Friday, May 31, 2013

Roll over

A quick one before the weekend starts - zayd rolled over on his own today, it is 1 day short of his 3rd month since birt. I am so proud of you honey bun!

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Big Bogie

So little adik Zayd's nostrils have always produced these big bogies (they are massive! how do you fish them out anyway?), so much so that sometimes he has to stop mid-sucking during BFing so that he could actually breath by mouth. It's not hingus that's blocking his tiny nostrils, it's taik idung lembik I tell you.


So I was trying to clean it up there with a baby cotton bud when he squirmed and tossed his head around. Trying to coax him, I said, 'Zayd, Zayd kena la bagi mummy cuci. We want your nose to be clean'.


Seraya disambung kakak Aisyah dengan penuh lagak kakak sulungnya, ' Iye la... We need to have your bogies taken out so that your nose is clean. Look at mine? See? Mine is clean because I ate my bogies'.


Terperanjat gile aku dengar. Bukanlah tak pernah kantoi dia pick, lick and apparently telan, but pengakuan terang2an ni hilarious gile aku rasa. Tolonglah adik Zayd jangan ikut teladan kakak ye. 




Tuesday, May 28, 2013

End Of



Finally, thesis submitted to proof reader for proof reading, Alhamdulillah! The proof reader has asked that a 10-day period be given for her to complete the job. Frankly, I need 10-days too to recover from writing and re-writing (writing secara serius since 5 April 2013 tempohari, right after abis pantang bersalinkan Zayd).  What a challenging period this has been, dgn sakit c-sec x hilanyg lg nya masa tu, berpantang, jaga newborn, sleepless nights, etc. Now nak balik tido. Eh jap, lupa lak ada anak kecik. Tgk la dia buat apa. Kalo dia ajak main, aku nak main. Tp kalo dia tido, hah aku join sekaki la jawab nya hehehe.... sayangnya maternity leave dh nak abis. Tp x pe, balas dendam x nak pegang buku / kerja PhD lg for a few days hingga lah dah masuk kerja nanti.


Pic kat atas tu pic dpn Bangunan Smeaton (lab aku) dkt University of Plymouth dulu. Saja tgk2 gmbr semula, ternampak gmbr ni. Molek plak ada sign 'end of' tu. Harap2 the end of PhD ni pon around the corner lah, Amin... now pokok dlm gmbr tu pon dah kena tebang. Khabarnya akar dia buruk,dikhuatiri anytime leh tumbang, bahaya sgt especially Plymouth tu mmg terkenal dgn angin tepi lautnya yg ganas... So pokok tu tinggal kenangan dlm gmbr je la. Suatu ketika pernah makan lunch tiap2 tghari kat situ, sorg2 layan jiwa...


Btw, tgk2 gmbr lama bkn apa melancholic x tentu psl, tp saja amik feel. Tadi buat penambahan dkt ruang Acknowledgment. So tgk2 balik gmbr those yg byk membantu dan tempat berkongsi suka duka utk dapatkan feel menulis tu hehe...


'Some people come into our lives and go quickly. Some stay for a while and leave foot prints on our hearts, and we are never, ever the same'


Yang nyata, foot prints aku byk la tertinggal kat Plymouth. Carbon footprint pon byk jg hehehe... On a serious note, I hope I had imparted something useful and touched someone's heart too whilst I was there. Oh, rindu itu dtg lg!



Sunday, May 26, 2013

Musim Kenduri

Musim kenduri kawen dah start balik. Sejak balik, kami sekeluarga dah attended a few, but I almost forgot how busy it can get bila cuti sekolah. Maklumlah, 4 tahun kat UK, weekends jarang ada komitmen lain. My corrections had to wait, kena make way for the majlis. Ini dia budak dua org yg diangkut sama ke kenduri, sengaja I dressed them in red bg sedondon hehehe...



PS: Cuti dah start, meaning kakak Aisyah yg baru 2 minggu start tadika pun cuti la jgk seminggu *tepuk dahi*


 

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Missing My Lab

I am still on maternity leave (will end soon sob sob), but have been coming to my faculty to work on my PhD corrections since a month post delivery. And since I haven't really got an office to work in yet, I have been working from the postgraduate room. Several students have asked if I was a new Master student. Sipu2 I... muda muka agaknya eh? Of course, sbb pakai seluar jeans and sempoi makes me look more like a student than a staff.


