Legoland Here We Come (again)

Have you been to Legoland Malaysia? Isn't it just A.W.E.S.O.M.E? It is just so awesome that we decided that each member of our family had to get an Annual Pass into Legoland, valid one whole year from 13th November 2012. 

(P/S: Please note the poses for the girls in the family. Hewhewhew)

We got quite a good deal on it, actually. Bought sometime in September last year when they had a joint promotion with Maybank Mastercard Credit Cards. Each adult annual pass was going at a price of only RM190 per pax. A quick check onto Legoland website just now, the price is now RM325 for Adults (12-59years) and RM225 for Kids (3-11years) and Seniors (60years above). The price is now effective from 15 December 2012 onwards. For daily passes, it's going at RM140 for Adults and RM110 for Kids and Seniors.

Truth be told, I think you'd need more than a day to explore the whole park. The park is divided into The Beginning, LEGO Technic, LEGO Kingdoms, Imagination, LEGO City, Land of Adventure and Miniland. Each one of them have activities for kids and kids-at-heart to enjoy. When we were there, there was a LOT of people around. So the main strategy for you to consider is when to come to Legoland. I know of some people (whom shall not be named. Ahem. Ahem. read: Not us, but may or may not be related to us) who'd come on a weekday, a school day at that, to avoid the queue and have the park all to themselves. Bliss. Weekends and public holidays are of course peak times for the park. There was even one incident when a friend and his family were refused entry due to the park reaching the maximum number of clintele they could cater at any one time. They had to wait in line for some time before allowed entry eventhough they already had an annual pass. Gasp! I do understand the logic behind it though, it's for everyone to have an enjoyable experience while in the park, so yeah, do take that into considerations when deciding when to come. Our strategy now (since we already have an annual pass) is to come later in the evening, when the crowd has died down a little. Please also check what time the park closes as it varies between 6pm (weekdays) or 8pm (weekends, public holidays) daily. Also the park closes on most Wednesdays. When in doubt, check the park's website.

Okay, now what did we find most interesting??? For the roller-coaster and adrenaline junkies, these are definitely the must tries. The queue is always long but oh so worth it. 

PROJECT X at LEGO Technics. Simply awesome!!!! To date (after 4 visits to Legoland), Khadra and Khaleeda have already been on it 9 times. Yes, you read that right. Khaleeda only just made the height requirement of 110cm but she needed to ride with an adult on it. Khaleeq has been on Project X 3 times. He does't fancy rollercoasters all that much.

The best is when we got to view the picture they snapped at the first steep incline down the tracks. We already know where the camera is located, I look forward to the poses the girls would make each time they ride. hewhewhew. You could even get the copy to bring home and you are allowed to download the softcopy within a month of the ride date. The pictures are quite steeply priced though - I mean, it is expected lah. About RM30 for the small size and RM50 for the bigger picture. sometimes they'd have promotions - buy the big picture and get the small picture for free or something. I think for the past 4 visits to Legoland, we have about enough to last us a lifetime now. ;)

Other rides worth a mention at LEGO Technic are the Aquaracer (you'll get a little bit splashed here) and the Technic Twister (almost no queing time, it's the sort of twisting cup ride, the more you turn the central wheel, the more you will spin). There is also the water feature between Project X and the Aquaracer. My kids enjoyed getting wet. So remember to bring a change of clothes if your kids are keen too. There is also a human dryer that cost RM5 per pop if you fancy some drying action. We have also decided that it is actually best to wear their swimwear underneath the park clothes. They dry faster and your kids won't catch a cold from running around in wet clothes all day. (This idea came after our fourth visit to the park. D-uh!)

At LEGO Kingdoms, check out The Dragon. Not as scary as Project X, but almost as thrilling. If you are not keen, then try The Dragon Apprentice first, to condition yourself. Suffice to say that The Dragon was also a current favourite for Khadra and Khaleeda. ;P

We also found the line for Royal Joust and Merlin's Challenge shorter than most. Good variety to slip in after a long queue. If kids are too tired to que, just let them lose at one of the many playgrounds in the park - The Forestmen's Hideout. 

At The Land of Adventure, we absolutely adored the Dino Island. It's a wet ride, with minimum height requirement of 120cm, so Khaleeda had to sit this one out. First the whole log went up the conveyor to the tippy top of the castle before we plunge down into the waters. So cool, so fun, so scary! hahahahahahaha That was truly enjoyable!

Kids enjoyed the Beetle Bounce very much - very short que. There's also the Lost Kingdom, where we get to go in a cart, shooting at targets as the vehicle moves about. Also, there's a kids' ball playground called the Pharaoh's Revenge.

In LEGO City, we first went on to the Driving school for the elder Khas, while Khaleeda went to the Junior Driving School. Then we got their licences done. Absolutely no function what so ever, just as a momento for the kids.

The family had the most fun at the Rescue Academy. If you are coming with other families, an inter family battle would be fun here!!! The line for the LEGO City Airport was rather decent too.

Other than that, there's also the LEGO City Stage where they have scheduled performances / shows through out the day and a playground for the kids called The Shipyard.  Even after 4 visits, we have yet to try the LEGOLAND Express nor The Boating School. hewhewhew

In IMAGINATION, the have-to-sees are LEGO Studios 4D for some 4D movie screening and the Observations Tower - a short scenic overview of the theme park. Fully air-conditioned, you get to appreciate the ride as it slowly ascends the monopole and spins for a 360 degree view of the park. The Kids Power Tower was also fun, but needed a little more muscle power on our side. There's also a junior playground for kids 5 years and under called the DUPLO Playtown and there's a mini train that goes around the track. We have yet tried the Build & Test area for kids to build their own LEGO creation and test them. 

The Miniland is basically a LEGO wonderland showcasing grand architectures in Malaysia, as well as other countries. This provides for a lot of photo opportunities.

Basically, go have a see for yourself what the fuss is all about. We are trying to slot maybe another 3-4 trips there in 2013 to make the annual pass worthwhile. One trip per quarter? That soulds about right for my planning.

