One-Year-Old Baby with Blue-Black Forehead

Last night, at around 12 something, Che Man & I sang “Happy Birthday” song to Aiman. Aiman also took part by dancing away. My baby is 1 year old today. He is no more baby, but a toddler (Ye ker?).

Penat Che Man membuainya tidur malam tadi, but when he transferred him to bed, Aiman woke-up. It was already one-something in the morning and both of us were very sleepy already. In fact we have not had any good sleep since last week coz Aiman sleeps very late; 2am to 3am. Sleep-deprived parents last night tried to ignore Aiman but he had threatened to jump out of the bed few times. Afraid of the same incident like this one, I took him out of the room and put him into his buaian and buai him while sitting on the sofa. It was around 2.20am.

Suddenly I felt like the buaian is jerking hard and simultaneously I heard bunyi bedebuk.

I got-up in panic and found Aiman on the floor. Face down.

Aku beristighfar loudly in disbelieve. I picked him up and hugged him. He was crying very loud.

I inspected his hands and legs. They look normal. Aiman was still crying loudly.

I switched on the light. Only then I saw his forehead swollen. Not only swollen, it has scratches too! OMG!

I was really panic.

I shouted for Che Man who didn’t seem to be affected by the loud cries from Aiman. I had to slap his shoulder to wake him up. I told him about Aiman jatuh buaian and all he said was “Awak tertidur ke?”. Question that only made me angry.

Angry to myself coz tetidur. Angry to myself coz forgot to fasten the safety pin for the buaian.

I looked at the wall clock and realized, I only slept for few minutes. But in those crucial few minutes, I had caused Aiman pain and shocks.

I felt horrible.

While Aiman still crying I insisted to tuam his forehead. He finally dozed off. His body damp with sweats. Maybe because he cried so much. I took another 30 minutes to make sure the swollen area subside by continue tuam his head. After that I inspected his whole head and found there is another area but covered by his hairs. Now I remember he had fallen onto the buaian’s base. The square base made from steel where the screws in the middle part had left scratches on his head. My poor baby.

(I was tempted to snap photo of his swollen forehead, but I didn’t do it)

Before I went back to sleep, I asked forgiveness from him for my carelessness. I pray for the damage to stop there. Hopefully he has no other injury.

This morning, he woke up as usual; asking for milk and change of diaper. After finishing his 7oz of milk, he stood up and did his little dance to the birthday song I sang to him.

Happy 1st Birthday Aiman Nuruddin.

I am sorry that you will have to celebrate your special day with swollen and blue-black forehead.

I can’t wait to go home today. I’ll make it up to you baby.

On Parenting

This morning, I made a request to order Aiman's birthday cake through HR department. Instead of signing for 50% discount for 1 kg cake, HR staff (my lunch partner) allowed me to have 2 kg birthday cake with 50% discount (as per policy, we only can get 50% discount for 1kg cake). Yaaahoooo! I requested for cartoon character but can't decide on which character.

So my lunch partner asked, "What cartoon Aiman likes to watch?"

"Umur dia baru setahun la. Mana ada dia watch TV or shows preference on any cartoon or superhero character", I told her.

"Maybe you never gave him chance to have any....."

she tried to put some senses into my head.

This lunch partner of mine is an experienced mother, so I give a thought to what she just said. Maybe she is right. Whenever we watch TV, we only watch ur fav channels - nothing for babies or kids. I never tried encourage Aiman to watch TV what more baught him any DVD or CD, thinking it is still too early for him.

Am I doing the right thing? Should I encourage him to watch somekind of TV program or start buying CDs / DVDs for him to watch. Or is it still too early for that?

After I heard my lunch partner nagging about me being so clueless and nopt proactive, I proceeded to pastry kitchen to send my order. I told the pastry chef I want a cartoon character - any cartoon character yang dia sangat pandai buat.

"What cartoon he likes to watch?", asked the chef.

"He is only 1-year-old boy. I don't think he cares", aku cuba berdalih.

"But he will be delighted to see his fav character on his cake", he replied.

I am clueless.

I feel terrible.

Merapu Hari Sabtu Yang Tak Berapa Produktif

Lambat bangun pagi lagi hari ni. Aiman was too active last nite, he slept at 2.30am. Kesian Che Man lenguh tangan membuainya. Tak berapa lena tidur aku bila sesekali dengar Che Man marah Aiman yang tak mau tido tu.

