Afeef, Karate And Tournament :)

Salam...

As I wrote before, I can't wait to write about Afeef's karate tournament!!!

Yeah, Afeef has had Yellow belt in karate.

I wouldn't really say Karate is Afeef's cup of tea, but he did receive compliments every now and then from his Sensei :)

And according to hubby who'd always been the one taking Afeef to Karate sessions twice a week, Afeef is one of Sensei's favourite!

Wow... Really???!!

Judging from Afeef's performance in last Saturday's tournament, I found it hard to believe that he's one of sensei's favorite??!!

Hahahaha!

Ok, ok, he did everything correctly, no mistakes, and everything was perfect only that, he's less aggressive, his movements were a lil bit too slow and not rough enough or fast enough unlike the others...

So, I guess, the reason why he's one of Sensei's favorite is probably because he's an obedient boy and quiet too hehe.. 

Way to go Afeef...

He'd been soooo excited about this Tournament that he kept telling me about the medal, the trophy that the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th place would received. 

As for me, I knew this was so important to him but I didn't know how much, until the moment I entered the huge hall, and watched him so nervous and fidgeting in his seat.

I asked him how he'd felt at that time, and he said, sooooo nervous that he had butterfly in his stomach :D

Well yeah, he looked nervous too.. 

I kept telling him, no matter what, if he loses or wins, he's still a winner to me. 

It's the efforts that matters not the medals...

So, when Afeef 's turn was about to come, I was soooooo unexpectedly nervous!

My heart was beating wildly, my stomach churned, anxiety filled me, and it worsened when I saw one boy cried after he'd lost to his partner.

Oh, I knew at that instance why I was soooo anxious... 

Because I was scared... I was worried...

Scared and worried to see how sad he would be if he'd lost... 

He'd been hoping to bring one medal home!!

Well... Life don't always turns out the way you wanted them to be....

He'd lost to this girl, Miryam..

Funny thing was, hubby said so confidently to me, not to worry, Miryam wasn't so good, Afeef's better than her...

Yeah right....

Hubby had mistaken her with another girl!!

Miryam had eventually turned out to be the champion!!

So Afeef was a bit unfortunate to have had his first round with a Champion, so he'd lost the first round.

mmmmmmmm...

I saw the disappointment on Afeef's face, and felt bad throughout the competition.. 

She was fast, precise, and accurate..

Yes, she has what it takes to be the champion!

She deserves to win!!

If you wonder why Afeef wore red belt, it was just to differentiate the points received by each one of them. There were a few people sitting around them holding red and white flags. Red flag represents Afeef and white flag represent Miryam.

And if you wanna know which one is the Sensei, that huge guy with the orange T-shirt at the back, that's him!

After the competition was over, Afeef told me that despite his loss, Deter (the Sensei) told him that he was good!

So sweet of him :)

At least Afeef felt good about himself because of his words... 

I kept telling Afeef that it's ok to lose..

Competition isn't always about winning, it's also about having fun with friends, accepting losses and be happy for those who'd won, and strive harder after this because at least now, he knew how it feels like to fall, to be at the bottom, to lose...

I'm soooo proud of him for his ability to accept losses so positively... 

So so so proud of him..

I guess, I couldn't be even prouder if he'd won the 1st place!!

That was all about Karate Tournament, we had cakes and drinks afterwards outside the hall, then we rushed to Gartenschau for Afeef's school gathering. Later I'll update about that insyaAllah..

Till later, Salam...

PS: Sorry if there's any mistakes in my English or writing or spelling... My English isn't perfect but I'm trying my best to make it perfect.. insyaAllah...

:)

Something To Share (",)

Salam....

When Afeef was little, he was often so enthusiastic to help me with house chorus, like sweeping the floor, cooking, cleaning the toilet, washing the dishes, preparing his own milk, etc etc and I remember all these distinctly....

But problem was, I had never really let him, because instead of actually helping me, he often ended up leaving a huge mess for me to clean up :D

So, I chosed to just do everything myself because I didn't want the mess...

What a huge mistake!!

When I met my mom last time, mom reminded me again about this. Mom said, 

"Don't do EVERYTHING for the kids.."

"Let them do things themselves!"

