Oh Dear........ I'm still not done with my Raya shopping ........

Last weekend in between visits to the hospital, we did some shopping..... last night siap tiba rumah at 11pm! Hehe..... The best thing was, shopping tak done lagi..... today will go to tailor to alter the sleeves to Pu3's baju kurung, buy Zaryff's baju melayu (hah! iyer..... tak beli lagi...hehe....), his songkok and send him to the barber to get his hair cut.



Also still need to buy a pair of jeans each for Mia and Anastassia...... entah macamana semalam kat Midvalley semuanya tak berkenan..... also nak beli table cloth so that I can put at top of the shoe cabinet that hubby bought. I HATE shoe cabinets, unless its from IKEA la, but hubby said the ones in IKEA is too small..... sigh.... dia malas nak gi sana la tu sebenarnya...... bukannya Helena tak tau..... so I'm gonna get myself a nice runner to cover it. Semalam kat Parkson berkenan satu, tapi opppss..... so pricey pulak for shoe cabinet..... hehe. Hari ni nak cari kat Jusco la pulak.



Bought Anastassia her after-UPSR gift..... yela.... kesian tengok dia berhempas pulas buat homework sekolah...... homework melambak nak mampus...... tersengguk2 kat meja..... so like I said to her...... i nampakla usaha tu.... usaha tu yang penting..... she wanted a discman, but i talked her into buying an MP3 instead..... hehe.... she chose a red colored Sony. Aik.... jeles pulak Mia..... hello you already have one, dear.... and yours is even more expensive tau. (Good for me harga benda2 ni dah turun..... hehe)



Last night Buka Puasa at the food court. Kali ni I made sure that we parked ourselves there as early as 5:30pm...... hehe. Rupanya dah ramai pun kat situ. The younger two wanted Fetuccini Alfredo, Mia ~ Spagetti and Anastassia, being the only anak melayu in the family chose Nasi Lemak Rendang Ayam..... hehe. I had my favourite Chicken Teppayaki whilst hubby ambik Seafood Spagetti.



Malam ni kena makan nasik la..... sebab Saturday night makan Pizza Hut. Dah lama pulak the kids tak makan nasik. (Sahur is always noodles)


After buka, melepak kat Kinokuniya...... bought a Geronimo Stilton book for Pu3, none for Zaryff as a punishment for his not-so-good results in August (kalau nak baca, pinjam buku kakak Pu3, I said), and 4 books for Mia including the two Chicken Soup books that my Mom asked me to buy for Mia. Anastassia looked upset as we walked out the store. She could not find any book that she likes! Duh...... punya la lama we all tunggu, at last just before hubby buntangkan mata, I dragged her out of the store. Nasib baik ada MP3 baru tu..... terubat la sikit frust dia tu. Haish..... tak paham la the kids, kedai punya besar boleh tak jumpa buku....... Shopping Store punya besar tak jumpa jeans/pants that they like...... sigh........


Hey, thats it for now I guess..... Gotta run.......

Papa, I love you very much

Papa, I have not been telling this to you lately, but i love you so so much.


My dad is a unique person. I grew up knowing that he loves me very much and would do anything for me.


I knew he wanted a son. Nevertheless I instantly became the apple of his eye. Especially since i look more like him, though there's a hint of mama's feature's in me.... me, the girl he called Manja.


I grew up playing with toys meant for boys, my favourites are small cars and trucks, guns and swords. Even at the age of 12, I chose a battery operated control car as a birthday gift.


Papa is a perfectionist. He is a very serious person, but can be a hillarious joker when he wants to. He is a walking encylopedia, and a walking dictionary too. He is a workaholic and a very responsible husband and father. The day my mom married him, was the day she learnt that my dad would care for her 100%, he would love her 110% and would never let anything worry her, be it his devotion, financially or anything. Seriously, he is the type of husband you would wish for your daughters. Ohhh .... and he is such a romantic....


Papa came from a small kampung, but was lucky as his dad, my grandfather understood the importance of education. I guess being the oldest son in his family, my grandfather had to sacrifice for his family. However, his youngest brother, I guess by that time they could afford it, managed to further his studies and became one of Malaysia's KSN. The number 1 non-political post in the government I would say.


Papa's eldest brother excelled academically, he furthered his studies and was one of Tun Razak's right hand man. It was really a loss when he passed away young, a loss to the family, also to the nation. Papa's 2nd brother was a budak koleq, who later became a dentist in the early 1960s. He too died young like his brother.


My dad left for MCKK when he was just 9 years old. I guess his life as budak koleq influenced a lot of his personality. Dah duduk sana for around 10 years kan..... he left after STPM, though I think they call it by a different name at that time.


