Why I do what I do.

My children are lucky. They have a mother who adores them and have all of their interest planned, so to say. Why is it planned? Well personally I want to develop their skills and expose hidden talents within. Sometimes it may not be within their scope of interest but as a parent, I know what I am doing. Bukan senang nak jadi parent. Bukan setakat beranak and menyusu. How you mold them is who they will become. Insya Allah.

Ini bukan tips untuk menjadi a perfect parent but how I tackle the issue of parenting my way. I am providing them the best of both world so to say, dunia dan akhirat. How I was raised and grew up were 100% totally the opposite.

Here, I am sitting by the pool watching my children and nephews learning to swim. I did not get the opportunity of that luxury. Forking out RM130 for 10 hours of lesson each child (RM260) is reasonable considering there are other places which charged RM180. I assume when I was growing up, this extra curricular activity were not a priority and might have been expensive.

The kids schedule are so packed at times and I find it a problem rescheduling their activities when a sudden disruption.

Both Shakira and Shakiel attends:

1)Mengaji is a must - 4 times a week.
2)KUMON - twice a week. They do Maths and English there. This is to enhance their English and Mathematical skills.

3)Piano – once a week. I want them to be musically incline so they have something they can fall back on, in case they don't do well academically. Learning piano also will help develop individual discipline.
4)Soccer – once a week for Shakiel only. I want him to have fun, mixed among other boys outside of his school boundary and be a better soccer player. Here he can learn some soccer skills. Not expecting him to become the next Christiano Ronaldo, but if it became a reality, it's a bonus. Hahaha dream on. Every Saturday waking him up for soccer practice memang buat I hilang my patience. Torturess adventure, may I add. Menangis tak nak pergi, baju tak selesa la but bila dah abis practice, suka bercerita how he performed.

5)Swimming – To learn the skill of survival, confidence and the best form of physical exercise. Frankly, if setakat swimming under water and floating tu boleh la. So I do not want the kids to become another me, I want the kids to be a good swimmer because you are able to enjoy so many things about the under water world. Swimming pun create self discipline.

Shakira has always been afraid of water and prior to this she would only play at the shallow side of the pool. Now I can see that she has the confidence to go explore beyond 5 feet deep. As a warm up, Faizal, the UITM student instructor would make them swim (soft board under the chest) 20 laps across the pool and yelled, “BEND, OPEN, CLOSE” on and on.

Shakira studied ballet when she was 3 year old but after one and a half years we withdrew her from Federal Academy of Ballet. Firstly, because she would always cry if she doesn't get the instructor's, Ms Tong, attention. And secondly, we were in the midst of shifting to Puchong. It would be a drag to commute every Saturday to Sec. 14, PJ for a 45 minutes ballet lesson. I still keep her ballet slippers as momento,...those tiny feet....hmmm so cute.

I would have continued with her ballet should she were really interested in it but she lost concentration and likes to do things her way in class. So there was no point in continuing.

I am not bullying my children. I always discussed with them if they are interested in such activity. Their opinion counts, too. But final decision rests in the parents, muahahhahhaaa. Semuanya untuk kebaikan bersama.

When I was growing up, I wanted to try so many things. But things were short lived. I lost my mom. My dad was busy with his work. I lived with my grandparents in kampung....so, I wonder what would I have been IF,...my mom were still alive?

Alhamdulillah rezeki sekarang membolehkan I give the ALL extrasss to my children. I hope one day they will understand why I do what I do..............I love you all babies.

Camping anyone?

10 Dec 2011 Al kisah ceritanya....

Mode : Romantic.
Location : Teluk Kemang. Camping Site. In a tent. By the Beach.
View : Surrounded by tall swaying coconut trees. Under the twinkling stars. Lunar eclipse. Camp fire.
Background Music : Waves hitting the beach. Soft wind playing magical tune.

It sounds like a romantic escapade as such we read in a novel.

I confess: I had never gone camping and I don't know whether I am going to enjoy myself. In fact, given the option of camping versus working 365 days a year, I’d happily choose the relative safety of my desk every day.

I was a bit skeptical with the camping trip in Teluk Kemang, Port Dickson. Why? Well, first of all camping never crossed my mind. I don't come from an outdoor adventure seeker family. Is that a crime?

So, I am not an outdoor person. My interpretation of outdoor vacation consist of shopping, shopping and more shopping. Hey, that's outdoor right? It was very difficult for me to accept the idea of a weekend in a tent. It is not my usual kind of a holiday, ya know.

My Bungalow.

Please don't get me wrong. I do like nature. I just like it from a distance. For example, from the inside of an air-conditioned car. Or in small doses, like on a short hike that ends with a hot shower in a proper bathroom.

Several weeks ago the initial campfire trip to Ulu Yam was canceled due to poor response. If the plan would have materialized, we were seriously considering to ship the kids only on the trip! Ha Ha Ha! Me and jungle a NO, NO. First thing that came to my mind was where will I poo poo and pee pee? How am I going to sleep with mosquitoes buzzing in my ears? But later they changed the location to a camping site in Teluk Kemang.

Well, I guess it turn out find. It wasn't that bad. There is always a first time for everything, as the say. So this mini family reunion was organized by my sister-in-laws. Normally once every four years, more or less, they will organized a huge reunion. Their family reunions, it turns out, are a big deal. This time round they rented out a small area of the campground and assembled our own tents. About 30 of us attended a one night tent-based reunion experience.

Setting up our own tents.

Shakira.

When I have nothing to do I felt miserable and how I longed for Internet access. The kids surely had a blast. They were on the beach the whole evening as well as the next morning.

I would like to share my likes and dislikes based on what I experienced recently on my camping trip.

1) Sand - It gets ON everything, and in the tent. After we got home, and anything worn or used while camping that can be washed in the washing machine MUST be washed separately from anything that was NOT used while camping.

2) Public Bath/Toilet - I’d just rather have my own bathroom at the end of the day too.

3)Sound Pollution - Rude campsite neighbors who loudly scrammed their bikes not matter what time of the day.

4)Now sleeping in a tent under the sky and next to the beach is no longer a tale like in romance novel. After effect ouch! Your back will ache the next few days.

LIKES.

1) Cooking was fun. But washing and cleaning up wasn't.

2) The scenery was lovely - the wind, and we saw the moon eclipse that night, light house, sound of the waves next morning when I woke up and I surprised myself by finding our surroundings actually quite lovely.

3) Watching the sunset. You closed your eyes every five minute and you can notice the change. The sun goes down and down and down, and ….gone.

4) The tide rises little by little it gets closer to the edge of our beach front.

5) Cheap entertainment : fun to watch the BBQ session, cards games.

Well, what can I say....when you get older you tend to complain a lot (more like yapping...hehehe). But instead of out bursting it, I rather let my fingers do the work here.

Would I consider doing this again? Lets just say, I will decide when the next time comes....Happy camping, campers!