Ramadhan Day 16

we have passed half the month of Ramadhan. alhamdulillah, it has been good for the boys. but somehow it was different from the first quarter.

the days that follow the earlier post, the boys started to slack in their fast. amir got better actually, no more whining. asyraf had a couple of days off where he was moody and tired, maybe from the 5am wake up call. ariff started to get coughs and flu and i asked him not to fast. he only agreed to a day of rest. a few days after that he said he wanted another day off, he did look a bit worn off the day before, except when he was holding a broom.

our food also seem to have hit a snag. it was getting a bit difficult to get the boys to sahur with rice. they opted for cereal and bread. so i haven't been cooking. for iftar, they couldn't seem to make up their minds. cooking is not an option because we dont break fast with white rice. i suggested other dishes - baked pasta, lasagna, roasted chicken, salmon, salad but all were shot down. they just wanted kuih, something slightly heavy and then cereal. hubby had headaches everyday trying to figure out what to get for the boys. for us it was easy, nasi kerabu and laksam for hubby and my trusty laksa (we have been having the same for the past 7-8 years!)

so a couple of days ago, hubby decided...enough headache, enough wastage. nasi kerabu and just two types of kuih to be shared. and i'll prepare rice again for sahur starting tomorrow.

we have only had our break fast outside twice this year, not including iftars with extended families, just the six of us. we had buffet at a nearby iranian restaurant. ok...as good as the place is, it was seriously not worth it for iftar. the food were too heavy and we were only able to consume a plate each, not worth the price we paid.

yesterday was much better. hubby suggested japanese for buffet and japanese is always a hit with the family. paid much more than the iranian buffet but much more worth it when the boys polished up everything.

Ramadhan Day 7

alhamdulillah, we are almost at the first quarter of ramadhan. how time flies, masyaallah. sahur is getting to be a hectic affair at home. used to be a quiet sahur for me and hubby and then us and amir, then asyraf joined in although only a few times last year. this year with three boys at the table, its no longer quiet. there's not even enough seat for the five of us and i usually end up eating standing, unfortunately.

the boys have been pretty positive about fasting. amir's the veteran but still the one who whines the most. he would be saying how his friend pushed him so he must eat, how his chest hurts so he must eat even though he'd be playing football three minutes after that, he watches the clock like a hawk and doesn't stop asking how long more.

asyraf's taking it in his stride. he acts as though fasting is a daily occurrence. he would find things to do to fill his time, be it reading the quran, watching tv, playing with the phone, taking naps. he's pretty easy. ariff's been good for a first-timer who munches a lot of a regular basis. he had a slight incident where he ate a pack of mango jelly he made in his cooking class but he felt really bad after and said he'd never do it again. he doesn't complain much and prolly the only difficulty he has is getting up at 5am. what i'm loving the most is how they try not miss their solat, alhamdulillah. let's hope they continue the positive attitude towards fasting.

for the past week, i've been preparing rice and simple accompanying dishes for sahur. for iftar we usually buy. we don't break our fast with white rice and prefer laksa or nasi kerabu or nasi lemak or mihun soup with 2-3 types of kuih. very simple and quick. of course after they perform the maghrib prayers, they would come back to the kitchen asking for cereal.

sahur so far...

 iftar...one i prepared, one i was invited to

Marhaban Ya Ramadhan

there's always something new to look forward to during the holy month of Ramadhan. with 4 pregnancies & 1 delivery during Ramadhan way back (heh!) in the late 2000s, its now moved to celebrating and encouraging the boys to fast.

amir have been practising during the past two Ramadhan, asyraf started last year and this year, it will be ariff's first Ramadhan. as i'm now staying at home, i'm determined to prepare sahur for the family. we used to buy previously, getting extra chicken or fish or kuah-kuah for sahur when we visit the pasar Ramadhan. sometimes i would prepare the rice, sometimes we just buy and heat up everything. but this year, i'm determined to prepare home-cooked food. and well...asyraf's been pressuring me to have food he loves on the table for his sahur, otherwise 'nanti kita tak boleh puasa, mummy' he said.

we dont know how long they can go with eating rice at 5am though, once they think its already too much, then we move to something else and i'll prepare the break fast food instead. i can only prepare once a day because i'm seriously short of ideas.

so i stocked up the kitchen with all kinds of meat, frozen food, lots of eggs and perencah maggi during the weekend.

to all...have a blessed month of Ramadhan, may we reap as many rewards as we can and bring ourselves closer to Allah the most compassionate and the most merciful, amin.

SFA Football Tournament

SFA (which stand for subadron football academy) organised a football tournament for a few academies around the klang valley. they had a premier league for the ones who excel in and are keen on football and a super league for those who want to play for fun. this way, everyone in each academy would have the opportunity to play, not just the selected few.

MBJ United, the football academy which amir & asyraf attend on weekends participated in the tournament. amir was chosen to play in the premier league for the under8 group while asyraf would be playing in the super league for the same group. they were, obviously, very excited and could not stop talking about the tournament for days before it actually began.

the u8 groups begin their game on saturday at 6pm. those in the older group started earlier. when we got to the field, it was already packed with players, officials, parents and other family members.

amir & asyraf's games were at fields A & B, closest to the car park and entrance and the surau (yeay!) the boys were first asked to sit in their groups and listen to the coach giving pep-talk and explaining the playing format and the player's position. amir would be playing left back, which he was pretty upset about, he's an attacking player and cant easily play in other positions. asyraf was chosen to be the striker (huh surprise?).

amir played his games a bit uncomfortably but he efficiently cleared the ball. he was asked to come in and out during the course of the games. he played all three games, where they drew two and lost one.

asyraf was appointed captain and was running around everywhere. he took corners and throw ins, he defended, he attacked, he won the ball. and of course he almost got into a fight during his second game. they were supposed to play three games but ended up playing only two, both of which they won.

the tournament took a breather for maghrib, before continuing well into the night, ending with a game for the fathers. we wanted to leave earlier, akmal even fell asleep on the bleachers but the boys wanted to wait for the medal ceremony. the boys had loads of fun and it was precious seeing them with their medals that we can overlook that it was way past midnight.