"Mummy ni garanglah..."

That's what Ulfa said last night, when we were watching Daddy assemble the new almari ber-drawer for Mummy. Bertuah kan? So pot pet Mummy: "Kalau Mummy tak garang, kang korang suma jadi terbiar, macam tarzan. Tapi Ulfa sayang Mummy tak?" Dia pun jawab: "Sayang banyak dan sikit." Reaksi Daddy: Senyum kambing all the way... Sabar je lah!

We Were Far Far Away...


* Lap habuk, tengok keliling. Haaa, belum bersawang.*
As the title says, yes, we were far far away. We were actually at Far Far Away, as in the land of Fiona the ogre princess. It was our second family gathering including tok baba and mama, aunty malyn and asu. This time our destination was Singapore, main location - Universal Studios. And thank you aunty malyn sebab tolong book the tics. :)

16 Sept 2010: Flight via Firefly at Skypark Terminal. It took a surprising 15 minutes journey from home to the airport. I never realized the Subang airport is THAT nearby. Way convenient than taking a long ride to LCCT or KLIA, jimat pun ya. Had lunch there, sebab had to check in by 1.30pm, our flight was at 2.50pm. Everything was very smooth and mudah. Mula2 tu cuak jugak. Satu, takut Umar buat hal dalam flight but he behaved all the way, syukur! And dua, the flight is actually tiny than usual, so agak bising when taking off.
Sampai budget terminal Singapore, again, sangat suka dengan kebersihan negara jiran tu. We booked a coach van to the hotel (bloody expensive, baik amik cab. Way cheaper if before 5pm, after that kena charge extra 35%). Stayed at Parkroyal on Kitchener Road. The 4 star hotel memang best (see my published review at booking.com k), and paling mengujakan - WE HAD CHARLES AND KEITH OPPOSITE THE HOTEL!! Memang shopping sakan padahal baru jejak Kota Singa.

17 Sept 2010: The day to Universal Studios! Super excited tapi agak cuak sebab langit nampak mendung jek. Takpe, had breakfast kat nearby mamak stall. First time bfast mamak sampai RM40 padahal roti canai and the like jek pun..hehehehe...
We went super adventurous mode. Took the MRT to Harbour Front from Farrer Park. The MRT station staff sangat sangat sangat HELPFUL. And once masuk train, penumpang lain cepat2 bangun sebab they saw the children. Thank you sesangat...
Bila nak naik shuttle bus to UStudios, ujan dah start lebat. Oh no!! Tapi that didnt stop us ofcourse. Sampai juga and we had so much fun, pictures on FB ya. Proof we had lots of fun.

The Lau Pa Sat experience:
Saja nak highlight sebab I am still upset by it. Dah 9 jam berjalan kat UStudios tentulah lapar tak hengat kan. I took my parents to Lau Pa Sat coz after the Anuar Zain concert 2 years ago, me and hubby makan kat situ. Thought my parents will like it too. Ala food court with many food to choose from. I terus bawak kat open air tables knowing hubby suka makan macam tu. Duduk2 situ terus la nak order nasi with a bunch of lauk to share. The waiters yang muncul like 2-3 orang tu masing2 tunjuk la menu depa. But we already set to eat rice so benda lain tolak, termasuklah menu satay. Mana taknya, 10 ayam, 10 daging, and 10 udang sampai $32 which is like more than RM60. And yes I am comparing it with Malaysia's satay sebab nothing beats the satay we have, so we politely declined to order. Lepas beli air, tiba2 one of the waiters datang cakap "akak boleh pindah meja lain tak sebab akak tak order satay, so tak boleh duduk sini." I almost choked on my teh tarik. Nak halau ke? I asked. Mulalah rasa nak menyirap kan, so Papa terus order 10 cucuk satay ayam. Ingatkan okay la kan. But nooo... Bila nasi and our lauks sampai, they didnt allow them to hidangkan coz we need to move table jugak2. La! Kata kalau order satay leh duduk situ, rupa2nya 10 cucuk satay tak cukup ya, coz there r 9 of us. Peegghhh... Malas nak gaduh punya pasal we moved table. Tapi kesimpulannya JANGAN PERGI MAKAN KAT LAU PA SAT sebab peniaga satay gerai nombor 9, with owner bernama Louise tak reti hargai pelanggan, and sampai hati halau pelanggan yang termasuk warga emas. And rupa2nya one of them even made a remark "kalau takde duit janganla makan kat sini." Macam tu ke layan tourists? Like hello, tak hadap la satay ko tu. Nampak sangat tak reti meniaga. And memang I doa no client will go to his place that night, Allah maha Adil, it rained after we moved table. Amik ko!!
And thank you to brother yang meniaga nasi with lauk2 tu sebab dia plak yang beria2 apologized on behalf. Sejuk skit hati.

