Sneak Peak : Holiday While Holidaying

i’m on holiday in malaysia, and now heading for a another holiday with abah, umi and my two younger sisters.

destination : right next door.

 

@ changi airport. *wink wink*

My Favorite Tumblr Pictures

yes, i’ve been activating my tumblr recently. here are the favorites that i’ve came up with. well, actually i love ALL my tumblr pictures hihi, but these are the ones that mr. khairul likes.

 

 

 

 

visit my tumblr, ‘for my sons’ for more awesome pictures + quote – pesan mak pada anak-anak…

Khaleef Folds His Own Uniform!

my facebook friends may have heard – but yes – my eldest son folded his school uniform all by himself, without me asking, without me ever having taught him!

as a mother, it was such a sweet surprise for me! my boy is all grown up!

 

boxer pun dia lipat sekali! hihi

 

normally, every night before, i will lay down his clothes on the ironing board in the next room. every morning after he takes his bath, he knows where to get them. however, last night, when i went to prepare his school uniform, i saw that they are already nicely arranged on the ironing board – all neatly folded!

imagine my surprise!

he puts his plate and cup in the sink after every meal, sometimes he washes them if they’re plastic plates or cups. he clears the front hall at times without me asking, keeps his toys neatly and now he folds his uniform.

i’m so proud of you, khaleef!

 

* * *

 

khaleef at work

 

“kalau ada anak lelaki, jangan ajar macam-macam sangat, nanti isteri dia yang untung.”

haha. ye ke?

being a daughter-in-law and a wife myself, i know how lucky i am to have a hands-on husband. ladies, you know what i’m talking about, huh? one who can change diapers, make the bed in the morning, can cook a yummy meal and occasionally washes the dishes, periuk belanga semua.

insyaAllah one day in return, i know one lucky lady will be thankful to khaleef’s mak! *wink wink*

Hello Abah!

this was how abah looked like when i called him on the phone last weekend. bestnye tengok expression abah aku bila aku call. hihi.

 

my abah

 

this was in ipoh – my sisters were ALL there. ALL. my eldest sis yong and her kids. my younger sis syima and her girls. my youngest sisters syidot and azot were off for the weekend, and hangin out in ipoh too.

they went to this nasi lemak ayam kampung restaurant with abah and umi, and azi updated her facebook status while they’re there. bila nampak status tu, i just called up abah. and when abah was talking to his cute little daughter in dubai, azot took the above shot.

*click!*

“hello abah! assalamualaikum!” and bla bla bla. sembang abah anak.

* * *

sigh. miss them. i hate that they’re all there without me. but i miss them. don’t have too much fun without me, please… but technically, we were ALL there, like my sister syidot said – because i was VIRTUALLY there too through abah’s phone. haha. cruel, but haha.

Bye Abah! Thanks Umi!

:(

at the time of writing, abah and umi had flown back to malaysia after just 10 days hanging out at dubai marina. we didn’t jalan-jalan dubai that much, because abah just wanted to spend a super-leisurely time with his grandsons khaleef, kahfi and kazim.

besides, he’s been here more than 4 times already – so he knows what it’s about! hihi.

 

 

thanks to mr. khairul for being the designated driver, and treating abah for few delicious makan-makan around dubai.

thanks to umi, for bringing all those helpful kitchen stuff, which includes the highly anticipated keropok ikan, and tat nenas!

thanks to abah, for many simple lunch treats – simple because every now and then abah would just buy kfc, or pizza and brought it to our home for a lepak lunch (abah penat malas nak keluar for makan-makan la tu hihi) – and for coming over to spend time with us.

there’s already talk (yay!) about abah bringing over the rest of my sisters and their family over to dubai – maybe end of 2011, or around this time 2012? insyaAllah!

* * *

your dubai grandsons are already missing you, atok!

My Blog is 2 Years Old

today – 2 years, and more than 600 postings! (read about my 500th posting here.)

 

 

my youngest sister azot said it best with this short posting in her blog :

readers macam bertambah tiap-tiap hari, tapi komen 0 jugak.

ooo baca senyap-senyap ye? :P

agak-agak yang mana satu anda?

a) enemy yang nak tengok aku jatuh and bersorak untuk itu

b) rakan-rakan yang nak tahu perkembangan aku

c) family yang ambil berat

d) stalker

e) peminat-peminat ;)

terima kasih kerana terus membaca.

 

so are you :

1. naah. i don’t believe in enemies. maybe because i just don’t care.
2. concerned friends
3. family members who care
4. stalkers
5. fans (hihi *blink blink*)
6. or mr. khairul’s ex-girlfriends haha

thanks for reading. really, thank you.

