The doctor confirmed today that I had a miscarriage. My baby would have been 6 weeks 5 days today.
It's fated. We accept it, though with a heavy heart. InsyaAllah there are better things for us in the future, Ameen.
P/s: kena pantang apa ya?
P/p/s: if we meet, please don't ask me about this, at least not in public. I would't mind talking in private, but it's going to be a tearful one, I warn you :).
Wednesday, 3 August 2011
Thursday, 19 May 2011
Update on School Meals
A few days after I posted on my blog about school meals, the Deputy Health Minister announced that the Ministry will publish a list of 15 banned items from school canteens. The list will include nuggets and burgers. They will also come up with a list of healthy meals to be served at the canteens. Currently the Ministry is still working on the proposal.
This latest announcement sounds more promising than previous announcements made by the Ministry. I'm hopeful.
This latest announcement sounds more promising than previous announcements made by the Ministry. I'm hopeful.
Tuesday, 10 May 2011
School Meals
I was dumbfounded when the Health Minister announced recently that nasi lemak will be banned from school canteens. I went "hmm.. really?" I think Chua Soi Lek, when he was Health Minister, attempted to change the school meals too, but he didn't succeed.
I'm all for healthy meals for our kids, but I think the current initiative is a bit misguided. Why pick on nasi lemak? What about the other food options being sold at the canteens like nuggets, fried fish balls (God knows how much fish is really in there), keropok lekor, ice cream and Mamee? What about doughnuts and currypuffs? Has the Ministry conducted a research and found that nasi lemak is the biggest culprit, hence the reason for picking on it? I doubt that is the case...
If nasi lemak really is going to be banned, what is the alternative? I haven't heard any suggestions or advice from the Ministry on what kind of food should replace nasi lemak. If no healthy replacement is offered, then the children are going to buy the abovementioned food options that are not much better (or could even be worse) than nasi lemak.
Recently a reader wrote to the Star, commenting that for poor kampung children, nasi lemak provides a filling meal that can last them from morning till afternoon. He also commented that obesity is mainly a problem of middle class, urban children, not poor kampung children.
I have to agree with the writer. I don't believe nasi lemak is the culprit. It all begins with the parents, so if the Health Minister is serious about tackling obesity, they should engage parents first. Kids get fat because of a number of reasons: they eat too much, they eat the wrong kinds of food, they spend too much time watching TV and playing computer games, and numerous other reasons. And as my DH crudely puts it, "just close down all the fast food outlets!" Now, won't there be an uproar if the Minister said all McDonald's burgers will be banned? But I do believe that burgers are worse than nasi lemak.
By the way, my DD doesn't eat nasi lemak and burgers.
I'm all for healthy meals for our kids, but I think the current initiative is a bit misguided. Why pick on nasi lemak? What about the other food options being sold at the canteens like nuggets, fried fish balls (God knows how much fish is really in there), keropok lekor, ice cream and Mamee? What about doughnuts and currypuffs? Has the Ministry conducted a research and found that nasi lemak is the biggest culprit, hence the reason for picking on it? I doubt that is the case...
If nasi lemak really is going to be banned, what is the alternative? I haven't heard any suggestions or advice from the Ministry on what kind of food should replace nasi lemak. If no healthy replacement is offered, then the children are going to buy the abovementioned food options that are not much better (or could even be worse) than nasi lemak.
Recently a reader wrote to the Star, commenting that for poor kampung children, nasi lemak provides a filling meal that can last them from morning till afternoon. He also commented that obesity is mainly a problem of middle class, urban children, not poor kampung children.
I have to agree with the writer. I don't believe nasi lemak is the culprit. It all begins with the parents, so if the Health Minister is serious about tackling obesity, they should engage parents first. Kids get fat because of a number of reasons: they eat too much, they eat the wrong kinds of food, they spend too much time watching TV and playing computer games, and numerous other reasons. And as my DH crudely puts it, "just close down all the fast food outlets!" Now, won't there be an uproar if the Minister said all McDonald's burgers will be banned? But I do believe that burgers are worse than nasi lemak.
By the way, my DD doesn't eat nasi lemak and burgers.
Thursday, 14 April 2011
Happy Birthday Little Princess
You're 8 today. Eight years of memories, and hopefully many more years to come...
Sometimes you're mature beyond your age. You're polite, considerate and generous. You share your stuff with friends and lend them money. You seldom make demands of us. When we dine out, your table manners constantly astound us.
But at times you're like a baby. You whine and whimper. You like to watch horror TV shows. And then, you refuse to go anywhere in the house without company. You even insist that I keep the bathroom door open.
You know you're special. You insist to be in the middle, always. When we talk, you ask "What? What?", because you don't want to feel left out.
