An Exciting Experience...😉

Today we decided to check out the new mall at Geylang...OneKM Mall. Aqil's routine after his special madrasah, chic rice @ Evertop Joo Chiat. That's when we thought of OneKM which just opened. 

Attracted by the deco of FIKA there, we thus had some desserts there coz we had actually eaten at Evertop earlier. Hence, we were seated at an empty table. The atmosphere was cosy & better still we were glad that there weren't many people at the bistro. This would be really helpful for Aqil. 

And so, Aqil was happily playing his iPad while we browsed the menu & placed our orders soon after. 

The happiness didn't last for long when suddenly there was a loud drilling sound. At that very moment Aqil looked up & immediately covered his ears. 

We managed to calm him down & assured him that the sound would go off soon...and it did! Alhamdulillah! ☺️

But it was short-lived coz a few minutes later the drilling returned! This time round it was much longer...about a gd 5 mins? Yes, that is long enough to an autistic child that it's a torture. And with that, Aqil had a meltdown...something that we'd always hope wouldn't happen every time we're outside. 

Luckily I wasn't alone...his Ayah was there when Aqil needed someone to lean on...alhamdulillah. 

After that 5 mins of torture...the drilling stopped again....& thankfully soon after, Aqil requested to go to the toilet..."shi..shi" he said. 

Well...Ayah took him to the gents & it was a while later that they returned...which by then the drilling had totally stopped! Alhamdulillah! 😉

Luckily the meltdown wasn't too bad...thanks to the toilet break & also the fact that he's been fed prior to this. 

Hence...with peace returning, the atmosphere was most relax? Hehe! 😂

Back from the toilet...he was much better & with the peace, he was soon back to his iPad again. 😉

However...he began displaying another characteristic of his awe-tism...he started stimming coz he was getting all excited watching a vid on YouTube!  Haha! We were really glad that the bistro wasn't packed and thus Aqil must hv really felt at home going barefooted all! 😁 

And when our orders started to fill the table (well, as you can see, the tables are big as this is a cafe bistro), Aqil 'ran away'! Lol! Yup, he can't hv anything, as in food that he doesn't eat, on the table where he's sitting at. 

Hence, this lil king of ours was 'kind' enough to just move over to another empty table instead of being cranky. And I see this as one sign to show that he's adapting to his condition as well as his surroundings...that he's indeed growing up. 

Thank you Ya Rabb for making this happen...this will take years & years for him to be socially adaptable. As long as he's improving...syukur #alhamdulillah! 😘

And so...there he was at another table while Umi & Ayah tried to finish eating as quickly as possible! 😁

Ooppss! He did it again!

Yesterday night, we brought Aqil to our usual spot for his chicken rice. And it was one of his bad days...sensory overload I guess.Maybe because of the long weekend, there seemed to be more people there.

As mentioned, it is our usual spot as it is one of the places where Aqil likes the chicken rice. Hence, we are kinda regular customers there. We were guided to a table...however, it was a joint table (those who have been to Supper Club @ Changi Village will know the how the seatings are  like). A family was there having their dinner...and as we reached the table, Aqil screamed & started pointing towards the family. 

Well, I quickly grabbed his hands and tried to calm him down...he struggled and continued screaming. We apologized to the family who obviously was kinda shocked but alhamdulillah, they smiled & said that its ok. 

And so the staffs offered another table by the sides...we went over. Aqil was still cranky but we were trying to talk to him when suddenly the birthday song was played and a family over at the other side was singing along, celebrating a birthday....and Aqil started screaming out loud again this time covering his ears. My heart broke. I was even thinking of just leaving...and I asked Aqil :

Me : You wanna go home?

Aqil : No no no! I want to eat! 

Me : Then you have to stop crying! (trying to control my voice)

Aqil : No no no...stop! Tell them stop! (Still covering his ears)

Luckily, the song stopped soon after and Aqil too calmed down. He asked for his head phones & we them on for him.

And so we proceeded to ordering the food as he still wanna have his chicken rice. Maybe because there were many people...so Supper Club was super efficient with their servings yesterday. Within minutes, our orders came one after another & Aqil started screaming again! 

