Taking a breather

2009-11-03T06:37:44Z

from the office. literally. but still i am connected to work being at home. monitor budak2 baru belajar ni, memang trasa jadik mak tiri 24x7. they are technically good alright, tapi bab2 nak manage communication dgn partners tu agak 'sengal' lagi. but they've shown improvements, which is good. harap2 lepas sebulan dua semuanya dah cekap buat kerja insya-Allah.

what i accomplished today so far? lets see..laundry, kemas rumah, kemas dapur. all those mundane stuff. tapi apa kelainannye hari ni?? i had a hair cut & hair treatment! sangat sukeee..kulit kepala terasa segar & rambut pun rasa healthy. budak yg potong rambut tadi tu pun sangat peramah. i think my last hair cut was wayy back masa zafyra just 3 mo++ lama gile kan? now that hair all set, nak mandi basahkan rambut pun trasa sayang.. hehehe. and oh, today jugak i get to ber'internet'. i wasnt connected at all last week due to work stuff - operation baru kick off; so macam nak pengsan gak la berhempas pulas kerja. everyday showed up by 0800 am and balik after 0630 pm. malam2 check email, bangun pagi pukul 4 pagi 5 pagi pun..check email. call office. hahahahha. gilerr.. nasib baikla MOH memahami *muacks!*

i need to do this more often. bukan buat kerja gila tapi bercuti-cuti di tengah minggu kerja. ada 23 hari lagi cuti utk tahun ni. agak2 bos bagi ke kalau aku cuti for the whole december?? hahahah

did i mention we got our home keys already?? MOH picked it up last week. tapi tak boleh move in or construct anything yet coz still pending for CF. expected no later than Jan '10! huhu now terasa sangat berdebar. all those time waiting for the construction to finish, takde perasaan langsung. need to start planning out things in this near future. moga2 Allah permudahkan urusan dalam hal ini.

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Home, here i come

2009-10-23T00:41:52Z

cebu - manila - kl

departure on 1115 hour, local time. arriving (insya-Allah) on 2045 hour, local time.

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adoiii..

2009-10-22T00:35:48Z

ch*n*ai? next month??
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sangat berat hati okk

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Working mom dilemma

2009-10-20T14:11:58Z

Am blogging from the hotel room, the same place i went last March '09. the advantage being in the same place is, i know what to expect. so this time round, i brought sufficient food supply (instant noodles, that is) including a loaf of bread, canned foods and kuah rojak. yes, kuah rojak. read that twice if you want.

the thing about this hotel i'm staying is, they never dissapoints me in terms of food selection. although it is located at somewhat remote area with minority muslim community, they provides lotsa seafood, fruits and vegetarian for muslims to consume. they also supplies the in-famous cebu mango in your room on daily basis - 3 mangoes at most! so that explains why the rojak buah came along.

the initial plan of bringing the wholee entourage to this trip was cancelled coz MOH had just recently (last week) switched job. so its kinda INappropriate for him to take a week off after barely seeing the boss and meeting up with the work team. thus, leaving me alone in this fantastic place. i am being emotionally unstable now with the fact that i am missing my daughter very much - hugging her, kissing her cheek, her sweet baby smell and that smile. oh.. wish i could fly home at this very instant. tskkk...

i found this very lovely article from a friend's blog, and i wish to share it with you readers. hope it will give some insight about motherhood to those fathers out there as well. *please read thru!*

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

Being a Mother - unknown author

We are sitting at lunch when my daughter casually mentions that she and her husband are thinking of ’starting a family.’
‘We’re taking a survey,’ she says, half-joking. ‘Do you think I should have a baby?’
‘It will change your life,’ I say, carefully keeping my tone neutral.
‘I know,’ she says, ‘no more sleeping in on weekends, no more spontaneous vacations….’
But that is not what I meant at all.

I look at my daughter, trying to decide what to tell her. I want her to know what she will never learn in childbirth classes. I want to tell her that the physical wounds of child bearing will heal, but that becoming a mother will leave her with an emotional wound so raw that she will forever be vulnerable.

