Pussycat,pussycat, where have you been?

I've been to - places...
Been busy working too
Plus there's some problem with the computer at home, hence no internet access.

Anyway, here's a brief update.

1. Been to Masjid Negeri, Shah Alam to listen to Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qardawi
That was on 2 Muharram. Went there with Mak and Ayah. It was good to witness the masjid being full - Malaysiakini reported that there were 4000 in attendance, but it sure felt like there were more. It was good to see that there were more young people in attendance - mothers with kids and babies in tow, college and high school students and all...

2. Been to PPUM and was told that my son might have ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder).
No, not Huzaifah. It was Humaidi that got the doctor concerned. Got an appointment to see a paediatrician for a more thorough check-up on January 11th.
Symptoms?
Constantly in motion - like I said, my sons are always on the go, on the go, on the go...
Showing destructive behaviour - like throwing stuff and 'gomol'ing people. In fact, when the doctor gave him a pen, he shook it so hard that it scratched the doctor's right cheek.
Often talking excessively - but using unrecognisable words. He's late in learning how to converse because he has difficulty following after the adult who introduced 'normal' words to him.

3. Been to Sarawak - for the first time in my life
This deserves an entry on its own... Tungguuu...

4. Been to the clinic because I got the red eyes...
And got MC for the last 4 days in 2009
Oh well...

Salam Maal Hijrah

Picture taken from here

To all Muslim readers,

Happy New Hijri Year 1431

Ya Allah,

Most Gracious, Most Benevolent

Please forgive us for all our sins

Grant us the strength to live in accordance with the Quran and Sunnah

Grant us good health so that we may continue to make more good deeds

Grant us prosperity so that we can give more to those in need

and shower Your blessings on us

and keep us on Your guided path at all times

so that we may die in Iman and in Islam
Amin ya Rabbal Aa'lamin

Year End Lunch - more pics!

This entry is especially for you, Ju.
With all my love.
(and little bits of *evil grins* hehehe)

Sambal goreng Anizz

Asam Pedas Ikan kembong 'Jusa CC' Marziah

Telur dadar (bakal-pengantin) Fairuz


Daging masak lemak cili api A.Z.

Ayam Masak Merah Ernie

Sambal telur Emma

Ikan terubuk masin Yan

Sayur campur Yana

Ayam goreng crispy Idy

Mixed fruit & nata de coco Pudding

Pulut inti Hardi

Spaghetti Bolognese Nabilah

(I put this last because I know this might be the least envious stuff for you since there are plenty of this in Switzerland)

Help!

I've been using Haloscan commenting system since...I can't remember when, but right now it seems like forever.

And now they are moving to Echo by JS-Kit (yup I know you must be grinning reading this, Kit). If I want to retain my old Haloscan comments, I can do it by joining Echo - for a fee of almost USD10 a month. And since I'm not a serious blogger who makes money from my blog, I prefer to revert to Blogger commenting system which is free.

However, reverting to Blogger system means none of those comments on Haloscan will appear because Blogger can't support importing of comments. I've saved the previous comments on Haloscan in my computer, but they won't appear on the blog. Which is a pity - because sometimes the comments form an extension of sort for the particular blog entry.

Does anybody know what should I do to sort of import the comments on blogger or importing to any other commenting system that can be used for free?
Thanks in advance!

Year End Lunch

Yus had been transferred as the Executive Officer of the sub-department, rather than merely the EO of the sector since October.
We were unsure whether or not to hold a farewell lunch for her because she's not exactly 'transferred' in one sense, since we still get to regularly see her and work with her, only that she's no longer under our sector.

Then, recently two of the officers in our sector - Azhan and Anuar, got their promotion. Azhan is retained in the sector while Anuar has been transferred to another department. So yesterday we had a pot-luck lunch in the office - a farewell lunch for Yus & Anuar as well as the sectoral Year End Lunch since many officers will start taking their Year End (long) break beginning next week, including the sector's boss.

