Sapa Ni?

ini anak-anak saya. anak-anak saya hantu (aka voldermort) biskut. pegi mana-mana kena ada biskut kat tangan. kadang-kadang tak masuk mulut pun tapi kat tangan wajib ada. kadang-kadang tido pun kena pegang biskut.

















anak saya yang nombor 1 amat cheeky orangnya. kalau tangkap gambar suka sangat buat muka getik dia.

















anak saya yang nombor 2 sangat susah di-control. kalau keluar memang takut nak bawak dia. kalau dia marah, kat situ jugak dia menjerit dan meraung. dia memang sangat notty. kulit dia putih. errr nothing significant pasal information tu tapi ye lah...dia tu putih semacam.

















anak saya yang nombor 3 ni makin notty. ni gara-gara mengikut abang-abang dia. dia sungguh tak heran dekat soft toys dan mainan baby, dia suka main benda macho macam kereta dan trains macam mat yang 2 lagi tu.

















anak saya yang nombor 1 rapat dengan yang no 3. yang no 2 pun rapat dengan yang no 3. tapi yang no 1 dan yang no 2 tak ngam. selalu saja bergaduh. kadang2 bergaduh sebab berebut yang no 3.

















so itu lah alkisah anak-anak saya...sekian.

Salam Aidilfitri

have a safe aidilfitri to one and all; maaf zahir & batin

from all of us...isyam, nina, amir, asyraf, ariff & baby eai#4 (eiseai)

Countdown

the favours arrived via fedex from the US yesterday
some needs to be bought - probably in a week or two

food is semi-settled together with canopy, chairs, tables
munchies will also be bought nearer the date

guest list is done
and the invites have gone out this morning

how should i decorate the house though?
put stuffed animals around the living room, or rent some pets to make the house a petting zoo?

The L

its finally in. now i can proceed with my re-list-ing process...

made the list a couple of times (based on estimated amount). now that its in, i can stick to a final list.

1. ariff's birthday - this will cover the caterer and tent. we're getting the same caterer we hired for asyraf's birthday so the number's about the same as last year (plus a bit more for inflation);

2. holiday - this is to cover the hotel for our holiday next month;

3. bills - to pay a couple of outstanding bills, not much since i paid a chunck last may;

4. house - a significant amount will go to the house. i need to get a new tv cabinet for area upstairs. i plan to bring the astro out from our room to the area and reactivate the astro downstairs. i also want to get 2 more chest of drawers for the boys room. the boys clothes cant fit into 2 chest of drawers and each would need their own. the fact that the clothes are all almost the same size is no help...they all look alike!! the changing table will be moved back into my room, to store baby no 4's clothes and asyraf & ariff will get their own drawers.

then a carpet for the dining room. a few trees to plant at the back yard. a new coat of paint for the boys' room. new pots and pans for me. a wing chair for my room, or better yet, a rocking chair. a labeling machine for my labeling pleasure. now that the house is cleaner with the weekly cleaning service i hired, i want to start organising everything (i thought of stopping at just the kitchen, but hey...why limit a good thing, eh?)

5. clothes - of course new clothes for the boys, all the more reason to get the chest of drawers. and some for me...i wonder if they have non-iron maternity shirts sold somewhere.

with all that done, i hope the boys will leave me to my reading in my room and hubby will be able to watch his footie undisturbed. erkk...tapi cukup ke duit yang masuk tu??

Daddy Day Care

its public holiday in selangor today.
which means hubby gets a day off and the daycare is closed.
which means he is home alone with my 3 heroes.
which means a lot of screaming and crying.
which means a messy home.
which means more cleaning up for me to do later.

to hubby...hang on in there! lek laaaa...

fighting for the phone when mummy called...

before they slept...

