A mama's world as this mama struggles through balancing parenthood with all the other roles she's got to play.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Someday my prince will come...
Mama: Uh... okay...
Tasnym (starting to wail): I want Sarah! I want Sarah to marry me!!
Sarah: Eh girl cannot marry girl lah Tasnym!!
I think it was in every girls' dream... or almost every girl to marry a prince... the romantic dashing prince who is going to sweep you off your feet, ride off into the sunset, saving you from the stepmothers and witches of the time... seems like every girl dreams of being a princess... where did all these fantasies come from, I ask you... I blame it all on Disney... I mean before my girls knew the princesses, Tasnym's dream was to either become Mickey mouse or Barney. now she wants to be a princess and Sarah wants to marry a Prince... I think its also Disney's fault that we somehow inadvartently look for a prince in the non-prince guys who comes along... not willing to look at the genuinely nice guy cos well he is not a prince.
I never really thot about it before but I kind of now realised how silly the princess fairy tales are... I mean why must the prince in Cinderella use the shoe to look for her? You mean he can't recognise her face, just because she was all dressed up? After all they did dance together... didn't he gaze at her face long enough? He really needed the shoe to find the girl? And you mean only Cinderella has that shoe size and no one else did? Hmmm sounds like me actually, perhaps she too wears a size 10...
And that Snow White, the prince saw her in a glass coffin and fell in love with her... talk about being morbid... falling in love with a dead person and for them to just ride off in the sunset when they barely even know each other???!!! For all she knows, he is an axe-murderer...
See what these fairy tales are teaching our girls... that men are basically myopic guys who cannot even recognise/ see the beauty in front of his eyes (hmmm....kind of true actually) .... or that they should just trust in the guy who lifted them out of a coffin even though they have no idea what he is like... no wonder we have so many women just falling for the wrong guys... the guy just need to do something small and nice for the girl and she has fallen for him...
Its time for the stories to change... thats for sure!
Monday, January 12, 2009
1st birthday
Daniah's first birthday party had come and gone.... and I think (and hope) there would be a long while before I need to plan for another one.... already Sarah is telling me that she would like her birthday celebrated at the chalet and wants to have a pinata too!! bankrupt!
I dun have pictures from the party as was not holding the camera that day... pics are with the hubby and thing is he passed his camera on to his cousins who took photos of themselves! ha ha! oh well... I didn't even eat much... didn't even get to taste my mil's scrumptious cooking... just didn't have the appetite... so my diet is still in check despite the party... and yipppeee!! I have finally broken the barrier and am down to 69kg!! Pressing on downwards....
I wish Daniah's hair would just grow faster... she is being mistaken for a boy that I have taken to ensuring she is in dresses... even with her pink mary jane shoes, a pakcik can mistaken her and called her "abang nak makan roti?"... the pakcik must have serious problems with his eyesight... for a moment there I was wondering who that old man was referring to... she is getting fairer by the day but no way would she be able to fight Tasnym in being super fair!
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
10 things for the year
But a few days back, one of my good friends talked about how she was going to do 40 new things she has never done before in her life for this new year .... and it set me thinking... that perhaps I should do the same... not 40, I think thats too many for me ... but perhaps a much smaller number of 10.
Hmmm.... what could I do? Learn to play an instrument? Teach my daughters the value of charity? I really dunno... When I was younger, I did feel quite oppressed by my parents, as they in their want to protect, was too careful as to what they would allow me to do... but now, with 3 kids in tow... its gonna be tough too...
Ok for one... to visit the US of A and Canada...
I'll think of more and update : )
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
And twirl....
Poor Sarah was also supposed to start her art class on the same day... something she had been bugging us on for months and months.... unfortunately the teacher was ill that day and her class had to be postponed... luckily she is such a good sport and willingly and nicely drew at the lobby while waiting for Tasnym to complete her ballet...
All excited, and ready to go.... the teacher better turn up next week!
Friday, January 02, 2009
2008 - it came and it went....
