My Toe - PostOp

I came home from the hospital yesterday after staying 1 night following a minor surgery on my painful toe.

Here's what the doctor pulled out... It's broader at the bottom end.

And this is my toe, post-op.

The nail is narrower permanently because he burnt off the roots (underneath where the stitches are).

I sat up watching the entire procedure which was done under local anesthesia. It was pretty gross watching him cut up my toe and not feeling a thing.

When placed side by side with the other toe, it doesn't look all too obvious I guess. Hmm....maybe I should have him do the left toe to even things out.....

Delaying Gratification - a sign of maturity?

I have been wanting to write about this but procrastination keeps getting the better of me up till now that I'm confined to a hospital bed after minor surgery on my toe.

Some weeks ago, Joseph brought home another catalog of books by Scholastic, from school. The books are heavily discounted, sometimes up to 90% off regular retail prices. Usually we allow him to pick 1 or 2 titles but this time round, I didn't find anything interesting enough worth buying. He however pointed out some book that he thought otherwise.

Daalin too wasn't too keen on making the purchase but we didn't want to seem stingy. So I sat him down and had a good chat with him. I asked him if he would consider skipping this round and save the money for our trip to Singapore in December. I also explained that if we skip the small stuff and save up, he can enjoy the dinosaur show which he so very much wants to see. He listened attentively and then gladly agreed with me.

Today I managed to catch up on my reading....

And I felt greatly encouraged to read that...

"...delaying gratification is a sign of maturity. On that principle, we live in an increasingly immature society. Teaching the value of waiting and the importance of self-control (hard though it may be) is a part of parental training."

My suggestion to save up must have stuck deep within him because last week, I suggested that I would get him another Magic School Bus VCD if he could get 6/6 for his ejaan.

Immediately he told me, "It's ok, I don't need anymore reward. We can save up the money for the dinosaur show".

That sure made me want to get him an even bigger reward. Either he honestly wants to help save my money, or he doesn't think he can get 6/6 for his ejaan, or he just knows how to play reverse psychology with me.

Long story short....

1. He scored 4/6 for his ejaan last week. I know he tried really hard and I made sure I assured him it was alright.

2. I bought him a Magic School Bus movie (can't find the correct pic online) anyway. When we gave it to him, he looked quite surprised. But we told him that it was simply because we love him. (And isn't that how it is with our Heavenly Father who delights in pouring out his abundant richest blessings upon us.)

He loves this latest episode about photosynthesis. I love it too. It's really educational. And it is so timely because he has been learning (and growing) about plants in school. He also brought home some taugeh growing in a cup that he planted in school.

I'm so proud of you, Joseph!

Ouch! My toe hurts.

I had an accident. It's oozing pus and blood.

After a 10-minute soak in dettol, I can see more clearly.

There's a lump of flesh that hurts a lot more than it looks disgusting.

I'm hoping it will dry up and drop off so that I don't need surgery to remove the nail.

Quantity & Quality Time with Kids

A friend sent this to me and I thought it worthy to be shared.

QUANTITY AND QUALITY BOTH VITAL WHEN SPENDING TIME WITH KIDS

QUESTION: I have very little time to spend with my children these days, but I make sure the hours we do get to spend together are meaningful. Do you agree that the quality of time you are with your kids is more important than the quantity?

DR. JAMES DOBSON: I'm afraid the logic of that concept is flawed to me. The question is, why do we have to choose between the virtues of quantity vs. quality? We won't accept that forced choice in any other area of our lives. So why is it only relevant to our children?

Let me illustrate my point. Let's suppose you've looked forward all day to eating at one of the finest restaurants in town. The waiter brings you a menu and you order the most expensive steak in the house. But when the meal arrives, you see a tiny piece of meat about 1 inch square in the center of the plate. When you complain about the size of the steak, the waiter says: "Sir, I recognize that the portion is small, but that's the finest corn-fed beef money can buy. You'll never find a better bite of meat than we've served you tonight. As to the portion, I hope you understand that it's not the quantity that matters, it's the quality that counts."

You would object, and for good reason. Why? Because both quality and quantity are important in many areas of our lives, including how we relate to children. They need our time and the best we have to give them.

My concern is that the quantity vs. quality argument might be a poorly disguised rationalization for giving our children neither.

-------------------------

I suppose most people find it tough. With the increasing cost of living (no thanks to a corrupted government), most families have both father and mother working.

It's a choice. There's always a choice.

I know a friend who gave up her job to raise her children. Her husband doesn't earn big bucks. But they get by. With overseas holidays too.

Right now, I'm thankful that my mother takes such excellent care of my children during the 3 days a week when I work. I'm not that absolutely in love with my work. But it does help to preserve my sanity to get out of the house a bit. It's a love-hate thing. When the kids get too much, I want to get out. But when I'm out, I can't wait to get home to be with them.

Whatever the case, I'm in full agreement with Dr Dobson that quality does not compensate the lack of quantity.

Lovely portraits by Grace

I won a free photo shoot with Grace not too long ago. And I'm absolutely loving the results!!!

More photos over at Grace's blog.

Joy was a bit grumpy and didn't want to smile at times.

Very useful to have a clown for a brother - he can make the kids laugh!

Towards the end, she finally decided to smile.

And Ah Ku wanted to have a feel of what it would look like to have kids...

Thanks a million Grace! I absolutely love your work!

Celebrating 10 years

Yesterday marked 10 years since Daalin and I upgraded each other to boyfriend-girlfriend. Sounds like a long time to me but I know of many friends who have been married for a shorter period but paktho for a much longer period.

Looking forward to many many more years to come, Daalin.

