Friday, February 28, 2014

25 Rules for Mothers of Sons

Salam Jumaat peeps,
(ya now i now some of the daddies in my office (and in hubby's office too...ya ya..you la siapa lagi) reads this blog so greeting mommies are somehow not relevent anymore)

One of my best reads :)
Come let's read.

I was raised by a working mom, so i do not really see how working mom's cannot raise children well.
For me, some time off from the children, makes the heart grow fonder and we try to appreciate every single moment together. Weekends will be the utmost time.

It's really an individual decision.
To stay at home or to work.
Doesn't really make you a good or bad mother ;p
There is no such thing as a bad mom. A bad person doesn't deserves to be a mother :)

Go through the rules.
I foremost thank my MIL for bringing up a wonderful helpful and thoughtful person my husband is now :')

From here
25 Rules for Mothers of Sons
1. Teach him the words for how he feels.
Your son will scream out of frustration and hide out of embarrassment.  He’ll cry from fear and bite out of excitement.  Let his body move by the emotion, but also explain to him what the emotion is and the appropriate response to that emotion for future reference.  Point out other people who are feeling the same thing and compare how they are showing that emotion.  Talk him through your emotions so that someday when he is grown, he will know the difference between angry and embarrassed; between disappointment and grief.
2. Be a cheerleader for his life.
There is no doubt that you are the loudest person in the stands at his t-ball games.  There is no doubt that he will tell you to “stop, mom” when you sing along to his garage band’s lyrics.  There is no doubt that he will get red-faced when you show his prom date his pictures from boy scouts.  There is no doubt that he is not telling his prom date about your blog where you’ve been bragging about his life from his first time on the potty to the citizenship award he won in ninth grade.  He will tell you to stop.  He will say he’s embarrassed.  But he will know that there is at least one person that is always rooting for him.
3. Teach him how to do laundry.
..And load the dishwasher, and iron a shirt.  He may not always choose to do it.  He may not ever have to do it.  But someday his wife will thank you.
4. Read to him and read with him.
Emilie Buchwald said, “Children become readers on the laps of their parents.”  Offer your son the opportunity to learn new things, believe in pretend places, and imagine bigger possibilities through books.  Let him see you reading…reading the paper, reading novels, reading magazine articles.  Help him understand that writing words down is a way to be present forever.  Writers are the transcribers of history and memories.  They keep a record of how we lived at that time; what we thought was interesting; how we spoke to each other; what was important.  And Readers help preserve and pass along those memories.
5. Encourage him to dance.
Dance, rhythm, and music are cultural universals.  No matter where you go, no matter who you meet – they have some form of the three.  It doesn’t have to be good.  Just encourage your son that when he feels it, it’s perfectly fine to go ahead and bust a move.
6. Make sure he has examples of good men who are powerful because of their brains, their determination, and their integrity.
The examples of men with big muscles and a uniform like Batman will surround your son from birth.  But make sure he also knows about men who kick a$s because of their brains (Albert Einstein), and their pen Mark Twain, and their words (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.), and their determination (Team Hoyt), and their ideas (The Wright Brothers), and their integrity, and fearlessness (Neil Armstrong), and their ability to keep their mouths closed when everyone else is screaming (Jackie Robinson).
7. Make sure he has examples of women who are beautiful because of their brains, their determination, and their integrity.
The examples of traditionally beautiful women (like Daphna Blake) will surround your son from birth.  But make sure he knows about women who are beautiful from the inside out because of their brains (Madame Maria Curie), and their pen (Harper Lee), and their words (Eleanor Roosevelt), and their determination (Anne Sullivan), and their ideas (Oprah Winfrey), and their integrity (Miep Gies), and fearlessness (Ameila Earhart), and their ability to open their mouths and take a stand when everyone else is silent (Aung San Suu Kyi).
8. Be an example of a beautiful woman with brains, determination, and integrity.
You already are all of those things.  If you ever fear that you are somehow incapable of doing anything - remember this:  If you have done any of the following:  a) grew life b) impossibly and inconceivably got it out of your body c) taken care of a newborn d) made a pain go away with a kiss e) taught someone to read f) taught a toddler to eat with a utensil g) cleaned up diarrhea without gagging h) loved a child enough to be willing to give your life for them (regardless if they are your own) or i) found a way to be strong when that child is suffering...you are a superhero.  do not doubt yourself for one second.  Seriously.
9. Teach him to have manners.
Because its nice.  and it will make the world a little better of a place.
10. Give him something to believe in.
Because someday he will be afraid, or nervous, or heartbroken, or lost, or just need you, and you won’t be able to be there.  Give him something to turn to when it feels like he is alone, so that he knows that he will never be alone; never, never, never.
11. Teach him that there are times when you need to be gentle.
Like with babies, and flowers, and animals, and other people’s feelings.
12. Let him ruin his clothes.
