Progress kelas

Hazihi suratu usrati.

This is a picture of my family.

Hazihi - this is

suratu - picture. the spelling is صورة

usrati - my family أُسرتي

dalam bahasa arab usrah (أُسْرَة) maksudnya family. bila kita addkan huruf ya (ي)jadilah usrati (أسرتي)maka jadilah maksudnya my family.

dalam observation yang pendek ini taulah kita kalau kita addkan huruf ya kepada kata nama jadilah ianya sesuatu yang belongs to you. Contohnya

kalam (pencil) - kalami (my pencil)
kitab (buku) - kitabi (my book)
zauj (husband) - zauji (my husband)
habib (lover) - habibi (my lover)

berbalik kepada gambar di atas.

Minal yamin

from the right

haza zauji wa habibi. Hua mohandis
This is my husband and my lover. He is gorgeous (hahahahha)

Hua (هو)means he.

Thuma, waladi saghir zachary

then, my youngest son Zachary

wa waladi Haziq

and my son Haziq

and finally the one sitting down waladati or you can use binti Batrisyia. (he he banyak tak tau maknanya dalam arab)

waladi - my son
waladati/ binti - my daughter

maaf mungkin banyak tak betul kat atas

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anyway saja nak report progress. my arabic class have been going on well. exam hari aku dapat 59.5 out of 60. half mark telah dipotong on my reading. maybe i tend to suka panjangkan bacaan yang sepatutnya pendek.

but my written test dapat full marks. yes! yes! let's pull confetti. kali ni exam ada sikit susah..tapi nampaknya skill main hentam masih ada lagi pada diriku..and Alhamdullilah yang hentam tu menjadi.

I've always told haziq especially, when you are in doubt in your exam, hentam sajalah. jangan di biarkan kosong. untung sabut dapat gak markah.

I have improved slihgtly on my makhraj (ح). However I am rating it 40% only. sebab I did well kalau (ح) tu ada sukun atau baris atas. tapi kalau baris bawah macam (الرحيم) atau baris depan, kekadang jadi kekadang tak. Tak apa cuba lagi.

Baca surah dah sampai AlAdiyat. terus terang aku tak pernah hafal juuz Amma tu sampai sini. Tapi yalah kena recitekan. Walaupun asalnya hafal sebab takut kena soal, tetapi adalah juga kebaikannya. Adalah variety sikit surah dalam bacaan sembahyang aku.

Lagi satu, sekarang ni jadi macam aware pulak surah2 atau ayat2 yang pernah hafal tu betul ke huruf yang aku sebut. Tengok balik ayat kursi mana (ح), mana (ع) mana (dzal(asal dzal ni aku takleh taip pakai keyboard ni hah?)) dan macam-macam lagi. It certainly has open my eyes. Jadi bila dah selalu kena refer kekadang bila hafal tu macam nampak that particular page depan mata. Lebih aware.

All in all. The class has been going on tremendously well. I have added fiqh class as a must go. But can't story much about that one. Saya budak baru belajar. The more you learn, the more you know that you don't know.

Silalah minum air mango lassi. Saya jamu. Kita score exam bahasa arab hari tu.

Making the shaytan go away

I wrote in my previous entry about the kids listening to a scary story by Master Potty. Naturally they got slightly jittery.

Batrisyia was relieved though that she has memorised Annas and AlFalaq. She said, I can recite this before I go to sleep, no shaytan will disturb me. Haziq boasted that he can already recite Ayat Kursi.

Zachary, then realised that he didn't have any ammunition. And not wanting to be the only victim to this terrible situation, he exclaimed, "You know you know. if you read Bismillahirahmanirahim, the shaytan will go away."

He he. He is truly an original.

Today I thought him the use of Alistiadzah. (I seek refuge with Allah from Shaytan the cursed one.) Bolehlah tu for a start ek?

Sya is Seven

Sya turned seven last 8th April.

I must say this is one of the reasons I like to blog. So I can note down her progress as she grows older.

Let me see now, how is she doing so far. She reads very well and can gauge on her own the longer and difficult words. She likes reading on her own too. She is also doing well with her maths but I suspect that she might find it not challenging enough. If you have been following me, you would know that she is in the wrong year for her age.