Yesterday was a hiruk pikuk day due to me forgetting to renew my road tax in advance. I wanted to renew it on the day before by using MyEG service, but since it was the day before my road tax expired (15 December 2009), the Customer service guy who answered my phone call politely advised me to go to a JPJ office for a prompt service since the JPJ server was down, making it difficult to instantly process the renewal of road tax online. However since I already spent one whole morning in the clinic - it was inappropriate for me to spend the same afternoon to go outside the office unless I took a leave (but I already carried forward the balance of my annual leave to next year, which means I have no more leaves this year except those which were already approved by the bosses - for next week, insya Allah).

Since it was already D Day - I had to renew my license yesterday, by hook or by crook. I thought to get it done and over with quickly in the morning. So I walked to Parcel D to JPJ Putrajaya - only to be told that the service counters are undergoing renovation and are temporarily closed for the time being. I was advised to go to Bangi instead.

Walked back to Parcel C - and made it a point to call up the Post Office in Alamanda to check whether or not I could renew my road tax in their branch. You know - out of fear that the JPJ server might be down or something and I would be left with no choice but to go to a JPJ office. The guy who answered the call assured me that yes, they could process road tax renewal with a fee of RM2 and yes, the JPJ server was up and working well. No worries.

So I went to Alamanda and quickly got the matter settled. After all, I already bought the insurance policy online the day before, so alhamdulillah, getting my road tax renewal was a breeze. And unlike those days when I was in debt for my old Kancil/ Wira when I had to obtain the car's "geran" from the financier first, this time it is with me all the time because the Toyota Wish was already paid for in cash. No worries. (Except that the guy behind the counter in Alamanda Post Office made a blunder and printed an unnecessary stuff on the 'geran'. Geram sungguh, but what to do? Benda dah jadi...)

Back to the Year End/Farewell Lunch at the office.

The main theme was nasi campur, with each staff contributing a plate of dish (or two)

The menu, among others, include:

1. Ayam masak merah (Ernie)
2. Ikan Asam Pedas ('Jusa' CC Marziah)
3. Sayur goreng & Sambal goreng (Yana n Aniz)
4. Sambal tumis ikan bilis & sambal telur (Emma)

5. Daging Masak lemak cili api (me)

6. Ayam goreng crispy (Idy)
7. Ikan terubuk masin(Yan)
8. Telur dadar (Fairuz, groom-to-be in a week time)

9. Ulam

Additional menu include:

10. Spaghetti Bolognese (Nabilah)
11. Chicken pepper sausages with condiments

Desserts were:

12. Secret Recipe's Cappucino cheesecake

13. Blueberry chilled cheesecake

14. Oreo chilled cheesecake

15. Cheesecake (the 'normal' variant)

16. Pulut inti

17. Mixed fruit pudding

18. Sliced Fuji apples

All in all, it was a good lunch - the food delicious, the atmosphere friendly with lots of bantering, jokes and laughter.

Here's looking forward to a more productive (ahem ahem, 3 of the girls are hoping/praying/working towards adding another member to their respective family. No, not me lah - sheesh...) year ahead, insya Allah!

Anuar receiving his farewell git from the boss

Yus receiving her farewell (farewell ke?) gift

Part of the food galore

The cheesecakes! Yummy Yummy!

Birthday girls with the birthday cake (but it was cappucino, so I couldn't taste it...I can't take anything with coffee)

Line up, line up... Despite CC's initial worry about nasi tak cukup, there were plenty of food for everyone...

Spaghetti bolognese on banana leaf - interesting, eh?

Hairi and Faez suap-menyuap kek, ewah ewah...

Do it the traditional way - eating while sitting cross-legged

Part of the sectoral female staff

Kenyang perut, senang hati

A morning in the Clinic

I spent one whole morning in the clinic yesterday - for Baby Haniyya's 10 month check-up and Huzaifah needed to get a treatment for rashes. The crowd at the clinic was unusually large - we were there from 8.30 a.m. to almost 12.30 p.m. I supposed it has something to do with the school break, unstable weather conditions, and the fact that the electronic queue system went down. We waited more than an hour before our number was called for the registration, another hour for triage and yet another hour before being called by the doctor - yup, it was that bad. Good thing the clinic in Putrajaya has a play area, where I accompanied Huzaifah from time to time as we killed the waiting hours.