Drive-Through ATM in Dubai

you are about to withdraw a huge amount of money. you have your toddler with you. it might be dangerous to withdraw that much money when you have to carry, hold hands or even baby-wear your kid. furthermore, your parked car is quite a distance from the atm.

or perhaps, it’s already late at night, you’re in your pyjamas, or baju kelawar, and you’re just too lazy to change into something more appropriate just to withdraw some money.

and just maybe, it’s the rush hour and finding a parking spot near the bank is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

the solution?

drive-through atm!

these pictures were taken by my sister in law tina during my in-laws’ visit here late last year. at that time, even i was surprised as it was the first time i came across the drive-through atm.

drive, withdraw money, then just speed off – all in the comfort of your car.

nice!

kat malaysia ade tak? *wink*

Syida : Master of Commerce

well hey, we’ve got a financial planner graduate in the family! 20102010 is her magic number now!

i’m so proud of you, my little sister. more than words. you’ve grown from a little girl who sleeps while eating maggi in the cup – to an outspoken, admirable young lady who can speak volume about money matters. from the comot days of methodist girls’ school, then a UM graduate, and now holding a master’s of commerce from deakin, australia.

congratulations on your convocation!

i hereby appoint you as my financial planner. pro bono!

didja hug that wombat for me?

Khaleef Has a Student ID!

for those who just found out, yes – my eldest boy is off to school for the very first time. he has a uniform; pale yellow color with dark blue shorts and black shoes. and he’s given a student identity card, hard and durable – looks like something a college teen would use to swap books from the library.

 

man, kids these days. macam-macam!

 

it’s got his full name, class, bus number, pick-up and drop-off point, as well as phone numbers of parents or guardians. it also includes all the important numbers for police, fire and ambulance.

he wears it with a lanyard strap fastly around his neck.

when he goes up the bus, the driver will take a bar-code reader that he put by his side, and swapped khaleef’s card! when he arrives home and goes down the bus, the driver will swap again.

what’s next? a bar-coded sticker on kids’ cloth diapers at the nursery?

Unwanted Clothes : What To Do

saw this at a petrol station in dubai.

 

 

it says there i can contribute

• clothing
• abaya
• kandora
• bed clothes (blankets)
• hand bags
• paired shoes
• towels

*abaya and kandoora are both traditional arabic dresses – abaya for female, and kandoora for male. and ‘paired’ shoes – maybe there are those who threw away only the left side of their shoes? camne orang nak pakai ye? hihi.

i think i have a few old baju kurung that i am willing to part with. they’re old, but still in decent condition. it’ll definitely clear up a huge space in my wardrobe (and make space for new ones, hahaha!). however, i wonder whether they’re willing to wear a traditional dress from another country – to where ever they’re distributing the clothes to.

also, maybe i can bundle up a few of mr. khairul’s old t-shirts too. the boys’ clothes? boleh simpan lagi – kazim can still wear! haha.

 

..but they do not need

• soiled clothes
• pillow
• duvets (comforter cover)
• books
• hard toys
• rug
• carpet

hmm, no ‘hard’ toys – so soft toys as in teddy bears and such are okay? then i’m out of those. my boys’ toys are all tough, hard masculine-toys! haha. if you see any cute-sy stuffed animal lying around the house – it’s mine!

Kazim Crawling?

at 6 months plus, kazim pushed himself up in a crawling position for the first time few days ago! yay, kazim! (well, ‘yay’ now but ‘adoi’ later when he started crawling all over the place in cockroach speed!)

 

kazim & big bro

 

 

enjoy the video. i hope 20 years from now kazim can appreciate his mak’s effort to record his milestones!

Rindu Khaleef, Kahfi & Kazim?

  

 

dah seminggu budak-budak ni balik dubai.

ini salam rindu pada mak long syimee, aunty ma syima, pak ngah kay, aunty da syidot, mak su azot, aunty na qistina, ateh diyana, uncle asrar ngan aunty ya sofia.

juga pada cousin-cousin abang haiqal, abang haqeem, kak cuya, nuna, micha, baby adam haris ngan wafa.

juga pada atok podin ipoh & opah umi, ngan atok anwar kg lalang & opah.

jumpa lagi! <3

Selamat Hari Raya, Maaf Zahir Batin

5 things to be thankful for this coming Syawal :

1. alhamdulillah, i am spending hari raya in malaysia this year – kg. lalang, ipoh, penang then kuala lumpur
2. alhamdulillah, mr. khairul has safely landed from dubai and in the arms of his loved ones :)
3. alhamdulillah, abah, umi, mr, khairul’s mak and bapak and all our brothers and sisters; nephews and nieces all are in good health to celebrate yet another syawal
4. alhamdulillah, mr. khairul did not forget to bring all our baju raya from dubai!
5. alhamdulillah, i get to eat nasi mandi from my favourite dubai restaurant al-tawasol – brought by my mr. khairul! it’s the most WONDERFUL surprise! so the nasi mandi travelled all the way from dubai, to land in kampung lalang, perak!

so, happy hari raya, eid mubarak and salam syawal from my family : mr. khairul, me syigim and my boys khaleef, kahfi and kazim to all my dear muslim friends and readers out there. for the rest, enjoy your holiday!

drive safely, eat moderately and take lots of pictures!!!

Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka!

i am a malaysian living in dubai. my sons kahfi and kazim were born in dubai, united arab emirates, but i will make sure the patriotic fire in them burns steadfast and true!

to that special someone in dubai, have you flown the jalur gemilang at our window? on the hood of the car?

 

 

to my readers, happy 53rd independence day. selamat menyambut hari kemerdekaan malaysia yang ke 53.

merdeka! merdeka! merdeka!

“Mak, Bad Guy Take Kahfi!”

yeap, i heard khaleef screamed, “mak! bad guy take kahfi!” and with that, i saw a man holding kahfi who was wriggling to escape. the man did not let go. and khaleef kept screaming.

oh, let me rewind.

we were at a hotel in damansara with abah, and kahfi was his usual ‘cockroach’ self – run here run there – and we were starting to get ticked off with his constant need to escape. he even ran to the little ‘rumah kampung’ display at the hotel and brought down the pagar! oh, no!

at one point, one of the hotel staff took hold of kahfi, and brought him back to me, wriggling away trying to escape.

…and that’s when khaleef screamed out to me, “mak, bad guy take kahfi!

the hotel staff just smiled.

i can’t say for sure that this is the best way to educate our children about ‘stranger danger’ – but i always tell khaleef (or, sometimes, more to SCARE khaleef) that there are bad guys out there who can just snatch kids like him if he wanders off without telling mak or bapak, or if he doesn’t watch his little brother.

they just need to know that the real world out there could be more dangerous than having burgers fell from the sky, the magic of dibo the gift dragon or from the comforts of their own home.

* * *

lagi cerita kahfi.

kepala kahfi tersekat kat celah tiang tangga rumah abah. jerit-jerit dia. aku kat dalam bilik dengan kazim, tiba-tiba khaleef datang bagitau.

bila naik atas, nampak abah tengah cuba kluakan kepala kahfi dari celah tangga. kahfi dah bukan nangis lagi dah. dah terjerit-jerit. aku rasa bukan nangis sakit tu. lebih kepada nangis takut kepala tak bole klua!

aku pun cuba jugak. abah dah pegi bawah nak cari gergaji!

khaleef cuba membantu dgn membawa toys utk hiburan kahfi masa dia tersekat tu. bawak bola la. bawak robot la. bawak dinosaur la. macam-macam dia bawak tunjuk kat kahfi. ade satu part tu, dia pun tolong tekan kepala kahfi supaya bole klua!

aku cuma asyik cakap, “it’s ok kahfi. it’s ok. sayang mak.” supaya tenangkan kahfi. aku tau dia nangis tu lebih kepada takut. yang part sakit tu masa aku cuba tekankan kepala dia je.

hmm. kalo muat nak masuk, mesti muat nak klua. aku pun pusing-pusing, tekan-tekan, herot-herot – akhirnya dapat jugak kluakan kepala kahfi. merah telinga dia. nangis sedu-sedu. nasib baik atuk tak payah guna gergaji!

tu la. masuk lagi kepala celah tangga!

khaleef & kahfi (credit picture : tina)

member aku buat lawak. katanya, anak kedua dia pun ade je halnya. buat perangai pelik-pelik macam si kahfi. “second child memang macam tu ke, syigim?” erk, aku pun second child tau! kitorang bukan pelik, tapi terlalu kreatif sangat! hihi.