This And That

we're coming up to the middle of ramadhan (tomorrow will be the 15th day we fast). i missed 2 days so far, the first on thursday as i had my check up. i chose not to fast because i wanted a full bladder for the scan. the second was on friday. that was because i just wanted a break.

its been terribly hot the past week. i think everyone's experiencing the same...tiredness, lethargic, extreme thirst. i wonder how it would be when ramadhan falls in june, july when its really hot. yesterday i was almost melted from the heat. i was sorely tempted to break my fast at 5pm but i refrained myself. it was only 2 more hours after all.

today's another terrible day. went about the morning doing so many house chores - cleaning the kitchen, doing 2 loads of laundry, minding the boys. thank god the cleaner is coming in a bit. i hope this cleaner will be ok. the company i used in 2005 was great. their cleaners were always on time and they cleaned from top to bottom. they were they only ones who were willing to come over once in 2 weeks - the rest said its not 'berbaloi'.

i havent cooked much this ramadhan. i made chicken rice on the first day, i made soto last weekend and coffee jelly for break fast today. that's about it. i've been so tired lately. dont know if its the fasting or the heat or the carrying no4. i would love to cook like lia but considering only hubby and i eat (the boys eat white rice, soup and fish) it feels not worth it to spend time in the kitchen or make food that we have to consume 3 times before we can finish them. maybe when the boys are older...

went to nina's house yesterday. she was in the mood to bake raya cookies. i helped...not much of a help with amir not feeling well (he went to the loo 3 times and threw up twice) and ariff who just wanted to climb up the stairs. in the end we (or rather nina and her aunt) made cornflake cookies and chocolate chip cookies.

i'm going through my checklist of ariff's birthday. i think i'm re-doing the favours. went through a magazine after sahur this morning. found something that is good (and not so expensive) to give to the younger guests. this time around there'll be no sweets or chocolates in the favour bags. the bags will contain non-edible things. there will be sweets and things that kids would like (and parents would throw away) but it wont be in the bags. this time it will be slightly different. of course now my thoughts are on baby no4's birthday. what to do then eh?

asyraf talks a lot now. he can finally say 'mummy', though most of the time he would address me as 'mama'. hubby is still a-daaa. everything to him is habis. but he's more vocal now. ariff's not too far behind. he's going 'mamma mamma' all the time. he loves to sit down and clap and go maaa maaa (which is most probably pok amai amai his teachers sing to him at school). this boy is still fat, no sign of him losing his baby fat even though he's getting more and more active. he's also very garang now. he doesnt back down from a fight, this one. if abang long or abang give him one, he'd give one right back to them. amir's favourite question now is 'kawan amir tak?' after he's done something wrong. when we say 'tak' he would go 'nak, tak nak...nak, tak nak' (probably means...tadi nak kawan, sekarang tak nak kawan pulak)

looks like my wish may come true today. the sun's hid himself behind the clouds. hope my clothes will dry first though. looking forward to coming down to a cleaner kitchen and dining room today...and cleaner bathroom later on today.

Week 12

went for my week 12 check up yesterday.

everything was ok, bp normal...pulse ok.

she asked the routine questions of vomitting, nauseasness, discharge etc.

then it was up on the examining bed for scanning.

the baby was in a great position.

the doctor said a 3D would look nice this time, even though its earlier than when we would do for the previous pregnancies.

everything can be clearly seen...the moving arms, the thumb sucking, the kicking legs.

hubby said he thought he saw something protruding and asked the doctor what it was.

of course, at 12 weeks, the doctor wouldnt want to confirm a baby's gender but it did give us hope.

a 3D scan of the baby. quite clear eh?

Update On My Boys

second entry of the day...i'm trying to divert my attention away from my growling stomach

amir
- amir's comments and questions sometimes surprise us. he talks like an adult at times, asking question that hubby and i dont have the answer to.
- even though he has his 'adult' moment, he's still this really naughty little boy. he loves walking past asyraf and pushing him down, or coming up to ariff and then biting him. just to see them cry.
- he loves eating new food and he's eating a lot. he can eat 3 slices of pizza at one go, even went through 18 sticks of satay yesterday.
- his taste for tv shows has also evolved. he was into mickey mouse and elmo last time, now he's into pink panther and batman.
- he's learned to brush his teeth and bathe properly from school. he's also able to wipe his body dry after bath. he's also mastered wearing clothes and shoes.
- amir loves: disturbing his brothers, taking off the seat belt in the car, pressing the remote to close the gate, putting 2 fingers in his mouth (still), mini chipsmore, going grocery shopping on weekends, following daddy everywhere, bathtime.

















