Pity Dear Balqis...

In my previous post, I shared how great Balqis was coping with her new kindergarten. Unfortunately, the very next day she was down with fever, flu & cough.

I took her to the clinic & she was prescribed with paracetamol, ventolin and antibiotics. That night she was coughing continuously, breathing quite hard & was also wheezing. Balqis is not an asthmatic, neither is anyone in her paternal & maternal family.

I knew that an appointment with her paediatrician was wise. As expected, Dr. Tan the paediatrician confirmed our inexperienced diagnosis. Her lungs were parasited with phlegm & she was admitted in the ward. HB applied for leaves to attend to my elder girls & I stayed with Balqis.

Balqis, playing in the play room of the hospital.


Based from her X-ray report, her right lung was a bit infected. Nothing serious but was best to be monitored in the hospital. She had to take ventolin through a nebuliser. It was of course not her first time but she never did find it comfortable inhaling the gas. That was to be taken every 4 hourly. Even in the wee hours of the night, she had to be waken up. It was for her own good. After a few times, she was an expert with the nebuliser.

This was taken when she was in a good mood inhaling the gas.


And this shot when she was really in a terrible mood. Especially when she was in her deep sleep.


Dr. Tan was very impressed with her fast recovery. But he didn't allow us to go back until the fourth day. Wanted to make sure that the phlegm gone. Another reason was due the antibiotics given. It was strong & needed to be taken through intravenous.

This is what intravenous meant.The antibiotics injected through the tube straight to the vein. Nothing was wrong with her hand. It was covered as a precaution that she would not pull out the needle.


I took the advantage of spending quality time together with Balqis. I'm pretty sure each child needs once awhile to have a mother's attention only to herself or himself. In the ward, I only attended to her needs. Played with her, sang with her, talked to her, everything with her. No other sisters for me to divide the attention with. I missed it. Yes, I did. It was not that I loved the other girls less but the time spent only with her, strengthened the bond that was already there. I felt the same whenever I was alone either with Yasmin or Wardah. Sensed that they enjoyed my company too. Having me only to themselves.

Balqis with her sisters, Yasmin & Wardah.


Gifts from her sisters.


Sharing spaghetti bolognaise served in the hospital for Balqis. Can you tell who was the patient here by looking at their appetite?


At home HB was doing quite well with Yasmin & Wardah. Thanks to the modern communication technology that we were able to interact at ease. If Balqis were not admitted, HB would not have known how to get school books ready for the girls according to their school time table. He didn't even know where I put their school books....

I'm glad everything is doing great. Things are all back to normal. I am back at work as a mother, the girls are in school & HB is back working.

Latest About Balqis

Today is the first day of school after a week break. I am quite concerned with Balqis going back
to school after the break. This morning, I was glad when she willingly wore her school uniform. I gave in when she refused to wear her school shoes. She chose her sandal instead.

As approaching her kindergarten she said "sampai..." (we're here...). Kissed me goodbye & followed her teacher inside. She didn't even whimper...

Later when I came to take her home, her teacher confidently said that my Balqis has at last settled down with the kindergarten.

I am fatigued

Wowwy... what a day! At the moment of me typing this, my day has not yet ended. I am at McD's waiting for my girls. Killing the time by composing this piece & later at home I would copy & paste this in my blog.

My elder girls, Yasmin & Wardah are sleeping over at their cousin's this weekend. Due to that, I need to carry forward all their weekend classes to make way to (according to Yasmin), their "slumber party". We got back from Cherating on Wednesday night. Yesterday Thursday, hubby & I had to settle a few things outside. Today Friday, I had to arrange their figure skating classes instead of on Sunday. Unfortunately, the coach was not available in the morning. She was free only after 11am. So they had their lesson at 11am. Right after class, drove to Megamall. Promised Yasmin her microscope & I can only get that at Toysrus.

Spent almost half an hour searching for a parking space. Balqis felt asleep in the car.Had lunch & managed to wake Balqis up ,then dropped the girls at Megakidz. That did the trick for making my shopping easier & faster. The biggest trick was to prevent them shopping for more toys at Toysrus. It was cheaper paying Megakidz than having to spend for their toys in Toysrus!

Grabbed the microscope & headed straight to Metrojaya to redeem my voucher. I didn't plan to buy anything either for me or the girls. So with the voucher, a considerate wife like me bought hubby a Superman T-shirt. Hope he likes it. I knew that he eyed the T the last time we were at the mall.

After the T, bought something for dinner & picked the girls up. Of all the days, today I accidentally took the wrong turn & was heading the opposite way from home... Luckily it was not yet peak hours & managed to reach home at 530pm. Rested for a while & at 740pm went out again to send the girls for their mental arithmetic class. And here I am waiting at McD's for their 2 hours class to end...

Tomorrow at 730am I am taxing Yasmin & Wardah again to Sunway for their swimming lessons. Right after that, straight to my brother's to send off both girls for their sleep over. Hopefully tomorrow evening, I can really, really rest.

