July is almost over.
Another year is passing us by again. Sometimes I really don't know where the time goes, but I suppose it's the daily grind that IS time.
Quite a few friends have recently had kids. It's pretty cool to see them as parents. They live in Melbourne so have extended time off to be with their kids. Some of them give up jobs to stay home too.
I still wonder if I should be doing that too.. but then we would have a loss of an income. And of course, I'm not sure I'm SAHM material. An entire weekend without help is plenty enough. Sigh. Then of course there is the guilt that she is not getting THE best care... but of course that is silly. Warni and the other 2 helpers love the kids and honestly are great for them. They have this endless amount of energy and enthusiasm that the kids love. Better than grumpy old mama.
This month was a little tough. The kids were sick twice(!), there was a party to plan, the clinic was quiet ( so that stressed me ). Chris was working late many days too so I felt quite alone parenting the 2 kids. Some days he left before they were up and came back after they were asleep. I had some help when my MIL came but of course there were times when we didn't see eye to eye. But I'm grateful for her help and the fact that she came all the way for Annika's first.
Geok will be delivering her 2nd in September. I can't imagine the chaos then. They are planning to move back to Novena, and I imagine MH will be on leave too. Elizabeth will be at the house full time as well... and whiny because of the 2nd kid, possibly fighting with Madison (& Annika?) and then the adults would get stressed and the fighting will START again!! ARGH! But we'll deal with it when we get there.
And of course... Chai... he's at a quandry at the moment regarding internships for next year... if things don't go his way he might be back for good too!! Of course we are all excited at that prospect but I think he wants to stay in Melbourne for another year or so.
That's all I can think of for now...
Friday, July 29, 2011
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Annika is one!
Annika turned one on Friday 22nd July 2011.
We had a small family celebration on the actual date. I got her a Baskin Robbins cake that had a lion's face and we ordered pizza from Pepperoni's for the family. The kids got to eat together with us after their dinner( they eat much too early for the rest of us) and I think they had a blast. Madison and Elizabeth helped to blow her single candle out and the cake was a huge hit.
The next day we had a party to celebrate. The theme was Cookie monster-since she has one that she likes. My cookie monster cake turned out pretty well! The 2 weeks worth of thinking and planning was worth it. I chose a chocolate cake as the base, and used a white chocolate ganache for the middle. It was covered with a buttercream frosting. The cake was baked 3 days in advanced, then we decorated and iced it the day before the party. We managed to get the eyes popping out too! The blue fur turned out quite realistic too with the piping tip that I got. The base was covered in the base buttercream then decorated with candy sprinkles, marshmellows and M&Ms. Which were obviously a hit with the kids. They all wanted a slice with M&ms on it.
I packed choc chip cookies into little favour bags for the guests to take home. Kids got a little goody bag too. The house was decorated with blue and white streamers, and balloons that were blue, white and gold. Since they were helium balloons the kids got to take them home.
I was surprised that the guests actually started arriving pretty early! We had a good turnout, but quite a few of our close friends didn't come. Mostly because their kids were down with colds. Annika was a little overwhelmed with all the people though. I think she was also starting to fall sick too so she was quite grumpy towards the end. But it's ok. One month and 1 year old are momentous. Surviving the first month and year.
Madison is looking forward to her own birthday. She is already making plans for her birthday party!
Of course, right after the party the kids are down with colds AGAIN. Argh. More sleepless nights.
We had a small family celebration on the actual date. I got her a Baskin Robbins cake that had a lion's face and we ordered pizza from Pepperoni's for the family. The kids got to eat together with us after their dinner( they eat much too early for the rest of us) and I think they had a blast. Madison and Elizabeth helped to blow her single candle out and the cake was a huge hit.
The next day we had a party to celebrate. The theme was Cookie monster-since she has one that she likes. My cookie monster cake turned out pretty well! The 2 weeks worth of thinking and planning was worth it. I chose a chocolate cake as the base, and used a white chocolate ganache for the middle. It was covered with a buttercream frosting. The cake was baked 3 days in advanced, then we decorated and iced it the day before the party. We managed to get the eyes popping out too! The blue fur turned out quite realistic too with the piping tip that I got. The base was covered in the base buttercream then decorated with candy sprinkles, marshmellows and M&Ms. Which were obviously a hit with the kids. They all wanted a slice with M&ms on it.