-dillz blogging out-

Thou-Shalt-Not-iGadget on weekdays

Almost ending the second week of the new schooling term now. We have just started on a new rule for the household on Wednesday night. 

Thou-Shalt-Not-iGadget on a weekday. 

That means no iPads, no iPods and no iPhones. Kids are expected to use their time to concentrate more on school tasks - homework, preparing the bag/book and uniform for school, doing their revision, finish their Eye Level homework etc.  If they happen to have free time, then they can utilize this time for leisurely reading, cooking, making arts and crafts, outdoor activities such as biking, running, swimming or play with their physical toys - e.g. pretend play, Baby Alive, Play Doh, Lego etc. Absolutely no gadgets allowed.  

The ruling starts on Sunday night from 8pm and ends at Friday at 1pm. So on Wednesday night at around

OK kan?

 

I just wanted the kids to try to concentrate more on their schooling and realize that the holidays are over. With the gadgets around they tend to be very anti-social, jompletely engrossed in their own world. Tak berapa nak dengan cakap because they are concentrating on whatever it was on the YouTube channel, Instagram-ing or what have yous. As a result, homework pun tak buat, baju tak siapkan, buku tak prepare for the next day's timetable, buat kerja lain pun distracted - termasuklah nak pakai baju, makan dan sebagainya. Impact would include leaving for school much later than I'd like to in the morning and menyebabkan darah Ibunya naik sampai ke kepala. Stress pagi-pagi noks. Adoiiii. And so we implemented the rule and that same Wednwsday night I collected all gadgets and kept it in my room.

Come Thursday afternoon, look what I saw on my Instagram news?

My little Khaleeda was liking my photos on Instagram. Adik main iPod kah? Kantoiii!!!! I immediately called home and asked her why she was playing with her iPod. She was surprised that I knew. Ya lah, she's at home and I was at work. How could I have possibly known. Terkejut sat member. She told me her reason was because "Atuk was watching tv" so she didn't know what else to do with her free time. Kakak Abang pun belum balik from various activities. This she is bored. Alololololo.

Here's hoping that the rule works and would improve their weekday to be more productive and focused. I'm still looking to fine tune it. May have to add not watching Plex as well. Very distracting, that. I have yet to decide on the games too - PS3, XBOX and the likes. May even want to reward them some Gadget time if they are doing well on a limited time basis. Will see as the day progresses lah.

-dillz blogging out-

My Aspie Boy

Been meaning to write about my boy. But every time I started writing, hatiku mula sebak. Don't know why exactly, just pilu and mellowed. But I need to write this down. Who knows it might be of some use to others out there. This is just our own experience with dealing and recognizing that our kid has Asperger's syndrome. (the 'g' is pronounced as in get)

There's nothing physically wrong with him, he looks just like any ordinary 8 year old. Strikingly handsome, if I may add so myself. A completely able bodied, perfectly healthy 8 year old and for that I am truly grateful. Alhamdulillah.

Khaleeq developed his speech a little later than his siblings. He still couldn't speak at 3 years old. We took him to the peads one day and was referred to an audiologist to test his hearing. Turned out there was nothing wrong with his middle ear and he started speaking just slightly after that. So we chilled and life went on as usual.

My boy, however, speaks with an American accent. Don't know where he gets it from. But the slang is distinct and sometimes he speaks in a high pitch. He would also repeat himself at times, almost echoing. He is filled with emotions - be it good or bad. He's not able to hide how he feels. He could be extremely upset over something and as soon as you explain the situation he'd be OK about it. Just like that. I don't really know how to explain it - almost turning on and off like a switch.

Overall though, he is a happy child. He has a pure heart. Always thinking about the less fortunate - the orphans, etc. Kelantanese would call him budak yang "jughuh".

We noticed that Khaleeq however did not particularly speak much Malay. Even when he started his primary schooling, he didn't pick up the language like Khadra did when she was at that age. Seeing that his year was when the newly introduced KSSR started, this posed as a challenge for him as Math and also Science was taught in Malay. About four to five months into schooling, we decided on a BM tutor for him. He goes to Miss Mahyuni three times a week, for about an hour at a time. With her, he picked up on his bacaan and some understanding of the language. Mahyuni was also the one who asked me to get Khaleeq diagnosed for autism. That came as a big shock to me.

"He looked perfectly fine. How could he be autistic?" Those were the thoughts that ran through my mind. It was pretty hard to swallow. I remember crying (for I don't know what reason) and calling my husband just trying to understand. Looking back, I am thankful for that initial suggestion of diagnosis as it was my turning point to handle Khaleeq's challenges at school.

After his half year exams, we saw that he was quite behind as compared to his other classmates. Challenges in school were aplenty. He had trouble finishing his work at school. Especially copying from the board. Of course he wasn't very good in reading Malay yet and his English reading was OK but not very fluent. So that contributed. And there's the language barrier to boot. Add to that his lack of concentration, short attention span and distractions. Yeah. A little handful.

He works hard though. When he gets home, he'd go through his work with me. I would have to get pictures of the school work from either the board, a friend's book or from the network of mothers in his class and we would be doing school work after school work. He is also good at marking his activity book on the pages that he needs to complete. So that helped.

However, even with all that he is still behind as compared to his peers. Mainly due to the language. So, at the end of 2011, we decided to get him diagnosed. To know what we are dealing with and to be able to help him better.

His diagnosis forom Gleneagles read : highly functioning autism - Asperger's Syndrome.

That's all for now, I'll continue this later lah. There's a lot of details to share. I'll break it down bit by bit.

-dillz blogging out-

Double celebrations

End of July. Marks a significant part of my life as two of my boys celebrate their birthdays one day after another. Khaleeq turned 8 yesterday on the 30th and Inche Azrul celebrates his 35th today.

