Aaron, Fiona & Arianne

2010-04-29T01:46:00.000-07:00

2009-08-25T22:41:00.000-07:00

June holidays was fun for time for the kids. No exams no stress...it's play play and more play. No stress for me too. I try to bring the kids out as far as I could. It's certainly not easy to bring all 3 together, even with the help of our helper. But that's not going to stop me from bringing them out as a family. I always believe that kids need to have fun. Even with so much stress on the education system, I still insist that my kids have their fair share of fun. We explored the zoo, botanic gardens, went for duck tour. We had our occasionally treats at McDonalds.

Their favourite activity was waterplay at the zoo. We spent about half a day there, Fiona n Aaron were extremely happy splashing each other with water. Arianne was however a bit fearful of the water.
See the white tiger in the background? Not sure if it was the one which killed the malay guy not long ago.
Fun day for Fiona and Aaron. We went for Duck tour with Manday and Chloe. Quack quack. Boy! It was a nosiy ride but we enjoyed it.

Manage to catch a glimpse of the future integrated resort. It's good to see that Singapore has more places of interest in the future. It's quite a headache for us parents to think of where to bring the kids these days. Singapore is full of shopping centres. Kids hate it when we go shopping. We need more kid-friendly places here. It's a pity we don't have disneyland :p

2009-08-25T22:31:00.000-07:00

CHS organised a National Day Event. The students are supposed to send in 4 coloured pictures showing what they want to be when they grow up... They will piece togther all the submissions to make a map of Singapore. My boy wanted to be a doctor ...cos doctors do not need to bring laptops to work... laptops are heavy. His explanation was so funny I couldn't help laughing out loud.

Sister Arianne is quite a busybody. She wants a picture of herself taken with the stethoscope. There u go.....

2009-06-20T21:31:00.001-07:00

I can't believe how fast the first half of 2009 has past. It was really mad rush ... the typical Singaporean mad run. First was Aaron starting his P1, next was Fiona starting her N1, next for all I knew, was Aaron's SA 1. I had a few really tough weeks preparing Aaron for that. Next for all I know, it was Arianne's 1st Birthday...then Arianne started to walk... and again before I could count the days, it was Fiona's 3rd birthday! In between time, I was coping with full time work alongside mothering the 3 kids. Sometimes I really wonder how I did it. At the end of everyday, I always feel so drained and really really I think no one can understand what I had been going thru. But the little hellos that greet me after work had never failed to brighten up my days :) My kids had grown in an unbelievable fast pace which I couldn't put a brake to it. How I wish time could slow down a little to allow me to appreciate every single bit of important moments with them for a longer time. But sometimes, when I get frustrated with them, I really wonder if they r gifts fr heaven or punishment for me...keke...

Lately, we had a photoshot taken at Theng's home studio. I was so happy cos finally, we have Arianne in studio shot. I has wanted to take a family photo ever since Arianne was born but somehow was too busy to organise one... so thanks to Theng for organising. The pictures were so lovely.

2009-03-06T00:05:00.000-08:00

Time really flies.. my little boy is in P1 now... it's kind of hard to believe that. In 2006, when Fiona was barely 6 mths, we were frantically looking for a flat within 1km of CHS... thank God he was chosen in the ballot & I guess the rest is history.
Aaron is in 1 Charity or 1A, with Mrs Karen Lee as his form teacher. Mrs Lee is a bubbly and interesting teacher who teaches Maths and English.
First week of school is more or less orientation. No homework, just getting to know friends, teachers etc. The school had a buddy system where they have a P5 boy to guide the P1s during recess. His buddy was called Bryan. Aaron was so excited that he was able to buy things with the pocket money we gave him. I was around during the first 3 days - Aaron would buy Milo, Pizza and sometimes sandwich. After food, he would go down to the bookshop area - there is a piano there... we noticed he enjoyed playing Turkish March and Fur Elise on that piano with a few other older kids. Routine wise, we got to get him to get up at 6am to catch the schoolbus at 640am. After school, it's an afternoon for revision, reading and assessment books.. it's kind of hard to sink a playful child into a routine of revising school work, doing homework. That's just the beginning of his many years of school life. Study hard Aaron!

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2009-01-22T00:03:00.001-08:00

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2009-01-21T23:56:00.001-08:00

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2009-01-21T23:20:00.001-08:00

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2009-01-21T18:41:00.000-08:00

2009-01-21T17:15:00.000-08:00

I have not updated my Blog for a long long time... been busy recently with work and coping with the three kids' demand. It's not easy to manage that. Sibling rilvary hits almost everyday. Aaron has just started P1 and the demand of having to coach him in his school work adds on the my task list. I need sleep...haha. Nevertheless, my 3 prince/ princesses have been happy kids. I think my household is the nosiest in my entire block of flats, amongst the households of older folks whom I have as neighbours.

2008-08-12T08:08:00.000-07:00

National Day gathering was at Uncle's place @ Blk 79 Marine Parade. Was q unfortunate the lift broke down while we were inside. Ma, Pa, KH, me and 3 kids were trapped!

