The Children and the Quran

When I first had Haziq, I was ever determined that I will be the first to teach him the Quran. I wanted to be his first teacher. I wasn't a teacher material but Alhamdulillah, along the journey I had an easy opportunity to learn to read the Quran with tajweed.

Back then my determination was probably because I myself was taught by my mother, may Allah make this as light for her and forgive her sins. So I have always thought, it is natural for a mother to do so. Coupled with I-want-to-do-everything-myself-attitude, I made sure the class go on every week days.

Alhamdulillah I am still trying to teach the children the Quran. We are slowly doing memorisation of the words of Allah. However, I have also decided that come the right time, I will send them to others which obviously are more knowledgeable and Insya Allah will fine tune the children in their hifz.

Anyway, as I have mentioned sporadically in previous post, starting last summer, I felt that Sya is already ready and should go to a group class. Alhamdulillah we found one - for girls only. A small informal one where most of the girls are her friends who are also into Quran. They had quiz day last week where they are put in teams of two and compete with each other. Sya didn't win the overall quiz but I know she did well, Masya Allah, Tabarakallah.

And Sya can stand on her own. She looked confident with her answers. The spirit of the girls in the class encouraged her to push herself. In that sense, I felt that she has blossomed and I am proud of her. I am glad I made the decision to send her there. Such testing task I have to say, the distance and the traffic. Ya Allah..

I pray that Allah will open the doors for all of us for Quran. And the Quran that we read and we memorised will be for us and not against us.

_______________

Did I tell you also sitting down listening to them also help me with my own Quran. It's part of my Quran revision. So I haven't let go of them even though they are doing it with others. he he. Selfish sikit maaaa.

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I would like to share with you a video. The video shows two boys who cried. The former because his football team lost and the latter is because he finally finished his Quran memorisation.  I am actually not in favour of the first part of the video because I personally I do not like to make comparison like this and plus you can see the boy's face. I don't like that. Also there is nothing wrong with football except that too much love in it is wasteful of emotion and heart space.

But please look at the message of the sweetness of completing memorisation Quran. ya Allah. The boy was already having a hard time reading from suratun Nasr because he knows in a few more surah will mark the end of his memrosising throughput the Quran. And that requires a big sacrifice and hard work.

May Allah allow us to live long to see this for ourselves first and to our children. Ya Rabb.

When Haziq is Not Around

Haz\iq is not around for a week. He got selected, out of the last W0rld Sch0lar's cup round in Bangkok (HERE), to go for the summit of the game in Yale University, New Haven, the United States. He will later become a tourist in New York. He is having fun in the freezing cold weather, I am sure.

But Ibu is also finding herself with extra work in hand when he is not around. I find myself having to water the plants, wash the dishes by myself, angkat kain jemuran, fold his clothes. Bless him. Don't be too impress, he grumbles all the time.

Sya is taking up the dish washing but not in the full scale now.

Anak makin besar, kerja kurang sikit you (tapi kepala pening banyak).

Alhamdulillah.

Jim Mim 'Ain

We were discussing surah adiyat (me and my children) sometime ago. And we reached the 5th verse.
 فَوَسَطۡنَ بِهِۦ جَمۡعًا  Penetrating forthwith as one into the midst (of the foe)By the way it was a great discussion and I learned alot  of general knowledge concerning Arabian horses doing this surah. You  can read part of it here

Al Adiyat 100: 1 - Arabian Horses
Al Adiyat 100: 1
Al Adiyat 100: 2 - Horseshoes
Al Adiyat 100: 3-5

So we got to ayat 5 and I pointed out the word جَمۡعًا and I briefly mention the word comes from the three root letter which is جمع. Which in general means group or join or unite. And as most arabic words, they are derived from a three  root letter.  And they can then means similar but different. So from the letters jim mim 'ain, you can get the word 

jumuah (Malay) pronounce is Jumaat. جمعة 

Jamaah - as in solat jamaah  جمعة

Jamek - as in Masjid jamek. جامع

Majmuk - مجمع

Ijtima' (meeting or gathering) - اجتماع

Can you see, the changed word still have the root letter jim mim 'ain?

Then, suddenly Sya asked me, what would jima' mean? It is spelt like this جماع

:O

:|

It means having sex Sya.

Then Haziq roared and Sya went red on the face..and Jack laughed even though he did not fully understand what was happening.

_________________________________

The other day, I was casually talking to haziq about how some music videos are like porno especially the arabic ones particularly if they singers from Lban0n. 

