Of Chicken Pox and Harry Potter Books

During the 1-week school holiday in September, Wei caught chicken pox.  The water-filled vesicles started on Wednesday and we thought nothing of it, and on Thursday morning it got worse.  It turned out that he had a break-through infection despite being vaccinated as a baby.
In order to speed up his recovery, we took him to a doctor who prescribed an antiviral (acyclovir) and some calamine lotion for the each.  But Wei was still suffering and I was frantic with getting him to recover quickly. And here I share what I did and Wei recovered by Tuesday (with all vesicles dried up).
1. Acyclovir - this must be started when the first vesicles appear, do not wait to see a doctor.  Tablets, taken 5 times a day.
2. Calamine lotion - actually, quite useless but better than nothing
3. Buy KMnO4, potassium permanganate from pharmacy.  Mix purple crystals in water and use a brush to brush on the vesicles.  This is an antiseptic, which some people says will dry up the vesicles faster.
4. Young coconut water, drink as much as he wants. 2 coconuts a day should be enough.  Buy local fresh coconut, not the processed ones from Thailand that are already cut and refrigerated because those may contain additives.  Available usually at pasar malam.
5.  If you believe in Chinese medicine, go to a Chinese medical hall and ask for chicken pox medicine.  In my case, the taukeh prescribed 2 packs of "lin yung" to be taken over 2 days.  Here you have to check if the herbs are of animal or plant origin.
6. Buy cheap tea-leaves (available at provision shops, lok-poh tea, RM6 per packet) and boil as bath water, to ease the itch.

During the entire episode, we quarantined Wei in his room, and used Dettol disinfectant spray on the door-knobs, table, chair etc etc.  We also washed hands often to prevent spreading the virus to our other children. One good thing that came out of this was that Wei was very bored, and he started reading books.

Our Harry Potter series have been sitting on our bookshelves for a long, long time, and finally Wei picked up the first book to read.  He finished the 2nd book, and then he couldn't continue.  I had forgotten that somehow I missed buying the 3rd book.

So I hunt around for a bargain, and found somebody who wants to barter-trade it.  Seller would not sell it and asked if I have any books for exchange.  Wow, this was unusual....  Anyway, I did have some books which I didn't want to keep in my collection and listed them out, and thankfully, she wanted 1 of them.  So voila!  I got our book yesterday.

The book I got on barter trade

So now, I told Wei I am reading this first, before he gets his hands on it.  That's OK because he is reading The Hobbit.

NST-RHB Spell-It-Right Challenge 2014

It was an amazing experience today being there to support my daughter for her spelling competition.  She made it to the top 100 of KL in the NST/RHB Spell-It-Right 2014.
When she went on stage, my heart was pounding.  My hands were shaking and I couldn't take her picture properly.  And I was not even on stage.  So much for encouraging her and telling her to be brave.  Although she didn't make it to the finals, all in all it was good experience for both Mother and Daughter.  I hope she will get another chance next year.

Cherating Getaway

Cherating Beach

In a practically last-minute plan for a weekend getaway, I made a late booking to Cherating, Pahang.  J wanted to take the kids for a beach holiday and he insisted on the East Coast because the beach and sea are better when facing the South China Sea.
Most of the accommodation were fully booked due to the school holidays, however we tried several websites and were lucky enough to get the last family suite at Holiday Villa Cherating.
While it is rated a 4-star hotel, we noted that the TripAdvisor reviews were 6.6/10.
Anyway because of the last minute arrangement we didn't have much choice.
After I made the booking through the Agoda website, I was quite disappointed to note that having paid a high room rate it didn't include breakfasts for the 2-nights' stay.
I checked the school holiday promotion on the Holiday Villa own website and noted that the rate was about the same as I paid, and that included breakfasts.
So, I called up the reception and asked if I could make a special requests to the HV GM, who always seem to be very attentive in replying customers' review, to get complimentary breakfasts for the family suite.  After putting my request in writing, the GM replied the day after, giving a simple "OK!"
Wow that was very generous of him.  We got 4 complimentary breakfasts per night.

1 of the 2 bedrooms in Family Suite

Upon arrival, the kids were excited to see the family suite that we have booked.  Although it was old, the furnishings were adequate and functional.  We are thankful for everything that went well - hot showers, cool, quiet aircond, quiet surroundings especially the bedrooms.

The family living hall contained old pieces of furniture, however was fully functional with a day-bed cum sofa, 2 armchairs and a square dining table.

And the beach lived up to our expectations.  Soft, golden sand and warm, warm sea.  Perfect for swimming. And immediately melting the stress from living in the big city!

Father and kids finally coming up after being yelled at many, many times as the noon sun beats down

This was a dream getaway with lots of time for leisure, driving around to enjoy all the tourist-recommended food near Balok, Chukai and in Kuantan town itself.  Time to relax, unwind, enjoy a book.  Memorable!