Walking up 25 Floors was really no joke!

2008-08-01T21:13:00.001-07:00

I think i shall export the statistics for 2009 P1 Phase 2B registration for keepsake :p

2008-07-23T07:39:00.000-07:00

Happiness! Aaron got in to Catholic High during the P1 registration!!!! Only 2 schools conduct balloting for <1km applicants n CHS is one of them. Next is its sister school St Nics. Mum went for the ballot as both KH and i couldnt make it... she was a bit late and it was already near the end when she heard her number called... I was really overjoyed when she called me. It was my co's year end close and the stupid Oracle system screwed up big time... was really upset cos we cant produce the PL in time... the news really cheered me up. Somehow, the feeling is as if I have strike lottery :p Yeah!

2008-07-20T05:25:00.000-07:00

Finally, we were at Catholic high to do P1 registration for Aaron...reached there at 930 am and there were already 35 applicants ahead of us!! We waited for more than an hr and finally it was our turn... havent been so kang cheong for a long time. We had to go thru the verification stage and finally to the registration stage. I found out that we r no 25 in the queue of 37 places. So, tentatively still quite "safe" cos when we left the school, there were only 42 applicants. But by end of day 1, there were 51 applicants!!! Aiyo... maybe will need balloting for 1km pp. But surprisingly, the no reduced to 48 by day 2, which means probably some parents opt out. Now, i'm crossing my fingers whether need to ballot or not. God PLEASE bless us :)

2008-07-04T02:50:00.001-07:00

Time has come.... we have been talking abt this since Aaron was 3 years old, way before Fiona was born.... to move to Bishan so that we can register Aaron for Catholic High. Come 17th July, it's our turn to register him for the school. Not sure we will be successful or not but at least living within 1km and being a Catholic gives us some hope. I can only pray for the best. Personally, I hope being in a Catholic school helps mold his values and sparks up his interest in Jesus's teachings. If not successful, the only consolation we can give ourselves is that at least we bought the place before the property prices went up.

In a few years' time, I know my headache will come up again when it's time to register Fiona for P1. Where can Fiona go? Nearest school for us to register Fiona will be St Nics but I dont think we even stand a chance bec we live out of the 1km mark. 2km is as good as no chance. Probably Marymount Convent if no balloting is required. Till then.

2008-06-29T19:02:00.000-07:00

Fiona recently could tell us that she needs to poo poo. She would yell for "toilet bowl" if it is time for poo poo. Toilet training Fiona for that was a breeze. I never expect her to be able to do it so soon. I remembered that Aaron only managed to do that at the age of 3 yr 3 mth during our trip to Korea... must thank the Koreans for their super clean and comfortable toilet :p

I know many parents r sending their tods to extra lessons ...but with Arianne's needs to take care and logistics issues, unfortunately, I couldn't. It is not that I dont want to but with 3 kids, logistics is a big issue n it's really so tiring to take care of all 3 of them.
However, during these 2 mths of my maternity leave, I feel that Fiona had picked up quite a lot. She had learnt quite a few nursery rymthes, could name the vegetables on the flash cards, recite her A-Z, 1 to 10 in English and Mandarin. I'm trying to teach her colours and reading 1 - 10 but everytime I ask her "what is this?", she asks me back the same question :(

2008-06-13T18:22:00.000-07:00

Just nice that my maternity leave is during the June hols. School's out for Aaron. As much as possible, I tried to arrange for him one exciting activity per week. I need a break fr staying at home lookin after the kids too. We went cycling, up the Singapore Flyer, underwater world n dolphin lagoon. June was also the time we celebrated mei mei's 2nd birthday... was fun! I wish Arianne would grow up soon and join in all the fun. I love such outings with the kids but bringing Arianne out at this moment with 2 other active ones was really tough.

Can't believe Aaron is so Brave! He insisted on taking a pic with this white snake outside the Underwater World. Creepy.

Fiona's 2nd birthday celebrated at home with her cousins on our usual Friday family gathering. My kids love parties especially Aaron. We bought Fiona a Barney cake n bought some tim sum fr Yum Cha. Actually, Fiona fell asleep even before the cake cutting session. All we had to do is to whisper to her "Barney Birthday Cake here" and she was wake again. Power of Barney on kids. Fiona loved to sing. She could sing happy birthday in English and Mandarin and had been practising her vocals the past 1 mth. How old r u Fiona? "2 years old"... we taught her that few months back and only recently she was willing to give us the answer.

2008-05-22T18:48:00.000-07:00

This is something which i have not done for my other 2 kids... blogging about their one month.

Arianne had been q a difficult and fussy baby, refusing to sleep throughout the full one month and always crying for milk. Having a confinement lady doesnt help much... i was laughing to myself.. perhaps the loud high pitched"noise" of the CL kept Arianne awake :p

Arianne had grown quite a bit from the tiny winy little newborn we saw in the hospital. I guess she must be ard 4.5 to 5kg now, judging fr her size. She grew 4cm... so she was 55cm by full month.

