No home without good meals: Salmon soup, Baked omelet, Meat in sauce ala Padang

Each of us in the family has different ideas about tasty food.

My husband cannot consider a meal with minimal herbs and spices as appetizing. On the contrary, Ninta enjoys simple but healthy menu very much. Sweet and non-rice meals are more Aqmal's favorites, meanwhile Rania has become a picky eater lately and caused me slight headaches. That makes me the only one in the family who eat everything.

It's especially hard to satisfy everybody during ramadhan (the fasting month). After 12-14 hours of fasting, you want something that tastes perfect in your mouth, not just an ordinary meal.

I've selected three easy-to-make main dishes for a day:

This Salmon soup is for Ninta (and Rania as well):

Ingredients: salmon fillet, 5 pieces of lemongrass, 5 or more lime leaves (tear them up), salt, 1 teaspoon of sesame oil.

How to make:

• boil water in a pan
• Add lemongrass and lime leaves. Keep the water boiled for another 2-3 minutes
• Add fish, salt and sesame oil
• Serve it with warm rice.

Can other types of fish be used for this recipe? I don't think so. Salmon has unique meat texture: very tender so that you can feel it melts on your tongue. Other fish requires stronger mixture of herbs.

For Aqmal: Baked omelet


Ingredients: 6-7 eggs, 250ml plain milk, 5 slices of white bread, 2 tbs sugar, 2 tbs strawberry jam, 100 ml strawberry milk

How to make:

• mix white egg until stiff
• using a mixer blend yellow egg with sugar, then add milk
• cut bread into small cubes
• combine the above ingredients in a shallow pan, then bake in the oven
• strawberry sauce: heat strawberry jam and strawberry milk over low heat until smooth
  
• Pour the sauce over the omelet.

For my husband: daging saus padang (meat in sauce ala Padang) :


Ingredients: 250 gr of sliced meat, 8 pieces of shallot, 4 pieces of garlic, 1 - 2 tbs chili paste (cabe giling), a small portion of ginger, salt, a small portion of tamarind, 2 cups of water and 1 cup of light coconut milk.

How to make:

• mince shallot, garlic and ginger, then saute them.
  
• add water and let it boil
• add meat, chili paste, tamarind, and salt
• cook the meat until it becomes tender
• add water if necessary
• add coconut milk at the very last step of cooking and let it boil
  
• serve meat with warm rice
  

Home learning: Alphabets and numbers

Young children around me whom I know quite well, learn the alphabets and numbers without difficulty. The little girl, who lives across from our house, managed to recognize letters from A to Z while she was still two years old. So did Rania. Special thanks to Ayuta (my nephew).

We inherited a little desk from Ayuta. It has been in our house for 15 years now. Ninta was the first one who inherited it, then we passed it on to Aqmal, and to Rania subsequently.

What's so special about the desk? It's the list of alphabets and numbers on its top surface.

When Rania was about two years old, she always wanted to climb up the desk. Her little fingers would point to each of the characters, then she asked me to spell them. She would do it again and again every day.
A few days later, I tested her. I spelled an alphabet or a number first then asked her to show me which one it was. She passed!!!

Two years afterward, Rania still loves her desk though she never climbs it up anymore. She sits on a chair nicely. I often sit next to her and use the desk together to do our home learning activities:

We color, draw, play, paste stickers or read...

Preserving our culture: I love Indonesian Products

I love Indonesian products (=Aku cinta buatan Indonesia) and I'm serious!!!

.

I always prefer local brands. I still wear imported shoes though, and have an explanation for it.

I only have some locally made sandals, a pair of locally made jogging-shoes and four pairs of high-heel-shoes from a European brand. Two pairs of the high-heel-shoes were bought 10 years ago. The third pair was a gift from my mother in law when she travelled to Singapore five years ago. The fourth pair was bought by my husband a few months ago. You can now see that I'm not a shoe collector. I choose that specific european brand because of it amazing durability, nothing else.

I've seen many people around me showing off their belongings which are imported from abroad: handbags, cosmetics, clothes, furniture, etc. Those imported things are, off course, look very nice and make people, who wear them, look splendid too.

