Snapshot inTime

"Being cozy with my mummy makes me very sleepy" kata Aisyah. 

Pada usia semuda ini, dia sudah acapkali mengeluarkan kata2 berbaur falsafah spt di atas keh keh keh... Sbnarnya masa ni dia lps mkn snack balik drpd sekolah, and berguling2 manja dgn emaknya, nak dpt haba lebih sbb winter2 ni mmg sejuk, apatah lg kami mmg skint sket so kalo takat 7-8 celcius tu, mana bukak heater lg hehe.

Anyway, keadaan amat busyyyyy skali on my end. Tu yg senyap bbrp hari. Bkn x de modal, bkn x amik gmbr, tp x de masa huhu. In sha Allah in a few days after dah siap correction ni lega sket la.

But in the meantime, a snapshot of when Aisyah said the words above. Gmbr tu menunjukkan what life is like right now for me, juggling mummyhood and PhD at the same time. Pada masa ni, aku tgh membetulkan thesis atas katil, laptop perched on a few pillows so that mcm dah jd meja. Peha kanan memangku kepala Aisyah, peha kiri memangku draf tesis yg dah disemak SV. Inilah juggling and balancing antara ibu dan pelajar dalam erti kata sebenar. 

Oh, and yes, I am wearing kain batik. Kain batik di musim winter uols. Qlate meets Plymouth. No thermal2 underneath. Ada berannn? :)

School Picture

School picture Aisyah utk this year dah keluar. Alhamdulillah, terjawab sudah soalan bagaimanakah outcome nya? Syukur lah decent, x mcm masa dia masuk paper hari tu, tertoleh2 ke lain plak.

Persoalan nya skang, which package to get? And whose willing to sponsor? hehe... 

Pyjamas Day At School

Last Friday Aisyah's school held a fundraising event - Pyjamas Day for the Children in Need. The kids were allowed to wear their pyjamas or spotty gear to school, and utk setiap sorg di-cas £1 sbg token. This was what Aisyah wore. It was such a sight to see children in pyjamas and onesies running around school! 

Evidence of A Busy Week

Smlm beli cartridge baru, smlm jgk habis in one go. Err...

PS: Had a meeting with SV this morning. Handed in several materials that were due, hence sampai cartridge pon mintak nyawa :P

Hot Stuff

rambut dulu dan skang... Ni sbb rambut bergulung2.. kalo lps mandi, straight, mmg nak jejak pinggang...

Ni snippet perbualan sebulan dua yg lps, tp pg td masa blow dry kan rambut dia teringat balik kisah silam.. Rambut Aisyah dah panjang skang. Dah melepasi separuh pinggang dia pon. Memandangkan dah sejuk skang ni, kalo lps shampoo aku suka blow dry terus rambut dia. Kalo musim summer tu dia dry naturally je, tp kalo bersejuk kepala lama2 kang selesema susah plak. 

So masa baru2 nak guna hairdryer kat dia tu, aku explain la kat dia benda ni bising, tp jgn takut. Walaupon aku biasa guna utk aku, tp dia x pernah amik pusing masa aku pakai tu. Dan aku acah2 dgn dia main tembak2 (demonstrate sket hot air tu mcm mana tp hala ke tempat lain, just to familiarise her with the sound and heat). Also, aku teringat, kalo masa dah guna nnt bole jd panas dkt kulit kepala dia, tp kdgn bunyi berderummm tu aku takut x dgr dia komplen. So pesan, kalo panas, angkat tgn ok? Dlm hati, berbangga dgn ke-genius-an sendiri mencipta method utk berkomunikasi. 

So kita pon start la on kan hairdryer tu... x sampai 5 saat Aisyah angkat tgn. off kan hairdryer 

Me: What is it, Aisyah? 

Aisyah: It's hot 

Me: Too hot? It hurts? (pelik sbb setting paling low) 

Aisyah: No, not hurt. It's just hot 

Oh, dia ingat aku pesan kalo rasa hot /warm angkat tgn. ok2... re-phrase.. 

Me: Oh. Well the hairdryer is meant to blow hot air. Only put your hand up if you need to say something to me okay? 

Aisyah: Ok 

[puts on hairdryer again. 3 seconds lps tu, Aisyah angkat tgn lg] 

Me: Yes? 

Aisyah: I have something to say 

Me:What is it? 

Aisyah: I love you, Mummy... 

Aiyooo... salah lg instruction yg aku bg tuh 

Me: When I mean something you need to say, I meant something important and urgent, like the hairdryer is too hot it hurts your scalp ok?

Aisyah: Oh ok... 

Tp bila pikir2 balik, mmg x lengkap instruction aku tuh. Kalo buat research, assumption aku x declare sepenuhnya. Kena re-define semula my words. Pening Aisyah. Haopefully my thesis is better worded than my instruction to her.

