Key to a happy marriage

Women: Don't expect your hubby to support the family 100% financially unless you carry out your duties. Preparing his food, keeping a clean and calm environment for him and the kids, taking care of and educating the kids, smiling for him no matter how bad your day was, grooming and beautifying yourself for him and keeping his clothes neat.

Men: Don't expect your wife to do all of the above, if she too goes to work, comes home tired and provides for the family financially. You can expect her to do all of the above if she does not contribute financially (read: work hard to earn for the family). If she does some or all of the above AND contribute financially, then you are a lucky man. In return, you should do your share of the household chores and help her out with the kids, and around the house,  without her asking you to do so.

Women: Even if you are the sole breadwinner, or you make more money than your husband does, he still deserves to be respected. Ask him what his definition of respect is. Respect for him might mean preparing his food. It might mean taking care of his clothes. It might mean greeting him with the sweetest smile.

Men: Even if you work like a horse and  provide for your family 100% financially, your wife still deserves to be loved. Ask her about her definition of love. The meaning of love for her might mean giving her small gifts. Or cooking special meals for her occasionally. Or taking her out on a date. Or taking her on a short vacation. Or simply spending quality time with her.

I've seen so many young couples on the brink of divorce. Tolerance is the key!

First day of learning to read

Cara mudah ajar anak membaca dalam 3 Langkah

Cara mudah ajar anak membaca dalam 3 Langkah
(Jika tiada masa boleh hantar ke kelas membaca. Details di bawah post ini)

Langkah 1
Perkenalkan anak pada suku kata-suku kata tanpa perlu mengeja

Sebut sahaja 'a' 'ba' dan 'ca' seperti dalam video.

Dengan cara ini anak yg belum mengenal huruf pun sudah boleh mempelajari skill membaca

Langkah 2
Ambil masa hanya 5 minit pagi, dan 5 minit petang untuk mengajar anak membaca.

Ini kerana, si kecil kurang fokus dan suka bermain. Jadi ibu tidak perlu ambil masa yang lama untuk mengajar anak

Dengan cara ini, jika ibu konsisten, anak seawal usia 4 tahun sudah boleh lancar membaca buku cerita malah surat khabar dalam masa 3 bulan

.

Langkah 3
Latih anak menulis atau mewarna suku kata yang baru dipelajari

Kajian menunjukkan menulis suku kata bukan sahaja mengasah fine-motorskill, namun ia juga membantu anak membaca secara independent.

Ini kerana anak yg menulis atau mewarna suku kata yang baru dipelajari akan terus menyimpan bacaan tersebut di long term memory dan ini membantu anak cepat membaca

.Ekstra tips
Anak yang belajar membaca awal mempunyai tahap IQ yang lebih matang dari rakan sebaya kerana sudah banyak membaca buku sejak usia kecil

Video ni hari pertama Medina (4tahun) belajar membaca dengan kaedah e-xra. 

Boleh beli  kaedah membaca set bacaan dan set aktiviti di Ace Learning centre Bandar Baru Bangi dan Bandar Seri Putra 017-3289572 (Cikgu Ariff)

Maryam Medina

My aim in life is to be the best version of myself. I'm not interested in competing with anyone except myself. I want to be a better version of who I was yesterday. I live to constantly learn new ideas and improve every aspect of my life. 

As a full time working mom, I'm interested in finding ways to minimize time to maximize productivity. As a Muslim, I believe that when we make time for Allah, Allah will set our affairs straight, our limited time productive, and our finances sufficient and full of barakah. Right now I'm invested in teaching my own children as well as teaching young adults.

I work as an English teacher at a public university in Malaysia so I'm looking into ideas and inspiration to increase my students' motivation to learn English. I also believe that with a good command of English, excellent people can develop into exceptional people. I write about English teaching at maryamukm.blogspot.my

In my spare time, I like to introspect, write and plan. Sometimes I share my mommy stories with friends and family. You can find me in cafes because I love coffee. Once a year I travel abroad with my family to see the world and learn new culture.

I would love to meet like-minded women who believe that life is about balance, and that the right time to do anything is now!

icity Snow Walk Shah Alam

If you're looking for your children to experience snow in Malaysia, iCity Snow Walk Shah Alam is the place to go.

Here are the ticket prices. We went on a Saturday and the queue wasn't long, so I think there's really no need to book for the tickets online.

We paid RM 70 for 2 adults and one child.

Inside the snow house, the snow is quite scant. My daughter wanted to build a snowman but of course that didn't happen! It's freezing cold inside but no worries. The ticket price includes rental of snow coats / jackets so you don't have to bring your own.

There are different forms of ice sculpture inside and plenty of opportunities for photography.

At snow walk icity, my daughter enjoyed the train ride the most but I don't have a photo. 

