of achievements & jelly-custard recipe

Ramadhan 2014 - Day 16. Dah lebih separuh bulan puasa. Alhamdulillah. Mari doakan saudara mara kita di Gaza yang sedang diuji hebat. Dan kesemua saudara mara kita yang ditimpa kesulitan tak kira di mana pun mereka. Yang mampu bersedekah wang ringgit, sedekahlah. Paling tidak, berdoalah.

Hari Isnin minggu lepas, Kakak terima watikah perlantikan sebagai Pengawas Pusat Sumber sekolah. Finally! Berbulan-bulan lamanya acara sepatutnya diadakan, baru Isnin lepas betul-betul terjadi. Waktu dia tamat sekolah kebangsaan, kami galakkan dia to be an active student. Waktu sekolah kebangsaan, she was an intovert, quiet student. When she told us she was appling for Pengawas PSS, ofkos lah kami sangat galakkan. And maklumkan dia that jawatan comes with responsibility and that she should not take lightly on the roles she's entrusted with.

On the same day, Iman told he nama dia kena panggil naik stage masa perhimpunan. Ahhh sudahh.... ingatkan kena denda ke apa. Rupanya dia dapat badge, Murid Mithali. Congrats Abang.

Exactly Ramadhan 10 years ago way back in 2004, I was heavily pregnant with him. On 20th Ramadhan, I gave birth to him. Never expected Allah to select us to raise a special child. It was (and still is) not sugar-and-spice-and-everything's-nice kinda thing. It was an emotional ups and downs. It was a winding road. Nevertheless, alhamdulillah, banyak belajar tentang banyak perkara. And I know more about myself. Susah nak explain, it's like mencari diri sendiri.

Of late, he's been all curious and asks lots of questions about lots of things. If he's not satisfied with our answers, he googles them up the net. Everytime there's Hari Akademik, the same comments on him being unable to concentrate, fidgeting and whatnots. And the latest, his class teacher commented that he does not act his age. He's 10 but he's 7. Imagine him back in 2011, starting year 1 at 7 years old but inside him is like a 4 years old. Must be pretty scary to be (almost) alone without us fimiliar faces in a big school.

Anyway, I am happy with his curiosity. Go explore. Go widen your world boy. I will always hold your hands until you let mine go.

Di bawah ni, saya kongsikan resepi Jelly Custard. Similar with puding trifle, cuma bahagian bawahnya tak swiss roll, instead buat custard. First time makan this combination (jelly+custard) kat rumah Elin waktu visit dia and her baby. Sejuk-sejuk... sedappp.

Bahan-bahan
1. 1 tin susu sejat cair
2. 1 tin air (sukat guna tin susu yang sama)
3. 3 sudu besar tepung custard
4. 3 sudu besar gula
5. 2 kotak jelly serbuk (saya guna Nona)
6. 1 tin buah pic dalam tin (saya guna sliced peach) - ambil buah saja

- Masukkan susu sejat, 1/2 tin air dan gula dalam periuk. Masak atas api sederhana hingga mendidih perlahan dan gula hancur.
- Campurkan 1/2 tin air dengan tepung kastad.
- Alih periuk berisi campuran susu dari api sebentar. Tuang campuran tepung kastad ke dalam campuran susu sambil mengacau.
- Kembalikan periuk ke atas dapur, teruskan memasak hingga agak likat. Hati-hati jangan sampai campuran berketul. Sentiasa kacau. Personally, saya lebih suka gunakan whisk.
- Tuang dalam acuan dan biarkan sejuk.

- Masak jelly serbuk seperti arahan pada kotak.
- Susun buah pic atas campuran kastad yang telah sejuk.
- Tuang jelly yang masih panas secara perlahan-lahan ke atas custard. Pastikan susunan buah pic tidak huru hara :)
- Biarkan sejuk sedikit, kemudian masukkan ke dalam fridge.

* Saya tambah sedikit cream corn dalam adunan kastad. Tapi anak-anak lagi suka plain, with no corn.

** Boleh juga di makan dengan whipped cream (gemok gemok!)

Selamat mencuba dan selamat meneruskan Ramadhan dengan lebih khusyuk lagi..