Then Sya asked, is porno like jima'?

Parenting Skills

If there is any in me. Allah musta'an.

Every Friday morning (which is the weekend over here), I will tell the children to clean up my little garden. Pull out the weeds, pick all the dried leaves, sweep and sometimes wash the steps. The have been doing it every Friday not whole heartedly I suppose. But this is what I call character building Insya Allah. And plus because I can.

Last friday Jack came snuggling beside me and complained and complained like he usually does. He complained to me about Haziq. That Haziq is always angry at him, that Haziq accused him of being slow and Haziq always take his job away when he was going to do this. Abang is always angry at me.

I always watch them when they are together supposedly working and Jackjack being the youngest and sometimes either clueless or just plain lazy is always working ever so slow. He would sometimes get so involved in his own imaginary world of fighting zombies and stuff, he would be playing by himself and sway his broom or brush everywhere.

He usually gets the easiest job which is to put the collected leaves in the plastic and put it near the bin. But he would spend his time "fighting" that the he forgot about his job. And usually he would rush when I am down there for inspection or when his abang and akak are nearly finished. Then he got panicked and complain even more.

So after he complained, I hugged him and said to him, maybe you are playing too much and not doing your job properly. He retorted, I am doing my job!" It's abang who always take my job away! So I told him today, you must quickly put the leaves away in the bin, so abang doesnt take your job away and he doesnt get angry. Of course he would say, "Abang will still be angry." Yeah he complains a lot. Peck in the cheek. A tickle. He was fine Insya Allah.

Then later, haziq came to me complaining about Jack. he was only playing. he never does his work. And when I told him to be quick, he got angry. Then because I cannot wait any longer, I had to finish his work for him, then he got angry.

Then I told him to be patient. he is only seven and very imaginative. Give him small task, and remnd him often because little kids need more reminders. Never finish his work for him. You can slightly punish him by leaving him when you are all done, or threaten him sometime before you are going to actually finish. But as the bigger one and also the leader you have to know his talents and his weaknesses and play with it. Gentle but stern. And in the end, you have me to report to. You have to instill team work and keep the team happy so that all of you achieve the same goal - i.e. please me (and a clean frontyard).

And remember Haziq, I had to deal with you when you are at that age.

This is all so funny I think. Their squabble. Their argument. But I need to skill to be somewhat fair and also not demotivating either. Otherwise I can easily say, O shaddap!

I pray that they are close with each other even after I am gone.

__________________

It is worth to note also, that no one has a fight with Sya. Sya diligently pull out weeds, cut off unwanted branches and throw things away. Allahuma Bareek.

Sya is Eleven

Masya Allah! tabarakallah! Time flies really fast as the saying goes. Sya is already in her double digit age.

First of all Alhamdulillah, Sya is not into acting like big girls. Yeah she likes to do her hair and all that, and we sort of encourage her by praising her but not by overdoing it. We encourage her because girls like to hear praises. We encourage her to look nice at home and to not feel the need to do it outside the home. I would usually remind lover to praise her too. Not that lover does not like doing it, but men need reminders in this sort of thing I think.

And let me tell you this, girls like to hear their father praising them. This is crucial for their positive self esteem and self confidence. When they have praises from the man who matters most in their life, they do not need to quench this need from strange men outside,Insya Allah, May Allah protect our daughters.

OK about Sya. Sya is a reminder to me, that all children are different. Their different interest from the family's norm (when it is allowed by the deen), does not mean they are strange. Sya has not much interest in Maths and science like I do and like her abang. This is frustrating. Because the world in general, gauge cleverness based on the school's academic report especially maths and science. Not that she is downright terrible in the subjects, but she never score in them nor is she getting the concept really quick. When she does get after drilling, she would forget it by next week. Insya Allah khayr.

her memorisation has been going on steadily. Some of her friends have leapt tremendously but it's ok. We must balance encouragement and threat. encouragement by 90%. The competition is more against your nafs. I personally find memorisation has helped Sya in her studies even more. She is more able to focus and remember. Insya Allah khayr. These are bonus of memorising the quran, not the ultimate motif.

Sya is more into crafts and sewing little things. This is a problem in my household because I find crafts messy. yeah sure many people make nice crafts, but they are still a mess in my opinion. I like functional things. I do not fancy many things put on display. Displayed things to me should be in good size and especially nice. Strewn small things only collect dusts and difficult to maintain.