She is close with this girl, Lena. I notice she tends to stay away from crowd and prefer a one-to-one friend. Even the teacher notices it. The teacher told me, batrisyia helps Lena alot. Lena has improved tremendously. That makes my heart swell. I smiled when I heard it. It's the kind of feeling that I know she is a good person.

Ask what she wants to be when she is older. She would probably say a teacher, because she likes teaching. But most of the time she said she wants to be like me. She wants to be a homemaker.

Err betul ke ni Batrisyia. I really should be proud of myself in a way. She must really like what she is observing. Haziq, the anal one, has been calculating and discussing with Sya, just how much pahala I am getting for cooking for the whole family and Sya just couldn't wait to get the same pahala too.

Sometimes she really wants to be handy in the kitchen. Sometimes I get annoyed because she is slowing me down. Sometimes I would call her in the pretense that she is the one cooking. Especially the simple food. The one that requires campak2 and stirring. The other day she made scramble egg. Well at least she stirred the egg.

But is this right? Is it ok not to want to aim for the sky? But well she is only seven. Let's check this entry when she is seventeen.

Her Iqra' reading has been progressing well. Actually I am slightly emberassed to tell you this because it is not as much as what she should be. The only reason is because I am the teacher. *hangs head in shame*. However she is progressing and this year the momentum is catching up. That reminds me not to stop the lessons during the summer break. 2 months is too long.

She is reading Iqra' 4 now. She has memorised four soorahs, Alfatehah, Ikhlas, Annas and AlFalaq. These have definitely been put on good use. When doing solat she can read the fatehah and the soorah part. i think she reads fatehah even during tahyat. hahahha.

You know the other day, Master Potty told them a scary story. The kids are scared actually. Master Potty was teasing sya too. But she said it's ok, I am reading Annas and Al Falaq before I go to sleep. And I have memorised too. the Syaitan will all go away. I think she is slightly worried that she has not mastered Ayat Kursi. But the point is, she believes. She believes that to seek refuge only to Allah. And Allah has bestowed us with these Soorahs. I think that is a tremendous step. To believe.

She is now in the midst of memorising Al MAsad and ayat Kursi. Slowly but Insya Allah surely.

Oh, just to note down here. She is still a messy girl. She never hangs her clothes or fold it nicely. Its always on the floor. geram betul aku dengan anak dara aku sorang ni! I have devise something about this. This links with weekly allowance. Another entry perhaps.

I didn't do much on her birthday because you know I am lazy. Tak yah cita lagilah kan. But I called up some friends to go to Aspire and play there. We brought the kids' bikes. Batrisyia was so proud to show her skills that day.

I made tiramisu, brought some drinks and chips. And my friends brought food too! Dah jadi macam a small picnic. Asalnya I cuma ajak dia orang main-main aje.

Anyway, dear Sya, I pray that you become wholesome person and excels in all aspects of life. the worldly one and the eternal one.

Pictures at Aspire HERE.

Compare her progress

When she is FIVE
When she is SIX.

Exploring Qtar

Man! I haven't been going around Qtar for quite sometime. I think this mostly was because I was busy with the ASS, meetings and events and all that. There never seem to be a quiet weekend. And then there was also the dunes. But it is so hot now, I dread to go to the dunes and get my skin burnt under the hot desert sun.

let me check when was the last time I went somewhere new n Qtar. Hmm..Ahah! It was the camel trip. HERE. Goodness! That was August 2006!

Anyway it is hight time to go places that we have never been. So I said to lover, why not go to the north. And he said why not. He then decided to get some friends to go with us as well. So to the north of Qtar we went.

As usual, a map to guide you along.



We went to Zubara which is about 90km to the North west of Qtar. There is a fort there called surprise surprise Zubara Fort.



I wrote a little about the history in my multiply.

Then we drove up further north and stumbled upon ruins of village. We were leading the entourage (cewah) because we were the only one with GPS. Mr. Fath was trying to persuade Mrs fatah to get a GPS. I must say to travel in the middle east, it is quite a useful gadget to have. Because the tourist map is not sufficient and the signboards are almost non existent. I read in someone's blog about his trip to Zubara and they got lost and took pictures at the backyard of someone's house which they actually thought were ruins of the fort.