 

 

 

 

daily workout

I have been contemplating to buy an exercise machine. Treadmill, strider, bicycle.. and anything of sorts. I have that listed in my to-buy list and hopefully my plan will still be executable when the bonus finally cashed in. Coz I sure have a looonggggg to buy list and that exercise machine is not numero uno!

Meanwhile.

I downloaded this Daily Workout via play store. We can pick out targeted exercise (abs, arm, butt, cardio, leg) or do a combination of all, full. I did the abs once. But I have watched all don't worry. When I finally have the motivation to do all, I am allll prepared....

Example, here I picked a 5 minutes abs workout, routine no 1 (other than no 1 is payable).

Under abs workout #1, there's 10 exercises that will torture your stomach muscle :D

And before the start of each exercises, we'll be entertained by a demo so we'll know what needs to be done.

And yesterday I found my boys lying on their back, knees up doing crunch, with my fon lying between them. Apparently they found the apps and started to experiment doing it. They were doing the abs in the evening and later that night I saw Adam doing leg!

Well done boys. Now please pass on some of your motivation to me. Thank you.

sincere Iman

Iman is a very lurus kind of boy. And he is sincere in expressing his emotions and feelings.
When he laughs, he laughs out hard.
When thunder strikes, he gets scared and he cries.
And he talks through clenched teeth when he's upset.

An example of his lurus-ness, happened yesterday.

Few weeks back he saw me without my glasses.
He sincerely exclaimed
Wahhh buruknya Ummi tak pakai spek!!

-__-

Then I reminded him
Iman, orang cakap muka Iman macaaaaaaammmm muka Ummi

Ahh sweet revenge he he

And this is one example of my own kind of sporting game. Jumping into conclusion :P

Iman says...

During one of those dinner time, me and Tebby touched the subject of death. We explained that death can happen anytime, regardless our age. Iman looked a little worried, he asked out loud.

Kalau Ummi mati, kita kena cari mak baru

More like a statement actually.

-___-

The next day, I saw him sat on the prayer mat after he has done his Subuh, closed-eyed, praying hard. So I asked what he was really asking to get

Saya nak Ummi hidup selama-lamanya

While I was flattered by that, it just doesn't work that way, Iman.
I pray every single day that whatever time we have together in this world - is filled with meaningful moments.

different, but not less

I have a special child. Therefore I am a special mother. 

That’s what I always like to remind myself. 

Iman, celebrated his 9th birthday last month, on the 3rd. We were at Bukit Merah Laketown Resort. 

Ehem *clearing his throat obviously trying to get all the attention* 

Abah belum cakap saya happy birthday. 

He started verbal communication when he was about 5. Started with loads of stammering, loads of ‘look-up-in-the-sky’ moments when he tried to assess the vocabulary bank in his mind and uttering somewhat awkward sentences. Well, we all started all things somewhere, don’t we? We fall before we can run. 

Iman, now attends a normal school in a normal class. He still have verbal communication issues, which means he still has problems getting messages across, which means he is prone to bully and those nasty words other kids gave him. Problem here means, he needs longer time to construct sentences. He can, but at times he needs longer time. Sometimes, after school he’d tell us that this boy call him names, that boy does that and this. I can’t protect him all the time, I can’t be telling the children out there not to do this and that. 

In certain context, at 9, he needs to learn to protect himself and stand for himself. 

Abang, you have to be strong. 

Orang kata Abang macam-macam, let them be. 

Only stupid people call other people stupid 

*I suddenly reminded on those times when I silently curse other people. You see, at times I learnt my lessons in a most unexpected way* 

Abang buat tak tau je. 

Kalau Abang marah-marah, lagi orang tu suka ejek. 

Abang be strong okay. 

Last week, he lost a pencil that was in an exercise book given by his ustazah mengaji. He searched frantically but to no avail. He came to us with panic written all over his face. A simple message ‘pensil hilang and I need a new one’. I took him minutes after minutes explaining. Sampai berpeluh-berpeluh, trying to translate thoughts into words, trying to catch his breath, all at the same time. 

Dah serupa macam sesak nafas. 

And I was sesak with emosi. 

Each time such incident happens, at night before bed, I can’t help but to ponder upon it, and I am not sure of who should be strong. 

He, or me? 

