Mommy's Day Everyday...

Ok la... mmg saye bersalah sbb saya malas mengapdet.... malas segala2nya infact... (uhh... sgt dosa!!)

But for the past 11 days till now, mmg hakak bz... ulang alik beli handbags... Alhamdulillah... order bnyk masuk... more than 20 biji... and beberapa accessories yg lain. Ye.. orang kedai tu sgt suka hati la melayan aku bagaikan mak datin... dapat business banyak giler, ape taknye!! Dan hakak pun sukerr... coz customer service baekkk punyer!!... They give me 2 dedicated personal shopper's assistants setiap kali aku dtg, after i brought a long list during the 1st sale visit. Tp discountnye ttp 25% jugak!!!... Takdenye nak bagi lebih... huhuhuuu... sekarang tgh terkial2 nak packing n shipping... ditambah pulak dgn Hanna yg amat suka "membantu" (she insisted!!!) Arrgghh... pengsan... suh main jauh2 tak moh...

Anyway, apart from Raya n birthdays, our family don't really celebrate other occasions as much. So my Mother's day was like every other day... after bangun yg sangat lambaattttt, I was out having my own sweet time in that evening with final round of visiting Coach boutique (last day sale...) dan kemudian mencuci mata di Prada, Michael Kors dan Cole Haan yg berdekatan.

Abaji gave me an extra good back massage treatment early in the morning (Mommy's Day treat??... hehehe) membuatkan aku rasa sgt best mau tido dan tido lagi... malas nak bangun... sampai ke tgh hari...

Seb baik la Hanna dgn rakus dan excitednye kejut mak dia yg lena diulit mimpi di siang hari sebok nak bagi card... sambil molot mengomel "Happy Mother's Day - Happy Mother's day" berkali2 with hugs n kisses... (sambil terkiss air liur basi ku?... hahha!! nasib la...)
Hahaha... kreatif btol anak aku x dpt cari envelope ngan reben.... sgt comel dia balut ngan towel Mikey Mouse yg dah lusuh tu dan ikat ngan belt dia... konon nak bagi surprise... Thank you for your effort anak mak sayang... hati mak berbunga2.... :D

Bangun2 kuar bilik je, nampak fresh colorful roses nicely blooming depan pintu, kak Wan hadiahkan last nite sempena Mother's Day.... rumah ni mmg sengaja dibiar kosong tanpa dekorasi ape2... so sesekali dapat, suka jugak... sejuk mata memandang... makin berbunga la hati aku.... I loike.... :)

Lepas makan lunch nenet masak... then bawak Hanna turun bwh gi makan eskrem sedap kat Tasti D' Lite. Biasanya Hanna la yg suke pow aku eskrem ni... Aku main colek2 sket je dia punya slalunye... coz dia makan sorang agak terhegeh2... cair je kang... sbb agak besar saiznya bersesuaianlah dgn harganya yg agak (gulpp!!) $$$ as compared to Baskin Robin or Haagen Das. Tapi akak suke sgt mother's day ni, coz moms eat free!!!... yg anak punye kena bayor lerr... maka kitorang tapau bawak balik... dan sambung makan secara berjemaah di rumah.

...hanya bekas yg tinggal...

So kesimpulannya... apart form having extravagant "me time" and delicious cooking from nenet everyday... today I got extra special back massage treatment from Abaji, beautiful pretty flowers from Aunty Wan, a nice wonderful card from Hanna and free ice cream treat from Tasti D' Lite.
Ohh.. yaa.. dan tak lupa juga great free stuff and goodie bag I got from NYC Family Club yg organized Mother's Day Fiesta Expo minggu lepas. Sukaaa!

Alhamdulillah.... saya terima semua ini dengan penuh kesyukuran. Dalam pada itu, saya perlu kembali merefleksi diri dgn persoalan... "as a mother, have I done best enough for my little one??!"

