THE THIRD DAY

Today's the third day Hubby is far away from us. I was so relieved and happy when he called from his hotel yesterday morning. So good to hear his voice again.

Our local time is eleven hours ahead, so right now he may be having his dinner. It's already Wednesday morning here, but it's still Tuesday night there.

I have still not fully recover from my cold. I pray so hard that I'll be alright before my trip to Trengganu/Cherating this Friday.

Since Afiqah and Affandy were not with us yesterday, Afrina was bored. So I brought her to lunch at Cafe Galilee at Woodlands Library. We also spent our time reading books at the library. Less than an hour, I had to leave the library as I could not breathe. My nose is so blocked that I just wanted to take my medicine and sleep. We went straight home after that.

My MIL sent Afiqah and Affandy only early this morning, instead of yesterday. Once Affandy got into the house, he hugged me tight and kissed me. He missed me, for sure.

I have no plans yet for today. Maybe we'll just stay home. Maybe I'll bake cup cakes for the kids. Maybe we'll have the DVD marathon. Maybe I'll just lie down on my bed for the whole day. Maybe I'll clear all the housework before I leave for my trip. Maybe I'll just face the PC all day. Maybe......

I want my HUBBY!!!!!!

SO WE START MISSING HIM....

Hubby left to States this morning at 4.15 a.m. Everytime we went to the States, I would surely cry. I was not like this when he travelled to Penang. Maybe because the States is about 18 hours journey while Penang is only 1 hour. As usual, once he stepped out of the house with his luggage, I felt so empty inside.

To make matter worst, I'm down with flu and cough. And I had a fever yesterday. Just imagine, being sick with 3 kids at home, and hubby is not in town. Haizz....

Affandy woke up this morning and asked about his Abah. I can sense his sadness when I told him that Abah has fly off to US. All day long, he played on his own. He arranged all his toy vehicles in a single line, and stared at them, one by one. He always do that when he plays alone. He misses his play partner, his Abah.....

Hubby made a short call home when he transited at Japan just now. I asked Affandy if he wanted to talk to his Abah, he refused to talk, but he cried instead. I knew that instance, he just wanted his Abah to be home with him.

My MIL called up offered to take care of the kids while I rest since I'm ill. Part of me wanted to take the offer so I can have a peaceful recovery. But on the other hand, I'll lose my sanity if I were to be alone. I don't want to sleep alone.

Since Afrina is big enough to decide on her own, I asked if she wants to sleep over at her Nenek's place. She chose to stay with me.....

So MIL came and picked Afiqah and Affandy just now. Hopefully when Affandy sees his uncle (my younger BIL) and his Atuk, he will not miss his Abah that much. He just need a father figure to play with him.

Oh dear, now I'm starting to miss my Hubby, Afiqah dan Affandy......badly.

THE GOOD AND SAD NEWS

I have two news to share.....

The good news is, it's confirmed that Hubby will be in US for only two weeks. Yeah!!!

And the sad news is....

After the US trip, he will only be in town for one pathetic week. Then he'll fly off again to Kulim, Penang for another two weeks. Booohooooohoooo......!

Why oh why oh why.........

Starting from Monday, for two weeks, I shall start to *sob* feel kerinduan *sob*....

And also.......*tuang air kat badan*




Hot lah!! Not "dry"!!! *tongue out* These few days the weather is hot what!!!

PRAY HARD

Hubby informed me yesterday that he MIGHT be travelling to the States for two weeks only.

He stressed that he MIGHT, so no definite confirmation yet.

I pray so hard that he'll be away for two weeks only, please please please.

Supaya ku tak kekeringan, eh salah, tak kerinduan di sini.....

Heh heh.....

BUSY WEEKENDS

Oh yes, my weekend was full of fun. Even though Hubby got to work, I still had my fun. I attended TWO gatherings!!!

Saturday, 20 May 2006 - KO Gathering



This was what I called an impromptu gathering. We only confirmed to meet up on Friday afternoon. BabyHD readily offered her place and prepared food for us.

Meeting this group of ladies, as usual, no need to behave. But of course, only if all the hubbies not around. The main reason we met up, was just to eat and eat and eat. Not to forget, to mess up BabyHD's place. Hahahahaha......! I was glad that my kids were so good in doing that!