Papa eats with fork and spoon. Most of the time, if possible. If you tell him to meet you at 9am, make sure you'll be there way before 9am. Because he would surely be there 15 minutes before. And he would give you a really long lecture if you were even a second late. He hates couldnt care less attitudes.


Kalau tengok cabinet baju dia, memang malu rasanya. He would take care of it on his own. Straight aje baju yang berlipat. Semua ada colour coding. Whites dengan whites, coloured shirts dengan coloured shirts. Stokins one place, hanky tersusun rapi. Hey even his towel and tersidai kat towel rack tu, it would be put in the middle, properly hung. Kalau nak ukur tepi kiri towel and tepi kanan towel to the edges, i can bet cm-nya sama. His handbag, his briefcase, his toiletries, his comb..... if you just push it sikit aje.... for sure dia akan tau. hehe.


I was brought up, newspapers mesti on the coffee table. The folded side of the paper mesti away from the dinding. Siapa lepas baca paper, must put it back immediately dekat situ. Pages of the papers, kalau ada dah tersenget, betulkan balik before putting it back to its place.


Workwise, he is very dedicated to his job. He is a man of principle and he walks the talk. He is the first medical doctor in Malaysia to specialize in that field of his. He worked closely with WHO and CDC Atlanta even before I started school. In fact, if not for his first chest pain, we would have left for Geneva and supposedly stay there for the next 5 yrs minimum right after my Penilaian Darjah 5.


Papa is strict, he wouldnt think twice telling a Menteri Besar that he works for the rakyat, not for the politicians, when he asked my dad to let go of a land planned for a hospital and clinics. During a meeting on Rasuah, he directly told the whole room, lets start from US, to declare on the Quran that we did not take even a single cent of Government money for personal use. Much to the dismay of others in the room........ hehe. One Tan Sri pernah kata that its hard to work with my father. Sebab my dad lurus sangat, tak boleh bengkang bengkok. He is too honest. Yup, no hanky panky is allowed if papa's in the group.


Sigh... papa, I thought this wont be a long entry, and I havent even started on how you took care of me. How you shower me with your love. Despite me being rebelious, despite me being a spoilt brat.


You are my idol. And you are Mia's, Anastassia's, Pu3's and Zaryff's idol too. Dah besar nanti mesti jadi macam Atuk, I would say. In fact, ramai I know yang cakap macam tu kat their children. Be like my dad.


I love you so much papa, you have been there for me everytime, and even beyond. And I know how much you love the kids too.... each and every one of them. And how they are a part of your life. Every single minute of the day.


Maybe I will share more later, maybe i wont..... depending on how I feel after this. Its just that I'm feeling a bit sentimental today..... after kissing papa's soft cheeks at the hospital. Yes he's at the hospital now, nothing heart related though. I hope everything will turn out well. Get well soon Papa......


P/S Papa..... Just wondering....... How come you let the kids do things that you never let me do when i was a child...... ? mmm..... hehe.....

This Ramadhan

Few things caught my attention during this Ramadhan.

1. Last year Pu3 yang steady puasa, Zaryff terkial2...... This year, Pu3 as usual need her beauty sleep right after school..... tapi Zaryff cergas sangat2...... most of the time Helena tengok lasak as hari2 biasa, macam orang tak puasa.


2. Zaryff started to have a habit. He would take long long showers after school. How long you asked? The longest was 1 hour 45 minutes..... itupun after i start marah2...... Average would be 1 hour 30 mins...... (Terpikir jugak if budak ni minum air masa mandi..... but dah buat spot check. Its just that he likes splashing the cold water on his body....hehe)


3. This Ramadhan, Anastassia started her first experience tak boleh puasa penuh. I told her "Kira berapa hari tak puasa. Nanti kena ganti" Anastassia looked at me, puzzled "Eh! Kena ganti ke mama?"

Mmmm boleh tak tau ke? I guess being the mommy, salah Helena la ni....... mmm kena check apa lagi yang Helena tak beritahu dia pasal adulthood ni.


4. This Ramadhan, after UPSR, I realized that Anastassia dah tersedap kena excused from housechores. Hello girl....... takkan dah lupa kut.......


5. This Ramadhan was when I fully realized that my 2 eldest girls have become teenagers. If you know what i mean..... sigh..... Kena be extra alert la ni.........



Selamat Berbuka Puasa nanti.......

I need to be strong. For Anastassia's sake.

