Korea Holiday 20-27th November 2010

Finally we are back! We spent the past 8 days, from Saturday 20th Nov to early Sunday 28th Nov in Korea, with 18 other persons from our cell group.

As we had Korean friends in our cell group who were going back to their homeland, we didn't need to join a tour, noting that our group size is already as large as a tour group!

We did more than what a normal tour would offer, went to so many places, ate so many varied Korean dishes that I cannot recall all the names, and everyday we retire to the room tired - sometimes the kids even knocked out in the hired MPV before we checked into the hotel.

I don't think I can do a travel log for this trip the same way I wrote about the previous holidays. Simple too much things to write and I will end up putting my readers to sleep! : ) So let me do a brief write up but put up plenty of pictures to let them do the talking.

Student of The Year 2010

Today when I picked Vic up from school, I had a very pleasant surprise that kept be beaming all the way as I drove.

She showed me a laminated card that reads, "Student of The Year" and her name written on the card, endorsed by her class teacher Catriena and principal Stephanie!

Oh my! Not that we didn't think Vic was good, but she was initially always late for school, and sometimes in her "stone mode" as her teacher puts it, and the last PTM her teacher feedback to me that she didn't submit her homework on time. Armed with the fact that Vic is a shy girl and does not always answers when spoken to (very cool one), this award is definitely, definitely a SURPRISE!!

I asked her if any other students got the same award in her class, and she said no. But some other classmates got awards like, "Best Conduct", "Best Handwriting"... etc.

So totally proud of you, Vic! Despite adviced NOT to eat sweet stuff, I bought her a coconut ice cream from a shop (we tested this ice cream in Tangkak before) and gave it to her.

Love you love you love you! Keep up the good work, darling... and happy holidays! Tomorrow is Party Day as school, and then on Saturday... it's... "Winter Sonata" *hint*

Superherrrooooo!!

Last Saturday William attended a birthday party. From the party packed, he found this mask...

A little discipline

These kids... haiyaaa... got "pak pak" by mummy the last two days on two separate occassions. Mr R.O Tan didn't even have to come out for a talk with them.

William

Two nights ago, he ate a few spoons and then didn't want to eat anymore. I tried feeding him and he opened his mouth soooo small. In one attempt, the boy dropped his spoon filled with rice on the floor. Nevermind.

Then he threw some rice on the floor. And then played with the table cloth. The ultimatum came when he put the table cloth ON this food to cover his plate! AArrghh, I told him off, took his naughty hand, and then whack it. As another punishment, I sent him off without asking him to finish his dinner.

Obviously at this age already he knows he has done wrong. After washing his hands, he walked upstairs to the livingroom, with head down and solemn. Played with his toys by himself while we continue dinner. Then when he saw Mama (grandma) finish dinner, he asked her to play with him, not me. That's unusual.

When I finished dinner, I went up to him and asked him if he knew what he did was wrong. Yes. Then I got him downstairs again to eat a little more rice.

This boy ahhh, when mummy scolds, his heart breaks.


Victoria

Last night the two kids got into an argument when William was sitted near the coffee table drawer, and Vic wanted to take something out. Brother didn't want to give way, and sister wanted her way, so as the stronger one, she pulled open the drawer despite the brother still sitted there. Both yelled.

Then William cried. That cry wasn't the laugai or protesting cry. It was the cry we can identify immediately, as this very high-pain-threshold boy cry out of pain! We realised that the corner of the drawer was opened INTO his back near his spine.

Quickly I pulled him away and gave the sister a lashing for not stopping when Mama (grandma) told her to stop. Whacked two hands really hard. With tears, she apologized to William who stopped crying when I scolded Vic.

One note here. William has a soft spot for his jie jie when she cries. He would immediately stop crying so we will not be angry at his jie jie, or he would go over and give her a toy or hug her to console her.

Victoria's year-end concert 2010

Yesterday evening, Victoria's kindy held their much anticipated, year-end concert in the evening. The day before, on Saturday morning, Vic and her friends had to attend a full dress rehearsal at the school.

The weather, unfortunately was not cooperative and it was pouring about 4pm until the time we arrived at her kindy compound. Mama Yeh Yeh drove up from Seremban for this event, and Yee Sok Yee Sam and cousin Theodore joined us as well. Popo Gong Gong and Yee Yee's family were still up north with Uncle Julian and Aunty Winnie who are back for a visit from the States.

3pm - Vic slept. William too. Need them to be charged up for the concert later. Vic is happy to know she is required to put on full make-up.

5pm - Woke the kids up. I managed to squeeze in a quick bath for myself. Vic quickly changed, maid attempted to change William but failed, I had to do myself. Quickly put on some lipstick for Vic, no time for eye shadow or blusher, not that I have any (seriously!)

535pm - Left house with Mama Yeh Yeh & gang who came to pick us up. Thank God we could all squeeze into Yeh Yeh's MPV. Daddy is unfortunately in Singapore for a very important dinner and meeting.

At 545pm, there was already a small traffic jam leading into the kindy/church compound, but thank God we had parking. A little inconvenience because of the rain but we had umbrellas to ferry everyone safely into shelter. Vic and I walked to her kindy, registered, and in the classroom, she and her classmates ate a quick dinner.

As helper for her class, I got to enter her kindy and helped with the little kids from Iris class touch up their make-ups after their dinner... very very rush. The rain, really really didn't help as the kids couldn't just run over to the auditorium where the concert was held, but had to be ferried over in small groups under umbrellas or wait for the van to be chauffeured. AAahhh, what privileged little kids!