Cherating, Kuantan

It's a school break again!! Though it's only for a week, I still need the break...

At first, we thought of taking the girls to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. HB will be there for 3 nights. Unfortunately, his last night there will the night before school reopens. I didn't think that was very wise. He suggested Medan, Indonesia. I disagreed. I wanted to go somewhere in Malaysia. I opted for a place I had never been to. I chose Cherating Beach, Kuantan.

Heard that the highway westbound has been improvised. Hence, we decided to drive there. The journey by car was tiring for hubby but fun to the girls.They didn't whine & surprisingly didn't even fight. Wardah & Balqis were singing away & Yasmin was most of the time reading. However, the 3 hours journey lasted for almost 5 hours! Stopping here & there especially for HB's cigarette break...

Some poses of the girls in the car.

The girls as usual never complain of any vacation we plan for them. I know besides holidaying what they look forward to is the hotel that we will be putting up the night. I browsed the internet & somehow was attracted to Impiana Beach Resort, Cherating. This Balinese concept resort faces a private beach & I really like the 4 posted bed with mosquito net. Though hubby was not really satisfied, the girls I could tell from their faces that they loved their room.

My 3 angels at the resort lobby.


Balqis was too eager to swim.


The beach was beautiful. But the waves were rather too strong. The sands were coarse. With one hit of the wave, your feet would go underneath the sand. That's very dangerous if one is in the water. No wonder I did not see anyone swimming.


Here are some of the shots by the beach.



The girls preparing to sleep.


The next day, we checked out & headed to another beach Teluk Cempedak, Kuantan. According to hubby the public beach there is more beautiful & the water is safer. True as he said. It was very windy too. I really liked it there. It rained for awhile but after that the view was picturesque.

Teluk Cempedak, Kuantan.


The girls made hubby bought a kite & all 4 of them sure had fun.


On the way to the highway, hubby stopped by a river, Kuantan River. These are the shots taken.




Frankly, the vacation this time was merely okay to me. But the girls, they enjoyed it so much! That is what important...

Happy 8th Birthday Yasmin!

It was Yasmin's birthday yesterday. Happy Birthday Yasmin!! As promised we hit Secret Recipe as early as 11am. The poor lady was still mopping the floor. Felt a little bit guilty for walking on the newly mopped wet floor. But business starts at 11am & she should have done her chores earlier.

Yasmin chose her favourite cake which has always been New York Cheese Cake. I have never tried baking a cheese cake. Must put on the effort one of these days... The whole cake is now RM65! The last time I bought it was still RM55. Well... been quite sometime I bought the whole cake for the girls. My last birthday hubby paid for the cake of course & I didn't bother to ask how much it cost him! ;-D

As I wrote in the previous archive, we celebrated Yasmin's & Wardah's birthday together at McD's. Though how later or earlier they have the party, on the real day I will make sure there is a cake to cut. So this Yasmin's cake originally.


I thought that the cake looked rather dull for a child. Being a mom who always wants the best for her daughter, I put Trollz toy onto it.


Balqis is at that age of always wanting what she wants. She claimed it was her cake... & sis Yasmin didn't mind at all. Look at her having the first taste of the cheese!


After getting what she wanted, it was easier reasoning with her. I love this picture so much. Look at that genuine laughters.....


Happy birthday Sis! Kisses from Wardah & Yasmin. This is another favourite of mine.


We called our next door neighbour's kids to make the cake cutting merrier. It was a good thing they hadn't gone to school yet. Meet Arinah, Adani & Aufiyah.


Here is another picture I like.


After the birthday song Wardah reacted faster than Yasmin. She blew all the 8 candles at 1 blow!



I haven't gotten Yasmin, her birthday gift yet. Need to go to Toysrus to get it. Perhaps somewhere next week during the school break. We are going to my parents' place tomorrow. My mom promised Yasmin to take her out for her to choose her own gift. Seriously! I never did remember me choosing my own gift ma!!

Mamak Bistro, USJ 9

Even after like almost 16 years, I am still in contacts with my high school buddies. Recently, we had another small gathering at our regular hangout - Mamak Bistro. On how the place became our rendezvous, it's got to be our favourite menu.This cafe serves the best tandoori chicken & cheese nan in town.

The grilled chicken is not dry. The texture is smooth& juicy. Plus the tandoori paste is just perfect. Not too spicy.


Here is the cheese nan. Most places merely put the cheese onto the nan bread. This will look something like plain pizza with cheese. What I like about the cheese nan here is how the cheese is hidden inside the nan. So, the cheesy taste is preserved inside.

We really had a great time there. Besides the food is of course the company. I always look forward to hang out with them. Telling our school years tales & sharing jokes. Those are like the best remedy to a stay at home mother like me. A chance to socialize & have fun without the kids.

These are some of my good friends hanging out at Mamak Bistro.

My Yasmin

I realize that I seldom write about my eldest daughter, Yasmin. She is not as witty as Wardah. Neither is she as self-assured as Balqis. She has her special character of being considerate & very sympathetic to others.

