The week that was

This week back in KL has been a whirlwind of activities. My itinerary of social engagements began even before we reached home on Saturday, with Abg Ashraf's eldest son's birthday party in Shah Alam. Initially Nuaim was not keen, but when we arrived, albeit one hour after the party was supposed to be over, there were still many of my cousins and their offspring around. By dusk and it was time to leave, I had some difficulty prying my children off the various wheeled toys.

The party mood continued the next day with an outing at Taman Desa Water Park to celebrate Naufal's birthday. He is two months younger than Aiesyah but a couple of inches taller, and they got along like a house on fire. With his cousin around, Naufal appeared more gungho and less timid, and my daughter was literally leading him on in her usual flirtatious manner.

Monday till Thursday I had a packed training session. There was a large group of us, about 18 persons, and as the last two days involved individual practicals (it was a Training of Trainers course) we only finished at six in the evening.

I was looking forward to a relaxing Friday but my kids had other ideas. They were looking forward to the Dino's Alive! exhibition at the National Science Centre, so my brother and I took the three of them there on Friday afternoon. I had learnt not to expect much, so I did not end up disappointed. Apart from a large T-rex and Apatosaurus in the foyer and two replica fossils in a chamber just inside one of the exhibition halls, the rest of the 32 models were small and repetitive. There must have been at least six velociraptors in various poses, mostly based on their appearance in Jurassic Park. My kids and brother had more fun playing with the permanent science exhibits and demo equipment. Fortunately the science exhibit is free, so I will make it a point to take them there for another visit in future.

That night Ain and I had to attend a wedding on behalf of our parents. It was the son of a close family friend who happens to be distantly related to my parents, and the bride's reception was at PJ Hilton. We were a bit stumped when a member of the meet-n-greet committee asked if we were attending Anita's wedding - neither of us had bothered to check the invite, and we weren't too sure of the groom's real name either (he had always been Abg Wi to us). Fortunately there was only that one wedding there, and some recognisable faces had already arrived so we joined them at the family table.

Saturday morning was shopping time. I had to buy Nuaim his new school clothes, and to get him to agree I promised that he could go to Kidzport after that. And so three sets of school uniform, two sets of sports clothes, two pairs of shoes and a new set of briefs later, the trio were safely dispatched to the play area and Ummi was RM90 the poorer for it. That amount of money also bought me about two hours of solo shopping, which of course meant more money was spent. This was in addition to a significant amount I already spent on stationery the day before. Kudos to Jasema for being a Pilot G2 retailer in so many colours.

Dinner was a family outing of sorts - Abg Wi's parents threw a small alfresco party just for relatives at his aunt's business premise, and the whole household was invited. The kids had a fun time running around, obviously there was still some excess energy from the day's events. However they had a dear price to pay for all that exertion.

Nu'man woke up the next morning complaining of a fever. After a dose of Panadol, he seemed better, but by teatime his temperature was high again. Since it was Sunday, I had to take him to the hospital where they administered a suppository to bring the fever down. This morning, after another dose at bedtime, he appears on the road of recovery. Unfortunately his brother is now suffering and received the same treatment from a private clinic.

Right now we are on our way back to Alor Setar with my inlaws. I am praying that the girls are hale and hearty enough not to fall ill like their brothers, and that the rest of the year will be smooth sailing. This week has been memorable enough.

Here's hoping for a vibrantly colourful new year! (One pen for each month)

Nu'man feeling better on the journey to Alor Setar.

Nuaim and T-rex

Aiesyah and cousin Naufalsaurus.

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