About Swimming

You know watching my kids learning to swim, it reminded me alot about my late brother.

He was a very good swimmer. he didn't even have to go to any swimming classes. Nobody taught him how to swim either. And mind you, we were urbanites, whatever that means. Basically it means we do not have access to river or little streams like Lat and the gang.

He would just hang out at these swimming pool. Watch people swim and he just swam. And he can do all kind of styles. He was like a merman diving in, swimming in and popping out of the water.

I can't do all these without a teacher. Even with teacher, I still take a long time and became just an average swimmer.

My brother can just dive in the sea from the ferry stopping in the middle of nowhere. Something that I will never ever do.

So yeah. I miss him.

May Allah have mercy on his soul and may we be reunited again.

Keeping Them Busy

It is now the two-months long summer break here. And I clearly remember the last year loooonngg summer break. Where they basically sleep, eat, play games, watch TV. Ok we do a few activities but most of the time they sleep, eat, play games and watch TV.

So I thought I just try to keep them a bit more occupied.

I am sending Haziq to the masjid for his memorisation every weekday morning up to Dzuhur. He still has to go to his regular mengaji with his ustaz a few days in the evening. This arrangement has been good, Alhamdulillah. When he is doing one surah for his morning lessons, he needs to strengthen another surah in the evening. This keeps him on his toes being challenged. May Quran be in his heart.

There is also some programmes for the girls in the morning. Not everyday though, but sufficient. Apparently for the memorisation they are so far memorising the Fatihah and three quls to the dismay of Sya. But I told her there are always other things that you can learn from different teachers and different environments. Even if we think we know, there are always new things you can learn. Plus not to mention I have already paid the class wokei. :P. But Alhamdulillah they are learning other stuff too like dua's that I haven't got to teaching yet. And also she is getting cool presents for being able to memorise teh surahs and the dua'. He he he

I am sending Jack to the same mosques as Haziq because he kept telling me that he wants to go to the mosque for ngajiing when he is six. So there you go. According to haziq, when he recites with the ustaz he would look down all the time looking very nervous. Once finished, he would go on his fighting mode with some imaginary people and berguling-guling in the mosque.

Also, I signed all of them up for swimming class. Well haziq can swim already, so he is learning to improvise his breast stroke at the moment.

So they are busy but still, once they got home, terus main computer. Grrrrr. I haven't come up with activities to do at home yet for them. We still have our halaqah once a week. I need to do something daily but somehow, I have stuff to catch up too. Allah Mustaan.

At other times, I busy themselves with washing the dishes, lap habuk, siram pokok, kemas bilik and many more interesting character-building activity. they will thank me one day, insya Allah.

Or otherwise, I will remind them to thank me. Hahahahha

A Dainty Lollies and a Flat Tyre

One dusty morning a dainty lady woke up to another routine day. She shouted at her kids to get up early and hit the shower, lest the water become too hot and will scald their skin. She is that caring.

She hang the clothes, made breakfast (garlic bread with cheese). Then she pestered her first son to get ready for school.

She roared the engine and flicked the aircond switch and slowly and carefully as she usually is, preseed the accelerator pedal to reverse her car. But the car seemed to not want to move.

She knows she is dainty but she cannot be that weak. She knew something was wrong. Glanced at the panel. There you go an LED icon that refuse to go away. It says FLAT TYRE. Qadr Allah.

Got off the car and confirmed herself.

What to do! What to do!

Eldest son is late to school. Called the teacher. And called her lover and complained and pretended to about to cry.

But lover, the knight and shining hero, refused to come and save her, but told her to take the pump and pump the tyre herself then go find a mechanic and have it fixed.



(Of course I am not going to pump the tyre myself? And what? Risk my fingers becoming dirty? I have Haziq to do it for me. And later we send it to the professional to patch the tyre up.)

The dainty lady sweltered under the heat and cannot wait to pout when lover comes back home from his day of hunting.

Haziq the shabab

Haziq the shabab.

I consider Haziq as boy of age now. No he hasn't got the dream just yet but there are other signs. So I told him that you have the book now, that record your deeds. And he said, what, you mean all these while you don't have it? The little ones like Jack don't have it? He he misinformed I suppose.

Alhamdulillah Haziq loves learning and take almost all lessons with gutso. Well perhaps he has problems with subjects like history but he does try. His teachers has only good words for him.

He is also feeling the pinch of competition which is becoming very intense. he is always eyeing for those better than him. The problem with this though, is sometime frustration may creeps in. I hope to be his motivator and the one who consoles and keeping up positivity. May Allah help us.

He is still a very cheerful boy and is still the focal point among his siblings. May Allah instill love among them always.

However he is beginning to find his anger streak here and there especially when he "feels" that injustice is not served. And many times I see him arguing his cases with adults, who are also my friends. Thinking back, it was probably like me but now I am on the other side, I can see that it is the emerging teenage hormone who always feel that everything is not just and no-one-understands-me.

I probably should read a book on how to motivate him and to nurture him that the world is not against you most of the time. And also how to pick battles so you can look kewl arguing them.

Did I tell you that he is slightly taller than me now? And his shoes are bigger than mine too.

Haziq has improved his memorisation in quite a leap now Masya Allah. He went through a stumbling block for sometime but something motivated him. It came in the form of some friends who have memorised more. With a reminder to the niyah of memorising and him in return telling me competition in the deen is very good, he tried harder.

He is now halfway through Juz 28, Masya Allah. May Allah wrapped him in the Quran and may it be his protector in dunya and akhirah.