I have no new year resolutions... can't be bothered to come up with one... dun think i'll stick to it anyway... tho I definitely am very serious about losing weight... and lose I have tho I so easily gained it back after eating at parties.... I take one month to lose and 1 party to gain... fair or not I ask you?!! I was definitely amused today standing behind 2 guys at the pharmacy counter buying nicotine patches to stop smoking ... good for them... apparently their new year resolution... wat with more restrictions curbing where they can smoke... ban it in all public places!
oh well... we had a fun last weekend, going to Malacca, the zoo, marina barrage... all in one week... and Daniah ended up contracting a throat infection with fever... orang nak tukar tahun : )
her birthday bash is coming up this sunday... so fast time flies... and Sarah is going to Primary 1 next year!!!
The Equatorial Hotel in Malacca was really good... I would recommend it as a destination ... I mean Malacca used to be such a sleepy town, people would just drive past to go to KL but with the opening of the Dataran Pahlawan Mall, it was good shopping, shopping, shopping.... the mall really reminds me of MBK in BKK to a smaller extent. There was a small shop selling tiny little baby nyonya kebayas... so cute!! next time I'm gonna go back to get that!!
Thursday, December 18, 2008
1st birthday!
Not fully decided on the menu yet, but we will be having a bbq... chicken, meat, seafood... grandma would be the cook... of course... possibly coming up with delicious main course... maybe bamiah...I dunno... I was even thinking of having boiled cockles...
For that day, my diet takes a break....
I am definitely not seeing any downward movement on my scale... still stuck at 70... I have also started taking several small meals instead of 3 large ones with most of those small meals made up of fruits... Climb up stairs, aerobics, gym... if only I could see the numbers go down... One thing tho I do notice is that I am more fit and toned...
Monday, December 15, 2008
The scale must be broken...
I am not giving up but it does little to the esteem when a month's worth of effort has not registered a change.... not even a single darn kilo??!!! I do think tho that I have reduced some inches around the waist tho I have definitely not checked... too scared that I would be disappointed!! But the tummy does look flatter... maybe a tiny little bit...
I am not going on some diet fad ... or taking anything that might harm my body... I know of friends who had gone on the just fruits diet etc... but I'm definitely not doing that cos I seriously do not think that is healthy. I am not the sort who would drink health shakes either as a substitute for food... thats not food!
I am going to cut down on taking snacks, taking unhealthy fatty food (ie no fries, chips, donuts... eeek and the list goes on!!), eating less carbo (that I can't burn off), less red meat... but maintaining a good intake of fruits and protein... also starting to be more active...
I have completely cut out sweet drinks (no more bubble tea, peach tea, lemon tea.... waaaah!) ... mineral water is all I take now and I dun eat dinner usually or replacing dinner with fruits... And for a month now, I've been going for aerobics, once a week... tho I do think I need to do this more frequently tho its hard to get time off from work to do it and I can't bring the girls to aerobics... so I am gonna start walking up the stairs at work more often too...
surely all these sacrifices would amount to something... the scale is broken I tell you!!
Friday, December 12, 2008
Tateh!
Daniah has been resisting to walk on her own... despite making all her rounds around any table she can find for the past 2 months now... she definitely could do it cos she managed to make 2 steps when she was not conscious of making that step... but try to get her to walk with her fully aware... and she definitely won't do it... Finally today... Sarah called me at work to say, hey Daniah has walked a full distance!!
Sunday, December 07, 2008
My honey and poison...
I know of friends who planned only to have one child, for whatever reasons... be it financial, a lack of time, inability to cope etc.. but whenever I can I would put my two cents worth why they should not only stick to one... no, it has nothing to do with the govt's drive for more kids but more of the challenges that an only child has to face... it goes even deeper than the idea of not having any playmates at home... well yes, I was lonely and yes I did not have a playmate but as I grew older, there was the growing realisation of a huge responsibility that I shoulder completely alone, far greater than even the notion that I am the only one who could fulfill my parents' expectations...
Many parents would say that they would not want to depend on their children to care for them in old age... not knowing whether the child they brought up could even be depended on... they may say that they would not want to burden their children anyway, having kept the necessary money for their old age...
But fact is that, any well brought up filial child would carry that burden and responsibility with them...that is of caring for the parents... and it falls completely and only on me... I can't share it not having anyone to share it with...Who would I be able to turn to when I may be faced to make a decision about my parents welfare... what if I cannot afford to pay for my parents' medical needs... who is there to help me in sharing my parents' care- physically, emotionally and financially?
