This and That

Khadijah's piece

Khadijah's piece too

I now fully fathom what the hype is all about - Revenge of the Fallen! It was freaking awesome (to borrow the most over-used phrase by my kids). Dad was indeed awestruck despite some reviews that it lacked substance. Well I paid to be entertained and entertained I was.

Comments from my kids :-

Khadijah - " Josh Duhamel is hot"

Yusof - .....stoic.....

Ibraheem - chatter..."Prime"...chatter..."Best"

Umar - giggle....giggle "It was funny the insect decepticon" laugh..laugh...

Mum - "Action packed!"

I was lucky to be able to get tickets for Sunday night show without any fuss...When I collected the tickets last Thursday, I even managed to get for Mrs N 6 tickets! The kids enjoyed the show very much and now they are sleeping soundly dreaming of their hero Mr Optimus Prime. I bet you they will be harassing me for the DVD from tomorrow! It will never end, I tell you.

Khadijah has started her art lessons with Janiz who's quite impressed with the rate that Khadijah is picking up drawing techniques. Janiz is teaching her figurative art - on proportions in particular. Khadijah has also started volunteering at SPCA. She's beating the system at home since cats and other hairy pets are not allowed at home as Ibraheem is allergic to fur.

Yusof's major exam, JSLA (Junor School Leaving Assessment ) is coming up quite soon...And true to his form, he is only flipping through the books like, now.

Ibraheem is hand-washing his clothes daily (flooding the house in the process) distrusting the results that my trusted-14-year-old-front-load-washing machine produce. He is still diligent but showing some signs of deterioration which needs to be closely monitored.

Umar has progressed from his Qirati to Quran. He loves to read; pretty enthusiastic that we have to bear listening to him reading everything loudly; food labels including!

Hajar is turning fiercer by the day..We think that this is her natural reaction to survive in a male dominating household...

Ah...another busy week ahead. Breathe in breathe out! Looking forward to Half-Blood Prince the movie. Hoping to catch this with the kiddos.

What else...kids!

Let's just say that Khadijah and her team mates didn't get to, literally (well they were to present a disfigured pineapple to their opponent had they won the debate) and figuratively, mutilate a pineapple today. Her debate team lost to the state reigning champion team which school bears "pineapple" as part of its name. When I called her right after the debate, she was in high spirit, which for a wee moment I thought they had trumped their opponents. In their mind, I was told, they were the victors! I like their attitude - that's the spirit laddies!

Since the tourney was not a round robin one.., she can now retire early as usual. She and her team mates have been sleeping around 3 a.m. since last week scouring the net for resources and discussing points via IM - the wonders of cyberspace, I must say although not without the cons! Speaking of which, she has been invited to speak at CyberSecurity Malaysia's inaugural Internet Safety Awareness seminar on this coming 8th July and her topic is "What the internet means to me". Click here for details. I will be there to lend moral support!

Last Saturday was the boys' report card day. The comments made by the teachers were what we had expected. Yusof = Mr Popular/Leader who has even managed to coax a quiet boy to move out of his comfort zone (I'm taking this comment positively by the way); Ibraheem = Mr Diligent/Obedient and finally Umar = Mr Pleasant.

Hajar is discovering, in an amazing (or is it alarming?) speed, spoken words now...so our report card to her : "Yes you our little one is one Ms Pot Pet". I should upload a video clip to bear this testament. Making a mental note now....

School Break et al

Khadijah & me @ Lookiss

Hajar & mommy @ Lookiss

(Image : Copyright belongs to Janiz Chan)

With three kids and two teenagers all cooped up at home 24/7 - definitely a formula for disaster, well nearly! No, just kidding....

Gone were the days that kids could roam free around the neighbourhood without any fuss. This reminds me of the good old days (aaah..reminisce..reminisce) where days were spent outdoor catching guppies and tadpoles in the longkang, cycling aimlessly, climbing trees, building (or rather trying to build) tree houses and only to report home when the tummy went growling (some days we would just pluck fruits from any trees).

Here we, working parents in the millenium cracking our heads thinking of what we can provide in order to stop them from killing each other of boredom at home! Other households may have Astro, wii, PS and the like. We don't, you see, as a matter of choice. We do not even have one tv which is working properly as I refused to call the electrician to fix the aerial. Well, they somehow survive through thinking imaginatively! Ha! Ha!

