Butterfly Pancakes

This morning the entire house was covered with smell of blueberry pancakes. Liya woke up smiling. Ajib was waiting for the plates to be filled up with pancakes in various pancake shapes.

There were all sort of shapes: heart, triangle, round but the most beautiful of them all were the ‘butterflies.’

Saw on TV some time ago about the making of the ‘cactus pancake.’ It was cute. I guess breakfast being the most important meal of the day must be attractive to children. It is fun to eat. The sight of the food entice them to the dining table.

Fighting Fear

We went to Lake Titiwangsa today. Ajib had his first horse ride. Liya as always enjoyed her rides. We then headed towards the new playground. Colourful, creative and sturdy (parents may give it a try). My husband and I stayed near enough. We prevented ourselves from helping Ajib and Liya too much. We allowed them to explore and experience the slides, monkey bar, hanging bridge and many more.

I waited for Ajib to come down the slide. The platform had many holes. Ajib walked cautiously. He looked quite nervous. At the beginning, I heard Ajib humming while matching his steps. He tried quite a number of games. At other instances, I saw he was biting his lips.

He gave up at the elevated hanging bridge. Ajib was panicked and then cried. He managed to go 1/3 of the bridge before deciding he had enough for one day. It was far too scary for Ajib to force for another step. Hand-in-hand, Ajib and I retreated. We may try again, at Ajib’s pace…I was there for him with all motherly’s unconditional love. I didn’t make any comment. I was all ears…

A World of Our Own

Do you remember everything about your pregnancy? Or you can blame it on the porridge brain syndrome.. Yes, we could detect all senses. For instant, I could smell cigarette or a hint of lemon from a distance while pregnant. We are bored with what used to like (maybe favourite blouse or handbag). We suddenly love what we used to hate (in my case – bubur kacang).

Early Hours

Due to the many roles we have to play in our modern lives (being a spouse, a mother, a boss, a friend, a subordinate etc), being pregnant can be stressful. The body is adjusting. Our emotions at a wide-range spectrum. So, personal time with the life you are carrying inside is very important. She/he learns so much from our thoughts, actions, feelings and the support we receive till delivery.

Early Days

Liya accompanied me to the series of antenatal appointment. “Mama, I want to see baby on TV,” Liya requested every time. Because of our daily conversations, Ajib had known his sister from long ago. He always likes his sister’s company whether for a laugh or a fight.

Usually, I talked to my babies when they were still inside. Say anything, say everything – voice your feelings, hopes, love, passion. Describe the world around us and the people we know or we adore. That’s very special bond given to us, mothers. A friend told me she even advised her unborn babies about not to love pacifiers and things like that. True enough, her children never liked pacifiers although the babysitter’s had attempted.

I guess the basis of learning can be instilled during pregnancy. Actual hands-on and additional stimulation can be introduced later on in children’s life.

The Walking Present

Yesterday my husband bought lovely pink decorative ribbons for a relative’s wedding reception. Liya liked it so much – roses and heart-shaped design. She then paraded with the ribbon on her head.

“You look like a present, Liya” I suggested. She giggled before saying, “I’m a walking present, Mama.”

A sweet notion and very creative way to describe who or what she’s become.

Feng Shui?

Sorcerer's Lounge

With many titles in the market, home decor magazines have many subscribing fans. English Country, Balinese or contemporary are amongst trendy variety.

Should we incorporate our children’s minds and feelings before decorating our homes? Some of my personal preference would be books and photo frames. We may have consulted and applied feng shui. Many times emotions and logic could be contradicting to each other.

Personally, I hang Liya’s work of art at home. That makes her feel more apreciated. Besides, we could see her artistic development. I also let Ajib to scribble in some of my notebook. This way, he has the freedom to express himself.