Haniyya 'bullied' by Ayah

Baby Haniyya is already 9.99 kg, alhamdulillah! He's a happy baby and I really love it everytime he turns his head from right to left when as we chant "La ilahaillallah". As cute as Humaidi used to be when as a baby, he nodded his head as he joined us chanting "Ya Latiff". Baby Haniyya eats lots of stuff now that he has already grown 5 teeth (3 upper front and 2 lower front). In fact yesterday, when we packed some sugared cream cracker biscuits for Huzaifah to the clinic, Haniyya was the one who ate a piece or two while Huzaifah simply let them untouched (instead he insisted on getting a packet of snacks sold at the clinic).

Happy Happy Haniyya (and Ibu)

Among the three boys, Haniyya seems to be the most 'manja', wanting to be picked up all the time compared to his more 'independent' brothers. I suspect it might have to do with the fact that he is used to having a bibik around, while his two brothers were raised by stay-at-home parents who prefer letting the baby develop his physical skills on the ground. And yes, it's more difficult to put Haniyya to sleep too since he prefers sleeping in a "gendongan" by the bibik (which I supposed is not that much different from being in a 'buaian', lulled by a bouncing movement). But all in all, he's a happy, healthy baby, alhamdulillah.

As for Huzaifah, he is prone to skin problems even as a baby. But over the weekend, he seemed to develop a really bad case of rashes. He was itchy all over and the itching progressively got worse - that it even affect his cheeks and ears and his face went all bloaty, which had never happened before. When hubby returned from Seremban on Sunday night and saw Huzaifah's condition - he immediately recognized Huzaifah's condition as itchiness that was caused from contact with caterpillar.

Hubby's notion seemed to be supported by the doctor who treated Huzaifah. She said that it's known that rashes due to contact with caterpillars will cause a bad outbreak of rashes for kids who already have skin problems. Poor Huzaifah - he could not sleep properly at nights due to the itchiness - which of course affected me as well because he would ask me (or his Bibik) to help him scratch all over his body, "Ibu gosok, Ujai gatal sini...Sini, Ibu... Sini... Sini...". Hubby said that he once experienced the caterpillar itch as a kid and was given an injection to control the itchiness from getting worse.

Huzaifah did not get any injection. The doctor prescribed a syrup for his allergic, an antibiotic syrup and two ointments - a moisturising one as well as betnovate to treat his rashes. The result is - at least he gets to sleep on his own without asking me to scratch all over his body.

Never knew about the caterpillar itch thingy until now. Well, that's what they say - we do learn a lot as our children grow up, making a mother's life an adventure in its own unique way.

"Ini gula Ujai... ini gula Ujai... ada baaanyak gula Ujai..."

While I was there, I consulted the doctor if she can tell if Huzaifah is a hyper-active child. So she spent some time observing Huzaifah who was jumping on the weighing scale. Before that, he scanned the consultation area and pointed at the pictures on the files which were arranged neatly on a rack as he responded to my questions regarding the pictures;

"Show me the airplane"
"What color is that car?"
"How many mosques are there?"
"Tell me the color of the train"
"How many green files are on the rack? Let's count them together..."

But he got easily bored with 'academic' stuff and quickly shifted to the weighing scale which was located on the opposite side of the rack. And he started jumping on the weighing scale when he noticed that the needles on the weighing scale moved when he did.

"My son doesn't know how to sit still. He's always on the move, on the move, on the move. What is your take on him, doctor?"

"He's four, right?"

"Yes"

"From my observation, he seems like a normal 4-year old. He's curious, yes, but that's normal for any 4-year old. Hyperactive children have troubles to sit still, stay quietor pay attention. They would not be able to concentrate and entertain your questions like your son did just now. They have trouble maintaining their focus "

"But he doesn't stop jumping, running, climbing and messing with his brother at home. He always have a 'project' going on. It's difficult to cope with him sometimes..."

"Oh, he's a creative boy. He just needs an outlet for his creativity. You just have to provide him enough outlets for his creativity. He is just a normal, growing up 4-year old..."

This is the second time I've been assured by a doctor that my son is 'just a normal' boy despite the many comments on him being hyperactive being thrown our way by others. I asked about his condition when he was still a baby - when he was observed by a child specialist on his 18 months check-up in Tokyo. Back then, I was already told that my fear of him being a hyperactive was unfounded. And now this.