Resolve to be cool about dirty and ruined clothes.  You’ll be fighting a losing battle if you get upset every time he ruins another piece of clothing. Don’t waste your energy being angry about something inevitable.  Boys tend to learn by destroying, jumping, spilling, falling, and making impossible messes.  Dirty, ruined clothes are just par for the course.
13. Learn how to throw a football.
Or how to use a hockey stick, or read music, or draw panda bears (or in my case alpacas), or the names of different train engines, or learn to speak Elvish, or recognize the difference between Gryffindor and Slytherin, or the lyrics to his favorite song.  Be in his life, not as an observer but as an active participant.
14. Go outside with him.
Turn off the television, unplug the video games, put your cellphone on the charger, even put your camera away.  Just go outside and follow him around.  Watch his face, explore his world, and let him ask questions.  It’s like magic.
15. Let him lose.
Losing sucks.  Everybody isn’t always a winner.  Even if you want to say, “You’re a winner because you tried,” don’t.  He doesn’t feel like a winner, he feels sad and crappy and disappointed.  And that’s a good thing, because sometimes life also sucks, no matter how hard (as moms) we try to make it not suck for our kids.  This practice will do him good later when he loses again (and again, and again, and again, and again…..)  Instead make sure he understands that – sometimes you win – sometimes you lose.  But that doesn’t mean you ever give up.
16. Give him opportunities to help others.
There is a big difference in giving someone the opportunity to help and forcing someone to help.  Giving the opportunity lights a flame in the heart and once the help is done the flame shines brighter and asks for more opportunities.  Be an example of helping others in your own actions and the way your family helps each other and helps others together. 
17. Remind him that practice makes perfect.
This doesn’t just apply to performance-based activities (like sports and music) but also applies to everything in life.  You become a better writer by writing.  You become a better listener by listening.  You become better speaker by speaking.  Show your son this when he is just young enough to understand (that means from birth, folks – they are making sense of the world as soon as they arrive), practice trick-or-treating at your own front door before the real thing.  Practice how you will walk through airport security before a trip.  Practice how you order your own food from the fast food cashier.  Practice, practice, practice.
18. Answer him when he asks, “Why?”
Answer him, or search for the answer together.  Show him the places to look for the answers (like his dad, or grandparents, or his aunts/uncles, or his books, or valid internet searches).  Pose the question to him so he can begin thinking about answers himself.  Someday, when he needs to ask questions he’s too embarrassed to ask you – he’ll know where to go to find the right answers.
19. Always carry band-aids and wipes on you.
Especially the wipes.
20. Let his dad teach him how to do things.
…Without interrupting about how to do it the ‘right way.’  If you let his dad show and teach and discover with your son while he is growing up, some day down the road (after a short period of your son believing his dad knows nothing), he will come to the realization that his dad knows everything.  You will always be his mother, but in his grown-up man heart and mind, his dad will know the answers.  And this will be how, when your son is too busy with life to call and chat with his mom,  you will stay connected to what is happening in his life.  Because he will call his dad for answers, and his dad will secretly come and ask you.
21. Give him something to release his energy.
Drums, a pen, a punching bag, wide open space, water, a dog.  Give him something to go crazy with – or he will use your stuff.  and then you’ll sorry.
22. Build him forts.
Forts have the ability to make everyday normal stuff into magic.  Throw the couch cushions, a couple blankets, and some clothespins and you can transform your living room into the cave of wonders.  For the rest of his life, he’ll be grateful to know that everyday normal stuff has the potential to be magical.
23. Take him to new places.
Because it will make his brain and his heart open up wider, and the ideas and questions and memories will rush in.
24. Kiss him.
Any mother of sons will tell you that little boys are so loving and sweet.  They can be harsh and wild and destructive during most of the day.  But there are these moments when they are so kind and sensitive and tender.  So much so that it can cause you to look around at the inward, reserved grown men in your life and think, ‘what happens in between that made you lose that?’  Let’s try to stop the cycle by kissing them when they’re loving and kissing them even more when they’re wild.  Kissing them when they’re 2 months and kissing them when they’re 16 years old.  You’re the mom – you can go ahead and kiss him no matter how big he gets – and make sure he knows it.   p.s. (this one is just as important for dad’s too). 
25. Be home base.
You are home to him.  When he learns to walk, he will wobble a few feet away from you and then come back, then wobble away a little farther and then come back.  When he tries something new, he will look for your proud smile.  When he learns to read, he will repeat the same book to you twenty times in a row, because you’re the only one who will listen that many times.  When he plays his sport, he will search for your face in the stands.  When he is sick, he will call you.  When he really messes up, he will call you.  When he is grown and strong and tough and big and he feels like crying, he will come to you; because a man can cry in front of his mother without feeling self-conscious.  Even when he grows up and has a new woman in his life and gets a new home, you are still his mother; home base, the ever constant, like the sun.  Know that in your heart and everything else will fall into place.



