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Thursday 31 December 2015

BeansTalk: The Other Side

Bean is 30 months old now and we have yet to work out a win-win weaning programme.

The last time we tried giving him some formula milk, he vehemently protested with screams and tears. Project formula has been a total failure, so far. We give ourselves another 5 months to equalise the duration I had breastfed Girl who scored 35 months.

After he empties one side, he pops out to announce "the other side" and comfortably tucks himself into round 2. 

Sometimes he goes into this mode on repeat and of course, I feel all dehydrated -sleepy-tired-needwaternow-cranky.

Terrible twos are not just for the toddler, now I know *grin*

BeansTalk: One More Time

Bean absolutely loves the charity train ride at Pavilion, Kuala Lumpur. It is RM5 per person, so the 4 of us donated RM20 every time.

He loves it so much, that he throws a tantrum every time the ride comes to an end. He would be coaxed off the train, carried away by yours truly whilst he screams at the top of his lungs, "one more time!".

So annoyingly cute! 

Goodbye, 2015

It has been a tough year for my little family and I. The highs, the lows. The super-lows.

We were blessed with many little pockets of blessings, but there were also days and nights when we wondered how would we pull through these challenges thrown our way, together. 

Stand united. Remain loving. Agree to disagree. Accept His Will. Growing together.

Allah swt is our constant, our anchor.  Syukur alhamdulillah.

May our 2016 be better in every way. Amin.

~~~

Thank you for following our blog posts here. Have a very blessed start to 2016, my lovelies!


Wednesday 30 December 2015

Road To Recovery: Reinfected Root Canal Part II

10 December 2015

The second appointment to remove the temporary fillings and have the permanent fillings put in place, at the Endodontist's clinic.

After 4 LA injections, we could not proceed because my jaw muscles ached too much. It was so painful that tears rolled down by themselves. It was not an area where LA can be injected into, alas.

That, was my loser moment. My entire left gums, cheeks and side of tongue felt numb but my jaw muscles still ached. Ouch!

Dr. Jac Lam was fast to identify exactly which muscles ached and shared tips on how I can relax them before my next treatment. He thought I was too tensed and stressed out, which was true!

Simple steps:

1. Warm towel massage, after shower.

2. Go out for coffee with a good friend, without the children and husband (unfortunately for me this was not possible given the long school holiday).

3. Go window-shopping, online shopping or year end sale shopping (How honest!)

4. Rest and relax. Watch a movie, read a book, do something I like. I, being the operative word here. I. 

5. Get myself a new mouthguard for sleeping so I can lessen the muscle fatigue from grinding and clenching.

The very understanding and generous Endodontist did not charge me the "failed" appointment. So I went home that day, with a lot of numbness and a new appointment to see my general dentist. Prayed so hard the reinfection will not recur in the meantime, between appointments.

I tried doing some of the relaxation steps diligently. 
How did the appointment with my general dentist go? Stay tuned!



Friday 25 December 2015

Blessed Christmas!


Have a good one, my lovelies! 


Thursday 24 December 2015

Year End Holidays

Salam Maulidur Rasul, my lovelies!

How are your year end holidays going? Seeing some of your awesome photo updates and check-ins have left me with a joyous sense of vicarious holiday. Thank you and please keep those newsfeed filled with so many picturesque shots and videos!

~~~

We had our plans and tickets for Legoland Malaysia booked and paid for since early this year but Allah swt has His Will and better plans for us. Definitely an affirmation of lesson well learnt on "inshaAllah".

We were out for a casual Thai food dinner at Absolute Thai, Level 3 at The Gardens on 12.12.2015, an ordinary Saturday evening. Girl and Bean usually eat fairly well there, and food preparation waiting time is tolerable as they browse at Brickboy, Borders and Art Friend. 

So we sat down for our chow down. One of our dishes, Pandan leaves chicken, was a tad slow at arriving. When it did arrive, it was slightly harder than usual. We did not send it back, since it was a busy night with long queue outside.

Bean drank some of his favourite fresh watermelon juice and I sipped mine. It tasted "unfresh". Like it was pressed then left on the kitchen counter for a wee bit too long before it was served. Bean did not finish his juice and for once, I did not coax him to drink more.

We came home that night, ready for a restful night. The aim was to zip up the packed luggages and call it a night.

What transpired was far from our vision of tucking the kids into bed after shower, supper, story and surah!

Bean threw up. We had him cleaned, changed and the sheets reeked of vomit. Poor boy. He nursed, he threw up. He cried. Repeat. All. Night. Long.

The following day, was our usual Sunday at The House with The Grandparents. This time, both Bean and Girl threw up their home-cooked lunch. They did another round upon return to The Flat and by then, I was so sure our year end getaway just had to be cancelled.

The reservation cut-off time was midnight but by 6pm, we had our cancellation confirmed by Doubletree by Hilton Johor Bahru. The kids were sent to bed, and I unpacked all our bags for supply of clean clothes. It was a sad thing to have to cancel the holiday, but I kept reminding myself that Allah swt has better plans for us all.

The Other Half kindly offered to make us a hot cup of Milo for a much deserved break of endless cleaning and laundry. A few minutes after drinking his, he threw up. Then the shivers and fever started. He continued to throw up a few times during the night.

