New blinds

Blinds do a good job of making the home feel more cozy!

On antibiotics again

Lara didn't get up as happy as usual on Friday morning. Her nose was a little running (not unusual in the morning) and she didn't want any breakfast either (she is like this sometimes). I didn't think too much about it. Just before I was ready to leave home for a pap test at 11am, I got a call from daycare to say Lara had a temperature (38C).

By the time we saw the doctor at 11.30am (I decided to use my appointment for her), her temperature was over 39C and she looked really unwell (red swollen face/tears in her eyes/very quiet etc). Because things seemed to come on fast, doctor was checking her body for rashes. (for Meningococcal I guess?) It also looked like she might have a slight ear infection. With the accompanying sudden temperature, doctor prescribed antibiotics again to be on the safe side. It was just over a month since the last time she was on antibiotics!


(Lara looking much better sitting on a shopping trolley on Tuesday)

Lara had a temperature throughout the weekend, getting as high as 40C on Saturday night/ Sunday morning. Baby Panadol and Nurofen were both effective in bringing the temperature down. Doctor recommended Nurofen before bed as it lasts longer than Panadol. And if Panadol is not effective, Nurofen can be given after 2 hours of having Panadol. After an unusually long sleep (4 hours) on Sunday afternoon, she woke up looking much better. I knew the worst was over. However, by Sunday night, both Husband and I got the same cold.

Lara and I stayed at home recuperating in our pajamas and tracksuits all day on Monday. There was no schedule, not routine, no place to go, just eat, rest and play. We didn't have a very good day on Tuesday - Lara cried every 10 minutes (not from any obvious sickness I can see but from not getting her way). A quick trip to the shops and some fresh air helped the situation. I am hoping this behaviour is only temporary.

Doctor said her 4-year-old boy also gets sick about every 2 weeks. Apparently on average kids catch colds 10 times a year. That's about one a month!! Doctor’s son is in his second year in daycare but the situation hasn't improved yet, it really takes time for the immune system to build up.

I know all kids go through this phase. However, knowing it and actually going through it (or watch your kids go through it) are two different things. I am getting better at this and hope Lara is too.

Lara drawing

Lara loves to draw. She tries to hold the pen the way we do.


She likes to use the stamper too.


Lara drawing with Daddy. (Daddy did the fish you see previously)

Tuesday night take away

We usually only have take-aways on Friday nights or the weekend when we don't feel like cooking. Having take-away food on a Tuesday is rare. Last week we were both busy. I had no energy or desire to cook anything on Tuesday. We both had "crispy skin chicken with tomato rice" and spring rolls. The owner of the takeaway store greeted me like a friend "we haven't see you for a long time!" she gave me a huge smile. The week could only get better from here.

And it did. Dinners we had rest of the week:
Monday - steak with fried potato, onions, peas and cauliflower.
Wednesday - BBQ chicken (bought) with meshed potato and broccoli and cauliflower.
Thursday - pumpkin soup with garlic bread and bread rolls.

Friday - Japanese beef salad (Jamie Oliver's recipe)

Frightfully bright

I try to call Mum and Dad once a week. But the week sometimes rolls into 2 weeks while I'm busy working, looking after Lara and living our lives. I'm normally freer at night when Lara is asleep, but because of the time difference, Mum and Dad are usually asleep as well.

This Mother's Day, I kept telling myself to call when I have a free minute. I wanted to call in the morning but knew Mum would be at church. By the time we came home from sis-in-law's house and had something to eat, it was after 9pm and too late to call.

I called the next day and Dad picked up the phone. He said Mum was angry with me for not calling on Mother's Day and didn't want to talk to me! And I thought Mum and Dad don't really celebrate birthdays, Christmas or Mother's day. Maybe Mum expected me to call because I'm also a Mum now, but she didn't realise that I wanted to call, but life got in the way on this particular Sunday.

This makes me think about the things parents expect from their kids. Will I one day also want something in return for what I do for Lara now? Will I also get angry with Lara for not calling me on Mother's day? (I hope not.)

This bouquet is called "Frightfully bright". Hopefully by the time Mum receives this, she will not be angry any more!


(photo from Interflora)

Lara's teeth development

Lara's teeth must have read the "tooth timetable", because they all came out on schedule!
All of the incisors are out (8 as shown) and the first molars (4 altogether) are all half way through. That's a lot of baby teeth (12 in total) for a baby girl!!

Mother's Day present

The Friday before Mother's Day, I was talking to Husband on the phone:

I: I'm thinking about going shopping later... I "need" a new bag (I had showed Husband the hole in my handbag and where the stitching came off not long ago. I'm a one-bag person, too lazy to change bag every day. And I had used the old bag for 3-4 years.)
Husband: Don't get a bag (a little too quickly)
I: Why not?
Husband: Ummmm... (thinking and finding things to say) Just don't get a bag.....

That was when I knew what I was getting for Mother's Day!