As per customary in our little family, each kid would receive at least one present on every birthday celebration - so multiple bodies were actually counting the days to Khaleeq's birthday. ;) Khaleeq is now into Lego Hero Factory and Lego City series, while Khaleeda is in her Play Doh stage. Khadra is not very much into toys so she opted for a headphone for her iPod instead (turning into a teenager too fast that girl). Everyone got their choice of poison last weekend so the present section was pretty much sorted out, thankfully.

When asked about his day in school, Khaleeq said a few of his friends wished him "Happy Birthday" and he was quite pleased with that. He had also apparently invited some friends to Kidzania for his birthday party at 3pm yesterday. I hope none of the kids dragged their parents coz we didn't plan to have the KidZania party until later. Adoii la Khaleeq. Comel betul.

We had a quiet dinner last night with just the family unit and my sweetheart of a husband ran to tapau the usual suspects from Chili's to add on to our berbuka menu. He even managed to get Khaleeq the Baskin Robbin's ice cream cake for moreh later. Yeay, husband! Suffice to say little man is mighty pleased with his day, he even have another City package yet to be opened as at late last night. That'll keep him happy throughout the week, me thinketh.

After the kids went to bed, me and the husband had a little rendezvous with my sisters at Pelita SS2 for some Maggi goreng tak nak sayur telur goyang. A little sahur get together of sorts to mark my man's birthday. No definitive plans for today as yet. But we do have Jamoca Almond Fudge ice cream cake in the fridge along with 3 big candles and 5 small candles with Azrul's name all over it. We'll see la. Must be the age catching up. Hahaha.

Happy birthday dearests. You know that I love you and you.

-dillz blogging out-

My Junior Masterchefs

The two Khas entered a Scottigami competition at their school early this month. In simple terms, the kids had to fold Scott kitchen towel into an object. Thus, the name Scott + Origami = Scottigami. Khadra wanted to make lillies and Khaleeq wanted to make frogs. So, we googled how to fold them and spent some good time making them. Thanks to the abundance of accessories (pipe cleaners, flower cutout, feathers and googly eyes) to decorate the kitchen towels from our trusted Doodle drawer, we were able to come up with the following.

Tadaa.....

Boleh tahan, la... Seni tu ada...

Best part was, the Top 30 most creative entries stand a chance to participate in a junior cooking workshop with a celebrity chef and they were both selected. Wey-hey!!! So, mommy dengan penuh bersemangat ambil cuti hari tersebut to accompany my little chef Khaleeq and @azrulx was Khadra's partner-in-crime. (@azrulx cooking? Of course, I HAD to see this. hihihihihi)

Anak-anak, ibu-ibu, bapa-bapa - all excited for the workshop to start. Ampun, ada pulak gambar kaki ibu-ibu. Motif???

Inside the hall. Getting ready to cook. Aprons ON.. Let's go!

First menu: tortilla wrap. There wasn't actual or proper cooking per se - no pots nor pans needed - more like chopping, mixing, squeezing, whisking and assembling. I let Khaleeq do most of the steps, with guidance, of course. Especially while chopping stuff. Adoi, seriau acik... Tak sempat nak menjeling meja sebelah to see how the father-daughter duo was doing. OK lah tu. Cik mek Khadra tu boleh diharap. We successfully completed the wrap and both kids completely devoured their fruits of labour. Sedap juga.. Mommy dapatlah merasa beberapa bites.

Next up was smoothies making. Can't believe how simple the steps were. The chef encouraged the kids to try a few different combinations. Personally, I liked the banana-oreo the best. And I have also concluded that peanut butter does not go well into a smoothie. Period!

Session ended with group photos and interviews. Kids were happy. Parents were happy. Mana taknya, kenyang perut, suka hati lah...

I am actually very grateful that we got this opportunity to participate in this kind of workshop with the kids. It showed them that cooking is really not that hard to do and every single one can actually whip something up in the kitchen. In fact, we already bought a smoothie blender last weekend. Made a few batches of smoothies with the kids' help. (I added a few scoops of Bulla vanilla ice-cream into the recipe though. hahahaha) They are very interested and I hope to get the kids more involved in the future too. Sebelum ni pun, ada la jugak tolong sikit-sikit, especially when baking cookies and brownies. Part goreng-menggoreng, potong-memotong ni, I tak berani nak let them in yet. Maybe I should get them a safer knife macam dalam Junior Masterchef tu. Mana nak beli, ek?

-dillz blogging out-

Bismillah...

Image from: here

K1 and K2 will be having their PKSR1 exams starting today. Four days of exams.

Today : Bahasa Melayu and Agama
Tomorrow: Math and Science
Wednesday: English and Music
Thursday: Arab and Pendidikan Seni

Khadra is no stranger to exams, but this is officially Khaleeq's first. We are not stressing over it though. Buat je lah apa yang terdaya. Best part is, after this whole thing is over, we have our vacation to look forward to. Woot!

Khaleeq was telling me the other day, "Mom, this exam thing is killing me. "
Drama King.
Exam pun belum lagi.
I'm thinking this could be due to the imposed conditions I have put in place during exam week - no TV, no iPad, no DS Lite. Only toys and story books allowed for break time. I have also stocked up the fridge and pantry with loads of sugary stuff - packs of Milo, Vitagen, Calci-yum, Oreos, Pringles, Twisties, Cheezels, etc. Just to get a lot of brain activities going.

Preparation pun biasa-biasa je. Normally, we would go through the optional activity books for Khadra. But, most of the topics have been covered during Formative 1 and 2 exams anyhow. So, this time around, she's doing some past year papers. For Khaleeq, since there has never been any exams for him ever, (Standard One takde Formative exams) I thought, well.. belasah je lah Khaleeq. He has done some BM revision in his Bahasa Melayu extra classes that he's been going to for the past few months anyways. Agama and Arab pun ada jugak sikit-sikit revision at the Ustazah that he goes to mengaji to. We have also started to prepare the stuff he needs for his Seni exam. He's making a collage, so loads of menggentel-ing of crepe paper involved. This time around, biar dia tau je what exams are all about. And that he will not die from it. *Sheesh*

After going through the normal pep talk, "Do your best", "Answer all the questions", "Check your answers", "Jangan tidur"... we recited the doa penerang hati together in the car this morning.