You can ride your bicycle confidently now. You love your bicycle so much, you blow dust off the handles. You want to ride your bike everyday, but the weather has been playing tricks on you these days. Yesterday you had a little accident, a little boy on a four-wheeler bumped into you. You fell and bled your arm and knee. You cried, but Daddy said it's part of the learning process.
You gave us a scare recently. You've been sick so many times this year, we feared something could be amiss. The doctor assured us that you're alright. So far you've missed more than 10 days of school this year.
But you continue to do well academically, although it's a constant battle trying to get you to study. You always have something far more interesting and important... TV shows, computer games, art & craft, play.. the list is endless. It's a good thing that you don't know yet how to navigate the Facebook.
You're reciting juz 8 of al-Qur'an now. You completed Muqaddam a few days before your birthday last year. Your progress was slow last year, but you have picked up speed since then and I'm happy with your pace now. Over time, I've come to realise that it doesn't matter whether you complete Qur'an recital at the age of 10 or 12. The journey can just be as important as the destination.
Sometimes when I see your friends acting childish, I wonder if we've been too strict with you. We just want you to be independent, especially because you're an only child and we're not going to be around forever. I hope we're doing right by you. I certainly don't want to rob you of childhood. I want you to experience the joy of being young, the carefree world of childhood and keep that as a treasure in your memories.
Yet at the same time I want you to be ready for adulthood, to face its trials and tribulations head-on and to have courage in times of adversity.
I don't know how much of your childhood will stay with you in your adult life. I just wish that you'll remember that we're trying our best to be good parents to you.
Happy Birthday My Little Princess. I pray to Allah that you'll get the best that life has to offer, in this world and the hereafter, and you'll give the world your best in return.
Sometimes you're mature beyond your age. You're polite, considerate and generous. You share your stuff with friends and lend them money. You seldom make demands of us. When we dine out, your table manners constantly astound us.
But at times you're like a baby. You whine and whimper. You like to watch horror TV shows. And then, you refuse to go anywhere in the house without company. You even insist that I keep the bathroom door open.
You know you're special. You insist to be in the middle, always. When we talk, you ask "What? What?", because you don't want to feel left out.
You can ride your bicycle confidently now. You love your bicycle so much, you blow dust off the handles. You want to ride your bike everyday, but the weather has been playing tricks on you these days. Yesterday you had a little accident, a little boy on a four-wheeler bumped into you. You fell and bled your arm and knee. You cried, but Daddy said it's part of the learning process.
You gave us a scare recently. You've been sick so many times this year, we feared something could be amiss. The doctor assured us that you're alright. So far you've missed more than 10 days of school this year.
But you continue to do well academically, although it's a constant battle trying to get you to study. You always have something far more interesting and important... TV shows, computer games, art & craft, play.. the list is endless. It's a good thing that you don't know yet how to navigate the Facebook.
You're reciting juz 8 of al-Qur'an now. You completed Muqaddam a few days before your birthday last year. Your progress was slow last year, but you have picked up speed since then and I'm happy with your pace now. Over time, I've come to realise that it doesn't matter whether you complete Qur'an recital at the age of 10 or 12. The journey can just be as important as the destination.
Sometimes when I see your friends acting childish, I wonder if we've been too strict with you. We just want you to be independent, especially because you're an only child and we're not going to be around forever. I hope we're doing right by you. I certainly don't want to rob you of childhood. I want you to experience the joy of being young, the carefree world of childhood and keep that as a treasure in your memories.
Yet at the same time I want you to be ready for adulthood, to face its trials and tribulations head-on and to have courage in times of adversity.
I don't know how much of your childhood will stay with you in your adult life. I just wish that you'll remember that we're trying our best to be good parents to you.
Happy Birthday My Little Princess. I pray to Allah that you'll get the best that life has to offer, in this world and the hereafter, and you'll give the world your best in return.
Monday, 14 March 2011
Learning To Ride A Bike
DD's best friend, Mia started it. Mia is an accomplished rider. The other day DD went to Mia's house and they had a lot of fun on Mia's new bicycle. Mia pedalled while DD was content to be a pillion rider. Together they rounded the neighbourhood, pushed the bike up a slope and then rode down the slope at mega speed.
So that was how DD finally relented to DH's wish to buy her a new bicycle. Last year DH wanted to give her a bike as a birthday present but she refused. She was just too scared to learn to ride a bike.
But I guess peer pressure changed all that...
I asked Mia's mom where she bought the bike. She gave a vague direction and I'm not good at directions anyway so the only two phrases that stuck in my mind was 'Sungai Buloh' and 'on the way to Paya Jaras'. Since DH had already enquired at nearby shops and found the price to be exorbitant, we decided to give Sg Buloh a try.
So we found ourselves scouring Sg Buloh last Saturday, with those two phrases and Mia as our sole guides. Mia was a confident guide, telling us to 'go straight', 'turn left', and 'turn right', peppered with comments like 'I remember this graveyard', 'I remember this school', 'I remember this hospital'.