Please don’t take this as me complaining. I am merely penning down thought and feelings. Having lived with this for years since he was first diagnosed way back in 2008, we have learnt to welcome and embrace strengths and weaknesses of my children alike (as I have put it in my entry dear Kakak). We have learnt that every child will bloom eventually, only time will tell. 

Iman. Different, but not less. 

That’s what I always like to remind myself. 

report card day SK BTHO 2

credit: www.onlygags.com

:D

Ours (Kakak and Iman that is) was last Tuesday. Sorang pagi sorang petang. Adam pun nak nyelit sama mintak hantar jemput dia to fro Genius Aulad. So we took a day leave.

Alhamdulillah both are coping, educationally. Kakak dapat no 2 dalam kelas and will be in second class (now she's in third). I have some reservations about shuffling classes just months before the big exam. Her class teacher ensured us this is for the students' benefits. I sincerely hope the focus will not be on just 5A-potentials. Anak-anak kelas belakang pun harap dilupa jangan. Kakak needs to buck up her Science and Math. Like me, she is struggling with Math but as she progresses we can see the improvement. While I, still struggling he he. No wonder I always overspent. Tapi, kebolehan bersosial si Kakak ni kurang sikit. She's very shy. Kawan dia pun jenis pendiam macam dia. If she needs to ask, she will ask tapi dia pegi depan tanya cikgu personally.

Tapi kat rumah kuat pulak suara Kakak ye?

As for Iman, days prior to Tuesday he kept on reminding us to be at the school on time. Reason being, lepas jumpa cikgu, dia boleh ikut balik :D He's coping as well, educationally. Cikgu cakap his score is between 80%-90%. It came as a surprise to us.. sebab kalau buat homework dia punyalah liat pastu main bubuh je sebab nak cepat siap. For a child like him, I won't compare him too much with his peers. Most importantly he has shown improvements from what and who he was months ago to him, now.

But I have one big concern. He hasn't got many friends in school. He has few friends he often spends break-time with. Some even share his food and sometimes went overboard pow-ing his pocket money. He still has few autistic traits we still have to deal with, among which the tendency not to socialize.

Oh ya, he proudly announced last few weeks he can now pronounce words with 'R' correctly. Sebelum ni dia tak boleh sebut 'R' betul-betul. 

Tuesday went by more tiring and hectic that our normal working days. Perhaps because on those days we are so cooped up in the office sitting on our comfy chair and hardly move around except to the loo and to the water dispenser! Kids were happy being sent and fetch to and fro. We brought Kakak to Jusco nearby and Tebby paid for 2 tees (which I picked) for Kakak. We sent and fetch Adam to and fro Genius Aulad.. much to his delight and insisted that we should do it more often :P We brought the boys to Carrefour to pass time before fetching Kakak from sekolah Agama.

Tiring but indeed a good day to us all :D

artsy boyzz

Sent the three munchkins to Global Art's 3-days School Holiday Program second week of recent school break. They played with clay, they messed with paints. They even cooked teriyaki chicken and brought back bento. Conclusion. They like it. Very much. The boys even 'registered' themselves for its Saturday class!

We've been toying with the idea of enrolling them for quite sometime but Iman and Adam took it in their hands and on the last day of the 3-day program, they announced that they were going back on Saturday to do clay thingy. Plants vs Zombie theme! They've been playing with the game for months before. I would've jumped with joy, if I were them to be frank!

Kakak will start hers after UPSR. Judging from her work during the 3-days program, she's been offered to assist class! Imagine getting your pay at merely 12yo! Child labor, huh? :D  I'll leave that to her.

Stairs.. stairs.. and more stairsss...

Just when I thought we have reached the class, we were greeted by this signage! *mode ketar lutut panjat tangga sampai tingkat atas sekali*

Some of the artworks before entering the class. *mode lap peluh letih panjat tangga* Impressive huh? Boysss! I'd like to see something like this yer in months to come! 

After the first session, picked them up and I asked..
Adik, best tak?
Best Ummi. 
Why?
And he went relating this and that and this and that and this and that

Iman pulak. Best tak?
Best.
Kenapa best?
Sebab kelas ada aircond..


-__-

let's vote!

Post PRU13, Iman has his own campaign.

