What I learn from 'Sabarlah hati...'

Mind map in iPad. I didnt know how to export it here... hahaha....

I have forgotten the turmoil that we (my husband and I) faced before our akad nikah. It was not always easy to make the relationship pure and clean. It was a constant fight with the syaitan and of course, the confusing desire that comes hand in hand when you think you love someone. 

But, you need to learn to say NO to syaitan.. you need to enrich your vocabulary with istighfar, you need to say 'Whatever!' to the lust within you..

'What ever, syaitan! Go find someone else to pester with!'

The forum that I participated with Imam Muda Fattah and Mr Azman had refreshed my memories on how I overcame that hurdle, how did we teach ourselves to stay in Allah's path, how to tell ourselves 'Sabarlah hati...' (be patient, dear heart..). I remembered yet again the taaruf session we've attended (as I've shared in Mission Impossible 3, 2 and 1) and the invaluable questions asked.

~~~ Selingan lagu dulu... Maaf Tuk Berpisah by Tashiru.. (dont forget to push the 'pause' button on the iphone down there! Sorry-morry!)

I applaud the organiser, Kelab Amatur Intelektual (KAI) 11/12 for creating this platform to teach these young hearts about the value of love.. the REAL value of it and how to manage it.

Here were some of the points being discussed - my 20cents worth of thoughts..

Please use magnifying lenses! =D

May Allah teaches the young hearts to remain calm and patient.
May Allah gives them ilham that being in ♥ after marriage is more cool and blessed.
May Allah bestows them strength to overcome the desire and syaitan.
Aamin ya Rabbal 'Alamin..


Wallahu'alam..

What I learn from 'the merit stickers'

I first started using stickers during my teaching days in Al Hidayah Islamic School, Bentley, Perth, Australia. I wanted to motivate the Year 3 children to do well, and to do better than they always do. 

Those days were gone, but now I have a group of more crucial students. My children.

Sticker books bought by Kak Ti @ Red Dot Perth.

An example of how I use the sticker (in Bacalah Anakku Book, as they completed them).

For Al Fateh, it is a reward for him to do a single activity seriously, neatly and cautiously. At times, he can be too relaxed with his homework or other academic activities. Telling him that a sticker will be awarded to him if he does well, voila! He suddenly switches his character and become a more diligent boy. No joke!

For Alwani, it is an incentive for her to read, and not to get flustered easily. This simple tiny stickers can actually help me to get a little more cooperation from my young student.

In addition, I started giving Alwani stickers when she was four for behaving well, and for helping me out with little chores... nowadays, since it had became a routine to her, no stickers were needed, and the good behaviour and deeds that she learned earlier 'stick'ed till now (and in the future, insha Allah). Alhamdulillah.

What I learned from using these merit stickers together with a reward chart;

1. They are powerful tools to

• encourage behaviour you want, such as read a book/page a day,
• discourage behaviour you don’t want, such as not sharing or shouting
• reward your child for practising new skills, such as placing the cups in the sink after drinking or putting all the toys in a box when asked and even to eat veggies!

2.  It's a wonderful practice for parents to catch our child being good (as oppose to shout when they misbehave!). It’s a good idea to reward the behaviour as soon as we see it – since our child might lose motivation if his/her efforts aren’t being noticed.

3.   My children engage more readily if they helped choosing their final reward – Magnum/Slurpee treat, playing with sand at the beach, fried chooks for dinner... (my kids are easy to please!!)

A beach outing after house cleaning and group car wash!

Please share your experience in the comment box, too!

p/s Thanks kak Ti for buying my sticker top-ups in Perth. It's pretty hard to find them here! Cheap ones, I mean ;D

What I learn from 'being a convert'.

Yes, I converted.

When my husband was brainstorming on his book, Ketika Alam Bertasbih,  one of the concerns was regarding the health of the environment. My kids and I are among the contributors of the waste which takes a long time to perish... dirty diapers.

Doing a short and simple research on the net, I discovered that cloth diapers (CD) are now so trendy and affordable. No more safety pins and plain white muslins! And so, I converted from disposable diapers (DD) to CDs.

Why?

CDs are cheaper than DDs. My rule of thumb, if things can be reuse, it must be cheaper. Dont you think so? I remembered spending RM30 (minimum) fortnightly for 30 months for Al Fateh and Alwani buying DDs, which comes to nearly spending RM2K on rubbish (well, at the end of the day, we're going to chuck them in the bin, isn't it?)

Now, just imagine having three kids using DDs at one time like me, at this moment! At least RM300/month will be spent on DDs. It's a blessing that Allah gave me the idea to convert! Alhamdulillah!

Yusuf and his CDs

CDs are healthier than DDs. CDs are free of the many chemicals contained in disposable diapers. Dioxin, which in various forms has been shown to cause cancer, birth defects, liver damage, skin diseases, and genetic damage, is a by-product of the paper-bleaching process used in manufacturing disposable diapers. 

CDs - showing that we care for the environment. It's rough in Terengganu where the rubbish collection system is far from advanced. We need to 'carry' our rubbish to the big communal bins on the main road. No, we dont have private black thrash bin in front of our houses. 

So, just imagine having big heavy loads of DDs before departing to the communal bins - the smell, the bulk. Then, just by sitting our air conditioned car, we can smell the stench of the bins as we pass them. Now, imagine having 1000 times greater amount of stenched DDs and other rubbish on the landfill. Astaghfirullah. This is one of the reasons why I converted, it's my small contribution to the world. 

CDs are fancier - they are soft, comfortable and have many wonderful prints (and the price ranges from RM15 to RM100 each!). Yes, I agree that I have a bit more laundry to do then  before, but hey, I enjoy long showers. It's therapeutic! =D

Fawwaz, wearing the same nappy as Yusuf. Credit to Shafis for the photo!