Dugaan berpuasa...

Masha Allah...letih betul harini. Today start practice berpuasa...memang jadi kebiasaan kalau dlm bulan Rejab ni practice puasa...yelah..takut tak larat. Sebab Mama Mia ada sejarah gastric and memang jenis kuat makan, tak tahan berlapar sangat...so, practice puasa time Rejab is considered a kind of preparation before the coming Ramadhan, mentally and physically. Apatah lagi, dlm keadaan berbadan dua nie...di mana satu hari sampai 5 kali makan, selera tgh "on" jer....I wonder tahan ke tidak.

Dugaan betul, harini panas terik...tekak punyalah kering... Allah saja yg tau mcm mana rasanya. Pukul 2.30 tadi, dah tak larat sgt, tertidor sampai 4.30pm. mcm org pengsan! Bangun tidor barulah boleh bercakap dan bergerak. Nak panjat tangga ke tingkat atas rumah unutk solat Asar pun mcm tak larat. Anyway, after Asar, towards the evening, alhamdulillah start bertenaga semula. bolehlah ke dapur masak sayur, nasi dan reheat lauk sambal sotong kering. And pesan hubby suh beli ikan bakar and tauhu bakar. Wah....bukan main lagi ngidam nak buka puasa..mcm bebudak pulak.

Mama Mia doa....during Ramadhan nanti, dptlah puasa...especially time pergi kelas nanti. Dahlah kelas semua from 2pm-5pm....gi kelas/kampus kena travel by commuter and taxi aproximately sejam..kat Kl Sentral kena naik tangga, turun tangga...so..tak dpt bayangkan...larat ker.....uhuk..uhuk.... 

Mudah-mudahan Allah bagi kekuatan....dan extra tenaga untuk beribadat. Amin 

The 26th week...

Alhamdulillah, the baby is around 26th week, and this pregnancy is becoming more smooth and enjoyable. During this second trimester, I feel more comfortable with my pregnancy and alhamdulillah, all the worries and sleepless nights are gone. My belly somehow has became quite apparent and keeps on adding its diameter.....due to my BIG appetite. Heheh....

The tiny human inside, who weighs approximately 900g (according to the latest ultrasound scan), is becoming more and more active. Recently, she starts to kick, playing futsal, practicing taekwondo and doing some gymnastic routines in my belly. As much as I enjoy it, I also feel angry and irritated at times, especially when she kicks too hard at midnites, when I'm about to fly in my dreams. I also know her timetable and sleep routine; usually she wakes up around 8 am, and starts palying around 10 am, feels hungry at 12 noon, then sleep again until 4pm. After 4pm, she starts playing again, happily and excitedly watching the "Indonesian sinetron" with Mama Mia. But I'm not sure whether she loves my lectures or not, cos' she always response to my Professor's high pitch voice by kicking vigorously during class. Heheheh....

The doctor said that the ant. placenta is on top of the baby now, alhamdulillah. Anyway, the baby is still in breech position. Hopefully she will turn downwards after 7months to prepare herself for the labour stage. The recent ultrasound scan was very interesting and satisfying. We could see the four valves in her heart, the cross-section view of the ambilical cord, and the doctor really took an effort to explain all the things that I wanted to know about the baby. The gender? Well, most probably she's a SHE....but yet to be confirmed again next month. But most importantny, the doctor said that she's quite an active baby. O God, I can imagine a baby like Afafita, who was very active, and started to walk independently at 10 months!

If she's turns out to be a SHE, I don't care much about how will she resembles or looks like. It doesn't matter if she looks like Angelina Jolie, Catherine Zeta Jones or Aishwarya Rai. I only pray that my baby will be a healthy one, and be among the pious believers and those who loves Allah and Islam. Amin...

The Vacation: Pangkor Island

Honestly, the idea of going to Pangkor Island last month had never came across our minds and never been highlighted in our family events calender. It came out all of a sudden, when my brother in-law blurted to my hubby few days before their sister's wedding last month that my parents in-law really needed a getaway to a nice, serene place, away from home, to ease their minds and de-stress themselves from all the problems that life brings lately.

Of course, since we (I mean my family which consists of me, hubby and my two kids) have never gone to a vacation (one-day trip or a picnic at the waterfalls nearby is technically not considered as a vacation) with my parents in-law before besides the trip to kampung in Bandung in 2005, we felt that it was high time for us to spent time with them in their dream vacation.

