Thankful Tuesdays: Stuck

This little boy has been severely constipated.  We've noticed a trend the past few months where he'll start holding his poop in whenever we have someone visiting or when there are changes in routines.  We had one extremely bad case after Baby J came along and the in-laws visited, where things got so bad that he was throwing up after meals as he was so full of poop.  That round, we had to use the Fleet enema in desperation since he manages to always push out suppositories, and nothing seemed to work.  After all the poop was cleared, I managed to get him to poop regularly again (so we've concluded that Baby J wasn't the reason for all the poop holding).  Then the in-laws flew down for Baby J's first month celebration, and the constipation started again.  This round we realized that the boy just cannot go when his grandparents are around.  He would be crouching every time he had the urge to go, but would absolutely refuse to go to the potty, however, if my in-laws went out, he would go when the urge hit.

Thanks to all the poop holding, the boy got pretty clogged up, and I had to resort to hiding inside his room with him with the potty after meals and during tea time (when it was likely that he would get the urge to poop).  That helped somewhat, but the poop was now very hard and difficult to push out, in spite of all the fibre, fluids, probiotics and lactulose we've been giving him.  Things reached such a state yesterday that he had many unsuccessful attempts to poop, and was obviously in alot of discomfort.  In the end we reluctantly had to use Fleet on him again at night.  He went twice, and everything came out.  Including everything in his tummy, which he threw up (he was so clogged we think his tummy couldn't empty properly).  There was vomit everywhere, on me, on the hubby, all over the floor. 

I must admit the little boy's poop problems have been getting me down.  I am really tired, and my heart breaks to see him so uncomfortable.  Each round of constipation would mean his appetite plummets, and he no longer is willing to feed himself.  Mealtime becomes a whole circus act again.  We have to feed him, while telling stories or reading, and he fidgets and climbs up and down because he is uncomfortable.  Then he becomes a lot more defiant as well, and needs to be chased to go to the table for meals, to do things etc.

Some friends have suggested that the little boy just has to adapt and get used to the presence of others at home.  But while I know the little boy has to learn to cope with changes, he is still a 3 year old after all, and toddlers sometimes do have to battle their fears, unreasonable those fears may be.  So meanwhile, we're just trying to help him deal with the anxiety by letting him go in his room with the door shut.  Its really not the grandparents fault, and Junior J really loves playing with them since they dote on him a lot.  Its just one of those weird toddler things, and hopefully things will improve this week since his gut has been cleared (my MIL will be around for another week).  And I really hope we'll be able to figure out how to manage this problem, and that this phase will pass soon, as the in-laws will be coming down again soon in January.  Have any of your kids have such a problem before?  It really has been quite a headache to manage:      

Then to top it off, we've been facing many hiccups for the move next year, many which could have been prevented.  The language requirements for the hubby to work there seem to keep changing, and many admin procedures are now slowly being sorted out, even when the hubby went down earlier this year to try to get  everything in place.  Communication is difficult, phone calls don't seem to be effective, and emails don't get answered until a long time later.  So now we are left with a big question mark, and it may be a closed door to us after all.  This has meant the hubby has to scramble to find alternatives, and with that comes a whole load of other things that need to be done, like sitting for language tests, applying for this and that.

So I must admit I am finding it very hard to be thankful at the moment, and I am really scraping the bottom of the barrel to write my list today.  So here it is... I am still grateful that:

:: We are healthy.  I recovered pretty quickly from my cold, and at least everyone isn't down with some bug.  And Baby J is still steadily putting on weight and is almost hitting 5 kg.

:: My in-laws are so willing to help out, and that they really love the two little boys a lot.

:: We are blessed with wonderful brothers and sisters in Christ who constantly keep us in prayer.

:: We can sometimes have nice lunches out as a family and enjoy yummy food, without having to spend hours at the stove preparing it.

Flowers at PS Cafe. I love it when you get fresh blooms at the table!

Perhaps God is reminding us through this period of time that we must keep trusting Him, and that "Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labour in vain" (Psalms 127:1).  So I guess we'll keep praying and hoping, and trusting.  

What are you thankful for this week? 