I packed choc chip cookies into little favour bags for the guests to take home. Kids got a little goody bag too. The house was decorated with blue and white streamers, and balloons that were blue, white and gold. Since they were helium balloons the kids got to take them home.
I was surprised that the guests actually started arriving pretty early! We had a good turnout, but quite a few of our close friends didn't come. Mostly because their kids were down with colds. Annika was a little overwhelmed with all the people though. I think she was also starting to fall sick too so she was quite grumpy towards the end. But it's ok. One month and 1 year old are momentous. Surviving the first month and year.
Madison is looking forward to her own birthday. She is already making plans for her birthday party!
Of course, right after the party the kids are down with colds AGAIN. Argh. More sleepless nights.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Happy kids
Finally the bug seems to be settling. But of course I had to come down with it too.. But of course I cannot afford to be ILL. Pop half a dozen pills and soldier on!
Anyhow.. Madison is still coughing half her lung up ( although she IS better ). I am keeping my fingers crossed that Annika stays well... because
Her first birthday is in a week's time!! My little baby is a toddler. We're having a celebration at the Novena house to mark her "transition"..
Chris' mother is coming to help us with the preparations ( but mostly to participate in the party ) and of course to spend time with the kids. Since we've moved I thought it would only be right for her to stay with us rather than at the Novena house. So she has to bunk in with Madison. I brought it up with Madison early to give her plenty of warning!
In other news.. Annika actually made it to the finals of the KKH breastfed baby contest! We received a letter in the mail informing us of it. Just when I had given up all hope because we hadn't heard from them for ages. Exciting. She has the allocated time of 10am for her judging. Not sure what they are going to do exactly. She desperately needs a haircut! Her fringe is outgrowing her face. Not sure how we are going to achieve that. The grandma is going to oppose this though.
I think I made a bigger fuss of Madison's first so to be fair I think we are going to attempt to make Annika's birthday cake. Madison had an Elmo party. Annika will have a Cookie Monster themed one. I've already bought the cake tin and colouring for the icing. I probably should start baking the cake so that if it's a monumental flop at least there's still time to BUY one. Madison's cake was from Bakerzin, but they've stopped making kids cakes now.
And.. to top it off, Warni will be on her 'off' day this Sunday. Should make for an interesting weekend.
Anyhow.. Madison is still coughing half her lung up ( although she IS better ). I am keeping my fingers crossed that Annika stays well... because
Her first birthday is in a week's time!! My little baby is a toddler. We're having a celebration at the Novena house to mark her "transition"..
Chris' mother is coming to help us with the preparations ( but mostly to participate in the party ) and of course to spend time with the kids. Since we've moved I thought it would only be right for her to stay with us rather than at the Novena house. So she has to bunk in with Madison. I brought it up with Madison early to give her plenty of warning!
In other news.. Annika actually made it to the finals of the KKH breastfed baby contest! We received a letter in the mail informing us of it. Just when I had given up all hope because we hadn't heard from them for ages. Exciting. She has the allocated time of 10am for her judging. Not sure what they are going to do exactly. She desperately needs a haircut! Her fringe is outgrowing her face. Not sure how we are going to achieve that. The grandma is going to oppose this though.
I think I made a bigger fuss of Madison's first so to be fair I think we are going to attempt to make Annika's birthday cake. Madison had an Elmo party. Annika will have a Cookie Monster themed one. I've already bought the cake tin and colouring for the icing. I probably should start baking the cake so that if it's a monumental flop at least there's still time to BUY one. Madison's cake was from Bakerzin, but they've stopped making kids cakes now.
And.. to top it off, Warni will be on her 'off' day this Sunday. Should make for an interesting weekend.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Never ending SICKNESS!!
It is frustrating to say the least!
Finally when I thought things had settled and the kids were on the mend.. Madison goes to school for 2 days and comes down with ANOTHER fever! Unbelieveable.
I know the statistics are that preschoolers have like 12 illnesses per year on average, but it's practically very hard when it DOES happen. Annika is better ( touch wood ) so I am hoping she will escape this bout of illness. Sigh... just when I thought I could sleep again at night.