Syukur ada facility mcm ni. Dulu before I left for PhD, my faculty x de offer working/reading room utk postgrads, unless they are research students of supervisors with grants. Alhamdulillah this room is sgt best utk bekerja. Tgh syok bekerja, tiba2 a song played on my Playlist, lagu yg slalu aku dgr masa study di lab di Plymouth, and terus jd nostalgik kejap. Yes, this lab is cosy as far as working from the lab goes, but I am missing my old lab so much. Now Room 206 Smeaton Building dah jd distant memory je lah ...  Semoga ilmu yg dikutip semasa di meja tersebut berguna for life. 


Back to reality, focusing on NOW, glad to report that I am happy to be working from here.



PS: Although I was awarded minor correction, I had to ask for one month extension to give myself time to recover from the birth and all that follows after. For those not in the know, my viva was held on 24/1/13 at 34 weeks pregnant. Balik Msia 28/1/13, then exactly 30 days later, I gave birth to Zayd. Between then and now, I have gone through jetlag, settling down, lapor diri kerja for 2 weeks before cuti bersalin, the polyhydramnios scare, the birth,  NICU, jaundice, countless blood and urine tests kat Klinik Kesihatan and Hospital Serdang for Zayd's jaundice, confinement, painful breasfeeding, sleepless nights, and submitted a whole book chapter to be published. Have been working on the correction for a few hours a day for the past month. Hopefully next week bole submit correction, doa ye...  (wow... just realised most of the above aku x document kan lg, cerita viva, cerita BF, cerita NICU... huhu... nanti dah submit bole la ye)



 

Monday, May 20, 2013

New Look

On Saturday, I took Aisyah to the the hairstylist to chop off her lovely locks. Siap tinggal Zayd kat umah dgn Hubs tu, feeling2 girls outing gitu dgn anak dara tu. Sejak sekolah ni, agak leceh nak handle rambut dia yg pjg dan asyik tangled kusut masai kalo x disikat betul2 tu. Mcm hari2 nak pakai conditioner je, and kalo dah basahkan rambut, x sempat nak guna hairdryer plak pagi2, kena air dry dulu dlm kereta, dah sampai dkt sekolah baru nak put on tudung, tu pon x baper kering lg, x syok la aku takut rambut dia kepam and berbuah plak. So easiest solution, keep it short.


Mula2 dia mmg x nak potong rambut, but then she warmed up to the idea. Alhamdulillah dia OK je. Aku yg ada lump in my throat the whole time sbb all her life, 2 kali je kot dia potong rambut (first hair cut diceritakan di sini). So, life dia, especially di UK, sgt synonymous dgn rambut pjg. Masa kat UK (mungkin sbb x rush sgt pagi2 nak gi keja and anak pon masih satu masa tu), I had a whole lot of fun buat mcm2 pesen hairstyle sblm hntr dia gi sekolah pagi2. Now I don't have much time in the morning, and bila dia dah pakai tudung lg la x de chance nak pakaikan dia nice bow or ribbons mcm dulu kala kan. Kalo dia bermain lasak lg la, Masya Allah, masam peluh dkt rambut pjg2 gitu, so better potonglah. But mmg aku yg berdebar2 and nak menitis air mata tgk rambut dia kena chop chop chop. It's like I'm erasing a part of her life in Plymouth, and walaupon ianya berbunyi spt aku seorg yg sgt loser, aku admit aku still nak cling on to whatever's left of the life over there sedayanya. 'In denial' kata Hubs, seraya menukar waktu jam laptop aku yg masih menyangkan waktu UK kepada waktu Msia. X sensitif betul dia ni  *nangis*


Anyway, as they say, 'life must go on', and I take it as a new beginning. Patah tumbuh hilang berganti, so here's a new start to life, especially her schooling, in Malaysia. Yg penting, Aisyah ceria. She is loving ehr new look, and it is manageable now.









Kakak isn't the only one yg potong rambut. I had mine cut too at the same hairstylist, sbb nya dah lebih 2 thn x potong. Masa kat UK mahal sgt nak pi salon, and also x de option muslimah kan, so kalo rimas sgt potong sendiri dpn cermin senget benget. Last2 bila malas terus la biar aje memanjang. Now dah bersalin, rambut pon spt biasa, dah start gugur dgn jayanya, time to chop off jg. Snip snip snip!