But as of now, method angkat tgn masa blow dry rambut tu dah fool proof, phew!

 

Harvest Festival 2012

Td ada perjumpaan dgn SV. Oh Tuhan, letihnya badan... Apa tidaknya, for the past few weeks mmg pulun sepulun2 nya to meet today's deadline. Ada bbrp benda kena add, and so the deadline is now moved to Monday. Though I'm grateful that the meeting went well, so, so exhausted sbb this weekend belom bole berjimba2 lg. If anything, must do more huhu...

X pe la. A lot happened today. Sekolah Aisyah buat Pyjamas Party. and also today aku daftarkan dia masuk Circus Club (training utk balance and main mcm2 show sarkas), but those entry will have to wait sbb yg stok hari Rabu lps pon aku x cerita2 lg Harvest Festival nya hoho.

Ok, the event was on last Wedneday (13/11/2012). This event was held annually dkt sekolah Aisyah. There were stalls selling cakes made from harvested produce (pumpkin cake, chocolate beetroot brownies, pumpkin tart, and other cakes), stalls selling savoury food also from harvested produce (pumpkin soup, potato salad, etc), and of course, activities stalls utk budak2 such as cupcake decorating, apple spiraling, apple bobbing, lucky dip, raffles and guess the weight of this big-a$$ pumpkin (besar giler. Aku angkat mmg rasanya lebih 15 kg kot).

These are some of the pics on the day. 

Oh, and I found her pumpkin design entry on the wall in the hall, tp org terlalu sesak, x sempat nak amik gmbr.

Mann... this entry is gibberish. Need. Sleep. Now. Zzzzz ...

Bottom and Butt

Aisyah skang kuat berbual. Pot pet pot pet. Mcm2 la dia cerita. Mmg bole dibawak berborak dah. Kdg2 mcm org tua pon ada jg gaya jawapan nya. Mcm mak dia lah agaknya, kalo tgk kat blog pon byk celoteh, in real life, lg la motor-mouth sebenarnya. Mmg aku pon rajin melayan dia bercakap sbnarnya, sbb nak galakkan dia berkomunkasi, dan sbb mmg kelakar.

Mcm 2 kisah di malam ni. 

Kisah 1: Bottom

Kitaorg order pizza utk mkn mlm. Aisyah kutip makan cheese dan topping2 je. X nak mkn roti nya, crust apa tah lg. 

Me: Aisyah, you have to eat this (pointing to the pizza base). You need to get some carbohydrate in you.

Aisyah: But Mo-ommm {exasperated sigh}... I don't like the PIZZA BOTTOM

Me: Hah? Pizza bottom?!?!

Sedap2 dia je cipta perkataan baru. Pizza base jd pizza bottom. Tp aku pikir2 logik jgk la istilah dia tu, sbb pizza ada topping, so kalo top lawan nya bottom la kan, ye dak? 

****

Kisah 2: Butting In

Masih lg mkn pizza (mmg family yg berborak non-stop kami ni di waktu dinner - sunnah tu). Tgh2 bercerita, Aisyah tiba2 terkentut dgn kuat nya (tp maintain berborak mcm x de apa).

Aisyah: Pot Pet Pot Pet... {Proottt terkentut} ... Oopss, that was me.. Pot Pet Pot Pet...

Hubs: (to me) Eii.. bahaya betul kalo kentut kat rumah org mcm ni. Mesti org kata mak bapak dia biasa kentut kuat2 kat rumah

Me: (to Hubs) Hahhaha... Ntah nya... kat sekolah ntah mcm mana agaknya. Mesti puas cikgu2 dia gelak dgr budak2 kecik terkentut hari2

Aisyah: (butting in) No, at school I do a QUIET ONE so the teachers don't know it was me

Me and Hubs: {gelak guling2}

Aisyah: Yeah, sometimes I cough and I fart

Me: Do you mean you coughed so hard you farted, or because you needed to fart, you faked a cough?

Aisyah: I coughed so the teachers think it was the other children who farted!

Ladies and gentleman, my genius daughter :P

PS: Aisyah speaks in English as her first language, despite Hubs and I speak nothing but Malay to each other. Notice that she, however, understands what is being spoken (especially kalo kitaorg kutuk dia hehe), but she just refuses to reply in Malay. Ada jg time angin2 dia nak belajar BM, dia tanya la what's this what's that in Malay, and aku sedaya nya cuba sembunyi kan senyum2 kambing bila dia ulang sebut perkataan BM dalam pelat British.  

Sleeping Beauty Ballet

Hari Sabtu yglps (10.11.12 - tarikh cantek), aku berpeluang membawa Aisyah menonton ballet karyaan Matthew Bourne di theatre. Tajuk cerita ballet tersebut ialah 'Sleeping Beauty'. Kami pergi bersama2 dgn sorg lg kwn aku, Kak Maz*ni. Tiket kami ni dah lama dibeli, sbb kuciwa terlepas the last ballet show - The Swan Lake.