What's wrong with Indonesian products? Many people would say that their quality are not as good as imported ones. I don't agree. In my opinion, those people are just not searching hard enough. I've found excellent and locally made handbags, cosmetics, clothes, furniture, jewelry, various kind of fruit even food supplement and one of my favorite places to shop is UKM Gallery: Preserving the Indonesian Heritage.

April 24th 2009 was Aqmal's 9th birthday. We did not have a birthday cake. Why? It's because of the fact that Indonesia has to import flour continually in order to meet increasing demand on cakes, bread and noodles year to year. What's the alternative? Rice is the best answer, because Indonesia has a surplus in rice production and the government is proudly announcing the we are exporting rice starting this year.

That day, we had a set of traditional meals : a lovely arrangement of nasi kuning (rice cooked with turmeric). As shown in the photo, it consisted of: nasi kuning (for 4-5 servings), gule ayam (chicken curry), empal daging (spiced and fried beef), sate udang bakar (shrimp barbeque), sate daging (beef barbeque), urap (vegetable sprinkled with spiced shredded coconut flesh), thin slices of telur dadar (egg), sambal goreng kentang dan hati (chicken liver and potato in chili gravy), perkedel (fried potato cake), sambal (chili sauce), kerupuk (crackers) and goreng kentang kering (spiced and fried potato). Hhmmm!!!

.

I attended another birthday invitation earlier this year. Mrs Mien Soedarpo celebrated her 85th birthday and held a party for relatives and close friend in her house in Jl. Pegangsaan, Jakarta. Besides lunch, guests also enjoyed an exhibition of:

1. Mrs Soedarpo's old collection of batik

2. Her kain songket collection. 3. Paintings and photos of her families

4. Her wedding bed (in Padang style) which has surprisingly been well preserved for so many years.

All showed her great efforts on preserving our culture. I love Indonesian products!!!

Parenting toddler: Tantrum 2

Real life parenting is also about dealing with tantrum. How to avoid young children from developing tantrum?

I have some tips based on personal experiences:

1. Spend much time with your children in order to develop a close attachment with them.
2. Do always speak softly and show attention to them. Never ignore your children.
3. Follow what the children like if necessary. Once, we bought a pair of blue jean trousers for our three year old daughter. She loved it very much and insisted to wear it all the time. One day, she cried out endlessly for hours as she found out that the trousers were being washed. Therefore we bought some more trousers, exactly the same model.
4. However there are also limits. We may not always fulfill what the children want. Communicate well and make plans with them. We might tell them that they could buy another new toy not today, but next month, cause we have to save up some money first.
5. Be creative! Young children always need something fun to play with. Get ideas to entertain them. Try the internet, books and everything else.

Another blog award

Thank you very much Budhe and mbak Fitra for this charming award. The award is being distributed among bloggers with an aim to encourage reading routine in our daily lives.

Ini PR/pertanyaannya :
1. seberapa sering anda membaca?
Reading is one of my hobbies. I read books and spend time to read informative websites every day
2. apa pentingnya membaca menurut anda?
Reading is a very important activity for everybody. It makes people smart.
3. seberapa besar pengaruh membaca buat anda?
I can't live without reading.
4. seberapa luas anda menyebarkan kebiasaan membaca?
I'm making sure that all my children also love to read and let my friends know which books are good for them to read as well.

Parenting toddlers: Home learning

There are two kindergartens not far from my house. The nearest one is right around the corner of the street and the other one is located on the main street. I checked them out a few days ago, as Rania will turn 4 this coming June.

.

The nearest kindergarten, Al Kautsar, is an Islamic school as shown by its name. It is extremely affordable. To enter the school you only need to pay levy fee Rp750.000 and monthly tuition fee Rp70.000 (USD1=Rp11.000). What I like from this school is, despite its modest and crowded building, it allocates much time for the pupils to recite Al Quran.

The other school, Rising Star, is a much bigger, serene and sparkling building, complete with indoor as well as outdoor playing grounds, a swimming pool and a performing stage. The teachers teach in Bahasa Indonesia and provide an English lesson for 45 minutes every day, but unfortunately there's no Al Quran lessons. To enter this school you must pay levy fee Rp5.000.000 and monthly tuition fee Rp550.000.