Fiona had always been a sweet elder sis. She handled Arianne with tender touches and light kisses. Aaron as usual, is v mischievious. He would hug his sister tightly and touch her head when i'm not looking (something i disallowed him).

As for me, rest was a priviledge which i rarely have. With 3 kids around it's something hard to have. It has taken me more than 3 days to complete up to this part of the Blog. Fiona is always up to some mischieve when we don't supervise her. During the whole one mth, she has done many things which had made us scream our lungs out! She squeezed out almost 3/4 tube of Desitin diaper rash cream and applied it on her neck, plucked out the keys fr our laptop, climb up the metal gate of our home, threw her toys outside the door, threw stuff down fr top of the staircase.... etc etc.... i feel that i am almost going mad handling her behaviour!!! We call her Fierce Fiona coz she would strike out a fierce fight with her brother over minor things. Aaron, though a big brother, would never give in to his sister... that's how all the fights would begin. As a 5.5 yr old kid, Aaron loved to ask questions. I really really wished i had more free time to spend with him and plan some holiday programs for him. My days revolved around cries, fights, tantrums, breastfeeding...... i wish for free time... even 10 mins of bath is precious time! Usually, i cant even spend more than 5 mins in peace! After 1 mth, i'm still FAT, yes FAT...5 kgs of fat still sitting in me. The hair looks like a mad mop and face still belmished with lots of freckles! Sadly, this is what pregnancy had done to me :( I never agreed with comments that pregnant women look the most radiant... at least not for me. U'll not get to see a pic of me here till i look more presentable... heee

Arianne's full month was celebrated at home. We bought cakes from E-creative and Sweetest Moments. Over the weekend, we invited our relatives over 2 sessions and had food catered from Neo Gardens. As usual, the 2 older kids felt so happy to have people coming over, especially Aaron.

At the end of this post, i pray v hard for God to give me patience .... AND MORE PATIENCE.

2008-05-11T21:26:00.000-07:00

Strawberry Shortcake had been a hot fad in my younger days. I have this old doll, which my dad bought when I did well for my exams in Primary 1.

So that makes it 26 years old!!! It's still kept in v good condition.. only thing missing is the smell of strawberries :)

2008-04-22T23:23:00.000-07:00

On a beautiful Sunday morning, BB Arianne 李欣颖, my third bb was born on 20th April 2008.

Time of birth: 0441am
Length: 51cm

Weight: 3155g

Place of birth: Thomson Medical Clinic

Arianne was induced at 1150pm on Wed night as she was due and gynae saw no reason to keep her inside me anymore. Furthermore, I was having painful contractions though not very regular. Cervix was already 3cm dialated when gynae did the check before breaking the waterbag. 3 hours into labour, bb heartbeat was dropping. I had to rely on Oxygen to keep her going strong. She had to come out v soon or her life would be in danger. We found that her umbylical cord had twined round her neck causing the drop in heartbeat. Fearing for her safety, i had to push as hard as I could....finally at 441am, i could hear her cries.... strong loud cries.... Thank God.

Thinking of a name was a v difficult task. I wanted something close to our hearts which Fiona and Aaron can relate to.

Finally, I chanced upon this name - Arianne. An 'A' rhymes with Brother Aaron and 'Anne' is a baptism name which Fiona and I share. Arianne, mummy hopes u like the name which we have chosen for u.

2008-04-08T07:26:00.000-07:00

Vivo City

Fiona enjoying herself in the wet playground

Animal Resort

(Left: Fiona, Aaron and KH feeding the fishes in the pond of Animal Resorts

Right: Aaron feeding the rabbits with carrots)

Weekends are dedicated to our kids. We usually bring them to places which we think they would enjoy.

Animal Resorts was fun! Aaron enjoyed it v much. Initially he was fearful of the goats when they approached him for the food. But later on, he warmed up and bought more than 5 packets of carrots and bread for them!!! Fiona, however, was a bit scared and did not feed the animals. Instead, she was enjoying herself at the fish pond feeding the coils.

2008-03-07T19:52:00.000-08:00

Grandpa, Zo-gong, u have chosen to leave us in the midst of the Lunar New Year. It's hard to understand why u have to go but I know it is best for u. No more suffering, no more pain.
Thank u for all the years of guidance. Thank u for looking after me during the first 5 most tender years of my life. Thank u for sharing our joy of marriage and birth of the 2 dearies. At your death bed, u worried abt us not being able to cope financially with 3. Grandpa, I assure u everything is well within control. God has provided us in abundance.

2008-02-26T06:50:00.000-08:00

CNY was celebrated with mixed feelings. On one hand, the Chinese spirit of joy and togetherness and the beginning of a new lunar year is something which all of us love to experience. The kids love the Mickey Mouse Ang Pows which they have been getting.

On the other hand, grandpa (or the kids' great grandpa aka zhou2-gong1) was v unwell and on day two, had to be sent to the hospital. His heath was deteriorating away. Sad to say, I know it's gonna be a last CNY with him. Deep down inside is a feeling of sadness and lost.