Dan jawapan yg saya temui lepas muhasabah diri amat menginsafkan... dengan kurniaan anak inilah Allah menaikan mertabat saya sebagai seorang ibu... dan dengan segala kemudahan, kesenangan, kelapangan dan peluang.... saya sepatutnya boleh menjadi lebih baik dalam menjalankan kewajiban bukan sahaja sebagai seorang ibu, tetapi juga sebagai seorang anak, cucu, isteri dan menantu... malangnya saya selalu lalai dan leka serta gagal mengoptimumkan segala peluang yg ada... :(
Semoga Allah mengampunkan saya, dan semoga ibubapa, atok, mertua, suami dan anak saya ikhlas dan redha dgn saya dan memaafkan sekiranya saya gagal melunaskan hak2 mereka yang sepatutnya saya tunaikan....

At this moment... deep down inside my heart... I'm crying missing my EMAK.... :'(

Alfatihah...

My beautiful Emak in between her cancer treatment in 2007... she was a strong woman!
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Oppsss... terlupa nak call mak tirisss wishing Happy Mother's Day... aisehmen... itu la pasal... leka lagi!!!

Hanna is 5 !!

March is the most awaited month for Hanna... kept counting days since February looking forward for her birthday... (this is one of the way I did to help her learning the concept of days, weeks, months and how to read calender). She was so excited about it! Dan aku malas la nak pening2 kepala... plan nk buat makan2 sket and doa selamat je kat rumah jemput rakan2 seagama (berapa kerat sgt kenalam Muslim kitorang kat sini selain dari org2 ofis abaji yg 2-3 org tu) and most probably mcm thn lepas, repeat small party je kat skolah dia. Hmmm... but a week before the date, tergezut jugak bila dia kata, "I don't want to celebrate my b'day at school." Her firmness on her decision made me wonder if there were anything wrong at school.

Tried to find out what was going on (it wasn't hard to find out, as I'm a part time teacher helper on volunteering basis) I didn't find anything weird or unpleasant with the school or her friends or her teacher. In fact, I was so happy (and relieved?) seeing her intellectual and social progress. That derived me with a conclusion, that she is simply her... doesn't like crowd too much (like her Abaji).

Maka dengan itu mak pun sudah melompat kegumbiraan, sbb tak yah la fikir nk beli party favors, snacks and cakes utk 11 org budak dlm kelas dia... hehehe... Kita buat kat rumah je yek?... And she gave me another surprise when she only wanted to invite Auntie Wan, Auntie Zarina, Sarah, kakak Hajar and Uncle Hamid ONLY!!!!...
Lohh?? what about Uncle Iqbal, Uncle Amir, Auntie Sara and baby Redha? (dia mmg cukup jaki kalo aku main ngan baby Redha... jeles tak hingat!!). Dia tak bagi invite... aduih laa... serba salah mak dibuatnye.
Since Zarina and the girls couldn't make it (sbb buat on the week night, weekend mak bz...), maka the guess of honor were only Auntie Wan and Uncle Hamid...

On the birthday itself (during the day), Zarina called nak blanjer Hanna kat Baskin Robin with Sarah and Hajar dgn bagi hadiah la bagai... ohh.. rupa2nye twice celebration jugak b'day dia thn ni. Thanks Zarina!!! I didn't go with her sbb hakak (std la las menet...) baru la terkedek2 nak cari hadiah dan gi Vienero's beli cheese cake super sedap dan gemok itu... Mmg sedap, no wonder it's Governor Zeti's favorite. Kalau dtg sini mesti tapau bwk balik M'sia hakak Zeti itu. Well, party utk 5 orang je, tp mak dengan rakusnya membeli kek saiz XL hehehehe... (dgn penuh keinsafan, purposely beli without toppings / decorative icings). Hehehe... ni mak ke anak yg nak makan nih??... Dgn penuh rasa guilty (sbb x jemput Iqbal, Amir and his family) Abaji tapau ler sikit bawak gi opes kesesokan harinye. And the rest, cuba teka sapa yg langsaikan??... kehh... kehh...

Happy 5th Birthday anak mak sayang... semoga membesar dengan sihat, kuat dan menjadi anak yg solehah... amiin...

Maid in Manhattan...

Nenet hulur $35...

"Mak... saya nak mintak belikan besday prejen utk Hanna... baju prinses2 gaun yang cantik2... tp duitnya ini aja," kata Nenet.

Aku TERSENTAP!!!...

Sebak...