No, they don't have fancy mobile phones, either. Khadijah has the privilege to use my basic Nokia for the weekend and school holidays. Yusof was lucky enough, recently, to be handed down by my mother a dinosour-age looking mobile (most of the times with zero credit). Oh yes, although our house is wirelessly connected, internet access is limited for them (even during school holidays).

It's amazing when these fancy stuff are not within their disposals they learn to pick books and magazines to read, draw and paint communally, play with their siblings in civil manner (within a good span of time) BUT enevitably end up fighting (like I used to with my brother) etc. I think they communicate and interact better!

Anyway, they don't actually stay indoor all the time. From 5pm while waiting for us to arrive (which they normally give up as it would be dark when we arrive), they would play badminton outside, within our compound or at our neighbours' (we are lucky enough to have neighbours who are either retired or working from home!

Khadijah's latest sketch

Oh yes, Khadijah will start her art lessons under the tutelage of Janiz Chan, a young artist represented by Lookiss Gallery, at Taman Tun on 20th June. Well the image in this posting is her work. Kerk (also a lawyer), the owner of Lookiss introduced me to her last week when I collected two paintings which I bought last year. Now, I can strike out one of the things-to-do from my list.

Will be taking a break from tomorrow until Monday..Where else but a trip down to our Kampung house where the kids can roam freely, cycle to the grocery shop two doors away for their tid bits, playing in the rain (if it does) and a picnic in the kebun! The kids are relly looking forward to it!

Morphed

Raising teenagers can be daunting on parents. When will the issues ever end, one might ask? It will never.

Yusof has entered his new phase in his life. He definitely has a mind of his own now...He chooses his own style, charters his future path, over-zealously speaks his mind and so forth. Physically, he's shot up to almost my height and we share the same shoe size. This means, half of my sporting wardrobe not surprisingly lands in his! That reminds me, I need to replenish mine!

Issues which are attached to this metamorphosis are indeed alien to us. Khadijah went through the same morphing process but the issues are definitely dissimilar. The only common thread is that wifey and I are indeed at wits' end, initially! Yes, there is no one proven formula that fits all! Every day we learn new things as parents. And we take it in our own stride...one step at time.

Yusof is attending his Syabab Fatayat's (co-curricular activity organised by his school which teaches discipline etc through community service programmes, marching, first-aid etc) weekend camp and so the house will be a tad quiet with his absence. We miss him dearly!

Khadijah's art adventure

Khadijah was running an art-marathon a few days ago finishing her school art folio. This girl has got talent but refuses to admit it. Saw her charcoal landscape sketch last night and I thought it was good. She had annotated colour schemes on the sketch. I think she's going to transfer the idea somewhere else. True enough, she's asked me to buy readily-mounted-canvas and acrylic paint this weekend. But still she's not disclosing what the big "project" is. I have thought about sending her for serious art lessons but don't know where lah (NJ - any idea?).

Khadijah's piece

Only Ibraheem and Umar have finished their mid year exam. Yusof will finish on Monday and Khadijah on Wednesday. As usual, no pre-exam study is needed for them save for Khadijah who knows of her responsibility.

Ne concrete plans for school hols. Khadijah does not want to follow us if we decide to go on a trip. She'll be with my sister, I suppose! What they have asked is if they can go back to Ayer Baloi. Mmm...how considerate - that will not hurt my pocket!

Ayer Baloi Pictorial

The House

We are back from our short balik kampung break...Too short a time, too many things to do! The kids enjoyed it albeit a brief one. They were practically 24/7 outdoor!

We spring-cleaned, ate really fresh seafood, had a barbie..., eat, eat, eat and eat...In short we had fun! More pics on the way!

Hajar at the entrance

Kebun behind the house

My parents' wedding legacy - (restored) table lamp sits on a newly acquired old table
(wifey working)
Arwah granddad's room

P Ramlee sofa set still at the upholsterer

Part of unfinished interior

Hajar asking for breakfast

Part of the kebun

Rambutan

Durian

Mangoesteen fruiting

The barbie

NBA sportsgirl

Hajar also helped clean the house compound

Kids Updates

The Opening Ceremony

Yusof and Ibraheem were super excited the weekend before last...It was their school's annual sports day. I certainly wish that they are super-keen in other areas, in particular their studies, as they are in sports....(..sigh...)

Anyway, they were supposed to be in Kompleks Sukan MSN Bukit Jalil by 7am and were making arrangement with us the afternoon before! Super-organised, don't you think? Too bad it was fated that Khadijah had to be in her school by 7 a.m. the same morning which meant that we had to push our departure to Bukit Jalil much later as we did not want to just leave Khadijah too early....