As they say....the best is yet to be!

Braiding Silky Smooth Hair

Fingers feeling itchy one day, I braided Princess Cutie-Pie's hair.

It sure wasn't easy because her hair is so so so fine and smooth and soft.
But she sat so patiently and quietly let me do it.

I think that's kinda rare for a 2-year old. Ah...she's 2.5 yrs old now.

A Different Kind of Punishment

Yesterday, Joseph encountered another episode of disobedience.

Before leaving him at Little Lamb, I specifically told him that I did not want him crawling (like a lion!) on the floor. Since he is one of the older children, I explained to him that he should be setting a good example for the younger ones.

But.... crawl he still did.

A couple of weeks ago, his punishment was to stand outside (for a few minutes) when we got home. Since he wanted to behave like an animal, I told him animals live outside.

I guess the punishment did not etch itself deeply enough into his memory and he was at it again.

So yesterday, I made him write "I will not crawl on the floor" 10 times. I gave him a time limit and told him that if he didn't finish when time was up, he had to write another 5 times. He day-dreamed and gave so much nonsense that he earned himself another 5 lines of writing. I've told him that the next time he does it, he'll be writing 100 times. We'll see...

Tutu Dancing

I've got a new hobby and I'm liking it.

I discovered I can make tutus!
So I made another red/white one which I think will look gorgeous for Christmas but my princess wouldn't even go near it.

She's just absolutely in love with the very first pink tutu I made.

I tried a different knotting and the newer tutu has more poof.

In conjunction with this new hobby of mine, I will be open to take orders for tutus at an introductory price of only RM35. Shipping is free with any other purchase on my blogshop or from any of my partner blogstores.

This will be for a limited time only. Tulle colours in stock now are red, white, baby pink and hot pink. Other colours (subject to availablility) can be sourced. If you are interested, leave a comment with your princess' waist measurement and your desired colour combination. (Picture tutu is white+baby pink+hot pink)

The very first tutu will be shipped out today. Tairven....don't forget the photos ya!

And YeeYee....Joy-Anne finally obliged to wear her new Timberland size 10.5 brown/pink sandals.

Robot Sushi @ Sunway Pyramid

A couple of weeks ago, I got to know about this offer from a friend via facebook. It's a RM50 voucher that cost RM25. That means you eat at 50% discount. I purchased 2 vouchers but didn't take any photos the first time we were there because my brother hijacked my camera.

This was what we had last night...

1. California Roll. (regular price RM10.90 but we got it free as a welcome gift)Already ate 2 pieces before I remembered to take a photo.

2. Beef pasta in white cream sauce. RM14.90. Daalin liked this.



3. Can't remember what roll this is but it tasted quite nice. RM12.90.


4. Cosmo Roll. RM12.90. It's wrapped in smoked beef I think. Nice.

The place was quite empty on both our visits. But even with the lack of patrons, the food came out quite slowly. And I guess the staff are new because the waitress last night was really blur.

I asked for hot green tea (RM1.90 bottomless). She nodded and walked to the back. A few minutes later, she came back and said "Err...we don't have green tea. Only hot ocha." *slap forehead*

The total bill came to RM51.20 (after 5% govt tax and 10% service charge) so we paid with the voucher and RM1.20. Taking into account the free California Roll, we paid a total of RM26.20 for more than RM60 worth of sushi. I guess it's worth it. But if not for the voucher and the freebie, I wouldn't drive all the way there for it.

Confidence in Nestle

About three weeks ago, I was out at Giant buying milk for the kids. Nespray was on offer at only RM15.99 per 1kg pack and I thought I would let the kids try it. Prior to this, they have consumed DutchLady, Dumex's Dugro without incidence.

But this time, Joe developed hives after taking Nespray. I don't quite know how to explain his very super itchy experience except that he looked worse than a kera kena belacan.

So I emailed Nestle to ask for a refund. I had another 5 unopened packs and I didn't dare try it on Joy-Anne. Within 24 hours, a nice lady called me and explained that they do not have a cash back policy but would gladly replace the milk with other Nestle products.

She took down the details and a few days later, a guy from Nestle showed up at my doorstep with other Nestle products, amounting to a few ringgit more than the total that I paid for the milk.

I'm quite surprised that Joe seems allergic to Nespray but this incident has not waned my confidence in Nestle. I'm happy with the company's prompt and satisfactory customer service which reflects their commitment to their customers and their confidence in their products.

Photoshoot at the Rock Garden

What a week it has been! Exactly one week ago, Joseph came home from school with a fever. He recovered the very next day with just paracetamol to control the fever. But the next day, Joy started having a fever and it lasted 5 days.

Two doctor visits, lots of skipped meals and several episodes of vomitting later, she recovered just in time for the photoshoot with Grace this morning. I think she lost about half a kilo and weighed all of 16.2kg on Saturday.

Anyway, we had a lovely time with Grace. I picked the Rock Garden at DreamCenter for the shoot because it's just so convenient. It's small, but that's an advantage because it means my grandmother won't have to walk much. Parking is easy with door-step pick up, wheelchairs right at the entrance and lots of clean toilets. Reuben did some entertaining while Grace worked her magic with my grandmother. We also took some shot with my own camera.


Halfway through, the kids were not very cooperative and Joy was still a bit clingy and whiny which is always the case when she's sick.

So Ah Ku had to work more magic and twist lots of balloons to make them laugh.

The weather was lovely, not that it mattered because it's an indoor garden and we had fans above us...thank God!

So the kids did not sweat too much and my plans for a change of clothes did not materialise.

I so can't wait to see the shots Grace has taken. She gets better by the day!