Hajar's home

Second day picture

Hajar's home!

Took this picture about 4.30 a.m today before I left for home to make sure the rest of the troop are fed for sahur (morning meal before one start fasting).

Everybody's excited that she's back...Poor Hajar though as she's being "manhandled" by her siblings..."For god's she she's not a doll" (- so the father and mother scream!). Well, that's what we expected anyway!

I was a bit disappointed with the discharging procedures though....Doc discharged mummy and baby at 8.15, we were only able to head home about 1 pm...and I had to miss Friday prayers as the road was ****** jammed!

These experienced parents (a combination of 30 years of parenting experience) completely slipped their minds to buy Hajar her mittens...So now she has scratches on her pink face. I took the opportunity to hop over a mall which is within walking distance. Khadijah, which was so unlike her, refused a retail therapy trip (which normally she would not give it a miss)! She'd rather spend the time making Hajar annoyed!

I went out just for mittens but came back with a dress, a smocked knickerbocker suit, a pair of 3/4 flared jeans, two pairs of drawstring pants (one velvet like and the other linen), a pink top, cuddly toys and a book (made from fabric) for Hajar - owh..and of course the mittens (4 pairs altogether).

I remember, with Khadijah, we were buying her dresses and garments which she could practically wear different ones everyday... With our three boys, somehow it's different...It was the same old pair of jeans and scruffy (the older they are the better) t-shirts (- dressed just like me!)

I'm still stuck here in the office...Wishing I was at home spending time with Hajar and of course the other four and my other half...., though! Audit almost complete and my report is already submitted....So the weekened will be......(you guessed it right!).

Dad of five now!

Well guys....I'm officially Dad of Five from this day on. Decided on a mouthful of blog title/name "Dad of Four plus One" though!

Praise to Allah, Siti Hajar was born (normal delivery) at 1.20 a.m. today....(i'm still sleepy coz wifey was finally pushed to her room at about 3 a.m. and here I'm now in the office waiting for a client to sign some documents. Then off I go to the hospital. Her birth weight is 3.5 k.g...the smallest of the six (to the uninitiated, one of our children passed on a month after delivery) whom wifey delivered.

I'm most thankful to Allah for endowing us with beautiful children and of course for the smooth delivery of Siti Hajar!

Will update once I'm free............

Teman Terulung

Picture taken from Anuar Zain's website

Just bought Anuar Zain's latest album after 5 years of wait. The first single released of course is "Lelaki Ini". He has painstakingly chosen all the songs to give his best to his fans...This first thing which struck me is how he has made sure that quality is his priority e.g live strings for all the songs (wich I'm sure must have cost him a bomb) as opposed to synthesized strings.

Currently enjoying "Teman Terulung" and here goes an excerpt from the song -

Paling agung teman terulung

Tenunan emas sayap hidupku

Tak ingin ku undur bertamu

Bertakhta teguh

Ke akhir waktu

That time again!

It's that time of the year again (......so soon?) when wifey will be terribly busy with hamper orders....(started as passion but has been taking orders for the last four years). This is the other side of her which not many people know - and of course smocking dresses (sample work here) is another hobby - but she's been doing charity work all this while....Not anymore though because she has absoultely no time for it!

Anyway, she received a phone call this morning placing 260 mini hampers to be delivered in two weeks' time....Knowing her she will meet the deadline by hook or by crook...In the mean time, yours truly will be driving around to be her beck and call to get stuff! LOL!

I'm back!

My transient blog-rest has been largely due the fact that I had to deal with a string of events which were thrown before us as a familyand at work! Anyway...here I am rearing to go sharing yet again the usual stuff!

