Panic

Nadeen is now 2 & a half years old. It feels just like yesterday I last posted on her milestone. She was the only one of my 4 girls whom I have the chance to update her monthly progress online from the day she was born until she started walking.

Nadeen

Last fortnight I took Nadeen for her vaccination. As warned by her paed, the jab would cause a fever. Since I have enough PCM syrup at home & it was not her first immunization, I took it lightly.

At home, I straight gave her the required dose needed. She loves the flavour of this one particular PCM syrup. I simply need to pass the syringe to her & she would inject it into her mouth willingly.

The next day she woke up happy. I guessed the PCM worked & I stopped the next dosage. At 30 months she is smart for her age. Having 3 elder sisters is definitely an advantage. Would a toddler that age hum to Demi Lovato songs? :-) She is even picky with what she wears now. Prefers dresses to anything... but not any dress suits her. It must have a wide flare so that she can twirl ;-) In her language, the dress which she can lalalaaaaa.... The apple of our eyes indeed!

That night as I was putting her to bed I felt her body temperature differed. A bit warmer than usual. My mistake for ignoring... At 2am, I woke up & checked on my baby. Yes, she had a temperature! I woke her up (at the wee hour I forgot about the suppository safely confined in the fridge) & gave her the syrup. She didn't complain, in fact continued sleeping.

In the morning, her temperature was back to normal. But I continued with medication since she was not as active as before. She slept again somewhere at 9am & while sleeping her temperature rose. I toweled her & she started to cry. I wanted to give another dosage but it was less than 4 hours from her last. Monitored her as she went back to sleep.

It was a hot day that day & Nadeen's temperature was going up & down & up again. Her 4 hourly dosage I never missed.In the afternoon, I sneaked to send Yasmin & Balqis for mengaji. It didn't work. Nadeen even with a high temperature could sense it. She cried out for me.

I didn't have the heart to leave her. I thought it was OK to bring her along since the car was air-conditioned. After all the drive was less than 10minutes... It could have been the most foolish thing I did. Why didn't I just tell the elder girls to skip mengaji that day?

Back from sending the elder girls, Nadeen was still with a high temperature. I continued toweling her. She cried out when I toweled her neck but the moment the damp towel reached her armpit, her eyes opened abruptly , pupils looked dilated & both were facing upwards.

It was a fit! Her body cramped. I got panic. I hugged her but it was like hugging a log. She didn't respond to me. I started to shiver. Called out for my helper. She took Nadeen & rushed her to the bathroom. I was helpless!

Good thing Wari (my helper) was sensible. I heard water splashing, I saw & heard she calling out Nadeen's name but I was only watching! Couldn't compute to what was happening! As if like I was having muscle spasm as well. Suddenly, I heard Wari no longer calling out for Nadeen. I heard her loud & clear.. "Ibu!! Panggil bapak!!"

I rushed upstairs. I totally forgot about HB. He was asleep. Just got home that morning after an all night long flight to Hydrebad. Guessed I conveyed the message right because HB stormed out of the bedroom. The moment he took Nadeen, her mouth was foaming.

I couldn't bear looking at my baby like that. In shivers, I grabbed the car key & started the engine. HB passed Nadeen to me & was shirtless entering the car . Wari, our hero that day appeared with HB's T-shirt in her hand.

In the car, Nadeen was conscious. She was calling out "Mamaaa.." but her eyes were still looking up. I prayed silently but was surprised that I didn't even drop a tear. The shivers had not gone though.

We decided to take her to a nearby clinic first. I was glad that the usual doctor whom we normally consult was on duty. I rushed in & requested to see the doctor immediately. The doctor was calm & managed to convince me that things were under control. She advised us to monitor Nadeen for another 24hours & if another fit occurred straight away bring her to the hospital.

I expected that night her fever would rise again. I was wrong. She slept all night long & every 4 hours I inserted a suppository through her rectum. The next day she was not eating. As expected, I found mouth ulcers near her throat. Took her to see the doctor again & this time she was prescribed with antibiotic besides the oral aid to sooth her ulcers. Two days after that, she was back at her normal appetite and continued twirling & spinning in her favourite dress.

