Twenty Ten!

My Dad with his grandchildren, Nyla and Farooq.

Nyla having her compulsory bubble bath.

Nyla with her Tok Daddy!

Erm, yes, that's definitely me, ushering in the New Year in 'style.'

Room service.

My bro and Farooq.

Swimming time!

Happy New Year ya all!

We just returned from an overnight stay at Sentosa.

My parents booked a room at their One Degree 15 Marina Club, in an attempt to bring the whole family to celebrate New Year together.

Initially, my plan was to just stay at home and chill.

But I'm glad we didn't because we (especially Nyla!) had so much fun.

Mom and Dad, Thanks!

May 2010 be a great year for all of us, Insyaallah!

PS: Hubs, exactly a decade ago, we ushered in the Milennium together-gether and decided on that day that we be involved in an exclusive relationship. It's been freaking 10 years, boy! Happy 10 years of togetherness, hon!

Sorry :(

Like all parents, Esman and I only want the best for our our little girl.
I know that 2010 will be a new beginning for all and honestly, I am already daunted. :S

The past 2 years, Nyla has endured 1 hour bus rides to her school together with me.
(School transport could not accommodate to us because our place was way off.)
On days Esman was unable to fetch us, we would also brave through the crowded MRT and bus during the peak hours to go back home. Sometimes, when it got too exhausting for her, I would trouble either one of my fathers and ask them for a ride home.
So yes, it was definitely a hassle but because Nyla loved school so much, I shushed any voices of displeasure from my family.

2010 will be a busy year for me, with my back to back tuition assignments. I foresee a lot of hiccups should I continue to send her to her current school. It would be impossible and un-clever of me to send her to school, then rush back home to teach tuition and then fetch her from school.

I am no superwoman.

After much contemplation, Esman and I have decided to withdraw her from her awesome pre school and instead enrol her into a kindergarten much closer to home.
When I informed my advisor, my mom, of my decision, she was literally jumping for joy. Like finally after 2 years, her daughter has come to her senses.
1) Nyla would be able to brush up on her Malay.
(Yes her current kindergarten includes the teaching of Malay language. My Wak Gayah will be pleased too.)
2) The teacher-pupil ratio would prepare her for P1.

Nyla really enjoyed herself at Chiltern House during her N1 and N2 years and as I am typing this, I am tearing because I am wondering if I am ‘snatching’ my girl’s happiness.
When I dropped the bombshell on her a week ago, she was initially apprehensive but after much coaxing, she was alright.
Then she asked,'Mommy, can we go to Chiltern House for a while?'
‘Why babe?’ I asked.
‘I want to say goodbye to my friends. Shaun (her bf of 2 years), Trisha, Vera and Desiree will miss me when I’m not there.’
WAHLAU EY!
My heart sank and floodgates opened. Damn it man. I don’t know why but I felt really really bad at that time.
I still do.
I think those words also caused Esman heartache because he asked me if we should re-think this over.
Let's try this our first ok, hubs.


I’ve been receiving a lot of reassuring words from my family and friends who think that this is a wise decision. They are confident that Nyla will have no problems making new friends and will surely adapt easily to her new environment.
I have already checked out her new school which is just about 5 bus stops away. The reading programme is similar to Chiltern House’s.They are also using the Oxford Reading Tree from the United Kingdom as their core reading scheme. They also have Maths, Science, Art& Craft..etc. Pretty impressive.
However, I am still feeling immensely guilty and I cannot seem to shake this horrible, horrible feeling away.
To all the children and teachers of Chiltern House, thank you so much for creating that warm, friendly and stimulating environment, filled with love and laughter for my girl.

















My hope is that Nyla’s new school will be as welcoming, patient, loving and well managed as Chiltern House, and most importantly, my baby girl will be as happy there as she has grown to be in her previous school.


Nyla, thank you for not stamping your feet and throwing a massive tantrum at my decision, which I pray will be a good one, Insyaallah.

I am sorry, babe.

Happy Holidays

We began our Christmas countdown since 12 days ago....


Nyla asked her daddy,' Are we going today?'
Her daddy would answer,'No, baby.'
Then she would ask again,'Are we going tomorrow?'