And that was how we reached a dead end. Mia urged DH to turn back, telling us that her mom too had reached the dead end and then turned back. Needless to say, our confidence is our little guide began to wane. But she remained very optimistic, telling us to "go straight", "turn left" and finally "dekat sangat dah.. sikit lagi... sikittt je lagi." But as we reached the rows of shoplots, she too lost her confidence and muttered "Mia tak ingatlah".
DH stopped by the roadside and asked a guy for directions. As it turned out, the shop was about 2 km away from where we were. Once we reached the correct rows of shoplots, Mia got excited and exclaimed "haa kat situ, kat situ! Lepas kedai motor".
The salesman remembered Mia and decided to give us a good price, in fact even better than the price that Mia's mom got. He gave Mia a bicycle bell, as a gift for recommending a new customer. DD wanted a pink bike, the same colour as Mia's. We got the bike fitted with a pillion rider carrier and a water bottle carrier (I thought these things are standard features, but I was wrong). We also bought a safety kit for DD containing 2 knee pads, 2 elbow pads, and 2 gloves. Of course they had to be pink in colour. We wanted to get her a helment too but they were too flimsy.
We reached home at around 2pm, and the two girls immediately tried out the bike under the supervision of my maid. I joined them later on. It was not easy to teach DD because the road in front of my house was quite steep. And the glaring afternoon sun was of no help either. So the session was a fruitless one, ending with DD crying out of frustration and in pain from falling too many times.
After Asar, the four of us (DD, Mia, DH and I) went to the badminton court. There, DH taught DD to ride her bike. Before long, DH could let go of the bike and let DD ride without any helping hand. But DD was still fledgling. She struggled with controlling the handles. Once she almost squeezed herself and her bike between 2 poles that were about 1 ft apart. Another time, she had a head on collission with a pole. But as she practised, she became better at controlling the handles and the speed.
DH and I were so proud that she learnt to ride the bike within a day. As I recall, it took me a few sessions to learn. DH meanwhile, never had a bike in the family because my MIL didn't allow her children to learn to ride bikes.
Later on at home, she complained of pain from the scratches that she sustained. I turned into a lecture mode and told her, "What doesn't kill you will only make you stronger".
The next morning, we went to MPH. There was a campaign on story writing, where shoppers could contribute a line each to a story, continuing where a previous writer left off. The campaign just started that morning, because there was just a line in the open note book. The line goes, "Today is my good day because...". DD wrote "I learnt to ride a bike". And I continued with, "As my mother said, "The pain will go away, but the skill that you learnt will stay with you forever".
Yes, the skill will stay with her forever, insyaAllah.
So that was how DD finally relented to DH's wish to buy her a new bicycle. Last year DH wanted to give her a bike as a birthday present but she refused. She was just too scared to learn to ride a bike.
But I guess peer pressure changed all that...
I asked Mia's mom where she bought the bike. She gave a vague direction and I'm not good at directions anyway so the only two phrases that stuck in my mind was 'Sungai Buloh' and 'on the way to Paya Jaras'. Since DH had already enquired at nearby shops and found the price to be exorbitant, we decided to give Sg Buloh a try.
So we found ourselves scouring Sg Buloh last Saturday, with those two phrases and Mia as our sole guides. Mia was a confident guide, telling us to 'go straight', 'turn left', and 'turn right', peppered with comments like 'I remember this graveyard', 'I remember this school', 'I remember this hospital'.
And that was how we reached a dead end. Mia urged DH to turn back, telling us that her mom too had reached the dead end and then turned back. Needless to say, our confidence is our little guide began to wane. But she remained very optimistic, telling us to "go straight", "turn left" and finally "dekat sangat dah.. sikit lagi... sikittt je lagi." But as we reached the rows of shoplots, she too lost her confidence and muttered "Mia tak ingatlah".
DH stopped by the roadside and asked a guy for directions. As it turned out, the shop was about 2 km away from where we were. Once we reached the correct rows of shoplots, Mia got excited and exclaimed "haa kat situ, kat situ! Lepas kedai motor".
The salesman remembered Mia and decided to give us a good price, in fact even better than the price that Mia's mom got. He gave Mia a bicycle bell, as a gift for recommending a new customer. DD wanted a pink bike, the same colour as Mia's. We got the bike fitted with a pillion rider carrier and a water bottle carrier (I thought these things are standard features, but I was wrong). We also bought a safety kit for DD containing 2 knee pads, 2 elbow pads, and 2 gloves. Of course they had to be pink in colour. We wanted to get her a helment too but they were too flimsy.
