Decisions, decisions....

Aku di dalam dilemma sekarang.

I have no maid. Babah and I, we have to do the housework ourselves but we are fine with it. Our routine is a bit chaotic, what with work and housework and children to juggle, but the floors are still swept (let’s not talk about mopping, yeah ?), the clothes are washed, folded and pressed and I still manage to cook dinner and my children breakfasted on hot home cooked meals.

It is far from perfect, obviously. The windows needed cleaning, the mirrors in all the bathrooms needed to be sprayed and wiped, the shelves could use a few dusting action… (the cat crap to be buried) the list goes on and on.

But we are okay. We borrowed my mom’s maid for a month before Ramadhan and we found that we didn’t like it. We somehow felt uneasy with a stranger living in the house and I especially felt a bit rimas when she hovered behind me when I cooked.

Without a maid, the whole family is up on their butts. The children know how to sort out the laundry (he he), switch off the bathroom light and water heater, susun kasut whenever they enter the house… basically they understand responsibilities (who wouldn’t if Mummy keeps on reminding them that she has no helper 24/7). They do chores without complaining and at this moment are quite adept at housework.

Adik will collect her shoes and her brother’s before leaving for school and put them in their everyday bag. Abang knows how to get the laundry from the washing line. In fact 2 days ago I was cooking and had left the fridge door open. When the fridge made the tit-tit noise to inform us that the door is ajar, Abang went to close it. When he saw I left some stuffs at the edge of the fridge door, he put them back on the shelves and closed the door. I was proud because he didn’t ignore them.

I know if we have a maid, my children would be lazy. Worse they would stop caring.

But without a maid, I come home to a musty house. The house has a dank sort of smell that is most unpleasant. It is not because I left my house unclean when I left for work but because no fresh air entered when we are away.

The house is hot too because again there is no fresh air. The sad thing is we can’t have the windows open when we get home because usually it will be almost dark when I insert the door’s key and Shah Alam being dengue area… well you know where I am going.

I also pity my babies. Sure they go to their grandma’s house after school but they do not exactly have their own room to go to, is there ? I wonder where they go to unwind and relax after half a day at school, whether they flop themselves on my mom’s bed or in my sister’s room or just crashed on the sofa. I somehow feel that they do a full day like me and their Babah because they are not home.

But having a maid is a trial in itself. Trying to adjust to her presence, wondering if my children are actually safe with her, always thinking all the worst possible things that could happen to them just because they failed to answer the phone.

Basically, can I trust her ?

So is wanting to go home to a fresh smelling house, all nice cool because the windows are open is a reason enough to get a maid ? Are my children really unsettled because they have to go my mom’s house after school instead of coming home ?

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HMMM………….

Kisah Gameboy charger Amir dan misteri kehilangannya.

Very mysterious. As Adik once said to me when she found a single white sock in my car, “This is a mystery, Mummy….” She said, dangling the very smelly sock between her fingers, “Mana yang lagi satu ?” He he…

Anyway, while at Amelia’s house, I saw Amir playing with a Nintendo (I think) and was reminded of Sib offering Amir’s Gameboy charger. He gave it to me and then the cutest thing happened (this cute incident is not the mystery, kay. The mystery is coming…), Amir started to get teary eyed. He touched the charger a few times, then took it to his mom and requested for the charger’s picture to be taken…. For keepsake purpose.

Apparently he gets attached to his stuffs, that every little bit matters and he just couldn’t bear to part with any of his possessions. So looking at his reaction, of course I didn’t want the charger. I asked Sib to take it back and Sib of course refused. I couldn’t bear to look at Amir’s stricken face, I was so racked with guilt and when we were about to leave, being me, I asked Babah to hide it from Amir’s view.

When we were already comfortable in our own home folding and ironing the clothes while watching the telly, I suddenly remembered the charger and abruptly I was overwhelmed with the need to play… entah apa nama ntah game tu… Fuiyoo…. Punya lama dah tak main, sampai lupa nama game….