Speaking of which, I just had yet another accident. Car related. Quite silly, really. Yesterday, after I dropped the kids off at Novena, put Annika down for her nap, I came back to the clinic. After lunch. Must have been post-prandial confusion and brain fog. While TRYING to park the car at the DARK basement carpark I misjudged the wall and rammed right into a pillar. Which had a FIRE EXTINGUISHER mounted on the front.
The damage? Smashed the rear windscreen, cracked the left rear lights, dislodged the rear bumper and probably took out the left rear parking sensor. Haha. I actually HAVE a rear parking sensor.
At least no one/no other CAR was involved. Just my car and the car park pillar. Which FORTUNATELY doesn't require compensation. I had to drive real slow to the mechanic, fill out insurance forms and pay for a replacement car to use in the meantime.
I really don't know why I keep getting into these little mishaps. It's so annoying. And expensive. Maybe I should just pop Madison into the schoolbus! And stop driving altogether. (not going to happen)
I think I really need a rubberized bumper. And silicone lights. So when I hit anything nothing gets damaged. It's all low speed type mishaps anyway.
Because Madison is sick again, she will miss out on her school's sports day which was supposed to happen this Saturday. And tennis too. And since Chris is attending a course this weekend, and I'm working too looks like the kids have to be dropped off at Novena on Saturday.
Here's hoping things get back to normal soon!
Finally when I thought things had settled and the kids were on the mend.. Madison goes to school for 2 days and comes down with ANOTHER fever! Unbelieveable.
I know the statistics are that preschoolers have like 12 illnesses per year on average, but it's practically very hard when it DOES happen. Annika is better ( touch wood ) so I am hoping she will escape this bout of illness. Sigh... just when I thought I could sleep again at night.
Speaking of which, I just had yet another accident. Car related. Quite silly, really. Yesterday, after I dropped the kids off at Novena, put Annika down for her nap, I came back to the clinic. After lunch. Must have been post-prandial confusion and brain fog. While TRYING to park the car at the DARK basement carpark I misjudged the wall and rammed right into a pillar. Which had a FIRE EXTINGUISHER mounted on the front.
The damage? Smashed the rear windscreen, cracked the left rear lights, dislodged the rear bumper and probably took out the left rear parking sensor. Haha. I actually HAVE a rear parking sensor.
At least no one/no other CAR was involved. Just my car and the car park pillar. Which FORTUNATELY doesn't require compensation. I had to drive real slow to the mechanic, fill out insurance forms and pay for a replacement car to use in the meantime.
I really don't know why I keep getting into these little mishaps. It's so annoying. And expensive. Maybe I should just pop Madison into the schoolbus! And stop driving altogether. (not going to happen)
I think I really need a rubberized bumper. And silicone lights. So when I hit anything nothing gets damaged. It's all low speed type mishaps anyway.
Because Madison is sick again, she will miss out on her school's sports day which was supposed to happen this Saturday. And tennis too. And since Chris is attending a course this weekend, and I'm working too looks like the kids have to be dropped off at Novena on Saturday.
Here's hoping things get back to normal soon!
Monday, July 4, 2011
Sick kids weekend
Blah.. it was a sleepless weekend. Counting last night I haven't slept properly in 3 nights.
Well.. Annika turned out to have croup. Of course the characteristic cough and respiratory troubles ALWAYS start AT NIGHT. I don't think any of us slept Friday or Saturday night. She was miserable with high fevers, barking cough and inspiratory stridor. We sponged her like twice that night, because the paracetamol and ibuprofen weren't doing anything to her temps. Poor baby, shivering through the tepid bath.
Then finally it struck me. I was thinking of taking her to the ED at KKH, then I thought.. what would they do? Then it struck me that she probably had croup, and MIGHT need a shot of dexamethasone.. I wasn't entirely sure. Looked it up and seems like it was the best treatment for mild to moderate croup. Apparently oral or injectable worked fine.
Chris happened to have gone to work to do his round so I called him to find some dexamethasone for me. When he finally got home he produced a vial of dexa! Initially I was hoping for oral stuff but in retrospect the injectable is better.. the kid CAN'T SPIT IT OUT!
