Peer Pressure at 5?

Salam,

My eldest daughter, Fathini is now has started to experience the peer pressure in her kindy. Sometimes when I pick up her up from the kindy, she'll tell me all of sorts of things that her friends have. She always asks me if I can also buy her the same branded stuffs. It's only quite recently that I realize PEER PRESSURE starts at a very young age like the pre-school years! I have to admit that I'm not fully ready to deal with this issue yet as I used to think that they will only have this issue when they turn to teenage years.


Before we look further, we have to check WHAT IS THE MEANING OF PEER PRESSURE?
 (THIS EXCERPT IS TAKEN FROM WIKIPEDIA.COM)
Peer pressure refers to the influence exerted by a peer group in encouraging a person to change his or her attitudes, values, or behavior in order to conform to group norms. Social groups affected include membership groups, when the individual is "formally" a member (for example, political party, trade union), or a social clique. A person affected by peer pressure may or may not want to belong to these groups. They may also recognize dissociative groups with which they would not wish to associate, and thus they behave adversely concerning that group's behaviors.

Peer pressure can affect any age group. Even when you are already an adult, you'll be facing pressures from your surroundings. We either conform or rebel against the norms. BUT........................................can we be in the middle? jenis lalang sikit yg kejap ikut sana, kejap ikut sini. huhu I remember I was so adamant to own a hand phone when I was in my final year in the university just because 70% of my coursemates own one. I'm talking about what happened 9 years ago when hand phones and the services were still expensive. My parents didn't want to allow me because they were afraid that I couldn't really afford it. I was frustrated but then I saved some of my study allowances to be able to own one. I chose the cheapest one and I used the pre-paid service.

Enough about me, let's go back to my eldest daughter, Fathini. You must be wondering what do I do or what do I say to her when she asks me if she can have the same toy, school equipments, clothes or anything like her friends. I'm not an expert but maybe I can share some of the things that I normally do.

HOW TO MANAGE AND REDUCE THE EFFECTS OF PEER PRESSURE AMONG YOUNG CHILDREN

• Talk to your child about what  is important in life and tell him/her that having branded stuffs are not necessary. But once in a while, you can still buy some on your child's birthday or if he/she has excel in anything.
• Teach your child what to say when his/her friends are boasting about what they have done or what they have bought. For example, "That's nice but I still have a good school bag", "I like the colour and I'm happy you get what you want" or "Good for you". 
• Teach your child to be confident about himself/herself so he/she doesn't feel inferior in front of his/her friends. Always use positive words to your child, praise and encourage him/her to be brave.
• Ask and teach your child to be selective when choosing best friends. It's okay to be nice to everybody but at the end, only true friends can be the shoulders to cry on. 

WARNING: THOSE SUGGESTIONS/TIPS ARE ONLY BASED ON MY OPINION AND EXPERIENCE DEALING WITH MY OWN DAUGHTER. I CAN'T GUARANTEE THAT THE TIPS ARE SUITABLE FOR YOUR CHILDREN TOO. PARENTING IS ALWAYS ABOUT TRIAL AND ERROR. 

Now, would you like to share your opinion too? How do you deal with your children when they have been influenced by peer pressure? Do you have your own examples of peer pressure cases?

7 years and counting.................

Salam,

12 February 2002- We were engaged in a small but meaningful ceremony. Only the closest family members and neighbours were invited. My late mum was so happy organizing everything to make sure everything went on smoothly.

28th November 2003- We got married in the nearest mosque in my village. We had to wait for the Tok Kadi for quite some time since his  own daughter got married on the same day! My abah was so nervous because it was the first time for him to let go one of his beloved daughters. The solemnization went on with some other hiccups like my hubby had to repeat about 4 times before we were declared as husband and wife. huhu

28th November 2010- 7 years later, we are still happily married with two lovely daughters. Alhamdulillah-Thanks to Allah to let us experience this happiness. We are hoping to be together until the end. All the hiccups will always be tools to let us appreciate each other more each day,month and year.

HAPPY 7TH ANNIVERSARY SAYANG.

Stop Child Abuse (before more and more children suffer)

Salam,

Source: Yahoo.com

   Children are the valuable gifts to parents. They need the basic life necessities, love, nurturing and protection. They shouldn't the object that we can use to let out our anger and frustrations. They shouldn't be the sex object or our unpaid servants. They have their rights that we should never denied. Just look at their innocent faces and think what will happen to their future when we rip off, steal and destroy their childhood!

   Here I want to declare my 110% of supports to the STOP CHILD ABUSE Campaign by UNICEF. If you haven't show your supports yet, please go to THIS website.