I asked Babah for the charger. “Oh, in the car !” He said and promptly collected the keys to his vehicle (apparently he too is consumed with the need to play it). 10 minutes later he came back in grumbling that he couldn’t find it. “I think I gave it to you !” Which exasperated me because he says that a lot to shift blame.

My denial that I even touched the thing in the car made him go back to his vehicle the second time for another search. He came to us empty handed again.

“Bah !! You jangan main-main. Kesian kat Amir … takkan nak pi mintak lagi. Mentang2 ada lagi satu, you boleh hilangkan satu !!”

So he went again. When he came back full of “I think I gave it to you” and “I’m sure you yang pegang dalam kereta.”, I decided it is time for me to have a go. I couldn’t disappoint Amir… he he. I marched outside, yanked open the car door and there it was, right in front of my eyes.

Babah’s embarrassed grin irked me further as I launched into a tirade of why only women have eyes.

So it was very mysterious why Babah took 3 searches and a lot of bebelans and failed to locate it but it took me 1 second, a measly second to find it.

Good Morning ?

What a morning. Well… everyday has been rather strange since I moved house. Well new house, new environment yeah ? Still trying to get used to the noise the house makes, plus the noise from the traffic outside (unfortunately our backdoor neighbour is a persiaran), the noise my neighbours make… Well that is just the noise aspect of things. We have to adjust to the temperature of the house too, the new faces of neighbours, even the amount of sunlight we get is something to get use to. Basically, everything is novel, fresh, we need to adjust… so everything is a still a revelation.

Well apart from one thing. The cat with a bell in its collar still has not revealed itself although I have been hearing it jingling and chiming about since we moved. My daughter too makes a tinkling sound that came from her anklet. Sometimes I couldn’t discern between the two bells’ sounds but whenever it was my daughter, I would at least hear her voice (mostly I would see her because a large amount of the time she would be looking for me).

But this jingling sound that came from the cat remained a sound because I have never laid my eyes on the wretched thing. It is never visible but I can see the wave of destruction (that is of course an exaggeration) it makes around me very clearly, thank you very much.

I plant my terung and my bendi in a trough. A trench maybe. I actually asked the contractor to make window boxes for flowers but instead I got a trough. A huge one with high walls, just below my knees (this is again something that I hate, just like my patio tak jadi… benci aku). So on this said trough walls, at the side walls to be exact, I lovingly placed 3 flower pots on each side. Lovely bell shaped flowers on the right (the purple one is dying because my husband cleverly sprayed it with Ridsect… adding my ever growing list of Benci Aku) and lovely small flowers in bunches on the left.

Every morning I would find the fuschia pot (I have purple, shocking pink and fushcia) on the floor, overturned and dried. Every day I would pick it up, put it back at its rightful place as I intended for it to be and apologising and cajoling for it to live while I water it. Everyday when I return home for work, it will look much better, giving me hope.

Repeat cycle.

We of course blame it on the cat. What else is there to blame ? Milli Vanilli’s entreaty to hold the rain responsible doesn’t make sense because only one pot is ever knocked down. The same one every single day.

But today !! Today !! Dear friends, today is a mystery (I have another mystery that I had written yesterday, intending for today’s post… but that has to wait. This is more fresh and urgent) ! The rising of the sun is as sure as the tergolek-ness of my fuschia plant but today…. the pot went missing !! Exactly. Shocking ain’t it ? Eyebrow raiser ain’t it ? I looked at the very naked bottom of my fuschia plant with its roots exposed trying to get my bearings. My eyes swept the area but I didn’t see the pot. I looked underneath my car, around it, in the drain… but nada. I just couldn’t find the damn pot.

I scanned the length of my driveway and my very scant lawn but it just couldn’t be seen !! What had the chiming cat done with my pot ? Dumbstruck. Dumbfounded. Flabbergasted. Astonished. Surprised. Terkedu. Terkejut. Semua ada...

In my head, I tried to imagine how the cat pilfered my pot. How did it carry the loot away ? What does it want to do with the pot ? Then I thought, maybe it had an accomplice. A monkey perhaps because I do not know any species in the animal kingdom that is local to Malaysia other than a monkey (beruk le) that is able to carry things in its nefarious hands.