No one... it falls on me and only me.... the thought scares me... what with increasing medical costs... it scares me ... to know that there is only me that I could turn to...
And that is the huge burden that any single child have to carry... You may think that you are doing the child a favor to have only one child as you think that you can then concentrate on giving your best to that child... but you may not realise the immense responsibility that you had inadvertently placed on that child's shoulders...
I fully envy my friends and cousins who have siblings... they do not realise the good fortune they had in having siblings... I cherish my cousins though they may not always feel the same way about me.. as I know that they are the only quasi-siblings I can ever have... but realisation is often there that at the end of the day... it is their family sub-systems that they would turn to and be loyal and at the end of the day, I am still outside that circle... It also puzzles me sometimes why siblings want to destroy the relationship that they have with one another... they dun seem to realise the gift they have, to quibble over non-matters... but I cannot truly understand, may never be able to as I continue standing on the outside looking in...
Saturday, December 06, 2008
Glam Bags
When I walk around Singapore shopping malls... and believe me I do a lot of this.... I see many glam mums walking carrying their glam bags on their shoulders while the maid struggles with the baby and the diaper bag and the groceries.... these mums may even balk at the idea of having their maids carrying their precious LV, Gucci bags ... at the possible notion that the maid may taint the bag in any way...
My thots are... what exactly is more precious to me.... my bag or my baby... and I can easily tell you its my baby.... my hub has sometimes scolded me that I dun value my bags very much cos I kind of place it anyway and anywhere in the house... and in a sense that is true... I mean I like my bags and all but I do not think I want to put so much value on them no matter how much expensive they are.... and no, I am not rich....
Even from the very first time we had a maid, it has always been our idea that the maid should never be given any child rearing task... and my situation allows it as my mum does the child minding while the maid only do household chores. Even in my household, the same happens when I am not at work that I and the hub care for the children while the maid does the other chores... she only helps in supervising occasionally...whenever the need arises....
I balk at the idea of my children preferring my maid to me... even the thot that any one of my child would turn to my maid rather than me is a nightmare that I would never want...so I would carry my baby whenever we go out because I would always want the first preference of my children to be me, not the maid.... when the child falls and get hurt.... and the first person they turn to is the maid... I would see myself as having completely failed as a parent...
But of course that is me.... if you prefer the children to go to the maid... and the bags have a strong attachment to you... that is ultimately your choice....
Thursday, December 04, 2008
Tatak!
She would be in the midst of the older ones playing... no way would she allow them to play without involving her... her birthday is coming up ... can't believe how time flies and soon she would be one... and Sarah would soon be in P1, Argh I'm growing old!! I do love babies... but no way am I gonna have another one... I can't even cope with these 3... with the world changing so much...I do worry abt how the girls will turn out to be and whether my parenting would ever be good enough... whether I am doing the right thing.
I got a bad fitness assessment last week... not that I was expecting otherwise... but it really hit me that I really need to do something... not enuf to just be depressed and whine about my state of health... so I got serious and signed up for Amore classes... have gone for weekly classes now... but still very uncoordinated trying hard to gelek top and bottom in my bellydancing class... sometimes tho I watched the others and truly wondered at how seriously they took the classes... I do it for fun and to lose weight but these people seems all out to be the next world belly dancer to rival Ms Turkey! Did Yoga too... who ever said it was easy... and what chants?... I can't even think ...just needing to focus on maintaining my balance....
So there goes my bubble tea... no more can drinks... sigh... I must be determined and more serious in doing this... I am so tired of people asking me if I am pregnant.... NO I AM NOT!!! ... after all I've been battling my weight gain since my first pregnancy 5 years ago...to be labelled as obese tho I dun look it... and to have a fat content of 40%... gulp... I know where all that is!!
Oh well... onwards in my journey in losing weight ...
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Innocent Babes
We were also amused to hear of how Sarah would ask permission to leave her class whenever she hears Tasnym crying, in her words "My sister needs me, I need to go out,"... and sometimes in exasperation when Tasnym starts wailing for me, to say "Mama go work!"