Well, this blog needs a name change quite soon. Our fifth child is in h** (not revealing the sex here) 37th week of gestation. A week before my bro-in-law's wedding (31st August 2007), wifey experienced contractions of up to 10 minutes apart for almost half a day on a few occasions...It was no Braxton Hicks okay..(my suggestion which was quickly dismissed by her! Well..how can one contracdict a veteran in deliveries...LOL!). Well she still has her contractions now...but with no progress each time! The last check up she had was last Saturday - baby is engaged; placenta is ok..still supplying nourishment to the baby; wifey is still as active as ever (cooking, washing toilets, etc)...- my aunt made a comment this morning that wifey sounded (over the phone) like she's able to perform a 200m dash as opposed to her daughter-in-law who will be delivering her first baby today, who has been whining and complaining of fatigue etc.... - her baby's due date is actually 3 October 2007 whilst ours is 7 October 2007. Anyway....we are all looking forward to the baby's arrival (Yusof wanted to accompany us last Saturday to "interrogate" the gynae as to when the baby will be out!).

Because of this, wifey skipped the solemnisation ceremony of her brother, Mus, held in Felda Paloh....some 2 hours' drive away from Kuala Pilah, Negeri Sembilan...She was home over the Merdeka weekend with Ibraheem and the maid. She told me not to be unduly anxious! Well she did drive herself to the hospital when Yusof was about to be delivered 10 years ago! But the again this time is her 6th delivery! You know how babies just arrive without ample warnings for the later pregnancies! Praise to Allah that the baby didn't arrive whilst I was away!

After the solemnisation ceremony

Remember my maid Acha? She's been found to be unfit to work after the medical check up! Urgh..... We went for a second opinion at University Malaya Medical Centre where wifey's sister work as one of the specialists....Did tests over a period of one and a half week and came out as borderline case....So...now waiting for an appeal by our agent to FOMEMA before deciding whether to send her for further tests and treatment! Like wifey said....don't be unduly alarmed wit this and just take one day at a time for now...(don't you just love the phlegmatic trait in her?)

Love this candid picture taken by Khadijah whilst waiting to go to the Bride's house

K-wire jutting out

Last Saturday was the first time I accompanied wifey for her check up with her gynae. Frankly, I have been somewhat traumatised after wifey had a missed abortion last year. She has been quite understanding....(I have been accompanying her to about 90% of her check ups for all my other children). Since Ib had to have his k-wire removed by the ortho, on the same day.....I braced myself and saw the baby's image for the first time real time...! Ib was excited asking the doc loads of questions.

Soon after wifey's check up, Ib had to have his k-wire "yanked" out by the ortho (Minah Celoteh's hubby is right in using the word "yank")...

Ib was initially ok until one of the patients started asking him questions and he just cried! Anyway, he was alright the minute he stepped in to the ortho's consultation room and was his usual self....The ortho was very engaging and excellent in making conversation with him! He even trimmed the not so nice looking suture around his thumb which was met with Ib's "ow" "ow" "ow".... He further engaged with him in light conversation and pulled out a surgical plier quietly and the next thing we knew...the k-wire was already out! Ib just yelled a single "ow"...Mmm....that wasn't too bad at all! The k-wire was slightly longer than the length of Ib's thumb....!


Waiting for Ib's turn to see the ortho at his English-inspired waiting room (complete with two three seater Chesterfields, a faux fireplace and floral wallpaper)

Farewell Pavarotti

And so the classical/opera lovers lost an accomplished tenor today in that of Pavarotti!

The front page news brought back memories to the time when my parents visited me in the UK in 1992.

Naturally the first place to visit was London. And so we were on the world famous London double decker bus at Piccadilly Circus passing the Eros when my mum (who's a music lover but classical and opera are not the genre she listens to) said, "Haq..kat situ macam ada jual roti" (Haq I think they sell bread there). Obviously she was very hungry then, as I had dragged them the whole day to finish the essential London! LOL!

When I asked where, she pointed to Tower Records...Lo and behold...it was a huge poster which wrote "Pavarotti"....My dad who knew (through his reading) of Pavarotti laughed uncontrollably and explained to her who Pavarotti was.....Up till this day when I listen to my Pavarotti CDs I would be thinking of that very day at Piccadilly Circus! And this morning, when the news came on tv, I'm sure she was thinking what I was thinking..I just smiled in my heart!

Anyway, I just leave you with this video clip of Nessun Dorma, an aria from the final act of Turandot which achieved a pop status (in the UK) in 1990 when it was featured by BBC for their coverage of the world cup!

....."Let No one Sleep"