32 Today

I can't believe how time flies. It seem only awhile ago when I last blew the candle on my birthday cake. My mum used to tell me that once I cross the 20 years hurdle, the years that follow will pass like months. I didn't believe her then.

This year was also the first time I bought my own cake. Well, my sister asked me to go get one and said she'd pay for it. If I was in Singapore, I'd have headed down to Sweet Secrets for one of their lovely cakes. Unfortunately in UK, we don't get the kind of cakeries like we do in Singapore. I'd usually buy one from the supermarkets. The birthday cakes which they sell are covered in icings which I hate. I'd learnt to buy from the frozen section - cheap and nice. The best cake we had by far was a profiterole cake I bought from Marks and Spencer for my father-in-law (we share the same birthday). I couldn't believe it was so cheap and it turned out to be delicious and not overwhelmingly sweet too. I didn't have the time to go to Marks and Spencer so went to Sains instead. To my dismay, nothing took my fancy. I ended up with a raspberry and chocolate meringue cake which looked nice on the packaging and was something which I'd not tried before.

We've celebrated many birthdays in this house. 10 to be exact. Somehow some of my family members who were visiting would have their birthdays fall within their stay here. Next month when my parents come, we'll celebrate their 60th birthdays.

Many people ponder over what they have achieved so far on their birthdays. I have stopped doing that and instead count my blessings. To some, I may have wasted my education by being a stay-home mum but I consider myself lucky. It is a choice I made which I hope my daughters will appreciate one day. To date, I have 2 wonderful daughters who have an equally amazing dad. My family have also been really supportive and caring. I am grateful too for being given the opportunity to live abroad, an experience which had made me a stronger person. No doubt I had many difficult and trying days and will continue to have, I wouldn't change the world for it. My aim for the new year will be keeping my family healthy and happy. Simple as that.

Look how much Lavigne has changed

Food Deprived

Lavigne had been having only plain toasts, biscuits, boiled potatoes and plain porridge for almost a week since she had diarrhoea. Seeing that she had gotten over it, I gave her some steamed chicken last night and she gobbled everything up. This morning she had her medley of cereals. I gave her the usual portion, she happily finished the whole bowl in no time and kept asking for more. In the afternoon she had some sandwiches and asked for second helpings too. After her nap, she saw that Louisa was having a cookie which Jun had bought and wanted some. I gave her some and she ate like she'd never tasted something so delicious before. She asked for more but I refused to give her, worried that her tummy will not be able to take it. For dinner, I cooked pasta with a tomato and orange pepper based sauce with (you've guessed it! grilled CHICKEN). I thought I gave her a little too much but I guessed she'd stop once she's full. I was delighted when she scooped one spoonful after another into her mouth and finished the whole lot! I certainly hope she'll eat more from now on and be chubby again. No wonder she's been giggly and calling me mum/mummy repeatedly at bedtime. She had been well fed today. Talking about 'The way to a man's heart is through his stomach'....It works for hubby, it works for my girl as well......hehehe!

Campylobactor

I came back from my parenting course this afternoon and saw that someone had left me a voice message. It was from the paediatrician who saw Lavigne at the hospital on Friday. He said he was calling with regard to the lab test result of the sample stool. Now it didn't sound good to me. Dr Raj had told me that I would only get a call if the result is positive (ie a bacterial infection). I began to get worried, wondering if it could be something sinister.

The nice doctor patiently explained to me last week that Lavigne's diarrhoea could be a bacterial (more serious, but could be treated with a course of antibiotics) or a viral infection. Even though the diarrhoea has stopped since yesterday, I couldn't help but feel paranoid. When I finally spoke to him on the phone, he told me my worst fear - it was a bacterial infection and the name of the bacteria is 'campylobactor'. Since I told him that Lavigne no longer has green or watery stools, he felt that she has managed to get the bug out of the system and does not need the antibiotics. He added that the main causes of this infection are the ingestion of the bacteria through contaminated food or water or if she had travelled to a tropical country recently (which we didn't) , she could have picked it up from there. Also, should any of us in the family starts developing the same symptoms, we should head straight to the A&E and ask to be given a course of antibiotics since this infection is contagious. This is worrying as we're going away next week. And! I'll be getting a call from the health people who will ask me questions and try to trace the source in order to prevent an outbreak.