Having said that, I am exploring what she likes and encouraging the way I can, bebelling because of the messiness and gritting my teeth because I do not favour it.

Sya is a very caring person and likes to put people's needs first before others. She is willing to do things for her brothers and me of course. She is so willing, such that I had to tell Haziq off for making her do things for him. She always have her friend's needs in her mind and love to make stuff for them. She would either paint something for them when they are not well, make stuffed toy for them.

She swims well and take up rollerblading easily as well. So I will Insya Allah continue to send her to swimming classes. I have many berangan ideas for her through this.

Her room is still messy though. Yeah, even though I am not an organised person myself, but I cannot stand other people's messiness. :P

She has been steadfast on her choice of the way to dress so far. Alhamdulillah.

I ask Allah that this carry on through trial times of teenagehood and adult life and that Allah grant her strength of mind to be a Muslimah as Allah wants Muslimah to be.

She is slowly growing up into a big girl. May Allah protect her from the fitna of this world.

Previous posts
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten

Sya is Going Gadgety

Sya has been active with her sewing and making her crafts. Remember her faceless dolls - SYA IS TEN. Well she has been actively making other crafts using fabric and felt cloth. Mending her own dolls and so forth. Making mess along the way.

She is not up to the level yet but she is going there Insya Allah. She usually make them and give it to people. I must tell her to take photos of them before she gives it away.

Because she is interested, we decided to buy her a sewing machine. I am not sure if it is too early or will interfere with her craft hand sewing interests, but I personally think that whatever that she has in her mind, it will go hand in hand.

Pity her or perhaps good for her, I am not a sewing person. I am not crafty nor do I have any interest at the moment to embark on sewing. And I have no idea what to do. SO how does one guide her child to sew when she cannot sew herself - and no teacher to do it for her? Ask Mr google of course.

So that's what I did. She, at the moment, has been practicing on straight line, sewing reverse, practicing on curved lines. I have been following what the course has told me to do on her. If you have any suggestion please please do share with me. How did you start your sewing journey?

I love it when one has a good hobby. I am willing to support it as much as I can Isnya Allah. MAy it gives benefit.

Shower Together

We had to collect water now because the rising temperature makes the pipe water too hot to shower if you take a late shower. And do beware when you wash the pee in the midst of noon for the water may scorch you.

Jack was giggling with Sya one day when he saw the collected water.

But Sya being the must-tell-everything-to-Ibu told me what they were giggling about. Jack has this crazy theory that he is sure that Ibu and Ayah is taking shower together in the tub. More giggle giggle.

Well what do you, it is a sunnah for husband and wife to take a shower, I told them as a matter of factly.

*Gasps*

Oh really? Giggle giggle.

Narrated 'Aisha:

The Prophet and I used to take a bath from a single pot called 'Faraq'.
(Bukhari)

Sya is Ten

Sya turned ten when we were in Madinah. Masya Allah! She is really ten? Soon soon very soon I will have a teenage girl in the house. Wonder what will that be like?

Where shall I start. OK first of all, I was worried about Sya's weight (to add to my own's eh?). She loves eating and she always has baby fat ever since she is baby (LOL). But last year she has been gaining weight and I was not very happy with it. It is too bad that we live in an inactive life here. There is not much sports here even at school. It is laughable compared to what you guys have in Malaysia. School life is not as hectic as in Malaysia. She doesn't have to rush much for school and can take time to eat and snack.

People have been commenting about her weight gain. It hurts me when people say that, just as much as it hurts me when people comment about my weight. Yang paling benci, are those who comment about her weight, and when i am being particular about the amount of food she eats or the type, they would say, "Alaa budak-budak, biarlah apa dia nak makan." Obese children start from weight gain right?

Anyway I controlled her ration and her snack. I made lots of reminders and sometimes force her to run. She took up a liking on rollerblades and she is quite good on it, Masya Allah. I made healthier school food too (as much as i can). Very rarely they take sausages and nuggets now. I try to grill most of the food. Even ayam masak merah, I broil the chicken first. We try to take raw veges now. Maybe I'll blog about food in another post eh?

Alhamdulillah, the weight has gone down now and the perut looking much flatter, Masya Allah. And of course we have to be realistic, Sya is not the paper thin type. She will probably be a bit chubby, but she has improved and that is what matter most. We'll work on being healthy Insya Allah.