There's nothing else to say now, just ..

image from : here

Tawakkaltu 'alAllah.. :)

All the best kiddos!

-dillz blogging out-

Planning for the term holidays

The schedule for the PKSR1 Exams are already out. Which means the end of term is near. Which also means the kids will be out for a 2-week break starting this 28th May 2011.

Plans have been made. We just finalized the air tickets some 2 weeks back together with the main agenda -- Hong Kong Disneyland!!!!

Picture from: here

We have a 5day , 4 night itinerary in which the first 2days and 2 nights will be exploring Hong Kong and the remaining 3days and 2 nights spent in Hong Kong Disneyland itself. best of all, our stay coincides with Khadra's 8th birthday. So, she will be celebrating her birthday there, Disneyland-style. Complete with decorated room in Mickey & Minnie theme and a special Disney character appearance during dinner with photo op. OMG! Dream come true?

However, the plan is still hazy on the Hong Kong part, but I've told Khadra to research on things she'd like to do there. Apparently, there's Madam Tussaud's there and they have a Justin Bieber wax figure. Definitely worthy of a visit, don't you think? hihihihihi..

Yeah, so any ideas on what to do in Hong Kong is very much welcomed. Plus, where to stay, ah? Somewhere nice for a family of 5, near to the things that we would probably like to see and do before we head on over to Disneyland.

For now, the elder kids would have to revise and prepare for their exams first. Khaleeda, on the other hand, has already made her selections on what she'd like to wear while roaming around Disneyland.

Uuuuu... I can't wait! (eeh.. Ibu dia yang berlebih)

-dillz blogging out-

Ahlan Wa Sahlan Ya Ramadhan 1431

Ramadhan is here once again. Alhamdulillah.. :)

For the first terawikh, the Azrul clan (minus Miss Khadra) was at Masjid Wilayah. Penuhnya ya amaaaaattt, we literally parked in the middle of the road. Anyhow, Khaleeq went with his dad. Menurut kata report, he was OK. Just that he was reading "Subhana rabbiyal azimi wa bihamdih" really loudly for rukuk AND sujud. hihihihihi. Khaleeda came with me to the muslimat section. Boleh tahan behave jugak, the little makcik. She keeps herself busy whilst waiting for rukuk by looking around and walking around me. Whenever there were major movements, such as rukuk and sujud, she would follow suit. (Just that bila sujud, dia terlentang. hihihihihi. Will have to remember to correct her position later.)

From their track records, Khadra started fasting last year and managed to complete the whole month without fail. Khaleeq on the other hand, completed a commendable 29 days - itu pun sebab he didn't quite understand the concept the first day and was too tempted by the sizzles of fried chicken for lunch! Khaleeda has yet to start. Bagi chan lah itu makcik, she is only 2.5 years old after all. ;)

Of course, we had a little incentive scheme in place that was really really working last year - a DS Lite each, up front. :) At that point in time, a big reward was vital coz that was their first time fasting ever.

This year, we have not yet cemented any agreements with the two Khas. Just a little reminder here and there on how the fasting month is coming and one is not allowed to eat and drink from dusk to dawn. I thought Khadra did a good job explaining it clearly to Khaleeq.
Khadra: "It's when you can't have breakfast and lunch, Khaleeq"
Khaleeq: "You mean, I can only eat at night time?"
Hmm... Boleh la tu...

Anyways, to keep them motivated, our First Sahur was a little extravagant. Mandy rice from al-Rawsha, Jalan Damai for Inche @azrulx , me and Bibik Parmi AND KFC for the kids. (Though, Khaleeda had her mashed potato and original drum stick before she headed to bed that night) I thought we overdid it that time. Probably 2 mandy rice packs would have suffice. Waking up K1 and K2 was alright. The real challenge was really after they came back from school the next day.

At 12:30pm I got a call from Saufi and Khaleeq was crying and wailing on the other end.
"I am hungry mom! I am so thirsty. I am so sad coz I am hungry."
Hmm.. Macam mana nak buat ni?
Had to go into rescue mode right away. I told Saufi to pick me up from office and the coaxing, pujuking, pep talking, usap-mengusaping began. I was just cuddling him on our way home and he really looked beaten at that time. Keluarlah segala cerita kesian kat orang susah, at least you get to eat at night, you have done it before, you are a strong boy segala. Wah!! Tak jalan juga. Masih menangis. Still wailing his heart out.

In times like this, I had to bring out a toy that he really wanted from our secret stash. (Nasib baik dah prepare earlier) I took out Decepticon Lockdown and he immediately changed his demeanor. Tetiba jadi energetic, jumping up and down.
"Is that surprise for me? I love it!"
I told him that this toy could could be his if he fulfill his fast that day. Nampak semangat semacam je. Tetiba, OK pulak. Things were finally looking up! :)

The toy did help him feel distracted for a while. Alhamdulillah, he completed the fasting yesterday, but not without more complains. One thing for sure, I really needed to keep on reassuring him time and time again. He needs to do other stuff so that he gets distracted and not focus on the hunger and thirst. Come on, boy.. You can do this. I foresee these 3 days to be a little tough. Transition time. After he gets through this few days, Insya Allah.. He could do it on his own for the coming days. On top of that, ada pulak distraction from Lil Miss Deyda. Boleh minah tu minum air sejuk depan abang dia, siap panggil nama Khaleeq lagi. Ish.Ish.Ish.

Second day - same story. Sahur was OK. The drama really started after school was over. Extra challenge today coz Khaleeq had his gym session today and not allowed to drink. So, as expected, the call came sometime around 12:40pm, he was asking for permission to drink coz he was thirsty. I asked Saufi to pick me up so that I could talk some sense into the boy on our ride home. Rupa-rupanya budak bertuah tu already took a bite off a biscuit he found in his bag. Bukan banyak pun, just one tiny bite.
His justification:
"It's not my fault, mom. My belly button is controlling me."
Adoiaiii, Khaleeq.

