once upon a norza

and nope...this is not a posed shot. :P

I thought this was pretty funny when I was looking at some photos this morning. Took this while everyone's menu reading at Earle Swensens. Their salad spread was pretty impressive and food wasnt that bad.

It's been quite a while since we stepped into Terminal 3 at Changi Airport so when the sil suggested we have dinner there, Aisyah was really excited. The last time I went was with some of my mummy friends and Aisyah was 2, I think.



The trip was a refreshing change to the usual vivocity. Aisyah loves vivocity but loves the airport even more! It's really a good place for her to run about. There are also lots of food outlets there.

But she got cranky towards the end of our excursion. She didn't take a nap before the trip and as her tiredness set in, Aisyah got into the 'My Hyde' mode. She demanded for a lot of things and wailed when she didn't get her way. I'm aware that people were watching us and its a lot more difficult to think of what to do. We were mentally exhausted at the end of it all. The next time we went out for an outing, I will make sure she's properly rested first and follow these 7 tips:

Tip #1: Start off smart
Some careful prep work can head off some tantrums before they start. When you're at home, role play different scenarios. Give kids a chance to practice responding to various situations. For example, if your tot has his eye on a cool toy that happens to belong to a child who isn't keen on handing it over, what could your child do or say? Work through a few options, and stress that not everyone will share. Consider having your child bring a toy of his own.

Tip #2: Set expectations early
It's also important to set expectations before you leave the house. "We're going to the store to buy milk, eggs, and bread. We are not going to buy a toy." Have your child repeat the information back to you, and keep discussing it. "We are not going to buy a toy. Jack is not going to scream or cry. Are you going to scream or cry?"
Lots of repetition will help make your point, as will having your child rephrase your words back to you.

Tip #3: Be prepared
If you know all the other moms bring snacks to the park, pack something for your child to munch on. Don't drag your child on a three-hour Target run and expect him to stay cheerful and serene the whole time with no reward. And don't take your kids to a restaurant that will make you wait over an hour for your appetizers.

Tip #4: Be clear about your rules
If you're making an exception to a rule, be clear about what you're doing. For example, if you never buy ice cream in the park, but you're choosing to do so today to celebrate a successful potty run, say so explicitly. "We don't usually buy ice cream here, but today is different. Today we are buying ice cream because you used the potty! Today is different and special. Tomorrow we won't buy ice cream, but today we are."

Tip #5: Ignore judgemental strangers
You prepped, you planned -- and somehow it didn't work out right. Now you're stuck in the middle of a store with a screaming child, a cartful of groceries, and a crowd of unfriendly eyes watching your every move. What do you do?

First off, remember that strangers are just that -- strangers. They don't really matter. Anyone who actually has kids is just saying a silent prayer that it's you in the hot seat today. The judgmental ones?

Who needs them? Put them out of your mind, and concentrate on your kid. Also, remember that although we generally think everyone is watching us, most people are actually far more self-centered and are too busy thinking about themselves to focus on anyone else.

Now, if you're not in a rush, take your child to a relatively quiet area of the store and park him on the floor, in the cart, in a chair, wherever. Sit or stand nearby and pull out your cell phone, a book, or anything else that you can focus on (or pretend to) for a few minutes. Ignore your child, and do not respond until he stops screaming. Do not make excuses for his behavior, do not apologize for having a child, and feel free to make snide comments to anyone who feels the need to comment on your parenting. Remember, they are not your problem.

Eventually your child will calm down, and you can give him a choice: either we finish this trip properly, go home and have some sort of treat, or we pay now, go home, and he spends an hour in his room.

Tip #6: Don't give in
But what if you have to finish your shopping? Then do it. To the extent possible, ignore your child. Do not respond, and do not give in to the temptation to say, "Stop whining!" If you have an iPod, put it on. Channel your inner Zen master and focus on not hearing your child.

