Khalif Sucks his Thumb!

My nephew Khalif is nine months and oh so cute ... he has taken to jumping up and down and loves it! Very much like his father at that age. He has such soft brown hair and soft white skin and his legs .... oooo ... little drumsticks!

This is Khalif and Murni, and he is such an attention seeker, always looking for his mommy now. He can sit up pretty steadily and he has even taken to rushing for the same toys Ali is holding. I can't wait to see him moving around on his tiny feet.

And the nost shocking thing is, he sucks his thumb just like Nadiah! After every feed, he will stick his thumb in his mouth and suckle a little before he starts jumping again! Makes me wonder where all this thumb sucking started in the first place.

The dilemma I am faced with now is how to get her to stop! She will be 8 in a few weeks time and still loves her thumb so much! Murni even scared me with a story of her sis who sucked until her teen years. Yikes!

Najihah couldn't get enough of Khalif, she finds him so adorable and cute. Bet she can't wait till he is a little bigger and she can play with him. By that time, she will have her little own baby brother or sister too. Hmmmm ...

In Life and Death

Today is the 8th day of Syawal and many things have happened this week. First and foremost, it has been a very hot week! Ramadhan was much cooler with lotsa rain and cloudy skies.

The saddest news is that my uncle passed away yesterday morning. He had a cardiac arrest about one half months ago and was recovering in IJN before they moved him to GH. After awhile, the doctors said there was no more hope and he was taken off the life support machine. Yesterday he went away peacefully and I think the pace was good as all family members were prepared. But prepared as you are there is no way to express the loss felt.

When I was carrying Ali, 3 years ago, my youngest uncle died of cancer. My aunty also passed away on my birthday this year with cancer. This time that my uncle passed away I am carrying another child. There is the relation between life and death. God giveth some and he taketh some.

It was a sad occasion at the graveyard yesterday. All the relatives were wishing each other Selamat Hari Raya amidst tears and looks of sorrow. Everyone was gathered to pay their last respects to my uncle and bid his family well but in the end, the man is left all alone in that grave, waiting for the angels to come.

Death is a very sad thing ... but it is inevitable. It comes no matter what, it is just a matter of when. Only God knows that. They say we must celebrate life when we have it and at the same time religion teaches us to work for the hereafter as that is permanent. It is up to each of us to find that balance and make sure that our life here does not forget what comes after, which is the ultimate.

Even in death we celebrate the living, We visit and attend tahlils to extend our prayers to the dead and to extend our hands to the living in hopes that their burden of losing that loved one is eased. I have suffered losses although not of immediate family but of uncles and aunties and of course grandparents.

I cannot imagine what it would be like to lose my mother or father or anyone else closer to me. I cannot imagine how I would take it and accept it. Life deals us the cards and it is up to us to take those cards and play them. To make them work the best for us. God has given us this life and it is up to us to play it the best way we have been taught. I hope and pray we are playing our cards right.

Hari Raya is here ....

The Hari Raya balik kampung exodus began last night for many. Today will be more hectic I assume since they closed schools today to allow parents ample time to bring their families home for the Eid holidays. I expect that Saturday will be even more terrible on the highways with families rushing home at the last minute.

What about me then? Which part of the crazy team am I? Well, I am here in my room in Ara Damansara. I confirmed that I was expecting early this week then a few days later had some light spots. Told my gynae about it and she suggested bed rest. We cancelled our balik kampung plans and will most likely spend Hari Raya here. This will be a first for me as I have never ever spent it here. Before I got married it was always in Taiping and after marriage it was in Bukit Mertajam.

I have always wanted to spend it here, cause I heard that the city is really nice and quiet so I guess this is my chance. Of course my mom and mom-in-law are sad that we can't come back. They want to see their grandkids more than anything of course. Well, some things will just have to wait!

In a way, it would be good to be here. For a change and don't have to go through that stress of making everyone happy by being at so many places at one time. Hahahaa ... know what I mean. This way, no party can get upset with you. Bob was saying that he may take the kids back just for a day to Bukit Mertajam. Oh well ... now that means I will be here all alone. Wonder what that would be like! GULP!

I know some of my friends will be spending Raya here. I even have cousins who spend Raya here if I am up for bed rest how do I get around then. Hmmmm ....

Anyways, Selamat Hari Raya to all my friends. Minta maaf zahir dan batin....