He's been campaigning. He stresses out the necessity of Tebby getting a new car for me. A bigger and better one :D

But before I dwell further, here's what actually happened during our journey to and fro Tgg.

The boys, they fought over iPad. Screaming, wailing, pushing, pulling. Crying. When it was already too much, I confiscated that thing and they would not get it unless they behaved.

I thought they would. They did not.

They pushed. They pulled. They laughed out loud. They clowned about. They sat down. They stood up. They laughed out loud. They ate. They spilled the food. They laughed out loud. *sigh*

But much better than wailing and crying, right?

Halfway - I warned them to behave (again). If not, next balik kampung journey to Tgg, we'll be traveling back in my car. Which is a Viva :D

Did they behave? Nope. The rest of us had to endure them having fun at the back seat.

I guess somehow it finally dawned to Iman it would not be a comfortable thing to be traveling back to Tgg in a Viva. Hence his little campaign.

For any reason at all Iman, you already won my vote :P

the boys

Brought the boys to Menara Optometry few weeks back. Iman needed a new pair of spectacles and he was due for his inspection anyway. This is the second time going. Did not cooperate the first time around and was giving different answers to the same questions. While waiting, they had fun joking and teasing each other and eventually, as expected, quarreling. Sigh.

Guess what. After being given food and drink to sooth the situation, he still did not cooperate. The second best option - ikut je reading spec yang sedia ada.

Then we went for the much-needed haircut. New school term was starting anyway!

He resembles much of me with his long, unruly hair. My boys, they have curly hair actually. When curls can be seen, it calls for a visit to hair saloon. Adam agreed for no-1 cropped style :D

While Iman wanted to keep his hair longer. No more no-1 style or Mawi, as his friends used to tease him.

Done. Terus jadi rambo. With a pistol terselit kat seluar dia and a gun at the back! And terus muka jadi cam muka Abah hihi..

Obviously satisfied with the output :D

2 birthdays and a cake!

Sibuk dengan urusan duniawi sampai terlupa hal yang ini :P
This is written on 7th November but I backdated it to its actual date so I won't feel too bad about it :D

Tarikh 3 November, bersamaan 20 Ramadhan, 8 tahun lepas, Muhammad Iman was born @APSH. A hard and painful labor-room experience, albeit being the second time.

Since we were going back balik kampung celebrating Eid Adha, and my father turned 72 on that very day, so we thought we could have joint-celebration. Why not kan. Afterall, my siblings and the kids' cousins were there as well (and we had kambing bakar!!) 

Creme Brulee Cheesecake from Secret Recipe. It was a hit (except for Tebby who's not so much of a cake person). Sedap, lemak berkrim (my tagline for sedap food) - the birthday boy even mintak simpan sikit for him to savour later :P

Happy Birthday to You
Happy Birthday to You
Happy Birthday to Atok and Iman
Happy Birthday to you

Tapi cake tulis nama Iman. Aci?

My father, 72 whom they fondly called Atok with my two boys.

Sharing good times. Obviously someone cracked a joke :D

Happy 72nd Birthday Apok

Happy 8th Birthday Muhammad Iman.

We all love you both to bits!

boys' toys

Move away Transformers & Toy Hero Factory :D

My boys are into bricks and blocks these days. Latest addiction. Betterlah than Transformers (cheaper), and Toy Hero Factory (smaller parts -> finer motor skills assembling while the mother practising the same skills by mengutip all these when they are done)

A year or two back Iman won a big box of Lego from his participation @PDM event. It was supposed to be a scene of a workshop. It was laaa in the beginning. Then the boys demolished my workshop (my - because I built it :P) and they built cars, planes, robots. But that was it. They got bored very quickly so every bits and pieces were put in a zip-lock and dumped into their toy box. (more like I sorok that thing sebab the very the leceh to deal with small tiny miny bricks and blocks) It never really saw the light until recently. Thanks to YouTube. They found these Lego-thingy on the net and good hooked. Needless to say, my boys ransacked the toy box and the rest is history. Memang very historical pun. They fought over tires, steering wheel, caps and whatnots. Historical fight that is.

Boys, hard at work! :D

Adam bought this last weekend. Lego 3-in-1. Ingat nescafe aje ada 3-in-1.. Lego oso got. Blue Roadster. Mode panjang-kurus, mode ketot and mode pendek-gemok.