Monday Made: Cards for a cause

Ok, am back again!  I've mentioned previously that I was involved in designing cards and preparing for a fund-raiser some time ago.  A whole group of ladies from the Breast Cancer Support Group in Tan Tock Seng Hospital got together and spent an entire afternoon making greeting cards (and I'm so grateful that Papermarket kindly sponsored some of the papers), and now these cards are going to be up for sale!  Here are some of the cards we made, which range from cards which you can customize with your own greetings:

... to thank you and birthday cards:

These cards are available in packs of five or two with envelopes, and there are varying designs in each pack.  With Christmas around the corner, this would be a perfect time to go and get your greeting cards!  Proceeds will go towards helping patients in need.

The cards would be sold at the celebrations for International Volunteer Day at Tan Tock Seng Hospital atrium from the 29 Nov to 1st Dec.  It looks like there's going to be a whole bunch of fun activities, so do hop down to lend them your support!  Details below...

Psst... if you can't make it down and would still like to purchase some cards, just drop me an email ya? ;)

Weekend wanderings: Packed

Just the face to suit the quote on the onesie!

The hubby's parents flew down on Friday and an extremely packed weekend ensued, which included:

:: Getting the lil boy's bilirubin level's checked.  Poor kid has breast milk jaundice like his brother, and has been getting poked every weekend (no wonder he doesn't look happy!).  Thankfully the levels seem to be finally dropping and is down from 200 plus to 150... however, we're not too worried since Junior J had jaundice for about 3 months when he was born!

:: Rushing down to ICA to collect Baby J's passport, since we'll have to run down to Malaysia early next year to settle admin matters.  

:: The first time Baby J was in church.  When the pastor concluded his sermon, he asked the congregation to spend a few minutes in quiet contemplation, to which the lil fellow responded with a loud mega poop.  While everyone was silent, there was a loud "PRAAAK!", which did cause a couple of heads to turn.  Talk about making a lasting first impression!

:: Trying out the food at PS Cafe.  The food was ok, and Junior J happily chomped his way through fish and chips and salad...

... while his brother more or less slept through most of it, either on the sofa, or being stuck to me.  

:: Having a belated 1 month celebration for Baby J at home.  We had our immediate family and both sets of godparents over for dinner, did our own salad and ordered pizza and pasta from Al Forno... 

 ... and aside from veering from the usual "invite-all-your-friends" big celebration, we also opted for chocs for the guests instead of the traditional red eggs (which were only given to the older relatives):

The idea's from Martha Stewart: dressing up plain wrapping paper with doilies!

All in all, a rather fruitful weekend.  How was your weekend?

PS: Will be back later for the "Monday Made" post with some news to share.  Stay tuned!

Foodie Fridays: The fastest lunch ever (Omelettes)

Nowadays, with baby to mind, lunch has to be something that doesn't require a long time to cook.  There are times where I've had to either carry/nurse a fretting Baby J while cooking, so anything that takes 15 minutes or less to cook is ideal!

So on busy days, omelettes are the way to go:

Crack eggs and beat (I use 3 eggs for Junior J and myself).
Heat olive oil in pan.
Pour eggs into pan.
Add cheese (a friend recommends using mozzarella which is lower in salt,
and we found the sliced version which is really convenient!)  

Add other ingredients (I usually add mushrooms and sometimes capsicum,
these must be fried first)
Flip omelette to fold.

Serve hot with veggies and pasta on the side if you wish,
or you could fold the omelette into a square and stuff it between two slices of bread!

Yummy in your tummy!

Junior J loves this (he's just crazy about anything that has cheese oozing out of it), and I love how quickly I can whip this up for lunch.  Now, any quick lunch ideas to share?  Blessed weekend!

Today...

:: Junior J turns 34 months.  2 months shy of turning 3!  He has in the past month, "blossomed", if I may use such a term on a boy.  He's started to have a much better appetite, and can feed himself his entire meal on most days.  Looking at him slurping down his meals inspires me to keep trying in the kitchen department.  His soft spot for animals still remains... When I pretend-ate Muggle Wump the monkey (I was nursing the little one and thought it was one of the play-food things that I get fed all the time), he got upset and told me "You can't eat Muggle Wump, Mama!  You're not supposed to eat animals, Mama!".  He's been such a cheerful and helpful little companion these days, and my heart bursts with pride to see him growing up.   

