So Blessed

I feel so blessed. I received so many birthday wishes via Facebook, sms, e-mail and phone call. The wishes started coming in as early as 3 days before the actual day (Wednesday). It really made my day(s). ;-)

Although I didn't get any presents from hubby (to be redeemed later :D), I'm very happy that :
1) Hubby made it a point to come home for dinner even though he was supposed to have dinner with his bosses.
2) CE wished me Happy Birthday the moment he woke up in the morning. *sweet*
3) XY tried very hard to be a good girl. Although she didn't really succeed (or maybe my expectations were too high), I'll give her credit for trying real hard. hehehe

Hubby bought back a green tea cake from Tong Kee. We had a simple dinner at home together with SIL #1, CH, baby and FIL. MIL is currently in Hong Kong visiting SIL #2. CE kept pestering me to let him eat the cake, from the time PaPa brought it home till after I finished my dinner. So I had to keep asking him to wait as we're still full from dinner. Finally it was time to cut the cake. The kids helped me blow the candle. Everyone loved the cake. It's very nice, not too sweet and has red beans in between layers.

~ green tea cake with layers of red beans ~

Being at home full time with the kids, life isn't very "interesting". And sometimes it feels like I'm trapped (with them) within the four walls. But there are many things to be thankful for. So even though life is pretty routine and uninteresting, I am very contented. Yes, I feel so blessed.

Of Examinations

Follow-up Eye Examination
Brought the kids for their eye check-up at ISEC yesterday. The last time they had their eyes checked was at Optimax in December last year.

Result for XY :
Previously : myopia (shortsightedness) of 25 degrees for each eye and astigmatism (left -0.75 and right -1.00).
Now : myopia (left 100 and right 50 degrees), astigmatism (left -0.75 and right -0.25).
She'll definitely see better with glasses but at the moment, can still do without them. Have to make sure she doesn't strain her eyes too much, otherwise she may develop headache. So she cannot sit too far from the white board in class to avoid straining her eyes.

Result for CE :
He has astigmatism of left -1.75 and right -1.00. At his age, he can still make do without glasses. Will have to do regular check-up to make sure his astigmatism doesn't increase too much till it affects his vision. It's a relief to know he doesn't have lazy eyes or squint coz during his previous check-up, the doctor said his right eye was weaker than his left.

So they won't be wearing glasses for now. Will continue to monitor their progress. They're advised to get their eyes checked again 6 months later. I guess eye examinations will be a half-yearly affair for us from now on.

School Examination
XY will be having her year-end examinations starting Tuesday (till Friday). So I'll be busy doing revision with her. And that calls for a short blog break. :p This is the exam season, so here's wishing your children (and you) ALL THE BEST!

The Hat Hunt

The other day, I was helping my sister-in-law to look for a hat for her baby girl. They will be attending a wedding dinner and she wanted to get a hat for baby, who doesn't have much hair now. :D I was browsing the net and I came across this website which has a wide selection of really cute kids and baby hats. Those are winter hats so it's not suitable for our weather here. But for those who are staying in countries with 4 seasons or you are planning a winter holiday, do check out Winter Hats Boutique.

There are so many designs to choose from and I particularly love this bright and colourful Kids Sunflower Beanie. Maybe I can get this as a gift for my niece. I heard that they are planning a holiday to Korea during winter next year. It will be perfect for my cute little niece.


Apart from kids and baby winter hats, Winter Hats Boutique also has a wide selection of women winter hats and men winter hats. You’ll be spoiled for choice. And at a very good bargain too. With this coupon code, "15OFF", you can get 15% discount off your purchase. Good news for folks in USA and Canada, shipping is free! I am sure the shopping experience with them would be a pleasant one as they are committed to providing the best customer service. Happy shopping!

** Note : I was compensated for my time. All opinions are 100% mine. **

Almost

That's one of CE's favourite words. My almost 53-month-old boy uses it very frequently.

Happily announcing the time, "It's 2:43. It's almost 3 o'clock."
He heard thunder. "It's almost going to rain."
After his evening bath, he saw that it's getting dark outside. "It's almost night time."

And sometimes used inappropriately :
CE : Today is 16 October already ah?
Me : Ya.
CE : It's almost 17 October ah?
Me : Ya. Tomorrow is 17 October.

He's learnt to read the time. I say read coz he's just reading the numbers. I doubt he understands the concept of time. He can read the digital clock quite well but for the analog one, he can only tell if the long hand is pointing at 12 (something o'clock). He knows for the hours, after 12 is 1. And for the minutes, after 59 is 00.

It's time to go upstairs to sleep. I told him it's 10:05 already.
"How come past 9:59 already?"
I just kept quiet. I reckon that's a question that doesn't require an answer. :D

He currently has an obsession with time. He loves to press the INFO button on the Astro remote control to see the time display on tv. Or look at my handphone screen. Or check the time on the computer screen. And then reads it out loud. He's become our official time announcer. Sometimes he'll stare at his Ben 10 watch (from KFC's chicky meal) to see the minutes change. hehehe... my funny boy.

This Time I Remembered

... to take back her tooth. Brought XY to the dentist again on Sunday afternoon as her upper left central incisor was bleeding a little. I think she was touching it and shook it too hard. So it became very loose and bled. She has been complaining that it was a bit painful when she ate. I was hoping it'll drop out by itself. But because it bled, off to the clinic we went.

