Tuesday, June 26, 2012

ONE year later......

SubhanAllah! Our babycake turns the big ONE today!! Alhamdulillah shukur for having the chance to be with her 24-7, to breastfeed her until today and to basically just be there with her all the time. As years go by, there's only one thing I don't want to feel which is; regret. Family values doesn't seem to have its value anymore these days. You hear about people breaking relationship with their blood-related family like it's not a sin anymore. I don't want to witness all of this when my children are bigger, AMIN! I want them to know how much they love each other and how much they truly do care about each other from the day their sibling was born until today. However, there's only so much I can instill in my children's mind and that is why I am really thankful that I am here with them during their infant and toddler years. The years where they learn so many things and to know that they are looking and scrutinizing my every move make me wanna improve myself even more.


So Aizah Layina, remember that you are one of the lucky children to have your Mother and Brother with you during your first year. Abah didn't get the chance to be here as much as he'd love to but believe me, it is all for our family's own good. When he gets back from work, he will always pick you up and play with you, that is your Abah's love for you and your brother. Alhamduillah! Babycakes, remember that you will always be our baby no matter what. We love you so much and really grateful that Allah gave us the chance to love and care for you. Alhamdulillah shukur. Last but definitely not least, Mommy and Abah will constantly pray for your well being in this dunya and akhirah. We will always want the best for you. I LOVE YOU SO MUCH and I always will! There will come a time when you will disagree with me and we might end up fighting but dear, just remember I am your Mother and what I have gone through to bring you up until today. Again, I love you Sayang and I always do. :')

Monday, June 18, 2012

Picmix!


Ever since my brother- Ilyas intorduced me to this Picmix software, I've been hooked!! It is ala insta.gram and it's just amazing! Ok, I have to say Blackberry's camera ain't all that but with this picmix, the pictures are of better quality. So, kudos to my bro for introducing it!

However, I don't think my dad would be keen of me ditching my Lumix coz it cost a lot. I'm not planning to though! haha I have been snapping a few pics from my Lumix too and it's just a matter of time I transfer it onto the PC and share it on here. Insha'Allah pretty soon!

Last  Saturday was Khalid Khairaldin's THIRD birthday! Because most of his pics were in Lumix, I am just finidng time to sit down and update properly. I have written a draft blog on my trusted Blackberry but because I hate to blog without pictures, lets just say, wait for a while yeah? Insha'Allah the time will definitely come. :) As for now, let's just enjoy Layina's picture at the park. Please don't cringe at her pic on the sand, I know some mothers wouldn't allow their child to do such a thing but I'm just too laid back to care about germs. heheh ;)

Oh, speaking of which, when in Malaysia, we went to A&W PJ for dinner and saw this grandpa carrying a bottle of dettol spray and cloth with him everywhere he goes. Since there were those kids arcade kinda games outside there, his granddaugther wanted to play with it. Everytime before the granddaughter touches anything, he'd spray the dettol and clean it of first!! Woah! That's one hard working grandpa there! Honestly, I am not that hard working and would just let my children play where they want to as long as there isn't any dog/cat poo. In the UK, that is something rare to find at parks because most of the owners would be walking their dog with plastic bags to collect & throw the poos away. So yeah. That's why I became too laid back. :D

Until my next post Insha'Allah!

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Nabi Isa ibn Maryam


Have you ever wondered why every time we come across Prophet Isa/Jesus' name in the Quran it will be with his 'bin/son of', which is 'bin' his Mother Maryam/Mary. When ever we come across Prophet Adam/Musa or any other prophets it will just be their name on its own.

Well, according to our local imam, here's why... Allah knew that the Christians will worship Jesus and they believe Jesus is the "son of God" therefore, there is a need to constantly correct this thinking by mentioning Jesus as Mary's son and NOT God's son. SubhanAllah! It's just amazing how accurate is the Quran!!

This statement was mentioned during our Wednesday Halaqah. Going for this sort of talks really do help me with my belief. Sometimes we just need these reminders to make our belief stronger! InshaAllah will try and share more often. May all of you benefit something from this blog rather than 'what am I up to' updates. :) Till we meet again.

Oh, while you're still here. Do you know what is 100000 divided with infinity? Hmmmmmm. Do try it out ;) Will reveal in a weeks time InshaAllah.
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Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Kitchen-less. Oh no no no!

You know what was the one thing that I missed so much when I was away in Malaysia??

Believe you me, it was my KITCHEN!!!!!! Oh my! I never knew I would ever miss cooking in my own kitchen but, I did. Three months away from my kitchen was what I would say, torturous. Yes, it really was. Not having that quick-get-something-ready-coz-Khairaldin's-starving stress was unbearable. In Malaysia, I had to literally stuff food into Khairaldin's mouth because he refused to eat. He wouldn't willingly open his mouth to eat whatever's been prepared for him. He will scream and shout and just refused to eat. Because of not wanting him to end up in the hospital, I did what I had to do, feed him regardless of anything! 