Hmm… however it just occurred to me the cat could be carrying the poor pot in its mouth… yeah… never thought of that… But ! The question remains why does it want with my pot ? And why such a grudge with the fuschia one ? It never disturbed the other two. Maybe the colour got to him ?

Come to think of it.….. well actually maybe the apparent bullying the fuschia one is suffering in the hands (or paws) of this elusive cat could explain the death of my first fuschia plant.

Before Ramadhan, Babah and I went to Sg Buloh with Adik and Ana. These lovely girls love flowers and were having such a good time oohhinnh and aahhhiiingg the many flowers on offer, I allowed them to choose one each. Both of them chose the same kind of flower as the bullied fuschia (sorry… I do not know the name… nanti aku check). Adik chose purple and Ana chose fuschia.

Everything was fine and dandy, blooming on the patio. One day my grandma came and fell in love with the purple one. She took it home with her and the very next day the fuschia one that was left behind began to brown. The day after it totally dried up and died. I wondered out loud (to my family, of course) if it died because it was missing its’ friend but…. maybe …. just maybe…. the stupid cat did something to it. It was after all fuschia and the one that keeps getting knocked over at this present time is again fuschia…. Hmmm……

Anyway, after making my despair known, I started to water the plants. I wish I didn’t because lo and behold !! Guess what I found on my patio when I went to water my red flowers (that is my only red one. I do not like red flowers for some reason) ? CRAP.

Yup… cat crap. It is one thing crapping at my terung… it is dekat tanah and therefore very much ignorable… but on the tiles on my patio ? This is too much. It needs to be washed ! I have no maid, so it is either me or Babah. Man !! As I stood there staring at it, my mouth ready with expletives, I heard the very soft ringing of a bell. I waited for Adik to emerge. I even called out her name but no answer. It must be that damn cat.

Then Babah came out the door, all handsome in his work clothes, and refused to clean up. Cess. Adik and I waved goodbye to our men and as I was about to enter the house Adik gave a loud gasp. “Mummy !! Look !!” She hollered and when I looked at where she pointed I shuddered. Oh tuhan !! Cacing !! A long (almost a foot, I’m sure), fat and very pink worm was eemm…. walking ? wiggling ? slinking ? slithering ? towards our patio. It must have been underneath Babah’s car all this while.

I quickly yanked my daughter in and slammed the door shut with a loud bang. “Where is it going you think ?” I asked. “I don’t know Mummy. Maybe he wants to tell us something because hari tu dia dah datang dah ….” Said my daughter, eyes wide with horror. Banyak le kau.

If you read the entry I posted today (posted today, written yesterday… tak sempat post semalam) in my children’s blog, you would be acquainted with “Me, Adik and the worm story”. And therefore you would know of our absolute aversion towards worms. Yuck !!

When I was ready for work a good 30 minutes after the door slamming, Adik was waiting for me outside by the door. I asked her if she could still see the worm. “Tu !” She said, nonchalantly. Aiikk ? Dah tak takut dah ke ? I looked and saw that it was already halfway through my patio but it looked like it’s going to my sliding door as it was going north-east instead of north, where the lawn is. Damn !

I legged it before I have to handle it.

So that is why this morning is what a morning because of all this.

My weekend

I went to Amelia’ house yesterday where she hosted a small raya gathering. When I went to hug Jubei, she laughingly asked “M, buat apa hari ni ? Selalu busy, baca blog you pun penat…..” I just laughed because seriously I was too tired to answer… Wahh !!

Okay Jubei, let me tell you of my weekend.

Saturday morning.

After Subuh started cleaning up the house. It consisted of first starting the washing machine with the dark colours. Soak the whites then collected the late night washing that was still hanging. Waved Babah goodbye (luckily he only needs juice for breakfast). Changed the sheets of my bed then Abang’s and Adik’s. Their bedding I put in the soft colour pile and mine has it’s own pile (King size… dengan bed sheets, duvet covernya and 6 pillowcases pun dah cukup penuh washing machine ku).

