Aisha turns 4!

Aisha turns 4, how time flies 😭

As usual, we had a birthday celebration for her at her school. Cake bought from #shaeryscake

At 4, Aisha's own personality started to shine. She's a fast learner, it surprises you again and again. Tough and moody, but deep inside she's super sweet. She is the type of person who would wait for you in front of the door to come in from work, ask if you are okay, massage you and always check on you. Before I go to bed, she makes it a habit to comb my hair. She's just like Kapal junior, not only physically. In fact, that is what I called her nowadays, Shaharil Jr.

It’s funny how these girls are way too opposite of each other. While K prefers to speak in Malay, A prefers English. K panics and think ahead, A calm and adaptable. Each have their pros and cons.

But both has the same traits, they’re a thinker.

The other day, A asked me about the no photo sign outside Daiso. Why is it ticked not crossed. And kept on asking me to tell the cashier to correct it (T_T)

Recently, Love told her that he would be outstation to Kuching, Sarawak and she asked why would Abi go to Sarawak to buy cat.

She's adorable like that when she's not cranky.

My baby is all grown up. I still come home and smell her all over, hoping the toddler's masam smell won't go away and kiss her all over without her complaining. I love you, Aisha Asyikin. May you grow up and be caring always k, Sweetheart?

Leaving the girls for my second umrah trip (T_T)

I remember in 2015, my good friend was telling this every time after solat,

"This year, I want to go for umrah!"

But she didn't make any preparation for that. Come December, her brother in law (BIL) was supposed to go to Umrah, but had to be cancelled due to work, guess who went to replace the BIL and his wife?

Then 2016, this same friend of mine was telling me again, every time after solat,

"This year, I want to go for Hajj!"

Again, she didn't make any preparation and about two months before Hajj, guess who was invited by the Almighty?

One day I asked her, "How?"

"If you want something good bad enough, Allah will help you!" Her level of faith and dependency, I cried!

"I did want it bad enough.." I said.

"What hold you back then?" She asked, smiling. I thought hard. It was the girls. I am one hell of clingy mom, so does my girls. "You have to let go. When you know it is a good thing to do, your niat is for Allah, Allah will take care of them."

I took it to heart.

I let go, sincerely for the first time, let loose, give all the control to Almighty and left them for Umrah for 6 days. And my heart is totally peace in Makkah and Madinah, I missed them. But I wasn't paranoid, it didn't ache.

I am blessed to be constantly reminded by good people surrounding me. Love said, that is also my form of rezeki. Mufti Menk said sometimes, Allah gave a reminder to us via normal people and normal event.

So how was it to leave them?

I told them earlier of my plan, reminded them every day.

Left them love letters, so they could read one by one every day. One side of the letter was coloring page, one side was my notes.

Left them homeworks, day by day.

In return, Khaira made us a box with letters from her day by day as well before we left. It was priceless.

Aisha was crying almost everyday at night before we left, but once we were in Umrah, she was doing ok. Khaira on the other hand was cool and all before we left. But on the day, she cried for half a day. Was inconsolable at the airport.

But, Alhamdulillah for my strong family support. One of my brothers and my SIL took leave to cheer them up. They brought them to Petrosains the next day. My parents in law visited them every now and then at my parents' house. Everything was smooth sailing.

Every day, K would write us letters and send us the photo. A sent some too, but of course, it was just some sketching of something that we could not make sense of.

We would call them everday via Kakao as apparently Whatsapp Call was blocked in Saudi. It was quite difficult to get the sim card as contrary from the previous year. Booths in airport was offline, so we waited until the next day to buy sim card in Makkah. I had to roam for two days.

They would send us videos and pictures and voice messages. This was my favourite!

By day 6, K was already super sad. Cried at night a bit and all, but it was ok, because we reached Malaysia the afternoon of 7th day :)

Alhamdulillah, the longest I left them and the first time both of us were not there. Thank you Alllah for taking care of them while I was gone, and for taking care of them all these while 24/7 :)

Surviving Mycoplasma in Malaysia

With a very heavy heart, I'm pouring myself out in this post, with only one intention.. for those mothers who experienced / are experiencing the same situation as mine to know that you are not alone.

On April, I deactivated my Facebook, my Instagram and most importantly this blog that meant the world to me.. Because I was at the lowest point of my life.

Khaira started to have dry cough back in February, just in time when she was able to swim on her own. Thanks to multiple swimming classes she attended, to Love whom has been training her every week, she made very good progress. No float needed in adult's pool at the age of 5 and we were beaming with pride.

After a week of dry cough, the cough turned into wet coughs. I found the pattern to be weird as normally K would only have dry cough 3 days max, because the nebulizer, steaming and percussion that we did at least three times a day would help changed her dry cough to wet cough faster. After a few days of wet cough she always made full recovery.

A week after wet cough with no sign of recovery, we sent her to Dr. Nadhir. Two weeks after her cough changed from wet to slightly dry but no sign of recovery and again off to Dr. Nadhir. A week and no progress, I started to panic.

So I tried homeopathy as it usually worked for her and everyday of Sonotron. After every session of Sonotron, she would discharge lots of phlegms. She could spit her own phlegm at this time, but the phlegm seemed to be ongoing everytime and it scared me a lot.