Oh so true.... 

There's always something I get every time I meet mom... and thank God I still have a mom who'd constantly reminded me of the right thing to do..

So, my new mission now, to make sure the kids are able to do many things themselves...

Have you ever heard of a saying that goes like this~~

~~It is not what you do for your children but what you have taught them to do for themselves, that will make them successful human beings~~~~

How come I've never realized this before???

I keep doing things for them from A-Z when they are actually capable of doing things themselves, like clean the room, make the bed, wash the dishes, etc etc...

But..... it's never too late! 

So, by far, they started washing dishes themselves... I never had to remind them about this again (",)

Fatini always enjoys this task, errrrrr... actually she enjoys all house chorus hehehe...

They helped me in the kitchen, cooking, baking, usually I don't have to ask for help when it comes to baking and cooking, memang berebut nak tolong hehe.. 

Then ada la kejadian yang tak diingini, berebut itu, berebut ini, tepung tumpah, macam2 lagi... mama sabar je.. huhu..

Sometimes, I even wished that nobody noticed that I was baking haha!

Because Fatini and Aleena are sooooo into baking, so Afeef had to give in most of the time letting them do the jobs (",)

mmmmmmmmm..... (",)

Pancake, everyone's favorite!

Some tips: To have a fluffy pancake, use Self Raising Flour. 

Eh tertukar topik hehehe..

Today, little Aleena helped me with 'ikan bilis'....

I didn't ask for her help, she offered to help (",)

If I were still the same old me, I wouldn't have let her you know.. I would tell her to go play her toys!

But with this new mission and motivation, I felt so happy to let her help me with the 'ikan bilis' even though I was a lil bit worried about her mischiefs hehe...

So I let her.....

Though, after a few minutes......

mmmmmmmmm.......

It's ok lah hehehe... if we wait for everything to be perfect, by then, they won't be so excited to help with house chorus anymore...

They are just kids after all, kids are creative..... 

You'll see their creativity in everything they do... so, don't scold them,  just let their creativity grows... encourage them whenever necessary (",)

Yesterday, while I was in the bathroom, they cleaned the whole house without being told to do so... 

Wow, I was impressed!

Errrrr..... 

Rupa2 nya letak semua dalam kemah ni hehehe...

Patutlah pantas haha!

But, it's ok, those effort that matters to me, I still hugged and praised them for what they did hehe..

And, so far they made their bed themselves every morning without fail..

So happy to see this (",)

They remind each other, there was one morning I heard them waking up, they ususally chit chat a little before they got out of the room, and then I heard Fatini said,

"Afeef, kemas katil dulu..." hehehe..

True, kids are special in their own way....

So, to all mommies out there, especially housewives, your children tend to depend so much on you, because you are with them at home 24 7, and you tend to do everything for them too, thinking that you should because that's your job... but actually, it's not....

It's your job to teach them to be able to do everything themselves, to educate them, talk to them, tell them stories, remind them of the right things to do in life, correct them when they're wrong, listen to them when they have something to tell, (even if they talk about Power Rangers ke, Powerpuff girls ke, Luigi's Mansion ke hehe), care for them, love them, hug and kiss them everyday... when they start hiding things from you, that's when you have to bring yourself closer to them...

And you know what, it's quite fun talking to your kids, listen to their stories bout kindergarten, bout school, bout their favorite stories, while folding the clothes, while drinking together.. (",)

It's a moment we should cherish as a mom...

Don't miss every moment of it (",)

Most importantly, praise them, hug and kiss them for everything good they'd done, that way they feel appreciated and they will want to do more (",)

Lastly....

Yesterday, when I fetched Fatini from Kindergarten, she'd excitedly showed me the card she'd made for me (",)

She drew me (see this pic above) in red clothes, I was touched for she's aware of my favorite color...(",)

And later she apologized because she didn't know how to draw me in hijab hehehe...

And she asked,

"Berdosa ke gambar mama tak pakai tudung?"

hehehe... so innocent....

This kind of card perhaps means nothing much to us, but it means a lot to them.. 

Well.....

Every single thing means a lot to them...

Sometimes we were so uncertain about what the kids want, what they need, how they want to be loved? 