We were told we had to wait very long for our turn. So I took her to the next block for a haircut. Cut her fringe short and trimmed the back a little. I prefer her to keep short hair but she's very reluctant to cut them short. Short hair is easier to maintain. Moreover, she doesn't know how to take care of or tie her own hair. Anyway, I gave in this time. Told her the next time we visit the hair salon, it'll be a proper haircut (= short hair).

~ with a missing front tooth and very short fringe :D ~

That night before sleeping, she asked for her tooth, so that she can put it under her pillow. She was very happy the next morning to find a 50 sen coin in its place. Although I've told her before that I (or PaPa) was the one who left the coin for her, she still believes in tooth fairies. Too much influence from fairy tales, I guess. hehehe

Life's Back To Normal

Hello everybody... I'm back! I've been away for almost a month and I'm really happy to know that I've been missed. *big grin* Now that Kakak's back from her Raya break (just got back yesterday midnight), my life is back to normal. No more housework. Yay! No more eating salty catered food. Yay! More time for myself and the kids. Yay! More time for blogging and blog-hopping. Yay! There are 900+ unread posts in my Google Reader. *pengsan* I'll visit you real soon ya... slowly, but surely. :-)

Before I continue, I must say a special thank you to hubby who's been really helpful during Kakak's absence. I'm so lucky to have such a "domesticated" hubby who has no issues with doing house chores. And very good at it too. ;-) Also a big thank you to my ever helpful and thoughtful SIL, who took care of most of our meals. It really saved me a lot of work and brain cells (thinking of what to cook). hehehe

As mentioned in my previous post, I was back in Penang for the 1-week school/Raya holidays. Didi complained of mouth pain on Wed (8/9) and doctor confirmed it was HFMD. He must have been infected before the trip. This round it was more serious, with rashes on his hands and legs (previous infection was in January, a mild one). Luckily he didn't have any fever, just mouth sore for 5 days. Good thing his appetite wasn't affected although he was in pain when eating. The mouth drop given wasn't really working. Jie jie's mouth pain came 2 days after him, on the day we got back home. She had fever that evening, but it went away after 1 dose of paracetamol. *phew* She also had rashes on her hands and legs and her mouth sore lasted almost 6 days. She relied mainly on ice and cold drinks during meal times. I'm so glad it's all over now. Please please please spare them from mouth ulcers in the future. It's such a torture!

Jie jie's school holiday was extended for another 2 weeks because the classrooms were used for the UPSR examination. I brought her to the dentist last Wednesday as her lower left lateral incisor was loose and painful (when she eats) and it bled sometimes. Her 2 upper central incisors are loose too but they're not causing any pain and there're no signs of new teeth coming out. So the doctor said they can wait. He extracted the lower left lateral incisor (using only the numbing gel) and filled up a hole in her upper left second molar. This is the 2nd time she got her tooth extracted by the dentist and she behaved really well. She did as instructed. All she requested was that I hold her hand while the dentist was attending to her. She even sat still on the chair behind the dentist when I got my teeth checked. Previous trip she was all over the place trying to see what he was doing and checking out the equipments. o.O

When I was making payment, she asked me a question. I had a hard time understanding what she said as she was biting on a gauze. After repeating many many times, I finally got it. "What's my reward?" A lollipop, which she "claimed" 3 days later. She was quite sad that her forgetful mommy didn't take back her tooth (how to get coins from the tooth fairy?). I forgot to tell the dentist I wanted to keep it. When we went back to the clinic about 30 minutes later (after packing lunch), they said they've thrown it away already. I told her not to be sad, as she already knew the tooth fairy is actually her parents. hahaha After thinking about it, I decided to put a coin under her pillow yesterday night, just to make her happy. Then she got confused with who's the REAL tooth fairy again. :-D Luckily I have her first two extracted baby teeth. Note to self : Must not be so forgetful next time.

Blog Break

I have been missing in action from the blogsphere for quite awhile already. Doubt anyone missed me. huhuhu Anyway, I'd better write something (will keep this short) before you all think that I've disappeared into thin air or I've gotten preggie (sorry Olive, your prediction didn't come true this time). hahaha I close shop already loh (for now). :-D

Here are the reasons for MIA :

#1 Was down with flu 2 weeks ago, with fever for 5 days (38+ºC to 39+ºC on the first 2 days). Went for blood test and nose swab -- got the Influenza B virus. Luckily PIL were around -- FIL helped to send the kids to and fro school. And that leads to the next reason.

#2 PIL were here to help take care of my 4+ month old niece. She was advised to be 'quarantined' as my nephew got the chicken pox (from kindy). So they stayed and took care of baby at my place. Unfortunately, SIL discovered spots on her the day PIL left (after taking care of her for 10 days and CH's spots have dried up). Poor baby, whole body and face covered with spots and I heard she's coughing and developed fever 2 days ago.

#3 Kakak has gone back to her kampung for Raya. I've been maidless since 29/8. She'll be away for 4 weeks. It takes awhile to adjust to life without that extra help at home. But so far so good. We've been "catering" food for lunch and dinner from SIL so it really saves me a lot of work from preparation, to cooking, to cleaning up. I'm so thankful for her help. I don't even have to think about the menu and the kids love her (or her maid's) cooking. From next week onwards, we'll cater dinner from outside for 2 weeks, till Kakak comes back.

#4 I'm now back in my hometown for the school break. First time bringing the kids back myself (by flight) without hubby. Luckily they didn't give me much problems -- minimal toilet visits and they held my hand ALMOST all the time. :-D

All these reasons = limited online activity. So I'm officially declaring a blog break till end of Sept. Have a good holiday and Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri!