flu flu, go away..

I'm typing this blog while having a face mask on me. My cough has worsen, and suddenly I got the flu, with multiple sneezing and unbearable running nose. I just got back from the clinic to get stronger meds, and yes, Mateen followed me the whole time. I am so blessed that Mateen is not getting a cold like me..

Today was actually my first time bringing Mateen to the clinic & Tesco solo-handedly. Managed to park at the "Parents, Babies & Children Parking Zone", which was awesome! It was cool to be deserved that front row of parking. Mateen was in the sling the whole time, and at every casher counter, the ladies will say hi to him..

Up til now, Mateen still gets the "Is it a boy or girl" question.. Despite me wearing him blue-ish clothes. Maybe his "manly" features are not obvious yet.. hmm..

In less than 24 hours, I will be in New Fort, perhaps enjoying the food that my MIL & FIL has bought for us to eat. I hope I'll be better when I'm there.. Till next week folks.. adios..

Ramblings on a Saturday morning

Like my new blog layout? Decided to change.. looks neater, fresher.. and peaceful.. :)

I am in the office on a Saturday morning.Boohoo!~ It wasn't supposed to be my turn to work today, but somehow, I was 'forced' to. Sighh.. Lucky thing in my new job, I don't have to work on Saturdays anymore. Looking forward to that.

Funny thing is, since my official announcement of my departure, I don't have much "work" to do. I mean, last time when I was heading the school, there were SO many things on my plate : reports, parents, teachers, etc. But now, since I have no longer have a school to look after, plus I am not permanent in one location, I tend to help the schools out with admin work instead. But still, once I am done with it (which I quite efficient doing :P), I am free and can basically "goyang kaki". The management didn't give me any specific duties to do either, so I am "off the hook" for the time being. It's good where I go lepak & chill, but it's bad cause I am so used being hectic and on-the-go, and now things are just Plato.

Oh well, might as well enjoy this moment, before I get busy & hectic with my new job later on.

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I was in one of the schools this week, and there was this boy who was just recovering from chicken pox. The parent must have assumed that he has recovered, but the class teacher saw some "watery" spots on his hands, so he needs to be sent home. He was with me in the office,and innocently asked me..

"Teacher, the chicken bite me is it?"

I burst out laughing, and had no answer for this poor boy...

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This week's American was really emotional..Yes, I'm talking about Chris Medina's audition. The part when they showed his story & when he sang, I was like a normal person watching tv, but the minute his fiance was wheeled in, and she was twitching so much + Steven Tyler hugged her, ohh man.. I cried SO SO Muchh!!! I quickly hugged Mateen & kept on telling him how much I love him..It was SO sad to watch her.. and I felt SO sad for this dude..imagine, 2 months before he wanted to marry her, she got into an accident..oh gosh.. he must have love her so much, cause some men who sees the fiance in that state will just walk out from the situation.. but Chris stayed on and is now is her caregiver..

I hope he'll do well in Idol..

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I had a "smack in your face" dream the other day.
I dreamed that I was married..not to Mr Bert, but to this Mat Salleh guy..
Not bad looking, tall, fair.. and very romantic.
He was very affectionate with many hugs, many kisses, he makes so many jokes.. a really 'to-die-for' husband.. the perfect husband I must say..
But then, I woke up, and there's this voice in my head that says ".. tapi dia tak beriman..."
Then suddenly, that 'perfect husband' is no longer perfect, but a disaster instead.

I guess that dream was just a wake-up call for me. I know lately, I've been having doubtful thoughts of Mr Bert's gestures to me. He just have a different way of showing his love for me, not the way that I want him to be, like that "perfect husband" in my dream.. But at the end of the day, I should be thankful to have him as a husband. I am not a perfect wife too, but we're both perfect for each other..*love*

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I am looking forward to the KB trip next week! It will be Mateen's first time on the plane, first time meeting my MIL & some other relatives.. I've started to pack abit, especially Mateen's clothes. Can't wait for the yummy food & the hospitality that awaits..:)

Mateen meets Sumayyah

Last Saturday we had a small gathering for Lan's short trip back in KL. Mateen managed to 'hang out' with Lan's daughter, Ammara Sumayyah, who was born 34 days after Mateen. If according to the EDD, Sumayyah was supposed to be born first before Mateen, but then again, Mateen decided to come out 6 weeks early, which makes Sumayyah the youngest cicit in the family. :)

It was a good gathering.. yummy food, good company.. Lan being funny as always, being 'poyo' as usual, Zu & I shared lots of stories & experiences about motherhood, there were 2 leagues of babies, Mateen & Sumayyah (the real 'babies', happily adored by all), and Suri & Trisya, who were running around & hyper. And guess what, all the babies had a turn to cry (being hungry, or sleepy, or cranky), except for Mateen! He was such a good boy, observing what others are doing. Mummy's proud son! :D

Here's a shoot of the 4 2010 babies & their mummies. Missing here is Arfan (which Mateen has yet to meet) & Afnan. Oh, I've just realized, Mateen's the only "boy" in this photo! Such a lady magnet baby! :p

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Btw, I am on MC today. My first MC last year was in April, but this year, I got an MC in January itself. Have been getting the sexy husky voice since Saturday, and bad coughing at night. So, decided to take the day off to recover.

But, being me, I did not "duduk rumah diam2". I did groceries, I paid some bills.. and later today, I am planning to cook dinner (and the rest of the week's meals). Even Mateen's here with me, not at the daycare. Love to spend the day with my chubby son. :)

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In a week's time, we'll be heading to New Fort. We'll be there for 1 week, so Mateen can meet up with Tuk Ma (my MIL, who has yet to see her cucu), Nani & the twins, and Mr Bert's relatives. I am really looking forward to this trip! It won't be a shopping trip, but I really want Mateen to experience & enjoy KB to the fullest.. counting the days..

school plans

That's me @ 2 months old, back in November 1983, and here's Mateen @ 4 months old in January 2011. See how both our feet are in the same direction? (heck, maybe all babies sit that way! :P )


Lately, I've been thinking a lot of Mateen's schools.. I've not gone up to High School, but I've been thinking about his pre-school & primary school. Yeah I know, maybe I sound like a typical kiasu parent, but it is crucial to plan ahead, especially for financial purposes.


Since I'll be going to a different company, they too have pre-schools, and staff children are able to enrol their child with 50% discount. I managed to get an "inside" info, comparing my current school & the new school, and the verdict.. the new school is more beneficial in the long run. They have more hands-on learning, they have smaller student-teacher ratio, the few positive points of the school. So,when Mateen joins the school (either when he's 18 months old or 28 months old), I would need to hunt for a transporter to send him to his current daycare after school. Yeap, that would incur more cost = preschool + transporter + half day daycare, but what choice do I have?


Of course Mr Bert & I had different opinion about this. He thinks that we should just send Mateen to a "normal" whole day kindi-daycare, which can save cost. No need to spend more.
But ME, being in this line of early education, I don't wanna simply send Mateen to a "chi-kai" kindergarden-cum-daycare! Of course, it will save money, but does that provide quality in my son's well being- socially, emotionally & academically? Of course, at the end of the day, it is not where you send your child, it is who you're child is with- teachers & friends.


So, when the time comes, I will be persistent to have Mateen in my choice of school. Like the saying goes, education does not come cheap. Insyallah, the rezeki will come if God permits. There's still time to decide.


As for his primary school, I don't intend to send to a private school as yet. There is a public primary school nearby, and it is known as a quite good school, so maybe Mateen will go there. But of course, there 7 years time of planning. It would depend on many other factors- home location, job location, other children? :PThat's just some thoughts.. be many things can happen along the way.


Was talking to my admin yesterday, who will be resigning as well, and I said:

"Hey Gina, remember exactly a month ago, we both had NO intention at all to resign? We were both looking forward to the adventures in 2011.."

"Yeah! That's so true.. But not long after, that 'incident' happened, your got the promotion & the new job offer, and now... things have changed.."

It's true like the saying goes, You can plan all you want, but God can change your plans in a blink of an eye. So cherish what you have now.. :)

Baby feat Mateen

Mateen is officially 4 months old, and he weighs 6.5 kgs and is getting longer now. Alhamdulillah, he's healthy and happy.He can sleep (mostly) through the night, and he will "suckle" his thumb to sleep. Hopefully this habit will wear off soon.

Was cleaning mateen's drawers, and have decided to keep his 'old' clothes ...the new born/ the small size short in length...for his future adik(s). As I was folding the clothes, I was so amazed how tiny mateen was, just 4 months ago. He has grown so much, masyallah.. And now, I've put out his "new" clothes, 3-6 months range, and they fit well on him!

He is such a smiler now.. he will give us big smiles, especially in the morning & evening, and he will giggle too! Managed to record a video of that, too cute! He will "talk" too, sometimes to himself, sometimes to us. He recognizes familiar faces well, and is such a friendly baby to strangers. :)

Take time to grow my son. I am enjoying every minute of it..

office email

Since I am moving on, I was going through my office email and trying to clear out some outdated emails. And suddenly, I stumbled on this email to Mr Bert..waaayy back in 2008!


----- Original Message -----

Sent: Thu, 29 May 2008 11:54:47 +0800
Subject: RE: testing..

Dia..

just testing if i can send you an email from this account..if you get it, reply by filling out the blank:-

"Meen is so.............."

hehhee..

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Meen is so bubbly and pretty

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haha.. kenangan terindah! Those were the time when love was in the air, everything was so magical, so special, so exciting.. our relationship was getting serious at that time. I remembered how we would just simply send emails to each other for fun. awww, happy times indeed!

Fast forward to 2011, haha.. life it's so different. Of course love is still there, no doubt, but it's different. The "sparks" are not as strong.. no more excitement as before..sedih kan..

So today, I've decided to reminisce the good ol' times. I forwarded that mail & emailed to my dear hubby..

-----Original Message-----

Sent: Monday, January 17, 2011 9:25 AM

hey dia..

was going thru my emails, and i saw this email from way back 2008. those good ol' times.. missing those times...:)

have a good day ahead..

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Hey darling..

Takper.. kalau u nak.. I fill blank lagi..

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okay, sure..please do..

meen is so..............................

not more than 50 words.. ;)

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Adorable, pretty and dearly to my heart.. :)

Am goin off for a meeting..

Luv u

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*smiles* melts*smiles*melts*

you really made my day dia.. love you sayang..*muaxxxxx*

ps: mlm nih, nak tido cuddle cuddle.. tokseh tido luar tengok tv.. :(

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InsyaAllah.. tp I sebenarnya selesa tido meniarap.. mcm u selesa tido sebelah kiri.

Sebelum masuk tido, kita cuddle dulu kay..

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yeay!! :) *superexcited*

tokseh mlm nih aje.. tiap2 mlm pun cuddle kay.. *winks*

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InsyaAllah..

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hehehehehe..I feel so excited, magical, special ...I feel like I am Mr Bert's gf all over again! the sparks is back in the game~ yahoooo~

Sometimes, all you need is a simple effort to add the sparks in your life.. :)

ps: sorry for the "jiwang2" bit in this entry. :P

a new begining..

Meet.... Haji Mat & Haji Mat junior..
So alike? right? Like Grandpa, like grandson..:)

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Finally, I have time to sit down and blog. Mateen's asleep. Bottles, 3 used and can be washed tmrw morning. Laundry, the dry ones have been folded, will wash the remaining clothes tmrw. Kitchen, everything has been washed & kept away. So I am good, now I deserve a "Me" time to myself! tee hee..

Without realizing it, 2 weeks of January has passed. And within that 2 weeks, I've been doing lots of thinking, analyzing, comparing the 2 offers that was given to me for my career. One, a promotion in my current job. From a Head to a Coordinator. Massive responsibilities. A role that I would thought I would consider in the next 5-10 years, but was given the job now. I was truly honored, but quite skeptical at the same time.

The second one, was another job offer. A GREAT job offer. The oppurtunity (that can't be missed) came knocking on my door, and mind you, I had NO intention to leave anything soon.

So, what would one do?

I.. with heavy hearted..decided to resign.. :(

Believe me, it wasn't an easy decision to make. I had to weigh the pros & cons of each offer. The salary, the benefits, the environment.. in the end, I've choose a different setting/ environment for my own career pathway, in the long run it will benefit me Insyallah..

It was nerve wreaking when I told my director, but thankfully she was really understanding & cool about me moving on. My colleagues were shocked & surprise, as there was no indication of me leaving, especially with the new promotion. I feel so guilty about leaving, but I have to brave through the next 2 months, do my job, and leave when the time comes.

And as for the new job.. I do look forward, since it is a national pilot project. The good thing is, my ex-boss is there! So, having a familiar face is good!Of course, I have yet to foresee the obstacles that I am about to face. Insyallah, everything will turn out right..

After 3.5 years, I've decided to leave my comfort zone. I went thru a lot over the years..the good, the bad, the ugly.. but, everything was worthwhile..It was a tough decision to make. A new chapter shall begin. Now I can truly believe when ppl say "Anak membawa rezeki". All these happening betul2 rezeki Mateen, Alhamdulillah..

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Over New Year's Eve, a.k.a my 1st anniversary, there were 2 conversations that strike me..

Terk: Meen, remember during the New Year 2009, you were telling us, "Another 365 days till my wedding day?" Well, now it's exactly 365 days after your wedding, and now you have a baby! Who knows, maybe the 365 days, you'll have another baby?

Haha..funny Terk.. Nope, ain't happening..

Shades: Mateen's eyes are Grey.. Too much of Grey's Anatomy I guess.

Hmm....maybe.. future Dr Mateen a.k.a Dr McDreamy? tee hee..