Sya likes to make us fruit juice. Whenever we have fruits, she would cut up the fruits in small chunks and make fruit juice. So now she has to learn to clean up properly. Kadang-kadang melekit satu dapur. I think she enjoys having Jack watching her doing kitchen work. Rancangan memasak ke cik kak?

Her daily chore is cleaning up the table. Kena paksa. And her work is clean and neat. Masya Allah! Dah 10 tahun ni boleh kasi tambah daily chore nampaknya. her room is still a mess though.

Maths is not her favourite subject. This is a bit disheartening. If you are the kind who find maths easy, you will find this mind boggling indeed. Insya Allah I am taking it easy. But I suppose it is the environment that allows me to be relax. The school system here do not label weak in maths as a failure.

Having said that, I am devising ways to spend time on her maths. Allah Musta'an.

She likes writing though. I may not like her style but I think it can develop Insya Allah. The teacher seems to like it though.

She also likes to sew and make crafts. Which I don't like because I always find crafts a mess. She is now into making dolls and making the dresses. It looks rough and crude still. The thing is she doesn't know how to place her things properly. It drives me crazy. I suppose I have no patience for this. But I do recognise it is something good to develop. I do not know how to guide her. Any advice? Maybe I'll enroll her in something.


Looks scary still. But I think it is cute. And I have no idea where she gets the idea from.

Sya is still the only one who talks freely about love. Will write down that she loves me. Will make cards for me. Abang dengan adik dia menumpang aje sign. Will leave me notes. Will tell me she loves me in french. Je t'aime ma mère

Some say I am too hard on her.

I think I am.

I am so afraid she will grow up like me, but yet I am moulding her to be me. Maybe I should read up something about girls. I have been surrounded with boys and am raising boys all the time that I find raising girls a slightly strange territory. She on the other hand must have been quite a rebel because she doesn't seem to want to turn into tomboy or that sort. Naudzuillah.

I love Syama a lot. And does her dad and her brothers.

I pray she grows up righteous and continuously be the comfort of our eyes.

Sya is nine
Sya is eight
Sya is seven
Sya is six
Sya is five
Sya is four

Anak sendiri

Ni nak pergi kelas KAFA in 45 minutes.

Sebok mengajar anak orang, anak sendiri pun tak betul.

:((

Sya is now nine

When I finally put the age down like this, it began to dawn on me that she is really getting bigger. Let us enjoy the pre anak dara phase for now.

She still has a slight tantrum (ikut ayah dia) but not as much as when she is young.


Sya Bad Mood when she is three. hahahhaha!

And she still like to play teacher. And when you cannot find Jack and Sya, you may find them in their room with Sya standing in front of the white board equipped with a marker pen and Jack on the little table and chair diligently copying notes. She gives worksheets and exams too.

Sya has upgraded also to giving a project to her brother to write things that IBU must do! Which includes reading to them every night minimal two books.

Sya still want to be like me and now even look like me. She may be found pinching my hijab. She said to me the other day, "You know why I want to wear the hijab? because I want to look like you."

Hmm, what did they say, imitation is the best form of flattery? I am flattered however, that shouldn't be the right reason to wear. Not because of me. Because of ...? You answer me..

I also added, if you want to follow me, make the reason be for Allah. And follow me as long as I am obeying Allah. If you find me not obeying Him anymore, do not follow my ways, save me.

I am actually a bit hesitant when she started wanting to wear the hijab. But because she is young and eager to learn and not wanting to send the wrong message, I just let her be. Why was I hesitant? Because I am afraid she might get bored and when the time comes that she should wear, she shunned it. I felt that she should enjoy her youth. She was only eight then.

But after sometime, it looks strange when she is not wearing it. And I must say she is more persistent than I am on herself. And also I have seen how difficult for a girl to HAVE to wear it when her menses comes in unexpectedly, like when they are nine.And the parents (whom the mum wears a hijab) had to give in atas nama tak mau memaksa.

I suppose, hijab should be treated the same like the command Rasululah salallahu alaihi wasalam told us to start teaching prayers to our children at seven and hit them when they are ten. It will, Insya Allah make it easier for them and would make them feel "naked" when they are not wearing it.

So I guide her what is the correct way to wear, Insya Allah. So I want to change my niyah altogether. may Alah give her istiqomah and guide her to become a muslimah who is righteous. May that be a reward for me in the Hereafter.

I am thankful to Allah who woke me up when I realise that she cannot read the Fatihah when she was five. It was a matter to me because I know Haziq can (and many of your children too). haziq can because he went to school in Malaysia where I had the support of someone else teaching him to memorise the short surah and also the prayers.