I consider warning her that she will never again read a newspaper without asking ‘What if that had been MY child?’
That every plane crash, every house fire will haunt her. That when she sees pictures of starving children, she will wonder if anything could be worse than watching your child die.

I look at her carefully manicured nails and stylish suit and think that no matter how sophisticated she is, becoming a mother will reduce her to primitive level of a bear protecting her cub.

That an urgent call of ‘Mom!’ will cause her to drop a soufflé or her best crystal without a moment’s hesitation. I feel I should warn her that no matter how many years she has invested in her career, she will be professionally derailed by motherhood.
She might arrange for child care but one day she will be going into an important business meeting and she will think of her baby’s sweet smell. She will have to use every ounce of her discipline to keep her from running home, just to make sure her baby is all right.

I want my daughter to know that everyday decisions will no longer be routine. That a five year old boy’s desire to go to the men’s room rather than the women’s at McDonald’s will become a major dilemma.

That right there, in the midst of clattering trays and screaming children, issues of independence and gender identity will be weighed against the prospect that a child molester may be lurking in that rest-room.
However she may be at the office, she will second-guess herself constantly as a mother. Looking at my attractive daughter, I want to assure her that eventually she will shed the pounds of pregnancy, but she will never feel the same about herself.
That her life, now so important, will be of less value to her once she has a child.
That she would give it up in a moment to save her offspring, but will also begin to hope for more years - not to accomplish her own dreams, but to watch her child accomplish theirs.

I want her to know that a Cesarean scar or shiny stretch marks will become badges of honor. My daughter’s relationship with her husband will change, but not in the way she thinks..

I wish she could understand how much more you can love a man who is careful to powder the baby or who never hesitates to play with his child.

I think she should know that she will fall in love with him again for reasons she would now find very unromantic.

I wish my daughter could sense the bond she will feel with women throughout history who have tried to stop war, prejudice and drunk driving. I hope she will understand why I can think rationally about most issues, but become temporarily insane when I discuss the threat of nuclear war to my children’s future.

I want to describe to my daughter the exhilaration of seeing your child learn to ride a bike.
I want to capture for her the belly laugh of a baby who is touching the soft fur of a dog or a cat for the first time.
I want her to taste the joy that is so real, it actually hurts.

My daughter’s quizzical look makes me realize that tears have formed in my eyes.
‘You’ll never regret it,’ I finally say.

Then I reach across the table, squeeze my daughter’s hand and offer a silent prayer for her, and for me, and for all of the mere mortal women who stumble their way into this most wonderful of callings.
This blessed gift from Allah!
Being a Mother.

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Online Contest ~ Senyuman Ceria Si Comel

2009-10-18T10:40:28Z

*warning: long entry & heavy pictures*

My daughter is a one happy 19 months toddler now. Loves to smile, especially in front of the camera. Not too mention, smart, expressive and sometimes shy too. I couldn't describe how happy i was when i learn about this online contest. I was actually bloghopping from a friend's blog, and saw a RSS feed update on her sidebar.

I hope luck will be on my side, *ameen* So to Kak (berdasarkan maklumat dari member, panggilan Kak tak seswai hehehe) Nannor, here goes the pictures of my daughter for you to judge =)

Profile

Full Name: Irene Zafyra Bt Azizul Hakimi

DOB : 27th March 2008

Age : 19 months and growing!

Senyum Seindah Suria @ 7 mo

On the same day, evening after work. showing off her new skill-sitting

Baru bangun tidur terus senyum! @ 6 mo

Baru tere berjalan @ 13 mo

i *heart* this. she was just 9 mo

happy weekends in PD @ 14 mo

BBQ treat at Bagan Lalang when she was 14 mo

Latest @ 19 months, taken on 1st week of Hari Raya Aidilfitri

To my friends out there, you're invited to join this contest too. Click here for more info.

Cara2 & syarat2 penyertaan (copy paste from organizer's blog):

Cara2 penyertaan?

