When nothing seems right...

...what should one do? Fix things one at a time, or just blitz everything to obliteration and start straight from scratch? Is there a limit to what's fixable, so that you know when you've gone beyond that limit (the point of no return), it's better to just get rid of all the broken and irreparable and begin with a fresh clean slate.

And what if it's your life we're talking about here?

Balik Kay Ell

Alhamdulillah, we arrived at my mum's house in Damansara safe and sound around 5.30 p.m. Although there was a slight drizzle before we started on our journey, the weather was kind - no rain, a bit cloudy, a few sunny spots but not too hot - perfect for travelling with kids over a 444km distance.

Sofiyyah was an angel - she spent most of the trip sleeping. Even the few times she was awake there was hardly any sound from her, let alone a cry, but her eyes were open to take in the different scenery. Despite this being her first trip in the SUV, she settled into it very well - must be a familiar sensation from all my driving during pregnancy. Even Nu'man's horseplay didn't bother her.

My brother apparently has been really busy. He had installed a ceiling fan and new lights in the guest room where I usually stay, bought a new sofa bed for the kids' playroom, and a new HDTV. The existing TV set has been moved downstairs "so the boys can easily play video games" - which they are happily doing now.

As for me, it's back to the familiar Confinement regime - already agreed for Kak Yam to come in first thing Saturday morning for my massage. I've got a hot water bottle behind my back, and no more fried fish or chicken in my meals.

I'll be spending 2 weeks here, which means the boys get an extra week off school. I hope it doesn't mean they'll miss much from kindergarten - especially as they've got tests immediately after we arrive back in Alor Setar!

To buy or not to buy?

Poor Sofiyyah! Being the baby of the bunch means she gets mostly hand-me-downs from her brothers and sister. However, I am thinking of making an exception here.

I was initially planning to reuse Nuaim's old car-seat, however after 6 years it's beginning to look tattered and worn out. Besides, it's BLUE! Aiesyah already has to suffer with a blue Graco car-seat (another hand-me-down from Abang Long), so I'm thinking of a more gender-neutral colour for Sofiyyah.

So last night, I surfed through the Internet and found a couple of really nice-looking car seats, including seat/stroller combos such as these on The Baby Loft:

Halford Premier Zeus Baby Car-Seat (up to 4 years)

Combi Coccoro convertible car-seat - apparently these take up very little space in the car,

The Halford Cosmo DX Travel System,

or the Quinny Zapp-Maxi-Cosi Cabriofix (at 25% discount!)?

Or should I make use of the Maclaren RM100 voucher I just discovered in one of the baby gift packs this morning? Except that they only have strollers, so I'll still need to spend an extra amount of money on a car seat - and end up with 2 strollers.

Oooh, the Quinny Zapp is beginning to look so attractive!

The Children's Progress

Sofiyyah is now 24 days old. It's been 17 days since she was G.I.-Janed, and her hair is now about 5 mm long. She has also developed a triple-chin, and her cheeks look like she is hiding two golfballs in her mouth. And all on breastmilk (except for the first 1 and a half days at hospital)!

Sofiyyah is also a very strong baby. She can already hold her head up, although not while lying on her tummy. Her legs are pretty mean, too. She usually uses them to signal that she wants to go for a walk, by pushing and kicking on the lap of whomever is holding her at the time. I'm pretty sure her aunts and uncle in Damansara will be surprised to see her in 9 days' time.

Nuaim, meanwhile, celebrated his sixth birthday at kindergarten yesterday. As requested, he had a square cake, with white icing and strawberries.

And for his birthday gift, he wants toy dinosaurs - and not just any old dinosaur either. He specifically asked for these:

Tyrannosaurus

Triceratops

Liopleurodon (I had to google to find the right spelling)

Apatosaurus

There were a few others that I cannot remember and can only imagine to spell. He listed out the ones he wanted - spelling them phonetically therefore less accurately - and gave the list to his maternal grandmother. My brother's got the list now, and he's doing some internet-based research to find out what they really look like so they can buy the correct ones. Only Allah knows what kind of tantrum Nuaim will throw if we get them wrong.

As for Nu'man and Aiesyah, they go through each day fighting like cats and dogs one minute then being the best of friends the next. Since they're closest by birth, being only 18 months apart, they share similar tastes and behavioural traits, especially at play. Aiesyah tends to copy her brother, and she's just as likely to play Racing Cars as Nu'man does. The boy, on the other hand, tends to have a go at every toy bought specifically for his sister - including dolls and tea party sets. Just in case anyone's worried, be rest assured that his mannerisms with these toys are definitely unfeminine.

Physically, though, they're as different as chalk and cheese. While Nu'man hardly seems to be growing despite all the food that he eats (he expends all the energy through highly intense physical activities), Aiesyah has visibly grown taller and her face is rounder. She's also very vain about her looks, and sulks very easily whenever she gets ignored or reprimanded. I suppose that goes with being the baby for a long time - in terms of age gap, Aiesyah-Sofiyyah's is the longest at 2 years 7 months. But Aiesyah is also the most helpful and obedient of them all, so far.

My only concern with Aiesyah is that she tends to pick up my Indonesian maid's pronunciation of certain words. First it was 'Cat' pronounced as 'Kek', which I've managed to correct. Right now I'm having some issues with her calling her baby sister Amirah SoPiyah instead of SoFiyyah.