Almost Perfect

I have been abandoning my blogs, I know. I do have things to share but when your mind is not really into it, the piece I composed to publish is better off unshared. Writing without passion is like choc cake minus the topping. I have to blame my new found love for this. My passion romancing the thread & needle is really getting into me. Need I go for help? ;-)

For the record, I have completed all the girls' baju kurung for raya this year. I still have ample material to self make my own. We really are doing the boria thing this year. To tell you the truth, it was such a bore making the same bajus from the same fabric with identical design. My mind looks forward to play around with the many other materials I purchased... Yes, I now collect fabrics. Not much to HB's liking which many he has no idea about, Shhh...!

I made the normal baju kurung pesak for Nadeen & Balqis. Opted to make baju kurung pahang for Wardah & Yasmin which turned out quite good, well... that's what I think. I might as well choose the pahang version as well for myself. Will start with the cutting real soon.

Most of the time however, I am distracted with this urge in making tudungs. Yes, I am into DIY tudungs now! Seriously.... Hahaha! I'm not a fan of the ones with awning but I do enjoy making them. What I love most is matching the colours & patterns. Really can go crazy at a textile store nowadays.

My time sewing is limited in the afternoon when both elder girls are in school. Nadeen usually takes a long nap after her lunch & once awake, she enjoys having her yogurt or cheese slices while watching her many Barney & Friends VCD. Sometimes at night too, after the girls' bedtime. Normally, I do the cutting or finalising the hems. That is only if HB is away. He commented once that my time was usually taken facing my Brother rather than spending the time with him. It really got into me... So now, I am more disciplined with this hobby. Though how passionate I can be, my husband & especially the girls are my utmost priority.

Now, talk about the girls... I recently enrolled Yasmin & Wardah for Drama Class. My main intention is for them to be confident in their speeches, words articulation especially. At first my concern was strictly on Yasmin. I have seen her potential in public speeches but she has this tendency to speed up her presentation & at times she sounds like mumbling in between words. Wardah on the other hand loves the limelight of becoming an actor :-) She once tried to coax me to send her for a "Geng Bas Sekolah" audition. Hehehe... No, I did not play supir for her that time as I could foresee her father's response :-D She looks up on Yasmin. She does not have the guts to do a solo act in front of a big crowd. In fact, she was never given the chance. She surprised me though when she volunteered for a last minute preparation of an inter-class story telling competition last week. She admitted that she was very scared & extremely nervous. Only her legs though suffered the outcome, not her voice.... As she put it, " Kaki Wardah bergoyang atas stage." Hehehe....

The girls had a wonderful time in their first drama class. Yasmin especially fitted comfortably in her group. I was not allowed to observe the upper level group (ages 9 - 12) but I had the chance with Wardah in the lower level (ages 4 -8).

In each session, they are given a situation & each one has to role play. Wardah from my observation felt awkward being watched when asked to present in front. But I am sure in no time she will get over her shyness & be a favourite in her group. Yasmin surprised me though. I was not allowed to be in the same room with her group, instead I was advised to peek from outside. I saw the other side of Yasmin which I am not so sure I am familiar with. She brought herself confidently in the group & when she presented in front, it came out naturally. Very impromptu & creative as well.

I didn't expect to add another activity to their hectic schedule. But I have long looked for such class to boost up their confidence in speeches & polish their fluency in English. Nothing offered in Puchong but many to choose from outside Puchong. That was years ago... I apparently have stopped searching when the girls became occupied with lots of activities. A quick chat with my best friend however refreshed my intention as she found one centre offering what I was looking for in the heart of Puchong. What captured my attention was the philosophy of the academy... " Helen O'Grady Children's Drama Academy is about communication skill development, not about creating STARS!" You may want to give the homepage a visit.

The time is very convenient. It is on Saturdays. If you still remember every Saturday, Yasmin' s piano starts at 9am & Wardah's at 9.30am. Wardah's an hour drama class begins at 10.30am & Yasmin's at 11.30am. Balqis finishes her Ballet at noon & half an hour after that, we should be on our way home. The venue? Less than a 10mins walk from one place to another. Almost perfect...

