Spending time with the kids

Taekwondo

This hols, day in day out its about taekwondo. Mia had to take the advantage of the hols to perfect her grading steps and to keep fit, as she plans to go for her grading next February. Nanti bila balik college, she would have problems going for training, so the most she can do is only to train on her own.

Since the training centre is a bit far from home, alang2 dah hantar Mia, I might as well hantar the 3 kids also, although not as often as Mia. Anastassia for the 1st time went for senior class, risau jugak because she wear specs..... and since senior class is a bit rough..... but suprise, suprise.... boleh tahan jugak budak ni.... not as good as Mia, but taklah lembik.... hehe.....

Puteri loves it so much with the increased trainings, but Zaryff would make a big deal out of it..... tapi yg herannya, bila dah kat centre, enjoy sakan pulak si Zaryff ni..... nasib baik dia kecik lagi, if not mesti dah kena tegur with the Sirs.....

Mia and Puteri waiting for food lepas taekwondo... masing-masing dah lapar.....

This picture is funny..... while Mia, Puteri and Zaryff were posing at the parking area, you can see Anastassia in the background, walking up the stairs nak masuk Condo.....

Chess

On Sundays, both Puteri and Zaryff would go for their chess class..... I have yet to meet up with the person who teaches them, maybe next week boleh la kut. But it seems that Zaryff is good at planning a good strategy, a skill that can be developed further, kira ada special bakatla kut. However, dia still kalah bila lawan Puteri..... hehe. The chinese teacher, who drives 50km weekly to give chess lessons is a master at chess it seems, selalu menang competitions. His passion in chess is visible, yela, he gives free lessons tau!!!

Puteri and Zaryff during the last Raya.

Last August - Zaryff won 1st Prize in the Pakaian Beragam Hari Kemerdekaan Competition

Dah lama ceta ni.... tak apa, kan.....

I got a last minute call from Zaryff's teacher, wanting Zaryff to enter the Pakaian Beragam Competition. "When would that be?" I asked the teacher. "Tomorow la, Puan" the teacher said. ALAMAK!!!!

But as to me, the first thing that came to my mind was, how this experience will build Zaryff's self confidence, I said ok ajela... And at 3:30pm duk panic memikirkan how to dress him up.

Zaryff most right, buat catwalk..... hehe, kelakar tengok abang2 prefects tahun 6 dok ajar before the event....

Sorry la gambar2nya tak elok. Zaryff standing in the centre selepas terima hadiah. The man behind him is the headmaster.


My boboy posing before going to school. Actually dia tengah tension sebab pergi sekolah tak pakai baju sekolah and kasut sekolah.... hehe. Hari tu mama dia bekalkan dia semangat, selain dari bekalkan roti dan air.... hehe....

Anastassia's School Trip to Penang

Last week was Anastassia's school trip to Penang.

They started their journey early Tuesday morning, and it got me worried as it was drizzling. Yela, naik bas untuk jalan jauh satu hal.... wet and slipepry roads is another thing. The wheather sort of put the kids in a solemn mood, and I didnt take any pictures because semua orang macam boring jer.....

But I was told that they became hyper the minute they boarded the bus..... hehe...

Actually std 5 students were supposed to go to Malacca. But Anastassia was one of the "privileged ten', a teacher said - 10 std 5 students, all prefects were chosen to join the std 6 girls for a 3-day trip to Penang.....

Anastassia is the second from the right, with her fellow classmates.

Anastassia enjoying the sea breeze with her friends.

The girls getting ready to hit the sack at Grand Continental Hotel in Penang.

Last day of school

Anastassia bidding farewell to a std 6 friend. Tengokla baju putih budak tu, habis kena coreng.... hehe

Anastassia together with some of her good buddies.....

"Anastassia....." I called her.

"You called me, Mama?" she asked.

"Have you done your tuition homework?" I asked, entering the study room.

"Ala, mama.... petang nanti la...." Anastassia merengek.

"La.... tak buat lagi ke..... " I sighed. "UPSR tahun depan tau..." I reminded her.

"Petang nanti, kita janji ok........ kita online ni....." Anastassia looking at me with those hopeful eyes of hers.

Mmm..... my Anastassia will always be the Anastassia that she is...... my hope is that she studies hard and give her all for her UPSR next year. I know she can...... its just whether she wants to or not. So far she has improved later in the year. And I have to make sure that she keeps that momentum.

Before penning off, just want to share here how much Anastassia has helped me at home, now that I'm maidless. She knows what to do, what is expected of her. Thanks kerana ringankan sikit beban mama. It means a lot to me to know that I can depend on you.....

Puteri's School Trip

Puteri had her school trip yesterday. For Pra-sekolah to std 3 students, after taking into account the concerns of parents, the school decided that their trip will be in the city only. (Originally, the trip was supposed to be to Malacca)

Yesterday was the trip for std 1's and std 2's only. The bus left the school compound at about 8:30am and we were supposed to fetch them at 3pm.

