'8-Days Virus'

I am so so glad to say that this nasty virus has finally said its farewell to Lavigne's system. I call it the '8-days virus' simply because it racked havoc to the body, giving it raging temperature for exactly 8 days, to both Louisa and Lavigne. This bug, which refused to let the body cool, berated it with a runny nose and nagging cough. Liken to someone whose visa has expired, this foreign parasite decides that 8 days is enough and packs its bag to find another unsuspecting victim. I bid farewell too to my 2-weeks' night shift - waking up at regular intervals to check temperature, sponge and feeding medication. I felt like I'd just had a baby. It had been the worst ever illness, in terms of me looking after the girls. Compared to this, it seemed like a breeze when they had chicken pox 2 years ago. Tonight, Louisa reclaims back her bed which I'd been sleeping in since she was ill. Adrian had said he wanted to look after her when in hindsight, I should have slept with her instead. We wanted to keep her away from Lavigne, not just because of the contagious bug but also we didn't want to wake the little one up with all the activities going on. Just as she was about to recover, Lavigne fell ill like her sister did. So I stayed put in their room while Louisa continued to sleep with Adrian. Tonight, we can all finally have a proper night's sleep!

Lousy Half-term

This week is half-term for the girls. I'd planned 2 playdates and a trip to the cinema. Alas! They were not meant to be. All because of a virus. Louisa came down with very high temperature last Friday evening. I alternated between Calpol and Nurofen because her temperature would shoot beyond 39 degrees and not come below 38 degrees. I sponged her diligently, gave her the medicine on time but her temperature just would not come down to acceptable range. On Sunday night when it hit 39.5 degrees, I called the after-surgery hours hotline and a GP rang me back. He booked her in to see a doctor at the after-surgery hours clinic at Heatherwood Hospital. During the consultation, the GP (a different one) said to me, 'If I had spoken to you on the phone, I would not have asked you to come but to tell you what you could do to bring the temperature down.' He suggested not bundling up but wear as little as possible and even going out for a walk. Her temperature registered at 38 degrees at the clinic and he explained that was because she came out from the house and was walking in the cold. Upon checking her ears and listening to her chest and declaring them clear of infection, he sent us home after instructing me to take off her top, leaving only the vest. Ok, I'm not the type who will bundle a child up so that perspiration will bring the temperature down. But I'm certainly not going to let her walk in the cold wintery weather with just a vest on. Before we went out to the carpark, I put her PJ back on. Oh yes, he told me that antibiotics will not work because she's having a viral infection. Now, I remember almost everytime I went to the doctor in Singapore when I had cough/cold/fever, antibiotics would be prescribed without fail. Adrian reminded me that the doctors in Singapore earn money by selling us the medicine. It's different with the NHS here because the government pays for the medicine, while children under the age of 16 get them for free.

Early Monday morning, she burnt at 40.1 degrees. I gave her a lukewarm shower immediately and that cooled her down. Here, if one wants to see a GP without making advance appointment (days in advance), one has to call the surgery at 8.30am (when it opens) to book an appointment to see the GP on duty (open surgery). Adrian rang the surgery but the earliest available slot was at 10am. This time, Louisa was given a bottle antibiotic. I had invited 2 of Louisa's friends and their mummies to come that day but had to ring them up to cancel. One mum told me that a few children from Louisa's class were having very high temperature as well a few days back. That explains it. Since that day, her temperature hovered between 38 to 39+. I spent my days and nights sponging her and wrote down on the board the time she had her different medications because I simply couldn't remember them. Her cough deteriorated and as a result, she couldn't have any proper sleep at night. Her temperature finally came down to the normal range but she's still coughing quite a bit. At least tonight is better than the last. Yesterday, one mum rang me to confirm that she'd be coming for the 'party' today. I had to disappoint her by telling her what happened and that it had to be cancelled. By coincidence, she told me her daughter was having the exact illness as Louisa. It also started last Friday and she had only begun to feel better.

I'm still on night shift. Louisa is on the mend but Lavigne started having high temperature last night. Same symptoms - very high temperature, running nose and a cough that gets worse. I'd just given her Nurofen and sponged her. Adrian's got the irritable cough and I don't feel so well myself. Same type of cough as the girls, temperature that just fluctuates. It seems like I'll have to go through night shifts for another week because that was the time it took Louisa and her friend to recover (from the fever at least). Fingers crossed, toes crossed, touch wood....I hope neither Adrian nor I will be next. There goes our plan to bring the girls to the cinema to watch the 'Bee Movie' tomorrow.