But this time around, the doctor that we met was not a child specialist. Should I take him to see another child specialist for third opinion then?

Quick 1

Busy like crazy but been missing blogging...

1. Had a lovely dinner on our anniversary at Kensington Restaurant in Era Square near Terminal 2, Seremban. A western & fusion restaurant that seems to be hitting the right note with Malaysian food bloggers, and an affordable one too. The ambience is nice but no candle light dinner was served, contrary to what I was told when I made the reservation. But since we were already seated, we thought - never mind lah and ordered anyway. We had mushroom soup with garlic bread and prawn mango salad for starter; lamb chop & venison steak as the main entree and apple crumble (with ice cream) for dessert. Oh, and the not-to-be-missed huge air-flown from Canada, baked cheese oyster. Yummy! Food was fab, alhamdulillah although hubby was not too happy seeing bottles of wine lining up some tables. The waitress was obliging - I asked if they could play any other CD than the Christmassy one that was on, and she changed it to a light & easy CD (and romantic too - stuff like Eric Clapton's "Wonderful Tonight" and Richard Marx's "Right Here Waiting").

We only managed to take some pictures of the soup when the camera's battery went dead. Oh well...

2. The kenduri of my brother in law went okay, alhamdulillah - although the "making of" and the "post-production" part was very tiring. No kidding.

SIL, wife of hubby's cousin & I in the process of hanging a self-made satin scallops in front of the house (so as to make it easy for guests to identify the rumah pengantin)

3. Dramas during in between the three functions (akad nikah, kenduri on the bridal side and kenduri sambut menantu on the groom side) include, among others, last minute lintang pukang shopping for bunga pahar, satin sheets to be turned into scallops, fresh flowers as cake decoration, a worrying episode of the eldest nephew in the family, Ahmad Hassan, experiencing acute pain in the chest, which after being inspected in Tuanku Jaafar Hospital, was diagnosed as some clutching of the nerve near his heart or something like that, plus receiving last minute goodies from well-meaning relatives who insist on them (souvenir face towels and bunjuts of jellies of various color and taste) forming part of the door gifts, Huzaifah tresspassing into a closed and locked kindergarden with Humaidi looking on while trying (and failed) to enter the kindergarden through closed gates and some huru haraness when the bridal side of the family came to the kenduri sambut menantu due to the caterer's lack of waiters/waitresses.

Ish, ish, ish, anak siapa lah tu ye?

"Ayah jangan pukul ok? Ujai nak keluar ni"

"Yelah, yelah Ayah tak pukul. Tapi Ujai jangan masuk dah, ok?. Tak Boleh. Salah. Tau?"

4. Should a Malaysian Malay newlywed couple opt for the honeymoon first or go and make the obligatory rounds of visits to the elderly before going for their honeymoon? I asked around in the office and the majority seems to believe that it is better to make the obligatory round of visits first before leaving for honeymoon. But what if one gets pregnant (bunting pelamin) before they could go for a 'proper' honeymoon? For the record, hubby and I spent our first week as husband and wife visiting relatives in Seremban and Kedah with just one night/day in Penang spent on our own. We planned on going back to PJ that night but we were both so tired from all the visits that we decided to spend the night in Penang on our way back from Kedah. Boy oh boy - it was really difficult finding a vacant room that night - school holidays, weekend and all. Alhamdulillah, we finally found one in Naza Hotel - yes, the very hotel we went for the family gathering during Eidul Fitri season this year.

5. Because my husband is not that 'jiwang' I don't usually consider him to be a romantic. Stuff like him refusing to give me flowers (even for my graduation) seem to support this notion. It wasn't until his aunt, Busu Bibah, pointed out that "Busu tengok korang selalu je pakai baju sama kaler" when it hit me that well, my husband is not that bad for a non-romantic husband. Busu went on to moan, "Pak Busu kau, hmm, jangan haraplah nak pakai baju sedondon ke apa ke..." Yes, like I said before, I am thankful for what hubby and I have and are together, alhamdulillah.

