're free to go and spread the germs! Hmm .. Discrimination tak habis-habis.

Anyhows.

Ayisha did have an athma attack on Tuesday night last week. Dr Rasool asked me to be alert anytime she complains of shortness of breath. Apparently if you have a family history, you're at risk at all ages. Hmm I thought once you sail through childhood with no attacks then you're fine. Hmm. Allergies too. Did I tell you that after Ariz weaned himself off me 3 months ago, he's had 3 allergic reactions that needed Zyrtec intervention immediately? He's never had any allergic reaction while he was on the breast. Now I'm feeling about him weaning.

Anyhow.

We were back at the clinic straight from the airport as Aliya was teary-eyed and coughing with headaches. She has very low pain threshold, even headaches will make her cry non-stop, but not whining, just sad tears. Found out that she has throat infection and apart from that was okay. The weather these days are seeing people and kids fall sick all the time. Adani and Ariz as usual, tried to fish for attention and tried to sound sick. Ish bebudak ni!

Well.

Today is super-hectic. I have a long list of things to do today and blogging ain't in it. But hey! A girl's gotta unwind. HOKEH?

Ayisha asked me what's the difference between Orang Utan & Orang Hutan?


I said that Orang Utan is an ape, from the monkey family, large and hairy and very like you when you're grumpy. hahahahha. *mummy ni!* Orang Hutan is someone who lives in a hutan! Okay ka?

Then I was reminded of Ariz. He now has this penchant for reading encyclopeadias and factual books. He's not into storylines like the girls. He loves to flick through my 2inch thick of History of the Ages (from the Ice Age through to the Modern World) and finds much excitement looking at pre-historic animals and dinosaurs and mammoths and animals with at least 5 syllables to their names.

Anyway, we were reading a Two-Can Animals & Planet book one night and we're at the Apes and Monkeys section. There was a picture of Orang Utan and Spider Monkey. And he took them in with keen interest.

So, when Ayisha asked about the Orang Utan. He loudly proclaimed that "Mana ada orang utan? ORANG MONKEY MONKEY HUTAN la! Macam SPIDER MONKEY"

[edited to reflect Mummy's failing memory, as highlighted by MrGart]

Errkk .. no amount of convincing him will do. So, we're stuck with Orang Monkey from now on. Sorry Orang Utan, just bear with us a little longer.

A Whirlwind

People can only see so far, the rest of Allah's will.

This week has been crazy. Really crazy.

Last week's been crazy too, but not as crazy as this week. Work has been a pain. I've been swamped and didn't have time to blog properly, which was unusual for me. The kids have been rather well-behaved considering exams were over. But we were slightly more edgy and get upset easier.

This week, we have it all sorted out. I have a sudden trip to Singapore (am writing this in MAS Lounge) and MrGart has a golf time with his buddy today. Work has been crazy since Monday and I put in more hours than I normally do.

Then just when we thought things were falling into place, Ayisha complained of chest pains and difficulty in breathing. She didn't look so good so I let her off school. I was on leave yesterday and I gave her ventolin as she was coughing a bit. She slept all day long and I completed my 120 milk bottle cookies for Farida.

By nightime, she wasn't getting any better and MrGart took her to the clinic as I was packing brownies for Ariz and Adani's Teacher's Day do today. mrgart called later to say that the nebulizer didn't work and she was referred to DEMC.

Off we all went, cookies left at home, untied.

The Emergency doctor ordered a chest x-ray cos her chest sounded tight. He needed to rule out pneumonia. Alhamdullillah the chest x-ray showed mild pneumonia and she needed to be on the nebs every 4 hours. The rooms were full, so we needed to come every 4 hours.

We came at 6am, groggily.

But this morning, Asha seemed okay and I decided to continue with trip (as if I can cancel it la kan?).

BTW she just called to report that Ariz has been bulllying the little Rexx and she sounded really "herself". HMmm..

Anyhow. Need to get to my Gate now. I love the Lounge when it's less ppl around. I literally curled myself on the sofa. Bliss!!

Ciao people. Lion City, here I come. Hmm sapa nak ajak I dinner malam ni ha?? screw dah balik mesia.

Lega ..

Exams is over, folks!