Perhaps, it is due to her being the eldest. In fact at 1 year & 10 months, she had learned sharing her mama & papa with her little sister. She is easy to tackle. Hardly giving problems. A little bit hot-tempered but not for long. She cools down real fast.

Tomorrow, March 9th is her 8th birthday. It is always a norm for me to bake a special cake for each one of my girls. This morning I asked her what cake she wanted me to bake. She replied that she didn't want to trouble me with baking her cake. (Obviously she is aware of my tight daily schedule taxing the girls around to school). Instead, she suggested that I bought a small cake for her if I really wanted her birthday to be special.

That was so sweet of her. Don't you think?

I am going out with her tomorrow to get the cake. I'm sure she will be happy to pick her own cake. As for her present, she knew what she's getting. She wanted a microscope. Am I glad that she passed the Barbie era! :-D

Just look at her!

Look at her! She's all grown up. My... I feel old :-)

Here is Balqis having breakfast.


Showing off her baby bop bag.


Balqis in her uniform. The skirt is hers but the T is a hand-me-down from Wardah. The kindergarten runs out of stock for size S. That cheeky look will bring troubles in school ;-)


According to her teacher, she cried on & off for almost half an hour yesterday. That was difficult to believe. I reached the kindergarten early & found her swimming with an instructor in the pool. She was having so much fun... Too bad, I left my camera at home!

Today, she again cried. Not for long though. Still hard to part from me... Come to think of it, she does that too whenever I go out & leave her at home. Could it be just her dramatic tears? Mmmm.... But she was happy telling me about school. She did hand painting & played at the playground. I'm glad I made the right decision of changing her kindergarten. I'm happy but Balqis is happier.

My little princess in playschool...

It was difficult still I had to let go. It is very selfish of me to refuse the process of her growing up. She can't be my little princess forever. Sooner or later I have to present her the wings, I've been dragging to give. This is the first step of a new beginning in her life. I am not regretting but am proud of my little princess, Balqis.

Balqis was exactly 2 years & 3 months last Friday. That is of course a suitable age for her to be introduced to her peer groups, teachers & an institution called playschool. Being as particular as I am... the basic foundation of schooling is very important to me. At 2, Balqis absorbs new information multiplicity times better than her mother. Of course, I do not want that to come to waste. Hence, we (hubby & I) decided to send her to a playschool.

We always start with the girls' education early. Sure, it is not an exceptional for Balqis too. However, the problem was the playschool. A lot to choose from but a fussy mother like me, all might not be up to what I expect for my Balqis. The kindergarten that I used to send my other girls, Yasmin & Wardah is quite far. Knowing that many new kindergartens that offer playschool are available, we agreed to opt for one that is nearer. After browsing through the internet & also meeting the principals personally, we were satisfied with one kindergarten. New, with an established teaching programme. Unfortunately, the principal did not allow free trial. We had to pay for at least the registration fee which was RM100 & I purchased a set of uniform, RM25 as not to make Balqis felt left out.

The first day was surprisingly good. She managed to settle down easily. Cried a little though, just because her teacher shut the classroom door. Maybe the feelings of insecure was a little bit in her. Even made friend with a girl named Melody. I saw both of them holding hands playing together. It broke my heart to see how easy I was being replaced...

Balqis having breakfast before school.

Balqis posing with her new uniform.

The second day, I was again nervous with Balqis's response to school. Well... I worried for nothing. She was in fact looking forward. Smiling away when we stopped in front of the kindergarten. We were 15 minutes early & there was only 1 teacher handling like almost 10 children. I did not like that. Especially when the children were left alone indoor. The teacher had to greet the other children who just arrived outside the kindergarten compound.

I did not leave. I chose to stay with Balqis. It seemed that 1 teacher was on medical leave. The second teacher arrived at 840am whereas school should have started 10 minutes earlier. To make things worse, the principal, herself was nowhere to be seen.

I rang her up. She gave me the excuse that I was aware of. A teacher was absent. But what I did not understand was her going to a seminar. Yes, she was on her way to a seminar but had to turn back due to the absence. I told her that she needed teachers' assistants. Obviously, the kindergarten lacked of manpower.

Hubby & I discussed this matter over breakfast. I was not happy. We had no choice but to call the principal to our older girls' kindergarten. She had no problem at all accepting Balqis. Even though further, at least I can leave my daughter without having doubts.

At 930am we took Balqis from her first kindergarten & brought her to the other kindergarten that her sisters used to go. She was familiar with that place. But she still needed me around. I managed to sneak though & she settled down well with her new teacher & friends. Fooh.....

Today, when I sent her to her new kindergarten, she was confused. She mentioned that it was a wrong kindergarten. I discussed this matter with her teacher. Whether this would affect her psychologically. The teacher said that she was too young to get affected. I really hope so. She cried when I left. Was hard for me to leave but the teacher insisted. Later when I fetched her, she was swimming in the pool. She saw me & smiled but did not cry. I will let you know about her progress tomorrow.