Last but not least, adik Zayd x mau ketinggalan uols. Dia pon weols botakkan rambut sbb from birth x sempat2 nak botakkan. Ni pon aku agak berdebar, sbb I loved the blond-ish tint in his hair (kenan sbb duk tgk rambut Mat Salleh sokmo masa mangandung katanya), but since sunnah rambut bayi dicukurkan semua, so x pe la. Moga2 rambut yg bakal tumbuh ni lebih sehat dan mencerdaskan mindanya, Insya Allah. Di bawah ni Before and After pics of Zayd.





Here are the two siblings donning their new hairstyle. Aren't they the cutest? 





 

Friday, May 17, 2013

Over A Year Ago

My friend shared an old video of Aisyah and her daughter Amelie yesterday. It's hard to believe this video was recorded over a year ago. This was shot in April 2012, when we were visiting friends in London (on this trip here). Dengan tidak semena-mena, rindu itu dtg lg (pada UK)...


 

Rutin (jgn la one day jd 'Rut')

Life is more managable at the moment, and we are slowly settling with an evening routine. Masuk ptg je jd lipas kudung - mandikan Zayd, susukan Zayd, mencicit masak kat dapur, makan, kemas lps makan, lipat kain baju or do other house chores, then layan/susukan Zayd lg sambil pump susu and then get Aisyah prepped for bed and then tido (only to be woken up in another hour so sbb adik Zayd nak susu or worst, nak play date with mommy for the next 3 HOURS!).


On a slightly 'relaxed' day (if it even qualifies to be called relaxed at all), Zayd will sleep after mandi ptg, so ok la memasak without interruptions. On a more, erm.. 'challenged' day, dia akan mintak didukung semata2. Lebih parah lg kalo masa tu ayahnya x balik lg dari surau, so mmg terus kena tutup la dapur for awhile. Below is somewhat a mixture of both days, and I think I like this best. Zayd x tido, tp x nangis. Cool je teman kakak Aisyah main, Ayah di surau, Mummy di dapur. Anak2 mmg penyejuk hati, Alhamdulillah (time diorg behaved la hehe) *exhale kelegaan*





Ye, our house is still very sparsely furnished, but it starts to feel like a home now. Slps 4 thn hidup di 1-bed flat, this 4-bed, 2 storey house seems too big for us. Imagine je la, kat umah di UK tu, our living room, kitchen, bathroom tu semua sama besar dgn our current master bedroom aje. Bkn rumah Msia ni yg besar, rumah UK tu yg terlalu kecil, but alah bisa tegal biasa la katakan, so masa dulu x terasa pon kecilnya. Rumah skang ni, penat gile nak kemas. Asyik nak berabuk je kat Msia ni, padahal tingkap x bukak pon. Kalo kat UK plak asyik naik mold. Nampaknya lari mulut rimau masuk mulut naga adehhh... 


 

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Licence to Drive

After five years of not sitting behind the steering wheel, finally last Thursday I started driving again. Vroommm vroommm.... road users beware, Oyis is back hehe...


Dah lama x drive. 2008 tu mmg drive x drive sbb pregnantkan Aisyah then bersalin c-sec kan. Pastu fly gi UK 4 thn, mmg kat sana x de kereta, x de lesen, so mmg x pernah pegang stereng lah. Dah balik january hari tu, kan sarat sgt, perut pon jejak steering agaknya, so postpone lagi. Dah bersalin, skali lagi c-sec, so I another waited 8 weeks. Then weekends yg sepatutnya Hubs ajar aku drive balik (konon nak belajar kat deserted parking lot mana2 dulu), tp ada mcm2 plak plan nya, nak balik kampung la, minggu mengundi la, so postpone lg. Skali last week, tgh aku lunch date dgn Hubs kat luar, tiba2 dia kena rush balik opis, so x sempat nak drive aku balik umah mak aku dulu (where the kids were at). Terus dia ckp, 'Eh drive je lah terus eh?). What?!?! Panic mula menguasai diri, tp bawak la jgk tersemput2 perlahannya. Alhamdulillah ok and dah slowly gained balik skills and confidence tu. Now mmg dah jadi 'supirah' la bawak anak2 ke sana ke mari heheh..


