Some pictures to view

Eversince my camera got spoilt during the Kuantan trip, I am now camera-less until I get the hang of Vic's camera (it's a free Samsung but not so high-techy)

Enjoy these photos in the meantime, they are taken at TTDI Park when we had a picnic with Victoria's classmate, Alena and family:

Good times, good friends
Laughing at the girls

William's little teeth

My darling boy has 8 full teeth, 4 on the front top and 4 on the front bottom. He has also now 4 gigi taring jutting out, and 4 molars peeping through his gums too. That makes... 16 teeth!!

Naturally, he has taken a liking for food that is not too soft, and food that he can chew. He can manage biting and eating apple all by himself and likes his banana in chunks.

I started introducing olive oil into his diet. This week's menu is stirfry fish, onion and pumpkin. He simply loves them! His steam fish doesn't appeal to him anymore, and a few times during lunch we had so much trouble just to get him to eat.

I know many parents have been far more adventurous with the food they give to their little ones, but hubby and I have taken a very conservative stand to delay introduction of any kinds of food that may cause allergies and if possible, no food that contains seasoning until much later. I mean, they are gonna eat these foods their whole lives anyway, so what is the rush, right. It isn't like salt and sugar and soya sauce will give them any added protein or vitamins.

We brought a little bit of the sea back

Over the weekend, we returned to Kuantan. Stayed at our usual joint, The Hyatt Regency Resort because the day that we returned to PJ on our LAST visit, we received a mail from their HQ giving us a voucher worth US$100 which we can use on a minimum 2 nights stay. But the expiry date is end October and for some weekends we've been so occupied and also the kids fell sick and then came Deepavali and so we thought, let's go.

It was a surprise trip for Vic. We told her only on Friday, or was it Thursday night. I can't remember. Anyway, not many pictures this round as the first day we arrived and brought the kids to the pool, my camera went into the water as William was sitted down by the poolside and suddenly toppled side ways. I caught him just slightly after his head was under the water whilst holding my cam. He wasn't hurt in anyway, and didn't cry, didn't seem borthered that his head was wet. We dried him up, but the camera was sacrificed.

So, it was a holiday with daily swimming after a full sumptuos breakfast and beach in the evening. The kids got tanned for the first time in their lives. Although we put on sunblock for them, there were some parts missed. Like, the line just above Vic's bum where her bikini blouse goes up, and her legs, and her shoulder blades and neck. Sigh.

William got his legs tanned, and overall is much darker now. I suppose that makes him more macho, but I still prefer my fair, white boy. : ) Nevermind, I guess they will be fair again.

This time around, we had more trouble catching crabs. I guess there were too many people on the beach (the hotel was fully booked again) or maybe the crabs are smarter now. But on our last day, we perservered and Kakak caught one medium sized, and then a very huge one but because Mummy jumped when the crab tried to crawl out the bucket she was holding, the huge and medium sized captives ran for their lives.

So it was back to square one. But to cut the story short, Kakak caught two more crabs, one medium sized and one baby crab. The bigger one devoured the smaller one for its breakfast an hour later.

Victoria named the surviving crab Tita. We brought Tita home because she insisted, and some sea water back. We didn't have any food for Tita to eat but Daddy managed to buy some freshwater baby shrimps for Tita. Hopefully the crab stays alive. I will feel so bad for taking it home, away from its natural habitat, away from the glorious sea and sand and its own family and friends.

Victoria in her mask

For a few months during the height of the H1N1 pandemic, we have all abstained from going to crowded, public places like shopping malls. No more 1Utama, IKEA, Midvalley and we explained to Vic (the school also did) about this dangerous virus called H1N1. Germs on the railings, germs on the display windows, germs in the air, walk away from people who are sniffing or sneezing or coughing, use sanitizer or baby wipes after we get into the car, do not put fingers in mouth or nose or rub eyes, use knuckles to press the lift numbers, touch shoes wash hands, etc

We even identified "safe" shopping malls eg Pavillion and The Curve where it is not so crowded but we only went to The Curve once during the "quarantine" time.

Well, now that the H1N1 is more controlled, we have started to return to the malls. The kids are truly overjoyed. But with the unfortunate incident of falling sick first with the cold, then the gastro, there wasn't much "kai kai" yet.

This weekend will be a busy and long one, with an annual Deepavali open house to attend, and a visit to the doctor's for 3rd opinion on Vic's allergy progress, and a surprise holiday for the kids.

What's the latest craze these days?

William has taken on an intense liking for this music video CD which we purchased for Victoria during her "time". It's one of the Donut Man & The Repair Club's series, At The Zoo. The sister was lukewarm to this CD when she was younger, as she was crazy over Barney and a bunch of other CDs then (she was spoilt for choice).

Since a few weeks back, William keeps taking out this Donut Man CD and pass it to me, points at the DVD player to indicate that he wants to watch. He does this mostly in the mornings after Victoria leaves for school, and also in the afternoons after lunch, or in the evenings after dinner. Needless to say, I give in to him 99.9% of the time except when Vic is in the middle of her own show.

We can place the CD in a different slot and place in the CD holder but this boy will always find it. When the DVD is on, he'll be almost transfixed on the box and look very serious. Even the CD casing he wants to hold!

During the time when he visited Vic in the hospital, the two of them even fought over the CD... haha. What a sight. But just like other things, I know this is just a phrase he goes through, and before long, the kids won't even want to touch this CD anymore.