Datang kerja lambat sket. Tak sempat breakfast kat cafe pun. Nasib baik mak mertua yang baik hati suh makan mee hoon kat umah dia pagi tadi. Tapi aku lak yang tak berapa selera. Sakit tekak. Nak demam agaknya.

Boss tak datang hari ni. Takde driver kot. Esok dia nak berangkat ke Pa***tan for business visit. Harap-harap semua yang aku arranged tu elok ler. Ada ker apa-apa lagi yang aku tertinggal nak arrange for his visit tomorrow? Ntah! Dah malas nak check. Harap-harap dia balik elok-elok la sini nanti. Jangan kena bomb ker aper ker.... For few days, aku lega sket la. Boleh aku start buat quality objective punya plan tu. Hujung bulan dah nak kena submit. Satu aper pun tak buat lagi. Emmm... kena kerja keras la next week.

Lapar pulak rasanya sekarang. Nak makan kat ner hari ni? Cafe ker? Coffee House ker? Deli ker? Apa kata lepak-lepak kat deli makan cake? Hah? Tak kan lunch makan cake jer kot?

Hari ni hari malas sedunia. Orang semua pergi beratur ambik gambar untuk 5S tadi, tapi aku tak mau. So sekarang camner? Nanti, profile aku sorang jer yang takde gambar. Aiyooo. Nak jenguk blog orang pun dah malas ni. Penat la membaca. Sebab tu menaip pulak sekarang.

Ada lagi satu jam sebelum aku boleh turun gi lunch. Pas ni browse through some newspapers sket. Tapi jangan baca M*lay M*il dulu. Kang boleh baca masa lunch. Ada sket document nak kena distribute sebelum balik. Malas nya nak gi opis orang lain la. Clerk aku cuti pulak hari ni.

Lunch sambil tunggu Che Man datang, pas tu ambik Aiman, on the way home singgah kedai runcit beli udang. Buat cucur udang untuk minum petang best gak ni. Malam nanti gi carik penghadang tangga untuk rumah mak. Semalam si bertuah Aiman dengan selamba nya panjat tangga. Nasib baik tak jatuh. Bukan salah mak. Aku yang balik extra lambat malam tadi. Mak dah kepenatan jaga anak aku yang tengah lasak tu, terlayang sekejap. Bila buka mata, Aiman dah dok relaks kat atas tangga. Ada la 6 steps. Tah bila la dia belajar memanjat tangga. We all try test lagi malam tadi. Letak dia depan tangga. Nak tengtok camna dia memanjat. Memang selamba. Berjalan lum boleh lagi, memanjat bukan main lagi. Eh..... kat mana pulak nak carik benda lah ni? Ape ker nama nya dalam English yek?

Esok Che Man kerja sampai petang. Tak best la. Tinggal berdua jer dengan si kecik nampaknya. Habis la aku kena buli. Must remember to stock-up some food items. Boleh prepare breakfast, lunch & dinner. Talking about food, this morning sudah bet with some girls yang sama berat to loose some weight in 1 month time. Leceh la. Aku suka makan. Tapi competition nyer pasal, aku kena start diet this Monday. Today takleh start. Lapar sangat ni.

Hujung minggu depan annual dinner. Theme 60s. Aku dah beli satu vibrant-colored dress. Tapi tak pasti 60s ker idak. Lantak la. Janji boleh pakai bila-bila lagi. Masalahnya, takda kasut yang sesuai ni. Perlu ker beli tonite? Apa pulak yang Che Man nak pakai ni? Kalau tanya dia, dia nak pakai 'apa yang ada jer'. Ye la. Dia bukan staff sini lagi. Tak nak la dia melaram ikut theme bagai.

Ok. Masa dah tamat. Must clear my 'out' tray. 'In' tray takper. Boleh tunggu hari Senin.

It's Our Anniversary

Dear Hubby......

The Good Times, The Bad Times, The Everyday Times
Have Taught Us the Meaning of Caring
I’m So Grateful
For the Friendship and Love that We are Sharing
And All of the Times We Were There
For Each Other
As Partners and Lovers

Happy 2nd Anniversary

Prime Time huh?

I had this little chat with my boss before he goes off for outstation.

