Minggu virus...

Since 5 days ago..anak2 semuanya tk berapa sihat. Starting from Afafita (as usual, her immune system is not that strong), who had picked up some flu virus from her schoolmates, then obviously spread them in our house. The second victim was Wafitos and eventually, after all the precaution steps were taken, mia fichita is also inflicted. She had a quite bad sore throat, but alhamdulillah her body temperature was ok. No fever, and no merengek2.

Being a student-mother, this is among the unexpected circumstances that couldn't be avoided. So, as to my case, the virus week in our home had really made me so occupied with nursing and taking care of sick children. The week was gone with nothing related to the studies was untouchable. Hmm...just when I've eventually got the momentum to start my thesis writing, ada sajer distraction. Nasib bdn....dugaan....

Afternoon nap...

this is where the three kids usually have their nap, in the living room. Abang, Kakak n Adik. Bergelimpangan mcm anak2 pelarian.

**The new kid on the block..., conquers the daybed when Abg n Kakak are not around**

Mama...i sakit tekak..

Last week was declared as the "sakit tekak " week. mana taknya, both Wafitos and Afafita were inflicted by severe sore throat. Tak blh mkn, demam teruk and tak pergi sekolah. Afafita was absent from school for 4 days. Hmmm... duduk rumah....bukannya berehat, tapi dok melayan adik dia jer. Si adik pun happylah, ada kwn main. Usually, kalau dgn mama mia je, dunia adik tklh semeriah mana. Kalau dgn kakak, adik mcm tgk cartoon network or channel kids kat tv singapore. A lot of fun, enjoyable songs and movements.

After a few days Afafita sakit, berjangkit pulak pd si abang. Mama mia pening kepala nk msk apa. Kena msk bubur jer cos itu jer yg diorang blh mkn. But till, I had to cook some usual dishes for papa. Leceh juga kalau bebudak nie sakit. Mcm2 karenah diorang. Kesian pun ada, cos diorang nie jenis kuat mkn, bila tj blh mkn, terseksalah diorang. Mama mia plg tkt kalau fichita terjangkit jugak. alhamdulillah setakat nie tak. mudah2an dia sentiasa sihat...

Disiplin dan anak-anak

Your 5-year-old now

What's the big secret to disciplining a 5-year-old? Consistency. Kids this age depend on familiar routines and structure, and that applies to understanding your expectations for their behavior. A child gets confused when a behavior that warrants a time-out one day gets a quick "Stop that!" the next. The best way to reinforce the rules is to apply them reliably.

Of course, there will sometimes be exceptions, such as a special occasion when you decide that this time, it's okay to pull down the sofa cushions to build a fort. That's fine, as long as you make it clear that this is an exception — and why. "It's raining outside, so you can make a fort even though the usual rule is no pulling the sofa apart."

It helps if both parents are in synch about the big household rules, so there's no confusion and no playing one parent off the other. But it's okay if the rules vary slightly between home and school, or at Grandma's house. Your child is old enough to understand that different situations have different standards.

Memang benar. Mendisiplinkan anak2 merupakan satu perkara yg sangat 'demanding' dan memerlukan consistency dan kesabaran yg tinggi. Melalui pengalaman Mama Mia membesarkan Wafitos dan Afafita, meskipun beberapa rules dan regulation telah ditetapkan untuk mereka berdua, namun sejauhmana mereka mematuhi peraturan2 tersebut sebenarnya banyak bergantung kepada faktor personaliti mereka sendiri.


Sebagai contoh, sehingga berumur 7 tahun setengah ini, Wafitos masih mencampakkan tuala dan pakaian ke atas lantai hata kemana saja selepas setiap kali mandi. Namun, sebaliknya, Afafita dengan tertibnya akan mencari hanger dan menggantung 'robe' yg telah digunakan, ataupun paling malas pun mengantung robe dan tuala di combol pintu bilik. Meskipun mereka berdua telah diberi penerangan akan peraturan yg sama dan telah dimarahi, di teguri malah sesekali didenda jika melanggar peraturan tersebut, namun Wafitos tetap Wafitos, dan Afafita tetap Afafita. Bagi saya, personaliti juga memainkan faktor yg penting bagi menentukan tahap kesedara dan kepatuhan seseorang anak dlm disiplin.



