personally, i dunno. but i 'think' it is subject to how (style) a parent grow the babies up. however, we are among the group who believe that 'in today's life, all unneccessary becomes neccessary cos your neighbours say so'. does it make sense?
world economic depends on consumerisme. when the purchasing power decreases, concurrently it will paralyse the stores, and manufactures. these businessmen, as smart as they can be, will do anything to get the purchasing power grows.
they knew that parents will do anything to the kids, so they use this as a strong weapon to make people think that they're doing an 'investment' by buying any so-called educational, development, interactive (whatever the names are) stuffs to their children. they're actually using our kids to dig our pockets.
to the extent that, there are mothers who think "poor my baby... he may not developes like other babies cos i can't afford those expensive educational toys".
to me (cos i can't afford too), toy is toy. anything can be toy, if we make it a toy. we have lots of things to play with, at home, and they'll never stop our children to be creative. don't feel sorry for not able to have a playground at home, cos our home is a big playground.
yes, educational toy maybe helps to boost lil' kids' skills, intelligent, etc. but if we have not enough resources (money, etc.), don't buy what the advert/others say. better put the extra money in the children's future education fund. for the time being, choose the simple rule of:
1. Parents
2. Children
3. Time
4. Love
remember that now the marketers are bringing up the unessential to be essential, then it will look so essential.
Is Interactive-Educational Toys Worth?
My English
i am very weak in english. ever. i was 'english-blinded' during my primary school years, and i just started to 'know' some english words before sitting for PMR exam. even if the medium used at UTP was english, but to be frank i was always blur and blank, especially during foreign lecturer's classes.
in my organisation (work), english is the major language, especialy in emails and meetings. but still, i can't speak/write well. my email/report always need to be reviewed by my supervisor (jd cikgu english plak dia). and many uh-ah in meetings (tho i chaired most of it!).
this week i am attending a seminar (about work), and most of the presenters are from UK. and i have difficulty to comprehend UK english, for US english it's easier (just a lil bit easier) cos i'm used to watch US movies, news and TV shows. even if Malaysian follows UK english, but i cant even understand the accent. so i couldnt even absorb any drop from their presentations ;(
i really want to improve my english, especially when talking to UK people... oh God i hope there's no UK people around, but in my office, all the white guys are from UK! very hard to speak with them because i cant understand any single word they say, and they also couldnt understand mine! very the broken. but unfortunately my application to attend English class organized by the office was rejected :(
i know i should do something. and make sure my children wont be like me. they should be able to write, read and speak in english fluently, especially UK tounge. so what's next? watch Harry Potter? subscribe BBC? have frequent chat with those UK guys? speak english at home??? hehe.
My Miracles
it has been a week since i left Hafiy with Tok Ma in KL. rindu??? mana boleh tak!!! everynite Mami kene tengok gamba2 Hafiy. pastu call Hafiy (ni Hafiy request, if tak, Hafiy tak senang duduk).
since then, Adik started to move very actively (before this like lazy2 je). Mommy noticed that when we're with Abang Hafiy, Adik didn't move like this la. the movement became so obvious (until i could see the waves on my tummy) since we went to Sibu. could be Adik was very happy to see Abiy, and alone with Mommy and Abiy? :P
when looking at Hafiy's pics, i feel like years. how i miss to cuddle him to sleep everynight while breastfeeding him. and having him pulling my hair and ears to wake up everymorning.
Hafiy beraya. no songkok, no samping.
*please excuse the messy room.
macamana nak buka botol ni?
