yesbashtiahwrites

We got RM1.95 for this. Bayangkan orang yang kerjanya kutip plastik sahaja untuk sara hidup...

I just had my wudhu for Zohor prayers. On the way to the praying mat, I heard my handphone ringing. There was an unknown number flashing on the screen. I wiped my wet hands and face, and immediately answered. IRenang? Oh, potential student ni. Cakap, cakap, cakap... Explain, explain, explain... Letak telefon, ready to go pray. Suddenly Sofia woke up. Nak menyusu pula dia. How on earth I'm going to pray? Dah la sekali menyusu agak lama juga. But Sofia is not the one to blame here. No. Not Sofia. I should go pray first. Utamakan solat. Walaupun angkat telefon on time pun tapi tak jaga hubungan dengan Allah, pemberi rezeki, tak dapat juga. Sambil menyusukan Sofia, istighfar banyak-banyak... 

Initially the plan was to just accompany mum to get a steel rack for her pots. Somehow the stroller (a used one someone gave us) got stuck so we planned on getting a new stroller for Sofia as well. Nearly 4 months of not going to the mall, I feel so awkward! Is it because now I'm carrying a baby or what? I feel like everyone's watching me and Sofia. Apahal pandang-pandang. Seriously, rasa sangat janggal. And that, was on a Wednesday, weekdays yang tak ramai orang pun. I had to carry Sofia all the way until we got her a stroller. Going up the escalator while holding Sofia close to my chest make me feel so gayat I can fell my legs shaking. Legs spread apart to maintain balance. Siapa yang naik lif mengangkang? Hahaha... Whatever, janji selamat. Oh by the way, we didn't go straight to buy a stroller. Singgah Toys R Us dulu haa... I am one excited mother. I showed Sofia a lot of toys; pushing the buttons and see how she reacted. She was wide awake and so alert, eyes wi...

I took Sofia out yesterday with mum. Initially the plan was to just stay inside the car while mum get the things she needed. Dropped by at our usual hardware store. When I say usual, it meant we frequent the store so much until the workers there know us well enough. I think I frequent the store a lot more when I was pregnant. When I was heavily pregnant, I still went there to get cements and stuffs for our centre. At one point, the Indonesian lady even said I might give birth anytime. Oh, the hardware store was operated by lady staffs. Which is one of the reasons why we frequent that particular store. So when she saw Sofia yesterday she was so excited she wanted to just pull Sofia out of the car from the window! Mum parked right in front of the store (kata dah biasa kan) and I was sitting at the back. I did open the window just to have a chat with her but I didn't expect her to pull Sofia. So I said let me just get out of the car... And I let her carry Sofia. Yes she was so ...

Bought a new pair of shoes! Yes I went shopping! After nearly 4 months weh.... And yes I immediately wore the shoes. Felt so embarrassed when putting those sandals inside the box on top of their counter, though. Oh, those sandals was actually a gift from my husband when we first got married. "Kasut pergi kolam", he said.

I found a very cool app that can edit Sofia's pictures easily! The thing is, I've gotten into a habit of taking pictures of Sofia every month. Okay scratch that out. I took pictures of Sofia almost every day. Every. Single. Day. And her progress too... First time tengok bunga, first time pandai main, first time naik kereta, first time naik kereta duduk dalam car seat, first time naik kereta pergi KL, first time naik kereta pergi Ipoh... A WHOLE LOT OF FIRSTS! So I found this cool app with a lot of cute stickers that can be used to edit those pictures. Starting from when the baby is just a few days old until he/ she reached years of age! BABY STORY CAMERA I downloaded it from Google Play Store for free! But there are a lot of advertisement... Tak kisahla kan. Heh. See? A lot of cute stickers! Dari mengandung sampailah beranak, hah. The only downside is if you made a mistake, you can't go one step back. It will erase the whole thing... ...