My wish for grandpa is for God's spirit and strength to be with him.

2008-02-26T06:28:00.000-08:00

Mel invited us to her home for a gathering n lao yu sheng n pineapple tart making session. Some photos uploaded.

2008-01-20T04:09:00.000-08:00

It has never been easy gathering all 4 of us together for a photo. In fact, the number of photos we have taken as a family is really rare. Today, I have specially arranged for a shoot at at 11am, hoping it does not clash with Fiona's sleeping time. Fiona had diarrhoea just before we set off fr home. She stained the pretty little batik dress which we had dressed her in:( At the studio, it was a difficult and most challenging task getting Fiona to smile at the camera. Usually, she does not smile readily, much less for this occassion. After an hr, she was cranky and kept pointing to the exit.

Despite the struggle, we managed to have quite a few nice poses fr her. Good girl, Fiona. Aaron was easier. He was the darling of every camera man, except for his habit to stick out his tongue during shoots :p

Till the next photo shoot ... probably after the birth of our bb girl.

A lovely and happy family ...that's all I ask for.

2008-01-08T04:34:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I wonder if having a third kid is a good thing. I dont really want to announce my third pregnancy. Is it a proud thing to be pregnant again?
People look at me and say ..har? Pregnant again? Wow! So supportive of the government policy ar? What sort of supportive friend or relative u r. Frankly, i dont care a hack what govt policy there is. The policy doesnt save me much more than the incremental cost it will cost me. It really hurts to hear such remarks fr pp around me.
I want to have a no 3 and left it for God to decide.... God decided that it's better I have her earlier than what I agreed to be a "good gap". Is 22 mths age gap really that close? Is God wrong?
Do they know how difficult it is to go thru the 9 mths of pregnancy and the effort required to raise the child? Do they know how much joy a child can give?
Maybe I am just too sensitive. Blame it on the pregnancy hormones.
Thankfully God sent me a mentor in time and I am thankful for the counselling me that being pregnant again is a blessing.

2008-01-08T04:21:00.000-08:00

Nana is learning to speak. She could follow our sentences to talk. Today, Nana suddenly blurt out a 3 word sentence .... "Go Away Girlie" .... haha .... after that, she pushed Girlie away to open the drawer to get her spoon.

These 2 weeks, Nana became more authoritative and demanding.... i'm wondering if she's starting to show signs of The Terrible Two Stage! When she's not happy, she screams and rolls on the floor or demand that I carry her. It's really a tough stage for me trying to cope with her demands and being in the second stage of pregnancy. Hopefully, she outgrows this stage soon.

2007-12-29T16:23:00.000-08:00

Fiona @ 18 mths

1.5 yrs have passed since the birth of Fiona. In the recent few weeks, we noted that she has grown quite a fair bit and is picking up fast in terms of speech.

Weight:
13kg
Words in Fiona's vocab:
Daddy, Mummy, Kor kor, Ah Mah, milk, wet, ball, star, baby, hot, poo, ear, hair, nose, neck, ear, hand, teeth, mouth, hat, bite, bit, kick, car, one, two, three, four, five, light, bag, straw, mouse, pig, dog, bear, thank you, please, open, up, Elmo ...
What she calls herself:
"Nana"
Fiona could name the parts of her body and point to the correct part when asked:
Hair, head,hand, neck, ear, nose, mouth, teeth, belly button, butt
Chinese phrase:
Wo-Ai-Ni
Favourite songs:
Row Row Row Your Boat
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
When i recite TTLS, she could remember the last word of the sentence:
Twinkle Twinkle Little Fiona says "Star"
How I wonder what you Fiona says "Are"
Up Above the word so Fiona says "High"
Like a diamond in the Fiona says "Sky"
Twinkle Twinkle Little Fiona says "Star"
How I wonder what you Fiona says "Are"
Barney is a Dinosaur

2007-12-20T03:52:00.001-08:00

Gathering on 20th Dec @ my place

FrTop left (row1):

Pic 1: Dor, Serene
Pic 2: Cindy, Valerie, OiPeng, Mel
Pic 3: Ethan (peng's boy)

(row2) :

Pic 1 : Cindy and Zach

Pic 2: Serene and Brayden

Pic 3: Irvin (Mel's boy)

(row3) :

Pic 1 : Jake (Amy's boy)
Pic 2: Dor and Serene

FrTop left (row1):
Pic 1: Mandy (Dor's girl) & Aaron

Pic 2: Aloysius (Lyn's boy)

Pic 3: Xander and Yenni

(row2) :
Pic 1 : Aloysius and Daddy
Pic 2: Top left - Valerie n Wesley; Centre- Fiona n Sharon; Irvin ; Ethan

Pic 3: Xander, Peng, Ethan, Fiona, Irvin, Mandy, Jake

Fiona and Mandy..the only 2 girls

Zayn and her daddyEgan n his papa

Jake

Aloysius

Xander

Peng and Egan
Fiona MandyZach and Wesley

Haha! Getting the kids to sit on the staircase is really a challenge

Xander n Fiona

hoho...caught u little ones fiddling with the TV

(Fiona and Brayden)

(Fiona and me)

2007-12-20T03:52:00.000-08:00

Aaron's 5th Birthday

Happy Birthday to u.... Happy Birthday to u...Happy birthday to Aaron, Happy Birthday to u.