We both wore turquoise during BIL's akad nikah ceremony,

maroon during the bridal kenduri,

and golden yellow during the kenduri sambut menantu.

Go nen me no kinenbi

5 years!
In some ways it feels like forever, in others like it was just yesterday.

Alhamdulillah I must admit that it has been a wonderful and unforgettable 5 years of marriage.

1 plus 1 in 2004 now equals 5!

Baby Haniyya is going to be 10 months, Humaidi is 2.5 years and Huzaifah 4 years.
We have three children, have gone through different life experiences together (living apart in the 1st year, living as Mombusho-student-with-an-Imam-husband in Tokyo for 3 years and a year of what many would consider 'normal life' as government servants)
Alhamdulillah, I am happy to say that we are still moving forward together in our life journey, strengthening and maturing our bond and love for each other.

Oh yes, of course we get exhausted from our boisterous and highly energetic children and we might squabble about different viewpoints but alhamdulillah, so far we managed to work it out.
Oh yes, occassionally we found somebody telling us that I might have annoyed hubby, yet others would point out that I have higher tolerance and patience for his temper bursts compared to most women. Somebody would say that I made a lousy daughter-in-law and another would say that he made a lousy son-in-law too. We don't usually scream at each other, but admitedly, there were moments of resentment, 'bengang' and stuff every once in a blue moon.
Squabbles - what would married life be without them, eh?
"Gaduh-gaduh, bawa bahagia"...Or as Abraham Lincoln put it, "no matter how much cats fight, there always seem to be plenty of kittens" (aww shucks...)

Anyway, while it might be easy to get lost in little frustrations and annoyances, when do we remember to look at things from a broader perspective, it really makes us thankful for what we have and are together...
Alhamdulillah.

I love you Abang.
More now than 5 years ago.
And looking forward to many, many more years for us to keep loving each other.
And keep falling in love with each other.
Again and again and again.
Insya Allah.

The Gift of a Smile

While McDonald's is no longer my usual hang-out place (unlike when I first started working in 1999 when I used to go to McD at least once in 2 weeks), I decided to have a Cheeseburger Happy Meal (the free toy for my son) while waiting for hubby last Sunday. He was attending to some business matter at Amcorp Tower while I had just finished book shopping at Big Bad Wolf Book Sale (it had gone down to RM5 a book today, the last day of the Sale).

Written on the pamhplet/tray cover was some brief information of Ronald McDonald House Charities (RHMC) Malaysia.

"200 smiles restored"

I was curious and read more for further explanation. Turned out that RMHC Malaysia runs the Gift of Smile Campaign for children born with cleft lip and palate defects, enabling the children to undergo corrective surgery at No Costs to the parents. I immediately picked up two application forms at the Information Counter.

There's a male clerk in the office whose baby girl was born with cleft lip. I didn't know about the baby's condition until we visited his house during Raya. She looked so fragile, all bundled in white in her playpen with her cleft lip, with her still-in-confinement mother looking at her, smiling at the guests yet trying to hold back some tears. It was heartbreaking. I wanted to hug the mother, but at that time I had to keep chasing after Huzaifah and Humaidi who were delighted in finding new spots to explore.

Since then I've been asking about baby Afina's development from time to time. Hairi confessed that back then his daughter was too young to undergo a corrective surgery but he had been assured that the doctors in Hospital Serdang, where she was born, would try to fix her condition once she reaches 3 months old.

I asked him about the cost.

He said that it was never really discussed with the doctors, so he suspects that they will first use the Guarantee Letter from the office - with him being a government servant and his daughter being treated in a government hospital - and he will pay for the cost by monthly deductions from his salary amounting the total cost.

So, yesterday, I went to his desk and handed over the application forms for Gift of Smile campaign, "I don't know if you had heard of this, but I saw this yesterday and I immediately thought of you"

"What is this Puan?"

I briefly explained what little I knew and recommended for him to try applying for it. He quickly scanned through the form. "But Puan, it's stated here that priority is given to families with household income of RM2,000 and below..."

"What's your household income, then?" I know that his wife is also a support staff, working for a government agency.