You can see the map I attach here. The tourist map is almost like that. It shows a straight road to the fort, whereas to go to the fort requires you to make a sharp u turn and turn at a junction which looks quite insignificant plus there were no signboard. *roll eyes*



Anyway my lover loves the ruins. We came up with theories to what happen to the village. The village is just a walking distance to the beach. I can almost imagine what it was like in the old days. I imagine the children running to the beach day in day out, collecting shells, going further into the sea because the beach is so shallow, swimming to their heart content. Their fathers are most likely fishermen or pearl divers. They have sheep and perhaps a few camels. Their life was simple and everyone goes to the mosque to pray. Their mothers bake their own bread, make their own labban and goat cheese. They wove their own rugs. And they shout calling their children to come home for their dinner.

Digress.

We stopped for a little picnic at the most northern tip of Qtar, Al Shinowee. It's a quiet beach with a little fishing activities. the children collected small shells while we ate. Mrs Adub brought, what she claimed, an express food. nasi lemak bungkus in daun pisang and homemade karipap. *terbeliak mata* Itu express food ka? pengsan. I brought only fried noodles and keria.

When it gets dark, we moved on and pray at a little mosque and continued our journey home. We stopped at Al Khor first to meet up with our Al khor friends. And makan some more. I thought I was quite full, but I managed grilled hamour (garoupa) with butter lemon sauce. Boleh?

Everyone enjoyed this sweet day to the extent one of them suggested that we go for a convoy somewhere next time. Somewhere meaning places like UAE or Oman. Hmmm

hmmmm

hmmmmmmmm

They are really great pals. I do enjoy being with them.

The thing is I have never done convoys. I prefer small.

When I went around UK, the most is four in a car. Backpacking in Europe is just me and my chum. Turkey, me and my chum again. I am even willing to travel alone.

You see, I am inefficient, slow and I like things my way. I like doing the planning and enjoy being wrong executing them. Remember when I went to Oman and got myself in the mountainous road to nowhere? read it HERE. That is my kind of traveling.

I am not sure whether everyone is up for it.

Oh for pictures click HERE.

This is like a date!

The two weeks spring break are nearly over for my kids. Soon they will get back to their routine of sleeping early and waking up early. No more watching heroes for them too. Nyeh nyeh.

Batrisyia had a longer break. her school took one week off to facilitate them moving to a different location. And as usual, I let her watch TV to her heart content. Play the computer games as much as she wants, without either her brothers wanting the computer too. She had to follow where I go as well. i took her to my arabic and tajweed class. I took her to a morning coffee at one of the ladies' house. Psst I made tiramisu.

On the last day of her break, before the other two boys break loose in the house, I decided to give Sya a treat. After sending Jack to school, I took her for breakfast. Not in any shop but in a nice fancy restaurant. And just my luck they have kids meal there. He he. Lasagna with one cupcake and two pieces garlic bread on baguette and a box of juice for QR10.

Oh was she happy. She just realise that she could have me all for herself. No jackjack all over me. No abang stealing all the conversation. No ayah who talks to me all the time. Hmm its amazing how i can handle all these attention seekers at one time. How I do it? Well you mothers should know it by now.

Then we went to have her hair cut, which was very much needed. And we cherried the day with a little shopping for her. Ada sale mothercare!! We went through the normal process. She chose. I scrutinise. Fitting room. Size changing. testing. Twirling and all those things.

It was a girly day indeed.

She said to me, it is just the two of us today. It is like a date!

I just realise we have never done this before. me and her. I did it with Haziq before she came along. I am always with Jack, but never really with her. The two of us.

Sya, my only daughter. My middle child.

A mother should have mother-daughter day more often I think.

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Oh! We did those digital scrap booking. I'm printing it so she can scribble something and we'll have it bind in colourful ribbons and she can paste stickers and loves and whatever she likes. Syioklah!

Pelaburan untung berlipat kali ganda

It has been two years today that my mum left the worldly life to meet our AlKhaliq. I still miss her the same. But it is ok now. I can talk about her bravely. I still cry to myself when I remembered her smile in the ICU seeing me. I still cry when I pray for her. Those prayers that you sit and raise your hands and you really really beg to ArRabb for His continuous rahmah on my mother (and me).

As you all already know, Allah, with his tremendous mercy, gives us the very chance to increase in manifold our rewards even after our death. Imagine that! And we all know this beforehand, so we can start putting up investment at this very minute!