  And here is the UNICEF banner:

  I really condemn the act of abusing children sexually, physically and mentally. Thus the act of hitting, caning, poking, slapping, kicking, punching and verbal harassing are not acceptable at all. AND We can do something about this before we ourselves are destroying our own future when we don't address this serious issues.

Last but not least, I want to share a video from UNICEF:

Special graduation in conjunction of ELS 20th Anniversary in JW Marriot Hotel.

Salam,

    ELS Malaysia is celebrating their 20th Anniversary this year. For the special graduation ceremony this morning, a of the bosses, teachers, staffs and students from 4 different centres; KL, PJ, SJ BB centres had to attend it in JW Marriot. Though I've been living in Klang Valley for few years, I've never been to Bukit Bintang area. So, I was not really sure how to find JW Marriot this morning. I just asked around how to go from Dang Wangi LRT station to Bukit Nanas Monorail station before I could proceed to Bukit Bintang station. I managed to arrive in JW Marriot quarter to nine and I was very glad that I could make it just before the time.

   The ceremony started by 10 (originally it supposed to start by 9). There were a lot speeches from the Deputy Minister of High Education, The President of ELS from US and other VVIPs. There were even some speeches delivered by some chosen students from the 4 centres. The most interesting part was the musical interlude. Some teachers from performed two songs; one in group and another one was a solo performance by a talented teacher from PJ centre. By the time two more ex-students who passed the highest level- 109 gave their speeches, most of other students were so restless as they were hungry and sleepy. They were also anxious to get their Progress Report (their result for this session). By the time they received their result, some of them were happy and some were still unsatisfied though they managed to get CREDIT (score 80 and above) for some off the components. It was quite hard to explain why they didn't get the high mark as they expected. I guess I will have to face them again next Monday. huhu

 

After the Progress Report had been given away, all the teachers went to a nice place called "Eddy's Restaurant" (if I'm not mistaken) to have a nice lunch. It was a buffet and we really helped ourselves with the food as we were starving by 12 p.m. All of us had to leave the house so early and didn't had the chance to get a proper breakfast this morning. We ate and chatted until 2 before we made a move.

Tonight ELS is going to have a 20th Anniversary dinner but I'm not going to attend it because there's no one who can take care of my daughters and also I'm afraid to drive alone at night to go to JW Marriot in the heart of KL. Most of my colleagues will be there and I have heard that they are going to make sure to have a small party after the formal dinner ends at 10 p.m.(sebenarnya ada satu lg sbb, sy rasa tak selesa bila dinner tu diaorg akan bg minuman beralkohol dan bos siap bg amaran jgn minum banyak2 takut diaorg tak boleh nak ballik rumah mlm ni kalau mabuk sgt. isk3x)

P/S: Please forgive me for the bad quality photos as I only have a BRAND X camera and not one of the DSLR. And, I have one question: If you were me, would you go to the dinner?

Surprise, a really nice surprise.

Salam,

I was so busy last night and actually quite stressful when I had to mark about 32 scripts in just one night. Only after almost midnight that I managed to log on to the internet and come to this blog. I also checked out my other blog which is mainly for contests and GAs. AND...........................................................................................
I found out that Hafizah won the third place for GOOD NIGHT AND SWEET DREAMS CONTEST.

Here was the contest entry:

Salam,


I think this is a nice contest whereby we just have to upload a photo of our child wearing pyjamas. (under 4 years old only!). So, if you want to know more, just click at the link below:

http://mummyayucontest.blogspot.com/2010/10/good-night-sweet-dreams-contest.html

Let's see the photo:

 Name: Hafizah bt. Ariff.

Age: 3 thn 4 bln.

Photo details: This is taken in Peachgrove Playcentre in Hamilton, New Zealand. Hafizah and her big sister attended this centre at least twice a week to socialize and play with other children there. That
day, it was 

"Pyjamas Party Day" when everybody had to wear their pyjamas. Even the mothers who stayed with their children had to put on their pyjamas too! There were so many theme related activities that day like having breakfast, bed time story telling, painting and making crafts and also counting sheeps! However most toddlers like Hafizah did their own activities and most of them like to choose their own thing. Hafizah had chosen to play with the coloured balls at thee playground area and she was quite excited that day.

Here were the winners a.k.a. the cute babies in pyjamas:

Boys Category

Girls Category:

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL WINNERS. CONGRATULATIONS ALSO TO THE TOP 10
WHICH WAS ANNOUNCED BEFORE THIS. FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NOT WIN ANYTHING YET, NEVER GIVE UP AND KEEP TRYING. I MYSELF HAVE ONLY WON FEW AFTER ABOUT 74 ENTRIES OF CONTESTS AND GIVEAWAYS.