These are some of the summary of personal taste:
Liya likes Disney’s Princess wallpaper border. Daddys likes to have an aquarium inside our house. Ajib wants his toys to be visible and accessible. I insists to hang watercolour or oil paintings when I decorate the interior. Thus, a perfect and practical setting would be all about balancing everyone’s requests if not equalizing them. Most importantly, love should exist in all homes. Love holds also the kindness we show to each other…

Growing Up Mission

Today I had the privilege to tour KL with a group of children. They were chatting and laughing.

Liya's Portfolio

One of them revealed her ambition to be a photographer, taking beautiful pictures and making loads of money. Another said he wanted to be a pilot, flying here and there.

Some of the interesting observations include high rise buildings with blue roof, red roof and green roof are mostly people’s homes.We saw 2,3 and 4 levels of roads as well. There were rail tracks, LRT platforms and stations, flag and river. We thought the twin towers and KL Tower looked impressive as part of the skyline. Too bad, we couldn’t make it to KLCC today due to traffic congestion.

We passed Bank Negara (Central Bank). What would be the best explanation? “It’s like Mama to all other banks in our country,” I answered in utmost humility and simplicity. With that seeing and pointing fingers, the kids got tired and dozed off one by one.

‘Be good, share your stuff, and eat properly’ are common phrases uses in overdoses. Once, I heard that we must repeat an advice or condition a learning for at least 300+ times in children to make it lasts a lifetime. The parties must be sincerely willing to teach and to learn. There’s no shortcut! The best way is to go through the all: humor, agony, sadness, anger, hatred along the way. Make mistakes and learn.. We learn, unlearn and relearn all the time. That’s part and parcel of life…

The Missing Tot

Pasar Besar Khadijah, Kota Bharu, Kelantan

We searched everywhere. Our hearts were pounding. At a split second, we lost Ajib. He was as tall as the bundles of batik sarong. He could be behind the display cabinets. The tudung bawal or kain pelikat kiosk to start the rescue mission?

So, this was the feeling parents who have lost their children. Only ours in reunion. Others unfortunate ones ended in tears and condolences.

Ajib was found in the end. I was looking up at the tudung bawal and Daddy was looking at the counter. Ajib stood between us. Liya was at my other side. She had no clue where the little brother went. Some of the salesgirls helped the search. Thank you so much.

When we saw Ajib again, we hugged him tightly, not wanting to let go. We learned our mistakes. Losing a child is no excusable mistake..

Christmas Celebration

Celebrating Christmas

Liya had bought Santa’s hat for her kindergarten’s concert last month. So, she is quite eager to see the decorated trees at the shopping malls.

Every night when I came home, she would ask me if we could have our own ‘christmas tree’ inside our home. Uncle John is my mother’s neighbour for as long as I could remember. Every year, Uncle John’s family practices Christmas carols and has a beautiful tree.

Last Sunday, we went to the club and Ajib was excited to see the christmas tree and the presents(especially!). Liya circled the tree and commented that it was not standing tall.

“Mama, look at the tree. Is it falling down?” Liya asked me and I replied, “The star could be really heavy,” focusing at the huge star on top of the tree. We laughed.

So, it is important to teach the children to respect each other despite of our religious beliefs and physical differences. Helping each other in need and understanding others would be valuable assets when Liya and Ajib grow up. They might travel the world, thus they must learn to get along.

Leisure Carriage

Need a Ride?

My husband and I mostly devote our weekends to taking Ajib and Liya to fly kites, ride horses or donkeys, feed animals at the zoo, trim our plants, and swim at the pool, river or beach.

Liya has started riding a horse a while ago. Now she could balance herself but most importantly she is confident and willing to take a new challenge. We have taken many photos of Liya while riding. With each ride, her confidence level grows. Riding horses used to be for nobles and royalties. It is also a skill for wars. Only in the modern days, riding becomes a hobby or a career.

Ajib is waiting for his turn to gain a new experience. The moment he says that he’ll do it, my husband and I would be happy to lift him up to the sadle…

Pink Shade Lipstick