Err only if you're between the ages of 7 and 12 and schooling at Buikt Jelutong. And DAY, your ACCA is still not over yet. *hugs*

Anyhow.

Am so glad that it's over. I don't have to keep reminding (or rather shrieking to) the girls why are they watching TV and not holding a book. Or chase Adani & Ariz out of the sisters' room. Sigh!

Insyallah they will do well. *sedapkan hati*

Meanwhile. We're almost *pinches fingers* this close to getting the keys for our new abode err next door. And I'm thinking hard about the rooms' arrangement.

Aliya is big enough for her to need privacy. From us and especially from the prying and nosey sisters and brother. I think she is brave enough to sleep on her own these days, provided that her room is decorated just straight off IKEA's pages.

Ayisha may need to bunk in with Adani instead now that Aliya needs time to herself. Next year kan nak UPSR. I know both Adani and Ayisha play very well together, especially on their specialised topic of "alienating ARIZ".

Adani has been pining for us to move her toddler bed to the girls' room. BTW, she was there for a few months but walked in the middle of the night, every single night to our bed that we moved her back. Now she wants out. Pening! And her toddler bed. Hmm .. kena tukar tu.

Ariz. Talks about his room, his bed, his pillow and his everything but sleeps bawah ketiak Mummy. So not yet la. Maybe a play room just for him, for his cars and dinos and his many herds of animals and trucks and stuffs.

We're also talking about converting the other kitchen into my Cookie Studio. Fooh .. bunyi mengancam siutt!!!

Last week we dropped by uninvited to Ninuk's newly renovated place and ooohhh-ed and ahhh-ed. I love her renovation ideas. *must copy*

Hmmm itu la sahaja angan-angan di siang hari ini. Jom zuhur!

Aliya Aliya Aliya

This is one of the recent picture of Aliya. Lucky she's sitting down and not standing next to me. That would certainly put a new meaning to "short" and "stout" to me.

Anyhow.

Aliya is really tall now. I think she's only about few inches shorter than me and when we walk arm in arm, she's at par already. She's also wearing my pants (the sporty, stylo jogging pants which I no longer wear due to uhmmm excess inner capacity) and been seeb trying on my shoes and all.

She also gets a lot of phonecalls these days. Most of them are from Mimi or Farah or Azmina. Her classmates. These days, when the phone rings, we no longer get excited cos we know it's always for her. And she carries her hand-me-down handphone everywhere now.

Which I check every now and then. The ones she calls and the ones calling her. The messages and all. So far, it's still very girlish and all.

Aliya is really showing off her true character these days. She's the cool chick. She's not the talkative type, but rather the stand at the side, head tilted and scrunches her face, summing up the situation. And peole will always ask her what she thinks. Ala-ala wise la kot. *musti gene aku la tu*

And dressing wise. Hmmmm .. she doesn't like skirts. She doesn't like flowery stuff. She doesn't go for pinks anymore. She loves jeans and because she's slender and slim, she looks great in them. I think she looked like me when I was her age. Slender and her posture is straight which I so love. She loves long-sleeved t-shirts the most, especially ones with damask designs or swirls, but never flowers. She loves the type of shirts which is short-sleeved but has an inner sleeve. see picture. get it?

She loves layered look these days. Her hair is very wiry and straight length hair makes her look hefty, so this haircut is pretty new. Layered and it makes her face looks even longer.

But one thing my anak dara still does is twirl her hair. Now that her hair is short, we no longer find her in the mornings, finger stuck in the twirled hair. A habit she started when she was a baby and has never seem to be able to shake it off. Hehe!

Drive On The Left Lane, would'ja?

I should declare today as ROAD-HOGGER'S DAY !

I should also make cookies on a stick of a driver, in a car with elongated hands stretching over and under his car, hanging on to the road and fearing the car in front. All the while in the blinking fast lane.

Hmmmppttt!!

I never understand this. There are rules on the roads and there are more unwritten rules on the roads too. Let me make this clear. Crystal.

1. Close the gap. If the car in front of you moves, you move. If it stops, you stop. If it farts, you fart. Get it? So, why oh why do you have to move at 30kph and leave a gargantuan gap in front of you when the traffic was moving at 110pkh?

2. Drive please! Not read papers on the steering wheel. Not playing with your kid on the steering wheel. Not texting someone. Not on the phone with someone while you hands play charade. Just drive, will ya?