And the pandemonium erupted!

Yusof and Ibraheem were making a big fuss all the way to Bukit Jalil complaining that they were late and that they would be disqualified if they were tardy! The din became unbearable the minute we stopped at a petrol kiosk to make our food purchase ("This is a not a picnic, dad... it's a sports day"; "You can always buy food at the sports complex"; la di da di da di da). I wished that I had brought my ear plugs along, then....Anyway, they were a bit relieved when throngs of cars were arriving at the same time as we did! It was 7.30 am...and the march past was scheduled to start at 8 but in the end it started 15 mins later.

Yusof won a few medals (5 if I'm not mistaken....). We were excited to see him as one of the key persons in the "war-cry"! My...he really has grown! Ib was busy stalking his favourite Ustaz...And kept asking whether it was Zuhr already (his favourite question all the time!). We enjoyed every minute of it despite having to bask in the hot sun - well it was the morning sun after all and we had enough Vitamin D supply the whole year!

Khadijah was ecstatic last week...She had made it to her school english debate team. She has been selected to be the main speaker despite being the youngest in the team..I felt a bit nostalgic....re-living 1985!! And I'm supposed to send her for a brain-storming session the day after...

Hajar has been quite a handful. She can climb, play with her abang-abang, etc....She's quite an eater....She just cannot hear any sound from the kitchen.....be it the cling of a pot or the sound of water.She'd grab her melamine plate or mug and put on a puppy face asking for food or drink! Making a mental note to video-record this!

Umar has been so whiny....and clingy.....(you'll know why soon). He's making good progress in school and is in to drawing all sorts!

Khandak House (Yusof)

Uhud House(Ib)

Yusof, the final leg (200m)

Yusof towards finishing line (4 by 100m)

Ib getting ready to make the dash

Ib in his telematch

Yusof with his 2nd placing in 200m

Of Cupcakes and Charity

Can't believe we ahve entered the last month of the 1st quarter this year. Where did the time go? Last weekend just flew past us without noticing it! It was so hectic!

Wifey had to bake close to 200 cupcakes! 170 of them were sold through a couple of friends during a charity bazaar at GEM, Ampang. We sort of stumbled upon this project after wifey gave a few cupcakes to our friends who sell their hand-painted home accessories and polymer clay jewelleries at Bangsar, AmpCorp Mall and Mont' Kiara flea makets. It was damn tiring, I tell you, helping wifey with frosting the cupcakes....

Yusof and Khadijah were there at the Charity Bazaar supposedly to help Rozreen and Ryana sell sandwiches and cupcakes but in the end helped to put a dent to our wallets!

A famous actress who's the leading act in one of the evening slots, S**Q actually bought one of cupcakes....We sold 100 pieces during day 1 and 80 pieces during day 2......

Ryana, Rozreen, Yusof & Khadijah

The actress (in white) eating wifey's cupcake

Good Progress? No?

I'm making good progress here...considering my hiatus for the last couple of months!

I love taking piccies of my children when they are asleep. This one was taken after a cupcake-meal at Wondermilk, Damansara Utama. We lurve the cupcakes there...the caramel and pinacolada are nice...Not to mention their Pesto Chicken sandwich! Obviously Umar was stuffed to the hilt that he fell asleep on our way to his language class. Hajar had her fair share of cupcakes too.....(well just a pinch..).

Work wise - the load is no longer as heavy as before..Thanks superwoman!

It's Yusof's school's open day tomorrow...He'll be performing in a drama...apparently, role of a musician...He wasn't sure what a musician should wear and I told him jeans and t-shirt should do...Rabbani is performing at the event. Yusof is selling spaghetti and cupcakes (he wanted to sell nasi lemak too but wifey just cannot cope..... - I should be getting back to help wifey at home or rather help to devour the imperfect cupcakes.....).

I have started going back to the gym.....Working alone had its side effects - increase in waistline; I was munching junk all the way while drafting documents....(yes from 8.30 am to 8.30 pm daily for the last one year!). Gone down a bit, well about one kg after three weeks of 5 sessions a week work out - but still have 7 kgs to go to my weight a year ago...(...sigh...). Wifey has started her group fitness sessions three weeks now....with great results....!