Please Dear God, please let me be strong. Let Anastassia be strong. Di bulan puasa, sebelum UPSR, Anastassia di duga lagi sekali.

Ya Allah.... di kala kami mahu sujud padamu untuk menunaikan Solat Hajat, di kala kami mahu membaca surah Yasin memohon keberkatan menjelang UPSR, dugaan itu datang lagi.... Ya Allah Ya Tuhan ku, sesungguhnya makbulkan la doa kami, terutama doa anak ku ini, doa insan kecil, doa insan teraniaya.

Syukur, after a week, finally i made my decision. And now.... Helena tenang. Anastassia tenang. Hubby supported all the way.

Dan Syukur, Anastassia sat her UPSR papers dengan perasaan tenang.

And Syukur again for today, GOD gave me hope, terimakasih pada mereka. You know who you are.

I know Anastassia and I need to be strong these next few days.

Ya Allah Ya Tuhanku, kau berilah balasan yang setimpal pada mereka, yang melakukan fitnah dan umpatan, melakukan pembohongan terang-terangan di bulan Ramadhan yang mulia ini. Dan bukakanlah pintu hati nya, to act upon the truth, bila membuat keputusan nanti.

Ya Allah Ya Tuhanku..... just give me a little more strength. For a little while more.

Amin.

UPSR snippets

Its now 9:32am - 11 Sept, 2008.

Anastassia should be finishing her Science paper now.

1. Suprisingly, Maths paper yesterday was quite tough. Much tougher compared to 2 years ago, when Mia sat for her UPSR. I thought the papers would be easier if not lebih kurang the same.

2. Thank GOD yesterday's paper finished at 9:10am. The minute we arrived home at around 10:30am, Anastassia start guling2 kesakitan. I gave her painkiller (dah siap medicine just in case) tapi tak jalan. I gave her ponstan.... pun tak jalan.

As my dad was not feeling well and could not examine Anastassia, I sent her to our GP. Hmmm.... urine infection.... sigh.....

3. Now as I'm writing this, I hope i wont get any call from the school. She looks fine this morning. Helena harap she wont experience any more stomach pain sampai 1pm...... insyaAllah.....

BEST OF LUCK TO ALL UPSR 2008 CANDIDATES!

Its 10:49am. Paper Pemahaman dah lepas. Now Penulisan. Then Maths Paper 2.

Anastassia is now sitting for her UPSR paper. Helena doakan agar anak kedua Helena ini dapat menjawab soalan peperiksaan dengan tenang.

I'm a bit worried as she said she sits near to 2 fans. Takut dia sejuk. Anak Helena sorang ni memang tak tahan sejuk. Helena doakan cuaca panas dan tak hujan langsung these 3 days. Helena nak dia selesa jawab soalan.

I've been on leave since yesterday. Nak kasi support. I also informed my carpool pals that I would be sending the kids to school these 3 days. Today hubby tak dapat hantar as he has to travel outstation. So Helena hantar sorang. InsyaAllah esok and Khamis, both Helena and hubby will send the kids to school. Tunggu kat sekolah sampai the exam start at 8:10am.

Good Luck Anastassia..... Good Luck juga pada anak2 rakan2 blogger yang juga menduduki UPSR tahun ini. Semoga mereka beroleh kejayaan. Usaha dan penat lelah selama 6 tahun hampir ke penghujungnya sebelum membuka lembaran baru di sekolah menengah.

Anastassia..... Do your best, okay dear........ I'm always here for you......

Housekeeping

Yesterday, did a bit of housekeeping at the kids cabinets. Rearranged the books and throw the unwanted stuffs.

Anastassia has been drawing comic books for some time. I think she started at Std3. During mengemas2 semalam, I found in her cabinet, an uncompleted copy. Agaknya dia taknak lagi because normally she would keep her "valuable" stuffs somewhere else. She drew this early last year kut.... rasa2nya la....

I remember time ni la she told me that bila besar she wants to be an artist. And I remember sitting beside her and slow talked to her....... hehe

Actually, there's a lot of things on my mind..... tapi takda mood la nak write it down...... next time I guess.....

Do They Hear You When You Cry

I just finished this book a week ago. Quite interesting.





Its a true story of a young Muslim girl, Fauziya Kassindja, who fled her African homeland to escape female genital mutilation and forced polygamy.

Bila Helena baca kisah Fauziya, rasa sebak pun ada, rasa kagum pun ada...... and in a way, Helena boleh agak macamana life gadis-gadis African Muslim di Africa, still heavily binded with tradition.

SELAMAT MENYAMBUT BULAN RAMADHAN AL-MUBARAK PADA SEMUA.