First mode on Sunday - mode pendek-gemok :D

Mode kedua, also on Sunday (isk), mode panjang-kurus. Since dia tak berapa reti lagi nak ikut instruction step-by-step, who else la kan. Ummi la buat tu....

Sampai rumah last Monday, dia siap bersila gini bukak kotak. Nak tukar mode. Adoi.. baru sampai rumah pastu Abang Kakak ada exam the next day, dia plak merengek nak buat mode lain. Sabarrrrrrr!!!!

Okay done! Mode ketot. Muka puas hati nun. Dia cuma cucuk tayar je, the rest Ummi buat :D

This one pulak, Iman's pick. This is Kre-O from Hasbro.2 modes based on Transformers Autobot Jazz. Car or robot. He did the car first.

Proudly showing off his work (with help from Tebby.. or was it the other way around? :P) Errr... boys, cuba tiru Kakak kat belakang nun, gigih buat revision (ke melukis?)

Later he wanted to tukar mode into robot and guess what? One piece is missing. All eyes on Adam because he was messing with that box earlier. I found that piece last night amongst other toys but it was already bedtime so KIV dulu ya Iman.

And this, bought by the oldest, biggest boy in the house. I just don't get it. As much as he doesn't get it when I need 4 pairs of black shoes and perhaps another 2 pairs of brown ones. So we're even. Just don't frown when I buy some more shoes :D

The very the thick. Worth the money he said. Justifying. I've been waiting for so longggg for this he further added (while hugging the book). Eyes beamed with happiness and I thought I saw some sparks of affection in his eyes! Seriously.

Boys.. they never grow up.

Tips - When kids are playing toys with small parts, let their creativity go wild while they sit on a piece of big cloth. A blanket or bedsheet will do. Easier to kutip balik and to tidy up.

fever!

The heat is on!
Exam fever that is !

Ummi dah start kelas intensive home tuition :D So far we're doing good. Err..  Iman already requested Tebby to replace me as their coach :P Iman needs to sit for this exam to ascertain which class he will be in next year. The rest of the year, no exams. Just tests, course-works, homework-based assignments etc. Problem with Iman is, unlike Kakak, his attention distracts easily. He needs more breaks in between. And barely after 15 minutes he started goofing around. Much to my irritation. Especially when I checked, he has more wrongs than rights. 

Tu la, main-main lagi, kan dah banyak salah. Buat correction!

I saw him head-down, I thought he gigih mengira (it was Math that time). When I stood close to him to check the progress, I saw his book dripping wet. Ha.. kuasa air mata! He was calculating while sobbing :P Dah maknya berdiri dekat-dekat tu, terus melalak sambil peluk maknya dengan gaya penuh keinsafan (sempat blame Kakak dia, he said Kakak provoked him to goof around)

image - google images

As for my girl, boy how time really flies! Seems like yesterday that I gave birth to a baby girl with hair so thick and today (and for the next 3 more days), she sits for her first big exam, UPKK (Ujian Penilaian Kelas KAFA). Earlier today we picked her up from school, hantar to taska to change and then brought her for lunch before sending her off for the exam. I strike a deal with my boss to take an hour extra of lunch time just to ensure Kakak sempat pegi exam (her usual transportation fetches her at 2.15pm, exam starts at 2.00pm) Over lunch, I was lecturing her to start with bismillah, baca doa and whatnots, don't panic and eventually, just tembak kalau dah sampai last minute pun tak boleh jawab. She looked at me and asked 'Do you know what species of cats that don't have fur?' Adoilah...But I know, one is Spinx, right?

Anyway, she'll be sitting for exams 2 weeks straight (with few days between UPKK and final exam sekolah kebangsaan). Her sekolah kebangsaan's result is yoyo-ing. But I have warned her to be more serious and to put more effort next year. Err... I was not sure to whom the message was conveyed most. She or me hihi.

image - google images

Next year Kakak will sit for UPSR. I need to buy this book I guess ha ha. And when Kakak sits for her PMR in 2016 (if that exam still exists), Iman sits for his UPSR (if the exam still exists) in the same year. 2016 - more de-stress books for me hihi.. Yang, I'll buy the books myself, you pwetty please belanja me pegi spa okeh.