Mmg sudah lamaaaaa skali aku memasang angan2 utk menonton persembahan ballet, tp apakan daya sebelum ni belom berkesempatan. Persembahan teater lain spt musical, panto, puppet show, so far sudah bbrp kali berpeluang menonton, tp ballet ni unik. Dialog nya x byk, tp lebih kpd penceritaan dlm bentuk tarian. Very2 graceful and mesmerising moves dia. Satu lg angan2 aku kalo berpeluang ialah utk pergi menonton opera pula, walau pon mmg x faham langsung la kan dialog dia (ada subtitle nasib baik), tp nk jg, just for the experience, bole la rasa2 pelbagai genre.

Lg pon this opportunity came at a good time, dgn aku dah nak balik Msia, and also Aisyah is old enough to understand the story. She is very into the ballet, tp kitaorg x hntr la dia masuk kelas ballet or anything yet. Just suka2 joget sendiri ada la hehe... But to get into the spirit of everything, aku put her ballet costumes on, hair in a bun, I even ordered those pink ballet tights off eBay a few weeks back, so dia feeling2 ballerina dan menjiwai cerita gitu sket. Biar budak2 rasa excited dan x kebosanan masa dlm audiotrium nnt (3 jam)...

Seperti yg dijangka, teater mmg full house sbb ballet mmg popular. This is Aisyah posing2 dgn rented binoculars. We were sat up high in the Upper Circle, smack banged in the middle (Row F, Seat 31, 32, 30). The panoramic view tu konon nak tunjuk full seats in all three tiers, tp x mencapai maksud la plak. Anyway, since x leh amik gmbr or recording sepanjang show berlangsung, maka x dpt la nak share pertunjukan nya mcm mana. 

Cerita nya bertemakan Gothic Romance, so awal2 ad scene yg agak menakutkan (utk budak2), but it was rated sesuai utk family, so tu yg bole bwk Aisyah. But babak ada wicked fairy tu, sungguh2 Aisyah pegang tgn aku, nasib baik dia x nangis. Jalan cerita ok, tarian mmg mengasyikkan. Cuma in my opinion, ballet agak kurg aksi berbanding musical, and disebabkan ballet yg kami pergi ni contemporary sket dancing dia, rasa kurg ummphh. Walau bagaimana pun mmg respek la pada director and producer ballet ni, sbb bkn senang nak buat a fresh rendition of such a well-known story. In fact, at the very end time org applaud2 tu, aku rasa cam nak nangis sbb tiba2 terfikir how many hours went into rehearsing, and rehearsing, and rehearsing, utk perfect kan the show and bila dpt standing ovation begitu, pastinya rasa segala time and effort membuahkan hasi(ni sbnar nya masa tu perasan dkt diri sendiri sbb tgh turmoil nak siapkan PhD. Analogi usaha dan pengorbanan spjg belajar, dan kalo lulus viva (ovation), tentu nya semua berbaloi. Lately, kalo soal bab belajar, mmg touching sket... sretttt....)

Anywayyyyy... this is the little girl yg seronok sgt tu. She received quite a few compliments sbb dressed up well for the occasion. Budak2 lain ada jg yg berbaju ballet, ada yg pakai fairy wings dsb nya. Lps dah habis teater tu, ingat nak amik gmbr byk2 tp susah sbb Aisyah dah naik sheikh berballet, dia plak merata2 berlari, melompat, berpusing dan basically buat free ballet show la kat tgh2 lobi tu huhu...

 

Funny Streak

Kalo diikutkan mmg byk aktiviti Aisyah di sekolah yg x sempat aku upload lg, since September lps pon ada. Sayang kalo missed out on the chronicles of her schooling life here, tp schooling life aku skang pon mmg hectic tahap x tido mlm jgk, so mana2 yg sempat la aku tepek di sini.

Sekolah Aisyah esok ada Harvest Festival, so ada chance shopping2 produce from the school garden, and also ada bric-a-brac sale kot. Oh and games for the children too I suppose, so kena ingat nak bwk duit kecik esok. 

Tiap2 tahun ada Pumpkin Carving Design contest sempena event ni. Last year we've been to the same Harvest Festival, tp Aisyah x masuk contest Pumpkin Design. All penyertaan digantung sekeliling sekolah, so last year rugi lah sbb dia x join (rasa mcm dia x pandai melukis lg masa tu). But this year, dia masuk. I am quite proud that she did the picture herself (x mintak tolong pon), and that she has a funny streak in her. Ntah sapa bg idea buat pumpkin tersengih terjelir mcm tu. Alas, dia x menang, tp dpt la hadiah penyertaan, coklat sebiji. But on the event esok I'll be sure try to keep an eye on Aisyah's entry, kalo2 jumpa around school hehe. 