So which school do my husband and myself choose for Rania? None.

I've enlisted lessons that preschollers usually follow in kindergartens and decided to teach Rania my self at home. Those lessons are (please remind me if I miss out anything!):

1. drawing : mountains, trees, animals, people, fruits, cars...
2. coloring
3. singing
4. dancing
5. learning : alphabets, basic shapes (round, triangle, square, rectangle), small numbers, antonyms, our body parts and organs...
6. Tracing aphabets and numbers
7. Physical education
8. Playing various toys
9. English language
10. Reciting short surah of the Al Quran
11. Socializing (thank you mbak Maya for reminding me about this most important subject!)

I've de-cluttered the children's book shelves and put aside the ones needed for Rania. To make it easier on me, Ninta is also willing to do a part of the teaching job: English lesson, which is her favorite subject at school.

Let's get started!

Another blog award

I would like to thank my two new friends for these two lovely awards: mbak Lala and mbak Maya.

Saya masih punya PR mengirim 2 award tersebut ke teman blogger lain, harus mikir dulu beberapa malam nih...sabar yah.

Tugas untuk yang nanti dikasih awards adalah:

1. Pasang logonya di postinganmu. Jangan lupa link ke pemberi award ini.
2. Berikan lagi kepada sepuluh blogger lain (ada syarat tambahan untuk yang triple award, yaitu “who has great attitude and gratitude”).
3. Pasang link ke para penerima award.
4. Tinggalkan komentar untuk mereka.
   
   

Supporting the community, Parenting young children: Respect other people's lives, dignity and belongings

Aqmal always gave me his disagreeable look every time I gently asked him to stop doing certain things…things that young children else where also do when they gather and play together.

.

I, of course, felt unhappy seeing that look on his face, nevertheless I still had to keep reminding him. Until that morning…

That morning was as hectic as usual. Aqmal was putting on his socks in a rush and focusing his attention on his milk which was still untouched on the dining table. His school bus would arrive at any minute and I wouldn’t let him go without drinking the milk. Then I stood in front of him and said firmly: “Aqmal stop doing it!”. He was so busy that he didn't respond by giving that nasty expression. Only, his eyes stared sharply at me. I knew that he paid attention to what I said to him very well.

What did I forbid him to do? Quite many actually, but that morning I especially told him not to make fun of his friends’ names.

The other day, one of Aqmal's school friends called him "Aqmal Dilviandrot", instead of his proper name "Aqmal Dilviandri". Aqmal responded by doing the same thing to that boy and also to another boy. Making fun of a friend’s name may sound trivial to some people, but I don't think so. To me, a person's name is a part of his dignity.

I want my children to be able to cherish three things from other people :

1. Their lives
2. Their dignity
3. Their belongings

We all saw the Palestine vs Israel war that went on for about three weeks rom December 2008 until early January 2009 on TV news day and night. About 1.300 people died including civilians and young children. Many more were wounded. What about their belongings? Their houses? Their schools and everything else? So much destruction!

I hope that my children could contribute something for our community and the world as well in order to be a much more peaceful place in the future.

Developing spiritual life, Children's future, Parenting children: What's your life mission?

All cells in our body undergo biological aging process at different rates and - in the end - death is inevitable. Our life spans have limits. The connection between telomerase shortening mechanism, aging process and lifespan limits has been uncovered. Death is not that mysterious anymore.

There are many spiritual books which also tell us that every human being has his own mission in this world. Once the ultimate mission is accomplished, than that person’s life is getting near its end too. That’s why I have to identify my own mission.

Because of the simple life I have now, my most crucial goal is clearer. I have three children to raise and guide to their own future.

Therefore, I’ve set my own lifespan: till the age of 65. That’s plan A and I also have plan B in case my above mission is not accurate and I die sooner.

I picture my three children by the time I reach 65 years old as follows:

1. Ninta (at the age of 35) will most probably already be a wife and working mother
2. Aqmal (30 years old) will already have his own life and career
3. Rania will just have graduated from university and she's my final mission.

