We usually spend our Thursday nights at home, coz I try set up a good example to Nunu to read the surah Yaasin after Maghrib while waiting for Isya' prayers. It crossed my mind to be able to spend some time at mosques again, but since having Nunu around, I never do that anymore. Heck, solat terawikh pun asyik ponteng.
But she's grown up now and I kept thinking, when is the best time for me to start bringing her to mosques? I see people bringing babies for prayers and I never thought it's possible for me to do the same, but I know I have to start somewhere.
So last Thursday night, the opportunity came and I just grabbed it. I'm attending a tahlil event in Masjid Negeri Pulau Pinang organised by DPMMPP, marking its 50th anniversary. Not wanting to be stuck in the jam, we set our journey as early as 3 pm, picking Zara up at her home. She made me wear baju kurung. Ugh. Zara looked gorgeous as usual, all decked out in her shiny new baju kurung, while I decided to wear this old rag that I had since I was 15! Stupid move, coz the rubber bands at the waist weren't that elastic anymore and I had to use pins as I didn't have that much time to decide on something else to wear.
The traffic and the ferry ride were smooth during non rush hours, so we had plenty of time to waste. We hadn't had japanese food for quite a while (those pre-packed sushis at Tesco don't count!) and settled on Sakae Sushi at Gurney Plaza since the food are reasonably priced. Imagine two pieces of nigiri sushi (salmon) on a green plate costs only RM1.90? And they were generously cut and fresh too (sorry forgot to take pics... too hungry!). We regretted ordering other food coz we could fill ourselves with just those addictive raw 'cat food'! But our orders were just as good. Even the green tea was very aromatic, which I think had a tinge of seaweed flavour to it. I don't know, I could be wrong.
But she's grown up now and I kept thinking, when is the best time for me to start bringing her to mosques? I see people bringing babies for prayers and I never thought it's possible for me to do the same, but I know I have to start somewhere.
So last Thursday night, the opportunity came and I just grabbed it. I'm attending a tahlil event in Masjid Negeri Pulau Pinang organised by DPMMPP, marking its 50th anniversary. Not wanting to be stuck in the jam, we set our journey as early as 3 pm, picking Zara up at her home. She made me wear baju kurung. Ugh. Zara looked gorgeous as usual, all decked out in her shiny new baju kurung, while I decided to wear this old rag that I had since I was 15! Stupid move, coz the rubber bands at the waist weren't that elastic anymore and I had to use pins as I didn't have that much time to decide on something else to wear.
The traffic and the ferry ride were smooth during non rush hours, so we had plenty of time to waste. We hadn't had japanese food for quite a while (those pre-packed sushis at Tesco don't count!) and settled on Sakae Sushi at Gurney Plaza since the food are reasonably priced. Imagine two pieces of nigiri sushi (salmon) on a green plate costs only RM1.90? And they were generously cut and fresh too (sorry forgot to take pics... too hungry!). We regretted ordering other food coz we could fill ourselves with just those addictive raw 'cat food'! But our orders were just as good. Even the green tea was very aromatic, which I think had a tinge of seaweed flavour to it. I don't know, I could be wrong.
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Sakae chawamushi (RM3.90) which Nunu had. So-so, we've had better.
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My yakitori (chicken satay in layman's term!) - only RM7.90 for 3 sticks. And the chicken pieces were huge okay, a lot bigger by the famous satay Kajang standard.
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Zara's goma salmon donburi (RM11.90) , basically just rice with lotsa chopped raw salmon and sesame seed.
Zara is this sushi-sashimi-fishy girl, haha. On the other hand, I'm a meat and chicken kinda girl. I gotta have 'em grilled or stir-fried, therefore I always go for teppanyaki or teriyaki. I'm on this special protein diet, which is perfect for me coz I don't feel like it's too much hard work since I never liked having that much rice anyway. My diet now consist of primarily lean chicken (baked or grilled), dory cooked in many ways, tofu soup, yoghurt, eggs, canned tunas and a range of veges and fruits, the kind that keep well and don't need much peeling and cutting.
It was hard for me to stay away from potatoes and fried food, but the beauty about this diet is, if I practice portion control, I can have that fried chicken or yong tau foo! I can have protein snacks in between meals too, so that I'd never feel hungry. Gimme a few weeks and see if I can pull this off and lose a couple of pounds, alright?
Zara is this sushi-sashimi-fishy girl, haha. On the other hand, I'm a meat and chicken kinda girl. I gotta have 'em grilled or stir-fried, therefore I always go for teppanyaki or teriyaki. I'm on this special protein diet, which is perfect for me coz I don't feel like it's too much hard work since I never liked having that much rice anyway. My diet now consist of primarily lean chicken (baked or grilled), dory cooked in many ways, tofu soup, yoghurt, eggs, canned tunas and a range of veges and fruits, the kind that keep well and don't need much peeling and cutting.