Good luck to my dear brother- Mohd Rasul b. Rosly

Salam,

I hope it'sm not too late for me to dedicate this special entry to my younger brother; Mohd Rasul b. Rosly. He's going to sit SPM starting from today until in the middle of December. He's my youngest brother and he's the second last child in my family. He has always achieve excellent results in any exams including straight A's in UPSR and PMR. I'm not boasting about him here but I can't help myself to feel proud of him. When we lost our beloved mum 2 years ago, we were so worried about him as our mum passed away just three months before PMR examination. Alhamdulillah (Thanks to Allah), he still managed to pass with flying colours.

As usual I have a short poem that I have created just for him. Though I'm not sure if he still have the time to visit my blog and read this poem, I just want to express something here:

You Shall Strive

When you are so determine,

You know what to do,

You have the focus,

You have the faith,

You have prepared,

You have done every possible thing,

And YOU SHALL STRIVE,

THEN YOU SHALL SUCCEED.

Do any of your siblings, nieces, nephews or any relatives will also sit for SPM starting from today? If yes, let's all pray for their success.

Why did they banned FB,Twitter, MySpace, You Tube and others?

Salam,
I might be left so far behind or I'm so ill-informed about this till my students in the class told me about some social networks are banned in some countries like China, Vietnam, Iran, UAE and Pakistan. Some have temporarily banned certain sites like You Tube but some have permanently banned those sites. We actually were discussing about one of the possible topics that in the final exam this coming Wednesday. The topic was about "How to register a Facebook account". It's a directional process writing. They are level 2 students and their vocabulary is till limited. That's why they couldn't really explain to me why are some social networks are banned in their countries. (I have many Iranian, Saudis and Chinese students in that class).

Based on my quick research from Google.com, I found out that the ban was lifted in Iran in May 2009. While the other countries like China and Vietnam banned some sites like FB and other social networks forever. If you want to know more, I got this information from a website called Social Media Trader. 

The reasons for Iran and Pakistan banned some social networks are strongly related to religious issues and also some claimed about the political interest. While in China, the banning started after the deadly riots in Xianjiang, China. I can't find any information about why Vietnam's government banned FB and other social networks.

My personal opinion  is just that the more we try to stop and ban something, people will find it more intriguing and they want to find out why. So, they actually are giving the free promotion to the social networks. And I know that in FB, there have been a lot of controversies that have been purposely set by some people and also a lot of defaming acts plus anti-islam groups that have been created. BUT.....................if we totally didn't counter it back by giving the explanation and do something to counter their false claims, THEN WHO ARE GOING TO DEFEND US THE MUSLIMS AND HOW ARE WE GOING TO SPREAD THE TRUTH ABOUT ISLAM IF WE DON'T USE THE MOST POPULAR SOCIAL NETWORKS? Now..................................................as usual, my question is WHAT SAY YOU?

1Malaysia Indian Wedding.

Salam,

Last night, I brought my daughters to attend an Indian Wedding reception in D'Kelana Hall. I was invited the younger sister of the bride, Shantia. She's one of my colleagues in ELS. I have never attended any Indian Wedding Reception before, so I decided that it was a good opportunity to attend and experience their wedding culture.

We (my daughters and I) arrived at the hall at the same time the bride and the bridegroom arrived. In fact, I had to give the way to the bride and bridegroom's car to enter the parking area first. We quickly made our way into the hall before they announced that the bride and bridegroom had arrived. We were seated in the second table from the stage. I could see some of ELS students were also there at the table in front of me. I reckon they wanted to experience a different culture as the students came from Saudi, Iran, China, Korea and Japan.

Few minutes after we took our seats, they announced the arrival of the bride and the bridegroom. The bridegroom wore a black suit while the bride wore beautiful Ghangra Cholis (Lehengas). They had a simple dais on the stage as there were only two chairs and the curtains behind them. When they took the seats, the emcee introduced them to the audience and shared some details about how they met until the day they got married which was the day before. Then, the younger sister, Shantia (my colleague) was invited to the stage to give a speech to the bride and bridegroom. She almost cried when she gave the speech because her eldest sister and her brother-in-law have had sacrificed a lot before they could get married.