Wafitos, dgn perwatakan yg clumsy, suka menyepahkan brg2 sejak dari bayi lagi....masih sukar untuk diubah dan mengikut arahan serta disiplin tanpa dibebel mahupun diugut. Sebaliknya, Afafita yg suka berhias, pembersih dan berhati2 dlm melakukan sesuatu kerja, lebih mudah untuk mematuhi arahan serta lebih berdisiplin. Having said that, sebagai ibu, Mama Mia perlu konsisten dlm menjalankan disiplin dan peraturan dlm rumah.

Mama...then what can we eat?

Sejak di sekolah baru ni, (chichi ditukarkan ke sekolah baru tahun nie) chichi sering bercakap tentang Israel, Palestine dan perang. Alhamdulillah..nampaknya kesedarannya terhadap nasib umat Islam di Semenanjung Gaza sudah mula berkembang. Mama Mia bersyukur..dan berharap kesedaran ini akan berterusan, bukan seperti kebanyakan org dewasa yg lainnya, yg hanya "sudah terhantuk baru terngadah", yg hanya kelam kabut tersedar dan bangun dari lena yg mengasyikkan bila berlakunya pembunuhan dan kekejaman yg terlampau seperti di Gaza sekarang ini.


So, dia sering bertanya kepada kami berdua (Mama Mia dan Papaya) tentang barangan US dan Yahudi yg perlu dielakkan daripada mengguna atau membeli. Antara yg ditanya kepada Mama Mia....

Chichi: We cannot eat MacDonalds anymore, right?
Mama: yup..

Chichi: Becos its American and every cent that we pay...theMacdonalds bos will give to Israel to fight theMuslims in Palestine right?
Mama: Yes.... (terkejut.cos dia dah mula faham)

Chichi: What about Pizza, KFC dan A&W?
Mama: The same thing.

Chichi: Then, what can we eat, Mama?
Mama: Eat at Malaysian restaurant.....

Chichi: Dont want!! Tak best lah...

Afterwards.dia terus berfikir2..mcm mana nak mkn sedap mknan fast food tanpa makan di restaurant 2 yg perlu diboikot....Itulah yg difikirkan oleh kanak2. Bukan mereka saja..kita pun sebenarnya dah terlalu byk bergantung selera pada makanan fast food oleh restaurants tersebut. Kan bags kalau jadi mcm kawan bloger Mama Mia...mamafiza. She's a superb mum, who can cooks variety of Western food for her children...home made.

How Your Baby Grows

Basic Milestones of Infant Development

During the first year, each child’s cognitive, hearing, language, visual and motor skills develop differently and can vary by several months. The following is a general outline of basic milestones. If your child does not demonstrate most of these age-appropriate activities in the general time frames outlined here, discuss your concerns with your child’s doctor.


Cognitive Skills
1 to 3 months – Cries for comfort or feeding. Anticipates that distress will be followed by comfort. Makes associations (for example, crying results in being held or fed).

4 to 7 months – Finds partially hidden objects. Explores with hands and mouth. Struggles to get objects that are out of reach. Understands that he can cause things to happen.

8 to 12 months – Understands concept of “in” and “out.” Is anxious around strangers. Associates mental images with words and pictures. Remembers where a toy is when it’s hidden under something.

Verbal and Hearing Skills
1 to 3 months – Grunts, coos, squeals and makes other noises. Cries when put down. Cries differently for different needs. Draws out vowel sounds, such as “aaah” or “oooh.” Smiles at the sound of your voice. Turns head toward the direction of sound. Identifies a person by his or her voice, even if that person is in another room.

4 to 7 months – Responds to own name. Begins to respond to “no.” Distinguishes emotions by tone of voice. Responds to sound by making sound. Babbles chains of consonants.

8 to 12 months – Responds to and uses simple verbal requests. Says “dada” and “mama.” Tries to imitate words.

Visual Skills
1 to 3 months – Watches faces intently. Follows moving objects. Recognizes familiar objects and people 8 to 12 inches away. Starts using hands and eyes in coordination.

4 to 7 months – Has full color vision. Can see things at a distance. Can track moving objects.

8 to 12 months – Sees small objects. Can spot the tiniest crumb on the rug. Has an increasingly good sense of spatial relationships – for example, what is up and down, inside and outside.

Motor Skills
1 to 3 months – Stretches legs out and kicks when lying on stomach or back. Opens and shuts hands. Brings hand to mouth. Takes swipes at dangling objects with hands.