Anyway.. I am sold. It is a magic drug. In around 6 hours the improvement was obvious. The fever went away, her cough was still there but the stridor was almost all gone.
But of course, just as Annika was improving, guess who started being ill... argh... Madison. She stayed overnight at Novena as usual on Saturday night, and Sunday was supposed to be a treat for her.. the grandparents took her and Elizabeth to Sentosa via cable car, then lunch at Rasa Sentosa. She was so excited about the trip that she kept insisting that she didn't have a cough ( which I suspected Saturday evening! )
BUT.. I already anticipated that Madison would come down with the same thing too, so Sunday afternoon we drove back down to the hospital to get more dexa. Good move too. Before bed last night I dosed her with a cocktail of paracet, brufen, and durotuss. But by 5 am she had a raging fever and a similar cough.
So, Madison too received her dexa shot. And was I ever so proud of her. She coped with the shot all by herself in bed. I got her to hold the ice pack on her thigh and she cried out when I stabbed her with the needle, but that was about it all! Then I got her a Pedialyte ice pop to suck while I read her a book and she was already able to crack jokes with me! Then she went back to sleep after that. So it does get easier as they get older. Sigh.
Today, I really needed to rest. So I dropped the kids off at Novena bright and early and I CAME TO WORK! Much easier to sit and work than to deal with sick, teary and whiny kids! No wonder my mom worked FULL TIME when we were growing up. And we didn't do too badly. 2 doctors and 1 accountant/manager. All happily married/attached with grandchildren to boot. She must have done something right.
Honestly, I think the kids are in better hands if the caregivers are happy and cheerful doing their thing ( ie school etc ) than if I had to do it with a bad, tired mood. I know because on weekends I sometimes get impatient and cranky with them after a bad night. This way they get lots of enthusiasm from all their caregivers and we all get a break in between.
I hope they stay well for awhile after this... Annika's first is coming up and she HAS TO BE WELL!
Well.. Annika turned out to have croup. Of course the characteristic cough and respiratory troubles ALWAYS start AT NIGHT. I don't think any of us slept Friday or Saturday night. She was miserable with high fevers, barking cough and inspiratory stridor. We sponged her like twice that night, because the paracetamol and ibuprofen weren't doing anything to her temps. Poor baby, shivering through the tepid bath.
Then finally it struck me. I was thinking of taking her to the ED at KKH, then I thought.. what would they do? Then it struck me that she probably had croup, and MIGHT need a shot of dexamethasone.. I wasn't entirely sure. Looked it up and seems like it was the best treatment for mild to moderate croup. Apparently oral or injectable worked fine.
Chris happened to have gone to work to do his round so I called him to find some dexamethasone for me. When he finally got home he produced a vial of dexa! Initially I was hoping for oral stuff but in retrospect the injectable is better.. the kid CAN'T SPIT IT OUT!
Anyway.. I am sold. It is a magic drug. In around 6 hours the improvement was obvious. The fever went away, her cough was still there but the stridor was almost all gone.
But of course, just as Annika was improving, guess who started being ill... argh... Madison. She stayed overnight at Novena as usual on Saturday night, and Sunday was supposed to be a treat for her.. the grandparents took her and Elizabeth to Sentosa via cable car, then lunch at Rasa Sentosa. She was so excited about the trip that she kept insisting that she didn't have a cough ( which I suspected Saturday evening! )
BUT.. I already anticipated that Madison would come down with the same thing too, so Sunday afternoon we drove back down to the hospital to get more dexa. Good move too. Before bed last night I dosed her with a cocktail of paracet, brufen, and durotuss. But by 5 am she had a raging fever and a similar cough.
So, Madison too received her dexa shot. And was I ever so proud of her. She coped with the shot all by herself in bed. I got her to hold the ice pack on her thigh and she cried out when I stabbed her with the needle, but that was about it all! Then I got her a Pedialyte ice pop to suck while I read her a book and she was already able to crack jokes with me! Then she went back to sleep after that. So it does get easier as they get older. Sigh.