You'r five!!

Hope u like the Birthday gift mummy bought u :)

2007-12-20T03:44:00.000-08:00

Fiona and her "Double Eye Lids"

Something v peculiar about my kids is that once u notice that their double eye lids appear, it means they r falling sick soon.

Fiona had high fever for a few days last week, accompanied by diarrhoea. Her double eye lids start to appear ..... that was how she looked like.... for once she has big round eyes ....

Are my eye lids pretty?

2007-12-15T02:11:00.000-08:00

Cruise on board Star Virgo ....

2007-12-01T22:21:00.001-08:00

Welcome Christmas!

Christmas is coming.... we've just put up our Christmas tree, bought some presents for the cousins and almost ready to welcome The day. Aaron helped me to put up the Tree.... thank u Aaron. Fiona is so happy and excited every time she sees the Tree. She loves the STAR the most.... but she's always up to mischieve taking the balls down fr the Tree.

To the kids, Christmas means presents and Santa. We brought them to Taka to shop for Christmas presents ... but one thing that made me laugh was this question which Aaron had asked me .... "Mummy, we don't have a chimney at home, how is Santa going to come in during Christmas? Does he come in through the window?" Haha... Santa, do u have an answer to this? :p

(Christmas Tree at Ngee Ann City)

Pre-Christmas gathering

On the first Sunday of Advent, we invited Fr John Sim fr Risen Christ to bless our house. Following which, we had a dinner prepared for my relatives. "This the season to be jolly"... as I remember a phrase from a Christmas carol. The kids just love pp coming over to our place, esp Aaron. We also had a mini bday celebration for Dec bbs (Aaron and Ah Ee) and Felicia. Candle blowing time is always a joy for Aaron.

Gatherings at home r always fun ... i'm looking forward to one more gathering - and probably with KH's family before Christmas.... till then. I guess family is the best gift God has given me. I think U must have Your reason when U unexpectedly created another new addition to my home. Probably some profound reason which I have yet to know. Thank u Jesus Christ.

2007-11-30T15:59:00.000-08:00

The Spirit of Taiko

After many months of agony practising for the concert, today is finally D-day! It's going to be Aaron's last concert at Amazing Star. The concert is held at Woodlands Civic Centre Auditorium. Spirit of Taiko comprises of a Japanese dance cum drum play. Drums were made with mik tins. Aaron did a good job.

2007-11-12T04:35:00.000-08:00

Ah Ma's Bday

It's aaron and fiona's ah ma's 56th bday and we had a luncheon gathering at the Paramount hotel. Fiona was sleeping and alas.... we can have peace eating our meal.

Thereafter, we went to Lin's place to visit bb Joei... she has such lovely red lips... a potential mei nu indeed. After that, we went to the airport to fetch Lynn's family and my in laws back fr their Goldcoast trip.... was a tiring day for the kids... F was cranky at the end of the day. After the whole day out, the kids gotta return back to Ah Ma's place where they will spend the night.

2007-11-06T04:40:00.000-08:00

Days without the kids

Fiona and Aaron are away from home for 2 weeks as KH has to go for his reservist in the east side. The 2 got to put up at Gong Gong and Ma Ma's house in Bukit Panjang. On Sunday night, I brought them there with a heavy heart. It's the first time in my life that Fiona is going to be away from me. Really cannot bear to leave them there.

I hope the weeks pass quickly as I cannot bear the separation any more :( Without them, there is no life at home.... home feels like an empty shell. You'll never know what i am talking about unless u r a parent yourself.

2007-10-12T02:14:00.000-07:00

Home Sweet Home

After 2.5 mths living in gong gong & mama's house, Aaron and Fiona finally get to stay in their new house!

11 October 2008 marks another significant chapter in A&F's life.... it's the first day both stayed over at 257.

The kids' favourite activities:
- Fiona climbing up the stairs.... Fiona is full of energy. We all cannot match up with her energy level.
- Aaron loves throwing balls from the top of the staircase.... bong bong bong .... and Fiona will giggle, catch the ball and climb up and now it's her turn to throw the ball.... it's their playground... adults not welcomed...haha

Pictures Pictures...everyone loves pictures... taken at Bishan & McDonald's AMK

Nana's latest toady hair cut...all thanks to Ah Ma

It's really a tiring task trying to take a nice passport photo for Fiona... and thanks to Ah Ma, her ugly hair style makes things worse! Non of the photos taken seem presentable... and Nana's patience is also running out! Hiaz... looks like we gotta retake again :(

2 Weeks later, Fiona hair grew.... trying to take a PP photo for her again.... hmmm still not successful .... try again :(

2007-09-11T23:01:00.001-07:00

WHO DO THEY LOOK LIKE??