Happy weekends guys!

Love,

Zahra

Thursday, February 27, 2014

Demi negara...yang tercintaaaa...


Poyo tajuk ehehehe..


Kerja baanyak..*pitam*
Siapkan slides nak present esok dgn engineering judgement. Pening pikir sgala mak nenek tolerance. And kenapa saya decide design blahblahblah. Saya pilih utk test A shj. Test B kita delete...blablablah

Aish!


Take 5 jap tulis blog. matiklah klu boss nampak ni.



Pagi td pun dh ambik masa sket. settlekan juga  claims and housing subsidy etc etc..dua round pusing kilang.
Mujur pakat dgn geng bwk kereta pusing.kalau tak..matilah


Hehehe..byk kali mati plak arini.. ;p



Want a view of how big our kilang is?
Jap jap..








Ahaaaa..
Nampak dh..saya parking di parking B.
Nmpk tak kat mana R&D?
Yang kotak kotak kecit kecit tu kereta.




***


Need to boost energy.
Kul 4.30 slalu dh flat.sementara tunggu Asar.
Takyah bantal bantal, letak je kepala..terus masuk alam mimpi.





Wahai hati bertabahlah~
Wahai badan sila beri kerjasama


(T_T)

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Tuesday Tots :: Playground play

I've read some studies that says that structured play is actually not good for children development.
They tend to learn more when been given the opportunity to explore by themselves :)


So we counted cookies this week while baking. Then when its a bit cooler outside, we went to the playground in front of our house :)

Kesian anak mommy weekends je berpeluang nk ke playground. Weekdays mmg maghrib br jmp mommy (--")




The happy face that mommy will never exchange for any thing in the world :)








Big boy now..wants to swing by himself. Mommy dilarang tolong (--")



Nice playground but uncivilized minded vandals

Aunty chik w amsyar :)





Thank you aunty chik for coming to our house.last weekend.
Mommy is thinking of more counting activities in the coming weekend :)
As iman's school is more oriented to reading.