Nak gelak pun ada.
Anyhoots, I took away Lockdown for the day. Told him he could get it back once he fulfills a day of fasting. And the next 7 consecutive fasting days, he can get another toy.
He kept apologizing and saying that he'll try to do better tomorrow.
Takpe lah , Khaleeq. Esok kita try lagi..

Khadra on the other hand is not complaining walaupun nampak penat dan letih. Good job, Kakak! Onto day TWO! :)

-dillz blogging out-

Khaleeq Turns 6

A "happy birthday" shoutout to my son who turn SIX years old today.

From a chubby baby

To the Transformers (AND Batman:The Bold & The Brave AND Ben-10 AND IronMan AND many more) fanatic

But ALWAYS ALWAYS Ibu's precious little boy

Happy Birthday , Khaleeq Mohd Azrul. I wish you all the joy, love, success and wealth in this world and the world hereafter. Aminnn!

Malam ni Chili's , jom?

-dillz blogging out-

Khaleeda's First Day at School

Khaleeda, my 2 years and 7 months old girl has been asking us since forever to let her go to school. We have been meaning to send her to Early Years Playgroup since March this year, but they were not admitting new kids into the Nursery class at that time. *had to let the triplets cool down and ease into school first. :)* So, when I called Aunty Zai a few weeks back, I was estatic that she agreed for us to have a look see around the school for Khaleeda and Eva. (Zachy and Emelia's firstborn) Just to see whether the kids like it there and whether they are ready for school.

Early Years Playgroup and us go way back. Khadra started her early development days there in August 2005. She just turned 2 years and 2 months. When she went in she could hardly speak. Prolly only had 5 words in her vocabulary. Among others are: Abibu (for Ibu), Amimok (for selimut / blankie), Shishu (for Susu) and.. Maybe that's it. hihihihihi But, at the end of the year, in her December concert, we were just amazed on how she had blossomed. Truly, truly amazing. :) Then, there was Khadra's 2006 concert where they had the musical-inspired theme. Me, Inche Azrul and Kira worked hard on the backdrop screens! Hmm.. those were fun times!

Khaleeq joined in January 2007 , when he was 2 years and 5 months. Similarly, he couldn't speak when he first joined. But, when he left 2 years later, he was speaking in an American slang. hihihihihihi *must have picked it up from the telly, tho* In 2007, we had two stars performing in the year-end concert. This year it was the Children of the World. Khadra left for Beaconhouse the year she turned 5, so in 2008, Khaleeq was the only one performing at the year-end concert. (Whoa! I din't blog about that year's concert. Must have been REALLY busy or lazy!)

So, anywaaaays... (Panjangnya mukaddimah)

Lil Miss Khaleeda and Lil Miss Eva went for a look-see the other day and ended up really liking the place. *Am so glad* They joined the class right after breakfast and stayed on for the storytelling, playtime and music time. It really helped that Eva, her new BFF, was around. But she kept calling me to be near her. Must have been a little overwhelmed with all the new faces, I think.

She quickly warmed up during playtime though. Especially when they discovered the water tank. The two little ladies must have scooped the pink water onto the water mill like a million times. Don't they ever get bored? I wonder. Khaleeda also enjoyed music time very much. It really helped that Miss Maria's songs were familiar to her - especially Row, Row Your Boat where she got to partner the dashing Mika (One-third of the triplets) and also Heads, Shoulder, Knees and Toes. hihihihi *Thank you, Barney!*

So, we decided that Khaleeda would definitely join Early years Playgroup and after the approval from Tok Mummy, yesterday was the first day of school for Lil Miss Deyda! :) I just accompanied her for awhile before I left her to enjoy her day. *Exit timed nicely as she went for the water tank*

Picking her up at 1pm was an entourage consisting of me, Khadra and Khaleeq. She was smiling from ear to ear when she saw the sight of me. Screaming "IBU! " from the top of the stairs she looked so excited and happy. Khadra and Khaleeq were smiling too, probably proud of their baby sister. Khaleeq siap declared to the two teachers that he used to attend the school before too. Good to hear that Miss Rina and Miss Tini reported that she didn't even cry that first day. Only asked for me once in a while. Yeay, Deyda!!!

Looks like a good beginning for Lil Miss Khaleeda. Now, I just have to think of her day-to-day clothes to school. They are allowed to wear normal clothes, the uniform is just an apron. :) My little makcik is a diva, suka melawa. Ikut aunty-aunty dia lah tu. (Not me, definitely)

-dillz blogging out-

Fish! I Screwed Up!

I was in my car, at the office car park when I finally realized that I totally forgot about my kids' mengaji class tonight. Reached my phone - battery's dead. Fished the other phone out of the handbag - dead also. By this time, I was already 45 minutes late.

Picture from: here

Knowing how the kids dispersed after mengaji classes, they were all gone in the first 5 minutes. Suddenly my own experience waiting for my dad in the dark with my 2 other sisters flashed quickly before my eyes.

**
I think I was 8 years old or so. I was attending primary school at Sekolah Kebangsaan Sri Petaling, Petaling Jaya with two of my sisters at that time. The three of us ; Ziezi, me and Illa ; were waiting for our ride home as per usual.

We waited and waited and waited and nobody came for us. The day was getting darker (we went to the evening session) and slowly turned into night. We were the only three beings left outside the school compound, hugging each other tight (Probably crying too). Then, a car approached and there was our dad asking us to get into the car.

A stream of complaints came from the three princesses - "Mengapa lambat?" "There's no one else here" "We were the last ones, Encik"

Sekali kena tengking, daa.... hahahahahahaha

It turned out that our then 4 year old brother drove the Isuzu Pajero down the hill and ended up in the ditch. (He didn't actually, drive, he just released the handbrakes and the car slid down the hill) So, itulah sebabnya lambat, dan of course he had other things in his head at that time, with the balik kampung plan screwed up and all..