The joys of children....
Which leads me to seriously wonder how and why some people could have the heart to harm their children, torture them and cause them so much pain that it lead to the little child's deaths... tho I admit it might be a better option for these children to be dead than to remain alive under such parents and have their agony prolonged. One baby did not make it even to her 6 months birthday... Why would someone even bother go thru 9 months of pregnancy, painful labour only to kill the very ones they had carried in their womb? Or allow someone to do it...
What is it that could lead a man to feel aroused by a baby ... and feel the need to rape the little child? Read about Baby Brianna and baby P and you will know what I am talking about...
Harlow's experiment on the monkeys showed that monkeys who had been deprived of love and care in their infancy and early childhood were unable to develop empathy and were at high risk of killing or harming their own offsprings... similar observations in orphanages that are not well run showed babies and young children with 'dead eyes' and a lack of ability to develop a social relationship with others... I can only shudder at the thought of them becoming parents one day in turn and how they could or would not be able to develop any feelings of love and care for their children... and subsequently causing the baby harm... Could that be the reason behind why Baby Brianna's parents and baby P's parents had done so much harm... cos they too had been harmed themselves in their childhood or cos they had never been taught or received the true meaning of love when they were younger... disabling their ability to generate empathy for others...and the ability to stop... before they would cause harm...
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Ready, steady and UP!
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Hot Potato and Grasshopper Gal
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Til death do us part?
The situation however, gets different when it comes closer... and it happens to people you know or close to you and you hear the stories of the marriage that falls apart... you just realise that it is not just to do with being too young or immaturity... its for real, no longer a statistics in the govt page... and you just end up wondering whether it could happen to you and pray that it won't ...
In all the cases I know... it was the man who had walked out... physically and/or emotionally and in all the situations it was because of the presence of another person... I'm not male hitting here but I asked myself what was it that had happened in that marriage to have caused the man to look elsewhere? What had happened to the love that brought the two person together to make the man feel, well the love is no longer there and now its time to look elsewhere? Or is it something else?
It was only in one case I know that the man had not been in love in the first place, more of a rebound relationship when he got married but for the others, they were love matches... no one had put a gun to their head to get married... so what was it that made them then look elsewhere?
You know its easy to just blame the women... both the wife and the other party - the so called seductress who stole the husband away... its easy to say ...oh, maybe the wife did not look after herself, did not meet her husband's needs, was too focus on the kids... that the seductress did all that and seduced the man ...and oh so easily we just absolve the man of his guilt of walking out of his family...
In all the cases that I knew off, the wives were all still pretty and young... one had a fantastic looking body...so where does that put us? In one case, the 'other woman' is a friend... and nowhere in my mind can I even picture her as a seductress... she is just a normal everyday girl... just like anyone else... though I was thinking that I would be very worried if I was the 'other woman'... if this man can leave his wife for me... there is nothing to stop him from leaving me for someone else...
So it goes back again to the man... a friend of mine laughed abt it and said we have such low opinion of men's ability to stand up to temptation and think of them to be so weak that they could easily fall off the other side... but I don't think its so easy... I mean what is it that could make them forget their vows, their children and their responsibility and just move on to another heart, another warm body in bed... is it as simple as that it is their predisposition to be that way? I truly dun know... hmmm... need to think more about this... if anybody has any opinions, let me know...
Friday, October 17, 2008
Tudung babe...
I gritted my teeth and held on ... knowing that I have made the right decision... a decision that I did not make easily, but took much time to contemplate... I never looked back...even when it got too hot or when the tudung simply refused to sit still, having a life of its own... how people can wear it without pins to hold it down is simply beyond me.... or when the baby kept tugging at the ends...and through time those around me realised that the person inside is still the same... I was still me...
I was asked why I made that decision and the answer was simple, because God has asked me to and I finally felt that I was ready. Some may criticise me for that as they may say that it should not be based on my readiness but simply something for me to follow... I felt though that if I had not felt ready, I may resent it and not been committed to the decision to don the tudung... I do not belief in forcing my daughters to wear the tudung and definitely do not agree to practices of making young children wear the tudung... they will wear it when they are ready and I will just guide them on just what is the complete no-nos... I am happy to note that they do see me as their role model and on occasions had asked me to don tudung on them as they see me putting it on...