4 to 7 months – Transfers object from hand to hand, and can bring it to her mouth. Uses her fingers and thumbs together in a claw-like grip. Lying on her back, she can grab her feet and toes and bring them to her mouth.

8 to 12 months – Uses a pincer grasp. Bangs two objects together. Takes items out of container. Pokes with index finger.

Learning to Walk
The time frame for learning to walk varies from child to child. The information below outlines basic progress.

4 to 6 months – Rolls in both directions when on stomach. Gets to sitting position without assistance.

6 to 9 months – Crawls forward on belly. Creeps on hands and knees.

8 to 10 months – Pulls self up to standing position, usually holding on to furniture. Stands momentarily without support.

12 to 18 months – Walks two or three steps without support.

(from www.parenthood.com)

5-week-old's development

Head's up!

Your baby's neck muscles are getting stronger, which allows her to hold her head up for short periods. She can support it for a few moments while lying on her stomach, for example, and she can probably turn it from side to side. She may be able to hold her head up when she's in a car seat or front carrier.

The first real smiles

Smiling happens at about the same time in all cultures, so get ready for your baby to reward all your loving care with a beaming, toothless, just-for-you smile. This will probably make your heart melt, even if you've just had your worst night yet.

Sound asleep

Your baby may start sleeping longer at night (maybe four to six hours) sometime between 6 weeks and 6 months of age. It's a broad range, and much depends on your baby's development and your behavior.

Most sleep experts suggest putting your baby to bed while she's still awake, but drowsy. This will help her learn to fall asleep on her own, a skill that will come in handy for you both when she wakes in the wee hours of the night. You can help your baby reach that milestone sooner rather than later by establishing healthy sleep habits from the start, such as a bedtime routine with a calming bath, a baby massage, or a bedtime story.

Remember, your baby is an individual

All babies are unique and meet milestones at their own pace. Developmental guidelines simply show what your baby has the potential to accomplish — if not right now, then soon. If your baby was premature, keep in mind that kids born early usually need a bit more time to meet their milestones. If you have any questions at all about your baby's development, ask your healthcare provider.

Pencarian Gadis Melayu...

TV9 sedang menayangkan rancangan realiti terbaru di kaca TV, "pencarian gadis Melayu". Ia adalah sebuah rancangan realiti yg bertujuan untuk mencari siapakah gadis melayu terakhir yg masih menghayati dan memiliki ciri-ciri ketimuran dan keMelayuan.

Frankly speaking..Mama mia malas nak tengok rancangan nie, bukan kerana ia sebuah rancangan yg membosankan or whatever, tapi sebab tiap kali tgk rancangan tu...terasa sgt betapalah Mama mia bukanlah gadis (still gadis ker??) Melayu yg sejati. heheh. Lagipun terasalah diri nie tak secantik mana....heheh.

So....teringat gambar Afafita yg diambil time nak pergi marhaban beberapa minggu lepas. Ada potensi tak nak masuk pencarian gadis Melayu? Nampak mcm santun jer kan...heheh. Tapi kalu dgr dia menjerit dan gelak..mesti para juri bagi kad merah yg paling besar punya.

Afafita's Saloon...

My little princess is very obsessed with cleanliness, beauty and appearance. Frankly speaking, I don't have any idea where did the genes come from. I'm not the kind of woman who's world revolves within beauty and beauty-care. So do my husband. So, when Afafita shows her profound interest in beauty-consciousness, both of us are really puzzled and wondering, where on earth does this little girl inherits this attitude.

Besides imagining herself as a teacher or a doctor in the future, this 5 years old little girl always portray herself as an owner of a saloon or spa center! Of late, she always beg me to be her customer and allow her to do a "makeover" on me. Of course, I always succumb to her begging since there is no other female person in this house and furthermore...having someone playing with your hair and face is so relaxing! Sometimes, I could fall asleep too!

Usually early in the morning, she would write a notice on her pink whiteboard: "HARI INI KENE BUKA SELON. PAGI INI BUKA SELON, MALAM INI BUKA SELON". That's how she wrote the notice of her "business hour" on the board, and hung it on the doorknob. Then, she would prepare all the saloon kit including comb, hairbands, a glass of water (to damp the hair upon combing), her strawberry perfume, lipstick and compact powder (she took it from my handbag) and her toy camera. After she finished with the hairstyling and makeover, she would take a picture of her customer. 

