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...

(",)

Quick Update... (",)

Salam...

I know I'm supposed to be updating about rotten stories, but... that can be delayed...

They were already rotten anyway hehehe!

Ok, just a quick update....
Rite now I'm in an exhilarating mood.. yihaaaa...
I just got a new niece, which I'll be meeting soon!! InsyaAllah..

Ok, enough of that, what I wanna share here is, Fatini's progress so far...

She did a good job in Mathematics, I explained to her once and then she did everything herself... I prepared Smarties candies for her to use for counting, but she prefers mental calculation!

The best part is, her enthusiasms in learning, everytime she's so excited to do some Maths and some reading..

Her usual words everyday, "mama, jangan lupa hari ni baca Read Easy!"

So mama tak boleh lupe okeh!! 

Bukan dia nak buat2 lupe ke ape, dia lagi ingatkan mama hehe..

 "Things are hard before they're easy..."

Fatini had always given me a hard time when she was small, now she makes everything easy for me.. alhamdulillah.. (",)

Now she's able to read text like above (",)

I know I know, kids her age in Malaysia are also able to read this even better, but, it's just something special and different when it's entirely my own effort... 

I feel like I've just succeeded in something... hmmm...

And yesterday she did this (pic above)... 

Satu je salah, ok la kan hehe.. So proud of her. She calculated it all mentally (",)

Haaaaaaa melukis pun terer! Ade sama la kan? Hehe..

Mmmmmmmm... Always talked about Fatini's progress, how bout Afeef? 

 Afeef not as fast as Fatini, and not as much enthusiasms as Fatini, but at least he enjoys reading this book now. Baby Blues deutsch version. This book really is funny, I highly recommend this book for those wants to encourage your kids to read. They have English version in Malaysia. 

I remember my late father, in his effort to make us all love reading, he would buy us whatever books we liked regardless, as long as we read!

Including comic book macam Baby Blues ni lah..

Though mom disagreed sometimes because mom always preferred us reading educational materials..

But I think, being a parent myself now, what my late father did was right, it's important for the kids to find reading enjoyable.. once they enjoyed it, they will start looking for more..

And most importantly, like I said before, if you want your kids to eat vegetables, you have to start with yourself first and same goes here, if you want your kids to love and enjoy reading, 

START WITH YOURSELF!

:

:

:

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Mmmmmmm... same goes, if mama loves to beautify herself, then like mother like daughter laaaa hehe..

  Rambut yang mendapat pujian setiap hari dari cikgu2 Kindergarten.. Ade sape2 berkenan? Hehe.... 

Lastly, gambar selingan...

Just got the Fasching photos @Kindergarten yesterday...

Fatini and friends and some of her teachers.. 

Fatini jeling ape ler tu hehe.. spoil gambar...


Ok, that's all for today, till later....
Salam..
(",)

Why.......???

"Mama why do we pray?"

"Mama why do we have to pray?"

"Mama why do we pray 5 times a day?"

These questions were frequently asked by my children. And my usual answer would be,
"Because Allah wants us to..."
Afeef always were satisfied with this answer, though he would repeat the same questions later on, but he's the type who listens and obey.. Subahanallah.. A gift from Allah SWT, one type of 'rezki' from God if you have an obedient child.
But, like I've always mentioned before, Fatini on the other hand, is more demanding, more curious, she demands for answers in everything!

Just two days ago she'd asked me the same question Afeef had asked before;

"Why do we have to pray???"

I said softly, "because.... Allah wants us to.."
As I expected, she frowned deeply, and said, "But why?? Why Allah wants us to????"
Clever girl, I knew she would never be satisfied with that answer!

How to explain to a 5 year old the importance of our 5 times daily 'solat'? How to make her understand things that we could only feel in our heart? The closeness and the connections we've felt with Allah SWT when we pray? Because she couldn't feel it...

So I told her.... "Don't worry, once you're able to recite all the 'surah' in solat, you'll know the reasons why..."
Still dissatisfied, she said "So, if I know all the 'surah', then I'd love to 'solat' everytime?"
"So, you don't like 'solat'?" I asked.
"No, it's boring... Just standing, bending, and it's too long.."

Oh my, I wondered that night, how should I explain to her?
Oh I don't have to wait for long,, just yesterday, as I was reading a post by a friend on FB, I've found the answer...