He was boney when he got back from Malaysia! Even Iskandar was scared to hold him because he was toooooo skinny! His leg was literally just bones and meat no fats what so ever. And for a 3 year old, that wasn't a pretty sight. I thought by the time we arrived the UK, I wanted to bring him straight to the doctors to get him checked.

Someway somehow, his behaviour changed straight away! The next day after we arrived, he was already asking for break AND cereals! He also wanted his Milo almost everyday now. Alhamdulillah shukur!! His appetite is increasing by the day. He asks for his normal rice, chicken and veges during lunch time. Dinner time is just a breeze. SubhanAllah. We have come to realise that they're just comfortable with everything in the UK, Alhamdulillah. Layina also had some issues in Malaysia, InshaAllah when I have the time I will update more on that. :)

Ever since we got back, I've only left the kitchen to breathe on the weekends.... And that was after being forced by Iskandar! Hehe It is so good to get the chance to cook for my loved ones. I never knew how to cook before I got married. Heck, even after I got married Iskandar was the one cooking for a few good years. I started to get the hang on cooking when I was pregnant with Khairaldin. I was made redundant and I just kept myself busy with cooking... Now also with baking! I love being in the kitchen and it's even better to know that my children prefers my cooking on top of everyone else!!!! The next time we go back to Malaysia, I'll make sure it will only be for a month, maximum. InshaAllah. Any more than that will only be a fight with me and my inner strength. :D Yeah, drama I know. But really, I miss my kitchen so very much and couldn't get enough of it. Alhamdulillah shukur!!!

Thank you so much Allah for giving me the chance to serve my family! Thank you for taking my job away from me and to give me a better one altogether. I am so grateful that I get to be there for my family. I am so thankful that I am the person they look for when their belly needs refuel, when they need a nap or even when they wanna play. I will always try to be there for my family during their happy and sad time, Amin!!!! May Allah give me the strength to endure what he has planned for me. Amin yaRabbal Alamin.


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Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Our little Muslimah!

SubhanAllah! Alhamdulillah!!

Our little Muslimah is just 2 weeks shy to 1 year old. SubhanAllah Alhamdulillah! She is growing up so fast it's just bittersweet for us. She started walking when she was 9 months old and now she's already running and following each and every thing that we are doing. I am glad that 'solat' is one of the things that she's immitating us other than being on the iPod/BBM. hahaha Well, we do not some balance in life, yes? 

We pray everyday that our children will grow up to become the leader of the Ummah. Amin! 
 (Yeah, I do 'prayers' on my blog because I believe the more 'Amin' I get the more my du'a will come true. So, don't judge :P)

Oh yeah, so far she can last in a hijaab for at least 4 hours straight. Masha'Allah! And to think I thought the hijaab was rather 'tedious' for her but she seems to like it. I don't wear it on her everyday, just during cold summer days. Rather than wearing her a hat or what nots, it's better to put a hijaab on her right? After all, she does look adorable in it. SubhanAllah. We are slowly practising her in hijaab because she will be wearing it to school when she is three years old. That is just 2 years away!!! I'm sure it will flyby. :') I'm trying really hard to bring up my son and daugther to become a great Muslim. It may be "easy" now, but Wallahualam, I'm not sure what the years to come have to offer me. So, while they still have the 'clean sheet' I guess it's best for me to paint them with beautiful colours which is; ISLAM! Love you both lots Khairaldin and Layina.

Monday, June 11, 2012

12 hours plane journey with 1 infant and 1 toddler!!

Phewwwww!

 
That was a mouthful and tiring subject on its own yeah? Yes! That's exactly how I embarked my journey back from Malaysia exactly 3 weeks ago. As most of you might already know, the 4 of us went back to Malaysia in late March. The kids and I stayed on till May for my brother's wedding. Unfortunately, Iskandar couldn't stay on because he was on work probation and could only get 3 weeks time off. A lot happened when he went back to the UK and left the kids with me, but that will be a different blog update altogether :)

So, everyone asked me the same question every time they hear I was going back with both kids all by myself, "how will you manage with 2 kids on the plane??", "what if 1 of them starts to throw tantrum suddenly? Will u cope??". Everyone had their concern and was doubtful about my journey back home to the UK. To be honest, I couldn't give any rational answers when I was bombarded with these questions. All I could answer was, "InshaAllah, with Allah's will, I will be able to handle them on my own."

When we booked our tickets, the plan wasn't for me to bring both kids on my own. The initial plan was for Khairaldin to travel with my brother via Emirates and for me to travel with Layina via MAS on the same day. Somehow, the plan changed because Emirates didn't have any spare seat for Khairaldin. Since I've already booked for Layina and my flight via MAS, I had no other choice but to book for Khairaldin's flight with us. In all honesty, I wasn't prepared for this ordeal at all. But with so much faith in Allah, I took this opportunity as a Mother. Everyone who knew about my travel arrangements started to label me as a "SUPER MOM". All I have to say is, I'm no where near that title.

