sick...

The sisters really 'bonded' during the times they both fell ill one after another. Isabelle went down first with fever, runny nose and cough.
Fever was so high, I took her to KK without consulting any GP. At
that moment I thought it was useless going to a GP as I wanted a direct approach rather than a "take-this-medicine-wait-and-see" type of approach from most GP. Moreover I have yet to find a good GP in my area. We actually hope to appoint a family doctor now that we have 2 children but sadly we have not yet found one that suits us all. There is a new doctor in the area which we hope would be doctor 'right' though.
As for pediatrician, I think I may have found a nice female doctor which I hope could pass my children's test. Well, they have to like the doctor too, don't they? So far, she pass mummy's test as she's able to answer all my queries patiently and good-naturally and mind you I have lots to ask. Joelle did not reject her the first time they met but I suspect she might prefer a handsome male doctor than a pretty female doctor. That's normal, isn't it? Isabelle has yet to meet her. As for daddy, she's not a bad-looker so I guess she pass his test too, (MAN *roll eyes*)

Anyway, Isabelle got better after 3 days and all seemed fine but after a few days, Joelle went down with stomach flu.
It started similarly with fever so we just gave her some medication. She was still up and about in her usual self. Fever went off as fast as it came so we thought nothing of it. But when she woke up vomiting one morning, I rush her to the nearest GP. As I suspect, the GP told me not to worry as it's probably her cough that caused the vomiting. We went home with some cough mixture but I wasn't convinced. It was confirmed when she vomited 4 more times in that day. The next day, she was like a jellyfish.
All she does is sleep, pass whatever little urine she has, sip that little water we can force on her and the occasional
surprise of a bread request. She really look weak, tired and uncomfortable. It was probably her worst days. She could not play, did not talk much. It was heart wrenching to see her in that state. We decided to visit the pediatrician the next day as she was still vomiting and feeling terrible. That's when we met doctor 'nice' and her medication seemed to work for us. Joelle stopped rejecting food and got her hunger pangs back. The whole episode for joelle lasted almost 3 weeks! She lost so much weight. Poor baby... she couldn't find the appetite to eat any food and she didn't dare to drink her milk too. She was afraid of vomiting it out again but we made sure she drink her water and take the glucose tablet for energy. It was a quiet period I should say but a sleepless one. Thank goodness joelle isn't too noisy or grouchy when ill. She just lay there looking really unwell. So is Isabelle. Sweet thing is... she seems to know her sister's ill and will touch her sister gently. It's just a beautiful thing to see your children love one another. So blessed...

Growing up

I was watching the girls play over breakfast last saturday and I realised how fast they are growing. Goodness, Joelle will be four this september and Isabelle will be one. It's been one great journey I must admit. From the beginning... yes from the very beginning. The pregnancy, the birth, the growing up. It has been a GREAT journey! For all of us.

Chairs

Isabelle's many chairs. All for their own purposes.
Car seat is for riding in the car.
High chair is for meal time.
Bumbo is for play time.
Potty of course is for poo poo time.
She is no longer using the bumbo chair because she is able to get herself out of it which is very dangerous. In fact she's been trying to get out since the time we put her in. We finally free her from the chair in April. She has not manage to free herself from the car seat yet but she will scream herself hoarse when she is in it. The safety belt that is keeping her in is like a dangerous restrain when she struggles desperately to get out. It actually pains me to see her in that situation. I mean it's not exactly a pleasant sight. Now her new mission is to get out of the high chair which is extremely scary to witness because the chair is so high and she is so little and it doesn't help that she is so strong. It's very dangerous and every time she does that stunt, I thought I would die of a heart attack! The potty is the only chair that could keep her in ... for now. And it's only because her butt fits nicely and firmly in the potty. This girl of mine has an extremely strong will and she is very focus and determine. It's so difficult to distract her.
Then again... it might not be a bad thing after all.

Mcdonalds kids

During the week of the shriek promotion at macdonalds, we were having so much happy meals. Too many for my comfort actually but what to do when you have cute and manipulative children and grandparents who would never resist the urge to spoil them. Joelle actually told her grandpa one day "I want to eat Mcdonalds because I'm so hungry" (she includes that clutching of stomach and clinching expression) How could grandpa say No to this simple request? So my dad made her happy. Another time she asked her grandma "Mama am I a good girl?" Naturally her grandma said Yes to which she smiled and said "So can you bring me to Mcdonalds and give me a surprise present?" My mum will never pull back $4.50 to make her granddaughter happy. So she did it! And of course I was victim to a couple of times myself... Anyway besides the "nothing too good for your health rubbish" (which I think is not that bad now with their selection of apple dips, corn and yogurt or fresh milk) I think Mcdonalds Happy meals do make people happy. Well, it made my dad, my mum and my daughter happy. And it sure did make me happy too. I'm also a Mcdonalds kid!

Riddle

What do you get when you put a crawler and a toddler together with a box of toys? Yes... MESS! Colourful mess.
Oh.. and seriously.. children do not really always need expensive toys. Give them some shopping bags and encourage a whole lot of imagination, they can spent the entire afternoon at play.

Yum yum pizza

We bought ourselves a new oven. Reason being our conventional oven is causing power trips to the house. Yes, the really nice built-in oven under the stove is now a white elephant. Well at least it made us turkey over 2 christmases and countless of grilled chicken wings at parties. It paid its dues though we hope it could last longer. Especially now that I'm mostly at home and need some cookery classes for joelle during mummy's school. We have since made pizza twice and some mini cupcakes without the frills like the icing and all. That will definately come but perhaps later cos I need to ensure that the cupcakes are in shape first. I look forward to the day I can produce pretty little cupcakes with fanciful patterns on top and I hope it could be before september. I hope to be able to do it for the girls birthday. Right now, daddy has to content himself with an ordinary cake for his coming birthday later this month. I'm still practicing!


Check out our special pizza. It's beefy hawaiian! Hmmm... yummy... Oh and if you wonder why the cheese look so different, it's cos we wanted to finish off the cheddar cheese that's sitting in the fridge first.

Celebrating our Bond

This lovely doll is 9 months old already and she's still very "attached" to me.
She loves our milk and I'm so glad she does.
I treasure this special bonding activity very much and I know that this experience might not last as long as I wish it could. So I am preparing for the day she wants her independence and pray that it would not be too soon. I will be sad of course but at least I'm prepared knowing we have broken the record.
Joelle lasted a good 6 months on the breast and Isabelle is still going strong at 9 months.

It's such an amazing experience. Really wonderful.
I like holding her, touching her and watch her enjoy the intimacy. It's the only time we have on our own.

It's everything I could ask for.
In fact it's more than I could ask for now.

My apple

For those who are not aware yet, I just got myself a macbook. Spend quite some time getting use to it. Finally the main migration is over and Im raving to go.