"A little bit over RM2,000"

"Just give it a try then. You never know if this is your daughter's rezeki"

"But Hospital Serdang had already set 29 January (2010) for my daughter's surgery"

"What's the cost then?"

"Hmm, I'm not sure. I was under the impression that I'll get monthly deductions from my salary after the operation is over"

This program is in partnership with ING Insurance and Pantai Hospital, so my guess is, the successful applicants would be treated at any of the Pantai Hospitals.

"If I were you, I would give it a shot. For one, if you got it, it's free. That means no deduction from your salary. You could instead use that portion of your salary to save for your daughter's education insurance or something..."

"Hmmm..."

"Try istikharah then. Ask for Allah's guidance. The surgery is set in late January - so you still have about 2 months from now..."

"Okay, I'll think about it"

They said that in Malaysia alone, 1 out of 600 babies is born with a cleft lip and palate. Out of the 570,000 babies born in this country, about 950 new cases are found each year. Corrective surgery for those born with cleft lip and defective palate are not cosmetic surgery. Chances are, if left untreated, a child born with cleft lip and palate would suffer from low self-esteem may experience breathing difficulties, speech and hearing problems, trouble in swallowing food and drinks, and facial growth impairments. Yet, in the first place, cleft lip and palate can easily be rectified with proper corrective surgery...

Here's praying for little baby Afina to have her smile restored again - with or without RHMC "The Gift of Smile Campaign" aid - insya Allah...

To give away...

So, yes, just like Kit wrote in her entry, I went to the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale on the first day - and burned a hole in my pocket.

My haul?
50 books (minus 1 later on, as I gave Julia Quinn's "The Lost Duke of Wyndham" to Kit) in one big box. The lady who was queuing next to me chuckled and asked if I would like to start a new library. I smiled back and answered that I already have a library and these are only add-ons. Of course, I initially picked almost 60 books, but on second thoughts, I only went back with the 50. And yes, the poor customer service boy who helped me with the heavy huge box, had to push the trolley (it was that heavy) all the way to Taman Jaya LRT station where the car was parked. We chatted a bit - and the boy told me that pushing the trolley filled with 1 box is not as difficult as carting 7 boxes for another customer earlier on, and Taman Jaya LRT is not as far as the end corner of Taman Jaya the park itself... I gave him a small tip of RM2 - to which he initially refused "eh tak payahlah" but I insisted "sikit je, buat minum". He grinned almost sheepishly, making me wondered - did others who got his help give him some small tip; especially if he had to walk further and help with bigger hauls?

*****

On Eidul Adha - it hit me that the amount I spent at the book sale could have easily been the cost for 1 portion of 'daging korban'.

Okay, I already, ahem, 'sacrificed' 1 book to Kit - because I knew it must have meant a lot to her since she already has started collecting Julia Quinn's UK cartoonish cover edition. It didn't take that much begging/pleading/whining from her because partly I already felt guilty for not remembering that "The Lost Duke of Wyndham" is on her wanted list and did not save a copy for her when I could. So Kit dear, consider that as my belated birthday present for you, okay?

I went back to Amcorp Mall yesterday - hoping to find books that I could read and then give away as presents while they are still in mint (as opposed to pre-loved) condition. To sort of 'sacrifice' the books away, in conjunction with the korban mood. I thought getting Chicken Soup books or books on management/leadership by John C Maxwell (all selling for RM10 each - yes that's how cheap they were) might do the trick. But unfortunately - there were only copies of Chicken Soup for Women Golfers left and none of the Maxwell book.

Yet, by the end of the evening, hubby and I spent more than RM200 on our second haul - mostly on coffee table books on cars, motorbikes and travel books.

So, should I give away some of the books I now have or wait until the next Big Bad Wolf Book Sale for a 'sacrifice' purchase? After all, giving away books - especially those I already owned - is a 'sacrifice' of sort for me. Like I told hubby - he can count on me not to overspend on clothes, bags, cosmetic or jewellery, but he has to bear with me when it comes to books...

(I don't have that many shoes too - but just got myself two pairs, at 50% discount, in the Year End Sale at Jusco. It's true, shoe shopping is almost always a positive experience for women - we don't have to diet to fit into shoes, and they never make our bum look big.)