First 3 months in day care

(Lara reading)

Lara has been going to day care for over 3 months now. She's part of the day-care furniture and "walks around like she owns the place" her teacher told me the other day. Generally speaking, putting Lara in childcare has been a good decision. She's almost always very happy going and afterwards. She learned many new things from daycare, mostly good. She's sociable and seems to like other kids. There are times though, especially when Lara's sick, that I wonder if I indeed made the right decision of sending Lara to childcare as early as one? Should I have waited until she's older? I know that Lara would not get the kind of one-on-one care she receives at home, but the benefits at this stage seem to outweigh the negatives.


(Lara playing with Honey)

Initially, I couldn't get all the days I wanted, so I had to book 2 childcare centres. Since then I found good and bad points in each that I decided to stay with both centres, 2 days each (minimum requirement). Lara adjusted quite quickly to the day-care life. Here's her progress in the last 3 months:

Playing:
I like to read Lara's communication book as soon as we get home to find out what she did on the day. Day care provides more varieties of "play" than I can give her. There seems to be at least one craft activity a day and Lara brings home a lot of crafts/paintings she "supposedly" did. She likes to play in the sandpit, drive cars, climb blocks and cook in the kitchen. I was told she would sit and listen to a story now. The best thing about day care I think is the chance for Lara to interact with other kids. Of course, Lara also seemed to pick up some "not so good" habits, for example, dropping things/food onto the floor purposely and say "uh - oh".

Crying in the morning:
Lara didn't cry at all when I left her in day care in the first 3 weeks. She started clinging to me and crying only after she realised that I would be leaving and not coming back for a long time! The crying didn't last very long (2-3 weeks). Lara doesn't cry at all now. In fact, if it's "toast" time at daycare, she doesn't even care if I'm going or not. Sometimes, she comes over and give me a hug or kiss before I leave.

Sleeping:
This is something I worried the most initially. At first, Lara wouldn't sleep at all. She had to be pushed in the pram to have some rest. Now Lara sleeps for 1-2 hours after lunch. It's still a little short comparing to her 2 sleeps at home. I can always tell when Lara had less than an hour sleep when I pick her up. Luckily it happened less and less. Lara is a light sleeper I am told and I accept that she can get woken up by the sound of other kids crying. Looking at the bright side, she seems to be able to sleep through more noises since going to day care. Since Lara is very attached to her pink blanket, I have to remember to pack it for day care. I had it at the bottom of her bag one day, and her teacher asked worriedly where it was. I could only guess from this that she wouldn't go to sleep without it in day care either.

Eating:
I am told Lara eats very well. They never have problem feeding her. The only problem is the teachers can't feed her fast enough. It's less worrying when I know that Lara eats and sleeps alright at day care.

Feeling tired

I've been feeling very tired lately...

I can think of a few reasons that might have contributed to this: Lara not feeling well almost every other week; Lara did not know that daylight saving has started and got up earlier than usual; I possibly also have the cold Lara has; Work is a little stressful with unclear project requirements; I have not been exercising; Not eating enough meat; to name just a few.

Lara being sick is definitely on top of the list. It's not so much the physical exhaustion, but mentally tiring worrying about her every little coughs and cries. The funny thing is most of the time, I can't even remember why I was so worried the week before. I know some mums around me also constantly feel tired, but somehow I feel I'm different. I do have 3 days full on with work and Lara, but I also have one day to myself every week. I was more surprised than anyone that I could feel this tired.

I realised the main reason I didn't feel rested was because I was not resting on my free day. I was out and about with appointments, doing grocery shopping and house chores that I didn't really do anything for ME. I need to utilise my free day better and do more for myself. Maybe if I satisfy myself first, I will have more to give?

( I wrote the above a couple of weeks ago. Since then I've been eating more red meat (we have steak on Friday nights now, beef fillet steak at the local butcher is beautiful), took vitamins (Berocca is a wonderful thing!) and had a lot of fruit, had a back massage (one hour of bliss!!), went to bed at 10pm for a week, and no turning computer on during weeknights. The suspected cold symptoms disappeared and I am feeling much much better)

Lovely plums

For most of the organic vegetables we get, there's no distinct difference in favour to normal vegetables especially after cooking -organic spinach leaves taste more metallic and organic onion is sweeter (if eaten raw in salad). With fruit, the difference is much easier to spot. Our favorite at the moment is plums. They look smaller (and uglier) than normal plums but feel a lot heavier somehow. The taste is undoubtedly superior, they feel more substantial not just watery. They are Lara’s favorite too; she loves them even more than grapes!

The other thing I noticed is: when organic grapes get a little older, they become wrinkled and they shrunk in size, but they taste super sweet (similar to sultanas as if they are being dried naturally). But when non-organic grapes get older, they get moldy. I suspect it might have something to do with the water content.

Unfortunately, there are only another couple of weeks left for the plums. Maybe I’ll have one more tonight!