In between homeopathy and Sonotron, we took blood test and chest xray, GP said she was okay, nothing to worry it could probably just asthma.

My instinct told me it was something else.

I made an appointment with a paed, the moment the doc saw the same xray from the GP's clinic, she showed me that fine thin line that separated K's upper lungs and lower lungs.

"Did she attend any swimming class?"

And the next statement followed.

"I suspected she has Mycoplasma pneumonia from her swimming pool," Paed said and the blood test confirmed.

2 antibiotics and a week later, things were the same. Came back to Paed and guess what, one of the antibiotics given by the Paed was under dosed. (T_T)

Before I knew it, K was warded. First time in her life. A day before my brother's wedding.

6 days of Rosephine + percussion everyday and neb 4 hourly to 6 hourly later, my girl was discharged with having to wear mask in public area. She got better and better Alhamdulillah. Aisha had Mycoplasma too, but because we detected it early, she made full recovery after three weeks with home care.

Me, on the other hand, during K's recovery, I went into depression. Maybe paranoid. Everyday I woke up, I feel at a dark place as if no doctors I could trust anymore. Between misdiagnosed and under dosage of antibiotics and everything that happened in between, I couldn't sleep. I thought of dark thoughts everytime I drove home to and back from work. I cried everyday.

One day it got so bad, I talked to Love and I said I wanted to talk to a psychiatrist. And I meant it. He was concerned and asked me to tell him everything, I did. And I felt better. I don't like talking about something that upsets me, perhaps I held too many feelings inside me it ate me. But I am myself now, Alhamdulillah, I can say I am 98% myself. :)

K on the other hand is making very good progress.

But Mycoplasma held tight to your cell, so every now and then, 4 months after, she still had a minor coughing fit.The rest of the days she would be ok. Doc always comforted me that they are good cough, you don't want to keep the bacteria inside. Only with productive cough the remaining of the dead bacteria are able to get out of the system.

She still on/off home nebulizer, still had her steam, percussion and physio everyday 4 months after.. But she made very good progress.

So mommies, they will recover with Allah's will. It is just a matter of time, have faith and be strong ok. You are not alone, I promise.Through the journey, remember that every tiny things we did matter to the Almighty.

"He who has done an atom's weight of good shall see it" - Al-Zalzala, ayat 7.

Aisha is 3!

You read that right! *sobs*

Both Love and I got a little bit more melancholy this time around. Maybe during the girls' previous birthdays, I was either pregnant or breastfeeding, so you know.. Just couldn't get over that tiring stage.

But now, I'm at my most comfortable stage. Happily raising up my girls and enjoying every second when suddenly, BAM! She's three. She's still a baby, sleeping on top of me at night, drinking her milk from bottle on my lap, how come she is 3??

*cries*

At 3, this precious finally have a daily routine of mengaji and hafazan though just 5 mins a day. She fluently memorized Al Fatihah and Al Ikhlas alongside with many other doas. Her terribble twos were over the past 2 months, she became more manageable and mature. Next year, she will start schooling *faint*

Birthday cake from Mama Long

She is manja and full of character. Some of the funny things she said throughout the year that I still remember..

Scene #1: She insisted to eat on her own.
Me: Kalau tumpah nanti, kena gigit, faham?
Aisha: Faham, ibu!
Me: Kalau tumpah kena apa? (To check her understanding)
Aisha: Kena baju! (T_T)

Scene #2: My mom scolded her for pulling Khaira's hair
Mom: Kalau Aisha buat lagi, Nanny kurung dalam store. Ada cicak, lipas apa semua dalam tu. (Really angry tone)
Aisha: Tikus ada? (Fascinated) Tikus ada tak Nanny? (Kept on asking until my mom answered)

Scene #3: She is obsessed with a Korean cartoon called Larva
Aisha: When I grow up, I want to be a Larva
Me: Kenapa nak jadi Larva, Larva tu kan ulat
Aisha: Larva tu bantal peluk lah!

Most of the time, it is hard to scold this one.

A couple of days ago, Love and I heard this song on Spotify which brings back all the good memories, a song I kept on repeat when I was pregnant with Aisha. We called it the "Aisha song".

Aisha Asyikin, if you read this one day, I am so thankful to have you in my life. You are a prayer comes true. Alhamdulillah, thanks to the Almighty for giving you excellent health and intelligent mind. I hope you grow up knowing that Ibu, Abi, Kakak Khaira love you so much until eternity. And at the time being, this song sums up my feeling towards you, my Love.

When we celebrated it with the whole gang

...

Mindy Gledhill - All about the heart

I don't mind your odd behavior
It's the very thing I love
If you were an ice cream flavor
You would be my favorite one

My imagination sees you
Like a painting by Van Gogh
Starry nights and bright sunflowers
Follow you where you may go

Oh, I've loved you from the start
In every single way
And more each passing day
You are brighter than the stars
Believe me when I say
It's not about your scars
It's all about your heart

You're a butterfly held captive
Small and safe in your cocoon
Go on you can take your time
Time is said to heal all wounds

Oh, I've loved you from the start
In every single way
And more each passing day
You are brighter than the stars
Believe me when I say
It's not about your scars
It's all about your heart

Like a lock without a key
Like a mystery without a clue
There is no me if I cannot have you

Oh, I've loved you from the start
In every single way
And more each passing day
You are brighter than the stars
Believe me when I say
It's not about your scars
It's all about your heart

The secrets of people who never get sick - A review

So I just finished reading this book.

