Childproof 101

It's head-cracking to think of ways to childproof your house when you have a little monster running around the corners of your house babbling jargons you don't understand, drifting his tiny legs through the hallway without even considering the sharp edges of the tables and cupboards.

The kid is almost 80cms tall now. He tend to hit the dinner table edges for countless times nowadays. My mother often terrified when looking at the glass tables and racks with sharp edges when she was babysitting Fahyim those days. She bought me this transparent table edges guard for precautionary measures once the baby can walk.

Of course the thing stucked there for a while until the time when my kid itchy hands pluck em off and hide it somewhere only he knows.

I was procrastinating to replace the edge guard until one fine day I came back from work to see a tiny bruise on his forehead similar to a "Bindi" of an Indian woman. So I went into the net hoping to find a nice,tough and not so easy to detach edge guard to be the first item in my "Childproof 101" project.

While I was browsing through the choices, which 90 percent of it looks identically like the ones that my mother bought, I came across this product which is glamorously named as Prince Lionheart Table Edge Guard with Four Corners which was positively reviewed. 

It comes with a 12 feet of impact absorbing foam and 4 cushiony corners that can be trimmed to desired length. Sticks to any surface with the provided double sided stick tape plus it is fire retardant, non toxic and latex free for those little rugrats who chews particularly everything within their eyesight.

This features though, comes with a fat MYR 109 price tag but fortunately for me, a friend of mine (Anep) was about to come back from the States. So I ask him to buy it for me and paid him MYR 50. Hehehehe..

Now the kid can bang his head on any sides of the table without triggering any heart stopping moment to the mother.

Without further ado, i present to you my "Childproof 101" flawless progetto !!

Sheek and stylish. Bahahahaha!

A Pleasant Indication

I remembered I was given various types of Piggy Banks or penny box or "Tabung" from my parents with the intention of developing my saving skills. There was this ridiculous hat wearing sitting elephant money box from Bank Simpanan Nasional and the other one was a sitting camel penny box from Arab Malaysian Bank. Whenever a coin is inserted into these containers, it will reward you with a standard monotone music like the ones from your secondary Kemahiran Hidup project. Everyday after school, I will put my remaining coins into those penny boxes. Well as a kid, my interest was just to hear the sound only.

I must admit that I am not a good saver. I have this temptation of digging back the coins that I've saved to buy some keropok Mi-Mi or Kek Hiro from the Bai Roti (Babu). Plus, the so called penny box was not that hard to break. The bottom part was made by plastic. A steel spoon will do the trick. 

My son has showed some descent saving skills since he was 8 months old. He learned how to insert coins in the money box first before he learned how to walk. Somebody bought him a Despicable Me minion penny box.

I can't recall who bought it for him. That thing was cute at first, there was this expected monotone sound device in it. Once triggered, the thing will shout " Heeeeyyyyyyyy, sexy laydehhh Ugh Ugh Ugh Oppa Gangnam Style". After 233 times later..

Interestingly enough, after mastering the skills of putting coins in a respectable place, the kid often seek for our recognition towards his gesture. Whenever he puts some coins into the penny box, he will glance at us and clap his hands. 

His persistence in skill mastering was so exceptional. He even improvises....Fahyim style.

14 days and counting...

Hat : Pumpkin Patch
Shirt : HNM
Pants : HNM
Shoes : Nike Kids Lunarglide 4
Cat : Fajaria Condo

Growing Up!

I don't know whether its the air quality nowadays or its just a plain trend for kids to fall sick presently. Fahyim was warded into Hospital due to heavy phlegm, blocked nose and even worse, difficulties to breath. I recalled I was a sick kid back then. I was born with asthma problem. My mother packed me with Ventolin all the time. It was in my pocket the whole day at school just in case if an attack comes. Two puffs and its all good. Hehehe.

So, when my son had this difficulty to breath that night, we decided to take him to see Dr. Eric. As usual, he'll make hell of scene whenever he sees that poor pediatrician. Unfortunate for that doctor as well because he has been marked as the bad guy in my kids eye. Hahaha..

Dr. Eric suggested for him to be warded. Its good when you have insurance covering the hospital expenses for the kid if he gets warded. For all of the future parents out there, better be ready as these kids are damn fragile. Fahyim was diagnosed with  Acute Bronchiolitis, a build up of mucus that accumulates in the lungs. His nose were runny and his constant coughs sounds like wrecked speakers.

Surprisingly, when I was registering for Fahyim's admission, I was told by the officer that single bedded wards has been fully booked. So we went for the double bedded unit instead only to found out that almost 90 percent of the babies there was diagnosed with the same virus. Some are even worse than Fahyim's.

He was treated with the nebulizer and some saline drops to the nose. Of course he cried so hard that he became the most famous baby of level 4. Hahahaha.

A Shocking Loss

Finally, I have a bit spare time to write. It has been a while since my last post. This post I am about to jot is far away from the topic of child development. It is a story to be read by him once he got his alphabets right in the future.

This past week has been a depressed period of time for me and my family. I have lost an uncle who is very dear to my heart. He was a kind hearted, an affable and charismatic person to anybody who knows him.

On Friday the 7th of February at approximately 2.00 a.m , as I was about to lay my head on the pillow, my cellphone rang. I said to myself, a phone that rings at these hours will only mean one thing. Emergency..

My mom delivered a news that Ayah Halim has just passed away. I was caught by a complete surprise. Suddenly all the memories I had with that great man flashes in my mind. Multiples of them came at the same time, I suddenly recalled those times in Golden Straits Villas in Port Dickson where my family and his family spends the school holidays when we were kids. I was so close to his eldest son back then. We used to spend quality times in Starhill Golf Club where all of the cousins happily dipped in the swimming pool until all of our faces turn African. Remembering all this nearly brought me to tears, I was trying hard to hold it back before waking up my wife.

We drove back to Bangi that very hour and saw the body has already covered up. There was my cousins mourning in tears. He was 56 years old. Same age as my father. A best friend to him as well. He was buried by his son just before Friday Prayers. In Islam, if a person passes away on a Friday, he is therefore blessed. The arrangement towards his burial was soundly smooth. It was a good death. Syukur Alhamdulillah.

The last time we experience death in our extended family was way back in 1997 when my grandfather passed away.

It has been a sad moment for our family. This loss has shifted the way some people think and act especially his children.

This has make me think of how The Creator can take your life away from you without you having any clue whatsoever. In our temporary life, we must strive to fully equip ourselves with "Iman" so that whenever death comes for you, you are ready.

I hereby extend my deepest condolences to my beloved cousins Amir Hamzah, Alif Hafiz, Syarah Aqilah and Ammar Haidhar and especially to their beloved Ibu. 

Al-Fatihah.