It was hard for me to stay away from potatoes and fried food, but the beauty about this diet is, if I practice portion control, I can have that fried chicken or yong tau foo! I can have protein snacks in between meals too, so that I'd never feel hungry. Gimme a few weeks and see if I can pull this off and lose a couple of pounds, alright?
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Cheeky pose.
Oh, going back to the story, Nunu was being very trying that evening. Although she wasn't really misbehaving, she kept wanting to go to the loo all the time! And I thought she has learnt to hold her pee already. The first time we went before we had our meal, and we were lucky the rest room was nearby and the handicapped cubicle wasn't occupied (I always, always go for the handicapped cubicles). The second time she wanted to pee, I had to practically drag her along while frantically search for the restroom in the crowded basement floor. We had no choice but use the squat toilet and she accidently sprayed on my shoes, which made me go "FAAARRRKK!" under my breath.
The third time, she complained that she wanted to pee again as I was buckling her to her seat, but she just went like 20 minutes before that! Dia tahan kencing ke apa? Probably that lah coz the 2nd time we went, the toilet there was really smelly and she was holding her nose, hihi. We couldn't go back coz I already paid for the parking coupon and we had less than 15 minutes to get out of there, so I told her to please hold and we'll look for a toilet at the mosque.
The traffic was beginning to get heavy and we arrived at the mosque pretty late. I tried to look for the best parking space nearest to the toilet but there weren't any directions. I took the wrong decision to park at the worst parking space available and we ran to look for the rest oom. Alas, we didn't make it in time and we had an accident at the mosque's front steps! How humiliating, Zara and I were horrified! Couldn't blame Nunu coz she tahan for so long, I wanted to knock my head for not getting her some pull-ups at the drugstore or something. My bad.
Anyway, I changed her into her baju kurung and luckily there were lotsa mops lying around (and still very little signboards around). Some men were curious to see me mopping the front steps (the VIPs were going to arrive at those same steps soon!) and one guard/caretaker was nice enough to come up to me and offered his help! For all the small misfortunes I encountered, thank goodness for the kind soul, coz I haven't performed my Asar prayers yet and it was close to 7 pm already.
(Gosh, Nunu's pee story lasted 4 paragraphs! This is not a rant, ok guys, just a reminder to me and those reading here to be always prepared with pull-ups, no matter how you trust you toddlers to hold their pee!)
When half of my problems were settled, finally we entered the main prayer hall and I tell you, we were dumb-struck. The place was very cool and spacious and immediately we felt blessed to be able to perform ibadah there. Nunu was very 'jakun' and could hardly contain herself to be in the new environment, but I did my best to keep her from being too boisterous or out of line. All she did was walk around being friendly with others, pull their prayer clothes and basically fidget like a little caterpillar she is, but a warning pinch on the butt from time to time was needed for her to sit still for a short period. We stayed there from before 7 to 9 something, after the tahlil, yaasin and Isya' prayers, and praise to God, she didn't make a scene. She enjoyed herself a lot after I've changed her again in pants and T-shirt and had a fabulous dinner provided by the organizers- nasi tomato, ayam masak merah, samah daging and kerabu timun! Believe it or not, I managed to eat only the chicken and beef. The rice looked very tempting, but it wasn't difficult for me to resist it. Yeehaa.
The best part of the night was, I had to eat at the main table, and Nunu got to meet her Tok Abah who were seated with other dignitaries, and even salamed the TYT Pulau Pinang and the Vice Chancellor of USM, Prof. Dato' Zulkifli.
All in all, I think she's ready for mosques. She'll learn to behave in time, I hope but I'll have to be ready with pull-ups!
Oh, going back to the story, Nunu was being very trying that evening. Although she wasn't really misbehaving, she kept wanting to go to the loo all the time! And I thought she has learnt to hold her pee already. The first time we went before we had our meal, and we were lucky the rest room was nearby and the handicapped cubicle wasn't occupied (I always, always go for the handicapped cubicles). The second time she wanted to pee, I had to practically drag her along while frantically search for the restroom in the crowded basement floor. We had no choice but use the squat toilet and she accidently sprayed on my shoes, which made me go "FAAARRRKK!" under my breath.
The third time, she complained that she wanted to pee again as I was buckling her to her seat, but she just went like 20 minutes before that! Dia tahan kencing ke apa? Probably that lah coz the 2nd time we went, the toilet there was really smelly and she was holding her nose, hihi. We couldn't go back coz I already paid for the parking coupon and we had less than 15 minutes to get out of there, so I told her to please hold and we'll look for a toilet at the mosque.
The traffic was beginning to get heavy and we arrived at the mosque pretty late. I tried to look for the best parking space nearest to the toilet but there weren't any directions. I took the wrong decision to park at the worst parking space available and we ran to look for the rest oom. Alas, we didn't make it in time and we had an accident at the mosque's front steps! How humiliating, Zara and I were horrified! Couldn't blame Nunu coz she tahan for so long, I wanted to knock my head for not getting her some pull-ups at the drugstore or something. My bad.