It was my first. None of my other girls ever experienced such attack before. I am ashamed for being panic. As her mom I should have been in control but Alhamdulillah Nadeen is well. Love you Nadeen!

Missing Papa..

I shared about HB's constant availability at home in my last post. Here's a contradiction to what I commented.

HB operated a daily flight to TPE yesterday. Daily OK...! So I was not exaggerating of him being home often ;-) It takes approximately 5 hrs to reach TPE. To & fro should take up to more or less 10hrs. 2 sets of tech crew operate this pattern. Each pair either fly to or fly out. A legal duty period is within 12 hours which starts from the reporting time. This pattern has only a 10 minutes buffer.

The flight was delayed due to strong headwind. Furthemore it was overbooked. Since HB operated to TPE, he was flying back as a passenger. By stepping down in TPE, he was ironically doing his company a favour. Last night I was hubbyless... ;-)

OK. I am a frank person & I won't lie. Yes!! I enjoyed it. The bed to myself... No green background on TV... Watched Desperate Housewives at ease... & I thought the girls felt the same. The elder girls perhaps but not to both Balqis & Nadeen. No surprise... They are both very manja with papa.

Nadeen went to sleep asking about papa & woke up searching for papa. Balqis? She loves to write nowadays. Has completed her Bacalah Anakku series. She has this written for papa ...

Now let me do the honour to elaborate. To Papa, From Balqis... that one is clearly understood. Welcome Home, Papa I Love you... that too is easily comprehended. Can you see our house there? Now how about the drawing next to it? According to her, that's the hotel in TPE (She's been there. You may want to read here, here, here and here). The stickman in front of the hotel is obviously papa ;-) How sweet... I was wrong with my assumption. They both sure love having papa home ;-)

Us

I have plenty of stories to blog but when everything rushes out to be put into words, there is a massive traffic there in my head. Ever experienced that?

Now this is my attempt polishing on my menglipur lara skill. I shall start with....HB. My frequent readers I'm sure is aware of HB's job patterns. Ever since early this year things have changed a bit. Nooo...! He's with the same company, the same department the only thing that differs is his time.

Nowadays, he is always home. Always means we see him every single day. He sometimes goes to work very early in the morning & will be home by 5pm. At times he goes off somewhere after dinner & comes home right after my daily morning menyupir chore. Most of the time he is home but we can't make plans for he might be called for duty.

The truth, it is kind of difficult for me & also the girls to adjust. We are too used & comfortable with his irregular existence at home ;-) Having him over a week with us is funny.

I am not so domesticated when it comes to house chores. I don't fancy cleaning up. Mopping, sweeping, vacuuming.. what more scrubbing toilets! Unlike HB who is very rajiiinnn. He likes things to be in order & spotless.

My trick then was to chill whenever he was away & make sure the household is presentable during his return. No! Don't get me wrong... My house is nothing like a ship wreck. Those who have been here should know. At a glance things are tidy. I always make sure the living room especially is nicely arranged. The living area is the first you see once entering the main door. I of course depend on such room to welcome my fatigue husband after days away from home.

Remember Monica Geller of Friends? Well, I'm pretty much like her. House organised but I have this habit of dumping things that are an eyesore into cabinets & drawers ;-) Since HB has the extra time at home, he now discovers his wife's imperfectness ;-)

Have I changed over the months? No, I haven't. I have been living with such pattern for too long & it has become my comfort zone. True, I have a helper at home but she is a fast learner to my making things disappear habit. (Sighh...)

How I wish HB gets busy again... Heard that he would by the end of the year. To maintain the house in order is merely a small issue. My concern here is our relationship. I just don't know how others do it but with HB home almost all the time limits our daily conversation. I know there are couples who work at the same place & see each other daily. How do they survive? Having HB around 24/7 & going through the days together... we are sometimes lost of words. No more topics to discuss. Hahaha! Seriously... and I better not forget to make an appointment with my OB/GYN by December. My IUD will due ;-)

Now at this very moment, I'm blogging & he is next to me playing his favourite game in my handphone. We even played Jenga together this afternoon... Hahaha!

Give It Back To Me!!

Notice my posts recently? What I meant by recently was early this month & early last month ;-) My... I'm getting slow in this. I've lost the passion in writing! See... it stops there. Not like it used to be.