The minute we went in the school gate, a loud chanting was heard "Puteri!!!!", "Puteri!!!!", "Puteri!!!!" Apparently, Puteri's friends saw us and was jumping up and down calling her to come over. I can see Puteri blushing from all the attention. (yele, semua budak2 lain and mak2 budak dok toleh tengok Puteri)

They visited the Museum, a yogurt drink factory, among others....

Puteri standing at where she lines up everyday - 2D (2 Delima)

Puteri with her good friend.

Puteri, most left with her classmates.

She was one happy kid that day.................

Bersyukur sangat-sangat.................

Life has been treating me well lately. Syukur Alhamdulillah..........

Last Wednesday was the Hari Anugerah Cemerlang. Puteri was in the highlight and she was beaming ear to ear. (Mak dia pun sama la tu..... hehe) However, what came next was really a suprise. At the end of the ceremony, as usual, the school will anonounce Pelajar Cemerlang 2007 and other Cemerlang Kategories. Memang this is the highlight of the Ceremony la.....

It was a sweet suprise to know that Anastassia won the Anugerah Koko Cemerlang 2007 ..... I didnt even know that she was in the running!

Al in all, Puteri received 3 story books and 3 vouchers worth RM42. Boleh redeemla kat book store nanti. Anastassia pulak dapat certificate and a 12 inch trophy...... punyala besar trophy tu.... hehe (Mia pun ada dapat the same Anugerah and trophy but Mia got it masa std 6)

On Friday, there was another unexpected suprise. Remember in my last entry that I have a short term target for Anastassia? Well, she got called on Friday and its now 80% comfirmed that she's going to meet that target. Tapi ada lagi 20% to work on..... I hope she'll be able to make it.

UPSR results are already out. I was at the school to hear the annoucement. Results sekolah the girls sama macam last year. Although it is still good, we were a bit disappointed as our target of 105 was not met. Yang kelakarnya, last year when Mia received her results, I tak menangis pun, just air mata tu mengenang ajer. But this year, entah kenapa I cried. Sedih tengok girls yg menangis2 atas kejayaaan mereka... dan sedih tengok those yang hampa dan menangis teresak2 keraba sedih .... As usual the reporters were there too..... click sini, click sana.....

Sekolah Zaryff dropped this year to 48 students yg dapat 5A. I hope the school will do something about it to be ready for my Zaryff to take the exam..... hehe.....

I am so happy!!

Finally, exam results are out.

As expected Puteri got no 1 in class and in aliran. Her position in school for all 4 exams (March, May, Aug and Oct 2007), maintained at no 3, the same spot as in last yr. (She's quite dissapointed, and does not want to answer my calls) She is also the top malay student for std 2. Helena tau, dia frust because she aims no 1, tapi her Aug marks yg bawak total marks dia turun.

She's gonna get 3 awards this Wednesday, one for class, one for aliran and also best subject - BM. (bab ni pun dia marah sbb dia nak best subject for Science, tapi she got 88+100+100+99 for science, so yg 88 tu yg bawak turun tu)

Anastassia wont be getting any awards as predicted, but I'm very happy because after TURUN MENJUNAM in May, she's improving a lot. (Anastassia's results la yg paling critical among the 4 kids) Esp in the finals, which she got no 12. Tak apa I tell her, tahun depan ada lagi for her to put herself at the top 5 spot, macam dulu2.

Zaryff's result came out last week. Merosot from no 5 to no 9 in class, and aliran from no 8 to no 18. I lectured him for 2 mins (buat syarat), dia nangis (mengada) sbb tak pernah kene lecture, then mintak hadiah sebab science marks dia improved. Haha.

Mia punya response lagi best.

"Mama, you want to hear the good news first or the bad news first?"

mmm.... well.... no comments but siapla during the hols...... hehe

Mia spent the last 2 weeks of schooling singing for Farewells Gatherings (for 5th formers and year end activities) .... siap menang "Best Performance" pulak tu during School Concert last Friday. Tomorrow pulak ada cheerleading competition.

All in all, I'm happy, walaupun ada yg merosot, tapi to tell u the truth, Anastassia's improvements yg make me smile ......


This morning, I woke up with short-term targets for 2008. Takyah share dulu la.... I hope by April 2008, I can share the happy announcements for both Mia and Anastassia..... If they can achieve it, syukur.... if not, takde rezeki..... janji everyone has tried their best, esp me, in supporting them throughout. (ooo in case u're wondering, this is not academic related)

Helena is out! (ikut style Anastassia kat friendster dia.... :D)

The month of November

November started with the School Concert at the girl's school.

Anastassia acted in an English Drama titled Cinderella Revisited, dia jadi Prince. Pandai jugak budak ni berlakon..... She is also in the Choral Speaking. Unfortunately, Puteri's Choral Speaking in Arabic had been cancelled due to limited time. Frust dia, but then cikgu dia kata masa Anugerah Cemerlang nanti mereka akan perform.....

The concert was a success. Walaupun concert berbayar tapi memang berbaloi la.... everyone had fun. Parents came in droves, with atok and nenek tagging along. On the same day, there was an art demo, whereby 3-4 selected students akan duduk kat bilik Pameran Seni and melukis the whole day. Apa yang dilukis akan dijual and the kids akan dapat hasil jualan tu fully.