Ni nak share my licence picture yg snapped lps balik Msia hari tu. My lesen hilang kat UK a couple of years ago, sbb dompet tercicir, tp hanya dpt renew bila balik hari tu. Nasib baik x disuruh amik driving test lg skali :P 


Ok jgn gelak. Mmg tembam sgt2 coz this was at 36 weeks pregnant and I was not happy coz it was too hot hehehe... (baru balik x sampai seminggu, tgh adjust, dgn pregnant kan lg panas dia luar biasa)..



Now at 10 weeks post-partum, the lemak degil masih ada, tp syukurlah some of it has gone jg... (kan?)




 

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

School Resumes

Alhamdulillah, Kakak Aisyah dah start school since smlm (Tuesday, 14/5/13). In a way rasa mcm regressing sket sbb sblm ni kat UK dah masuk Reception Year kat Primary School, skali balik Msia undur balik masuk tadika. Tp x pe la, pengisian dia mcm lg advance kat Msia je, sbb kat UK tu pon walau dah Reception Year, still kurikulum dia x expect budak2 pandai membaca or buat mathematical operations, whereas kat Msia hampir semua budak dah bole buat kot. Apapon, syukur sgt2 dia rasi dgn tadika tu. Mmg byk perbezaan, bahasa, material kelas, kawan2, uniform, and also bangunan tadika yg mana merupakan rumah eng lot converted to tadika je kan, unlike masa dia sekolah kat UK dulu, but she adapted well. Maybe sbb dah biasa gi school kot. She was actually berkobar2 nak gi school, lama sgt tinggal since January huhu... Paling membanggakan (me as a mom), she stuck to wearing tudung the entire time. Ni budak yg x leh panas sket uols, tp dah bole pakai tudung x cabut2, so Alhamdulillah sgt. Cikgu2 dia pon OK, and I'm glad that she is not forced to do any learning just yet. Minggu ni cikgu suh dia get used to the surroundings, so dia mmg main je lah the whole time there dkt cooking set, kat see saw luar, slides etc.


Ada ramai yg tanya, knp x hntr tadika yg English medium, or hntr terus International School (wah, my wallet is not that thick!), but my answer is, aku nak Aisyah belajar benda yg aku x sempat lg mengajar kat dia - Arabic, Qiraati, Jawi, amali solat, doa2 dsb nya. Hok English tu, insya Allah x lupa la, sbb kat umah mmg speaking lg dgn aku, plus YouTube kan ada, kejanya asyik tgk cartoon in English je, so there's no real worries there, I think. 


Tadika yg dipilih skang ni I think is a good choice for her - dkt dgn umah my mom for easy pickup kalo x sempat nak jemput balik from school, dkt dgn my office jg, tadika agama some more, the school is run by a trusted family friend, and most importantly, I agree with the way they do things. For instance, morning snack is not provided, so kena bwk from home, which I prefer, sbb dah terbiasa buat packed lunch utk Aisyah dulu, and that way I can monitor what/how much she eats or drink. Kalo x abis air then I know to give her more water at lunch / dinner time. Kalo mkn kat sekolah, like bihun goreng, mmg budak tu x akan mkn la sbb most likely too pedas for her. Secondly, they go with the flow aje tgk ability budak2 especially Qiraati session is more one-to-one, meaning a four year old can be doing a six year old material kalo dia dah mampu, and vice versa. This is good sbb Aisyah, although masuk kelas for 5 yr olds, she has no basics for Jawi/Qiraati, then ok lah, bole start at the lowest level. Tidaklah dia rasa ketinggalan sgt, and she can just go at her own pace. Thirdly, they ols x paksa budak tu blaja the first week, and gave her time to adapt, which is a relief. Cikgu2 dia pon suka kalo kita drop off anak for the first few days and TAK tunggu di kelas. If the child cries, cikgu2 akan pandai2 pujuk. Oh, ini aku suka sgt. Mmg kat UK pon nursery ke, x bg mak bapak tunggu. Drop, Kiss and Bye-Bye. Another one, all work and books kept at school (no homework, yes! aku mmg anti homework for pre-schoolers), and x yah lugging bag berat2 everyday. In fact stationaries pon diaorg x bg bwk takut hilang (or maybe nangis2 sesama budak jeles etc), so selamatttt ... x yah la tiap2 minggu nak beli pemadam and tiap2 bulan nak ganti pencil colour hehe... Plus, get this, although class starts at 8.30 am, children are encouraged to come as early as 7 am so that bole prektis Qiraati dgn cikgu2 before the official class starts, at no extra charge. Who doesn't like early drop off for FREE, siap ada pengisian lagi tu? Even in the UK pon ada early drop off ni, dipanggil Breakfast Club (utk parents yg kena masuk keja awal), but of coz ada charge nya. Semoga Allah merahmati semua guru2 kat sini, for their hardwork and dedication. All in all, x byk beza dgn what both me and Aisyah are used to in the UK, so we'll see lah. Hopefully this is the best path for all of us.