And I have to admitted that I kinda lost my composure that moment coz I kinda shouted out his name at that moment! That's when the husbern glanced at me & shook his head. Yes...I almost lost it! The husbern took over and tried to calm him but he continued screaming at every plate of food that was placed on the table. 

Well, that is Aqil. He doesn't eat other food and he can't be near to any other food except for the ones that he eats. Even at home, he will scream if we eat anywhere near him. In Ramadhan, while we break fast at the table in the kitchen, he'd be with his iPad in the living room where he can see is. Even though the dining table in the kitchen is much smaller, we had to squeeze ourselves there instead of eating at the table in the dining are coz Aqil will be screaming his lungs out. He is scared of being alone. This we are thankful enough that he has gotten used to our breaking fast routine. 

So...back to the incident, we moved all the plates away from him but he was still screaming...he even ran away from the table & the husbern had to run after him. Eyes were already on us by then of course. 

The staffs were again kinda enough to offer us a bigger table...a round one hence it was not joined to any other table. They even helped us to move the food & drinks...we were so grateful for that. The husbern was then consoling Aqil...he managed to calm him down again but as soon as they reached our table,as soon as Aqil saw all the food, he screamed again. Aqil walked away again but this time he sat down at another empty table. 

We couldn't be moving to another table yet again so I stayed put with Arisya while the husbern brought over the chicken rice & ice lemon tea to feed Aqil at the other table. Eyes were on us...heads were turning looking at us at one table & Aqil at the other table....we are immuned. Arisya even said "everybody is looking us". 

I quickly finished up my food then I took over from the husbern so that he could eat. After they have finished eating, they came over to the table where I was still feeding Aqil coz he asked for another helping....my poor boy was hungry. 

As the husbern came over, the family at the joint table actually opened up & asked us. Since they asked, we told them about Aqil. 

I do not & cannot blame the people for all the glares coz they don't know. But I  sure am thankful for the ones who have understood & helped & smiled. 

Thank you Ya Rabb! ❤️

My Awesome Kids! ❤️

As of the post title...this post is about my three precious god-sent gifts. ❤️ They have made their Umie so proud of them that Umie is gonna blog about how precious they are to her.

Yesterday, I brought AriqArisyAqil out coz looking at them stuck at home...kinda broke my heart. Ariq has been diligently revising & doing his assessment books in preparation of PSLE. Arisya too has finished all her sch work & ever so ready when called upon. Even Aqil has been behaving very well indeed. 

Yes...what I am proud of them is nothing academic. Studies definitely come first...but it is not of the utmost importance. I am so proud of Ariq & Arisya of being independent & dependable at such a young age. 

As we were outside yesterday, I could depend on Ariq & Arisya indeed. "Ariq...can you please buy fries for Aqil?" , "Ariq...can you go & queue at Swensen's coz the line will be very long" , "Arisya...please help to look after Aqil, Umie need to go toilet" , "Arisya...please help to push the stroller"

And we survived 4 hours without Ayah. 😁 Since Aqil was born, since 2 became 3...I will not step out of the house alone with AriqArisyAqil. Especially with Aqil's condition...which is like a time bomb? Any time...any moment...he could just have one of his meltdowns. Well, I guess Ariq & Arisya have gotten use to Aqil's condition. They know Umie needs them when Ayah is not around. And lil Aqil too behaved very well yesterday. Not once was he cranky! After 6 years, we have somewhat discover the triggers to his meltdowns. And so with that, we are able to prevent it. 

Upon knowing that Ariq & Arisya wanted to have Swensen's for dinner...I'd preempt them first while on the way there. They understood very well that we had to attend to Aqil's needs first. And surprisingly, Aqil too understood when I told him that we have to let Abang & Kakak have dinner first...coz his iPad went dead while we were halfway through dinner at Swensen's. Ya Rabb...only You know how relieved I was when Aqil didn't throw one of his tantrums at that moment. 