Here are some photos taken using my phone during Wardah's first session.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Back to Hectic Saturdays

My weekends used to be pretty hectic. Then their Mental Arithmetic Class was on a Saturday morning, 1030 - 1230. We would reach home half an hour after the class ended & that if we opted not to lunch out. At 1530, off for their 2 hours swimming lessons in Sunway. The next day, we would be at Pyramid Ice for their ice skating practice as early as 0930 or sometimes even at 0900.

Seriously, come to think of it.... how did I manage? Especially when my helper was away & HB at work. Balqis then was about Nadeen's age. A supermom, I was!!

The two girls have long completed the swimming lessons & both are no longer active in ice skating. They did not continue with their ice skating classes ever since Nadeen was born. After all I was, still am & will always be the family chauffeur & with a baby in the picture, my hands were full.

HB did take them to the ice rink once in awhile without me esp during my confinement with Nadeen. It was then when he noticed that both his elder girls were not really serious in such dear hobby he invested. They were most of the times off the rink, rather than in the rink. When they met their friends, the rink was more a play arena to them rather than their practice arena.

On top of that, their school work has gotten tougher & extra time is needed to revise & to complete their homework from school. The costly payment is also another issue. We have other commitments to zero in to. It is a different story if they really take the sport seriously...

Wardah then in action.

Yasmin, doing a crossover.

With their coach during a competition.

Every parent definitely wants the best for their children. Being fair to each one is another effort to show their love. Balqis, at 4 is ready to be exposed to skating. But to a girl that age what they have in mind is to wear pretty things & be graceful. A girl that age is also easily influenced & I used exactly that advantage to make things convenient for me... (bad mama! bad mama!).

I asked her one day whether she would want to learn skating. She looked excited & straight away answered yes.... but suddenly she gave a worried look. Her concern was falling on the cold rink. I took this chance to introduce her to another source of gracefulness ;-)

"Balqis, would you like to go for a ballet class instead?"

"Ballet? Aqis will be like a ballerina? Like 12 Dancing Princesses? Yes!!.."

And so that was how Balqis ended up in a Ballet class. Yes, I would send her to learn ice skating one day but only time will tell whether she will get active like her sisters once did.

Balqis, 3rd from left during a trial class. She made friends with others in no time.

In her new costume.

With her friends (the boy was a brother to one her friends)

Now, a pose....

I don't know where she learned that posture from. This was taken before her maiden class! :-D

The ballet studio also offers music lessons and... Yasmin & Wardah have added another weekly class - a piano lesson. I just hope they are serious in this one. Yasmin had been wanting to enroll for a piano lesson. Wardah on the other hand, wanted to opt for violin but I consulted their music teacher & she admitted that violin would be more challenging than piano. Again... I played my role there (bad mama! bad mama! ;-D) Convinced her to get familiarised in music through a piano first. Not only that the instrument is simpler, it is also ready to be shipped from my PILs' place. Hehehe... An old Kawai, still in a good condition.

Yasmin during her first lesson.

From now on, my Saturdays start as early as 0830. Yasmin's class begin at 9am & Wardah at 930am. Balqis's ballet originally was at 1030 but starting from next week it will begin 45 minutes later (sigh....). Anyway, I try to make full use of the time there with them without the internet & my sewing machine (am still addicted!). As for last week, Balqis read pages of her Peter & Jane book 3b together with Bacalah Anakku 3. Her sisters got busy with their mental arithmetic homework.

Busy at work whilst Wardah was having class. Balqis was colouring, a reward after having completed her reading. (Yasmin was in the school uniform as it was a school day last Saturday. Straight to school after that).

Their piano books are rather too big for their bags. Hence, I decided to give in to my addiction & made them a piano bag....

The piano bag

Open the cover & there you go a Trebel Clef & a pouch.

The musical notes sewed on the pouch... Hahaha! Not a good effort really.

The inside. No compartments as the pouch should accommodate their pencils, eraser & handphone.

The back with Yasmin's name embroidered.

The bag was much an annoyance to Wardah. She questioned her sister's name there when they are sharing the bag. My mistake... Well, my first project on bags was for her. A bag to put her Al-Quran for mengaji.

The bag

Quite simple but sewing the letters was quite tricky.

The inside

I also made this sling bag for a good friend's daughter on her birthday.

My first attempt with a zipper bag. Not that neat... though.

Embroidered her name too...

The inside with my label sewn ;-)