My must-haves in the shade

Children's Camp 2012

The kids were enrolled into a 3-day Dhamma camp as the first thing in the school holidays.  This is the 2nd time they are attending this as a source of enrichment so that they do not just idle the days away.
As we were supposed to arrive by 9am today, at 7am the kids woke up and frantically started to pack their stuff that they would need over the 3 days.  Clothes, sweater, water bottle, towels, soap, toothbrush, comb, and a pencil box are all that are needed.
And Baby Xin, who is too young to go to camp, noticed that something was going on and started packing her bag too.  She took a pen, a comb, her sweater, and a colouring book was packed into her bag.  When the older kids were ready to go, she took all her belongings and came along.
It will be a few more years before she is qualified to go to camp.

Yuan's Chinese Fan Dance

Yuan was chosen to present at group dance at the "A Thousand People's Dinner" at her school tonight.  J and I were proud to be invited to dinner to raise funds for the school.
Due to the charity nature of the dinner, many of the supplies were either home-made or borrowed.  Here is Yuan in an over-sized cheongsam blouse, and black tights, both borrowed. Even the hair ornaments were borrowed and needed to be returned.  Makeup and hair by the Mommy.

My little dear in her Chinese dance costume

Yuan put in a lot of effort in her dance.  At the end she had to do an upward bow, which is a yoga move that I could never achieve.  I am proud of her.

Baby at 2 years, 9 months

Baby Xin has really grown into an active toddler with lots of words and songs.  She watches Disney Junior and can say many sentences:
"I feel much better now..." from Doc McStuffins.
"We did it!" from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.
"I jatuh!" from her Nanny.
"What should we do now?" from I don't know where.
She can even sing the Doc McStuffins songs, with the words mixed up of course but to some sort of tune that you can make out.
When she sings any of the nursery rhyme songs whether it is Twinkle, twinkle or Baa, baa, black sheep, they all end with "Like a like a  in the sky!"

Baby pretending to sleep and wanting to be carried

Raya 2012 Long Weekend

This Raya I am glad to be taking it easy at home, and also thankful that I was able to do several things:
   1. Bought 2 Math books for Yuan from Popular and coached her to do it for 2 hours to understand why     she has a problem with Math.
   2. Slept in for 2 days, getting some much needed rest.
   3. Watched Battleship with J.  It is a great movie, whoever first told me that it wasn't good, causing me to delay watching it?
   4. Finished reading "How to be a Zillionaire" by Chellie Campbell.
   5. Bought an electronic insect repellent from Groupon, hopefully it can repel the cockroaches from my house.
   6. Started reading halfway through "Inside Steve's Brain" - about Steve Jobs.
   7. Cooked one of the kids' favorite meal: Spaghetti with mushrooms, tuna and cherry tomatoes.
   8. Pampered myself with a relaxing facial session.  Bought a Royce chocolate hamper.
   9. J played badminton with the kids, while I concentrated on increasing my pedometer steps.

Parkcity evening walk

10. Went through some webinars taught by Marcus De Maria's course.
11. Caught up with friends at 2 Raya Open Houses, immersed in the spirit of "Maaf Zahir & Batin".
12. Spent lots of time enjoying Baby Xin and her many antics.

13. Spent time with Mom and my siblings at lunch and dinner
Wow, that's a good list of things that I had done.

Plans for Adopting a Pet

After reading about so many sad stories about animals having to be put down in SPCA and various other animal shelters, due to overpopulation and lack of adopters, I asked the children one day if they would like to have a pet dog.  Not now, but one day after we moved to a house.

Photo from: http://www.dailypuppy.com/puppies/phoebe-the-husky-mix_2009-10-05

Immediately here are the responses:
Yuan: Yes, please, can we adopt a husky?
Me:  There are no huskies in the SPCA, people don't throw away dogs like that.
Wei: Then what breeds are there?
Me:  No breeds, just mongrels.
Wei:  What are mongrels? Cross-breeds?
Me:  Yes, cross-breeds.
Wei: Then can we have a cross-breed between a husky and a golden retriever?
Me: There are no dogs like that.  Look, that dog on the street, that's a mongrel, the dogs are going to be like that.
Wei: Stupid!
Me: What?!
Wei:  I mean cute! (This boy twists his words very quickly).
Yuan: Yes, as long as we adopt a puppy, it will be cute.

I then went on to explain that having a dog is a life-long commitment, not just playing with it when it is a cute puppy and then when it grows up, it is no longer cute.  The children thought about that and is yet undecided if they can shoulder the responsibility to care for a pet.
Well, since we have a lot more time before we actually move house, we can still think about that.

Sunday at Home

It is a very unusual Sunday that we have absolutely nothing to do, nowhere to go. J slept in for watching Olympic games late last night and the kids were in the house playing. Later in the morning, the kids have fun playing badminton, and walking around our home compounds.

July posting before August comes

Whoa, I have left this blog space for far too long.  Here I will manage some quick posts before time flies away again, with "cheats" of backdated postings.
As usual I blame my heavy workload, but still no excuse, this is my gratitude diary and how can I have not been filling this up right?
So here's a quick post.  My dear hubby J, went to Sandakan with his mom and his 3 elderly aunties, to visit his cousin there.  So, left alone with 3 kids, I went to my mom's to spend a night.  And woke up in the morning to the kids requesting for an early morning playground session.
Here is Baby Xin in action (2.5 years old).