18 Sept 2010: Last day in Singapore. Final destination: Orchard Road! Though we didnt have any specific location or mall that we wanted to see. Note to self: Must bring stroller when travelling with a 18kg boy!! Sebab dia bulat, dia selalu takleh jalan jauh so bila takleh jalan jauh, kenalah berdukung. and Pegh!!! agak hilang akal gitu. And if you think malls in Singapore ada khidmat sewa strollers, jawapannya tiada ya. So angkut je lah stroller, idaklah susahkan diri gitu...

All in all, we had a wonderful experience despite everything else. It was a great family bonding session. Kalau plan sendiri2 pasti tak kesampaian, so thank you mama and papa for the trip. Mwahs!!

Our Mini Syawal 2010

Why I call it mini? Sebab satu, takde istilah balik kampung for us this year. We raya-ed in Cheras with tok mama and baba. Second raya tu baru pergi Sabak Bernam, tok mama's hometown. Tapi tak tidur kat rumah Atok pun sebab the house is uzur (Can't imagine Mama's almost 13 sibilings with family masing2 lepak rumah tu, ada gak yang roboh kang). We lepak at a homestay in Sg Besar, yang penting bukan lokasi atau tempat tapi berkumpul adik beradik. Duduk lepak tengah padang pun takpe, asalkan leh bersua muka. One thing I really suka pasal Mama's family is semua jenis tak berkira. Sapa dapat bilik aircond, or tak aircond, tidur luar ke apa ke, tak de yang bersungut. Suma on jek. If tak berkenan, tak susahkan orang lain, sendiri cari tempat lain. Everything (oklah, almost) is no biggie to them. Memang tak banyak songeh!
Satu malam kat Cheras, second malam di rumah sendiri (Daddy kena kerja raya kedua) and dua malam kat Sabak Bernam, Mummy's back to work today. Khalas!!

Kanak-kanak riang bangun 6.30am to mandi raya then dibawa ke masjid untuk solat sunat Aidilfitri. Umaira and Ulfa used the telekong Mummy beli kat Bandung. Baju kurung hadiah dari tok mama and baba from Vietnam. The girls' cekaks from Old Blossom Box (oldblossombox.blogspot.com). Umar tak puas hati sebab dia taknak pakai songkok, dia nak cekak jugak, boleh?
Tengok? Songkok bibik kena bawakkan, he's holding Umaira's other cekak. Bertuah punya teruna! I heart this picture. Daddy and Umar nampak sangat wenskem!

The non-official family photo. Main amik je ni. I am not even in my baju raya! I always do that, pergi masjid pakai baju "basahan" dulu, bila nak keluar pi beraya rumah orang baru I put on my baju raya.

Tok mama had guests, terdiri daripada my aunties and uncles. We had our first Aidilfitri cake, for fun. No song this time, tak reti nak nyanyi lagu apa pun hehehehe....

Malam tu, Aunty Chah and family datang beraya with Daniel and Noah. The kids got along dengan jayanya! Sementara tunggu mommies and daddies mamam sat before main bunga api, the kids duduk pasang Toy Story, then lawan bercerita sapa tau lepas ni scene apa. Memang kecoh! L-R Umaira, Ulfa, Umar, Daniel and Noah.

Umaira, Ulfa, Daniel and Noh taking a quick break during bunga api session. Takde bunga api gempak pun, just the 50 kotak of pop pop hadiah dari jiran. Nampak "jerawat putih" atas jalan? Itu keje budak2 ni lah. Daniel siap buat QC tak boleh tinggal sebutir yang un-popped.

Quick family photo at the homestay in Sg Besar. Umar takde sebab tertidur plak. We were about to go visit Nenek Aji Sg Besar punya rumah, adik to my gramma. And finally dapat one picture of tok mama tak pejam mata bila kena flash hehehe...

Zairi aka Aee, Mummy's cousin bagi duit raya. Congrats Aee sebab bakal jadi Daddy, like finally!! You're not getting any younger tau. Nak BlackBerry satu! hehehehe...

Another lovely yet cheeky (grrrr Umar ni!!) family photo taken on our final day at Sabak Bernam. Cekak baru Umaira and Ulfa bought kat a small shop in Sg Besar, Umar tak dapat cekak dapat telepon Hello Kitty pun jadilah. Haihh anak mummy....

Hello 1 Syawal!!

This time tomorrow memang dah half day gone for Raya. This year, we are celebrating it in KL for the first time, kat rumah tok baba and mama in Cheras.
Double great news - Mummy dapat promotion! Alhamdulillah...
So yes, Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri semua! :)