We were once a kid too.... what did we want?

Till later, Salam...

(",)

Moments in Life...

Salam....

Two days ago I had a parents meeting with Afeef's teacher, since hubby was a bit busy that day, so off I went with the kids...

A journey to Afeef's school always was tiring, 15 minutes journey that if I walk with my regular pace, but with the kids tagging along, I need about 25 minutes approximately..

And it's a journey up hill..

And worst, I couldn't bring the stroller along, because we need to go through a staircase which is a route that offers shorter distance to his school...

And it was raining lightly...

Surprisingly, despite the light rain and the fact that I must carry Aleena from time to time because she was tired from the journey up hill, I found last Monday's journey to Afeef's school and going back home were one of the most memorable ones.. (",)

While we walked together hand in hand, we passed by this sign:

And Afeef quickly pointed at it, yeah yeah he told me about this before...

Afeef's main concern was the 100euro that this person offers for anyone who'd found the cat, and Afeef's so excited bout it that he'd missed another important point here;

'Someone is grieving and that person is willing to give 100euro away and it occured to me that this person could be just a boy or a girl with only 100euro in his/her saving and is willing to give it all away in desperation to find his or her beloved cat!!'

Oh, I know Afeef has a good attitude now, he saves a lot, he has his own money, and whenever we go out, he would bring his money along and buy whatever he wants using his own money, and that he would not simply buy stuffs, he would think thoroughly before buying anything even if it costed him only 1euro! 

Which is good, and he never gives a second thought for buying anything not more than 2euro for Fatini..

Which is good also, for his willingness to spend for his sister more than for himself. 

But, I don't let Afeef buy anything for Fatini anymore unless if it's her Birthday or she had done anything special, Fatini needs to learn the value of money as well, so nowadays Fatini has her own savings too.

On the left is Fatini's savings and on the rigtht is Afeef's.

So, back to my story, why Afeef was so into that 100euro, because he needs some extra money to top up what he has so he could get a new Nintendo..... Mmmmm Nintendo ape ye??

Never mind... Coz that's not the point.

The point is, money will never be enough no matter how much you have, and things you wanna buy will never come to an end! 

The key word is, to feel enough with what we have and to be thankful, that's it...

If we open our eyes for every single tiny things Allah has given us, oh my, there's too many, and we wouldn't want anything else in this whole wide world, because we have everything!

So I told Afeef,

"Afeef, if I found that cat, I'll just give it to the owner and I'll not take that 100euro...."

And he asked me in disbelief,

"Why???!!!!!"

I told him, that there are other far better things in Life, values, love, how beautiful it feels to help others, and money is never a priority, because with God's will, we'll feel complete even with only basic needs to survive. 

And he will understands someday when he loves something badly and I'm sure he's willing to give away all his money too.. Right?

Ahah 'nodding' though reluctantly hehehe..
But, he'll understand someday, I know he will... (",)

To end my lenghty speech bout life, love and all, I told him;

"We'll help find that cat but not for the money but for the sake of helping others.."

Mmmmmmm smiling he said, 

"Ok... "

 This time I detect a note of sincerity in his voice and his smile (",)

So I hugged him and let him know that I'm soooo proud of him!

We reached Afeef's school in time to meet his teacher, had a little discussion bout how Afeef's doing in school, and learnt from his teacher that Afeef is one of the best behaved student in class, very obedient, done his home works all the time, very good in reading, one of the best student in Mathematics, (Alhamdulillah all those efforts pay off..) but terrible in writing hehehe.. (tulisan sambung which is important in German schools)

It's ok Afeef, we'll practice more (",)

And, the part which I'll never forget was when I informed her that we'll be going back to Malaysia end of this year, she looked at me in surprise, sad, disbelief all at once.

But the most prominent expression was sadness..

She looked genuinely sad, I could see it in her eyes, her expression, and when she looked at Afeef and told him that he'll be missed and not having him around anymore is going to be a huge loss, I knew she meant it, she really really meant it... (",)

A sweet teacher.... And Afeef loves her...

I felt sad too...

On the way home, I asked Afeef if he's sad to leave all these behind, 

He said,  "Yes, terribly..."