The wedding was held on Saturday. On Friday, hubby applied two days leave, eventhough we hadn't really made up our minds on this vacation. Since I was considered as one of the wedding planners, with all the pains and backaches, I was not fully looking forward for a long journey right after the wedding. All I really needed was a good rest, sleep in my comfy bed. On top of that, I had a sound reason for being reluctant to that idea to Pangkor Island. Based on the doctor's advice, I shouldn't be so active , for I have a quite low-lying ant. placenta. That's also the reason why I often feel some kind of pain around my lower belly. So just imagine, after several days preparing the wedding, how could I possibly go for a holiday?

On the wedding day, after the ceremony, I suggested to hubby another vacation option, which is Cameron Highland. The justification? Well, first of all, if we go to Cameron Highland, we could just drive right from our house to the hotel's door, without having to take a ferry or speedboat. So basically, it's easier for me, and more relaxing. I could just sit in the car for a two hours journey, and I could avoid walking and bringing any luggage. Secondly, I have been secretly planning and dreaming to go to Cameron Highland in July to celebrate our wedding anniversary this year. Since we can only afford one vacation this year due to money constraints, I guess if we really had to go, we'd better go to the place that I have been dreaming of.

So, at last, later that Saturday nite, we told our parents in-law that we were going to bring them to Cameron Highland early in the morning the next day.

And as usual, I started busily packing all the necessary things to bring to the vacation that nite after definite decision had been made. Sweatshirts, jumpers, jackets, jeans, some food, etc...all the necessities for a 3-day-living in a quite a colder place than our hometown. Oh no...I had to do the laundary too...so that when we return home from our vacation, I wouldn't have piles of dirty clothes waiting me!

On Sunday morning, I cleaned the house and did some last checkups before leaving home. However an hour before we started our journey, hubby said to me that we ought to change our vacation destination since my in-laws insisted on going to Pangkor. O My God! This really made my blood pressure went up drastically. After all the packing works which I did last nite and sacrificing my nite sleep, changing the destination was the last thing on earth I would ever do. Don't get it wrong..I didn't mad at anyone let alone blame my hubby or my parents in-law, BUT...changing the destination means that I must re-packing our luggages! How could u bring jumpers, sweaters and thicks clothes to a hot, airy, sunny island?

So, I quickly threw away all the clothes in the bags on the bed and started to grab everything that I could. Swimming suits, short sleeve shirts, thin pyjama, sun-block lotion...etc...e.tc........I was quite surprised though that I all of a sudden, I was so energetic and all my pains and backaches disappeared.

So at last, we started our journey at eleven o'clock. In the car, all the way to Pangkor, I kept on praying and hoping that I could enjoy myself and Allah grants me energy and good health.

We managed to catch the 4.30 pm ferry to Pangkor Island from Lumut jetty. As we stepped our feet on the island's ground about 45 minutes later, it was drizzling. We straight away went to the resort at Pantai Pasir Bogak to get some rest as well as enjoying the seaside scenery. The kids were the most excited ones. They really love the beach. So, eventhough it was drizzling, they couldn't help themselves from running down the beach, catching up the waves and and collecting the seashells. As for me, I spent the whole evening walking down the beach, appreciating God's great creation and taking some pics. The cloudy weather made the air so fresh and breeze. Subhanallah, it was so relaxing and at that particular moment, I secretly thanked my husband for bringing me there.

The breathtaking scenery, the sound of waves, the fresh air, the horizon, the white, clean, sandy beach, the flying birds, it all helped to to unwind and really relax. Most importantly, my feelings and emotions were indescribable as I spent my time sitting on the beach.

The next day, early in the morning, we had a walk along the beach, enjoying the morning breeze and scenery. After breakfast, we (my parents in law and my family) enjoyed ourselves in the swimming pool, had some fun splashing in the water. The best part was, there were only US in the pool! Since it was Monday morning, there was hardly any other guests at the resort besides us. So we really enjoyed the privacy in the pool, something that we couldn't enjoy during weekends. We spent almost two hours in the pool. Hubby and Chichi joined us a bit late as they went cycling around the resort.