Terlalu Frust

Don't know if it's just me being emo or people memang dah makin kurang beradab sekarang ni. Begini... today we had iftar with Tok Mama n Baba at Bangi, with my uncles and aunties. It was very short and sweet sbb one thing pasal iftar di luar ni, u just need to rush off for Maghrib. So we did our prayers at a nearby masjid. A big masjid actually. Because it is Sunday, ramailah jugak jemaahnya. I thought nak perform Maghrib and leave. But by the time dah siap nak chow, azan Isyak berkumandang, so not nice la leave without kaw-timing it kan.
My kids were with me, I dont expect hubby to be able to handle Umar. My sisters and cousins were with us so takpelah, gilir2 tengokkan. Masa nak tunggu Isyak, masjid mula penuh sbb orang datang nak Terawih. Tetiba datang sorang wanita lanjut usia, muka bersih dan cerah, and she said to me "Tolong suruh anak2 u duduk luar ya...ramai lagi jemaah lain nak masuk solat." Gulp, sentap gila! Zasss darah naik kepala. But I kept quiet.
EXCUSE ME, my kids duduk kat saf paling belakang like to dinding and memang tak lojik pun ada sesiapa nak solat kat that part sebab there were so many bags there. And another thing, adatlah sementara tunggu nak solat jemaah, everyone duduk dulu. And kebiasaannya, once imam announces the beginning of prayer, suma akan bangun and there will be plenty, I repeat, PLENTY of space. And this is the first time I took my kids to the mosque, bukan sengaja nak bawak sebab I tau tak sesuai pun, tapi sebab I was "separa musafir". Kalau I leave them outside, what or who is going to jamin they will be safe? If Umar lari2 n jatuh, are they going to help? Maybe they would but I want to avoid it altogether, thank u very much!
At the same time, I saw Umar eyeing this toy car on the rack. I asked around sapa punya, tapi takde sapa jawab so I told my boy he can borrow them. Lepas main, kena letak balik. So he played with it quietly. Siap baring lagik. Tup2, ada this granny datang and grabbed the toy car from Umar's hands. She didn't even say or ask anything. I was super shocked! Umar dah bergenang air mata. My poor baby... Kalau betullah itu cucu dia punya, takleh ke minta elok2. I would gladly apologize sebab tak sengaja amik. I never teach my kids to take things that aren't theirs pun. We were planning to return it pun lepas I finish with prayers. So yes, memang tak khusyuk solat Mummy hari ni. Sukar nak percaya ada jugak orang perangai macam tu, and they're older people. And yes, memang segelintir jek tu tapi kesannya memang awan yang terpilu especially seeing ur only son ketar bibir tahan nangis.
Moralnya: must teach my kids to behave better, and ingatkan diri sendiri agar tak jadi macam manusia macam tu.... Amin!!

Umar's Not Well

Why did I have to terfikir this - "Lama Umar tak sakit..." And tadaaa... Hamik ko! It started with the flu and as predicted, turned to bad cough, comes the kahak and to lengkapkan semuanya, the wheezing.
Took him to the clinic lepas buka puasa tadi. Reminded him that doc will have to check his chest, and gigi etc and most probably Umar kena amik gas. He nodded to all. And Alhamdulillah, he behaved so well depan doctor. And tak nampak macam pesakit pun coz he was super active, excited dengan new toys at the clinic. Bila the gas chamber door dibuka, menonong si teruna masuk and terus duduk sendiri kat kerusi and sedut gas like he's been doing it since last week. Mind you, sebelum2 ni this session lebih pada drama air mata and wrestling ya. Syukurlah all went well kat klinik tadi sebab Daddy keje malam. But the downside of it, we have to pergi balik for another round of gas esok pagi. He was still breathing heavy after gas.
Sesi makan ubat di rumah - drama!! Nangis, tolak habis2an yg end up dengan sesi muntah. Aagh!! Lepas mandikan Umar, pakaikan baju etc barulah dia mahu. Letih!
Anyhow, will try get a video of his best behaviour during gas session tomorrow.

Things That I Don't Get (and will add as I go)

* Why hubby pergi letak his favourite selipar on the car and forgot all about it? It was in the middle of the main road of BSD when I saw it. Had to stop and jadi minah rempit in baju kurung lari tengah jalan to kutip benda alah tu!
* Why certain drivers suka keluarkan tangan dari tingkap while on the highway? Dia boleh hidup jika tangannya kudungkah?
* Kenapa sesetengah bos suka nak tanya perkara peringkat management pada "kuli", macamlah "kuli" tu tau sangat semua benda? Kang dapat salah info siapa yang padan muka?
* Why I need to menyinga to get attention? Isn't a sick child enough to show they need to pay attention?
* Why gemuk kids are super cute, but not gemuk adults?
* Why gaji masuk can hilang sekelip mata, but tak pernah pun sekelip mata boleh naik gaji?
* Why baju budak perempuan waaaay moreee happening than boys'?
(to be continued...)
later that day,
* Why they have to be so mean by comparing with unlikely-ugly-out-of-this-world things? Referring to polis fesyen 2010 sempena emi.

(On May 20th, 2011)
* I don't menyampah at a lot of people. But the only two that is on the list, I always see them. Terserempak ke apa ke, why?
* Why is it whenever I get super sleepy, I am not at home?
* Why is my face so bulat these days? (Hmmph, tak sedar diri dok sumbat badan with cekodok pisang, tak ingat dunia kan?)
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