**
Anyways, pointnya adalah, I know how it felt to be the last one waiting for your parent to arrive. Been there and done that. It's a lonely feeling and one gets pretty restless. And cranky and teary-eyed. So.....

Panic.Panic.Panic. Aduh! Lagilah pressure!

Luckily, I spotted the Blackberry car charger in the car. Plugged it in and immediately called Ustazah Yati. She said she tried to call but it didn't go through. I apologized profusely and told her I was on my way. The journey to Kota Damansara was a smooth one, I was there in about 15 minutes. I must have driven at 120km/h where I could.

Anyways, as I arrived, her house had the gate and the front door closed. No lights in the foyer. Dark and a little scary. Called Ustazah to tell her I was already there. Her sleepy voice greeted me and said, "OK". Turned off the engine and ran to her house to quickly hug my two sweethearts. More bouts of apologies ensued. Luckily, both kids were smiling widely. Ustazah shared with me another great news - Khadra has gone to Iqra' 5. Yeay!,Khadra! Gave them a quick kiss and a last kopek apology to the Ustazah. We made our way to the car.

Talking, talking, talking in the car. We made it home safely. All is well once more. :)

Moral of the story: Lain kali ingat la nak ambik anak , weh!

-dillz blogging out-

jí​shí​ jiào​shī​

jí​shí​ jiào​shī​ or, in the full mandarin character, 即时教师 means an Immediate Teacher. At least that's what the mandarin translator website tells me. The instructions are completely in Mandarin. Just a blue stamp of "Home Work" to tell me that this particular page needs to be completed before he returns back to class tomorrow. I had to turn to the worldly knowledge of the web to help Khaleeq figure out his Mandarin homework.

Just in case you are caught in the same predicament - by predicament I mean not knowing how to speak, read or write the language but having to assist your child anyways.

It's basically a two step process.

First: Character dictionary
Use the brush icon to invoke a clean white screen where you could "write" the characters and a bunch of character will be filtered for you to choose from. It's important that you kinda know the order of the strokes as it affects the filtration process. Just pick the character that resembles the character that you want the most and it will appear on the top left screen. SHould you wish to define this character, click "Go". Do this for every character that you need before you go on to the next step.

Second: Translate
Translate the bunch of mandarin characters that you have gathered to form the instructions that you need. I missed a couple of characters so, in the end it read: "The activities of a sub-rain line.." Hmm..


We figured that we needed to cross the box in the activities that you can't do on rainy days.

Bantai je lah Labu... hihihihihi

-dillz blogging out-

A Few F1 Weekends Ago

Yes, am a bit lagging in the news over here. A few F1 weekends have come and left, while I am still stuck at the one in Sepang. (Not that we even watched the actual race there. haha!)

We were lucky to have been given a few tickets by the generous Keduaq for Grand Stand seats at the Emerald for the Qualifying Race. Thinking that it would actually be a good experience for our boy Khaleeq, we decided to have a little outing - just me and my boys. Khaleeq was really excited about it as he got to don his fresh-from-the-Melbourne-race orange McLaren tee.

Biasalah F1. Vroom sini. Vroom sana. The sounds of the engines revving were too darn loud , I could not make out what the announcer was saying over the speakers. Plus, I had the additional task of keeping Khaleeq's earplugs in place. Kejap kena pegang belah kanan, kejap kena pegang belah kiri. The screen was also blurry, so I lagilah blur! Thankfully, I could rely on @fazz27's and @tonyfernandes' updates and analyses on twitter.

But I got a Ferrari umbrella though. So, that made it worth the while. haha!

-dillz blogging out-

Khaleeq's First PTM for 2010

PTM(Parents- Teachers Meeting) for Beaconhouse Bangsar is here again!!!! Waiting in line had the butterflies in my tummy run amok! It's always the case when it's time to have a face-to-face discussion with Khaleeq's teachers. hihihihihihihi (Read about the last PTM we had here.

First up was Cikgu Kamariah - the Bahasa Melayu teacher. She was really happy with Khaleeq's progress, citing that he has the right attitude towards learning and he concentrated better in class. His writing has improved so much so that she does not need to shadow them anymore. (i.e. Cikgu writes in the exercise book in a coloured pencil and Khaleeq writes over them with his pencil) Of course it could be very much better and neater and nicer. So, that takes a little more practice. She even related that Khaleeq knows some of the Jawi alphabets - I guess the Iqra' classes we have on the sides are really paying off. It also helps that the Iqra' method is similar to the Bacaan for Bahasa. But we still need to work more and practice more; both in reading AND writing. Hopefully, the mingling that he does at the mengaji classes would also help with his Bahasa. If he needs it, probably, I would have to consider sending him for Bahasa tuition come June. Just to make sure he is ready for Primary school. In any case, Yeay! I am happy!! Sangat happy! Phew! Lega satu perkara!

Next was his class teacher, Teacher Amy. Let it be known that Teacher Amy was Khadra's class teacher last year. So, she could really compare the two. Also, Teacher Amy ni is the strict type - disciplined, no nonsense kind of person. On the other hand, we have Khaleeq. Tulis pun tak berapa nak betul lagi, baca pun merangkak-rangkak. So, you'd understand my anxiety, lah. hihihihi

It turned out that she was REALLY happy with his progress too. She kept on saying that we should not compare between the two kids, each child develops differently. Khaleeq is more expressive, a charmer and he wears his heart on his sleeve. He'd go to a person and ask for a hug. He's that type. Whenever he is called up to the teacher to read, he would be standing close to her. Slowly, without even realizing it, he ended up reading while sitting on Teacher Amy's lap. hihihihihihihi.. Loving, gitu..

In a nutshell, she was happy with Khaleeq's attitude and approach for work. He had grown so much from last year. She related a story to me. One day, in Irises 2 class.
Khaleeq: "Excuse me, teacher"
Teacher Amy: "Yes, Khaleeq"
Khaleeq: "Do we have homework today?"
Teacher Amy: "No Khaleeq. No homework today. But thank you for asking"
hihihihihi. So sweetlah anak aku, mintak homework, please..

