Fatimah : My straightforward girl

It's as impressing as it is challenging.

Sometimes, I feel I don't give as much attention to Fatimah as much as I did to Fahira when she's her age. It's a guilty feeling to me because Fatimah was 2 years and 1 month when Farisha was born while Fahira was 4 years and 2 months when Fatimah was born. My husband keeps telling me to not feel that way, because we all love and treat them the same. Yeah, I think I shouldn't.

The obvious acts we demonstrate to show them that we love them the same : Buying the same amount of clothes, feeding the same meal, kiss them all before sleep, take them all when we want to go out, etc.

I'll do a lot of things to make them understand that I balance my love for them, I do not want to cause anyenvy that might lead to hate the sibling. But, off course, there are some different reactions to their actions because of their different characters. Fahira is a very helpful girl when she is alone and doesn't play with friends, Farisha loves freedom and doesn't really like to stay still, while Fatimah just want to do what she wants to do. Fatimah is a straightforward person, she says what she wants and what she doesn't. The impressing side? Well, she never lie and I don't have to dig for what she feels inside. The challenging part? Hhhhh, It tests my patience to the limit when she doesn't want to take a bath, or eat or wear proper clothes when we want to go out. Things like that does make me lose temper sometimes.

One day, she didn't want to eat the whole day, she just had some coconut biscuits and sweet tea for breakfast. I tried to persuade her, asked what she liked to eat, offerrred her to eat while playing until I forced her, but she kept saying she didn't want to. I gave up. And at 3 am she woke up to say she was hungry and asked for food. And to my surprise, I was not angry. I was happy that finally my daughter would fill her stomach with food. The thought of she might have stomach ache if she didn't eat beated my sleepless night. It must be because I love her so much.

We never knew our patience limit until we become a parent
-- Hijriatul Laila --

Farisha : My early riser, my social butterfly

Also,she's my morning alarm.

Little baby, less sleep. Whenever my friends discuss on Facebook about super interesting tv programs that air past 8 pm, I have no idea ; I'm asleep.

Farisha wakes up at 5 or 5.30 In the morning, then takes a nap at 10 for about 2 hours long (which is my time to do chores). She'll have her bed time at around 8 pm, and I,  consider myself quiet tired to take care of my three children and a home during the day, and the estimation of 3 wake up at night to breastfed, I made 8 pm as my bedtime as well. :-)

Sure, being a mother is such a bless, but it's the job that makes you pray to God to bless you with patience. If that makes you rethink of being one, you should know that lots of people are releasing their good side since being a parent (lazy be dilligent, childish be mature, etc), and that's including me.

When I look back to the time when I was a girl, I was not a very dilligent girl, I can't cook, I am just that cool with dirt, I don't know how to handle a crying baby. But, being a mother force me to do all those things I can't, and for me, it's "learning it the hard way".

Having three children ages 7, 3 and 1 year old is the beautiful bless for me and as I am thankful, I must be responsible too. Less sleep is in the package off course.

All of my children are early risers when they are under 2 and becoming less early when they grew older. My 3 year old Fatimah will wake up about 8 am while Fahira must wake up early (with whatever effort) as she has to go to school at 7.

And this one year old Farisha will wake up the earliest and ask me to play.


She likes having breakfast outside.


We take her sister to school.



And when she's finally asleep, I must do chores quickly.

And, being an early riser is not the only thing she is that consume my energy, she is also a social butterfly ! She always asks me to go out to play with our neighbours after taken the afternoon bath. We Indonesians commonly taken a bath twice a day : in the morning before school or work and around 4.30 pm.

And she drags me out like saying "Sorry, it's not time for a lazy afternoon". Haha.


But, it's actually a good thing that she has social skill. Who knows what she will be in the future.