I rarely enter blog competitions. A few years back I did entered some, though. Blog Pilihan Bahasa Inggeris ke something like that. Got tagged to enter a bloglist contest. Rules are simple; follow the blog, post the banner, tag other blogger friends... But ah, I just don't feel like it. Only tried once; to get on Orked @ Sya's bloglist and dah cukup. But this one, Top Commentor Dorsett Pink  attracted me. Maybe because it required reading. And also because the blog posts got me interested so I don't mind following and listing her blog in mine. I didn't want to follow a blog that didn't interest me. She's a mother blogger pursuing phD.  And so I started commenting on posts that are relatable to my life right now. Pregnancy, breastfeeding, kids... In just 3 days, I'm the top commentor. Hahahah! Gotta hang in there until 31st December 2016. From zero to hero.

Dearest husband uploaded a picture of his lunchbox that I prepared for him today on Facebook.  Someone commented, "Hi where is vegetables and fruits. Please add more la" When you're friends on Facebook with your Nutrition lecturer... Hahahah. Okay, okay... I'll add on more fruits and vegies next time.

TCE Baby Expo at Mid Valley Megamall.

Motherhood is tiring and so challenging. It is a 24/7 job. No break...  Yes I love my husband and I love Sofia, but it has come up to one point where I needed a break. Sometimes I purposely spend more time in the toilet. But even so I still feel pressured when I hear Sofia crying, even when her father is watching her. I told my husband I'm stressed, I need a break. I want to swim. I NEED A SWIM. Alhamdulillah, last weekend I got the break I wanted.  I didn't change a single diaper, I didn't wash a single plate, I didn't cook a single meal, I didn't hang a single cloth. No we didn't go for a vacation. Going for a vacation would just add more work for me. Packing unpacking, balik rumah nak kemas rumah basuh baju lagi. While I had a good time swimming, he did all the housework. Before I went into the pool, I told him, "Kalau Sofia menangis, I buat tak tau je tau". Apparently Sofia didn't wake up until I'm done swimming. Lucky, pap...

Lately I've been asked this many times.  My answer would be, "Tunggulah Sofia besar sikit" but deep inside I know I'm not going to. It's fun seeing pictures of friends on their convocation, jubah dua line fuh fuh... At one time I told my husband I want to further my studies, most probably in USM as it sounded cool going under the medic faculty. Hahah. Iz even agreed and suggested, "Okay we'll just wait until Sofia can be on her own a bit, and then you can go". But, post graduation season (when friends no longer uploaded convocation pictures), I began to think more realistic. And be truly honest with myself. I don't need a Masters certificate. I only miss graduating. The graduation ceremony; wearing a graduation robe, going up on stage, taking crazy pictures with the robe. I might be missing the student life as well, where there is a presentation, group assignment, class trips, makan-makan after class... And Masters is not really like tha...

One of the many things that can cheer up someone who hasn't been out socializing; old friends coming to visit. I am so happy my two dear friends back in UiTM Shah Alam paid Sofia and I a visit last Wednesday! Mimey informed me on Monday that she'll be visiting along with Iffah. One good thing she did; inform earlier that they are coming. Yes I do like receiving visitors once in a while but do inform me first. During my confinement period, so many guests suddenly came without informing us beforehand. Their theory (like they told me); tengah pantang kan, mestilah ada kat rumah tu. Yes I am home but I am NOT READY to meet people. Please inform in advance so I could prepare mentally and physically. They came only for a while , which is also a good thing. With Sofia in my life now, it is not just about me anymore. It is about US. I am happy to be spending time with them but with Sofia, it is really unpredictable. When Sofia's all smiling and babbling about, it is okay. Bu...

Just a simple reminder to myself.... Mum has been advising elder brother, rajin-rajin bersedekah supaya murah rezeki. He took it seriously. Alhamdulillah, semakin mencurah-curah rezeki dia. Few days ago he came home to have a talk with mum, as usual. Like mother-son talk like that. He told her about him frequenting sedekah now. One thing that got me thinking is this; "Ustaz kata kalau nak bersedekah, bagi duit yang paling besar kita ada masa tu" I've heard about this before. "Haritu I tengah makan, ada orang minta sedekah. Dalam purse I ada singgit and lima puluh ringgit je" Guessed what. "I teringat cakap ustaz. I bagilah lima puluh ringgit tu" Mum said, by hearing this she was actually thinking, seriously budak ni... Baik bagi sini je. HAHAHA. But don't get us wrong, he did gave mum money semua. Just that. Ala macam tak biasa pula. Bagi peminta sedekah RM50? A stranger? I was thinking the same too. But not really ...