I suppose now that he is a shabab, I probably am not very keen to update his progress yearly after this. I will still write things that concern him or his questions or his doing, but probably the age 12 is the limit for yearly progress update. It used to be cute.

I ask Allah to make him the comfort of my eyes and the leaders of the muttaqun and that we will all gather as a family in the yaumul akhirah with bright faces and laughing together.

Cannot Blame on the Oven Anymore.

Sometime back in 2006, I wrote about my frustration of the non existing facility of my oven back in the old house.

But now Alhamdulillah, the landlord has placed (in his house) a spanking new set of cooker and hood and OVEN! And the oven comes with a temperature mark, in celcius, and also a timer that goes tick tick tick if you wind it and goes TING when it is done ticking!



So lover said when are you going to make all the food that you claim so-many-things-I-can-do-if-I-have-a-proper-oven. Gulp!

I have so far made garlic bread. Cinnamon bread (read bread not bun!). Baked potatoes! And also made a lembik bingka pisang.

So now I cannot blame the problems of the world to the oven anymore. But I can still blame the mirror.

You look fat? Blame it on the mirror.
Oranje lost? Blame it on the mirror.

Anyway anyone know a mean recipe for lasagne?

_______________________________________

Just something to share pertaining to protecting our house.

THE BOOK OF DRINKS (KITAB AL-ASHRIBA)
Muslim :: Book 23 : Hadith 5006

Jabir b. ‘Abdullah reported Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: When a person enters his house and mentions the name of Allah at the time of entering it and while eating the food, Satan says (addressing himself: You have no place to spend the night and no evening meal; but when he enters without mentioning the name of Allah, the Satan says: You have found a place to spend the night, and when he does not mention the name of Allah while eating food, he (the Satan) says: You have found a place to spend the night and evening meal. This hadith has been narrated on the authority of Jabir b. Abdullah through the same chain of transmitters but with a slight variation of wording.

So let us remember to say Bismillah before we enter our home. :)

Funny Mirrors

There are more mirrors in this house. But I think they are the funny mirrors. The kind that are used in circus or fun-fairs.

Why, I look fat in them.

Loose things and Sterile House

Internet is back. Hoyeh!

It has been good though not having the internet for otherwise I would not have settled much. I am happy to inform you the momentous occasion that I have cleared up all boxes. We are officially moved in. (Tiru script Mrs Incredibles)

I have also pulled up all the will I have in me to tackle all the loose things. I really hate doing them. Mati akal. Those are the things that are packed in plastic bags or trash bag or dumped in a box and bucket and then strewn everywhere in the house.

They are all GONE! I hate clearing them but I did.

I am so proud of myself and I deserve a star!

Essentially the house is done. It just need some desterilisation.

The house still looks very sterile.

Saat Yang Di Tunggu

Insya Allah we are moving house tomorrow. We are already in the midst of moving and slowly sending small things there. The house is not 100% ready but liveable. Some maintenance issue.

So I will be off the internet for a bit. Will get back as soon as I get connected.

Meanwhile I paste here a nasyid with an excerpt of an excellent lecture that has never failed to touch my heart.



You can listen to the full lecture by Anw@r Awl@ki, entitled, "25 promises from Allah to the Believers", HERE. I dedicate this lecture to rotidua because she once quoted a hadith of the man who killed a hundred. Masya Allah. tabarakallah. May Allah bestow all of us with the understanding of His Ilm. The hadith was also mentioned in this lecture. Rotidua memang terer.

Meanwhile I part with this hadith, "I leave you in the care of Allah, Who nothing that in His care is lost." (Sahih Ibn majah. The traveler's invocation for the one he leaves behind)

Difficult Question

The K@f@ classes that I have been helping to teach is closed for the long summer break. We will resume after Eid, Insya Allah. Bi Iznillah, if Allah gives me the qudrah and the knowledge I would like to continue teaching there.

I have enjoyed doing this bit of stint. Truly the students and the experience taught me alot. Praises all go to Allah.


Left :My attempt to draw and write on the board,
Right : Some of the cute children. May they grow up to be righteous.

I learnt from the materials that i had to gather.
I learnt to teach the little knowledge I know and translated it for a 6 year old to comprehend.
I learnt from their reaction.
I learnt from their questions.
I learnt. I learnt. I learnt.

So far the most difficult question I heard was, "Aunty, my father still eat with his left hand. And I have told him what you said. How?" Or something to that effect.

How now brown cow?

Ketawa Ketawa Ketawa

Like most typical house contract, we are told that in the case we do not wish to renew the housing agreement, we must send a notice of evacuation two months before the contract expire. Having failed that, it can be assumed that you would like to continue residing, and you also have to agree with whatever rental increment they want to impose. You can also breach this part but be ready to forfeit your one month rental deposit.

Anyway, in the view of this, we, who were from the start very adamant to want to move out from this house, has sent out notice of evacuation way before the two months date. We didn't have any potential house just yet back then, but our semangat berkobar-kobar mengatasi segalanya.

And when we have finally signed a new contract, we, the proud tenant of the house-to-be, dengan bangganya announced the date that we should be moving i.e. 20th may 2010. Which of course as you know, we later had to swallow our pride and asked the landlord to allow us to stay a little bit more.

Qadr Allah, my neighbour who lives above me, suddenly announced that they are moving to Saudi. And now they are gone. Poof! And my neighbour who lives behind me, hearing that we are planning to go, quickly find himself a house and will be moving tommorrow! Poof!

Suddenly, we found ourselves, yang semangat berkobar-kobar nak get out of this house and cannot stand living here anymore are still here. And no sign of moving this weekend either.

Bwahahahhahahahhaha.

But remember this people. I am happy today tau.