Daycare

My children had been in the waiting list of the daycare of my choice for a few months when finally I was informed that they could start there on Dec 1. Yay!

The first day was fine. They were happy playing there.

The third day, she was reluctant to go. He cried when I was leaving. The pattern continued. At one point she skipped school altogether for almost a week.

I cried leaving them screaming for me. My friend advised me to be strong, because kids do that. If I falter, they would too. The teachers said it's normal for kids to cry when the mother walks away. They said they would stop crying soon after I leave. I checked on the Internet, and found that it's normal. I just need to quickly and swiftly leave. Think of it this way: even at home they do cry when they see me go out. It was a lot easier when I sneaked out early in the morning to work when they were both soundly asleep, happy in their father's arms.

Now that their daily routine has changed, my son would have no problem waking up in the morning. He would happily put his shoes on and drag his backpack to the car. Such an energetic boy! My daughter would sometimes complain when I wake her up, but with some coaxing she would comply, albeit a bit of visible reluctance on her face.

It crushes my heart to see the happy face of my boy turns 180 degrees to complete sadness upon the sight of the school! The image of him crying with all the tears running on his face and his nose red lingers in my mind. It is indeed disturbing. I really hope they do get over it as soon as I leave.. and they spend the many hours of their day at the daycare happily playing, learning, and socializing; and well-taken care of. I hope they are not sad thinking of me or of home.

When I go pick them up, they would be smiling and laughing, obviously very happy to see me. The hugs and kisses are HEAVENLY WONDERFUL... mashaAllah.

Last week she kept counting the day. She knew it's five days of school and two days off. She once said "It's not fair!" but I replied with "That's how it works, sayang."

And today I expected some Monday-blues struggle again, but I was surprised to see my son did not start crying after the small "uhuk" and my daughter smiling and and jumping out of the car.. they both walking into the daycare with the teachers with them (instead of being carried inside). MashaAllah.

It was a big relieve that I cried a little bit. Alhamdulillah.

May the sacrifice do both of you good, inshaAllah.

I LOVE YOU BOTH SO --?
MUCH! :-)

Bagels

I had a craving for bagels. Searching high and low for this special bread ended up with frustrations. From the Internet, I saw a bagel place in a nearby mall. When I went there, it was nowhere to be found. I asked the information counter, and the answer was "It was closed a long time ago".

My colleague drove me to a completely different mall to look for bagels.. we looked online and read about this bagel restaurant. The traffic jam and crowded basement parking took us one hour. We saw the name of the restaurant in the building directory... but it was nowhere to be found either!! We concluded that it was just closed recently.

Of course all of the outlets were closed! No business. The local people here do not know or love bagels.

I went to Starbucks at two different malls and the answer was "they are gone".

Later I went to Coffee Beans, and there were some bagels..!! Once I took a bite, it was a disappointment -- that's not bagel!!! It's soft! They were bagels-wannabes! No wonder they did not even look like masculine rings.. but I held my tongue. The test of the pudding is really in the eating.

I looked for bagel recipes online. I heard that it's difficult to make. I found a recipe that looks doable: Homemade bagel recipe. Make great handrolled water bagels, it's as easy as baking a loaf of bread!

I did not want to wait until I could find the time to get all the ingredients and to actually make the bagels. So I braved the unfamiliar trip to a place quite a distance from my office. I allocated half hour each to and fro, and another hour for the actual eating. I set a date with an old friend whose office is near this place. I printed the driving directions. I arrived at the mall in 30 mins.. scouring all over for this bagel restaurant and could not find it.

Finally, I saw it! Yay!

My friend was already there, waiting for me. Yay!

When the bagel I ordered was served, I took the first heavenly bite... finally! Yay!

ALHAMDULILLAH. Thank you Allah!

I bought a dozen to bring home to share with my family.

I am HAPPY! :-)

Spared

"At approximately 1750 hrs, on 14th of December 2010, yet another Company staff had fallen victim to snatch thieves. The victim was on her way to the open car park behind The Restaurant and had just walked crossed The Street, .. , when a motorcyclist rode pass her and snatched her handbag. The victim was caught by surprise as that stretch of the street is a One-Way road. The snatch thief rode his motorcycle against the flow of traffic to snatch the victim's bag. Fortunately, apart from bruises on her arm, the victim did not sustain any other injury." (Security Alert Memo, Dec 15, 2010)

Yesterday I signed out at 5:45pm and was already walking out of the gate when I saw the shuttle (provided by the company) and immediately got on board.

It could have been me walking on that very spot at that time. That's scary. I usually take the shuttle only when it coincides with my leaving the office building, and yesterday was one of those rare days.

Alhamdulillah, Allah spared me.
Oh Allah The Protector, The Most Merciful, The Most Powerful.. I seek Your Protection against oppressive conducts of Your Creations.
May Allah protect me and my dearest family and friends and all of us.. Amin!