Cookies for Fun

I finally found the energy to make cookies with the kids and what an experience it was with little Ali. He was literally all over the place. But amidst shouts of "Ali, NO!" we managed to bake 3 types of cookies. The first 2 taste mych better than the last one I baked. The last one I baked was taken from a Malay recipe book ... you know how every cookie just taste the same with only a small variation in between ...well, that's how it tasted I guess.

The girsl had a fantastic fun time though and I am glad. After all, it was an activity for the kids too. Bob took some great shots of Ali making a mess but have not had time to download it yet. He was eating all the chocolate chips instead of putting it as decor for the cookies! And he insisted the pump to cream out the cookies was a gun of some sort. It was quite funny to see him threatening us with it.

Exactly 5 days left of the Ramadhan and it is taking its toll on me. Am tired but for a reason (shhhhh..., will tell at another time). The two girls have not missed a day yet except for Nadiah today. She was getting ready for school and insisted that she was hungry. So of course I let her break fast and off she went to school happily.

Let's see how the remainder of the days go ...

Masks

It has been a good week with the kids being away from school. At least I don't have to worry about H1N1 all the time and making sure they have those surgical masks on their faces all the time.

This evening I saw the Health Minister on TV during the news hour and he was speaking about H1N1 but you know what! I just could not concentrate on what he was saying. He was talking so slowly and his droning on and on was ... well, boring! Which is sad because I am sure he had important points to get across. Not sure if it was him or what but maybe reporters, TV ones especially, should take more effort when they are editing. Instead of showing every word the man is saying, what is wrong with giving key words or shorter excerpts. Like a rap! hahahaha ....*wink*

Am just wondering what is the best way to make it more appealing to listeners thats all. This may also count as ranting. Guess I will just have to read the papers about what he said tomorrow.

This morning's newspapers was even more sad, there was an article on H1N1 and I haven't seen one of importance in awhile. This was quoting our DPM and he was saying it is up to schools if they want to ask kids to wear masks or not. Is that really the news??? DUH! I am sorry if the reporter and the editor who thought that was the news feel offended. But honestly, is that really what parents want to hear!

WHO has called this a world pandemic and they worry about wearing masks or not. I mean I know that is an important deterrent (some doctors say otherwise) but isn't there more earth shattering news to share!

Cest La Vie ...

Holiday Again ...

I had a pleasant surprise yesterday when the girls told me there will be no school next week except for Friday because of the UPSR exams. Monday is a public holiday cause of Nuzul Quran and it will continue to Thursday until after the exams. They only go back to school on Friday. And that would only be for a week as the week after that would be the Hari Raya break already.

Which means these past few weeks and the whole of September is filled with holidays. Yeaaahhhh! Just too bad we can't go off for a holiday because it's the fasting month. But at least the girls won't be too tired cause they are fasting and they have no school. The other question is, how do I fill up their time when they have those few days break!

It would be a good time to get started on the cookies for one. The girls can be quite helpful in the kitchen until of course they get bored and start making a mess. Ali will be of help too as he loves messing around in the kitchen. Don't know how much of the cookies I can actually get going with all these extra "help" but it's worth a try. Besides, it's the fun in it all!

So here is to a great weekend and a better week ahead. See if we could actually go off for a holiday we would have 6 whole days. DAMN!

Good luck to my nephew and others sitting for the UPSR. All the best ...!

Doing Well

It has been a rather hectic week since school started but am glad for the busy schedule cause time flies by faster. From the time I get up for sahur till it's time for break fast, time is like a whirlwind.

Am very proud of my two girls cause they have not missed a day yet of the Ramadhan. Of course the first few days were harder but by the 13th day today, they have more or less gotten used to it. I suppose this is made easier by the fact they had the school holidays to start fasting.

I was a bit worried when school started on Tuesday that they would not be able to take it but so far so good. Of course there are desperate cries of I am so hungry and oh so thirsty but they have not broken half day or anything.

The school week these past two months is short too! A week before the school holidays last month, school closed for a week due to cases of H1N1 which means the girls had 2 weeks off. This Monday is a public holiday and it will continue to Thursday because of the UPSR exams.
Than it would be a week of school only before the one week Hari Raya Aidil Fitri break.

The good thing about all these breaks is that the girls can fast easily without too many cries of hunger and thirst as they will not be too tired from school. Must also say that God has blessed us with cool weather so far this Ramadhan, making it easier on his Ummah!