..scribble..scribble...
wow! what a huge wheely! so big my car's tyres never can beat.
what did Mommy put on her face?
rasa macam magic je. time flies too fast until Mommy failed to catch up lots of things. career, personality, my visions&missions, family, children... and lots more... i'm still running to run through and be in line with all the things. ooh my...
sometimes i ask myself, when can i be a good Mommy? selalu tak dapat spend quality time with my own children. i dont want to blame my job, cos other moms also FTWM, yet they manage to do everything with their kids (i'm not that busy pun). even i don't jahit menjahit like Mommy Adam pun... but nape takde time?
nevertheless, i wanna make sure Hafiy can master some early practical life skills (which a 12-MO toddler could have lah, (according to my doc-to-be sister) i never expect too high), what i have in my list (he already has the basic, but yet not systematic):
- washing hands
- washing face
- brushing teeth
- use napkin to dab his mouth
- feeding self
- screwing and unscrewing lid
- walking up and down stairs (some asked us to put safety gate, but i prefer him to learn the skill)
- scribbling
- neatening his belongings
i hope we're (Abiy & i) gonna have more time to show him the right ways to do all those things (even if he WILL say NO to any attempt to assist, is my boy a self-learner?). *this is a silent message to my bosses, that all of us have to stay together as a family.
since then, Adik started to move very actively (before this like lazy2 je). Mommy noticed that when we're with Abang Hafiy, Adik didn't move like this la. the movement became so obvious (until i could see the waves on my tummy) since we went to Sibu. could be Adik was very happy to see Abiy, and alone with Mommy and Abiy? :P
when looking at Hafiy's pics, i feel like years. how i miss to cuddle him to sleep everynight while breastfeeding him. and having him pulling my hair and ears to wake up everymorning.
Hafiy beraya. no songkok, no samping.
*please excuse the messy room.
macamana nak buka botol ni?
..scribble..scribble...
wow! what a huge wheely! so big my car's tyres never can beat.
what did Mommy put on her face?
rasa macam magic je. time flies too fast until Mommy failed to catch up lots of things. career, personality, my visions&missions, family, children... and lots more... i'm still running to run through and be in line with all the things. ooh my...
sometimes i ask myself, when can i be a good Mommy? selalu tak dapat spend quality time with my own children. i dont want to blame my job, cos other moms also FTWM, yet they manage to do everything with their kids (i'm not that busy pun). even i don't jahit menjahit like Mommy Adam pun... but nape takde time?
nevertheless, i wanna make sure Hafiy can master some early practical life skills (which a 12-MO toddler could have lah, (according to my doc-to-be sister) i never expect too high), what i have in my list (he already has the basic, but yet not systematic):
- washing hands
- washing face
- brushing teeth
- use napkin to dab his mouth
- feeding self
- screwing and unscrewing lid
- walking up and down stairs (some asked us to put safety gate, but i prefer him to learn the skill)
- scribbling
- neatening his belongings
i hope we're (Abiy & i) gonna have more time to show him the right ways to do all those things (even if he WILL say NO to any attempt to assist, is my boy a self-learner?). *this is a silent message to my bosses, that all of us have to stay together as a family.
and introducing....
Abiy said Adik (my tummy) looks tooo big for 5 months.
Abiy said Adik (my tummy) looks tooo big for 5 months.
A Trip to Sibu
this time Mommy came back to Miri without Hafiy, so Abiy dengan gumbiranya mengajak pergi jalan-jalan Sibu. maklumlah Mami tak pernah sampai. nak ke Kuching jauh sangat.
Sibu town is about 5 hours driving from Miri. ia terletak tengah-tengah, between Miri and Kuching. if Sibu pun dah 5 hours, so Kuching??? oh itu mau naik flight sajala nanti2.
Sibu town is about 5 hours driving from Miri. ia terletak tengah-tengah, between Miri and Kuching. if Sibu pun dah 5 hours, so Kuching??? oh itu mau naik flight sajala nanti2.
luas tau Sarawak ni
we planned to stay overnight in Sibu. tapi senang lah becos tak payah prepare keperluan kanak-kanak :D this time kira our honeymoon lah. plus Adik, bawak Adik jalan-jalan. Hafiy dulu kami bawak pegi Brunei, siap naik bot lagi. kasi can la kat Adik pulak.
lepas pekena roti canai sebelah Klinik Dr. Phillip Raja (what's the name ah? i always call it 'canai pilip' je without bothering the restaurant's real name :P), kami gerak menuju ke arah selatan. it was about 10am lah. lewat sikit sebab Abiy nak tunggu kedai buka, nak beli mag.