Lemme just share the 25 secrets (not really secrets, peeps!)

Let's first talk about number 5, if you have been reading my blog for quite some times, you'd know that I've been having issues with Khaira's cough a while ago. Among the advises that I received to strengthen her lung is to have a cold shower every morning. To begin with, she started to use hot shower the moment she went to Kindy and when the coughing drama started.

Number 6 on detoxification, I've always had  a bad eczema growing up. I have no fingerprints, so I have special letter from JPN, but the hassle is unbelievable. Alhamdulillah, I'm used to it now. My eczema is almost gone since I detoxify myself and started to eat clean. Fasting is a way to detox as well. I did mine using juices back then. And still doing it every now and then.

Number 9, garlic with olive oil massage all over K's chest and feet helped eased up her cough as well.

Number 15, napping. Rasulullah's sunnah, peeps! My favourite!

And number 24, Vitamin C, K is on supplement at the moment until she is really stable. I used Transfer Factor and Champs.

She is on Goat's milk everyday now, and I found that she has been at her healthiest since she started Kindy, Alhamdulillah.

Overall, I am happy with this book. I rate it 3.5 over 5.

Siblings love

I have always wanted a sister back then.

Somebody I can talk to, share stuff with, trust wholeheartedly.

I have two brothers instead; one 5 years younger, the other 7 years younger. Age gap, too far apart.

When I was blessed with two little girls, 3 years age different, I have always envied what they have.

An older sister whom always aware that whatever she does will be mimicked back, so she needs to behave.

A younger sister who looks upon so highly of the older sister that her second word she pronounced after "Bu" was "Kak". Always need to catch up with her older sister, so she needs to behave as well.

Recently, I have witnessed the dark sides of having a sister. And trying very hard to get the playback out of my system.

But, in every big event occurring in my life, it comes with a bigger lesson in it.

Siblings love.

That is what I need to teach my daughters from now on. That is my amanah.

Ya Allah, permudahkanlah.

That 13 things by Tech Insider

I came across this article online: Science says parents of successful kids have these 13 things in common

I somehow found this very interesting as it is not generalizing as what most parenting articles did. So, I thought of sharing point number 1, 8, 9, 10, 12 and 13.

1. They make their kids do chores.
8. They're less stressed.
9. They value effort over avoiding failure.
10. The moms work.
12: They are 'authoritative' rather than 'authoritarian' or 'permissive.'
13: They teach 'grit.'

Actually, they are all inter related, I must say. Well, at least for me.

Here was my cycle back in Khaira's early days.

I am, as you know a working mom (Point 10). I did everything for my little girl, including literally feed her, put her clothes on, cleaning up her toys (Point 1). What did I become? A little bit stressed at the end of the day (Point 8). The reason I did that was because I didn't like the mess. The mess from her food when she ate by herself and her toys were not organized as what I wanted it to be (Point 9). And I became too tired to scold her (Point 12), so what did I achieve? A short term goal everytime (Point 13).

There I summed it all.

But it wasn't long until I have that wake up call.

Once we sent her to kindy at 3y2m, I learned my lesson the hardest way. She refused to eat on her own, didn't know how to clean herself after peeing, to conclude: she hated kindy, I hated sending her to kindy. Such evil cycle.

So, I slowly changed. And hoping to change further. Kaizen, continuous improvement,

I am still, as you know a working mom (Point 10). Hopefully, I will forever make full use of the short time I have with my daughters at the end of the day.

Now, I let my girls be independent. I let Aisha wore her own clothes now, fed herself most of the time, put her toys back in the box. (Point 1). I observed by doing so, the girls have better psychomotor skills.

The mess? Yeah, it is still causing me stress at times especially when PMS. I am still looking for ways to overcome this. (Point 8).

But perhaps (Point 9) could be my motivation. Valuing effort over failure, I must reallllllyyyyy try that. This morning I read a friend's sharing in Facebook which really hits me. She asked her 5yo son to clean the floor. The result? Very messy with water everywhere. If it was me, sudahku jadi singa betina. But, she acknowledged the effort, taught her son the right way to do it and gave him the same chores the next week and the following week and the following until her son became an expert in cleaning the floor. I must think of the 'grit'; the long term value (Point 13). Bersenang-senang kemudian.

To make her better, I guess, I must be more authoritative; in a good way. (Point 12) By understanding them, and direct them in a way they can listen. Must have Point 7 then: develop a relationship with their kids.

So many things to learn.

By the way, Point number 3 is that "They have high expectations." Guess it reminded me of who?

Yeah, both my parents. I have said so many times before not to be like that.

Now, I am considering.

What a kid's painting tells us..

Khaira was so into drawing and painting these days. A trait, which unfortunately skipped a generation. Dad was really good at this artsy stuff.

So, my Dad was ecstatic with Khaira's fond in painting and drawing that he bought so many water colours, painting board, brushes, etc for her.

Each day, Khaira got better in drawing. One drawing that I fall in love with is me at work, teaching. I framed it.

A drawing of my 4yo

Most of the times, its just funny drawing as this..

I did not give it a second look when she first showed me.