I made a search on the internet to look for information regarding this nasty bacteria. To my surprise, it is said that most people who get infected with this bacteria develop symptoms such as fever, vomitting, abdominal pain and diarrhoea within 2-5 days after exposure to the organisms. I have always thought one gets a diarrhoea very quickly after consuming contaminated food. Thus I began to think back what she had eaten over the past few days. As my father-in-law was here, we ate out alot. Campylobacteriosis is usually associated with poultry and being a chicken-meat lover, Lavigne ate quite a lot of it. The only place I could think of was Wetherspoon Restaurant at the airport where we had lunch on Sunday. The food looked dodgy. My father-in-law's fish was over-fried and Louisa's shepherd's pie looked so horrid and unpalattable I'd wanted to send it back to the kitchen. The mashed potato was haphazardly thrown on top of the barely there mince. I don't expect it to look exactly the same as the photograph in the menu but hey! any novice cook can do a better job than that.

Anyway, I couldn't pinpoint where she might have ingested the contaminated food....was it the turkey at Tobey Carvery on Saturday, the grilled chicken at Wetherspoon on Sunday or my roast chicken on Monday? I guess I'll never know.

Mummy you're getting old

Kids do say the most hilarious, the sweetest or the most unbelievable things at times. This afternoon while I was washing Louisa up, she said to me, 'Mummy, when you get smaller, I'll wash for you.' I replied, 'Mummy won't get smaller, I'll grow older and when I'm an old lady, you can wash for me. If I can't walk by then, you can also push me in a wheelchair just like I pushed you in a stroller when you were young.' An hour later, I was folding clothes while the girls were playing with their toys. I told Louisa, 'It'll be mummy's birthday in a few days and I'm getting old.' She told me she knew it. I was puzzled and asked her what made her say that. 'Because you're going to sit in a wheelchair!' came the reply. It then occur to me she linked it to the conversation we had about growing old and the wheelchair. I had a good laugh. There were many other occasions when she said things that melt my heart. Such as when I told her I don't have certain things, she'd go, 'Nevermind! Next time when I grow older I'll buy for you.' There were also many times when she said she would buy daddy, mummy, meimei and junyi handphones, radios, TVs etc. How sweet!

Lavigne was also particularly manja this evening while I was breastfeeding her before she went to bed. She repeatedly called out 'Mum, mum....maahmeeee...mum.......maaAhHmeeeE' and then end off with a giggle. This carried on for quite a while. Though I was smitten with it, I had to ask her to stop as Louisa was already fast asleep. I would whisper to her asking her not to carry on as jiejie is sleeping and she would cheekily whisper back to me. Then she would forget and start all over again. Today was the day she said 'mummy nen nen pease'. I'd been teaching her to say that whenever she wants to be breastfed and usually, it'd be 'mummy' or 'pease' or 'nen nen pease'. Finally! She got it right today!

Another bout of illness (don't read this if you are eating)

Lavigne has diarrhoea. Not a mild one but a rather serious one. She woke up on Tuesday morning and passed motion as she would normally do. However, everytime after she ate something, she would poo......not ordinary poo but the stools were runny, mucousy and GREEN! I made sure she drank plenty of fluids and gave her only very bland and plain food like toast, cream crackers and plain porridge. She dirtied her diaper 15 times on Tuesday alone and I took her to see the GP first thing Wednesday morning. As with the normal practice in UK, the doctors do not like to prescribe medication unnecessarily. I was told it was probably a viral infection and there was nothing he could give her except for Dioralyte which will replace the body fluid lost in order to prevent dehyration. Went home, no improvement. She refused to drink the Dioralyte and I continued to offer water every few minutes. She also started having very sore bottom even though I religiously washed her after each poo and applied good barrier cream. She cried miserable each time she passed urine or pooed. It was heartbreaking. Adrian asked me not to breastfeed her too much and I wondered if I had eaten something which passed through the milk to her. I stopped breastfeeding her on Wednesday afternoon thinking that perhaps it's God telling me to stop since Lavigne is already 18mth old. I tried to soothe her sore bottom by making her sit in a tub of warm water with some calamine lotion. It did the trick and she no longer cried from pain. Thursday....still the same....food goes into stomach....out it comes from the other end. I rang the health centre, wanting to bring her there but it was closed that afternoon for 'doctors' training'. Spoke to the 'after-surgery hours' operator and a doctor rang me back. Told him about Lavigne's condition and he advised me to feed her some water mixed with sugar and salt (1pint water, a level teaspoon of sugar and a pinch of salt) that is similar to Dioralyte but is more palattable. I was told to stop giving her solids and just continue offering water. This had been a dilemma for me. She had not been eating well for the last couple of months due to coughs, colds and chicken pox. I had been worrying about her weight gain. She had only started to eat well and beginning to get chubby only 2 weeks back and now there's another setback. If I don't offer her food, she'll starve and lose more weight than the diarrhoea had already caused. If she eats solids, her bowel will not have a chance to recover. What should I do? I decided to give her very watery porridge which she happily finished. Poor girl! She had been refusing to eat porridge for a while now. She must be so hungry she finished the whole lot of plain porridge with added salt.