Baby Xin on the seesaw with Yuan, at Grandma's playground

Who was having the Happy Time?

Yuan and Wei's essay tuition teacher requested their class to be cancelled during the past school holidays, to be replaced later.  I forgot about this, and found out that there was a tuition class today, which was not the usual day.
Me: Why is there a tuition class today?
Yuan: Because during the school holidays, we were having a happy time. But, actually, I don't know who was having the happy time, us or the teacher.
Me: (speechless)

Starting Young

Dr Peter Yee created the SUCCESS boardgame, which is a game on financial management as well as the other aspects of life. It is different from Rich Dad's boardgame 101 by Kiyosaki, because Kiyosaki's only focuses on financial aspects.
Dr Peter Yee was generous to give away a boardgame each to his past students, and even organized a session to teach us how to play the boardgame.  I took Wei along to learn the game.  After an hour, we got the hang of it.  It will take many hours to play, to reach all the goals of the game.

Wei listening to Peter Yee, photo courtesy of Nadira Noor

A Haircut on Saturday

Baby Xin is a such an easy baby for the hairdresser to do his work.  She obliged to various instructions without question, like "Look down" or "Close your eyes".  The whole job took less than 10 minutes.

Ikea Rocking Horse

I am a fan for Ikea things.

So when I saw someone advertised an Ikea rocking horse which is now discontinued, and something which my Baby Xin would love, I grabbed it.  Even though I had to drive very far to meet the seller.

Thankfully, Baby Xin enjoys it.

When she sits on it, she sings: "See-saw, up and down..."

Wei's First Chess Medal, 2012

Wei brought home his chess medal today.  His school came out 2nd in the zone for the team Chess Competition 2012, and Wei is a proud member of the Boys Under-12 team.  And I am a proud mom ;-)

Yuan's Hair Salon

This sign was posted up on the kid's bedroom today. Yuan the hairdresser / entrepreneur.

"I Said Please!"

Baby Xin - Feb 2012

This morning, Baby Xin woke up and wanted to go into the bathroom to play with the water tap.  She asked me to go with her and said: "Please?" several times.
When I refused to respond, she said: "I said please!" emphatically and wanted to hold my hand to take her into the bathroom.   Another added vocabulary that she can use to her very advantage.

Yuan Won a Science Magazine

I am so proud of Yuan today.  She showed me a small piece of contest form which she had filled in her details in pencil, and cut out by herself. I thought she wanted me to post it for her, then she explained that she had already won the prize.  The teacher had told the class that the 3M magazine which the whole class subscribed to, had a contest running every month, and all they had to do was answer the question and put the cut-out form into a little contest box at the school bookshop.  And Yuan did just that.
So today, she received the prize in the form of a science magazine, wrapped in plastic, together with her little cut-out contest form.  What a resourceful little girl!
She said: "I've won this magazine and it is truly awesome."

Baby Xin Explains Her Water Antic

I brought a few balloons home for Baby Xin today.  She was playing with them the whole day. Then in the evening, after we have bathed and changed her, she continued playing with a balloon.  While we weren't taking notice, we heard running water sounds coming from the bathroom.  So we went to see, and lo and behold! It was Baby Xin, turning on the bathroom tap (used for filling up pails to mop the floor) and running the water on her balloon.  Of course, in the process, she got herself and her pyjamas all wet too.
When J told her to stop and what a naughty girl she was, Baby Xin went into an instant defense mode.  She came out of the bathroom and held up the balloon for us to see.  She said: "Dirty, dirty, dirty...." while holding the balloon, trying to explain she wasn't really playing with water but was washing the dirty balloon. She looked ready to burst into tears.

So, I calmly told J that I would handle the situation.  I said to Baby Xin: "Oh you were washing the balloon because it was dirty right?"  She affirmed in her "mm" which means yes.  Then I gently told her that she needed to change pyjamas because it was all wet, and led her to do so.
After she changed, I said gently to her that Papa was angry because she played with the water.  Her face turned red and she looked ready to cry again (for real or not), and I quickly said, why don't she go say sorry to Papa. And so, with fresh pyjamas on, she trotted to J and said: "Sorry!" to him.  And J couldn't do anything but smile at her and pick her up for a big hug.

I should have taken a picture of her, all wet.

Baby Xin's 2nd Birthday

I can't believe my Baby is 2 years old today.  First thing in the morning, her brother came near her crib and said "Happy Birthday, Baby!" while she was still sleeping.  That was so sweet of Wei, who was getting ready for school.
As J and I were both working today, we had a simple celebration at home. An American chocolate cake with 2 candles, and some balloons that I took from my office event (haha!).  Baby Xin loves balloons.

Wei teaching Baby Xin to blow the candle out

Baby Xin wanted to cry because she touched the candle

Baby Xin cut the cake, and licked the plastic knife