Lets learn to count!




And alhamdulillah, he loves to say Allah in his daily conversation. But sometimes in the most funniest ways.

For example 
" Mommy, tengok tu. Moon. Cantiknyaaa...Allah yang buat moon kan mommy cantiknya!"

And to some extreme, this happened while he was watching a scene of ultraman fighting a monster and lose.

" Kesian ultromen, dah mati. Ultramen baik..Allah sayaaaaang ultromen,"


Err!


The mini birthday celebration :)


Iman birthday was on Friday this year :)

So on Friday night, mommy just bought some choc moist cakes and sprinkled M&Ms on the ganache surface for Iman's birthday cake. The candle was also store bought. We had some balloons and bithday hats and also some birthday flutes just to make it merrier. Alhmdulillah, it made Iman happy, just a simple celebration. This weekend we'll celebrate with geyma ya?



The birthday boy. Now as he is already 3, Iman is officially a pre-schooler :)
Not a toddler anymore. No more toddles ;p
At this phase he runs almost at ALL times.














Amsyar excited, more excited than his brother. This year's Amsyar's birthday party turn ya? Inshallah, if mommy ada rezeki lebih. Parties and such memang dana mommy sebab daddy not supportive in extra-curricular activities mcm ni ;p So doakan tabung dana mommy penuh tau Amsyar. Kita gilir gilir birthday party Iman and Amsyar sebab mommy's dana selalu ada shortage...he..he ;p


Muka singing happy birthday, sambil hidung kembang kembang sebab malu :p



Ahaaa..










Love this pic the most :)
The happiness is captured :P
Except for amsyar's confused face :D















Happy birthday dear Iman.
Thank you all for your great wishes.
Mommy doakan Iman jadi anak yang soleh berjaya dunia dan akhirat,khalifah mommy yang bijak dan berkarisma.

Amin




Love,

Zahra

Monday, February 24, 2014

Mommy's Kitchen :: Simple Butter Cookies




Good morning everyone! :)
Lets share a recipe on a Monday morning to cheer adn shoo all the negative vibes :)


This recipe is surely a keeper for my kitchen.
Nice, crunchy and melts in my mouth just the way i like it :)


Ingredients

250g Butter
2 1/2cups Flour
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
2tbsp fresh milk
1tsp vanilla essence
1tsp baking powder

Choc chips and raisins to your taste :)

Method 

Cream butter with sugar.
Add in egg, milk and vanilla essence.
Mix well.

Add in flour n baking powder n your chips in the batter.
Mix well before chilling it for 10mins :)

Bake in small dollops on greased tray for 20mins.
In 170 degree C.


Makes around 70 pieces :)


Happy baking everybody! 




Love
Zahra

Friday, February 21, 2014

Happy Birthday Iman!!! You are 3 today!



Its 21st February 2014!

And today is a special day for..






HAPPY BIRTHDAY imaaaan!






















Grow up strong and wise my little khalif.
Explore the world, set new boundaries, build you dreams.
Wander all around the world, as far as you like.
As long as you remember Allah in your heart



I may not always be there.
But in my doa there will always be you :)








Mommy loves you.
From before i met you.
From before i knew you exist.
Mommy loves you too much.








And now be good.
(i have eyes behind my head you know!)




Love,

Mommy

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Tentang Anak. False alarm.




Tahun ni genaplah 4tahun kami kahwin. Alhamdulillah. Kadang kadang rasa sekejap kadangkala rasa mcm dah betahun kenal. Mmg mcm tulah. Cuma dlm perancangan mmg belum lagi rsnya nak menambah zuriat. Cukuplah dgn dua hero ni shj dulu. Buat masa ini. Alhamdulillah.

Iman hujung minggu ni genap umurnya 3thn :) Amsyar pula nak menjejak 2thn menjelang anniversary kami yang ke 4 nanti. Makanya sebenarnya on our 2nd anniversary 2012 dulu kami dahpun ada 2org anak.
Express katanya.

