Out and About

I just thought we needed to going out other than to malls or having meals. I wanted to just sit on grass and look up at stars in the sky. 

But that might be boring for ‎the kids. So we decided to go to Simpang Lima and let the kids have fun with small wheels we rent. 

I and Dan took turn watching Dek Ai'. 

Later I and Ibit just sat at the edge of the park watching people around enjoying the bright night.

And the rest joined us when they got enough.

There. A night under the sky.

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Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

Hand Puppet

Ar and Ir made the puppet from flannel fabric for school. The teacher said they must sew, and not use glue.

I haven't introduce thread and needle to them before. So thay start learning from zero. From how to smuggle the thread into the needle, drawing and cutting the pattern, and sewing.

They are quite fast learner, I guess. They finished in less then two hours. That was great for a beginner.

This is Ar with the smiling puppet.

And Ir with (I don't know what has crossed hid mind) the zombie.

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Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

(broken) iLand

Ir built these buildings in a game on Facebook, iLand. this game provides materials of many kinds. wooden, glass, brick, stone. you stay in an island and you can build anything you want with the materials. it takes imaginations, spatial viewing ability, and tons of patience.

in this game you are connected with friends so. you can interact on a chat and visit each other. that's fun.

what's not fun is when a friend, you don't know which one, silently come and destroy your creations. yes that's what's happened to Ir's buildings. he opened up the game's home and found some parts were awfully broken. you can always fix them up. but, as material supplies change every months, you might get out of some kind of materials. so you just put on any materials that doesn't match the rest. it's not beautiful at all. he didn't let me take any picture of those broken parts.



'heartless....' he said, while 'walking' around searching and then fix the broken parts. he could not figure out who that possibly be. still he didn't seem to get mad though. he just kept calm and fixing patiently. and I keep wondering, why would any body want to destroy a friend's creation?



I sat next to him, watching. it seemed tiring (even more because it is not only your buildings that's been broken, but also your heart). and when he was finally done...

'oooh... I'm so tired. let's lay down and have some rest on my bed.."

well, that sounds fine and relaxing :)

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Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

The Comfort

Did I say it was my bracelet that comforts him?

I tried to put it on his wrist but he didn't like it. And I couldn't wear it again because I cut it short.

So I just put it away and thought it was a good idea not to let him have any specific comforting thing.

But I just found out few days ago, that, he found another comfy.

That BIG red blanket.

Ah. Let it be...Even if I will have to bring it when we need to sleep over at my parents this Eidl Fitri.






Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

the growth

Ai' is late in growth. I started realize this when he was 9 months. his weight was stuck, and that is not normal. too late I know. a 9 months baby should have been able to sit stable. and crawl. and stand up holding on something. he did neither one.
Ai' itu terlambat tumbuh kembangnya. aku baru benar-benar menyadarinya ketika umurnya sudah 9 bulan. beratnya ngga nambah, jelas itu ngga normal. terlambat memang. anak umur 9 bulan harusnya sudah bisa duduk tegak. merangkak. atau berdiri berpegangan. Ai' belum bisa apa pun.

so I went to a doctor, a growth specialist. she told me many possibilities that may caused this late growth of Ai'. it was so horrible I couldn't stand not to cry. I almost got fainted I got out the doctor's room to get some air and breathe.
lalu aku mengajaknya konsultasi ke dokter spesialis tumbuh kembang anak. kata dokternya, ada banyak kemungkinan yang menyebabkan keterlambatan ini. kedengarannya mengerikan. aku ngga tahan waktu dengar dokter menjelaskan. nangis. mau pingsan. aku sampai lari keluar, cari udara segar.

Ai' was underweight. the first diagnose was he got TBC. and the worst was, he might has CMV that he got while in pregnancy. to make sure which one he was having, he needed to have some blood test, and X-ray, and mantoux test. that was the first filter.
berat badan Ai' kurang. diagnosa pertama dia kena TBC. diagnosa terburuk, dia kena CMV yang kemungkinan didapat sewaktu dia masih dalam kandungan. untuk meyakinkan mana yang dia idap, dia harus menjalani serangkaian tes darah, rontgen, dan tes mantoux.