asyraf
- he's slowly starting to talk although there are times when he would use the same word for everything, usually its "aaa taaaaa". when we say, asyraf...say monkey, he would go...aaa taaaa. when we say, asyraf...say adik, he would go...aaa taaaaa.
- his vocabulary includes 'nak', 'tak nak', 'tido', 'jom', 'habis dahhhhh', 'tumpah', 'muntah', 'baad' for bird, 'miahh' for cat, 'dodok', 'mama' for mummy, 'adaa' for daddy, 'ummu' for his cikgu ummu, 'ayaa' for his friend ayra and 'asyaa' for himself.
- he's not drinking milk in school anymore. yeay! and a big thank you to cikgu ummu. ever since cikgu ummu became his teacher, asyraf has shown significant developments. cikgu ummu will be around till december, which is perfect timing because in january asyraf will move on to the toddler 2-3 class with cikgu kak iza.
- at home he drink abour 1 & half to 2 bottles before he sleeps everyday on weekdays plus about 1 to 2 bottles during the day on weekend. not a lot considering he would go around hugging his bottles last time.
- asyraf is addicted to monsters inc. and i mean addicted. he can watch the movie on repeat (3 times at one go) everyday. because of monsters inc, we find it difficult to get him to bathe and because of monsters inc, we can get him to come out of the bathroom.
- he is forever picking a fight with amir in the car that we sometimes ask amir to sit on the floor of the car or in front with me (which i really dont like). when amir moves away from his booster seat, asyraf will call out 'dodokkkk' and points at the seat.
- asyraf loves: monsters inc, eating while watching monsters inc, going to sleep watching monsters inc, wearing his clothes while watching monsters inc, having his milk while watching monsters inc. asking for other cds and after 2 seconds wants monsters inc again. its about the only thing we have on the tv at the moment. but its good cos he finally can be left alone.

















ariff
- this boy is showing his true colours now. we thought he's such a soft spoken baby but he's so rough. he grunts all the time especially when we call out to him. he would go 'uughhh' 'uughhh' all the time.
- he loves pushing everything pushable. he would push his hippo, the rocking horse, the chair, the laundry basket. even the table in doctor azizi's clinic (doctor azizi asked him if he was really ill yesterday...nampak sihat je mengemas tu, he said)
- he wants to sleep between hubby and me when he's not well but is ok with sleeping in his cot when he's healthy (very memilih)
- laughs hysterically at abang long's antics but has a quiet bond with asyraf. they are all connected in a different way.
- he can wave byebye complete with 'baaa' and loves to shake his head no.
- ariff loves: to eat, pushing people out of the way when he doesnt want a hug, standing at the safety gate crying, playing with everything abang long and abang play with (no soft toys for this boy), keeping to himself in the car, lepaking with daddy and mummy while we eat.

















what we learned from the boys' school teachers (we korek-ed some info at the wedding we attended)
- amir is very, extremely naughty. he's very lazy and loves to disturb other children. his friend and foe is hakim (it used to be haziq, who now has left the school - haziq balik kapung, according to amir). he puts on a very blur 'whatever' look whenever he gets scolding from his teachers.
- asyraf is very helpful and very close to his teachers. he listens to instructions and is always willing to help, ie bring things for the teacher, sit down properly. he's quite attached to his teachers and is always sitting with them on the couch rather than with other children on the floor.
- ariff is garang (he's so my boy!). he's a busybosy in school - he would open his friends' bags and take out the things in their bags. he loves to play and wants to enter the 1-2 year class to play with the toys there (asyraf's class). he's the apple of every teacher's eyes. i hope he gets to be in the same as asyraf - even if its only for a month. that would be too cute!

Penyakits

asyraf had slightly redish eyes 2 weeks back. hubby put a bit of eye drops to clear them. after that we noticed there were red spots around his eyes...like a mask. we took him to the nearby clinic, the doctor said it was rashes, could be due to anything - food, surrounding, cats (though we dont have any pets).

it went down after a few days, then it came back worse. the spots were large, they were
watery...almost like boils. the worst was surrounding his eyebrows. his teacher even found a spot at the back of his neck and another one on his head. we were a bit surprised as we thought it wasnt contagious. it didnt move past his eyes for a long time. then 2 spots elsewhere...weird.