Ni Aisyah pada hari pendaftaran last week. Siap kena amik gambar saiz passport gitu.





Ni plak on her first day at school yesterday (alamak x berkasut - dalam rumah). Lain sgt kan, compared to this uniform here




I hope the feeling of loving to learn sticks with her for life. Semoga Allah terangkan hati mu anakku Aisyah utk menerima ilmu yg bermanfaat di dunia dan akhirat. Mummy harap Aisyah sentiasa ceria bgn pagi and get ready nak pegi sekolah mcm skrg2 ni. I just wish we didn't have to commute for almost an hour from home to school/work everyday (jam 7 am dah bergerak). If only dpt jalan kaki je cam kat Plymouth dulu, 30 seconds pon cukup nak sampai school, then you wouldn't have had to wake up so early everyday huhu...


I am so proud of you, my honeybun!


Friday, May 10, 2013

The Baby and the Sitter

Pics of the baby and the sitter, x lain x bukan, his sister :)


Aisyah is very fond of his brother. Kalo suruh jaga adik skjp (e.g. nak solat), she does a great job. Yang gmbr pegang rattle tu, she rattled the thing for half an hour straight, and amazingly, adik dia yg duk hok hek hok hek asalnya, mmg diam selama mana rattle tu berbunyi. Doesn't take much to amuse him at this age, I guess hehe..




Yang ni plak dia share kan tab dgn adik dia. Yg adik pun, bersungguh la tgk kartun kakak Aisyah tgk kat YouTube tu, mcm la faham pun hihi...





Alhamdulillah... moments like these make my heart melt :) Semoga mereka menjadi anak2 yg soleh dan solehah, serta keakraban kekal sehingga dewasa hendaknya, amin...


Have a nice weekend, everyone!


 

Thursday, May 9, 2013

My Very Own Little Food Critic

Masa awal2 kawen, aku kerap makan kat luar, feeling dating hari2 gitu katanya hehe. Aku selalu heran kenapa kakak2 senior kat tempat keja cpt2 jam 5 dah punch and then amik anak, singgah kedai lauk basah then terkejar2 nak masak plak. Bukankah lebih senang beli ajo? Even x nak mkn dlm kedai pon, aku rasa, senang lg beli lauk then balik umah masak nasik putih. Tapi ada akak tu explain kat aku, kalo x balik masak mcm tu, nnt anaknya x nak mkn. Dlm hati aku duk berfikir2, ye ke? Bukan ke budak2 lg suka mkn luar ke?


Now, dah berempat, baru aku faham, sebenarnya leceh nak mkn luar, dgn balik keja lambatnya, dgn ada anak keciknya, bersesak2, bising2 dan kdg2 lmbt menunggu food masak. Pastu bab ongkos jgn cerita la kan. Nyaris terjatuh kerusi tgk bil mkn luar after balik dari UK. Inflasi mencekik darah kaw2 lah Msia ku ini.


But reason utama kena masak is bcoz Aisyah is a very picky eater. Kalo kat luar susah dia nak mkn byk. Kalo aku yg masak je, baru dia nak habis sepinggan, padahal lauk ayam goreng dgn sup sayur. Or telur dadar dgn sotong halia. Even kalo order lauk yg sama kat kedai pon, dia tetap mkn sket. Mungkin inilah dikatakan keberkatan air tgn ibu. Emaknya x terror bab masak pon, tetaplah sedap dan dikenang sampai bila2 kih kih kih...


Aku test tanya dia smlm...


Me: Aisyah, which is better, mkn restaurant, or mummy masak?

Aisyah: Mummy masak!

Me: Mummy masak lebih sedap daripada restoran?

Aisyah: Mummy's cooking is BETTERER (better) .... some days


Some days? Hok aloh, baru nak kembang idung, kempis balik :P


Here is Little Miss Food Critic herself