positive. Ai' was having TBC. so we worked on that before doing a CT-scan, that might not be needed if TBC treatment brings developments. beside the treatment for the TBC, we give him a therapy for his motoric activity.
hasilnya positif. Ai' kena TBC. langkah pertama adalah penyembuhan TBC-nya. CT-scan untuk pembuktian CMV mungkin tidak diperlukan, kalau pengobatan ini berhasil memberi kemajuan. selain pengobatan rutin, Ai' juga diberi terapi untuk latihan motoriknya.

he used to 'swim' on the floor to move from here to anywhere
dulu dia 'berenang' kalau pengin ke mana-mana
 

we do the therapy twice a week in the first month. and now once a week. at the beginning doing the therapy was such an abuse, but later as he knows the therapist, he enjoys it and thinks it was a play time.
di bulan pertama, terapi-nya dua kali seminggu. sekarang seminggu sekali. awalnya, menjalani terapi itu seperti siksaan. tapi setelah dia hapal dengan terapisnya, dia bisa menikmati. malah dia pikir itu main-main aja..
 

we bring him go swimming. well we need to this more often
kami juga mengajaknya berenang. kalau ini masih kurang sering...

now he can sit stable for quite long. and he can stand holding on table, or us
sekarang Ai' bisa duduk tegak cukup lama. bisa berdiri berpegangan meja, atau orang dewasa.
 

and he crawls.
dan dia merangkak.

I know it is still too late for a 13 months baby. but it is better late than never. we will not stop giving him more stimulation to catch up the growth. wish us luck!
aku tahu, ini masih ketinggalan jauh untuk bayi 13 bulan. tapi mending telat daripada enggak sama sekali. kami tidak akan berhenti memberi stimulasi untuk mengejar ketertinggalan pertumbuhannya. doakan kami ya...






Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

the (not) conjoined twins

I can't tell how grateful I am to have these miracles in my life
aku tidak bisa mengatakan betapa bersyukurnya aku memiliki dua keajaiban ini dalam hidupku

when I was having my pregnancy of Ar and Ir, I didn't have USG until week 16. I felt my tummy was too big for the age of the pregnancy. I was worried if there was something wrong, so I checked out. I move from midwife to doctor.
waktu hamil Ar Ir, aku belum USG sampai umur kehamilan 16 minggu. aku merasa perutku gede banget, untuk umur segitu. aku khawatir ada apa apa. makanya aku periksa. aku pindah dari bidan ke dokter.

I still remember the first thing the doctor said.
'they have separated bag, that is good. so we know they are not conjoined'
aku masih ingat hal pertama yang dikatakan dokter
'kantongnya terpisah, jadi kita bisa yakin mereka bukan kembar siam' 

so that's why it was bigger than my pregnancy of Ibit, at the same age. I was shocked. I wasn't ready. it took time for me to take the reality that I was having twin babies...
jadi itu sebabnya perutku lebih besar dari ketika hamil Ibit pada usia kehamilan yang sama. aku shock. butuh waktu untuk bisa menerima kenyataan, bahwa aku hamil bayi kembar...

***

this afternoon I went to Karyadi Hospital to see a set of conjoined twin - Sanaya and Isnaya. their parents are not my family. not my friend. I don't even know them. I just know them from the newspaper. but the news about them have pulled my sympathy. they are not rich family who can easily afford a surgery to separate the twin. 
siang ini aku ke Rumah Sakit Karyadi menjenguk sepasang bayi kembar siam, Sanaya dan Isnaya. orang tuanya bukan saudaraku. bukan temanku. kenal juga enggak. cuma tahu tentang mereka dari koran. tapi berita tentang mereka bikin aku trenyuh. mereka bukan keluarga mampu yang bisa dengan mudah membiayai operasi pemisahan bayi mereka.


the time I entered the gate my heart was beating faster. when I entered the building my eyes started watering. when I entered the room I found my self hard to breathe. but when I saw them I was so glad. the look beautiful and all right.
waktu masuk gerbang rumah sakit aku berdebar kencang. waktu masuk gedung matau mulai panas mau nangis. waktu masuk ruangan rasanya sesak napas. tapi ketika aku melihat mereka rasanya lega. mereka cantik dan baik-baik saja.

I wanted to hold and carry them but don't know how. so I just saw their mother change their diapers and carry them gently. I wanted to take a picture but it is not allowed. I had to see the PR to get a permission. but I don't think it is important. the most important thing is I know they are healthy and will be ready for surgery in a few months --- and live a normal life.
pengen nggendong, tapi bingung bagaimana caranya. jadi aku lihatin saja ibu mereka mengganti popok dan menggendong. pengen moto tapi dilarang. boleh sih, tapi harus minta ijin bagian humas. ribet. ga penting. yang penting aku tahu bahwa mereka sehat dan akan siap untuk dioperasi dalam beberapa bulan --- lalu menjalani hidup dengan normal.