* * *

cerita kazim pulak.

kazim dah boleh bergolek lancar dengan bahayanya! kenapa aku cakap bahaya – sebab hampir nak jatuh katil!

pertama kali aku saksikan detik-detik dia bole bergolek tu memang la dah horay-horay dah, tapi dia dah tak ulang dah detik gemilang tu. jadi aku tak lah beria-ia letak bantal keliling dia kalau letak dia atas katil,

tapi baru-baru ni, aku letak dia tengah katil, sekelip mata je dia dah dekat hujung kepala katil! maknanye dia dah bergolek 4-5 kali untuk sampai ke situ.

terkejut gile aku!

jadi sekarang ni, kalo aku nak mandi lama atau keluar bilik, aku letakkan dia atas tilam kat atas lantai, atau kalau dia tido atas katil, aku akan buat kubu dengan bantal-bantal. dah laju dah budak busuk tu!

kazim & abang long khaleef (credit picture : syida)

* * *

ok budak-budak. bapak tengah jauh ni, korang jangan la nakal-nakal sangat ok. tolong mak sket! *senyum*

The Kampung Boys

this shot reminds me of lat's 'kampung boy'.

a world with no x-box, no internet games, no disney channel.

i left the boys at mr. khairul's kampung for a week to immerse themselves in the raw life and times - chicken berkokok in the morning, eating sweet rambutan straight from the tree, chasing after goats, hitching a ride on their atuk's bike, playing on the grass with nothing but their boxers on and getting bit by red ants.

baru la anak lelaki!

(credit to their ateh for the awesome shot - thanks!)

When Kazim Meets Adam Harris

kazim is syigim's 3rd son.

adam harris is syimee's 4th child.

kazim, born in dubai, has never met his cousin adam harris.

adam harris, born in ipoh, has never met his cousin kazim.

at atok's house, they met for the first time.

* * *

mula-mula jumpa. masing-masing jaga ego. kontrol macho. dua-dua takmo tegur dulu.

oklah. adam harris tegur dulu. maklumla abang senior baper bulan kan. *gelak* sikit kat abang kazim!

kazim balas balik. *senyum*! diorang stat sembang. borak-borak. gosip-gosip.

eh eh. over pulak si kazim ni.

tada~ skang dah jadi kawan baik! yay!

A Newborn, A Wedding & A Short-Neck Giraffe

babies, weddings and stuffed animals. i love 'em all.

babies for its pure newborn smell that is so heavenly. you can't get enough of smudging your nose against a newborn's cheek, kan? and the way their lil fingers ball up into tiny adorable fists. the way their legs move in motions as if they're going cycling of rowing! cute!

weddings for its food, oh glorious food. the delicious oily nasi minyak and the ayam masak merah with acar. the bloody red sirap. and the bunga telur which makes it all complete. and i don't know about you, but i just love sneaking up inside the house to take a look at the pelamin, and the beautiful decor in the pengantin's room!

stuffed animals? well, once, when mr. khairul wanted to get me a bracelet for my birthday, i asked for a huge stuffed frog instead. that's how much i love stuffed animals.

* * *

the newborn belongs to my schoolmate, anneeza. we're also part of just10, a friendship group formed since we're in form 1.

to date, here's the list of our kiddos, the just10 juniors (in order of birth date)

1. nurin sabihah
2. khairul ikhwan
3. ainul mardhiah
4. khaleef
5. amirul hakeem
6. muhammad firdaus
7. tengku fatimah zahra
8. kahfi
9. ainul munirah
10. safiah nadira

the just10 junior fasa II (hihi)

1. aliah insyirah
2. kazim
3. tengku hamza

born 6th june 2010, just10 juniors fasa II welcomes its 3rd member, lil baby hamza.

hello hamza!

my friend anneeza is a strong advocator of babywearing, cloth-diapering and breastfeeding. i'm sure her writings in her blog is an inspiration to many, as it is with me.

she can also sew very well, and so talented in making lil dresses for her first daughter zahra, and many more like pants and nursing cover. you can check out her work and her stories here at neezaneedles. if you want one, you can even make orders!

(since aku buat posting ni, ape kata ko buatkan aku satu nursing cover, anneeza? hihi)


congrats, anneeza and may hamza grow up to be anak soleh okeh!

* * *

the wedding. that i didn't go to.

she was the president of KDMM (kelab dewan malaysia melbourne) and i was in the media bureau, if i'm not mistaken. i remember her to be cheery and always with a smile. we've had chats in her room - about life, people - i can open up to her and share stories and feelings, like to a big sis.

she was a good president, and even a nicer friend.

me & kak laily @ monash university caufield

i knew her as kak laily when we were both staying at malaysia hall, and now she's dr. laily the phd. ops, sorry - PUAN laily, phd!

i LOVE the theme color of her wedding! (btw, how come i didn't know earlier!)

kak laily on her big day - credit to nurin for the photo

to dr. laily, i wish you all the happiness in the world!

hmm, i never told anyone this, but since you're married lemme just tell you that one of the guys once confided in me about having a major crush on you, kak laily - and begged me not to tell! hihi. who? shhh!

oh, selamat pengantin baru!