Thank you Ya Rabb....for these three precious gifts of yours. Thank You for keeping them calm throughout our outing yesterday....alhamdulillah. ❤️

And so...Umie is now more confident to bring them out on my own! But still keeping away from crowded places though....just in case. 😉

Maleficient & Nando's

Looking at the blog post title...some might have thought "Huh? Watching only now? " Yes indeed!
The June school holidays have only started for us today. The first week of the hole is gone just like that coz I was at work for the whole 5 days while Ariq & Arisya too have supplementary classes...not for the whole week though. Well, that's SG alright! Don't ever believe the coloured school holidays in the calendar....it much lesser than that!
Whatever it is, we started off our holidays simple. Over the weekend was in JB for my cousin's wedding. Believe me or not...that was our first JB trip after Dec KL Trip last year? Hahaha! That's right...a rather busy and hectic year...especially with Ariq preparing for his PSLE. Furthermore...the traffic at the causeway has been quite bad this year....I wonder why.
Anyway, back to the story...the day trip to JB was awesome of course...meeting up with cousins and uncles and aunties...updating each other...simply love the bonding.

And today, brought the kids (excluding Aqil) to watch Maleficient. Yup...I think most have watched it by now. We caught the morning show, in fact it was the first show of the day. We prefer the morning shows now coz we realise that the theatre was mostly empty then. So it was almost similar to having the whole theatre to ourselves. I mean, its much better than having to squeeze in between people that we don't even know....having to pay the same price at that! So let's make the wiser choice! Hehehe! 

And Maleficient was awesome...just like it's reviews. Enjoyed it very much indeed! I guess the kids too? Hehehehe! Well, at least Arisya can relate to the movie! 

And then we proceed to have lunch. It was 12 noon...Aqil was still sleeping at home. Yup, not the wake up time yet. Nando's was the latest outlet at Lot One...and we have yet to patronise the place so we decided to today. Fell in love with the deco...a great place to hang out and chill with family and friends! Arisya ordered one of the kids' meals. Ariq said he's not a kid anymore thus he didn't want any of the kids' meals. Haha! That cunning boy....he sure knows well about food...hhhmmm, wonder where he got that trait from....must be his Ayah! Muahahaha!

Absolutely recommending Nando's @ Lot One! Tasty deco and friendly staff and awesome service = frequent visits! Thumbs up! ;))

Mother

It has been posts of Mothers' Day celebrations and wishes on FB and IG and even whatsapp! Haha!

A day specially to show appreciation and love for the one special woman in everyone's life. 

And yes, me too has that special woman in my life...in fact 2 now! Hehe! My Mak & Mak! 😝

Yup, my mother and mother-in-law. 

I am soooo thankful for my awesome mother. One super woman who single-handedly took care of her daughters' and husband's needs. She cooks, she cleans, she washes, she sweeps, she mops, she irons, she folds...from sunrise until night. She has no leave nor has she ever took MCs. It is only after all her daughters hv grown up does she hv the luxury to take 'MC'. 

I remember when I was in primary sch and the teacher asked how we went to sch everyday. I said that my mother sent me...and a classmate actually said "Your mother? I thought it's your grandma"

She must hv aged a lot because of her children. No...my mother doesn't dress up...doesn't wear make-up. For as long as I hv lived, I hv nvr seen her wearing pants...she's always in her kain batik at home or her baju kurung when going out. And talking about going out...we didn't go out. We went out...to the beach...to Sentosa...to Orchard Rd...once or twice a year? We did balik kampung every June / Dec holidays. No holidays...just kampung. 

My mother only finished her studies until Primary 3 but she is one excellent finance manager! Imagine with Abah working as a mechanic...with that pay...we grew up well, we ate home-cooked food  which includes fish, meat and seafood every other day...we get pocket money everyday...I don't remember being on FAS. We were even sent to ngaji classes and madrasahs. Only Mak can do that. Only Mak. 

Thank you Ya Rabb for this awesome mother! 

Another awesome mother that I know of is my mother-in-law. She has been taking care of my children...from one became two became three! Anyone with children or has handled children will know how tiring it can be to handle them...especially when they are at the toddler stage. 

And my mother-in-law took care of 3! Never once did she complained until the day she suffered a mild stroke...we knew she's getting too old to handle the kids. Apart from taking care of the kids...she cooks too! Yup, I hv a very blessed life indeed! Thank you Mak for all these years! 

And being a mother myself, to my 3 beautiful angelz...I am sooo thankful. Thank you Ya Rabb for granting me the opportunity to be a mother...to grant me a title which is so highly respected. 