Doctor Jefrey Lang, an Atheist converted to Islam talks about his own experience in answering the same question from his daughter;

~~~~~~~~~.     ~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Daddy, why do we pray?”

Her question caught me off guard. I didn’t expect it from an eight year old. I knew of course the most obvious answer—that as Muslims we are obligated to—but I did not want to waste the opportunity to share with her the experience and benefits of salah. Nevertheless, as I tried to put together a reply in my mind, I bought a little time by beginning with, ‘We pray because God wants us to!’

‘But why, daddy, what does praying do?’ she asked.

‘It is hard to explain to a young person, honey. Someday, if you do the five prayers every day, I’m
sure you’ll understand, but I’ll do my best to answer your question.’

‘You see, sweetheart. God is the source of all the love, mercy, kindness, and wisdom—of all the beauty—that we experience and feel. Like the sun is the source of the light we see in the daytime, God is the source of all of these and much more. Thus, the love I feel for you, your sisters, and mommy is given to me by God. We know that God is kind and merciful by all the things He has given us in this life. But when we pray, we can feel God’s love, kindness, and mercy in a very special way, in the most powerful way.

For example, you know that mommy and I love you by the way we take care of you. But when we hug you and kiss you, you can really feel how much we love you. In a similar way, we know that God loves and is kind to us by the way He takes care of us. But when we pray, we can feel His love in a very real and special way.’

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oh that last part really touched my heart, it's sooooo TRUE!!!


So today, I told Fatini this:
"Allah cares for us so much, and has given us so much too.. So 'solat' is a way to really really feel Allah's love for us.. Just like mama kiss you and you kiss mama.. You know mama loves you, but when mama kiss and hug you, you feel mama's love for you right.?"

"So, when you 'solat', you will truly really feel Allah's love...."

Smiling!!!

Bingo!!

I'm so satisfied! Not because I've finally answered her question, but because I myself just discovered a new meaning to our 5 times daily prayer... Subahanallah... Thank you Allah!!!


"Oh sebab tu lah mama pejam mata masa solat? Kalau pejam mata, kita rasa dalam hati.."

Oh????

"Sape cakap kat Fatini? Abg Afeef ke?"

"Tak.... Spongebob lah... Spanbob cakap, kita rasa dalam hati bila kita pejam mata..."

Hehehehe!

(",)

Fatini and Tantrums...

She'd turned 5, just yesterday and I thought once and for all, all her tantrums have finally come to an end, but.... *******heaving a huge sigh***** 

I was wrong...

Just this morning Fatini threw one of her best tantrum again, ahah, and many times, all her tantrums were baseless!

Fatini and her inferiority complex behavior sometimes drives me nuts! Is it really inferiority complex?

1~~ She refused to talk at Kindergarten, and often her teacher would persuade her to talk, and she got all stressed-out that eventually lead to tantrums.

2~~ About a month ago, she refused to wear a hat and a shawl and gloves for fearing people would notice her for the cute stuffs she's wearing, and being a mother who have had enough arguments with her, I just let her until her teacher started complaining that she needed a hat and a shawl...

So I told her teacher, Fatini has all that at home but she refused to put it on, and she gave me this look that says, "Are you the boss or your daughter is?"

Ok, ok, so the next day I brought a shawl and a hat and gloves, put them on Fatini's shelf, and bear another tantrum from her all morning because she didn't want to put them on but her teacher would force her, that's what she said...

And yes, she was forced to put them on because it was cold, and when I reached kindergarten to pick her up, I was 5 minutes early and all the kids were playing outside, and there I saw Fatini standing alone, with a hat and her shawl around her neck, did nothing at all but just cover her face with both hands...

Sedih pun ade, nak tergelak pun ade hehehe

And two days ago, just before her Birthday, she threw another tantrum because she hated her Birthday, and that she didn't want them (people in Kindergarten) to celebrate her Birthday!!

The weird Fatini but very special hehe..

Nevertheless, I don't wanna argue with Fatini no more, I learnt from her Kindergarten teachers that Fatini is a queen and that she needed to be forced sometimes if coaxing and persuasion didn't work.

Hehehe... On the way back from Kindergarten today!

Funny, I arrived 5 minutes early again today, spot her and waved.