But, the next morning, it hit me..

This picture is about her loss.

That week, a day after another, she lost something precious to her.

On Friday, her class teacher moved to a different kindy. Her name was Teacher Ezzah (She spelled it Iza), hence the girl with the letter 'iza' on top.

On Saturday, she woke up to feed her fish to discover her Flowerhorn was dead in the aquarium. Hence, the dead fish in the aquarium.

I did not talk about the drawing with her, neither did she. The following days, her mood was cranky. But we pampered her as we realized from her drawing that the two losses impacted her more than we thought.

The picture of the dead fish in an aquarium appeared in many of her drawings after that, it broke both our hearts to even capture the photo of them.

A few days after that, she was cranky as usual, got scolded just a bit by my parents, but she cried so bad, that I got up to her and hugged her, said to her, "It's no big deal, why are you crying so badly?" I consoled her, probing slowly.

"Khaira rindu Teacher Ezzah," and she broke into tears, finally. "Khaira nak jumpa Teacher Ezzah," she said.

Finally, something at first she couldn't express in words.

After she talked to me about it, her mood was as usual again.

But the incident hits me that children tell us stories in so many ways. In her drawings, in her lego bricks, in her paintings, in her moods. Simply because, they are not yet able to express it in words. And, we just need to look closely to listen to them, to connect to them.

Khaira, Aisha, I hope you know that I am always here should you need to tell me anything at all. I won't push you to tell, I might probe you a bit should you need that encouragement, but do know that I am always always here, ever ready to hear what you are going to throw at me.

Much love XXX.

Leaving Aisha..

Work has been demanding lately. Apart from teaching and research, I am also heavily involved with consultancy.

Recently, I had to go to Bersia, leaving the girls for a night.

Aisha was just 18 months at that time, still breastfeeding and it broke my heart so badly leaving both of them crying inconsolably.

But, I just have to. I have been asking for too many exemptions before.

You know, that time when I naively thought a lecturer's job is just to teach, that time seems too funny now, yet I am not laughing.

Oh life..

Hello Kitty Go Around 2016..

..was one I regret going.

Little girls had been obsessing to go to Hello Kitty's house forever. So, I thought it was a good opportunity for us.

With the price of RM48++ for adult and RM38++ for 3yo toddler and above, and another RM50 for 5 vouchers, it was a waste of my time and money, baik pergi Sunway Lagoon.

Firstly, because it was small, and only places to take pictures. No rides whatsover. And the games were too hard, even for expert adults like my husband (he always won something), what more for the kids.

My review, it is not worth it especially if you bring your kids. At least have a Hello Kitty mascot walking around pon the kids dah happy.

But if you're a big fan obsessed with collectibles, perhaps you would enjoy it.

My Medela Story

When I was heavily pregnant with Aisha, I bought a new breast pump. I have mentioned previously that I was not happy with my Spectra 3. Reasons were:

1. Big and heavy, not portable for me as I always have meetings and conferences outside my uni.
2. Need power supply.
3. Not hands free
4. Most importantly, the suction is not able to clear off my milk. At the end, when I marmet, I still manage to get around 4oz.

I am so so happy with my Medela Freestyle despite the cost; seriously I could fly to Europe with that money ;p. It manages to solve all of the above problems except number 3. I don't know how to make it hands free. So technology savvy, right? Sigh... But, I managed to solve the problem using hands free bustierre I bought from My Little Iman Store.

The best investment after my Freestyle

I love everything about my Medela Freestyle. It first stimulates the milk production and then after 2 minutes it changes to normal suction. It doesn't hurt. I have one whole freezer of milk stocks for Aisha which I cashed in during Ramadhan, bit by bit.

But after Aisha turned 1, I started to realize that my milk decreased at every pumping session. Until at a point where I needed to use my stocks even after Ramadhan. At one point, I was running out of stock and pumped to get only 2oz per session. Then, I realized that I still feel heavy. I tried to marmet and true enough, within 20 mins, I managed to get 4oz of milk.

Then, I realized, my pump sounded funny. No more warranty after a year. Bertahanlah I marmet for a week.

Was googling like crazy to find a Medela service centre, I don't really fancy their after sale services. Found one next to De Palma, Ampang. But only open during working hour. Both Love and I took a day off and sent my poor Freestyle. Before explaining what was wrong with my pump, the salesperson said, "Just looking at your pump, I think you have an accessory problem".

I kind of doubt her considering my pump had lots of funny noises. So, she calibrated my pump. Motor is perfectly fine, just a bit noisy and true enough! My accessory!!! There was only 10% suction happening ok. *Salute salesperson Medela*

I could buy a new cheaper pump for a pair of these!

After RM280 damages done, my milk production is normal again, stocking up for the baby again. 10 more months to go, may Allah swt ease up everything for me. Ameen.

Contact details for Medela Service Centre Ampang:


MEDELA SERVICE CENTRE AMPANG
Lot B2-G, Jalan Selaman 1
Dataran Palma Off Jalan Ampang
68000 Ampang Selangor
Tel : 03-4270 1128
Email : cs.ampang@lacta-equip.com

That persistent cough remedy

Alhamdulillah.. Finally Khaira has recovered from that persistent coughing.