It's ok Afeef, insyaAllah you'll find great friends in Malaysia later and teachers too.. 

InsyaAllah...

We don't WAIT for things to happen, we'll MAKE it happens....

Life's Like That.....

(",)

PS: It's been snowing since Yesterday, thunderstorm hit yesterday too, for the first time witnessing 'hujan batu' seriously hehe.. hujan batu ais lah tapi hehe.. I'll make an entry bout it later, and today's activity; finish a novel sambil tunggu aleena main snow.. I know it'll take hours... ***sigh***

Have a nice day everyone.. (",)

My little mission... not impossible (",)

I am now trying my best to pursue my mission, that is, to make my children love books, love to read books, to have passion for books..

My late father was someone who had so much passion for books, he had this huge collection of books, and we even had a library at home with racks full of books!!

I've been exposed to all kinds of reading materials since I was a little girl, such as Readers Digest, Time Magazines, Novels, etc etc and a Book Fair was something we would all looked forward to and were always always sooooo excited to go, and the best part was, 'abah' would always gave us the huge amount of money to buy as many books we like regardless of the amount, the price.. 

Oh, I've realized now how abah tried his best for me to love books, because unlike my other elder siblings, I used to be someone who disliked reading, maybe I even hated it!

The turning point was when I started reading English books, and it was all my father's effort, he had taught me to read in English (",)

When I started reading English books, I fell in Love immediately, because unlike Malay story books, English story books are far far more interesting..

So, in the process of teaching my children how to read in English, I observed these cute and funny differences between Afeef and Fatini, why they differ so much, I have absolutely no Idea!!

For instance, Fatini is now able to read these sentences on her own, and Afeef had long ago finished with this part, but when Afeef read this, he just read it and never questioned anything. 

I would then asked him what's the meaning of everything that he had just read..

So he would start thinking what had he read? 

And he would read again, this time to understand it so he could explain it to me..

If I didn't ask, he wouldn't bother to know what the story was all about!

He would read just for the sake of reading?? hehehe..

No wonder he found reading BORING!! haha

Ok, so it's a totally different story with Fatini, when she was reading these exact same sentences, when she came to the part,

"Sam sat on a cat...."

She started giggling all of a sudden, and I asked why??

She said, it's funny that Sam sat on a cat!! How could a person sit on a cat!!

Seeee???

She understands what she reads, isn't that great????!!!

Same goes here, with Afeef, he'd just read it like usual and never question a thing, but when it comes to Fatini, she immediately asked, why sit and then sat?...

Haha so smart (",)

She always explains to me what's the meaning of everything she'd read without being asked, and if she doesn't understand anything at all, she would always always asks!!!

And she is now able to read this!! 

It's amazing how fast she progresses (",)

Oh my, I guess children really are different, like I said before, at 4 years old, Afeef was always so satisfied with my 'Orang lidi version of Ultraman', but for Fatini, No way!! hehe..

I had to draw something, anything exactly the way she wanted it mmmmm..

Nevertheless, I believed that, no matter how different they are, they each have their own special talent and I'm going to discover it!!

Just a lil something to share here...

Aleena always has a teddy with her whenever she goes out, even just to fetch Fatini from kindergarten and it's a must for her to bring her teddy along haiiiihhh..

And Fatini, refused to cut her hair, see how long it is now??

Macam2 perangai.... hehehe..

Till Later (",)

A good mommy in the making :P

When my mom was here, she had really, thoroughly brainwashed me, hehehe..

It's all about educating my kids at home.. though mom said it all because she's worried bout Afeef, how he's going to cope with M'sian syllabus and all, I on the other hand, have different views..

I think I shouldn't teach him because I want him to be able to catch up, ( yes of course I wouldn't want him to be left far behind too, because that will discourage him to go to school) but I also don't want him to be under pressure, plus Malaysian  people's attitude;

'I have to be a top scorer, I have to be a Doctor, or Lawyer, or Engineer and all other high class jobs!

Here, there's no such pressure in school, no one is comparing who is better, who is smarter, etc etc...

They learn because they want to learn, they want to know bout this and that, and they try to discover individual abilities and talent, so as to ensure that what ever profession you chose in the future, is what you'll do best and it's really what you want to do and not because it's a glamorous job!!