Esman would answer,'No darling. We will be going tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow,tomorrow,tomorrow,tomorrow,tomorrow,tomorrow,tomorrow,tomorrow,tomorrow.'
And then the babe would be frustrated and she would continue doing her own stuff before asking us the same question again and again and again until it was our turn to get frustrated. Haha.

Yesterday, I asked Nyla to pack her stuff, much to her delight.
Looking at the stuff she wants to bring, I definitely have to do the packing for her. Duh.
Saw her Minnie Mouse luggage? No clothes at all inside it. Only her blue blankie.
Saw the baby on the stroller? That's her son, Crooked. (I know. What a name!)


Babe, we are not moving out of the house sayang.

Well, anyway, the day is finally here and it is our turn for some R&R!
We are going on a vacation with Esman's family.
To be precise, we will be going on a vacation with nearly all of Esman's makciks, pakciks, his cousins, nephews and nieces.


Don't play play ah, there are so many of us, we have to be separated.


The first batch have already just left taking the morning ferry.
The second batch will be leaving at noon.


Of course I chose to depart at noon. Reasons?
1) No morning rush.
2) Stingy Esman refuses to drive to the ferry terminal and pay the overnight parking charges.


If you think we are cabbing, answer is No.
'Don't waste money. Somemore, public holiday, sure pay surcharge,' said my most 'wonderful', 'darling' and 'lovable' husband.
We are taking the MRT la. Yeap from Jurong East to Tanah Merah.
So if you see a family of 3 dragging luggage into the train cabin, that's definitely us. ;)



HAPPY HOLIDAYS YOU ALL!

Balance

Today's Itinerary

1015: Nurul and Nad fetched me at the void deck.

1030: Fetched Ray the ..... *winks*

1045-1130: Camden Medical Centre for a gynae appointment. *winks*

Them: Nura, since your arm is the longest, you snap.

And based on this picture, not only is my arm the longest, my head, face and eyebags are the biggest.

Thanks girls.

Sorry one- eyed(plus 1 frame) Nad!

Aiya give up already la, ladies. Really cannot make it one.

Finally, a decent shot.

1200: Nurul wanted to give us a treat at Carousel.
However we were put on the waiting list. We were starving so we decided to head to PEPES (lain macam jer nama!) Restaurant for Indonesian cuisine. Awesome food.

Erm based on the above pictures, it looked like we ordered ONLY tahu telor. Of course, we didn't. When the other dishes arrived, it was ngap ngap ngap all the way. :)

1400: Nurul, our Santa Claus for today, decided to give us another sweet treat at Hyatt.

1600: Nurul gave me a lift back home. Thanks babe for everything!

1600-1800: Home all to myself because my parents brought Nyla to JB. WOOOHOOO! Bestnyer! What did I do? Read magazine. Surfed the Internet. Watched E Channel. Coffee break. Read newspapers. Took a short nap.

1800- Phone rang. Esman asked me out for dinner. Just the 2 of us. WOOHOOHOOOO!

Both of us looking our very best! NOT! Haha.

1930- Dad called to say he was on the way to send curly wurly back home.

If you must know, I try very hard not to get caught up with the 'perfect mom' syndrome by not being too hard on myself.
Back then, I used to feel extremely guilty when I left Nyla behind while I go hurray hurray, which I realise now completely defeats the purpose.

Somehow we need to find that guilt free place in our heart and soul, as we truly deserve to relish and cherish time for ourselves.
This in itself can help significantly in rejuvenating our energy level so that we can give back more as a mother.
-Life lessons for Busy Moms

How true!

I am all recharged for you now little Miss Nyla! Yes, I missed you but having that 'me time' just now was truly blissful! :)
Please excuse me while I continue my mothering duties!
To my ladies, husband and my parents, I thank you all for the balance.

Anggun's 2nd :)

Nurul, I know you are so going to laugh when you see this entry because it is really really late.

Not that you are surprised since it's coming from me.

But what the heck! It is still Anggun's birthday month.

Dearest Anggun,

2 years ago, when you were due to make your entrance into the world, I was bugging your mom asking her countlessly, 'Is it time? Is it time?'

I even suggested to her that should she feel like giving birth in the wee hours of the morning, Uncle Esman and I would gladly 'torn' at the hospital.

Do you know why I was so anxious, little girl?

Because I die die wanted you to be out before my Desaru trip.

The night before my trip, I called your mom(to check if she had the bloody show!) and then she joked with me and said,'Sekali baby keluar besok eh!'