That's it. Plan A is not a secret. Ninta and Aqmal know it. They have to understand facts about life and death and I want them to be able to step by step identify their life missions too.

What is plan B?
This blog is a part of it. I've told Ninta to refer to this blog whenever she has a problem in her future life. I hope she will advise Aqmal and Rania the same thing when they have grown bigger.

I use a different approach for Aqmal as he is now still very young. I sometimes talk about dying to him if I fall sick.I rarely become very ill though.
That time in December 2008, Rania had been sick for more than a week and I became sick too, most probably due to lacking of sleep. I had high fever. How did I feel? Did I feel miserable? No, I enjoyed my condition. It's the perfect time to give my son a lesson.
.
Aqmal was playing a computer game. I lied down on the bed next to him.
I said : "Aqmal...I'm sick...very sick..."
Aqmal: "Hmmm..."
I replied: "Mal...I think I'm dying..."
Aqmal: "Hmmm..."
I replied: "I'm dying..."
Aqmal: "No, you're not dying...you're just sick, but you're fine..."
I replied: "I'm dying..."
Aqmal: "But you said you'd die at 60's"
I replied: "I'm dying now...Please promise me that you'll take care of Rania and not make her cry anymore..."
Aqmal: "Hmmm..."
I replied: "Aqmal...I'm dying...Will you take care of Rania, if I'm not around?"
Aqmal (finally): "Yap..."

.

The high fever lasted for three days and gave me a change to repeat the same dialogues with Aqmal for several times. I needed to make sure that he got my message. I wanted him to be a good brother for Rania...in case I die young...!

Count your blessing: I'm thankful to the children

Happy holidays!!!

I'm thankful to the children for giving me good news to start the holiday:

• Aqmal (as always) comes out as the best student among all third graders in his school.
• Ninta passes the written test and is now preparing for an interview in order to win a full scholarship offered by one of the most prestigious and expensive Senior High Schools in Jakarta. She expresses her gratitude by performing a prayer, then bowing down at my feet. I whisper at her ear: "Ahli surga (=the heir of heaven)".

We're not planning to go anywhere.

Ninta has just bought three novels: Twilight, Eragon and Eldest. She is all over the idea of making a restful and unruffled holiday.

Aqmal has been asking to have a new collection of computer games and films. This holiday is the perfect time to fulfil it.

I have new year resolution too. I'm going to have a more harmonious life in 2009 and have figured out four things to do:

1. Avoid consumptive life. No more overcrowded malls and fashion magazines. I know exactly what I need and where to buy it. I may need new shoes, handbags or clothes once in a while, but I'll stick to my schedule: one set of new cloth a year, a new pair of shoes and a new handbag every two or more years. No need to follow latest fashion. My choice is always simple and classic.
2. Avoid complications. It's nothing wrong if I decide to avoid complicated people. Those complicated people are the kind of people who get upset easily or are overloaded with something (problems, chores or debts) . As a result, they will create awkward relationships. I would only pray for their happiness from now on.
3. Start thinking about a project that I can take on in order to help neighboors cope with the economic crisis.
4. Have a wider circle of friends who also have simple but meaningful lives.

Wishing you all the joy of the holiday season!

Take back your life. Our program shows you how!

Children's future, Parenting teenagers: Ninta does only three things - eat, sleep and study -

The best seller "Laskar Pelangi" (laskar=soldier, pelangi=rainbow) is one of my favorite novels. It's non-fiction, full with humor and adventures, shows good moral lessons as well as interesting detailed description of Melayu (=Malay) traditions. As widely known, parenting children could often be a stressful job too, so I need to read good novels like this one to keep my mental healthy. I need inspirations. I need to laugh.
.
The other day, Ninta was reading a novel as well. However it's a wrong book at a wrong time.
.
I encourage my children to read books. We have many novels, all kind of books, also children story books in English as well as Indonesian. All are good books. The one that Ninta was reading, borrowed from her class mate, did not fall into those category. The timing wasn't right either.
.
"Focus on your study," that's what I told Ninta two weeks ago as she had just recovered from a terrible flu and had limited time to prepare for extremely important things:

1. Her school semester exam
2. Another test to get a full scholarship offered by one of the most prestigious and expensive private schools in Jakarta

I told her to study thoroughly, sleep whenever she needed to rest, and don't do anything else besides those two activities. I cooked special menu for her healthiness, and told her to focus on her study over and over again. It's only for two weeks after all.

The novel she was reading for two hours was an Indonesian novel about love. I felt betrayed. Was I too hard on my daughter? Certainly not. I became this fussy just recently.

"Lintang hanya dapat belajar setelah agak larut karena rumahnya gaduh, sulit menemukan tempat kosong, dan karena harus berebut lampu minyak. Namun sekali ia memegang buku, terbanglah ia meninggalkan gubuk. Belajar adalah hiburan yang membuatnya lupa pada seluruh penat dan kesulitan hidup" (from the novel Laskar Pelangi)

"Lintang could begin to study after a bit late at night. His home was noisy. It's difficult to find an empty space and have the candle lamp for him to study. However, once he held his book in his arms, his mind would fly away. Studying was his way to entertain himself, a way for him to forget all his weariness and burden in life." (from the novel Laskar Pelangi)

As opposed to Lintang, Ninta has all the convenience that she requires: AC, computer, internet connection, warm bed and good meals.

"Bukan baru sekali itu is dihadang buaya dalam perjalanan ke sekolah. Dapat dikatakan tak jarang Lintang mempertaruhkan nyawa demi menempuh pendidikan, namun tak sehari pun is pernah bolos. Delapan puluh kilometer pulang pergi ditempuhnya dengan sepeda setiap hari. Tak pernah mengeluh.....Jika tiba di rumah ia tak langsung beristirahat melainkan segera bergabung dengan anak-anak seusia di kampungnya untuk bekerja sebagai kuli kopra. Itulah penghasilan sampingan keluarganya." (from the novel Laskar Pelangi)

"It was not the only time a crocodile blocked his way to school. He often risked his life in order to have education. Nevertheless, he never skipped school. He went on bike from and to school, an eighty kilometer journey, every day. He never complained. Once he got home, he would not rest either. He joined other kids in the village to work in a coconut factory. His wages was his family's other income." (from the novel Laskar Pelangi)

My daughter has the luxury of doing three things only: study, eat and sleep.

Therefore, I said to Ninta:"I have to take your novel away. Get focused and study hard. The two week time will be over soon. You can enjoy doing whatever you wanna do afterwards."

Take back your life. Our program shows you how!

Indonesian Food: Pangek Gajeboh

"Paying attention to corporeal matters like eating, exercising, and sleep can help you be happier" (Gretchen Rubin).
.
Gretchen Rubin - a young woman, lawyer, writer, and currently working on the Happyness Project - lives in New York City.
My mother-in-law, an older generation, lives in Jakarta. She doesn't know her precise date of birth. Her parents wrote down all their seven children's dates of birth on a bedroom door. The door became old and then was removed. When the time came for my mother-in-law to produce an identity card later on, she had to pick a random date and so did all her sisters and brothers.
.
Gretchen Rubin and my mother-in-law don't know each other, but the two of them share the same principal: eating is an important element of a happy life.
.
My-mother-in law is an excellent cook and her big families enjoy her tasty food very much. She's originally from Padang Pariaman, a peaceful area that lies on the coastal side of West Sumatra (Minangkabau) Province. The later is very famous for its unique culture: matriarchal tradition, rumah gadang (rumah=house, gadang=big) and of course excellent cuisine.
.
There are at least five different meals that my mother-in-law prepares every day. Assisted by two maids, she could easily make fish, shrimp, meat, lamb, chicken, tofu (soya bean cake), tempe (another soya bean based meal) and every thing else into fabulous meals. Allmost all of them are cooked in Padang style: spicy, lots of herbs and often requires coconut milk.
The most adored one is of course rendang which is made of meat cuts cooked for several hours until the mixture of coconut milk, herbs, and spices become nearly dry and well blended with the meat. We need persistence, energy and extra time to make rendang.