In Islam, the Heavens is said to be at a mother's feet. (Syurga di telapak kaki ibu)

In Islam, mother comes next after Allah swt and Muhammad saw. SubhanAllah! 

I know I'll never be half as good as my mother nor my mother-in-law. But insyaAllah...I'll give the best I can in carrying out this duty as a mother...insyaAllah. 

Thank you Ya Rabb...thank you! ❤️

Niece's Birthday Celebration

All of us gathered at eldest sis's abode today to celebrate niece's 14th birthday. Yup, niece is a lady now! Hehe!

One thing for sure in our abfamily is birthday celebrations. It creates a reason for family bonding...it is a way of us showing love for each other. We treasure each and everyone in the family...and with birthdays, we are thankful for another year spent with the beloved. 

Have always love gatherings with the big family...lots of laughter, lots of nonsense, lots of love and many more. 

Amidst the exams fever...be it for the children or for the working adults like myself, we make the time to come together for such celebrations. 

Alhamdulillah for this happiness, love, bliss...thank you Ya Rabb for everything! 

Pancakes for the kidz & Cafe Le Caire

So this is gonna be a 2-in-1 post...like those instants you know! Lol! Couldn't squeeze in time to blog coz I was clearing up some back logged work before nxt week coz I'd be head-banging for my exams then. 

Well, Fri nights we'd send the kids over to my parents so that they can get a bit of drilling over there. Just becoz they hv got cheapskate mum you see...nyehehehe! So before sending them over, we thought of something sweet for them & my girl simply love ice-cream. I'd planned to try out Creamier...which I heard was famous for their waffles. But being Fri night...it was crowded. The seats were filled up, the Q was long and there are still people standing around waiting for their turns. With that, we decided to just come another day...but we didn't wanna disappoint the kids so we headed somewhere else. Couldn't think of anywhere else nearby for se sweet treats...then the husbern thought of Little Pancakes. Been there once only without the kids...coz I could hv easily made pancakes myself. But with no idea of where else to go...suitable for the kids...we headed to Little Pancakes. 

When the kids heard that we're gonna hv pancakes, they were just excited. Yup...my kids love pancakes even though they practically have pancakes at home every other day. 

Alhamdulillah...they enjoyed the pancakes & were laughing throughout the dinner (uh ha...that was dinner too!). Much laughter from them before they are sent for drilling coz exams goes full swing nxt week. 

So that was Fri's story. Ain't nothing much on Sat coz the husbern had a meeting with his frenz so me & Aqil were left at home *sobz*. Nevertheless, it was good though coz I managed to clear up back logged work and even finished up the markings which I brought home. 

And today...Sun, we had lunch at Cafe Le Caire...which specializes in Mediterranean cuisine. Actually, we had wanted to try it out before and were already at the place when we backed out! Haha! Wanna know why?

The place looks rundown...absolutely no aircon and the dining furnitures aren't those of cafés. Mismatched IKEA plastic chairs with foldable tables...some antique  Kopitiam chairs and some other recycled ones...hehehe. 

But the husbern wanted to try it so much so we did today! Despite the ambience, the service was prompt which I like. So we ordered one of their specialities which is available only on weekends. Can't remember the name but I snapped a pic of the menu so please refer to the pic if you wanna try...hehehe! 

And again, I really hv to concede to the truth of the saying "don't judge a book by its cover"....it's 2 thumbs up frm me and 2 thumbs up frm the husbern...so 4 thumbs up? Hahahaha! 

Food was awesome and we're sure to go back there for more! Yes...alhamdullilah for the delicious food! 

Yes! We chose the seat with this right behind my seat. It was at noon and you should know the weather in SG...alhamdullilah this made the dining experience much more tolerable. 

I'm OK...but I'm not OK...its OK not to be OK...