journey ke Bintulu dalam 2.5 jam. kami melalui Niah, gua yang femes tu (bile nakgi Niah ni?). sepanjang2 jalan ke Bintulu, most of the time lalu ladang kelapa sawit yang saujana mata memandang. i have a friend yang tinggal kat ladang tu, her husband is the Mill Manager kat Derawan Estate, Aunty Nana. banyak kali plan nak jumpe tapi belum ada rezeki.
sampai Bintulu dalam 12.30pm, kami tak drop by lah. sebab Sibunya jauh lagi. Bintulu pun bandar oil & gas. kat sini ada plant LNG terbesar. ramai kawan2 kami jadi pekerja kat MLNG, ABF dan BCOT. tapi memang tak sempat nak singgah, sorry ye orang Bintulu.
senang je sebenarnya jalan-jalan kat Sarawak ni. sebab dia ada satu jalan je. ada la simpang2, contohnya ke Mukah, Kapit, tu kena tengok signboard lah. sepanjang jalan selepas Bintulu tu, banyak rumah-rumah panjang kat tepi jalan. tapi sekarang rumah panjang dah moden, siap ada rumah batu lagi. tak adelah rupa rumah panjang yang biasa dibayangkan orang Semenanjung. cuma ciri binaannya masih mengekalkan ciri-ciri rumah panjang asal, macam satu dewan yang luas kat dalam tu walaupun depannya ada banyak pintu.
lepas pekena roti canai sebelah Klinik Dr. Phillip Raja (what's the name ah? i always call it 'canai pilip' je without bothering the restaurant's real name :P), kami gerak menuju ke arah selatan. it was about 10am lah. lewat sikit sebab Abiy nak tunggu kedai buka, nak beli mag.
journey ke Bintulu dalam 2.5 jam. kami melalui Niah, gua yang femes tu (bile nakgi Niah ni?). sepanjang2 jalan ke Bintulu, most of the time lalu ladang kelapa sawit yang saujana mata memandang. i have a friend yang tinggal kat ladang tu, her husband is the Mill Manager kat Derawan Estate, Aunty Nana. banyak kali plan nak jumpe tapi belum ada rezeki.
sampai Bintulu dalam 12.30pm, kami tak drop by lah. sebab Sibunya jauh lagi. Bintulu pun bandar oil & gas. kat sini ada plant LNG terbesar. ramai kawan2 kami jadi pekerja kat MLNG, ABF dan BCOT. tapi memang tak sempat nak singgah, sorry ye orang Bintulu.
senang je sebenarnya jalan-jalan kat Sarawak ni. sebab dia ada satu jalan je. ada la simpang2, contohnya ke Mukah, Kapit, tu kena tengok signboard lah. sepanjang jalan selepas Bintulu tu, banyak rumah-rumah panjang kat tepi jalan. tapi sekarang rumah panjang dah moden, siap ada rumah batu lagi. tak adelah rupa rumah panjang yang biasa dibayangkan orang Semenanjung. cuma ciri binaannya masih mengekalkan ciri-ciri rumah panjang asal, macam satu dewan yang luas kat dalam tu walaupun depannya ada banyak pintu.
one of the rumah panjang
jalan raya ke Sibu, boleh tahan lah. kalau nak compare dengan PLUS tu janganlah... kira standard jalan Ipoh-KB, KL-KB lah. cuma kena hati-hati bawa kereta, sebab most of the time maxis tak ade line. kalo jadi apa-apa kan susah pulak.
kami tiba di Sibu jam 3 petang. sempat lagi pegi bank sebelum check in kat RH Hotel. OK la ratenya, kami dapat corporate rate, dapat la diskaun hampir 50%. lepas check in, pegi lunch kat Wisma Sanyan, sebelah hotel. senang lah sebab ada jambatan je ke situ, tak payah cross jalan.
kami tiba di Sibu jam 3 petang. sempat lagi pegi bank sebelum check in kat RH Hotel. OK la ratenya, kami dapat corporate rate, dapat la diskaun hampir 50%. lepas check in, pegi lunch kat Wisma Sanyan, sebelah hotel. senang lah sebab ada jambatan je ke situ, tak payah cross jalan.