I had a little discomfort in my stomach but that was all. Can you believe it? I am usually the first one down!

It was an exhausting week, with no holidays to go to. In hindsight, we are so lucky we made that cancellation instead of pushing it through just because Legoland tickets had been paid for. It would have been such a miserable drive to Johor Bahru and back with clean basins and towels on stand by. 

Next time, I am just going to persuade the rest of my little family to learn the last minute travel method and wing it. Shall we?

InshaAllah! 



Wednesday 23 December 2015

Road To Recovery: Reinfected Root Canal Part III

My appointment with my general dentist on 22 December 2015 was free too.

Why?

We discussed my teeth and jaw structure; how the mouthguard placed at my lower jaw in its near perfect U-row would be more comfortable when I am sleeping.

Versus placing the mouthguard on my top row, which now sports a front left incisor moved out of its normal placing in the last 6 years. The mouthguard will not be in perfect U-shape and as long as my front incisor keeps moving, the mouthguard will be an uncomfortable fit.

Pesky, right? One incisor which has given me horrible photo angle every time the camera clicks. Vain pot. I know! 

That may seem like a minor situation to most people but it has changed my bite and chew. If you look closely, it has altered my resting lips. 

So, we could not proceed to get the new mouthguard for my lower row of teeth. because it is where the root canal work is on-going.

Back to square one.

Free appointment. No charge for chit-chat. Sigh.

The root cause? 

I did not find out until 29 December 2015. 

I had gone to see my Endodontist for a new, might I add - brave, attempt at root canal permanent filling.

This time, my muscles were quite relaxed and we managed the 1 hour procedure without much drama. 

The X-Ray comparison showed no more infection or abcess, good healing overall with improved bone density.

Dr. Jac Lam also told me this: 
My tongue thrust. It has been resting just fractionally forward. pushed my front top row of teeth outward, resulting in an open bite.

It is the culprit to my grinding and clenching at night! *gasp* my lower row of teeth are trying to match the top and so they auto-correct. *gasp* 

The advice?

1. Braces. Top row only.

2. Permanent retainer, behind top row only.

3. Learn to park my tongue properly before sleeping *LOL*

4. Go and hire myself a good orthodontist. 

Free consultation, on this part, alhamdulillah! My appointment for review with Endodontist before crown replacement is in 6 months. 

Saturday 19 December 2015

The Highs, The Lows

One of my lovely childhood friend's mum is recovering from thyroid carcinoma. Post surgery stage now. It is a long way to battle cancer. Please keep her in your prayers. She needs every support and good vibes for healing and health. Thank you.

Recently, as I was sharing my road to recovery stories, more friends have opened up with their own stories too. It is  like a new chapter of our friendship, from crayons (at 7 years old) to cancer (at 40 years old).

My heart goes out to them, really. So many of us silently fight our own diseases and illnesses. Some have full medical insurance, some don't. Some have taken good care, some have abused and/or neglected their bodies. Some care, some plainly don't. C'est la vie.

My daily high is when I see loved ones feel better and able to be more comfortable in their skin. The "nikmat" of exiting ICU, getting off drips, discharging from ward, going home, taking care of self again.  Presence of love in their homes. Syukur alhamdulillah.

My daily low is experiencing and seeing first hand how life can be so short and painful for some. How quality of life is co-related to access of better medical healthcare, facilities, support system, great products and continued hospice. It is a rude awakening for me because I have pretty much led a sheltered life; and now I see how that co-relation is tied to availability of funds (be it cash or insurance) and charity. 

My wish? My dream? 

It really is not that coveted arm candy or SUV anymore. 

Something has changed inside me and I cannot quite put my finger on it. 

On another note, the year end school reports have been submitted to The Trust. Our intention and objective is to financially aid students from poor families so they have a fighting chance at exiting hard core poor status via education. 

My high is when I see straight As and improved results from those beneficiaries, who now stand a real chance at making it in life. So happy for them. Syukur alhamdulillah.

My low is when I know some probably have not realised how education is the real ticket out of their misery. 

"Teach a man how to fish, and he fishes for life. Give a man a fish, he eats for a day." ~ Lao Tzu.

My prayer is that weak beneficiaries will soon awaken from slumber and continue to put in more effort. Amin.

What is your high and low this year, my lovelies? Please do share!




Thursday 3 December 2015

In Loving Memory

3 December. 

Thank you for everything, and please forgive me my sins. I have long forgiven and forgotten yours. It did hurt, but it got better and healed over time.

My prayers has always and will always include you, although it is not to be Al-Fatihah or Surah Yassin.

~~~

I have recently come across articles and surah that advise on prohibition of Al-Fatihah and Yassin from being said for deceased non-Muslims. I guess I have been mistaken in offering Al-Fatihah to my deceased non-Muslim parents all along. Live and learn. It hurts a bit that I am not to say the Al-Fatihah and Yassin for them because those are powerful prayers.

Girl has also learnt about her maternal ancestors of Thai and Chinese origins and wants to learn her limitations. What we can do is to offer supplications and although we know not exactly what to pray for, our intentions are for their departed souls to be blessed by Allah swt because None Other Than Allah swt can bless such souls.

*loss for words*

If you know the right supplication to pray for in my case, please do share. Thank you.