Milestones....

The other day a very good friend of mine asked me about Hani's milestone. Hmm... To be blunt, I don't keep track. Even with Imran I just let it happens as it goes. Never keep track of when iot happens though. So when people asked when did Imran started crawling or walking or tallks, I just answer when he was about 11 months. Haha...

Imran is now 2 years and 9 months.

1. He can count from 1 to 10. he can recognize numbers. But there will come times where he would just simply guess until he got the right one.

2. He's starting to recognize alphabets. Still making wild guess when I asked him.

3. Loves to watch Little Einsteins, Handy Manny, My Friends Tigger & Pooh and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Which toddler doesn't like those cartoons?

4. He's not exactly hyperactive but he does have endless source of energy. I have no idea how he can stay awake for more than 12 hours. He rarely takes his day-nap nowadays.

Hani is now 9 months.

1. Still no teeth. I know other babies with 4 sets of teeth already.

2. Crawling ability at high speed. Already gripping the window grills to stand and scream at people outside. Usually at MIL and FIL landscaping my porch.

3. Sit up straight and likes to clap hands for no specific reasons.

4. Obsessed with my hair. Always trying to pull it with determination. Guess it's high time for her hair to grow. Unfortunately my family kinda a late bloomer on that department.

5. Also obsessed with my purse. GIRLS!

Both of them luurrrrvveeee to tease one another. When they're good, they can play together. I really mean together. Either pushing ball to one another or read a book. Actually, looking at a book is more like it.

Imran wants to swim....

How am I going to get through this? My mom has offered to stay few nights in Tekam Resort, Pahang. There's swimming pool and my sis can accompany me. Unfortunately it has to be next week. Unfortunately for me, my staff has already asked for one week leave next week. She has yet to confirm the leave because still waiting for her boyfriend's leave application to be approved. Haiya!

And Imran has been begging to go for a swim. Of course I can go to a public pool. The problem is I have to have someone to accompany me. I have Hani to handle. But the biggest problem is, I CAN"T SWIM. I ca still remember a friend of mine described her ability to swim. 'Of course I can swim, she(someone who can actually swim) can go 2 metres ahead, while I go 2 metres deep.' Hahaha!

I really feels guilty for being unable to fulfill this one wish of his. I can't wait for him get older so that I can send to him swimming classes. That's right. I want swimming classes, martial arts lesson, art lessons, and list will go on an on. Unless Imran says no to some of them. I just wants him to be able to choose. Is that too much to ask? hehe...

Anyway, I'm still waiting for confirmation on my staff's leave. If she's not going back to reconcile with her boyfriend, then off to Tekam we go!

Though I doubt that she'll cancel her leave.

Landlords vs Tenant

Sounds scary? It's not. But It does drive me crazy up to a certain point.

Last few months. I think it started in February. Ms F came to the shop asking me to put her name on our rental cheque payment. At the time Hubby's in London and he has already wrote post-dated cheque for me. With name and amount. It was agreed previously that the name on the cheque would be Mr J. When I asked her why? This was her story.

Apprently Mr J is trying to force her to buy off her share of the property by using the Power of Attorney(POA) document Ms F signed during SNP. It seems that Ms F has released her power of decision to Mr J. Plus there's a court case ongoing with another tenant. Fuish..!! According to Ms F, Mr J is a sneeky-sly-dirty-good-for-nothing man is trying to con her out of the property.

Hmm... will this be a problem to me and Hubby? Of course it will. Because 2 months after that, Mr J called me to speak to Hubby. This time to tell us his side of the story. Unfortunately I was not interested to know the whole story. Not because I believed Ms F. Just because ignorance is bliss. Hubby went to listen and get the whole thing settled.

According to Mr J, Ms F is half right. There is a court case ongoing. But not because he tried to con anyone. It's just another case which is not related to ours. Well, he's right about that one. So what about us? He told us that he wanted to buy off Ms F shares of the property. But Ms F is not willing to let go. However offered him a price to buy off him at the current price. Whilst Mr J wantes to buy at the purchase price they originally paid. (Note: Property value went up.) (AIYA! KES REBUT HARTA LA PULAK!)