"Tantrums become a problem when parents give in to the child too soon or too often, teaching the child that a tantrum is an effective way to get what they want," says Diane Ryals, University of Illinois Extension family life educator. So don't. Do what you need to do, get your child out to the car or back home, and let him know how disappointed you are.

Tip #7: Be consistent
As long as you handle tantrums effectively at home -- that is, by ignoring them and not giving in -- they'll eventually lessen when you're out and about. Although it seems difficult to believe now, there will come a day when you'll actually ask your teenager to join you on an outing. Until then, stay strong, and you can have some ice cream when you get home.

from sheknows parenting

I have so many good things to say about the girls' paed, Dr Oh Meng Choo, but I guess you can read about her yourself if you do a bit of googling. She visited Sarah twice a day at the hospital (everyday) and gave us a detailed review in layman terms everytime. She even called us up to ask about Sarah's condition before she was hospitalised and answered our phone messages promptly. Aisyah (who's fussy about doctors) is also comfortable with her and we're glad that Sarah was in good hands...Alhamdulillah. She's one assuring doctor whom you can trust. Of course, we've met good paeds (Dr Vanessa Tan from Kidslink Sengkang, Dr Elizabeth Khor from Elizabeth Kids Clinic) and I would recommend them. But best about Dr Oh is her clinic (Kids Clinic, Bishan st. 12) is just a walking distance from our place so its really convenient.

And did I mention that our experience at Mt.A (St. Gabriel's ward) had been very pleasant. All the nurses were nice and they went out of their way to make everyone (yeah, not just me but I heard them talking to other patients) feel comfortable. They allowed my husband to stay there (this was probably an exception because of Sarah's age) and even passed us extra blankets and pillow to him without we asking them.

When it's medicine time, the nurses will always ask me whether Sarah is ready and when she's not they'd ask me when is the best time. I would be either breastfeeding her or lulling her to sleep since administering antibiotics thru her drip when she's sleeping is the best way. The staff was so incredibly kind and caring because there was once when I woke up and one of the nurses had just finished giving Sarah the nebuliser while she's in my arms. I'm a light sleeper so I know that she did her best not to disturb my sleep.

The hospital food is superb (didn't quite like the hospital food at Gleneagles Hospital on both occasions I was there)! The halal menu is pretty limited though at Mt.A though but I finished every single piece of food on the tray (ermm..except some veges :P). Of course, if you compare Mt.A with other hospitals, it's a pretty boringgggg (yawnzzzz) place but there's free wifi there and I'm happy when there's Internet. :D

There isn't any place to shop (well, there's a gift shop) like KKH where there are so many shops there. The cafeteria is non-halal and there's only one sandwich-dispensing (that's halal) machine (apart from another keropok+choc dispensing machine). Hubby said the sandwiches were not that bad and he won't go hungry. hehe. I can understand the lack of halal food availability since the number of Muslim patients there must be really little. I didn't even see one the whole time I was there...probably like most of well-meaning relatives+friends asked me, "Why go to Mt.A? It's a Christian Church and there's a cross in every ward." Correction...it's actually founded by a group of Roman Catholic Sisters and yes, there's a crucifix in every room.

Of course, I know that it will take quite a while to recover from a flu attack. We let her antibiotics to take its effect after 3 days and prayed that her fever will clear. But it never did but her temp rose to almost 40deg on Wed (16/9). By then Sarah drank very little and had no appetite to eat. We called the paed and asked for nurofen since her fever is >38.5deg. We were advised to go to nearby hospitals to request for her blood sambles to be taken and possibly get an xray too. Our paed suggested mt.Alvernia (MtA) since she can attend to our case if Sarah is warded but we decided to try KKH instead since it's a cheaper route.

We saw the doctor pretty fast since Sarah got fever when we reached KKH. She was given the pink fever syrup and we had to wait for an hour to see the doc to see if her fever goes down. After struggling and crying so much when the doctor checked her, her fever cleared so we were asked to go home and we can visit KKH again on Sat if she gets a high fever. Her temperature continued to rise that very night and Sarah was super-cranky and I was carrying her almost the whole night in my arms. We were lucky that Aisyah was with my parents since I wasn't feeling that well either.

