Cannot 'ON' the Air-Conditioner?

I've woken up today with a heavier head - perhaps it's because daddy had switched the air-conditioner on when he couldn't sleep last night feeling warm(me and Renee felt ok leh, maybe both of us nearer to the window, hee).

Renee, on the other hand, woke up 'scolding' me for having the air-con on! She came to my side of the bed : "Mommy, why you on the air-con? It's too cold, wait I sick how?" hahaha, she was afraid that she might fall sick like the other night and ended up not going to school, heee.

After dropping her off, I have this idea of re-organising her 'play-area', so when I went over to Popular again to get some stuffs for my portfolio resurrection, I got her a tiered drawer and then I spotted this book and we had a fun time identifying her toys against those in the book after school, :D :

What she did in school today - a 'Friendship band'(she's chosen Vanessa to give hers and vice-versa!) & a Tiger Mask

As daddy had came home before 11pm, it's understood that he'd have to 'entertain' the client tonight, so I've bought quite alot of snacks(for my supper,breakfast, etc) to standby, heee(Janice had thought that I'd surely lose weight over the vomitting, hahaha, too bad, I've piled them back on super fast).

It so happened that the stall Li had recommended earlier, had the soup that I/Renee wanted, and since I've no intention to cook soup today again, I bought one from them(where MSG's not added - I've drank their soup a few times and don't really feel thirsty, so shld be ok for Renee's occasional consumption) for our lunch, on top of the BBQ pork, crispy chicken thigh with pineapple rice(cooked Renee's rice and vege myself though), yum...

Expired Candies?!

Geez, who in their right frame of mind would do such a thing! - I hope they were given 'unknowingly'...

This is the note I've got from the school's email(sent this morning):

Dear Parents,

It has been noted that expired candies had been given out to some children from our school last week.

In view of this matter, the school would like to seek the cooperation of all parents not to distribute candies or other similar items to the school children without the knowledge of their class teachers.

Your kind understanding to the above matter is very much appreciated.

Regards,
Cecilia Low (Mrs)
Principal

I am grateful for this note/warning and I do have my opinion on how this might come about(especially from this year) but it's best that I don't elaborate it here. I guess I have to constantly remind my Renee not to receive anything from ANYONE... haiz.(not sure if any child from her class was given?!)

Re-Energised!

Yes, I am feeling better today. And although I've yet to recover fully(still feeling abit nausea-tic with alr-not-so-bad headache), I couldn't tolerate the idea that the extended long weekend had gone wasted(cooped-up at home)! heee. So today, after sending Renee to school(was still quite skeptical at first 'cos I was still feeling abit goggy but she was soooo looking forward to going that I couldn't bear to disappoint her), I went to get her a new children toilet seat, a simple basic pink one this time but improvised it when I got home, ;).

Unknowing that 'the client' has arrived, I planned to cook a simple meal tonight and thus, had lugged bags-ful of groceries back home...Well, never mind, Renee had a wonderful meal, :)(shall keep some of the soup for daddy).

Having read 2 stories to Renee yesterday whilst PX was here, I'm not sure if tonight she will request for more(especially when she's taken a nap this afternoon! :p) but I'm on standby mode and have also got the other 'Scholastic' stories books out, :D.

A Long Weekend Burnt

Saturday

When I was working in the corportate world, due to the constant pressure of working long hours and academic upgrade(the short study deadlines despite having to work from 8:30 - 10/11pm when the official hours are 9 - 5:15pm), I've had history of bad migraine attacks. Migraine attacks are normally accompanied by bouts of vomitting and mine usually left me limp and needed assistance - to be led to the A&E.

Since many years, I've not had any attack and being not working now, I've certainly not expected it till I suddenly woke up with one today. Splitting headache, followed by bouts of vomitting caused me unable to cook Renee's lunch and she was abit frightened by the sight of me vomitting in the toilet that she phoned her daddy twice to urge him to come home earlier, which he did finally, at 2pm. Poor girl, good thing I still managed to tend to her needs - carrying her up to the toilet, made her milk and gave her bread with butter but by the time daddy's back, I was limp on the bed...

I was hoping that it'll go away soon as we have to attend my brother's son's full month celebration but it did not... With my last bout of vomitting waking daddy from his nap, he asked if I wanna go to the doc's. Obviously I needed to and so we went. Good thing the clinic's usually quite empty on Saturday afternoons and so I didn't have to wait very long for my turn. It was confirmed a migraine attack and its medication prescribed. But with the nausea each time I sat up, we were still unable to go to my bro's and it's best that daddy stayed around, in case I'm unable to tend to Renee's needs. I was feeling alittle better after the 1st dose of med and I quickly cooked Renee's dinner But the feeling of discomfort came back when I was just half through but I still have to carry on and even did her laundry. Now, who's the one who said that non-'working' moms' job is easy? No MCs, No Annual Leave, No help...