:: We have a baby that is slightly over a month old!  Baby J still has this ability to reserve his poop for only a clean diaper (we wait and wait after a feed, and the poop only comes when we change him.).  He's now a beefy baby, and has put on about 1.5 kg in a month. :)  The boy's a trooper, and has gamely endured his brother's rather rough demonstrations of affection, as well as various aromas, as many a times I've had to carry him while sitting next to the potty with Junior J.  He's been battling reflux (so there has been a lot of carrying after feeds), but I'm thankful that sometimes he's able to fall asleep on his own while listening to the baby monitor playing lullabies.

:: I crawled about the house nursing a cold, a blocked duct and a baby, and survived the day with the boys (mum initially had said she would bring Junior J over to play with his grandaunt, but in the end decided to go out for lunch as Junior J was struggling to poop in the morning).  And was reminded that all I needed to do was to pray, and just do the next thing. 

Show me a piggy face!

 :: The hubby saved the day again.  He came back after work and took over the cooking for dinner, and took care of Junior J so I could crash into bed while baby slept.  I am so thankful for this man.  

:: I got fed lots of fruits from the fruit stall.  Good thing you can't overeat these!

:: I am encouraged to "choose joy", though life may be tough, or even painful.

How was today for you?

Thankful Tuesdays: The ministry of the mundane

I woke up this morning, did my quiet time and read this verse:

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."

- 1 Corinthians 10:31

The stay home mum and/or homemaker's job is challenging and many a times, a thankless task.  After all, most days, you won't notice how the clothes end up neatly folded or hung in the wardrobe, until the article of clothing you urgently need is in the laundry bin.  Or how baby smells fresh and clean even though he's been pooping 12 times a day.

Little thought usually is spent wondering how dinner ends up on the table, and how the plates get miraculously washed up at the end of the day.  Or about how much effort it actually takes to keep the house neat and tidy.  It is the things that are not done that are glaringly obvious:  the overflowing laundry basket, the dust on the shelves, the tornado of toys that are strewn across the whole house, or the dinner that is late... while things that are done are usually just fade into the background.  Its no wonder that some of our mums who stay home end up becoming rather bitter about not being appreciated, or become very tired of it all.  There is no promotion for washing dishes well, no performance bonus for consistently getting home-cooked meals on the table everyday.  The work is never-ending, and the rewards, hardly tangible.

I do admit that in the midst of all the hustle and bustle of daily chores and the caring of my family, I sometimes forget that home-making, staying home and even the care of children is a ministry in itself.  What sometimes is seen as a maid's job are ways that I can serve the needs of my family.  That my time spent in wiping spills, cleaning art messes, wiping poopy butts are part and parcel of the journey in raising boys, who might eventually be the heads of their own households.  That cooking healthy meals to fill the stomach of my family can matter, even though there is no certificate or award to show for it.

So today, with this reminder, I am most thankful for this blessing of being able to stay home and manage my own little household.  To be able to spend time with my boys, cuddling the baby while cheering the older one as he valiantly tries to poop in his potty ("go away poopoo, you cannot escape", we shout).  Being fed play food throughout the day from an imaginary fruit stall.  Having random birthday parties where everyone (including a whole menagerie of animals) wears "sugar hats" and sings "Happy birthday to mama and Juju!" and eats birthday cake that looks suspiciously like alphabets:

I am also thankful that while it is a tiring job, there is someone to share the journey and the burdens with, and that he is so willing to help out at home.  Of course, the days where we take a break from the mundane and eat out are nice too!

And I am most thankful that while some days may be overwhelming (like when baby refuses to naps and cries and you end up having to cook with one hand and nurse the baby in the other... or when everything seems to go wrong), we can always lean on the promise that we can do all things through Him.  And that He will give us strength for each day.

It is a ministry of the mundane.  But I am thankful that it is a ministry that matters, and that I can be a part of it.  What are you thankful today?

