His Majesty Calls For Urgent Review Of Maternity Leave

Most of us, the career mommies in Brunei are putting on smiles on our faces due to the following Titah delivered by our beloved and caring His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam after a surprise visit to RIPAS Hospital yesterday.

His Majesty called for a review of the existing maternity leave of 56 days that has been followed by the country for over two decades now.

An extraction from the brudirect online:

Mothers are the ones who bring about new generations and it is appropriate that their welfare is given due attention and managed without them having to voice it out and ask for, the ruler said.

The regulation pertaining to maternity leave is contained in a government circular of the PM's Office dated 1993, which states that the permitted maternity leave is eight weeks or 56 days.

His Majesty said the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention 102/103 has stipulated that maternity leave should not be less than 12 weeks and highlighted other regulation of the same standard, which states that it should not be less than 14 weeks.

"Till now there are varying periods set by the countries around the world with some exceeding by those set by the international standards.

Some Asean countries have set 60 days. However, this issue is still being debated and the period may be extended to 60 days, which is still regarded as too short as most countries have extended it to 90 days.

"In Brunei, the 56-day maternity leave has been followed for two decades already and this poses a question whether we have forgotten to revise it.

Are they enough or are they too short?

"It must be looked into whether 56 days are enough for mothers to rest and regain energy used up during childbirth as giving birth cannot be taken lightly.

This is further compounded by breastfeeding.

If the maternity leave is longer, mothers would breastfeed their infants even longer," said His Majesty.
On the roles of doctors, His Majesty reiterated that doctors should not become a frightening shadow to society but be a torch of hope to them.

"Officers and doctors should succeed in their service and patients should be given utmost attention.

Doctors should truly know their patients, their diseases and the sort of treatment ideal for them, including the highs and lows of the risks of post-treatment.