The next event was the cake cutting ceremony. Before they proceeded with the ceremony, there was a special lion dance performed by the Muhibbah group (it's called Muhibbah bcs the members are multiracial). My daughters were excited to see the lion dance since they have never seen it live. The two lions danced from the front door to the stage and gave away a special knife (actually it was a toy sword!) to the bridegroom. They even danced around the stage before they gave away the sword. Right after the cake cutting ceremony, the bride and the bridegroom had their dinner with their parents in the middle of the hall. (there' s a special place for them). All the guests were invited to help themselves with the food too. There were food for non-vegetarian and the vegetarian. I took the vegetarian food just to be safe. I had to queue up before I could  get the food and I had to leave my daughters at the table for few minutes before I returned with the food. They served Nasi Minyak, Dalca, Beef Curry,  Stir Fried Vegetables, Dhal and Watermelon. The food was okay but not so delicious. BTW, I went there not for eating but just to experience the culture.

While we were eating, there were some Classical Indian Dances performed by a group of amatuer dancers. The dances were interrupted by the sudden power failures that made the music stopped. The dancers however, had to stand still and be like a statue before the music started again. As I was busy entertaining my daughters, I couldn't captured so many photos of the performances. By the third performances, another colleague just arrived with her brother to join me at the table. We chatted for a while before we had to make the move as the time was already 10 pm. I took some photos with my colleagues but I didn't have the opportunity to take a photo with Santhia and also with the bride and bridegroom as there were always surrounded by their relatives and friends. Anyway, we really enjoyed the special experience and it would be one of the unforgettable wedding reception for us.

Are you dare to try these "Sky Heel"?

Salam,

What is that in the picture? Is it for real? Are you dare enough to try out if it's real?
The picture actually shows an example of how "Sky Heel" will look like. By next year, a trendy show retailer Parmars in their London boutiques and websites, will start selling the 9-inch stilettos. The cost will be under US$100 (RM310). This is what happen when the celebrities like Lady Gaga, Victoria Beckham and the cast of Sex and the City have been wearing the sky-high stilettos.

I myself is not a big fan of high heels or this ridiculous sky heels. I know that many other women have had to receive medical attention or even be hospitalised due to many kinds of foot injuries like broken ankles, twisted knees or torn ligaments or tendons. Since my boss ask the female teachers to wear either high heels or wedges when we are teaching, I have to follow the order though I'm afraid of the possibility of recurring left knee injury. So, I only wear a 2-inch wedges and I leave the wedges in the faculty room (teachers room) because I use flat sandals for walking.  I had torn some ligaments on my left knee when I practiced Taekwondo about 11 years ago and since then the injury recurred two times; once when after I finished my practical teaching and the last time was about 8 years ago.

Here  are some photos of wedges that I like but won't dare to wear

I know that even in here in Malaysia, many women don't mind to suffer or feel the pain just for the sake of
looking vogue and beautiful. Maybe I'm not so stylish and a very simple person that I can't understand why do women will go to certain extends to look beautiful. Maybe I'm not so vogue too. ore kelate kato jangok

NOW, would you care to share with me of your opinion? How far would you go to follow the latest trend? Are you dare enough to wear the sky heel? Are you dare to take any risks just to look vogue and beautiful?

Malay kids who don't really know talking and using Bahasa Malaysia.

Salam,

Who are the Malay kids that I referred to in the title? Well............they are not the strangers as I referred to my own children. Since they have been brought up for almost 4 years in NZ, they are more fluent in English compared to BM. It's not that my hubby and I didn't teach them BM at all but the environment they were brought up has forced them to master English first. What can I say as I myself is an English teacher.

Now, after 6 months of learning in kindergarten, they have somehow improved their Bahasa Malaysia. However, they can't help but to sound so "Mat Salleh-like" when they speak in BM. From time to time, I will spend some time to teach them words in BM. I also ask the other family members to teach my daughters the correct terms and words in BM when they are not sure what to use. I really want to make sure that my daughters can speak both languages fluently. I don't want people to think that they sort of Malays who forget their own root. I reckon, the next step for me is to buy more story books in BM and read the stories to them before they go to bed.

WHAT ABOUT YOUR KIDS? DO YOU ANY LANGUAGE ISSUE WITH THEM? ARE THE COPING WELL LEARNING ENGLISH AND BAHASA MALAYSIA?

Eidul-Adha Mubarak: What has been your biggest sacrifice this year?

Salam,

In Makkah, they celebrate Eidul-Adha today. But in some countries like Malaysia, Iran (just to name a few), we are going to celebrate it tomorrow. My students who are in the lower levels, don't know the word "slaughter", so they asked me, "Teacher, do you kill goat tomorrow?". I find it quite amusing and cute. I explain the correct way to say it- "We slaughter animals to symbolize our sacrifice", And yes of course I had to explain further about the meaning of "symbolize and sacrifice".