Time flies. It is time for decision to be made. For Ariq & Arisya...the factors to be considered were more of distance & convenience coz we were never into this sch is better than that sch...just because of the fact that all syllabuses are the same, all pupils sit for the same national exams.
But its different for Aqil...because he's special...he has special needs. The normal mainstream schools are definitely not for him. Being a teacher...having seen special needs children in mainstream...I know. And as a mother, I'd like my child's needs to be catered to as much as possible. Not to provide special attention...just to understand his needs, his differences.
And we thought we have decided but it turns out the opposite. We realise Pathlight follows mainstream curriculum. So if we choose Pathlight, it will be similar to Aqil attending a mainstream school except for the fact that in a much better environment where his needs will be catered to as much as possible.
But the psychological report suggests otherwise. Aqil's IQ is found to be quite low...not suitable for mainstream. He has been recommended special schools instead.
We went to have a look at Eden School which specialises in autism. Fundamental English & Maths with more focus on social & survival skills. Very focus on the development of working skills so that the children will be able to survive working in the real world. Skills such as baking, cleaning, ICT.
Aqil has surprised us more often than not with his usage of big, bombastic words which a normal child wouldn't even be using in their daily speech. But Aqil is not into writing at all...it is very difficult to get him to sit down and write the alphabets even.
He loves drawing definitely...and he's very good with the ipad. We are so confused....NO! I AM THE ONE CONFUSED AND IN DILEMMA! *sobs*
During the visit to Eden, it was quite an eye opener. Being able to talk with parents similar to us is definitely helping. Heard that Pathlight could be stressing for special needs children...because like it or not, they still have to take the tests & exams as per norm.
Yesterday was Aqil's visit to his main doctor, Prof Ho at KKH. Based on Aqil's psychological report, he too recommends special schools for Aqil. However, he did mentioned that if Aqil excels academically...he can be trasferred to Pathlight to follow the mainstream curriculum. And one thing which is true is that...for children with special needs, it might take some time to discover their talents. Its never impossible.
We are really taking a step at a time. We do not wanna look so much into the future...coz seriously, we are not sure what the future holds. But we definitely know that we want him to have the essential social & survival skills. Academic achievement can always be achieve later...no matter what age.
We hope we'll make the right decision for him. This feeling of lost can be scary...too scary that more often than not...I always try not to think about it.
The image that we potray is definitely not what we actually feel. We have to stay strong & positive...not to be undermined. We'll definitely give the best we can...and we hope it will also be the best for him.
Ya Rabb...we seek thy guidance...we seek thy empathy...

Alhamdulillah...

It has been more than a week since his circumcision. We had planned to hold a 'majlis kesyukuran' aka thanksgiving specially for him.
Alhamdulillah...for the smooth procedure. Alhamdulillah...because Aqil has been able to adapt well to his restricted condition and thus recuperating well. Alhamdulillah...for all these six years that he's growing up well & healthy despite his unique diet and only meeting milestones at later stages. Alhamdulillah for the patience blessed upon us that we are able to cope well with the meltdowns he suffers as an autistic...syukur alhamdulillah...;))
And it is indeed Aqil's luck aka 'rezeki' that we are able to hold the thanksgiving at a special place...alhamdulillah...
Hence, there wasn't much to do for the event coz everything has been accounted for. I decided to make some 'pulut kuning' aka yellow glutinous rice for the guests. The husbern has suggested just to place an order for the pulut kuning but I'd wanted to make them myself. The satisfaction and the fact that I wanna make something myself...as Aqil's mother...to give to the guests to convey our sincere thanks for gracing the event and for all the doas.
Managed to get all the pulut kunings ready a few hours before the event. And at that moment, suddenly thought of bubur putih bubur merah. I have never made that before...so what I did was to pick up the phone and call my 'helpline' aka my mother! Hehe!
And my awesome mother (as always) obligingly made some for Aqil's event...alhamdulillah...thank you Mak! ;))

We arrived at Mamanda just nice...moments later the guests started streaming in. Opened the event with doa selamat by Al Waris...alhamdulillah. And the event continued with guests coming in and out...with the husbern calling out for me everytime guests were leaving coz I was busy catching up with the guests...hehehe!
Aqil was oblivious of the whole event of course! Alhamdulillah...he was obliging enough to put on the gamis and even lasted the whole day! Seriously, this came as a surprise coz he had been refusing pants ever since he tried putting on once after the circumcision...we had thus expected him to refuse putting on the gamis.
He was pre-occupied with the ipad throughout the event...asking to go toilet only once...and was greeting the guests who came up to him subconciously & parroting me most of the time. Thank you so much to all the guests for understanding Aqil's condition & for all the doas.
Thank you Ya Rabb for everything...alhamdulillah. ;))