Now at 9 she has progressed quite well. Nothing to be shouted about for I am sure everyone else is better. But I am taking it at a relaxed phase and throwing in challenges here and there. And she has has improved in her memory retention and attention skill. All praises goes to Allah.

Sya is sometimes quite strict on me. Alahai. May she be istiqomah.

I took this picture yesterday. We had some makan-makan. I am happy they are very playful with each other walaupun sangatlah bisingnya. All of them talk to me at the same time. Sya is using my shades.



As usual

She is five
She is six
She is seven
She is eight

OK Dah Tak Panic

:P

Alhamdulillah Sya is getting better. She doesn't bleed anymore, but there is still pain when she pees. That's a huge relief.

And there are just so much to learn from this.

Panic is however, despite many times being taught, is something most mothers (me only, will not learn. One can cope with blogging though. :P

Anyway, the doctors advised Sya to drink alot. More than what she has been drinking all these while. And just like Shaikh Hansac pointed out, she needs to pee when she has to pee.

I suspect with Sya (and Jack too for that matter), in order to avoid peeing in school, they drink very little. This year alone I have been pointing out to them just how little they drink from their school tumbler. Haziq however drinks in gallons.

So the silver lining from this is I can be more serious about drinking. Plain water that is. So we now have made a rule, that if they don't finish the whole of their tumbler, they don't get to drink their favourite chocolate milk that I always bring when i pick them up from school.

So no drinky, no choccy.

Jack sometimes have to finish his drink in the car. All in the name of chocolate milk.

Of course the blood in the urine scare all of them. Especially when they see Sya has to go to hospitals many times. So Insya Allah, that was a scare, scary enough. I hope it stops there though. The scare I mean.

Of course there is this other story about not peeing. I asked the doctor to tell them how it is not good to withhold your pee. And I pun menumpang bebel.

Subhanallah, this cannot come in at a better timing. In one of our weekly "class" together, i touched about the dangers of not cleaning your pee properly because some of them are sometimes careless. Read HERE.

So I think all the lessons go well together. Subhanallah. Alhamdulillah.

My prayers go to all parents who are undergoing tests by Allah when their children are inflicted with fatal disease.

Bloody pee

The medical term for bloody pee is hematuria. Basically if you have hematuria, it means you have blood in your urine.

And this is what Sya is having now.

(I am trying my best not to sound panic in this entry. If you were to hear me read, I would read in a monotone voice and a poker face)

Sya found blood in her urine last Wednesday. She only told me after school, when we were having a nice lunch at the mall. I was hungry but decided that I couldn't eat after that.

She said she kept feeling like peeing too. And it hurts.

Did you have a hard fall?
Did somebody touch you down there?
Hmm could it be menses?

I went to check when she felt like peeing. there was blood alright. I ruled out menses. I think after 24 years of having menses, I should know how menses blood look like and smell like. And also menses blood have certain pattern of flow.

She didn't fall. And no one touched her down there.

I couldn't think properly after that.

Went home and immediately went to the clinic.

Took urine sample which was really hell. She felt like peeing so much, didn't even have time to collect it. Only after the third attempts and gallons of water drunk, was she (I actually) managed to collect a good amount of sample.

Also had to give blood sample.

The samples ruled out infection, stones, kidney dysfunction and don't know what else.

Then had to wait for a few more days for them to incubate the urine sample for microbiology test (I am loosely quoting the terms). Again nothing was found, thus ruling out infection again.

Went for ultrasound to actually check the kidney, bladder, pelvis (I think).

Alhamdulillah no problem was found. It was nerve wrecking watching the scan.

Went for another urine sample.

This morning, the results came out. She has infection. The RBC (red blood count shows >100). damn! i didn't have the results with me now!

Now they are incubating her urine again to determine the culture type. Saturday we will know more Insya Allah.

Since Wednesday, I couldn't think of anything else. I am sure Sya is worried too. She actually mentioned the word death. She questions me carefully and trying to understand the language and my body expression.

If you read up about hematuria. One link HERE., you would know that there are reasons to be worried. Well wouldn't you if you have blood in your urine?

Throughout the short period of time of not knowing what is happening, I tried my best to control my expression and ward off my worried look when I am with Sya. I tried to assure her, Insya Allah, this is nothing and treatable. Make dua' ok. Whereas in my heart, I myself was in deep worry.