We (my daughters and I) are not going back to Kelantan to celebrate Eidul-Adha since I can only have one day off tomorrow. I love the Eidul-Adha celebration in Kelantan as we celebrate this more than Eidul-Fitri. After the slaughtering ceremony, we will cook the meat together and invite our neighbours and family members to have lunch together. This last until the third or sometimes the fourth day! If there are too many houses who become the hosts, they will pick their turn to invite others even for dinner. (late in the evening)

When I think again about the biggest sacrifice that my daughters and I have made, I can only think about the sacrifice that we've been doing for the past 4 years. It's related to giving our full supports and the helps to my hubby so that he can finish his phd. Hopefully by early next year, he'll be able to attend his viva and soon be able to get the doctorate title. NOW.....WHAT ABOUT YOU? WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST SACRIFICE THIS YEAR?

I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud.

Salam,

If you have been following my blog, you would notice that one of my passions is on poem. I started to love poems since I was in primary school under my aunt Salmah's influence. She was the one who introduced me to poems and she even helped me to win the first place in the Poem Rendering Contest after UPSR examination. I love all poems either they are in BM or English.

Here is one of the most memorable poems that I've learnt from my beloved ex-lecturer, Mr. John B. Greig. I remember that he was so emotional and rendered the poem with his full expressions. Why don't we look at the poem and then I'll let you decide whether the poem has any effects on you or not.

"I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud"

I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o'er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. Continuous as the stars that shine And twinkle on the milky way, They stretched in never-ending line Along the margin of a bay: Ten thousand saw I at a glance, Tossing their heads in sprightly dance. The waves beside them danced; but they Out-did the sparkling waves in glee: A poet could not but be gay, In such a jocund company: I gazed---and gazed---but little thought What wealth the show to me had brought: For oft, when on my couch I lie In vacant or in pensive mood, They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude; And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils. William Wordsworth

Twinkle,Twinkle Traffic Lights.

Salam,

Twinkle, twinkle traffic light,
Round the corner shining bright.
Red means stop,
Green means go,
Yellow means very, very slow.
Twinkle, twinkle traffic light,
Round the corner shining bright.

Have you ever heard of that NURSERY RHYME? My daughters came back one day from their nursery belted out the song. They said their teacher taught them the song. I used to sing the old version of "Twinkle, twinkle Little Star" with them when we were in NZ since they loved to watch some dvds that contain nursery rhymes.I like that version as well as it teaches them about road safety. And yes, if you must know, they always sing the song in the car too! I guess it kind of to remind me about the meaning of yellow light! nampak sgt mak diaorg ni pun suka pecut lg masa nampak lampu kuning. hehe 


Do you know that Nursery Rhyme is the term used to refer to traditional songs in Britain and other countries? In fact, even in our own language, we have a lot of catchy and useful nursery rhymes. I'm so glad that my daughters are also learning some nursery rhymes in Bahasa Melayu too. We used to even introduced some Malay nursery rhymes like "Burung Kakak Tua", " Lengang Kangkung", "Enjit2 Semut" and few others. We brought a CD compilation of Malay songs to the playcentre during one of Cultural Day. They loved to listen to those Malay songs as the melody of those songs was sweet and catchy.

I have not yet introduce to my daughters some Nasyid except for what they like to hear from the Alif Ba Ta DVD. I reckon teaching our kids either the English nursery rhymes, Malay traditional songs or any Nasyid, is good as a way of teaching the good moral values to them. What say you? Which one do you prefer? Do you also teach nursery rhymes, traditional Malay songs or Nasyid to your children?

 

Offended? Puzzled? Or Do you just avoid when somebody ask a very personal question?

Salam,

I want to share a little story today about a maid that my BIL & his wife just hired.(mungkin mcm mengumpat sikit tapi sy hanya nak tahu pendapat yg lain) Every morning since Monday, they brought their maid and their eldest son to my MIL's house. This is just temporary as they want my aunt (PIL's youngest sister) to monitor this maid. She is actually a nice lady at the age of 40's. She's married and have 5 children who are now staying with  her husband somewhere in Medan.

We don't really mind her being talkative and sometimes kind of bubbly. However, even my BIL also has noticed that sometimes she asks too many unnecessary questions like some personal questions. As I normally come back home by 5 o'clock every day, I always bump into her and have had the chance to talk to her.