7pm - Concert started with brief introduction and icebreaker by emcees, then speeches, award ceremony for the 6yos, and finally the dances and presentations by pairs of classes!

The two boys... William and cousin Theodore - yacking away at the back of the MPV.

Having their light dinner before the concert.

Getting ready to leave kindy for the auditorium where the concert is held

She is sooo camera-shy..... either she won't smile, or she will look everywhere but at the camera. I must learn some paparazzi skills lar!

I got a shock when I saw the itinerary stating that the concert will end nearing 10pm! Fortunately, they ended way before that, at 9pm. The kids were quickly dismissed by class.

Whilst lining outside the auditorium, William came to check out jie's jie's friends... they immediately swoon over him, holding his neck and smiling for the camera. Look at the sister's solemn face... wonder what's on her mind?

This is one of their very entertaining Indian dance

Last performance, everyone comes on stage from 3-6yos for a choir presentation of "Jesus Loves The Little Children"

Vic's class and another class, Lily performance - a chinese dance

Another one of the presentations

This is Vic with a friend she was talked about, Abigail who also sits on the "green table"

Vic with her dance partner, Bryan from Lily class... ehh why is her hand on his knee???

Bunch of happy classmates after their performance

Finally, one for the album - proud mummy with darling daughter

Well done Victoria! Hugs and kisses from all of us.

Blood test result November 2010

First of all, I thank you all who have called or messaged me to ask about Vic's blood test results. Sorry for the delay in putting this up.

On Monday afternoon, I called the hospital lab to find out if Victoria's blood test results for her allergys are ready. The kind lady, who is Dr Yadav's assistant, told me that it will be ready in the afternoon, but over the phone she gave me the results of certain food tested...

I have good news. And I have bad news. I don't know how to start, because there is a lot to say but I'll start with a brief history.

Her blood test results in September 2008 (class 1 being very mild, class 6 is very extreme):

Milk - Class 1
Wheat - Class 1
Ikan bilis - Class 1
Shrimp - Class 1
Chicken meat - Class 1
Crab - Class 1
Oat - Class 1

Egg - Class 2
Tropical dustmites - Class 2

Two types of international dustmites - Class 6

In November 2008 we brought her to Dr Wong in Tangkak and found that she was allergic to certain foods not tested/discovered through her initial blood test, and some foods in Class 1 but ZERO in his test.

Fast forward to present time.

When Vic developed more than a handful of red pimply dots around her abdomen and upper thighs and buttocks area, I was naturally worried as her condition seemed to have worsened in the past two months with the nose bleeding (the latest was in school on the day that we departed for Phuket), ezcema showing on her inner arms again and then the red dots!

If she was zerorised, I wanted to know why.

The recent blood test result, after 2 years of religiously abstaining from many food types, and following Dr Wong's muscle test results, shows the following:

Milk - ZERO
Wheat - ZERO
Ikan bilis - ZERO
Shrimp - Class 1
Chicken meat - ZERO
Crab - Not tested
Oat - ZERO

Egg - Class 2
Tropical dustmites - Not tested

Two international dustmites - Class 6 (still very very high, although Dr Yadav suspects the points must have dropped because the initial report two years ago didn't show the exact points for comparison)

On top of these results, there were other food types that we tested and she was negative to (no allergies) but yeast and mushroom which were not tested in 2008, have been found to be positive with a reading at Class 2 in the recent test.

So what does all these say?

Dr Yadav's blood test results CONFIRMED Dr Wong's muscle testing but...

Note that in today's blood test report, Vic is still allergic to eggs, whereas in her last visit to Tangkak, she was supposed to have been zerorised. The same goes to yeast and mushroom.

In September 2008, her total IgE was 1041 kU/l.

Her recent results show a slight decline to 949 kU/l.

A normal person her age is suppose to have an IgE level of <15ku/l

So what happened to Vic in the recent months? Was it her allergy to dust that manifested itself into nose bleeding and then the red dots appearing because she took something very wrong? In the latter, I suspect it's the organic sweets that she took (a couple at the most) during the flight to prevent pain in the ear, and sugar (and mushroom/fungus) is the favourite, staple food of candida (a form of yeast) in our guts. Once they feed on sugar, they can grow at an alarming rate. This probably explains the red dots.

But when all conditions have remained the same, if not better, why then did she have the nose bleedings and outburst of ezcema again?

I have also learnt something new from Dr Yadav - be careful of the probiotics sold on the shelves as they may have been dead. Probiotics, as we know, are friendly good bacterias but they are very sensitive to environment and conditions that they were manufactured and stored in.

He has also suggested in his report, an option to take anti-fungal antibiotics which will kill the yeast in the guts, purge it from her system, and unlike other medical antibiotics, it does not kill the friendly bacterias. I hope I understood him correctly. If you have any comments to add, or something you know, please message me.

Muscle testing may be unproven. But Dr Yadav's blood test results confirmed the results in Dr Wong's muscle testing. Still the big question... how long more, how to, where to... can we expect a miracle in foreign land soon?

Phuket Day 5: Bye bye Phuket

Tuesday, 2nd November 2010

The weather continued to be wet and gloomy even today as we leave Phuket. Airport transfer at 830am and our flight at 1030am. Where we stayed is just 15 minutes drive away from the airport.


Thank you Adrine for the invite again. The accomodation was fully complimentary and simply lovely.