* * *

yes, the stuffed animal i was gonna talk about is this short-necked giraffe!

omera bersama giraffe berleher pendek

comel gile tak?

my friend liyana, (who was also one of the penghuni of malaysia hall melbourne - in fact, she was our 'penghulu aras') actually MADE this for her lil baby girl omera. what a fantastic idea!

i was very impressed because it looks so weird and adorable at the same time. is it a horse? did care-bears threw up on a donkey? is it a unicorn gone bad?

rupa-rupanye it's supposed to be a giraffe but the neck ended up short! hihi.

liyana is another talented friend of mine who sews bags and purses - check out her site akareka design, and make your order or simply browse around!

Really? 500th Blog Post!

500.

this is my 500th post on HoW dO i SPeLL tHe WoRds!

i can't believe i've had my ramblings published 500 times in this blog!

yes, there are 500 chickens here!

i LOVE writing. i love puting words together. i love searching for words in my head that fit perfectly with what i want to say.

and this blog gives me a chance to just - write. 500 times!

* * *

so for my 500th post, here's 500 things about syigim that you might not know. you can skip this part if you want to. i won't hold a grudge. haha. really, you wanna skip it? it's your loss then. nyeh nyeh.

1. i hate coffee
2. i can't stand mismatched pillow cases and bedsheet
3. i am ipoh mali
   
4. i collect tisu paper, drink stirrer, lanyard, postcards, themepark maps and theater booklet
   
5. i go bananas over goreng pisang, lepat pisang and cekodok pisang
   
6. i write scripts for plays during schooldays
7. i'm a second child
   
8. i enjoy drawing very much
   
9. i get dizzy if i read on a moving vehicle
10. i chase my favorite celebrities for autograph; anuar zain, tun dr m, afdlin shauki and hans isaac
    
11. i listen to r&b and the rat pack
    
12. i've been to disneyland, california, thanks to abah - happiest place on earth!
    
13. i have an inexplicable fear of filling in forms
14. i like watching theater performances
    
15. i am a june baby
16. i took pictures with tun mahathir
17. i am a cat person - used to have 3 cats; cakoi, mok and kering
    
18. i love char kuey teow
    
19. i laugh with f.r.i.e.n.d.s, whose line is it and the big bang theory
20. i was a tomboy in school
21. i don't wear yellow but it's my favorite color - makes sense?
    
22. i lost my mak on new year's eve 2004
23. i hate tougeh
24. i color coordinate my clothes and books
    
25. i read stephen king, terry pratchett and roald dahl
    
26. i grew up with 4 girls but now i live with 4 boys!
    
27. i am afraid of cockroaches
28. i look for the orion's belt constellation when i look up at the night sky
29. i collect x-files memorabilia; books, mags, comic, trading cards, t-shirt, cap, watch
    
30. i cannot swim
31. i'm a mandi rice-addict
32. i like period movies
    
33. i am a language and literature major
34. i sing in the bathroom, in the kitchen and in the car
35. i put chips in my sandwich, and biscuits in my jam bread
    
36. i have a crush on anuar zain
37. i can't stand spicy food
38. i married a cute penang boy
39. i love disney animated features
40. i don't play any sports
41. i like ikan keli
42. i can draw potraits guided by grids
43. i am afraid of the dark silence, or silent darkness
44. i've never had my ears pierced
45. i love comics : calvin & hobbes, the far side and archie
46. i don't like jewelleries; the only thing on me is my wedding ring
    
47. i suck at maths
48. i think this list is too long already
    
49. i was going to stop at 50
50. i should stop
51. no, really. i should just quit it
52. 
    

ok, so it wasn't 500. i'd be nuts if i go up to 500, and you'd be even nuttier for reading a list that long!

* * *

anyway, thank you, dear readers for taking a few minutes of your time to stop by HoW dO i SPeLL tHe WoRds for the past 500 postings. thank you for your comments, thanks for dropping by the chatbox, thanks for 'following' my blog, and thanks for your 'silent' presence (though i wish you would say hi once in awhile! hihi).

special thanks to my 'regulars' - you know who you are - you have no idea how much you mean to me; my number-one-fan abah, family, friends or new-found friends, and friends i've never even met (i wish we could meet up one day, i have a feeling we're gonna get along really well *smile*)

i hope i get to write 500 more!

(will you still be there?)

We are Under Construction

we interrupt your daily dosage of syigim's weird piece of mind to bring you this breaking news :

HoW dO i SPeLL ThE WoRd
is
under construction

so pardon the haphazardly placed pictures and widgets on the sidebar. oh, also - i should tell you that this blog will suspend its postings for one month.

just kidding!

brought to you by syigim's youngest sister, azi.