On the first day (Monday), she greeted us warmly and we were okay and happy to see that she's seriously want to work. She asked some questions on Monday about my  kids and other things. It's  only when she started to ask questions like "Why do you only have two children?", "Do you have problem in conceiving?", "Are you on prescriptive pills or do you take any the methods to avoid pregnancy?", I was so speechless at first. Seriously! She just knew me for few hours and she wants to know all of that personal matters! I didn't want to be  rude to her as I respect her as she's older than me. I just told her that we (my hubby and I) are having a lot of unsolved problems and matters at the moment. We have decided that we are happy and want to enjoy our two daughters first. Then, I told her that I had to attend to my daughters. tapi dlm hati mcm geram jugak sbb dia sibuk nak tahu mcm2 tentang kita. hish

Yesterday and today, luckily I didn't have to talk to her as she was busy with my BIL's son and they also left the house earlier. Before they went back to my BIL's house, my BIL have asked me about his maid. I had to tell him that I was uncomfortable when she asked  too many personal questions. Other than that, I don't have anything against her. My BIL told me that he has actually warned her before as during the last long weekend when they went back to my BIL's in-laws house, his in-laws (his wife's siblings) also told him the same thing.

NOW.....my questions to all of you who are reading this entry:

• Do you think that I was over reacting?
• Do you agree that she (the maid) has crossed the line when she asked some personal questions?
• What would you do if you were in my situation?
•  What's the best answers when you feel uncomfortable with some of the questions from a stranger?

For me she is still a stranger as we just knew her less than one week. Please tell me your honest opinion about this. Thank you.

Glad to be back!!!

Salam,

YES! It's a HUGE relief when my netbook was able to be revived (this sound as this netbook is a human being.hehe). I only had to pay RM100 to the technician who managed to save everything except for the audio system. That means I won't be able to watch listen to any videos on www.youtube.com or even use the video chat through Skype. According to him, he can also fix the audio proble if I' wiling to pay about RM300+. I told him that's okay as for now I can live without the audio. 3 days without BW to other blogs has made me feel so lonely. SERIOUSLY! Though I go to work everyday, my daily dose of reading about other people's life has always become a good source of entertainment cum free knowledge for me. FOR NOW...................................
I'm just so GLAD TO BE BACK!!!

A Failed Emergency Back-up Plan!

Salam,

Yesterday, after I finished chatting to my hubby (who's still in NZ), Hafizah had accidently did something so unexpectedly irony. In my previous entry, I told you about Emergency Planning right? Huhu. The truth is I myself failed to do a back-up plan. What am I talking about?

Hafizah loved to drink a lot of water. She loved to drink from a huge bottle that I always bring into the bedroom as she still wakes up 2,3 times every night asking for water since she stopped drinking BM when she turned 27 months old. I was just coming out from the bathroom when she said she was thirsty and she quickly grabbed the huge bottle to drink. I didn't realized that she dropped a lot of water on Fathini's bed and the saddest fact was MY NETBOOK WAS ON THE BED! I think you can guess what had happened to my netbook right? I couldn't saved it anymore since I reckon the motherboard was so wet and I could hear a kind-of-short-circuit sound when I tried to switch it on. There goes my plan to transfer all the personal photos in my netbook and also some other documents. I planned to do it right during their bed time last night.

Now, since I don't know when I could come back to this blog, I would have to say I have to take a leave for a while from the blogging world. huhuhuhuhu. I'm writing this entry using my cousin's lap top since she's kind enough to let me borrow hers for a while. Meanwhile, hopefully I can find the expert who can revive my netbook though I'm skeptical that the files and documents can be saved or retrieved.

Regarding the Emergency Planning- this is the wonderful website (http://www.getthru.govt.nz) that you can refer to since I don't think I would be able to write an entry about this sooon............

Memories and family stories related to Flooding.

Salam,

Photo credit to Google

The yearly phenomena of flooding happen again this year with more states and people have been affected. As a Kelantanese, I had some memories and experiences dealing with flood. But I myself have never experienced being trapped or have to moved out from the house because of the flood. I pity those flood victims who have had to move out from their houses and stay in temporary shelters.

Flooding in Kg. Jal Besar (when I was small):

I remember we (my siblings, aunt and youngest uncle) used to "play" and had a great fun during November and December when we can see a lot of water not only in paddy fields but also sometimes on the main road. We used to go on the trip using our sampan, catch some grasshoppers to be eaten for snacks and also just getting to change our clothes over and over again because we were always finding ourselves wet. My late mum scolded  us when she couldn't find some more spare clothes for us when most of our clothes were still wet. 