When I read my previous posts before, I sort of wonder... "Did I really write all that? How did I manage?" Oh well... Hope it comes back home again.

And signing off now... Contemplating though. Should I or should I not publish this lousy post? Oh well... Here we go!

Still around somewhere...

Yes... I am still around. On planet earth at least. Been missing in blogsphere! Today, I try my best to stay put longer here & update :-)

Wow! Almost a month without a single post. The last time I did this was when I was carrying Nadeen. Now don't get any ideas! My excuse this time is still the same old one. Been busy with my little business ;-)

OK. I've been wanting to share on our outing a couple of months back. During the school break in March to be exact. We were in Kuala Selangor wanting to experience fireflies. The trip was not bad but it was really not the fireflies which impressed me. It was during our short visit to a paddy field in Tanjung Karang that fascinated me. We went up Bukit Malawati, yes. History forgotten. The girls had too much fun feeding monkeys. Not really sure though from which breed. Well to me monkeys are monkeys ;-)

Now let's do the pictures...

These monkeys welcomed us at Bukit Malawati

The younger girls were afraid & most of the time hanging on their bibik.

Nadeen braved herself

...and why does my Yasmin look like she's interviewing those monkeys ;-)

The lighthouse

These 2 were annoyed with this idle see saw ;-)

This is what I meant.... paddy field in Tanjung Karang. Lovely!

Balqis & Nadeen with a surau & paddy field in the background

Check this out... Kangkung peolple! Kangkung!

Now this one is a classic...

A family portrait

After that shot, HB assited the girls up one by one. The fragile condition of the bridge worried me. After all 3 were secured in the car, my youngest refused to move. She wanted to be seated on the wooden bridge with both legs hanging out.

Unfortunately this is the only shot at the firefly park. Cameras were not allowed as it may scare those fireflies away.

The girls had a great time watching those fireflies. Not me neither HB. The boatride was a real suspense! And the quietness was too eerie.

Balqis went for another field trip somewhere last month. This time was the zoo. Here are a couple of shots at her kindie.

On the very same day, it was also Sport's Day in Yasmin's & Wardah's school. I only attended once of all the 5 years Yasmin in the school. She participated for a march pass & I went home right after she was done ;-)

This year anyhow is a different story. Both girls were involved in a few events. How did they turn to athletes overnight? HB got a valid answer to that. Their sizes... My girls are tall for their age. Those long legs are their advantages.

Before I go on with Yasmin, let me tell you about my Wardah. She was selected in 4 X 100m & 4 X 200m. On the Friday before Sport's Day, they had another practice. Well, it was a practice but Wardah mistaken it as a semi-final. She had never been the 1st runner. But on that day her friends insisted for her to be one & knowing Wardah she just doesn't know how to refuse. So, the 1st runner she was. The condition of the field was sad. To make things worse, it rained the day before. According to a friend's daughter, Wardah ran & at the same time was trying her best not to step on the puddle. Due to that she missed the 2nd runner. Once she realised that, she ran on the opposite direction to pass back the baton. Hahaha!

Her friends were pissed with her. Poor girl! Hence she didn't want to go to school on Sport's Day. I told her her about sport's spirit & all but I guessed she was more embarrassed than anything. I let it be.

In school during Sport's Day, Wardah's friend approached me. She was wondering what happenned to Wardah. Why didn't she come. The practice they had was still at a selection stage. Wardah was not chosen for 4 X 200m but she was in 4 X 100m. Since she was not around the teacher chose someone else. I told Wardah when we got home. She cried but she has learnt her lesson. The hard way... Poor thing!

Now back to Yasmin. She was the 1st runner & we were very closeby which annoyed her really ;-) Let the pictures do the talking. Check out her expressions when we were near & when we were further.... hehehe.

They got bronze. Oh did I tell you Wardah's team won silver... ?

With her team mates... Notice the height?

Congrats Yasmin & Wardah... I hope you learn something there girl. (((hugs)))

Now what else... Oh ya, I went for a double date to Bandung via Jakarta. Well no need for a travel journal this time. I'm pretty sure many of my dear readers have been there. Anyway, here are some photos for you ;-)

In our rented Luzio enroute to Bandung frm Jakarta

Stopped for lunch at a Rest Area

The many choices of Soto

With Pasar Baru Bandung in the background

I bet people rather shop than pose here but we were way too early.