This is Hajar's latest pic taken last Sunday with her cousin, Fawwaz...This shot was tricky...Had to snap at least 8 times before getting her to sit still and smile! Her "maggie mee" hair is exact duplicate of Khadijah's - and Khadijah still has the locks!

Another busy weekend.......plus a set of documents to draft....(when will work ever end?).

....finally

Finally a quick update from me....Loads to write but have to rush off for a date with wifey...

A not so recent photo of Hajar; may be a month back or so. She's sooo cheeky and almost boisterous. Can't blame her - she has three older sifus who teach her play football and climb tables and chairs! She can stand now without support for some 30 secs (the longest) and walk around the house with support (mainly her clothes box or the kopitiam chair!). Climbing the staircase to the upper floor of the house is her forte..not to mention coffee tables, sofas and armchairs!

Ib's not well..he's had a bad bout of asthma attack. Slightly better..almost got himself hospitalised. Been off school for a few times already! He did well in school.

Umar is his usual self.....He's Hajar's best companion! He'd carry her everywhere and she'd smile everytime she sees him!

Yusof's off for a boy scouts camping, till Monday, somewhere in Ulu Yam. His mid-year exam showed some improvement - still have ample room for progress!

Khadijah's not well...as usual her tonsilitis. Been persuading her to sit for her DELF B1...The deal is she can go to Redang for her scouts camping if she'd sit her B1 exam this year rather than next year! BTW she passed her Delf A2! School is quite a breeze for her....and her mid year results were very satisfactory.

I turned 40, two months back, (wifey as well.....) without much fanfare...No cake...no pressie...no nothing...That's my request, anyway. Don't feel any much older though!

Two days ago, I welcomed my good friend Superwomanwannabe to my firm as my partner....It's a win-win arrangement for the both of us - flexi time for her and someone to assist me when I desperately need help! Here's to many prosperous and happy years to come!

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............

Sorry..boo hoo!

Now, why do boys find it difficult to apologize? (he he he...pleading ignorance here! LOL!). Caught this in action for posterity!

The usual fights at home end with sulking and temper blaring. One's wait for the affected parties to make amends, through the natural process, is akin to waiting for the moon to fall on to one's lap. Being a mediator at home, or rather a dictator, has its privileges - like ordering them to hug and kiss and make up after a terrible dog-fight.

I can't remember now what precede the above hug and make-up session...! That's the problem of age fast catching up and not up-dating my blog as regularly as I should! Must be over some trivial matters which exploded to a huge warring!

Notice how Umar is smiling cheekily whilst Ibraheem seems a bit bothered about the whole thing. Now you know who started the whole fight!

Name tag

So you thought that it's the "name tags" that civil servants are made to adorn on their tops every day! Nah.....

I have been tagged by a blogger whom I had recently added to my blogroll, D re my children's names!!!

Here's the detail of the TAG:-

PROPOSITION : What is the meaning of your kid'(s) name(s)?

REQUIREMENTS : Write about what or how or why you gave the name(s) to your kid(s).

QUANTITY: 5 people

TAG MODE: Firstly you leave their blog and post link and add to the list below and secondly you let the blogger you want to tag know that he/she has been tagged by commenting in his/her blog or etc

To tell you the truth, wifey and I never had any problems nor arguments in choosing our kids' names...We never toiled the night flipping through baby names books or discussing various names etc. The names we chose were the names which came across our minds and that's it! Call it telepathy....but that's basically it!

Here goes D!!!

Child No 1- Siti Khadijah

Named after Prophet Muhammad's (pbuh) first wife

Child No. 2 - Muhammad Yusof

Named after one of the Prophets.

Child No 3 - Siti Kauthar (allahyarhamah/deceased)

Meaning - "abundance of bliss"

It is a name of one of the wells in heaven. This is the reason why we chose this name. It was a short one month that God "lent" us Siti Kauthar.... (born 9.8.99 and departed 9.9.99 Al fatihah!)It's all fated and we accept it! God knows best!!! Well she's there now in heaven waiting for us! :)

Child No. 4 - Muhammad Ibraheem

Named after one of the Prophets who rebuilt Kaa'bah

Child No. 5 - Muhammad Umar

Meaning - "prospering, thriving"

Named after one of the Companions of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) who was the second Caliph.