Flooding in Kubang Kerian (we used to live there until I was form 4)

When we used to live in our house in Kubang Kerian (the place is next to Istana Kubang Kerian), the place was a paradise! There were not so many houses (in 1985 until 1994) near our house and it was surrounded with bushes and basically natural plants. In short, it was not so polluted. That's why every time the place was submerged with flood water, we were happily got playing until my dad scolded us. Sometimes we even took out our small inflatable boat without our parents' permission.  Our house was never submerged with flood water because the base of the house was quite high. Only the small road in front of the house was submerged under water. 

Flooding in Kg. Jal Besar (after we moved back to our grandparents house)

I didn't have so many chances to experience flooding in this house as I would always be in other places either I was still in my university's hostel or in my rented house (after I started to work). Basically, I just heard and saw some photos taken by my siblings when they went back. The house is a double-storey house but the location which is very close to paddy fields (in fact paddy fields are just behind the house) make it prone to be submerged with flood after a heavy downfall or the overflow water from the nearest river. The normal thing to happen almost every year is the small road is submerged. Sometimes, the water will also come into the yard and in some occasions, the water come into the house. There was one year, (can't remember which year), my late mum had to cook in the submerged kitchen with using a torch light and some helps from my younger siblings. They had to use the upper part of the house and some heavy furniture were left and we could see the watermarks after the water receded. 

My condolences to all flood victims this year. I personally reckon we should start to think that we must have some kind of EMERGENCY PLANNING CHECKLIST like in other countries. Sometimes we might think that Malaysia is a safe country and we take that for granted. In the next entry , I will share more about the emergency planning checklist as that is what NZ government thought their citizens. So, I guess it won't hurt us to follow and emulate their plan.

Sorry.

Salam,
This is just a short announcement to the winners of the Brain Teaser last week. I'm still not able to post the prizes to Makcik Rehan, K.Yong and Affieza.  This is because of my daughters are having flu and I have to take the leave to take care of them at home. Hopefully by next week, I'll be able to post those prizes.

For those  who have had organized some contests or GA in their blogs; HAVE YOU EVER EXPERIENCED SOME DELAY IN SENDING THE PRIZES TOO? IF SO, WHAT DO YOU DO?
 

First Flu, then..... Cold.

Salam,

Right after the concert for the special open day in Alladin's kindy, Hafizah was infected by FLU.She started whining and became so clingy on Sunday afternoon. By night time, her temperature went slightly higher than the normal temperature. I suspected that she had FLU since the symptoms were high fever, vomiting and tiredness. So, yesterday, I took one day off and brought her to the nearest clinic. The doctor was not convinced when I told him the diagnosis even before he did some basic check-up on Hafizah. tak tahula kot2 dia ingat sy memandai2 jeHowever, once he finished the check-up, he agreed with me and told me in fact, he could see that Hafizah tonsil was swelling. He then, prescribed the cough syrup and a syrup for flu/cold.

This morning, the fever has somehow subsided but she was still a bit clingy. I had to work as if I don't go, it means that there'll be no pay for me for that day. I gave the helper in her nursery the medications and asked her to monitor her condition. BUT seriously, I still felt so bad that I had to leave her this morning. Even my immediate boss questioned my decision for showing up at work! huhu.I quickly left the office after my last class to fetch my daughters even though I have had some symptoms of having COLD. It was a relieved to see that Hafizah was getting better BUT................this evening, Fathini was infected with flu too! Actually I have expected this to happen as it is normal for siblings to be infected.

While I'm typing this entry, my nose is blocked with some discharges. I know that most of us always confuse with FLU and COLD. I myself didn't really know the differences between the two. Only after consulting and based on experiences dealing with my daughters' diseases, I realized that they are two different diseases.

Here are some excerpts  from this website (I don't want to write based on my own understanding without the medical jargons that we need to know. Hopefully this  can help us to have a better understanding):

Cold can be caused by a number of viruses. In fact, there are more than two hundred strains of virus identified that are capable of causing common cold. Whereas, flu is caused due to infection by the influenza virus, which can be of the type A, B and C. Nevertheless, the influenza virus type A is the one responsible for flu epidemics. In addition to these types, many more viral strains that cause flu are identified each year. Flu infection is also known as influenza.

A notable difference between cold and flu is the onset of symptoms. Cold symptoms develop gradually over time; whereas, symptoms of flu usually appear suddenly. Symptoms of cold are mild, in comparison to flu symptoms. The most common signs and symptoms of cold are nasal congestion, cough, mild fever, sneezing, sore throat, laryngitis and increased fatigue. Flu, on the other hand, causes symptoms like high fever (104º Fahrenheit or 39º Celsius), headache, chills, restlessness, cough, sore throat and loss of appetite. Many a times, these symptoms are accompanied with a blocked nose and muscle pain.