Anastassia was chosen to become the artist but due to her involvement with the drama, she only managed to finish one abstrak painting. The painting was later bought by a parent for RM35. Anastassia yg mula2 frust sebab tak dapat join kawan2 dia melukis, merasa a bit excited to receive cash money for a painting that she did. The parent told the teacher that she plans to have it framed.

On Saturday, Anastassia masuk bowling competition..... she has improved a bit but of course tak boleh lawan the pros..... I am now thinking of sending Zaryff and Puteri for basic bowling lessons....

After the bowling tourney, got a call from Sir (Taekwondo) that Puteri can go for grading again this month. What??? 3 gradings in a year is unheard of..... mmm.... is this another Mia in the making..... I asked Sir, tak cepat sangat ke.... esp knowing Sir, who unlike other Sirs, tak suka kasi kids grading cepat2..... Sir kata, Puteri is ready, she's a Super Girl..... (hmm.... macam tu ke...)

On Sunday, as I was packing Zaryff's school bag, I saw a yellow letter addressed to parents. Bertuah betul budak ni, dia simpan aje. Apparently Persatuan Renang Negeri nak buat ujibakat on Saturday - 3 Nov (dah lepas....). Although I have yet to decide whether I would want the kids to join the State Swim training, there's nothing wrong in just participating and see how my kids fare compared to other swimmers right?

After the call I made to comfirm Zaryff and Sabrina's chess class schedule (Zaryff hari2 merengek nak pergi chess class), Helena pikir.... mmm.... boleh ke I handle semua ni???? (Kids boleh handle for sure, esp cuti sekolah ni. )

Hi there!

Wow...... lamanya dah tak update blog ni.... I didnt even have the chance to wish you all Selamat Hari Raya...... and Maaf Zahir Batin....... Its still not too late eh?

So pada semua rakan bloggers. Helena ucapkan Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri, Maaf Zahir Batin jika ada yang terkasar bahasa dan terlepas kata.....


What shud I write? There are many things to share.... from Raya preparations, the Raya itself, how the kids raya sakan, zafry's pool party on the 4th of raya, kids preparing their exams during puasa and after raya....... the results...... our dear angkasawan who just came back yesterday.....

mmm................

I was very very busy during puasa month, hence the loooooonnnnnngg silence. On top of that, I was trying very hard to prepare the kids for the final exams which was held a week before Raya. Kesiannya pulak tengok they all melepek and tak larat nak baca buku after buka puasa. Bila Helena tengok Anastassia lebih cergas selepas sahur, I changed her belajar time after sahur everyday.

However, the mission for the kids to study didnt go as well as planned. Sob... Sob...

Results are out, cant really say much about Anastassia, total marks improved tapi tak tau her position in aliran yet, itu yg critical tu..... Puteri as usual scored highest in every paper...... Zaryff's marks are not that good, his teacher said that since the papers are tough, budak2 tak dapat score.... mmm entahla... or maybe the teacher is just trying to be nice.... nantila tunggu dia dapat no brapa kali ni.

The current topic for the girls sekarang ni adalah school trip. The girls school menang Anugerah Cemerlang Kebangsaan, syukur...... after 3 years of hard work trying to grab that trophy. Zaryf's school also represented the State but since this is their 1st attempt.... ofcourse la tak menang.....

One of the prizes is the hadiah lawatan murid = RM100K. So semua students from Pra-Sekolah to Tahun 6 dapat pergi lawatan....... everything FOC. The kids are looking forward to it.

Zaryff's school was also in the news several times this month, tapi bec of our angkasawan. Zaryff was frustrated as his picture tak terselit kat gambar dalam paper tu..... hehe.... i told him, next time try to stand near your Guru Besar.....

Zaryff turned 8 on October 16, the 4th day of Hari Raya. We had our Open House on that day at the Villa, and petang tu buat a pool party...... The kids had a blast at the pool. And obviously Zaryff enjoyed himself tremendously.....

This weekend there's gonna be a School Concert at the girls school, Puteri will do her Choral Speaking in Arabic.... Anastasia will be in the Choral Speaking in English and she will also take part in an English Drama whereby Anastassia will be the prince, trying to woo Cinderella.

We had a great Raya. Mia came back from college and all the children enjoyed each other's company to the fullest. Takde gaduh2 pun. Walaupun Raya, Mia tetap berkepit with her school books, yela.... exam immediately after Raya.... what to do....

This year was the 1st Raya yang Helena TAK buat apa2 kuih pun..... hehe the kids complained bec they missed my chocolate chip cookies.... tapi what to do, with maid tak ada, keje melambak. And this is also the Raya which we did our shopping last minute!...... We only managed to buy Raya clothes on Thursday..... the day yang malam tu, orang dah nak tgk anak bulan! hehe..... tak pala..... janji semua sempat beli.....


Sorry if my entry kelam kabut...... kepala still serabut lagi ni.....