It started somewhere in March, that longgg dry cough for a month plus. We went to 2 different paedetricians; singulairs, zyrtec and ventolin were prescribed as according to them.. it was an asthmatic cough. None of my family and in law's have asthma so it was a bit odd to us. According to the doctor, Khaira was allergy to dust and the carpet in kindy might be the cause. She recovered after antibiotics.

About two weeks after, the coughing began again. I couldn't afford to see so many drugs in my baby's body, so I went to homeopathy. According to the doctor, both lymph nodes were swollen, hence the cough kept coming back. Crazy I tell you the healing process of the homeopathy. But Khaira recovered well.

After a month, the cough striked back. This time, the old prescription of homeopathy did not work and one of her lymph node still swollen so doctor gave her a new prescription and she was well again for three weeks before that dry annoying cough began again. I felt soooo down everytime she coughed. No ice cream, house is always clean, no junk foods, lots of fruits and juices, omg the extend I've been through..

When it started again, I decided to get another opinion. I read online about Dr. Nadir Khan, so I went to his clinic and I received a new insight. He said zyrtec and ventolin or any other cough medicines are not recommended for Khaira as it helps the phlegm to accumulate and beku. So he gave us ubat kahak, to let the phlegm loose and Khaira had her first neb.

He advised us to steam 3 to 4 times a day until she's okay. Followed by percussion. He said it was not asthma but rather one of her saluran pernafasan was infected and did not cure from the first infection, hence it recurs.

And.. we did not look back ever since. Alhamdulillah. Khaira has been in an excellent health for over 2 months now.

Let me share what I did to her until she became Alhamdulillah healthy now, perhaps it can be of a help:

1. Doa from Surah Yunus, Ayat 57; from Ustaz Syarhan. Apart from that continuos doa, also to a friend who went for hajj.

2. Steam everyday: 3 to 4 times a day. Just take a rice cooker, fill in with water, wait until it is hot, sit on a chair with ur kid on ur lap, face facing the steam from ricecooker while doing percussion on her back for 10 minutes each session at least. I put garlic, habbatus sauda, salt and acv in the boiled water as these ingredients are known as a good antiviral. Of course, nobody asked me to put it.. just trial and error.. but it works.

2. After 10 minutes of steaming while doing percussion at the back, lie your kid flat and do percussion in front. FYI, tepuk percussion itu sungguh kuat ya but not supposed to hurt. Focus on the areas where when you do percussion, your kid coughs or said it feels itchy. Supposed they vomit after percussion, but mine did not, no worries it will go out with the stools.

3. Minyak bawang putih/garlic oil? Just roast a clove of garlic, mesh and mix with olive oil. Spread at her chest, back, behind ears and sole of feet.

4. But at times it worsen, I did the extreme. Took a large onion.. slice it, take one slice and place at the sole of her feet. Covered them with socks that I wet with acv. Overnight strong antiviral. Hehe.

5. Supplements. Fish oil and vitamin C really helps. I took Nature's Way fish oil and Champs 100mg Vitamic C. In conclusion, this is K's supplements everyday (when Ibu remembers, tee hee):
- In that spoon is a mix of raw honey+pomegranate exract+fish oil+vco
- 1 tablet of Vit C
- The makanan sunnah I prepared for her; shall blog about it soon.

6. Fruits and veges everyday althought sometimes at a small quantity

7. Goat's milk every now and then. I used Purenat goat's milk when I can't get my hands of the fresh ones.

8. Change her to a school without carpet.

I hope it helps, everyone.

"Ya Allah, please grant health to both Khaira and Aisha Asyikin. Ameen."

Khaira's swimming class

I have been very interested to have a swimming class for Khaira lately. Reasons are:
1. Because it's sunnah!
2. So she knows what to do in the water; safety purposes
3. Because I can't swim. And she needs to be better than me ;p
4. To exercise her lungs
5. Because she has been persistently insisting me to bring her to one.

The Groupon offer for Erika Peres swimming class (EPS) came in at a perfect timing. Not only I can try to see if the class is suitable for Khaira, but also I can gauge whether Khaira is really interested in swimming.

The class is held in Tropicana Golf and Country Resort, which we fell in love almost immediately when we entered the club. Nothing like KDE or Lake Club. It has this resort feeling when you walked in.

And there are houses in this club house, organic farm (can you imagine?), and the swimming pool.. oh wow!

First class went well, although she was a little bit hesitant in some parts. I let Love accompany her though K at first insisted me to be in the water with her, so they have a bonding time. I had my bonding time over roller blades with my dad when I was young, and now I always cherished that.

Aisha pon loves water, so not like Ibu!

While K went swimming, I had my breakfast by the swimming pool. So niceeeeee!!!

Second class, Love started off with submerging K in the water to play around with her and that backfired very badly. K said "No more swimming class" and went very moody for the whole hour. We learned that, *Rule number 1 in swimming (and perhaps in life)*: never let her do things that she doesn't want to do. Because the one who loses in the end is YOU!

We were discouraged. But Mr. Peres said that *Rule number 2 in swimming (and perhaps in life)*"Persistent is the key."

Third class, had so much fun again! When she refused to do things, we talked to her. Sometimes, she'd do it, other times she wouldn't. But she was one happy kid, and so were we. So, in the end everybody won!