Alladin Kindergarten's Special Open Day 2010

Salam,

31st October 2010-Yesterday was one of the day which Fathini and Hafizah won't be able to forget. They participated in a special occasion in their kindy cum nursery. The special occasion was "Special Open Day" for Alladin's  Kindergarten. They had been practicing their special dances for the Open Day since last month. Evereyday, they gave me a glimpse of what to expect during their performances. Fathini participated in a dance called "Indian Dance" while Hafizah participated in a dance called "Mama Mia Dance".

All the kids were supposed to arrive by 9 a.m. We (my daughters and I) arrived at the kindy at 8.30 a.m. (since we live very near to the kindy). My parents-in-law and my SIL arrived later as they wanted to have breakfast at home. My SIL helped me to put on some make-up on my daughters before we left the house. mama diaorg tak pakai make-up pun sbb tak suka sgt :P However, once we were at the kindy, their teachers reapply some make-up and added some other accessories for their costumes.

The event started a bit late than the original plan due to some technical problems. Basically, the event started by 9.20 a.m. (which was not bad). The parents were asked to stand up by the emcee of the day (Puan Aini) to show some respects when they played the National Anthem "Negaraku". Some parents including me, sang the National Anthem. rasa semangat menyanyi sbb lama tak nyanyi Negaraku Then, the principal a.k.a. the owner of the kindy, Puan Rina gave some speeches in BM, English and Mandarin. She told a little bit of the background of the kindy and also introduced all of the teachers to the guests. Later, they proceeded with prize giving ceremony to 6 year-old students and also called upon 3 of them to give speeches in 3 different languages; BM,English and Mandarin. It was interesting to listen to a speech in BM  by an Indian student, English by a Malay student and Mandarin given by an Indian student!

The first performance was Welcome Song- 1 Malaysia by all of the students. They stood in 3 lines according to their heights and ages. They just mime according to 1 Malaysia song and used Malaysian flag as their props. When they were miming, I realized that most of them were unable to sing the entire song with the correct lyrics as the song is quite long for them. Right after that, the 6-year-old students came out again to sing Nasyid- Bismillah (Raihan's song). They also had some props (musical insruments- Kompang and not sure what's the name of another one. huhu). They seemed to be able to sing while using the musical instruments at the same time. Then, the combination of 6-year-old, 5 and 4 performed two types of action songs- Medley and Mandarin. I can even sing along to the Mandarin song that they used because Fathini has been singing the song over and over again when she's at home. 

The second half of the concert was more exciting with some fast and catchy songs like "Bunyi Gitar"(a famous song by P.Ramlee in TIGA ABDUL'S MOVIE), "Momma Mia"(also an OST) and "Hot Potato" (a popular song by THE WIGGLES). 6 year-old students performed "Bunyi Gitar" dance with some interesting style of 60's twist dance. Their costumes also matched with the song. There's one particular student who was so confident in the performance. He managed to steal people's attention. The next performance was "Momma Mia" that I'd waited so much since Hafizah was one of the participants. She stood in the middle and looked so nervous as she was so serious. muka cuak She seemed to forgot some steps and had to follow her friends to make sure that she was doing the right thing. Right after Hafizah's performance, Fathini and her 5-year-old classmates came out to perform Indian Dance. I was not sure what song was it since it was a Tamil song. All parents were so excited to see the performance but the mood was somehow spoilt when the music just suddenly stopped. The kids had to begin all over again when they rectified the technical problem. (something was wrong with the cd). I could hear some comments from other parents saying that Fathini was among the most enthusiastic dancers in the group. She really moved according to the music and managed to steal the limelight.

The last three performances were the Hot Potato Dance, Chinese Dance and the Finale- Auld Lang Syne (all students including the teachers). For the Hot Potato Dance, they were all looked so cute with some actions that was choreographed by their teacher- Miss Fu. The second last performance, Chinese Dance was performed by most 6-year-old students who did it gracefully. They were amazingly talented since most of them actually performed in 2 or 3 types of performances that day. 

All of the guests then were invited to eat some cakes and desserts with some drinks before we left the place. That day was also special for me since it was the first time for me to see how well they've been groomed to build their confidence in this kindy. I'm so proud of Fathini and Hafizah for successfully carried out their teachers' instructions and performed quite well. semua ibu pun bangga dgn anak2 masing2 kan Before we left, we took some photos with some of the teachers for that SPECIAL DAY!