Anyway, I changed her into her baju kurung and luckily there were lotsa mops lying around (and still very little signboards around). Some men were curious to see me mopping the front steps (the VIPs were going to arrive at those same steps soon!) and one guard/caretaker was nice enough to come up to me and offered his help! For all the small misfortunes I encountered, thank goodness for the kind soul, coz I haven't performed my Asar prayers yet and it was close to 7 pm already.
(Gosh, Nunu's pee story lasted 4 paragraphs! This is not a rant, ok guys, just a reminder to me and those reading here to be always prepared with pull-ups, no matter how you trust you toddlers to hold their pee!)
When half of my problems were settled, finally we entered the main prayer hall and I tell you, we were dumb-struck. The place was very cool and spacious and immediately we felt blessed to be able to perform ibadah there. Nunu was very 'jakun' and could hardly contain herself to be in the new environment, but I did my best to keep her from being too boisterous or out of line. All she did was walk around being friendly with others, pull their prayer clothes and basically fidget like a little caterpillar she is, but a warning pinch on the butt from time to time was needed for her to sit still for a short period. We stayed there from before 7 to 9 something, after the tahlil, yaasin and Isya' prayers, and praise to God, she didn't make a scene. She enjoyed herself a lot after I've changed her again in pants and T-shirt and had a fabulous dinner provided by the organizers- nasi tomato, ayam masak merah, samah daging and kerabu timun! Believe it or not, I managed to eat only the chicken and beef. The rice looked very tempting, but it wasn't difficult for me to resist it. Yeehaa.
The best part of the night was, I had to eat at the main table, and Nunu got to meet her Tok Abah who were seated with other dignitaries, and even salamed the TYT Pulau Pinang and the Vice Chancellor of USM, Prof. Dato' Zulkifli.
All in all, I think she's ready for mosques. She'll learn to behave in time, I hope but I'll have to be ready with pull-ups!
9 comments:
Wow! You can still wear your old baju's! Bestnye. I think I gave them most to charity. They where beautiful and I miss them ahaha.
Thanks for the info on Sakae Sushi. The prices are quite cheap yeah?!
i'm with sarah on that one. i gave away my bajus from school days ages ago. sighhhh
anyway, i remember many many mosque-sessions with my mom and they were so memorable. i especially remember praying beside mom at masjidil haram at age 7. moments to cherish! thats the perk about having a girl. u can bring them to sit with u. plus somehow girls lagi can bawak jalan better than boys! H is thinking of bringing Gib for prayers one of these days because we live near the mosque and he keeps asking to go pray there with his Baba, but i still tak confident. what if he runs off while Baba's praying? takut lah.
psstt.. dont ask me why suddenly my comment appeared like 3 times! ish ish ishhhhh
haha - I loved every bit of your story! Especially the peeing on your foot part :) - I can imagine having such A** luck too :)
I too am having such problems with taking Divya for prayer sessions. We have prayers sessions here - that last about 45mins-1hour. I know! That's really long to ask a toddler to sit down! But I always see other toddlers who are able to do that. Oh well, it's my turn this coming Friday so I'll update you.
But I agree with Babybooned. That is something special - being able to have the girl on your side with you :)
So all I can say is, keep trying!
sarah, yeah, i've always made my bajus extra large when i was growing up (thnks for having a practical mom) and we hardly give anything away either coz i kinda have my mom's hoarder genes as well. we never throw out anything that are perfectly fine. nak bagi pun kat orang2 terdekat & tersayang ajer :)
bb, haha smpi 3 kali tu! anyway, yeah, i wanna bring her to places of worship to share that mother-daughter bond with her, and it doesn't really matter whether your child is a girl or a boy, kalau dah buas tu, buas jugak. i was really apprehensive abt bringing her, coz like you said, what if she runs off then got scared coz she couldn't find me, and then she wailed while we're in prayers? huhuhu sungguh tak khusyuk solat ok! but if ur H wanna bring gib, make sure he has someone else with him, an extra pair of eyes would help. like i brought my friend zara
bav, haha i'm glad you liked my little rant there. haha i dont know, i never planned my post to be so whiny, but i can't leave the part where she peed on nice shoes. My life isn't perfect and all rosy liddat ok!
and i can understand your anguish, at least while we pray over here, there needn't absolute silence, and the women are separated from the men, so they don't know what's happening at the back (and there are always noisier boys playing in front of us anyway!)
so i guess, we gotta make is a habit, and pray that our kids wud understand much later
Hahaha...I had to mop the floor at a clinic once when my daughter couldn't make it in time to the loo. Sabor je lah! The things mothers have to do huh?
nin, agaknya for us mom, to be forever prepared, mesti ada mop dlm keta kot!lol
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