The early birds -> us ;-)

The Double Dates

Now to Nadeen's fans out there here is a special photo of her...

Yasmin is 11!

Yasmin turned 11 last Tuesday. My first born is now a teenage? My... time sure flies. I still remember the day brought her home from the hospital. It was drizzling & this young mom didn't know a thing of how to handle a baby. She even addressed herself "Kak Ja" to the new infant in her arms. How "mama' sounded too weird then :-)

My Yasmin is only a few inches shorter than me now. It will be no time when I have to look up when we speak. She has too much of her dad's gene. An XY of HB ;-)

On her birthday, HB was away. I was occupied & it was the exam week. We didn't really have time to celebrate. Didn't even manage to get a cake...

Yasmin is a sport. She knows, she's not forgotten. Only that the time was not convenient. We had birthday pizzas instead & she loved the books I got her. Couldn't wait for the exam to end so that she could start reading those books.

We had an earlier celebration of her birthday end of Feb. A joint party with Wardah. I was too busy to update ;-)But I have photos to share as usual. Let them photos do the talking. Enjoy!

Her Birthday Cake

Mama trying her best with matches. She wasted 3 for 2 candles!

The Birthday Girl with her sisters

A few of the guests at the party. Both the 2 ladies had jabishah's on ;-)

I set a game - Treasure Hunt. They sure had fun... (this was when they had to search for a handsome uncle who was the key to their final clue)

Yasmin's group was also stuck at this final clue. They asked each uncle at the party. HB was good distracting them away from the uncle with the clue ;-)

In the end, Yasmin's group won!

Wardah's group continued with their search :-)

No Pictures!

Celebrating... ;-)

Their birthday cakes. Nope! I didn't bake. The oven remains not repaired :-(

The birthday girls were at the back ;-)

Had to babysit Nadeen...

Didn't even have the chance to blow those candles. The little ones in front were given the honour :-)

Happy Birthday Yasmin dear. We love you always....

When Is The Right Age?

I bet the title is kind of catchy there. Well, it was really the first thing that came out from my mind. The right age? To what? Jeng Jeng Jeng....

I was watching Cerekarama just now. The title "Dalil Cinta" was not as catchy as mine though ;-) What attracted me to be glued in front of the TV were the 2 leads. No big fans of them but I like their act.

I was simply killing time watching while waiting for Nadeen's bedtime which is late nowadays. But it was at the point when the quiet father responded to his outspoken wife regarding her parenting that hit me!

What? You didn't watch it? OK. OK. I give you a brief synopsis. It's about this newly married couple. The young wife is still studying & lousy with housework. She anyhow is granted with a very patient husband who is madly in love with her. Her husband tolerates with her totally because of love. I bet you can tell the rest. Something happened. Wife is willing to change & they live happily ever after.

Now back to the father. When the wife decides to change her mom agrees to coach her but not the father. He highlights the mother's fussiness. She is the best of wives & superb with housework. Due to that she rather does things on her own. Her style, her way, her pace! The victim is their daughter, the young wife.

My parenting was challenged! I sound almost like the mom. Not the best & superb part but doing things my style, my way, my pace... True I have a lot to learn but knowing that I have done almost 11 years of the wrong parenting gave me the hiccups.

When is the right age? Yasmin will turn 11 in a few days time but I have never been satisfied with the way she makes the bed, washes the dishes, sweeps, hangs clothes... I leave them to the maid & if she is too occupied, I would normally do them. My Yasmin has never used an iron! Gee... I'm that terrible. To me her concern is school. Yes, she is an A student but I doubt she would survive the world out there without me.

Now I remember how both Yasmin & Wardah love it when the duty roster states their names for sweeping. Something they don't do at home. How good are their sweeping in the classroom or shall I rephrase to how terrible are they at it?

Sri, my maid for 4 years has gone home for good. I promised to update right? But I choose not to. It's kind of disturbing which I don't want it to be jotted down for remembrance.

With this new maid, I can make a few changes. I'm including my girls with housework. I don't want my girls to be like the Nisa in that Cerekarama. I hope it is not too late. Any tips to share?