To KOkza, kita nak piat telinga awak ek!!!


Sunday, 21 May 2006 - KMC Gathering



This meet-up was named as KMC - Kecohrable Mommies Chatters. We started by chatting at MSN and this was the first time we met. Though it was the first time, the kecohness was there.

I, as usual, maintained shy for the the first meet-up. Heh..heh...

But the host, Mama Dewi, made me feel so welcome and kept asking me to eat and eat and eat!! Sampai tak bernafas aku, Dewi! :-)

********

To both groups of ladies, I had so much fun with each and all of you. Thank you for the company. All of you really made my day!

More photos can be viewed here. Enjoy!

MAKAN PER......

It all started with a tag at her blog. I jokingly asked her to deliver her Roti Kirai as it appears in her weekly menu. And she did!! Pakai mangkok tempen lagi.


She sms-ed me at 7.00 a.m in the morning and asked me to come down and collect from her. I was speechless. I was joking and she really prepared some for me. Awww....so sweet of her.


Kari Ayam sampai dua set ah......


Siap dengan Salad sekali.....

I salute you Pol. You as a working mother, still got time to prepare all those. Thank you......

Takkan nak kasi balik mangkok tempen kosong eh? Let me think of something to repay your kindness. In the meantime, let me enjoy your yummylicious Roti Kirai.

Yang lain takmo jeles hah!! Kalau nak makan free, rajin-rajin tag kat blog dia. Heh heh.......

THE MIXED FEELINGS

At this moment, my feelings are mixed.

I am happy, relieved, anxious, excited and sad.

I am so happy and relieve as Afrina has her exams results already. Alhamdulillah, she passed all the subjects. Her marks are all above my expectations. I am very proud of her. I really pray that she will remain focus and excel in her studies.

What I want to know now is, where she stands in her class. And this makes me anxious. I have to wait for her record book to find out. And that will be next week, I hope.

Like I said, I'm excited as I will bring my kids to a short trip without Hubby. Not far, I shall start with Trengganu/Cherating for a start. Hopefully everything will turn out well as planned, InsyaAllah.

It's really sad to know that Hubby will not be with us for the whole June school holidays. I feel like it's kind of waste. All these while, we have been looking foward to the school holidays, so that we can go holiday as one family. But his working schedule spoil our plans.

I may appear ok in front of Hubby, but deep in me, I do not want him to go.

Lately, he has been travelling so often. He only stays home maximum of two weeks, then he flies off again. Bear in mind, he still has to work during the weekdays and even weekends.

I know I should be grateful that he got a job, so we can live comfortably and financially secure. But, I wish he's at home more often to be with us. To spend quality time with us.

To tell the truth, when he's out of town, I feel that....I shoulder the responsibility to bring up the kids, alone. I am the mother, and I also have to act as a father too. No doubt that he called often when he's away, and I updated him on our wherebeings, but it's not the same when he's home. He's not here to see the changes and developments on our kids. And that makes me sad.....

IT'S FINALLY O-V-E-R

Afrina's exams are over!! Yeah!!!!

I've completed Project L1!! Double yeah!!!!

And and and.....Hubby's home!!!! ***banana dance***

I am a very happy woman!!

I will not start on my Project L2 until later date. I need a break.

I DESERVE a break.

I have so much plans for the June school holidays. The sad thing is, Hubby will not be around for the whole school holidays. What a waste!!

I intend to have fun with the kids. He will still be missed, but we can't just stay at home and wait for his return. We can die of boredom at home.

So, I am going to be a little bit adventurous this time. For the first time, I will bring my kids out of our little country, without Hubby. Not sure if I can, but I'll try. Hopefully I can handle them on my own. I know I can. Errr....can I?

IT'S NOT OVER....

Will be back once these two are over....Insya'Allah.

MY BOY AND HER GIRL

MIL called up saying she wanted to "borrow" all my kids for the weekend.

Since Afrina has her weekend madrasah on Saturday morning, so only Afiqah and Affandy are available. So I asked two of them if they wanted to sleep with their nenek. As always, Afiqah was so eager and excited to be with her nenek.

But when I asked Affandy, he simply answered, "Nak Ummi!"