We concluded that Khaira is ready for swimming class but still uncertain whether to proceed with EPS. I think the coach is good, the kids have fun, the price is decent, the facilities are superb, but the problem is on our side. I don't think we can commit to get all 10 lessons to be done in 12 weeks.

So, contemplating.. and looking.

If you guys have any idea where to have one, do let us know! Much love!

Happy 1st birthday, buah hati!

Aisha turned 1 on 2nd of August the other day.

How time flies.

I feel so blessed raising this so little human with characters so big never fail to make me laugh.

Aisha and Khaira are two entirely different little girls that make me confused all the time, what difference have I done in raising these two.

From birth for instance; Aisha hardly had colic, unlike Khaira. She is less clingy from birth, as soon as she's full, she would let go of the milk source (read b). And that less "clingy"ness persists until now, she would cry to be hold the moment I arrived home (I need to wash my hands first, the OCD still there) and happy to be placed down playing on her own 5 minutes after.

While Khaira talked first and developed her psychomotor skills later, Aisha was the other way around. At 1, she could walk steadily and mumbled basic words like "Ibu", "Aba", "bird", "habis", etc. Her hand-body coordination impressed me most of the time; when she played catch and throw, when she climbed steadily the whole stairs without any help. So. Not. Me.

Aisha is one observant lady and like to do things on her own. She wants to wear socks, rompers on her own. Want to hold bottle on her own. Want to wear slippers like Kakak. So funny sometimes, again total opposite from K who was very princessy and still would prefer us to do all of the above for her. Hahaha.

Aisha had 3 cakes up until today. More cakes awaiting, I guess.

1. One we brought all the way to Negeri Sembilan to celebrate it with my family as my cousin got engaged a day before her birthday.

2. A simple chocolate cake on her birthday

3. A homemade birthday cake by my SIL a week after her birthday.

Happy 1st birthday, lovely. Happy fully breastfeeding for a year to me too. May you always be healthy. May you grow up as anak solehah and a professional hafizah, contributing to Islam as much as you can.

I love you.

Endlessly.

Mother daughter bonding time

Khaira had so many funny requests in a day.

"Ibu, do you mind telling me the story of Ikan Nun and Nabi Yunus?"

If it was for the third time of the day already, I would just asked her to go to Abi instead.

"Ibu, nak Ibu pakaikan seluar." Always when I nursed Aisha.

But lately was,

"Nak ikut Ibu pergi kerja."

Or..

"Nak Ibu manjakan Khaira."

Then I realized it has been the longest time since I spent a quality time with her.

Right after my industrial training visit on Friday, I rushed back home. Arrived slightly before 6pm, picked her up, off to Jusco. I only have an hour, but I was determined to make it a quality time.

I dropped off at Studio R and bought her a new pair of slipper.

Then to Jusco to buy her a dress and 3 blouses.

Because this week Khaira moved to Book 3 (she was the first one to start book 3, it's only May), she deserved all the presents. Teacher targeted book 3 for 5 y.o.

Another dress for Aisha, 2 pairs of leggings and 2 new sippy cups.

Looked at the clock, it was just 45 minutes, such shopping skills I acquired as a mother of two now. *blows nail*

"We still have 15 minutes before 7pm. Would you like a slice of cake?"

She hugged me.

This reaction is priceless.

And all she need is an hour from this freaking busy mother? What have I become?

Oh no worries about Aisha, she was happy with my mom when we were out.

Khaira's first parents teacher meet

K's first PTM was everything we expected and more

Teacher said she was the first to read Book 2 and the most fluent in reading. Alhamdulillah.. I have faith that if you chase akhirat, Allah swt eases up the dunia for you. We only taught her hijaiyah, but the concept made her understand alphabets and numbers fast.

Teacher also said Khaira is very matured. She behaved like she is 6. She is very independent. She made sure she finished her work first before playing with her friends.

Most surprisingly, teacher told us that Khaira can do everything on her own. Toilet, bath, wear and fold her own clothes. It was like we talked about different Khaira there. Khaira at home is so princessy, she wants us to do everything for her.

Alhamdulillah for the blessings dear Allah.

K in kindy

Month 3 in kindy.

Oh wow.

Did I just type that?

Did I seriously survive a crying toddler every morning to school?

Wow! There should be some kind of award for this (T_T)

First month, crying everyday for two weeks. Just when the crying about to subside, down with mild fever, a day MC and the whole drama of "I don't want to go to school" began.

Just about to get better, a few days after that another MC for UTI. UTI stands for urinary tract infection, we detected it because she peed very frequently, like once every hour. Happened due to not enough fluid in the body and hygiene. So we bought her a new 1L 'Frozen' water bottle for kindy and taught her how to clean herself after peeing, before this we did everything for her, we thought she knew how to do it herself.

A week plus after that, just about the crying subsided, she was down with some kind of naughty viral infection. Cannot pee, shaking, vomiting, headache, cough, running nose, and pain in joints. Fever hiked up to 39 for more than 3 days, antibiotics didn't do much.After a week and still the same, third visit to clinic made us ended up in pediatrician's office, blood test showed everything was fine. Ped asked us not to give fever medicine until the fever goes beyond 38 so the body will develop own antibody and she said it was very normal because before this she was in confined environment, and now she was about to familiarize herself with all the viruses around her. Should get better but a little slow. Alhamdulillah, indeed she made fast recovery that same day after seeing the Ped. Ped said she would be on and off with fever for a couple more month until her body familiar with the viruses around her. Alhamdulillah, 2 months after, she only had one mild fever.