Child No. 6 - S*** ****r (if a girl)/**k****r (if a boy)

***wait and see lor!!!***

msau the meaning of SQ and Kiki

shopping mum the meaning of Justin and Isabelle

Judy Chow Terry

Shannon Rachel

Samm Gordon and Malcolm

Sasha lil J

Mott 2 Monkeys

Fatty Poh's Fatty Boy

Kd NAMI & MIMI

D Abg Z Abg H Princess & Litle D

DadofFour Siti Khadijah, Muhammad Yusof, Siti Kauthar, Muhammad Ibraheem and Muhammad Umar

Now, who shall I tag? Her goes...

MinahCeloteh

Superwoman

Halwafy

Thushara

Minah Songeh

Ampang Daily Photo Blog

I'm sure by now you guys know that my daughter, Khadijah has two blogs (look at the right panel under MY HAUNTS) and one of them is a community blog which she joined after wifey and I encouraged her to do so. One of her interests is photography, so it's a natural progression and logical that she did so.

Just before her exam commenced she received a comment from a Melbourne University journalism student, who happens to be a Malaysian, doing an article on photobloggers and DailyCityPhoto community and wanted to interview her for the fact that she's the youngest photoblogger in her community. I actually read this first and, naturally, got a little bit excited over this and told her to reply, after making some checks, to say that she's interested in the interview through emails but only after she'd finished her mid-year. Ans so she replied last night and asked her to cc a copy to me....Her goes the email to Al****:-

"Hello Al****,

Heheh you should also try visting Malaysia Daily Photo [http://malaysiadailyphoto.blogspot.com]. The blogger is new to the community. ;)

Yes I'm the youngest but I'm sure there are more students younger than me who would want to try posting on their city. I feel very delighted and happy to be able to show Ampang through my eyes.

I found out the Daily City Daily Photo Blog community when my father showed me Kuala Lumpur Daily Photo. That was the first Daily Photo Blog site I saw, and from there I started browsing other Daily Photo Blogs. I started Ampang DailyPhoto this year on March the 21st, so I'm still quite a newbie in the community but the newest member is the Malaysia Daily Photo as I've mentioned before.

At first, it was rather hard to post a picture everyday. But after a few months I got used to it and now it's like a hobby after a day at school.

I started photography last year when my dad bought me my first digital camera. What attracts me about photography is that it helps me to wind down after a very tired day at school and photography als helps me to see things from a different point of view.

In my opinion it has helped me to be more responsible to post everyday to show what's going on here in Ampang. I think it has made me learn about other countries around the world and can imrove my Geography better. I sometimes feel nervous when I know that other people around the world view my pictures. I feel worried about the quality of the pictures if the picture is good enough but at the same time I feel happy because I get to share my city to everyone. I think it has changed the way I think a bit. It has made me think more mature than how I used to think.

I guess that's about it; just drop me another e-mail because I know I did this kinda badly.

Have a nice day!"

She's been asking for a dSLR to bring her to the next level.....We'll see how she performs in her exams this year. So far -has been very encouraging! There goes RM3k end of this year...LOL. But the deal is to share the dSLR with me!

Ah well....it's wifey's and my education philosophy to bring up our kids well-rounded. Well, isn't that most parents' philosophy? As schooling in Malaysia is academically-focussed...we have to really crack our head to think on how not to bring up our kids as stereotypes and not kill the right brain of our children in the process.

I used to, long ago, have this idea that my kids must live my dreams......I found out soon enough that it always backfired. It's now suggesting to them what they might be interested in and give them our fullest support once they have made the decision.....I had made a mistake a few years back asking Khadijah to take up flute....and excitedly I bought her one....A year later she dropped out - her reason was she was not comfortable with a male instructor....And trying to find a female flutist was sooo difficult. There was one lady flutist from the MPO but she was very busy and hence explains a grand worth of investment is lying somewhere in her room idly...But she'd play for me occasionally. She's picked up the piano instead now.....And that is her choice!

A "fight" most welcome

My kids "fight" all the time.....for the wrong and most trivial reasons most of the time. There are a lot of times, though, differences are encouraged in my household!

Don't you love being a mediator? OR do you put on the despotic hat and slam down your feet? As for me, it would depend on the situation. Where there is no two ways about it....it's the latter for me.

It was a different kind of "fight" this morning on the way sending Yusof to school and Khadijah for her maths tuition. It was over Surah Al Inshiqaq....Yusof is currently memorising the surah and was reciting in the car when Khadijah thought he recited one ayat wrongly and hence the fight as both thought they were right....It continued for a good 5 minutes..and I had to be a bystander because I couldn't mediate as...regrettably I don't memorise the surah..How embarassing!