Even they have diagnose her with an infection, they also told me that she would be under observation and her urine need to be sampled each month for sometime. For the just-in-case.

And this just-in-case is a reason enough for me to be on my toes, worried. Because this findings may not stop to just a simple infection. More READS.

Please pray for us.

Doubts

I am not sure that whatever I am doing is enough.

Or worse, whether it is even good enough for my children.

I have a feeling that it is not.

Sure they are learning to memorise. learn some dua'. Learn some sunnahs. A bit about some surahs. A bit of what Allah loves and Allah hates.

But how much of those do they really understand. Are they getting the spirit of it? Or is it just academic? Just a matter of knowing but the real ilmu of khoshiah (fear) to Allah is not there?

I am feeling low and overwhelmed and unsure of myself. They need good teachers. Those with real knowledge.

The truth is, I caught Batrisyia lying to me yesterday. Not only lying, but she also uses their (Haziq, jack and hers) pool money to buy chips in her quran school. (The pool money is their contribution for any donation they want to give out). When I found chips in her bag, she told me, her friend gave it to her. Then I found the jar of money in her bag. Well, guess who got caught with her pants down?

I am very upset. Very. And I can't even think straight these two days.

She has this thing about buying jajan. Another emberassing and made-me-angry incident HERE. And she is the only one who sneaked gula-gula to eat in the duvet.

This is a problem to me. because we have opposite personality. I am against jajans and gula-gula. (But my lover, ayoyo.)

I really cannot stand them. But not to deprive them, I do buy good chocolates and reasonably good jajans. And they do get their share. Before you start telling me to chill, let me tell you, sometimes in the school some people will do parties and bring loads and loads and loads of jajan. I don't know why I need to condone by giving her more money to stuff her more.

I am at my end here. I don't know which one am I am most angry. The lies. The taking-the-pool-money or buying the chips murahan.

Breathe.

The first thing I did was err got upset.
Then the next day she has to return the equivalent amount of money back into the jar.
Next, I am still thinking about it. I am still too upset for a heart to heart talk. My upset means I am angry and I am so in the mood to snap at anyone.

I am also feeling low because the real question is, am I doing the right thing? All this business of teaching them... is it even working?

I ask Allah to grant me wisdom in my thoughts and guide me in my actions. May Allah preserve my children in the deen.

Zaman dahulu kala

Sya is doing work about the Romans at school. It involves learning how they live their life, their food, the kind of work they do.

Anyway they end it today by dressing up like the Romans. So you can choose to be a soldier and wear the glimmering helmet with shield and armour or chose to be a slave. Or maybe some would chose the toga and wear the beatle's hair. Or a gladiator. Those shoes apparently are in fashion.

Sya wore a dress like the Lady of The Court.*Macam Bagus*

Do you know in the old times all of them were wearing very modest dress? Abaya like. Perhaps feminism and all these women lib thingy causes fabric to shrink on women.

I am not sure in what era was it that they actually wear chest popping dress like you see in epic movies like in the Other Boleyn Girl for example. Really when it is cold, not wearing proper jacket to cover my chest will make me cough profusely. Let alone chest popping dress with cape which does not cover much. But I suppose that's me.

Anyway, i bought some velvet fabric, a simple black silver lace and designed a simple abaya and send it to the tailor (because I cannot sew). And taraaaa Sya got herself a "Roman" lady of the court dress.

And not only in the old times they wore modest loose dress, no way in those times they wear pants, they also wore head covering. Which makes this theme a very easy one to do.

For extra accessories I got her some silver (fake) and black bracelets. And long silver (fake) necklace with dangling bits which I used as her waist belt .

Sya loves the dress. I love it too.

And it was made long enough, so Insya Allah boleh buat baju raya. Ahaks!

Sya the Bridesmaid

I think, after the bride and groom, Sya must be the one who is most excited about the wedding. Because she and her BFF were the bridesmaid of the day.

We bought the two girls a nice gold dress with black sash and big black flower on the right string. I really love the dress. It feels almost like the year 30s style.

And she get to put make up on, wear those flower thing on the head and basically be the most glamorous girl of the day.



I don't have a better picture of them though. Since most of the good pictures have the bride in it. And look at Sya in the picture. With all the make up, mascara, headdress. Look at the way she sit? Tsk tsk tsk.

Well she enjoyed her day until the time comes to clean off her eye makeup. Hambik ko susuah nak hilang.