We reached home at around 2pm, and the two girls immediately tried out the bike under the supervision of my maid. I joined them later on. It was not easy to teach DD because the road in front of my house was quite steep. And the glaring afternoon sun was of no help either. So the session was a fruitless one, ending with DD crying out of frustration and in pain from falling too many times.
After Asar, the four of us (DD, Mia, DH and I) went to the badminton court. There, DH taught DD to ride her bike. Before long, DH could let go of the bike and let DD ride without any helping hand. But DD was still fledgling. She struggled with controlling the handles. Once she almost squeezed herself and her bike between 2 poles that were about 1 ft apart. Another time, she had a head on collission with a pole. But as she practised, she became better at controlling the handles and the speed.
DH and I were so proud that she learnt to ride the bike within a day. As I recall, it took me a few sessions to learn. DH meanwhile, never had a bike in the family because my MIL didn't allow her children to learn to ride bikes.
Later on at home, she complained of pain from the scratches that she sustained. I turned into a lecture mode and told her, "What doesn't kill you will only make you stronger".
The next morning, we went to MPH. There was a campaign on story writing, where shoppers could contribute a line each to a story, continuing where a previous writer left off. The campaign just started that morning, because there was just a line in the open note book. The line goes, "Today is my good day because...". DD wrote "I learnt to ride a bike". And I continued with, "As my mother said, "The pain will go away, but the skill that you learnt will stay with you forever".
Yes, the skill will stay with her forever, insyaAllah.
Tuesday, 8 March 2011
Yesterday we watched an episode of Awan Dania. In that episode, Dania received flowers and chocolates from her boyfriend after getting herself injured.
I asked DD, "Would you prefer to receive flowers or chocolates from your boyfriend."
She replied, "Neither".
I asked again, "Would you prefer flowers or chocolates from Mummy and Daddy?"
She replied excitedly, "Both".
She passed the test. He he.
I asked DD, "Would you prefer to receive flowers or chocolates from your boyfriend."
She replied, "Neither".
I asked again, "Would you prefer flowers or chocolates from Mummy and Daddy?"
She replied excitedly, "Both".
She passed the test. He he.
Friday, 4 March 2011
The Spa Treatment
DD has been unwell these past few days. Fever, flu, sorethroat and headaches come and go. Poor thing.. I still make her go to school (except for KAFA yesterday) because as it is, she has already missed school a lot this year.
I thought a little pampering would perk her up a bit. So the other I announced to her that I was going to give her home spa treatment. She got excited. I lined the bed with a batik sarong for a little bit of spa ambience.
As I started giving her a frangipani body scrub, I told her to close her eyes and imagine that she's at the beach. She promptly declared, "I'm in Hawaii." "Can you hear the breeze blowing the coconut leaves?" I asked. "No, I can hear the motorbike," was her response.
It was actually the newspaper delivery guy, who came around to collect the payment for February. I returned to the bedroom after making payment to the guy. I asked DD, "Are you still in Hawai?" Her answer was, "No, I'm in Disneyland!". I jokingly reprimanded her that Disneyland is for excitement, not for relaxation.
Later on I applied bedak sejuk on her face. Once the bedak became dry, she immediately sat upright and said "Zombe!!!" ala Awie in the movie Hantu Kak Limah Balik Rumah. By the way, we watched the movie on You Tube the other night and it was hilarious.
Next I clipped DD's nails. It was the first time in a year or so, because DD has been clipping her nails by herself. She became nervous, worried that I might hurt her accidentally. So much for trusting your mother!
I finished off the treatment by giving her a shoulder massage and a footrub. Then I declared, "You're as good as new now".
Overall, it was a good quality time for the two of us.
I thought a little pampering would perk her up a bit. So the other I announced to her that I was going to give her home spa treatment. She got excited. I lined the bed with a batik sarong for a little bit of spa ambience.
As I started giving her a frangipani body scrub, I told her to close her eyes and imagine that she's at the beach. She promptly declared, "I'm in Hawaii." "Can you hear the breeze blowing the coconut leaves?" I asked. "No, I can hear the motorbike," was her response.
It was actually the newspaper delivery guy, who came around to collect the payment for February. I returned to the bedroom after making payment to the guy. I asked DD, "Are you still in Hawai?" Her answer was, "No, I'm in Disneyland!". I jokingly reprimanded her that Disneyland is for excitement, not for relaxation.
Later on I applied bedak sejuk on her face. Once the bedak became dry, she immediately sat upright and said "Zombe!!!" ala Awie in the movie Hantu Kak Limah Balik Rumah. By the way, we watched the movie on You Tube the other night and it was hilarious.
Next I clipped DD's nails. It was the first time in a year or so, because DD has been clipping her nails by herself. She became nervous, worried that I might hurt her accidentally. So much for trusting your mother!
I finished off the treatment by giving her a shoulder massage and a footrub. Then I declared, "You're as good as new now".
Overall, it was a good quality time for the two of us.
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