Bathed the kids and checked on their music homework. Swept the floor while repeating “Babah, mop” over and over again so I won’t forget to ask him to do so when he returns home. Then watered the plants. Since it is a weekend, I had time to carefully inspect my plants as oppose to weekdays where I only could afford to water them and rush to get ready for work.

Belek-belek (and steadfastly ignoring the cat crap near my terung plant. Adik who loves to follow me around said, “Mum !! The taik kucing is still there !!” And I answered, “Memanglah ! I don’t want to do anything about it and Babah pun tak nak buat… so of course it is still there !!” Susah betul lah….), cabut yang layu and cajoling the drooping ones to survive.

One good thing about the weekends is I don’t have to prepare breakfast. Yahoo !! He he…. Because Mak Cik kat Cili Merah tu yang masak. After Cili Merah as usual piano class then art. While sending the kiddies to Art Class, my sister called to say that her mom-in-law and S’s mom-in-law are coming over to the house for Raya. Sighed. My sisters wanted lasagna but I have to visit Kak Ya (my biras Abang Kamal’s sister) dekat Gombak. Did some mental calculations and told CT that I will cook the sauces and layer the lasagna but she has to bake it. Okay. Then she added Corn Pudding. Aduih…

Picked up CY at my mom’s for grocery shopping at SACC, sent the groceries into the car and went back inside SACC to find nice moulds for my pudding. And I so needed a book, but tak sempat masuk MPH. What to do….

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Sent CY back home first, went to fetch my kids, went home and started hanging the clothes to dry. Bung in the soft colours in the washing machine, and started folding the now dry last night’s washing.

Started lunch of Kuew Tiew Cantonese for my kiddies while waiting for Babah to come home. Started making the corn pudding after lunch and by 3.30 called Kak Wa to say can’t make it to Kak Ya’s house because Babah is not back from his office.

Made the lasagna and had a quick nip to the garden to shear all the drooping plants.

Bathed the kids, had a bath myself and by 8 went to mum’s house with the very hot lasagna and very cold pudding. Helped to set the table, cook the cucoq and layan the guests while I shoveled copious amounts of cucoq. I so love cucoq udang.

Helped with the cleaning up when the guests left at 11 and arrived home around 12. Tidur.

Sunday ? Well Ana ajak pegi beli bunga. Babah who loves Ana dearly agreed but when we got to my mom’s house at 10 (after all the lipat kain and basuh cadar and mopping and siram bunga etc) Ana tak bangun lagi. CY and Mum followed instead because Abang and Adik didn’t want to go.

I love going to Sungai Buloh but sadly the flowers that I want tak ada but luckily I found the ceramic bowl/pasu that I so coveted. Babah said if I want the pasu, I have to buy the flowers right away. Fine, bought some flowers that I do not like but hikmah di sebaliknya was I found some gorgeous strawberry plants in pots !! Bought one and I now have a strawberry plant complete with beautiful fruits hanging near my darling red door. What a coup ….

Sent mum and CY home and Babah and I went inside too (makan kuih raya). Had a lovely chat and somehow the discussion went to lunch menu. Babah told my mum to decide where to go for lunch while we go and visit his parents.

At Babah’s mum’s house, Mum called to say she decided on Asiari so we went to pick her and CY up and off we go to SACC. Went home in a rush because need to do my planting before the rain comes.

Dig, dig (no worms this time), plant, plant. Babah accompanied me by reading the newspaper at our patio (it is not a patio… more of a patio tak jadi… benci aku). Hujan came.

Despite my sighing, my job was done so I had the first opportunity to relax since Saturday. I read the papers leisurely in the kitchen when Babah’s mom came for a visit. After that mandikan budak2, had a bath myself and went to Amelia’s house.

Had a lovely time as usual when I am with this group of friends and I was totally relaxed. So relaxed was I, I didn’t even lift a bowl to be thrown or even went into her kitchen to help at all !! Sorry Melia and Sib !! Penat giler….

So that was when I met Jubei and she asked if I was busy that day. So really Jubei this entry is for you !! He he…….

PS : Bila baca balik entry ni nampak macam aku sorang je dalam dunia ni yang buat kerja rumah... he he... nak delete sayang sebab panjang bebenor.