Memories in Turkey 1: Busy bags & kids

Busy bags are a MUST for travelling

though yes, i still believe in connecting with your kid while travelling too

like in the hadith "ya ghulam"

but sometimes you want some alone time to chat or listen to a talk or whatever

so got to have your ammo :)

anyway

I think I prefer a mixture of loose items and pre-planned activities

i would say it has to be a trial and error effort

to know what your kids like

but ofcourse other "ammo" includes snacks and even sweets too

because it was vacation so i "amended" our weekend-dessert thing

(sweets and desserts are for weekends only)

but i stick to sweets during selected time only

like...desperate times, lol

and after meals (EXCEPT breakfast and dinner - ofcourse except i'm highly desperate)

so here are some pictures

i had in my busy bag:

small toy cars

paper clips (steel)

several sticker books

magnet bars

mini paper cups

play-doh

cut-up straws

and some other stuff i can't remember

never really played them on the plane since turkish airline has games (i stick to games instead of movies for the kids but i realized some has good animal documentaries)

but since we were in the bus a lot so the busy bags were helpful

also during meetings with announcements and sharing sessions

but that doesn't mean we don't have meltdowns and tantrums

but we have less of those, inshaAllah

but they're still there ofcourse

that is what life is all about :)

zainab with paper clips and magnet bar

musa chipped in to play too

them at a masjid :)

:) playing cops and robbers in aya sofia

zainab seems to love cups and loose items 

yes they do still play on the phone. that's perfectly all right

musa made a tank :)

i'm happy he liked fishing :)

nothing beats like old pen and paper for this boy

completely impromptu game in the restaurant. shooting toothpicks through a straw

musa was the one with the idea: malay/asian traditional "sumpit". we had to improvise and make targets so that they won't blow it at other people

Your choice: excerpts from an article

"Tetapi jika jawapan kepada semua hal ini ialah, “sekolahkan sahaja di sekolah berdekatan, anak orang lain ok sahaja, kenapa mahu susah-susah hati?”, maka mudah sikit.

Bersedialah untuk menagih motivasi, suatu hari nanti!

the link: http://abah.my/2014/09/23/mimpi-ngeri-abah-tujuh-tahun-selepas-nikah/

Bagaimana rupa sekolah dan pendidikan di zaman ibu bapa kita? Bagaimanakah sekolah dan pendidikan di zaman ‘gemilang’ Islam? Selain imej dramatik, romantik dan bombastik kita tentang pendidikan di zaman Imam-imam utama di dalam sejarah Islam, sebenarnya bagaimanakah rupa persekolahan di zaman itu? Adakah sama seperti sekarang. Jika berbeza, selain ipad dan papan batu, apakah ada kelainan lain yang impaknya hingga kepada menatijahkan manusia yang lain lagi berbeza? Muslim sama Muslim, tetapi Muslim yang lain kemanusiannya, dek lainnya pendidikan yang diterima?"

Mistakes and wrong decisions

I read a similar concept in M.Scott Peck's book "The Road Less Travelled". 

A ship in a Harbor is safe, but that's not what ships are built for. 

A child of whom the parent makes all the decisions for them is "safe" from "bad decisions", but then you crush an ability to exercise the learning muscle. 

BUT I DO NOT believe in making the child feel guilty for the decision after that. 

Musa once asked me, "if I don't hug this person, I'm still a good person right?" 

"Yes Musa," I told him. 

Just because there is something which isn't against the shari'ah that he rather not do, doesn't mean he's a bad boy or totally absent of good. 

I need to learn to rephrase my words with him in order for him to learn that Allah made him good, he is inherently good, EVENTHOUGH he will sometimes make mistakes and wrong decisions --- JUST LIKE ADULTS! (Because we're not perfect and we OFTEN make mistakes too) (what? You're flawless? Never make mistakes? Fuyo! Which level of jannah are you from? You're a special adult!) 

Kids are humans too and adults are humans too. 

I must learnt to be more human with my kids and other adults. 

Balloons

What do balloons make you think of ? 

Somehow to me it means hope.

Childish, perhaps. But it means hope. 

Syurga

To know love

Without any pain 

That is syurga

And Jannah is worth 

All the attempts 

That means sometimes it will feel like I have failed 

Just dust myself up and try again

Try again 

Jannah

Is worth all the attempts 

A little hope for me and you 

The meaning of beautiful

"I don't envy other roads
Because
mine is for me
and my road is beautiful"

I just unconsciously used the word beautiful. Why beautiful? Because beautiful transcends other words like pretty, gorgeous, cute, adorable. Beautiful is a word you use, even for intangible things. Because beauty is not a word exclusive for women or desired objects.

Because worldly life can be perfectly beautiful, with all its twists and turns and pain and burns and sweat and heat and...everything.

It is sweetly beautiful.

You're good

At the end of the day,
Hopefully you will find that you are not as bad as you think you are. The shaitan, as the song goes, he will never be your friend.

This means, he never has good intentions for you. You're not purely bad. No, you're not bad AT ALL. Allah made you good. You are born good and inherently you're good. Allah made you good. I purposefully repeated that sentence. Here it is again, Allah made you good.

Allah made you good, because at the end of the day, you do not have similar intentions and similar goals and thoughts like the shaitan.

Why?

Because the shaitan didn't want to repent and it is not enough for him that he alone is going to hell, he blames Allah for it (instead of repenting and blaming his own self), he wants to drag everyone else into it too.

Now tell me, do you have these thoughts?

Do you intend to drag other people "to hell" "with you"?

No, right?

I am not at war with you.

I never said you're bound for hell.

I never said I'm guaranteed heaven.

I don't put on a tudung and niqab to tell YOU that YOU are going to hell.

I don't put on a tudung and niqab to tell YOU that YOU are less of a muslim than I am.

I put it on simply because I want to have a go at heaven. Because we all are given fair and equal chances.

Why are you so angry at me?

Did I ever said you're going to hell?

Did I ever said I'm guaranteed heaven?

In fact, you're NOT going to hell.

How do I know that?

Because you're STILL ALIVE.

And as long as you're still alive, you have FAIR AND EQUAL shots to get into heaven.

My purpose in life is not to put you down.

So do some introspecting within yourself and realize that the real ENEMY is shaitan who MAKES you angry at me for all the wrong reasons.

I don't hate you.

I don't think you're bad.

I don't think I'm better.

I don't think you're a bad muslim.

Those thoughts are from the shaitan because he wants to put you down.

You're not a bad muslim because you don't have evil goals like the shaitan which is; to drag people to hell.

You're good. And you fully deserve heaven.

You're good.

You're good and pure like a newborn baby!