That's my Afafita...the saloon girl. 

Air dicincang tak akan putus...

Terjumpa semula gambar nie....waktu tu di Lumut, Perak around May 2007. Budak2 nie nampak mcm loving couple pulak...tapi mcm tulah diorang nie dulu2...sekarang...as they grow up...they starts to quarrel and fight with each other more frequent. I think it's a normal progress among the kids...sebab as they grow, they will start to feel that playing with siblings alone has become somewhat a bored routine in their lives. They will begin to find out that they need other friends, who can share the same interests, and...most importantly the same gender!

For instance...CHichi feels that playing play-do, or masak2 with her sister is no longer adventurous or exciting; he now looks for some new type of rough game, like "the SWAT team war against USA" (he always imagine he is in the special SWAT team, and the enemy is USA..hahah). Meanwhile, Afafita thought that she can't open her saloon and ask her bro to be her client, so that she can make some new hairstyles and put some make up on him. (usually, I'm her one and only client....but I really enjoy it. It's sooo relaxing sitting on the couch or lazy chair, while an amateur hairstylist do a "makeover" on me. I mean..totally makeover, that u can't even recognize urself afterwards....because u'll find urself has become the clone of ugly betty).

That's why, nowadays..at the age of 5 and 7..both of them needs other same gender friends. Chichi has several best friends at school and also in our neighbourhood, which he meets at the surau everyday. Afafita is quite obsessed with her "alia sofia, nur liyana, nabiha and nasuha"...of whom she finds a more enjoyable companionship.

Having said that...I can see that they still love each other very much. They often "sakitkan hati masing2", but not to the extend hitting each other or spanking or yelling. They still need each other, and there are times that they can really have true fun playing together at home...running around the house with laughters.

Siblings are like that. No matter how we hate or disagree with them...we still need and love them. 

Air dicincang tak akan putus.  

Teaching a preschooler to share

Make sharing fun. Teach your preschooler cooperative games in which players work together toward a common goal. Do puzzles together, taking turns adding pieces, for instance. Share projects, too: Plant the garden, paint the fence, or hose down the car with him. Finally, give him things to share with his buddies now and then, like a special snack for preschool or a roll of stickers to divvy up during a playdate.

Don't punish stinginess. If you tell your preschooler that he's selfish, discipline him when he doesn't share, or force him to hand over a prized possession, you'll foster resentment, not generosity. "To encourage sharing, use positive reinforcement rather than admonishment," Leiderman says. Keep in mind, too, that it's okay for your preschooler to hold back certain items. As he matures, he'll learn that sharing with friends — who are becoming increasingly important to him — is more fun than keeping things to himself.

Talk it up. When kids squabble over toys, help them figure out what's really going on. If a friend is holding something back, explain to your child how his buddy might be feeling. For instance: "Josh really likes that toy, and he doesn't want anyone to play with it right now." Help your preschooler put his own feelings into words too. When he's not acting especially generous, ask him what's up. Maybe you'll discover that there's a shortage of train tracks at his preschool or that he especially prizes his Pokémon cards because they were a present from Grandpa.

Teach your preschooler to problem-solve. If your child has a death grip on a toy truck that his playmate wants, chances are he's thinking, "It's either him or me." The concept of sharing the truck may not even have occurred to him. Encourage your preschooler to take turns with the truck (setting a kitchen timer to mark each child's turn may help), reassure him that sharing isn't the same as giving away, and point out that if he shares his toys with friends, they'll be more inclined to share theirs with him.

Set the stage. Before a playdate, ask your preschooler if there's anything he'd rather not share, and help him find a good place to keep those special toys. Then ask him to think of some things that would be fun for him and his visitor to play with together, such as toy walkie-talkies, art and craft supplies, building blocks, and sports equipment. That will put him in a sharing frame of mind when his guest arrives. Ask his pal to bring along a toy or two of his own as well, since your preschooler may be more generous if he's not the only one doing the giving.

Respect your preschooler's things. If your youngster feels that his clothes, books, and toys are being manhandled, it's unlikely that he'll give them up even for a moment. So ask permission before you borrow his colored pencils, and give him the option of saying no. Make sure that siblings, friends, and babysitters respect his things too, by asking if they can use them and by taking good care of them when they do.