Nak dijadikan cerita bbrp lama dahulu, saya dah kerisauan apabila kelewatan beberapa hari for the cycle of the month.Bukan beberapa lah, adalah 7-8hari. Mmg kalau takde tu maknanya adalah tu makna. hahaha..maknanya adalah baby. Tp instinct kata tak ada, cumanya loya dan pening nya boleh tahan juga yang memaksa saya paksa juga suami beli pregnancy kit. Belum sempat beli, dah pun ada mlm tu rupanya..
Syukur. 

Bersedia, mmg belum lah bg kami utk yang ke-3. Tp kalau ada saya terima seadanya.Umur pun bukannya semakin muda. Tahun ni dah 30 tapi saya tidaklah mensasarkan umur kepada bilangan anak. Kalau dikurniakan 3 atau 4 sudah cukup ramai bagi sy. Rakan setempat kerja disahkan mengandung kembar menjadikan hati saya berbunga bunga, kerana bukan selalu kelahiran begini. Dan ramai juga teman teman rapat yang mengandung dan melahirkan dlm ms terdekat ini, yang menjadikan saya begitu teruja utk mengandung lagi. Tp entahlah. Msanya belum tiba :)

Sebenarnya bukan kerana payahnya mengandung atau melahirkan. Tp lebih kpd payahnya nak mendidik. Saya akur, sedaya upaya saya nak mendidik cara terbaik, tp kadang kadang rasa kecewa dgn diri sendiri apabila rasa gagal. Susahnya sbnrnya mendidik anak (T_T) Dah buat yang terbaik, mmg kepada Allah shj lah yang dipohon supaya anak ini betul didikannya, baik akhlaknya sebab mmg susah nak buat bende yg mmg kita tak boleh nk kawal outputnya.

Pada saya, kuantiti brp anak dh tak berapa releven dlm konteks hidup mendidik generasi alpha skrg ini.Yang lebih penting asas didikan yang sempurna. Dan yang plg penting, mohon pada yg Maha Berkuasa agar anak anak kita terselamat dr jalan yg tersasar dan moga tetap hati hati mereka. Amin.

Pendekjelah catatan untuk harini. Ingat nak tulis panjang tp mood menulis kian lama kian hilang. Seronok lihat orang orang baru dikurniai teman teman. Tapi biarlah setakat itu shj buat masa ini. Kita tumpukan pada yang dh sedia ada depan mata :)















Merekalah ahli ahli syurga saya.
Ya Allah ...lindungi lah ahli ahli syurga saya.
Jadikan mereka anak anak yang soleh..yang menjadi penyejuk hati dan jiwa.


Amin.


Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Flying kites at Setia City Mall..and the weekends


Assalamualaikum wbt

Hello Tuesday!
Tuesday already. Okay lah. Can i start Tuesday Tots next week? :p
Hehehe



It is really hot these days.
So hot even my lipstick melted being kept in my handbag in the house.
And our house, being the end-lot is directly facing the sun in the evenings, its like the oven to be in on sunny days.

I had some issues on Saturday, and hubby asked me to let it go.
Now i feel like im the lioness in the house these days. And he's the cooler spouse.
Well.

Harry potter's scar look this wkend. Kena ckr dgn kwn
I just wanted some fresh air, some window shopping, some good food and most importantly a place were the kids will be happy. The later criteria is now one of the priority, yes. Hubby wanted to check out the new sky park in one city USJ but i was scared for accidents as we have to active kids here. So we headed off to Setia City Mall instead. Hehehe..favorite spot now i can tell you..hahaha.

One thing i like about setia city mall is that it is less crowded and have most of what i wanted in a mall. Well, i just wanted the basics. Baby room, nice restaurants, a bookstore, a playground, and ample parking space..hehehe.typical mommy wants kan?? :)


The only thing we didnt know before is that, people play kites and giant bubbles in the grass dataran in front of Setia City mall. What a bummer we didnt bring our bikes. Just like dataran putrajaya only the grass was nicer to sit down on a beautiful evening :)

So we bought a kite.
An aeroplane kite this time.hehehe..and flew the kite.














