CNY, Traffic and Sick Kid

This week has been a roller coaster week. With CNY this Sunday, traffic is horrendous everywhere and at all times. It easily took an hour to get the market which usually takes 20 mins. Everywhere I go and at any times, even non-rush hour have been a nightmare. Can be quite frustrating. It slowly get to my nerve to live in suburbs now. Nothing is near and nothing is running a quick errand anymore. Everything takes half a day. Now that with Chloe eating solid, I need to do grocery shopping more frequently. A lot of her food are not available in my neighbourhood stores..sigh. No Japanese pumpkin, no organic vegetables, no fresh fish, no nice fruits, no olive oil (can you imagine!). It is either my taste is 'too high class' or I have been very wasteful in buying these goods.

CNY is a few days away.We had the lantern hung up in our car porch a week ago - not too bad. This neighbourhood is quite excited about CNY. People started hanging the lanterns a month before CNY, play fireworks (those with about 20 pops) a week before the actual day. Very vibrant. We are on our second tin of pineapple tarts, finishing the first tin of love letters, and finished our first tin of fried arrow roots. Those were gifts from relatives. Now I have to scout for more cookies.

Chloe celebrated her 7th month with a bout of blocked nose. Her nose started running 2 days ago but it got worse yesterday night. She cried and can't sleep with her blocked nose. Also, she was burping a lot. Her tummy must have discomfort. So, she slept for 20 mins, cried for an hour, slept for another 20 mins and cried for another hour. It kept going until 4am! She felt better after her poo at 4am and must have been very tired. Dominic and myself were like zombies this morning.

Can't wait for the weekends....hopefully Chloe will be fully recovered by then.

Mr Loner

Wasn't sure if he is in a rebellious phase or his character, he is sure a lone ranger. Some days, I asked him if he talks to his friends in school and he said NO. He said I only talk to Ms A (his teacher) and Ms L (his another teacher). When I pressed harder and asked why, he will always have an answer. Once he said the friends were playing a 'not nice' game, and another time he said the friends were playing without him. Once, I was even telling him no point for him to go to school if he is not talking and playing with his friends.

I got a bit worried and managed to have a short chat with Ms A when I dropped him at school yesterday. Ms A said he has no problem talking to adults but just don't talk to kids (his friends). He has 'banyak cerita' (tell lots of stories) to both the teachers. Ms A always tried to get him to join his friends but she said he cannot be pushed to hard. It may backfired.

There is nothing wrong being a loner I suppose. My only concern is if this characteristic is going to work to his disadvantage when he grows up when he has to compete with people his age. We will see....

It is NOT de-worm problem

Oh..well..we came one full circle. Lucas' not so good appetite and loose poo has nothing to do with the de-worm. I went to 2 pharmacies and asked what is the side-effect of de-worm. Both have consistent reply that is nothing. So, I was left wondering what could be wrong. Then it strikes me that I have just switched Lucas' milk to a different brand. The milk he was drinking was getting too expensive and I thought maybe I can save some money if I switched him to a cheaper brand. Lucas sure does not agreed with my idea. Now, he has back to his old brand. I guess I just have to work harder to pay for his milk.

De-worm

Chloe is more comfortable on her stomach.

I tried de-worm on Lucas after several friends recommended it. There were only 2 tablets for every 6 months. So, I got him the tablets that look candies. He eat them not knowing the actual content. Then I supplemented with some vitamins supplement and appetite boaster. The end-result is even worse than before. He is not eating at all!! He eats 2-3 spoons for each meal and only had milk 3 times a day. He is also not so crazy about his sweets anymore. Now, I am getting worried. What's wrong with him?? How to get his good appetite? I'm really run out of idea. I have a 8 years old cousin who were so skinny until now. This cousin were so active and hadn't been putting on weight. He only grows taller - same story as Lucas. Now, this cousin of mine is an eating machine. He can eat 3 drumsticks for lunch and need supper (more meat). I must say he looks better not being bony. Hope Lucas will eventually build his appetite and put on some weight. Chloe's face is almost the same size as Lucas...that's how skinny he is.

Down Memory Lane

Today is my off day. I worked 4 days a week i.e. Tuesday to Friday. So, I decided to organize the kids' closet. I started with Lucas's outgrown clothes. When I opened up the plastic bag and saw the clothes Lucas used to wear, I mesmerized those days when he was wearing them. Days when he was still crawling and cruising, not talking and chubby. Now, he runs, jumps, skinny and talks like a true chatter-box. Chloe can wear all his short sleeves body suits and some sweet colour shirts. But none of his pants can be recycled. Those pants are just too boyish for girl.

Then I cleared Chloe's closet. All those newborn to 6 months clothes can be given away for good. Yep...not planning for a third one.

All these children's clothes are quite wasteful if they cannot be handed down to someone. A lot of them are still so new (worn less than 5 times) and some are even branded. These kids are lucky to have generous relatives to give them nice clothes. I am too stingy to buy my kids branded clothes.

Juggling Act

Who do you attend to when you have a newborn and a toddler crying for attention at the same time?? My confinement lady has to go home for a week due to family emergency. And I am left to care for a newborn and a toddler with a maid. Dominic is back to work. Firstly, I was not able to send Lucas to school as Chloe is still to small to fit into the infant car seat. Luckily, one of Lucas's classmate mother offered her transport service. She lives in the same neighbourhood. That solved the first problem. Secondly, there is no more 3 dishes per meal, and all the nutritious soup. It is back to basic i.e. minced meat spaghetti, fried rice, noodles, pie and pizza. Thirdly, when Chloe and Lucas cried for attention at the same time, it can be very stressful. The other day, when I gave Lucas a bath, Chloe cried after 5 mins we were in the bathroom. I have to ask Lucas to 'play with the bath water' while I go to calm Chloe. Then I returned to Lucas to finish his bath. While I was attending to Chloe, Lucas kept asking every 20 seconds, 'Mommy, are you coming?'. After that bath, while I was feeding Chloe (which can take 1 to 1 1/2 hour), Lucas poo-ed on his diaper and asked to change. I have to put Chloe down to change Lucas's diaper. Chloe was wailing.....all the stress of juggling with 2 kids. Will it ever get any easier?