2007-09-02T18:32:00.000-07:00

Roseola

Poor Fiona is down with Roseola (Sixth Disease). She had high fever for 3 days, followed by mild rashes on her body and some on her face. She was quite cranky for the past few days. However, yesterday, we noted that she was sleepy and slept more than usual - 3.5 hrs in the afternoon and again, she fell asleep early at 7 pm plus in the night.

What are the first symptoms of roseola?
The initial signs and symptoms of roseola include a sudden high fever that lasts for 3 to 5 days, irritability, bulging "soft spot" on the head (fontanel), swollen glands in the front or back of the neck, runny nose, puffy eyelids (due to swelling with fluid), and mild diarrhoea.

How high can the fever go?
Quite high. The fever averages 103.5 F (39.7 C) but it can go up as high as 103-106 F (39.4-41.2 C).

How should the fever be treated?
If the fever is not causing the child to be uncomfortable, the fever need not be treated. It is not necessary to awaken the child to treat a fever unless instructed to do so by a health care practitioner.
If you wish to treat the fever, acetaminophen (Tylenol and others) can be used to lower a fever. Aspirin should NEVER be used for fever in children or adolescents.
A child with a fever should be kept comfortable and not be overdressed. Overdressing can cause the temperature to go higher. Bathing with tepid water (85 degrees F <30.0>) may help bring down a fever. Never sponge a child (or an adult) with alcohol; the alcohol fumes may be inhaled causing many problems.

Is there a rash with roseola?
Yes, but not in the beginning. When the fever disappears, a rash appears. The rash is mainly located on the neck and body, especially, the abdomen, trunk, and back but it can also be on the arms and legs (extremities).
The rash appears as separate little raised dots (papules) or as a flat (macular) rash.

What is most remarkable characteristic of roseola?
What is most striking is that the child seems so well despite having a high fever.

2007-08-28T22:55:00.000-07:00

Fiona has just passed her 14th month. She shows greater sense of control over her daily activities. My little day enjoys her day so much that she will refuse take her usual twice daily nap... screams to get her way.

Fiona is learning to walk... her learning curve, unlike Aaron, is not steep. She's fearful of walking halfway and falling onto the ground. She needs us to hold on to her hand as she walks. Once we hold on to her, she changes to the super fast gear and up and down the room she zooms! She's got lots of energy and i can be v tiring following her up and down the house.

Little Fiona is also starting to respond to our questions... ask her, how does the lion roar, she will let out a loud rrrrrrr.... kind of cute seeing her do that. However, she refuses to meow when we ask her what sound the cat makes... haha!

2007-08-10T02:53:00.000-07:00

A day at Marriot

Today, we decided to stay in Marriot for a night. Was given a room at level 17 with Orchard Road view... view was fantastic! If only our home has such nice view... will upload the photos later....

As we went there early, we lazed around in the room for a whille. The kids love jumping up and down the bed, esp Aaron.

View from our room:

Waited for KH for finish work and we went for the seafood buffet at the Cafe together with my parents.
Food was delicious. :)

Some beautiful memories captured .....

2007-07-08T17:19:00.000-07:00

Fiona took her first steps!

One two three... Fiona walk ... one more step! yes! good little girl... good job! One more milestone in her life.

2007-07-08T17:15:00.000-07:00

Fiona's 1st Bday celebration

Was a simple cosy little celebration in the comfort of our home. A & F's cousins came to join us in the celebration. Probably the last celebration @ our Senja home. Daddy ordered a Minnie Mouse cake for the little princess while Mummy ordered a strawberry shortcake jelly. Food was ordered fr Neo gardens.

2007-05-27T21:10:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, June bbs!!

We had a wonderful weekend at MyGym @ Woodlands Civic Centre celebrating SM's June bb's birthdays!

We are in the second group. Fiona was so excited with the games that she refused to sit down and wanted to keep jumping when the session started. Aaron, my BIG bb also enjoyed all the jumping and monkeying. Hope he didnt scare the little ones too much.

It's the first time I meet some of the mummies... finally manage to put the faces to some of the nicks. ... more updates later :)