Jadi Follower SMILEYKIDZ dan Add SMILEYKIDZ di dalam bloglist anda - done!
Letak banner contest ini di sidebar blog anda dengan link ke entri ini - done! ada on the right hand-side bar
Buat entri mengenai Online Contest ~ Senyuman Ceria Si Comel ini di dalam blog anda - done!
Kemudian, upload gambar si comel di dalam entry tersebut dengan senyuman yang paling ceria/happy/sweet. TETAPI hanya SATU (1) gambar terbaik akan di nilai. - okei!
Jangan lupa nyatakan nama si comel dan umurnya. - done!
Dalam entri tersebut pastikan anda mention dan link ke SMILEYKIDZ .- done!
AMARAN: no link back will be disqualified
Bila anda dah puas hati dengan entry tu, TINGGALKAN komen dan LINK entry tersebut di dalam ruang komen entry online contest ini. - done!
Tetapi sebelum itu..sila baca syarat2 penyertaan di bawah: - done!

Syarat-syarat Penyertaan dan disclaimer:
Terbuka kepada semua mommies/daddies yang mempunyai anak berusia 1hari - 4 tahun.
Anda boleh upload seberapa banyak gambar senyuman si comel TETAPI hanya SATU (1) gambar terbaik akan di adili.
Dalam gambar2 tersebut, mestilah gambar INDIVIDUAL. Kalau ada 2 orang dalam gambar itu, secara automatik gambar itu tidak akan di adili.
Kalau anda ada lebih dari seorang si comel, boleh upload gambar mereka tetapi MESTILAH gambar INDIVIDU tau!!
Entry anda HANYA akan di adili oleh SMILEYKIDZ.
Keputusan peraduan ini adalah MUKTAMAD.
Penyertaan dibuka dari 15th Oct 09-31th Oct 2009, jam 11.59pm.
SMILEYKIDZ akan memula sesi penilaian pada bila2 masa.
SMILEYKIDZ akan meninggalkan komen di dalam entri anda setelah diadili.
Sebarang pertukaran gambar selepas di adili tidak akan di ambil kira

*so, tunggu apa lagi?*

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Surprise, surprise

2009-10-14T16:26:23Z

Our lil angel caught me with yet another surprise today.

As i let her walk herself in front of the laundry shop, she tugged my dress pointing to an opposite direction from what we used to take. I let her led the way, waiting to see what she actually wanted.

I first thought that she wanted to stop by the pool, but i was wrong. I had a second guess of course - the mini mart; but nahh, that cant be it. First, she doesnt know which way to go coz its just too difficult for a 19 mo old todd to remember. altho its located around 100m from where we stood, how can she knows where to go? i hardly brought her to the mart since she started walking. soo..she could prolly just wanna have a walk before going home. yeah..i bet you could be thinking the same too.

but to my surprise, she knows exactly which way to take and giggles everytime she got it right! and when we arrived in front of the mart's door, she finally stopped and said "haa..dahh" with a grin. meaning, dah sampai to her desired place la tu. hahaha. smart girl! it never occurred to me that a 19 months toddler would be so smart to actually direct her mom to a place she wanted & knows which route to take! memang tak boleh lupe this day. rasa nak ketawa pun ada bile sampai depan mart tu..tapi kontrol ayu la beb.

the lil angel knows what to expect bila masuk mart - goodies la kan. so dapat raisin satu kotak kecil & small pack of oreo. and surprisingly too, she didnt throw any tantrum at all today. merengek2 manja tu biasa lah. but i could do laundry, mandi, solat with peace. maybe because of the goodies? only she knows. whatever works for her works for me, for now.

in short, i feel like its too advance for a todd's milestone at 19 months. but we never know what they are capable of, right? kids, they're just full of surprises :)

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Old school or no old school

2009-10-06T15:41:37Z

pic source: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com

it needs to be done. so now am changing mode from engineer to an interior designer *LOL* no-lah. but seriously, used to do it for fun (with mom) but need to put extra effort this time coz it'll be our dear home at stake *drumming fingers*

starting to count the days (t minus ??) ehehe but it'll be less than 4 months insya-Allah. lotsa thinking, scouting and $$ needs to be spared.. tsk..