Boss : Ms. Normi, what day is tomorrow?

Me : 6th February. My birthday (I was trying to control sengih. I know this is the answer he wanted to hear)

Boss : So, day after tomorrow is Norazman’s birthday ney? (He addressed my husband by his name coz Che Man used to work with him).

Me : A’ha….. 7th February.

Boss : Please celebrate your birthday. Here. (Sambil hulur yellow packet, the same packet he asked from me that morning)

Me : Ala boss… You shouldn't have ......... (I know, there are few pieces of RM50 in the yellow packet) . Ala Boss ....... thank you.

Boss : It’s not much. But you can buy quite a big cake for double birthday celebration, you now. By the way, how old are you now?

Me : Emmm… 31 I think. Correct. Correct. 31

(Maybe he thought I hesitate to mention the above figure, so he said this:)

Boss : You know, 30s are prime time for woman? This is the time when a woman like you are more stable in many aspects, compared to when you were in your 20s?

Me : I hope you are right (sambung sengih sengih)

My boss terus menerus bercakap pasal 'Why you should be proud to be in 30s'. Melarat-larat sampai hal-hal kesihatan wanita. Aku dok sengih-sengih je.

Aku dah pun masuk 31 tahun. Esok Che Man 32 tahun. Sempat la satu hari sama umur ngan laki.

Now, please excuse me. I have a birthday cake to redeem.

Sudah Masuk Lapan Meh?

When I started working here, I was positioned at Sales & Marketing department serving a very garang but very effective lady-boss. I did not really know what to expect because I never held such position before. Therefore, there were many incidents including the blur-blur ones, funny ones, sad ones and stupid ones. I used to work from 8.00am to 11.00pm and at month-end it could extended to 3 to 4 AM! There were times I drove home crying, feeling so tired and lonely. I didn't even know my housemate. I worked long hours coz I was slow, overworked (so I was told) and my boss only allowed me to go back when she goes back – which is late. Lunch hour, I quickly eat and within 10 to 15 minutes, I am back at my desk. On Saturday, when everybody goes back at 1.00pm, I was so happy if I can go back at 5.00pm. Still, I felt like I was not good enough, not work hard enough and I felt like I was invisible to others.

People asked how I could stand such a boss? The pay? The workload? The working hours? Still, I never thought of leaving. It was difficult for me to find a job before I finally got it, so please la...; I do not want to repeat the whole process again. Serik.

Just few months after that, I heard a news about both GM’s & Group GM’s assistants have tendered their resignation. Few secretaries, admin assistants and coordinators were applying for the vacancies. I did nothing. I never thought of leaving my (then) current position – not when I was still not very good at it and there were so many things need to be done.

My boss told me to be prepared to be transferred. I was a bit sad thinking that she does not like me and wanna get rid of me. I think she sensed it and later called me to clarify the matter. “It is a promotion la ngok!”. He.. he.. Naper tak cakap awal-awal?

My current boss is a Japanese male. He is in-charge of hotel management & property development representing a public listed company in Malaysia and Japan. He is a fussy man who has eyes for extra extra extra details. A workaholic who works from early morning till late night. A smart man with sarcastic vocabularies, cunning and suspicious thoughts. The type who wants things now and to be done now. He walks very fast, talk very fast and thinks fast and change decision fast too. Many people surprise that I can work with him this long. That is the beauty of being a personal assistant. I know him better than others therefore able to handle him better. There are times when we both at different perspectives but at the end of the day (or at the end of the week, at most) we settle it through discussion. He is actually friendly, good hearted, funny and very thoughtful gentlemen. No office politics, nothing personal - just a good business. Those who work long with him will eventually see this part of him.

I learned and experienced many things here. The sad and happy times, the best and the worst times. This is where I learn a lot about corporate world, about business and management, about friendship and betrayal, about sincerity and dishonesty, about love, hate and indifferent, about value and worthless. In fact I found my husband here too. Berkawan, bercinta, berahsia, bertunang and finally the surprise wedding news. Gempar satu hotel. Saper la sangka! He.. he..

Yesterday, I completed the 7th year of service with this organization. Seven years is not a very long time - some people may say, but I am quite amazed that I am still here, love this company, the people and the things that I am doing.