sebelah Mami tu bangunan hotel, belakang tu Sanyan
disebabkan tak ada restoran lain, kami makan Pizza Hut. tapikan, pizza, sup kat sini sangat sedap! rotinya lembut sampai ke rakusan terakhir, supnya pun pekat. samada orang Sibu pandai masak atau kami yang lapar sangat :D
Bandar Sibu dari bilik kami (sungguh tak pro ini fotografer)
petangnya penat sangat, rehat2 kat bilik je. malamnya baru keluar, jalan-jalan cari makan. susah juga nak makan, sebab tak jumpa food court yang Abiy kata ada banyak restoran Melayu. melilau cari sampai ke outskirt. last-last masuk town balik, makan Mc Donald's je :D
ke Sibu ni, Mami tak bawa pam. ye lah.. maybe sebab assume sakit2 brst tu sebab dia tengah prepare untuk Adik. sekali.. tak tahan sangat, Mami perah dengan tangan, subhanallah memancut2 keluarnya. tapi disebabkan Mami tak reti, sakit jadinya itupun lepas tanya Prof Google. sampai hari ni masih sakit lagi.(mmg tak pandai. itupun lepas tanya Prof Google. sampai hari ni masih sakit lagi). masa tu terasa, alangkah bestnya kalau Hafiy ada... boleh bagi Hafiy minum...
lepas makan, jalan-jalan je sekitar 'Gerbang Sibu' tu.
ke Sibu ni, Mami tak bawa pam. ye lah.. maybe sebab assume sakit2 brst tu sebab dia tengah prepare untuk Adik. sekali.. tak tahan sangat, Mami perah dengan tangan, subhanallah memancut2 keluarnya. tapi disebabkan Mami tak reti, sakit jadinya itupun lepas tanya Prof Google. sampai hari ni masih sakit lagi.(mmg tak pandai. itupun lepas tanya Prof Google. sampai hari ni masih sakit lagi). masa tu terasa, alangkah bestnya kalau Hafiy ada... boleh bagi Hafiy minum...
lepas makan, jalan-jalan je sekitar 'Gerbang Sibu' tu.
di Gerbang Sibu
esoknya, lepas breakfast, kami ambil gambar lagi kat dataran depan hotel. disebabkan kami bukan kaki bergambar, jadi gambar-gambarnya pun ala kadar saje lah..
di dataran
lepas tu, check out dan jalan-jalan kat jeti pula. dulu, sebelum ada jambatan, nak ke Sarikei, Kuching, kena cross Batang (Sungai) Rajang dengan feri. sekarang dah ada jambatan, senanglah sikit. tak payah sesak2 tunggu feri.
Batang Rajang
swan, lambang Bandar Sibu
on the way balik, kami ingat nak singgah Mukah. mungkin boleh cuba umai sedap, ulat sagu (ngee~) dan udang galah. tapi sayangnya jalannya terlalulah tidak menyelesakan. bayangkan sepanjang-panjang yg tak tahu berapa puluh km tu boleh lari paling laju 20km/j je. last2 kami decide untuk patah balik sajelah, atau pinggang kami yang patah.
temple terbesar di Malaysia ada di sini
hadiah dari jalan ke Mukah
kami singgah di Bintulu untuk lunch dan solat. lepas tu teruskan perjalanan ke Miri, jam 6 sampai, Maghrib dah...
tak pernah jumpa nasi macam ni kat Food Court Semenanjung
alhamdulillah, walaupun tak jauh, semoga musafir kami diberkati Allah. setelah menghadapi peristiwa-peristiwa yang tidak dijangka, ada masanya kita perlukan sesuatu medium untuk menenangkan diri. di satu tempat yang jauh dari keributan kerja dan kehidupan harian yang kalut, bila sesekali bepergian berdua, banyak perkara yang dapat diselesaikan.