Sayang betul dia kat Hanna... Alhamdulillah...

Bila bercerita pasal maid di kalangan kawan2 dan saudara mara... selalunya yg keluar hanyalah segala kelemahan dan kekurangan Nenet... Hanya sesekali aku bercerita tentang kelebihan dan kebaikan dia... (dah kwn2 tu pun dok bincang pasal perangai buruk maid masing2).

Walaupun tiap2 raya kitorang saling mintak maaf, adekah itu mencukupi?... Semoga Allah ampunkan dosa2 aku yg banyak mengumpat nenet...

Nenek bukanlah orang gaji yg perfect... banyak kekurangan dan kelemahan dia yg aku terpaksa bersabar dengannya. Tapi bila timbang balik, kelebihan dan kebaikan dia lebih banya berbanding kekurangannya. Dan aku pun bukannya majikan yg perfect... mungkin lebih banyak dia bersabar dengan kekurangan dan kecerewetan aku berbanding aku bersabar dgn dia...

Semoga Allah memberkati rezeki, kesihatan yang baik dan kebahagiaan kepada Nenet... Aminn...

NYC Parents Gone Crazy!

Hanya pasal anak nak masuk tadika... mak bapak yg gelabah!



Although I'm not as crazy (and obsess) as them, being a part of the community of the most "cutting throat" city in the world, I share the same anxiety and hope like those parents (featured in the youtube) since my child is going to kindergarten soon. Owh... sudah besar itu budak - 5 thn suda... umur WAJIB ke sekolah according to NY law.


Of course with the same reason ~ WE WANT THE BEST FOR OUR CHILDREN ~ and since I want to be a good Muslim and my perspective of BEST comprises of dunia dan akhirat, I have already targeted a non-conventional kindergarten/school in KL which I thought the school would be the BEST for her, for me and my family (according to my perspective of BEST). I already have this plan since she was three months old (wayyy back in 2005 - ok la... i admit... I'm an obsessed mom!!).


Tapi sapa sangka yg aku anak beranak akan terjebak kat NYC ni??!! So, my plan to get her the "best" school in Malaysia will still be on once we are back for good, (Insyaallah... kalau ade rezeki la... kalau dia layak diterima masuk skolah tu...), but at the moment I'm restless in and out of surveying the "good" school for her. (Well... that explained why I was on the silence mode for the past 1 month??.. apart from malas dan bangun sampai tgh hari seperti biasa... hahaha).


While public schools are free, they are often perceived as less good than private. Private kindergarten on the other hand, will cost us about $26,000/year (average). While money is not an issue here, I noticed even the best private schools in Manhattan are not up to my standard since they are mostly either run by the Church or a bunch of secularists yg perasan elite!! Well, don't get me wrong... I'm not an anti-Christ and I'm a living product of secular education in hedonism environment!!. It's just because my perspective of 'BEST' as I mentioned before, makes me uncomfortable with the mainstream education system - both public & private - di sini dan di M'sia.


And while other parents have applied as much as 10 schools for their kid (for there is no guarantee you'll get the school u applied - both public n private) , I only applied 2 (both public schools). And I'm considering to apply another one school - private Islamic school (the only Islamic School in Manhattan with some drawbacks in term of location and transportation) or maybe I have to consider homeschooling seriously???!!! - iskkk... mmg kena solat isthikharah nih!

Got Confused by My Own Name!

My name is Hanum... Hanum Binti Kamarudin. Short, simple and easy! Thanks to my parents for have given me a simply good classic name with such a beautiful meaning.

Orang kata "apalah ade pada nama..." Tapi Islam suruh mak bapak letak nama anak dengan nama yang baik2. Bila orang panggil jadi doa... doa yg baik2 untuk orang yg empunya nama, supaya elok juga lah perangainya seelok namanya.

Tapi ni citer bukan nama elok ke tak elok... ni citer lain...

It's written in my United States VISA...
Surname / Family Name: Kamarudin
Given Name: Hanum Binti (tak pasal2 ade 'binti' jadi first name aku daa... sukati je diorang nih...)