Makeover

Not me but my blog! It's about time I revamp this space. I will build it up progressively and hope to complete it in a week or two. Stay tuned!

Heart Chakra

Today at the end of yoga class, the teacher gave out a chakra card to every student. She picked a card she felt from the energy we gave out. I was given a Heart (green) Chakra which said 'You are worthy of love'. She explained that even when I show my love to others, it is alright to receive it. Hmmmm......

Happy Valentine's Day!

What a super duper busy day for me! Finally made sambal belachan, all because I was going to cook nasi lemak for you-know-who. Well, they say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, right? Soaked lots of dried chillies and de-seeded them (my hands are burning right now!!!) . Boiled pandan leaves with coconut milk. Pounded garlic and shallots. Seasoned chicken wings. After the girls came home from school, melted a bar of chocolate for them to make I-dunno-what-they-are-called chocolatey rice krispies. Basically just pour melted chocolate over rice krispies and mix well, then spoon into paper cases. That done, I began to cook the sambal. This is my second attempt. The first was a flop. Very happy I succeeded this time though my hands are really painful now. (Must remember to wear gloves the next time!) Had such a satisfied dinner. (To self: forget the calories consumed)

Hope you all had a lovely day spent with your loved ones!

'I do'.....

....11yrs on.

Didn't do anything special for we'd been eating out quite a bit the past week. Adrian and I went to the supermarket yesterday (together with Lavigne) and he wanted to get me some flowers. I asked him not to. He was surprised and asked, 'Don't you like flowers anymore?' to which I replied that I still do but the money could be better spent. Then I told him I'd rather have magazines. So he got me a gossipy one 'OK' and one for digital photography which comes with a free CD-Rom on Photoshop tutorials. Afterwards, I was looking at the many bouquets of flowers on display (Valentine's Day tomorrow) and he urged me to pick one. I was tempted. What did I get for him? Uhm....nothing. He came home this evening feeling unwell and went straight to bed after dinner. We didn't even get to watch our HK drama like we'll do every night. Guess when you're married this long, an anniversary is like any other day. Read about this day last year. Ending this post with a quote:

"Love is not a matter of counting the years, it's a matter of making the years count."
William Smith

(Dug out the one and only digiscrap of us I did last year)

Past Projects

As I was going through my past projects, I came across some which I'd not posted before. Here they are:

Gong Xi Fa Cai

The first day of Lunar New Year was the same like any other day. The girls had to go to school and Adrian went to work as usual. Lavigne wore a cheongsam to school. As she was wearing her new shoes, I packed her old boots for her to bring along so that she could change into them should she play in the garden. Her teacher, upon seeing her frock, commented that she would have to put on an overall if she was to paint in order not to dirty her pretty dress. Lavigne asked me why wasn't Chinese New Year a holiday. I told her if she was in Singapore, she'd have a few days of holiday but because not many people celebrate the occasion here, it's therefore not a holiday. A friend then came over for a visit before I went on my school run. Once Louisa came home from school, she put on her cheongsam too and we took some pictures before ringing our families in Singapore to send our greetings. Since it's CNY, we brought the girls to a chinese restaurant to have a nice meal. That was how we spent our 'chuyi'.

CNY - now and then

It's Chinese New Year's Eve and suddenly I wish I'm at my parents' place. For 4 years in a row now, I haven't celebrated the occasion properly. I triedl to create some festive mood in the house by putting up CNY decorations, flowers and some festive snacks on the table. As I am writing this, I'm listening to Yes 93.3Fm. If not, it just doesn't feel like CNY. Louisa will be going to her friend's house for a playdate after school and I really have no idea what to cook tonight. We had the reunion dinner (steamboat) on Sunday. I love steamboat here because the weather's cold. Will visit some friends and invite some mummies over during half-term break. That's about it I guess.

What I really liked about celebrating CNY before I got married was my dad would decorate the house with many festive decorations, buy seasonal flowers from the nursery to display at the car porch, big shopping trip to stock up goodies and buy new clothes/shoes. It really felt like NEW year. We always had steamboat for the reunion dinner and my mum never failed to prepare us a new set of pyjamas. It was also the time to meet up with friends and relatives whom we sometimes see only once a year. CNY was one of my favourite festival and I had such fond memories of it.