The investments come in the form of giving charity, spreading beneficial knowledge and leaving the world with children of righteous qualities.

My mother, with little money that she had, was not a philanthropist. However, I pray, that her Quran teaching to the neighbour's kids will be a delicious reward for her. And if these kids (who are grown ups by now) continue to teach even their own kids, her rewards will increase, and if their kids continue to teach and read themselves, the reward will go on forever down to the very last downline till the end of the world. This is MLM at its best. Kalau kat dunia ni dah kira boleh dapat Mercedes sebijik.

I also pray that her teaching masak-masak such that a family, with the knowledge that my mum taught, can earn some living can be considered as spreading knowledge. Allah knows better.

I am praying that the little things and monetary that she gave will be rewarded accordingly. I believe that Allah is fair. Its good that we can be generous like Mr. Syed Mokhtar. But I am sure economies of scale applies.

All children who care about their parents should be grateful to Allah that He being AlRahman AlRahim has grant us a chance to do our last deeds for our parents. Punyalah sayangnya dia kat makhlukNya ini. Sampai macam tu punya peluang Allah kasi kat kita. If we are righteous the reward go to our parents too. Woo peluang baik ni. Mari kita rebut!

And as parents ourselves, we can start the investment with our children so that we can die happy, in the knowing that, Insya Allah, what we leave in the world will continue to work for us.

And that last one worries me most.

Oh and another thing

And actually there is another thing that is making me smiling from ear to ear. Sya can now ride the two wheelers.



The other day I helped a friend to move house from a big villa to a nice cosy apartment. (Ini kes kena suruh keluar by the landlords). He had to give away many things and the bikes are among them. He gave us two bikes which are good enough for Haziq and Sya. Alhamdullilah. Pity his kids had to let their bikes go though. Thank you friend. Penat berleter kat lover suruh beli basikal tau...tak beli-beli..

The only problem was the bike for Sya is slightly too tall for her. But she still manage to ride and balance it even though she had numerous falls trying to keep herself from failing. It must be quite mind boggling to practice thinking to paddle, to align the handle and to remember to brake when approaching an obstacle and also to balance and not fall.

Initially I had to help her hold the bike first before she proceeded to balance . But the other day, I showed her how to go off on her own. A bit hard, because the bike is tall, but yayy she did it.

And of courselah we don't want to leave Jack alone. We bought a proper bike for him. He has never paddle you know. Never ever. Mana nak kayuh basikal selama ni? He is nearly four and he still cannot paddle. My kids are deprived.



But kids learn it easily and there you go. Look at Jack happily riding his bicycle. And he can use the brakes too.

Ibu happy.

But Ibu is tired. To let them have a go on the bike is really an effort tau. I have to load all the bikes by MYSELF. Tak termasuk kalau nak bawak skateboard atau scooter. Drive all the way to Aspire and take the bikes out. Nak ikut hati, malas aje! But weather is still good. And I know I know it is good for them. Infact for me too. I had to sprint to chase Sya the other day. Rasanya turun sekilo..NOT! Ahaks.

Hip hip hooray for Sya and Jack!

For more pictures of them click HERE.

Something to be happy about

There are a few things that are making me happy and smiling. Like it's quite OK to live here kind of feeling.

First of all, the centre where I am learning my arabic and tajweed, now also offer classes for girls. Sya's age included. Woo hooo. So ok it's only once a week for two hours, much lesser than what your kids get in Malaysia. But this is enough reason for me to be elated anyhow. I felt so relieved.

She has attended two classes already. I must say that the class so far, is like fine tuning what she has already learn. They taught her AlFatehah. Correcting her makhraj and all that. Dalam hati ni legaaa Sya dah memorise Al Fatehah. So lepas ni sure Sya kerek dengan maknya ni. Tee he he.

And the other day I went out to this low budget shop that sells everything under the sun called AlRaunak. I wanted to get some files to fill in my homeschooling (janganlah terperanjat sangat dengan term ni) notes.

Biasalah nak cari satu benda, pastu merayau-rayau tengok benda lain. I managed to get myself in the book section. Oh! What a galore! I found the very kind of books that I was looking for.