Today, I really needed to rest. So I dropped the kids off at Novena bright and early and I CAME TO WORK! Much easier to sit and work than to deal with sick, teary and whiny kids! No wonder my mom worked FULL TIME when we were growing up. And we didn't do too badly. 2 doctors and 1 accountant/manager. All happily married/attached with grandchildren to boot. She must have done something right.
Honestly, I think the kids are in better hands if the caregivers are happy and cheerful doing their thing ( ie school etc ) than if I had to do it with a bad, tired mood. I know because on weekends I sometimes get impatient and cranky with them after a bad night. This way they get lots of enthusiasm from all their caregivers and we all get a break in between.
I hope they stay well for awhile after this... Annika's first is coming up and she HAS TO BE WELL!
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Sick Annika
Argh... I hate it when kids get sick.
I think this round probably started with Geok coming down with an influenza-like illness over the past week.
My mistake. I should have kept Annika away from her but I was LAZY. And she was having fun.
So now I pay.
Last night was NEVERENDING. The night before she vomitted once and I had a feeling she was down with SOMETHING. Then the fever started up yesterday. Wasn't too bad during the day, nothing paracetamol suppositories couldn't keep up with. She was still in a pretty jovial mood throughout the day so I thought it wasn't too bad.
Then the illness reared it's ugly head last night. By bedtime Annika was grouchy and then the fever really spiked. Nothing worked. She had 2 paracetamol suppositories, oral ibuprofen, sponging ( which she hated and was shivering throughout ) and ice-chips. She didn't want to BF partly probably because she was starting to get congested as well. The entire night was a nightmare! Crying, whining, and moaning. We brought her to our bedroom and she napped on and off in a sitting position. Of course I ended up with a pretty crook neck. It was surreal when 7 am finally arrived.
And of course today was meant to be busy. Tennis for Madison at 9, work for me, birthday party at 11 for everyone to attend, CME event at 2pm for me, then my long-awaited Peranakan degustation dinner at 645pm.
The revised plan: Tennis at 9 for Madison, work for me, birthday party for Madison and Chris while I stay back with Annika, probably CME at 2Pm ( apparently it's full and the organisers called me 2 days ago to reconfirm--yikes!) I cancelled dinner ( sob ) . Don't know if I have to pay for it anyway because it's a pre-arranged event.
Sigh. My only wish is that tonight is better. The poor baby is really suffering. With Annika you can really tell she is UNWELL. None of her babbling, toddling and cute antics. It's really sad.
But... it's 1 less illness to contend with in school for her then.. silver lining in the clouds!
I think this round probably started with Geok coming down with an influenza-like illness over the past week.
My mistake. I should have kept Annika away from her but I was LAZY. And she was having fun.
So now I pay.
Last night was NEVERENDING. The night before she vomitted once and I had a feeling she was down with SOMETHING. Then the fever started up yesterday. Wasn't too bad during the day, nothing paracetamol suppositories couldn't keep up with. She was still in a pretty jovial mood throughout the day so I thought it wasn't too bad.
Then the illness reared it's ugly head last night. By bedtime Annika was grouchy and then the fever really spiked. Nothing worked. She had 2 paracetamol suppositories, oral ibuprofen, sponging ( which she hated and was shivering throughout ) and ice-chips. She didn't want to BF partly probably because she was starting to get congested as well. The entire night was a nightmare! Crying, whining, and moaning. We brought her to our bedroom and she napped on and off in a sitting position. Of course I ended up with a pretty crook neck. It was surreal when 7 am finally arrived.
And of course today was meant to be busy. Tennis for Madison at 9, work for me, birthday party at 11 for everyone to attend, CME event at 2pm for me, then my long-awaited Peranakan degustation dinner at 645pm.
The revised plan: Tennis at 9 for Madison, work for me, birthday party for Madison and Chris while I stay back with Annika, probably CME at 2Pm ( apparently it's full and the organisers called me 2 days ago to reconfirm--yikes!) I cancelled dinner ( sob ) . Don't know if I have to pay for it anyway because it's a pre-arranged event.
Sigh. My only wish is that tonight is better. The poor baby is really suffering. With Annika you can really tell she is UNWELL. None of her babbling, toddling and cute antics. It's really sad.
But... it's 1 less illness to contend with in school for her then.. silver lining in the clouds!
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