This morning, brought her back to see the GP again. He told me she's beginning to have mild dehydration (which is worrying) and to bring her to the hospital should her condition remains the same or worsen by tomorrow. I was also advised to restart breastfeeding as it is the best source of nutrient for her now. Upon hearing this, I had mixed feelings. I was glad that Lavigne would happily empty both breasts which was already badly engorged and relieve me of further pain and agony. But I felt sad that I would have to wean her all over again another time. I know it's selfish of me to think that since she's not well at the moment and weaning her should be the last thing on my mind. But seriously though, I didn't stop breastfeeding because I wanted to wean her. I stopped because I thought it could be my milk she was reacting to and subsequently decided to wean her since my supply will dip once I stop.

Anyway, we came home and I breastfed her. What a relieve to me or rather my breasts! She had a good nap but passed motion again after she woke. This time round I noticed some mucous as well as blood. Not bright red patches of blood but streaks. I was really beginning to worry that something is seriously wrong with her. Rang the health centre again and spoke to GP. He asked me to bring her to the Paediatric A&E of St Peter's Hospital. Armed with my GP's letter and her soiled diaper, we breezed through the queue and was seen to promptly by a nurse. A very good consolation was that I found out she didn't lose weight (which was a big surprise). Then, she was seen to almost immediately by the paediatrician after the nurse. Amazing I thought. He was such a nice doctor who explained everything to me clearly and thoroughly. I was very relieved to hear that she didn't need to be admitted then as she only had mild dehydration. As they had taken a sample from her diaper to be sent off to the lab, we would have to wait till at least Monday before the result will be out as to whether she's having bacterial or viral infection. I asked him how she could have caught the infection and he replied it could either be food poisoning or she had come into contact with someone who has it. Gosh! Louisa will be at risk then! We remained in the examination room as he'd wanted Lavigne to finish a whole cup of Dioralyte. I had to squirt some into her mouth every few minutes. At first she resisted. Subsequently, she asked for more and finished everything in no time. I was puzzled as she refused to drink it at home. Then I thought perhaps it's of another flavour (blackcurrant). I was given citrus and blackcurrant flavours 2 days back and only offered her the citrus one. Silly me didn't try the other flavour. Sometimes I wonder why my brain doesn't work properly. So we went home with a bottle for another sample to be taken and brought back. Her last poo was at 12noon and her diaper stayed clean until after dinner at 6.15pm which was still green and had some blood again and 7.15pm which was green but no blood. AND! She refused to drink the blackcurrant flavoured Dioralyte and even rejected water! Argh! Thank God the well is not dry and she had breastmilk before she dozed off to dreamland. I had to bring the stool sample back to the hospital again. Please let her get well soon and no more illnesses for any of us as we're heading to Disneyland Paris in 2 weeks.

Didn't the old folks say that when a child has green poo, it means he/she had a fright or something? Lavigne did have a fright on Monday evening. We were on a walk when a big, black dog came running towards us. It was just a few cm away from us when it's owner called out to him and it ran away. I was bitten by a dog when I was young therefore am terrified of them. My heart was pounding away and Lavigne was shivering after the close encounter. She started having green loose stools on Tuesday morning. A mere coincidence? I let you decide.

A Mum's Anguish

1. Am I a bad mum?
2. Why are my girls always falling sick, especially Lavigne?
3. Is there anything more I can do to ensure my girls are fit and healthy?
4. Am I feeding my family well enough?
5. Am I spending enough quality time with Louisa?
6. Do I always put my children's needs before my own?
7. What can I do to fatten Lavigne up?
8. When should I stop breastfeeding?