After Zuhr, we checked out from the hotel. We moved to another resort at Pantai Teluk Nipah. It was my idea, cos' I wanted to have a different experience at a different beach. This beach was not less breathtaking than before. At this beach..there were a lot of stalls along the road. So...my kids couldn't help themselves from the temptation to buy beach toys and clothes. We had our dinner in a nearby restaurant. At around 4.30pm, we rent a boat to Pulau Giam, an island nearby, which was popular for snorkeling activities. At first, I was reluctant to join the others snorkeling at the island. I just sat on some rocks at the edge of the island, watching Chichi and hubby excitedly shouting in joy as they watched various kinds of fish in the crystal-clear water. I just read Zabrina A. Bakar's book to kill the time. But, after half an hour, I couldn't help myself from joining them in the water. The joy was so irresistible. Tak tahan! That was my first time ever snorkeling. It was soooooooooooo enjoyable, exciting and fun. Once I jumped into the water, I didn't get out until one and a half hour later! I really enjoyed myself watching the fish, and the scenery under the sea. We also found some sea cucumbers and 'gamat' alive!


That night, we had 'siakap masak sweet sour', tom yam, and 'pari bakar' for our dinner. Wow, it was really a scrumptious meal! We went to bed quite early as we were really exhausted after the snorkeling activity that we had earlier in the evening.

The next morning, after breakfast, we just spent our time at the beach...we played swing, wrote our names on the beach, climbed some huge rocks at the beach, made sand-castles and took a lot of pics. Then, the kids played in the pool until noon, while hubby and I read newspapers and some books at the poolside. We checked out at about 1 pm, and hired a van for a tour around the island. We visited the monument of "Perjanjian Pangkor", the fishing village, the dried fish factory, etc. Eventually, we took the 2.30pm ferry to Lumut, the mainland.

The 3 days 2 nite vacation was really a memorable one and enjoyable. Everyone enjoyed the vacation, and we return home feeling refreshed, contented and relax.

Confinement...Changes....What else in My Life?

hehehe...don't be puzzled with the post title. I haven't deliver my baby yet..there's still a long way to go...The tilte is supposed to imply my confinement days from blogging for more than a week! It was so meneyeksakan.... After the wedding on 28th June, I led a very busy and activities-filled life. The new semester hs started again, so I have to go to and fro the campus to attend classes....which make me so tired and drained out. My daily routine nowadays has changed tremendously. I do the cooking, laundary, house tidying in the morning untull afternoon, then after zuhur I attend PhD classes at the campus, which takes around 40 minutes journey from my home. The classes are done 3-hour with only a 5 minute break, so just imagine, this pregnant lady have to bear a severe backache sitting 3 hours on the chair! Upon returning from campus, I have to fetch the kids from daycare center and school respectively, and usually reach home at 6.30 pm. Then, after having some time relaxing the muscles and joints, after maghrib I prepare dinner, then I supervise the kids' homeworks untill they go to bed. So usually, by 10.30 pm...I'm exhausted enough to do anything else, let alone do anything related to my studies. So..apa lagi..tidorlah....But sometimes...I go to bed straight away after Isya', leaving the kids and house to my husband to attend to.

Actually, I'm so worried with my very low level stamina and energy. When I was doing my Masters and expecting Wafitos 6 years ago, I didn't have any problem with energy level. I was so energetic, I could go to campus during daytime, did all the housechores happily, and even went to work as a Qur'an teacher at night. I was a better student and housewife at that time, 6 years ago, when I was 6 years younger. But now...I feel like I'm a very old woman.....At times, I'm so angry at myself for not being able to handle everything and excellently do all my duties. Maybe, I need some good supplement intake to boast my energy.

I can only pray that Allah will help me throughout the coming days.... and bless me with more energy, good health and time..to juggle everything in my life.

The Wedding

The preparation for my sister -in- law's wedding last Saturday was quite hectic and fulled with ups and downs. Banyak sangat cabarannya. Poning kepala dibuatnya. However, alhamdulillah, thanks to Allah, the wedding went smoothly when the day comes. Everyone was truly relieved the moment the ceremony ended at about 3 pm in a hotel nearby my in-law's house. Deep down from our hearts, we hope and pray that the brides will live happily ever after, after all the challenges and havocs!

Even though mak buyong was so tired as the man of the match during the ceremony (kena jadi pengapit pengantin pompuan, layan v.i.p and org kuat time nikah), mak buyong felt so contented that she had done her role as a "menantu mithali" as best as she could! hahahah.

Rindunya...

mmm..rindunya blogging..almost two weeks tak update blog...not even doing any surfing.

sebenarnya banyak sgt events happened for the last two weeks.

my adik ipar's wedding and the unplanned family vacation.

the updates will be posted soon insyaAllah.

ada sikit 'keje' from kin and iu...insyaAllah
kalau sempat akan dibuat