Feeling so sick!!

Oh gosh..I've been feeling so sick for the past 3 weeks with only a brief respite in the middle of it that I thought I will never ever get better.It started with a very severe sore throat which took two days to heal. Then it went on to a hacking cough with lots of green phlegm. Went to the doctor, he said my lungs are clear and that what i got was a throat infection. Took some meds, and felt better after. A week later, the cough came back, more severe this time, and this round it comes with a very runny nose. I can't remember the last time I had a runny nose, i think it was a few years ago.

And over the past one week, I have been feeling quite terrible. I lost my mojo to do anything. I had no mood to cook, read, work, even shopping!!, basically anything that requires effort. I didn't even feel like talking to my mom over the phone (and I used to do this happily everyday!) My thoughts were all very hazy and  I didn't feel like talking to anybody and I lost my appetite to eat. All I wanted to do was lie down and sleep the day away. I realised something was quite not right when I went to a seafood dinner with lots of crabs and I had not much appetite! How can! Crabs are my favorite.

And I progressively got worse. Friday started off with a headache on one side. And I started feeling off, and had the chills and I felt  my feet were very cold. Checked my temperature and realised that I got the fever. Not that high..it always hovered around 38c. And over the next few days, my fever just went up and down. It came down when I took a panadol, and it went up again after the meds wear off. And my headache stayed for a few days and it hurts even more when I cough wth. My head throbbed painfully when I cough and how is that even related??  What worries me is this. I never ever had fever or headache that lasted for a few days! Being the hypochondriac that I am, I started to worry whether I am having pneumonia, or maybe some mutant bird flu!, or meningitis (cos got headache) or dengue, or maybe something even worse which I don't even wanna mention here. :X Scared the shit outtta me.

Finally I couldn't take it anymore and decided to go see the doc again yesterday. Can't just rely on panadols anymore. Got some antibiotics cos whatever I'm having seems to be a viral infection and kena persuaded by DH to go for a half body massage at Thai Odyssey (think he also can't believe that my headache can stay for so long) The massage concentrated on my head, neck and shoulder and i was hoping they can massage my headache away. The massage was so good; I can feel them massaging the knotted nerves /  muscles on my neck. I still had the headache when I left the place..but by some miracle, 3 hours later, the headache was gone!!! After 4 freaking days, it finally went away!!!!! wah...so impressed. And I didn't even had to sleep it off. It just went off suddenly. Was the massage so keng kah, or was it that 1 pill of antibiotics  that I took after visting the doc that has proven to be so effective? Nevertheless, whatever it was,  I was so so happy that it was finally gone..

Today I finally felt I'm at my 90%. I no longer have headaches and fever. I still have my coughs and a bit of runny nose, but I finally have my mojo back. I feel like doing everything again! My appetite is back, and my energy is up! And for that I'm thankful. And I have now resolved to take care of myself better. Cos when I was feeling so shitty, I realised health is really wealth. Appreciate it. 

Goldfish crackers: Local vs Imported

One of BabyD and Peanut's favorite snacks are goldfish crackers. I bring these when we dine outside as they'll sit down quietly and munch them. 

On the left is the imported version (around RM11) and on the right is the local version (RM3 / packet). Both are shaped like little fishes. The kids love both but I prefer the local version because it's more savory in taste while the left one taste like artificial cheese. And check out the difference in prices for around the same amount! haha I put them both in the fridge so they will stay fresher longer. 

This is how it looks like. Cute eh?? You can get the local ones in those mom and pop kind of grocery shops (kedai runcit). I got mine from the chinese medicine shop, of all places haha, while I was buying milk powder. 

Other kind of snacks that I will give the kids when we're out are raisins (another favorite!), koko crunch, and honey stars cereal. Hm..what else can I give them?? 

homework?

Starting from Term 2 onwards, Peanut has been given homework to do at home. Nothing taxing, just some worksheets where they can trace, write and color alphabets and numbers.

It's good that she's given some homework though. It keeps her occupied during the day, giving her some form of structure and not just watch cartoons and play all day long. Most importantly, it gives her a chance to prepare her (and me!!)  mentally and emotionally when she gets into standard 1 where there'll be lots of homeworks!:P

It's not easy to get her to sit still and to complete a worksheet. She'll be wriggling here and there, and lots of "I need to drink water! I want to talk to dadddy! I'm hungry!!!" types of excuses. Oh my. Lord, help me when she begins real school and start doing homework for real!! 

Clothes woes

Having worked in various office jobs for the past 13 years, I have accumulated quite a fair number of clothes that I will termed loosely as semi-formal. Formal enough to wear them to work, but not casual enough for me to wear at home / go out.