Monday Made: A baby book for my big boy

I've been intending to complete this little book for Junior J for quite awhile.  Its a book all about him when he was a baby, with pictures and journalling about all the little quirks he had when he was that tiny wee thing...

But of course, the preggie tiredness and everything else made it hard for me to get started.  In fact, I had selected and printed the photos out a few days before I popped, and even brought the pictures along to the hospital, thinking that I could crop them if the labour took some time (I have no idea what was going through my head then, its really true that pregnancy does shrink your brain!).

Since we keep finding ourselves telling Junior J stories which start with "you know, when you were a baby...", I thought I should finish the album so that Junior J could have a little book to flip through and read about his babyhood.

So every night, after both little boys are asleep and the basic chores are done, I sneak into the study and allow myself some time to just sit and scrap before baby wakes up to feed.  The cutting and pasting, the reliving of sweet past memories is therapeutic.

I left the pages rather simple, with not much layering (no time, plus I didn't want stuff falling off thanks to rough toddler handling), and used happy patterned papers mainly from Cosmo Cricket, as well as stuff from October Afternoon.

More to come, since I'm about half-way through.  Will share when the album's finally done!

Life goes on

Yesterday started as per normal.  Waking up at 6 plus to feed and change baby.  Showering and getting breakfast ready, then waking Junior J up and getting him fed.  Everything was running like clockwork until Baby J decided to do a mega poop, and in the midst of my changing him, did another BIG one, which landed all over the cot mattress.  So I tried to clean up as best as I could, cleaned up the fretful baby, and continued feeding Junior J (while trying to feed a crying Baby J).  I was worried about Baby J's next nap since the mattress was all poopy, so I thought I'd give a call to my mum to see if she could just come in a little earlier (she usually reaches around 9 plus 10) to give me a hand with the mattress.  Mum was at the market and said she'll come by when she was done.  I said OK, and continued feeding both boys, and managed to settle Baby J down for a nap on an extra mattress.

Then everything just went wrong.  Mum came in, let herself in as usual (she has a set of our keys) and flung open the door, then proceeded to shout at me for not opening the door for her, saying I was lazy.  I just tried to ignore the shouting, since I was still busy feeding Junior J and trying to eat some breakfast myself.  Then the shouting went on for another 10 minutes about all sorts of things, which was followed by her banging open my room door.  Baby J got startled and woke, and started screaming, so I carried him and tried to continue feeding Junior J.  Then she said Baby J "would have woken up anyway, since he probably had a nightmare", and continued with her insults and complaints.  At the top of her voice.  That was when I simply lost it.  After trying to bite my lip and stay silent for 3 plus weeks, and hearing all sorts of remarks implying I was good for nothing, while I struggled to manage 2 small kids, something in me just exploded.  So I started yelling too.  Suffice to say I asked to stop confinement, and that I didn't need her help anymore.  And she left.  And since then, I've been on my own.

I do feel sorry for losing my temper at her, and I plan to apologize once things have cooled down.  But I must admit that while managing everything (with the hubby's help when he's back after work) has been tiring and busy, things are way more peaceful and less stressful.  And contrary to all her remarks that I cannot cope on my own, I have.  And intend to.  And in retrospect, it was probably good that her time is freed up, since now she has to host her sister who is visiting (and going by the past visits, she would be very busy and stressed about that).    

So life goes on.  Thank you for those who've been encouraging me to just hang in there, I guess we'll just have to move on from here.  And in fact, we managed to have a relatively fruitful day today:

Lunch was a little mishmash, but Junior J happily ate everything.
And insisted on spreading his bread himself.

This was supposed to be a carousel, and the animals on it were helping
to guard his alphabet sandwiches.  

We've been doing a lot of reading together since Baby J seems to be almost
permanently stuck to me, and now Junior J has taken to reading to his little brother.

After dinner art: Trying out foam stamps and learning about facial expressions.

After lunch make-believe: Painting turned body art session.
He's a whale shark and those are his spots. :)

And I know, the past few posts have just been so dreary.  Thank you for popping by while I ranted, but I promise, no more complaining!