After she recovered from viral fever, the school was attacked with chicken pox. 30 out of 60 students were infected, can you imagine? Left me no choice, but to stop sending K for a while until the KKM asked the school to close down for a week.

Then, again.. just about the crying subsided again, guess guess.. Khaira was down with chicken pox. 2 weeks MC that obviously later on infected Aisha.

As far as I can remember, this is the first time, Khaira went to school for 8 days straight without MC. Still crying, at days very little, at days very very bad, but overall it just gets better. Both the body and the emotion. The drama. The drama.

In and out of clinic, such experienced we have never felt before. Used to go to clinic once in three months, now like, hello, here we are again! (T_T)

As the after school tantrum and "clingy"ness subsided, my emotional torture of leaving her and dying inside everytime she cries subsided as well. Now rasa nak gigit everytime dia nangis.

But all these hassles are just proven worth it.

Khaira now dah pandai solat, all the bacaan dalam solat dah betul. She recited a few doas with English translation. She can zikir after solat and while playing, jangan main2, lagi banyak pahala than Ibu ok. Main pon zikir. She can read very fluently now. Although roughly macam baru sebulan setengah school sebab banyak sangat MC, the teacher must have done a good job. She made friends, taught us lots of new songs.

My little girl is not so little now.

Ahhh.. I'm just glad the drama is over. To a healthier years ahead, Bismillah!

Fast reading technique (Little Caliph) seminar - A review

Last Friday, when I picked Lil K from school, the teacher came to me excitedly and said.. "Khaira dah pandai baca dua sukukata dah."

I stunned.

"Na.ma. Sa.ya. Su.ka," The teacher further explained.

"Ohhh..." Was the only syllable that managed to escape my mouth. It was just February, and she had a week off last two weeks due to viral fever. Only four weeks in school (plus adjusting herself with new environment, first time being away from family) left me speechless.

"She is one of the advanced student in my class," the teacher added, beaming proudly and I finally smiled.

Too many things in my mind. I never taught her A, B, C. I struggled finding time everyday teaching her hijaiyah. Now she mastered fathah, dhammah, qasrah, huruf sambung and tanwin. In 10th surahs now. Alhamdulillah, alhamdulillah. No, never taught her A, B, C at all.

Called Love and he reminded me, "It's true, when akhirat is the one we're aiming for, Allah SWT gives us the dunia for Khaira. How hard learning hijaiyah for her, makes A, B, C as easy as apple picking".

On Sunday, we attended a "Fast reading technique" seminar organized by Khaira's LC. They allowed one adult for each student with the price of RM30. I literally begged her teacher to allow both of us to be there and we paid RM60 first before she could even give us the confirmation. #Clingycouple.

The seminar started 45 minutes late, and we came half an hour early. Imagine the wait.. not a good start.

But, ended up so well. Highly recommended ok, please goooo!!!

Do you know that at the age of 0 to 9, kids learn using both brains? And from 0 to 5 they absorb as much as 80% of what they learn? Like sponges, these kids. And that from 0 to 5, they progressed according to month of birth. Kids born in early of the year learn faster than the end of the year. K was born in October.

Basically, the LC method starts by first teaching them to read in Malay, then English and finally Jawi. They teach these languages via Phonics. They have their own reasoning and logic behind. So, please go and listen to their explanations.

And they treat each word as a picture of sound. They associate each word as action.

a - hysterical 'a'
ba - bouncing the ball
ca - caca dancing
da - playing drum
fa - flower
ga - shaking
ha - like "ha.. ha.. tak tau" like that.
ja - janggut (beard)
ka - laugh as in "ka.. ka.. ka.."
la - singing "la.. la.. la.."
ma - "mmmm maaa.. delicious, Alhamdulillah" *
na - pukul nyamuk
pa - candle blowing
ra - driving motorcycle
sa - snake
ta - shooting people
va - driving van
wa - crying
ya - "yahooo! Alhamdulillah" *
za - bees

*See how they integrate Islam as much as possible?

I always asked Khaira what she learned in school. Her answer would always be, "colouring, playing". To be honest, I am ok with it. Come on.. she is just 4. But actually she learned via playing. So, she thought it was just playing.

For example, the teachers would put the words at the floor and asked them to pick up the letter by saying something like, "Khaira, run like a cheetah and give me a 'ma'". Seriously how funnn??? Or they would asked them to catch the words using something ala2 joran. Cool ok!

They also have individual reading. Not forgetting, stickers everytime they finish reading. No wonder she is sooo obsessed with sticker. Rewards everywhere. Hand clapping, so funn!!

After learning all these, then only they would learn other vowels like "bi, bu, be, bo". They learn these by associating the "ba" with other vowels. One of the way is the Ulat Bulu song.

"Ada Sang Ulat Bulu
Punya kaki seribu
Siapa nampak kakiku
Jikalau tak nampak
Terpaksa ku melompat
Denagn kakiku kurang satu"

So they need to change this song to other vowels. For example..

"Idi Sing Ilit Bili, Pinyi kiki siribi.."