dan Mami tidak merasakan ini (pergi tanpa Hafiy) adalah perkara yang tidak adil bagi Hafiy. kerana Mami dan Abiy juga manusia biasa, kami juga perlukan ruang untuk berbicara berdua dan menyelesaikan beberapa perkara secara sendirian. lagipun, hati seorang bapa masih lagi hati seorang lelaki, tak sama dengan hati seorang ibu. seorang ibu, bila mendapat anak, kasih sayangnya tidak berbelah bahagi pada anak-anak, hingga kadang-kadang melebihi dari suami sendiri. tapi hati suami kadangkala menginginkan keadaan yang tenteram, alone with his wife, jauh dari pengaruh anak-anak.
syukurlah Allah memberi kemudahan pada kami. dengan adanya pengasuh yang boleh menjaga Hafiy malam-malam, memberi kami masa untuk dating sekali-sekala. walaupun ada yang mengatakan masih terlalu awal untuk dating berdua, sekarang masa untuk anak-anak, tapi bagi Mami, kebahagiaan rumahtangga itu harus dijaga dari awal. terpulanglah pada keadaan individu kan. lain orang, lain ragamnya. pandai-pandailah memoderatekan. jangan kerana terlalu pentingkan anak, suami/isteri terabai dan jangan terlalu pentingkan suami/isteri sampai anak-anak terabai. anak itu tanggungjawab dan amanah pada suami dan isteri, namun kunci syurga isteri terletak pada keredhaan suami.
"andainya aku boleh memerintahkan seseorang untuk sujud kepada orang lain, niscaya aku perintahkan seorang isteri untuk sujud kepada suaminya" (HR Ahmad)
dan Mami tidak merasakan ini (pergi tanpa Hafiy) adalah perkara yang tidak adil bagi Hafiy. kerana Mami dan Abiy juga manusia biasa, kami juga perlukan ruang untuk berbicara berdua dan menyelesaikan beberapa perkara secara sendirian. lagipun, hati seorang bapa masih lagi hati seorang lelaki, tak sama dengan hati seorang ibu. seorang ibu, bila mendapat anak, kasih sayangnya tidak berbelah bahagi pada anak-anak, hingga kadang-kadang melebihi dari suami sendiri. tapi hati suami kadangkala menginginkan keadaan yang tenteram, alone with his wife, jauh dari pengaruh anak-anak.
syukurlah Allah memberi kemudahan pada kami. dengan adanya pengasuh yang boleh menjaga Hafiy malam-malam, memberi kami masa untuk dating sekali-sekala. walaupun ada yang mengatakan masih terlalu awal untuk dating berdua, sekarang masa untuk anak-anak, tapi bagi Mami, kebahagiaan rumahtangga itu harus dijaga dari awal. terpulanglah pada keadaan individu kan. lain orang, lain ragamnya. pandai-pandailah memoderatekan. jangan kerana terlalu pentingkan anak, suami/isteri terabai dan jangan terlalu pentingkan suami/isteri sampai anak-anak terabai. anak itu tanggungjawab dan amanah pada suami dan isteri, namun kunci syurga isteri terletak pada keredhaan suami.
"andainya aku boleh memerintahkan seseorang untuk sujud kepada orang lain, niscaya aku perintahkan seorang isteri untuk sujud kepada suaminya" (HR Ahmad)
Best Bet For Our Money
once i was approached by somebody promoting insurance policy. what attracts me was "if you buy this policy, even if you have a small cut on your finger, you'll be protected. and if you cant afford to pay the full premium, you can choose half or a quarter" i just said "thanks, i dont think i need".
no offense to any insurance agent, but i just took him as a marketer, and as advised by Seth Gordon 'all marketers are liars'.
1. do you go to clinic for a small cut on your finger? to me a handiplast will do.
2. you pay half, and you expect full coverage? silap2 after i discharge from hospital or even after my death pun i have to pay the hutang for medical.
new to the field of working, we dont have much money. our salary is just enough to make ends meet. thus, we have to be smart enough in saving money.
1. saving for emergency.
2. saving for future use.
3. saving for our children.
4. saving for medical purposes.