The party is over!

Don't you have one of these days too....when you wake up and just feel as if the whole world owes you something. This morning, I was feeling quite 'mang zang' and irritable. I guess it was because I'd come to the end of a long holiday weekend. Adrian had been off work since last Wednesday as his dad was here and Friday and Monday were public holidays. We've had visitors in the house and went out so much. So today, the 'party is over', and I'm back to my routine days. The house is in a mess (I had been in a holiday mood)....I didn't do my usual once-a-week big cleanup last Saturday...there's plenty of laundry to be done....no more eat-outs like last week....All of us woke up early today. I asked Adrian how was I going to get through the day. I desperately wanted to work on my front garden but I can only do it when Lavigne naps and the house needed my attention more.

Housework......boring and mundane! But if I don't get to it, my mood will get worse when I see the mess. I started off by doing something which I know I'll enjoy. In fact, this job is long overdue. Not housework actually but putting up the frame to display Louisa's artwork in the girls' room. I bought the materials sometime back and they had been sitting in the store room after I'd painted them. I played some Chinese children's songs in the room and the girls got on with their toys. Not bad......I could feel my mood being lifted. After that was done, I went on to vacuum the house and wiping surfaces. I never quite understand why there's so much dust in the house even though we hardly open the windows. It's not that I've neglected the surfaces for months. I'm talking about just after one day or two. OK...nevermind! I realised that as I got through with the chores, I became more cheerful. Hahahaha.....doing housework = a happy person? Hmm, perhaps it unclutters the mind. Louisa requested me to inflate the fence and tree of her toy house and that was done. So, at the end of the day, the house was less messy, Louisa was very pleased with her display wall and I got quite a lot of things done.

Housework is Despressing

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/2287960.stm

Housework 'reduces cancer risk'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3578405.stm

Full House

My house is full of people now. My sister is staying with us at the moment (she's just finished 1st half of her work contract and is planning a tour-of-a-lifetime before commencing on the remaining half of the contract in October), my bro-in-law (currently studying at Notts) is here for a visit and my father-in-law, who had extended his business trip in Europe so that he could come see us, has just arrived today. The last time the girls saw their granddad was over a year ago when he kindly accompanied us to UK and helped us settle in. Louisa had no problem bonding with him again. I was worried about Lavigne. She was still a little baby when my father-in-law went back to Singapore, so she wouldn't be able to recognise him. Hence, for the past 2 weeks or so, I'd been showing her a photo of him and teaching her to call him 'YeYe' (cantonese for granddad). To my surprise and delight, she didn't behave as she would have normally done to a stranger (hiding behind me) when she saw him. In fact, she didn't even fuss when YeYe carried her. Both girls had a wonderful time playing with Yeye and Uncle Daniel. They even went to the park to which Louisa proclaimed to me 'I had so much fun' upon coming home. I'm sure Yeye enjoyed himself tremendously too since he had not seen his only 2 grandchildren for so long.

My aunt and cousin visited us 2 weeks back. My father-in-law is here now. My parents and youngest sister will be coming over end of May and we are expecting my sister-in-law and her boyfriend in October. Visitors.....they lift our spirits when they come and certainly make my days less like 'Groundhog Day'.

F is for Familiar. . . There is no place like home.

A is for always welcome, no matter how far you roam.

M is for memories, more cherished each passing day.

I is for inspiration, given along the way.

L is for love you feel each time you get together.

Y is for the years to come, for family lasts forever.

From Long to Short

I cut Louisa's hair today. It wasn't just a little trim....it was a total change in length - from long to short. Adrian's been bugging me to cut her hair short and I refuse to do so, until today that is. Louisa's fringe is getting quite long and I just wanted to trim it. But she told me she wanted her hair to be short. I wondered if she knew what she was saying and repeatedly asked her if she'd really want me to cut her hair short...as in like her sister, Lavigne. She said yes. So snip! snip! snip! She got a new bob hairstyle.

I was very reluctant to cut it short because I'd been yearning to have a daughter with long flowing tress. Adrian always wanted her hair to be really short while we were in Singapore as he felt it was too hot for her to have long hair. So when I knew we were coming to UK, I planned for her to grow her hair long. It took more than a year for it to grow this long and I felt a little sad after I cut it. She, on the other hand, seemed very happy. So were Adrian and my sis. I was wondering if one of the reasons for her to want to cut her hair was due to Lavigne pulling her hair these past few days. Oh well, so long as she is happy, I'm happy too. She can always grow it long again. Time to keep the hair accessories.