I asked him several times, his answer was still the same.

That's my boy..... *evil grin*

So, this weekend, I shall be one daughter less. Good thing, I can concentrate on Afrina's revision and also at the same time, to complete my project L1.

But Afiqah's pet pot pet pot will still be missed......

I had dinner with her and her kids just now. Quite some time we have not get in touch with each other as she has returned back to the work force. So before my make-up runtuh, I got her son to snap a picture of us.....


Then I noticed that someone was holding someone's hand....


And they happily agreed when I asked to pose together. Look closely at their hands....


Auuuwwwww......The little girl is so mentel like the mother!!

HELP!!

I know this is nothing new, but I just have to write about it.

Dear Hubby is away again, for another 2 weeks.

Haizzzz.....

He will not be around for the period where our girl is having her examination. Here I am, stressful as ever, trying so hard to prepare Afrina for her exams, with another 2 playful kids who will not duduk diam even for a mere 1 second!

HELP ME!!!!

PROJECT "L"

I've been a little bit busy lately.

Afrina will be sitting for her SA1 very soon. In fact, today she has her English Oral Examination. And the one who feel so stress is ME!!

I just don't know where to start for her revision. P1 is definitely not the same as K2. She has to use her thinking cap more.

What I'm worry about is the careless mistake. Don't know how to do is more acceptable than being careless. I just have to remind her to CHECK and CHECK her work before hand over to her teacher.

On the other hand, I have two projects to complete. Just let me name them as "Project L1" and "Project L2".

So if you don't see me around, meaning I'm working very hard to accomplish that projects. By the way, these projects are for a lady out there who also the name starts with "L".

Project "L" for "L".

"Jangan nak sebok suruh aku online ek!"

GOT TRISHAW?

My almost 3 years old Affandy has attended pre-school since the beginning of the year. Within three months of schooling, I have notice some positive changes in him.

As any 3 years old kid, he can easily recognize and count numbers from one to twenty, sometimes with some missing numbers. He can also recognize each and every alphabets.

He can also now pronouce his full name, complete with his abah's name.

His communication skills are also getting better and clearer. So far I can understand what he's trying to tell me, even though some of his words are not being pronounced correctly.

In school, he has learnt some songs. Some are common nursery rhymes which I'm familiar with. But this one particular song which I knew my mom or my late grandmother had sung to me when I was a kid. The problem is, till now I have forgotten the full lyrics.

The song goes like this.....

Ting, ting, ting, ada beca
Beca beroda tiga
Ku naik dengan bapa
Pergi keliling kota

Ta, ta, ta.... *blank*

Affandy kept singing this song. But when it comes to the second verse, he would wait for me to finish the whole song.

As I cannot remember, I tried to create my own lyrics. But this boy is smart, he would say, "Ummi salah!" in an angry tone.


...The Angry Boy...

How am I supposed to know the correct lyrics?? Anyone can help me?

DAY 3

Alhamdulillah....

It's been three days since I sent my kids to school on my own.

It's not that bad actually. I just have to tell myself that this arrangement is going to be my routine.

We have to take 2 buses in order to reach Afiqah & Affandy's school. It seems that my kids enjoyed taking the public buses. They did not complain of the hot wheather. As the buses were not crowded when we aboard, they got to choose where to sit. And the buses are air-conditioned.

After sending the two smaller kids, Afrina and I took another direct bus to her school. The journey takes about half an hour, so this is the time where I lean back and close my eyes, to rest. Afrina will nudge me once we reach her school.

Then I walked a 10 mins distance to home. I have less than an hour to cook, clear some housework, perform my prayer, before I leave home again to fetch Afiqah and Affandy.

I walked a lot during those trips. I took it as a form of exercise. And I perspire a lot too. I carry an umbrella along so I will not get the direct sunlight. I think I need to get a good walking shoes. My feet's aching a little bit due to lots of walking.

ALONE AND LONELY

I shouldn't let all my kids to sleep over at my in-laws' place, when Hubby is not in town. I should at least have Afrina stay with me, instead of sleeping alone, last night.

My parents-in-law insisted that all my three kids to sleep over at their house. They have some religious functions to attend and wished to bring the kids along.