So, here's how our travelling went. I have to say, Alhamdulillah shukur for such a superb and easy travelling provided by MAS. Staffs were helpful and everything was just bearable from the check-in counter onwards. We + my parents arrived the airport at 8am and dropped our luggage at the check in counter. We requested for a travel assistance since I had 2 kids with me. At first they didn't have anyone to assist us but they had that initiative to get someone nonetheless. I had to wait for someone to assist us at 9am. So, we just continued waiting at the departure lounge. By 9, one of the staff came to help us out. Well, the reason I needed help was only to have someone to pull my hand luggage. Khairaldin was in the pushchair and Layina was in the baby carrier. It wasn't a problem in that sense.

Good thing about having assistance is that they assist you right into the aircraft and everything is priority; priority lane for passport checks, priority for boarding pass checks and of course the first one to get onto the plane! It was amazing! No hassle at all Masha'Allah. I was so glad. I would have given the young boy some tips, but by the time I settled down in my seat he has already pass his duties to the steward(ess). Didn't get a chance to say proper thank you. Guess he was scared if the plane took off hehehe. He'll be in my du'a, inshaAllah.

Oh yeah, I didn't request for a bassinet seat because when travelling with Khairaldin before, he didn't like sleeping in the bassinet. So I thought, it's ok, give others the opportunity. But I really wanted at least the whole row to myself. Before we took off, I asked the steward if there was any vacant rows. Unfortunately there wasn't any. Flight wasn't that full, there were spare seats but not rows. However, a guy sitting at the bassinet seatings offered to give his seat to us. I accepted his offer and swapped seats with him. It's very nice of him! After swapping seats we waited patiently to take off. Just before take off Layina cried for milk. I thought, that's good at least she'll get her nap straight away. Seeing that our flight was at 10:05am, it's the time she normally have her naps. So I breastfed her and by the time we took off she was already sound asleep. The stewardess then assembled the bassinet for her and I put her in it straight away. Little did I know, Layina is so different from her brother! She loved the bassinet and what I thought was going to be a short nap actually lasted for 4-5 hours straight!!! How good was that?

Khairaldin on the other hand, wasn't as easy as Layina. He suddenly had tummy ache and was restless. After putting Layina in the bassinet, I had a steward to look after her for awhile whilst I brought Khairaldin to the toilet. He had diarrhoea! Sigh. I did put diapers on him before we left for the airport, but being toilet trained, he couldn't 'do it' in the diapers. But Alhamdulillah, we only went for 2 toilet trips in 15minutes gap. After those 2 trips, he felt much better and fell asleep straight away! I was so glad. Since both of them were sleeping, I didn't waste anymore time and straight away 'joined' them to sleep. Alhamdulillah I managed to sleep for 2hrs straight. It was good!


By the time they woke up, we were already half way through our journey. We went for a few rounds around the aircraft, read a few books, played a few games and just made a mess on the floor! Thankfully Layina was already walking, saved me from having to carry here everywhere in the aircraft. We managed to catch some short naps. Layina wasn't awake that much. It was only for awhile that she was awake. Khairaldin was lucky as he got to just spend time with me :) Two hours before landing was a bit tough. Khairaldin kept asking what time we were gonna arrive and kept bugging about wanting to eat bread with chocolate spread from Nana's house! So I had to reason out with him until he really gets the idea that we are far away and there is no way he's getting his bread and choc spread in the plane. Hehehe

All in all, it was an interesting experience as it wasn't as how I expected it to be at all! I was prepared for the worse and Alhamdulillah, that was nowhere near my expectations. I am sure this breeze journey was from the numerous thoughts and du'as people sent to me! Alhamdulillah shukur! I believe that if we have a plan, we should tell your loved one about it so that they constantly du'a and remember you. JazakAllahu Khair, everbody!

 
Any tips or tricks? No really. I guess it was a rather "easy" journey on my side because I am with my children almost 24-7 therefore I know when they are restless or about to throw tantrums. If I was a working Mom, I don't think I would be able to take up this adventure. Basically, you really need to know your child when you're about to travel. Get them as comfortable as possible, InshaAllah everything will be great! :)) Personally to me, SUPER MOM are those working Mom's who would be brave enough to take such adventure seeing that they're rarely with their child during day time. But either way, mother instincts are the best!! :))

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Saturday, June 09, 2012

Allah is beautiful, Abah.

Yesterday,  Khairaldin randomly chat with Iskandar about Allah. And during their conversation he said, "Allah is beautiful Abah!" "Really, she's beautiful". SubhanAllah, when I heard that my heart was smiling so hard! Ya Allah, he remembers you!! It's amazing to hear those words from him.

He will be 3 next weekend Insha'Allah. As he slowly grow out of his innocence we can only du'a that Allah will continue to protect him and guide him through and through. Let's pray that this memory will remain in him that Allah is beautiful and there shouldn't be any doubt in him that this is the God he/we should be worshipping, Amin!! May he grow up to be a great Muslim!! Amin yarabbal alamin.