5. saving for retirement.
i knew that we have to be smart in spending and saving our many because:
1. we are just working.
that makes our salaries are no that big. and we are not working with an organization that pays us RM5k per month :P
2. we just started a family, and it's keep on growing.
so many things to be expect when you have a growing family.
4. we have many things to do, and many unexpected things to expect.
we just started our life, and in this turbulence world, we can't predict what will happen. even the oil price is getting lower and over although OPEC announced that they'll cut the production (will they really cut it??? will they???).
5. we started our life with RM0.00, with no 'allowance' from our parents.
we forecast that those reasons will probably cause us:
1. have to pay for something in big amount, and we need the money urgently.
2. get opportunity to buy a nice house/car with cheaper than market price, but need a huge downpayment.
3. in our sisters/brothers need money in huge amount and seek for our help.
4. aob.
so we have to be smart in spending, as well as saving. (in our current situation) we don't have to live in frugality, but just always pay for what we need, occasionally pay for what we want, and try to avoid to pay for lavish things.
in term of saving, the 'safe' methods we play:
1. save in a safe place.
2. save in a place with no ATM.
3. save in a place which give you some returns.
4. save in a place which not cause you to lose your capitals.
5. save in a place where you can withdraw your money anytime you need.
why a word 'return' there? because we have to play with inflation and credit depression. what can you buy with RM50 today? and 10 years back, what can your buy with that amount? day by day, our money loss its value, and average Malaysian inflation rate is about 4% per year. in 30 years, RM1000,000 will valued like RM60,000 today. how many losses we have to face if we ignore the depreciation factor? and there's many instruments don't cover inflation such as saving account, fix deposit, insurance endowment, and even gold.
that's why before deciding to 'put money somewhere', or to invest, knowledge about personal finance is very significant.
no offense to any insurance agent, but i just took him as a marketer, and as advised by Seth Gordon 'all marketers are liars'.
1. do you go to clinic for a small cut on your finger? to me a handiplast will do.
2. you pay half, and you expect full coverage? silap2 after i discharge from hospital or even after my death pun i have to pay the hutang for medical.
new to the field of working, we dont have much money. our salary is just enough to make ends meet. thus, we have to be smart enough in saving money.
1. saving for emergency.
2. saving for future use.
3. saving for our children.
4. saving for medical purposes.
5. saving for retirement.
i knew that we have to be smart in spending and saving our many because:
1. we are just working.
that makes our salaries are no that big. and we are not working with an organization that pays us RM5k per month :P
2. we just started a family, and it's keep on growing.
so many things to be expect when you have a growing family.
4. we have many things to do, and many unexpected things to expect.
we just started our life, and in this turbulence world, we can't predict what will happen. even the oil price is getting lower and over although OPEC announced that they'll cut the production (will they really cut it??? will they???).
5. we started our life with RM0.00, with no 'allowance' from our parents.
we forecast that those reasons will probably cause us:
1. have to pay for something in big amount, and we need the money urgently.
2. get opportunity to buy a nice house/car with cheaper than market price, but need a huge downpayment.
3. in our sisters/brothers need money in huge amount and seek for our help.
4. aob.
so we have to be smart in spending, as well as saving. (in our current situation) we don't have to live in frugality, but just always pay for what we need, occasionally pay for what we want, and try to avoid to pay for lavish things.
in term of saving, the 'safe' methods we play:
1. save in a safe place.
2. save in a place with no ATM.
3. save in a place which give you some returns.
4. save in a place which not cause you to lose your capitals.
5. save in a place where you can withdraw your money anytime you need.
why a word 'return' there? because we have to play with inflation and credit depression. what can you buy with RM50 today? and 10 years back, what can your buy with that amount? day by day, our money loss its value, and average Malaysian inflation rate is about 4% per year. in 30 years, RM1000,000 will valued like RM60,000 today. how many losses we have to face if we ignore the depreciation factor? and there's many instruments don't cover inflation such as saving account, fix deposit, insurance endowment, and even gold.
that's why before deciding to 'put money somewhere', or to invest, knowledge about personal finance is very significant.
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