Actually Afrina was reluctant to follow, as she wanted to keep me company. But MIL wanted all of them, just for one night. I could not bear to say no, so I told Afrina, it's only for a night. So, last night, I slept alone.

It was a BIG mistake.

I thought I enjoyed my time being alone at home, but I felt lonely instead.

It was alright at first, as I got to spend my time with some good friends on early part of the day.

But the loneliness hit me when I was alone.

I switched on the TV, but the TV watched me instead.

I bought some food for dinner, and yet it's so hard swallow. And the food was left unfinished.

I lie down on my sofa, and just stared at the ceiling fan.

Once a while, I kept looking at my kids' closed bedroom doors, hoping that they would come out from that rooms.

Yes, I miss the noise, I miss the bickering, the squabbling, the shouting, the whining, the laughing etc.

It's already bad enough that I miss Hubby, and I had to miss my kids too.

The pain and the yearning was so unbearable. And I tried so hard not to cry. I hate to cry alone.

I want my kids back!!! I called my in-law hoping that she would understand and send them back to me, but my kids were all asleep. So I slept alone, aching to hold and kiss them goodnight.

But that was yesteday. They are back now safely in my arms.

And things go back to square one - the noise, the mess, the spills.

This time it's ok, I want it to be that way. I want my kids to be here with me, waiting for their abah to return home (that will be another week).

Tomorrow will be the day that I have to send them to school on my own. I really hope the weather will be kind, so I can send them without much problem. I know it ain't easy at first, but the arrangement will become a routine once I get use to it.

So if you do not see any updates here for sometime, don't blame me, BLAME THEIR SCHOOL BUS OPERATOR!!!! They take away my free time!! Cheh...!

AGAIN

Starts missing him already.....again.

THANK YOU

Great friends, great company, great makciks!!

Thank you for the laughter.

Thank you for the juicy stories.

Thank you for listening.

Thank you for sharing.

Thank you for chocolates from Switzerland.

Thank you for the sandwiches.

Thank you for the cake.

Thank you for the blue water and ice specially for ME.

Thank YOU for being there for me when I asked for a meet-up.....

You all know who you are!!

LALALALALALALA.......

The man of the house IS BACK!!!

But only for a few days. He will fly off again soon....

Let me spend my time with him, while he's HERE!!

Yeee har....!!!!

THANK GOD

I really feel blessed that I have the privilege to become a homemaker.

Not meaning to be unkind to other mothers who choose otherwise or with no other choice. But I just want to let out that I'm really very happy to be a SAHM this very moment.

This is what happened.

Afrina had a bad cough since the last three days. Before she went to school yesterday, she was fine, except for her coughing. But once she reached school, she called me from the public phone, saying she felt so feverish.

I was worried that she would throw up cause this girl of mine could vomit so easily.

So I asked her to ask permission from her form teacher and to call me back.

Half an hour later, her form teacher called me and asked to fetch Afrina back.

Without delaying, I went to her school and picked her up.

True enough, she's burning hot and she was so weak and feeble.

I brought her to the doctor and she was given 2 days MC.

Just imagine, what will happen if I were to work at my previous workplace, in Jurong? And my daughter call me up to fetch her home? What if anything happen before I manage to be there with her?

I am so thankful that I am given the chance to take care of my sick child. Though I may be exhausted and dead beat at times, still I feel contented. They are under my care and I love them very much.

And I know, even when I do make mistake as a parent, they still accept me and love me as I am with their pure, innocent hearts.

They are my love, my life.....

I SURVIVED

So far so good.

I have survived with the kids for a week without Hubby in town.

I'm still annoyed over the Thursday's incident, but I've moved on. I'll just take it as a pinch of salt.

I think I have done my best to keep my kids busy during the school holidays. From movie to library, playground and having meals at fast food restaurant, even swimming. I'm glad that they had a good time with me.

Occasionally, Afiqah and Affandy would ask for their Abah, and my answer was simple - "Abah work". Period. No point telling them the whole story, as they will ask me the same question again and again.

This is how they show when they miss their Abah.

Afrina is forever writing letters to him. I know somehow she would feel relieved when she wrote the letters.

Tomorrow school re-opens and life will be back to routine. Again.