Anyway, now that Hubby left me with a blank cheque, it's up to both of them on how to reconcile or do something that does not give me a hard time. Ms K called saying that everything is okay and I should keep her name. When I called Mr J, he told me he'll be coming to see me with a letter to reduce rental (he promised Hubby) and ask for his name to be on it. Hah! Guess which one I'll take.

This ongoing battle has nothing to do with me and Hubby's tenancy agreement. So, we do not take sides. We're on our side. Call us selfish. But hey! Business is business. We'll take whichever offer that serves us better.

Home at last...

I can blog from home!!!!!

Thanks to BIL, now I can browse, hop, or maybe do a little shop from the luxury of being at home with my babies.

However there's still a teeny weeny problem with the hardware. The splitter doesn't work. Nevermind. I still have my handphone.

Thank you technology!!!!

I want water.... Or was it a drink?

Yesterday I had to stay at the laundry shop due not enough labour. So, I had to figure out something to entertain my toddler. Around noon, he was already bored and soaked up in sweat. He was climbing and jumping all over the place. I have no idea where he gets all the energy. I offered him a basin for him to sit in and fill it up with water. I used to do this when he was younger. When I had to handle the shop myself.

Anyway, after a long hour, his hands and feet have all wrinkled up. I took him out, dressed him and made him hot chocolate milk. Out of the blue, he screamed.. "Nak Air! Nak Air!" ("Want water! Want water!") I was stunned. At this point Nenek was at the shop to use the dryer. I asked Nenek to look after Hani while I go out with Imran to get him a drink. Just outside the door, he kept showing our pick-up truck while saying the same thing. I was confused. I asked him which drink he wants? At the mamak stall nearby or the usual grocery shop? He kept pointing to the truck. What in the world does this kid want to drink that I need to drive in order to get it? So, I asked him properly, "Imran nak air ape nih?" ("What kind of drink do you want?"). He did not answer me back. But what he did was show me the action of swimming. SO that's what to wanted. He wants to go for a swim. Oh dear! Oh Boy! He did not want a drink. He wants to go for a swim and play with WATER!!!! Aaaaaaarrrrrrrgggghhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!

Anybody knows where I can hire a swimming instructor? Price is definitely an issue though. Oh yes, anyone can offer me their swimming pool? Huhuhuhuh!!!!

Crash... Boom.. Bang...

I was in a hurry. So I just make a quick stop at MIL to get the cheque I had unintentionally left 2 days ago. While driving out of the driveway, I made sure I do not hoard the road due to the size of my Hilux, before I went out to lock the gate. MIL came out with confused face because she wasn't sure whether I was coming in or going out. Well, I was in a hurry.

Anyway, that's not the story I want to share. While I was locking the gate and talking to MIL, a Kelisa backed out from the opposite house. It was so fast, that the driver crashed into Hubby's Hilux. Hilux left tail-light was cracked. And yes, Kelisa was even worse. The back door was wrecked straight to the back. No cracked or broken tail-lights though. She (Kelisa's driver) thought I was backing out too. Hehehe.. When I told her I was even in the car when it happened, well, she just backed away and say everything is fine then. At this point I was not aware of the cracked light. They drove away. And I don't think she said anything about being sorry for ramming my truck. Then only MIL told me, I have a broken tail-light. Aaarrrgghhhh!!

Nevermind. I know where she lives!! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!

Cooking for LaZ-mum

I've been browsing for quick and easy recipes for my daily cooking. I only have 3 mouths to feed. Me, Imran and Hani. Not much right? Wrong!!! If I have 30 mins to cook, I would not be making such a fuss. But I have been unable to free myself from Hani for more that 10 minutes. How now??

And then there's the price hike. Less rice intake for the family. Not a big deal because I can live without rice for a couple of days. Pasta will do for now. Since Imran has always been a macaroni fan at a very young age. Hehehe.. thanks to MIL.

BORED

I'm bored.
I'm exhausted.
I'm frustrated.

I hate conflicts.
I hate dilemmas.

I want to cook.
I want to bake.
I want ..... Hubby!!!