Lead by example. The best way for your preschooler to learn generosity is to witness it. So share your ice cream with him. Offer him your scarf to fashion into a superhero's cape, and ask if you can try on his new cap. Use the word share to describe what you're doing, and don't forget to teach him that intangibles (like feelings, ideas, and stories) can be shared too. Most important, let him see you give and take, compromise, and share with others.

Strolling down the memory lane...

Kenal tak siapa nie? Inilah anak dara saya zaman muda2 dulu.....terjumpa gambar lama nie time berkemas...time tu takder camera digital...so Mama mia ambil camera, snap gambar nie..so that blh upload kat sini. Tembam kan Afafita time muda2 dulu? Gambar yg atas tu Mama Mia pernah hantar kat Majalah Pa&Ma and Afafita menang contest 'baby of the month' untuk bulan tersebut. Dapatlah hadiah mcm2 drpd majalah tu...heheh (zaman tu Mama Mia takder kerja lain...rajinlah msk contest).



Ni pulak anak bujang Mama Mia. Waktu tu umur dia dlm dua tahun kalau tak silap. Tak ingatlah. Gambar yg diambil di studio.....

Memorable Anecdotes by My Bundle of Joy

Anecdote 1

While browsing Mama Mia wedding album...

Afafita: Mama, this picture is your wedding? Mama become pengantin?

Mama Mia: Yes...Mama pretty or not?

Afafita: Yes..Mama pretty.

Mama Mia: Do you know whom I married to?

Afafita: I don't know....who?

Mama Mia: Try and guess...look at those pictures lah..

Afafita: This one looks like Papa, but differentlah Mama. (confused becos dulu papa dia muda) Mama married to Papa?

Mama Mia: Of courselah..who else? Dik, why didn't you attend my wedding? I cant's see u there...

Afafita: Yeslah...why I not there....I forgotlah Mama.

Mama Mia: Where were you?

Afafita: Oh...maybe that time I with bibik at some place (bibik means the maid). Abang also not there.

Anecdote 2

Afafita: Mama...you don't feel malu ke become pengantin? (Becos she is such a shy person, she doesn't like to be the center of a crowd or attention)

Mama Mia: Of courselah malu...

Afafita: But why you smile in the picture?

Mama Mia: Becos people asked me to do so...to take picture...

Afafita: If I become pengantin...I feel malu lah...

Mama Mia: But you love wearing nice dress and put on make-up right?

Afafita: Yes..but I still malu....a lot of people...

Anecdote 3

Afafita: Mama...what makes Allah?

Mama Mia: No one and nothing makes Allah...Allah makes everything in this world...but no one makes Him.

Afafita: People made from what?

Mama Mia: Allah made people inside the stomach....people has flesh, skin, bones, blood.... (mama tersilap bagi jawapan...patutnya kena terangkan pasal manusia dibuat dpd tanah liat)

Afafita: Allah makes everything..so someone must makes Allah...

Mama Mia: Remember this...Allah is so great..nothing makes Allah..ok.

Anecdote 4

(While watching OLAY total effect advertisement in the TV..featuring Aishah Sinclair, a pan-asian model)

Afafita: Mama. do you use this lotion?

Mama Mia: What lotion?

Afafita: This lotion....on the tv,,,

Mama Mia: No...why?

Afafita: Mama buy and use this lotion lah..

Mama Mia: Why u ask me to do so?

Afafita: So that Mama can become pretty like this (pointing to the pan-asian model)

Mama Mia: Oh...you think I'm not pretty now?

Afafita: Yes..not pretty like this. If mama use this lotion, mama can become pretty...

Mama Mia: Ahhhhgghghghgh.....

Mama Mia: Listen Dik...this advertisement is cheating. You can't change your face and look by simply using the lotion...understand? Even if Mama use the lotion, my face is still like this. Won't change. (dengan semangatnya menerangkan..sebab geram anak sendiri fikir Mama mia tak cantik)

Exam week again...

It's the exam week again! Aagghh....the tense and stress are coming back, surrounding my life. As the exam week comes, I normally become stressful, as I have to supervise Chichi doing his revision. Honestly, I don't mind much about how many A or credits he can get, but somehow I feel obliged to ensure he isn't among the bottom ten in his class. Other people's expectation is another thing that should be considered and met. Every time after exam period, relatives and family members would expect straight A's from him. They will say, "Isy...parents lecturer, mestilah dpt A semua!" Don't they know that intelligence is not totally genetically inherited?