In some of the events I attended, people addressed me as Miss Kemarudean... Oh, mula2 sangat janggal bunyinya... sebab tak biasa dengarkan... but after sometimes I can accept it. But some ignorant American ni mmg sengal btul lah... Kenapa? Sila ikuti contoh2 kejadian yg telah saya alami seperti di bawah:

Scenario 1:
Talipon berbunyi ring...ring... ringg...
Me: Hello?
Caller: Good afternoon, may I speak to Mr. HENAM?
Me: Err... sorry I think u've got a wrong number...
Caller: Hmm... there's no Mr. or Ms. HEANAM KEMAARUDDEAN there?
Me: OHHH!!..Ohh... yea.. it's me, HANUM speaking... bla...blaaa... and the conversation continues...

Ni la bahasa omputeh kan... A makes 'aa' and 'ae' sound, and U makes 'yu' and 'a' sound. And apparently mamat yg call tu tak tau aku ni laki ke pompuan. Well, since you American have lidah pengkor yg pelat serta mudah tergeliat... you were forgiven for pronouncing my name incorrectly!

Scenario 2:

People also addressed me by my husband's name as in Mrs. Mohamed or Mrs. Fairuz. Hmm... standard la kan diorang ni, slang mat saleh yg pelat... Kekadang sebut Farooz... kekadang Feiroos... yg panggil Ferazz pun ade... Tapi yg tak tahan tu, there's one time when we stayed at the hotel in California, tetiba kunci (card) bilik aku tak berfungsi la pulak. So I went down to the lobby counter to get it replaced.

Man: Good evening Ma'am... How can I help you?
Me: I couldn't get into my room. Something wrong with this card sambil bitau no. bilik mintak dia fixkan..
Man: Certainly Ma'am... sambil check computer
Man: You are Mrs. Bensadoon?...
Me: Err... Excuse me?.. I didn't get you... muka confuse sudah...
Man: The room is registered under Mr. Bensadoon Mohamed Feirooz?
Me: Oh... yaa, Mohamad Fairuz Bin Saadun.
Man: Here u go, this should be ok. Any other thing that I can help u with, Mrs. Bensadoon?
Me: Err.. no thanks...
Man: You are welcome. Have a pleasure stay Mrs. Bensadoon...

Time tu aku dah menahan gelak... tak pernah terpikir yg nama aku ni boleh jadi Bin Saadun... hahahha.... den teringat Bin Laden la pulakk...

Dan yg paling sengal skali....

Scenario 3:

During our annual medical check-up recently, bersama Abaji ditempat kejadian... lama gak la dok kat doktor's office ni menunggu giliran... aku sudah kebosanan... tetiba Abaji cuit bahu...

Abaji: Eh, dia panggil nama you tu...
Me: Aaarr?... Mana de, tak dengar pun...
Nurse: Benti?... BENTII!!.. seakan2 menjerit, mata meliar tengok setiap patient yg menunggu...
Me: Yes... Aku terkocoh kacah bangun masuk ke examination room...

And she gave me that 'ARE-YOU-DEAF?!' look while i entered the room. Hehehehehh... mmg la nak dekat 5-6 kali aku dengar nurse tu panggil "Benti" tu... but never thought she was calling me!... hehehe... tak pernah hayat la orang panggil aku BENTI!... Seb baik Abaji ade... hehehehe...

In the examination room, aku sempat la menjeling my health record atas meja tu. Hahh!!! Sapa la yg mangkuk sangat ni isi nama aku dlm form mcm ni?!! Obviously, it wasn't my handwriting! I suspected the either insurance company or doctor's assistant yg tulis nih, coz i remembered filled up my health information exactly as per my VISA... but it turned out to be:

Last Name: KAMARUDIN
First Name: BINTI HANUM

Laaaa... patut la dia panggil aku BINTI... tak ke sengal tuh?! Terasa mcm nama aku diperkotak-katikan... tapi tengok muka nurse tu pun dah mencuka... aku batalkan je la niat nak suh dia betulkan... makcik tak koserr!!! Thn depan je la hakak suh dia betulkan...

Scenario 4:
This happened way back in early 2008. Hanna and friends participated in the Kids' Art Exhibition where they jointly drew a picture. Hmmm... what a lovely picture they made.. but I felt weird when I looked the name list... can u spot the ERROR?!