Finally!

The day has come! Louisa finally has chicken pox. It's exactly 2 weeks after Lavigne had it. Daniel, my bro-in-law, asked if I feel relieved. Well, yes and no. Yes, because it'll be over and done with. One may ask why 'no'. Louisa is a whiney kid and she cries easily. Adrian and I are afraid she won't be able to cope as well as Lavigne did. Talking about Lavigne, she didn't fuss much during the day when she had chicken pox. Only when she went to bed did she realise the itch.

I first noticed 3 red spots on her body yesterday afternoon. (We've been checking her everyday) There were a few more this morning so I thought this must be it. (We had a false alarm some days back.) So first thing in the morning, I brought her to the health centre and asked the GP (not the same one who saw Lavigne) to prescribe her the anti-viral drug. I hope it'll work better for Louisa than it did for Lavigne since we discovered the spots earlier. So far, she's only complained about itchiness on one area. Adrian said we weren't be able to have good nights' sleep again. We'll see about it tonight.

Spring in Bloom

It's time to say goodbye to my scarfs, thick jackets, gloves and boot. Hello budding trees, daffodils, tulips, birds singing, sunshine, shorts and sandals! I love spring! I'm not exactly a person who likes warm weather but after months of grey skies and hiding under piles of clothing which makes me feel like a rice dumpling, I'm more than happy to welcome spring with open arms. Don't you feel your mood is lifted when you walk on the streets and see gardens full of flowers blooming in all rainbow colours? I certainly notice a spring in my steps as I walk out of the door and feel the rays of sun shining down on me. Ahh! The sweet smell of my Skimmia blooming.

I love everything flowers. Yes! Everything! Ask my sisters and they'll tell you I'm a 'flower person'. Is it because I am born in April, the beginning of Spring? Maybe....but I do have a serious love affair with flowers.

One of the things I most looked forward to moving to UK was having a garden of my own. I've not grown anything before other than beansprouts in primary school. Ironic isn't it? Well, it's never too late for anything. Last year, I planted lilies, begonias, sunflower, lavender and some other flowers which I forgot what they are called in my long and narrow back garden. I even grew sweetcorn from seeds. What I really dislike about this garden is that my house doesn't lead straight out to it. You have to go out of the back door, onto a common pathway before coming to it. Anyone can just go into it. Strange isn't it, though I suspect it's to make the gardener's job easier so he can mow the lawn and trim the hedge as and when he likes as the house is the university's property. Did I say 'as and when he likes'? The other grouse I have is this gardener who works for the university lives just next door. But the lawn and the hedge weren't cut as frequently as they should. Now I'm not being fussy here. Imagine the hedge growing to the extent we could hardly walk into the garden. It was that bad. I had to buy a hedge trimmer just so I could attend to my plants and hang my clothes out to dry.

This year, I've decided to concentrate on my little front garden. It's going to require a lot of work but I've started with having potted plants near the main door. Hehe! I can delay greeting the earthworms. I HATE creepy crawlies! Everytime I dig into the ground and chance upon a fat and long earthworm, my heart will skip a beat and most often than not, I'll scream! Adrian asked 'How can you be a gardener then?' Why not?! I can just stick to my compost and my pots. I know I will not be happy with just that, I'll still plant my flowers into the ground.

Today I took the girls to a huge garden centre. Having had some gardening experiences now, I didn't buy too many plants. I only bought what I can plant out at the moment. But I'm sure I'll go back for more!

Before

After

Some Girls Have All The Luck

I totally envy those mummies who spring to their pre-preggie weight within weeks of delivery. I recently read from a blog about a mummy who regained her weight just one week after she had her baby though she wasn't happy about it. Few days back, while picking up Louisa from nursery, I saw one of her classmate's mummy, who just had her 3rd child 2 weeks back, in a teeny weeny T, which exposed an unbelievably flat tummy. I saw another mummy who also had her 3rd child but in Nov last year looking at her tummy too. She must be wondering 'I had my child almost 5months back and yet my tummy is not as flat as hers!' Me? I had mine 1.5yrs back and it's still not flat and I guess it never will!