..

What Padang food do I make for my husband? I prefer to make something simple and without coconut milk. Pangek gajeboh is the right choice.

I need two medium size tomatoes, four cloves of garlic, eight cloves of shallot, ginger and tumeric about the size of an adult's thumb each, and chili. If you want a more spicy taste, just add more chili. The original recipe also call for a piece of tumeric leave. Grind those ingredients, except tumeric leave and tomatoes,then saute them. Add tomatoes, tumeric leave, 500ml water, 500gr meat and salt. Cook until the meat becomes tender. It's just as simple as that.

I often omit tumeric leave because it's not always available in my kitchen, and prefer lean meat as opposed to sandung lamur (meat with more fat). Serve pangek gajeboh while it's still warm with white rice.

Count your blessing: A visit to the gold dome. How to make a family trip successful?

It was Sunday. We decided to take a trip to the beutiful Dian Almahri mosque in Cinere (Jakarta) and then have lunch somewhere else.

Dian Almahri mosque is the fourth mosque in the world that has gold dome. The other three mosques are:

1. Masjid Jame’ Asr atau Masjid Bandar Seri Begawan in Brunei, built around the year of 1980
2. Masjid Al-Askari in Samarra, Irak, built in 944 AD but was destroyed during the US troop invasion last February 2006.
3. Masjid Qubbah As Sakhrah / Dome of the Rock in Yerusalem, Palestine, built between 690-710 AD

It was the beginning of the rainy season. However, that day was hot. The mosque looked amazing and we were on time for zuhur prayer. We had to take our shoes off, so I carried Rania all the way from the mosque's terrace, through its collosal entrance hall, into the praying hall. The marble floors were really hot under bare feet. I also had two huge bags to carry. One was filled with our praying stuff, and the other one was the bag I bought recently. It's the latest fashion: big baggy handbag. People would think I was overwhelmed. I wasn't. The two bags were very light and Rania was laughing all the time.

It began to rain when we started a journey home through Bogor. It was fruit exhibitions all along the sides of Parung road. Manggoes, durians, jackfruits and pumpkins were being sold between 5,000 to 10,000 rupiahs per kg (USD1 = Rp11,000). The one thing we had not realized, was that the road was a very long one. We found ourselves craving for food.

Bogor has a lot of restaurants to offer, but 'Bogor Permai' has always been my husband's choice. Its calming atmosphere, paintings, familiar choices of food and snacks are unforgettable. Our late lunch was simple but satisfying.

Next, there was still a list of 5 items to buy for Ninta who prefered to stay home. We stopped at 'Hypermarket' in a shopping mall in Sentul. As we went into the building, the rain poured heavily. We decided to spend more time, visit various stores, while waiting for the rain to end.

.

Parenting tips on how to make a succesful family (including children) outing:

1. Make sure everybody is in good health and good mood before leaving the house.
2. Fill the journey with entertaining activities, especially for young children.
3. Plan your time: when to stop to have meals or go to the rest room.
4. Be relaxed. It's also very important to slow down if we go in a group. Take time to enjoy together the places we are visiting.
5. Drive safely and be back home satisfied!
6. Don't forget to make preparation ahead. Our above trip was a short one. It took only half a day, but I made some preparation too:

• Dian Almahri mosque is located in Cinere, a place where we seldom visit. Therefore I checked the route to get there. The easiest way to look for some information is on the internet.
  
• I asked Aqmal to read some information about the mosque on the internet too: its architecture, photos and locations of other gold dome mosques in the world, etc. We made a trip and broadened our knowledge at the same time.
  
• Young children always requires extra clothes, light snack and drink

Parenting children: I'm defensif about not sending Aqmal to kindergarten

Aqmal, my second child, approached someone and asked a question:"Do you know Mr. Iwan?"
Mr. Adhyaksa Daud (the Minister of Youth and Sports of Indonesia) answered:"Yes, what is your relationship with him?"
Aqmal answered:"He's my father".