Hosted by Cecily and Lolli


(I grabbed the picture of Sanaya and Isnaya from this web)

the partner

I guess they will always be partners in any thing.

they play games and swipe level by level, together. I notice that if they play alone won't be as good as if they play together (as one). Ar is great in controling the mouse, Ir is wonderful in strategi.

I often hear Ar shouts calling Ir to join him. and I hear how Ir directs Ar to shoot now or wait until the enemy move there, or shoot from up here or go behind the big spaceship.

and I hear, a lot, how the yell a hooray together each time they succeed a level.

I hope they can be partners in passing the levels of life, as well.

then and now

this was Ai' when he was 2 weeks old

can you recognize him now?

Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

the sick

alhamdulillah, thank God he's home.
since last tuesday, Ar got a fever. his body is warm to hot, it was 39 Celsius degree. we've seen a doctor, he said Ar might got a laryngitis. but if his temperature didn't go lower in four days, Ar would need a blood test.
Friday afternoon, his temperature was 37. it's low, it's normal. I felt good. but in the evening the temperature rose again. at 20.00 pm it reached 39,4. we bought him to hospital right away.
we hadn't known the blood test results yet, but the doctor suggested Ar to stay for the fever has occurred for four days.we didn't like it, but thought it was the best to do.


I can't stand watching babies in infusions. the lab test results said it was typhus and dengue fever. two weakening illness at the same time must be so hard for a 7 year old boy. he couldn't do nothing but lying on bed. he wouldn't speak. he couldn't even smile.



Ar is a computer boy. Dan brought him a laptop to cheer him up, but he was too weak to sit up in front of it.




day four Ar got better and felt strong enough to take a walk. we went to the balcony and viewed the city. we could see Dan's office which stands next to a mall.
"when I went home, I want to go to that mall next to Bapak's office" Ar said.
so Wednesday afternoon was the time, he was allowed to go home. he could finally smile, he even had his lunch by himself. it feels like going out of jail...
Ar is still weak and need some rest. but thank God he's over with the fever


Hosted by Lisa and Cecily

wish me a happy birthday and more...

... coz I don't want to be happy on my birthday, but then sad tomorrow and the next days...



GOD, I don't want a lot for my birthday. YOU've given me more than I've ever asked for, and I am always grateful for that.
but... may be YOU can have some one to send me a Blackberry...




Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

a common thing become less special

this a text of one macapat song (Javanese traditional singing) in a contest Ibit joined. Ibit has been sent to join Macapat Contest for the last three years, in two different cathegories. during that time, she always took #1 place in Kecamatan level. means she was then sent to Kabupaten, but the best result was #3 place in this level.
ini teks salah satu lomba macapat yang diikuti Ibit. Ibit sudah tiga tahun belakangan ini ikut lomba macapat, dua kategori setiap tahunnya. selama itu, dia selalu berhasil jadi juara 1 di tingkat kecamatan. artinya setelah itu dia maju ke tingkat kabupaten, tapi hasil terbaik di tingkat ini baru juara 3

couple days ago, she was again sent to join the same contest. Ar and Ir were trained to follow Ibit but seemed they were still not ready for a competition.
after the contest, I asked her how did she do it.
she said, 'hh... just like usually. I took first place'
and she said that with plain face, like being #1 is not special. later, in the evening, Dan called from office. Ibit talked to him, I didn't. after hanging the phone Ibit asked me, 'why Bapak didn't ask me the results of the contest?'
'why, do you think?'
'I think he already knew what I got'
beberapa hari yang lalu Ibit ikut lomba lagi. Ar dan Ir juga dilatih untuk ikut lomba yang sama, tapi sepertinya belum siap.
seusai lomba, aku tanya bagaimana hasilnya.
dengan wajah datar dia menjawab, 'biasa... juara satu,' seolah juara satu itu biasa aja. sorenya, Dan menelpon dari kantor. Ibit yang bicara dengannya, aku ngga tahu ngobrolin apa. setelah menutup telponnya, Ibit bertanya padaku, 'kenapa Bapak ngga nanyain hasil lombaku?'
'menurutmu kenapa?'
'kayanya Bapak udah bisa nebak hasilnya'