I was told that my hair will start thinning after giving birth. But I wasn't informed that after pantang my hair will get so pretty and healthy! For the whole 44 days of pantang, I tied my hair tight in a bun. I noticed a lot of hair sticking out of my head though. Banyak anak rambut. Habis pantang, cuci rambut, shampoo, oh em gee such a nice hair! Tebal, sihat, cantik! Never had such nice hair before! Bestie said yea you'll have nice hair until Sofia starts blowing bubbles.  When Sofia was about 6 weeks (yes I was still in pantang), she already started to blow bubbles. I panicked and immediately reported to Sofia's personal doctor, Tita. Rest assured, she said her sister had nice hair for quite a long time. No need to panic, she said. And so I chill. Chill chill pun, I went to chop off my hair. Because long hair and Sofia just didn't go well together. Sofia is 3 months now, and bubbles has been coming out like crazy. 

I think yesterday I deserved 10/10. I managed to bathe early in the morning, prepare packed lunch (spaghetti okay, bukan scrambled eggs macam biasa) for my dearest husband, had a decent breakfast, got the laundry out to dry, AND wrote an entry for the IRenang blog. Feels so good when mum asked, "Dah mandi?"  Dah. "Dah keluarkan kain?" Dah. Bring it on.... Semuanya dah! Hahahah! Okay, I might be cheating a bit as the spaghetti sauce was actually frozen. The other day I cooked spaghetti and freezed some of it. I only had to heat it up and boil some pasta in the morning. The bread in the other tupperware? Mum baked them earlier at night. Laundry? I already hang them to dry the day before tapi tak sempat kering sebab hujan. Simply sidaikan semula ke luar je. Ah. Tak kisah. I still give myself 10 marks.

3 months old, Sofia weighs more than 5kg already! Sekampit beras. Hahahah. We took Sofia for her 3 months checkup and she got a shot on her right hamstring. The doctor said there's no need to check on her weight but since we didn't weigh her on her two months checkup, this mother is curios to know how much she weigh already. More than 5kg; can't be too accurate as we weigh her fully clothed including her pampers. Aah... Getting emotional. Dulu 3kg je. We were told she might get fever after the shot. We already had the medicine, given during Sofia's first month checkup but not used yet. The doctor said we can still use it. Oh by the way, when we laid her on the bed, waiting for the doctor to give her the shot, she was so happy smiling all the way. Alahai... She cried only for a while. After that we dropped by to get groceries. We stayed in the car, only mum went out. She was happy all the way, smiling and babbling from her car seat. Macam tak ada apa-apa. ...

Am I happy now? Hahaha... Can't believe I actually questioned myself. What is not to be happy about? A good friend of mine is migrating to Kelantan to follow her husband. They both worked at the same place but the husband apparently had a business in Kelantan. Somehow maybe he finally decided to just focus on that business. The friend also quits her job to follow him. She said, "I choose happiness" Quitting from a good job (lawyer kut), to follow her husband back to Kelantan and just be beside him, is happiness, to her. Somehow I understood. A stressful job. I know some might object, though. It all depends on what is happiness to you. Maybe for some, having a lot of heels is happiness. But not for me as I rarely wear them. Having a lot of swimming suit is happiness to me, instead. Hahahah. I've been in a nearly similar situation before. Hm... Quitting a good job to work on my own. My first real job after graduation was at a private school. I got paid...

For the second time, my mother-in-law told me to walk slowly. My mum told me once, and when mother-in-law tegur, mum agreed sungguh-sungguh... Hah dah cakap dah kat dia! Aih... How can I not walk fast? Every second matters! Once Sofia close her eyes, that's when the action begins. In fact, while nursing Sofia I already had things planned. Makan, minum, basuh baju, sidai baju, angkat baju.... The list goes on and on. Mothers will understand this, I'm sure. But I know, my two dear mothers worry about me. Mother-in-law started by asking about my C-section wound. When I said it still hurts sometimes, she told me to walk slowly. Truth is, ever since my doctor said I can start exercising (during pap smear test appointment), I'm pretty confident I can do anything. Being a mother, seriously, every second matters. In one second, three to four things can be done. 

Iz came home last Wednesday with a carseat for Sofia. Less than RM150 only, okay lah.