Malam Raya 2009

JackJack accidentally knocked his head on my nose. Right smack on my batang hidung!

It hurt so bad. So bad that I felt that I am losing my mind and that all function of the nose. It's like having the effect of brain freeze except this is snappier.

It hurt so bad that I immediately cry and ran to the toilet because I felt so much like smacking him. I cried and cried in the toilet profusely. I locked myself in and refuse to answer my lover when he called.

And then there was blood! My nose is bloody bleeding! But because I was crying so much the blood diluted and trickled down.

After twenty minutes or so, I still can't feel my nose. Is it still there I wonder. I reached out, yes it is still there. I wonder if it has become penyet causing more damage to the already penyeked nose.

But I was still crying because of pain and also uncontrollable anger.

I went out anyway because the toilet was not very comfortable to sit for long. Now I am feeling a mix of blood and saliva trickling down my throat.

Lover went out for Isya'.

JackJack and Sya were standing there. I can see them at the corner of my eyes. Finally I turned to them and signaled for Jack to come over. He handed me a big card with two pictures of a lady wearing hijab. One says "before" and the other, "after". The before lady was looking sad and the after one, smiling.

Jack said sorry Ibu. And I hugged him, I am sorry too. And we cried together, hugging each other. Then i signalled Sya to come over since she was crying by herself. And I know she was the one who initiated the card anyway. And there the three of us were crying.

A patah hidung can do this to you.

Anyway Jack wrote this in the card (Sya wrote it)
Oh Allah, heal my mother on her lips on her eye and on her nose and on her forehead.

and from Sya
Oh Allah, make my mother a very strong Muslimah from the ummah.

Ameen Ya Rabbal Alamin

And from me,

Oh Allah make my children the comfort of my eyes and them the leaders of the muttaqun. Bestow on me patience in dealing with them.

Then lover came back with Haziq from the masjid announcing that it would be Eid tomorrow.

Itulah dia drama pada malam raya tahun 2009.

Eid Mubarak my friends. May Allah accept our deeds.

Violent Song

Zachary complained to me that Sya is singing to him a very violent song. Song about babies being put one a tree and the tree come down and the baby fell down dead.

I don't like that song, he said.

Rock a bye baby, on the tree top
When the wind blows the cradle will rock
When the bough breaks the cradle will fall
Down will come baby, cradle and all.

And Sya Turned Eight

Sya turned eight last April 8th. We were in Madinah that day. We did not celebrate. I think I would be too guilty if I do that in Madinah. :P But Elisa was kind enough to entertain Sya when we went to Khobar.

But I did talk to her about her increasing age.And told her that it's time to bring her prayer garment whenever we go out. I bought her a cute pink bag just for this purpose. She chose it herself.

But on the day itself, she had quite a full schedule. I took her to Raudhah that very morning. Even though she did not join the me praying on the green carpet, she was somewhere around. So it was some experience to see the so many ragam at the raudhah.

In the evening we went to visit the Jabal Uhud and also the graveyard of the Syuhada of Uhud and then we went to visit Masjid Quba.

That very night also, we had an appointment with Sheikh Jib@ly. Sya followed the ladies for a chat with the sheikh's wife. It must be quite an experience for her to see an adult tazkirah yang sungguh bersemangat.

Insya Allah she learnt some.I know this because I see her brothers applying what she learnt. And it wasn't my doing. :)

Someone told me sometime ago that she has never heard Sya's voice. She is very quiet it seems. Hmm she is definitely not at home or in the car or anywhere around her siblings. In fact she is quite chirpy and chatty and giggly and all that. But I do observe her and I notice she talks quite softly when she is outside and sometimes seem to prefer to sit alone.

Sya, I believe, is unlike me. She is helpful in the kitchen. Proof no 1 that she is not like me. She is soft spoken. Proof no 2. She likes girly stuff. Proof no 3. And many more little things that I notice. I don't mind a bit. I don't think I want to raise my children to be like me anyway :P.

Having said that, when I ask Sya what would she want to be when she grows up, she said she wants to be like me. Stay at home and teach her own children. Aik? Sure ke ni tak nak ada career. Sure ke? tee he he. Praise to Allah. She is apparently taking the role of teaching sometimes among her siblings. I hear her telling her friends stories that I told her. I hear her also quizzing them. She asked her friend once, tell me how you can read the whole of Quran in just a few minutes. May Allah bless her.