Okay, its more to daddy flies the kite and we watched :p
Bersungguh daddy..hehehe..


Alhamdulillah such a lovely green park.
Definitely a nice place to come again :)




Geram dgn bdk ni..dah besar takmau mommy peluk..takmau mommy cium :p Nak ambil pics pun kena tangkap baru mau. How fast kids grow.Hehehe :)





And of course a visit to the playground too..pictures byk in hp pula..sayangnyaa..




Then, completing the mall visit with..makan makan lah. Makan bersungguh sorang tu. Kemain pkai fork and knife macam terer sgt gayanya :p








Ya ya this boy lah ;p





Tangkap sket Iman with mommy.Geramm jer dia ni takmau bergambar.Takmau itu takmau ini :P Daddy kata stubborn like mommy.





And a little treat of icecream too..once in awhile is OK.
The boys of enjoyed the icecream and well of course spells out : COMOTSS.
Its oklah as long as the boys are happy :)





***


Alhamdulillah :)


And sunday was another mommy's cream puff day.
Well now as mommy had done this like 256895 times, i can memorize the recipe by heart :p Okaylah, not that much times lah but a lot la i can assure you.
And this for sure had become our family recipe :)

Well, what's you favorite family recipe?




Ours would always be of course cream puffs, doughnuts, ayam masak kicap and....
cekodok pisang ;p Cekodok pisang or some may call jemput pisang will always be our favorite, mmg xsempat sejuk amek gambar dh lesappp ;p Lembik-lembik byk pisang..mmg uuuuhuhhh. Terbaikk :P


Simple recipes are always great winners.



***


Till then,
Love

Zahra

Saturday, February 15, 2014

Zulhadzrey Iman. A throwback for birthday week



Time flies too fast, sometimes I feel I wanna stop to freeze everything just so that my babies will stay babies forever.But there are times when I want them to grow so fast, I just could bear anymore being the angry orange rhino in the house so angry u could eat up all the small people in the House :) I wish they were bigger and wiser and wouldnt mess up things around the House. Then i paused.

Its me who is messed up.




O..Babies. you grow up so fast... (--")


And now my sweet baby Iman is becoming 3.
Happily goes to school, and is famous among his teachers for his boldness and independence though being among the youngest in class. Boldness as in outspoken and crying outloud in the first few days. Now he doesn't want to go back from school (--")





















Those were Iman from newborn till 1++.
So tiny and had a lil brother at the age of 13mth :)

Windy as he is, Iman is a clever boy.
At 3 he could recite doa makan, and doa tido and follow daddy pray all four rakaats of isya.he could also azan, tho some words are still blurry and missing :p
Iman recognizes basic colors and could count his candies,or the stairs up to 10 but always missed number 7 in his array..he he he..

For reading, Iman now recognizes his early phonics and mommy hopes he learns well and read to his pace. But we haven't introduce to him android and learning apps.maybe until he is 4. Yups, Iman nvr watches upin ipin on a tube or play with any I pad.

Moreover, he doesnt watch tv except for Mickey clubhouse and hi-5. He totally prefer toys,balls, trucks, physical games and the outdoors than the tv :) Alhmdulillah.just as mommy like.

Iman loves macaroni in carbonara or Bolognese sauce, and also doughnuts. He loves blue shirts and yellow too, but hates red shirts..hehehe. Sweet at some times, he could turn into a small blue monster at times too..hehehe.

Mommy just hope you can learn to control your temper, and mommy do love you.























On his 2nd Birthday :)


School Photo :)

6 more days to 3years old.
O mommy feels like just yesterday i had you all 3.75kg newborn in my arms.





Love,

Mommy Z