The paed called to check Sarah's condition the next evening and she advised us to get to MtA to get her checked immediately. We arrived at MtA at almost 10pm and got Sarah on drip since she wasn't drinking much. I can still remember her tired screamings as the doc and nurses took samples of her blood and inserted the drip needle in her hand. I quickly comforted her when the doctor was done with it while she just looked at me with tears helplessly. MasyaAllah, only He know how I felt at that time.

Sarah slept a lot especially on the first and second day. She refused any milk at all on the first night. She only started to drink again on the second day...Alhamdulillah! She had associated strangers with medicine time because she would be fed with meds everytime a nurse appeared and would whimper everytime she saw an unfamiliar face. Her temperature was like a rollercoaster ride...up and then down and up again, disappointing us everytime the nurse announced her temperature.

From the xray results, her right side of lungs was filled with water+phlegm and our paed was afraid that it would be the dreaded pneumococcal disease. Now I have read reports of the disease and the fact that both of the girls havent gotten the vaccinations really made me worry. But results of the blood samples came and a bacteria called Pseudomonas Aeruginosa was found in her blood...well, its equally bad anyway. Our paed speculated that everyone in the house must have gotten it (except the hubby and father-in-law) from each other.

My dear friend, Yanni, wanted to visit us on the 2nd day too but I told her it's a possible bacterial infection so the doc don't actually encourage any visits. *hugs!* Thanks to those who still visited us although it was just for a while especially kak rosi *hugs hugs!* & nephew+niece who came on the eve of Raya and Cik Liz+family who visited us on Hari Raya upon knowing the news of Sarah's hospitalisation. There were no other patients on Sat(19/9) and since it's a big room with 4 beds, the place was realllly dead and empty. Even Sarah got bored and she just had her favourite 10 tiny tadpoles book to keep her company.

Despite being woozy from the medication, Sarah was almost her bouncy self again on Hari Raya, trying to bite the tubes off her wrist and crawling on the floor(!!). The paed gave us the green light to go home on the 2nd day of Raya and of course, we were excited giler. Not because we wanted to celebrate Hari Raya (no mood already liao!) but we missed the comfort of our own home. I slept very little and I was feverish too by then.

Ok, I'll blog more about our pleasant experience at mtA. Gotta sleep now...toodles!

Both girls' baju kurongs are all ready for raya. I had even rummaged the closet for a baju kurong to match theirs. But we spent hari raya at mt. Alvernia instead. Well, theres cold ketupat, sambal goreng pengantin and ayam masak merah during the raya night to make up for it. Hah.

Anyway I should have known that Aisyah's falling sick when she told me shes tired to go to school days before she got sick. Theres the same pattern everytime shes about to fall ill...no mood to go to school, body's tired easily, and dwindling appetite. Her late sleeping habits also contributed to her low immunity. She has been getting ill for a few times since she started skooling this year. Usually she would just fall sick and recovered only days after. But nowadays she got sick for longer periods. And Sarah will always get the bug too since they play/sleep together.

Aisyah got sick again during the Sept holidays with the usual symptoms of a flu. Usually we will try to self-medicate her since the meds we have are still pretty new (<4mths old). We went to the nearby paed only after she wasnt feeling any better on the 3rd day and Sarah has started getting the sniffles too. She got better soon after but her cough suddenly got worse (phlegmy now!) after she ate some nuggets on Fri. I blamed myself for this actually because she didnt have the appetite that day and I thought it would be good to ask the hubby to takeaway some nuggets after his Fri prayers. By now Sarah's cough has started to get more frequent and shes been getting feverish too. So off to the paed again. Both girls were given antibiotics and paed assured us that both would get better in no time.

After almost a week of meds+antibiotics, Aisyah got better but Sarah's fever seemed to only clear when the fever med was given. Her temperature rose up again a couple of hours later. She was crawling when she was ok and then then will just hold onto me like a koala when her fever sets in.