This year, we decided to spend the whole holidays in one place rather than 2-3 days in either kampung like we did in previous years. meaning, next year, insyallah, we'll just stay in JB for the rest of the cuti raya. it's better that way, less tiring, less time with a cranky toddler in the car, less spending on traveling and more time with our respective families.
Arwen had a fever just 2 days before raya and i had to take leave on Wednesday to keep an eye on her. i don't understand why that whenever Arwen's down with fever, her temperature shoots really high up to 39 degrees or more. but despite that, the show must go on and Ayis had planned to leave KL at 3 am Thursday morning so that we can avoid the traffic. so we woke up and got ready and by 3.30 am, we started our journey.
little did we know that everybody who was traveling to the east coast thought the same thing Ayis did. we got stuck in a really long traffic jam that started at the beginning of the Genting Sempah tunnel up to the Karak toll. i was silently snickering in the backseat about how wrong Ayis was. luckily, Arwen was still drowsy on her fever meds so she basically slept the whole way.
we reached Pekan around 7-ish and since Arwen was still asleep, i didn't want to carry her inside and risk waking her up so she and i continued our sleep in the car till about 8.30. she woke up with the crow of the rooster next door and immediately asked for chicken with rice and kicap. the other families start to roll in one by one as the day progressed and just before buka, there was almost a hundred people in the house. ok, fine, i was exaggerating. maybe not. i didn't really count.
Arwen was super clingy with me this raya. Maybe it's because she's not feeling well. or maybe she thinks that she can get attention from me alone despite the hundred of people in the house. or maybe she's being the typical diva that she is. she was whiny and cried a lot and asked to be carried almost all the time, even in her sleep. i did my best to be patient with her but i'm not known for my patience. i don't know how many times I've scolded, pinched and pushed her away. seriously, i can't even go to the toilet without her nagging to follow me.
Raya morning started with getting Arwen ready. the husband was okay on his own as i've readied his clothes the night before so he can manage everything else. After Ayis came home from the Raya prayers along with the other men, he took Arwen while i got ready.
My baju was a last minute purchase i got the Sunday before Raya at Ampang Park. Since i didnt get my salary yet at that time, my budget was small and i can only afford to buy just one pair. finally i resorted to a cream coloured jubah-esque maxi dress that i can probably wear to death when i get pregnant again. but the jubah came with a white long sleeved cotton maxi inner that made me look fatter and frumpier than i already am. so i got home and tried on white pants and a tube top underneath and still didn't like the silhouette. and then i thought of the inner of my nikah dress and decided to try it. and by jem and the holograms and all the cartoons from that glorious era, it still fits me nicely and most importantly - i could breathe in it. i was jumping up and down in front of my husband and my 2-year old in that very dress just because it still fits me. Ayis decided to also wear his baju nikah. our colour scheme was decided around Arwen's yellow-green-cream colour cotton baju kurung that my parents got her last year but was too big for her then.
by the time i finished dolling up, Arwen was asleep on her dad's shoulders and we got her to lie down. as we're busy salam-salam raya with everyone, she woke up in a panic because there were too many people and she couldnt find me even though i was just there holding her hands. and she continued crying and was in the state of confusion for the rest of the commotion right up till the family portrait sessions. it was only the third day of Raya that we left home to beraya in Kuantan at some of Ayis' aunt's. we even took the opportunity to take Arwen to the beach later in the day. i guess the beach will be a routine everytime we go back to Pekan and Kuantan, not that i mind because Arwen loves the beach.
i had a really tiring raya even though i didn't help around the kitchen or the house. all i had to do was take care of Arwen and she's already enough to get me all wound up and flat out with all her demands and divaness. i wish she'd play around more with the other kids, and be friendlier with the others but i understand, she was not well (seriously not well as she was even talking about eating udang and burger in her sleep. she even crawled/rolled in her sleep about 10 feet away one night to hijack
Shiya's blanket) and even if she wasn't sick, she's like velcro with me. it was only towards the last days in Pekan that she showed her true warm and jovial mood and let people in. maybe because there weren't as many people as before? or maybe coz there weren't as many kids and noise as before that she felt a bit more relaxed? and thank god, i had the right mind to download all the sesame street i could find on the internet before we left because that reserved my sanity a bit knowing that i could use the Power of Elmo to get her to calm and quite down. and not only that, the Power of Elmo even works on other kids, so i managed to get them to sit and be quiet even it was just a few minutes.
some of the highlights of Arwen this raya in point-form :
- Arwen ate some petai and she likes it. Amazing huh? (but her farts and poop later, not so amazing)
- Everyone now speaks her language : some of the words i heard rolling in conversations include "Bolaball" "Nak Etung (nak dukung)" "bayu petai (bau petai)" and "Odang!"
- She loves getting to know the family. every time she forgets a name, she'll point her finger to that person and asks me "Mamma, apa tu?"
- She enjoys singing and monologues to herself. I caught her her 'conversation' once "Mak Jah, Mak Jah, buat apa tu? Ohhh. Basuh baju je.." she probably heard it from a commercial or something, i don't know.
- She wants to eat everything with kicap. even frogs.
- Her vocab is getting pretty impressive and even my mom was amazed to hear her talk clearly and distinctly with less pelat than she heard a week before.
Introducing my in-laws :
Arwen, still asleep. this was the calm before the storm.
Kak Long's (Ayis' eldest cousin) children.
with Ayis' siblings and parents. From left : Me, Ayis and Arwen; Mom in law; Nisha (Ayis' youngest sister; Dad in law with Ilya (Ayis' first niece); Zamree (Ayis' brother in law) with his second daughter Dina; Intan (Ayis' sister) with her 3yo son, Irfan); Uji (Ayis' eldest brother)
Ayis with his siblings and cousins, Farahani & Azrul
The clan. Well, half of it at least. I think we're still missing about 40+ family members.
