Saturday, May 30, 2009

Omit

Husband and I have omitted "Jacen" from Baby Ours' name.
Apparently it is a variant of "trouble" in Hebrew, Greek.
So now, it's

FARIS AZRAL

Still beautiful.
Still perfect.

Still Ours.

Ayahanda & Bonda

Monday, May 25, 2009

Fighter

Faris:
Arabic.
"Knight"

Jacen:
Named after one of Star Wars' most powerful Jedi Knights,
Jacen Solo.
Pronounced jay-ken.

Azral:
Tribute to his father.
A fighter in his own right.

Combine all three:
Our Son is truly a fighter, insyaAllah.
A true Knight.

InsyaAllah all will be well.
A certain release,
a heavy burden
is lifted off our hearts once we truly, truly berserah to Allah s.w.t.

Your parents are so proud to be yours.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Trauma

I am a Group B Streptococcus carrier.
85% of women are - they just don't know it.
Fever during labour caused Our Son to be admitted into the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for observation.
The Group B Strep bacterium may invade Our Son.
Five-day antibiotics course.

Then we took him home.

Friday, 22nd May 2009.
Our Son's follow-up appointment with the paediatrician.
Doctor found Faris has fever.
Rare in neonates.
Faris was admitted, in the ICU again.

Faris' platelet count is low.
Fever spikes now and then.
Today is day 3 of antibiotics.
But no word on what is ailing him.

Kami berserah. Completely to Allah s.w.t.
Tawakkal.
We are terrified.
I want my son in my arms.
So does his Ayahanda.

No mother, no father, no parent -
should ever have to feel what we are feeling.

Matt & Anis

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

The Arrival

Our Knight has arrived, Alhamdulillah.

FARIS JACEN AZRAL

14th May 2009
1807 hrs
3.57 kg
Emergency Ceasarean after 18hrs of labour

We love you.
More than words can ever describe.

Yours,
Ayahanda & Bonda

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

One week passed

Doctor's appointment yesterday showed that Baby Ours is not ready to grace us just yet.
She says the baby hasn't turned to face the back and is still quite far up the cervix.
Honestly, we don't mind.
Only Allah s.w.t. and Baby Ours knows when it's the right time.
As anxious as we are, we are in no rush. :D
You can't rush a good thing, they say.
Plus, I love being pregnant.
Having a pouch with a baby inside that you carry around is amazing.

It's been really difficult to fall asleep at night lately, like tonight.
Or this wee hour of the morning.
Cake Mania 3 isn't helping.
The time I sleep most comfortably is after Subuh prayers.
I love Zzzzz.

The niece will be turning two this weekend, insyaAllah.
There'll be this elaborate party her parents are throwing.
Rented a jump-jump and ordered a customized balloon arch.
And a Minnie Mouse cake.
The party's theme is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.
Should be fun.

Niece can't talk yet.
She's taking her time.
She crawled and walked later than other "normal" toddlers.
But stop comparing her to your child(ren).
Children do not have default settings.

Stop gushing over Robert Pattinson in my face because you think Twilight is "cool".
It's not.
If you've read the series, you'll find (like most) that the author's story telling skills are *bluek*
(See! I can't even find the word(s) to describe it).
Only the first book of the series is readable.
Pattinson may be a good actor in his own right but not as Edward Cullen.
And DEFINITELY not as Cedric Diggory.
*Yes. I said it. Whatcha gonna do? Cry?*

If I correct your grammar or pronunciation, please don't take it as an insult.
I'm only trying to help where I can, to the best of my capabilities.
If you'd rather make a fool of yourself in the future, by all means.
I have nothing to lose.
Tone down the ego.

I don't see how having certain subjects in English would diminish the "wonders" of the mother tongue.
There are other ways to glorify your language.
Hindering progress through English-medium subjects is not one.
Our mother tongue has been butchered long ago by borrowed words and other sociolinguistic factors.
Have you watched any local television series (or even the news) lately?

Oh, the early morning randomness.
Anis/Bonda.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

IT crazy

These past few days, we've been doing a lot of last minute stuff - just in case Baby Ours decides to grace us with his presence sooner than expected.

The "Things to do Today" slots are always filled with various errands.
One particular errand on the list was to fix my laptop - it has been in the laptop bag for more than a year now since it crashed.
Stupid virus from trying to download "Diner Dash", illegally.
Guess that's what you get for being a cheapskate. *blush*

Laptop is now fixed.
This is the first entry on the newly reformatted laptop.

Bought the original Windows XP product key and original Microsoft Home and Student 2007.
My goodness, for a piece of CD and a bunch of alphabets and numbers really cost a fortune.
It's a long term thing, so it's alright.

Tweaked the laptop with some funky skin.
Bought a new notebook cooling pad,
A cute little lady-bug mouse and a 4 port USB hub.
Courtesy of Husband and Father. *thank you, thank you*

Everything costs less than a new laptop.
Didn't even come close to RM1000.
Father has been pestering me to get a new laptop instead of "upgrading" this current fellow.
"Go find nice, new, canggih one", he'd say.

Puas hati lagi sekarang, dari buang duit beli laptop baru.
Sekarang aku nak main Cake Mania 3 puas-puas.
Main sampai muntah, before I have to deal with actual muntah.
Day in, day out.

Cannot wait, Baby Ours.
Simply cannot wait.
:D

Anis/Bonda

Monday, May 4, 2009

The Bigger Person

We're always taught to be the "bigger person".
Marah - walk away.
Rasa nak melawan - hold your tongue.

Tapi kadang-kadang teringin jugak lash out.

Like:

"Oh bagus, dah kerja. Maybe now kau boleh bayar balik duit mak bapak aku, wahai makhluk yang tak mengenang budi"

atau

"Cheh, nama saja "family". Family takkan disrespect keluarga aku macam tu."

atau

"Kau ingat semua nak hidup lifestyle kau: tonggang arak sana-sini, pakai baju tak cukup kain?"

atau

"Just because you didn't see the "Do Not Put On Direct Heat" label kat bawah mangkuk tu, jangan tuduh Pyrex mak aku ciplak!"

atau

"Asal nampak muka adik bongsu kau tu saja, mintak duit. Bukan duit untuk beli makan ke apa, tapi duit nak menempel ikut orang pegi shopping kat overseas."

Sometimes, being the bigger person sucks.

:(

Anis