Preps

I've packed my overnight bag! All my stuff is in a very uncool shoulder bag...hope i have everything cos i seem to have forgotten the things i used the first time around. Im also looking forward to the confinement lady. Spoke to her yesterday and she sounded really nice...i guess hearing her kedah accent was comforting too for some reason.

3-4 weeks to go and there's still stuff that needs to be purchased. Hubs has to work this weekend which throws a damper on all the plans we've had, including buying a new bed for the downstairs room for confinement lady/maid. We havent even had the handy man over to install water heater upstairs and to fix stuff up! How?? MIL reminded me how it was so last minute the first time around (ciku came almost 2 weeks early and everyone had to chip in to get the house in order before the Queen and her baby came home). While we're at it, i guess we should have pest control over too...sigh.

Gawd...is it the nasi lemak that's making my eyes go blurry n want to shut?? If yes, im going to stick to having cereal every single morning!!

Quickies

Im on week 36 with the bubba, and i think i've been going on n on about how i havent put on so much weight this time around etc, but something's changed!!! Since last month, i've been putting on 3kg a month!!!! Im massive and i feel Ugh Lee. Caught hubs looking at me the other day...not sure wut he was seeing...

So, baby's 2.25kg right now and looking like he's doing fine. I pray that i'll have a regular delivery and that my baby is healthy. Amin.

Another thing to worry bout now is how to help my toddler adjust to changes. Already she's reclaimed her cot, blankets, baby toys and the playpen. Im reading the Gina Ford book (contented toddler and baby) and it sounds pretty complicated (one must set routines to be followed etc). Some people dont even prepare, so i dont know how far im gng to go with following Gina Ford's tips. Im so bad with routine...maybe it's cos im a bumbum. Another thing, it sounds like it's really hard to manage 2 kids!!!

Spartan Raya

There will be no kampung raya for us this year due to several factors. My mood's fluctuated from moping to wanting to make raya work for ciku. This would be her first raya where she really is a little person who can understand stuff, so i want it to be meaningful for her.

For those who know me, they'd know just how important balik kpg is. It's never about me, bt about making the lonely old folks up north happy. They wait all year for ppl to go back, and with them being aged, we just dont know how long they'll be around for.

Raya morning for me every year had been about rushing to go off for Raya prayers. We'd head out to Masjid Al Bukhary (after my tok passed away, we stopped going to masjid Dakwah). The cemetery where my grandparents are buried is within the mosque grounds, so we'd head over there to recite some doas after. The mosque and the cemetery have been designed really well, and it's clean with places to wash your feet when you're done.

After thats done, we'd head to my father's side where breakfast would be served. Traditionally, there was ketupat with kuah kacang and perut, and ketupat palas to be eaten with rendang. I'd normally change from baju kurung into something fancier and we'd have the beraya ceremony with everyone in the living room and a photo session.

As soon as thats done, my mother and i would race off to her side of the family which is a street away. Things are less structured there, but my tok chik n chu need a lot of help with preparations so that's what we'd do. They live in a beautiful traditional 1/2 brick, 1/2 wood house which has been a symbol of home to me for as long as i can remember. Lots of relos normally make their way to this house, which is why i love being there.

I wonder what will happen to this home once my grandaunties pass...i dread the day the house will become empty, cos it's never ever been empty! My great grandparents built the house and lived in it with their 8 children and helpers. The house used to be a bustling paradise with every child having a role to play. My tok was a princess, so she didnt cook all that much bt her speciality was fruit acar. Chu handled finances, chik cooked the main meals and tok ndak made the kuihs for tea and did the shopping. She used to always take a beca.

Those were the good old days. Now the house only has 3 occupants - Abang, Cik n Chu. I hope i'll get to see them after i deliver...

So for now im gng to have to figure out how to make this KL raya work. Wish me luck!