You see the other day I was doing self complaining and sighing, that I don't have enough material for the homeschooling. I am not that creative. Of course I have been turning to the faithful internet and buku kerja ugama. I have been printing stuff and all that. But what I also want are real books. Islamic books for children which are either not many or are too expensive here in Qatar.

But I found them books in this shop! So many of them and also so so so cheap. At least in Qtar standardlah. Allow me to share the books' title so you can share my joy wokeh..

1. Angel Jibra'eel Returns Again



This book for children is about Surah Ad-Duha which explains about it's history and about the Prophet. Wow! Masya Allah! I am the one who is really learning here tau!

The kids have not got to this surah yet. Err well maybe Haziq has but at least not with me. But when they do, I have my materials ready. Sangatlah syioknya.

2. The Gift of Jumu'ah



Haziq has learned formally about Jumuah prayers at his Friday Fardhu Ain class. And this book is a supplement to what he has learn. I like English Islamic Children book because the approach is more friendly than a Malay one. What he learn macam ala ala sekolah, but this book has different approach altogether. A great book to read together and learning about what is so special about Friday with your kids regardless of gender. All while making them knowledgeable about the blessed day of Friday.

3. The Gift of Ramadhan



Self explanatorylahkan buku ni? Coming Ramadhan nanti adalah modal.


4. Abu Lahab and his wife Arwah



Sya will be reciting this soorah soon. bestnya nak introduce bad guy dalam cerita nabi.

5. The surahs to seek refuge



Oh I am just so happy to find this bbok. Dengan kalernya yang terang. Dengan gambarnya yang best. Sya has just memorised the three Quls. (I know I know lambatnya. Hu hu. Mak ajar tak strict sangat kot?.) And I am currently putting in new routine at night that is to recite Fatehah, the three Quls, Ayat Kursi and syahadah before they sleep, followed by hugs and kisses. With the help of this book, I can explain to them
why we are doing all that.

Kan senang kerja aku Cik Bedah oi.

6. Those Who Backbite and Slander



This book is about surah Surat Al-Humazah (The Slanderer) which explains about backbiting and slandering others and its evil effects. OK..I definitely have not got to these Surah with the kids. I know Haziq has memorised it, but we have not discussed the story just yet. In fact I err have not betul-betul memorise this surah. *hangs head in shame*. Tapi learning about the story nanti should help me lah kan?

7. The Night of Decree



Hah! Lagi buku yang sesuai untuk Ramadhan

8. The gift of friendship.

Alaa tak jumpalak kat internet and malas nak scan. But basically this book tells us the importance of friendship and it summarises the 6 duties that a Muslim has upon another Muslim like accepting invitation, blessing them when they sneeze and all that. Sungguh amat sesuai untuk story mory dan pengajaran with the kids when the topic arises in my homeschooling.

All these books are written by Shazia Nazlee and published by Darussalam. And each cost QR8. Surely it is cheaper in Malaysia. The books are printed on high quality paper, big font and fantabulous pictures. Children will like it. Myself being a child at heart person LOVES it.

I also got another book entitled Ammar in Makkah also published by darussalam. The QR3 book is about a young boy, Ammar, who went on a journey in Makkah with his family. This children book is for children to understand the journey. Ooohh definitely will be useful for Haziq especially. Can't wait to use this book for good.




Ahh another book for Sya particularly. Sya has learn about Wudhu' and is able to do it without my constant supervision. I want to go to the next level of telling her which one is wajib and sunat. And to put down formally what nullifies a wudu'.

But err I have a questionlah. the book says one of the things that nullifies a wudu' is eating camel's meat? Ya ka ni? And the book also says "When in doubt, do not renew the wudu' unless you are absolutely sure that your wudu' has become invalid". I thought it's the other way round.

I bought a few books for myself. Tapi panjanglah pulak post ni. Tak penting sangatlah.

Some of you may find, alaa ini pun nak happy. But I have always find it hard to find good and cheap books here especially Islamic one in English. So I have all reasons to be astounded.

Subhanallah, I find that when I think of something, I will be shown the answer or the way. When I want something, I will get it. It is really easy to make me happy tau.

Power Suit

When I was working, my office was always involve with Secretariat job especially when we need to venture with similar departments from overseas companies. Somehow, my boss always insists that all the engineers do the PR job as well even though the company actually has a PR department.