Let's go to sleep.................

J-card Day in AEON Bukit Tinggi

On the 15th of May 2008, I spent 8 hours in AEON Bukit Tinggi. That's right. 8 hours in a shopping mall with Hani and Imran. Accompanied by my brother. He was supposed to help me out with my shopping. However due to miscommunication between him and his girl plus the inability to manover a shopping cart inside Jusco sections, I only spent money on kids clothings. The rest of the hours, long queue for payment, feeding time for Imran AND Hani and tea break for Ibu. Heheh!

I spent RM200++ for Hani's 2 pairs of slacks and 2 pink blouse, Imran's 2 pairs of 3/4 slacks and 1 t-shirt, 2 packets of Nuby's replacement straws, Tigger and Pooh's whiteboard set and 2 nursing bras. I wanted to get Imran some toys, but he was just not interested in any. Except for the whiteboard set which was not on sale!

Surprisingly Hani did not make any fuss at all. Even when we had to queue for the nursing room, she was okay. It's good to anticipate when to feed your baby before she started screaming. Heheh...

As for Imran, he did make a fuss. Reason... HUNGRY, BORED and SLEEPY. These three reasons are my excuses to why I do not loose temper on him. It's acceptable. When you bring an active toddler to place where he is not allowed to roam free, let alone stray 2 feet away from you, what do you expect? But his fuss is getting better. Hungry.. Ok.Let's eat. Bored.. Honey, please bear with me for today, okay? Sleepy... Okay, I'll carry you. Go to sleep. Note, I have Hani in the baby carrier and carrying Imran on my shoulder. HAH! My brother was still hunting for his short pants. Oh yeah, I got my backpack on my back. With 1-litre flask filled with hot water.

The next day I woke up at the ring of my handphone at 10.44 a.m!!! HAHAHA... there goes supermom! My whole body aches!!!!

Happy Mother's Day!

It's one day late. I know. I'm sorry. Please forgive me for not wishing every mothers out there a very happy Mother's Day on time. Hope your day is better than mine.
Let me explain what happen yesterday.
Woke up at 9 am to a very excited-for-no-specific-reason Hani and one not-so-excited Imran. Went downstairs. Turned on playhouse Disney channel for Imran. Made his chocolate flavoured milk. Made Hani's solid food. Got myself a cup of hot cocoa. Sat in front of the TV for a complate cycle of Pocoyo, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, My Friend Tigger & Pooh and Little Einsteins. Took shower. Get everything ready for 6 hours at the laundry shop. Throughout the events, my mind kept reminding me of how Hubby informed me that he won't be around during the weekend because he's going on a trip to Manchester with friends. There goes my mother's day wishes.
After a not so long hours at the shop. (We susually spend around 8-9 hours). Around 6 pm we went to MIL's house to get ready for 'kenduri syukur' at an aunt's house. Hubby's cousin got his degree.
After dinner went back to MIL's to spend the night.
That's how I spend my day. How was yours?

Dilemma dealt... for now.

Thanks to MIL inteference, my problem with my worker is dealt with for now. MIL kinda drilled her to give a reason why she wants to quit. As what informer has told me, she was having problem with her boyfriend. He has been urging her to go back to her hometown. Unfortunately, her sister would never allow that to happen. But she did give another reason for wanting to leave. She wanted to learn computer skills. I have to agree with MIL on this. To what extend can someone survive with doing laundry works. So, as of now, MIL has given her words that she will try to provide a computer for her, to be places at the shop. And she has to keep her end of the bargain where she will equipt herself with computer skills. And I have to teach her that. Chait! There's always a catch. Hahaha! Note that her sister did informed that she has already taken computer classes before and quit halfway because... guess what... she got bored!

It's kinda troublesome not being able to name this girl. Let's see.. SN. That'll do.