I didn't laugh at that joke because I reaaalllly wanted to see you fresh from the oven.

Deep down, I hoped and prayed that you would wait until I return from my short holiday to make your exit from your mommy.

BUT YOU DIDN"T! How could you, Anggun?!

Want to know when this beauty was delivered?

WHILE I WAS ON THE FERRY TO DESARU! Thanks ya!

The whole time I was in Desaru, I was like a cacing kepanasan wondering how this baby looked like...fair ke? mata sepet ke? tembam ke?

By the way, answer is YES to all of the above.

The moment we reached Singapore, Esman and I rushed to Mt Alvernia to see Anggun, much to the amusement of her mom and dad. Hmmph!

Anyway, Anggun, happy 2nd birthday sayang!

Aunty Nura, Aunty Nad and Aunty Ray sayang you, sweetheart.

Kakak Nyla also sayang you too you know... Kadang kadang si kerinting tu step garang je.

If you don't believe me, then you should see how much effort she put into designing and wrapping your birthday gift.

Spot the 'Malaysia' flag?

Initially Nyla wanted to paste 'Mauratania' flag (I didn't know where this country was at first! But now I know liao. A country in Northwest Africa!)

Anyway, I knew Nurul was going to Langkawi for a vacation with her family so I told Nyla that.

The poor girl actually scanned for 'Langkawi' sticker.

Teachable moment here! Alert Alert!

'Langkawi is in Malaysia baby,' I said to her.

So yeah, that's the story of the Malaysia flag.

Twitterette

I started blogging (again) on New Year 2009.
A Twitterette I shall be now that 2010 is approaching!

My buddy, Ana Hayer said to me last week, 'Nura, you're a new media parent hokay. Better start twittering.'
I blushed.
Wahlao.
Technology is advancing so rapidly, that Ana ah made me feel as if I was still carrying a pager around.

Funny how 1-177155-4 or 143 was uber cool back then but lame now.

Which reminds me how very irritated I would be whenever my mom paged me 9999999.
Urgent sangat la tu ye mother...
And whenever I saw those triple set of triple 9s, I'd be desperately looking around for the classic orange public phone complete with those kopishop ah peks' breaths lingering on the phone. Eeew I know.
When I returned her page, she would holler, 'Pukul brapa nak balik hah?!'
Oh how I miss my teenagehood. Haha!

Anyway, I feel very very very behind, very ketinggalan zaman all because I don't tweet.
Even bro Ariff feels that I should tweet when we exchanged sms-es a week ago.
You see peeps, I am a Facebook fanatic.
Hence I feel that twitter is pretty much similar to Facebook Status Updates until I came across this very useful website:
http://randomsarah.com/twitter-is-not-the-same-as-facebook-status-updates/
I was especially enlightened about the Audience part.

According to her, Facebook is a great way to see what your friends are doing.
Twitter is a great way to see what the world is doing (friends included).

Wanna follow me, peeps?
Ikot je la! The more the merrier!

http://twitter.com/NuraJEsman

COPYKITTY

Yes! That's narcissistic me taking my own picture.

Just like many of you, I am also guilty of framing myself at arm's length and then snap my own picture.

What to do?

Sometimes Esman just refuses to join me in my journey of self expression and help me take pictures of.. erm myself. So I do it myself lor.

And that's my girl also taking part in digital self-portraiture just like her mommy.

The pictures below were taken on Esman's birthday.

The moment Nyla saw me in this maxi dress, she rushed into her room.

It wasn't difficult for me to guess the reason behind that immediate reaction.

She too wanted to look pretty for the birthday boy.

Two minutes later, she was beaming in her very own maxi dress.

Who looked 'hotter' in Esman's eyes?

NYLA: 1 NURA: 0

Since becoming Mrs Esman, it is compulsory for me to balik kampung on the 2nd day of Raya.

And it has also been a tradition to pose, pose and pose throughout our duration at Kampung Separap.

My niece, Shof, then suggested that I pose on this tree trunk.

Cool picture it turned out...until......

the babe decided that she too would like Shof to snap her picture on this tree trunk. Sibok je!

And if you think Nyla is only imitating her mommy, aiseyman brudders and sistas, you're wrong lah.

Apparently, she also looks up to her daddy as well. Hah!

Sorry hubs! :)