After 7 years, I am not the naïve Normi. People do not treat me the way they used to. My boss doesn’t work with me the way we worked 7 years ago. Just in seven years, I think I changed a lot. But still; there are a lot more to improve – and I am planning to do improvement everyday. There are more benefits and privileges now (which are not so great compared to some multinational companies la…) and I enjoy them moderately.

Today, the eighth year has started and coming with its own content. With the boss’ new assignments and responsibilities, I too - like or not; will have to be involved. More is expected from me, more challenges waiting ahead and more conflicts and events are coming. Who knows, I might encounter job related crisis that make me hate this place, the people & the job? The possibilities are endless. Only God knows.

Never mind.

Come my 8th year. Bring it on!

10 Months and Counting

Aiman is going to be 11 months in few days time.

Dia anak yang bijak dan sangat menghiburkan (kes puji anak sendiri, can’t help it). There are many things that he has achieved starting from when he was 9 months. For my own record, since my last update, here are some achievements and things that happened:

• He claps his hands at 'Tepuk Amai-Amai' song.
• Dia beratit ke kiri ke kanan bila dengar ‘Laillahhaillallah’.
• He loves to hear 'Azan'. He'll stop doing at whatever he was doing and pay attention to TV. He'll get confuse when the 'Azan' comes from radio - keep looking around for TV.
• Dia dah patahkan dua buaian. Satu rumah nenek Shah Alam, satu rumah Uwan Nilai. So, sekarang tak tidur buaian kat rumah nenek. (But still wants berbuai at home).
• Dia dah tegap berdiri sambil berpaut pada furniture. Tak la risau sangat nak tinggalkan dalam baby cot. Now he is practicing (by himself) to let go his hands. But only when he is alone in his baby cot.
• Dia dah pandai menari bila dengar lagu. Dia pun menari bila dengar bunyi orang mengetuk lesung tumbuk atau bunyi orang menyapu sampah kat laman.
• Dia dah tak takut bunyi blender atau vacuum cleaner.
• He uses walker. Tak de berdukung sentiasa. Boleh la ibu buat kerja rumah dengan lebih tenang. Now the parents can sit and have dinner at the same time. Tak yah gilir-gilir lagi.
• He sits on baby chair whenever we dine out. He loves it.
• He started to like variety of foods. Semua nak cuba. He'll say "Nak! Nak!"
• He shows temper and dislikes. Suka tunjuk expresi geram bila tak dapat apa yang dia nak. Sangat cute.
• He loves to go outside the house and jalan-jalan naik kereta. Lama-lama dalam rumah, he will meragam and say “Nak An"! (nak jalan).
• Mulut dia bising sungguh. Asyik membebel tak tentu bijik butir.
• We teach him to say “Ayah” but he prefer to say “Papa”, we say "Yah", he says "Pa", sometimes he says "Mama". Penat aku ajar dia sebut "Ibu".
• He knows how to kiss me – only me.
• He loves it when they are many people around him. Talking about a baby that loves attention.
• Dia kuat makan compared to previous months. Nenek makes nice porridge.
• Ada 4 batang gigi. Dua atas, dua bawah. Another 2 making their way out from the top.
• Jatuh tersembam dua kali. Pecah bibir & berdarah-darah.
• When we (pretend to) scold him, he will come to us, peluk-peluk. Cara dia nak pujuk kita.

But, the biggest achievement since he was 9 and a half months is his sleeping pattern. If you read my previous entries, there are some entries where I complaint about not having enough sleep. Alhamdullillah, after nine months, finally he is at the agreeable sleeping pattern.

Now, he takes a 1 or 2 hours nap at late morning and afternoon. At night he takes a nap at around 9pm for about 1 to 2 hours (sometimes only). Later at night he sleeps from around 12 something from midnight to morning. He will wake up once or twice to drink milk and back to sleep immediately or after half and hour of pusing sana pusing sini. Kadang-kadang lansung tak bangun, sampai pagi.

Finally, the 2 to 4 hours and gilir-gilir tido approaches are no longer needed. I get to sleep more than 5 hours. I don’t mind waking up once or twice, coz it is still a luxury compared to past 10 months.

Sangat-sangat lega.

First time duduk baby chair. Seronok sangat dia.

It is very difficult to see him sit still like this.

Belajar Berdiri

Kalau nak bergaya, bagi kat dia.

Pegang botol susu sendiri, sambil tengok TV