3. If you have some incurable disease of fear of driving, just stay off the roads during rush hour, please. Pretty please?

4. If you insist on driving at 30 kph when the traffic's at 110 kph, please stick to the turtle lane. That's on your leftmost lane. I know, sometimes even I confuse my rights and my lefts.

5. And please, if you insist to be unconventinal, if you demand to be different than the rest of the world and if you absolutely abhor organisation and conformity, instead of driving smugly, hand hung outside your window, looking absolutely nonchalant at the turtle speed that you are driving at on the FAST lane, go create a blog and tell people of how different you wanna be than the rest of the world.

Boleh tak??

Disclaimer : I am a veryu berhemah driver and I no longer drive on emergency lanes at Federal Highway in the mornings and that is because the police allows people to drive on emergency lanes in the mornings. Told ya!

Indeed, There Is Justice

I hope it prevails, though.

Not one to talk politics, I have been following the development of the Perak state debacle closely. Thanks to Google Reader and wireless, I get updates, even late at night and it's exciting and at the same time you feel like banging your head against the wall.

Anyhow.

I hope peace and justice will be served.

Some people forget that life is indeed a test. As the lyrics in "The Heart of A Muslim" by Zain Bikha.

Looking up at the sky, searching for Allah most High
He rejected the way of worshipping Gods of clay
Prophet Ebrahim knew that Allah was near
And that the heart of a Muslim is sincere

Under the hot burning sun, he declared God is one
Though with stones on his chest, his Imaan would not rest
The Muadhin knew that right would conquer wrong
And the heart of a Muslim must be strong

Chorus:
It’s the heart of a Muslim through the guidance of Islam
That makes you fair and kind and helpful to your fellow man
So living as a Muslim means that you must play a part
Allah looks not at how you look, but what is in your heart

In our poor meager state, little food on our plate
Mother said she was glad, always sharing what we had
When I asked how can we share what’s not enough
She said the heart of a Muslim’s filled with love

He said its time you should know, you will learn as you grow
That some people around will do what’s bad to bring you down
Father said to be a star that’s shining bright
For the heart of a Muslim does what’s right

Chorus

So whatever you, make sure your words are true
Honesty is the best, because life is a test
Even if it hurts so much you want to cry
For the heart of a Muslim does not lie

Post Mother's Day

Was it Mother's Day yesterday? Cause I didn't notice it.

Could it be because apart from the kids' early Mother's Day presents, I didn't get anything else at all ?
Could it be because my special Mother's Day lunch consisted of leftovers of MrGart and the kids? As usual.
Could it be because I was still the one ensuring that the kids were dressed, showered and fed?
Could it be because I didn't get to spend some time on my own at all?
Could it be because no bouquets of flowers came my way? and no spa/massage either !

Well, I guess .. that's the huge difference between Mother's Day and Father's Day. On Father's Day, the daddies get great lunches, some feet off time from your normal chores (now, that's a real joke!) and great hugs and kisses to appreciate everything a daddy does and time off the kids and the whole day is spent reminding of what a Daddy means.

On a Mother's Day, a mother gets to be .. tada ..a MOTHER!

It's a never-ending thing. I get kids surrounding me everywhere I go. Even to the toilet sometimes. I find them upstairs when I want to pray. I find them at my feet when I'm cooking. I find them in the bathroom when I'm peering over the many ubans that's colonising at my jambul. And wherever I find them, I sure hear them.

Heh!

If I sound a little dejected that my Mother's Day was a dissapointment. I'm not.
If I sound a little frustrated and a severely little under-appreciated yesterday. I'm not.
If I sound a tad sad for not being seen. I'm not.
If I sound a little ungrateful for the beautiful children that I have. I'm not.

*lap air hidung* what?? I have a cold.

*reminding self that every little thing that I do, it's "kerana Allah"*

p/s to all mommies-like-me, I urge you to get the Anuar Zain CD. It has proven to be an effective stress-buster, frustration killer and balm for wounded ego for me time and time again. He will sure make you cry and then he'll lift your spirits high enough that you'll find yourself belting out his songs at the top of your voice within the sanctity of your car and you will emerge a fresh and a new person. trust me. he soothed my nerves this morning and I was a wreck.