She said that his work has improved tremendously. He could write without shadows. Can copy from the board, can colour his pictures, but he takes his time a little. So sometimes he does not finish his work in class. Which is OK. With practice, he would be able to write and colour faster. She acknowledged the work we have done with him over the holidays and even now at home. She said for Khaleeq to improve more, we need to work together. Spend time with him at home and she will help when he's in school. (Note that , Ibu)

And the sweetest of all, get this: She volunteered to have a one-on-one session with him 2 times a week to let him catch up with the rest of the class. She said it would be a challenge for her, but she would love to help Khaleeq improve. She said he has the right attitude and that's why she's ever willing to help. Awwwwww!! So sweetlah teacher Amy. I really really heart her! Insya allah Khaleeq akan berjaya!

Yatta!!!

-dillz blogging out-

Iqra' : Aj-Juzu' Thalith

Iqra' development series | 1:Aj-Juzu' Wahid | 2: Aj-Juzu' Thani| 3: Aj-Juzu' Thalith|

It's time for the third installment of the Iqra' series. Just to keep you (and me, really) updated on their developments. Since then, Khaleeq had been sick and vomitted all over the class in one incident as well as the kids skipped a few classes due to hi-fever and whatnot.

It would seem pretty obvious by now that we have long ditched the baju kurungs and baju melayus (as exhibited in the 2nd installment) for the night sessions and joined the likes of Haris Omar, Iskandar and Harith in their parades of baju tidur. hihihihihi I have finally concurred that, Yes, it is much more comfortable for the kids and it makes the transition to sleepyland much faster when we get home at around 10pm. :) We do come in full gear for the Sunday sessions though. :)

For the general viewing, I have included a few pictures of their meja rehal yang awesome itu. :) Khadra has hers in pink (of course) and Khaleeq has his in black.

This picture was taken when I came in early, one night session. Tu yang tak berapa ramai orang lagi tu. At full quorum, Ustazah Yati would have the kids surrounding her in the shape of a square, and she'll be in the middle. :) Oh, Ustazah Yati is the lady in the cardigan. She said she wasn't feeling too well that day.

Their behaviour / attitude for the class?
There was one occasion when Khadra refused to go to class when we already arrived at the Ustazah's house. Yes, of course I was pissed off. Imagine driving through traffic for almost one hour and when we finally got there, dia tak nak masuk pulak. Mau tak angin? Khadra said she was tired and sleepy and she did not want to mengaji that day. She also just got up from her nap during the drive there, so maybe angin dia pun tengah weng at that time. Ustazah was sweet enough to coax her in, saying that she didn't have to do anything and rest for a while. I left her in the good hands of the Ustazah. Later, she related that Khadra was only crying for about 5 minutes before she quieted down and started her mengaji.

Khaleeq did not give me any drama. Only that he asks me for a new toy everyday. But that is besides the pointlah. :)

Oh ada satu cerita baru (as related by Haris Omar and Iskandar to their mom, Liza) just yesterday. Ustazah asked Khaleeq about one of the Arabic alphabets. (I am assuming it was the letter Za - refer chart below)

(Picture from here)

Since this is a third-party story. We really could not be sure which version took place. Either way, it is still very funny.

version 1
Ustazah: What is this , Khaleeq?
Khaleeq: That's a burger in the nose

ataupun

version 2
Ustazah: What is this , Khaleeq?
Khaleeq: That's a booger in the nose

hahahahahahahahaha...

Their progress?
Alhamdulillah, Khadra just started Iqra' Three last Monday while Khaleeq is very well on his way to finishing his Iqra' One. :) To give them that extra incentive, I also promised to reward them RM10 each for every Iqra' book they finish. For completing Iqra' Six, and that means graduating to the al-Quran, they will get RM50 each (to add into their Tabung, of course) . So, that deal seems to sit with them pretty well. :)

They also learnt how to perform their solat with the practical done every Thursay. I know it is a little overwhelming, especially for Khaleeq coz he has yet to memorize all the ayat-ayat sembahyang. So, to help him (and Khadra) out a little bit, we have been practicing some of the ayat-ayat sembahyang in the car to and from mengaji. For quick wins, I started on ayat rukuk and sujud coz it is a one-liner and you repeat them in every rakaat. Sure dia rasa best sikit when he gets it.. :)

I'll upload a little snippet of Khaleeq practicing on a real-time basis during our most current tahlil at Pondok Azlul - orang tengah jemaah Isya' tu.. :) (Insya Allah *updated)

OKlah abang oi! You got it almost right most of the time. Main-main kena kurang sikit, berdiri tak boleh gerak-gerak, ayat-ayat lain kena belajar lagi, tau! (Ko paham tak ni Khaleeq, oi? hahahahaha) In time,lah my dear.. In time..

In any case, I am proud of you, Boboy!!! :) Kita practice kuat-kuat lagi, ya?

-dillz blogging out-

Poor Baby

My poor baby is sick. He looked a little tired yesterday before going to mengaji class at Ustazah Yati's. I noticed that he was rather quiet and was trying to catch a sleep all through the one-hour journey through after work traffic to Kota Damansara. At Ustazah's place, he got off with his sister and I made my way home. (Made a deal with Azrul to pick them up later so that I get to watch American idol at 8pm)

Anyways, at the Section 16 traffic light, I got a call from Ustazah yati that Khaleeq threw up and we need to pick him up. The other kids had been sent home coz he threw up all over the tikar and it made it impossible to conduct the solat practical. :(

Kesiannya Khaleeq sakit sampai muntah-muntah. :(
Kesiannya the other kids tak dapat belajar malam semalam. :(
Kesiannya Ustazah had to deal with the muntah and had to cancel the classes. :(
Kesiannya all the moms and dads sending their kids to class yet have to bring them back before it is supposed to end or even started. :(

My apologies to the parents for menyusahkan. It was di luar jangkaan. I really thought he wasn't that sick when we dropped him off.