The medication made me napped again and I woke up from the last one at 11pm last night and not long after I've had my supper(to take the medication), I vomitted again...

Sunday

This morning, I woke up with gastric discomfort - probably from the vomitting and painkillers which, the doc had also prescribed. Also, I've not had enough sleep as daddy's alarm had woken me up really early(he had lazily left it at the setting he's had earlier for his golf!) and by the time I was about to drift back to sleep, Renee's awake and he's going out(qing ming duties), haiz.

1 1/2 hour later, pounding headache came back and the vomitting worsened. I gave daddy a quick text and Renee even phoned him when she saw me vomitting again and again. Daddy came home around 1pm+ and finally at about 5pm, I couldn't take it any further and decided to go back to the clinic. Another doctor was around and 2 jabs were administered since I appeared to be in a bad state - the doctor asked if I used to have bad migraine attacks like this - Yes... When we got home, I asked to get off the car first and rushed home just in time to vomit. Not long later, I fell asleep, just like what the doc had told me. Daddy cooked Renee's dinner('cos we've forgotten to pack her share...)

I woke up at 9:30pm and feeling hungry, looked for something to eat. Tried to order pizza but later found cans of coke in the storeroom, I cancelled it - I remembered the time when I had food poisoning whilst in Phuket, the doctor had advised me to take sodas with fruit salts to replenish the lost sugar(why fruit salts I can't rem...) for energy 'cos whatever I took then will just come out either way... It had worked and craving for coke and found them, I took a can after some food, it helped...

Today

Woke up this morning(hasn't slept well, been waking up every now and then since migraine attacked) with a slight pounding headache, I waited to see if Renee will wake up early/on time, to decide if I should go on and bring her to school. However, this girl, hving tossed and turned during her sleep, had only woken up at 10:25am and feeling a little goggy myself, I decided to extend the long holiday weekend(from last Thurs) for her and skipped school - I guess it'll be dangerous for me to drive in this condition, so better play safe...

Have asked PX to come over earlier later and hopefully, I'll be well soon, so Renee could go back to school tomorrow(she's finally ok about not going again today when I told her that I'm still not feeling very well). She had been a good girl during these few days, not bothering me too much(except those loud laughter/singing she made when playing with her daddy) and she even helped me packed the dinning table last night! Awww.... (I've just put on her long forgotten 'spongebob' vcd for her to watch). Well, I can only hope she'll be this good all the time, :).

Happy Holiday!

A Happy Good Friday Holiday to all!

I think I should start a post today(being a P/H) on a lighter note - with a 'happy' greeting, after last night's 'heavy-hearted' post, :D.

Maid Abuse Alert!

Back from the seminar and with daddy tugging Renee to bed('cos he has early golf game tomorrow, so he's sleeping with her), I wanna take this opportunity to put up this post pertaining to the header so as to share this further. This afternoon, the minute I was referred to the URL link(video) below, I had quickly forwarded them over to some friends' email accounts, hoping that they could warn whoever they knew about trusting their helpers too much. I/We can't say that all maids are bad, but hey, one can never be too careful...and no-one, I'm sure, would like to find out the hard way.

http://multimedia.asiaone.com/Multimedia/Vodcast/Multimedia/Story/A1Multimedia20090402-6319.html

I have, on numerous accounts, been forwarded/told/referred to videos of different maids abusing the children they've been left to take care of. And from real life stories heard, you would really be shocked to death for what you couldn't imagine or even comprehend how/what a human being could do to another, let alone, to a young helpless child!

I always have to try very very very hard to put these scenes I've watched from the videos behind me but they're just tooo disturbing! Although this particular incident(in the abv link's video) had happened in another country but who's saying that non of these have taken place in here? And of cos, the maid later claimed that she's been abused by her employers, yes, they're equally inhuman and wicked(if they really did) but hving sufferred/tolerated such abuse as an adult herself, how could she bring herself to do that or even anything else to a young helpless child! Just looked at how the poor kid got kicked in the face, fell back and the maid even hopped on her(looks like a girl?)! It appeared that it's had gotten so bad that the girl needed to go pee - lost control of the bladder? Geez! Internal injuries! The extreme came when the poor child still held out her hand to the torturer, to be led to the toilet? Oh man, that's how defenceless she is, to have to trust that shitty maid for her needs...