may be. well may be not. I thought Dan was too busy with work and forgot to ask about that. but the fact that Ibit thought so, showed how a success she made has become a common thing - and not special. I don't know it is sad or what. I just think shes starting getting bored with the same contest.
mungkin. mungkin juga tidak. kupikir Dan terlalu sibuk dengan kerjaan dan lupa untuk bertanya soal itu. tapi kenyataan bahwa Ibit berpikir begitu, menunjukkan bahwa keberhasilan yang dia capai sudah menjadi sesuatu yang biasa, tidak istimewa. aku tidak tahu itu menyedihkan atau bagaimana. tapi kelihatannya dia sudah mulai bosan ikut lomba yang sama.

really, I wonder why. whenever there is any activity in school, as long it is about singing, it was always Ibit to be sent. any kind of singing contest, and singing performance. name it: pop singing, macapat, rebana, band. it has been going since her first year. she enjoyed them first, but I think she is tired now, or bored. beside, aren't there any other student to participate? I believe there are some students want to have the same chance. I'm afraid that the teachers only think about results, and abandon a possibility this could lead to jealousy.
aku juga heran. setiap kali ada kegiatan di sekolah yang berhubungan dengan menyanyi, selalu Ibit yang dikirim. sebut saja: menyanyi pop, macapat, rebana, band. sejak kelas satu lho. awalnya dia menikmati, tapi sepertinya sekarang mulai capek, atau bosan. lagi pula, apa tidak ada anak lain? aku yakin pasti ada murid lain yang ingin juga ikut berpartisipasi. takutnya guru guru hanya memikirkan hasil lomba, dan mengesampingkan kemungkinan bahwa hal ini bisa menimbulkan kecemburuan.

well, this year will be the last year for her to still be able to do those activities. I'll just let her do it if she likes, or quit if she wants to. I just don't want some thing fun turn into some thing sucks.
well, ini tahun terakhir buat Ibit untuk bisa mengikuti kegiatan kegiatan tersebut. aku biarkan saja kalau dia masih ingin ikut, atau berhenti kalau mau. aku cuma tidak mau kalau hal yang menyenangkan menjadi memuakkan.


Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

3D and coolness

you need to be cool...
harus keren



to be able to enjoy a 3D movie
kalau mau nonton film 3D



like what we watched last night: DESPICABLE ME
the children loved it, and so did every one...
seperti yang kita tonton semalam: DESPICABLE ME
anak-anak senang, semua senang...

Hosted by Cecily and Momma

big one little one

I and my sister in law Lin, had babies in only 18 days apart. mine, Ai, was born 2,5 kgs while Lin's baby Nara was 2,8.
aku dan iparku Lin punya bayi hanya selisih 18 hari. bayiku, Ai', terlahir 2,5kg sedangkan bayi Liln, Nara 2,8.
this week I visit my parents and have a chance to spend some time with them, as my kids are having long holiday and I am still off from work..
minggu ini aku mengunjungi orang tuaku dan berkesempatan menghabiskan waktu bersama mereka, mumpung anak-anak lagi liburan sekolah dan aku juga masih cuti.



now look at them, Nara 6weeks and Ai' 4weeks. Nara has grown up to 6kgs while Ai' is now 3,5kgs. funny to see how two babies in an (almost) same age are being in so different sizes. I'm so jealous about Nara's progress in gaining weight. well, Ai' has reached the standard weight at least. but still he looks so tiny beside Nara!
lihat deh, Nara 6minggu dan Ai' 4minggu. Nara sudah 6kg dan Ai' sekarang 3,5kg. lucu rasanya melihat bayi yang seumuran tapi ukurannya beda banget. aku iri dengan penambahan berat badan Nara. lumayan sih, Ai' sudah mencapai berat badan standar. tapi tetep aja keliatan kecil banget kalau dijejerin Nara!


Hosted by Cecily

the brothers

Ar Ir were just woke up from their afternoon nap and walked into my room. baby Ai' was just finished taking bath.
Ar Ir baru bangun tidur siang dan masuk ke kamarku. Ai' baru saja selesai mandi



what do you think those big brothers were thinking?
apa ya, yang sedang dipikirkan kakak-kakak itu?

Hosted by Cecily and Lisa