The above conversation happened when Mr. Daud came to pick up his daughter, Fahira, a few days ago. Fahira is in the same class with Aqmal in grade 3. Mr Daud and my husband were also classmates while they were still in junior high school.

I didn't send Aqmal to kindergarten. Some friends told me that if Aqmal didn't attend kindergarten, he wouldn't have a chance to socialize with other children around his age and it might lead to a social interaction problem in the future.

I have my own reasons :

1. Some children are not easy to wake up early in the morning. I let little Aqmal sleep as long as he wanted. He would then wake up by himself happily, and was ready to explore another exciting day with me.
2. I never left him alone. We played toy cars, three wheeled bicycle and even barbie house collections. We cut and pasted pictures. He asked me to make drawings. We watched animations films together. I fed him while he played computer games.
3. I showed him the normal interactions between (adult) people. I took him to meet my friends. I brought him along to Ninta's school. We visited my parents, my parents in law and other relatives. I was invited to wedding parties, birthday parties, family gatherings and he came along with me.
4. I created warm and joyful atmosphere at home. Our home was never quiet even though there were only two adults (the maid and me) and two children (Aqmal and his elder sister) before my husband came home at night. Luckily, the maid was a type of person who loved being around young children. The maid and I often sat together on the floor to watch TV together while the children run and jumped around or lied down to rest on our legs.
5. I collect books including children's books and keep children toys properly. As we all know books and toys are good for stimulating young children's mind.

The above conversation between Mr. Daud and Aqmal was a proof that Aqmal is no different from other children. I'm also happy that I have lots of sweet memories about Aqmal's childhood, the ones I barely had with Ninta. I'm having another set of beautiful life episodes with Rania now. I will enjoy my time with her as much as possible and most likely not send her to kindergarten either.

Count your blessing: Having a new maid. What does a maid do at our home?

.

Finally I have someone suitable to help me with the housework.

Taking up the bulk of cooking, the daily care of the three children, the dirty clothes, the cleaning and other household chores were my typical frenzied days before the maid comes. It's all manual work: broom and wet-cloth for cleaning the floor, no washing machine (it's detergent, brush and my two hard-working hands) and everything else.

I tried my best to handle all. My strong feelings about having a spotless and clutter-free situation at home caused me to constantly think about the more efficient ways in getting all the work done. A maid is simply indispensable.

What does a maid do at our home?

1. She does the laundry. My husband wanted our kitchen to be equipped with a water purifier machine while most people around us prefer mineral water delivered regularly to their houses, but he never agrees on buying a washing machine. He may be right about it. A waching machine uses up more water than manual wash. The tropical sunshine is also terrific for drying wet clothes. This way, we've participated in energy conservation. What about the pile of laundry we have every day? I wash half of them while I take shower in the afternoon. It have become sort of a pleasing activity for me. My beautiful clothes (I wear muslim clothes and buy only one or two new carefully selected set/s a year), the children's after school clothes, rania's adorable clothes, pajamas are mine to wash. The maid does the rest.

2. She irons our clothes, because I never like ironing. I must admit that it is a very tough work. My eldest daughter re-irons her own dress whenever she has to go out too. If the maid takes a holiday, I just fold the clothes and let everybody, except Rania and Aqmal, iron his/her own clothes.

3. She sweeps and mops the floor every morning. I can't stand a single stain on the floor, but having perfect floor is impossible if we have a little child at home. Therefore I have to get involved again. I mop the floor here and there whereever blemishes appear.

4. She cooks vegetables. She makes sauted spinach, sauted kang kong, tofu soup, fried tempe, vegetable soup, potatoes with chili gravy (balado) for us. I prepare the meat, chicken, shrimp and fish. They may be grilled, sauted, steamed or deep fried. Good home made meals are always on top of the list.

5. She and I wash the dishes. We must share the work because dirty dishes almost never stop day and night. The children are always hungry.

6. She waters the plant in our tiny garden, one of my favorite places at home, in the morning. What is my contribution? I collect and turn kitchen waste into mulch, 100% organic, in order to have healthy soil. I exchange plants with my mother who also loves gardening. The colorful photos show some results of our team work.

I hope she enjoys working for my family.