So I have been finding it tough on deciding what to wear on Peanut's school runs. I mean, I do have those baggy t-shirts and shorts that I wear at home but I certainly can't wear them when I go and pick the kid up from kindy can I ? Too many parents and teachers about  and I don't want to look as if I don't give a damn about myself ( I still do. For now). When I'm at home, my t-shirts are usually covered with whatever stains I get from cooking / cleaning / kids  while trying to get my work done at home. And I find it draggy when I have to put on a pair of jeans (the weather is so hot to even consider jeans) and a clean enough shirt just to look half decent. So what do I end up wearing? Shorts tend to look very "pyjamas" on me so I have been going out  in leggings and long enough t-shirts to cover my ass and to avoid any camel toe incidents. So I guess that's on my shopping list now. Get more long t-shirts!!!

Kelam kabut

Em..so I have officially begun my freelancing work at the beginning of April. Initially I had 2 freelance jobs, one is what i've been doing for the past few years and another one which is something totally different. In the mid of March, I suddenly had cold feet. WHAT IF I CANNOT COPE WITH TWO??? and on top of that I still need to do housework (no maid), fetch kids here and there (become driver) cook dinner alternate days etc and learn how to do a new job altogether on top of doing another one. Wah seh..i think i might have taken too much onto my plate. Hence the very cold feet. So after a discussion with a good friend, I decided to let one go.

And i think that was a good decision because a few days into the job, I still feel a bit kelam kabut. As in, I donno what to do first!!! Like "should I do the laundry before I start on my job,   or should I feed the kids first and I do a bit of work first before even contemplating what to cook for dinner?  And do I have time to watch tv?? Where to start, and do what first? " These are the thoughts that are running through my mind.

I'm getting a bit panicky. And on top of that, Peanut will be constantly hovering around me whining"Mammeeeeeeeeee, it's so boring without you. When can you finish work??" T T I so need to calm the f*** down and take a deep breathe and start to prioritize. Usual la, I always feel a bit blur and feel like I'm walking in a haze when there's a new routine or something has changed. Ohmmm.....

Assessment

This week is the school hols for Peanut, so no Kindy!! (yayy or boo??) Tomorrow,  we will need to go to her school because there's a Meet-The-Parents session with her class teacher and she'll give a short assessment on how she's been coming along thus far :) Our session is from 830am to 845am and I'll be going with DH. Kinda early, but no matter. I guess we'll be the first one?? Not sure whether that's good news or bad news..*nervous laughter*

Peanut in her uniform. (she's wearing skorts) Kinda glad it's not in some jinjang colors..

Mummy-in-training tips: Rattan basket to carry your stuff!

I've been searching  high and low for a rattan basket in KL, but it's damn hard to find one. I finally managed to find a makeshift stall selling rattan stuff at the road side in KL and they quoted me around RM110 for a rattan basket T T. Wtf. Siao. Why so expensive??

I remember using one back when I was a kid for my tuition classes, and it was for my own nolstagic memories that I wanted one again. in fact it was one of the standard pre-requisite bag for one of the schools in kch.   Brought back a lot of memories for me.  And i had visions of Peanut bringing it to her kindy and what not. Vision only la, it's not that practical for her to bring to Kindy in reality. For one, it's bigger than her body lol.

So when I went back to Kuching and I saw a shop (selling stationeries) selling this rattan basket for only RM36, I didn't even have to think twice.

 I have been using it everyday to bring my stuff up and down the  house. cos i am lazy. So convenient.  Each night before we go up to our bedroom, there's A LOT of things for me to carry and that includes BabyD, milk bottles, cannot-leave-their-eyesight bolsters, my tablet, keys, mobile phone, water bottle, books etc and if I don't use the basket, I have to make many trips up and down. With the basket, I can just throw everything in. And same goes in the morning when i need to bring everything down again.

It's also useful when we go out with the kids. Just need to put it in the car and I can see everything at a glance. No need to rummage through my bags and find their bottles, snacks, etc.

My mum, who saw the basket, jumped onto the rattan bandwagon as well and decided one basket is just not enough for me.  Once I was back in KL, she kept asking me whether I need anymore baskets i.e.  " do you need a bigger size, or maybe a smaller size, one for Peanut, one for BabyD? come on, you can put them in your cars etc". She can't take no for an answer and that's how I ended up with two more O_O (she got them from a shop selling baby stuff so i guess i'm on the right track? haha).  I don't know who's a bigger shopaholic. Me or her. She even got someone to sew inserts for the baskets. bless her!!!

Baskets of varying sizes.