Make sense? No, and according to the speaker, the more ridiculous it is, the easier it is to stick in their mind.

Afterwards, they will learn to make sense of the words they are reading.

"Sa.Ya. Su. Ka. Ba. Ca" is actually "Saya suka baca," you know. All that.

Then they would learn huruf tertutup.

"Sa. Yu. R" is "Sayur"

Then... English. And Hijaiyah.

LC teach only small letters first because they are more common. Anddd, surprise, surprise.. they said, city kids are harder to write (too many tablets, fine motor skills needs to be stimulated). Khaira now, can write Alif, Ba, Ta and all slowly. Like I said, I did not teach her other than Hijaiyah and hafazan at home. Tapi lepas ni, kena kerja lebih keras.

After the seminar, I tried reading some stuff with K, and yup, Alhamdulillah.. so fast, she got almost all correct, just needs to work on her "ba" and "da". A bit confusing.

All in all, the teachers must have done a good job, only Allah SWT can repay their kindness.

Having said that, I have no regrets sending K to LC regardless of her traumatic first day experience. I am a lecturer myself. And the first rule, on the very first day I taught in my class, I would always say to them, "Have faith in me. I won't disappoint you. I would teach you as accurately as possible, kalau ada tersilap sekalipun, I would rectify as soon as I could. The moment you don't have faith in me is the moment it would ruin this course."

It's true.

And with clear conscience, hati ikhlas full of trust, in your hands teachers, I'm putting my "life" kain putih bersih for you to shape, to train this caliph, this little hafizah to be someone to contribute to the Muslim society. Not only to excel in her exam, no, but to contribute to the human beings, in shaa Allah.

In you teachers, I have faith :) And to you, dear Allah SWT, I let her go.

Khaira's first day in kindy..

..had been hard for both of us.

When we left her that morning, she was alright. Didn't cry and quickly made friends.

When I picked her up, I remembered she was having her Asar prayer.What a beautiful sight. Afterwards, I called her name softly, she looked at me, ran and hugged me and said, "Ibu.." And cried horribly.

And the reality sunk in.

Long story short, Khaira had been hit by a part time teacher on the first day of school because she took out the numbers on the wall.

I don't feel like telling the whole detail, because it hurts. She was traumatized ever since. Her first time away from her family had been traumatized. My first time letting my baby go to a stranger's hand with good faith had been tarnished.

And it will never be the same again.

Berdosanya what I'm gonna say after this, but, selagi teacher yang pukul Khaira tak cakap sorry to me and Khaira, selagi tu, whatever she gained from that one day dia jaga Khaira from me, satu sen pun I tak berkatkan. Jadilah darah daging dia dengan duit yang I tak berkatkan tu. How could you.. If you ever read this, teacher, I could easily serang you with the CCTV's evidence, but, it's definitely not worth it. Violence is not how my daughter and I have been raised up with.

So, the drama goes on.. Up until today, she was traumatized of having left at her school.

I was on the verge of crying at any moment my little girl came to my mind; which was all the time.

I can only leave you with my doa and prayers, Allah swt is with you, my darling. Let's just hope we get over this phase with patience.

Letting go is the hardest thing, ya Allah. Grant me strength.

Melahirkan Bayi Genius Akhir Zaman - A review

I'm done reading this in less than two weeks. Don't ask my verdict. I'm bias like that towards Puan Lina Karim.

Get the ebook here

The best RM56 I spent on (RM6 charged by pay pal; RM0 for printing sebab Love printkan, Tq Sayang!).

I especially love Chapter 7.

Some notes worth sharing:

1. Babies start hearing as early as they are 5 months in the womb. If we train them to listen to Quran, in shaa Allah, when they come to the world, they would be familiar with the Quran and at ease everytime they listen to it.

2. They have the sense of touch as early as week 8. Rubbing your tummy will generate a lot of oxytocin receptors. I discussed about oxytocin many times before in my blog. It is a happy hormone that will ease your birthing process and make your baby happier in the tummy (hence healthy and more adaptable because the baby feels loved). So, be happy especially when you are pregnant, unhappiness leads to the development of cortisol; a hormone that can cause brain damage as well as lowering down your baby's antibody.

3. The sense of taste develops during week 13 to 15. So, eat healthily. Dates help the babies to speak earlier later on. Don't forget the happy pills; Vitamin B (Acid Folic is one of them). I took Vit B with Acid Folic during my first trimester to ease up my morning sickness. Apparently, Puan Lina did mention morning sickness helps you clean yourselves internally when you are pregnant, a new insight :)

4. The sense of smell develops at week 11 to 15; they can smell the amniotic fluid which is similar to the smell of their mother; hence they recognize the mother the moment they were born.

6. At week 16 onwards, baby can start seeing and recognizing whether the outside of the tummy is dark or otherwise. After week 27, you can start stimulating them by using torch light directs to your tummy.

7. You can start a routine for your baby since in the tummy. Fix time to solat, sleep, eat and play so that it creates their muscle memory and they can hopefully continue with the sleep routine as they come out of the womb.

So many points I wish to share.. But I guess, it will never be the same; not comparable with Puan Lina's explanation.

My suggestion..

GO.BUY.THIS.BOOK.NOW.

For pregnant mommies who are reading this, happy birthing and enjoy your pregnancy because you're the chosen ones!!~