After School Club

I want to write about psl After School Club yg Aisyah attend skang ni. Well, nama mcm ganas kan, tp yg sebenornya kelab ni mcm 'Kelas Transit' lah istilah nya di Msia, kira overtime drpd jam sekolah budak2, biasa nya utk parents yg bekerja dan x dpt nak pick up sblm waktu kerja tamat tp waktu sekolah dah habis.

Aku baru tau je psl adanya facility (berbayar) ni kat sekolah. Sblm ni mmg berpatah arang berkerat rotan terpaksa balik / kansel / cut short meeting yg after Aisyah's school hours, or terpaksa mohon bantuan rakan2 utk jaga Aisyah kjp time betul2 terpaksa. Alhamdulillah, bila ada kemudahan mcm ni, aku rasa ada la option sket. 

Sbb peringkat writing aku adalah di tahap kritikal, maka ada a few days in a week that we send her ther so that i can spend longer writing uninterrupted. alhamdulillah, dia dah suka attend club tu. Awal2 dulu nangis jg sbb aku pickup dia pkl 5 ptg dah gelap. Dia kata dah mlm baru aku amik dia (skang winter, hari pendek). But that's beside the point. What I'm trying to write is that bagusnya inisiatif sekolah buat kelab (or kelas transit if you want to call it that) mcm ni. They don't only have After School club, but also Breakfast Club, yakni mak pak bole hntr anak2 gi sekolah seawal 7.30 pg utk ibu bapa yg bekerja masuk shift awal. They also have Lunch Club, so masa lunch, anak2 ni dijaga mkn dan minum nya, serta kalo diorg bermain kat playground (dlm kawasan sekolah), ada yg tgk2 kan. After School Club yg Aisyah attend plak adalah sistem utk jaga anak2 after school. Kelab ni terbuka utk semua pelajar sekolah tersebut, from nursery to Year 6, dan sebenarnya di sub kpd party luar, cuma bertempat di sekolah.

Aku just terbayang, alangkah bagusnya kalo kelab mcm ni dibuat di sekolah2 di Msia. Apatah lg pernah kedengaran kes2 anak sekolah yg hilang/ almost hilang / dicabul / dibuli (nauzubillah) sbb sampai awal or lambat pualng drpd sekolah. Tu belom kes jatuh dsb nya di waktu rehat psl x de sapa yg tgk kan depa bermain. Kalo ada kelab sebegini, lega la jg ibu bapa nak hntr awal or amik lambat jika terpaksa.

Aku tahu tadika byk offer kelas transit ni (sbb private), but once masuk sekolah rendah dah x de option ni. Usually aku tgk anak2 diletakkan di rumah pengasuh di waktu senggang antara sekolah pagi  dan sekolah agama, or terus sampai ke ptg di rumah pengasuh, especially kalo mmg ada adik2 kecil yg lain yg pengasuh tu turut jaga. Kalo yg mmg ada pengasuh or bibik, ok la kot. But utk yg lain2 mcm mana ye? 

But then kalo dgn pengasuh, pengisian mungkin x sebanyak in the club, coz diorg buat melukis, painting, main games, puzzles, toys etc. Just my thought in this. Nanti balik Msia x tau lg arrangement nya bakal jd mcm mana for us. Do you think ada market utk benda ni kat Msia?

Things I'm Going to Miss Most #2

Beli buku murah2. Bole kata every week beli 1, 2 buah buku. Buku citer, buku self-help, buku kanak2. Tp semua second hand books. Kalo bkn from kedai charity shops, clearance sale from library, from car boot sale, from ebay, amazon dsb nya. Mmg puas hati. Mcm mana x gile, tgk, mcm ni pon bwh £4. Yg LOTR trilogy tu, 50 p (less than £1). Kalokat Msia, kalo terpaksa terjah MPH and beli brand new books, alamat nya satu buku sebulan la kot T_T (ini rate zaman anak dara dulu, masuk gaji beli buku sebijik).

Aku x byk bwk balik toys or clothes, but books, erm... half of the boxes that we packed utk buat balik Msia are books hehe.. Hari tu masa dah packed abis buku2 aku, I made a promise to Hubs utk tidak lg membeli buku2. Tp every other week still terbeli satu, then lg satu, then lg satu.. bila stock nak baca dah habis kena la gi tambah kan. Rasa cam x lengkap plak x de bahan bacaan ringan. walhal internet ada. Tau2 je dah setinggi ni (slps dah janji x nak beli). Erk... Hubs agak musykil, mana aku dpt masa ntah baca semua ni bila aku tgh wat thesis (sbb aku hanya beli more bila stock dlm simpanan dah habis baca). Jawapan nya, masa nak tido baca 10-15 minit every night. Lama2 habis jua.