Being the middle child, I would think that she would be stressed out seeing her abang who knows so much. Eksyen pulak tu. But she doesn't seem to care. Or at least that's what her facade shows. Even though some of the things she ask me, shows that she is concern. "How is my paragraph? Is it good? Better than abang?"

Maybe because she is a girl, unlike Haziq, she likes to ask me about my experience when I was younger. Like have I ever had my tooth filled when I was little. How little? Was it painful for you? Did you ever help your mum cook (Errkkkss)? What did you cook with her (ERRKKKSSSS)? Did you fight with your brother (EERRKKKSSSSS)? Or soalan cepumas, did you want to get married with ayah when you see him the first time (Eh budak kecik jangan campur urusan orang tua lah :P)

But you know what, I have a feeling that I am a bit hard on her. I have to train myself to deal with this manja-manja girly girl ways. Sigh. This is something I need to improve. May Allah guide me.

She is doing well in her studies. She found friends and are always sticking with the same people (proof no 4). She treats Jack just like how I treat Jack, calling him funny names also. She adores her abang still even though the signal of fighting are beginning to emerge. Now she is crazy about this style of wearing layered shirts.

We all love her tremendously. May Allah guide me to raise her as a righteous daughter, who will, bi iznillah, raise the future leaders of Islam.

---

I typed this post when I was really sleepy last night and kept dozing off. :P So now after a fresh wake up, I checked previous posts on each of her turn of age. Apparently all the traits she has now is very consistent year by year.

SYA IS FOUR
SYA IS FIVE
SYA IS SIX
SYA IS SEVEN

Post Sneezing Effect

My children are having post sneezing effect. Everytime someone sneezes, he would say Alhamdullilah loudly, making sure that others hear it. And if whoever hears it but does not respond Yarhamukallah on time, will be bombarded with why did you not respond, I just sneezed. What? You didn't say Alhamdullilah. I did so! I didn't hear you. Then you'd better be sure you say Yarhamukallah.

Zachary, the oompa loompa is perhaps the most zealous of them all. If he sneezes in the kitchen, he would go around the house finding everyone to tell them that he sneezes expecting a Yarhamukallah. Sometimes I would be praying when he sneezes, and he would wait until I say the final salam, then quickly tell me, "I sneeze".

Masya Allah

It's not my doing I tell you. We have never actually discuss about sneezing per se. I did mention it casually when we discuss the topic of Spreading peace. It was when I mentioned this hadith about the right of one Muslim to another;

Muslim :: Book 26 : Hadith 5379

Abu Huraira reported Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: Six are the rights of a Muslim over another Muslim. It was said to him: Allah’s Messenger, what are these? Thereupon he said: When you meet him, offer him greetings;when he invites you to a feast accept it. when he seeks your council give him, and when he sneezes and says:” All praise is due to Allah,” you say Yarhamuk Allah (may Allah show mercy to you) ; and when he falls ill visit him; and when he dies follow his bier.

by the way my dear friends, I sincerely pray that we can abide to this beautiful sunnah.

But I never really teach the kids what to say. Informally perhaps. I didn't want to go to this topic because I think it's a popular topic that will be touched in the school anyway. :P

It was Batrisyia actually. She learned it in school. (toldja). So they also teach you that when the other person say Yarhamkullah, you need to respond Yahdikumullah yuslihu balakum. I said, I don't know Sya, I need to find the hadith to confirm this. (But I wasn't putting effort. If you know do tell)

Oh man! I didn't know that one and it was haaaaarrrd for me to remember it. Batrisyia took charge by writing this phrase down, putting it on the fridge and bringing it to me whenever I struggle to remember it.

Apparently we sneeze a lot. Like A LOT. After sometime I am forced to remember it. :P

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Edited

Subhanallah. I was going through my email. And then Allah guides me to find this hadith.

Bukhari :: Book 8 :: Volume 73 :: Hadith 243

Narrated Abu Huraira:

The Prophet said, " If anyone of you sneezes, he should say 'Al-Hamdulillah' (Praise be to Allah), and his (Muslim) brother or companion should say to him, 'Yar-hamuka-l-lah' (May Allah bestow his Mercy on you). When the latter says 'Yar-hamuka-llah", the former should say, 'Yahdikumul-lah wa Yuslih balakum' (May Allah give you guidance and improve your condition)."

Bu, Jack's Awake!!

I was browsing through my camera and found these video that Sya made. It's like those short movies which has no motive. Many people call them art.

I just thought Sya's one is funny in her own way.