A Homemaker’s Diary

I was watching Chef At Home tonight while waiting for the next round of cartoon that my son likes to watch when Chef Michael showed how he made a simple chocolate cake into a dump truck theme birthday cake for his 5-year-old son..cool idea which I hope I could emulate in few years time..heh!

Anyway, for those who are looking for great birthday ideas, perhaps a read through at the website will spark new ideas in your mind. A gift basket sounds like a normal stuff but if it comes with a gift card that says something like “never have to lift a finger today, Mom!”, that would be very touching and sweet.

Imagine having a day off as a mom, that would be something I would treasure so much.

Or if you are really out of ideas on what to do during your kids coming birthday party, a theme like spaceship or safari would be a joy for those curious and imaginative mind. If you have a bunch of creative children coming over for the birthday bash, you should consider throwing something like crayon or face painting party.

For the special man in your life, you can opt for something romantic like a couple massage. If you are the fun type who wouldn’t mind the extra effort, call a catering service (who would want to slave in the kitchen while others are enjoying themselves with the food and drinks?), invite friends to hang out and socialize, be it over a board game or dancing.

Who says being a year older means less fun?

I was flipping through the book on sleep solution – The Sleepeasy Solution by Jennifer Waldburger and Jill Spivack.

There is one chapter on developmental issues -2 to 5 years specifically on caving in to demands. I find it useful and something very important for me to remember once my son reach that age period.

For parents who have had a lot of disappointment or neglect in their own childhoods, setting limits with their children can feel especially difficult. It can be hard to distinguish what is appropriate limit setting from neglect or abandonment.

Even now when my son was not yet reaching the terrible two extreme phase, I find it difficult to NOT to cave in to his demands. (Gosh, when he cries his eyes out, wiggling on the floor, throwing tantrums, I would do anything just to make it stop..isk isk!) But I feel this is something I have to do, for the sake of his own good later on.

When you need to hold your ground with your child, try to frame the experience in a positive light. Difficult time often offer wonderful opportunities for “teachable moments”.

What is a teachable moment? It is a time when your child is struggling with something that feels difficult but, with your guidance, moves through her experience to gain a skill or learn a necessary life lesson.

As much as you believe that helping your child to get her needs met and feel loved is important, it is also important to understand that her frustration can lead to greater self-esteem as she finds her motivation to learn something new.

Oh God, give me strength and the wisdom to be a great mom as I only want the best for my one and only child!

I happened to stumble upon a site that sell a lot of great cell phone cases. Check out the picture below.

The above design for Apple iPhone 3G 3GS Case is named as White Spring Flower Faceplate. Free shipping for those in US.

The thing is I really need another phone at the moment. I kept on changing the SIM cards in and out from my Sony Ericsson phone to make personal call and to receive business related calls and SMS from students and clients since I only have one good phone at the moment. My old Ipaq died on me about a month ago..huhu! I miss that phone which has stylus which makes my life easier to send lengthy text to my craft students.

Should I get an iPhone to replace the Ipaq? I don’t like to learn technology like that touch screen..huhu!

A few weeks ago, I was bloghopping when I found one blog that has an entry that relates to breastfeeding. I can’t remember the blog URL now but something caught my attention after reading her post. It seems that from the Al Quran verses that she quoted, breastfeeding a child is wajib for a mom, and if she no longer can breastfeed the child up to 2 years, she has to find ibu susuan.

So what about mothers these days who decline to breastfeed and simply feed their child with susu lembu, soymilk and whatnot? Apa hukumnya? isk isk..oh, BTW, below post is taken from some other blog I read last night. Something for me to ponder especially when I find it tough to breastfeed my son at night..huhu..

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Kisah Aminah upah Halimatusaadiah sebagai ibu susuan Nabi Muhammad peringatan penting.

MUNGKINKAH parahnya penyakit sosial di kalangan masyarakat hari ini adalah akibat meminum susu lembu sebagai ganti susu ibu? Mahu atau tidak, inilah hakikat yang perlu dipertimbangkan semula kerana bijak pandai mengatakan, ‘Kita adalah apa yang kita makan’.

Tidak hairanlah manusia yang dilahirkan, tetapi diberi minum susu lembu memiliki ciri seekor lembu atau kata lain, bersifat kebinatangan. Bunyinya keras, tetapi lihatlah masyarakat hari ini yang lebih ganas daripada binatang liar.

Sumbang mahram, rogol dan bunuh, dera dan sebagainya semakin menjadi-jadi. Keganasan sering kali dipilih sebagai kaedah penyelesaian masalah walaupun bagi masalah kecil.