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Reflection

2009-10-02T15:16:22Z

i noticed zafyra played a new game this morning - "interacting" with her own reflection. she stood in front of the dressing mirror, smiling to the image she saw. after a few moment, she began sticking out her tounge, smiling and loughing out loud showing her new set of teeth. and she did that for several times. my lil girl must have been amused to see and think that "someone else" is mimicking her.

how could i forget that laugh and smile. it just made my day.

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Syawal 1430H

2009-09-27T16:04:23Z

Alhamdulillah, we safely arrived KL last night at exactly 1200 am after a 4-hour drive. dats pretty short as compared to the usual 5 hours. maybe it was because of the lesser traffic and minus the stopping hour for dinner. mom made us a hearty meal before we took off..so our tummy was quite full for the night.

It was so much fun to spend a week Hari Raya celebration at my hometown this. in short, it was a "raya sakan" mood for me. no words could actually describe how happy i was - being home with mom+dad+all my siblings, preparing pagi raya meals, last minute sewing for hari raya dress (yes, mom still saved some for me this year), doing hari raya visits, balik kampung trip, receiving hari raya guests and lots more.

MOH tekun anyam ketupat. zafyra tekun gak, main remote ctrl tv :P

abah, ketua anyam ketupat

sambil anyam ketupat, masak rendang di dapur

ketupat kosong

fresh ketupats baru keluar periuk

cubaan orang puasa utk telan ketupat

OH definitely added one more skill to his list - mengayam ketupat satay. he made 5 ketupats in less than 2 hours. being a newbie, i suppose that is something to be proud of. while me actually a pure johorian, cud never make one *sigh* i've tried tapi semuanya tak menjadi LOL. takpe, i leave that to MOH for passing the skills to our children...teheheh.

hmmm..did i mention that lil zafyra too got a new skill? yes, she mastered memanjat and menurun tangga in just one day! aiyohhh..pening kepala mak. i hope i didnt forget to warn her babysitters kat nursery about this tomorrow.

happy dah tere panjat turun tangge

oh well, i dont want to say too much. lets have a look at some of the pics we manage to take last week. am still homesick at this moment..tsk (never have this for quite some time) i hope it wud go away soon

pagi raya before solat

same shot, diff angle

during 1 of our ritual visit. dats my sista holding zafyra

*_*

us :) zafyra sibuk posing with her pouch

Pagi6

satu family sedondon

the exhausted lil angel

my dear friend - dek yan with one of her lil twin; nurul hadifah

lil twin sista is sleeping - nurul hadirah

lil sista all waken up!

someone is definitely happy doing raya visit!

auntie, sikit kerepek!

muacks!

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menu iftar 17.09.09

2009-09-17T06:33:45Z

ayam goreng kunyit+halia

nota: sila abaikan bahagian hitam2 tu..ianya effect from kunyit+halia+sos tiram.

kobis masak lemak udang

those are enough to feed 5 adults. considering the big crowd for today & tomorrow, it is best to have homemade food dari membazir $$ from buying food yg belum tentu sedap. MOH kate "sedap!" (dengan aksi tambah ayam 2 ketul lagi) hehe. tak sia2 pegi beli barang2 & masak dengan gigihnya by 0300 pm tadi. early no?

ya..semuanya gara2 kerja ofis yg datang melambak secara tiba2. i ended up preparing the dishes while replying to emails & joining to a voice conference!! i hate it when work came in especially on my 1st day of vacation/holiday leave. it makes me restless, pening and rasa nak marah coz my quality time @ home is being 'stolen'. no big things happens pulak whenever i'm around at the office. hmm.. anyway, i had to do whatever i have to do. on leave or not, work has to go on..coz when u're dealing with people all around the globe, you cant just simply say no or leave things unsolved just because u're on hari raya leave. in my position, you need to offer solutions or find ways that works for everyone.

lucky me zafyra was sent to her taska today..else kerja rumah tak siap, office work halted and masak pun will take forever.

anyways, i'm done with these today. alhamdulillah.

cash deposit -checked

laundry round 1 and 2 - checked

shop for groceries & baking needs - checked

clean up the bedroom - checked

duit raya pack - checked

there are few more things i'm looking forward tomorrow before balik kampung. hope i can manage with the lil kiddo around..

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