I took a video of her on the train and uploaded it on my Youtube. 

My channel is Maryam Mohamed Amin.

 The train ride is basically a choo choo train, small-ish, and can fit three families at a time. As long as the kid is happy, the mom is happy too!

She enjoyed the go-kart ride!

Save on kids clothes! Kids Outlet Malaysia

Today Id like to share with you where to get cheap children's clothes in Malaysia.

Visit Kidz Outlet Malaysia at Plaza Shah Alam mall and Alamanda Shopping complex Putrajaya.

When shopping for my children's clothes, I don't compromise on quality of the clothing. I find that Kidz/ Kidz Outlet Malaysia provide quality clothing at a reasonably cheap price.

I have a 5 year old daughter and a 6 month old baby and I often spend a lot of money on their clothing. When I found out about Kidz Malaysia, I've been frequenting them often.

All the clothing in these pictures below are priced at RM12.90 to RM20 per pc and they are from good labels; Disney, Sesame Street, Carter, H&M, Next and GAP.

My daughter loves Disney princesses.

Comfortable sleep suits for my baby

Shirts for when my boy is a bit older

Boys khaki pants and jeans RM20 each

Extra tips: The Shah Alam outlet is cheaper than the Putrajaya outlet.

Happy shopping!

                                           

Awak rasa macam loser?

Awak rasa macam loser?

Ada hari-hari saya pun rasa macam tu.

Tengok kiri kanan kawan-kawan sebaya dah berjaya. Hebat-hebat.

Ada yang Dr muda-muda, phD dari luar negara. Ada yang bisnes berjaya, sales 5 angka. Ada yang travel merata (banyak betul duit nya?) Ada yang dah buat haji siap bawak ibu bapa.

Percayalah dengan takdir dan rezeki. It's okay kalau kita tak capai semua impian kita dalam masa terdekat ni.

Tak habis belajar? It's okay. Belum kahwin, takde anak? It's okay. Berhenti kerja sebab terlalu stress? It's okay. Tak capai sales 5 angka? It's okay.

Masih belum beli rumah sendiri? It's okay. Tak dapat travel ke luar negara? It's okay. Rasa macam orang pandang rendah pada kita? It's okay.

Hidup ni tak semua yang kita rancang menjadi.

Biar kan apa orang nak kata, yang penting kita tahu apa yang kita nak capai dalam hidup kita.

Usaha sungguh-sungguh untuk berjaya. Lambat atau cepat itu semua urusanNya.

Hidup senang itu susah.

Untuk hidup senang awak dah mula usaha sungguh- sungguh dari sekolah, tuntut ilmu siang malam di kuliah di universiti.

Selepas grad dari universiti susah-susah pula cari kerja. Jauh dan dekat. Belum tentu dapat.
Calon isteri pulak nak awak kerja hebat.

Kawan yang tak masuk universiti pulak beli rumah dulu. Kerana pilihan susah juga. Susah kerja kuat dari lepas SPM dan susah-susah buat simpanan.

Dia bahagia, berumah tangga, anak dua. Comel belaka.

Kerana pilihan susah juga. Susah tak tidur malam. Suap makan. Susah didik anak. Hantar anak ke sekolah. Badan letih takde rehat. Dia korban tenaga, masa dan wang.

Kawan yang tak kahwin tu travel merata. Seronok betul. Sekejap London, esok Paris, lusa New York. Kerana pilihan susah juga.

Pilihan untuk susah-susah hidup independent. Semua urus sendiri. Shopping sendiri barang runcit. Belajar sendiri urus tayar pancit. Pergi klinik sendiri bila sakit.

Pasangan tu pulak semua ada. Rumah besar. Kereta besar. Isteri cantik. Suami hensem. Travel sana sini. Shopping suka hati.

Kerana pilihan susah juga. Pilihan untuk susah-susah kerja sampai lewat malam dan kerja hujung minggu. Susah sebab jarang-jarang jumpa. Susah sebab jarang-jarang dapat makan bersama.

Lebih baik awak jangan bandingkan perjalanan hidup awak dengan siapa-siapa.

Tak semua yang kita nak tu kita dapat. You win some, you lose some.

Semua orang rasa susah. Dalam susah ada senang.

Susah itu pilihan. Jadi pilih lah susah awak.

Muda-muda ni gunakan akal fikiran dan tenaga fizikal awak sebaik mungkin.

Kenal diri dan minat awak.

Belajar untuk manfaatkan kelebihan yang Allah beri pada awak.

Tetapkan impian untuk berjaya dan bila gagal jangan give up. Jangan stress. Jangan depressed.

Sebab semua yang berjaya pun sama macam awak.

Semua pun pernah gagal.

Semua pun pernah rasa macam loser.