Kebimbangan wujud manusia berciri kebinatangan hari ini disuarakan tokoh agama, Datuk Abu Hassan Din Al Hafiz ketika menyampaikan ceramah sempena Minggu Penyusuan Ibu Sedunia di Pusat Perubatan Universiti Malaya (PPUM), Kuala Lumpur, baru-baru ini.

Beliau berkata, sikap lebih gemar memberi susu lembu kepada bayi berbanding susu ibu menyebabkan masyarakat tidak sedar bahawa mereka sedang menjana manusia ‘Nas’ yang bersifat kebinatangan.

“Manusia terbahagi kepada dua iaitu manusia ‘Nas’ yang tidak menggunakan akal dan suka melakukan kemungkaran dan satu lagi, manusia ‘insan’ yang lebih cenderung kepada kebaikan dan memelihara diri daripada kejahatan.

“Jika diperhatikan, di dalam al-Quran ada 300 ayat yang bermula dengan perkataan ‘Wahai Nas’ yang diturunkan pada zaman jahiliah di Makkah, manakala hanya 82 ayat yang bermula dengan ‘Wahai insan’ yang diturunkan di Madinah. Ini menunjukkan manusia ‘insan’ yang bercirikan kemanusiaan kurang berbanding manusia ‘nas’. Malangnya, manusia hari ini semakin tergolong ke dalam manusia ‘nas’,” katanya yang menyampaikan ceramah bertajuk Menjamin Sahsiah dan Hubungan Sesama Manusia .

Beliau berkata, jenayah yang dilakukan masyarakat hari ini jauh lebih buruk daripada masyarakat jahiliah. Sungguhpun mereka dikenali kerana kekufuran, pada zaman berkenaan tidak ada bapa yang merogol anak sendiri atau membuang bayi yang dilahirkan ke merata tempat.

Tahap ‘kebinatangan’ mereka tidak seteruk masyarakat hari ini kerana mereka tidak memberikan bayi mereka dengan susu binatang lain.

“Peranan ibu yang utama ialah menyusukan anak dengan susu badan seperti yang ditentukan dalam al-Quran. Ini sudah ditunjukkan ibu Nabi Muhammad, Aminah. Selepas lapan bulan Muhammad dilahirkan, susu Aminah kering, tetapi dia tidak terfikirpun untuk menggantikannya dengan susu kambing yang banyak di rumahnya.

“Sebaliknya, Aminah lebih sanggup mengupah Halimatusaadiah untuk menyusukan Muhammad. Melalui kisah Aminah, Allah sengaja hendak mengajar umatnya bahawa wanita lain boleh menyusukan anak orang lain dan mereka digelar ibu susuan yang haram berkahiwn dengan anak dan saudara daripada ibu susuan tadi. Syaratnya, mereka perlu disusukan sehingga kenyang,” katanya.

Ada rahmat terselindung di sebalik persoalan, mengapa susu manusia terlekat pada dada berbanding binatang lain. Ini bagi memudahkan ibu memeluk bayi sewaktu menyusu di mana pelukan ini akan menjana sahsiah si anak dan mengukuhkan ikatan ibu anak.

“Sedangkan haiwan juga ada sifat keibuan dengan sanggup menyusukan anak mereka. Mengapa manusia tidak sanggup, malah tergamak memberikan susu haiwan lain kepada anaknya? Ibu bapa yang memberikan anak susu lembu dan anak membesar menjadi jahat, ibu bapa itu akan dipersalahkan dunia dan akhirat,” katanya.

Anak dilahirkan dalam keadaan fitrah, tetapi kedua ibu bapa menjadikannya Yahudi, Nasrani atau Majusi. Terpulang kepada ibu bapa untuk memilih yang terbaik buat anak mereka.

I have been trying to update this blog since my last post on the traits of high need babies. Well, I have so many things in my mind but yet so little time to really sit down and put them in words.

I would love to share about the Law Of Attraction from the Quran perspective. I already bought one book about that, hopefully it will reach Hubby’s office by next week. So far what I found online are mostly written by Indonesians in Bahasa Indonesia (which I will really have to sit, read and ponder upon to get the translation right..huhu!)

Oh, whoever know where to get halal beef bacon or pepperoni like the one they have in Subway, please tell me. We went to the nearby Jusco but they only have chicken. We ended up buying the preserved breakfast beef strips which I plan to turn into homemade sandwich for lunch next week.

Eh, I really have to sleep..though I still have many things to say here. I have a craft class tomorrow..which means I have to wake up 1-2 hour earlier than usual…aarrgghh..well, things that you have to do to earn some money and in the same time keep yourself social and not cooped up like some mundane homemakers..huhu!

Errr..next entry, I hope to write about my plan to teach my son some Art Time like the one they have on PHDC..heh! (or do you think 14 months is too young to learn such thing..what a kiasu mom, lah!)