The days that passed

The kids discharged two Sundays ago, 4th October. The hubs discharged a couple of days later on Tuesday. On Monday, my MIL and mom who helped me look after the kids and hubby, came down with similar symptoms of vomitting and purging. But the two wonderful grannies took medication and recovered a day or two after, praise God.

Somehow someway, God preserved my FIL, maid and I so we could all concentrate in taking care of the unwell and errands.

By Wednesday, things were almost normal except for the once a day purging from the two kids and occasional vomitting from William. Victoria's appetite was slowly coming back and William was less fretful and sticky to me.

The three days after, Thurs - Saturday, I was mostly away the whole day catching up with work whilst the kids and hubs recuperated.

Monday came and Victoria returned to school and Daddy returned to work. Phew, it seemed like a very long holiday that passed, only that it was not all fun and laughter but happily we close this chapter in our lives.

Thank you all for your concerns and those who prayed for this family.

(Sorry Vic, there is no pic of Daddy on his drips coz Mummy didn't bring my camera.)

Both kids and Daddy hospitalised

Dear all,

I have not been blogging lately because last Thursday Victoria started throwing up in the late evening and night whilst we were out at 1U. It was our first outing back to 1U officially after the H1N1 pandemic. She was very excited, but during dinner time, she refused to eat, saying she was full. We thought she was being difficult and forced her to take 3 spoons.

Just as we were about to finish dinner, she threw up.

We thought she will feel better after a little while and went on to do a little shopping. She threw up big time the 2nd time. After this she felt a little better. But the 3rd time she threw up within the hour, hubby and I quickly left the mall. Good thing we came in two cars as I drove from the house and hubby came from office. He brought Vic to our normal paed in TTDI which was closed, then called his friend who waited for them at Global Doctors.

I brought William and the maid back to settle him and boil plain porridge with salt for Vic, in anticipation that she will have appetite later. Her last meal was lunch.

The doc gave her some suppository to stop the vomitting and prescribed two medicines but each time she took the med orally she vomitted. On the way home and at the clinic, she vomitted too until there's nothing more to vomit.

Past midnight she was waking up and vomitting and looked dehydrated. Hubby packed and brought her to the hospital emergency centre. I stayed back to look after William.

At 130am Friday Victoria was admitted and put on drips. There was no room at that time. The little girl slept in the emergency ward waiting for a room, not even a suite. Sometime in the night, they got a room for Vic so the two of them can rest properly.

Friday
The next morning MIL came over to look after William at home. I took over the shift from hubby who needed to go outstation that day. Vic has stopped vomitting but have ZERO appetite and refused to drink or eat even a bite.

At night hubby took over again.

Saturday
The next morning hubs told me he vomitted and had diarhrea and before I arrived the hospital, he went down to emergency to get medication. Very sick but the MO didn't find the need to admit him.

Back at home, William vomitted middle of the night around 4am. Then at 730am. Each time he took his milk, he vomitted. The same symptoms as Victoria. MIL, maid and I packed and brought him to our paed in TTDI who was not open yet, then whilst waiting outside the clinic, William vomitted the barley that he just drank. So off I sped to hospital emergency.

The MO said to give him suppository and he was not dehydrated and to send him home. I said no. Insisted on a paed and then directed to a paed ward. Paid RM34 just for that chat with the MO.

Paed said put William on probiotics, the same as Victoria and monitor him for the day in the hosp. So William was admitted and the two kids shared a twinsharing. Victoria, in the meantime was very jovial and off her drips. She enjoyed her freedom by walking in and out and around the ward with MIL. My mom, her popo came later in the afternoon.

I went back home to check on hubs after William was checked in and FIL arrived. Hubs was very ill on the bed, running a high fever. I gave him suppository immediately and cooked his porridge. He woke up only for his medication. I went back to the hosp after settling the house.

At 330pm, he msged that he will drive to the nearby clinic as he was purging non stop. FIL went home to fetch him to the hosp, and he was admitted and put on drips.

AGE.

I learnt a new abbreviation. It's short for acute gastro enteritis. Hubs was admited for AGE. The kids for food poisoning.

Victoria developed a little purging in the evening.

Sunday
Both kids discharged although Victoria still had some purging. They slept on the way home. At 5pm Vic said she had pain on the middle part of her stomach. I insisted that she ate something.

Victoria was emotional, didn't have appetite at all, and refused to take even water. She cried easily, we couldn't tell why.

We found out that she had pain on the right abdomen at around 830pm and I rushed her to the nearby 24hour clinic. Our TTDI paed again was closed. Global Doctors didn't open on Sundays and we have no confidence in the hospital emergency ward MO's.

The GP said she had a lot of wind, possibly due to lack of water and little food intake, and after being warded for so long. Blah blah blah... given a med for the wind. She felt better an hour later.

Monday
She woke up ok. No appetite but we insisted that she eat and drink. William vomitted once in the morning, and one time loose stool, but otherwise active and very sticky to me.

I went to two markets, btw, to restock the house on parishables as I didn't go to the market over the weekend. They were closed. Our usual market also closed. So I learn something here, that Monday is a rest day for all market ppl. Ended up picking some vege from the hypermart nearby.

Today learnt also that MIL and mom had diarhrea. MIL vomitted also. Oh dear, I hope the two grandmas who came to help out will get well quickly.

Hubs may be discharged tomorrow. He still has some purging, and hopefully he gets well quickly too.