Anyway there was this one time that my task was to make sure all the delegates that arrive in KLIA are safely tuck in the appropriate limo and be sent to a hotel in Malacca ready for our tender evaluation the next day.

I put on one of best power suits that day. A black top from Edmundser, sleek and sharp. And a long pencil skirt also from Edmundser. I believed I look good. very fofessional. Black always make me look good (read slimmer) and serious looking. I put on my black heels. First because black matches my all- black suit and the heel is in the hope that I look tall or at least taller. Put on my white pearl short necklace, simple stud white earings and a small simple pearl brooch on the lapel.

Yup! I look good alright. In the boardroom armed with the appropriate jargon, I could kill some members for sure.

I got to KLIA on time, another fofessional attitude. And you know what, when you think you look good, it will definitely show on your face. You feel confident. When I walk, I feel attitude. Yeah! Strut it baby. It must have shown so much, that I notice some people were taking second look at me. Ehem! Ehem! Definitely a feel good day that day.

Apparently there were alot of "fofessional" people in KLIA that evening. Many guys in all black loitering about. And there again, some guys are looking and smiling at me. All these "fofessional" guys. Ooohhh memang betullah aku nampak smart hari tu.

The delegate's plane was delayed and I had to wait longer. Agghh bosanlah kerja ni. And even when the plane has arrived, this important delegate decided to shop at the duty free. Arrghh lagilah bosan.

But to make the day, one of this fofesional guys came and chat with me. Mr. Pro his name. He asked, "kerja mana?". I said Tee Enn Bee. "Eh? Tee Enn Bee? Hotel mana tu"

Apa bengap mamat ni? So I told him the full name of this glorious company.

"Ohhhh. Ingat kerja hotel tadi."

Then only I looked a round. So many people in all black, waiting at the arrival section. Some holding placard, either the name of the person they are waiting for or the hotel's name. The dude from Ritz is the smartest one, I must say. he was wearing a really handsome vest.

Anyway..godamnit. I am in this powerful all black suit, looking ready to roar. Now I really look like on of the hotelier people. Forget roaring, I couldn't even meow. Suddenly I feel that I can't shoot anyone. I have lost my mojo. And all the hotel people start getting friendly with me which at that time wasn't at all flattering. Wrong suit! Get me out of here now!!!

And there was the other time, I wore one of my other best suits. A red jacket and a matching red pants. SSSSiiizzling I tell you. i went to the bank, then one of the guards who is always chatting with me anyway, finally probably had the courage to ask. "Ooohh anak ni kerja kat jaya Jusco eh?" And then images of Siti Nurhaliza as the spokesperson of Jaya Jusco kept popping in my mind. I refrain from going to Mid valley that day. Afraid of being mistaken as a Jusco personnel.

Another time I wore my orange batik kebarung. i don't like that material so much but since lover gave it to me, I wore it anyway. I had a conference at Sunway that day. Upon entering the big banquet hall, i scanned the seats to look for familiar faces. So that i could chat rather than hear the lectures. Ahaks! As i was about to walk, a man stopped to ask something that I can't remember. But his question was something a secretariat could answer. i looked around and as expected, the secretariats were all wearing orange kebaya/ kebarung or baju kurung. Aggghhhhh. Bencinya.

This is very akin to people mistaken you as the waiter when you are donning your best white shirt and black pants. Or even worst, your new organza is the same as someone's table cloth. I went home and changed that very minute!

Over here you might want to avoid those fabrics with either thin narrow stripes or small checkered of pastel coloured materials like the one Dorothy wear in the Wizard of Oz for example.

These are the favourite material and pattern for the maid's uniform here. They sell it ready made at carefour. Regardless that you know your shirt is a Chanel. But if you still insist, and when someone ask you where your mama (the endearment for maid's boss here) is or shoo you because you cannot stand at that spot, don't come back running and complaining to me.

Pengubahsuaian Main Hentam

Ha Ha ha. Buruknya suaraku!

I translated this favourite children Malay song into Arabic.

Ana - saya
Uhibu - saya sayang
Ummi - ibu saya
Abi - ayah saya
Jaddi - atuk saya
Jaddati - nenek saya
Akhi - abang saya
Ukhti - kakak saya
Kul - setiap
Usrati - keluarga saya

Jom sing along