She quickly jumped and cover her face, looked at me again and cover her face once more..

Later I asked her, why did she cover her face when she saw me outside the fence.

She answered,

"Fatini malu, tak nak orang tengok Fatini senyum..."

Pulak dah... haaaiiihhhh macam2...

Ape ape je lah Fatini... hehehe...

(",)

HaPpy 5th BiRThDaY DEaResT FaTiNi... (",)

Today, 30th January, is Fatini's Birthday!

Yes, 5 Years Old....

5 Years of bitter-sweet moments together....

Bitter moments that made me realize ~~ How challenging motherhood is...

Sweet moments that made me realize ~~ Motherhood is the most beautiful, wonderful thing... 

Ever....

And yes, Fatini is so special in her own way... (",)

This photo was taken at Fatini's kindergarten today (",)

Geburtstag means, Birthday!!

There's not much to say...

Just a song that best describe how I'm feeling right now...

I played this song specially for my kids, wholeheartedly....

(With lyrics):

(Without lyrics):

"I wanna call the stars, down from the sky,

I wanna live a day that never dies,

I wanna change the world, only for you...

All the impossible, I wanna do.."

I wanna hold you close under the rain,

I wanna kiss your smile and feel the pain,

I know what's beautiful, looking at you,

I a world of a lies, you are the truth...

And baby, every time you touch me, 

I become a Hero,

I'll make you safe no matter where you are,

And bring you anything you ask for, 

Nothing is above me,

I'm shining like a candle in the dark,

When you tell me that you Love me...."

(",)

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 (",)

Today's story..

Oh too bad...
Today she's sick, she vomited 5 times through the night, crying and kept asking me why is she sick? 

Oh my sweetie, don't know how to make her understand that being sick is neccessary so we'll appreciate being healthy. That way she'll take her apple everyday too hehe..

I was up all night so that I could tend to all her needs, mmmmm, wait, not really all night, I exaggerated a bit, I was actually able to sleep at 5.00am, and got up at 7.00am, the vomiting had stopped, but she complained of a stomach ache...

Mmmmm.. I was so sure she's infected by Rotavirus.... Again...

These viruses seemed to have loved us so much...
My children picked it up many times before, you can read HERE.

But, she didn't have a diarhea like I've expected she would today..
Nevertheless, I took extra precautions anyway, everybody has to wash their hands thoroughly, I myself have had a countless hand-washing, my hands are all dry out from the excess soap hehe..

Oh pity her, she's been sleeping all morning too..

Heheh ape la gaya tido camtu..
I hope there's nothing serious, I hope she'll be ok soon...

Yesterday she made this drawing, and the moment I looked at it, I knew what it was!

Haaaaaaa... a slight resemblance rite??

I mean, she's 4 years old, and she drew something which I knew immediately what it was, that means there's a slight resemblance, and I'm utterly impressed!!

This is definitely her aunty's genes!

All of them love painting so much, they would all make these row of paintings, and then asked me to chose which one is Number 1, number 2, number 3, and of course being a fair mommy, I'd say all were beautiful heheh..

Not bad huh??

Other than paintings, they love all kinds of arts too.. 

Afeef made this decoration on the glass himself (",)

And....

Other than art lovers, there's also a computer nerd in the house..

She eats, drinks, and sleeps in front of the Computer hehehe!!!

Oh my, what will my Mom say if she sees this ????!!!!

Snow Lagi!!!! Hooorrraaayyyy!!

It has been snowing...

It was Friday, and it was almost time to pick little Fatini up from kindergarten, and I looked out the window, and........

It's all white!!!

"Cepat-cepat, jom Aleena kita turun bawah!!!"

mmmmmmmmhhhhh.... melompat la si kecik Ratu snow nih! hehehe

She's soooooo excited!!! 

mama pun sama excited, jakun tetibe macam tak pernah jumpa snow hahaha!

Bukan ape, like I said before, perhaps this will be our last Winter here :(

Lepas tu tak sempat2 la nak main snow, keluar2 kindergarten je terus nak main... haaaaaiiiihhhh...

Menggigil-gigil mama kat tepi tunggu budak berdua ni main snow huhu..

I like! I like!!

Antara view yg di snap on the way home :)

Dah sampai rumah, tak puas lagi tu, sambung lagi...

haaaiiiihhhh terer betul.. 

Memang la budak2 gile snow hehehe..

Iye Fatini, nice snow ball :)

Aleena ternganga tengok, camne kakak buat tu ye??

Dan kami pun tersengih2 gumbira hehehe..

Oh, my feveret!!!

Ok, enough of it, lets get inside! Brush yourself up!!

And today was sunny, view sgt2 cantik!!

Kaaaaaaannnnnnn.... ;)

I'll definitely miss all these someday....

I'll cherish it all while I still have the chance :)