Luckily I had the assistance of Sheikh Abdul Rahman Aziz As Sudays, the leading Imam of Masjidil Haram (of whom I had the opportunity of shaking hand with in the year 2000 in Mekkah), in the form of his CD.

In the end....Yusof was right! The five minutes of tongue lashing and animated debate was a welcome change for me!

Lily Can't Sleep

Another community service here. Theatre for kids from 4-8 performing from 16th to 20th May at KLPAC.

For further details....click here!

Crying for attention

Is this a cry for attention? (Yes Rin, it's happenning in pur household too...and I don't know when will it end)

He's been sucking his thumb....(he used to when he was about 3 until he turned 5), drinking his younger brother's milk from bottles...He did not even object for me to post this piccie here! And he is turning 10!

Everybody in the house is crying for attention (including me - which I have no plans to reveal in what aspect) since wifey found out that she's pregnant.

Umar has been crying over the slightest reason...or sometimes over nothing! Ib too!

I suppose the only person who's not affected is Khadijah..the supergirl!

Phone galore

Brought my daughter out yesterday since she had to replenish her stationery and we normally either go to Popular bookstore @ Ampang Point or Westar or Advanco in Taman Melawati for my kids' stationery. She wanted to go to Ampang Point to snap pictures for her daily photo blog and have her bi-monthly dose of frapuccino at San Fran and I had to do some grocery shopping at Gi**t. Good choice - Ampang Point!

On the way up to Popular, I was a wee distracted by a mobile phone kiosk just to ask how much would they buy my old handphone. They said RM300. I thought it was a good offer since all this while other mobile phone vendors have been offerring RM150 to RM200. Immediately I browsed the offerrings there to trade-in.

Was choosing between a Sony Ericsson ("SE") and a Nokia. I'm a Nokia person for life! The only point why I was considering the SE yesterday was the RM100 price difference. Of course wifey had bought me the 6288. This new one is intended for our household pool-use when the kids have extra co-curricular activities etc. I just had to top up about RM230 for a brand new phone - my old phone was not reliable at all for the kids to use ....the keypad gets jammed; "no service" messages all the time; it hangs once in a while and the battery has basically reached its life-span and etc etc. I spent a good one and a half hour deciding and asking loads of questions!

Yup it was a value-for-money buy the 5220 Nokia purchase....! On the way home, I changed my mind - this new phone will be used by wifey whilst wifey's old phone will be the pool-phone for the kids! The kids just need a phone which can receive calls and dial out - PERIOD.

And in the end, my daughter only managed to get her stationery minus the piccies and frapuccino!

It's been a week of upgrading old phones....Yup we do it once in two years....!

Yusof's sports day

This morning I wished that everyday is Yusof's sports day!

I was updating my blog at about 5.30 a.m and there Yusof was already wide awake and took his shower without my having to drag him out of bed like I have to do every morning and nagging him in the morning at our house goes without saying! He loves the bathroom that he has to spend about 20 minutes at least under a hot shower!

He finished his shower in less than 15 minutes today and started harassing me to send him to IIU's sports complex from 6.15 am right till we left home at about 7.30 am. Reached the complex at about 7.45 am but it was still exceptionally quiet for an event to start at 8 a.m. Left him there and headed home since the first half of the sports day was dedicated to the Montessori school and Primary One to Three - basically telematches! We have learnt our lesson through attending past years sports day. We did not have a choice then, but to stay put from morning till about 4 pm as Yusof was in the lower primary whilst Khadijah in the upper!

Headed back to the complex at about 10.45 a.m and I was just in the nick of time to watch Yusof's first event, the 100m dash. He tried his best considering that he had blisters on his left foot - it was bleeding badly two days before and I applied minyak gamat (sea cucumber ointment) to let the blister dry fast...and it did! Fourth place...not bad at all!

His second and final event was the 200m run. He was consistent throughout and earned him a third place..Way to go Yusof! It was his stamina that pulled him through despite his slight "injury"...

His "house" - Yellow house won the best marching team and he also won first prize for tug-of-war!

I have this to say...kudos to the organizing team for making the sports day short and sweet! It ended 10 minutes ahead of schedule. For the last two years - they were too draggy and ended 3 hours later!

Anxiously waiting to compete when I arrived.

At the start point of 100m

Running his best for 100m

Clinching 3rd placing in 200m

Medal time!

Comparing medals with his good friend, A**u who won 1st place