Updates...from the voice a mom..

Alhamdulillah... at last, I manage to spend some time sitting on this study desk and post something on this blog. For the last few days...I was really occupied with 'spending most of my time lying on the couch in front of the TV'. The morning sickness, -which I bet is no more suitable to be called so, since it does attack regardless time of the day- had brought chaos in my daily routine and activities. The dizziness; the sudden dislike to all kind of food except green apples, plums, oranges , pears and crispy toasted breads; the unbearable hate to onions, cooking oils and the aroma of cooking; all these are enough to make my life go haywire.

I feel so pity for the kids. This pregnancy has a great impact on everyone in the family. Luckily the kids have never lodged any complaints about Mama didn't cook, didn't help them with homeworks, etc. Maybe, the thrills and excitements of getting a new sibling make them willing to accept the fact that Mama is being inefficient as a mother lately.

The books? Well.. forget it. I haven't read or even touch any book or reading material since last week. But I don't want to think much about it right now since I don't want to make my life more stressfull. I just need to make myself "normal" again a.s.a.p, so that I can resume my writing and reading. So at this moment, even though it will take several more weeks, I will just enjoy this gift from Allah- the chance for me to sleep the whole day, craving for food that I can eat, asking for a massage from my better half- hehehhe. And for Mimi's information, my golden color Sony Viao laptop is no longer the gadget that I love most. Now, the things that will always be my side through thick and thin are the Losyen Mustajab Pati Halia (untuk sapu kat badan bila terasa masuk angin and mabuk) and the asam boy (makan bila terasa nak loya).

Alamak...got to rest for a while. Mcm dah mula mabuk nie...



Ok. After applying some losyen halia, I'm feeling much better. Now, enough about myself. I'm going to talk about the kids.

Wafitos is doing quite well in his recent test at school. He scores A in all subjects except Arabic and Pendidikan Islam. I didn't push him to score A...but alhamdulillah, he had his own initiative to learn and do revision prior the test. He didn't do well in Pendidikan Teras Islam (actually Mama malu jugak...dpt 60% jer) simply because he didn't understand the questions, since the questions were all in Malay Language. Knowing the fact that Wafitos is not so fluent in Malay, so it's acceptable for him getting only C in that particular subject. Actually it's quite hard for him to understand even the phrases 'menunaikan zakat, mengucap dua kalimah'. So, his father has to translate the lessons to English and explain to him in English. The problem now is, he can only understand the lessons in English. But sometimes, I think that translating the lessons to English is not the best way to teach him, cos' after all, teachers will teach in Malays and the exam questions will be in Malay too. If anyone can help me with some tips how to handle this problem...please feel free to give us some advice.

Wafitos has been exposed to English Islamic books long before he could read and write. That's why he's quite terbiasa with terms and phrases in English. He knows selected stories of the prophets, but he can only re-tell them in English. Actually, his English is not excellent, it's just that he is more comfortable conversing in that particular languange.

After some thoughts, I may conclude that I fail in trying to make my kids bilingual. At last, they end up in the middle- not too good in either language, English nor Malay-. I think I must find a new method to teach the coming soon child inshaAllah.

Well, there's another intriguing story. Actually it's not that intriguing, but it's rather disturbing. (Sorry, nak gi ambil asam kejap. mulut ni rasa lain mcm jer...pause kejap yer)

Ok I'm back. Tak jadi makan asam...I makan plum jer. sedapnya...yg masam cicah ngan garam sikit. U know, when I was doing my degree overseas, I love eating plums and peaches during spring and summer. Believe it, sekali makan dok dpn tv, boleh habiskan sekilo dua, non-stop. Then muka pun jadi warna peach...heheh.

Actually I'm quite worried with the way Wafitos' Maths teacher teach the kids Maths. One day last week, the teacher asked each and every students to MEMORIZE addition table. The next day, she will ask them one by one. I do was very shocked to hear that. As far as I know, it's not the appropriate method to ensure the students can addition sums correctly and quickly. There are many other ways to make them see the patterns of addition and adding numbers logically and correctly. But certainly, MEMORIZING is not applicable in Maths.

I may not an expert in education or teaching and learning, but I did attend courses on T&L for the past three years in the University which I'm attached to. Memorizing 1+3+4, 1+5+6....so on, actually is a waste of time. So, instead of helping Wafitos to memorize, I teach him the patterns of addition. I explain to him that whatever number is added to one, the answer must be the next number. Whatever number being added with O, the answer must be that same number. So at last, alhamdulillah...he could actually do the sums without memorizing "membuta tuli" as suggested by his teacher, with my intervention.

Oh...it's so hard to be a Mom nowadays. Being a mom is like being a General Manager or a CEO of a big company. There are so many things boggle your mind, so many thoughts brewing in your head. It's really a never-ending position or job. Once you accepted this job, you'll stick to it for the rest of your life. No retrenchment scheme, no quitting, no pension, and the worst of all, not even an off day.

After being a mom, I understand why Islam forbids women to be the head of a country (Prime Minister or Queen or President). It's not because of women are less competent than men or women are weak, but it's because Allah has given women the more important, noble and complex executive job than being Prime Minister, which is being a mother. Who says a mom is nothing compared to a P.M? Let us compare between a mom and a P.M. Does a mom has many other ministers to help her taking care of her family affairs? Does a mom just give out orders to other people to carry out her missions? I bet all the answers are NO.

Who is the Education Minister in a family?
Who is the Minister of Entertainment in a family?
Who is the Minister of Solidarity and Family Development in a family?

So, that's why. When Islam forbids women to be elected as the head of country, it's merely because women are more competent and capable of managing the family affairs than men. No one is more suitable for the job other than women. That's why, those women who fight for equality, or fight to become a leader is actually those who don't realize their own privileges given by Allah to them. It's so sad to see them fighting for something that is not suitable for them, and abandoning their own privilege.

Ok. I think it's enough for this time. The couch has been waiting for me.....