Thankful Tuesdays: The little sparks that light

I have been feeling rather down lately.  "Stick and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me"?  I've found that words can hurt, and they can break a person.  They can rub raw.  They can nibble at your heart and suck up happiness.  Those "I'm just saying" things, that are said casually, can actually do more harm than criticism meant to help build someone up.  Whatever the case, I'm learning to just grin and bear it for the remaining one week or so.  To keep praying.  And I am reminded that I too, am imperfect, and that it was perfect grace that saved my soul.

So this week, I am very thankful for those little sparks in the rather dark place that I'm finding myself in.  I am so glad for:

:: God who loves me and saves me, wretched person that I am.

:: Hubby, who is always there to help me fight any battles that need fighting.  Who tries his best to lighten my load.  And keeps soldiering on despite his own tiredness, and can always find the energy to run around with both his little boys.

:: The gift of children.

:: This little boy, who is still trying to get adjusted to having a brother who takes up alot of mama's time, but nonetheless is still a sweet soul that warms the cockles of my heart.  His needs and interests are simple, he has hardly any demands for things.  All he wants to do is read books and more books.  Give him crayons, glue, paper and a scissors and he is happy:

"This is the crayon room!" (and today during a similar session, the crayons became ladybugs, which jumped around the page and made random dots of colour.)

:: Little treasures gathered carefully by little hands and brought back and made into random displays of beauty:

:: More flowers for Mama, be it the simple ones from a market trip with Porpor:

... or a huge bouquet purchased with Papa.

This bunch came tottering into my darkened room when I was nursing baby.  It was pretty large, so all I saw was a bouquet bobbing along with two little legs, and a loud "MAMA!  We bought flowers for you!!!", followed by a big sweaty kiss.  

:: All that encouragement that has been left, over here on the blog and FB page by you, dear readers.  And the prayers and encouragement from friends.  Friends do help to make the journey easier. :)

All in all, so very blessed.  How about you?

Happy weekend!

I don't know about you, but I am so glad that the weekend is here!  Perhaps we'll have picnics and yummy spreads:

Junior J inspecting the spread of food that he and his friend, S has "prepared" for their "restaurant",
during a recent playdate.  After all the food is ready,
they then sit all his animal friends on stools and proceed to feed them!

But I know I'll spend most of it being a milkmaid as usual (especially now with the 3 week growth spurt, that's driving me a lil nuts):

Baby J was tinier than Junior J at birth, but he's beefing up pretty fast!

And hopefully, there'll be more brotherly love too!

Whatever the case, what I'm also looking forward to, is the hubby being around for the next two days.  Which means I might just be able to take a nap when baby is sleeping during the day, something I've not been able to do since Junior J has been keeping me busy!  (I did try asking my mum to help play with Junior J today, but I made the mistake of mentioning that I've been averaging 3 hours of interrupted sleep every night.  To which she replied that she too, only slept 3 hours.  But hello, you left our place at 7.30 pm the night before to go out with your sisters... and then you have to pack your clothes to 1 am in the morning?  Hmmm.)  Ok, so yes I gotta go now and finish washing up some dishes, plus get some much needed shut-eye... have a blessed weekend!

Thinking Thursdays: Tot Trays

We've never been really structured about Junior J's learning, and ever since Baby J came along, there has been even less time to plan learning activities for the boy.  So we've been spending a lot of time reading and learning to read, and as usual, the little boy gets plenty of unstructured playtime...

The latest creation: A "tall tall tower with piggy pig!".

... as well as time to doodle and paint...

Another creation after doodling: This crayon "structure" is the Spanish embassy (according to Junior J!).

However, I find it easier to have one or two simple activities planned each day for the boy so that he can at least sit down and work on something, while I feed Baby J (which also makes it less likely that the boy gets bored and starts to try to whack his baby brother!).  So he's been given simple math manipulatives as well various activities that improve on his fine motor skills (like threading necklaces):

Using chopsticks & tongs.

Each night would see me frantically digging through my bunch of materials, trying to find something suitable to do.  So I was glad to find this site, which shares many activities that you can carry out with your toddler to develop their fine motor skills... :)  Now I just need to wait for my confinement to be over so that I can head down to Daiso to buy those trays! :p