"All these should be done thoroughly and not just give assurances or predictions," said the ruler.

~~~My new 2011 resolution --> To extend the family members~~~ Maybe?? Insya Allah~~~

DAULAT TUANKU!

We are feeling so blessed to be one of your loyal nations...

It's simple but delicious...

As a working mom...frankly speaking....I just could not squeeze the morning time to cook some meals for lunch. So.. as soon as I get home and clean up myself....then I will ask what they would like to eat. They sometimes ask for the fried noodles. So...this is the simplest and the easiest pan-fried noodles that I usually make for them for lunch.

The very important ingredients are lining up...the Maggie tomato sauce, Chilli sauce (Kipas Udang brand), thick soy sauce and Maggie chicken stock powder. I use 2 crushed garlics to be sauteed before putting in the sliced sausages and followed by all these basic ingredients.

The ingredients....except Habibati's cute little fingers ya... *;*
The noodles that I use...it's made in Indonesia.

This is how it looks like ^_^ Simple right?

My Lurve...

I had lunch with these multigrains chips from Twisties.

This is the shape of one of the chips...crunchy...yummy...
I love the taste...and it's a healthy snack in deed.

Her mini birthday again...

Habibati cannot resist the temptation whenever there is a glimpse of birthday cakes...no matter it is a small or a big one. Ayah dropped by a bakery to buy some cake ingredients for my baking project. The kids went along as Ayah went to the bakery after fetching them. Sure...Habibati would be the happiest one... As expected...she chose a mini cake piped with the Snow White's picture. Then...she just could wait to get home to celebrate her mini birthday celebration...^_^ She would have as many birthdays as she wishes. Thus we have the stock of birthday candles too.

Habibi was still wearing his underpant...ehehe....We sang the birthday songs reapetedly together....what a sweet moment to remember. Ayah was requested to blow off the candle....

.......and me too.....!

Habibati enjoyed her mini birthday cake....

Out of practice.........

I have been craving for Nasi Briyani. So.. in my thought....buy or homemade? Since the basic ingredients were readily available...so I made an enthusiastic move into the kitchen. Actually it has been ages that I haven't cooked the briyani rice... @-@

I like using this brand of the seasoning mix for the briyani. The recipe is enclosed too...but I always make some modifications.

This was how the mixed spices looked like...

The result????

Browse the pictures first ya.....

The rice looked yummy...........and it cooked well........

I cooked some cabbage and young corns to cheer up the Briyani rice.The Chicken Briyani

Yes...my personal testimony ~~> It was very HOT *berdesing telinga* and I didn't eat much :(

but ..my hubby's testimony ~~> DELICIOUSLY hot :)

That's why...as stated...it's out of practice....!

Skype'ing with Jimmy

The kids have been missing their Usu. Only last Saturday night we had the chance to have a video call via Skype. It was 9 p.m in Brunei but 2 p.m. in UK. However, Habibi was already asleep and only Habibati could interact with their beloved Usu. With the today's sophisticated technologies and ICT...everything seems to be on our fingertips....and UK seems to be just our 'neighbour' next door...(^,^)

Sarra' Sofiyyah

Congratulations to my sis and her hubby on the arrival of their lovely Sarra' Sofiyyah, 3.3kg, last night on 9th September. We paid her a visit this morning and our kids were very excited. Habibati brought her Strawberry Shortcake doll along with an aim to 'show' it to her cousin..so that they can play together *wahahaha...it's still too early dear!*

Habibati said she wanted to touch the baby....How interested Habibi was...with his cousin...
The tagged happy foot...I love the heavenly smell of a baby.....

And now what had happened?
Habibati has never been so in love with a baby before. She prohibited me from holding anyone's baby. So to avoid any chaotic situations in the ward, just before going to the hospital, I had a slow talk with her....telling her that her aunty is having a baby girl...and I added some more sweet words to her...that the baby girl will become her best friend and to whom she can play and share her toys with. ",)

Then, at the end of our visit...she became possessive and insisted me to bring Sarra' back home! She even cried buckets....her cries had occupied the whole ward!
She uttered softly, "Ummi...I want the baby...." Let hubby and I consider this as a GOOD hint for us....(*;^).......Thank you Allah....

The Hari Raya Celebration at Sekolah Kesuma Mekar

Today...the kids were having their Hari Raya at school. I baked some cuppies for their classmates and teachers last night.
Our kids' teacher told hubby that there would be some presents for the best dressed girl and boy. So Habibati wore her best hari raya dress with her tudong...but for Habibi..he just wore the 'baju melayu'. It is easier to play fashion with a girl than a boy ya...^,^

Posing before heading off to school....
Habibi and his weapon and his favourite Kamen Rider in his pocket!
When I got back home...happily hubby told me that our daughter was selected as the best dressed girl...I was excited the most...LOL. She told us that she went on stage to get her present.Habibati 's present....she loves this Mickey Mouse Clock very much...
Well done love.....Ummi and Ayah hope that one day you will come on stage again..but that time you will be receiving the Best Student Award....amin...amin...amin...

A secret behind the....

Yesterday...I was back to my routine..spending the afternoon with the kids. I always love this moment although they are very active and are 'keeping me going'! Despite all these....I feel blessed to become an educator who does not have to work from 745 am to 430 pm..fixed on every working day. There are still times when I have to work till 430 pm but as I said not on a daily basis (^,^) and the kids will be looked after by my parents or my sister in-law. Sure....they will have such a 'hard' time catching up with the kids' demands....

So when I am at home with them...everything is so unpredictable....and I am always on the go! Just like yesterday...while I was washing their bottles in the kitchen, the kids had done something secretly.....

When I got into the living room..I wondered where they were. It was soundless...I called out their names but none of them replied. I was worried too!
These colour pencils were all left like this....@.@ .Then..I heard a giggling sound coming from the curtain....aha! Here they were...
...having a secret something.....with some pencil scrappings and the toy heels...both of them were just now hiding behind the curtains...and guess what they had been doing?
I shouted in surprise and they ran away to their 'home'....laughing away happily at me. Then I found out these.....
Some more....creative writings on the newly painted walls....
Instantly I got mad and transformed into the PINK monstermommy...!
See....See.....they looked innocent as if what they did was something fun! I caught them with a camera in my hand. I think that's why they were not that scared because Ummi was taking their pictures ^_^ even in her angry mode..hehehe...

With my very fierce face....I showed them a belt and threatened to beat them. Both were now scared with the threat.....*what a bad mom*. They 'promised' to not doing the same thing again in the near future. I laughed inside my heart when I heard their promises. Funny though!

La Main a la Pate

What are these......? A surgery.....?
Actually we dissected the chicken whole leg...to identify the ligaments, tendons, joints, sockets and muscles. ^,^
These are the pictures of our Inquiry-Based Science Education workshop cum training which I have attended of the whole 5 days last week. It was such a wonderful and beneficial experience to gain the new teaching approach presented by the French lecturers. It had taken place at Universiti Brunei Darussalam.
Is this an empty plastic bottle? Scientifically...it is not....!
The busy Science teachers....carrying out their own experiments...to justify the hypothesis....
I was sharing our group's proposition...and my colleague was drawing the proposed protocol....The open-inquiry....
The workshop gave me a chance to meet my teacher-friends too.
I was sandwiched by these friendly and resourceful Dr Corinne Jegou Mairone and Dr Alice Delserieys Pedregosa.