Another problem I found out about SN. Her ego is even bigger than mine!! Hahaha... And her attention span as well as self-motivation skill.. almost none. She gets bored almost immediately. When she does get bored, she sulked like a little girl lost her dolly. Seriously. If she's in a bad mood, there's nothing that you can do to make her loosen up. Now, I'm in the service business, where you have to greet customers with a smile. Unfortunately once SN lost her mood, either due to workload or small arguement, she will not smile even when customer was actually trying to cheer her up. And to think she has been working as a cashier for the last few years. How the heck she even manage to deal with difficult customers? That too I found out when she was telling me her experience being cursed by customers for not smiling and mistakenly charged them with extra 20 sen. What was her response... cried for 2 hours and did no go back the next day and told her boss she wants to quit. AHA!!! It makes me wonder how many times has that situation happens during her working years.

Hani has discovered stairs!! MIL's stairs to be exact. Arrgghh!!!! I have been unable to figure out how to block my stairs because its too wide for the two baby gates I currently have with me. Now what do I do? I don't time to search for a new gate. Definitely do not have the time to make a customized gate. HARHAR! I'm not that good with DIY anyway.

As for Imran, less tantrums. If he does throw tantrums, there's always a legit reason. Hungry, sleepy or just plain bored. Can't really be angry at him for being bored. Especially after spending long hours at the laundry shop. I have to give in to him. He's a toddler. An active one. Not hyper-active. Like his grand-aunt commented, 'This boy doesn't know how to walk. He runs!' Hehe..

Why...???

I hate having negative judgement on people. Especially people with lower level of education. School drop-off etc... But today I seriously hate most of them. Why? Having experience of hiring people of low education level has given me the opportunity to comment on why some people stay financially miserable for the rest of their life.

Arrgghhh! I was informed in a secret way that one of my workers wants to quit. She claimed that the work is too boring for her. What the ****??!!! What kind of an excuse is that? Anyway, according to my so-called informer, she was having second thought on going back to her hometown. Apparently she misses her boyfriend. Peh! She has already asked my informer not to inform me as well as her sister. Hah! I knew there was something fishy with this situation. From what I've heard, her sister took a job here in Klang to get mother and siblings away from her family back home. Due to some family problem. And now, I'm assuming sister will be furious to know that she's planning to go back just to stay closer to her boyfriend. I know I would. To add to my headache, informer told me she planned to just quit. No advance notice. And she has been saying this for the last few weeks.

The thought of selling off the business sounds very sweet. It's not easy to find workers. That's why foreigners are most welcomed. With or without work permits. But I can't afford to take the risk. Then again, maybe I should. I hate making decisions. Especially when the business is in question. I'm stuck in between MIL and Hubby. They have different views for the shop. Most of them do not have something in the middle. Either this or that. I need Hubby's help on this. I do not want to go through this. I have had it with interviewing workers and trying hard on pleasing them. What exactly do they expect when they ask to work for a laundry shop??

FYI, since the day we opened, if I counted correctly, we have hired 6 full-time worker and 6 part-time workers. It could be more. I to had to let go 2 full timers. The rest of them quit for personal reasons. We only hire 2 at one time. I know I'm a good employer. More than half of my workers said so. I'm not talking big. Just trying to defend myself in this situation. I treat my workers the best that I could. Guess it's not good enough to make them stay.

Wonder when will she give me her notice? If she's actually plan to.

Me, Imran and Hani

Hubby's on his way to London. This time, Imran was okay. He is very well informed with the fact that Abah's going to work in a far away place and wont be back for quite some time. I don't really know how far he understood them, but he seems aware that Hubby's leaving. He even said 'Bye! Bye! Abah.' in the most encouraging way. No, I did not use the 'Abah going for work to get us money for us to spend on toys and books.' Hehehe... However we did spend RM65 for his books. He refuse to put the books back. It's a set of 12 board books of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Suitable for children of 10 months and above. Huhuhu!

As for Hani, she had a blast watching Imran running around in circles. She had a very hard time to be still. That's what you get when you don't use the baby carrier. One very active and observant baby.

Me...? I thought of letting out a few tears when sending Hubby off. Unfortunately my ego exceeds my emotion. You see, I want to be seen as a strong wife. I want people to see me as a supermom. Hahaha! What a joke. I don't think I'll ever be a supermom. I can't even be a soccer mom. Let alone a super-mom. Huhuh!