Why did I do it at that point of time... basically cos I had been asking myself what was it that had been holding me back for so long... when I knew that it was something that God had wanted me to do...I had asked myself, was it simply vanity? What made me think that a person who wears the tudung is not beautiful? Isn't Wahdina still beautiful... even more so after she dons the tudung...and somehow I think God opened my heart to make that decision... with a full wardrobe of tudung that can't fit in anymore!
I make this entry as I reflected on some discussions on forum threads why Muslim girls do this and why some had chosen to take it off after a period of donning the tudung. I knew a girl who did just that and I've always wondered what prompted her decision but never close enough to be able to ask. Who am I to judge anyway...
I know many who would not want to don the tudung or who are hesitant to do so... some simply cos out of vanity as they think that wearing the tudung would turn them into a makcik...or as they fear or worry about how others would view them especially when many of their friends do not wear the tudung or are non-Muslims... To this I would say, why should you worry, the choice is between you and God and others perception of you then becomes a challenge that you must face... and this makcik would also tell you... hey wearing the tudung can be beautiful... and if you are a makcik, just act your age!
Interestingly, it is also my non-Muslim friends, after they grew accustomed to my wearing the tudung, also became my 'tudung-protector'.... they are the ones who would tell me when I am 'showing skin' or hair and would even begin to question why other Muslim girls are not wearing the tudung when it is clear according to religion that they should...
The funny thing though is the awareness of how differently people treat you whether you wear the tudung or not... I remember in my university years, how somehow I didn't fit in with those who wore the tudung, there was somehow an us against them sense of delineation... although I had never been wild or fitted in with the party going girls either... I also sense how some people developed a berth around me after I wore the tudung, some out of respect.... others possibly on the notion that I am different and therefore would not have any commonalities with them... the sad thing though is that they never bothered to learn the real me or got to know me well enough to test out their presumptions and notions about me... I was different... and that was all they were willing to see...
Would I remove the tudung... no, I dun think so... and somehow I feel great pride when I see my younger cousins and other Muslim girls donning it on for the first time... and I welcome them into the realm of tudunghood...while I wait for the others to see the beauty of donning the tudung and join the realm too ... You know who you are ; )
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Second Child Syndrome?
I think it really made me feel so much better after a conversation with my Australian consultant a week ago and felt so reassured when she shared similar experiences in managing her second son... she is the expert and if she had problems... what more me a mere mortal? Tantrums, strong personality, dealing with sibling rivalry... everything all in one package... And my conversation with others revealed that I definitely am not alone in facing these... but the coincidence is in it happening with the second child.
What is it about being the second child that we are seeing their behaviors to be so challenging... or is that a mere coincidence in the order of birth... I truly wonder.... Possibly they are trying to find their own niche after coming in second, making sure that they not lose out to all the privileges that the first born has gotten... possibly it is their way of ensuring that the first does not always remain first by virtue of birth but that they get first options too...
It definitely seems true for Tasnym... she always has to be in control, have her say in everything and be first always... even with Daniah, she insists on having her way...sometimes you just feel so sorry for Sarah as she keeps having to give in and you know that its not right that the situation is that way... but peace of mind (from having to deal with that deafening high screech) always wins when you are tired from work... rather than having to be a fair parent who maintains equality and justice...
I know one day Sarah is going to turn around and say that I am not being fair.. not that it has not happened already... but I do hope it would not impact on their relationship with each other as I have heard it happen to other sibling relationships...
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Not just a birthmark...
Saturday, September 06, 2008
Zee Caterpillar
Daniah is now doing her best caterpillar impersonation... go on all fours then slide forward... on all fours then slide forward... and repeat
She has also been able to pull herself up to standing position, won't be surprised if she starts walking very soon.. she is very active and always getting into her sisters' way, trying very hard to get involved in whatever they are doing, to their irritation... we are just waiting for the day when it would be a 3 party fight and quarrels rather than the 2 way fights between just the 2 elder girls... As it is, the older girls are already complaining, "Mama, look at Daniah disturb my book!"... sigh...



