On Leave

I'm having a splitting headache. It must be due to the fatigue I had yesterday after Atuk's pass. I'm on compassionate leave today. I'm tuning to all the nasyid songs to entertain Iman sitting beside me and having his breakfast while shaking his body to the rhythm. Settling the online blog assignment I gave to my pupils. My head does not allow me to make a reflection on yesterday. I'll just let the reflection be in my mind at the moment.

The best month

Subhanallah, I have not been penning down my thoughts for so long. Many things were etched in my mind. Sometimes, it is hard to express my thoughts. Rather, I would just let in stay in my memory. Maybe I decided to just write something due to the meaningful month, and also I may return here to refresh any reflections that I observed this Ramadhan. I do not hope for anybody to read any of this, but more for my own reflection and benefit. If it benefits others, alhamdulillah.

I just read butterflyrubric's FB status on 'Umar's milestones. Alhamdulillah, I am always enlightened whenever a toddler starts to talk or babble something related to Islam. For some, it may not be easy to have a child. For those who have been given the ni'mah of bearing a child/children, the challenge is to bring them up right. And when a parent captures an utterance of a new word from a child, it is really fascinating. It shows the product of learning whether it is through nurture or nature.

What are the things that always make me smile about Iman?

1. Before he was 1 year old, I was always enthralled by his 'Allah' and he would keep repeating it again and again.. haha it really tickled me.

2. I always sneeze due to my sinusitis. In the beginning, he would laugh at the sight of my sneeze. At a later stage, he would show his dislike when I sneezed while bathing him. Then, he learnt to say the hamdalah in a babbling manner after HE sneezed. As he progresses, his babbling became only 'Lah'. And lately, syukur, his speech is almost near to the actual word 'Alhamdulillah' after he sneezes.

3. After solat, and reciting the du'a, if he is there witnessing a prayer, he would put up both his palms to the face as a sign of 'Aameen'.

4. He also showed the takbiratul ihram whenever we say 'Allaahu Akbar'.

5. My favourite song to him since he was a lil baby was:

'Satu-satu, Iman sayang Allah,
Dua-dua, sayang Rasulullah
Tiga-tiga, sayang ibu ayah
Satu, dua, tiga sayang semuanya...'

6. He would ask me to open the Qur'an again whenever I finished it.

7. He would automatically be in silence whenever the adzan is on air.

8. His lullaby in the car would be the song from Rabbani which is 'Bila Nur Melimpah Di Hati'.

These are just some of his words and actions which are related to his life as a Muslim. His vocabulary may be limited compared to others around his age but InsyaAllah, I really pray for his wellbeing and may he grow up to be a muslih.

Ibu loves you Hifzul Iman :)

Half way there - 1 year 3 weeks!

I think I just have to pen this down. It's one of the bigger achievements my dearest son has made with regards to his milestones. While some mothers are eager to see their children walk or 'sway' (heh), I am also one of them but I still prefer to just go with the flow and observe his development.

Before my parents departure to Jakarta last March holidays, emak made a statement and praying that he could walk after their return because Iman was holding to the chairs at the airport independently in excitement. When I brought him again to the airport for a vodcasting project, he had the same reaction.

When emak and abah returned, he welcomed them with a 'kasihan look' due to his previous vomitting since before Subuh instead of a walk. Whenever I return home from work to fetch him, his routine would be 2 to 3 steps and back to crawling position.

The big milestone happened only yesterday after dear husband's return from his kayak expedition. Iman had his usual 2 to 3 steps and crawl routine. Then emak was saying '1-2-3' and I was at a position of asking him to come to me. To our amazement, he made 6 steps forward and reached out for me!!! After that, he began to repeat the same thing a lot of times! Did not capture any video during that time because the camera battery was dead. We had a second take using hubby's Omnia after that...

Alhamdulillaah...

Love and skills

When you have the skills and talents, you're able to create wonderful things for others. Some skills which may be latent needs just a spark to make things going. My aunt is one I call creative and innovative at the same time. With her sewing skills, she has recycled cloths she made into clutch bags, purses and many other bags. The only thing is that she's not into online biz. So family members become witnesses of her creative juices and purchase them for personal use or as gifts to others. Oh, what if I help her sell her products... hmm good idea? *grins*

I also envy friends who take time to indulge in artsy stuffs and produce hand-made cards or personalised book covers for others. It's just that I myself love these kind of activities but actualising them needs effort at my present moment. Because I miss designing things during my past time. Past time now is equivalent to reading books or watching DVD with hubby or window shopping with my family...

Likewise, mouth-watering desserts or food for those who enjoy the art of cooking leaves me in full admiration for their skills and not forgetting, the passion to do it and sharing recipes online. They left me with a strong urge, to be eagerly desirous of those tantalising food galore. I aspire to do that, at least, during the weekend breaks when lectures are off.

Hehe but at the moment, nothing from the above beat the skills of my cutie pie who has been working pretty hard and putting a lot of practice and keeps improving...Alhamdulillah. There are moments where he showed his struggles when he first started. Since then, whenever I return home from work, I keep myself updated of his milestones. While playing with him, I remind myself that this is part of building his self-esteem and this should be done through unconditional love. I am sure as mums, we want the best for our child to the point that we demand too much from him and seeks perfection. Every child develops differently. What we can do and remind ourselves is to express praises to Allah in his presence whenever our child develops a new skill. This may be one of the ways of tarbiyyah for him/her to be surrounded by the beauty of Allah and Islam. I simply enjoy spending time with him at this 'cheeky' age. I'm sure dear mummies love it too!

When we build a warm and friendly relationship with our children, we establish the best opportunity for imparting strong moral and spiritual values to them--the key to high self-esteem. --muslimsmothers@blogspot.com

Of pain and medicine

It's been awhile isn't it?

Happy belated birthday to abang!


Disclaimer: A random pic taken (not 18chefs)

Had a simple dinner date with him @ eighteenchefs. We walked instead of the usual drive. Thankful that hubb wanted to walk. . All the time when hubb drives, he has to be focus on the road so we seldom chat. This way, we were able to chat while enjoying the night. The food was delicious! We also learnt a new way of ordering food from the restaurant... it was fun and a bit awkward at first. We had to read the menu to follow the instructions.. (macam baca manual)

May Allah bless you with more rezeqi in this life... Lots of love!

Apart from the joyous 'eid as a mummy (pictures to be found in FB and many other albums from the circle of family and friends), I'm destined to be at home for 2 days (today and tomorrow). One thing I don't quite favour is having to prescribe to drowsy medicines (although I'm aware of the objective of taking them). Right this moment, I'm still in the midst of waiting for the drug to take its effect.

I'm on mc because of Scoliosis. I was diagnosed with that few years back when the doc said that I had 2 humps on both sides of my back. Since the arrival of Iman, I have the tendency to look down to check on him and this might contribute to the pain I'm having. Woke up today not being able to turn my head and get up from my bed. Doc suggested that I lie flat on the floor for 15 mins everyday. That was what hubb suggested too and he always do that during his back pain days.

I also mentioned to the doctor regarding my trigger finger. Recently the pain subsided. I think the condition is not as bad as last month when it was painful at the same time to the point that I could not bend my fingers.