2007-05-20T02:45:00.000-07:00

It's been a v tiring week. Fiona was also feeling unwell admist my food poisioning episode. She had been having fever now and then and kept waking up at night. Short of rest, i somehow lost 2kg. 47kg....Never seen this on the scale for a long long time. On Friday, F had v v high fever. Mum called me on my way home. I was in Greenridge Guardian buying another thermometer. Mum mentioned 39 plus. I told her, dont worry, i'm coming back. Later, mum called again to hurry me. I knew something must be wrong. She mentioned 39.6 deg! I somehow started to break out in cold sweat and sprinted home. F seemed to be in a daze. I felt scared and helpless seeing her like that! We sponged her but it didnt seem to work. Then, she started wimping. It seemed that she is trying to cry loudly but did not have the energy to do that. My heart was praying hard for her. I took out the Cool Fever pad and pasted on her forehead and parts of her body and also sponged her at the same time. She seemed to hate the sponge cos i could feel her jumping up everytime i apply the cold towel... but she didnt seem to struggle like what she usually would.
I took the temp - 39.6deg..... s*** why didnt the temp go down?? Quickly called KH. Luckily he had not left his work place. Told him to bring the medicine down! Temp hovered at bet 38.8 to a high of 39.9! I was feeling afraid i may lose F. I continued to pray to God for her recovery. F's soft cries made my heart bleed. I let her latch on and it sort of comforted her. Shortly, KH came home and immediately inserted a voltaran suppository into her ass. Still, temp didnt come down immediately. We waited and waited and i cont to pray for God to give her mercy. She dozed off in the midst of all these commotion. We continued to monitor her temp. It took almost an hr for her temp to go back to normal. F finally woke up, smiled at me and utterred papapapapap..... i was so glad to hear that even though she wasnt calling me. Her smile indicated that she was ok.... the kind of happiness wh cant be described by words :)

2007-05-17T21:45:00.000-07:00

"Memorable" Mother's day

This is my fifth mother's day celebration and so far the most "memorable" one.
After Jake's birthday party, we rushed home to let Fiona sleep for a while before proceeding to our destination.
This year, our celebration was held in the BBQ area of Ah Ku's condo. We usually celebrate Grandma's bday on Mother's day bec she has no birth-date. Food was catered, weather was not too bad.... we promised Aaron that we would bring him for a swim if he behaved himself. He did and we brought him as promised. However, this year, my parents could not join us cos my mother was down with fever. The food was delicious and we sort of enjoyed ourselves.

The Aftermath.....
2 days later, 1 woke up at 3am feeling a big bloated. Suddenly, i felt the urge to puke and rushed to the toilet, just in time! Gosh... donno what happened... suddenly feeling so giddy and nausea.
Half an hr later, same thing repeated itself!! Aiyo.... slowly, i groped my way to the kitchen to look for medicine. Down one tablet of stemetil. But it didnt really help bec by morning before i leave for work, i vomitted again!!!
The thing continued and i declared i was too sick to stay in office and went home. Was given a jab and i felt better.
Thought things would be better after the jab but i started to have diarrhoea!
Record number of times puking : >10
Record number of times diarrhoea : almost 10!

Found out fr Mum that a few others who went to the Mother's day celebration also experienced the same thing! must be the food we ate!!! Hiaz... my myself for being so "yao-kwee"

2007-05-07T17:39:00.000-07:00

Our kids happy moments when there r toys:

2007-05-07T17:17:00.000-07:00

Fiona's favourite toy

Thought to be an unlikely choice for a good toy: Teletubbies ... Tinky Winky

R Teletubbies satanic or anti christ? no idea... heard that fr pp ... but the strangest thing was we bought Tinky Winky from St Mary of the Angels trade fair several years ago... We had 2 TTs ... the other called Po. Po used to be Aaron's favourite stuff toy. Brought it everywhere, including Taiwan. A well travelled stuff toy.

Tinky Winky could utter these words "Bye bye", "Big Hug", "Po" and even catonese "Fai-ti fai-ti"... LOL! These little utters never fail to calm Nana down when she cries.

2007-05-05T00:49:00.000-07:00

Dealing with Allergy:
This is the first time we are dealing with allergy in our kids. Never had this experience with Aaron.

Fiona has been having raised red dots on her arms for 2 weeks. Initially, I scared myself thinking it is hfmd... thankfully, it is not. No fever, no rashes on the foot and palms. Diagnosis was made... F is allergic to something... BUT what???

Ruling out starts...
Food? Not really... nothing new given.
Dust mites? Maybe ... but we sanitised the cots, playpens etc... but still more spots come out.....
Finally, after thinking thru the history, we think she is allergic to dog's fur!! Oh dear... she got the spots after she has been crawling on the floor. :(

Antidote:
Normal cream didnt work... tried several others ... also failed... finally tried Neoderm ... and her condition seemed to have improved.
Gotta avoid letting her crawl on the floor at ah mah's place.
On the ionizer full blast.. (haha!)

2007-05-01T22:07:00.000-07:00

Mummy's agony

It's not easy being a mum and apportioning your love equally between your kids without one feeling unhappy.
Nana has been clingy to me when i am home. She wants me to be in sight and often yearning for a long warm cuddle or hug. She gets jealous when Aaron comes over and I show him attention.
Aaron also demands mummy's attention and gets upset when mummy hugs Nana instead of him. Lately, he has been throwing tantrums and up to no good. I think it's bec he is seeking attention. Been wanting to scold and spank him but WAIT... is there something lacking in his life? Am I being biased when showing affection? What's wrong????
Mummy is feeling extremely exhausted balancing work, family life and balancing affection amongst the 2 kids.