Today, I really, really got mad at Chichi. I somehow misplaced the exam timetable that he gave me several days ago, and we don't know which paper he's going to sit for tomorrow. So, I asked him to ask his friends at school the exam timetable for tomorrow and the day after. But as expected, the typical Chichi forgot (and actually never bother to remember) the task I asked him. So, apa lagi, mengamuklah Mama Mia. I shouted at him at the top of my voice, and I was really uncontrollable.

Poor my little son....I shouldn't have done that to him. He is just 7 years old...but I treated him as a 17 years old son. I don't know what came up to me just now. I lost my temper for a non-concrete reason. To make matter worse, I also started grumbling and nagging for more than 15 minutes, babbling all sorts of dissatisfaction and frustration towards everyone in the house. Astaghfirullah al-Adzim....

I feel regret now and I think tomorrow I should talk to Chichi, explaining to him the reasons I scolded him and telling that I'm sorry for yelling at him. I believe, as parents, we shouldn't hold back our feelings from our children. If we feel sorry for our own attitude and really think that we have done some kind of mistakes, it's not wrong to apologize from our children. In that way, we actually teach them to be bold enough to admit mistakes and correct them.

Afafita anak Mama Mia....

Semalam, masa kemas2 home library yg dah mcm tongkang pecah nie..terjumpalah pulak gambar lama Afafita. Dulu dia muka bulat dan tembam...masa tu umur dia dlm 3 thn. Tapi sekarang dia tak tembam, muka pun dah nampak mcm panjang sikit. Sekarang nie, sekali tgk mcm Fasha Sandha, dua kali tgk mcm Maya Karin. heheh

Ni umur 3 tahun, masih bulat...



Ni Afafita umur 4 tahun...makin manis dan pandai bergaya kan?

Afafita's nasyid performance...

Aritu terlupa nak upload this short video. Afafita's performance during the jualan amal. Actually I'm so mad at the boy who kept on walking in front of the kids during the performance. So disturbing. Geramnya...nak amik video pun terganggu. Rasa mcm nak cakap jer ngan parents dia...tolooonglah ikat your son...so disturbing. Sometimes, some of parents don't even bother about how their kids irritate other people.

Jualan Amal..

Last Saturday, despite the fatigue and morning sickness, hubby, Wafitos and I attended Afafita's school "jualan amal". There were nasyid performance by Afafita and her classmates, potluck feast and jualan amal for a maahad tahfiz anak yatim. We bought Spiderman buttons, old magazines (wanita & home decor) and several second hand sandals for Afafita. Here are some pics at the jualan amal.

Afafita performing nasyid "Rasulullah" in conjunction with the maulidurrasul. She's the second from left. She has been practicing this nasyid for weeks, and everybody in the house has to bear her very hi-pitch voice.

Abang pun ikut nak tengok adik perform..tapi adik malu2 bila dah berdiri kat depan...

Abang and Adik participated in the colouring contest.

Abang won the third prize in his category

Homeschool Prep

For the last few days, I was occupied with gathering and collecting resources and materials for my children's homeschooling session during the upcoming March school holidays. Since both of them go to school for formal education, homeschooling sessions are limited during schooldays. Thus, the only available time to homeschool is during the holidays.


I've managed to collect many materials from the internet. Thanks for all the informative homeschool blogs that I have been visiting lately. They give me loads of information and direction to select suitable materials online. Surprisingly, getting free dowloadable and printable materials from the internet are easier and better. Besides the abundant choices and varieties, study materials from internet are free. In fact some of the materials (like Maths and English) can be customized according to our level and need.

Honestly speaking, my kids love homeschool very much. In fact, if given a chance to choose, they rather homeschool at home than spending 5-8 hours at school with teachers and friends. Alhamdulillah, studying at home has always been their great interest. It comes to an extent, they will envy each other; whenever one of them has a new activity sheet, the other will insist to get one too. So, as to avoid chaos during homeschool session, I have to make sure that both of them have their respective worksheets.

Since we are planning for a 4 days vacation during this school holidays, the kids will have only a few days to homeschool. It's ok, better than never. So, for Wafitos, I will only focus on Maths, English composition and Arabic. While Afafita will learn phonics (I failed to teach Wafitos phonics before) and Maths of course.