Yes, I'm upset, I'm emotional but which human being wouldn't be? Daddy had always been against the idea of Renee being placed with a childcare centre(half or full day) for me to do some of my work and He is dead against me going back to my work full time and leave our girl to a maid(without the supervision of another trusted adult). With such things happening around, seen/heard, I'm sure any pair of parents, with the ability for either spouse to stay home to look after their child(ren), would surely not want to leave their precious-es home with the maid. On this, I feel that I'm truly lucky that daddy is able to provide for us so I can look after Renee full time and I seriously hope/pray that the day for me to have to go to work and leave the full time care of Renee to a maid will NEVER NEVER happen... Imagine the agony of having to worry sick about your kid at home with a 'stranger' of no family relations to you, whilst tending to your work duties, be it light or worse, heavy headed stuffs.

Anyway, this is not a post against the hiring of maids, if you have 2 or more kids and need help on the house-chores & could afford it, I suppose they do come in handy(esp. if they're 'good'). What I'm getting at here is, don't entrust your kid(s) to their care alone, without supervision...

No School Day

The weather was warm and stuffy last night after the rain and I have the air-condition switched on. However, that caused Renee high fever and she's just recovering from her cough! Haiz. Good thing she's woken me up at 3am to go to the toilet and having felt her warm body, I took her temperature and I reaslied on-time to give her a dose of Ibufen + a cooling patch on her forehead.

She woke up with fever subsided but she was sooo eager to pack her bag to go to her aunty pc's this evening that she didn't want to go to school, hahaha. I'm feeling kinda tired myself, so we decided to just rest at home, heee.

'Checked-Off' Star

I have earlier, upon the suggestion of her violin teacher, re-introduced the star reward/accumulation card to Renee(with a smaller qty for exchange of rewards). Although she was pre-occupied with playing the notes well then, that she's forgotten about collecting the stars for a while, she recently remembered and had asked for its continuity, heee(she's forgotten to collect again these few days, which actually I find a good thing).

The violin lesson was postponed last minute today but I still brought her to Compass Point so I could get some stuffs from the Popular bookstore there. And seeing the smaller size lollipops at the cashier, she asked for one. I took one for payment and reminded her that she'll get it once she's got a star from Ms Mok for the current song(1 smaller size lollipop for star given to every 'pc of song') but she fussed about having it then and there. She even threw tanthrums on the spot and having fell asleep on the way home, she fussed again when I woke her up upon arrival. I was very angry but we were in the 'open', so I tried to control myself and when we got to the elevator, I gave her a light slap and she cried and apologised.

A few days ago, I've started to give her a star for each night that she went to bed/sleep on her own and it actually makes her 'rewards exchange' faster, so I thought it is perhaps, time for her to learn about 'punishment'. I told her that I'll checked-off(her fav word against me when she's not happy with me - she'll go "I give mommy a check", meaning a 'x') one star off the chart from now on for any misbehavior and it seem to work...for now(hopefully she'll stay 'fearful' of her stars being taken away for a long long time...)

New Golf Set

Marketing day today as both Eileen and I have things to attend to tomorrow and after I've settled our vehicles insurance renewals, and sent Renee to school, I dropped by Punggol Plaza for the exchange of the faulty auto air freshener. I was given a new set but it seems to be in the same condition - doesn't sense motion as indicated and thus, no auto dispensing of the aroma(guess will have to exchange again for other stuffs).

Before heading home from the plaza, I remembered the 'longer' set of kiddy golf clubs that we saw yesterday(cheaper than the smaller set we've got earlier) and I quickly grabbed one today. Its length should also fit Renee better now. Although she had tried to 'ignore' the new set when we got home, she finally couldn't resist and took up practicing her putting shots on her own, hahaha.

The other 2 clubs from the old set are dented but it seems like the new one has got different 'irons', so I decided to hold-on to these 2(when we threw the 'carrier' away) for daddy to decide which to keep

The new set

(with colourful balls & more accessories too)

Music

I've been trying to change Renee's violin lessons to another day and am even willing to adjust my mindset on keeping her weekends free from lessons(any form) as we do not wish to change the teacher, but I've got no favorable response as the teacher has even longer commitment with AiTong Pri on Saturdays. Weekdays seem abit tough 'cos of her commitment to the school and for the time being, her family(one of her in-laws) is facing some problem and thus, after some discussion with daddy, we decided to let her have Sunday lessons instead. I've just put forward this suggestion to her and hope to hear favorably from her tomorrow, haiz...