2007-04-21T18:34:00.000-07:00

Back track a bit.... Fiona finally went for her first swim at Downtown East... didnt want to bring her swimming when she was younger cos this paranoid mummy was afraid of germs and cold.... germs germs germs... cold cold cold ... the v scary words in mummy's vacabulary!! Sick means sleepness nights for mummy! F has a tendency to get runny nose. As such, we try to avoid exposing her to crowded places and doing things that could cause an onset of cold. We hope all's well after the swim.
Anyway, mummy did not prepare any new swim wear for F to wear... gotta wear kor kor's old swim wear. We brought along a pok pok car float... and F loved that so much she refused to come out of it!! kekeke :) Look forward to 2nd swim soon :)

2007-04-21T18:25:00.000-07:00

15 April 2007:

Yahooo.... finally, the sky is clear and bright.... DHL counter was still closed when we arrived... hoping v hard the balloon will fly after a wasted trip previously. Aaron was jumping around ....so excited to get on board.

Finally, the much await moment... we r going on board DHL balloon!! Here we come!

2007-04-10T17:26:00.000-07:00

8th April 2007:
Hey! Fiona can stand!!!
Mummy counted 1,2,3...10
Fiona could stand for 10 seconds before she flopped and sat on her bum :)
That's another milestone met. Great job Fiona!

2007-04-04T21:32:00.000-07:00

Fiona replied .... "yar!"

Yesterday, at Grandma's place, we asked Fiona if she wanted milk and she looked at us and said "yar!"...everyone broke into laughter! Does she know what we r asking or does she not? Anyway, back home, I tried asking her again.... "Fiona, do u want milk?". Fiona replied "yar!"... i gave her 6 oz and she finished the whole bottle on her own. :)

I wonder if she has started to learn to talk. :)

2007-04-01T16:37:00.000-07:00

31st March 2007:
DHL Flying Balloon.... Gong gong has reminded my little one this morning that he will bring the kids to sit the flying balloon. Wow! What's that? Something which I have never seen in my life! Thanks to Andy, we get a free ride.... Aaron was so so excited. But halfway thru in the afternoon, it started to pour heavily. Hopes of ridding DHL balloon all gone! Nevertheless, we drove there just to take a look. Supposed to the last day of the ride.... oh no and it's not flying :( Thankfully, one of the counter staff we met there extended the expiry date. 40 storeys high... that's how high you'll go! Till then....

2007-03-27T19:00:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Anthony, we got nice studioshots of Aaron. He manage to capture the heart and soul in his picture. Gam Sia hor Uncle Anthony.

www.lettherebelight.com.sg

2007-03-27T18:57:00.000-07:00

Back on the topic of school registration.
Yipee! Wendy fr ZBK called me yesterday to confirm Aaron's registration. Was so happy! The joy really cannot be described! Told myself that God is beautiful and does not disappoint. Thank you for that lovely piece of news!

2007-03-27T18:45:00.000-07:00

Blogs r never complete without pictures.
Wow! There would be too many pics to show.
Will upload the latest ones for a start.

As of today, Aaron is 4 yr 3 mth. Bright and jovial little fellow. "Aunty-killer"...haha! Melted the hearts of many aunties in the neighbourhood :) Follows mummy like a shadow at home.

Fiona is 9mths. Lovely little baby ... growing to look more and more like her kor kor. My little lady is v attached to mummy. That's the beauty of girls.

Since the birth of Fiona, I am beginning to enjoy motherhood. The time spent with my kids brought lots of joy and warmth to my heart. Cant imagine what life would be without them.

2007-03-27T18:35:00.000-07:00

Woke up at 545 on Monday intending to go down to Zion kinder to register Aaron for K2. Just after I boarded bus 190, it started to pour :( what bad luck to start the morning, I thought. Halfway thru, traffic started to jam at BKE. Oh dear, how am I going to make it to ZBK in time? Anyway, to cut it short, it was 830am when I finally reached ZBK. Greeted by teachers handling the registration. Oh boy, I was told there r no vacancies for K2! All places to be reserved for K1 batch. What a disappointment. Really wanted to cry cos I wasted 2 hrs journey and 1 day leave only to be told there is no vacancy! Met Susan and was introduced to the Principal. She offered me a place in Zion at Serangoon but it was a bit too far for us so we rejected the offer.
Hiaz.... called KH and told him the bad news.
Anyway, I thought since I had all the time today, will go and racky the kinders near our new home.

1st visit : PCF: Was greeted by the P, Joy. Nice lady. She talked about the cirriculum with enthusiasm and showed me round the school. Much much nicer than what I expected.

2nd visit: NTUC childcare : Just loitered outside the centre. Dont really like it though.

2007-03-27T18:26:00.000-07:00

Mummy set up this blog in 2006, intending to capture the beauty of her second pregnancy but only in 2007 did she make the first post. Haha! Talk abt procrastinating. At the start of my blog, I want to thank God for giving me 2 very beautiful and sweet children- Aaron and Fiona. Without them, my life would be empty.