Ramblings of a Mami of Two

One day when he woke up, he walked to me and said, "Mami, ayah tu garang. Tak suka senyum. Mami je baik, tak garang." Mimpi apa kamu nak? 

So last week I made these Japanese Milk Bread , for the 3rd AND the 4th time. I made one loaf Saturday, took me 3 hours from kneading to proofing to taking it out from the oven. 3/4 of the loaf was gone in 10 mins and Kimi was raving about it.  "Mami, roti mami tu, boleh jual mami! Makan macam tu je pun sedap tak payah sapu apa-apa!" "Mami, roti mami dah habis. Buat lagi please."  "Mami, lepas ni tak payah beli roti dekat kedai lagi." High on cloud 9, I obliged and made another loaf on Sunday, using my new loaf pan. 3 hours later, 3/4 loaf was gone just like that.  Oh Kimi honey, you have no idea how much you've brighten up my day, sayang! Bake hari hari pun takpe!  (only that I have run out of bread flour and it isn't easy to find them where we live). 

Hadi, kalau siang ada apa? Sun . Malam? Hantu duyan . Note: Hantu duyan in Hadi-speak is zombie. Or any hantu, actually. 

1. Don't smoke. If you've started, stop immediately. "If you could see me now, I'm down on my poor, crackling knees begging you to at least consider stopping smoking," writes Quora user Cyndi Perlman Fink. It’s expensive, smells gross, and is 100% guaranteed to cause health problems. Want to be cancer-free at 50? Stop smoking. 2. Stop eating crap. "You can make a lot of money in 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s,...90s to buy the whole world when you are at age 50 or beyond," writes Quora user Sireesha Chilakamarri.  "But, you cannot buy your health. Give up on fast food right now at age 30." 3. Maintain (or repair) relationships with parents and siblings. carbonnyc "...Chances are you've come across ideas and changed in ways that mean you don't see eye to eye with them on many issues. But then - that's part of what a family can help with - to learn to get along with people you don't agree with on many issues," ...

Abah. "Nanti Ajan dah besar Ajan nak bawak Abah dengan Mak pegi Mekah!" Tapi Abah yang bawak Ajan pergi Mekah dulu. Dulu-dulu, masa tu kita boleh naik Bukit Safa dan Bukit Marwah. Masa Abah cukur rambut atas Bukit Marwah. Belum sempat Ajan bawak, Abah dah pergi dulu. "Nanti Ajan dah besar Ajan nak belikan Abah kereta dengan rumah" Tapi Abah pergi sebelum Ajan mampu beli rumah. Beli kereta pun tak mampu, bila dah mampu bayar instalment, Mak bagi duit untuk bayar down payment. Duit yang Abah tinggalkan. Malu, dah besar pun pakai duit Abah lagi. "Nanti Ajan dah besar Ajan I want to make you proud of me" Tapi Ajan tak sempat habis belajar pun lagi, Abah dah pergi. Ajan tak sempat tunjuk Abah scroll Ajan.  Sekarang Ajan ada Mak je. Tapi Ajan belum bawa Mak pergi umrah, Ajan tak belikan Mak kereta, Ajan tak tau lah if I have made Mak proud of me. I don't even know if I have made Mak happy. If I have done enough for Mak. Insya...

So the streak of long weekend has ended. I don't know what happened last week, but today both kids were extremely well-behaved.  Today, Hakimi made his own breakfast. He asked, "Mami, mami dah buatkan breakfast saya ke?" "Not yet." "Takpe Mami, saya nak buat sendiri". And he made grilled cheese.  Hadi got off the car and walked to the nursery on his own. No drama. He even waved goodbye until I was out of sight.  And both kids hugged and kissed each other before Hadi and I left the house. Hadi was like, "Abang nak pergi sekolah dengan Didi tak?" "No, taknak." "Okay nanti petang kita jumpa ya". How did that happen? No idea.  Could be because I was at home whole day yesterday with them? Not only I was at home, but I actually spent time with them. The night before, I made a car track out of cardboard and spent the whole of the next morning decorating it with them.  Or could be because I bought them...