Right after Azrul picked them up, we went to see the doctor and he was given meds for the fever, vomitting and cough. Oh and the anti-biotics also.

Here he is waiting for the meds at the clinic.

He is resting at home today. I hope he gets well soon.

Lesson learnt last night - kalau anak tu is extra quiet and macam tak larat, tak payah la paksa pergi sekolah jugak. :( Ingat tu, Ibu!

-dillz blogging out-

Iqra' : Aj-Juzu' Thani

Iqra' development series | 1:Aj-Juzu' Wahid | 2: Aj-Juzu' Thani| 3: Aj-Juzu' Thalith|

This is a follow-up story to our quest to find a mengaji place for the two elder Khas. :)

Kids in their mengaji outfit:

Azrul cakap macam budak mintak sedekah - jahat tau!! I thought they looked so innocent and suci! *cheh!

Alhamdulillah, the journey has been made easier, thank you, ya Allah. Initially, I planned to send them over to Kota Damansara to attend the 7pm or 8pm session on 4 nights during the weekday. This is of course on top of the 2-hours Sunday morning sessions that we are already sending them to.

Monday through Thursday. Add to that after work hours traffic from Bangsar to Kota Damansara. Well, you could only imagine the worst! :(

True enough, traffic was a definite nightmare.

I tried the Sprint-Damansara PLUS Toll route that I have been following on Sundays. I was told by the wise Kak Ween that Sprint-Damansara PLUS Toll stretch was a real bitch on weekdays and was she right. I was stuck for what seemed like aaaages there. Just coz people can't stick to their blardy lanes and keep criss-crossing between lanes. :)~~

Kak Ween recommends the Sprint-TTDI route, then via persiaran Surian nstead. It was bearable, she said. And it was almost toll-free, except for the RM1.00 at the SPRINT toll. I tried that a few times, but got really testy at the TTDI area - wanna blame it at the current construction that's taking place near the BU area.

Ziezi recommended the Hartamas - Duta PLUS Toll way. Hartamas stretch is a little slow, but moving. So that was definitely much better.

In the end, I took the Hartamas - Penchala Link - (U-turn at One-Utama) - Persiaran Surian route. It is a little berpusing-pusing, I know, but it is anti-flow and I find that our journey is much calmer. *Big relief* The kids even took this time to catch up on a little nap.

That's the logistics sorted out. Thank you.

On top of that, Ustazah Yati had suggested that we only come in 2 nights on the weekdays, for a 2-hour session instead. She suggested one night on either a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday - where she would concentrate on Iqra' , Jawi and a little bit of Arabic. The other session is on a Thursday, where it is mainly solat practical and stories of Rasulullah and such. :) Alhamdulillah... it worked out very well for me as I have the flexibility of Monday thru Wednesday should there be the need to stay back at the office for work. Seems like I just need to be back on time on Thursdays now. Else, there's always Azrul for back-up. :) Also, since their classes are 2-hour sessions now, it gives me room for Maghrib and just about enough time to squeeze a little ME-time.

Oh, Zatil and Yoi have been sending their Harith to the same night classes too. He's the boy in red/blue t-shit and the white kopiah in the pictures above. :) Zatil was relaying to me that Khaleeq had asked the Ustazah to tell them a joke one night - right in the middle of one of her lesson. Ustazah pulak tambah this story:

Khaleeq: Excuse me Teacher.
Ustazah: Yes, Khaleeq?
Khaleeq: Could you dance?
Ustazah: ?##!??

Comel lah budak ni. I guess he's just a little bored, kot. hihihihihi..

I also captured this little clip at the end of their session - The two kids busy checking out whether their parents are already there are Liza's, Si Harris Omar and Iskandar. Khaleeq can't keep still..

Tak pe lah.. I am just happy that Khaleeq's learning as much as he could - his Iqra' is already at huruf "Sodd and Dhod" , staying put (as much as possible), practicing his Jawi and at the very least listening and following the nasyids and stuff.

Oh, lil' Miss Khadra has already started on the Iqra' 2 since last week. Yeay, Kakak! :)

-diilz blogging out-

The Power of Fury

Of late, my Khaleeq has been complaining and whining about why I haven't bought his Power Rangers Jungle Fury (PRJF) Jungle Master Megazord already.

OK, let's back track just a little bit. I just have a few questions here.

1) Since whenlah pulak Power Rangers came into the picture? I thought my boy was into Ben-10 and Transformers?
Apparently, not any more. Thank you what ever TV channel that has been feeding my boy with this new obsession. *NOT!*

2) What is a Jungle Master Megazord anyways?
Got this from wikia: As the Power Rangers train and learn to control their powers, they rise to the next level of Jungle Master Megazord in which their three new Animal Spirit (don't ask me, I don't know either) combined. Jungle Master Megazord is the combination of three animal spirits- Gorilla, Antelope and Penguin.

This is how he looks like.

(Picture from: here, here)

Right and it costs RM399.00 at Toys R' Us, thank you very much.

So, what do we do when faced with a situation as such? We make plans and this is ours:

*It's always a family plan, don't you know?*

Khadra will keep her daily RM2 recess money I give her in her K1 coin box. Eventhough Khaleeq does not have a canteen to spend it in, he still gets RM2 to be stuffed into K2 coin box. Khaleeda does not go to school, so we'll just match whatever the other two siblings can raise. When there is enough notes and coins in K2, Khaleeq will get his Jungle Master Megazord.

Sikit-sikit lama-lama jadi bukit, kan?

Sepuluh sen, Dua puluh sen, Tiga puluh sen... Bila nak Tiga Ratus Sembilan Puluh Sembilan Ringgit ni?

On second thoughts, maybe Azrul should just borong if and when he goes to China then. After all those Power Ranger stuff are BanDai products and are manufactured in China. Anybody out there going to China soon?

-dillz blogging out-