Which explains why even the kindergarten teachers are very committed, because that's what they loved to do!

Ok, before melalut lebih jauh hehe, all I wanna share is that, because of my mom, because of what she said, (thanx a million to mak) I've finally finally finally realized that I should take this opportunity, this time when they are so excited to learn, this time when I'm at home with them 24 7, this quality time to educate them...

Actually, I've long ago realized this, but I just couldn't bring myself to be a discipline mommy....

So after finally betol2 insaf ngeh ngeh, I started teaching them...

And Fatini 's progress is so amazing...

After about 3 weeks now, she's finally finished with this book, and can read these simple sentences herself..

I'm so thrilled!!
She's barely 5 years old!!
Ok, it's probably nothing, kids in M'sia read so fluently already at the age of 5 :D
But, it's different when it's entirely your own effort!
I feel like I've just succeeded in something!

By the way, had this talk with hubby the other day,
"What is your defination of success?", hubby had asked..
Ok, I won't tell you what my answer was, but I personally think that,
A person is successful when she or he is sooooo happy with what he or she does regardless of how much money she or he makes..
So, a housewife can be very successful too, and I'd define a success for myself would be, if I manage to raise my kids to be a successful person, fiddunya wal akhirah :)

mmmm... melalut lagi ke??
ok, back to the point,

I didn't put any pressure on her, I've made it easy and fun for her to learn, and every time she asked me to read stories for her from this book, 

(Thanx to Izu for this gift, aunty Izu mmg tau ape Fatini suke :) )

I told her that I'll only read one story a day for her,  ok at most two stories, but if she wants to know more stories, she must learn to read herself, learn everyday, so she could read soon and she could read more stories on her own!!

Owwwhhhh angguk angguk abis with such enthusiasms I've never seen before!!

She has so much passions for books, I'll not let her loose this passions the way Afeef had... (insyaAllah..)

Oh believe me, I was a lazy mommy.. I've never tried hard enough with Afeef, now he'd lost his passion for books, and turned to TV instead... 

I hope it's not too late for me to fix this, I hope he'll soon realize that reading is far more interesting than watching TV or playing games..
I hope it's not too late for me to be a better mommy too hehehehe :P

I hope I have inspire some mommies out there too  :D

Happy 8th Birthday My Afeef...

mmmmmmmmmm.... 

As usual, been missing for a while now... (",)

I'm back again, so much stories to tell, so little time..

Whatever it is, these past 3 weeks had been one of the most memorable ones in Deutschland, I'm truly thankful for everything that happened, I truly feel blessed, loved and haaaaaiiiiiihhhhh... indescribable (",)

Ok, let me just share a few interesting stories..

Let's begin with, Afeef's 8th Birthday...

Not much to tell, only that this time around, we didn't really celebrate, but we had more important people around to make the day more meaningful.. 

Well, my mother and my sister were here.. isn't that really something, I've had never before imagined to have them here with us in Deutschland... but, things happened unexpectedly, with God's will of course.. and I'm really really thankful!!

Ok, so back to Birthday story, I only baked these little cupcakes for him and his friends, they had a small celebration in school..

What I wanna share here is that, how special Afeef is...

He never gives me a hard time.. 

Since he was born, everything bout him was easy, and since little he's always been an obedient boy...

There were times when I've lost control of myself in dealing with stubborn Fatini, Afeef would always come to me and calmed me down.. he would take Fatini's hand and comfort her...

Oh my, sometimes I feel ashamed with myself, because he's more patience than me... 

I've learned a lot from this little boy..

I've been wondering, what makes every child so different from one another??

Why is Afeef obedient, and Fatini's soooo stubborn?

Why is Afeef so calm and easy to deal with whereas Fatini is totally the opposite???

Is it genetics??? Or the way we raised them??

But we've raised them both the same way..

So why why, why are they so different..??

Well.... 

I can't think of any better answer, it's just how I was when I was pregnant...

How much I've recited the Quran particularly Surah Yasin when I was pregnant with Afeef, how calm  and happy I was when I carried him in my womb, how ready I was to have him.. 