by the end of the week, seeing asyraf scratching the spots making them bleed and realising the cream is not making him any better, we decided to see our saviour at the hospital. it wasnt easy to see him without appointment but i begged. kesiannnnn asyraf, i told the clinic assistant. hubby had to wait almost 3 hours before he finally got to see the doctor.

one look at asyraf, the doctor said...augmentin and fucidin. then he just stared at asyraf, repeating...what is this...what is this. he concluded its fungus (which name hubby could not recall - so i cant do more research). 3 days of both meds and we saw the spots clearing. now its as though there was nothing there. the skin where the spots were has hardened and we're putting cream to soften it.

















now ariff. ariff who's seldom ill when he was younger is showing potential to be like his mummy - the 12-4 disease! ariff was breathing quite heavily last weekend. he had trouble sleeping and was wheezing. sunday evening we took him to the clinic. the doctor wanted him to use the nebuliser. he also said to come back that night and the next day. if ariff is still wheezing, he will be given inhaler.

we didnt realise it was that serious. for decisions like that - using inhalers - we thought we'd consult doctor azizi again. so yesterday i took ariff to see him. i told the clinic assistant that ariff's been wheezing quite bad. she lifted his shirt to see his chest and said...yeah, this one the doctor will ask you to use the nebuliser. true enough, the doctor said it was quite bad. he too asked us to come back for another round last night and then to use the inhaler. but this time ariff had to use for a longer period...it was almost 30 minutes. he was screaming and screaming until he couldnt scream anymore, then he fell asleep.

















last night was tough. we were half-hearted about going all the way to dsh immediately after buka. all the food just entered your body and you just want to sleep. but we pushed ourselves. hubby left ariff and me at the a&e and took the boys for a ride around taman tun. luckily we didnt have to wait long - only about 5 minutes. ariff cried at first, then he got attracted by the automatic door that he didnt realise the mask was on his face.

today i started administering the inhaler and aerochamber on him. not as easy as the box said (easy to use). well...its easy if the child sits still. but they key is to distract ariff and it wasnt too bad. ariff is sleeping better (no getting up at 2ams anymore) and his breathing is getting better. tomorrow i would need to let his teacher know how to use the aerochamber and hopefully he continues to get better.

Ramadhan

i'm a bit anxious about fasting this time around. i've fasted during my past pregnancies but i was in my third trimester for all 3. this will be the first time i'm fasting during my first trimester. my 'tryouts' were not good. i could not ganti 6 days from last year - that's what happens when you postpone your ganti puasa till the end.

so this year, i've set aside a few days, just in case. just in case i cannot last the whole month.

my first day wasnt too bad. i started the day as usual. did 2 loads of laundry, cleaned the kitchen and prepared breakfast for the boys (nasi and soup kosong je). asyraf and ariff are on medication, so they must eat. amir as usual, would eat what he wanted when he wanted. the three of them were an active bunch after brekkie.

by 11am, i was in twilight zone. i was off my feet from 11am - 3pm. hubby took amir for his nap (or should i say, their naps) mid morning. i was left with asyraf and ariff. asyraf is always ok without amir, so it wasnt too bad.

















after lunch and a bottle of milk each (asyraf's drinking less milk now - an entry on that later), both fell asleep. i had a few minutes in front of the telly before amir and hubby came out from tiza's room - amir looking fresh, hubby looking like he wanted to sleep more.

amir was getting bored by himself. hubby and i couldnt find the energy to answer his 1001 questions. it was raining heavily and he couldnt watch disney channel. so he bugged his parents.
























after asar i went down to make chicken rice for buka puasa. my timing was off, i thought i could keep myself occupied for an hour or so, but by 530pm i was done. hubby went out for a bit and i sent him an sms at 6, saying "that's it! i reached my limit." so for the next hour i just sat down, not doing anything. i watched hubby dressed the boys for bed and then i watched the clock until 7:20pm.

















hubby and i was so tired after buka, we couldnt entertain the boys. we fell asleep before them and hubby only realised when amir woke him up saying "daddy...bear habis dah. amir nak tido".

















alhamdulillah...i made it. there were instances where i thought i just cannot tahan anymore, but i was happy i didnt break my fast. hoping i can tahan the whole month.

to all...selamat menyambut bulan Ramadhan.