Actually, I'm a bit worried with Wafitos. I think he can't understand much of the lessons of Jawi and Pendidikan Islam at school due to his weak Malay Language proficiency. For example, when he tried to do a Pendidikan Islam test at home prior the real test at school, he can't asnwer simple questions as: " Nabi Muhammad ialah ...(pemimpin/pengikut) umat Islam". Obviously, Wafitos doesn't understand the meaning of 'pengikut' and 'pemimpin'. His answer to a question which made my heart going to stop thumping is, "Allah ialah ........tuhan/makhluk". And of course, without knowing the real meaning, he answered makhluk. (Nak pengsan Mama dia dengarkan).

And not surprisingly, when asked about the Pendidikan Islam test yesterday evening upon reaching home from school, he answered: "I don't know how to do...I don't understand...I just do, lah". Later that day, he approached me and said: "mama...I think you have to teach me Jawi and Arabic, I can't read them well". Ok, fine. That means, bertambahlah kerja mama ni as a homsechool teacher.

I think the best part of all these, were Wafitos' remarks and report on his Bahasa Melayu's test at school on Monday.

"Mama...what's duck in Malay? There's a question in the test, a picture of a duck, and we have to write the first letter of the word. I don't know....I just write letter 'I'. My friends said it's correct. Then there's a picture of root of a plant, the question is to write down the first letter of the word. It was '_kar'. So I put 'ikar', cos I always hear mak (my Mom) said ekar tanah".

Well, done, my boy. heheh. Selamatlah...nampak gaya, A dalam tangan for his Bahasa Melayu and Pendidikan Islam.

Further on, he said: " Mama, kesian one of my friends. He can't do Science. Maybe he didn't undertand".

Well, well. Inilah yg buatkan some of young parents in Malaysia serba salah. We are truly in dilemmas. Since Maths and Science are thought in English, we started to prepare our children to adapt to the new learning method by conversing with them in English. Atas alasan, biar mereka faham bila teachers ajar Maths & Science at school nanti. But, alas, anak kita yang tercicir dlm subjects lain. I shouldn't pinpoint the system and blame other parties in this matter, cos' I know it's my own failure. I failed to ensure my children can fluently converse in both languages, i.e. Malay and English.

Anyway, there can still be ways to mend this language crisis.

The Most Popular Song....

Recently, I exposed my two kids to Nasheed by Zain Bikha. Unsurprisingly, they are so addicted with those songs, and continuously listening to them, especially in the car. Now, whenever we travel, Mama wouldn't have the chance to listen to Mama's compilation of pop music and songs like 'Hurt', 'Umbrella', Last year, the kids adored Yusuf Islam's songs in the "I look I See" cd. Alhamdulillah, they have memorised some of the songs, especially "Your Mother", "Months of Hijriyyah" and several others.

Compared to Yusuf Islam's, Zain Bikha songs are more catchy. That's why the kids fell in love with the songs the moment they listened to them.

Wafitos' favorite is"Pizza in the Pocket" whereas Afafita's favourite song are "My Mom Is Amazing" and "Child's Prayer".
But above all, the most popular and most most listened to song is "Flowers are Red".

If not us, who then?

Last week, Wafitos approached me one evening after school with a very "difficult" and "unthinkable" question.

"Mama, Allah is the one who created all human beings, right?" He asked me. "Definitely, nak. Every one in this world is created by Allah.", I replied, even though I was quite sure that his question was actually not a question. Rather, it was his style of fact confirmation.

"Mama....if Allah doesn't create people, what would Allah do? Would He create other kinds of people or creature? Would Allah still create this world? Or would Allah create other things?"

The moment Wafitos finished asking, I started to switch on the search engine in my head for a suitable answer. And surely, with this limited RAM and memory, I ended up with the "safe mode" answer, "Only Allah knows the answer, Chichi. We couldn't know what would happen".

Wafitos' face showed that he wasn't really satisfied with that answer. He still looked puzzled, hoping for more elaboration from his so-called 'educated' mother. I knew I had to do something. I felt guilty leaving him in unsolved curiosity. So, as usual, my last resort was the Papa.

"Bang, I ada satu soalan. Kalau u dapat jawab, u can become a mufti. Your son................". So, finally, Papa managed to give a satisfying elaboration and answer to this always-ask-weird-questions-boy.

However, the moment Papa held his breath after trying to convince Wafitos, he popped another question. "But why Allah named the first person He created Adam? Why not Muhammad or other names?" Well...does anyone out there can answer this question for my Chichi?