And with Fatini, things were different, I wasn't ready to have her, I was in so much stress to finish my Bachelor degree and I had a hard time dealing with my final year project's supervisor.. in short, I wasn't happy and most importantly, I've hardly spent my time reciting the Quran!! 

So, to everyone, never ever let a day goes by without reciting the Quran, at least one surah or one ayat..

And for pregnant mommies, you have to spend more times reciting the Quran...

No matter how busy, try your best, you have no idea just how huge the effects of reciting the Words of God on a developing fetus, especially when the mother herself recites it :)

See, he looks like a big and protective brother for his two little and notty sisters hehe..

And Fatini loves him so much...

Actually everyone loves Afeef (",)

Hmmmmmmmmm.... time does fly fast...

Can't believe he's 8 years old already...

Oh Allah, help us, and guide us in raising our children in the best way possible,..

My Afeef, may you grow up to be 'anak soleh' fiddunya wal akhirah... (",)

Ok, sedikit selingan hehehe...

Lama dah tak main piano, so here's a new one from me (",)

Sape yg suka Ungu tu, suka la ni heheheh!!!

Enjoy!!

ChiLdReN.... :)

With her, things were never easy, I must admit, until today she still gives me a hard time...

With her, things were more or less the same, only that u could be easily fooled by this lovely and the 'I'm a good girl' appearance hehe

And when they were together, things often went out of control..

But, when he's around, things were smooth again...

His presence makes everyone just want to sit and play together nicely... :)

Once, Aleena purposely spilled her drink on the carpet, I couldn't control myself and scolded her, Afeef came to me and said,

"Kenapa mama marah Aleena? dia kecik lagi, dia tak faham, mama marah pun nanti dia buat lagi.."

I was taken aback by what he said and...... touched...

He's only 8 years old...

There was one time, when I was really working on something, and Aleena kept bugging me that I inadvertently said out loud,

" Aleena, pleaseee.... mama nak buat kerja kejap !!!"

And Afeef came to her, pulled her hand softly while saying,

"Come Aleena, come, jom kita main... "

And last Saturday, while I was out in town and papa took care of all of them at home, Aleena kept on switching the TV off, and everyone's gone mad, except Afeef...

Hubby told me that Afeef even told him not to get angry with Aleena..

He's only 8 years old...

Sweet kan???

I think, it's not him learning from us, but us learning from him hehe..

Afeef is a very special boy....

Children...

They are so innocent, their kindness are genuine, their love is so pure..

Hug and kiss them while you have the chance..

Don't let our mistakes ruin this beauty they have inside... :)

Prof. Dr. Muhaya Mohamad had once said in one of her talks,

" Jangan marah pada ahli syurga, kita ibu bapa ni yg belum pasti tempat di syurga atau neraka, kenapa marah pada mereka yg tempat nya sudah pasti di syurga??"

Wardina had once said,

" Anak2 tu suci bersih, tak de dosa, mak bapak ni yang banyak dosa, jadi ape hak kita yang banyak dosa ni nak marah mereka yang suci, bersih tak de dosa ni ?? "

mmmmm.... sooo true...

Lets make ourselves a better parents :)

Afeef and Training...

Afeef has finally got his Karate uniform....

Tadaaaaaa...

Baru la bertambah best nak gi training kan

Hensem jugak my boy ni hehehe...

This karate course really suits Afeef, I've never realized this Karate talent in him..

mmmm... which is why, we must always try then only we know kan..

When Yla (a friend of mine) was here 2 weeks ago, she said I should take Afeef to a Taekwondo or Karate Course, coz she could see that he has this talent..

I was surprised, how come I've never noticed this talent ??? hehe..

Nevertheless, alhamdulillah, it's never too late..

mmmm.. smart kan...

There's gonna be some sort of exam or test for a change of belt this April maybe, so I hope Afeef will make it...

So the routine every Friday, after they've finished Karate, they would spend a few hours together at Florian's home.

Camni la keadaan nya hehehe, bergomol dan sebagainya :)

And, tadaaaaaaaaaaaaa.....

Florian and his new piano... Gorgeous kan ??

Lily ni memang suka warna putih, seluruh rumah putih belaka :)

*** Friends come and go, but only those who are TRUE, stay in our HEARTS **